Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 26: Strangers

The rest of the afternoon passed entirely too quickly for my taste.  Before I knew it, I was face to face with another evening of being avoided by the birds, harassed by the horses and ignored by Lucas.  I was positively dreading the next few hours, but I tried to remind myself that things were not all bad.

For one thing, I had the silent heroes meeting later, and I was intensely curious to see what it was all about.  For another, Danielle and Jewel appeared to have put aside their differences from the night before, and the easy sense of friendship had returned.

 So, I was in a reasonably good mood as I headed for the top floor.  I was prepared to grit my teeth, deal with my punishment and move on.

 To my surprise, the birds were not nearly as skittish around me this time.  I received a couple nervous glances when I entered the room and a few people scampered out of my way as I headed for my vacant table near the back.  But, other than that, my appearance did not seem to ruffle many feathers.  Most of them just went on with their work as if they didn’t even notice me.

I gathered up the necessary ingredients and began mixing dyes and powders, all the while puzzling over this sudden change.  It could be that the birds were simply getting used to me, but I felt like there was more to it than that.

There was a very tense atmosphere inside the room.  People were talking to each other in strained voices, their faces drawn and tight.  Not much work was getting done.  Mia was circulating the room, trying to get everyone back on track, but she was having very little success.

Something was really bothering them.  So much that a predator in their midst evidently paled in comparison.

“How are you doing over here, Eve?” Mia asked, pulling up next to me.

“Fine,” I said.  “What’s everyone so worked up about?”

“Oh, it’s nothing dear.  Don’t worry about it.  You’re doing a very nice job.  Keep up the good work.”

She moved on before I could ask any more questions.

I left an hour later feeling thoroughly confused, and quickly realized that all this tension was not just isolated to the top floor.  Making my way down the spiral staircase, I saw worried faces everywhere I looked.  People were huddled together, talking quickly and urgently.  

When I reached to courtyard, I noticed a large group of strangers clustered near the main entrance.  Not students, but full-grown adults who appeared to be gathered there for a very specific purpose.

I had to walk right past them on my way to Kerry’s office and I couldn’t help letting my eyes wander.  It was an incredibly varied collection of people of all shapes and sizes. 

This tiny, middle aged man was darting around the outskirts of the group, occasionally poking his head in to have a word with someone.  He reminded me strongly of a curious sparrow.  Then, there was the gigantic bear of a man who stood at least a foot above everyone else.  His shoulders were twice the width of a normal person, his biceps as big around as the average man’s thigh.  He had a thick, shaggy head of hair and a beard to match.  He was sweating heavily and kept wiping his hand across his forehead.

“South Carolina,” he rumbled.  “It had to be South Carolina.  I hear there’s a lovely village in the Yukon.  Why couldn’t we have the trial there?”

The woman standing on his left sniffed dismissively.  She was tall and slender, with a long, aristocratic nose and black and tan hair all the way to her thighs.  “Will you stop complaining?  We have bigger things to worry about.”

“Easy for you to say, dog.  I’m about to have a stroke over here.”

I moved on past and their conversation faded into the background, blending in with all the other voices.