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AVALON SPRAWLED ON the floor of the bedroom she shared with Alexa, chin wedged between her palms, staring at the items spread across the floor. Stretched out on her stomach and legs bent at the knee, she swung her feet back and forth, studying the objects. Two silver cuff links with a stylized golden bee on black sparkled in the ray of sunshine slanting through the open window. A curling photo of laughing friends, two of which were circled in black pen; five books of matches advertising “Frankie’s Finger Foods,” and a hand drawn pencil sketch of a green house and the words “Landfill #3” written at the bottom, with the number “9275”. She scowled at the items, then swung around to sit cross-legged and picked up the matchbook.
“I think this is our best bet. I am going to go check out Frankie’s Finger Foods,” said Avalon.
“Are you sure? It might not even exist anymore. There are hardly any restaurants in business. The cost of food is so much, no one can afford to eat out,” Alexa pointed out. “I think we should start with the landfills.”
“How are we going to search every landfill in the country? We can’t even drive.”
“We could search for them online. You know, see if any of the photos have green houses. Or use internet maps. They would have the latest satellite views of the dumps.”
Avalon frowned and fingered the matchbook. The last ray of the sun vanished as it sank below the horizon, plunging the room into twilight. “I have a feeling about this place. I am going to go to Frankie’s first.”
“Ok, then I am coming with you.”
“No you’re not. I am not dragging you out into danger. I swore to Mom and Dad to keep you safe. You are too young,” said Avalon as she pushed to her feet. She gathered the items and stuffed them back into a tin that she had found, placing all the objects inside except for one cuff link and a match box, which she stuffed into the inside pocket of her dad’s jacket. She rarely took it off.
“You can’t stop me following you, Avalon. I hate being stuck alone when you go out.” Alexa scowled at her older sister, angry tears sparkling in her hazel eyes. She jumped to her feet and ran over to the door, planting herself in front of it, all five feet two inches of stubborn sister..
“You are not alone. Peet is right downstairs. You will be safe here.”
“I am coming with you. You have to get by me to go out.” Alexa spread her arms wide, back against the door and gripped the door casing, anchoring herself against Avalon’s advance.
Avalon shrugged and walked over to the window, picking up her back pack and slinging it over her shoulder and onto her back as she passed it. Reaching the glass, she gripped the edge of the pane and pushed the sash higher. She swung one leg out over the lip of the window jamb then sat down straddling the opening.
“Tell Mitch where I have gone and if I am not back within two days, to start looking for me there. Love you, ‘sis.”
She ducked her head under the window and grasped the upper window casing, pulling herself to a standing position outside the window. A metal television antenna ran up the side of the house and she stepped over onto the structure and climbed quickly down, jumping the last three feet to land in a crouch at the base of tower.
“Avalon, get back here!” screamed Alexa in frustration. She stared at the offending tower in frustration and then backed away from the window. The height scared her and kept her confined to the house more than any lecture of Peet’s.
Avalon glanced back up at the window and waved, before vanishing into the bushes lining the driveway.
A curtain parted on the main floor and a pair of anxious eyes watched as Avalon disappeared down the drive.
***
AVALON RAN DOWN THE driveway, once she was clear of the house and any watching eyes. I don’t want to worry Mitch, he is way too protective of me. I work better alone. I can go places and do things that he cannot. He’s a cop, for god’s sake!
Mitch had been her constant companion for the last several weeks. They met when he arrested her for breaking into a greenhouse. He later freed her from custody, under the condition that she agree to a dangerous mission. The mission involved stealing evidence of a government cover up, one that strangely linked back to her missing parents. Avalon and her sister Alexa had been on their own for five years, ever since the disappearance of their mother and father, two preeminent scientists with a flair for solving ecological issues in the natural environment. But this goes way beyond invasive species management, thought Avalon, as she ducked behind a wooden machine shed at the edge of the driveway.
She ran around to the back to the aging wooden door and yanked it open. It took a moment for her eyes to adjusted to the dimly lit interior, after the brightness of the outside. She pulled the door partly shut and looked around the barn. She had been in the machine shed last week, just poking around to see what Peet kept in the decrepit old building. It was then that she spied the old bicycle, leaning up against the rusting red fender of a long disused square hay baler. Lucky for her, the tires were still fully inflated. She pulled the bike out of the thick cobwebs and rolled it over to the doorway. The bike was baby blue with a purple banana seat, the plastic split in two places. Long curving handle bars put her in mind of a Harley Davidson motor bike. “This will do for transportation,” she muttered aloud, scooping off the remaining spider webs and then rolling it outside. She kicked the door closed behind her and with a running start, hopped onto the bike and began peddling. Beats walking, she thought, as she sped down the deserted gravel lane, a cloud of dust trailing in her wake.
The paved highway was empty when she reached it, for which she was grateful. Peet’s driveway sloped toward the road and as she sped down the hill she gathered speed. Just as she reached the turn off, she braked, squeezing the pedals in reverse to slow her descent. Nothing happened. She shot out into the road at break neck speed and swung the handlebars to the left, dumping herself onto the hot pavement as the bike skidded out from under her. She slid along its surface for a few feet before coming to a bruised stop at the edge of the gravel.
“Oww!” she howled, the palms of her hands skinned and embedded with stones. The cuts welled up with blood and she wiped them on her jeans, wincing at the contact. “Damn, that hurts! Shit!” She puckered her lips and blew gently on the stinging cuts. Her knee throbbed, drawing her attention to a new ache and she bent over to examine the rip in her jeans. “Aww, man! Not my new jeans!”
They were not new jeans at all but the cast offs of Peet’s eldest daughter, now well into her middle years. Twenty years out of date, they were still a wondrous find for Avalon, for they fit her thin torso perfectly. She even liked the bell bottoms.
Avalon limped back to the bike, scowling. She picked it up by the scuffed handles and did a visual inspection, carefully checking it over for damage. It looked to be no worse for the spill on the hard pavement. The chain had sprung off the sprocket and was dragging in the dirt. Avalon put down the kickstand and began repairing the bike. As she fiddled with the chain, an object dropped onto the road with a jingling sound. Surprised, she picked up the object. It was a leather change purse stuffed with coins. She bent her head sideways to look at the underside of the bike seat and that is when she saw it. The seat was hollow, and a little trap door had popped open with her fall. She snapped open the clasp of the change purse and emptied it in her hand. Out tumbled a large number of assorted coins, and a small silver key, but more importantly, a fat roll of bills secured with a rubber band. A low whistle escaped her lips as she slipped the rubber band from the cache of cash. A quick count brought the total to over a thousand dollars. Shocked at her sudden windfall, she stretched the band around the bills and put them back into the bike seat, keeping the change in her pocket. As an afterthought, she put the cuff link in the bike seat too, for safekeeping.
Chain properly seated once again, Avalon straddled the bike and slowly pedaled away, testing that the chain was repaired and operating correctly. This time when she braked, it slowed with no effort at all. Grinning, Avalon sped up, heading toward the outskirts of Solace. Her aches were forgotten in the excitement of her windfall. I can even buy myself lunch when I get to Frankie’s, she thought. Her stomach rumbled in pleased agreement at the thought.