Part Thirty-Two
Prompt: Skull

Jack stretched as he sat up in bed. He didn't remember climbing into it last night, which meant he must have conked out at the party. What a complete baby thing to do. He was blaming all the horseback riding lessons, but not to the point where someone would put a stop to those lessons.

He was dressed in clean blue jeans and a T-shirt before his stomach woke up with a loud rumble. Okay, breakfast first. He stuffed his feet into his sneakers before entering the suite's empty parlor. Food had been brought here yesterday before he woke, so no one had told him how room service worked here. Maybe Dad would know.

The bed in the first bedroom wasn't even slept in. Jack knew they were staying until all the patients were stable, but he figured Dad would at least get to sleep now that they had given everybody the vaccine. He would have to bother Natalie, so he pushed open the crack in her door and poked his head inside.

And pulled it out of the room much faster when he realized two people were sharing the bed. Dad and Natalie, both still sleeping; he eased the door back into place. He liked Natalie. She didn't want to erase his existence like the jerks Mom found to date. Dad could do a lot worse.

His stomach rumbled again and Jack decided it was best to go find the kitchen. He shut the suite door quietly. Too bad he didn't make himself a map yesterday, all he could remember was it was on the first floor. He headed for the staircase.

"Where are you sneaking off to?" Dad's voice but with a slight drawl to it.

It still made Jack jump though. He swiveled around. Mr. Cain dressed like a cowboy again waited in the hall for an answer. "I was just looking for breakfast. Didn't want to wake Dad and Natalie."

Mr. Cain had Dad's I-don't-believe-you-but-I-won't-call-you-on-it smirk too. "I'm having breakfast DG and they always send her too much food. Come on." Jack didn't protest and followed him down the hall. Mr. Cain nodded to the soldiers standing beside a door before he opened it. "Look who I found."

DG looked up from moving the dishes from a cart to the table. "Hi Jack. Up to mischief early this morning?" The smile on her face didn't disapprove of mischievous plans.

"Just breakfast." He sat down in a chair while Mr. Cain pulled a third closer to the table. "I was being quiet so not to wake Dad and Natalie." He accepted the papay juice she poured for him. "Besides, it's not like you guys have anything fun to do."

"I know that tone of voice." DG passed the plate of eggs to Mr. Cain. "What would you normally being doing back home?"

"Boy Scouts meeting, baseball practice, hanging out with my friends, watching television, the usual stuff." He heaped the scrambled eggs onto his plate.

"You play baseball? What position?"

"Outfield, the coach shifts me between left, center, and right field."

DG took some bacon for herself before passing it. "Batting order?"

"Seventh," Jack sighed. "My RBI sucks. The coach says I need to pick one sport instead of baseball and football."

"You play football too?"

"Quarterback. Dad played free safety in college."

Mr. Cain sighed. "What are you two talking about?" He passed the bacon to Jack.

"Sports, Wyatt. We've talked about Other Side sports before."

"Children games played by adults intent on breaking their skulls for entertainment?"

Jack chuckled. "How did she describe reality TV to you?"

She chewed on a strip of bacon and her face brightened. "The Counts left for Central City. Let's play ball!"