by Geof Johnson
“I am already.” She smiled proudly.
“Good. Maybe if you study hard and learn, you can be a doctor like me some day. Would you like that?”
“I want to be a doctor,” Sammi said.
“I thought you wanted to be a teacher,” Evelyn said, “like Jamie’s mother.”
“I can do both. I’ll be a doctor and a teacher.”
“Is that possible?” Leora asked.
“Honey,” Dr. Burke said, “you can be anything if you put your mind to it.”
“But you have to go to school, first,” Evelyn said.
* * *
It had taken Duane Gundy a while to figure out how to approach Sammi’s two friends, Libby and Luke, without their father shooting him. Gundy had wasted two valuable days staking out their house before he finally found out from his wife.
“Dammit, Brenda!” Gundy growled and shook one fist at her. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
She raised one arm defensively. “You didn’t ask me. You’ve been sneaking around all hours of the night instead, driving off without telling me where you’re going and all.”
“Who told you what them two kids are doin’ this summer?”
“Louise. She told me last time I went to the laundry mat. She babysits for them sometimes.”
“She don’t keep Libby none this summer?”
Brenda shook her head. “Libby goes to work with her momma, where they got a day care.”
Gundy grunted, crossed his arms, and stared at nothing for a moment. Then he abruptly turned back to Brenda. “Are you sure Luke’s workin’ lawn service with his uncle?” She nodded and he said, “He’s my best bet, then. I’ll be able to talk to Luke.”
Brenda drew a long breath, worry lining her face. “Duane, why don’t you let me talk to one of them? You can be so harsh sometimes, and I think —”
“No!” He stomped his booted heel on the linoleum floor. “You’ll be too nice, and if they don’t tell you where Libby is, you’ll be all apologetic and stuff like you always are.”
“But —”
“I said no.”
“Promise you’ll try to be nice? You won’t hurt them?”
“I’ll be sweet as pie.”
Chapter 7
The next morning, Gundy sat in his Trans Am with the air conditioning on, the day already hot from the June sun, watching Luke rake next to a hedge that another man on the crew had just trimmed. A third man was on a riding mower on the far side of the wide lawn. All three wore matching yellow T-shirts that had Larry’s Lawn Service printed on the front in bold red ink.
Gundy had followed the landscaping truck from Bicksby to the upscale development at the nearby lake, and waited at a good vantage point down the street while Luke and the other men worked on the grounds of a huge house, with grass like a carpet and more flower beds than Gundy could count.
Finally, Luke dropped his rake, fetched a water bottle from the truck, and retreated to the shade of a Bradford pear tree. Gundy got out of his car and approached the boy from behind so that he wouldn’t see him coming. Gundy eyed the other men to make sure they didn’t notice him, and when he neared Luke he said, “I need to talk to you, boy.”
Luke turned with a start and his eyes flared. “I...I got nothin’ to say to you.”
“I think you do.” Gundy took two more steps and kept his voice low and steady. “I need to know where Sammi went.”
“Don’t know nothin’ ’bout that.”
“Yeah you do.” He turned his head and spit on the ground. “You took her to the bus station last Thursday, and I want to know where she was headin’.”
“I didn’t take her. I can’t even drive. I’m only thirteen.”
“Yes you did. I know for a fact.” He jammed a finger in the air at Luke and the boy backed against the tree. Gundy walked even closer. “I done seen the surveillance video with my own two eyes. You and Sammi and your sister, at the bus station, so don’t lie to me.” He raised his voice. “Where the hell is Sammi?”
Luke lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” He sneered and stood erect.
Gundy stepped within arms’ reach. “Well, how about if I have a little talk with your sister? I’m sure she knows.”
“You so much as look at Libby and my daddy will blow your head off.”
Gundy lunged at the boy and pushed him hard against the tree trunk. “Listen, you little turd! I oughta—”
“No!” Luke shouted and looked in the direction of the other men. “I will not get in your car with you...you pervert!”
Gundy glanced over his shoulder and saw that the other two yellow-shirted men were now watching him. The man working on the hedges dropped his trimmer, and the one on the mower shut off the motor and stepped off the machine.
When both of them began walking toward Gundy he growled, “Fine.” He threw his hands up in surrender and backed away. “I’m going.”
He went to his car, slammed the door when he got in, and drove away, tires screeching and gravel flying behind him.
“Something’s wrong with Sammi, Mrs. Wallace,” Milly said urgently.
Evelyn looked up from the book she’d been reading aloud and saw Sammi, sitting at her desk with the other kids, her eyes glazed and her mouth slack. Evelyn rushed to Sammi’s side and knelt beside her while Connie hurried from the back of the room, where she’d been going through boxes of supplies.
Evelyn looked closely at Sammi’s blank face and nodded. “I think she’s having a vision, or whatever you call it.”
“Are you sure, Evelyn?” Connie said when she joined her. “It looks serious.”
“She’s using her magic,” Aiven said, sitting at the desk next to Sammi. All of the children stared at her with wide, frightened eyes, except for Aiven.
Evelyn waited anxiously beside Sammi, both knees on the floor and a hand on the back of Sammi’s chair, until Sammi finally shuddered and moaned. She sniffed once and blinked, then burst into tears and threw her arms around Evelyn’s neck.
Evelyn patted her gently on the back and said, “Was it Mr. Gundy again?”
Sammi nodded and sobbed into Evelyn’s shoulder.
“Is he still looking for you?”
Sammi nodded again, and Blane asked, “Who is Mr. Gundy?”
“He’s a bad man who’s trying to get Sammi,” Aiven said.
“He used to be her foster father,” Evelyn said. “Sammi ran away from his house, and that’s why she’s with us now.” She patted Sammi again. “Can you tell me what he said?”
Sammi took a quivering breath and related what she’d heard of Duane Gundy’s confrontation with Luke.
When Sammi finished, Evelyn stood and turned to her sister. “I don’t like this, Connie.”
Connie knelt beside Sammi and put her hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “Do you want to sit in the office until you feel better?”
Sammi shook her head and wiped her eyes. Keela, a small girl with long dark hair and bright blue eyes, said, “Why is Mr. Gundy so bad?”
“He hurt me,” Sammi said quietly and sniffed again.
“We’re determined to keep her safe from him,” Evelyn said to the children. “We’re not going to let him hurt her again.”
Leora slid out of her seat and stood on the other side of Sammi, her freckled face sincere as she put her delicate hand on Sammi’s other shoulder. “You can stay with me, Sammi. You will be very safe, and I have room in my bed. My ma and pa won’t mind.”
“Or you could stay with me.” Milly bobbed her head earnestly. “I’ll sleep on the floor and you can have the bed with my sister.”
“Or me,” Sarah said, “I have room.” Then all of the kids offered, except for Blane, who looked like he desperately wanted to, but knew it wasn’t proper.
Aiven’s face lit up. “You can stay in Jamie’s stone house by the river! It’s perfect, it is. Mrs. Tully and I can stay with you, and
you can have your own room, and I can sleep on the day bed, and —”
“Okay, Aiven.” Evelyn waved one hand. “I don’t think that’s necessary just yet.”
Sammi seemed to be moved by the sudden outpouring of support from her new friends. She smiled weakly as all of the children left their seats and surrounded her in a protective cluster.
“Sammi ought to be safe staying with Fred,” Connie said. “Seeing as how she’s such a powerful witch. And Jamie’s right across the street.”
“And Carl, too.”
“I feel magic.” Aiven suddenly turned and pointed toward the back of the room “Jamie’s coming!”
Everyone watched as a golden, glowing line appeared in the air, traced upward, and formed the shape of a door. Jamie pushed it open and stepped through. “Hey, I’m here. Who’s ready to go to my house?” His eyebrows drew down sharply when he saw the children grouped around Sammi with concerned looks on their faces. “What’s going on?”
Evelyn quickly explained and Jamie frowned and scrubbed the side of his face with one hand. “That Mr. Gundy sounds like he’s going to be a bigger problem than we thought.”
“Why don’t you banish him to that world where you sent those two witches?” Aiven said.
“Well, he’s not a witch or a wizard for one thing, and my dad said we can’t be vigilantes, especially since we can’t prove that he’s broken any laws. I banished the witches because there wasn’t a better option. If they’d been arrested, they would’ve used their magic to escape.”
“But it’s Sammi! He could hurt her.”
“Nobody’s going to hurt her while she’s with us. You can count on that.” He turned to Sammi. “You still have your necklace, don’t you?”
Sammi fingered the silver half-moon pendant that hung from a thin chain around her neck. “I wear it every day.”
“What does that do?” Blane asked.
“It’s got a hex in it,” Jamie said, “the Stupefyin’ Spell, as Fred calls it. If anybody messes with her, all Sammi has to do is twirl it and they’ll be too confused to remember their own name.”
“Show us!” Roni said.
“You don’t have a counter charm.” Jamie gestured at the bracelet on his wrist. “But maybe we can do that some other time.” He looked at their bright faces and said, “All right. Are you ready to go to my house? It’s another world, you know.”
“The real Earth,” Aiven said.
Milly rolled her eyes and tsked, and Evelyn had to stifle a laugh. “Everybody get your lunches,” Evelyn said. “We’ll eat there.”
The children rushed to the counter and grabbed their cloth sacks that held their food, mostly bread and cheese, some with a piece of fruit thrown in for good measure.
Jamie drew another doorway, opened it and stepped through. Aiven immediately went next. The other children hesitated, so Sammi took Leora’s hand and pulled her toward the portal, and the rest followed while Evelyn and her twin sister brought up the rear.
They crowded into Jamie’s family room, and the children took in their new surroundings. “It...it does not look that different,” Blane said. “Not like I expected it would.”
“But watch this!” Aiven went to the coffee table and picked up the remote control for the television. He aimed it at the set and pressed a button on it, and the screen flared to life.
The other children gasped. The TV was set to ESPN, and it was showing highlights of the previous day’s baseball games. The vivid colors and action on the wide, flat screen mesmerized all of the children except for Sammi and Aiven. “See?” Aiven pointed at it. “This is what they can do here. This is the real Earth, and they have technology.”
“Does that...is that magic?” Keela said.
Jamie chuckled. “No, it’s science. Anybody who studies enough can make something like that.”
“We’re hoping you kids will be able to someday,” Connie said. “That’s what the new school is for.”
Sarah pointed at the television. “We will be able to make that?”
“Maybe,” Evelyn said. “Or you might choose to do something else. It’s up to you.”
“You could be a doctor,” Leora said with a nod, “like the lady at the clinic.”
“You can be anything if you are willing to learn and work hard,” Jamie said. “I promise.”
“Come on!” Aiven ran to the hall. “Maybe we can see a car.”
They followed him into the small formal living room at the front of the house that Jamie’s family rarely used. They crowded before the window and Aiven pointed to a house catty-cornered across the street. “That’s where Fred lives.”
“Fred the witch?” Sarah said.
“Yes, and Rollie lives over there.” He pointed at the house directly in front of them. “There’s more magic around here than anywhere in the whole world, maybe in all the worlds.”
“Jamie,” Leora said, “are we really on another world?”
“Yes, we definitely are. If you could see the moon here, you’d really understand.”
“Or a car.” Aiven pointed at the blue Chevy in the driveway. “That’s Jamie’s car. It goes really fast, like this!” He flattened his hand and swept it through the air. “Zoom! And it doesn’t need a horse or a mule or anything to pull it.”
“Can we see it?” Blane asked. “Let’s go outside.”
“Um,” Jamie said, “we need to stay out of sight of the neighbors. Maybe another car will go by in a second. Be real quiet and let me listen for one.” His eyes narrowed in concentration and his mouth tightened.
“What’s he doing?” Roni whispered.
“Shhh.” Evelyn put her finger to her lips. “He’s using his magic hearing, I think.”
After a few seconds, Jamie shrugged. “Something’s coming, but I think it’s just the mail truck. It’s not exactly going to zoom by.”
All of the children stared out of the window, silent as mice, and soon the white, box-shaped USPS truck puttered into view and stopped at Fred’s mailbox.
“Did you see that?” Blane said, his eyes as wide as they could be. “It’s moving by itself, like...like it has magic.”
Jamie shook his head. “It’s not magic, though. Really, I keep telling you, it’s just technology.”
The truck rolled to the next house and Roni said, “Sure looks like magic.”
“It was designed and built by ordinary people.” Jamie turned to Evelyn and said, “I found a science history DVD collection I was thinking about getting for the school. It’s got stuff about the invention of all kinds of things, like the phone and the automobile and whatever.”
“How are they going to watch them?”
“On a television.” She frowned and Jamie quickly added, “I won’t install cable at the school, just a DVD player. It’ll be a big help to them, I think. We used to watch stuff like that all the time when I was in school.”
Evelyn glanced at Connie, who shrugged and said, “I retired before DVDs became common in my old school, but I think it’s a good idea.”
“Look!” Aiven pointed again, and a white SUV drove by, passing the mail truck and rolling out of sight. All of the children except for Sammi pressed closer to the window and their mouths dropped open.
“It is practically flying!” Leora said.
Jamie smiled. “It’s only going about twenty-five miles per hour. That’s nothing.”
Aiven nodded earnestly, eyes still on the road. “You should have been with me when Mr. Sikes took me for a ride in his red truck. We went on a road called the Interstate, and we drove seventy miles an hour, we did.”
“You are lying, Aiven,” Milly said.
“No he’s not,” Jamie said. “Some people drive faster than that, though they have to pay a fine if they get caught.”
“That’s all well and good,” Evelyn said, “but we’re not here to stare out of the window all day. You kids need to run around and get some exercise.”
“The yard!” Aiven turned and rushed off. “Co
me on,” he said over his shoulder. “You’ve got to see this.”
They followed him down the hall to the family room, and Aiven ran to the back door. “This is the way.” He turned the dead bolt, flung the door wide and dashed outside, Sammi right on his heels.
The other children looked at Evelyn and she waved one hand. “Go on. It’s okay.”
They took off after Aiven and Sammi. Evelyn, Connie and Jamie trailed behind them. The children squealed when they saw the playset, Sammi already climbing into one of the swings and Aiven clambering up the steps to the slide.
Evelyn heard a faint roar and Jamie raised one finger and said, “I think a plane is coming. Look, everybody.”
All of the children stopped what they were doing and turned their heads up as a single-engine Cessna flew above them. Aiven pointed at it triumphantly. “See? What did I tell you? You never saw anything like that before, did you? We are definitely on another world, we are.”
All of the children, even Sammi, gaped and followed its flight across the blue sky. Connie said, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Jamie laughed. “Those kids probably feel like they’re in someplace like Oz.”
Evelyn chuckled, too, and turned back to the house. “I’m going to grab their lunches and get them something to drink.” She stepped inside and was on her way to the kitchen when she heard the doorbell ring. Who could that be? She went to answer it, and when she opened the front door, she saw the thin, prune-faced widow from down the street.
“Hello, Mrs. Wysoki. What brings you here?”
The gray-haired busy-body tried to peer around Evelyn into the house and frowned. “I heard a bunch of youngsters shrieking in your yard, so I came over to make sure they weren’t trespassing or anything. I know Jamie and his friends are all grown up and wouldn’t be doing that.”
“It’s just some kids from a school that my sister and I are volunteering at this summer. We, uh, stopped by on our way back from a field trip so they could play in the yard for a bit.”
“School? In the summer?”
“It’s a...it’s a summer camp. You know about those, don’t you?”
“Oh. Yes.” She put an age-spotted hand flat on her chest. “But I looked through a crack in the fence to see who they were, and they’re dressed so strangely. So old-fashioned, except for the pretty girl with the short dark hair.”