Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ UnderCover - The Origin ❯ 1995: Clare, Lena and Alex ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Yep, they're all still my own characters, and my original storyline. If I see this posted up anywhere other than here, I'll find out who it was, hunt them down, and use water torture on them for the rest of their days. Also, if I encroach on some unknown copyrights, it's my bad - hell, it's not like I'm making money here!

Onward!

Part 002

1995: Clare, Lena and Alex - Part 01

Clare had found her way outside, and was wandering around the expansive gardens of the Abbot estate. She'd taken photo's of some of the trees, some birds, and had just spotted a pretty grey dove perched on the stone birdbath in the courtyard. She lifted the camera and framed the shot, taking it quickly before the bird knew she was there. She smiled in satisfaction, then a flash of movement caught her eye from within the house. Clare glanced in the nearest window, and spotted Lena

You can't replace her... don't even try...

drinking something in the kitchen. Her eyes widened, and she ducked out of sight below the window sill. She heard a noise above her, then a disgruntled sigh.

"I wonder if I should put a bell on her or something?"

Clare frowned, and poked her tongue out at the window above her.

A bell? What do you think I am, a cat?

She edged around the side of the house, then sighed deeply and walked at a more sedate pace toward the driveway.

"Excuse me, little miss? Where are you going?"

The man that stopped her was dressed like a gardener, but for some reason he looked out of place. He held a pair of hedge-clippers in one hand, and wore gardening gloves, but something wasn't quite right.

He's not dirty at all... Our gardener was always dirty... And those clippers look brand new - there isn't even any sap on them yet...

Clare edged back from the non-gardener, and clasped her hands in front of her.

"I, uh... I just wanted to look around outside. Is that all right?"

The non-gardener smiled slightly, and placed the clippers on the ground, shading his eyes to look out through the gate.

"Well now, I'm not sure. You're only new here, right little miss?"

Clare nodded, her hands still clasped. The man seemed nice enough, but he certainly wasn't a gardener.

"If you went outside by yourself, you might get lost, and then I'd get in trouble with the boss. You wouldn't want that, right?"

Clare nodded again. She didn't want anyone to get in trouble on account of her. She really just wanted to be left alone. The non-gardener smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled.

Daddy's eyes used to do that when he smiled at me...

The man suddenly looked startled, as tears started to flow from the small girls eyes.

"Clare, are you all right?"

He held out a clean handkerchief, and she almost took it, then stopped, confused.

"I didn't tell you my name..."

She stepped back, not turning around, and tripped on the edge of the flowerbed, landing hard on the ground. The man reached out toward her, a concerned look on his face. Clare scrambled to her feet, turning around to run.

"Clare wait...!"

She strangled back a sob as her feet started to pound on the gravel walkway.

"Don't follow me! You're a stranger! You're all strangers! I want my Mum!"

The man watched the small figure disappear around the corner of the house, then ran his gloved hand through his longish brown hair, before removing the gloves altogether and taking a small radio from his pocket. He flipped the on switch and raised it to his ear.

"Charles, it's Gene."

He paused while he listened to Charles' response.

"The princess just tried to leave the stronghold. What are your orders?"

He relaxed when he received the answer.

"Roger that. I will maintain my distance. Though I do have one request..."

Charles pre-empted his request with another order. Gene closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Roger that. When she's ready, we'll take her there. Over and out."

He looked down at the hedge-clippers lying on the ground, and kicked them with the toe of his left boot.

"Like hell I'm going to clip anything..."

He wandered over to one of the larger shady trees in the garden, where he had a clear view of most corners of the estate, and settled down for a relaxing day of guard duty.

************************************

Clare was getting tired. She seemed to have been running for ages, but the hedge she was following didn't seem to have any openings, or gaps of any kind that would give her a clue as to where she actually was. Plus she was still wearing her coat, which had been a good idea until she'd started running. She was also still crying a little bit, and her chest was starting to hurt from breathing and sobbing at the same time. She flopped down beneath a tree, breathing hard, and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

This place is weird...

She looked up into the branches above her, and lifted her hands up to catch some of the dappled sunlight which filtered through the leaves.

That lady said she's supposed to look after me...

"No, she's not a lady... she's only a little bit older than me. She's more like a sister-type than a mother-type..."

Clare sighed, and closed her eyes.

Gardener's that aren't really gardener's... he seemed more like...

"A teacher-type, I guess... And why did he know my name? Is it normal for everyone to know the name of a person after only one night?"

Weird...

"And then there's Mr Charles... he seemed really nice... but then he told me... that..."

Clare's voice started to wobble and break as she went back over their conversation in her head.

------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------
< br> "Clare, do you know what it means when something dies?"

Clare furrowed her brow.

"I had a pet fish that died. I came out to feed him one morning, and he was floating at the top of the tank. I asked Mum what was wrong with him, and she said that he was dead."

Charles smiled gently, and leaned forward.

"And did you understand what that meant?"

Clare pursed her lips, and thought back.

"Well, it meant that he couldn't swim anymore, and he couldn't eat anymore, and he couldn't blow bubbles for me anymore. That was how he played."

Charles leaned back in his chair, and tried to think of what to ask next.

"Did you do anything for the fish when you found out he was dead."

Clare scratched her head, then remembered.

"Oh! We buried him in the yard. And Mum and I said some things about what we liked best about him, and that we'd miss him."

Charles closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples, then gently took one of Clare's hands in his own.

"Think about where we were today, Clare. And what we did."

Clare thought hard about what they had done that day. They had gone to a big park in a big car. All of her mum and dad's friends had been there, but her parents themselves had not. A man from their church had stood up and read some things from the bible. A lot of people had been crying. And at the end, Mr Charles had come and taken Clare's hand, and taken her over to a big pile of dirt, where they had each taken a handful and tossed it into the two big holes where the two big wooden boxes had been lowered. Her eyes widened.

"The box... we put the fish in a box before we put him in the ground..."

She started shaking violently, her small hand fluttering within Charles' own. He tightened his grip around hers, then pulled the small girl into his arms.

"They can't eat anymore... they can't play with me anymore... they're trapped there in the dark..."

Her voice was muffled against his chest, but he understood every word, and it broke his heart.

"They're not trapped anywhere, Clare. They're free. And they still love you very much. They will always be with you in your memories. Your parents will never really be gone if you keep them alive in your memories."

Clare's entire body was heaving with her sobs.

"I'll never... see them... again...!"

------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -

The next thing Clare remembered was waking up in bed that morning. Somebody must have carried her there, and changed her clothes.

Mr Charles... he must have carried me... I guess I have to thank him...

"But why should I..."

Clare sniffed loudly, and wiped her nose on a tissue. Her parents had brought her up to have impeccable manners. She was the only daughter of their house, and there were expectations that had to be met. She was a 'Young Lady', not just one of the neighbourhood children. She had to be sweet, well mannered and kind at all times. At least in front of everybody. All she'd really wanted to do was play outside with the other children. But they had protected her so well... She sighed deeply, and opened her eyes.

"Uwaaah!"

An upside-down pair of light brown eyes were staring intently into hers. The eyes belonged to a boy, probably around her own age, with shaggy dark brown hair and a puzzled expression. He slowly reached out a finger and poked her in the cheek. When he made contact with her skin, he sighed with relief.

"Phew! I thought you were a ghost."

He sat back on his heels, and took out a small notebook.

"'Girl in pink coat - not a ghost'. Ok, I'm off!"

He stood up, brushed the grass from his shorts, and peered off into the distance. Clare gazed up at him, speechless, then grabbed his wrist just before he ran off. The boy looked down at her curiously.

"What?"

Clare just continued gaping at him. This was a so called 'common child'. How was she supposed to talk to him? She hadn't been around many children her own age at all, especially since she had been privately tutored for the past two years. The one year she had attended school, she had been so far ahead of her class that none of the other children had wanted anything to do with her. This boy, too, looked at her like she was some kind of curious animal. She couldn't just sit here all day holding onto his wrist though, she had to say something.

"Uhhh..."

The boy kneeled down in front of her, and peered into her eyes again, the placed a hand on her forehead. He frowned, then put a hand on his own forehead too.

"You don't feel hot. What's wrong with you - don't you know how to talk?"

Clare's mouth snapped shut, and she pulled her hand back from his wrist, but he caught it in his own, entwining his fingers with hers.

"I'm not letting go until you say something. So talk. What's your name, at least?"

Clare stared down at their entwined hands, like she'd never seen anything like it before. She couldn't tell who's fingers were who's. For some reason it infuriated her. How dare he touch her!

"Clare..."

She said it so softly he could barely hear, so he leaned in more closely.

"I couldn't hear you - please tell me again."

She cleared her throat, and tried again.

"My name's... Clare. What's your name?"

The boy smiled brightly, and seemed completely at ease.

"I'm Alex. I live over at the school with my cousin Gene. He's a teacher there."

Clare looked in the direction the boy, Alex, was pointing. There was indeed a large, brick building surrounded by smaller brick buildings just adjacent to the house she was staying in.

"A school...?"

Alex continued holding her hand, and began to pull her along in the direction of the school. Clare's eyes widened, and she planted her feet firmly, wrenching away. Alex looked at her, surprised.

"What's wrong? I was just going to show you the school. You looked kind of interested in it."

Clare blinked in surprise, looking back at him.

"I looked... interested...?"

Alex suddenly put both of his hands in her shoulders drew her up to face him, so their noses were almost touching. Clare froze on the spot, eyes widening.

"Clare, you are one weird girl. Extremely cute, but very weird. Are you an alien?"

The two children continued to stare into each others eyes, neither blinking. Clare broke the silence.

"Why do you think I'm an alien?"

Alex continued to stare directly into her eyes, his light brown orbs reflecting her own wide gaze back at her.

"Because you look like a kid my age, but you answer questions like some old lady. What's up with that?"

He released her shoulders, then cleared his throat and looked away.

"I have to continue my research. I'll meet you here again tommorrow, and we can compare notes!"

Clare reached out and clutched his t-shirt to stop him from leaving again. Alex looked down at the hand grasping his clothing, then back up at her face, questioningly.

"What is it?"

Clare had to find her voice again. For some reason, though, it was getting a little easier to talk to this boy.

"What are you researching? And why am I taking notes? And why did you think I was a ghost?"

Alex sighed, and punched himself in the side of the head.

"Ahhh! I'm so stupid! I always just assume that everyone knows already! Sit down, sit down, I'll explain everything. You should probably take your coat off, it's getting damn hot out here too!"

Clare's cheeks flushed. These common children seemed to be able to swear so easily! Maybe she ought to try that sometime. She undid the buttons of her coat, and removed it, folding it up to create a cushion for herself. Alex watched her with a bemused expression on his face. He surveyed the outfit she was wearing and inwardly sighed.

Geez, she really is like an old lady, wearing such fancy dresses outside to play. How could she climb a fence in that?

Clare caught him looking at her, and frowned.

"What?"

Alex waved his hand in front of him, and grinned.

"Nothing, nothing. Ok, my research! I think... that the school and the house grounds are haunted!"

Clare looked at him blankly.

"Haunted? You mean by ghosts? And that's why you thought I was a ghost..."

Alex nodded at her, excited.

"That's... so stupid..."

Alex's expression changed from excited to angry.

"Aw, hell, what would you know? You've been here for, like, five minutes!"

Clare was slightly taken aback, and felt bad about dismissing him. He was right about her after all, only being there for a day.

"Sorry. Is there anything I should look out for, then?"

Alex stopped to think.

"Ummm... I've never actually seen anything. But I've heard loads of sounds, coming up from under the ground. See if you can hear anything around two or three in the morning! That's usually when it happens! Then we'll meet here tommorrow morning, and then we'll go play!"

Clare looked at the boy, surprised. He'd been angry only a few seconds ago, and now he seemed to have forgiven her and was making plans to see her the next day. To play...

How do I play...?

"Play...?"

Alex grinned, and nodded.

"Yeah, we'll go play! I'll take you to the river, and we'll go fishing, then we'll go the park and have lunch! We can buy hotdogs!"

What's a hotdog...?

Suddenly, both children's stomach's growled. Alex looked up at the sky and sighed.

"I guess I better go eat - see you tommorrow then!"

He turned and started running back toward the school. Clare stood up, dusting off her skirt and picked up her coat.

"Hey Clare!"

She turned around, surprised by the loud yell, to find Alex looking back at her.

"Wear something you can play in tommorrow! No skirts or dresses allowed!"

She nodded a reply, then continued back toward the house for her lunch. The non-gardener seemed to be taking a nap under a tree, and he didn't get up when she approached. Clare sidled past him, and scooted quickly into the side door which led to the kitchen. Lena was behind the large table making herself a sandwich, and she stopped when she saw the small girl approaching.

"Ummm... Hi."

Clare looked up at her, and cocked her head to the side.

Definitely a sister-type...

"Hi Miss Lena. Could I please have a sandwich too?"

Lena sighed, then gritted her teeth, remembering the bacon remark from earlier that morning.

"I don't know - what if I accidently, I don't know, burn it."

Clare had the good grace to blush, then smiled slightly.

"That's all right, I'll just starve myself instead. Mr Charles won't mind."

Lena blanched, then forced a laugh.

"Ha ha ha, you got me! One sandwich coming up!"

Clare sat silently watching Lena prepare the food, then sighed happily as she bit into the fresh bread, ham and cheese.

"Ah, this is great - thank you, Miss Lena."

Lena smiled and blushed a little. It really did feel good to have someone enjoy something she'd made with her own hands. She busied herself pouring two tall glasses of milk, and turned back around to find Clare rinsing her plate in the sink.

"Finished already?"

Clare nodded. She accepted her glass of milk and drank it down quickly. Lena drank hers at a more leisurely pace, but was slightly disturbed by the bright green gaze following her every move.

"What is it?"

Clare creased her brow slightly, and seemed to be having trouble finding the words to describe her predicament.

"I think I made a friend today..."

Lena stopped, trying to think who would have been around for Clare to meet.

"One of the kids from the school?"

Clare nodded.

"A boy called Alex. He said he lived at the school with his cousin, who's a teacher there."

Lena grinned, recognising who Clare meant immediately.

"Ah, you mean Alex Davis. His cousin is Gene Davis, one of the coolest teacher's we've got over there. Really good looking too..."

Clare still looked troubled.

"He invited me out to play again tommorrow, but he told me not to wear a skirt or a dress because I wouldn't be able to play properly."

Lena clapped her hands together.

"Well, that's great, isn't it? You've got someone to play with."

Clare's eyebrows were still knitted together, and the worried look hadn't left her face.

"I, ummm... I don't have anything to wear. All I have are dresses and skirts. Mum said it wasn't proper for me to be seen wearing jeans or shorts. It's not lady-like."

Lena pulled a face.

"Lady-like! You're eight years old, for pete's sake! What did you used to wear when you played outside?"

Clare blushed and looked down at the table, tracing to rough knots with her fingers.

"I, uh... I never really played with anyone before... I never really had any friends like that. The children I did see were all the same as me. All we did was play the piano, or talk quietly with the adults."

Lena looked at the girl, shocked. She finished her milk, put the empty glass in the sink, and picked up the phone by the kitchen door. She dialled three digits and waited for it to connect.

"Mr Abbot, I'm taking Clare out clothes shopping this afternoon. She doesn't have anything casual to play in."

Lena hung the phone up, and grabbed Clare's hand, pulling her out the door. Clare was surprised at how willing the older girl was to spend time with her, after she was so rude to her this morning. She smiled to herself at how determined Miss Lena looked, dragging her out of the house to find casual clothes.

Maybe I should accept her... as a sister-type...

Lena's jaw was set, as she dragged Clare out the front door toward the bus stop, when an arm suddenly settled around her shoulders, pulling her back.

"Hey babe, where are you going so fast? And who's the munchkin?"

Lena closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, before turning to deal with the interruption.

"Adam Abbot: I don't have time to deal with you, or your ridiculous advances today. Please leave me alone. As to who the munchkin is, please ask your brother."

Adam's warm grey eyes widened at the ferocity of Lena's answer. He rubbed the fingers of his right hand through his unruly black hair, and sighed, backing off.

"Ok, ok, sheesh, calm down Lena. I'll lay off for today. See you 'round. Bye munchkin!"

He knelt down in front of Clare and flashed his brightest smile. Clare glared at him.

"I have a name, you know. As Miss Lena said, go ask Mr Charles."

The dark haired girls turned and walked out of the front gate, leaving the stunned younger Abbot brother in their wake.

"Huh. Scary women."

Shaking his head, he wandered back into the house in search of his older brother.

************************************

Lena was still shaking with laughter as the bus arrived at the large shopping centre. She wiped the tears from her eyes, then glanced at the small girl beside her and started chuckling again.

"Oh, Clare, you are too much! 'I have a name, you know!' Awww, man, I can't stop laughing!"

Clare looked up at the older girl, confused.

"Was it really that funny? I thought you were mad at that boy. I didn't see why I should be nice to him either."

Lena looked at Clare, surprised again.

"That boy and I... we were playing. That's how older kids play."

Clare seemed to mull this answer over.

"So that's how older people play. It's weird..."

Lena grimaced, and took her hand as they stood up to disembark from the bus. Clare looked down at her hand inside Lena's, and thought back to Alex, who'd also held her hand. They seemed so used to being able to touch other people, while Clare had never really touched anybody but her parents.

"Miss Lena..."

Lena looked back at her, as Clare had slowed her pace.

"What's up?"

Clare looked up at the older girl, her eyes questioning.

"Miss Lena... am I strange?"

Lena's expression changed to one of concern, and she stopped and knelt in front of the girl to look her in the eye.

"You're not strange, Clare. You're just sheltered. You haven't had a lot of the experiences other kids your age have had. Hell, you ony went to a proper school for one year, and then you were tutored for the next year and a half. You've never really played or had any friends. Your parents loved you very much, but they held onto you too hard. And now they've left you all alone, and everything's changed. You're going to have to deal with it, but you're not alone. You've got me, and Mr Abbot, and Alex to help you. I can only hope that you'll accept our help..."

Lena's voice trailed off as she noticed the tears welling up in Clare's eyes, but she didn't move in to hug her. She waited for Clare. The girl stood there, quietly dripping tears from the end of her nose, then she suddenly launched herself forward into Lena's arms.

"Oh, Miss Lena...!"

She sobbed into Lena's shoulder, and clutched her with her small hands. Lena's eyes started to leak as well, then she thought back to her talk with Charles earlier that day.

I wonder if this is one of those social skills I'm supposed to experience... dealing with sobbing eight year olds in a public area?

She pulled away from Clare slightly, and got a tissue out of her pocket to wipe the girl's eyes. Then they both blew their noses and looked at each other sheepishly.

"Miss Lena... I was wrong. What I said earlier, about not needing you. That was wrong. I'm sorry."

Lena rubbed Clare's head good naturedly, and smiled.

"You're forgiven, kiddo. Now let's find you some casual clothes."

Clare pulled on her hand once more, and held Lena back.

"One more thing - You will never replace my mother. Mr Charles said my parents live on in my memories, and no-one will ever replace them."

Lena nodded, wearing a serious expression, waiting for her to finish.

"But... I am willing to accept you as an older sister-type. Is that all right with you?"

Clare held her hand out in front of her, waiting for a confirmation hand shake. Lena looked at the hand and chuckled. Clare cocked her head to the side and looked confused.

"This is a hugging moment, Clare, not a handshake moment."

Clare looked flustered for a moment, then as she was enveloped in a warm hug, she smiled happily.

Sister...

************************************

Lena and Clare stayed at the shops almost until dark, buying all the types of outfits that Clare had never owned. T-shirts, shorts, jeans, sneakers, sandals, tank tops, hoodies, baseball caps and all different types of hair accessories. On the bus ride back to the house, Clare kept looking inside the bags as if to make sure everything was still there.

When they reached the house, Michael had already prepared their dinner, and the three of them ate at the large kitchen table. Clare kept staring at the older man as if she recognised him from somewhere. He didn't say a word, though, and she didn't feel comfortable enough to ask him, so only Lena and Clare spoke during the meal.

"Where's Mr Charles? Has he eaten already?"

Lena wiped her mouth, and looked at the clock.

"Mr Abbot sometimes has meetings until very late at night. I don't expect we'll see him tonight at all."

Clare looked down at her cleared plate, and sighed.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll show him my new clothes some other day. He's the one that paid for them, right?"

Lena looked at the child in surprise.

"You even think about stuff like that? Are you eight or eighty? Thinking about money, sheesh!"

Lena started chuckling again, and pushed her chair back from the table. Clare followed suit, yawning loudly at the same time.

"I think it's time for bath and bed for you, kiddo. You've had a pretty busy and emotional day - will you be ok by yourself?"

Clare nodded, her eyes half closed, as she headed down the corridor towards her room

It's still not my room... it's just a room I'm using for the time being...

but she was surprised when she reached the door and saw that a nameplate had been attached, which stated that this was, indeed, 'Clare's Room'.

Huh... neat...

She went inside, completed her bathroom routine, and changed into her pyjamas, almost falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

************************************

Alex gazed out of his bedroom window in the school dorm, looking toward the Abbot house. He wondered if that weird girl he'd met would remember to write down if she heard any noises or saw anything tonight. He was looking forward to comparing notes with her tommorrow.

No, that's not it... that's not the only reason...

It was actually going to be fun having someone his own age to play with during the next two weeks of school holidays. He'd been alone here with his cousin every holidays for the past four years. And as much fun as his cousin was, playing with a twenty-eight year old guy who tired out too easily and just wanted to watch television and sleep all day got old pretty quickly. He hoped the girl had some proper clothes to play in. He wasn't going to go easy on her just because she was a girl.

I wonder though... why she was crying so hard when I found her...

The only thing he actually knew about her was that her name was Clare. And that she had the prettiest green eyes he'd ever seen.

Cute... but weird...

His thoughts were interrupted by a muffled metallic clunk which seemed to come from beneath the school oval. His mouth stretched into a grin and he grabbed his notebook.

"0215 hours: metallic sounds from beneath the oval."

This would be the first noise of the night, but not the last. He looked out toward the Abbot house again, and hoped that Clare was awake to hear this.

************************************

Clare sprang awake, and checked the clock beside her bed - 2.25am. She groaned, and closed her eyes again, wondering what had awoken her, then heard the slight sound again. Whispers, filtering up through the air-vent in her floor, and the sound of multiple shuffling footsteps. For a brief moment her heart stopped.

Alex was right! Ghosts!

Then the footsteps continued, more loudly, as if following a path to another area. As the last steps faded, Clare sighed and turned to return to her bed, when a louder pounding started beneath her floor boards.

"Oi! You lot! Wait for us! Mr Abbot said we could observe for extra credit!"

Followed by:

"Hurry up stupid, they're not going to wait for us!"

Clare gasped, and moved back to the vent, to try and catch a glimpse of the owner of that voice. She was almost sure...

A girl with short, dark hair came into view in the dark corridor, followed by a taller boy with unruly black hair. She was pulling him by the forearm to try and hurry him up, seemingly to no avail.

"Lena, slow down, they can't start without Charles anyway. Just relax for once, will you?"

A third figure joined them in the darkness, coming from a hidden side entrance.

"Perhaps you should take a page from Ms Peter's book and take things a bit more seriously, little brother."

The boy with the unruly hair ran a hand through it and laughed forcedly.

"Ha ha ha, fancy meeting you here."

The group moved on down the corridor, leaving Clare sitting on the floor of her room, dumbfounded.

"Mr Charles, Miss Lena and Mr Charles' brother... And I wonder who those other people were? I wonder where they were going?"

Clare leaned over and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen.

"2.25am - heard voices and footsteps beneath my room."

She grinned as she wrote it down.

"I have to tell Alex... he was right!"

End Part 002

************************************

Well, that's the end of part 2 - what do you think? Is it good yet? Lol, it gets better, trust me! The finished draft in my head is fantastic, it's just the typing that's annoying! Please read and review, as always. Remember, if you read a story and don't review it, fairies die! You don't want fairies to die, do you?

Foxfire out! :)