Guardians of Plaxas

Chapter the First: Opal

I breathe slowly, evenly. My head is spinning as I peer out the window, the lace curtains pushed barely to one side.

"Opal. Opal, have you seen Ruby? She was here a minute ago," says mom, appearing in the living room doorway, a furrow in between her brows.

"Mmm. No, mom," I say, my eyes fixed on the end of the street.

I spot the van as it turns down the street. It moves slowly, as it should on a one way street, but it's still too fast for me.

It stops in front of our house, and Red Nails gets out, slowly walking up towards the stairs.

"Mo-om! The lady's here!" I cry. My heart is beating fast. Faster than it was when I was taking the test, even. What will I do without Ruby?

"Okay, okay, Opal, will you answer the door? I still can't find Ruby, but I'm searching, I promise," mom says. She appears in the living room door, her hair a mess, searching frantically even in places that Ruby couldn't possibly fit. Like, under the couch cushions.

I walk as slow as I can possibly go as I head to the door. As I near it, Red Nails raps on it. "I know you're in there! I saw you in the window!"

I yelp in surprise and scurry to open it. I find myself face to face with Red Nails, as she's leaning down to inspect our mail slot. For some reason.

"Ah, hello, Opal," she says. She brushes past me. "Now, where's your sister?" she plunks herself down on the couch cushion and sighs in relief. "These high heels are killing me! Opal, honey, don't just stand there, please go find your sister,"

I dash off, heading to the room that I share with Ruby. As I pass the hall mirror, I realize that I'm still wearing my pajamas from this morning. Blood rushes to my face. How embarrassing.

As I look around the room, I realize that there's no way that Ruby could be in here. It's so clean and tidy that I'm sure that mom has already checked here. And besides, there's no place for her to hide, anyway.

I change into a green shirt and jeans, and I pull my hair up to make it look decently neat. After I've changed, I realize that I'm wearing Ruby's shirt. It must have gotten thrown in with my clothes accidently. I can only tell that it's hers because of the grass stain in the upper left corner. I'm sure that Red Nails won't notice.

I head back downstairs. Mom is chatting with Red Nails in the living room, but her eyes are darting around. She's still looking for Ruby.

Red Nails stands up when I come in. "Ah, hello, Ruby!" she says, embracing me. I look at mom over her shoulder, my eyes wide.

"Um, excuse me, miss...." mom says.

"It'll be perfectly okay, miss Organda. Your daughter will be in safe hands,"

"But-"

"I promise you," she says. "Now, Ruby, go get your things. It's almost time to go."

I look at mom nervously. "Miss, uh," I say. But Red Nails glares at me with such force that I do what she asks without saying one more thing.

"Now. Would you like to say goodbye to your family members? Remember, you will never see them again,"

I rush at mom, collapsing in her arms. "Sweetie, it wasn't supposed to be you," she whispers into my hair.

"I need to do it," I whisper. "I need to do it for Ruby,"

She smiles, her eyes teary. "Go find your father, and say goodbye," she says. She strokes my hair. "Honey, you're so brave,"