LeOmi's Solitude (23 page)

LeOmi and Nick crouched as they made their
way to the Ruby Tribe Corral. This time Nick rolled under and
scooped the flags as easily as LeOmi had done. He put them in his
tunic, and went back to the Emerald Corral.

All eyes were on The Island or distracted by
the horses, thanks to the announcer who was giving a blow by blow
detail of the activities, even though there didn’t seem to be much
happening yet.

The Jasper Tribe was even more chaotic than
the other tribes’ corrals and LeOmi had no problem rolling under
the fence and removing their flags.

LeOmi made it back to the Emerald Corral,
unchallenged and added her commandeered flags to the large
pile.

“Mark Young has the Bonus Flag!” The crowd
went crazy with all sorts of hurrahs.

LeOmi covered the flags with a saddle blanket
and rolled a large rock on top and sat on it.

She closed her eyes and listened to the
announcer, “But Mark still has to make it across the fifty yard
wide moat and back to the Emerald Tribe Corral.”

She stood trying to see and the announcer
said, “Cap’n Ben used the crossbow to get the rope to the other
side.”

Then she heard, “MARK IS IN THE WATER…I SEE
MOTION IN THE DEPTHS. A LEVIATHAN HAS GOT THE SMELL OF HIM. HURRY
MARK!”

LeOmi could see Chenoa coaxing her horse to
pull a rope with Mark at the far end. He was skirting along the
surface at an amazing rate of speed. Cap’n Ben was standing at the
shore ready to retrieve Mark and the flag from the moat. Suddenly,
the surface of the water exploded.

A fifty foot long leviathan sliced through
the air –up to the height of the upper most bleacher. It made a
beautiful acrobatic turn and sailed back to the moat at a
phenomenal speed and made a perfect dive with hardly any splash at
all. The whole field was stunned, and then everyone broke out in
clapping and amazement, all except Slone and Ricky who were running
to Mark and the flag as fast as they could.

Mark was laughing as he landed on shore. No
one had considered that he would make it back so quickly, except
for Slone and Ricky and they were too late. Mark handed off the
flag to Cap’n Ben, and he handed it off to Chenoa who was waiting
to bring the flag back to the Emerald Corral.

Cheers abounded from the crowd as the
announcer said “ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR POINTS FOR EMERALD
TRIBE.”

Krisa had retrieved the field flag and kept
the other teams off of Chenoa.

They all made it back to the corral as
Charlie Goodfellow signaled sunset and the end of the game.

Chenoa approached Krisa. They huddled for a
moment and Krisa said, “Everyone grab a flag and take it out onto
the field.”

LeOmi handed out the flags to the Emerald
Team and they all marched out onto the field.

The crowd went wild.

The Announcer screamed, “WHAT AN UPSET!
Emerald Tribe has managed to confiscate all the flags. A whopping
seven hundred and thirty-nine points. EMERALD TRIBE WINS!”

Chapter 11

Be Prepared for the Elements: Cold
and Heat

“I knew that you would do well at the Flags
Match—but I never dreamed!” Bekka did a little do-si-do with
LeOmi.

LeOmi giggled then smiled, “This was a good
day, one of the best that I have had in a long time.” They had met
at a point just outside of the spectator stands. LeOmi was
surprised to see her father approach.

“Wow! That was great,” he gave her a quick
hug and bent to give her a kiss on the top of her spiked hair.

“Uh, thanks. Mark Young was the strategist.
The team just carried out our different assigned roles and
everything worked perfectly.”

“Well, you did great!”

“So you were up in the stands? Was anybody
with you—my sister or brother?”

“I haven’t heard from either one of them. I
guess they must be busy, but actually, Bekka kept me company.”

Bekka smiled, “We had a good seat, around a
lot of Emerald Tribe fans.”

“Well, I have to say that this brings back a
lot of memories. I was never on a Flags Team, but I sure did love
to watch the matches.”

“I wasn’t on a team either; my dad was always
at the museum so I spent a lot of time there.”

“Oh, yeah, Rebecca McGraw. I remember Mr.
McGraw talking about your name means snarer of the heart, in a good
way.” He paused and squeezed her hand, “I am sorry about your
mom.”

LeOmi just stood there listening to their
conversation.

Why hadn’t I known that? Why hadn’t I asked
about her family, or even what tribe she was from?

“LeOmi?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“I asked if you wanted to go and get
something to eat. I haven’t had pizza in ages, and your dad says
that there is a wonderful Pizza Place right down the street from
his home.”

“I, ah. I don’t feel much like pizza.”

“Oh well…maybe we could go to The
Quarters.”

“I, ah, I am just going to go…”

“LeOmi, have I said something? You were so
happy just a moment ago.”

“Well, I ah...I have to go and make sure that
Fireball is okay.”

“You have to…What?”

LeOmi just turned and started running towards
the stables.

Bekka remanifested in front of her.

“LeOmi, what happened? …You’re crying.”

“I am not crying.” Still running, she skirted
around Bekka and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Bekka fell in beside and ran along with
LeOmi.

“Would a true Magi say that?”

Neither said anything and then Bekka said,
“Won’t you come?”

LeOmi started running faster, and Bekka
stopped and let her run.

One foot in front of the other.

* * *

LeOmi spent the afternoon with Fireball.

She rode along the edge of the woods and made
sure that there were no ostriches running amuck. After a while, she
did find them, down on the edge of the woods and the pasture lands,
away from everyone and everything. It was peaceful there and LeOmi
watched them from a good distance. Every now and then the ostrich
would make a cooing sound to the little ones, and then immediately
let out a huge screech in LeOmi’s direction.

Fireball would look up each time, consider
leaving and then continue her grazing.

Albert surprised her when he spoke, “But wild
beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be
full of doleful creatures; and the owls shall dwell there, and
satyrs shall dance there.”

Startled, LeOmi jumped up from where she had
been kneeling beside a crabapple tree.

“That’s from the
Bible
, Isaiah?”

“I have kept the watch on Adicus, Scout and
Jym.” He pointed in the direction of the ostriches.

She smiled and then kneeled again. Adicus had
stood once again, looking their way and showing some concern. When
LeOmi lowered, the ostrich mother, apparently Adicus settled down
again to watch the little ones, Scout and Jym, as they ate and
napped. After a few moments, Adicus began to nap also.

Albert was dirtier than she had ever seen
him. It looked as though he slept in a mud puddle and he hadn’t
changed his clothes since the last time she saw him.

“Albert, what do you do out here? Don’t you
have a home?”

“I used to live with my grandfather, in the
Great Plains. He taught me, ‘Respect animals and then, they will
respect you.’ Then he died.”

“And you came here?”

“I like to live out here, with the
animals.”

He pointed around, “The animals accept you
for who you are.”

“Unlike people?”

“People can be cruel.” He looked down and
then he rubbed his chin against his collar while he was thinking or
remembering and then he said, “They used to call me Buffalo
Boy.”

“Because you loved the buffalo?”

He nodded, “Buffalo are so big that when they
run, the ground shakes. Buffalo are smart and strong and they can
outrun a horse. They are wild and free.”

“Wild and free?”

“They used to stand on the top of a hill and
kill hundreds at a time, they almost killed them all.”

He started rubbing chin to collar again,
“They would have killed me too if I hadn’t came here.”

“To The Seventh Mountain?”

“To The Seventh Mountain Orphanage.” He
pointed to the west.

“There are seven mountains and seven
orphanages. More than a million formally trained Magi and more than
one hundred million thaumaturgies and apprentices.”

“So you’re a Magi?”

“I live with the Magi…I do what I am told.
‘Obey to show your love.’”

“And you are told by…?”

He pointed up into the sky.

“Ahhh.”

“So you want to be like a buffalo, smart and
strong and faster than a horse?”

“And free. I have lived here for a long time.
They let me make my own decisions. They let you make your own
decisions. Sometimes the decisions are right and sometimes they are
wrong.”

LeOmi stared back at Albert, not knowing what
to say.

He shrugged and returned his gaze to Adicus,
Scout and Jym, “I watch. I do what I am told. I obey to show my
love. Also, I look forward, I learn from mistakes, but keep my eyes
forward.”

At that point he seemed to ignore her. They
quietly watched the ostriches who had settled down for the
night.

She settled back against the tree and used
the time to think. It was almost as serene as being at her bedroom
window looking out past the old oak tree.

“Albert, you mentioned your grandfather, but
how long have you been here?”

Albert was gone. LeOmi shrugged. She then
settled back again against the tree.

Why didn’t my father make it? Why couldn’t
he make it? Is he weak? Or is he compassionate? He said he walked a
different path, a path of teaching. His flock, they needed him–and
I guess he needs them.

“I couldn’t decide not to be a Magi.”
Someone would have to tell me I couldn’t be a Magi, and then, I
think that I would try even harder.
She rubbed her chin against
her shoulder.
Would a true Magi lie about the simplest thing,
like crying? No!

“In the dream she said, ‘But there is more…do
your best and remember that there is more to being a Magi than
physical strength and training.’”

The next morning, LeOmi was awakened by a
nudge from Fireball. The ostriches were still in the same general
area that they had been in last night, but Albert was still nowhere
to be seen. He had probably taken up his earlier post after he had
finished their conversation.

LeOmi hadn’t meant to sleep out in the woods,
on the ground. Students weren’t supposed to be out on the grounds
after dark, but Albert said that she could make her own decisions.
It was Sunday, no classes, so that wasn’t a problem and she would
have the tours of the Rain forest.

But with Fireball’s nudging came the sound of
a rider on a horse.

“LeOmi Jones, you are to report to the
Reports Room, first floor, East Entrance, center ring.”

Albert came up to the rider. They spoke in
whispers as LeOmi gathered her back pack. A person, who LeOmi had
never seen before, nodded and spoke gently with Albert. Then he
shook his head and said, “You may come if you wish.”

Then to LeOmi he said, “Now Miss Jones.”

What was this, the bad cop?
He looked
like a tall Canadian Mounted Policeman, he sounded like a parole
officer.

Albert looked towards Adicus, Scout and Jym.
Then back towards LeOmi.

“Stay with them as long as you can Albert.
Keep them safe.”

Albert watched as they both rode off towards
The Seventh Mountain.

She hadn’t been on the east side of the
mountain before. She could see the Power Plant off on the other
side of the wall. She had known it was there but this was her first
chance to see it this close, even though they really weren’t
close.

The bad cop Magi escorted her to the easterly
entrance, and then watched to make sure that she went in.

The Reports Room was right were he said it
would be. There was no door, just an entry way into an empty room
with chairs all along three walls and a window that had the name L.
B. Gunnison on a plaque on a shelf to the side of the window.

As LeOmi began to approach the window, Bekka
came in through the doorway.

“Sorry I am late. It took me a bit to find
this place.”

LeOmi stared at her. “You’ve never been
here?”

“Nope.”

Bekka turned LeOmi toward the window and gave
her a little push. “It is time to take your medicine.”

There at the window was the bad cop. He
handed her a form to fill out, with a pen. It was just general
information. Name, date, grade, counselor, and then it asked; Why
are you filing a report? It gave three possibilities: Request,
Documentation and Offense.

Then it said, Explain.

She hated checking the little box beside
Offense, and even more so that she had to explain why she had done
the offense.

Bekka didn’t interfere; she sat near LeOmi
and watched her describe the events of yesterday’s Flags Match and
then the shock of her father being at the match. She didn’t put
that she had been angry with Bekka for becoming a friend to her
father.

The part about Albert and the ostriches was
brief but to the point, then just falling asleep, because she could
make her own decisions not to return to the mountain just so she
could go back to the rain forest the next morning.

She handed it to Gunnison. He looked it over
and said, “Better get to work. You will be notified when to
return.”

He reached his hand out the window and took
his plaque off the shelf and put it on another shelf on the other
side of the wall. Then he took the form that she had filled out and
went out a door in the rear of his office.

“I had better go and talk with him, and you
had better get to work. I’ll see you later.”