Awaken the Elements (Elemental Trilogy) (40 page)

             
“Maybe,” Joe stood up. He was a bit aggravated, waking up early because Autumn and Anatha said so. Who made them boss? He’d been angry since they told him who had what watch shift.

             
“What in God’s name am I walking into, boys?” His dad asked.

             
Both turned their heads slightly. “Little bitch here is threatening me,” Moss said.

             
“Take it downstairs, boys. We got it now,” Howard said and yawned wide.

             
“Autumn and Anatha didn’t mention you two taking over,” Joe said.

             
“Well, are you going to sit there and question us?” His dad asked. “Or go in and get some grub.”

             
Moss shook his head. “Dipstick,” he smacked Joe upside his head. “Let’s go.”

             
“Ouch,” he rubbed the spot Moss hit, “Fine.”

             
“You still think you’re better than me?” Moss asked as they walked down the stairs.

             
“I didn’t say I was better. I said I could do whatever you could.”

             
“So if I go outside, you’d come too?”

             
Joe’s eyes, widened and he gulped down a big lump in his throat. “Outside, with the infected?”

             
“No, outside with the leprechauns and elves, idiot.”

             
“You don’t have to be so sarcastic.” Joe crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. “I can go outside if you do.”

             
“Cool. Meet me at the main entrance in half an hour,”

             
Joe stood there. He thought about what he had just agreed to do. Did he want to do this?
Might as well get it over with
, he thought as Joe walked to the elevator. Shit, shit, shit, was the only thing going through his head at that moment.

****

             
“So what do you think?” Autumn asked.

             
Autumn and River where eating breakfast. Autumn had created a cereal that almost tasted like the stuff in the boxes. River had a major craving.  “Mmm,” he said. “This is exactly what I wanted, babe.”

             
She shot him an appreciative look “Thanks.” She reached over to the other table and grabbed the other box. “I have more.”

             
“Yay,” he said, pouring the contents into his bowl. He handed it back to Autumn. “So have we made any plans yet about where we are going when we get out of here?”

             
The question jolted her, and she accidentally spilled some cereal on the table. She looked down, ready to pick up what she dropped. “We haven’t
  
” She stopped. The cereal on the table started to move as a little black spider crawled out from under the pile of cereal.

             
Autumn looked down at her bowl as two more small spiders climbed out. She pushed her chair back so fast, she almost knocked herself backwards. River looked at her, and then down at what she saw. His eyes got wide, and he stood up, not really thinking.

             
“How did they get in there? I haven’t seen spiders in years,” River said and walked around the table to Autumn who was slowly inching her way backwards.

             
“Thank the gods we didn’t eat them,” she whispered, her face as white as a sheet, and her heart raced a million miles a minute. River nodded. The box started moving a bit. Their hearts pounded so hard it felt as if they were going to explode out of their chests. They watched as it stopped moving, and a huge black, hairy spider crawled out onto the table. Their eyes followed it as it scuttled around the table with the smaller spiders.

             
River grabbed Autumn’s arm. “I’m not going to run if you don’t,” he whispered.

             
“Deal, but we can quickly walk away.”

             
They turned and walked away rapidly. They ran into Anatha, Rowan, Jaime, and Stefan playing Monopoly. They looked up as the two came over. Autumn and River’s eyes darted around. “You guys, uh, we have a problem,” Autumn said.

             
“What’s up? It looks like you two had a run in with an infected,” Stefan said.

             
“There are spiders in the food court,” River said.

             
Anatha put her hand to her mouth and coughed.

“Are you two okay
, or are you on something?” Jaime asked.

             
Adair and Angel watched quietly. Angel whispered, “Today calls for a huge chance of showers.”

             
The monkey nodded. “Gloomy?”

             
“Nope,” he hissed.

             
“Come look,” River said. Autumn clutched his arm tightly.

             
Rowan touched Autumn’s arm, and she jumped. “You okay?”

             
She nodded her head a little too quickly, “Just a little jumpy.”

             
“She’s going to be paranoid all day now just because she had a run in with a little spider,” Anatha said.

             
“Oh, no. No, no. There was a huge one.” River put his hands out to show how big the spider was. Autumn squeezed his arm tighter as they neared the corner, walking back with the rest. The others walked around and stopped.

             
“Come on now.” Rowan grabbed Autumn and pulled her to the table and the spiders. She wouldn’t let go of River’s arm, so he came along with her. They both fought not to go.

             
“I don’t want to!” Autumn cried as she struggled to get out of Rowan’s grip. She was going to say something else, but saw Jaime and Anatha chuckling. Stefan picked up one of the spiders and walked over to them.

             
“Afraid of this?” He opened his hand, and the little black spider crawled along his palm. Autumn let out a small shriek and hid behind Rowan. River tried to hide with her. Autumn peeked over Rowan’s shoulder. Stefan started to laugh. She watched him turn the spider over and press a small button on its stomach. The little black legs went still.

             
She stared around. Her eyes fell on River, whose face was probably as pale as hers. “You did this all for a joke?” Autumn’s face started to turn red as she turned back to the others and pushed away from Rowan.

             
Stefan nodded as Jaime walked over, wiping a tear from his eye. “The look on your faces was too funny.”

             
Autumn walked out from behind Rowan and looked at them. “Shame on you. I would never take your fears out on you guys!” Her eyes turned to Anatha.

             
She shrugged. “Couldn’t resist.”

             
Autumn turned. “Fine.”

             
She walked away, dragging River. “She is mad, ain’t she?” Jaime whistled.

             
“Looks like someone is sleeping on the futon tonight,” Stefan said with a knowing smirk on his face.

             
Adair and Angel laughed. “You tell him, Stefan!” Angel said.

             
“Crap,” Rowan said. “That’s not half my problem. Autumn is good, and you know she’s going to come up with something to get back at us.”

             
“Yep,” Anatha said, rubbing her hands together. “It’s going to be good.”

****

             
“Got it?” River asked.

             
“Yes, sir.” Autumn didn’t want to say much because Anatha was sitting by them. Just then Moss walked in. “What the hell is he wearing?” Autumn asked loudly.

             
“I don’t know,” Anatha eyed her brother’s costume. He wore layers of pads, a football helmet, and the pads were wrapped over him with duct tape. Ivy Lee ran in with Envy.

             
“What do they have?” River asked.

             
“Those girls are crazy,” Adair said as his tail whipped back and forth, hitting Angel.

             
He made to bite the tail, “Quit, you’re not a cat!”

             
“And you’re not a dragon,” Adair said matter-of-factly.

             
“I don’t know,” Anatha said, watching them.

             
Joe came over to Moss wearing what looked like layers of clothes. “What the hell is going on?” Autumn asked, eyeing the weird outfits.

             
“I don’t know, but I know I don’t like it. I also know I’m going to figure it out right now.” Anatha hoisted herself off the ground and walked over to her brother. “Moss, you idiot, what the hell are you doing?”

             
“Going to whip me some zombies.” He shoved his baseball bat into the makeshift holder on his back.

             
“You have gone and lost your mind like momma!” Anatha said.

             
“Nope, just going to have some fun,” he said, his tone dark and deep. He gave her a big smile, and she swore it was the smile of a crazy person.

             
“What are you two doing?” Autumn was asking her sister and Ivy Lee.

             
“We’re their back up.” Envy held her electronic stapler.

             
“See? Crazy!” Adair said.

             
“You’re all crazy,” Autumn said not only to Moss, Joe, Envy, Ivy Lee, but also Adair and Angel.

             
“We’re just going to have some fun. Want to join us?” Joe asked.

             
“I have no interest in being around the infection again,” she replied.

             
He shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

             
“Open the security gates,” Moss demanded.

             
“Was that an order?” she asked.

             
“Maybe.” he squinted at her.

             
Autumn crossed her arms over her chest. “No.”

             
“Is that your final answer?”

             
“Yes.”

             
“Fine,” he turned to Anatha. “Open the gates.”

             
“No.”

             
“Why not?” Moss’s voice got higher with his anger.

             
“I can’t.”

             
Moss stomped his right foot and spun to face Autumn again. “Give her the fucking key!”

             
“No.”

****

             
Jaime watched from the third level. He shook his head as he heard Moss demand Autumn give up the key for the third time. “What’s going on?” Marie asked.

             
“Moss has gone nuts. I think he’s going to take the security key from Autumn,” he said, eyes glued to the spectacle down below.

             
“Ain’t that the key she wears around her neck?” she asked.

             
“Yep.”

             
“What’s going on?” Drake asked after waking from the commotion and coming out to see what was going on. “I thought I heard a scream or something.”

             
“The people downstairs have lost their marbles,” Marie said. “Moss is going to do something to Autumn if she doesn’t give up the key to the security gate.”

             
“What’s up?” Stefan asked, looking down.

             
“Some bad shit,” Drake replied. “Looks like a fight or something.”

             
“Who’s fighting?” Rowan and Linden also looked over. “What’s going on down there?” Linden asked.

             
“I think Moss has gone crazy and is going to go out and destroy the infected. It looks like he’ll do whatever he can to get the key,” Jaime said

             
“Autumn has the key,” Rowan said.

             
“Yeah, I know,” he replied.

             
“Not good,” Rowan replied and made his way to the stairs.

****

             
“Give me the fucking key!” Moss screamed in her face as Joe and Envy held back a struggling River.

             
“I said no, and if you ask again the answer will be the same,” Autumn said, still calm.