Somehow They're Alive (part 13)

Welcome to part 13 of "Somehow They're Alive". I think that you're going to like this part. There really isn't much for me to tell. However, I will give you some insight on what will happen.

Rayla and Jay haven't had a romantic part in a while, and niether have Ryan and Jaslina. Because of that, I added a couple of romantic parts for you. Enjoy :P

Created by: Topaz
  1. ***Jaslina's Point of View*** The second the words left my mouth, Tammy pulled over into the parking lot of a super market. That's not a good sign in any situation. When Tammy's so mad that she can't drive you know that you've got an argument on your hands. It's been quite the dispute so far, I'll tell you that. The six of us have been sitting in this van for over ninety minutes talking about Landon. Admittedly, it didn't start out like talking. At first it was yelling which worked its way down to raised voice which went down further still to tense voices. For about ten minutes now we've been calmly talking. Ryan and I have done more than tell them every single detail of Landon's visit. We must have told them every single detail three times and then some. At this point I can proudly say that we've won over everyone. Everyone except for Tammy, that is. It'll take a lot to convince her. "I admit it," says Jay. "It does sound like Landon might be thinking about joining us. Sapphire seems to be the only thing holding him back." "That's what we've been trying to tell you," says Ryan. "The only reason why he hasn't joined us yet is because of my sister. She's got him under her thumb, and she ain't gonna let him loose any time soon." Rayla speaks up. "I was questioning you, but now I'm starting to agree. I knew Landon on the plantation. He was the nicest person you ever did meet, but he also let fear rule his life. He was scared of getting on the bad side of Master Akmal. The only reason he betrayed was out of fear. Only now he's scared on both sides, so he can't find out where to run." "Scared on both sides? What are you talking about?" asks Audrey. "I mean that he wants to stay with Sapphire because he's scared of what she'll do to him, but at the same time he wants to leave her because he's scared of getting caught by the cops. Everyone knows that he'd do better on his own then he would with Sapphire."
  2. Audrey comments again. "Are you sure that's true, Rayla? He told Jaslina and Ryan that he loves the girl." Instead of letting Rayla answer I do it myself. "It's like Ryan said to me this morning after Landon left. Even thought Landon thinks he's in love he doesn't love her. Sapphire's the one in love this time." Jay sighs and speaks up. "All right, that's enough. I'm as intrigued by this as the rest of you, but sitting here talking about Landon won't help us find Mr. Rowe, Josephine, or Audrey's parents. The only way to do that is by going through all of the information I found on Ireland's Mountains. We don't have a whole lot of hints to go on, yet I think we'll solve this with enough brain power." None of us can help but give him a blank stare. This is the most intelligent thing that we've heard come out of Jay's mouth since we've gotten here. I guess mysteries and stress bring out the seriousness in some people. After his words sink in, our gazes shift to Tammy who hasn't yet moved toward the steering wheel. "Tammy, can you drive? If you don't want to one of us can do it," says Rayla. Without a verbal response she opens the driver's side door and steps out. I'm expecting her to get into one of the back seats or to hop into the passenger side, but instead Tammy walks past the car and moves slowly toward the road. Unsure of what to do Rayla, Audrey, and I get out and run after her. "Where are you going? The van's this way!" says Rayla. Without even a glance in our direction, she continues walking. Anger is in her every step. Still she gives a response. "I know. Why do you think I'm going this way? I want to stay away from the van!" "Tammy, we don't understand. What is it you're doing?" asks Audrey. She pauses and turns to look at us. "What am I doing? I'm leaving! I never should have come here! This is just a wild goose chase that you'll never win, and I'm tired of being a part of it."
  3. "If you didn't want to come in the first place, then why did you?" "Naturally I assumed that we'd all get caught up in the sights and give up the mission in two days time. I also thought that Sapphire and Landon wouldn't be a problem because they'd most likely get rearrested in a week. Well, I thought wrong. This trip has turned into the second worst situation I've ever been in!" Audrey attempts to soothe her. "Don't say that, Tammy. We'll get through this if we stick together. Jaslina will find her father and sister. I'll find my parents. Sapphire and Landon will get arrested again. All we have to do is pray and have patience and everything will work out." "Really? It doesn't seem that way!" "It didn't seem that way a year ago either, but that's how it worked out," says Rayla. She gives a harsh laugh, turns, and continues to walk away from us. "Believe and be as optimistic as you want. Just because everything ended up okay a year ago doesn't mean that it will now. All I know is that I've been caught up in the middle of another nightmare, and I am done." I guess it's my turn to beg and plead with her. "Where will you go?" "Where do you think? I'm going to the airport. We passed one on our way to the bed and breakfast yesterday." "Tammy, that's miles away! It'll take you forever to get there on foot!" Audrey reasons. "I don't care. If I could work in a blazing hot field every day for several years then I can walk to an airport." "What about money? Without that you can't get a plane ticket." "I think that I can remember my phone number, Audrey. I'll have my parents send me money." Uncertain of what else we can do I tell her this. "Can't you at least let us drive you there? I know that we won't stop you from leaving, but it'll at least give everyone a chance to say goodbye." "Jaslina, I don't feel like having a guilt trip put on me. If you take me to the airport that is most likely what will happen."
  4. By this time Jay and Ryan have stepped out of the vehicle to beg with Tammy as well. "We promise that there will be no guilt trips! Please"”" "Don't even try talking me out of this, Jay. Nobody will get me to change my mind on this one. Least of all, you." For a moment it looks as if she might walk away. Then she turns around to face us. "Before I leave is there anyone who wants to come with me?" There's only silence. "Oh, come on! I know that not all of you want to help Jaslina with this. What about you, Rayla? Do you want to come back to the U.S. with me?" "Nope. She's been too good of a friend for me to just step out on her. I'm staying here to help." "Fine. Be that way. Anybody else? My offer's still here." Another momentary lack of dialogue answers her question. "Okay, then. I guess that everyone wants to waste their time by staying here. Do what you want. I'm leaving." After a slight pause, "Also, I think that you're all idiots! Landon tricked Jaslina and Ryan and now he's tricking you. For some reason you're being stupid enough to buy into the scam. If you're going to continue staying here heed my advice; stay away from Landon and don't trust him." With that she trudges away. None of us moves until she's only a dark figure on the horizon. It'll take her hours to get to the airport, and the sun's already going down. I hope that Tammy finds a place to sleep tonight. Slowly I come out of my trance. Rayla and I are the only two left standing here. Everybody else is sitting in the car. "We should probably join the others." I say. "It's starting to get cold out here." A tear trails down her cheek. "Okay. Standing out here won't do any good, anyway." Before leaving our spots I give Rayla a comfort hug. "I'm sorry, Rayla. I didn't mean for things to get this out of hand." "It's alright. Don't blame yourself. You've been a good friend, Jaslina."
  5. ***The only sound inside the van is shocked comments about Tammy's departure. Unable to take any more of it Rayla steps out and walks toward the woods. Perhaps a short walk will ease her sadness. How could Tammy leave? For years she'd been Rayla's best and most trusted friend, and now she's gone. Yet again, who can blame her? For a moment she was actually tempted to accept Tammy's offer. In the end she just couldn't do it. Jaslina's a wonderful friend, and the least she could do is stick with her until they find Mr. Rowe and Josephine. If they find Mr. Rowe and Josephine. Feeling her eyes tear up she pulls her red hood down over her eyes and takes a seat under a tree. She's deep enough into the woods where the others shouldn't see her. For a moment all she does is sit there sobbing. "Rayla, are you okay?" Jay's voice startles her. Rayla pulls her hood down over her face more. The last thing she needs is Jay seeing her cry. "Yes, I'm fine." He kneels down and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure?" The tears come harder. "Y-yes. I'm s-sure." His voice shows nothing but tenderness."Rayla, it's okay if you miss Tammy. I know that you were close."
  6. Still not looking up at him, she says, "You don't have to stay here and pity me. If you want you can go back to the others." Instead of leaving like she'd expected, Jay takes a seat next to her. "The problem is, I don't want to leave. Not when you're here sad." He puts his arm around Rayla. For some odd reason she doesn't pull away like he thought she would. Actually, she puts her head on his shoulder and lets him hold her. Even so, Rayla still won't look at him. "You know, Rayla, you don't have to be afraid to look at me. I'm not that ugly." For a moment her soft sobs are replaced by chuckles. "I don't think you're ugly." Teasing, he says, "Then why won't you look at me? My blonde hair is scary, isn't it?" "No. In fact, I like the blonde hair. It's just that-" "It's just what?" "My eyes are puffy and my mascara is probably running." "That's it?" Without warning he pulls her hood down and smiles tenderly. "You look absolutley beautiful." Rayla doesn't respond. All she does is smile with no tears at all. Just then he gets an idea, and stands up. "Come with me. I know something that you might want to see." Unreluctantly, she takes his hand. Jay leads Rayla through the trees and to the top of the hill. Once at the top she sees what he's talking about. The sun is about ready to dip beneth the horizon. The view is extraordinary. "The sunset? I've seen it before." "Yes, but you've never seen it in Ireland with a handsome green eyed blonde boy." "Handsome? A moment ago you called yourself ugly." "Yes, but also a moment ago you said you like blondes. Me, I'm blonde in more ways than one." She laughs. "Don't lie to yourself. You're very smart." They sit on the edge of the hill and watch the sun go down. Once it's down they continue sitting there for a while longer. Eventually they get up and make their way back to the van ever so slowly. Strangely, all of Rayla's sadness is gone now that she's with Jay.
  7. ***Jaslina's Point of View*** The beams of early morning sunlight wake me up. I'll never be able to fall asleep again now that I'm awake. It's a wonder that I was able to sleep at all. With a yawn I unlock the door next to me and slide out. The thought occurred to us that Tammy might change her mind and come looking for us, so we stayed here and slept in the van. It was cramped but necessary. Unfortunately she hasn't returned to us. Since she hasn't come back yet she probably won't come back at all. There are stacks of information we have to go through and very little time. If we're going to finish what we came here for then we can't keep stalling. This thought makes my heart ache, but we're going to have to forget Tammy. "Doing some early morning thinking?" When I turn to see my boyfriend looking down at me I surprise myself with a smile. "Good morning, Ryan. And no not really. I just couldn't sleep." "Me neither. Since I heard you get out I thought that I would join you." "Thanks. I'm glad for the company." Ryan walks around to the back of the van and pulls out some bread, two forks and two jars of canned peaches. To lighten the moment, he says, "You look famished. Here is a can of peaches for my sweet peach." He laughs at his own joke. I can't hide the smile playing at my lips. "Ha ha. Food humor." His deep brown eyes are teasing. "Don't get sarcastic with me. Admit it. That joke was funny." "It was hilarious. I'm silent laughing." "Oh, so you think you can do better?" "Yes...wait...no, probably not." We quietly chuckle. Not wanting to wake up the others Ryan and I sit on the sidewalk of the super market that has not yet opened. Wow it's earlier than I thought. The sun is still rising. "So, how are you? Lovely sunrise isn't it?" His words come out sounding strange due to the fact that he's talking while eating. "Yeah, it's prettier than I thought it would be. I've never actually been awake to see the sunrise before." "Neither have I! That's something we have in common. This relationship thing might actually work out!" I slap him playfully on the arm. "It'd better work out. If it didn't I'd be sad." "I'd be sad, too, but that won't happen. We have oodles of things in common!"
  8. "Oodles? The only other person I've ever heard use that word is my Great Aunt Suzie!" "Hey, don't judge me. I like that word. It rhymes with doodles, caboodles, noodles, poodles..." "Ryan, you do realize that I can't understand half of the words you're saying. Stop talking with your mouth full." "Ah, you're already trying to change me, huh? While it isn't gonna work." Without warning, he picks me up and starts to spin with me over his shoulder. Between laughs he says, "See, this is what happens when you try to change me!" I'm laughing too. In fact, I'm laughing harder than he is. I manage, "Ryan, please don't drop me!" "I won't drop you, sugar cakes!" As he's spinning us and as we're laughing ourselves to death Ryan comes closer to a curb in the side walk. Somehow I barely even detect it. The only time it comes to mind that it's even there is when Ryan trips over it and lands us in the thick bushes closely beside it. Even then we're still laughing. "Jaslina?" he says. "Yeah?" "I tripped." "Really? I didn't notice." We work our way out of the bushes and stroll toward the van. It's embarrassing to find out that Jay, Audrey, and Rayla are standing outside the van with amused smiles playing at their lips. Knowing them, they've probably been awake for several minutes or more. "Hi, Jaslina. Good morning, Ryan. I see that you've had a pleasant morning," grins Jay. "Wow. A happy couple can never spend a peaceful moment together without being watched, can they?" says Ryan. "Peaceful? I didn't know that spinning and falling head first into the bushes was considered peaceful in America," inquires Audrey.
  9. "It wasn't head first. If it was head first Ryan and I would both have concussions." "True. If only I was as happy as you two," says Jay hugging himself mockingly. "Don't worry, Jay. I'm sure you'll find a very nice doe eyed girl to be happy with," Ryan points to Rayla with his shoulder. Jay points. "You be quiet!" Rayla looks both confused and amused. "Doe eyes? What's that supposed to mean?" "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Ryan's still dizzy from spinning." She just shakes her head. "Okay. If you say so." There's a gap in the conversation, and that time is used for everyone else to get breakfast. Once the others have grabbed their share of food we sit in a circle in front of the van. Doubtlessly there must be a group meeting because of Tammy's little stunt yesterday. With her gone we'll have to decide as a group what course of action to take. "Okay," says Audrey, "we have a long day ahead of us, and a lot has to be done. First off, we have to decide whether or not to leave this spot in case of Tammy." "I say we leave. Last night we slept in the car. We could've left right when we woke up, yet we're still sitting here. If Tammy wanted to come back she would've done it already," Jay rationalizes trying to sound sympathetic. Straining to appear calm, Rayla says, "Yes, but Tammy can be stubborn. Trust me on that one. She might have decided to come back just a few minutes ago. What if she pushes down her pride and comes looking for us and we're not here?" Audrey puts a comforting hand on Rayla's forearm. "If she comes looking for us and we're long gone it's her own fault. We can't spend all day sitting here because of Tammy." Jay comes around and puts a hand on her opposite shoulder. "Rayla, you have to remember that we already have enough problems to solve without worrying about her. It pains me to say it, but we have to ignore her if we're gonna finish our mission." "So you all dislike her enough to just desert her?" "We don't dislike her," I say. "I kind of miss her, actually. You just have to look at the other factors. Based on our resources and our time table we simply can't spend precious time in this parking lot all day waiting for her."
  10. "Besides, if we spend too much more time here people will start getting suspicious," adds Ryan. "Okay. I understand what you're getting at. I'll cooperate." I smile. "Thank you, Rayla," after a slight pause, "So what's our first order of business? Does anyone have any ideas?" "Well, I was thinking that we could find a place to take showers at. We're starting to stink," says Audrey, "Then after that we need to think of a place to sleep. Anywhere has to be better than sleeping in the van again." Jay stands up and starts pacing. "I thought of that. With the things that Tom gave us finding a place to sleep might not be that hard. We still have boat loads of food; we have the tents, and soap and shampoo, a washtub..." I release a long groan. "Oh no. Jay, what are you suggesting?" "I'm suggesting something logical. With our supplies combined with my survival skills and acres of Irish wilderness we should be able to survive on our own for a while." "Survival skills?" asks Ryan nervously. "Yes. I guarantee that I'm an awesome survivalist." "You guaranteed that you were the best baseball player in the state of California, too." "That was totally different. I wanted to impress my friends. Not now. This is about survival. If it comforts you any, I was a boy scout until I dropped out in ninth grade." Ryan gives a pleased smile and then shrugs. "What the heck? I suppose it's worth a try." Rayla and I give our nods of approval. Audrey does too, although hers is much more unenthusiastic. Jay hasn't been wrong so far. This plan is as good as any plan that Ryan could've proposed. Once everyone has finished their breakfast we get into the car and drive off into who knows where.

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