Courtney Webb                                                                                                                                                

                                                       Monday morning, 7:30 am, Vivian Lee got out of her red Mazda convertible.   After parking in the underground parking lot, she decided to walk up to the front door of the building, stretch her legs and pick up a newspaper. 

Late summer, the San Francisco morning was still a little chilly. There was a bit of fog, but the day promised to be sunny. Maybe even hot. A raggedy homeless man was picking through the trash cans in front of the building. 

Vi, as she liked to call herself, pushed through the glass and chrome door of the building. Her black hair with its modern, geometrical cut swung back and forth at her shoulders. A Chinese-red double-knit dress snugged every curve. She dropped her black Gucci handbag on the marble tile floor at the front counter and grabbed a San Francisco Tribune. 

“Phil, I thought we were going to do something about that scavenging that keeps going on outside.”

“Sorry, Miss?” Phil sounded confused. He stood up from his padded chair and leaned toward the client.

Vi jerked her head toward the glass doors. “That bum is back.”

“Oh, right miss. I’ll see what I can do.”

Her black almond eyes narrowed. “See that you do. Brings the tone of the place down. We don’t need that with these real estate prices, do we?” She gave him a fake smile and stuffed the paper in her bag. She turned on her black Jimmy Choo stilettos and clipped, clipped across the floor. The straight black hair swished. Tall and skinny, Vi glowed with healthy skin and good health. Pushing the button to the 11^th floor, she tapped her toe in an irritated fashion, waiting for the elevator. 

It whooshed quietly open. She stepped in without a single backward glance at the security guard. 

Phil sighed. God, I hope that woman doesn’t get me fired. I need this job. He adjusted his tie, straightened his jacket and checked his gloves were in place. He checked that the little red Phil badge was pinned correctly to the pocket of the brown worsted uniform. Time to go out and talk to that homeless man again.

“Bob, you back again?”

“Hey man, this strip has the best cans and bottles anywhere. I get some great recycle stuff here. Doing my bit for the ecology, you know.”

Phil stared at the bedraggled figure. The man was dirty and wearing old, worn out woolen clothes he probably got at Salvation Army. He wondered how old the guy was. He wouldn’t be surprised if they were the same age. There but for the grace of God, go I. Phil had heard that many times at recovery meetings. He could have  been this guy. He very nearly had been. 

“Yeah, I know. But your bag is full anyway. Here’s a fiver.” He pulled a bill out of his wallet. “That and what you got in the bag will get you a good breakfast.”

“Not in this neighborhood, it won’t,” Bob cocked a little bird blue eye at the guard.

“We’re not talking this neighborhood, Bob. Come on, take it. Otherwise, I’ll have to call the cops. We don’t want that.”

“Boss lady mad?” the bum asked with surprising acuity. 

Phil nodded his head. 

“Got you man. Those women can be bad.” He emphasized the last word as he leaned over and snatched the five-dollar bill out of Phil’s hand. He stuffed it in a pocket. Slowly tying up his bag of cans and bottles, he did a little salute and started his shuffle down the street. “Be seeing you guy, don’t let the turkeys get you down.” 

Phil watched as the man moved away and was eventually lost to view. He had won this round. But gosh, he couldn’t keep doing this, handing out money this way.  The wife was complaining as it was. Turning, Phil went back into the building, hoping against hope that was the worst drama of the day. 

On the eleventh floor, the elevator doors slid open to reveal the huge silver letters of Hi-Tech Industries, Inc. 

Vi turned left and quickly got to her office and threw down her purse. The bold letters of Vivian Lee, Human Resources Manager, were printed in black letters on the door. She turned around and walked to the cubicle of Robin, her administrative assistant. 

“Robin, darling, did you get my Starbuck’s like I asked, regular blend with soy milk?” She gave a chilly little smile to her twenties something assistant.

“Yes, Ms. Lee. Twelve ounces of Dramago Dragon like you asked, with soy milk.”

She handed over the paper cup. 

“And the cranberry scone?”

“Oh, right, I forgot. Right here.” Robin reached down and pulled the little package up and handed that over too. 

“Robin, you are such a jewel! You know I just can’t bear that morning crowd at Starbucks. Too much!” Vi grabbed the items and went back into her office closing the door behind her. 

You can’t stand it, Robin thought bitterly. How do you think I feel having to get up an hour early to get to work and go stand in that horrible line just ‘cause you can’t be bothered? She glanced at the clock.It was ten to eight. She had a whole ten minutes to herself before she officially started for the morning. 

Robin sighed and glanced at the MBA – Human Resources diploma hanging in a little plaque above her desk. Since she was in a cube, the only one who could see it was her. But, still, it was a reminder that maybe she wouldn’t always be someone’s gofer. 

Sighing again, she went to get some free coffee in the lounge. What with the cost of apartments in the City, she had to watch every penny. 

There was a small acrylic plaque on Vi’s desk too. It also showed a little MBA degree in Human Resources. However, hers said ‘With Highest Honors”, Chicago University. 

At thirty-six, Vi was the youngest Human Resource Manager Hi-Tech had ever had. With the MBA gripped tightly in her hand and utilizing every toe-hold her minority status granted her; she had clawed her way right up to the top. Once there, she liked the view just fine.  

Vi’s grandmother had migrated here during the Korean war.  Helen, Vi’s mother, a small child then, grew up and spent her entire life in San Francisco. Vi could speak some Korean, but not well.  She was also much taller than either her mother and certainly, her grandmother. 

Helen prided herself on her daughter’s successes and attributed it all to the vitamins regime she was on while pregnant. She couldn’t wait for Vi to do the same with her own child.  

After the coffee and scone were gone, Vi seriously got down to reviewing the figures in the Talent Management file. The report was due at month-end. 

Wiping the crumbs from her fingers with an old embroidered silk handkerchief, she reviewed the figures. She had personally made sure of the retirement of several long-term employees just before their twenty-year anniversaries. Two of the three were fighting early retirement now with their lawyers. She laughed. The only ones that ever won in these battles were the lawyers. Regardless of how selfless they presented themselves to be with their clients; they were in it for the money.  

Vi’s morning got interrupted by an unwelcome visitor. A big, white-haired machinist had actually had the nerve to come up to her office to speak to her personally. 

She led the man into her office and they sat down. He wanted to talk about his termination notice. 

“Ms. Lee, you can’t do this. The company can’t do this. I’ve been a loyal employee these last twenty years.” The big man held a cloth hat in his hands and kept twisting it. 

“I am sorry, Mr. Lovell. The figures are in. Your supervisor has been very diligent in keeping records. Your results have been consistently falling behind for the last year. Not a day, not a month but an entire year!” She held both hands out expansively. “What did you expect us to do, nothing? You have been talked to about this.” 

She crossed her slim legs and rocked a bit in her leather swivel chair. 

Continued Part II

Read more of Courtney’s writing in:
https://sites.google.com/view/webbywritercom/page-5?authuser=0

Samuel Takes a Trip – Part V – Conclusion

“Hum,” Jeremy looked thoughtful. “That might give us enough time. Now get your dumb tiger and let’s take a walk.” Jeremy scribbled a note to his mom to stick on the fridge. Eagerly Samuel jumped up and grabbed his tiger. He stuffed it into his backpack and the two boys slipped out the back door.

                                                 #
Over the next few hours, the boys took turns practicing with the tiger and trying to transport various items like the hardball and the mitt from place to place. They discovered that the tiger only responded to Samuel but that he could pull Jeremy along with him if they were touching. Samuel had to clearly visualize where they were going to go and pop! They were there. The tiger was not as sophisticated as the portal created by their Uncle Al. The one he was using to transport garbage in the Pacific Ocean.

Tired but satisfied with their results, the two boys got home in time to help set the table for dinner.

“Where have you been?” Alice Beans asked them with a slight frown.

“I left you a note, Mom. On the fridge, said we were at the park.”

Alice stepped over the notepad on the refrigerator. “So, you did,” she nodded. “Please go wash your hands first and then help me.”

Jeremy and Samuel scooted into their bedroom, dropped their backpacks. Samuel carefully placed the tiger back in the bedside drawer and closed it. The two did a knuckle bump and headed to wash up.

Later, as they were turning in, Samuel turned to his brother. “Jer, when do you want to do it?”

“Do what, Samuel?” Jeremy was perplexed.

“Go get Alex.”

“What!”

“Yeah, go get Alex. That was what we were practicing for, right?” Samuel asked, screwing his face up.

“Well, I guess so.” Jeremy settled back into his twin bed and pulled up the covers. “I just didn’t know you wanted to do it so soon. I mean…Jeeze.”

“Ah, Jeremy,” Samuel whined.

“Come one, let me think on it a little, will you?” Jeremy’s muffled voice came from under his pillow followed by a snore.

Samuel gave a little sigh. He pulled open the drawer where the tiger lay and stroked its side. “Night ‘ol thing,” he whispered and soon, he too was asleep.

Things were to unfold rapidly that would change their minds.

                                                 #

The following day, Jeremy and Samuel rode their bikes home from school as usual and walked into the kitchen to find Jane sitting at the kitchen table. She was being comforted by their mother and once again was crying. The boys tiptoed past and went put their backpacks down. Reversing direction, they both came back to get drinks out of the fridge and stopped, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“…and they are going to move him and won’t tell us where. The State Department won’t agree to their demands. I don’t know what….” more sobbing.

“Jane, I am sure they are doing everything…”

“They are doing nothing!” Jane exclaimed. “They don’t care a bit. I heard one man call him a liberal loony.”

Alice Beans looked shocked.

“He did, he did. I heard him.” Jane’s head was down and her shoulders shook with emotion.

Jeremy sipped his Gatorade and jerked his head at Samuel. Samuel followed him out of the kitchen and back into their room.

“Well, I guess we are going to have to do this thing,” Jeremy said with some resignation.

“What does that mean, ‘they are going to move him’? Samuel asked.

“It means they are moving him from that prison that he has been in, the one in the photograph.”

“Oh,” Samuel said his eyes getting big.

“And, if I get this right, to use your little tiger, you have to be able to see the location in your head, pretty much.”

“Yeah,” Samuel said, “that’s right.”

“So, in short, they move him to someplace else, no photo, we don’t know where he is and you won’t be able to see the new place in your head.”

“Ah,” Samuel said, understanding.

“So, tonight or nothing right?”

Samuel nodded and they did another knuckle bump.

That evening Samuel and Jeremy both turned in early. “To be ready for soccer practice tomorrow,” Jeremy told their parents with a little finger wave. Alice and David nodded and went back to watching their TV show.

They went into their room and got ready for bed but left their street clothes on. Jeremy turned off the bedroom light. In about an hour, Dad came by and opened the door to check on them, then closed the door. They both jumped up.

They grabbed backpacks that already had water, snacks and sweaters inside. Each boy stuffed pillows under the blankets to look like bodies. Jeremy got the tiger out of the drawer. Samuel had the newspaper article and stared at it hard. Jeremy held onto Samuel’s backpack strap and Samuel said “Take me to Alex.”

There was a whirling, sucking sound and both boys could feel themselves spinning. It lasted a few moments and they landed hard on concrete flooring. They staggered up. The area was dark and felt cool and almost damp, like something underground. The floor and walls were dark green cement, peeling in places. There were old halogen lights placed every few feet that flickered dimly. Distant sounds of conversation could be heard. Samuel had the tiger tightly held in one hand. Jeremy began to creep toward the sound and motioned Samuel to follow.

The conversations they heard were coming from jail cells around the corner from where they landed. There were dozens of cells with men in each. The men talked to each other in Arabic.

Samuel felt panic. How were they going to know which was which?  His mind raced.

They hung back and just listened.

Then they heard “How many times do I have to ask you butt heads for water? I’m thirsty here!”

Jeremy turned to Samuel and smiled. They nodded to each other. Jeremy peeked around the corner. There was a guard at the far cell, pouring some water into a little bowl the man held out. “Alex,” he mouthed to Samuel.

Looking again, Jeremy saw the guard leave. He motioned to Samuel. They crept around the corner and then ran together toward the last cell.

“Alex, Alex,” they both whispered at the same time.

An incredibly dirty Alex Smithers turned toward them. “Jeremy, Samuel? What the hell? How did you…?” The men in the other cells started to yell at them. 

Jeremy grabbed Samuel’s wrist with the tiger and said “Grab the tiger.”

“What? I don’t understand…” Alex was stuttering.

There were sounds of boots running toward them.

Samuel looked over his shoulder. “Jeremy, they’re coming.”

Jeremy took a quick look back and blanched. He looked forward “Grab the tiger.”

“What…?”

“Grab the tiger!” Jeremy screamed. Alex reached out and grabbed hold of the tiger. Samuel pressed his eyes together tightly just as a bullet whizzed past his ear.

There was the sucking sound and spinning feeling and the boys landed on white linoleum. It was early evening and they were in Uncle Al’s laboratory.

Uncle Al’s assistant, James, was sitting at a lab table staring at them.

“Jeremy, Samuel….what? And who’s that?” the young man looked stunned.

“James, great!” Jeremy tugged on Alex’s dirty jacket and pulled him over the mystified lab assistant.

“Where did you…?” James was still staring at them.

“James, this is Alex. Alex this is James.” The two young men nodded to each other. “James, he will tell you all about it. The only thing is,” Jeremy whispered in James’ ear, “this has to be all Uncle Al’s doing. Not us. Kay?”

James was open mouthed but slowly nodded up and down.

“Alright then. We got to get home before…” he looked at Samuel. “You know.”

Samuel nodded. He held the tiger out, Jeremy grabbed the tail and Samuel pressed his eyes together and imagined a house in the suburbs and two twin beds.

                                                 #

A week later, Samuel and Jeremy were out in the front drive of their house. The garage door was closed and they were practicing a little pick-up with the baseball hoop. As the orange ball did a rat-ta-tat on the cement, Alex Smithers casually strolled down the street and into their drive.

“Can I watch?”

“Alex!” Samuel ran over and gave him a hug. “You’re back!”

“I am and in one piece. Thanks guys. Don’t know what you did or how you did it…”

Jeremy passed the baseball over to Alex. “Our little secret Alex, ‘kay?”

“Okay by me. And, for the record,” Alex made a basket. “What I did was pretty stupid. Scared my mother half to death.”

Samuel and Jeremy exchanged glances.

“How ‘bout this, Alex,” Jeremy grabbed the ball, “maybe you don’t do it again.”

“You are on buddy!” Alex gave them a lopsided grin and ran for the ball.

The End

Read more of Courtney’s writing in:
https://sites.google.com/view/webbywritercom/page-5?authuser=0

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Samuel Takes a Trip – Part V

One week later, David and Tyler Beans were busy fiddling with their new security system at the backdoor. They were running back and forth testing the box and yelling commands at each other. Jeremy and Samuel were in the kitchen doing dishes. It was early Indian summer and the weather had not made up its mind for the day. Heavy clouds hung in the air, threatening rain. Bits of blue sky kept peeking through as the clouds moved lazily across the sky. The cicadas had stopped their summer hum, monsoon season was definitely upon Arizona.

Alice Beans was finishing her coffee, reading the Sunday paper. There was a knock on the door leading to the garage. The garage door was open and people frequently came into the house that way instead of through the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Samuel raced around the counter top to the door. He pushed the door open and Jane Symthers, Sean’s mother, from down the street was standing there.

“Samuel, is your mom home?” she asked. Samuel pointed inside.

Alice looked up and put down her cup. “Jane?”

Jane came in looking frazzled. Her eyes were red rimmed and she had a handkerchief stuck in one hand. She kept dabbing at her eyes with the soggy thing. In the other hand, a copy of the Tucson News! could be seen.

“What is it, Darling? Oh, come have a seat.” Alice showed Jane to a kitchen chair and sat her down. “Jer, would you get Jane a cup of coffee?” The boy raced to comply.

Putting an arm around her friend’s shoulder, she gave her a little pat. “What the heck….?”

Jane started to cry. “I know I shouldn’t…it’s too early…it’s just…”

Alice Beans looked confused but waited. The woman accepted the hot cup and took a sip and seemed to collect herself a bit. She pushed the paper over to Alice and tapped a photo. “It’s Alex.”

Alice read and her eyes got wide. The article read ‘Alex Symthers, of Tucson, Arizona, has been captured by the army in Syria. The young man, twenty years old and a student at the U of A, had gone to help assist the Kurd forces in that country who are fighting for their independence. He had gotten into the country on a humanitarian mission for Kurdish refugees and apparently decided to join the fight. It is unknown at this time…’

Alice had a finger on the article and said “Oh, my,” and looked up at Jane. “So, what…”

“Oh, it’s so stupid.” Jane took a big gulp of air. “He was only supposed to be there for two weeks, humanitarian thing for the refugees, you know. ‘I’ll be back before you know it, mom. You won’t even miss me.’ And Jim encouraged him.” She started to weep again. By this time Jeremy and Samuel had both put down the dishes and had drifted over to the table. They sat, staring at Jane, mouths open. Even David and Tyler had slowed down their mechanical endeavors to glance over.

“What happens now?” Alice made some frantic ‘come here’ motions to her husband.

David meandered over, grabbed another cup of coffee and took a seat.

“We contacted the State Department. They told us he was on a temporary visa and was only supposed to be there a short while and the visa has expired.”

“So, what does that mean?” Alice asked, a hand over her friend’s hand.

“It means he is now there illegally. Plus, he was told over and over not to go there to begin with, to stick to his group and come right back. They’re saying there’s nothing they can do. He is not military, he was not there for them or any American group. So, they won’t try to find him.”

“The humanitarian group?” Alice asked.

“It was a group out of Scotland, Alex got involved with when he was there last summer taking some classes. You remember that, right?”

Alice nodded. She had been a little jealous that her friend and her university professor husband could afford to send their kid on such a great trip.

“It’s just a group of do-gooders. They don’t have any money. And now, the Syrians wont even let us into the country. They say we’re a risk.” Jane started crying again.

Alice looked over at her husband. He raised his eyebrows and gave a shrug.

“I’ve got to get back,” Jane took another big breath. “Jim’s at home waiting to get a phone call. He is trying to get help from some friends he knows in the Middle East. I just don’t…”

Alice got up with Jane and smoothed her back. “I’ll talk to David and see if there is anything…”

“Oh, thanks, Alice. You two have always been such good friends. This is just so stupid.” The women continued out the garage door and on outside.

“Wow,” said Tyler in an understatement. “That really sucks. For him, I mean,” he looked at his father.

“Yeah, it really does suck, for him,” David Beans took another sip of coffee, “and them. Let’s get this darn thing finished, okay Ty, wanted to get to the park and toss a few.”

“Yeah!” Tyler jumped up and ran to get the security system fully armed.

Jeremy got up and went to finish the dishes. “Too bad for him, I guess. Wow, and I always thought Alex was the smart one.” His head bent over the dishwasher.

“Yeah, too bad.” Samuel still sat at the table and slid his hand over to the newspaper article Jane had left. He pulled the black and white picture toward himself and looked at it more closely.  It was clearly a picture of Alex Symthers. He was holding up a newspaper and the writing was in

Arabic. The date on the paper was from a few days ago. “Yeah…” Samuel got up slowly and took the picture back to his bedroom. Alex was the older brother to Sean, Samuel’s best friend. Yeah, it was really too bad.

                                                            #

For several days, Samuel got up, got dressed and went to school on his bike with his two brothers as he always did. He had started putting his special gold tiger into the drawer of the table next to his bed. Since he had realized the tiger was another portal, he decided to handle it with more care. He discovered that he didn’t have as many bad dreams this way. He couldn’t understand why in the world this was, but as much as he loved the tiger, he liked to sleep too.

On the third day after Jane’s visit, he was riding home. Sean was next to him on his bike and Jeremy had pulled far in front.

“…and my mom is so upset and my dad too. They won’t even go to work now. Just sit around at home, waiting for phone calls. My mom never stops crying.”

Samuel nodded his head sympathetically.

“My brother is such an idiot!” Sean finally said in a resentful tone. “He is always going off and doing something dumb, like this. I hate him!”

Samuel jerked his head around and almost tipped his bike over. He had never heard his friend talk like this.  

“Always thinks he is so special. Top grades, top classes, top everything and now this!” Sean’s eyes were angry narrow slits.

Samuel was surprised again. He had always thought Sean was proud of his big brother. This was something new. They got to their street. Samuel had planned to ask Sean in to finish homework and watch TV. But now…

“Ah, got to go, Sean. Mom wants me to do some stuff. See you tomorrow, ‘kay?”

“Sure,” Sean responded with a surly tone.  The kid yanked his bike in the direction of home.

A thoughtful Samuel rode into the driveway and got off his bike. He walked it into the garage. He was thinking. “Mom, I’m home,” he yelled as he came in and dropped his pack. There was no response.

He immediately went to the fridge to pull out a drink and a snack. A little post-it note read ‘Back by dinner time, XOXO, Mom.’

“Humpt,” he intoned and opened the green Gatorade and started to slurp it down. Tearing open a package of rolled fruit, he started to stuff the Berry Delight! into his mouth. He meandered down the hall to his bedroom and flopped on his bed. The newspaper article was still there. He stared at it a long time. An idea started to form in his brain. What if? He pulled the tiger out of the drawer and stared at it and then back at the picture. What if it really works, all the time?

Samuel wanted to test out his new theory but was afraid to do it by himself. What if something went wrong? Where was Jeremy?

Impatiently he waited for his older brother to come home. Soon, he heard shouting from the drive and Jeremy was yelling goodbye to his friends. The back door opened and closed and Samuel could hear the sound of the fridge opening again. He got up and went to the door.

“Jeremy? That you?”

“Who else would it be, Freddie Kreuger?” Jeremy appeared around the corner of the hall, also gulping Gatorade and eating nuts. He saw his brother’s face. “What?”

Jeremy motioned him into the bedroom and then closed the door behind them.

“You won’t believe this.” Samuel told his brother all about the tiger, the dreams and what he now thought the tiger really was. “See, that is why those guys, in the dream, wanted it so badly. They knew what it could do and they were willing to do anything to get it.”

Jeremy nodded his head slowly. “Okay, I’m seeing your point. Now…?”

Samuel grabbed the article about Alex and tapped it with his finger. “What if, what if …we can get him back?” He was almost breathless with excitement.

It took Jeremy a moment to comprehend what Samuel was saying. Then, “Oh, no, Samuel. Not the portal again! I thought we were done with all that, since the last time on the boat, with Uncle Al and all that…” He swigged his drink. Jeremy was referring to the adventure on Uncle Al’s ocean rig where a so-called employee tried to steal Uncle Al’s working portal.

“Jeremy,” Samuel kept tapping the picture. “You heard what Sean’s mom said. They won’t let him out. Who knows what will happen. They might ki…”

“Hold on, Partner. I doubt very much anyone will do that. They probably want to ransom him or something.”

“I know, Jer, but he’s…our friend.” Samuel stared at the picture again.

Jeremy swigged more Gatorade and thought. “You don’t even know if this tiger of yours really works. It was just a dream, right?”

“But it so, so real, Jer. So, real.”

“Tell you what.” Jeremy sat his drink down. “Why don’t we do like real scientists and run an experiment? That’s all. Just an experiment.”

Samuel nodded his head eagerly.

“Where’s Mom?” Jeremy asked.

“She left a note. She’ll be back for dinner.”

“Hum,” Jeremy looked thoughtful. “That might give us enough time. Now get your dumb tiger and let’s take a walk.” Jeremy scribbled a note to his mom to stick on the fridge. Eagerly Samuel jumped up and grabbed his tiger. He stuffed it into his backpack and the two boys slipped out the back door.

Continues to VI

Read more of Courtney’s writing in:
https://sites.google.com/view/webbywritercom/page-5?authuser=0

Samuel Takes a Trip – Part IV

You know, if murder wasn’t against the law…but, it might be justified in this case. What have you gotten us into this time, big brother?

                                                            #

Miles away in a large medical research lab, a man was working on Sunday, by himself, deep in his lab. Bent over a microscope he carefully lifted particles out of a small vial and placed them between twoglass slides. Once that was done, he place the slide gently onto the microscope platform and started to look at the bits. Someone walking by in the hallway would see a light burning in that lab. On the door, a metal plate read ‘Reverse Engineering Department’.

Later that week, Samuel went to bed. As usual, he pulled his little gold and black striped tiger out from underneath his pillow and talked to it before nodding off. He would tell the tiger about his day in the third grade and how things were going. He felt somehow, the tiger understood. The green emerald chip eyes almost seemed to glow at him. Clutching the tiger in one fist, he fell asleep. He started to dream.

Again, he was back in the desert, it was hot, the sun was up and he could feel the heat. But wait, where he was right now was cooler. Much cooler. Yes, it was down, underground, with thick mud brick walls on every side. He was back with the little boy. They had been running and hiding. That was it. The riders. Gosh. Those riders on big black horses, white turbans, and swords. Swords in their belts. They wanted the boy. Wanted him very badly. Samuel was not sure why. But he just knew they had to escape. He had helped the boy. They were in this crypt, hiding from the men. Samuel was so frightened, frightened of the men and what they would do if they were caught. His heart thumped dully.

He could hear them overhead. They were in the village, searching, searching everywhere and shouting to each other. He could hear two of them come into the little building that was over the crypt. They stomped around in their big boots but didn’t find anything and then thankfully, stomped out. Luckily, they didn’t come around the podium and find the entrance to the crypt and the ladder going down. He could hear more shouting and cursing. The horses pounded the hard earth and the men rode away. Samuel let out a long sigh of relief. He sent up a little prayer of thanks, the way mom always told him to do. Gradually, he pushed himself out of his dirt crypt and cautiously made his way to his small companion. He felt for the boy. He rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder and gave it a little shake but the boy was sleeping so soundly, he wouldn’t wake. Samuel sighed again. He could really use some food.

Creeping upstairs, he could see that dusk was falling. Delicious smells pulled him forward. His stomach rumbled. He snuck forward and came to a little house on the edge of the village. A woman left a tray of baked breads on the ledge of a square window to cool. Samuel reached up a small hand and grabbed two pieces. One for him and one for his companion. Quickly, he darted through the shadows and returned to the little church place.

He went down the ladder and back to the boy. The boy was still asleep. Samuel slid down the wall and ate the bread. It was actually a triangular folded piece with meat in the middle. He ate ravenously. It was with great difficulty that he didn’t eat the second one. He drank some water and realized the water was getting very low. He retraced his steps and found some standing water in a bowl outside one tiny house. It looked maybe rainwater. Samuel opened his pouch, tipped water in and repositioned the bowl. He returned to his church and curled up on the floor, close to his little friend and went to sleep.

The next morning, Samuel awoke and stretched. He drank some water and splashed some on his face. He had really expected his young friend to be up and awake but there was no movement. He got up and went over to his friend and touched him on the shoulder. Samuel pulled his hand back in surprise. The boy was cold. 

“Hey, hey. You got to get up. They’re gone. We got to go now,” Samuel said in urgent tones to his friend. Still no response. Samuel felt suddenly clammy. He wondered if this was the same thing as what happened to his hamster when it accidentally drown. Maybe so. Hot tears started to leak from his eyes. He wiped them away. I really want to go home, he thought.

He sat back and pondered his situation for a few minutes. A thought occurred to him. The boy had been clutching a small leather bag and wouldn’t let go of it for anything. I wonder, thought Samuel. He reached over the boy’s shoulder and found the bag. It was still clutched firmly in both hands. Samuel touched the bag but couldn’t get it lose. He tried again and stopped in frustration.

What was in that bag? Curiosity was killing him. He would give it one more try and then leave this dreary place. He slipped his hand over the boy’s shoulder one last time and touched the bag. As he did, he thought, Man, what I wouldn’t give to just be home right now.

There was a sudden popping sound and Samuel felt himself getting sucked forward. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, to his amazement, he was right back home, in his own room, on his own bed. He couldn’t believe it! He hugged Ted Bear and danced around the room. Wait ‘til he told Mom about this!

The dream stopped. Samuel Beans woke up and sat up in his bed. He stared around trying to see where he was. He was in his own bedroom. He looked down. The tiger was in his hand. He tried to remember his dream, bits came back. “Oh!” he said out loud and looked at the tiger. The light dawned and wonder overcame him. The tiger was a portal!

                                                            #

Read more of Courtney’s writing in:
https://sites.google.com/view/webbywritercom/page-5?authuser=0

Samuel Takes a Trip – Part III

A few minutes later, the two came back and sat down. Samuel’s face was washed and some hair had been plastered down with water. But, he still looked tired and there were circles under his eyes. David looked at his wife and gave a little shrug. They all sat down to eat.

After breakfast, they were cleaning up. Jeremy was loading the dishwasher and stopped with a bowl mid-air.

“Where’s Beamer?” he asked.

“What?” Tyler looked at him.

“Beamer, you know, Tyler, our dog.” Jeremy rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I know we have a dog, you Dork….”

“Stop, Ty….I don’t want to hear….”

His dad interrupted. “Why are you asking, Jeremy?”

Jeremy’s head swiveled toward his father. “Cause he always sleeps on my bed and he wasn’t there this morning. If he goes out, he always comes back for breakfast.”

“Hum. I’ll go look,” a shadow of concern passed over his father’s face.  He pushed back from the table. Jeremy started to follow. “No, no, you two finish the dishes. David Beans did a loop around the living room and dining room and then went to the back door and out. He came back in a few minutes holding Beamer in his arms. He gently put him down on the family room sofa.

“Beamer!” Jeremy and Samuel both ran to the dog. Alice came hustling over.

“What’s wrong with him, Dad?” Jeremy was stroking the dog. Samuel started to tear up.

David Beans got close to the dog and pulled back one eyelid. An amber eye looked at them. He put two fingers on the dog’s neck.

“He’s okay, just, I don’t know, sort of knocked out. I don’t understand it.” He shook his head. Alice Beans was hovering and Samuel leaned against his mother. “Alice, has he been sick or acting funny?”

Alice shook her head. “Nothing, I don’t think.” She looked at Jeremy.

“He was fine yesterday, same as always,” Jeremy answered the unasked question.

“Well, gee, it’s a Sunday and I knew we said we were going to go to the park and hit some balls around. Still, maybe we need to take him to the vet,” David said. There was a collective nod around the group.

“I’ll get the phone number,” Alice said.

“I’ll drive,” Tyler volunteered.

“I guess I get to hold Beamer,” Jeremy sighed.

Alice Beans made the phone call and told her husband they could see the dog at the clinic in forty-five minutes.

“Okay, you two,” he nodded to Tyler and Jeremy, “get the car out of the garage and wrap him in a blanket. He’ll go in the backseat. The brothers nodded and ran off in different directions. Samuel stayed with the dog, stroking his head.

“I really don’t understand this,” he said again to his wife. She shrugged and shook her head. “You going to stay or go?” he asked her.

“I think I’ll stay and try to figure out what’s going on with him,” she yanked her head toward Samuel.

“Hum…okay, sounds like a plan. I think I’ll check outside once more.”

David Beans went out to the back yard where he found the dog. There was nothing there in the grass to give any sign of how or why this had happened. He got down on his knees and stroked the grass with the palm of one hand. Nothing. He was perplexed. Looking around the yard, his eyes came to rest on a little bunch of dried leaves behind the maple. Jeremy must have missed those when he was raking up, he thought to himself. He got off his knees and went around the other side of the tree. There the small bunch of leaves were pushed up together. He bent over and looked more closely at the dirt. There was a faint impression of a shoe in the dirt. It looked like the front part of a boot where someone had crouched, leaning forward. He cautiously laid his shoe next to the print. It wasn’t his size, but it definitely wasn’t a child’s size either. He frowned and went back inside.

“Tyler, Jeremy.” Two heads peeked around the corner. He waved at them and stepped outside.

“Yes, Dad,” they said simultaneously.

“Jeremy, you raked the leaves out here, right? And Tyler, you mowed the grass, yes? When?”

They both stared at him.

“Ah, last Saturday. It was before baseball practice,” Tyler looked at his brother. “I mowed and Jer raked the grass and leaves. Right?”

Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, last Saturday. The last game of the season. I remember. Why?”

“Ah,” David scratched his head. “Um, just checking on something. You guys ready to go?” They all headed for the car.

Two hours later, the trio came back with a perkier Beamer and laid him on the sofa.

“He’ll be okay,” David told his wife. “Somehow,” he glanced at his sons who were now comforting the   dog, “he got hold of some tranquilizer or muscle relaxant. The vet wanted to know if we left stuff like that out where he could get into it. Do we?”

Alice Beans started. “Muscle relaxants? I think I have one bottle for when my back goes out, but it’s in the bathroom cabinet, up high. I don’t think…”

“Could you check, Honey, just to be sure. I got the idea the vet thought we were being very careless with our animals.”

She trotted off to the master bedroom and bath and came back in a few minutes.

“You find it?” David had started to read the Sunday paper.

“It’s right where I left it in the cupboard. I even counted the number of pills. You know, how they tell us to do at the parents meetings, just to check and be sure…”

“Right.” He tapped the newspaper with a finger. “You feel like a Starbucks’s?”

“Well, it’s almost lunch time and I wanted to make sure Samuel had some soup…”

“No problem, this won’t take long. Tyler!” He shouted. Tyler showed up from the backyard tossing a hardball into a mitt.

“Yes, Dad?”

“Mom and I are going to take a little drive. Back in a few. See that Samuel gets some soup. Right?” He looked over at his wife.

“Oh, right. Tomato, Ty. It’s in the pantry.” Alice Beans smiled at her oldest.

“Okayyyyy,” Tyler looked with curiosity at both parents but no further explanation seemed to be forthcoming.

“We’ll be back soon.” David got up, grabbed the keys off the hook and pushed his wife out the back door.

At the local Starbucks, Alice sat with her favorite Thai Chi and David had another coffee, black.

“So, what’s all the mystery?” she asked with a grin.

David took a pull on his coffee. “I don’t know how to say this except to say it.”

She frowned at him.

“Someone was in the backyard last night.”

“Someone, what?” her mouth fell open.

“Yeah, and I think they shot the dog with a tranq gun.”

Alice’s eyes got big. “Beamer?”

“Yeah, Beamer.”

“Why?”

“Probably so he wouldn’t bark.”

“Well, I, I…”

He put a hand out on her arm. “It’s okay, Alice. We’ll figure this out,” he said in his best calming voice.  “Did you notice anything funny, anything at all, this morning?”

She sipped her Thai Chi and thought a moment. “You know…”

His eyebrows shot up.

“When I came out this morning to make coffee…”

“Yes?”

“It was so silly,” she said. Her husband waited patiently. “I got this really weird feeling like someone had been in there.”

“Where?”

“The kitchen, the dining room. It wasn’t that anything moved or anything, it was just…a sense…like maybe a slight smell or something. But, that’s silly, who else could…?”

David nodded soberly. “Yeah, I thought so.”

“Thought what, David? You’re starting to scare me.” His wife looked alarmed.

“I’m starting to scare me a little too.” He patted her arm. “Remember that home security system we talked about before?”

“Well, yes. But wasn’t it really expensive?”

“Yes, it was,” David replied. “It was but I think maybe we need to buy it now.”

“Ah, David, there goes our vacation,” she looked at him glumly.

He gave her a little sympathetic grimace and sipped his coffee some more. Thank God I put that flipping portal in the study safe. Cripes, who knows what’s next? He thought a moment about his older brother, Al, the scientist who had gifted them the portal. He got his car keys and lead his wife back to their car.

You know, if murder wasn’t against the law…but, it might be justified in this case. What have you gotten us into this time, big brother?

                                                            #

Read more of Courtney’s writing in:
https://sites.google.com/view/webbywritercom/page-5?authuser=0

Global Warming – Environmental Decay – Unstable Weather

In the last thirty years in the USA, manufacturing has moved ‘off coast’ with a majority of factories being established in China, India and other Southeast Asian countries. The result is the CEOs and owners of these companies are in general making an indecent amount of money, Americans are increasingly on the dole and the world is facing global warming and unstable weather in dimensions never seen before.

After doing a very small (barely scratching the surface) amount of research, I have identified just some such companies starting with shoe manufacturers. Pull up any screen on the factory workers in China and you will be deluged with warm, pithy stories about how these hard-working people now have stable lives because of jobs they can depend upon.

What you don’t see is the environmental pollution reports that come from these same manufacturers and the numbers of people in China dying from cancer related to pollution exposure. The real beauty for our American CEO’s (lest we forget) is that we are dealing with the Chinese government and there is no transparency. We get to believe whatever they choose to tell us or not tell us.

This is just a baby list and certainly anyone who makes an effort can expand the list. I would suggest that the people on this list take their salaries, divide them by a factor of two, and give the second half to environmental protection agencies who are working around the clock to save us (and the world) from global warming and cataclysmic disasters. And, various CEO’s, if you don’t believe this, go live in Shanghai or Beijing for a while and see how you like the air. Oh, I know, let them eat cake, right?

Steve Madden Shoes:

Amelia Varela, Pres –  annual salary  $1,815,635                                                                                                             CEO Awadhesh Sinhu  $1,197,020     …….CFO Arvind Dharu $667,917

Sam Edelman Shoes – Sam Edelman  $270,000 year (is that really his salary?)

Hush Puppies – Greg Tunney, Pres.  $526,000 (base salary)

Let us then go to the Walton’s, owners of Walmart and America’s favorite family. Importer of shoes and all manner of goods from China.

Rob Walton – $10 million salary per year.

Jim Walton – $10 million per year.

Alice Walton, heiress to the family fortune and worth 64.6 billion dollars.

I recently attempted to buy a pair of shoes ‘Made in the USA’ and was very hard pressed to find any at all or any I could afford (see Frye boots – approx.. $300 a pair and up.) Too bad we have so few choices these days.

Oh, and back to the Let Them Eat Cake alleged quote from Marie Antoinette. The French kings were very good at spending the money of the peasants and working class. However, they did leave a few things behind that people today can go and see and admire (Versailles). Our modern ‘monarchy’ have left us all something to admire, a complete and total global mess. Thanks guys!!!

_______________________________________

https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/07/beijing-and-shanghai-s-air-pollution-problems-result-in-49-000-deaths-in-2020/

Since the start of 2020, around 49,000 people have died in the cities of Beijing and Shanghai due to air pollution, according to a new study.

The report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that the deaths resulted in around $23bn in economic losses and occurred despite improvements to air quality during the coronavirus lockdown, albeit only temporarily.

Shanghai reportedly had worse concentrations of hazardous PM2.5 particles than Beijing, although Shanghai registered higher rates of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Have to do, he thought hurriedly as he followed the boy down. They got to the bottom; Samuel led his small charge deep into one of the corridors. He found the farthest cubicle and gestured to the boy to crawl in. Seemingly, with no argument left in him, the kid obeyed and went in, feet first, still clutching his bag.

Samuel went back to where the torch hung and listened intently. His heart was in his mouth when he heard the unmistakable sounds of hooves on the ground above and the shouts of the men who had been chasing them. Suppressing the urge to cry, he instead backed up in the dark corridor and did the same sweeping motion with his tennis shoe to cover any footprints. However, the dirt here was very hard packed and seemed to leave no trail. Quietly he made his way back to where his young friend lay. He was about to make a shushing motion with his hand when he realized the boy was already fast asleep again.

Samuel found another crypt further down. He took one last swig of the water bottle and scooted, feet first into the crypt, gently moving the bones there to one side. Then he lay quietly and prayed.

                                                                        #

Back at the Beans household, the dark clad figure slipped over the slump-stone fence and landed lightly on the wet grass. Crouching low, the figure slipped behind one of the large backyard trees. Putting one black gloved hand into a pocket, the intruder pulled out a small mechanical gadget and clicked a button. He pushed it in front of the tree. The device started to emit sounds that sounded exactly like two male cats circling each other, getting ready to fight. The low guttural sounds continued and occasionally rose up in crescendo and then back down to low growling.

Inside, Beamer stirred on Jeremy’s bed and finally jerked awake with a snort. He looked around and paused, hearing the sound. He pushed off the twin bed, padded over to the bedroom door and pushed it open with his nose. His toenails clicking on the kitchen linoleum, he made for the dog door that led to the backyard. He dashed out the door and ran for the sound. The intruder was ready with a dart gun. As the dog advanced and right before he began to bark, there was a shooting sound and a thud. Beamer slumped over in a lump. The black figure crept forward, yanked the dart out of the dog’s neck and placed it into a fanny pack. He leaned over and checked the dog briefly. Crouching, the figure approached the backdoor. There was a slight ‘click’ sound and the door opened. He slipped in, softly closing the door.

Taking a small round light from the pack, the intruder shown the light systematically around the kitchen, the cupboards, counters and walls. He then moved into the dining room and repeated the process there. The living room followed. Apparently, not finding what he was looking for, he slipped down the bedroom hallway. Pausing at the master bedroom, he leaned next to the door. Soft snores could be heard coming from inside. Moving down the hall, the door to David Beans’ office was open. The intruder went in and carefully examined the entire office. Moving back into the hallway, his eyes were caught by the open door at the end of the hall. The carpet flooring helped muffle steps as he entered Jeremy’s and Samuel’s bedroom. Both boys were fast asleep on their twins. Again, the dim light shone around the room. It paused over Jeremy’s desk. The man went forward and shown the light on a spot over the desk. There was a very faint outline on the wall where a square object had hung and had left some dust marks and residue. The figure pulled out a tiny vial and popping open the top, pushed little bits of residue into the vial and replaced the top. The vial went into the fanny pack. The intruder retraced his steps through the house. He turned the lock on the kitchen door and closed it with a tiny ‘snap’.

Running now, he launched himself over the stone wall and disappeared into the night. In a few minutes, the low sound of a car engine could be heard. David Beans grumbled and turned over in his sleep.

                                                            #

The next morning, Samuel staggered out of bed and wandered into the kitchen. His older brother Tyler was at the stove, making oatmeal.

“What’s wrong with you? Looks like you wrestled a bobcat in your sleep,” Tyler commented with a laugh. Jeremy emerged with a jug of milk and bowls.

“What?” he asked Tyler who was still laughing.

“Look at his hair,” Tyler waved a stirring spoon at Samuel.

Jeremy put the bowls down and looked at his younger brother. He smiled.

“Dude, your hair is positively retro. With some spray, you’d have a Mohawk!” He grinned and looked at Tyler and they exchanged silent laughter.

With a sigh, Samuel slumped down at the kitchen table. His chin resting on one chubby hand. Alice Beans bustled in, bent over and gave him a little peck. She attempted to smooth down his hair.

“You okay, honey?” She asked, concern wrinkling her forehead. She placed a hand on his forehead. “No fever. Hum?” She bent down. Samuel gave a shrug. She arranged napkins around the bowls Jeremy set out and straightened the sugar and butter. “Why don’t you go wash your face, and you’ll feel a little better. We’re going to eat in a few minutes.”

Without response, Samuel slumped off the chair and wandered back to the bathroom. There was a  sound of water running. David Beans came out, tucking his shirt into his chinos and gave his wife a peck.  He looked at her. “Problem?”

“I don’t know….Samuel.” She raised her eyebrows and titled her head toward the sound of running water.

“I’ll look at him,” David told her. He grabbed a cup of coffee and headed back to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, the two came back and sat down. Samuel’s face was washed and some hair had been plastered down with water. But, he still looked tired and there were circles under his eyes. David looked at his wife and gave a little shrug. They all sat down to eat.

(Continued in Part III)

Read more of Courtney’s writing in:
https://sites.google.com/view/webbywritercom/page-5?authuser=0

Oreo oh Oreo,

how I love thee so.

More, in fact,

than many people I know.

You are so round, crunchy

and smooth,

as you sit on my cupboard,

you are sweeter than a lover.

I think on your

goodness and perfection,

I am almost in heaven.

I don’t know, is this obsession?