Chapter 35: 35
Day 4
I saw four people at the corner of the catwalk talking with each other as I approach them. Allan is still holding the gun I gave him and he seems to want to stay up all night. He’s with Zardon, Derek and Jo, they each have a cup of coffee in their hands to warm themselves. A mosquito coil is beside them to ward off a few mosquitoes flying around. They waved at me when they saw me and I gave a small salute.
“Mornin’ Boss, can’t sleep?” Jo said.
“Yeah staying up all night yesterday messed with the pattern, How’s the watch going?” I said.
“A few were at the gate earlier and Allan tried to shoot them from here, after he missed three times, we decided to go out to kill them up close. I grabbed a crowbar from your workshop and I slid it in the holes.” Derek said.
“Ahaha… new gun, new gun. Still getting used to the sights.” Allan defended himself.
“Really? With the laser sight? Hahaha!” my uncle can’t control his laughter.
I looked at the bodies in the street then I immediately turned my head at a certain direction. I feel the hairs on the back of my head raise as I stare at the darkness. I grabbed my gun from Allan and looked at its scope, I even turned the illuminator on and I still found nothing.
“What was that?” I said to myself.
“Sky?” Allan inquired as all of them looked at me.
“I felt something looking at me.” I said.
“What? You sure kid?” my uncle said.
The four guys had a look of worry in their faces.
I nodded as I touch the hairs on the back of my neck. I looked at our houses and all the lights are turned off. We made an agreement beforehand to only use small lamps covered by a cloth or flashlights pointed on the ground when it starts to get dark, we wouldn’t want random people coming at night.
“It might be nothing.” Allan said.
“Maybe.” I answered.
“But I definitely felt something.” I said to myself.
I stayed with them all morning and I even switched the drum magazine for a normal one when I made a quick trip to the house. When It reached 3:00 AM, the people guarding switched but not all at once. The system is that the next in the list to take watch needs to set an alarm 10 minutes before his turn. The one that has finished their watch are to wait up to 5 minutes before one person comes to the next person’s room to look for the relief, but the other two needs to stay put until the next one came out. So far, no one has disobeyed the rules and everything is going smoothly.
The outlier today is Allan since he stayed up all night because he keeps on wanting to hold a gun. I finally convinced him to take a rest as I was there now and he reluctantly parted with my gun. Like clockwork, the next three came out. It was Jenny, Chris and Arnel. My uncle and the others switched places and they waved me goodbye. They are stretching their backs as they went to their rooms. The three with me now are still yawning aside from Jenny.
I handed Jenny the M70 since she knows to use some guns since she had training before she became a guard but I still instructed her how to operate it. She left her shotgun in Oscar’s care since a shotgun is an improper choice because of the noise that it makes. The other two are also listening to us so I included them in the small lecture. They each took their turns and I let them fiddle with it as I continued to look in the direction where I felt a presence.
“Hey sir, I’d like to properly thank you for taking us. Honestly speaking, I really thought that you would leave us at the supermarket when I learned that you only came for Allan. Turns out that you are a really good guy.” Chris said to me.
“Please, stop calling me sir, it weirds me out. You’re like Rin when we first met. Either call me Sky or Boss, like the other guys do. Also, you’re welcome. First time waking this early?” I said.
He gave a smile and he said, “Okay Sky, it feels weird on my side though. It’s been a while since I’ve woken up this early, I used to jog every morning before going to school.” Chris said.
“Really? Just for cardio or something else?” I said.
“I used to do boxing as a hobby, I did it for a year but I stopped when Charlotte got worried. She once saw me go home with a broken nose; she took care of me that time but she pleaded that I stop doing it.” he said.
“You could’ve continued jogging though, people need the strength of their bodies now more than ever.” I said.
“Right, that’s true, but what’s your story sir? I mean Sky?” he said.
“What do you want to know? I have a lot to tell.” I said.
“How did you get that scar on your eyebrow?” he asks.
I touched that eyebrow instinctively and I said, “How about this, let’s have a light spar and if you land me a clean hit, I’ll tell you? I’ll just dodge and parry.”
“Here we go…” Arnel said as he smiles while Jenny gave a confused look at that remark.
“Really? Do you have gloves?” he asks.
“I have it upstairs, but we don’t need it.” I said.
“But what if I hit you?” he said.
“You won’t.” I said with a grin.
He gave me a frown but he gritted his teeth and he said, “Fine.”
He threw me a quick jab but I parried it with my right hand.
Then I said, “Let’s go down first yeah?”
He rubs his left knuckle then we went down the catwalk. I handed Jenny my phone and she sets a timer for 3 minutes. When she gave us the signal, I readied my hands and Chris lunged towards me. He threw me a couple of punches but I still feel him holding back a bit. I just dodged and weaved but I would occasionally parry with my hands. I examined his form and though he needs to work on his footwork and his breathing, everything seems to be fine.
At the last second, as I was about to parry his right hook, he turned it to a straight, mid-swing. I was almost caught off-guard since I was eyeing his collar.
“This kid…” I said to myself. I just dodged and I flicked my wrist while the phone beeped. I saw him close his eyes at the last second so I tapped him on his shoulder.
“Good job kid, keep your eyes open though. Did you get hit hard before? Closing your eyes in a fight is a no no.” I said.
“Are you a professional boxer?” Chris said as he catches his breath. Nothing is more tiring in boxing if your full punches only hit the air.
“Hah! No, that would be cool though.” I said as I hand him something.
“Hmm?” he looked at his hand and he froze. He gave me a bitter smile and he sat down.
“I’ll hit you next time.” he said as he pockets the thing that I gave him.
“I’ll wait for it; you can certainly try.” I said as I walked up to the catwalk.
Jenny gave another confused look. She grew curious and she asks, “What did he give you Chris?”
Chris then reached for his pocket and places it on her palm. She saw it and she immediately shook her head.
“That’s impossible.” she said.
“Then what’s that then?” Chris replied.
“It was hanging out, I swiped it so he could fix it later.” I said.
“But how?! This is a button, right?!” she exclaimed.
“Well, you need to spend a lot of time practicing that trick. You need to judge the distance accurately and move your hand precisely. It’s a lucky hit and it being loose helped a lot.” I said.
“But why would you spend a lot of time doing that?” Jenny asks.
“It’s fun and you know, because I can.” I said as I laugh.
We all chatted while the others started to wake up one by one. They handed me the guns and I placed them neatly on my locker. I saw Kaley and Olivia still sleeping in my bed so I just let them. Rin must be in her room though; I just saw the blanket that I covered her with neatly folded on the chair. I saw Zeus coming up to my bed then lying next to Olivia.
“This two have been pretty close, good thing someone could take care of Zeus while I’m busy.” I said to myself.
Zeus began licking Olivia’s face and she eventually wakes up. Her eyes opened up but she disregarded the kisses and she hugged Zeus while she laid on her side. She saw me looking at her and Zeus so she greeted me.
“Oh! Hi Sky, good morning! The movie was great yesterday, we were all crying at the end. Hope we do that again later even though you slept earlier.” she said. She yawned and she continued to snuggle with Zeus.
I headed down and I can already smell the food that is being cooked. I hear them frying something and I went inside my aunt’s house.