Winter's Fury - Volume Two of The Saga of the Twelves (35 page)

The feline, not hesitating
in the least, vanished into the murk of the lower lot.

It was clear to Louis that
Anthony wanted to get out of the storm as fast as possible. The
fastest way to do just that was to get under the cover of concrete
and steel.

He noticed the pathway had
widened a bit, opening up to the width of a street, one more
reminiscent of what he would have seen at home. The way continued
on around the mall in the same direction as Colorado Boulevard
would have been in his own world. There were no other paths or
trails visible. Nothing angled away from the road. They jostled to
and fro, as Kenai pulled them over terrain more uneven than what
they had traversed prior.

The sisters were both
“whoa-ing” and “whooping” as they bounced and bumped, getting
nearer and nearer to the ramp.

He managed a quick glance
backward, seeing Joaquin and Jason running hard behind the
sled-tied carts.

The girls ran behind the
teenage boys.

Derek was trailing even
farther back, helping the lagging Hyun, who was clearly struggling
with the injuries to her back.

Mr. Patas brought up the
extreme rear. He was just on the edge of his vision, pausing now
and then to listen. Then he would make incredible leaps upon his
strange, but wonderful toes. He would make up the ground he had
lost in huge, twenty-five foot chunks.

The next moment, they
plunged into an even darker gloom as the bear-dog pulled them up
and over a small rise in the ground. They plummeted down the ramp,
into the lower level of the parking lot.

Louis glanced around
hoping to see the usual cars and SUV’s he was so accustomed to
seeing when he visited the mall with his mother.

His hopes
dashed.

The entire parking lot was
empty. It was devoid of motor transportation and people. Even the
many pigeons that used to roost in the more secluded corners of the
crenellating ceiling were gone.

He had only a few moments
to ponder this. Kenai and the rest of the group, not breaking
stride or slowing, made for the three sets of double doors. Each of
them led into the “super” general store - your friendly
neighborhood Target.

A few seconds later, they
were there.

They had made it. An
impromptu, though subdued cheer sounded when Garfield walked right
up to one of the entrances and pushed the electronic doors open
wide with his a large snout.

It’s not locked!
thought Louis.
Maybe we
will find what we need after all.

Maybe…

~~~~~~~<<<
ᴥ
>>>~~~~~~~

~ 20 ~

Mesmerized

Day Four, Sunday, 9:59
am…

Unaware he was doing so,
Andrew was looking down at the girl in his lap for a second or two
after Kodiak stopped in front of the entrance to the
store.

He had felt her stiffen
unexpected against his thighs. She gasped, an almost inaudible
sound escaping through her lips. Her dark eyes were opened,
searching his face. Her brow pinched together, shock and something
else he could not quite pin-point upon her visage. She did not move
or say anything, but remained in stunned silence.

In that first fleeting
moment, he did not think much of it. But when her body did not
relax against his and she continued to stare, he began to get the
impression she did not like the fact he was holding her.

For the moment, he did not
know what to do.

Her expression changed, no
longer a thing of misunderstanding or wonderment or even
bewilderment. There was recognition in her gaze – realization,
comprehension.

It was so profound, he
could only stare back for a second, then another. It hit him like a
num-chuck wielding ninja.

She knows who I
am!

He felt himself withdraw
from her before he realized what he was doing so. He let his arms
loosen, his legs relax. He no longer formed a shield against the
weather, his heart thudding against the ribs of his chest.
Fuck me, man! Please, don’t let her think I’m
some kind of creep.
Embarrassment began to
fill his face. He tried to fight the sensation, but failed the
moment her eyes found his and locked in place.

Her expression did not
soften; her body remained rigid and unyielding. And yet, she did
not shy away or move to sit up.

“
Andrew Ibarra, you should
get that girl out of this abhorrent cold. Get her into the
marketplace as soon as possible,” boomed Kodiak from the front end
of the cart.

Her voice started him so
bad he was a hair's width from shouting with fright. It was only
because something, somewhere in the back of his mind, told him who
was speaking. Thus, he was able to hold back and not cry
out.

Then, he saw the girl’s
orbs follow the source of the thunderhead voice. The small teenage
girl in his lap suddenly bled stark terror, a scream forming in her
throat.

“
No, NO!” he bellowed,
saying it as quick as he could, trying to stop her from losing it.
“She’s on our side! Don’t panic she won’t hurt you! I
promise!”

The girl looked from him
to Kodiak, back and forth, in rapid succession. Her features drew
back in horror, undiminished, though she continued to gaze between
them for quite some time.

Great, now she does think
I’m a freak or something
, he thought, lost
over what to say to her.

“
Wa-wa-what is th-that?”
she said.

He could just discern her
words. Her throat sounded hoarse and raw, and made him wince.
“Well, that is a long story. And circumstances being as they are, I
don’t have the time to go to into right now, but I promise I will
fill you in later. Ok?” he implored.

She did not
reply.

“
Umm, well, that aside,
first things first. Ah… hi, my name is Andrew Ibarra, as you might
have guessed already, and… Umm… Believe it or not, I’m a normal kid
from Highland Park just as you, I presume. I, umm... well, we are
both victims of a kidnapping. We've been… well, we're not home
anymore. We're here in this fucked up place, a place you have been
living in for what? Four days now? I’m pretty sure you’re freakin’
pissed off about that, huh?” He hoped he was not smiling all
Manson-like. “That’s natural though, so don’t worry about it. Every
single one of us is just as angry and hurt as you, especially about
all this stupid shit going on. Right?” He bobbed his head, trying
to get her to respond.

She just
stared.

“
So, you cool? You
ok?”

She continued to search
him, one eye at a time.

“
So, anyway, as I was
saying, me and my friends found you in the snow just about frozen
to death. Since I was the only with a blanket… umm… we wrapped you
in it. We were hoping to warm you up enough so you’d recover. When
we got you situated and all, you ah… sort of passed out and went to
sleep. You were pretty much done from the cold.” He surprised
himself when he found his voice did not quiver. He was able to
express his thoughts with some semblance of clarity. This despite
the fact inside, he was all knotted and twisted with emotion. His
mind was reeling, completely overloaded.

She seemed to pause,
whatever she had been thinking arrested. Her movements stopped,
though she still wore a frown as she mentally digested what he had
said to her.

Andrew watched the fear
drain from her face as her attention continued to sweep from him to
the bear-dog and back again. Wary curiosity flashed behind her
eyes. The first shreds of hope surfaced onto her visage.

Andrew could only wonder
at what she was thinking. She was confounding. Her emotions were
too swift to follow.

Still, she had not moved
from his lap and only gazed at him with ever-changing
orbs.

“
Are you ok? I mean are
you strong enough to walk?” he prompted, again uneasy and
uncertain.

She swallowed deep. It
looked like it hurt her to do so, because her frown deepened into a
grimace of pain. Her attempt to clear her throat made it worse. She
coughed a few times, her body clenching with each convulsive
spasm.

“
A-ah c-crap that h-hurt…
D-do… y-y-you… have any water?” she uttered, hoarse, wriggling free
one of her hands to rub at her throat.

Andrew glanced around to
find most of his companions had already gone into the store. Mr.
Patas and Anthony were talking just outside the entrance. Sophie
was disconnecting the straps from Kodiak, having already finished
with Kenai.

“
Hey guys, we got any
water with us?” inquired Andrew with a slight hint of urgency. He
was adamant she would not feel any more discomfort than was
necessary.

They all stopped what they
were doing to look at him. Sophie and Kodiak were grinning at him
as if they shared some private joke he did not
understand.

He was about to ask, but
Anthony spoke first.

“
Bro, you sitting on all
the supplies we brought with us. I’m pretty sure there were a few
water bottles in the mix…,” he pointed out with a smirk. His lips
he had pulled to one side of his face, skewing his entire
expression.

Andrew stared back and
felt heat rush to the surface of his face. All this time he had
been sitting on or amongst all the items that had brought with them
from the cave – the first aid kit, snacks, water, rope. He had
plopped his narrow ass atop of it all, and he had not felt a thing.
He had not even realized how uncomfortable they were to sit on,
especially with the added weight of the girl in his lap.

What the hell is wrong
with me?
he asked himself when he gazed
down at her again, mortified, knowing full well she would think him
was a complete nut-job by now.
Why can I
never be smooth or cool with girls like Anthony?

Still, as he looked at her
once again, all the awkwardness seemed to float away like smoke on
the wind. He felt something tug at him somewhere far down, at the
incalculable middle of himself. It was unlike anything he had felt
before, something beautiful and terrifying at the same
time.

“
Water?” croaked the girl
for a second time.

What is happening?
he thought, distraught. Then he shook the
bewildering thought from his mind. He began to rummage about the
cart, hoping to grab a hold of something plastic or, for the most
part, cylindrical.

He did not have to search
over long though. When he snaked his arm behind himself, he found
he had been resting upon two large, thirty-two ounce bottles of
water all along. Though it had been freezing outside, he hoped his
body heat had kept them from icing up completely. As quick as
possible, he yanked one from the back of the cart and brought it
around. He noticed, though it was not iced solid, it was mere
degrees from being so.

“
Do you think you could
drink it even though it’s like super-cold?” he asked, raising his
eyebrows, prompting her to reply.

“
I-I… think so,” she
whispered and then cleared her throat again, cringing with
hurt.

“
Ok, let me help you sit
up a bit,” Andrew urged as he placed one of his arms under her
shoulders and helped her sit. He had to move a bit to accommodate
her new position. It was not a difficult move. He uncrossed his
lower limbs and opened them as wide as the width of the cart would
allow. She sat in the middle of them perpendicular to his chest,
her back leaning against one of his long, bent legs.

She took the water bottle
from him, unscrewed the top and brought it to her lips, taking a
tentative sip.

Andrew watched, enraptured
with the smallness of her. It was not as though she was different
than any other pretty girl he had seen over his sixteen years. She
was just made in miniature. He found, because of that, he could not
help but stare.

She swallowed with her
eyes closed as if she expected some new source of agony. But, she
did not give any sign she felt any after a few gulping swallows.
She opened her eyes and smiled at Andrew, a brightening of her
face. Then she took a few more pulls of water that seemed to please
her to the fullest. When she came up for air afterward, breathing
huge and rapid, she put down the bottle and looked back at Andrew.
“You have no idea how good that tasted.” Her voice was an
unexpected huskiness.

Andrew knew it was not the
normal way she talked, rather one belying hardship and
abuse.

“
It numbed my throat, the
water being so cold and all.” Her smile was enough to make that
strange thing in the center of him tug once more.

She must have gone through
hell these past four days. It must have been horrific -
alone, cold, hungry…

She was staring at him now
with pure interest etched on her face. Her dark eyes still
searched, but no longer were they accusatory.

They alone were enough to
break Andrew’s train of thought. “Better now?” he questioned,
hesitant, not wanting to upset her in any way.