Earth Blend (6 page)

"Yes, right. I'll
see you later." Tina said.

Margaret watched
the two leave. She shook her head and went back to the
classroom.

Steve and Tina got
in the car. Steve gripped the wheel hard. He pulled away but then
pulled over to a payphone about a block away. "Don't move." He
growled.

Tina watched him
on the phone. He was very animated. She not only feared for herself
but for Laney as well. She didn't understand how the little girl
was able to do all the things she did, but was worried about
Steve's interest in her.

Steve got back in
the car but did not say a word. After about ten minutes, another
car pulled up beside them containing three men. Two of the men got
out and got into the back of Steve's car. The other man got out and
walked over to Steve's window.

"We doing this?"
The man asked.

"She's golden."
Steve replied.

"What about her?"
The man asked gesturing toward Tina.

"Take her to be
with her boyfriend. I'll be in touch."

Tina was glad to
be going back to where Johnny was but worried about Laney. "What
are you going to do with her? She's just a little girl."

Steve just grinned
back at her.

The man that was
outside the car opened Tina's door and pulled her out. He quickly
put a gun to her stomach. "Make a sound and it will be your
last."

Tina was shuffled
into the other man's car. She stared helplessly out the window as
they drove off.

Steve drove back
to the daycare center and parked. "Now, we wait."

Laney was
unsettled the whole day. She barely touched her lunch and did not
play with the other children. She alternated between looking out
the window and towards the door. Margaret and the substitute
teacher, Shari, each tried to engage the little girl but to no
avail. At one point, Laney put her head down on the table and
drifted off to sleep.

Margaret looked at
the clock when she saw that Laney had fallen asleep. "Her father
should be here for her in about fifteen minutes. Let's just let her
rest."

Shari stayed close
by the little girl, making sure she did not shift her
position
.

Trevor entered the
center at his usual time and looked around for Laney.

"Mr. Landan. Hi.
She is right over there. She was not herself today. She didn't eat
her lunch."

Trevor smiled.
"Guess she ran out of steam." He walked over to her. He hid his
worry from Shari who was sitting next to her. He figured she had
used her abilities. Not eating would have caused her exhaustion. He
was not worried that Laney would not get better, but that someone
had witnessed her abilities. Trevor picked Laney up into his
arms.

"Daddy," she
murmured
before drifting back to sleep on
his shoulder.

Trevor carried his
little girl out to the car after mouthing a thank you to Margaret.
He was strapping her into her car seat when she woke up.

"Daddy."

"Shush." He
reached beside her car seat and handed her a bag of M & M
candies. "Eat these until I can get you something more
nutritious.
We'll talk later."

Steve recognized
Laney in the man's arms. "That must be dad," he said as he opened
his car door. He paused when he saw a woman come up to Trevor.

"Mr. Landan."
Shari called out to him as she approached.

Trevor turned to
look at the teacher.

"I just wanted to
introduce myself. My name is Shari. I'm a substitute teacher here.
I, um, also wanted to give you my phone number. You know, in case
you ever need a sitter."

Trevor smiled at
the young lady. "Thank you Shari. I'll keep that in mind." he said
accepting the paper from her. Nodding, he got in his car.

Shari waived at
Laney in the back seat as Trevor drove away.

Steve pounded his
hand on the steering wheel. "Damn it. Fine. We'll just follow them
home." He pulled out and followed Trevor and Laney.

In the car Trevor
asked, "You want to tell me what happened today?"

"I did something
bad."

"Bad?"

"He was going to
hurt Tina. I had to."

"Who? Laney, what
did you do?" Trevor was starting to panic as he pulled into the
driveway of their home. He jumped out of the car and opened the
back door.

"The man was going
to hurt Tina if he did not get money... which was weird because he
had five hundred and thirty-four dollars in his wallet. I... opened
a safe... at school. I'm sorry, Daddy. He promised he wouldn't hurt
her if I did." Laney talked rapidly. "I couldn't let him hurt
her."

Trevor's face was
pained and saddened. He unstrapped her from the car seat and hugged
her tightly. This was his fault, not Laney's. He should not have
tried to have them live a normal life. It was unfair of him to
expect her to be able to handle the abilities she had when she did
not fully understand them.

"I'm sorry Daddy."
Her voice was muffled against him.

He sat her on the
hood of the car. "I'm the one that's sorry, Pumpkin."

"You're crying."
Laney watched the tears stream down her father's face.

It was then that
Trevor noticed an unfamiliar car parked in front of the house. It
appeared to have occupants. "We need to get inside," he said,
quickly picking her up. He took her inside the house. Once inside
he locked the door and took Laney up to the attic.

"What's wrong,
Daddy?" She asked.

"Laney, you must
hide here until it's safe. Maybe a day or two. Then go to Uncle's
G's house. He will protect you." Trevor instructed.

A loud bang could
be heard downstairs. Trevor knew someone had kicked open the front
door. He kissed Laney on the head and left her in the attic. He ran
down to his bedroom and picked up the phone. He dialed Gregg's
number. More sounds could be heard on the first floor.

"
Hello
."
Gregg answered.

"Gregg. It's
Trevor. Someone is in the house. I think they are looking for
Laney. I've hid her in the attic
 
–
"

At that point in
the conversation, a man rushed into the bedroom and ripped the
phone from the wall. "Where is she?" The man asked.

Trevor advanced
toward the man.

The man pulled out
a gun. "I'll ask you again. Where is she?"

Trevor didn't
hesitate. He charged the man and the two wrestled for the gun. The
struggle sent the two careening into a dresser before crashing onto
the floor. The man ended up on top with the gun. He put the gun to
Trevor's head and pulled the trigger. All struggle ceased.

Steve and another
man came into the room, guns drawn. After
accessing
the situation, Steve said. "Find her." The
man behind him took off to find the little girl.

"What do you want
to do with him?" The trigger man asked.

"Leave him. We
have friends in the department."

Upstairs, Laney
heard the attic door open forcefully, followed by footsteps
entering the attic. She had hidden herself behind a stack of boxes.
The footsteps got closer. A man found her behind the boxes.

"Hello, Laney.
Time to go."

"No, " she said,
folding her arms.

"Your daddy told
me to come get you."

"No. I have to see
Uncle G."

"That's right.
Your daddy told me to take you to him."

"He did?"

"Yep, now come on.
We don't want to keep him waiting."

Laney let herself
be lead downstairs. "Where's my daddy?"

"He had something
to do. You'll see him later."

When they got
downstairs, Laney froze. She recognized Steve.

"There she is.
Hello, Laney. You remember me, right?" Steve asked

Laney backed up a
few steps before bumping into the man that had found her. He placed
a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Easy Ben. She's a
good girl. She'll do exactly as we ask. Isn't that right, Laney?"
Steve asked.

"I want my
daddy."

"I told her she'll
see him later." Ben said.

Laney's eyes began
to well up with tears. "Where's Tina?"

Steve knelt down
in front of Laney. "She's with her boyfriend. They are both...
peaceful." Steve smiled and winked at Ben. "Now, it's time to go."
He stood.

"I have to go to
my Uncle G's house." Laney said.

"Sure thing,
sweets. We have a few stops to make first." Steve said.

Laney knew he was
lying, She felt panic rise up inside of her. "I have to go potty,"
She said trying to hide the nervousness she felt.

"Okay. Show Ben
where the bathroom is." Steve ordered.

Laney started
walking slowly toward the downstairs bathroom. She felt Ben's
presence close behind her. She went into the bathroom and tried to
close the door.

Ben grabbed the
edge of the door as she tried to close it. "It stays open."

"I need privacy,"
Laney said, giving her best pout.

Ben narrowed his
eyes at her. "You try locking it and I'll break it down." He
warned.

Laney nodded and
closed the door. She immediately went over to the window and
unlocked it. She turned on the faucet before opening up the window.
She had just pulled her upper torso through the window when she
heard the bathroom door open behind her.

"Get back in
here!" Ben yelled.

Laney hesitated
for only a moment before pulling her legs through. She scooted out
of Ben's reach through the window.

Ben glared at her
as he raised his gun. "I said, get back here."

Laney looked from
the gun to Ben. "No!" She yelled and began running as fast as she
could. It was at that moment that Steve ran out the back door
toward her. She tried to run faster toward the grove of trees
behind her house. She could hear Steve's footfalls behind her and
knew she would not be able to outrun him. Fear welled up inside her
throat when she suddenly heard a popping sound followed by Steve
yelling out in obvious pain. She stopped running and turned around.
Steve lay on the ground holding his leg.

"Son of
a
–
" Steve groaned in pain.

Laney watched as
blood soaked through Steve's pant leg. Her mind was telling her to
keep running but her body didn't listen. She went and knelt down
next to him.

Steve stared at
her with a pain-filled expression.

Laney placed her
hands on Steve's leg near the injury. Using her healing ability she
repaired the damage the bullet had caused. Her own leg began to
throb as the pain was pulled from Steve into her.

Steve felt a
tingling in his leg. When Laney removed her hands to grab her own
leg, he rolled up his pant leg to look at the wound. The only
evidence of the injury was the damp bloodstains on his leg. There
was no bullet wound visible.

Ben came rushing
over to them and grabbed Laney by the arm, yanking her to her feet.
"Sorry boss. You jumped in my shot."

"Ow!" Laney
exclaimed as her own healing was taking longer than usual.

"Leave her alone,
idiot." Steve ordered.

"What?" Ben asked
but released Laney, who fell to the ground holding her own leg.

Steve scooted next
to Laney and raised her head. "Did you heal me?" he asked her.

Laney nodded as
more tears streamed down her face.

Steve used his
thumb to wipe away one of her tears and smiled. "What else can you
do?" He did not give her a chance to answer. He stood testing his
leg. It felt fine.

Ben stared
questioningly at him.

Steve just smiled
and picked Laney up into his arms, settling her on his hip.

Laney's use of
abilities and lack of food made her sleepy. "I want my daddy." She
said before resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm your daddy
now." Steve said and walked back into the house. Laney had already
drifted off to sleep in his arms. Steve ordered Ben and the other
man to gather a few items from Laney's room, then they were
off.

Life as Laney knew
it would never be the same. Over the next forty-five years she
would live her life being used and abused until the day she made
her escape.

7. How to Begin

Present Day

"I'm your Daddy
now."

Julie slowly woke
from her dream hearing the name of the man who had taken her from
the life she knew. Once she had escaped to the small Virginia town
she now lived in; she changed her name from Laney to Julie. Her
reasoning was so they would not find her.

She stretched in
her nice warm bed as she recalled the events of the last few days.
Sitting up, she looked around her room. The apartment was furnished
but she had not been there long enough to add any personal touches.
There was one personal item in the bed with her. "Gero," she smiled
and picked up the stuffed cat. Austin had won her the adorable
plush toy at the carnival they attended. "I wonder how he is
doing?" She asked aloud. Austin was the first friend she had made
in town. They quickly became more than friends.

Austin recently
found out his mom was really his step-mother. That on top of all
the other revelations about just who and what they really were made
her sick with worry about him. They both had been through a lot.
Before she met Marcus at the hospital where she did volunteer work,
she knew nothing about how she came about her special gifts. Her
childhood had been a nightmare she wished to forget. "Okay, enough
feeling sorry for myself." She voiced and tossed back the covers.
She got ready for the day.

After showering and changing into her clothes for the day she
opened the refrigerator. She stared at the empty contents and
sighed. "Guess I should get a paying job so I can get some food."
The money she
took when she went on the
run was taken back when the men found her.
She made the money for them being forced to tell them lottery
numbers, casino games and anything else with numbers. "Okay. This
is what you wanted. Suck it up and get moving." She told herself.
Her stomach grumbled in protest. Ignoring the noise in her belly,
she grabbed her hoodie and opened her apartment door. Her nose was
instantly assaulted with a wonderful scent. Someone was making a
delicious breakfast. She locked her apartment door and turned. She
lived next door to Doctor Eli Elsworth. He became a close friend
and confidant when she first moved to the area. He knew what she
was and wanted to help her. He owns the apartment building and let
her live in there rent free. She hoped to rectify that once she got
a job that paid. Eli's apartment door was open and Julie smiled.
Eli was an Earthling and did not need to eat, yet the wonderful
food smell that drifted about was emanating from his apartment. She
knocked on the open door.