Jasper fell silent, his inner thoughts wrestling with belief and blunt disbelief. He wanted to have confidence in the truth, but would he even be able to recognize truth when it was right in front of him? The only things he trusted in this world were his relationships with his aunt, his girlfriend, and his horse. What a mess I am. Okay, God, please help me. I'm a pawn in the fight between good versus evil and I'm going to hedge my bets that you’re going to win this one. I don’t even want this fight to be mine. I didn’t ask for it, but here it is; so help me, please, and thank you.
Did I just say a prayer in my head? Jasper let the thought sink in, and for some reason unknown to him, it produced a wave of peace that swept over his emotions, and a welcoming calm came upon him. Was it God, or was it the remnant of Bell inside him?
For the next hour and a half they didn't really do much talking, and yet they were comfortable in the quiet company of each other. No words needed to be said. It wasn't a retreat into isolation or remote solitude. Jasper and Stacy knew each other well enough not to have to speak what was on their minds. They had shared this type of soulful connection for a long time; it was a heart-to-heart connection.
The car eased down the road, and before long they found themselves on I-69 crossing into Fremont, Indiana. Soon they would pull into the rest stop around Angola for a break. Thunder was looking like his bladder level was up to his eyes. He moaned and moved between the windows side to side like a two-year-old doing the famous “I got to GO!” potty dance. It would be a good thing to get out of the car and soon. Besides, Stacy's temper was heating up due to the number of times the radio and the laptop would seemingly go fuzzy at the same time as if experiencing an electrical short simultaneously. She thought perhaps her laptop charger might be malfunctioning or her Wi-Fi hotspot created by her smart phone was interfering with her efforts to consume data. Slow data speeds were the bane of her existence.
Stacy began to read from the computer screen. “What I dug up on your 'birth place' is amazing. There seems to be a Civil War link between Allegan, Michigan, and Jasper, Indiana. Lady Enlow named the city 'Jasper' after refusing the commissioner's offer to let it be named 'Eleanor' after her. She used a passage out of the Bible to name the city. Revelation 21:19, ‘And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones...the first foundation was of Jasper.’ Her family came up from Kentucky; they had been next-door neighbors to the Lincoln family. Lady Enlow was reported to be the midwife at the birth of Abraham. The Enlows bought the mill that sat off of the Patoka River, and the village that sprung up around it became known as “Enlow's Hill.” In 1830 the Enlows donated 80 acres for a city to be developed out of the village and the state made Jasper the county seat.
“Don't you see? This somehow fits. Your name is Jasper Indiana, and yet you live in Allegan, Michigan. General Pritchard lived on Davis Street in Allegan, and he was the one who would follow the orders of President Abraham Lincoln and use his horse and sword to capture Confederate President Davis at the end of the Civil War. You are following in the general's footsteps put in motion by Bell. You have the horse, and maybe this key unlocks the location of a sword? Your last name could really be 'Pritchard' for all we know. Somehow this connects like a circle. There is no such thing as a coincidence. Hey, do you think the missing sword from General Pritchard's statue could be found at your birth place? Did you know that the union soldiers also captured President Davis’s horse? They killed it, brought it back to Allegan and buried it somewhere near the Pritchard estate as a trophy?”
“Ahhhhh! My head is spinning. Are you saying this was all somehow planned or even arranged? The general's sword? Come on, that is a stretch, even for you. Vandals maliciously took that sword from the courthouse lawn. Hey, do I get points for using that big word, ‘maliciously’? I can't even spell it, but I know how to use it.”
“Oh, you’re so cute.” She blew him a kiss. Stacy unplugged her laptop and placed it on the floor by her feet. “Rest area in one mile, woot!” Stacy pumped her fist in the air, happy at the thought of getting out of the car for some much-needed relief.
They pulled off the road and into the rest area, unaware that the black SUV that had been following them for over two hours had pulled in just three parking spaces away from them. It crept up to the curb, engine still running, lurking. It was sinister in that most pedestrians never even saw it; hypnotically, everyone looked the other way. It finally came to a complete stop. From inside the school bullies Lester and Ned continued to wait, watching Jasper’s and Stacy’s every move.
CHAPTER six
Before the car had even come to a complete stop Stacy’s hands were moving quickly to release her seat belt. Her death grip was on the door latch. “You're going to have to put that leash on him…I'm not sure if Thunder will take being a dog that well with all the rest of these mutts around, but good luck with that because I have to GO!” Stacy whipped open the car door and ran toward the restrooms.
“Thunder, come up here, boy,” Jasper said over his shoulder as he patted the empty passenger seat with the palm of his hand. Thunder leaped from the back with a little too much zeal and crashed head-first into the dashboard. “Thunder, you okay? Come here, buddy,” Jasper said in a light and playful voice. “Now you and I need to have an understanding. Surely if you can be part wonder horse and I can be part wonder boy we can have a meeting of the minds. I need to hook you to this leash because we are in a public place, and you need to behave and walk orderly at my side. I will escort you to the doggie walk area and you will do your business. After you have completed your performance, then I will bring you back to the car and then take care of myself. How does that sound, Thunder...fair enough?” Jasper looked into Thunder's eyes for some form of acknowledgment. He then reached his hands to both sides of Thunder's head and pulled their heads together, humming in a low tone. “Okay, I think I have gotten my message across to you...let's hook the leash like so…and let's go.” Jasper opened his car door. Thunder instantly leaped across his body and out onto the pavement. Thunder bounded straight forward toward the dog walk area. Jasper was pulled from his seat out of the car and on top of the pavement. Jasper hit the ground so hard he saw blinking red blurs out of the corner of his vision. He lost his grip on the leash, and Thunder was off running away like a nervous rabbit. “He had better be chasing a squirrel. Ouchy! That really rang my bell,” said Jasper with wounded disbelief.
At first Thunder thought it was a game. He raced up the sidewalk. He looked over his shoulder. What was that noise he heard? Looking over his shoulder and running faster with each glance, he heard it again and again, a noise that kept banging behind him. He ran in fear, as if an invisible enemy was chasing him. Jasper stood up and brushed the dirt off of his pants. “Oh, that stupid dog...or better yet, stupid me,” Jasper said in frustration. “Why did I think that would work, Bell? Trial and error has never hurt this much.” Jasper moaned as he rubbed the small of his back. He looked up and saw Thunder. What is that crazy horse doing now? Jasper said to himself.
Thunder was running wildly through the rest stop at this point, continually looking over his shoulder, trying to identify the enemy that chased him and not realizing that the noise was from the plastic casing on the leash handle bouncing up off the pavement with every running leap he took. This would be a very funny scene if Thunder was just a dog. Jasper had to stop his poor horse before he hurt himself. He knew just what to do, but the timing had to be perfect. Many people were watching and laughing. Thunder needed to run out of sight before he could help him. Jasper waited and waited, resisting the urge to call out his name and chase after him. Almost there, buddy...“Maloof!” Jasper spoke loudly as Thunder disappeared out of sight behind the utility building. Jasper walked briskly to get to Thunder and calm him down. How fast can a box turtle run, anyway...?
Stacy came out of the restroom and out the front door of the building. She walked over to the large state map that boldly proclaimed in large red
letters, “YOU ARE HERE,” and she gazed over the rest of the map, noting their path down to the birth place. Wow, I guess we took the long way around. It would have been quicker had we stayed on US-131 and cut over to I-65. Hmmm…
Jasper stood behind the utility building holding Thunder. They were nose to nose. “Well, I guess that answers my question as to how turtles relieve themselves. Feel better, boy?” Jasper set Thunder back down in the grass. “Maloof!” Instantly the turtle was a big dog, licking Jasper squarely across the face. Jasper placed Thunder back on the ground and attached his collar and leash. Jasper’s phone rang. He dug the phone out of his front pocket as he and Thunder walked around the utility building back toward the car. “Hey, Kevin, what's up?”
“I need you, man. Where are you? Can you come home?” Kevin’s voice was sorely out of patience. “Did you know that our little Ms. Nipper is a very big bird conservationist? Gena is borderline cuckoo. That girl lives in a bubble of one. I am standing in your kitchen babysitting a robin's egg that fell from its nest. She has me turning a heat lamp on and off every five minutes so as not to overheat the egg but simulate the parent’s body heat while she rummages in your garage for a light timer switch. Then, just when I think this ordeal is over she comes into the kitchen and screams because another bird has just smashed into the window and knocked itself out. She is out of control, Jasper! I swear if I go out there and she has her mouth wrapped around that bird's pecker giving it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation I will be so deeply disappointed in our shallow relationship.”
“We don't say pecker, Kevin; we say beak,” Jasper said in a roll of laughter.
“Are you on your way home yet? I need some guy time.”
“Stacy and I are at the Pigeon Creek Rest Area near Angola, maybe a half hour from Fort Wayne at top speed.”
“Dude, you took her out of state. She is still a minor. Dude, you’re wicked. Hey, don't forget our Allegan High safe sex education theme song, ‘Don’t be silly, cover your Willy.’
“KEVIN!” Jasper shouted into the phone as he opened the car door for Thunder to jump in. “You’re being long-winded here, my friend, and I have to take care of my own business…jump up, Thunder; come on, get in there...Kevin, I'll call you later; just make sure you get the mail and leave it on the kitchen table and don't leave a mess, bye.” Jasper hung up the phone and closed the door of the car as Thunder made his way to the backseat and slimed the window with his nose yet again.
Kevin stood looking at his phone. The screen read “call ended.” “Did he just say, 'Jump up Thunder,’ and ‘Come on get in there'? He put his horse in the car…he took Thunder...GENA NIPPER! You are making me as cuckoo as you. Now I'm hearing things. I must be vibrating at a higher level of energy, ascending to a new reality, I’m going WOO, WOO!” Kevin sighed. Then, reaching up with his left hand, he turned on the heat lamp once again.
Jasper passed Stacy at the map. “My turn, Thunder is in the car,” Jasper said quickly in passing.
Stacy turned to walk back toward the car when she saw puppies. She quickly glided over to the vending machines to ask the couple holding the puppies if she could pet one. She had a goofy smile painted across her face. “Oh, they are so cute! Can I hold one?” Stacy was already reaching her hand out.
“Why, of course you can, Stacy. This is a pug puppy,” said the woman with fire-red hair. “Hello there. My name is Amy, and this is my husband Gary, and these are our babies.”
“I'm sorry, but how do you know my name?” Stacy asked in bewilderment.
“Oh, we overheard that boy calling out your name as he passed by,” Gary said.
“I don't recall Jasper calling out my name...”
“Stacy, did you want to hold two at the same time? They seem to love you.” Amy pushed the other puppy into her hands.
“Oh my, they are so cute,” Stacy said, all the while forgetting her earlier thought. The puppies wiggled in her hands and licked at Stacy’s nose. She was completely overcome with puppy love. “Wow, I have never met a puppy that did not have puppy breath. They are so clean and cute.”
“Yes, they are,” Jasper said as he walked up and stood next to Stacy. “Hello, my name is Jasper. And you are…?”
“Hello, Jasper. My name is Gary, and this is my wife, Amy. We are traveling to my new job in Allegan, Michigan. How about you guys?” Gary said politely while at the same time fishing for information.
“Wow, small world. We are from Allegan,” Stacy said in astonishment.
The small hairs on the back of Jasper’s neck stood up on end. Jasper knew something was very out of place in this moment but didn't know if he should feel threatened. “You’re going to be working in Allegan, where about?”
“Allegan County Health and Human Services. I'm a social worker of sorts,” Gary replied.
“Oh, the complex out at Littlejohn Lake Park?” Jasper inquired.
“Jasper, there is no complex out at Littlejohn,” Stacy said in confusion.
Jasper gave her a cold look. Stacy was suddenly tense, and her eyes went wide and big.
“Oh, you’re mistaken, my boy. The complex is out on Dumont Lake,” Gary said with a chuckle.
“We are so pleased to have met both of you. Maybe we will see you around town,” Amy said as she took the puppies back from Stacy.
“Oh, I'm sure we will be bumping into each other sooner or later. Have a safe trip,” Jasper said as he maneuvered Stacy away and toward their parked car.
“Thanks for letting me hold your puppies. Bye now.” Stacy looked over at Jasper and whispered softly, “That was weird; they knew my name.”
Amy held a puppies over her right shoulder with one hand. The puppies attempted to nibble at her long, dangling green and white earring. She whipped her free hand through the air, connecting with the back side of Gary's rounded head in a very satisfying crack.
"Could you have been more obvious, Gary?" Amy turned her back on the departing couple, just in case human ears were as sharp as her vision was while in creature form in the Lord’s throne room.
"I am not used to this bipedal form. I was taken off guard, and we both blurted out their names; do you think they are on to us?"
"Jasper knows something; why else would he have tried to trip you up on the location of your employer? We’re lucky you studied the details of our mission. I am sure he will try again.” Amy was now holding both puppies as Gary worked the control selection pad on the vending machine. One of the perks of being from the heavenly realm was instant control over the use of all electronic equipment with no less than a touch or wave of the hand.
"How was I supposed to see him coming with just two eyes?" Gary grabbed two bags of candy from the dispenser bucket on the vending machine. "Plain or peanut?" He offered the bags for Amy's review.
"We need to stay on task. Find Archangel Michael's sword and return it to him in the throne room. If it is the sword used by General Pritchard and Jasper has it in hiding on his aunt’s property, then we will find it, and our mission will be a success soon enough."
Gary tore the top off of his bag of candy and poured the entire contents at once into his mouth. "I could learn to like this chewing action. It makes a clicking noise inside my head. But do not mistake me, I miss all four of my faces, my eyes, and my six wings."
"If we would have shown up here on earth with our six wings, eyes galore.” He paused to make sure no one was within hearing range. “Add the face of an ox, lion, man, and eagle and proclaimed we are two of the four creatures of the throne on a field trip from the Almighty, the people of Allegan would shoot first, then pig-roast us later."
Amy plunged the pug puppies into Gary's arms. “These are your extra eyes, take care of them.” She then tore open just a small corner of her candy bag and placed one piece in her mouth. "It is more of a crunch noise." Amy turned and walked away. Gary followed holding the big-eyed pug puppies, one on each shoulder. They both bit at Gary's earlobes.
Jasper and Stacy were about halfway back to t
he car when they heard Thunder barking. He had a "beware of stranger” bark ringing out, all the while staring down the black SUV that was parked a mere three spaces away. He was severely agitated, jumping from the front seat to the backseat. Thunder repeated this maneuver, not missing a barking beat. Jasper and Stacy were both brought up short by this and nearly tripped over each other trying to stop from their hurried pace away from Amy and Gary.
"Jasper…are those tiny little hairs at the nape of your neck standing up on end?" Stacy struggled to say as she caught her balance with Jasper so that neither one of them ended up falling to the pavement.
Jasper threw a backward glance over his right shoulder. His hands clasped Stacy by the arms. "Spider sense is tingling but at least the puppy-lovers from another planet are still moving in the opposite direction. I'm sure we will be seeing them back home in Allegan.” Jasper and Stacy, recovering not-so-gracefully from their almost-mishap, walked slowly, calmly, hand-in-hand back to the car. "I have seen a black SUV in our rearview mirror for some time now," Jasper whispered to Stacy. "What are the chances it has been the same one this whole time?"
Stacy's grip on Jasper's hand was beginning to cut off the blood circulation, and Jasper grunted loudly. "I think you’re right, and so sorry about your hand. Be a gentleman and get my door for me, and as you round the front of the car take a good look through their front windshield and tell me it's not being driven by a ghost. No ghost, no ghost, oh, dear Lord, no ghost!" Stacy said with her ultra-high and squeaky library whisper.
Jasper: Purple Flamingos Fly at Midnight (Jasper - Purple Flamingos Fly at Midnight Book 1) Page 6