Grandpa had passed on two years ago. The boys had never really gotten over Grandpa's death, but he had left the cabin to them. They went up there together sometimes to remember the old times.
"Tum tum, get out of there," Mrs. Douglas slapped the hand that reached for the cookie jar. "Dinner is in twenty minutes. Go get Colt and set the table."
"Yes mother. Why aren't Rocky and Miss Perfect here yet? There, usually, never late."
"Rebecca called to tell me they needed to stop by the wedding coordinator to drop off some lists on the way."
Colt entered the room shaking his head, "They aren't getting married for like a year, she is so anal."
Tum tum laughed, a crumb falling from this mouth, "And he is so whipped."
Mrs. Douglas sighed in frustration as Colt followed his brother's lead, and headed for the cookie jar.
Mr. Douglas folded the paper he had been reading, "Michael, Jeffery you guys really need to be more supportive of your brother, he's happy with Rebecca. You two would be lucky to find such an organized, down to earth girl."
The boys responded in unison, "Yeah, right."
"That means they're still coming?" Colt asked bitterly.
"Yes Jeffery," Mrs. Douglas snapped.
"Okay," Colt held up his hands defensively, "I'm going out back until dinner."
"Well mom," Tum tum said, "Next week is spring break."
She nodded with a grin, "You ready to go to the cabin with your brothers?"
Tum tum nodded with a half smile.
Colt paced the back yard, occasionally stopping to do a kick accompanied by an "Ai-Yah!"
After he tired himself out he stopped and plopped down at the picnic table the Douglas's had had for years.
He scanned the back yard. Little had changed, Colt noted. The fence still remained and his tree was still there. Then something caught his eye...a door...the door.
"We spent that whole Saturday building that door," Colt hissed aloud to himself, "and you never used it, once."
Colt walked over to the fence door. The latch had long since been locked. He touched the pad lock. He looked down the fence and could almost see K leaning over it. He shook the memory, "I will always hate you for leaving me."
Colt wiped away a hot angry tear and laughed thinking of Mrs. Crawford and the days, so many years ago, when the girls lived next door. Mrs. Crawford had married a kind man several years back and moved out to Wyoming to live with him and his children. It had taken her a long time to get over the girls' disappearance. Colt had tried so many times to tell her, but the words just wouldn't come and as it will, time healed the wound.
Colt shrugged it off, as he often did when thinking of K. She made him angry and sad at the same time; he preferred not remembering. Colt never spoke of them to his brothers. He knew Tum tum had pushed Jaz back in his mind. He still loved her, or at least the thought of her. No one could compare, and Tum was definitely lonely. Colt wasn't sure about Rocky though. Colt had caught him crying 2 days after their return, but that was the last he knew of it. Colt wondered if Rocky remembered Mel.
After they had all had their fill of dinner Rebecca pushed her plate out of the way and opened up her day planner, "So, we're leaving next Sunday for the cabin." She looked up from her planner, "You boys should consider selling that old place. The market's great to sell up there right now. And it's not exactly lake front property."
Colt stood up, "There's no way she's going."
Tum tum agreed, "Yeah Rocky, it was just supposed to be the three of us."
Mrs. Douglas tried, as she often did, to make peace, "Come on boys. Rocky and Rebecca could use the time up at the cabin. Besides, Rebecca's never seen it."
"Mrs. Douglas, if you don't mind, he prefers Samuel."
K and Jaz had been planning for 3 days how to approach the knights. They had decided on Jaz going alone. She would easily transport herself and Mel would certainly notice both of them disappearing.
Copper had whined and moaned.
"Last time we were on the brink of war and you left me here you were gone for 4 months," Copperclaw complained.
Jaz looked up to the 25 foot tall dragon, "Then go stay with Mel's family in the Old Kingdom," Jaz stated solemnly.
Copperclaw snorted, "No, I wasn't implying I leave. I simply want to tag along."
"You wold not be able to revert to your normal state then entire time we are there."
"I know."
"It could be weeks."
"I can last weeks."
"Fine. Just stop nagging me."
"I knew you'd let me come along."
Jaz didn't comment. Copperclaw was an adolescent, a child even. She barley had the patients for him, but her was after all, her best friend. She rubbed her hand down his long snout, "Good night Copper. I'll see you in the morning. Tomorrow we leave."
Jaz went back to the castle to meet with her friends. Mel was a nervous wreck, she hadn't eaten anything since she got word of her son being held captive. Her hands were shaky and her mannerisms were jerky. She lacked sleep and looked it.
"What if I ask them to give Rocky back?" Mel asked.
"In exchange for what?" Jaz stated coolly.
"Nothing, just ask for him back," Mel said.
"Uh, bad idea chief," K butted in, "They won't go for that. Jaz and I have been talking out some ideas."
"What ideas?" Mel asked quickly. If anyone could save her son, she knew it would be K and Jaz.
"We haven't come to a decision yet, and all of them are pretty vague. When we decide on one we'll let you know," K said.
"Good," Mel said looking back to her untouched food.
The next morning K and Jaz stood with Copperclaw outside the gates of the city.
"Good luck," K offered.
Jaz nodded, "We'll be fine."
And they were gone.
Jaz stood on the doorstep of Grandpa's cabin. She knocked, no answer. She knocked again, still no answer. She continued with the routine while Copper checked the windows.
"No one's here," Copper finally decreed.
"The door's open," Jaz said stepping into the dusty cabin.
"Yeah and it looks like on one's been here in months," Copperclaw said running his finger along the dusty table, "So this is comfort here, huh?"
Jaz gave him a cold stare, "Yeah Copper. The lap of luxury."
"When will they be back?" Copperclaw asked.
Jaz shot Copperclaw an evil glare, "Listen, I'll explain this once and clear up all your questions. There were two places I could remember well enough to get back to: my room at Mrs. Crawford's house and Grandpa's cabin. I don't know who is living at Mrs. Crawford's, or even if the guys still live next door. But the one thing I do know is Grandpa or no Grandpa Rocky, Colt, and Tum tum could never get rid of this place. It seemed the logical choice, so here we are. It may take us a long time to find them so don't ask, okay?"
Copperclaw pushed his shaggy hair back from his eyes, "Okay Jaz."
She turned to examine the cabin a little better. It was filthy and obvious that no one had been here in a very long time.
Jaz sighed, this was going to take a lot of work. She went searching for, perhaps, cleaning supplies. She found the cabin empty of food and most other supplies. The only thing that was still there was the furniture. To Jaz's surprise the electricity was still turned on, little did she know that that was because the boys were coming. The water worked and she found a bucket. As she filled it with water s began to thing about the men the boys, she once knew, had turned into.
Jaz knew Copper would be alright, he'd pick off the rabbits and other small woodland creatures. Luckily she could go without food for days, she ate very rarely; but they couldn't live with out water...and they had that.
As Jaz began the long process of cleaning up the cabin she tried to figure out how she would go about finding the boys, but her thoughts kept drifting to happy memories and fanciful daydreams.
Copper did as little work as possible and continually interrupted Jaz's thoughts with questions, "What's this, what does it do?", "Can I keep this?", "Have you seen this?", and the one that bothered her the most, "What will you do when you see him?"
Jaz quickly reached the end of the patience and when Copper pointed to the small radio on in the kitchen and asked, "What's this?"
Jaz calmly stated as she scrubbed the counter, "It's a voice catcher."
Copper wiggled his back, "How does it work?"
Jaz slammed the rag on the counter, "Damn it Copper! Knock it off! Like everything in this place! See the little switch that says on? Flip it."
Copper winced at every word Jaz said, when she was done he held up the radio looking at all the knobs and buttons.
"But Jaz, I can't read this language," Copper stated sheepishly.
Jaz wrinkled her brow, she tossed the rag in the bucket spilling some of the water on the floor, and went to Copperclaw. She took that radio and set it on the counter, where she proceeded to flip the button on. Instantly music and words came from the box.
Copper quickly dropped to the ground.
"It's okay Copper," Jaz smiled easing her voice to a soothing manner, "it's not going to hurt you."
Copper stood up and looked at the box, he slowly lifted it and began to shake it frantically, "Oh no, there are people stuck in there! How do we get them out?"
Jaz placed a hand on Copper's arm, "No Copper, no one's in the box," but her words were silenced by the sound of approaching voices.
Jaz hoped against hope that she would be so lucky as to have the boys arrive the same day as her and Copperclaw.
But as a voice became audible Jaz's forehead crinkled and her hopes banished.
The voice, she guessed, were coming from the general direction of the bridge.
"Look, I'm tired of this shit! I will not lighten up and I will not make the most of it. How could you possibly be so stupid as to take out the spare tire in order to fit his cooler of beer? I swear, it's like you never think."
Jaz wanted to cry. This was not a voice she recognized. It finally hit her that she might never find the guys and Mel might never see her son again.
Jaz quickly regained her composure. Her job was to make sure Mel's son stayed alive; and, like every other time, she would think of something.
Copper was already leaning out the window, a smiled on his face.
Jaz grabbed his trousers and pulled him out of the viewing area. He was far too eager, Jaz thought. Then Jaz heard something that brought a huge grin to her face.
"It doesn't matter Becky!" it was Colt, Jaz did not recognize the voice, but what he said next brought music to her ears, "Rocky, hold her back! I think she's going to hit Tum."
Jaz grabbed Copper and embraced him tightly, there was hope. She had definitely heard their names.
Rebecca's face grew red, "It does matter Jeff!"
Rocky put his arms around her waist, "No honey, we are here. The cabin is just on the other side of the bridge...there," he pointed.
Tum tum was standing ready to defend himself from any blow Rebecca would throw.
"That pile of garbage? You expect me to stay there? It doesn't even look like that place is modern enough to have AC. Sam?" She searched his face, "You can't possibly mean we are going to stay in that place."
Jaz studied her surroundings and wondered how anyone could ever talk bad about this place. She hopped up on the kitchen counter, she had just cleaned, and waited for the boy's entrance.
"Rebecca, I know it seems a little rough around the edges but all the summers we spent up here we never once had a bad time. Once we get settled you will grow to like it."
"Whatever. Samuel, why is there a light on in there?"
Jaz winced, she had turned on the light next to the door so that she could see to clean the floor.
"I'll get it," Copper told Jaz reaching over and pulling the small beaded cord. The light flicked off.
Rebecca blinked, "The light went out." She sounded terrified.
Colt was pulling bags from the trunk, he piled two suitcases onto Rebecca, "Whatever."
"Jeff, listen, I'm serious," she dropped the bags and tugged on his shirt sleeve lowering her voice.
Rocky looked over to the cabin, "She's right, the light's off...it was on just a minute ago."
"So?" Colt shrugged, getting impatient. "The bulb blew."
Rebecca became frantic and scared, "But how did the light get on in the first place?"
"I'll check it out for you babe," Rocky eased, kissing her forehead.
Rebecca shook her head and grabbed Rocky's arm, "No, I don't want you to get hurt. Let's just go home."
Rocky shook his head, "We aren't going home."
"Fine, then make one of them go."
"Tum tum, get out of there," Mrs. Douglas slapped the hand that reached for the cookie jar. "Dinner is in twenty minutes. Go get Colt and set the table."
"Yes mother. Why aren't Rocky and Miss Perfect here yet? There, usually, never late."
"Rebecca called to tell me they needed to stop by the wedding coordinator to drop off some lists on the way."
Colt entered the room shaking his head, "They aren't getting married for like a year, she is so anal."
Tum tum laughed, a crumb falling from this mouth, "And he is so whipped."
Mrs. Douglas sighed in frustration as Colt followed his brother's lead, and headed for the cookie jar.
Mr. Douglas folded the paper he had been reading, "Michael, Jeffery you guys really need to be more supportive of your brother, he's happy with Rebecca. You two would be lucky to find such an organized, down to earth girl."
The boys responded in unison, "Yeah, right."
"That means they're still coming?" Colt asked bitterly.
"Yes Jeffery," Mrs. Douglas snapped.
"Okay," Colt held up his hands defensively, "I'm going out back until dinner."
"Well mom," Tum tum said, "Next week is spring break."
She nodded with a grin, "You ready to go to the cabin with your brothers?"
Tum tum nodded with a half smile.
Colt paced the back yard, occasionally stopping to do a kick accompanied by an "Ai-Yah!"
After he tired himself out he stopped and plopped down at the picnic table the Douglas's had had for years.
He scanned the back yard. Little had changed, Colt noted. The fence still remained and his tree was still there. Then something caught his eye...a door...the door.
"We spent that whole Saturday building that door," Colt hissed aloud to himself, "and you never used it, once."
Colt walked over to the fence door. The latch had long since been locked. He touched the pad lock. He looked down the fence and could almost see K leaning over it. He shook the memory, "I will always hate you for leaving me."
Colt wiped away a hot angry tear and laughed thinking of Mrs. Crawford and the days, so many years ago, when the girls lived next door. Mrs. Crawford had married a kind man several years back and moved out to Wyoming to live with him and his children. It had taken her a long time to get over the girls' disappearance. Colt had tried so many times to tell her, but the words just wouldn't come and as it will, time healed the wound.
Colt shrugged it off, as he often did when thinking of K. She made him angry and sad at the same time; he preferred not remembering. Colt never spoke of them to his brothers. He knew Tum tum had pushed Jaz back in his mind. He still loved her, or at least the thought of her. No one could compare, and Tum was definitely lonely. Colt wasn't sure about Rocky though. Colt had caught him crying 2 days after their return, but that was the last he knew of it. Colt wondered if Rocky remembered Mel.
After they had all had their fill of dinner Rebecca pushed her plate out of the way and opened up her day planner, "So, we're leaving next Sunday for the cabin." She looked up from her planner, "You boys should consider selling that old place. The market's great to sell up there right now. And it's not exactly lake front property."
Colt stood up, "There's no way she's going."
Tum tum agreed, "Yeah Rocky, it was just supposed to be the three of us."
Mrs. Douglas tried, as she often did, to make peace, "Come on boys. Rocky and Rebecca could use the time up at the cabin. Besides, Rebecca's never seen it."
"Mrs. Douglas, if you don't mind, he prefers Samuel."
K and Jaz had been planning for 3 days how to approach the knights. They had decided on Jaz going alone. She would easily transport herself and Mel would certainly notice both of them disappearing.
Copper had whined and moaned.
"Last time we were on the brink of war and you left me here you were gone for 4 months," Copperclaw complained.
Jaz looked up to the 25 foot tall dragon, "Then go stay with Mel's family in the Old Kingdom," Jaz stated solemnly.
Copperclaw snorted, "No, I wasn't implying I leave. I simply want to tag along."
"You wold not be able to revert to your normal state then entire time we are there."
"I know."
"It could be weeks."
"I can last weeks."
"Fine. Just stop nagging me."
"I knew you'd let me come along."
Jaz didn't comment. Copperclaw was an adolescent, a child even. She barley had the patients for him, but her was after all, her best friend. She rubbed her hand down his long snout, "Good night Copper. I'll see you in the morning. Tomorrow we leave."
Jaz went back to the castle to meet with her friends. Mel was a nervous wreck, she hadn't eaten anything since she got word of her son being held captive. Her hands were shaky and her mannerisms were jerky. She lacked sleep and looked it.
"What if I ask them to give Rocky back?" Mel asked.
"In exchange for what?" Jaz stated coolly.
"Nothing, just ask for him back," Mel said.
"Uh, bad idea chief," K butted in, "They won't go for that. Jaz and I have been talking out some ideas."
"What ideas?" Mel asked quickly. If anyone could save her son, she knew it would be K and Jaz.
"We haven't come to a decision yet, and all of them are pretty vague. When we decide on one we'll let you know," K said.
"Good," Mel said looking back to her untouched food.
The next morning K and Jaz stood with Copperclaw outside the gates of the city.
"Good luck," K offered.
Jaz nodded, "We'll be fine."
And they were gone.
Jaz stood on the doorstep of Grandpa's cabin. She knocked, no answer. She knocked again, still no answer. She continued with the routine while Copper checked the windows.
"No one's here," Copper finally decreed.
"The door's open," Jaz said stepping into the dusty cabin.
"Yeah and it looks like on one's been here in months," Copperclaw said running his finger along the dusty table, "So this is comfort here, huh?"
Jaz gave him a cold stare, "Yeah Copper. The lap of luxury."
"When will they be back?" Copperclaw asked.
Jaz shot Copperclaw an evil glare, "Listen, I'll explain this once and clear up all your questions. There were two places I could remember well enough to get back to: my room at Mrs. Crawford's house and Grandpa's cabin. I don't know who is living at Mrs. Crawford's, or even if the guys still live next door. But the one thing I do know is Grandpa or no Grandpa Rocky, Colt, and Tum tum could never get rid of this place. It seemed the logical choice, so here we are. It may take us a long time to find them so don't ask, okay?"
Copperclaw pushed his shaggy hair back from his eyes, "Okay Jaz."
She turned to examine the cabin a little better. It was filthy and obvious that no one had been here in a very long time.
Jaz sighed, this was going to take a lot of work. She went searching for, perhaps, cleaning supplies. She found the cabin empty of food and most other supplies. The only thing that was still there was the furniture. To Jaz's surprise the electricity was still turned on, little did she know that that was because the boys were coming. The water worked and she found a bucket. As she filled it with water s began to thing about the men the boys, she once knew, had turned into.
Jaz knew Copper would be alright, he'd pick off the rabbits and other small woodland creatures. Luckily she could go without food for days, she ate very rarely; but they couldn't live with out water...and they had that.
As Jaz began the long process of cleaning up the cabin she tried to figure out how she would go about finding the boys, but her thoughts kept drifting to happy memories and fanciful daydreams.
Copper did as little work as possible and continually interrupted Jaz's thoughts with questions, "What's this, what does it do?", "Can I keep this?", "Have you seen this?", and the one that bothered her the most, "What will you do when you see him?"
Jaz quickly reached the end of the patience and when Copper pointed to the small radio on in the kitchen and asked, "What's this?"
Jaz calmly stated as she scrubbed the counter, "It's a voice catcher."
Copper wiggled his back, "How does it work?"
Jaz slammed the rag on the counter, "Damn it Copper! Knock it off! Like everything in this place! See the little switch that says on? Flip it."
Copper winced at every word Jaz said, when she was done he held up the radio looking at all the knobs and buttons.
"But Jaz, I can't read this language," Copper stated sheepishly.
Jaz wrinkled her brow, she tossed the rag in the bucket spilling some of the water on the floor, and went to Copperclaw. She took that radio and set it on the counter, where she proceeded to flip the button on. Instantly music and words came from the box.
Copper quickly dropped to the ground.
"It's okay Copper," Jaz smiled easing her voice to a soothing manner, "it's not going to hurt you."
Copper stood up and looked at the box, he slowly lifted it and began to shake it frantically, "Oh no, there are people stuck in there! How do we get them out?"
Jaz placed a hand on Copper's arm, "No Copper, no one's in the box," but her words were silenced by the sound of approaching voices.
Jaz hoped against hope that she would be so lucky as to have the boys arrive the same day as her and Copperclaw.
But as a voice became audible Jaz's forehead crinkled and her hopes banished.
The voice, she guessed, were coming from the general direction of the bridge.
"Look, I'm tired of this shit! I will not lighten up and I will not make the most of it. How could you possibly be so stupid as to take out the spare tire in order to fit his cooler of beer? I swear, it's like you never think."
Jaz wanted to cry. This was not a voice she recognized. It finally hit her that she might never find the guys and Mel might never see her son again.
Jaz quickly regained her composure. Her job was to make sure Mel's son stayed alive; and, like every other time, she would think of something.
Copper was already leaning out the window, a smiled on his face.
Jaz grabbed his trousers and pulled him out of the viewing area. He was far too eager, Jaz thought. Then Jaz heard something that brought a huge grin to her face.
"It doesn't matter Becky!" it was Colt, Jaz did not recognize the voice, but what he said next brought music to her ears, "Rocky, hold her back! I think she's going to hit Tum."
Jaz grabbed Copper and embraced him tightly, there was hope. She had definitely heard their names.
Rebecca's face grew red, "It does matter Jeff!"
Rocky put his arms around her waist, "No honey, we are here. The cabin is just on the other side of the bridge...there," he pointed.
Tum tum was standing ready to defend himself from any blow Rebecca would throw.
"That pile of garbage? You expect me to stay there? It doesn't even look like that place is modern enough to have AC. Sam?" She searched his face, "You can't possibly mean we are going to stay in that place."
Jaz studied her surroundings and wondered how anyone could ever talk bad about this place. She hopped up on the kitchen counter, she had just cleaned, and waited for the boy's entrance.
"Rebecca, I know it seems a little rough around the edges but all the summers we spent up here we never once had a bad time. Once we get settled you will grow to like it."
"Whatever. Samuel, why is there a light on in there?"
Jaz winced, she had turned on the light next to the door so that she could see to clean the floor.
"I'll get it," Copper told Jaz reaching over and pulling the small beaded cord. The light flicked off.
Rebecca blinked, "The light went out." She sounded terrified.
Colt was pulling bags from the trunk, he piled two suitcases onto Rebecca, "Whatever."
"Jeff, listen, I'm serious," she dropped the bags and tugged on his shirt sleeve lowering her voice.
Rocky looked over to the cabin, "She's right, the light's off...it was on just a minute ago."
"So?" Colt shrugged, getting impatient. "The bulb blew."
Rebecca became frantic and scared, "But how did the light get on in the first place?"
"I'll check it out for you babe," Rocky eased, kissing her forehead.
Rebecca shook her head and grabbed Rocky's arm, "No, I don't want you to get hurt. Let's just go home."
Rocky shook his head, "We aren't going home."
"Fine, then make one of them go."