Return of the Clonsayee

by Elaine Bassett

  The compound seemed eerily void of life. Nxy desperately wanted company, someone-- anyone to talk with. She momentarily considered crossing the border to be a part of humanity, but resisted the urge. She’d already been warned. If she didn’t listen she’d be punished, baby or not. Nxy could feel the baby kick now and then. She rubbed her abdomen and reassured her child that everything was going to be just fine. All of the sudden she began to feel queasy so she headed back to her house.

  The next night a big auction event would take place. She’d heard recently that some of the big money items the different clans had brought in were to be auctioned off. She sat on a chair and closed her eyes. Nxy did a few breathing exercises to calm herself. Her pet began to rub her leg. She felt for it then picked it up, wrapping it around her neck and fastening it in back. She rubbed the beads in a soothing motion as she went back to practicing her breathing exercises.

  There was a knock at the front door. Nxy opened her eyes and walked over to the door. She looked through the peephole. When she saw Joseph, she opened the door and invited him inside.

  “Oh, I thought you’d be busy getting ready for the auction.”

  Joseph walked through the door and said, “I am, but I wanted to check on you, to see how you are doing.”

  Nxy thanked him for coming over and told him that staying home was driving her crazy. She didn’t get much of a response from that comment. After a while he told her that if she wanted to attend the auction, she could go.

  “With you?”

  He moaned. “I really don’t think that is a good idea.” He leaned forward. “I think you know why it is impossible for us to be seen together. People are already starting to talk.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Let them. What do they know? If they only knew how neglectful she was of you, they’d tell you to leave her.”

  He shook his head. “It’s a little more complicated than that or I’d have already left her.”

  She perked up. “For me?”

  He reached for her and drew her to him. “For you.”

  Chapter 89

  Charles had been studying the entire week for the final exam he was required to take in his government class. He was well rested and prepared. At the beginning of class when the instructor handed out the test, Charles started right to work. He remained so focused that he didn’t hear the bell ring for the end of the class period. The voices of the other students in the hall prompted him to wrap up his thoughts on the test. He handed the pages to his instructor and went to meet Caroline.

  Charles walked Caroline to her classes the rest of the day. He was sitting in the last class of the school day listening to the instructor’s lecture, when the school secretary interrupted and announced over the intercom that Charles Brookfield needed to bring his things to the office. He would not be returning to class.

  The classmates snickered. One of the boys in the back of the class said, “Ewww, Brainiak’s done it now.” He whispered, “I wonder if someone got caught cheating off of him?” The whole back of the class erupted in laughter. The instructor tried to get the class to refocus, as Charles picked up his things and went straight to the office.

  When he walked in the outer office, he had the sense it was bad news. Charles could see his parents and grandparents sitting on the other side of the window in the inner office talking to the principal. The school secretary asked him to have a seat and wait. When the principal finished talking to Charles’ family, he came to his office door and waved for Charles to join them.

  He asked Charles to have a seat in the only chair available. Charles sat and glanced at the clock. The principal asked if he had a reason for watching the clock.

  “I am supposed to give Caroline Saunders a ride home after school. I was wondering if I should have her ride the bus home.”

  The principal opened the door and asked the school secretary to write a note for Caroline Saunders, informing her to ride the bus home.

  He then closed the door and said, “Charles, it has been brought to my attention that you had a government test today.”

  “That is correct. I studied very hard for it.” He glanced at his instructor. Then he noticed his French teacher was in the back of the office and he wondered why. He looked back at the principal.

  “Charles, your government teacher brought your final exam to me. She said she witnessed you taking the test then turning it in to her.” Charles nodded that was all true.

  He was wondering where this conversation was going. He hoped he wasn’t in trouble for something, but it sounded like that was where this discussion was heading. All Charles could think about was, if he was in trouble what would that do to his grade point average? Charles swallowed hard at the thought of dropping from his first place standing.

  The principal said, “Your instructor has informed me that there is a problem with your government exam and I am wondering how to correct the situation.”

  Charles’ eyes widened and he began talking. He didn’t know what he was saying he just started asking how that was possible and how he could fix it. At one point he stood. His teacher asked him to sit back down in his chair. Charles sat, bent forward in his chair and looked at the ground.

  The principal continued: “Charles, I realize you are in the running for valedictorian. Is that correct?”

  Charles sat up straight and said, “Yes.”

  “When your instructor brought your exam to me, I looked it over carefully. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. As a matter of fact I couldn’t read it.”

  Charles frowned and asked, “May I see it?”

  The principal held up his hand. “In a minute. I was trying to decide what I should do about this situation. I’ve never had anything like this happen. I called in someone that I thought might be able to help me. I was sure she would have the answer to this dilemma.” He pointed to Charles’ French teacher. “I had to have her opinion on your test.”

  Charles was confused. He glanced at his mom who sat expressionless, listening to his principal. He looked at Nana and Paw Paw who stared at him. He gazed back at the principal. The man was still talking, but it didn’t make sense to Charles. He was still trying to figure out why they couldn’t read his handwriting, and wondering what he’d done to cause this commotion. Charles quickly calculated in his head how many points the test was worth and if he had a chance of keeping his “A” average if he failed this one exam.

  He refocused on what his principal was saying. “I’m still trying to understand why you did what you did.”

  Charles started to talk, trying to explain the situation, although he really wasn’t sure why he was giving an explanation. The principal held up a hand for Charles to stop talking. Charles stopped midsentence and took a deep breath.

  “Is this your test?” The principal handed the government test to Charles. Charles accepted it and looked at the pages. “Charles, you completed the whole test in French.”

  Charles looked up at him. “This is mine. Oh my. I am so sorry.”

  He looked at his instructors. “What does this do to my grade?” He once again swallowed hard and began sweating.

  The principal looked at his French teacher. “She has spent time grading your paper and will now tell us how you did on the test.”

  His French teacher said, “He passed without missing a question. His answers were brilliant.”

  The principal looked surprised. He turned to Charles’ government instructor. “You heard your colleague. He passed without missing a question.”

  She thanked her peer for grading the test and said, “Then he gets full credit.”

  The principal looked at Charles and said, “Young man, if this happens again, then you will lose points on any test, taken in any class you are enrolled in.”

  Charles thanked his instructors and the principal.

  His French teacher said, “I have no idea how you wrote your answers Charles. I have not taught those expressions in my class.”

  Charles said, “I lov
e the language so much that I have been studying on my own.”

  Molly and his grandparents thanked the instructors. They walked together to his car. The family stood and talked about the incident in the empty parking lot. Molly hugged Charles before leaving for work. When they returned to the farmhouse, the three ate dinner and celebrated a close call.

  Charles was grateful that the last few days of the school year were uneventful. He had many good memories from his junior school year. His basketball team had another winning season. He was still first in the race for the valedictorian title, and he owned the coolest car in school. Charles was ready for summertime. He was prepared to be a senior.

  Chapter 90

  The next day Anjoleah and Anthony met Dimitrios in his office.

  Anthony began the conversation. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

  They talked about the proposal and Anjoleah’s impeccable timing. She played along in good humor. Dimitrios had Cassia show off her ring. Then it was time to get to work.

  Dimitrios closed the door. Anjoleah and Anthony sat down. Anthony began the discussion by saying, “A while ago we had a conversation about the Xidoran Prophecy.”

  Dimitrios’ face changed at the mention of the prophecy. He’d been researching the old legends on his own since that discussion. He was more familiar with the lore now than he was during their previous conversation. Anthony had his complete attention.

  Dimitrios glanced at Anjoleah, as she cleared her throat and said, “Well it seems that a Xidorean follower has been spotted.”

  Anthony continued Anjoleah’s report. “Several Xidorean followers have been spotted inside the Hub and the eternal borders.” Dimitrios’ was shocked at the news.

  Anjoleah looked away as she corroborated Anthony’s statement. “He’s correct. The followers have been spotted in several sectors. It’s been occurring for some time.”

  Dimitrios shot back. “Been occurring for some time! How long is some time? What have you two been doing about it? Does the Sojourners’ Council know? Am I the last one to know? Are you both joking with me? I should have been the first person to know about this! How did they get inside?”

  Anthony raised his hand. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I had no business keeping this from you. Another was spotted last night in the “Unknown” sector. We don’t know how they are getting in or what they are doing. Right now, they are just blending in when they are seen in the public sectors.

  “The military has informed me that the Xidoran followers are once again becoming very dangerous beyond the borders. Recently, several military units have been found decimated when they were on patrol in the mountains. The remains of the men were hideous to view. The officers are worried about the men that were not found with their units. They aren’t sure what the followers are capable of doing.

  “I don’t want that to begin happening in the public sectors. At this time they seem to be looking for something.”

  Dimitrios leaned forward. “Looking for something? I don’t think so. They are looking for someone, aren’t they?”

  Anthony sat back in his chair. “Yes. So you know about it then? You’ve obviously done your homework since we talked last.”

  Dimitrios frowned. “Of course I have. I went right away to the sealed files and began my research to find out as much as I could about this prophet and his dangerous followers. My next question is how much information does the Sojourners’ Council have about this?”

  Anthony glanced at Anjoleah then back to him. “Nothing yet. With the fire surrounding the jailbreak still threatening to burn us… I decided to wait and discover if we could actually verify that they have breached our boundary.” He momentarily covered his face. “I actually hoped we’d capture one.”

  Dimitrios laughed. “Did you say capture one? Like containing the wind, it’s not going to happen.”

  Dimitrios glared at Anjoleah. “You’re on my naughty list.” He pointed to her. “You transfer everything you’ve got to me, this instant. I want to look at your agency’s files. From now on, I want to know everything you know about what is happening out there.”

  She agreed. Anjoleah typed information on her technology tablet and sent him her files.

  While she was occupied, Dimitrios asked Anthony, “What do you think we need to do?”

  Anthony thought for a moment. “I think we need to implement the project.”

  Dimitrios leaned back in his chair, his left elbow resting on its arm. He covered his mouth with his left hand as he thought over that last statement. He then pointed to Anthony. “I know what you are talking about but once you begin, there is no turning back. You know it and I know it, but does the Sojourners’ Council know it?”

  Anthony looked at Anjoleah who understood the message-- it was time for her to leave.

  She said, “I sent you what I’ve got, Big Brother. I need to get back to work. I will catch up with you later.” She walked out of the office, congratulated Cassia on her engagement and left.

  As soon as the door closed behind her, Anthony said, “Here’s the deal, I honestly do not know how much time we have left. It could be days, months, years or centuries. The truth is it could happen right now for all I know. You know as much as I do at the moment. My main concern is to keep everyone safe. That’s my job.” He looked at Dimitrios. “I’ve got no choice the way I see it. Charles isn’t ready to take over. I can’t leave him with this mess. I won’t do it. I won’t leave office with us not prepared for the battle of our lives. We’ve got to get started, now!”

  Anthony stood and continued, “The truth is I’ve already begun the fight. I’ll send you my file. You won’t like it my friend. I had no choice, but to go it alone. I do need you. I just couldn’t tell you what I was doing at the time.”

  Dimitrios was irritated. “So you told her your plans?” Meaning Anjoleah.

  Anthony shook his head. “No, she doesn’t know. I just did it. We are less than a year into it.”

  Dimitrios nodded. “It wouldn’t matter even if you had told her. You’re here now, my friend. I’ve got your back. As far as the Sojourners’ Council knows, I signed off on it.” He shook his head. “What the heck. Let’s become familiar with all aspects of the project and look it over with a critical eye. Shall we?”

  The two men left the office and headed in the direction of the off limit zone of the metropolis.

  Chapter 91

  Sterling and Justin had fun playing around the house. While they played, Dolores disappeared into her studio to continue painting. She found it to be very therapeutic. She thought: Life just can’t get any better than this. She knew that thought was a lie but for the moment it was true enough. The last couple of days without Joseph had been heavenly. She felt better, slept better, looked better and felt healthier than she had in a long time.

  As she painted, she couldn’t help but think about her earlier phone conversation with Ruthie. She made a face as if she was concentrating. Dolores wanted to appear to be looking over her canvas for imperfections, but in reality she let her mind go back to replay the meeting with Hudson at dinner and the flight in first class with him. She replayed the conversation with Ruthie over and over again, as she picked up her brush and carefully began painting. She thought about Ruthie calling him, Mr. Right. She closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes, Sterling was standing in the doorway staring at her.

  “I was trying to visualize what to do next.” Dolores motioned for him to look at her painting.

  He walked over and stared at her creation. He closed one eye then the other, as he looked it over critically. He smiled at her and said, “It looks finished to me. I love it! You have a good eye for art.”

  “That’s a nice compliment. Thank you.”

  “I wouldn’t say it, if I didn’t mean it.”

  She knew that was the truth. She gave him a hug. “I bet you boys are hungry.”

  “Yes.”

  She stood and said, “Time for dinner then, and after that a movi
e before bed time.”

  He groaned. “Do we have to go to bed?”

  “Yes, at some point you do.”

  He ran to find Justin. She put her things away and went to fix dinner for two growing young men. The rest of the evening was a success. After the movie, the boys eventually fell asleep. Dolores covered them and turned off the TV. She left a lamp on, before going to her room to get ready for bed.

  She sat down to begin reading a book she brought from home. As she got comfortable, Dolores realized she dreaded going back to the harsh reality and the misery tomorrow would bring when they returned home. She tried to think how long it would be until they could come back again. She began to see a pattern as to when Joseph was sending them to Anchorage Pointe. Dolores figured in a couple of weeks they’d be back. She’d make sure of it.

  Chapter 92

  School was out. This was the first day Charles was able to sleep late. He opened his eyes then rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. His body refused. Charles just lay in bed trying to think of a reason to get up and start his day. Nothing came to mind. After a short time, he decided to get out of bed anyway. He looked in his dresser mirror and flexed his muscles. It felt good to be a senior. Charles decided that this day, the first day of summer vacation, should be a very casual day. He chose to wear a t-shirt and a pair of cut-off jeans. Next he combed his hair and put on a pair of rugged sandals. He went downstairs to the kitchen.

  Bev was just coming in from watering the flowers in her garden. She cheerfully said good morning. He said good morning as he ate breakfast.