The Unwanted Winter - Volume One of the Saga of the Twelves (87 page)

*****

As she drifted from sight,
from under the heaps of snow drifting against the locked doors,
something moved. It was small, no more than a foot long and half
that wide, egg-shaped, though not continuously so. At varying
times, as it slithered beneath the packed precipitation, it
stretched, elongated like a huge, plump earthworm.

When it reached the doors
Hyun had secured minutes prior it began to feed upon the glass, or
try at least. Horrid smacks and sucks were so loud they could be
heard inside the mall, though it was difficult to see from whence
they came. Even when peering through the transparent surface it
tried to consume, there was no real mouth or aperture for eating to
be seen. It was as though it suckled from its very
flesh.

After a time, it appeared
to grow bored and writhed back underneath the snow where it joined
the hundreds of its’ brethren that littered the parking lot
beyond.

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}>>>>>>~~~~~~~~

Real Platinum

Day Two, Friday, 8:22
am…

It had been almost an hour
after Mr. Patas had informed them a blizzard of historic
proportions was battering the landscape outside the cave and about
twenty minutes after Kenai and the rabbit-man had returned from
their foray beyond the furniture pad. They had insulated the cave
from the cold outside by literally walling them in behind a huge
mound of snow. Kodiak had complimented them on their ingenuity,
while the rest of them, alone or in groups, had walked up to turn
the heavy blanket aside and gaze upon the sheer white face of the
snow a few feet beyond. The narrow passage beyond was completely
filled in, the way was entirely blocked. They were safe, for the
time being, tightly snuggled in the warmth and relative comfort of
their underground sanctuary.

The enemy would be hard
pressed to locate them now.

Anthony had watched his
sisters saunter off toward the beds, picking up stray twigs and
branches, intent on making something they could play with. It was
one of things he liked about his younger siblings; they could find
play in just about anything.

Andrew had skulked off,
after he had stopped crying out of frustration and had picked up
the mess he had made. He put everything in a small bundle, wrapping
it in one of the blankets he used to cover himself with and had
placed it next to him. He was sitting crossed-legged, leaning
against the wooded logs Kenai had stacked along the rear wall. He
had his head leaning against the veritable wall of wood, his eyes
closed. He looked asleep, but Anthony couldn’t tell if that was
true or not.

Jason, Joaquin and Louis
were all working on making a kind of screen out of the longer
branches that had belonged to their makeshift bedding. They were
using some of the nylon rope they had pilfered from the supermarket
and three more of the throw blankets they’d brought back with them
as well.

Jason, once he realized
they might be there for a while, had said they were going to need a
place to wash. Since there were girls with them, he rationalized
they were going to need a space providing a degree of
privacy.

Mugzy and Kodiak had gone
over to watch and give advice.

With so many of their
party around the contraption, Anthony had decided moved back toward
the fire, intent on staying out of the way. He’d chosen on of the
logs from which to watch.

Garfield had curled up
near the fire and had fallen asleep. Anthony figured the great cat,
realizing his ranging skills were not needed at the moment, had
most likely thought it prudent to get as much rest as possible. He
knew his talents would be in demand later.
The cat was smart
, Anthony had
chuckled to himself, watching as Mr. Patas and Sophie had begun to
reorganize their supplies some more.

They had cleaned
everything they’d used earlier in the morning for a second time.
They had staged various items for greater efficiency, so when they
prepared their meals in the future, things would be easier to get
to and the process of cooking their food wouldn’t be as
arduous.

It’s like
camping
, Anthony stated silently as he
gazed at the teenage girl. She was conversing with the rabbit-man.
The young man’s eyes danced over her athletic form, his mind
drifting in thought.
She had been a
cheerleader, right?
The question came to
mind as the image of him walking through the back gate of his
school frothed to the top of his consciousness. He had just
happened to turn and see, through the fence surrounding the
football field, the cheer squad jumping and tumbling as the
football game played out on the field before them. He remembered
her hair. Yes, that was what stuck in his memory. The blonde hair
so blonde it was nearly white. He recalled he had smirked then,
figuring her for one of those girls so emasculated with how she
looked she’d eventually turn herself into a monster. Whether it be
through dying her hair too much or wearing too much make-up or were
willing to go under the knife and have plastic surgery. She had to
be one of those girls, right? He had watched her for a second or
two, because, even at a couple hundred feet away, she was
captivating.

Then he had remembered his
grandmother was picking him up. It was Friday and he had a clan
meeting scheduled for later on that afternoon. He had turned from
her, more important things on his mind. Or so, he’d thought at the
time.

And now?

Well, maybe it was no
longer the truth, especially since he’d seen her close up and had
got to know a little about her…

…
And he’d held her
hand.

He had stared after her
the entire time she’d been working with Mr. Patas, and almost got
caught when they’d finished.

She had turned abruptly to
look in his direction, almost as if she’d known he had been looking
at her for an extending period.

The third time she glanced
his way, he looked away, frantically trying to find the fire,
though it was right there in front of him. She said something
unintelligible to Mr. Patas and walked toward him, promptly sitting
down next to him.

He remained silent and so
did she, though she was gazing unabashed at him. He could feel her
eyes boring into him and the self-consciousness rise, flushing him
with warmth and embarrassment.

They remained that way for
a few minutes, until she finally spoke, breaking the awkward
silence. It had stretched for so long it had to break at some time.
“Why are you staring at me, Anthony? Don’t you know that’s kinda
rude?”

Anthony, still looking
into the fire, felt his eyes involuntarily widen at her question.
His reply caught in his throat. His mind was a jumble of thought.
He couldn’t control it, as if his nervous system was misfiring, as
if he were in a pure state of shock. He sat there rigid, frozen for
a more than a quarter of a minute before he even breathed
again.

At his side, he could
sense Sophie was suppressing her laughter, though trying not to be
ornery about it.

Anthony turned toward her,
his expressions written plainly upon his face. He saw her mask her
levity, trying to compose herself. Though the expectant cast of her
face didn’t make her appear all that serious.

Sometimes the truth is the
only answer
, he thought a moment before.
“I guess I couldn’t help myself… sorry. It wasn’t my intention to
be rude. I mean, I wasn’t staring at your…,” he trailed off, the
topic suddenly too nerve wracking to broche.

She giggled and half
turned away with the back of one of her hands covering her
mouth.

“
Well, I wasn’t,” ventured
Anthony, his voice straining with sincerity.

The cracking of his voice
made Sophie laugh out loud. She turned toward him, her eyes
sparkling. Her cheeks were slightly pink. “I
know
that, Anthony! Oh my god,
you’re so funny!” More laughter followed hidden behind her hand.
“It’s just every time I looked up at you, I saw you look away at
the last second. I know you were trying to hide the fact you were
staring at me. I could feel your eyes on me every time.”

Anthony nodded. “How did
you know I was staring at you?” His eyebrows came
together.

Now, it was Sophie’s turn
to hesitate. “I… I got goose bumps every time,” she said quieter
than before, but was brave enough to continue to look him in the
eyes.

“
Cch, really?” said
Anthony a touch incredulous, peering back, trying to discern if she
was messing around or not.

“
Yeah, I did.”

Anthony harrumphed in mild
surprise, glancing back at the fire once more.

“
What?” she asked gazing
at his profile.

His cheeks seemed to heat
up of their own accord. “Nothing, I just never heard of that
before, that’s all,” he replied truthfully. Abruptly, he peered
back at her. “I mean, not that I think you’re yanking my chain or
anything.”

She chortled softly.
“Well, it’s true.”

“
Ok.”

The silence grew then –
not awkward like before, but more introspective than anything
else.

“
You are… or were a
cheerleader, right?” inquired Anthony, out of the thoughtful
stillness between them.

Sophie frowned for a
moment as if she was contemplating where the question might’ve
originated in his mind. At the last moment, she decided to ignore
it. She placed her hands in her lap, twiddling her fingers. “Yes, I
was one of the co-captains on the squad, which is rare for a
sophomore to be nominated, or so I have heard, but… I guess the
other girls liked me enough.”

“
I thought so,” he
admitted. “I saw you once, from a distance, cheering during a
football game after school.”

“
You did? How did you know
it was me?” she queried with a tilt of her head.

“
Your hair, it sort of
stands out. I had heard of you too, though. You know, how people
talk. One day, I just happened to see you and in my head, I was
like ‘Oh, there’s that girl with the white hair’,” he explained
with a shrug of his shoulders.

“
How people talk, huh?
And, what they say? Wait, don’t tell me. They said I dye my hair to
get attention, right?” she asked with a little heat in her
tone.

Anthony smiled warmly at
her. “Yeah, something like that, but to me it doesn’t matter – if
that’s what you do, then it’s your business and nobody else’s.
You’re entitled to do whatever the hell you want, right? Although,
I think your hair makes you look even prettier.”

“
Yup,” she retorted just
above a whisper and looked at the floor of the cave, making Anthony
lean down to get a better look at her face. There was a degree of
hurt in her voice that aroused his interest, because she’d
completely ignored his compliment.

“
What’s the matter?” he
asked quietly, not wanting to make her feel pressed into divulging
more than she was willing.

“
It’s always been a bone
of contention - my hair. All my life people have been making
assumptions about it. For the most part, it doesn’t really bother
me, because I’m used to it. I think now, it just feels like a burnt
topic, you know - old and stale. I wish people would come up with
something new.” She stopped and looked at him, while the fire
popped and fizzed next to them. Her eyes were wistful now, not
hurting.

“
Really, wow,” he began,
“but you know how people always feel jealous of other people when
they don’t have what the other person has. Whether it’s money or
beauty or just about anything, for that matter, the envy is always
there. They just feel inadequate for whatever reason and lash out,
even subtly, but the negativity is there nonetheless. That’s all it
is, Sophie. They don’t hate you or want to really hurt you beyond
making you feel bad. They just want to take you down a few pegs and
maybe make your day just a little less fun. Envy is a messed up
emotion, because it comes from so many negative origins… easy to
find, hard to get rid of…” He fell silent, his eyes delving into
the flames of the fire once more.