Trunks of Ages: The Seven Seals

by Mary Beth Frank

  Chapter 21 Escape

  Sebastian blinked twice to make sure he was seeing clearly. Gina and Cyrus stood in the middle of the room, together, dressed in what appeared to be traveling clothes. Both looked like they’d just step out of Return of the Jedi, draped in hooded cloaks, packs on their backs, their legs covered in tall boots. They had on thick belts, under the cloaks, adorned with knives, a sword, picks, rope, and anything else they would need in a journey you might take with, oh, maybe Frodo Baggins?

  Gina rushed over to him, practically plowing into him with her arms, wrapping herself around him. Caught off guard, Sebastian stiffened at the sudden gesture of affection. She was still practically a stranger, right? He felt her fingers trace the stitches on his face, making him shiver under her touch.

  “Sebastian, are you OK? Did he hurt you?” Gina's eyes were piercing blue, wavering with flecks of brown. Again he found himself barely able to think, let alone breathe, as they held him in a trance.

  “No, we're OK. He hasn't done anything to us yet. Just asked us some questions and told us some bogus stories about prophecies and legends.” Gina and Cyrus exchange a quick glance of panic.

  “How did you, I mean, how is this possible?” Sebastian motioned to them, indicating their presence.

  Gina looked confused. “You did rub the card, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, three times just like it said.” He pulled out the card and held it up in his fingers.

  “There are tiny location trackers inside the gold foil. They can be traced anywhere. But for privacy, they only activate when you rub the card, like it says. Comes in handy, don’t you think? Cyrus and I use them all the time.” Gina flashed Sebastian a big smile.

  “Do you two know each other?” Makayla asked with wide eyes glancing back and forth, from one to the other.

  A small giggle escaped her lips. “He's my brother!”

  Sebastian's mouth fell open, “What?”

  Cyrus stepped forward, concern on his face. “Gina, we need to go. We can do this later.” Cyrus' voice was dark and sharp. Gina sighed and shot him an annoyed looked.

  “Sebastian, can you manage to get you and Makayla into these packs?” Gina motioned to several packs sitting by the window. The thought of carrying a heavy bag on his ribs made him wince, but the thought of Tildon made him jump to his feet and nod.

  “Where are our bags?” Makayla asked as she scurried to her pack, wiping her face free of tears.

  “They have them somewhere. We’re going to have to leave them behind. Was there anything important in them?” Cyrus asked.

  Makayla and Sebastian looked at each other, trying to remember. Sebastian thought of the compass and the card in his pocket.

  “My wallet is all I had in there,” Sebastian said, shrugging his shoulders. He groaned suddenly thinking about his prepaid visa that would be lost.

  Makayla suddenly looked up. “Sebastian, the pictures of the box were in my bag.”

  “Pictures? You didn't have the box with you?” Gina's voice was calm and comforting.

  “No. We didn't want to lose it. We thought pictures would be better,” Makayla whispered to her.

  “Perfect!” Gina's face exploded into a smile. She helped Makayla finishing snapping the pack into position.

  Cyrus walked over to Marshall and Ethan, putting something under their noses. Instantly the two of them sat up, wide-awake. Before they could ask many questions, he put his finger to his lips. Ethan was helped into his own pack, while Cyrus carried Marshall, who made an annoyed face, but remained silent.

  They all walked over to the window, where there were five rope ladders attached to the sill, hanging to the ground below. Sebastian looked down and swallowed hard. He felt his nerves running out of control, groaning when his stomach clinched down and rumbled. This time he ran for the middle of the room, hurling all over the woven carpet. Gina walked over to him, concern streaking across her face. She lightly put her hand on the middle of his back, calming him as he tried to regain his composure.

  “Sebastian, don't worry. Everything's going to be OK, I promise.” She was still stroking his back, trying to calm him down.

  “Sorry.” He straightened up and attempted a weak smile. “I'm just not used to climbing out of windows atop tall towers, running from mad men who tell me I’m part of some strange prophecy, meeting people who appear out of nowhere, and feeling like my life is doomed before it even begins.”

  Gina bit her lip. “It isn't doomed. It's just starting.”

  Sebastian stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to say. Finally he motioned toward the window.

  “Ladies first,” he was trying to muster up some confidence.

  Once they reached the safety of the ground, Cyrus motioned for them to be quiet and follow him. They all disappeared into the edge of the woods moving swiftly behind their leader.

  They had been walking briskly for about an hour, when they heard vehicles behind them. It sounded like there were four or five large trucks several miles from where they had just come. Cyrus turned slowly, scanning the horizon behind them for a moment.

  He scowled and barked, “Come on, I can smell the woman. We need to hurry. The car is close by.”

  Makayla and Sebastian looked behind them and then at each other. Nodding to Ethan and Marshall, they started jogging to keep up with Gina and Cyrus.

  Gina slowed to Sebastian’s side, noticing his scowl. “Cyrus has been given the gift of a sensitive sensory system. He can hear, smell, taste, and feel so much more than we can. It’s what makes him one of the best trackers in Armistoria.” Gina saw Sebastian flinch at the name of her home and sighed.

  “Sorry. We’ll explain it all to you later. I forgot you still don’t know everything.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. “I promise, everything will be fine and you will know the truth soon.”

  Sebastian just shrugged, not wanting to get into it right now, not trusting himself to stay calm. He felt slightly betrayed by her, realizing she had known the truth all along and didn’t bother conveying it to him. But, then again, they are still just strangers. Why did she owe it to him to inform him of some life altering prophecy? He could feel his rage burning deep within, but he couldn’t afford to deal with it right now. They were still being pursued and at the moment, the only thing Sebastian wanted to focus on was getting out of there.

  They continued on the forest path, taking time to cross a ravine, as well as several downed trees along the trail. They even found themselves traversing across a narrow path, slippery from a fresh blanket of snow, on the edge of a small rock face. It appeared to Sebastian that they would never be able to find their way out. Every direction was the same thick mass of trees.

  The snow was getting deeper in spots, up to their calves, slowing their pace drastically. Every once in a while, they would reach a small clearing where the sunlight broke through the trees and made the snow reflect its true crystal form, giving the illusion of dancing lights on the forest floor. It reminded Sebastian of the elaborate snowflakes they had made in art class, taking a break from their normal pen and ink projects. He wished he was sitting in class right now. Chastising himself, he shook the thought vowing to buck up. He had to stop wishing he were somewhere else, had to deal with this new reality. How was he supposed to help his sister and the others if he couldn't even deal with the present? He had started to let his thoughts roam over the conversation with Tildon, when Cyrus stopped suddenly and Sebastian heard a car engine softly rumbling. He and Gina ran over to a large cluster of smaller trees, where two beams of lights revealed the origin of the sound. He threw his hands to his eyes, trying to see through the bright head lights, when he felt himself being shoved toward the vehicle.

  “Cool!” Ethan gasped, brushing past him, a smile breaking across his face.

  Gina pulled on his hand, “Get in! Let's go!”

  The familiar Lexus seemed oddly unfamiliar with Cy
rus and Gina in the front seats, comfortable and confident like it was their own. This made him fume even more, wondering how they got his family's car. He decided now was not the time for 20 questions, as the sound of pursuit vehicles continued to close in behind them. Makayla, Ethan, and Marshall got in the back seat. Sebastian, not having anywhere else to go, jumped into the hatch back, cramming himself into the trunk space. He sat on his knees, looking over the backs of the seats through the front window. Suddenly, Cyrus let the car lurch forward out of the bushes and pushed the accelerator down with such force, Sebastian had to keep himself from flying forward into Makayla's lap.

  “OK, Gina, like before. I'll drive, you move.” Cyrus was talking to his sister, who was concentrating on something out the front window.

  Suddenly, Sebastian saw they were driving through a perfect clearing of trees, with nothing in their way. He clinched his teeth, trying to keep his mouth from falling open. The other three in front of him were wide-eyed, noticing the clear path that seemingly appeared as the car moved forward. Sebastian turned around and the path was gone. It was the same mass of forest that he had just walked through. Something in the distance caught his attention. Five huge jeeps were making their way across the forest. However, the trees weren't jumping out of the way for them, like they were for their car, making it nearly impossible for them to get through.

  Sebastian turned forward and watched the trees continue to step out of the way, as if they had legs and could walk like any human.

  “How is this possible?” Sebastian whispered.

  Gina smiled, still concentrating out the window. “Oh, this is easy. If you just have a little faith, you could actually move that mountain out of the way if necessary, which I've done before. Trees are nothing.” She put her hand over her mouth and giggled.

  Sebastian stared at her in disbelief, not sure if he believed what he was seeing. But after this week, nothing seemed impossible.

  Cyrus looked in his rearview mirror, scowling at something behind them. The Hanks children all looked out the back, Makayla whimpering as the Jeeps continued their pursuit. They all screamed at the sound of a machine gun aimed at them by the woman, Angelica, who’d just switched from the role of prison guard to assassin. She was rapidly firing at them, laughing as she pressed continuously on the trigger. He swallowed loudly when he realized she had a lot of spare bullets draped over her shoulder. Sebastian knew they were too far away to do any damage to them or their car, but his stomach still turned all the same.

  Cyrus grunted and picked up his speed, which was already over 100 miles per hour. No one spoke for the next 20 minutes, as they raced through Gina's path, trying desperately to reach the road at the edge of the forest. They had long lost the Jeeps, but they weren’t willing to slow down to find out if they’d given up their pursuit.

  Finally, reaching the edge of the woods, they turned onto a small country road covered in snow. Cyrus continued to drive at the same speed, not slowing down to the posted speed limit or road conditions. Gina reached over to turn on the GPS. She pushed the power button, but nothing happened. The screen remained blank, the power light not lighting up. Gina looked up at Cyrus who reached down to try it for himself. Still nothing happened.

  Gina bit down on her lip. “What're we going to do? We don't know how to get back. We aren't safe until we're back there.”

  Cyrus slammed his fist down on the steering wheel, and snapped, “I know, Gina! You don't have to remind me.”

  “What's wrong? What are you talking about?” Sebastian spoke for the first time since they’d lost their captors. Maybe now he’d get some answers.

  “The GPS isn't working and we don't know the way. We didn't have time to grab any maps before we left. Alice said this wouldn't fail.”

  “Alice? You talked to Alice? What...” Sebastian had a thousand questions right now.

  Cyrus held up his hand. “Later Sebastian. Right now, we need to figure out a way to get you back home.”

  “Can’t you just call her on your cell phone?” Ethan perked up.

  Gina shook her head, “No reception out here. We already checked on the way to get you.”

  Sebastian thought about that, and the card popped into his head.

  “Can’t you just use the card?” He asked.

  Cyrus looked at him through the rearview mirror. “No, the card will just tell us where your current location is. Alice doesn't have any on her.”

  “Oh.” Sebastian sank in his seat, tired of figuring out complications and troubles in plans gone wrong.

  “Well, if you can move trees out of the way, I should think you could figure out the lousy way home!” Sebastian couldn't help from being rude. He wasn't in high spirits right now.

  Gina bit down on her lip, a tendency Sebastian had picked up on already. She didn't say anything, but Sebastian noticed Cyrus studying her.

  Makayla turned in her seat. “Sebastian, didn't I see you pull a compass out of your pocket earlier? When you were looking for Gina's card?”

  Sebastian nodded and shoved his hand into his pocket. He pulled out the compass, holding it up for Makayla to see. Gina gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief.

  “What? It's just a stupid compass.” Sebastian threw it at her, not sure why she was so shocked at an ordinary navigational tool.

  “Cyrus! Just like the stories.” Gina was gingerly twisting the compass over in her hands, examining it as if it was a precious gem.

  “Yeah, amazing isn't it?” Cyrus' expression had gone from harsh determination to awe and wonder. He glanced at Sebastian in the rearview mirror. “Sebastian, do you know how it works?”

  “Uh, no, it’s broken. It just came with a note that said it will always guide me home.” Sebastian shrugged, still not sure what the big deal was over a stupid compass.

  Gina held it in front of her, suddenly tapping excitedly on Cyrus' shoulder. They both looked at the compass, watching the needle jump to life and settle into a fixed position. When it stopped, it was pointing in the opposite direction that they were heading.

  Gina smiled. “The stories say that with the compass, the children never lost their way. They were always able to get back to the safety of their home. I never really thought about it until now, but I think the needle points the way to their house. Let's follow it.” Cyrus nodded in agreement, spinning the car around, heading for Ithaca.

  There wasn't any other sign of their pursuers, and Sebastian settled in for the long ride home. His lids became like anvils, his pain the only thing keeping him from complete oblivion. When he felt all motion cease, the car sitting in its familiar spot, the moon was bright overhead and the night air brisk with a wet wind blowing through. Sebastian woke up stiff from the awkward position of lying in the cramped trunk space. His ribs were still killing him, thinking it would take an entire bottle of aspirin to relieve the burning flames coursing through his sides.

  Alice came running out of the house, her face mixed with worry and relief. She looked a wreck in her grungy t-shirt and yoga pants; her hair pulled back in a sloppy bun at the top of her head. Arms found themselves wrapped tightly around him, trying to reassure themselves of his safety and return. The fresh wave of pain that shot through his side nearly choked him. Alice heard him gasping, and pushed him off of her, gazing up and down assessing his condition.

  “Oh, I'm sorry. What happened to you?” Alice was touching his sides and then ran her fingers over his face. Not sure who to trust, Sebastian pulled away from her scrutiny, returning her assessing eyes with anger. She looked like the same Alice, but he knew that everything was different from when they left. There were a lot of unanswered questions, too many secrets.

  “Like you don't know?” Sebastian glared at her, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “Gina, will you take the others to their rooms?” Alice asked, still staring at Sebastian.

  “No way! We all deserve to know what is going on! W
hy are we running for our lives? Why is there a magic box in our attic? What are these prophecies and legends everyone keeps talking about? And just exactly who are you?” Sebastian was holding his ground. Even though he was unsteady on his feet, needing an ungodly amount of sleep, he was not going to let down until he had some answers.

  Alice looked down at the ground. “Sebastian, I'm sorry. I know you have a lot of questions, but it isn't my place to answer them.” Tears were starting to spill over onto her cheeks, which just made him more confused and mad.

  Sebastian threw up his hands, outraged.

  “What?” He stepped forward, his face just inches away from her face.

  “And just who would be the person to answer these questions?” He could feel his rage being unfairly targeted toward Alice, but he couldn't help it. If she had known all along what was going on, why would she do this to him? Didn't that make her a traitor or something; a spy in his own home?

  Cyrus stepped forward, placing his body between Sebastian and Alice. With both hands, he shoved Sebastian back a couple of steps, reminding him at the uncanny strength Cyrus seemed to have.

  “Sebastian, go get some sleep. I promise all your questions will be answered tomorrow. You have a very big day ahead of you. Please, just leave it alone until tomorrow.” Sebastian could hear Alice crying into her hands, hiding behind Cyrus for comfort, and felt a twinge of guilt. But the feeling of frustration and anger quickly washed it away.

  He narrowed his eyes at Cyrus and spat out, “Fine. I'll be locked away in my room. Don't bother me.”

  As he moved toward the door to the house, a hand suddenly gripped his arm, forcing him to spin around and face those mysterious blue eyes.

  Gina looked quickly down, whispering so softly. “Sebastian, please don't be mad. We were just trying to help.”

  Sebastian couldn't believe that she was in on this too. “Help? How? By letting me haul a 12-year-old girl around Boston to be almost abducted by sex-crazed boys? By letting me put Marshall and Ethan's life in danger? You knew and you didn't say a word! You knew that there was some mad man out there looking for us, waiting to catch us, and you didn't think to bother giving me a heads up? Well, thanks for the help. You better believe that this will never happen again. It’ll be over my dead body before I let anyone drag me into this foolishness again.” Just then Sebastian remembered the key they had retrieved. He looked at Ethan, who was staring at him, annoyed by his rampage.

  Sebastian held out his hand. “Ethan, give me the key.”

  Gina put her hand in his outstretched palm. “Sebastian, please! Just trust me. You don't want to do this. I know you're angry, but please, don't do anything stupid. You will have your answers tomorrow.”

  Sebastian gave her a look of warning and growled through his teeth at his brother, “Give. Me. The. Key.”

  Ethan slowly reached in his pocket, his fingers revealing the strange-looking key, which he silently laid in his palms. It was strange how tense it become inside their garage as the key lay there in his hand. Gina, Alice and Cyrus stood with their eyes on Sebastian, holding their breath.

  Unable to control the fury, he shoved the key into his pocket and stormed to his room, locking himself inside. Today was Thursday.

  “Fine!” he shouted to no one but himself. He vowed that he would not show his face again until Monday morning, before school.