Halo, Fear, and Willow gathered around the table. Jagged strolled into the kitchen moments later and joined them as well. She knew from the look on Fear’s face that something was going on. The look on Willow’s face simply confirmed it. Halo’s face revealed that they were planning something. Jagged was glad she had learned to read her adopted sisters’ faces. “Sooo… What’s up?” Jagged asked them quietly.
Fear grinned at Jagged but refused to say anything. Jagged was used to that response from Fear though. Fear was either talkative or quiet. It didn’t even seem to depend on her mood or anything. Willow gave Jagged a smile that meant she would be of no help and said, “the sky is up Jagged!”
Jagged rolled her eyes and gave Willow a soft punch then sent Halo a pleading look. Halo shook her head. “You’ll have to wait until Sonic, Ghosty, and Darky get here. I don’t want to have to explain it more than once,” Halo explained.
Jagged nodded and couldn’t help but look out the window to see if they were on their way. She couldn’t see them so she contented herself to wait. She didn’t have to wait long because although she didn’t see them they were on their way. The door opened and in walked the three boys.
Willow rushed over and hugged Darky; it was her regular greeting of him now. Halo smiled at her younger sister. Willow really liked him; in fact she practically dated the boy. Halo didn’t know for sure but she could imagine the two growing up and getting married. They were a cute pair.
Sonic came over to the table and sat in between Halo and Jagged. Halo gave him a hug, more of a friendship hug than anything. Ghosty went over to Fear and picked her up in a hug then sat in her chair and let her sit on him. Jagged watched and felt lonesome. They all had someone, someone who loved them. “So what is this about?” Jagged asked to distract her from loneliness.
Halo grinned at Jagged. “This Easter there will be a battle. We shall fight for a chocolate bunny. Not your average every day chocolate bunny but a massive one. I’ll ask Mr. and Mrs. Crosshawk to help Mr. Durkla hide the eggs. We’ll have nerf guns and-” Halo managed to get pretty far before her words sunk in and everyone had questions.
“A battle?” “How do we win?” “Nerf guns?”
Halo rolled her eyes and held up her hands to stop the flurry of questions. “If you could just all hold your questions until the end we might get through this. Now where was I? Right, nerf guns. We’ll have nerf guns and if anyone gets hit by them they must drop their gun and go to an adult to get a new one. The adults will roam around to prevent anyone from cheating,” Halo paused to give Willow a meaningful look. “We’ll gather eggs and whoever gets the most eggs wins the bunny. Now, any questions?”
Everyone shook their heads and pondered the idea. Sonic grinned at Halo. “Please tell me this isn’t one of your Easter traditions,” he said teasingly.
Halo smiled and nodded. Sonic shook his head. “You guys have the weirdest traditions ever,” he grumbled.
Willow grinned and poked him. “But that’s how you have the most fun Sonic. Plus its one way to get chocolate,” she said a glimmer in her eye as she spoke of chocolate.
“It was on a smaller scale. But more kids means it has to be bigger,” Halo added to Willow’s explanation.
Jagged chuckled, Willow always did love candy. In fact Jagged had learned to hide her candy in a different spot each day. “When is Easter?” Fear asked quietly.
“Easter is next weekend. We’ll get Good Friday off and just hang out. Then Friday night we’ll go sleep in a hotel. They’ll hide the eggs and come get us Saturday morning. They’ll give us the nurf guns and then start walking around making sure we don’t cheat. The battle ends Saturday at sundown,” Halo told them.
The meeting dispersed soon after and everyone drifted into their own separate conversations. Once more Jagged felt left out. Darky and Willow chattered away. Ghosty watch Fear draw and talked to her a bit. Halo seemed so happy whenever she was around Sonic. They were all so happy but Jagged didn’t fit too well. Eventually Jagged got bored and started baking cookies.
Willow and Darky’s conversation started to drift off until the two were sitting in silence. “Sonic, we’re going for a walk,” Darky announced suddenly.
He stood up and led Willow outside. They walked across the lawn to his house and he darted inside and came out with a blindfold. He tied it around Willow’s head carefully and made sure she couldn’t see. “I have a surprise for you,” he explained.
He led her through town, giving her little warnings every once in a while. Soon Willow began to hear the sound of a waterfall. When Darky came to a stop and pulled the blindfold off Willow stared in shock.
It couldn’t be. But it had to be. It was Death River. The river her father had taken to her so often, the river that had washed away all her emotions and left her with a peaceful calm. “How… How could you… How did you know?” Willow stammered.
Darky gave Willow a funny look. The look told her that he hadn’t known. The place he had taken them to was just after a waterfall. The water flowed into a deep pool and then down another, smaller waterfall. “It’s Death River…” Willow couldn’t help but murmur.
Darky looked at Willow, so obviously concerned. “Death River? Willow, are you feeling alright?” Even his voice sounded concerned.
Willow looked away and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m fine. Darky, you just don’t know how much this reminds me of my dad…” Willow said slowly.
She seemed to be struggling to remain calm. Darky laid a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. “Let’s go home,” he suggested quietly.
Willow nodded and walked quickly into the woods that lined the river’s edge. Darky trailed after her feeling a bit confused. He had hoped she would like the river, he thought it was beautiful. He would have to ask Sonic about it. While Halo or Fear might have been a better choice he was more comfortable asking Sonic or Ghosty questions like that.
The days passed like that; Halo and Sonic hanging out, Ghosty and Fear giggling and laughing together, Willow and Darky hugging and going off on their own, and Jagged feeling lonesome. At least when they weren’t in school they mostly had fun.
Jagged found she was planning how to win the Easter battle. Perhaps if she won they would pay more attention to her.
By the time Easter weekend came they were all buzzing with excitement. Willow had almost filled two notebooks with Easter stories. Fear had filled three sketchbooks with drawings. Jagged had baked more food than they could eat. Halo had memorized the lyrics to most of the songs in her iPod. Sonic lost count of how many times he had convinced Ghosty and Darky to play baseball with him.
Good Friday went by pretty normally. They talked about the upcoming battle, hung out, and pretty much did nothing of interest until later in the evening.
Once at the hotel they all started getting excited. They had two hotel rooms but since no one was tired yet they all hung out in the girls’ room. Fear was randomly messing around with objects around the room while chattering pointlessly to no one. Everyone else launched into one of their random conversations.
“I like cookies,” Willow suddenly announced.
Jagged gave her a peculiar look and shook her head. “Muffins are better. They’re fun to make,” she said.
Ghosty and Halo nodded in agreement and Willow frowned. She loved cookies. Willow sent a pleading look to Sonic hoping he would side with her. “Cookies and muffins are both pretty good… It depends on what kind,” he said slowly.
“Come on! You have to like one better in general Sonic! You know cookies are tasty and delicious!” Willow pleaded.
Sonic just laughed and shook his head. Willow sighed hopelessly. Fear didn’t seem to be paying any attention to them so it hardly mattered. “How about chocolate chip cookies and apple muffins? You know the cookies are better,” Willow offered.
Sonic pondered it for a moment then nodded. “Yes, in that case cookies would win,” he decided, much to Willow’s relief.
She smiled smugly to Halo, Ghosty, and Jagged. “Willow, it’s still three to two,” Halo pointed out.
Willow frowned as she realized she had no way of winning. “I don’t know about you, but I think they’re missing a crucial point. Wouldn’t you agree Willow? They’ve forgotten that muffin dough sucks and tastes weird, yet cookie dough is delicious and heavenly,” Fear pointed out, coming over to sit by Willow.
Willow nodded earnestly as the smug look returned to her face. For the moment they were tied. “Now, Willow, Halo left this out because it wasn’t important before, but it’s a little unfair. You only have Sonic on your side because you’re using apple muffins, and chocolate chip cookies. Let’s say it banana muffins and oatmeal raisin cookies. Sonic, whose side are you on now,” Ghosty said.
Sonic required very little time to make his choice. “I’d be on the muffin team,” he announced.
Willow sighed. Her hope had been short lived. She stood up and walked over the window and glanced out. It was finally spring and she was so glad. Fear came over and joined her. “You excited?” She murmured.
Willow nodded and continued to stare out the window. She seemed to be staring at a young girl. Fear nudged Willow and Halo and Jagged came over. “Who is she?” Halo finally asked.
Darky strolled over and glanced out the window. “Frosty. She’s Frosty Knyfe. Possibly the most guarded girl you’ll ever meet. I thought she was dead,” he said quietly.
Ghosty frowned at Darky and hurried over to the window. “No way… It can’t really be her. I can’t believe she’s really alive. I could’ve sworn Dallas said his men beat her to death,” Ghosty muttered.
The rest of them turned to stare at him. Willow and Halo could almost believe it. “What- what happened?” Halo managed to get out.
Ghosty and Darky exchanged looks. “It was probably four years ago when Frosty came to the orphanage. She was probably one of the most cheerful kid you ever met. At first Dallas left her alone. Holly wasn’t around then… One night she caught him pushing around some kids. They were about eight and she got super mad. She was yelling and screaming and pushing Dallas and a few of his bullies around. Dallas never took those who messed with his fun lightly. They beat her black and blue. She was bleeding from cuts. He wasn’t scared to use that knife of his. They taunted her and made fun of her until finally they left. I came and managed to get her up to the roof. Darky and I cared for her there… When she was better she went back down. Kept getting in fights with the bullies, kept getting beat up. She was possibly the bravest and most foolish girl too. I never gave up on her. I always came to the rescue if the fights got out of hand. She was like a sister to me. Then one day she disappeared. Dallas sent out some of his best men after her. Said he wanted her dead. They came back and said they beat her to death. I was horrified. Now… I guess they didn’t catch her,” Ghosty told the story gravely, his voice full of emotion.
The rest of them stared at him in shock. Darky didn’t he just pressed his hand against the window a moment then grabbed Ghosty’s hand and rushed out of the room. They trailed after him slowly, still shocked at the story behind Frosty Knyfe.
Darky half dragged, half led Ghosty down the stairs and out the door of the hotel. Ghosty had tears blurring his vision by then. Darky pushed Ghosty around the corner of the building so he came face to face with Frosty. The other kids slowly arrived, the shock had sort of worn off by then and they could grasp what was going on.
Ghosty blinked back the tears as Frosty backed away from him. She was scared. “Do- Do you remember me?” Ghosty asked softly.
Frosty stared at him then her eyes showed realization. “You’re Ghosty. You’re the boy who saved my life so many times. Thank you. You’re the only reason I missed that place, you and Darky, actually. Is… Is Darky still alive?” Frosty sounded sad, as though her life had been spent in agony.
Ghosty nodded and moved forward to hug her. “He’s alive alright. We’ve got a good home now. Some friends of ours showed Dallas his place. They adopted us too. It’ll be alright Frosty! They’ll help you, too,” he murmured.
She nodded. Tears started flooding her eyes as she gripped him in a hug. “Oh, I missed you so much Ghosty!” Frosty sounded so happy, so relieved to know she had a home.
Jagged was the first to come to her senses and stepped out into the open. “Hello Frosty,” she called over softly. “I’m Jagged.”
Darky was the next to head after Jagged. He hugged Frosty and whispered, “I thought you died.”
His words seemed to alarm Frosty and she frowned. “Dallas said I was dead didn’t he?” Frosty demanded.
Ghosty and Darky nodded together. Halo finally came to her senses and led her two sisters out to meet Frosty. “I’m Halo,” she announced.
Frosty nodded as Fear and Willow introduced themselves. Sonic slowly wandered towards the group. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of Frosty quite yet. “Um… Hi… I’m Sonic. My family adopted Ghosty and Darky and unless you want to stay with the girls…” Sonic trailed off, unsure if he should promise his parents would adopt her.
Frosty nodded tears glimmering in her eyes. “If no one adopts me I’ll be just fine. I’ve lived on the streets this long. I can survive on my own,” she said bravely.
It was clear she didn’t want to live on her own again. But she wasn’t about to go around forcing others to take her in. She waited a moment until Jagged smiled at her. “Nonsense, Sonic, I’m sure your parents will take her in. If they don’t my Dad will. It would probably be better if she lived with us anyway. Then the boys would be in one house and the girls in another. What do you say Frosty?” Jagged spoke quickly and as she stopped talking she turned to look at Frosty.
Frosty took a step back to escape Jagged’s gaze. “I’d really feel better if I stayed with Ghosty and Darky… I’m sorry,” she explained quietly.
Willow couldn’t help but smile. “We’re neighbours with them. They’d live right next door. You could see them every day!” Willow said, she really wanted a new sister.
Frosty thought about it. It couldn’t be too bad. Besides a house full of girls seemed better to her any day. “Ok. I’ll stay with the girls I suppose,” she finally decided.
Willow grinned and hugged Frosty tightly. Frosty was almost sure she heard her ribs crack before Willow let her go. Frosty manage to escape Willow hug when she hugged by Fear. This one was a bit gentler but still had quite the squeeze. Halo simply patted Frosty on the back as a welcome, much to Frosty’s relief. Jagged gave her a high five then they all led her inside the hotel.
Once inside the hotel she tried on Willow’s extra clothes. Since they were too big she ended up trying on Fear’s clothes and found they fit her perfectly. Fear was more than happy to share. By the time they had Frosty settled they were all exhausted. The boys headed back to their room. Everyone fell asleep quickly.
The next morning Frosty was the first one to wake up. She slipped out of the room quietly and went and sat by Ghosty’s door. From a small bag she pulled out a worn notebook. She had held the bag tightly all through the night so as not to lose it. She stroked the notebook a moment and a few tears streamed down her cheeks, then no more. She would not allow herself to shed the tears.
She opened the notebook to the first page and began to read what she had written. What she had recorded, oh so long ago.
May 9, 2010
Dear Ghosty,
I write this only for you. That if something happens to me you might find this. I would have told you of my escape but I didn’t want to cause you harm. I love you dearly and I couldn’t stand if something were to happen to you. You took me in when I need help. I miss you dearly even though I only ran yesterday. You were like a brother to me and I thank you for that. I must also thank you for caring for me after fights. I was weak and it was foolish of me to try and help but I couldn’t stand by and watch. I know an 8 year old girl can’t do much but I had to try. I hope one day I will see you again but it seems hopeless. I will miss you. I’ll miss Darky too, but not as much as I will miss you. You were my big brother and Dallas can hurt me all he wants, but he will never make me take that back. You were the only thing that kept me in that cruel place. I wish you the best of luck. I know you can’t read this right now. I’m too scared to send it to you. I’ll record my travels in here instead.
Love, Frosty Mag Knyfe
By the time she finished reading the first entry tears streamed full force down her cheeks. She couldn’t hold them back anymore. She slipped the book back into her bag and cried.
After a while a door opened and shut beside her. An arm went around her and pulled her close to a warm body. She wasn’t crying anymore. She had no tears left. She just had her eyes squeezed shut and the bag clutched tightly to her chest. She heard Ghosty’s voice murmuring to her. She didn’t bother to try and define the words. Instead she simply listened to the comforting sound of his voice.
Frosty fell asleep in his arms. She slipped into the comforting sleep with her head against his chest and the beginning of a smile on her face. Just before she fell asleep she managed to catch a few words. “I love you, my little magpie,” he murmured.
When Ghosty felt her body relax and her breathing fall into the rhythm of sleep he gently picked her up. He carried her into the girls’ room and tucked her into the bed. Ghosty watched her sleep for little while then crept back to his own room and curled up in his own bed.
Halo was the next one awake. She hurriedly dressed then sat to wait for the others to wake up. While she waited she listened to her iPod. Fear was the next one up. She didn’t even bother to get dressed when she saw Willow and Jagged snoring away. Frosty was curled up whimpering so Fear shook her awake. “It was just a dream,” Fear whispered softly.
Frosty nodded and looked around for something to do. Fear offered her Sudoku. “It’s the best we’ve got. Sonic loathes Sudoku so we usually have some around to annoy him,” Fear explained.
Frosty giggled and took the book and found a pencil. She sat down and slowly began to work on the Sudoku. Fear pulled her sketchbook out of the bag and began drawing. Halo watched them and hummed her songs.
Willow was the next one awake and Halo had a hard time getting her to let Jagged sleep. Fear was all for the idea. Frosty had no clue what was going on so she stayed out of it. Willow grudgingly left Jagged alone. However, she muttered and grumbled about people who could sleep in.
Halo and Fear laughed a bit. Halo went back to listening to music while Fear and Willow got dressed. It was almost eight-thirty by the time Jagged woke up and Willow was impatiently writing in her notebook.
Jagged woke up and grinned at Willow. “I see you lack patience,” she said teasingly.
Jagged was rewarded with a furious glare from Willow. “How come you can sleep so long? I want to get to that battle!” Willow growled.
Halo patted Willow on the back. “Calm down. We don’t stop until all the eggs have been found anyway. Anyway, do you think the boys are up yet?” Halo smiled at her sister.
Willow nodded anxiously. She was still eager to get going. “I’ll tap,” she offered.
Jagged and Halo nodded together, glad that Willow would be distracted. Willow head for the wall and tapped. It was a form of Morse code Willow and Darky had created. She tapped out asking if they were ready. The response tap said they were almost ready. Willow relayed the message to the group since no one knew the code well enough.
Halo nodded and hurried them all out of the room. They waited in the hall a few minutes before they came out. Sonic was on his cell phone to call a ride. They headed down to the lobby and waited for someone to come. It was Mrs. Crosshawk.
They piled into the van and Mrs. Crosshawk drove them to a park close to their house. Here she distributed the nerf guns and baskets. “Just so we’re all clear, I’m going to go over the rules. Some may have been modified. One, if you get shot you must hand over all your eggs. Two, there will be no aiming for the eyes. Three, play fair, if someone insists they shot you but you don’t agree than sort it out in a fair manner. That’s all the rules we have. The game starts when we get to the house, that’s why I explained the rules here. Sonic, I want to talk to you in the front seat,” Mrs. Crosshawk finished.
Sonic nodded and they piled back into the van, this time Sonic was in the front seat. Mrs. Crosshawk studied him as she drove, glancing at the road often. “Who is she?” she finally asked quietly.
Sonic smiled at his mom. It was a smile with happiness and sadness mixed together. “She’s Frosty Knyfe. Ghosty and Darky know her from the orphanage. She lived on the street and we found her last night. She’s planning to stay with the girls,” Sonic explained in a low voice.
Mrs. Crosshawk nodded, and then let out a long sigh. They were at the houses so she couldn’t say anything more. She parked the van and everyone piled out. “When you hear a horn you can start!” Mrs. Crosshawk announced.
They nodded and scurried off, and Jagged glanced around for any Easter eggs as soon as she was out of sight. The houses were in a good location. There was a short stretch behind them of grass before a forest. A sign was posted informing them they could go into the forest until a certain marker.
Jagged grinned and hurried into the woods. She spotted an egg in a bed of moss just seconds after the horn blew. She scooped it up and settled it into her basket then moved on. Meanwhile Willow was having the time of her life. Fear, Frosty and Willow had formed a sort of truce for the moment. Together they searched for eggs and guarded each other.
Willow let out a squeal as she discovered another egg. They were inside the girls’ house and the egg was on Willow’s pillow. She had found four eggs in her room. In Fear’s room five had been discovered. They hadn’t gone in Halo’s room because someone was in it, presumably Halo.
In fact, it was Halo in her room. She had the door shut. She knew the door knob creaked when someone turned it. A slight chuckle escaped her lips as she carefully searched her room. She wasn’t leaving an egg behind. She found six eggs and placed them in her basket. She dropped out the window and searched the garden beneath her window. There she collected ten eggs, not surprising considering the flowers made a great hiding place for them.
Sonic was having a horrible time. Like most of the others he started in his own room. He found two eggs, one on his bookshelf, and the other on his desk. He growled in frustration and gripped his nerf gun tightly. He had his basket tucked in the crook of his arm. He hated how girly it looked; his mom had on purposely given him one with a pink bow.
Ghosty and Darky worked together. They had always been a team, even back in the orphanage. They knew each other so well. Something most siblings can’t say. In the room they shared the found eight eggs. They high fived then left the room and headed outside.
By now Jagged had fourteen eggs, including the one she found on the moss. She took one of those eggs and set it on the ground. It wasn’t super obvious but it wasn’t too hidden. Then she hid in some bushes. She settled down to wait.
It was only a minute before Halo arrived. Halo spotted the egg and rushed to grab it. Just at that moment Jagged sprang out and shot. Jagged shot Halo on the back of her head and let out a cry of glee. “Eggs please,” Jagged said with a wink.
Halo grumbled and handed over her twenty eggs. Jagged wave good bye as Halo stalked off to find more eggs. Jagged picked up the egg Halo had been about to grab then hopped off in search of more.
Fear, Willow and Frosty had run out of luck. They discovered the kitchen had no eggs. They arrived in the dining room at the same time as Darky and Ghosty. Willow shot Darky but Ghosty slipped away. After Willow collected her four new eggs from Darky, the three girls searched the room. They discover five eggs.
Mrs. Crosshawk was surprised at how fast the game was going. As she walked around she noticed many of the eggs were missing. She heard occasional cries as someone was hit with a Nerf gun.
The battle was almost over. Jagged was in the lead. Her traps had worked well for her. The sun was going down and she knew the game was almost over. She settled into a tree to wait for the battle to end.
Sonic wandered around, his basket nearly empty from Jagged’s trap. He caught a flash of colour in a tree. Looking up he made out the shape of a person. He slowly raised his gun and aimed it at the person. He shot a few times at the figure. He heard a startled cry from Jagged. “Ha! I got you!” Sonic exclaimed excitedly.
Jagged dropped out of the tree with her eggs and handed the over to Sonic. The horn rang out. “Dang Sonic,” she muttered.
They all gathered in front of the houses. Sonic stepped forward. “I believe I win. I do have a lot of eggs,” Sonic said.
Mr. Durkla looked at the eggs and nodded. “You did good son,” Mr. Crosshawk rumbled.
“We have a winner! Sonic, you get the bunny!” Mrs. Crosshawk said excitedly, presenting the chocolate bunny.
Sonic grinned and set his basket on his ground and picked up the bunny instead. “I’m Sonic, Lord of the Nerf guns! You may all bow in my glory,” he said.
Almost everyone laughed everyone except Jagged. She barely managed to hold back a glare. Someday I will get my payback, she thought to herself.
Sonic broke off a piece of the ear and ate it. With a bow Sonic headed off into the house.
The End
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