Death From Below

Chapter 26

I smile at them and head down the hall to check out the other bedrooms available. I find one that is a decent size and sit down on the bed, and all the emotions that I have been holding in ever since Garrett first captured me begin to rush out all at once. Fear, confusion, pain, and so many more surge through me like electricity. How is he still alive?, Why didn't he talk to me that day? Why didn't he stay with me? are just a few of the thousands of questions that kept popping up in my head.

I walk over to the doors on the far wall and open them, the one on the left is a decent size closet, and the one on the right is a bathroom. I walk over to the door and call out for Josh. He appears at the doorway of the room next to mine and smiles down at me. "Can you go grab me my bathroom bag and a change of clothes, please?" I ask him as he looks down at my leg and the bleeding bite mark. I head into the bathroom and turn on the water to the tub, and sigh in relief. It begins to warm up, and I fill it up to almost the top edge.

I hear a knock at the door and head over to open it to see Josh standing there with two of my bags, and I smile at him. "Thank you for getting these. I want to try and clean up some before going around the girls." I tell him as he nods and leaves the room. I undress and crawl into the warm water with a loud sigh and relax against the back of the tub. Using the soap out of my bag along with my loofa and began to wash my body. I notice the water had become dirty quickly and had to drain it. I refill it with clean water. The pain from my wound was preventing me from just standing up and taking a shower.

After the second refill of the bath, I just turned on the shower and took a shower while sitting down. I had to wash my hair three times and my body twice before becoming fully clean. I wrap my towel around me and take my bags to my bed, where I dress my wound and take some pain meds to help with the aches and pains. I slip on a tank top and sweat pants along with my slippers and head downstairs to the others. I find the hallway, living room, and kitchen in perfect condition.

"Wow, you guys, you are doing amazing! Need any help?" I ask, taking a seat on a stool at the island. "No, Harper, you have been through enough," Ethan says while hugging me and heading over the stove. He takes off a tea kettle and pours the water into a cup that has a teabag in it. Sophia hands him some sugar, and he begins to make three cups of hot tea and hands one to me. I take a small sip and turn to see the rest of my friends join us by all standing around the kitchen. I turn to face them as Garrett and Dante walk in, laughing. Both of them smile over at me, automatically causing me to smile back at them.

"I have been thinking about how I am going to go to see the guy my parents have contact with," I tell them as we settle down around the room. "I am going to take Dante and Tristan with me. The rest of you guys are going to stay here. I will take my phone and turn it on at random times to call you guys and check up on everyone." I tell them as they all start to argue about my decision. "I am doing this for everyone, Garrett has the strength to help you guys, and Josh has the military training to help you all as well," I explain as they start to quiet down.

"I will be leaving the girls here with you guys since it should be a lot safer here than out there with us. I know this is asking a lot from you all. I am trusting you all with them. I have to do this." I tell them as I look down at the girls in the playpen that Sofia had set up. "Hopefully, this doesn't take too long, and he can help me learn more about what is going on and if he knows how to stop it," I say as I drink more of my tea. Sofia pulls out her little notebook and starts writing stuff down to make it easier for all of us.

I begin packing up my backpack with some stuff that I will need and set it by the door along with my shoes. Dante and Tristan follow my lead, and we all sit down for supper with the rest of the group. "When do you all plan to head out?" Josh asks as we all begin to eat, "Tonight. If the guys are okay with that?" I end with a question while glancing over at them both. I receive nods since their mouths are full and nod in return as I finish my meal in silence. Once I am done and have everything together, I say my goodbyes and end up caving and letting Garrett come with us since we have been away from each other from the start.

Once he comes downstairs with his bag, we head out the door and begin to make our way to his location. I left the truck with the others and chose to go by foot the rest of the way. I had to stop a lot of times, and we had come across a couple of those things along the way until finally, we got to the swamp. The place was creepy. It was dark with only the glow from the moon and a small boat.