Mia's pov
"No, there's no way that my dad was in charge of Project Wednesday. Alright, he would never experiment on people." Grover said as we all got in the van and sat.
"The file came straight from Keller." Barrett said
"Maybe it was altered, falsified somehow." Grover said in denial
"By who? No one from Keller knew we accessed the information, so why would they change it?" I said
"It could've been someone in your group." Grover responded.
"Unlikely. I know who accessed it." Barrett said causing grover to turn to him.
"How do I know you didn't change it? I'm supposed to believe that you knew my dad was in charge of Project Wednesday, and you never thought to tell me?" Grover asked accusingly.
"I just gave you concrete proof of your father's involvement, and you don't believe me. So, why would I tell you about it if we didn't have evidence to back it up? Besides..." Barrett said
"Besides what, Barrett?"
"Up until today, I didn't know you weren't already aware of your father's part in it."
"Are you kidding me? You thought all this time I knew?"
"I didn't" I said from the back.
"It seemed unlikely, but I considered the possibility, especially after we learned you hid the retrieval photo."
"Yes, because I didn't know what it meant."
"I realize that now." Barrett said
"There's a light on." Grover said suddenly causing all of us to move closer to grover window and look.
"I know who lives there. We should check it out" Barrett said
"Mia maybe you should stay in the van" Grover said
"By myself are you crazy?" I asked
"I'll stay with you" Noodle said
"What if they need back up? Its not safe to split up, we stick together, okay?" I asked looking at everyone, as they all nodded.
"Good, let's go" I said putting my gas mask on and crawling out of the van after Barrett who helped me down.
"They have electricity." Grover said as we entered the house. "Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt have a natural gas backup generator." Barrett said
"Something doesn't feel right. I think we should go." Grover said as we heard a noise.
"I've known them since I was a kid. If they're still here, I have to help them." Barrett said following the noise, the rest of us following him. Until we reached a room where we heard another bang, we opened it slowly and a freak jumped out at us only to be held back by a chain.
"Is that one of the Schmidts?" Noodle asks as it roars.
" It's Trent, their son." Barrett said
"Let's go." Grover said turning to the door only to be met with a taser in front of his face.
"Get away from my brother." The girl with the taser yelled.
"Elise." Barrett said causing her to put the taser down.
"Barry? What're you doing here?" She asks
"Can we have this conversation somewhere else?" I said looking at the freak pulling on its chains to try and get us.
"You're pregnant?" Elise asks with a shocked look on her face after getting a good look at me.
"Six months" Noodle said smiling and looking at me.
"I'll make you some food" Elise said exiting the room us following behind and closing the door.
"Figures you would've survived all this time. Barry is the smartest kid I know. And the sweetest." Elise said putting some Mac and cheese in water over the stove for me and getting meat out of the fridge to cook for her brother.
"Elise babysat me for years before she moved to New York." Barrett said smiling.
" I don't think I've ever heard "Barry" and "sweet" used in the same sentence." Grover said.
"No, no, this is the guy who made a volcano for my 11th grade science fair after I completely bungled my project." Elise asks
"I merely helped you achieve your vision."
"He was only 10, and he saved my grade. I still remember that card, do you remember it? He drew one of those anatomically correct hearts on it." Elise said mixing my Mac and cheese.
"I'm sorry about Trent." Barrett said as I sat on the bar stool.
"He was searching for a way out of town. When he came back, he was sick. I had to tase him and tie him up so that he didn't harm himself or anyone else."
"My God. Your parents see him?" Barrett asked
"No, no. They went looking for help after it happened. They never came back, though." Elise said as Barrett moved around the kitchen it sit as well but stood on a dog toy causing it to squeak.
"So, it's just you and Sparky here with Trent then" Barrett asked.
"No, no, my parents, they actually took Sparky with them. For protection." Elise said
"He's a Maltese." Barrett said questionly
"I guess people don't always behave rationally in this kind of situation." Elise said as grover turned off a lamp.
"You have to be careful with the lights. They could attract the wrong kind of attention." Grover said
"There's people from the chemical company. Dangerous people in blue suits. They are going around killing witnesses" Noodle said.
"What?" Elise asked
" It's disturbing, but it's true." I said as Elsie pulled my now finished Mac and cheese off the stove and poured it in a bowl.
"Wow. I mean, it's pure luck that I came home for a visit when I did. At least now I can protect Trent from them." Elise said handing me my food and a spoon.
"Thank you" I said
"Your welcome." Elise said as I began to eat my Mac and cheese, happy to have a hot meal.
"Trent doesn't need protection from them. You do. You need protection from him." Grover said
"I can handle my brother until someone figures out a cure. No, leave it. My parents said to keep it on, so I don't miss any news alerts." Elise said the last part as grover went to turn off the static TV.
"Look. My sister turned freak too, and so did other people at the school. I get it. It's just not safe to keep them around." Grover said. "Trent is tied up tight. He can't hurt anyone. He hasn't eaten anything since he turned. I'm trying the meat really rare this time." Elise said barely frying the meat.
"You should come with us. We're gonna find a way out of the Valley." Barrett said
"Trent said all the exits were blocked when he got back." Elise said
"You can't stay here." Barrett said
"Look, even if I wanted to go, I am not gonna leave my brother to starve to death." Elise said
"Trent's not a person anymore. I'm sorry, I can't do this." Grover said moving to sit on the couch a little ways away near Noodle.
"What's going on with him?" Elise asked.
"He's digesting some upsetting news." Barrett said.
"I just remember when you used to cry because all the kids were mean to you. You'd say you just wanted one friend" Elise said as I tried not to listen, feeling like I was invading in a private moment. "I'm stronger now." Barrett said.
"I'm sure you are. But, it's nice you finally found some friends. You should go check on him. I'm gonna take Trent his dinner." Elise said.
"Your friends a little nutty, but she made me food so she's not too bad" I said to Barrett getting up to sit on Noodles lap. He sat on a one seater chair beside the couch.
"This fantasy that somebody's gonna come here and cure Trent is gonna get her killed." Grover said agreeing with me as Barrett went to sit beside him on the couch.
"Only a few days ago, you wouldn't let me do experiments on Mary, because you believed there was still hope for her." Barrett said.
"Well, I was wrong. Clearly, right? I mean, that's what you want. You want me to believe that my dad is responsible for turning people into monsters, right? That he did this to Trent. And Mary." "What I want is irrelevant. It's just a fact. Your father led the program." Barrett said
"You didn't have to tell me this. Just like in school, you could've just gone on not telling me." Grover said
"I guess I told you because Mia, Noodle and I thought it was something you needed to know. I don't wanna keep secrets from a friend." Barrett said, grover nodded.
*
"He tore his favorite jacket when he came at me. Luckily it's on a seam, so I can fix it." Elise said fixing his jacket after cleaning my bowl.
"You have to let go of Trent. He's gone, Elise." Barrett said as the rest of us listened.
"He is my little brother! I can't just leave him here like this, he's all I have." Elise said
"We need to go." Grover dais
"He's right. Would one you just check to see if Trent ate his dinner before you leave?" Elise said
"He won't eat steak." Grover commented
"Just do her the favor." Barrett said but grover just kept staring at her.
"I'll do it" I said getting up from Noodles lap.
"Oh no, you need to rest" Elise said to me.
"Please" Barrett said to grover.
"Yeah, sure." Grover said going to check if aren't ate his food.
"There are very few people I actually care about. You are one of them. Please come with us." Barrett said to Elise.
"I can't." Slides says as the television beeps.
"The following is a report of the emergency notification system. This is not a test. Authorities have declared a state of emergency for Kent County and the surrounding valley. The air will cause extreme harm if breathed without a filtration device. Survivors can receive aid at the East Bridge Pass. This has been a report of the emergency notification system. This is not a test." The TV announced.
"They're helping people at the Pass. This could possibly be over soon. Sparky's collar? I thought you said he was with your parents." Barrett said seeing the dogs collar.
"Trent needed to eat something, and he wouldn't touch anything in this house. He wouldn't even look at the dog when I put him in the room, and, I don't know, I thought that maybe he would like the fresh meat, but he wouldn't eat that either. He's gonna die if he doesn't eat something. I'm sorry." Elise said as we heard a crash.
"Grover." Barrett explained running out of the room Elise following not far behind.
"Stay here" Noodle said running after Elise to help the boys. I walked into the kitchen and stuffed any foods in my bag that dont need to be refrigerated and put my gas mask on. The boys ran out and started running to the car Noodle grabbed my hand and dragged my along.
"Everyone okay?" Grover asks as we all pile in the van hurriedly.
"Yeah" Noodle and I responded.
"I don't know. You?" Barrett said.
"No. My dad turned Trent into a monster, and I got Elise killed, so yeah, I guess that makes us quite the pair, huh?" Grover said
"Elise had completely lost touch with reality." Barrett said.
" Yeah, thanks to what my father did."
"You can't hold yourself accountable for your father's actions." I said
"This is gonna sound really crazy to you guyd, but he's a really great dad. He used to go to every single one of Mary's concerts. He would take me to the natural history museum every weekend for four months, because he knew that I loved dinosaurs. How does a guy like that experiment on people?" Grover said starting the van and driving off.
"I dont know, but hey this trip wasn't a complete waste of time, I got more food" I said showing the boys my bag.
"Good job" Barrett said surprised
"I'm not completely useless, just mostly at the moment" I said.
