Tempest [ON HOLD]

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

The idea of sleeping in the apartment the Feds had trashed left me feeling uneasy. It was as if Big Brother had come and sat right at my door, peering into my life and tracking my every move.

"We have to find them." I said as Ling made space for me in her bed. 

"Look. I don't even know them, but we're in this together, so I'm going with you." She stated. "However, we can't find them until we decipher the riddle they left."

I groaned inwardly. The riddle left me feeling like I was in some low-budget spy film. I knew it would have been ridiculously irresponsible for Tom to write down his exact whereabouts, but it damn sure would have made my life easier.

Taking out the slip of paper, I reread the words.

"It says 'He took his vorpal sword in hand...' What's a vorpal sword? Doesn't sound very powerful or effective. Kinda sounds like a toy." I said, imagining a cheap, plastic sword. 

"Google it." Ling said. 

"Yes, because I have a computer to google all the things." I said sarcastically. 

"Use your iPod. I have wifi." She deadpanned.

Oh. Right.

I set to work, entering the excerpt into the search bar. My results left me puzzled.

"It's part of a poem titled 'Jabberwocky'." I said, scanning my eyes over the poem. 

"What's it about?" Ling asked. 

"It's about a young boy who...sets out to find and slay a monster." 

"Okay, that's a start. I'm guessing this monster is a metaphor for the government." 

"Or the war..." I replied. 

"Or the war." Ling nodded in agreement. "But where's the sword mentioned?" 

"The young boy uses this vorpal sword to behead the Jabberwocky and then returns home to his proud father." I paraphrased. 

"So where are we supposed to find your friends? I'm lost." Ling said.

I agreed. This riddle was not making any sense. I flopped back onto my pillow.

"I'm just gonna sleep on it." I declared, snuggling under the covers. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, enjoying the darkness they brought. My head hurt from the events of the day.

First federal agents ransack my home, then Tom decides to be cryptic and leave me unsolvable messages....and Ling almost kissed me...

A jolt coursed through me as I remembered how close we were earlier. I glanced next to me. Ling was already fast asleep. Her jaw hung open a little and she snored slightly.

Awwww.

I felt like a huge creep. It reminded me Edward Cullen when he declared that he liked watching Bella sleep in Twilight.

Although I loved men, I had always been attracted to women, once even seriously dating a girl during my first semester of college. She'd broken my heart; claiming that she'd only wanted to try out her curiosities and wasn't actually interested in the real thing. I had given up on relationships after that. I never let anyone get too close for fear that the cycle would repeat itself. But as I looked at Ling, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe...

Maybe what? I didn't have the time to think about dating when I had two fugitives to rescue. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and lay back down into my pillow. Drifting in an out of consciousness, I finally fell into a deep sleep.