Chapter 84

84 A Friend Incoming

Soon enough, we left outside the hotel as the crisp air sifted through our clothes. The sun was shining as we walked in the direction of the beach, which wasn’t too far away. It was about a few blocks or so, and as we walked, I began to see more and more people in swimsuits.

“So what kind of dream did you have,” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“It’s hard to explain,” Nikki said. “But it was about you.”

“Okay, that’s all I need to know,” I responded, not wanting to hear anymore. If Nikki was going to have dreams about me, I didn’t want to know. It would only make things weird between us. Soon enough, we were looking at the blue ocean and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.

“It’s so beautiful,” Nikki said, as we both stopped to look at it.

Malachi looked around for a few seconds and then said, “There’s a hot dog stand over there. I’m starving.”

“You’re always hungry,” Tisiah said. Malachi rolled his eyes. “We’ve been running non-stop and I’m not justified in hunger?”

“Just saying,” Tisiah said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Whatever,” Malachi said, walking in the direction of the hot dog stand. “You guys coming or not?” “Aren’t we already going to a restaurant?” September asked, following Malachi.

.....

“I can eat two meals,” Malachi said, nonchalantly.

Tisiah sighed and followed as well, leaving Nikki and me alone.

“Guess it’s just us,” Nikki said, looking at me. “Ready to go in?”

“Nope!” I shouted. I’m afraid of the ocean, so I was going to stay on the sand. Nikki looked at me, bemused.

“You’re afraid of the ocean? After everything and you’re still afraid of the ocean?” she said, chuckling.

“What can I say? I’m a landlubber,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. Nikki shook her head jokingly and walked away. I sighed, as I didn’t want to go in the water, but it looked like Nikki was going to have fun without me.

But then again, I just lowered my already high percentage of dying by refusing, so that was a plus.

Nikki came back a few minutes later, sopping wet and with a beach ball. “Hey, you can at least play a bit of this at least,” she said, tossing the ball at me. I caught it and looked at it, then back at Nikki.

“What game are we playing then?” I asked with a smile, as I began to think of possible games we could play.

“Just throw it back and forth,” Nikki said, as she began to toss the ball. It soared through the air for like ten whole seconds, which was really long for a beach ball, but I managed to catch it.

“Nice catch,” Nikki said with a chuckle. “You’re not bad yourself.”

“It’s a beach ball, no need to flatter me,” I responded, as I threw the ball back. Nikki caught it and smiled.

“No need to be humble either,” she said, before tossing the ball back. “After all, you do have some lineage for bragging.” I chuckled, as I caught the ball again.

“You make a valid point,” I said, before throwing the ball back. “But I’ll take my chances, thank you.” “Suit yourself,” Nikki said, shrugging her shoulders.

We continued to play catch for a few more minutes before Malachi returned back, eating a hot dog. “Hey, you guys want one?” he asked, as he held up the remaining two hot dogs.

“Sure,” Nikki responded, before running towards him. She then took a huge bite out of one of the hot dogs, much to Malachi’s horror.

“What in the world are you doing?” he yelled, as he dropped the hot dogs.

“Eating a hot dog,” Nikki said, before taking the beach ball again, this time throwing it at Malachi.

“Hey, watch it!” he shouted, as he caught the ball. “That could have germs on it! You don’t know where that’s been!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Oh, it’s fine,” Nikki said, waving her hand dismissively. “Besides, I’m immune to all diseases.”

Malachi sighed and shook his head before he walked back towards the hot dog stand. Nikki ran after him, leaving me alone. I’m not sure how you’re immune to all diseases, but whatever.

I sighed, as I was getting a little bored, so I decided to go for a walk. I walked around for a bit before I bumped into somebody. “Sorry about that,” I said, as I began to apologize.

“No, it’s quite alright,” the person said.

The person was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. They had black hair and brown eyes.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” the person asked.

“No, I’m just out for a walk,” I said, as I began to walk away.

Sweat and fear began to roll down my face, and I could feel an intense stare on my back. I turned around to see the person still there, but they were now wearing a black hoodie instead.

What?

Who was that?

And why did they change their clothes so quickly?

I began to walk away again, but the person followed me. I turned around and shouted, “Hey!” But the person didn’t seem fazed, as they just continued to walk toward me.

I then turned and began to run away, but the person was right behind me. I looked back, and the person was now chucking toward me. They were definitely from the TSA, and they were here to take the Cybertron.

I sprinted as fast as I could, but the person was still behind me. I didn’t even have it with me, so why were they chasing me?

I then saw Nikki and Malachi in the distance and shouted for them to help me. Nikki looked confused, and then her eyes widened. She suddenly sped towards the person, and they collided.

Nikki then got up and grabbed the person’s hood, before pulling it down.

“Greg?” she asked, as she looked at the person’s face.

“Nikki?” Greg said, as he also looked confused. “I thought you were Connor, so I was chasing you.”

“Well, I’m not Connor,” Nikki said, as she began to walk away. “Why are you here anyways.”

“I told Connor I was gonna help him, but it took longer than expected,” Greg explained, as he also began to walk away. “I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Nikki said. “We could use some help, so come with us.”

“Sure,” Greg said, before following Nikki and Malachi.

I then sighed in relief. Thank the Lord it was Greg and not the TSA, because that would have been really bad.

We then continued on our way, with Greg now in tow. Hopefully, he could help us out and not betray us. But would be unlikely, he’s my best friend-my brother for goodness sakes, so I trusted him.

Soon enough, we saw Tisiah and September who were in the ocean, swimming. “Come on in, the water’s great!” Tisiah shouted as he waved us over.

“No thanks,” I responded. “Also, Greg’s here, and he’s gonna help us out.”

“Hey Greg,” September said, as she also got out of the water. “It’s been a while I guess.” Greg shrugged, “Just been a few months, no big deal.”

“Anyways,” I said, as I clapped my hands together. “Someone might wanna tell him what our plan is because I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know.”

“Oh, right,” Nikki said, as she facepalmed. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry, I already know,” Greg said, as our eyes widened, and we all looked at him. “I was gonna tell Connor anyways, but he ran off before I could.”

“What?” I said. “You just couldn’t tell you, hey I’m Greg?’

“Well, I had to get there first, so that’s why transferred to someone else’s body,” Greg explained. “But I’m here now, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Fine,” I said. Greg rubbed his hands. “So, y’all went to the beach after getting chased by a bunch of TSA agents. Smart, really smart.”

We all then face-palmed. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all...

Preview:

Soon enough, our time passed on the beach, and we had to leave. But not before Tisiah gave us a wet willy each, which was gross.

“Okay, who’s ready to eat?” Tisiah asked as he rubbed his stomach. “I’m starving.”

“We just ate like an hour ago,” I said, as I crossed my arms. “Hot dogs, remember?”

“Yeah, but I’m still hungry,” Tisiah said, as he began to walk away. “Come on, let’s go.”

Nikki spawned in the same Genesis, as September hopped into the driver seat, and Tisiah got shotgun. I then turned to Greg and asked, “Where’d you want to eat?”

Suddenly Greg’s smile widened, and he said, “I know just the place.”

We then got into the car and drove off. Greg told us to head to this place called...uh...the name escapes me, but it was a really good place.

He then told us to park in the back, which we did. I looked up seeing the title: The Hungry Hungry Hippo.

“What is this place?” I asked as I looked at Greg. “It looks...weird.”

“The name is weird,” Malachi added, as he also looked at Greg.

“It’s a restaurant,” Greg said, as he opened the door and got out. “Come on, you won’t regret it.” Malachi sighed as we all moved out of the car, and we followed Greg inside.

I surveyed inside the place and it was quite comforting, in an odd way. It was dark, with red walls and black tables. The chairs were also a deep red, along with the booths. It gave a certain vibe, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.