~@~
She descended onto the lush green loveliness of the Veldt like a great bird, soaring inches above the ground with a laugh as the wind caressed her face. A mountain of rocks with a cave within the deeper part of it appeared, so Alice made her way toward it. Warmth and happiness seemed to pull at her as she descended and touched ground with bare feet. When she looked down at herself, she noticed for the first time that she dressed in comfortable hand-stitched leather pants and a soft leather sleeveless shirt. She stroked the pants and shirt with a lingering smile, looking up when she heard her name.
“Alice!”
Walking toward the sound, Alice slowly approached a silhouette several yards from the cave. She narrowed her eyes but still couldn't tell who or what it was against the glare of the sun.
“Alice! Come see!”
Alice hurried her step until she found herself jogging toward the figure with a catch of expectancy in her throat. The silhouette sharpened and cleared--Alice stopped, eyes widening as her jaw dropped. Gau held a five-year-old-boy on his shoulders.
The boy glanced over at her and immediately squealed, giving a wide smile as he reached his hands out for her. Gau lowered the boy from his shoulders with a grin, laughing when the blond beauty launched himself into Alice's arms with so much force that she tumbled backwards--Alice sat up with a gasp.
She covered her eyes with a hand, taking in a deep breath to release it slowly. Then she laid back, moving her arm up to cover her eyes. 'You're the one who got us together in the first place, what with all the emotional support I had to offer. I'll let you know how it works out.' Alice cringed again at Carol's words, rolling onto her side to squeeze her eyes shut tight. There'll be plenty of time for looking for heroes after school's over and done with. She'd waited this long. What were a couple more years?
And hadn’t Eric seemed eager enough to wait?
Heart of the Veldt Page 26
