Soren admittedly felt slightly uneasy climbing into the much smaller box on top of the immense plastic crate holding the items the Borrowers had collected these past few years. He knew Ashlynn was going to step carefully and that it was only a temporary arrangement until they arrived at the car or when they needed to hide. Still, willingly stepping into a lidded container felt unnatural.

Mayzie didn’t seem to mind though, which was probably the most important aspect of this trip. She held her bunny close and toddled from one side of the box to the other while Soren, Dorian, and Rey did one last run through of the apartment before heading back. Finding nothing else in their halls and rooms they made a home, the Borrowers stepped into the hard plastic box.

“Ready?” asked Ashlynn before daring to stand up. Soren glanced up and nodded as he sat down and placed Mayzie in his lap for the transportation portion of the ride.

“Ready!” called Rey. “Let’s do this!” With one final nod from Dorian, Ashlynn carefully closed the lid, leaving the edge open, and carefully stood, keeping everything as level as possible.

“Moving,” she warned as she began walking across the floor. Ashlynn could only imagine what it was like to see from their perspective. What was it like seeing a single step? Was it jarring? Did her even and seemingly gliding steps have a rhythm which was unsettling? Or had the Borrowers simply become accustomed to the motion because of their size?

Whatever the case, Ashlynn made sure she moved slower than normal and shuffled her feet rather than stepped. Even if Soren, Dorian, and Rey were used to her movements, she dared not upset Mayzie. She crossed the living room and slid out of the front door before walking across the lawn to her car. She placed the larger tote in the backseat and carefully placed the smaller one into the front seat.

“I’m locking everything up. I’ll be right back,” she said before closing the door with a harsh push rather than letting it slam.

The Borrowers, on the other hand, hardly knew Ashlynn was moving. They felt a couple of jostling motions and felt the box tilt slightly only once before they heard Ashlynn shut the vehicle door. This would be their first car ride, and Rey intended to make the most of it.

“This is exciting,” he said eagerly as he dared to stand up and walk over to the slightly propped open lid. He grasped onto the side and lifted himself up slightly to peer out at the seat they were placed in.

Already, he caught a glimpse of a massive stick in the middle and grates further up that were probably the source of air. Rey had no idea how such a device worked, but he was eager to learn. He started to lift himself further out of the container when he felt something bap at his boot and tug downward.

“Get down. You don’t know who might walk by and see you if you go out there,” scolded Dorian. Rey wrinkled his nose and folded his arms across his chest.

“You are not the boss of me, and Ashlynn said no one was left in the neighborhood. Who’s going to see us if no one is left in the neighborhood? Seriously Dorian, chill out. Nothing is going to happen. Come on! You should be getting excited! We’ll get to meet new Borrowers, climb new walls, investigate new places to live. You’re acting like we’ve been captured and are being taken to a lab or something,” retorted Rey.

“Hey you two. Ease up. This is going to be a long day for all of us,” interrupted Soren as Mayzie pushed herself up for the dozenth time already and walked across the box from one end to the other with her bunny before sitting back down in Soren’s lap.

“Yeah, ease up, Dorian,” muttered Rey as he went back to lifting himself part way out of the box. A sudden knock on the window set all of the Borrowers on edge. Rey immediately jumped down and crouched as a shiver of adrenaline shot through all of them. They held their breath for a moment before the car door opened and shut.

“I’m back. Ready to go?” asked Ashlynn. All three Borrowers let out a sigh of relief, feeling mildly foolish for their instincts taking over and fearing the worst.

“Ready!” called Rey. “Hey! Ashlynn! Could you lift the lid so I can get out?”

“Sure thing. Lifting,” Ashlynn replied. From inside the box, they saw the partial shadow of Ashlynn’s fingers crest over the edge and lift the lid off halfway before retracting her hand. Rey wasted no time in throwing himself over the ledge so he could fully see the car’s interior. He looked up at all of the windows and spotted the knobs and buttons, instantly fascinated by everything.

“Woah!” he exclaimed involuntarily as he looked up at the immense seat back that the box was propped up against. “This is awesome! Ashlynn, what do these things do? Do all cars look like this? I feel like I’m in an episode of that one show. You know? With all the flashing lights and they’re in space and stuff? It’s an older show.” Rey walked across the seat and jumped to the hard plastic between the seats, carefully avoiding the two holes in the middle.

“Are you talking about Star Trek?” asked Ashlynn, giggling slightly as Rey proceeded to try and balance in between the cup holders to better investigate the gear shift.

“Yeah! That’s the one!” grinned Rey as he successfully balanced his way over the surface to the strange stick that was twice his height. “What does this do?”

“It is what helps direct the car forward and backward. It does other things, but that’s mostly it,” replied Ashlynn. Her eyes lifted up as she scanned outside the car. No one was there, but it was just a precaution.

“Woah.” Ashlynn couldn’t help but smile at hearing Soren’s slight exclamation of awe as he peered over the ledge. Evidently, he had never seen anything like this either.

“Like it?” asked Ashlynn as she glanced down at Soren.

“This is definitely beyond me,” muttered Soren as he evaluated the dimensions of the car.

“Um… Soren, do you want me to tilt the box so you all can get in and out easily?” asked Ashlynn. Soren thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

“No, thank you though. If Mayzie starts running, she’ll be unstoppable. Plus, I don’t want her to slip off of the edge of the seat or anything,” replied Soren.

“Oh, right. Sorry,” apologized Ashlynn, realizing that he would want things baby proofed so Mayzie would be safe. She made a mental note to get things like tape and possibly some hard plastic containers with low rims for play areas.

“Hey! Ashlynn!” called Rey. Ashlynn looked down to see Rey attempting to climb up the knobs and buttons on the radio. Evidently, he had gotten himself slightly stuck on the rotating knob of the volume. “Could I bother you for a hand? I want to see over the ledge. Please!”

“Sure,” Ashlynn giggled, seeing the curiosity of a kitten in young Rey. She placed her hand just under him and lifted her palm until his feet were securely resting against her fingers. He dropped down just as she continued to lift until he was parallel with the dashboard. Rey, who was crouched in Ashlynn’s hand, stood slowly as he got a glimpse outside.

“Wow. This is crazy. Everything is huge!” he breathed. He looked at the apartment and pointed. “Is that… where we used to live?”

“Yeah, that’s the apartment,” said Ashlynn. Rey rotated around and caught a glimpse of all of the other houses and apartments as well as the road leading out of the neighborhood.

“What are those? Is that what you use this thing on?” asked Rey, voice oozing with wonder.

“Precisely. This car, along with all of the other cars, drive on the road; and that is the road,” she said as she smoothly brought Rey over to the driver’s side window and pointed to the road.

“How many cars can fit on that? One at a time? Are we going on the freeway like that one movie you showed it? You know? The one that was green and they were, like, in a computer?” asked Rey.

“The Matrix?” giggled Ashlynn. “Yeah, like that. It’s not going to be half as interesting though. Freeway driving is a bit monotonous and boring.”

“Still! That is cool!” said Rey. “Hey, do you think I could sit on your shoulder while you drive? Please! I won’t pull any pranks or anything. I’ll sit and watch.”

Ashlynn, slightly taken aback by Rey’s question, lowered her hand by the steering wheel and bit her lip as she thought. Being on her shoulder meant he could see out, but that also meant people could see in if they were paying attention.

“I don’t know, Rey,” she said quietly. “If you’re by the window, other people might be able to see you.”

“I’ll sit on the inside and do everything you tell me. I can hide really quick now. Please Ashlynn?” Ashlynn bit her lip again and glanced over at Soren who was very obviously listening. Dorian leaned forward and muttered something, obviously keeping his voice hushed. Soren nodded slowly and looked back up at Ashlynn.

“Well, I would say you should ask Soren,” said Ashlynn. “I am okay with it as long as you listen when I say you need to hide. Driving can be dangerous and there are a lot of people on the roads.”

Rey immediately leaned over the edge of Ashlynn’s hand, propping himself up along her thumb as if it were the ledge of a banister, and looked pleadingly at his older brother.

“Soren! May I please sit on Ashlynn’s shoulder while we drive? I won’t distract or do anything crazy. Promise!” pleaded Rey. Ashlynn could already see Soren was in a heavy debate with himself. He was obviously thinking hard about this. It was an unknown situation that none of them had experienced. Ashlynn was about to retract her offer when Soren nodded.

“Okay, but you need to listen to Ashlynn. I… I’ve never been in one of these things before. If she says to get down because someone can see you, you do it. Okay?” said Soren. Rey leapt back and into the air out of pure excitement.

“Yay! Thanks Soren!” he cheered.

“Easy there,” said Ashlynn. She had an idea and carefully transferred Rey to her other hand before reaching into the backseat and fishing out a safety pin. She opened it and pinned it to her shirt shoulder. “Okay, now you have an anchor so you won’t slip. You have string, right?”

“Of course! What kind of Borrower would I be if I didn’t have some stray thread?” grinned Rey. Ashlynn watched as Rey pulled some thread out of a small side pouch and quickly tied a harness around his waist and legs. Satisfied, she raised him up to her right shoulder where he leapt on and secured himself onto the metallic pin.

Soren, from down below, watched Ashlynn and Rey working together as though not a day had passed. Soren knew Ashlynn would be careful with his brother. He also recognized that Rey was getting older and Soren would not always be able to dictate his every move. He needed to make decisions on his own and gain experience to be a good Borrower. What better way than to do it with someone he trusted with their lives?

Still, that didn’t stop Soren from being tense and worry for his brother. What was more nerve wracking was his other brother, Dorian, and the look he was giving him. Soren turned to the middle teen to see that fragment of a scowl on his brow.

“Dorian? Something to say?” he asked quietly so Ashlynn didn’t hear them.

“You didn’t listen to my other suggestion,” muttered Dorian. “I can’t believe you would let him sit up there with her – on a human’s shoulder. He could be seen by lots of humans up there!” Soren sighed and stepped closer to Dorian.

“Dorian, I know this is a lot for you and that it is hard, but I can’t control the both of you forever. Rey is safe and Ashlynn is aware enough to make sure we’re protected,” said Soren. He inhaled slowly and took another step, lowering his voice yet again. “I know what happened was terrible – the worst – but you can’t blame Ashlynn. It’s in the past. Don’t think I don’t know the look you’re giving her. It’s the same one I gave… your father.”

“She…”

“Dorian,” said Soren as he placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “You can feel the way you do. That’s fine; but Ashlynn isn’t to blame. She risked a lot coming out here – not even knowing if we were here – just to make sure we were safe. She didn’t need to make this trip.”

“So, you feel indebted to her? You owe her? Don’t you think she’ll use that? No one does something for nothing,” hissed Dorian.

“Is that what you’re worried about?” asked Soren. Dorian folded his arms and looked away. Soren wanted to figure this out all in one go, but Ashlynn’s voice snapped him back to the present.

“I’m starting the car now. Ready?” asked Ashlynn.

“Forget it,” muttered Dorian as he went to the corner and sat down. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Ready to go, captain!” called Rey. Soren sighed and walked back to the edge of the box to look into those stormy-grey eyes he had found refuge in so many times before. He would deal with Dorian soon, but they needed to get moving.

“Ready,” confirmed Soren. With that, Ashlynn reached forward and turned the key. The engine roared to life and there was a subtle tremor to the car as they rolled backwards onto the street. There was a momentary lurch before the car was set forward in motion.

“Woah! This thing is seriously so fast,” said Rey, eyes filled with wonder.

“We’re not even at top speed,” said Ashlynn. Rey, jaw slack, looked up at her and then back out beyond the dashboard to the road ahead.

“This is going to be awesome!” he grinned.