Taken

Chapter Twenty Four--JEREMIAH

The meat skewered as the guys gathered around the fire on logs.  Warner had introduced them all to me.  The lanky one with the brown hair was Jacob, the dark skinned one beside him was Simon.  Beside me was a boy with longish blonde hair and blue eyes named Kip and on the other side of him was Derek, the one who seemed to always be in a jolly mood.

          “So what brings you into our woods?” Derek joked, throwing a log onto the flames and wiping his hands on his pants.

          “Hunting,” I said simply, looking down at the dirt below me and drawing circles with a stick.

          “He was lucky I didn’t shoot him,” smirked Warner, the fire reflecting off his green eyes.  The guys grunted in agreement.

          “Man’s gotta eat,” Simon said, piping up for the first time since I had arrived at camp.  “Where were you headed Jeremiah?”

          I hesitated.  I didn’t know if I should spill just yet, but they seemed cool enough.  I didn’t have to tell them about everything, just my intentions.  I cleared my throat.  “My parents were taken, as were you guys’ too I’m guessing.”

          I paused, watching their reactions.  They all nodded knowingly, so I continued.  I drew in a breath first and hoped what was about to come out didn’t sound absolutely stupid.  “I’m going to find them.”

          They all started laughing, and I just sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.  Did they think I was lame?  “For my girlfriend,” I added, but that didn’t sound so hot either.

          “Oh come on you don’t have to look so uncomfortable,” Simon said after he caught his breath.  “It’s just, we’re doing the same thing!”

          I still didn’t laugh, I didn’t know why it was so funny, but then everyone fell out of their hysteric trance and Derek popped back up off his log.  “Meat’s ready.  Visitor first,” he added when everyone tried to swarm the fire. 

          “Nah, it’s fine,” I said.  “Go ahead.”

          “Suit yourself,” he replied and I regretted my decision once I hardly got any meat.  It was a free-for-all that I wasn’t prepared for and I watched as everyone stuffed their faces and I didn’t have much.  I sighed.

          When everyone was finished, Simon started another conversation and he was giving off the impression as the leader.  “Do you have any leads?” he asked me, but I sighed.  I was expecting him to have the information.

          “No,” I said gloomily, but he just chuckled. 

          “That’s alright, because we do.  We are actually really close to the facility.”

          Facility? I thought.  That sounds important.  “Do you know what they are doing there?”

          Simon scratched the back of his head nervously and glanced at the others.  “You seem like a trustworthy enough guy,” he commented.  “You deserve answers.  So here’s the verdict.  They are creating an army to wipe out everyone under eighteen.” He shot it to me straight, no waiting around.

          An army… the words rang clear in my head even now.  An army of adults, constructed to wipe out all the kids?  Only someone who was sick and hated life could think up such a thing.  What was even the point? They were wiping out the future of mankind as we know it.

          My stomach was sour and I felt like I could lose my dinner any second.  If this was true, I had to get back to Denny and Haven as soon as possible.  We have to flee, to get away from this area. 

          “It’s no use running though,” Simon said as if he could read my mind.  “There are outposts all over the country.  This has happened everywhere.  I have been going on solo missions to the local facility.  It looks intense.”

          The aura of the camp had gone from joking and carefree to serious.  It was deathly silent as Simon explained this all to me.  The guys had heard it all before I imagined, and they watched my reaction. “So what do we do?”

          Simon’s face was thoughtful before he replied, “All we can do. Fight.”

          “The army?” I asked incredulously.  That was the stupidest idea I had ever heard although I wasn’t going to say it.  It was a suicide mission.

          “No dummy,” Simon replied smoothly.  “We go in the facility.  Try to find our parents.  Flee and get to Mexico before they can catch us.”

          “I have a feeling that’s going to be a little harder than you just made it sound.  Since the outposts are everywhere.”

          He shrugged.  “It’s worth a try.  The plan was to do it tomorrow, but I don’t know if you will be up to it.  How good are you with a gun?”

          “I have a better way to test this theory,” said Derek as he rummaged around in his bag for an old soda can.  “I was keeping this for memories, but a little hole won’t hurt anything, right? Plus, I have a couple others.”

          He tossed me a gun and set the can a ways off.  It was pitch black but I could still see the slim outline thanks to the firelight.  I aimed and shot, and with a loud metallic thunk, the can hurtled into the woods.

          “Wow,” Simon praised.  “You’re a good shot.  How good are you without a gun though?”

          “Purple belt in jujitsu?” It came out more like a question and I shrugged, I didn’t know how else to describe my bare hand fighting skills.  “So how are we going to do this?”

          “I have some ideas.  Remember, I have been spying.”

          “Right.”

          Simon nodded approvingly and got up to shake my hand.  “Welcome to Mission Save the Parents.  Now let’s all get to sleep.  It’s going to be an early morning and a long day.”