Baby, Blonde, and Blue

Written Spring 2000

1989

The morning was fresh and new for Avandrea, the small child withered out of her hiding spot and into the cold, and darkness of the pod chamber, she knew what it was. It was built into her to know. Almost as if it were a calling, something inside of her told her so.

And as she broke through, milting the ashes of well being, and crossing duty, something that the princess was not at all used to doing. But when she broke the walls of safety that kept her in, she did not find her husband, or her sister-in-law, or even her brother-in-law, to whom she was expecting to find, all that she did find was him.

Within a black Chrysler she found herself warm, but still Commanding. And ever so often looking over to the guard who drove the car and with a glance of absolute simplicity she knew who he was. There was no need for secrets. She new automatically and with certainty that she was an alien. And that the world she dwelled was strange and unusual.

The guard had given her clothing, a pair of blue jeans and a black sweater, along with a pair of shoes that were a size to big for her, she would have complained if not for the Guards persistence. He drove fast and reckless, like a dear searching for it's lost young on a busy highway. He didn't care much of safety, for with confidence he was sure that he could fix anything.

As they turned a sharp corner, and the car gave a jolt and flow Avandrea up against the side of the car, she turned in anger and demanded.

"I want to go home!" The guard made no sound, or movement, or even acknowledged that she hade asked anything. And knowing not what to do, she huddled herself into a nudge in the car, she was very small and fit perfectly.

With her eyes open wide she looked out at the scenery outside, it was dark through the glass, and very mysterious, it was like nothing Avandrea had ever seen. And she watched it with puzzlement and wander.

By the time she could realize it, the darkness was gone, and light shown through the car, Avandrea new what was happening, but she also didn't, it was all so strange and new.

By daylight, the guard was still driving feverishly, even though there were other cars on the road now, Avandrea looked at the people in them and could since without knowing what they were doing. One man was a businessman, his high choler suit told his story. He was married with 2 kids, but he didn't have time for them, the thrill of the overpowering takeovers was all he cared about. Another was a women, in her late 30s, in a van full of children, 3 boys and 4 girls, all huddled and cramped in, it was to early to go to school so she would probably drop them off at daycare.

Without knowing it, Avandrea had closed her eyes and kept them closed for 3 hours. By the time she realized that she had fallen asleep it was 11:00 a.m.

In the late afternoon, they were still driving, the roads were not a busy and all seemed quite, the moist blackness that night cared was gone, as was the morning chill, they were in the desert now, and hot stem filled the car's air. Avandrea was hot, but she wasn't about to say anything. The guard was still searching; the car going faster and faster as he looked out into the vast desert ground, scanning with his eye's for any sign that anything had been there.

On complete accident Avandrea discovered why he was looking so feverishly, She thought back, and with a gasp of breath that was caused by worry she demanded again.

"Where are they?"

The guard looked at her this time, a look of sure understanding, and almost sadness. As they made brief eye contact, they heard siren come up from behind the car. It sparked true fear into both their eyes. And panic grew in the pit of both their stomachs.

"Don't say anything."

The guard yelled. It was the first thing that he had said to her, and he said it with such force that she obeyed. The guard pulled over the car and brought it to a halt on the side of a dusty hill. Avandrea looked behind her set and saw a large man in uniformed come out of the other car, he wobbled when he walked, and had a gun at his side, his hair was brownish gray, and just by looking at him, Avandrea new that he was married and had 3 kids, all of them were teenagers. She turned back around and crunched deep down in her seat, pretending that she was invisible and seeing if it would really work.

The man came up to the side of the car, and peeked his head in where the guard had rolled down the windshield, he looked in, first at the guard, and then at Avandrea. The man smiled and waved at her, she smiled back. But then the man got very serious and asked for the guard's name in a rude tone of voice.

"Bill." Said the guard, fast. "Bill Riley and this is my daughter Tess Riley."

"While Mr. Riley, You were going 75 miles on a country road. I'm gonna need you to get out of the car to take a drug and alcohol test, It's percussion, when your going that speed."

The guard did as the man said and stepped from he car, to the outside. Tess watched as the man asked for his license, and as the guard pretended to reach into his back pocket to get his wallet. But when he reached back up the guard shoved his hand onto the mans chest, and left it there, as a burning sensation ran through his body and a silver handprint was left marked on the mans skin. Avandrea saw everything, and didn't understand, but as the man fell to the ground, she didn't question. She only just slumped back into her seat as the guard did in his, and turned the car back on and drove away. Avandrea looked in her side mirror at the man, dead, on the highway.

By nightfall again, they had stopped, in an old and dingy hotel. The guard took hold of Avandrea's hand and dragged her from the car to the room; he shut the door behind him. And looked out of the window nervously, before shutting the curtains and leaving the room in darkness. He walked slowly to the lamp and turned on the switch, he didn't look at her, he only just walked by her and sat on the bed.

Avandrea found herself full of questions, and didn't know exactly how to ask them. She was scared at first, worrying that what ever the guard had done to the man, he would do the same to her. But in a way she new nothing would happen to her, and so she went to ask, she stood in front of him and without breath she asked.

"What did you do to that man? Is Tess my name now? Where are we? Who are you? Where are the others?"

The guard was silent for a moment; She couldn't read him, so she didn't know what he was waiting for. But then suddenly he began.

"The more important question is who are you."

Tess was confused, she didn't understand and the guard saw that so he asked again, in terms that she would understand.

"Vilandra, or Avandrea."

"I am the grand Duchess, her Royal Highness. The Princess Avandrea, of the 5 stars. Wife of Zanith, King of the 5 stars, and Mother to-"

The guard stopped her there, before she could continue. He then said.

"I got stuck with Avandrea, all right my name is Nasado, and that is what you'll call me. And your name can't be Avandrea, any more. Tess is easy and simple, so will call you that. We're on Earth Tess, were not on the 5 stars, so here, you are not princess, or high duchess of nothing, your just Tess."

"I want to go home." She begged.

"None of us can go home." Was his answer? "And as for the others, I don't know where they are, but we can't stay here and look for them."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because, of that man, if he, or any of the others like him find us, they'll kill us, and they're everywhere here, they know."

After that he was silent. He stood up and went to the window, pulling the curtness back an inch he sat in a chair and watched outside. As he did so, she slowly stepped to the bed, watching him just incase he would look over and tell her to sit and not do that. He lifted up the covers and snuggled inside of them, resting her head on the pillows she tired to go to sleep, but ever couple of minutes she would open her eyes and see Nasado doing he exact same thing that he was doing before, looking out the window, for anything unusual. She grew to hate it in just 5 minutes, and knew that in that room she would get no sleep. So without looking at him, she pulled the blankets from the bed and picked up a pillow, and trailed it into the bathroom. She led her pillows and blankets in the bathtub and turned out the light; it was there finely that she could get some sleep.

1998

15-year-old Tess, was very flattered. Jake Newton called her house and asked for her. She made sure first of all that Nasado wasn't home. And so she could freely talk to him. The conversation was going just fine and Tess could sence that he was just about to ask her out, when she herd the door slam, and Nasado, yell for her. In desperate fear, she dropped the phone back onto its base and the call was canceled immediately. By the time Tess went down to him, he already had her by the arm and they were half way out into the garage. Nasado practically through her in the car and before she could realize what was happening they were already driving. Tess looked back and looked at the house that she had lived in for almost two years, the house where everything that was ever sacred to her still was, everything she owned, she would now never see again. It was just a little house in Main, but to her it was everything.

By nightfall, they were already nestled in a another Hotel, for two years they had stayed in one spot, two years, she had pretended that she was a real person, but now it was all starting up again. Tess didn't need to ask why they had left, because it was the same reason that it always was, someone was after them.

Tess, as usual when she was at a hotel, grabbed her blankets and a pillows and headed to the bathroom, with the door shut. With Tess's body crunched up in the bathtub, because she had grown so tall, she thought, about the phone call that she got today, and the little nicknames that Jake always called her. Baby, Blonde, and Blue. And she new with certainly that she would never be called that name again.