Chapter 13 The Stranger
The next two days were riddled with secret meetings, dodging Alice, packing, and speculating about the trunks' secrets. The day before the trip, Sebastian was going through their plans one more time, while Marshall was checking everyone’s bag to make sure they were all equipped with the right gear. Ethan had decided to check the two-way radios and program their portable GPS system, and Makayla was poring over her new books on ancient kingdoms, crests, and even hieroglyphics that she picked up at Book Rack Alley. Sebastian chuckled to himself when he thought about his sister down in the parlor. She was being very impatient and every so often you could hear her slam a book in frustration, stomping to the kitchen, furious that she was coming up with nothing. Sebastian had tried to tell her not to worry about it, but she was taking it upon herself to be the one responsible for decoding the secrets of the shields on the box. They had taken some photos, so she could continue her research on the train and bus rides.
When Thursday morning arrived, Sebastian awoke before any of the others, anxious about the trip ahead. He was rummaging through his room, pulling clothes off one pile and dumping them onto another. He kept feeling like he was forgetting something, but couldn’t figure out what it was. He carelessly made his bed, threw on his old jeans and some socks that were in the clean pile next to his desk. He struggled into an old sweater and sat down to pull on his sneakers. While bending down to tie his shoes, he glanced in the corner at his school bag. “That’s it,” he nearly screamed aloud. He snatched up his backpack, threw open the front pocket, and pulled out the mysterious present from Grandpa Hanks. He started to fumble with the stained yarn wrapped tightly around the faded brown paper. The yarn looked like it was very old, yellowed with age, but Sebastian didn’t care or notice. After several unsuccessful attempts at undoing the knot in the yarn, he threw the package into his new day pack.
“Screw it. I’ll mess with it later.” he mumbled.
It was time to get everyone else up. They were leaving in an hour.
“You drive.” Alice threw Sebastian the car keys. They landed in his hand with a jangled thump.
“OK.” Sebastian didn’t really want to drive today, but he was trying to play it cool, not giving Alice any reason for alarm, and got in the driver’s side of the Lincoln. Setting the GPS to the address of the train station on highway 11 in Syracuse, he gently pulled the Lincoln out of the driveway.
“Nervous?” Alice was gazing at him and looking down at his hands.
Sebastian didn’t know when his hands had started trembling, but his fingers were shaking against the leather steering wheel.
“I guess I need more practice on the highway, huh?” He kept his eyes on the road, not daring to meet Alice’s gaze. He hated lying to her, afraid that he would give himself away before they even boarded the train.
“I didn’t mean about the driving. I meant about the trip.” Alice’s eyes were soft and kind, but questioning as well.
Sebastian heard Makayla quietly gasp in the back seat. He could feel the blood rising to his checks, a dead giveaway. He knew he’d better switch the conversation quickly, before it was too late.
“No, not really, I guess. We're just going to see Grandma and Grandpa Marshall. No big deal. So, what are you going to do with Julian and Scotty while we’re gone?”
Alice hesitated for a moment, still quietly questioning Sebastian’s face, and then turned forward while she recounted the plans that she had made to make their mandatory stay home more fun.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, he caught the look of three panicked faces. He shot up his eyebrows, trying to tell them to cool it and act as if nothing was happening.
Finally, he pulled onto Alliance Bank Parkway, in Syracuse, and turned into the parking lot at the train station. With some time to kill, he looked around for somewhere to hang out. His eyes found a familiar orange and purple sign. There was a small Dippin’ Donuts shop. He thought about suggesting a quick bite to eat to avoid any more close calls, when Alice started unloading their bags.
“Well, I guess we’ll just go inside and wait for the train.” Alice was motioning for them to walk inside together.
The train station in Syracuse was pretty nice, better than some stations he’d seen. This one was a small building with a cozy waiting room. It even had indoor bathrooms, unlike the outdoor train platforms scattered across the state. They went to the ticket counter to check in. The lady behind the counter looked them over skeptically while she waited for their tickets to finish printing off the machine. She quickly went over the rules of the train, going slower than necessary, focusing on the parts for underage passengers. When she was finished, which seemed like hours later to Sebastian, she handed them their tickets tucked inside an envelope. Sebastian grabbed the tickets, not wanting to hear any more about the rules, and knelt down, carefully opening his pack, putting the tickets on the top. He was hoping Alice wouldn’t notice all the gear Marshall had packed for him. She has been watching him pretty closely, glancing his way every few seconds, but he wasn't sure if he was successful in keeping the contents of his bag secret. Alice was looking in his direction, eyes wide and frozen. He starred at her for a few seconds, when he realized she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at something or someone behind him. He turned around to see what her eyes were frozen on; quickly scanning the room. However nothing out of the ordinary stuck out to him. There was a small lady with her miniature poodle trying unsuccessfully to get him into the dog carrier. There was a mother with a toddler who was having a tantrum, tired of waiting in line. There was a younger guy, maybe mid-20s, in a pair of carpenter jeans and a black T-shirt that was a little too tight. A mop of shaggy curly black hair was falling into his eyes, causing the man to sweep it away every so often. Sebastian noticed the man was tall and had chalky white skin, similar to Gina's. Quickly shifting his eyes when the man turned his way, he noticed the stranger flash him a wide smile, before returning his attention to the man behind the counter. Sebastian turned back to Alice, who now looked angry instead of shocked. She was nearly growling when she grabbed Marshall's hand and spun him around.
“Let's go sit down,” she said with an unusual force in her voice. Sebastian didn't move at first.
“Sebastian, move it. Now!” Alice shot him a look that dared him to question her.
“Uh, OK.” Not sure what on earth was wrong with her, he grabbed his pack, looking one last time at the man who he assumed was making his nanny crazy. He followed the rest toward the waiting room.
Alice was sitting with Ethan and Marshall, trying to keep them busy with a book of mad libs, but she kept glancing toward the other side of the room. Sebastian tried to see what she was looking for, but could only see a few people reading magazines. He looked further and found the guy in the black shirt listening to his music player, sitting next to one of the gates.
“Sebastian?” Alice was looking up at him from the book of mad libs.
“What?” Sebastian was busy trying to create a playlist for the train ride on his mp3 player.
“I need to go to the bathroom. Keep an eye on them.” Alice grabbed her purse and headed toward the ladies room.
Sebastian nodded, hardly looking up from what he was doing. Moments later, Marshall and Ethan started fighting about whose turn it was to pick a word. Sebastian looked up to tell them to shut up, when he noticed the guy in the black shirt moving toward the bathrooms. Sebastian watched him, trying not to stare, and noticed that Alice was heading back toward them with a very angry face. The man in the black shirt bumped into her, knocking her purse to the ground. Everything went crashing to the floor. The man backed up to give Alice some room, trying to help her pick up the mess. Sebastian could hear him apologize several times, when he noticed the blood rushing to Alice's face. She looked like she was flustered, like she didn’t know how to react to this man. Just as they were about done, the man grabbed something off t
he floor and shoved it into his pocket. Sebastian thought it must have been his ticket receipt or something. Quickly, he went back to his play list, as Alice came back to her seat. As he glanced up at her, he saw that she looked like she was going to rip someone’s head off.
“Of all the people to send, it had to be him!” She mumbled under her breath.
“Alice, are you OK?” Makayla asked her, looking up from her copy of “Emma.”
“Yes, I'm fine. It's nothing.” Alice went back to the mad libs with the boys, quickly recovering from her encounter with the man in the black T-shirt. Makayla and Sebastian exchanged curious glances, before going back to their music and book.
About a half hour later, the first boarding call was given for their train. People started making their way toward the platform, getting their luggage and tickets ready for the conductor.
Alice was still a little flustered but didn't seem to be angry anymore. She had stopped glancing around her, giving her full attention to the kids. She kissed Makayla and Marshall on the cheek, gave Ethan a big hug, and then turned to Sebastian. Alice gently put her hands on his shoulders, looking him strangely in the eyes. Her hazel eyes seemed to be saying something that Sebastian didn't understand. She pulled herself to his ear, her mouth only inches from the side of his head. “No matter what happens, bring them back to me safely. Please!”
“Alice, calm down. We are just going to our grandparents' house. No big deal.”
Pulling back, she stood there and studied him in silence for a brief moment. Then she reached out for his hands. Squeezing them, she pleaded, “Sebastian, just promise me that you will take care of them, no matter what.”
“Okay, okay, I promise. You need to chill out!” Sebastian was getting really worried that Alice was seeing right through their plan.
Alice smiled, instantly returning to her bouncy self. “Thanks! Okay, off you go!”
Sebastian grabbed Marshall's hand and the four of them headed out to the platform, leaving Alice behind staring into the opposite direction.
When Sebastian followed her gaze, he noticed that the guy in the black T-shirt was heading toward the same platform. Sebastian was just about to point him out to Makayla, when the “all aboard” call was given to the awaiting passengers.