Just Ozzie

Chapter 18

"Ashley!" I called there was still no answer. I looked around for something I could use to see down the tunnel, I couldn't find anything.
"Ashley?" I called again. Still nothing. There weren't any matches I could throw down and Kamesh had the flashlight. I just needed Ashley to respond so I could know she's ok.
I grabbed the basketball and dropped it down the tunnel hoping it'll land on Ashley. It did and she grunted in pain.
"Ashley?" I called.
"Ozzie?" She said. "Did you just drop the basketball on my stomach?"
"Where are you?" I asked avoiding the question. "What happened?"
"I fell". She answered. "And its dark, I can't see anything". "Wait, I think I have some matches".
Suddenly a small flicker of light came on. I could see down the tunnel but not very clearly.
The tunnel went down about 15 feet. Its luck that Ashley didn't bust her head open from falling. The tunnel seemed to be a sewer. I noticed that there was a slimy old ladder attached to the wall of the tunnel.
"This place smells like shit". I heard Ashley mutter.
"Well its a sewer", I replied. "Now get back up here and use the ladder so you won't fall again".
"Fuck that, the ladder is the reason why I fell in the first place".
Ashley moved the match around so she could see her surroundings better. "Hey, this is some sort of secret passage". She said. Ashley gasped realizing something. "What if it's a passage to the medicine room?"
I groaned. "No Ashley, this is a sewer used to drain the water from these showers".
"If it was just a drainage system, it wouldn't be so big". "We should explore". She shot back. "It wouldn't hurt just to check, so get down here".
I just wanted to get Ashley back to the surface before someone walks in but there's no way of changing her mind.
I made sure nobody was watching then climbed down the tunnel. The ladder was wet and felt greasy in my palms. I had several more bars to climb.
"No Ozzie don't use the ladder!" Ashley cried. The bar my hands were holding onto, broke. I fell for what felt like 10 stories. This must be how Ashley fell. I could've really hurt myself if Ashley didn't break my fall. She tried to catch me but I just brought her down with me.
I lied on the damp concrete trying to take in the new pain in my back. Then, I got on my feet and helped Ashley up.
"Why'd you wait last minute to tell me about the ladder being weak?" I asked a bit irritated.
"I thought you'd figure out the ladder was the reason I fell and just jump down". Ashley replied. "Besides, I somewhat caught you didn't I?"
I groaned and ignored her. It was dark again because Ashley dropped the match.
"Light another match". I said.
"I don't have anymore". Ashley replied.
I took a deep breath to keep from hitting Ashley upside her head. She should've just came back up to the surface where we could've cleaned up the locker room and thought of a plan. But now we're stuck in this stinky sewer.
"Come on, I think there's a path over here". Ashley said.
"What path, we can't see anything". I snapped.
"I'm feeling the walls, it could guide us".
"That's gross, this is a sewer". "All type of crap flows threw here when the drainage is on, I bet zombies are down here".
"You sound scared". Ashley said with a chuckle. Her voice was fading away, she's leaving me. I quickly followed the sound of her footsteps and caught up with her.
This sewer was seriously disgusting and I hated every second of it. I remembered the time I fell into zombie infested sewage once, the memory made me shutter. Ashley didn't seem to have a problem with touching the grimy walls.
Ashley stopped below a small break of light that was shining through the ceiling. Ashley tapped around some more.
"This is a ladder", She said. "It doesn't seem weak and it probably leads up to that light".
"Good, then it's a way out". I grumbled.
"Or even better, a way to the medicine". Ashley started climbing the ladder to the light. I stayed at the bottom and waited for Ashley to tell me where the ladder led.
A bunch of light spread out in the sewer and it was coming from the top of the ladder. Ashley had opened the sewer cap to a bright room.
"Fucking jackpot!" She whisper cheered.
"What is it?"
"Its the medicine room, told you we'd find it".
"Whatever, what do you see?"
"I see tons of old people". She started. "A bunch of doctors, music instruments...wait, I see Kamesh".
"What's he doing?"
"He's patching up someone's knee". Ashley growled. "I think that assholes forgotten why we're here". "Dude thinks he's actually working at a danm clinic".
"And so what, that's actully helping us keep our cover". "Now just look for the medicine".
Ashley closed the sewer cap making it dark again. "Someone was coming". She explained.
We could steal the medicine now but that'll be difficult let alone reckless. Ashley slowly lifted up the cap again which lit up the sewer.
"Hey, everybody left". Ashley stated. "The room is empty, this is our chance". Ashley completely lifted up the cap and climbed out the sewer.
I cursed. "Ashley come back!" She didn't and I could smell her trail getting farther away.
I decided to cautiously climb up the ladder after her. I peeked my head up the surface.
The band room was very huge but it was cut into cubicle sections with bed sheets. A small bed and dresser was in each cubicle. I looked beyond the cubicles and spotted boxes with old instruments sticking out.
My eyes finally landed on Ashley who was inside a storage room.
The storage room had been changed to a giant cabinet for medicine. Ashley was digging through drawers.
I heard a crowd of footsteps coming back. "Ashley!" I called. "They're coming, get back over here!"
"Hold on!" She said back. "I found a bag of needles!"
"It doesn't matter now, they'll notice it's missing". "Just come back before we get caught!"
Ashley groaned and finally ran back to the sewer cap. I climbed down the ladder a bit to give Ashley room to climb down.
She quickly fit her legs through the tunnel but stopped.
"Ashley, hurry up!" I stressed. The footsteps had approached the door.
"I can't, I'm stuck!" She cried. Come to think of it, this tunnel was very narrow.
"Then how'd you even get inside in the first place?" I said pulling on her legs.
The people had opened the door and poured into the room. Right on time, Ashley finally slipped through. She fell in which bumped me off the ladder. Ashley was quick and grabbed onto a bar before she fell. I kept falling and the bars were too slippery for me to grab onto.
I landed on the damp concrete on my back. My head had hit against the floor too. Black dots began to cover up my eyesight and I suddenly felt very tired. This must be how Ashley passed out when she fell.
Ashley dropped down from the ladder and landed next to me. She tried to help me up. I forced myself to stay awake and stand up. When I did, I almost fell back down but Ashley caught me.
"Damn, you hit your head really hard". She commented trying to hold me still.
My migraine got worse. "My head is killing me". I murmured.
Ashley chuckled. "You'll get used to it".
A light shined into my face. It was Ashley and her new flashlight she must've snatched from the band room.
She kept it pointed at me as she examined my head. I finally got a hold of myself and pushed her hand aside.
"I'm fine". I said firmly. I looked up to see the sewer cap was in its place. "Did they catch you?"
"I don't think so but it was a close ass call". "Those sewer holes are super narrow". I said.
"How is someone susppose to fit through that?" Ashley added.
"Well the first hole was for drainage and I dunno what that sewer hole was for but I doubt they were made for someone to fit through".
"Well someone's fitting through it, otherwise why would there be a ladder placed there".
"The ladders are built into sewers".
"No, those ladders were placed there". "Look".
Ashley shined the light at the ladder. The ladder was old and wooden and did look like it was placed there. The ladder that broke when I used it felt wooden too. Who would place a ladder in here leading to the girls locker room and the medicine room?
I pushed the question away because it's not our problem. We need to focus on finding a way out of here.
Now that we know a secret way to the medicine, we could come at night and take it. Then again, I'm sure there's guards at night. I sighed. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, I just wanna get out this place.
Ashley let me lead the way with the flashlight. We both walked in silence. The only sound there was, were the drips of water falling into puddles. Sometimes the dirty droppings would land on our heads. I easily solved that problem by pulling up my hood. Ashley didn't have a hood anymore so the drips continued to hit her. Each time they did she'd grunt. Ashley finally got tired of it.
"Hold on". Ashley grumbled. She patted her pockets as if she was looking for something. Suddenly, Ashley paniced and started patting her clothes like crazy.
"What are doing?" I asked.
"The hat". She said. "Otis's hat, I don't have it". "Check your pockets".
Ashley always has Otis's hat on her head or in her back pocket.
"Why would I have it?"
"Just check!"
I rolled my eyes and checked my hoodie pocket then pants pockets. The only thing I pulled out my pocket was my handkerchief. "I don't have it".
Ashley groaned. "What the fuck, I could've sworn I had it before I came down here". "It was in my fucking back pocket".
A lightbulb went off in Ashley's head. She gasped. "That little shit".
"Who?"
"The runt who bumped into me after that mandatory meeting shit". "She fucking pit pocketed me, how could I be that damn blind".
"Are you sure it was her, what would she want with your hat?"
"Shit I dunno but I do know she took it".
"Well you can get it back after we get out of here".
Ashley grumbled and we continued our walk. We walked a few more steps before coming across another ray of light shining through the cracks of a sewer cap.
"Lets see what room this one leads to". Ashley suggested. She told me to go and she'd catch me again if I fell. I gave Ashley the flashlight then went up the ladder. This tunnel was narrow also.
When I got to the top, I slowly opened the cap but it was heavy. There must be something ontop of it. I pushed harder and finally lifted it up but only high enough for me to look out of.
The room was very messy but judging by the desk and size, it used to be an office. There was a sloppy bed in the back of the room. Crumbled up paper, needles, and small white bottles littered the floor. There was a table with TVs stacked on top. The picture on the TVs were colorless footage of the school. It was security footage, whoevers in here is watching us. A chair was set in the middle of the room and someone was slouching in it.
The chair slowly spun around revealing Xabi. He looked worse than before. He was slouched in the chair staring at the ceiling. A small white bottle was in his hand.
Xabi was breathing but he seemed lifeless. Was he drunk? I didn't smell any alcohol. All I smelled was blood and medicine.
I let down the sewer cap and climbed down the ladder.
"What room was it?" Ashley asked.
"It was Xabi's". I answered.
Ashley scowled at his mention. "What was he doing?"
"I dunno, he seemed asleep but his eyes were open". "He has allot of medicine in his room".
"Well no shit, the guy looks sick as hell". Ashley retorted.
We continued our walk through the sewer. We kept finding more tunnels into people's room's. Mostly old people. The sewer seemed endless and it was frustrating me. Then we finally ran into a dead end. I was about to get pissed but then I noticed a door.
The door was pretty big and looked dirty and old. It could lead out of here. Ashley tried to open it but it was locked. We decided to kick it in at the same time. The thick door swung open and revealed a old cobweb filled staircase that led up. Hopefully, to the surface.
Ashley and I carefully walked up the steps. There weren't that many. When we finally made it to the top, it led us to another tunnel.
This tunnel had lots more space and wasn't even long. There was a barred gate at the end of the gate. Snowy woods were behind the gate, finally.
Ashley and I ran towards the gate ignoring the cold wind that came at our faces. I shook the gate before noticing the door knob. It was freezing but I turned it anyway. It creaked open and Ashley and I were finally free.
It was another gloomy cold day. The snow wasn't as high as it was yesterday. The wind wasn't blowing either but I still kept my hood up. Its weird how that entire sewer system leads out to this exit over here. We're not even on school campus anymore. Now all we gotta do is find a way back to the school.
"Ozzie!" Ashley cried. She quickly grabbed my hoodie and yanked it back. A zombie fell into my previous spot.
It was very frail and was missing a stomach. The person must've been eaten alive. The only thing that was untouched was the head. The crusty skin seemed to sag forming wrinkles. The zombie's brown eyes seemed tired yet peaceful in a way. The left overs of the hair were silver. Could this be another elder that had disappeared from the school?
Because the zombie was so frail, it could barely run so it swiftly shuffled across the snow for me. I easily kicked the zombie in the stomach making the spine collapse. The zombie only had its torso now. It tried dragging itself towards us but Ashley quickly came and stomped on it's head.
"Lets get the fuck out of here". Ashley whispered. I would agree if only I knew where we were. I noticed that the place smelled familiar.
The scent was probably a day old. Then I realized that this is the same part of the woods we found Bubbe in. I should be able to track down the school that way. I followed the scent with Ashley right behind me.
We made it to the street that separates the school and the woods. Only difference from today and last night is that zombies were everywhere in this street.
We could kill a few zombies and dash for the gate but before someone could open it for us, another hoard would be there. Another disadvantage is that Ashley is unarmed. I'll be fighting for the both of us.
I pulled out my sword. Ashley tried to run straight for the gate but two zombies cut her off. I quickly ran to her rescue and sliced off the second zombie's head. The first zombie had glanced off of Ashley when it pounced. The zombie stumbled towards me.
I stepped forward and brought my sword down on its head. The blade sliced down into the rotten flesh and split the zombie in half.
More zombies were on the way but they were slow runners. This bought us only a bit of time. I scanned around for Ashley.
She was pinned to the floor by a zombie. This zombie was in good shape so it was really strong. Ashley struggled to keep the zombie's teeth away. I tried to aid her but a zombie cut me off. I needed to defeat those two quick before the other zombies come.
I quickly scanned the zombie down for advantages. This zombie was built tall and wide. Its muscular arms were torn open in some areas. One of its legs were twisted backwards so any time the knee would bend, the leg would bend inwards in a creepy position. The zombie was also missing its bottom jaw so the tonuge was just hanging out.
The only thing I saw as an advantage was the backwards leg.
The zombie rushed towards me with speed I didn't know it had. I focused hard and reacted quickly. When the zombie was close enough, I jumped up and used it's knees as a launching pad. I was in the air at the zombie's height. Before I landed back down, I held my sword lower and spun around. My attack made the zombie's head fly off.
The zombie fell with a heavy thud. I jumped over it's pool of blood and ran to Ashley.
Ashley was still managing to keep the zombie away. I kicked the zombie off of her and stabbed it in the head.
The hoard had arrived making our window for the gate disappeared. Ashley made sure to stay close to me. The hoard surrounded us.
I stayed ready. The first zombie pounced. I raised my sword but before I could strike the zombie suddenly collapsed. A large staple was in sticking out its head. The staple came from a man's staple gun.
The man was with 2 other guys who had melee weapons. They helped kill the zombies.
One of the guys were urging us to follow him into the gates of the school. The other 2 guys covered us while the man led us to safety. Once we were inside the gates, the other two came inside followed by zombies. They closed the gates before any of the zombies ran in.
The three men paused to catch their breath. One of the guys finally got it together.
"You're lucky Nathan spotted you through the window". He said. "Go inside, he's waiting on you".
Ashley and I turned around and walked through the doors. We were immediately greeted by Nathan's yelling.
"What the hell were you two doing out there!?!" He demanded. He didn't let us answer. "So you thought you could just use our supplies and leave anytime you please huh?"
"No, we uh", I couldn't think of anything quick enough. "We just wanted fresh air".
"Why do you have D's flashlight?" He barked snatching it from me. I hadn't noticed that the flashlight was pink and covered in stickers.
"What else did you steal?" He demanded.
"Dude, Nathan chill out!" Jasper said approaching us. "They said they were out for fresh air".
"They could've opened a damn window". Nathan scowled. "They're up to something, all three of them".
"Dude, they're little girls, what could they do?"
"The exact things they did to those zombies". Nathan muttered referring to me.
"So what the sword makes her a bit dangerous". "They're not stone cold killers, lay off".
Nathan stuffed his fist in his pockets and looked away. Jasper smirked knowing he won.
"You need to go take a hot bubble bath, make sure you have lots of rubber duckys". "You're so stressed you, really need a break".
Nathan rolled his eyes and walked away. Jasper continued to call after him.
"Just give me a call if you need someone to wash your back!"
Nathan went up the stairs for the second floor. Jasper laughed to himself and turned to us.
"You guys alright?" He asked. I nodded.
"Yeah". Ashley answered through gritted teeth.
I noticed how angry she looked. Then I realized Ashley was holding in her anger. She must be mad that Nathan just yelled at us. I'm glad she's controlling her anger. If it wasn't for the situation we're in, she would've went off on everyone, even Jasper. That would've gotten us kicked out a long time ago.
Jasper noticed Ashley's expression. "I know he can be jerk but he's actually pretty cool". "He's just super stressed because of the elders disappearing every night".
I nodded remembering about the one I fought recently.
"Did you guys finish the job in the locker room?" Jasper asked.
I remembered that we never closed the cap to the secret passage. They'll be suspicions of us if they see we've been messing with the sewer caps.
"We actually didn't, sorry, we'll get to it right now". I said.
I asked Jasper to show us the way to the gym. While walking in the hallways, we passed open class rooms revealing the elderly who lives there.
We passed one room that wasn't turned into a bedroom, it was the teachers lounge. The walls were lined with a brown counter. The counter was covered in big bowls or pans. A round table was in the middle of the room. D was sitting down alone with a big leaf in her hand.
Ashley locked eyes with D and marched into the room. She slammed her hand on the table which scared D. She jumped and dropped her leaf.
"You know what I'm here for", Ashley said firmly "Give it back now".
D trembled. I rushed into the room to stop Ashley before she does something stupid. Jasper followed.
"I'm not gonna ask again". She said. D stayed quiet.
"Ashley". I warned.
"No, she has my hat and she better give it back". Ashley replied.
"Come on Ashley, its just a hat", Jasper said. "And if D had it, she'd give it back". "Right D?"
D quickly nodded her head. Ashley gave Jasper a very serious and dangerous look. It made Jasper's smug smile fade away.
It looked like she was about to curse him out. If she did, she'd be throwing away our image. We won't be the innocent little girls Jasper thinks we are. If that happens, Jasper will be added to the list of people in this school who don't trust us. We don't need to be voted out of here now, at least not yet.
"Isacc!" Cried Bubbe. We all turned around to see her coming in the room. She was carrying small boxes and cans of food. Bubbe placed all the food on the corner then faced us.
"Today is Sunday, you have to help me cook". "Help D pick the collards, I gotta make the cakes".
Bubbe wobbled over and tried pulling me forward. Ashley calmed down.
She put her hands up in defense. "You're right my bad", She said dropping her head. She looked back up. "I probably misplaced it in the lockeroom".
"Isacc sit down". Bubbe urged giving me another pull. It would be rude if I ignored Bubbe and walked off. I guess I really do have to help her cook.
Ashley noticed. "Its ok Oz, I'll take care of the locker room". She looked at Jasper. He was quiet probably still shaken by Ashley. "Can you show me where the gym is?"
Jasper nodded and turned to lead the way. Ashley walked after him but stopped beside me.
"You better get my hat from that brat before I get a hold of her". She muttered dangerously. Ashley walked off. I actually thought Ashley had let it go but I should've known.
I looked at D who was staring at the leaf on the table.
"Come on now Isacc". Bubbe pulled again. This time I moved with her. She sat me down next to D. "Talk to ya daughter, she keeps picking the collards wrong".
Bubbe set a big bowl of pink cake mix infront of me. She handed me a big spoon.
"Stir it baby, its your favorite...velvet". Bubbe said giving me a warm smile.
My favorite was chocolate cake but I stirred anyway. D continued to pick the stem out of the collards in silence. Bubbe was washing something at the counter.
I looked at D and decided to ask her nicely. "Ashley, the girl who just threatened you, she lost her hat a while ago". I started. "It really means a lot to her because it belonged to someone dear". "Its a red beanie, has a bit of dry blood on it, do you have it?"
D stayed still for a bit then shook her head. "Have you seen it around?" I asked. She shook her head again. I sighed and looked at the bowl of cake mix.
I didn't know if she was lying or not. My mind wasn't that much into it because it was somewhere else.
I was remembering someone else's velvet cake.
"Why can't Leola make the cakes?" I whined. Mommy sat across from me at the kitchen table with a bowl of pink cake mix infront of her.
"Because Leola is making the turkey this year". She answered.
"Nuh uh, she's not even in the house".
"That's because I sent her to the market for honey and a thermometer".
Mommy had got me out from under my bed and made me help make Thanksgiving dinner. All I wanted to do was finish my book but I can't now. I was looking for anybody else to do my job so I could go back to my book.
"Well what about daddy?" I asked.
"He's at work". She answered.
"What about uncle?"
"Its best not to have him around when I'm cooking". "He'll eat everything before it's even done".
I groaned and looked at the table. Mommy slid the bowl to me. "Stop whining and start stirring, I gotta get the rolls started".
I still wouldn't give up. I don't wanna be the only person helping mommy, someone's gonna suffer with me.
"Are you sure Leola went to the market?" I asked.
"Yeah, where else would she be?" Mommy replied getting out her seat.
"I heard her mutter something about going to Yael's house". I lied.
"Yael's house?"
"Yeah, she could be there". "I think his parents are Thanksgiving shopping". "They probably left Yael there alone to study for being a doctor".
The key word was 'alone' and mommy caught onto it just like I wanted her to. Mommy silently rubbed her chin thinking about something. She grabbed her purse.
"Are you sure?" She asked narrowing her eyes.
"Kinda".
That was good enough for her. Mommy was silent for bit. "I'll be right back". She headed out the door.
I smiled loving that my plan worked. Sure it was a bit dirty, but hey, it worked.
I dug my hand in the bowl and pulled out a wad of cake mix. I stuffed it in my mouth and jumped out my seat then made my way to the book waiting for me under my bed.
That memory irritated me. I was ungrateful. I'd love to make a cake for my family. I feel very bad for tricking my mother like that and I felt bad for ratting on Leola. The cake I was supposed to stir, I didn't even finish it. Mom had to do by herself.
I groaned and rubbed my face. This school brings back too many memories. I wanna get the medicine and leave as soon as possible.
I quickly turned to D. "I'm going to be blunt with you". I started. "Ashley thinks you pit pocketed her when you bumped into her earlier". "When Ashley has suspicions about someone it's gonna take a long time to for those suspicions to drop". "Whether you stole it or not you need to hope that hat comes up". "If it doesn't Ashley is gonna interrogate the hell out of you". "She might even hit you if she gets mad enough". "And trust me, you won't like talking to Ashley when she's mad". "If it ever comes to that, I won't be able to help you as much as I would want to". "So I'll ask one more time, do you have Ashley's hat?"
D stood still longer than last time. She couldn't look me in the eye.
"I d-don't have her hat". She stammered softly.
Bubbe placed her hands on both our shoulders. "Such pleasant father daughter talks". Bubbe smiled. Bubbe took the bowl of cake.
"I gotta go bake this, I be right back". "Stay here". Bubbe said slowly walking out the room.
We were left in the silent room. D couldn't look me in the eye or even speak clearly. Those of signs of a liar. She knows where the hat is, but for some reason, she's not telling. I squeezed the handle of her chair to let her know I was serious. D looked at me with a frightened face.
"You're lying". I said firmly. I narrowed my eyes and finally broke her.
"S-so what if I was lying, your friend can't hit me as long as Jasper, Nathan, and grandma are around". D said. She always kept her voice low and soft.
"Well then we'll tell Jasper that you're lying".
"He won't believe you".
"We can get it out of you, trust me on that".
D frowned at that. "If you tell on me, I'll tell Nathan that you're here to take our medicine".
I paused. I cursed Ashley for talking so loud. There's no doubt Nathan won't believe her if she told.
"So you do have the hat then". I said.
D shrugged. "I...didn't say that".
"You practically did". I replied. D was silent. I sat back in my chair and crossed my chest. Since she knows about our intentions, we could be kicked out this place at her will.
"Blackmail isn't nice". I told her.
"Well...I...don't wanna blackmail you". "I didn't even wanna take her hat".
Now, I was just confused. "Then why'd you'd take it?"
"Because I needed it".
"For what?"
"I can't tell you, it's secret".
I grabbed my temple because I was losing my patience. "Well is there something I could do to get the hat back and keep you quiet?"
D stared at me and thought something over. "If you help me with something...I'll tell you where the hat is".
"How do I know you won't trick me?"
"I won't, I promise".
"Well what do I have to do?"
D paused for a second. "I can't tell you yet, you might tell your friend".
"I won't".
"Well I'm still not telling you". "You have to wake up at 3 in the morning and then I'll tell you".
That part wasn't much sense I don't sleep anyway. I didn't have time to wait for tomorrow morning. Tomorrow could be the 3rd day to get the medicine and we still don't have the medicine.
Surely Ashley wouldn't throw off the mission for her hat. But I do know she'll never stop bitching if I don't get it back.
"Fine, and not a word to anybody". I said. D nodded and she was silent again.
We sat silently for ten minutes before I got out my seat to leave. "Tell Bubbe that Isacc went to the restroom". Before D could reply, I was out the door.
Only elderly and guards walked the halls. My stomach growled. I had forgot I haven't eaten today. Maybe the cafeteria was serving lunch now. I didn't want to ask for guidance so I searched for the cafeteria by myself.
After what felt like a 30 minute walk around the school, I finally found the cafeteria.
It had a moderate amount of elderly inside. Some were sitting down eating while others were in line getting their food.
I got in the back of the line and stood silently. The elderly wouldn't stop trying to talk to me. They kept pinching my cheeks or coaxing me to smile. Some of them asked me to push their wheelchair and everytime I did, I'd loose my spot in line. Their odor was slowly killing me.
They were very annoying but also very sweet. One man gave me an old pocket watch as a thank you for pushing his wheelchair. After forever, I had finally got my tray of lunch.
I picked a table in the corner and sat by myself. I stared down at my food.
It was squirrel meat drowned in barbecue sauce with a side of mash potatoes and peas.
As hungry as I was, it wasn't easy to eat. Sitting in a school cafeteria brought back memories of my old school years. It felt like I was back in Elementary school with all my classmates and friends.
I brought myself back to reality. I'm not at school, I'm not at with my friends, they're all dead.
I need to stop remembering and focus on getting Peter back. To be honest, I don't want to think about Peter. I'll get scared for him and think of the things so psychos could be doing with him right now. Those thoughts really hurt. I really hope we can get him back.
I finally decided on a plan. First, I do that task for D and get Ashley's hat back. Then, we get Kamesh to transfer into a guard, that way we'll see him around more often. Since we already know where the medicine is, we could just use that secret passage to get it. Ashley will stay at the surface and cause some type of commotion that will get everyone out of the band room. Once they're gone, Kamesh and I will climb up and get the insulin and needles. Ashley's commotion will get her kicked out so she'll be outside. Kamesh and I will use the staircase out the sewer and we meet up with Ashley outside.
I couldn't spot a single flaw in my plan. Nobody gets left behind and nobody could screw this up.
I finished my meal and pushed the tray away. I should meet up with Ashley in the locker room and tell her my plan or maybe I should go ahead and tell Kamesh to change his position.
Suddenly a musty smell slithered under my nose. I jerked up and looked where the smell was coming from.
It was Xabi. He was leaning on the wall by the entrance. I remembered what I saw him was doing in his room. It really made me wonder about his health since he has all that medication in his room.
Xabi was still pale. His eyes were bloodshot and had red rings around them. Xabi didn't look like the great leader everybody says he is. All Xabi did was lean and watch everyone.
Maybe he's thinking about a way to save the disappearing elders.
"Toffee!" Called an old man. It was the same man who gave me his watch. "Toffee!" He called.
I realized he was calling me. I stood up and went to his table.
"Yes Mr. Jenkins?" I asked.
"Meet my rival Mrs. Maysa". Mr. Jenkins said. I looked at the woman sitting across from him on the other side of the chessboard.
She gave me a friendly smile. She looked in her late fifties. "Hello, would you like to play a game". "I'm trying to beat this fool so I can get my dentures back".
"Um...no thanks, maybe another time". I answered.
"Stop looking for teammates woman, you won't beat me at chess no matter what". Mr. Jenkins turned back to me. "She's not the reason I called you over here, I need you to help me out". "That clumsy dame spilled her juice on my shirt and now it's all in my wheelchair".
"Oh shut it, you never should've been talking all that smack". Mr. Maysa shot back.
"Well you never should've been losing so much". Mr. Jenkins replied.
"Oh hush, you don't even know the girl's name and you're asking for help".
"Her name is Toffee or something like that".
"Its Ozzie, she told us that in the line you moron".
I have to admit, its pretty funny when old people argue.
Mr. Jenkins rolled his eyes. "Anyway, Ozzie, will you help me".
"Sure". I answered.
Mr. Jenkins said he was paralyzed waist down. I had to lift him up and set him down on the seats. Purple juice pooled in the center of the wheelchair seat. I got a napkin and started to clean it up. Then I picked Mr. Jenkins up and put him back in his chair.
"Thank you sweetheart". Mr. Jenkins said.
"You're welcome". I replied.
Xabi's smell suddenly got stronger. I turned to see he was right behind me.
"Mr. Jenkins are you ok, I never knew you were paralyzed?" Xabi asked.
"Don't worry about it son, I'm a.o.k". Mr. Jenkins replied.
"That's good to know, I wouldn't want you hurt". "You are taking your medicine right?"
Mr. Jenkins chuckled. "There's no medicine for paralysis". "Only medicines I take is cough medicine and pain killers for migraines". "If it wasn't for that, I'd be grumpy and coughing up hair balls". He laughed at his own joke.
Xabi's eyebrows raised. "Oh ok", He paused. "You sleep in the East Wing right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Just had a feeling". Xabi muttered. "Anyway, you three have a nice day".
With that Xabi left the cafeteria. Mr. Jenkins and Mrs. Maysa continued their game of chess.
To me, that was a weird and awkward conversation. Its just weird to stare at someone, ask about their health problems, then ask where they sleep.
Xabi has a very creepy aura about him, if someone had the time and concern, they should dig up information on Xabi.
I thought of the only person who has time and concern for Xabi. D. Now that I think about it...its likely her task for me has something to do with Xabi.