The Chosen Ones

CHAPTER FIVE

Was it a dream? He had hardly slept. It was when he shifted his leg that he knew last night was real. He felt the cold steel of his gun against his thigh. He had slept with it. Sure, there was something about Casey that made him believe everything she had told him, but it was all the unknowns in that story that he didn't trust.

Was this group already among them? Did they know where he lived? Did they even exist? Were Murphy and Burns trustworthy? There was even the possibility he was wrong about Casey. Matt had his son to think about, and he would protect him at all costs.

He reached for his cell phone. 9:15. Awesome, a good solid five hours of sleep. He groaned as he sat up. His body ached, as it did every morning when he got up. Matt was only twenty-two and he felt like forty-two sometimes. His knee always bothered him, a result of a torn ACL when he played high school baseball. He had learned to live with it over the years, even after a successful surgery he still felt the discomfort.

He got out of bed and walked to Tyler's room. He wasn't there. Seeing this made Matt walk a little faster to where Casey was sleeping. He pushed open the door slowly and saw she was still sound asleep. He exhaled.

Before heading downstairs he texted the group chat: MY HOUSE 11:00. While on his way down he heard the clanging of a metal spoon hitting the side of a bowl. Sure enough Tyler was sitting on the kitchen counter eating a bowl cereal. A four year old who makes his own breakfast. That qualified as a super power as far as Matt was concerned.

He kissed the top of Tyler's head. "Good morning big guy."
"Morning dad. You want me to make you cereal?" He asked.
"No bud, I'm good. I'm just gonna have coffee." Matt replied. He threw a pod into his Kuerig before turning back over to where Tyler was sitting.

"I'm calling the gang over, you okay with that?"
Tyler's smile widened. He loved when the whole group came over. To him, they were one big family. That's the way Matt liked it. His friends were his family too, and he needed them just as much as Tyler did.

"There's a girl upstairs." Tyler suddenly whispered.
"You saw her?" Matt asked.
"She's sleeping in the spare room." He replied, continuing to whisper as if he'd wake her up if he spoke louder.

"Yeah, she's just a friend who needed a place to stay for the night." Matt explained.
"How is she a friend? I never saw her before." Tyler replied. He was a little too smart for his own good.
"A new friend." Matt answered.

He should have accounted for Tyler's curiosity. He probably got out of bed and walked the whole house. Matt had told him time and again to wake him as soon as he got up, but he rarely did.
"Is she going to come downstairs?" Tyler asked, hopefully.
"When she's ready." Matt replied.

"I want to say hi." Tyler said. "Maybe she can be friends with aunt Shannon and uncle Phil too."
Matt considered the thought. Shannon would be a tough sell. Add that together with Casey not wanting to hang around if this thing ever ends, being friends with her didn't seem likely.
"We'll see, dude."

Almost 11:00 on the nose they all filed in. Phil had flexible hours, as long as he worked forty hours during the week he was good, that usually led to a three day weekend for him every week. Shannon taught first grade but happened to be on vacation this particular week.
"What's going on?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, I love family meetings." Shaun joked.
Shannon looked at Matt waiting for an answer.

He wouldn't call them all over without big news. He had done it before, each time with something impressive or serious to tell them. He had rehearsed how he would start the story Casey had told him, but now that it was time he struggled for the right way to begin. He had knots in his stomach as he thought of the right words.