"Miko and Lil - through the Portal"

[Belle]

Anyone up for another M&L chain story? I've got a start, and hope you'll all feel free to add to it. I'm posting a diagram of the Bistro so you can see where the portal is.

http://pages.prodigy.net/chowchx/_uimages/BISTRO3.jpg


Miko and Lil - Through the Portal


Teo sat on the Bistro kitchen counter, watching Belle make dessert for dinner that evening. The brown mouse had grown since the last time he’d seen Belle, and now his whiskers twitched at the smell of cream cheese.

“Whatcha making, Belle?”

“Kahlua cheesecake.”

“It smells great! Can I try it?”

“I don’t know, young man. Your mom doesn’t want me to spoil you while she and your dad are away. I take my mouse sitting duties seriously, ya know.” Belle arched one eyebrow at his pleading face and then grinned. “But, I do need to know if this is any good.”

Grabbing a teaspoon out of the drawer, she put a little batter on the tip and set it on the counter next to Teo. He took an eager bite, his eyes closing in ecstasy at the flavor erupting in his mouth.

“Mmmmm.” His ears wiggled and then laid flat, his nose reached for the ceiling.

“Good?”

He opened his eyes and grinned. “No. It’s terrible. You can’t serve that to your customers. But, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it for you.”

“I bet you will!” Belle laughed and tweaked his right ear.

The mouse watched her pour the batter into a pan and put it into the oven. “There!” She clapped her hands in satisfaction. “Now, what’s say you and I take some lemonade to the porch? I bet we’ll find some Loopies out there.”

“Sure!” He jumped into her opened hand and climbed onto her shoulder. After getting the lemonade, she walked to the porch and gazed across the grounds to the lake ringed by oak, pecan and pine trees.

“It’s so beautiful out here.” Belle sat in a rocking chair and put Teo on her lap. After taking a sip of lemonade, she leaned her head against the back of the chair and closed her eyes, enjoying the soft breeze coming off the lake. The mesmerizing motion of the rocking chair had almost lulled her to sleep when a little voice jerked her awake.

“Belle, what’s the portal?”

“What? The portal? Who told you about that?”

“I, uh, I’ve heard stories. All kinds of strange things happen in the portal. You jump in and it takes you to where the Boys are. Is it true? Is there really one? Can I see it?”

Belle straightened in her chair and pushed back the stray hair from her face. “I’m not sure if you’re old enough for that, Teo.”

“You mean it exists? It’s true?” He sat up, his tail twitching. “Please, Belle, please let me see it.”





.

[cre8ivepoet]

“You mean it exists? It’s true?” He sat up, his tail twitching. “Please, Belle, please let me see it.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hmm," Belle contemplated Teo's request. Coal black eyes were bright with hope. She sighed. "No sirree."

"Whaddya mean, 'no'?" he whined. A faint ping came from the bistro kitchen and Belle sat up straight. Teo leaped from Belle's lap to the arm of the chair. Belle stood. "Well why not?"

Belle made her way toward the kitchen a stopped at the porch door. She turned and shared a secretive smile. "The Portal is meant to be found."

Teo's eyes went wide and he scampered down to follow Belle. "You mean like a game? I can look for it?"

"You can." Belle said, Teo trailing behind. He sat on the counter and watched Belle pull the cheesecake out of the oven. His nose went up in the air appreciatively.

"Mmm!"

"Mmm is right!" a voice boomed from the Cave. It was followed a sound wave of destruction. A suspicious bop-wop-a-dop schwang reverberated followed by a yowling cat and a disgruntled doggie growl. "Hush, Jupe."

"That sounds like Cree!" Teo giggled excitedly.

"Or an elephant," Belled muttered with pursed lips. She sliced the cheesecake into 12 tiny slices. Teo was near to bursting by the time Cree rounded the corner and waltz into the kitchen.

"Creee!" he pounced on her.

"Teo?!?" she greeted with a crazy grin. She checked him out head to toe amidst mouse giggles. "Why are you here? Where's Miko & Lil?"

"Mama and Daddy went on a vacation," Teo said. "Said they needed a break from you crazy humans."

"Well I hardly think being on a tour bus with three guys is a vacation from us crazy humans," Cree rolled her eyes.

"They went all by themselves," Belle chimed in.

Cree mimicked Belle's words and then said, "Well La-Di-Da!"

"Hey Cree guess what??" Teo bounced on her shoulder, then crawled on her head and peered down into her eyes. Cree was forced to look up with crossed eyes to focus on his face.

"What?"

"Belle told me I could look for the Portal!!" he bounced on her head this time.

Cree smiled. "Look for the portal? Well I can tell you --"

"Put a sock in it, Cree!" Belle interjected.

Teo missed the interaction all together and announced he was leaving them in search of the portal.

"I don't want Teo to be bored while he's here," Belle explained. She put the sliced cheesecake in the fridge. "So let him have fun and hunt for portal."

Cree studied Belle for a second. "That's gonna cost ya."

"Cost what?"

Cree eyed the fridge. Belle rolled her eyes. "How many slices?"

Cree held up the peace sign.

"Fine," Belle said through gritted teeth. "Is the bar gonna be open tonight? I was hoping to have a little gathering to welcome Teo."

"Yes. I need to make some money to pay for another cymbal."

"Cree...!" ;)

[Belle]

.

http://pages.prodigy.net/chowchx/_uimages/Portal1.jpg




.

[cre8ivepoet]

Thanks Belle! I hope more folks join in the chain story. It would add a little adventure to the place!

[mamacitaRuth]

"Yes. I need to make some money to pay for another cymbal."

"Cree...!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lil jumped from the window ledge of the bus and landed on Henry’s shoulder.
Henry jumped, startled, “Whoa! Lil, you scared the cr…” Lil glared at him. “Ya scared me to death!”, Henry corrected himself. “What’re ya’all doing here? I thought you two were gonna take off on your own?”

“We were, we are” Lil answered, “but Miko said we could cover more distance and save time if we used the bus to take us to our destination.”

“Well, he’s right” Henry shrugged. “Where do you want to go?”

“Some place verrry romantic” Lil clasped her paws together and had a dreamy look on her face. “Somewhere called New Mouse-ico? New Mexican?” Henry laughed. “New Mexico?”

“Yes! That’s it!” Lil beamed.

H said, “Well, you’re in luck. That’s our next stop.”

“Henry?” Lil pushed Henry’s hair back a little so she could talk directly in his ear.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Can I call Teo?” Henry sighed with relief. He thought she was getting ready to ask something serious, and in their past history, that never led to anything uncomplicated.

Henry reached in his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, flipped it open and laid it on the table. He gently lifted Lil down to the table, too, and pushed the speed dial for Belle.

Two rings and a familiar voice answered. “Hello?”

“Belle?” Lil was excited to talk to her son.

“Hi, Lil! How’s the honeymoon going?”

“Oh, fine, but we really haven’t started our trip yet. May I speak with Teo?”

“Sure! He’s right here.” Belle laid the handset on the counter, so Teo could hear his mama.

“Teo?”

“Hi, mama! I’m having so much fun with Aunt Belle and Aunt Cree! Belle’s gonna let me find the portal, and Cree’s gonna teach me how to play the cymbals and then I can show Uncle Ringo when he comes home! And then we’re gonna take Jupe for a walk and then….”

Lil cut in and Teo took a deep breath. Her son’s enthusiasm was making her head spin.

“I’m glad you’re having fun with Belle and Cree, son, but don’t wear out your welcome.”

Teo looked puzzled, “What’s that mean, mama?”

“It just means don’t expect the ladies to keep you entertained all the time. You can be helpful to Aunt Belle, and entertain yourself.”

Belle turned on the speaker phone. “He’s really being no trouble, Lil. Just wanted you to know we’re really enjoying his company. He’s been a very good mouse.”

“Belle, can you turn off the speaker for a minute?”

Belle arched a brow of concern, “Absolutely.”

“Teo, let me talk to Aunt Belle for a minute” Lil told her son.

“Sure, mama!” He jumped down to go find Cree in the Cave.

“What’s wrong, Lil?” Belle asked when she could see Teo was well out of earshot.

“I’m just worried about Teo looking for the portal…well, not the looking so much, but the finding.”

“Oh, we’ll be careful with him. I really doubt if he’ll find it on his own. We have furniture on top of it, and it’s all covered. I think it’s safe from inquisitive young mice.”

“Hmmm. You don’t know my son.”

“Listen, Lil..” Belle suddenly realized the phone had gone dead. “Lil? Lil…?”

Cree walked into the room with Teo peering out of her shirt pocket.
“Everything okay?” Cree sensed her friend’s uneasiness.

“Yup” Belle was putting the phone back in its cradle on the wall.
“But tomorrow?”

“Yeah?”

“Tomorrow we do a little remodeling in the Cave.” Cree’s face was a question mark.

“Tonight, let’s watch a funny movie.”

“Yay!” said Teo, “Can I pick?!”

Both girls nodded in silence. Belle stopped. “That’s the phone again. I’ll be right there.”

Belle went back to the kitchen, and stared in surprise at the caller id display.
‘Strange’ Belle thought. It said it was Kevin.

~~~~~~~~

[Belle]

Ruth - ha ha. We're only three scenes in and most of the crew is already showing up. Kevin - and antacids. :D

[banderchick02]

Belle went back to the kitchen, and stared in surprise at the caller id display.
‘Strange’ Belle thought. It said it was Kevin.

She cautiously reached for the phone and clicked the "on" button. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's my good friend Belle," Kevin said.

This can't be good, Belle thought to herself.

"Kevin! What's up?"

"Oh, I just had a little chat with Henry, discussing details of their next tour stop in New Mexico. And he just happened to mention that they were going to drop off Miko and Lil for a little vacation while they were there."

"Mmm, hmm," Belle said, waiting to see where Kevin was going with this.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?" Kevin inquired.

"What do you mean?" Belle replied.

"I thought I was done dealing with these mice. I mean, they're cute and sweet and all, but do you remember how much trouble they got us into? I don't know how much more my stomach can handle. I'm trying to get away from the Tums."

"Oh, c'mon Kevin. It can't be that bad," Belle reassured Kevin. "They're just going on a little honeymoon, and then going back home. And Teo's not even with them."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" he asked.

"Yes, actually it was," came Belle's reply. "Listen, just let me know if they get into any trouble, which I'm sure they won't, and I'll see what I can do to help."

"Thanks Belle," said Kevin as he hung up the phone.

Belle wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not. What could possibly go wrong? she thought to herself.

"Who was that?" Cree asked as she came into the kitchen.

"Oh just Kevin," said Belle.

"Kevin...as in the Boys' Kevin? What did he want?"

"He's just worried about Miko and Lil. But I assured him he had nothing to worry about," replied Belle.

"Of course he doesn't," Cree agreed. "It's just a honeymoon. And they're gonna be off on their own. And Teo's not even with them."

"That's what I said. I don't know if I convinced him though. I'm sure everything will be just fi-"

Belle's last word was cut short by a loud crashing sound coming from the cave.

"What the..." Cree exclaimed as they both headed in the direction of the noise.

[Belle]

"What the..." Cree exclaimed as they both headed in the direction of the noise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They'd taken two steps out of the kitchen when the phone rang again.

"I'll get that," Belle said and pointed toward the Cave. "You see what's up in there."

"Gotcha!"

Belle scrambled for the phone, answering it on the third ring.

"Yeah?"

"It's me again."

"Kevin? Did you forget something?"

"Actually, yes I did. I'm bringing in some Sonica execs to the Bistro tomorrow and I wanted to let you know."

"Suits?! Here?! Why?" Belle frowned at the phone.

"They're scouting for a photo shoot location for the Boys. When I mentioned the lake by the Bistro, they thought it sounded perfect. I was hoping you could feed them a nice dinner, too."

"Uh, uh..."

"What?" Now Kevin stared at his phone.

"You know that...uh..."

"I recognize that tone. Just a minute." He patted his shirt pockets and pulled out a half-eaten roll of antacids. *Crunch! Crunch!* "Okay. I'm ready."

"I'm watching Teo while Miko and Lil are away."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Aaannnddd..."

"There's an and?" *Crunch! Crunch!*

"And, Cree's spending her vacation here with me. She's already broken one of Ringo's cymbals and she just got here this morning." Belle pushed a stubborn curl out of her left eye. "You sure you wanna bring suits here right now?"

Kevin's heavy sigh filled the line before he almost whispered, "It's too late. They're already flying in from New York."

Belle heard a rustling sound on his end of the phone. "You need more antacids, Kev?"

"No. Aspirin. I'm suddenly in dire need of aspirin."

"Sorry. So, who are they and what time will they be here?"

"They are Bill Carter and Hillary Regan, kinda high up on the Sonica food chain. They'll be here early tomorrow with their crew, and plan to stay all day." Kevin gulped at the thought and repeated, "all day..."

"Well, Kevin, we've been in tighter scrapes than this. Don't worry. We'll take care of it." Belle hung up.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kevin whimpered as he hung up, too.

* * *

Belle dashed for the Cave and rounded the corner in time to see Cree holding Teo upside down by his back paws, fire flashing from both pairs of eyes.

[cre8ivepoet]

Belle dashed for the Cave and rounded the corner in time to see Cree holding Teo upside down by his back paws, fire flashing from both pairs of eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cree!!" Belle shrieked as she reached for the rabid Teo. Cree pulled Teo away from Belle's grasp, his tiny little fists swinging mightily. He was so incensed he was no longer talking human. He was squeak-squeak-squeaking and all his rage was aimed at Cree.

Belle's wide eyes surveyed the damage in the Cave. She put her hands on her hips. "What happened in here?!"

"I'll tell ya what's gonna happen if rat-boy here doesn't quit hissing at me!" Cree bellowed with a red face.

Not about to give up, Teo kept squealing, shaking his fists. Belle walked around and stopped short when she eyed the exposed portal.

"BE QUIET PLEASE!" Belle finally roared. The two opponents stopped at Belle's harsh voice. "Cree help me move this big chair back in the corner."

"I'm not puttin' this mouse down," Cree stated matter of factly. Belle neatly plucked Teo from Cree's fingers and plopped him in her pocket.

"Now Teo is in my pocket," Belle said in a more reasonable voice. "Now will you help me?"

Teo poked his head out of Belle's shirt pocket and stuck his tongue out at Cree and then turned his back on her. Her eyes widened and she pointed at Belle's shirt. "Did you--?"

"Now," Belle forced through clenched teeth. They were huffing and puffing once the chair was put back in place. Belle looked around at the Cave. It was in complete disarray. "What happened?"

"I found Teo head-first into the Portal!" Cree glowered, glaring at the little mouse.

"Miss Belle said I could find it...and now I wanna go in it!!" he pouted openly. "And now you've covered it up with that dumb 'ol chair!!"

"You can't go into the Portal Teo," Belle scolded. "You're not ready. If I had known you'd find it so fast..."

"I tried to tell him he should wait for one of us," Cree added, "but he - "

"She yelled at me Belle!" Teo wailed. "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to go alone..."

Belle glared at Cree.

"I thought he was a goner," Cree defended tears suddenly sparkling. "You know how it is Belle - you never know where you're gonnna end up!" She swallowed a quick breath to control herself.

"Oh now all right," Belle shushed them both. "I see everything clearly now."

Belle placed Teo on Cree's shoulder. "Now Teo, you gave Cree a fright and Cree you need to learn how to say things in the right manner."

Belle hoped she had broken through but Cree turned her head and Teo crossed his arms and turned his head. "All right then, I'll make you work it out the hard way. You two can take all of these blankets and pillows and cushions and re-decorate the Cave, together. We have special guests arriving tomorrow, so I expect the Cave to be sparkling with a new creative look."

"What?!?" they both said, their mouths open.

"I'm leaving you two on your own, I have a lot of work to do," she said sailing out of the room. Later on, Belle stopped at the doorway unseen, listening to the two troublemakers talk.

"...that is so cool!" Teo was gushing. "What happened after Jojo caught ya riding around on his motorcycle?? That is so lucky to end up in the Chop Shop! Did you get in trouble? I bet Uncle Jojo was mad!"

"Oh he was mad all right. My doo-rag got turned into a spit rag," Cree muttered.

"What's a 'spit rag'?" Teo asked.

"Let's just say that motorcycle got a fine-tuned cleaning..."

Belle hid a grin as she passed by.

[letsgetlonelyin]

"Oh Cree, you wouldn't deny me of a little fun," Teo said in his sweet persuading voice, "come on, Come with me tru the portal!
"Now Teo, that's a bad idea right now" Cree answered with as stern a voice as she could, Teo's propsal was tempting, she wanted to smile thinking about her LLB adventures and where the portal had taken her, she longed to see the boys again, and really she wanted to jump in head first, and leave this so called real life behind for one on the road.
"You need to understand, the portal is a pretty... well unperdicitable" Cree quickly continued.
"Ya but You know how it works, we'll be alright, I'll protect you." Teo boasted
"OH you'll protect Me!, Your time will come, be patient little one, we need to focus on getting this room ready for the special guest, Any idea who they are?"

[cre8ivepoet]

OMG, our first brave contributor!! Fabulous!! That was GREAT!! :) Welcome to Miko & Lil.

[Belle]

Way to go, Amy! Hope you'll be a regular contributor. :cool:





"Yeah, but you know how it works. We'll be alright. I'll protect you," Teo boasted.

"OH you'll protect me! Your time will come. Be patient, little one. We need to focus on getting this room ready for the special guest. Any idea who they are?"

* * *

“Nope.” Teo retrieved a drumstick that had rolled underneath a pool table and scurried across the Cave to put it away.

Cree picked up a sofa cushion and tossed it back on the couch. “It can’t be the Boys. They’re in New Mexico somewhere.” Uprighting a chair, she pushed it to a table. “Maybe it’s Mel, coming in from Austria.”

“I think we oughta ask Belle.” Teo’s cheeks huffed, his shoulder muscles straining while he tried to pull the cracked cymbal toward the trash can. “Besides, I smell something wonderful in the kitchen.”

Cree stopped pushing the vacuum and lifted her nose skyward. “I do, too. Let’s go!”

* * *

“You want us to what?” Cree pushed her now-empty plate back and threw a frown at Belle.

“Yeah, how come?” Teo flounced his tail in indignation.

“Now, come on. I’ve already explained it.” Belle looked back and forth between the two angry faces. “Kevin is bringing some Sonica suits in tomorrow with camera crews. They’ll be here all day and I’m supposed to feed them dinner.”

“I get that part,” Cree huffed. “But why can’t we stay?”

Belle’s right eyebrow reached for her hairline. “Think back, amiga. What happened last time we mixed Teo with Suits and a camera crew? I really don’t want to send Kevin to the ER this time.”

“But, Belle, I’m older now. I’ll be good. Promise!” Teo widened his little mouse eyes and drooped his whiskers, trying his best to look pitiful.

Belle studied the pleading face for a moment. “It’s not a matter of being good. You’re a good mouse, Teo. It’s just that things seem to happen whenever you and Cree get together.”

“Humph!” Teo twisted around to stand with his back to her.

“So, you don’t even want us staying at the Bistro tomorrow?” Cree stood from the table and carried her plate to the sink. “What are we supposed to do?”

“There’s a carnival at the edge of town. Why don’t you go there? My treat.” Belle reached for the cookie jar and set a fresh choklit chip cookie in front of Teo.

Cree looked sideways at Teo who, at the moment, was doing his best to ignore the peace offering, even though he looovvveeedd choklit. “Well, maybe. I’m heading for the Cave. Wanna watch a movie with me?”

“Yeah. I will!” Teo jumped up, but not before breaking off a piece of cookie to take with him.

“What about you, Belle?”

“I’d love to, but I can’t. I’ve gotta figure out what to cook for these mucky-mucks tomorrow.”

“K. Suit yourself.” Cree picked up Teo in one hand and several cookies in the other and made her way to the Cave.

Once Teo sat on the plush leather sofa, he leaned back. “Whatcha wanna watch?”

Silence.

“Cree?” He looked over his shoulder, his head drawing back in surprise. “What are you doing?”

Cree knelt in one corner, pushing against the heavy chair. “If Miss Belle...huff...doesn’t want us around tomorrow...puff...we might as well leave now!”

Teo scampered across the sofa and down to the floor. “But…but that’s where the portal is.”

“It sure is!” With one last triumphant shove, the heavy chair moved away, revealing the dark mysterious hole underneath. “You ready?”





.

[cre8ivepoet]

:eek: woo wee. See how fast Cree displays that redneck attitude? Don't take much does it?? :D

[LLBgal]

you guys just made my day with this story. Its so funny you mentioned New Mexico! lol Woo-Hoo!!

Um, can I take a wack at this?

-------

“It sure is!” With one last triumphant shove, the heavy chair moved away, revealing the dark mysterious hole underneath. “You ready?”

"Ummm...uhh..." Teo mumbled in a sqeaky voice. "But Belle, she was pretty serious. What if she she finds out we went in?"

"Hey, she told us to find someplace to go. That's what we are doing." Cree looked down into the portal with wide, gleaming eyes.

Teo sat by the portal sniffing. He looked around as if to see if anyone was watching them. "Well, I really do want to go." he said smiling bashfully. "And its not like I'm all alone. You are with me."

Cree stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot. "Come on man!" she bursted out. "Its now or never."

With a deep breath, Teo let out an "Okay, let's go!"

Cree grabbed Teo and held him in her cupped hands. "Close your eyes and hang on." she said jumping down into the hole.

[Belle]

Hey, Paula! Welcome to the world of Miko and Lil. Great scene! And I hope you'll become a regular in weaving another crazy adventure of our Boys and talking mice! :D

[LLBgal]

Cree grabbed Teo and held him in her cupped hands. "Close your eyes and hang on." she said jumping down into the hole.

***
Back at the Bistro, Belle sat at a booth contemplating the menu for the special guests. "Hmm, maybe a nice Italian specialty...oh, but what if they want something homestyle? Ugh." As she whispered her ideas to the quiet room, she thought about the portal.

The portal was the ultimate escape from the world. She remembered her first time through the portal. It was like no other experience imaginable. Guilt settled in slightly. Denying Teo the pleasure wasn't exactly what she had expected to endure while watching over him.

***

THUMP!

Cree opened her eyes to find herself laying on the dusty sidewalk with Teo clinging tightly to her shirt collar. "Cree, are you okay?" he muttered curiously.

"Yeah, I'm good." she declared, slowly standing to her feet. Teo hopped onto her shoulder.

"Where are we?" Cree peared into the evening air. A few hundred yards away stood a huge building. It looked like a hotel. Its beauty was intriguing. Near the entrance stood a large water fall bursting spouts of water into the air. Each time the water blew upwards it changed colors. "Wow." said Cree amazed.

A postcard blew across the street and over to the sidewalk. It swished passed Cree's head, almost taking out Teo. He made his way to the ground and ran over to check it out. He carefully read, "San..dia...resort...and..casss..ino?"

"Casino?" squawked Cree, looking down at Teo and the postcard. She picked it up for a closer look. "Sandia Resort and Casino...Albuquerque, New Mexico! Thats riiiight, the boys are doing a show here. I remember Belle talking about it."

"Oh man! This is so cool! Can we go backstage Cree, can we!?!" Teo was shaking with excitement by now.

[Mel]

**********
meanwhile .......

Henry and Jojo where backstage preparing their guitars for the show.
Ringo still took a little nap in the bus, as he was up all night playing cards with Miko & Lil. Miko did not want Ringo to stopp playing with them until way after midnight, as he wanted to win all the delicious peanuts for his darling Lil!
So Ringo was kind of exhausted!

"Hey Henry, someone wants to say goodbye", Ish shouted over from the corner of the stage.

"Oh." Miko and Lil stood there with their little suitcases.

"Well, we're off now. We have contacted a mouse friend here who has "booked" us into a nice little cosy place." Lil was looking at Miko with loving eyes.

Oh dear, Henry thought, if this keeps going how I imagine, we'll soon have a bigger mouse family to take care of.....

"Take care and be careful", Jojo replied and he gave both of them a little kiss on the cheek. Henry did the same. "Try and stay in touch, so we know you are alright, okay!"

"Will do", Miko said and took Lil's paw to lead her to the exit. "Greetings to Kevin!"

"Hmmm", Henry waved and turned back to his instruments. Better not, he thought, Kevin will be soooo glad to have some shows without our little mice friends.
************

"Shush," Cree put her finger on her mouth to signal Teo to stopp jumping around in exhitement and making funny mouse noises. "Here is the entrance, I bet the boys will be backstage already to prepare. I have seen the tour bus already ...."


:)

Mel

[Belle]

MEL!! Woohoo. You're here!

:) :D :cool:

[cre8ivepoet]

Well knock me over with a feather!! Paula you are rockin' with M&L. Not a bad writer at all!! And MEL!!! WHAT A JOY TO SEE YOU!! Welcome back lady!! I had to giggle at the part with Henry thinking Kevin will be glad to be rid of M&L for a while! I've missed you!

[cre8ivepoet]

"Shush," Cree put her finger on her mouth to signal Teo to stopp jumping around in exhitement and making funny mouse noises. "Here is the entrance, I bet the boys will be backstage already to prepare. I have seen the tour bus already ...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teo sat silently for a space of about two seconds while Cree surveyed the band entrance. There was lots of activity, amps being moved in, they saw Ringo's Drum cases, Ish was pointing and directing the roadies. Cree felt her tummy starting to curl with nervousness.

"Whatcha waitin' for Cree?" Teo said, bouncing on her shoulder. Jojo came around the corner at that second and stopped upon hearing Teo's voice. He cocked his head and looked in their direction.

"Oh no!" Cree breathed. She dove into the dumpster before he saw them.

Jojo studied the dumpster for a second, then came over and peeked behind it with a frown. "I must be crazy," he muttered.

He trotted off, back toward Ish and the roadies. Cree breathed a sigh of relief and then plugged her nose. She felt like hurling! She watched from beneath the dumpster lid until Jojo disappeared into the Casino. But he stopped for a split second to look back at the dumpster again and shook his head before going inside. Cree made sure Ish was in the casino too before leaping out. "Oh my stars!" she gagged.

She pulled off banana peels, melon rinds, scrambled eggs, her foot was stuck inside a donut box. "Eww. Teo come out, we're safe for now."

Silence.

"Teo?" She patted her pockets, shook out her hair, kicked her sneakers off (hey Teo is quite the little hider). She heard a roar and gulped when she saw a behemoth garbage truck chugging down the alley way. "Oh no! Trouble didn't take long at all, now did it?"

She dove back in the dumpster scrambling around. "Teo?!? Teeeooo?!?"

Her head popped back up to get a four-one-one on the garbage truck. She ducked back down and hollered for Teo again. The crazy garbage truck began to beep and grew louder as it neared. When she stood, call it standing but she was really sinking into a quagmire of stinky trash, she couldn't believe her eyes. Teo was submerged in a chilled mocha latte cup, dome top included. She snatched the cup and scrambled out of the dumpster just as the truck was slowing down. Four garbage guys stood with grimaces on their faces at the girl jumping out of the dumpster.

"I coulda got ya one for free," one of them hooted. The other three started laughing.

Cree held her head high as she brushed off coffee grounds, pulled an elbow macaroni out of her hair and stalked off with her mouse flavored mocha latte.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teo stood patiently as Cree scrubbed him clean under warm tap water. He was a drenched rat to say the least and Cree felt bad when he sneezed up a shower of chilled latte. She rubbed him dry with a fluffy Sandia Casino towel and then wrapped him up in a new one to get him warmed up. Poor little Teo shivered. Cree jumped in the shower and left Teo on the giant bed, cuddled up. She scrubbed and scrubbed her skin and then washed again when she swore she smelled scrambled egg on her arms. Her skin was was dark red when she emerged, towelled head and fluffy robe enlisted.

"Cree, I'm hungry," Teo said through chattering teeth. The only answer he got was a mound of towels working its way through the hotel room and being dumped outside in the hall way. Teo sat up, now that he was feeling better. "Did you use ALL the towels?"

"It's the least I can do...Sandia charges enough for the rooms!" she groused, heading back to the bathroom.

"How much did it cost? Where'd you get the money?" he asked curiously.

"Oh this room is courtesy of Belle's Bistro charge card," she winced. "Thank goodness I had that from the new cymbal I bought for the cave. Otherwise we'd be on a certain tour bus and in deeeep trouble."

Teo looked her for a second and then fell over laughing. "Cree I'm having so much fun!"

Cree made a face. "Dumpster surfing is not my idea of fun. And now we have to be extra careful because your Uncle Jojo is suspicious of two unexpected visitors and will keep an eye out."

"Cree can we get sumpn' to eat now? I'm starvin'!"

"Okay," she sighed. She put on her new clothes (thanks Belle's Bistro!) and put Teo in her pocket. They got on the elevator and got off in the lobby. The sounds of slot machines and blackjack tables enveloped them. Cree felt a bit better. Jojo would have a hard time spotting them here.

"Whoa!" Teo exclaimed his little eyes dazzled by the blinking lights. "Awesome..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jojo studied the early La Onda crowd as they ran a song or two for sound check. His lips pursed as he scanned the crowd again. Henry jammed his way over and they ended a run of "War Tonight".

They gave a friendly wave to the La Ondans and then headed back stage. Jojo stopped and then peeked from behind the curtains at the crowd again.

"What's up little brother?" Henry asked, peering from behind.

"Um, nothin'," Jojo muttered.

"You've been tense all day...we need a little fire for tonight bro. Spill," Henry ordered like a big brother.

"You'll think I'm crazy," Jojo said. Henry smiled and his brow arched. "Oh ha ha, very funny." Jojo sighed. "Okay. When I came into the casino this morning, I heard Teo call Cree's name. I heard it when I walked passed the dumpster. So I went back to look."

"And?" Henry prompted, clearly not believing that Cree and Teo could be anywhere near.

"And nothing," Jojo admitted. Henry stared. "Well?"

"Crazyyyy," Henry crooned. "Crazzyyyy for feelin' so blue-uuuuue..."

"I knew it!" Jojo griped turning away. "It isn't impossible! You know how much trouble Cree can get into!"

"Yep," Henry agreed. "I know. But Kev just talked to Belle. Cree and Teo are at the Bistro."

"Yeah sure." Jojo wasn't convinced. Nope, not one whit.

~~~~~~~

[Belle]

"Yeah sure." Jojo wasn't convinced. Nope, not one whit.

~~~~~~~

"Hello?" Belle picked up the phone. "Yes, this is Belle...The credit card company?...Unexplained charges? But...Sandia Casino? What?...No! I'm not anywhere near...Yes. Please stop payment. I have not authorized any of those expenses. Thank you for catching this!"

Hanging up, Belle rubbed her forehead, leaving streaks of flour in her hair. "Honestly!" She humphed to herself and went in search of Cree to tell her the latest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knock! Knock!

Teo and Cree stared at each other, their eyes wide.

"Now, who could that be?" Cree wondered out loud.

Knock! Knock!

"Coming! I'm coming!"

She opened the door to find two gentlemen dressed in business suits and looking grim.

"May I help you?" She looked from face to face, growing more worried by the second.

"Ma'am, we are here to escort you out of the building."

"But, why?"

"You have used a stolen credit card to rent this room."

"No, I haven't! Belle..."

"We've contacted the card's owner and she has not authorized its use. You'll have to come with us."

"You're kicking me out?! Just like that?!"

"No, ma'am. We're handing you over to the police."

"The police!!! But...but..." Cree flung a tear-filled glance over her shoulder just before they pushed her through the door and into the hallway.

From his hiding place underneath a bed pillow, Teo watched the door swing shut and heard it click when it locked.

Round, frightened mouse eyes stared at the door for a moment before a loud wail (well, for a mouse anyway) filled the dark, empty room.

[cre8ivepoet]

Round, frightened mouse eyes stared at the door for a moment before a loud wail (well, for a mouse anyway) filled the dark, empty room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cree's heart raced a mile a second. Security lead her out through the casino, many curious stares following behind them. Teo! Poor Teo! Think quick! The last security guard had his hand at her elbow as they exited, through the backstage door!

"Ya know - I really gotta go," Cree stalled, looking frantically for a familiar face. The guard in front of her threw a look her way and rolled his eyes. "I mean it! I'll go right here!"

"Boss," the young nervous one said. "The lady's -"

"Yeah, yeah," the boss interjected. They stopped at the loo by the back door. He gave Cree a hard look. "One minute."

"Thank you," she said. She danced around in the bathroom for a full minute, said a little prayer and opened the door just as the boss raised his fist to knock. When she stepped out, Ish was walking passed one of Henry's guitars in hand. He almost dropped it when he spotted Cree.

Help! she mouthed silently. Ish thrust Henry's guitar into the next roadie's hand and disappeared like smoke.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kevin!" Ish roared as he ran to the tour bus. "Kevin!"

Kevin and the three brothers came to the door to see what the hulabaloo was all about. "What?" Kevin asked.

"You're not going to believe this," Ish said, his eyes wide. "We've got trouble at six o'clock." Kevin finally noticed the police cars by the stage door.

Kevin felt his stomach knot up. He reached for his roll of Tums. Jojo followed closely behind everyone. They made their way toward the commotion and Henry stopped dead in his tracks when Cree was led out to the police cruiser. His eyes bugged out of his head. He dared a look at Jojo.

"Go ahead say it," Henry gulped.

"I told you so!!" Jojo fired back. He hurried over to Cree who was in tears. The fuzz was getting ready to cuff her.

"Sir we need you to back away," one officer said.

A few minutes later the police drove away sans Cree. Ringo was patting her on the back with sympathy. She looked up at Henry with pleading eyes.

"Teo is all alone in the room," she sniffled.

"Hey Ish," Henry said.

"I'm on it. Operation: Rescue Teo," Ish responded. "Again."

[Belle]

teehee snicker snort.

This is too much fun!

[Belle]

"I'm on it. Operation: Rescue Teo," Ish responded. "Again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belle walked into the Cave, calling out. "Cree? Teo?" Stopping short at the silence, she scanned the room. "Hey, where are you?"

More silence. Taking a few more steps in, she noticed the big chair moved against one wall.

"Uh oh." Afraid to know, and yet afraid not to, Belle took tentative steps to the corner where she stopped next to the portal - the opened, uncovered portal.

"CREE!!!" She leaned over and yelled into the dark hole. "You better hope somebody else finds you before I do..."

Spitting and sputtering, she made her way to the kitchen, knowing she needed to call Miko and Lil and tell them of her grim discovery. Just as her hand stretched out for the receiver, the phone rang.

"Hello." Belle clenched her eyes shut, afraid of who might be on the other end.

"Belle. Henry here."

"Henry?"

"Yeah, have you lost anyone lately?"

"Don't tell me...Cree and Teo are with you?"

"Cree is now, once we got her free from the police. Teo's lost in the casino hotel rooms."

Silence.

"Belle?...hello?...you still there?" Henry frowned at his phone. "...What? I can't hear you."

Belle unclenched her jaws enough to speak more clearly. "I said - keep her away from me. I'm gonna kill her next time I see her."

"Hey, it's not that bad."

"Not that bad. Okay, hot shot. YOU tell Lil her baby is missing - again - on an adventure with Cree - that involved the police."

"Dang!" Henry breathed in sharply. "I forgot about that."

[LLBgal]

"Dang!" Henry breathed in sharply. "I forgot about that."

"Yeah well Cree better hope Teo is found soon or else..." Belle hung up the phone enraged.

"Heh?...Hello??" Henry looked at the phone which was buzzing with a dial tone. "Here we go." He sighed.

***

Ish quickly made his way to the front desk of the hotel. "Hi there ma'am, I was wondering if I can get a room for tonight?"

"Okay sir, you will have to fill out this form with your information." The lady at the desk sighed with exhaustion.

Ish grabbed the pen and clipboard and started scribbling down the necessary info. Thinking about how he would find the same room that Teo was in, he asked, "Is it possible for me to get the room that was last cleaned?"

"I can check on that for you. Please wait one moment." She grabbed the phone and dialed. "Hey Leo, what is the last room you guys had cleared?...Okay.....Is it occupied?...Alright, thanks." As she hung up she took the clipboard with the papers Ish had completed. "Yes sir, I have a room for you. Here is the key. Please enjoy your stay at the Sandia Resort and Casino. We are having Los Lonely Boys perform tonight in the amphitheater. I hear its a good show. We still have tickets if you want any?"

"Uh, no thanks...but...it IS a great show" Ish smiled at the thought of her offer. He waved and quickly rushed to the hotel elevators. "Room 219, room 219." he said to himself. As he stepped out of elevator, he passed the maid.

"Good evening sir." Ish just smiled a friendly greeting and quickly took off down the hall.

Teo peaked out from the cart now moving down the elevator. He looked up at the maid who was watching the floor numbers change above the doors.

Ding! Both stood still as the doors slowly opened.

[Mel]

Hey, yes, it's great to be creative again and I have missed you guys too!!! And I have missed Miko & Lil, I wondered when a new adventure would start Belle ;-)

Such good writers have participated in this part already !!! Great!!!

Mel

[Belle]

Some people are wondering about the Portal.

Here's a brief explanation.

The Portal - look at Page 1 of the M&L story thread. There's a diagram of the Bistro, and it shows the portal in the top left corner. While one end of the portal always stays at the Bistro, the other end is wherever the Boys happen to be. Sometimes people jump through the Portal and find themselves on stage, their head bonking on an amp. :eek: If Ish catches them, they have to bribe him with donuts or food from the Bistro to let them stay.

[mamacitaRuth]

Slight addition, Belle, if you don't mind.....The portal could end up anywhere, not necessarily where the Boys are at the moment, but where they've been, too -- or where they frequent, where their passions are. Think of "AURA de LOS LONELY BOYS!" :p One night, we ended up in the Texican Chop Shop and took some of their rides out for a wild adventure!!

[Belle]

Oh, yeah! How could I forget THAT night.

Boy, were the Garzas M-A-D!!! :p

*Cree got in trou-ble*

[cmedina]

Some people are wondering about the Portal.

Here's a brief explanation.

The Portal - look at Page 1 of the M&L story thread. There's a diagram of the Bistro, and it shows the portal in the top left corner. While one end of the portal always stays at the Bistro, the other end is wherever the Boys happen to be. Sometimes people jump through the Portal and find themselves on stage, their head bonking on an amp. :eek: If Ish catches them, they have to bribe him with donuts or food from the Bistro to let them stay.


Thanks for clearing that up Belle, I was wondering about "the" portal myself...lol
Wow, now I'm getting the picture, why Teo & Cree want to go in there SO BAD! Hum....wondering if I fit in that there hole!!! :p ;)

[cre8ivepoet]

Oh, yeah! How could I forget THAT night.

Boy, were the Garzas M-A-D!!! :p

*Cree got in trou-ble*

tthhhppppttt!!

And might I say, that Motorcycle got a most THOROUGH cleaning!!

And don't count on any bail money if you wind up in the pokey....I wound up with a lousy .37 if i remember right! Thanks Belle. :rolleyes:

[banderchick02]

Mel...good to see you around here again! ;) I agree...it's great being creative again. And it's so great to see new authors jumping in. Welcome, guys!



Teo peaked out from the cart now moving down the elevator. He looked up at the maid who was watching the floor numbers change above the doors.

Ding! Both stood still as the doors slowly opened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ish finally got to room 219 and hurriedly opened the door. As soon as he got in the room, he turned on the lights and locked the door. "Teo?" he called out. "Are you in here?"

He waited a few seconds, but all he heard was silence. Greeeaaat, he thought to himself. What am I gonna do now?

Ish paced back and forth for a few minutes, racking his brain for ideas. I guess there's just one thing to do, he thought, sighing heavily. Ish left the room and slowly headed back towards the elevator, trying to think of some sort of explaination for the Boys.

After a few seconds, the elevator doors opened. As they did, Ish saw the maid's cart sitting inside...without the maid. Strange, he thought. Very strange. As he stepped inside and the doors closed, he heard a rustling from the bottom shelf of the cart. He knelt down and cautiously moved thing out of the way. "Teo!!!" he exclaimed upon seeing the frightened mouse. "What on earth happened?!?"

"Wellll..." Teo began. "I was peeking out from the cart to see what floor we were on, and all of a sudden I heard screaming. As soon as the doors opened, the maid ran out and left me here all alone. I didn't know what to do."

"I didn't know what to do either," Ish replied. "I thought I had lost you. And I thought for sure Henry, and your Mom, would have my head."

They finally reached the lobby, and Ish wheeled the maid's cart out. As he was trying to figure out where to put it, Kevin, Henry, Jojo, and Ringo came up to him.

"Are you switching careers now?" Kevin asked.

"Umm..." Ish stalled, trying to think of a clever explaination. When none came, he just told everyone the truth.

Kevin reached for his Tums and started mumbling as he walked away. A few minutes later, he came back. "I knew this wasn't going to work," he said to no one in particular. "That's it, Cree and the mouse gotta go!"

[cre8ivepoet]

Kevin reached for his Tums and started mumbling as he walked away. A few minutes later, he came back. "I knew this wasn't going to work," he said to no one in particular. "That's it, Cree and the mouse gotta go!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earlier....


"Shouldn't I be helping find Teo," Cree asked, wringing her hands together.

"No," Jojo glowered. "You're staying right here on the bus with me until Ish finds Teo." He glared at Cree again and said, "You made me think I was crazy this morning. How could you do that??"

Cree blanched uncharacteristically. "I'm sorry!"

Jojo noticed her unusual reaction and felt guilty for snipping at her. "What's wrong with you?"

"I only wanted to get back at Belle," she wailed with self re-crimination. "And now I lost Teo!"

"And what's so unusual about losing Teo?" he retorted. Cree's eyes watered up again and Jojo sighed. "Oh my God...don't move!"

He left the bus and returned five minutes later with Henry in tow. Henry raked a hand through his hair when he saw a red-nosed Cree. Kevin bounced in behind them.

“Hey Ish,” Henry dialed his phone. “Anything on Teo? No? Okay. Call me when you do.”

Cree’s shoulders slumped. Jojo groaned, certain he couldn’t handle a crying Cree for another second and then suddenly brightened. “Why don’t you and me walk around the casino, keep an eye out for Teo?”

“Really?” Cree perked up.

“Um that’s not a good idea…” Kevin began, looking at Henry for support.

“I need to make a phone call,” Henry said disappearing off the bus.

*********************

“Hello?” Belle said irritably into her phone.

“Belle, I think I have a solution to our problems,” Henry said. “We’re gonna let Cree stay through tomorrow night. She’ll be out of your hair for the big suits, and we’ll have an extra hand in the search for Teo.”

“Don’t you mean an ‘extra disaster’?” she countered sarcastically.

“I don’t know what else to do!” Henry barked. “She hasn’t stopped cryin’ since Teo was left in the room!”

“As well she should be!” Belle snipped back.

“Aye! Women are vicious!” Henry groaned out loud.

“Well she should feel guilty,” Belle said relentlessly.

“Well guess what? I’m a man and I have a crying woman on my hands and ya know what? I’m gonna do what it takes make her stop crying!” He took a deep breath. “And you’re not making this easy on me! I called to make sure you’d be okay with it!”

Belle sucked in a quick breath and felt a first prick of guilt. Henry was only trying to help. “Fine. Of course you’re right.” She exhaled. “Now I have to go and call Lil. Call me when you locate Teo.”

“Henry we should really talk about Cree and Jojo,” Kevin said when Henry came back on the bus. “I think it’s a bad idea letting them search the casino…”

“Where are they?” Henry asked.

****************************************

Cree and Jojo were by the elevators when a harried maid came out of one looking a bit disheveled. They looked at each other.

“Uh-oh, I’ve seen that look before,” Jojo whispered to Cree as he watched the maid.

“Me too,” Cree answered, her eyes following his.

“Let’s go,” Jojo said. They hopped in and pushed “B”. After reaching the basement, they found the gray hallway curiously silent. People were moving about and all of them were dressed in white.

“May I help you,” one said. Jojo’s mouth opened but nothing came out.

“Um we’re new for the kitchen,” Cree piped up with a shameless lie. The white coat looked at them both before speaking hesitantly.

“Suzette and Ricardo?” he asked uncertainly. Cree looked at Jojo questioningly.

“That works for me,” she replied sweetly. The white coat clapped his hands excitedly.

“Well right this way! Let me take you to your kitchen!” he glowed.

Five minutes later Cree and Jojo were outfitted into two chef suits, with the logo “America’s Top Iron Chefs” emblazoned on their aprons. Their stations were state of the art, and personally marked “Suzette” and “Ricardo”. The happy little white coat fussed over them a few more minutes and left them alone to familiarize themselves with their kitchens.

“Check it out!” Cree said in awe.

“Check it --! WHAT did you just get us into?!” he said with a crazy look in his eye. “We are NOT Suzette and Ricardo and anybody who watches the Food Network is gonna figure it out in about TWO SECONDS!!”

Cree didn’t have a chance to reply. The white coat returned. “Ahh, there you are! The head chef has requested your presence.”

“Suzette,” Jojo glowered warningly, his hand gripping the counter in a death grip.

“Oh Ricky,” Cree pish-poshed. “There will be plenty of time to make those tortillas…”

“Oh you won’t have time tonight,” the white coat dismissed with a wave of his hand as they followed him out. “You’re being show cased tonight in the main dining room. Right up your alley, eh?”

Cree’s smile froze. “Main dining room?”

“You must be so proud of your success!” the white coat beamed.

Cree looked at Jojo. His eyes were blazing…

[Belle]

Lil jumped from the window ledge of the bus and landed on Henry’s shoulder.
Henry jumped, startled, “Whoa! Lil, you scared the cr…” Lil glared at him. “Ya scared me to death!” Henry corrected himself. “What’re ya’all doing here? I thought you two were gonna take off on your own?”

“We were, we are,” Lil answered, “but Miko said we could cover more distance and save time if we used the bus to take us to our destination.”

“Well, he’s right” Henry shrugged. “Where do you want to go?”

“Some place verrry romantic” Lil clasped her paws together and had a dreamy look on her face. “Somewhere called New Mouse-ico? New Mexican?”

Henry laughed. “New Mexico?”

“Yes! That’s it!” Lil beamed.

H said, “Well, you’re in luck. That’s our next stop.”

~~~~~~~
“You must be so proud of your success!” the white coat beamed.

Cree looked at Jojo. His eyes were blazing…

~~~~~~~

Lil sighed, contentment showing clearly on her face. Soft feathers and foam made up the large matchbox bed she now lay on while a piece of velvet covered her and Miko. They found the ultimate vacation spot at the Sandia Resort and Casino, complete with air conditioning.

“This is heaven! No bus, no humans…”

“And no little Teo,” Miko grinned. “Don’t get me wrong, I love him to pieces, but the older he gets, the more of a handful he becomes.”

“I know, sweetheart. He’s just like his dad. Too curious.”

“Just like…” Miko turned to complain, but she touched his nose with her own, stopping that argument. He started to snuggle under the covers when a commotion outside of their hotel ‘room’ made him sit up straight.

“What’s that?” He leapt from the bed and hurried to look out. Taking two steps backward, he held one paw over his chest.

“Miko? What is it?” Alarmed, Lil scrambled to reach him, her pink bow sitting at an odd angle.

He pointed out, his whiskers trembling.

It took a minute for the scene to register. Red and blue lights streaked through the dark night. Several people scurried in the resort parking lot, most of them wearing police uniforms. But, one unlucky person walked, head down, in handcuffs as they bawled loudly.

“That… that’s…CREE!” Lil almost fell over in her astonishment. “I thought she was at the Bistro.”

Miko’s face scrunched into furious worry, while he added in a throaty whisper, “Where there’s Cree AND the police, there’s…”

“My baby!” Lil ran to the door, Miko right behind her.

[Belle]

“My baby!” Lil ran to the door, Miko right behind her.

~~~~~~~~~

The two panicked mice ran as fast as they could down the sidewalk and across the parking lot toward the blubbering Cree. Before they reached her, Jojo stood in front of one policeman, one hand on his shoulder, talking as fast as he could. Ringo stood beside Cree, patting her back, trying to get her to quit crying. By the time Miko and Lil made it to the small party, a cop had unhandcuffed Cree and Ringo was leading her back to the casino.

“Good talking, Jojo,” Henry clapped his brother on the shoulder. “What you say to the cop?”

Before the two mice could hear the answer, the brothers walked away, too fast for them to keep up. By the time Miko and Lil made it to the Casino entrance, they couldn’t find any of the Garzas or Cree.

“What should we do?” Lil threw frantic looks at her husband, her little chest heaving while she tried to catch her breath.

“I’m not sure. Oh!” He grabbed Lil’s right front paw and pulled her under a blackjack table, just before a pair of stiletto heels almost shish-ka-bobbed her. “Whew! That was close.”

Lil gulped, scowled at the retreating woman, then asked, “Did you hear what the Boys were saying? Did they mention Teo at all?”

“I’m sorry, sweetie, but I didn’t hear anything about Teo.”

“Me, either.” Her ears drooped and a tear threatened to spill down her soft gray cheek. Three people sat down at the blackjack table: from the mice’s perspective, a stinky pair of sneakers, black high heels and scuffed cowboy boots. The boots refused to be still as they stomped and stamped, anxious over the hand they were dealt.

“We can’t stay here!” Miko ducked to the left of the right boot when it moved yet again. “Come on.”

They threaded their way through bar stools, shoes, purses and spilt drinks, not having any direction in mind. Passing a nickel slot machine, they had to run for their lives when the machine hit the jackpot and the winner jumped to his feet, dancing and hopping all around them.


http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn290/texasbelle_02/Portal2.jpg


Escaping that near-disaster, and hoping to hear or see the Boys or Cree, they continued their journey until they found themselves in the doorway of another large room. Three TV cameras lined the front of a stage while the rest of the auditorium filled with people sitting in chairs. Curious, Lil and Miko slunk along one wall to the stage and scrambled up the steps.

“Hey, it’s a kitchen!” Her eyes grew wide in surprise. “What’s a kitchen doing in a casino? And why the TV cameras?”

“I have no idea. Humans can be a bit…odd.”

“Ain’t that the truth!” Lil scurried around the kitchen worktable sitting in the middle of the stage and began snooping around. At the smell of cheese, she announced, “I’m hungry. I wonder what all they’ve got back here.”

Before she could begin a thorough investigation, the stage lights blared on, blinding the mice. Startled, Miko and Lil jumped onto a low shelf under the table and sat as still as their pounding hearts would let them.

A loud voice boomed from the ceiling, “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Sandia Resort and Casino’s first live televised cooking show. We are proud to present the world renowned chef, Messieur Snodgrasse, and his two famous guests, Suzette and Ricardo.”

Applause swelled through the audience as three people walked onto the stage. Someone stopped directly in front of Lil and her curiosity got the better of her. Stretching her neck faarrr out, she looked up — directly into Jojo’s wide, horrified eyes staring down at her.









.

[mamacitaRuth]

OMG! ROTFLMAO!!!! hahahahaha....this is getting good! :D

[cre8ivepoet]

OMG! ROTFLMAO!!!! hahahahaha....this is getting good! :D

I feel a HUGE disaster coming on....M&L style! :p

[Mel]

meanwhile ......


Ish was trying to recover from his little adventure ONCE AGAIN with Teo. Kevin had spoken strong words and if anything Ish had learned from his years
with the band, if Kevin decided something, it was no joke!
"Cree and the mouse gotta go", phew, what was that suppose to mean? Forever? Or just now? Has Kevin finally had enough of Cree (well, Ish could sympathize a little with Kevin thinking about mad Cree!) and Teo?

Helplessly he looked to Henry, Jojo and Ringo, who stood there watching Kevin walk away. Teo was still sitting inside the cart, but had decided to dive into the "dirty table cloth part", as he could smell some bread crumbs and cheese bits in there. He came out, his hair a complete mess, looking around quite innocent, chewing away happily on a crumb. He looked back and forth with his little black eyes between the 4 men, not really knowing what was going on.

"You all look a bit startled. Is there anything wrong?"

"Ehm, no, no, little Teo, everything in best order", Henry replied giving Ringo, Jojo and Ish a warning look.

"Why did Kevin leave so fast, I thought I heard him talk about Cree and me ......? Oh, where is Cree anyhow, is she with the police?? She was arrested from the room, that is why I was left alone! You have to go and find her, the 2 grim looking guys looked quite serious and they said something about credit cards ......! Did we do anything wrong?"

"Anything??", Jojo was fuming, but did not really want to show Teo his anger. He was more mad at Cree because she was not "on duty! "How did the two of you get here anyhow?? You where supposed to stay with Belle at the Bistro. We don't even know where your Mum and Dad are, they found a place for there holiday around here somewhere, but we have no idea, where that could be ....!"

"Well, hmmm, it's really a secret about how we got here ....., I am not supposed to tell I think......."!

4 pair of eyes closed down on him: "Talk!", the 4 of them said at the same time.

"PPPppppp....., pppppp........., , ppppoo ooo rrrtaaaa llll", Teo whispered stuttering upset. Dang, he knew he should not tell, man, they should no even have went through the crazy portal. But he was with Cree, right! She is human, so she knows what is right or not......

"What?"

"Portal"! Teo replied in a stronger voice. "Whatever you say, it was Cree's idea!"
*********************


Mel
:)

[cre8ivepoet]

Applause swelled through the audience as three people walked onto the stage. Someone stopped directly in front of Lil and her curiosity got the better of her. Stretching her neck faarrr out, she looked up — directly into Jojo’s wide, horrified eyes staring down at her.

*******************

Jojo's heart was pounding...until his eyes collided with Lil's. His nervousness turned to sheer panic. To his relief, he found that he and Cree looked remarkably similar to the famous duo, so most comments only deferred to a slight difference in skin tone than the TV portrayed. Which left him to wonder....where were Suzette and Ricardo?

"Please help!" Jojo pleaded.

"Where's my baby?!" Lil hissed. "What has Cree done with him now?"

"Uh -uh - well we're trying to find him!" Jojo said.

"Well guess what? YOU are on your own. Mouse pandemonium won't save you tonight!" Lil warned. "And we're gonna watch the whole darn thing!"

"Thank you everyone!" Messier Snodgrasse said. "All this week we will be live on local television with numerous chefs that will be sure to add a palette of flavors to your summer evenings. Tonight we bring to you the most recent winners of America's Iron Chef, Suzette and Ricardo!"

"But tonight folks," Snodgrasse continued, "one of my assistant chefs let out a little secret." He paused for affect. "Ricardo is fond of tortillas."

Jojo's eyes jumped to Cree with a nervous smile. Cree was still speechless and had said nothing since the dining room announcement. Jojo kicked her shin to shake her out of it.

"Ow!" she hollered right into her mic. Snodgrasse looked at her.

"My dear is everything well?" he laughed. The crowd laughed with him. Cree suddenly woke up from her stupor. She gave a narrowed look only Jojo would understand: Revenge.

"I think Ricardo here has big feet," she said.

"They go well with your big mouth," Jojo shot back, still enraged that she put them here.

"The other secret my assistant let out, is this pair has a touch of spice all their own," Snodgrasse wiggled his brows for emphasis. The audience laughed. "So tonight, we make tortillas!"

Jojo breathed a sigh of relief. At least he knew tortillas!! Snodgrasse directed them to a table to prepare the flour tortillas. Jojo's lip curled when he saw the ingredients.

"What's this?" he snarled without thinking.

"What do you mean? It's for the tortilla rounds," Snodgrasse said with a tight smile.

"For who? The stick family?" Jojo asked.

Cree sucked in her breath. "Be quiet!" she whisper shouted.

"Excuse me?" Snodgrasse said in her direction.

"Uh, I thought I saw Quiet Riot," she said aloud. Cree suddenly had an idea. "Messier Snodgrasse, why don't you take a break tonight and let Ricky and I make tortillas. Ricky taught me how, ya know. He can tell you my tortillas have a most...unusual style."

Cree winked right into the camera. Snodgrasse studied Cree for a moment and then he shrugged. "Okay." He smiled into the camera. "You'll see Ricardo and Suzette make tortillas right after this break."

The cameras cut to commercials and Jojo glared at Cree.

"Heart-shaped tortillas?!" Jojo said as soon as Snodgrasse was out of earshot. "No way...!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ish scampered to the front back of the bus to watch TV while Henry, Ringo, and Kevin grilled Teo. He reclined in his chair and flipped on the tube and surfed through the local channels until he spotted his favorite Iron Chefs...a picture of Suzette and Ricardo flashed on the screen stating they were live at the Sandia Casino.

He waited patiently until the show came back on. What could he surprise his wife with when he got back from this tour? The head chef talked about making tortillas and Ish wrinkled his nose. He already knew how to make those! He raised the remote to change channels when two very familiar faces caught his attention.

Henry, Ringo and Kevin heard a big crash and jumped up to look behind them to find Ish toe up in the chair on the floor.

"Ish!" Henry yelled. He ran to Ish, Kevin and Ringo on his heels. He knelt down. "Ish! Are you okay?"

Ish moaned after a few seconds and opened his eyes and tried to focus on Henry.

"He's okay," Ringo said, "but they're not."

Henry looked up at the TV where Ringo was pointing. His eyes popped out of their sockets. Teo came up from behind and sat on Henry's shoulder.

"Whoa! Cree is so cool!" Teo gushed with awe, his little eyes shining with adoration. "How'd she get her and Uncle Jojo on TV?"

:D

[LLBgal]

Hey y'all I'm a little confused about where exactly Jojo is. lol...one minute he is cooking with Cree, and the next he is with Henry and Ringo. I got lost somwheres...help! :confused:

[Belle]

Paula - that bit with H and Ringo was a small flashback. Jojo is now on stage and on TV with Cree and two (mad) mice. He's supposed to be showing the audience how to make tortillas. :p

[Mel]

Oh dear, I guess we are all stuck?

Maybe it's my fault with my latest "meanwhile" story..., I just wanted to continue when Ish found Teo, because I thought it was so funny with the cart .......... :o :confused:

Anyhow, to end the confusion I guess we should summarise:

- Belle is in the bistro going mad, because she noticed Cree and Teo have went through the portal
- Jojo and Cree are "Suzette and Ricardo" on a TV cooking show - by mistake I don't really need to add! :D
- The rest of the band is watching TV on the tourbus and can't believe Jojo and Cree are on a TV show
- Lil' and Miko are worried about Teo, because they spotted Cree in the show



Hmm, hope this clears it a little bit ...... :confused:

Mel :)

[banderchick02]

"He's okay," Ringo said, "but they're not."

Henry looked up at the TV where Ringo was pointing. His eyes popped out of their sockets. Teo came up from behind and sat on Henry's shoulder.

"Whoa! Cree is so cool!" Teo gushed with awe, his little eyes shining with adoration. "How'd she get her and Uncle Jojo on TV?"

"Yeeeaaahhh, cool is not exactly the word I would use," Kevin seethed.

"More like dead," Ringo said with a light chuckle.

"You might need to hold me back when I finally see her," Kevin said as he grabbed his Tums from his shirt pocket and shuffled off to the nearest seat.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



"Oh c'mon, it'll be fun Ricky," said Cree.

"Suuuuure," came Jojo's reply. "Heart shaped tortillas are just wrong!"

"Well, it's either make the tortillas, or walk off and blow our cover."

"Fine," Jojo said. "But you owe me one, big time."

Cree just winked at him.

Jojo just shook his fist in return.

"Welcome back ladies and gentlemen," Snodgrasse suddenly boomed. "As I mentioned before the break, Ricardo and Suzette are going to be showing us how to make their world famous tortillas! I'll let them have the floor."



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Henry, Ringo, and Ish were too curious to turn the TV off, almost afraid of what would happen. As the camera panned to Jojo and Cree, they saw Jojo looking down, almost like he was looking at something under the table.

"Oh no," Ish groaned.

"What?" Henry asked.

"Did you see what Jojo was doing? Looking down like that?"

"Yeah, so? Maybe he was just checking out the ingredients," Ringo offered.

"Are you kidding?" said Ish. "How much you wanna bet that Miko and Lil are hiding up on that stage?"

"Good point, man," said Henry. "It should at least be entertaining."

"Yeah, it should," said Ringo as he gave his brother a high five. Ish just rolled his eyes. They all turned their attention back to the TV.

"So, uh...today we're making tortillas," Jojo said cautiously, shooting a look at Cree.

"Yes we are. And, in fun heart shapes," Cree said with a big smile.

As she was talking, Cree grabbed the bowl of flour, and started walking over towards Jojo's table, where the rest of the ingredients were. She was about 10 steps from the table, when she suddenly tripped, flour flying everywhere and covering both Jojo and herself.

"I knew this was not gonna go well," Ish groaned.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



(a few minutes earlier)

Miko and Lil sat under Jojo's table. "I'm so upset," Lil said to Miko. "We should just leave. I need to find my baby. And I can't just sit here, knowing he's somewhere out in that big casino."

"Honey, calm down," Miko said, trying to ease her fears. "I'm sure he's safe. And besides, we can't just walk out of here. They're filming."

"He's not safe. He was with Cree, and she's standing right up there..."

"What are you two doing?" Jojo hissed. "Keep it down! They just went back on air."

Lil was about to argue, but Jojo suddenly snapped his head up and started talking about making tortillas.

"That's it. I'm leaving," Lil huffed.

"Wait, no..." Miko started to protest. But it was too late. Lil was already running towards the back of the stage. He slapped his forehead in frustration, let out a big sigh, and started after her.

He had only taken a few steps, when he saw a big shadow come over him. Oh no, he thought. All of a sudden, he saw Cree falling towards the ground, and a big white cloud forming. Panicked, he ran towards the back of the stage where he had seen Lil run. As he made his way, he could hear the pandamonium going on behind him.

[banderchick02]

Bump. Where's the rest of our authors? ;)

[Mel]

Meanwhile back in the Bistro:

Belle was still fuming! She paced the room and from time to time one could here her mumble, shaking her fist in the air, as if she was protesting against something. One could tell, she was really mad!

"How dear Cree can do this to me! I can't believe she is jeopardizing my friendship with Miko & Lil, and with the boys, for all I can tell!
How come, she never learns? She is like a little spoilt child when it comes to these things ....., acting in complete innocence, with no thinking what so ever! I can't deal with this anymore, I just can't. I'll end up in a heart attack soon, if she keeps going like this. No, not with me! I'll put a stop to it right away!"

Belle marched into the corner of the Bistro and faced the entry of The Portal. She needed to focus on the boys, because that is where everything was happening. But she was really not keen on facing Kevin at all ....., she was hesitating. "Hmm, I better take some Tums with me.....," she thought. Poor Kevin, he was so often close to sending Miko & Lil away, because he just could not stand the ongoing pressure of watching over them all the time and all the dangerous adventures they brought with them. But then, he is a soft hearted, kind man, and in the end, he never had the heart to do so.

Belle made a big sigh! She went back to the Bistro and grabed a pack of Tums, just in case. Then she made her way back to The Portal. She entered it.



************************************************** ********

Jojo turned around to face the crowd, just to make sure, that they were not running in his and Cree's direction, as he wanted to make sure, they would not run over her! When he turned around again, to get to Cree and to to check if she was okay, he could not believe his eyes......! He breathed in heavily and rubbed his eyes, just to look again.
There, next to Cree, who was lying flat out on the floor, covered in flour, and slowly gaining conciousness again, sat Belle, looking a little bit confused, as if she tried to orientate herself. Belle blincked a view times and then spotted Cree on the floor, not even noticing Jojo.

"There you are," she screamed at the top of her voice. She grabbed Cree's shoulders, when mentioned tried to sit up. Belle was shaking Cree so hard, that Jojo was worried, that she might faint again. Cree rolled her eyes from left to right and from right to left and stared at Belle, not really seeing anything it seemed.
"Cree, you stupid, stupid woman. You did it again, didn't you! How could you get Teo in danger?? Why is it always the same with you woman?!" Belle scooped a handful of flour from the floor next to Cree and tossed it right onto Cree's head, into her hair! Cree, who was already covered in flour all over her clothes and in her face, now looked like a living advertisement for a bakery shop! Belle was ready to keep this game going, not stopping to scream and shout at Cree.

"Belle! Belle!" Jojo stepped towards the two of them and tried to get Belle's attention. This was not so easy, as she was really in a rage by now and Cree sat there like a puppet, not
showing any kind of reaction so far......

"Belle, hey Belle!
She turned to Jojo and just gave him the look as if to say "Don't interfere, if you do, I warned you!"
Belle was also covered in flour by this time, as every time she scooped some more into her hands, she dropped half of it onto her trousers and arms.
The picture Jojo was facing with this was like being in the wrong movie! He could not believe this and it was so funny in a way, but also he knew he had to stop this. So he pulled Belle's arm and with his strength, he was able to pull her away from Cree.

"Belle, would you please stop! Cree was just knocked out and fell to the floor before you came. She was unconcious and just woke up when you started to attack her! This is not really nice, what you are doing. What has gotten into you? And where did you all of a sudden come from? Did Henry invite you?"

She was staring at Jojo, lip reading more than listening to actual words arriving in her ears .....

While they both stood there, trying to find a way to communicate without any flour involved (at least that was Jojo's fear), they heard a loud screaming from Cree. Both their heads swung around to look, what happened. They saw a mouse tail jumping up and down on Cree's shoulder, and in between the jumps, they noticed a pink ribbon between Cree's hair. Jojo and Belle stepped closer to watch, when Cree screamed again. Jojo brushed back some of Cree's hair and in sight came little Lil, biting with all her strength into Cree's ear ............


Mel
:)

[Belle]

Poor Cree is really getting clobbered, huh?

I read this out loud to my DH and we're both cracking up over here! You are too funny, Mel!

[banderchick02]

Mel, that is too funny! :p Poor Cree!

[cre8ivepoet]

:eek: Hey I'm sending an SOS out to Kevin and Henry....HeeeEEEELLLLPPP! :D

[cre8ivepoet]

While they both stood there, trying to find a way to communicate without any flour involved (at least that was Jojo's fear), they heard a loud screaming from Cree. Both their heads swung around to look, what happened. They saw a mouse tail jumping up and down on Cree's shoulder, and in between the jumps, they noticed a pink ribbon between Cree's hair. Jojo and Belle stepped closer to watch, when Cree screamed again. Jojo brushed back some of Cree's hair and in sight came little Lil, biting with all her strength into Cree's ear ............
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ringo, Ish, Henry and Kevin stood stock still, only their eyes blinking. They watched the floury white cloud build and build...and then Jojo leaned down, except he almost fell on the floor with Cree and when he stood back up, he pulled up a stranger with him.

Ringo's mouth fell open. "Belle?!?"

"Whoa..." Ish breathed.

"Kev..." Henry began. He looked behind him but Kevin was already half way across the back lot headed toward the casino.

"Aww man!" Ringo whined.

Henry gave Ringo the arched brow. "Let's go mi hermano. Kevin will need all the help he can get."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kevin was moving like lightning through the crowd in the casino. He was barreling through when a commotion caught his attention. A hispanic looking couple stood waving their arms and talking belligerently to a shaking maitre'd. Kevin almost passed them by when he heard the young man declaring his identity.

"....am Ricardo from America's Iron Chef!" the man ended vehemently. Kevin's head snapped back around, his eyes big as golf balls.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We're right behind you Kev," Henry said into his phone over the din of slot machines and poker tables. Henry stopped dead in his tracks and Ringo crashed into him from behind.

"Ow!! Ringo hollered. "Watch it bro!"

"What?!" Henry barked into his cell phone. "Are you kidding me?" H' raked a hand down his face. "Okay - but only if I get dibs on Cree first after this!!"

"What? What?" Ringo demanded of his older brother. Ringo followed Henry helplessly as Henry took at sudden sharp right. Henry looked at Ringo and then nodded up ahead of them.

"The real Ricardo and Suzette have arrived," Henry gulped. "Kevin says we have to stall them as long as possible."

"Henry we only have 1 hour until show time," Ringo said with worry.

"What are we gonna do?" Henry groaned.

"I'll tell ya what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna kill me a 'Cree', that's what I'm gonna do," Ringo announced with fire in his eyes.

"Get in line," Henry replied with a grim face.

"I'll take care of this," Ringo said. "Follow me."

Ringo straightened his shoulders and approached the screaming duo with purpose. "Excuse me, Senor Ricardo and Senorita Suzette."

"Yes?" Ricardo sneered.

"Chef Snodgrasse has sent me to rescue you," Ringo smiled. "If you will please come with me."

"Finally!" Ricardo bellowed with outraged relief. "Someone who knows what they are doing!"

"But - but -" the maitre'd insisted.

"I believe you have customers waiting," Henry pointed out to the maitre'd. H' fell into step behind Ringo and the Iron chefs, leaving the stunned servant with his mouth gaping open. Ringo and Henry sweated bullets once they got on the elevator to the basement, Ricard and Suzette still mumbling and grumbling about their earlier treatment.

When they reached the long gray hallway, Ringo saw their salvation when a white coat came out of a room with mop and broom. "This way," he commanded.

Ringo opened the door with flair and motioned Ricardo and Suzette through. They stepped in with no hesitation. Ringo quickly closed the door behind them...and promptly locked it. The Iron Chefs were hollering before they got ten feet away and Henry stalled looking back. Ringo narrowed his eyes at his older brother and pointed at him.

"This is no time for a good conscience! Let's go!"

"Wait!" Henry said. He made sure no one was witnessing their mission. He sneaked into an empty office and Ringo waited nervously. Henry came back out with a note scribbled on a piece of paper.

Ringo read it aloud: "Ricky, you should use queso blanco in your tortillas. They will taste better."

Henry slipped the note beneath the door of the maintenance closet and they trotted back to the elevator. They quietly watched the floor numbers change.

"Ricardo totally uses the wrong cheese in his tortillas," Henry said in the silence as they ascended.

Ringo nodded in agreement. "His tortillas suck..."

Henry sighed. "I feel better now that I got that off my chest."

:p

[cre8ivepoet]

bump.

this story has taken a serious slide.

[Belle]

Okay, Cree, you're spooking me now! :eek: I was JUST thinking about this thread today, and about how I should get back to it. It might help me undo some writer's block a certain young gentleman (Joaquin) is (and has been) giving me. :p :rolleyes:

[mamacitaRuth]

Henry slipped the note beneath the door of the maintenance closet and they trotted back to the elevator. They quietly watched the floor numbers change.

"Ricardo totally uses the wrong cheese in his tortillas," Henry said in the silence as they ascended.

Ringo nodded in agreement. "His tortillas suck..."

Henry sighed. "I feel better now that I got that off my chest."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry and Ringo got back up to the casino floor just in time to see Kevin dart through the auditorium doors where the cooking show was taking place. At a dead run, H and R reached Kev just as he was inside. “Kev, wait!” Henry shouted.

Kevin turned around and shushed him with a finger to his lips. He leaned in to Henry and Ringo and said, “Keep quiet. Look mean, and just follow my lead.” Henry looked at Ringo. “Oh, crap.” mumbled Ringo.

They both followed Kevin as he marched across the auditorium in front of the stunned audience, and directly to Chef Snodgrasse. Kevin flashed an “I.D.” at Snodgrasse, looked like his American Express card, and stated very forcefully, but in a hushed tone, “Sir, I’m Mr. Martin, head of hotel security. It appears your guest chefs were hijacked, and these people are imposters! We’re here to escort them off the premises. Your real guests are getting ready in your hotel kitchen, and are waiting for you there.”

Mr. Snodgrasse, looking stunned and bewildered, spoke to the audience into the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies to you, but due to technical difficulties, we are rescheduling this segment for…..” He paused at this point, scratched his head, and looked down at his watch, “…two o’clock tomorrow afternoon!”

Amidst the groans from the audience, Kevin walked behind the tables, helped Cree and Belle to their feet, not so gently. As the room started to clear, he motioned for Ringo and Henry to grab Jojo and take him out “by force”. The two brothers gleefully complied, and each one took one of Jojo’s arms.

As the entourage made their hasty exit from the auditorium before the real security employees showed up, Jojo kept trying to slow them down, but his feet were barely making contact with the floor. “Wait! Wait!” he pleaded. “We need to get Miko and Lil!”

Everyone stopped and turned around to look. Kevin was bringing up the end of the procession, with a firm grasp on Belle and Cree. Cree, looked sheepishly at all of the eyes staring back at her, and said, amidst winces of pain, “No worries.” She pushed back her hair from one ear to reveal Lil, still hanging on to Cree's earlobe by her little mouse teeth --- with Miko dangling from his wife’s feet, with a frightened look!

[mamacitaRuth]

She pushed back her hair from one ear to reveal Lil, still hanging on to Cree's earlobe by her little mouse teeth --- with Miko dangling from his wife’s feet, with a frightened look!

~~~~~~~

Ish was pacing on the bus, looking for his keys, and just about ready to go back to the casino and hunt for Kevin and the boys, when through the bus window, he caught a glimpse of a running blur of people headed his way toward the bus.

The bus shuddered as Henry and Ringo pushed Jojo ahead of them onto the bus, followed closely by Kevin. Ish was shocked to see Belle climb on next, then Cree. Kevin snapped a control and the bus door closed and locked. Next, he went around and started closing the window shades, with Ish’s help. Soon they were all standing in dusky early evening light. Kevin was huffing, trying to catch his breath, and peering from under one shade to see if they had been followed by hotel security. Jojo went over to Cree, and was trying to pry Lil’s death grip from Cree’s earlobe. When it was clear Lil was not cooperating, he narrowed his eyes at Lil and said, “Let go so we can find your son!” At that, she let go of Cree’s ear and he set both Miko and Lil down on the end table next to the couch.

When Kevin was satisfied no one was coming, he sat down on the long leather couch, and withdrew a roll of Tums from his pocket. He slowly peeled the roll while the roomful of cohorts and criminals silently watched. Suddenly, the small space erupted into multiple dialogues – Jojo yelling at Cree, Cree arguing with Lil, Miko trying to calm his wife, Henry and Ringo both at Belle, Belle trying to put her hands around Cree’s throat…After popping five or six antacids into his mouth, he looked up at the brothers, Ish, and the girls and said, “Okay. QUIET! THIS has to stop. Right here, right now!”

Belle could not look Kevin in the eye, but she knew from past experience with this man, this was definitely NOT a good sign. The room fell silent again. Kevin looked and pointed at Henry, Jojo, and Ringo in succession. “First, you, you and you go get dressed for the show. We have 40 minutes.” The boys left immediately for the back shower and dressing rooms. Belle thought this was a good time to make an exit and headed toward the door. Kevin yelled, “STOP! Sit down, Miss Belle.”

“Uh-oh.” Belle stopped in her tracks.

Lil was still red in the face and fumed at Cree, “Where is my son?!!”

Cree opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, Teo exclaimed from Ish’s pocket, “Here I am, mama!” Ish reunited the young mouse with his parents on the table, and Lil hugged her son so hard, his little ears were getting purple. The girls all uttered relief, and appropriate “aahs” at the little family reunion.

Kevin let out a long sigh. “Ah, isn’t that sweet?” he said sarcastically – but privately relieved that everyone was okay. Then his voice got stern again.

“WHY are you here?” he glared at Belle and Cree, “and more importantly, HOW did you get here?”

Both women started to explain at once. Kevin held up a hand. “Oh, NO!” He pointed at Cree. “You, be quiet!” Then, he looked at Belle. “YOU! Speak.”

Belle mustered her courage, and slowly words started to come out. “Well, y’see, Kevin, there’s this portal…in the Bistro…..”

Kevin's eyes grew wide and his face was pale. He put a hand to his forehead, as if to check his temperature and said, "Go on..."

[Belle]

Oh, man, Ruth...

This is good (but now I've got to jump in and straighten Kev out.) :p :D :rolleyes:

[Belle]

Belle mustered her courage, and slowly words started to come out. “Well, y’see, Kevin, there’s this portal…in the Bistro…..”

Kevin's eyes grew wide and his face was pale. He put a hand to his forehead, as if to check his temperature and said, "Go on..."

* * *

Before saying anything more, Belle pulled out of her shirt pocket the roll of Tums she’d brought with her and carefully tucked them into Kevin’s. “You might need these.” With a gentle pat on his chest, she backed up a few steps at the glare in Kevin’s eyes.

“You…uh…you ever watch the Twilight Zone, Kev?”

“Yeah, but what’s that got to do with…”

“We kinda have a situation…well not a situation, but a place…well, maybe not a place so much as a rip.” She stopped to take a deep breath.

“A rip?”

“Yep. A rip in the space-time continuum.”

“What the heck are you talking about?” He snapped around to glare at Cree, who looked down at the floor, leaving Belle to explain.

“It’s connected to the Garzas here.” The Bistro owner pointed toward the three wide-eyed brothers. “When I first opened the Bistro, I found it by accident. There’s a hole in one corner of the building that I usually keep covered with furniture so no one falls into it accidentally. Anyway, one evening about, oh, three plus years ago, the Boys were playing in Florida and I remember wishing I could go to that concert. I mean, they’d just won the Grammy and…”

“Belle!”

“Okay. Okay.” Sniffing once at his impatience, she continued. “Anyway, I was cleaning up the Cave and moved some junk out of the corner. Before I knew it, I’d fallen in the hole, or the portal, and wound up on the side of the stage in Florida. Don’t you remember, Ish? You looked like you’d seen a ghost when I suddenly appeared behind you without a stage pass or anything.”

Ish narrowed his eyes, his head slowly beginning to nod. “Yeah, I’d forgotten about that.”

“I watched the show, then jumped back in the portal and wound up at the Bistro again. A few weeks later, just to make sure I hadn’t dreamt the whole thing, I tried it again. Sure enough, I wound up at an outdoor concert you were giving in San Francisco.” Belle rubbed the top of her head. “Only this time, I hit my head on your amps when I came out.”

“Wait. Stop.” Kevin lowered himself into a chair while he searched Belle’s face for any signs of insanity. “You mean this portal just takes you anywhere the Boys are?”

“Yeah. Mostly.” Belle gestured toward Cree. “One time, we wound up at the chop shop and Cree couldn’t help but play with your car…Ouch!”

A quick kick from Cree silenced her friend.

Jojo spun around and landed nose-to-nose with Cree. “Is that what happened to my car? YOU?”

“Now, Jojo.” Cree backed up and held out both hands. “I didn’t hurt anything. I swear. Well, Jupiter might have shed on the backseat…oh, and I had Cheetos fingers, but other than that…”

“Hold me back, H!” Jojo leapt for Cree’s throat just as Henry leapt for Jojo, stopping the impending thumping.

“Wait a minute!” Kevin hollered. “We? How many know about this portal?”

“Well, let’s see.” When Belle held up her hand to start counting, Kevin groaned.

“That many? You need fingers to count because there are that many?”

In answer, Belle reached into Kevin’s top pocket and pulled out the new roll of Tums.

He snatched them out of her hands just as a knock sounded on the bus door.

Peering through the window, Ringo straightened up and faced them. “Dang! Hotel security!”





.

[mamacitaRuth]

Oh, OUCH, Belle!....LOL!!! I'm loving it.....Somehow I see a carpentry crew in our future....Maybe we can call Ty! :p :) :D :confused: :o

[mamacitaRuth]

In answer, Belle reached into Kevin’s top pocket and pulled out the new roll of Tums.

He snatched them out of her hands just as a knock sounded on the bus door.

Peering through the window, Ringo straightened up and faced them. “Dang! Hotel security!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin started toward the door, and turned around motioning for Henry to put the mice somewhere, and for everyone else to be quiet!

As he got closer, Ish suddenly put a hand to Kevin’s chest. “I got it, Boss.”
Kevin backed up a little, looking surprised, but stood on his spot and allowed Ish to go ahead.

Ish opened the door slightly to three suits, looking very haggard and none too happy.

“Yes?” said Ish. “Can I help you?”

“Sir, we’re with hotel security. We had somewhat of a…..” the man searched for the right word “….skirmish, let’s call it, in the hotel auditorium, and after talking to witnesses, we were informed that possibly some members of your band may have been involved or witnessed what happened. We’d like to talk to the Garzas if we could?”

“Well, I’m sorry gentlemen. Y’all’d have to wait quite a bit for them. They’re all just finishing up with their showers, and then we have a show to do.” At this, Ish was waving wildly behind his back for the boys to take their exit.

Henry saw him first, his eyes popping wide, spun around and pushed Jojo and Ringo – also wide-eyed – toward the back of the bus, where the boys had emerged just moments before Belle’s portal story fully dressed for the concert.

“That’s okay. We’re happy to wait, and we won’t take up much of their time,” the main guard pushed the door open past Ish, and stepped into the bus. The other two followed. One guy’s walkie-talkie squawked annoyingly. Ish shot a side glance at Kevin, at the same time shrugging his shoulders slightly, as if to say “sorry”.

Kevin stood up again, and extended his hand toward a guard. “Come on in, gentlemen. Have a seat. The Garza brothers are getting ready for their show. I don’t know when……..”

Just then, the door to the back opened, and out walked Henry in a white bathrobe and bare feet. Jojo followed, barefooted, also in a robe, with a towel to his dry head. Ringo came in last, white-robed and smiling. They each in turn greeted the suited security employees.

“What can we do for you, man?” Henry asked.

“Sir, we had an altercation in the hotel dining room during a televised segment. I won’t bore you with all the details, but it appears there were some people posing as celebrity chefs, and also some others that presented themselves to the television producer as members of our hotel security staff. Several of the witnesses we questioned stated that some of these people bore a striking resemblance to yourselves. We just wondered if you witnessed any of this, or if you can explain why they might say this?”

“No, man, that sounds kinda crazy! Sorry that happened in your hotel, but we’ve been in here all afternoon, except for soundcheck….” Henry looked over at Ish, “What time was that, bro’?”

“One o’clock, “ Ish offered.

Jojo spoke up, “Televised, huh? Did you happen to get any of this on video, maybe?” Jojo had his fingers crossed on both hands behind his back. Henry put one index finger directly below his chin – stared at his brother, disbelievingly – and made a small sawing motion, like ix-nay to the video-nay question! All three brothers shot glances at each other and then to Kevin, who looked as if he would pass out any second.

“Nah, actually, that’s pretty disappointing. Apparently, one of the main TV cables got disconnected during the program, and our hotel security cameras…well, they were trashed. They have like, flour or something, all over the lenses. We couldn’t make out much of anything.”

The whole room, sans the guards, let out a collective sigh. The suits looked around puzzled. Kevin stood up again and said, “Well, thanks for clearing that up. Let me see you out…”

One guard had been staring at Ringo the whole time. Finally, Ringo could take no more. “Bro’, do I know you from somewhere?” The guard shook his head. “Well, then, why don’t you buy a ticket to tonight’s show and you can stare at me for two whole hours!”

The guy pointed at Ringo’s feet. “I was just wondering who comes out of a shower with black socks on?” For a moment, the room went ghastly silent. Then……

“The floors are cold, man!”

“He’s a germophobic…”

“Socks go on first – everyone knows that!”

“It’s a ritual thing. We’re musicians. All musicians are superstitious…”

“Get out, please! The fans will be waiting!”

The guards exited, but left their business card with Kevin and asked him to call them if they remembered anything else. The door closed. They were finally gone.

Everyone looked at each other.

Kevin exhaled. “That was too close!”

[mamacitaRuth]

Okay, next. BTW, we need to get a Glenn character in this story somehow....the cute, cuddly, cantankerous road manager.... :D He wasn't around during the last series.....and neither was Ian or Oscar, come to think of it!?

[Belle]

Everyone looked at each other.

Kevin exhaled. “That was too close!”

* * *

Jabbing an index finger toward Cree and Belle, Kevin focused a piercing gaze. "You and you! Back to the portal ... or hole ... or rip ... or whatever the heck it is! Get back to Texas - NOW. And take him with you!" He gestured toward Teo.

"I'd love to," Belle stood up indignantly. "But I don't know where the entry is anymore."

"What?" Henry jerked his head around to stare at her.

"I came in on the kitchen stage, remember? I don't know if it's still there or not." Belle turned to look at Cree. "Where did you come in?"

"The parking lot, by the trash cans."

"Maybe it's still there," Ringo speculated.

"Perhaps. But, I doubt it." Belle sighed. "I mean, it moved from there to the stage, didn't it?"

"Does this mean we have to go back to the stage to look for it?" Teo jumped up from sitting between his parents. "Are they still doing the cooking show? Will I get to be on TV?"

Muttering could be heard from Jojo's direction, his hands on his hips, his fixed stare looking toward the ceiling.

"Here we go again," Ringo whispered.

[cre8ivepoet]

Aaaaahhhh! Mayhem in Lonelyville once again! You two were great!

[banderchick02]

I was actually thinking about this story the other day, too. Thanks for bringing it back. You guys are cracking me up over here! ;)

[mamacitaRuth]

"Does this mean we have to go back to the stage to look for it?" Teo jumped up from sitting between his parents. "Are they still doing the cooking show? Will I get to be on TV?"

Muttering could be heard from Jojo's direction, his hands on his hips, his fixed stare looking toward the ceiling.

"Here we go again," Ringo whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Fine!” Kevin sounding exasperated, pointed at Ish. “Call Glenn. Have him book them both on the first flight back to Texas. “ Ish nodded and took out his cell phone.

“Wait!” Cree interjected, “No one’s ever not gone back through the portal before, have they?” She looked at Belle.

Belle nodded. “That’s right. We don’t know if it can be done – sending someone back via normal transportation?”

Ringo nodded excitedly, “Yeah, man! It could put a serious tear in the spiraling vortex! Their cell structure might be imploded! Or the space-time continuum might be messed up permanently.” Suddenly, Ringo became aware everyone was staring at him. “What??"

Henry shook his head. “Too many Star Trek reruns.”

Jojo was straightening his look in a mirror. “Well, the universe’s problems are going to have to wait. We have a show to do, and we’re late!” He turned around and looked at the girls, “And, no, you can’t come! You two are going to stay here in the bus and watch Miko, Lil, and Teo. And Ish is going to lock the bus as we leave, taking the keys with him. Maybe that way, y’all can stay out of trouble for a little while. Ya think you can do that?”

“Ahhhh, Jojo!” Cree protested, “you know I’m claustrophobic! and making us miss your show, too?! Dang! It’s just not fair…..” She crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip in a pout.

“Too bad!” Jojo was on his way down the steps.

“Actually, it’s okay,” Kevin was yawning and opening his laptop. “I think I’ll stay here with them. I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on and calls to make,” Kevin looked at both girls, “that is, if they can behave themselves…?”

Both women nodded. Belle made a zipper motion across her mouth, and Cree just glared.

Henry, Ringo and Ish followed Jojo. Kevin grabbed Ish’s arm as he passed. “Call me from backstage if you need anything.”

Ish turned around and looked at the girls and the mice. Waving his hand, he said, “You too!”

[banderchick02]

Both women nodded. Belle made a zipper motion across her mouth, and Cree just glared.

Henry, Ringo and Ish followed Jojo. Kevin grabbed Ish’s arm as he passed. “Call me from backstage if you need anything.”

Ish turned around and looked at the girls and the mice. Waving his hand, he said, “You too!”

As Cree heard the clang of the bus door closing, she stomped off to the back of the bus. "This is so unfair," she muttered under her breath.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


As the bus door closed, Belle thought she heard a soft clinking sound. That's odd, she thought to herself. She looked up and saw Cree head towards the back of the bus, with three little mice in tow. And Kevin was yawning and rubbing his eyes, his attention on his computer. Belle quietly inched her way towards the front door, trying her best not to distract Kevin. Her eyes grew big as something on the bottom step caught her attention. She quietly picked it up, and slowly made her way back into the bus. She saw a newspaper on the couch across from Kevin, so she sat down, picked it up, and started reading. She kept peering over the top, hoping Kevin would fall asleep soon. She couldn't wait to show Cree what she had found! Finally, after about 20 minutes, she heard a faint snoring coming from across aisle.

Belle slowly got up, and tip toed to the back of the bus. As she neared the couches in the back, she saw Cree sulking, arms crossed, staring out the window.

"Hey Cree, I got something to show you," Belle whispered.

Cree let out a heavy sigh. "Go away. It's your fault we're here anyways. You didn't want Teo and me at the Bistro. And now we're stuck here on the bus, missing the show."

Teo squeaked in agreement.

"Well, I think I may have found a way to get us out of here," replied Belle.

"And just how are you gonna do that? Did you find the portal in the shower?" Cree said sarcastically.

"No," said Belle as she jingled what she had in her hand.

As soon as Cree heard that sound, she slowly turned her head to face Belle. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked excitedly.

"Yup. Ish must have dropped his keys on the way out."

Cree's smile suddenly started to fade. "Whole lotta good that does us now. Kevin's out there guarding us. Ya got a plan to sweet talk him into just letting walk off the bus?"

"He's out there sawing logs."

The smile crept back onto Cree's face. "Let's go."

"What about us?" Miko piped up.

Belle just groaned. She had forgotten about the mice for a moment. "Well, we can't just leave you guys here. But you have to promise to be good. Lil and Teo, you come with me," Belle said as she shot Cree a threatening glance. "And Miko, you go with Cree. You stay in our pockets, and not even so much as a squeak out of you. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," Miko said. Teo just nodded eagerly.

I wonder how long that's gonna last, Belle thought to herself.

Belle and Cree tried their best to sneak quietly out of the bus without waking Kevin. As they finally reached the parking lot, they could hear the beginning of Heart Won't Tell a Lie floating faintly on the breeze.

"Sweet! We didn't miss any of the show!" Cree exclaimed as she started to run towards the casino.

"Just one second missy!" said Belle. "Where do you think you're going? You've already caused enough trouble today. You're sticking with me."

"Fine," she sighed.

They made their way towards the back door of the casino, where the stage was. "Oooh, that's pretty," said Teo as he pointed up at the brilliant oranges and purples in the evening sky.

It was total darkness when they entered through the door. But there was just enough light coming from the stage that they could make their way to the backstage area. They heard the crowd cheering and shouting as the Boys launched into their next song.

"Oye Mamacita! I love this song!" Cree said as she did a little dance.

"Shhhh!" hissed Belle. "We can't let anyone see us!"

Cree just rolled her eyes and kept dancing.

They were enjoying the concert. Jojo was heading into his "onda spin." Just as Belle was thinking how good the mice were being, and how lucky they were that they hadn't been caught yet, she ended up catching Ringo's eye. A curious look came across his face, and he turned his head and motioned to Ish on the other side of the stage. "Oh crap!" she whispered as she grabbed Cree's arm.

"Wha-aaat?" Cree whined.

"I think we've just been spotted."

"Oh crap!" Cree echoed as she saw Ish look at them, and head towards the back of the stage to get around to the other side.

"We gotta go!" Belle exclaimed.

Cree and Belle made sure they had the mice, and took off. Because of the darkness, they didn't see Henry's guitar case. The next thing they knew they were falling.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Ish was in a full run. By this point he was fuming. How on earth did they get out of the bus? he wondered. Just as he rounded the corner, he heard a crash. Oh great, he thought. Luckilly the crowd was cheering yet again, so no one else heard the crash. As he came upon Henry's guitar case, something shiny caught his eye. He stooped down to pck it up. "My keys! That explains how they got off the bus!" he said out loud. He ran down the stairs and towards the back door of the casino. As he was running down the hallway, he passed a security guard strolling around.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he asked.

"I'm chasing those two girls that just went by!" Ish said.

"What girls?" the guard asked. "I've been here at least half an hour, and not a single person has gone by. You sure you're okay, brother?"

Ish just groaned as he raked his fingers through his hair.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Oof!"

"Get off my leg!"

"I'm not even touching you!"

"Hurry up, Ish is gonna catch us!" Belle said as she stood up.

"I don't remember the backstage area being this dark," Cree said as she made her way to her feet.

"Whatever, let's go," Belle said, sounding a little panicked.

She started to run in the direction they had been going, but almost immediately stumbled into something big and soft. "What the...?"

Cree's eyes were finally adjusting to the darkness. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore..." she said, her voice trailing off.

"Huh?" Belle said as she picked herself up, yet again.

Cree got up, walked to the nearest wall, and hit the light switch.

As Belle looked around, she realized they were back in the Bistro.

Before they had a chance to make any sense of the situation, they heard a knocking sound.

"Is that the front door?" Belle asked.

Cree just shrugged her shoulders.

"Here. You take the mice. I'll be right back," Belle instructed Cree.

As she opened the front door, her stomach dropped. Standing at the door were a couple of men with cameras.

"What's going on? I didn't think the suits, uh, I mean, the executives were supposed to be here till tomorrow."

"Relax, lady," one of the guys said. "The big guns at the network wanted us to get here early and scope out the place, find just the right spot for the suits to set up." He was clearly not happy.

"Were you sleeping or something?" another guy asked. "We been here for at least 10 minutes. The network guys said you were here, said they talked to you this afternoon."

"Uhhh..." Belle stammered, trying to stall as she racked her brain to come up with an explaination.

[cre8ivepoet]

omg... :D i love it.

[mamacitaRuth]

BBBeeeeelllllllllleeeeeeee!!!! :eek: :confused: :) :D Great job, Steph, except I would move YOUR first line of your chapter below the divider (~~~). This is sailing along now..... :p

[banderchick02]

Hehe. Thanks. I'm anxious to see how the next author is gonna get Belle out of this pickle. :p

[Belle]

"Were you sleeping or something?" another guy asked. "We been here for at least 10 minutes. The network guys said you were here, said they talked to you this afternoon."

"Uhhh..." Belle stammered, trying to stall as she racked her brain to come up with an explanation.


* * *

"Come on in." She held the door opened wider and stepped back for the men and their equipment. To change the subject, she asked, "You hungry? I can make some sandwiches and coffee."

"Yeah, I can always eat," the cameraman grinned.

"Oh, this is Cree, by the way." Belle gestured to her friend, who was busy smoothing down her hair in the presence of the handsome man.

"Cree, nice to meet you. I'm Luke and that's Julio." The burly man set the equipment next to the door and turned around. "So, what do you think their chances are for the Grammy?"

"Huh?" Belle stopped halfway to the kitchen.

"You know. The Grammy nomination for 'Heaven'. That's why we're here."

"Grammy nom...?" The words dissolved in Belle's mouth.

"Heaven?" Cree twisted around to look at Belle, fear and disbelief showing clearly in her eyes.

"Excuse us." Grabbing Cree's elbow, Belle pushed her into the kitchen. Without waiting to turn on the light, she leaned in and hissed, "What year is this, anyway?"

Her only response came in a wide-eyed shake of Cree's head.





[bwahahaha]

[mamacitaRuth]

OH, you are EVIL!!! ...and cell phones won't connect from 2005 to 2009! (they can't call the Boys and tell them they're alright! :eek: )

[mamacitaRuth]

"Heaven?" Cree twisted around to look at Belle, fear and disbelief showing clearly in her eyes.

"Excuse us." Grabbing Cree's elbow, Belle pushed her into the kitchen. Without waiting to turn on the light, she leaned in and hissed, "What year is this, anyway?"

Her only response came in a wide-eyed shake of Cree's head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belle turned on the light and opened the refrigerator, pulling out fixins for sandwiches. Cree could see that her hands were shaking.

“What are we gonna do?” Cree whispered.

“I don’t know, but right now, we have to make everything seem like normal. The last thing we need is to have this somehow mess up the Boys’ chances at the Grammy,” Belle had beads of sweat on her brow. She stopped fussing with the sandwiches and stared into the distance, putting her hand to her forehead. “My gosh….so much has happened since then.”

“I know! I’ll call time and temperature! They always give the year, too.” Cree reached for the phone. Her other hand brushed against her pocket, and both women heard a very distinct SQUEEK. Belle walked over to Cree, and slowly Cree pulled open her pocket. Both women’s eyes went wide at what they saw.

“Is that Lil?” Belle asked.

“She’s so small, and why isn’t she talking? Lil? She’s just shaking, like she’s afraid of us or somethin’” Cree looked at Belle. Both women’s eyes went wider.

“Oh, my…..” Belle got white as a ghost, and sat down at the counter. “If this is four years ago, then she would be smaller because she’d be younger…and she wouldn’t know ‘human’ yet. She hadn’t met Miko….MIKO! Where’s Miko?!”

“I thought you had him?!”

“NO! You were supposed to have him!”

“Oh, man! I bet he fell out of my pocket when we fell!”

Belle put her head on the counter and closed her eyes. “Breathe….breathe…”, she chanted to herself.

Cree almost shouted, and Belle shushed her. “That doesn’t make any sense! Why didn’t they return through the portal in the same time slot with us?”

“I don’t know, Cree! This ain’t no sit-com!” Though it feels like it, sometimes, Belle thought to herself.

Cree spun around in a circle, as if she was frantically searching for something. “Where’s Teo?! I swear, Belle, you handed me both of them! I think you handed me both of them, didn’t you!?”

Belle’s eyes went wide. “If this is four years ago, Teo wouldn’t be born yet!”

The room became very silent, except for squeeking coming from Cree’s pocket and the sound of Cree’s sobbing.

“Now, stop that! We don’t have time to get emotional.” Belle could see her friend was seriously upset over this news. She walked over to her and put her arm around Cree.

“But I really liked that little guy…” Cree sniffed.

“No 'past tense' business! We’re going to figure this out….somehow.” Belle tried hard to believe her own words.

[banderchick02]

Oh man. It sure is getting interesting in here. ;)

[Belle]

“Now, stop that! We don’t have time to get emotional.” Belle could see her friend was seriously upset over this news. She walked over to her and put her arm around Cree.

“But I really liked that little guy…” Cree sniffed.

“No 'past tense' business! We’re going to figure this out….somehow.” Belle tried hard to believe her own words.

* * *

Finishing the last roast turkey and provolone sandwich with a dollop of honey mustard, Belle put it on the tray. “I guess we messed up by coming back together,” she thought out loud.

“What?” Cree lifted a tear-stained face.

“You and Teo went in together and landed in the parking lot. Later, I went in and landed inside the Casino. Maybe if we’d returned in the reverse order, me leaving first from the Casino and later you and Teo from the parking lot, things would have stayed the same. But…” Placing two mugs next to the coffee pot and sandwiches on the tray, she pushed the kitchen door opened with her hip.

“I get it.” Cree followed her. “I guess we need to go back and look for our original portals.”

Belle set the tray on the booth's table between Luke and Julio. “Here you go, gentlemen. Enjoy. If you’ll excuse us again.”

“Sure,” Luke nodded before taking a big bite.

Back in the kitchen, Belle got pen and paper before sitting down.

“What are you doing?” Cree sat beside her.

“We don’t know how messed up everything is, do we?”

“No.”

“If we go back through the portal, where will we land? Or – WHEN will we land? So, I’m going to leave a trail of breadcrumbs.”

“Huh?”

Without explaining, Belle began writing.

Dear Kevin,

Please read this entire letter. It’s urgent!

We haven’t met – yet – but we will. My name is Belle and I have a friend, Cree. We are both huge Los Lonely Boy fans and will travel with you and them from time to time. When you get this letter, it will be Feb. 2005. Please hold onto it until Feb. 2009. You’ll find yourself on a bus in Sandia Casino in New Mexico for LLB’s show. We’ll be with you discussing the ‘portal’ and then suddenly disappear.

Instead of going back to Texas in 2009, we wind up in Texas in 2005. Cree and I are going to try to return to you in New Mexico, 2009. If we’re not there, something has gone horribly wrong. Please search for the Bistro in Austin, Texas and see if we’re there.

I know this sounds unbelievable, and you’ll probably ignore it, thinking we’re mental cases. All I ask is that you remember this in four years.

Regards,
Belle

She addressed the envelope and found a stamp. “There! Let me put this in the mailbox and Kevin should have it in a day or two.”

Cree sighed a prayer. “I hope this works!”

* * *

Kevin awoke with a snort and a jerk, feeling disoriented. His laptop sat at an odd angle on his lap and his papers had spilled to the floor. Putting the laptop on the couch, he stooped over to pick up the papers, but the quiet filling the bus disturbed him.

“Belle? Cree?”

Silence.

“Hey! Anyone here? Miko?”

Silence.

Glancing at his computer, he noticed the date. Feb. 2, 2009. From the back of his mind, an old memory fought its way forward. Kevin’s eyebrows flew off his head and he leapt to his feet, while electric alarm sparked down his spine.

“Oh no! The 'crazy woman' letter!”



.

[mamacitaRuth]

Silence.

Glancing at his computer, he noticed the date. Feb. 2, 2009. From the back of his mind, an old memory fought its way forward. Kevin’s eyebrows flew off his head and he leapt to his feet, while electric alarm sparked down his spine.

“Oh no! The 'crazy woman' letter!”

She addressed the envelope and found a stamp. “There! Let me put this in the mailbox and Kevin should have it in a day or two.”

Cree sighed a prayer. “I hope this works!”


~~~~~~~~~~

“You hope?” Belle’s shoulders drooped. “ A LOT has happened in four years --- not just with the band, but with all of our personal lives. I know my experience with this is all speculation, from old movies, but it seems these kinds of events always have a domino effect. Ya mess up one person’s life, then it’s another and another….Whatever we do, we have to get this right!”

Cree broke into fresh tears. Belle reached over and patted Cree’s hand. “Okay, we’ve taken care of the future…..” She motioned to the paper and pen on the counter. “We’ve got someone – hopefully – helping us on that end.” Belle was rubbing her chin and staring off towards the Bistro where the men were talking. “What we need…is someone to help us on this end, but who?”

Suddenly, she jumped from her seat. “Wait! Who was that woman who helped the Boys before?

“What woman?”

“Oh, darn! What was her name?” Belle was pulling two large telephone books from a drawer. She threw one down in front of Cree. “You remember? The fight at the ‘OK corral’ with the Boys! …the church, the mice, the ghosts!”

“Oh! Oh! Now I know who you mean! Her place was called Mamacita’s…but it was in Colorado…four years into the future.” Cree was muttering to herself, “Call the men with the rubber jackets.”

“That’s it! Ruby LeCroix!” Belle started flipping furiously through phone book pages. “Here! You look through Austin.”

“What am I looking for?”

“Start with ‘LeCroix’….William, I think. I’ll look through the restaurants in Dallas. I remember her telling me that she and her husband had a pretty popular place in Texas before he passed away.”

Cree huffed at her friend’s idea. “Yeah, right! Does ‘needle in a haystack’ mean anything to you?”

“Hey, we have to start somewhere! She said it was popular, which means it might have an advertisement….we might just get lucky!”

“And, if not?”

Belle opened a closet door, revealing a stack of numerous, large phonebooks. Cree’s jaw dropped. “Let’s hope the universe is on our side, or it’s going to be a loooooong four years.”

***

After an hour, Belle peeked in on the cameramen. “They can’t be working” said Belle, “It’s too quiet in there.” She pushed the kitchen door open a crack and peered in. The camera equipment was set up, and the men were both asleep, sprawled out on the two separate sofas.

Cree was rubbing her eyes with both hands. “We’re never gonna find anything, Belle. Texas is a huge state. We don’t even know what town she used to live in…..”

“Keep looking! We can’t give up.”

“I don’t understand why you even think she would--or could--help us?” Cree laid her head down on her arms on the counter and closed her eyes.

“Ruby kind of had special ‘gifts’, don’t you remember? A flair for other worlds, other dimensions….or so it seemed. The Boys were even kind of afraid of her, at first.”

“So, what’s that got to do with this? She wouldn’t even know any of us four years ago.”

Belle was now grinning and doing a little dance around the kitchen. Cree stared at her friend in disbelief. Belle stopped and showed her the San Antonio phone book. There in the middle of the restaurant ads was a small block advertisement. In big bold letters, it said ‘Will and Ruby’s’.

Belle grabbed the phone off the wall, and started to dial the number. After four numbers, she hung up the phone.

“What’s wrong?”

Belle rummaged in a drawer for her car keys and reached for her purse. “I think Ruby has ways to help us, and if she can be our advocate on this end – the past – we may just have a chance of pulling this off.”

“Where ya going?!” Cree was now on her feet.

“San Antonio! I think I’ll get farther if I explain this to her face to face.” Before Cree could protest, Belle went on. “You stay here with Lil. Find a little container for her. She doesn’t know humans yet, and she probably doesn’t feel very safe.” Belle looked out into the Bistro one last time. “And keep them busy! Wish me luck…”

“Luck”, Cree mumbled, as she watched her friend disappear again. She thought to herself, We’re gonna need way more than luck. More like a miracle!

[Belle]

Ruth - I'd been wondering how to get Ruby into the story... Good job!

[mamacitaRuth]

Cree and Belle made sure they had the mice, and took off. Because of the darkness, they didn't see Henry's guitar case. The next thing they knew they were falling.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ish was in a full run. By this point he was fuming. How on earth did they get out of the bus? he wondered. Just as he rounded the corner, he heard a crash. Oh great, he thought. Luckilly the crowd was cheering yet again, so no one else heard the crash. As he came upon Henry's guitar case, something shiny caught his eye. He stooped down to pck it up. "My keys! That explains how they got off the bus!" he said out loud. He ran down the stairs and towards the back door of the casino. As he was running down the hallway, he passed a security guard strolling around.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he asked.

"I'm chasing those two girls that just went by!" Ish said.

"What girls?" the guard asked. "I've been here at least half an hour, and not a single person has gone by. You sure you're okay, brother?"

Ish just groaned as he raked his fingers through his hair.
~~~~~~
Miko tumbled across the casino floor. Dazed, dizzy, and not sure where he was, he got up and looked around. Nothing looked familiar, but he could tell it was a dark hallway somewhere. But where? he thought. Suddenly, he remembered he had been in Cree’s pocket. “Cree! Where’s Cree?”

He scampered up and down the hallway a couple times, but didn’t see anyone or even shoes that resembled Cree’s or Belle’s. “Belle!” Miko now remembered that Belle had his wife and child! Where were they now? he was panicking.

Suddenly, he heard a male voice that he recognized, and he stopped and perked up his ears to listen.

The voice belonged to Ish, and he was talking to himself. “How can I tell Kevin I lost them? He’s never gonna understand, especially when I dropped my keys…I don’t know who’s going to be more mad, him or the guys.” Ish looked toward the stage and could see that the roadies were already packing up the band’s equipment. He could see Jojo talking to Glenn. Thrusting his hands in his pockets, he started toward the stage. Guess I might as well face the music, he thought to himself.

Miko started yelling as loud as his little mouse lungs would allow, “Ish! Ish!” Ish stopped for a second and looked around, then started walking again. Miko tried again. Ish hesitated, but kept walking. “It’s no use”, said Miko, “it’s too loud back here.” Miko decided he’d have to get Ish’s attention a different way.

Miko darted across the floor, and scurried up the inside of Ish’s pant leg. Ish immediately went wide-eyed, started jumping up and down, yelling, and swatting at his pants. Jojo and Glenn, hearing him, rushed over to see what all the commotion was about. Ish was still gyrating all over the place, doing a wild and crazy dance. Jojo grabbed him and tried to get him to stand still. “What’s going on, bro’? What’s wrong?!”

Ish was still squirming, “There’s something under my pant leg!”

Jojo knelt down in front of Ish, “Give me your leg!” Glenn grabbed Ish’s arm to help him keep his balance. Jojo felt his leg until he found the lump. He put both hands above the spot, and said, “Okay, stomp your foot and we’ll see if it falls out!”

Just as he was about to do that, Jojo – with his ear close to Ish’s leg – heard a small voice that said “Jojo!” Jojo backed up with his eyes wide. “Put your leg down,” he told Ish.

All three men went quiet. “Come on out of there,” Jojo said. The small mouse crawled out and stood on his hind legs in front of the guys. “Miko!” Jojo was relieved they hadn’t smashed him. “What are you doin’, man?! You could’ve been killed!”

Before Miko could answer, Jojo continued. “Why are you here? We left you in the bus…Oh, no!” Suddenly, the dawn of previous Cree misfortunes was rising in Jojo’s eyes. “Where are the girls?”

“Uh….” Ish slowly began, “they’re both gone. That’s what I was coming to tell you.”

“Gone where?” Jojo demanded, “I’m gonna kill Cree!”

“That’s just it.” Ish looked worried. “I don’t know. They just vanished!”

[cre8ivepoet]

poor 'ol Cree...she's always boo-hooin' or in t-r-o-u-b-l-e with the Garzas... :o


But it's hysterical and I love it! :D

[cre8ivepoet]

“Where ya going?!” Cree was now on her feet.

“San Antonio! I think I’ll get farther if I explain this to her face to face.” Before Cree could protest, Belle went on. “You stay here with Lil. Find a little container for her. She doesn’t know humans yet, and she probably doesn’t feel very safe.” Belle looked out into the Bistro one last time. “And keep them busy! Wish me luck…”

“Luck”, Cree mumbled, as she watched her friend disappear again. She thought to herself, We’re gonna need way more than luck. More like a miracle!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belle wiped the sweat from her brow as she watched the Greyhound bus drive away. She took out the paper that she'd scratched 'Will and Ruby's' address on and then looked around her for someone to help her.

"Can you tell me where Will and Ruby's is?" she asked the outside ticket clerk.

The bubblegum snapping teenager jerked her thumb to the left, leaving Belle with a feeling of disgust over the kid's attitude.

"How far down the road is it?" she asked with annoyance.

"I d'know," the girl said barely looking up. "A mile maybe two."

"What's one plus one?" Belle suddenly asked.

The girl looked up finally. "Huh?"

"Exactly what I thought," Belle said smartly.

"Did I hear you were looking for Will and Ruby's?" a voice said from behind.

Belle found herself staring at a kindly man, with an unmistakable twinkle in his eye. For a moment she was swept away by the clear peace that seemed to surround him. Then she remembered herself. "Um yes, I am."

"Or as Ruby would say it, you was meant to be found." He cackled. It was friendly and engaging. "Hell, for all I know she's expecting ya."

Belle's mouth opened but nothing came out.

"My Ruby's a special gal ain't she?" He winked a crystal blue eye.

"You - you must be Ruby's Will," Belle stammered, scarcely able to believe her luck.

"So Ruby says," he nodded. Belle couldn't help but notice the pride in his voice as he said it. It made her smile. She suddenly realized they were standing by an old Ford pick-up. How had they gotten there? "Jump in little lady. I have to swing around the back of the bus station to pick up another friend of Ruby's. He can ride in the back."

George Straight sang about all his Exes as they rounded the brick building. Will pulled to a stop and jumped out. "You can wait here. I didn't catch your name."

"Belle," she offered.

"Mighty nice to meet ya Belle."

She nodded and closed her eyes in relief as he disappeared into the bus station. What luck! A minute later he reappeared with another man. Belle squinted her eyes in the late afternoon sun and as the two got closer, her mouth dropped open.

Ruby's Will was talking to Kevin Wommack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby was in the back kitchen kneading dough. Her eyes flew open wide when Will walked in with Kevin and Belle. She acknowledged both.

"Will why don't you show Kevin to his room upstairs honey," she smiled. "He can freshen up before I make dinner."

"Sure thing Ruby," Will said. He and Kevin went upstairs.

Belle stood nervously while Ruby finished. A young man came in with a bucket full of dirty dishes. "All the customers gone Charlie?"

"Yes'm," he replied tiredly.

"Good. You go on home now," she directed.

"But the dishes -"

"Can be cleaned later on by me and Will. Goodbye now," she said. A tone in her voice brooked no further word on the subject. Charlie nodded staring at Belle. He made a cross over himself and left the kitchen immediately.

Ruby set the pan of dough in the oven and then washed her hands. She moved right on to making two glasses of sweet iced tea and motioned Belle over to a rickety table in the corner. She smiled.

"Well, you are in quite a pickle now aren't you Belle?"

[Belle]

Ruby set the pan of dough in the oven and then washed her hands. She moved right on to making two glasses of sweet iced tea and motioned Belle over to a rickety table in the corner. She smiled.

"Well, you are in quite a pickle now aren't you Belle?"

* * *

“Oh, Ruby! Can a pickle be toast?” Belle’s woeful face sent a chuckle to Ruby.

Ruby handed the tea to Belle and sat down. “You better tell me the details.”

It took a few minutes before Belle’s story ended.

“That explains things.” Ruby ran a hand through her graying red hair. “I’ve felt troubled all day.”

“Can you help us?”

“I’m sure gonna try. I’ve heard about portals, but I’ve never encountered one before. They can be tricky.”

“How do they work? Why does ours start at the Bistro? And why does it always end wherever the Boys are?”

“I don’t know why it starts at the Bistro. Actually, I’m surprised it’s been there as long as it has. They normally don’t hang around for more than a month or two.”

“But this has been there ever since I bought the Bistro – over four years ago now…er… then.”

“There are different types of portals. It sounds like this one is based on wishes.”

“Wishes?”

“Yeah, intense wishes. Since most of your customers are LLB fans, their intense wish would be to see the Boys in concert.”

“Ah, I get it. So, a bunch of us want to be at a certain show and the portal takes us there.”

“Right.”

“So, what if we wanted to go to Paris or somewhere else?”

Ruby bit her bottom lip while she thought. “I’m not sure. If the portal as been at the Bistro for as long as you say, it might have developed a pattern or rut and will now only go to wherever the Boys are.”

“Why couldn’t Cree and I leave together, even if we didn’t show up together in New Mexico?”

“I don’t know. That’s the part that concerns me the most.”

Belle threw a worried glance around the room. “If you’re concerned,” she gulped, “then I’m scared to death. What’s Kevin doing here, by the way? I just mailed him a letter, asking him to remember it when we disappear in 2009.”

“You did? Hmmm.” Ruby tilted her head to stare at the ceiling for a moment. “Kevin is a friend of ours – has been for years. He just stopped by to see us before going with LLB to the Grammys in California.”

“Maybe it would help if I explained things to him now.” Belle pushed her chair back and stood. Ruby’s hand stopped her.

“I’m not so sure. There’re too many things I don’t understand, and I’m not sure what would happen if you from 2009 came face-to-face with Kevin in 2005.”

“But I’m here with you,” Belle reasoned.

“Yes, but you didn’t just leave me in 2009, either.”

“Oh.” Belle turned to look at the kitchen doorway when footsteps sounded down the hall.



.

[mamacitaRuth]

"Hmmm..", indeed! Is the Belle of 2009 going to like the Kevin of 2005? (and vicey-versa)....Will Ish ever confess to Kevin what happened backstage, or will he just keep scratching his pants leg?....Will Jojo actually start missing the missing Cree, or will he throw a party to celebrate?.....
bwawahbwahhhh!!! :p :D :) STAY TUNED!

[Belle]

Ruth - I heard organ music while I was reading your post.


teehee snicker snort

[mamacitaRuth]

;) :D

[cre8ivepoet]

Mama you are a rip. :p

[letsgetlonelyin]

I am so glad this story is active again, I look forward to the adventures of Miko and Lil.

[Belle]

Before Miko could answer, Jojo continued. “Why are you here? We left you in the bus…Oh, no!” Suddenly, the dawn of previous Cree misfortunes was rising in Jojo’s eyes. “Where are the girls?”

“Uh….” Ish slowly began, “they’re both gone. That’s what I was coming to tell you.”

“Gone where?” Jojo demanded, “I’m gonna kill Cree!”

“That’s just it.” Ish looked worried. “I don’t know. They just vanished!”

* * *

Glancing around at the people walking through the Casino’s hallway, Jojo nodded toward the exit. “We should take this back to the bus. Let me get my brothers.”

Spinning around, he trotted down the hall and found Henry and Ringo in a side room, signing autographs for the casino staff.

“Hey, hermanos! Nine-one-one!” Jojo jerked his head over his shoulder. “Vamanos!”

“What now?” Henry pushed his glasses back up and returned the “Forgiven” CD insert to its owner.

“Take a wild guess.” Jojo raked a hand through his hair.

“Belle and Cree?” Ringo’s smile faded.

“They’re gone,” Jojo explained.

“Okay. That could be a good thing,” Henry reasoned.

“No, I don’t mean they left. I mean they disappeared.”

“Wha…?”

Without further discussion, they followed Jojo to the bus just as Kevin stepped down.

“I was coming to look for you,” he announced. “We got trouble!”

“We know.” Ish held up Miko.

“What happened?” Henry went to the kitchenette and pulled out a few cervezas, passing them around.

“They were with me,” Ish began. “I mean, they were right behind me! I swear!”

“We believe you,” Ringo said.

“And then, the next second – poof – gone – nothing – nada. No bossy Belle, no mouthy Cree, no mice.”

“Then where’d he come from?” Kevin pointed toward Miko.

“I…I…” Miko’s whiskers trembled while he tried to make it make sense. “One minute, Lil, Teo and I are in Ish’s hands. He dropped something, and when he went to pick it up, we all tumbled out. There was this big swirly thing on the floor behind him. Everyone fell in but me. I rolled to the side instead. When I stood up, the swirly thing disappeared, along with everyone! Ish ran off the stage and I was all alone!” The brown mouse huffed for a minute, trying to calm down.

“They must have gone back through the portal,” Henry reasoned. “So, they’re home safe and sound.”

“Maybe not,” Kevin sighed. “I think they’re in big trouble.”

“Why?”

“A few years ago, I got a letter from someone named Belle, asking me to remember her and Cree suddenly disappearing today.”

“A few years ago?” H’s eyebrows leapt off his forehead. “Wha…?”

“Yeah. From 2005. They didn’t land in 2009, they landed in 2005! She asked us to try and find them at the Bistro if it happened, because, if they disappeared and didn’t return, something had gone very wrong. Not just with them, either, but with everything!”

Jojo whipped his cell phone out of his pocket and closed his eyes to remember Belle’s number on his speed dial. “I think she’s eight…or nine.”

His thumb punched a number and he held the phone to his ear. One finger went up for one ring, then two, then three. Shaking his head, he clicked it shut. “The Bistro’s voice mail.”

“So, that means they’re not at the Bistro…





.

[mamacitaRuth]

Okaaay....I don't mean to be a WRENCH in the WORKS, but Ish wasn't holding the mice when the Portal misfire happened, was he??? I'm so confused... :confused: I thought he was chasing the girls, and they disappeared in front of him? The girls had the mice, didn't they???.....
“One minute, Lil, Teo and I are in Ish’s hands. He dropped something, and when he went to pick it up, we all tumbled out. There was this big swirly thing on the floor behind him. Everyone fell in but me. I rolled to the side instead."
From previous chapter....
Cree and Belle made sure they had the mice, and took off. Because of the darkness, they didn't see Henry's guitar case. The next thing they knew they were falling. Maybe I'm just reading too much into Miko's tale...(oops, no pun intended!)
BELLE?!?? :confused: :eek:

[Belle]

Dang it, Ruth! I hate it when you're right... [or when I get caught being wrong].

Serves me right for 'remembering' what happened.

Sorry, folks. Brain fart. :o :o :rolleyes:

[cre8ivepoet]

HEY!

Mice happen. :rolleyes:

[cre8ivepoet]

“A few years ago, I got a letter from someone named Belle, asking me to remember her and Cree suddenly disappearing today.”

“A few years ago?” H’s eyebrows leapt off his forehead. “Wha…?”

“Yeah. From 2005. They didn’t land in 2009, they landed in 2005! She asked us to try and find them at the Bistro if it happened, because, if they disappeared and didn’t return, something had gone very wrong. Not just with them, either, but with everything!”

Jojo whipped his cell phone out of his pocket and closed his eyes to remember Belle’s number on his speed dial. “I think she’s eight…or nine.”

His thumb punched a number and he held the phone to his ear. One finger went up for one ring, then two, then three. Shaking his head, he clicked it shut. “The Bistro’s voice mail.”

“So, that means they’re not at the Bistro…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cree huffed and puffed at the Bistro in 2005. Luke and Julio had been gone a few hours and still no sign of Belle returning. She alternated between portal rage and checking on a very frightened Lil, which only made her teary-eyed. Poor Lil had eventually exhausted herself and curled into a ball to sleep. Cree walked around a very unfamiliar Bistro. The Bistro before Belle got hold of it. Only the giant kitchen, living, and eating area had existed. She locked the doors and propped herself up on the couch, putting Lil's box on the coffee table where she could keep a close eye on her. After listening to the silence for a few minutes, Cree's eyelids started to droop. A little nap won't hurt, she thought as she yawned.

Cree didn't know how long she'd been in a warm, dreamless void when she heard the unmistakable sound of a key sliding into a lock. She popped up and scampered to the kitchen, and screeched to a halt when she heard male laughter. "Not Belle!" she muttered in her breath.

She boogied her behind back toward the couch and snatched up Lil's box and dove into a closet, shutting the door behing her. The male voices continued to talk and laugh until...

"Shh!" one said. The voices ceased. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" one asked in annoyance.

"I thought I heard a door shut," the first one replied.

"Man you're crazy," another one said. "Kev said no one was here today."

"Yeah for now," the first voice said. "But tomorrow night is our very own Grammy Nomination party!"

Cree sucked in her breath and willed herself NOT to run out to the boys. She waited silently until their visit was concluded. She burst out of the closet when she heard the main entrance door click shut. She watched out the window as the future grammy winning trio jumped into a truck sped off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby picked up her phone line.

"Where's Belle?" Cree blurted out tremulously. "I know she's there!"

Ruby looked at Belle and handed the phone over.

"Have you found an answer yet? When are we going back to 2009?" Cree demanded.

"We're working on it Cree," Belle said through gritted teeth.

"Well unless we figure out how to get back, the boys are gonna see us whether we like it or not," Cree warned.

"What? How?" Belle asked.

Cree relayed the boys' conversation. Belle's eyes grew rounder with each sentence. "Oh my."

"Oh something lady!" Cree screeched. Belle managed to calm Cree down (somewhat) and then stood looking at Ruby after they hung up.

"Cree sounded upset."

"Cree's having a meltdown," Belle admitted. She buried her head in her hands. "And I'm next."

Ruby smiled. "There's something really ironic about life Belle."

"What?" Belle's question was muffled.

"Most of the time, we're exactly where we're meant to be."

"Kevin would have a different opinion entirely," Belle sighed.

[Belle]

Ruby smiled. "There's something really ironic about life Belle."

"What?" Belle's question was muffled.

"Most of the time, we're exactly where we're meant to be."

"Kevin would have a different opinion entirely," Belle sighed.


Cree sucked in her breath and willed herself NOT to run out to the boys. She waited silently until their visit was concluded. She burst out of the closet when she heard the main entrance door click shut. She watched out the window as the future grammy winning trio jumped into a truck sped off.

* * *


Cree clicked the phone shut and walked to the corner of the living room that would one day be partitioned off as the Cave. Moonbeams caressed the frosted ground outside, the sparkling light reminding Cree of fairy wings for some reason.

“This is so beautiful,” she murmured just before her bottom lip began quivering. “What are we going to do?” she whispered to the moon. “Please hurry, Belle!”

The sound of someone outside the door made her snap around and grab Lil in her box. Before she had time to hide, Henry walked in looking for a letter he’d dropped earlier, and jerked to a stop when he saw a shadowy figure in the dark.

“Who are you!?”

“I…I…”

“Jojo!” Ringo! Get in here! We’ve got a robber!”

Cree pressed the small box closer and backed up a step. “No. You’ve got it all wrong!”

Jojo and Ringo ran in and screeched to a halt beside their oldest brother, both of them making fists, ready for a fight.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Henry roared.

“I’m not a robber,” Cree squeaked.

“Well, then, who?” Jojo barked.

“I’m…uh…I’m…oh, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try us,” Ringo dared her.

“Call Kevin. He’ll explain.”

“Kevin? Our manager Kevin?” H asked for confirmation.

“Yeah, Kevin.”

“How do you know him?” Jojo frowned.

“I don’t. Well, not yet, anyway.”

“That’s it!” Ringo pulled out his cell phone. “I’m calling the cops!”

“No, wait!” Cree held out placating hands, hoping to stop him. In spite of her fear, she tried to keep her wits about her and her eyes lit up at an idea – a “bizarre, but what the heck else can I do” – idea.

Ringo had the phone in his hands, ready to punch in 9-1-1.

“I am the Ghost of Grammys Future,” Cree moaned in an eerie fashion and tried to make a scary face.

“You’re a ghost?” H snorted in derision.

“Do not mock me!” Cree wailed and raised one hand skyward, moonlight casting her in black and gold relief. “I know all about the Grammys and your part in them.”

“Call the cops,” Henry spoke over his shoulder to Ringo.

A hair-raising screech crawled up the brothers’ spines and Cree stepped back. “You’ve been warned! Beware the mice!” With that, she disappeared into the portal, praying for all she was worth that she could find her way back.

“What the…?!?” All three brothers jumped back and then leaned forward.

“Where’d she go?” Ringo asked, his phone dangling forgotten in his hand.

“I…I don’t know,” Jojo stammered.

“The Ghost of Grammys Future. There’s no such thing!” Henry tried to hang onto his sanity.

“Well, the future ghost is the scary one, right?” Ringo asked. “She looked scary enough to me.”

“Beware the mice?” Shaking hands ran through Jojo’s hair.

“Hey, she said to call Kev!” Henry snapped his fingers and reached for Ringo’s phone.

He keyed in the number and waited for a second. Kevin and Will were walking down the hall toward Ruby’s kitchen when his phone rang.

“Hey, Kevin, it’s me, Henry.”

“Hi! You packed for California yet?”

“Almost. Listen, have you heard of the Ghost of Grammys Future?”

“What? The what?” Kevin’s eyes went wide. “Are you feeling all right?”

“I don’t know. My brothers and I just ran into some crazy woman who said she was the Ghost of Grammys Future and to beware of mice.”

“Call the police!”

“We were going to but…she…disappeared.” H’s voice trailed off into a whisper of disbelief.

“Why didn’t you chase her?”

“She didn’t run away. She vanished into thin air.”

Silence filled the phone line for a moment. “Okay, Henry, listen. Go home and rest. I’m calling a psychiatrist right now. This is just pre-Grammy stress. We’ll get you help.”

“You’d better get three psychiatrists then, cuz my brothers saw her too.”

Kevin sighed a big sigh and gulped once. “What I do for my bands,” he muttered.

* * *

Cree landed with a thump in a dark alleyway, searching for signs of anything familiar.

“Belle’s gonna kill me,” she whispered to no one.

[mamacitaRuth]

OMG, I LOVE IT!!! :eek: :D (She better have Lil with her...)

[mamacitaRuth]

http://i44.tinypic.com/w8wdip.jpg

[Mel]

Wow, I cought up reading 4 pages now and I am fascinated of how this story has turned since I last contributed... could not resist ......:

....

Cree landed with a thump in a dark alleyway, searching for signs of anything familiar.

“Belle’s gonna kill me,” she whispered to no one.

************************************************** *****

Mel was entering the Sony Building in Austria very early, as she had lots to do. Not a lot of people were in yet.
On the way to her office in the second floor, she got herself a coffee from the automatic machine and decided to walk the stairway instead of taking the elevator - no other time to keep fit these days.

"Ohhh, I hate dark stairways in the morning, they look so spooky", she thought by herself. She leaned over to switch on the light, when she suddenly trapped over something soft and a loud scream was heard. Scared to death, Mel finally reached the light switch and pressed it. When she looked down, she could see a totally frizzy curly head of hair and a
coiled up woman's body.

"Oh my God", she said in Austrian language. "I thought we had tight security here ...., how on earth could a burglar get in here..."!?

Ready to jump back to the Reception to call the security guys, she suddenly stopped in her move, when she heard the woman speak American English.

"Oh no, where am I now..., now I can't even understand a word in this place ......", the woman murmured. She looked up and her worried face turned into a big grin .....

"Mel?.... Mel, oh my God, Mel, it's you....., oh deary deary, I am so glad.......a face I know......,!"

"Creeeeee? Gosh, I thought you are a burglar, I was just away to inform security ......! This is incredible, why on earth are you here? I mean, not
that you would not be welcome, but you should have called...., ehm I mean, this is so unexpected......and why did you not come to my home address ....., did you stay here all night? Who let you in ....?" Mel stopped her flow of talking with a sigh and just stared at Cree, waiting on some
explanations.

"Can we go to a more comfortable place Mel, then I shall try to explain to you...., ehm, we are in Austria now, right? And this is 2009, correct?"

Mel looked at Cree, as if to say: what on earth has happened to you in the year I have not seen you?? "What???" She motioned Cree up the
stairs and they went into Mel's office. She guided Cree to her visitor's chair like a patient, got some water from the fridge and a glas for her and then
sat down at her desk. She folded her hands into each other and waited .......

Cree was moving nervously into her chair and fixated her glas of water

"Cree?"

"Well, yes, it's not easy to explain...., Belle, you know her ...., I mean, everything in which this woman is involved, is a disaster, I tell you........., one minute we are in her Bistro, the other minute we are backstage with the boys, the other minute we are back in the bistro and it's 2005, Belle drives to Ruby, the boys turn up in the Bistro, I totally scared them just to get out of the situation, and now I am here..., she sighed and shook her head..., I don't know..... I am really lost now.

"???" was all the look she could gave Cree .......

Cree shrugged her shoulders and told her the whole story about the Portal and the adventures through it. She ended her story with the year 2005, in
which Belle and she had found themselves finally and that she herself had to disappear through the Portal to escape the boys and the police.
"All I remember is, that my last thought in the Portal was about Sony and that you could maybe help us out again....., and now I am here!"

Mel pulled her hair back and sat back in her big office chair. What a misery. What a crazy crazy situation......

"Wait,.....where is Lil' now?", Mel asked .....

Cree hectically reached into all her pockets but could not find the little mouse...... "She must be here ...., and if so, she should be able to speak again, because we are back in 2009 again!"

"I am here ...!"

Cree and Mel looked around in the office and found Lil' in one of Mel's drawers, nibblig away on a piece of cracker.

"I am sorry, but I had to get a bite to eat! I can't think with an empty stomach," she gestured with her paws in excuse.

"That's okay Lil', nice to see you again, and nice to see you HEALTHY, " Mel said with a grim look at Cree.

"Hey, it's not my fault this time ...., okay? It's Belle's bistro, and THEREFORE Belle's portal. I am sick of being accused all the time!"

"Calm down Cree, it's okay, we don't get any further if we argue. I know the two of you by now anyhow very well," she said with a twinkle.

Mel pulled out her phone index on her desk and opened it up. She was thinking loud "Hmm, it's only night time in New York now, but I could still
leave a message on the Sony office answering machine. Best to call Bob, he will know what to do......, or maybe Sheila..., hmm, crumbs, I just
need to find the right person to speak to Kevin and the boys about this...., because if I call them, it might be 2005 they are living in now, and they
don't know me yet .....!"

"You think when you call Henry, he will pick up the phone in 2005??"

"What do I know ....., the last time you seen them was in 2005 ....., and Belle seen Kevin also in 2005 at Ruby's...., I don't know if it's only connected to you two now or if I am in the game now as well.....!"

Cree was thinking, Mel was thinking .......

"What the heck, I'll just try Henry's cell phone...." Mel said. She dialed his number, knowing that the time difference may be against them. But the boys are always up late, and if they where in 2005, they would now be celebrating their Grammy, as it would be Feb, 13th over there.

"Hello........, yes yes, thank you for your wishes, we kindly accept your congratulations..., man, I can't get off the phone with all the people wanting to talk to us ....., who is it this time....?", Henry was barely to be heard with all the noise in the background, presumably coming from a big party.....

Mel already knew, that she was out of luck, she had reached 2005....., but she had to make sure.......

"Henry, hi, it's Mel!"

.........silence ......."Mel who?"

"From Austria .....!"

"Austria? Well darling, I am sorry, but you must have the wrong number, must be a complete wrong connection, as this is anyhow a secret number ....., sorry! Strange things happen huh?"

Mel put the phone down without replying ...... and looked at Cree and Lil' with a very sad face ......


Mel
:)

[Belle]

Oh, MEL! You're as twisted as the rest of us!!

Great chapter. I'm laughing to an empty room - well, my dogs think I'm crazy.

[letsgetlonelyin]

Thanks Guys I'm loving this!

[Belle]

Now that we've landed, we need to dust this off and see what mayhem we can create.

For any aspiring authors, feel free to jump in and add to the story. That's what makes it so fun!!

[cre8ivepoet]

um i have to step in here. i've been wanting to add to the adventure but...if cree landed back in 2009 with a grown Lil, how is Mel's phone dialing 2005?

i'm confused :confused:

[MelBAustria]

Cree! I can understand that you are confused.
Lil' would not exist in 2005 yet ....
But, with the time machine, people are travelling. So Lil' travelled from 2009 to
2005, because she was with Cree in the story. Otherwise she would have disappeared during the time travel, and we don't want that do we?

I mean, it is all fiction anyhow, so hopefully we can slightly oversee the kind of "that can't be's" :o;)

Mel
:)

[mamacitaRuth]

um i have to step in here. i've been wanting to add to the adventure but...if cree landed back in 2009 with a grown Lil, how is Mel's phone dialing 2005?

i'm confused :confused:

Oh, fudgecicles! Just chalk it up to the MAGIC PORTAL CELL PHONE OF THE FUTURE and Mel's crrrrazy imagination and MOVE ON............:)

[mamacitaRuth]

Mel already knew, that she was out of luck, she had reached 2005....., but she had to make sure.......

"Henry, hi, it's Mel!"

.........silence ......."Mel who?"

"From Austria .....!"

"Austria? Well darling, I am sorry, but you must have the wrong number, must be a complete wrong connection, as this is anyhow a secret number ....., sorry! Strange things happen huh?"

Mel put the phone down without replying ...... and looked at Cree and Lil' with a very sad face ......

***********************

Mel closed her phone and banged it a couple times on her desk, frowning. "Well, that sure didn't work! We got 2005. My phone was in my pocket when I tripped over you in the staircase....hmmmm, must've gotten some 'portal energy' from the mishap. Wait right here, Cree. I'm gonna go see if I can borrow another phone from a co-worker.....see if we can get 2009 on a different phone!"

Cree nodded and watched Lil climb up on Mel's desk. The door closed behind Mel's exit. All was quiet in her office. Cree was feeling dejected and didn't feel like talking, but that wasn't going to stop Lil....

"Cree?" Lil stretched up on her hind legs, "did you get to see the Boys when you were in the Bistro?"

"Sure, I did, remember? You were with me." Lil gave Cree a funny look. "Oh, that's right", Cree said before Lil could respond, "you were too little then to remember that. Yes, I saw them, but they didn't know who I was."

"Soooo...if we went back through the portal to 2005 again, they still wouldn't know you, right?"

Cree squinted at Lil. "Yeeeahh....what are you getting at?"

"Well, if they don't know you in 2005, couldn't you get a lot more done to help Belle if no one was looking for you?"

Cree thought a minute and rubbed her chin. "Hmmmmm...." Cree got up and put Lil in her pocket. She quickly scribbled out something on a piece of paper and left it on Mel's desk. She walked to the door, opened it and peered carefully down the hall. When she didn't see anyone coming, she sprinted back to the stairwell. As she reached the stairwell, she turned the knob on the door and muttered to herself, "I can't believe what I'm about to do....."

[cre8ivepoet]

Mama and Mel...I love ya. :rolleyes: Thanks for next chapter Mama!

[cre8ivepoet]

Cree thought a minute and rubbed her chin. "Hmmmmm...." Cree got up and put Lil in her pocket. She quickly scribbled out something on a piece of paper and left it on Mel's desk. She walked to the door, opened it and peered carefully down the hall. When she didn't see anyone coming, she sprinted back to the stairwell. As she reached the stairwell, she turned the knob on the door and muttered to herself, "I can't believe what I'm about to do....."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still stuck in 2005, Belle dialed the Bistro again. No one answered. Ruby watched her from across the table. Belle drummed her fingers on the table becoming more agitated by the moment. Finally she stood and began pacing.

"I have to go back to the Bistro," she said. "Cree's not answering. That's not a good thing."

"Maybe someone's there, maybe the boys came back," Ruby suggested.

"Oh Ruby, Ruby," Belle chuckled dryly. "You don't know Cree at all. That girl has one foot in the word 'disaster' at all times."

Ruby frowned. She seemed anxious. Belle's pacing slowed as she waited for Ruby to speak. "Maybe she'll figure something out."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Belle demanded suddenly.

"I don't know..." Ruby hesitated. "I'm not sure. I think you should just trust her this time."

"Maybe I should make it more clear," Belle said in exasperation. "Cree is the master of disaster."

"Exactly," Ruby beamed. "Now you understand."

"Huh?" Belle puzzled. Instantly she was in motion, grabbing her cell phone from the table. "Aww man! I gotta go!"

"Belle," Ruby interrupted grabbing her wrist. "Why don't you stay the night? You do look tired."

She stared at Ruby, who stared back calmly. Belle flopped back into the chair.

"Well," Belle said in a shaky voice. "She does have a good heart..."

Ruby smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cree opened her eyes to find herself in the dark once again. She felt around blindly and knocked her hand into a hard wall.

"Ow!" she whisper-shouted. She stiffened when she heard a faint rustling that seemed uncomfortably close to her feet. She stood up and put her hand in the same direction as before and hit the hard wall again. She shuffled her feet and froze when she heard the faint rustling again. Well it wasn't faint but it was rather small.

"Oh boy," she whimpered. "Where am I?"

"Cree? Is that you?" came a very familiar voice.

"Lil?" Cree called back.

"Oh goodness!" Lil sounded relieved. "I thought I was left behind with Mel!"

"Oh no!" Cree groaned aloud. "That means..."

"We're still in 2009!" Lil finished. "But where are we?"

Lil scampered up Cree's leg until she was perched on her shoulder.

"Well I guess we should feel our way around."

"Um Cree, you're kinda -"

There was a big whomp!as she stepped forward.

"EEEEEE!" Cree shrieked. She stumbled and fell crashing into other hard walls...except the other hard walls tumbled around them. And they kept tumbling. She stayed motionless until it was silent again.

"...not good at that," Lil finished in the quiet.

"Oops."

"Are you okay?" Lil asked hesitantly.

"I think so," Cree got up. "Are you?" Lil never answered as another wall tumbled and a faint schwing sounded around them. "You know what that is?"

"Unh-unh," Lil answered.

"A cymbal," Cree sang.

[cre8ivepoet]

"Um Cree, you're kinda -"

There was a big whomp! as she stepped forward.

"EEEEEE!" Cree shrieked. She stumbled and fell crashing into other hard walls...except the other hard walls tumbled around them. And they kept tumbling. She stayed motionless until it was silent again.

"...not good at that," Lil finished in the quiet.

"Oops."

"Are you okay?" Lil asked hesitantly.

"I think so," Cree got up. "Are you?" Lil never answered as another wall tumbled and a faint schwing sounded around them. "You know what that is?"

"Unh-unh," Lil answered.

"A cymbal," Cree sang.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ish was halfway back to the tour bus after loading the instruments into the equipment trailer when he heard the commotion.

"Oh my God," he groaned through gritted teeth. "I'm gonna kill me some techies!!"

Henry was walking out of the casino grumbling about wasted money. "Hey Ish where ya runnin to?"

"I think our equipment just took a dive in the trailer," he grumbled angrily.

"Let me help," Henry called out trotting over. He dialed Ringo and Jojo. "Yo we need you out here, we got equipment problems."

Ringo and Jojo came out in a flash. No instruments, no playing, no moolah!! However, when they reached the trailer they all stopped. Henry cocked his head.

"Is someone in there?" he asked.

Ish dug around in his pockets and fished out his key. He unlocked the doors and cursed when Cree tumbled out right on top of him. She screeched and they fell to the pavement with an oomph.

"Cree!" the brothers exclaimed simultaneously.

Cree looked up at the Garzas, sitting on top of Ish. She immediately burst into tears.

The boys smiled stupidly with relief. One of the MIAs was back! And they really beamed when Lil poked her head from beneath Cree's hair.

"Um Cree," came a soft, dangerous voice from below. She looked down at Ish still blubbering. "Could you please, GET OFF!"

A few minutes later everyone was on the bus, doctoring Cree and Ish's scraped elbows. Ish glared at Cree the whole time. She explained her story and sat still waiting for Kevin's usual eruption. She cringed and squeezed her eyes shut. But nothing came.

One eyeball popped open. "No yelling?"

"No yelling," Kevin said. "We have to figure out how to get Belle back."

"There's only one way," Cree reminded.

Kevin sighed. "I know. But you didn't get back there this time."

"Well I'm not leaving her there!" she proclaimed. She looked at Miko, Lil and Teo. They were happily reunited, oblivious to all but themselves. "I have to find a way back. I'm going back to the equipment trailer."

"Absolutely not," Henry barked.

"Just try and stop me!" she challenged openly. Henry's eyes blazed as Cree stood up. They were toe to toe and nose to nose.

"You can't go to the trailer because it already left," Ish said smugly. She turned to look at him. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. She huffed and puffed for a minute and then sat back down.

"You said the portal could be anywhere," Teo reminded.

"Yeah but where?" Cree asked no one.

"We landed by the dumpster," Teo reminded again. Cree's eyes collided with Teo's. She was off like a shot, running off the bus, five men chasing her.

"Cree!!!" they all hollered.

Jojo was fastest, (all that football training) staying on her heels.

"Cree!" he bellowed. "Come back here! We need...to think...." he panted.

His arm reached out swiping at her shirt. It missed by millimeters.

"CREEEE!" he hollered again. Cree looked behind her - stupid mistake! She stumbled right when she reached the dumpster and Jojo was going down with her as he finally snatched hold of her pants leg. "Wait--!"

And then all was silent as Kevin, Henry, Ringo, and Ish tried to catch up. They all came to an abrupt stop, heaving.

"Whe-where are they?" Ringo asked. "They fell...where they'd go?"

The alley with the dumpster was empty and quiet. Cree and Jojo were gone. :eek:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
guess i was jonesin ;)

[mamacitaRuth]

Oh, you scoundrel, Cree! I KNEW you always wanted to be alone with Joey....;) Those are great! You had me LMAO.....

[cre8ivepoet]

Oh, you scoundrel, Cree! I KNEW you always wanted to be alone with Joey....;) Those are great! You had me LMAO.....

yeah...*sigh

too bad i smell trouble comin' instead! :cool:

[MelBAustria]

This story is getting more and more exciting!! Great stuff!!
Thanks to all the co-writers!

;)

Mel
:)

[Belle]

As a recap:
2005: Belle w/Ruby in San Antonio – the Boys in California at the Grammy’s.

Mel is 2009, but phone is 2005,
2009: Kevin, Ringo, Henry and the mice are in New Mexico Casino. Cree and Jojo just fell through the portal.


-------------


Mel found no coworkers at that early hour, so trudged up the stairs with her bad news. A noise echoing in the stairwell made her raise her head and listen. Just above her, a door swung shut and Mel could have sworn she heard someone mutter, “I can’t believe what I’m about to do.”

“No! That couldn’t be…she wouldn’t just leave…oh, yes she would! Cree!” Mel raced up the stairs, two at a time, and jerked the door open only to stop at the sight before her. A swirly blue-green vortex grew smaller the longer she stared. Taking a deep breath, Mel jumped in just before it closed altogether.

“Ooph!” She landed on her stomach, her face in something sticky and smelling of grease. Rolling to her side, she pushed herself up and tried to pierce the darkness. “Cree?...Lil?...Anybody?” With arms outstretched on either side, she felt walls all around her. “Is this a closet or something?” She stood, dusted her trousers off and pushed her left foot a few inches in front of her. Finding no resistance, she slid the right one on the floor and bumped into a solid wall. Turning around, she began again, looking for an exit.

A vehicle drove by, its headlights outlining a door and giving her just enough to see by. Mel took the few steps toward it and prayed the door wasn’t locked. At first, it wouldn’t budge, but she jiggled the handle and shoved her shoulder against it. With a protesting creak, it swung open and she jumped to the parking lot. Turning around, she discovered she’d been in an equipment trailer.

Warm, dry air engulfed her and the night sky seemed endless. Pushing her hair back from her face, she turned in a slow circle, trying to get her bearings. Fifty yards behind her, in a silver halo of moonlight, sat a bus. The BOYS bus!!!

Anxious feet hurried her to the bus’s door and anxious fists beat on it. “Hello! Is anyone here?...It’s Mel...From Austria!...Hello!”

No one answered. The only noise wafted from the casino gamers on the far side of the parking lot.

Mel turned around and slid down the side of the bus to the concrete. “Now what?”

* * *

“Me? You want me to jump through the Portal?” Henry argued as they walked away from the dumpster. “What if I land somewhere with a dinosaur sitting on my head...or with a Viking trying to ventilate my liver?”

“Then I’ll go,” Ringo snapped. “Somebody needs to find where they went!”

“Nobody’s going anywhere!” Kevin barked. “First rule of getting lost is to stay put!”

“But, it’s Jojo and Cree,” Miko interjected. “I mean, think about it. Cree…with Jojo…? One of ‘em’s gonna wind up d-e-a-d if we don’t separate them, ya know? They always fight with each other.”

All the arguing stopped and all the feet drew up short. “Who’s there?” Kevin asked the stranger sitting in the dark…on the ground…by the bus. A tear-stained face lifted. “Mel?”

“Kevin! Henry!” Mel leapt to her feet, joy replacing tears. “I thought…I thought…” Overwhelmed, she burst into fresh ones.

Ringo took her by the elbow and led her onto the bus. Once she got settled, Kevin sat beside her and offered his handkerchief.

"Wha...?"

"Grease." He pointed to a spot on her chin, then asked, “How’d you get here?”

“Where’s here? What year is this?” Confusion poured from her face.

“This is 2009 and you’re in New Mexico, Sandia Resort.”

“Oh, thank heavens!” She threw her head back and sighed.

“Here.” Henry handed her a beer. “It’ll help with the shock.”

“Danka!” She took a sip, then began to explain. “Cree and Lil showed up in Austria earlier…today? Well, anyway, earlier in 2009. She told me of all the strange events with the Portal and how Belle’s lost in 2005. I tried calling you, Henry, but you answered at your Grammy party in 2005 and didn’t know who I was. When I went to look for someone else’s phone, Cree and Lil went through the Portal again. I don’t know why. But, I caught them just as they disappeared, so I jumped through, too.”

Her glance searched up and down the bus aisles. “By the way, where is Cree?”

“She, uh…she and Jojo, uh…” Ringo squinched his eyes closed.

“They disappeared again,” Kevin groaned.

“When?”

“Just before you got here.”

“This just doesn’t end!” she cried.

They sat in shared silent misery for a long moment until Kevin broke the silence.

“Did Cree tell you about Belle’s letter to me?”

“Belle’s letter? No. What about it?”

“She wrote it in 2005, telling me about the Portal mess in 2009.”

“So, that’s why she’s stuck in 2005 now,” Mel reasoned.

“Yeah. The letter gives us some clues, but I also remembered something else that happened just before I got that letter.”

“What?” Henry put his beer down and focused on Kev.

“I was visiting friends. You remember Ruby, don’t you?”

“Like I could ever forget!” Ringo shuddered.

“I was at their place in San Antonio and spent the night. The next morning, just before I left, Ruby said the strangest thing.”

“That’s all she ever says,” Henry commented. “Strange, stranger, strangest!”

Kevin shot him a sideways glance. “Anyway, she told me to remember that the North Star always points toward home. When I asked her what that meant, she gave me this.” He reached for his wallet and pulled out a silver Celtic cross, no bigger than a matchstick. A tiny diamond glinted at its center. “I’ve carried it with me ever since then.”

Henry, Ringo and Mel all leaned forward to look at it. “What’s that for?” Mel asked.

Kevin shrugged. “Ruby said when the time came to give it to the guitar man.” He stretched his hand out, with the cross in his palm. “After all these years, I finally know she meant you. H, this is the time.”

Henry gulped, his eyes bouncing from Kevin’s face to the tiny diamond and back.









.

[mamacitaRuth]

OOOOOHHH, Belle, I LOVE it!!! Nothing they can do..."let's go to the casino!" LOL...

[cre8ivepoet]

*hands over eyes

omg i can't look!

fabulous!

[Belle]

My imagination wouldn't hush, so I wrote a bit more. I'm throwing in a major twist here. Hope we can handle it.



* * *

Jojo watched the vortex whirl around him, its colors changing like a kaleidoscope. Before his dazed mind could process his environment, his back hit something hard and cold just before something heavy landed on him. He lay there for a moment, waiting for his spine to quit shaking, before he opened his eyes.

“Cree? Is that you?” he asked the mop of black curls lying on his chest.

“Sorry. Sorry.” Cree pushed herself up and rolled to a sitting position beside him. “That was some ride, huh?” Her grin turned into a frown. “You’re bleeding.”

“I am?” Jojo’s hand flew to his head and he felt the bump forming behind his ear. “I thought I hit something when I landed.”

Cree glanced around and pointed to a bush. “That’s probably the culprit. It’s got some wicked thorns.” She looked over her shoulder, then twisted the other way. “Uh oh.”

“Uh oh, what?” Jojo sat up, still holding his head.

“Look.” Her chin pointed in front of her.

Wilderness and rocky terrain stretched to the horizon. Nothing of humanity could be seen, not a road, not a telephone wire. A mountain range stood a few miles to the west, snow covered peaks glistening in the setting sun. Wind whistled around the low hill they sat beneath, leaving their skin covered in goose bumps and their teeth chattering.

“Where are we?” Jojo’s wide eyes focused on Cree. “You’ve been through the Portal before. You ever see this place?”

“N…no. I haven’t.” Cree stood and dusted herself off, making a slow 360° turn as she did. Drawing her arms across her chest, she shivered. “It’s awfully cold. We should get out of here.”

“How? I don’t see where we came in. No dumpster, no equipment trailer, no nothing.” Jojo stood beside her, his hands in his pockets and a frown on his face.

“It’s got to be here somewhere!” Cree dropped to her hands and knees, her hands searching the rock and sand, looking for something — anything — that would take them home.

* * *

Three men ringed a fire, their camp hidden in the midst of scrub brush and cedar on a hillside. A raw wind sliced at their bones and voided any warmth the feeble sun offered. One poured boiling water into their mugs and added barberry leaves. “Here. This will keep us warm.”

Jarul wrapped his chilled fingers around the mug and stood, his long black robe reaching the ground and its hood shadowing his features. A blood-red emblem embossed on the robe’s shoulder featured two crossed swords with a single burning eye beneath them, indicating his status as captain. He walked a few steps away and searched the horizon — again. Catching movement in the distance, his head jerked around and he lifted binoculars to his eyes. The mug clattered to the frozen ground beneath him as both hands hurried to adjust the focus.

Spinning around, he pointed a long finger behind him at Jojo. “The portal just opened. He’s here!”

“What?” Nizol leapt to his feet and clamped his own binoculars to his face. “But he’s with someone. A woman.”

“That’s of no importance. She can be easily dispatched.” Jarul picked up his crossbow and turned to their partner. “Asaf, douse the fire. We must hurry if we’re to capture him tonight.”

Asaf nodded, his pulse quickening at the meaning of this moment, then turned to his duties. Kneeling before the fire, he spoke over his shoulder. “It’s been a long time waiting for this day…the day we stop music’s power. We’ll be legends, hey, Nizol?”

“Not so fast.” Jarul’s green eyes pierced Asaf. “The Oracle warns that Gitarm’n can be a dangerous foe. We must be very careful”







.

[mamacitaRuth]

:eek::rolleyes: .....ummm, this one's ALL yours.

[cre8ivepoet]

my oh my. Oh dear me. Let's pray for the unwary band of men. They will never be the same after encountering Jojo and Cree. ;)

[Belle]

If this last post is too weird, we can ditch it. I just thought it'd be funny to have three hooded guys think they've got Henry. Instead, Jojo and Cree lead them through the Portal to a casino in New Mexico.

Talk about a floor show!

[mamacitaRuth]

If this last post is too weird, we can ditch it. I just thought it'd be funny to have three hooded guys think they've got Henry. Instead, Jojo and Cree lead them through the Portal to a casino in New Mexico.

Talk about a floor show!

Nah, GO FOR IT! As long as YOU know where you want to take it.....We've always had a set of 'bad guys' in every story, this is no different. They're just a little more out there than normal....kinda like Cree and Jojo about now! ;)

[MelBAustria]

Fantastic!! What a nice turn to the story Belle ...
Hope I can come up with something soon.

Mel
:-)

[cre8ivepoet]

Asaf nodded, his pulse quickening at the meaning of this moment, then turned to his duties. Kneeling before the fire, he spoke over his shoulder. “It’s been a long time waiting for this day…the day we stop music’s power. We’ll be legends, hey, Nizol?”

“Not so fast.” Jarul’s green eyes pierced Asaf. “The Oracle warns that Gitarm’n can be a dangerous foe. We must be very careful.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asaf gathered more wood for the meager fire and glanced over at Jarul for the second time. Jarul was silent, which meant he was thinking about their next course of action. Asaf waited tensely and jumped when Jarul's eyes focused on him only.

"You will go to Gitarm'n," he stated. Asaf nodded obediently, eager to serve his captain. "Watch them without disturbing them. Follow them if they move but report back to me in one day. Tell me what you learn. Nothing more is to be done. Do you understand?"

"Captain," Asaf bowed deeply. Asaf's dark hooded cloak whirled as he turned and disappeared into the darkening shadows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jojo and Cree paced in little circles, occasionally surveying their surroundings, still unable to believe what they were seeing. Jojo's eyes wavered between despair and fear, and then finally settled on anger. Pointed at Cree of course.

"What did you get me into now?" he demanded.

Cree grimaced, too consumed with her own fears to be offended. "I don't know."

"You don't know," Jojo threw his hands up into the air. "Of course you don't know." He looked heavenward. "God, why do I have to pick friends who turn my life upside down? Talking mice live on my bus, my manager lives on Tums, and now you give me a "Cree". What did I do to deserve this?"

Cree glared until his tirade was over, her foot tapping. "Are ya finished now?"

"I think so," Jojo sniffed after a moment of silence.

"Good," she said through clenched teeth. "Because now would be a really good time to figure out WHERE WE ARE 'cause it certainly doesn't look like Texas! Any ideas 'O King of Drama?"

"That's not funny," Jojo said, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not laughing," she snarled quietly. Tears suddenly threatened and she said, "What are we gonna do?"

"Don't cry," Jojo softened. He patted her shoulder awkwardly. "We'll figure it out."

Cree nodded swallowing back tears. They both shivered in the cold.

"We should at least build a fire." He pulled a lighter from his pocket.

Asaf watched from a few feet away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm hungry," Cree griped the next morning. Jojo grumbled his assent. "Shouldn't we start walking to find the nearest town?"

"Cree I don't think we're close to any kind of town," Jojo replied nervously. "As a matter of fact, if you haven't noticed, not even an airplane has passed overhead. Don't you find that strange?"

She contemplated. "Yikes."

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Well we should at least walk around to look for the portal."

"Okay." They stood and tripped their way around the surrounding woodland. After an hour they sighed hopelessly. "Wasn't it almost dark when we arrived here?"

"Yeah."

"Well maybe it will reappear at the same time," Cree said aloud, almost in prayer. They sat around the rest of the day, alternately snoozing.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Jojo apologized.

"Aww that's so yesterday," Cree pish-poshed. She grinned a silly grin.

"Why are you so forgiving?" he said suspiciously. Her grin widened. "What?"

"You said I was your friend," she giggled.

"Oh brother," Jojo rolled his eyes. At that second to their astonished eyes, the blue light of the portal appeared not five feet away from them.

"Cree -!" Jojo pointed. He never finished as she grabbed his hand and they jumped through.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asaf promptly fell out of the tall tree when the man and woman disappeared before his very eyes. He stared at the glowing blue light with terrible fear, unable to break his eyes away as it grew smaller. Asaf crawled back up into the tree and made a trilling bird call.

A few hours later, Jarul and Nizol arrived. Asaf pointed to the blue light, still diminishing. Jarul stared. "And they stepped into the light and vanished?" he scoffed at Asaf's recount.

"I swear Jarul," he bowed with respect. Jarul walked toward the light. He edged closer and closer until he was looking down into the light, but he could see nothing except a swirling blue vortex. It resembled a pool of blue water. He was entranced and reached a long brown arm out to touch it...until he too was gone.

"Captain!" Nizol cried. He leaped to save him Asaf on his heels. They were unable to stop in time and unintentionally hurled themselves into the light behind Jarul. :eek:

[Belle]

Are we back in Texas?

He!!, I'd be glad to know we're still on EARTH!!


teehee snicker snort


good writing!

[mamacitaRuth]

We need a new emoticon....the one where their hands are OVER their eyes, peeking out between two fingers with the horror look like this :eek: ...LOVE it!

[MelBAustria]

great stuff!!!

Mel
:D

[Belle]

"Captain!" Nizol cried. He leaped to save him Asaf on his heels. They were unable to stop in time and unintentionally hurled themselves into the light behind Jarul.

* * *

“Cree, get off! I’m tired of being a landing pad for you.” Jojo pushed her shoulders and sat up. Swiveling his head, he let out a “Yee haw!” then jumped up and dusted off his pants. “I’ve never been happier to see a garbage dumpster!”

Cree looked over her shoulder and grinned, lifting a hand toward him for help. Once on her feet, she tapped Jojo, pointed, and sprinted toward the tour bus parked in the distance. “Put the tortillas on! The Creester’s back and she’s hungry!” she hollered as she ran.

Jojo took several steps after her, slapping at his pockets to make sure he had everything, but something didn’t seem right. Slowing to a walk, he checked his pockets one more time, but still couldn’t find his lighter…the one engraved with his name.

“I’ll be right there,” he called to Cree, then returned to the dumpster. Kneeling, he felt around the pavement, searching in the feeble parking lot light.

Wham! Thud! Thump! Oof!

“What the…?” Jojo landed flat on his stomach when something hit his back. Raising his head up an inch, he saw hems of three black robes. Lifting his gaze a bit higher, his eyes widened as they focused on a crossbow and two swords pointed directly at him. Risking one more higher look, he could see only hooded darkness where faces should be.

“Okay, Joey. If this is a bad dream, now would be a real good time to wake up!”

"Gitarm'n, at last we meet." A somber voice hissed from above and a sword inched nearer to Jojo's face.

Jojo squinched his eyes closed. "Please oh please, wake up!"

[cre8ivepoet]

omg...this keeps getting better! Who's gonna save the J-man?

[Belle]

Moonlight streamed through the window, landing on Belle’s sleeping face.

“Murfpmhpf.” She rolled over, her hand swatting at her nose. One eye popped open and not recognizing the room, her other eye followed. Untangling from the sheets, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

“Oh, yeah,” she mumbled. “I’m at Ruby’s in San Antonio in…uh… two thousand and…five, I think.” Quickly dressing, she listened to the house for noise, but heard nothing. “I know Ruby thinks I should stay here and leave things to Cree.” She shook her head. “Yeah, that’s gonna happen!”

Tiptoeing across the hall and down the stairs, she made it to the kitchen door. With Ninja stealth, she opened it and made her way to her car. In minutes, the highway stretched out, leading her to the Bistro.

“I couldn’t chance running into Kevin again,” she told her guilty conscience. “I’ve got to find Cree. And I need to do what I can to get this portal mess straightened out.” In spite of all her logic, she could still feel Ruby’s disappointed eyes boring into the back of her head.

* * *

In the predawn dark, Belle opened the Bistro door. “Cree? Hello?” Switching on the light, she made a quick inspection only to find what she’d already feared. No Cree.

“Where is she?” Belle stared out the window and chewed on her bottom lip. “Heck, when is she?” She walked to the portal and leaned over to peek in, then went into the kitchen. “If I’m jumping this time, I’m gonna be ready!” The junk drawer held a flashlight, duct tape, matches, batteries, rubber bands, expired coupons, pens and a tube of superglue. Grabbing the flashlight, batteries and matches and shoving them into her purse, she got halfway to the door and went back for the duct tape. “Ya never know.”

Taking one deep breath, she leapt in.

* * *

Jarul pulled Jojo to his feet, his sharp fingers digging into Jojo’s shoulders, and pushed him closer to the dumpster.

“Hey, hey!” Jojo protested. “Watch it! That hu…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Jarul jumped through the vortex, taking Jojo with him. Nizol and Asaf sheathed their swords and followed.

Unlike the times before when Jojo jumped, an explosion of white light ricocheted through the vortex, which spun faster and faster until something solid collided with Jojo and his captors. Someone screamed. (It might have been Jojo; he wasn’t sure.) They all tumbled out in a pile of robes and feet and arms and…a purse?

“What the…?” Belle slowly sat up, her eyeballs rolling in her head. “Who hit me?”

Jojo grabbed her hand and bolted to his feet. “Run!”




.

[cre8ivepoet]

Belle I think these 3 dudes worked out better than you thought!!

[cre8ivepoet]

Unlike the times before when Jojo jumped, an explosion of white light ricocheted through the vortex, which spun faster and faster until something solid collided with Jojo and his captors. Someone screamed. (It might have been Jojo; he wasn’t sure.) They all tumbled out in a pile of robes and feet and arms and…a purse?

“What the…?” Belle slowly sat up, her eyeballs rolling in her head. “Who hit me?”

Jojo grabbed her hand and bolted to his feet. “Run!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry glared at Cree as he tapped his foot. Ringo was studiously pulling ingredients out of the cabinet and refridgerator for homemade tortillas. He decided he'd stay out of this argument.

"I don't know where we landed Henry!" Cree reiterated again.

"You don't know - or won't tell?" he pushed the issue. He groaned when Cree shrugged.

"I can't think right now. I'm hungry. And where's Jojo? He said he'd only be a minute. I don't think I can restrain myself from eating all the tortillas Ringo's gonna make," she groused. "Maybe I should go check."

"No!" Kevin thundered. "You stay put. I'll go check. You said by the dumpster right?"

"Right," Cree said dismissively. She eyed Ringo's handiwork. "Could ya hurry it up? My stomach's already on my second kidney! I'll be on dialysis in a minute!"

"'Could ya hurry it up?'" Ringo mimicked as he combined the ingredients.

"I'll be right back," Kevin said leaving the bus.

Ringo made short work of the tortillas and Cree sniffed gratefully as he placed one in front of her. She dug in without a word. The mice and the men rolled their eyes at every "mmm" and "oohhh" and "yumm" that came out of her mouth. She sat back when she was done and drank down a whole soda in less than a minute.

"I didn't hear a 'thank yo-" Ringo started but was interrupted by a brrrrp. Henry and the mice made a face. Cree grinned and Ringo gave her a high five. "That's right."

Henry straightened up and focused on Cree. "Now let's get back to where you and Jojo wound up."

"No where special," Cree muttered. "I couldn't tell you where. I can tell you it was the coldest place I've ever been."

"Cree anywhere is the coldest place you've ever been. You're from Florida!" Ish grumbled.

"We were in some kind of forest or something. It was weird," Cree frowned, struggling now to remember.

"Weird how?" Lil asked taking more interest in Cree's shenanigans.

"It was almost like there was no sign of human life," Cree tried her best to explain. "That's impossible of course...but it was almost like a - a different time I guess would be a good description."

"A different time?" Henry queried.

"Well. Jojo noticed no airplanes passed overhead," Cree said. "I didn't think about it until he said it. But he was right."

"That doesn't mean anything," Ish scoffed.

"Maybe," Cree frowned again. "But somehow I don't think so..."

They all looked up as a strange sound came from outside, followed by lots of yelling. Henry, Ringo, and Ish jumped up. Cree jumped up too.

"Stay here!" the three said at once, pointing at her. She huffed and puffed as the three men ran off the bus. She looked at Miko and Lil with an angry pout.

"How can I stay here?" she whined. She paced and then sat down.

"You heard them," Lil enforced. Cree eyed Jojo's tortilla.

"That's not a good idea," Miko said reading her mind.

"It's getting cold," Cree pointed out.

"Oh boy," Lil squeaked. "She can't even leave a tortilla in peace."

"At least not in one piece," Miko sniggered. Cree reached her hand out...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are we running from?" Belle hollered.

"Them!" Jojo pointed behind. Belle stopped and stared at the three robed figures struggling to get up, twisted as they were on the ground.

"What the -"

"Belle PLEASE!! Jojo begged.

"Strange," Belle said.

"Anything with a sword is not 'strange'. It's just plain scary! Now run!" Jojo shouted. The three men saw them, one pointed at them and they gave chase.

"Right," Belle panicked. At that moment Kevin stepped off the tour bus and gave a sigh of relief to see Jojo - and BELLE! - headed toward him.

"Why are they running?" he said aloud to himself. He stopped to consider why the three strange looking robed men were chasing them. Not to mention Jojo and Belle were yelling and waving their arms.

"Help!!" Jojo yelled. Belle was on his heels. Kevin simply watched as Jojo and Belle ran toward him and stared when they came to a stop and the three men trapped all four of them against the bus, a sword wielded in each hand.

"What's going on?" Kevin looked around the three men waiting for a cameraman to pop out. "Are we on a show or something?"

"Be quiet," Jarul hissed pointing his knife at Kevin. "We want Gitarm'n."

"Uh yeah well, he's not the guitar man," Kevin responded. "He's the bass man."

"Kev - Kev, I don't think -" Jojo began.

"Silence!" Nizol ordered. Belle squeaked and squeezed her eyes shut.

"What?" Kevin asked, still uncomprehending. "Did you want an autograph or something? -"

"Omigod Kevin!" Jojo yelled. "This is real!! This is NOT a show! Have you not noticed that Belle is back?"

"Yes but -" he stopped and then put his hands on his hips, now glowering with exasperation. "Aw jeez!! Is this more of CREE's handiwork?!?! What now?!" His hands reached for his pocket. "My TUMs. Where's my TUMs?"

Henry, Ringo, and Ish came off the bus and stopped dead in their tracks.

"Belle!" they called in unison, silly grins on their faces. They trotted over, relief all over their bodies.

"Hey," Henry said overlooking the three men as Kevin did. "What's going on? Some kind of show or something? The casino giving us a farewell party?"

"Um, no," Belle breathed out in a whisper. "Not exactly -"

"Hi I'm Henry Garza," he smiled wide extending a hand. "Nice threads man." The three men practically growled and then Henry reached out to flick their rubber swords. "Oww! Those are real! Hey isn't that kind of dangerous..."

;)

[Belle]

"Hi I'm Henry Garza," he smiled wide extending a hand. "Nice threads man." The three men practically growled and then Henry reached out to flick their rubber swords. "Oww! Those are real! Hey isn't that kind of dangerous..."

* * *

“Kneel before our Captain!” Nizol ordered again, pushing at Henry’s shoulder.

“Uh, I don’t think so, man!” Ringo took one step forward, his eyes glaring.

A crossbow appeared from behind Jarul’s back and aimed straight at Henry’s chest. “Kneel and tell us which of you is Gitarm’n, and the rest might live to see the morrow’s sun.”

Jojo felt a hand poke his shoulder. When he half turned, he saw Cree crouching behind him on the bottom bus step. She shoved a bag of tortilla flour at him.

“It’s open,” she hissed. “I’ve got one, too. On three.”

Jojo’s eyes narrowed, trying to comprehend, then he nodded. “One…two… three!”

Cree leapt to her feet and clamped down on the bottom of the sack, sending flour flying toward the strangers’ eyes in a white plume. Jojo jumped to one side and did the same.

As he staggered backward, blinded and trying to breathe, Jarul pressed the crossbow’s release and a shafted arrow embedded itself into the bus. THWANG! Wide-eyed and speechless, Henry felt the rush of air as it passed less than an inch from his face.

Not wasting the opportunity, Kevin grabbed Henry’s elbow and pushed Ringo in front of him. “On the bus! Now!”

Ish dove for Belle, almost throwing her headlong onto the bus before he jumped in.

CLANG! CRUNCH! Two sword blades dented the door just as it swung shut; Nizol and Asef’s curses filled the air at their enemies’ escape.

Ish jumped in the driver’s seat, intent on getting them out of there, but his shaking hands and panicked brain couldn’t find the keys.

Mel stepped out of the small bathroom, holding three worried mice. Belle collapsed in a chair and pushed her wild hair out of her eyes, then leaned toward Jojo, who had his head rested on the back of the seat, his eyes closed, his lungs gasping for air, and one hand over his heart.

“Um, Jojo, please tell me we’re in 2009.”

Jojo waved one hand, trying to find his voice when Kevin spoke up. “Yeah, it’s 2009. Who are those guys?” He pointed out the window, then stood straight up; so did the hair on the back of his neck. All eyes turned as one to look outside and all breathing stopped.

* * *

“Captain, we have failed you,” Nizol said as he bowed before Jarul.

“All is not lost.” Jarul pulled a small book from the depths of his pocket. He held it in his left palm, his right hand hovering an inch above the ornate jewel-encrusted cover. With his head tilted back, he stared at the moon, his green eyes turning red. An intonation, deep and mystic, filled the night and, in a moment, he opened the book and lifted it skyward.

Golden light crawled across the pages, gathering strength and form until a clawed hand reached for the stars. Jarul screamed “Gitarm’n! Come forth!” and lightning seared the sky, meeting the hand ten feet above the ground. Jagged brands of electricity arced around the three strangers and around the bus while a wild wind swirled around the men and rocked the bus.

Henry stood, trance-like, and pushed past Ish, stepped over Kevin’s feet and reached for the bus door.







.

[MelBAustria]

.... this is so exciting!!! Love it ......!

Mel
:)

[mamacitaRuth]

Golden light crawled across the pages, gathering strength and form until a clawed hand reached for the stars. Jarul screamed “Gitarm’n! Come forth!” and lightning seared the sky, meeting the hand ten feet above the ground. Jagged brands of electricity arced around the three strangers and around the bus while a wild wind swirled around the men and rocked the bus.

Henry stood, trance-like, and pushed past Ish, stepped over Kevin’s feet and reached for the bus door.

******

Jojo and Ish leapt to their feet, and each grabbed one of Henry’s arms. “Oh, NO, you don’t, big brother!” Jojo said, digging his feet in against Henry’s strength. Henry immediately became stiffer, and wriggled to be free.

“Let him go!” Kevin half-whispered.

“Man, are you crazy?!” Jojo protested.

“No, listen! He’s kind of asleep, sorta like ‘sleep-walkin’, right? Leave him be, but don’t let him leave…block his exit!” Both men nodded and stood firmly in front of the door. Henry would reach forward and turn the lock. Jojo would lock it. H would do it again. Ish would do the same. Henry would try to push each one of the men out of the way, and then he would stop for a second. Each time he tried again, he would get a little stronger and Ish and Jojo were having trouble holding their ground against him.

Ringo got up and took Ish’s place. “Here, bro’, switch with me! Henry can’t get past me,” he said, slapping one of his rock-hard arms.

Ish slid out and went over to Henry’s guitar case, leaning against the wall of the bus. He picked up Henry’s brown starburst strat, and started to pluck out a tune. Henry’s demeanor softened slightly, and he half-turned his head and stared at the bus floor while Ish played. Jojo laid a hand on his brother’s shoulder and softly called his name. Henry slowly turned his head and looked at Jojo. As if guiding a sleeping child, Jojo took Henry over to a chair in the galley. Henry sat down. “Are you alright, bro?” Ringo was at his side. Henry slowly looked up at both of them, “Where am I?”

Whoops and hollers echoed through the bus. Little mouse voices joined in. Belle dabbed her eyes. Mel sighed, with a hand to her face. Kevin unwrapped some Tums. Cree came from the back of the bus, gnawing on a big ol’ sandwich, “What’d I mibs?” Everyone laughed, and Henry looked dazed and confused. Jojo handed him a beer, saying, “Drink this. You’ll feel better!” Henry obligingly took a swig and asked “What happened?” Amid chuckles, Kevin got up and patted Henry on the back, “Later!”

Kevin rechecked the door, and motioned at Ringo, “Will you do the honors? I let Ed go hours ago because I thought we were staying here tonight, but I think we should get outta here!”

Ringo slid behind the wheel of the bus, and cranked it up. It sputtered a couple times, and then emitted that long, solid whine they were all familiar with after years on the road. He steered it out of the parking lot, and towards the expressway. They all heard a couple thuds on the side of the bus as they pulled away, but they decided it might be that leftover arrow that had broken off when it struck the bus.

******

Miles down the road, the passengers were in various forms of relaxation: some napping, some reading, some strumming a guitar or two.

Heading south, Ringo was glancing out the bus window to the east. The orange and violet sunset was throwing all kinds of beautiful colors and light on the valley to the east, bathing everything in an amber glow. He was smiling at the pretty scenery when he noticed the long dark shadow cast by the bus across the road. All of a sudden, Ringo’s eyes went wide, “OH, HELL!”

Jojo sprang up, put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, and peered out the window. “What’s up?”

Ringo pointed his finger at the bus’ shadow. Jojo looked but didn’t see anything. “Look at the top of the shadow. We have company!” Jojo looked again and now saw what Ringo was seeing: three black shadows at the roof line of the bus!

Jojo whipped around and sat on the bus seat, clutching his chest, “CRAP!!” looking at everyone who were now looking at him. “What is it?!” Kevin asked.

“Those dudes we thought we lost?! They’re on top of our bus, man!!”

[Belle]

Ooooo, Ruth, good cliff hanger! Let's see what Ms. Mouth (aka Cree) has to say NOW.

:p

[MelBAustria]

I love this, keep on going - I have writers blockage :(

Mel
:D

[mamacitaRuth]

Jojo whipped around and sat on the bus seat, clutching his chest, “CRAP!!” looking at everyone who were now looking at him. “What is it?!” Kevin asked.

“Those dudes we thought we lost?! They’re on top of our bus, man!!”

******

Kevin got up and came to the front of the bus. He looked out over Ringo’s shoulder to the left, jerked backwards, then peered out the front of the bus. “Jojo, hand me that map.” waving with a finger toward the pile of assorted travel paraphernalia on the dashboard of the bus.

While he opened the map, he was looking for road signs to get his bearings. “Ringo, where are we?”

Ringo sat up a little straighter, and rubbed his chin. “Well, I think the last road sign said the town we passed was Mesa, but I’m not sure. I know we’re in Arizona.”

Kevin straightened and folded the map, “That’s perfect. Ruby lives close to these parts, near Superstition Freeway.”

Cree had walked up behind Kevin, “Okay, that gave me goosebumps!” Kevin turned around and smiled, “Yeah, I know. She lives at the end of the freeway, in a town called Apache Junction.”

“I thought she lived in Diablo, Colorado?” Belle offered.

“She did, but after the town hit it big, she sold the café and retired down here.”

“I’m gonna give her a call, and let her know we’re comin’”, Kevin flipped open his cell phone.

“Trust me”, said Jojo, “She already knows we’re comin’…”

Ruby answered on the first ring. “See?!” Jojo’s eyebrows shot up.

“Ruby?” Kevin tried to hide the alarm in his voice, “Yeah, it’s Kev. Oh, well……Yeah. Yeah, you could say that……We’ve got a situation. Oh? Really. Well, what do you think? Are we crazy to come all the way to your place? I don’t want to bring you trouble……”

Kevin motioned for Ringo to give him the pen and notebook on the dashboard. He listened intently to Ruby on the other end, and was furiously scribbling something.

When he shut the phone, all eyes were on him.

Kevin took his time reading his notes before he spoke. “She said there’s a county road exit off of Superstition, that is part of a state park. She said there’s a stretch of road that the state built replicas of bridge overhangs to attract tourists.”

“Like the old-fashioned covered bridges?” Belle asked. Kevin nodded.

Henry stood up, “I think I know where you’re goin’ with this…”

Kevin continued, “Exactly! Ruby said our bus will fit, but anything on top of it…well, they’ll either have to jump or use their magic, tricks, whatever, to get away.”

Ringo sighed a big sigh. “Okay, point me!”

Jojo’s wheels were turning, and Cree tried to interject a thought. Jojo shushed her at the first word. “Oh, no, you don’t! You stay out of this! You’re the reason we’re here!”

Cree’s mouth opened and closed, fish-like, and with arms crossed and lip out, she retreated to the back benchseat of the bus. Teo came and sat on her leg. “It’s okay, Cree. I get blamed for everything, too.”, he whispered.

Cree glared toward Jojo, “I was just gonna say……” Jojo shushed her again. Now she was furious, and stomped off to the back of the bus.

Belle timidly spoke up. “I think I may know what she was going to say….”

Jojo opened his mouth to speak, and Kevin held up a hand. “Let’s hear her out!”

Henry moved closer, “What is it, Belle?”

“Well, it’s sunset now. Means it’s gonna be dark by the time we get there.”

“Yeah, probably“ said Kevin.

Belle continued, “Well, if it’s dark, how will we know our plan worked?”

Everyone on the bus fell silent, and just looked at one another.

A small, but powerful, voice finally broke the silence. Miko stretched up on his hind legs and said, “I think I may be able to help with that.”

[Belle]

Oh, Ruth, I was thinking of having them head for Ruby's, too! Great minds, huh? (Or at least twisted ones...) :D

[mamacitaRuth]

Belle continued, “Well, if it’s dark, how will we know our plan worked?”

Everyone on the bus fell silent, and just looked at one another.

A small, but powerful, voice finally broke the silence. Miko stretched up on his hind legs and said, “I think I may be able to help with that.”

******

The bus continued to rumble down the highway. Dusk had indeed vanished, and night had taken its place. The only lights to be seen were the oncoming car headlights as the anxious entourage made their way toward the state park. This time, everyone was sitting in stunned silence, replaying in their minds what Miko had laid out for them. Mel closed her eyes, and she still could hear Lil’s not so soft cry of protest at her husband’s wild plan.

Lil knew far too well that there was no use in arguing with her man when he set his mind to do something, and all of her pleas of “You can’t do this!” and “It’s too dangerous” were just wasted on Miko. Mel glanced over in Miko’s direction to see him huddled with his wife, arms around her.

Ish had relieved Ringo at the wheel, and Ringo was now sprawled out on one of the couches with a magazine over his eyes. Cree was sitting across from him. She reached out with her foot, and kicked Ringo’s boot. Ringo jumped and took the magazine off his face.

“What?!” he gnarled at Cree. “What’d ya do that for?”

“How can you sleep at a time like this?”

“Oh, I dunno, maybe ‘cause I been up all day and then I drove for about a jazillion miles…” Ringo leaned his head back on the bench and closed his eyes again.

“I can’t stand it!” Cree whined, “I’m too nervous to sleep. Let’s play cards or something.” She hopped up and went to look for a deck of cards. When she returned from the back room empty-handed, Henry was sitting at the galley table – dealer’s visor cap on his head, and splaying a deck of cards out on the table. “Gather around, victims! Name your game….”

Jojo, Ringo and Kevin got up and took a chair around the table. Soon, the three gals joined, too. Miko and Lil sat on the arm of the couch to watch, with Teo close by.

Henry was shuffling the cards, all Vegas-brilliant, with Ringo snorting and chuckling at his brother’s moves. Belle spoke up. “Okay, Miko, I still don’t know if I can wrap my mind around your plan. Will you go over it again?” There were immediate groans, and Belle said, “Hey! I think we need to be clear, don’t you?” Everyone nodded and fell silent.

“It’s pretty simple, Belle. It just sounds bad.”

“Go ahead.”

“When we think they’re not on the roof anymore – after the bridges – and it’s all quiet up there, I’ll go up top and check it out. Even if they’re still there, they’re not going to see me. It’s all dark and I’m small.”

“But, what if they see you?” Cree interjected.

“They won’t.”

“But what if they do?” Belle looked scared, “We’re gonna be in the middle of nowhere – big black dark park!”

Miko tried to reassure her, “It won’t matter. We can still be moving. They can’t get into the bus, and I’ll just hide in the roof vents.”

“That’s the part I don’t like”, Lil patted her husband on the knee.
Miko took Lil’s paw in his, “It’ll be alright.”

Henry started to deal the cards, when Kevin’s cell phone rang and almost everyone jumped out of their skin. Kevin looked at the caller id, and furrowed his brow.

He flipped open his phone, “Ruby?”

They were all holding their breath, and could hear every word Ruby said through the phone.

“Trouble in River City, mister! “ Ruby’s voice was clear and high. “Miko’s plan is probably not gonna work.”

Jojo’s eyes went wide, “How did she…” Kevin held up a hand.

“But, why, Ruby? How come you……” Ruby interrupted him.

“Because,” her next words made the hairs stand up on Belle’s neck, “Now there’s four on the roof!”

[mamacitaRuth]

Oh, Ruth, I was thinking of having them head for Ruby's, too! Great minds, huh? (Or at least twisted ones...) :D

Your turn, Ms. Twisted! :D

[Belle]

Four on the roof??? Ruth, you're evil!! (I can hear you all the way in Texas: Bwahahaha)

[Belle]

Ruby interrupted him. “Because,” her next words made the hairs stand up on Belle’s neck, “Now there’s four on the roof!”

* * *

“You…uh…you wouldn’t happen to know who – or what – the fourth one is, would ya?” Kevin closed his eyes to ask the question.

“All I can tell you is that he is the strongest of them all. The others are afraid of him.”

“Join the club,” Belle whimpered.

“Uh, guys?” Ish called from the driver’s seat. “I don’t want to make things worse, but how far away is this bridge? We’re almost out of diesel.”

Ringo thumped his forehead onto the table and clasped his hands across the back of his head.

“What are we gonna do?” Mel cried and focused worried eyes on Cree.

“Excuse me, mister bad guys,” Cree’s voice rose an octave, “but before you shish kabob us, can we please stop for fuel first?” Hysteria laced through her laughter even as tears ran down her face, until Jojo shook her by the elbow.

“Stop it! We’re going to get out of this.” He looked over his shoulder at Henry and whispered, “…somehow.”

“Ruby,” Kevin spoke into the phone, “We’ve got a situation.”

“I heard.”

“I’ll call you back in a bit.” He snapped the phone shut and motioned for everyone to be quiet. “Let’s think things through, okay?”

“Sure, boss.” Henry scooted forward to the edge of his seat, his elbows resting on his knees, his eyes intent on Kevin.

“What do they want?” Kevin asked.

“Gitarm’n,” Jojo answered.

“Which we assume means him,” Belle pointed toward Henry. “I mean, he’s the one who went in a trance.”

“Okay. They want Henry. But why?” Kevin scanned the faces.

“I didn’t stop to ask,” Cree snapped, swiping at her tears.

Mel gestured toward H. “Did you sense anything when you were in the trance?”

“Did I sense anything?” He tilted his head to think. “I felt a very strong urge to go outside. A voice kept calling me. It sounded so beautiful, too.”

“Why did you have to go outside?” Kevin asked.

“I don’t know.”

“So, to sum things up,” Belle raised an index finger to begin counting, “They want Henry, but we don’t know why. We don’t know anything about them except they came through the portal and have mystic powers.”

“Don’t forget the crossbow and swords,” Cree squeaked and earned a sideways glare from Ringo.

“Now there’s a fourth one, more dangerous than the others. And, we’re almost out of gas, in the middle of nowhere.” Having run out of fingers to count on, Belle pushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes and crossed her arms. “When the going gets tough, what would Texicans do?”

“What we’ve always done,” Henry declared and stood. “We take the fight to them.”

“Hold up, there, mister.” Miko raised a paw. “I don’t mind a good fight, but we don’t have any weapons. And this fight isn’t against humans, not here-and-now humans. Not even here-and-now ghosts. They could be anything, and drag us to any time or any place in the universe for all we know. How do you fight that? Huh?”

“I can’t stand this!” Cree leapt to her feet and banged on the bus roof. “What do you want?” she screamed. “Who are you?”

All eyes fell on her, wide at her audacity, the tires on the road and the bus engine making the only sound. After a few seconds, she started to sit down again when an eerie vibration crawled up her spine, electrified the back of her neck and seeped into her brain.

“Gitarm’n,” the vibration whisper-hissed. “We want Gitarm’n. We are the Watchers and have come to fulfill the prophecy. You have nowhere to run.”

Cree’s eyes flew open, rolled to the back of her head, then she fell in a dead faint at Ringo’s feet.

Ringo knelt beside her, patting one hand. “Cree? Cree, c’mon. Open those eyes. Please.” His head jerked up with a grin when she groaned.

“Oooh.” Holding her head in her hands, she glanced at the anxious faces surrounding her. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Mel asked.

“About the Watchers and the prophecy and nowhere to run.”

“You’re not making much sense,” Kevin interrupted, pulling her to her feet.

“They,” her eyes glanced at the ceiling, “are known as the Watchers and are here because of a prophecy about Henry. They say we’ve got nowhere to run.” She looked pale and couldn’t quit trembling when fresh tears filled her eyes.

“That’s it!” Henry wheeled around, the vein in his temple throbbing, his jaws clenched. “Stop the bus!”

Ish sent a look to Henry, indicating just how crazy he thought he was, but pulled onto the shoulder and stopped. When he opened the door, Henry burst out and landed on the ground with a thud, his boots raising small puffs of dust.

He whipped around to stare at the roof, then stepped back and looked again. “Where are you? Show yourself!”

“Aren’t they here?” Belle peeked around the door, then joined Henry. Seeing both of them safe, the others came out, too.

“This just gets weirder by the minute,” Lil huffed from her place on Mel’s shoulder. She watched as several of them walked a circle around the bus, inspecting every inch.

“I guess they’re gone,” Kevin surmised.

“Good! Maybe Cree scared ‘em,” Ish said, standing behind the bus. “Let’s find a gas station.”

Teo looked out of Jojo’s shirt pocket and froze when he saw dark shadows darting up the steps and disappear.






.

[Belle]

Golden light crawled across the pages, gathering strength and form until a clawed hand reached for the stars. Jarul screamed “Gitarm’n, come forth!” and lightning seared the sky, meeting the hand ten feet from the ground. Jagged brands of electricity arced around the three strangers and around the bus while a wild wind swirled around the men and rocked the bus.


* * *

The hand hovered until it sensed Henry’s presence, then began to draw him toward the door. At Henry’s hesitation, the hand became a fist, then relaxed and began again.

After several moments, when Gitarm’n refused to come out, the lightning hand took another shape, consuming the surrounding electricity to do so. The golden yellow hand turned to violet-blue human form, pulsating with whirling energy.

“Why have you summoned me?” A deep voice crackled above the three prostrate strangers. Asef and Nizol shook where they lay, breathing in oil and transmission fluid staining the parking lot, rather than risk raising their heads.

“M…my lord Ved’r,” Jarul stammered. “We have found Gitarm’n. He is there.” A trembling finger pointed toward the bus just as its engine rumbled to life and it began to pull away.

With a snap of one hand, Ved’r transported them all to the top of the bus.

“Shouldn’t we stop them?” Jarul dared to ask, still keeping his head down, then gurgled as if being choked. After a moment, he gulped in air and made no further attempt to speak.

“Gitarm’n must come to us willingly,” Ved’r growled. “He must give us the music in order for it to be destroyed, or have you forgotten all of the prophecy?” He sat down, indicating that the others could move. His glance flickered to the west and he hissed. “What’s this?” Fully turning, as the last of the day’s color dripped from the night sky, he stared, one hand raised to his chin. “Gitarm’n is not alone.”

“No, my lord. There are several others on…”

“Not them, you fool! There!” A sparking finger pointed across the miles, across the horizon…toward Ruby.

Bam! Bam! Bam! “What do you want? Who are you?” A hysterical voice from below broke his reverie. His form shifted until he lay flat against the roof, his color changing from violet-blue to black while he answered the questions.

When the bus slowed, he resumed his shape and told the others, “If she is any indication of the others, they are weak and of low mental state. They will offer no problem. Stay with me. Do not touch them – yet.”

Ved’r waved one hand over his compatriots, transforming them to nothing more substantial than night shadow, then waited until the confused humans stepped off to search. Once empty, he led his party up the bus steps to hide in the shadows until time to strike.

“Good, we’ve not been seen.”





.

[mamacitaRuth]

I'm evil???! No, missus, that crown is already firmly held......;)

[mamacitaRuth]

Ved’r waved one hand over his compatriots, transforming them to nothing more substantial than night shadow, then waited until the confused humans stepped off to search. Once empty, he led his party up the bus steps to hide in the shadows until time to strike.

“Good, we’ve not been seen.”

******

Ruby paced back and forth in her kitchen, arms folded across her chest, and glancing every so often at the silent cell phone on the table.

“C’mon, Kevin, call me back!” she said to the room.

The tea kettle spewed its steam alarm into the air, and she took it off the flame. She reached into the cupboard next to the stove, and removed two delicate bone china cups and saucers, two teaspoons, tea bags, a sugar bowl, and a bottle of honey. She mindlessly laid the spread out on the table, and took a step back to look at what she had done.

“Oh, look at me! I guess you’re having tea with me, honey…” Ruby realized she had set an extra place for her long-departed husband. ‘Well, why not?’ she thought to herself. Will had helped her many times sort through the strange things that would happen to her, and help her get clarity about it all. ‘Boy!’ she thought, ‘Do I need you now!’

At last, the phone sang its melodious tune.

“Kevin?” Ruby queried, though she already knew it was him.

“Hey, Ruby. Sorry it took me so long to call you back. But we’re okay now, and we’ll still swing by and see you since we’re so close, if that’s okay? We’re at the gas station now, filling up. Is there a hotel close to you? ‘cause we’re all wiped and could really use a good night’s sleep.” Ruby bit her tongue without saying ‘You can’t go to a hotel’, and instead told Kevin, “Nonsense! You come straight here. I’ve got plenty of soft beds in this ol’ farmhouse.”

“You sure? We don’t want to impose.”

“Plenty sure. See you soon!” Ruby closed her phone and dropped it into her apron pocket.

A beautiful black cat jumped up on the table, as Ruby pulled out a chair to have her tea. As she stroked him with one hand, and poured the water with her other, the cat purred loudly and then meowed. “I know, Solomon. I’m just gonna relax for a minute here. We got plenty of work to do, and I’m afraid it’s gonna be a loooong night……”

[mamacitaRuth]

A beautiful black cat jumped up on the table, as Ruby pulled out a chair to have her tea. As she stroked him with one hand, and poured the water with her other, the cat purred loudly and then meowed. “I know, Solomon. I’m just gonna relax for a minute here. We got plenty of work to do, and I’m afraid it’s gonna be a loooong night……”

******

After what seemed like an eternity to tired bodies, the bus rumbled up the lane on the last hill toward Ruby’s place.

Jojo stretched and yawned, opening the window shade a bit to see if he could see her place yet. Ringo leaned over to look as well, startling Jojo causing him to jump, and said to his brother, “What d’ya think? Is it gonna look like the house in Amityville, or what?”

“Stop it!”

Ringo laughed, “Well, you’re the one who is so spooked by this ol’ gal.”

“I am not!” Jojo protested.

“You are, TOO!” Everyone’s voices chimed in. Mel and Cree were gathering their things. Kevin was putting away his laptop, and Henry locked up his Strat.

Belle leaned across the aisle at Jojo. “You know she’s not bad at all. She’s really a sweet lady…well, the one I got to visit with in 2005, anyway.”

“She’s the salt of the earth” Kevin said emphatically. “She’d do anything for you. She’s been a friend most of my life, and I value her friendship.”

“What creeps you out about her, Jojo?” Henry poked his brother.

“I don’t know….She just…” he struggled for an explanation.

Kevin interjected, “She wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

“It’s not the flies I’m worried about!” Jojo pulled his collar up around his neck. At that, everyone laughed. Suddenly, they rounded the last hill, and Mel and Lil both said “Look! Wow….that’s beautiful!”

The bus had cleared the last bend in the road. The sight in front of them left them silent and awestruck. It was a Better Homes & Gardens picture of a beautiful sprawling, three-story farmhouse with a gabled roof and wide wrap-around porch. The whole front of the yard was pristinely desert-landscaped, and there were hundreds of solar landscaping lights on the property. Along the path to the bottom of the porch and the front door were antique lampposts. The whole place was so illuminated, in fact, it looked like midday instead of late evening.

The porch was painted white, and the steps and deck were all a light oak. The shutters along the front of the house were all painted in colorful hues. The house itself, was a light bisque greenish blue. Ish pulled the bus in around the side of the house into a large graveled driveway, with floodlights on each side of it. A side building looked like it might have been an old carriage house, pueblo-style, in the old days; but it was freshly painted and in excellent shape.

As they got off the bus and came around to the other side, they all saw Ruby waving at them from the side porch.

“Come on in!” Ruby got to Kevin first, and they embraced. “It’s good to see y’all!”

Kevin hugged her and said, “It’s good to see you. We’re just glad to be here in one piece, with our unwanted time travelers all gone!”

Ruby started choking, like something had gone down the wrong pipe, and Henry came and patted her on the back. She held up a hand, “I’m okay!” She smiled up at Henry, “and how are you, handsome?”

“Good!” he said as he hugged her.

Ruby waved a hand at everyone. “Well, come on into the house! I know you all gotta be tired and hungry!”

Cree and Ringo were side by side on the bottom step. They both looked at each other, and both smiled and said, “Hungry?”

As soon as they crossed the door to the kitchen, Ringo took a big breath in, “Hmmmm!” he was salivating, “Smells just like your old café in here!”

Kevin turned to Ruby, when he saw the spread on the table, “You didn’t need to do this. We would have been okay until morning.”

Ruby shushed him, “Don’t be silly! Can’t have my guests going to bed hungry, can I, Ringo?” she said into Ringo’s ear. He just mumbled something unintelligible, with a mouth full of sausage and tortillas.

As everyone was enjoying their supper, Ruby motioned for Ish to join her in the pantry. Once they were alone, Ruby half-whispered to Ish, as she was putting something in his hand, “The carriage house has double-wide doors. It’ll fit two buses in there, actually. Pull your bus in there, and then put this lock through the doors and double-lock it. Got it?” Ish looked perplexed, but he nodded, and started toward the door. Ruby grabbed his sleeve, “But take one of the other men with you – but not Henry!” He shook his head, and went and got Jojo.

When she returned to the kitchen, a lot of yawning had replaced second helpings and conversation. “Okay, I’ve got your rooms all ready. Mel, you and Cree are sharing a room, if that’s okay? Belle, you’ll bunk with me tonight, if you don’t mind?” Belle nodded. She was kind of relieved to not be in a room alone. “And, boys, you’ve all got the whole second floor. You can pair up any way you like!”

Henry yawned, and said as he carried his plate to the sink, “I got dibs on the single!”

Ruby took his plate, “Oh, sorry, sugar, it’s three and two to a room for you men.”

“Fine by me,” Ringo grabbed his bag and started toward the stairway. Just then, Jojo and Ish were back from the carriage house. Ringo looked at them, and said, “C’mon! We’re on the second floor.” The men gathered their gear and followed him.

The ladies had left the kitchen. Belle took the mice and looked at Ruby. She nodded, “That’s right! They’ll be in our room tonight.”

Henry was the last guest in the kitchen, but instead of heading up the stairs, he started for the back door. Ruby cut him off. “Where ya goin’, son?”

Startled, he stammered and motioned toward the carriage house, “Uh, uh, I was just gonna go get my guitar out of the bus.”

“Nope! Ish locked it up already, and dang, I’m just too tired to remember where I put those keys….It can wait til morning, can’t it?”

Henry took Ruby by the shoulders, and looked down into her eyes. Softly, he said, “What’s goin’ on?”

Ruby sighed and smiled. “Dang it. You always could see through me,” she poked at his shoulder, “smart one…”

“Well?”

She let out a long sigh before she continued. “They’re here, Henry.”

“Who?”

“You didn’t get rid of your time travelers.”

Henry’s eyes went wide, and he took a step back. “You mean they followed us here?!”

“Sort of.”

“Whoa! Do my brothers know this?!” he was trying desperately to get a handle on this bombshell, “I gotta go talk to Kevin!”

“No! No, you can’t!” Ruby was pushing against his chest. “Just listen…”

By now, Henry was visibly shaken. “Okay,” he took a deep breath, “I’m listening.”

“They’re after you, not the others.”

“Yeah, I know!”

“If the others knew they were here, they would be even more afraid, right?”

“Uh, yeah! Like me!” Henry started to leave and Ruby stopped him again.

Ruby continued. “These entities, whatever they are, feed on fear. The more afraid we are, the stronger they get – especially their leader.”

“So, what, then? You and I have to do this alone??” Henry looked pale.

Ruby nodded, as Henry sank into a kitchen chair and put his head in his hands.

“We are never alone, Henry. You, especially, should know that!”

They both heard a strange noise coming from the direction of the carriage house. They went to the back door and peered out, just in time to see an eerie light spreading under the carriage house doors.

Henry and Ruby looked at each other. Ruby glanced up at the clock, and stiffened. “We don’t have much time.”

[mamacitaRuth]

http://i30.tinypic.com/15gd0tu.jpg

[mamacitaRuth]

Okay, where is everybody??? Cree? Belle? Mel?.....C'mon, you plot-thickeners! You know I meant you were the master of evil plot twists, Belle, don't ya? I was alone and bored out of my mind this weekend, so I got a little carried away, I know, but now we need the other twisted sisters......:(
* i feel so alone *

[Belle]

Hey, I'm twisting. I'm twisting. :p It just takes me a little while to get it to make sense. Hopefully I'll add something later tonight, because I have an idea...


bwahahaha

[mamacitaRuth]

Hey, I'm twisting. I'm twisting. :p It just takes me a little while to get it to make sense. Hopefully I'll add something later tonight, because I have an idea...


bwahahaha

WHEW! That's a relief......

[Belle]

Belle walked into Ruby’s room and put the mice on the quilt-covered bed next to the pillows. “I am so…(yawn)… tired. I could sleep for a week!”

“Me, too.” Lil nodded, then placed a paw on Teo’s shoulder. “You, to bed, right now.”

“Where’s bed?” he asked.

“Um…?” Belle glanced around the room and opened the bottom dresser drawer to find it filled with sweaters. “This looks comfy. And, it’s close enough to the floor that you can get in and out easily.”

“Great.” Lil and Teo walked onto Belle’s outstretched hand and soon found themselves in the soft, warm drawer, getting settled.

When Belle picked up Miko, he said, “Please, put me on the floor. I wanna walk a little bit before I turn in. I ate too much supper.”

“Sure thing.” After doing as he asked, Belle kicked off her shoes, turned off the lamp and lay down.

Miko walked out of the room and meandered down the hall, his paws padding on the dark blue runner that stopped at the top of the stairs. He turned around, intending to go to bed when he heard voices from downstairs.

“These entities, whatever they are, feed on fear. The more afraid we are, the stronger they get – especially their leader.” That’s Ruby, he thought.

“So, what, then? You and I have to do this alone??” And that’s Henry! What are they talking about?

“We’re never alone, Henry. You, especially, should know that!” After a long pause, Miko heard Ruby add, “We don’t have much time.”

Uh oh! Miko hurried down the stairs, out of breath by the time he reached the open backdoor. He saw Ruby stepping off the porch and Henry behind her. Taking a mighty jump, he landed by Henry’s shoe and wasted no time scrambling up his jeans, weaving through H’s long hair, crossing over his shoulder and slipping into his shirt pocket. With Henry’s attention focused on the light from the carriage house and with the noise of his heart hammering its way out of his chest, Henry didn’t notice his stowaway.

Ruby stopped twenty feet away from the carriage house, her hand on her throat, her eyes transfixed to the light.

“Ruby?” Henry whispered beside her. “What kind of time don’t we have?”

“I…I’m not sure.” She focused worried eyes on him. “It’s just something I sense.”

“Have you ever seen anything like these guys before?”

“Once, a long time ago. I thought it was a nightmare, though, not something real. Even now, I’m not sure.”

“Their weapons are real enough.” Henry gulped at the memory of the arrow’s near miss. He watched the light underneath the door change to deep red, fade, grow brighter and change to green. “Just what exactly am I suppose to do?”

“You need to fulfill the prophecy.”

“What prophecy? I don’t get it.” He raked a hand through his hair, his eyes pursed in frustration.

“I don’t know. But it’s what Cree was told. Belle colliding with them and Jojo in the portal was no accident. They could have landed anywhere. Back where they came from…or the Bistro. But they landed where you were. Something or someone made that happen.”

“Your bedside manners stink,” Henry muttered. “I was just scared. Now I’m paralyzed.”

“And that’s the whole point, Henry. You must not be afraid.” Ruby faced him, her hands on his shoulders. “Do you hear me? Do NOT be afraid.” Seeing the doubt in his eyes, she added, “I’d take it as a compliment, actually.”

“A compliment?” Henry shook his head, certain she’d lost her mind.

“God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. Look who you’re fighting. That means you’re strong, very strong.”

“Or God’s got the wrong Henry Garza,” he whispered. He tried to smile at his joke, but his mouth refused to cooperate and stayed in a tight-lipped line.

“We ready?” she asked.

“Yeah, let’s do this.” Henry pushed his sleeves up, settled his glasses on his nose and strode toward the door. Just as his hand reached for the handle, the double doors burst open in a prism of color and light, surrounding him and Ruby. A gust of wind sent dust flying into his eyes, blinding him. To his left, he heard Ruby scream and then abruptly stop. He turned to help her but found himself held by several hands or vices or chains. The swirling light turned to utter darkness and he lost his equilibrium, unable to tell up from down. Maniacal laughter filled his mind and he felt something pull at his consciousness, his memory, his very self, like a slavering wolf at a fresh kill.

“NO!” he screamed and then all went blank.

* * *

“Mmmph.” Air filled Henry’s lungs. At least I’m still alive. Listening for any sound, he risked opening one eye. Seeing nothing, he opened the other and took inventory. When he tried to sit up, he found his arms tied behind his back and his feet bound together. A headache pounded through his brain and down his neck. The ground he lay on felt cold and hard. Hills rose in the distance and a forest stood to his left. He could see no buildings or roads or anything manmade. A rock wedged under his back caused him to shift to a more comfortable position. The light was murky blue…he couldn’t see a sun or moon and couldn’t determine the time of day. A chill wind blew across him, cutting through his thin cotton shirt.

“Ruby?” he whispered, craning his neck to see her or his captors. Only the wind answered, stinging his cheek. His head thumped against the ground while desperation filled his chest. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to remember what happened and to figure out what to do next. “You’re all by yourself. Now what?”

“No you’re not!”

At the sound of the familiar tiny voice, Henry’s chin bumped his chest as he looked at his pocket. “Miko?”

“Right here!” Miko scrambled out of his pocket.

“Man, am I glad to see you! Do you know what happened?”

Miko nodded, wide-eyed, his whiskers trembling. “Those things, those black-robed things grabbed you and pushed you into a portal. We wound up here.”

“When?”

“I dunno. A few hours at least.”

“Where’d they go?”

“I dunno. I’ve been hiding in your pocket.”

“Okay, buddy. Can you help untie my hands?”

“Roll on your side and I’ll see.”

With a deep groan from sore muscles and aching head, Henry rolled onto his left side, exposing his tied wrists. Miko walked around, inspecting the knot and the rope’s strength.

“Give me a minute. I can chew through.”

Putting his razor sharp teeth to work, Miko soon had Henry’s hands free. H sat up, rubbing the circulation back into his wrists and arms.

“Thanks!” He leaned forward and untied his feet, then took his time to stand, waiting for the dizziness to pass. Stretching his back, he stomped his feet and turned toward the forest. “I vote for going there. We’ll be harder to find.” Picking up Miko, he put the brown mouse in his pocket. “Sure wish I had a weapon or something.”

“You’ve got this.” Miko dove to the bottom of the pocket and returned, holding up the matchstick-sized silver Celtic cross, its tiny diamond gleaming in the center.

“I’d forgotten about this.” Henry took it from Miko and held it up. “What did Kevin tell me? The North Star always points home.” He scanned the sky. “Well, I don’t see any stars. And I don’t know north from nuttin’ right now. However, I do know where the forest is. Let’s go.”

He wasted no time jogging toward the evergreens, Miko’s ears bouncing with every step H took. They’d gotten a few yards into the trees when, from behind them, a voice pierced the quiet.

“He’s escaped!”






.

[mamacitaRuth]

He wasted no time jogging toward the evergreens, Miko’s ears bouncing with every step H took. They’d gotten a few yards into the trees when, from behind them, a voice pierced the quiet.

“He’s escaped!”

******

Cree shot straight up in bed. “Mel!” she whisper-shouted.

“Mmmm….” came the groan from the other bed.

Cree flicked on the table lamp. “Mel!” she repeated.

“Bitte lassen Sie mich schlafen…” Mel mumbled. Is she swearing at me in German?, Cree thought.

“Huh?”

Mel tried to open one eye. She muttered into her pillow, “What is it, Cree?”

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“It sounded like a woman’s scream!” Cree clutched at her covers.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Mel rolled over, “You were probably dreaming. Go back to sleep…” Please, she thought.

tap! tap! tap! Both girls jumped. “Who is it?” they both whispered in the door’s direction.

“Ringo!” came a voice.

Cree opened the door. In the hallway were Ringo and Jojo, barefooted, clad in t-shirts. Jojo was wearing plaid shorts and Ringo was in pajama pants with bunnies on them.

Cree looked down. “Cute.”

“Shut up.”

Jojo took a step forward, “Did you girls hear a scream?”

“See?!” Cree nudged Mel. “I knew I heard something!”

“It came from outside,” Jojo offered, and started down the hallway, with Ringo close behind him.

“Wait!” Cree pulled the door shut as softly as she could. She half-whispered, “We’re coming with you!”

+++

In the kitchen, the girls peered out the window. Jojo and Ringo squinted into the darkness from the back door. The yardlights had been switched off, and now just the moon lit the wide driveway and the carriage house.

“I don’t see anything,” said Jojo.

“Wait!” Mel pressed her forehead to the window. “What’s that on the ground?”

“Where?” Three voices came back in unison.

“There! In front of the big doors…,” Mel rubbed her eyes. “What is that….Is that…?”

“Ruby!” Jojo flung open the back door and flew down the steps, with the other three on his heels.

He skidded to a stop and dropped to his knees on the gravel next to Ruby. He cradled her head in his arms, shaking one shoulder and then patting her face.

“Ruby! Ruby!” He called to her softly.

Ruby opened her eyes, and as the dawn of recognition swept over her, she rolled and scrambled from side to side – her eyes darting back and forth, a look of terror still in them. Jojo wrapped his arms around her. “Shoosh….shoosh….,” he tried to soothe the trembling old woman.

The girls knelt in front of her, and Cree patted her hand, “It’s okay…..it’s okay…..You’re safe now! We’re all here…….”

Ruby’s breathing steadied, but as it did, her face began to reflect her awareness of her surroundings. She sat up and turned her head around in both directions, her eyes growing wide.
“Where’s Henry?!”

“Probably in his room, snoring,” Ringo chortled.

Ruby became dizzy, closed her eyes, and put a hand to her head, where she could feel a rather large lump starting to swell. She groaned, and when she lifted her arm, they all noticed her elbow was badly scraped.

“You’re bleeding!” Jojo got up and tried to help Ruby to her feet, “Let’s get you into the house.” He slipped Ruby’s arm around his neck, and put his arm around her waist. “Can you walk?” Ruby nodded. "What happened to you?" Ruby just groaned in Jojo's direction.

The group started to move toward the house, when Ruby mumbled, “Where’s Henry?”

Ringo was at her side, “Like I said…”

“No!” she interrupted him, “He was with me!”

Ringo and Jojo both looked at each other. They knew, instinctively, they were both thinking the same thing: their older brother would never leave an injured woman alone!

Jojo nodded toward the house, and then said to Ringo, “Go look in the house!” Ringo ran up the stairs ahead of them all.

Ruby’s eyes were closed and her head was dropping. She seemed to be drifting off to sleep. Mel was worried she might have a concussion. “Guys, we might have to take her to the hospital,” she said to the others.

Jojo turned and looked at Cree, as she walked by his side. “So, if he’s not in the house…..and he was here…….” Jojo hesitated, “and now he’s not…..”

Cree finished, “Then where is Henry?”

[Belle]

Oooo! Oooo! *hand waving in the air* I've got this next one! :D

[mamacitaRuth]

Oooo! Oooo! *hand waving in the air* I've got this next one! :D

I was SO hopin' you'd say that! :D

[Belle]

CH 16

Ved’r and his men, in the form of shadow, slipped unnoticed onto the tour bus and hid. It took much of Ved’r’s strength to hold them in that shape and he hoped the bus would stop soon. To his relief, it pulled into a driveway and parked a few minutes later. When the people got off, he released the spell and Jarul, Asaf and Nizol stood before him in their own form. Asaf gripped his sword’s hilt, grateful for the solid feeling in his hand. No matter how many times he’d undergone a shape-shifting, it always left him uneasy.

“My lord,” Jarul bowed. “Your orders?”

“We must separate Gitarm’n from the others and deliver him to the Mage.”

“We still don’t know which one he is,” Jarul pointed out.

“He will be revealed to…” Ved’r’s head snapped around. “Quickly! Hide! Someone’s coming.”

Ish and Jojo climbed on the bus and cranked the engine.

“I hope Ruby’s got tortillas,” Ish sighed as he shifted into first.

“I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s food,” Jojo told him. “I’m hungry!’

When they arrived at the carriage house, Jojo jumped off the bus and opened one of the double doors for Ish. In a matter of minutes, Ish parked the bus inside, then followed Jojo to the courtyard, double locking the carriage door as Ruby requested. The men’s chatter receded into the house, leaving the carriage house in dark and silence.

Ved’r emerged from his place in the back and led his men off the bus. When he reached the locked door, he raised a hand and sent a yellow light toward it. The light bounced back, searing his palm, and his eyes widened in angry realization.

“Gitarm’n has an ally here. A very strong ally.”

“Shall we cut through with our blade?” Nizol suggested.

“You’d blunt the steel. This is locked with more than just a key.” Ved’r leaned against the bus. “I must regain strength before I can unlock this. In the meantime, look around. See if there is another way out.”

Twenty minutes later, Ved’r tried spell after spell. He raised both hands above his head, his eyes closed, his lips moving in silent incantation, then he hurled a red ball of energy toward the doors. They still refused to move. The light faded. He threw back his head, his teeth grinding in his frustration.

“I only know of one more,” he mumbled to himself, then spoke to the others. “Stand back. If this doesn’t force the lock, its power will remain in here. It can be dangerous.” His violet-blue body turned to a deep gray and shook in his effort to summon the strength. Ved’r spun around once, then thrust both hands out, hurling green lightning toward the doors.

At that instant, Henry reached for the latch and caught the blast’s full force.

Henry and Ruby’s appearance startled Ved’r and his men for a moment, but didn’t slow them.

“It’s her!” Ved’r pointed at Ruby. “She must not follow us! You!” he pointed at Jarul, “Take Gitarm’n through the portal. Now!”

Asef and Nizol clamped down on Henry’s arms while Jarul pushed them all toward the portal opening Ved’r created.

Ved’r next pointed at Ruby, sending a whirling vortex of wind which lifted her off the ground. Her scream meant nothing to him. The wind spun her around overhead several times before flinging her across the yard, where she landed in a silent heap, her elbow scraping against the rough gravel.

Without waiting to see his handiwork, Ved’r jumped through the portal to join his compatriots and his prisoner back in his own time. He hurried to Henry’s supine form and waved both hands over him.

“There. That will keep him out until we’re ready to travel.” Ved’r glanced at Jarul. “I’ll be back in a few hours. There is something I must attend to.”

“Yes, my lord.” Jarul bowed again, then watched Ved’r walk toward the forest. Relief washed over the captain. Ved’r and his type grated on his nerves with their magic and power and impatience.

“If we’re to be here,” Jarul looked at his men, “then we need fire and water. Nizol, guard Gitarm’n. Asef, gather wood. I’ll look for water.”

The men separated to their tasks, leaving Nizol sitting beside a sleeping Henry. The long day, or days, he couldn’t tell anymore, took their toll and his eyelids grew heavier, his breathing deeper, until his chin fell to his chest and sleep won over his duty. Catching himself, he shook his head, rubbed his eyes and stood.

“A walk. That will help me wake up.” Nizol stood and looked down at his captive, still deep asleep. “I envy you right now. But only for now.” He shook his head. “When you get to the Mage…” The soldier headed toward a hill, planning on a short walk before turning around. He hadn’t gone very far when he looked over his shoulder to check on his prisoner. The only thing remaining of Henry was a small pile of ropes on the ground.

“He’s escaped!”

* * *

“Um, Belle? Are you awake?” Lil asked from her place in the bottom drawer.

“Huh?” Belle mumbled.

“Belle, where’s Miko?”

Belle cracked her eyes open. “Miko? He went for a walk. Said he ate too much dinner.” She shifted the pillow under her head, anxious to go back to sleep.

“That was a long time ago. He’s not back yet.”

“I’m sure he’s fine, Lil. Go to sleep.”

“But, what if Ruby still has that mean cat?”

Belle’s eyes flew open this time. “The cat? C’mon. Let’s look.” Belle scooped up Lil to begin their search, only to have a noise outside lead them to the window.

“What’s everyone doing out there?” Belle muttered.

“Let’s go see.” Lil wiggled in her impatience to get outside and find Miko.

Belle padded barefoot down the stairs and to the back porch. “Hey, guys. What’s going on?” She drew back in concern when she saw Jojo leading a frazzled Ruby to the house.

“What happened?” Belle pulled a chair out for Ruby.

“They got Henry.” Ruby’s chin quivered and her fingers felt the bump on her head.

“Who got Henry?”

“Those…things.”

“But…but,” Ringo sputtered. “We got rid of them.”

“No, you didn’t. They came with you on the bus and I had them locked in the carriage house. Henry and I were going out to deal with them when… when…” The dam burst; Ruby laid her head on the table and sobbed.

Lil listened, her tail twitching, fear threatening to squeeze her heart. “Have any of you seen Miko?”

“Miko?” Jojo looked puzzled. “No. I thought he was with you.”

At Lil’s question, Ruby lifted her head to find Lil’s worried eyes locked on her.

“Ruby, you don’t think…?” Lil couldn’t finish the question because she couldn’t bear the answer.







.

[MelBAustria]

Ruth, nice German wording earlier, I like it! :)

Belle, as always, I love it!!

Mel
:)

[MelBAustria]

Ved'r was deep in the forest, kneeling down on the soft ground.
He held his head up to the sky, his arms spread out to the side.

"Oh my great energy star, please give me back strength so we can bring this to and end with Guitarm'n.
Please send your beams down to me, so I can gather all the energy I need"

A big beam of white light came down from heaven, pointing right onto Ved'rs head. He was groaning, keeping his head straight towards the light. After a few seconds, his whole body was glowing with this radiant white light. The groaning went into a deep scream, his body was "fighting" with the light, but being able to absorb it all. The light went down to his feet and soon went back up and left outside his head. Ved'rs head was falling down, his chin on his chest. Left with a quiet groaning, he fell back and stayed for a few minutes, sitting in the moss. Then he stood up and felt the new strength inside him.

Henry was walking from tree to tree inside the forest, Miko on his shoulder. Suddenly he stopped and listened.

"Did you hear that?", he asked Miko.

Miko shivered and you could hear in his voice, that he was scared. The tiny little bushes of hair stood up in his neck.
"Y .... Yeah, I ccccould hhhear something strange, did not sound human, if I might say as a mouse!"

"It came from the left side there, let's see if we can spot something," Henry said.

"A...are you sure", Miko whispered.

Henry already walked towards the noise. Soon they came to a glade inside the forest, but waited hiding in the trees.

"Miko, it's one of them, I think it's their leader. What is he doin' there? Looks like a strange ritual."

They both watched in astonishment, as the light was wandering over Ved'rs body. Then, they watched as Ved'r got up, and just as they decided to duck down, Ved'r was turning his head, spotting Henry.

"Guitarm'n, here you are! Nice to see you again. Welcome and let us do the necessary right here and now!"

Henry was thinking in split seconds what to do. Run? He was sure, if these evil guys could stay on the roof of a bus, that this guy would outrun him by far. No, he had enough, he did not want to run away anymore. He stepped towards Ved'r into the glade. He could see, that this guy was not real "real". He looked a little bit as if he was there, but then as if he was not there. Very strange. But in any case, he did grow through this strange ritual. He was now a lot taller and bigger all together and Henry could see from far, that this guy would top him with about 3 heads. He put Miko in his shirt pocket and tried to calm him with soft words.

They walked towards each other, fixating each other.

Henry was constantly thinking about what to do. Surely he could not fight with this guy. There was just no chance. He needed another weapon to bring this to and end once and for all.

Ved'r was laughing inside, as his victory was not far. But what was this ...? Something coming from Guitarm'n was holding him away a little bit, as if there was a power that was against him. He walked closer and tried to ignore this
interfearance. But the closer he got, the better he could sense that there was something very powerful about or around Guitarm'n.

Miko was jumping up and down in Henry's shirt pocket. Just as before, as they walked towards the forest, he had another inpiration about this Celtic cross. He felt, that they should use it again. He jumped onto H's shoulder and whispered in his ear.

Henry smiled, more of relief that there was at least one here having some ideas. Never mind if it would work, it was their only chance. Miko passed him the little cross again and Henry held it in his hand.

The evil guy came closer, H' could feel though, that he was hesitating the closer he got. Henry held out his hand, holding the little cross right towards Ved'r. Ved'r screamed and jumped back, not believing what he was seeing and feeling. This could not be. Not in the past 1000 years had he seen this again. He thought that no one would be in the possesion of this holy instrument as he had believed that it was destroyed. Ved'r got down on his knees, moaning and screaming, trying to get up again ......


Mel
:):cool:

[mamacitaRuth]

Ooh, Mel! I'm shakin'...Excellent!!

[letsgetlonelyin]

OK I love this story, but I have a hard time reading it on line so....
I printed it out and have 76 papges to read on my LLB road trip
So looking forward to it, it will sure pass the 6 hour flight each way go by faster.

[Belle]

Amy - 76 pages! :eek: I had no idea. Enjoy reading on your flight. And remember, if you run out of story before your flight ends, you're MORE than welcome to add a scene or two yourself.

Any and everybody is welcomed to jump in on this chain story. That's part of the fun! Just how much trouble can you get the Boys and the mice into?

[Belle]

The evil guy came closer though H could feel his hesitation. When Henry held the little cross towards him, Ved'r screamed and jumped back like he’d been scalded. This could not be. Not in the past millennium had he seen this. He thought this holy instrument had been destroyed. Ved'r fell to his knees, moaning and screaming, trying to get up again.

* * *

“There he is!” Jarul yelled and sent an arrow whizzing toward Henry.

Before the voice had time to register with him, the arrow thudded into a tree behind Henry. Jerking his head around, he saw the captain and his two men emerging from the opposite side of the glade, intent on his capture and on lending aid to Ved’r. Their black robes flowed behind them; their swords glinted in the murky light.

Spinning around on his heels, Henry dove into the trees and underbrush. Miko grabbed his collar and held on while Henry dodged obstacles and leapt over dead branches, his arms pumping, his feet flying. He could hear pursuers behind him, even as his eyes scanned ahead for a hiding place. Another arrow shot past, lending more speed to his feet.

He zigzagged to his left when a ball of orange energy exploded where he’d just been. Ved’r’s up, he thought and jumped over a large rock. Brambles tore his shirt sleeve and scratched his hands, leaving little crimson lines on his skin. From nowhere, a shimmering wall of blue lightning appeared in front of him, making him twist to his right to avoid running into it.

“Gitarm’n! You’re outnumbered!” Ved’r yelled. “You’ve nowhere to run!”

Refusing to admit Ved’r might be right, Henry kept going, his chest heaving and an ache cramping his side. The forest began to thin and he knew he didn’t want to be caught out in the open, with no cover. Turning again, to remain in the woods, he ran a few yards when an old building loomed out of the foliage.

Old? No. Ancient. Brown stones formed the walls, with a turret jutting above, and arched windows lining the sides. Moss climbed up the lower walls, staining them green. Its heavy wooden door gave way to Henry’s desperate force, and he shut it behind him as quickly as he could. After barring the door, he turned to study his sanctuary, looking for a weapon, or a friend, or an escape route.

Glancing out the window, his eyebrows raised when he saw his enemies standing well away from the building. Asef leaned on his sword, trying to catch his breath. Nizol held his head down, his shoulders slumped. Jarul stood behind Ved’r, his crossbow dangling uselessly from his hand.

Ved’r’s shape writhed and changed, his color going from violet-blue to dark purple to flashes of eye-piercing orange. He held his fists raised, like he wanted to unleash all the magic he knew in one fatal blow. Instead, he howled, its echo ringing through the trees and raising the hair on the back of Henry’s neck.

“Miko? You okay, buddy?” Henry asked, still fighting for breath.

“Yeah, I think so.” The mouse slid down H’s chest and into his shirt pocket. “I thought they had us.”

“Me, too.” Henry handed the cross to Miko. “Hang onto this for me.” They stood inside a large, high ceilinged room. A rough bench sat against one wall and an altar of sorts stood at the front. On the left, stairs led to the second floor and the turret.

Upstairs, Henry found a room full of shelves filled with crumbling books, faded manuscripts and ancient scrolls. Dust lay in thick layers across the desk and chair in the middle of the room.

“What is this place?” Henry asked out loud.

“I dunno,” Miko answered. “But it’s NOT a kitchen.”

“I know. I’m getting hungry, too.”

“Why didn’t those guys chase us in here?”

Henry shrugged. “Maybe it’s like vampires can’t go into a church.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Henry took two steps toward a window and stopped. “Which means this place scares them more than they scare me! What’s in here? I bet, if we look, we’ll find a way to get back home.”

“Maybe, but that won’t be enough.”

“Whad’ya mean?” Henry sent a scowl to his little friend.

“They’ll just come looking for you again. We need to find a way to beat them once and for all.”

H ran a hand through his now-tangled hair. “Yeah, you’re right.” Glancing over his shoulder, a title caught his eye. “Look!” He pulled the heavy tome off the shelf and read out loud, “The Book Of Music and Life.”










.

[mamacitaRuth]

H ran a hand through his now-tangled hair. “Yeah, you’re right.” Glancing over his shoulder, a title caught his eye. “Look!” He pulled the heavy tome off the shelf and read out loud, “The Book Of Music and Life.”

******

Kevin and Ish rushed down the stairs into the kitchen, out of breath.

“Okay, we searched the rest of the third floor as Ringo told us to, and no sign of Henry. Someone want to tell me what’s going on?” Just then, Ruby lifted her head again and looked up at the two men. Kevin noticed her tear-stained face. In two steps, he was crouched at her side. “Ruby! What happened to you?” He put his hand over hers.

She patted his hand and wiped her eyes before continuing. “I’m okay, Kevin. But you boys need to sit down. You all do. I’m afraid I’ve got bad news.” She sighed and glanced over at the stove. “First, I’ll make us a pot of coffee.” Trying to stand, she groaned from the driveway aches that were starting to present themselves.

“Sit still,” Belle stopped her. “I’ll do it!”

Those not already standing pulled out chairs and sat down. Ish pulled the back door open. Halfway out, Ruby said to him, without any prompting or even looking in his direction, “You don’t need to check the bus, Ish. It’s safe now. They’re not coming back.” Ish shot a look at Jojo, and he returned it with a half-shrug. Ish closed the door and sat down with the others.

Mel got up and helped Belle, pulling out cups and mugs from the cabinet, and setting them around the table.

Cree was the first to break the silence. “So, where is Henry? What happened out there?”

“I’m not sure exactly.” Ruby was rubbing one sore arm. “One minute, Henry and I were on our way out there and standing in front of the wide doors. The next minute, all hell broke loose…”

Ringo stammered. “I don’t get it. I thought we left those…those…things in the park?”

“No.” Ruby continued, “Unfortunately, they were on the bus with you the whole time, probably as far back as the gas station, I’m guessin’.”

“Sheesh!” Cree shuddered.

“Then why did you let us bring them here? Puttin you in danger, too?” Kevin put his arm on her shoulder.

“Because I thought you could use my help.”

“Some hel….” Jojo mumbled. Ringo cut him off, jabbing him with an elbow.

“It’s okay”, Ruby held up a hand. “Turns out I wasn’t much help at all. Now our Henry is lost….maybe held captive….,” Her voice and her eyes lowered, “God knows where.”

Lil was on the table in front of Ruby, her lip quivering and her whiskers flicking. “Ruby?” she hesitated, “Is my…my Miko with him?”

Ruby just stared at Lil, and brought her open palm to the table. Lil climbed in, and Ruby brought her up to her face at eye level. Lil thought to herself I don’t want to hear this, her own eyes beginning to fill with tears.

“I’m sorry, little one. I believe he is, but that’s actually going to be a blessing to both of them.”

Now Lil was sobbing. “How can that be?”, she sniffed.

“Well….as long as they have each other, they won’t feel so alone until we can figure out a way to get them back.”

“Back from where, exactly?” Jojo’s tone was sharp this time.

“Like I said, I’m not sure – but it’s in another dimension, that much I know.” Ruby met Jojo’s piercing eyes, “They went through the portal and they took Henry with them. I had locked them in the carriage house, with what I thought would hold them. But I underestimated their powers….well, his." She closed her eyes, recalling Ved'r's maniacal laughter. "Henry and I went out to confront him. Instead, the doors blew open and he sent me flying. The others grabbed Henry and vanished.” Ruby paused and everyone was quiet. “I landed across the yard, and that’s where you found me.”

The timer on the coffeemaker went off, and Belle started to get up. Ish lifted one hand at her and reached back to the counter, and brought the coffee decanter to the table.

“Will we see them again?” Lil asked, and all eyes turned on Ruby, glad Lil had said what they were all afraid to even think.

“Yes! Of that I’m sure,” Ruby nodded.

“How can you be so sure?” Cree leaned toward her across the table. Other voices added their concern, and tried to cover their doubts.

“Because I don’t have a sense of dread….of hopelessness. I just have a feeling of….of….” Ruby squinted at the kitchen light overhead, “anxiety. They’re in trouble, I'm certain. But they’re not in immediate danger. And they’re together.“

Ringo stirred his cup of coffee. “I sure hope you’re right. About the ‘coming back’ part, I mean. I don’t like not being able to help my brother.”

“Me, either,” said Jojo, “It’s always been us three…”

“Against the world, “ Kevin finished.

“And it will be again,” Belle put her arm on Jojo’s, reassuringly.

“There’s a power in three,” said Ruby,”and we’re gonna use it. I just have to figure out how…..”

[Belle]

Ruth, if we're not careful, this story is gonna get good! :p

[mamacitaRuth]

***
The kitchen was quiet, except for the occasional yawn.

Kevin pushed back his chair and stood. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about any of this in the middle of the night. Let’s go back to bed, and try to get some rest. Maybe with fresh minds in the morning, we’ll come up with something.” He had his PDA open, scanning the band’s schedule. “I got lots of calls to make in the morning….see how many shows we have to cancel. Fortunately, we have about five days off before the next one.”

“We gonna be okay, boss?” Ringo looked up at him.

“Yeah,” Kevin smiled, a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll just have to put my fancy tap shoes on…”

Everyone began to get up, tidying up their respective spots at the kitchen table, and retreated up the staircase.

Jojo and Ruby were the last two. As Ruby reached for the lightswitch, Jojo covered her hand.

“Hey.” He looked at her with soft eyes. “I’m sorry about before….”

Ruby smiled at him, and laid a hand on his cheek, “It’s okay.”

As she raised her arm, he noticed her scrapes. “Hey!” he said, taking her elbow in his hand, “We never patched you up!”

“I’m alright.”

“No, you’re not. Sit down!” he ordered. “Got a first aid kit here anywhere?” He was opening and shutting cupboard doors.

“Above the stove.” Ruby rubbed her eyes.

She watched Jojo lay all the supplies out on the table in organized little piles. She laughed and said, “You must’ve been a Boy Scout.”

“Me?” he chortled, “Nah! I never did none of them ‘kid’ things….We were always on the road when I was a kid. Heck! We barely made it to school sometimes.”

“Must’ve been hard on you?”

Jojo was unwrapping a gauze package, and cutting some tape. “Oh, not really. Dad worked hard all the time. We spent a lot of our days alone or at school, and went on his gigs with him at night. He spent a lot of time with us, really….” His eyes reflected a grasp at old memories. “We learned a lot.”

“And Henry was in charge when your dad was away?” She made a face and sucked in her breath, as Jojo applied disinfectant to her elbow.

“Oh, yeah!” he grinned.

“He was tough, huh?”

“Uh, not really! We could out-run him!” He laughed again, “We’d all knock heads sometimes, but mostly it was just fun being together.”

“You love your big brother, don’t you?” Ruby stared into his eyes.

“You got it! I love both my brothers. More than that, I really respect both of them. They’re awesome….” Jojo was taping the last side of Ruby’s bandage. He looked up at her when he was done. “I really love what I do….because I get to do it with them.”

Ruby inspected his handiwork. “Looks good! Thank you!”

Jojo nodded. “Ruby?”

“Yes?”

“You really think we’ll get them back?”

Ruby leaned forward and put her hand on Jojo’s. “Some folks say that when you’re friends, it’s because your souls are joined as one. It’s an even stronger bond for siblings….We’ll find him, because you three are connected.”

Jojo lowered his eyes and just nodded, seeming to choke back emotion.

Ruby put two fingers under his chin, and raised his eyes to hers.

“We’ll find him!”

[mamacitaRuth]

C'mon, Cree! Put the puppy down and pick up your pen.......:cool:
(Belle and I are tired, or I am)

[cre8ivepoet]

Ruby leaned forward and put her hand on Jojo’s. “Some folks say that when you’re friends, it’s because your souls are joined as one. It’s an even stronger bond for siblings….We’ll find him, because you three are connected.”

Jojo lowered his eyes and just nodded, seeming to choke back emotion.

Ruby put two fingers under his chin, and raised his eyes to hers.

“We’ll find him!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jojo kicked a rock and it pinged against the hinge of Ruby's garage door, echoing in the early morning gloom before dawn. A little puff of white appeared when Jojo huffed his frustration.

"Forget it there's nothing around that's gonna tell you anything." came a voice from no where.

Jojo whirled around into a defensive position. Cree was standing a foot away, Lil on her shoulder. "What are you two doing out here?"

"I have a guilty conscience, Lil just wanted to tag along in hopes of finding a trail to Miko," she muttered dejectedly.

"Aww it ain't your fault Cree," Jojo smiled wryly. "From what Ruby said, those creepy guys would have found their way to us no matter what. It's just sooner than later. Maybe," he added after a minute.

"Yeah sure," she sighed. She pulled something out from behind her back. It was long and pointed, and old. She held it as far away from her body as possible. "But I did find this."

Jojo's mouth dropped open. A dagger gleamed in the retreating starlight, but what caught his attention was the glowing blue portal light on the handle. It swirled and pulsed lightly. "Cree..."

"I would say we need to wake Ruby up, but I think she's already awake. I smell breakfast and I'm starving."

Jojo sniffed and led the way back toward Ruby's house. Cree followed until she smacked into Jojo's back as he suddenly stopped.

"Hey watch it!" Lil griped. "Mouse on the shoulder!"

"Cree," he said in wonder. "You had a chance to do something foolish...and yet you restrained yourself! I'm so proud of you..."

Cree stared back, indignant. She put her nose in the air an marched around him, muttering something about smart-aleck musicians.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby looked down at the dagger sitting in middle of her kitchen table. Everyone was slowly making their way downstairs as the aroma of coffee, eggs, bacon, sausage, and salsa permeated the house. Jojo was sipping on the coffee and Cree sat on the otherside of kitchen making toast and piling it high on a plate for Ruby. Every once in a while she'd glare at the dagger and then sip her orange juice.

"Good Morning-" Belle stopped cold when she saw the dagger and backed away nearer to Cree. "Wh-where did that come from?"

Ruby glanced at Belle quizzically. "What is with you two? Cree's been acting strange ever since she brought the dagger in here."

"What is that?" Kevin asked as he appeared. He poured a cup of joe and nursed it with creme and sugar.

"Cree found it by the bus," Ruby supplied.

Kevin looked at Cree suspiciously. "What were you doing by the bus? You mean you brought that back without doing something crazy with it like blowing up Ruby's garage?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Cree muttered. She slapped another two slices of toast onto the plate and then slid it down the counter to Ruby. "I'm not going near that thing again."

"Morning," Ringo whispered in a sleepy voice when he came in. Everyone waved. He eyed the dagger. "Where's Cree? I know Cree's responsible for this delectable little treasure."

Cree rolled her eyes and snatched a plate, filled it up, and headed for the living room. They heard the TV come alive. Belle followed suit.

"Grumpy. Sheesh," Ringo said in a low voice, eyebrows raised. After breakfast was eaten and dishes cleaned, the girls were ushered back into the kitchen. They elected to stand across from everyone else.

"Okay," Ruby glared at them both. "Spill it. You two have traveled through the portal many times. WHAT is the problem with this portal?"

"It's evil," Cree hissed without hesitation. Belle shuddered in acknowledgment. "It's not like the other portals we've used. Or the one that usually shows up, or however that thing works. This one feels wrong or bad. I can't explain it."

"I have to agree," Belle chimed in. She pleaded with Ringo and Jojo. "I know you want to get to Henry but this dagger isn't the way to do it."

"Well why not?" Jojo said aloud, staring at it. "We can't leave Henry and Miko on their own!"

"I think you need to get rid of it," Cree said with quiet authority. "It's very persuasive isn't it Jojo?"

Jojo broke his gaze and he glanced at Cree. "What?"

Cree glared pointedly at Ruby who nodded at her.

"Cree is right," Ruby enforced. "Let's put it away for now. Until we can find a way for it to help us."

She wrapped it in a towel and put it away in a cupboard. They all sat down around the table to discuss rescue tactics. Ruby was alarmed by the way Jojo's eyes surreptiously slid to the cupboard time and time again...

[Belle]

Ruh roh. Don't tell me Jojo's gonna pull a "Cree"? :eek:

[Belle]

H ran a hand through his now-tangled hair. “Yeah, you’re right.” Glancing over his shoulder, a title caught his eye. “Look!” He pulled the heavy tome off the shelf and read out loud, “The Book Of Music and Life.”

* * *

Holding the cuff of his sleeve to pull it down, Henry swiped a path through the desk’s dust and placed the book on it. The chair creaked when he sat down, but the ancient wood held. He opened the book’s cover with careful fingers and began reading.

Miko hopped out of his pocket and strolled across the desk, looking over its edge to the floor below. Going back to Henry, he watched for a moment, the asked, “Can you read that?”

“I know how to read, Miko.”

“No. It’s written in English?”

Henry’s eyebrows rose in astonishment. “It is. But this had to have been written long before English was ever invented.” Flipping through several pages, he nodded. “Yep. It’s all in English.”

Miko peered at the pages and squeaked in surprise. “That’s not English. That’s mouse!”

“Wha…?” Henry drew back his head. “Mice have a written language?”

“Nooo. But I can read that.”

“Okay, hot shot. What does it say?”

Miko stood at the bottom of the page and began speaking in a series of squeaks and snarls, snuffles and squawks, then looked up. “See? Mouse.”

Henry stared at the book in his hands, trying to make this newest revelation make sense. “Maybe anyone can read it in whatever language they know. It wouldn’t be the first weird thing to happen lately.”

Turning to the second page, he read out loud, “This is written for enlightened believers throughout the ages so they may understand what was and what will be. This is an account of the millennia of conflict and war endured, in order to keep music alive. Without music, there is no life. Without life, there is no music. Our greatest enemy wants nothing less than our destruction and to silence our song. Many have given their lives to keep the music safe. May their deaths not be in vain.”

He gulped and focused alarmed eyes on Miko. “What on earth have we gotten ourselves into?”

Miko shrugged and took his turn reading, translating from mouse to human. “In the distant future, one shall rise up who will take on the silent darkness and release music to reign in our land once again. He shall be known as Gitarm’n and his power will be great.”

“Whoa! Stop!” Henry jumped out of the chair. “That’s what they called me! Gitarm’n.” His eyes locked on Miko’s and his trembling fingers pointed to the page. “I’m suppose to…uh…” he leaned over to read, “take on the silent darkness. Me? Take on those guys?” Frantic eyes searched the room, looking for an escape. “I’m just a Texas boy. Right now, a very lonely Texas boy! A guitar man, nothing more.”

“Hey, say that again,” Miko said.

“A guitar man, nothing more.”

“That’s it! Listen to it.” Miko straightened. “Guitar man. After a thousand or so years, couldn’t it have been gitarm’n? Huh?”

Henry felt his head nod, though he didn’t consciously tell it to. “Y…yeah, I suppose.” His chest tightened and his shoulders slumped from the ton of pressure that just sat on them. “They’ve got swords and arrows. They throw lightning bolts out of their hands. They travel through time. That one guy is nothing but swirling colors and a bad temper. All I’ve got is…is…”

“Me,” Miko spoke up. “And the silver cross.”

“Yeah.” He snapped his fingers and pulled it out of his pocket. “What’s up with this thing? Why’d it scare Ved’r so badly? It’s too small to be a weapon.” Walking to the window, he studied it in the light, watching the small diamond sparkle. When he turned it a little, something hummed for a brief second. He and Miko twisted in the direction of the sound.

“Did you hear that?” Miko asked.

“Yeah.” Henry turned the cross again, the diamond sending its prism of light across the wall. When it hit a certain spot, the sound hummed again.

“It’s from over there,” Miko pointed.

Henry scrambled across the room and pointed the diamond again. This time the hum vibrated in a rich, sweet tone. He pushed aside a small book case and found a niche behind it, holding an old lute, its strings still vibrating, almost in welcome.

Henry put the cross in his pocket and picked up the lute, strumming it once. At that touch, joy transported itself through his fingers, up his arms and to his heart, filling him with a courage he sorely lacked a second before. He strummed it again and grinned. Sitting in the chair, he began plucking a tune, its beauty filling the room and lifting their spirits.

Outside, a howl of deep pain and unbearable fear ripped through the air, just before an explosion of green light rattled the old building.

“I don’t think Ved’r likes this song,” Henry smirked, and began playing again.







.

[mamacitaRuth]

Ooh! Ooh! And why'd they pick this 'guitar man', huh? How come they tagged Henry? Maybe the ancients were sent a messenger?! Maybe it was Stee V. Raven.......? *teehee*;):D (I love this story! )

[mamacitaRuth]

Okay, Belle, I retract my bad pun.....Please write another chapter, please??

[Belle]

Ruth, I thought your pun was great. I'll write more when I get time. Until then, anybody else wanna take a crack at it?

[Belle]

“Uh, H?” Miko sat down beside him. “I’m getting hungry. Thirsty, too. How’re we gonna get past those guys to get any food or water?”

Still in a good mood, Henry made up a song. “We wish for tasty food. Of that we are sure. Lest we die of hunger, which would be slow torture.”

Miko rolled his eyes at the lame lyrics, then squeaked and jumped back, his tail sticking straight out. From thin air, a platter appeared, filled with bread, cheese and dark purple grapes.

“H…h…how…” Miko stuttered. Stunned, Henry put the lute down, picked up the bread and sniffed.

“Smells real... Feels real... Let’s see if it’s any good.” Tearing off a piece, he took a bite and nodded. “It’s real.”

Without waiting, Miko dove for the cheese, his whiskers trembling in his anxious hurry. Halfway through his second bite, he gulped. “What if this is magic food and turns us into something awful?”

Henry popped a grape in his mouth and tilted his head to think while he chewed. “I don’t think so. This is a good place.”

“But where did it come from?”

“I dunno.” Henry shrugged, then a gleam filled his eyes. “Maybe…” Picking up the lute, he strummed it and said, “We need water, please.”

A brown stoneware ewer of water appeared next to the platter.

“Cool.” Strumming the lute again, he said, “I wish for a million dollars.” He glanced around the table and then around the room. Nothing. “Hmmm. So much for three wishes.” Reaching for cheese, he continued eating his simple but delicious meal.

Miko threw his piece of bread down and stormed across the desk. “You thought we had three wishes? And your last one was for money? Why didn’t you ask for a way out of here? Huh?” The brown mouse shot daggers at H, his front paws on his hips, his back left paw tapping.

“Hey, don’t be mad. We’ve got food now, don’t we? Besides, I really don’t think it’s a three-wish kinda thing. I think maybe it grants what we really need, not what we want.”

“Then wish us a way back home. We need that don’t we?”

“All right. Let’s give it a go.” Henry picked up the lute again and strummed it, his eyes closed. “May we please go home now?” He opened his eyes to find Miko staring at him, still on the old desk, still in the ancient library.

“Well, we tried.” Miko's shoulders slumped and he went back to his bread.

* * *

Ruby wrapped the dagger in a towel and put it in a cupboard. They all sat down around the table to discuss rescue tactics. Ruby grew alarmed by the way Jojo's eyes slid to the cupboard time and time again.

* * *

Ruby rubbed her head and then her shoulder.

“You must be sore,” Belle said. “Why don’t you take some aspirin and lay down for a minute until you feel better?”

“Maybe I should. These old bones don’t take too kindly to landing on gravel.” Ruby pushed up from the table, a soft moan escaping her lips.

“Here. Let me help you upstairs,” Ringo offered, hurrying to her side.

“Thank you.” Leaning toward Belle, Ruby whispered, “Keep an eye on Jojo for me. Okay?”

“Sure.” Belle glanced in his direction, wondering at Ruby’s request, then watched Ruby and Ringo leave the room.

Kevin stood and announced, “Why don’t the rest of us adjourn to the living room? Maybe we can think of a way to rescue Henry and Miko”

“Sounds good to me!” Cree grabbed a cookie out of the Yogi Bear cookie jar and carried it and Lil to the sofa in the next room.

Belle went to the sink, taking dishes and coffee cups with her. With everyone else gone, Jojo tiptoed to the drawer, pulled the wrapped dagger out and slipped it under his shirt.

“I’m gonna take a short walk. I’m too keyed up to sit still,” he told Belle, then walked outside.

“Okay. Don’t be gone long or Kev will blow a gasket.”

Belle reached for a cup towel, but stopped, her hand still outstretched. Keep an eye on Jojo for me. Keep an eye on Jojo… Ignoring the breakfast dishes, she silently opened the backdoor and crept across the porch, following the bass player to the far side of the carriage house. He stopped and she ducked when he looked behind him, then looked away. She’d almost reached him when she saw him pull the towel out and unwrap the dagger.

Oh, no! Belle gasped.

The dagger’s midnight blue color grew brighter, and red began to swirl through it. It seemed to pulsate, as if it had a life of its own. Jojo’s hands jerked up, then sideways, his jaws clenched, while he seemed to wrestle with it. Belle leapt for Jojo just as, in spite of his efforts, the dagger pointed to the ground and everything exploded.

* * *

“My lord, your orders?” Jarul asked, once Ved’r collected himself and grew quiet.

“We stay here and hold Gitarm’n under siege. He doesn’t know where he is. He has no food or water, so he’ll have to come out. And we’ll be waiting.”

“Yes, my lord.” Jarul walked a few steps and barked, “Asef! Fire! Nizol, get water. We make camp here.”

Within half an hour, their campfire blazed against the night sky, highlighting the tree bark and casting shadows on the ground. Jarul pulled hard bread out of his pocket and began eating, the others doing likewise. All except for Ved’r, who leaned against a tree, his eyes closed, his color dimming as he rested.

The next morning, at the sleeping guards’ feet, a vortex opened and spit out two forms, tumbling over each other in a tangle. Asef and Nizol wasted no time drawing their swords, their black robes jerking in their harsh movement. Jarul leapt to his feet and slung an arrow onto the crossbow.

Jojo opened his eyes to find the point of a very sharp sword inches away from his face. “Oh, crap!”

Belle sat up, then pulled her head back at the weapon threatening her. “Jojo,” she hissed, “They’re gonna have to get in line to wring your neck. ‘Cuz I’m first!”






.

[mamacitaRuth]

Okay, now I'm lost...They had all just finished breakfast the next morning at Cree's entry. Now, we're all going "back to bed"? And if two brothers are on the 'other side' (sounds even more spooky!), are we needing a way for Ringo to get through the portal, too--to have all three together? I think I'll lay low, and let you and Cree, whoever, work this out....:confused: I can't wait to see what Belle does to Jojo!!:eek:

[Belle]

Oops! My bad. :o It is supposed to be breakfast. :rolleyes: Okay, pretend we rewrite it so it's morning. It still leaves the basic plot in play.

I'll try to go back and fix that part, k?

[Belle]

Okay - it's fixed (I hope.) :p

[Belle]

CH. 18

“I’m not leaving my brother alone!” Jojo snapped, ignoring the sword pointing at his Adam’s apple.

“We would have figured out a safer way,” Belle huffed.

“How do you know?”

“Silence!” Jarul stood over them, one arm stretched out.

“Well, well. What have we here?” Ved’r walked behind them and picked up the dagger. “I wondered where this had gotten to.” In his hand, the dagger’s hilt changed to match his color. “We are made of the same stuff, my toy and me. It’s in its nature to find me whenever we separate. Thank you for returning it to me.”

He gave a mocking bow, and added, “Though I doubt you had much choice in the matter. It has a mind of its own, does it not?”

“Shall we kill them, Lord Ved’r?” Jarul asked.

At that question, Jojo and Belle glanced at each other; their earlier argument forgotten.

“Pax?” Jojo whispered.

“Pax,” Belle nodded.

Ved’r walked a slow circle around the captives, his color fluctuating from dark blue to purple and back. “We could,” he said after a moment, “but I think we’d do better to hold them for ransom. Bind them.”

Nizol jerked Jojo to his feet and bound his hands behind his back. In seconds, Belle found herself in the same predicament. Jojo’s eyes flickered to the surrounding trees, looking for an escape. His shoulders tightened and he shoved into Nizol, knocking him to the ground.

“Run, Belle!” Jojo’s feet flew across the camp and he almost reached the protection of the trees when an explosion of light went off in front of him. He tumbled to the earth from its repercussion and lay stunned until Nizol grabbed him and half dragged, half led him back to the group.

“Foolish! Now, come!” Ved’r walked away, toward the building. Nizol pushed Jojo, with Asef leading Belle. Jarul brought up the rear of the procession.

“Gitarm’n!” Ved’r yelled below one of the arched windows. “We must speak!”

Henry jumped up from a deep sleep, his eyes still tired from reading the great book through the night. Hurrying to the window, he stayed out of view to answer, “What do you want?”

“We want the lute.”

“Yeah? Good luck with that.”

“If you’ll toss it down to us, we’ll let our captives go.”

“Captives?” Henry whispered to Miko, then peeked out the window. “Oh, no! They’ve got Jojo and Belle! How’d…?”

“Do we have a deal?” Ved’r yelled again.

“Hermano, you okay?”

“Yeah, H. So far, so good,” Jojo answered.

“How’d you get here?” Henry asked.

“Enough!” Ved’r interrupted. “You can talk all you want as soon as we get the lute.”

“Don’t do it, Henry!” Belle hollered. “He won’t let us go, even if you give it to him!”

Henry flopped his back against the wall, worry shooting from his eyes. “What should I do, Miko?”

The brown mouse paced back and forth, his whiskers straight out, his tail whipping around every time he turned. “I know!” He snapped his fingers. “They don’t know I’m here, right?”

“Right.”

“Then I’ve got a plan.” Miko’s eyes twinkled.







.

[mamacitaRuth]

:eek: Love it! Keep goin'....I can't mind-read mice brain.

[Belle]

The brown mouse paced back and forth, his whiskers straight out, his tail whipping around every time he turned. “I know!” He snapped his fingers. “They don’t know I’m here, right?”

“Right.”

“Then I’ve got a plan.” Miko’s eyes twinkled.

* * *

“You keep ‘em talking while I sneak out to where they are.” Miko jumped off the table. “Then I’ll bite through their ropes, just like I did yours.”

“It’s too dangerous. What if they see you?” Henry crossed his arms and shook his head.

“They’ll be too busy talking to you to notice a little brown mouse. Now, c’mon. We’re wasting time!” Not giving Henry time to argue, Miko scurried out of the room and down the stairs.

“Well?” Ved’r yelled. “I’m growing impatient.”

“Ya know, I did a little late night reading last night,” Henry drawled and leaned out the window. “Pretty interesting stuff. Seems like this lute here is what all the fuss is about. For centuries, people have fought and died trying to keep it out of your hands.”

“It’s of no concern to you,” Ved’r argued. “Give it to me and return to your home.”

“I’d like to. I really would, but it hardly seems right. Once you have the lute, all music in this place stops. Life as the people here know it stops and there’d be nothing but heartache and cruelty from your hands. I just can’t bring myself to give it to you.”

“Then she dies!” Ved’r grabbed for Belle and held the dagger at her throat. Belle’s wide eyes grew even wider, and she gulped at the touch of the blade. A feeling of helpless fear almost drowned her and her knees began to shake.

Jojo struggled against Nizol, but couldn’t break free to help her. Outraged, he growled, “Kill me instead, you coward!”

“So noble!” Ved’r sneered at his request, then faced Henry at the window. “I’ll let you choose. Which one dies?” Grabbing Belle’s hair, he jerked her head back, exposing her throat, then traced the knife along her skin.

Henry tried to keep the panic out of his voice. “Touch either one of them and I’ll smash the lute before you get anywhere near it!”

Ved’r grew a foot taller, orange light swirling through his dark color, and he pushed Belle to the ground. “You are no threat to me, Gitarm’n! I was willing to let some of you live, but now you will all die!”

Movement caught Henry’s eye and he saw Miko sneak behind Belle still on the ground, and climb onto her wrists. She started to shake off whatever had touched her, but then became rock still. Henry kept taunting Ved’r until, in a few moments, he saw her shoulders relax when the ropes fell away from her hands.

“We had bullies like you in high school,” Henry told them and watched Miko hurry to Jojo. “Stupid and proud of it. Of course, I’m not saying you’re stupid…though you could be.” Miko made his way up Jojo’s jeans and soon stood on his wrists, busily chewing. Henry kept talking, “I mean, I really don’t know you that well. You might be really smart, but you’re still a bully. And I don’t like bullies. Never have.”

“Shut up and give me the lute!” Ved’r howled.

“Now why would I do a thing like that? Especially since you told me you’re going to kill us all anyway?” Henry paused for a moment. “What we have here is a classic standoff you’d see in a Western.”

The ropes fell from Jojo’s hands and, with a small nod to Belle, the two of them backed away, unnoticed, from their captors. They’d almost reached the trees when Ved’r turned to grab Belle again.

“Run!” Jojo hollered and, with Miko in his pocket, made fast tracks towards the sanctuary’s door. He didn’t need to tell her. She almost stepped on his heels at every stride. Jarul’s arrow whished past them and they could hear the swords’ steel scrape against their scabbards as Nizol and Asef pulled them free. The three slowly gained on the captives.

Henry bolted downstairs, three at a time, and flung open the door. As soon as Jojo and Belle rushed in, he slammed it shut, wheeled around and flopped his back against it just before Jarul reached it.

“Whew! That was close!” Jojo leaned forward, his hands on his knees, while he tried to catch his breath.





.

[cre8ivepoet]

you two are awesome.

[mamacitaRuth]

Henry bolted downstairs, three at a time, and flung open the door. As soon as Jojo and Belle rushed in, he slammed it shut, wheeled around and flopped his back against it just before Jarul reached it.

“Whew! That was close!” Jojo leaned forward, his hands on his knees, while he tried to catch his breath.

******

Kevin had left with Ish, said they were going into Apache Junction to see if they could find a mechanic for the bus. Ish was rubbing his head, saying it wouldn’t start and mumbling about ‘something electrical’. Ruby just nodded at both men, thinking to herself Ved’r, and handed Kevin the keys to her Jeep.

The house was quiet, except for the steam kettle in the kitchen. Glad the men were distracted and relieved that no one had noticed yet that Belle and Jojo were missing. Hopefully, it would give her a little time to figure out a way to bring them all back. With her eyes closed, she was fingering a crystal amulet in her hands. Within a few seconds, it started to glow a bright blue.

Ruby could hear female laughter coming down the stairs. She looked up in its direction, in time to see Cree and Mel come into the kitchen. Ruby dropped the amulet into her pocket, and greeted the girls. “You’re just in time for some tea.”

“Lovely!” said Mel. Cree sniffed, “Got any soda?” Ruby pointed at the refrigerator, “Help yourself.”

“Are you feeling better, Ruby?” Mel was fetching cups and saucers for Ruby and herself from the cupboard.

“Much!” Ruby was bringing tea bags, cream and sugar, and a box of loose tea leaves from another shelf. Cree popped the tab on her soda and studied the box, I didn’t think anyone used those anymore. Anticipating Cree’s question, Ruby stated, “Oh, I’m not using them for our tea. We’re gonna use them to see how our boys are doing.”

The two women, with arched eyebrows, locked eyes. Cree mustered her courage to ask Ruby the question that had been on her mind ever since she met her.

“Ruby…” Cree started slowly, “Are you a….wi….wi…I mean, do you practice witch….?”

“A witch?” Ruby laughed, “No, dear. Though there’re a lot of farmhands over the years who would probably disagree,” She giggled again. “Witches don’t believe in a higher power. I do.”

“Then, how….?” Cree continued.

“My William called it ‘gifts’. I prefer to call them ‘blessings’. I just see things and feel things that other folks may not. When I was younger, I tried to ignore it, but I realized that if you fight against the universe, you’ll lose. After I finally owned it and stopped fighting, my life improved a hundred percent!”

Mel and Cree just stared at her, incredulously, as Ruby poured some hot water into a deep saucer. She threw a small handful of leaves into the steaming water, and they all sank to the bottom of the saucer. She then removed three large tea leaves from the box and laid them on the table in front of her.

Ruby held up the first tea leaf in her hand, and stated, “Henry!” She dropped it into the steaming water. To the girls’ amazement, it floated to the top of the water.

Then Ruby held up a second tea leaf. “Jojo!”

“What?!” Cree was half out of her seat. “Where’s…?” Ruby cut her off.

“I’m afraid Jojo’s curiosity got the better of him this morning and he fell through the portal. And took Belle with him. This’ll help us see if the brothers have found each other…..”

The second tea leaf stayed on top of the water, and was touching the first one. Mel and Cree just stared, their jaws hanging open.

“Oh, good!” Ruby leaned back in her chair. “They’re together. That’s what I had hoped!”

“And the third one?” Cree finally got her voice, “What’s that one for?”

“This one’s for Ringo. I need to see if their powers as brothers can be used from here, to help get them all back. If the leaf stays separated, we might be able to do something from here without risking another portal jump.”

“And if not?” Mel leaned forward.

“If not, and the leaves join, it means Ringo has to go where his brothers are....” Ruby dropped the third leaf into the water. “….if everyone is to return safely.”

All three watched as the third leaf joined its point with the other two on the surface of the steaming water, forming a perfect triangle.

Just then, Ringo jumped off the last stairstep into the kitchen. The women turned and stared at him.

Ringo froze, uncomfortable in their gaze. “Whaaat?”

[cre8ivepoet]

“This one’s for Ringo. I need to see if their powers as brothers can be used from here, to help get them all back. If the leaf stays separated, we might be able to do something from here without risking another portal jump.”

“And if not?” Mel leaned forward.

“If not, and the leaves join, it means Ringo has to go where his brothers are....” Ruby dropped the third leaf into the water. “….if everyone is to return safely.”

All three watched as the third leaf joined its point with the other two on the surface of the steaming water, forming a perfect triangle.

Just then, Ringo jumped off the last stairstep into the kitchen. The women turned and stared at him.

Ringo froze, uncomfortable in their gaze. “Whaaat?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mel looked at Ruby and Cree with big blue eyes, wide with worry. Ringo's eyes narrowed as he looked from one woman to the other. He backed up a step, one hand on the stairwell rail. Ruby's wisened old eyes pinned him to the spot. He didn't like that look. Nosiree, not one bit!

"Ringo..." Ruby began. She looked at the girls for help. Cree snorted. The look was futile as far as she was concerned. No way Jose was she suggesting Ringo disappear like Henry and the rest of them. Mel elbowed Cree.

"You tell him," she whispered staring at Ringo. Cree's mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"No way!" she whisper-shouted at Mel. "I'm not the one with the ESP! OR the
tea leaves!"

Ruby pursed her lips and ordered Ringo to sit down. Fifteen minutes later, Ringo was pale faced, staring down at a tea cup. Ringo shivered. He was the only brother left on this side of the portal!

"Let me get this straight," he chewed his thoughts out loud. "You look at the tea cup -"

"Tea leaves," Ruby interrupted. Ringo rolled his eyes.

"Okay - tea leaves - and talk to them and they tell you what you need to do? These leaves have told you in order to save my brothers, Belle, and Miko AND save the future of music all over the world, I have to go through the portal thingy. That sounds okay except of course it puts me in mortal danger," he clarified.

"I don't like this," Cree muttered aloud.

"I don't either Cree, but those are my two bros on the other side," Ringo reminded with a tiny glint of anger in his eyes. He straightened himself and looked Ruby in the eye. "When do I do this crossing over thingy?"

Mel sighed a nervous sigh and Ruby looked up at Cree expectantly. Cree bit her lip.

"Well how do we find a portal?" she asked Cree.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mel, Ringo, and Ruby followed Cree to the garage.

"I don't know if this will work," Cree warned. They went inside and Cree stopped short. "Where's the bus?"

"Kevin and Ish took it to Apache Junction to get it repaired," Ruby said.

"Kevin doesn't know Jojo and Belle are gone does he?" Cree accused.

"Can we get back to the portal please?" Ringo reminded impatiently. Cree huffed and then walked back outside. She came back in with a garden hose and asked Ruby for an extension cord she could spare.

"Cree what are you doing?" Mel asked. "I thought we were looking for a portal!"

"Can you go turn the hose on Mel?" she asked. "Just a trickle." Mel shrugged and went to do Cree's bidding.

By the time Mel returned Ruby was back with the extension cord. Cree took out a pocket knife and sliced into the cord exposing the wiring and then plugged it in. She plugged the cord into an old radio and let the radio play for a minute or two before picking up the hose.

"What are you doing?!" Ringo bellowed realizing her intentions. Cree smiled.

"My favorite theory on anything paranormal is that the foundation of all things paranormal is energy," she announced. "For example the Ouija board. People like to think it's 'the other side'." She made googley eyes. "What the doofies don't realize is that they are harnessing all their thought and energy to move the planchette. And so it moves."

She shifted the hose to the exposed wire and everyone jumped back when it sparked blue the moment the water hit it. "This would be the moment to bring out that amulet Ruby. I saw you this morning."

Ruby smiled one of her mysterious smiles and pulled it out. Ringo was shocked to see a burgeoning blue spark still on the ground. Once Ruby pulled the amulet out, the spark began to pulse and swirl and grow. Cree grimaced and looked at Ringo, a serious light in her dark eyes.

"Creating the portal was easy," she told Ringo. "You have the hard part. You cannot let your thoughts leave your brothers when you step through. Keep them in your heart and mind to reach them wherever they are. I can't tell you where you will wind up if you don't heed what I say. It would be better if you had something that they gave to you that you could take with you."

Ringo ran back into the house and came out with a tiny harmonica. He put it in his pocket and blew out a sigh. "Okay. Here we go..."

...and he stepped through.

[Belle]

Ringo ran back into the house and came out with a tiny harmonica. He put it in his pocket and blew out a sigh. "Okay. Here we go..."

...and he stepped through.

* * *

Henry bolted downstairs, three at a time, and flung open the door. As soon as Jojo and Belle rushed in, he slammed it shut, wheeled around and flopped his back against it just before Jarul reached it.

“Whew! That was close!” Jojo leaned forward, his hands on his knees, while he tried to catch his breath.

* * *

Ignoring Jarul’s howl of fury outside, Henry stomped across the room and shook Jojo’s shoulders. “What are you doing here?”

“I…uh…I…”

“It’s too dangerous,” Henry continued storming. “Ved’r nearly slit Belle’s throat! What if he’d killed you?” With a sudden movement, Henry pulled Jojo into a bear hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Jojo stepped back and crossed his arms. “Well are you glad or are you mad that we’re here? Make up your mind.”

“I’m both,” Henry said. “First Miko tags along, and now you and Belle.” He looked over his shoulder at her, then sprinted to her. “What’s the matter?”

Belle slumped against the far wall, her head down, and one hand on her arm. When she pulled her hand away, he could see it covered in blood.

“You’re hurt!”

“Not really. That arrow grazed me, that’s all. I’ll be fine.”

“Let me see.” He leaned down and pushed the tear in her sleeve wider. “That needs something on it. Come upstairs.”

“You’re hurt?” Jojo stood beside Henry, alarm in his eyes. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“When?” she asked and followed H up the stairs.

“Uh, bro?” Jojo asked, “Why aren’t the bad guys breaking the door down to get us?”

“I’m not sure. This is a sanctuary… I guess. They can’t come in.”

“Well, that’s one for our side.” When Jojo reached the library, he made a slow circle to inspect the room. “Look at all these old books.” Thick, leather bound volumes leaned against each other, filling floor to ceiling shelves. Rich ruby, emerald and peacock blue colored silk encased ancient scrolls, and all lay under ages of dust.

Henry led Belle to the chair and had her sit down. Picking up the lute, he sang, “We need medicine for her wound. Please, may we have medicine.”

Jojo turned from the bookshelf, his eyes wide at his brother’s curious behavior. When a vial filled with golden liquid appeared from nowhere, he leapt back. “Wha…what just happened?”

Henry took the top off the vial and sniffed it. “I dunno if you’re supposed to drink this or put it on the cut.”

“Let me see.” Belle reached for the vial and took a sip, making a face at its bitter taste. Next, she smeared some on the wound. “Either way, I’m good to go.”

Jojo walked over. “Would you please tell me what just happened?”

“I guess we’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Henry said. Sitting on the floor with his back resting against the desk, he started talking. “Remember the little cross Ruby gave me?”

“Yeah,” Jojo nodded and, when Miko wiggled impatiently, he set the mouse on the floor.”

“Well, it led me to the hiding place of this lute.” He pointed to the instrument on the desk. “I found a book that explained all about it. For I don’t know how many thousands of years, there’s been a battle over this thing.”

“Over a lute?” Jojo’s eyebrows leapt up. “Why? It’s just a lute.”

“Not just a lute. You saw how it gave us medicine just now.”

“Y…yeah.” Jojo glanced at it, then focused on his brother again.

“It gave us food last night, too. I played it a little bit yesterday, and you should’ve heard Ved’r scream. It sounded like his ears were bleeding just from listening to it.”

“Aw, heck,” Jojo smirked.

“It must be powerful if he wanted to ransom you and Belle for it. But, if I give it to him…” Henry shook his head, “…I think life as this place knows it would turn very, very bad.” He bent one knee and rested his elbow on it. “Now, it’s your turn. How’d you two wind up here?”

“Oh, that.” Jojo shifted from his place on the floor. “I found Ved’r’s knife. He must’ve dropped it when they kidnapped you. When we found out you were gone, I went crazy trying to figure out how to help you. So…”

“So you used the knife to lead you here,” H finished for him.

“Yeah, that’s about it.”

“And Belle? How’d she come into this?”

Jojo threw a guilty glance to the floor and swallowed. “She snuck up behind me just as the portal opened. She didn’t mean to come with me.”

“Why was she sneaking?”

“Because…uh…”

“Jojo, you weren’t supposed to have the knife, were you?”

“No, but…”

“And Belle caught you taking it out. Right?”

“Yeah, but…”

“So, Miss Belle, just how mad are you at my brother?” Henry looked up, the grin on his face melting away. Jumping to his feet, he put a hand on her forehead. “Belle? Hey, look at me!”

Her brown eyes slowly focused on his face while sweat beaded her brow. When her cheeks turned to swirling bits of midnight blue with orange light streaking through them, Henry crossed himself and backed away.






.

[mamacitaRuth]

Her brown eyes slowly focused on his face while sweat beaded her brow. When her cheeks turned to swirling bits of midnight blue with orange light streaking through them, Henry crossed himself and backed away.

*******

Ow! Spewed from the portal, Ringo hit the hard ground with a thud. He instinctively crouched low and looked around to see if he’d been spotted. There was no sign of anyone for miles. He sat up and surveyed his surroundings. He noticed a wooded area about a hundred yards to his left. Looking to his right, he could see a mountain range rising in the distance, with what seemed like miles of flat land in front. A cold wind blew through his shirt, and made him shiver. As it did, it caused the harmonica in his pocket to hum ever so slightly. He patted his pocket, and jokingly said, “Yeah, sure. Now just help me find my brothers…”

He looked at the woods and then back at the valley stretched in front of him. Deciding on the trees, he started to walk toward them. Each time there was a gust of wind, the harp in his pocket would make a little sound. The closer he got to the woods, it seemed like the thing was getting measurably louder. Ringo just shook his head, I’m losing it.

With about ten yards to go, Ringo could hear the sound of voices coming his way. He sprinted the last distance to the trees and hid. Soon, he saw two men emerge. Those guys!

“Our Lord wants us to set up camp here,” Jarul told Nizol.

Nizol nodded. “How long are we to remain here, Captain?”

“As long as it takes. If Gitarm’n refuses to leave the abbey, we’ll all be here a while. Ved’r will not give up his quest!” Jarul squinted at the horizon and sighed deeply.

Nizol bowed, “Then I will collect a week’s provisions.”

Jarul just nodded and Nizol took off on foot across the flatlands.

Gitarm’n?! That’s Henry! Ringo thought to himself, as he studied Jarul, standing alone now. I can take him.

Just then, another gust of wind caused the harmonica to vibrate loudly in Ringo’s pocket. Ringo’s eyes went wide. Jarul turned around slowly and mumbled out loud, “What was that?”

The harmonica continued to hum, so Ringo removed it from his pocket and hugged it close to his body, covering all of its openings with his hands, trying in vain to stifle its sound. Jarul walked in the direction of the humming, his sword drawn. Much to Ringo’s chagrine and horror, the humming got louder the closer Jarul got. Ringo ducked further into a heavy thicket, and held his breath as Jarul drew near. He dropped the harmonica back in his pocket to free both his hands. Makes no diff how loud you are now. I’m a dead man!

Suddenly, the harmonica stopped humming, as Jarul was directly in front of Ringo. There was a gap in the thicket, and Ringo tried to hold his breath. Turn around, you bum!

Jarul spun around almost on queue, and Ringo thrust a heavy arm through the hole and landed a solid fist on Jarul’s jaw. The man’s head reeled backwards, and he dropped like a rock to the ground. Ringo came out of the bushes and studied his opponent. “Hmf. Some tough guy.”

Ringo picked up Jarul’s sword, and threw it as far as he could. Jarul stirred. Okay, hurry! Think! He’s gonna wake up! Ringo was hovering over Jarul’s prone body, when Jarul tried to raise his head. Ringo punched him again. Jarul was out cold.

Okay, okay! I gotta tie him up! But with what?! Ringo was panicking. Just then he remembered he still had Cree’s cut-up extension cord in his back pocket. He dragged Jarul to the nearest tree, and bound his hands behind the tree with the cord.

When he was confident the cord was tight and Jarul was still unconscious, Ringo decided to go in the same direction from where the men had come. “Henry’s gotta be that way.” He started walking into the woods.

***

Ringo was huffing, and wondering where he was. It was insanely quiet, he thought. Not even a bird. Ringo looked up at the treetops and then ahead. “The guy said something about an abbey. That’s a big building, right?” Ringo said, not expecting an answer from anyone. Instead, the harmonica hummed in his pocket.

“Oh, sure! Now you’re gonna help me?” The harp hummed louder. Ringo’s eyebrows went up. He noticed that if he walked on a different path, the humming would get softer. Ringo would correct his course, and the humming would get louder again. He kept following the path that the harmonica seemed to be leading him down, when the trees suddenly parted and a large old, stone building stood soaring to the sky almost directly in front of him. The harmonica was almost lyrically humming a light melody. Ringo took it out of his pocket and looked around first to make sure he was alone. He put the harp to his mouth, and started to blow a tune.

Inside the castle, Henry had laid Belle down on a pile of old manuscripts. The boys didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she wouldn’t wake up and appeared to be sleeping peacefully now.

Jojo was studying her, “Maybe that stuff is healing her. Maybe…” he continued, but Henry raised his hand.

“Listen! Do you hear that?”

“What, bro’?” Jojo straightened and listened.

“I hear it!” cried Miko.

“There! There it is again!” Henry was on his feet and at the window. “I’d know that screech anywhere! That’s my brother!! “

[mamacitaRuth]

“Listen! Do you hear that?”

“What, bro’?” Jojo straightened and listened.

“I hear it!” cried Miko.

“There! There it is again!” Henry was on his feet and at the window. “I’d know that screech anywhere! That’s my brother!! “

******

“Hey!” Henry shouted down from the window.

Ringo looked up. “Hi, bro!”, he said with relief in his heart, and a huge smile on his face.

Henry was grinning. “Glad to see you, but how’d you find us?”

“Long story,” Ringo’s legs were aching. “Hey, is Jojo with you?”

Jojo leaned over next to Henry into the open window, and hollered out, “Yeah, I’m here, brother!”

Ringo smiled again, and waved. Whew! he thought to himself, Ruby’s plan worked!

He looked around, “Think maybe I should come in there?”

Henry shook his head in acknowledgement. Thumbing toward the stairs, he said to Jojo, “Go let him in. I’m going to stay with Belle.”

“Right!” Jojo nodded, and headed for the stairs.

“Wait!” Miko was stretched on his back legs, “Take me with you!” Jojo picked him up and put him on his shoulder and started down the stairs.

“Henry?” Ringo called to his brother, who had moved away from the casement to check on Belle.

“I’m here,” he reappeared in the open window. “Jojo’s coming down to let you in.”

“Good!” Ringo was feeling like the woods were watching him. “Hey, H?”

“Yeah, bro?”

“How’d you know it was me out here?”

“Duh! From that noise you were makin’, Lameness. I’m the harpster, remember?”

“Oh, nice! You’re gonna give me crap about my playin’ at a time like this?”

Both men were grinning and laughing. The old door creaked open, and Ringo saw Jojo in the doorway with a huge smile on his face. But his smile rapidly disappeared, and his face got pale, his mouth open.

Ringo said, “Uh oh”, just as he felt a cold jab of steel at his jugular.

“Ved’r!" Henry shouted. “Leave him alone!” Jojo was still frozen in the doorway.

“Sorry to break up your little family reunion, but you and I still have business, Gitarm’n!”

Henry’s back stiffened, and he could feel his face redden. “I don’t do business with bullies, remember?!”

A single bead of sweat ran down Ringo’s face.

Ved’r pushed the point of his dagger a little deeper into Ringo’s neck. Ringo could feel a little trickle of blood as the cold air hit it.

“Then your brother DIES!"

[mamacitaRuth]

A single bead of sweat ran down Ringo’s face.

Ved’r pushed the point of his dagger a little deeper into Ringo’s neck. Ringo could feel a little trickle of blood as the cold air hit it.

“Then your brother DIES!"


“Ved’r! You hurt him and I’ll….” Henry seethed.

“You’ll what, Gitarm’n? You have no power against me! Give me what I want, and I’ll let your brother live!”

Henry put his back against the stone wall, and slid to the floor. He ran his hands through his hair, and his eyes darted around the room. Now what? he thought to himself. He stood and went to the lute, propped up in the corner. “I don’t know what to do. Please tell me what to do! Somebody give me a sign!”

Jojo was still standing in the open doorway below. Stonewalling, he called Ved’r out to see if he could distract him.

“C’mon, Ved’r! Get it over with, do your worst!”

Ringo gulped, his eyes wide with fear. Stunned for a moment at this man’s arrogance, Ved’r looked at Jojo, “Silence! I will slay your brother before your eyes if Gitarm’n refuses my demands!” At that outburst, Ved’r’s form changed and grew upward, into a blinding orange light. He shook one fist into the sky and roared, still holding the dagger against Ringo’s throat.

“Aw, you big chicken! You ain’t got what it takes!” Jojo continued to taunt Ved’r, gulping back his fear. “Henry, I mean Gitarm’n, he’s not going to give you what you want, so make your move!”

“Uh, bro….” Ringo swallowed hard, “Ix-nay to the threats-nay, k?”

Henry rushed to the window again, incredulous at his brother’s words. “Ved’r!” he shouted again. “I’ve got your lute right here!”

Ved’r returned to his normal form, and looked up at Henry in the window. “Bring it to me!”

Jojo could feel his knees knocking, and his palms were sweating. He mumbled under his breath to Miko, “I could use some help here…I’m running out of ideas!” Miko stretched above Jojo’s shirt collar, and mouse-shouted into his ear, “Tell Henry to play!”

“Huh?” Jojo wasn’t getting it.

Miko tried again, “The lute! Tell Henry to play it!”

Jojo smirked a little, and gave a slight nod of understanding. “Henry!” he shouted at his brother. “Don’t do it, man! Ved’r’s just playing with ya….He wants to play, Henry…..you know, you should just come out here and PLAY with the man…..”

Henry was scratching his head. Ved’r was looking at Jojo with annoyance at this delay, and Ringo was about to pass out. Henry stared at the lute, which was now giving off a glow.

The lightbulb in his head went off! Running to it, Henry started to play as loud as he could. No worry, because the second Henry’s hands touched the strings, the lute took over, and emitted a spellbound sound that echoed through the whole abbey, and to the ground below.

Ved’r screamed, and dropped the dagger, holding both of his hands to his ears in obvious pain. He started to change form again, and Ringo could not tell his legs to move. Jojo ran from the door, grabbed his brother, and ran back with him to the building while Ved’r was writhing in pain on the ground. Once they were inside, Jojo dropped the cross-beam barricading the door, and they both laid out on the stone floor, trying to get their breath.

Jojo crawled over to Ringo, still breathless. “You alright?”

Ringo nodded, “I am now.” He sat up and hugged his brother.

“Miko? Where are you?” Jojo felt his pocket.

“I’m here!” Miko was dusting himself off from across the floor, where he had tumbled.

“That was good thinking, buddy!” Jojo grinned at Miko.

“I’m just glad Ringo’s safe!”

“Yeah, me too!” Ringo let out a deep breath.

The two brothers went upstairs to find Henry, at the window again. When he heard them reach the top of the stairs, he crossed the room and gave both of his brothers a deep hug.

Henry laid a hand on Jojo’s shoulder. “Good job!”

Jojo shrugged and smiled “Hey, what are brothers for?”

There was an eerie light in the window now, and Henry crossed to it and looked out. Belle stirred on the pile of manuscripts, and Jojo kneeled down at her side.

She opened her eyes, “Where am I? Are we still….?”

“Yeah, unfortunately,” Jojo patted her shoulder, “But hey, look who joined us!” Ringo smiled at Belle.

“Hey, H, look who’s awake!” Jojo tried to get his brother’s attention, but Henry’s eyes were riveted on the light outside. Jojo went to the window and joined his brother. Henry turned and looked at him.

“I’m afraid it’s not over….Now, Ved’r’s just really mad!”

[mamacitaRuth]

Please, sir....can I have more?
http://i28.tinypic.com/30mq23b.jpg

[Belle]

Ruth - your patience is showing. :p

I'm super focused on getting Loco Lobo to the launch pad over the next week, but I'll try to find a gap in the frenzy.

Or...Cree? Steph? Mel? Anybody?

[mamacitaRuth]

Ruth - your patience is showing. :p

I'm super focused on getting Loco Lobo to the launch pad over the next week, but I'll try to find a gap in the frenzy.

Or...Cree? Steph? Mel? Anybody?

I KNEW you were busy on your book....I just wanted to see if I could get your attention! :p guess it worked...snickersnort...

[cre8ivepoet]

“Hey, H, look who’s awake!” Jojo tried to get his brother’s attention, but Henry’s eyes were riveted on the light outside. Jojo went to the window and joined his brother. Henry turned and looked at him.

“I’m afraid it’s not over….Now, Ved’r’s just really mad!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jojo looked out the window with Henry. The light twisted like a kaleidescope, arranging and rearranging itself, pulsating in a spectrum of colors. Ved'r raised his hands upward, shouting a chant in a strange language. His chanting grew frantic and the light flourished, spinning tighter and tighter in tornadic activity.

"Jesus," Jojo whispered. His eyes were trapped like butterfly wings in a child's hands. He couldn't tear his eyes away. "What's he doing Henry?"

"I don't know," Henry said, a slight whimper in his voice. Henry's hair blew back as a gush of wind swirled into the upper story of the building. The manuscripts blew apart viciously rousing Belle from her pain induced stupor.

"Henry what's going on?" Belle asked above the rush of cool air. She struggled until Ringo helped her up and they both made their way to the window.

"Belle stay back!" Jojo yelled. The wind was now howling around them, sweeping their voices around in it. He and Henry continued to watch and their eyes widened. Ved'r began to fade in and out, quivering before their eyes. His face remained strained, his eyes closed as he chanted louder and angrier. Nizol and Asaf fell back on their butts, their mouths wide with fear.

Ringo sat Belle down, "Stay here!"

He ran around the room, trying to gather the flying papers. After a few moments he gave up and went to his brothers. His mouth dropped. Ved'r was transparent now, a glowing red haze. The tornado of colors twisted, bending this way and that way, Ved'r at it's base. Suddenly, the tornado began pulling itself inward, pulling the strange vegetation of the woods toward it. It seemed to pull and pull, twisting into itself, pulling the red Ved'r inside until it too was red. The red funnel rose until suddenly it vanished into the night sky, leaving the strange woodland deadly silent.

"Guys?" Belle said, her voice low.

Henry, Jojo, and Ringo stared in wonder at the clear starlit woodland, each looking up to where Ved'r had vanished.

"He's gone," Henry said aloud. They scarcely noticed as Asaf and Nizol leaped to their feet, staggering around. Henry and Jojo raced down the stairway, Ringo staying behind to get Belle to her feet. He lagged behind as he helped her down one stair at a time.

Henry and Jojo walked around outside slowly, still staring up at the starry dome, too shocked to be afraid of Nizol and Asaf. A few minutes later, Ringo and Belle appeared on the bottom step and stepped outside. Miko was sniffing the air, peeking out from Ringo's pocket. Henry and Jojo laughed, elbowing each other.

"Holy cow he's really gone," Jojo chortled.

"The air smells weird," Miko said. Belle looked around, peering into the trees, looking anxious. The woodland was eerily silent after Ved'r's little tornado.

"Let's find the portal," Henry announced eager to get back to Ruby's.

"Miko's shaking," Ringo stated quietly. "I don't like that."

"Oh and you shouldn't," Belled said, the silence muting her voice.

"Huh?" Jojo asked.

"Belle the portal?" Henry said impatiently. Belle shook her head from side to side.

"Oh Henry," she whispered. "We can't search for a portal now. It'll be the death of us all. This is just the calm before the storm."

"The calm before the what?"

As if in reply to Henry's question a low rumble sounded in the distance. The trees danced in a light breeze, and Henry looked outward into the sky. Lightning flashed, illuminating a purple wall of vicious clouds as it moved in toward them. Henry finally noticed Nizol and Asaf, but neither seemed to be concerned about their queries. Nizol suddenly looked at Henry a wild light in his eyes.

"If you are smart you will run," he whispered. Nizol and Asaf disappeared like wraiths into the dark woods.

"Too late," Ringo whispered back. Impending doom danced in his heart like a ballerina...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby, Kevin, Ish, Mel, and Cree sat around the living room. Well the others were sitting, Cree was out like trout, her head back, mouth open, and snoring the hallelujah chorus on the couch. Finally Ish tossed an ice cube from his glass at her. She snapped up and sat up straight sending an evil glare his way.

"Still glowing?" Cree asked, her head inclined toward Ruby's amulet on the coffee table.

"No change," Ruby confirmed. "At least we know they are okay."

"Ruby there's nothing we can do?" Mel asked tightly.

"Not now," she said. She smiled a grim smile. "Why don't I make us a pot of hot tea."

"Another pot of tea," Ish grumbled.

"Can I get mine iced this time?" Cree asked. Ruby nodded, patting her shoulder.

"Why don't you come help me this time?"

"Okay," Cree said following her into the kitchen. The women were busy putting ice in glasses after deciding to make everyone's tea iced this go around.

"Uh Belle," Kevin called from the living room.

"Yes?"

"H-how long is this amulet supposed to glow?" he asked.

Ruby dropped the pot of boiled tea onto the floor and raced into the living room, Cree on her heels. She stared at the amulet. The fierce blue light was gone. She sucked in her breath, her hand going to her mouth. The screen door slammed shut as Cree bolted.

"Ish!" Ruby looked in Cree's direction. Ish bounded up off the couch.

"Operation Cree commences," Ish grumbled.

"Ruby what's wrong?" Lil asked, Teo under her arm protectively.

"I - I don't know Lil," Ruby said softly. Ruby whirled around, looking at everyone else. "I just - I just - I need to go think."

She ghosted upstairs, leaving Kevin, Mel, and Lil with a sleeping Teo staring at one another.

[Belle]

To my fellow authors... This story is reaching 50,000 words, so it's time to wrap it up. I'm posting the ending (in 2 posts) now, so feel free to start a new story whenever you want to.

[Belle]

Drops of electricity fell from the whirling sky, dancing on the ground and sending people running for the abbey. Sparks arced from tree limb to tree limb, weaving a dangerous web above their heads. Jojo jumped back when he touched Henry’s shoulder, the static charge burning his fingers. Lightning seared a tree, splitting it into two smoking halves and the sky morphed from dark violet to outraged red.

“Hurry!” Jojo yelled to be heard over the increasing wind.

“I’m right behind you!” Ringo answered, his arms pumping and his feet flying toward the door. “Belle?” He glanced over his shoulder and stopped. “BELLE!”

At his scream, Henry and Jojo turned, Henry’s wind-blown hair obscuring his vision until he pushed it back.

Belle stood entranced, her arms raised skyward, electricity flickering up and down her arms. She didn’t seem to hear Ringo.

“BELLE!” he yelled again and trotted a few steps toward her, only to stare in horror. Under control from her wound, her face matched the troubled sky, indigo and red vying for dominance on her skin. Yellow light shown where her eyes should have been, and her body began to fade in and out.

It took her stubborn will to form the words, “Get…the…lute.”

“What’d she say?” Henry approached to stand behind Ringo.

“Get the lute.”

Before Ringo finished, Jojo ran into the abbey and flew up the stairs, returning in seconds with the instrument. “Okay, now what?”

Belle screamed, sending their gaze skyward. A black winged creature filled the horizon, its cry piercing the wind and portending death to the humans. It hovered above them, its twisted talons snatching at the lute and at Henry.

To Henry, the cry sounded like a siren’s call, luring him closer with the promise of no more trouble or pain. He extended the lute and took a few steps forward before Ringo tackled him and sent them both sprawling to the ground.

“Gitarm’n!” the creature screamed, its featherless wings spread wide beneath the roiling sky. “Gitarm’n! Come to me!”

Henry scrambled to his feet and struggled to obey, but Ringo’s vice grip refused to let him go.

Belle knew she was dying. Too much electricity had burned through her skin and muscle. She had little self-will left and sensed she was being used as Ved’r’s conduit to get to Henry. Ved’r’s mind became clear to her as he consumed more and more of her being. With one last trembling surge of strength, she turned his mind to create a portal.

* * *

Ruby closed her bedroom door and stood beside her window, staring unfocused at the scenery before her. Her skin crawled with dread and her mind raced from one horrible scenario to another.

If the amulet isn’t glowing, it means the boys are in trouble. Serious trouble.

Turning from the window, she paced across her room and back, trying to come up with a solution. The fourth time across her room, she spied Cree and Ish arguing outside the carriage house. Pushing the window up, she leaned out.

“What’s the matter with you two?”

Cree’s head snapped around and she uncrossed her arms to jab a finger at Ish. “He doesn’t think we can find a portal, and I think we’d better!”

“But we don’t even know where to look this time,” Ish countered.

“It’s just a matter of faith!” Cree spit. “We can’t give up. Not now!” She burst into frustrated tears and turned so Ruby couldn’t see her face.

“Faith,” Ruby muttered, then closed the window and hurried downstairs. “C’mon, guys.” She gestured toward the backdoor and herded Kevin, Mel, Lil and Teo outside. Going to Cree and Ish, she laid a hand on Cree’s shoulder.

“I think you’ve found the answer,” Ruby said.

“What was the question?” Cree sniffed and swiped at her eyes.

“The question? What is it that Ved’r fears?” Ruby glanced from face to face, waiting.

“He fears…uh…” Kevin stammered.

“Music,” Teo piped up. “He hates music.”

“Exactly, you smart little mouse.” Ruby stroked the top of his head. “So, why don’t we sing something?”

“Uh, Ruby, aren’t you forgetting one important fact?” Mel asked. “Ved’r’s not here to hear us.”

“Not that we know of,” Ruby countered. “Now, let’s have a little faith, as Cree so rightly suggested, and sing as if he could hear us. Ready?”








.

[Belle]

Belle writhed at the pain spiraling down her bones and clenched her eyes shut. The portal sprung open and, with it, a blast of music echoed down the vortex. Voices, glorious voices sang “Forgiven” with fervent faith. At the music’s power, Henry moaned, free from Ved’r’s enchantment, and glanced at Jojo as if recognizing him for the first time.

“Jump!” Jojo ordered and pushed his brother and the lute into the portal. With Henry safely through, he nodded to Ringo. “You and Miko, go!”

“What about Belle?” Ringo asked, his worried eyes focused on her fading frame.

“Leave…me,” she said through clenched teeth. “Save…this…place.”

“I’m not leav…” Before Ringo could finish, Jojo shoved him in. Without warning, Jojo grabbed Belle’s wrist, almost screaming at the searing pain, then he pulled her behind him through the portal. As he jumped, he glanced over his shoulder and saw the black winged creature turn into Ved’r and then become ashes, blown away by the music on the wind.

Jojo landed with a thud and took a minute to catch his breath. Glancing around, he found himself staring at different pairs of shoes. Several hands lifted him to his feet and relief flooded his chest when he saw his friends standing around him.

“Am I ever glad to see you!” he grinned. Turning, he nodded to Henry. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. But, uh, she’s not.” Henry pointed to Belle, unconscious on the ground. Her singed hair, tattered clothes and burnt flesh told the story.

Cree knelt beside her, crying and touching her friend’s hair. “Don’t you die on me, loopie! Don’t you dare!” Lifting a tear-stained face toward Ruby, she demanded, “Do something!”

Ruby ran trembling fingers through her hair, knowing the second and third degree burns covered too much of Belle for her to survive.

“Let’s get her inside,” Ruby told them. When Henry put his hands under Belle’s shoulders, she moaned, then fell silent.

“This is hurting her,” Henry murmured, then stepped back.

“We can’t leave her out here,” Jojo argued.

“Call 911,” Mel suggested, blinking back her own tears.

Kevin surveyed the heartbroken group, wishing he knew what to do. Usually good in a crisis, this one left him free-falling with his stomach in his throat. He looked away and caught movement behind the carriage house. Turning in that direction, he tilted his head, then gestured for Ringo to follow him.

The two men made their way along the side of the building and stopped to peek around the corner. Beside several bales of hay stood a black-robed figure, trying to hide. Making a silent hand signal for Ringo to stay there, Kevin hurried to the other side and gave a sharp whistle. Both men converged on the hay bales and trapped the figure.

“Asef!” Kevin growled as Ringo grabbed his arms and marched him to the others. “How’d you get here?”

“Yeah, and why aren’t you trying to get away?” Ringo asked, surprised that he didn't struggle.

Before Asef could answer, they reached the group.

“She still unconscious?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah, and it’s getting worse. She’s barely breathing.” Ruby’s voice shook.

“Perhaps I can help,” Asef volunteered.

“You!” Henry jumped to put himself between Asef and the others. “What are you…?”

“Easy, H,” Kevin said. Ringo let Asef go and watched as he knelt beside Belle and pulled a small bundle out of his pocket. Opening it, he took two leaves out.

“Can someone make a tea from these?”

“She can,” Ish pointed at Ruby. “That’s about all she makes.”

Ruby ignored Ish and took the leaves inside. “I’ll be right back.”

Within minutes, she returned with the tea and handed it to Asef. He knelt again and made Belle sip some. After a moment, he gave her more. When her eyes opened, he made her drink the rest of it.

“What is that?” Mel asked.

“A curative for us whenever we got too close to the electricity,” Asef answered. “I don’t know if it will work on humans, though.” He stood and handed the cup to Ruby, then spoke to Kevin “In answer to your earlier question, I don’t want to get away. I came here to escape.”

“Escape? When? From whom?” They peppered him with questions.

“I came through the portal there.” His chin pointed to a spot beside the carriage house. “I don’t want to go back. I’m a prisoner there.”

“A prisoner?” Kevin’s eyebrows furrowed. “But, you’re the one with the sword.”

“Ved’r imprisoned all my people and forced us to do his bidding.” Asef pushed the hood back to reveal sky blue hair and pale skin.

“For what it’s worth,” Jojo told him, “Ved’r’s dead.”

“Are you sure?” Asef clasped both of Jojo’s shoulders.

“Yeah. He turned into a bunch of ashes and ‘poof’ he blew away.”

“Thanks be!” Asef raised his head, relief clear on his features. “Then I should return.” His gaze fell on Henry. “Would you permit me to take the lute? It belongs to my people and with it, we can restore much that was wronged.”

“Not so fast, mister,” Ringo huffed. “How do we know you’re telling the truth? Huh?”

Asef scanned the faces, then nodded toward Ruby. “Ask her.”

All eyes fell to the older woman. She stepped up and laid a hand over Asef’s heart for a long moment. Opening her other hand, she revealed the amulet she’d picked up in the kitchen and smiled at its blue glow.

“He’s telling the truth,” she said.

“This portal you’re going through,” Henry interrupted. “Can you make it one-way? No offense, but I don’t ever want to go to your place again.”

Asef allowed a smile to cross his face. “Yes, I can make that happen.”

“But, not the Bistro portal,” Cree warned. “We need that one to get to where the boys are playing.”

“As you wish.” Asef bowed, then took the extended lute from Henry. “Thank you, Gitarm’n, for saving my people.”

"It wasn't just me." Henry waved away the thanks and watched as Asef walked around the corner and disappeared through his portal.

“Oooo,” When Belle moaned, everyone hurried to her side.

“Belle? How are you feeling?” Cree asked.

“Belle? Who’s that? And who are you?” the confused patient grimaced.

“You don’t know who you are?” Mel’s frightened question filled the silence.

“Look! Her burns are gone,” Jojo noted.

Cree knelt beside her and touched her shoulder. “Please, please say you remember something. Anything! Henry, maybe? Or Jojo?”

Belle studied the stranger’s worried face and slowly began nodding. “Yeah, I think I remember you. You’re the mouthy one. Right?”

At her question, the relieved group burst into laughter.



The End






.

[mamacitaRuth]

I love it! Very well done, Belle. Thank you!!

[MelBAustria]

Well done Belle!
First time I had tears in my eyes in a Miko and Lil story, when "Belle" was hurt in the story :(
But you made it to a Happy End!!!

Hugs
Mel
:)

[Belle]

Anyone interested in a novel about LLB and talking mice on their tour bus? Kindle eBook on Amazon for 99¢. (All proceeds go to SIDS charity.)

Miko & Lil 'Onda' Bus: http://www.amazon.com/Miko-Lil-Onda-Bus-ebook/dp/B0011Z4VQ2/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2