Irradiated

Chapter 11: Followed

Catching up with them, after I got rid of the laughter within me, I followed them inside a different house, knowing that there wouldn't be anyone inside this one. We remained wary of the fact that possibilities were endless.

"Like I was saying earlier, we shouldn't just walk around in the open." We stalked in the shadows of the houses, going through them with rapid speed, almost like thieves robbing houses, while Derrick lectured on about things I already knew. It was staring to get annoying, but he eventually got me interested.

"Mac," He called him over to his side, where he stood by the staircase of a fairly large house.

"Yeah? What's up?" He asked, looking up at Derrick with a careful curiosity. And yes, he was looking up at Derrick, meaning he was taller than Mac. Actually, Derrick was the tallest one out of the five of us.

"You were saying that the Bomber wore a long tailcoat, correct?" Although I glanced over my shoulder at them and I couldn't see Mac's face because his back was turned to me. I could tell he was surprised by Derrick's sudden question.

"Well, yes. He or she would wear a black tailcoat." Mac confirmed.

"Then it is likely that this certain person is a Rich, if not, has something to do with the Riches." Angeli and Naomi stopped what they were doing, going through drawers and cupboards, and turned to look at them.

"Why would a Rich be bombing the border of Germany?" Angeli questioned him.

"That's why I suspect this person not to be a Rich, but someone that is associated with them, in some sort of way." His hair still covered over his eyes, shielding the expression he wore, but something about his voice made me think Derrick was slightly afraid of something.

"How's that?" I asked, putting away a can of peaches that was buried deep within a small supply of rancid food.

"Well, some people pose as Riches in order to gain higher authority. The Riches are the only ones who wear tailcoats and if that person is pretending to be a Rich, which is a posing threat, then they must be working against the Riches." He was more like talking to himself, rather than us.

"You know all this, how?" Naomi stared at Derrick, a bit wary, but kept her posture. Derrick, however, replied simply.

"Most of my family is in the Rich country. I'm against them and don't really want to be with them. Yet, I still know a few things about them."

"Is that how we're going to get help finding Trevor?" I piped in, suddenly relieved to know the reason for going to the Rich country at last.

"Yes, I hope. They don't like me very much, but we're still family. They should help me with the Trevor problem and such." It really started to make sense now. This was the reason why Derrick was sensitive to things involving the Rich. Since his family was there and they didn't really appreciate him, he was cruel about all things having to do with that family. It was no wonder.

"Who... Is Trevor?" Mac was as confused as I expected him to be, so I gave him a pretty accurate answer.

"He's my murderous brother. We're trying to find him, mostly because he's dangerous and can hurt anyone he just feels like hurting, but it's also because he is my brother. I guess I just can't let go of someone I've known for so long." I averted my eyesight with everyone else's. It was true, that I couldn't let go of my brother. He was family, after all, and like Derrick had said, if you still cared about family, you would help them. If I still cared about Trevor, then I could help him go back to the person I once knew.

"Oh. That makes sense. Well, I hope you end up finding him." Naomi gave me a sincere smile, which I returned.

"Thanks. I hope you two find what you're looking for, too." We finished off what we had to do in this house and went on to continue in the direction of our destination. It wasn't midday by the time we reached Rich country, but we were only about an hour "off schedule." Derrick didn't seem bothered by this, so I supposed it was around the time he planned to arrive.