Chapter 10
Jasmine's POV
12:34 PM November 8th 2002 Joey's Apartment
"Just come by when you are finished packing Doll" Royce tells me over the phone.
"Thank you so much" I say. It took me a while to gain the courage to call Royce after the stove incident.
"It is no problem at all Hon, frankly I'm glad you're coming with me. Too bad it is under these circumstances. How's the hand?"
"Fine" I whisper, lifting my injured arm. It is currently wrapped tightly in some gauze. "It still hurts like hell."
Royce tuts "I'm sure. Well, don't worry Boo. After today you won't have to deal with that monster ever again."
Biting my lip, I try to keep my voice steady as I whimper "I'm sure he didn't mean to. He was sorry afterwards. He was just so angry…"
"Jasmine no" Royce asserts. "Don't make excuses for him."
"But…"
"No!" he snaps. "Finish packing and come over. I'll have a room set up for you. Okay?"
"Okay."
"I will see you then." The dial tone sounds, indicating the end of our call.
Sitting on what was going to be my bed, I listen to the buzzing phone. The empty noise is somewhat settling. My body relaxes into the soft mattress underneath me, immersing itself into the blank noise.
A sudden knock breaks the peace. Sighing, I stand up from the bed and walk into the hallway. Another knock sounds from the front door right before I open it.
I frown at the person on the other side. Never having seen this man before, I'm surprised at his presence. I first note how tall he is, he towers over me by at least half a meter. The man is dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark blue tee-shirt covered by a grey jacket. His long dark hair covers his eyes, making it hard for me to depict their color. "Can I help you?" I ask.
"Jasmine Kelly?" a gruff voice inquires. I notice his hand playing around with something in his pocket.
My instincts start going crazy. Reaching for the door, I try to slam it shut. But the man was too fast, his arm stops the door as he takes a step into the apartment. Making a dash back to my room, I can feel him right behind me. Above the bed is an open window; which I quickly try to dash out of. When my torso is halfway through, a strong hand yanks me back into the bedroom. My body flies onto the bed and I'm pinned down my two strong arms.
"Get off me!" I scream, attempting to fight. My burned hand makes it nearly impossible for me to hit the man, but my legs are wildly kicking.
Footsteps walk up next to me. Another man is in the bedroom, helping the first one to restrain me. He wrangles my legs into a tight hold as the first man weighs down my chest and arms; leaving my body immobilized. I can feel myself on the brink of tears from the fear coursing through me. The first man holds down my arms with his right hand while his left fishes for something in his pocket.
"What do you want? Let me go" I beg.
Both men ignore me. The first one finally pulls out a small cylinder looking thing. He bites on the end and pulls off what looks like a cap. Next thing I know, a needle is plunged into my neck, shocking me into paralysis. It only takes a few seconds for my body to feel the needle's contents numbing all my muscles. I stop struggling against the men, not having the capability to move my arms or legs.
The next thing I hear sends terror through my every nerve. A voice I haven't heard in years snickers
"God job boys."
The two men release me, leaving my body limp on the mattress. Another figure makes its way into my vision.
Daniel leans over my body and smirks "Did your brother really expect to work for my company and not get caught?"
-10:00 PM-
My vision is on the verge of blurriness. It's not there completely, but goes in and out. Every minute that passes, causes my eyes to lose more and more focus.
Daniel is sitting in a chair next to the bed. His figure now a blur, but I can still feel his glare directed at me. Surprisingly he has been pretty quiet throughout this entire process. Except for a few taunts at the beginning, Daniel has merely watched with a determined gaze while resting his arm on the bed. The wires connecting the needles in my body to the one in his arm, has a light orange glow to it. I can still see the light as my vision finally becomes one giant blur.
For what feels like years, my body has been in excruciating pain. Everything, even my hair, feels like it is being ripped apart. For a while, I tried to scream; until my throat became so sore that breathing became torturous. My scorching lungs struggle to fill with air as my chest feels as if it's collapsing in on itself. If I didn't know better, I would swear my skin cells have all broken away from my body and are floating away. The pain from the burn on my hand has become numb compared to the boiling sensation I feel from head to toe.
Suddenly, it stops. The burning, tearing, ripping; it all ceases and is replaced with a strong soreness. Through my fuzzy vison, I notice the wire has stopped glowing. I can feel it move as Daniel stands and ejects the needle from his arm. One by one, I feel the pricks from the golden needles slowly leave my body.
It's over. Daniel did it. He has my powers.
With that thought, a sense of dread overtakes my half-conscious mind. What now? What happens after this? Will Daniel let me free? What will I do if he doesn't? Is he even going to keep me alive? Why would he; it's not as if I'm of any use now.
When Daniel has about half the needles out of my body, I hear a slightly panicked voice (must be from one of Daniel's men) say "Sir. There's a fire."
"What?" Daniel snaps.
"It's growing as we speak. People are evacuating the building."
After a long pause, Daniel grumbles "This cannot be a coincidence. Send some men out onto the street. Look for the boy, he is probably hiding in the crowd." He begins yanking the needles out of my arms and legs at a much faster rate.
Daniel's guard awkwardly inquires "Sir…what are you doi…?"
"Go!" Daniel snaps. I hear footsteps running out of the room as the last needle leaves my arm.
There is some shuffling next to me, followed by the sound of Daniel leaving the room. The soreness in my body begins to take over; I can feel myself blanking into darkness. Slightly, I hear a voice yelling in the living room; but I'm too tired to figure out what it's saying.
A giant burst of pain soars through my back as an arm scoots under it. I let out one last yelp before passing out.
Joey's POV
A black van pulls around the corner and parks outside the garbage door. The apartment building has one main entry door with three fire escapes. Not many tenants know about the back door the building's janitor uses to take out the cumulated trash from the garbage chute. Perez made me figure out all the building's exits in case they would come to any use.
It's not a difficult door to get to from the road. It's just a simple alleyway that can fit a car and a dumpster (which I am currently hiding behind). I figured Daniel and his goons would use this door since the building's tenants are currently streaming out the front.
The van parks and one large, well-built man slides out the driver's door. Someone opens the building's door, letting the driver inside. I can mentally feel their presences make their way deeper into the building. Quickly, I run around the corner and hide behind a dumpster.
As time passes, I do a mental check on all of Daniel's men I can. Half an hour ago, what I assume to be all of them, were in my apartment with Daniel and Jasmine. Once I started the fire, a few left to check the threat. One returned to I assume tell Daniel the news; because all but three left to wander the streets. I can't feel Daniel's presence, but from the trickling thoughts of his guards, I know Daniel is also searching through the crowd up front looking for me. Sliding my back down the dumpster I'm leaning against, I let out a tired sigh. This is the most I've used my powers in this short of a time period. It's tiring being out of practice. If I was as fluent with them as I was when I was six, I wouldn't have any problems.
The door opens again. The driver exits the building and holds open the door for the other man to walk through. I can see the other man has an unconscious Jasmine in his arms. She looks terrible. Jasmine's usually full, healthy hair is clumped together and matted to her head. Sweat is soaking through her clothes. Without even trying, I can hear her heavy breathing from where I am hiding.
The driver opens the van's back door so the other man can place Jasmine in the backseat. Now is my chance. If I wait any longer, more guards or Daniel could show up.
Standing up, I swiftly walk around the dumpster. Not wasting any time, I quickly break into the two guard's minds. I know as soon as I mess with them, Daniel will know my location. I have to do this as fast as possible.
The driver is the first one to notice me. He is about to say something when I break through Daniel's mental barrier in the driver's mind. As I do I tell him "Give me the keys."
He stares at me for a second, obviously confused as to what is happening. I give him a mental push, and the driver digs into his pocket and tosses the keys to me. The other guard with him is flabbergasted at the driver's actions. I push through Daniel's barrier inside his mind and tell the two "Run. If Daniel finds you two, you're dead." I don't need to do any convincing for the two men to agree. I can hear them run out of the alley as I get into the van's driver seat.
Quickly checking on Jasmine, I scan her body. She looks even worse up close. Her skin is red and is covered with bleeding needle pricks. I notice Jasmine's eyes are closed and she hasn't stirred the slighted bit; she must be asleep.
Knowing I don't have much time, I return my attention to the car. Quickly, I put the keys into the ignition and turn the car on. The second the engine roars to life, I zoom the van out of the alley and onto the street. Just in the nick of time too. As I enter the street, I see Daniel's guards beginning to close in towards the alleyway. Luckily they don't reach it in time to block the van. I'm driving off down the road by the time they realize I'm the one driving the van.
As I get farther and farther away from the building, my nerves do not settle. That was easy. Like…really easy. I guess because I used my powers, but still. That was unbelievably easy. After the orphanage…something doesn't seem right. It shouldn't have been that simple.
The strangest feeling trickles down the back of my neck. My eyes wander the van's rearview mirror. The sight of Daniel standing in the middle of the road causes my heart to skip a beat. At that moment…the van begins to slow down.
"No" I panic, hitting the steering wheel as if that would help. "No, no, no."
Crap, the van comes to a complete halt. It doesn't take a genius to know what happened. It took Daniel less than a day to figure out my powers back in Italy, why would Jasmine's be any different? What am I going to do now?
Opening the van door, I jump out of the vehicle. Daniel is stalking his way down the road. People on the street don't seem to notice, all are too focused on the apartment building burning down in the distance. Cars have slowed down to watch causing traffic to start piling up. Nobody seems to even notice Daniel or me standing in the middle of the street.
As Daniel approaches, I begin to panic. Desperately, I scan the area, praying for an escape plan. There is no way I can outrun him if I grab Jasmine; and I refuse to leave her behind. If Daniel captures her now, I highly doubt I could rescue her again.
There is a loud honk behind me. Turning I see a silver car stalled not so patiently a few feet away, waiting for me to move out of the street. The driver is obviously annoyed as he honks his car's horn a second time and scoots a bit forward.
That's it.
Scanning the driver's mind quickly; I also step towards the van containing Jasmine, moving out of the car's way. It begins to pass by me, gaining a bit of speed. Pushing my way into the driver's mind, I will him to smash down on the accelerator. The silver car speeds forward, all the way down the street…directly at Daniel.
Before he can register the thought to move out of the way, the silver car strikes Daniel. He tumbles to the ground; under the car. At the same moment, my van's engine groans back to life.
Jumping into the van again, I don't waste any time zooming back down the street and around the nearest corner; out of Daniel's sight. I don't slow down until we are halfway out of London, but my body is on edge until we are completely out.
Jasmine's POV
10:13 AM November 11th 2002, Kingston Blount England
The first thing I hear is birds chirping. Not some pigeon, flying rat bird; but nice songbirds. Their chirps echo one after another.
A light isn't shining onto my eyes, but is obviously illuminating the room around me. Opening my eyes, I see a window in front of me; opened wide with a soft breeze swaying the white curtains framing it. Outside the window, I see greenery. Trees, grass, bushes; it goes on for what looks like miles. Obviously I'm not in London anymore, even the parks are not this big.
Surveying the room around me, I take it all in. The walls are white with dark brown wood paneling along it and the ceiling. A few walls are partially made of brick, giving the room a rustic feel. The curtains match the bedspread I am currently laying under.
For the first time, I notice that I'm tucked into a bed. My clothes are the same from when Daniel broke into the apartment…
My heart drops. Where is Daniel? Did he bring me here?
Trying to lift myself up, I push my hands into the mattress underneath me. Immediately I fall back onto to soft surface to relieve shooting pain that goes up my arms as I put weight on them. I let out a wounded groan.
"Jasmine?" a voice says from behind me. When I try to turn my head towards the speaker, the muscles in my neck protest greatly causing a whine to escape my mouth. Footsteps make their way around the bed. Joey enters my peripheral vison; looking concerned yet relieved about something. He whispers "Jasmine" as if he is trying to convince himself it's me.
"Joey?" I hoarsely respond. Surprisingly it doesn't feel so bad to talk, only slightly uncomfortable. I try to push myself up again up again, only to fail miserably. I groan and shut my eyes in discomfort.
"Shh" Joey hushes. I feel a hand gently stroke my forehead. "Relax. Don't overexert yourself. How are you feeling?"
Ignoring his question, I tell Joey "Help me sit up."
"What?" he frowns "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure" I say, trying to lift myself into a sitting position.
"If you aren't feeling well, you should lie down. Do you hurt anywhere?"
"Help me up please" I beg, tears coming to my eyes. "I'm fine, just really sore. I want to sit up, help me sit up, please!" At this point, my back and neck are burning from trying to lift my torso.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry" Joey whispers apologetically. He gently places his hands under my back and neck; then slowly pushes me into a sitting position. The pressure irritates my muscles and bones, but nothing unbearable. When I am finally able to lean against the bed's backboard, my body relaxes into a relieved ache.
After taking a few deep breaths, I ask "Where are we?"
"Kingston Blount."
"Never heard of it."
"It's a small village. Figured it was a good place to hide from Daniel for a few days. We're at a little bed and breakfast right now. How do you feel?"
Taking a moment to take in the new information, I stay silent. After a while I state tiredly "Empty."
Joey frowns "You still not have your powers?"
I slowly shake my head, staring out the window glumly. Flashbacks begin to play through my mind of the last time I was awake. Tears begin to prick at my eyes "How…when it happened to you…how long was it until you got your powers back?"
"Three days" Joey answers, his eyes trailing to the bedspread.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Three days." A long moment of dooming silence passes until Joey continues "Daniel must have found a way to contain your powers. When he…he knew how to extract mine but not how to keep them. Every time he used my powers, a bit of them would slip away and return to me. He must have figured out how to fix that since then. You don't feel anything?"
Shaking my head no, I let a few tears finally fall. Feelings of dread and uselessness run through me. I whimper "So that's it. I'm used up; worthless…"
Joey frowns "Jasmine…"
Not stopping to listen, I continue "dried up, pointless, inoperative"
"Jasmine!"
"A batter drained of all it's energy. Now I just have to be thrown away with the trash…"
"Shhh" Joey hushes, pulling me into an embrace. The sudden movement and pressure to my body shoots pain through my sore muscles causing me to yelp and allow more tears fall. Joey immediately lets go "Sorry, sorry, sorry" he whispers, gently whipping my face.
"What are you doing?" I ask through a sob.
His eyes scrunch in confusion, "Excuse me?"
"What are you doing" I snap, suddenly growing angry.
"Trying to help…"
"Why?! Why are we here?" I gesture to the room. As I move, my muscles begin to buzz in warning.
Joey's gaze catches to my right hand that is still wrapped in bandages from the burn. Sudden understanding sets into his features as he gulps "Jasmine I…"
"You didn't care before! Why are we here? How are we here?" I raise my voice.
"I went back for you…"
"Why!? Why do you suddenly care?"
"I wasn't going to leave you with…"
"What happened to not saving me again? Huh?"
Joey tries to place a hand on my shoulder calmingly "I was wrong to say that…"
"Don't touch me! This is your fault!"
Retracting his hand, Joey asks bewildered "What?"
"Perez works for Daniel" I practically yell. "This entire time, we have been working for one of Daniel's branches. When you put your face into their system, Daniel was able to track you down. I told you taking that job was a bad idea" my anger brings the tears back. "I told you. You shouldn't have joined. I told you not to. You didn't listen. I told you…"
"I'M SORRY!" Joey shouts. That shuts me up. Joey looks broken from the reveal. He takes a labored breath and begins muttering quickly "You're right. If that's true…this is my fault. Even if it weren't…what I did to your hand. I'm sorry. Oh my god, I'm so sorry. What I said to you…I'm sorry. I was so angry, you didn't deserve that. Everything that has happened since coming to London. You were right…"
During his rambles, my temper has begun to settle. My mind becomes calmer, making it able for me to think more clearly. Joey on the other hand, seems to be digging farther and farthing into a panic, depressed hole inside his mind. His body, which was kneeling next to me before, begins to sink to the ground. I gulp and whisper in concern "Joey." It's my turn to try to comfort him now.
"You were right, I'm just like Daniel. I'm worse. I knew that burner was on, I knew it would hurt you. I purposely did that to you. Oh my god…"
"Joey" I say louder.
"I was wrong. I was very wrong; unbelievably wrong. All of this is my fault. I'm so sorry Jasmine…for everything. I'm so sor…"
Grabbing the sleeve of his shirt, I say again "Joey!" He stops and stares at my hand grasping at the fabric. "I was wrong too."
Joey doesn't respond, only stares at me blankly. I sigh "I shouldn't have said you're just like Daniel."
"But I am" Joey whispers, obviously still in his broken mental state. "What I've said and done to you…"
"No you're not" I assert, using all my strength to roll to the side. "I was angry, just like you. It's not true."
We both sit in silence. The atmosphere of the room remains tense, but more of a recovering tension than angry. The sorrow and hurt remains, but has become a background overtone. Neither Joey nor I can look each other in the eye. Finally, I whisper "I'm sorry too."
"Don't be" Joey states. "After you said that…it made me rethink everything. In a way, I needed to hear it."
"You didn't deserve…"
"Jasmine" Joey interrupts, his gaze moving to my bandaged arm. "Don't. Let's just…let's just not talk about it."
Nodding slightly, I place my arm under the bed's blanket, out of Joey's sight. "Guess we both have tempers" I remark. Joey doesn't react to my comment, only stares at the bedspread hiding my injury. In fear that he will go back into the dark hole in his mind, I try to gain Joey's attention "How did you rescue me?"
This snaps Joey out of his thoughts. "Oh, I uh…I…um" he stumbles.
"You can tell me Joey" I state.
"Don't get upset" he tells me a bit apprehensively. "I kind of took a page out of Daniel's book."
"What do you mean" I frown in confusion.
Biting his lip first, Joey explains "I set the apartment building on fire."
"What!" my eyes widen.
"Not a big one" he emphasizes. "Only enough so everyone had to evacuate the building. Daniel and his men then went searching for me in the crowd of people in front of the building. I figured out that some guards were taking you to a van parked in the back. When they placed you inside, I made them hand the keys over and drove off."
"It was that easy?"
"Well" Joey hesitates. "Daniel had used your powers to make the van stop moving, but I distracted him long enough to get away."
"How did you do that?"
Hesitating even longer, Joey barely audibly answers "I made a car run him over."
A beat passes. Not believing what I just heard, I inquire "What?"
"I…there was a car driving down the road. I made the driver accelerate the car into hitting Daniel."
A snort leaves my mouth, causing Joey's eyes to widen in disbelief. Slapping a hand over my mouth in embarrassment, I try to hold back chuckles "I'm sorry. It's just *snort* you had a car *snort* It's..." I finally let out some giggles as Joey watches with his jaw dropped open. "I'm sorry. It's not…" I try to regain my composure. "It's not funny…but…I just." A loud laugh takes over my speech "You hit Daniel with a car! Did *giggle* did he go flying?"
A small smile forms at the corners of Joey's lips, "No. He uh…actually disappeared under the car" he chuckles.
This sends me into another round of laughter.
Joey's POV
4:10 PM November 14th 2002, University of Oxford
"He looks smart" Jasmine points to a scrawny looking kid sitting on a bench, some video game in is hands.
"No" I tell her. "He looks geeky."
"What's the difference?"
"Geeks aren't always intelligent. They just look like they should be."
"Whatever" Jasmine mumbles under her breath. She takes a sip of her tea and points to a girl talking on a phone near the bathrooms. "How about her?"
"She has a pair of sunglasses on her face, and has a pair hanging on her shirt."
"What is wrong with that?"
"Well one, it's cloudy…"
"You're just being picky" Jasmine interrupts, showing her growing frustration. "We've been sitting here for half an hour. Hurry up and pick someone, my tea is getting cold."
"You know that's a thing in America."
She raises an eyebrow "Cold tea?"
"Yeah, they put ice in it."
"That's stupid" she concludes, taking a sip of her hot liquid. "Stop changing the subject. Just pick somebody. This is Oxford, it's not like anyone here is a complete idiot."
I sigh and look around the lawn, observing students. Many are moseying around campus, having just probably finished their last class of the day. Quickly, I nix candidates from the courtyard full of people. It has to be someone staying in one place for a while, I'm not sure how long this will take. A man sitting under a tree on the other side of the grass catches my eye.
"What do you think of him?" I ask Jasmine, pointing the man out.
"He looks fine" Jasmine comments. "Why him over everyone else?"
"He's reading 'The Count of Monte Cristo.'"
"And?"
"I like that book."
Jasmine smirks and rolls her eyes "Well then by all means, go ahead."
Redirecting my attention back to the man, I hesitate to enter his mind. Turning to Jasmine, I inquire "How are you feeling?"
"Fine. Same as I was when you asked fifteen minutes ago."
"Are you still sore anywhere?"
"No."
"Do you need to…"
"Joey I swear to god. If you tell me to go lie down one more time, I will hit so hard over the head that you will be the one taking a nap. I'm fine. If I need a rest, I will take one. But I feel almost back to normal."
Taking a pause, I tell her "Duly noted, I will proceed with caution."
"Good, now stop procrastinating."
"Sorry, it's just…" I look back at the man.
Jasmine sighs, "If you don't want to do this, that's okay…"
"No, no. It was my idea. Just…haven't done anything like this before."
"I don't think anybody has."
"This should feel wrong" I state. "Shouldn't it? Wouldn't this be considered stealing?"
"Does it matter" Jasmine says stoically. "We stole a car like two hours ago."
"We left them our old one" I defend.
"Joey, I don't think the owners will give a damn about the other car."
"Well we needed to switch cars. That was a necessity."
"So is this" Jasmine points out. "We didn't get any education with Denny or Perez. Just think of this being a necessary tool we must have."
I mumble "I guess."
Focusing on the man, I enter his mind. Then slowly begin the process of copying all schooling he's had during his life. Linking Jasmine into the process, we sit and wait as the information is downloaded into our heads.
Jasmine's POV
7:30 AM November 16th 2002, Birmingham, Montclair Road Starbucks
A far off boom subtly carries through the air. Another plane must have taken off.
Joey is sitting at across from me at our table, poking at the scone sitting in front of him. I tell him "How about Turkey?"
"With a scone?" he remarks blankly.
"No! I mean the country. What about Turkey?"
Joey sighs and glances towards me "I don't know."
"Well then where do you want to go?" I snap, giving up. He has spent the last three days turning down every suggestion I have about where we should go. We both agree we should leave the country, but Joey has been putting off making any decisions about what to do next. I offered to call Royce for help, but he quickly turned that down.
"I…" Joey bites his lip and pokes at the scone again.
Finally I grab the pastry hold it out of his reach. Joey is about to protest, but I beat him to it. "What is bothering you?"
"What?" he frowns, looking down at the table top. "Nothing."
"Joey" I lean forward. "What is going on? Every time I bring up leaving England, you become anxious. What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong" Joey denies as another plane takes off in the background. His eyes begin to wander the coffee shop, lingering on a bulletin board filled with a bunch of papers on the wall.
"We have to make a decision" I assert. "The airport is right there, we need to figure out what flight to get on."
"How will we even do that?" he lightly scoffs. "With security and all that, we won't make it to the gate without passports."
"We can figure out a way" I tell him. "It shouldn't be too hard to find someone who can make a fake passport. Getting the tickets…" I notice that Joey isn't listening. "Hey" I quip, trying to get his attention. Joey is too focused on the bulletin board. "Joey" I say. "Anyone home?"
Standing from his seat, Joey makes his way over to the board. His gaze is trained in on one brightly colored flyer in particular. He grabs the sheet of paper and clutches it in his hands as he reads. I watch in bewilderment, confused as to what he is doing.
"Joey?" I ask. Other customers are beginning to give him weird looks.
Joey snaps his head up, staring at me with wide eyes. "We aren't going to the airport" he says seriously.
"What? Okay then…what…" before I can even form a question, Joey is rushing out the shop's door towards the parking lot. "Joey?" I call out, rushing to grab out drinks and snacks before following him.
8:25 AM November 16th 2002, Haly's Circus
"What the hell are we doing here?" I snap at my brother. Joey is lost in thought as he snakes his way through the circus tent. There are performers and workers milling around, setting up for a show for tonight. "Have you lost your mind?"
Joey continues to ignore me as he scans the area desperately. Before I can continue to complain, a large man walks up to us and says "Only circus workers are allowed in the tent at this time. You two can't be here."
Grabbing the coffee shop flyer from his pocket, Joey hands it to the man and explains "You're hiring?"
My eyes widen at the statement. The circus worker looks surprised as well as he takes a look at the piece of paper. "Yeah, we are. Hey Pop!" he calls to a larger man at the other side of the tent. As the worker is turned around I glare at Joey and hiss
"What are you doing?"
"Shh" Joey motions for me to be quiet.
My jaw drops open as the larger man 'Pop' makes his way over. Pop is wearing a button up white shirt, a pair of jeans and some blue suspenders. Grey hair is beginning to take over his current brownish shade. The man inquires "What is it Pete?" before noticing Joey and me. "Oh, hello."
The circus worker 'Pete' tells his boss "They're here about the flyer you put out." He hands the sheet of paper over and then heads over to some a group setting up a cage.
Pop smiles warmly to Joey and me "That's great. We could really use the help. I'm Mr. Haly, the owner of the circus" he stretches a hand towards us. "You two are?"
"Joey" my brother answers, shaking his hand. Joey gestures towards me "This is my little sister Jasmine."
"Nice to meet you" I state, shaking the owner's hand while trying to not act as if I have no idea what is going on.
"Pleasure is all mine. So did you hear about us from the flyer?"
"For the job opening yes" Joey explains, I can tell he is still pretty anxious about something. "But I had heard of your circus before."
I feel my brow scrunch in surprise, I have never heard of this group before Joey dragged me into this tent. Haly appears pleased with Joey's answer and inquires "Really?"
"Yeah, years ago. Do you still have acrobats?" Joey explains.
Haly laughs, "Ah yes, The Flying Graysons. Should have guessed that's how you heard of us. Actually…" Haly scans the tent. He spots the person he is looking for and calls out "Hey John! Come over here for a second."
I can sense Joey becoming nervous next to me. He is hiding it well from Haly, but I can still tell. Joey grabs something from inside his pocket and begins twirling it around his fingers anxiously. As he does, the man Haly called to, begins walking over. John has messy black hair and light blue eyes. He is wearing a pair of beat up jeans and a red concert t-shirt featuring some band on it. John appears very cheerful, having a huge smile on his face as he approaches. When he is a few feet away, John looks Joey and I over. His grin falters for a second as he stumbles over his feet. That's strange. Quickly regaining his footing, John puts on a more plastered smile as he approaches.
"Hey Pop. Who are the new guys?"
"John, this is Joey and Jasmine…" Haly trails off, looking to us for help.
"Kelly" Joey offers. At hearing our names, John's nervous energy appears to settle a bit, but not disappear.
"Ah" Haly grins. "Joey and Jasmine Kelly." He turns to us, "This is John Grayson. He, his wife Mary and son Richard make up The Flying Graysons."
Joey raises out a hand "I've heard of your act. It's nice to meet you."
John shakes the hand with a bit of hidden tenseness, "Likewise." After an uncomfortable pause, he asks "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you two?"
"Eighteen" Joey answers. I follow him up with "Thirteen."
"Huh" he chuckles awkwardly. "Seem younger than that."
"Apparently it runs in the family" Joey remarks. The two tensely stare at each other for a long moment.
Haly glances questioningly to me at the strange sight. Just as confused as he, I shrug. Hesitantly Haly inquires "Do you two know each other."
"Never met" Joey says guardedly. John simply shakes his head no, sending the group into another stressed silence.
Our attention is broken by a gleeful cheer from the tent's backstage entrance. "Tati!" a little boy's voice yells.
Turning, I immediately spot a tiny child with shaggy black hair excitedly running towards us. Another brown haired little boy a year or two older is following behind him. The black haired boy leaps towards John, who gracefully catches him and places the boy on his hip. My eyes widened as I watched the child gain unbelievable distance and height in one jump.
"Hey Dickie" John's demeanor brightens up.
"Tati, Calvin and I got to help Lily feed the elephants."
"Oh really" John continues to smile affectionately.
"Yeah! I got to give Ruby a peanut!"
The brown haired boy (I'm assuming Calvin) adds in "I got to give one to Elinore!" Haly ruffles Calvin's hair and congratulates the boys.
Next to me, Joey seems frozen. His gaze is stoically fixated on the boy in John's arms. Haly told us the kid's name was…Richard I believe. That would make sense why his dad would nickname him Dickie. The kid chatters away at his father as I ponder Joey's strange behavior. What is his deal with John? Another question to add to the ever-growing list titled 'Why the hell are we joining a circus?'
My heart stops as Richard looks in Joey and I's direction. Familiar facial features pop out. Angular cheekbones and jawline. His nose matches my own along with my light blue eyes. For the first time, I notice how Richard's shade of hair matches Joey and mines perfectly. Oh my goodness…James.
Air gets caught up in my throat as James begin babbling at Joey and me. "Hi! I'm Richard! Are you new? You must be new, I know everyone in the circus. Are you joining the circus? You should! It's so much fun and everyone here is really nice! There's a lot of jobs you can do. I'm an acrobat like my tati. We go up on a tightrope really high and do tricks. Can you do any tricks? If not I can show you…"
"Dickie, let's not overwhelm the new recruits" Haly chuckles, making a move to take James out of his father's arms. During James' long speech, John had grown tense again and slowly angled his body so the boy was farther away from Joey and me. As Haly tries to lift the boy, John firmly holds James in his arms. Silently refusing to let go as he warningly watches Joey. Both James and Haly find John's refusal to release strange, but let it go as James begins jabbering again
"Sorry! So you are going to work here? It would be so cool if you did!" Suddenly, James pauses for a second as he scrunches his nose in thought. "Hey…you guys seem familiar."
John tightens his hold on James even more in a shielded panic. I begin to understand the man's guarded demeanor towards Joey and me. I also now realize why Joey brought us here. Haly didn't appear to notice James' comment as he is too busy observing something Calvin is showing him. Joey took in a sharp breath at James' words. I can see that he is at a loss of what to do next. Gaining some composure, I try my best to smile and answer James
"Yes. We are joining the circus."