Chapter Eight
When
they got back in the cavern, Matt was trying to find a signal on the control
panel they had set up. Bethie hovered
behind him anxiously, her foot tapping restlessly.
“The
storm’s putting up too much interference,” he told the disappointed group.
“Great…”
Bethie said angrily. “We can’t seem to
win down here.”
Not
minding the grime covering her, she decided to do what Jack had done earlier
that day. Putting a hand into Jack’s utility
pocket, surprising him, she pulled out his flashlight and headed for the tunnel
closest to her. Jack caught Ethan’s eye,
tipping his head towards her. Ethan
nodded but he hadn’t needed to be told.
He knew what she was thinking because he was thinking the same thing.
“I’ll
come with you,” Ethan said, jogging to her side.
She
nodded tersely. They walked in silence,
the darkness around them complete.
Bethie
had thrown herself into the work needed to make this cavern more suitable for
what they were doing because she wanted to get away from the other thousands of
thoughts crowding her head. She hadn’t
realized how much she had been banking on the antenna until she felt as if her
head was going to pop off when Matt could not find a signal. Not knowing was eating away at her, as she
was sure it was for everyone else, but no one else, besides Ethan, had parents who were being
held hostage—if they were even still alive. Her brother was endlessly upbeat and she did not want to take him down. She did find some comfort in his steady hope.
What she could not tell any of them was that she was also afraid for Skech. Oceania Base
had fallen and she tried not to think the worst…but she felt it in her
gut.
She
would not see him again.
She
was tempted to tell Ethan about him but could not find it in herself to do
so. She wanted to keep Skech to herself for a little while longer, to hold their
love in her heart for as long as she could.
If she ever found out what happened to him, she would be hard pressed to
hide her feelings then but until that day, their secret would remain theirs.
“The
Lotorians wouldn’t kill them, would they?” Ethan asked
her, breaking into her thoughts, his voice low.
“They wouldn’t let themselves go that easily.”
“Lotor’s a madman and he’s always hated them. He let them go before and he’s not going to
make the same mistake twice,” Bethie answered.
Ethan
ran a hand through his tousled blonde hair.
“I have hope, Bethie. Mom and Dad
have been through too much to let it all go now.”
“They
did it for us, Ethan,” she said quietly.
“I
know that.”
“No,”
she said, turning her blue gaze on him.
“I mean, they gave themselves up, regardless of what may happen after
that, so that we could get away. I don’t
think their ultimate goal was making out of this one alive.”
She
walked on but he stopped. Grimacing,
Bethie stopped as well and turned to face him.
His stricken expression broke her heart.
“How
can you say that?” he spat. “We’re going
to see them again. Mom’s too stubborn to
let Lotor get the best of her and Dad would never let
someone that stupid defeat him when bigger enemies have tried.”
“I
wish I could believe that, Ethan.” She
closed her eyes, stopping the tears that threatened to overflow. “I wish we had been powerful enough to nip
this at the bud instead of hiding out here, safe, while they’re standing
between us and the enemy. You realize
that’s what they’re doing; they made themselves into a barrier…a human barrier. They know how to deal with Lotor so they’re going to do it face-to-face and they’re
going to do all they can to buy us time.
But if you were Lotor…what would you expect at
the moment the tide turns for us?”
“Peace
never did make them soft,” Ethan said sadly.
“Too bad they’re so damn selfless.”
“I’m
so angry with them…so angry that they’ve left us behind. It sounds so stupid…”
“No,
it doesn’t sounds stupid.”
Bethie
took in a shaky breath. “I just want to
know that they’re okay, that’s all. I
miss them.”
Ethan
hugged her. “Yeah, me too.”
“You’re
definitely holding up better than I am.”
“Nah. I never was too demonstrative,” he said.
“Just
like Dad.”
“And
you’re just like Mom.”
Bethie
looked up at her brother, saw her father’s face looking back down at her, and
she smiled.
“I
guess I’ll have to make do with you.”
“I’m
not too bad, am I?”
“Only
sometimes. You want to keep walking?”
Ethan
nodded, clasping his hands behind his back.
Bethie wound her arm through his and they walked.
“Are
you in love with Olivia, Ethan?” she asked suddenly.
He
tripped.
Glancing
sideways at him, she arched an eyebrow. “I
suppose that might have been jumping too many steps forward. You’re interested, then.”
“Did
Jack say something to you?” he sputtered, off-balance from the change in topic.
“He
doesn’t have to. None of us are blind,
you know, especially those who have grown up with you. She’s not adverse to the idea, in case you
didn’t notice. I didn’t realize our Livvie was such a blushing rose. You’re pushing it though, trying to pursue
this under her father’s nose. Her very
large father, by the way.”
“I
can’t help it,” he said, embarrassed. “Does
Uncle Hunk know?”
“You
wouldn’t be walking if he did. Ethan…”
He
knew where she was going with this. “I
don’t love her, Bethie. Not yet
anyway. I haven’t even kissed her, for Riaru’s sake.”
“Seems
to me that you’re overdue for a little romantic walk in the tunnels. Wait…you told Jack and not me?”
“I
asked Jack if she had a boyfriend and he tried to strangle me.”
Bethie
chuckled. “That’s only a taste of what
will happen to you.”
“I
know.”
“And
she’s worth it?”
“You
see her, Bethie. She’s so gentle and
intelligent and…”
“Beautiful. The most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,”
Bethie said, mockingly.
Ethan
nudged her with his elbow. “Cut me some
slack. I’m not gonna just fall over for
a pretty face.”
“Well,
I will give you that.”
“You
approve?”
“I
just want you happy and if Olivia will make you happy, then I say go for
it. Just…be careful with her,
Ethan. She’s not just any other girl.”
Insulted,
he gave her a look. “Why isn’t anyone
ever worried about me? Liv is quiet, not dumb.”
“When
she has this talk with me, I’ll be sure to give her the same warning, alright?”
“Yeah
right she’d talk to you. This is all
trivial in the larger scheme of things, Bethie.
What’s a love life without life?”
That
sobered Bethie as she thought of Skech.
“Truer
words were never spoken, Baby Bro,” she said, her voice going soft.
