The Tribuo - 6. part 1, chapter 6

- VI -

LUCAS

I slowly went back to my bench and sat down. I felt like shit. Seth pulled a cigarette out of my pack, slowly lit it, and sat down next to me. We were both silent for almost ten minutes.

“So,” he said finally. “Managed to fall for him, huh?”

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t even look at him. Seth shrugged indifferently.

“Not surprising,” he said seriously. There was not even a hint of mockery or smile in his voice, and I was thankful to him for that.

“I mean,” he continued casually. “It was sort of bound to happen. He is your first…” he glanced at me. “In so many ways…” he muttered and I shot him a dark look.

“Please don’t tell me that you’ve been watching,” I said gloomily, and he snorted.

“You didn’t see me there, did you?”

“It doesn’t mean that you weren’t watching,” I said pointedly.

“True,” he sighed. “But no, I wasn’t watching, I swear." He sighed, leaned onto the back of the bench, and took off his sunglasses.

We were silent for a minute or two, and then I looked into his yellow eyes and grimaced. “For God sake,” I muttered. “Put your sunglasses back on! Someone might see you!”

He blinked.

“Right…” he slid his shades back on.

“Why are you here?” I asked tiredly. “Isn’t it against the rules?”

“Not right now,” he shook his head. “This is almost over, and it is obvious that you have succeeded. No need to stick around any longer. Congratulations, by the way! Quite impressive. Especially, for the first time, even with all things considered…”

I stared at him.

“What do you mean…?” I muttered, and he sighed and almost pulled off his sunglasses again. He stopped himself at the last second though.

“What I mean is…” he looked at me. “You don’t have to stay, Rayne. We can leave right now…” he paused and looked at me more intently. “Never mind,” he sighed finally. “Stay 'till the end. You have…” he looked up at the sun. “Five hours and forty four minutes.”

I jumped up and raced to the car that was sitting on the driveway. Seth laughed out loud.

“If I were you,” he called after me. “I’d get dressed first.”

I came to a screeching halt. Right. I need a shirt, that’s right… I went back inside the house with Seth following me.

“Which girlfriend?” I asked him suddenly, and he frowned. “I mean, which girlfriend was supposed to kill him?”

“Oh, that… I don’t know.”

“Then how do you know that everything is all right?”

He took off his shades and rolled his eyes.

“Because,” he said very patiently. “This…” he looked at me pointedly. “...is not what should’ve happened if not for you. Truth to be told, had I not known in advance, I wouldn't see this coming," he glanced at my bare chest. "No pun intended..." he muttered in a lower voice, and then sighed again. "I knew that you were going to try and change his mind about the whole dating scene… Well,” he hemmed. “You did, to be honest. Not the way I expected to though…”

“That’s not what I meant,” I almost growled when my shirt wouldn’t cooperate. “How do you know that she won’t still try and kill him? I mean, his halo is fine, sure, but…”

“Orbis,” he corrected me automatically.

“Whatever,” I grimaced. “My point is… Dammit!!” I almost ripped off a button.

Seth sighed and stepped closer. He started to button me up and I dropped my arms on my sides, letting him do that.

“My point is,” I continued somewhat calmer. “I won’t be able to tell if he is going to die or not until it’s less than half an hour 'till he…” I stuttered. “...dies,” I finished in a smaller voice. “I mean, what if something will still happen regardless of the whole realization thing?”

Seth finished buttoning my shirt and took a step backwards. He was frowning.

“I see your point,” he said finally. “You have five hours and forty minutes. If nothing happens at seven-forty-nine sharp, you’ve succeeded. Clear?”

MATT

SATURDAY

15:02

I took a quick shower and put on some fresh clothes. I was thinking about that guy. Seth, was his name? Anyway, Lucas seemed like he was about to receive some nasty news. I turned my phone back on and winced when I realized that my phone was very close to dying, so I went downstairs and plugged it in. I was about to yell for Jess, when the doorbell rang. I opened the door. It was Jennah.

“Hey,” he breathed, and I frowned when I saw how pale he was.

“You okay?” I asked, and he briefly closed his eyes.

“Yes… No… Matt…”

“Hey, lover,” Jess muttered from behind my back, and I turned around.

“Hey,” Lucas smiled at her.

“You okay?” she asked him with the same intonation in her voice as I did a minute ago. The twin thing.

“Matt, let’s go…” Jennah looked at me, and I blinked when I saw pain in his eyes.

“Yeah,” I said softly. “Later, Jess.”

“See you, guys,” she said slowly.

I stepped outside and shut the door.

“What’s up?” I asked carefully.

Lucas sighed and put his hands on the door, trapping me in between. Not that I minded. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against mine. I couldn't care less if my mother was watching me through the window. I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes. This was beyond weird. I mean, I knew this guy for what? A week? And somehow, I felt like I couldn't survive without him.

“Let’s go,” he murmured finally, his breath tickling my mouth. “I am on a time frame…”

Time frame? What the hell is that suppose to mean? Now I felt uneasy. I hate the words 'Time Frame.' They never sound too promising.

We got into his car and he took off without saying anything else.

15:30

He all but pushed me inside his house and kicked the door closed.

“Okay,” I slightly pushed him away. “Jennah, what the hell is going on?”

He stared into my eyes, and then he was kissing me, and I stopped talking. He hissed when his shirt wouldn’t unbutton, and just ripped several buttons off. I don’t think he even noticed that. He pushed me against the wall, and kept muttering my name. Then somewhere along the line, I totally lost it and bit his neck so hard that for a second, I thought I drew blood. I didn’t, but it looked like he was going to have a hell of a bruise there later on. Jennah just inhaled sharply at that without pulling away from me. Eventually, we ended up on the floor, since we never made it to the couch or, let alone, bed.

This time it wasn’t just like another explosion. It was like a freaking hurricane combined with a volcano and an earthquake. It was amazing, but at the same time -- frightening. It felt like he was… Saying goodbye?

16:35

I held him in my arms, his head buried in my chest. My breathing was finally returning back to normal and so was his.

“What the hell is going on, Lucas?” I asked softly, and he stirred a little and looked into my eyes.

“I am leaving,” he said finally, and I just stared at him.

“What?” I managed to say several minutes later.

He dropped his head back onto my chest.

“I am leaving,” he repeated robotically. “I have no choice…”

“Jennah… Why?”

“Seth…” he whispered bitterly. “He told me today after you left… They are relocating my Dad’s base into Germany…”

“Germany?!” I sat up and he almost lost his balance.

“Yeah,” he sat up as well. “They… I don’t know,” he squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “Seth never said why… I mean, he wouldn’t give me any reasons… Just the facts.”

“Wait…” I was numb. “Why Seth? What about your Dad?”

“He is there already,” Lucas muttered. “That’s why Seth had to get me. I guess it was urgent… I don’t know.”

“Lucas…” This felt like an extremely vivid nightmare. “No… Don’t go, stay… Just stay…”

“I can’t!” he hit the floor with his fist, his hair falling over his eyes. “You seriously think I wouldn’t if I could?!”

I looked down. His knuckles were bleeding. I took his hand and he immediately relaxed his fist. I wiped the blood off with my hand and he just looked at me.

“I am sorry…” he muttered, his eyes like two bitter green lakes. “Jesus, Matt… I am sorry… I didn’t mean for this to happen… I didn’t…” he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

I pulled him closer and he buried his face in my shoulder, his back rigid. I ran my fingers through his hair and he slightly shivered.

“Damn you, Jennah,” I whispered bitterly. “God damn you… You don’t realize… You just don’t… Goddammit! You can’t… Lucas, you can’t…”

“I can’t,” he echoed me softly. “But I don’t have a choice…”

I pulled his hair and he obediently raised his head.

“You always have a choice,” I said in a low voice, and he blinked at that.

“Ironic,” he muttered and twisted his mouth in a scary smile.

“What?” I frowned.

“Nothing,” he sighed, and this time, he was the one who pulled me closer.

18:40

We were walking slowly, Jennah’s fingers wrapped around mine. I felt like screaming obscenities at the sky. Or earth. Or anyone who happened to be nearby.

“Will you be able to come back?” I asked finally, and his fingers tightened around mine. I knew the answer immediately.

“I don’t know,” he said dully.

We sat on one of the park benches, and we stayed there for a while. We didn’t talk. I just held his hand and I could feel his pulse as if it was my own. I am not sure how long we sat on that bench, but when I finally looked around, it was pretty dark.

“What time is it?” Lucas asked in a very dull voice.

I glanced at my watch.

“Seven-twenty.”

“Dammit,” he muttered bitterly.

“What time are you…” I stopped talking for a second. “...leaving?” I finally squeezed out the word.

“Eight,” he said, and I couldn’t breathe.

“Less than an hour…” I muttered, and he suddenly got up.

“Yeah,” he said shortly. “Let’s go, okay?”

I followed him without saying anything else. We made it all the way to the lit part of the park and he turned around. Suddenly, he stopped frozen in his tracks and stared at me in disbelief.

“What?” I frowned.

“What time is it?” he almost barked, and I winced.

“Seven-thirty-five… What is it?”

He kept staring at me with silent horror.

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Jennah, what is it?!”

He took a step towards me and lifted his arm. He slowly moved his hand above my head and I looked up.

“What are you doing?” I asked when I didn’t see anything.

He shook his head.

“No…” he muttered. “That’s not possible… I mean…” he bit his lip.

“Are you trying to freak me out?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “If so, then you succeeded…”

“No,” he shook his head again and managed a very tight smile. “Sorry, it’s nothing. I am just seeing things, that’s all.”

He glanced around and grabbed my hand.

“Let’s go,” he said softly. “Please…”

“Okay…” I said slowly.

19:46

He pulled me inside the house and slammed the door shut. I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. He looked seriously freaked out right now.

“Seth!” he yelled and I blinked.

Seth? Was he waiting for us in here or something?

“Seth!!” Jennah barked again, and I took a step back when suddenly, there was movement behind his back. Yup, it was Seth. I guess he was waiting for Lucas here.

Jennah whirled around and stared at him.

“Let’s go,” Seth said casually, and Lucas violently shook his head.

“No,” he said, and Seth frowned at that.

“Lucas…” he said somewhat dangerously, and I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, when I thought I saw his eyes flash yellow behind his shades. Great. Now I am seeing things as well.

Jennah turned towards me.

“Could you wait for me in the living room?” he whispered desperately, and I slowly nodded.

I went into the living room and sat on the couch. I could hear Jennah’s furious whispering and Seth’s annoyed responses. I tried to listen in without getting off the couch.

“We have to go…” That was Seth.

“Not yet!” That was Lucas.

“We have to…”

“No!! Seth, it’s not over yet! I saw…”

I frowned when suddenly, Jennah’s whisper became a lot less audible.

“You are stalling!” Seth didn’t even bother to be quiet. “Look…”

“No!”

I jumped up when Jennah stormed into the living room.

“I need more time,” he said with his head half-turned towards Seth. “Just a little bit more time, okay?”

Seth stared at him from underneath his sunglasses. Why is he wearing sunglasses at almost eight in the evening inside the house anyway?

“Fine,” he finally hissed. “You have half an hour!”

“Thank you,” Lucas breathed, and Seth turned around and left without saying anything else.

“What was that all about?” I asked, and Jennah looked at me and smiled.

“He was right,” he shrugged. “I guess I am stalling. What time is it?”

“Seven-fifty-six,” I sighed.

“Okay,” for some strange reason, Jennah seemed much calmer now. I gave up on trying to figure out why he was acting so weird. Who cares.

He dug in his pockets for a minute or so, and finally frowned.

“Walk with me to the gas station, will you?” he said. “I am out of smokes again.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said numbly.

20:10

We were almost by the gas station, when I heard someone call my name. I turned around.

“Oh my God!” she ran up to me and hung on my neck. “Matt! It’s been, like, forever! What are you doing here?!”

“Umm…” I said uncomfortably. Well, crap. “Getting some smokes… What about you?”

“Oh, my friends and I are gonna go see a movie…” she started jabbering immediately, and I glanced at Lucas.

“I’ll be right back,” he muttered without looking at her. He was busy counting the change that he pulled out of his pocket.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be right here.”

“Uh huh,” he walked towards the glass door, and I watched him wait patiently behind some beefy guy who was buying beer.

“So how are you?!” she asked, and I looked at her.

“I am good,” I nodded absent-mindedly. “Doing good…”

“Are you…” she played with the strand of her hair. “Are you seeing someone?”

“Yes,” I answered immediately and her eyes darkened.

“I see…” she bit her lip. “That’s why you were so weird, huh?”

“I guess,” I shrugged and looked through the gas station window.

The beefy guy couldn’t count enough change, it seemed.

“Matt…” she said very slowly. “I need to tell you something…”

I looked at her. She seemed very serious. Great, I thought. Now she’d tell me that she was pregnant, had to have an abortion, and that it’s all my fault… Or some other garbage like that.

“Look…” I started saying, but she interrupted me.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” she said simply, and I stared at her. Are you kidding me?!

“Rose…”

“Just give us another chance, Matt,” she smiled. “Look, I know for a fact that you are not seeing anyone… I checked.”

Was she spying on me or something? Ugh, I really don’t need this shit right now.

“Rose,” I took a deep breath and put both of my hands on her shoulders. She all but beamed at that. “I don’t know how well you checked, but… I am with someone. In fact,” I shrugged. “I am in love with someone.”

“Pffft!” she said contemptuously. “Like it ever stopped you before!” and she leaned in.

“I’ve never been in love before,” I said and took a step back from her.

She looked like I just spat in her face.

“Huh,” she said finally. “Who is she?”

I just smiled and shook my head.

“Sorry, Rose. It’s none of your business.” I glanced at the window again. Finally! The beefy guy was gone and Lucas was on his way out. “Rose, I’ll talk to you later,” I muttered without taking my eyes off him.

She looked at me very intently. Then she shifted her eyes to Lucas. Looked at me again. And then she let out disbelieving laughter.

“Are you kidding me?!” she said shrilly. “Him?!”

“Huh?” I looked at her with confusion.

“Oh my God,” she said slowly. “Seriously?”

“What are you…”

“Jesus, Matt!” she exclaimed. “You should see your eyes when you look at him! It’s like you…” she stopped talking and bit her lip.

“Rose…”

“Goodbye, Matt,” she said quietly and walked away.

I shook my head. Am I that easy to read? I guess… Oh, well. I suppose she won’t bug me anymore. Jennah walked outside and looked at me with a silent question. He followed my gaze, and when he saw Rose, his eyes immediately narrowed.

“Who was that?” he asked quietly.

“That…” I sighed. “…was Rose.”

“Rose?” he muttered without taking his eyes off her. “The one that’s been calling you?”

“Yeah. Don’t tell me that you are jealous or something…”

“I am not jealous,” he muttered and pulled the cellophane off the pack of Parliaments. “This is just bizarre…”

I was about to ask him what the hell he was talking about, when someone coughed behind my back. I turned around. It was the same beefy guy who was buying beer at the gas station several minutes earlier.

“Hey, kid,” he said, looking at Jennah. “Got a smoke I could bum?”

“Yeah, sure,” Lucas blinked and looked at him.

And then several things happened at once. Jennah handed the beefy guy his pack of Parliaments. I looked at Rose, who was slowly walking away, her shoulders stooped. There was a nauseating screeching sound and a sudden smell of burnt rubber, and then someone started screaming. I turned my head and saw a white pickup truck spinning helplessly and very quickly towards Rose, who seemed to be oblivious to everything around her. She was maybe a couple of feet away from me, so I just lunged at her, thinking that I’d be able to push her out of the truck’s way. Then I heard Jennah’s mad scream behind my back, and then I became airborne. Right before I blacked out, there was a very loud, shattering sound, something popped so loudly that it sounded like a gunshot, and then Rose started to scream. Well, at least I think it was Rose.