1 What is that Smell

Chapter 1 Meadow "Oh my! What is that awful smell. Ugh…" Wren yelled out suddenly waking the rest of us girls. "You guys smell that? Goodness gracious that smells horrific! Did one of you leave something on? Which one of you is trying to get us killed, or better yet wake the beast?" She threw her covers off, jumped from the top bunk, and stomped out of the room with her white t-shirt covering her face. She turned down the hallway but popped her head back in with an expectant look. The rest of us, now annoyed by the outburst, began to stir in our beds, tossing our covers to the side also. We knew better than to question one of her moods. So the 3 of us remaining in the bedroom move slowly towards the door to help our lunatic of a sister find this mysterious scent. Wren was known as the Hunter of our little pack. She knew how to sniff out trouble, that's for sure. It was like mysteries presented themselves to her and she had no willpower to turn down the thrill of solving it. You could see victory in her sea green eyes as they darkened anytime she was on to something. We teased her about her habit of running her hands though her pitch-black bob, letting the strands fall back into place, forming perfectly around her pale diamond shaped face before biting her lip and solving the case she sniffed out. This time was going to be no different. Honestly, it was like her superpower. I was always in awe of her skills…until they led to the trouble that seemed to be attached to her every victory. "Wren it is literally 1:30 in the morning. Clearly, we would have been dead already if we had left anything on when we went to bed four hours ago." Ember silently called after her. We were all tip toeing through the hallways because we knew if we were caught out of our room after hours all hell would break loose…even if Wren's intentions to "save" the whole group home was the reason for our forbidden departure. We weren't exactly the favorites of any of the habitants residing here. We were more like the unwanted vermin that seemed to always find trouble, especially when Wren was the one leading our pack. Needless to say, if we were caught out after hours, the smell in the home was the least of our worries. Wren slipped down the hallway and we lost sight of her. I grabbed the hands of my other sisters and quietly scurried after her. I sighed in relief as we came to the end of the hall and Wren came into view. She was in the kitchen to the left, bent over checking all the appliance plugs around the room. Still holding her white T-shirt to her face, she furrowed her brow in a way that suggested a strong and very unpleasant scent. I stepped into the kitchen to help her. Though I couldn't smell whatever woke Wren up, I figured the faster we solved her little mystery, the faster we can get back in bed before Hanafrey, the beast, found us out of our room. "What is it hunny? What do you smell?" I asked slowly. I was still tired as I'm usually the last to fall asleep. I yawned through my exhaustion and rubbed my eyes. Sleep was hard to come by for me most nights, so this resulted in me watching my sisters sleep for hours. I noticed long ago that if they weren't peacefully dreaming, I would remain restless. So, I have assumed my role as their night watcher…a tired night watcher. "Meadow!" She whispered, slightly hysterically at me with a roll of her eyes. "Do not chastise me, this smell is so rancid…every one of you should be in tears right now from this stench! I can't believe you guys can't smell it!" She looked between the three of us in the kitchen with her, like we had lost our minds. We were all visibly tired, but that didn't stop Wren from glaring at us with surprise. Ember had a look of anger in her eyes as she held and rocked Alda as if the small girl was falling asleep in her arms. It's always funny seeing the two of them stand next to each other. The differences between them were so drastic that it was like looking at a personification of absence and presence. The pair had always been super close like their contrasting personalities complimented one another. I like to think of them as my Yin and Yang sisters. Alda has always been a short, pudgy, sapphire eyed girl with a sweet and sassy attitude. She is generally all "sunshine and rainbows" as long as you are on her good side. Most of the time people underestimate her timidness for weakness, but I will tell you that is their first and last mistake. There was a girl who had come to stay at our home one spring. She was one of those girls that bounced from group home to group home due to major issues (if I do say so myself). Well of course, she thought Alda was the perfect target. She started calling her Mrs. Clause because of her plump rosy cheeks. Alda of course took immediate offense, began crying. The "mean" girl pulled one of her copper ringlets so hard Alda's head jerked back as she tried to walk away. I will never forget the boiling effect in the atmosphere when Alda jerked, the now laughing girl down and pounded her face a few times with a smile, making the girl lose 2 teeth. Needless to say, no one messed with her for the rest of the year. Ember on the other hand burned hot all the time. You kind of knew what to expect from her on most days. She was quick to anger and slow on the cool down if you will. She tends to be a bit touchy, but as the big sister, I know for a fact she is a lot softer than she thinks she portrays. There are times that her mask slips and I catch that softness within. I happen to know her little secret…she does NOT know I know. You see Ember may be the second to oldest (outside of myself of course) but she is the last to join us here in Hanafrey's group home for troubled girls. Her immediate connection to Alda made me realize she belonged in our pack. Ember has the body of a runway model, but she definitely doesn't like to flaunt it. She would rather wear modest clothes that accented hey dirty blond hair and freckles than something revealing how perfectly flawless she truly was. She wears glasses and has the most beautiful round golden eyes. Seriously, her eyes are captivating…which leads me back to her secret…I have seen her eyes shimmer a brighter gold, almost like fire, any time she is with Alda…if you catch my drift. "No one smells anything but you, you idiot! Are you ready to get caught because you are imagining some horrific smell that is clearly not there!? Seriously…I'm going back to bed and if you were smart, you would do the same!" Ember fumed as she grabbed Alda softly by the arm, turning her towards the hallway to make their way back to bed. "I AM NOT AN IDIOT!" Wren was yelling now. I put my hands over my face, knowing we were sure to get caught now. "I can smell just fine, and I'm telling you it is there!" "Ok, ok, ok, calm down Wren! If you continue yelling Hanafrey will come down and punish us all, despite your nose being up to par or not." I walked to her and patted her shoulder to calm her. Hopefully, I thought, the outburst could be unnoticed, and we can secretly and safely make it back to our room. "Come little sister, let's go back to our room and we can figure it out what that smell is together in the morning." Wren looked around the kitchen one more time. She walked slowly toward the hall where Ember and Alda were waiting for us. She suddenly stopped right before the entrance to the hallway. "There, Meadow!" she exclaimed and pointed to a small break in the linoleum in the corner of the kitchen, right by the door. She quickly walked over and picked at the linoleum revealing an orange hazard button. "What do you think it does?" her curiosity getting the best of her, she reaches for the button. "Don't….don't do that…" Ember speaks up from behind me. "We aren't sure what is going to happen" she tried to speak softly so she wouldn't cause another scene. "But…" "No 'buts' Wren. Seriously, we need to go." It was Alda this time who spoke up. Wren looked between her three sisters and back at the button. I saw the look in those green eyes, and I knew. I knew this wasn't going to end well. "I'm sorry guys, but I just have to know. What is the smell and where did the button come from?" Before we could scream our protests, she pressed the button, and we all held our breath.

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