The Unwanted Winter - Volume One of the Saga of the Twelves

by Richard Heredia

  “What did you see, Garfield, when you heard the kid crying?” asked Anthony, just above a whisper. His nerves were heightened once again. All of the relaxation and levity he’d felt only minutes before had fled. Those feelings were long gone.

  I hope the kid’s not being beaten.

  “I did not see much, Tony-Boy,” began the great cat in his deep, noble tone, sounding so unlike the high-pitched almost whining meow he’d possessed prior to their journey to this world. “I saw a larger figure, leaning over a much smaller form huddled against a tree. I heard the child cry and screech as if in pain, but I did not tarry. I came back, in case there were more of those foul man-beasts out there. If that were the case, we would have to free the child with a greater force, and a greater chance of success. Three of the Fist is much better than merely one.”

  “I see. Do you think the kid was being tortured?” Anthony asked. They continued through the trees. He felt a sickening lump twist in his gut.

  “It appeared so, but I cannot tell you for certain. The child was scared beyond a shadow of a doubt.” Garfield let out a long drawn out growl that might’ve sounded like he was purring, but it was too deep, too menacing.

  Oh my god, the poor kid! Anthony thought, his mind racing in outrage, his stomach tightening even more.

  They had come most of the way back around the hill the La Loma trial straddled. Almost to the place where Kodiak had led them from the trail on their way to the cave, only now they were some yards farther down the trail, almost where Anthony would’ve sworn was the intersection of La Loma and Figueroa Street.

  There used to be a McDonald’s just across the way, was his unbidden thought. Anthony squinted through the torrent of snowflakes looking for anything he might recognize, but couldn’t see very far. Maybe I am hungrier that I thought.

  Then he thought he heard sniffling - quiet sniffling. Not the wails Garfield spoken of moments ago. This was a calmer, softer sound.

  “I can see them,” Garfield said of a sudden.

  Anthony froze in place.

  “And I think I might have been mistaken. We should stop.” He did so, slowly lowering his body to the surface of the snowfall.

  Kenai noticed immediately and stopped well.

  Anthony could just make out the forms of Mr. Patas and Joaquin as they halted their forward progress.

  All eyes were on Garfield, waiting for him to give notice of what to do.

  Anthony stooped to speak to the cat. “What do you see, Cat Face?” he asked in a low voice, using one of his nicknames for his former pet, a thing so ordinary neither of them reacted. He strained to see through the throng of white, but couldn’t make out anything beyond twenty feet or so.

  “I see a human female, hugging a smaller human, a child, to her side. She is rocking it back and forth as if she were trying to calm it down,” he whispered huskily. His eyes were darting so fast in his head, Anthony couldn’t follow their every move.

  “Do you see any… of the others?”

  “I do not, Tony-Boy. The way is clear.”

  Anthony stood up, thinking. Then: “Good, the other boys and I will approach them to see if we can help them. You and the other animals should stay back. I am fairly certain, if they took one look at you guys, they’d both be screaming their heads off.” Anthony spun on his heel and made his way toward Kenai, who hadn’t moved a muscle.

  Garfield just lay down in the snow, watching intently, not even turning his head to follow Anthony as he walked away.

  “Kenai,” Anthony began when he came next to her, still whispering. He motioned for Joaquin to come to them, but for Mr. Patas to stay precisely where he was. “It seems as though Garfield made a slight error in his earlier assessment of the situation.”

  “Oh,” replied the bear-dog, one eyebrow slightly raised in surprise.

  “Yeah, he says it is a woman comforting a child and not some large thing hurting a child,” he explained quietly.

  Joaquin came up just has he finished talking, a questioning look upon his face. “What’s up?” he inquired taking Anthony’s queue, keeping his voice down.

  Anthony nodded toward him. “You, Jason, and I are going to have a look and see if we can help a woman and her child sitting by a tree about ten yards ahead.”

  Joaquin’s eyebrows rose at the news, but Anthony forged on.

  “The animals will hang back, because they might frighten them. We’ll introduce them after we’ve told them what’s going on and who – and what – is on our side.”

  Joaquin nodded back and gave a quick look at Jason, who was frowning with concern, but nodded back just as fast, the conviction in eyes plain to see. The three of them went off toward the sound of a child quietly weeping in the middle of the near blizzard conditions. None of them was sure what was going to happen next.

  *****

  They didn’t have to go very far, when, out of the falling snow, emerged two huddled forms leaning back against a large pine tree. The soft, encouraging feminine tones reaching their ears over the ice cold, yet mellow gusts of the wind.

  “It’s ok, Louis. I promise everything will be all right. I promise. We will find your parents and your dog. We will find everything else you lost when the world turned on its head, ok? We’ll look everywhere if we have to, did you hear that, everywhere? We won’t leave no stone unturned. We will look all over the place, and we won’t give up. I promise, ok? I promise!”

  As they came closer, Anthony could see the larger of the two was indeed female. She not the woman Garfield had thought he’d seen through the obscurity of the billowing precipitation still falling in quantity about them. She was a teenager just like the rest of them, wearing a great, bright pink parka and matching gloves. He couldn’t make out what she wore on her legs because of her jacket, but he could see the child next to her was male, a boy, about Elena’s age. He wore a bulky jacket as well and mittens that looked like the old-fashion, knitted sort, and not the nylon type seen in abundance nowadays. He was sitting next her, his head nestled in her arm pit as she had place one her arms around him, hugging him. Her other hand was cupping his chin. She was staring at him, directly in the eyes, promising him just about everything she could possibly promise, so he would calm down and stop crying. Even from where he stood, Anthony could see the boy’s chest was heaving. He was constantly wiping at his eyes.

  “Uh, hello…?” interrupted Anthony tentatively, not sure how much longer she was going to talk to the kid. He pitched his voice with volume, so it would carry across the wintry meadow to them.

  The girl cut off her litany in an instant. Her head whipped around, gazing at Anthony, clearly startled. She didn’t utter a word, but moved with alacrity, placing herself protectively before the boy, scrambling on her knees in the snow. She looked from side to side as if she was looking for a means of escape. Then she saw Joaquin and Jason a step or two behind Anthony, silent, watching her. Her eyes bulged a little and fear crept into her eyes.

  It was the ugly sort of fright, the type Anthony loathed to see upon the face of any female. It was clear what she thought of three, big teenage boys coming out of the forest, virtually out of thin air. He could tell hers were not pleasant thoughts. The apprehension and dread filled her face immediately. He could easily guess at the gist of them too. He knew full well what must have crossed her mind in that initial instant. Her, a girl alone in the woods with a small boy; they, three boys full in the flush of puberty, only one thing on their minds…

  Anthony would’ve said something, at this point, if he were capable. But at that moment, he could do nothing more than stare. The girl, kneeling in the snow - though her face was a cast of pure fright - she was quite possibly the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life.

  He peered through the snow intently, his eyes gazing over her hair. It was so unique, he was certain he’d never seen its’ shade before. It was platinum blonde, her hair so blonde it was almost white!

  She was Caucasian with a face neither too narro
w nor too wide. It was framed by prominent cheekbones, tapering to a delicate chin. Her skin so white it almost matched her hair, a glossy paleness offset with cheeks made pink by the cold and a pair of large, strikingly blue eyes. Her lips were thin and shimmered with pale pink lipstick, when she spoke.

  “Please, don’t hurt us,” she said in a regurgitation of words, ending in a strangled cry. Even then, her voice was melodic, pleasant to hear. Being under extreme stress made no difference.

  Anthony marveled for a moment or two. Then the import of her words sundered his train of thought. He realized he’d been gawking over her for much longer than what was appropriate. She probably thinks were a bunch of crazies, he thought as he said aloud, hoping he sounded sincere. “We aren’t going to hurt you. We just came to see if you guys were ok, and not being hurt by… Well, you know, by some of the real nasty things we’ve been encountering around the area today.

  “I promise, we mean you no harm.”

  She frowned and gave Anthony a look of misunderstanding. “You guys just stay back. Stay where you are, ok?” she demanded, looking scared.

  Anthony put out his hands, before him, palms facing outward in hopes of placating her fears, his voice steady. “I promise, we have no intention of hurting you, either of you. We were just checking to see if you guys were ok. We heard the boy crying. We were concerned for him.”

  Her eyes darted between the three of them, bulging slightly when she realized the size and potential strength of Joaquin. She was clearly wary of any “feminine” effect she might be having on them.

  Anthony was going to have to do something to make her realize they had no intention of assaulting her. He had to make her believe it was the very last thing any of them had on their minds. “Ok, ok,” he said, his hands bobbing up and down before him. “Look, I know you’re weirded out. I know you’re probably having the worst day of your life, and believe me, we are too. But, you’re not alone in this mess.” He waved around at the forest and at the storm above. “We’re involved too. Although, we really don’t know the reason why yet, but I can tell you we do know is this, all of this,” he spun around in place, his arms wide, “was done on purpose. So, if you’re wondering why this happened to you, or where everybody and everything went, well… we’re in the same boat with the same nagging questions. We want to find the answers to those questions just as much as you do. Okay?

  “Because of that fact, you can rest as ease. We mean you no harm.”

  She looked at each of them intently once more. The uncertainty of continuing to keep up her guard or relax it a bit was written across her countenance. He could tell she didn’t want to trust them. Compounded with all of the misgivings of the day, she appeared too suspicious to let them anywhere near her.

  I gotta deflect her from thinking we’re going to jump her any second now, Anthony thought frantically to himself. She’s gonna lose it soon…

  “Is the boy, ok?”

  This seemed to shake her from her thoughts a little. “W-what?” she stammered.

  “The boy, is he hurt?” queried Anthony, pointing at the boy she had pinned behind her, between her backward-stretched arms.

  She glanced back at the boy quickly, then wildly turned to peer back at them twice as fast. She was afraid they would’ve moved toward her when she’d looked away.

  They hadn’t. They were all rooted in place.

  Her body relaxed slightly. “N-no, he’s not hurt, he’s… he’s… just frightened and a little lost right now, that’s all.”

  “I bet. I bet you’re feeling pretty much the same right now, huh?” he commented, keeping his tone even and calm.

  The pretty girl nodded quickly. Her eyes welled up. The tension and the stress her fear had held in check bubbled forth with her admission.

  She is going to lose it… shit! thought Anthony, hoping she could hold on just long enough, so he could explain their intentions were benign.

  “You ok?” he ventured lightly.

  She shook her head prettily in the negative.

  “Well, if it’s any consolation, we’ve had a pretty bad day ourselves, so don’t think you’re alone in all of the madness. You’re not,” Anthony went on, in a lighter tone, trying to diffuse the tenseness of the situation.

  She smiled crookedly, a single tear escaping, running down her cheek before she wiped at it quickly, and obviously trying to keep her vision clear. She didn’t want any of them to see her as weak.

  “You think it’ll be ok, if we came closer, so I don’t have to talk so loud? I don’t want to attract any more undue attention than I absolutely have too, if you catch my drift,” he asked of her. Again, he placing his hands before in the universal physical gesture of peace. “We are not here to harm you, I promise… we promise, right guys?”

  “Right!”, “Absolutely!”, said the other teenage boys almost at the same time.

  She bit down on her lower lips and glanced from side to side, contemplating her options. A tenth of a minute passed, her gaze returned to Anthony. At the same time, she released a shuddering breath that had nothing to do with the cold.

  Anthony couldn’t help but think, though she was so afraid and so unsure, she looked quite beautiful, all the same.

  “Y-you promise, you won’t… hurt us?”

  “We promise,” replied Anthony at once.

  “Cross our hearts and hope to die,” announced Jason out of left field.

  “Dude!” exclaimed Joaquin.

  “What?” was Jason’s answering exclamation.

  “We’re trying to make them feel comfortable and trust us, and you go all third-grade on us and shit. Jesus Christ, she’s gonna think we’re freakin’ retards or something, you bonehead!”

  To Anthony, Joaquin sounded completely flabbergasted, but he couldn’t know for certain, because his eyes remained on the girl before him.

  Jason remained silent.

  The brief banter between the boys seemed to inject a degree of normalcy into the situation and the girl relaxed a tiny bit more.

  Anthony was suddenly glad for Jason’s weird outbursts. “Can I come closer?” Anthony had seen a small crack in her defenses and hoped to take advantage of it, in the friendliest manner possible, of course.

  She looked like she was going to say something else, but the tension in her shoulders evaporated and she exhaled again, giving Anthony a minuscule nod. It was ok to approach.

  “Please, don’t make me regret this…”

  “You won’t,” he mumbled as he took a few slow, speculative steps toward them, his hands still raised to either side of his chest.

  Behind him, he heard Jason finally respond. “I was only trying to help.”

  “Well, you didn’t,” judged Joaquin. Jason must’ve been on the verge of replying when Joaquin uttered quickly. “Just drop it and come to grips with the fact that you are a retard.”

  “Ass muncher…,” it was barely a whisper.

  “Ricky Retardo…”

  Anthony approached the girl, putting his companions out of his mind for the time being, surprised to find the closer he got to the her, all the more beautiful she seemed to become to him, especially with the apprehension and fear absent from her face.

  He waved smallishly, “Hello.”

  “Hi,” she managed meekly. Her head was slightly downcast so she was looking up at him through her eyelashes and a few wayward strands of her remarkably colored hair.

  The other boys stayed back, giving her some space for now.

  “Everything all good now?” Anthony asked, testing the waters.

  She peered up at him directly. He nearly drowned in the crystalline blue of her eyes. They were so sharp and detailed with flecks of azure and sapphire about her irises, they were mesmerizing. He had never seen eyes like that before.

  “I hope so…,” she replied, returning his frank stare.

  The newfound conviction with which she spoke almost melted his heart right then and there. He could see she was one the verge of trusti
ng him fully. Her eyes searching for the truth in him, dreading the lie she so desperately hoped to avoid finding in his gaze. He had never been in a situation of this magnitude before, with so much riding on so little, the gravity of it all threatened to overwhelm him. He was sure he would be able to recall this moment, every detail and every nuance for the remainder of his life.

  “I know so,” he began a little choked up. He cleared his throat and, “I promised, remember?”

  “Am I to take it that you are not one of those typical, immature guys who lies all the time,” she spoke out of the corner of her mouth, a taste of play sprinkled on her words.

  He smiled, genuinely, more of himself expressed, other than calm and reassurance. “There is nothing typical about me, of that I can assure you. Although, I’ve been known to walk down the path of immaturity now and again. I like to think it keeps me from taking shit too seriously.”

  She actually shook with a fleeting giggle. “Nice, I like that.” Her smile matched his. Anthony watched as the last of her fright fluttered away, like a shadowy bird flittering into the ominous winter storm about them.

  Joaquin and Jason walked up behind Anthony still badgering each other back and forth.

  Anthony looked them over with a shake of his head. “You guys are like a pair of crotchety, old ladies - sisters, I might add.”

  “And who’s to say we aren’t, darling,” answered Jason within a heartbeat, imitating a stereotypical elderly Bostonian woman to perfection. His quip so quick, there were laughs and chuckles all around, even the little boy giggled. Anthony could just make out his heavy, jowly cheeks, bright red from the cold, bouncing with each burst of laughter.