Francis fell to the ground, clutching his side. Heather ran over to him and tried to assess the damage. She immediately turned around and scolded Chris. "Why did you hit him so hard?" she screamed.
"It's not like I tried to hurt him. And for your information I didn't hit him hard, I hit him fast," Chris replied.
"Yeah yeah, potato potato," Heather remarked.
"It's fine you guys," Francis said coughing. "I guess that makes you the champion, Congratulations."
"You should probably put some ice on it, Francis, and go lay down," said Heather, helping Francis sit up.
Chris ran over and helped Heather lift Francis to his feet. They supported his weight and walked him to his room and laid him down on his bed. Heather got him some ice, and they left him alone to get some sleep.
"Don't think I'm not still mad at you about what you did to Francis," scolded Heather.
"I don't blame you. I'm not happy with my actions either," replied Chris.
"Anyways, I'm going to go take a shower and wash this used gear smell off of me."
"Ok," Chris answered. He remembered he still had her hairpin. "Oh, and here's your hairpin back. Thanks for letting me use it."
Heather grabbed it from Chris and walked into their bedroom and immediately walked out with a change of clothes and a small bag. Chris's body was sore. He had used muscles that he had not used in a long time. Chris remembered that the pool was ice cold this time of the year. He quickly changed into a pair of mesh shorts and ran to the pool.
Once he got there, he carefully lowered himself into the icy water so that the water came up to his neck. He could feel the pain easing away. Chris usually hated being in cold water, but today it felt good. He slowly felt himself drifting off, and soon enough, he found himself asleep in the pool.
An hour later Chris was woken up by a hand tapping him on the shoulder. Chris shook his head to wake himself up the rest of the way. He quickly turned around and his eyes scanned from the hand up the arm to the head of a teenage girl who looked ready to murder him at a moment's notice.
"Oh, hi Heather, I didn't see you there," Chris said sheepishly.
"That might be because you were too busy relaxing in the pool you told me we weren't allowed to use!" screamed Heather.
Heather promptly grabbed Chris by his hair and pulled him to the pool stairs. Chris was released so he could walk up the stairs on his own.
"I never said we weren't allowed to use the pool. I only said it's not ideal right now," Chris said, trying to reconcile with her.
Chris walked over to the deep end of the pool to grab his towel and shirt. Heather grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
"I'm not done talking to you yet!" she exclaimed. "If it's not ideal, then why were you using it?"
"Because right now the water is ice cold, so I used it to help with the soreness," Chris answered.
"It didn't look cold."
"Then why don't you see for yourself!" Chris yelled as he pushed Heather into the icy water. As she fell, she grabbed Chris's hand and pulled him in as well. "Is it cold?" Chris asked.
"Yes," Heather said, shivering. She continued to tread water. Heather didn't seem like she had any ambition to get out of the pool, but she looked incredibly uncomfortable.
"You can get out," Chris said. "No one is making you stay in here."
Chris and Heather made their way to the steps of the pool and got out. The air felt warm compared to the water. Chris threw a towel over his shoulders and walked back to his room. He gathered clothes and left to go take a shower.
Later that night, Chris was lying on his bed. He kept glancing over at Heather. He noticed her phone kept ringing and she would immediately hang up. She looked worried and scared.
"Is something bothering you?" Chris asked. "You keep looking at your phone and you have this look on your face."
"I'm fine," Heather replied.
"Like hell you are!" Chris responded. "I know you well enough to know when something isn't right, and right now, something is going on."
"It's my parents," Heather explained. "They don't know I'm here."
"You never told them!" Chris exclaimed in shock.
"No, I knew if I did, they would have stopped my from coming at all cost. The good news is that they are too afraid to get the police involved. Right now, I'm afraid to return home," sobbed Heather. She was now hunched over, sobbing.
Chris got out of his bed and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry. If you need to hide somewhere, you know my family will take you in and let you stay with as long as needed."
"Thank you," she said, putting her arms around Chris. She wasn't able to hold on. Her arms fell to her side. Heather fell forwards knocking Chris off balance causing them to both fall on the floor with Heather on top of Chris.
Chris carefully rolled her onto the floor and stood up. He pulled back the sheets on her bed and picked her up and set her down on the bed. Chris finished by placing the covers over top of her and turning off the light.
Chris ran into the bathroom and grabbed a forehead thermometer and checked her temperature. "98.5, normal enough." He returned the thermometer and went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water and brought it back and placed it on the nightstand next to Heather.
Chris was now both emotionally and physically exhausted. He decided that he had enough of today and went to bed.
Sunday: Project HLR launch -12:00:00
Chris woke up to an empty room. The time was 6:15. He was supposed to be awake fifteen minutes ago. He quickly got dressed and ran to the front of the house.
"Look whose finally awake," said Francis, carrying a large box. "We are leaving in five minutes. Lunch has been packed and we'll stop somewhere for pick up some fast food for breakfast."
"What's that box for?" Chris asked.
"Father asked me to take this to the bunker," Francis replied. "Something about him being in the area and he'll stop by there and pick it up. He told me to leave it inside the bunker."
"Hey, how's your side doing?"
Francis lifted his shirt to reveal a large black and blue mark where he was hit. "It hurts like hell."
Chris felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around and saw Heather standing behind him.
"Thank you for everything last night," said Heather.
"No problem, glad I could be of assistance," replied Chris.
Heather walked away. Francis stay back and leaned over to Chris. "What did you do last night?" asked Francis, as if was insinuating something.
"Nothing that concerns you," Chris said.
Chris followed Francis out to the car. Heather was already sitting in the front seat. Chris reluctantly sat in the back and flicked Heather in the back of the head.
"Ow, what was that for?" asked Heather, holding the back of her head.
"You're in my seat," answered Chris.
"Well, I don't see you name on it."
"Whatever," Chris huffed.
Chris jumped into the backseat of the car. Francis got in the driver's side of the car, put the car into gear, and pulled out of the driveway to begin their three-hour journey. As they were driving, Francis turned on the radio. Chris could tell they were enjoying it, but because the top was down, Chris couldn't hear any of it. He was still a little tired, because he wasn't able to sleep well last night, and he was beginning to get carsick. Chris closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The car came to a stop. Chris opened his eyes and was blinded by the bright sunlight. He let his eyes adjust so that he could see that they were stopped at a gas station. The mounted GPS said they had thirty minutes left in their trip. Chris leaned forwards to Heather. "Do you think I could sit up there? The roads are going to get windy and I tend to get really sick from that."
"Yeah, I guess I can do that," Heather replied.
Chris and Heather switched places in the car. Shortly after, Francis got back in the car and raised the top up. Francis pulled out of the gas station and continued towards the bunker.
Twenty minutes later, Francis turned the car onto a dirt road. They were now in mountainous terrain. Chris looked out the window anxiously. He watched as the trees went past, being left in a large cloud of dust. As they continued, the road became narrower and narrower now, only having barely a wide enough road to fit their car.
The car rounded the bend and once narrow dirt road was now a freshly paved road that led straight to the side a mountain. There was a fenced in parking lot that looked like it could hold twenty cars in it. The parking lot was guarded by a gate with a guard station next to it.
Francis pulled up to the station window, and a middle-aged woman leaned out the window. "Can I have your name, please?"
"Francis Shirker," Francis replied.