Chapter 20. Arthur waved his hands

Arthur waved his hands energetically in return. However, no matter how fast he waved his hands, inside he had mixed feelings. School was every child’s dream to learn and obtain superpowers, to become an idol for citizens and more importantly make their parents proud.

Arthur didn’t wish to go to Naturelle, he preferred to stay home, but the incident from the church and seeing those he loved died before his very eyes within the nightmare made him want to get stronger in order to protect them.

Arthur tucked his head back inside when he couldn’t see their estate anymore. He knew he wouldn’t be able to see his mom or dad until his first year of school was over. Every year when new children leave their home to enroll in school, old ones at the same time will return to visit their family.

Most of the time the child would be chaperoned by their parents to school so they would be able to spend more time with them before they felt homesick, however with Arthur leaving without his family’s accompaniment he couldn’t help but glance back home outside the window of the carriage every so often.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Boss’s loud childish voice startled Arthur causing him to bump his head on the window. Arthur tucked his head back inside glaring at Boss for causing him pain and ruining his moment of sadness.

“What is it?” Shelly glanced over at Boss.

“Tada~” Boss brought a brown wig and sunglasses from underneath his robe. “A disguise! I almost forgot to put it on!” Boss shouted excitedly as he put on the sunglasses and then began to fix the wig on top of his violet hair.

“Couldn’t you just change your hair and eye color?” Arthur asked in an irritated voice. The thing Boss was doing looked stupid to him since Boss had the ability to change his hair and eye color whenever he wanted.

“Arthur, what is a disguise?” Boss asked.

“It’s like hiding your real self by making yourself look different. Aren’t you already doing that with the purple hair and yellow eyes?” Arthur replied with a weird look on his face. Was Boss asking a trick question?

“And what is my real hair and eye right now?” Boss continued to ask.

“Black and black?” Arthur quickly replied.

“Bzzt, wrong! It’s purple and yellow!” Boss continued “I can’t have brown hair and brown eyes, or I’ll be limited to that orthodox shit your school teaches. But if I have purple hair and yellow eyes and disguised myself with a wig then I can do anything! Duh.” His response made Arthur wide eyed whereas Michael and Julie looked at Boss with confusion.

“What do you mean black and black?” Michael asked, he didn’t really understand, did this kid have black hair and eyes?

“I have black hair and eyes, but I disguised it as violet and yellow.” Boss replied drawing even more look of confusion on their face. Michael and Julie thought to themselves did black hair and eyes even exist on their planet?

“Are you saying you have black hair and eyes? But no one on our planet ever had that hair and eye color.” Julie asked, she was unconvinced.

“Julie! Remember what I said before?” Arthur pulled Julie closer and whispered in her ear “he’s an alien.” Arthur’s mention made Julie recall what Arthur said to her at the Church. She remembered that Arthur mentioned he was a man that turned into a kid, but Arthur never mentioned his hair/eyes could also change colors.

Michael looked at the two of them sharing a secret. “What? What?” He asked eliciting Arthur to stick his tongue out at him. This drew Julie into laughter as she quickly covered her mouth.

“What is it? Can’t you tell me Julie?” Michael asked, he didn’t like Arthur’s behavior, but he hoped Julie would tell him. However, his hope was immediately shattered when Arthur quickly covered Julie’s mouth. “Shhh!” he motioned with his other hand causing Julie to obediently nod her head.

“Julie~” Michael begged. However, Julie replied with “it’s a secret” and high fived Arthur afterwards. This made Michael downcast as he sulked in his spot. His sulking didn’t last long as he noticed something off about Arthur and Shelly.

“Hey, where are your pets?” He finally realized he didn’t see Shelly petting her kitten or the puppy that was sitting on Arthur’s head.

“Barkie? Where are you?” Arthur felt the top of his head and looked around; he didn’t even notice his pet was missing. He exclaimed “Oh my gosh did we left them at home!?”

“No.” Shelly shook her head and pointed at the two horses. “They’re over there.” The kitten was relaxed on top of the head of the horse carrying their belongings whereas Barkie was vigilantly sitting on the head of the one carrying them.

Hearing Arthur call for him Barkie turned around from the horse’s head and barked before returning back and continuing to maintain a vigilant posture.

“Barkie? What’re you doing up there come here!” Arthur called for him, however Barkie paid him no mind and barked again. This bark caused the horse carrying them to neigh in response as it began to speed up.

A soft “mew” could be heard afterwards as the carriage beside them slowed down and followed from behind.

Everyone but Boss looked at the two pets flabbergasted at what they were witnessing. Could these two pets talk to animals? Arthur and Shelly quickly recalled what Samuel and Angel were bragging about when they mentioned the pets, was it true?

“Wait, what are they doing? Why’re we speeding up? Wait! Where are the horse carriage drivers?” Arthur didn’t have time to stay amazed as he realized his pets can control the horses and that the horse carriage drivers were missing.

“Oh them? They hopped off awhile ago.” Boss replied nonchalantly causing Shelly to nod her head in agreement. This caused the other three to look at him with a strange look on their face. “Couldn’t you have told us this when you noticed?” Michael was exasperated, the heck was this boy doing not telling them something so important.

“Hm? Why? It’s not like you’re going to die when I’m around.” Boss waved off Michael’s concern. The boy sitting within the carriage with his smug look and arms crossed slowly began to dissipate from the seat before completely vanishing. His voice reverberated through the air “Anyways~ good luck when I’m not around, I’m going to find a place to pee.”

“Boss!” Arthur shouted at where the little purple haired boy once sat. “Where did you go!?” A sense of foreboding enveloped Arthur at what Boss had said before vanishing causing him to slowly panic.

Michael felt around the spot where Boss had vanished hoping it to be some sort of illusionary trick. However, the wig wearing boy was completely gone. “He’s just playing a trick on us, there is nothing to worry about.” Michael tried to reassure the passengers.

However, his reassurance didn’t last for long as Julie asked “Guys, do you hear something?” The sound of men shouting along with multiple horses galloping could be heard coming from the distance.

As if on cue to Julie’s question a loud voice could be heard “Hiyah! After them! Go go go!”

“Bark!” The horses neighed to Barkie’s command and galloped forward as fast as they could, the once smooth ride became an incredibly bumpy one as everyone sitting within held onto a part of the carriage for support.

“Wh-what’s going on!? What’s happening!?” Arthur exclaimed in panicked fright; were they being chased?

“I don’t know, look out of window and check!” Michael replied causing Arthur to quickly dip his head out to see what was going on.

In a distance away a group of 3 towering tanned skin men wearing demonic looking face masks were closing in on them. Their horses were monstrous in size dwarfing that of the ones carrying the carriages.

“People on big horses are chasing us!” Arthur snapped his head back inside and shouted. The look on everyone’s face inside the carriage was filled with worry with the exception for Shelly who was quickly contemplating something.

“How many were there?” Shelly asked calmly. Arthur quickly responded with “Three!” with Shelly nodding her head with a plan.

“I’ve read books about the mountainous trail to Boulderville, there’s a really steep narrow trail ahead that goes up the mountain. We can use the narrow trail to keep whoever is chasing us from surrounding us as we go up.”

Michael nodded his head in understanding and asked “What if they caught up to us from behind while we’re going up? They wouldn’t just let us climb all the way up.”

“We’ll just have to not let them do that.” Shelly replied. Barkie who was overhearing their entire conversation understood what Shelly was saying as it barked causing the horse carrying them to make left turn up ahead climbing up the mountain.

The demon masked men who were chasing them saw the turn they were taking and shouted, “Shit! After them! Follow me!” The leader of the tree took the lead as they single filed their way behind.

“What do we do now? They’re gaining on us!” Arthur couldn’t help but peek his head out as the enormous horses were gaining on them. “Julie, I remembered you stopping that Seraphim momentarily back at the church do you have Telekinesis?” Shelly asked. Even though Julie was born with blonde hair and hazel eyes as an Exotic she could still obtain Telekinesis.

“No, I can’t control inanimate objects, I’m just able to stop anything momentarily, the smaller it is the longer I can stop it for.” Julie replied.

“Is there a distance limit to it?” Shelly’s question made Julie paused for a moment before replying “As long as I can still see it.”

“Mm, this might work.” Shelly nodded her head before continuing “I need everyone to back away from me.” She calmly placed her palm to the back of the carriage as thin lines carved its way forming a square completely blowing out the back of the carriage.

“Julie!” Shelly shouted causing Julie to freeze the squared shape board form from the back of the carriage in place. Michael quickly grasped the board and pulled it into the carriage revealing Silver and the other carriage directly behind them.

“Michael, can you throw the wooden board up in the air as high as you could behind us?” Michael could only nod his head to Shelly and say, “I’ll try my best.”

“Julie, we’re reaching the steepest part of the incline Michael will throw it behind our carriages, can you stop the board directly in the middle of the pathway?” Julie nodded her head “I can try.”

There was only one attempt at this as they were nearing the incline. Tension was building as they waited for Shelly’s command. The trio of masked demons were gaining on them at a quick pace, their hair and eyes completely hidden.

The leader with the two-horned demonic mask, saw the opening that Shelly had done to her carriage and became wary. However, he didn’t slow down his pace and continued to speed up.

Time was slowing to a crawl as the enemy continued to advance towards them. Arthur couldn’t help but panic as Arthur shouted “Shelly!” However, she paid him no mind and continued to judge the distance.

“Now!” Shelly shouted causing Michael to erupt with full force of his strength tossing the board as high in the air as possible. The board spun in the air out of Julie’s direct line of sight, however as they continued the ascent upward the board finally came into view.

Just a little bit more and the board will have fallen directly in the pathway between the carriages and their pursuer. Julie’s arm extended outwards towards the direction of the board as it completely froze perfectly between the two.

“Yes!”

Everyone was overjoyed at the success of the board blocking the narrow pathway. However, their pursuer’s leader also waved his arm forcing the board that was once blocking the road to fall down the steep cliff of the mountainside.

“No!”