Expired

Chapter 32

This is Dexter⬆️

I open my eyes. I'm in the same spot I fell unconscious at. The floor in the secret room of the abandoned store. I get to my feet and look around. There's no one here but me. Where'd dad go? Where'd the two others go? I open the door to leave the room and walk into the main part of the store. I look around and there's not really anything too different about this place, other than the blood stains on the floor. Wait a second why do I pretend that's normal that's not normal!

Something and someone went down when I was unconscious. Ugh why does this seem so much like those black and white old detective movies. I don't want this to become my reality. All I want is to get Ben and the "Expired" to camp. We can discuss our plan to the others and maybe take down the government. Why can't we just take the easy way and do that right now? "Because Skylar life isn't that easy. Nothing is ever easy. So try the challenging way. The hard way." A voice in my head says. The words "Try the challenging way. The hard way." stick in my head. What now. I just stay here until something happens? I could just leave, right here, right now.

'Try the challenging way.' I think to myself. What is the challenging way? To walk out of here right now and go back to Elspeth's? Because that seems like the easy way. Think Skylar think. I look around again and see if there's anyone or anything to help me. Nothing really. I just choose to walk out and try my best to find Elspeth's. As soon as I open the door that leads to the streets I wonder. What about dad? Will I ever see him again? I know I'm still mad at him but he was my dad. I just stand there for a minute not knowing what to do. I look at the door handle of the abandoned store I woke up unconscious in. I pull the handle and walk back inside. "Dad?" "Daddy are you here?" I ask and walk around. I don't hear anything. I see a mirror and stare at my reflection. I'm beat up. I've got scars all over my face. Above my eyebrow, on my cheek, bruises all over my face.

My hair is still in the messy bun it's been in for days. My smelly dirt stained grey t-shirt. My camo jeans I've been wearing also for days. My black boots, worn out and smelly. I've been wearing these clothes for so many days I need to change badly. I look around and decide I need to leave. For Ben, Danielle, Jade, Elspeth, but mainly for Ben. Maybe when I return we can even shop for some new clothes. I need new ones bad. These clothes have been through many trips to the airport, they've been in rain, they've stayed on me when I sleep, they've been in blood, they've been in dirt, they've been in a trunk of a car. I smell like a dog. I push the door open and walk away. "Skylar!" A voice calls behind me.

I turn around and there's dad. "Yes?" I ask walking toward him. "Where you going?" "Back, to Elspeth's. To go back with the rest of the expired." I say. "You weren't going to say goodbye?" "I didn't know where you were." "You've been out for three days. Oh well it doesn't matter, I'm here now. You didn't forget did you?" I was unconscious for three days?!" Forget what?" I ask. "I'm going to take you back." He said. "Okay....lets go." I say and he puts his arm around me and we walk back to Elspeth's. I guide him and we talk. We talk about what life was like within the years he was "dead" or gone. "I recognize this street!" I say enthusiastically. He smiles at me and we keep walking. "How's the family doing?" He asks.

I pause for a moment. I stop waking and stop everything that I'm doing. How am I supposed to tell him? I move his arm off of my shoulder and look at him. "How's the family?" He repeats. "Dad.......she's gone." I say with tears filling my eyes. Just saying it makes me cry. "Your mother?" He asks. I nod. She left like me?" "She's dead!" I say like he's stupid. He sort of is at the moment what does he think "gone" means? Went on a vacation to the Bahamas? Seriously! "She's dead?" He asks. I nod my head and try to stay strong. He immediately hugs me and cries in my arms. I try best to comfort him but I don't know how. "She loved you." I say trying. "I shouldn't have left." He says. There's a long pause of silence. "You shouldn't have." I say letting go of him. "You left me. For......seven years. Do you know what happened in between that time? I realize, he doesn't know about Sabrina, or my brother. "What.....what about the others?" He asks wiping his tears with his hand.

"They're dead too." I say and start to cry. "Sabrina?" I nod. "The baby?" I nod. He starts to cry more and pulls me into a hug again. This time I know how to comfort him. "Sabrina died in a fire, just like mom....sort of. Sabrina died in the fire that happened at school. She didn't make it out in time." Sabrina was fourteen when she died. I miss her even though I don't remember her that well. "The baby died shortly after he was born. We chose his name and it was about to be finalized on his birth certificate but....it was too late. His name was Nathan Noah Peterson." I say. "And mom. She didn't die in the fire but, she died three days later. She got sick from the smoke. It is a miracle she survived that long." I say and stop crying.

"So we're the last ones?" He asks tears streaming down his eyes. "Yes." "We need to stay out of harms way. We are the last Petersons." "You.......you are the last Peterson." I say. "Your engaged?!" "No!" "Your married?!" "No! I'm just saying don't expect me to not get married and not start a family of my own someday." I say. "Alright. I guess I am the last Peterson." "Yeah.......you are." I say and put my arm around him and we keep walking. We eventually reach Elspeth's front door. I let my arm fall off of dads shoulder and look at him for a reason. "What's going to happen when I go in? If I go in?" I ask. "I'll come with you." He says and kisses my cheek. I knock on the door and wait for an answer.

After a couple minutes, someone opens the door and stands in front of me for the first time in days. It's Ben.