The Hunt: The Final Chase (3) (Edited)

Chapter 24

The night came sooner than the group thought, even though it was almost summer, it felt like winter in the house. Jeff had to find extra blankets around the house because he didn't have a decent blanket to sleep under. It rained all night, and since the land was mainly flat below the hill, the entire place was flooded. Alex couldn't sleep, she kept thinking about the past with Johnathan and K.C. She had to get her mind off things, so she got up and walked around the house to try and find the back door to look outside. To her surprise, Samuel was sitting at the back door with a red and green plaid blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Alex smiled and stood behind Samuel, not knowing what to say.

"Hey Sammy," Alex said, sitting next to him. Samuel looked up, then said in a nasally voice, "Oh, hey Alex." "You feeling okay?" Alex asked, looking Samuel right in his large, bright blue eyes. Samuel shrugged and looked at the flooded field, and watched the rain fall and hit the ground making the sound of tiny drums on the frozen grass. "I've been feeling sick the past few days, but I'm allergic to mildew so this isn't my night," he said, holding onto the edges of the blanket tightly, trying to shield himself from the cold. Alex smiled, "Well, rain's usually more peaceful than the sunlight for me. Back when I lived in Newport, California, rain was like a gift from A Santa Rainha. It was hotter than blue blazes in the summer at Newport, and all I can say is that I missed Montana. I missed the cooler weather, the forests, and the old buildings that had been there since the 1950's." Samuel shrugged, "Well, it depends on where you live. What was it like in Newport by the way?" "All I can really say was that it was hot, humid, and rarely rained. The thing about the school I went to though, was that we didn't get a bunch of homework and barely had tests. So I spent my Monday afternoons walking to the Newport bay and having a Coke with a few friends. That was the only good thing about that area though, but hey, it was home for most of my life. Until I was fourteen and my life went to shit, once we had to move states, again," Alex explained, getting under the blanket because she could feel the cold air slapping her in the face. They both watched the rain fall down and Samuel remembered a certain day of his childhood.

The day was cold and wet, and Alex had invited Samuel over to play Mario Kart for a few hours. Samuel's mom said yes since she had to work later, that day. Once Samuel got to Alex's house, it began to rain. Alex's old house was a one-story, sun-painted brick house with an iron door guarding a red door from behind. The house was small, but big enough for four people and the occasional neighborhood kids that would ride their bikes and scooters to Alex's house. Alex's older brother was thirteen at the time and had his friends over almost every Friday and Saturday afternoon. That and since the house had a pool out back, the kids would all jump in when it was a hot summer day. Her parent's didn't mind since they never used to pool, except their kids and their kids friends. Samuel remembered watching the rain fall from Alex's kitchen window that led out to the entire neighborhood, while they ate Hot Pockets and drank fruit punch that was bought that day at the market. When Alex's mom came home from work early, her brother had four of his friends at the house because of soccer. They all ran out in the rain and jumped in the puddles that were in the road. That was a sight for the two younger kids sitting at the kitchen window to see. 

Samuel ended up falling asleep watching the rain fall, so Alex carried him back to his room where Jeff was rolled up in three blankets like a burrito. Once Samuel woke up that same morning, the day felt colder than last night. Once of the reasons was because he forgot to shut the back door last night. "Shit, if water got in the house Johnathan will murder me," Samuel said to himself, as he laid on the bed with his limbs sprawled out like a starfish. Jeff woke up and asked, "You feeling better about you being sick and all?" "Yeah," Samuel began in a tired and raspy voice. "I just forgot to shut the back door last night. If water got on the floor then I'm dead." "Well sucks to be you," Jeff joked. Samuel laughed a nervous laugh, "Yeah, I'm just terrified of Johnathan. Plus the way he looks at Marceline is just, off." "Hey, deep down, I know you're just jealous that some other dude likes your crush," Jeff said sarcastically, with his body dangling over his bed. "I am not jealous, and if I was, I wouldn't be jealous over a perverted bastard like Johnathan," Samuel said. "Whatever man, I'm going to get food. You wanna come?" Jeff asked, rolling off his bed and rolling out of the blankets. Samuel shrugged and followed his half-awake friend down stairs.