Perception

Part 23

****I have no idea if Uncle knows ASL, but for my story he does.

Victor:

I watch as Princess goes into Nate's house with a bag over her arm. The others seem too wrapped up in Princess's interaction with Derrick to notice she's carrying a lumpy package, but I notice things. After a few minutes, I catch a glimpse of Sang dashing from the back gate of Nathan's yard and into the woods carrying a bucket of some kind, with smaller objects barely visible inside.

"Someone needs to tail her," I say almost silently. I see Mr. Morris leave his car and start into the woods after her.

"Someone already is," North growls. With all of the drama surrounding Sang's accidental exposure to the most-unpleasant mission, we forgot that we were being followed. It's a good thing we haven't been doing anything that could be misconstrued, or used against us in the public eye.

I see Luke sneak into the woods shortly after that and am once again impressed with his stealth and speed. I didn't even realize he had left.

GROUP TEXT:

Luke: Can see Morris but not Sang.

Kota: Just stay out of sight of both.

Luke: She isn't taking trails so it's rough going.

I look at my brothers and watch as our matching smiles bloom. Princess told us she spent a lot of time in woods back in Illinois. We know (now) that her sense of direction is exquisite. We also know that she isn't walking around unarmed.

Luke: Mr. Morris is stuck in the bog, and Sang is nowhere to be seen.

Me: Head toward the barn.

Luke: Why?

Kota: Listen to Victor. I believe she's headed there too, now that he mentioned it.

Luke: What about Morris?

North: Either he will get himself out, or we will let him out later. Much later.

Sang POV:

Who the heck is following me this time? I know it's not one of the boys. The feeling of heebie jeebies tells me that much. Okay, well I'm not going to take them where I'm headed, so I have to make some quick decisions. Quickly looking around at the trees, I see various types. My nose tells me we're in a swampy area, so I just need to figure out where the muck is, and lead the creep there. I dart ahead quickly, but silently while crouching so that the stalker doesn't know to increase their pace

Once I see the scrub grass and bare patches, I know I'm close. Spotting a grouping of oak trees, I lash my bucket over my arm and begin to climb. It's been a while, and the bucket makes climbing awkward, but trees were my haven for a long time. The skill comes back quickly, and I dart through the branches until I can reach the ground past the unstable forest floor. I drop down, making sure I am visible to my pursuer, but make my way forward acting like I didn't just make an aerial detour.

Hearing muted masculine cursing, I know my plan was successful, and the creep walked through the sloppy ground. I then loop around and head toward the barn.

I make the same circuit around the barn leaving a large chocolate bar and an iced coffee on the windowsill. I haven't heard or seen the boy following me, so I am only hoping it is one of the two that I know can match me for silent walking.

Upon entering the barn, I let my eyes adjust silently. I make a slow sweep of the interior, and smoothly grab the items I bought at the store. Grasping the two small bowls, a can of pop-top tuna, and a bottle of water, I make my way to the base of the ladder. I could kick myself for not bringing my backpack, but I didn't think of it with the other items I had to quickly assemble.

I place half of the tuna in one bowl, add water to the other, then sit a few feet away while holding the can with the remaining tuna.

After about ten minutes, I see the cat from the rafters peek at me from the top rung of the ladder. She perches with the tip of her tail twitching, but I can see that she is evaluating my every move. An additional five minutes of stillness and she cautiously makes her way down. She crouches facing me, and begins to eat from the bowl, takes a few laps at the water, but her tiny slitted nostrils are twitching toward me when she lifts her head. It is then that I see she is wearing a very dirty, matted collar without any tags. One of her eyes is half fused shut with scarring, and the ear above is almost completely missing. The poor girl must have fought for her life at least once.

She approaches me slowly, and I know that only true need would make one so beaten down by life allow the mercy of others to break through such learned caution. I hold the can steadily while she takes cautious nibbles. My free hand slowly makes its way to scratch behind her ear and I manage a couple scratches before she bolts. I empty the rest of the can into her new bowl, the scoot back. I wait until she finishes her food before placing the bowls into the bucket I brought and hanging them on the wall to prevent raccoons from finding them.

After that, I make my way to Nathan's to wash up and get ready for my shift at the diner.

Luke POV:

Cupcake is truly amazing! I'm mentally rolling on the ground laughing after seeing how she handled Morris! Clever girl! I feel my heart seize when I think of what we did to her. I can't help blaming myself. That nasty girl I had to distract and pickpocket should have kept her lips to herself. I head to the barn as directed and reach the clearing just before Sang does. I watch as she walks around the place, and deposit something on the windowsill. After she goes inside, I rush to check out what she left for me.

Yessss!!!!! I enjoy the treat as I watch as Cupcake feeds some gross cat, then follow her back to Nate's house.

GROUP TEXT:

Me: She's at Nate's.

North: She's scheduled to work in 15 minutes

Gabe: I get to work with Trouble!

Me: Me too! Haha! Get back to work, Gabe! Uncle's not paying you to play with your junk.

Gabe: I'm not playing pocket pool, you ass! It's clearly my phone I'm stroking.

Mr. B: Language, Mr. Coleman.

Doc: See?

I rush to the diner and get inside in time to hear Uncle asking Sang why I wasn't with her. She quietly responds that we're taking a break with a cracking voice, and Uncle's eyes shoot to me with rage. I guess I hadn't anticipated the third-party players to our family drama, but those short statements certainly sent the message home to lodge right in my heart. I nearly buckle with despair, and I can't seem to pull myself out enough to seem unaffected. Uncle sees my distress, and his face softens.

I sign to Uncle that I needed to leave, and he nods shortly. I make my escape before Sang even realizes I'm there.