Ellay Saga Chapter 2: The
Fourth EarthBound One
“You’re late? Now that’s something I thought I’d never see!”
A tall man with greying hair and a
five-o’clock shadow stood towering over the group of four with his hands on his
hips and an amused look on his face. His
tie was loose and the top button of his white shirt was undone. The small coffee stain on his right sleeve
indicated that he had worn that same shirt many times before, as was typical of
most middle-aged, workaholic divorcees.
As he looked down at the girl and her companions he chuckled and
relished in the aura his authoritative image was projecting. The girl waved him off nervously and turned
to the three strangers. “These are…my cousins from Reindeer.” her mind ran over
a thousand thoughts at once as she tried to conjure up a decent story to hide
her true intentions. “My…aunt asked me if I could show them around the
office…you know what I mean, right, Mr. Toshner?”
Mr. Toshner wasn’t actually a mean person; he
treated his employees like equals, and they likewise. Although he was ‘scolding’ the girl he never
really meant to punish her in any way.
After all, in two years she had been late twice, and she was as sweet
and friendly as could be. So, his
tough-guy persona vanished almost instantly and he gave the girl a pat on the
head with his rough hand. “Okay, kid. You can go scot-free this time…but don’t
expect me to be any nicer the next time, hear!” a devilish wink and a sly smile
accompanied that last phrase. The girl
nodded and turned to her friends, leading the way with by throwing her head to
the side, and then they were gone.
The place chosen for this impromptu meeting
was none other than Mr. Toshner’s office.
He was never actually in there, what with running around the offices of
the Tribune and all that. What’s more, the girl could actually come and
go as she pleased, and she took advantage of that fact as much as
possible. Saturdays were never busy; she
could usually spend the entire day sulking around and staying out of people’s
way, occasionally running an errand or something like that. Very gingerly she led her new friends into
the office and closed the door quietly, trying not to draw unnecessary
attention to herself. The office was
actually very tidy, thanks in part to her; one of her roles at the offices was
what she liked to call ‘resource management and retrieval’, which basically
meant that she filed papers and ran errands.
The pay was good so she never complained.
The next few minutes went by very quickly: she dashed down to the cafeteria and gathered enough food for her guests, then dashed back upstairs and to the office, curtly and clumsily avoiding anyone or anything that stood between her and the satisfaction of her own curiosity. When she was finally back in the office, and when she saw that the three hadn’t run away, she closed the door again and finished delivering the much-anticipated meal.
“You didn’t have to go through all this
trouble.” the teenage boy’s stone-like countenance had melteld away to reveal a
placid, gentle face typical of boys his age. “We’re not worth it.” The child
butted in as he and the monkey shared a large sandwich filled with lettuce,
tomato, and ham. “I’m not complaining!” he exclaimed happily. He obviously had a cavernous appetite. The girl with the goggles laughed contently,
but said nothing.
The girl looked to her newfound friends
eagerly, her gaze practically begged for them to start talking about aliens,
ghosts, SETI, and the like. However, her
calmer instincts took over before she could do anything rash and instead of
jumping onto the child she said, “So…I haven’t caught your names yet.” The
three strangers stopped their ravenous binging and looked to the girl. Instantly, and without hesitation this time,
the boy swallowed and spoke up. “My name’s Julian.” The girl came out of her
silence and chirped up a brief, “The name’s Peel.” Finally the child, mouth
full of food waved and laughed giddily. “I’m Joshua, and that’s Kir.” The
little monkey, upon hearing his name, chattered excitedly and spun rapidly in a
circle. After the short introductory
ceremony reached its end, the child pointed directly at the girl and cocked his
head to the side. “So what’s your name?” he asked blankly.
The girl sighed; she hated having to do this
part. Slowly she inhaled profoundly and
raised her head, as if preparing to recite a poem. “Maria Francisca del Carmen
Vasconceros Martínez.” she droned the name off, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, as
if she was reciting a poem of some sort.
After she finished she lowered her head and looked to the boy, Julian.
“Just call me Vee. It’s nice to meet you all.”
Julian took a seat on one of the small
leather chairs in the corner of the spatious office and crossed his legs
haphazardly; he didn’t seem to want to do what he had promised to. Still, he remained true to his word and began
relating the facts concerning this strange power, PSI. “It’s a special ability
only some people have.” he mused. “People with PSI can move objects through
telekinesis and can use telepathy.” Vee nodded in apprehension as she too sat
down and made herself comfortable. “So…you’re psychic, is that it?” she
asked. The three others nodded in
unison. Vee rubbed her chin
thoughtfully, questions forming in her head.
After a moment of silence, she spoke. “But…this PSI thing has to be
different, right? If no one’s ever heard of it…” Peel nodded, speaking up for
the first time in a while. “Look, it’s like this…” she said matter-of-factly.
“People with PSI are like super-psychics, you know? They can cause lightning
and things like that…” her voice trailed off as she suddenly became aware of
the fact that maybe she was talking too much.
She looked quizzically to her other two friends, who seemed somewhat
oblivious to that.
Vee, her journalistic instincts acting up again, picked up her chair and scooted up to Julian, eyes fixed on his. There was something about him that just didn’t click, but Vee wasn’t able to put her finger on it, at least not just yet. She continued nonetheless. “And…do these powers come naturally, or what?” she was risking a little too much by probing that deep, but she felt it was the only way to get the information she wanted. Julian squinted and was about to respond, but the child, Joshua, beat him to it. “Well, I had my powers since I was born,” he said innocently. “but Julian got them after he found the prism a long time ago.” Julian and Peel both gasped; Joshua had said more than he was supposed to. Vee cocked her head to one side, somewhat confused. “Prism?” she asked. “What Prism? Can I see it?”
Seeing that there was no turning back at this
point, Julian turned back to face Vee and began speaking before anyone else
could say something unwanted. “It’s safely hidden somewhere in Spookane, so no,
you can’t see it. And we don’t know what it is.” he stated coldly. He had had enough of this and wanted to leave
as soon as possible, before it was too late.
Unfortunately, it was at that moment that Vee’s mind finally clicked.
“Wait a second…I know who you are!” she exclaimed, rising from her chair and
pointing at Julian. “You’re that runaway kid from Snowman!”
Julian’s jaw dropped, his face reflecting the
utter confusion he was experimenting. “How…do you know about that?” he asked,
flabbergasted. He looked to his
companions; they were equally confused.
Vague notions of distrust began making themselves present on the three
stranger’s faces, and slowly they began to edge their way towards the door. Vee saw this and thrust up her hands to stop
them, shaking her head vigorously. “No, wait! It’s not what you think!” she
quickly dashed up to Julian and clamped her hands on his shoulders. “Listen to
me. Ever since you ran away you’ve been showing up in newspapers all over the
place. They think you have something to do with the Maskmen!”
Once again Julian took a step back and eyed
Vee suspiciously. “I don’t know any Maskmen.” he stated, turning to Peel and
Joshua. “Let’s get out of here.” he commanded, ripping himself from Vee and
heading for the door. Quick as
lightning, Vee stepped up and planter herself between them and the doorway,
spreading her hands out wide. “I can prove what I’m saying.” she said, almost
pleading. “Please, let me show you…maybe I can help you!” Julian’s attitude did
not change. He placed himself a few feet
from Vee, raising his right hand and pointing his palm menacingly at her. “Move
or I’ll move you.” he threatened.
Instantly Peel ran up and grabbed his arm, pointing it downwards, as if
handling some sort of gun. “I think we should trust her.” she whispered
audibly. “After all, it has been nine months…her story is believable.” Joshua
joined his friends and spoke up. “She is human, as far as I can tell. Why not
trust her?” he asked. Julian eyed his
friends, then Vee.
“You think?” he asked quietly. The other two nodded briskly, and Peel let go
of his arm. Julian, in response, walked
over to the chair and plopped himself down. “Okay. Show me everything.”
***
02/28
Julian stared at the small article printed in
one of the later pages of the Ellay
Tribune. He was, for lack of a
better term, mesmerized. He read the
article over and over in disbelief, memorizing every word and licking up every
single detail, storing it permanently in his memory. “This is incredible…” he
whispered to himself. “Absolutely incredible…” Vee, who was leaning over his
shoulder and reading the article with him, smiled. “So, is it true? Are you
related to the Maskmen?” Julian wasn’t paying attention, however, and kept
reading one of the phrases over and over: The
boy’s family is slowly giving up hope.
A slight pang of pain hit Julian’s chest and his breath quickened, a
lump forming in his throat. Giving up
hope. They were losing hope. In him.
What would happen if they actually did give up hope? Would they still remember him when he would
go back? …If he would come back?
“I…don’t know what to say.” Julian finally
squeaked. The scrap of paper trembled
and waved, caught between Julian’s trembling hands and swayed by his
breath. He turned to Peel, who was
looking at him comprehensively.
Instantly she understood, without the need for telepathy. She showed him a warm smile and turned to the
others. “I think he needs some time by himself.” she said sweetly.
Once the door to the office was closed from
the outside, Vee turned to Peel and put her hands on her hips. “I have a
feeling you’re not telling me everything. Actually, I know you’re not telling me everything. So I want to know.” Peel closed
her eyes and fought back the urge to snap at Vee rudely. Instead she clenched her fists, taking a deep
breath. “First off, they’re not Maskmen…they’re Starmen.”
“So there really are aliens involved in all
of this?” A hint of excitement was detectable in Vee’s voice.
“Yeah. At least I think so. And before you
ask, yes, they really are after Julian.”
Vee paused and turned to the closed office
door, thinking about the events that had just transpired. “So…that’s why he ran
away from home?”
“I don’t think even he knows why he ran away
from home.”
Vee sighed and took a good look at the
children standing before her. Their
clothes were ragged and they had several scrapes and bruises all over their
bodies. Peel had a smudge of mud on her
cheek and she looked like she hadn’t slept very well lately. Joshua, as for him, was pale and somewhat
scrawny, like someone who hadn’t eaten well in a long time. Julian, although absent, also looked tired
and emotionally wasted. Vee bit her
lower lip as she felt Peel’s eyes lock onto her face, and eventually spoke up:
“How long are you staying here in Ellay?”
Peel cocked her head to the side and lowered her eyes. “I don’t know. A long
time, I think. There’s someone we need to find.” Vee raised her eyes and looked
directly at Peel. “Do you…need a place to stay?” she asked, hoping the answer
would be affirmative. Peel opened her
mouth, as if to respond, but Joshua cut in before she got the chance. “Yeah…we
don’t have enough money for a hotel…” he said sadly.
“Joshua!” Peel exclaimed. She didn’t want to have to deal with Vee any
longer than absolutely necessary. Joshua
just shrugged. “It’s true. And we’re running out of fruit. Kir thinks we should
ask her to let us stay with her.” He pointed to his shoulder and the tiny monkey
jumped up, chattering softly and nodding its little head. Peel grimaced and looked to Vee. “Julian
wouldn’t like it.” she mused. “I’d love to take your offer, really…but Julian’s
too proud. And we don’t want anyone else getting involved in this.” any hostility
Peel had towards Vee came out of hiding suddenly. Vee noticed. “Look, it’s obvious that there’e
a whole lot I’m probably missing out on,” Vee leaned on the wall and began
tangling her fingers together. “but I can tell that you’re hard for hospitality.
I have lots of room at home, and my parents are very nice…besides, the only way
I’ll ever satisfy my curiosity would be to follow you around. Who knows, maybe
I could help you stop the Mask—I mean, Starmen.”
“Believe me, it goes a whole lot farther than
just those things.”
“I can tell.”
The conversation was interrupted as the door
silently swung open and Julian stepped out, looking very tired, but otherwise
the same as always. He stared at his
companions briefly before looking at Vee expectantly. “Well?” he asked. “Are we
finished?”
“Far from it, I’m afraid.” Peel hooked her arm under Julian’s and drew him near. “She wants us to stay with her so she can follow us around while we look for Ninten. I wouldn’t be surprised if she follows us to Mt. Itoi itself.”
Vee interjected immediately. “It’s not like that.” Actually it was like that, but it wasn’t the entire story. “I just think that if you’re staying here a while you’ll need a place to stay. And I think I might be able to help you in some way. All I ask is that—”
Vee’s speech was suddenly interrupted as Mr.
Toshner careened into her from behind, unable to stop himself quickly
enough. When he regained his composure
he grabbed Vee by the shoulders and shook her violently. “Vee! You’ll never
believe this!” he yelled, causing Vee to shrink back in fright. “What is it,
Mr. Toshner? Calm down!” Vee clamped her hands onto his and stilled him,
appeasing him with her voice. “What’s the matter?”
Mr. Toshner took several deep breaths and
looked to the office. “I was trying to get to my cell phone, I left it in the
office…you won’t believe it!!”
“What’s happened?” Vee demanded, irritated by
Mr. Toshner’s beating around the bush.
He, in response, grabbed Vee’s face in his hands and began speaking
slowly, as if he himself didn’t believe what he was about to say. “The Maskmen
are back.” he whispered with the amazed tone of a child. “And not just one—this
time there’s three of them.”
Vee whirled around and looked at the
others. Julian’s brow was furrowed; Peel
looked worried and placed a hand on Joshua’s shoulder, who in turn let his jaw
drop to the floor. “Three of them, you say?” Vee turned to face her boss again,
not sure how to proceed. “Where’s this going down?”
“About three blocks from here, 20th
and Main. Now I have to call Parker, I need some pictures!” Toshner then dashed
into his office and slammed the door shut.
As soon as he did Vee turned to look at the others and crossed her arms.
“Well? Are we going or not?” Julian slapped his forehead with his hand. “Not
this again.” he muttered. “Look, I’m sure you think this is fun and all, but
those things are dangerous. Really dangerous.” Vee chuckled and flexed her arm,
winking at Julian. “Look…I know Jujitsu. I can hold my own, okay? I’ll try not
to get in the way, just please let me
tag along with you guys.”
Julian took a step towards Vee and glared at
her icily. His stare was met by an even
stronger determined one. Seeing that she
wouldn’t give in, Julian turned away and shook his head. “Fine, come along, if
you want. Who knows, we might even need the help.”
“Siii!!”
Vee thrust her hand in the air in triumph. “Let’s go!” she shouted. Julian turned to Peel and whispered in her
ear. “I really hope I’m doing the right thing.” he whined. Peel nodded. “Keep hoping.” she replied. Soon after Joshua ran by and grabbed their
hands, leading them along. “Come on! There’s no time to lose!” he yelled,
leading them out. Together the group of
four burst out of the offices of the Tribune
and ran off, led by Vee, towards the place where the Starmen were
sighted. As they ran Vee smiled to
herself.
Definitely not a normal Saturday, she
thought. Not normal at all…