Unfamiliar Territory, page 13
In any other situation I would have been panicked by such an error on my behalf. But unfortunately, we had bigger fish to fry this time.
Grimm finally communicated back. “Seriously? How are we going to do that?”
Perplexed, I shook my head, a bad habit I picked up from my human side. “I’ll change to human to warn Wren. We just need to be sneaky, I suppose.”
“You’ll be sneakier as a cat, but we can’t communicate to Wren this way.”
“We don’t have time to argue! Whatever happens, you and I need to stay out of Gavin’s sight! I told him we already checked this place.” Before Grimm could discuss more, I dashed out of the room and into the hallway, transformed, and barged back in.
“Wren! We need to go now!” I whisper-yelled at the girl.
She stared at me, eyes narrowing. “Where’s the cat?”
“What cat?” I hoped I sounded convincing as I continued my tirade. “Seriously, there’s a bounty hunter in the school right now looking for your brother. We need to get you out!”
Her eyes widened and she jumped from bed, obviously refreshed. “What do we do?” She whispered back with an edge of panic in her voice.
“Stay with Grimm. He’ll sneak you out. I’ll stay back to look out for the hunter.” I paused to think for the briefest of seconds. “Is there only one staircase?”
Wren shook her head. “There’s a faculty staircase in the upstairs lounge that leads to the kitchen.”
“Good. Take it.”
Grimm chuffed encouragingly at the girl to get her attention. She glanced at him and then back at me. She nodded.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Keep a hold of his tail. He’ll keep you safe.”
As she did as I said, Grimm started for the door, cautiously nudging it open the rest of the way and peering out before leading his ward into the hallway.
As they disappeared from view, I whisper-called out, “Good luck!”
With my newfound privacy, I turned off the light, stuffed it in my trouser pocket, and morphed into a cat again. I waited until I was sure the duo had gone into the lounge before peeking my head out into the hallway. With no sign of anybody out there, I nimbly pranced down the darkened hallway and down the stairs. I needed to find Gavin so that I could run interference if need be.
After checking the landing and not finding him, I cursed hindsight, since it would have been faster to get Wren out this way. Nothing could be done about it now, though. I stopped and listened to figure out which way to go.
Silly human, thinking he was being so quiet. I could easily hear him off to my left and down the hall. I ran to find him.
As soon as I turned the hallway corner, there he was. I skidded to a halt and watched him, keeping far away from the glow of his light. Gavin was checking each and every door as silently as possible, opening them a crack, peering inside, and then moving on. I threw out a silent prayer that he would continue to do so and keep far away from Grimm and his ward.
I guess when you aren’t really religious, prayer doesn’t work.
As Gavin started to check another door, a faint clatter could be heard elsewhere in the school. He straightened immediately, his hand reaching for the pistol at his side. He strode across the hall to the door closest to the sound, reading the inscription on the door. He nodded as if affirming something before pushing it open and bounding in.
Crap, crap, double hairballs. I chased after him, vaguely noting that the sign said, “Kitchen, Faculty Only.” Luckily, the door was mostly open, so I breezed through without a problem. I had a bad feeling this would be the only easy thing about this whole development.
The kitchen was immense, as I surmised it would be. After all, this place had to feed a lot of kids back in the day. Just as with the rest of the school, it had not been emptied out. There were no windows, so the only light in the room came from Gavin’s handheld. It did a good job of illuminating much of the center of the kitchen, leaving massive black shadows in the periphery.
“Okay, wherever you are, come out with your hands up!” Gavin barked. He had his pistol at the ready now, the light trained to follow its sweep as he moved cautiously forward. I had to hand it to him; he was a pro at his job.
I kept creeping up behind him, racking my feline brain as how to best get us out of here in one piece. So far Grimm and Wren had stayed in the shadows, somewhere. But this was bad. My brain refused to cooperate.
I had decided the old screech and scare tactic might be our best bet. I realized it was a bit weak and the outcome would be unpredictable, but I was doing my best to talk myself into it.
I was a bit too late.
A roar split the air before I could act, reverberating through the large room. Gavin and I both froze. As a large shadow off to the left emerged, the bounty hunter swung the light in that direction, revealing a large monster standing on two legs. It was bear-like in looks, with a gaping maw filled with too many sharp teeth and red eyes, but it looked diseased or undead as patches of fur and skin sloughed away all over its body. Sharp spines emerged from various spots on its head, shoulders and back.
I had to give the girl credit for originality.
Wren’s monster roared again as the light illuminated it. I glanced at it for a second before returning my attention to Gavin.
I did not like what I saw. He was terrified, naturally, but he still had the pistol trained on the beast. Wren’s new form may have been out of a nightmare, but Gavin was keeping enough wits about him, and he was not about to turn tail and run. Unfortunately, if he fired his weapon, I had no way of knowing if it would actually harm the girl, and I couldn’t let myself find out.
I bounded forward and barreled my small body into the back of Gavin’s knees. His legs collapsed forward and he lost his balance. As he fell backward his finger pulled the trigger, and the sound of the gunshot filled the space. Luck was on my side, however. I heard the bullet ping off to the right, too far away to hurt anybody.
The wind was clearly knocked out of Gavin. He had dropped the light, which spun in a small arc out of reach of his outstretched left hand. But the pistol was still clutched in his right. I needed to remedy that, and fast. Steeling myself, I rushed to that hand and swiped my claws across his wrist, cutting deep enough to instantly draw blood.
Gavin let out a string of profanities but dropped the weapon as he raised his arm up. I took this opportunity to jump onto his diaphragm solidly, eliciting a “Woomph!” from him that stopped his cursing. I think he made to grab me, but I jumped off as quickly as I had jumped on and ran to the left side of the room.
Grimm came out of hiding then, as I screeched to a halt in front of the bear-thing. “Time to go!” I yelled.
Grimm looked up at the monster, who looked back at the two of us. Grimm chuffed once and pranced forward slightly. Nodding its head, the bear-thing began to follow our mad dash for the door. As it ran, it shrank back down, so that by the time we reached the door it was Wren again. I noted with approval that the entire time she had held onto Grimm’s tail, even as a monster.
Back in the hallway, I paused for the briefest of seconds. “Just go this way to the main doors. I’ll meet you out there!” I dashed off ahead of them.
Outside again, with the dark fully settled into night and the nocturnal creatures in full chorus, I switched my form again. Not three seconds later Grimm and the girl burst out of the school. Even in the dark I could see the fatigue on the girl’s face. I frowned.
“Wren, get on Grimm’s back,” I commanded. She hesitated only a bit before realizing her own limits and then she straddled the dog and wrapped her arms around his neck. I nodded my approval, met Grimm’s eyes, and tilted my head to tell him we should get out of here now. That was all it took for the two of us to break into another run, back to our wagon.
We ran all the way back to the wagon without encountering any problems, a real blessing. Fal, to his credit, had stayed out of sight in the wagon and he only came out once he knew it was us.
“Wren! Wren!” he called out with brotherly concern. He rushed over to the large dog and his rider, grasping her arm.
I was beat. All that running and adrenaline was finally catching up to me. I bent over with my hands braced on my thighs to catch my breath. Grimm was panting profusely. As I recovered from our sprint, I watched Fal pull Wren off Grimm and into a loving hug, which she returned, albeit with less gusto.
“You’re all right,” he murmured into her long hair.
“I’m fine,” she replied breathlessly, “just tired. The cat saved me.”
Those words hit me like a figurative punch to the gut.
Fal didn’t say anything, but a look of confusion swept his face momentarily. He glanced in my direction without breaking the hug. I shrugged nonchalantly, at least that was what I was going for. There were tears shining in the light of Fal’s eyes. Once the quizzical look passed, I could see a grateful smile through his sister’s hair.
My breathing back to some semblance of order, I picked up the lantern and started in with my boss voice. “St. Cloud is still at the school. We need to get out of here now.”
“Fal?” came Wren’s small voice. “So sleepy.”
I strode to the back of the wagon and got in, setting the lamp in its usual spot. I pulled out the mattress and blankets and arranged them semi-neatly.
“Fal! Bring her in here!” I said. He was already making his way over with the girl in her arms. It was difficult for him to climb up into the interior with his bundle, so I held out my arms to him.
He hesitated.
I sighed. “Please?”
He acquiesced, and between the two of us we hoisted Wren inside. She was already nearly out of it again, but she managed to walk two steps to sink into the mattress. Fal tucked the blanket around her prone form.
“Fal, I don’t know if we can trust her. She’s a cat.” Wren whispered.
Fal glanced up at me, but I pretended I didn’t hear the girl’s words, even though my heart was pounding in my chest. He looked back down to Wren.
“Don’t talk nonsense, Wrenny. You just need sleep.” Fal laid a small kiss on her dirty forehead and by the time he had straightened up she was asleep.
I looked at the teen. “We need to put distance between us and this place. Stay back here for a while?”
Fal nodded, and I let out a heavy sigh of relief. I pulled the night light out of my pocket and handed it to Fal, who turned it on and placed it between himself and his sister. I grabbed my own lamp before scooting out of the wagon and closing the doors behind me. Grimm, nearly lost in the dark save for his shining yellow eyes, snuffed once, a sound I took to mean that he would run alongside for a spell.
I did not dally in turning the wagon in the opposite direction of the school.
Chapter 13
Once we had been traveling for about a half an hour and had gotten back onto what would eventually be Rabbit Hole Road, I called for Humbert to stop. Jumping down with the lantern, I spotted my partner’s glowing eyes off to my left. Grimm was panting from the night’s exertion but otherwise seemed fine. I walked swiftly to the back and opened the doors softly. Shining the soft glow of the lamp inside, I met Fal’s hazel eyes, shining nearly black in the low light. Beside him, Wren was still fast asleep.
“I think I’d like to ride up front for a while,” he hesitantly stated.
I shrugged. “Sure, there shouldn’t be anyone out tonight where we are going, and I’ll have Grimm ride back here to keep Wren safe. I just feel that it’s best to travel a little further before we stop for the night.”
Fal looked almost relieved, as if he had not thought I’d say yes. He nodded and, after one more quick look at his sister’s prone form, he made his way out of the wagon.
Grimm sat patiently by my side as Fal exited the back. Once the teen was out of the wagon, the black dog looked at me, the sunflower yellow of his eyes shining in the light. I flicked my head at the wagon. “Wren duty.”
Without a sound, Grimm jumped up into the interior. I closed the doors firmly, latched them, and spun around to make my way to the front, only to find Fal blocking my path with a dumbfounded look on his face.
“What?” I asked.
“How…?” Fal started but shook his head. “I just don’t get it.”
“C’mon,” I said with a combination of force and compassion. I grabbed his forearm to steer him to the wagon seat. He meekly obeyed. Once he was up onto the seat, I handed him the lantern and made my own way up. Fal had already figured out where to hang the lamp. I picked up the reins and barely flicked them. “Let’s go, Humbert!”
As the large horse moved forward, I saw another slight shake of Fal’s head. I sighed. “What?”
“Is there … is there such a thing as an animal witch?”
“You mean like an herbalist, but with animals?” I asked to clarify.
“Yes, like that.”
I shook my head. “I’m sure there is, but I’m not one if that’s what you’re thinking.”
He glanced at me. “Then, how are you able to boss these animals around?”
I winced. “First of all, it’s not bossiness. It’s called taking the lead. Grimm and I are partners. He can be just as bossy as me, trust me.” Fal frowned. I continued, “Grimm is special. He understands more than the average dog.”
“He’s bigger than the average dog, that’s for sure,” Fal mused out loud. “Okay, but what about the horse?”
I thought about it. “Humbert has been working for us for a while now. He knows my cues. Trust me, it wasn’t this easy in the beginning.”
Fal fell silent beside me. I could almost see his thought process about whether or not to believe me. Finally, he shrugged, and I was surprised by the amount of relief I felt from the gesture.
We rode in silence for another five minutes.
“Uh, Miss Cur…Cressida?”
I smiled toothily at the dark road in front of me. “Yes?”
Another pause, then: “Thank you. For, for keeping Wren safe. For this.” He gestured to the seating arrangement.
My smile became more pleasant. “You are welcome. I gave you my word. And you gave yours.”
Fal fidgeted beside me. When at last he spoke, he kept his voice low. “She projected again, didn’t she?”
I nodded heavily. “We were almost caught in the kitchen. She scared him off with another beast form.”
He sighed. “You know, I didn’t quite believe you about the whole bounty thing until I heard you talking to that other hunter. It made it all very real to me.”
I fished into my vest pocket, finding the rap sheet. I pulled it out and offered it to Fal. “Here. I should have shown you this earlier.”
He took it and unfolded it. There was silence for a moment before he let out a strained chuckle. “It’s real all right. You were right, I’m glad you got to us first. I was so scared. I thought I heard a gunshot come from the school.”
“You did.” Fal turned quickly at that, and I hastily added, “It went off in the air! Nobody was hurt! St. Cloud was too close for comfort, so I, uh, pushed him from behind and knocked him over. After that we got out safely.”
Fal let out a shaky breath, almost ending in a laugh. “Again, thank you.”
“Are you kidding? I got one-up on St. Clod. I should be thanking you.”
This time he did let out a chuckle. The humorous undertone didn’t last long, however, before the mood settled into an awkward silence that lasted a hair too long.
Just as I was about to break the horrible uncommunicative pause, Fal beat me to it with a huge sigh.
“She’s changed,” he exhaled.
“Wren? How? In what way?”
“Earlier this evening you had described Wren as terrifying. That isn’t how she used to be. She … she used to be so happy. She only projected innocent things. Fairies and unicorns, or she’d turn her room into an enchanted forest. She used to tell me stories. She was so positive, until just before our parents died.” He sighed.
“So, what happened? What changed her?” I asked softly.
“I’m not sure.” He looked at his hands, which were clasped in his lap. “She only makes monsters now. She’s unpredictable with her anger. And now she makes things up. She lies to me. She thinks you are a cat; I’m worried about her mental health.”
Skirting around the cat issue, I asked, “Has she made up things before?”
He nodded slightly. “She started telling me stories about new places she would go. She called them her new worlds. She started to get angry at me when I referred to them as stories.”
I stayed silent, thinking.
Fal broke the silence first. “It was Wren that knocked out the farmer.”
I didn’t expect that statement, and I swung my head over to look at him. He looked ashamed. But now that he had said it, it made perfect sense.
“We went there to steal some milk, that much is true. When the farmer interrupted us to milk his cow, I was planning on staying hidden until he was gone. He was so drunk that we could have easily snuck around him. But Wren got a look in her eye and ran up to him before I could stop her. I watched her pick up an empty pail and bash it over his head. As soon as she did, I shooed her out of the barn first and chased after her.”
“So that’s why Whitman saw you and not Wren?”
He hid his eyes in a sigh of despair. “She had never done anything like that before! I had no clue she was even capable of such violence! I started leaving her behind after that whenever I needed to gather supplies. I couldn’t risk her hurting another person.”
“That ended well for me,” I muttered to myself. Fal let out a little guffaw tinged with chagrin.
