The Lost Boys

Chapter Thirteen

The House

The teenagers entered the house in a whirlwind. Michael had Star in his arms while Sam had Laddie; Edgar and Alan followed up the rear. They had just reached the stairs when Nanook came racing up, barking at them loudly.

"No, Nanook!" Sam snapped. "Quiet!"

"Your dog knows flesh-eaters when he smells 'em," Edgar growled as Nanook continued to bark.

"Take him outside, Sam," Michael ordered.

Handing Laddie over to a disgruntled Alan, Sam grabbed Nanook by the collar and led him out the front door. The others began to climb the stairs.

"Hey!" The group whirled around to find Grandpa standing near his taxidermy room. "Do you know the rule about filling the car up with gas when you take it without asking?"

Michael frowned, expecting instead to have been chewed out. "No."

His grandfather smiled slightly. "Well, now you know."

Grandpa entered his red room, shutting the door behind him. After recovering from their disbelief, the group hurried upstairs to Michael's room.

The Frog Brothers watched warily from the hallway as Michael made Star and Laddie comfortable on his bed. Sam barreled up the stairs, glanced into Michael's bedroom, and then focused his attention on the Frog Brothers.

"Well...," Sam sighed. "We blew Plan A."

Alan nodded. "Time to activate Plan B."

Sam looked at him, expectantly. "What's Plan B?"

Instead of answering, Edgar and Alan shared a look.

"We don't have one yet," Edgar admitted before looking down at his watch. "And we only have two and a half hours to come up with one."

Sam frowned. "What happens in two and a half hours?"

Edgar's voice was grave as he replied, "The sun goes down and they'll be comin' for us."

***BREAK***

Sundown

Mattie looked at the mess that had been Marko, her eyes welling up with tears as her fingers brushed his jacket in fond remembrance. She had spent the first hour of her night cleaning it in a daze. She felt a black hole in her essence; the link between them had been severed forever and it left a notable void.

"I don't understand why they would want to kill us." She said softly, breaking the heavy silence that pervaded the cave. When she looked up, it was David's eyes she met. "We didn't do anything to them."

David's response was to brush her shoulder with his hand as he passed by. Paul was pacing angrily nearby. He had been closest to Marko and it was he who was taking it the hardest. No matter what she did, Mattie couldn't calm him down. It was obvious to all of them that he was moments away from losing what little control he had.

"Michael." Dwayne was the one who offered an explanation, his voice low and filled with venom.

David nodded. "He had the chance to turn and he refused. He thinks we're evil." David's eyes found Mattie again. "He isn't going to change, Mattie."

Mattie turned away. She knew David was right, but there was a small part of her that just didn't want to admit defeat. "Maybe I should try talking to him...."

"No!" Paul snarled, whirling around. "I won't take the chance that they'll kill you too."

Mattie recoiled, even though Paul was feet away. "They're my brothers." She reminded them softly.