Marshall wiped his tears. His cry turned into occasional sobs. Fred let him compose himself some. He felt like he failed his best friend. All he wanted to do was protect his friends. “I just can't lose you man. You've been there since I was a little kid. Been there when I was dumb or in trouble. If I lost you I...I don't know...” He gave up trying to create a sentence. He just placed his head against the glass window.
“Thank you,” Fred said quietly.
“For what?” Marshall asked without looking up.
“For being my best friend.”
Nick woke up next to a sleeping Kelly. She was in a deep sleep. He placed his hand on her hair and stroked it. He loved her so much. It made him wanna keep fighting. If these Unknowns ever crossed over they'd hurt someone like Kelly with ease. He wasn't going to let that happen. He was her protector.
He didn't sleep well. His eyes wanted to stay shut as he sat up in the bed. He thought about the talk with Carl. They agreed not to tell anyone the secret. The secret that Fred had to be killed. There was no way to extract the demon from him. Had that really been the only answer they could come up with? From past experiences of people posting in logs and journals it seemed to be. It was only internet searching, though. Nick planned on going into a deeper search. He had to find more answers. He couldn't just kill one of his own. Not after he spent so much effort trying to save him.
He looked back down at her. She slept so peacefully. He smiled and slowly inched off the bed placing her head on the pillow as he did. He made his way to the bathroom and shut the door. He washed his face off, trying to catch some type of relief. Everything was coming apart so fast and he had nothing to hold it together.
His dad texted him to call but he didn't feel like it. He knew his father would have tons of questions about school. It was getting closer to being over and Nick was barely making it. Chances are he'd fail and have to redo his senior year. If that happened his father might go crazy and kill him. The irony.
He stepped out of the bathroom and put on his jeans. He figured he go get some coffee for Kelly and himself. It seemed like a good way to start the day. He wasn't about to catch anymore sleep anyway.
Yet the trial kept flashing in his mind. He couldn't get it out of his head. He never felt so nervous in his entire life. He had the information from the night before but didn't know if it was going to work. He put all his bets on the information he gained in a single night. He put someone’s life in his hands. What if it all went wrong? What if it didn't work? Would he have felt even more guilt? Felt it was his fault then? He wasn't sure. It played in his mind like it was on a treadmill, taunting him to get to the end results. It was better not to think about what ifs.
He grabbed his cell phone, threw on his shirt, and snapped on his Rod and beeper. He began to walk out the door when Kelly woke up. “Where ya going?” she asked, yawning.
“I'm going to go grab some coffee. I'll be back in a little while.” He didn't look back. He didn't want to miss her. He always did but when he looked at her it hurt more. He’d rather just lay by her at all times but this was life. It's not so simple.
“Okay. Hurry back.” She fell back onto her pillow, rubbed her face into it and drifted back into a light sleep. He left the room.
Once outside he began walking to a local coffee shop. He was nervous. Everything in life was happening so fast. School was almost done, talks about moving in with Kelly, still no job, his dad down his throat. Not to mention he had a secret; killing creatures called Unknowns. Life couldn't get much more complicated.
His phone rang and he pulled it out from his pocket. He picked it up. “Hello?”
“Nick?” It was Carl's voice.
“Yeah, what's up?”
“Get to the Station, now!”
“I just woke up. I was going to get coff-”
“Now!” Carl’s voice commanded sharply. Nick pulled away from the phone for a moment.
“All right man, no need to shout. Are you okay?”
“The Callers. They've picked up on a lot of huge signals. Something isn't right. Hurry!” Carl hung up the phone. Nick turned around and ran towards the Station.
Peter got off the elevator. Someone ran right past him. He moved out of the way at the last second. The guy said sorry and jumped into the elevator he just came from. It shot up. Peter had never seen the Station so busy. It was almost always quiet. He made his way towards the gym.
He got a text message from Carl telling him to meet him here. That something big was happening and that every Exterminator needed to get here as soon as possible. Peter wasn't sure what it could have been but he didn't want to miss it. Most people would panic, yet it made him excited. It was time to get back into action.
He opened the gym doors and saw his group there. Also Ram and two ladies standing next to him, one being Emily the other being a short, orange haired fighter. She had huge bug-like eyes and a scar on her left cheek. He quickly walked over to them to see what they were chatting about. He reached for his Rod for reinsurance.
“Pete,” Nick said as he came into the group.
“I'm glad you can join us, Peter. We've got huge problems.” Carl looked to Ram. They nodded at each other.
Ram looked at the boys. “The Callers have picked up on huge signals. These are deadly Unknowns, capable of killing you pretty easily. I need you to understand that.” The boys and girls nodded. “Good, ‘cause we have to send you guys out to hunt them. There are over thirty signals throughout the northern border. We've dispatched as many groups as we can. However, Carl and I are going to deal with two of them. They aren't far from each other and in Jersey. Emily and Gina here are going to handle another signal. That leaves you three to take down one, too.”
“Us, alone?” Marshall asked surprised.
“Yes. I know it's scary but together you should be able to do it.”
“I called Jin and told him to meet you at the location. No call back yet but he'll make his way there for sure when he can. Till then, you have to get there as soon as possible. Unlike smaller signal Unknowns, this size signal can break through the realm. They can even break into our realm, completely. Meaning regular civilians can see them. We can't let that happen.” Carl looked at his students. “I believe each and every one of you has the ability to stop these things. Don't look at it like you only had one year of experience, think of it as you almost have a whole year of experience. You will be fine if you fight together.”
“All right then. Marshall. Peter. This is it.” Nick stood up. “It’d be great to have a fourth teammate but let's just say he's taking a break.” They nodded. “We do this one for him.” Marshall nodded again, with a thumbs up.
“Plus, we can tell him he missed out on killing a big ass Unknown.” They all laughed at Marshall's joke.
“Then let's get going. Where is this signal?” Peter asked. Carl gave them the directions. It was upstate New York. Right in the middle of nowhere.
“What the hell is this address? It's not even a real address.” Marshall looked at it.
“Head there and look at the map at the local Station. It'll pin point the position. Please, all of you be careful. If it gets to rough you retreat. Do not put your life in danger. Be safe.” Carl had enough pressure almost losing Fred. He wasn't about to lose anyone else.
Ram and the girls left first. They took the pods all the way to the right. Carl wished them good luck once more before jumping into his own pod. The boys watched as he went then looked to each other.
“Little bit scary, huh?” Nick said to them.
“It sucks Fred isn't here,” Marshall said sadly.
“A fourth person would definitely help,” Peter pointed out.
“We can't free him. He's already in enough trouble.” Nick turned to the two boys. “I know it’d be easier but is it worth getting him in more trouble?”
They both thought about it for a minute. They all agreed it was best they left him here. They didn't need another trial to occur. There was alr
eady enough pressure from the current situation.
“All right, you guys ready?” Nick asked. They nodded. All three jumped in their pods. Nick held his breath for a moment and hit the blue button. Everything shut. He put in the numbers of the Station he was told to punch in. A moment of a silence and then he heard the pod start up. Then it shot out, taking them towards the huge signal.
Kelly sat up in her bed. She looked at her phone. No text or call. It had been over an hour and Nick never came back. “Again...disappearing.” She hated it. She loved him though. She didn't understand why he just left at times. Why he didn't come back for hours. Why he came back with bruises and sometimes even bleeding. Was this the life she would live with him?
She threw her bed cover to the side and got up. She grabbed a shirt from her draw and threw it on, then slipped on pants and made her way out of her room. Her mom was making breakfast. “Good morning honey!”
“Morning mom,” she replied miserably as she sat down at the table. She leaned her head against her arm. “I get to sit here and worry for the next few hours. How is this fair at all?”
“Are you okay, honey?” her mom asked.
“Yeah, just thinking.”
“About?”
“How dumb guys are.”
“Oh, that's my favorite subject.” Kelly laughed.
“Mom, is it weird when guys disappear?”
“Yes.”
“Well, awesome then...”
“Do you trust him?” her mom asked. She looked at her mom and nodded. “Do you think he's cheating?”
“How would I know?”
“You'd have a pretty good idea. He'd act distant. His attention wouldn't be towards you. Calling another person a lot. Texting these days I guess. If he was cheating you'd have a pretty good idea he was.” Her mom lifted the pancakes and placed them on a big empty plate.
“I don't think he is. I think he's keeping secrets though.” She played with the fake flower on the table. Twirling it and picking it apart. She tried not to think about it, yet it was all she her thoughts were focused on.
“A secret, huh?” Her mom said, loading another batch of pancakes on the plate. “Well, everyone needs secrets. Exposing yourself to the world about everything is never the smart thing to do. Secrets make us unique. They make us special. If the secret were to hurt you it's best kept a secret. If you don't believe he's cheating, I wouldn't push it,” her mom said happily.
She didn't feel the same though. She wanted to know why he couldn't tell her. It wasn't as simple as her mom explained. She felt there was something bigger behind it all. She got up from the table and went to the door. “I'll be back!”
“I just cooked!”
“I'll be right back. Going outside to make a call.” She left before her mom could respond. She pulled her phone out and called Lucy.
“Hello?” Lucy said on the other end. She sounded tired. Kelly thought she sounded worried as well.
“Hey, this is Kelly!” She tried to sound cheerful as possible.
“Hey! How are you?” Lucy cheered up a bit when she heard it was Kelly.
“I'm good just hanging out. I have a weird question.”
“Uh oh.”
“Well it's not weird it's just...is Marshall there?”
“No, he left early today. Actually, I must have been still sleeping.” She sounded okay with that. Why was she okay with it and Kelly wasn't? Did she know Marshall's secrets? She needed to know the secrets, too.
“Nick left, too. He was going for coffee and never came back. He seems to do that a lot.”
“I'm sure he's fine. Probably got a call from Marshall to hit the gym.” She sounded so sure. So carefree.
“Yeah… about that. What gym do they go to?” A pause. She knew more than she was letting on. Kelly was getting curious.
“I think it's the World Gym.”
“I guess I'll ask Nick about it when I see him again. Whenever that is.” She tried to sound playful. She was getting annoyed. Lucy knew something but wouldn't tell her. Now she knew she was alone, surrounded by these secrets.
“Yeah, good idea.”
“Well I'm going to go eat some breakfast. Just checking up to see if you heard anything.”
“Nope. It'll be okay though. They're tough boys,” Lucy said happily.
“Tough boys? Why would that matter?” Again a pause.
“I just mean they can take care of themselves! Anyway, I got to head out too. I'll talk to you later. Goodbye!” Lucy hung up. Kelly slowly put the phone back into her pocket. She felt something was funny. Nothing seemed to fit right. She leaned against her front door, wondering why secrets kept piling up. What was so important that no one would let her know?
Fred sat in the room. Alone and cold once again. He hated it. Yet he kept calm. His friends were working on a way to help him. As long as he waited, he would be free. The voice reminded him to run and get out at times but he ignored it. This time he kept a focused mindset of getting out of here and being free.
He knew the voice was now a demon. It was Riven. The demon that possessed him after being bitten, trying to take over his mind. Riven almost accomplished it the other day. Fred was so afraid he might transform back to that terrible creature that he almost wanted to stay in the cell forever. It was easier this way.
He heard the door open and stood up. “Hello?” he asked but no one answered. He walked over to the glass window but saw nothing. “What the heck?” He walked to the edge of the glass window to see if anyone walked in. Nothing.
He backed off the glass window and looked around. He began to worry again. Was something trying to harm him? He went to grab his Rod. Nothing was there. “They took it away idiot! Just be calm. No one is there.” He slowly backed to the wall and watched. Nobody came in.
He let out a sigh. Just a malfunction. Why was he so worried? No one wanted to even come in the room. They were too scared of him. He was scared of himself.
The door to his cell flew open. He jumped again. He stood waiting for someone to walk through. Yet again, no one came in. “Hello?” he called again. No one answered. He saw a piece of paper outside the doorway. He tip toed towards it. He kept his guard up every step he took, glancing back and forth to see if someone set a trap.
He leaned down to grab the paper, lifted it up and looked around again. Still no one was there. He looked back at the letter and read it.
Upstate New York Station. Head there right now. Your friends are in danger. They will die without you. Good luck.
He looked back up after reading. He tried to find who dropped it off but no one was there. He stepped out of his cell and ran to the doorway. Even the hallways in the station were completely isolated. Not a single person was here at the moment.
He looked back at the piece of paper in his hand then towards the gym. If he left they'd put him back on trial. If his friends were in danger, he could be their only hopes for survival. He didn't even know if they were in danger. What if they were, though? He pushed the piece of paper into his pocket and looked back towards the gym. “Damn it!” he thought.
Chapter 28 – Choice
Nick pushed himself out of the pod. He felt groggy. The trip was worse than he anticipated. It took almost forty minutes and his head was throbbing. He went over to the wall and leaned against it for a moment. He kept breathing nice and slow, trying to sooth the headache.
“You okay man?” Marshall asked once getting out of the pod.
“Yeah. That trip was long. I hate that thing.”
Peter now rose from the pod wiping himself off. “Hurry and regain your posture. We have a mission to do.”
“Okay Mr. Serious, calm down. He needs a few minutes.” Marshall began stretching. Getting ready for the fight that awaited them.
“I don't mean to sound rash. It's just that this is our first major mission. I don't want to mess it up,” he said without emotion. It made it sound more like a command rather than a statement. The boys looked at him.
&nb
sp; “I got it, man. Let's do this,” Nick said pushing himself off the wall. He stretched a little bit then began heading towards the doors with the other two boys following his lead. They all felt the tense moment in their stomach. This was what they were training for. Fighting the creatures that held the biggest threat to humanity.
They marched through the doors. This Station was colored blue instead of white like their own Station back home. “Now see, this is color!” Marshall proclaimed.
They quickly made their way to the elevators and took the trip up. It was set up the exact same way as their own Station. The ride felt longer then it usually did, however. It just added to their anxiety of not being sure what awaited them above ground. All they knew is they couldn't let whatever it was stop them. This was the first big threat they had.
They all got off the elevator. Peter walked over to the map pasted on the empty cabin wall. Marshall went over to the table and sat on it. He looked around the ugly small brown cabin. Nothing special about it. It lacked any design. It only had a map, two chairs, and a table. “Well, isn't this the prettiest cabin ever?”
“It's pretty plain.” Nick looked around himself.
“That's my point. Sarcasm man!”
“I got it. I just wanted to piss you off.” Nick walked over to Peter. Peter kept his finger on the map. Guiding it across the forest area. “You see anything?”
Peter nodded. “Should be less than a mile out. It's in the middle of the forest based on the points Carl gave me.”
“Sounds fun!” Marshall exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood.
“This is serious! This is the most important mission we've ever had,” Peter said quickly. It was sharp like a school teacher. Marshall looked at him then laughed. Peter shook his head and looked to Nick.
Exterminators Infected (The Exterminators Book 1) Page 33