Mermania

Grey

more days to be with us. I would be forever grateful to him. When he had hung up, Craig sat at the table and rested his chin in his hands. Kara turned to the coat rack and lifted her jacket off of it. Officer Garrenton saw her, jumped up from the table, and strode over to her. "Mrs. Fleming, we really need you to stay." Katie raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. The group walked off, leaving us alone. He took my hand and pulled me in the opposite directions from their friends. "I saw fries back this way." "She's fine, just tired." David glanced over at me. "Buckle up." "Well, what stands out most in my memory," the doctor said, "are a couple of times when Zach was ill and I wasn't certain he would pull through. The first time, I needed to put him in the hospital, but his grandmother refused. Only as an absolute last resort, she said. The family didn't believe in hospitals. I told her it was time for last resorts, but she still resisted. So I kept him with me at the clinic for two full days, when he was sickest. I didn't dare leave him. I was an hour away from taking him to the hospital against their wishes when his fever broke." After dinner, Kim, Katie, Evan and I stayed in the kitchen to clean up. The adults retired to the living room, after some coaxing from us. Once we were alone, Kim and I brought up the car ride today and told Evan and Katie what my grandfather said. "Thank you." She hung back in the bedroom as he returned to the kitchen. A moment later she made her way to the front bathroom, where she fiddled in a cabinet to give the appearance of doing something more than eavesdropping. "Wait a second," Eddie interrupted him, "You can't let me see this. This is classified. Why are you__" "Mom, say what you want. You're just mad because you can't control my life anymore. Get some professional help, and maybe then we can talk." Being cautious not to jingle any metal pieces, Rema saddled the horse. Once he was ready, she tied her dress between her legs so she could ride like a man. Her hands shook, and she had to grip Lightning's mane to steady herself. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she imagined soldiers storming in and arresting her. Darmik shook his head. Everyone who went to school learned the history of Greenwood Island from the time when King Barjon assumed the throne to the present. They never talked about what happened before. After a while, since trying to free himself was still pointless, his mind drifted. He wished he had claws, sharp ones that could cut the cord. He remembered, from a wonderfully open place where nothing was tied up, the mountain goat on a spur of Mt. Rainier, free to go wherever it pleased, to climb on rocks and snow, to descend into grassy meadows. No one had tied up the mountain goat." I broke your glass," Eddie gulped, looking stunned." And it was," Kara said. "I pulled it out of the water, and at first I thought it was real."By early Monday morning, my phone seemed heavier in my hands when I saw the bombardment of new text messages from Tara. They were a stream of apologies that had been sent throughout the weekend, in between missed calls. I softened a little, reminding myself that I'd said my fair share of rude things to people in the heat of the moment. Barely making it to school n time, I hobbled out of my car and hurried to class without a chance to talk to her or Shane. He took the cue and stepped closer to the phone. "Zach" he spoke up, "We just want you back home, pal. We'll come and get you." I heard the soft notes of the wedding march. Pachelbel's Canon in D Major. David specifically picked that song. Zach studied Dr. Blackfeather's face a moment. "I'm not sure..." Craig felt trapped, and for no good reason. It had been a reasonable option. "Kara, I didn't mean- "He had found an official death notice. He read it aloud; I'd felt it the day I tried to quit at the beginning of the season. I'd pretended otherwise, but I still felt it now. Without another word, I pushed my way past my jovial teammates, making my way to the man who hadn't listened to me before, but who would hear me now. "Amintah would have provided the perfect means of killing you with no evidence pointing toward me. But since he decided not to cooperate, I'll have to adjust my plans. "Well, that's part of your problem right there, if you don't mind me saying so." He paused, waiting for my approval to continue. How did so many live under this royal family's oppression? Why did no one stand up and fight? Surely, fighting for what was right and what one believed in was worth the risk. Because if no one stood up against this tyranny, it would continue until they eventually lost their land, livelihood, and homes. "Yes." "Hello?" As she was talkig, he skated over and along the glass, winking as he passed. He had a patch on his uniform that set him apart from his teammates. She squeezed his slumped shoulders. "He won't be angry with you when he comes home. Not if your behavior is better, anyway."We stayed at the park for several hours. The path down to the water was nearly impossible to spot. Wispy vegetation and leafy trees camouflaged the opening. I was surprised Ula ever found it, but then again, she had plenty of time to explore while her mom received treatment. No one joined us all morning, and the seclusion was calming. "Hello, this is Sara." Mom. He said it wouldn't be safe. And," he continued, looking up at her, "this is where he told me how I was born. He said you couldn't really love me if I didn't come out of your tummy." The youngster looked back at the cars, seeing himself and Dr. Lerwick inside one of them together. "But he was lying." "You like him?" The struggle ceased. Craig's body went limp on the floor, face-up and motionless. There was blood. Kara did not hear herself when she screamed. "Tara, really? Ok, this is why I wasn't going to tell you." "I know," I said. "Me either. I've been racking my brain for months, and I can't come up with a plausible explanation. If it was just dreams, fine, I could explain that. And that's what I thought at first, that moving here where my mom met David triggered