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  They got off the couch, walked down the long hallway and down the stairs. They passed his mom on the way to the front door. She waved at Alix and told her to come back anytime. Alix really did feel welcome and comfortable there. The only place other than home that she had ever felt very comfortable was Shay’s.

  It was still nice out but cooler than it was when she had walked Shay home. She could tell fall was really on its way. They were almost to the end of the driveway when she heard the gate open.

  “How does it do that?” she asked Ben.

  “How does what do that?” he asked her back.

  “Oh, sorry, how does the gate open like that?”

  “I just push that little button there,” Ben said, pointing to a box on the side of the driveway.

  “I see, guess I missed it.” Why do I keep missing these things she thought to herself? And when did Ben walk over and push that button? She was sure he was right beside her the entire time. In no time after that, they were at the gate.

  Despite the gate thing at the end, she had a good time and decided to tell him that.

  “I had fun today. Thanks for letting me hang out.”

  “Me too. I mean I had fun. Thanks for the cookies. Anytime you want to drop by with more baked goods feel free, and I mean anytime,” he said with a smile. “See you later.”

  “Bye,” she said, as she turned and headed home.

  Chapter 7

  On her way home, Alix thought about what she learned about Ben. They really had led opposite lives so far. About the only thing they had in common was school. She couldn’t imagine living in so many places. In some ways, she thought it would be cool, but then she couldn’t imagine not having Shay in her life either. Ben had seen a lot of places but didn’t have a best friend or any close friends at all it seemed. She guessed there were upsides and downsides to everything.

  Her dad was home when she got there.

  “Hey dad, how was work today? Did anyone bite you?” Alix laughed, as she asked him, it was a running joke in their family.

  “Not today honey,” he smiled. “What did you get up to today?”

  “Well Shay came over and we baked cookies. She had to babysit so I walked her home then I took some cookies over to Ben. He happened to be home, so we visited for a while. I learned that he has lived in ten different places and been to seven schools, can you imagine?”

  “That is a lot.”

  “And then he showed me some of his drawings from when he was ten-years-old. He was really into superheroes, it was kinda funny. He is a really good artist.”

  “That’s nice. You two seem to have hit it off.”

  “Yeah, I guess. For some reason, I’m comfortable around him and you know how rare that is for me.”

  “I’m happy for you honey.”

  Alix didn’t know what to say to that so she just mumbled thanks and went to the kitchen to start dinner.

  “Mmm, tacos,” her dad said, as he walked into the kitchen for dinner, “Good choice. Thanks for making dinner.”

  “What time will mom be home?”

  “Her shift is over at eight so around nine.”

  “Okay. Dig in.”

  They made up their tacos and ate in the living room while they watched the news.

  “Another person has gone missing in Yellowstone National Park,” The news announcer said. “According to Park Services, Jack Carp was hiking with a group of friends on a popular trail in the northwest area of the park. He went ahead of the group and never returned. His friends searched the area and found no sign of him.”

  It cut to a video of a very tired hiker. “Jack said he thought he saw something and went to check it out. It’s like he disappeared into thin air. There were no ravines or rivers or signs of animals in the immediate area and he was just slightly ahead of the rest of us. He didn’t call for help and we didn’t find any signs of a struggle. I just don’t get it.”

  “Park Services told our reporter that foul play is not suspected as hikers go missing every year. They will continue to search the area,” The announcer said, “Jack Carp is the third person to go missing this summer. Sara Greenville and Samantha Warren went missing in June and July respectively.”

  Alix listened to the story intently. It bothered her to hear that those people were missing. Living so close to Yellowstone she knew that people went missing every year but three in just a few months was odd.

  They finished eating and watched the remainder of the news. She put the rest of the food away for her mom. She didn’t feel like watching more TV, so she went to her room to read. Hopefully, she would finish her book tonight. Before she grabbed her eReader she got out the notebook to add to her list of strangeness as she was now thinking of it.

  - Gate opened all by itself, malfunctioning or something else?

  - Ben’s mom seemed to be at the door before I could knock

  - Do my eyes really change color?

  - Strange need to go to the cabin

  - Missed Ben opening up the gate

  Since she had promised Shay she would let her know if anything else strange happened she decided to text her.

  Alix: Are u busy?

  Shay: Not really, kids are watching a movie. What’s up?

  Alix: So, Ben was home. I gave him the cookies and stayed for a while.

  Shay: Really? Awesome!!! Good for you ☺ And???

  Alix: And we talked, I looked at his sketchbook from when he was ten and I came home.

  Shay: That’s it? Nothing else?

  Alix: I learned about some of the places he lived before coming here.

  Shay: That’s cool.

  Alix: And I have a few more things to add to the strangeness list. The gate opened when I walked by, I think it might not be working right. Natalie was at the door before I knocked, she didn’t even go outside once she opened the door. Ben thinks my eyes change color and when I left, Ben said he opened the gate with a button, but I was positive he was beside me the whole time.

  It took Shay a few minutes to respond.

  Shay: We are totally going to talk about this later. I think I need more of an explanation.

  Alix: Ok

  Shay: I’ll call you after the kids are asleep.

  Alix: K

  Alix figured she had a couple hours to finish her book before she got interrupted so she sat back on her bed and got right to reading. She was immediately immersed in the fictional world and forgot about the strangeness that seemed to be surrounding her.

  About an hour and a half later she finished her book. It was another good one. Even though she just finished it she was already looking forward to the next one, but of course, the author had to write it first. She smiled to herself, she always got a silly grin on her face when she finished a good book. Now she had to pick a new book, that was always the hard part. There were so many good ones to choose from. Having an eReader allowed her to discover so many more books than she could before, it was the best gift she had ever received. She settled on a new author she found recently that wrote a series about angels. Just as she started the first chapter her phone rang, it was Shay.

  “Hey Shay, the kids asleep?”

  “Yep, finally, the youngest is kind of a handful but the other two are pretty good. So, I need more info on what went down today. A full recap please.”

  So, Alix filled her in on what happened after she had left her place and walked to Ben’s. The gate, his mom, and the cabin. Shay listened patiently, which was rare for her. After Alix told her everything Shay was quite on the other end.

  “Are you still there?” Alix asked.

  “Yeah, just processing everything you said. I’m not sure what is happening, but things are getting weirder around here, and did you notice that you’re the only one experiencing these strange things?”

  “Yeah, I did notice actually. It’s nice to know that I’m not crazy and you’re on my side.”

  “Of course, I’m on your side Alix, we stick together no matter what. If you
sprout wings and start flying, I’ll be right there with you.”

  Alix had to laugh at that. Shay was the most loyal person she knew. “Thanks, Shay.” Alix heard the door. “Hey, I think my mom is home. I’d better go say hi, I’m sure she’s had a long day. How much longer until the Millers are home?”

  “About an hour I think. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye”

  “Okay, bye.”

  Alix left her room and went to find her mom. She found her in the kitchen making some tea.

  “Hey, mom. Long day?

  “Uh huh. My feet are killing me. As soon as I finish my tea I’m going to go soak in the tub.”

  “Hey, why don’t you sit down, and I’ll finish making your tea. Tell me about your day.”

  Her mom had a seat at the table and told Alix about her shift at the hospital. She’d had some rather testy patients today and one of her fellow nurses called in sick, so they were short staffed on top of everything. The tea Alix was making was ready, so she sat down at the table while her mom sipped her tea.

  “Now it’s your turn, tell me about your day,” her mom said.

  Alix told her mom about hanging out with Shay and going over to Ben’s.

  “That’s quite an eventful day. Sounds like a good one. Well, honey, I’m off for my bath and then it’s bed for me. Goodnight, have a good sleep.”

  “Goodnight mom.”

  Alix stopped by the living room to say goodnight to her dad and then went back to her room. She wasn’t really tired, so she decided to read. She put on her comfy sleep pants, got her eReader and settled on her bed. She got into her new book right away and after an hour she had forced herself to put her book down and go to sleep. She fell asleep thinking about fallen angels and black feathers.

  ****

  Alix was flying over Sunset Creek. Her beautiful angel wings were spread out behind her. She dove and floated and rose above the houses. She could see her house and spiraled down to have a better look. It looked so small from up there. She let her wings carry her over to Shay’s house where she was waiting on the roof for her. Shay launched herself off her roof and joined Alix in the air. The girls flew all over the town and surrounding countryside. They looked up at the stars and saw the flash; it was time. They flew back to town toward Ben’s house. They landed in the backyard and started walking to the small house where Ben was waiting for them. The door opened, and Ben walked in first, followed by Shay. Alix was the last one to enter. “It’s almost time,” she heard a voice say.

  Alix woke up and looked around. Her bedroom. She flopped back down onto her pillow. Of course, she was in her room. She was only dreaming. She didn’t really have wings and was able to fly, but that would be very cool she thought. Alix knew better than to read right before bed. Every time she did she had wild dreams. She really wanted to tell Shay about her dream, but it was only 7:30, still a bit early on a Sunday to text her.

  Alix knew she wasn’t going back to sleep, so she got up and went to the kitchen to make coffee. To her surprise, her mom was already up and cooking.

  “Good morning honey. Have a good sleep?”

  “Morning mom. I did have a good sleep and a really crazy dream. Shay and I had angel wings and were flying all over town.”

  “You were reading before you went to sleep, weren’t you?”

  “Guilty. What are you making?”

  “How do waffles sound?”

  “They sound great. Need any help?”

  “Nope, I’m fine. Go ahead and relax, I’ll call you when breakfast is ready.”

  The smell of waffles had her wandering back to the kitchen before her mom called her. Alix loved breakfast, and this morning it looked like her mom went all out. She saw the waffles of course, and bacon, sausage, fruit, toast and her grandma’s homemade jam.

  “This looks great mom, is there a special occasion that I forgot about?”

  “Nope, just felt like a big breakfast this morning. Can you call your dad, please?”

  Alix popped her head into the living room and let her dad know that breakfast was ready. They all sat down and enjoyed the yummy food.

  After they cleaned up Alix decided to see if Shay was up yet.

  Alix: U awake?

  Shay: Just barely. How long have u been up?

  Alix: A while. I had a strange but cool dream and I couldn’t go back to sleep. I wanted to tell you about it.

  Shay: Spill, I hope it’s juicy.

  Alix: Sorry, not juicy. The short version is that you and I had angel wings, were flying over the town, saw a flash of light in the sky, flew to Ben’s house, and went in that cabin I told you about.

  Shay: Were you reading before you went to sleep last night?

  Alix: Yes. I know it makes me dream crazy, but wouldn’t it be cool to have wings?

  Shay: Ya, that would be cool.

  Alix: What are you up to today?

  Shay: It’s cleaning day at the Stevens household.

  Alix: Fun. Not much going on here. Probably laundry and reading.

  Shay: Mom is calling me. Gotta go.

  Alix spent the rest of her day not doing much of anything but reading. As it got time to go to bed she made sure that she stopped reading a good hour before bedtime. She could use a dreamless night.

  ****

  Every Labor Day Monday Alix and her parents had a tradition. Crepes for breakfast then they went to Bozeman for the day. They went shopping, to a movie and then dinner. This year was no exception.

  On the way home, she reflected on the last few days, strange but interesting things had happened, and she was excited and a little scared of what might be going on around her. She thought about school and realized that she wasn’t actually anxious about going tomorrow. That put a smile on her face.

  Chapter 8

  Tuesday morning came, and Alix was actually looking forward to the week which was quite a change in her attitude from last week. She got ready and went over to meet Shay and Ben. Ben beat her this morning, but they had to wait for Shay, the first day of the week wasn’t really her thing. Alix didn’t really know what to say to Ben, so she just stood there and waited.

  “How was the rest of your weekend?” he asked her.

  “It was okay, didn’t do much but hang out at home and read on Sunday. Yesterday was our annual Labor Day trip to Bozeman for shopping, dinner, and a movie. You?”

  “We mostly hung out at home.” he smiled at her. Ben looked at his watch. “It’s 7:30 and Shay’s not outside yet, do you think she’s coming?”

  “Yeah, Shay and Monday mornings don’t really agree so she’s always a little slow on Monday’s. Any minute now she’ll come flying out that door. Happens all the time.”

  “But it’s Tuesday,” he said, giving her a funny look.

  “Yeah, but in her mind, it might as well be Monday, she’s funny that way, you’ll see.”

  Sure, enough a couple of minutes later Shay came out the door in a flurry with her breakfast still in her hand mumbling something about hating Monday. Alix saw Ben suppressing a laugh. The three of them got to school and went to their lockers to get what they needed for the morning. Shay headed off to Business and they went to English.

  Miss Fay was already in the classroom when they got there. They went to their desks and found something sitting on them. Alix picked it up and started flipping through the pages. She realized it was the stories that they all co-wrote on Friday. Cool she thought, she was wondering what became of the story she started, and it looked like Miss Fay took every story and put them together like a book. Before the rest of the kids got there, she went up to Miss Fay’s desk.

  “Miss Fay, I just wanted to let you know how cool I think the book of our stories is. I thought it was a fun exercise and I can’t wait until I get a chance to read them all.”

  “Thanks, Alix, glad you enjoyed it. I hope you’re going to get something out of today’s lesson too.”

  Alix found that a bit odd, so she went back to her desk to wait for class to st
art. In the desk beside her, Ben was looking at the book of stories.

  “What do you think she’s going to make us do with these?” he asked Alix.

  “Not sure, but I’m thinking we’re going to have to read them. I’m actually looking forward to it.”

  “Of course, you are,” he said with a smile.

  The bell rang, and it was time to start class.

  “Good morning class. As you can see I’ve left something for you on your desks. It’s all the stories you co-wrote on Friday. I will expect everyone to read all of them this week, and next Monday we will do more with them. As for today, I have a different assignment for you. We are going to do some research on current events. Rows one and two, the person in the desk next to you will be partners for this assignment, same with rows three and four. I’m going to pass out assignments in a minute. Please put your desks together for this class.”

  Miss Fay then went back to her desk and grabbed a stack of newspaper clippings and started handing them out. Alix and Ben were the last to get their assignment.

  “I saved this one especially for you two,” Miss Fay said, then went back to the front of the room.

  “Now class. Please read your article first. Then you’re going to find out as much about the people and places as you can and write a report on it. Pretend you’re a detective trying to solve the case. I want you to be very thorough so please use any resources possible. And by that, I mean the internet as well as the actual people involved in the story if you can. You will have a month to complete this. Okay, get to work.”

  Alix looked at their article. She saw it was about the missing hikers from Yellowstone.

  “I saw this on the news the other night. Three hikers have gone mysteriously missing since June. The last one was just a few days ago. Witnesses say that there’s no trace of them, they just disappeared.”

  “Yeah, I heard about it. Mom and dad mentioned it the other night too. Where do you think we should start?”