Silver Bound Girl

Chapter 6

            Willow stared down at the thing that had its arms wrapped around her leg as a wail burst out from its mouth. Judging from its height, she guessed it to be about four, but that didn’t tell her muchWillow squatted down so she was nearer eye level. “Hey, hey, now. Calm down, sweetie. Can you tell me your name?”

            Only sobs answered her. Sighing, Willow pulled her bracelet off and closed it around the upper arm of the child still crying into her leg. A moment later and the hairy creature had been replaced with an upset and naked little girl.

            Scooping her up, Willow finally got a look at her face. “Kelsey,” she said, recognizing her cousin’s daughter. “How did you get all the way out here?”

            Kelsey buried her head into Willow’s shoulder, arms locking around her neck, as tears continued to shake her small form. Willow shrugged. Knowing which of her cousins she was holding made taking her home easy.

            Shifting her grip so she was more comfortable, Willow continued down the path, keeping her eyes and ears open. If Brian or his wife had noticed Kelsey missing, they’d be out looking for her. And probably a whole mess of other family members too. When a Byron was lost, the whole clan turned out, especially if the person was a child. Not just because kids were less likely to be safe on their own, but because the children weren’t as used to hiding as the adults were. And the last thing anyone wanted was for people to find out there was a family of sasquatches living in the area.

            Not that, according to family history, it would be the first time. Of course, none of them really expected a mob of villagers with pitchforks and torches these days. More likely people with guns and tasers, all out to catch the mysterious Big Foot.

            Willow snorted softly at that thought. She understood that in their natural, cursed form, everyone in her family ended up much bigger, hairier, and wider. But their feet were only one small part of that, so why did everyone always focus on that? Bear-cursed would have been far more accurate a name.

            Of course, no one outside the family knew how sasquatches had come into being, so she supposed she couldn’t blame people for the silliness of the names they used to refer to them. Willow’s thoughts were interrupted as she reached the end of the path. Stopping in the middle of the clearing that held three houses, she frowned. She remembered that Andre’s house was white, but only one wasn’t. In the end, she guessed on it being the one with the tricycle standing beside the porch.

            Hefting the quiet Kelsey, Willow suspected the girl had fallen asleep, she climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. It was only a minute or two before the door opened, revealing a tall man with light brown hair. “Hi Andre,” Willow said.

            He stared at her for a second before his gaze dropped to his daughter. “Kelsey? Where-Where did you find her? She’s supposed to be in her playroom!”

            “She was out around the closer curve of the crescent path. I think she got herself lost in the woods. She also wasn’t wearing any silver, so…”

            Andre ran a hand through his hair. “Thanks Willow. I don’t…If anything had happened to her, I’d have…I’m going to have to check her playroom and find out how she got out in the first place. We thought it was impossible for her to escape from. I designed it so any child of ours to be safe in without us needing to constant watch for them making a break for the forest, but clearly I didn’t do it properly. Here, I’ll take her from you.”

            Willow handed the dozing Kelsey to her father. “You shouldn’t feel bad. Mom still tells stories of the time I spent a whole night in the woods when I was six. She’s a Byron. She’s going to run for the trees at least a couple of times before she’s old enough to know better. It’s in her nature.”

            Her cousin sighed. “I know, but I still worry. Oh, this must be yours,” he said, pulling the bracelet off his daughter and handed it back to Willow. Immediately, the girl went from tiny human, to a shaggy-haired bear creature.

Willow didn’t even blink, only snapped the bracelet back onto her wrist. “I’ll see you later then. Mom and Dad’ll be home soon, so I should head back.”

Andre nodded. “Thanks again.”

She waved as she left the porch, aiming herself towards the track that led back towards her house. It only took her a few minutes to reach the heart of the property, a semi-circle of seven houses with a large meeting hall set just behind. Here were several of the younger kids running around, shouting, while their parents watched indulgently from their porches.

Willow, after a quick glance, ignored the children. She wanted to go home, not get attacked by kids. And they always seemed interested in attacking for whatever reason. It was like they all sensed that she’d tolerate things from them that she wouldn’t from anyone older. A shout interrupted her thoughts. “Willow!”

She looked up and smiled at the grey-haired man approaching her. “Uncle Allistair, what’s up?”

“Glen came to talk to me today.”

Willow blinked. “Uncle Glen came here? Doesn’t he usually only talk to people when they trek out to his cabin?”

Allistair nodded. “He wanted me to know as soon as possible. He heard some shots the other day coming from behind his place.”

She sighed, knowing her uncle’s cabin backed right onto the park’s land. “Which means we’ve got poachers.”

“Yeah. What do you think we should do?”

“Hmmm. Well, first we need to contact Aunt Celeste and the rest of the park rangers, so they know what’s up. Then send Cedric, Dean, Greg, Felicia, and maybe Edmund up to the area with the gorilla suit. They can pretend to be making a mockumentary about Big Foot and traipse around the forest, making a lot of noise. Any poachers will try and avoid being caught on camera and do their best to stay away from them. That’ll make it easier for Aunt Celeste to find them, if they don’t leave immediately.”

Allistair’s lips twitched until her smiled. “I like the mockumentary idea. I’ve already contacted Celeste.”

Willow frowned. “This was another one of your tests. Are you going to keep testing me until you retire?”

He laughed. “Probably. Have to make sure you’re the right candidate to follow me. Besides, even if I stop, life will keep testing you. Now, you can come join me for a drink. I want to hear how school’s going.”

She managed to keep the sigh trapped behind her lips as she followed her uncle towards his house.