The Pioneers

Chapter 12

Through the window, there didn't appear to be anyone else in sight.

           "They're all conforming to it," Aaron said.

           "It's not like that wasn't expected," Kylie said.

           Aaron glared. "You could at least pretend that you're concerned with me."

           "I'm plenty concerned," she said. "I'm just not surprised."

          He stepped away from the high window in the skyscraper, back to the middle of the empty room. Eli—as they liked to call the redhead—had left a couple hours prior. They had their suspicions that the room was bugged, but that didn't affect their conversation much.

            As well as they'd trained themselves to be observant, they didn't know much. They'd just be repeating the same questions everyone else had.

           "You could pretend that I'm as smart as you for a change, too," Aaron said, smirking at her.

            She chuckled. "Not in a million years, my dear."

             "Yeah, I didn't think so," he said, moving over to her side. He put his arm around her shoulders. "You're as bad as your son."

              Kylie glared. "Because I raised him right?"

              Aaron leaned up against the windowsill. "I took that kid fishing a couple of months ago."

              "And . . . ?"

              "We never caught anything," he said. "But somehow, he managed to tell me every name of every fish known to man. And their sizes. And the mythological origins behind their names."

              "Forgive me, but I don't see how that's a bad thing . . . I don't like fish. I didn't want to eat it anyways."

           "The problem is that no other thirteen-year-old boy should care about anything but catching the fish!" Aaron laughed. "He called me stupid."

              Kylie's eyes widened. "Really?"

                "Yes . . . I . . ." he shrugged. "It was implied. Point is, you're both annoying brainiacs."

                "Huh. I'm annoying. Glad to know."

                He smiled, pulling her into a hug. "And a brainiac, remember."

                "Uh huh," she said. "That's what I've been waiting to hear from my true love all my life."

                 They laughed together, moving away from each other to sit on the ground with their backs against the wall. It was more comfortable compared to the stone ground of the cavern, which he was grateful for. Although, he wouldn't have complained if they'd provided a pillow, at least.

                 "I want to go down there," Kylie said.

                 ". . . All joking aside," Aaron said, tensing his shoulders. "How well would you be able to contain yourself if I told you something big?"

               Kylie rubbed her eyebrows. "I might scream, but that's about it."

               Aaron smiled. He stood and walked across the room, then motioned for her to follow him.

              Next to a window on the other side, Aaron put a finger to his lips, and then moved it to point a little way to the distance, at the tiniest speck on the ground.

              "Is that—"

               "Shush," Aaron said, but nodded.

               Kylie put a hand over her mouth. "If someone se—"

               "Weird looking houses, I know," he said, glaring at her.

               She huffed, leaning her head in closer to the view.

               Two children, puny little brainiacs, had come up with an escape plan sooner than anyone else.