by Tina Chan
Troop watched Kristi storm out. “Guess we’re off to a rough start.”
“Give her some time,” Jaiden said. “She’ll eventually come around.”
“I hope Chelsa’s not going to destroy my electro-slate.” Troop switched the topic.
Jaiden snorted. “You have no idea.” He proceeded to tell Troop about Chelsa crushing his slate. “Don’t worry, though. She’s good at what she does. Your slate should be safe,” Jaiden reassured Troop.
“So, how long have you guys known each other?” He tossed a pretzel from hand to hand.
“I met Chelsa a few weeks ago. As for Kristi, I’ve known her my whole life; she’s my sister.”
Troop appraised Jaiden. He couldn’t spot any resemblance between the two siblings. He was just about to comment about this when Jaiden suddenly narrowed his eyes and pinned him with an acute stare. “I’m warning you right now, if I see you harm Chelsa or Kristi, you are no longer with us. Do you understand me?”
In a serious tone, Troop replied, “Yes. I swear I won’t purposely harm anyone. The Troop you saw earlier today is a different person from the one you see now.” He didn’t elucidate any further and Jaiden left it at that.
To be honest, Troop wanted to bury all traces of the past behind him.
“So, how did you meet Chelsa?” he asked.
“In jail.”
Troop raised a questioning eyebrow and Jaiden told him how Chelsa had busted him out of jail and taken him and Kristi into her hidden living quarters. The revolving bricks leading into Chelsa’s old home reminded Troop of something familiar.
“Was there a smaller room leading into the main room at Chelsa’s place?” he asked Jaiden.
Jaiden nodded.
“I think I know the place you’re talking about. Lawrence, a senior Revealers member, used to stash his illegal library in there. He relocated his cache a few years ago though, when he ran out of room.”
Jaiden checked the time and said, “Go grab some sleep; it’s already past midnight and we’re heading out early tomorrow.”
“I will in a minute. I’ll just wait until Chelsa returns my electro-slate.”
“Alright.” Jaiden exited the living room, leaving Troop to his own thoughts.
He popped a pretzel into his mouth, savoring its crunch and saltiness. Feeling bored, he counted the ceiling tiles to pass time. One, two, three, four…
“Here you go.”
Troop jerked awake. I must’ve fallen asleep. He turned his head to locate the speaker.
“There wasn’t a tracker in your slate. Sorry it took so long.” Chelsa pitched him his electro-slate.
“Thanks. See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight.”
Troop walked down the short hallway leading to a bedroom. The lights lining the bottom edges of the wall lit up when he passed by the motion sensors, illuminating his path. He passed by a door and heard a thud. Troop paused for a second, and then continued on his way.
“Ah!”
Not sure if someone had gotten hurt, he knocked on the door. “Everything okay?”
There was an incomprehensible reply.
Troop started to turn the doorknob when Kristi’s voice said, “I’m alright.”
Shrugging, he left.
chapter twenty-six
[ Kristi ]
