by EMA LEE
‘The Golden Keepers Vs. The Captain and the Black Shadow’
Who are these mystery hero’s and will they be back?
“The Golden Keepers? I don’t even know what that means!” I responded.
“A Keeper is someone who manages or looks after someone or something, I think America feels safe saying that you guys are their keepers.” Shane said.
Shane looked over at me and handed me a hotel card.
“What’s this for?” I asked.
“You and Dean are going to Washington D.C. I booked a hotel for you guys. You’ll be there for a week at the most.” He responded.
“Wait, just one room?” Dean asked.
“Yes. There are two beds though so calm down. Astra, you need to make sure you will get a week off of work. This week you guys go just to scout the place. We won’t take action quite yet.” Shane continued to say. “I want to know how many people they have and what is on their data base.”
“Alright, I’m in.” I told Shane.
We both looked at Dean waiting for him to agree. I could tell he wasn’t too fond of spending an entire week with me in Washington D.C. After staring at him for a while he finally caved in.
“Okay fine! We leave in two days.” He exclaimed.
Like Father Like Daughter
After talking I started to travel home and pack. Mom came into my room and stood next to me. She dropped the newspaper on my bed.
“Do you want to explain what this is exactly?” she asked.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I told her.
“You can drop the act, I know my own daughter with or without a disguise. Who’s this guy next to you?” She asked.
I stopped packing and sat on my bed. Mother picked up the newspaper and sat down next to me.
“His name is Dean I started to say. “He’s from our planet.”
Mom looked down at the photo. She was quiet for a moment. I could tell she was trying to process everything through her head.
“You know, you’re father tried to save our world.” She responded.
“What?” I said shockingly.
“The day I told you your dad died. I never told you how.” A tear started to fall down her cheek. “Your dad was getting ready to scout out the people who were threatening to destroy our planet. He was part of a secret scouting team called the Revengage. When your dad left that day I knew there would be a chance he wouldn’t come home that evening. Then the knock on the door came. I knew it was someone telling me that my husband was dead. The man told me that he was on his way back to his work building with some friends when their car exploded. Someone had strapped a bomb to the bottom of the car. They knew he was looking for them.”
Mom started to cry and I tried to comfort her. I couldn’t believe she told me how my father died.
“I can’t lose my baby girl now.” She said.
I looked at mother and stood up I closed my eyes and turned my hands towards me. My hands scanned my body revealing ‘Star’. Mother stopped crying and watched.
“How is that possible?” she asked.
Mother had no idea what we were capable of doing. I put my hand in a fist out in front of me and thought of butterflies. I opened my fist with the palm of my hand facing upwards and butterflies appeared.
“They stay here until I tell them to do something.”
I walked over to the window and opened it. I put my hand outside and released the butterflies. Then I turned to mother.
“Close your eyes.” I told her.
She did as I said and sat there on my bed with her eyes closed. I grabbed her hand and curled it so it made a fist.
“Now think of something that makes you happy.” I said. “Then open your eyes and look at the palm of your hand.”
Mother sat there for a little while then I saw her hand slowly opening. Two purple lilies blossomed out of mom’s hand. They were beautiful.
“What made you think of that?” I asked.
“This is what your father gave me on our first date.” She said as she started to touch the pedals on the flowers.
She got up off of the bed and went into the kitchen to grab a vase. She put her flowers in it and filled it with water then put it out by the window. Mom walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me.
“You are just like your father.” She whispered. “Go save the world, but be safe!” she said kissing my forehead.
I hugged her as tight as I could and then went back into my room to finish packing. I grabbed seven tank tops and seven pairs of shorts, my tooth brush and a brush to comb my hair. I zipped up my bag and set it on top of my bed.
“Mom, I’m going to the city to pick up Dillan.” I said.
“Okay, tell him I say hi!” She replied.
I closed the door and headed to town. It was weird walking on the beach and not seeing Dillan out in the ocean surfing. Once I reached town I saw Dean playing basketball with Josh and some other guys. He was defending the basket. For some reason I couldn’t stop staring at him. He finally looked over at me and Josh was able to dribble the ball around him and score. Dean walked off the court and started walking towards me.
“Hey Ass..” he said. “tra!”
“Good one Dean!” I told him in a snotty way.
“Not that funny?” he asked with a smile.
“No. Ha” I said.
“Where are you off to?” Dean asked.
“I’m going to head to the city to pick up Dillan.” I told him.
Dean had a concerned look on his face. His eyebrow started to raise as he ran his hand through his hair.
“Just don’t get into any more trouble okay? I don’t want to have to come save you.”
“Ha Ha! I won’t. And word of advice, Josh is on to you. You better start sucking a little bit at basketball.” I said as I started to walk away.
The bus arrived and I hopped on. This time the bus was pretty empty. I guess it’s because it’s the afternoon. The bus stopped in front of the hospital and I stepped out and started to walk into the hospital, the same nurses were at the front desk.
“We moved him into a different room.” One of them said. “Room 217 down that hall, around the corner and it’s the first door on your right.”
“Thanks!” I said as I started to head in that direction.
Things seemed very quiet and settled down now. I turned the corner and saw room 217 on the right. I knocked on the door and started to open it. Dillan was sitting up on the hospital bed ready to go.
“Hey Stra! I’m glad you made it!” Dillan said as he started to get out of the bed.
I smiled and walked over and put his arm around my shoulder. Once we got out of the hospital room I started to think of something to talk about. Maybe if I asked questions about what happened yesterday he wouldn’t get the idea that I was the woman who saved him.
“So why did they put you in a new room?” I asked.
Dillan was quiet. We walked out of the doors and into the parking lot. His car had been there ever since the accident. I helped him get into the car and then got in on the passenger seat. Dillan locked the doors and looked over at me.
“The captain tried to kidnap me to get an alien to join his crew. I don’t know any aliens though. He busted my hospital window and took me out to the streets.” He finally said breathless.
“Wow, then what happened? How did you get away?” I asked curiously.
Dillan took a deep breath and grabbed my hand. The way he was acting was weird. I was nervous for his answer.
“I was saved by a guy and a girl. They had these magical powers. And the girl.. she took my breath away. She calls herself star. Just like your father used to call you” He said.
“Oh”
That was all I could think of saying. I could feel that he sensed I was the girl who saved him. I wanted him to continue to think that without him knowing for sure.
“I kissed her Astra. It was the best kiss I have ever had. It was real! I need to kn
ow who she is. Her eyes were….”
“Oh boy, is it that time already? We should probably start heading back into town.” I interrupted.
I started to look out the window. I could feel Dillan’s eyes looking right through me. He finally started the car and started to drive back to town. Neither of us talked the entire time drive home. Dillan ended up turning on the radio so there was no need for us to talk. When we arrived in town he dropped me off at the restaurant.
We Leave Tonight
I walked into the restaurant and saw my mother cleaning a table.
“Hi sweetie. What are you doing here?” She asked.
“I have to leave tonight. I will be gone for about a week.” I said.
“Oh, okay.” She leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Call me if you need help. I love you.”
I hugged her and left the restaurant. I know we weren’t supposed to leave for a couple more days but I was ready to leave now. I walked over towards the basketball court to look for Ryan but I couldn’t see him.
“Hey Astra! Are you looking for someone?” Josh asked.
“Yeah. Have you seen Dean by chance?” I asked.
Josh pointed at the gate that led to the beach. I looked over and saw Dean walking along the beach with is feet in the water.
“Thank you so much!” I told Josh.
I started to walk over towards Dean. The sun was hitting his tan skin perfectly. Ryan was wearing his basketball shorts and a white tank top. I started to run up behind him.
“Hey Deanie Babie” I said with a smile.
Dean just stared at me trying not to smile.
“Not funny? Okay.” I said laughing.
He started to laugh with me. And we started to walk down the beach together.
“So what are you up to?” he asked.
“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to leave tonight.” I told him.
Dean stopped walking and looked out at the ocean. Then he looked at me.
“Only on one condition.” He said
“Okay! What?” I asked.
Dean picked me up and started to run into the ocean with me. We both submerged under water then swam up to the surface.
“You have to beat me in a race.” He remarked.
“Oh that’s easy!” I told him.
Dean started to look around for an object. There was a boat out in the distance.
“We swim to that boat and back. First one back wins.” He said.
“1,2,3 Go!” I said as fast as I could as I started to swim.
Dean started to swim after me. It was fun competing with him because he had strengths like me. I could feel him creeping up on my side. I couldn’t let him win because I wanted to leave tonight. I started to kick harder. We finally reached the boat and kicked off the bottom of it and started to head back. We were neck and neck. It was going to be a close race. As we approached the coast I started to slow down. Dean started to speed up. His feet were finally next to my face. I waited for the perfect moment. Just as he was about to reach the shore I grabbed his foot and yanked him back as hard as I could.
“Yes!” I said climbing out of the water. “I beat you!”
I turned around to see where he was. He was climbing out of the water. I started to jump up and down in joy which made Dean laugh.
“Okay, we will leave tonight. I’ll go pack my bags. I’ll meet you here in an hour” He said as he started to head back into town.
I ran to the house to grab my bag on my bed. There was a note laying on my pillow.
Be Safe. I love you. I will be there when you need me! Xoxo
Mom
Words could not describe how much I loved my mother. It was nice to be able to let someone know who I was and what I was doing. I didn’t feel safe enough to tell Dillan who I was. Maybe that would change someday.
I went into the kitchen and warmed up some leftover food from the night before. While I was eating I looked at the note mom wrote to me and decided I would write her back. I turned the paper over and grabbed a pen.
I love you most! Watch over me!
Your Little Star
I got up and went into mom’s room to put the note down on her bed. On the stand next to her bed there was a picture of Dad, mom and me. I picked it up and stared at dad.
“I won’t let you down. I was born for great things. And I will do great things.” I told him.
I put the picture back down on the table stand and started to walk out of the house. I admired it one more time. I knew I would be back in one week but I had never been anywhere else in the United States. This was going to be quite an adventure for me.
I started to walk down the coast and saw Dean walking with a back pack over his shoulders. I ran to him so he didn’t have to walk any further from the town.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked him.
“Yeah. We will have to stop at Shane’s place first though. Follow me.” He responded.
I started to follow him into the town. We went down a little neighborhood filled with tiny houses. Dean stopped at the last one. It looked like it had been fixed quite a bit because it looked really nice compared to the other homes on the street. I wouldn’t have expected anything else from the one and only Shane. Dean walked up to the door and gave it a good knock. He put his arm to his side and I couldn’t help but admire is biceps. They weren’t small, but weren’t big. They seemed to be the perfect size. I never realized how strong Dean really was. The door opened and Shane appeared.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” Shane asked.
“We’re leaving tonight. So keep track of us.” Dean replied.
Shane nodded his head.
“If you guys need me there tap your wrist band and I will come.” Shane said. “Good luck!”
We waved good bye to Shane and I started to walk to the bus stop.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Dean asked.
“I’m going to the bus stop. Where else would I go?” I replied.
He pointed to the sewer and I got the memo. I started to walk over and help him lift it up. It wasn’t that hard to lift but I didn’t want him doing all the work. Once we opened the sewer Dean jumped in.
“Here, I’ll catch you.” He said as he put his arms out.
I thought it was kind of cute since we both know I can jump on my own, but I decided to play along and jump into his arms. He was warm. He had a scent that reminded me of home. It was a winter fresh smell. I looked at him and smiled.
“Thank you for helping me!” I said.
“Anytime.” Dean responded as he put me on the ground.
“Ew, it reaks in here!” I complained.
“Are you sure it wasn’t you Ass… tra?” Dean said laughing.
I hit him as hard as I could in his shoulder. He stopped laughing and looked over at me.
“Well, shall we go for a run?” I asked.
“You read my mind!” he said.
We started to run off. I could hear the sound of cars and people around us. It echoed throughout sewer. There were lights on top of the sewer lighting our path so we could see. Dean started to slow down and put his arm out in front of me.
“Do you hear that?” he asked me.
I listened closely. I could hear someone coming towards us. I looked at Dean not knowing what to do.
“Start climbing up the side of the wall. I’ll climb up on this side.” He said.
I went over to the side of the wall. I remember climbing up the cliff but that was different. That actually had cracks to hang onto. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I imagined my hands sticking to the wall. I put my hands out and started to climb. I was staying on the wall. I turned my head to look at Dean. He was on the wall looking at the bottom of the sewer. The noise was extremely loud now. That’s when we saw them.
The Captain and the Black Shadow were running down the sewer towards the white house with a couple of big boxes. They didn’t seem to notice us on the wall. They ran passed us and continued on
wards. Once they were out of sight Dean and I jumped down to the ground.
“Well, we’re going the right way.” Dean said with a smile on his face. He winked at me and started to walk forward.
“I guess so.” I responded as I started to follow him.
Washington D.C.
Dean started to walk towards a ladder in the sewer. He looked up observing the top and then grabbed onto the ladder. He looked over at me and put his finger to his lips letting me know we needed to be as quiet as we could. He started to climb up the ladder. I walked over to the ladder and started to follow him up. It led to a big medal circle that blocked us from the surface. Dean started to push on it and it rose up off the ground. He moved it to the side and started to climb out of the sewer. He looked down and reached his hand out to grab mine. I gave him my hand and he pulled me out of the sewer. It was dark and no one was in sight.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Washington D.C.” Dean said. “Our hotel is a couple blocks away.”
We started to walk down the street. The lamp posts flickered as we passed them. It was colder here. And there were a lot more buildings here, at least from what I could see. Dean turned the corner and opened a door.
“After you.” He said as he gestured me inside the building.
I started to walk into the hotel. Everything was gold, white and red. The place smelt brand new. I leaned my head towards Dean’s.
“How do you think he could afford a place like this for us to stay in?” I whispered.
“It’s Shane. He can do anything.” Dean said as he walked up to the desk.
The lady looked quite fond of Dean. She had red hair pulled up into a bun and bright red lipstick.
“Hi, welcome to the Downton Hotel.” She said.
“Thank you.” I responded.
She looked at me and rolled her eyes then turned to look at Dean. Why do all of these girls keep doing that to me? First it was Josh’s little sister, now this lady who works at the hotel.
“Well gorgeous. We need to check in if that’s okay with you.” Dean said leaning over the desk.
