Chapter 6: Following The Wizard’s instructions, the friends, with Randi and Maddy, go to the County Animal Shelter to pick up two ‘associates’ for Bobbie and Randi. All goes well, and the two little darlings are returned to the Lewis and Schmedlap households. A few days later Maddy awakens Cindy. It seems Randi has done it again as the two new additions are seated with Maddy at the foot of Cindy’s bed.

Chapter 7: Things have settled down for a while as far as the cats are concerned. At Donna’s urging, the four friends take up jogging seriously. None of them are in Donna’s class as far as running is concerned; however, they find their weekend runs to be very enjoyable, that is until they are accosted by some hoodlums. For the first time, Cindy has to rely on magic for her survival, and does rather well. The Wizard is very pleased with how well she handled herself in a very serious situation. Once again, though, he expresses his concern for Donna.

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If you haven’t read the previous stories about Cindy and how she arrived where she is now, you should probably read them. Start with “An Incremental Journey”, “Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend”, “Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver”, and “Cynthia and the Moment of Truth.” “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” is looked at from a slightly different perspective in this story. That’s a few chapters from now and there are some interesting revelations of what went on behind the scenes.

This story is a bit longer than the previous ones in this series. It is 13 chapters and 34,000 words long. The High School Years, Part 2 is partly written, but nowhere near ready to post. I will post Chapter 8 & 9 in a few days.

I have researched the Spell’s—R-Us Universe diligently and cannot find anything that violates it, other than that The Wizard is a bit kinder and gentler than sometimes reported. Don’t get me wrong. Given an opening, The Wizard could resort to some of his more ironic and nasty transformations.

Once again, Holly has taken time out of her busy and hectic schedule to correct my many and grievous errors. Thank you so much!

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Cynthia and the High School Years, Part 1 — Chapters 6 & 7
 

Chapter 6

The county humane society, for some reason was open on a Sunday. That was definitely not the usual thing; however, two of the teenagers, a five year-old girl, and the world’s most intelligent and beautiful cat didn’t question it. Andy and Donna were along for the ride, so to speak, though Andy was actually driving. The facility was tucked beside a country road that wound through the hills and valleys with their patchwork farms, and country homes. Stone walls that were probably pre-revolutionary lined many of the roads.

As they rounded a corner, maybe a mile from their destination, Maddy’s ears perked up. She was riding on a padded platform place between the two front seats. It was enclosed in an elastic web designed to secure her in the event of an accident. Maddy wasn’t offended in the least about being confined in her perch. She knew it would protect her in the unlikely event of an accident. Besides, they would be making some modifications to it on their return journey.

“They’re there. I can hear them. In spite of what their mother told them, they are a bit scared.”

“[I’m coming little one’s. Your Aunt Maddy will be there in just a few minutes.]”

“[Mommy, Mommy, where are you Mommy?]”

“[Your Mommy’s fine, and now you are going to have some new Mommies to take care of you.]”

Cindy sniffed back a tear, “They sound so pitiful. This is the first time they’ve been away from their mother, and they’re not too sure what’s going on. I think all the animal sounds and smells are probably bothering them, too.”

“The gray one’s trying to be brave, but she’s not going to hold up much longer,” Bobbie added.

“What are you guys talking about? You can’t be hearing those kittens. We’re still almost a mile away.”

“They’re mind speaking. That’s what Maddy does when she wants to talk to me in private, or when we’re apart.

“Bobbie, you heard one of the kittens?”

“Omigosh, I did. I heard both of them, and I heard Maddy, too.”

“The black one says she wants to stay with me. Her name is Silky. Her sister is Chloe. They want us to hurry,” Randi added.

“This is amazing,” Donna laughed. “I’m sitting in a car listening to a cat tell me what some kittens are saying in a building a long ways from here. Not only that, I am riding with three gorgeous witches who could probably turn me into a toad if they wanted to.”

“You don’t have to be worried about being turned into a toad,” Bobbie laughed. “The Wizard says that honor will be Cindy’s. Besides, neither Cindy nor I can do any transformations, yet. I’m not sure about Randi, though. She’s doing stuff that Cindy and I haven’t even thought about. She just goes and does it.”

The animal shelter appeared as they rounded a bend, and Andy pulled into the mostly empty lot. A couple of cars that probably belonged to the employees were parked at the rear. They could hear many dogs barking as they approached the entrance.

They were greeted by two middle-aged ladies who were dressed as if they had just come from church, which they had. The next thing the group knew they were being hugged and kissed as if they were long lost relatives.

“Bobbie, you are even prettier than Naomi said you were,” waxed the matron, whose name was Evelyn. “Andy, you take care of this young lady. I don’t want to have to come back here for any negative reasons.”

“Ma’am, her brothers already made it very clear to me about that. Besides, she can take pretty good care of herself. She gives me two strokes a side and still beats me.” The two ladies laughed. It would be a while before the meaning of the double entendre hit him.

“So, this is Donna. It is so good to see you. We are so glad you are here.”

Donna was a bit disturbed. “You know about me?”

“Of course we do, dear; His Wisdom has told us about all of you. He can’t say enough about how proud of all of you he is, either. Of course he will never tell you that. He is especially proud of Cindy and the progress she has made.

“He wanted us to remind you to make sure to take Randi to Dillard’s to see Santa this Christmas. He says you will understand when you get there.

“Esmeralda, I think it’s time we brought the babies out.” Esmeralda retreated to the office, and the group could suddenly hear some pitiful meows. Esmeralda returned holding two unsure, wide eyed kittens. They were probably about 12 weeks old, and they were clinging to her silk blouse while looking at the humans. Their demeanor changed a bit when Maddy spoke to them.

“[Silky, Chloe, these are your friends. They are going to share their homes with you. I am going to be your teacher and guardian for a while. Silky, you will live in my house, and as you get older, you and Randi will be working together. Chloe, you are going to live with Bobbie and her family. They live close by so that everyone will be able to talk like we are now. We will be doing a lot of things together and there is no reason for you to ever be lonely.]”

Maddy turned to Evelyn and Esmeralda. “We don’t have any problems in our neighborhood, but we need to be safe. Have they had their shots yet?”

“Not yet, it will just take a minute.”

“[Silky, Chloe, I don’t want you struggling. Just relax, and you will hardly feel a thing. Look, I will get my shot first. It’s the right time for me to get mine, too. These shots have powerful magic and they will help keep us from getting all sorts of nasty diseases. They just mean there are a whole lot of things we don’t have to worry about.]”

Maddy sat on the counter and never flinched as Evelyn injected the shot into the loose skin at the nape of her neck. Then she went to each kitten and scrubbed their eyes and ears as Evelyn administered the shots.

“[Now, I want both of you girls to behave nicely on our trip to your new homes. We have a special place for you to ride in the car. When we get to your homes, I want you to stay inside unless Cindy or I, or Bobbie is with you. Randi is not old enough yet to go out and explore on her own.]”

As the got ready to leave, Esmeralda took Randi aside and knelt beside her. “Randi, I want you to be very careful with your spells. I want you to think how it was before. Remember how Captain Mike did things. He was very powerful, but very thoughtful. He always did the best things for his men. You were part of his team. Now you are part of this team. Cindy and Bobbie are your sergeants, and The Wizard is your captain. There will be a time when you will have to do things by yourself; however, that is a long time from now. Promise me that you won’t do any spells without your sister’s or The Wizard’s knowledge.”

“I promise Aunty Esmeralda.”

Again, there were hugs and kisses as they loaded their precious cargo into the special seat. Maddy immediately held the two kittens down and groomed them, forming an unbreakable bond.

Andy started to back out of his parking slot, and looked to where the other cars had been parked. One was no longer there.

The two kittens were short haired little beauties. Silky was what most would call a ’black cat’; however, she was really a very dark auburn. The reds in her fur glowed in the sunlight. Silky’s eyes were the color of gold, very similar to the mineral tiger-eye. Chloe was a shiny platinum gray. Her eyes were almost a hazel green.

The two sisters were quickly assimilated into their human families. They visited each other often, and could converse whenever they wanted, though Maddy had to teach them how to focus their mind speaking abilities so that they wouldn’t intrude on the others.

Things got interesting a few weeks later. Neither family felt that the sisters were old enough to explore the outdoors by themselves, and they were too far apart to travel between their homes which were several cul de sacs removed from each other.

The fall football season was in full swing, and Boston College was in the midst of an undefeated season and the families were engrossed in watching the television. No one paid much attention to Randi, who was traveling from her bedroom to the basement and back.

The next afternoon, the Lewis’s were visiting the Schmedlaps. They had had a bit of a break in the weather, and the men folk were doing some late season grilling before the New England Patriots’ game with San Diego.

Randi wasn’t much of a football fan, and being the youngest non-infant, had to sometimes resort to other forms of entertainment. Her mother and Bobbie’s mother were both dealing with infants, and Randi liked to help out; however, the older sisters got more involved. “Bobbie, may I visit Chloe?” Chloe liked to sleep on Bobbie’s bed. She wasn’t very gregarious; however, that would change as she got older.

Once again, no one paid any attention to the fact that Randi was carrying a bag of ‘stuff’ with her. Most assumed that she was carrying some of the dolls that she enjoyed playing with.

No one gave it another thought until late that night.

“Cindy, wake up. We have a problem.”

“What? What is it, Maddy?”

“I think you had better turn on the light.”

Cindy turned on the light and looked at the foot of her bed. Maddy was sitting there, Silky on her left and Chloe on her right.

“[Chloe, what are you doing here?]”

“[I was lonely, so I came over.]”

“[What do you mean you came over here? We told you that until you were older you couldn’t walk over here by yourself.]”

“[I didn’t walk over here. I came through the door.]”

“I don’t think I understand,” Cindy said out loud.

“Cindy, she came through the cat door. The one Randi put in her closet wall. I’ve already been through it. It opens into Bobbie’s closet. I don’t know how it works, but it does.”

It was too early in the morning to call Bobbie, so Cindy went to sleep with three little cats snuggled up to her.

She didn’t have to worry about calling Bobbie. Bobbie called her first thing in the morning.

“Cindy, (sniff) Chloe’s gone. I can’t find her anywhere. She was sleeping next to me last night, and this morning she’s gone. She’s not in any of her favorite places.”

“Don’t worry, she’s with me; just a minute.

“[Chloe, tell Bobbie you’re with me. You’ve been a bad girl.]”

“[Bobbie, I’m sorry. I got lonely, so I came over here to be with my sister.]”

“[Chloe, you need to go home now. It’s real early. Now the rest of us are going to have to figure out what’s going on.]”

“[Okay, but may I come back after breakfast? I want to play with Silky.]”

“[I guess so. I guess there’s no way to keep you from going back and forth.]”

Chloe hopped off the bed and headed for Randi’s bedroom.

“Cindy, she’s here. How did she do that?”

“She went through the cat door. Now I am going to have to talk with that little sister of mine.”

“This is really advanced stuff,” The Wizard said as he examined the two halves of the pet door. They had removed them so that The Wizard could examine them. He was having a slow week, and the Lewis’s had invited him for dinner so that he could see what his little protégée was up to. Amos and Stan had removed the two halves from their respective closet walls. Randi had used some duct tape and a few nails to mount the two halves. What was amazing, was that as soon as the door was removed from the wall, there was no sign of anything having been there other than some nail holes and tape residue.

After dinner the two families sat around the family room, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace. The adults were sipping some 200 year-old port that The Wizard had brought. They were being amused at the moment by the antics of the two kittens. The two halves of the door were placed face up on the floor about fifteen feet apart. One of the kittens would dive into one of the openings and disappear, ostensibly, into the floor, only to pop out of the other door fifteen feet away. It didn’t seem to matter which way the doors were placed, the kitten would go through one and come out the other. There could be half a kitten at one side of the room and the other half appearing at the other side of the room. It was rather disconcerting.

The adults and children had experimented, also. Both Cindy and Bobbie’s stomachs did little flip flops as they watched Stan’s arm disappear through one panel and appear across the room coming out of the other.

“What she has done has created a worm hole in space between the two doors,” The Wizard explained. “Essentially, no matter how far apart they are, there is no space between them. One of Stephen King’s universes has something like this, and Heinlein talks about star-gates in one of his books. Of course I do it all the time.

“Randi, tell us how you did this. You’re not in trouble. We would like to know, but you have to realize that until we know more about what you have done, we can’t let anyone else see them. This door could create all sorts of problems if the wrong people got hold of it.”

“Chloe and Silky wanted to play,” Randi said hesitantly. “They miss each other, so I put the kitty door in the wall so they could be together when they wanted to. They’re sisters and they need to be together.”

That night the doors were reinstalled in the closets, and the cats went back to going between the houses at will. The Wizard cast a spell so that the doors could not be seen by anyone but family members and others with a need to know. Everyone felt that there might be some other uses for them. It would be a while before they were able to put the magic Randi had found to use in other areas.

Not only did Donna play soccer, she was also an outstanding long distance runner. She was the number one runner on the women’s cross country racing team. Cindy marveled at how Donna’s hard body flowed as she clipped the miles off on the 3.2 mile course. The track season started the following spring, and Donna convinced Cindy, Bobbie and Andy to run with her on weekends when the weather permitted, which wasn’t all that often. Donna explained that the running would help Cindy develop her endurance for the longer races in the pool, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt Bobbie and Andy’s golf game.

The little group found a nice route along some of the country roads, and they could jog along at a pleasant pace while talking about school and other more pleasant subjects. Donna would usually get bored with the leisurely pace, and would take off on her own for the last two miles of their five mile route. It was a pleasant late fall day, and they were about three miles into their run when a car coming toward them caught their attention. They could hear it from some distance away. It wasn’t because of the noise of the engine; it was because of the booming rumble of the sound system.

They were climbing a slight grade when the car came over the crest of the hill. Instead of yielding space to the runners, the car drifted into the bike lane, forcing the runners onto the shoulder. They could see the four occupants laughing at the runners’ consternation.

“Bastards,” Andy grumbled, “it’s just one big fucking joke to them. I’ll bet those are the same guys that have run bikers off these roads. One guy was badly hurt.”

They had run about another half mile when they heard the car returning. There was a wide spot, a pullout, in the road, and the runners went as far left as they could. They could hear the car downshift, and then it pulled in front of them and came to a stop. Four greasy looking individuals piled out of the car. They were wearing the ‘uniforms’ of a local gang and the runners realized that there was going to be a confrontation.

“Shit, that’s the Goldsmith brothers and two of their pals. They’re nothing but trouble. Word is one of them knocked up Amy Epperson. They got a bunch of people to say she willingly took on their whole gang. She’s over 18, but not very bright. I heard they paid her $20.00 to put out. I think she thought she was going to make some new friends. Instead they just dumped her when she turned up pregnant.

“This could get messy. I’m not sure what we can do,” Andy said looking around for an escape route.

“Well, well, if it ain’t Feeleex Anderson. What you say Feeleex? It looks like you got more wimmin than you can rightfully handle. I tell you what, you just have those ladies come over here and get in my car and we might leave you alone.” That was Acey Goldsmith speaking. He was the oldest brother.

“Andy, don’t try anything,” Cindy whispered. “They’re more than we can possibly handle. Don’t feel bad about this, but I think Bobbie and I need to use some special resources.”

“Hey, you with the tits, why don’t you come over here and show me and my friends what you got under that shirt? They can’t be real. Why don’t you just get in the back seat and I will show you what eight inches of hard dick can do for you.”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Acey.”

“Just shut your face, bitch, and do what I tell you and maybe you won’t get hurt too much.”

By this time the gang had moved to surround the four runners.

“Boys, it seems something is wrong. I think that food you had this morning had something wrong with it. Not only that, you drank so much that you have to take a leak. Unfortunately, there’re no rest rooms around here, so you are just going to have to wet your pants.”

“Holy shit, Acey, you just pissed yourself,” one of his cronies remarked.

“Well shit, asshole, I wouldn’t talk. It looks like you pissed yourself, too.

“I don’t know what you did, bitch, but I think for that, you’re going to die.” He pulled out a rather impressive switchblade and released the blade.

“Unfortunately, your feet are glued to the ground and you can’t move. Your knives seem to be getting very hot, so the best thing to do would be to drop them.”

Four switchblades dropped to the ground.

Cindy realized she had things under control, but she also realized that if she relinquished control over the four, they would never be rid of them.

“Andy, what do you think these four have been responsible for?”

“Well, I know what I hear, but I don’t really know for sure. There are a number of alleged rapes. I think they deal in drugs. I wouldn’t doubt that they have been responsible for a number of burglaries in the area.”

“If that’s the case,” Cindy said while looking at the four, “I think the best thing would be that they tell us what they have done.

“What do you think fellows? Before we let you go, boys, I think you had better tell us what you have done.”

For the next fifteen minutes they listened as the four listed a litany of crimes that was hard to believe. Cindy finally had them stop.

“This is the way it is going to be. The food poisoning you have been suffering is just about to be manifest in severe diarrhea. The only thing you can do is report to the police station and use their restroom. Of course in return, you are going to confess all your crimes to them. They will be very grateful and will see that all your housing and food needs will be taken care of for a long time.

“Now get in your car and drive carefully to the police station. Your radio is broken, so you might as well turn it off.”

The four watched quietly as the four gang members with rather dazed expressions got into the car and slowly drove off.

Donna collapsed to the ground, sobs wracking her body. Cindy sat next to her and pulled her close. She knew Donna had flashed back to the rape she had experienced several years before.

“Cindy, you showed remarkable restraint. I am proud of you.” They looked up to see The Wizard and the wolf. The wolf nuzzled up to Donna and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. “I might have done differently; however, what you have done will allow for a lot of closure for many people. I’m not sure what I would have done to them; however, I think the punishment they will suffer is far worse than if I had turned them into rocks.

“I did strengthen the compulsion you put on them to report to the police. I think yours would have held, but we certainly didn’t want them out and about. They are reporting in to the police as we speak and they will be old men before they ever see the light of day from the outside.

“Why don’t you get into my limousine, and I will take you back to your car.

They quietly got in the limousine and started down the road, the Wizard joining them in the back. “Donna, I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. Sometimes these things happen, and I’m not always aware of that they will happen. In this case, Bobbie called me; however, Cindy was already in charge of things. She had to act as she did. None of you should get in the habit of me responding immediately to your calls, as I am involved in many things, and sometimes I just can’t get to you quickly enough.”

Andy was a bit agitated and kept looking around as the limousine headed down the road. “Excuse me, Your Wisdom (Bobbie had told him about the proper forms of address), but who is driving the limousine?”

“Wolf’s driving. He’s a very good driver. Besides, no one will notice.” He turned to Cindy. “We need to talk about what happened. Cindy, why did you have those hoodlums pee in their pants?”

“I had to know I was in control. I had to know I could really make them do what needed to be done. Bobbie and I have done some minor mind control things before, but never anything as important as this was. I knew if I could make them do that, then I was pretty sure I could keep things under control.

“Thank you for reinforcing the control, though. It really could have been bad if everything had worn off after they drove away. They were so evil. You should have heard what they’ve done.”

“Oh, I did. I think I would have been much harsher in my treatment of them, but in my old age, I find my patience runs thin rather quickly. Turning them into rocks would have been too easy.

“I remember a similar case I had in southern France. When was that? Let’s see: that was just before or just after the Salem witch trials. What a horrid state of affairs, that was. All those innocent people executed like that. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, southern France. There was this gang of highwaymen, and they would hold up a coach, and they weren’t satisfied to just take the money and jewelry, they would rather violently rape the women and young girls. I was sent down there to take care of them. I turned them into flagstones, and they were used to pave a stable floor. I think they are still there.

“I was asked afterwards why I didn’t turn them into women and throw them to the wolves, so to speak, to be raped again and again. First of all, I couldn’t do that to any woman, and second of all, all that does is encourage rapists, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. They were better off as rocks.”

“Sir, may I say something?”

“Sure, Andy.”

“Well, I’m just very thankful that Cindy and Bobbie can do what they can. We wouldn’t have stood a chance against those guys if it hadn’t been for magic. I think some guys would feel inadequate, embarrassed, or worse that they had to rely on a girl to save his ass. I just want everyone to know that I am not eaten up by that macho shit. Bobbie put me in my place a while ago, and I have learned a lot about personal relationships since then. I’m sure there will be a day when I’m able to do something for them because of some talent I have. I am proud to be associated with this group, and they may use magic anytime they want to save my ass.”

The Wizard had turned his attention to the pretty brunette who had been pretty quiet up to this point. “Donna, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You have experienced some very traumatic events over the last few years, and you had every right to be fearful about those hoodlums. Things will get better over the years and you will gain much strength.”

“Okay, here we are. I think there is some of ‘that tea’ in your kitchen cabinet, Cindy. Why don’t you fix everyone a cup or two when you get back to your house? I think Donna might want two cups for sure.”

The headlines in The Courant and the accompanying article the next morning shouted the fact that the gang that had been terrorizing neighborhoods, and had been responsible for a huge amount of drug trafficking, had turned themselves in to the local authorities. The author of the article speculated that they would be providing numerous names involved with a major crime syndicate headquartered in the Hartford and Boston areas.

The thugs had waived their legal rights to silence, in the presence of their appointed attorneys. There was a lot of speculation as to why they had turned themselves in; however, the local constabularies were happy they did.

Next: I’ve decided to post two chapters again. Many of you will be familiar with chapter 8, as it is “Cynthia and the Christmas Gift” from a different perspective. We now have some additional information of what went on. Chapter 9 is the turning point in Part 1. Cindy is deeply and truly in love for the first time in her life. The storm in this chapter is very reminiscent of what I experienced in the Washington, DC area last week, although I wrote this chapter months ago.

Portia