The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga (14 page)

Jade turned back around to face Avery, “For the first
time since I’ve met Gumptin, I actually feel sorry for the little
jerk.” Then, she laid her head in her folded arms to rest her
eyes.

Gumptin continued talking to the girls for another
twenty minutes before leaving them by the gateway and walking over
to Avery and Jade.

“I am taking them back to Orcatia now.” He told them
when he reached them, “You two best go back to your houses, gather
your things, and get your family.”

The thought of dealing with her family made Avery
queasy. She still wasn’t sure if she was mad at them or not for
keeping everything a secret from her. Plus, involving her family
made everything completely real, there was no turning back after
that.

“You don’t want us to come with you guys?” Avery
asked, hoping to stall for a little more time before she had to
face her family.

“No,” Gumptin told her, dashing her hopes, “when the
girls return and are ready to leave they will contact you on your
voice communicators.” Avery figured Gumptin was talking about a
phone, but she knew it pointless to tell him what they were really
called since he’d most likely just forget it anyway, “Also,”
Gumptin said, turning away to leave, “you are human, so the fewer
times you travel through the gateway the better…what, with breaking
down of your molecules and everything.”

Avery and Jade exchanged looks of horror. Avery
instinctively hugged herself, willing her molecules to stay in
place, “Thanks for telling me after my fourth trip, you evil
gnome!”

After watching each of the girls go through the
gateway, some more reluctantly than others, Avery and Jade walked
over to their vehicles. Avery felt lucky that she had asked Skylar
to take her own car, that way she didn’t have to worry about how
the other girls were going to get home when they got back to
Earth.

Avery got in her car and pulled away from the curb.
She turned her car back out onto Main Street and drove home the
same way she had every single school day for the past year. She
continued driving left on Main Street until it was no longer called
Main Street anymore, just a small pot-hole filled two lane road
called Roadrunner Boulevard. Avery traveled slowly down the
Boulevard, making sure the old broken road was delicate on her
tires. After traveling a mile down the Boulevard, passing
subdivisions of houses built in the seventies, a public swimming
pool, and a strip mall filled with a sizeable and flamboyant pink
and orange building whose purple neon sign flashed “Coyote Dave’s
Bowling Alley, Roller Rink, and Diner! Open till the rooster
crows!!” Avery reached the turn she wanted. She turned right on
Dust Devil Avenue and her stomach clenched, it would only be a few
more minutes before she reached her home. She stared out her window
at the open desert and mountains stretching in front of her and
tried to clear her mind. To the left of Avery was a large park with
basketball courts and a large baseball field where the little
league teams played. It had a picnic area where every spring
multiple families would have barbeques, and a small playground with
a rickety swing-set and plastic green slide.

Across from the park, on the right side of the road,
was the neighborhood that Avery lived in. Tall Jacaranda trees and
brown lampposts lined the sidewalks. Avery turned her car in to the
third street down and stopped in front of the first house on the
left, 5821 West Sunset Drive, Avery’s house.

She got out of the car and began to walk up to her
house, but stopped shortly afterwards. Instead, she leaned against
one of the tall jacarandas planted in her own front yard and just
stared at her house for a little while. It was just a little after
four and the sun was beginning its slow descent in the sky,
throwing its bright rays on to her peach adobe house, making it
almost look like it was glowing. She looked over the three large
oval windows with the brown shingles and stopped at the third
window, knowing her bedroom lay just behind the glass. Avery got
choked up as she took in the entire front exterior of her house,
the green front yard with multi-colored flowers scattered
throughout, the different shrubs, the pecan tree, and the dark
green vines with heart shaped leaves covering most of the adobe on
her house. Just looking at her house she thought of how comfortable
and safe it made her feel, and now those things weren’t hers to
keep anymore.

Knowing she couldn’t stand out there wallowing all
day, especially with the sun beginning to set, she made her way up
the yard, under the vined archway and up to the light blue front
door. Instinctively, Avery turned the doorknob, not really
expecting it to be unlocked, but to her surprise the door swung
wide open.

Avery’s two giant German Shepherd’s Justice and King
bounded up to her, knocking her back against the entry wall and
showering her face with slobbery kisses. Bailey, the family’s old
Great Dane waited patiently behind the two younger dogs for his
chance to give his master some love.

“I missed you guys, too.” Avery laughed as she pushed
them off of her and scratched all their heads lovingly.

Avery walked past her three dogs, out of the walkway,
and turned the corner into her living room. She stopped dead in her
tracks when she saw her parents sitting on opposite sides of their
over-stuffed floral couch, and her sister Cinder sitting in between
them. They were all just staring at Avery, as if they were
expecting her.

Immediately, Avery’s eyes went to her younger sister,
Cinder. Cinder was only seven years old with blond curls that fell
to her shoulders, big baby blue eyes, and peachy tan skin. Cinder
was the little golden child with a lovely exterior, infectious
laugh to go along with her dimpled smile, and a sweetly independent
spirit. Avery’s parents spoiled Cinder, showering her with
attention and praise, buying her cute outfits and stuffed animals
to go with her baby doll looks. Still, Avery couldn’t resent Cinder
the attention or the gifts, for she absolutely adored her sister.
Cinder was always the one cheering Avery up at home when she felt
depressed or stressed. Cinder would come into her room and show
Avery the new tap dance she learned that day or tell Avery a story
about how a kid at her school was so dumb he had to wear a helmet
just so his brains wouldn’t leak out of his ears. All of her life
Avery had looked out for Cinder, making sure she was never picked
on and that she always had her homework done, so that she never
fell behind in class. Cinder gave Avery two very important things
in life, joy and responsibility. If Avery could have, she would
have told her parents to give Cinder all the attention.

Of course, thinking about it now, Avery realized they
might have given Cinder so much consideration because they knew one
day they would have to take her to a world that wasn’t her own and
away from everything she knew. Because, even though both Cinder and
Avery had no prior knowledge of Orcatia, Avery figured at least her
parents knew that, at one time, Avery had had a life on Orcatia,
even if she couldn’t remember it, whereas poor Cinder only ever had
this life on Earth. Plus, Avery figured the whole being a Protector
thing probably caused her parents to worry about her more in some
way, like dying, and less in other ways, like how it might
emotionally scar her to leave the place she thought of as home.

Whatever, Avery thought; she didn’t have time to
worry about herself. Now, like her parents obviously were, she was
worried about Cinder.

Avery walked up to her little sister and knelt down
in front of her. She saw that Cinder’s eyes were slightly red from
crying.

“Are you alright?” Avery asked her sister gently.

Cinder nodded, sticking her lower lip out in a slight
pout, “Mommy and Daddy said we have to leave and I’m not gonna see
my friends anymore.”

Avery sat up a little and gave her sister a hug,
“Well,” Avery told her, “I’ll be there and we’re not just sisters,
but we’re friends too, right?”

Cinder smiled and wiped at her already dried tears,
“Yeah, plus we get to bring Bailey, Justice, and King, and they’re
my
best
friends!”

Avery nodded in agreement, somehow alright with being
placed fourth behind three dogs.

“And,” Cinder continued, excitement in her voice,
“Mommy says that there are a lot more animals where we’re going,
and really big trees, and waterfalls, and magical stuff, and a lot
more kids for me to play with!”

Cinder’s trademark dimples appeared, as the more she
talked, the more and more excited she got.

“Sweetheart,” Avery’s Mom stopped Cinder before she
could go on with the hundred other things she was looking forward
to, “I already packed your clothes. So, why don’t you go get your
pink duffle bag, go to your room, and fill it with the things you
want to take with you.”

“Alright!” Cinder said joyously, bounding up from the
couch and away from Avery.

“Remember,” Avery’s mom shouted after her youngest
daughter, “just the items that you really want!”

Avery could already foresee Cinder crying her eyes
out an hour from now when she’d want to take more than her parents
would allow. Avery bemused at how quickly a child’s emotions could
change and wished she could be able to express her feeling with as
much abandon as Cinder did.

Once Cinder was gone and out of earshot, Avery stood
up and faced her parents. Jaw clenched and arms folded, she stared
them down. Avery knew why they had kept everything a secret, she
could even understand it, but that still didn’t stop her from being
angry with them about it. She had given her parents that hard, I’m
pissed face enough times for them to know exactly what Avery was
thinking. Instead of trying to defend themselves or explain they
both stood up from the couch and walked over and hugged their
daughter. The daughter they had traveled to another planet for,
just to bring her back to life.

It didn’t take Avery long to cave and hug them back,
“You could have said something.” Avery said, her face buried in her
mother’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Her mother told her, stroking
Avery’s long auburn hair, “but we just couldn’t risk it.”

Avery pulled away and looked up at her mother; a
pretty middle-aged woman with short dark brown hair and gray eyes,
“Mom,” Avery said loudly, “my whole world just got turned upside
down in one single day!”

“We were strictly told not to tell you anything,
Avery,” Her father, a tall, sturdy man with sandy brown hair and a
beard, said to her, “and we weren’t going to go against anything
the Elementals told us to do.”

Avery shook her head and turned away, biting her lip
to keep from crying. With everything that had happened she hadn’t
cried once today and she planned on keeping it that way.

“Honestly, Avery,” Her mother told her, coming up and
placing her arm around her, “it was sort of a relief for us to have
you grow up as just a normal girl. We didn’t have to worry about
you the way we did on Orcatia and
you
didn’t have to worry
about things like you did on Orcatia.”

Avery wished her mother would stop talking. It was
bad enough that she couldn’t be angry with her parents like she
wanted to, but she didn’t want to have to be grateful at this very
moment, as well.

“I know you can’t remember anything, sweetheart, but
if you could I know you’d be happy you had this time on Earth to
just be a girl.” Her mother said.

Avery pulled away from her mother; she didn’t want to
hear anymore, “Why do you think I’m upset?” She told her parents,
“I’m upset because I love my life! I really love everything about
it! It’s not about me not being ready for it to change; it’s about
me not knowing if I want it to change!” Saying it out loud almost
forced the tears out of Avery’s eyes.

Avery’s mom looked like she was about to cry
herself.

“Believe us, Avery,” Her dad said, “if it was our
choice, we’d stay in Redemption.”

Avery wondered if that was really true. Gumptin had
made it sound like her parents had given up a full and whole life
to come to Earth, which made Avery wonder about what her life was
like back in Havyn. Whatever it was like, she wasn’t going to
imagine it now. Right now, she wanted to distract herself.

“I’m gonna go to my room and pack my stuff.” She told
her parents, and when she saw their still upset faces, she added,
“I’m really alright. I just needed to vent a little, but the more
time I have to let it sink in the more fine I am with it.” She
lied.

The walk down the hallway seemed excruciating long to
Avery. She passed Cinder’s room and looked in and saw her little
sister scrambling to fit every stuffed toy she owned into her
child’s sized pink duffel bag.

Avery reached the door with a poster of the Orion
Nebula taped onto it and opened the door to her room. The smell of
the vanilla candles she burned every night hit her nostrils, and
Avery walked into the room she had thought of as her sanctuary. Its
violet walls, wallpapered with posters of her favorite bands, far
off galaxies, a ridiculously large horse calendar, and multiple
clippings of actors and actresses taken from magazines.

It felt good to Avery to be able to heave the
backpack she had been lugging around with her all day onto her bed,
which was covered with a dark purple bedspread and far too many
sparkly pillows. She dumped her school books out on the bed and
began filling the backpack back up with her most desired
possessions. First, went in her poetry books, Avery figured a
little Edgar Allen Poe after a hard day of fighting couldn’t hurt.
Next, went in her photo album and all the photo’s she had in frames
around her room. Then, her journal, her favorite nail polish, a few
pieces of jewelry, a stuffed coyote she had since she was six, and
a few other necessities. Avery looked longingly over at her shelf
of trophies, some for the Chess Club, a few for the Astronomy Club,
some for Junior Rodeo, and one very proud looking National
Watermelon Seed Spitting Championship trophy. She wanted to grab
them all and take them with her, but knew that trying to travel
with them would be ridiculous.