The next morning, the clouds had broken overhead revealing the sun which sparkled across pools of water left by the storm. It was so blinding that Asher had to wear sunglasses instead of his regular glasses, which made him a partial risk to have on a bike.
By that, they meant motorbike. Truthfully, Asher's vision was almost 9/10. The only reason he needed glasses was because of street signs and whiteboards. And there were obviously none of them in the middle of the forest.
Adah was the first to reach the Genesis 2. When she got to the top, she was surprised to see that the tarp was open and water had pooled on the floors below them.
"The wind must've been awfully fierce last night, because the tops off," Adah said. "Now the floor's all wet."
"Should we bring some towels a mile and a half out into the woods then?" Cain joked.
"Let's wait. And maybe slip and crack our heads open," Adah said as she slipped inside. The ladder was also slippery, and she began to re-think what she had said as not a joke. "On second thought, we might need to. This is slippery."
She noticed footprints sparkling in the last rays of the sun going to the ladder. The footprints were solid, there was no distinguishing what caused them. She pushed through to the slight hallway and then breathed in the air. It was as cool and unusual as always.
Miriam tripped, not noticing a small bit of water on the metal floor in front of her in the lack of light. "Ow!" She exclaimed, holding her nose.
"Miriam, are you alright?" Adah cried.
"Yeah. I think so," Miriam said, wincing.
Cain gave Miriam his water bottle. "It's still cold. Hold it up to your face."
Miriam squinted at the chairs. "Wait a second," she said, and Cain paused mid-motion.
She crawled over to one of the chairs, and the breath was squeezed from her lungs.
"One of the boxes is broken," she whispered.
"What?" PJ exclaimed. She looked over there and saw it was true. The MIB know now! She fretted. We're going to get mind-wiped!
Asher pushed the other two aside and reached in. "There's nothing in there," he told them. "It's gone."
"Shit," Adah gasped, her dark eyes widening.
"This is bad, bad, bad," PJ muttered.
"Who would know of this?" Miriam asked.
"The MIB obviously," PJ exclaimed.
"If the MIB knew, this would already be gone. And they don't even exist," Asher said, folding his expression into a thin line.
Miriam's heart froze. Just two days ago, her brother had found the location of the Tree Camp. But how would he have found this so quickly? The tracks, of course. It was the tracks the first time. But the rain would have washed it away. And how would Matthew know how to pick locks. Cain would have taught him, just like how he was showing him how to shoot.
"Miriam, what are you thinking about?" Adah asked, noticing her girlfriend had gone silent.
"It might be Matthew," she whispered.
"Really? Matthew? Your twelve year old brother?" Cain inquired.
"He found the Tree Camp on his own. Who says he wouldn't have found here too?"
"That's a great point. But… Matthew would never steal something. He may be kinda evil at some times, but he kinda has a code. For once, him being obsessed with Jedi comes in handy," Cain said.
Meanwhile, Adah was eyeing PJ with suspicion. Maybe she had asked her to do self defense because she knew she was going to get beat up once the device was discovered in her possession. But why would she steal it? And if she stole it, why would she be so afraid of the MIB still?
Unless she was acting. PJ was an actor. She almost always the lead in school plays and musicals. She also knew where the Genesis 2 was located unlike Matthew.
"I'm going to search his room just in case. Cain, I'll need you to distract him. Maybe promise him some shooting time?" Miriam said.
Cain nodded. "I'll put up with your little brother." Secretly, he thought Matthew wasn't that bad. Sure, he asked a lot of questions and was oddly dedicated to certain things but he was quite determined and reminded him of himself.
"So what are we going to do now? We might be discovered!" Miriam said.
Asher said the one thing that no one else dared to say. "We're only discovered if it's not one of us."
"Well, its not me," Cain said. "Obviously."
Cain knew he wasn't a suspect. Why would he be? He was the most at risk, and besides, he already had a device. What motives would he have to steal it? Perhaps being bribed by his cousin, but that was laughable.
Cain also knew he wasn't a suspect because unless he sleepwalked there, there was no way he was up at that hour. He'd been sleeping longer and heavier ever since he was given the wristbands.
Another way he knew he wasn't a suspect was because he straight up didn't do it. So that was that.
"Me neither," Miriam said. No one was suspecting shy Miriam of doing something. Her brother, maybe, but Miriam would never dare to do something as shocking as that.
"You can check me," Adah offered. PJ thought it might be her. She was so determined to vote someone in, maybe she took matters into her own hands.
"Me too," PJ said.
Paranoid PJ, Asher thought teasingly. She'd only do it when pigs fly. She also sleeps too much to steal it.
Asher grinned as he said, "And it can't be me. Why would I sabotage my own goals?"
Adah wasn't so sure about that. When he tried to vote her down, it was almost as if he had ulterior motives. But what could they possibly be?
"So, I have an answer towards what we will do. Miriam will check out her bother's room. I'll go to the police station and see if its harbouring government agents," Adah said, trying to keep herself from laughing at the last line. "But until then, we have to keep our eyes open. Who knows who we can trust anymore?"