"Tiyana," He said. "Do you know where the Ranger Station is?"
"Yes," She answered. "Why?"
"I have an idea," Matthew said. "But you need to get us to the Ranger Station." Tiyana nodded.
Once they made it to the Ranger Station, and Tiyana had arranged her hair to hide the fact that she was an Elf, Matthew called his mom, Abby, and asked her to come pick him up.
She arrived and was quite relieved to see Matthew. When she caught sight of the two redheads behind him, she became confused. Matthew saw the confused look and hurriedly explained.
"This is Tiyana and her cousin Allan." He said. "They need to go to Port Angeles and I said they could come with us."
"Fine with me." Abby said. "All three of you pile in the back." She pointed to a white pickup truck. "I have some important papers and boxes in the passenger seat." The three teenagers climbed into the back and Allan sat in between his cousin and Matthew.
They had only been on the road for twenty minutes when the questions came. It was a new record for Abby who had, in the past, only made it through thirteen minutes without asking at least one question.
"So," Abby said. "Where are you two from?" The question was directed at Tiyana and Allan.
"Ty-" Allan tried to speak but Tiyana clamped her hand over his mouth. He licked her hand and she pulled it back hurriedly.
"What?" Abby asked. "I didn't catch that."
"Tiyana is from around here," Allan said. "And I'm from, uh....."
"Richland." Matthew whispered.
"Yeah." Allan said. "That's right. Richland."
"Oh!" Abby said. "You're from Richland? You must have been tired after that drive. Was it pretty?"
"Yeah." Allan said. "Let's go with that." Tiyana elbowed him slightly but Abby didn't seem to notice. She had turned her attention back on her son.
"Why have you been missing for a couple days, Matthew?" Abby asked. "I was worried when you didn't call me." Matthew looked at the ground. He knew that Abby would think he was crazy if he told her why he hadn't shown up Monday evening. Who would believe that he had been held captive by a creature out of the Lord of the Rings?
"Okay." Abby said. "Now then. Wold you both like to join us for dinner?" This last sentence was directed at Tiyana and Allan.
"Sure!" Tiyana said. "We would love too."
"Great!" Abby said. They rode in silence for a little while until Matthew saw the road exit for Forks.
"Are any of you hungry?" Abby asked. "I thought we'd stop if any of you want anything."
"Sure." Matthew said. Both redheads nodded.
"What do you want?" Abby asked. "I'll let you get anything you want."
"Are there jellybeans?" Tiyana asked.
"Of course!" Abby said. "I've never been to a gas station that didn't have jellybeans."
"We'll have jellybeans." Tiyana said gesturing to her and Allan.
"Cheese filled pretzels." Matthew said.
"Okay." Abby said. She parked at a gas station and went in.
"Where is this Richland?" Tiyana asked as soon as Abby was out of earshot. Matthew reached around the passenger seat and into the glove compartment. He pulled out a map of Washington state and returned to his seat. Matthew unfolded the map and pointed to the name Tri-Cities in the South Eastern section of Washington.
"This is Richland." Matthew said. "It's about an eight hour drive from Port Angeles. Also, it's a desert. It gets up to triple digits for degrees in the summer."
"I meant to ask you earlier," Tiyana said, "But what's a drive?"
"We've been on a drive since we left the Ranger Station." Matthew told her.
"Oh." Tiyana said. Tiyana and Allan continued asking questions and Matthew answered them until Abby returned.
"Here you go." She handed Allan and Tiyana four bags of jellybeans each and Matthew four bags of cheese filled pretzels. Matthew could tell that the Elf and her cousin really liked jellybeans. Make that basically loved jellybeans.
They drove in silence while the three teenagers were content to just munch on snacks. Eventually, Abby had to rebreak the silence.
"Do you guys do any sports or physical activities?" Abby asked.
"I climb trees, my Father's helping me with my swordsmanship, and my Mother's helping me perfect my archery." Tiyana said.
"That's nice," Abby said. "Matthew plays soccer so he does a lot of running and kicking." Matthew could feel himself blushing.
"What do you think of the peninsula so far?" Abby asked Allan.
"I like it." He answered.
Abby pulled into the driveway and parked the truck in front of Matthew's house.
"We're here!" Abby exclaimed. "Come on in!" The teenagers did. They were soon sitting around a table with steaming bowls of butternut squash soup.
"This is amazing!" Tiyana said.
"It's just the standard recipe." Abby said blushing slightly at the praise.
"It's better than anything my mother makes." Tiyana said. "She once thought that the abbreviation of tablespoon stood for cup." The Elf smiled at the thought.
Dessert was also great. (It was just ice cream). Afterwards, when Abby was singing to herself in the kitchen while she washed the dishes, the three teenagers huddled around the table and Matthew pulled out a map.
"I'll look around the National Park," Matthew whispered. "Could you guys check out Sequim and the surrounding area?"
"Yeah." Allan said. Tiyana shrugged.
"Okay." Matthew said. "We'll start bright and early in the morning."
"Agreed." Tiyana said. "Just one problem. How will we know if you find something out or vice versa?"
"I don't know." Matthew said thoughtfully. "I mean, we could always choose a time and place to meet at. Or we could get you cell phone. That would always work."
"A what?" Tiyana asked.
"A cell phone." Matthew said. "We should have an old one around here somewhere." He started rummaging in a box. Eventually, he found what he was looking for.
The teenagers spent the rest of the evening with the cell phone. Matthew taught the two redheads how to use it so that they could keep in touch.
Thursday morning dawned dull and rainy. Still, the plans continued.
Around eleven, Matthew arrived at the Hoh Rainforest. He decided to see what he could find on the trails. Specifically the loop from which he had first seen Tiyana.
Matthew had been on the trail for fifteen minutes when he heard what he was looking for. Two men off to the side were talking in hushed voices.
"Okay." Man number one said. "That sounds good." He had a gravelly voice that sounded like it belonged to a bad guy.
"Where are we going to meet the boss?" Man number two said. He had a smoother voice that didn't sound human.
"A place called Cape Flattery." Gravelly voice said. "Do you know where that is?"
"No." Unhuman voice said.
"You are worthless." Gravelly voice said. "C'mon."
Matthew turned around quickly and ran back to his car. He was soon on his way to Cape Flattery.
