Luke
"Luke, I'm hungry."
"There's curry in the cooler." She just ate 20 minutes ago.
"Luke, mosquitoes are biting me."
"Sorry about that. Use the ointment." She's been in the comfort of the car all day, how are mosquitoes biting her?
"Luke, my feet hurt."
"I'll boil some water, and we'll massage them." She hasn't even walked six meters today.
"Luke..." It's only been three days, yet I've heard my name a million times now. And I'm not even joking. Jace needs to hurry up and get his ass over here. Ever since Tori got her period last night, I've been transformed into a full-on hand maid. She doesn't take pain killers, so I had to stay up all night with her while she was putting up with her cramps. And I had to look online to make it, because the only thing she wants to eat is chicken curry. That and loads of chocolate.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts by my ringtone. I never thought I'd be so happy to hear from Jace in my life. All the power banks are dead, and our phones are about to follow suit. "Luke, turn on the location access on your phone so I can track you. I'm coming over now."
"Are you sure that's safe right now?" I'm still trying to be awfully careful. "Mhm. Gave em' a pretty good excuse." I do as he says and wait for salvation. "Was that Jace?" Tori yells from the car. "Yes, he'll be coming over soon." I've never been more grateful to my family for the wildlife training they gave me and Jace when we were younger. But then again, they're the reason I'm in this mess in the first place. "Luke, I'm thirsty!" She yells again. "There's a bottle of water in the cupholder." I sigh. It's been a long 72 hours.
I count the time in seconds for him to finally get here. A familiar rover stops in its tracks, millimetres away from me. "What do you want to do, run me over?!" I get up and meet his eyes. Although, they aren't the pair I was expecting. At all. "Chill out, nothing even happened." His lazy, sleepy voice drags. Of everyone on the face of the earth, Jace sent Xavier. "Sup baby girl."
"Since when am I your baby girl!? And where's Jace?"
"Oh, I get it. You don't want to see my face. You should've just said so. I'll take my leave now." He feigns depression. "This is serious, Xav."
"Alright. Jace might have to return to Russia soon, and the stakes were too high for him to leave right now, so he asked for my help." You can't be serious. "Returning to Russia," I hesitate to complete my question, "Was it his decision, or..." Xav has been my longest time friend. He knows exactly how things work around here. He also knows that if you are called back, instead of simply returning for some reason, the chances you'll leave again are incredibly slim. "I don't know." For some reason, I'm relieved. Sometimes, the anxiety that comes with uncertainty is better than condemnation. "Luke!! Who are you talking to? Is it Jace!?" She sure shouts a lot for someone in pain. "No, it's-" That's right, she and Xavier haven't met. "Is that our mystery girlfriend?" He grins with mischief. "She isn't my-"
"Luke!!!" She pops her head out of the window. "Why aren't you answering mee?" She sounds like she's going to cry. She's gotten so many mood swings; she can build a park. "I'm sorry, this is Xavier, he came in Jace's place."
"Oh, Hii Xavier! Did you come to save us from this place?" You would never guess that this is the same Historiah Kurrusso. "Yeah, I did." He chuckles. "She isn't what I was expecting at all."
"If this is the exact opposite of whatever you were expecting, then you expected right. Right now, she's just- Shit, Tori!!" I sprint towards the wagon as soon as I notice her about to fall headfirst out of the window. "If you wanted to come out, why didn't you just use the door?!" I hold her steady, sitting her back down. "Child lock, remember?" Oh, I never deactivated that. "But even so, you could've really gotten yourself hurt." I open it and look down at her flushed face. Even her body temperature is higher than usual. "You're not my mom." She pouts like a child. "Calling you baby girl was right, Luke. You really do act like a nursing woman." Xavier comments over my shoulder. "Hehe, Luke's a baby gurl." She might as well be drunk. "But anyway, I brought lots of stuff for you guys and a message from Jace. He says you better magically know mechatronic engineering by the next time you get a call from home, and it's safe to use credit cards now, so when the coast is completely clear, you guys can stay at a hotel until they leave. And take good care of...a Cupcake? I don't know what that part means." I'd say I've been doing a pretty good job at that. "But you're a tough one, Luke. I could never live out here."
"That's because all you do is game and sleep. Of course you could never step foot outside your house." He nods in agreement, looking oddly proud of that. But if we're being honest, Jace would've done much better out here. In fact, he could've managed without any food or money and bare minimum utilities. "Much better." I whisper almost inaudibly. "Luke Wynknight, the epitome of confidence doubts himself?" He says on a straight face and eyes fixed on his screen. "Get out of my head, creep." I reply. He's right. The head of a company must be perfect, no insecurities, no weaknesses. At least that's what I was taught.
"So, when are we finally going to the real world?" Tori asks, biting on a sour worm. "We'll leave for a hotel tomorrow evening. I think suspicion should've died off by then." "To be honest, I kinda like this. It's like a thriller movie where we're runaway fugitives trying to survive the mafia!" She beams with the amusement of a child. "To be honest, your situation isn't that far off." Xavier agrees. At least now we can be sure that first thing tomorrow, we're leaving here.