Chapter 2

734 Words
“I don’t—alien queen? What’re you talking about?” Jonah squirmed, slowly moving away from Sean. This was Sean, his Sean. That one he remembered. Other things, not so much. Sean’s jaw dropped open. He let him sit up. “What do you mean what am I talking about? You sprayed that mammoth-sized octopus, and you ask me what I am talking about?” Sean’s answer bewildered him. Alien, mammoth-sized octopus, sprayed—he did that? He shook his head and retreated further. “You don’t believe me?” Sean asked. “God, what’s wrong with you?” No, no, no, Jonah thought in panic. Here he was, lying on the street, on a hard pavement for goodness’ sake, with the closest guy he’d ever been with, but Sean sounded…crazy. Jonah got on his hands and knees and started to crawl backward. “Jonah!” Sean said. “Get back here, you’re not in good condition.” Jonah shrieked when Sean got to his feet. “Leave me alone.” He started to shake violently. Sweat broke through his pores and every single bone in him ached. His heart pounded when Sean crept closer to him. “Don’t hurt me, please.” “I’m not going to hurt you.” Sean sounded anguished and Jonah’s heart clenched. All of a sudden exhaustion weighed him down and all he wanted to do was just lie down, close his eyes, and sleep. “No, you’re not. Maybe.” Jonah had no strength anymore to finish his sentence. He sank to the ground and curled into a ball. Whatever the crazy boy was going to do to him, he thought blearily, he didn’t have the energy to stop it. Let him do whatever he wanted. Just let him… All of a sudden a blaring sound of a car tore into the night’s silence. Jonah squinted. Brakes screeched and a car pulled up across the street from where he and Sean were. Several boys jumped out of the car. Jonah widened his eyes. He knew them, Dean and the members of the basketball team. Sean jumped forward and stood still in front of Jonah’s body, like a mother tiger protecting her cub. “Hoy, Sean.” “Yeah, what? What are you guys doing here?” Jonah didn’t know which one was worse—for those jocks to grab him and Sean and turn them into aliens, or for them to beat them up into pulp. Jonah knew it wasn’t a problem for these guys to accomplish either action. But none of the boys moved. Dean whispered something to the closest boy. “Guys?” Sean sounded weary. “Do us a favor, okay? Get the hell out of here.” Dean trailed his attention back to Sean. “Hey, Sean. Your friend down there doesn’t seem well. Need help bringing him home?” Jonah watched Sean’s back tighten. “Go away,” Sean said. “I don’t need your help, assholes. Jonah won’t need it, either.” Sean turned around and bent down, reaching for him. No one moved an inch. Then someone else slid out of the car. “Sean, you can’t be serious. We know we were sometimes too rough on Jonah—and I had no idea you’re that concerned with him—but calling us assholes is too much.” “What do you expect?” Sean spat, turning around. “For us to simply fall into your clutches? Over my dead body, Rick.” Jonah convulsed in Sean’s hands as he remembered. Not Rick, please. Anyone but him. “No, you don’t understand, buddy—” “Don’t buddy me.” Sean frowned as he looked down at him. “All right, all right.” Rick raised both hands in resignation, glancing briefly in Dean’s direction, and Dean gazed back at him. “You’ve got to believe us. We’re totally baffled. The campus is a mess. Some classes are cluttered and the pool is crimson red with…blood? Then the burning in the parking lot, creepy things at the basketball court…What happened?” Sean looked perplexed. Rick wasn’t finished yet. “On the streets people are wandering about, looking at each other like they’ve gone mad. They all look as though they’ve just wakened from a long nap. I feel the same way, Sean.” Sean stared at him, frowning and breathing heavily. Jonah knew what was in his mind. The guys didn’t seem to recall what had gone on. Sean lifted Jonah up and carried him toward the car. Nothing happened. None of the jocks did anything to Sean and him. “Me too,” Dean said. “I’m sorry if I was cruel to Jonah, but I was serious just now. He doesn’t look fine. Let me help.” Sean shook his head slowly. “No. What you guys doing here, really? Tell me.” Rick sighed. “Sean, we saw someone—you—squatting over him. We thought you must be in trouble. We wanted to get here as fast as we could to offer some help.” Jonah tensed. Sean couldn’t agree with these guys. Sean glanced down at him as he tightened his hold around him. “Ssh, I got this. You’ll be fine, okay?” To Rick, Sean nodded. “All right. We’ll go with you.” Jonah clung to Sean. He left everything to his friend as he was still too weak to do anything.
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