Annie and her father put a blanket on the ground and set out all their family’s lunches. Annie put food and water out for Zindle next to the blanket. After just a few minutes they were joined by John, Thelma, Sam and Ruth. Everyone sat around the edges of the blanket and began to eat. John had made sure to take a seat next to Sam so he could ask about the weather as his little sister had suggested.
“Wow it’s been really hot today. I think it’s hotter today than yesterday.” announced John after taking a few bites of his sandwich. Every agreed that it had been a miserably hot day. John then turned to Sam and Ruth. “Do you guys know a lot about the weather?” Sam and Ruth both gave John a funny look. “Well, I mean I just thought that being able to” he dropped his voice to almost a whisper “you know, do the special things you can do, that you might have to know a lot about the weather. It just seems like the weather might affect it somehow.” he finished hoping for an answer.
“Well, we do need to know a bit about the weather.” started Sam but, Ruth quickly cut him off.
“But that is a subject for another time. A time when we have a bit more privacy and from someone a bit more qualified.” ended Ruth.
“I just asked ‘cause I saw that little cloud over there.” John pointed up at the dark little puff in the sky. “I just wondered if there was any chance that it might give us some shade today?” John explained.
Sam took a good long look at sky. “No, I don’t think that little cotton ball will do anything to help us escape from the sun today.” he answered.
Ruth nodded in agreement. Annie checked both Sam and Ruth faces for any sign that the little cloud had caught their interest. She was hoping to find them examining it more closely. Maybe see some expressions of worry or at least contemplation about it. To her dismay it did not appear that they thought any more about the ominous little puff in the sky.
Everyone got back on their donkeys and continued up the trail. To both Annie and John, it seemed to be taking forever. A lot longer than it had on the trip down. They made the usual frequent stops to water their donkeys. Which, the entire family was finding more and more painful due to their lack of sleep from the previous night. Finally, when they thought they couldn’t stand it any longer they were there. They had reached the rim of the Canyon.
Everyone dismounted and gathered their things. Tired as they were they still needed to carry everything to the van. If ever John wished he knew how to control the echoes with mysticism it was now. He would love to just float or teleport his things to the van. They were heavy and he so very tired.
They all reached the van and packed it up. Daylight was fading and a decision had to be made about where to spend the night. Sam and Ruth decided it would be better to drive back to the hotel they had stayed at in Flagstaff. It would mean a few hours of driving but, as certain protections had already been put in place there, it would be easier than trying to make a new location secure.
John fell asleep quickly in the car. It was a fitful sleep. He tossed and turned. At one point the even cried out as if in pain. Thelma woke her son at that point and sang a sweet little song to soothe him back to sleep. Annie on the other hand could not sleep. She tried many times. She was so tired. She stared out the window. She did not like to look of the weather outside. The yucky little cloud seemed to have gained a friend.
There were now two nasty looking little puffs in the sky that were connected by little wisps of cotton. This sent a shiver down Annie’s spine. She just knew this was a bad thing. She felt very helpless at that moment. Helpless to stop the bad thing that she was sure was coming. She hugged Zindle tight. “What are we going to do?” she asked him in a hushed tone. Zindle did not respond with his usual reassuring licks. Instead he sat up putting his head on her shoulder and stared out the window up at the sky with her. This confirmed Annie’s suspicions. Zindle was worried about the weather too.
At some point Annie must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she was being lifted up by Daddy and carried into the hotel room. She made sure not to look up at the sky. She was afraid she would find that the cloud had made more friends while she had been sleeping. She was way too tired for more bad news just then. James placed his daughter in bed next to his son. John was already asleep. Zindle jumped up and snuggled in-between the children.
It was another awful night full of bad dreams and little sleep for the entire family. Annie kept dreaming she was being swallowed up cotton candy. She would be just sitting there munching on some cotton candy at the fair. Suddenly it would twist and grow right before her eyes. Then it would come alive and come after her. She ran but, it caught her and swallowed her up. Surrounded by a sea of fluffy, sticky, cotton candy she couldn’t escape. Each time she woke up screaming. John couldn’t describe his dreams. By the time he woke up he couldn’t really remember them. All he knew was that they were bad.
Annie overheard the adults talking in the night. They were all worried about the children’s nightmares and lack of sleep. Sam was concerned that there might be a bit of dark mysticism at work. Ruth was sure there couldn’t be. As she pointed out, it was both the children that were having dreams. If a dark echo had been used it would be unlikely that they would bother to waste it on Annie. Giving Annie bad dreams wouldn’t do anything to help them get to John. Ruth also thought it would be very difficult for anyone to get past their protections without alerting them.
Sam seemed to agree with this. Thelma suggested that it had just been the different foods they had been eating lately combined with being out in the heat and the excitement of exploring the Canyon. As no one else had any better explanations they all decided that must be the reason. To remedy the problem James suggested they take this final leg of the trip a bit more slowly. That is, spend an extra day at this hotel to rest up and get everyone feeling better. Sam and Ruth agreed with this. With that settled Sam and Ruth went to their adjoining room to get some sleep. Annie could see the pale outline of her parents in the dark room. She saw her father wrap his arms around her mother. He kissed her and told her everything would be alright. Then they too climbed in bed to go to sleep. Annie loved catching her parents in moments like that. It was great to see them together when so many of her friend’s parents were divorced. It gave her a warm feeling all over and before she knew it she had drifted off to sleep again.
John was awakened the next morning as the light from the rising sun began to stream in the window of their hotel room. Zindle was whimpering and licking his sister as she tossed and turned in her sleep. John shook his sister to wake her up. Poor Annie. It looked like she was having even worse nightmares than he was. John checked and his parents were still sleeping. He got up and got Annie a glass of water. His little sister could be a pain in the neck, but he hated to see her like this.
Annie woke up to her brother shaking her and Zindle licking her hand. She was very happy to see both of them. Seeing them made her feel like everything would be okay. She had been having more horrible dreams. She was sweating all over. John brought her a cool glass of water. She really did have the best big brother.
“John?” Annie called to her brother.
“SSHHhhh! Annie you’ll wake up Mom and Dad.” cautioned John.
“Sorry.” whispered Annie. “John, you had bad dreams last night too, right?”
“Yeah, I gave up trying to sleep when I saw the sun was up.” John told her.
“Well, do you remember what any of your dreams were about?” she asked.
“No, I wish I did. I have been trying real hard to remember and just when I think part of it is coming to me it’s gone again. I keep thinking if I could remember what the nightmares were about then I could figure out a way to keep from having them. I just can’t remember them.” John confided to his sister. Annie could hear the frustration in John’s voice.
Unfortunately, she could remember her dreams. She gave a little shake as a cold shiver went down her spine. She did not like remembering the bad dreams. Annie told her brother al
l about her nightmares. He listened closely to every word.
Since he couldn’t remember his own dreams John thought that maybe Annie’s dreams might give him a clue about his own. After listening very closely to his sister describe her dreams he was a little disappointed. Giant man-eating cotton candy sounded like a typical little kid’s monster dream to him. He told Annie he used to have dreams like that when he was her age. It seemed to make her feel better. Annie also told her brother that she had overheard the adults talking. They were talking about spending an extra day at the hotel before starting the final leg of their trip to Grandma’s. John didn’t like the sound of that. He wanted to get to Grandma’s as soon as possible. The faster they got to Grandma’s the faster he would get to learn more about mystics and echoes. His thoughts were interrupted by funny noises coming from his stomach. It was then that they both children realized they were very hungry.
Annie had been enjoying this time talking to her brother. It was really great when he showed how much he cared about her. Annie knew that her recent nightmares were nothing like the bad dreams she had in the past. She very much doubted that the dreams John had when he was her age were anything like them either but, she smiled anyway when John told her this. She knew he was trying his best to make her feel better. Together they woke up their parents to go to breakfast.
Thelma called over to Sam and Ruth’s room. Everyone got dressed and ready for them to go out. Soon Sam and Ruth joined them and they all set off for breakfast. Annie took a peek at the sky as she climbed in the van. Two gray puffs hung there looking very out of place against the otherwise clear blue sky. It gave her a little shudder.
They decided to return to the restaurant with the lumberjack statue out front. They all had enjoyed it so much the first time. To their delight they found they enjoyed it just as much the second time. Everyone ate till they couldn’t eat any more. They joked and laughed. By the end of the meal both John and Annie were feeling much better. Annie looked out the restaurant window and to her delight she did not see a cloud in the sky.
Once they were back at the hotel Thelma and James told their children about the decision to stay at the hotel an extra day to rest and recover before starting the final leg of their journey to grandma’s house. John began to protest.
“I’m tired of hotels. I just want to get to Grandma’s.” he pleaded.
Annie did not want to stay either. The ugly cloud was gone and she wanted to get as far away as possible from any place where it had been.
“Please can we go today? I want to see Grandma. I bet Grandma’s house is way more comfy than a hotel.” Annie chimed in.
“Well…Give us a few minutes to talk it over and we’ll see.” answered their father.
James and Thelma went with Sam and Ruth into their room to talk things over. As soon as the door was shut Annie and John both had their ears pressed against it. Try as they might they could not hear a thing through the thick hotel door. Annie even tried lying on the floor with her ear against the bottom of the door. She still couldn’t make out what they were saying. Eventually they gave up and tried to distract themselves with a little TV.
After what seemed like forever the door to the other room opened. John and Annie looked up at the adults holding their breath in anticipation of their decision.
“We’ve discussed it and …” James paused. Annie and John knew their father was dragging it out on purpose to tease them.
“And ?!” John and Annie demanded in unison.
James smiled. “And you both need to get packing if we’re going to get out of here by check out time.” He finished.
“Yeah!!” shouted Annie jumping up and down. She threw her arms open and began giving everyone hugs.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” exclaimed John.
After a few minutes of celebration everyone began to pack at a feverish pace. Since they had only been there one night it didn’t take long. Sam and Ruth took the bags to the van while James and Thelma went to settle the hotel bill. Annie and John took Zindle for quick run around an empty field adjacent to the hotel. They needed to stretch their legs and get out a little energy before cramming back in the van for this last part of their trip.
A short time later they were on their way. John and Annie had already started asking how long it would be until they got to Grandma’s. James explained that it was a very long way to Grandma’s house in Pennsylvania. They’d probably have to do another night or two in a hotel before they got there. John and Annie were a little disappointed when they heard this. At least once they got to Grandma’s they could stay put for a while. John and Annie talked excitedly about everything they were going to do when they got to Grandma’s.
Chapter 8
As the van traveled down the highway clouds began to form in the sky. At first the passengers in the van were blissfully unaware of the small dark mass that had formed directly above their van. Annie thought she had felt that yucky feeling she had gotten before with that awful little cloud but, when she looked out her window she had not seen anything. She went back to telling Sam and Ruth how much they would love her grandmother’s cooking. Soon, however, the little black cloud had expanded.
Large black clouds filled the sky. The few patches of sky that were not filled with black clouds had a greenish yellow cast to it. James flipped on the radio just in time to hear a tornado warning being issued. Everyone in the van was silent as they listened to the storm warning. Even Zindle was still. They heard the man on the radio say several tornadoes were forming in tornado alley. Then he gave the locations by roads and highways of where each one was.
“That tornado is coming right for this part of the highway!” gasped Thelma.
“I think it would be best for us to get off the highway and find some shelter as soon as possible.” James asserted taking his wife’s hand and giving it a little squeeze to reassure her.
All the adults agreed that was the best idea. They saw signs for a tornado emergency route and decided to follow them. Just as the signs directed them to get off at the next exit they saw it. A large black funnel cloud! It was several miles behind them but it was traveling in their direction. There wasn’t time to get to a shelter.
Everyone was terrified. James looked for the closest place to pull over. There was a gas station with a small store attached. He pulled in and flung open his door.
“Everyone out and into the store!” he commanded.
Thelma and Ruth flung open their doors. Ruth grabbed Thelma’s hand and ran with her into the store. Sam helped John out of the van and ran with him into the store. At the same time James was getting Annie out of the van. Zindle was already out of the van and wildly jumping in circles waiting for Annie. James ran carrying Annie into the store. Zindle followed. The store was filled with people trying to take refuge from the storm.
The owner of the store began to curse at the site of Zindle, a dog, entering his store. Sam took him aside and let him know the tornado was right behind them. The man calmed down. He hurriedly opened the door to a storage room that had no windows.
“Quickly everyone, help me move the shelves out of here and then we can all get inside. It’s the best place I have to use as a shelter from the tornado.” the store owner explained.
All the men went into the storage room and moved out the large heavy shelves. Annie watched out the window. She could see the tornado in the distance. Her head was hurting and she felt very sick to her stomach. She wished they would hurry up getting the shelves out of that room. John stood next to her also looking out the window. He too was feeling a bit sick as he watched the tornado coming towards them fast. The noise was awful. It was like a train but, John also thought he could hear someone screaming. He grabbed Annie’s hand and squeezed it tight.
It only took a few minutes for the men to clear everything out of the storage room. Everyone ran into the room. They had cleared it just in time! The tornado was almost on top of them. Sam and Ruth grabbed Annie and John. They moved them
toward the back of the room and sheltered them between them. Despite the chaos and crowded conditions Zindle managed to stay by Annie’s side. John was sure he heard Sam and Ruth muttering some sort of spell. Thelma and James were near the door. They tried to move closer to their children but, it was too crowded.
The tornado bore down upon the store. They could hear the crash as it hit.
Annie hugged her brother tightly. It was unbelievably loud. Annie’s ears were hurting. The door to the little storage room rattled. The walls shook. The roof groaned and creaked straining to hold tight against the wind. In a great whoosh, it gave way. Everyone screamed and hit the floor holding on to whatever they could. Annie’s ears where ringing. She thought she heard the sound of laughter through the screams. She wondered who would dare to laugh at a time like this. Sam and Ruth were kneeling now but, still chanting their spell in low tones with Annie, John and Zindle between them. Annie and John looked up into the swirling mass above them. Terrified they hugged each other and Zindle with all their might. They wished their parents weren’t closer to them. As she hugged her brother Annie realized that she did not feel the wind. John realized at nearly the same time that everyone around them was being pulled by the wind but, they were not. Even Annie’s hair was still. It hung straight down her back.
After what seemed like hours but, in reality was only minutes, the storm passed. Sam and Ruth stopped chanting. They looked around. The place was a mess. The children looked immediately for their parents. To their dismay they did not see them. Annie began to panic right away. Tears streamed down her face as she ran to the spot where she had last seen them. Zindle followed close on her heels. Not much was left of the little gas station store. There was debris everywhere. A lot of people looked hurt.
John stood rooted to the spot. He felt a lump building in his stomach as he came to the realization that his parents were missing. He screamed for his mom and dad. His heart sank even more when he got no answer in return. Sam ran after Annie. Ruth looked frantically under debris for James and Thelma. John found he had use of his legs again and followed Ruth’s example searching for his parents.
A Mystical Journey Page 7