Fire And Ice

8. Academy.

That's exactly what we did, talk. I parked the car in same place, then helped Phil, with Johnny and we drove to a hospital. While Johnny was being seadated, we talked and he explained that he was a doctor and that the hospital we were in was the headquarters.

Then we talked about Rick's death which made me a crying mess. He explained that it was a very very dangerous mission Rick was assigned to do and he wanted to do it himself. He showed me the letter Rick had written, which again made me cry.

Rick really wanted me to join academy because he knew that academy will take care of me if he wasn't here. Then I learnt that Rick was Phil's son, which suprised me because he never talked about his parents and felt a little guilty about not knowing it.

Turns out the father and son connection was broken when Phil's wife died. We talked a lot about Rick then talked about me joining academy. I told him that I wouldn't join any team unless I wanted to and made him promise me, and that he wouldn't tell my name or that I'm an academy member to anyone not even to academy people, which he agreed since I'm a ghostbird.

He wanted to help me join the academy as it was Rick's last wish. After a little more taking I found Rick had made a file about all my skills, and me being a ghost bird encouraged the other council member to let me be a solo bird.

I was about to go home when Dr. Phil stopped me and said, "Wait, One of my friends coming so he can drive to to your house, little bird."

"Okay." I was unsure but I stayed, somewhere during the talk, and his caring for Rick had me trusting him. He asked a few questions about me which I answered vaguely I didnt want them to know about my home life soon. 'I am not a damsel in distress' is what I said to myself.

After a few minutes, a man who was a couple of inches taller than me, and looked wiry. His head is shaved clean, and his face is heavily line with age. His brows are thick and dark, and he has dark eyes . He has thin lips and a white goatee, the beard long and pointed.

He walked in smiling as he glanced between Phil and I.

"Sang, meet Ben Taylor. Ben, meet Sang Sorensen, our new recruit." Phil said proudly.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr.Taylor." I said softly, calming a little at his appearance, he doesn't seem to look like a psycho killer or axe murderer but how would I know.

"None of that. Call me uncle, everyone does." He said smiling.

"If you don't mind, will you drop her at her house, Ben?" Phil asked.

"Of course, come on, little bird" he said as he made his way towards the door only to stop and wait for me.

I stood up and said goodbye to Phil and walked towards uncle, who had a werid gleam in his eyes, as if he was upto some mischief. He looked me up and down and said, "I'm sure, my nephew would love to meet you."

I looked down and saw I was still in my all black outfit. It was as if he couldn't wait to see their reaction at me? I followed him not understanding the meaning behind his words. While driving he told me about his idea for opening a diner and that he's looking for a place.

He stopped near the old church and we both got out of the car. He was looking at the church with a glazed look in his eyes.

"You like it?" I asked and that brought uncle out of the daze he was in.

"Do you think..." He trailed off looking at the church and it doesn't take a genius to figure what he was talking about.

"I don't know. You should look the inside too, uncle before deciding." I said.

He turned to me with a happy smile. I chuckled at his expression and shook my head. "Well, I'm leaving you to your daydreams." I said as he laughed.

I said my goodbye and walked through the woods to my house. Uncle was easy to talk to, as he did mostly all the talk. I liked the way he is so carefree. I shook my head as I came closer to my house. Now all I need to do is to sneak into my room. I was about to take the backdoor then decided against it as I climbed the roof and entered my room through the window.

I quickly changed into my pyjamas. Since it's just 4 in the morning, I laid down in the bed after putting away all the things. I laid sidewise looking at the wall when I saw a door in the wall, I would have missed it if I wasn't looking closely. I found an opening between the wood of the wall and the insulation.

I flashed the flashlight on my phone, held it between my teeth as I got down and crouched inside the attic door. The air was thick, dry, and hot and smelled like raw wood and insulation. I closed the door behind me.

I crawled on my hands and feet deeper into the tunnel, ducking my head under beams to get to the platform nook a few feets away. I angled myself around a four-by-four beam that partially blocked the opening and climbed in. The nook was wide enough that I could sit cross-legged comfortably and the space above my head was tall enough I wouldn't hit my head.

I coughed slightly and kneeled on the platform. I smiled, I think I found a secret door. I chuckled at the thought and decided to clean up the space so I could store things away from the prying eyes of my family.

Well, I guess I have a task in hand. I spent the morning and nearly all evening in my old worn out clothes, cleaning the attic space and moving stuffs inside.

I jumped when winter by Vivaldi started playing. I turned on the stereo and took my phone and entered the attic space and closed the door partially. The space was the area between the wall and the slant of the roof. There was a nook in the back that had a flat piece of plywood board, almost like a platform. Once I was inside there, I would be mostly surrounded by insulation in the most remote spot in the house.

Sinking into darkness, I turned on the phone, answering the call. "Hello?" I asked wryly into the phone.

"Hey, little bird." A voice answered and I immediately relaxed.

"Hey, Dr.Phil. Is something wrong?" I asked

"Oh, no. Nothing like that. I was just looking to see if you are down for a coffee." Dr.Phill said.

"Um... Sure?" I said not knowing how to answer his sudden question.

I heard him chuckle and said, "I'll pick you up within ten minutes."

"You can pick me up near the highway where I parked the car yesterday." I said.

"...okay. if you say so." He said I knew he wanted to fight about not being able to pick me up from my home but I am thankful he didn't.