Endogenesis (Complete)

Chapter Eight

With three of them in the back seat, it was difficult to move without rubbing shoulders, and Gabriel's height didn't help. Elijah had climbed in the bed with Joy and the supplies that Luke intended on trading. He never had any issues with the dog lying all over him; Joy usually slept in Elijah's bed with him. If Gabriel had so desired, he could have stayed behind. He could have used his free time to knock out more rust from the Hummer or claim the television for himself. Instead, he decided to tag along; they didn't travel to the other settlements very often.

Depending on the occasion, Luke would only take Dante with him, and Anne would stay home to run the store, but as Nadia and Elijah had the day off school, they ended up coming along as well.

'Mum, I'm hungry,' Elijah called from the bed, the window behind the back seat left open for him.

'Did you bring something to eat?' Anne said in confusion.

'Yeah, but I gave it to Joy.'

Anne sighed as she leaned back into her chair, 'Your son.'

Luke didn't take his eyes off the cracked and broken road. With fewer people driving, the roads didn't undergo as much wear and tear, but they hadn't been maintained in thirty years. There were groups that made sure that it was kept clear of fallen trees and debris, but there was still the issue that replacing tyres was a nightmare.

'My son? Why are they only my children when they've done something wrong,' Luke questioned.

'They didn't learn their obnoxious behaviour from me,' Anne said.

Elijah poked his head through the gap in the window, forcing Nadia to lean forward, 'I can hear you.'

'I know, Honey.'

Nadia twisted about and pushed him back through the hole, her glasses lopsided, 'Get back in there, twerp, you're pulling my hair.'

'Get a haircut, nerd,' Elijah snapped back.

'Can we leave them on the side of the road?' Gabriel asked.

Anne turned to face them, 'Behave. You three are old enough to know better; you're nearly adults.'

Dante peered at her in disbelief, 'What did I do?'

'Nothing. I'm merely saying that you all should know better,' Anne turned back to Luke. 'They're too much like you.'

'How's that a bad thing? If they had a different father, how would you have ended up with such good-looking children?' Luke said smugly.

'At least not all of them have your arrogance.'

Gabriel paused as Nadia and Dante peered at him, the corner of his brother's mouth twitching, 'Wait? You're not referring to me, are you?'

'Gabriele, I'm surprised you don't try to smell your own farts,' Dante said mockingly.

Gabriel glared at him; with Nadia wedged between them, it was hard for him to do anything... at that moment.

'Eli, I'll give you some money when we get there, and you and your brothers can go find something to eat,' Anne said.

Gabriel folded his arms, wishing he had more space to spread out his legs, 'How come we don't get any money?'

'Because you have a job, and Eli is twelve,' Anne replied.

'He's old enough to work. He could crawl around in the sewerage and chase rats. If he gets hungry, he can eat them,' Gabriel said.

Nadia chuckled, 'We could charge by the hour and rent him out to other— ouch.'