Page 10 of Tiger's Dream
“Got it,” Kelsey answered.
“Good. Now let’s go make sure our guest is comfortable, shall we?”
Kelsey soon joined me in the backseat, and as her parents buckled in, I realized what a miracle it was to see that glimpse of Kelsey’s past. Her mother was an amazing woman and one I would have liked to have known. She reminded me of my own mother, and I was sad knowing that Kelsey no longer had her parents to turn to. Their deaths must have devastated her.
The night was cold and crisp, and though it had snowed in the afternoon, the stars were clearly visible and the moon lit our path. Kelsey buckled her seat belt and put her book into her backpack. Before she zipped it closed, I saw the flash of a very familiar object.
“Is that a quilt?” I asked.
She nodded and, embarrassed, stammered. “I know I’m too old to have one, but my grandmother made it for me and she died a couple months ago, so I like to keep it close.”
Ducking my head toward her, I said, “There’s no need to feel self-conscious. My girlfriend has a favorite quilt too.”
Maddie gave me a grateful look and waved at Kadam, who nodded silently to me as Kelsey’s father started the car. I clutched the Damon Amulet hidden under my shirt, wondering how I might have to use it.
***
Kelsey’s father turned on the radio, letting the music play gently in the background as he drove slowly down the icy mountain. The small car settled into a rhythm that made a sort of music of its own when combined with the sound of the tire chains crunching a new path in the thick snow. Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes and could almost believe Kelsey was my own and we were visiting her parents to ask for their blessing, that she would introduce me as the one she loved, the one she couldn’t live without.
Instead, she caught my attention when she spoke about school with her mother. She seemed shy in answering her mother’s questions, and I wondered if it was the subject material or if it was my presence that made her nervous. Maddie had just turned her attention to me and was asking if I was visiting or if I’d moved to Oregon when Joshua adjusted his mirror and glanced behind us.
“What is it?” his wife asked.
I heard a car and looked out the back window. The revving of its engine was accompanied by uproarious laughter. Kelsey jumped when the driver blew the horn several times.
“Crazy kids,” Joshua said. “They’re probably drunk.”
“We have several miles left of mountain road. Just wave them ahead,” Maddie suggested.
Joshua rolled down his window and waved his arm, but the honking continued. Whoever was driving the vehicle behind us fishtailed back and forth in the thick snow and ice covering the road. They bounced the back of their car into a tall fir tree, and the impact sent a snow shower down onto their car. Instead of having a sobering effect, the boys in the car hooted victoriously as if they’d just won a great battle. They accelerated dangerously close to our vehicle. Kelsey cried out.
“It will be okay,” I reassured her. She nodded trustingly, but then the driver behind us flicked his brights on and off. Kelsey sunk down in her seat so her head could no longer be seen, wrapped her arms around her torso, and played nervously with one of her braids.
Seeing her frightened caused my fists to tighten in anger. I wanted to burst through the back window in my tiger form. Imagining landing heavily on the hood of their vehicle and raking my claws across their windshield as I roared and they whimpered gave me a measure of satisfaction, but I doubted that was the reason I was here.
Why am I here?To save Kelsey.But from what?From these boys?What do they want with her? As soon as I began to speculate, my mind filled with nefarious possibilities, ones that would cause me to rip out the throat of any boy who dared think it.Is that the reason I’m here?To prevent these boys from hurting Kelsey and her parents?
So far they’d limited themselves to being annoying. There was no reason to rip throats. At least notyet. Kelsey and her parents were safe for now.
The car weaved behind us, the headlights creating shadows in our car that lengthened and shrunk with each turn. I could see the strain in Joshua Hayes’ eyes, but to his credit, he was as calm as if he were reading a book.
He did his best to soothe his wife and daughter and refused to hurry down the dangerous mountain despite the pressure of the young idiots riding his tail. To distract them, he began talking about where they should go on their vacation next year, suggesting the beach or some other warm place, and asked them where they would like to go.
“Kelsey?” he asked, “what about you?”
She shrugged and when he asked again, she spoke quietly. “I chose this year. Maybe Mom can choose the next.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” Her father smiled in the rearview mirror. “Maddie? Where would you like to go?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said nervously. “Kishan? Perhaps you could tell us a bit about India,” she suggested.
I’d just opened my mouth to answer her when the car rammed into us and pushed us several feet to the left before Kelsey’s father regained control.
“Now that’s just going too far!” Mr. Hayes said sternly. He maneuvered back into his lane with the intention of stopping the car, but the drunken boys behind us hit us again, this time shoving us straight ahead. The right side of the car scraped against the mountainside. As sparks flew up between the windows and the mountain, Kelsey screamed and grabbed my hand. I squeezed it, trying to reassure her.
When the other car backed away, I leaned forward. “We need to get out of the car, Mr. Hayes. I can handle them,” I said.
“But you have a broken ankle,” Mrs. Hayes said anxiously. “Besides, it’s better to get away from bullies and report them to the authorities than to fight.”
