The Delta Crew

Chapter Two

Dirk was always a harsh caretaker. Sure, he cared about Demi, but there was always a sense of detachment. It's the way he'd always been, even with Jake. He knew he drove Jake away, with the intent of never interacting with him again, but, well, life was funny like that. He and Jake had gotten closer again, which Dirk was weary of. Dirk constantly had a wall built up around him, and Jake was getting too close for comfort again, just like all those years ago. Dirk wondered if he'd ever even actually tell Jake these things. There were a lot of things that'd happened that Dirk never expected to happen, like Dave passing away, or Dirk having to take care of Dave's kid.

Dirk was very strict with Demi. He trained her relentlessly, as to be ready for any situation. He knew he wouldn't be able to protect her forever, and he needed to be sure she was ready when that time came. The threat of The Glitch increased everyday, and each day, Dirk got more paranoid. He and Demi were always on the move, hopping from bunker to bunker to keep themselves hidden. Dirk covered up all their tracks and they never stayed at the same place for too long at a time.

However, Demi made it very difficult to cover up everything. Despite Dirk's constant hovering, Dirk couldn't monitor everything. Demi always managed to slip past right under Dirk's nose and do whatever she pleased. She was always rebellious like that, and Dirk knew she got it from Dave. Demi constantly reminded him of Dave, and although Dirk missed his brother, he didn't resent Demi for it. Dirk vowed to protect that child until his last breath, but every time Demi defied him, it made him more uneasy. He knew he wasn't the best guardian since he had no prior experience, but he was sure trying.

All the bunkers they stayed at were well hidden, and completely underground. As previously mentioned, there were no electronics besides a phone Dirk kept with a VPN. He only used this phone to message the other guardians, which happened to only be Jake and Jade since Jane and Roxy had cut the other three off. He often wondered if they were even alive still, or if something worse was brewing. Dirk messaged Jake more than he'd like to admit. He always tried to keep it professional, but he was always searching for a reason to talk to him. Deep down, he yearned to just have no cares for a day and have a long talk with Jake, with no threat of death looming over them.

Demi tried to lighten up each bunker they stayed in by bringing her decorations with her and decorating the room she slept in. She liked old stuff from the 80s, from posters, to cassette players and CDs since she had no modern things. She also liked My Little Pony, just like Dirk did. They often binged the series together when they weren't training. The two were... as close as they could be. Dirk often kept her in the dark with what went on. All she knew was that The Glitch had the power to tear them to shreds in seconds, just like her dad. She was small when Dave disappeared, but she could vividly remember him taking off his sunglasses and leaving them with her to inherit. She supposed he knew that would be the last time he saw her. She knew Dirk knew too. Although she was too young to know what Dave was planning to do, she hoped it wasn't completely for nothing. Surely what he did was significant.

Despite all of Demi's resistance with Dirk, she did want to make him proud. Every training session she had with him, she gave it her all. Just sometimes, she stepped out of line. All kids did it, surely. Demi had the kind of mindset that everything would work out in the end, even if it wasn't the most realistic. She was an optimistic person, definitely favoring that over logic. Life would be so dull and boring if you thought about the 'what-ifs' all the time. No harm in testing the waters; playing it safe constantly meant never finding out your full potential. It was confining.

This tied back to Demi throwing herself at these clown freaks. She wasn't going to just hide from them like a coward and let them possibly find their guardians. She'd rather go down swinging.