Buttermilk Pancakes and Sweet Tea

  • So many newbies lately! Here is a very important PSA about one of our most vital content policies! Read it even if you are an ancient member!
Kai nodded. The same thought - about the truck - had crossed his mind too. It also didn't make sense to Kai that she would go to Woodbury but leave a note saying she was at the hospital. She would have just told him. She probably would have asked him if he wanted anything, or even to go with her. Still, to think that someone else was driving his Nana's truck was worse than thinking she had just covered up her going to Woodbury. He chewed on the straw of his milkshake more than drank it as Emma Jean told him the gate wasn't near there. Of course it wasn't.

"I think we should still go... cover all the bases..." She said. "I guess we can walk there?" He guessed. Emma Jean didn't have her car and he didn't have one either so he hoped so. He could always make a door but... he didn't like the idea of doing it where someone could see. When she pushed the plate of food towards him he took exactly two french fries and ate them before not eating anything else. "I'm not really hungry..." he said. He'd only drank about half his milkshake anyway.

Looking out the window again as he waited for Emma Jean to be done, he looked at Jude who had lied down by then. The poor thing was probably too hot, and Kai made a mental note to give him some more water soon. "You don't have to." He told Emma Jean as she paid for his milkshake, but Lucille had already taken it and he sighed. "Thanks. Are you done?" He was ready to go now too.
 
Emma Jean nodded when he asked if she was ready. She wasn't ready. She would never be ready. But there was no time like the present.

She waited a moment for Kai to collect Jude and give him the water and then started off in the direction of the Church. She hated walking in heels and she slipped them off padding barefoot. The ground was baking in the afternoon heat. She tried to keep to the shady parts of the sidewalk to avoid burning the soles of her feet too badly, wincing when she stepped on rocks or other unforeseen hazards to bare feet. She glanced to Jude, smiling a little. "Now I know how you feel, Dog."

Finally they got to a place where the sidewalk ran along grass and Emma Jean walked there instead. "You said it was cooler up north right?" Emma said. "Maybe I'll move. I'm due a change of scenery." She wiped a little sweat from her brow, shaking her head slightly.

The church afforded some shade in its shadow. It was better in the shade, but not much. "Ugh. It's like the slopes of Mt. Doom." She said in a whiny sort of voice. "Quick tell me a story about winter."

They left the shadow of the church, crossing a road and went up an embankment to a chain link fence. Emma Jean didn't miss a beat climbing it and landed in a field covered with deep green grass. Filled with tombstones. Emma turned back offering to help Kai with getting Jude over the fence. "Welcome to the cemetery. Try not to enjoy your stay too much."
 
Kai thought that maybe they should stop to get Emma Jean some shoes, but since she didn't say anything he didn't either. He just walked along with her, Jude trotting with them. He seemed happy that he wasn't running through the heat. It was too bad they would have to run back. Unless Emma Jean's parents decided to take him in instead. And Jude. Kai would not leave him. He nodded about it being colder up north. He had to snort when she mentioned Mt. Doom. "I like Satan's Playground better, more original." He smiled a bit even if he didn't feel like smiling. His Nana was missing. He didn't care if it hadn't even been 24 hours. He knew something was going on.

"Instead of telling you about winter, I'd really like to know how you always end up back here." He realized she probably didn't know, but he thought he'd ask anyway. "Do you just come back wherever you... er... die?" he asked. With Emma Jean's help he got Jude over the fence and then he climbed over too. He was not nearly as graceful as Emma Jean was. He'd only ever climbed over a fence once before. Generally if places were fenced off int he city you didn't want to go there. He nearly fell over, but managed to land on his feet. He raised an eyebrow when she welcomed him to the cemetery. He pursed his lips. He supposed if they didn't want people messing with gates it would be some place like here. "Now where?" he asked.
 
"This way." She said, leading him through the grass. The groundskeeper didn't visit as often as he should in the summer, and the grass was high, hiding tall fire ant hills which Emma went out of her way to avoid. She zig-zagged through the graveyard, careful to stick to the haphazardly arranged rows and not walk over the graves. Superstition or not, she was buried here at least seven times, and wasn't sure she would enjoy walking all over herself.

"I end up wherever the Key is. And the Key has been here since the beginning so... I've been here since the beginning." She slowed a little, walking now in the shade of some deep green bradford pear trees planted along one of the driving lanes. "Emma and Annabelle were in Woodbury for some time, but they had come here before Emma died." She shrugged a little. "I suppose when you go back home, the next place I'll end up is in the city somewhere. Unless that's not how it works at all, and I'm making things up. It's never really been a problem before." She smiled a little. "I wouldn't mind the cold, I guess. And seasons beyond summer and February."

She didn't say much more, only pointed out the mausoleum at the top of one of the few hills the cemetery was built on. "That's it." She said, slowing to a stop. "The Guthrie mausoleum. The Gate is there." She looked around. "But Edith isn't."
 
Jude and Kai both followed after Emma. Jude paid no attention to the graves, but he did avoid the ant hills. Kai simply followed exactly behind Emma Jean, as if there might be some booby traps hidden in the ground and only she knew how to avoid them. He listened as she explained how she always ended up here, and then revealed that she basically had no idea. Maybe it was just the nearest to the gate, or maybe it was where the key was after all.

As they approached the gate, his heart sunk lower into his stomach. His Nana was not here, and even though he knew it was a long shot he suddenly felt very alone. Even with Emma Jean and Jude standing right next to him. Where was she? How could she just... up and leave him like this? He brought his hands up to his face. rubbing at his temples and then scrubbing both of them across his face and into his hair. With his hair pushed back as it was now, he looked a little ridiculous, but it didn't matter to him. His initial thought was to then go to Woodbury. Right afterwards he decided not to.

"Whats Guthrie?" He didn't actually care, it was just a question to get his mind off of things. He turned back around to leave. There was no point in staying there. He wasn't sure what he was going to do now though. He could go back to his Nana's, but Emma Jean felt he shouldn't. Would her parents let him come over though? And if they did, they would have to tell them that he didn't know where his Nana was and he didn't want people knowing that. Then again, maybe she was home already? Either way, he needed to go back there, if for nothing more than to check if she was back and to leave another note if she wasn't. About a million things were flying through Kai's head and he wished they would all just stop. Jude pushed up against his leg in what was supposed to be a form of comfort, but Kai nearly tripped over the dog instead he was so unfocused on his surroundings.
 
"It's Edith's maiden name. Name of her great grandfather." Emma said, scanning the area once more before she turned.

"Kai..." She wanted to comfort him somehow. She had known it was a long shot coming here, but she had hoped, somewhat foolishly, that Edith would be here. It wasn't fair. He was alone, and it was her fault. Of course it was her fault. Everything was.

Emma Jean started toward him but stopped when she felt the thrumming along her veins, and tucked her hands back behind her again. She sighed heavily and turned, fishing her phone from her pocket to call Edith's again. Of course she didn't pick up.

Kai had turned to go, but Emma was still looking toward the mausoleum. Finally, she turned seeing Kai get tripped up over Jude. She reached out her hand to take his to prevent him from falling face first in an ant hill. "Ouch!" She winced as s shock traveled up her arm from her hand, and let Kai's hand go abruptly. "Are you okay?" She asked Kai, and cradled her hand against her. "I'm sorry."

She sneered at the Key, which now glowed dully under Kai's shirt. "Oh that's nice. Now you've decided to be a jerk. It's not my fault." She shook her head a little. Of course it was, and the Key knew it. "Never mind." She muttered. "I'm taking the rest of the day off." She said, typing the same message into her phone to Monroe. "I may not have a job tomorrow...but if you are going back to Edith's I'm coming with you."
 
Kai was suddenly jerked back to the present when Emma Jean saved him from the fall and the ant hill. Jude whined apologetically and Kai patted his head, but he was looking at Emma Jean. He nodded at her question on his well-being. "You don't need to apologize... are you okay?" What had happened to her? He hadn't felt the shock, and didn't know why she'd exclaimed or pulled her hand back.

When she looked at the key, he looked down at it too. He was surprised to find it glowing. What was it doing? He poked at it without taking it out form under his shirt and then looked at Emma Jean as she bailed on work. He wanted to tell her that she couldn't keep up with him, but he didn't. He wasn't going to stop Emma Jean from coming with him, and he'd rather go back to Nana's place anyway. He chewed on his lower lip as he looked at her. "Are you okay?" He asked again. He didn't want her losing his job over him. He hadn't asked her to, so he didn't bother telling her not to take the rest of the day off. "Why is the key glowing?" he figured that that question was tied to what had happened when she had gotten hurt touching him. Was she not allowed to touch him or the key? If so, he didn't like that rule very much.
 
"I'm fine, Kai, really." And she was. It was just a little shock. A warning, probably. Because she and the Key knew what happened before, and it was taking precautions, to protect the Gatekeeper. Even if it was from her. Not that she said any of this out loud. She wasn't sure how much he knew already. Or how much she should tell him. But no matter what the Key thought, she was going to go with him. And that meant she would have to probably get closer than the Key wanted. And it would have to get over it. A little shock now and then wouldn't deter her.

She glanced back at the Gate for a moment and then turned heading the direction they had come in. "Can we stop by my house for a bit? Before we go to Edith's? I need some shoes. And clothes I haven't been wearing for two days. And maybe my car. And air conditioning. And a gallon of lemonade." She smiled a little, glancing back to Kai as they reached the fence again.
 
Kai wanted to know why the key had hurt her, but he didn't press. Not yet, anyway. He just walked out of the graveyard with Emma Jean, listening as she listed off the things she wanted from home. He nodded with her question. "Yeah, okay..." It might give his Nana more time to get home anyway. A part of him didn't think she would be there no matter how much time he gave her though. He swallowed hard. So much for spending the summer at Nana's. It had only been a matter of days before he was by himself.

He had to admit, that was what he had wanted in the first place. But he had wanted it before he knew about the key and Emma Jean and his Nana. Before he had left his home and taken down south to a place he didn't know. He didn't want to be alone in a place he didn't know. Thoughts were swirling around in his head, and not even Emma Jean's little smile back at him could make him feel better about things. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Bending, Kai helped Jude back over the fence with Emma's help once again. He got over the fence then too, waiting to follow Emma Jean to wherever it was she lived. He still wasn't really certain. He was quiet. Quieter than he usually was as he worried. Where was she?
 
She lead him back to town, stopping once they reached the pavement again to slip on her heels. "Remind me to never, ever wear anything with heels again. I think my feet are gonna fall off." She grumbled. She took him on the shortcut route through town, ducking down an alley between the comic store and a drugstore, crossing a yard that didn't have a fence, ducking under a fence across another yard. Eventually she was walking on pavement again, with weeds pushing up through spiderweb cracks alongside a road. They passed a few houses that were like Edith's, big, old, and probably drafty. Most were brick, however, set back off the road with two long strips of cement for driveways and detached sheds instead of garages.

She didn't say much. Not that there was anything to say really. Kai was quiet, so she was too. She kept casting glances over at him to make sure that he was still with her. She had seriously doubted it a time or two, figuring she had lost him with her shortcut taking.

Emma Jean turned at last up a two-concrete stripped driveway, to a red brick two story perfect family home complete with a picket fence. She passed her car, noting her parents were both gone. Of course. Her dad was out with Mr. Petersen fishing at the Reservoir. Her mom had a dental assistant meeting thing in Woodbury. She waved to her plucky neighbor next door, who was out in her ridiculous sunhat watering roses on her porch. Good on her. Fight the heat. And never mind the dark clouds rolling in from the west. Or the forecast that called for thunderstorms tonight.

Miss Kathy eyed the boy following Emma home, and then eyed the dog as well. She didn't say anything, nothing that she wanted to say. That would have been a lecture, and Miss Kathy tried lecture once on Emma, but it rolled off her like water from a duck. She just called out to Emma Jean before she could retrieve the key from under the rock and open the door. "You're folks aren't home!"

Emma smiled and waved, holding the door open for Kai and Jude. "Thank you, Miss Kathy. You never miss a thing."

She muttered something unintelligible as she slipped in behind them, breathing in the faint scent of vanilla candles and cold air. "Welcome to our humble abode. Enjoy the cool air, and the nice comfortable furniture. There's lemonade in the fridge. And food...lots of food. If you're into the Whole Foods, 'we-don't-eat-it-if-it's-not cardboard thing. Then there's lots of food. If not...well, starve I guess?" She shrugged a little, kicking her heels off in the hall closet, and set her phone down on the hall table. "But we do have plain tap water. Unless the dog has a taste for Fiji water."

Emma Jean smiled again. She was doing entirely too much smiling. Perhaps it was nervousness. Though, she wasn't sure what there was to be nervous about. "I'm gonna..." she motioned upstairs. "Make yourself at home. Take a tour. We have a pool out back, take a dip. I'll be a few."
 
  • Love
Reactions: 1 person
Kai wasn't sure if Emma Jean was taking them on a short cut or just being ridiculous. It didn't bother him though, and Jude seemed to love all the action that wasn't, for once, running. Once they were following a sidewalk again, Kai was studying the houses. It was there in particular that seemed so different from where he lived. The corn fields and forests were different and maybe even a little strange, but here. Here made him feel both uneasy and almost... Foreign.

This space was different because this was where people lived. This was where children played. Where Emma Jean played when she was little and now that she was older it was where she walked every day. The place she called home. It was so quiet. The city was never quiet. Kai had never experienced anything like it before, and it gave him the chills.

He followed Emma Jean, not feeling up to being personable with the old woman who Emma Jean waved to. He ignored her and then stepped into Emma Jean's house.

He looked around, eyes scanning the front room. It was cold, and that was good. Jude, who might normally sniff around, just stayed with Kai. Kai moved over to sit on the couch and Jude lied down to put his chin on Kai's shoes. "Okay. I'll wait here." He informed Emma Jean.

Kai wondered where her parents were. Were they out all the time too? Were they nice, or did she hate them? Pulling out his phone, he looked down at it while he waited but didn't really do anything with it. He just fiddled. Fiddled and waited and worried.
 
Emma Jean's shower was shorter than normal. She hadn't showered since yesterday afternoon and walking around in the heat in yesterday's clothes made her feel grungy. She washed and shampooed quickly, and then stood under the hot water for a while, until her skin turned pink, and then a dark pink befitting a lobster. It felt...weird showering with a boy in the house. She tried not to think about it, but instead, turned her thoughts to what was going on.

Why did Edith leave Kai? And why did she leave him an obviously bogus note? And why was her truck going to Woodbury? It had to do with the Key. Emma was sure of that, but she wasn't sure what it had to do with it. And why was the Key suddenly not allowing her to do the thing that she had to do? Which was to protect Kai. She certainly couldn't do too much protecting if she couldn't get near him.

Too many unanswered questions, and though she often did her best thinking in the shower, she would have had to boil herself alive to suss out any reasonable conclusions.

Emma sauntered downstairs a half-hour later, with her still wet hair pulled into a messy french braid. Her jean shorts and running shoes and a grey Wonder Woman tanktop were vastly preferable to the little sundress she had on earlier. She had a small bag with some-ahem, girly essentials, like a change of clothes and makeup and her stash of cash that she hid in her closet. If she was going to be out of the house, as a fugitive from parental justice, these were non-negotiable must haves. She set down the bag with her phone and plopped on the couch next to Kai. "So are you permanently glued here? Will I need a forklift to get you off the couch? I do know a guy who knows a guy who rents forklifts out. I like to have my bases covered. Never know when you might need a good forklift."
 
Last edited:
Kai looked up at Emma Jean when she came back downstairs. He wasn't sure what the bag was for, but he didn't ask. He did, however, smile a little bit when she asked about forklifting him off the couch. He shook his head. "No. I'm ready to go when you are." he answered, trying to sound a bit cheerful even if he wasn't. He was actually pretty miserable. His Nana had said he would lose Emma Jean. She had revealed that she was one heart attack away from dying, and he was afraid now that even Jude was going to pass away on him. He hadn't thought he needed to worry about it all so soon, but with his Nana's disappearance, all those reminders came rushing back to him, and he couldn't help but to feel alone even if Emma Jean was right there with him. And Jude too, for now.

He'd lost one. How long before the others went too? And what was he supposed to tell his parents? He couldn't get in contact with them. They hadn't brought their cell phones to Ireland, claiming that they wanted to unplug from their jobs, and he didn't exactly have anyone else. There was his uncle and his family, but he didn't know them. He couldn't even name his uncle's children's names. bringing a hand up, he ground the heel of his hand into his eye and then moved it sideways, getting up.

Kai had pretty much no hope that his Nana was back home, or would be returning home on her own. The fact that she was missing was not good. She had written the note, he was sure of it, but then where did she go? WHY did she disappear from him? There had to be a good reason, didn't there? Why had she just left him behind with some stupid fake note, acting like everything was okay? "I wish I'd never come here..." He muttered as he crossed her living room to head towards the door.
 
"So, that's a no on the forklift then?" She called after him, watching him head for the door.

Emma Jean hesitated, but for only a moment, and then sprang off the couch, following him. She put her phone in her pocket and grabbed her keys from the hook in the wall, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She took a once over of the house to make sure everything was still in it's place and then turned to the door.

"Kai..." She said softly, and caught his hand in hers. The Key reacted the same way as before. Emma winced as the shock traveled up her arm, but stubbornly held on this time, ignoring the pain. "We'll find her. Even if we have to go all the way to Woodbury. I promise. Okay?" She gave his hand a squeeze, eying the Key, which had not given up trying to keep her away, and let him go, shaking her hand out.

Miss Kathy was quick to wave, bustling over toward Emma Jean and Kai as they left the house and Emma replaced the key under the rock. "Oh Emma! I was going to bring over some tea and cookies for you and your...friend there." Emma didn't look up as she went to the car, unlocking it for Kai.

"Aw, Miss Kathy! How sweet of you! But I think we're in a little bit of a hurry. Maybe next time!" She slid into her car and quickly shut the door and cranked the engine. Radiohead blared on radio, drowning out Miss Kathy's protests. Once Kai was seated and Jude was comfortably in the back, Emma reversed out and down the road, finally reaching to turn down the music to a less deafening level. "Sorry." She apologized with a sheepish grin. "Just wait until she burns up the rumor mill. Grey will be quite surprised to learn his pretend girlfriend is cheating on him. At least how she'll term it anyway."
 
Kai stopped when Emma Jean took his hand. He turned back to look at her as she promised things to him that she couldn't know she could keep. It made him feel better anyway. He hesitated before nodding. "Okay." He let out a soft sigh. Okay. He would trust and believe Emma Jean for now, although if they didn't end up finding her he wouldn't hold it against her. He was pretty sure that Emma Jean would do everything she could to help him. She was, after all, breaking her grounding as they spoke.

Kai went outside with Emma Jean, frowning at the old woman Emma Jean called Miss Kathy. Wonderful. Emma Jean had a crow as a neighbor. Always watching and more than likely always cawing. Loud enough for everyone to hear. He wrinkled his nose and once more said nothing to the woman, getting into Emma Jean's car after he opened and then closed the door for Jude. He didn't mind Emma Jean's taste in music. Radiohead was alright, and honestly the noise drowned out everything else so that was more than alright.

When she turned it down Kai looked towards her, and a small half smile flitted upon his features. "You're kind of wild, huh?" She didn't care about the rumors obviously. He admired that. As for himself, he didn't care if the people in Nowhere-ville thought he was hooked up with Emma Jean. As far as he knew he would never see them again after the summer. Although he hoped he would see Emma Jean. If his Nana wasn't in trouble, maybe he could come see her again too. "Emma Jean... why is the key hurting you?" he tried to ask her again. He had noticed the way she shook out her hand after she'd touched him. Did it always do that?
 
"So I've been told." She scoffed a little, shaking her head. "I've assumed that the reason I keep coming back is to atone for some sin I committed in the past. So I've always tried to stay...good. By the standards of--" She trailed off, waving a hand at the Church as they drove past it. "Everyone else. But this time, I decided it didn't matter what they all thought. I figured if I must come back to atone, I might as well have something to atone for." She grinned a little, switching the hands she held the steering wheel with and held out her wrist to him, the one with the tiny infinity tattoo. "So I got this...and..." She leaned forward a little, pulling up the edge of her shirt where the blue dragonfly tattoo was on her hip. "And one other that you will probably never see." She said mischievously. "Just part of my laundry list of wrongdoings. The ones I choose to make public anyway."

Emma sighed as she turned the car onto the dirt road that lead to Edith's, thinking a moment before she answered his question about the Key. "It's doing what it ought, and that is protecting you, even from me. I'm sure it thinks it's doing the right thing, so I'm not going to complain. Much." She realized he would have more questions. She didn't blame him. There was a lot to explain, and a lot that both she and Edith were still hiding from him. Some of those secrets he deserved to know. Some...some were better left secret. "You remember what I told you about the Key being like a Horcrux and that it would take a long time to explain?" She glanced sideways at Kai. "It probably won't take that long. But since I'm coming with you to Edith's, we'll have that time, right?" She managed a little smile, turning her eyes back to the road, mumbling, "Although without the Ben and Jerry's, it won't be as fun."

The house looked odd without Edith's truck sitting out front. So, she wasn't home. Emma had hoped, foolishly, as all her hopes seemed to be lately, that she would just be there, waiting for them on the porch, pitchfork or not. That she would yell and curse at Emma for coming to her house and kick her out again. That would be a welcome change from that unsettling emptiness that she felt in Edith's absence. Even though they had not had the best of relationships this time around, she was rather attached to her. The sun was beaming down on the house through the boughs of the oak in the front, but even the bright yellow siding could not stop the house from seeming dark, cold and uninviting. Emma also noted the distinct lack of scarecrows in the cornfield, or standing in the road as they had been when she was here last. She'd thought for sure they would be there. Perhaps Edith's little bonfire had taken care of them once and for all.

She pulled up where Edith's truck was normally parked, and leaning forward, scanned the porch and the house for those out of place things that usually signified that turning off the car would be a bad thing. She wasn't quite getting that feeling, though there was a certain moroseness in the air. But perhaps that had less to do with the house and more to do with the atmosphere in the car. Emma finally killed the engine, keeping her keys in her hand as she turned to Kai. "Let me go in first, okay? Just to make sure everything's copacetic."
 
Kai's eyes glanced over her tattoos. He wasn't much for church, and he didn't see anything inherently bad about getting tattoos. She was underage, but who really cared if a fourteen year old - or in this case a sixteen year old - wanted to get a tattoo? Wrong doing or not, he wondered silently if her next ... body ... would have those tattoos too. He knew she didn't look like her other selves, but he wondered if certain things could stay the same. Like those tattoos. Then again, he thought she probably came back to Earth as a baby or something. And a baby with a tattoo in an inappropriate place, as he assumed by her words, would be really... bad.

Emma Jean's answers always seemed to just bring up more questions. Kai rubbed at the side of his face. It seemed this summer was just a summer of questions anyway. Questions and magic. He nodded once when she said that there would be time to explain. He wished she'd just do it now. Why did the key think Emma Jean was going to hurt him? He was not under that impression. Unless it thought he was going to be hurt by her death. Did it pick up on emotional hurt? He glanced down at the light form under his shirt as Emma jean drove. If it did pick up on emotional hurt that might come in handy. If he met someone whose intention was to hurt him emotionally, or may even not their intention but would, eventually, end up hurting him it would shock them too. That would be hard to explain, but it was an interesting thought. Did it shock Emma Jean when his Nana wore it too?

As they drove up to the house, Kai's thoughts were pulled away from their current line and to the house. Like her, he didn't notice anything particularly wrong with the house. He would have expected scarecrows too. Maybe they were hiding out in the house waiting for an ambush or something. He pursed his lips as Emma Jean turned to him. He looked at her too. Kai, obviously, wasn't thrilled with the idea of Emma Jean going into the house alone. He let out a soft breath. "Fine, but if you're going in first take Jude with you." At least he could tear at scarecrows if needed. He looked back at the dog before Emma Jean could protest. "Jude, follow." He motioned towards Emma Jean and Jude got to his feet to comply, waiting for the door to be opened for him. It wasn't often that Kai gave Jude commands anymore. The dog just seemed to know what he was supposed to do.

Waiting until Emma Jean left the car, he took off his seat belt and then slid into the drivers side. If nothing else, he could play get away. He had only practiced driving a few times, despite his age, and he wasn't exactly good at it. But he knew how to turn it on and which one was the gas, which was the only real thing he needed to know in order to be the get away driver. His eyes followed Emma Jean then, waiting.
 
Emma Jean let Jude out of the car and started up the porch. But then she stopped and came back. She opened the passenger's door raising her brows, and gave Kai the keys. "Just in case." She said quickly, going again, but then turned back. "You look good in my car." She gave him a lopsided grin, and went back on the porch.

Everything seemed to be fine. Famous last words, Emma Jean thought, as she reached up on tiptoe for the house-key hidden along the door frame. But she didn't need it after all. The door was open, a barely imperceptible crack that she could not see through the screen. Emma's heart dropped into her stomach, and she turned to the dog, gritting her teeth. "Stay, Jude." She said, slipping inside and closing the door behind her before the dog could get inside as well.

Emma remembered the house being dark and cool, years ago, the last time she had stepped foot in it. It certainly was dark, but the air-conditioning seemed to be having trouble lately. Nothing seemed out of place immediately until her eyes swept over the lone scarecrow standing in the center of the living room. Emma heard Jude faintly growling on the porch. He knew it was there. How could he not, with the scent of warm hay permeating the room?

The scarecrow didn't move. It looked much the same from the first time she had seen them, the stereotypical corn -field denizen. Flannel shirt, overalls, a straw hat and button eyes. Only this one was still, with an impassive face that stared straight at her. If it could stare. Which Emma didn't think was possible through button eyes. Edith had said the Key had figured out how to take the bite from them...to make them capable of little more than movement. Emma couldn't say she was surprised that the Key could figure out how to do such things. But she didn't discount the thudding of her heart in her chest, or the chill that had raised along her back.

She crept up to the scarecrow, waving a hand in front of its lifeless eyes. She reached up, yanking the hat from its head, and tossed it to the floor. The uppermost mark on its forehead was a little smudged, and Emma smiled. Smart, Key...very smart.

She backed away slowly, keeping her eyes on the scarecrow while she searched out Edith's magazine rack beside her chair.
Her fingers dove into the rack, finally pulling out a pen. She eyed it wrinkling her nose, and put it back. There had to be a Sharpie in there somewhere... Edith always kept one handy. She sought out another, luckily wrapping her fingers around the marker. She uncapped it, going back to the scarecrow armed with the Sharpie. Part of her wished that she had told Kai to come inside. She didn't want to face this thing completely alone. But if it should...do something, at least he was safe in the car with the Key to protect him.

"Alright..." She said to the scarecrow as she drew the rest of the smudged first mark on its forehead, "time for a few answers."
 
Kai was surprised with the compliment she gave him. For an instant, Kai was not the quiet and gloomy person he had become upon not finding his Nana at the graveyard. His eyebrows raised as Emma Jean went back to the porch. He was glad she wasn't looking at him anymore, because he was 99% sure that his ears were red. He kept the keys in his hands, just waiting to drive away with Emma and Jude if he had to.

He watched as Emma took the key from the top of the door. It was nice of Nana, to let him know that was there. Especially since he didn't have a key. Well... he had a key, but not one to that particular door. Just any other door he cared to make. He sighed, and once Emma Jean was inside he quickly became annoyed. He hadn't meant for Jude to follow her only to the porch and then for her to leave him there. He couldn't do a lot of protecting if Emma Jean shut him out. Great.

Kai had half a mind to walk right up to the door and let both himself and Jude inside, but he didn't. At least, not yet. Kai decided that he'd wait five minutes. Five minutes should be enough for Emma Jean to check the house and come back outside. And if five minutes went by without that happening, then he'd have to come in with Jude after all. If Emma Jean was alright then that was fine, and if she wasn't then... well... maybe he could help. He didn't want another person disappearing on him. As Kai sat there, fiddling with the car keys in his hand, he was paying special attention to his surroundings. The last thing he needed was some Company guy sneaking up on him. He also kept an eye on the house, his eyes constantly ranging from the windows of the house to the side mirrors to the rear view mirror and the back again. He was estimating how much time went by in his head, since the car clock was off and he didn't want to look at his phone for the time.

Certainly, if Kai had heard Jude growling, he would have been out of the car and in the house in a second. But he didn't, even with the windows down in the car. He just pretended that he wasn't miserable in the heat and watched.
 
Emma didn't know that button eyes could blink, and had she not seen it herself, she would swear there was no way. But the scarecrow blinked, moving its head slowly as if testing out the novelty of being able to do so, and looked back at Emma Jean. It didn't attack, as Emma expected, but she backed away anyway. Its face remained the passive, blank look of a scarecrow, except for the blinking eyes. "Almathea." It said, in a deep rumbling voice that should have belonged to a rock, and it made Emma pause in her flight. She shook her head slowly. How did it know...? This was too fantastic, even for her, who had come from another world over a hundred years ago, and who mysteriously resurrected...yeah, never mind.

"Not any more." She said softly. "I'm Emma Jean now."

The scarecrow wasn't deterred. "Almathea." It said again.

Emma shrugged. "Sure, if you insist. Almathea." She said, then took another step back as the scarecrow came forward, holding her hands out in front of her. "Hold on there, Blinky."

"Almathea woke. Almathea is master." It said, and took another step forward.

Emma was pressed against the door already, and could go no further. "Almathea can also put you back to sleep. So stay put." She said, her voice quavering just a bit. It stopped as it was told. She breathed out a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure that that would work. "Look, Blinky, all I want is some answers. First, why are you here. And are you alone?"

"Brothers burned. Escaped. Company has message for Gatekeeper."

Emma was quiet for a moment. So it was still working for the Company, but they hadn't sent a hoard like before. Perhaps they worried that Edith and Kai would pile them all up and have another bonfire. But it didn't seem particularly interested in killing her. That was good news at least. "What is the message?"

"Message for Gatekeeper. Not message for Almathea."

"Seriously? Alright, I'll bite. I'll get the Gatekeeper for you." She furrowed her brow, tilting her head as she looked over the scarecrow. "Wait. How did you intend on delivering the message? If I hadn't finished the sigil...or let in the dog, you'd be nothing but a pile of straw and old clothes."

The scarecrow putting its hand to the bib of its overalls. It held out a hand to her, opening it.

"Oh, a mobile! Very technologically advanced for you, Blinky. The Company's message is here?" She reached for the phone, but the scarecrow tucked it back into the overalls.

"Message for the Gatekeeper." It said again.

"Yes, yes, I know. You can deliver it to him yourself, in a moment. Questions first." Golems apparently had one track minds. When they had minds, which this one did, at least for the time being. She marveled that it still remembered its previous mission, which it seemed intent to carry out, even if it was prepared to "die" in the process. Emma walked up to it tentatively. It would be best if Kai didn't see it fully functional, even if somehow she was controlling it for now, because it would open up another whole can of worms, and they were still fishing with the first can. "Who made the first scarecrows?" She asked it, looking up into its black button eyes.

It blinked down at her. "Almathea's third."

"Emilie? She made them? Why?" Emma breathed out slowly, trying to remember.

"To help." Blinky said, in as soft a voice as golems could speak. "To protect the Gatekeeper."

"Which Gatekeeper?"

"The man. Protect from war."

Emilie made the golems, to protect Edward? That is what she was getting from the scarecrow. That was an important piece of information. How could she have forgotten it? She closed her eyes, trying to search her mind for those memories. There had to be some part of her that knew. "But why did they turn around and kill Althea?"

"Brothers corrupted." The rumbling voice sounded particularly...upset at that. "Company corrupted. Wanted Key."

Emma nodded slowly. The Company was good at that. Corrupting, wanting things that didn't belong to them. "Why haven't you been corrupted too?"

"Was. Almathea woke. Almathea master."

Emma smiled a little sadly at that, stretching out the uncapped marker to the scarecrows forehead once again. "Thank you for telling me what I needed to know. The Gatekeeper will get his message, but I can't...I can't let you..." She sighed. "Stay still, Blinky. This probably won't hurt a bit." It did as she commanded, blinking at her in silence. She scratched out the fixed letter, and the scarecrow stopped blinking, becoming inanimate once again. She scratched out the second and third letters in quick succession. The scarecrow lost its rigidity, slumping to the floor at Emma's feet. She took the phone from the overall's bib. "I'm sorry, Blinky."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back