Ugly Ka, Crystal Ka

Without us, there wouldn't be any one left to fight at Jericho Hill. I don't know why we needed to save them just so they can die tomorrow. It makes me hate Ka. If I had a bullet for Ka I'd squeeze the trigger point-blank and never look back.

I get the feeling something here hasn't been done, or learned, or... something. I want to ask Carrie, but I know she misses her heroine, and she needs it to see.

It's like some sort of crystal lens for her mind. Sometimes it shatters. Well... we won't have to worry about that for much longer. I feel so bad! If I was going to lose my powers I don't know what I'd do!!

There isn't much I can do, I know that. James says if things go south I get myself on that cliff no matter what. He didn't say, but I knew, that when one of us gets hurt real bad (and I've got to wait until it's bad!) I got to do the same thing... take them safe to the cliffside.

The ugly part comes next.

Eden said something about Dinh. Carrie asked her if she thought she could lead us. I was silent. Me, I don't listen to anybody but James, I thought to myself. James points his gun one way and I point mine the same, no matter what. Does that make me a tet-breaker?

Sometimes Carrie knows when you should talk to James, and you listen to her. Sometimes the genius eats all your waffles because you made too many. Sometimes, Eden knows just what you mean when you haven't said it yet. So, maybe she won't have to lead with a gun.

There's something else about Eden. Not dinh--not like that. It's more about how we treat her than how she leads us. I've seen it in everyone's face when we fight. Ashleigh most of all. He was going to save Carrie, but then the Guardian attacked Eden, and he had to save her, even if it meant letting Carrie get hit - he had to. We're all like that.

We can't bear to let her fall again.

Waiting on the tracks

I've never been so mucky. The Guardian was in a big ole muck-pile. It attacked our minds, and made the Genius and Ashleigh march toward it. And the smell was horrible!!

If James hadn't a dived in the way and scooped me up I mighta been as bad off as the others. They most all got hurt. The thing took long to die.

And then Carrie took a dive. She turned her gun on us - she thought she worked for the King. She was really way out of it. We had to teleport her away, but I couldn't take her far enough. I was out of energy. The fight was too hard.

I was going to teleport again, and this time, I knew I was going to pass out. Then I felt James's mind nearby, concentrating on the right place with me, and together we both teleported.

When we got back near everyone went their separate ways. Until James called a meeting the next morning. We both knew we had to keep people together. I was real proud of James for calling everyone, too. Genius and Ashleigh liked my waffles!

Ashleigh says he can't sleep. I said maybe he could sleep by the rose. He hemmed and hawed about that suggestion till Carrie said he could sleep on her couch. He liked that idea, but he seemed embarrassed, like maybe he shouldn't - or like maybe we all didn't understand.

I knew. Sometimes a person can be the rose. I tried to explain how that's so with me and James, to make things less awkward, but I just made everyone go quiet. I don't really understand it, but I think people aren't supposed to talk about other people being like the Rose. But I don't care. Carrie says things other people don't say all the time, and it doesn't matter. It's better to be clear and to the point. I meant to make him feel better.

Anyway, Carrie said there's another vision. It's another horn we need. She describes the horn, curved and smooth and pretty, lying in a battlefield. It's on the grass, still as a whisper, and trembling like a penny on the railroad tracks.

We've got to save it or the horse flattens it.

B+ --Very imaginative

Penny White
12-02-99

Vocab. write-up

Before making the journey to the other New York, James, Carrie, Eden, Dr. King, Ashleigh and me all took our equipment and departed to the shooting range. We all needed the preparation in case there was another fight.

Ashleigh's fighting style is beautiful. He can make glass shields appear out of nowhere. But his best achievement was to hold together a compleat window while the low men were shooting it! They were astonished!

After shooting we had practice mind-fighting. It's like shooting invisible, imaginary bullets at someone's brain. If you made a mistake you could really hurt them, like how the Lost Highways expert was once hurt in the head. Good thing he got to heal, because Dr. King is really talented. Something was wrong though; I don't think James liked fighting without his gun too much.

I don't really like the Lost Highways. Thinking about going to another New York makes it hard to swallow. Poor Turtle Hat. Luckily, the road we have to take isn't like the others. It's not even a little dangerous or scary. Well, New York is always dangerous but not like the Lost Hiways.

We're on our way to an enormous building surrounded by forest. Carrie is going to perform so they don't struggle. I don't think Ashleigh can accept it too much but he will, because James does, and James is most always correct. I hope things go good for us!

The End

Truth or Dare / Ashley's song

We played Truth or Dare to try to get to know the new Eden! Carrie dared me to steal the genius doc's keyboard. It was a good dare. Someday I should go visit the Statue of Liberty so I can put things there for a joke. Wouldn't it be great if you got to work and saw a picture of your keyboard on top of the Statue of Liberty?! I wouldn't leave the keyboard there of course, I'd hide it somewhere else, but it would be so funny!!!

I need to think of good dares for the other two in case we decide to play again. Sooner or later they'll get tired of choosing Truth, I just know it. I should dare Carrie to dance with one of the boys (and she likes them all so it wouldn't matter which one)!! As for Eden, her dare should be something funny with her powers... She could give someone a dream where Darth Vader talks to them!! Like in Back to the Future. That would be so funny!! Plus she should know who Darth Vader is, even if she hasn't seen Back to the Future yet. Haha! Maybe she could trick Ashley. (Plus I think the genius doctor might figure it out.)

I bought a dress for Carrie today. James is taking her out to dinner again. It's real pretty and it kinda matches her bracelets. I told her not to look, just in case she was watching. Hopefully all the other me's she might have seen also told her not to look!! It's supposed to be a surprise.

I got a dress, too! I'm going to wear it to my party. I've decided on chocolate cake with gummy worms on top.

I wonder if Carrie knows what I'll have for dinner at the party, before I've even decided. I'd better not ask her, in case there's a surprise and she doesn't realize I don't know about it yet. She's so funny about time. Oh, I guess tonight is a good time to give her the watch we bought. I don't know if it will help, but maybe.

I put the glass rose on my sink counter right in front of the mirror, so it looks twice as pretty. When you tap it on the counter it makes a ting sound. It reminded me of the song of the Rose.

I wonder if the ringing glass is what Ashley's song sounds like.

Turtle Hat's turtle hat / Ka-something

I haven't been too good lately. I skipped my last few lessons, and no one has really said anything at the Tower, cause Turtle Hat fell and I saw Guy die on that island--so I guess that's good enough reason to not show up. But I felt a little bad because Miss Anna is nice. So I tried to do some homework today on the computer.

Typing was real boring, but then I found this art program, and as you can see, the effects are just about perfect for drawing that wavy semi-existence of the prim. Todash Black is deeper than this, and way WAY more dangerous than I made it look. But, here it is anyway, with Turtle Hat's turtle hat and the Turtle of the White and even the path that kept disappearing.

If Eden 1 hadn't fallen, I don't know what would have happened in 1978. Maybe we'd have saved both and had two. Or maybe the two Edens aren't ever allowed to meet, and Ka knew Turtle Hat was about to break the rules, and so it vanished the road from beneath her feet.

I keep trying to think of things that might explain her having to fall. But there's no reason or rhyme to her fall and that's the hardest part... that it just happened, just cause.

I tell you, if I didn't see the rose every day I'd forget there even IS the White. I'm not getting back on another lost highway, not unless the Rose itself asks me to.

Or if James does.

Anyway, I won't ever forget Turtle Hat, and the hard life she had. She wasn't too nice but I understood that. Anyway she was nicer than all the Prim put together, and I'm sorry she fell there. May she find a white patch where the Turtle guards against the black.

=-=-=

Just before we found the new Eden, I killed someone. First James told me to hide and I did, real good. But then the genius came and said I'd better stop James because he was going to get himself killed. I figured I'd make the genius feel better if I went--he seemed to think I could help. Besides I wanted to look after James.

And I did help. Ashleigh got one of the Low Men, and James another, and the genius doc another. I chose one and just pinpricked bits of him away.

That's when we saw the new Eden, so I didn't have too much time to think about what had happened.

He was just a bad guy, I told James later.

But James said there's no such thing. He said they were trying to get Eden and that's bad, but it doesn't make them bad all the way through.

Like Lex! He wasn't bad all the time. I don't know what would happen if James found another Lex. I could probably teleport them away to a safe place where James could sort out what the new Lex was like.

Lex called James a gunslinger. I guess that means James knows which ones are bad enough to shoot. I don't know that I've ever seen him not pull the trigger except for with me though... so maybe he's still learning too.

We talked about the old Turtle Hat, and how she was afraid to have friends. James Cain is, too, cause of what happened when he saved me. I tried to explain the new tet is different than the old one, but when he explained about good guys and bad guys, I realized they aren't too different, just on different sides.

He said he'd do anything for me, even kill the others. I told him I didn't understand that, because I really really wanted him to make friends with the others. But really, I did understand.

Eden asked what it was like being with someone who let me do just about anything. I didn't have an answer. I guess he's like a big brother. But not really. We're ka-something. Not just normal brother-sister. Ka-something.

James and me, there aren't words for.

Monster Car

What runs on gas and also runs over your friends?

A monster truck!

Well, okay, it was't really a truck. It was more a car. But cars aren't as fun to draw.

Plus, I know it attacked my mind. That makes it bigger and scarier than just a car. Plus, it burned James in the back. He was covering me with his coat. :( At least he wasn't too hurt!

EXCEPT the genius doctor (I called him a crazy old guy but Miss Anna says that doesn't reflect on his true specialist knowledge) shot him!! Shot James right in the back!! I thought he was changing sides at first, but then the scary one, the rat eater, shouted and said it was only a mistake. I knew she was right once she said it... Still...

I've asked Miss Anna to tell the secretary to make Doctor King an appointment for shooting lessons. He needs practice real bad, I told her, so she's gonna make sure it's a good long practice.

James did real good fighting, of course. And so did Ashley! He can move things with his mind, even cars. He can also make stuff. He made me a glass rose as an early birthday present, right in front of me. In thin air! I'll bet he could have steered Doctor King's arrow thing away from James if he'd not been so focused on smashing the monster car. Well, that's okay. It was pretty mean and it's a good thing we smashed it when we did.

Carrie's not so good at fighting. She kind of hid the whole time. Then at the end, when I thought it was all over, James said no, let's look around and make sure. And sure enough! Carrie saw baby monster cars all over. They scared her... poor Carrie.

Eden wasn't too happy to kill the babies. She doesn't like touching other people. I don't know why. She made it back home fine when we all joined up to teleport back.

I'm glad it's over. But now I have to go take Carrie her lunch. She said she doesn't ever take lunch breaks... can you believe it?! And James has had his head stuck in a book all day. I'll bring him a plate too. I thought about making one for Eden... but she's scary, and I don't think she likes me. Plus I don't think someone who ate rats likes bologna.

Let's see... Bologna for the meat, lettuce for veggies, pickle for the fruit, and mayo for the dairy. Plus, no duh, bread for bread!

We're making the rainbow already.

All Fun and Games

I haven't really told anyone, but I miss the hop-scotch court we used to have in front of our house.

It wasn't exactly a popular game at school, and between the slides and swings and jungle gym on the playground, me and my friends were always too busy with other fun things to play on some old faded-out blacktop. It's the kind of thing a kid with no imagination does when they've been kicked out of the library... play the boring old hopscotch.

But the court in front of my house was special. It had decorations on it that made it seem new, and exciting, and fun! The little stars were like portals to another world, and the crescent moon was so perfectly round, like Grandpa's spectacles or... or part of an ancient magic coin!

It wasn't always there, or at least, I didn't notice the hopscotch court till someone came along with chalk to decorate it. Then, when it was all new and shiny, the game called to me when I was at home. It was like... suddenly... a new thing, a thing just for me, where I could go and pretend about traveling in mystic space, do ya. If only I'd known then that I could teleport, I might have tried to take myself to the moon.

The playground at school was fun. Our games were always loud and sometimes dangerous, because if we were too rambunctious the yard duty would make us sit still for the rest of recess. But there were two things she always approved... hop scotch, and hand-clap games.

Miss Suzie had a shotgun, the shotgun had no shells
She loaded it with knives and forks and shot the boss to
Hello elevator, please give me floor one-nine
And if you keep me stuck here, I'll kick your small
Behind the Manni village, there was a little cave
Miss Suzie fell inside it, and drowned beneath a
Wave goodbye to heaven, the pearly gates are closed
The apples in the orchard are redder than the
r-o-s-e, r-o-s-e, r-o-s-e, rose! rose! rose!

Maybe I should ask Carrie to play with me. Or James. I bet they'd like that.