Alethia, Beldin, Chavaleh, Griffon, and all related to the Perris Park Institute (c) Kylen
Christine Miles
All Road Rover names (c) Warner Brothers and rightful owners
Huntress (c) Greywolf Lupous
DJ (c) Jake Williams
Questions, comments, and concerns please feel free to e-mail Kylen at
Exilo@hotmail.com
A NOTE ON PRONOUNCIATION
“Chavaleh” - ( Haw vah leh )
or “Chava” for short - ( Haw vah )
“Just one more adjustment,” DJ’s muffled voice came from under the Street Rover. There was a clanging sound and then DJ rolled himself out from under the car. “There, all fixed.”
Alethia stood up straight and smiled, unfolding her arms. “Great, DJ,” she said with a smile. DJ stood up and swept his forearm across his brow.
“It wasn’t too bad, really,” DJ answered, cleaning off his wrench with a rag, although the rag was so greasy it probably wouldn’t do much. “I just think Hunter needs to find a different car to give Huntress driving lessons in.”
Alethia smiled and then looked away. “She is so determined. She is getting better, I think. Blitz had less white hairs this time.”
DJ laughed. “Well, Blitz had demanded that he be the one to teach her. And he thought driving with Colleen was terrifying! But yes, they really need to find another car for Huntress and Blitz to play crash-test dummies in. The Street Rover is a very
important asset to this team, and the more banged up it gets, the less and less I am going to be able to do for it.”
Alethia nodded. “We might be able to get the UN to donate one, and if not, I’m sure we can purchase a used one for a good price.”
“That would be great,” DJ sighed, “then I can have more time for other things.”
“Oh? What kinds of things?”
DJ paused. “You know? I really don’t know! I’ve never really had any free time to myself before.”
“I’m sure you could think of something,” Alethia winked.
“Welp- now time to take this puppy on a test run to make sure everything is
operational again.”
“Oh- may I do it?” Alethia asked. “I wanted to stop by the post office. I have a
letter I wanted to mail to Beldin. He’s back in Manchuria again, and I am hoping he will
be there long enough to receive the letter before he moves out on his search again.”
“Well...” DJ scratched the back of his neck a moment. “I’m certain the car is in
perfect running order, it’s just that...”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Alethia smiled, “I completely trust your work and your
expertise. So may I, please?”
“All right,” DJ said a little reluctantly, “but promise me that if the car seems
unright to you at any time, pull it over, get out, get away from it, and message me on
the portable radio under the seat immediately.”
Alethia smiled and nodded. “Oh, thank you so much! Yes, I will, I promise. I will
be careful, I assure you. Hang on, I am going to run to my room really quick and get
that letter.”
“All right,” DJ replied, “and while you are doing that, I’m going to make a quick
look-over of the car again- anything to ease my worries.”
Alethia smiled, spun on her heels, and was gone.
Alethia was racing down the hallway to her room when she rounded a corner
and ran straight into a hapless Hunter. Alethia bounced right off his front, and would
have fallen backwards and to the floor if he hadn’t caught her as quickly as he did.
“Whoa, Alethia, where are you going to in such a hurry?” Hunter asked, smiling
as he held her arms. He let go of her once she appeared steady on her feet once
more.
“I was just going to my room,” Alethia answered. “I wanted to get a letter I had
written to Beldin and get it to the post office before it closed.”
“Ooooh, I see,” Hunter smiled, speaking in his fun-loving tone of voice. “But wait
a minute- how are you getting there? Has DJ fixed the Street Rover yet?”
Alethia nodded hurriedly. “Oh yes- a wonderful dog he is, he can fix anything.
May I?”
Hunter laughed. “All right, all right. You may go. I don’t want to keep you from
your important business.” Hunter winked and then walked around her. Alethia dashed
off to her room.
Once she arrived, she threw open her door and looked quickly about the room.
“Damn me,” she murmured, “why can’t I ever put things where I can find them?”
Alethia pulled open a few drawers and then found it lying on top of a stack of
papers in one of the drawers of her desk. “Ah here- there we go.”
Alethia dashed back out of her room in such a flurry she startled Blitz, who was
now coming down the hallway. She glanced at him quickly to apologize but then
stopped and stared instead. Soon, she was laughing.
Blitz was dressed in a fuzzy pink robe with slippers. He had what appeared to
be a shower cap on his head and his expression looked very weak and grim. While
Alethia just stood there, staring at him, Colleen approached as well from around the
corner.
“Well, Blister, I see you are trying to recuperate from the latest driving le- good
God is that my robe?!” Colleen now stared at Blitz, but it was more with disgust. “Oh
yuck- now I will need to buy a new one!”
Alethia shook her head, smiling. “Blitz, if I weren’t in such a hurry, I would run to
my room and get my camera. This would make a great picture of you to print in this
year’s Road Rover member directory.”
“You wouldn’t!” Blitz’s jaw dropped. Colleen started laughing.
“Oh Alethia- I love the way you think!” She then poked Blitz in the chest.
“You’re just lucky Chava isn’t here. She would just be torturing you. She would never
let you live this down.”
“Well,” Alethia said, “I’m going to leave you two to this. I need to get going, but
do enjoy yourselves!” Alethia made a flirtatious wave of her hand and then sped off.
She was back in the hangar in no time.
“DJ, I’m back, I just got my- DJ! Get out from under there!”
Alethia pulled out the little creeper that DJ was lying on underneath the Street
Rover and gave him a scold.
“Now, I know you have already fixed this up perfect. Quit worrying.”
DJ stood up and said, “All right, you all set to go?”
Alethia nodded and smiled. DJ opened the driver’s door for her and she got in.
“Okay then,” DJ said, “just be careful, okay?”
“I will,” Alethia promised, and then turned on the car and sped away in a matter
of seconds. DJ watched her go and then turned and left the hangar.
It was about dinner time and the Road Rovers had already gathered for dinner in
the kitchen. Shag was busy finishing up preparing the meal and Exile was helping
Huntress set the table when DJ entered.
“Oh good,” Colleen smiled from across the kitchen, “do you know if Alethia is
back yet for dinner?”
“She didn’t say whether or not she would be back for dinner,” DJ answered. “But
it is so late now, I guess that is a no.”
Colleen nodded her head at Huntress and Exile. “Put one place-setting back,
then.”
“That’s too bad,” Hunter said, “well, Shag, leave a little bit of food aside for her,
just in case she comes back later and is hungry.”
Shag made an incoherent noise in approval and began to dish food out on the
plates.
DJ went to take his seat next to Blitz, whom still happened to be in the pink robe
and the rest. DJ just pulled back his chair and then didn’t sit down as soon as he
caught a glimpse of Blitz in his chosen dinner attire. DJ just gaped.
“Don’t ask,” Colleen said when she saw the expression on DJ’s face.
“I won’t”, DJ replied, taking his seat.
It was getting darker and Alethia had just dropped off the letter at the post office
over an hour ago. She realized that she was famished and her mind quickly changed
gears and began to think of food.
“I don’t think I can wait to eat until I get back to Mission Control. I am starving
now. I guess I’ll just stop by a fast food restaurant and go through the drive-thru.”
Alethia drove a few miles until she got off the freeway towards large fast-food
signs that she had been able to see from the freeway. She chose one at random,
which happened to be a hamburger and fries chain.
Alethia pulled up to the window and ordered a meal casually, paying at the first
window and picking up the greasy food in a bag at the second. Alethia then pulled
forward, out of the parking lot, and back onto the road. She drove done a really quiet,
unbusy street and soon hit the first stop light. As she sat and waited for the light to
change colors, she noticed what appeared to be a homeless man standing on the
median in the middle of the street, holding a cardboard sign that simply said,
“Homeless. Need Money for Food. God Bless.”.
The light seemed to be taking forever, and Alethia couldn’t help but peer at the
poor person standing solemnly in the cold. Alethia looked into the passenger seat
where the bag of fast food was sitting. She then gave a weak smile and began to roll
down the window to the car, plucking up the bag.
“Here, now,” she called to the beggar. “Here, come here, you can have this.”
The homeless man turned his dark shroud of a figure towards her, then gave a
rotted smile, hobbling towards the Street Rover with Alethia beckoning. When he was
close enough, Alethia handed him out the bag, but to her shock, he completely ignored
the bag and grabbed her arm. Alethia dropped the bag into the street- shocked and
screaming, trying to pull her arm back into the car, but the dirty man was grinning at her
sickeningly, pulling his head and upper torso through the window and towards Alethia.
* * *
“And then I just stomped my foot on the gas and the car took off, making the man
let go of me. I drove like a bat out of hell until I got back here.” Alethia finished her
story. She was sitting on the sofa back at Mission Control. DJ was beside her, holding
an ice bag to her bruised forehead. Colleen was gently stroking her bruised arm while
the others sat around, dumbfounded. However, Hunter paced back and forth across
the carpet, head down, his brow furrowed.
“It sounds too suspicious to just be some crazed bum case. He might have been
working for someone,” Hunter said aloud.
“Oh Hunter, that is silly,” Colleen said, looking up. “Who do we know would hire
a bum, make him stand in the street with a sign, and attack people driving by?”
“Maybe not random people- but Road Rovers; someone out to get us,” Hunter
answered.
“Well, that is a very odd method, I must say,” Colleen retorted. “Besides, how
would someone know that Alethia, or any Road Rover for that matter, would be in that
spot at that exact time? How would someone know she was even out unless they
happened to see her earlier and was following her around?”
“I don’t know,” Hunter said, standing still and putting a hand to his chin. “Yes, I
know it is odd..”
“Hunter, I think it is was just basically a case of some perverted bum wanting
more than a greasy hamburger,” Blitz offered.
“What? Wanting a Road Rover? Wanting a dog? No, that sounds just TOO
weird to me...” Hunter answered, droning off.
“Either way, Alethia is safe now, and that is all that is important,” Blitz replied.
“If you guys don’t need to know anything else, I am going to go up to bed. This
has been one crazy night,” Alethia said, starting to sit up.
“Are you sure you don’t want to eat first?” Hunter asked her, moving forward to
help her up.
“No, I don’t. Food got me INTO this mess. I would rather just get into bed and
sleep safe and sound.”
“Alright, here, let me help you to bed...”
Colleen jumped up and took Alethia by the arm. “No, I will take her up and help
her get ready for bed, okay Hunty?”
Hunter nodded and watched as the two girls went up the stairs.
“Comrade, I think the rest of us are going to bed, too. We are just glad Alethia is
dokey-okey and back here safe. Try not to worry about it too much, kay?” Exile put his
hand on Hunter’s shoulder and then walked past him, along with Blitz, Huntress, Shag
and Muzzle.
“I still say something doesn’t scratch right about this,” Hunter said, turning to DJ.
DJ looked at him solemnly.
“The whole idea does seem very strange,” DJ lamented. “Is it possible it could
be a henchman of Parvo’s?”
Hunter shrugged. “I’m not sure, but it very well could be.”
“Or else it was just a @#%@ bum,” DJ replied.
Hunter nodded at this as well. “Well, I guess I am going to head up to bed, like
all the others. I need to just sleep on this, I think.”
DJ nodded this time and followed Hunter up the stairs.