CHAPTER FIFTEEN - BALL PLAY
Brian was laughing as kicked the ball away from B. The boy gave him a friendly push before running in chase of it, trying to trip Brian up in the process to stop him from reaching it before he did. Brian grinned as he seized B about the waist to halt him.
“Hey that’s cheating!” B complained as he stumbled, allowing Brian to shoot at one of the makeshift goals they had created out of empty sacks.
“Oh B, I think you’re losing!” Brian teased.
“Yeah and I think you’re cheating!” B complained only to receive a cheeky smile from Brian. B frowned slightly. “I’ll get you back!” he threatened playfully.
Brian raised an eyebrow daringly. “How?”
B suddenly threw a discarded sack over Brian’s head. “Hey!” Brian cried as his vision was replaced by sudden darkness.
“If you’re gonna cheat you may as well do it properly!” B’s voice said teasingly and Brian could hear the smile on his face.
Brian struggled to move the rough sack from his head but by the time he had, B had already dashed to the goal and kicked the ball in. He turned and grinned at Brian, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. He stuck his tongue out at Brian. “I believe we’re about even now!” he laughed.
Brian’s eyes narrowed, but inside he felt light and happy as he actually did something normal with B for once. He suddenly pounced on the boy just before he could run for the ball again, knowing that B was ticklish as hell.
“Get off!” B cried as he laughed.
Brian however refused to let him go and B sunk to the floor in an attempt to break away from him. “You’re mean,” he said as he hit the ground. “Do you always cheat like that?”
“Only when I think I’m gonna lose!”
“Just ‘cause I’m better than you!”
“You wish!” Brian suddenly caught sight of the time on his watch. “Woah, we’ve been here two hours already. Wanna go get something to eat? We’ll call this match a draw.”
“A draw? No way! I won because you were cheating!”
“I’ll give you a re-match next time, only we’ll play basketball. Then you really will get your butt kicked!”
“I’m good at basketball,” B replied, a daring smile upon his face. “Even if you cheat you won’t beat me!”
“Really? We’ll see then!” Brian retrieved the ball from the far wall and threw the goal sacks back into the dusty pile at the side. “Let’s go grab some food and find your brother!” Brian said as he threw the ball at B for him to catch.
Brian knew that while he had been playing with B Sammy had been helping with the questioning of the Gerai prisoner. He had not allowed his thoughts to drift that way whilst he had been laughing with B, but it had permanently lurked at the back of his mind.
B smiled at him as he tossed the ball from hand to hand as he followed him out of the empty storeroom and Brian was just pleased to see him happy, and to see that the two of them weren’t arguing. It was as they walked into the corridor that they walked into Sammy.
“Hey Sammy!” b cried cheerfully as he threw the ball at his older brother.
The second Brian saw Sammy’s face he knew that there was bad news to tell. The usual shimmer in his blue eyes was now replaced with the dull gleam of worry and his face was trouble with a frown. He fumbled for a moment but still managed to catch the ball.
“Uh, dad can I have a word?” he asked.
“Sure,” Brian replied, trying to stop his voice from cracking. “B, do you wanna go on ahead? We’ll catch you up.”
“Okay.” B looked nervously at Sammy. “Everything’ll right?”
Sammy laughed, but Brian could see that it was slightly strained. He smiled at B and threw the ball back at him. “Fine, don’t worry.”
B seemed to accept that still cheerful after the game with Brian. “Okay, I’ll go find Lance then,” he said. He gave them both one last smile before setting off by himself in the direction of the dining hall.
“What’s up?” Brian asked quietly, checking to make sure that B was well out of earshot.
Sammy glanced about them also and then led Brian into the secluded storeroom. “Darren and Kevin finished the questioning.”
“And?”
Sammy looked uncomfortable and Brian could feel everything growing heavier inside of him. “They’re definitely after B,” Sammy told Brian.
Brian stared at him, something had suddenly turned cold and vile within his stomach, even though he had known what Sammy said to be true before he had even opened his mouth. “Certain?” he whispered.
Sammy nodded slowly. “They want the virus.
Brian slowly sat down on the bench in the tiny storeroom and rested his head in his hands. What were they going to do? One wrong move now and Brian and Sammy could lose their youngest family member. “I knew it.” He looked up at Sammy. “Why is it always him?” he asked rhetorically. Since he had been five years old the Gerai had hunted him unceasingly.
Sammy sighed as he sat down on the bench beside Brian. “I don’t know. Bad luck I guess.”
Brian laughed grimly. “I don’t think luck likes us much.” Especially B…
“Don’t say that. We’ve come through a lot and survived. Look at us, who would have thought that we would actually be together after we thought you were dead? If that isn’t luck, then I don’t know what is,” Sammy said softly as he placed an arm about his father’s shoulders.
Brian smiled at him. Even now he was still close to Sammy, even though he was not even Brian’s real son. There would always be a special bond between them though. Brian knew that he meant the world to Sammy for being there when there was nobody else. “Lady Luck is calling in her debts now,” he said sadly. Maybe the luck Brian’d had was to make up for the appalling life his youngest son had been forced to endure.
Sammy said nothing in reply and for a long time only their silence echoed about the empty storeroom. Ten minutes ago it had been filled with B and Brian’s shouts as they had chased each other for the ball. Brian had not even thought of being melancholy then.
“Where did B go?” Sammy asked finally.
“He went to go get something to eat. I didn’t really want him to hear this yet. We’ve had a great day and I don’t want it to be spoilt for him.”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to just you first.” Again Sammy was quiet for a few moments. “We’ll get through this.”
“How?” Everyday the chances of ever fighting this seemed to diminish. How was B ever going to grow up and lead a normal life? What would it be like if he ever wanted to get married and have children of his own?
“By not letting the Gerai take B,” Sammy replied. “We’re dug in well here. As long as we’re cautious, we can protect him without having to lock him up anywhere down here.”
Brian nodded. At least they were well hidden here. Like the Geari base, the entrances were well hidden and it would be difficult for anybody to invade it.
“Do you think we should tell B?” he asked eventually.
“Yes,” Sammy confessed. “Just so that he knows he ahs to be careful and he won’t like us hiding it from him. He’s sensitive about that kinda stuff.”
And he was smart enough to be able to figure it out for himself. He already suspected that everything was about him.
“They destroyed our village for him?”
Sammy nodded grimly. “I’m afraid so.”
“Don’t tell him that. Tell him we know they’re after him, but not about our village. I don’t want him to think it was his fault.” B was already being plagued by guilt that had wrapped it’s tendrils about him. He was too young to have that on his head and besides, it was the Gerai, not him, who had destroyed the village.
“All right, but I think he already knows.”
“Well I don’t want to confirm his suspicions. I don’t know what that kind of guilt will do to him and I don’t want to know.” He leaned back against the wall in exasperation and screwed his eyes shut as if by wishing hard enough he could change everything that surrounded him into a much nicer, calmer world.
“You okay?” Sammy asked gently.
“Yes. Just… stress…” His head hurt, his heart hurt and he hated the way everything good seeped through his fingers. He could not stop anything.
“I think this is getting to all of us. We thought it was over, but it’s not. There’s not much further to go now though.”
Until more Gerai appeared or some other terrorists who liked the sound of the blueprints B carried in his arm. He would never be safe until they could remove the chip and destroy it without hurting B. That was out of the question though. Just probing the chip had almost killed him.
“I need to keep myself busy or I’m gonna go nuts. You need any help in plotting attacks?” he asked.
“That would be cool, but I think that Darren wants to appoint you as B’s bodyguard. I only know because he’s compiled a list of duties for everyone to prepare for a Gerai attack and your name isn’t on it.”
Which meant he was going to be B’s bodyguard, even though he was perfectly capable of working with weapons or even fighting. He’d dome it all before, but he would prefer being close to B so that he could a watchful, parental eye on him.
“Makes sense,” Brian agreed. “But I don’t want B to think I’m smothering him though. I have to walk on hot coals sometimes when I’m with him to avoid an argument. I don’t want him to get annoyed with me. We’re actually starting to click now.”
He’d not had fun with B like he had done today in weeks and that had been when Sammy was there to play mediator. Today he had been able to tease B without receiving any of the usual grumpy remarks which meant that he was becoming more comfortable with him.
Sammy thought for a moment. “How about we take it in turns? We can probably get AJ or Kevin in on it as well if they’re not too busy and we take it in turns to keep on eye on B. That way he won’t get annoyed with one person constantly following him and he might not notice so much if we keep swapping.”
“That’s a good idea. I love spending time with him, but too much might result in an argument,” Brian replied sadly.
“I think he’ll be okay. It’s just taken a while for him to adjust. He does love you though,” Sammy said. “Believe me.”
Brian smiled warmly at him. “Thanks.”
“Ah, Bri, Sammy,” a deep voice suddenly said.
Both of their heads immediately turned to see Kevin peering at them from the doorway. He brusquely approached them. “Sammy, have you told Bri yet?”
Sammy nodded. “Yes.”
“I take it I’m to be his bodyguard?” Brian said.
Kevin nodded. “He’ll moan if it’s anybody but you or Sammy.”
“He’ll moan anyway if it’s me,” Brian pointed out.
“Not as much as if it were Darren. Bri don’t be so negative. He loves you to death no matter how much you yell at him.”
“I don’t yell at him!” Brian protested. He noticed the slight look Sammy and Kevin exchanged. Oh God, was he really that terrible? He tried not too; he tried so hard. Was he truly always shouting at B? He did not really noticed, he knew they argued a lot but he had never assumed that it was his fault. “I try not to,” he added meekly.
“He deserves it sometimes, he’s not always easy,” Kevin said. “Don’t worry about it.”
But Brian was worrying about it now.
Sammy laughed and rubbed his shoulder. “You’re his dad, you’re supposed to shout at him when he’s acting up!”
But from the sounds of it he shouted at him too much.
“We’re not going to get anything else out of our prisoner,” Kevin said changing the subject. “Not without beating him but we don’t’ wanna do that. But we might be in luck anyway, or bad luck depending on how you look at it.”
“What do you mean?” Sammy asked.
“Howie’s been spying on the Gerai base with a team and he’s just reported to say that the Gerai are on the move.”
“What’s good about that?” Brian snapped, failing to see any luck in the situation.
“Howie saw them leave which means he now has a rough idea where one of the entrances to the base is so he knows where to look. The bad news is that they are heading this way but there’s not many. Darren’s going to send a small team out to meet them half way. Better stop them before they get anywhere near us or a village.”
Brian nodded, they did not want another massacre on their hands.
****************************
“Hey B!” Lance called as he waved at his ‘friend’ who had just entered the dinning area. The boy was unaccompanied, which mean that the resistance were confident that no Gerai could get into the base and snatch him. Oh if only they knew…
B smiled at him and immediately came dashing over. This brat had been too easy to fool… They all had.
“Hey Lance! How’s it going?” B was all too eager to pull up a seat to join his older friend at his table. B thought that Lance was only a year older, he didn’t realise that he was in fact almost twenty four. He was just lucky in possessing one of those innocent faces which could get away with anything.
“Guess what? I got a message the other day from my uncle! He’s alive! I didn’t think I had any family left, but I still have him. Darren’s thinks it’s great!”
And Darren had no idea that he was about to allow another Gerai member into his base. Of course, the newcomer wasn’t really Lance’s uncle but it was a good guise to get his back up into the base. He still doubted if he would be able to take B by himself.
“Hey, that’s great!” B said, his eyes lighting up in happiness for Lance. “When’s he arriving?”
“Tomorrow morning,” lance said, grinning like an idiot. “You’ll have to meet him B. he’s real cool. You’ll like him.”
B nodded, his gullible face so trusting. “Sure, I’d love to.”
“Hey guys, can I sit here?” Nick asked suddenly as he appeared from behind Lance.
Lance smiled up at him, trying to hard his grimace. Nick annoyed him. The blond was always smiling or laughing about some stupid joke.
“Have a seat,” b said politely. “But I want the other tow saving for my dad and Sammy ‘cause they’ll be here in a minute.”
“That’s okay because I won’t be long. I wanted to ask if you two would mind being volunteers for me. I need to collect blood samples from lots of people in the base to help with the viral research. It won’t take long and I only need a small sample.”
“Vampire,” B said.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Can I count you guys in? It won’t hurt.”
B shrugged. “I guess. What about you Lance?”
Not wanting to appear reluctant or unfriendly, Lance nodded. “Okay.”
Nick grinned that annoying cheesy grin. “Great. I’ll need you both in the medical centre tomorrow morning at about eleven. It won’t take more than five minutes.”
“Okay. I can meet my uncle just before I go,” Lance replied.
“Oh I heard about that. It must be nice to find him alive. Right, I need to round up a few more volunteers. I’ll catch you two later!”
“Bye!” B said as he waved. He turned back to lance. “So what’s this uncle like then Lance?”
Big, strong, smart and more than a match for the irritating Bri or Sammy. No one was going to be able to stop them from taking B.
Lance grinned. “Like I said, I think you’ll like him a lot.”