Tori's Misfits

Chapter ten:

Mister Toben’s Pov:

I know Jayla will never forgive me for today, but Madam Kim made sure I had no choice. The punishment was to be carried out whether the girls were returned or not, and I know it is not complete yet. I was made to leave her passed out from pain on the front lawn, not even allowed to clean the burn.

I get up from my chair and glance out the window and notice two guards standing by the fire. Damn, no chance of getting near enough to check on her. I know the kids and warriors fear me, but I am not evil as they think, I just have no choice.

Turning away from the window, I lift the bottle of amber liquid and take a long drink, then throwing the bottle at the wall, sending glass flying. Grabbing a second bottle, I slide down to the floor, letting my mind travel down memory lane as I continue drinking, knowing that sleep will elude me tonight.

Flash back:

She stands facing me, shaking her head in denial, not wanting to believe what she saw. I walk toward her, and she backs away, tears streaming down her face, eyes filled with anger.

“Why”

I tried again to reach her, thinking if I could just pull her into my arms, she would calm down.

“NO. DON’T TOUCH ME, TOBEN” she forcibly states, once again backing away from me.

“It is not what you think” I tell her, dropping my hand.

I step back trying to draw her away from the edge of the cliff, but she looks at me with eyes filled with hurt and betrayal. She suddenly opens her arms wide and lets herself fall backwards off the cliff.

“Tiffany” I shout running to the edge hoping to grab her before it's too late, instead watching as she falls with her red hair flying in the wind. She never screamed, instead stared at me as she hurdled toward the water.

I feel the tears running down my face and my body shaking as the memory fades away. I know it will come again to haunt me as I can never forget the look of betrayal mixed with triumph in her eyes as she fell to her watery grave.

I hear movement outside my office and shake my head, glancing around. I realize that I was lost in my memories and self-pity much of the night, as the light of dawn is now showing through the curtains.

I use the wall to brace myself as I force myself upright, standing slightly off balance. My head is spinning, and I feel nausea building up, craving a drink to quench my parched throat. Pulling myself together, I gather clothes for the day and prepare to face the misfortune and anguish my life has become.

Jaccia’s pov:

I wake up with a start and wonder where I am and who is lying next to me. Slowly opening my eyes, letting them adjust to the dark. My eyes dart around as panic makes my heart start pounding, feeling like it will jump out of my chest. I take in a large deep breath, releasing it with a sigh of relief when my eyes come to rest on Carli sleeping beside me, causing yesterday’s memories to come flooding in.

I know I am not going to be able to return to sleep and decide to get up. Moving carefully both to not wake Carli and Tori, but also because I am sore and stiff. I stand up and stretch my arms above my head, taking a deep breath and slowly letting the tension flow out.

I lit the candle, and look around, deciding to go check out the cave. I walk over to the rocks as I picture Jace showing us where to find the mechanism to open the cave. Watching carefully so as not to miss any sign of it, I ran my hand over the rocks.

After a few minutes, I find it nestled in a narrow crevice created by two rocks making what appears to be an upside-down pyramid. I study the rocks and notice they are almost white in color, making them easier to spot if you know what you are looking for. Satisfied I can find it easily now, I pull the level and watch as the large boulder blocking the opening begins sliding to reveal the cave.

Entering the cave, I stop gasping in amazement at the sight of little bursts of colors dancing playfully around on the dark damp walls and dirt floor. The roaring grows louder the closer I get, gurgling, and bubbling, making it clear I was hearing the sound of rushing water.

Walking further into the cave, the sound of the waterfall echoing off the cavern walls while rushing past creates a deafening effect, yet as I am listening it becomes calming, like a familiar memory wrapping its arms around me before bubbling over with booming laughter. The colorful lights dancing around making me feel almost happy. I blow out the candle so as not to be wasteful and sit down to wait for the others to stir.

Jaccia’s flashback:

While waiting, I let my thoughts travel, remembering waking up in the hospital and being informed my parents were dead, and I would need to go to the orphanage until they were able to find relatives willing to take me in.

In front of the hospital staff, Madam Kim was nice, kneeling in front of me and telling me she would be honored to care for me until other arrangements could be made. Standing, she took my hand, and we left the last semi-normal day of my life behind as we walked out the hospital doors.

The wagon she led me to was loaded with supplies, and I was placed at the very back and told to hold on.

“If you fall off you will walk the rest of the way, I am not stopping to pick you up.” she said quietly so as not to be overheard.

The long trip to the orphanage was cramped and uncomfortable. I imagined that I looked like a broken jack-in-the-box bouncing around in the back. The only thing missing was a spring. The driver slowed as we approached and turned the wagon onto a dirt track with large ruts leading into the trees. I was holding on to both arms now, the pain under the bandage on my left arm forgotten in my desperation not to fall off.

The wagon came to a stop, and I was told to get off. I jumped down and turned to see a large white three-story house with an attached porch. Two girls a little older than me were walking down the steps heading our way.

“Girls” Madam Kim addresses them, “Take this one to your room and assign her a cot and appropriate clothing.”

“Yes, Madam Kim” they respond with their eyes lowered and then turn to me, motioning me to follow.

“Jaccia, are you all right?” Carli asks, shaking my arm gently. I jump and turn my head, startled by her appearance, having not heard her get up.

“Yes, I’m fine just thinking.” I shake my head in embarrassment that I was caught off guard.

Seeing that both Carli and Tori are now up and watching me. I stood up and head to the tunnel.

“Let’s clean up and eat” and decide what we can do today.

We make quick work of folding up the blankets and sitting them on the shelves. Tori grabs the bread and jerky to eat for breakfast. Carli grabs an empty jar to collect water, and we head into the cavern. I move a flat rock to a dry part of the cave and Tori places the food on the rock. Carli fills the bottle with water and returns, placing it next to the food.

“Do we want to say the blessing or just eat?” I asked the girls.

Tori looks at me and shakes her head “not that blessing but our own, to thank the goddess for providing for us.”

“Okay, Carli, do you want to say a blessing?” I ask.

Carli blinks her eyes at me then nods slowly and begins, “Goddess, we thank you for your guidance and the food to nourish us on our journey.”

Having said a blessing, we sit and split up the food equally and begin eating. The glass jar of water is sitting in the middle as we only have one and must share.

Over our small meal we discuss how best to prepare for the rest of the journey once we leave the cave. We all believe that having a plan and keeping busy will help time pass.

Once our meal is complete, we decide to look around the cave and explore the two tunnels not closed off. We are careful to return the drinking jar to the shelf, then close the tunnel behind us.