by Anna Wu
Chapter 3: All Is Not As It Should Be
The moon was the only light that shone as the five kids finally touched down onto the Earth. The swerving and bumping as Jimmy struggled to remain control of the rocket awoke the sleeping Libby and Sheen. Carl was still staring out over the edge of the rocket, worrying about school starting tomorrow.
"We home?" an exhausted Cindy asked while yawning and stretching her arms wide.
Jimmy's lips curled up as he heard the sound of her voice. He turned around and stared into the emerald pools that were her eyes. "Home again, safe and sound as always," he cheerily said while hopping out of the rocket and running over to open Cindy's door.
Libby struggled to get to her feet and leaned on Carl as Sheen opened the door for her. "Yeah, we're all super swell," she angrily told Jimmy and Cindy.
Jimmy instantly turned around and allowed Libby to put an arm over his shoulder. He and Carl helped her hop out of the rocket. As soon as she set foot on the cement beneath her, she collapsed onto the ground. Jimmy and Carl bent down to help her, but she waved them off.
"I'm fine," she angrily told them between labored breaths. She collected herself and moved so that she could sit on the curb. "Just get your damn parents to bring me to the stupid hospital."
Jimmy looked towards Cindy. "You heard her, go get your mom," Jimmy nervously said.
Cindy jumped backwards in shock. "Are you crazy? I'm lucky my mom bought your stupid hologram thingy and hasn't grounded me for a year! I'm not telling her that I went off to the moon and got my friend shot! Your mission, your fault, your responsibility!"
Jimmy glared at her for a moment before throwing his hands up in the air and kicking a pebble down the street. "Damn it! Fine, I'll go wake up my parents."
"Language," Sheen muttered while shaking his index finger.
"Oh shut up," Jimmy shouted while walking towards his front door.
"Let's get Jimmy in trouble," he sarcastically muttered in a girly tone while taking out his house key. "Your mission, your fault, your responsibility!"
Jimmy turned the small key in the door handle's lock and opened the door. "Ah, screw them. We're all getting grounded anyway. Our parents will obviously find out that we all went to the moon without their permission."
Jimmy tossed his key on the kitchen table while walking inside. He paused in front of the fridge and took a purple flurp out. He frowned while opening it and taking several sips. He suddenly paused and frowned. "Alright, stop being such a jackass. Libby's hurt, and you're worrying about getting grounded and drinking a soda. Some friend you are," he whispered to himself while setting his drink down on the counter and walking out into the parlor.
He stared at the stairs for a moment before lumbering up them. "Goodbye, sweet freedom. See you in six months," he muttered while knocking on his parents' door.
"Mom! Dad! Libby's hurt!" He paused a moment before hitting the door louder. "Mom! Dad! Seriously, get out of bed!" He slowly turned the doorknob and peeked his head inside. He flipped on the light switch and went inside. Much to his chagrin, they weren't in the room.
Cindy stropped stroking Libby's hair and jumped up from the curb. "Where the hell are your parents? Don't they care that Libby's hurt?"
Jimmy angrily kicked another small rock down the street. "They're not in the house. They must have realized that it was my hologram in there and not me, and then decided to go out to find me."
Cindy held up a finger and quickly rushed into her house. After several moments she ran back outside. "Same for me. Stupid parents, never there when you want them to be."
Jimmy paced around for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck and clenching his other hand into a fist. Finally he stopped and let out a deep sigh. "Fine. Screw them. It's too dark for me to fly the rocket to the hospital. We're lucky I was able to land safely."
He paused for another second to collect his thoughts. His leader instinct then kicked in. "Sheen, take Libby inside my house. I want you to keep her leg elevated. Put her on the couch and rest her leg on some pillows. Get some towels in the bathroom upstairs and keep applying pressure. If she gets worse, call me on my cell. Make sure she gets plenty of water."
"Carl, go with Sheen and Libby. I want you to call 9-1-1 and tell them the situation. Cindy, come with me to Nick's house. He's right down the street. We'll try to see if we can find out where the hell our idiot parents went."
Sheen watched as Cindy and Jimmy ran down the street. He then quickly helped Libby up and draped one of her arms over his shoulder. "Carl! A little help!" Carl ran over and he helped bring Libby into Jimmy's house.
Jimmy amazingly outran Cindy to Nick's house and tried the door. It was locked, as could be expected. He rang the doorbell, but it was broken. "Goddamn it!" he said while kicking the door.
Cindy shoved him aside and closed her eyes. Concentrating, she lashed out with her right foot, swinging the delicate door open. "Allow me," she said while taking a deep breath and running inside. Jimmy stared after her for a moment before following her.
"Nick!" Jimmy shouted.
"Mrs. Dean! Mr. Dean!" Cindy yelled at the top of her lungs.
Jimmy swore under his breath and grabbed Cindy's hand. "What the heck do you think is going on?" he asked her.
Cindy didn't need to answer as she opened Nick's bedroom door. Nick lay half on and half off of the bed, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. His chest was steadily rising and falling, but he definitely wasn't sleeping.
"Nick!" Cindy and Jimmy both shouted while running towards him. Jimmy stared as Cindy bent down and began slapping his face, gently at first, and then gradually harder. Soon she was nearly punching him. "Wake up!" she screamed.
Jimmy wanted to know what the heck was going on here. He gently pulled Cindy aside and stared down at Nick. Drawing back his fist, he hit his unconscious friend in the gut.
Nick instantly sprang up, gasping for breath. He pulled his hands to his stomach and began coughing after a moment. "Nick! Are you alright?" Jimmy asked.
Nick stared at him for a moment and slowly took his hands off of his stomach. And then, so fast that Cindy missed it by blinking, he rammed Jimmy into the nearby wall and began to strangle him.
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