Plagued

[DrTrollinski]

Walter smiled and watched the boys run off, but couldn't help but laugh as he saw them both run behind the same bush in the forest area. They were cute kids like that, he'd noticed. Over the eight years he'd had them, it seemed that they reached a stage that they never went out of. What was that stage? Their bond stage, I suppose. There was a time - when they first started walking around - that they came together as the best of friends, and it had never stopped since then. Isn't that precious? Walter could still remember what they were like when they started talking, too - throughout the day, they'd continuously run up and say 'I love you' to one another, and that started to stop once they were about five years old. It was sad to see them stop with it, but that was part of growing up. They still loved each other just as much as they did back then, and Walter knew it.


A minute or so later, and both boys emerged from either side of the bush and walked diagonally until they met at the middle point, and then went straight forward to Jackie. They both actually looked a lot more relaxed and at ease than they did when they had just woken up, so it was clear that the need to go was quite urgent. Oh well, at least that was (hopefully) them dealt with for the rest of the journey.


"Let's go, Jackie." Daniel smiled. "Have you ever been to New Hampshire before?" He asked out of curiosity. If she hadn't been before, Daniel figured that himself and Carl could be her tour guide.

 

[CelticSol]

The boys looked much, much less high strung when they came out from their bush, and both started to come to her, but she didn't start to move until they were up beside her. When Daniel fell into step beside her, she looked to him and smiled at his question. The look on his face was the definition of both curiosity and hopefulness. He probably was hoping she hadn't so that he could show her all the sights of the state.


"No," She replied with a nonchalant shrug, which was not a lie on Daniel's behalf, but a truth. It was a little sad, but she really hadn't been able to travel when she moved to the U.S between schooling and finding a job. On any holidays she could take from her shitty part time job at a bakery and her breaks from school, she usually went home and visited her family. "Besides New York and Jersey, the only other state I've ever been to is Nevada, and that's only 'cause I've got family that settled out in Vegas."


Annie and Tex had, originally, moved out to Nevada. Tex had said it was because Annie had work there, which was suspicious in of itself, but the family left it alone. They moved out of the city and into a more rural area of Maine, however, when Tex had lost his leg below the knee overseas. They were fairly close to the Canadian border, if Jackie remembered right, so that her mom and her dad could take a few hour drive to both visit and check on Tex. Her mom was a veteran nurse, and was assigned to do check-ups for him because of her extensive knowledge of his medical history. Jackie ran her hand through her ponytail a bit, trying to look casual, or just to avoid looking nervous and worried. Her family was spread all over, and since most of the signals of phones and internet and TV and radio had shut out, she had no way of knowing if it was better or worse anywhere for her family.


She sighed, shook her head of her negative thoughts, then smiled at Daniel and ruffled his hair. "Maybe you and your brother can show me around, eh? That'd be fun."


 
(Sorry about not replying yesterday. I was super busy!)

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Yeah, that'd be awesome! It's been a long time since we were there, but we still remeber the town that our uncle lives in." He smiled. "If it's not really bad up there, we can show you some of the really cool places it has - they have a great milkshake store." He grinned and then lead her back to the car. He and Carl both hauled into the back, but needed to move around a lot so that Jackie could get in between them again. Oh well. It was better than nothing, that was for sure.


"Yeah, we can do that." Carl said in agreement once they'd all got back into the car. Walter had already started driving, but who cared, it wasn't like that was something that could be avoided. "I think you and our uncle could be friends. He's super nice to us - He bought us real nice presents when we visited him before, and he sends us Christmas and Birthday cards every year!" He said cheerfully.


"It's true... He's like that." Walter chuckled. "You guys let me know if you need to stop." He smiled.

 

[CelticSol]

She thought it was very sweet that Carl thought she'd be friends with his uncle. She smiled, her eyes crinkling a bit, "Well, I hope I get along good with your uncle, then. He sounds like a great guy."


"Since you told me a lil' bit about your family, I'll tell you about mine." Jackie leaned back, crossing her legs without a care, but her expression - wide grin and wide eyes - looked like she had a secret. "Y'gotta keep quiet about this, but I have two cousins who were special forces," She began, looking to the boys as she explained, "Which is kind of like a type of secret agent that works in the army."


That wasn't exactly true. Annie herself had only been on one intelligence gathering mission, but if you really thought on those James Bond movies, what Annie and Tex did was very much like something out of a mission impossible movie. Then, there was also the secrecy around Annie's post-retirement job, so it was exactly like a spy. She decided to skip over how they met, as the story was ridiculously sappy and romantic, but cute nonetheless, and got to the good stuff.


"My family made the mistake of playing laser tag with those crazy loons, seven against two, and we got smoked." She chuckled a bit. "I'm just glad we didn't play paintball." A sudden thought occurred to her, and she put her hand on the back of Walter's seat and looked to the man. "And I probably should've asked before you got going, but do you want me to take over the wheel a bit, Walter?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

"We went with dad to play laser tag one time. We were against five people, and we won!" Carl said, grinning. Ah, laser tag. That was really good stuff, for sure. It brought back sweet memories to think of it. Fun times with a lot of running around, a lot of seizure-inducing lights, and a kickass lunch with milkshakes right after. What could have been better? There was a time when they went paintballing, too... But... Eh, why not, he figured that he may as well tell her about it. "We did do paintball one time, too... We both cried when we got hit, but we lasted a long time without getting shot." He smiled a little. "It really hurts to get shot with paintballs, but we did alright." He added.


"Yeah, I'd like it if you could drive for a while. You know the directions, and so on? We've got a map in the glove compartment if you don't know where you're going." He said softly, and then pulled the car over to the side of the road and shuffled over into the shotgun seat. "I'll climb into the back with the boys once you get through, though... I'm sure they'd like some time with dear old dad." He chuckled.

 

[CelticSol]

She smiled, then carefully climbed over to the door and stepped out of the car. Before Walter could take her place, she caught his arm and leaned in. "Try to get some sleep, okay? You looked exhausted."


Pretending that she had said nothing, she slid into the drivers seat. Looking to the gear shift first, she noticed it was automatic. She had learned to drive standard, and it was ultimately what she was more comfortable with, but she could work with automatic. Not as well, because she didn't like how she didn't have full control of the car, but she could still use it. The seat though... damn, was it comfortable. She could deal with automatic if she could feel the luxury of this god damn car.


Enjoying how the car purred when she turned it on, Jackie started the car and waited for Walter to situate himself in the back before she even put her foot on the gas (though she did give a few playful revs, along with mischievous smiles, when she felt Walter was taking too long). When he was securely in his seat, Jackie stepped on the gas and sped off into the highway. She found an almost therapeutic calmness to driving, and the subtle vibrations of the cars lulled her nerves down a little bit.


She looked at Walter through the rear view. Poor man looked a little like he'd been to hell and back. "Hey, Walter, if you want to get into the front seat in terms of room, let me know and I'll pull over for you."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Thanks, Jackie..." Walter smiled and then leaned back in his seat, each arm draped down over either of the boys. "I might just have a little snooze while you drive, if you don't mind... I haven't slept all night, and I'm running on fumes here." He chuckled gently and then yawned and then set his head back against the chair. He closed his eyes, and within only five minutes he was asleep, and Daniel was, too. Carl was still wide awake, though. He didn't need to sleep anymore. He was ready for the rest of the night.


He quickly scrambled through to the front seat and buckled up his belt. He'd warmed up to Jackie now, and he was quite happy to talk to her. He wanted to talk to her more, to learn more about her. He liked learning more about people that he found interesting. She was one of them, I guess. He looked across at her and smiled, and then looked off out of the windscreen.


"Jackie... What do you work as?" He asked softly.

 

[CelticSol]

She had giggled a little bit at Carl scrambling into the seat, but when he plopped down, the question brought her up short a few seconds. The world before seemed to have been different for so long, yet it had only been a day. She gripped the wheel a little tighter, gaining some type of support or confidence from it, then spoke. "I worked at a boutique. I designed and sewed clothes. Boring stuff, I know, but I also sold some art on the side."


"What about you, Carl?" She asked, smiling encouragingly while looking at him from the corner of her eye. "What did you like to do? Besides homework and school stuff, of course." She grinned wide at the second part, making it clear she was being sarcastic.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Well... I liked hanging out with Daniel a lot." He smiled. "Well... That means I like school, I guess... I'm in all of Daniel's classes." He grinned. "I like drawing, playing soccer, and... I like playing video games, too." He smiled as he sat back in his chair and looked off at Jackie momentarily, flashing her a little shy smile. It was all true, though, and speaking about it all really made him miss it all. He knew that right now, it didn't look like he'd be able to play soccer, or video games, but he might be able to draw if they found some pens, paper, and pencils. He'd like that, definitely - He hoped that his uncle's house would have all of that there.

 

[CelticSol]

"Drawing, eh? Well, we might be able to try and find a safe store and get some art stuff from there. Only you ask your dad real nicely if you can." She smiled and nudged him a little bit. Carl was cute. He was shyer than his brother, but Jackie appreciated the effort for him to get along with her. Or maybe he trusted that if Daniel liked her, then she was good or in the 'good' zone. Though she and her brother had those unspoken types of conversations, she had nothing on what these two seemed to have. Twin instincts were weird.


"So, what else can you tell me about you family in New Hampshire? Or about New Hampshire in general?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Well... That'd be awesome if we can get some stuff." He smiled. "I'll make sure I'm super nice when I ask him." He added, and then thought for a moment, but he was soon hit by Jackie's next questions.


"You've heard about our family... It's a sad story, but there's other stuff that's more happy." He smiled. "The one who's our age... His birthday's two days after ours!" He grinned. He figured that that was an interesting fact.


(Going to sleep now. Have a good night )

 

[CelticSol]

(Good night! Really short post, but y'know.)


Jackie smiled wide. He seemed so proud of that fact that she couldn't help but grin. "That's really cool! Strange how that happens, huh?" Strange how a family that has twins also has a kid whose born two days after said twins. She shook her head, smiling. It was odd in a very cool way.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Yeah, really strange." He grinned a little and then set his head back against the chair again, and then went to staring out of the window. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of potentially seeing his uncle and his cousins again. It was actually a really nice thing that could happen in a swarm of disaster, for sure. He just hoped they were okay - Carl may have only been eight years old, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that there was something going on, and he knew that a lot of people were dying, too, he just didn't really speak about it. He wasn't sure if Daniel knew, because Daniel was kind of the... 'innocent' one, if you will.


"Another thing... Our Uncle Rob... When we last went to see him, we all went swimming one day, and it was really fun... We went to this big place that had huge water slides and other cool stuff there. It was all of us, but... George couldn't swim, though. He was only three, so... Yeah... Me and Daniel didn't learn to swim until we were... nearly five, I think." He shrugged, and then looked across at her. "Can you swim, Jackie? Uncle Rob has a pool at the back of his house, y'know." He smiled.

 

[DrTrollinski]

(@CelticSol)

 

[CelticSol]

(Ah, sorry! I've been so busy with Christmas things that I forgot to reply!)


"I'm actually a really strong swimmer," She said. "My region was right by the ocean, and my town was about five minutes from this really nice lake, so it was pretty weird whenever someone couldn't swim. And if we can, it'd be fun to go swimming. 'Course, we'd have to make sure your uncle was okay with it, but I'm sure he'd be fine with it."


Suddenly struck with an idea, she grinned at Carl. "Hey, have you ever heard of parkour or free running? If you haven't, it's okay, but it's a way for people to move through an area really quick with climbing, jumping, running and other stuff. It'd be really useful for all of us, and it's really fun. Now, don't tell your dad this," She gave Carl a secretive grin, "But when I was in high school, I was not the best behaved kid, and I learned parkour from friends of mine to help me get in and get out of place super fast. If we find a good, safe place, I could teach you and your brother some stuff."

 

[DrTrollinski]

(No problem )


"Me too." He smiled. "I mean... We didn't get to go swimmin' much, but we had fun when we did. We swam on the weekends most the time, but that was in our pool at home." He explained, taking a long deep breath. "When I was four, I almost drowned and I was scared of water for a long time until dad started to teach us to swim... I was out in the back yard with Daniel and we were playing soccer, and I ended up kickin' the ball into the pool. When I tried to get it I fell in and I couldn't swim then." His smile faded a little. ".. Daniel ran inside to find my dad who was upstairs... Mom was at work, so I was kinda' drowning for quite a while. Dad ran down and dived into the pool, and he had all his clothes on, too - He saved me. Well. Daniel saved me, really... But... When dad got me out of the water, I was crying for a long time... Daniel cried a lot, too... He thought that I was gonna' die." His smile picked up a little. "We weren't allowed to play soccer by the pool anymore." He said, laughing softly.


He listened to Jackie's proposal and couldn't help but smile in excitement. That actually sounded quite good, now that he thought of it. It would definitely be something fun to do if they didn't have anything better to entertain themselves with, and it would turn out to be quite helpful if they found themselves in a sticky situation.


"That'd be awesome, Jackie." He grinned. "Can we do that? That'd be really cool." He said.

 

[CelticSol]

"That sounds scary. I remember when I was about your age, my family went down south to Dominican - little island country - and we went swimming. I wasn't being very careful, went too deep, and got caught by the undertow. Got stuck underwater, couldn't breathe, and the waves just kept hitting me over and over..." She dazed off a bit, then shook her head. "Mom grabbed me out. Mom swum pretty much every day, even back home, so she got me."


Jackie shrugged. "But I lived, so I guess that's what matters. I'll ask your dad about the parkour thing, make sure he's okay with the fact the two of you'll be jumping around like monkeys soon enough."

 

[DrTrollinski]

He smiled a little. "Kids can be stupid." He said, shrugging a little. Well, if you ignore the fact that he essentially just called himself stupid, I guess the comment was actually pretty funny. "I suppose it's 'cause we don't really think about things like adults do. Dad says it's because we don't have as much to worry about as adults do, because... He says we can be happier than adults can." He smiled. "I guess it's true... I mean, if I still couldn't swim now, I wouldn't try and reach for the ball in the pool like I did when I was little." He smiled at her and then turned to look back out of the windscreen. God, North Vermont was actually quite beautiful.


".. I'm sure dad won't mind. As long as we're safe, I don't think he'll care too much... It's only if we get hurt that he gets upset about it, but if we're with you, we won't get hurt, right?" He asked.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie laughed at his comment. "I wouldn't say that adults haven't done stupid things. God only knows how many times I've done stupid stuff." She smiled, but looked to Carl with a more serious expression. "I'm not gonna lie and say you won't be hurt doing parkour. It can results in a lot of scuffs and scratches, and some of that stuff'll hurt. Plus, if you don't land right, you could hurt your ankles. But," She said before Carl would get too afraid, "If you're careful and take all the steps to keep yourself safe, then you'll be fine. You will be safer if you're with me, but that's not always a guarantee with this type of thing."

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. It's okay... Me and Daniel will listen to everything you tell us and we'll be careful, I promise." He said, smiling a little. He looked around for a few moments while they were driving and took a deep breath. It seemed like the whole woodland area just seemed to go on for miles upon miles. It was a lot like the less inhabited area of New Hampshire, in a way. He liked places like this. He liked seeing all of the scenery and how peaceful it was - there wasn't much else to tell about this sort of place, was there?


"How much further is it to New Hampshire? Where are we, anyway? We're not in New York anymore... right?" He asked, yawning as he buckled up his seatbelt and put his head back against the chair.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie herself was enjoying the sprawling wilderness. Back home, it was very rural, and most times, the sides of the highway was either forests, rolling hill-like mountains, or a combination of the two. Or farmland. She felt a pang. She really missed home, she realized. New York City had taken it's toll, with all the concrete and tall buildings.


"No, we're not," She responded finally, looking at the sign on an overpass. "We're probably still a couple hours from New Hampshire still," Catching the yawn, Jackie smiled. "If you wanna catch some more shut eye before we get there, you can."

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. He lives in Windham." He yawned and then shut his eyes a little. Windham. A nice place in New Hampshire. Rather quiet, but not too quiet, either. Carl really wanted to just crash out again now, but something was playing at his mind. There was something in his head and he couldn't get rid of it, because it was really starting to worry him now. He needed to ask about it, or he was sure he was going to have a bad dream, or something. "Jackie..." He yawned as he opened his eyes again. ".. What were all those people back near our house? What's going on outside?" He asked, gulping quietly.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie went very still, her knuckles going white on the steering wheel. She didn't want to be the one to explain this to Carl. As selfish as it sounded, Walter should be the one to tell the boys this, not her. Swallowing a bit, looking back and forth between Carl and the road, Jackie considered if she should honestly tell him, lie, or dismiss it. If she told them, he'd be scared, but at least he'd know. If she lied, he'd have peace of mind, but what if he got caught with those things? Then what? Dismissing it would immediately tell him that something was up, and as they say, curiosity killed the cat, or killed the Carl, more like.


She sighed. "Your dad was probably going to explain this to you and Daniel sooner or later, but I guess I'm stuck doing that now," She chuckled a bit, the sound hollow. "How many video games have you ever played, Carl?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

He looked at her and how nervous she looked. He didn't really like the silence that she was in for such a long time, either. He didn't like it. It unnerved him, too. He as happy when she started talking, though, as that kind of broke the ice and that was that. He took a long deep breath and sat there listening to her, but his smile went so big that it hurt his cheeks when she mentioned video games.


"I've played a loada' video games! Why?" He asked, grinning. A video game trivia, maybe? That'd be awesome.

 

[CelticSol]

She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, biting her lip between her teeth. She had to tell him. If he had gone and gotten hurt because she didn't tell him how much danger they were in, she'd never be able to forgive herself. She looked at his grinning face and had to suppress a wince, then lowered her head a little bit.


"What about zombie games?" She questioned, her expression tense. "Like Resident Evil, Left 4 Dead, or anything like that? You can be honest if you have, I'm not gonna get you in trouble."