I started down the slope into my home. It was a very cozy place in my opinion, with its soft fur couches and animal hide rugs. I always keep a fire going near the edge of the room farthest from the door as a place to relax and occasionally take naps. I plopped down onto my favorite couch and sighed. Sometimes isolation could be lonely, but there wasn't much you could do about it if you were branded with a bad name in public.
A twig snapped right outside my door.
I snapped to attention and cautiously sat up. I never got any visitors except for some rouge animals, but they never seemed to come by anymore. I was wondering when they would take a hint whenever the animals stopped coming back.
"Hello?" A voice said. It was a short greeting; afterwards I heard a slap of skin on skin, and a loud scuffle commenced. I rolled my eyes. Obviously these people were newcomers just staying by The Shore for vacation as they would never have known that it was ok to intrude on my privacy.
"Who's there" I said warily. Someone was pushed into sight. On most occasions I would be skeptical on seeing more than one person here, but another detail derailed my attention.
It was a Shat.
Jacob Shat was a muscular boy with hair usually tied up into a ponytail or a bun. This usually separated him from the rest of the community by itself because of how short people cut their hair for day to day work. Nothing can get in your way better than a strand of hair falling into your eye.
Besides those distinguishing features, he wore a sort of surfer outfit, with a lose shirt and shorts that were almost always covered in sand. He was rarely seen without his fellow Shats, so that instantly put me on alert.
Jacob glanced up at me with sheepish eyes. This gave me a vote of confidence as I straightened. "What's your business here?"
He rubbed his nose. "I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this.." he trailed off. Taking a deep breath he answered with a apologetic look in his eyes. "They're planning on clogging up the river."
My eye twitched. This wasn't the first attempt made on my property; the river was part of my land plot! Throughout the years beginning a little more than a decade ago, many people were upset on why such a disgraced family should have a luxury such as a river. Of course there was more to the river than just my share, but the majority of the fish are usually around my part. The city explained that they really couldn't do anything because of a law passed around the same time the Lane Plot Law was signed. The land given to citizens could not be revoked, in other words, the land and everything on it was mine to keep until I die.
People grudgingly started to accept this, and the issue was ignored for a while. Until now.
Jacob seemed to sense my confusion. "You're wondering why now." He said. It wasn't a question, more like a statement, and my respect for him slightly grew.
He shifted in his spot a bit, like he was uncomfortable. "City Hall decided to clog up your part of the river so that the other parts could gain water." He gulped. "People have been complaining amongst themselves for a while now, and I guess City was tired of it."
"And they're allowing this."
"Yes."
"Even though it's against the law."
He hesitated. "Yes."
I groaned and sat back down.
"Don't give up though. We're hear to help!" A slim teenager made her way from behind my door.
I rolled my eyes. "Nice of you to show up." I said.
Ayla blushed pink. "I'm sorry" she said "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I was just planning to let Jacob handle the hard part first."
"Just tell me why you're here." I said, rubbing my eyes.
Her smile faded a bit on my bluntness, but she quickly regained her attitude. " You see, Jacob's parents have a few friends that have some power over decisions. He talked to them, just last night after he got the news, and they agreed to help you."
"Grudgingly" Jacob whispered in her ear. Ayla's smile faltered again.
"Well, yes, and I don't think they were willing to take us seriously, but if we could just find some definitive proof that citizens are planning to clog your side up, we could stop them!"
I was definitely confused now. "City isn't authorizing this?" I asked.
"No," Jacob said, "they're acting like they don't know this is happening, but I honestly think that they're just happy that they're going to get the job done without anyone pinning it on them. I think they're worried that some other states could pressure them to give it back, and then they would find out they broke the law. It's a perfect plan for them, really."
"Ok.." I said slowly "but then while City remains oblivious to this, what are the citizens planning?"
"An ambush. On midnight," Two figures stepped out of the shadows. Tyler and Dustin. They were considered the most powerful kids in the area, mostly because of their charisma and persuasion to get people to do things. They could get information anywhere at any time, but they were subtle about their appearance. Both appeared in shorts and a shirt like Jacob, but with shorter hair so they could blend in better, which was the opposite of Ayla. She was cheery and always looked to stand out at all times.
"And the family emerges." I say, looking them up and down. I noticed that up close, they looked like complete opposites from each other and the rest of the Shats.
Tyler and Dustin chose to ignore this. "Our intel told us that they're going to sneak down from the north end of the property and clog it up with some huge rocks they lifted out with a crane at the beach. They claimed it was for some "renovation" or whatever, but I promise that's not the case."
I've heard the rumors also. Apparently some people were going to make a sea turtle sanctuary were turtles were to safely hatch without having any trouble getting to the ocean. It was smart, most people didn't batt an eye.
"Today?"
They shook their heads. "Two days from now, not counting midnight as coming into another day."
I ruffled my hair in frustration. "And what are we going to do?"
The Shats looked down on me. "Find some proof."
I sighed, disappointed that's all they had.
But I have to admit, this rush of adrenaline for adventure sure was an exciting way to start the day.
