Just as before, the villagers came rushing up to them in packs, stopping what they were in the middle of doing and exiting out of their houses to come and see Gumptin and the next Protector he had brought back to Orcatia.
As a large number of villagers began to approach Avery glanced over at Jade. She wondered how Jade was going to react to them, knowing full well Jade barely tolerated people, especially not strangers, and definitely not strangers who were all crowding around to see and talk to her.
“Well I’ll be damned,” a burly villager wearing a dirt stained smock and carrying a rake, spoke to Jade, “if it isn’t Jade Kai come back to haunt us.” He smiled broadly and clamped Jade on the shoulder.
Jade grimaced, but made no move to shove the villager away from her.
A pudgy older woman, with a thick mop of gray hair piled atop her head, wearing a pink and white striped dress with a red apron, and smelling sweetly of cinnamon and flour, pushed her way to the front of the crowd and laid a giant bear hug on Jade. Jade’s eyes got as wide as a startled horse’s.
“Oh, come here, you little rascal.” The woman said, still holding on to Jade tightly. Avery recognized her as the woman who had come running out of Bott’s Apothecary & Sweets.
Jade didn’t hug the woman back, but again she didn’t make an attempt to get away from her either. Avery smiled to herself as she realized Jade was trying to be polite. This was a rarity for Jade, so it showed Avery just how much Jade was willing to do to follow Avery with the whole Protector thing.
“Didn’t they feed you on Earth?” The woman said, releasing Jade and running her hands over Jade’s shoulders and arms, pinching at her flesh, “Why, you’re nothing more than a splinter.”
That was it for Jade; the small amount of tolerance she was attempting to display had begun to fade. She stepped away from the woman and out of the reach of her flesh pinching fingers.
“I eat just fine, thanks.” Jade told the woman, smiling tightly and trying not to make her voice sound too clipped.
Avery was perfectly happy standing back and watching Jade’s uncomfortable interaction with the villagers when a familiar face in the crowd caught her eye. It was the boy who had hugged her when she had first came back. The very first person she had seen on this planet. Avery motioned for him to make his way up to them. She was grateful for the familiar face even if she didn’t know anything about him. Something about his laid-back countenance and gentle smile made Avery feel at ease around him.
The boy smiled and made his way up to stand off to the side of Gumptin. Avery noticed it was the furthest spot he could stand away from Jade without looking too obvious that he was trying to avoid her.
“Jade,” Avery said, getting Jade’s attention away from the other villagers, which Avery could tell by Jade’s look she was grateful for, “I want you to meet…” Avery stopped as she realized she had no idea what the boy’s name was.
“The name’s Pip.” The boy told Avery, seeing her confusion, “I work over at the stables with Thomas, my boss. I’ve been taking care of village’s, including the Protectors, horses for over half my life.” He smiled brightly while speaking of the last part and Avery could see the pride behind his eyes.
“Hey.” Jade said, sticking out her hand for Pip to shake it.
Instead of taking Jade’s hand, Pip shook his head and laughed, “Never thought I’d see the day when ya’d offer to shake my hand. Truth is you ain’t too fond of me, never have been.” Pip laughed harder at Jade’s disconcerted face, “In fact, last time I ever saw ya, ya threw a stable brush at my head for putting your saddle back on the wrong rack.”
Jade shrugged one of her slender shoulders and threw Pip a baiting smile, “Sounds like a perfectly reasonable thing for me to do. Get it right from here on out and I won’t throw things at you.”
Pip laughed even harder, “Good to see your attitude wasn’t lost along with your memory.” He reached out and took Jade’s hand, which was now resting on her hip, “Good to have ya back.”
“Hmmm,” Jade said, leaning in to whisper in Avery’s ear, “I can see why I wasn’t too fond of him before.”
After shaking Jade’s hand he placed his hand on Avery’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, “If ya need anythin’ I’ll be over in the stables.” As he took off, he turned back around and shouted, “I’ll see ya later, Avery!”
It startled Avery to hear Pip say her name with such familiarity. Part of her wished she could remember Pip, Gumptin, the sweet smelling lady who liked to hug Jade, and all the other villagers, but another big part of her didn’t want the memories, knowing that on top of everything else they might just cause her to curl up in a little ball and refuse to move.
Jade grabbed Avery by the shoulder, shaking her out of her deep thoughts. She turned Avery towards her and gave her the, ‘Get me the hell out of here’ look.
Avery decided that before Jade got past just conveying meaningful looks to her and went straight to yelling at people; she would take Jade someplace private away from swarming villagers.
Avery told the villagers she was taking Jade away to get some air and then took her over to the two small wooden benches on the outskirts of the village where Gumptin had attacked her with the knife. When they reached the benches Avery took a seat, taking in the quiet of the forest behind her, happy to be away from their overzealous greeters. Jade paced back and forth in front of Avery, refusing to sit down.
“So, how you doing?” Avery asked, already knowing the answer.
Jade stopped pacing and sat down next to Avery, “Well, everyone seems to know me and that’s weird. Plus, there was way too much hugging and touching for my liking, but,” she took a deep breath in, “at least it’s not a trailer park.”
Avery nodded, thinking back on all her horrible memories of Rebel Moon Trailer Park.
“So,” Jade said, looking around the village, “which one of these freaky tree-house things are mine.”
“Ummmm…” Again Avery had no clue.
Even when she had first seen the giant trees with their windows and doors, the idea that she had actually lived in one of them had completely escaped her. Before Avery had a chance to let down Jade again with her lack of knowledge involving their life on Orcatia, Gumptin came up and interrupted them.
“You two done holding hands, yet?” He asked them brusquely, “We have got to go back and get the others.”
“This should be fun.” Jade scoffed, standing up, “They’re not gonna believe this in a hundred years. Especially Sasha, that girl’s more stubborn than I am, and that’s saying something.”
Avery thought about it for a second, “You know,” she said, “I think we should try a different tactic than I did with you. I say we just get them to the park somehow, we’ll lie to them, and then once they’re there, we’ll show them Gumptin and the Ora Gateway.” Avery could foresee hours of mindless explaining if they talked to each girl individually, “Then, even if they try to argue we’ll have Gumptin there to point out the gateway and explain the truth.”
Jade nodded her head in agreement to the plan, “Plus, that way, if they try to make a run for it, we can just push them through the gateway.”
“Brilliant!” Avery beamed, wondering if they’d actually have to pull off that last part of the plan.
The landing back on Earth wasn’t any smoother than the landing on Orcatia had been. The only difference was this time Jade made sure to pick herself up off of the ground fast enough to avoid Gumptin falling on top of her.
“So, where to first?” Jade asked, once they were all up and situated.
“Well,” Avery said, hesitantly, “I was thinking we’d stop by your place first.”
Jade looked at Avery suspiciously, “Why?” She asked.
“That way we can split up and get things done faster.” Avery tried to sound convincing, but Jade wasn’t having any of it.
“You just want to split up so you won’t have to go get Sasha!” Jade accused Avery, nailing her m
otivations on the nose.
“No!” Avery shouted, trying to look offended and make her lie seem believable.
“Don’t even try to play me; I know you too well.” Jade told her, “Besides, you’re the fearless leader, don’t you think it should be your duty to retrieve your followers.”
“Hey!” Avery huffed, annoyed that Jade was already bringing the leader detail into her arguments, “I’m not leader on Earth; I’m just Avery. Look, you know Sasha won’t put up as big of argument with you. She’s too scared you’ll punch her! Plus, Bunny annoys you anyway. I’ll go pick up Bunny and Skylar and you get Sasha.” Avery knew she had Jade right where she wanted her at the mention on Bunny’s name.
Jade sighed, “Ugh, that girl does get on my nerves for some reason.”
“Also,” Avery said in a sing-song voice, “you’ll get to ride your big noisy bike around Sasha’s snooty rich neighborhood.”
“Dammit!” Jade yelled, genuinely upset that the idea of riding her bike for maybe one of the last times ever, mixed with pissing Sasha and her uppity neighbors off, made it impossible for her to say no.
Avery smiled and turned to walk towards her parked car, but stopped abruptly when she realized Gumptin was following her.
“Where do you think you’re going?” She asked him, placing her hands on her hips in an authoritative stance.
“With you, of course.” he responded, looking at her like this was well known information.
Avery laughed mockingly, “Oh, no, you’re not, not this time. You saw how well that worked with Jade. No, this time you’re going to wait right here until we get back.”
“Wha…what am I suppose to do while you are gone?” He stuttered, acting very put-out.
Avery shrugged, “Why don’t you hide behind a tree…you’re good at that.”
Avery could hear Gumptin quietly fuming to himself from behind a large tree as she and Jade got into her car.
After Avery dropped Jade off at her trailer, she drove down the highway until she reached Main Street. Once there, she took a right and drove down the town’s central fairway. She passed all the small shops, the bakery, the hardware store, the town’s one doctor’s office, and her mom’s flower shop. Avery noticed that her mom’s car wasn’t parked out front, which was unusual for the time of day, but she didn’t have time to dwell on where her mother might be.
After driving a few more blocks, Main Street turned into a small suburb area. It was there that Avery made a left, passed five houses, and then stopped at 113 Tumbleweed Dr, also known as Bunny Claiborne’s house.
Bunny’s house was a red brick two-window building, with yellow shutters and door. It was smaller than most of the other houses on the block with only two bedrooms and one bath, but what it lacked in size it made up for in character. The entire front yard of the house was basically one giant garden. There were carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberries secluded in a soil bed on the right side of the front yard. Pruned citrus trees offered blankets of shade over the entire front yard. There was a cobblestone pathway leading from the street to the yellow front door, entirely lined with rose bushes of every color blooming big and bright. The left side of the yard held a small white bird bath in the shape of a crescent moon and was surrounded by a carpet of perennial flowers. Bunny had always had the most extraordinary green thumb. She tended to and kept every single plant alive year-round, no small feat in the blistering Arizona summers.
It was only Bunny and her mother that lived in the house. Although, no one really knew Ms. Claiborne that well, not even Avery and she was over at Bunny’s house all the time. Ms. Claiborne mainly stayed in her room when she wasn’t working as a file clerk at the city courthouse. She hardly ever spoke, even at work. In fact, the most she usually said to Avery was, “What would you like for dinner?” or “See you later, dear.” Admittedly, Bunny’s mother was a bit of an enigma, but then again, so was Bunny.
Avery got out of her car and walked up the cobblestone path to the front door, breathing in the scent of the flora as she did. She rang the doorbell, which chimed a whimsical little tune and stood there waiting. A little tabby, one of Bunny’s many cats, purred and rubbed itself along Avery’s legs, and Avery knelt down to stroke it. As she was petting the purring cat she heard the door open. When Avery looked up she saw Bunny’s smiling face staring down at her.
Bunny was tall and thin with straight chestnut brown hair that fell to her shoulders, which she always wore in a braid with shaggy bangs covering her wide forehead. She had sun-kissed skin, crystal blue eyes, and a bright easy smile that always made Avery happy just to see it. Bunny was all limbs, long legs and arms, but despite that she still managed to move with a slow grace. Avery assumed it was because of Bunny’s artistic soul. Bunny loved anything to do with the arts; she drew, knitted, gardened, painted, and played the flute. She was the studious one of the group. The one the other girls came to when they either needed help studying, or more likely, their homework done for them.
Avery had always considered Bunny to be one of her closest friends, even before she knew about their shared destiny. It was during one of their group playgroups, when they were about five years old, and Avery had stolen Bunny’s Rainbow Brite lunchbox, and Bunny had swiftly whacked Avery over the head with a plastic sandbox shovel, that a connection had been formed between them. From that day on they never went more than two or three days without seeing each other, even during the summer.
Avery thought of Bunny as a sweetheart, quieter and meeker than the rest of the girls; the one she needed to protect, but there was also a darker side to Bunny that not many people besides Avery got to see. For instance, once in junior high when Avery was walking with Bunny to her house after school, Alex Marquez had ridden up next to them on his bike and began poking fun at Bunny’s new haircut. Bunny acted as if it didn’t faze her, but after Alex had finished with his teasing and sped up to ride away, Bunny picked up a rock the size of a lemon and pitched it at the boy. It hit his wheel, denting it, and sending him flying over the top of his bicycle, splitting his head open on the cement, and requiring fifteen stitches to close him up. The whole thing had freaked Avery out, but Bunny didn’t seem bothered in the slightest by it. To this very day it was a secret that Avery and Bunny shared. Everyone else, including Alex Marquez, just assumed he hadn’t seen a large rock in the road, hit it, and flipped his bike.
“Avery,” Bunny said, fixing her bright smile on Avery, “were we suppose to do something today?”
It wasn’t at all unusual for Bunny to forget whether she did or didn’t have plans. It was another characteristic that Avery attributed to her artistic soul, her flightiness.
“No.” Avery answered her, standing up and shooing the small tabby cat into the house.
“Alright,” Bunny said, not sounding the least bit fazed by Avery’s answer, “do you want to come in?”
“No,” Avery shook her head, “I really don’t have time.” Avery thought it was best to just tell Bunny outright what she wanted her to do. After all, she might get lucky and Bunny would say yes without any question. That way, she wouldn’t have to muddle through some terrible lie that she was sure Bunny would see right through anyway, “Bunny, could you do me a favor and come with me somewhere?”
“Come with you where?” Bunny asked, curiosity spreading over her face.
So much for getting lucky. Avery still didn’t want to take a lying approach, so she decided to beat around the bush, “There’s something I want to show you in the park by the school, I just can’t tell you what it is right now.” Avery saw curiosity turn to suspicion in Bunny’s eyes, so she quickly added, “It’s a surprise!”
Bunny stared at Avery silently for a moment, and then she shrugged, “Whatever,” she said, “it beats staying here.”
Avery sighed, that was so much easier than it had been with Jade. Of course, Bunny still didn’t know the real reason Avery was abducting her, but that was a technicality. Avery should have known that Bunny would be an
easy sell. It was in her easygoing nature.
After Bunny had gotten her purse and locked up the house, Avery told her, “Oh, by the way, we have to stop and pick up Skylar.”
Bunny shrugged again, “Whatever.”
Avery only hoped that Skylar would be as easy as Bunny.
Skylar Bavol resided in one of only two apartment complexes in the entire town, Cowboy Palace Luxury Apartments, the nicer of the two. It only took them three minutes to reach their destination. When they got there, Avery parked the car under the pink plastic parking-lot awnings. Bunny opted to stay in the car and read.
As Avery swung open the white metal gate that led into the inner apartment complex, the smell of chlorine from the gated swimming pool smacked her right in the face. She walked over to the rusty green iron staircase and climbed it up to the second floor. Avery knocked on door number 12B and a moment later Skylar’s mom answered.
Skylar’s mother was a tall woman with shoulder length blond hair that stuck out in every which direction. Ms. Bavol made a living by reading people’s palms, tea leaves, and tarot cards. In the sixth grade, she had read Avery’s palm and predicted that she would be a strong leader for good one day. At the time, Avery had thought it had been a cool prediction, but knowing what she did now, she realized it had been less of a prediction than actual knowledge…sneaky woman. Most of the town thought Ms. Bavol a bit of a nutter, considering she went around town passing out chakra beads, hugging trees, and organizing solstice parties. Despite all this, Avery found her completely likeable. Granted, Avery thought she might have been certifiably crazy, but she was a genuinely good person with something nice to say about everyone, and Avery admired that, just so long as she stayed away from her palms.
“Avery, my dear girl,” Ms. Bavol exclaimed, wrapping her wispy arms tightly around Avery, “I just knew you’d be here soon. You have seen your true path laid out beneath your feet and now you walk it. Destiny waits for no one.”
Avery pulled back and stared up at Ms. Bavol. For a moment Avery thought she was just spouting out some of her new-age self help jive, but then Avery realized she was actually talking about being a Protector. She knew their parents had all their memories from living on Orcatia, but she wondered why Ms. Bavol would bring it up now.
The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga Page 9
