The Sensitive

by Mary Coffin

  “Greta? What’s wrong?”

  Oh brother, thought Fynn. Could this get any more complicated? The man, who she assumed was Mr. Herman, reached for Snipworth’s hand with the finger stuck in her ear. Just as his hand wrapped around her wrist to try to pull it away, Fynn froze him. Now it looked like Herman was forcing Snipworth to stick her finger in her own ear.

  Fynn stepped out through the door. “Hold that thought,” she said to the two statues. She quickly descended the stairs and stopped at the bottom.

  She formed a ball of matter, flicked a finger, and it became an old-fashioned timer set for ten minutes. With an upward wave of her hand, the timer slowly floated through the air, heading back up the stairs. This was one of the tricks that Jon had taught her, to use an energy ball to perform the task of unfreezing them so that she didn’t have to do it herself. Turning the energy ball into a timer was her own idea. Once again, it looked like the cat smiled at her, this time for her creativity.

  They quickly scooted down the hall to the girls’ room. Fynn went beside little Snipwit’s bed. “Freo.” The blankets fell onto the mattress. Then she unfroze her.

  Fynn held out her hand with the necklace. The girl grabbed it and held it close to her chest. “Thank you!” Then she got a strange look on her face. “Wait...how did you do that? We were just talking and...”

  Fynn didn’t have time. “Give me my necklace...NOW!”

  The girl stopped talking and nodded her head. She was a bit shaken by how Fynn suddenly had her necklace but it also jolted her into obedience. She climbed out of bed and walked to the last row of beds – all were empty. In the middle of the row, she reached under a pillow and pulled out the box. Fynn rushed to her side and grabbed it.

  “Now, you need to get back to bed and hide your own necklace!”

  Fynn knew anything she said to the girl at this point was useless. Once the girl was back in bed she would be frozen and her memory erased. There was a good chance little Snipwit’s necklace would eventually be taken from her again but, for the moment, she was happy.

  Fynn knew there was barely enough time to get out of there before Snipworth and Herman came to life. There would be lots of confusion when that happened and she didn’t want to be around.

  She froze little Snipwit and erased her memory. Then she hurried to the hallway, formed an energy ball and turned it into a bright yellow sun with a smiling face. She whispered instructions to the sun. It nodded its understanding and then went about its work, dropping a ray of warmth and unfreezing the girls, one by one.

  Fynn turned to go back down the hall and out the back door to the courtyard. Suddenly, the house assistant’s door flung open. Fynn stopped in her tracks. There wasn’t time to hide. Quickly, she faced the wall to the girl’s restroom and stepped into the bathroom just as Eloise stepped into the hallway.

  Fynn held her back to the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close,” she whispered to the cat.

  Chapter 26

  _______________________

  All of a sudden, it dawned on Fynn that the house assistant was, more than likely, coming into the bathroom. Smart move, Fynn! She looked around for a place to hide. The odds of Eloise going into the last toilet stall were minimal – at least, that’s what she told herself - so she rushed to it just as the bathroom door swung open.

  The back wall of the bathroom was also the back wall of the building. It was thick to accommodate the plumbing for the restroom as well as the cement slabs outside. Fynn really didn’t want to walk through it. She stood on the toilet seat with her back against the cold tile and held her breath.

  She heard Eloise’s slippers shuffling across the floor. The door in her stall was still swinging from having just walked through it. She reached out to stop the movement when she heard Eloise.

  “Who’s there?”

  Fynn reacted as fast as she could. It was awkward but she tried to move her feet to the opposite sides of the toilet and face the wall. Her foot slipped and splashed into the toilet water. She grunted, pulled her dripping shoe out and said “Flowan.” She stepped forward and into the wall. She hadn’t anticipated that first step, coming directly off of the toilet seat. For a moment it felt like falling and she gasped. In the next moment, she was thrown backwards into the stall where Eloise was pressing on the door to see who was in it. Fynn tripped over the toilet and slammed into the door, pushing it shut and hurtling Eloise to the floor onto her butt. Eloise screamed.

  Fynn stumbled to get up and opened the door. Eloise saw her and took a breath for another scream. Fynn passed her hand through the air and said, “Flowan! No, I mean thaw...” She stomped her foot in frustration. “Freosan!!” Eloise froze, mid scream. She had a terrified look on her face and her mouth was gaping wide open.

  Fynn paced the floor nervously and ran her hand through her hair. “What do I do now, Cnāwan? I’ve really messed this up.” The cat sat on the floor and watched her walk back and forth but said nothing. Fynn stopped at the sound of footsteps running down the hall.

  “I think it came from the girl’s bedroom,” said a female voice.

  “It sounded closer than that,” said another.

  Fynn ran back into the stall, steadied the door so it quit swinging and balanced on the toilet seat facing the wall. She was about to go through the wall when she realized she couldn’t leave Eloise frozen, mid scream. She rose up on her toes and leaned backwards on the stall to pass her hand through the air over Eloise. She wasn’t tall enough to see over it but figured her hand waved in the general vicinity. “Thawian.”

  Eloise resumed her shriek and looked around fretfully but couldn’t see Fynn. Fynn startled at the harsh screech and almost fell off the toilet. She stood back upright and was about to go through the wall. “Oh.” She leaned backwards again and waved her hand through the air, “Forgietan.”

  Eloise’s scream suddenly dwindled. She couldn’t recall why she was crying out. Just then, the door burst open and the instructors ran to her side.

  “Eloise, what is it?” asked one of them.

  Eloise was dumbfounded at the fact that she was sitting on the bathroom floor, crying out.

  The instructors lifted her upright. One of them asked, “Are you okay? Did you fall?”

  “I...I...don’t know,” stammered Eloise. “I guess I was dreaming.”

  Fynn quietly said, “Flowan,” and took the step, knowing she was in for a big drop. This time she was ready and let the momentum carry her through. She popped out of the wall in the courtyard and ran for the trees.

  Half way across, bright flood lights lit the open yard. Fynn was curious but didn’t dare turn around. She sprinted as fast as her legs allowed. As she neared the edge of the trees, she considered turning around to see if anyone saw her. Suddenly, a voice shouted.

  “There! Over there!!”

  Ben and Jon grabbed her and pulled her into the shadows. They scurried farther back into the trees, away from the light’s reach, and stopped. Fynn was gasping but quickly slowed her breathing.

  “I saw someone running. Over there.” Fynn recognized the voice as Miss Snipworth.

  Herman asked, “Are you sure? I didn’t see anyone. Besides, you do seem a little confused tonight.”

  “I know what I saw!” countered Miss Snipworth.

  “Yes, of course. I didn’t mean...”

  “Well, aren’t you going to go check it out?!?”

  “I’m in my pajamas. What do you expect me to do?” It was quiet for a moment, and then he said, “Okay. Okay.”

  The others heard footsteps across the gravel, coming close to the trees. The man faintly called out, “Is anyone there?”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, George! A lot of good that will do. Get back here! We’ll report it to the police.”

  “Yes. That’s a good idea,” he said as he walked back toward the building. Another moment passed and the floodlight
s shut off.

  If Herman had been alert enough to look down, he would have noticed the wet prints of a left foot as it bee lined for the trees.

  Chapter 27

  _______________________

  They quickly left the grounds and started the trek back to the car. Finally, Ben spoke.

  “Was everything all right back there? It took a long time and then we heard screams.”

  Fynn sighed. She had wanted it to go more smoothly inside Happy Days than it did. She explained what took place.

  Jon said, “It sounds like you used a lot of creativity.”

  “I’ve never been that quick of a thinker before. Once I got inside, solutions just presented themselves to me, one right after another. I couldn’t have gotten through it without that tonic.”

  “What’s this about a tonic?” asked Ben.

  Jon put his arm around Fynn’s shoulders. “Fynn, the tonic didn’t help you get the necklace back. You did it all by yourself.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “You just needed extra help in believing that you could do it; a confidence booster, so to speak. What I gave you was just a relaxing herbal tea. There was nothing special about it. You succeeded all by yourself.”

  Fynn was surprised to hear it. “Huh. Really?” He nodded and, as that news sunk in, he could tell she was pleased with herself.

  A few times on their walk, Jon had hushed everyone. He had the feeling that they were about to encounter trouble. They decided to walk the rest of the way in silence so that he could listen to his senses. He took the lead.

  They traipsed through the meadow, not far from the abandoned house and shed where the car was parked, when he stopped them once again. There was movement up ahead so they dropped to the ground under cover of tall grasses. Jon poked his head up and looked toward the shed. Small lights moved about in the darkness, like huge fireflies flying back and forth. Ben and the others also watched.

  Jon whispered, “Sheriff.”

  Ben took his backpack off and placed it on the ground. He unzipped it, pulled out several objects and began assembling something. After a moment, he had put together a tripod with a long lens attached to it. He set it on the ground and put his backpack on. “Now we go to plan B. You’ll be okay here tonight?” He looked at Jon for confirmation.

  “Yes, we’ll be fine. It’s only a few hours. Are you sure you can get the rest of the gear put together?”

  Ben patted Jon on the back. “It’s already done. I just need to load it into the car. I’ll meet you at the cave as soon as I can.” He glanced at Mel and then back at Jon. “No turning back now, my friends. See you later.” Then he stood, with the tripod slung over his shoulder and walked toward the car.

  Jon motioned for Fynn and Tibby to stay hidden. They heard Ben say, “Ule, fleoge.” Then he proceeded to whistle as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

  No one spoke as they watched him approach the car. All the great fireflies converged on him. The police had been searching the darkness with flashlights and all lights were now aimed at Ben.

  ~~~

  As Ben walked, he pretended to be unaware of the men near the car and continued whistling. He wanted to announce his presence to them; otherwise, they might get startled and do something stupid.

  When the lights shone on him, he put up his hand to shield his eyes. “Hey, what’s going on?”

  Headlights from three cars turned on, lighting up a larger area. Out of all the officers, Ben recognized the Sheriff.

  “It’s him,” said a deputy.

  The Sheriff walked up to Ben. “What are you doing out here, Ben?”

  Ben motioned to the tripod and lens flung over his shoulder. “Owl watching. There’s a big nest over that way.” He pointed beyond the field he just walked through.

  He couldn’t see the Sheriff’s face well enough to determine his expression but he felt the suspicion directed at him.

  “Owl watching,” repeated the Sheriff, “with that thing.” He pointed at the lens.

  “That’s right,” replied Ben. “Is there a problem?”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an owl in this area,” said one of the deputies. His body posture revealed his cocky attitude and his words were more of a challenge than a passing comment.

  The Sheriff motioned with his hand for the other man to be silent. Just then, there was a screech and a huge bird flew overhead. They heard its wings slicing the air. It came so close the Sheriff and his men ducked, thinking it was going to hit them. Ben was the only one who didn’t cower. He knew it was coming. He’s the one who called it.

  “What the heck was that?!?” asked the man who made the challenging remark.

  “An owl. Now you can say you’ve seen one in this area,” Ben commented dryly.

  The man shone his flashlight on Ben’s face and examined it for signs of sarcasm. He saw no expression.

  “May I examine your backpack?” asked the Sheriff.

  “Have I committed a crime, Sheriff?”

  “We’re still searching for the missing children from Happy Days. At this point, everyone is a suspect.” He held out his hand. “Your backpack, please.”

  For a moment, Ben thought about disputing the request. However, he concluded that the sooner he cooperated, the sooner he’d be home making other preparations. He set down the tripod, took off his pack and handed it over. The Sheriff set it on the ground and unzipped it. One of the deputies shone his flashlight inside while the Sheriff rummaged through it.

  The Sheriff started a conversation. “I haven’t seen your friend, Jon, lately. Have you?”

  It was a ploy to get Ben to talk. “We had coffee together a couple days ago.”

  “I trust he’s doing well?”

  “Sheriff, I’ve been out here for several hours.” He yawned. “I’d really like to head home and get some shut eye.”

  The Sheriff looked up at him. The items he found in the backpack were of no significance to his search for clues. There was a flashlight, a book on owls, a rain poncho, a bottle of water and a couple energy bars. The Sheriff put the items back inside, zipped it up and handed it back to Ben. “Drive safely.”

  Ben took the pack, slung it over one shoulder, and rested the tripod over the other. “Good night, Sheriff.”

  ~~~

  “I’ll take the first watch,” said Mel.

  It wasn’t long after Ben left the area before the Sheriff and his deputies drove away. Mel and the others hid in the grass until they were sure all cars were out of sight. Then they walked to the back side of the run-down house at the edge of the meadow.

  Jon had previously put some blankets in the abandoned house in preparation for this moment. He told Fynn and Tibby that they would rest there, until first light. Then they would hike several hours to a cave and wait for Ben.

  The kids were told to get some sleep while Mel and Jon split the time so that one person was always on the lookout for visitors. Now that they were committed to finding the gate, to leaving this dimension, they both felt the counter forces getting stronger.

  Fynn grabbed some bedding and picked a spot on the floor. It was filthy in the old place but she didn’t care. She took the box out of her waistband, set it on the floor and then lay down next to it. She was exhausted and fell asleep right away. Cnāwan curled up next to her.

  “We’re not going back, are we?” asked Tibby.

  “No,” Jon replied.

  “Are we going to the gate?”

  “That’s the plan,” said Jon. “It might take a few days to get to where we think it will be so you should get some rest.”

  “If you don’t know exactly where it is, how will we find it?”

  “When we arrived, many years ago, this area is where the gate put us and we never left – that is, Ben, Mel and I never left. So, we know we’re close. Cnāwan will help us get to the right spot, farther up in the hills. Get so
me sleep while you can.”

  Chapter 28

  _______________________

  Jon woke them just as the first hint of light brushed the sky. Fynn rolled over and realized that Tibby had slept beside her.

  She smiled. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” he smiled back as he casually stretched his body.

  Breakfast consisted of bottled water, granola bars and some fruit. Tibby craved something more substantial, like a big plate of pancakes smothered in syrup with sausage on the side, but Jon made him promise not to manifest food until they asked for it.

  Afterward, Jon proceeded to explain their plan. “While we hike, be as quiet as possible. We don’t want to give ourselves away to unsuspecting company...people or animals. There are cabins and ranches all throughout these mountains. We also don’t want anyone to recognize you two and notify the Sheriff. We’ll have some help but stay alert and tuned into your senses.”

  “What help?” asked Fynn.

  The corners of Jon’s mouth turned up slightly. He raised his eyebrows. “You’ll see.”

  Mel added, “Also, after Ben arrives and we leave the cave, remember to keep Elione in your thoughts as much as possible.”

  Fynn and Tibby nodded their understanding.

  “We’ll carry Cnāwan to the cave to save her energy for the rest of the trip.” Jon looked at Mel. “I think that covers it.”

  She nodded and looked at Fynn and Tibby. “Do you have any questions?”

  Fynn looked like she was considering something. “I’d like to carry Cnāwan to the cave.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Mel. “It will take a few hours to get there.”

  Fynn nodded her head. By the determined look on her face, they knew she was serious.

  “If you get tired, I’ll help,” said Jon. “Oh, I almost forgot. Ben is bringing some tonics that will help with our energy and soreness. We’ll be glad to have them. Let’s be on our way then.”

  They walked out the back door. Jon and Mel looked in all directions as they circled around to the front. Jon looked up to the sky. “Hafoc, fleoge. Wæcce.”

  Within moments, Fynn heard the screech of a hawk. She looked up and watched it circle overhead; then it landed on the roof of the shed, where Ben had parked the car the night before. As they walked beside the shed, the bird chattered softly and watched them walk past.