by Glenn, L. M.
“Sure.”
“Tell him … tell him it was the most fun I have ever had and he will always be my best friend.” She noticed the moisture pool in his eyes but didn’t say anything.
She nodded. “I will, Jay.”
He nodded and left.
“Are you ready?” Her dad asked poking his head into her room.
She was more than ready. She had deduced that the only time the holes opened was when a storm took place. And if she was right, then the hole would open tonight. Her father was going to go to the one behind the church while she was going to bring Paltos back here and they would wait behind her house where Jayden had fallen. Her father would text her if his opened. They would have time. She would do the same thing Mihael had done to keep the portal opened.
He had used a stick, that simple. He had poked a long stick into the hole, and with half on the other side, the hole did not close. Now the hard part was getting Paltos out without the alarms going off. Even though her father worked there, he still had to get Paltos past the security guard and out the doors before he was caught. That’s where Desiree came in. she had to keep the guard busy while her father unlocked Paltos’ cage and left the building. Then he had to go back inside, turn around, and act as if he was coming out for the first time.
“Yeah, I’m ready.” She hoisted the bag onto her shoulders. She followed her father out. Sneaking past Mom was another dangerous adventure, but Jayden had that covered.
Once they reached the building, her father parked in the back close to the doors. Using his keycard, they entered the building. She followed her father to the front where the check-in was.
“Good evening, Thomas. How are you?”
“Good evening, Dr. Hawkin.” Thomas was in his early sixties with grey streaked throughout his dark hair. He had a friendly smile. “And who is this with you this evening?” He winked at her.
“Thomas, this is my daughter, Desiree. Do you mind if she stays down here with you while I run up to my office? I forgot some paperwork.”
“Oh, sure, Doc, I’ll keep her company.”
“Thanks.” He turned to me. “I’ll be right back, Desiree.” He smiled nervously.
Once her dad was out of sight, she asked Thomas about his family, keeping him turned away from the monitors.
“May I use the bathroom?” she asked a few minutes later.
He pointed her to a door on the left. She nodded her head and shuffled into the restroom. Once inside, she quickly reached into her bag and withdrew the pliers. She dropped down to her knees, loosened the connecters under the sink, and then unscrewed the faucet nut. As she turned on the water, it sprayed every which way. She was sure to get some water on her shirt. She ran out calling for Thomas.
“Thomas, there is water all over the floor. I think the faucet broke. I went to turn it on and it sprayed water everywhere.” She shook her hands making it look more authentic.
He came around the security center and into the bathroom. He took one look and shook his head. He checked the lines and the faucet. “I need to turn off the water and get some tools.”
She nodded her head. “I’ll wait for my dad out front.”
He agreed. She made her way to the security center and did exactly as her father had instructed. She slipped the tape into her bag and waited for her father and Paltos for what felt like minutes. Only a few seconds passed and her father came around the corner. She gave him the signal they had agreed upon—the peace sign, her idea—and they hurried past. A few minutes later, her father came back in and rushed past her again but in the opposite direction. She leaned her shoulder against the wall.
Thomas came back looking a bit frazzled. “The pipe was loose but all better now. It’s safe to go in there now if you like.”
“Okay, thank you.” Just then, her father came back out with a file under his arm. “Are you ready, Desiree?”
“Good night, Thomas” she called out behind her as they made their way out the back door. They both rushed to the vehicle and jumped in. Her dad peeled out of the parking lot. A large boom echoed and then a flash of lightning lit up the road.
Paltos was lying down on the back seat with a blanket over him. “It’s safe now, Paltos.”
He sat up and blinked a few times. His head touched the roof of the car. His eyes were glued to the window. He was silent. His heavy breathing could be heard through the car. His eyes widened.
Desiree leaned over the middle console and reached her hand back to touch Paltos on the leg. “It’s okay, don’t panic. Our world is a lot different, I know. It’s too big for you. You’ll soon be home, Paltos.”
His weary eyes flashed to hers for a half second and then flashed back to the window to the outside and beyond. She wondered what he was thinking. The view must terrify him. Although it was dark outside, the streetlights and traffic lit up the roads and the storm lit up the sky.
Soon they were back home. Her father dropped them off and then drove off to the church.
“Come with me, Paltos.”
He followed behind her. She stopped to reach into her bag and grab the flashlight. Once it was in her hand, they moved forward until they reached the spot where she had jumped in after Jayden. She pulled out the umbrella and opened it over their heads.
“I’m sorry, Paltos, for everything my father has done to you. I wish I had known sooner.” She pulled off her bag and handed it to him. “Please, give this to Mihael when you see him”—her voice cracked—“and tell Nigel Jayden misses him.” She wanted him to know they were not the bad guys, at least not her and Jayden. “We fell in love with Perceforest, my brother and I,” she told him, hoping he didn’t hate her because of what her father had done.
A large flash lit the sky and then suddenly the ground opened up with a groan. The hole appeared right before their eyes.
“Go!” she screamed. “You must jump. Go home, Paltos!”
He hesitated and with one last look at her, he jumped.
She waited until the hole closed back up and then turned to go back into the house. Jayden was standing in the rain watching her. She wasn’t sure if it was the rain or his tears running down his face. She pulled him into her arms, and together they walked into the house.
An hour later, she remembered to text her dad.
Chapter 23
It wasn’t long after she had been back that her parents surprised her with a new Toyota Celica. It was bright red and classy. Her mother confessed she had taken on a part-time job to pay for her graduation gift. That was where she went on Saturdays. Her father had put in extra hours at work to pay for her college tuition. Since she wanted to go out of state, the fees had almost doubled. It shocked her to think about all that time she had wasted despising them when in fact they had been doing it for her.
It was different around the house. She and Jayden had changed or maybe it was only her. Jayden wasn’t such a brat anymore, at least not much, and everything that Desiree had deemed important just wasn’t anymore.
Desiree sat on Jayden’s bed and hugged him. Jayden and she had a love-hate relationship, but he was her brother and the only one she had.
“I’m going to miss you when you go off to college,” he admitted.
Desiree ruffled his hair. “I’ll miss you too, brat.” And she would, she realized with a start. She stood and walked to the door.
Right before she opened it, Jayden asked, “Do you think Nigel thinks about me sometimes?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I bet he misses you.”
She missed Mihael. He told her never to come back. She was resigned to never seeing him again, but she knew there would never be anyone for her but him. She smiled to herself. She wished she had been there when he opened up the bag she had sent with Paltos. She threw in some catnip along with a few surprises for him and Genèva.
It never would be explained how the hole opened up during the storms or why. At least now Perceforest would be more open to humans who did fall through. They now knew humans weren�
��t all evil.
Epilogue
“Wake up, sleepyhead!” Kat said in her normal cheery voice that grated on Desiree’s nerves.
“Ugh.” She didn’t want to get up.
For the past month, they hadn’t slowed down. Once they found their apartment close to the college and found jobs, it was non-stop—up at five to go to work at six, then off at two, back home by three, dinner, and then bed.
She found a job at a café waiting tables while Kat found one at a studio answering phones. The tips were good and paid half of the rent. Classes started back up in one week. She hoped she would be over this flu bug she had caught before then.
Every day she was nauseated, but by midafternoon, it would dissipate only to return the next day.
Kat made a joke one morning that she was probably pregnant. A heavy boulder settled in Desiree’s stomach at Kat’s words.
As soon as Kat left for work, Desiree quickly drove to the convenience store a couple streets over and bought a home pregnancy test. She hadn’t had a period in three months. She waited nervously for the three minutes to pass, counting the seconds, looked down at the results, and then she screamed … it wasn’t possible. It had only been a dream, hadn’t it?
She fell onto her bed as if in a daze. What would she tell her parents? Her child would never be excepted here. Would it even survive? Would she? She stared up at the ceiling without blinking. She had to go back...
THE END
. ~ Dear Readers: Thank you for reading, The Cascaders. I hoped you enjoyed it. If you encounter typos or errors in this book, please send them to me at: [email protected] Even with many layers of editing, mistakes can slip through. But, together, we can eradicate them. Thank you! –
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.M. Glenn was born in Montana, raised in Wyoming, and now resides in sunny Florida. When she’s not writing or reading she is enjoying a good cup of coffee along with her favorite treat, Chocolate.
Glenn combines an addiction to writing and unconventional thinking, with a love of playing with words. She enjoys creating peculiar, slightly disturbed characters who aren’t perfect as they deal with the world around them. Even so, like real life, they always find love, friendships and hopefully leave the reader with a smile.
She reads whenever she isn’t writing, and loves to cook and argue with her daughter. She usually wins. Glenn currently is writing her next novel with hopes of one day moving back to the mountains.
