Forsaken Refuge
~~~~~
".... As Newton sat down across from her in a tattered blue easy chair, Tuuli expected to see a little concern or a taunting grin, but his expression was unreadable. She blew gently into the steam of her hot chocolate, then sipped some.
“So what happened when you got home?” he asked.
“It, ah, didn’t go so well.”
“Apparently.” He waited for her to elaborate. “Come on, I know that’s not all of it, otherwise you wouldn’t have shown up on my porch.”
“I panicked," she said, glancing over the lip of the mug. "Something happened that set me off.” She set the mug on the end table to her left and cleared her throat. “The worst part is my eyes did that thing again, and my parents saw.”
“What’d they do?”
“Nothing. I ran out.” She felt sheepish and stupid, immature for having handled the situation so poorly. “And now, I’m here.”
“Well, it could be worse.”
“What’s worse than being a freak?”
“You’re not a freak. You’re an…." He stopped short, as if searching for the right term.
“Exactly my point, a freak. There’s no other way to describe me.” Her eyes scanned over his inked arm. In the light the tattoo also seemed more ornate than she last remembered.
Newton crossed the room in one wide step and slid in next to her on the couch, pulling her against his barrel-sized chest. “I don’t agree, Tuuli. Besides, I think your eyes are a stroke of good fortune.”
“Really?” she said, unconvinced.
“Yeah, they’re awesome!” He leaned into her hair, inhaling deep. “Personally, I think your new development will bring us closer together.”
She shifted his advance by attempting to pull away politely, but his large arm kept her trapped. “Well, I can’t go around showing everyone. Someone will grab me, ship me out for experiments. I’ll be lucky if my parents don’t do it themselves.” She massaged her forehead. “I wish they hadn’t seen. This is getting complicated.”
“I agree. It’s best if we keep this a secret.” He took her hand closest to him and caressed it. “I can have a chat with your parents for you. Maybe all they need is some reassurance, before they blow this out of proportion.”
“Like that’s a good idea!” She pulled her hand away. “You know you guys don’t get along.”...."
“So what happened when you got home?” he asked.
“It, ah, didn’t go so well.”
“Apparently.” He waited for her to elaborate. “Come on, I know that’s not all of it, otherwise you wouldn’t have shown up on my porch.”
“I panicked," she said, glancing over the lip of the mug. "Something happened that set me off.” She set the mug on the end table to her left and cleared her throat. “The worst part is my eyes did that thing again, and my parents saw.”
“What’d they do?”
“Nothing. I ran out.” She felt sheepish and stupid, immature for having handled the situation so poorly. “And now, I’m here.”
“Well, it could be worse.”
“What’s worse than being a freak?”
“You’re not a freak. You’re an…." He stopped short, as if searching for the right term.
“Exactly my point, a freak. There’s no other way to describe me.” Her eyes scanned over his inked arm. In the light the tattoo also seemed more ornate than she last remembered.
Newton crossed the room in one wide step and slid in next to her on the couch, pulling her against his barrel-sized chest. “I don’t agree, Tuuli. Besides, I think your eyes are a stroke of good fortune.”
“Really?” she said, unconvinced.
“Yeah, they’re awesome!” He leaned into her hair, inhaling deep. “Personally, I think your new development will bring us closer together.”
She shifted his advance by attempting to pull away politely, but his large arm kept her trapped. “Well, I can’t go around showing everyone. Someone will grab me, ship me out for experiments. I’ll be lucky if my parents don’t do it themselves.” She massaged her forehead. “I wish they hadn’t seen. This is getting complicated.”
“I agree. It’s best if we keep this a secret.” He took her hand closest to him and caressed it. “I can have a chat with your parents for you. Maybe all they need is some reassurance, before they blow this out of proportion.”
“Like that’s a good idea!” She pulled her hand away. “You know you guys don’t get along.”...."
An Arbitrary Impact
~~~~~
~~~~~
".... Molly climbed up on top of the rock, pulled her knees in, and began to cry. Tuuli watched her for a while longer, but then her little sister said something she couldn’t ignore.
“…I wish my sister was here,” Molly said, wistfully, hugging the magical coat Tuuli had given her to keep her warm in the autumn chill as if she could sense it on her, although she shouldn’t.
With sudden resolution Tuuli rose to her feet. Using glamour to make her look as Molly once knew her, she approached, purposefully making noise as she stepped so her sister would look up.
“Tuuli?” Molly’s wet cheeks and pink eyes greeted her with bewildered confusion. Looking around, she stood, wiping her nose on her sweater’s sleeve with a sniffle. “How…how did you find me? Where are the others? Where’s Mom and Dad?”
“There are no others,” she said in monotone.
Molly glanced about the woods, at the wall of empty trees, then settled her eyes on Tuuli as she wrapped her arms around herself. “Are-are you a ghost…or an angel, or something?”
“No,” she smiled, but made no attempt to move, “not a ghost or an angel.”
Eyebrows arched, her little sister's Adam’s apple rose and fell in her throat. “Am-am I dead?”
“No. You are not.”
Sliding off the rock, Molly took a few cautious steps in her direction, stopping two yards away. She tried to make eye contact, but when she couldn’t quite make her eyes stick, she settled them aside, looking at the grass, glancing up now and again when her courage came in, as though it built up in short waves, like the rising tide. “Are, are you really here?”
“Do you not see me?”
“I do, but you don’t…there’s something different about you.”
Tuuli tilted her head in the slightest with interest. How did a human perceive her? Although she looked the same, apparently glamour could not hide her from human intuition. “What’s different?” she asked, moving her hands out at her sides.
Startled by Tuuli's sudden movement, Molly took a wary step back. “I don’t know…you-you seem stronger, more confident, and-and…,” she trembled, “dangerous.” ...."
The Scourger’s Hand
~~~~~
".... Dr. Sundgren gave a holier-than-thou smile and chuckled.
Tuuli kicked her chair into the camera and sprung onto the tabletop as the equipment hit the concrete wall, landing in a mutilated heap on the floor. “Then you shouldn’t provoke me.”
Both men pushed back from the table. Harris drew his pistol. Three men tackled her from behind, pinning her to the ground. One unlucky fellow fell in on her right leg. She threw him with a single kick across the room. In midair, he managed to get his feet in the right position to lessen his impact with the wall, but Tuuli still heard his femur snap. He yelled over Harris and Dr. Sundgren as they hurtled the table, two more bracelets in the doctor’s hand. Harris called out for assistance, and Deputy Chief Fuller and two other officers in black uniforms entered the room with their guns drawn.
“Hold her down!” the doctor shouted. “This is our only chance at restraining her!”
The policemen holstered their guns and leapt on top of her with the others. Dr. Sundgren, Harris, and two others stacked their weight on her legs. A growling, hissing battle. If she had been at her full strength they wouldn’t have had a prayer. Dr. Sundgren managed to get the bracelets on her ankles, one interlocked with the other. As soon as they were on, she felt their resistance, as if they were solid steel, making her feel as though she had merely human strength. She quit struggling and lay on the floor in a puddle of indignity. One by one, the officers stood in a circle looking down at her. Their strained faces were red from the fight; eyes wild and uncertain, chests tight, breathing hard from the conquering. She glared. She despised them—every
last one. ...."
Tuuli kicked her chair into the camera and sprung onto the tabletop as the equipment hit the concrete wall, landing in a mutilated heap on the floor. “Then you shouldn’t provoke me.”
Both men pushed back from the table. Harris drew his pistol. Three men tackled her from behind, pinning her to the ground. One unlucky fellow fell in on her right leg. She threw him with a single kick across the room. In midair, he managed to get his feet in the right position to lessen his impact with the wall, but Tuuli still heard his femur snap. He yelled over Harris and Dr. Sundgren as they hurtled the table, two more bracelets in the doctor’s hand. Harris called out for assistance, and Deputy Chief Fuller and two other officers in black uniforms entered the room with their guns drawn.
“Hold her down!” the doctor shouted. “This is our only chance at restraining her!”
The policemen holstered their guns and leapt on top of her with the others. Dr. Sundgren, Harris, and two others stacked their weight on her legs. A growling, hissing battle. If she had been at her full strength they wouldn’t have had a prayer. Dr. Sundgren managed to get the bracelets on her ankles, one interlocked with the other. As soon as they were on, she felt their resistance, as if they were solid steel, making her feel as though she had merely human strength. She quit struggling and lay on the floor in a puddle of indignity. One by one, the officers stood in a circle looking down at her. Their strained faces were red from the fight; eyes wild and uncertain, chests tight, breathing hard from the conquering. She glared. She despised them—every
last one. ...."
