Fugitives
Page 5
“Come in if you’re Christopher,” someone on the other side calls.
I raise an eyebrow at Christopher. He shrugs and opens the door before walking inside.
My eyes follow him in. The bedroom is a mess. Piles of clothes litter the ground. Books and binders are strewn randomly on the bed. Dirty plates and wrappers layer the dresser. The closet is in a state of indescribable chaos.
Finally, my eyes fall on a teenage boy who is sitting in front of a crowded desk typing furiously on a laptop. The boy has slightly mussed black hair and a very pale complexion.
He looks up. “Hey, Christo-” His black eyes widen when he sees us. He studies us all for a moment before focusing on Ata. “Shouldn’t you give me a heads up before deciding to throw a party at my place?”
Ignoring him, Christopher gestures to us. “Joseph, this is Emily; her cousins, Chase and Mary-Ann; her grandmother; Oto, and Ata.” Then he turns to us. “Guys, this pathetic louse is my best friend, Joseph Jones.”
I wave. “It’s nice to meet-”
Joseph folds his arms and leans back in his chair. “Let me guess- you’re in need of my talents.”
Christopher nods, daring to go further into the room. “Can you use a satellite or something to zoom in on Emily’s house or something?”
“Duh. Anyone with the most basic level of computer experience can do that, my techno phobic friend.” To us, he adds, “If it weren’t for me, Christopher wouldn’t even know how to send an email.”
Christopher clears his throat. “You were showing us Emily’s house.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. What’s your address, Emily?”
I give it to him.
Joseph nods and turns his attention back to his laptop. “Oh, and, Christopher, for future reference, you don’t bring the stalkie over when you’re trying to stalk her house. It kind of defeats the purpose.”
Christopher seems to decide to ignore that comment.
“Got it,” Joseph announces suddenly, dropping his hands.
We all crowd around him and gawk at the screen. Sure enough, there is a picture of my home plastered on it. It looks intact, but empty. Neither my parent’s car nor my uncle and aunt’s car is parked in the driveway.
“They aren’t there,” I say. “And they aren’t answering their phones. So either the Masters have them or they’re on the way to Belgium and, being my parents, they forgot to charge their phones.”
Joseph glances back at me. “Wait, the Masters took your parents? Yikes.”
Chase rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet. “You know about the Masters?”
“Yep. Christopher told me everything.”
Everything. Oh, if only I were there for the parts when he talked about me. What did he say? That I was a pathetic louse too? Or that he was fighting what he thought were unrequited passions?...
Knock. Knock.
Mr. Jones opens Joseph’s bedroom door and peeks in.
Joseph groans. “Dad, what have I told you about opening before I answer?”
Mr. Jones ignores him. “You have another visitor.” He walks away, leaving a girl about my age with long, red curls pulled into a ponytail standing in the doorway.
She’s wearing a black, leather jacket over a girly, purple shirt with black jeans and black slip-ons- an odd combination, but somehow, she makes it work. I don’t think I like her very much- and not just because she’s pretty; there’s something disturbing about her eyes. They’re bright blue and seem to soak in every detail about everything.
I turn to Joseph to ask if she’s his girlfriend or something, but then I see Oto, whose face is contorted in silent furry.
“Holly,” he hisses. “What are you doing here?!”
Holly… I’ve heard that name before…
“You’ve got to come with me,” she says with an urgent tone, her pleading gaze moving across us. “If I found you, then they aren’t far behind.”
Christopher frowns. “What do you mean? Are you talking about the Masters?”
Holly cocks her hip. “Yes, the Masters are coming. We need to go now.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Oto adds through gritted teeth. “She lies.”
I ignore him and study Holly. “Do you know if the Masters have my parents?” She could be a Masters for all I care as long as she can tell me about my parents.
She shakes her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about your parents…”
“Emily.”
“I really am sorry, Emily, but we need to go.”
“You’re not coming anywhere with us, Holly,” Oto retorts, pulling Chase and Ata out of Joseph’s bedroom with him.
Huh?
The rest of us, including Joseph follow him curiously, leaving Holly alone in Joseph’s room.
“Oto, please listen to me-” she begs, taking a step towards us.
“Never again,” Oto says, slamming the door shut and locking it. To us he simply says, “Come on. If she found us than the other Masters won’t be far behind.” With that, Oto starts marching down the stairs.
“Who is she?” I ask. “Is she a Masters? What ever did she do to you?”
“She betrayed me,” Oto growls. “I should have expected as much. She’s one of them after all.”
He steps outside Joseph’s house.
I give Ata a confused look, but she just shakes her head, as if to say ‘it’s a long story.’
“So, where are we going now?” Joseph asks, clutching his laptop.
Christopher raises an eyebrow at him.
“What?” Joseph says. “My dad’s always telling me to get a life and this as good a time as any to start.”
Christopher raises his eyebrow higher. “We’re going go head back to my house and decide our next move.”
Joseph shrugs. “Sounds good to me.”
~~~
“So, what next?” I ask after we all settle into Christopher’s bedroom. “If this Holly is to be believed-”
Oto jerks his head right to left. “She isn’t.”
I study Oto. What is with him? “Then the Masters are almost upon us.”
“Well, then I guess we should make our way to Belgium,” Christopher says, “in case your parents are there waiting for us.”
“Wait, you’re going all the way to Belgium?!” Joseph cries. “What? Are you crazy?”
Christopher gives him a Look. “I don’t think you understand how serious this is.”
“But… that’s a whole different country!”
“I am aware of that. You should go back home while you still can. I doubt your dad will want you coming to Belgium with us.”
Joseph shrugs. “He won’t even notice I’m gone. Besides, you might need technical support, which you don’t have right now because (1), you’re a technophobe; (2), Oto and Ata probably haven’t ever used a computer before; (3), Mary-Ann and Chase are too young; (4), Mrs. Rogers is too old; and (5), Emily is a girl- no offense anyone.”
Grandmother looks offended, but I decide to ignore the jab directed towards me. “Wow, you remembered all of our names.”
Joseph shrugs.
“I’ll have you know, young man, that I am most definitely not too old to-” Grandmother starts.
But before she can finish, Mr. Williams runs in.
“They’re here!” he says. “Christopher, take everyone to the garage. You should all fit in the van. I’ll hold Them off. Go! Now!”
Christopher turns to me. “Run.”
Christopher jumps up, grabs a pre-packed backpack, and gestures for us to follow him. I make sure that I have my satchel before grabbing both Chase’ and Mary-Ann’s hands and following Christopher. Grandmother, Oto, Ata, and Joseph come up behind.
Christopher leads us to a large garage containing a half a dozen cars. He grabs a ring of keys from a hook and clicks a button, which unlocks one of the doors. “Get in,” he orders, gesturing to a large, blue van.
“They're coming!” Christopher calls.
I shake my head to clear it an
d toss Mary-Ann into the car. We all climb in after and Christopher starts driving before we’re even all buckled up. He presses a garage door opener as he drives towards the garage door.
I squeeze my eyes shut and brace myself. However, no collision occurs.
When I open my eyes, all I see is light, which means I either died very painlessly or rich people have fast-opening garage doors.
Gradually, my sight becomes clearer and I make out my surroundings. Huh, rich people must have fast-opening garage doors after all.
I look behind us. No one is following. I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Tail at two o’clock!” Joseph cries. “Awesome. I’ve always wanted to say that.”
I look back again. Sure enough, a black car is driving towards us. Oh, no, not again.
Then it passes us.
“Never mind, false alarm,” Joseph says. “I’ve always wanted to say that too.”
Chase laughs nervously. “What do you know- not all black cars are evil.”
I give a forced laugh and hope he’s right as I dial 911 again.
And get static.
Joseph glances over my shoulder. “Hey- someone's interfering with your signal.”
I glance up. “What?”
But he's already looking down at his phone. “And someone's interfering with mine! Okay, something's going down with the Wi-Fi around here.”
“The Masters?” I whisper.
He grits his teeth and puts his phone back down. “I'm beginning to see why you don't like these guys so much.”
~~~
“I finally got a signal,” Joseph announces, holding up a phone to his ear.
“Calling your dad?” Christopher asks.
Joseph nods before speaking to the phone. “Yo, padre. What's going on around there?”
I watch as Joseph's face becomes many hues of confusion. “Okay, bye.”
“What is it?” I ask.
He frowns as he lowers his phone. “Well, everything seems fine there. Dad didn't really care to stay on the line long, so what else is new?”
“Should I call the police?” I ask.
“My father probably already has,” Christopher answers. “And I'll call him myself once we're all settled down for the night. In the meantime-” He glances out the window as we pass a sign. “Welcome to Bristol, England. We’ll stop here for the night and get a boat to Belgium tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” I say dryly. “More boats.”
Everyone ignores me. “I propose a game,” Christopher says. “Whoever spots the first hotel or motel wins.”
Please tell me we aren’t going to stay at a motel. I didn’t survive being bug-free on an island just to get eaten up by bedbugs and infested by lice in some motel.
I play the game with fervor.
“Look, there’s a decent looking hotel!” I cry.
Christopher glances at it and nods. “All right, Emily wins.”
Hugh.
~~~
“I booked us two adjoining rooms,” Christopher says when he rejoins us in the car after checking out rooms for us. “One for the boys and one for the girls.” He moves us from the front door to a parking lot.
“You didn’t use a credit car, did you?” I ask.
“No, I used good old untraceable cash. Though, I might have to stop at a bank before we leave for one big withdrawal before we disappear…”
I nod and then stop. “Wait, how much cash did you have to use?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does. You shouldn’t have to use your money this way.”
Christopher shrugs and parks the car. “It’s no big deal. Really.”
But it is a big deal. Why should any of us have to go through this? Wasn’t the island ordeal enough?
~~~
“So,” I say the moment we girls all step into our room. “What’s up with Oto and Holly?” Should I feel endangered by her because she's a Masters of some sort, or because she seems to have a part of Oto he really wishes she didn't have?
I shake my head at myself. Why would that endanger me? Why would I be jealous of Oto? It's Christopher I like...
“It’s a rather long story,” Ata answers.
I lift up a mattress to check for bedbugs. “I have time.”
“Look, it’s Oto’s story, and I doubt he wants me to tell it. And don’t ask him about it either. He’ll tell it when he tells it. Right now, it’s a rather, what’s the word? Sore subject.”
“But I need to know who this girl is. That’s kind of important, isn’t it?” Oh boy, Oto has baggage. Be still my heart. Baggage should be avoided, not attractive.
I most certainly shouldn't feel more connected to Christopher because of his father issues and more committed because of whatever may or may not have happened with his mother...
Ata sighs. “I’ll tell you this much: Oto and Holly were best friends. When Rudolf Masters met and married Holly’s lovely widowed mother, Mrs. Birdwell, on a business trip, he took both her and Holly back to the island with him. Holly was only twelve at the time, and it was a big change for her, obviously.”
I nod. I can relate to that. I’ve moved five times myself.
Great. More connections. Just what my hormones needed.
“She needed a friend, and Oto, being the rebel he is, befriended her. Rudolf Masters didn’t like it, but his new wife convinced him to let it be. Then… Well, years later, things got out of hand and Oto was given the capital punishment and Holly abandoned him.”
“Was that how she betrayed him?” I ask. “Or was there more?”
“I… I’m afraid you’ll have to let Oto tell you that bit.” Ata looks down. “Let’s just say that Oto overstepped his place one too many times.”
“Oh… Okay. Thank-you.”
“Good night,” she answers, removing her shoes and crawling into one of the beds.
What did Holly do to Oto? And to be betrayed by your best friend… Poor, poor Oto.
I want to fix it.
A mental list of all the unusual people I have met in my life:
(1) Our next door neighbor at our second house who stole anything we left outside and sold it on Ebay;
(2) My junior high science teacher who got way too much pleasure from cutting up frogs;
(3) Oto, who killed a bear the first time I met him;
(4) Ata, who was about to be whipped to death the first time I met her;
(5) The Masters, who are seriously messed up;
(6) Joseph- need I say more?
(7) Holly, who is part of the mystery that is Oto’s past (and she makes a leather jacket and a girly top look good together which is downright unnatural);
~~~
“Emily?” Mary-Ann, who is again my bedmate, says.
“Yes?” I ask, trying to get comfortable in the unfamiliar bed- and an unfamiliar darkness.
“I love you. You’re not my cousin. You’re more like my sister.”
“Thank you.” Suddenly, the surrounding darkness doesn’t seem quite so lonely. After all, my precious cousin is here beside me. My grandmother and Ata are both in the room. And right next door are Christopher, Oto, and Joseph. We’re all together.
Mostly.
Chapter Four
I wake up with Mary-Ann half on top of me.
I gently shove her off and climb out of bed. All of my other roommates are still sleeping, so I have the bathroom all to myself.
After a quick shower (I’m never taking indoor plumbing for granted again after that Island!), I wake Mary-Ann and have her do the same. While she showers, I do my best to make myself more presentable, which is difficult since this is my third day in these clothes and I slept in them last night.
I make do with my clothes and the little make-up that I have in my satchel. Hopefully, we can purchase another change of clothes before we board the ship to Belgium.
Once all my roommates have gotten up and showered, we join the boys at the small breakfast buffet included in the bill.
Confused, I smile back at him. Huh; maybe Holly's not such a bit deal after all. Except when connected to the Masters...
I help myself to a bowl of raisin and flake cereal and a piece of toast. I’m not very hungry- my nerves are shot, after all- but somehow, I get my breakfast down.
Grandmother seems to be the only other person in our group who isn’t very hungry. Then again, Grandmother always was a dainty eater. Chase, on the other hand, has his plate piled high with pancakes. They remind me of the day Christopher and I first met.
Instinctively, I glance at him. He and Joseph are messing with Christopher’s smart phone.
I lean forward in attempt to look at their work. “What are you doing?”
“We’re booking us a cabin on a ship to Ostend Belgium,” Christopher answers. “Don’t worry- Joseph already made it untraceable. He’ll do the same to your phone.”
“Oh.” I slide into the bench. “So is everything fine then?”
“Dad texted me before I could call. He's fine, but says we should stay away for now.”
I frown. “So we're really going to Belgium then?”
Christopher nods and puts his phone down before turning to me. “Our ship leaves in two hours.”
“So, will we have time to shop for necessities?” I glance down at my hopelessly wrinkled outfit.
“Barely,” Joseph mutters.
“That’s good enough for me.”
~~~
“I can purchase that for you,” Grandmother says as we walk through a clothing store.
“I’m good,” I answer, clutching my pile bundle of clothes. “My parents gave me clothes money. Besides, you’re already buying for Mary-Ann, Chase, Oto, and Ata. Where are they anyway?”
At the mention of their names, Chase and Mary-Ann run over holding their clothes.
“There you are,” I scold. “Come on; we need to hurry. We have to check out. Now.”
After we finish checking out, we join the boys who are waiting outside wince apparently boys can only stand being inside a clothing store for so long.