After taking a moment to collect her thoughts at the sound of that revelation, Lili had to try to let logic lead over emotion, “wait, are you sure you didn’t just hear Hope crying during your vision, and it sort of, bled through?”
“Did you hear Hope crying?” Jared asked her pointedly. He then added, “and it really didn’t sound like a baby crying.”
“So, it was a survivor then?” Kyle piped up.
“Most likely” Jared returned, though quietly, not able to ignore the look of worry on Lili’s face at how quickly Kyle latched onto that confirmation, sure his next sentence would be to justify his suicide mission with this new knowledge.
“But we don’t actually know when this vision takes place though. I mean, it could’ve been a year ago, when the ship first went down” she attempted.
“My visions are rarely of the past” Jared stated even more quietly.
“But the other one you had of the ship was. When you saw what Serena did” she reminded.
“Whether it was the past or not, don’t you think we owe it to whoever this survivor is or was to at least try to get to them? Just so we know, for sure” Kyle stated, justifying his plans with this new information, just as Lili had feared he would.
“Jared” Lili looked to him to back her up in voting for caution against this deadly mission once more.
Jared swallowed a bit, knowing what she expected of him, but needing to be honest, nonetheless, “it’s true that I have serious doubts about Will ever being able to bring the whole ship back, but if there’s a tiny chance he can teleport back and forth between these two planets, slim as that chance is; it could mean the difference between life and death for us, and for any survivors who could still be there...and for Hope” he added softly.
“You’re really ok with this?” she looked up at him in disbelief.
“I’m a long way from ok with it, but...” Jared began, though she turned on her heel and headed back inside before he could add anything else to that sentence, not that he was sure there was anything else that would make her feel any better about the endeavor at all.
“So you’re actually on my side?” Kyle asked with a raised brow. Though Jared’s only response was a slight scoff as he too headed inside.
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Much to Lili’s and Ian’s upset, the plan for Kyle and Will to make this deadly trip did go forward the following week. Jared’s vote unfortunately made it a unanimous vote on the part of all three of the E-children; all three of the so-called geniuses. A final vote of three to two, as much as it pained Jared to allegedly ‘take Kyle’s side,’ he did truly believe it was their only chance.
Lili was still sniffling against Ian’s shoulder after the other two young men made that dangerous departure that morning. Ian was trying to hold onto a steely calm, despite his own upset, but the cracks were obvious.
Jared sighed as Lili’s sobs had been the only sound for the half hour since Kyle and Will had donned the flight suits and disappeared before their eyes. It was obvious that Lili and Ian were nearly one hundred percent convinced that the two were already as good as dead, and they would truly never see either of them again.
Jared finally forced himself to speak from his place sitting against the opposite wall of the shack’s common room from his two companions, “Just try to remember. Kyle survives this. My vision said so” he offered the weak argument once more.
Lili just scoffed through her tears as she quickly stood, despite any remaining pain she was feeling, and reached out her hand to urge Ian to stand as well. Easily giving into her unspoken request, he also rose from one of the overturned supply crates that passed as their furniture. As he did, Lili closed her hand over his and led him with her back to his sleeping quarters, no explanation given to Jared as they left him behind with only Hope for company right then.
The two sat somberly atop his bedding, both staring at the floor of the shack for several long moments, before Ian managed to find his voice, “I never thought I’d be the one comforting you over the doc there.”
“They’re not like us Ian. It becomes more obvious every day” she stated in a sad whisper, her pretty eyes still locked upon the floor.
“Not like us?” he asked, though his tone was unreadable as he waited for her to say more.
“The way their brains work...it’s like the smarter they get, the more they can do...the less they can feel” Lili confessed her fears in a low whisper, sure that Jared could hear them easily if he had been trying, considering the haphazard walls surrounding them.
“I don’t know if that’s exactly accurate” Ian attempted with a hard swallow.
“Just because we don’t want it to be true, doesn’t mean it isn’t” she added with a sniffle.
Ian said no more though, as her words easily sent him into deep, somewhat dark thoughts about how accurate her statements might actually be, especially when their very own daughter, their very own flesh and blood, was going to grow up with the same type of brain that those she now spoke of possessed; and at only a few days old, Hope had already proven how different she really was from either of her parents. It still terrified Ian to think of how different she would eventually be, one day.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
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Ian headed out early the following morning to make a futile attempt at distracting himself for at least part of the day with another hunting trip. Unfortunately, this did leave Lili behind to have to deal with Jared, which had never been an issue previously, But she and he were both more than a little upset with him these days.
It wasn’t long after Ian made his early morning departure that the sound of Hope’s crying lured Lili out of Ian’s bed where she had spent almost the entire time since Kyle and Will had gone.
She couldn’t help the heavy sigh as she poked her head out of Ian’s doorway and found Jared standing over Hope’s crib
Jared tried to hide his immediate reaction to the fact that Lili had spent very nearly an entire day alone in that room with Ian simply to avoid him. Though he wasn’t very successful. Instead he cleared his throat and looked away from Lili and back at the now one month old below him, “think she’s ready for breakfast” he stated, attempting to take on a conversational tone.
Though Lili said nothing in return as she simply made her feet carry her over to the crib where she lifted Hope into her arms as warily as ever. She then allowed only the slightest momentary breath before carrying the child with her back to her own quarters, rather than feeding her there by the crib, like she most often did.
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Nearly an hour passed before Jared could no longer fight his need to at least try and re-establish some kind of rapport with Lili once again. After all, until he chose to back this journey, most would say that he and Lili had been nearly always on the same wavelength about most things; or at least, the most important things.
He entered her quarters with a sigh, where she still sat awkwardly holding the child in her arms, “she’s done eating, I assume?” he greeted, though quietly.
“Obviously” Lili answered, though nearly under her breath.
“Usually you put her in the crib the moment she’s done” he pointed out, trying to keep his tone as even as possible.
“And usually you back me up. I guess lots of things change” she bit back as she then stood at last and brushed past him to return her daughter to the crib finally.
Jared couldn’t help another heavy sigh as he had to quickly step back out of the doorway to let her pass, “Lili...” he attempted, though he honestly wasn’t sure where he planned to go with that sentence anyway, in all honesty.
Still offering him no other words, Lili returned the child to the crib, then pushed past him again to return to her own chambers once more.
Another sigh as he once again stepped back to allow her to pass. Jared then squared his shoulders and forced himself to step behind the draped doorway to her room as she took an angry seat on her bedding once more. “Have you even eaten yet?”
“Are you honestly still trying to mother-hen me?” Lili scoffed.
“Was just asking a simple question” Jared returned with another sad sigh.
“If I’m hungry, I’m quite capable of getting food on my own, thank you” was her only curt response, still refusing to look up at him.
Jared was quiet another moment, his eyes also downwards as he struggled to find any way at all he could possibly diffuse her anger. Though he doubted that would be at all possible until Kyle returned safely to them, and even then it may still be difficult.
“So, does that mean you’re feeling better, physically?” he attempted.
“And why would that even be of interest to you?” she retorted, not bothering with an actual answer.
“Well, I am your doctor...and your fri---”
“I’m fine...physically” she added bitterly, not able to let herself hear him finish that last sentence, considering the way she felt about him right then.
Another long silence where Jared still was not willing to make himself leave her presence and give up just yet, no matter how much she may have seemed to want him gone at that moment.
“So you spent this whole time in Ian’s room?” he couldn’t help bringing up in light of her insistence on her alleged physical recovery.
She just scoffed loudly, “something you’re trying to ask, Jared?” she returned, not allowing him an answer of her own to validate anything he may have been thinking right at that moment.
“No” he denied halfheartedly, “but you were in there a long time” he couldn’t help adding, “and obviously, distressed” he settled on.
“Gee, why would I be distressed?” she returned sarcastically, but quickly moved on, “speaking of questionable behavior, you never did explain to me exactly how you did manage to finally trigger that last vision.”
Jared was a bit caught by her bringing that up again, “I didn’t think it was really that important, considering everything else happening this week” he made a feeble attempt at deflection.
“So, how?” she pressed.
Jared swallowed hard, obviously more than uncomfortable with her question, but he knew continuing to avoid it would not help alleviate her anger in any way. Though, he wasn’t sure answering it would either.
“I” another breath as he glanced back toward the door as though to make sure no one else was within hearing, not that anyone else was even there with them, aside from an infant, “I took your advice” he managed, though nearly inaudibly.
Lili finally did then look up at him, though skeptically, “what advice, exactly?” she asked bluntly.
Another sigh as he rubbed at his eyes with continued discomfort, “about how we triggered the last one” he managed at last.
“Come again?” she pressed, needing to continue to put him on the spot, for some reason.
“Basically” he mumbled.
“What?” she asked, slightly caught then.
Another deep sigh before he forced himself to just answer her if for no other reason than to be done with this part of the conversation, “about how it was triggered after I...after I came” he added even more quietly.
“After you...” she shook her head as she looked away again with a slight biting of her lip, “well I was busy sitting out by the river crying that particular night, so...” she shook her head as she turned back to eye him suspiciously, “did you finally decide to let Ian fuck you too, after all this time?”
Jared then couldn’t stop himself from scoffing, “of course not” he denied, though his voice was still barely making it past his lips.
“Will then? I mean, they were the only two in the shack that night.”
“No, Lili” he shook his head again as he looked over as she continued to look back at him, obviously still awaiting his full explanation, almost seeming to enjoy his discomfort right then. He just shook his head, “I did it myself, ok?” he finally blurted out, “happy now that you can finally write me off as just another perverted, sex-hungry male at last?”
Lili just sighed to hide her look of victory at taking some little revenge on Jared by forcing the confession out of him. Though despite that small personal victory, Kyle and Will were still gone, and she was still terrified they’d truly never be back again.