Inferno

Chapter 5

--

By six-thirty, Sian had completed his project. He took the face shield off and admired his artwork. It was perfect. Checking his watch, he realized he had to get going if he was going to meet the others on time. He hopped into the car and started it, slowly (so as not to mess up the new paint job) driving to the restaurant Sierra had agreed to meet him by.

They were waiting inside the restaurant by the time he arrived. Taking a look at himself and deciding he didn’t care THAT much about other people’s opinions, Sian pulled the door open, strode across the room, and dropped into the waiting chair.

Offering no explanation to his condition or ideas, he snagged a cheese fry from his sister’s tray, blew on it to cool it, and popped it in his mouth.

“Hi.” He said nonchalantly, once he’d swallowed.

“Sian, that was mine... And why on earth are you covered in grease and paint??” Sierra asked, looking him over. “You’re a complete mess, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t care.”

“Usually you do...”

“Yeah, what’s up with you today?” Raul added, glaring at him suspiciously. The blond just smiled and tossed the new Miata’s key to him.

“What’s this?” Raul asked, dangling the shining key in front of him.

“It’s a key.” Sian told him, snagging another of his sister’s fries. “It goes to a car.” He rolled his eyes. “And they say you’re the smart one.”

The driver’s eyes sparkled. “A... car?” Without another word he leapt from his seat and sprinted out the door, letting out a jubilant shout when he saw his new car parked out front.

“Yup, he likes it.”

“Sian... Get your own fries.”

Her twin brother’s eyes shimmered and he gave her sickly-sweet puppy eyes. “I worked all day over a hot car, getting all greasy and paint-covered and gross, while you sat at home and did nothing, and you can’t even bother to share a FEW fries with me?!”

Sierra sniffed, pulling her fry carton away from his traveling hands. “You forgot to mention sweaty.”

Toji pushed his happy-meal envelope of French fries toward his brother. “I’ll share...”

“Aww, thanks Toji, you rock!” Sian cheered, ruffling the boy’s hair. Toji smiled and took a huge bite from his cheeseburger. Sian proceeded to stuff as many fries as he could into his mouth.

“Oh, THAT’s nice... take your little brother’s food.” Sierra teased, handing over her tray. “Here, give Toji back his food. I’m not hungry anyway.”

Sian nodded and handed the packet back, digging into what was left of Sierra’s dinner. He’d only had a bottle of soda and a small bag of chips for lunch, which left him almost starving. The three siblings turned toward the window as they heard the telltale roar of Raul’s car engine, and Sian smiled to himself, glad that his friend was happy again.

Sierra smiled and headed up to the counter, purchased another hamburger, and handed it over to her brother. “Thought you looked like you could use a little more to eat.” She said gently, raking her fingers carefully through his sweaty, greasy hair. “I’m going to head home. You okay with getting a ride from Raul?”

“Yup, fine with me,” Sian replied, taking a bite from the hamburger. “But I’m getting a shower when I get back, so you better not be hogging the bathroom!”

“I’m just gonna go to bed, I think.” She replied, stretching and grabbing her helmet from the vacant chair. “See you soon, be careful.” She said, tugging the helmet over her head.

“See ya.” Sian replied, taking another bite. He and Toji quickly finished their dinner, then hopped into Raul’s new car, much to the driver’s delight.

“All right, now I get to drive!” he cheered, and pulled away from the curb. “Thanks Sian, this is SWEET!”

“No problem.” The blond replied, grinning.

By the time the trio pulled into the hotel’s parking lot, Toji had fallen asleep, stretched out across the back seat with his hands folded behind his head. Sian chuckled and gently lifted the child into his arms. “I’d say it’s time for bed.” He whispered as Raul opened the door for the blond and his passenger.

“No kiddin’.” The big man replied, looking at his watch. “It’s past midnight... Guess I went a little crazy, huh?”

Sian grinned. “Just a little. I’m glad you like it.” They walked inside and, as soon as he had Toji tucked under the covers, the blond hopped into the bathroom to take a much-needed shower.

When Sian had finished his long, hot shower, he crawled into bed beside his little brother, asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He awoke suddenly about an hour later, his eyes snapping open and scanning the room wildly. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the filtered white light streaming from the street lamp outside the window, and the thin beat alit on an indistinct figure... the shadow of a glowing white girl.

Sian sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to focus them. “...Ahlyia?!” he yelped. “How’d you get here??”

The girl smiled. “I found a way to get out... I want to stay with you all, I feel so much safer...”

“Safer?” The blond had to do a double-take. “Ahlyia, you’re already dead...”

“I know... but...” She wrapped her arms around her eternally-wet body, shivering slightly. “You don’t understand what it can be like.”

She perched herself carefully at the edge of the bed, well away from Toji’s feet. “I won’t bother you, I promise.”

“Ahlyia, you’re no bother. You’re always welcomed around us, you know?” The ghost smiled at him, lying down at the foot of the bed.

“Thank you Sian...” she replied gratefully and closed her eyes. She was worried about something else, but figured it could wait until morning.

Sian curled up beneath the covers and closed his eyes again, waiting for sleep to overtake him. It finally crept into his vision, sending him into a deep sleep.

His eyes slid open, light assaulting them, He yawned. “’S morning already?”

Toji grinned. “Yup!”

Sian rubbed his eyes and stretched, then remembered the night’s events. His gaze shot toward the foot of the bed where Ahlyia had been ‘sleeping’, but there was no sign of her. Had he dreamed the whole thing up...?

He climbed from beneath the sheets, then went to bang on the bathroom door. “Sierra, hurry up!” he yelped, wondering what on earth was going on... all these crazy ghosts running around everywhere. What was next?

“Keep your shirt on!” came the muffled response from inside. Sian growled, contemplating on banging the door down, when a slight chill stopped him. He turned and came face-to-face with Ahlyia, now holding a baby boy in her arms.

“I’m sorry if I startled you, but I forgot about Damien. I wasn’t about to leave him behind...”

“Aw, that was nice of you...” Sian grinned at the cooing baby, then pointed to Sierra’s couch. “If you want to sit down, you can sit there.” He offered.

Ahlyia thanked him gratefully and sat on the old-fashioned couch, bouncing Damien on her lap. Toji woke up soon after, and smiled brightly as he saw the two ghosts. “Hi!”

At the same time, the bathroom door opened. “Holy hell!” Sierra yelped, taking a leap back into the bathroom. “Dear god Ahlyia, don’t DO that to me!!” she gasped, clutching her chest.

The girl giggled, and offered an apology. Sian was rolling on the floor in laughter, and Toji took the opportunity to jump on his sister.

“It’s okay Sierra!” he said, hugging her tightly.

“Yeah... easy for you to say.” She growled, offering Ahlyia a grin to show that she was joking. “Nice to see you.” She said, nodding at the pair.

Ahlyia smiled. “You too. Um...” The girl fell silent for a minute, then asked, “Can we come with you?”

“I suppose so...” Sierra said slowly. She looked to her twin for any kind of reassurance. ‘Is that okay?’ her eyes seemed to ask him.

Sian shrugged. “Fine with me.”

“Yay!” Toji cheered, which finally woke up the fourth member of their group.

“What’s all the noise for?” he asked sleepily.

He sat up and stretched, feeling his spine snap as he pulled the night’s kinks out of it. Then he spotted Ahlyia and Damien. “Oh. Morning.” He said cheerfully (or as cheerfully as Raul could be at 7:30 in the morning) to them.

“So, what’s on our agenda for today?” Sian asked, feeling unusually energetic, as early as it was.

“Not sure,” Sierra replied.

Toji started jumping around, tugging on Sierra’ arm. “I have an idea! Let’s keep working on that curse thingy and beat up the bad guys!” Ahlyia blushed slightly at the suggestion.

“Sounds good to me.” Sierra replied. She glanced thoughtfully around the room. “Where do we begin?”

“More research.” Raul replied. “We find out more about the family that cursed the Bentways.”

“Okay...” Sierra sighed. “The library again?” She asked.

“I suppose so.” Raul answered.

Thirty more minutes found them all in the doorway of the dusty, run-down library. “Where do we begin?” Sian asked in a hushed voice, settling Toji into a bright blue plastic chair with a pile of comic books.

“It was the Johnstons, right?” Sierra asked, and Sian nodded.

“Yup. Johnstons. Hey, I wonder if any of them live out here... I mean, how else would they know about Damien, right?”

“They must... somewhere. Maybe there’s a listing, a newspaper article, something like that. You wanna check records? I can’t imagine you’re too keen on sitting in front of a computer screen again, but if you want to, I’ll look up books.” She offered.

“Why don’t the two of you do computers and I’ll look up books. Someone’s gotta keep an eye on Toji, and I think Madam Crapper over there would be a bit less keen on being rude to a huge black guy than a couple of scrawny kids anyway.” Raul said, winking to show that he was teasing them.

Sian grinned. “Works for me! Come on Sierra, we got research to do!” he cheered, grabbing her arm and dragging her off to the computers.

Toji looked up from his comics as Raul neared him. “Hi!”

“Hey there. We’re gonna go look at old town records and stuff, wanna come with?”

The boy grinned. “Would I ever!” He gathered up the pile of magazines and set them back on the shelves, following the big man to one of the back rooms.

Raul and Toji began riffling through stacks of dusty old books. After nearly an hour, Toji handed a book to Raul. “Hey, this girl looks like Ahlyia!”

“You’re right...” the man agreed. “But she’s older. I’d guess she’s either her mother or a sister.”

“Oh...” The boy flipped through the pages, looking for more pictures.

“Hey... is this any good?” He held out an old map, on which was written the date, 1860, and the layout of the town as it was then. On the map, Raul could see the Johnston’s manor, the Bentway residence, and a number of old buildings that no longer existed.

Raul fished some change from his pocket, deciding to get a copy of the map. “It’s no good anymore, this map’s nearly 200 years old, but it just may help us.” He replied, working the copying machine. Toji pulled the papers out and looked through them.

“Wow... As dusty as this library is, they sure have a nice copier!”

“Excuse me... Can I help you? Are you looking for something?” Raul spun at the sound of a voice, but the woman who stood behind him was far from the spidery old lady who had croaked at his group the last time.

This stranger, however, seemed to have the same chocolaty skin and dark eyes. Definitely a relative of Madame Wrinkles. She was leaning over beside Toji, staring at a page in the book the youngster was looking at.

Toji looked up at her, eyes wide with fear. “I didn’t break anything, I swear!”

She laughed, a surprisingly hearty laugh that just didn’t seem to fit her delicate frame. “Oh, I know you didn’t. I just wondered if I might be able to help you. You look lost.”

“He’s with me.” Raul interjected, coming to rest a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Holy lord, I though you were my uncle!” the girl yelped, startled. Then her face relaxed into a smile. “I’m sorry, I’m so rude.” Her voice was deep for a girl’s, rich and cultured, and maybe a bit accented. “My name’s Hannah Fortuano.” She held out a slender, pink-nailed hand for him to shake.

Raul took her hand and shook it firmly, giving her his trademark grin. “I’m Raul Jacobs, and this is Toji, the little brother of some friends of mine. So I take it you’re from around?”

The young woman nodded. “And I take it you’re not.”

He laughed. “Nope, we’re from Vegas.” He said with a grin.

“Ah, Sin City.” She chuckled. “I have heard many interesting stories about that city.” She laughed. “Our place is not nearly as interesting, but it has its share of... ‘fun’ I see you’ve discovered the Bentway Curse.”

“Yeah!” the boy exclaimed. “We met some of the Bentway ghosts, and my brother Sian likes Dawn Bentway.” He explained with a grin. Hannah regarded him somewhat skeptically, knowing that children were known for making things up, but somehow it seemed he was telling the truth. Maybe it was Raul’s shocked expression...

“Toji!” Raul yelped. “The poor girl’s gonna think we’re all nutcases!” He patted the youngster’s dreadlocked head.

Hannah grinned. “That’s okay. Ghosts are a huge rumor issue around here.” She grinned.

“Oh...” Raul sighed. “Well that’s a relief... I just really don’t want to be labeled as clinically insane.”

“Naw, that’s Sian.” Toji commented airily, flipping through the pages of the book some more.

“Sian?” Hannah repeated quizzically.

“Sian is insane. He and his twin sister Sierra are Toji’s older brother and sister. Actually, come to think of it... I think they’re both certifiably insane.” He chuckled.

Hannah smiled. “Are they here? I think I’d like to meet them, they sound interesting.”

“Oh, you have no idea...” Raul said, unable to hold back his laughter. “Come on, they’re in the computer room.”

He led the way back to the small, dusty room where the computers hummed loudly. The twins were hunched over their respective keyboards typing away.

They didn’t even notice the presence of their younger brother and friend until Toji leaned over and covered both their eyes.

Sian let out a small yelp of surprise. “Toji, what on earth are you up to?” he asked, turning in his chair. “Oh... Hi!”

At the sound of his greeting, Sierra turned around and smiled up at the young woman. “I see you two made a new friend. What’s your name?”

“Her name’s Hannah!” Toji piped before she could reply, and jumped into Sian’s lap.

“Hi, Hannah.” Sierra grinned, deciding to be the sane voice in the group. “My name is Sierra Nightwander, that’s my twin brother Sian, and obviously you’ve met my little brother Toji. That’s Raul.” She teased, gesturing at the tall black man behind her. “He’s a nice guy, don’t worry. He takes good care of us.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Hannah replied, turning her head to look at the racer. “But I have a small question: how are you related to Toji? You look nothing alike...”

“That’s cause they adopted me!”

Sian laughed hugging the boy close. “Sierra and I always wanted a little brother or sister,” he explained, “but our parents died before that ever happened. So we decided to adopt someone. And Toji here just looked so sad and alone and adorable-“

“Did not!”

“-so we just had to take him home!”

Sierra let out a small yelp and nearly fell off her chair. “Look at this!” She pointed at the screen. “Some kind of spell... a way to divide your body and spirit... you can be a ghost for a short while. How cool would that be?” She chirped.

Sian peeked over at the screen. “Cool I dunno, but useful- definitely. Print that out!” Sierra nodded quickly and clicked the ‘print’ button as Toji ran to the corner to retrieve the papers.

“Good boy.” She grinned and patted her little brother on the head and handed him a dollar bill. “Now you can go get something to eat or drink at the vending machines outside if you’d like.” She blew him a kiss and turned back to the screen, reading the spell for the separation under her breath. “Who can pronounce this junk?”

“Ahlyia.” Raul stated simply.

“Eh?” Sian turned to face his friend. “You really so sure?”

The big man nodded. “Positive.”

“Well, what are we waiting for then?” Sian jumped up from the chair. “Let’s go!”

--

Ahlyia looked over the paper carefully. She was seated sidesaddle on one of the big carousel horses, one arm wrapped around the dusty brass pole. Her tiny lips moved carefully as she attempted to sound out and then pronounce the difficult words. For an eleven-year-old, she was an educated little child.

“Donno sobre cacho...” She pronounced the first part carefully. “That means ‘spirit and body’.” She translated uncertainly.

“Canna fabber monce pachemme, ‘once was one’.” She glanced up. “What IS this?”

“A spell, actually.” Sian answered. “It can temporarily separate someone’s spirit from their body. Ya know, make them a ghost for a while.”

She nodded thoughtfully, wondering briefly if there was a reverse or something similar to put a spirit into a body... It wasn’t fair that she was never given the chance to grow up.

She shook her tiny, transparent head to clear it and turned back to the page. “Macne petri domna crucuno bea.” Her brow creased. “Now be come two, separate.” She looked up from the page. “This is very important... you must never, ever say the incantation without intending to... your spirit will separate, and unless you are prepared mentally and emotionally, you will not be able to re-enter your body.”

“Wow, that’s serious stuff!” Toji commented, munching on a candy bar he bought with the dollar Sierra gave him. The others nodded.

“We’ll have to put that away somewhere, where no one will find it and take it.” Sierra instructed. “That spell is not to be used under any circumstances, not until we find a situation where we absolutely need it.”

“Yes, mommy.” Sian teased. “But I seriously think we should all learn it... well, minus Toji anyway, he’s too young. Just in case. Someday, one of us might need to use it in a jam.” He glanced around his little family, wondering what it would be like to watch one of them become a ghost.

A shudder passed through him.

“Well, now that this is over, I wanna take a nap.” The blond announced, heading out the door. The others watched curiously as he left. They only had two nights left before the events were over, and they were itching to solve the mystery before then.

“What’s eatin’ him?” Sierra asked curiously, pocketing the packet of papers. She turned to Hannah. “We’re going out for dinner tonight... would you like to join us?”

The girl nodded, surprised. “Sure, it sounds lovely.” She replied, smiling.

“Score!” Raul cheered silently. Sierra shook her head at him.

“Great. We’ll send Raul to pick you up at about six, and you can come meet the rest of us at the restaurant. What kind of food do you like?

Hannah thought for a moment. “Just about anything, really... but I really like Italian and Chinese food.” She smiled.

“Okay, we’ll meet downtown and decide then.” Sierra shrugged. Her life’s motto had always been ‘whatever’.

“Sounds wonderful.”

“I gotta go!” Toji suddenly announced, tugging on Sierra’s sleeve.

“I take it that’s our cue to go.” She said with an embarrassed smile, and ushered the boy out of the carousel building. Raul and Ahlyia followed, and they quickly made it back to the hotel to discover Sian fast asleep.

“Wake up, you faker!” Sierra said cheerily, sitting down none-too-gently on her twin’s stomach as Toji ran to the bathroom and locked the door. “Why did you run out on us like that? Keep it up and we’re gonna think you don’t love us anymore.” She said, arranging her lips in a pout.

Sian awoke with a start and glared at her. “You’re cruel, sis... That really hurt!” She pouted more and got off him. “As for not loving you any more... You’d have to be pretty dumb to think that! Of course I love you! I was just tired, and I thank you for such a rude awakening.”

Sierra smiled brightly at him. “You’re welcome!”

He muttered something unrepeatable and rolled back over, facing the wall. He was almost asleep when a hand, cool as death, alighted on the back of his neck. He jumped and rolled over, ready to snap at whoever had done it, but no one was there.

Raul raised an eyebrow at him curiously. “Sian, you okay? You’ve been acting awfully weird lately.”

The blond nodded, a bit shaken up. “Fine, I’m fine... I could’ve sworn someone touched me on the back of my neck though.” His friend winced, knowing how much the young man hated being touched there.

“Well... try to get some sleep.” The taller man said, flipping on the TV. Maybe a little sound in the room would calm Sian down. “We leave in a few days anyway.” He offered, hoping that that would soothe the younger man. Sian nodded and curled up against the pillow again, trying to relax and fall asleep.

The background noise did serve to calm the blond man’s nerves, and he quickly fell back to sleep. Raul chuckled softly and turned his gaze back to the screen, flipping through channels to see if anything interesting was on, when he felt the sudden chill his friend had complained about.

“The heck?” he mumbled, looking around. It wasn’t the AC, the ancient thing was turned off. “What on earth is going on in here...”

Raul decided that ignoring the creepy feeling would probably make it go away. He reached for the remote, but before he could push any buttons, the TV flipped channels on its own, scrolling around the channel listing twice before coming to a stop on a show entitled, “The History of Our City.”

The show began with a few boring announcements, and Raul decided he’d rather not watch it. Picking up the remote, he stubbornly pushed the buttons. The channel didn’t change. Frowning, he slapped the remote a few times and tried again. Again, nothing happened. He stood and went to the television, pushing the ‘up’ button on the channel pad. The picture didn’t change. Frustrated, the tall black man punched the power button, deciding he’d rather just sit in the quiet and read. Surprisingly, the TV didn’t turn off. The narrator’s voice droned on, now beginning to ramble about the farming of the ancient town.

An evil smile spread across Raul’s strong face. He’d show them. Reaching behind the television, he pulled the cord out of the socket.

“And this was the time the fist of the Bentway family to enter our area here began to settle.” Powerless, the television droned on. The pockmarked narrator stood before the very hotel they were in now. “This was where the first mansion of the Bentway family stood, nearly three hundred years ago.” Now fully enraptured, Raul re-took his seat on the couch and began to watch.

“It’s said that General Bentway had an affair with the wife of another wealthy man in the town, for which her jealous husband placed a curse on the General. The original mansion was burned to the ground, and later rebuilt over Johnston’s grave. This hotel was then built over the Bentways mansion’s remains.”

The door opened to reveal Sierra and Toji, the boy holding a snack in his hands. Raul motioned for them to come over quietly and they complied. “Wow...” Sierra breathed. “I wonder if that means that the family cemetery was built over too... and if it is, how are we ever going to find any clues?” she asked as the documentary breaked for a commercial.

“Beats me.” Raul replied, shrugging. “But if you’re talking about the children who died after the curse... I doubt they’d have been buried here, more likely at the other mansion. Hey, I wonder if it’s still standing.” He mused aloud. “Maybe they have records we can look through though, ever think of that?”

Sierra looked lost in thought for a few minutes. “No, I didn’t... it’s definitely worth a try. Do you think this hellhole has a records room?” she asked, drawing an afghan over herself and sneezing with the cloud of dust that emanated. She sank down next to her friend, pulling Toji under the blanket with her. The creepy chill still hadn’t left the room.

Raul looked over at his friends and reached to the end of his bed, pulling the comforter up over the three of them. Their shivering stopped, and Toji clung to the big man as the narrator delved into the story of the Bentway curse.

“This is a lot more detailed than what we found on the internet...” Sierra mumbled, paling slightly.

“Yes, it is.” Raul agreed, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Not all of the Bentways could have been bad, right? I mean, look at Ahlyia. She’s not scary.”

Sierra chuckled. “Yeah, but she sure can freak the heck out of you in the middle of the night.”

Raul grinned at her reply, stroking Toji’s back comfortingly as the boy clung to his arm.

“I’m not scared!” the boy suddenly defended himself, glaring up at the big man.

“I never said you were, Twister, just chill out.”

“You were doing that thing again. Toji replied, glaring.

“What thing?” Raul asked, genuinely curious.

“That thing you always do to Sierra when she cries. That thing.”

“Oh, I see...” Raul said, giving Sierra a ‘what the hell’ look over Toji’s head.

“Okay, little bro, go get in the shower. I think it’s time we re-did your braids, so just take them out and I’ll re-braid you when you get out, okay?”

With that, she gave her adopted brother a gentle nudge in the direction of the bathroom.

Grumbling lightly, Toji slid off the bed and took out the tiny twisties in his hair, heading for the bathroom. Sierra smiled when she heard the shower start, and snuggled under the comforter. Raul rolled his eyes and peeked over at the brother sleeping on the other bed, checking on him.

Sian remained sound asleep. Water began running in the bathroom, and a few moments later, they could hear Toji belting out the lyrics to some street-race-rap thing he’d been obsessed with lately. Raul and Sierra exchanged a small grin before settling in to watch the rest of the show.

Suddenly, a hauntingly snappish whisper filled the room, “Do you mind plugging this back in? It’s hard to run on my own energy...”

The two turned to stare at each other. “Um... I’ll get it...” Raul finally volunteered, and got up to plug the television back in.

“What was that?!” Sian demanded as he suddenly sat up, wide awake, and scaring his twin in the process.

Sierra tumbled on the couch, landing in a crumpled heap on the floor. “What was what, you overgrown moron?” she grumbled.

“Something touched me again!” he snapped in reply, rubbing the back of his neck. “...What are you watching?”

Raul dropped back onto the bed, pulling Sierra back up. “History of this town.” He replied softly. “The television decided to flip channels all on its own.”

“Sounds boring to me.” Sian replied as the bathroom door opened, admitting Toji into the room. “Oi! Squirt! Kill the light!” his older brother protested, flinging an arm over his eyes to shield them.

Toji rolled his eyes and turned off the light. “Happy now?”

“Yes.” Sian replied, turning his gaze to the television screen. After a few minutes he decided it wasn’t as boring as he thought. “This... Is actually kinda cool. What’d I miss while I was sleeping?”

“Awe, just a bunch more crap about the Bentways and the feuds.” She replied, grabbing the comb from Toji’s hand and pointing at the floor in front of her with it. “Sit, brat. If I’m gonna braid your hair, you have to hold still, or you’ll have wavy braids.” She warned.

Toji growled softly and plopped down in front of her, trying not to jerk his head away when she tugged too hard. “Well that sounds boring...” Sian muttered, stretching out on the other mattress. He idly twirled a long strand of hair around a finger, his eyes trained on the screen.

“When are we going out to dinner?” Raul asked. “You gonna take Dawn, Sian?”

“Soon.” Sierra replied, tugging on a strand of her adopted brother’s soft hair.

“I don’t know.” Sian replied in answer to Raul’s question. “Are gonna take Hannah?”

The blond missed the look on his friend’s face, his eyes having never left the television screen. “You make it sound like we’re dating.” The driver said, shifting on the mattress carefully.

“I think you want to date her.” Sian replied in a teasing tone.

“I think you’d better shut your mouth, blondie.” Raul warned, but his voice was soft and gentle. It was a warning, but a kind one. “I can work this out on my own.”

Sian grinned. “Raul’s got a girlfriend, Raul’s got-” A pillow flying into his face shut him up. As soon as the blond recovered he glared over at his friend.

“I didn’t do it.” Raul defended himself with a shrug. A small giggle led his gaze over to his sister and brother, who was trying (and failing) to look innocent.

“What are you looking at?” Sierra asked innocently. “I’m just braiding my little brother’s hair. That’s it.” she said angelically.

“Not you, the squirt on the floor.” He snapped. Toji grinned and grabbed another pillow, launching it at him.

“Sometimes I think he’s more mature than you, Sian.” Raul commented. “Anyway, we should get ready to go.”

“I get the bathroom!” Sierra called, jumping up. “Are we going straight to the race from dinner?” She wanted to know.

“Sure.” Raul replied, standing and stretching. Sian growled softly before getting up.

“So where are we going again?” he asked, looking at his friend.

“Out.” Raul replied vaguely. “Don’t take too long, Princess!” he teased. “Toji, go get dressed. The towel look is so last year.” The boy just rolled his eyes and walked to the other side of the room, pulling random clothes from his suitcase.

“ ‘Out’ doesn’t tell me much...” Sian complained and attempted to fix his hair, using the tiny mirror on the wall.

“You’re just going to have to wait. It’s a surprise, stupid.” Raul teased, patting the boy’s shoulder gently. “Dawn’s meeting us there, by the way.”

A huge grin lit the blond’s face. “Awesome! Sierra, hurry up in there!” he shouted, storming over to the bathroom and pounding on the door.

“Wait your turn!” came the curt reply.

“I have been waiting! For at least twenty minutes! Come on!”

Raul shook his head. “Those two...”

Finally the bathroom door opened, allowing Sian access. “Yes!” he cried before diving in.

Sierra rolled her eyes. “You are infinitely impatient.”

“Yeah, but you love me for it!”

Sierra let out a heavy sigh and dropped back onto a bed, now waiting on Sian.

“How do I look?” Toji jumped out, wearing a faded red hoodie and jeans.

“Like an orphan.” Raul remarked jokingly. Toji stuck his tongue out. “Nice, kid.” The boy threw his visor at the big man.

“Aren’t you done yet, Sian?” Raul called.

“Almost!” came the enthusiastic reply. Just a few minutes later the door opened and Sian walked out. “Well, let’s get going!”

“You look pretty good, bro.” Sierra said, rolling over to appraise him. He was wearing his favorite aqua, blue and black shirt with a black zip-up hoodie, and a pair of black jeans.

“Thanks! You too!” he replied, giving his twin a hug. “Well Raul, lead the way!”

Raul chuckled and pulled the door open. “The suspense is killing you, isn’t it?”

“Yes! Plus I’m starving, so please please please can we go now?!”

“Yes, Sian.” Raul led the way to the car and they piled in. After about fifteen minutes, Raul pulled into a parking lot. There was no sign and no lights. “Everybody out!”

“Dude, what club is this?” Sian asked, looking around. Toji climbed out and held onto a belt loop on his brother’s pants.

“I don’t care, I just wanna eat.” The boy replied.

“Don’t pull on your brother’s pants, Toji. They’ll fall down. Raul, what is this?”

“This,” Raul said, pulling open a random door, “is the best Chinese this side of China.”

“But we’re not in China...” Toji mused, letting go of Sian’s pants.

Sierra smiled and patted his head. “That’s the point.”

Raul chuckled. “Inside, inside.” He said, ushering his family in the door. “Chang!” he greeted the overweight Chinese man at the door, shaking his hand.

“You come eat?” Chang asked. “We have best!”

“Yes, Chang.”

“Okay! Table for five, follow me!” He took them to a table next to where Dawn sat, waiting. Sian grinned and took the seat across from her.

“So how do you know Chang?” Sierra asked.

“Actually... I asked Hannah for directions and came to sample some stuff.”

Sian snorted, then attempted to cover it with a cough as Chang returned.

“I get you drink? What you drink?”

“I’ll take a Sprite.” Sian said.

“Me too!” his twin piped.

“Hot tea.” Raul ordered, and Dawn nodded. “Me too.”

“I want a Pepsi.” Toji piped up.

“Coke? Coke okay?” Chang asked.

Toji pouted. “Okay...”

Dawn smiled, stirring sugar into her hot tea. “Took you guys long enough to get here.” She chided.

“Pretty boy’s fault.” Toji mumbled, jerking his thumb at Sian.

“She took longer than I did!” Sian defended himself, pointing at Sierra.

Dawn laughed, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. “I like it when men make an effort to look good.”

He chuckled. “Then you’re gonna love me.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that.”

The group turned as Dan, Krash and Hannah entered the restaurant.

“Hey! Pull up a chair, sexy!” Sierra greeted Dan, pulling chairs for him and Cadence as Raul pulled out a chair for Hannah.

Toji and Cadence moved to the other table, as there was no room to sit with all the adults.

“Hey, punks.” Sian greeted the two. Cadence smiled mischievously and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you to be nice?” Sian pretended to reprimand her. She simply stuck her tongue out at him again.

Dan smacked her very gently across the back of the head, making her long ponytail jump. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Chicken!” she exclaimed, drumming her hands in an impressive rhythm on the tabletop. “Chicken sandwich!” Dan gently laid his hands over hers.

“You’re disturbing the other customers, sweetie. One chicken sandwich with fries coming up.” He returned to his seat and sighed, propping his chin on his fist. “Honestly, I don’t know why I bother to ask. She gets the exact same thing every time. She’s going to turn into a bloody chicken soon.”

“Do they even have chicken sandwiches at Chinese restaurants?” Toji asked. “I know they have chicken... Can I have sushi?”

“Sure, we can share some.” Sian offered. “I'll make sure to get a big platter.”

“Yay!!”

“If they don’t, they should.” Cadence proclaimed. “HEY DAN!!” she hollered across the restaurant. “I wan’ chicken!”

“I bloody know!!” he called back irritably. “Geez, why do sisters have to be so high-maintenance?”

“Well I'd trade,” Sian started, “but I'm kinda attached to the runt over there.” He grinned and draped an arm across Toji’s shoulders, only to have it promptly pushed off.

“Sian! Don’t! There are people in here!” Toji yelped in a horrified whisper. “You’re embarrassing me!”

“You think this is embarrassing, you should wait until he’s drunk.” Raul commented smoothly, taking a long swig of beer.

Toji grumbled. “I know... I live with him, remember?” Sian just grinned and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Sian! Cut that out!” Sierra reached over and swatted her twin.

“Aw, I'm not THAT bad, you know.” He pouted. “Where’s that blasted waitress?? I wan’ my food!!”

“Try having some patience, Sian. This place is kind of busy tonight.” Dan observed, looking around. “She’ll be here soon enough.”

“Better be...”

“You’re whining again.” Sierra pointed out in a warning tone. “Don’t do that, it’s immature.”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “Is this immature?”

She rolled her eyes, mirror image of his own. “Grow up, you brat.”

“Nah, I think I'd rather just be like this forever.” He replied, leaning back in his chair until it rested on its back two legs.

“Don’t fall.” Toji taunted, reaching over with his foot to push at the chair’s legs.

Sian, however, wasn’t about to fall for that one, and set it back on all four legs. “Maybe next time, kid.”

Toji pouted, the decided to keep an eye out for their waiter. Luckily they didn’t have to wait long.

“Hey there.” A pretty young brunette waitress drew to a stop beside their table. “What can I get you folks to eat?”

“Chicken!” Cadence demanded. Dan rolled his eyes.

“Oh brother...”

“Me an’ Toji are gonna split a sushi platter.” Sian said.

“Sushi!” Toji nodded.

Sierra grinned and added her order. When the whole table had ordered, the waitress dashed away.

“Yay! Sushi!” Toji cheered.

Raul smiled at the boy and patted his head. “Have a little patience, ‘kay?”

“No. Patience sucks.” Toji announced.

“It’s something you’ll need.” Sierra pointed out, and smiled sweetly at him.

“Raul doesn’t have any when he’s driving. He’s got lots of bad words just for that.”

“That’s because people turn into morons when they get on the road.” The big man mumbled.

“It’s all right Raul, we all know.” Sian replied, grinning.

“Just making a point.” Raul sad defensively. “Just in case... you know, just in case it isn’t obvious or anything.”

The group shared a good laugh, and the waitress returned to refill their drinks. She assured them that their food would be arriving soon and moved off to bus another table.

Cadence drummed on the tabletop again. “Chicken chicken chicken!”

“Yes Cadence, you’re getting chicken.” Dan sighed. “Honestly, the girl has too much energy!”

Within minutes their dinners arrived. Cadence cheered and dug into her chicken.

Toji leaned over and speared a piece of her chicken. He popped it in his mouth. “Hey, that’s really good.”

“Hey! My chicken!” she whined. Toji shrugged in apology.

“Eat your sushi.” Sian chided, and popped a roll in his mouth.

“Okay!” He popped another roll into his mouth. “It’s good!”

“Mhmm!” Sian agreed. It didn’t take long for every bite to disappear, and the blond ordered another.

“Cool down, Nightwander. You have to race yet tonight.”

“Race?” Hannah glanced at the group.

Sian opened his mouth to reply, but thought the better of it. “Uh... Yeah, I'm in an athletic competition. I'm really not supposed to eat too much before a race.”

“Really?” She seemed genuinely interested. “What kind of athletics?”

“Oh, you know, just some friendly competition.” ‘I never should’ve opened my big mouth...’

“I'd like to hear about it.” She grinned at him. “I do some running and such myself, you know.”

“Oh, well that’s cool.” He started to falter under the pressure. She was too curious...

“So, tell me, what’s your best time?” She grinned again, seemingly oblivious to his discomfort.

“Wouldn’t you like to know...” he muttered, running his fingers through his spiked hair. He gave Sierra a pleading look.

“He’s not really comfortable talking about it yet. He’s not... very good yet.”

“Yeah!” Toji added. “He’s such a wimp.”

“Don’t push it.” Sian growled.

Dawn’s hand caught his beneath the table and squeezed. Hannah gazed at him for a moment, and then a look of comprehension dawned and she rose, slung her purse over her shoulder, and backed away. “I have to go... Raul, I'm so sorry. I... I will call you. I promise.”

Raul pouted slightly. “Okay.”

Sian returned the squeeze, feeling bad for his friend. He hadn’t meant to drive Raul’s date away...

Raul turned back to his food. “Wonder what was up with her?”

“Dunno. Hopefully whatever’s wrong will be fixed tomorrow.” The second plate of sushi arrived. Sian immediately stuffed his face.

Sierra wrinkled her nose. “You’re disgusting. You know that, right?”

“Mhmm.”

“Hey! Save some for me!” Toji protested. He elbowed his way past his brother’s hands and grabbed for a sushi roll, stuffing the whole thing in his mouth.

“Geez, I have never seen anyone with such a ravenous appetite...” Dan commented. “It’s almost sickening.”

“It really is.” Sierra agreed, glaring at her twin.

Sian gulped. “Sorry...”

“Ah, I love you, you know that.” She smiled.

“Yeah I know...” He started to eat more slowly, not wanting to gross everyone out.

She ruffled his hair fondly. “That’s a good boy.”

Sian grinned and snapped at her hand. “You know better than to touch the hair.”

“I know. That’s why I did it.”

“Hmph.” He continued eating, deciding to ignore her.

“Sian, be nice.” Dawn chided gently and kissed his cheek.

He pouted. “Only if you’ll be nice to me.”

“Of course I will!” she replied cheerfully.

“You’d better. I deserve someone being nice to me.”

“Sian, I am not going to be nice to you the same way that she is.” Sierra replied.

“’Course not! There’s no way in hell I'd kiss my sister.” The blond made a face.

“Well, just making sure.” Sierra teased.

“I'm done eating, can we go now?” Cadence asked, tugging on her brother’s sleeve.

“Okay, let’s go get ready.” The boy rose, sliding an arm under Sierra’s elbow.

Everyone rose from their seats and headed for the door, and Raul paid for the bill. They piled back into the cars and headed for the hotel to get ready.

--

End of Chapter 5

Aaaannnd... I have a pic of Toji!! Check it out for albums/v517/ llori/drawings/ TojiNightwander.jpg

Just remove the spaces :)

Please review!!