Bring The Heat

16. Getting Handouts

-(WHILST WREN, TENSON, AND CECE WERE PREPARING TO GET METAL)-

Dominic gazed out the window at the azure waves cascading routinely onto the sand that glistened under the rising sun. He loved admiring the sea, the gentle lapping of her tides and the violent crashing of her waves on the sand. He watched as the ocean reached out, then receded, over and over hypnotically, like it was desperate to feel the wonders of the land. Dominic rolled down his window, and allowed himself to become enamored with the sea's sighs of serenity.

"You like the beach?" BM chimed in.

Dominic turned his head lazily, sluggish with contentedness, and rolled his gaze over to BM. He had been driving them down the coast for about 20 minutes now.

"Yes... I don't have any connection to it, though. I just think it's beautiful..."

"I'd say that's connection enough."

Dominic nodded and smiled.

"Yeah... that's true!"

A short silence fell over the two of them. Dominic had begun to like this about BM; he could appreciate a comfortable tranquility every now and again. Dominic let the sun and breeze soak his face in light and warmth, and listened to the seagulls caw.

The car slowed to a halt. Dominic looked around, and was confused to see that they were still on the coast. BM had parked them right next to a solitary beach-side house. It was small, but fancy looking.

"This is the place?"

"Yahuh! Now, I should warn you... my 'connection' can be a bit much. Maybe... try not to engage with her too much?"

Dominic would typically do what BM said, but felt intrigued. 'Uh-huh. I will engage though. What's the worst that could happen?' he thought to himself.

The two approached the house, and Dominic noticed BM take a second to fully collect himself before knocking on the door. They waited about 15 seconds, before BM knocked again, louder this time. He sighed, and opened the door, poking his head into the house, which was completely dark other than some rays of sunlight seeping through fully drawn curtains.

"Robi-" BM began to call, before a hand launched from the darkness and clasped aggressively over his mouth. A girl slid out from just beside the doorway, dressed in a beanie, hoodie, and black jeans. She also wore an annoyed facial expression.

"Lewis!" she reprimanded, glaring up at BM. She turned her glare to Dominic, repeating "Lewis..." under her breath.

Dominic felt his heart skip a beat in fear as the girl commanded him. Her short, thick, strawberry-blonde hair traced down the sides of her face like rays of an afternoon sun. Circle-framed glasses encaptured her blue-eyed glare, a sting of beauty in the hatred. Dominic wasn't romantically interested, he's just a nerd for long words.

BM tore her grasp from his lips.

"Yes... Lewis. Dominic, this is Lewis." BM said, in a tone that already sounded regretful.

Wordlessly, Lewis examined him, before silently turning to and disappearing into the darkness. Dominic's heart caught back up again, and he and BM followed Lewis into the house. She plopped down on a swivel chair, and typed a key into a code program on one of the many computers on her desk, illuminating her in a soft mint glow. After she entered it, Dominic heard a metallic click to his left and saw, in the darkness, what looked to be some kind of booby trap deactivating. Lewis swiveled around to face the two, as their eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"Whaddya want, Malcolm?" Lewis asked, impatiently.

Dominic didn't know who she was talking to, until BM grunted quietly, and Lewis corrected herself:

"Sorry. 'Best Man'."

In her defense, Lewis seemed genuinely apologetic to have made this mistake. But the damage was already done, and Dominic was shocked to hear BM's real name.

"Look, Lewis- I've gotten loads of people joining us at the compound lately, and-"

"How old?"

BM sighed.

"Most of them are teenagers, yes. But they're being hunted, and-"

"At the compound?"

"Yes, but I can keep them safe there. If I leave them as they were, they could get hunted anyway, and-"

"As opposed to being at the compound, where they WILL get hunted?"

BM stopped trying for a second, putting his head in his hands, and Lewis just stared at him.

"Lewis..." he finally pleaded. Lewis looked down at the ground and exhaled loudly.

"Look, I just don't want anything bad to happen to these kids, ok? And if anything bad does happen, you being there could save their lives." he continued.

Lewis just kept staring at the ground, sucking her teeth. Eventually, she looked up.

"Do I get my own medical bay?"

"You can take the medical bay, yes."

"Are any of em, yknow..."

"Nope. I mean, some of them are even-"

BM paused, side-eyeing Dominic. Lewis hopped up.

"Fine then. I got nothing better to do." she returned reluctantly.

The three of them exited the house, but Dominic noticed Lewis stop at the door, sprout some kind of sapling from her palm, and tell it to 'keep the place on lock' and that 'mommy would be back soon'. He felt an urge to question it, but decided it would probably be smarter to just stay quiet.

On the drive back, Dominic gazed at the window once more, but this time was secretly examining Lewis's reflection. He felt a curiosity about her that drew him to her in a near-magnetic way. Almost as if she could sense that he was thinking about her, Lewis turned to Dominic.

"So what's your deal, 'Dominic'?"

Dominic stared for a second, too dumbfounded by being caught to hear what she said, before realizing she was asking about his power.

"Oh, well, I can make things longer." he responded, dryly. What was happening to him? His words always came smoothly before now...

"What?" Lewis asked, giggling. He was making a fool of himself... Dominic collected himself.

"Uhm, I can take an object, and create multiple copies of it, in a chain. The copies are made by the absence of anything, including light, so it works best in dark places." he continued, faking confidence.

"Huh." she returned, coolly.

BM's phone buzzed, and he glanced down at it.

"Ah. Cece's taking Tenson and Wren to go see the other guy now! Lewis, let's hope we don't need you this soon!" he joked, in a twisted turn of fate.