Parasite

Chapter 21: Aim and Shoot

Big Bear Lake, California

Cranberry Lodge

Afternoon 

Dana

It's been one day since we came together and made a plan to fight the parasites. We spent most of the day resting and preparing for today's challenges. Lia decided to stay in the lodge for the night and left in the morning with Sheriff Johnson to get him checked into a hospital. Hopefully, he'll be able to get the stuff we need for the upcoming fight. Right now, things have been pretty calm since the argument. As of right now, Bryan hasn't talked to Manuel yet. I get why he hasn't done it yet, maybe he's cautious about Manuel still being mad at him, or he might not do it all. Either way, he has to get it done. We don't have time to get mad over petty things. 

I was in my room, looking at the view of the lake as it spread throughout the horizon. It used to be place where people can come and relax. Now... it's a place where people die. To think, we went on this vacation to get away from everyday life, and now we're dealing with fight of our lives. Life is great.

"You okay, Dana?" I turned around and saw Paola walking into my room. I walked away from the window and sat on the bed.

"Yeah, I guess if you call trying to stay calm and focused while an army of creatures tries to kill you constantly, then yes, I'm okay." Paola shook her head and sat next to me.

"That's a pretty long answer for someone who said they're okay. Be honest with me sis, are you really okay?" Paola looked at me with concerned in her eyes. Damn, why does she have to do this.

"To be honest... I don't know. I'm not scared, but I'm not calm either. I don't know what I'm feeling right now. Right now, I just want to focus on finding a way to pull this plan off and survive."

"Why does it have to be you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why does it have to be you? You don't have to be the one to make sure that we're all okay. We can take care of ourselves."

"No, I have to be the one that makes sure we're all okay. This entire trip was my idea and look at us now; most of us are dead, we brought more people into our problems, and were gonna go against an army. No matter what, I have to make this right. Which means, when we go into that mine, your staying by my side the whole time. We've lost too many friends already, and I'm not gonna lose my sister." I said aggressively as I clenched my fists.

"None of this is your fault. You never knew these things were here and we didn't know what we're up against, but now we do. All of us are gonna do what's necessary to survive, even if things go bad, we'll have to keep going and move forward."

I let out a breath.

"I hope your right, Paola."

*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*

I heard a noise coming from the door. Looking up, I saw Manuel standing by the entrance. 

"Was I interrupting something? I could come back if you want?" I shook my head.

"No, it was nothing, just a normal conversation."

"Oh, okay. Sheriff Johnson is hear with the stuff."

"Cool, we'll be down in a few." Manuel nodded his head and went downstairs. We soon followed after him and went into the kitchen.

As we got into the kitchen, I saw the group huddled around the table. When we got closer, I was able to see what the group was looking at. On the table were two big duffel bags and sitting on the floor, were four boxes stacked on top of each other.