Mind Games

Chapter 17

It was dark. Everything was pitch black, I couldn't even see my hand as I moved it in front of me. I rustled in the darkness searching for Katrina and Damien. "Katrina. Where are you? Can you hear me?" I panicked. "I'm right here, Cole. Stop freaking out." Katrina said nearby. I sighed in relief. She was okay. But where was Damien. "God dammit, I told him to clean this shit up. He never listens to me." Damien said nearby in an irritated voice. "Where are we?" I asked. "You my friend are sitting in horse manure. We're at my brother's farm in Texas. We'll be safe here for a while. Come on, let's get out of here, I don't feel like sitting in horse shit. Not my cup of tea." Damien said. I couldn't argue with that, this wasn't my idea of a fun time if you know what I mean. I stood up and brushed off my clothes, at least now I could see shadows. We followed Damien out of the barn and to the front door of his brother's house. The door opened just enough to peek through the crack. "Open up, knuckle head. It's your big brother." Damien said. The door opened and a man, a little taller than Damien motioned us to come inside, shutting the door behind us. Damien and the man engaged in a quick hug, something I never thought I would see Damien do. "Glad to see you made it in one piece." The man said, taking a step back. "Xavier I would like you to meet Cole and Katrina. Katrina is my right hand woman. She is my second in command. She found Cole on the bus; he can be the key to stopping these people." Damien said, walking over to the kitchen. "Nice to finally meet you, Katrina. Damien has told me a lot about you. Thank you for keeping his ass in line." Xavier laughed. Xavier looked at me then and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Cole. Haven't heard so much about you." He gave me a pat on the back. "Yeah same to you. Nice home you got, it's cozy." I said sarcastically. He smiled and turned to Damien, ignoring my comment. "How about I make a pot of coffee? We can talk about everything over some coffee and pizza." He smiled. "I'm not hungry." I said quickly. "I wasn't asking you, Cole. Damien what good was bringing a wise ass into my house? You know that it's only going to piss me off." Xavier said. "What good is it for us to be here?" I said. I was getting frustrated. We were crunched for time and we were wasting our time in this cramped house. "Well if you have such a problem with it you can leave." Xavier said. "Cole, knock it off and shut up." Damien looked at me. "No. We're on the run and you bring us here? I just fell into a stall full of horse shit." Damien cut me off. "Cole can I speak to you in the kitchen?" Damien asked, giving me a stern look. I started to say something but Damien stopped me. "Now, Cole." He said, making it clear that he was serious. I took a deep breath and followed Damien into the other room.

"What the hell are you doing in there? What's gotten into you? You're never like that, why now?" Damien said, jabbing his finger into my chest. "We just were raided, Damien. I'm sick of running. I want to get somewhere where I don't have to run anymore. Being here isn't going to get me there faster." I said pushing his hand away. "No but it's going to give you a safe place to sleep for a couple of days until we figure everything out. So why don't you shut your smart ass mouth of yours and think before you speak. Use your brain; do you have any idea what Xavier can do to you?" Damien said raising his voice a little. "I can take him." I said quickly. "Do you really want to risk that?" Damien said. I didn't say anything. "Sorry. I'm just tired and I stink like shit." I leaned up against the wall. "Yeah well, I know how you feel. Just play it cool would you? Xavier is helping us and risking his life for us. He is going to help us a lot and he has the resources to do it. Now go back in there and kiss his ass. I don't care what you have to do, just do it. Do I make myself clear?" Damien said. "Crystal." I said my tone as sharp as it could be.

He turned back down the hall and into back into the room with Xavier and Katrina. "Where's this pizza and coffee you mentioned, Xavier? I'm starving." Damien said. I walked back into the room with everyone and Xavier gave me a look. "Sorry, I was just... I'm just really tired." I smiled as I stood in front of Xavier. "No hard feelings?" I said sticking out my hand. Xavier looked at me and then looked down at where my arm extended out waiting for him to shake it. He looked back up at me and chuckled. He took my hand and shook it. "Why don't we go have some pizza like we talked about earlier, then well work on finding all of you a place to sleep for the night? We have a long few days ahead of us, might as well rest up." Xavier said going into the kitchen.