Lonely

Chapter 34, Sadie

“So, how much further do we have to go today? I’m tired. Do you think we’ll see any more of those monsters? I hope not. I don’t really care for them. I knew this girl one time that was attacked by one and had claw marks all up her face. She was really nice though. I hope that doesn’t happen to me. I want to be a model when I grow up.” Libby paused to take a breath and I took that time to say something. “Wanna play a game?” I asked. She made a face. “If it’s the silent game, no. I always win anyways, and that game is no fun” I found it hard to believe she always won. I smiled down at her expression. Just then, Rex came trotting out of the trees. He had been gone the whole day before, and I didn’t realize it until just then. Libby looked surprised.

“Uh, what is that?” she asked, edging towards me. “It okay, he’s harmless. Sort of like my pet, but he comes and goes as he likes. His name is Rex.” When I said his name, he crawled up my leg and sat on my shoulder, stretching his neck to sniff at Libby. He made a purring sound in his chest and jumped down onto her. She gave a little jump. I laughed. “It’s alright. He just likes shoulders.” She made the purring sound again and rubbed his head against her unruly brown hair. She looked non-plussed. “It smells funny.” Rex didn’t seem to care about her insult, and she rolled her eyes. “It’s always me they like.” She said. I smiled at her.

“Anyways, when will we get to…where ever it is we’re going?” she asked. I shrugged. Probably pretty soon. The next kid we’re going for is Jett Henson. Then we have five more.” I explained. She nodded slowly. “So…then we go back to Arianna’s?” she asked. “Yeah. How do you know her?” I asked. She frowned as she thought. “She helped me out one time,   years ago. She took good care of me, but she had to leave.” She said the last party glumly. I felt bad for her. She couldn’t be more than twelve. “How old are you?” I asked. She beamed at me.

“I just turned twelve last month.” She said proudly. I smiled at her. I heard the familiar sound of cars going by and listened closer. “We’re almost to the next town. Keep a low profile, wont you?” I pleaded. She had the tendency to find random bits of stuff and put things together with her mind, or take them apart. She widened her eyes innocently and nodded. We came out of the trees and were standing behind large white building. I could hear all sorts of stuff going on the other side, and I guessed we weren’t in another small town. I peeked around the corner and saw people going back and forth, pushing strollers and rushing across the parking lot to their cars. I took Libby’s hand and walked out as casually as could be. No one seemed to notice two kids coming out from behind a random building, so we kept going. We crossed the plaza, then somehow managed to cross the busy high way without getting hit, although a few people did honk their horns at us.

On the other side, we ended up in front of a tall building with no windows except the very top. It was wedged in a line of several other buildings, and there were alleys on either side. I didn’t really like the way they looked, but it appeared to be the only way to continued on my path. I started down one at a good pace, dragging Libby behind me. “Slow down.” She complained. Once we were behind the buildings, I stopped. “Can’t we go shopping for a little while or something?’ she begged. I looked over her clothes. Her pink shirt with a flower on it was rather grubby, and her jeans were ripped. I wished I could take her to one and let her pick out anything she wanted. I shook my head.

“One of these days, we’ll stop and you can go shopping, okay?” I offered. She smiled and nodded, but I could tell that she still wanted to stay a while. I looked around. Being in the city made me jumpy.Video cameras, lots of open places. I didn’t like it at all, and it made me jittery and nervous. I pulled her back and we started winding our way through the city. I could see that we would have to stay near the road, but there were trees on either side, so that was alright. Finally, we darted back into the trees and got s far away from the road as possible. We could still here the cars, but the sound was faint. I sighed a breath of relief as we continued walking.

The sun began to set, and Libby started to complain about being tired, so we stopped walking for the night. I started a fire and let Libby dig through my bag so she could find something to eat. We were pretty much settled in, Libby talking continuously about horses, when something made me pay more attention. Maybe it was the feeling I got, or the smell. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and a strong, musty smell filled my nose. I straightened my back and motioned for Libby to stop talking. She seemed to pick up on it, too. I stepped closer to Libby, who stood up.

Out of the brush came a person. I didn’t relax at all at the sight of him, because I knew people could be even more dangerous than any monster. He was dressed in a black suit with a black tie and white shirt underneath. He had his hands shove deep in his pockets while his green eyes scowered the area around us. Finally, he stopped to gaze at us. I stood frozen, unsure of what to do. He had short brown hair spiked up in the front, and a sure smile. He couldn’t have been much older than me, but I knew he was a great threat. He had a cold glint in his eyes, and he had a cruel air about him. Finally, he stopped smiling and began to talk.

“Arianna really is getting desperate, isn’t she? Sending a child to go get yet another child.” He shook his head, and I glared at him. “What do you want?’ I snarled. I felt Libby tense in front of me, preparing for anything. He smiled smugly at me. “It’s very simple really. All you have to do is stop. I can leave you two alone, and you can send her back to where she came from, and go back to where you came from. Surely, your parents miss you?” he asked, cocking his head. I glared and began pushing a thought into his head. He somehow realized it and sent it back. He scowled at me. .“Don’t even bother.” He said, and then came around the fire so quick I didn’t even see him. I shoved Libby out of the way. He caught my shoulder and sent me spinning, and him falling behind me. I used the momentum to send a strong round house kick to his back. He sprawled out in the dirt, but was back up before I could do anything. He caught me right under the chin with his fist, snapping my head back. I almost crumpled to the ground, but somehow managed to stay upright. Dazed, I barely saw him swing again when I ducked and then snapped back up behind him and grabbed his wrist, twisted it behind his back and yanked up. I heard his shoulder pop out, and he howled in pain, then simply whirled on me. I danced out of the way as he lunged again. I heard the sound of creaking metal and watched as, from her spot under a tree ten feet away, Libby twisted a pipe around him. He struggled against it, but he was no match. I pushed the thought into his head, and he suddenly rammed his head on a nearby rock, knocking himself out cold. I looked over at Libby, breathless. Her eyes were wide. “I’m sorry, but I could just let him beat you like that.” I smiled at her. “No one beats us.”