The Aztec Saga - Hunted

by J.S. Davidson

  *****

  It came as a great relief to finally arrive at Andy’s family home early on Monday morning. Andy was right; the food he had packed kept us alive and ensured we received the nutrition our bodies required, but it did little to fill our stomachs. Not only were we exhausted, we were famished.

  His family lived in a blue terrace, which adjoined five other identical terraces. Each one had a narrow concrete path that led from a set of wrought iron gates to a concrete step under a verandah. A large willow tree stood proudly on the nature strip, shading some of the terraces from the sun, which was just peeking over the neighbouring buildings.

  “Well, this is it,” Andy sighed as we approached the wrought iron gates. “Let’s go meet the folks.” He lifted both his eyebrows and inhaled deeply.

  As soon as Andy pushed open the gate, a small dog began yelping and scratching at the inside of the front door. A little boy’s face peered from behind the heavy white curtains.

  “Andy! Andy’s home! Mum! Dad! Andy’s home!” the excited child called. We could hear the soft thud of his feet as he ran up and down the hallway calling out loudly.

  The door opened, and as it did, an older man’s voice spoke in a low, disappointed manner, “See Leroy, you’re just imagining things again. Andy’s not ...”

  Before the man could finish his sentence, the boy pushed open the door and ran down the concrete path towards Andy.

  “Andy! Andy! Andy!” he cried.

  Andy swung his backpack off his shoulder and landed it on the ground as he scooped up the little boy.

  “Hi, Leroy. It’s good to see you again, buddy,” he said as he wrapped his arms around the excited child.

  “I knew you’d come back.” Leroy spoke with a lisp as he squeezed Andy tightly. “Are you staying forever?” he asked hopefully.

  Andy carefully put Leroy back down on the path, and knelt down to look at him. “Only for a little while, then I have to take Alexandra home.”

  Leroy looked up at me through thick round glasses. His eyes were the same deep brown as Andy’s, but his were cross-eyed, and he wore a hearing aid in each ear.

  “Oh. Is she your girlfriend?” Leroy asked with a cheeky smile.

  “No, she’s just my friend,” he smiled kindly.

  Leroy frowned and thought for a moment as he studied me. He looked back to Andy and whispered, “She should be your girlfriend. She’s pretty. She looks like glitter.”

  A bubble of warmth brewed in the centre of me. He was such a beautiful little boy.

  Andy choked a laugh. “Glitter, who’s ...?”

  “What’s going on out here?” a woman’s voice called from inside the door. She pushed past the man, who was still standing in the doorway.

  She was a short, plump woman. Her jet black hair was cut in a bob that sat just under her jaw line. She stopped suddenly and put both of her hands over her heart.

   “Oh my, Andy!” she cried as she ran to him with open arms. She threw her arms around him and held him tight for a moment.

  “Hi Mum,” Andy said, as he slowly placed his hands around her back.

  A moment passed until Andy spoke again. “This is Alexandra.”

  His mother slowly loosened her embrace and stepped away from him, keeping her hands on either of his arms. She looked around to me.

  “Hello. Sorry, I’ve lost all of my manners. I’m Alice, and this is Joe.” She turned to where the tall, balding man stood. His eyes were welling at the sight of Andy.

  “Come here, my boy!” He walked down the path with his arms abreast and wrapped them around Andy. “Ahh, it’s good to see you again.” He slapped Andy several times on the back.

  “You too, Dad.” Andy threw his arms around his father. “Is it okay if Alexandra and I stay a few days?”

  Joe lowered his arms and clapped his hands to either side of Andy’s upper arms. “You can stay as long as you want, my boy!” He turned to face me and extended his hand. “Welcome, Alexandra.” I accepted it and shook it.

  “Thank you very much,” I smiled.

  His eyes were wide and full of warmth, just as Andy’s always were.

  “We’ve heard so much about you. Andy speaks so highly of you when he calls home,” Alice said gleefully. “You do look like you’ve been through the wars, my dear. Is everything alright?” she asked as she slid her finger along my chin, inspecting my bruises.

  “Car accident,” Andy answered quickly. “A bunch of kangaroos jumped out in front of Alex’s car before we left. That’s why we’re in my car.” He spoke calmly. He was so believable; I had to remind myself that it was a lie.

  “Oh my! That would have been frightening.” She clasped one of her hands over her mouth.

  “Yes. It was.” I spoke stiffly. I knew I wasn’t nearly as convincing as Andy. I needed to act calmer, just as he did. “Kangaroos are everywhere in Warrangatta. Kind of just get used to hitting them. Guess I hit them a little too hard.” I shrugged.

  “Is that a dog?” Leroy cried as he ran to the side of Andy’s car, and looked in at Spud who licked the window and wagged his tail excitedly.

  “Yes. That’s my dog, Spud,” I said, relieved the conversation had moved from the origins of my bruising. “Would you like to play with him?”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes!” He bounced and clapped his hands.

  Spud bounded out as soon as I opened the door, and ran circles around me.

  “Spud—sit,” I said firmly. He sat back with his tongue hanging from the side of his mouth, his tail still wagging. “Shake hands,” I told him. He instantly sat back on his hindquarters and lifted his paw into the air. “There you go,” I gestured to Leroy.

  His eyes widened as he took a few steps forward and shook Spud’s paw.

  “Mum, can I play with him? He knows commands! Please Mum?” he pleaded to Alice.

  “Spud’s not my dog. You’ll have to ask Alexandra,” she smiled at him.

  “That’s fine. He knows loads of other commands. Try ‘play dead’, ‘talk’ and ‘roll over’.” I suggested.

  “Come on, Spud,” Leroy called as he ran through the house to their backyard.

  “Well, you’ve certainly made someone happy,” Joe laughed, as he also walked back into the house.

  It was touching to see Leroy play with Spud. Michael and I hadn’t had a dog, but I imagined Sasha would have been just as excited. Warmth filled my belly as I thought of my baby girl.

  “Well, come on in, you two. I’ll show you to your room. Don’t want to stand out here for too long—it will probably start snowing. Melbourne’s weather has been absurd!” Alice beckoned with her whole arm, as she walked along the concrete path into the terrace. I watched until she disappeared into the house and tapped Andy on the shoulder.

  “Are you sure I should stay here? I mean I’m putting your family in danger. What if he finds me here—not to mention Veronika and Boris! I don’t know what they’re capable of ... Andy, your little brother ...” I could barely speak as panic rose from the pit of my stomach.

  He put his hand on my shoulder and looked into me. “Assuming they even know we’re in Melbourne—Melbourne is huge. The likelihood of them ever finding us here is slim. She hasn’t looked into you since your car broke down, and you’ve never visited here before; they would have no inkling we’d be here.” He turned his head from side to side, ensuring he couldn’t be overheard. “Besides, I don’t plan on being here for long. I want us to see my contact tonight.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yes. She lives across the other side of Melbourne, so it’s best we take public transport.” He rubbed his chin with his index finger and his thumb. I hadn’t noticed until then, but he hadn’t shaved in the week that it took us to drive to Melbourne, and he had almost grown a complete beard. It looked good on him; made him look strong. “I think we’ll leave my car and Spud here,” he said, pointing to the ground as he began to walk into the terrace.

  I thought for a moment as I followed him. “Yeah, ok
ay. We’ll be back tonight, and I think Leroy will keep Spud entertained.”

  Through the front door of the terrace was a long, narrow hallway. The floors were polished boards, and ornate cornice ran the perimeter of the white ceiling. Alice stood at the end of the hallway and gestured to one of the rooms.

  “It’s so nice to have you at home, Andy,” she beamed as we walked into the bedroom.

  “Ahh, it’s nice to be home,” Andy said, as he swung his backpack on the bed.

  The bedroom had a queen-sized bed, which took up most of the space. A bulky brown wardrobe was squashed into the back corner.

  “Have you spent much time in Melbourne, Alexandra?” Alice asked.

  I shook my head. “No, I’ve never visited Melbourne before.” I forced a smile. She was a lovely woman, but I was in no mood to be social. I was exhausted and hungry, and my thoughts were only of The Aztec, Veronika and Boris. I wondered how Alice would have received me if she had known the danger I brought with me.

  “Well,” she clapped her hands, “Andy, you must take her out, show her around Melbourne’s nightlife. Alexandra, you will love it here! Oh Andy, take her to the theatre. There are some great performances showing ...”

  Andy cut her off before she was able to finish. “We are planning on going out for dinner tonight.” He threw a quick sideways look at me.

  Instantly, I knew he had no intentions of going to dinner; that would be ludicrous. As much as he loved visiting his family, and as much as I enjoyed meeting them, it was only being used as a via point; a place to rest and recuperate before we embarked on the next stage of the journey.

  “Just hoping we could use the amenities before we do. It’s been a long, hot drive from Warrangatta to here, and we could both do with a wash.” He half laughed as he looked down at the filthy clothes we were wearing. “And a sleep. As comfortable as my car is, it is a car.”

  “Of course you can ...” Alice started, before Joe called from the lounge room, “Alice, honey. A phone call for you. It’s Janine, something about the bake fair at Leroy’s school.” She smiled apologetically. “I have to take this. Andy, you know where everything is. Get Alexandra a towel ... make yourselves at home,” she said promptly, as she hurried out the door.

  As soon as she had left the room, I fell back onto the bed; it was soft and smelt of freshly washed linen. I meant only to lie there for a moment—to rest my eyes for just a second—but the moment my eyes closed, sleep took me.