by C C Daniels
“Don’t worry. I’ll be her shadow.”
A slight warning squint, she nodded her okay, then put her eagle hen eyes on me. “Don’t be too long.”
“I won’t.” I kissed her cheek.
Knowing what I had to do, I walked away quickly.
“Wray, slow down!” Amaya insisted.
I didn’t. But she caught up. My fast pace forced me to breathe quicker. Shallow inhales, or distance from other brains? I wasn't sure which quieted the voices in my head but was grateful for the relief. From the consciousnesses left, I could easily pick out Amaya’s and Kanaan’s. However, I couldn’t make out what they were thinking. Another thing to be grateful about.
When we were about to turn the corner toward Amaya’s street, MawMaw finally pulled out of the Pancake House parking lot. She always waited a few minutes after she started a car. She said it was to give the engine time to circulate the oil, even though Uncle Jun told her a million times that it wasn’t necessary with modern cars. There he was pulling out behind her and following her home, no doubt shaking his head about the delay.
About a block in on Amaya’s street, I brought up my plan. I knew there’d be a fight and wanted to have it before we got there. I have to destroy it.
“The apple?” Kanaan power walked with his long strides.
“Yes.”
“You can’t!” they both shouted at the same time.
“Watch me.” I broke into a run for Amaya’s garage with the two of them right behind me.
“Wray! It isn’t yours to destroy.” Kanaan easily caught up and loped along next to me.
“Finders, keepers,” I said.
I barged into the unlocked garage and stopped in my tracks—my jaw hung low and loose. The once half-dead ficus tree in the window was lush, the leaves thick and green. The once skinny philodendron with maybe six leaves on it now ringed the room with several branches of sumptuous vine. It looked like a tropical jungle. Kanaan was as dumbstruck as me.
Amaya squeezed past both of us to get through the door. She grabbed the skull that sat out in plain sight on the coffee table.
“Amaya! What the hell happened?” I demanded to know. “Why is it just sitting there for anyone to see?”
“Or steal,” Kanaan said.
Amaya hugged the skull to her. “I just experimented a little before school.”
I turned around to look at all the plants again. Then, I noticed that the fish in the tank had tripled in size. “A little?” I said.
“I put some of the sparkly dust in the tank,” she said.
I was beyond livid. “We don’t know the ramifications of that dust.”
“We know it healed my brother,” she shouted back.
Heat rose in my eyes.
“Shhh.” Kanaan shushed both of us. “Keep your voices down.” He urged me farther into the garage and shut the door behind us.
“How did you explain this to your parents?” he asked Amaya.
Her attention went from my eyes to her fingers. “They haven’t seen it yet.”
“We need to get rid of the evidence before they do.” I started to unwind the vine.
“Why?” she asked indignantly. “They’re Ute, too, Wray. They have a right to know about this. Ms. Savage did say it belonged to the Nuutsiu.”
“Not yet, Amaya. We’ll wait for guidance from the elders.” Kanaan softened his voice.
I softened my tone too. “Have you forgotten about the men in black with guns?” And the woman they work for who wants to dominate the world?
Kanaan paused. He stared wide-eyed at me.
So did Amaya. Her jaw had dropped. “What?”
I hadn’t intended to say that in mind speak, but it was just as well they knew. “I picked up that thought from the man in black at the Pancake House.”
“What? When?” Kanaan shouted at me.
“When she was mind-bending him.” Amaya moved to the trunk. “That’s why he ran screaming at her.”
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” I felt Kanaan’s disappointment in me.
“My head was so full of noise at the Pancake House. I heard everyone’s thoughts,” I said, but it wasn’t enough for Kanaan.
I thought you trusted me. He was hurt.
“I’m sorry.” And I was sorry I hurt him and Amaya. Still, I knew even then that I would keep certain things from them—from everyone. I had to.
“So, who is this woman who wants to rule the world?” Amaya huffed, glaring up at the ceiling in exasperation.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t able to get that deep into his mind, but he was absolutely terrified of her.”
One great, big exhale, Amaya put the skull down and went to her dad’s tool room— little walled-off alcove next to the kitchenette. She lifted his hacksaw from the pegboard and started to hack the poor ficus tree apart.
Kanaan reached up and began to rip down the philodendron.
With both of my friends focused on the plants, I saw my opportunity. I quietly took a hammer from the tool alcove and, holding it behind my back, I made my way back to the skull. Then, as fast as I could, I raised the hammer over my head and brought it down with all my might.
Even before I made actual contact, the scream was unreal. Totally unnatural for this world. Like an enormous living gong.
Tiny pieces of the skull shattered and splintered around the room. Amaya and Kanaan protected their eyes. I did the same. Then, the scream stopped and all was quiet.
Kanaan stumbled over to me and took the hammer. But it was too late. It was done. The skull was destroyed. All that was left on the trunk-turned-coffee-table was a sliver of the jaw.
My oldest friend, speechless and tears in her eyes, looked at me with a loathing I hadn’t felt from anyone ever—not even her mother. I shrank from the hostile vibe she put out.
“It was too dangerous,” I said. “People we love would have been killed for it.” That the men in black killed my parents was a thought I made sure to keep walled off. I had no proof. I certainly couldn’t tell the authorities I had mind read tattooed man.
All around the garage, tiny splinters of skull sparkled and disappeared into thin air. I nodded, firm and sure, glad it’d no longer be an issue or a threat. Kanaan lowered himself to the couch. He rubbed his forehead with both hands. Amaya knelt on the floor and sobbed.
“That wasn’t your decision to make, Wray.” Kanaan frowned at me.
I stood tall. I didn’t regret it, not for a second. The jaw section on the trunk was the last piece to sparkle. I expected it to disappear just like the other shards.
Instead it started to vibrate as it sparkled, lightly at first. But it quickly quivered faster and faster, violently bouncing around on the coffee table.
Both Kanaan and Amaya jumped up. Brighter and brighter the sliver sparkled. The three of us backed away to the edge of the kitchenette. The jaw shook wildly springing high into the vaulted rafters of the garage ceiling.
“It’s going to explode,” Amaya cried.
The light shone so bright that we had to not only squeeze our eyes tight, but also shield them with our hands. We scooted into the tool alcove and held on to one another, waiting for the explosion that was certain to kill us.
Then the noise just stopped. It didn’t tapered off. It was abruptly gone. I opened one eye a sliver and peak between my fingers. The light was gone too. All three of us opened opened eyes in the complete silence.
“Are we dead?” Amaya whispered.
I shrugged with a tilt of my head. How did I know how death felt?
Slowly, we released one another and turned around. The walls of the tool alcove still stood. Kanaan right behind me, I took the three steps back to the kitchenette. What I saw was impossible.
There on the coffee table trunk was a totally regenerated skull. From that tiny sliver of jaw, it had thoroughly and completely healed itself. Amaya squealed with delight. She raced past me and Kanaan. His eyes were huge, and his jaw hung open, almost to his chest.
I just glared at it. At that moment, the skull was my enemy.
Kanaan put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed in joy. I shrugged him off me and shook my head in disgust.
Amaya danced around the garage, hugging the skull to her as if it were her favorite teddy bear. She turned and smiled triumphantly at me.
“This.” She rubbed the shiny head. “Is meant to be here.”
“This”—Kanaan walked over and took it from her—“needs to go to the elders.” He set it back on the trunk daring her to take it again.
I didn’t know who or what the skull was. What I did know was that I hated it. At the same time, deep down, I admitted to myself—at least—that I was in total awe of its mysterious resiliency.
“We’ll get rid of it soon,” Kanaan said for my benefit.
But even then, I knew I’d never be rid of it.
Kanaan took the hammer back to the tool alcove. “Let’s get this place cleaned up,” he said, going back to work tearing down the philodendron.
With one eye on me, Amaya picked up the hacksaw and turned to the ficus tree. Except for my own thoughts, there was silence in my mind. Neither of their thoughts were whispers in my head anymore.
My attention went to the skull, wondering if the scream and bright-light regeneration had anything to do with that, or if the Taser energy just wore off.
The ripped-down foliage was piling up. From under the kitchenette sink, I grabbed several trash bags. We worked fast cleaning up the jungle that Amaya had grown in mere hours. They hacked and sawed. I stuffed the bits and pieces in to the trash bags and took those bags to the big rolling bin behind the garage.
The entire time the skull put out its vibe, the same calming vibe I had felt in the Garden the morning I found it. Not found it, I corrected myself—it lured me to it. Instead of calming me, the aura that filled the garage made me angry.
Stop it, I hissed at it mentally. And it did, though, not immediately. The vibe turned sad, like I had hurt its feelings, and faded away.
The greenery down and dealt with, the three of us stared at the fish in the tank.
“We could set them free in Fountain Creek,” said Amaya.
I shook my head. “They might contaminate the native fish, the water, the soil —”
“Okay, okay,” Amaya said, exasperated.
“We have to kill them.” Kanaan placed his hands on his hips.
Amaya whimpered. “My poor little fishies.”
“What if they don’t die?” I said suddenly panicked. “What if the plants don’t die but sparkle and grow spreading like weeds and take over the trash dump?”
“I’ve thought about that,” Kanaan said. He took two ficus leaves out of his back pocket. “I’m going to take these pieces home and see what happens to them.”
I nodded at him and turned to Amaya. “Can you be the one to put the dumpster on the curb on trash day?”
“I’m sure Dad won’t mind if I do,” Amaya said.
“If that stuff grew by trash day—” I blew out a breath, because I didn’t have a clue what we’d do if it did grow.
“Call us,” said Kanaan. “Now.” He stepped towards the fish tank. “It’s time to meet your maker, big little fishies.”
He lifted the lid off the tank and took the netted scoop from the hook on the side of the stand.
I grabbed the big vintage Blockbuster popcorn bowl from the kitchenette.
Kanaan looked at me. “Ready?”
I nodded. He scooped one fish out and into the bowl. Amaya cried as we watched it flop around for several long minutes. When it stopped, I slid it out of the bowl onto the kitchenette counter and held the bowl for the next one. So it went for all four of the skull-dusted überfish. The tank empty, we looked at the fish on the counter.
“Put one back in,” I said. “Let’s see if it’s really dead.”
Kanaan scooped the first fish we killed into the net and put it back in the tank. It sank at first, and then floated to the top.
“Aspen looks pretty dead to me,” Amaya said.
“Aspen?” Kanaan squinted.
Amaya nodded and pointed to the other fish on the counter one at a time. “That’s Piñon—as in piñon pine, Scrubbie—as in scrub oak, and Woodie—as in cottonwood.”
“Why trees?” I asked.
Amaya shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I like trees.”
Five minutes passed and Aspen was still dead. “Okay,” I said relieved. “Now we’ve got to chop one of them up.” Amaya grimaced.
“We have to see if they sparkle back to life.” The words sounded incredulous to my own ears.
She went to the tool alcove and came back with a small hatchet. Handing it to Kanaan, she walked away. “I can’t watch this.”
Kanaan positioned Scrubbie on a cutting board and turned his head. With a quick whack, Scrubbie was cut in half. Then we waited and watched. Even Amaya watched over her shoulder.
“We could sprinkle him with sparkly dust,” she said.
“No!” Kanaan and I both said.
We watched poor Scrubbie for a good ten minutes. Nothing. I let out a long sigh of relief.
Kanaan nodded toward the tank. “What about the water? It could be tainted.”
I shook my head no. “I don’t think so. If it were, Aspen would have come back to life.”
Kanaan nodded. “Good deduction.”
He hoisted the heavy tank onto a shoulder, brought it to the kitchenette, and dumped the water down the drain.
My phone chimed. “Hey, MawMaw,” I answered.
“What is keeping you?” she said. “Are you okay?”
“Amaya and I just started talking, and time got away from me.”
Kanaan put the fish down the drain and ran the disposal. Both Amaya and I grimaced.
“I heard that. What’s going on?” MawMaw demanded.
“Kanaan just did something gross,” I said with complete honesty.
MawMaw sighed over the phone. “Wray Sky, a gunman followed you to a restaurant today, and you’re acting like nothing happened.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I’ll be right home,” I said.
“Now,” she said. “But don’t walk alone.”
“Okay. I won’t walk alone.”
“I’ll walk with her, MawMaw,” Kanaan hollered toward the phone.
Satisfied, she hung up.
Amaya dug out the hair paint I needed while Kanaan and I put the tools away and cleaned up the kitchenette. Amaya tenderly picked up the skull and cuddled it.
“Nope, nope, nope.” Kanaan crooked his finger at her. “Give me that.”
Amaya hung her head but handed over the skull.
He took it, stuffed it in his backpack, and zipped the flap shut in the nick of time.
Chapter 23
Mrs. Bell charged into the garage.
Nonchalantly, Kanaan slung the pack on his shoulder.
“It’s time to come inside, Amaya,” Mrs. Bell said softly to her daughter. She wouldn’t look at me.
“I’ve got to go anyway.” I grabbed my own pack, which I had dropped at the door when we got there, stuffing the pot of hair paint in the front pocket. “MawMaw’s waiting for me.”
Mrs. Bell nodded once. “You should be at home after what happened.” She still didn't look at me. Instead, she pulled Amaya by the shoulders and nudged all three of us out of the garage closing the door behind us.
“I’ll see you at the parade tomorrow.” Amaya smiled.
That smile worked wonders on me. I smiled back—even at her mother who stuck her nose in the air and gave me her back—excited about the parade in spite of all that was going on in the rest of my life.
When Kanaan and I came around the corner of my street, we saw Uncle Jun and Honaw between the barn and the Lykota camper assembling the travois.
All along our route, as we passed by, horses in the neighborhood had expressed their dislike of the skull, just like before. Ella was no exception. S
he made more noise the closer we got. Her whinny traveled all the way down the block.
“What in the Sam Hill has gotten into you?” Uncle Jun tried to calm her.
I touched Kanaan’s arm to stop. “It’s the skull. She doesn’t like it at all,” I whispered. “Can’t say that I blame her.”
We backed away. Once we were around the street corner, Ella stopped her racket. “I’ll walk alone from here.” I eyed his pack. “Where are you going to put the apple?”
“I have a spot in mind,” Kanaan said vaguely.
Tattooed man’s dire words would not leave my mind. We can’t let them or her—whoever she is—get it, I thought to Kanaan.
“I won’t let anyone near it,” he said
“Don’t even tell Honaw where it is,” I said.
“I won’t even tell you, just in case you try to whack it to death again”
“I’m not going to apologize for that.” I kicked at his pack. “That thing is a threat to the world.”
“Okay, don’t you think that’s a bit melodramatic?”
I crossed my arms. “Does it get any more dramatic than an odd skull regenerating itself from just a sliver of a jawbone? Actually, gunmen shooting up my house and hitting my grandmother might count. Oh, and let’s not forget my sudden telepathy and a crippled boy’s miraculous cure.”
“All right, all right, points all taken. You’re the boss on this.”
I relaxed putting my trust in Kanaan. “Thank you.”
He tucked a wayward strand of my hair behind my ear and left his hand there. “Promise me no more secrets,” he said.
I didn’t know how to respond. I couldn’t promise him that, and I knew if I did, it’d be a lie. It didn’t feel right to tell MawMaw’s secret to anyone. Fortunately for me, Kanaan’s mind had already moved on. He leaned in to kiss me, just a quick little brush of our lips.
He pulled back but didn’t remove his hand from the side of my face. I felt the heat from his fingers and from his mind. You should go now, he thought. Grabbing both sides of his collar, I gently tugged him closer. He didn't fight me, just let me kiss him.
And I did. I kissed him until he gave in and kissed me for real. Only then did I step away. “Bye,” I said to his dazed expression and darkening eyes. I felt his intense focus on me, following me all the way to the barn. I turned to wave and smile.