Apocalyptic World

Chapter Eight: My new beginning

The next morning, I immediately left the apartment and headed towards the entrance of the bunker. Once I made it there I saw Oren and when he saw me he said, "Speak of the devil. I was just talking about you." I'm still not entirely awake so I said, "Not now." Oren said, "You boy are the one I need for this mission." I yawned and said, "I don't care." Oren, "I need you to help us with something." I said, "Let me wake up." Oren still didn't listen. He said, "I need you to help us take our land back." I said, "Shut up. I'm still half asleep so I can't comprehend what you're saying." Oren said, "Well wake up." I yawned and said, "The couches you have are extremely uncomfortable to sleep on so excuse me for being tired." Oren said, "Yeah, you're supposed to sit on them." I said, "The apartment only had one bed. Where else was I supposed to sleep?" Oren said, "With your roommate in the same bed." I said, "You're crazy." Sam then walked up and asked, "What's going on here?" I shrugged and Oren said, "Nathan here just agreed to help us take back our land." I looked at Oren and said, "No I didn't. We were talking about the apartments." Sam said, "Oh, well your couches are extremely uncomfortable to sleep on." Oren asked, "Why aren't you two sleeping in the beds?" Sam said, "A girl was sleeping in the only bed in my apartment and I respect female space." I said, "Same reason for me." Oren said, "You two are something else." Sam said, "But why do you want us to help you take your land back? We won't of course but why?" Oren said, "I thought that you'd be able to see into the future. A future with no criminals." I said, "I want to have what you're having because you're speaking crazy." Oren said, "Wouldn't it be great to have no crimes?" Sam said, "I think that is just how he talks." I said, "Maybe." Oren said, "I'm not crazy. I can create that future." I said, "He's nuts." Sam nodded and said, "He needs serious help." Oren said, "Just try to imagine it." I said, "Listen, the world right now already has few crimes plus there will already be criminals no matter what. You can't control people." Oren said, "True, but I can get rid of people who are most likely to become criminals." I said, "Now you're sounding like a raider and not the good kind." Sam said, "Yeah, that is crazy. Just think, if you get rid of people then you will have rioters and people who rebel. You also can't see into the future and even if you could. People create their own futures so you aren't doing any good." Oren said, "Now you two are speaking nonsense." I said, "No we're not. The future isn't said in stone. Things can change in a split second. If my mom never left me and my father then we might not even have this conversation. I might not even be a raider if she didn't fake her death. We don't know and that is because something that hasn't happened can't do anything until it does happen." Oren asked, "What do you suggest?" I said, "Well, you should just calmly move with the raiders. We have a peaceful world." Oren said, "Raiders are evil." I said, "You are evil. Raiders just try to survive." Catherine, Lucy, Rachel and Tommy walked to us and Chloe asked, "When are we leaving?" I said, "We should be leaving now." Oren stepped away and the platform we were standing on went up. I said, "I think we should be worried about him." Sam said, "Yeah, same." Catherine asked, "Why should we worry about him?" I said, "He thinks that the future is said in stone and that he could be able to predict someone's future." Sam said, "Yeah and he plans to kill them if they have a future of crime." Chloe asked, "That's great and all but how will we make it to California?" I said, "I called in a friend." Once we made it to the top. I looked to our left and there was a plane with Ben standing outside of it. I waved and yelled, "Yo, how's the arm?" Ben yelled back, "Still heavy." We ran to him and I said, "You look great man." Ben laughed and said, "I feel old but you don't look so good." I said, "Well, I got shot, survived a crash, and got beat up by the old government." Sam said, "You don't look a day over forty." Ben said, "Thanks but you look to be my age." Sam said, "I still have twenty-five years." Ben said, "And I still have one arm." Catherine looked at Ben, surprised, fearful, and disgusted at the same time. Ben said, "You must be Catherine." Catherine nodded and said, "I think I'm going to be sick." I said, "I told her how you lost your arm." Ben said, "Well, come on in. You can tell me about your journey." We walked into the plane and I sat in the cockpit. Ben asked, "Do you know how to fly a plane?" I flipped a switch and the plane turned on. I smiled and said, "Yep, it's not too different from piloting a submarine." Ben said, "It's pretty different." I pressed a button and it turned on the engines. I said, "Nope, not too different." Ben said, "Just don't crash like you did with the submarine." I said, "First off, that wasn't my fault. There was a whirlpool that sucked us in and Second, we survived didn't we." Sam said, "We won't survive a fall." I pressed another button and a voice spoke, "Autopilot engaged. Please select your location." I said, "Ooh, fancy." I looked at the touch pad and pressed LA. The voice spoke again, "Heading for Los Angeles. Please prepare for a three hour flight." I pressed another button and the plane took off. I said, "Nice, I've already figured out the autopilot." Ben said, "I didn't know this plane had one." I said, "I'm just that good." Catherine said, "So we are safe." I said, "I don't know. I'm a specialist on the ground. I know nothing about being in the air or on water." "We're fine." Sam assured Catherine. I got up and Ben said, "Once we land, I can have medics look at your leg." I said, "It's fine. I barely even feel it." Ben said, "Alright but tell me what happened in the bunker." Sam said, "It was crazy. Nate's mom is still alive and the President is crazy." Ben looked at me and said, "You don't seem to be happy about your mom being alive." I said, "I'm not. She faked her death just to continue her research on the exosaurs and me. She doesn't care about me." Ben said, "I can tell that you're hurting so I'll give you a few days to get yourself together." I said, "It's fine." Ben asked, "What do you plan to do once they get their licenses?" I said, "I don't know." Tommy said, "I know what I'm going to do." I said, "You'll die before you could lay a hand on me." Tommy said, "You want to bet." I said, "Don't test me." Ben said, "I almost forgot." Ben passed us some cell phones and said, "You two already have each other as contacts." I said, "Thanks." Sam said, "Yeah, thanks." I put the phone in my pocket and said, "You know that Thomas Hohen is dead." Ben said, "I didn't know that." I said, "Well, that's what Chloe said." Ben said, "He was such a good man and a good fighter." I said, "Yeah, he was." Chloe said, "You must be metal arm Ben then. He told a lot of stories about you. Ben said, "And he told me about you. You are Chloe Sandra. I have to say, it is an honor having a Sandra on my plane." I asked, "What are you talking about?" Ben said, "The Sandra's are a mercenary clan that has been around for twenty years. They have never been caught and are said to be the best assassins. When the apocalypse broke out. They helped me create Gang Falls." I said, "Really, well that is very interesting." Ben said, "Yeah and I believe that Xavier is a Sandra." I said, "As in the best fighter in Gang Falls." Ben nodded and said, "The Sandra Clan is supposed to be the best clan in existence." Chloe said, "Yeah and I'm no exception." I said, "I don't know about that. I mean you fight like an A rank but you are a C rank." Ben said, "That is good though." I said, "Yeah but she still has trouble reading her opponents." Ben said, "Well, that isn't bad." Catherine said, "I'm sorry to interrupt but I can't help but ask how you take a shower." Ben said, "Oh, I take my arm off." Lucy said, "Cool, can you please take it off?" Ben said, "And you must be Lucy." Lucy nodded. Ben smiled and said, "Sure, Nate. I need you to take my arm off." I said, "Sure but how?" Ben said, "You'll figure it out." I said, "If I don't, I'm cutting it off." Ben said, "You better not." I walked behind Ben and examined his shoulder. I pressed down on it and heard a pressure valve release but the arm didn't come off. I looked at it and saw a little slit. I drew my sword and placed it in the slit. I then said, "Sam, I need you to pull this arm." Sam grabbed Ben's arm and started pulling. Sam said, "This is heavy." I pushed down on my sword and slowly but surely. Ben's arm was coming off. I made it about halfway and then got shocked. I let go of the sword and said, "This arm is old." Ben said, "You're almost done." I said, "Just shut up." I pushed down on the sword again and it started going down. I removed the sword from the slit and raised it above my head. I said, "Ben, stay still." I then swung the sword down with all my might and it went right through the arm. Ben's metal arm then fell off and Ben said, "There was a button that you should've pressed." I said, "Well, get a magnetic arm." Ben then said, "Well, these two idiot's made it seem hard but it's pretty basic." I said, "You're putting it on by yourself." Ben grabbed his arm and reattached it. I said, "Show off." Ben said, "Yeah but you need to be one tomorrow. You have so many enemies that you need to fight in the colosseum." I said, "I don't have that many enemies." Ben said, "Eli's gang and half of Gang Falls." I asked, "How is half of Gang Falls my enemy. I fought a war for them." Ben said, "Yeah but they are accusing you of threatening their lives and with a gun." I said, "Well, they started it." Ben said, "Yeah, good luck. They were about to put ten Alpha Exosaurs in the ring but I lowered it to five." I said, "Yeah, thanks." Ben said, "No problem but they're all mocking you and want you to use a kitchen knife." I said, "Of course." Ben asked, "If you survive, what do you want?" I said, "A little respect would be nice." Ben laughed and said, "How about something I could give you." I said, "Fine, I want the Position as an S rank Assassin General." Ben said, "That is something reasonable and it marks sense. You already are the second best fighter in Gang Falls so defeating the Colosseum would put you in a position where it only makes sense." Sam said, "Yeah and it should be easy thanks to an interesting move he has." Ben asked, "What move?" I said, "I fought an Alpha Exosaur alone but it didn't attack me. It just stood in front of me." Ben said, "Interesting." I said, "Oh yeah and the Exosaurs are changing. I killed one that didn't have an exoskeleton. It had an endoskeleton and it was running fast. Looked like a dust cloud while it was running. I took it out with one bullet though." Ben said, "Interesting but I think that leg will have a lot of pain during the fight." Sam said, "I told you to not make enemies." Catherine asked, "He can win right?" I said, "Sure I can. I have to fight five of the toughest beasts on earth all at once with nothing but a kitchen knife." Ben said, "I tried to give you more but the most I could do was give you an execution instead." I said, "Oh, so now I have a choice to live." Ben said, "Well, I won and I'm much older than you." I said, "Yeah, you also lost an arm." Chloe asked, "Can someone fight with him?" Ben said, "Sure but it has to be his choice." I said, "Alright then. I choose Eli to fight with me." Ben said, "You want someone who wants you dead to fight with you." I said, "Yep. He's a beast when it comes to survival and I'm just a spitting image of him minus the murder but still." Sam said, "Well, if they fail. Gang Falls will have lost the two most dangerous men." Ben said, "Alright but you know the rules. You two can't kill each other." I sat down and said, "I know." Ben said, "Well, I hope you don't die." I said, "I hope so too." Catherine asked, "Why didn't you pick Sam?" I said, "Because, Sam is like a father to me. If I got him killed, I would never forgive myself but Eli is a man who wants to survive. If I pick him, I have a good chance at living." Ben said, "Oh I almost forgot. I did some more research on exosaurs and we were right about them being able to sense or even see energy sources and stuff. I even found out that they can smell each other's DNA to figure out what rank they are. We can use it too but only if they're bleeding. Alpha females have a sweet scent and alpha males have a scent like death. Normal ones smell like chicken." I said, "Well, isn't that interesting." Sam asked, "Should we tell him what your mother found out about you?" I said, "No." Ben asked, "Why, what did she find out about him?" I said, "Nothing. She's just selfish." Ben said, "Well you should rest. You have a big day tomorrow." I said, "Alright." Tommy said, "I can't wait for him to die tomorrow." I asked, "If I killed Tommy right now. What would happen to me?" Ben said, "We would have to execute you." I asked, "What if he 'accidentally' fell out of the plane?" Ben said, "Well, it depends if anyone sees." I said, "I won't say anything if you kill him." Ben laughed and said, "He's annoying you that much." I said, "He is on a very dangerous path." Ben said, "I'm not going to kill him." I said, "Then arrest him for attempted murder within the gang." Ben said, "But you're not a gang." I said, "Technicalities. We're all traveling together, that counts." Ben said, "Still, no one is going to buy that." I said, "Fine." I walked out of the cockpit and sat on a couch. This plane could be a house but a lot more dangerous. I sat back and thought about everything that happened. My mom is alive, I could possibly be part exosaur, and I'm about to fight for my life. I knew that for a normal person, they would've cracked on the spot and started fearing for their life but not me. I have to win tomorrow. My mom isn't who I think she is but I'm not who she thinks I am. I won't lose tomorrow because I can't lose. Catherine sat next to me and asked, "How are you holding up?" Her voice was calm. Which was surprising considering I'm about to be fighting for my life. I said, "Just fine. The fight tomorrow, it'll be a piece of cake." Catherine said, "I'm not talking about that." I said, "Oh, well I'm still fine. I've been through worst." Catherine said, "You're going through the worst right now. Everyone on this plane can tell that you are currently trying to fight your feelings. You are hurting and you need to cry or talk about it." I said, "I'm fine. I don't need to talk about anything." Catherine said, "A man at war with himself but denies it is no man." I asked, "What?" Catherine said, "My dad always said that when he was telling me and Lucy how much he loves us." I said, "Oh, well he is right." Catherine said, "You're at war with yourself but you're denying it. You can't fight like that." I said, "It's nothing really." Catherine said, "If it's nothing, then you wouldn't be denying it. It's something if you're willing to go to the grave with it." I said, "Some things are better off not said." Catherine said, "You're literally about to fight for your life. Tomorrow might be the last time you see any of us." I said, "I know that." Catherine said, "Then tell us what's on your mind." I said, "Someone wants Sam dead." Catherine said, "You're lying." I shook my head, "I wish I was. Whenever I was by myself for those past days, I would see this man with a big, bushy, black beard. He never told me his name but he kept telling me to turn Sam in. I don't know for what but he seems to know we are all the time." Catherine said, "Maybe he only knows where you are." I said, "Maybe but that would be close to impossible because he just appears out of nowhere." Ben said, "I know who you're talking about." I said, "Well, at least I can get some info." Ben said, "His name is Chan Young. He was the best Mercenary raider before you came along and he committed unspeakable crimes. Some believe that he works for Eli but none has proved it. He usually kills anyone who even looks at him but you say that he's following you." I said, "I don't know." Ben said, "He wants something from you." I said, "Well, I have nothing that anyone would ever want." Ben said, "Oh he wants something but Sam might be in the way." I asked, "Sam, do you know something about this?" Sam said, "I do. Eli told me about it when you killed Tommy's gang." I said, "And." Sam said, "Eli sees you as a weapon or something more powerful. You had this look in your eye as you killed everyone. It was the same look that you had while protecting us from the raiders. Eli wanted to use you as a weapon but I wouldn't let him. We had an argument and he threatened my life. That very night, we were leaving and that's when it all happened but one thing is for sure. It isn't your DID that makes you a weapon. It's something else." I said, "Great, first I'm a guinea pig for my mom's research and now I'm a weapon." Sam said, "You're not a weapon or a guinea pig. You're human, you're also special and that's all some people see. You need to know that you have a lot of power inside of you and some people will try to take advantage of that but I will never let that happen as long as I'm on this earth." I said, "Well it's nice to know that the day before my fight." Sam said, "If you die. I would much rather have you know that I will always fight for you." I said, "I won't be dying anytime soon." Sam said, "Good." Ben said, "Back to Chan. If he doesn't convince you to kill Sam. He'll do it himself." I said, "Well, I'll gladly fight him." Catherine said, "You're not listening. You have a fight tomorrow which could have you injured or worse so if he's smart. He'll attack you then." I said, "I won't be that badly injured." Sam said, "She's trying to say that the cards are stacked against you. I'm a good guard but I can't stand up to a man like Chan." I asked, "So what's the plan if I'm being chased by some of the most dangerous people?" Sam said, "We will fight back." I said, "Alright but we need information." Ben said, "I told you everything but the fact that he's code Apollyon. I once sent twelve S ranks after him and they never came back." I said, "Well, he might be playing with me or he knows my capabilities because he always leaves whenever I threaten him." Sam said, "Might be both." Ben said, "Alright but we need an actual plan." I said, "If Eli is working with him then they might be playing each other. Chan is using Eli but Eli is also using Chan. We need to figure out who has the better plan." Catherine said, "Well, it might be Eli because everyone trembles at his name." I said, "They also tremble at my name but no one knows about Chan. If he's that dangerous then he might have the master plan." Sam said, "This might be a stretch but what if they're working together. Eli is human so Chan could've scared him into working with him." Ben said, "Never, they would kill each other before they work together. They are definitely using each other but I don't know if Chan has a gang or not." I said, "They'll be trying to kill me as I fight the exosaurs." Chloe said, "We aren't getting anywhere with this plan." I said, "I say we let it play out. If Chan wants something from me then he won't let me die in the colosseum." Ben said, "If he does protect you then we'll have no way of ensuring your safety. He could attack you after that moment." I said, "I won't go down without a fight." Sam said, "You never have." Tommy said, "So you're basically leaving everything to a hormonal teen." I said, "I am anything but hormonal. Murderous, sure. Crazy, a little. But I am not hormonal." Tommy said, "I'm just saying. Your childhood is messed up. Chan could manipulate you." I said, "Good luck with that. It'll be a waste of time." Sam said, "But if Chan does come, I say we should have some guards around. At least twelve S rank Assassin raiders, three S rank Mercenary raiders, and I want to be at Nate's gate." Ben said, "Good idea. It won't stop him but it should slow him down at least." I asked, "Where will you be Ben?" Ben answered, "I'll be at your gate too." Chloe said, "I want to help too." Catherine said, "So do I." I said, "We need you two in a safe place protecting Lucy." From their looks, that wasn't good enough. It felt kinda nice knowing that everyone wants to fight but I can't just let them die so I said, "I mean what I said. You two need to be protecting Lucy. We all are pretty much giving ourselves a death sentence by trying to fight Chan." Lucy said, "We care about you." I said, "I'm not the only person on earth." Sam said, "If all goes to plan. You'll be safe." I said, "Not my plan." Sam said, "I'm trying to save your future so we need you safe." I said, "I don't care about the future. The future doesn't exist. The past and the present are the only things that exist. You can't change the past but because the future doesn't exist. You can create it by changing the present. I'm trying to give everyone else a chance to make their future. My plan is to win and if Chan does come. I'm going to kill him." Sam said, "You can kill him later. I'm more worried about Eli. He might have someone on a roof preparing to shoot you. My plan was to let Chan protect you but if he tries to enter the stadium, we'll slow him down." I said, "And after that." Sam said, "After that, we'll chase him down and make him suffer." I said, "Fine." Sam said, "Good but it's up to you to stay alive." I said, "Yeah, it should be easy." Sam said, "Alright but sense you can die. I think we should let you know something before it's too late." Sam was staring at Catherine and Catherine asked, "What?" Sam asked, "Have anything to say to Nate while he can still hear you?" Catherine said, "Nope." Chloe said, "I have something to say." I sighed and said, "If it's that you like me. I already know that. You made it quite clear in the three days I've known you." Chloe said, "It isn't that. I just want to ask. Were you the least bit happy to know that your mother was alive all these years?" I said, "I don't know. All I know is that I was crying for someone who doesn't care about me. I'm never going to do that again though." Chloe said, "I just wanted to know." I nodded and sat back. Catherine gave me a look though. She might think that I'm still at war with myself. Catherine said, "I hope you live." I said, "I hope so too." Sam said, "Nate, I know what you should do when we get to Gang Falls." I said, "Alright, I want to know." Sam said, "Escort Catherien and Lucy to their father." I totally forgot that he was alive. Catherine said, "Yeah, you could meet him in person." I said, "I don't think he'll take it so well that a raider is with his daughters." Ben said, "You must be scared." I said, "I'm not scared. I just don't want to fight their father in self defense." Ben said, "I could always do it." I said, "I'll do it." Ben looked at my leg and said, "You have to let me treat it." I said, "It's fine." Ben said, "Yeah but you will die if you fight with a bum leg." I said, "I'm fine." Ben said, "Alright." After three hours we finally landed and walked out the plane. It was exactly how I expected it. A lot of people were all staring at me. Some were just looking, others were closing their windows and doors. The rest were throwing stuff at me. I don't understand why they hate me so much. I saved them and only threatened them a little bit. Never mind. I know why they hate me. I was walking without making eye contact with anyone. I looked straight and didn't show any emotion. A little boy then ran in front of me and said, "You murdered my family." I said, "I was saving you. They had no chance. You had a chance and I gave it to you." The boy said, "I hope you die." I sighed and continued to walk. Catherine said, "They all hate you this much but you don't care." I said, "That's how people are. You could save them but because we're human. You could still hate the man." Catherine said, "If only they could see your soft side." I said, "Like that is anywhere close to possible." Lucy ran in front of me and said, "I'll protect you." I smiled and said, "Thank you." People were still throwing things at me, all missing of course but a rock that was meant for me was heading towards Lucy. I immediately caught it and yelled, "You can throw all the things you want at me. But if you throw one thing at this little girl who hasn't done a single thing to you savages. I will kill every last one of you." I dropped the rock and said, "That's your last warning." Everyone stared at me surprised. I knew that I had no room to make anymore threats but no one messes with an innocent little girl or boy. We continued to walk and there were no more items being thrown at me. A man ran up to us and said, "Lucy, Catherine." Catherine looked at the man with tears in their eyes. I said, "You guys keep going. I'm staying with Catherine and Lucy." Sam nodded and they continued walking. Catherine and Lucy ran to the man and hugged him. This man must've been their father. I looked at them and saw how happy they were. I wish I was that happy when I saw my mom but that'd be impossible. Their father looked at me and asked, "Is something wrong?" I shook my head. "I'm just making sure that these two stay safe." I answered. Catherine walked next to me and said, "He saved us." I said, "Hi, I'm Nathan." Their father stood up and walked to me with a fierce look. It was obvious that he was trying to scare me but I've already seen his soft side so I have nothing to be scared about. Lucy ran in front of me and stood there. Their father held his hand out and said, "I'm their father. You can call me Luke." I grabbed his hand and shook it. I let go and said, "You have tough girls." Luke said, "I know. But thank you for taking care of them." I said, "It was nothing." Luke said, "Maybe we could come to your place and have dinner." I said, "That's very nice but I don't have a place here. I actually move around a lot so I don't have a place anywhere." Luke said, "Then have dinner with us. You could bring your parents and your friends." Catherine said, "His Dad died and his mother betrayed him." Luke said, "Oh, I'm sorry." I said, "Well, you can't change the past but you can make your own future." Luke smiled and said, "Exactly." I said, "I'll come and I can see if my friend can come." Luke said, "I saw how you protected my daughter from that rock." I said, "Of course. I don't care what people do to me but no one will attack a person as innocent as Lucy." Luke said, "People around here call you-" I said, "I know, they call me a demon. It's just because I have a unique way of helping others. It isn't the happiest or best but it's the only way." Luke nodded and said, "You're a soldier alright. Your eyes say it all." I asked, "What do you mean?" Luke said, "Your eyes are the eyes of someone who has never been loved by a family. You didn't even have a childhood. They've hardened but still haven't lost the child look in them." I said, "Well, I'm just glad that Lucy won't get those eyes. She has you and Catherine. That's a lot more than I've ever gotten." Luke said, "I wish that I could help but my wife always said that you just need a good cry every now and then." I said, "Well, I don't cry. It won't change the past." Luke said, "Time has not been good to you." I said, "The world has never been good to me. I won't treat it the same way." Luke said, "Well, at least you have good goals." I said, "Yeah but I have a history full of blood." Luke said, "So do I but it's something we have to live with." I nodded and asked, "Are you two staying with me and Sam or do you want to stay here with your father?" Lucy asked, "Will you visit if I stay with dad?" I said, "Of course. You have my word on that. I will visit all the time I get." I looked at Catherine and she said, "I think we'll stay with Dad." I nodded and said, "It was nice traveling with you." Catherine hugged me and said, "I'm going to miss you." I hugged back and said, "I'm going to miss you too." We let go of each other and Catherine wiped a tear from her cheek and said, "At least Sam won't be annoying you." I smiled and said, "Yeah." Lucy hugged me crying and said, "I can't wait to see you again." Catherine said, "I guess I failed at not getting her attached." I said, "You can cry. I won't cry." Catherine hugged me again crying. I had this warm feeling while being hugged by these two. Was it the feeling of being loved by a family? Nah, it couldn't be. But it sure felt good. Catherine and Lucy let go of me and I said, "I sure wished that you would have joined us but I know that family is more important." I started to walk away and Luke said, "Thanks again." I smiled to myself. I walked to Sam and Ben and said, "They want to stay with their dad." Sam said, "I understand." Ben said, "Yeah, you can't beat family." I said, "Yeah but let's get moving." Sam asked, "Why is your shirt wet?" I said, "They were crying on my shoulder." Sam said, "Well, we have to continue with our plan." Ben said, "Maybe Nate won't have to fight tomorrow. He did show everyone his soft side." Sam said, "Maybe but that's the citizens choice." Ben said, "True, what do you think Nate?" I didn't answer. I didn't even hear him. I'm too focussed on Lucy and Catherine. I hope that they'll be alright. Sam put his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him and he asked, "Are you alright?" I shook my head. I said, "They hugged me before I left them and I had a warm feeling. I don't know what it is." Ben said, "That feeling was love. A love similar to the love a family has." I said, "Oh." Sam asked, "Have you felt that before?" I nodded and said, "Before all of this happened. I think I forgot what it felt like." Ben said, "Well, I hope you can stay focussed tomorrow." I said, "I can." Sam said, "We need to push it back, Ben. This week has been hard on Nate. He can't take it anymore, physically or mentally." Ben stopped walking and said, "I'll have to ask everyone." Sam said, "Please do." I said, "That isn't necessary." Ben said, "Of course it is. You're my friend. I hate it when you're hurt." Ben turned around and yelled, "People of Gang Falls." Everyone walked out and gave their attention to Ben. Ben asked, "Can I move the fight to a later date?" A man walked up and asked, "Why?" Ben said, "He isn't at his best right now. Both physically and mentally." The man looked at me and sighed. "We're willing to call the entire thing off" He said, "If he stops threatening us. I must admit that we're acting like cowards and that is something we can't be." Ben said, "He will stop threatening you." The man nodded and said, "Thank you Ben. I hope that he feels better." Ben looked at me and said, "Success." I nodded and said, "We still need the people though. I want Chan caught." Ben said, "Tomorrow." I looked at Sam and said, "Their father invited us to dinner. It's twelve. I think we should help them out." Sam said, "Sure, let's go." Ben said, "You know where to find me." Sam and I walked to the last place I saw them. I looked around and saw them through a window. I walked up to the door and knocked. Luke answered it and said, "Oh, good to see you again." I said, "This is my friend Sam and we came to help with dinner." Sam said, "Nice to meet you." Luke said, "I'm Luke and help in the kitchen would be great." We walked inside and Lucy ran right to me. Catherine said, "Missed us already." I smiled and said, "Yeah and I'm not passing up free food." Catherine said, "I was missing you too." We then talked and laughed with each other. Dinner was ready by 5:30 pm and it was steak. We all had a good time and Sam and I prepared to leave by six. I smiled and said, "The dinner was great." Luke said, "Come again soon." I nodded and walked outside. I then heard a boom and felt a sharp pain in my chest. I looked at my chest and saw that I was shot. I fell to the ground and Sam ran to me putting pressure on the wound. Luke ran outside with a handgun and looked around. Catherine ran to me with tears in her eyes and said, "Don't die." I was gasping for air. I couldn't speak or move. Sam said, "Run and find help. I'll try and keep him alive." Catherine nodded and ran. I grabbed Sam's forearm and looked at him with tears in my eyes. Sam said, "You aren't going to die bud. Trust me." I trust him. It isn't looking good for me but I'm not giving up. Sam kept the pressure on my wound with tears in his eyes. Sam said, "You're the only thing I did right. Please don't die." I smiled and shut my eyes. I heard Sam yell, "NO!" Luke said, "Don't give up yet." It kept getting harder and harder to breathe. I felt Sam's tears fall on my cheek. I kept holding on but I don't know how much more I can give. I said, "Sam, it's getting harder to breathe." Sam said, "Just calm down. You're doing great." I said, "I-I can't hold on much longer." Sam said, "Just open your eyes." I opened them and saw Lucy at the door crying. Sam said, "You'll be just fine." Catherine came back with two medics who put me on a stretcher and ran to a hospital. Sam was running alongside them. I looked at him and a tear rolled down my cheek. I held my hand out and he grabbed it. I shut my eyes and felt weightless. I didn't see darkness though. I saw my dad. I looked around and asked, "Am I dreaming?" Dad walked up to me and said, "No my son. You are in a place where you get to decide whether you live or die." I reached out and he felt real. I hugged him and said, "I'm so sorry for killing you." Dad said, "I don't blame you." Dad hugged me back and I started to cry. I felt nothing but sorrow and regret. I asked, "What's happening?" Dad said, "You're finally having a real cry. It might just be in your mind but still." I said, "I love you dad but I need to stay with Sam." Dad said, "I know. You're so much different than I thought you were going to be. I always knew that you'd be something special one day but you're way more special than I ever thought." I said, "Dad, I need to know if you knew about mom." Dad shook his head and said, "I don't care though. My son is alive. I just want you to be happy." I said, "I want to be happy too." Dad said, "Well, you are already one step closer." I woke up and had bandages on my chest. Sam and Catherine were sitting next to me. I looked at them and they had some sad faces. They looked worried so I jokingly asked, "Did someone die?" Sam and Catherine looked at me and hugged me. It hurt but I didn't care. I was with my family. Sam said, "You've been out for three days." I said, "Well, I'm alive." Catherine and Sam let go of me and Catherine said, "They still haven't found the guy who shot you but we think it was Chan." I said, "I'll get them when I'm healed." Sam walked out of the room and Catherine was about to join him but I grabbed her hand. Catherine looked at me and said, "I need to check up on Lucy." I said, "I know but I just want you to know that I don't want you to get involved with all this. Lucy needs an older sister and if you try to chase the person who shot me. You could die." Catherine said, "I have to get involved. I care about you and I can't just let that go." I let go of her and said, "Please, don't get involved. Don't make Lucy suffer the same way I am." Catherine nodded and walked out of the room. Something bigger is coming but I don't know what. I just hope that Catherine listens to me.