Apokalypsis Book One

Chapter One

September 2062

She parked her truck in the last spot available in the furthest row out in the parking lot, not because it was the only empty space in the whole parking lot but because she didn’t want to park near anyone else.

Ready to face the lions? her friend, Destiny, asked.

Jane smirked, grabbed her backpack from the floor and answered with one of her standard dry replies, As usual, I’m breathless with anticipation.

Destiny chuckled with good humor and camaraderie as they got out.

Jackson High School wasn’t exactly on Jane’s list of most favorite places to be in the world. Neither of them liked going there, but it wasn’t like either of them had a choice. They both lived in the school district. Destiny’s parents wanted her to have the ‘total public school experience,’ and Jane’s couldn’t afford to send her to private school if they’d wanted to. It didn’t matter to her. It wasn’t like she was going to fit in anywhere else any better, not once the other students found out about her family and their past. She would never have been invited over for swim parties, asked out on dates, or offered to go to the mall with anyone.

Think Mrs. Somers will give us a pop quiz in English today? Destiny asked as they walked across the blacktopped parking lot toward the school.

I don’t know. Are you ready if she does? she asked her best and only friend.

Ha, are you kidding? You know I hate English. It’s my worst subject, she said honestly and pushed a wayward brown curl behind her ear.

You can do my Calculus, and I’ll take your English tests for you, Jane offered with a grin.

I wish, she said. Then she groaned as she looked to their right.

What? Jane asked and stopped short. She didn’t need to inquire further. Oh, I see. Just ignore them.

Yeah, that always works so well for us, Destiny said jokingly.

Well, violence is never the answer, Jane teased in a falsely stern tone.

Says who?

They stepped up onto the concrete sidewalk that led to the side entry door, the one that most students went through if they drove to school instead of taking the bus. She was grateful to own her truck, even if it was twenty-five years old, rusty, and didn’t exactly blend in with the other expensive cars in the student lot.

I don’t know, Jane said. Someone. Probably Buddha. Someone with a lot of patience.

Destiny laughed loudly and gaily the way she always did, which was one of the reasons Jane liked her so well. She was carefree with her feelings and easy to laugh. It was not something at which Jane excelled. They were opposites in so many ways but still kindred spirits.

Look what the cat dragged home, Stephanie remarked as Jane and Destiny passed her and her clique of like-minded friends.

Both girls kept on walking, but Jane made the mistake of looking directly at Stephanie. It wasn’t a good idea. This sort of eye contact only invited more comments.

Trash, Stephanie jeered. Just trash. That’s all I see.

Steph, her boyfriend, Aaron, said, trying to dissuade her behavior.

Jane knew it wouldn’t stop her, though. Stephanie was a cheerleader, basketball player, and overall bitch on wheels. She was tall, athletically built, and a horrible human being. She was also very beautiful, which made her even more confident and definitely very vain, although Destiny always remarked that she didn’t think Stephanie was all that pretty. Compared to Jane, she was a supermodel. She’d tormented Jane from her very first day of school here, even though she’d never given the girl a reason to do so. She was just that kind of person. She preyed on the weak. And Jane was certainly one of the weak. She never fought back. After so long under that type of treatment, she was used to it. Numb to it.

Got a date for homecoming, Jane? Stephanie asked snidely.

This made Jane glad she was a senior. She’d made it to her final year and would graduate soon. Then she’d never have to see any of these people again, hopefully.

Yeah, right, one of Stephanie’s friends chimed in. As if someone would ask her out. Get real.

Is that right, Jane? Stephanie kept going, now following her and Destiny as they entered the building. She was dressed in her cheerleader costume since it was Friday and they were holding a pep rally, something for which Jane felt was ridiculous that the school forced attendance. Anything would’ve been better. Except for maybe gym class. That would definitely be worse. For her.

She was also glad that the senior class lockers were close by. It meant she could dump her books, get ready for class, and ditch Stephanie and her merry maids of terror.

Stephanie, just drop it, Destiny attempted to reason with her. Leave us alone. Doesn’t this get old?

The only thing that gets old is the fact that this trash still goes to our school, Stephanie said, getting louder.

"Why do you still go here? Destiny asked her directly. You could go to Regent. Why don’t your parents send you there?"

Destiny was talking about a costly private school in the area, but Jane just wanted her to stop talking to Stephanie at all. This wouldn’t help. It never did. The hell-on-wheels cheerleader was not going to stop until she drew emotional blood. She was like a cheerleader vampire. Jane often wondered if she had hormonal imbalances or something because she went off on tangents a lot, most of them usually aimed at her.

Because my mother sits on the township trustee’s board, idiot. My family pays a lot of money in taxes, unlike some people.

Aaron said, Regent doesn’t have a cheer squad.

Shut up, Aaron!

She sneered at Jane and purposely stepped in front of her right when Jane reached her locker.

Excuse me, Jane requested quietly, hoping she’d move.

It’s trash like you that brings down this community, too, she kept on.

Yeah, one of her friends agreed.

That’s not true, Destiny said, defending her. That doesn’t even make sense, Stephanie.

As if you could ever get a date to homecoming, you loser, Stephanie said to her again, ignoring Destiny.

Why was this so important to her? Who cared about some stupid dance anyway? Jane never participated in anything run by the school, whether it was sports, dances, or fundraisers. She was a social outcast by all accounts. She never went to parties, was never invited to one, and hung out mostly with Destiny or just stayed home on the weekends.

Excuse me, Jane asked again and slipped around her.

You and your low-rent grandmother need to move out of this community and sell that property, Stephanie said. Go live in the hood where you belong, white trash.

You know, Steph, Jane said, feeling her cheeks burn with anger at the vicious and unnecessary attack of her grandmother. She could and did put up with the girl’s behavior for the last four years but attacking her grandmother was simply going too far. She looked up at the tall blonde. I am going to homecoming.

Oh, yeah? Right! Stephanie said in a mocking, exaggerated tone and even snorted.

No, I am, Jane said with superiority.

With who? Your imaginary boyfriend, loser?

No, with your dad, Jane countered and watched her words settle in on the girl. Her father was a cheater. Everyone knew it, and everyone talked about it. Never to Stephanie’s face, of course, but even Jane had heard the gossip. Her mother apparently lived in a state of perpetual denial because she’d remained with him long after she found out. Even her own grandmother knew about Stephanie’s attorney father who cheated on his wife frequently until she’d finally divorced him four years ago. Now she had a step-father who was a doctor that she complained about incessantly.

You bitch! Stephanie screamed and lunged toward Jane.

However, someone stepped in between them just in time and saved Jane from probably getting clobbered by the Amazonian, screeching banshee behind him. It was Roman Lockwood. He ran in the same popular clique as Stephanie. She hadn’t seen him this morning. He usually hung out with Stephanie and her friends out by their BMW’s, Mustangs, and Land Rovers, but Jane hadn’t noticed him this morning by their cars where that group loitered before the first bell.

Easy, Steph, he said and held his arm out so that she couldn’t get around him to Jane, even though she was trying in earnest. Then he looked down at Jane since he was facing her and frowned.

Get outta’ my way, Roman, Stephanie shouted at his back and shoved.

It only served to push Roman into her, jostling Jane and causing her to bump the back of her head into her locker, which in turn made him frown and turn swiftly to face Stephanie.

She’s just messing with you because she does have a date. She’s not going with your dad. Don’t be silly. He paused and looked over his shoulder at Jane and winked. Then he turned back to face the crowd. She’s going with me, he said confidently.

Jane’s jaw just about hit the ground. She looked up at him, but he was looking at Stephanie instead. Destiny bumped her elbow and gave her a questioning expression. She, in turn, offered one of her own to her best friend. Stephanie’s confusion was written clearly on her face, too.

What? You can’t be fucking serious, Roman, Stephanie scolded judgmentally.

Yep, we’re going to homecoming, he announced just as confidently the second time and stepped back to stand beside her.

Why are you always stickin’ up for her, Roman? You’re such an ass, Stephanie insulted.

This was news to Jane. As far as she knew, he’d never stuck up for her even once before this. He was a lot quieter than his outgoing and typically rambunctious friends, but he never spoke up to defend her.

Maybe I just think your time would be better put to use doing something more constructive, he advised. Maybe take up reading.

Stephanie said, You dick. Get real! Then she stepped closer and said to Jane, Look, bitch, you ever talk about my dad again, and I’ll kill you.

Jane just sighed impatiently and offered the other girl a look of pity. She really did feel bad for her. So her parents got divorced. Big deal. But this girl had major problems.

Sorry, she apologized quietly anyway.

The girl looked surprised and plunked a hand on her hip. Yeah, well you better be, bitch.

She lived in a mansion, smoked a lot of weed, and from what Destiny told her also did coke, and dressed in all the latest fashions, but Stephanie was a miserable girl. She was pathetic and sad and hid behind a lot of pain. However, she was also a psychotic freak who loved bullying her, and Jane hated her. But what she’d said was very rude about her father. Also, she didn’t want to get drowned in the school pool or beat to death and shoved into her locker. A simple apology would hopefully cool the Amazon’s heels.

It doesn’t feel so good, does it, Steph? Roman asked rhetorically.

Fuck you, Roman, she retorted angrily.

Come on, Steph, Aaron implored and tugged her arm. Aaron and Roman were good friends. He clearly didn’t want his girlfriend coming between their friendship.

Stephanie actually growled at Roman, glared, and fled with her posse, their high heels clicking in their retreat. Jane just scowled with distaste at her back.

Sorry about that, he said to Jane, who wasn’t really paying any attention to him but watching Stephanie leave and wondering if she was going to get a bucket of pig blood dumped on her head during lunch.

She stepped around Roman and started working the combination to her locker. She mumbled, You didn’t have to do that, ya’ know.

Hey, I gotta go, Destiny said. I’ll see you in third period.

Jane nodded to her only friend, who regarded Roman unsurely before leaving. Roman was certainly not a friend. Destiny got along with most everyone, but she only hung out with Jane. She often wondered why her friend ever chose to befriend her when Jane had come to live with her grandmother four and a half years ago. She certainly could’ve run in the same social circles as the Stephanie’s of their school. Destiny’s family was wealthy. Her father owned his own company that manufactured heavy equipment. She was pretty and smart, even played volleyball on the team with Stephanie. Jane didn’t get it, but she never questioned it, either. Without her only friend, she would’ve been even more miserable when she’d moved here.

She turned back to her open locker and hung her backpack from a hook inside as she emptied out what she didn’t need and replaced it with books she did.

Steph is just a blow-hard. You know that. She’s messed up, Roman said, trying to talk down the absurdity of his friend.

Jane just nodded with raised eyebrows to let him know that she was already aware of the situation.

Hey, anyway, about the homecoming thing… he mentioned.

Jane cut him off, No, it’s cool. I know. You were just trying to defuse the situation. Thanks, but for future reference, I don’t need your help. It’ll only make things difficult for you with your friends.

No, I…

He was cut off again, this time by the bell marking the start of their day.

Thanks again, Jane said and slammed her locker shut. She slung her backpack over one shoulder and hurried away. See ya.

She avoided eye contact and kept going with her head down. This was how she got through most days. She kept her head down, stayed out of the danger zones, and steered clear of the hostiles. High school was a lot like war. In order to make it out alive, one simply needed to learn some basic survival skills.

She managed to make it through almost her entire day unscathed, even in the one class in which two of Stephanie’s friends shared the same space. During Government and Civics class, Mr. Hawkins went over current events like he always did at the beginning of the period.

What do you think about our situation with North Korea and China? he asked, waiting for a student to pipe up. Nobody did, of course, so he waited a few seconds. Jane?

She inwardly groaned. Speaking out in class sucked. She was not a public speaker, hated giving any type of oral report, and preferred to remain a wallflower.

Any opinions? he asked. Have you been following the news?

If he only knew. Her grandmother watched the news as if someone were paying her to do so.

Yes, sir, she answered quietly. Destiny snorted beside her. Her friend was laughing at her discomfort, something she did often just to mess with her. Jane glared at her.

And? What do you think about it?

She cleared her voice, tried to ignore the few snickers she heard somewhere behind her and said, Um… I think it’s a dangerous alliance. The alliance between Russia and Sweden was unexpected and has turned out to be a really bad thing, and I think the new alliance between China and North Korea could be even worse.

Why’s that? he doubled down.

She had her own set of ‘why’ questions. Why couldn’t he call on someone else? Why did she have to speak in front of all her classmates who either hated or openly bullied her?

Uh…because China has a much bigger army than we do now. North Korea has always hated us, especially since we went to war with them twice. And I think that these combined nations overseas could be possibly talking in secret about world domination.

This got more laughs and comments. Some were openly rude. Her cheeks burned. They could laugh all they wanted. Her father already fought the North Koreans in 2044. It could certainly happen again. That was only eighteen years ago right before her father met her mother.

Class! Mr. Hawkins said sternly, gaining quick control. He didn’t put up with much, but Jane liked him very well. He was kind and didn’t seem to judge her like she felt some or most of the other teachers did. Why do you feel that way? It’s certainly not something anyone on the news is discussing. It’s a theory, though.

Because I think that history has a habit of repeating itself, she stated then stammered, and…and maybe this is going to be my generation’s World War Three. Nations aligned before and bad things happened. Superpowers stood by and let it happen. It seems to be happening again. Other than invasion, I don’t see the reason for alliances of this nature.

Retard, Stephanie whispered under her breath a few aisles over.

Good! Mr. Hawkins said enthusiastically and slapped his thigh before standing from where he was perched on the end of his desk. His hearing wasn’t so great. See that, class? She’s thinking for herself. And, Jane, if you’re right, then we’re all in deep trouble. I hope you aren’t, but none of us would know until it’s too late.

Destiny tapped her arm after Mr. Hawkins called on another unsuspecting victim. She mouthed some words of praise, to which Jane gave an awkward grin. As she turned back, she caught sight of Roman, who sat behind Destiny. He was looking at her with a strange expression. It seemed as if he found her opinion fascinating. Maybe he did drugs, too. Probably. Most of the snobs in that group were also into their parents’ liquor cabinets and used illegal drugs. She’d heard many girls in the locker room talking about popping their mothers’ prescription pills, too. The only pills Jane could’ve stolen from her grandmother would’ve been diabetes medicine or stuff for her arthritis. Knowing her, she’d take them and have an insulin shut-down, but her joints sure would feel great.

The final bell of the day rang, and she rose from her seat and grabbed her bag.

Are you coming over tonight? Destiny asked.

Oh, sorry, I can’t, Jane answered her. Gotta work.

Destiny groaned. Gimme’ a break, Jane. All you do is work!

Not all of us have a trust fund, Dez, she joked. Destiny’s family was well off and lived in the same neighborhood as many of the other equally rich snobs that went to this school. Jane did not.

This sucks, she complained. I wanted to go to Terry’s party. He said to bring you, too.

That was a pity invite, she commented with a snort.

No, he’s nice. Terry’s a good guy, she argued. He’s not like…the others. You know that. He’s sweet. Her friend elbowed her and smiled widely, I think he has a crush on you.

Jane reserved her opinions to herself because she didn’t know him that well, and the idea that he might be interested in her was just plain ludicrous. Nobody was that moronic or oblivious to social suicide.

Mr. Hawkins started coughing at the front of the classroom. Jane looked at him and immediately turned back to Destiny.

Well, how late do you have to work? We could go after, her friend pleaded.

Uh…maybe, she answered noncommittally.

How late?

I think eight o’clock, she said. But I’m at the stables tonight. I don’t exactly wanna’ show up to something smelling like horse manure.

So, shower and pick me up at nine, Destiny begged. She was literally begging with her hands in a prayer pose in front of her.

Mr. Hawkins coughed again and pressed a handkerchief from his pocket against his mouth. Being early fall, there was crap floating around in the air and a lot more germs being shared in the school. Many students were sick with one thing or another or had bad allergies. Poor Mr. Hawkins. He was one of the good ones. She hoped he got some rest over the weekend.

Destiny said, Okay? Alright, Jane? Earth to Jane? Nine?

What? Yeah, sure. Nine, she agreed, then wondered why she had.

She reached under her desk and grabbed her notebook, stuffing it into her pack. As she stood straight again, she caught Roman also looking at Mr. Hawkins. He was coughing again. It sounded nasty and wet. She hoped it was nothing serious. She really liked him. He was probably her favorite teacher.

Ready? Can you drop me home? Destiny asked.

Huh? Right. That’s no problem, she replied. Jane followed her talkative friend, who was still blabbering on, out the door. She glanced back at Mr. Hawkins as she went and saw him staring with concern at his white handkerchief. It looked like a spot of blood was on it the size of a pencil eraser. Her eyes caught Roman next, who was also looking at Mr. Hawkins with an expression of concern that mirrored her own.

Chapter Two

He wasn’t sure why his friends were so cruel to people like Jane Livingston, but Roman didn’t like it. Sometimes he wasn’t sure if he even liked his friends. Stephanie was so out of control when it came to Jane that he often wondered if she was jealous of her. On paper, Stephanie had nothing to be jealous of. Jane’s family was not rich; she didn’t run in the popular crowd at school; she didn’t live in a gated community. She was certainly not blatantly beautiful like Stephanie, who wore way too much make-up to look that way and got two hundred-dollar facials twice a month. He even knew that her mother took her to get Botox injections in her face, which he was pretty sure was probably illegal. But there was something about Jane, a quality that made her attractive. Maybe not to other people, but she always had been to him.

Watcha’ thinking about, Roman? his little brother, Connor, asked.

He had all the curiosity of a typical eight-year-old. Roman was eighteen, and Connor was definitely an oops-baby. He also had two older half-sisters from his father’s first marriage, but they were grown and lived in other states now. Being the older brother to Connor was a responsibility that he took seriously. He wanted to be a good role model for his little brother.

Nothing, Roman lied. Then he felt guilty. Just about a girl.

Girls are gross, Connor remarked, making Roman laugh as he drove them home after school.

You won’t always think so, Connor, he said, trying to help him look beyond his eight years. It probably wouldn’t happen for a long time to come. Roman wasn’t interested in girls until just recently. However, he’d dated a few in middle school, had even gone out with Stephanie for a few months last year, but he’d broken it off with her. She just wasn’t for him, and they had little in common. He shouldn’t have dated her for more than two dates. He immediately knew it wasn’t going to go anywhere, but she’d been persistent. Once she had her sights set on something, she was hard to dissuade. It hadn’t even bothered him when his best friend, Aaron, started dating her. Truth be told, they were a better match anyway.

Oh, yes, I will! Girls are disgusting, Connor said with the self-confidence that came with his tender years. Besides, what girl are you thinking about? A girlfriend? Do you have a girlfriend now, Roman?

Connor’s tone was so disappointed as if he were the father and Roman his son. Roman tried not to laugh because his brother was serious.

Nah, nope. It’s just you and me, buddy. You know that. I was just thinking about a girl at school that gets bullied a lot.

Hm, bullies suck, Connor said honestly.

How would you know? Roman asked, then went on red alert. Hey, nobody’s bullying you, are they?

No way. I’d punch ‘em in the nose like you taught me. Nah, nope, he mimicked. I don’t get bullied.

That’s good, Roman said. He breathed a held sigh of relief. Roman wouldn’t like it if his little bro was getting picked on as severely as Jane. She got it all the time, though. As soon as she’d started at their school, someone, maybe one of the teachers or the principal or a student with connections, leaked information from her file- or, at least, that’s what he guessed. It hadn’t taken more than twenty-four hours for the whole school to know all about Jane and her family. Then the poor treatment of her had started.

Maybe you should teach this girl how to punch like you taught me. The only way to get a bully to stop bullying you is to give ‘em a poke in the eye, his little brother said with vigor and made a fist showing Roman. Perhaps, he’d taken the lesson a bit too seriously. He sounded like a tyrant. Roman chuckled.

Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna work for this girl.

Why not?

He sighed and thought about Jane for a moment. She’s not a fighter. She’s kind of timid and small. I don’t think she’d fight back. I wouldn’t want to see her get hurt.

Why? Do you like her?

This was even harder to answer, Um…

You do! You like her. You want her to be your girlfriend!

Connor started making kissing noises.

Easy now, buddy, Roman said in his best parental tone. I didn’t say that. I just don’t like to see meek people get picked on. I’d feel the same way about anyone.

Uh-huh. You like her. I can tell.

Roman just rolled his eyes at Connor and smiled. The kid was a charming scoundrel. He pitied any girl his brother set his sights on someday.

He drove through the pharmacy’s drive-thru window and picked up Connor’s asthma inhaler prescription and then grabbed them fast food. Both of their parents were working today. His mother was somewhere in Utah or California for most of this week- he couldn’t keep track of her schedule- and his father was in India. He and Connor were on their own for the weekend and probably even Monday. Roman was used to it. His parents were in the ‘harvesting’ phase of their lives, as his father explained it. They needed to work hard right now to save for their retirement and strike while the iron was still hot.

Once he had their food and handed it to Connor to hold, Roman drove them home. As he did most days, he slowed down as he drove past Jane’s home. She lived right next to the gated community in which he lived with his parents. She didn’t live with her folks, though. She lived with her grandmother only. He didn’t know anything about her father, but like everyone else in their school and probably the whole damn community, he knew all about her mother.

Jane’s mother lived a few hours south of them. She was housed in a women’s correctional institution and was serving hard time for drug charges, robbery, extortion, and second-degree murder. That was basically the only thing he knew about the situation, all any of them knew because it wasn’t like Jane was an open book. He’d learned what he knew because he’d looked it up online. As soon as the word got out that her mother was in prison, she was the school outcast. As far as he could tell, she only had one friend, and that was his next-door neighbor, Destiny. She was a really nice girl but never really fit in with any one clique.

He’d overheard his father one time telling his mother that he thought Destiny’s mother was the reason her daughter was an outcast, that the other mothers were jealous of her beauty since she used to be a model. Roman wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but the girls in school certainly would’ve treated Destiny poorly if their mothers treated her mother poorly. The daughter apples in Jackson didn’t fall far from the mommy trees.

He trolled slowly by the old white farmhouse that sat on twenty acres of prime development land, according to pretty much everyone in the area, his own father included. ‘What a waste,’ ‘she’s just a senile old woman,’ ‘they should force her out,’ ‘that land could be going to so many better uses.’ Those were phrases he’d heard frequently the past few years since he was old enough to take notice of adult conversations. Many contractors, including the ones who’d developed the land where his own family lived, had made Jane’s grandmother some handsome offers over the years, in the millions or so he’d heard. They’d even tried eminent domain, which she’d fought in court and won. He was glad for her, too. Roman didn’t think she should have to sell her land just so some asshole could build another golf course community on it. Her property had huge old trees on it, a gravel driveway, an ancient red barn in the back, and a white farmhouse with faded and chipped paint and a big front porch. It always looked so quaint and cozy to Roman. He hated where he lived, although he knew most people would feel blessed to live in such a nice home. He realized a long time ago that it wasn’t the house that made a home homey but what was in it, the people, the atmosphere, the history. Her grandmother’s home seemed like the kind of place that had a story to tell. He often found himself wondering what the two of them did in that house all by themselves. He fantasized that they watched Wheel of Fortune and played cards at the dining table. Or that they always had good, home-cooked meals and talked about their day while enjoying the food and each other’s company. The two-story white brick and matching stone mansion he lived in looked like all the other ones in his neighborhood. He turned an immediate left and pressed the button on the remote to open the gates to their housing development. Then he waved at the guard and kept going.

He drove past the sprawling mansions, each trying to outdo the next in grandeur and size and pulled into his driveway near the end of the first cul-de-sac. He left the Range Rover in the drive and didn’t pull it into the garage. Who would steal it? The community was gated, had a guard at each of the two entry gates, and cameras galore mounted everywhere.

Can we play video games? Connor asked as they went inside.

Roman dropped his keys on the round entry table in the appropriated basket for them and tossed his backpack on the first step of the curved staircase leading to the second floor.

Um, sure. Let’s eat first. Then we’ll go over your homework, Roman said.

Awe, nuts!

Hey! Roman corrected. Someone had to.

Alright, but let’s play that one with the zombies tonight, Connor requested.

No, nothing scary. Sadie’s coming over later to watch you while I go out. You won’t be able to go to sleep if you play scary video games.

They argued back and forth a few rounds until Connor realized he wasn’t going to get his way. Then they ate at the island in the kitchen, and Roman flipped on the television that hung on the wall between the kitchen and dining room. He wasn’t sure why his mother had wanted a t.v. there. She’d said it was to watch while she cooked, but she never cooked. Roman did more cooking than her. Hell, Connor did more cooking than her, and all he could handle was pouring cereal and milk into a bowl.

Hey, buddy, use a napkin, Roman suggested as Connor licked ketchup from his stubby fingers. The blonde newscaster was droning on about some sort of dip in the stock market. He was glad his father was at work, or this would stress him out. He was always worried about money and investments and their retirement.

Dangit! Connor swore.

Language, young man, Roman said.

…latest CDC reports are claiming the virus has spread across southern Africa and could possibly…

Here, let me, he offered as Connor struggled with the dipping sauce for his chicken nuggets, which probably didn’t really have any actual chicken in them anyway. Might as well drown them in some saturated fats and artificial flavorings in the form of dipping sauce. Tomorrow, Roman planned on making pork chops and vegetables on the back-patio grill. He didn’t like his brother to eat too much fast food or junk food. He was still growing. He wondered if perhaps Jane would be working at the Italian restaurant tomorrow, Luigi’s, where she worked most weekends. Tomorrow was Saturday. Pasta would be good for Connor, too, and the kid loved spaghetti. Maybe the pork chops could wait until Sunday.

…several cases have been reported in Morocco and Greece…

His phone rang on the counter, and Roman answered. It was only Aaron trying to get him to go out to the quarry with them tonight to party. He’d already told his friend twice today that he didn’t want to go. He just wasn’t in the mood. He blew him off by telling Aaron that he had to stay home with Connor. His friends knew when Connor was involved that they wouldn’t be able to change his mind.

Don’t you wanna’ go out with Aaron? Connor asked the second Roman hung up.

Nah, I’ve got other plans. Plus, I’m hanging out with you till I go, he reminded him. We’ve gotta tackle that fortress in Shadow Delta Ten. At the mention of his little brother’s favorite video game, he perked up and started smiling. A shaggy lock of his brother’s hair fell over his forehead, and Roman pushed it back for him. His half-sisters were both blonde like their own mother. Roman was the only one of the four siblings and half-siblings who had black hair. He got his from their mother, though. Connor’s was a lot lighter in color, almost a light brown-dark blonde. Roman’s was pitch black like his mother, but wavy and usually unruly. It was sometimes annoying when it wouldn’t do what he wanted it to, and he wasn’t so great with the styling products his mother always bought for him in the hopes he would figure it out.

Cool, Connor answered.

He forgot about the news he’d been trying to watch as he cleaned up after them and wiped down the counter, making sure to get the ketchup splatter off of the Italian marble. His mother would have a fit if it stained. Then he sat at the long dining room table and worked on Connor’s homework with him so that they wouldn’t have to try to fit it in Sunday night when things were always more hectic before the school week started again. When he was done, Roman told him to go and get his shower while he did his own schoolwork and tossed in a load of Connor’s dirty laundry. He could fold it tonight when he got home.

Unfortunately for that big Chemistry test that was coming up on Monday, he got distracted by doing an internet search on his laptop instead of studying. Chemistry and most science classes came easy for him anyway. He looked before for Jane on social media sites but had never found her. With good reason. He was quite sure that the people at school would’ve stalked and tortured her on those, too. Tapping his pencil against his chin, he paused a moment and thought. Passing her grandmother’s farm every day, he saw her name on the mailbox frequently. Barnes. Her grandmother’s last name was Barnes. Her grandmother must’ve been the mother of Jane’s mother who was in prison unless Jane didn’t take her father’s name. Roman didn’t know. All families were patchwork quilts. It didn’t seem like any of his friends’ parents were still married to their original partners. Every family was a blended hodgepodge of dysfunction. Jane was and always had been a mystery. He typed into Facebook Jane Barnes and got a few hits, but none were her. Then he jumped over to Instagram. It only took a moment to find her. And there she was on the internet. She probably figured she was safe on that site with her grandmother’s last name and her first. If she was on other social media sites, then she was using a fake name. She had quite a few followers on Instagram, though. Most of her photographs were of animals and odd things like street signs and graffiti. He wondered if she took them herself. It seemed like she did. Other pictures were borrowed from other people and were of state signs or city signs. From what he could tell from her comments and hashtags, it seemed like she wanted to live in one of those other states. Did she want to leave Ohio? He wasn’t sure. She even had a picture of Siesta Key beach on there. It was hashtagged ‘vacation dreams.’ Roman knew of the area very well. His grandparents lived near there in Key Largo, and his family vacationed at least once a year to Florida to visit with them. Actually, he and Connor went a lot by themselves because his parents sent them on a plane without them. They always said the same thing: they were too busy with work to take time off. Either way was fine with him. He was crazy about his grandparents on his father’s side and visiting with them was always fun.

He viewed another twenty pictures on her account and noticed one with a man. She was in the photo, probably taken last year when her hair was shorter. It looked like a camping or hiking trip because there was a small RV and woods in the background. It was tagged as ‘time with dad.’ Her father was mostly in shadow, so he couldn’t see his face well. He was a stocky looking dude. He was probably five nine or ten and built like a bull. She was smiling widely at whoever was taking the pic, her straight white teeth on full display and her dimples exposed. He didn’t even know she had such nice teeth or dimples at all. She looked so young and happy, not anything how she looked at school every day, which was miserable and shy and uncomfortable. She seemed relaxed, too. Her light hazel eyes were lit from the joy that was beaming from within her.

His phone buzzed, and he swiped it to reveal a text from Heather, one of Stephanie’s friends. There was a sad face emoji, praying hands emoji, and a message begging him to come to the quarry tonight. He swiped it away and didn’t answer. He didn’t like Heather at all. He knew she liked him, though. She’d let her regard for him be known. However, she’d called Jane ‘fat’ one day, which had pissed him off. It was the second or third day of this school year, and he hadn’t talked to her since. She’d remarked that Jane had gotten fat over summer break. It was absurd. She wasn’t fat at all. He didn’t know a whole lot about girls’ sizes, but he knew that when he dated Steph, she’d told him she was a size six. Jane seemed smaller. He also knew that she worked at a horseback riding and boarding facility less than a mile from where they lived. The work she did there was probably laborious like cleaning out stalls and tending to the horses and such. Heather was probably a size bigger than Steph. She had no room to speak, and Steph told him that she downed diet pills and Ex-Lax like they were Tic Tacs. Heather was just a cruel, jealous bitch, one of the many in their school.

Roman scrolled down a few more pictures and saw the evidence of the job at the stables. There were shots of horses, and a few taken with her in them by someone that she must’ve worked with over there named ‘Noah.’ She tagged those as ‘Noah stealing my phone again, ugh.’ In some, she was riding the horses, probably exercising them or something. Roman didn’t know this Noah guy, who was in a few other pics with her, but he was instantly jealous that this dude got to spend more time with her than he did. He looked like maybe a college student, and in one photo had on a hoodie with the logo for Bowling Green University on it. She was smiling and trying to dodge his dirty hands in another photo that someone took of them horsing around. He had light blonde hair and what seemed like blue or light eyes. He was older, probably twenty or twenty-one and good-looking in a northeastern yuppie, ivy league school kind of way. Spying on her Instagram felt wrong, but it was like looking into a secret, private side of Jane, one he’d never seen before.

I’m done! When are we playing video games? Connor yelled down the stairs.

Roman startled and snapped the laptop shut. Pretty soon, buddy! he called back.

Then Roman stowed his gear away and took his backpack and supplies up to his room. He checked in with Connor to make sure he was moving along in the getting dressed process. Then he grabbed his own quick shower in the bathroom attached to his bedroom. It was convenient, but he could’ve just shared a bathroom with Connor, who also had his own attached bath. His parents’ bedroom was on the first floor in the back of the house. It overlooked the seventh hole on the golf course. Roman hated golf. His father forced him to take lessons when he was younger, but it hadn’t instilled a love of the sport. It was dull and boring. He preferred doing things that moved a little faster. Connor’s bedroom overlooked the pool and their neighbor’s house. There were three other bedrooms on the second floor and one in the finished basement. The house, like most of the others in the neighborhood, was around five thousand square feet.

His bedroom overlooked the cement retaining wall that was stamped to look like stone that separated their exclusive neighborhood from the property of Jane’s grandmother. He could see their house from his bedroom window. Sometimes he’d catch a glimpse of her strolling around her grandmother’s apple orchard. In the fall, like now, Roman would scale the wall and sneak into their orchard to pick a few apples. They were so much better than the ones from the store for some reason. She and her grandmother sold to a local organic, health food store crates of apples, jars of apple butter, and honey from the hives they kept at the far edge of the property where the few acres of woods started.

After checking on the peaceful, quiet homestead of Jane and her grandmother, he dressed in clean jeans, a long-sleeved black turtleneck, and a black cable knit sweater. It was supposed to get cool later and maybe even rain. He wore black a lot, not because he was depressed or emo, but because he idolized anything and everything about Johnny Cash. Every song he ever made was loaded into his iPod. He even asked for a record player a few years ago and bought very old, vintage vinyl just so he could listen to Folsom Prison on there. It was awesome. Just the way it should’ve been heard. Roman also didn’t like matching and coordinating clothing and outfits, so it was just easier to wear black most days. Stephanie and her gaggle of fashion critics always accused him of being color blind and threatened to drag him to the mall. That certainly wasn’t ever happening. The only thing worse than having to shop online for new threads would’ve been doing it in person in the damn mall. He’d rather go back to the orthodontist and have his braces put back on that he’d had removed two years ago.

Are you coming or what? Connor blasted down the long hallway at him.

Roman chuckled quietly and