by Lee Morgan
Even looking like a cue tip, he still manages to be positive.
“Sounds like that short trip you did to yourself last night was all worth it. You get time off, with pay.” He still had that goofy grin on. Kara then handed him back his walkie-talkie to which he put on the night stand. “By the way, Brother also gave me a message for you.”
His smile weakened, but for only a moment. “What did he have to say?”
“Brother said ‘Some animals got into the trash during the night and scattered it everywhere. The big pieces were all gone and what was left is too small to recognize.’ That was what he said. Do you know what he’s talking about?” She smiled. Brother more like opened a hole in the ground and buried the body like he did against Mr. Branderson.
His smile brightened and tilted his head. “That’s the most positive news I’ve been waiting to hear all day.” she asked him again, feigning ignorance, what that meant, but the deputy only smiled and said it was nothing of any importance.
For the next thirty minutes they talked and asked different questions about what they did yesterday. It turned out to be a wonderful time.
When she finally made it back to the apartment a message waited on the answering machine. The contact lenses were ready a day sooner than they were expected. Kara went by and picked them up from the optic store. She walked back to the jeep and opened the box.
Looking in the mirror, she examined her silver eyes, the silver eyes that now forever make her a Changer. Kara sighed to herself as she looked at the flimsy colored contact and laughed inwardly. First I wanted my eyes to go back to normal, but now I don’t want to cover them up. They are so…exotic. She decided that seeing her mom is more important so she popped in the brown contacts. She looked into the mirror again and saw that the contacts made her look almost the same, but she felt so different now that she survived crossing into a whole new world. In less than a week into this new life she found herself feeling a bit nostalgic for some odd reason.
First though Kara stopped by her grandparent’s ranch because it has been too long since seeing either of them. It was around noon when she arrived in Mark’s brown jeep. She knocked on the front screen door and let herself in. Kara walked into the living room to find them eating lunch while watching the noon news. “Good afternoon Granddaddy and Grandma.”
Her grandma was the first to speak. She wore a yellow and green polka dot shirt and bright red spandex shorts. Always the fashion queen. She sounded a little flustered. “Well hello, Kara. I haven’t seen you for over two weeks. How are you doing?” Kara placated her by saying that she was alright. “What did you do last night?” She smiled knowingly.
“Umm,” She started to say, but the TV’s volume began getting overwhelmingly louder. Kara looked down at her granddaddy and saw the remote control in his left hand and a ham sandwich in the other. She looked at the news that was currently on the TV.
In the news a young blonde anchor woman reported “Last night a group of four trackers arose to the challenge and rescued Maggie Laurento, a seven year old girl who became lost in the woods early yesterday morning. This lead and handsome tracker,” It was a clip of Connor when he was kneeling on the ground and searching for the first signs of where Maggie first disappeared in the back yard. His silver armlet glistened over his massive arms. Kara also saw Mark and Mr. Branderson off to the side watching him intently. Mark looked so good without a shirt on that she almost forgot to listen to what was said. “found her tracks in thirty minutes rather than an entire search team who were out there for several hours. We didn’t get his name or the names of those who traveled with him.
“The four men followed her tracks into the forest and found Maggie and brought her back safe and sound, but the officer who was traveling with the group had to be rushed to the hospital because of a minor head trauma. The lead tracker himself carried the officer all the way back and gave him over to the emergency personnel.” The screen switched to a clip of her brother running to put Deputy Burrow on the stretcher. Connor was now a TV star. When the background disappeared the anchorwoman said “Whoever you are; thank you.” The woman smiled seductively. “And you can have my number if you stop by the station.”
At that Kara started laughing; hard. When she wiped the tears away and could breathe again she said “Sweetie, Sarah would absolutely Love to meet you!”
Then the woman went on to the next story by saying “The category five hurricane that appeared in the Gulf of Mexico has finally made its way to shore and is causing havoc to both Louisiana and Mississippi. Now we’re going to Molly who is on scene during the devastating storm…”
The TV suddenly turned off and David spoke without emotion. “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this or even offer to ask for my help?”
Uh oh… What am I going to do?
Kara came to a quick decision and walked in front of both of them. This wouldn’t be easy, but she’d have to sell it to keep off suspicions. Kara spoke seriously to her soot covered grandfather. He must have been working the forge this morning and only came in to eat. “Time was of the importance and you were too far out of the way. I’m sorry, but we were in a rush.”
He sighed and scratched his head. David grimaced and said “I’m sorry, Kara. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of both of you and what you accomplished, but it’s difficult to see how quickly the two of you have grown into such fine adults.”
She wanted to ease his mind. “Granddaddy, would you like me to tell you what happened yesterday?” His head came up and he smiled softly and nodded.
It wasn’t easy telling the story while omitting certain details. She said that her and Mark were at her brother’s cottage when he got the call and then went on to explain how they met up with Sarah’s sister and her father while on the way to the truck. How they had a police escort to the log house was fun to explain because of Connor’s driving. What Connor found by the three blades of grass and telling the older gentleman how incompetent he was proved be the most humorous. Both of her grandparents laughed at that. She told him how her brother ran with his arms full and how he directed everyone to obey everything he said.
David said with quiet pride “He’s become a good and natural leader.”
After spending another two hours going over everything, Kara left and drove towards Jenny’s.
As she put the jeep in park, Kara saw Jillian walking her way. What is she up to now? Jillian wore a low cut red blouse with a miniskirt and very classy heels. She always looked ready to go out for a night on the town, even when she would simply stay home. Kara stepped out of the jeep and waived. Jillian walked up with a big grin. “Did you see the news today?”
She smiled back. “Yeah, that buxom blonde is in for some trouble.” The two of them laughed for a moment. “Did you tell Sarah?”
Jillian shook her almost black hair while wearing a tight lipped smile. “Nope, she watched it when she came over.” Her grin widened. “Sarah’s green eyed monster finally surfaced. She took Jack out to the training field to blow off some steam. Several times I could feel the earth tremble all the way out here.” In her mind Kara saw Sarah covered in water and boiling it off her skin in anger. Kara smiled knowing that she could do that with her abilities. Jillian cocked her head as she studied the new Changer. “Oh, those must be your new contacts. They look like your original color, but your silver eyes look much better.”
“I like my new silver eyes too, but...” Kara looked at her house for a moment. “Listen, I haven’t seen my mom in a week. She must be looking forward to finally seeing me.”
Jillian leaned to the side to see around her. “Enough said.” She turned and walked back to her house. And Kara did the same.
Kara opened the blue front door and took her shoes off. She walked silently into the living room and saw her mom asleep on the sofa with a book atop her belly. Jenny wore a brown t-shirt and white pants. Her golden hair was tied back in a loose bun. Kara smiled when she heard her mom snoring. Jenny looked so very peace
ful. Now what kind of child of hers would I be if I didn’t spoil her nap…?
She silently walked into the kitchen and started cooking grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Cooking the fifth one she heard her mom jump out of the sofa. “Who’s in my house?” Jenny yelled and ran into the kitchen. As she rounded the corner her hand came up to her heart. “Oh thank goodness.” Jenny sighed and started smiling.
“Good afternoon, Mom.” Kara said while turning off the stove and putting the skillet into the sink. As she took the plate of food to the table her mom brought out some iced tea. Sitting down she asked “Did you miss me?”
“Of course I did. It’s been almost a week since I saw you. Tell me what you and Mark have been up to this week? Did you enjoy yourself? And tell me what happened last night. Daddy called me this morning and told me to watch the news.” Jenny smiled softly after taking a bite out of her sandwich.
Kara then told her mom everything that she told her grandparents just hours before. It would be foolish to make up a different story and get trapped between a lie. When Kara finished speaking Jenny wanted to know what she did this week and was told “I really don’t have a reasonable excuse for you.” Jenny smiled at such honesty. Sometimes lying is too much of a hassle.
Then her mom said “I’ve got something for you. Follow me.” All of the food had been consumed as they stood from the dining table. Jenny started walking from the kitchen and Kara faked trying to keep up with her. This new strength rocked. Kara never get tired anymore, but she still felt the call to sleep even if she didn’t need it. They walked down the hall and then her mom opened the door to her bedroom. “I found these in the closet a few days ago. It was hidden way in the back. Without having the two of you in the house has given me a lot of free time to clean the house. I thought you might like to have them since they were yours to begin with?”
On her bed were a pair of small figurines. They were small wooden horses that her brother made. Three years ago when her brother went off for six months, trying to survive alone; he crafted them. Connor said that during the night by the fire he would whittle something special for Kara. These horses were what he created during his time in solitude. Each of the figurines were as long as her forearm and as tall as an outstretched hand. They were running stallions with their manes billowed out from the wind, unsaddled and running free. No animal should be controlled for one’s enjoyment or else it’s no more than slavery. The animals should want to work with you for a mutual benefit.
When Connor finally returned home from his trip, he handed them to Kara and said “Paint these the way you think they want to be treated.” When she finished examining them she decided what color they should be. She painted each the bodies of the horses black. The larger horse had a painted mane of a golden brown and its eyes a turned out to be colored a bluish brown. The other horse’s mane was as black its body, but the eyes were made the color of silver. At the time she thought they should be the symbols of her brother and Mark. Kara wished her brother would have made a wolf and a falcon instead. Her brother would be the falcon where as Mark would be the wolf.
Kara walked to Jenny’s bed and carefully picked them up. “I had completely forgotten about these. I’ll take great care of them.” I know just what to do with one of them though.
“That’s why I’m giving them back, Sweetheart.”
For the next two hours Jenny and Kara sat on the sofa and her mom told her some of the exciting trauma stories she saw this week at the hospital. As the head trauma nurse at the hospital Jenny has some explicit and gory stories.
Kara loves them.
Kara glanced out the window and saw how dark it became. “Mom, it was good to see you again, but I need to go see Sarah before it gets any later.”
She grabbed the two figurines and walked outside. Jenny began watching TV so Kara took her contacts out and put them into their cases and added the solution. Before shutting the jeep door, she placed black mane stallion with silver eyes in the passenger seat to leave behind.
On her way to Sarah’s cottage, Kara changed her eyes so that she could see in the failing light of the woods. And her sense of smell was heightened. It was easier to follow her scent rather than retracing her steps.
She made her eyes return to normal when the cottage came into view.
The living room lights were still on when she knocked on the door.
Sarah’s voice alone could bend steel. “Who is it?!”
Kara spoke casually, not understanding what was going on. “Your sister-in-law.” She took a deep breath and asked “May I come in?”
The bolt on the door clicked and opened a crack. Sarah’s green eye looked at her for a moment before opening the door completely. Sarah spoke evenly while they studied each other. Sarah was dressed in a way that said ‘I’m ready for bed.’ She was wearing one of her brother’s large shirts. Her long brown hair was pulled back and exposed her neck. “It’s late, Kara. What do you want?”
She smiled in habit, but it wasn’t returned. “Can we talk?” Kara hid the stallion behind her back until she would calm down.
Sarah suddenly looked like death warmed over. She looked so disoriented.
She sighed and stepped back. Kara walked in after removing her dirty shoes. She sat down on the sofa that her brother crafted and Sarah joined her. “Talk.” She said evenly. Her emerald colored eyes were tired and a little upset.
“What’s the matter, big sister?” Kara asked in concern.
“You wouldn’t understand.” She sighed and Kara saw how defenseless she actually was without Connor around. Her head dipped down and her eyes shut.
Kara placed a gentle hand on hers and brought the stallion into view. “Is this about what that blonde bimbo said on the news?” With her eyes still closed she nodded. “Did you blow off a little too much steam at the training area?” She answered in the same fashion again. “Then why are you so upset.”
She lifted her head and looked upon Kara, directly in the eyes. “I love Connor more than life itself, but why am I feeling so jealous?” She accidently snickered an Sarah’s voice went back to steel bending. “What’s so funny?”
“I know exactly what you’re feeling and why.” Sarah faltered for words so Kara went on. “When Brother met you, I felt somewhat the same. Someone else has their attention on my brother and that is what’s bothering you. It’s the jealousy of knowing that Brother’s attention might go somewhere else.” Sarah nodded, uneasily. “I’ll tell you something.” Her full attention was now riveted on the younger child. “Brother will never ever leave you. I thought he would be gone forever when he built this house for you. I was wrong. He has eyes only for you and you should never doubt that.”
She finally smiled softly after being reassured. She then glanced down and gasped. She asked quietly “What is this?” Sarah carefully picked up the stallion that was a reference to her brother.
As Sarah carefully traced the exquisitely detailed curves with the tips of her fingers Kara spoke. “Brother made that three years ago. I did the painting and now I’m giving it to you. This will be my gift for our second slumber party.” Her head shot up and her eyes went wide. “Oh yeah, when the men are gone, we will party!” Kara stood up and twirled. When she stopped Sarah’s expression remained frozen and it made Kara double over in laughter.
When Sarah finally relaxed she too started giggling. “Well what should we do first?”
Kara had a great idea. “How about we play I’ve Never?”
She stopped. “But you’re at the disadvantage because I have three hundred years on you.” Kara smiled Exactly! she thought in a smug manner. Then Sarah started laughing and Kara then knew Sarah was reading her mind.
Kara had a question first. “Sarah, what did Brother do today?”
Her smile faltered. “When he dropped us off last night, we went home and had dinner. He left at about three in the morning and ran all the way to where Mathew was, in the woods. He called my cell phone this morning and told me that
a cougar got a hold of the remains. He then buried what was left and also buried the bullet casing deep in the ground. He spent all night looking for anything that could be traced back to us. He didn’t leave behind any evidence.
“This was the first time he has ever had to kill another person. I’m actually proud that he is feeling remorse for the one who died. Even if he did have it coming…” Sarah answered Kara’s questioning eyes. “I’m proud of him because he doesn’t relish over his kill. My mate is one who enjoys life and basks in it, but will end it only if there is a threat. I’m happy I didn’t choose a malicious man.” Sarah smiled again as her eyes became unfocused.
“Last weekend you had that same look on. Why do you look so depressed?”
“Because Connor is so far away from me. Mates share a powerful bond. I can feel exactly where my mate is at all times, like an invisible tether trying to come back together. When our mate is far away we get agitated, scared, angry and even depressed. Only when our mates are close can we be at ease. The bond to be together is stronger than any form of addiction, but in a good way. We’re two halves of the same whole and as such we always want to be together at all times. And when he holds me, it’s like I’m whole again. When he leaves…”
Feeling tired of such a long lecture about a Balancer’s bond Kara asked with a grin “Ready to get this party started?”
Reward and Take
Mid-Friday Connor met up with Mark and the three groups that had been taken into the forest. Earlier that morning he buried what was left of the scattered remains of Mathew. From the animal prints that had appeared and been classified as an assortment of scavengers and a large bear scraping .The most difficult part was covering up all of the evidence. Connor had to use an array of powers to mend the struggle that took place that night. Terra had to be used to fill in all of the footprints and the impact of the Mathew’s fall should a search team be sent and find this place. The few lingering human remains were also buried well over six feet underneath the soil, should any dogs be called to the scene. His job wasn’t finished because he still had to remove all traces that led up to his death. Every single step Mathew made in the forest, as he followed their trail had been vibrated to fill in and hide the tread of his shoes. Connor has always hated killing anything unless there was no other way. Like his mate said earlier, Mathew had two chances in life and he chose vengeance. His fate came to a close on the final attempt.