Read Online Road to Clover (The Breanna Raven Series) by Katarin Haley Pope - Free Book Online

“No, I think he’s just looting, and I was in the way.”
    Agni glances over to the SUV as the stranger is getting out. He is counting money, and he has the cooler in his hands. The guy isn’t even looking our way, and he starts walking west in the middle of the road.
    “You can’t fall behind like that, Breanna.” Agni chastises me.
    I try to explain, “I saw something in the car , and I was trying to get it.”
    “What did you see?” He is clearly perturbed when he ask s that question.
    “It’s nothing, okay,” I remark. Telling him that I found a cooler is not even an option. I don’t want to feel foolish.
    “Breanna,” he says with a scolding stare. “You have to keep up.”
    “Okay, Agni, okay. I won’t fall behind again. I’m sorry.”
    He exhales and a small grin of relief appears on his face. “Alright, let’s go. We need to get some distance from him. I don’t want any more problems from that guy.”
    “ I think he may be mentally ill, Agni.”
    “ It doesn’t even matter. We just need to keep going.” He says as he takes my hand.
    We trudge through the thick weeds and vines. I keep looking back to make sure the stranger isn’t following us. It looks like he’s gone to the next car ahead of the SUV, and he’s looting again. I think my conclusion is right. He has to be mentally ill.
    Several times I almost trip and fall. I’m hoping we don’t run into any snakes while we’re stumping through the thick undergrowth. Anacondas have made Florida their home, and I’m not trying to run into one. I cling on to Miss Kiki like one’s going to gobble us up at any moment.
    We finally make it to Fuji Mum Trail. Agni and I use to walk and play in this path when we were in middle school. We use to think we were so cool back then when we were out there on our own with no parents telling us what to do. Agni used to tell me we were in a jungle, the fiercest jungle in the universe. I had to agree, or he’d call off the game. He always threatened he’d go home if I didn’t agree to play along with his version of make believe. So, to avoid cutting the fun short, I agreed that we were in the fiercest jungle in the entire universe and we were knights. But I added my own twist to it. I aptly named myself the Pink Knight. I’d pretend I had red and pink hearts all over my silver glittering armor with a pink feather sticking out of the top of my helmet. My weapon of choice was jelly beans, and I’d throw them to fight off the monsters that Agni invented.
    Being a boy back then, he thought my version of being a knight was lame. Agni was the Red Knight with black armor that couldn’t be penetrated by any manmade weapon. He was invincible, and he used a crooked stick as his magical sword. He’d protect the jungle domain from fire breathing dragons and one-eyed monsters coming straight out of unseen lava pits. As I think about it now, it’s hysterically funny. How cool was it back then to be a kid and not have a single worry in the world? That’s just pure bliss.
    Agni unhooks King, and I unhook Miss Kiki. I let her go, and she stays right with me. King jogs ahead, but not too far. We continue at a good pace, and I’m hoping we’ll reach Allium Center soon.

Six
     
    After two hours of walking, we finally reach the end of the trail where nature meets with civilization. I have to admit that the trek isn’t the same as I remember as a child. Weeds have overtaken the path and are choking the little signs that have information on what certain plants and trees are. Garbage was everywhere, and those yellow flyers made it all the way in the woods. There were several broken branches that we had to climb over. Some spots in the path had huge mud puddles, and the mosquitos were everywhere. That place isn’t an imaginary jungle anymore. It’s a forgotten wasteland, no more suitable for a child’s imagination.
    The edge of Allium Center now stands before us. It’s the town where Calla Lily Road ends at Sun