“Hey! Are you coming or not?” Sam shouted, looking very impatient.
Jessie startled. She forced her train of thought from the pleasant, Jacob, back to the miserable: the lizard hunt. "I still can't believe I let you talk me into this. You’re going to feel really bad when I came back with a rattlesnake bite! At least these boots will help protect me."
"I told you, there won't be any snakes! Ruthanne said there weren’t snakes inside the grounds. You’re being such a wimp!"
"I don't care what you think,” Jessie replied. “You’ve never been out in the desert before. And how do you know that Ruthanne is such an expert on the location and habitat of snakes in the deserts of Utah?”
“Whatever.” Sam groaned and rolled his eyes obnoxiously. "Just come on!”
"Fine! Let's go and get it over with—but I’m not staying outdoors long. It’s already cooking out there!"
“Fine!”
They stepped lively, out the door and then to the lush gardens of the estate. Gracie had suggested an area near the north pond where a strip of wild sage had been cultivated along the back wall . . . so that’s where they headed. The cobblestone paths crisscrossed in all directions, cutting through sections of gardens, furnished gazeboes, fountains and greenery, each themed in a distinct motif of flora and outdoor embellishments.
It hadn’t occurred to Jessie, until just that moment, how perfect everything was. Every bush, plant, flower, even every blade of grass, flawlessly cut, flawlessly manicured. There wasn’t a weed in site; not a wilted leaf, petal, infestation—nothing? Every plant was as if in its most perfected natural state. It would take an army of grounds personnel to keep a place looking like this, she mused. Yet, as far as she knew, there was only Jacob and some coworker named Eli—a man she had not yet met.
“Are you coming?” Sam’s voice caught her again. She hadn’t even noticed he’d past her up. He stood impatiently waiting. “Look. If this is really going to stress you out—”
Jessie realized her pondering had been misinterpreted. She smiled, then chuckled. “No. It’s okay. I’m just watching for movement around the bushes. Isn’t that what Gracie said to do?”
Sam’s eyes went eagerly wide, his smile broad. “Yeah! She did.”
Jessie caught up, and when Sam started walking again, she gave him a flat-tire.
“Hey!”
“So start watching.” She indicated toward the towering rise ahead. “We’re almost to the west wall.”
As the heat bore down upon her shoulders, arms and legs, Jessie was glad she had prepared for the mid-day assault. She had wisely taken advantage of the situation by rubbing her body with suntan oil—a tan would be nice.
The two traipsed ahead until they moved well beyond the pristine grounds and into an area which Gracie had referred to as, the wasteland strip. An extensive area running parallel to the outermost section of the west wall. A location purposely set aside for the cultivating of natural, wild sage. This was lizard territory! Now, with the approach of each bush, Sam slowed, circled the plant and carefully stalked it like a cat to mouse. As he did, Jessie backed away, eyeing the ground intensely and keeping her distance. When no sign of scaly game was in sight, they moved on to the next bush . . . and the next . . . and the next. This routine went on for nearly an hour with no sign of lizards or any capture-qualifying creature for that matter.
Finally, after what seemed like an endless amount of time, Jessie decided that this adventure had expired. Besides, she didn’t want her run of good luck to fall flat—as Sam had so adamantly declared it earlier, no snake had shown its ugly face or fang. She had, after all, done her part in the name of sibling bonding and fulfilled her sisterly duties.
“Let’s head back, bro,” she finally prompted, trying her best to sound almost disappoint.
Much to her surprise, Sam reluctantly agreed. He wanted to argue. That’s what he did best. But even he couldn’t come up with a sensible defense. Why stay out there and get cooked like everything else in sight? Fact was, Sam was becoming quite discouraged with the whole lizard ordeal. Perhaps this once, Jessie had been right. Besides, the sun’s daunting heat drove him to a much better idea—a dip in the indoor pool seemed ever so tempting.
“Alright. Let’s head back,” he relinquished, drearily. “There’s nothing alive out here anyway.” And then, ironically, just as the words died upon his lips, he caught sight of something moving from under a small rock outcropping. "It's a lizard!" he shouted with such enthusiasm that the adrenaline seemed to burst through him.
Jessie gasped and froze. Her streak of luck had just run out! Fate! She wanted to swear in that instant, but she couldn’t. Her brain had channeled all responses to her bulging eyes—her mouth wouldn’t work!
It was a lizard! A large one, probably a male. The reptile darted in a flash from its resting spot to the open sands where it could find refuge in a bush or scurry down a hole.
Sam kicked instantly into cheetah-gear, and was in hot pursuit, slowing only after the lizard had dashed under a large sagebrush. He stalked, panned, and moved in for the capture, net in hand.
Jessie watched, her heart thumping against her chest—from a safe distance of course. Sam after all, appeared to be doing just fine on his own. But as the boy moved in for the capture, an air of curiosity—like the last tug at the cheese on the trap—tempted her to lean in for a closer look. After all, she had never seen a lizard up close before. Perhaps a quick glimpse couldn’t hurt? She talked herself into a few cautious steps forward, and craned ahead.
"Come over here and help me scare him out, Jessie!" shouted Sam, gawking hard into the thick-bushed bastion. He lopped off his baseball cap and laid his face right down against the sand. The air from his nostrils blew small furrows in the dirt and puffed up dust like a dragon’s angry exhale. "I see him!" he suddenly hollered out, his eyes as large as plates.
“You do!” Jessie gasped, jumping back to her line of safety.
"Come help me!" Sam shouted again, but Jessie remained safely where she stood.
"Not on your life!" she cried back. "You catch him yourself! I'll stay here and watch in case he runs out the other side,” she cowardly compromised. There was no way she was moving within scamper-range of that scaly critter!
Sam positioned himself ever so slowly. Then, with a sudden lunge, his net fell hard into the bush, cracking and snapping twigs on its downward plunge.
Jessie screeched and jumped back. “Did you get him?”
The fast-legged reptile was simply too swift, bolting hurriedly down a small hole before the net had even touched the upper-most branches of the sage.
“Darn it!” Sam growled. “It went down a hole!” The boy laid his net aside and immediately began to dig after the reptile. The loose sand easily yielded to his fervent clawing and in no time he had scooped out a large pile of dirt.
“What are you doing?” blurted Jessie “There could be a snake down that hole!” It was one thing to be forced into a dreary traipse in snake territory, but to go digging for them? Was he nuts!
Sam shot her a ridicules look and continued to excavate his find.
The tiny opening suddenly caved inward to reveal some kind of tiny den. “Hmm? What’s this?” Sam said, inquisitively. He stopped digging and carefully eyed his discovery. The small grotto held an aggregate of twigs, dried leaves, plants and fur—but no lizard. The odd mixture had been carefully meshed together in what appeared to be a type of nest. A rodent’s nest. “Cool”, he added, poking and prodding at the thatched structure.
“Leave it alone, Sam,” Jessie pleaded, picturing some horrid desert thing returning to find its den uprooted and destroyed. It would certainly be annoyed . . . no, it would be down-right angry!
Then, as Sam pulled again at the nest, something round and hairy suddenly sprang from the jumble in a desperate lunge, landing directly on his arm. The boy let out a shriek like a mad banshee! The screech sounded far more sinister than Sam ever would have intended. And for an awful
instant, he was embarrassed that it actually came out of his lungs! He flung himself backward, yanking and jerking his limb as though he had caught fire.
Jessie, of course, followed suit, letting out a scream to surpass any she’d accomplished in many a year. She half-jumped, half-stumbled backwards—her vocal chords pushed to their maximum intensity.
The furry rodent quickly found itself air born—certainly a first for the flightless critter. Sam’s whipping arms had shot the small mouse into quite a trajectory. Unfortunately, the old cliché: what goes up, must come down, was enforced once again as the rodent descended with a thud, right on Jessie’s boot. The teen instantly bellowed out and fell into a hop that would put any rain dance to shame. She jumped up and down and stomped the ground in a freakish frenzy of terror!
Sam just gawked, wide-mouthed as both sister and rodent disappeared in a furious tornado of flopping body parts, dust, twigs and sand—all mixed together in a most unpleasant conglomerate. When the haze finally cleared, a dirty-faced, shuffled Jessie stood trembling and panting like a cat crossing the interstate at rush hour. Her eyes bulged as they cased the ground in desperation for movement.
"Where did it go!" she hollered. “Is it on me! Is it on me!” She danced around in another circle of fury.
“No! It’s gone, Jessie!” Sam eased, eyeing the area intently for signs of movement . . . or worse, a flattened mouse! But he found nothing, and was greatly disappointed that his only potential catch of the day had eluded him and escaped.
"You let it get away!" he moaned disappointedly.
"Get away!” Jessie exploded, her voice more vibrato than usual. “You idiot!" she barked, snatching up her hat and brushing the dirt off her clothes. "You threw that hairy thing right at me! It tried to crawl up my leg!"
"I did not!"
"Yes you did!"
“Did not! It was a tiny, little mouse and you probably smashed it under your big-ugly boots!”
“You didn’t seem to think it was so helpless and tiny when it landed on your arm!”
“It startled me!” he stammered.
“It startled me! Just about to death! I’m leaving!” she snapped and stomped off.
“Fine,” growled Sam after her.
What a disaster! he thought as he watched his sister march away. Twice, they had come upon desert game—real live creatures that could have been pets. And twice they had failed . . . blown it! He gazed, half-hearted at the empty nest, and then it hit him. Hey, maybe it had babies. Sam lopped back down on his knees and again and assaulted the small haven—but this time with great trepidation.
“Now what are you doing?” called back Jessie. She had halted long enough to look over her shoulder. She expect to see a downcast, drooping brother trailing behind her. But instead, he was digging at that blasted mouse hole again!
“Cool!” she heard him say in a curious tone. “Jessie!” he called after her. “You’ve got to have a look at this!”
Sam’s eyes were bright, wide and filled with excitement.
“Not if it’s alive!” she returned sharply.
“No, no. It’s not. Come have a look.”
She let out an audible groan, then stomped her feet. “What is it?” she whined, becoming more irritated by each baking minute.
Sam’s eyes remained fixed on the nest. He had pulled at the mixture until he had torn it open. “Have you ever heard of a pack-rat?” he called back.
“A rat!” she shrieked, freezing in her tracks. “You found baby rats!”
“No! A pack-rat is a small mouse-like rodent that picks up stuff—you know, like bottle caps, pieces of glass—anything shiny and interesting. Take a look.”
“No way,” she said, stepping back.
Sam brought his hand carefully up from the nest. “I don’t have anything alive, Jessie. Show a little backbone.”
How dare he! she thought. She was about to return a full blitz on the clarification of backbone, when she caught sight of Sam’s opened palm.
“See, nothing alive.”
“Okay. So . . . ?”
“So come look at all the cool stuff it gathered.” Sam took a finger and prodded at his find. A few smooth twigs, a tiny piece of rusted metal, an old worn screw, a shard of broken glass, and then his eyes fell upon two of the strangest looking stones he’d ever seen. “Wow!” he gasped.
Jessie couldn’t stand the intrigue any longer. She inched her way closer until with a flash of her own eyes, she spied what Sam now had in his open hand. She looked on, cautiously, at the two unusual stones. “What are they?” she asked, as though Sam ought to know.
“I have no idea, but they look really cool!”
“And beautiful,” she heard herself whisper. Oops. How did that slip out? She was still far too upset to show interest. “I mean, they’re probably just some worthless rocks.”
“Right,” spoke Sam. He could read her like a book.
The strange rocks were each about the size of a large marble, and nearly as perfectly round in shape. He held one up to the sun and looked through it. The stone gleamed like a diamond, casting a rainbow of sparkling shards in all directions.
Jessie eyebrows rose enchantingly. She seemed reengaged by this alluring affect. “Look at those weird lines,” she noted.
What Jessie had noticed were tiny vein-like tracks which branched out in all directions from the center of the crystalline structures to the outside layer.
As Sam fondled them carefully in his hand, he couldn’t help but sense that these stones were simply too symmetric to have formed naturally. Even diamonds and other rare gems, in their natural state, were course, ruff and rather ugly looking before being touched by the craftsman—who with his fine tools and polishing equipment, transformed them into a thing of rare beauty and great value.
“I’ll bet Jacob will know what they are,” suggested Jessie, glancing at her watch with anticipation. “He’ll be around by the pool about sundown. He knows a lot about stuff around here.”
“Yeah, he does!” Sam agreed, then suppressed the smirk just about to break across his face. He wanted so badly to put in just one romantic jab. But he withstood the temptation—a task which took far more courage than chasing after even the largest rattlesnake he could imagine.
“Come on, let’s go have a swim. I need to wash this dust off of me and get out of these boots you’re so fond of.”
Sam cracked up. “I was just getting used to them.”
“I’ll bet you were.”
“Hey, you could leave them on for Teresa to see when she drops by this afternoon” he teased. “I’m sure she’d love them!”
“Aren’t we hilarious,” returned Jessie. Then she picked up her pace, just a bit. “Actually, I forgot about Teresa’s appointment. We better boogie if we’re going to get a swim in. Gracie will want us shined up like and polished”—she paused—“how does she say it?”
“Like a shiny, new penny!” Sam quoted.
“That’s the one.”
They headed back to the estate. Sam, not nearly so disappointed having found something of the desert to bring home. It wasn’t a living thing, and he couldn’t make a pet of it, but he certainly felt excited by his rare find. And as they hurried along, he couldn’t help but stop periodically, just to reach in his pocket and feel for the stones. He wanted to make sure they hadn’t fallen out.
Jessie had to smile. If they had to bring something home, she couldn’t have been more pleased by their catch—no crawling, jumping, biting thing, just a couple of pretty rocks. Now that’s the kind of lizard hunt she could handle.
Chapter 36:
Ruthanne stepped along the Avalon pathway with more precision in her stride than usual—a pace which meant her mind was grinding on something menacing. Not too overwhelming, but just enough to put that amazing brain of hers in calculation mode. She loved the short stroll between her apartment and Ellen’s. It wound through some of the most beautiful flower gardens in the entire Avalon area. She couldn’t see their
natural colors of course. But her mind had long since extrapolated, filling the images she saw with the most incredible spectrum of colors—light energy far beyond the miniscule range of the human eye. Besides that, she could smell their enticing fragrance, and felt quite content in her perceptual images.
As she approached the adjacent section, she heard Ellen’s door shut, and the voice of Ellen’s companion android giving her a last departing note: “Have a safe and fulfilling day, Miss Ellen.”
“I shall,” whistled Ellen pleasantly.
“For HOPE and humankind,” the droid toned with a blink of its bright eyes and a bow of his head.
“For HOPE and humankind,” she repeated back instinctively, her tone reflecting a touch of reverence.
This same ritual phrase—passed between every android protector and their human assignment since the beginning of the venerated project—had neither diminished nor faltered in intent nor purpose since the day the Five had implemented it so long ago. Even now, the exchange gave Ruthanne a feeling of pride.
“Hey Ruthy!” waved Ellen happily, hurrying down the steps. “Time to switch into our dubious counterparts.”
“Yes indeed,” replied Ruthanne, smiling.
“Aunt Gracie will be expecting us,” Ellen teased.
Ruthanne didn’t reply, but returned an assessing grin.
“What?”
Ruthanne shook her head and radiated her sense of notion. “It is just that your disposition has changed since the arrival of Jessie and Sam. Have you noticed?”
Ellen stopped. She fastened a surprised look at Ruthanne. Her initial reaction was to argue of course, and normally she would have. But then she did something very out of character: she laughed, then laughed again, shaking her head in self-amusement. “I suppose you’re right.”
They started walking again.
“They are a breath of fresh air . . . real flesh and blood emissaries to the world we’re trying so desperately to save. It makes all we’ve accomplished, all we’ve sacrificed, that much more meaningful. And,”—Ellen paused, letting a large smile reveal her spirits—“I’m quite fond of them.”
Of Salt and Sand Page 47