Lillian

Chapter 9

I heard a start of a moving bus as I awoke to everyone on the bus being awake and the repairman driving us to Peachefare Headquarters.

As I lifted my head from the pillow, I smelled the sweet smell of roses and the horrible smell of gas from the bus. I also smelled a distinct smell of breakfast from the back of the bus which looked like they converted it into a snack station.

As I made my way to the back, I saw two carts on each side of the back of the bus. They were stocked with food and ready to go. I grabbed a granola bar for me, a parfait for May, and bacon for Zac and headed back.

A Few Hours Later

A few hours later, I had finished my breakfast and we had pulled up to the Peachefare Headquarters. The Headquarters looked much more hip than I had expected. The outside was bursting with Peachefare citizens art and the stained glass windows were fine touched and ready to go.

Walking through those Peachefare doors made me feel so alive with energy that I started skipping just like one as we made our way to the front desk.

"Hello and welcome to Peachefare Headquarters how may I help you?" A woman said all joyfully as if she we a part of a greeting card company.

"Hello" I said. "What's your name?" I asked all joyfully trying to pretend that I was Peachefare so I wouldn't be taken away and thrown back into Waxensaw country.

"Well I love your enthusiasm young lady and my name is Julie Brown!" She exclaimed as if she were shadowing me in an acting exercise.

"Okay Julie I need a room for four please!" I exclaimed just as Julie just did.

"How many adults and how many children or teenagers?" Julie asked back at me after saying children, because she thought I look about the age of seven.

"One adult and three teenagers." I snapped back at her not even having to look back at May, Zac, or Aunt Sarah.

"Okay well your room is on the eighteenth floor and down the hall to the right. Room 1820! Enjoy your stay at Peaxhefare Headquarters!" Julie finished exclaiming the last words as she opened the arm up as if she were to let the card just flip out of her hand and onto my face.

"Okay thank you Ms. Brown." I said trying to be nice, but she really did know what I meant.

As I walked off to the side of the counter, May, Zac, Aunt Sarah, and I soon made our way towards the elevator when another alert went off sending many Peachefare's into panic mode, but we all knew what to do.

All of the other Peachefare's ran up the steps to our floor and into our room that we had just booked. As I breathlessly made it to the room, I felt like someone had kicked me to the gut and sucked the life out of me. When I entered every space was taken up. People on the rug, floor, couch, table, bunk bed, toilet, and step stool. Everywhere there was someone there.

When we locked the door I felt a relief and just laid on the floor for a minute or so when I got the call.

"Lillian! You need to get home quick! The Murky's attacked our house, so we went to the Headquarters and they attacked us there! And they took Audrey with them!" My mother yelled into the phone crying every last word she said.

I knew what I had to do.
I couldn't cry and let it go.
I had to fight back.
And I knew who had the weapons.