Under Attack

by Katrina Kahler

The bell rang.

  "Let's get to the homeroom!" I told him.

  Nina Note: For a few seconds there, I did feel sorry for myself. I may have lost a friend due to her father being overly cautious. The thing was, I couldn't blame him. I am a unique being and trouble seems to find me. Either that or creatures that want to cause trouble seem to find me. But here’s the thing, I liked being me, I liked being unique. I wasn’t about to apologize for me being me. Nope, not one little bit.

  BTW…Jimmy is so sweet.

  Chapter 4: Another Surprise

  After the depressing start of the day, everything else flowed pretty normally. Sasha taunted me for losing a friend to her mother's organization. She blamed it on my bad breath. Oh...how I wanted to make that girl think she was a chicken. Instead, I told her she was just jealous that her mom thought more of me than she did of her. Yeah, it was a low blow. But sometimes I have to go low. Besides, I had only spoken the truth. That actually made me feel a little sorry for Sasha. I guessed we all had our problems to deal with. Just like Dad would say, problems make life interesting.

  Of course, the most interesting part of the day was after school when Dad greeted Frank and me at the door. Dad hardly ever left the lab during work hours. He loved tinkering down there.

  “Okay, what’s wrong?” I asked Dad the second I saw him standing in the hallway.

  “You know how you’ve always said you want to go to Africa?” Dad said.

  “I’ve never said that,” I told him.

  “I don’t think I have either,” Frank said. “Though I do forget most of the stuff I do say!”

  “Well, you should say it!" Dad told us. "Africa is an amazing place." A wide smile spread across his face. “It may very well be the cradle of human civilization!”

  “Cool!” Frank said. “I like cradles!”

  “You’re going somewhere with this Dad?” I prompted.

  “Your cousin, Vinnie," Dad said...like I should know what that means.

  “I need more, Dad,” I was getting frustrated.

  “I saw that movie once, it was funny,” Frank said.

  “Yes, very underappreciated movie,” Dad told Frank. “I laughed and laughed.”

  “Guys!” I said. “Stick to the matter at hand. Who is our cousin, Vinnie?”

  “Have I never told you about him?” Dad asked.

  Crossing my arms, I replied. “Apparently not.”

  Dad held his hand out in front of him. “He’s a short, stocky man with dark black hair. Good guy.”

  “Dad, what does any of this have to do with Africa?” I asked.

  Grandma Thorn, my ghost grandma, appeared behind me. “Be patient, dearie, your dad is very excitable!”

  “Cousin Vinnie lives in Africa!” Dad said as if I should have known that.

  “Ah, okay,” I said slowly. “Now how does that affect us?” I asked.

  “He wants us to visit him!” Dad said excitedly. “He wants us there ASAP!”

  Frank grinned. “I love ASAP!” He paused. “What about school?”

  “Your mom will talk to the principal, he will give you a week or two off,” Dad said. “Your mom can be very charming.”

  I loved the idea of taking a vacation in Africa. I could see large cats like lions and leopards! Being half weretiger meant I’d have a nice connection with them. At least I hoped and thought I would. But then something came to mind. “Wait, Cousin Vinnie wants us there ASAP?”

  “That means As Soon As Possible,” Frank whispered to me.

  “I know what it means,” I told Frank. “Let me guess this isn’t a vacation type of vacation?” I asked Dad.

  “Define vacation?” Dad said.

  “We relax and take our time as we tour the country. Sleep late, eat great food, maybe go swimming…” I said.

  Dad thought for a second. “Well now, all that stuff could very well happen.”

  I expected more. I didn’t get more. I needed to draw this out of him. “But it’s not the main focus of our vacation.”

  “Very good, honey, you catch on fast!” Dad replied.

  We stood there looking at each other. Dad smiling. Frank smiling. Me frowning.

  Dad leaned towards me. “I detect you aren’t happy.”

  “I’m just confused,” I said.

  “About?” Dad asked.

  “Why are we going to Africa?” I shouted.

  “Cause that’s where Cousin Vinnie lives,” Dad said.

  If it had been anybody else, I would have thought they were intentionally trying to drive me batty. But in this case, I knew this was Dad being Dad. He just assumed I should know stuff I didn't know. I guess he expected me to learn via mental osmosis.

  “Take a breath or two, dear,” Grandma Thorn said. “My boy doesn't mean to be so dense. His brain just works at a different level than most.”

  “Right,” I said. I took a couple of breaths. I counted: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. “Now Dad, please tell me why Cousin Vinnie who lives in Africa needs us to go there?”

  Dad’s eyes popped open. “Oh, I should have led with that!” he said. “Cousin Vinnie runs an animal reserve in Kenya for endangered or wounded animals where they are cared for.”

  “That’s nice,” I said.

  “What’s not nice is the reserve has been raided by poachers, but local security won’t help because they’re scared,” Dad said.

  “What are they scared of?” I asked.

  “Yeah?” Frank asked.

  They fear the poachers are supernatural and backed by witch doctors," Dad said.

  I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “How soon can we be there?”

  “We leave tomorrow morning!” Dad said. “I told Vinnie it will take us one or two weeks to get to the bottom of this mess and clean it up.”

  “Sounds good,” I said, anxious to help. “I’ll tell Ruby goodbye. I’ll miss her, but she can take notes for me at school.”

  “Nope,” Dad said.

  “Pretty sure she can,” I said.

  “Wait for it,” Grandma Thorn told me.

  “I’m sure she can, but she won’t be able to. Your mom is over at Ruby’s house now, convincing Ruby's parents to let her go with us. That girl knows a lot about animals and the supernatural. She'll be a valuable member of our team."

  Not a second after Dad said that, Ruby came rushing into our house.

  “Oh my goodness! Did you hear? I’m going to Kenya with you!” Ruby jumped up and down. “It's going to be soooo amaaazing!!!” More jumping, “I am glad your mom insisted that I should get a passport when we first met.”

  “She did?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Ruby told me. “Your mom said that I need to be ready in case my brain was needed!” She paused and frowned. “Oh, no, no, no…I don’t have a visa for Kenya.”

  “I’m sure you can use our credit card,” Frank said.

  “No not that kind of visa, the kind of visa that gives you permission from a government to enter the country,” Ruby replied.

  “Don’t worry!” Dad reassured her. “Cousin Vinnie says he has connections with the Kenya government. He says our visas will be waiting for us at the airport.”

  Ruby jumped up and down again. “Good! Good!! Good!!!! Since I am already packed,” she said, pointing up the stairs, “come on, let’s go pack for you!”

  “I’m on it!” I said with a huge smile on my face.

  I felt excited about traveling to Kenya with Ruby and my family. I’d get to meet new relatives and help them and the animals out. The only downside was that Jimmy couldn’t come.

  “Does Jimmy know?” Ruby asked me as we entered my room.

  “I haven’t told him,” I replied.

  “How are you going to tell him?” Ruby asked softly.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw a message from Jimmy.

  JIMMY> I hear ur going to Africa.

  NINA> Wait? How do u know? I just found out literally a minute ago. />
  JIMMY> My mom told me

  NINA> How did she know?

  JIMMY> Her agency saw the alert for ur visas…

  NINA> Wow, they r connected…

  NINA> Sorry, u had to find out that way

  NINA> I was going to tell u ASAP

  JIMMY> I know my mom is happy about it

  NINA> Wish u could come

  JIMMY> No way my mom would let me do that. Actually, she is more like giddy

  JIMMY> She’s humming ‘happy days are here again’

  NINA> I am coming back

  JIMMY> U better!!!!

  JIMMY> Mom’s calling me…txt me from there!

  NINA> U bet!

  JIMMY> Have a gr8t time!!

  I thought about sending Jimmy a kissy emoji but decided not to.

  “Jimmy knows,” I told Ruby.

  “Wow, good news travels fast,” Ruby said. She thought for a second. "Oh, his mom must be so happy."

  “You got it!” I said. I tossed open my closet and pulled out my suitcase. “Now let’s get packing!”

  Grandma Jasmine appeared behind me. She pointed to a pair of yellow shorts in my dresser drawer. "Here, wear these. They look so good on you and besides, Africa is always really hot."

  "Thanks," I said pulling the shorts out. "Why do you care?"

  “You are my granddaughter, what you wear reflects on me,” she said. She laughed. “Your clothing choices show how well I raised your mother.”

  Ruby lifted a finger to say something.

  Grandma Jasmine pointed at Ruby. “Agree with me, or I’ll make you think you’re my pet poodle.”

  “I do agree that those shorts are really cute. But I respectfully disagree that the way Nina dresses reflects on you. I believe the way she reacts is a bigger indication of how she was raised,” Ruby said. She closed her eyes and then darted behind me.

  Grandma Jasmine stood there with her arms crossed. "Good enough. I will let that pass." She moved to the shoe area of my closet. She shook her head. "First off, all plastic shoes are out. They are too cheap. They make your feet sweat too much." She grinned an evil grin. “Though you should wear plastic shoes when traveling through the airport tomorrow. After all, it’s silly they make everybody remove their shoes! You can blast them all with stink foot.”

  “Wait, wouldn’t that also reflect badly on you?” I asked.

  Grandma laughed. “Not if everybody in the airport passed out. That would be a cool and acceptable use of your power.”

  “I’ll wear sandals tomorrow,” I told Grandma Jasmine.

  “Girl, you are no fun!” Grandma Jasmine said. “I love flaunting our power over regular humans.”

  “Guess that’s why we are different,” I told her.

  She rolled her eyes. “Kids today!” she moaned. She pointed at a pair of sandals on my closet floor. “At least take those. They’re really cute!”

  "Grandma, why are you here?" I asked. "I know it has to do with more than clothing choices!"

  “You are smart like me,” Grandma told me. “I just want you to be open to new possibilities…”

  “I’m always open,” I said.

  Ruby peeked out from behind my shoulder. “Yeah, she is!”

  “I mean…when it comes to boys or young men. You are bound to meet some different ones. Ones who are not related to vampire hunters,” Grandma Jasmine said.

  “I’ll keep an open mind,” I told her.

  Grandma Jasmine smiled then poofed away.

  “Wait, will you?” Ruby asked.

  “I just said that to make my grandma leave us alone!” I told her.

  Nina Note: Wow, I was going to Africa with my family and my best friend. It was going to be so exciting. Sure, Jimmy couldn't go, but like they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. I guess I'd learn if that were true. At least my absence certainly seemed to make Jimmy's mom happy – so some good had come of this – HA! Plus my Grandma J seemed excited about my possibilities in Africa. Not sure why but I'd rather have her excited than angry.

  It would be fun to meet my cousins in Africa. Also, we’d be helping animals out. Good times ahead.

  Chapter 5: An Introduction to Africa

  The trip to Kenya went pretty smoothly which happened to be a pleasant change of pace for me. At the Capital City airport, I did get a little nervous about taking off my shoes. Thanks to Grandma Jasmine, I had become a wee bit self-conscious about that. I had a vision in my mind of my stinky feet dropping everybody at the airport. Well, everybody except for my mom since she was a vampire too. Even though I was wearing sandals, even those could make my feet sweat when I was nervous.

  I used my charm power to convince the security people that I could randomly keep my shoes on. I saw they let a few other people do it, so I figured why not me. After all, my pair of shoes was much more dangerous off than on.

  The plane to Kenya was huge. Bigger than any plane I had ever been on. Mom and Dad sat up front in first class. Mom insisted that if she couldn’t fly herself to Kenya, then she had to go by first class. Dad agreed. I do believe Dad really enjoyed the comfort of being pampered as he is part cat.

  Of course Frank, Ruby, and I had to fly coach, the cheap seats in the back part of the plane. Dad said it was to build character. Mom said they didn't want to spoil us. Frank and Ruby were just happy to be on the plane. I felt a little envious; after all, I am part cat also. But then Ruby calmed me down by telling me how lucky we were to be going to Kenya. Not many kids from our country got that chance. We would get to see an entirely new continent. Ruby has a way about her.

  Just as I started to enjoy the movie on the flight, the kid behind me started kicking my seat. I turned and asked him to stop. He stuck his tongue out at me. I told him to go to sleep. He slept through the flight. I think his parents and I were both super happy. Sometimes it's good to be me.

  After landing in Kenya and passing through customs and immigration, we were met by Cousin Vinnie himself. He was a short, stocky man with dark hair just like Dad had said.

  Hugging my dad, he sounded super emotional, “Cousin, it’s been too long!”

  “It sure has!” Dad said, hugging him back.

  Vinnie looked at Mom and bowed. “You are even more beautiful than the day you married this lucky loser,” Vinnie said.

  “Thank you,” Mom said. She was clearly impressed by his compliment.

  Vinnie looked at Ruby. He pointed. “You…you must be Nina.”

  As Cousin Vinnie walked towards her with open arms, Ruby pointed to me and grinned. Cousin Vinnie changed course and hugged me. "Forgive me, my dear, for not knowing. I suppose I have not been a very good second cousin. My life has been occupied by animals. They need protecting now more than ever."

  “That’s why we’re here!” I told him, as he gave me a big bear hug.

  “Good, my bus is in the parking lot!” he said.

  Walking out of the airport, the warm African air hit my face. “Welcome to Kenya!” Cousin Vinnie sang out. “Truly a beautiful country. I want to keep it that way.”

  We all piled into Cousin Vinnie's big truck. Dad and Vinnie sat up front. Mom and Ruby sat in the back. Frank, and I sat in the pickup area of the truck. Cousin Vinnie had bolted three seats in there.

  As we drove along, the African sun started to set.

  Somehow, it seemed brighter than the sun in Lowville. Even though it was evening, the wind and breeze still felt as warm as the middle of the day back home. Of course, the trees were awesome creations of nature; they lined the road like guards protecting us.

  "Ah, the air smells good here!" I said.

  “The air smells good at home too!” Frank said.

  “True, but this is a different kind of good,” I told him.

  “Fine, I’ll give you that.”

  As we drove, we listened to Mom and Dad talking with Vinnie. Vinnie, like each member of our family, was a little different. In Vinnie's case, he had the ability to fix anything. Didn't matter what it was, if he had a to
ol, he could fix it. His wife, Val was a healer. Her touch could fix all but the worst wounds or diseases. Problem with her power was, it drained her, as she had to absorb the disease into her own body. She only used her power when there was no other way. Right now, she was in bed recovering from helping one of the lions on the reserve that had a nasty gun wound from a poacher.

  Vinnie told us these poachers did not look, act, or smell like regular poachers. They felt for sure that some magic was involved.

  “Uh oh,” Vinnie said. We felt the car slowing down. Looking up the road, I saw it was blocked by three police cars. I sensed this wasn’t right. Something felt off.

  “There is never a roadblock on this road at this time,” Vinnie said. Funny thing, they let all the other cars pass. But the second they saw Vinnie’s truck, one of the police walked to the middle of the road and held up a stop sign.

  Vinnie rolled to a stop and rolled down the window. “Can I help you, officers?” he said with a smile.

  “We understand there has been a report of poachers in this area!” a muscular officer said.

  Vinnie nodded. “Yes, it was my report.”

  The office thrust a finger in Vinnie’s face. “Don’t get wise with me!”

  The other officer said, “We're looking for people out of the ordinary! People who shouldn’t be here. People who stand out.”

  “I am Vinnie Thorn, I run the animals reserve a kilometer down the road,” Vinnie said with a smile.

  “Sure you do,” the first officer said. “That’s what they all say.”

  A third officer looked in the car. “You got ID?”

  Vinnie looked at the man. “Robert, you know me. We play chess together on Tuesdays.”

  “Sure we do!” the officer said shaking his head.

  I didn't like the sound of this. Surely these men should have recognized Cousin Vinnie, but they didn’t. I got the feeling they were being controlled by someone or something.

  The officer thrust a finger at Vinnie. “Show me your ID!” he ordered.

  Vinnie started to reach into his back pocket.

  The officer pulled out his gun. “Freeze!” he shouted.