Gen Four- Chapter Twenty Five

NSFW Material

I almost forgot why I had come after a time. Pieter and I rested until our beating hearts calmed and the worry of discovery temporarily slipped behind the peace of nature. The sun glittered warm, yet the wind danced cool. Pieter provided an excellent cushion while the birds called for one another in a lullaby for me. This was the scenery of my youth. How I'd missed it, and how oppressive the harshness of the city now felt. The cringe in my body at returning was why I didn't protest when Pieter eventually guided us up.

     "Feel any more strongly about a decision?" he wondered.

     "I'm pretty split both ways..."

     "Well, if we're almost an hour out, why don't we get a little closer? That should help with your decision."

     "Sounds good," I agreed.

Pieter dusted himself off, I picked grass from off his back, and he turned to where our path continued.

     "A lazy hotdog, huh?" he laughed.

     "Yeah," I grinned. "The sides dip like they're trying to hold something in, but they flatten halfway giving up."

     "I see it."

Gen Four- Chapter Twenty Four

The worry and regret seeped in after, for the first time since I arrived years ago, I left Aspen Harbor's limits. I went past the bridge, followed the sidewalk as far as it would go, waited until no cars were around to dodge behind trees, and eventually found myself walking in the wooded hills lining the highway. The worry mostly came from being caught though. I didn't see any property signs banning people, but I'm sure at some point I stepped onto land not meant for travel like I was doing. Away the cars zoomed in the distance. While naturally wanting to remain unseen, I'd need the guide of civilization for a bit. The highway did stretch the majority of the way to my destination. Why make the journey harder than it needed to be? Well, I probably could have taken a taxi partway, which meant me walking was making it harder, but I'd rather not leave any sort of trail. Besides, some taxi drivers were wary enough of driving a lone teenager around in the city. I'd stick out like a sore thumb asking to be driven to any drop-off point I could imagine.

In the end, there was no need for one. I finally split off on my own path towards my destination.

Gen Four- Chapter Twenty Three

I left the Blueberry residence with a relieved sigh in my heart. There were few kids I babysat who tipped towards that end of the scale of being temper-prone brats. Mostly I didn't go back to houses with children raised like that, but Aspen Harbor's parents, at least the ones on the website I used, knew how to teach their offspring manners. However, the six-year-old and four-year-old who lived here were in moods today. They weren't interested in anything I suggested and weren't even happy getting the choice to do what they wanted. I'd rarely been so glad to have the parents walk through the front door.

And I should have expected what I saw when I walked out the front door myself.

     "Cinny," I noted upon seeing her stand there with a big grin. "Here to walk me home?"
     "Uh-huh! It's such a beautiful day that I thought you and I should enjoy some sights as we head back."
     "As we head back," I repeated. "Except you would have been at the warehouse otherwise had you not already made the long trek here."
     "No, I was in the area," Cinnamon lied with her smile growing.
     "Right. Well, thanks. It is a nice day for a walk."

She knew I knew she lied, but what was the point in calling it out? This had been what Cinnamon and Ruby had been doing for weeks─ distracting me from focusing on a certain missing someone.

Gen Four- Chapter Twenty Two

Cinnamon teased me and called me a guard dog. It was true I pace the balcony and back hallway incessantly staring out all the windows, but my actions were definitely that of a dog panicked by separation anxiety than one gallantly manning the perimeter. She did, of course, agree that Pieter's sudden silence and lack of his presence proved worrying. He had stayed out for a night here and there in the past. That was obviously him staying at his dad's. But to go into a third day with no communication? I paced a bit faster.

     "Cinnamon, c'mon, we've got a great breakfast. Tulip and I worked hard on these omelettes, and I know you love them. They're even still somewhat warm. You don't want to miss that opportunity, do you?"

Jessamine had been trying to get me to eat for fifteen minutes. This time she brought the food directly in front of me. The part of my body that didn't care about my mental state and only worked to continue my functions of living sent out itching calls to shove that whole thing in my mouth.

     "It's okay. I'd rather wait here," I denied.

    "It's not going to make a difference. What will happen will happen. You'll be better prepared, even for things like giving Pieter a slap on the head when he gets back, if you've got energy in you."

     "I..."

     "Come."

Jessamine took my hand with an iron grip.

Gen Four- Chapter Twenty One

I was out of my realm of expertise here. My skills in the creative arts were passable at best. I more preferred and was better at things like math and science. The logical stuff. Coral wished to come to the art museum though, so here we were. Appreciating something that looked interesting or beautiful was the hard part, but Coral tried to be more analytical, which had me shrugging my shoulders.

     "The vibrant lights definitely make the statues take on a weird appearance. When the beams rotate to being off, the stone is shaped to look smoother and more natural. The presence of the lights then changes them to be more...artificial, I guess? Almost like they're projections." I tried.

    "Oh, maybe you're onto something. It could be a statement to how you can't take in the world at face value. That things aren't simply skin-deep. The colored lights show the superficial, highlight the easy to see. It's when that mindset fades away that you can see the details, see the statues for what they really are."

     "Um, sure. Yeah, that sounds like good reasoning to me."

Coral nodded firmly but moved closer, studying the piece hard.

     "Or maybe..."

I smiled and took a step back, letting her ponder all she wished.

Gen Four- Chapter Twenty

A comfortable chill settled in the air as night began to fall. The dying sun battled with the moon and stars for dominance, resulting in a brilliant show of gold and navy with a rainbow of hues in the middle. I'd stared up again and again until night started to win. My neck winced and so I kept my attention on what was right around me. Nowhere was more appealing to sit at the moment than at the fire. Fennel, Ginger's mom, and Sphene joined me. The mother and daughter were absolute chatter-boxes, but I didn't mind listening to their words.

     "I'd ask her every morning if that was what she wanted to wear, and every morning she'd say yes. The more outrageous the design and the more mismatched the socks were, the prouder Sphene walked."

     "Mooom," Sphene wined. "I thought we were only telling embarrassing stories about Ginger!"

    "I think it's a cute story, that you wanted to wear your socks over your pants. Fashion and how we dress is all made up and constantly changing. People have gotten on me for my ribbons even though I'm not pink. In the end, I've decided I don't care what they think," I explained.

     "Yeah, but now I think me doing that was stupid." Sphene slumped in her chair.

     "Haha, well, everyone does have choices they regret," I shrugged.

Gen Four- Chapter Nineteen

It was at times like these where I wished more than ever for proper lighting. Tulip and I were in the middle of our intense foosball game that had my palms hurting and arms aching from the repeated reaching up and down the table. I put in all that effort, and it was the shadows doing me in. I kept losing sight of the ball.

     "Gah, seriously..." I complained as Tulip reset after scoring. I rubbed my eyes and pressed them closed hard for a few seconds trying to force them to adjust.

     "You gotta stop blaming the lack of light, girl. You're getting more of the sunlight coming in from your side. If anyone should be having trouble, it would be me. I'm just better though," Tulip taunted.

     "I really think I'm not seeing as well as I used to," I frowned.

Or the more likely answer, which I knew, was that I remained paranoid. I couldn't get what that jerk who attacked me said. Of how suddenly frightened of me he became. Someone staring at you like you were a monster didn't easily leave one's memory.

     "Are things fuzzy?" Tulip asked.

     "No. Nothing like that's changed, but..."

     "Well, just shout if you randomly go blind. People donate old eyeglasses for those who can't afford them, but besides that there's not much we can do." She smoothly scored another goal. "And if you're simply avoiding your miserable loss, I can help you even less."

Gen Four- Chapter Eighteen

The rain meant to come tomorrow was to be the first wet day in a week and a half. The unending sun hardened the ground rigidly solid. However, my feet shuffled as if caught in the thickest of sludge with my muscles hardening like I'd run all day. I just wanted to return to the warehouse for rest, but I took the longer paths most likely to curb my paranoia. Most of them looped back around or provided me extra sight of the area I'd just come from. My widened eyes searched and locked on to every small rustle of movement. If someone followed, how could I miss them after such diligent alertness?

Relief slowly battled the fear as my feet crept me closer and closer home. I'd walked far enough away to throw off my real destination. I'd done the circling to ensure no one did indeed follow. All that was left to do was return to safety where I'm sure Larkspur would continue to prod of why I acted weird and Pieter would let me snuggle him until I was calm. I hated how cold this swampy area was though. It didn't feel freezing, but it must have been given the goosebumps rippling up and down my arms. I rubbed them down, and they came right back. I rubbed faster, and they exploded harder in retaliation.

Gen Four- Chapter Seventeen

Cinnamon bounced and skipped as we walked along, which brought a big stupid grin to my own face as well. We all clung to what made us happiest to deal with the extra stresses in our life. However, I couldn't fathom how she continued to get such overflowing joy at going to the spa after all these years. Cinnamon and Tulip forever went multiple times a week. How it hadn't become absolutely monotonous, who could say? I ran my fingers over the freshly blossomed flowers on my left while letting her ramble on about what kind of package she wanted. Perhaps to her the spa was her coffee. Something that made her function and left her grumpy when not taken advantage of.

     "Mmm! The air smells so good today. Fresh and clean!" Ruby, walking in front, gushed, stretching her arms high into the sky.

    "That's true. I'm sure it's the flowers nearby, but it's like we've stepped into an endless field of heaven," Cinnamon imagined gleefully.

She and Ruby glanced at me. I shrugged with a light smile.

     "It's alright."

Gen Four- Chapter Sixteen

My chest caught as, on this quiet morning, a lively wind sped forward caring for nothing in its way. Bearing the tangy scent of salt and a brush of moisture, it'd clearly come off the sea. However, I closed my eyes and was thrown back. Memories always hit hard around this time of year─ when the changes that led me here had begun. In that moment I stood as if I stood in that river once more. The trees in the park played the same melody as imagination had me sure cool water tugged at my legs. The taunting sun's warmth hinted hotter days approaching while the dying watch on my wrist, long outgrown, tricked me into believing I had all the time in the world. I wondered what I would do...if I did open my eyes to find myself thrust into the past with the knowledge I had now. Perhaps I finally might be able to determine what I thought about the past at all.

     "Cinnamon? What are you doing?"

Gen Four- Chapter Fifteen

Sensitive topic warning: assault

Honestly, I would have never survived winter on my own. It came early as anticipated, and it proceeds to lay down its wrath each time the city begins to feel comfortable with the onslaught of snow. My previous main source of income would've be lost with the flakes burying any dropped money, which meant my pitiful hut would have almost certainly collapsed. I would have been stuck with the choice of freezing to death or giving myself up to the police to survive even before then. As I shuffled through the snow in the boots Coral bought, I pondered where the police would have placed me as, naturally, I would give myself up before going dramatic and picking death as the alternative. I seriously couldn't imagine my fate. I did laugh at the idea of me being put into a terrible foster home only to run away and find the warehouse regardless though.

But, surprisingly, winter's arrival proved a massive boon for me. There was no shortage of people who were willing to fork over money for someone else to shovel snow so they could stay warm and lazy in their house instead. The repetitive nature of the snow falling so frequently meant my worry about paying rent disappeared, for I made well over rent each day. I now had a solid savings started with Leo and Coral. Better yet, the people I shoveled for now were likely more inclined to want me back for other yard projects when warmer weather came.

     "Oh boy."

Some jobs were rough though. I stared at the massive driveway leading to the three-car garage coated in a foot's worth of snow and took a deep breath.

Gen Four- Chapter Fourteen

After I flipped the newspaper to the next page, I took the pause in my reading to quickly rub my fingers together for warmth. Autumn now dominated the season, barely permitting summer's heat to remain. The clothes Coral bought kept most of me comfortable, but it was getting to the point where the gloves might have to start coming out.

If I had any gloves.

I hadn't found any more babysitting working despite Leo getting the small victory he did for me. He took the last check from Mr. and Mrs. Glaze to the bank to confirm with them it was fraudulent. He declined starting an investigation when they asked, choosing to leave any actions regarding that to the bank, but they were able to give him a statement confirming the false payment. Leo contacted the babysitting website with that proof and a screenshot of the terrible review left for me. Both the Glaze's profile and the bad review vanished within the day. Still, despite that, I remained too young for other parents to want to take a chance on me.

     "Do you really want me to read this article, Mr. Basalt? It's another negative story." I questioned to the old man sitting next to me.

With my ability to pay rent growing abysmal, Pieter gave up his job reading the newspaper to Mr. Basalt each morning to me.

     "It's fine, dear. Good or bad, it is better to know. People may say that ignorance is bliss, but it is not to me."

Gen Four- Chapter Thirteen

I frowned at Pieter. What was this he was getting me to do?

     "I really don't think I can do this. It feels wrong..." I mumbled.

     "Remember what I said on your first day? They'll have a chance to catch us. That's something we make sure they have. I mean, I'm pretty good so they likely won't notice, but still. The point stands. Besides, we're hardly draining their banks accounts. If they're fine handing over a few bucks, what harm does it truly do to not spend it how we say we are? They're helping us survive either way. Honestly, they're giving us something infinitely more precious than what they think. Better karma will come their way, and we'll be closer to paying rent."

     "I...guess. I still don't like it..."

     "C'mon, Meg, it'll be fine. Remember, all you have to do is look unwell. I'll take care of the talking part."

     "O-Okay," I agreed hesitantly, to which Pieter laughed.

     "Honestly, you don't have to act sick that much. Your moping face is pitiful enough."

He poked my cheek. I swatted his hand away.

     "Let's just do this before they walk away."

Gen Four- Chapter Twelve

All it took was a few hours on my first night sleeping on one of the couches to learn the floor was the preferable option. Even the couch in that apartment with Mr. Flaxen had been better. I'd dropped to the ground where my weary eyes kept awake by discomfort instantly slid me into peaceful bliss. Coriander had been on the other side of the room that night. We'd both slept soundlessly until Jessamine coming out to begin her day jokingly poked us each with her foot. This morning, however, my companion in sharing the lesser sleeping arrangements cared nothing for letting me doze as late as I wanted. Tulip only had one night every week to not have a bed simply for fairness's sake and not because she didn't earn enough money. This was my first day of the new week where I was on a timer to make that fifty dollars.

     "Ah, what a beautiful morning," Tulip spoke obnoxiously loud.

She stomped about remarking unnecessarily on mundane things and narrating her actions like she was a character in a book. Clearly, she meant to wake me up and keep me up by being annoying. I didn't care as much as she wanted though. My desire for a few more minutes of rest blocked out her attempts at being distracting.

Gen Four- Chapter Eleven

The edges of my eyes pulled tight and scratchy. Fulfilling that urge to scratch, or even simply rubbing the skin, made the ache worse. I told myself it was because of the crying. Seriously, my running was getting scarily impressive. I'd bolted nearly the whole way to my hut, only slowing in the last third of the stretch. The exhaustion naturally hit me when I arrived where I spent at least an hour letting my tears flow without resistance. For one brief moment, the thought of turning myself in flittered about alluringly. If all I was going to experience was these miseries no matter how hard I tried, how much worse could letting the government control my fate truly be?

Then, as I remarked on how coldly most of the members of the 'family' treated me, Tulip's words stuck on me the most. I was not weak-willed, useless, or pampered. I'd been getting the hang of this kind of life. Why give up and prove her right? All I'd have to do was be a bit more creative in overcoming certain obstacles. Lying, possibly bribing, shouldn't be too hard to get someone old enough to buy me medicine. There were plenty of other homeless people in the city too. Having been avoiding them, perhaps taking the risk to befriend some allies wasn't actually that risky after all. I laid there on the bench at the tiny pond's tiny dock forcing myself to ignore the fact that the redness of my eyes was my sickness and letting the warmth of the sun be my blanket this morning as I contemplated if I'd seen any of those people enough to trust approaching them.

Gen Four- Chapter Ten

From the dark and weightless void where I floated, a soft and gentle presence began to press upon my back. It cradled my shoulders and neck, and when I twitched and shifted it moved with me to make sure I wasn't left without support. What a wonderful thing it was. I couldn't ask for a more perfect existence. Then a burning dryness caught my throat and had me coughing loudly to make me remember what existence actually was. The fluffiness of the mattress remained, but the aches and pains of my body also manifested to bring to light once more the situation I was in. Paranoia jumped in easily too as soon as the sounds of someone shuffling about reached my ears. My eyes flashed open instinctively where upon spotting a man standing right by my side staring I hurriedly closed them.

     "If you're awake, be awake. There's no need to act," the man instructed.

Hesitantly, my lashes fluttered open once more. I'd woken on my side buried underneath the sheets and bed cover, and I was grateful they covered most of my face. The man looking down on me didn't give off a dangerous aura. Still, who knew what I'd ended up in after I passed out.

     "This is a safe place, in case you're wondering. My name's Leo."

     "Because you're orange like a lion?" I wondered before I could stop myself.

     "Yes."

     "That's unique. I like it."

     "I'm told your name is Cinnamon?"

     "...Yes," I warily confirmed the lie. "How do you know my name?"

     "We'll get to that in a bit. It was my turn to watch and wait for you to wake, but Coral knows what medicine you need now better than I do. Hold on."

Gen Four- Chapter Nine

The lower level of the library had become my favorite. It was quieter than the others what with it having more of the non-fiction books, less computers, and not hosting a desk for the workers. The librarians and people who put the material back on the shelves did wander through occasionally, but I didn't feel as if I was constantly watched. Everyone left me alone for the most part. It helped that I'd been more conscious about my time spent in the building. I only came on afternoons when school got out so no one questioned me about not being in class or on the weekends. I never spent more than three consecutive hours doing my studying, and I left before people began to wonder if I would be alright walking home by myself.

     "Today, let's do..."

I pondered over what to research. Naturally, I couldn't get a library card without having an address, identification card, or guardian. All my studying was confined to the building, so I had to be picky with what was most pertinent for my current need at the time.

Gen Four- Chapter Eight

The coming of the new morning eased in so gently. I didn't recognize the moment where the dreams stopped and reality returned. My sluggish brain just relaxed and listened to the words, the comforting sound of a pleasant conversation that came from nowhere as the wafting warmth of a calm, sunny morning drenched me as a blanket.

     "...and she naturally hasn't noticed, as you can tell," the first woman's voice spoke. I could almost recall it from somewhere, but no answer came.

     "Are your family members mediums or something?" This time Jazzy spoke.

     "Not that I know. My grandmother apparently had seen a ghost though. My father said he saw strange lights in a place where fairies were said to roam, and my aunt said she saw a fairy directly. I had an experience myself where there was ghostly activity in the hospital I was staying at, although it happened while asleep. I'm, again, naturally more prone to believe some of that was real."

     "Not believing now is what would mark you as insane," Jazzy laughed. "You're one dedicated woman. Tell me more about this whole manipulating luck thing you do."

     "It's difficult to describe, but the best way to say it is I see these pulses of aura around her. The good surrounding her is light, and the bad is dark. I found after a certain time I can just...push some of the dark away. When I do, a vision of what I've dispelled flashes into my mind. This takes a lot of energy though, and, unfortunately, the darkness is growing more by the day while the light keeps shrinking."
     "Still, that's amazing! I wonder if I could do something like that."
     "I'm not sure. I'm here as I am because I willed myself to stay for a specific reason. Why did you decide to stay?"

Quiet took hold for a long moment, to the point where my sleepiness nearly made me forget about the conversation entirely.

     "I think..." Jazzy eventually mumbled, "I think that's because, like most of us, I was angry and upset about what happened. I didn't want to accept it."
     "I can understand that. Such a desire was what nearly what formed me. If I hadn't─" The voice suddenly halted. "Oh, she must be waking. We're weakening. I don't have much influence when she's awake."
     "You should─"

I sniffled as I snapped my head up. My eyes heavily blinked open, my body still tempted by the lure of more sleep even as it came to consciousness with the full energy of a good, deep rest. Yawning, I glanced around for Jazzy. She was nowhere to be seen. Strange. Hadn't I just heard her voice?

Gen Four- Chapter Seven

This time I ran without caring who gave me a funny glance. If the walk light turned red or there was no option to dash across the sidewalk without being hit by a car, I turned the corner of the block until the chance to move on presented itself. A giant tumble of emotions crashing against the cage in my chest kept me bolting, but the way I lived up until now was what drove my mindless run on the most. My brain could barely think. Thus, it defaulted to a state familiar enough. I was to run until I could barely run anymore. To reach that fine line between a good workout and pushing my body too far. If I could reach that point, then I should be safe. The skyscrapers taunted me with the endless sea of them, but I finally worked my way to a lower area of the city where the crowds and buildings were less. My legs began to tremble, so I scattered towards the first place that looked to provide a semblance of shelter.

Gen Four- Chapter Six

I realized I could jump from Mr. Flaxen's arms and run back far too late. My mind couldn't grasp anything that was going on, but my heart still told me to stay with my family and whatever path that took me down instead of running off with this man I didn't really know. Unfortunately, the end of the long underground tunnel eventually came into sight. It slanted upwards where Mr. Flaxen opened a heavy iron door set against the slope of a steep hill. There at the bottom where we exited was a covert, man-made overhang providing protection for the escape car dad mentioned. He must have maintained it well as it turned on smoothly and was full of gas, but Mr. Flaxen grabbed several of the cans of spare fuel anyway.

I was dumped in the back seat as he drove us down the one, earthen road there was to follow. Twenty minutes of winding throughout the trees then brought us to an isolated and unfamiliar back road. Another twenty minutes got us on what had to be a main road. The car zoomed along a speed I'd never felt while the forest broke away to a wide sky and low roar of other vehicles nearby. I saw little of anything but the sky though, for Mr. Flaxen barked at me to stay lying down anytime I tried to peek my head closer to the window. So, I cried. It must have annoyed Mr. Flaxen for he turned on the radio, loud and clear for the first time, to drown out my sniffles and sobs. Such was fine with me. I could just cry harder.

However, not too much more time passed before the several lanes of road merged into just two. Large ridges and the rolls of the mountain foothills became more compact. Turns became more frequent, and I dared to peek my head up once more upon crossing two bridges when insanely tall buildings came into view.

     "Head down!" Mr. Flaxen snapped again.

     "Where are we at?" It was the first question I'd asked, and I expected him not to answer.

     "The city of Aspen Harbor," he did explain gruffly after a moment.

Never heard of it.