Chapter 20: Car Ride Back Home

"Do we have to go in a car?" Ashley asked.

"Well, I can't fly because I am tired and besides, it's not like it's that far. Well it is far but not as far as the thunder lizards home. Even if I could fly, I would have to fly over civilization. Duh…." Melissa rolled her eyes.

"You were able to avoid sleeping last time. And Victorville is 8 hours away! We could probably get there in half that time!" Jessica complained.

"We either ride the fucking car or you guys go on your own!"

"Guys we'll just ride the damn car. We have to save our energy for later on. We're gonna need all the energy we have to combat the fire horses if it gets to that point." Gloria was already getting tired of the whining.

"But Jess can—" Caitlin was about to suggest before being interrupted.

"Would you just get your ass in the damn car!" Gloria was losing her patience. She was sick and tired of all the damn complaining.

"Ok," said Caitlin. She didn't want to provoke Gloria. Everyone boarded the Navigator. Gloria sat in the driver's seat as Jessica sat in the passenger's seat. Ashley and Caitlin sat behind them and Melissa sat in the very back. "Hey why do you get the very back?" Caitlin asked Melissa when she was lying on her back with the middle seat belt on.

"Hey remember Ash and I covered for you and Jess. Right now it's…7:35 AM. We've been awake since yesterday. And we're both still tired. Besides, I got dibs," Melissa smirked.

"Fine. I've got dibs when we come back," Caitlin said.

"Fine by me." Melissa yawned loudly and got herself comfortable. Gloria started the car and drove to the freeway. Then they started their 8 hour trip to their old hometown Victorville, where they all met.

2 hours later…

"I'm hungry," Caitlin whimpered.

"Yeah, we know that. You said that like 2 minutes ago," Jessica said. She leaned against the window, bored and tired. "Can't we stop somewhere to get something to eat?" Caitlin questioned.

"Fine," said a reluctant Gloria. She stopped by the nearest store and bought two big bags of chips, a box of soda, and Hidden Valley ranch. Then she put all the stuff in the back where Ashley and Caitlin were sitting and said, "Go crazy." Almost immediately, Caitlin opened one of the bags of chips, opened the small jar of ranch, and started eating like she hadn't eaten in days. Melissa and Ashley were asleep, Jessica was still bored as hell, and Gloria continued to drive. 2 hours down, 6 more to go.

3 hours later…

"I'm hungry," Caitlin said.

"Damn you Caitlin, can you just chill!" Gloria cursed.

"Ok," Caitlin said, not wanting to get Gloria angry.

She heard Ashley wake up. Almost immediately Ashley opened her eyes widely and started smelling the air. Ashley uttered, "I smell Hidden Valley ranch. Must have ranch with chips."

"Sorry but I finished all the chips." Caitlin smiled.

"What!" Ashley yelled.

She grabbed Caitlin's shoulders and started shaking her. "Why did you finish all of it?" she demanded. "You frickin' stick!"

"What the hell is up with all that noise!" Melissa demanded.

"SHUT UP!" Gloria exclaimed at the top of her lungs.

Everyone was silent. Ashley let go of Caitlin, but gave her the evil eye. "G, how much longer?" Melissa questioned.

"2 more hours. When did you get up?" Gloria said.

"Just now. Wake me when we get there," Melissa requested.

She went back to sleep, Ashley and Caitlin stayed silent, Jessica was still sleeping, and Gloria continued to drive.

1 ½ hours later…

"Mel, wake up," Gloria said.

"Huh? What happened?" Melissa asked. "Are we there yet?"

She was on the floor of the car. Gloria was standing outside in front of her. "I braked too hard you fell off the seat," Gloria said with a smile. It looked as if she were going to laugh.

"I could've sworn you had your seatbelt on," Ashley noted.

"Yeah, but I took it off when I last woke up because it was starting to hurt. I guess, I forgot to put it on again," Melissa said.

"So where do we go now?" Gloria asked.

Melissa looked around and realized that they were in the parking lot in Wal-Mart. "Ok, we need to go a few miles past Ashley's, Jessica's, and my old high school Silverado and then take a right past the entrance. Keep going right and you will notice the volcano. Just drive towards it."

"Ok," Gloria said. "If I need your help, then I'll wake you."

"No, no, no. Just forget about it. I'll drive. I've slept long enough," Melissa said.

"Alright, I've got the back!" Gloria cheered.

"Hey but I got dibs," Caitlin reminded them.

"Remember Caitlin, you asked to be in the back once we head back. We're not heading back."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," said Caitlin. Gloria took the beck seat and Melissa took driver's seat. So they headed past Silverado and then took a right. Soon they would reach their destination.

"Alright, we're finally here!" Melissa announced.

"Finally!" repeated Gloria.

Everyone got out of the car, stretched their aching muscles, and headed towards the volcano. The way to the volcano slowly started going up in a slope and it became more difficult to continue. There were cracks in the ground where lava was streaming down the volcano. When they were midway there, they heard something like galloping. They hid behind a rock and took a peek. They saw a large group of horses with flaming tails and manes. There were far more horses outside than normal, probably because of the recent death of their ally back at Tranquility. "So much for an adventure," observed Ashley.

"So what are we waiting for?" Caitlin asked. "Aren't we going to go and make peace?"

"Yeah, like we're going to go up to them and just say 'Oh we want to make a peace treaty with you. Please?' We need to think of a plan," reminded Ashley.

"We need to think of a way to talk to them without being attacked," Gloria thought. "But what can we possibly do?"

Jessica got up and quickly transformed into a fire horse. "You can turn into a fire horse?" questioned Ashley.

"I can turn into virtually anything with the metamorphic spell. Besides, I absorbed its physical form," Jessica answered. She pointed at the horses with her head, signaling the others to come. "Follow my lead."

She slowly walked to the other horses, but everyone else stayed behind. They weren't sure if it was safe enough to just walk in there with one of their own kind. But the fire horses didn't react in any way. "Wait Jess!" Melissa whispered loudly. "Turn into a fiery machine. If we come out when you're a fiery machine, they will not attack."

Jessica heard her and became the powerful and rare horse. Jessica grew larger and was well-built. Muscles rippled beneath her skin. Her mane and tail were dark red with streaks of orange and yellow. Her hooves were jet black, her eyes were crimson, and parts of her body weren't flesh and skin, but clearly seen machine. Gloria, Ashley, Caitlin, and Melissa ran to her and walked beside her. The fire horses saw this and bowed in respect as she walked. "Why are they bowing?" Caitlin asked.

"Because all lower ranks bow and respect all higher ranks. Since fiery machines are the strongest, they're also the highest rank among the horses. Jess, do not turn back until we're out," mumbled Melissa.

Jessica nodded. She stopped and bellowed in a deep voice, "I must speak with your leader immediately."

One of the yellow leapers got up and trotted to fulfill Jessica's demands. An older horse approached Jessica. It was taller, looked more powerful than the other yellow leapers, and was scarred from previous battles. "I am the one you requested for," the old one said.

"My friends and I wish to discuss some…manners with you," Jessica explained. She looked around and added, "Alone."

The leaper nodded and yelled, "Be gone!" The other horses left them alone and walked back inside the volcano. "Now…what is it that you wish to speak to me about?" the leader asked. "And who are you?"

"I am Jessica and these are my friends Gloria, Caitlin, Melissa, and Ashley. First, can you tell us who you are?" Jessica questioned.

"I am Lukorva. I shall discuss manners with you," Lukorva said.

"Ok…Lukorva. Gloria?" Jessica said.

"Alright, Lukorva. We need to settle something," Gloria said.

Gloria told Lukorva of what had occurred at home and negotiated with him. He didn't like the idea of creating a pact. But she told him that it was only between them. A reluctant Lukorva at last agreed after an hour or so of negotiating. Gloria informed Lukorva of the thunder lizards and what they had settled. They agreed on protecting the thunder lizards if the lizards were to stop killing people. So, Gloria told Lukorva that if he stopped killing people, they would do what they can to protect him and his kind. "Fine," Lukorva agreed. "But I must tell you of something else."

"What?" Gloria asked.

"We made a deal with a young man named Ation. As you saw, one of my horses had gone to your home and killed a family. We wish to not work for this fool. The only reason we agreed was because he promised freedom from the wrath of mankind. But apparently this just made it worse. I didn't know he would want us to attack in broad daylight. Can you help us?"

"We wish to fight this…fool as well as you do. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes. He is located on an island 1,811 miles in the Atlantic Ocean. He needed us to kill specific people so he could work on his master plan."

"Thank you Lukorva. We'll handle it from here."

Gloria and the others left the horses but before they left, they did a little "time traveling". They went back to Silverado High School, where Ashley, Melissa, and Jessica went for four years. They walked around the outside campus for a short while. "This brings back old memories," Melissa noted.

"Yeah it does," Ashley said.

"After this, what do we do?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, we can continue driving around Victorville and visit old places," Jessica said. "I mean it's been about what….4-6 years since we were last here. For Gloria it's been seven or eight years.

"Well we can stay until five," Gloria said. "It's been a long day."

"Yeah it has," Ashley said.

"What's something that made our high school years great…Oh, remember when you bumped into that one dude and slipped on the concrete?" Ashley asked.

"Don't remind me," Melissa noted.

"Didn't the guy you liked come here?" Gloria asked.

"Yes he did."

"What was his name again?"

"His name was Nick Noyer. But we were just friends…sort of."

"Yeah sure."

"Shut up!"

"There were other things that made our years here great, even though ninth grade was the best," commented Ashley.

"I remember when we had Ms. Dunga for Algebra and Tim and Adam would always do things with their hands like break dance or whatever. And then one day just out of the blue, she comes in and does something with Tim. He's trying to get up and she pushes his head back down. Then she uses her hand to 'walk' on his back because evidently she did it with her kids. Not sure. But oh my God, it looked like she was going to rape him or something. It was so f'ing funny!" Melissa explained.

"I remember that," Ashley said, smiling.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about," Gloria said.

"Cuz you weren't with us in 9th grade. If you were, you would've had so much fun," Jessica said.

"Another thing I remember is when we were in 6th period, which was Honors English," Melissa remembered. "Ashley was talking to Adam and Tim and Sandra was trying to get Ronald's hat for some odd reason. She finally got it but I took it cuz I wanted to see it. So I'm just trying to keep it away from her and look at it. Then she suddenly rams me to the ground! She f'ing slams into me like a football player and we both fall on the floor. Man, it hurt so much. Then I remember our English teacher, Mr. Hovannesian, looking down at us and he says 'What the hell are you doing?'"

"I remember you told me that. All I heard was a thump," Ashley added.

"Man, I wish I went to 9th grade with you guys!" Gloria complained.

"What else did you guys do?" Caitlin wondered.

"Man, we did so much," Melissa said. "It was so much f'ing fun."

"But of course the beginning of the school year didn't go all that well," Ashley reminded.

"Yeah, especially in 6th period. We were bad…" mentioned Jessica. "Other than that, school was awesome."

"Wasn't Silverado a bad school?" Gloria asked.

"Well, the teachers were great. But it's just the type of people the school gets," Ashley said.

"We did have a lot of riots though. I remember when our English teacher was trying to help stop one of them and he almost got stabbed. Thank God that didn't happen," Melissa mentioned. "Several other teachers helped as well but they didn't get hurt either. Or at least I don't think they did. That riot was bad…"

"Well now that you guys have looked back into your past, want to go to our old middle school?" Caitlin asked.

"Ok," Gloria answered.

They then drove to Mesa Linda Middle School, where they all went and first met each other. They went inside the campus, making sure nobody was there. Then they went to the shade structure and sat at a table near a water fountain. "Wow, our table's still here," Ashley commented.

"Hey, remember when we made up our own radio station?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah, I remember that. And then the time when you slipped on the mud when you were chasing what's-his-name?" Gloria questioned with a smile.

"You know what? Shut up!" Melissa ordered, giving her the evil eye. "But—but remember when Ashley bumped into that pole?"

"Oh yeah, that was funny," Gloria laughed. Jessica wanted to know how it happened for she wasn't here when that occurred. "See, Melissa and I were walking home and we were just talking. Ashley was beside us and while we were talking we hear this loud bang. And Ashley's hand was on her face and we just started laughing! Melissa runs away from us and everyone is just asking if she's ok while I'm laughing and Melissa's somewhere else, laughing her ass off. Man those were good times."

"Good times, good times," Melissa repeated with a smile.

Ashley said, "This is also where we met huh G?"

Gloria nodded. "Yep, I remember when we met. I also remember meeting Cait here and you guys said that you met Jess here too."

"I remember in 8th grade when we would always play poker and bet stupid stuff like pennies, food, and pens/pencils in our social studies class."

"I remember that," Melissa mentioned.

"So much happened that year. I wish we could relive 8th grade…" Ashley uttered.

"Is any of this stuff coming back to you?" Melissa asked a few seconds later.

"What?" Gloria wondered.

"I mean, do you remember meeting Ation in MLMS?"

Gloria shook her head in reply. "What about your school Cait?" Jessica asked.

"What about my school?" Caitlin asked.

"Do you want to stop by?" Jessica questioned.

"Yeah I guess," Caitlin answered.

They got back into the car and drove to where Caitlin went for high school. She didn't go to Silverado because it was supposed to be a bad school and she was afraid of bad things happening to her. "So…this is your school?" Gloria asked.

"Yep," Caitlin said.

They walked around the outside of the school. Her high school was a Christian one, right behind a big white church with a red rooftop. "So did you like it?" Gloria asked.

"Yep," Caitlin answered. "A lot happened but if I begin to talk about it, you guys will be so confused."

"Now, let's go on," Melissa urged.

"Where do we go now?" Caitlin asked.

"One last place," Ashley said. "Our elementary school."

They went to Eagle Ranch Elementary, where Melissa and Ashley first met. "Well, it hasn't changed a bit," Ashley noted.

"This school brings back memories too. I'll never forget the day I first came here. This is where I met Ash, Sarah, Amber, Briana, and a lot others," Melissa said.

"I remember too," Ashley said.

"I also remember seeing everyone running away from you," laughed Gloria.

"Yeah, I was always it when we played tag, damn it," Melissa said. "I could never catch them. That was what I hated."

"I also remember hating you," Gloria mentioned, looking at Caitlin. "You were such a big tattletale."

Caitlin smiled. "At least we're friends…somehow."

"Yeah. I don't know how that happened…"

"Guys, its getting a bit late," muttered Jessica.

"Yeah, we should get going," Melissa said.

As they walked back to the car, Ashley asked, "So…you never met Ation in any of these schools?"

Gloria shook her head. Then Ashley stopped. "What's wrong Ash?" Gloria questioned.

"We also knew Ation," Ashley remembered

"No we didn't," Caitlin said.

"Yes we did! We knew him in 8th grade at MLMS. The probable reason is that he left by the time we started 9th grade and never came back. Ation doesn't remember us so he must've gone to Gloria's high school, unless he knew her from long ago like when they were kids, even though I doubt that. Don't you remember?"

"No not really," Caitlin said.

"I do! I remember meeting Ation as well. I don't know how Gloria 'betrayed' Ation, but we did mean things to him too," Melissa admitted with a smile. "That bastard deserved it. He was an f'ing jackass. I don't get why he doesn't remember us, though."

"Well, we should get going," Gloria said. "We'll figure this out when we get back."

They climbed into the car and they all went home after a long and busy day. Once they reached home, they prepared for their final journey. The final journey that might very well claim their lives.

"Hey doofus! They made a truce with the horses as well," Abby announced.

"What!" Ation demanded.

"Yes," Abby sneered. "Now they know where you are and they're gonna kill you. I'll enjoy that for what you've done to me."

Ation stared at her. "Take her away!" he ordered.

Two big guys tried to take her back to her cell, but she struggled with them. "Hey! Don't be touching me you bastard! I can walk there myself. Jeez!" Abby complained. She left the room with the guards. Ation called for two more guards and told them to make sure his arenas were ready. "It's time to put my plan into action. BWAHAHAHAHA!" Ation laughed.

He had gotten up and was about to leave the room when he tripped on something and fell on his back. "Now it's time for the finale!" someone bellowed.

He saw someone drop a huge object on to him. It hit a very private and painful place. He put his hands between his legs and looked like he was going to cry. He looked up to find Abby and the other guards laughing hysterically. They were crying from all the laughing. "Abby!" Ation said in a squeaky voice.

"Oopsy, did I do that?" Abby said sarcastically. "Gotta go!"

She went to her cell, still giggling, but guards were with her. The guards never liked Ation so they too enjoyed Abby's comeback. They escorted her to her cell and went back to work. Ation stayed on the floor, curled in a tight ball. He finally got up after a several minutes of being on the floor and checked to make sure his arenas were ready. Once his enemies came, he would do all he could to make sure his plan wasn't messed up.