Authors: Michelle Love
“Be quiet,” I tell the dog in a hushed voice.
The dog stops barking and turns his head sideways as if asking me how I did that. “Go back to the house,” I tell it. He turns and trots back towards the house.
I turn to go back to the truck. Kyle’s waiting for me. He picks me up, putting me in the truck on the driver’s side. “Eden is going to kill me,” Kyle says, under his breath.
“That dog wasn’t going to hurt me. You, on the other hand, were fixing to get torn up,” I say.
“I could’ve outrun it,” he says.
“Just say thanks, Kyle.”
He looks at me, with a frown. “Thanks, dog whisperer.”
KYLE
My cell phone rings as we approach the gate to our house. “Hello, Eden. Yeah, we’ll go right over there,” I say, then hang up the phone.
Ally looks over at me from the passenger seat of my truck. “What did he say?”
“Eden said the lawyer is at the jail, and we can go over there now.”
Alley asks, “Is he going too?”
“He’s almost there now,” I say.
When we arrive at the jail we see the lawyer talking to Laura through a thick glass window. Her eyes fly up as we walk in. I turn to look for Eden and find him standing up by the wall, with a frown on his face.
I walk up to her. Laura puts her hand on the glass, and I press mine up to hers through the glass. She wears a pained expression.
“Is she alright?” I ask the lawyer.
“Not really, she’s been sick,” the lawyer tells me. “Here you can talk to her through this phone. I have to talk to the sheriff.”
Ally walks up to the glass. Tears are rolling down Laura’s face. “Tell her we’ll do everything we can. She’ll be out soon,” she says.
I tell her what Ally said, and Laura tells me, “I know that. I need you all to pray for me. I’m afraid they might be poisoning me. I’ve been throwing up a lot.”
Now I see red. “Have you told them you’re sick?”
She nods.
Ally asks, “Are they asking her a lot of questions?”
I ask Laura Ally’s question, and she answers, “Not a lot, just a couple of them. They want to know what flew to our house, and where they are now. They said they won’t let me out until I tell them.”
Eden walks up, and says, “We’ll figure this out.”
A lady in a uniform comes and takes Laura away. Laura looks back at us as tears flow down her cheeks. I’m trying so hard to stay strong for her. Giving her a smile as she’s lead away before we turn and walk out of the room.
Ally almost runs into the sheriff.
“See you finally came looking for your little friend,” he says.
Ally looks up at him, and says, “Do you not have a conscience?”
Eden and I go to her side, trying to keep her from getting herself in trouble.
“You should watch how you speak to me, young lady,” he tells her.
Ally looks him right in the eye, and says, “You should watch who you mess with, sheriff. You’re in over your head. You just haven’t realized it yet. Let her go, and you can avoid a lot of trouble.”
His demeanor changes some, and he says, “You think you’re pretty tough. You might know how to get animals to do what you want them to, with that commanding attitude. Unfortunately for you, I am no animal. My brain works on its own.”
Eden tugs at her to leave. “Come on, Kat. Let’s go.”
Ally holds her ground and keeps her eyes on the sheriff’s. “It would seem you’re determined to underestimate us, sheriff. It’s a shame you want to do things this way.”
Eden manages to pull her away, and I follow behind them, looking back at the sheriff, I say, “You might think about letting my wife go. I hate to see what will happen to you if you don’t. You’ve made Kat mad, and that never turns out well. The last guy who did ended up in a mental institution. Make wise choices, Sheriff.”
The sun shines brightly as we walk out the doors. I blink and shield my eyes as Eden pulls Ally to Laura’s car. “I’m going to talk to the lawyer. Please just sit in the car, and don’t talk to anyone. You’re going to get yourself locked up, Alyssa,” he tells her as he sits her down in the car, and seat belts her in, then hands her the keys. “Start the car, I’ll be right back.”
I get in my truck and head back to the house. My mind is flying with what we need to do to get her out of there, and to teach these idiots a lesson. They can’t be allowed to do this to people. I can’t wait for the legal system.
Eden and Ally are right behind me. I wait for Eden, then we walk up to the front door. “What did you think about what the lawyer said?” I ask.
“I think what he has planned will take a while,” Eden answers.
“I want these people to understand messing around with things which are beyond their imagination is a dumb thing to do,” Ally says as she walks in, and grabs a bottle of water out of the fridge.
I lean past her to grab a bottle of water myself, and say, “Ally, you have to simmer down.”
Eden takes her hand in his. “Your temper is as bad as your jealous streak. You have to make decisions with a calm mind. Don’t let blind fury run you, or you’ll make mistakes, and that could cost you and me both.”
“I hate it, but I think we have to wait for the lawyer to do this the legal way,” I say as I sit down on the sofa.
“We could do that, or we can give them what they want,” Eden says.
I look at Eden. “You can’t mean that.”
“They want the birds, they can have the birds,” Eden states flatly, then pulls out his cellphone and makes a call.
EDEN
The rattling sound of a truck I hear come up the driveway. I shout out to Kyle and Alyssa, “They’re here.”
I head out the door as my mate grabs a flashlight, and shouts back at Kyle, “Come on Kyle, hurry up! We have to get them into the barn!”
“I’m right behind you,” he tells her as he picks up his flashlight.
A member of our organization has brought us the much-needed diversion which will get Laura out of jail. I jump into the truck with the man and show him to the back of the property and the barn. Where we get out of his truck.
Kyle jumps out of his truck and helps my wife down. “You’re a freakin’ genius!” he says.
“I have to agree with, Kyle. Your resources seem to be unlimited. Who else can make a phone call to the San Diego Zoo in California, and get a pair of California Condors delivered to their door in a matter of hours?” Alyssa says.
“Um, you could,” I remind her.
She blinks at me a few times, then says, “Oh yeah, but I didn’t even think of it. Being brought up normal has been a real drawback for me.”
“No, it hasn’t,” Kyle says as he jogs up to her, putting his arm around her shoulders. “You met me by being normal. I’m not a drawback, I’m an enhancement.”
She laughs at him as the truck backs up to the barn doors. “Time to see if these birds can get along with us,” I say.
“We need to keep it dark for them. They can get upset pretty easily,” Leo, the man from the zoo, wearing khaki shorts and a shirt tells us.
“This is Leo,” I say, introducing him. “This is my wife, Alyssa, and one of our guardians, Kyle.”
The man smiles at us. “It’s good to meet you. I’m really interested to see if you two can communicate with Lucy and Ricky.”
“That’s their names?” I ask.
“Yeah, and I want to be really clear that we have to get this done tonight. I can’t have these guys away for long. I’m supposed to be taking them to the vet. They have to be back by tomorrow evening,” Leo tells us as he lowers the wooden door on the crate, revealing a large metal cage with two massive black birds in it.
Alyssa sucks in her breath, and says, “They’re so large and a little scary looking.”
I reach out my hand to touch the cage. “Hi guys,” I whisper.
The larger bird comes towards my hand. “That’s Ricky, the male,” Leo whispers.
To my amazement, the bird leans its head to touch my hand. I release my breath. Then I reach my other hand out behind me, gesturing for my mate to take my hand. She does, and giggles quietly, then says, “I immediately felt the fast pace of the bird’s heartbeat.”
The female bird comes closer to us. Alyssa puts her hand out for the bird to come touch if she wants to. The bird presses her face against the cage. Alyssa touches her face, and says, “Her face is bumpy. I can feel the bird’s anticipation of what’s going to happen.”
“They will work with us,” I say, quietly.
“This is amazing,” Leo says. “Let’s get them out of the cage then.”
Leo opens the cage door slowly. I stand in front of Kyle, just to be sure they don’t find him a threat in any way. They walk out of the cage cautiously, looking at their surroundings.
I look at Kyle. “Time to go get the sheriff.”
Kyle backs out of the barn slowly. I can hear the truck start outside, then he drives off. I say a little prayer this farce works. Then my attention is drawn back to the large birds as they walk in a circle around us.
I slowly hold both of my hands out, and begin to turn the opposite direction they’re going in. They turn around to go in the same direction we are.
“Amazing,” Leo mutters.
I stop and so do they. I turn Alyssa and myself to walk away from them and they follow us.
“They’re ready to go outside and fly,” I tell Leo.
I see Leo make the sign of the cross over himself. “I hope you have them in control. I’ll be killed if I lose these birds,” Leo tells us.
I smile at him. “Don’t worry.”
Leo walks back to the large barn doors and opens them. Alyssa and I walk towards the open doors as they follow us. I feel the cool night air on my face as we leave the security of the barn. The birds are feeling a little confused by the freedom we’re allowing them.
“They’ve never flown freely?” Alyssa asks.
“No, they haven’t,” Leo answers.
“How sad to be a bird, and never get to use your power of flight,” she says.
“Well, they get to fly tonight,” I say as I raise my free hand up, high over my head. “Raise your hand, Alyssa.”
She does as I do, and we continue to walk forward into the dark night. The birds take off running past us, one on each side of us. Then they pull up into the air. Both of them shriek at the same time. I find I’m smiling like a child.
I look at my mate. “This is cool.” I begin to turn us around slowly. “Keep your arm raised, until we want them to land.”
They follow our movements up in the air. I see car lights coming down the dirt road. “Here they come, I pray this works,” I mutter, mostly to myself.
Kyle’s truck pulls up, followed by another truck. Kyle gets out of his truck as the sheriff and two of the guys from the other night get out of the other one.
“You have to be really quiet,” Kyle tells them.
“Okay, let’s bring them down,” I whisper to Alyssa.
We drop our arms slowly. The birds come in to land, running up to us, and stopping just in front of us. I turn us to face the group of men.
“Time to put on a show,” I say quietly. “Raise your arm, pointing to just over their heads.”
She does as I say. The birds run past us, right at the men, then pull up to fly inches over their heads. Their majestic ten-foot wingspans, and the wind they create blow the cowboy hat off of the sheriff’s head.
“Shit,” one of the guys shouts as he ducks down.
“They’re huge!” The sheriff says with excitement in his voice.
“So you see, Sheriff Hardy, that’s what we’ve been hiding, a pair of escaped California Condors. This is Leo, he’s here to pick them up, and take them back to the wildlife park they escaped from,” Kyle tells them as Leo walks up to the group.
“Hi, guys. They’re pretty cool, huh?” Leo says.
“I’ve never seen birds that big,” the other guy tells Leo.
“I bet you haven’t, they aren’t found in this area. These two accidently missed out on getting their wings clipped, and ended up taking off one night. We’ve been missing them for about a month. We were sure they would never make it out on their own,” Leo tells them.
“Why was it so secretive?” the sheriff asks him.
“I have to be truthful with you. It was my doing. I’ve been covering up their absence, hoping to find them. I met Kat and Koby a while back when they came to a training seminar. I called them, and many other trainers to help me find the birds,” he answers.
“So you made them keep it a secret they’d found them?” the sheriff asks him.
Leo nods his head yes. “I would lose my job if the truth came out. I had to make up a reason to come all the way down here. It took me several days to get the time off and drive here with a cage to take them back home with. I hope you don’t turn me in. I didn’t want to tell anyone I didn’t have to, about this. But these guys tell me you have their friend’s wife in custody.”
“I had to do whatever it took, to get to the bottom of this. I live here, you know?” the sheriff says.
Alyssa and I drop our hands, bringing in the birds once again. They come in just over their heads. They land, then come to us, stopping in front of us. We turn to walk back into the barn, and the birds follow us. Once in the barn, I turn to the birds.
“Thank you for helping us out,” I tell them.
“Time to go back home, Lucy and Ricky,” Alyssa tells them as we walk to the door of the cage. The birds walk into the cage, then turn around to look at us.
As I close the door to the cage, Alyssa says, “I hate that we have to send them back into captivity.”
“It’s for a good cause, Alyssa. The conservation program is bringing them back from near extinction. Ricky and Lucy are helping to increase the California condor population,” I explain.
She takes a deep breath and sighs. “Bye guys.”
I hold my hand out to them. They both come to touch my hand with their bumpy faces. My mate touches them too, wishing them a safe journey.
Leo comes back into the barn. “I think it worked guys. They all just left to go to the jail.”
I smile at him, then Alyssa walks to him, giving him a hug. “I can’t thank you enough, Leo. We’re going to come see you at work soon.”
I shake his hand and laugh. “Thanks so much for all of your help. You are a great actor.”
“I guess those acting lessons paid off after all,” Leo tells us.
“When you get back, you’ll find that The Phoenix Foundation has given a generous grant to your California Condor Program. As well as a generous grant to you for all of your help,” I tell him.
“That’s really not necessary, guys,” he says. “I’d do anything to keep your secret.”
I smile at him. “Your protection is greatly appreciated by us. Please accept our gifts to you, it would make us happy.”
“Thank you, I will,” Leo says, then closes up the wooden door on the bird’s crate.
He gets back into his truck and waves goodbye to us. “Come on, Alyssa. Let’s walk up to the house,” I say as I take her hand, and lead her up the dirt road.
She puts her head on my shoulder as we walk back up to the house in the darkness. “You handled that situation really well, Eden.”
“Kicking ass and taking names isn’t always the best thing to do,” I say, then laugh a little.
“I guess I was a little bit ready to go to war with these people,” she admits.
“You have to learn to take some time to completely assess the situation before you make a conclusion about how to handle it,” I say.
“You’re so mature. I’m lucky to have you,” she says.
I stop, taking her hand, and touching my lips to it. “I’m the lucky one, Mrs. Fontaine,” I say as I take her arms, and wrap them around my neck. Then place my hands on her waist. “I love you so much, Alyssa. I feel closer to you every day. You have no idea what you mean to me.”
She smiles up at me. “I have some idea. You mean everything to me, Eden. I couldn’t love anyone more than I love you.”
I continue to lead her up the road to the house. “I can’t wait for Laura to be back,” she says.
“You know Kyle is going to ask her to marry him some day, right?” I ask.
“No, I don’t know that,” she says. “And with my connection to him, I’d be the first to know if he even had that thought for a micro-second.”
“Will it bother you, if he does?” I ask.
“It’s a bit soon for them to take that step. Look how bad they can fight. It might not be the right thing for them to do, at least not right now,” she says.
“You do know you care more for Kyle than you do Laura, right?” I ask.
A long sigh comes from her. “No, that’s not really true. Laura is just as important to me as he is. Though if she knew about our little dream-life I doubt she’d be too thrilled with me. I know Kyle and I both know our lives are better on this path, rather than that one.”
“I know, but you two fall asleep, and have a different life. Who’s to say when it’ll stop happening,” I say.
“Do you think it’ll continue, even though we both think our lives are better this way?” she asks.
“I don’t know, Alyssa,” I tell her as we approach the house. “I do know it’ll be hard for Laura to handle. It was difficult for me, at first.”
She drops her head. “Maybe you shouldn’t touch me at night if it bothers you. As it’s something I can’t help,” she says as I open the door.
I laugh a little. “I can’t not touch you when we sleep, that’s impossible. I’m fine with it now, anyway. At least Laura doesn’t have to be a witness to your dream lives. You should limit your discussions about what all went on in the dreams, though, at least with her.”
She nods. “I’m sorry, Eden.”
I lift her chin up, and say, “I can take it. I can take whatever comes with being with you. I know Kyle can take whatever comes with being with you too. Laura is lacking the connection, so watch what you say to her. I’m not saying to lie, but I am saying not to be so upfront with this thing.”
“Okay,” she says. “I would control it if I could. You know that, right?”
I smile at her. “I know that, Alyssa. I wish there was something I could do too. I guess this is just another thing we have to go through. We’ve been given special gifts. Some really crazy things go along with that, apparently.”
The door opens to reveal Kyle carrying Laura into the house. “Is she okay?” I ask.
Laura’s head is lying against Kyle’s chest. She’s pale and looks very weak. “No, she isn’t alright. She almost fell as she walked out to me,” he tells us.
“I’ll call and get a doctor over here,” I say as I take out my cell.
“Lay her down on the sofa, I’ll get her some water,” Alyssa tells him. She takes the water to Laura, sitting next to her. “Laura, what’s wrong?”