Winter's Fury - Volume Two of The Saga of the Twelves (29 page)

Elena shared a quick look
with her brother before his gaze shifted to Sophie.

He finally just shrugged
his shoulders. “Yea, I think that’ll be alright, but it’ll have to
be an actual minute, because I don’t want those Band-Aids to soak
through.”

“
Ok.”

Anthony began to repack
the first aid kit, fastidious as he went, while Sophie prepared the
Ace bandage in silence. She unpacked it and unwound a three-foot
section of it. This way they could move with nimble competence when
Hyun was ready for them.

“
I hate this,” said
Mikalah out of nowhere and to no one in particular, a mix of anger
and sadness in her voice.

“
We all hate this, Miki,”
was Anthony’s solemn reply.

It surprised Elena he
would use Mikalah’s nickname from when she was a baby. He scarcely
called her that anymore. Maybe it was the severity of the moment or
the need to feel secure, mulled Elena. Sometimes the past was the
best place to dwell in times of need.
It
makes us remember who we are and where we came from.

“
But why do people have to
get hurt? Why is everything so mean and cruel? I just hate it,
because it doesn’t make any sense at all,” continued Mikalah. She
crossed her small arms about her chest, staring down at Hyun as the
other tried to calm herself down.

The pain was beginning to
subside.

“
You’re right, Miki, it
doesn’t,” reasoned Anthony. “It doesn’t, because the thing behind
all this has made it so. How can you begin to understand what
motivates a creature so bent on power? How could you, a sweet
little girl like yourself, who would never hurt a fly or an ant?
How could you understand a motive like that? You couldn’t and you
never will be able to. It’s hard for me to comprehend what would
drive the insanity that is the Lord of the Storm. That’s why you’re
confused, why you’re so angry. To a sensible, kind person like you,
it just doesn’t make sense.”

Mikalah just frowned back
her brother, his explanation good enough for now, but did not make
her feel any better inside.

Elena could sense the
tendrils of revenge from her sister’s body language
alone.

“
Well, whatever this is,
whatever has done this, I don’t care about the reason behind it or
the motivating factor or even why. I agree with you Anthony. I’m
ready to trust without question, execute without delay and get
results without a single death. I will stand by you and fight!” She
said it so quiet and without a single flutter in her voice, for a
second, Elena had no idea who was speaking. She looked down and saw
Hyun looking at them.

She had wiped the tears
from her cheeks and cleaned the rest of her face. The only sign her
tears had even been was her bright red nose, puffy and irritated
from her weeping. She extended hand toward her brother, who grabbed
it in his firm grip and helped her to her feet.

“
I’m ready now,” she
muttered.

Elena saw Anthony motion
for Sophie to stand in front of Hyun, uncertain why he had
positioned himself in that fashion. But she knew why the moment the
Asian girl picked up every layer of clothing she wore above her
waist. She hiked it up and over her breasts, exposing her bra. Then
she understood - her brother was being a gentleman.

Sophie stood right in
front of Hyun, blocking most of the view.

To Elena’s satisfaction,
she saw all the other males in their group look away on purpose.
Their gazes stuck to the forest or the sky or the ground, anywhere,
but where Anthony worked on Hyun.

Her brother asked for the
still rolled section of the Ace bandage.

Sophie handed to him as
she held the leading end against one of Hyun’s sides.

Anthony wrapped the entire
length of the bandage four times around Hyun’s chest and
mid-section. He covered each of the three wounds on her back as he
did so, applying, she hoped, enough pressure to stop them from
bleeding.

He stepped
back.

Sophie said in a soft
voice when they had finished. “How does that feel?” wondered the
cheerleader.

The other teenage girl
adjusted her various garments so they felt comfortable, and were
not twisted or bunched.

“
It feels a little tight,
but other than that, it doesn’t feel all that bad. I will just have
to be careful not to move too sudden or anything like that,”
answered Hyun.

Then she did just that and
turned before any of them could react. She gave Anthony as fierce a
hug as she could manage.

“
Thank you, Anthony. Now I
know why Sophie would want you for her boyfriend. You’re a special
guy. Thank you.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and held
onto him for a bit longer.

Elena glanced at Mikalah.
Both sisters smiled through tears. Then stifled giggles at the
astonishment plastered across their brother’s face. The eventual
spread of crimson throughout his cheeks was hilarious.

Sophie just smiled and
stood back, watching.

“
Uh, umm… you’re welcome,”
Anthony stammered.

Elena noticed the rest of
their companions had gathered nearer now that Hyun was all fixed
up.

Derek being the closest,
he went right up to Hyun and asked her if she was “ok’.

She grinned and nodded,
putting her hand on his shoulder and giving it a small squeeze in
gratitude.

A few of the others
approached her as well and gave her various words of
encouragement.

She accepted them with
varying degrees of nods and smiles.

The old Andrew showed up
immediately thereafter. “So, now what do we do?”

“
I think we should make
for the mall,” was Joaquin’s quick response, “especially with so
much of the day left. We have plenty of time before night falls.
And, if weather turns severe and the storm catches us while we are
still there, I think we could hold out at Target until it passes. I
mean, there still a lot of food and junk at Target, right?” He was
looking at Hyun as he finished.

“
Yeah, there’s a ton of
stuff we could use if we needed to. We could stay there for quite
some time, if we absolutely had to… you know, if the weather turned
that bad,” she confirmed. She was stretching this way and that,
trying to get used to her bindings, her movements
experimental.

“
I
agree,” began Jason, “it’s like a few hours before lunch. We could
definitely make it there before then in these good conditions. If
bad weather should hit by then, we’ll be safe at the mall. On top
of that, just about everything we need would be there. I
mean
everything!
So, it’s worth it to go for the mall now, especially since
our first idea went to the shits.”

Anthony glanced around,
his eyes settling on Kodiak, who was still guarding the parameter
with the rest of the Fist. “Hey Kodie, you think we should press on
or head back?”

Kodiak swung her massive
head in her brother’s direction.

Elena turned to see what
the bear-dog was going to say. She saw the three newcomers cringe
at the impressive sight she made.

“
We should press on,
m’Lord Kring-Hël. Those supplies are critical to the success of our
quest. The recovery of the Legacy of Truth has to be our highest
priority and we cannot do that without the proper gear. Like the
Lord Blitz indicated we have most of day before us, regardless of
inclement weather. Now is the perfect time.”

Anthony nodded after
Kodiak’s retort. “Well that settles it then; let’s get our butts to
the mall.”

“
My daughter and I will
retrieve the supply carts and will return shortly. Patas, Mugzy we
require your assistance.”

With that the allotted
members of the Fist bounded into the trees and vanished from
sight.

~~~~~~~<<<
ᴥ
>>>~~~~~~~

~ 16 ~

The Dregs of the
Past

Day Four, Sunday, 9:41
am…

Within five minutes of the
bear-dogs’ departure for the shopping carts, they resumed their
trek. Walking in almost the same formation they had when they left
the cave. They trudged down a narrow dirt road that had once been
the four-lanes of Colorado Boulevard.

They had inserted
Kimberly, Derek and Hyun just behind Anthony, his sisters and
Sophie. Kodiak, Kenai and Louis followed behind them. The more
imposing members of their group still formed a protective shield
around the weaker ones.

Garfield ranged ahead as
usual.

Mr. Patas bounded forward
as well, listening to the surrounding landscape for anything out of
the ordinary.

Mugzy trailed the two of
them, protecting the Guardians from the front.

Andrew, Joaquin and Jason,
as before, in the triangular formation, brought up the rear. Now
though, they were much more vigilant than they had been before.
Each of them peered about, jittery, minds just shy of panicked at
what might be lurking in the forest growing to either side of them.
The slightest sound would make them all wheel around to
investigate.

Anthony expected this.
They were all more than a bit jumpy, their nerves frayed, made raw
by too much intensity over a short period of time. The Melded World
was proving far more hostile than any of them could have
imagined.

Anthony prayed they would
make it to the mall without any further incident, and unscathed.
They could ill-afford for another of their group to get injured.
Anything serious and they would be in deep trouble.

The way sloped downward,
though not steep. As Colorado did back in the World of Man, it was
a gradual decline, over a long course that stretched out before
them. The trail would not turn again until they reached what should
be the intersection with Eagle Rock Boulevard. That was still about
a mile ahead. Above them, the clouds covered all the sky, except a
small sliver far off to the east. Thus, the once soothing light of
the sun disappeared. In its absence came a grayish luminance that
diminished all color. Everywhere, everything was drab and
washed-out. It was a sad comparison to those first, vibrant rays
that had greeted them once they knew Sophie was no longer in
danger.

Anthony turned to look
over his right shoulder at Hyun as they walked down the pathway.
“How’s everything? You still feeling any pain or
discomfort?”

“
No,
Dr. Herrera
, it seems you have done a masterful job at patching me up,”
came the girl’s feigned stab at sarcasm. She had been smiling the
entire time.

Anthony knew she was
messing around.

Sophie cast her gaze at
Hyun as well, a matching, sardonic smirk plastered across her lips.
“He’s such a worrier, huh?”

“
Tell me about it, almost
as bad as my dad,” said Hyun as if Anthony was not there and she
was speaking to Sophie alone. Her tone remained playful and
taunting at the same time.

Anthony looked from one
girl to the other with a quizzical look upon his face.
What the hell? I’m just trying to make sure the
girl was ok
, he thought to himself.
Outward, he just shrugged and continued to walk down the small road
in silence.
Girls, you can’t even try to
figure them out… I was just trying to be nice for heaven’s
sake!

His sister Elena peered
over her shoulder to look at Derek. There was stark inquisition
blanketing her face.

“
Hey Derek, so tell us how
you know Kimberly. You guys said you bump into each other from time
to time. I was just wondering what that meant,” asked the little
girl.

Anthony knew immediately
she had popped a delicate bubble.

Derek could do no more
than look at the ground.

Anthony knew that type of
reaction, but his gaze did not shift to Kimberly or anyone else for
that matter. His eyes stayed fixed upon his sister. He knew, even
though she was young, she had uncanny intuition. This instinct
allowed her to see things about people at the same level as
individuals three to four times her age.

Her eyes widened when the
silence lengthened, then settled upon Kimberly. Elena’s brow furled
and her nose wrinkled as if she had just smelled something rotten
or decayed.

Anthony knew she had
uncovered something that would have otherwise remained hidden to
the rest of them. He let his eyes move to Kimberly at last, unable
to stop their movement.

She was walking behind
him, her face concealed by her straight, jet-black hair. She too
was staring at the ground, a deliberate concealment.

Ah shit, do I really want
to know what’s going on with this crazy chick?
he asked himself, already dreading the truth.

The silence stretched to
the point of awkwardness. And then, after a full minute, it became
disconcerting, almost unbearable.

“
Oh, dang it! Grow up and
explain. How hard is that? Do you guys honestly think we can afford
any secrets right now?” demanded Mikalah so loud and bullish it
made everyone within earshot jump in surprise.