A few seconds went by and Karissa’s knock went unanswered. “See? They’re not answering. This is bullshit, I’m-“ Carey was interrupted as the door opened and Kevin was standing beside it while the others remained where they were before.
“Hey.” Karissa said simply, not sure how to break the sudden tension that filled the air. Although her sixth sense was quite developed, she couldn’t determine whether the animosity was coming from inside the room or outside the room – more specifically, right next to her.
“We were starting to wonder if you were gonna show up.” Kevin said, also not sure what else to say but what was on his mind. He stepped aside and motioned for Karissa and Carey to come inside the room. Carey gave everyone in the room the once-over, just as they did the same to him. Karissa, knowing everyone in the room as well as she felt necessary – at least for the moment – just stood back and cautiously eyed her brother and read his thoughts.
“You assumed my sister was a liar, even after she saved your lives? Twice?” Carey asked, hoping Kevin chose his next words wisely.
“No, I don’t even know her. Or you, for that matter.” Kevin clarified.
“Well, at least we agree on something.” Carey grinned, although his comment was dripping with sarcasm. Karissa shoved him in the arm and smiled at the others in the room.
“Well, we’re here now, so I guess that doesn’t matter. At least, the ‘wondering if we were going to show up’ part.” Karissa said, then cleared her throat. She knew there were bound to be problems with her and her brother traveling with these guys, but she was hoping to avoid any arguments at least for the rest of the night. “As for getting to know us, here’s a good start: guys, this is my brother, Carey. Who, as you can tell, needs no further introduction.” Carey glared at his sister and then looked over at the guys, who had finally spoken up to greet him. He nodded back at them before surveying the room.
“So, where should we put our bags?” Karissa asked.
“Or should we just drop them here until we get back?” Carey quickly followed before anyone could answer Karissa. She glared at him, but he merely shrugged back, as he foresaw no better opportunity to tell them about their little field trip. Karissa, however, was in fact hoping to ease the subject in rather than throw it out into the open so abruptly.
“There’s plenty of space for you guys to crash in my room,” Aaron offered, ignoring the second question since he wasn’t sure he wanted to be the one to reply to it.
“Wait, get back from where? You’re leaving again?” Howie asked, wondering if he’d heard Carey correctly.
“Okay,” Carey looked at Aaron, “I hope you have one big-ass bed in your room or I guarantee we’re gonna have some problems here.” Carey turned to look at his sister, and after sharing a silent glance with her she punched him in the arm. “What? I thought we were taking turns talking. I responded to one statement, you respond to the other…”
“You’re supposed to respond to the answer to your own question…” Karissa said through gritted teeth.
“Oh well, too late now. You might as well tell them...”
Karissa sighed in defeat, knowing her brother was right but silently vowing to get him back for making her do this. “We aren’t leaving again,” she pointed back and forth between her and Carey, “we are leaving… again.” She now circled her finger in the air to indicate that everyone in the room was included in her last statement. “But only for a little while and not too far from here.” She repealed, hoping that bit of assurance would make them more willing to comply.
“How far is ‘not too far’?” AJ asked.
“Chinatown, a ten minute walk from here if we take a shortcut. A safe shortcut, in case you were wondering.” Carey replied. “No accidents in this city while I’m around.”
Karissa scoffed. “You’re a walking accident waiting to happen!”
“Wait, so what do we need to go to Chinatown for?” Nick inquired without realizing he’d just prevented an argument from starting. “Not like we have a choice of if we’re going or not, anyway.”
“We need… supplies. Herbs and stuff – without questions asked about why we need them.” Karissa answered, “We have friends who run a shop in Chinatown, and that’s their specialty.”
“And you do have a choice. It’s just that, well, your other option is more likely to get you killed than if you just come with us.” Carey explained, sure that only he would find the irony in him convincing them to tag along somewhere. He knew it wouldn’t last long, though.
“Then it’s not much of a choice, is it?” Brian finally spoke up. Carey looked over at him and chuckled.
“I guess not. I just figured it might make you feel a bit better if you didn’t quite have to see it as ‘having no choice’. I’m sure you all already think I’m an asshole but I’m really a nice guy. Mostly. Just don’t piss me off.”
"Take it from me, that’s not as easy as it sounds.” Karissa said, glancing over at her brother and smiling sweetly.
"You’re my sister, it’s in our DNA that we piss each other off.” Carey smiled back at her, then turned to face the rest of the people in the room. “So are we gonna head ‘em up and move ‘em out now, or what? The sooner we leave, the sooner we get back…” Carey said, dropping his bags while Karissa followed suit. The others exchanged a few glances before each of them grabbed their jackets and filed out the door, Kevin staying behind momentarily to close the door behind them as they left. “Atta boys.” Carey smiled as he weaved through their crowd to lead the way.
