The Monopoly
A/N: Just so you know, I know nothing about Bill Gates personality. I am just using his name for my purposes. Is that legal? Oh Crap! *Runs away from FBI with evil grin on my face.* Also, all names, aside from Bill Gates, are fictional. I know nothing about Seattle.
Rachel
After a few minutes of shaking the ice off of me, I was still kind of sleepy. I remember fainting and seeing Cassandra. She pushed me through something. It was a circle of light, cold light. It reminded me of light reflecting off of a frozen lake. It didn't provide any warmth but you could see by it. Cassandra looked different too, I remember. When I first saw her, I thought I could trust her. However, as she shoved me through back to this side, I saw an evil grin. It was as if she was glad I was leaving!
Rachel, the others are at Jake=s home. Perhaps we should morph, and fly over there.
ANO!@ I said, not exactly sure why. I put my hands to my face trying to think why I shouldn't morph. Meanwhile, Ax was staring at me.
ANo, I don=t want to morph. I'll walk. It=s only a mile, but you can fly if you want@ I smiled, trying to show fake enthusiasm. Ax smiled= and went his separate way.
Slowly, I got up. Taking a few steps at a time I made my way out of the forest. I was kind of surprised to see it all remained the same. However, I observed that there was a trailer park to the southeast. It had always been there I supposed. Yes, indeed it had. My vanity didn't want to see it before, but it was there. I remembered living there for a short while, but I shrugged off the whole emotional response that tried to come. I looked to the northwest where Jake and I lived and were supposed to live. I took a few deep breaths and made my way to Jake=s house.
I tried to keep in the shadows. I had been missing for months, and I didn't want the attention. I made it to the city and used alleyways and back yards. One block from Jake=s house and I had to puke. I felt really warm. Suddenly, I kind of winced, because I heard footsteps behind me.
ARachel!?@ Oh, Lord, it was Cassie. But I looked up and saw the familiar jeans that barely reached the socks and a plaid shirt. I just about fainted. I looked at her and saw my best friend and not some wannabe god. I was so happy, believe it or not, that I started crying. I was so hot, I couldn't stand up.
I slid down the side of the trash can I had just puked in. Cassie ran up to me and gave me a hug. (Albeit a very big one, I thought I heard a couple of ribs cracking.) Cassie spat out the common courtesies such as how are you=, where you been=. A few seconds later she became angry.
AI was this close to killing myself@ she said, holding her index finger and thumb a half inch apart.
AOh god, It=s really you!@, was all I could mutter.
I stood up and held on to Cassie for support. Somehow, I made it to the back door and walked in. Suddenly, I heard gasps and shouts as people ran toward me. Jake, Cassie, Marco, and Ax crowded around me asking questions. Jake was being serious, Cassie was holding my hand, Marco listened intently, and Ax was distant. Apparently, Jake didn't like the fact that I had walked over here by myself. I was feeling better about being home. This was stuff I knew and had lived with.
Cassie said, "I found her nearly passed out about a block from here!"
All the words I could muster were, "I gotta go lay down.@ I found a couch. A few seconds later Cassie came in with a hot and cold washrag.
AThe hot one is to wipe down with, and the cold one is to put against your forehead.@ She said.
The others were at the other side of the room. They were yelling at Ax for letting me alone. How cute. After a few minutes of that, the topic of conversation came around to me.
Obviously, their first question was, AWhere have you been for the past week!@ I nearly exploded.
AThe past week! Try the last four months! Lord, don't tell me all this crap happened in a week!"
I raised my voice, let's leave it at that. They looked shock and were muttering, "Four months, geez!"
"Hey, guys. It's all very complicated. I'm sure Tobias will come back any minute, well, because I did. As for an explanation to whomever, let's just say I was walking in the woods and got lost. I am not in the mood for complicated stories. I'll talk to Cassie because I think she will understand better about some of the events that happened wherever I went. No ands, ifs, or buts about it! Do something for the next few hours…"
Jake responded, "Um, okay."
Jake, Marco, and Ax spent the next few minutes deciding what to do and finally left. I was SO glad. I had so much to tell Cassie. However, I thought I would leave out the part about her being a super being.
I told her the major stuff first. She had to wonder why I looked so stressed. I told her about being raped and becoming pregnant by an abusive boyfriend. I told her about being hooked on cigarettes. I told her how I was poor, I didn't have any friends, and I wasn't popular. I told her I was scared of everything. She asked me where this place was, and I said it was the afterlife. She was in tears. However, I hadn't gotten to the good part yet.
I eventually got to the part about Seattle and her tears started to dry. I told her about getting on a train and leaving, how I met up with Elfangor and Loren. My baby and I were being taken care of. She shuddered when I mentioned "my baby". However, she was excited when I mentioned living with Elfangor. She has missed him every day since that fateful night. I think that if he could have stuck around he could have given us some guidance.
She gave me look while I was talking about Elfangor. She said, "So, you and Tobias lived together…"
"Yeah."
She laughed a little, "Rachel, I know you like him. You like him like I like Jake. However, you were living together. I'm just curious. Did anything happen when you were together?"
Yes, I caught the emphasis on "happen". I told her that Elfangor and Loren were very perceptive people. She replied with an, "Oh, god." She did that nervous walk that people do when they just found out WAY too much information. I think you know how perceptive she is.
She paced about the room saying, "Oh my god, you're officially not a virgin anymore. What about that thing at school that we did? We filled out little cards vowing we would remain abstinent until marriage."
I said, "Yeah, I know, but it just happened. I had told him I was pregnant. He had just got shot. We were just like, "oh, I love you. I didn't tell him this, but while he was in the hospital a doctor handed me a little box that he had found in Tobias's pocket. There was a diamond ring in it, Cassie. It was real, and it was huge."
Just then, I felt a tickling on my leg. I reached down in my pocket and found the ring! I remember that I had gotten up that morning and put in my pocket. I was surprise him with it. I was do a "hey, remember this!" routine. I never got the chance.
"Oh my god, Cassie, look!" I showed her the ring.
She knelt beside me. With the most shocked look in her eye, she said, "Rachel, where did you get those clothes?"
"I got them at a little boutique on 51st and Marlin. Why?"
"Well, first, there is no Marlin street in this town. Second, your Mom won't let you shop at boutiques because they are expensive. You got these clothes in Seattle, didn't you, along with that ring?" Cassie whispered
"Oh no, you're right."
"Another thing, you looked like you've gained a little weight."
"You don't think. . ."
"Well, you got to keep all the other expensive stuff."
"Cassie, don't make anymore sarcastic remarks. Please. And Cassie, the others are on a 'need to know' basis, okay. I might not be pregnant, you know."
Oh, Lord. I am still four months pregnant. I HATED being pregnant. At first, I was nauseous. Then, I had to pee all the time. All the time, there were hormones. I had mood swings. Emotions that nobody ever saw would come flooding out. I can just imagine how Marco would take it. I can hear "Birdman and Robin" right now. Well, if he makes one wise-crack, I'll shove it right back up his you-know-what where he got it from.
I drifted off to sleep with thought, Hey, Robin sounds like a good name...
Tobias
I stared at the folder. Fear and Anger rushed through my veins. My life is freakin= Cinderella. I had an evil family and after a little conflict, I get rewarded richly. Angst aside, I had to figure out a way to prove this. My birth certificate wouldn't be any help. DNA tests would be pointless. Oh well, I'll figure it out someway.
I took the folder and simply walked out the building. I walked and walked about five hours (with a few bathroom breaks= here and there) when I found a wooded area. It was just up ahead. It was closed off by a little stream with large, sharp rocks in it and a steep hill on the other side of it. Hopefully, some nosy little kid wouldn't decide to cross it, and I could have some privacy.
I made my way across and into the wood. I sat and read some of the legal jargon in my father=s will. A few minutes of that made me exhausted, so I demorphed and found a nice branch to light my feet on. Somehow, I managed to get the folder up there and wedge it in a safe place. Soon, I was sleeping like a little hawkling.
It didn't last long though, two hours tops. Hawk sleep never lasts long. If I were human, I would be tossing and turning. I had to secure Microsoft! I had no idea how. What if Bill was a controller? The dickhead probably fell for the whole lame-ass scheme of trying to take over the world. All I could conclude was that there was no way I could contact the others and I probably wouldn't make it home for some time. So, I had to do this myself.
Now let=s see, I am not a lawyer, so court battle is out. I don=t have any document proving that I am the son of Fangor. The best thing I could come up with was, scare tactics.
The next morning I woke up and went out for a hunt, a mouse here and there and I was filled. Then, I took off for the Microsoft building. I had to flap like crazy because of the strong gusts of ocean air. When I got there, I tried to find Bill Gates office by looking at the windows. No luck. I went through every floor, and every side of the building, but found nothing. So I decided to try Mr.-drunk-half-insane-guy (the guy that got my father=s will for me) to tell me where I could find his boss.
I turned into a fly and entered the building. I found him in his rightful place, sitting at his cubicle, half-asleep.
Hey.
He jumped up, and looked around. He made some gurgling noises because he wasn't fully conscious.
Don't bother looking for me. Just listen. Where is Bill Gates?
"Um, I don't know. He works at home a lot. He comes here for planning meetings and such but that's only once a week or so."
Okay, where does he live?
"He lives somewhere on the coastline. It's the only three story mansion in the neighborhood. He he." He was obviously remembering fond memories.
Oh, Lord…
"Hey, no need for swearing!" He chuckled and went back to work.
I know where that house is. Damn it! He had stolen my house too. I hate this guy. Oh, well, I knew how to scare him. I found an exit, and then found an alleyway with a trash bin. I landed behind the dumpster. I concentrated on my hawk form and, eventually, I was a hawk again. I, then, decided to go human. I don't know why, I just did. It's not like Jake would ever find out.
A/N: To Bill Gates, if he should read this. J I have only heard nice things about you. I have heard that you are a great husband and father. I am so serious.
