by Tina Chan
Sammy unlocked the glass counter and took the object off the black velvet cushion it rested upon. The chain attached to the compass clinked against the glass when she laid the compass on top of the counter.
Kristi picked the compass up and snapped it closed with a click. There was a detailed etching of a dove carrying an olive branch in its beak on the outside of the metal disk. If the electro-slate ever fails, at least she would still be able to find east/north, provided she figured out how to work the compass.
Kristi looked over all the items in her cart and did a rough calculation of how many points this cartload of supplies was going to cost. After paying for everything, there would be a bit more than two hundred points left in Chelsa’s account. It wasn’t a terribly low amount of points, but it wasn’t a lot either. They would have to ration their spending in the days to come.
Somehow, Kristi managed to stagger back to Quick Wink Inn with a week’s worth of food and camping gear.
“Oh good, you can help me carry some of the stuff up the stairs,” she said, spotting Jaiden by the inn’s entrance. “Did you find a place to stable the droid-horses?”
“Yeah. There’s a barn right at the back of the inn. The innkeeper said she’d just add an additional charge of twenty-five points to our bill for keeping the horses there.” He grunted as he picked up some of the bags of purchased goods Kristi had set on the ground beside his feet. “What the heck did you buy? An elephant?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but the bags aren’t heavy at all.”
Then Jaiden noticed she had given him the heaviest bags and chased her up the stairs. Kristi pounded on the door of their room. Chelsa opened it and Kristi flung her bags onto the bed.
Chelsa looked better; she had stopped crying and her trademark mischievous glint had returned to her eyes. Jaiden thundered into the room and dumped his load onto the tiny bed. The cot creaked in protest.
“Everything go smoothly?” Chelsa asked. “Nobody recognized you?”
“All’s good,” Kristi replied. “Can you help me organize the supplies for tomorrow?”
Chelsa came over and sorted the items from the bags into three groups: food, camping gear and others. She picked up the compass, running her fingers over the engraved decorations. Then she popped it open.
“Where did you find this?” Chelsa asked. “I haven’t used one in years.”
“General store,” Kristi replied.
She peered over Chelsa’s shoulder, watching her twist a thin layer of glass so that the needle was lined up with the arrow painted on the moveable glass piece. Jaiden, who was absorbed with taking the packaging off the ultraviolet water bottles, didn’t notice Kristi and Chelsa playing with the compass.
“What else is in that bag?” he asked.
Chelsa threw the pouches of dried mango strips at his head as her answer. Yep, Chelsa is definitely back to normal if she’s throwing packaged food at Jaiden, Kristi concluded.
“Okay, okay! I get it.” Jaiden dove behind the bed for cover. “No need to be aggressive. You could’ve just told me what else Kristi bought.”
Chelsa produced more items from the bag and threw them at Jaiden. Some instant oatmeal. A box of dehydrated fries. A couple protein bars.
“Ow—wait, was that a compass?” Jaiden said and popped up from behind the bed.
“Yeah, what else do you expect us to use when we get lost?” Chelsa asked.
“How does an electro-slate sound like to you? And they hurt a lot less than a huge hunk of metal being thrown at you.”
“Have you ever thought about what you would do if your electro-slate suddenly starts to malfunction? Then what would you do? At least you can rely on a compass to always point you north.”
“Touché,” Jaiden said. He dusted himself off and picked up the items scattered around him. “Don’t throw any more stuff at me,” he warned Chelsa with a teasing edge to his voice.
The streetlamps outside all went out at once, signaling the start of curfew. They wouldn’t be able to leave the inn until tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. without breaking the laws. Not that following the laws mattered much anymore; Kristi had transgressed the laws more times than she could count on her fingers within the past few days.
She hauled two of the newly purchased backpacks off the mattress and dropped them by the door where they could seize them in a matter of seconds. She was tempted to press Chelsa for more answers regarding Alex, but looking at her finally happy after two breakdowns in a day, Kristi couldn’t bring herself to harass Chelsa.
They couldn’t travel the next day. A freak snowstorm that was supposed to last from morning until evening blew in. The wind howled and rattled the window shutters, banging them against the outside wall. The snow was coming down so thick Kristi couldn’t see her hand in front of her face when she stuck her head out the bathroom window.
“Who’s ever heard of a blizzard in the middle of September?” she mumbled.
“Blame it on global warming,” Jaiden said.
“Global warming?” Chelsa asked. “Isn’t global warming supposed to make the earth warmer, not colder?”
“Overall, yes. But it can also seriously mess up the weather.”
“Well, at least we can dye your hair now. Who’s first?” Chelsa went into the bathroom and filled a bucket with water.
“I guess I’ll go first,” Kristi said. “Can you prepare the red-brown hair dye for me?”
“On it.”
Kristi took two towels off the rack in the bathroom and brushed out her hair. She returned to Chelsa and allowed her head to be dunked into the bucket of dye. Once Chelsa was satisfied every bit of her hair was covered in the dye, she allowed her to towel dry.
“How’s the color?” Kristi asked.
“I like it,” Jaiden said. “I never imagined you would look good with a lighter hair color.”
“The color matches your hazel eyes.” Chelsa motioned for Jaiden to come over. “You’re next. Choose which color you want.”
Chelsa and Kristi went to the bathroom. Kristi examined her new look while Chelsa dumped out the bucket and refilled it with fresh water and mixed in the dye Jaiden had chosen.
Dying Jaiden’s hair was much faster and he was soon finished. Kristi had to do a double take to reassure herself Jaiden was still, in fact, her brother; he looked like a new person.
“Anyone want to play cards on the electro-slate?” Kristi asked. “We have plenty of time to kill.”
“Count me in,” said Jaiden.
Chelsa poured the bucket of liquid down the sink. “Me too.”
chapter eighteen
[ Troop ]
Clang!
“Ow!”
Troop awoke with a start. He stared blearily at his clock. Who’s up at 3:34 a.m.? He turned over on his side and prepared to go back to sleep.
Crack!
He slipped out of bed and peered into the hallway. It was empty and dark. He cocked his head and listened for any sounds. There it was…the scuffling noise. Tiptoeing, Troop snuck towards his mom’s office, where the sound was coming from.
The office door was shut, but Troop could see some light spilling out from the crack running along the bottom. Fearing that there might be an intruder, he brought along his electro-slate in case he had to make an emergency call. Troop grasped the door handle and pushed it open, half expecting to see his mom wrapping up some last-minute work and half expecting to see a burglar.
It was neither.
“What are you doing here?” Troop demanded.
His father froze, caught red-handed.
“Get out, you low lying, flea-infested slug!”
Footsteps pounded down the hall. His mom hurtled into the office and looked from Troop to her ex-husband. At first she looked confused, then she looked furious. “Don’t you dare move,” she said.
Troop’s father put up his hand in defeat.
Troop tried to figure out what was going on. Why is he snooping in my mom’s home o
ffice? His mother, on the other hand, seemed to have a clear idea of what was happening. She had taken out her electro-slate and was calling someone.
“I need some backup,” she said. “There’s a spy in my office.”
Troop’s father looked hurt. “I’m not a spy. How could you accuse me of such thing?”
His mother ignored him. “Yes, this is work sensitive information he is going through. I don’t know how he found out the info is at my office.”
“Don’t move,” Troop said, noticing his father edging towards the window.
His father smiled a pinched looking smile. “Feels awfully warm in here, doesn’t it? Some fresh air would be nice.”
Troop lunged forwards, grabbing the tail of his father’s shirt.
His father cracked a maniacal grin and said, “Didn’t they teach you about personal space in school?” Then he twisted out of Troop’s grip and threw a small object at the window.
“Troop, get back!” his mom screamed.
The object exploded, shattering the window and sending splinters of glass flying everywhere. Troop ducked down, but not before catching the sight of his father tumbling out of the building. The smoke cleared in a matter of seconds. With his ears still ringing, Troop assessed the situation.
Aside from several minor cuts, both he and his mother were unharmed. The detonation had completely demolished the window and knocked askew the desk though.
“What was he looking for?” Troop asked, speaking louder than usual since his hearing was still impaired.
“Just information.” His mom rushed over to her desk and pulled out its drawers, ignoring the shards of glass strewn all over the floor. “At least I think that was what he was searching for,” she added later. She let out a small sigh. “Good, he didn’t find the file.”
Troop didn’t ask what type of information his mom would possibly have that others would try to steal. The Company did a decent amount of underhand work.
Somebody knocked on the door. “Reinforcement squad.”
“Just a bit too late,” Troop muttered.
chapter nineteen
[ Kristi ]
“He returned!” Chelsa’s shriek rang out the next morning.
“Who returned?” Kristi rubbed her crusted eyelids.
“Ghost.”
Kristi cracked open her eyes; Chelsa was hugging a very saturated Ghost. His fur dripped with melted snow and tiny icicles had formed on his whiskers.
“Can someone hand me a towel?” Chelsa asked.
Jaiden handed her one.
Chelsa vigorously rubbed Ghost. Once Ghost was dried to her satisfaction, she stood up beaming and said, “Ready to go get the droid-horses?”
The landscape outside was beautiful and serene. It was the crack of dawn and the tunes whistled by a symphony of mourning doves, larks and warblers filled the air.
“You need a name,” Kristi said to her recently acquired droid-horse. “Mist. I’m calling you Mist.”
Mist looked at her with an expression that read: Call me whatever you want and I couldn’t have cared less.
She tightened the girth one last time before walking Mist outside into the snowy wonderland. The virgin snow blanketed the world with a dazzling sparkle, completely unmarked except for the footprints made by Chelsa, Jaiden and Kristi on their way to the stable.
Kristi clambered atop Mist and waited for Jaiden and Chelsa to meet her outside. They steered the droid-horses towards the unplowed road. The horses released steam into the frigid air, plunging their way through two feet of snow. Ghost opted to perch on the back of Chelsa’s horse instead of toiling his way through the snow.
Two hours later, they reached a section of Route 56 that had been cleared of snow. Nevertheless, the horses only dared to take mincing steps, for patches of ice still appeared every so often on the road. No one else but the three of them was traveling on Route 56. Kristi supposed the hazardous driving conditions turned off a lot of people.
A stillness inhabited the air, reminding her of the calm before a storm hits. She shaded her eyes, observing the tumultuous sea of clouds behind them.
“Chelsa, can you check the weather on the electro-slate?” Kristi asked.
“Crud. There’s a weather alert for this area. Another snowstorm is blowing through.”
Jaiden took a look at the storm clouds as well. “They appear to be a mile away, give or take. Do you think we should make a dash for New Amsterdam?” New Amsterdam, the closest town from them, was ten miles away.
Kristi dared another peek back to the clouds and said, “The clouds are moving pretty fast. It’ll be a close race to see who reaches New Amsterdam first.”
“Let’s race for New Amsterdam,” Chelsa said. “I don’t want to spend the night in this storm.”
She clucked to her horse and drove it into a gallop. Jaiden and Kristi spurred their horses after Chelsa. The first two miles or so flew by, but the sky grew dark and ominous with each passing minute. Then the storm hit them. Snow swirled all around Kristi, confusing her sense of direction.
Kristi rocked back and forth in the saddle, doing her best to steer Mist around the bits of black ice. The heavy, stifling silence that suppressed the atmosphere wrapped around her like a cloak. She shifted in her seat and made sure Chelsa was still within sight.
“Can you run faster?” Kristi asked Mist.
She crouched low in the saddle. Chelsa began to inch further and further ahead of Kristi. Mist huffed out a breath then extended her strides. The warning light positioned on Mist’s shoulder flashed at an allegro tempo. Kristi checked to see if the other droid-horses were overheating as well. They both were. Jaiden turned his head towards Kristi and she pointed to the red, blinking light on Mist’s shoulder.
“Chelsa, slow down! The horses are going to malfunction,” Jaiden yelled into the wind that was starting to pick up.
Chelsa eased the pace a little, but only just a little. The warning light hovered between yellow and red. If they weren’t careful, they may very well end up in the middle of a blizzard with no working droid-horses and several miles away from the nearest civilization.
“How many more miles until we reach New Amsterdam?” Jaiden shouted. The howling wind stole his words from his lips as soon as he shouted them.
“What?” Chelsa asked.
“He asked how many more miles until we reach New Amsterdam,” Kristi hollered.
“Four miles.”
The storm began in earnest, sending searing waves of wind slicing through the air. An icy, dagger-like mixture of sleet and hail pelted anyone crazy enough to be outside in this kind of weather. Within minutes, Kristi was soaked to the bones and shivering violently. She cursed herself for not wearing her thermal sweatshirt and water-wicking jacket.
“We’re not going to be able to reach the town in time,” Jaiden shouted to Chelsa. “I say we stop and wait out the storm instead of plowing onwards. If we wait much longer, we won’t be able to set up the tent in the strong wind.”
“Alright. Let’s pull off the road and head towards that clump of willow trees ahead.” Chelsa turned her droid-horse and plunged through three feet of snow and into a hidden ditch eight feet deep.
Her horse struggled to paw its way out of the ditch, but its effort was in vain.
The roiling mass of black clouds hovered directly above them, and they felt the fury of the storm; the wind picked up speed and pounded ice chunks at them without mercy.
“Chelsa, tie the rope I’m going to throw to you around your horse,” Kristi yelled.
She edged Mist to the lip of the ditch. Then she fumbled about, searching for the ropes in her backpack with numb fingers. “Jaiden, get behind me.”
Jaiden didn’t hear her though, so she repeated louder, “Jaiden, get behind me!”
This time he caught her words and guided his droid-horse a few yards behind Mist. Kristi finally got ahold of the ropes and threw one end to Chelsa and passed the other end to Jaiden. She wrapped the rope around her
wrist several times then said to Chelsa, “Did you secure the rope around your horse?”
Chelsa gave her a thumbs-up.
“We’re going to try to pull Chelsa and her horse out.” Kristi yelled over her shoulder to Jaiden.
She urged Mist to back away from the ditch. Mist’s shoulder quivered from exertion and strain. Kristi tugged on the rope, easing some of the burden off Mist and Chelsa’s horse slowly started to free itself from its frosty prison.
Chelsa patted her horse, giving it encouragement. The droid lunged up in a sudden burst of power and the upper half of its body became liberated. The droid-horse’s front legs scrabbled at the rim of the trench while its hind legs scrambled on thin air, trying to find footholds.
Kristi’s wrist burned, though whether from the cold or the rope, she couldn’t tell.
“Watch out!” Chelsa screamed right before her droid-horse lost footing on solid ground and crashed back into the ditch, pulling Mist and Kristi towards the edge.
Mist sat down on her hindquarters to stop both herself and the rider from plummeting down. They skidded to a stop less than two inches away from the brim of the trench. Kristi’s heart thudded wildly in her chest.
Mist stood up and tried to back away from the snowy trap, but Chelsa’s droid-horse, panicking and wild-eyed, reared up; this caught Mist by surprise and she reared up onto her hind legs as well. Kristi was launched off Mist’s back and sailed through the air before dropping into the ditch, mere inches away from the failing hooves of Chelsa’s droid-horse.
“Are you okay?” Chelsa wrinkled her eyebrows with concern and yanked down the reins of her horse, forcing the droid to drop back to all four legs. Then she rushed besides Kristi. “Kristi, can you hear me?”
Kristi groaned. Her entire body throbbed, her nerves shrieking at her for allowing them to experience such suffering. She waited for the worst of the agony to subside before speaking. “I think I sprained my wrist.”
She tried to push herself up into a sitting position and nearly passed out from the angry waves of pain radiating from her wrist and ribs. Chelsa grasped Kristi beneath her arms and, with their combined effort, managed to stand Kristi on her feet.
