Chapter 5 - In Which Plans Come Through

Nothing really to say about this chapter, but, well, enjoy!

The Starr family (c) Werecat13

All other characters (c) Zopponde

Italics=thoughts
* * *=breaks
[these]=(these)




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Chapter 6-
Pulling through[/i]


Blake had called all the band members and briefed them on what was going on, and they all agreed. It was a good opportunity to find out why the newspaper and mail stopped coming.

On that Friday, June 13, the three left class when the bell rang and went out to the front of the building. There, they saw a covered wagon, pulled by small black horse, surrounded by many of the students who had never seen a wagon before. Although, there weren’t really any students who had seen one before, so it can only be expected that the students were so intrigued. Blake, Katrina, Krystal, Violet, and Haylay all stood nearby, waiting for Teu to come.

“Hey,” Teu said when she came out the front door. “Ready to go?”

“I brought a backpack with all I need, but a bit more ramen will do,” Blake said.

“I brought a week’s worth of clothes,” Violet said. “That should be enough, at least until I can shop for whatever else I need. I’ll assume they have enough food for us.”

“All I need is what I keep on me, but I brought some extra clothes to be sure,” Krystal said, pulling the straps of her backpack.

“I have all that I need,” Katrina added.

“I think I brought everything I need,” Haylay said, nervously pulling the straps of a stuffed large backpack. “Is it possible to go home just to be sure?”

“I don’t think so,” Teu told her. “If you all are allowed to come with us, I can’t say I won’t be surprised. It’d be about a miracle if they let anyone but me go to my home for supplies.”

“Well,” Blake said, checking the straps of his backpack and checking his combat boots, “let’s get this over with. Teu, they’re more likely to let us come if you go first.”

Teu nodded and approached the wagon, the band following in her wake.

The wagon was covered in pure white cloth, seemingly fresh out of the wash. Krystal could still smell the detergent. A boy of a similar age to Blake, probably a bit younger, sat in the front seat to drive the two horses that pulled the wagon. He had short brown hair, a straight posture, and a black shirt with jeans dyed black. His green eyes stared at Teu and the band as they approached, but no emotion ever crossed them.

Teu looked at the boy, cleared her throat, and asked, “Is this wagon here to take Teu Zopponde to the Central Sector?”

The boy nodded.

“May I enter the wagon with my friends?” she asked.

The boy paused, then said, “You were only allowed one friend to take with you. Not”-- he counted them --“five.”

“I will need a defense to cross the desert, will I not?” Teu asked.

“We will not be attacked by demons,” the boy was sure.

“Why?” Teu asked. “Why won’t they when they attack just about everything else that moves?”

After a pause, the boy said, “They won’t.”

“Yes, they will,” Teu persisted, “and I can hardly fight. These are some of the best fighters of Dimin Town. I do not feel comfortable crossing the desert without an adequate escort.

“The best fighters of Dimin Town, eh?” the boy asked, interested. “Well, I suppose we can make an exception. Keep in mind; they probably will not be permitted out of Sector A1. And if they are, they cannot turn back. They will not be permitted back to Sector A1. Probably,” he added, grinning, though his eyes did not change at all.

“We’re coming with her as long as we can,” Blake told him assertively. The other band members glanced at each other nervously, so Blake added, “Well, I am, anyway. They might be too chicken to tag along the whole way, but they’re coming with to the edge of the sector, at least.” A lack of confirmation from behind him made Blake sigh and add, “They’re coming to the edge of the sector, or they’re feeling the wrath of my flaming sword of death.” Everyone agreed except Krystal, so Blake added, “of doom.” Krystal grinned and said, “Sure, I just wanted to see how far you’d go.”

The boy smiled, and his eyes almost showed traces of that expression. “I suppose that since we’ll be traveling together, you should know my name,” he said. “I’m Peter. You are…?”

The band and Teu introduced themselves.

“Glad to meet you. I’ll be your guide as we cross the desert,” Peter said, bowing from the waist up. “We didn’t expect any more than two, so I guess you’ll have to walk along with us. But Lady Teu gets to ride up here with me,” he grinned.

Teu blushed. She had never been called a lady before. Blake glared at Peter as Teu climbed up into the seat next to him. Krystal noticed this and muttered to him, “A little jealous, are we?”

“Shut up,” he whispered back, “or feel the painful wrath of my flaming sword of death of doom.”

Krystal giggled.

* * *

The journey continued just like that for the rest of the day. Blake kept to the front of the wagon, constantly glancing menacingly toward Peter and Teu. Krystal kept in front of the horses that pulled wagon, Violet and Katrina walked on either side around the middle, and Haylay kept to the back, every so often lagging enough that the wagon had to stop several times to keep her from falling too far behind.

“You sure you don’t want to sit up here?” Peter asked several times. Haylay declined every time but the last one.

“Wow, I should have come up here when he first asked,” Haylay commented.

Blake cast a look that genuinely said, “If you say one single word, I’m going to kill you in the most horrible, painful way that I can think of at the time.”

Haylay squeaked and turned around to mutter, “If looks could kill, I’d be on the ground twitching with the wind.”

* * *

Finally, the sun came down, and Peter said, “Lets set up camp while we can still see well enough.”

He hopped down from his seat and put his hands together for a step for Teu to climb down on. Blake shoved him out of the way and crossed his hands to make a step. Peter shoved him back, and Blake kicked Peter in the shin, who winced a little before elbowing Blake in the ribs. Teu giggled, trying to say, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Haylay sat there and pouted because nobody was going to help her down, while the boys continued their scuffle. Finally, Krystal sighed and pulled Blake away by the ear and Peter by the arm. Teu climbed down by herself, then helped Haylay. As soon as Haylay was down, Blake came over to pull Teu away before Peter could get any closer. Teu giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Blake snapped.

“You,” Teu replied, still giggling.

“What about me?”

“Just, you.”

“Whatever. Why do you like that Peter guy so much?” Blake demanded.

“I don’t like him!” Teu protested, blushing slightly. She realized it wouldn’t work with him and admitted, “He reminds me of you.”

“How?”

“I don’t know, he just does.”

* * *

Around midnight, Arotu decided that the coast was clear enough to send his update to Oronagi. He found the device that humans called a “cell phone” that Oronagi had given him for communication purposes and called him.

There were a few long, low beeps before a scratching sound and Oronagi saying, “Who dares call me so late at night, when I think my best?”

Arotu grinned and replied, “This is Arotu, giving you the update that you requested for me to make daily, sir.”

“Ah, yes,” Oronagi said. “You’re late.”

“We have some complications, sir,” Arotu explained, “in the form of” he paused to count the escort “five humans. They claim to be the best fighters of Dimin Town.”

“What did you do with them?” Oronagi asked with an unpleasant tone in his voice.

“I allowed them to do as they requested, and follow with Miss Teu Zopponde, sir,” Arotu replied, adding, “because I thought that if I removed them from the town, they cannot help to defend it. And they were growing suspicious of my claims that we would not be attacked, sir.”

Oronagi paused, thinking about Arotu’s logic. Finally, he asked Arotu, “What do they know of you?”

“They think I am a human boy by the name of Peter, sir,” Arotu replied. “I do not know what else they think, but I sincerely doubt they know the truth.”

Oronagi paused, then finally said, “Good thinking. I will consider a reward for you upon your return. Good bye.” Another scratching noise followed, then the same low beeping from before.

Arotu pressed the red button that ended the beeping, then closed his eyes and thanked his many gods that Oronagi approved of his actions and prayed that the reaction would be similar in the future.

When he was finished, he realized that one of the humans was not asleep. He crept to the side of her sleeping bag and whispered, “Are you awake?”

The girl turned over to face him to reveal that her eyes were open, and Arotu decided that it was the one named Violet.

“No,” she told him, sarcastically, “I have my eyes open and talk to the people who talk to me in my sleep. Of course I’m awake! No thanks to you and that walking that you must think is quiet.”

“Did I wake you up?” Arotu asked.

“Yes, thank you for interrupting my good dream,” Violet retorted.

“My apologies.”

“Keep your apologies and get my bag, since you don’t seem to think that we can be trusted inside the wagon.”

Arotu obeyed.

“Thank you,” Violet told him. “I suggest you get some sleep. I have a bad feeling about tomorrow.”

Arotu nodded, climbed into the front seat, where he quickly fell asleep.

Violet opened her backpack and pulled out the framed picture of an old willow tree. She held it close and fell asleep with it in her arms.

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