Curious Minds

Chapter 13

It took Caleb a week to convince his cousin to help us rent a Suburban so that we could drive home instead of taking a plane or series of buses. No one intended to explain that the trip we planned on taking wouldn't lead home until the end of summer. Since both Caleb and I had our driver's license it was a valid option. Out of the two of us, however, Caleb definitely had more practice. He had his own car that his uncle had sold to him for a month's free labor. My driving abilities were only used on occasion. There was only one vehicle that was shared among me, my parents, and my 22-year-old brother.

The twins and I were busy loading the rest of our luggage into the lime green truck we now called our own. (I think it was a sign that something in my life must always be that color.) Caleb was talking to his cousin on the front walk near the beach house's door. It looked to be a serious disscussion, but I was unable to hear it from the back of the rather large vehicle we would soon be leaving in.

Caleb was smiling, but it looked to be a bit strained. Todd had an outright scowl on his face, or maybe that was his neutral expression.

After shoving the last suitcase into place, I was about to move closer, but when I looked up, Caleb was coming over with the keys dangling triumphantly from his hand. His expression and tone of voice as he said, "Let's go." didn't match his movements.

The twins scrambled into the truck quickly, not willing to invoke the wrath of Caleb. I gave him a look that said I was definitely be asking questions later before climbing into the passenger seat. Caleb climbed in, started the truck, and our journey began with a sense of tension.

***

For the next two weeks we travelled from southern California to the twin's dad's farm in Montana. We stopped at a big Fourth of July party in a little town I can't remember the name of. The rest of the burned time was because we decided to sightsee and practice morphing along the way.

Mostly, we found dogs and the occasional cat, but we came across a few other kinds of exotic pets. Not all of them were acquired, though.

Drake was the one who found out that we were able to acquire and morph dead animals. What possessed him to try was beyond me, but we all knew that it wasn't covered in the morphing technology how-to.

"Maybe no one has ever tried," Caleb suggested as we watched the twins chase each other in squirrel form just a few days before we headed to the farm. They had found it in the parking lot, freshly squished. Disgusting? Yes.

"Possibly," I muttered. I wasn't convinced. I could tell Caleb caught my skepticism.

When we reached the farm, Caleb and I mistook the driveway for a road. The twins didn't bother enlightening us either until we reached the gates.

They were made of wrought iron and had an archway over it that read: End of Day across it. The gates themselves had Livingston forged into the metal.

"You two meant a literal farm. I thought you meant some small plot of land," Caleb said after staring at the gates for a moment.

Without answering, the twins jumped out and opened the gates so Caleb, who was driving and had been most of the trip, could pull through.

Once the gates were shut and the twins back in the suburban, we continued down the drive, watching the fields of horses and donkeys pass by. One field even had what appeared to be a herd of ponies grazing.

Busy with the fields and their many occupants, I didn't see the main house until we had stopped in front of it. I don't know how I missed it. The house was like a stereotypical southern-style farmhouse with a wrap around porch and people milling around in overalls. There were even rocking chairs and a swing on the porch itself. Everything was red and blue, the sides of the house, the porch decorations, and even many of the outfits people wore. The biggest difference, though, was that it was three-storied. The bottom two had identical porches, but the top floor only had small balconies jutting out from full-length windows. overall, the house was huge.

"Wow," Caleb breathed as he put the suburban into park. Hearing him say that tells me he is in as much shock as I am. "What does your dad do, again?"

"Sells horses," Josh said with a shrug.

"I'm telling dad we are here," Drake said as he jumped out.

"Isn't he expecting us?" I asked.

"He is. We just need the key," he said. When I pressed for more information, he stayed stubbornly quiet.