Miriam had to make sure he wasn't following her. Now that she brought him there once, he'd been searching all over for the camp as he didn't remember where it was. Adah had joked the next time they went to the range with him he'd have to be blind folded. All that searching came with the risk of discovery.
Secretly, Miriam thought it would be better to just tell him. Matthew could keep secrets. He only released the ones he kept for blackmail. And Matthew would never - she wished that she could believe that he would never do the same to her. But she couldn't. He was twelve years old and didn't care about anyone but himself.
Luckily, she caught a break as Matthew was patrolling the property and wouldn't return to the barn where the motorcycles for another five minutes.
I don't get why he does it, Miriam thought as she drove through the rain. It must be miserable. He probably didn't even bring an umbrella.
When she got to the Genesis 2, it had begun to pour even more. The tarp covering the opening to climb into the ship was crowded with water, and Miriam was worried it would sink in so she shook it off before descending the ladder.
The door to the main area was now half-shut, just open enough that she could squeeze through. That way, if anyone found them they'd have a heads up as it'd take time for them to actually break in.
Adah had found some of Asher's glowing stars and stuck them to the walls in some of the areas that the lantern's light didn't shine in. They also had a new source of light - a flashlight that hung from a nail they put in the ceiling that spotlighted the entrance while the lantern was in the middle of the five seats at the front of the spaceship.
Spaceship. What an odd word for something that'd likely never fly again. Or at least, as long as they could keep it a secret.
Everyone was already there. Cain was drenched while PJ had a folded up umbrella dripping at the bottom of her seat. Both Adah and Asher were somewhere in the middle.
"Sorry. Had to lose the brother," Miriam apologetically said as she walked over to Adah's chair, who scooted over.
"It's okay," Adah said as Miriam sat down besides her.
Asher cleared his throat. "I think its time to get started."
"Alright. Why don't you present your findings?" Adah asked.
Asher picked up a folder from under his chair. Knowing him, he probably wrote an academic paper on it.
"To give you the cliff notes, what it does is lower the adrenaline gate and makes it easier to tap into natural human strength. Typically, the human body does not allow it as one might hurt themselves," Asher started. He paused and took in a breath.
"Currently, I have determined that there is no negative short term affects besides for directly after contact which will induce a eight to twenty four hour 'fever period'," Asher announced.
"But what about long term affects?" asked Adah.
Asher shrugged. "No one knows the long term affects for cellphones."
"Is that a cause for us not to worry?" Cain inquired.
"Maybe," Asher told him.
"So I consider it safe to recommend another person try it out," Asher continued.
For once, Adah seemed hesitant of something. But then she hid that with a smile and exclaimed, "I'm up for it!"
"Me too," PJ intruded, remembering what Asher had said about shifting the balance aboard the Genesis 2.
"I think this calls for a vote," Miriam said.
From the way Miriam and Cain were looking at Adah, Asher knew they weren't going to win. He had to change something. Fast.
Asher stood up and announced, "No vote will be occurring."
"Hmm?" Miriam went.
Asher swallowed. He had to come up with a reason. If he backtracked and said there were immediate side effects, it would cause Cain to worry. If he said they just couldn't, they just would.
"Well, I don't think we have enough genetic material yet," Asher told them.
"What do you mean by that?" Adah asked.
"I mean that we haven't researched what different types of DNA would do," he said, and then came up with an even better reason. "Besides, we don't know what it'll do on the higher settings. Maybe it'll incorporate more DNA into the system. We should check that first."
"We likely aren't going above level 1, so why would we be concerned about that?" Adah inquired.
"Well actually, I might want to go above level 1," Cain announced.
Yes. A supporter, Asher thought. And one who doesn't seem to be either jealous of me or have a crush on me.
"Alright, good to know, But still, we should vote," Adah said, almost completely ignoring Cain's comment. Miriam nodded in agreement.
"Things might change between now and then, so we should wait," Asher defended.
"Woooah. Both of you - chill out," Cain said, once again a moderator in the war between the two twins.
Asher took off his glasses and glared at Adah. "So if you want a vote - lets give you one. Whether we should do a vote for the next person to get a device or not."
He stood up on his chair which began to spin under him. He thought that it made him ridiculous, so he stepped off it. "If you think we should vote today, say aye."
"Aye," said the two girlfriends.
"And if you don't want to vote today, say nay," Asher continued.
"Nay!" exclaimed the rest of them.
Adah grimaced. "So it is decided."
Despite the look on his face, he felt a sense of dread. He was only a pinch away from everything slipping out of his control if it hadn't been for his improvisation.
He had to act - quick. But not yet, that'd be suspicous. All he had to do was wait, and soon an opportunity would arrive.
Thunder cracked overhead as rain began to spiral down.