by Bxerk
She rolled around and soon gave up. She shuffled into the kitchen and made some chamomile mint and valerian tea, which she gulped down burning her mouth. She blew on the mug, then sat at the kitchen table with the paper to sip it more slowly. While she was reading the comics, there was a strange noise behind her. She looked around the kitchen but couldn’t see where the sound came from. Nova then heard a scratching at the window. She looked upon black glass and a design on the glass plane. It was a skull face. It laughed evilly, the sound echoing off the walls inside.
Nova bolted to her bedroom, covered herself in the covers and turned from the window. A shiver zoomed up her spine. “Leave me alone. Dear Vulcan.” After a while, her breathing slowed down, and she began to feel the effects of the tea. She pulled the thin covers up to her chin and fell into a complete slumber.
Chapter 24 Trails and Trials
The next morning, Nova felt rested. She strolled into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal. Then after she ate, she remembered that the others had been working on the cart while she and Takeesha had planned how they were going to deal with the gang. Had they finished on schedule?
She rushed out of the house and into the garage then threw aside the tarp. The wheelchair they were going to use to test it out was clamped on and ready to go.
She threw the tarp back on and scampered into the house, then into her bedroom and
grabbed her Walkie Talkie. She left the house and ran to the haymow, pulling the bale that covered the entrance aside. She got down on her hands and knees and crawled through. She hit a wall with her head and turned left then right. She creeped straight for five feet then turned left again. She almost fell down the trap door in the floor. She then squirmed right into the meeting room of the clubhouse. Nova sat down at the table and spoke into her watch at once.
“Leandra, can you hear me?”
“Yeah, deary, what’s up?” Her blue eye sparkled.
“The cart is done. Can we test it at your house today?”
“Okay, but I won’t be there, so bring yourselves some snacks.”
“Thanks, Leandra you’re the greatest.”
Leandra’s eye winked out. Nova snagged the Walkie Talkie.
“Hey, anybody there? Over?” Nova listened for a minute. “Hello, come in, anybody? Over.”
“Hey, Nova what’s up?” Benny said. “Over.”
“Hey, girl. Over,” Takeesha said.
“I’m here. Over,” Max Kim said.
Nova grinned. “Can all of you come for a picnic today at Leandra’s house? We need to get Shade used to the new cart. Over.”
“How do you know we’re finished? Over.” Benny sounded ticked off.
“I just looked under the tarp. It looks done to me. Over” Nova turned red, and her armpits got wet.
“That’s not the point. What if we weren’t ready to test it yet? Over.”
“Can we not make a mountain out of a molehill, please? Takeesha said. “You know what I mean? Over.”
“Communication would be good right now. Over.” Max Kim said.
The Walkie Talkies airwaves were silent for a few moments.
“Sheesh. Okay fine. Benny and Max Kim, is the two-wheel cart ready? Over,” Nova asked.
“That’s better,” Benny said. “Yes I’m proud to say it is done and we can try it out today. Over.”
Nova pictured him grinning, and it just made her want to throw the Walkie Talkie across the hay fort.
“Okay,” she said instead. “Let’s meet here at eleven and put a picnic basket together. What can all of you bring? Over.”
“I have a big bag of string cheese. Over.”
“Sounds good. Thanks, Takeesha,” Nova said. “Over.”
“I can bring some beef jerky,” Benny said. “We’ll make a stop at the butcher shop before we come. Over.”
“I got a large bunch of bananas. Over.”
“Excellent, Max Kim,” Nova said. “And I’ll bring some Apple juice, a couple of boxes of wheat crackers, paper cups, and wipes. Oh and lots of treats for Shade. Over.”
“All right, girl. Over and out, I think.”
“Over and out,” Benny and Max Kim said at the same time.
“See you, over and out.”
Nova took the Walkie Talkie, left the fort, and strolled back inside the house. She put it back in her bedroom on the lamp table near the bed. And then she decided to finish her soggy breakfast in the kitchen. Nova worked on her rug hooking for a little while, got it done, rolled it up, and put it into her footlocker. She would show it to her family later. She was too shy to show it to her friends.
Soon the rest of the Shade Riders arrived at Nova’s farm.
“Put your food in the basket there in the cart,” Nova said. “Takeesha, let’s get Shade.”
Nova and Takeesha entered the milk house to get some sweet grain and lead rope and strode out to the back pasture.
“We’ll just stay here and double-check the cart,” Benny yelled after them.
Fifteen minutes later, Nova and Takeesha strolled up the tractor trail with Shade. The girls held the bucket of grain in front and the horse followed them wherever they went. They giggled at the power of the grain. They opened the gate and left the catch pen. The girls let Shade eat the remainder of the snack as the boys got ready with the cart.
In half an hour, they left Nova’s farm and headed to Leandra’s house. Nova and Takeesha led Shade ahead of the cart. The filly kept looking warily back at it from time to time. Max Kim pulled the cart in the front where a horse would pull it, and Benny pushed from behind using his powered wheelchair.
When they arrived, Nova and Takeesha took Shade down the trail to make her bigger. When they got back, Max Kim and Benny sat under a maple tree eating out of the basket.
“We were gone for two minutes and already you’re feeding your faces.” Nova tied Shade to the U-shaped tree branch.
“Yeah,” Takeesha said.
“We were bored,” Benny said. “What do you want from us?”
“Want a snickerdoodle?” Max Kim said holding out a bread loaf bag.
“Not right now. But maybe for lunch.” Nova smiled and began to put the harness on Shade.
Max Kim got off the ground and pulled the cart into position. He was up against her tail as he maneuvered the cart into the harness.
“Max Kim,” Nova said quietly but urgently, “get out of there. She might kick.”
Shade kept looking back at the cart, her eyes rolled back, and her ears down. Max Kim crawled out from under the left arm of the cart just in time-- Shade threw her legs back in a jarring and ear-splitting kick to the cart.
She continued to dance around. She turned the opposite direction then kicked again.
“We have to let her get used to it,” Nova said. “We might as well have some lunch.”
She tried one last time to soothe her horse by patting her neck and talking to her, but it didn’t help. They sat down under a tree and wiped their hands, then ate lunch.
Afterward, Nova had a couple snickerdoodles, which made Max Kim happy. It began to drizzle, and that seemed to calm Shade down. She plucked at some nearby grass and only glanced at the cart from time to time. The kids stayed dry underneath the tree as it wasn’t very windy. Benny brought out a deck of Zenner cards. This time the cards had cardboard stuck to their backs so there was no way the designs could show through. He tested Nova and Takeesha again. Nova’s score was basically identical to the last time. Takeesha’s score was worse.
“I give up,” Benny said. “I don’t know how you are doing it, Nova.”
“Neither do I.” Nova sauntered over to feed her horse some carrots.
“How come mine was worse?” Takeesha said. “I tried harder this time, You know?”
Benny wheeled over, and Max Kim and Takeesha strode over to examine the horse and cart for any damage. There wasn’t any.
“Takeesha, maybe you need to practice, or you might just not have the ability. Not e
veryone does,” Benny said. “Nova, you must be cheating somehow.”
“How can you accuse me of that? I don’t cheat.”
Confusion stood out on Benny’s face. “Fine. I’ll have to come up with another test, damn it. Anyway, the next thing for Shade is to see if she can pull the wheelchair off.”
Nova tied a rope to the wheelchair’s vinyl back, then to the U-shaped tree branch and led Shade away from the tree. Shade pulled a little but refused to pull any further.
“I think you need to slap her rump, you know?”
Nova slapped it, and Shade pulled harder. A crow flew out of the tree right over her head. She spooked and the cart fish-tailed around. The old wheelchair stayed on the cart.
Nova breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, the vinyl back of the wheelchair gave way. Shade was loose with the cart galloping down the driveway. All four kids chased after her. Nova and Max Kim ran along the side of the cart then jumped into it. They grabbed the flapping reins and pulled on them to get Shade to stop. The horse was upset and wasn’t going to stop easily.
“We’re going into the field,” Nova yelled to Benny and Takeesha who had slowed down now that two kids had control. Nova and Max Kim rode through the trees and into a newly plowed field. The dirt was in wet ruts and bumpy mounds. Riding on it was not a nice experience but it was a good test for the cart.
Max Kim was riding on the broken wheelchair and fell off a couple times into the dirt. Muddy, he ran to get back aboard. They ran Shade about two miles, and Nova felt that it was a successful test and that they should go back. That’s when it really started raining. Max Kim fell off again on the turn going back.
“Go ahead.” He waved to Nova. “I’d rather walk.” Nova wanted to stop, so she pulled on the reins, but Shade had the bit and was running full steam ahead. That was weird. Maybe she was barn sour though Nova had been careful to avoid that. Nova looked back, and Max Kim waved to her to keep going as he kept walking behind. Nova was going to pull on one rein, so Shade was running in a tight circle but she didn’t know enough about the long poles on the cart if they would gouge her side. She just let her normally trot back to the house.
When Nova arrived, she found Benny and Takeesha under the tree again keeping dry. Max Kim finally appeared, muddy, drenched, and to her relief, laughing. The rain let up. They decided to ride back to Nova’s farm. Shade pulled the cart with no problems on the road. Once there, they let Shade out of the gear and brushed her down, gave her grain, and led her to the catch pen, where she trotted out to the back pasture.
Chapter 25 Ordin
The next day at dusk, The Shade Riders meandered toward Leandra’s house once again. Nova and Takeesha were jogging with Shade, whose wings had not sprouted yet.
“Leandra,” Nova talked into the watch. “We’re coming over right now.”
“Ace, all ready for you.”
Max Kim was standing in the cart, holding the cart’s shafts off the ground using a long rope along his arms and behind his back. Benny’s wheelchair was clamped on and pushed them along. The cart kept pulling to the left, and Benny had to steer constantly to the right. It was awkward, but it got them there.
The kids stroll and wheel down Leandra’s driveway. They approached the house where Leandra was drinking something from a coffee mug. Nova got closer and could smell the mint tea.
Takeesha tied up Shade to the U-shaped tree branch.
“Leandra, have you found out how to keep the ghosts away?”
“I’m not sure. But, I bet Ralf would know. If we could get
him from Ahlon’s grip before the war starts in Ordin, we would get our answer. Once you get Shade grown up and hitched to the cart, I’ll create a rainbow portal to get us into Ordin.”
Nova and Max Kim took Shade down the trail, transforming her into a full grown mare. They hitched her up, running the shafts under her golden and black trimmed wings. They had to fold one of the wings to get the harness on.
Soon they were ready to go. Nova sat in front of Max Kim on Shade. Leandra sat on the left side of the cart with Takeesha next to her, and Benny was clamped on and ready for his first exhilarating flight in a long time.
Behind Leandra’s house were two trees that were about four yards apart. Their branches met in the middle forming a square that was wide enough to take the horse and cart. Leandra did some sign language, and Nova could hear misting water coming from a sprinkler. Suddenly it became very bright. A rainbow portal appeared in the framed tree area. The green wavy middle color was right in the center of the double doors -- yellow on the left and blue on the right.
“Go right into the green area to get to Ordin.”
They went into a green box of light with banging, scratching and growling on the walls. Nova had shivers and sweat pouring down her back Nova looked back at her friends. Max Kim gulped. Benny reared back clenching his teeth, Takeesha’s eyes moved back and forth in their sockets. Leandra threw her arm forward. “Proceed!”
Nova trotted Shade through the misty rainbow into a strange new world.
They entered on a mountain top, with trees to their right
and left. Nova shook with excitement. Shade pranced. Nova
pulled on the reins. They had never attempted to fly with the cart before but she remembered Max Kim in Shade’s slipstream. The mist that they had gone through dried on Nova’s skin in the warm daytime breeze. The sun was out, and Nova could see most everything except in the fog that was close-by to her right. Then she realized those were clouds, not fog. She gazed around waiting for an attack. The Neanderthals in the archeology books were considered a savage and formidable people. They could take a huge blow from a wild animal and recover quickly. Nova scanned around but so far it was quiet up in the mountains where they were. Shade stamped her foot at some biting flies or maybe impatience.
Leandra waved Nova forward, but there was a huge cliff in front of them. Nova thought it was strange that Shade still had her wings in daylight. What if Shade put the wings back inside herself or wherever they disappeared?
She breathed deeply in and out urging Shade closer to the cliff. This was it. This was where Shade took them to their deaths or took them all on a ride to remember. They were at the edge. Shade kicked stones over the side. Rocks bounced down the cliff, but Nova didn’t know how far because she couldn’t see through the clouds.
Shade was getting antsier by the minute. Nova gave her one quick kick, secretly hoping she would ignore it.
Shade plunged over the edge.
Shade fell down half the length of the huge mountain before
spreading her wings. Then her gold and black trimmed wings
flapped, lifting the whole lot of them smoothly into the sky.
Nova felt relieved and looked behind her.
”My elastic cord in perception is positive?” Takeesha said. “Atlantis is my level of being?”
What?
“Prophesy is intuitive and on the other side of existence?” Benny said.
Max Kim grabbed Nova around her waist as Shade jostled. He eventually took the ride in stride and didn’t say anything except for laughing and whooping. Leandra smiled satisfied. She leaned back in the seat. Takeesha’s face became ashen. She kept reaching over to the metal bars that surrounded the cart opposite her.
Nova noticed movement on the mountain behind her. Then she realized there were caves of every size in the cliff face. They had ladders going up to each one. She saw Neanderthals going in and out and cooking over fires outside the caves. She didn’t know what else they were doing because she was the one steering Shade, so she had to pay attention to what was ahead.
They broke through the clouds, and Nova could see farther now. Beautiful large lakes appeared as Shade flapped over the trees tops. Nova could hear many of the same animal sounds she heard when she first went through the rainbow and ended up in a tent with Leandra- monkeys, birds, frogs, and bats.
Max Kim grabbed Nova’s arm, then let go and used that
same hand to point to some loud waterfalls splashing into a large lake. There were trees on top of trees in the emergent layer. Beautiful green parrots fluttered from branch to branch. Monkeys ran above and dove under the canopy only to reemerge screaming.
Benny and Leandra gabbed excitedly and pointed at things below as Takeesha grabbed her stomach. Nova could see kettles and valleys full of trees and a long river. She wondered how many people actually lived here. Nova saw movement below. A few men and women Neanderthals all -- running among the trees, carrying weapons. She caught a glimpse of them as they came out into an opening of grassland.
Suddenly Nova heard a low thud and Shade screamed and faltered while in flight. She strained to stay above the trees.
“What happen?” Nova patted her horse’s neck, and her horse mumbled. “Girl are you okay?”
“Nova, Shade’s been hit,” Leandra said. “Find a place to land, so we can have a look at her.”
Nova picked a clearing well away from people she’d seen and managed to guide Shade into it.
Shade landed with a huge thump and exhaled. Nova pushed Max Kim as she struggled to get off. “I got to get down. Get out of my way.”
Max Kim finally jumped down. Nova hit the ground, already feeling Shade’s wings for a wound.
Leandra, Nova and Max Kim checked both wings and found nothing wrong. But Nova could smell fresh blood. She recognized the smell from when she’d helped her mother with surgery.
“Holy chaos!” Nova said. “I smell it, but don’t see where she got hit.”
“Hurry, we have to find it.” They searched for what must have been two minutes but felt like fifteen. The injury was under one of the wings in the horse’s ribcage-- a bloody, dripping hole with an arrow sticking out.
“Hang in there girl, we’ll get--”
Behind her, there was yelling, rustling of bushes, and four Neanderthal men came right at them. They held up strung bows in which arrows were ready to fly.
Nova swallowed and looked at Leandra. She looked back and winked. The Neanderthals had blond and red hair, and they wore what looked like clothing made from the yellow hairs corn silk and dried corn husks. Leandra did the sign language of shivering then throwing it at them. They turned into a block of ice.