“Here.” Mitchell calls out behind me.
I turn and see him push the dilapidated school bus towards us. It looks a bit cleaner than the last time I saw it. The burned interior has been replaced by some half-decent seats, which at least look comfortable.
“Okay, everyone on board.” Mitchell says as he opens the doors.
“I hope you all have your permission slips.” Paul says as he climbs on.
I hand Jessica my backpack as she climbs on board. Once everyone is on, they close the doors. I walk to the side of the bus and tap on the window where Paul is sitting.
“Hey, Warlock. Would you mind giving me a hand?” I ask and motion upwards with my hands.
“Oh, right. Yeah, no probs.” Paul says and then stretches his gloved hands out to either side.
I step back as the bus slowly lifts into the air.
“Thanks.” I call out, and then walk underneath the bus and reach up.
I grab hold of the front axle with both hands, and then will myself upwards. I raise my legs, so the bus is resting on my back, and then I fly upwards carefully. I hold my legs in place, and help balance the load as I climb higher. The piles of metal and junk recede as I climb higher. I will myself upwards faster, and in a few seconds climb to a few thousand feet. I check the position of the sun, and then turn slowly so that the sun is behind me, and then take off towards the west.
I’m gonna need directions.
‘Keep going in this direction for a while.’ Beth’s husky voice tells me inside my head.
I accelerate, and look down as I fly the bus west. Tiny cars, that look like ants from up here, are piling on to the freeways, and cramming the streets. Their day begins like any other. Whereas I find myself in full costume, flying a school bus towards the west coast, in search of a man I’ve never met.
Not to mention that my sister Jessica is a huge fan of the man who gave me my powers in the first place. As I fly, I begin to think about the whole crazy thing. Why did he give us powers? For what purpose? And why did he have to torture us first? So many questions. Well, he better be in the mood for talking, because I want some answers.
‘Turn left and head south. You see that thin blue line in front?’ Beth tells me in my mind after an hour.
Yeah, I see it.
‘That’s the Pacific, and the California coastline. We just need to keep that on our right for a while and head south.’
Okay. How’s Jess holding up?
‘She’s okay, just excited. She’s been asking all manner of questions about you.’
Uh, oh. Like what?
‘Just girl stuff. Nothing to worry about.’
Yeah, right. Now I’m worrying even more. How much further?
‘We’ll be passing by San Francisco soon, so not much farther, if you go faster.’
I can’t go too fast, Beth. This bus isn’t exactly a paper-weight.
‘But you make it look so easy.’
Thanks, I think. Uh, oh! What was that?
I hear something, something oddly familiar. I stop and listen carefully.
Yep, I definitely hear something. Sounds like a faint roar. Oh, no, it sounds like a jet engine.
Beth, can you hear any thoughts up here, other than ours I mean?
‘Yeah, very faint. You don’t think…’
Yeah, I do.
I pitch forward and plunge down towards the earth. Hang on up there! I tell Beth in my head, as I rocket towards the dark green below. I hope those are trees, I pray, as I fly down as quickly and as safely as I can. The roar of the jet engines is getting louder. Come on, Britney, fly faster, fly. I catch a brief glimpse of treetops, and a road, and then I’m down. I put the bus down and fly to the side of the bus and crane my neck to look up. Two jets fly overhead, around a thousand feet up, they’re heading north. I catch my breath, and wait for my heart to come back down from my throat. The others are now pressing their faces against the windows and gazing up. After a few seconds the fighter jets roar overhead again, this time heading southwest.
I close my eyes and take deep breaths. My danger warning thing isn’t going off, so I think we’re okay. I open my eyes and look at Jessica. She’s grinning from ear to ear, and gives me the thumbs up when she sees me watching her. Man, that was too close. I land and lean against a tall tree and begin to stretch. My back is beginning to ache, so I reach up with my arms and stretch sideways, and then lean forward and touch my toes. It helps a bit, but not much.
I walk over and knock on the bus door. Mitchell opens the door, and I climb on board.
“Everyone okay?” I ask.
“Ya, maan.” Paul says in a mock Jamaican accent.
“What happened?” Mitchell asks.
“Nothing, just our good Air Force buddies, again.” I say and smile.
“Well, I guess that answers the question on whether we show up on radar.” Stuart says, and reaches down into a holdall and brings up a can of Coke.
“Thirsty?” Stuart asks.
“Yeah.” I answer, and he passes me the lukewarm can. “Thanks.” I say, and take a seat while I drink.
“You think we were too high?” Paul asks Mitchell.
“Not sure. Maybe we should stay lower down, just to be safe?” Mitchell says and turns to me.
I swallow the soda pop gratefully, and nod in agreement.
“I saw a movie, where they said about staying below 200 feet to avoid radar.” I say and take another sip of my Coke.
“Yeah, but that was a movie.” Paul points out.
“It’s worth a shot. Unless you want us to get blown out of the sky?” Jessica says in response.
“Where are we anyway?” I ask as I look around at all of the trees.
Beth checks her cell phone for a few minutes.
“Okay, well according to my GPS, we’re somewhere in Yosemite National Park. There’s a small lake nearby. Just over there.” Beth says and points over my shoulder.
“So, the coast is on that side.” Beth adds and points with her left thumb over her shoulder.
“So, we need to go that way then, right?” I say and thumb to my left.
Beth nods in agreement, and I finish my drink. “Thanks.” I say and pass Stuart the empty can.
I climb off the bus and let out a small belch. It’s been about ten minutes, and I don’t hear anything except the birds around us. I hope that’s a good sign.
“Umm, Warlock? If you please.” I call out and point up.
Paul flashes me a grin, and then motions upwards with his white gloved hands. The school bus rises from the dirt, and I see the others begin to sit down. I wave to Jessica before walking underneath the bus. I grab the front axle again with both hands and fly upwards. I raise my legs again, and once I have cleared the treetops, I turn slowly until I am facing south, and then begin to fly over the trees. I climb higher as the tree line starts to climb up a hill towards a mountain range.
In a few minutes I pass over the mountains, and look down at the valley that stretches out before us. Trees riddle the landscape for miles in every direction, and up ahead, more mountains. I maintain my present height, and accelerate to the next mountain range. I stop and listen carefully, before carrying on.
After a few more mountain ranges, the trees start to thin, and I can start to see the dirt. The area up ahead is becoming more sparse, so I fly lower. After several minutes I can see a town up ahead.
What town is that, Beth?
‘Fresno. I think we better stay clear of towns. Head left for a few miles and then fly south again.’
I turn and fly east until I reach another mountain range, and then turn right and head back south. We pass Fresno after a few seconds, and I’m now flying over barren rock. I keep the mountain range on my left as I fly south, and after a few more minutes the mountain range ends and the area opens up ahead. I bank to the left and fly east for a while, as I see some large towns up ahead. Once I’m happy that enough distance is between us and the next town, I bank right and fly south again. I
begin to accelerate as my tummy begins to rumble. I’m hungry.
My mouth feels dry. The air is so dry and dusty here. I lick my lips, and then spit some dirt from my mouth.
As I fly south I see a much larger town up ahead to our southwest, no, not a town, a city. I see some skyscrapers, although they look like matchsticks from this distance.
I wonder if that’s Los Angeles. If it is, then it can’t be much farther.
‘We just passed Palm Springs, so take a right and head southwest. When you hit the coast, follow it south.’ Beth’s voice sounds in my head.
I make a slow turn, and aim for the thin blue line on the horizon. I accelerate until the wind is roaring in my ears, and the axle groans above me. The wind rocks the bus, and it bounces and slams against my legs.
“Ouch!” I let out, and so I slow down.
The edge of land ends abruptly, and I’m now flying over water. I make a wide turn and fly south over the azure blue water, while keeping the land on my left.
‘You see that golf course up ahead on the hillside?’ Beth asks.
Yeah.
‘Jessica says that Devlin’s mansion is not far from there. Do you know what it looks like?’
I think I do. But now that I’m here, I’m not sure if I will recognize it.
I fly in parallel with the hillside, and after a while the golf course greens end, and I start to see some hilltop houses. As soon as I see it, I know it’s the right house. On the hilltop overlooking the Pacific, sits an exact replica of Tony Stark’s house, complete with circular main building with plate glass windows, that show a one hundred and eighty degree view of the Pacific.
I fly towards it and head to the street side of the complex. There’s an empty area at the back of the property, which is fenced in on all sides, a wall on one side, and the building on the others, forming a natural sun-trap. I fly over and set the front of the bus down gently, then walk backwards and feed the bus through my hands until I am at the rear, and set the back of the bus down. The only sound is the waves crashing down below us, and some music being played nearby. The bus doors open, and everyone climbs out. I walk to them and grasp Jessica firmly by the shoulders.
“You will follow my instructions to the letter, or you will wait on the bus. Okay?” I tell her as I look up into her blue eyes, and she raises an eyebrow.
“I’ll be fine.” Jessica says.
“Stay near Paul.” I say, and then see him snigger. “But not too close.” I add, and then stroll over and look at the building.
It’s very quiet. Our arrival hasn’t caused any reaction yet. Maybe he’s not home, or he’s asleep.
“Well, I guess we should knock.” I say and saunter towards the large glass window which makes up almost the entire wall facing us.
“This way.” Beth says and walks over to the right. “This is the door, I think.” Beth adds and points to more glass.
Geez, there’s so much glass, it’s hard to know what’s a door and what’s a window. I see a steel handle, and try the door. It won’t budge.
“Locked.” I say over my shoulder.
“Wait.” Stuart calls out, then hurries forward.
He points up to a red light above the door. “It’s alarmed.” He adds, and then peers through the glass door.
I step back as he places his right hand on the metal door frame, and then holds his left hand up towards the light. His neat black hair stands on end and begins to shiver, as his hands glow blue.
“Cool!” Jessica blurts out, as Stuart’s hands glow a bright white, and then tongues of lightning snake out towards the light and door.
The tongues of electricity that go into the doorframe snake their way towards a small device on the wall a few feet from the door. Stuart’s shoulders flex, and then the electricity glows brighter. We watch as the red light goes dead. Stuart takes a deep breath, and then the electricity flows back to Stuart, and he absorbs it into his arms. He shakes his hands a few times as they return to normal, and then tries the door handle. There’s a wrenching sound, and a clang of metal as the door is forced open. We all take a collective breath and wait. No alarm goes off, and we all heave a sigh of relief. The last thing we need is the police poking around here. Stuart motions with his hand, and I step inside. I pat his arm and smile in thanks, then tense up as I walk inside Devlin De Marco’s house.
Twenty Eight
I tread slowly across the sandy colored marble floor. It’s smooth, and highly polished. It looks like the whole building is designed to contain and reflect light, and little else. There’s not much furniture in the circular hall where we come in. We climb some glass steps to the next floor.
This floor looks like it’s the main living area. A huge open fireplace is situated on one side of a huge cavernous room, but the fire is long dead. Just some black logs remain. Those are the only clues that anyone actually lives here. There are no photos on the walls, and the only furniture to be found, are two long beige leather sofas and a round glass coffee table.
I turn to Jessica.
“Are you sure he lives here?” I ask.
“I’m sure of it.” Jessica says and begins to walk around. “Time magazine did a spread on him, and I remember seeing photos of him in this house.”
Jessica walks over to the far right wall and pokes her head into the next room.
“That’s definitely his bed.” Jessica says and smirks.
I head over, as does Beth, and we both look into the next room. The walls are painted red, and in the center of the circular room, there’s a large round bed.
The covers are a shocking Barbie pink color, and look like they’re made of silk. Next to the bed, on the black marble floor, sits a pastel pink dog bed in the shape of a fairytale castle.
“What the hell?” Beth blurts out.
I enter the room and begin to search carefully. All I find is a walk-in closet, filled with all manner of suits, shirts and shoes, mostly in red, pink or white. I head out, and cross the living area to the other wall and look in the other room on this floor. I find Mitchell and Stuart standing and looking up at the wall. I walk in and turn, and stare up at what they are looking at. In bright Neon pink letters, which looks like they were hand painted, is the name Fifi. That’s not the weirdest thing. Beneath the name are hundreds of doggy sweaters, all arranged on floating shelves, while some have been fixed to the wall, as if proudly displaying them. I walk closer and examine one of them. It looks like it’s been hand-knitted. There are no labels. I turn, and there’s a huge cushion in the shape of a love heart in the center of the room, and nearby lies another dog bed in the shape of a pink castle.
“This is Devlin’s house?” Mitchell asks from within his motorcycle helmet.
“He really likes his dog.” Stuart says, and then begins to search the room.
“Nothing.” Stuart declares after a few minutes.
“Hey, guys!” I hear Paul’s voice calling from the main living area.
I exit the dog’s bedroom, and see Paul on the glass staircase. He points up, and I nod and fly over.
I follow Paul up the glass stairs to the next floor, as Stuart and Mitchell begin to climb the stairs behind us. Paul exits the stairs first with his white gloved-hands raised, and begins to walk slowly into the next area. This area is like a long circular hallway like a horseshoe, which double backs towards the Pacific view. I follow Paul along the right side, while Mitchel and Stuart head left. Paul walks along the hall towards the main view at the rear of the property. I spot an opening to the left, and tap Paul on the shoulder. He looks back at me and nods. Then he walks to the doorway and peers inside. He drops his hands and walks inside. I follow him in, and find what looks to be a bathroom, but wow, what a bathroom.
“Geez, you could swim in that bathtub.” Paul says, and then turns and walks back out.
I follow Paul out and we meet Mitchell and Stuart back at the stairs.
“Nothing?” I ask.
“Nothing.” Mitchell replies in his muffled
voice.
“I think I might have found something!” Beth calls out from below.
I fly down the stairs, and see Beth’s head materialize from Devlin’s bedroom door.
“In here. Look!” Beth says and I fly over.
I fly through the doorway and see Beth pushing the round bed to one side.
Underneath is a large square outline in the black marble, about four feet by three feet. I land and walk over, and kneel down and examine the outline. There’s a small cut in the black marble. There’s something under this, I can feel it.
“Paul!” I call out.
“Yo.” Paul says as he bursts into the room.
“Can you lift this section?” I ask and point to the square section of marble.
“Easy peasy.” He says and with one deft motion of his right hand, the section comes up, and Paul motions with his hand, and lays it on the round bed.
“Ha!” I exclaim as I see the trapdoor.
“It looks alarmed.” Stuart says and points to a keypad.
“Can you zap it?” I ask.
Stuart crouches down near it and places his hand over the keypad.
“It’s shielded. I can’t short it. If we don’t know the combination, we can’t get in without tripping the alarm.” Stuart says, and looks at me. “Sorry.”
Cosmic Girl Rising Up Page 31
