29 -- Thursday Jennie gently shook Raven’s shoulder. “Time to get up, my love. We have a road trip today.” Raven pulled a pillow over her head. “Lemme sleep another hour,” she mumbled. “Tired.” “You can nap in the van, Raven.” Jennie yanked the blanket off Raven. “Now get up. You need to take your shower and get dressed. Everyone else is up and already eaten breakfast.” Sitting up, Raven tossed the pillow aside. “All right, I’m up.” She rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?” “Almost seven fifteen.” Jennie leaned over and kissed her. “You’re clothes are on the dresser.” “Thanks. I hope there’s coffee to drink and maybe some coffee cake to eat.” Climbing out of bed, Raven went to the dresser to grab her neatly stacked clothes. She was trying hard not to think about why they were going on a trip that day. “Yes, There is coffee and coffee cake. I figured you would want something like that. Remember, there’s no smoking in the van.” Jennie grabbed the two duffle bags and headed for the bedroom door. “Oh, I packed an extra pair of shoes for you, just in case.” Raven nodded as she followed Jennie from the room. In the bathroom she quickly took a shower, brushed her teeth, and dressed. Back in the bedroom, Raven dumped her dirty clothes in the laundry basket, then put her phone, wallet, GPS device, and money into her pockets. Last but not least, she put on the ankle holster for the .38, and clipped the Glock to her belt. Sitting on the edge of the bed she quickly put on her high tops, then glanced at herself in the mirror. Guess I’m ready, whether I want to be or not. Lyta was in the living room, checking off things on her list. “Nickie, you have your weapon with you?” Nicole gave her an exasperated look. “For the tenth time, yes!” She moved the large case and her smaller medial bag near the front door. “Make sure I can easily access those, please.” She directed the comment to Reggie as he picked them up to take outside to the van. “There’s a storage compartment right near your seat, Nicole. I’ll put them in there.” He assured her. Raven passed through the living room, barely avoiding Angie who came charging into the room carrying two large duffle bags. In the kitchen, Raven discovered Ebony was crouched under the table, tail lashing back and forth. “Morning, Eb. I see you found a semi-safe place to wait for the madness to subside.” She poured herself a mug of coffee, grabbing the last piece of coffee cake on the plate. The blueberry muffins were no where in sight. Bryan came up from the basement, followed by Eve. “Morning Raven.” He said as he walked by. “Morning Bryan, morning Eve. The security cameras set?” Raven headed for the back door. She wanted a cigarette with her coffee. “Yep. Eve and I are heading back across the street to change and make sure we didn’t forget anything.” He said over his shoulder. “I’ll let the others know you’re going out on the deck for a smoke.” “Thanks, Bryan.” Sitting on the railing, Raven heaved a sigh, then remembered something. “Crap. Need to go downstairs and get the disk from the safe.” Nicole came out the back door, coffee pot in hand. “Would you like me to top off your mug before I dump the rest of this out and do the clean up in the kitchen?” She walked over to the table. “No thanks, Nickie. I’m set.” Raven finished off her coffee. “I need to go down to the safe and get the disk.” She got to her feet. “When are we leaving?” “Fifteen minutes. They’re nearly finished loading the van now. After that, it’s just checking and rechecking the lists everyone has made.” Nicole smiled. “Lyta is so afraid we’ll forget something.” Raven gave her a half smile, “If they forgot me, I wouldn’t complain.” Nicole gave her a quick hug before heading back into the house. Raven finished her cigarette, then went in as well. After setting her mug on the counter, she went down to the basement and entered the fruit cellar. It didn’t take her long to retrieve the disk and place it in her pocket. She set things back to rights in the small room and returned upstairs. In the living room, she took a seat in her recliner and lit another cigarette. Lyta and Lynn were sitting on the sofa comparing notes and lists. “Looks like that’s everything, Lyta.” Lynn said with a grin. “The van is packed and we’re ready to roll.” Lyta glanced over at Raven. “What about you, little sister? You ready to go?” Raven nodded slightly. “Yeah. Let’s go before I change my mind and run away.” *** Jennie smiled as she glanced at her wife who was asleep. “At least she’s getting some rest. She kept waking up last night.” She quietly remarked to Nicole. “Lyta was the same way. After the fourth time she woke up and started pacing the bedroom, I threw a pillow at her.” Lyta scowled. “Couldn’t help it, Nickie. My mind was in overdrive of all the things that can go wrong tonight.” Lyta crossed her arms on her chest. “I just know the thugs from the Astrid Group are going to show up.” “Can’t see how that’s possible. No one has been following us and I’ve been checking.” Liz said. Scott spoke up. “There are such things as parabolic microphones, Liz. They could have been parked several houses away and used that to listen in on what we are doing. They’re probably already in Grand Rapids and know the general area we’ll have to go to.” “You’re such a killjoy, Scott.” Liz shook her head. “But you’re probably right. I’ll be glad when Raven has the second disk and we are safely back at home. Are we sure the houses will be safe while we are gone?” “Yes. Jason and Lyta made arrangements with the security company that handles the security in his office. There are security guards at both houses and they will check in with Jason every hour.” Jennie replied as she absently ran her fingers through Raven’s hair. Raven moved slightly at the touch, a small smile on her lips. Jennie noticed and grinned. “I’ll be glad when this is over too.” “Are we there yet?” Angie asked in a whiny voice from the seat furthest back. Ken and Bryan started to snicker. “I wish Angie would fall asleep.” Lynn muttered to Scott. “It’s the way she is, sweetheart. You learned that back in Iraq. She uses humor to deal with the stress.” Scott took his wife’s hand. “Thank you for taking your meds.” “Nickie reminded me of my responsibility as second in command for today. But once this business is over with, I’ll make an appointment and see about getting the meds readjusted.” She quietly said. “Just couldn’t deal with those damn side effects any more.” Reggie called back. “Rest stop coming up. Anyone need to go?” “I need to go,” Nicole said. “Think I drank too much coffee.” Reg moved the van over to the right lane for the rest stop exit. Fifteen minutes later the team was back on the road; Raven slept the entire time, but started to wake when they hit a rough patch in the road. “What the hell…” She opened her eyes and looked around. “Are we there yet?” The others started to laugh, Jennie gave Raven a hug. “About another hour before we arrive, Raven. Have a nice nap?” “I guess so.” She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this.” “Don’t start, little sister. I’ve imagined everything that can go wrong; up to and including alien invasion. Hopefully we’re well-prepared.” Lyta said. “You thirsty? There’s Pepsi, bottled water, and Gatorade in the cooler.” “Pepsi, please. Man, I could kill for a cigarette right now.” Raven accepted the bottle that was passed up to her. “Thanks.” “Maybe I should have woken you up at the last rest stop so you could go outside and smoke.” Jennie had Raven’s cigarettes and lighter in her vest pocket. “You can survive without a cigarette for one more hour.” Nicole said. “I guess.” Raven crossed her arms on her chest, wincing slightly at the pain that came and went. “Where we staying at?” “Days Inn. It’s closest to where we need to go.” Lyta replied. “Once we get our gear into the rooms, we’ll grab a bite to eat, then head out to the area, as close as we can get, take pictures, then come back to the hotel. Liz did some checking and the mounds are closed to the public. So, Raven, it will be up to you to lead those of use who will accompany you.” Raven touched the pocket in her vest where the disk was. “All right.” “I don’t envy any of you walking around in that area in the dark.” Jeff said. “Neither do I. I don’t mind going for a walk at night, but not over rough terrain.” Liz stretched her arms and yawned. “I will be glad when we get to the hotel.” Raven was only half listening to the others talk. She was beginning to feel slightly ill, the way she felt on the way to the rescuing Jennie and Nicole. She drank some more pop, not surprised to find her hand shaking. With a sigh, she set it in the cup holder in front of her. Jennie noticed the shaking as well and took Raven’s hands in her own. “Try not to think about it so much, Raven.” “Easier said than done, Jen. I have no idea what’s going to happen and who knows who else will be in the area watching.” She closed her eyes. “You know what I wish?” “What do you wish?” “I wish the two of us were in my car driving to Traverse City for a week. Nothing to worry about and being alone with you.” Raven glanced at her. “That is a lovely place, particularly when you stay outside the city limits. So peaceful.” Jennie grinned. “The last time we went to Traverse, I think we spent more time in the room than going to the beach or seeing the sights.” Raven chuckled. “I didn’t hear any complaints from you on how it worked out.” “All right, you two. Enough. The last thing we need here is for the two of you to start making out.” Liz scowled. “Is that all you young people ever think about?” Raven thought for a moment. “Well, I do think about food, drinking and of course writing. But making out is at the top of my thoughts quite a bit.” The others laughed. “Nickie and I usually rent a cabin for a week in the summer. The place we go to, each cabin has it’s own fire pit and because of the way things are set up, it feels like you are the only one in the area. Lots of privacy.” Lyta smiled. “Making out by a roaring fire was fun.” “Until the mosquitoes came out.” Nicole said. “That wasn’t so much fun. Same for the biting flies.” “True.” Lyta pulled out the notebook and looked over the list of what they needed to do. “Always hated waiting. Wish we could go there, get the disk, and get back home.” “Raven, how are you going to locate the second disk? There are no marks on the map that indicate where you need to dig.” Jill asked as she opened a bottle of water for herself. “According to the information Liz gave me, the ring I wear and the disk I’ll be carrying in my right hand while indicate the way I have to go and when I reach the spot. Once there, I perform a ritual to bring forth the second disk.” Raven was still dubious about the whole ritual thing but kept her thoughts to herself. The Ravenwyng Chronicles copyright 2013 Anna M Dobritt
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 18:49:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015