Night of the Alphas

Chapter 14

The pair of headlights pulled up next to us. They were attached to a very long, gray bus with the words L.A. Comedy on the side. The doors opened to reveal a man in his late 30s wearing a neon green suit. I recognised him as Ryan Mcnairy, a comedian that sometimes appeared on T.V. My parents hated him because of all his "political jokes" or whatever, but Alex actually thought he was pretty funny. I didn't get the hype, but that was just me.

He put his hands on his hips and examined us. "What are kids like you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Well," Charity began. "We-"

"We need a ride to Lebanon!" I shouted without thinking.

He bit his lip and looked at us closer. "And you guys support the Alpha Freedom movement?"

I almost questioned what he was saying, but then I noticed that he was looking at Miranda's shirt. "Yes sir, we are."

He clapped his hands together. "Delightful! Wonderful what they're doing, huh? Trying to make Hybrids equal to humans. I think it's amazing."

I bit my tongue. I wanted to yell at him, to tell him that he would think differently if he had been through what we had. But no, he had been sitting in his luxury tour bus, sipping a piña colada and watching the money roll in. But I didn't want to lose an opportunity to get home. Luckily, before I could say anything I regretted, Charity spoke for me. "Yes, we think it's quite amazing. In fact, the General of the South sector in Charlotte sent us to spread the message."

"Yeah," Miranda said. "It's kind of like Jehovah's Witnesses, but for Alphas."

Ryan grinned. "Well, come on! I wouldn't want you guys to not have a ride there!"

I sighed and hopped on the bus. Well, I thought it was a bus. When we got inside, I had to bite my lip to keep from squealing in excitement. The front part of it was just a fancy bus, complete with a driver. But the back looked like a camper. It had a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and 100-inch-T.V. There was even a washer and dryer. And to top it off, there was a butler cooking something in the kitchen. Scallops? Lobster? Shrimp? I couldn't tell. All I knew was that it smelled delicious. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten in over 30 hours.

"Dibs on first shower!" Miranda shouted as she dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Dibs on going next!" I yelled.

"I hope you guys are hungry," Ryan said warmly. "Dinner will be served soon. Edward, cook up everything we have. We've got five hungry mouths to feed."

The butler grumbled under his breath but didn't say anything else.

A few hours later, I was sitting next to the window watching the landscape roll by. I had washed up and changed into fresh clothes, so I felt much better. We had lobster for dinner, and now Charity was chatting with Ryan, trying to be friendly.

"So, why exactly did the General choose to send you to Lebanon?" He asked. "It's such a small town, why would it even matter if they started supporting the Alpha Freedom army?"

She thought for a moment. "He said something about it being his hometown. He wanted all of the Alphas there to know that they're welcome to join the movement."

"And why exactly did they choose children?"

"Because they were begging to go. They just needed someone more responsible to take them, so I volunteered. One of them's my brother, after all."

Ryan stroked his chin. "Very interesting. So, what do you think about the sieges? I think it's a shame they had to resort to violence. It's sad that nobody listens to peaceful organizations."