Chasing Death (TMI FanFiction) // UNEDITED

Chapter Nine

This was it. 

The moment she had been looking forward to her entire life. 

She was finally going to meet her parents. Beth was both anxious and excited about the prospect of meeting them. The very thought of it made her feel physically sick. The combination of nerves and excitement led to the sensation of butterflies in her stomach. Though, it felt more like a stampede of elephants than the fluttering of butterfly wings. 

The entire situation was completely out of the ordinary. In fact, the entire week was completely out of the ordinary. Never would Beth have thought that she would be attacked, twice, find out her parents were alive and then have the prospect of actually meeting them. Never in a million years did she think this would happen. 

As she followed Charlie down the hallway and towards the weapons room, the elephant stampede got worse. She wasn't going to let on, though. If her uncle knew that the thought was making her feel sick, he wouldn't allow it. His automatic reaction would be that she was too young and too stressed to understand what had happened. That would be his first thought. He was always protecting her. Even if she didn't seem to think so. 

Charlie paused outside the weapons room and turned to face Beth. He looked just as nervous as she did, but he was determined not to show it. "You sure you want to do this?" He asked. 

"Yeah, I'm sure." Beth kept her answer brief to risk throwing up. It would have been easier for her to just nod, but that would have revealed her true feelings. 

"It's not too late to back out, you know." Charlie was urging Beth to back up. Clearly he was hiding something from her and didn't want it all  to come out. 

"Uncle Charlie, I'm not changing my mind. I'm doing this." Her tone was firm and to the point. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she wasn't going to miss out on it. Charlie nodded and pushed the door open with the palm of his hand. 

A million different thoughts ran through Beth's head. She had no idea what her parents were like. She didn't know what they looked like either. Charlie had kept photos, but a lot can change in fifteen years. Beth was unsure how to properly approach the situation as she entered the weapons room. She took a deep breath and moved out from behind her uncle. Almost everyone was seated, apart from two people who stood in the center of the room, their eyes focused on the door. 

Beth took in the appearance of her parents. Her mother had the same blonde hair she did, only it was shorter and clipped up to her scalp. She was dressed in a blue skirt, tights and a pink T-shirt that hung very loosely at her abdomen. Her Father had long, shaggy, dark hair that was tied in a ponytail at the top of his head.  He was in a pair of dark jeans that had tears in the knees. His T-Shirt was dark green and over the top he wore an army jacket. "Charlie, good to see you again," he said.

"You too James, Elizabeth," he nodded at them both, "Beth, these are your parents." Beth stood looking at them, dumbfounded. Neither of them looked in her direction and they were both stood very stiff, their posture was straight. She looked up at her uncle who shrugged her shoulders and gestured to a chair. They both sat, but still no one said a word. 

"Does anyone want a drink? James? Elizabeth? Beth?" Jocelyn asked it was clear she was trying to diffuse some of the obvious tension. 

"Water, please," Beth said, James and Elizabeth shook their heads in response. So far, only James had spoken out of the two, even if it wasn't directly at her. Jocelyn nodded and headed out of the room. 

"So, Charlie, why are we here?" James asked. 

"Beth wanted to meet you. I figured since we've lied to her for so long she deserved to know something," Charlie said. James' eyes darted from Charlie to Beth, they lingered for only a moment before he turned to look at his wife.