Gain and Eliminate

Chapter Ten: Search Result

Not too long before dusk had begun to shed itself onto the woods did Rachel and Renée begin preparing to search, Renée grabbed weapons, while Rachel decided to stitch up her boots to ensure that poison ivy or snakes wouldn't be able to reach her at her feet. Just before Zane managed to wake up, the two girls bolted out of the house, only checking that they had brought along their equipment while scurrying through the woods.

"Thanks for coming along." Renée said to Rachel, turning her head slightly over her shoulder.

Rachel lightly panted, keeping her head looking downwards to a torn apart journal.

Renée rolled her eyes and glanced back over her shoulder to Rachel, "Rachel!"

Rachel shot her head up, "Wha-?"

"What are you reading? You've been intensely staring at it ever since we left the shelter."

"Oh, um, sorry. I just found it under the mattress in my bedroom last night."

"What's it about?"

"It looks like a journal? Crazy things have happened to this person, and apparently there's this thing, it talks about someone else taking his spot and-"

"So, like a prophecy, but real?"

"Yeah, and this guy wrote about his son, he basically talked about how he thinks his son is gonna take his place."

"Does it say anything about his son?"

"Well, on the last page, he never got to finish the entry, look."

On the last page, it read, "He's turned, there is no going back now, I've trained him to be something he should never be, as I hide I wonder, did I make a monster, or am I the monster. If you are reading this, warn anyone and everyone who will listen, warn them of a child name-"

Renée looked up fearfully, "Who is he? Who wrote this? How did he train his son to be a monster?"

Rachel gave off no motion but a shrug, still staring down at the page with both sympathy and intense confusion that bubbled throughout her entire body. Renèe, she stared down at the ground, allowing thoughts to rush and chills to spread coarsely through her. Without exchanging a single word, they both decided to begin walking again. Renèe attempted to remain stern, but the entry left her perplexed and speechless. Rachel, while walking, looked through the journal, trying to find any sign or hints as to who the son was.

Mickey lifted herself up from the ground, trying to distance herself from Zane. "Zane, I think I should go try to find Rachel, I haven't talked to her all morning and-"

"Can't you stay a little while longer?"

Mickey stared desperately into his soft eyes that seemed to reflect everything that gave light. "I mean-" Mickey turned to look at the front door, "I guess, a few minutes, wouldn't hurt." She grazed through the ground slowly back to where Zane was sitting, she tripped and face-planted right onto an anthill that was right next to Zane.

As she made contact, the ants exploded everywhere, everywhere. She frantically stood up, shook herself around and ran inside. Zane smirked and shook his head at the sight of her doing such a thing.

"Renèe, shouldn't we head back soon?"

"No, whether he's dead or alive I need to find him, he didn't die that day and I haven't seen him since before he left."
Renèe kept her face straight, though her eyes wearily fought back tears as best as she could, she began to remember the day she thought he died, she remembered his funeral, she remembered how alone she was when he was gone, she remembered how she never got to really say good-bye. She remembered crying, that memory was the final straw. She stopped almost immediately and dropped to her knees.

Tears fell from her eyes as she thought about all of the lies she had been living by, if they never claimed him as dead, she wouldn't be alone, she wouldn't have had to fend for herself. At this point, she felt helpless, that there was no use in not crying. She just wanted to be genuinely happy again.

Rachel looked down at her from a distance, not knowing what to do, she didn't know whether to comfort her, or give her time. Seeing someone like Renèe cry, began to make Rachel want to cry, seeing how much pain Renèe was in gave Rachel misty eyes, but she shook the evolving tears away and sat herself next to Renèe.

"I wish we all stuck together." Rachel whispered as she continued to look at the ground. "Maybe if we did, none of us would've felt alone or abandoned. I mean, look at Mickey, after her boyfriend was killed while they were running, she's been trying to fill the hole in her heart."

"Wish she knew that was impossible." Renèe muttered wearily.

Rachel gave off a sigh of exhaustion. Renèe took in a few more shaken deep breaths and nodded her head. "Rachel, I think I'd be okay if we went back home."

"What about finding Noah?"

"We don't have many more supplies right now, he'd die off eventually just like we all probably will. Him not being there is one less heartbreak for me in the future."

Rachel looked around at the trees that towered over them and the bushes that popped into their path. Renèe walked backwards on the path the way they came, when she noticed Rachel went into her own world, she helped to usher Rachel along the path.

"Just back off man!" Zane shouted.

"I'm not here to cause trouble, man."

"Zane, get off of his case!" Sodah shouted

Zane snarled with his head down, "Fine." He looked up, "but tonight, we vote whether you stay or leave."

"I'm pretty sure you're the only one that hates my guts, and I know why."

"You do?" Sodah said in shock.

"The only reason he hates me is because of someone he failed to trick."

Zane growled and stormed out the back trapdoor.

As the sun began to set, Renèe and Rachel both limped into the shelter, Renèe kept her head down, trying not to face the stares of confusion. Rachel's eyes widened and she nudged at Renèe, Renèe looked up and her face lit up so bright it was beaming with pure joy. Her eyes widened and filled with tears that fell along her growing smile.

In front of her, she saw Noah, standing there with open arms, awaiting a hug.