Dynamite

Chapter 12: That's What You Think

Nathan was terrified. He was one of those aliens that were constantly buzzing all over the media. If someone found out, he'd be taken away and experimented on. Plus, the danger of the leader Dubleka taking over his mind could lead people to... kill him. Either way, he was the last Dubleka, whether he wanted to or not, and he had to deal with it.

The next morning, Nathan walked into his homeroom class with exhaustion scribbled all over his face. He slumped into a desk and zoned out immediately. Nobody had any concern for him, guessing that he was simply tired like any other student.

"I have 30 days left," Nathan thought. "After 30 days, my mind will be taken over by a dead Dubleka, and I will not have control of what I do anymore." Nathan noticed Emma walking into the classroom. "I have to tell Emma and make every last day worth it with her. Maybe she and her family could help in some way... but what if they tell FBI or someone about me, and they take me away? Well... I'm Emma's boyfriend... so I don't think they'd do that."

"Hi Nathan," Emma greeted. She sat in a desk next to his after kissing him on the cheek. "You look tired. Are you alright?"

"Uh... what?" Nathan stuttered, being snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh... yeah... I'm fine. Just... fine." He then rubbed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Heh... so Dad wants you to come over tonight," Emma said. "He's doing an initiation tonight. It's for a family secret we have that consists of myself, Ethan, Mom, Dad, Adam, Jess, Tony, Gavin, and Nicole as of yesterday. Oh, don't worry, the initiation isn't bad... unless you don't like spicy things like Tony or Nicole."

"Spicy?" Nathan questioned. "Oh, no, I love spicy. Spicy is... awesome." He rubbed his eyes again. He felt like he was going crazy.

"Ok, then the initiation will be a piece of cake!" Emma giggled. Nathan nervously chuckled. He then thought, "I've got to tell them the first chance I have."

~~~~~~~~~

That night, Emma, Nathan, Ethan, Gavin, Tony, Nicole, Jess, Adam, Rose, and Jake were all at Jake and Rose's apartment. Nathan was seated in a chair, and Jake was staring intently at him. Everyone else stood in a circle around them, except Rose, who was getting the stuff for the initiation.

"Bring me... the salsa," Jake commanded in a serious way.

"I swear, this is so stupid," Rose groaned. She grabbed a jar of the world's spiciest salsa from the pantry and handed it to Jake.

"Bring me... a s--" Jake started.

"Yeah, yeah, I got a spoon," Rose sighed. She handed Jake a spoon as well. Jake scooped part of the salsa out of the jar and handed it to Nathan.

"Eat it, and swallow it," Jake commanded seriously. Nathan shrugged and easily gulped it down. Everyone was astonished. Nobody had ever eaten the salsa that easily!

"I told you!" Emma laughed. "He loves spicy food!" The others laughed as well.

"Yeah... that was easy," Nathan agreed. "Tony was complaining to me today about how difficult it was for him."

"There are still burns on my tongue," Tony sighed, looking like he was still mentally pained from the experience.

"Whatever, the initiation is over," Adam added. "Let's share the story now!" That was when everyone sat down, still in a circle around Nathan.

"Ok... it all started 18 years ago when I was recruited by an organization called S.T.A.M.P," Jake began. "It was a secret group that knew a secret about an alien race that wanted to destroy the human race and rule the Earth, then the universe. The alien race was called... the Dublekas."