| The following days after the rodeo was over the siblings went back to practicing their moves with One Antler continuing to teach them strategies and arm to arm combat. The three that could fly kept practicing their skills at picking up and dropping off. Tonka of course could only fly short distances but the real advantage of his wings was that Daniel could take him up him and drop him, giving him time to change into his exoskeleton and get those short wings of his out and fluttering so to help his decent. Seta practiced her agility but the fact of the matter is that when you’re a scorpion and you have that tail that is always perched in a striking position, you don’t need to have a lot of other special skills. Not as long as you can hit what you are striking at every time. Seta was deadly with her aim. Only Daniel was fast enough to avoid her strike when they practiced against each other. Even then it was a split decision. Sometimes she hit him, sometimes he was quick enough to cause her to miss. When it came to practice, Seta had to be careful not to shoot her sticky substance at Daniel because it took forever to get that stuff out of his wings. Tonka was strong enough to tear his way out of it but it did slow him down. Tracker just burned it away before her sticky substance could reach him. At practice it was Daniel who surprised everyone the most. He may only have the powers of flight but for short bursts he could go so fast that the others were like they were standing still or frozen. The only way he fell victim to Seta’s sticky substance was when she caught him unexpectedly. He didn’t think she would get him again. Tracker was the one most predictable. The others would get burned if he wanted to get them. He was too good with that fire shooting from his hands. Daniel had enjoyed some success avoiding Tracker’s fire but when he switched to shooting a wide pattern of less intense heat, he was able to catch even the speedster. Tonka enjoyed the most protection from the fire, because of his exoskeleton. Seta also was blessed with an exoskeleton which helped protect her from his fire blasts. None of the other three were capable of winning against Seta in close combat. She was just too accurate with that stinger. The other three did enjoy success against her when they had plenty of room to move around but in close quarters, the stinger proved the winner. Of course none of them used their powers to the extreme, so none knew for sure who would win in a real combat between them. However they all grew to appreciate the powers belonging to the others. As a team they were amazing to watch. By the end of summer they were ready to be tested against any enemy. It was a good thing. Agent Crandel had not been sitting idle while they practiced. He received another call from the clerk towards the end of the summer. The man had learned the name of the four siblings who came in almost every day for gatorade and snacks. They lived on the reservation. Their last name was Whitefeather. —————— Chapter ———————– School arrived as welcome as finding an old bicycle you used to ride but lost interest in. It was vaguely interesting for a short while during which everyone re acquainted themselves to the routine of answering to ringing bells and carrying around an armful of books. Some of the nicer schools may have had their assignments given through a computer but on the reservation it was still strictly books. The library offered use of a computer to allow students to become familiar with using a digital approach to learning but the school could not afford to issue computers to every student. Seta saw her boyfriend from the year before and they began talking in front of her locker. His name in their native language meant gliding bird so everyone called him ‘Glider’ when speaking to him in English. Glider was a year older, in Tracker’s class. It was how he and Seta met. Glider and Tracker often took turns spending the night at each other’s house. More often it was Glider staying at Tracker’s than the other way around. The reason became clear why, when Glider and Seta made it official. Later it became even more clear when it was revealed that Glider’s father was abusive. “Hi Glider.” Seta said, smiling. “Did you enjoy your time with your grandparents over the summer?” “Yeah. Missed you. I alway love seeing my grandparents but being away from you was hard. I can’t wait until this weekend when I can see you.” Glider said smiling back. “I have had an exciting end to the summer. I can’t tell you about it here but I sure have plenty to talk about when we see each other this weekend. Assuming you can get out?” She said, checking her watch to see how much time she had before the bell rang. “I’ll ring you tonight. I’d love to hear about it. We can discuss what to do this weekend and you can tell me all about it when we’re alone.” Glider answered. He had a little more than talk on his mind when they got alone, but she could tell him in between kisses. Maybe he would see about getting some alone time in front of the tv on Friday or Saturday night. All he would have to do is bribe the other siblings to not come and watch while he visited. The Whitefeathers had a great set up for watching movies but doing it alone with Seta was another story. There always seemed to be a sibling or parent that was free to watch tv when they were watching. The only thing good about that was the fact that nobody hassled them about any time they spent together because odds were there would be somebody else around the entire time. Glider would have preferred differently of course, but he still felt lucky to have the situation he enjoyed. Tracker also had a girlfriend. Her name was Rushing Water. She had long dark hair to match her eyes and a smile that would have made Mona Lisa jealous. The only problem was she was one of those girls that just didn’t get it that the reason boys were falling all over themselves to do anything for her wasn’t because they just wanted to be her friend. He had to walk a really tight rope or he would lose her. It seemed like it was one guy after another that would appear in her life that she just didn’t get it they were after more than friendship. She also had an ex-boyfriend that stayed friends with her (big surprise there) and he was constantly finding excuses to drop back into her life, or to have her ‘help’ him with his homework. Or a dozen other different perfectly reasonable excuses for spending time with her. Tracker couldn’t figure out if she was just that thick when it came to understanding the way the world worked or if she was playing him using convenient reasons for seeing her ex. She was also one of those girls who was very hands-on. The girl seemed to always be touching whoever she was talking with and it did not make Tracker feel any more secure about their relationship. If she was just straight up with him that she didn’t want an exclusive relationship he would be okay with that but currently it felt like it was okay for her to see other guys because of the ‘friends’ thing, but it would be wrong or be like he was hitting on another girl if he was suddenly to start spending time showering attention towards some other girl. Plus he didn’t know how that would work out? It could backfire on him and make her angry resulting in her breaking it off with him. He found consolation in the thought that perhaps she was just so very desperate to have some male friends that were not seeking more than friendship, that it caused her to keep putting herself out there despite history teaching she would not find what she was hoping to find. He had not been blessed with such extreme beauty so how could he fairly judge her circumstance? Of course, that didn’t take anything away from the fact that beautiful people might have to deal with situations that the less blessed might not; but those same beautiful people had no idea what it was like to have the door shut in your face. To not be asked to the dance. To overhear unkind words concerning your appearance. While they do enjoy being forgiven more often and more easily. They enjoy always being invited or picked among the first. They usually get paid more and probably haven’t opened a door for themselves since they became teenagers. What he found completely ironic was how she had everything that the others dreamed of having while the others had what her beauty seemingly made impossible. No matter how much a male might not have entered into a friendship with her, in the end he could not resist the desire her beauty birthed. He thought of that old saying about how the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and then decided that in this case the one side of the fence was definitely greener than the other but he understood neither was a perfect world. Or that was what his mind came to rest with in order to allow him to date such a beautiful woman. Now however he had these cool new powers he could show her. That ought to make her understand with whom she should be trying to spend all her time. Wait until he took her flying! The girl is going to fall so in love with him that he’ll need to pry her off him with a crow bar. Tracker took a moment to really picture that thought. He smiled. Life was good. Rushing Water might be rather ignorant when it came to spotting guys who were wanting to move in on her but she was excellent at always being available to date on Friday nights. He made a point to go out of his way to make sure she was going to be available for the coming Friday. She replied yes. Tracker began planning for a Friday night his girlfriend would never forget. Tonka and Daniel were aware their siblings had dates for the coming weekend. Tonka had not really planned on doing anything out of the usual for the weekend but Daniel went the other direction. He too, had thought about how his flying ability would impress his choice of girls. He didn’t do too bad with the girls as it was, of course, it didn’t hurt that he was the only non-native American in their school. Falling Wolf, the head of the Whitefeather clan, told Daniel when they had the talk, that girls always went for whatever was a little different than the rest. Of course, he told Tracker and Tonka basically the opposite. Confidence was what it was really all about so Falling Wolf did his best to encourage it in all his children using whatever means were available. He liked to think of himself as an opportunistic parent. Daniel pictured himself flying any number of girls in his class. This was going to be a good year, he thought. Then he smiled thinking of the twins both going with him. Dancing Rabbit and Climbing Bear were a grade ahead of him but he figured if a guy is going to pretend he might as well shoot for the stars. After he made himself come back down a little bit he envisioned just one of the twins flying with him. “Much more believable.” He said to himself. That first week of school went by without much of anything special happening. Then after that first week there were some new faces that appeared in school. There were two new students who looked too old to be in school. Plus there were two new teachers who also did not look the part. Rumors abounded why the new faces had arrived. One rumor had it that the new faces were there to bust a drug ring that apparently was so secret that nobody in the school knew anything about it. Another rumor was that there was someone on the FBI’s most wanted list that had been spotted at the school and the feds were trying to catch him. The Whitefeather siblings, the ‘tribe’ as they laughingly called themselves, kept their secret close to the vest. Any thoughts of sharing what had happened to them that summer were put on hold with the rumors going around. The kids didn’t know if the new faces were there seeking them but they sure were not going to take any chances. Each one of the would-be heroes went to school. They did what was expected of them but they were extremely careful not to do anything out of the ordinary. One of the new kids tried buddying up to Tracker but he played it straight-aced. By the time Friday rolled around the entire school was on to something fishy going on. Though aware of the possibility that there were feds infiltrating their school, the kids couldn’t resist keeping their dates. Before leaving the house for their respective destinations, the group had a meeting. “We should have a quick few minutes to discuss what everybody has planned for tonight.” Tracker said, facing the other three. “I am afraid one or more of us is going to do something stupid tonight and end up giving away our secret. I thought it was worth sitting down and reminding ourselves of the stakes at hand.” Tonka jumped in. “Yeah! Cause I ain’t going to jail because one of you honeymooners decides to show off to his date. This is serious business and once the cat gets out of the box it won’t be possible to put it back.” “Nobody’s gonna tell on us.” Seta said. “Plus its not like I’m going to be in any hurry to show a guy that I can turn into a giant bug.” “You’re not the one I was worrying about. Hear what I am saying Daniel?” Tonka said in an accusing tone. “I can practically hear what you’re thinking. Yes showing your powers would be a great feather in your hat. Assuming the person you show doesn’t freak out and go running to tell anybody that will listen that one of the kids in their class is a bonafide freak.” “Obviously the ones most at risk of giving up our secret is those of us that can fly. I mean, that’s the obvious big selling point from the dating perspective. Tonk’s not a risk because he can barely fly by himself. We won’t have to worry about catching him taking his special lady on any kind of flights. At least not in the near future.” Tracker said laughing. “So I guess its me and you Daniel. We will have to take special care not to screw this up.” “Yeah okay.” Daniel said with a discouraged tone. He wasn’t going to say anything to the rest but he was really looking forward to giving his date, Dancing Rabbit, the date of her life. Now he would be lucky to get her to see him again so he would have the chance to show off his powers. It wasn’t fair! Besides, Dancing Rabbit would never tell the FBI on him. She was far too pretty to do something that low down. He decided Tracker keeping his secret, a secret, was enough. Besides all that, this way he would know it was Dancing Rabbit that said something if there was trouble. “Everybody have a safe night.” Everybody went their separate way. Daniel left to go pick up Dancing Rabbit. If you called walking over to her house the equivalent of picking up. Tracker went out on his date with Rushing Water. Seta walked over to Glider’s house and then they walked back to her parents house and watched a movie there. Tonka headed into town. He had a little money so he thought he would go by the store and either get some snacks or if he was really lucky he might see some of the seniors and he could ask one of them to buy him some beer. Those guys are going to go out and get not only themselves in trouble but me too, so why shouldn’t I have a little fun before that happens. Who knows how long we’ll be in jail? Or somewhere worse. This might be my only chance to try beer. Ever! I’m gonna be so mad if they get us caught. You watch. Its almost a sure thing that Daniel is going to give away his secret tonight. I know if I could fly, I’d be giving away my secret tonight. Maybe to two different girls. Why couldn’t I have been the one to get the flying power? So I’m super strong. Big deal. Plus I can’t even be that unless I have changed over so I look like a cross between a human being and a dung beetle. Hey! That’s a little harsh dude. Give yourself a break! Tonka cut through an alley to reach the street the store was located, and he heard a muffled cry for help. He froze in place and again, thought he heard the sound of a muffled cry for help. It sounded softer the second time. There was a slight summer breeze ushering the sunset further to the west and Tonka had to turn his head so that his ears didn’t catch the wind. There! Now he heard it! It was a cry for help. He began to scan the nearby houses looking for anything with a light on and maybe a window open? Maybe a basement door slightly ajar? He listened closer, stopping his three-hundred and sixty degree scan. Now he had it! It was coming from a stand alone garage that was behind one of the nearby houses. Tonka rushed around the corner of the garage to where the door would likely be located. It was slightly open and there was light coming from inside. “Hello?” He asked. Then he said it again a little louder. Next he heard a groan and realized there was a man trapped under the car that was inside the garage. “Hang in there fella. I’ll have you out in no time.” More groans could be heard. Tonka allowed himself to change over to Beetle-mode. Next he picked up the front of the car and placed some pieces of firewood under the car to hold it up. Tonka called nine-one-one and found an old shirt to place under the man’s head while he laid on the ground waiting for the ambulance to arrive. “Help is on the way buddy. You’re gonna be getting the EMTs any time now.” Tonka had a moment to think about being there when the EMT’s arrived. He would prefer to have not been there but this was a situation he could hardly walk away. It would cause more attention for him to disappear than to play the hero in the right place at the right time, card. Tonka sighed. It was going to be a lot bigger night than he had first expected when he set out to maybe try beer before his Pepe LaPue brother got them all busted trying to score with one of the twins. The injured man was saying something to him. Tonka forced himself to stop zoning out and listen to what the man was saying. “I appreciate you saving me.” The man groaned from pain but went on. “I know this is going to sound crazy but I could have sworn you picked the car up with your bare hands. That isn’t right, is it? I know it can’t be, but crazy if I have no other explanation. The jack was under the car with me. How did you …?” Tonka looked like he had been caught in the middle of the street during the middle of the day, without any pants on. He stuttered, then looked around catching the woodpile in his view. “Simple. I just used some of the firewood to set up a leverage situation which allowed me to get the car up high enough to shove that firewood piece under the frame. After that it was just a matter of getting you out from under the car. You were in and out through the entire process.” Then they could hear the sound of the ambulance siren as it began to get closer and closer. Soon the red flashing light could be seen illuminating the night with its maroon hue coming around in a circle every second and a half. Behind it was the sheriff. Apparently it was a slow Friday night in the county. It was still early. Things could change as fast as the weather if fate so desired. ————– Chapter ———————– Next Page |   |