up over the entrance with a few ragged branches jutting down. It looked like a fanged mouth, like the hungry jaws of the mountain were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to swallow us whole. I wiped my suddenly sweaty palms on my blue jeans and moved a little closer to my brother and sister.
Gabe grabbed the backpack and pulled out both flashlights. He tossed one to Keni and the other to me. Of course I missed and mine went skittering to the ground. Keni clicked hers on to help me find mine, while Gabe tried to wrestle his gargantuan arms into the normal-sized backpack. Light retrieved, I watched the comic relief my brother was unknowingly providing a little longer than I should have before I had mercy and held out my hand for the bag.
He threw it to me and huffed. “Stupid, tiny bag.”
Together we faced the mountain.
Keni shifted antsily on the balls of her feet. “I’m like, pee-my-pants scared right now.”
“Aw, come on, Keni!” Gabe grinned as he draped his bulky arm around our little sister’s shoulders. “It’s a pitch-black mountain range, filled with savage, wild animals. One of which could be a man-eating panther. What’s to be afraid of?”
Keni’s eyes popped. Even in the moonlight her complexion paled noticeably with dread.
I kept my voice as calm and soothing as possible. “Kendall, he’s kidding.”
Gabe released Keni and shoved her playfully toward me. “No, I’m not.”
“Shut up.” I hissed at him. I caught my sister’s face in my hands and made her look me in the eye. “We’ll be fine. And if we do run into any animals, Gabe is with us. So we have nothing to worry about.”
Gabe’s expanded his chest in full meathead bravado. “That’s right ladies, the G-Man will protect you.”
“Actually, I meant that any carnivorous animals would much rather eat you, in all your meatiness, than us.” Gabe scowled. But I got a giggle out of Kendall.
She filled her lungs with a deep inhale and nodded. “All right. Let’s go.”
Gabe led the way with his wide gait and determined strides. I turned my head to hide my nervous gulp from my sister, then I followed him. Keni brought up the rear, sticking so close to me that she stepped on my heels repeatedly.
The foliage on the path hung thick and heavy and prevented the moonlight from poking through. Darkness enveloped us. I could only see as far as my flashlight beam allowed. Yet Gabe stayed out in front, sans flashlight.
“Hey, Gabe. Why don’t you let someone with a flashlight lead?” Or better yet, take the flashlight and let me stay safely in the middle of the pack.
“That’s alright. I don’t need it. I can see fine.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. Improved night vision, too? And the freak traits just keep on comin’.
The nighttime hoots, calls, and screeches of the nocturnal forest animals were creeping me out enough that I was relieved when Keni piped up…at first. “Hey, Cee, with that ability of yours can you read my mind?”
“No, it doesn’t work that way.”
“Quick! What color am I thinking of?”
“I have no idea; I’m not a mind reader. I’m empathic, not psychic.”
“Do you, like, know what the winning lottery numbers are going to be?”
“Nope.”
“Can you tell me if I’ll get the role of Maggie the Cat?”
“I don’t know the future, Keni. Sorry.”
“Could you do something that would, like, completely alter what’s going to happen in the future?”
I stopped and spun on her. “What? That doesn’t even make sense! Anyone could do that. It’s just about emotions, that’s all.”
With one hand on her hip and her interest in this matter obviously waning she asked, “So, what am I feeling right now?”
I didn’t even open the channel, but went for the obvious. “Nervous and scared.”
“Well, duh.” She tsked. “Your ability’s dumb. I can float.”
I didn’t mind the nighttime forest noises as much after that. Twenty minutes later we arrived in the clearing. We were welcomed by the moonlight that glistened off the brook.
“You two have a seat over there.” Gabe nodded in the direction of the fallen tree. “I’m gonna make a fire.”
Keni and I watched him get a small camp-fire going. We gathered around it to fight off the night chill and watch for the bird-woman. (I really hoped she had a name so I could stop calling her that.)
“Hey, Gabe,” Keni mused as she twirled an oak leave between her fingers. “How’d you find out that you were super strong and not just big and lumpy?”
Gabe laughed