A Time To Kill (Elemental Rage Book 1) (5 page)

The digging went
on a lifetime, too.  Raven and Jade both frantically dug Mindy out and then
Claire joined them, terror in her eyes as she realized what she had done.

Claire called on
water to push the sand away.  Jade shook her, “Haven’t you done enough?”

Raven grabbed
Jade, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Stop! She’s trying to help. Let her
help.”

The water pushed
away the sand.  Beneath it was the pale face of a little girl, her face
peaceful, her eyes closed.

She drew Mindy
into her arms, “Cricket?  Say something. Please?”

Jade felt sick.
Her little sister looked like a statue.

Chapter 5

~~ Amy ~~

When Amy heard her
girls’ screaming, she thought Lawrence’s killer had found them. She sped up the
hill, cursing the sand as her feet sank into it, holding her back from a true
run. From the top of the beach, she could see a crowd gathering below. Someone
was hurt.

Amy ran down the
embankment.  As she grew closer, she heard the girls.  Jade was telling Mindy
that everything would be okay. Mindy was coughing.  Raven was explained to a couple
that a freak wave hit, and that she and her sisters had barely survived.

“Mama!” Mindy was
in Jade’s arms now, but seeing Amy lifted her hands.  At seven, she was young
for her age in both temperament and size.  Onlookers thought her to be a four
or five year old.

“What happened?”

Jade and Raven
both started talking at once. By the time Mindy was in the van and buckled in,
Amy had the complete story except for Claire’s role in it. Mindy was still
coughing. Amy drove her to the hospital. 

Claire was
unusually quiet. Normally she’d be throwing a fit about leaving the ocean.  Staring
out the window, Jade thought about saying something to relieve the tension, but
then she thought about how close they came to losing Mindy.  She turned away
from Claire.

It was a small
hospital. Anyone requiring anything more than stitches or a bed pan  was life-flighted
or ambulanced out. Other than the cough and being covered in sand, Mindy seemed
fine.  A bit more clingy and less trustful of Claire, but fine nonetheless.

The doctor wanted
to keep Mindy for a few hours and run some tests. Amy agreed. Jade was still
angry and wouldn’t talk to Claire. Raven was caught in the middle.  Amy took
the girls back to the motel and ordered pizza. As soon as it was paid for, she
returned to the hospital.

~~ Claire ~~

Claire sat at the
table in the motel room. She watched while Jade flipped on the television and
grabbed a slice of pizza. She had never felt more hated in all her life. She
couldn’t stand the silence, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Jade threw the
remote on the bed, “You almost killed Mindy. Do you really want to ask me to
say something to you right now?  Because right now, I think you’re a spoiled
piece of garbage brat, and I wish you weren’t my sister.”

Raven grabbed the
remote and shut off the television which was blaring out some infomercial
anyway. She sat on the bed between her sisters and said to Jade, “That’s harsh.
You don’t mean it.”

“Did you miss the
whole drown me and Mindy deal?  Or were you in on it too?  Maybe you thought
you’d have a little fun with the sisters who didn’t get any super powers from
Grandaddy Universe.” Jade’s hands were clenched into fists, and Claire wondered
for a minute if she was going to leap over the table and start punching her.

Claire hurt deeply,
but she didn’t cry like Raven or Mindy or even Jade.  Her sorrow was dry. She’d
spent all of her Water power at the ocean. She said, “Raven didn’t do anything.
I was just going to play a little joke, but there was so much water and it got
away from me.”

Jade opened her
mouth to speak, but Raven cut in, “Jade, whatever you’re going to say, don’t. 
I can see you’re still mad, so let’s just table this discussion until Mindy’s
better and we can discuss it logically.”

Jade’s voice rose,
“She’s the one who wanted me to say something. I don’t even want to stay in the
same room.  You are not my sister, Claire.  I disown you. Mom puts up with so
much crap and you guys don’t even care.”

“You think I don’t
care?” Raven asked, her voice dangerously low.

“Oh, please. You
sneak out every weekend and run to the highway so that you and your delinquent
buddy can go out and party.  You come home reeking of booze and then hide your
clothes until me and Mom are gone so that you can wash them. I bet Mindy is
getting great care with you and Claire watching her,” Jade lashed out at her other
sister. 

They were deep
words, words that she’d been trying to find a way to express for weeks. Somehow
the thoughts that should be exchanged in a quiet moment always ended up used as
whips and scourges during an argument. It was hard to watch someone go down a
road like that and not know what to say or whether to tell.

“Wow, tell us how
you really feel,” Raven said sarcastically. “Things happen. Claire made a
mistake and we’ll move on.”

“You’ve been
enabling her bratty behavior.  That’s why she talks back all the time and is
such a pain. With a sister like her we could end up dead the next time she gets
the urge to play a joke,” Jade’s words hurt Claire.  She knew that Jade didn’t
always like her, and sometimes called her names, but she didn’t really understand
why Jade was always down on her.

“I’m sitting right
here!” Claire cried, “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I swear I didn’t.”

“Sure you didn’t.
You say I’m adopted. Well, I hope I am, because I don’t want to be related to
you,” Jade’s words struck home.

Claire pushed out
of the chair like a rocket, “I don’t need you.  I don’t need anyone. Water
loves me. She’ll take care of me.  You’re not a good sister. You never have
been.  All you care about is Mindy.”

Claire ran out of
the room. She heard Raven call her name and almost turned back, but slammed the
door instead and ran for the nearest stairwell.  She ran down the stairs
heedless of where she might go. She didn’t care. She just had to get out of
that motel room.

From the street,
she could feel the salty droplets on the breeze and hear the roar of the waves. 
Even though it was dark out and the streets were empty, Claire ran in the
direction of the ocean. She was planning to become Water forever.  She wouldn’t
have to go to school or listen to Jade complain anymore.

She’d be free.

She ran so hard
that when she reached the beach, she was out of breath and her sides ached. 
Bent over and sucking air into her lungs, she didn’t notice the teenager
approaching her until she had touched her. Claire jumped.

It was a Goth girl
with white-blonde hair that reflected the refracted light of the moon on the
clouds. The Goth girl said, “I’m sorry for startling you.  Are you okay?  You
look upset.”

Claire felt an
immediate affinity for the girl.  Surely this was someone who would
understand.  She shrugged, “My sisters hate me. I can’t go back there. Ever.”

“For reals?” The
girl asked. Her feet were bare and almost gleamed like pearls in the sand. 
Claire wondered what it would feel like to be so perfect.  The girl had to be a
few years older.  Claire was surprised she would even talk to a kid.  Her
concern touched Claire.

“Yeah.” Claire nearly
broke down, but instead lifted her chin with determination. Jade would never
make Claire cry.  If she were going to cry, it would be over someone who
actually cared about her.

The Goth girl put
a hand out, “Name’s Tasha. We’re beach bums.  Kinda hard in Oregon weather.”

Claire took her
hand, a hysterical giggle rising, “Yeah, it
is
cold on these beaches.”

The Goth girl led
Claire to a group of young people ranging from kids barely out of puberty to
guys with scruffy beards. Claire felt a jagged pleasure at the thought that she
would have someplace safe to stay, and Mom and Jade would feel sorry when she
didn’t return to the hotel.  Somehow Claire knew that Raven really
would
be sorry, but she pushed that thought aside when she joined the group.

“Another stray!
Put her there, little girl,” It was insulting, and from a cute blonde guy
probably in high school, but Claire gave him the knuckle version of a high-five
anyway.

“We’ve got what
we’ve come for. Let’s head home.  Everyone into the Vanagon.” Tasha motioned
with a slight tilt of her head, and Claire could swear that for a moment her
eyes looked completely silver, as if she didn’t have irises or pupils. And then
the moment was over, and her eyes were back to normal.

Claire climbed
into the 70’s Volkswagen bus and found a seat. She had to step over a shovel
crusted with sand on the way in. Soon she was scrunched as more than the
recommended number of passengers climbed in behind her.  Claire wasn’t really a
people-person. She didn’t handle crowds well.  Tight spaces alone, yes.  Tight
spaces with a dozen other people, definitely no.

She breathed in
through her mouth and told herself that this was better than joining with the
ocean.  It would be lonely if she spent her life as Water. They drove for over
an hour.  Claire knew that because the girl smashed up next to her kept looking
at her phone.

Any time Claire
started to get nervous, Tasha would say something funny and then ask her if she
was sure she wanted to join them. With a laugh, Tasha said, “I can always drop
these folks off and take you back myself.”

Claire thought of
Jade screaming at her and shook her head, “I’d rather be here.”

Earlier at home
when Raven had confessed her deepest darkest secret, Claire had pretended to
understand, mostly because Raven was her favorite sister and she couldn’t
imagine being on the outs with Raven the way she was with Jade and Mindy.  Now
she knew.  Every time she remembered that lump of dirt where Water had dropped
Mindy, she felt a sick feeling rise in her stomach.  .

I almost killed
Mindy.

Jade would never
forgive her.  She didn’t have a home to return to anymore.

Claire couldn’t
escape the thought toppling over and over in her mind, just the way she tumbled
in the surf when it was happening.
I thought I hated her, but I don’t. I
just want to do my own thing and for Jade to like me.

That was a new
thought for Claire.  She thought she hated Mindy.  She really didn’t like
smelling urine in the middle of the night, but that wasn’t exactly Mindy’s
fault, and somehow Mindy had replaced Claire in Jade’s affections.  A long time
ago, Jade had played with Claire the way she now played with Mindy.  Claire
missed that.

“We’re here.”

The porch lights
were on, giving the house a warm feeling. Claire stared at the mansion in awe. 
It was a huge house in the Victorian style with an enclosed porch that wrapped
around the house.  The fence was one of those creepy iron fences that show up
in horror movies and cemeteries, while the tall grasses in the yard gave it an
abandoned feel.

The blonde guy in
the passenger seat jumped out first to run down the driveway and shut the gate.
Claire could swear it creaked as it closed. The fellow ran back, waiting
outside the van for the rest of the group to disembark.

Everyone climbed
out of the van. Claire followed Tasha into the house like a lost puppy.  Tasha
was friendly with everybody, and Claire realized that the house in its own way
was as crowded as the van had been.

Something felt off
about the house.  There were too many sofas and nothing else.  The walls were
bare, without a single picture or photo. In every room were sofas and people
lounging.  Dozens of kids her age, most of them asleep, littered the rooms,
many of whom looked thin and some with bruises on their faces.  The whole thing
was strange and reminded Claire vaguely of the puppy mill she saw in the news
last year.

The house smelled
funny, like the combination of bleach and a musty dank basement odor. No one
else seemed to notice.  Claire tried to ignore it, like everyone else.  She
wanted to fit in.  

“You must be
hungry. With the crowd we have, someone is usually cooking and if not, there
are always leftovers,” Tasha disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a
warm plate of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and carrots. The smell of warm food
masked the more unpleasant odors.

Claire wolfed down
the meatloaf.  She’d used a lot of energy in the ocean, a lot of energy for the
trick on Mindy that had gone so very wrong. Claire was the only one who ate. 
When she finished, Tasha said, “I want to introduce you to the core group. 
Come upstairs.”

Claire followed
Tasha up to the second floor, down the long hall and into a bedroom that had
been converted into a sitting room. Three other women, all middle-aged were
lounging on sofas.

The eldest, a
slightly overweight woman with grey in her hair clapped her hands like a child,
“You brought treats!  What a lovely young woman. Come have a seat, and we’ll
tell you the rules.”

“Oh, Gladys, she
just arrived. There will be time enough for rules another day,” said a scrawny
woman who looked like she’d done several years of hard living.

“Tasha, be a dear
and close the door,” Gladys leaned forward with a rapt expression while Claire
sat awkwardly with her hands at her side in the couch next to Gladys.

“Now, Dear, you
must pay attention, can you do that?” Gladys asked.  Claire almost giggled when
the other woman rolled her eyes and mimed Gladys talking.

Claire moved her
hands to her lap, feeling very self-conscious, “Yes.”

“Good.  If you
break any rules you’ll be expelled from the house, and believe you me, it’s a
long walk to anywhere civilized. Got it?”

“Yes, Ma’am,”
Claire said,

“First. The
curtains stay closed. If you need sunlight, go outside.  Make sure you close
the porch door behind you when you do. Easy enough?” Gladys asked.

Claire nodded.

“Second. Any food
that comes into this house must be approved by Tasha.  Think of her as your
liaison. You’ll probably stay close to the house for the first few weeks, but
eventually you’ll want to see the world.”

“Mom doesn’t let
us eat much junk food either,” Claire said and wondered if she sounded too
disappointed.  She didn’t want Gladys to send her away.

“Fine. Fine.  The
last one is the most important.  This house is a sanctuary for many.  Don’t
give anyone the location of this house. Not your best friend. Not your family. 
If this house becomes unsafe, we will hunt you down.”  Gladys laughed
lightheartedly, but her eyes were as cold as glacial springs.