Butter Pecan 15, Strawberry 15 + FOTD
Author: Marina
Story: Shifts universe (Shifts)
Challenge: Butter Pecan 15 (silent), Strawberry 15 (key), FOTD (ersatz)
Toppings/Extras: Cherry (first person), Sprinkles, Malt (pfah - key : Lynne, Rand : they won’t even recognize me)
Word Count: 1,092
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Rand is on an important mission.
Notes: And again with the highly appropriate hat prompts. Takes place a couple of days after this. 50th malt! :D
“Here we are.” The guard took a key ring from his belt and unlocked the door. “I’ll have to lock you in, sorry, but if you need anything, just knock. I’ll be out here.”
“Thank you.” I squared my shoulders, remembering what Isabelle had said about the room possibly being bugged. A dark wig, a three-piece suit, glasses, a wallet full of fake IDs, and a passable acting job had gotten me this far, but the act could not stop after the door shut. Taking a deep breath, I took hold of the handle and opened the door.
Lynne sat at a small table three yards from the door, in what appeared to be a study nook that belonged to a larger suite beyond. She was wearing the same clothes she’d had on when she disappeared and had appropriated Drew’s sweatshirt since then, and there were visible bags under her eyes. Although she looked up when I walked in, she barely noticed me. Her eyes darted away to the doorway behind me as though she were expecting someone else, and she slumped back when no one appeared.
“L-Miss Williams,” I said, remembering to deepen my voice and address her formally. “Hello, I’m Mr. Campbell, your new tutor.”
She started. “Yes, sorry, I-" Her voice faltered, not in recognition, but bewilderment.
I smiled a little. Isabelle had done a better job than she’d thought, if my friend of many years didn’t know me immediately. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand to her. When she took it, I held it tightly and lifted my other pointer finger to my lips.
At that, her eyes widened and she nodded quickly. “Yes, you too. Um, sorry, I’m kind of a mess.”
“Not to worry. That’s the benefit of having a private tutor, you can be as messy as you like, and we’re paid not to care.” I let go of her hand and lifted my briefcase onto the table-the finishing touch on my disguise. “Your father told me that you’re about to graduate from high school and passed along your transcript, so I’ve taken the liberty of preparing a couple of assessment quizzes so I can figure out exactly where to start from.” I removed a blank yellow legal pad and a small black box from the briefcase. “If you’d just fill these out for me quickly.”
“Of course.” Lynne took the pad, resumed her seat, and snatched a pen from the cup on the table. I pulled up a chair to read over her shoulder as she wrote.
Her handwriting was worse than chicken scratch at the best of times, but I didn’t dare ask her to read it to me. I took off the glasses and squinted.
‘What’s going on?’ she scrawled.
I took the pen. ‘Grayson and I are here in disguise to finish this. Write slower. I can’t read your squiggles.’
Lynne rolled her eyes and snatched it back. ‘As our tutors? Drew’s is supposed to be a woman.’
Oh, God, do not remind me, I thought, grimacing as I replied: ‘Grayson is surprisingly convincing when he wants to be. You’ll see.’
‘I’m sure.’ She threw me a smirk. I reminded myself that she hadn’t seen the skirt suit and pumps. ‘So, what?’
I bit my lip. ‘This disguise isn’t going to work for long. Abraham and Rupert haven’t seen us yet, but when they do it’s all over. There’s a syringe in that box I brought. It’s a serum that’s designed to shut down a person’s powers. My parents developed it. We think that if we can get it into them somehow, they won’t be able to use magic anymore and therefore won’t be able to shift or interfere with the collapse of the worlds.’
She glanced quickly between the box and my face. ‘Then we’ll be free.’
‘Right. Isabelle and my parents and Eleazar are waiting for the signal, they’ll run in and finish it for us. We just have to inject them with the serum.’
‘How do we do that?’
‘Abraham is supposed to join us in about ten minutes. I’ll distract him. You get him from behind.’
Lynne exhaled slowly. ‘That’s a bit risky,’ she wrote.
I nodded and took the pad back. Her temper could get the better of her sometimes, but she wasn’t stupid. The fact that she’d caught onto the act so swiftly had proved that. I scribbled out a reply. ‘It’s our best chance. You and Drew and Oriana and the twins could all have gotten caught in the crossfire if we’d done a magic attack and no one would risk it since we’re just as likely to lose that way. This way we might end this thing without anybody getting hurt any further.’
She read the words at least twice-I could tell by the way her eyes flicked up and down the page-nodded once, pushed the pad away, and leaned her head into her hands.
For a moment, I just looked at her. She really was a mess-she hadn’t had nearly enough sleep in at least a week, well before she’d even been captured. Her hair was matted and scraggly, her clothes were rumpled, and she reeked of three-day-old body odor. Worse, she didn’t care. As she lifted her head so she could rub at her jaw, I caught a yellowed bruise on her right cheek and frowned. ‘What happened to you?’
‘My dear father happens to be an asshole,’ she wrote.
‘Did he hit you?’ I barely knew Abraham, but I couldn’t fathom it. From everything Isabelle had said, he just didn’t seem the type.
‘No, Rupert did. You should see Drew, he’s worse. And I heard Oriana yelling the other night, practically screaming at him, it was so awful-' She stopped writing abruptly and covered her mouth with her other hand.
Normally I don’t hug anybody, with the rare exception of my parents, but right then I didn’t hesitate. Lynne latched onto me, clinging fast to fistfuls of my jacket. I shut my eyes, willing her to understand what I meant even though I couldn’t say it. Be okay. Be okay. I need you to be okay, just for a little while, just until I can get you out of here.
A loud crash from the hallway jolted us both. “What was that?” Lynne asked aloud, pushing away and scrubbing at her eyes.
“I don’t know.” I began to get up from my seat.
That was when we heard the gun go off.
Story: Shifts universe (Shifts)
Challenge: Butter Pecan 15 (silent), Strawberry 15 (key), FOTD (ersatz)
Toppings/Extras: Cherry (first person), Sprinkles, Malt (pfah - key : Lynne, Rand : they won’t even recognize me)
Word Count: 1,092
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Rand is on an important mission.
Notes: And again with the highly appropriate hat prompts. Takes place a couple of days after this. 50th malt! :D
“Here we are.” The guard took a key ring from his belt and unlocked the door. “I’ll have to lock you in, sorry, but if you need anything, just knock. I’ll be out here.”
“Thank you.” I squared my shoulders, remembering what Isabelle had said about the room possibly being bugged. A dark wig, a three-piece suit, glasses, a wallet full of fake IDs, and a passable acting job had gotten me this far, but the act could not stop after the door shut. Taking a deep breath, I took hold of the handle and opened the door.
Lynne sat at a small table three yards from the door, in what appeared to be a study nook that belonged to a larger suite beyond. She was wearing the same clothes she’d had on when she disappeared and had appropriated Drew’s sweatshirt since then, and there were visible bags under her eyes. Although she looked up when I walked in, she barely noticed me. Her eyes darted away to the doorway behind me as though she were expecting someone else, and she slumped back when no one appeared.
“L-Miss Williams,” I said, remembering to deepen my voice and address her formally. “Hello, I’m Mr. Campbell, your new tutor.”
She started. “Yes, sorry, I-" Her voice faltered, not in recognition, but bewilderment.
I smiled a little. Isabelle had done a better job than she’d thought, if my friend of many years didn’t know me immediately. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said, offering my hand to her. When she took it, I held it tightly and lifted my other pointer finger to my lips.
At that, her eyes widened and she nodded quickly. “Yes, you too. Um, sorry, I’m kind of a mess.”
“Not to worry. That’s the benefit of having a private tutor, you can be as messy as you like, and we’re paid not to care.” I let go of her hand and lifted my briefcase onto the table-the finishing touch on my disguise. “Your father told me that you’re about to graduate from high school and passed along your transcript, so I’ve taken the liberty of preparing a couple of assessment quizzes so I can figure out exactly where to start from.” I removed a blank yellow legal pad and a small black box from the briefcase. “If you’d just fill these out for me quickly.”
“Of course.” Lynne took the pad, resumed her seat, and snatched a pen from the cup on the table. I pulled up a chair to read over her shoulder as she wrote.
Her handwriting was worse than chicken scratch at the best of times, but I didn’t dare ask her to read it to me. I took off the glasses and squinted.
‘What’s going on?’ she scrawled.
I took the pen. ‘Grayson and I are here in disguise to finish this. Write slower. I can’t read your squiggles.’
Lynne rolled her eyes and snatched it back. ‘As our tutors? Drew’s is supposed to be a woman.’
Oh, God, do not remind me, I thought, grimacing as I replied: ‘Grayson is surprisingly convincing when he wants to be. You’ll see.’
‘I’m sure.’ She threw me a smirk. I reminded myself that she hadn’t seen the skirt suit and pumps. ‘So, what?’
I bit my lip. ‘This disguise isn’t going to work for long. Abraham and Rupert haven’t seen us yet, but when they do it’s all over. There’s a syringe in that box I brought. It’s a serum that’s designed to shut down a person’s powers. My parents developed it. We think that if we can get it into them somehow, they won’t be able to use magic anymore and therefore won’t be able to shift or interfere with the collapse of the worlds.’
She glanced quickly between the box and my face. ‘Then we’ll be free.’
‘Right. Isabelle and my parents and Eleazar are waiting for the signal, they’ll run in and finish it for us. We just have to inject them with the serum.’
‘How do we do that?’
‘Abraham is supposed to join us in about ten minutes. I’ll distract him. You get him from behind.’
Lynne exhaled slowly. ‘That’s a bit risky,’ she wrote.
I nodded and took the pad back. Her temper could get the better of her sometimes, but she wasn’t stupid. The fact that she’d caught onto the act so swiftly had proved that. I scribbled out a reply. ‘It’s our best chance. You and Drew and Oriana and the twins could all have gotten caught in the crossfire if we’d done a magic attack and no one would risk it since we’re just as likely to lose that way. This way we might end this thing without anybody getting hurt any further.’
She read the words at least twice-I could tell by the way her eyes flicked up and down the page-nodded once, pushed the pad away, and leaned her head into her hands.
For a moment, I just looked at her. She really was a mess-she hadn’t had nearly enough sleep in at least a week, well before she’d even been captured. Her hair was matted and scraggly, her clothes were rumpled, and she reeked of three-day-old body odor. Worse, she didn’t care. As she lifted her head so she could rub at her jaw, I caught a yellowed bruise on her right cheek and frowned. ‘What happened to you?’
‘My dear father happens to be an asshole,’ she wrote.
‘Did he hit you?’ I barely knew Abraham, but I couldn’t fathom it. From everything Isabelle had said, he just didn’t seem the type.
‘No, Rupert did. You should see Drew, he’s worse. And I heard Oriana yelling the other night, practically screaming at him, it was so awful-' She stopped writing abruptly and covered her mouth with her other hand.
Normally I don’t hug anybody, with the rare exception of my parents, but right then I didn’t hesitate. Lynne latched onto me, clinging fast to fistfuls of my jacket. I shut my eyes, willing her to understand what I meant even though I couldn’t say it. Be okay. Be okay. I need you to be okay, just for a little while, just until I can get you out of here.
A loud crash from the hallway jolted us both. “What was that?” Lynne asked aloud, pushing away and scrubbing at her eyes.
“I don’t know.” I began to get up from my seat.
That was when we heard the gun go off.