The Institutum

Chapter Nine- Rhett: Childhood Memories

Rhett

Glancing at the clock, Rhett saw that it was pretty late. 6:22 PM. According to Elsie, there was no telling how long this was going to take. He knew one thing: he could not let Catalina stay here alone. The Fures would definitely try to use her as leverage against him. The rest of the family was relatively safe, but he would still post someone to protect them.

"Get a coat or something," he said. "We're going."

Catalina looked at him for a moment, then scampered to find her jacket. "Where are we going?"

Rhett raised his eyebrows, suggesting he didn't know what was going on, "D.C., apparently."

The thing about being a part of the Institutum was that it never ended. There would always be evil in the world, so there would always be work to do. Rhett wasn't necessarily upset out it, but he could still act like it, couldn't he?

Rhett walked out the house with Catalina at his heels, tugging on her sweater. "Do you know," he questioned, "how far of a drive it is?"

Catalina shook her head. "I've never been there. A few hours, probably."

Rhett hummed, "It'll be late here by the time we get there."

"How long will we be there?" Catalina asked.

"Uh, I don't know. It looks like it might take a while. I don't think anyone knows exactly."

Catalina scrunched her eyebrows. "But I have school tomorrow."

"Ah," he said, "you can afford to miss one day, don't worry about it."

Catalina didn't look convinced.

Once in the mustang, Rhett turned on his GPS, which instructed him to turn onto Caramel Drive. "I'm already on Caramel Drive," Rhett griped.

Catalina reached up and turned on the radio, and the local R&B station came softly through the speakers. Catalina looked out at the buildings out the window of the car. She settled into the seat, sighing.

***

Rhett could hardly see out the windshield anymore. The highway was mostly empty, it was dark, and it was raining. Lighting lit up the sky for just a few seconds before it was back to darkness. Rhett sighed listening to the quiet patter of rain and the radio, the sounds mixing together in a beautiful harmony. Catalina had been asleep for a while now, not that they had talked much.

His tank was approaching empty, and they were coming up on a town. Rhett pulled off into the exit. Driving a little ways longer, he came upon a gas station. The neon lights made him squint a little. He stopped the car, and Catalina sat up.

"Where are we?" she said sleepily, running a hand across her face. Her brown eyes slowly blinked at him as she glanced over.

"Not sure. Gas station."

Rhett could feel her watching him as he got out to pump the gas. "I'm going to use the restroom," she called, opening her door too.

Rhett nodded, looking at the pump. They were in a rather small town, about half way to DC. According to his GPS, they had somewhere around two hours left in their trip. It was nearing 9:00, and Rhett was no where near tired. He figured Catalina wasn't really tired, just bored. He absent-mindedly paid for the gas and sat back in the car. Catalina still wasn't back.

After another five minutes of sitting in the car, Rhett decided he should go in. He locked the car and jogged up to the gas station, mentally cursing the rain. The bells on the door jingled as Rhett shook the water out of his hair.

Catalina's voice could be heard from the candy aisle, talking to the cashier. "Do you think I should get Twizzlers or chips?" she asked.

"Twizzlers are better. Always get the candy," the cashier lady said. Her eyes darted over to Rhett, who still hadn't moved from the doorway. "Can I help you?" she asked.

Rhett smiled at her. "No, I was just coming in here to bother Cat," he laughed.

At the sound of his voice, Catalina popped her head up over the shelves. She smiled. "Hey, Rhett! Do you have money?"

Rhett rolled his eyes and nodded, paying for the bag of twizzlers. He liked them anyway.

Once safely inside the Mustang, Catalina started talking. "Twizzlers always remind me of my mom. When I was little we used to sit in the living room and eat an entire bag of them. Sometimes she would read me books or we would listen to music, or watch TV." She sighed. "Those were good days. Some of my fondest memories, actually. What's your favorite memory of when you were young?"

Rhett thought for a moment, pulling back onto their original course. "Well, uh, when I was around five, Elsie took me to an amusement park, we had so much fun. I remember playing around with the carnival games and she even won me a stuffed bear. I think I still have it. We got cotton candy and big giant sodas that I wasn't allowed to have because it was late. And then another time, Carter took me to the park and we played knights. Oh, and I remember when Elsie and I watched Nemo for the first time." Rhett had a big goofy smile on his face. He needed this reminder.

"Why do you call your parents by their first names?" Catalina asked.

"Huh?" Rhett said, glancing at her, then back at the road. "Oh, no, Elsie is my supervisor, and Carter is my trainer."

Catalina looked confused. "So where were your parents growing up?"

"Um, well, they weren't always around, I guess. I mean they were there, they just left me with Elsie more often. They had work to do. When they were around, my mom would teach me stuff. I mean, I liked spending time with her, it's just not one of my favorite memories."

"Oh," Catalina said.

"So once we get there, I'm gonna have to get you some gear of some sort. We can't have you wandering around without any sort of weapon."

"Like your jacket?"

Rhett chuckled. "I mean if you want one, sure. I was thinking more like a knife..."

"I want one." Catalina looked at him hesitantly. "Can I get a sword?"

Rhett laughed. "Well, I'll see if I can find one."

***

Two hours and one bag of Twizzlers later, the gray mustang arrived in the nation's capitol.

"Alright," Rhett said. "Chris told me to meet him at the corner of New York and Fourteenth..."

"Over there," Catalina said, pointing to the left.

Spotting Chris, Rhett pulled up to the curb. He rolled down the passenger window. "Hey, Chris!"

Chris nodded at him. "It looks like they're  really concentrated around the National Archives. We're sending some guys over that way, you might want to come."

"Okay. Hey, you got the stuff for Cat?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I couldn't find an actual sword," he said, giving Catalina a 'why on earth did you even want a sword' look, "But, here's a really long knife. Be careful with it. And here's a jacket." He gave her the light colored leather.

Catalina smiled widely. "Thanks!" Rhett watched her look over her new things. She had a childish sort of glow about her. She looked amazed to be getting these things. Her eyes glowed with happiness, fawning over the rather normal gifts.

Chris cleared his throat. "You gonna go?"

Rhett shook his head. "Oh, yeah, right." He pressed the gas. "Alright, Catalina. Let's go see what all the fuss is about."

Sorry it's short! And sorta boring...

This chapter is dedicated to @Luna_The_Dove for her support on this story :) thanks so much Luna!

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