An Acting Award

PJ couldn't stop her hands from shaking. Today was the day when it would finally end. Even though summer was even thicker than before she had goosebumps raised along her arms. 

Asher was glaring at her, thinking about how she could give away their cover. He was relieved when she did not go inside the Genesis 2, instead saying she was going to do some "birdwatching". It was a lousy excuse, but the Apples didn't dig further.

Asher took out three samples. They were the only ones remaining now - eagle, coyote, and bobcat DNA. 

"Alright, Adah. Are you sure about this?" Asher asked, only halfly out of concern for his sister.

Adah nodded, "I'm sure. PJ was able to do it, so why wouldn't I be able to be?" 

"You got sick a tiny bit ago," Asher said.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Adah replied as she sat down.

"Choose your poison," Asher sighed. He wasn't surprised when she reached for bobcat DNA. They were renowned for being fast and flexible like most cats were.

"Alright," Asher said. He then quickly added it to the remaining device. He'd gotten faster at wearing gloves and doing tasks because last week he helped Adah out at the rehabilitation clinic. That was how he'd gotten the hawk DNA.

As Adah put them onto her wrists, Asher couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. Maybe PJ was right and this was all to much. But he shook his head as if to be rid of that thought and took in a deep breath.

"Ow! I can see why that hurt a tiny bit," Adah exclaimed.

"I don't think we should go back to my house tonight. I think we should go to Miriam's," Asher suddenly said.

"My place? Why?" Miriam asked.

If we sleep in the barn, no one will be bale to hear the floorboards squeaking when you leave.

"To maybe get a fire going," Asher replied. "And because I miss hammocks."

"Good point. But why not out here? We have all that stuff here," Adah said.

"Have you forgotten that you put an alien device on yourself? For your safety, we need to be close to civilization," Asher said.

"Civilization," Adah muttered under her breath. "Aren't we close enough."

"Adah, he's right. You need to be safe," Miriam said, hugging Adah's arm.

"What if your creepy little brother tries to spy on us?" Adah asked.

"He won't. I promise you," Miriam told her.

"Okay," Adah said. 

They drove to the Tree Camp and gathered supplies before heading to the abandoned barnhouse at the edge of Miriam's parent's farm. Asher and Miriam hung up hammocks from the posts holding up the roof while PJ, Adah, and Cain began to roll dead trees to create a circle and took some rocks from nearby to make a firepit.

While they were doing so, Adah began to get sick so Cain forced her to sit down in one of the hammocks. Asher hoped that this sickness would last long enough for all of them to fall asleep so no one would notice him and PJ leaving.

It was about five when Cain, PJ, and Asher went to Miriam's house as she took care of Adah and raided the pantry. As they went to leave a creak in the floorboards alerted them to the presence of Matthew. 

"What are you doing here?" The young kid demanded.

"Camping," Cain said.

"Where?" He asked again.

"We ain't dumb, kid. We aren't going to show you where," PJ said.

"So you're hiding something too," Matthew grumbled.

Asher shot a glare at PJ. Great. Just another person to balance into my plans. If he catches us, we'll have to improvise. 

"No we aren't," Asher quickly said and began to leave the house, his arms full of marshmallows. He could feel Matthew's eyes like lasers on his back.

"We'll have to take a different route back to throw him off," Asher whispered.

"Got it. Follow my lead," PJ said.

She took out one of the bags they'd used to store the hammocks which was leaning against the side of the house and started shoving snacks into it. Next, she looked both ways and began to run to the bikes, making sure she was as suspicious as possible.

She led them back to the Tree Camp, then to Asher's house, and then back to the abandoned farmhouse. When she finally got off her bike she grinned and said, "My Tony, please." 

"What's a Tony," Cain asked.

PJ sighed, "An acting award." 

"I thought those were the Oscars," Cain said.

When it started getting darker they lit a fire, and instead of telling ghost stories the tread from an old Lovecraft book and an old Edgar Allen Poe book Asher had. Adah had already gone to sleep, but unfortunately that wasn't true for a terrified Miriam who had to be consoled by Cain. 

After a while, the stories started to die down and they ran out of marshmallows. It was time to go to sleep, at least for members of the Apples. 

Asher had told PJ to wait thirty minutes, but every cell in her body was telling her to get up and go right now. But she had to wait for the signal - a text from him. It felt as if someone was stabbing her body over and over again as she laid paralyzed in her hammock.

Adah was staring to wake up. She was in the state where everything felt slower and filled with honey, but she could still hear the sound of rustling and someone getting out of a hammock. She stood up to see Asher and PJ beginning to leave, and in the moonlight saw the glint of metal on Asher's neck.

No. No, no, no. It can't be him, Adah thought, her brain suddenly shocked into working. Cautiously, she rolled out of bed and shook Cain awake. She still felt slightly sick, but was at least a tiny bit better.

Cain looked up at her and began to squeak, but Adah put her hand over his mouth. Too late. Asher whirled around. Adah could see his eyes, yellow and slitted, and she glared at him.

"I know it's you," Adah spat.

"What do you mean by that?" He innocently replied.

"You're the thief," Adah hissed.