“Hey, wait for me.”
Back at my house, Amy made us peanut butter and banana sandwiches that we devoured with delight.
“So let me get this right. The two of you plan on watching old anime, playing video games, and keeping your dad up all night with loud rock music?”
“Well, not exactly ma’am. Those are some of the things we plan on doing, but my dad has wall duty tonight so even if we were loud it wouldn’t be an issue.”
“So you’re saying that no one is going to be at home? I don’t know. Maybe the two of you should stay here tonight.”
“My dad is making veggie pizza tonight though. I promise there won’t be any boys, parties, and we won’t get in any trouble Mrs. Weatherford (Both of my moms kept their last names when they got married).”
“What about the incident at the school and the time at Mr. Sota’s birch tree?”
“Mom!”
“It’s alright Em. Better she knew the truth than to think badly of me. I did climb up on the roof of the school building when I first came to Alpine. I had a lot on my mind particularly my brother who died a couple months prior to that. As for Mr. Sota’s prized tree, I did break a few of the branches on accident. I had to climb up it to retrieve my cat who seems to like getting me in trouble.”
Amy’s mouth was partially gaped open with a loss of words. She looked down at her feet with a forlorn expression.
“I’m sorry Sandra. I have other things on my mind. I was obviously venting by over examining issues that I had no real knowledge of. I just worry that the two of you will end up getting in trouble like I did at your age. If I had known the specifics of the times you got in trouble, I would never have mentioned them as they were clearly situations that I find more than acceptable. Ember can stay the night with you if she wishes. And Sandra...you’re welcome here absolutely anytime.”
Amy turned around starting to walk off.
“Mom, wait.”
As she turned around, I threw my arms around her giving her a huge hug. “If you need someone to talk to about anything, you know I’m a good listener. Love you.”
She smiled kissing me on the forehead. “Thanks sweetie, but I’ll work stuff out. You two go have fun. Don’t be too loud so the neighbors don’t complain.”
“Yes ma’am. Can I have a hug too?”
Sandra being goofy while intentionally trying to annoy me gave Amy a hug. During her hug, I was standing directly behind Amy. Sandra made ridiculous facial expressions implying sexual connotation with her eyebrows.
“Sandra, I’m going to kill you later just so you know,” I quietly whispered to her receiving a tongue stuck out at me in reply.
“What sweetheart?”
“Nothing mom. Just telling Sandra that we should get going.”
Walking to Sandra’s house, I made sure to punch her in the arm. Her defense was that Amy was an apocalyptic supermodel with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and a figure that insisted you hug it tightly. I punched her again, which only made her laugh. Later that night after a delicious veggie pizza, Sandra’s dad left for his eight-hour shift on the wall.
“So, what do you want to do now? We’ve been playing Super Mario Cart, forever.”
“Hmm, well I never did tell your mom we wouldn’t sneak out.”
“Funny, Sandra. You did say we wouldn’t get into any trouble.”
“Right you are, but we can’t get in trouble if we don’t get caught.”
“What? You’re being serious? Jess would simply look at me and know I did something. I would be grounded for a month even if she didn’t know what it is that I did.”
“Come on! Just one adventure before I have to start working every day for who knows how many hours. We may not get to see each other that much after that.”
Anyone who has ever been in my situation knows how it is nearly impossible to simply say no to someone that you have a crush on. Sandra was also right that we probably would not have much time to spend together pretty soon. I knew this might be my only chance to actually tell her how I felt about her. For that reason, I decided to follow her wherever she led me.
“Fine, where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Sandra unlocked her dad’s gun cabinet (she knew where he hid his keys). Neither of us were strangers to most weapons, including guns. Learning how to use them at an early age is pretty much a prerequisite in the world we live in. We both took semiautomatic pistols with silencers (extremely important to use silencers so that if you have to take down a Fallen, you do not attract more of them from the sound of the gunshot). We geared up like the few times we had been outside the walls with adults. We both had small backpacks we loaded with canteens of water, food, medical supplies, and other survival items. First rule is to be prepared for anything, which includes the inevitable or unlikely to occur. We strapped on knives to belts opposite the holsters that held our guns. Last, we checked each other over making sure that neither of us had forgotten anything important.
We snuck out into the night with an almost full moon overhead. A light gust of wind made it slightly chilly, but that passed as we ran to the south wall hiding when necessary. We waited for twenty minutes laying on the ground in the shadows of an old oak tree before the south wall patrol passed by. Ten minutes later, we were over the wall making our way through a small wooded area in the direction of Mt. Ord. As we neared a clearing Sandra slowed down appearing out of breathe likely for my benefit. We both sat down at the edge of the trees. After a couple minutes resting I noticed we were sitting so close that our arms were touching. We both turned at the same time looking at one another. Seemed like we stared into each other’s eyes for an eternity. She broke that eternal stare by leaning in towards me. The next thing I knew we were kissing. My first kiss could not have been more perfect in this place under the moonlight. We both seemed lost in thought until we heard a loud snap of a branch behind us. Both of us jumped up preparing to draw our guns.
“Sorry to interrupt ladies. I know you were both simply enjoying a tender moment, but it is time to get back inside the wall. I was going to give you more time, but there are about a dozen Fallen heading this way so move your asses now!”
We both knew that voice from the first word she spoke even though her figure was hidden in the shadows. I have no idea how long Jessie had been following us, but at hearing what she told us, we both shot off back in the direction of the wall.”
Suddenly from our right side, we could hear something keeping a steady pace with us.
“Keep going, I’ll take care of them.”
I knew the instant Jessie said them that there were several very close. At the speed they were moving, they could only be intelligent Fallen that were on our trail.
That is something I previously forgot to mention. There are two types of Fallen. The first kind are the normal ones, which make of the majority. They are slow, cumbersome, and much easier to dispatch. The second kind being kind of rare are what we refer to as intelligent Fallen. They are fast, unpredictable, often lurk in the shadows, have heightened senses, capable of recognizing dangers such as guns (occasionally fleeing when they perceive a threat they cannot overcome), and some of them are still capable of comprehending speech (understanding it, but not speaking it). It is uncertain why this type of Fallen are so significantly different from the others, but they are extremely more dangerous.
I turned my head back for a moment as I kept charging forward. Jessie stood in an area where the light of the moon shone through a gap in the trees. The wind was blowing her long black hair all around her. Her slender, yet muscular features stood out as the moonlight shone on her pale skin. Standing six foot tall brandishing a Japanese sword that I had never seen before made her appear formidable for anything that crossed her path. She was smiling, but in a scary way unlike I have ever seen in my life. There was not a single doubt in my mind that the Fallen chasing us would never see another undead night. Continuing to run, Sandra tripped on the root of a lar
ge tree. A Fallen suddenly appeared a couple feet away from her. Its flesh was torn open exposing an empty cavity where it’s organs including the heart should have been. It quickly jumped onto Sandra’s back. It was inches away from biting her when I pulled the trigger on the gun I had drawn the moment it appeared. I shot it in the head knowing it was the only way to make sure that it was permanently put down. I helped Sandra to her feet before we started to run even faster to the wall.
-2-
Safely back at Sandra’s house she changed out of the shirt that had dirt and some blood on it. We then patiently waited in the living room with only a lamp on for light. We had put away the guns before putting everything else back in its place. We sat comfortably close slightly shivering while holding hands on the black suede loveseat until a quiet knock came at the front door. We quickly widened the gap between each other on the small couch.
“The doors unlocked Jessie,” Sandra squeakily blurted out.
The door opened dramatically slow as Jessie stepped inside standing on a floor mat. She had a straight-faced parental glare hidden under the massive blood splattered all over herself.
“There were more out there than I thought or maybe they called in reinforcements. I’m extremely lucky that I made it safely back to the wall. Did either of you come across any trouble?”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” I quietly said staring down at the floor since looking her in the eyes was unbearable.
“Good. I’m glad you are both safe. I’m actually more relieved than upset with the two of you. However, I will not be able to keep this from Amy or Sandra’s dad. I will of course not be sharing all of the details such as what you two were doing out there in the first place since I’m unsure how Frank would react to that information. If the two of you are going to start seeing each other, you will eventually have to tell him, but that is something the two of you can do when you’re ready. Anyway, you both realize there will have to be a punishment, right?”
“But we didn’t do anything wrong mom!”
“No buts, young lady. You both went outside the wall. You both went at night. You both went in a smaller group than is allowed. Neither of you were given permission. There was absolutely no supervision. None of those rules are light suggestions that you have any right breaking. Those rules are in place for the entire community for a reason. Do you understand?” Her voice rose a little during her last sentence.
“Yes ma’am,” we both replied.
“Now come here and give me a hug. Both of you.” We quickly ran over to her. “I’m glad you are both safe. I was scared to death that one would sneak by me hurting one of you or worse.”
Looking up at her, I saw tears running down her cheek as she hugged us. At seeing the tears, I began to cry. Sandra had already started silently crying thinking of her narrow escape with the Fallen before we made it to the wall. She knew exactly how close she had come to losing her life. After a few minutes, we all calmed down. Sandra and I both apologized profusely hoping our punishment would not be extremely horrible.
“I suppose it is a teenage rite of passage to get into some kind of mischief,” Jessie laughed lightly. “I will come up with something for a punishment that should satisfy the others, but also not keep the two of you apart. I’m definitely not going to be that kind of parent. How do you two feel about mowing yards and picking up trash all over town for the next three months?”
“Three months? That is a really long time. I’m supposed to have community placement exams in a week.”
“Yes, I know and Ember has school. That is why I am going to suggest weekends for the next three months.”
“But I won’t know what days I will have off from training or any idea of my schedule.”
“Sweetheart, you realize who you are talking to, right? I’m the one who decides your placement. I decide your schedule. Am I correct in the assumption that you are planning on dating my daughter?”
“Umm, I hope to. That is if she wants to. The whole point tonight was kind of so she would know I felt the same way she did.”
I was definitely blushing and Jessie had a big goofy smile on her face after Sandra’s spoke.
“Well then, your initial placement is simple. I’m going to personally work your butt off to make sure that you can defend yourself in any situation. That way you can protect yourself and my daughter if necessary. It will be in the guise of my assistant learning the ins and outs of running this town. It means that you will also learn the expectations and duties required by others employed in every position around town. In doing so that will open doors to almost any position you eventually choose to take after I’m done training you. Starting on Monday at ten in the morning, I will come pick you up. Your day ends when Ember gets out of school. You will walk her home, spend time together, have dinner at our house, and then I will take you home at ten at night. That will be your schedule Monday through Thursday. The rest of the week you have off to do as you please. However, the first three months you will also be working weekends for your punishment of course. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes ma’am, it is very much acceptable. I promise I will do my best.”
“Glad to hear. Just one more thing. I have a favor to ask the both of you. Can I trust that you are not going to attempt to leave again tonight, not going to set the house on fire, or anything else I should need to worry about?”
“I’m too exhausted to cause any more trouble tonight mom,” I said with a slight smirk.
“Perfect, because I need some sleep after a hot shower. I am not sure my heart could take the exertion twice in one night. Be sure to clean yourselves off. Looks like some blood got on your clothes from hugging me. Night girls.”
We both gave Jessie hugs regardless of transferring more blood onto our clothes. She left locking the door on her way out. We both changed into our pajamas since we were exhausted. Sandra looked down from her bed to where I just laid down on a pallet on the floor.
“You know you don’t have to sleep down there, right?” I looked up at her somewhat afraid to move. “Come on I promise I won’t bite.” She scooted over to one side as I crawled up onto the bed. She leaned over quickly kissing me. “Night beautiful.” She wrapped an arm around my waist snuggling up close to my side.
Lost in happy thoughts I heard myself reply, “Goodnight Sandra.” I drifted off into sleep with the most wonderful dreams.
Around four in the morning I awoke with a start covered in sweat. My heart was beating extremely fast. I could not recall the exact details, but I had horrible nightmares about a huge storm and one about a horde of Fallen.
My sudden start in bed while Sandra still had her arm wrapped around me woke her as well.
“Everything alright?”
“Just bad dreams. Go back to sleep. I’m going to go grab some water. Maybe put on a DVD in the living room.”
“I’ll sleep on the couch while you watch a movie. I have been having a reoccurring bad dream of that Fallen that nearly bit me. I would rather not be alone. Thanks by the way for saving my butt.”
“No prob, maybe our next date won’t involve so much danger or the unwanted company of Fallen.”
-3-
The next couple of months went by pretty uneventfully. I got to see Sandra after school. We made an adventure of the weekends mowing yards and picking up trash. She got to learn all kinds of things from Jessie, some of which made me jealous from the stories she relayed. Sandra was in decent physical shape when she began working for Jessie and mowing yards. Now she resembled a toned athletic tanned goddess. The fact that she was even more attractive now did not escape my attention.
At the end of our punishment, Sandra decided that she wanted to tell her dad that we were dating. I was there for the whole spectacle. We held each other’s hands tightly while he cursed, yelled, and threw a full glass of tea at a wall shattering it everywhere. He told her that she needed to move out by the end of the week. He made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her after th
at. We left walking back to my house in silence. Amy was the only one home when we got there. Sandra almost immediately broke down into tears telling Amy everything that had happened. Amy did her best to comfort Sandra as she wept uncontrollably in her arms. After mildly calming down, Amy gave her a pill telling her to go lay down in my bed. Whatever was in that pill knocked her out quickly. Amy told me to watch over Sandra while she ran a few errands. She came back a couple hours later carrying Ally who was mewing softly. A small group of people followed in behind her carrying all of Sandra’s personal belongings. They quietly moved everything into our guest room leaving shortly after.
“Any problems getting her things?”
“Let’s just say Frank’s temper was put in check. He didn’t choose the right words when Jessie and I showed up at his door.”
“Oh my god! Jessie went too? That couldn’t have ended well.”
“I was about to slap the crap out of him for what he said, but Jessie beat me to it with a swift right hook. He ended up on the floor with a bloody nose. It was a good thing others were there to restrain Jessie or it would have been worse. Frank ran inside calling Emmett over at the Police Station. Him and a couple other officers arrived while we were still calming Jessie down. After hearing the story from both sides, he started laughing so hard he could barely stand. The look Jessie gave him stopped the laughing fairly quickly. He held up his hands in a gesture of no offense intended while shaking his head. He stated the reason that he was laughing was that the best cook in town had just been knocked on his kisser by a surprise dish of whoop ass. His comment created a small snickering amongst the group. He approached Frank who stood alone by his front door. Emmett told him that Sandra’s things were going to be removed from the premises. He asked Frank politely to identify anything not in Sandra’s room that belonged to her. Frank was whining, but did not argue after Emmett mentioned that Jessie and I would not be allowed inside his house. While they began moving things outside for us to load up, Frank still standing at the front door with Emmett asked him what was going to happen about him being assaulted. Emmett told him that if he had been there at the time, he would have personally held the others back while Jessie beat the living tar out of him. He then told Frank that although he could formally file a report for physical assault; the likelihood of anything other than it possibly going on Jessie’s perfect record were slim. He also made it clear that Jessie could file verbal assault on a public official. He threw in the fact that the words Frank had used could possible spread amongst the population, which would make him more enemies than friends. Frank hurriedly decided not to press charges or his luck.”
Through the Eyes of the Phoenix Page 2