Raven
The ride back is silent. When we get there, there's a circus in front.
"Is there a back entrance?" the driver asks.
"Yes." Richard tells them to around to the back alley. He opens his door first and gets out with his driver. They both open the passenger doors and Richard and I scurry out. The driver gets the gate and they walk us up to the back door. It's locked. We knock, but there's no answer. Maybe no one else is back yet.
"You don't have keys, do you?" the man asks, but from the sound of his voice he already knows the answer. Richard shakes his head.
"Everyone had to go. There's no one here," Richard says.
"Why don't you come stay with me for the night and I'll try to get in touch with your caregivers," he says. What? I look at Richard because he's considering it.
"Okay." I look at him, eyes wide, because how can we go stay with a stranger?
"Miss?" the driver asks. "Are you alright?" No... I feel like I'm going to pass out and vomit at the same time.
"Master Wayne, allow me to go start the car." the driver says. Wayne? Where have I heard that name before? Wayne... like Bruce Wayne? The millionaire in all Richard's newspaper articles? This is that man?
"Raven, we can't stay here," Richard says. "Let's go." he grabs my arm and I want to rip it free, but he's right. With the reporters here... We have to leave. We head back to the car and he drives as fast as he can in the horrible traffic. It takes another hour, but we get to a giant house on a creepy deserted hill. The driver pulls into a covered area and gets out of the car, opening the door for Mr. Wayne and then me. Richard gets out on his own. He puts Garfield on the ground. A big dog replaces the cat in the time of a blink. The driver goes to the side of the house and opens a door. Richard goes first, I follow him and Garfield walks behind me. The older man leads us down a few halls and then into a sitting room at least three times the size of the living room at Sunny Oaks.
"Please have a seat, I'll prepare the guest rooms," the older man says. "Give me a few moments." He leaves, but Mr. Wayne doesn't. Garfield sits in front of the sofa closest to the door, so Richard and I follow him and sit down.
This is bad... This is so bad. I'm not supposed to be here. I broke the rules. Jessica is dead... Garfield puts his head on my lap and looks at me.
"Alfred will get you some clothes to change into. I'll try to find one of your teachers. They were probably held up by all the chaos," Mr. Wayne says. Or they're dead, like Jessica. "If you need anything don't hesitate to ask."
"...Thanks," Richard mumbles.
"I'm sorry that this happened." Mr. Wayne puts his hands in his face and rubs his temple. There's something familiar about him, now that we're not surrounded by a million people... His presence is familiar, but there's no way I've met him before. He's never been to Azarath and I don't go to the parties...
"It's not your fault," Richard mumbles.
"Security was supposed to be air tight." Mr. Wayne looks at the floor, his eyes glaze over like he's trying to figure out how exactly everything happened. "You all handled the situation really well. You should be proud of yourselves." Mr. Wayne looks up again and lets out a sigh. He looks at me again and there's something in his eyes that makes me thinks he knows. I don't remember him being close to us, but there was so much going on, that I have no idea who was around. I just had to do it.
"I've prepared the rooms." Alfred comes back with a tray of four steaming mugs. He puts one on the floor for Garfield and hands one to Richard and I, then Mr. Wayne. "Let me just find some clothes and I'll take you up."
"Thank-you," Richard says. The tea smells like chamomile, with milk. I take a sip, there's sugar in it too.
"Is he okay like that?" Mr. Wayne asks, looking at Garfield. Richard nods.
"He just needs clothes. He'll be naked when he turns back," his answers earns an annoyed growl from Garfield. I look at him and he meets my eyes. Why didn't they just tell me this is why he kept running off?
We sit in silence for a few minutes, sipping our tea. Garfield tries to drink his without making a mess on the floor, but that's impossible. By the time we've finished sipping our tea, Afred returns.
"Everything is ready." We get up to follow him.
"Try to get some sleep," Mr. Wayne says. We follow Alfred through the house. Most of the rooms are dark and scarcely lit, but we get to a set of stairs that are. Everything in this house looks expensive. The carpet is probably silky soft to the touch, not like the crusty, bumpy carpet at Sunny Oaks.
We go down a series of halls until he stops and points to three rooms.
"Miss, this one is yours. For you Sir and you sir." He points each one out and opens the door for Garfield, since he can't while he's a dog. "If you need anything, anything at all, I'm only a button press away." He goes in the room he said I was to stay in and points to a button on the wall that says "Alfred" over it on a small gold plaque. "Good night children." The other two follow him out and he closes the door behind them.
The room is at least twice the size of the bedroom I share with the other girls. There's a giant bed on the far wall, a desk and fully stocked book case. To the right is a bathroom. I take off my dress and fold it up nicely, putting it on the vanity table. On the bathroom counter there's a folded pair of clothes. A black T-shirt that could fit five of me and a pair of men's sweatpants that are so big, there's no point in putting them on.
The shower looks too complicated, so I washup in the sink and put the shirt on over my underwear. I shouldn't be tired, but sleep is hitting me hard. Maybe because I used my powers? I crawl into the giant bed and turn the lights off with them. The door opens a few minutes after and Garfield and Richard crawl into my bed on either side of me. I don't ask them why, because I'm glad they're here.
In the morning, I wake up before the other two. There are clothes for all of us at the end of the bed. I crawl out from between them and grab the girl pile. The tags are gone, but they're definitely brand new. A long black skirt and a navy cable-knit sweater, that feels like being hugged by a stuffed animal. By the door there are socks, boot socks and a pair of black calve-high boots. I put them on and go out the door. The boys should sleep while they can... I don't want to wake them, so I go into one of the other rooms. If I wander the house, it's possible I'll get lost and never be found again.
This room has a book shelf too. If I don't do something, I'll start thinking about last night, so I need to distract myself. I don't want to think about Jessica or the consequences of breaking all the rules... There are at least a hundred books, I grab a stack of five and sit at the desk. The first one is boring, so I open the next one and that one is interesting enough that I can concentrate.
I get about two chapters in before the door opens. It's not the boys. It's Alfred.
"Good morning, Miss, Raven, was it?" he asks. I nod. "Master Wayne has asked if you would like to accompany him on a walk of the grounds. Your friends are still sleeping." I get up, but I put the book under my arm, careful to remember the page number. If he minds, he doesn't say anything and I don't think he does, because he smiles.
"I'm glad the clothes fit, I had to make an educated guess." I would tell him thank-you, but I don't feel like talking or breaking anymore rules, so I don't say anything.
We walk through the house and get to a room that is full of windows and a pair of French doors. There's a lot of seating, like a living room, but no TV. Mr. Wayne is standing in front of the doors with a big black dog who is sitting very politely, but wagging his tail so hard his butt wiggles.
"Good morning," Mr. Wayne says. He's wearing different clothes, but the dark circles under his eyes betray that he hasn't slept.
"The other two are still asleep." Alfred informs him. "Shall we trade?" he grabs a coat that was hanging over a chair and hands it to me, but holds out his hand for the book. I give it to him. Hopefully he'll give it back and I'll have time to finish it later. Maybe they'd even let me keep it. I slip the coat on and it fits perfect. Did he measure us in our sleep? There are two more coats on the chair, one for Garfield and one for Richard.
"Better they get all the rest they can," Mr. Wayne says.
"I'll prepare breakfast while you walk," Alfred says. Mr. Wayne opens the door and the dog holds his sit until Mr. Wayne makes a gesture with his hand, then he runs outside and jumps joyfully into the snow. Mr. Wayne goes out first and I follow. This is dumb. I should have just stayed with my friends, but I'm not making good choices right now.
Maybe it's because he heard what Richard said to the police officer last night, but he doesn't say anything. We just follow the dog around the court yard. Even though everything is dead or sleeping for the winter, there's something peaceful about it and it's pretty. The dog runs up to us a couple times, but is mostly content to romp through the snow. We get to a bench next to a statue of a man and he takes a seat, so I do too. The dog runs up and gets pets from him for a minute, but then is off running again.
"Thank-you," he says after the dog takes off. I look at him, because I don't understand why he would say that to me. He's the one helping us right now. "You saved my life last night and a lot of other people's." Shit... I take a slow deep breath.
"I didn't save anyone." He shouldn't think that I saved him. Because I broke the rules, they're going to find me. It's only a matter of time now. His followers are going to come and then everything will be destroyed. This world's days are numbered.
"Hey!" Garfield and Richard come running along the path we took. The dog sees them and jumps on Garfield, taking him to the ground. Richard laughs and helps him up, but the dog is determined to win this game and jumps on Richard too, slobbering all over them both with kisses. Eventually he gets tired and they're able to make their way over to us.
"Good morning," Richard says to Mr. Wayne.
"Good morning," Garfield repeats. "Thanks for your help last night."
"No thanks needed. I'm glad you're alright. I wish there was more I could do." He gets up, but doesn't start walking yet. "I was able to get ahold of someone from Sunny Oaks this morning. They asked me to bring you back this afternoon. They're hoping the media circus will die down by then."
"...Did they say anything?" Richard asks. He doesn't need to say what he's really asking, which is, who died.
"They still don't know a lot, there's been a lot of confusion, but they were able to confirm that unfortunately several of your friends and a few staff members didn't make it." Mr. Wayne puts a hand on each of their shoulders. They turn their gazes to the ground. "I don't have names or any real details." We have one name, but who else?
"Why did they do it?" Garfield asks. "Did they really kill all those people just for money?"
"I don't know," Mr. Wayne says. "The police are still investigating." Richard shrugs out of his grip and turns around. He starts kicking snow and I there's enough anger and grief emanating from him for two or three people. Garfield too.
Where do their feelings end and mine begin? Jessica was a jerk, but that doesn't mean she deserved to die... None of them should have died. None of them should have even been there or at Shining Oaks. Where are their parents? If they hadn't been there, hoping for a second chance family, would they be dead? I broke the rules. How long will it take them to find me? How long until everyone else is dead too?
"I'll go talk to him." Mr. Wayne walks over to Richard and says something quietly. They walk off and the dog follows them. Garfield takes a seat on the bench and looks at me.
"So..."
"So?" I don't know what he wants to say, but he's getting nervous.
"I can turn into animals." I roll my eyes.
"I noticed." It was impossible not to.
"Sorry I didn't tell you before. Mrs. Huntington made me swear not to do it. She said I'd get kicked out and I didn't know how you'd react... Sometimes people get freaked out." He fidgets in his seat, drawing shapes in the snow with his toes.
"I'm not mad." There are things we don't talk about, so I can't be mad. There are things I haven't told them either and I'm not going to. "It's cool."
"Really?" he asks. I nod.
"Can you turn into any animal you want or just cats and dogs?" He gives me a smile, not as big as a normal one, but it's a good sign considering everything.
"I haven't found one I can't turn into yet," he says. I don't want to be annoying and ask him a million questions about his powers, so I don't say anything. He doesn't either, but Garfield isn't known for being quiet, so of course he talks again. "You saved everyone last night." Shit. I was hoping he'd be too preoccupied with the man to have noticed what I was doing.
"I didn't save anyone." I get up and start walking back to the house. He follows and because he knows me, he knows better than to mention it again.
Alfred is waiting for us by the door. He's looking on his phone, but it disappears when he sees us.
"Did you have a nice walk?" he asks. We nod. "Give me your coats and I'll hang them up. I have breakfast ready in the dining room." We take off our coats and hand them to him. He drapes them over his arms and starts walking, so we follow.
"How do you find your way around?" Garfield asks. "This place is so big, it's like a maze."
"I've lived here for too long to get lost," Alfred chuckles.
"Is it just you and Mr. Wayne?" Garfield asks.
"Most of the time. A man like Mr. Wayne has to be careful who he lets into his home." Garfield's questions are invasive, but Alfred doesn't seem to mind. If anything, he seems delighted by them.
"That makes sense." The dining room is a formal dining room with a long table, big enough to seat ten, but there are just four place settings at one end of the table. Four plates covered with lids, a pitcher of water, a pitcher of orange juice and a glass next to each plate. The book is at one place, so I sit down there. Garfield takes the spot next to me.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Garfield asks Alfred, who remains by the door.
"I must attend to a few other things this morning." Alfred says. He leaves and we sit quietly, waiting for Richard and Mr. Wayne. They don't take too long. Richard takes the seat at the end of the table and Mr. Wayne the one next to him. We take the lids off our plates and Garfield is surprised.
"It's vegan?" His plate is different from ours. The three of us have toast, sunny-side up eggs, bacon and a variety of fruit sliced up in a cup. Garfield has a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon swirled on top, avocado toast and a bigger fruit cup.
"When I spoke with the staff at your facility this morning, I asked about allergies and they told me you don't eat meat or dairy because of your powers," Mr. Wayne explains. Garfield gives a small smile.
"Thank-you... I'll tell Alfred thank-you toon" Garfield says. I don't know about them, but I don't exactly have an appetite. Richard gives me a look that suggests I'd better pretend, so I pick up a piece of toast and start eating. At first no one says anything, which would be more awkward if Mr. Wayne didn't pull out his phone and if Richard and Garfield weren't so solemn.
"When are we going back?" Garfield asks.
"After lunch." Mr. Wayne says. "There are a lot of people visiting right now and reporters outside..." There's something he's leaving out in that, but it's probably something we don't want to know, like people wanting a look at Garfield because they think he looks strange.
"What are we doing after breakfast?" Garfield asks. Mr. Wayne looks up from his phone and I think it dawns on him that he has a house full of children to entertain. He puts his phone on the table.
"What do you usually do at home?" he asks. Richard and Garfield look at each other and then me.
"Um... I play video games." Garfield shrugs.
"Web browse," Richard shrugs. I don't even know what that means. "She reads."
"I think we have a gaming system." He rubs his hand under his chin like he's not sure. "We definitely have a television." Garfield takes this opportunity to tell Mr. Wayne about when two of the kids broke the TV in the living room last year and how we got a new one that makes everyone look like they're in a soap-opera. I don't know what that means, but it sounds bad. We finish eating and then Mr. Wayne leads us to what he calls his media room. There's a giant TV, movie theater style seats and a plethora of other things to keep us entertained.
"I need to make a few phone calls and then I'll be back to join you," he says.
"You're a really busy person. We can entertain ourselves." Richard says. Mr. Wayne smiles, but shakes his head.
"I'm not so that busy that I can't look after my guests." He leaves and Richard and Garfield play rock paper scissors for who gets to control the TV. I sit in one of the big chairs and open the book.
"You're seriously reading right now?" Garfield asks. "Have you ever seen a TV this big in your life?" No, but I doubt they're going to put anything I want to watch on it.
That proves to be right. They discover there are over a thousand TV channels, some in foreign languages and continuously flick channels. In about an hour Mr. Wayne comes back.
"I see you've discovered all the channel." He's smiling, amused.
"Why do you have so many channels? Can you even watch TV?" Garfield asks.
"I assure you that I make plenty of time to watch TV," Mr. Wayne smiles. "Did you find the game station?" Garfield jumps off the couch and starts looking near the TV console. Mr. Wayne goes up to the TV and taps the wall. A hidden drawer pops out and there's a game system with controllers. He hands one to Garfield and then Richard.
"She's not going to play," Richard says as he takes out two more controllers. "She's happy with her book."
They play video games with Mr. Wayne for hours until Alfred comes in and tells us it's time for lunch. We go back to the dining room and Alfred has made everyone sandwiches and fresh French fries. Garfield is sure to tell him thank-you for the special vegan dish. When we're done eating, we head to the car. Richard and Garfield seem torn between wanting to go back and find out who didn't die and wanting to never leave the mansion. Mrs. Huntington is going to be angry with me. I broke my promise.