Chapter 3
After waiting for an hour, Shelton was no closer to getting into Grover Cleveland High School's systems than when he started.
"I want to meet their IT guy," Shelton yelled in frustration. He tipped back in his chair and rubbed his temples.
"If anyone can do it, Shelton, you can." I put on a winning smile and tried to be encouraging.
With a grunt he placed his fingers on the keyboard and went back to work.
"You guys don't have to hang around here," Shelton offered between keystrokes. "I work better alone anyways. Go do something fun."
"Are you sure?" I asked. I felt guilty about leaving Shelton to do all the work on his own.
"Positive. Get out. And if you see my parents, make something up."
With a nod to Hi and Ben, I stood up. "We'll see you later then." Shelton waved and we left the bunker.
"Now what?" Hi asked. "Pretty sure the sun fried my brain when we were out in the water."
"Let's head for home, I guess. I want to be close by if Shelton figures anything out." Two agreeing nods and I started up the dune for home.
Our bunker was great to have, and the fact that it was all our own made it even better. But, the trek across the island to get to it left something to be desired. Usually we took Seewee around and saved time, but today we opted to walk. Big mistake.
"New rule." Hi was panting as we crossed yet another hill. "No more walking to the bunker. Ever. Period."
"Suck it up, wuss," Ben called back. A lifetime of being outside and active from dawn til dusk left Ben more than capable of crossing the islands with ease.
I'm not in horrible shape, but even I had to admit that walking across burning sand hills in summer is taxing on energy. I wiped sweat from my forehead, knowing that by now I looked like a boiled lobster, and tried to catch up with Ben.
The townhouses were in sight. And better yet, so was the boardwalk. Easy going from there on. This late in the afternoon everything was still. All the residents on the island were LIRI employees, so they were at the institute. A few members in our little community, like Ruth Stolowitski, didn't hold a position and were home most of the day. But today, everyone was inside. The only moving things around were the three of us walking home.
I froze. The feeling returned. A primal panic rose in my chest.
"Tory? You OK?" Ben asked, returning to where I stopped.
"Something doesn't feel right." I looked around. There was still no sign of anyone near us. Not that my human eyes could see.
"Don't feel right, like you're going to be sick?" Hi had caught up.
"No. Like our kind of feeling something." My eyes hadn't broken from the beach to our right.
"Oh."
I slid my sunglasses from the top of my head to my eyes. "Time to light it up, boys."
I focused, channeling the power within me. A spark in my brain, and the wolf came out.
SNAP
The change in my brain came as a shudder. Instantly, the world around me changed.
Everything focused with astounding clarity. I could see petals of the flowers on the Stolowitski's house. The scent of seaweed clouded my nostrils. Out in the open water, I picked up the sound of a ship horn.
Turning, I looked at Ben and Hi. Both of them sported sunglasses.
"So what are we looking for, TB?" Hi asked. He trained his eyes on where I had been looking. With Hi's phenomenal eyesight, I knew that he could see what was out there.
"Not sure. Just a feeling I had, like we weren't alone. I felt it on the beach earlier, too."
"And you didn't say anything?" Even though I couldn't see Ben's eyes behind his shades I knew he was staring at me, studying me.
"I thought I was just being paranoid."
"There's a lunatic out there somewhere!" Hi said. I could sense his nervousness. "Your instincts are almost always spot on. So, if you felt someone watching you, good chance there actually was."
"No one would be dumb enough to track us out here in broad daylight," I countered. "And Thimba is a smart man."
This wasn't the time to have this discussion. I wanted to find the source of my unease. Whatever it was, it was out here somewhere.
My gaze fell on a large patch of Beachgrass about fifty feet away. Motioning for the boys to be quiet, I took tentative steps towards it.
A light breeze crossed, making the grass move in wisps. I inhaled deeply. A barrage of scents entered my nose, but I filtered out each one. There was a smell that I could not recognize.
Each step brought me closer. Ben and Hi were on my heels. It was now or never. I crouched low, ready to pounce on our unwanted visitor. Inside the brush I heard a slight scraping sound. There was no denying someone was there now.
Three steps.
Two steps.
I extended my arm.
"Victoria!"
The sudden call started me. Snapping around I lost my balance and fell into the sand. Disoriented momentarily I thrashed my arm towards the grass.
"Victoria!" the voice called a second time. It was the last voice I wanted to hear.
On the boardwalk stood Whitney. Her pink sundress blew in the breeze. A hand shielded her eyes as she looked out to me. With my flare power I could see her in perfect clarity.
Ben extended his hand and helped me to my feet. "You OK?"
"Not really." I looked towards the bush one last time. Whatever had been there was gone. We were alone again.
"Tory!" Whitney called for the third time.
"Coming," I muttered. "Party's over."
SNUP
My flare passed as easily as it had come.
Marching back to the boardwalk I tried to mask the sour look on my face. Kit hadn't mentioned that Whitney was coming. I'd kill him for it later.
"It's not polite to keep someone waiting, Tory," Whitney scolded when I reached her. Behind me I heard Ben and Hi snicker. In that instant they made my kill list as well.
"I wasn't expecting you today, Whitney."
"Oh I know, sweetie. I thought while your daddy was at work you and I could go into town for some girl time. Maybe pick out something cute for you to wear to dinner tonight."
"Oh wow, Whitney. As fun as that sounds, the boys and I had something planned for the rest of the afternoon." My lie was smooth. All I needed was Ben and Hi to not screw it up.
Hi cackled behind me. "You go, Tor. We can manage without you."
I spun around to face him. My eyes locked with his.
"Oh, goodie!" Whitney squealed. "Come on, darling. Say good-bye to your little friends and let's go back to the house. You can change and we can head out!"
Without waiting for me to protest, Whitney strode off towards my house. Out of ear shot, Ben and Hi erupted into laughter.
"You're both dead to me." I glowered.
"Come on, Tor. Go with her for the afternoon. It'll get your mind off things. The three of us can hold down the fort until you get back." Ben flashed a cocky grin.
"Yeah," Hi added, "Go buy dresses and other girly things. We manly men will do what we do best while you're gone." I rolled my eyes.
"Fine. Text me if anything happens." I took a few steps. Stopped. Turned around. "By the way, Shelton is now my favorite."
I left Hi and Ben standing there. Grumbling, I made my way to my house and stormed up the stairs. Whitney was waiting for me at the door.
"You know, Tory. A lady usually doesn't go traversing around with two boys in the sand. What were you doing anyways?"
"Nothing. So what are we going to be doing?" I wanted to get this nightmare over and done with as fast as possible.
"Oh, of course. Well tonight is a very important night, so I think we should all look our best. We will find you a dress, get our nails done and maybe do something about your hair."
I fought the urge to punch something. "I'll go dress shopping. I'll even get my nails done. My hair stays the way it is. Deal?"
A sigh. She wasn't happy. Not that I cared.
"Hold on," I asked. "What's tonight?"
"Don't you remember, sweet pea? Tonight is your father and I's third anniversary. I reminded you two days ago."
A vague memory crossed my mind. Whitney was at my house, as usual, and she was going on and on to Kit about where they should go for their anniversary dinner. Somehow I got roped into going along. As a result I had to spend the better part of my evening with Whitney, when I should be helping the boys search for Anthony.
"Tory, are you listening?"
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Go upstairs and put something cute on. A lady…"
"Shouldn't walk around in a tank top and shorts," I finished.
I'd heard the lecture a thousand times. Basically every day during the summer Whitney told me to dress girlier. I told her that what I wore was more practical. Dresses and being outside all day don't mix.
Whitney waited downstairs while I went up to put something 'appropriate' on. Stuffed in the back of my closet was a yellow dress Whitney bought me for my birthday. The tag was still on it.
Changing out of my sandy clothes I slipped the dress on and pulled my hair into something resembling a bun. Glancing in the mirror I decided that it would have to do.
Descending the steps, Whitney squeaked in excitement when she saw me. "Sweet pea, you look adorable! Now let's go!" She took my hand and dragged me out the door.
On the forty minute drive into town I got updates on Shelton's work. Things were going well, and if it kept up, we would have everything we needed by dinner.
"What do you think, Tory? I want your honest opinion." It dawned on me that Whitney had been talking to me the entire time. She was expecting me to answer, and I had no idea what she was talking about.
"Sure, Whitney," I said, hoping agreeing was a good idea. "It sounds great."
"I'm so glad you think so. That makes me so happy." She beamed at me. A sliver of panic slid through my stomach. Whatever I had just said was obviously important. Hopefully I wouldn't regret it later.
After a lifetime of listening to the local cotillion gossip from Whitney, we reached downtown. Exiting 71 at King Street, we made our way towards Calhoun Street. A few blocks up from it, Whitney pulled into an available parking spot.
"We're here!"
I looked out the window. A multistory brick building loomed over me. A set of beautiful French windows with a balcony took up the space of the second story front. Squished between a pizzeria and a men's clothing store, the Copper Penny sat with open doors, inviting inside happy patrons.
"Come on, darling, you'll love it here."
"Somehow I doubt that." I made sure to mutter softly. Whitney had the hearing of a bat.
Inside the store the air was much cooler. Racks of dresses, fancy tops and skirts sprawled from the front to the back of the shop. To my left was a single cashier around Whitney's age.
She was us walk in and ran around to greet us. "Whitney DuBois! To what do I owe this surprise?" the woman, whose nametag read Daisy, asked.
"Daisy, this is Victoria, Kit's daughter. We're out doing some shopping for tonight."
"It's Tory," I corrected. Daisy stuck out her hand. A goofy smile sprung on her face. I took it and nearly had my arm yanked off.
"Whitney had told me so much about you, but I had no idea you were this pretty. She's like a baby doll. I'm so glad to see my dresses have been going to good use."
A bell went off in my head. This was the friend Whitney got all my deb dresses from. This trip was turning from bad to worse. Simply based on the thirty seconds I'd spent in the shop, I knew these two women were going to parade me around like a show pony in ridiculous dresses.
"So where are you off to tonight for dinner?" Daisy started pulling dresses off of shelves. My opinion was counting for less than nothing on this adventure.
"Circa 1886."
I was floored. This was the first I had heard of where we were going. To say that it was a fancy restaurant was an understatement. Hi once told me it was the only place in Charleston where you could get twelve dollar macaroni and cheese. Not only that, but it would be so good that you wouldn't mind the price.
Kit's not a cheapskate by any means, but this was an entirely new level for him.
"Well." Daisy's voice was muffled. "You'll need something lovely, sweetheart." She appeared from the racks with an armful of dresses.
"None of these will compare to your cotillion dresses, but I think you'll find something in here you'll like." Whitney took the dresses from Daisy, placed them in my arms and shoved me towards a dressing room.
I stared at the dresses, unsure of where to start.
Whitney called to me through the door "Just come out when you have the first one on!"
Fantastic. I had to try on every single dress in this monster of a pile.
I yanked the yellow monstrosity off and selected the top dress in the pile. Tight. Bleck. Lace. Double bleck. Fire truck red. This dress was a triple nightmare.
Taking a deep breath I opened the door and awaited my punishment. Whitney and Daisy fussed for a good five minutes while I stood there, my skin turning as red as the dress from embarrassment. They ultimately decided that it wasn't right form me and banished me back into the dressing room.
This process repeated for another eight dresses. Each one was paraded, analyzed, and finally rejected.
The process was becoming mentally exhausting.
To my relief I noticed I was at the last dress. The final one fell to my knees, didn't feel like I was being constricted by a snake, and was a deep emerald green. Of all the dresses I tried on, this one I hated the least. I almost liked it. Not that I would tell Whitney and Daisy that.
When I opened the door and faced Whitney, I thought I saw a tear or two in her eyes. "Oh, daring, you look beautiful."
The two women walked in circles around me, heaping compliments on how good I looked in the dress.
"What do you think, Tory?" This was the first time my opinion had been asked.
"It'll work." I just wanted to go home.
"We'll take it." I sighed. The nightmare was coming to an end.
While I changed back into my own clothes, Whitney stormed around the store searching for shoes to go with the dress. By the time I emerged, she had a box tucked under her arm.
"Is there anything else you want to look at?" she asked.
"Nope."
"Can you put these on my tab, Daisy?"
"Sure thing. You two enjoy the rest of your day. And Tory, you will look beautiful."
"Thanks." I glanced down at my shoes.
"All right. Let's get going!" Whitney hooked her arm through mine and led me out of the store.
We stopped at the car and I did a quick phone check. One new text. Hopefully it was good news.
"Well, are you ready to go get our nails done?" Whitney asked.
I ignored her and opened the text. It was from Ben.
Get back here ASAP. Shelton found something.
My heart sprung to my brain. It would have kept going, but my skull kept it in place.
"Whitney, I can't."
"Can't what?"
"Go to get my nails done. I have to get back to the island."
"Whatever for?"
I scowled. My lie would have to be good. I couldn't use Kit as an excuse; she would ask him about it. And telling her the truth would be useless.
I had one option. I didn't like the idea of it, but getting back to Morris was more important than my dignity at the moment.
"It's just," I began slowly, trying to choke on my words. "Being out here around all these people…it makes me wonder if the man who took me is out here. He could be watching me, and I wouldn't even know it."
"Oh, Tory," Whitney cooed. She came around to stand by me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug. "I know this has been hard on you. But you're perfectly safe."
I turned my face from her. "It's just so terrifying to know that he is still out here. Can we please go home? I'd feel better there."
"All right. Let's get going." Whitney opened the car door and I slid in.
While she walked around to the driver side I texted Ben that I was on my way back. I'm almost positive I set a new record in speed texting.
The drive back to Morris seemed to take longer than coming out. Whitney spent the entire time 'comforting' me, and saying how no one was going to let anything happen to me.
I kept silent. Instead I wondered what was so important that Shelton found.
With any luck it would tell me where to find him.
Longest chapter yet! Woohoo! There's a reason for it. Tomorrow I will be getting a new video game and I'll have to divide my time between writing, playing it and working. So updates will be slightly less frequent. I can probably go down to about a chapter a week. So sorry, but my quest to become a Pokémon master will be restarting sometime tomorrow. Hopefully the length of this chapter is enough to compensate for knowing my posting rate will go down slightly. As always, please leave a review.
For now, peace out,
~Wolfie