Outside the time, p.20
Outside the time, page 20
Leave her alone gull! Can you not see this is distressing to her! If you wish to not hear us, close your eyes and think of a wall. We can only speak within your head and that wall will keep us out. As for the rest, it will come when the time is right. There is an order to things and we cannot unbalance that order, for your sake not for ours.
Oh please don't! Daddy don't let her put up the wall! The pup whined. I sighed. The little Sea Lion pup tucked its head on its father's back, its beady black eyes pleaded with me to continue to allow them in.
Fine. But when my friends get back, be quiet! I really don't need to have a conversation with animals and humans at the same time.
YAY! Again the pup jumped off the floating perch and proceeded to do tricks for me. Every so often it would stop and get my opinion or ask me what it was like to walk on two legs. The father and seagull both remained quite as I chatted with the pup. I had no idea if the pup was male or female but it truly was fascinated by human culture.
What's the funny thing on the ladies head? Is it a birdie? The pup asked.
I turned my gaze to where it was looking and a woman was wearing the ugliest pink hat I had ever seen. Feathers poked upward and there were strings hanging down around her head with balls of fuzz on the end. Sequins lined the rim and the hat was matched by an equally gaudy pair of earring feathers. I had to cover my mouth to hide my laugh as she stopped to take a picture of the Sea Lions.
I think it's supposed to be a hat but… I really have no idea.
The pup watched in fascination as she moved by me to read the plaque. Charlie finally stopped taking pictures and was in the process of skipping back to me happily. I was surprised Xavier and Mike had yet to return from the bathroom.
Thank you for letting me in! The pup barked and clapped its front flippers together as it saw Charlie step to my side and asked me to take another picture.
You can pay me back by giving him a good show for this picture! Deal?
DEAL! As it said that it jumped in the water and did tricks behind Charlie as I snapped another picture of him. With that the animals returned to silence in my head so I could focus on Charlie and only Charlie.
"You're so in love." Charlie said as he took back his camera.
"I am not! I'm sixteen what do I know about love." I protested, though I knew I was. I was head over heels, smitten, but I was not ready to say that word yet. A word like that should only be said when one is truly ready.
"So have you guys done it yet?"
"Charlie!" I shouted in embarrassment hoping nobody around us had heard his question.
"What?" He looked at me innocently. "It's an honest question, lots of pressure on kids in high school, hormones running wild, you know. Have you knocked uglies? Rumbled in the hay? Has he dipped his pen in your company ink? Inserted his tab A into your slot B? Done the big…"
"I get it Charlie." I could feel the heat radiating off my face. "And no, we haven't gone that far yet."
"What's the hold up? You know you want to."
"We've been dating for like two and a half months! There is something called moving too fast you know. Ugh I am so not talking about this in public Charlie." I could not help but laugh at him, though he was a little too eager to discuss my sex life, even the lack of one.
That was one problem Charlie had, he really did not have much of a verbal filter on him. He said what he wanted without putting too much thought into it. With me he could get away with it but it always gave him trouble in school and he had been suspended on several occasions.
"What? We can't have a little girl talk?" He hit his hip with mine.
"Not in public like this and not when they could come back at any time!"
"But when it does happen you will tell me right?" He asked. I smiled at him.
"Is that what this is about? You're afraid you won't be my first girlfriend I run to with that detail?"
I watched his reaction carefully and I could see him pout slightly. The nail had been hit on the proverbial head.
"Don't worry Charlie. If and when Mike and I do that, you will be the first person I will tell. I won't even tell Claire or Xavier until after I tell you, though I can't promise Mike won't get to one of them first."
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and shook me gently. I was still reeling in embarrassment so I shrugged him off me. With a laugh he turned to take a picture of me as I glared at him.
"Perfect! This is going on Facebook!" He sounded so triumphant.
"Do you want a black eye to go with it?" Before he could answer Xavier and Mike returned, Mike with a big bag of something and a smile on his face.
I did not have to ask what it was, I knew he had stopped in the candy store and gotten himself a bag full of gummy bears as he had just run out of the supply he brought with him.
"Really Mike how do you not weigh a thousand pounds with completely rotted teeth?" I shook my head at him as he munched happily.
"Because I'm special remember?" He plucked a gummy bear in my mouth before I could say another word.
"I want to go check out the submarine down there." Xavier said.
We made our way from the Pier down to the other end of the Warf to explore both the sub and the penny arcade that was in the museum nearby. We all laughed as Mike intently arm wrestled with a mechanical machine. As he often did when he was concentrating hard his tongue was sticking out the side of his mouth. His forehead wrinkled in intent concentration as he pushed on the wrestlers arm but could not actually get it to go anywhere.
He kept feeding it with coins until he finally was frustrated enough to use both hands and successfully win the wrestling match. Xavier and I enjoyed a game of competitive bubble hockey before we finally ended our journey at the photo booths and somehow managed to cram all four of us inside.
Charlie's head was partially cut off in most of the pictures and in one Mike looked like he was sticking his tongue in my ear, while Xavier gave me bunny ears. Moments like that are ones you cherish for a lifetime. We each took one of the four pictures that came out of the machine.
A weekend was not long enough and I found myself longing to go back as our rental car crossed over the bridge heading for home. We had to rent a car that could carry eight people comfortably; it was the first road trip where I did not have to be slammed in the back. If I could I would have taken that weekend and put it in my pocket to savior forever. Not only was it enjoyable to spend time with my two best friends, and my brother but I also did not get a single dream while we were there.
Saying goodbye to Charlie was even harder then driving home. Mom dropped us off at school before she was going to take him to the airport. I hugged him tightly as we said our goodbyes and chased after the car as it pulled away, just as Charlie had done when I moved.
"How disappointing." Mike mocked as I got back to him, tears trailing my cheeks.
"What?" I asked.
"I was expecting a little Bogie to escape that movie buffs lips. I mean really no 'maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow' nothing?"
"So sorry, I'll make sure he cooperates next time." I playfully punched him in the ribs as I headed towards class. He scooped up our baby's bassinet and followed behind me. It was the last day we would have dear baby Rip and I was looking forward to being baby free.
Fright wrapped itself around my body like a suffocating blanket as I stopped in my tracks. At the top of the steps stood a man wrapped in an ebony robe with a wolf hood covering his face. Every bone in my body suddenly began to ache, the hairs stood on end, my heart pounded and I could not breathe.
The man raised one finger too me and pointed directly at me. I could see the light glint off a large silver ring he had on one finger, a ruby began to shine brightly and a beam of light extended outward to me, hitting my unicorn necklace.
Looking down I watched as the necklace began to shine brightly and the light spread over a shield that had suddenly wrapped itself around me. I tried to move but I was completely frozen in place, I could not even turn to look for Mike.
Closing my eyes I stood firm as his power tried to invade my body. It felt like an eternity passed before I finally felt the sensation in my bones fade away. When I opened my eyes the man was gone. I turned to look for Mike who stepped up beside me.
"You ok?" He asked. My mouth dropped open; somehow he had not seen the man or the light that surrounded me. I began to wonder if it had all been in my head.
"Nothing, I'm just not looking forward to giving the report on our baby." I lied. I had been targeted again and I still had no idea why or if I would ever be safe.
Chapter 16 - Truth or consequence
"Ugh what are you doing here?" I whined as Vanessa walked up carrying a camping backpack, wearing a skin tight tank top that exposed a belly button ring in her navel. Her shorts looked like they would need to be cut off her just to be removed.
I rolled my eyes as she was dressed as an even bigger slut then usual. Before I knew about her ability to control people's minds I had often wondered how she never got nabbed for a dress code violation. She slid the pack off her back and smiled at me.
"You aren't even in an art class!"
"Relax Nomag, not my idea! And as far as everyone here is concerned, yeah I am in your class and have been all semester." She winked at me.
"Stupid mind control power." I muttered.
My mind began to wonder how else she abused her control. Mike sauntered up carrying his own bag and a tote of paints. He greeted me with a firm kiss.
"I think I'm gonna puke!" Vanessa pretended to gag.
"Good to see you too Vanessa." Mike rolled his eyes.
"What is she even doing here?" Again I asked, louder this time.
"Because of the increase in your dreams Dad thought it would be better to have another warlock on the trip to look out for you."
"Lucky me." Vanessa hissed.
"Play nice kiddies." Mike kissed me on the cheek before grabbing both his pack and Vanessa's to load it on the under compartments of our bus. I crossed my arms unhappily and eyed Vanessa.
"I'm not any happier about this then you are!" She sighed, her shoulder pushed against me as she walked by to get onto the bus. Suddenly my fun filled week of drawing nature and spending time in the woods with Mike was going to be a nightmare.
It would only be about a six hour drive without a stop, but it would be more with the stops we were going to make, to Yosemite but with the silence between Vanessa and me it felt like an eternity. Mike kept trying to break the ice between us but neither of us was biting. She sat across the isle from us while Mike sat next to me as a buffer between her and myself.
"Give it to me!" I shouted as Vanessa tried to pull the bottle out of my hands.
"No I saw it first!" She shouted back.
We had stopped halfway through the trip to grab a bite to eat and fill the gas tank up so many of the bus passengers went into the gas stations convenience store to stock up on their snack supply. The bus was still a good three hours away from our cabins in the park.
"Let go!" I shouted back. We continued to tug over the Dr. Pepper angrily staring each other down thinking that might somehow cause the other to cower in fear and give up.
"I am going to blast you with a fire ball if you don't let go!" She threatened.
"No you won't! Mike would hate you if you did anything to me and we both know you wouldn't dare anger Mike!" I stuck my tongue out at her.
"Oh that's real mature! What are you…"
"What the hell is going on?" Mike shouted, interrupting her sentence.
"She's stealing my bottle!" Vanessa lied.
"I am not! I opened the fridge and took it out and she grabbed it from my hands!" I pulled on the bottle again but she had a death grip with both hands on it. Mike blinked rapidly as he watched us play tug-o-war over the bottle.
"Let me get this straight," he began as he rubbed his temples with both hands. "You're fighting over a bottle of Dr. Pepper?"
"It's the last one and the clerk says he has no more cold ones." I whined. "Give it back!"
"Shut it Nomag!" She shouted back.
"Holy cow you both are completely mental." Mike sighed. He stepped up and wrenched the bottle from both our hands and put it back in the fridge. "Both of you pick a different brand of soda!"
"But she started it." We both said in unison.
Mike growled at us and we knew not to say another word. We both did as he instructed and grabbed a different soda. I moved on to grab my chips while Vanessa paid for her soda and red vines. I kept a close eye on her to make sure she did not go back for the soda and try to cheat.
"If either one of you come back with Dr. Pepper in your hands I will never speak to you again." Mike muttered as he headed back towards the bus. He had the same thought I did that Vanessa would sneak back and take it.
"Go ahead and take it then." Vanessa snarled as I got in line behind her.
"Nice try!" I snarled back.
As we walked back to the bus she kept pushing me out of the way trying to make me fall over, of course I pushed back. Getting back on the bus I stopped as Mike had taken a seat next to another boy and left the only two empty seats on the bus for Vanessa and myself, both of which were sitting next to each other. I looked at him helplessly as I passed.
"I'm not putting up with a week of this crap! Work it out." He hissed at me. Begrudgingly I sat down next to Vanessa and angrily opened my soda bottle while she was just as angrily chewing on a red vine.
Every so often Mike would look back at us and scowled at the fact we still were not speaking to each other. The last time he mouthed 'talk' angrily so I turned to face Vanessa who was staring out the window still frowning. Angrily she held out her pack of red vines to me so I grabbed one and bit off both ends to dip into my soda like a straw, it was the first time I heard her laugh as she watched me do it.
"I do that too sometimes." She muttered. "But don't think we're about to bond over red vines!"
"Hardly, we're just going to negotiate a temporary truce." I added. "For the sake of Mike and his sanity."
"I've known that boy a lot longer then you have!" She hissed.
I was not sure what I had said that brought her back up on the defensive, so I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. I kept repeating in my head that it was for the sake of Mike.
"I'm aware of that. How long exactly?" I thought maybe it would be easier to negotiate a truce if I got her talking about the only real subject we had in common.
She was a cheerleader, I was anti social. She liked makeup, I liked mud. Her clothes were always properly ironed, I had reverted back to not giving a crap about my clothes and often they would be wrinkled. Her hair was neatly groomed, mine had not actually been cut in five years though it had stopped growing. The only other thing about us that was even remotely similar was that we were both incredibly stubborn and pigheaded. And when it came to matters of Mike the claws would come out and they simply would not retract.
"Since we were babies." She replied.
"Your family was the one that helped his parents when they first crossed over?" She nodded quietly. "Have you ever been to Azrail?"
"No, my parents don't ever want to go back even if they could. They like the freedom this dimension offers too much." She kept her voice in a hush so that prying ears could not hear us.
"How long had it been since you've seen each other?"
"We try to get together once a year and compare notes on how our fathers have faired in trying to close the rift. We moved to San Diego about a year and a half ago to close a rift down there. Henry called us when the fog started to worsen up north and the rest is as they say history."
"Has your dad ever been successful in a permanent closure?" She shook her head.
"Nope. I don't think there is a way myself. He's gotten it closed for a couple months before but it always opens back up, sometimes without a warlock crossing through. I think he's now hoping to somehow merge the openings to one location that we can camp out at and keep watch, we know that is possible as he was able to do that once back in Italy."
"So you're actually Italian not Mexican?" I winced as soon as the question came out knowing the answer was neither. Another dimensions Paula, you moron. She laughed.
"Silly Nomag. The countries are not the same there as they are here, you have to have realized that by now." She took a deep breath. "However I am Xyriecean because of my skin tone I tell people I am Mexican because they all just kind of assume it when they see me. My parents were sent here by the Xyriece Cahgie as guardians of this world, the Cahgie discovered the rift long before Mike's family was sent through. He used it as a refuge for Nomag from Azrail mostly, a chance for them to live in peace. But he feared its discovery and somehow suspected the additional openings that would begin to appear. So he started to send warlocks as well to go where the rift opens and do what they can to solve it."
"Are they at war? Is that why they don't let Azrailians cross into Xyriece?" I asked.
"Beats the hell out of me. I really don't care. I'm only involved by force. If I had my way I wouldn't give two craps about where I come from and sure as hell wouldn't care Khail has marked you." She growled.
"Does everybody really not know why Khail wants me?" I watched her reaction carefully. I saw her jaw flinch through her perfectly brown skin and I knew she knew the answer. "Tell me, please."
"Mike would kill me." She turned her head back to the window and grabbed another red vine out to angrily bite both ends off and put it in her soda as I had done mine. I sat in silence waiting for her to say something.
"Please. I won't tell him I know or that you told me, but I have a right to know why I'm being hunted." Gently I placed my hand on her shoulder she jerked it off instantly and turned back to me.
