Injected ((RLLY FUCKIN OLD))

Chapter One (Jacob)

I hear the thump from the bed of my truck.

A dirty white sign stands at my right. It reads, "FOLSOM" in black letters.

I know that I'm close to where I'm supposed to be.

The city looks old fashioned. Most of the buildings are made of bricks. There's also a lot of green spaces. Hardly anyone walks the streets. They're either inside the buildings or in a better part of town. Or they could be sleeping.

So not everyone is awake by five O'clock...

I drive by a bridge with water flowing beneath it.

If I was told right, this is the city that I'm supposed to be in. Now, all I have to do is figure out where to find her. Or him. The preferred name of 'Ky' could be used for a male or female.

Honestly, I really don't want to take much more time scrambling for a hotel room. I haven't slept at all in the past twenty-four hours. Not my first priority. I came from Texas to the middle of California in only about a day. Does that sound relaxing to anyone?

Possibly I might be able to see my mom again. It's been a while. I kinda miss her. I was twelve the last time that I saw her. The Base never let me go to the western side of America until this victim came along. Yeah, I'm missing some pretty big personal drama. I kind of want to check in.

My family life was pretty interesting before I left. When I was eleven, my parents divorced. My father, technically a millionaire, had left her. Not to mention, my rich asshole of a father technically stole all of both of their money because of their shared bank account. That left her to live in some crappy bungalow with no air conditioning while he enjoyed his time in his glass condo by the beach. When I was twelve, I got harassed several times by a middle aged man who claimed that the "Injected" were after me. I was a little freaked out. At first, I didn't believe him. It was until he showed me when I went into panic. After leaving my mom to cater to herself, I had to fly across the country to some place in Virginia titled "The Base." There, they made me study the Injected and what their plans were of turning us all into them. Soon enough, they let me out of their cramped area, sending me to take care of their victims by myself. I think they forgot that they were still after me. It wasn't until a couple of months later when they finally moved on to someone else...

Quickly, I shake that moment out of my thought stream. That was the most scarring day of my life, no doubt about it.

Focusing on the road again, I search for the nearest Starbucks.

A friend of mine ever since this whole shit load had entered my life.

Quickly, I pull out my phone and say "search the map for Starbucks" in the mic towards Siri.

An Australian voice answers me, "searching the map for 'Starbucks." It pauses, then answers, "okay, here is what I found nearby."

The road is so empty, I don't even have to pull over.

Quickly, I set my phone down after clicking one located in some outlet mall- a good spot to try and find some teenage girl.

***

Inside, I see several tables full of people staring at their phones. Even the people in line.

Everyone these days.

They don't understand what's going on around them. All they do is look at any type of device near them. I expect her to be like this. The last one wasn't ...

I push Charlie from my mind, the moment that she enters.

I need to stop.

But whenever I don't, it feels like there's a blank space inside of me. But I can't continue, or else there might be a melted piece.

My eyes suddenly seem heavy.

One thing that I will not do right now, is cry. I blink several times, but it doesn't help. I end up just not looking straight.

When I step into line, I see a newspaper on one of the shelves. The heading says, "MYSTERIOUS MURDER ON SHIP FROM FRANCE!" The moment that I finish reading this, I know that the Injected just came from France.

I pick up the newspaper, tear out the article, and push it in my pocket.

I leave the rest of it behind the others on the shelf. When it's my turn, I order a vanilla latte. After this, I suit myself to a table.

I straighten out the newspaper article, and begin to read.

It mentions a ship, exporting crops from France. When the ship came to America, they found everyone dead, shot from a bullet.

Nobody came out of the ship.

Or, that's what everyone thinks. They say that no suicide was committed because there were two wound marks on each person. Both in an area that would have killed someone in the first attempt. One in the head. One in the heart. Either way, the ship pulled in 'safely.'

The Injected are just trying to mess with us. With them.

Maybe us. I've only gotten injected twice after all.

I think about how many people that I know where a part of the murder. Probably more than I would think.

"Bob- vanilla latte," I hear a woman announce.

Sometimes I have to mess with people. It's only nature.

I get up, and head towards my truck. I want to find somewhere to sleep that's nearby. I should also figure out where her school is. I don't care about how stalker-like I seem. I'm trying to save her life, after all. My plan is to try and find her tomorrow, after school. Once she's out, I need to know how to find her lonely, so I can explain everything. There's no way I can get out of this situation, without sounding weird, I know that for sure.

I look up the nearest hotel, making sure that there's at least free wifi. When I find one, I set my navigator towards it.

***

The hotel isn't bad, but I've seen better. I get a room for one, and relax myself on the queen-sized bed.

On the maps app, I search, "Folsom High School." When I find the victim's school, I save it as a location. I spend about ten more minutes staring into space and sipping into my fantastic Starbucks latte before actually bothering to go to sleep. It takes me a while after my caffeine load, but I haven't slept enough for it to be pretty quick.