by E G McNally
Joe stiffened and both Jake and Taylor turned to follow his gaze. The officer had left the car and was coming inside.
“Looks like it’s your time to go,” Joe regrettably pointed out.
Officer McGraidy popped his head into the door, catching Taylor’s attention, bringing a dampened end to her little get-together. “Taylor we’ve got a plane to catch, let’s go.”
“Sorry guys guess I’ve got to get going,” she said, while staring Jake in the eyes, and then mouthed the word sorry again.
Both the boys casually walked with Taylor out to the car, chitchatting about the latest Seahawks game. Taylor tried to ignore the banter assuming that both boys felt just as uncomfortable about the goodbye as she did, fidgeting with the car door, until the officer stressed the importance of leaving again.
“Well, I guess I’ll call you guys once I get settled in, assuming they allow me to make phone calls.” She crossed her fingers in an exaggerated attempt to lighten the uneasy feeling settling in her stomach.
“Sounds good,” Joe replied, and gave Taylor a goofy handshake bump fist custom. “Stay cool girly,” he added and then nonchalantly strolled back into the coffee shop.
Taylor’s heart began to race, as Jake’s stunning blue eyes peered down into the barren black sea of hers, in one final attempt to say goodbye. Almost like an electrical shock, a tingly surge sprung into Taylor and flushed the cool ivory skin of her cheeks, causing her to look away in embarrassment and breaking the silent trance shared between the two of them.
“Yeah . . . I’ve got to go now – guess I’ll see ya later,” he said, brushing Taylor off and then walking back toward the door. He paused for a moment and then Taylor heard him whisper, “Never mind,” before disappearing into the coffee shop. Her eyes fell to the ground, focusing on the little uneven cracks of the cement, in a futile attempt to distract herself from her bleak thoughts.
“Now, that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get going,” Officer McGraidy interrupted her pity party, once again stressing the importance of leaving.
Taylor slumped into the car, strapped herself in, and browsed out the side window for the remainder of the drive out to the airport.
Chapter IV: Strange Dream
“So what’d he give you?” Officer McGraidy asked, as he helped Taylor with her backpack, locking the car doors behind them before entering the small airport.
“Nothing, what do you mean?” She asked. “Oh, right – I forgot he was holding something that looked like a card. He must have forgotten as well,” she said, making a sad pouty face.
“Ah, don’t worry. I’m sure it was something silly anyway. It was probably just an easier way to say goodbye or something like that. Guys are never very good at those sorts of things. Cheer up, maybe he’ll mail it to you,” Officer McGraidy commented.
Taylor followed him up to the check-in counter and waited patiently beside him as he spoke with the attendant.
A thought crossed her mind. “Where I am going anyway?” She interrupted Officer McGraidy.
He responded while handing his I.D. to the associate at the desk. “They didn’t tell you? That’s odd.”
“And whom do we have flying with us today, Sir.” The attendant interrupted, before he could respond to Taylor.
“Taylor Saskia,” he replied. “She’ll be flying alone, so she’ll need to be monitored during the layovers at the airports. There have been arrangements made for Mia and Pat Donalow to pick her up at her final destination,” Officer McGraidy explained.
The attendant nodded her head in understanding and typed some information into the computer. Once she was done, she printed out a boarding pass and some other information. She handed the pass and packet to Taylor and said, “Make sure to give this paperwork to the associate once you get off the plane and they will take care of you.” Taylor nodded her head in agreement.
“Any check-in luggage?” The lady asked.
“No, I just have this backpack, and I’ll take it with me,” Taylor responded, clinging to her only possessions.
“The plane is already boarding. Officer McGraidy is more than welcome to escort you out to the staircase. Have a nice flight,” she cheerfully added, then turned back to her computer, motioning for the next person in line to come forward.
Officer McGraidy walked with Taylor outside until they reached the small staircase outside of the airbus. They paused for a moment.
“Well I guess thanks are in order.” Taylor smiled at him. “I couldn’t have been stuck with a cooler guy for the day.”
“Yeah, it was no problem; just try not to get into any trouble out there, okay.” He paused, then handed her a wad of cash. “It’s just a couple bucks for some snacks or something, nothing big.”
Taylor smiled at him once more. “Thanks again.”
“Don’t mention it, kid,” the officer said to Taylor, waving her off.
Taylor swung her backpack up and over her shoulder, ascended the stairway and disappeared into the plane. There were only a few people on the plane, and most of the seats in the back part were vacant.
“Sit wherever you’d like. This is a pretty empty flight,” the flight attendant told Taylor, pulling the file out of her hands. “I’ll keep a hold of this. When we land in Seattle, I’ll give it to the escort there, just to ensure you catch all the right flights.”
She picked out an empty pair in the back row beside the lavatories, propped her bag on one and sat in the other, leaning her head against the window. Taylor tried to clear her mind and fall asleep while the plane was taking off, but before she knew it; her thoughts were racing with anticipation. By the time she had settled her nerves, they had already arrived at the Seattle-Tacoma airport, and it was time to get off of the plane.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. We have arrived at the Sea-Tac airport. The local time is three-thirty in the afternoon and it is fifty-five degrees outside, on this overcast day. Thank you for flying Kenmore Air, we hope you enjoyed your flight and have a good day.” The captain’s monotonous voice droned over the intercom.
Taylor watched as all of the passengers left the plane and then waited for the flight attendant.
“Please follow me,” she said.
Taylor picked up her bag and walked quietly behind the lady until they reached the inside of the terminal, where she was turned over to an airport escort.
“Marko will bring you to your next terminal. Have a good day,” the flight attendant said, disappearing back outside.
“Hello, my name is Marko and I am in charge of making sure that you make it to your next flight, so don’t run off. Now please come on,” he said, after browsing through the flight schedule that the stewardess had handed to him. “Portland, Maine is it?” He asked Taylor.
“Why, is that where it says I’m headed?” She asked.
“Yup that’s what the instructions are. You’ve got this last flight that will take you there and then we hand custody of you over to a Pat and Mia Donalow,” he said.
“Portland, Maine? That’s a long way away,” she replied.
“Oh yeah, this next flight is a five and a half hour flight. That’ll suck for you. I suggest sleeping or reading, something that will help pass the time, if you know what I mean,” he explained.
“Yeah, I think I’ve got it under control,” she commented, and then silently followed him. Ugh, this is like being babysat by the most boring person in the world, Taylor thought. I’m almost seventeen. Can’t I just travel alone? I’m not even going to be able to use the cash that Officer McGraidy gave me because this guy isn’t going to let me stop anywhere. The annoyed babble rambled through Taylor’s mind until they arrived at the next terminal.
“Yay, we’re just in time for boarding,” the escort dryly said. He ushered her out the doors, down the long corridor, and into the plane, where he handed her file over to another flight attendant. “Bye,” he said to Taylor and exited the plane.
“Bye,” Ta
ylor mumbled, and then turned to the next stewardess. “Hey, I guess you’re in charge of me now.”
“Let’s get you situated. This will be a long flight. If there is anything you need, please let me know.” The flight attendant walked Taylor down to a middle row of seats and waited while she strapped in and pushed her backpack under the seat in front of her. “There are some headphones in that pocket,” she said, pointing to the back pocket of the chair in front of Taylor. “You can plug them in here, and listen to music or watch the movie. Just adjust the channels with the buttons there.” She pointed to the little headphone jack on the armrest and explained the buttons. “I need to go prepare for takeoff, but please, once again, let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled, slumping back into the chair. She pulled out the headphones from the chair pocket, placed them over her ears, blocking out the loud roar of the engine, and then closed her eyes and focused on the music until she drifted off into a deep dreamy sleep.
As Taylor drifted away, her thoughts embarked on a strange journey through her mind.
Where am I? She thought, opening her eyes up inside a cozy living room. She looked around, noticing a fireplace with a new stack of wood freshly burning away, and a comfy sofa set placed around a couple of bookshelves arranged on both sides of a large window. She stepped up to the window and peered outside into the dark evening night. A large black car pulled up into the driveway and out stepped a familiar looking face, along with three others.
What is he doing here? She thought, recognizing the military man from her hearing.
“Search the perimeter first, and then you two take the back and you, follow me into the front. Get the girl quickly and quietly.” The military man ordered the others, pulling out a handgun.
“Huh,” Taylor gasped.
“In the window,” one of the men yelled. All four men snapped their attention towards the window that Taylor was peering through, just catching a glimpse of movement.
She quickly covered her mouth and slipped out of view from the outside and then glanced around the room looking for some sort of escape route. She noticed stairs on the other side of the room. Instantly dropping to her knees to avoid being seen through the window, Taylor scuttled over to the stairway and then scurried up, stumbling over a couple of stairs in her frantic hurry.
“On three, one . . .” Taylor could hear one of the men outside begin to count, before knocking in the door.
“Oh my God, oh my God, what the heck is happening,” Taylor gasped, tears pouring down her face as she rushed into the room upstairs in a panic, locking the door behind her, and browsing the room for an exit.
“Upstairs,” she heard another voice yell, quickly followed by the pounding of boots marching up the steps.
Her heart pounding harder with every second and her chest heaving with every hastening breath, her focus narrowed in on a window across the room. She flew to the other side of the room and fumbled with the lock, until she was able to push the window up and open, reaching outside for a grasp of something to hang onto. She reached out, completely oblivious to the black claw that replaced her own hand, and grabbed tightly onto the wood siding, pulling herself out of the window and climbing onto the roof.
“There, tail out the window,” another man yelled, just as they smashed into the room and caught the final glimpse of a long black leather tail, sliding hastily out the window and vanishing into the night.
Taylor sucked up her breath and crawled quietly over the shingles until she was hidden behind the chimney, and watched silently. A head bobbed over the ledge of the roof and browsed around, pausing to gaze at the chimney, and then giving up, returning back into the room.
“She can’t be far,” she could hear one of the men saying. “Get outside now, cover the area, and find her,” a different, stronger voice ordered. It must have been the leader, the one she had recognized from earlier, but what was he doing here, and why was he after her.
Still out of view from the armed men outside, Taylor waited patiently against the shingles on the roof, until she had heard them drive off. Struggling to calm her breathing, she stood up, and peered around the neighborhood. Silhouettes of treetops against the moonlit sky and smoke plumes funneling out of chimney tops filled her with tranquility, and she closed her eyes, enjoying the light caresses the wind left against her skin. Remembering how the wind had responded the last time she jumped off of the Devil’s Punch Bowl, Taylor thought that maybe it was playing with her, with all of its innocence, and urging her to play back.
Instantly, in response to the wind’s gentle plea, Taylor lunged right off of the rooftop and into the air, joining the wind in its innocent swirling dance. To Taylor’s sheer delight, she found herself soaring through the air, rising with the thermals and falling with the playful dives of the wind. All the anxiety from earlier had drifted away and she was soaring off into the distance without any concern, or at least until it began to get cold.
The night began to fill with a white wall of blindness and the playful tease of the wind turned into a battering of harsh kisses, stinging against her cheeks, drawing tears from her eyes, and burning the tips of her fingers. She had flown so far and so long that she no longer knew where she was, or when it was, but rather that it was extremely cold and she couldn’t see more than a couple of yards in front of her.
As the bitter cold chipped away at her light-hearted free feeling, she began to panic. She peered desperately through the white night, searching for something recognizable or at least a hut or cabin in order to escape the relentless storm. A small glow caught her eye. As she drew in closer, the glow became brighter. Once she was close enough, a large mansion began to outline in the storm, and the bright glow was visibly coming from a large fire roaring inside one of the rooms.
Taylor swooped down onto a ledge, just outside the large window, and peered inside, looking for a way in.
Oh, that fire looks so welcoming, she thought.
Just then, two men walked into the room and Taylor quickly pulled to the side of the window so as not to be seen and listened silently to their conversation.
“It seems that the second half of the stone has been activated. The only way to save her is to remove the stone, young man,” one voice said. Taylor peeked around through the window, trying to make out the figures that she saw.
“I’ll do anything to save her, just name it,” the second voice, a familiar voice, proclaimed.
“Good, I’ll need you to . . .” The voices became too hard to make out as the men stood closer to the fire, but now Taylor was distracted by the conversation and wanted to get in closer to hear better. She clung to the outside wall, and almost like a gecko, climbed sideways on the stones until she reached a second window, in a separate room, that opened. Pushing open the window, Taylor crept into the room, shaking off the cold, and then froze as a majestic figure stared back at her from a large mirror in the room.
“Wow,” she gasped. “Is that me?” The words escaped her mouth.
Standing in front of her was a slender and mysterious gargoyle. Her skin was the color of night; the same color of her hair, except that a shiny black crown of ridges had replaced her hair. Ridges she’d expect to see on a dragon, riding all the way down her back and disappearing at the end of her long muscular tail. Her ears were tall and pointed, and her face jutted out much like the muzzle of a lioness of tigress. Her body was slender and graceful, yet still muscular. She looked down at her arms and legs.
“No wonder I was climbing on the walls,” she whispered, admiring the deadly claws that replaced the dainty shape of her hands and feet. She playfully slashed the air with her claws and smiled, as exhilaration pooled in her nerves. And then, last but not least, as she returned her gaze to the mirror where she was admiring the new shape she had taken, she gasped, “How cool.”
Taylor gazed upon two of the most incredible wings she could ever have possibly imagined. One on either side of her shoulders, leathery and sleek, e
ach one a good ten feet long, the size impeded only by the walls of the room. Transfixed on the beautiful and yet horrifying angelic shape, she was startled when suddenly they collapsed; folding down like drapery and wrapping around her neck, locking together like a cape. The movement happened so instinctually that Taylor didn’t even realize the wings were attached until after they enrobed her.
“Hey you,” someone startled her.
“Who’s there?” She said, frantically glancing around the room.
“Wake up . . . Wake up.” She could feel an arm pushing on her shoulder, and then unexpectedly the dream vanished, replaced by a dim glow of lighting and a strange boy standing over her, as she opened her eyes.
“What,” she said, waking from the dream, realizing she was still on the plane.
“Everyone is getting off,” a boy who must have been sitting somewhere behind her said, then grabbed his bag and followed the other passengers.
Taylor’s heart sunk into her chest as she realized it was only a dream.
“Oh, thanks,” she muttered, watching the boy disappear. She tiredly pulled out her backpack and joined the remaining passengers as they exited the plane. As she neared the door, the stewardess stopped her.
“You must have been pretty tired. You were out like a light the entire flight,” she said.
Taylor moaned in acknowledgement.
“I’m sure it made the flight go by faster though . . .” She said. “Well I guess I’ll walk you out and turn you over to your grandparents, if you don’t mind,” she politely added.
Taylor hesitated, “Okay, I guess.” It’s not like I have a choice, she thought. Her nerves began to jump. And although she was rattled from her strange dream, the idea of living with her grandparents, people she didn’t know at all, began to settle in, and suddenly she found herself nearing the brink of a panic attack.