Maggie looked cute with her hair
done in two pigtails. She was constantly pulling them forward to look at
them. Becky and Ann’s hair was each styled slightly differently, from Robyn’s,
but all of them now had a much healthier look, as their hair shone with a
newfound vitality.
Chapter Eighteen Stormi and Don In a Whirlwind
All hands were busy, when they
arrived back at the house, pulling out the bags from the various stores, to
take inside. No one took any notice of the nondescript van near the front
entrance. Nor did they notice the two men taking an interest in the
passengers.
One of them had a pair of
binoculars that he used to focus his attention on Robyn, as she exited the
vehicle.
“That’s her,” he whispered to his
companion, from his screened position.
“You sure? There’s another blonde
there, you know,” he questioned.
“Don't you listen to anything?”
The first man asked angrily. “The other looks too old, to be eleven, stupid.
We saw the others as they left, so this is the right one, kapeesh?”
“Don’t call me stupid, or you
might not wake up one morning,” the other threatened in a low growl.
“Well, we need to pick our time
when the house is almost empty.” The first man said, ignoring the others
threat. “I don’t want to take on the whole family. That would be too
unpredictable; anything could happen.”
“Tomorrow then?” The second man
suggested.
“Tomorrow,” the first man agreed,
backing away and moving quietly back to their van.
Inside the Knight’s house, things
were hectic. Robyn and her fellow shoppers were putting away their purchases,
but not before having an impromptu fashion parade, to show their new clothes to
Stormi’s other daughters. Stormi was directing Janine and Andréa in the
kitchen, and generally organizing the others with small clean up jobs and
setting up the table chores for the evening meal. Robyn and her new sisters
were asked to help, by following any instructions their elder sisters gave
them, while Stormi, went to get herself changed.
Six P.M. rolled around.
Everything was set, with the fancy silver cutlery shining against the pristine
lace tablecloth. Three candelabras graced the table, each with a taper so
tall, it would take a special tool to light them, and with the main dinning
room lights dimmed, the flickering candlelight added a feeling of romance to
the room.
Stormi was pacing nervously while
awaiting Don’s arrival, until Janine whispered in her ear and told her to go
upstairs. Stormi nodded and walked gracefully up the stairs, in her lovely
burgundy gown.
Robyn could hardly wait for
dinner, having smelled the enticing aroma of food that was seeping through the
doors. Her sisters expressed much the same yearning, as they all sat demurely
on the couch. They weren’t so worked up about all the fussing over having an
extra guest for dinner, as Stormi’s daughters were. The significance of this
meal was lost on them. All they were interested in was the food.
A knock was heard, and Janine went
to open the door. Don stood there, his hands behind his back. Looking
disappointed that Stormi herself hadn’t opened the door; he nevertheless smiled
at Janine as she bid him enter.
He was dressed neatly in a suit;
and he stood in the entrance, as Janine called softly. Stormi ready for the
call, moved out of her room, and made her way down the stairs. Janine moved
out of the way to the give Don an unrestricted view of Stormi’s descent. Don’s
eyes seemed riveted on Stormi’s seductive form, encased as it was in the
figure-hugging gown. Stormi milked her grand entrance for all it was worth,
delighting in the feeling of being the center of Don’s attention.
Expecting a hug as she approached
Don, she was surprised to see him pull his hands out from behind his back, and
present her with a lovely bouquet of roses, along with a bottle of bubbly. She
came closer, and pecked him lightly on the lips. His arms, still burdened with
the gifts, snaked around her, and pulled her in tight. He returned the peck
with a tonsil-grabbing smooch, which seemed to suck her very soul up her
throat.
A little breathless, Stormi broke
away and took the offerings Don had brought. The bouquet was placed in a vase
and placed in the center of the table; and the champagne was plunged into an
ice bucket, which was subsequently placed beside the table by Don’s chair.
Everyone was called to dinner, Stormi directing the seating arrangements.
Robyn and her crew didn’t need to be called twice, and they were the first ones
to be seated. Stormi’s daughters sat next, with Don assisting them with their
chairs, like a true gentlemen. This had everyone quietly sniggering, but Don
discretely ignored it, and moved on to help Stormi sit down. Janine and Andréa
were still in the kitchen, as they gathered the plates of food. They made a
grand entrance as they paraded the hot plates filled with the main course to
the table.
Don did the honours with the
champagne, opening it with a practiced pop, while the dinner plates were being
placed before them, on the table. Wendy had opened a bottle of sparkling grape
juice, pouring it into crystal glasses for the girls, four of whom had never
before tasted anything like the fizzy non-alcoholic drink.
As each person received their
plate, they were told to start eating, lest it get cold. Robyn and her trio of
sisters were almost drooling as they viewed their plates. Food enough to make
up four orphanage-sized meals, was placed before them. Roast pork slices of
meat nestled amid roast potatoes, carrots, peas, and cauliflower. There was a
small portion of sage and onion stuffing along with some applesauce. Brown
gravy, flavored with the meat juices covered the potatoes and meat.
Robyn couldn’t believe how the
meals here, seemed to get better each time, they ate. This was real food,
lovingly prepared for nutrition, and enjoyment. Everyone dug in with healthy
appetites; Maggie’s meat was cut up for her, after she had struggled to do it
for herself. The bottle of grape juice was replenished as the drink was
quickly quaffed down.
Don wasn’t slow in complimenting
the meal, jokingly offering absurd amounts of money, if the chef would come and
cook for him on a regular basis. Janine and Andréa giggled behind their hands,
as Don looked around, for the person or persons, who were the cooks that night.
Don kept the conversation light,
recalling several funny stories that make the rounds in hospital life. He did
compliment Stormi for looking regally elegant, and asked her for her secret of
still looking like her daughters, after having had five children. He promised
her, that if he could bottle it, they would make a mint. She laughed it off,
but everyone could see, she was flattered by the compliment.
After the main course, came the
dessert. Wendy and Susan cleared the table, while Andréa and Janine brought
out bowls of hot steamed ginger pudding. It was covered in thick vanilla
custard that smelled delicious. The four girls, unused to all this food,
struggled to eat it all, not wanting to let any of this fabulous meal go to
waste. After the meal, the awesome foursome, as Misty had aptly named the new
girls (due to their constant awe of everyday things) were full to bursting.
Stormi excused them from the tending the dishes for the night, saying that they
could be done later.
Don looked at his watch,
reluctantly, he said he had to leave soon, as he was on call that night, and he
couldn’t get out of it. He offered to return the favour of being invited to
this superb evening, by offering Stormi an invitation out to dinner.
“The chef may not be in your
daughters league, but I assure you that it will be enjoyable,” he offered.
“Hmmm, can I think on it?” Stormi
replied, not wanting to seem desperate. She was hoping this budding
relationship may develop into something wonderful, but she also wanted Don to
woo her; and that meant he had be the one to initiate the next move. She
wanted him to work on her, to try his best to win her over. Whether or not she
would let herself be won, was another matter altogether.
Don gave her a hug and a quick
kiss, and then walked briskly to his car parked just outside the front door.
With a farewell wave, he got into his 1967 fully restored Ford Galaxy and drove
out to the main road with a blare of roaring exhaust.
‘Damn the man, doesn’t he know how
to say goodbye to a lady,’ Stormi thought ruefully to herself. ‘I wanted
another of those tonsil grabbers of his,’ she sighed, as she shut the door.
Chapter Nineteen The Storm Breaks
The next morning…
Robyn woke to the noise of girls
all getting ready for school. Unsure of Stormi’s plans for the awesome
foursome, she decided to get dressed in shortalls and a tee. She woke Ann and
then went off to find a vacant bathroom, luckily there were more than a few to
choose from, and she passed one, just as Misty was coming out. A hurried
exchange of pleasantries took place, before each headed to their next task.
Breakfast was nothing like the
lazy easy going one of yesterdays. Five milling girls, all-trying to get the
same cereal box or cupboard, resulted in a mild riot. The situation wasn’t
helped by the addition of four more girls that were getting underfoot in an
attempt to find any leftovers. Stormi was trying to sort things out, calling
for the awesome foursome in turn, as she struggled to keep up the fast
vanishing toast production.
Finally, as Stormi’s brood sorted
themselves out and started gathering their gear for school, Stormi had time to
talk with the new girls.
“Girls, I’m going to have to leave
you here on your own while I visit my legal eagle and see a judge about the
preparing papers for your adoption. I’d take you with me, but its just boring
stuff and I don’t want you to be stuck doing nothing, in a waiting room. I’ll
take Maggie with me and drop her off at a friend of mine; she has a few cats
and some kittens too, I think. I’m sure Maggie will enjoy herself there for a
few hours. Also, I will have to sort out about you getting you enrolled in
school. That leaves you three…(looking at Robyn, Ann, and Becky.) in charge.
Are you going to be okay with that?”
“Yes,” came back a confident
chorus.
“Okay then, there is plenty of
food for lunch; and don’t leave the property. I should be back about 1 or 2
pm. If you need me at any time just ring me, the number is listed on the
phone. I’ll leave you a mobile, just in case. It has speed dial, just press
‘on’ and then the ‘one’ button will connect to my cell phone, okay?”
Stormi hugged the three, before
gathering the excited Maggie into her arms and walking out to her car. The
house grew quieter, as the children started leaving in groups, to head off to
school.
Becky wanted to go out the back to
wander around in the orchard. Ann and Robyn followed, not wanting to be
separated. The wander became a chase, as they ran, laughing, through the
trees. Unfortunately, Robyn, dodging around an apple tree tripped on one of
the roots and fell headlong into the soft earth. Spitting dirt and looking at
her ripped shortall, Robyn started to cry. The others gathered round, wiping
the bits of dirt off her clothes and generally consoling her. Robyn decided to
go and change clothes and maybe shower again. She told the others she was
going back into the house and she would be back out in about 20 minutes.
Ann and Becky sat eating apples in
the morning sun, after finding a secluded spot, hidden from view. Robyn walked
off, heading for the house, wondering if she would be in trouble for ripping
her clothes. Inside, she went to her bedroom to find some fresh clothes,
deciding on a sundress in yellow that looked comfortable. Heading for the
shower, she took her change of clothes with her, never realizing what the next
few minutes would bring.
Outside the gates…
“Right, lets get a move on, shall
we? The woman’s gone with one of the kids and most of the others have left as
well. I don’t think there’s more than two or three left in the house.” The
elder of the two waiting men speculated, as he moved back from his hidden view
of the house.
“Okay, I’m right behind you,” his
companion agreed.
Moving quietly towards the house,
they tried the front door, only to find it locked. Undeterred, they moved to
the rear of the house, ever watchful of any movement inside. They reached the
back door, not realizing that their target had just slipped in only moments
before.
They tried the rear door and
finding it unlocked they went in. Moving quietly, the older one indicated they
should split up and search the house. They heard a door closing up stairs, but
didn’t immediately move upstairs till they were sure the ground floor was
clear.
At the first floor landing, they
again, split up. Just then they heard the sound of a shower running. The
younger of the two, startled at the sudden sound in the otherwise silent house,
knocked over a planter on the landing. The clang as the metal pot hit the
balustrade, sounded thunderous. Quietly cursing his partner’s ineptitude, the
other man ran up the last set of stairs, towards the sound of the shower.
Robyn had just entered the
bathroom, locking the door automatically, not chancing anyone just walking in
on her, even though she knew she was alone at the time. She had just turned
the shower on and stepped into the shower, when she heard a bang, like
something being knocked over. She was naked, and wet and she wasn’t going to
check it out, perhaps Ann or Becky had come back and knocked something over.
The sound of pounding feet
heralded a loud banging on the bathroom door and the rattling of the lock
indicated someone wanted in. Just as she was about to speak, a strange mans
voice demanded that she unlock the door, before he busted it in.
Shocked and scared, Robyn
blanched… really blanched. As the adrenaline flooded her body in reaction to
her fear, her body literally bleached out, becoming the same colour as the
shower wall. An observer would have seen patterns form across her body,
blending it in with the tiled surface behind her. The man smashed his weight
against the door, half splintering it. Robyn cowered back against the wall,
becoming near invisible against the tile. A second blow brought the door down
with a crash. Robyn closed her eyes, waiting to be discovered, too scared even
to make a noise, as she stood frozen in fear.
She heard a grunt as the person
walked through the remains of the door; and heard the sweep of the shower
curtain being pulled aside.
“Damn, damn, she’s not in here,” a
harsh voice cursed.
The voice was so close, ‘how could
he not see me?’ Robyn thought.
“Check the rest of the house, I
want that girl dead, now, not tomorrow” the voice went on.
Robyn heard an affirmative from
somewhere downstairs, and then heard the man shut the water off in the shower,
then struggle back out through the shambles of the ruined door going to look in
the other rooms. A few minutes later, Robyn slowly looked out of the shower,
not noticing the way her skin rippled and changed both colour and texture as
she moved.
She was about the grasp a towel
when she looked into the mirror and nearly screamed. Reflected there, were two
black spots surrounded by an indistinct blur. Moving closer, she realized it
was her. Yes, she was seeing still another way her body was protecting her.
Closing one eye, she saw it disappear into the general blurriness that was her
body. Trying something else, she stood against the wall, as she had done so in
the shower, and saw herself disappear. Her body took on the coloration of the
wall exactly, blending in seamlessly.
Even though she was amazed at this
new development, she realized she had as her first priority, to get out of here
and to warn the others. Looking at her clothes, and still hearing the men’s
movements downstairs, she realized she couldn’t escape with out being
seen…unless.
Robyn, feeling embarrassed by
being naked, walked quietly down the stairs. Her body was trying hard to keep
her form looking like its background. She felt most exposed while walking down
the stairs, but as soon as she got to the ground level without seeing the men,
she hugged the wall, where her newly discovered ability worked best. Slowly,
she worked her way towards the door, only having to freeze against the wall
once, as one of the men passed her.
Passing out the open door, she
didn’t notice the drips that were still draining from her hair and her body and
then down to her feet, where they formed damp footprints on the doorsill. She
ran, as soon as she cleared the house, only to fall flat on the grass as shouts
alerted her to the men discovering her footprints. She lay there quietly,
trying not to tremble, as her body took on the look of a pile of grass.
Squinting, lest they notice her eyes, the only part of her that stayed the
same, she saw them hunting for her as they ran past. As soon as they were out
of sight, she doubled back, since they were now between her and the girls.
Once safely inside, she locked the
back door against the men’s unwelcome return, and went looking for the cell
phone in the kitchen.
Chapter Twenty Weathering the Storm
Elsewhere…
Don, thinking about the other
children remaining at the orphanage, made a quick visit there, while on his way
home from the hospital. He was pleased with the new conditions there, and glad
to hear that some more of the other children had been placed in foster care
also. The current staff thought that all of the current wards would be gone by
the weekend. One thing that Don heard, that had ominous implications, was that
the matron was out on bail.
Don rang a friend on the police
force whom he had had professional dealings with, in cases dealing with
accident victims. He asked his friend, if he knew anything about the Matron
case. Don frowned, as he listened to the information he was hearing over the
phone. The matron had broken bail conditions and she hadn’t reported in, as
she was supposed to. The police had her home under surveillance on the chance,
she might return there. This worried Don. There was no telling what she was
capable of, or might be willing to do if she were vindictive. The chilling
thought that she might be capable of some sort of reprisal, for her being
brought up on charges, crossed Don’s mind, and that prompted the direction of
his next call.
Stormi was just arriving at her
lawyers, across town, when she received a call from Don. She slowed, and then
stopped the car, as she listened in shock to his hurried expression of
concern. She told him the girls were alone and unprotected at the moment.
“Look, it might be nothing, but
I’d feel better knowing they were alright,” Don replied. “I’m going to head
over there right now.”
“Okay,” Stormi agreed. “I’ll head
home myself, but it will take me some time as I have the rush hour traffic to
contend with. You don’t think calling the police will be better?”
“I had thought of that, but I
don’t want to call them out if it’s not necessary. I mean right now, it’s only
a thought.”
Both of them then hung up then
started the journey home, hoping that their fears were groundless, not knowing
their worst fears were already being realized.
Robyn tried the phone, but all she
got, was an answering service requesting her to leave a message, as Stormi’s
recorded voice said she was unavailable at the moment. Robyn blurted out a
hurried message, not even waiting for the tone; and, in so doing, she didn’t
realize she’d left only a partial message.
Putting the phone down, she looked
around for something to defend herself with. She remembered seeing a baseball bat
in the umbrella stand at the front door, and raced to get it. Not sure what to
do next, she stood near the back door, against the wall in the shadows, where
her unique ability made her virtually invisible except for the bat. Getting an
idea, she hid the bat behind her back where it couldn’t be seen, as her body
blocked all view of it.
Stormi was driving as quickly as
she could through traffic, when her phone beeped, indicating a message had been
left on it. Fumbling with it, she put the phone to her ear, as the message was
accessed.
“…me, come quick please. I need
help,” was all she heard. She did not receive the start of the message that
said. “There’s two men after me in the house. They said they were going to
kill…”
Stormi wasn’t sure what was going
on, but she recognized Robyn and all her instincts were shouting trouble. She
quickly rang 911 and told the operator to get the police over to her home.
Robyn suddenly remembered to
unlock the back door, before moving back into her hidden position. She could
hear shouts outside and knew her sisters were in trouble, but fought off the
impulse to rush to their aide. She listened, as the men called for her, saying
something about harming her friends, if she didn’t show up. The voices were
coming clearer as the men dragged the girls closer to the house.
The backdoor was slammed open by a
boot as one of the men entered, dragging a struggling Ann. They moved past
Robyn, not seeing her, as they entered the house. The man shouted his message
to Robyn to reveal herself once more, as the second man brought in a wriggling
Becky.
As the man passed Robyn, she
stepped away from the wall; and brought the bat she was holding from behind her
back. She swung it with all her strength, against the back of his head as he
moved away from her. The crunch as the bat struck, laid the man out, as he
slumped bonelessly to the floor.
Becky, unharmed, slipped from his
grip, as Robyn whispered to her to run outside. Seeing just a bat seemingly
floating in the air was enough to send anyone running, so Becky quickly fled
outside. Robyn moved back to her position against the wall, waiting for the
first man to discover his companion’s unconscious form.
The first man, on getting no
results from his call, yelled for his accomplice to come in. Impatient, the
man made his way to the back door to see what the hold up was. He spotted the
body on the floor, and warily approached. Still holding onto Ann, he first
nudged the body with his foot, then he knelt down to feel for a pulse, unsure
whether his accomplice was dead or alive.
Robyn knew this was her chance.
Stepping quietly out, she again struck the man over the head. The man fell
over the slumped form of his companion, releasing Becky from his grip. Robyn
dropped the bat and went to hug the startled Becky. Becky yelped in fright as
she was suddenly gripped again. Robyn spoke, saying it was Robyn, but in full
chameleon mode. Becky struggled to see her sister with the shifting colours of
her skin-altering colour as Robyn’s body took on the colours of Becky’s
clothing.
Saying quickly, that they should
get away, they moved away from the slumped forms, and opened the door. Robyn
stepped aside as Becky walked straight into matron’s arms, or arm, because the
threatening figure standing in the doorway also held Ann in her grip.
“Well, well. Look what we have
here.” She sneered, dragging Ann inside, as she snagged Becky with her free
hand.
Robyn froze, the horrible
nightmare of meeting the matron again, chilling her blood.
“Stupid fools, I knew I couldn’t
trust them to do a simple chore,” the matron snarled, kicking the men with her
foot. “Taken by a couple of girls.” She said in contempt, while dragging both
girls past Robyn.
“Where is that freak?” she
demanded of the girls, shaking them violently.
Robyn sighed in relief that she
hadn’t been spotted. Now, if she could get the bat and sneak up on the witch,
maybe she could rescue the others. Moving slowly, as the matron was still in
sight, Robyn went to pick up the bat. She was facing the matron, keeping a
wary eye on her movements. She didn’t see the person coming in behind her that
grasped the bat in her hands and pulled it from her grasp. Startled, she
gasped just as a hand clamped over her mouth.
To be continued.
Since 11/25/03