Part-Time Griffin

Farewell

Dark and sort of creepy. That's what most people think of when someone mentions an 'old dilapidated mansion'.
Surprisingly, that's exactly what I am thinking as I look at this disused mansion that lies before me. Not a single light is visible, and weedy vines snake up and around the house's rotting exterior.
I raise my head and take a deep breath of air. The scent of humans still drifts in the air. Three men and one teenage girl.
Roxanne is definitely here.
Diesel who is currently a pegacorn comes up beside me, "Ready for this?"
"Yes.", I nod.
We made a plan during our flight here. This plan involves one of us sneaking through the back door while the other takes the front door.
There's only three bad guys here. We can take them on. Surely we can deal with them.
I go around the back of the house, while Diesel sneaks around to the front. I'm currently in my Griffin form.
The gnarled trees surrounding the house give off an eerie feeling. The dark shutters along the house hang sideways on their broken hinges. Branches and rusty old junk are scattered everywhere you go. A musty aroma drifts from the house as I go around to the backside.
A tree behind me creaks in the breeze. I whip around thinking it is someone, but I exhale as I realize it is just your average everyday tree. When I turn back around, I nearly jump out of my skin when I come face to face with a stone statue of a dog.
Stepping backwards, I stare at what used to be a rose garden. Wild and overgrown rose vines tangle together in one big sea of barbed stems. The whole garden is filled with many stone statues of different animals. A horse, an eagle, a bear, a deer, a tiger, the disturbing dog in front of me, a fox, a kangaroo, a goat, and countless other statues that have succumbed to the rose vines.
Well, well. This would be a beautiful place if all the vines were gone. Right now, it's creepy and very unpleasant.
The back door comes into sight and I make my way to it so I can escape the disturbing aura of the garden. The wooden slab and its rusty hinges complain loudly as I pull it open with my curved talons.
I step into the old mansion and silently walk across the deteriorating wooden floors. Parts of the floorboards are missing. Small patches of the wood are gone. Left behind are random holes.
I don't want to know if there's a basement beneath me or just a crawlspace. My body shivers at the thought of someone or myself falling through the floor and into a dark terrifying basement filled with all sorts of nightmarish things.
The house has a smell of its own. The scent of old fabric and dust hangs heavily in this stale air.
Unusual items fill the house as well. Most furniture is gone, but small worthless pieces have been left behind to waste away. An antique oil lamp, a kerosene heater, a cracked radio from the early 1920s, a wooden footstool, a metal cup, and...
What is this?
I know I should be searching for Roxanne, but my curiosity gets the best of me. It's been said that curiosity killed the cat. I'm part cat... so maybe I won't get killed by my untamed curiosity.
Stepping closer, I examine the piece that has caught my attention. My breath catches in my throat.
There before me sits a brass statuette of a griffin. It's about a foot tall and there isn't a single blemish on it.

I stand there in shock as I stare at the thing. The whole house is filled with old raggedy items, but this certain object has an air of majesty still around it.
Back in the day, this mansion was probably an extraordinary sight. It's like the griffin statue is all that is left of the awe which once surrounded this place.
No one's coming back for this. The whole building will fall in before someone ever comes into this particular room again.
I start to walk away, but I pull back. My head swivels back toward the mini griffin.
I'm coming back for you one day.
Taking a deep breath, I head out of the room. Every step I take is taken gently. The talons on my eagle feet lightly click against the hard wooden floors.
I sniff the air to check for any human's presence. The metallic smell of a gun and gunpowder meets my nostrils. I continue through the house more cautious than ever. My skin prickles more with each step.
I round a corner to see a closed door with light filtering from around it. The light shines across the floor until it dims at my feet. Low murmuring can be heard through the door.
Nervously, I step toward the door. My instincts tell me to flee from the light.
I've hidden as a griffin in the night's shadows for over seven years. Of course going to light is against what I've taught myself not to do.
'Stay hidden. Stay unknown.'
That's been my motto for so long.
Reaching the door, I put my eye up to where the light shines between the door and the doorframe. The brightness blinds me at first, but my vision quickly adjusts.
Inside the other room are four figures. Three of them are men who are armed head to toe. The fourth is a slim teenager who has her arms tightly crossed in front of her. She leans against the wall agitatedly.
Roxanne glares at the three malefactors. The men don't pay her any attention. Instead, they remain seated silently and only pass a few words every so often.
I shift back into a human and pull my phone out of my pocket. The plan that Diesel and I had conjured up is now being put into motion.
I send a text to Diesel letting him know that I am ready. A few seconds later he replies back with a thumbs-up emoji.
Okay, here we go.
Phase two of our plan: Take out the source of light while men are distracted.
I ready myself to spring through the door. A moment later a loud banging is heard in a separate part of the house. An image of a black alicorn kicking against a wall flashes through my mind.
The men stand and momentarily argue about what should be done about the suspicious situation. Two of them finally agree to check out the noise they heard. The third man remains behind to keep an eye on Roxanne.
When the two men are well gone, I bust through the door and run straight toward the lamp in the center of the room. I smash the lightbulb, and all three of us are plunged into darkness.
My night-vision kicks in immediately and I shift to a griffin. The remaining man in the room gropes for the flashlight in his back pocket. Roxanne stares blankly into the darkness. The two are unaware that there is a big, bad griffin in the room with them.
I shove the man to the floor. The flashlight flies out of his hand and rolls across the room. I run toward him, but the patter of my feet give me away. He's expecting me.
A random fist comes right toward my face and I have no time to react. The knuckles make contact with a crack. I stagger backwards as my vision becomes speckled with black. Blinking, I straighten up.
That actually... didn't hurt. Bring it on, man!
Time slows as I jump at the man as he blindly stands from the floor. My strong lion legs launch me across the space between us. A small uncontrollable growl escapes my throat right before I body slam into him.
The malefactor falls backwards to the floor with a grunt as the breath is knocked out of him.
Now that he's out of the way...
I immediately morph back into my human self. Then I head straight to Roxanne who is backed against the wall. Just like the man, her simple human vision can't see me in this darkness. Roxanne's eyes search the darkness even though there's not a lick of light.
Tenderly, I put my hand on her arm. Bad mistake.
Without warning, Roxanne's knee kicks me right in the stomach.
I keel over and mumble through clenched teeth, "Roxanne... it's me... Olivia."
"Olivia?!" Her voice is filled with relief.
A punch to the face doesn't hurt, but getting kicked right in the stomach does?
I grab the flashlight that still lies on the floor and click it on. Light pours across the dusty floorboards. Roxanne pulls me up from my crouched position.
"What are you doing here?" She whispers in utter shock.
I suck in a breath as I bite away the last of the pain. Instead of answering her, I pull Roxanne to the door where the two other men had exited through moments ago. We have to get out of here before the man I just fought gets back up.
Diesel will be waiting for me somewhere. Hopefully, I can find him with no trouble. We need to get out of this disturbing place filled with three crazed men.
My flashlight illuminates our path down a hallway. We turn down another hall. Then another hall. And yet... another hall.
Welcome to the maze! Also known as an old mansion. Congratulations, Olivia Linn Davis, you are officially a maze/mansion runner!
I'm not even sure where that sarcastic thought came from. That doesn't matter right now though.
Roxanne and I finally find the front door. It's wide open. A warm draft of air meets us as we go straight through the doorway. I hadn't even realized that it was cold inside.
A dark figure comes up to confront us. Roxanne grabs ahold of my arm tightly, but a sly smile slides across my face as the person comes closer.
"It looks like you've got it covered, Diesel." I say as I look at two fallen men beside the doorsteps.
Roxanne screeches, "Diesel?! What is he doing here?!"
Diesel ignores her and raises a keychain, "Come on. I've got us a ride."
We then follow Diesel to a Cadillac. He gets in the driver's seat while Roxanne and I crawl into the back seats.
A few seconds later, he starts the engine and extremely loud music suddenly blares over the speakers. I cover my sensitive ears and ask why I'm hearing Fall Out Boy. It would've been enjoyable, if it wasn't destroying my eardrums in the process.
Diesel turns it down, "Why were they listening to this?"
Roxanne shrugs, "I don't know. Guess they like alternative."
Diesel drives away from the house as fast as the old road will allow us too. It's extremely bumpy, but tolerable. This isn't our car anyway so who cares if we bust a few parts on it?
I sigh and buckle up out of sheer habit. Roxanne shivers beside me as if recalling a bitter memory.
After a few minutes of silence, the tsunami of questions hits us.
Roxanne leans forward, "How did you know how to find me? How did you fight of those men? Why is Diesel here?"
I try answering in order, "Um... we eavesdropped on some guys. We just used some simple self defense to fight off the guys. And Diesel is my boyfriend."
She leans back in surprise, "Wow, okay. Um... Hey, thanks for saving me."
Her smile fades as she continues in a serious tone, "I just want to say I'm sorry for drugging you with that drink and putting you in the basement, Olivia. I've been regretting that decision ever since I made it. I should have just talked with you instead of doing that. I was scared that you would get hurt... guess I wasn't thinking. I'm so sorry. I understand if you don't forgive me-"
"I forgive you." I tell Roxanne.
"...really?"
I nod as I look down, "At first, I felt so betrayed. From there, I assumed that we would never return to being friends. I figured you were a totally different person, but I knew that if you felt the same way I did toward you... That we would still be friends no matter what. That's when I forgave you, because the Roxanne I know would only do such a thing in circumstances where there are no other choices."
We then embrace each other in a tight hug. I glance at Diesel in the rearview mirror. A small smile is on his face.
After a moment, we pull back. A question plays across her face, but I can tell that she's holding it back.
Diesel runs over a huge bump in the road and my head hits the window on my left. I hold back an annoyed growl as I rub the side of my head.
"We're going to meet your parents at that old theater in town." I inform my friend.
"Really? What about Takolize? Nowhere is safe from him.", Roxanne says with a worried expression.
"Tako- what?", Diesel asks totally confused.
We finally reach an asphalt road as Roxanne answers darkly, "Takolize. He's the guy who has been blackmailing my family."
"Oh." I narrow my eyes as I recall the angry man who had violently exited the camper back at the quarry.
Takolize.
I roll the name around in my mind. The more I think of it the more my hate increases.
_____________________
Twenty minutes later, we pull up to the old theater. Not a single light is on, but that's good. We don't want to draw attention.
It's almost three in the morning now. I'll have to head home soon. Diesel will be extremely tired tomorrow at school. Poor guy.
"One day, Olivia, you will tell me how you actually broke me out. You too, Diesel.", Roxanne gives him a friendly smile.
Roxanne opens her door to climb out. I also get out of the car, but not without noticing Diesel slipping the Fall Out Boy CD inside his back pocket. Then Diesel throws the keys down in the car seat. It's not our vehicle. Who cares what happens to it now?
All three of us proceed toward the theater cautiously. Nothing happens. So we continue on inside the old building. Once the front doors close behind us, we're greeted by Roxanne's parents and two brothers.
Roxanne's mom, who is almost in tears, hugs her daughter tightly. Her brothers wear smiles of relief.
Roxanne's dad turns to me, "Thank you so much for bringing her back, Olivia."
He then turns to Diesel slowly, "I don't believe we've met before."
"Hello, I'm Diesel. It's nice to meet you." He puts his hand out to exchange a handshake.
After a quick introduction, Roxanne's father continues, "We're so grateful for what you've done, but you've also brought this danger upon yourself."
"We're well aware of that, sir." I reply.
Diesel says to them, "The police need to get involved in this matter. Maybe even the feds."
"I can't risk my family." Roxanne's father says coldly.
I start in, "Your sons and daughter just got kidnaped! No one is safe in this family. That guy, Takolize. I've seen him myself. You can't just hide from him. He'll come for you again, but he won't be as gracious next time."
Her father growls, "There's no forward or backwards for us. If we go get the law's help, they'll blame us for all of the vandalism we did. If we don't get the law, Takolize will find us no matter what."
Diesel crosses his arms, "What's better? Facing the consequences or being murdered by a psycho?"
Roxanne's mom steps forward and grasps the father's hand. I can already see the choice in her eyes. As she stares into her husband's eyes, I can also tell that Diesel's statement has hit home.
After a long minute of silence, Roxanne's father finally replies, "We're going to the cops now. You're right, Diesel. The consequences would be better than having my family killed."
We then have a long moment of silence, and I break this silence by asking, "Who is Takolize exactly? What are his goals?"
Roxanne's mom sighs and answers slowly, "He's basically a man who's looking to get rich. Though if you ask me he's already pretty wealthy at the moment. Many of his dealings involve the black market or something else illegal."
"So what are his plans for Melark. He had you go around and vandalize. Why?", My voice is filled with growing worry.
Roxanne's dad answers, "Somehow Takolize found out that there was oil underneath the entire town. I have no idea how there is oil here in Missouri, but there is. So his intentions were to have someone scare the residents into leaving Melark. Then without anyone's notice he would buy up as much property as he possibly could. This would prevent anyone from finding out he was drilling for oil and no one could drill anywhere nearby if they ever did find out."
It's basically a modern day range war. Pushing people of their land so that someone else can use it to their advantage.
We all think upon these words for some time. No one says a thing. Only our breathing can be heard in the silence.
Suddenly, a random memory pops into mind. It's of when Roxanne had first discovered the band Twenty One Pilots. She constantly talked about their music, and she would sometimes play their songs while I was around. One of her favorite songs has the phrase 'Sometimes quiet is violent'.
That one phrase is clearly evident in this situation. It's silent, and there is an air of edge around us. With no sounds to be heard, it's a painful silence.
Sometimes quiet is violent.
I have the strangest flashbacks.
Finally, Roxanne's dad breaks the deathly silence, "We ought to leave now, and this might be the last time we see each other."
Roxanne and I make eye contact instantly. I don't pay attention as the rest of my friend's family exits the theater.
Diesel puts his hand on my shoulder, but before he can say anything I turn to him, "Go on home. Get some rest, okay? I'll see you at school in a few hours."
He momentarily nods and leaves without a single word. Diesel knows that I need some time alone with Roxanne.
"It looks like you finally got the boy you always dreamed of.", Roxanne gives me a bittersweet smile.
Biting my lip, I mumble, "Yeah, it's a long story."
She steps closer, "I only wish I could see how things work out between you two. There's no telling what will happen to my family and I when we confront the police about this."
My eyes start to prickle, "They might let you off easy... once you explain how you were forced to do the vandalizing against your will. Maybe they'll give you some credit if it helps them find Takolize."
Roxanne shakes her head and looks down, "We have to expect the worse in this situation."
I don't know what to say at first, but I finally just let the words spill out of me like a flood, "Roxanne, will I ever see you again?"
There is no way to tell if I'll ever see my best friend ever again. Once her family go to the police, they'll be facing many charges. They have done some bad things during these past weeks. Even if they were blackmailed into doing crimes they'll still have to pay.
"I hope to see you again." Roxanne says holding back tears.
I let out a short laugh but tears threaten more than ever now, "What am I going to do without my best friend?"
"You still have Cellcy and Wonona."
Shaking my head, I disagree, "It won't be the same at all. Who's going to fangirl about The Flash with me? Who else has a friend who lives right across the lake from her? Not many people have a friend who they have known since they were six years old."
A tear rolls down Roxanne's cheek, and it's at that moment when I realize that I'm also crying. I wipe the teardrops away, because I dislike crying in front of people.
But this is my friend, not just a person.
"I'll miss you... a lot." She gives me a faint smile through her pained expression.
"And I'll miss you just as much."
We then hug each other in a tight embrace.
She whispers in my ear, "Please don't forget me."
"I could never forget you. We grew up alongside each other like sisters." My voice betrays the hurt and utter pain inside my heart.
We let go and pull away from each other. I can tell she wants this sad moment to end soon.
Roxanne tells me, "Goodbye, Olivia."
"Goodbye, Roxanne." I give her a reassuring smile.
She begins to turn toward the door, but hesitates and says to me, "I'll want to know how things went between you and Diesel when we see each other in the future."
You know that conversation may never happen. We only hope that it will.
With one last heartbreaking glance toward me, Roxanne pushes through the theater doors. I can hear her holding back more tears.
I get my best friend back and lose her in the same night.
No, I will never forget her. There's no promise that we'll ever meet again, but nothing can erase my childhood friend from my memory. She's safe now and nothing is more important than that.
The pain suddenly cuts deeper into me.