The Pueblo Part VI

Disappearances

The next morning the Instructor discovered that all of the tasks the women had been assigned the previous day had never been completed. Beth had left after planting only one flower pot. Jeanine had disappeared after having only boiled one egg (when there were 4 children). Anna had left after having brought only one bucket of water, and Jenny had vanished after having only washed one dish.

When the children woke up in the morning, they found only one hard-boiled egg, one clean dish, and one small bucket of water for their day's use. When Zoe saw their small faces looking at her expectantly, she almost cried tears in frustration.

All she could manage was to find her keys and open the store room closet for Iris to take their minds off the current upset. Iris bent down and started picking up loose Crayons off the store room floor while Zoe hurried back to help the children with breakfast.

"What happened to the women?" Piper, the oldest girl had peeled the one egg left by Jeanine. Elliot was boiling more water over the fire for more eggs and Andre was skillfully making toast with a pair of tongs he found in the kitchen in the house next door.

"They're gone Piper." Zoe had a grim but determined expression on her face as Iris returned from the store room with an armful of paper, pencils and crayons. The small girl set her pile down on one of the large stuffed chairs and sniffed the breakfast smells in the air. Elliot was spreading butter on the toast and putting everything on plates.

Breakfast was a quiet affair. While Andre washed the dishes, Zoe wrote a brief note to her only known consult, a shapeshifter named Hazel. They needed a few things before her departure - advice for the Caretaker and a Tracker. Zoe sealed the envelope and left the Pueblo to mail the letter.