Chapter 90

90 A Little, But Very Heated Argument

When we arrived I found myself quite impressed with the exterior before we went in. The gold walls were completely mesmerizing, and the restaurant looked very luxurious.

“Wow,” I said, my mouth agape. “This looks amazing.”

The restaurant’s exterior was very luxurious and impressive. The gold walls were mesmerizing, and it looked like a very high-class place the thought of going in made me very excited.

“I know, right?” Malachi said, clearly pleased with himself. “And it’s even better on the inside.”

As we walked in, I was not disappointed. The interior was just as luxurious as the exterior, if not more so. There were chandeliers everywhere, and the furniture looked like it was made of gold.

“This is incredible,” I said, my eyes wide. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome,” Nikki said, looking around in awe. “Where do you think we should sit?”

“How about over there?” Greg said, pointing to a table near the edge.

We took a seat while Nikki and September went over to the cashier to start paying.

.....

“So, when should we start moving?” Malachi asked. “It’s just us men right now, so we can say what we want.”

“I say tomorrow,” Greg said, “We need to plan this out first and make sure we have everything we need.”

“I agree,” I said. “But we shouldn’t stay here too long, it’s only a matter of time before they suddenly arrive and blast us into oblivion.” Malachi nodded, his face serious.

“You’re right,” he said. “So tomorrow, we move.”

Then Nikki and September arrived. “We’ve decided that we’re gonna leave tomorrow, just get this whole thing over with,” Tisiah said. September seemed disturbed by that comment, but Nikki just shrugged it off.

“We were literally just in a fight with the TSA and now you want to deal with that again. Look at what happened to you!” September shouted, pointing and me. I sighed, not wanting to remember what happened.

“It’s not like we have a choice,” I said, my voice low. “We need to get out of here. I want to go back home, and I’m pretty sure we all do.”

“But how are we going to survive if we’re constantly going to be hunted by fricking Rocke!” she argued, her voice getting louder.

“I don’t know,” I said, “but we’ll find a way. We always do.”

“We can’t just rely on hope in these situations. Sometimes your brain needs to be in the mix for these situations,” September scolded, her arms crossed. “If you want to get out of here alive, we’re going to have to be a lot more careful from now on.”

“But being careful doesn’t mean to be stuck in this hole, waiting for death,” Malachi said, his voice harsh. “I’d rather take my chances out there.”

“Chances Malachi, you’re talking about chances! We’re not playing some game here where if you roll a dice and it’s a one you die, this is real-life Malachi. This is real life, and people are getting killed out there. We need to be smart about this, not rely on some dumb chance,” she said.

“I’m not treating this like a game, I’m treating it like my life,” Malachi said. “And I’m not going to hide in here like a little wimp.”

“That’s all you want. Big boy, power, big man,” September said in a mocking voice. “You’re just a big baby who wants to be the hero.”

“At least I want to save us, unlike you that cares only for your survival,” he shouted. “We’re leaving tomorrow and that’s it! Nothing can convince me otherwise.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

September stayed quiet, her face red with anger. Nikki put a hand on her shoulder and she reluctantly agreed.

Then she stormed off in the other direction. This was bad, very bad. If we were going to get out of here alive, we’re going to need to be united, not divided.

I went after her, as she headed toward the bathroom. She went through the hall that led to the women’s door, which would be a very bad thing. I don’t want to seem like a weirdo or anything, but I need to talk to her.

Quickly, I stopped her and she looked at me as if she had no energy to care, “What?” she asked, her voice full of venom.

“Listen, I know you’re mad, and you have every right to be, I guess. But it’s for the best, trust me. Why are you so worried about it anyways? Everything would go to normal,” I said, trying to reason with her.

“You don’t get it, do you?” she asked, her voice getting louder. “I want to keep everyone alive.”

“You weren’t this worked up though,” I revealed, trying to get her to see reason.

“I know, but it’s different now,” she admitted, her voice calmer. “It’s different.”

“What’s different about it,” I asked. I’m not sure if it’s working, but at least she’s not yelling.

“I just realized how short life is, and how easily it can be taken away,” she said.

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to sigh, but I just stood there, trying to figure out what to say.

“You’re right, it is different now,” I finally said. “But that’s not the reason.”

She chuckled, “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, the reason you’re so worked up now is that you have something to lose, and it’s not just all of us. It’s about someone specific isn’t it,” I said. “Who?”

September looked at me stiffly and then opened the door, going into the bathroom. I sighed, knowing that I won’t be getting anything out of her now.

I probably should’ve just stayed in my seat, and minded my own business.

But I’m telling you, something is off and I can’t put my finger on it.

I just hope that whatever it is, it won’t be the death of us. I returned to my seat, looking at Malachi’s smirk. “She probably escaped to the bathroom, didn’t she,” he said with a chuckle. “Like all wimps do.”

“What is your problem?” Nikki said, her voice full of anger. “Can’t you just leave her alone for once?”

“No one asked, Nikki,” Malachi returned, his voice just as harsh. “No one asked at all.” Nikki also stayed quiet but she still seemed heated up with her face burning.

This is not good, not good at all. If we don’t find a way to get out of this soon, we’re gonna be dead before the TSA even gets their hands on us. I looked at Tisiah, who was also looking at the situation with a worried expression.

“Thinking the same thing?” I whispered, to which he nodded.

“We need to do something about his,” he said, his voice low. “But what?”

I had no idea, but we need to think of something and fast. Otherwise, we’re all cooked meat. “Hey Malachi, how about you try and um, keep it less offensive this time?” Greg suggested, his voice surprisingly calm.

“No one asked you, nerd,” Malachi spat out, his eyes still on Nikki. “No one asked anyone.”

Greg wasn’t burning in anger like the other two, but he seemed a bit startled. Malachi was going down in a spiral, and I didn’t know how to stop it.

“Is there anything we can do?” Tisiah whispered to me, but I just shrugged.

“We need to stick together,” I said with a sigh. “That’s all we can do for now.”

He nodded, understanding what I meant. I looked at Greg and he nodded, understanding as well. If we’re gonna make it out of here alive, we need to be a team.

Then September came back, her hair looking way worse than before. I don’t know what she did and I don’t think I want to know either.

“What took you so long?” Malachi asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. September ignored, walking back to her seat.

“Are you feeling any better?” Nikki asked, her voice now gentle and full of concern. September simply nodded, and she sat down.

“Good to know,” Greg said. “Good to know.”

Malachi sighed.

“Okay, first thing in the morning we leave. Also Nikki, can you make us a fast sort of van so that we can move quickly out of here,” Tisiah asked, and Nikki nodded.

“Of course,” she said, her voice still gentle. “I’ll do my best.”

“Thanks,” Tisiah said with a smile.

Tension still filled the area, but at least we were making some progress.I just hope that it wouldn’t be too late.

Preview:

We showed up back home after an exceptionally quiet dinner and I mean extremely quiet.

The main sound that was made were the utensils clanging on the plates and the biting of food.

It was so abnormal, I wanted to slither out of my skin.

We previously settled within the house, however I could see September, sitting on one of the kitchen counters, seeing her phone with a stressed articulation.

“Hey,” I said as I walked up to her. “Anything to worry about?”

“About what?” she hastily returned, her voice a bit too high.

“Your phone,” I said, nodding towards it. “You’ve been looking at it for the past ten minutes.” “And?” she responded, her voice still high.

I sighed, knowing that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. “Fine,” I said, walking back. “If you’re mad at me, then I shouldn’t really care.” She scoffed, and I heard her put her phone away.

“I’m not mad at you,” she said, her voice now lower. “But I’m starting to.” I stayed silent, wondering what I did to deserve this.