The Sentinels

CHAPTER 1

Lou peered out the front door of the townhouse that she, her mother, and her sister had moved into and examined her new surroundings. She looked down at the open field across the narrow road. A cluster of trees seemed to beckon her to come nearer.

The grass sloped downhill from her window to the sidewalk, which was connected to the porches by paved paths. Yards were filled with newly planted trees surrounded by cages, and some trees were surrounded by flowers.

Lou was about to step off the doorstep to explore the field across the road when she was shoved from behind, falling to the porch. “Get out of the way, squirt!” Kerry, her sister, pushed past her and scanned the area. “Well, at least we have grass now.”

Lou glanced at the older girl. “It’s way better than being stuck in a tiny apartment with your stinky butt.”

Kerry glared at her younger sister. “My butt is not stinky.”

“It is when I’m sleeping in the bunk above you,” Lou said, slyly smiling. “Hot air rises.”

Lou nimbly dodged her sister’s punch and went back inside. She shut the screen door, then went to the living room. Dana was guiding the movers as they brought in the furniture. Two men gently set down a flowery couch with a fringe. They pushed it up against the far wall and went out. A coffee table, two matching end tables, and the sound system that her mom scrimped for two years to get came soon after. The girl moved aside as two men wheeled in a piano. She dropped onto the bench they placed in front of the heirloom. Lou opened the hinged wooden door and tentatively played a few notes.

A voice called out from behind her. “Louann, you can play the piano later.”

She saw her mother arrange an old yellow rocking chair in a corner. “Go up and unpack your room.”

Lou sighed and left the room. Passing the front door, she saw her sister on the lawn, feet bare, gazing across the road. Kerry is interested in the field too, she thought.

With a smile, Lou lay on the bare mattress in her new room upstairs, delighted to have her own private space. She glanced up at the walls and considered how she would decorate them. For Lou’s last birthday, her sister painted a small landscape that could be hung up along with posters and framed photographs. Against the wall stood a large, framed painting of horses that her dad got from the flea market. That will be a good start.

At thirteen years old, Lou had always shared a bedroom with her older sister. Kerry was 14, an inch taller, and roughly 30 pounds heavier. The older girl wasn’t afraid to use her weight to her advantage, usually sitting on Lou to hold her down. Kerry could easily win most arguments between the two girls.

The two sisters were opposites in looks and personality. Kerry had long, curly blond locks that reached her mid-back and blue eyes like their mom’s. Louann inherited her dad’s dark brown hair that almost touched her shoulders and dark brown eyes. Kerry was always doing her nails and makeup, while Lou was more content in her jean shorts, ponytail, and climbing a tree with her friends.

Lou got up and went to the empty window, gazing out at the street. She marveled at the size of the grassy field from this viewpoint. The field spanned two sections. A section of long grass was beside the road near Lou’s new home. The second area was bigger, nothing much there except grass and an immense tree on the other side. A row of small trees divided the two sections.

Six small crab apple trees stood all in a row. Her eyes passed over them, stopping on the three oaks bunched in the corner. These trees interested her. They stood tall and proud, as if surveying the field. They look like old friends sharing a secret.

Lou heard her mom call Kerry from the front door to go inside and unpack, so she glanced at the two boxes in front of her tall dresser. There was a box on top with BOOKS written on it in black marker. She pulled it down and noticed the one beneath was labeled BOOKS as well.

“Yup,” she said aloud. “I have a lot of books.”

Lou loved reading mystery stories, such as Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, and Agatha Christie. She relished the challenge of piecing the clues together to solve the puzzle before the detectives did. Lou opened a box and pushed it across the wood floor to the white, three-shelf bookcase. She grabbed two and three hardcover Nancy Drew Mysteries in each hand.

Kerry sighed behind her. “You’re the lucky one who has all the books in this room because I don’t have a bookcase in my room.”

Lou stacked the books without glancing at her sister. “The Nancy Drew books are yours, too. Come in anytime you want to get some.”

“I know. It’s such a pain that I gotta do that. I might see if Dad can build me a bookcase. Then I can store some in my room.”

Kerry took off, and Lou got the books all set up, double-checking to make sure the Nancy Drew books were in order. She gave the gaps in the numbers a sour look, reminding herself to put them on her Christmas and birthday wish lists.

Wrapping up, she stood and headed out. Lou peeked into her sister’s room. “Got something to cut these boxes and make them easier to carry downstairs?”

Kerry glanced away from the art supplies she was sifting through. “No. See if you can find some scissors downstairs. Mom hasn’t unpacked the kitchen yet.”

Lou headed downstairs and saw the movers had gone. She went into the kitchen and saw Jane, her mother’s friend, emptying a box of dishes. “Hi Jane,” Lou said, before looking at her mother. “I finished my room, Mom. I’m hungry.”

Jane was by the counter, grabbing bowls out of a box. “You’re always hungry. Gotta fill that hollow leg, huh?”

Lou’s high metabolism resulted in an overabundance of energy and the ability to eat a lot but remain skinny. Her mom had been telling the hollow leg joke for years. Lou was annoyed that Jane was now using it.

As Dana put dishes in the cupboard, she glanced at Lou. “You’re done already? That was fast.” She nodded toward the adjoining dining room. “You can find bread and peanut butter in a box on the table. Nothing else is out yet. There are knives here in the drawer.”

Lou went to the dining room with a butter knife to make a sandwich. “Jane, is Tim around?”

“He’s outside waiting for you.”

Tim was Jane’s son, one month older than Lou, and two inches taller. In Grade One, Lou and Tim met when Lou had to change schools after her parents split up. A boy with freckles and red hair tapped Lou on the shoulder one day in class, grinning.

“I’m Tim. My mom is friends with your mom. She said we should be friends too.” And from that day on, they were.

Lou made two sandwiches, put on her sandals, then left by the back door. She went from the door to an open courtyard with a sandbox. Lou found Tim suspended upside down from the monkey bars. She saw two jumbo freezies in his hands. Lou wordlessly held out a peanut butter sandwich. Tim jumped down and exchanged a freezie for a sandwich.

Lou surveyed the courtyard behind her home. The sandbox had monkey bars, a slide, and balance beams. Sitting on the beams, they ate their sandwiches and freezies.

After his sandwich, Tim told Lou about the other kids. He advised her to be careful of the older boys. “They roam around in a pack, like wild dogs. Constantly stirring up trouble, like thugs. They bully younger kids.”

Lou decided to steer clear of them. “Have you gone into the field yet?” she asked.

“That field right in front of your house? No, it’s weird. No one will go in there. Everyone is afraid of it, but I don’t understand why. It never gets mowed. The grass is so tall you can almost get lost in it.”

“Sounds perfect to me. We should check it out sometime. Especially those trees.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Lou mulled over his words, curious why no one had ever wanted to explore the field. She couldn’t get why anyone would fear a patch of grass. But those trees. Now those are something.

Once they had finished their snack, Tim said, “I’m thirsty. Wish you had brought something to drink.”

“We can go inside and get one,” Lou suggested. “I’m sure Mom’s got some pop in the fridge.”

They headed inside, and Lou opened the fridge. When she heard them come in, Jane yelled out to them from another room. “What are you two up to?”

Lou sighed, closed the fridge, and followed Tim into the living room. Dana and Jane were both on the couch, each with a Pepsi. A fan sat on the floor. Tim sat on the floor, eyes closed, feeling the cool air. “We just came in for a drink,” Lou told them.

Dana looked up at them. “We put everything away in the kitchen, and there are a bunch of empty boxes. Take a pair of scissors from the kitchen drawer and cut open the boxes.” After taking a long swig of her Pepsi, she continued. “When that’s done, you can get the ones from upstairs and throw them all in the dumpster. You can each have a can of pop when you’re done.”

Lou groaned. “We wanted to do something more fun than that.”

“We all need to pitch in and get this place ship-shape. Jane and I are doing most of the work. You can at least lend a hand with the boxes.”

Lou sighed again. “Okay. I’ll get the scissors.” Turning to Tim, she said, “We should go up and tackle those boxes first. Kerry should be done with hers by now.”

“Once you’ve finished with the boxes, you can go out,” Jane told them. “Unless you’d like to help put up curtains and blinds.”

Both kids scrunched their noses and shook their heads. Tim answered, “Hmm… tempting… but no.”

Dana laughed. “Yeah, I figured as much. Deal with the boxes, then go have some fun. But don’t go too far. We’ll be barbequing hot dogs soon. We’ll yell when they’re ready.”

Lou went up the stairs with the scissors, Tim behind her. Kerry was lying on her bedroom floor, eyes closed and motionless. Lou kicked her sister’s foot playfully. “Are you dead, or just playing possum?”

Kerry replied without looking. “It’s cooler on the floor.”

Tim told her about the boxes. “After we finish, we’ll explore the field across the road. Wanna come?”

“Nah, you go ahead. I’m staying here.”

They got to work on the boxes in Lou’s room. Tim cut the tape on each box while Lou flattened them. They repeated the process in Kerry’s room. The kids flattened the boxes and took them downstairs.

Lou grabbed two cans of pop for her and Tim. They drank half of their drinks, then worked on the boxes in the kitchen. Job done, they finished their drinks and headed outside. They lugged the boxes to the parking lot and put them in the CARDBOARD ONLY dumpster. With the boxes taken care of as promised, Tim and Lou crossed the narrow road and stepped up onto the sidewalk.

CHAPTER 2

Lou and Tim gazed in awe at the field. This was it. Alone with the wind and tall grass. Lou was the first to step off the crisp lines of the sidewalk to wade into the waist-high grass. It’s like entering a jungle. Blades of grass quietly brushed against each other as the summer breeze bristled through them. She imagined tiny creatures hiding in the grass, exchanging secrets as they skittered around. All was silent except for the chirping of crickets and the buzzing of insects’ wings.

Taking their time, they approached the trees, running their fingers over the blades of grass, neither wanting to break the silence. Lou was the first to spot the shallow ditch that bordered the grass and the tree line. Tim was captivated by the movement of the trees’ branches swaying in the wind. Lou grabbed his arm in time to stop him from tumbling in.

“Why doesn’t the grass extend to the trees?” she wondered out loud. “It just… stops.” Lou kicked a stone into the ditch, hearing a wet splat. “This is almost like a barrier to keep people away.”

“Yeah, it’s like a castle moat,” Tim said. He watched a small trickle of water go past. “Not much water left in this heat, right?”

He headed right, following the ditch, with Lou trailing behind him. It stopped at a shallow pool of sludgy mud. Tim looked at the mosquitoes buzzing around what remained of the water. “I bet this is normally full of water. If it ices over in the winter, we can clear it off and make a skating rink.”

“You’re always thinking of skating,” a voice behind them said. “And of playing hockey.”

Lou glanced over her shoulder and noticed her sister coming through the grass. She had changed her mind about joining them.

Kerry stopped by them, eyeing the mud. “Not much of a skating rink.”

She kept going, passing Tim and Lou, and circumventing the mudhole. She stopped and looked at the trees. “These look good for climbing.” Kerry spoke as if she had been the first to come up with the idea. She pointed at the large oaks. “Three trees, three of us.” She looked back, smiling.

Lou was reminded of why they came out here. She was still drawn to the trees.

Kerry went under a low-hanging branch at the nearest tree. She went to the trunk, grabbed the limb, put her foot on a knot, and pulled herself up. She glanced behind at Lou and Tim. “C’mon, you two. What are you waiting for?” she called out, a grin splitting her face.

Lou and Tim grinned at each other. That was all they needed. Soon, they were pelting around the mudhole, racing toward the other two trees. Lou dashed to the central tree while Tim sprinted to the last one.

Lou focused on finding good handholds and pulling herself up. I can’t let the others beat me. The bark was rough, and the sap was sticky on her hands, but that didn’t stop her. Lou was confident she could out-climb Kerry, since her sister was slower. But Tim was another story. As fast as he was, he was her actual competition.

Laughing as they ascended into the greenery, they all stopped when they were about fifteen feet up. They each chose a strong, sturdy branch and settled onto it. Leaning against the trees, they hung their feet off the branches. All three were breathless from their climb as they sat looking through the foliage. Catching her breath, Lou thought it was worth it.

“This is incredible! I love it up here!” she said. “I can’t believe no one else has come out here before now!”

Tim nodded. “Their fear is a significant discovery for us. It’s as though they’ve been here waiting for us.”

“And we each get our own tree,” Kerry said, smiling.

Lou felt a wave of dread as she sat among the leaves. She was unaware of its source yet felt an ominous presence in the field. She surveyed the grass they had crossed. Lou felt an icy shiver on the hot summer day. “Hey. Does it feel cooler up here? We should feel hot, right?”

After a moment, Tim said, “You’re right. It feels cooler up here. Maybe the leaves are blocking the heat.”

Kerry nodded in agreement. “The trees are shielding us from it.”

Lou didn’t quite agree, but she nodded anyway. The feeling of dread she first felt was quickly fading away. But still… There was something she couldn’t put her finger on. Looking out over the grass, Lou looked for anything that could have made her uneasy. Something vibrant and colourful caught her eye and diverted her gaze away from the field. It was a butterfly. As she saw one flutter past, another soon followed, and then more.

Lou watched the butterflies fluttering around, one settling on a nearby leaf. She thought it would fly away but cautiously extended her hand towards it. Holding her breath as it rose, it settled onto her finger. She cautiously brought her hand closer to her face, observing the stunning blue creature.

Tim looked astonished. “How are you doing that?”

Lou shook her head slowly, equally bewildered. Extending her other hand, even more of the bright insects joined the first. Her hands and most of her arms to the elbows were soon covered. She watched in awe as their delicate wings opened and closed.

“I wish my tree had butterflies,” Kerry said, leaning forward for a better look. “What do they feel like?”

“It tickles.” Lou enjoyed the sensation of their soft, fuzzy little bodies lightly touching her skin. With a smile, she turned her hands back and forth as the butterflies circled her. As the three watched, time seemed to have frozen. They were each mesmerized by the butterflies’ dance amongst the leaves.