Clint the Babysitter

“Clint the Babysitter” (Volume 7, Story 12)

    Over at Ground City, Clint was going over to Damian and Aria’s house. The two asked him if he could babysit their children Zachary and Rebecca, because Damian was a guard and Aria had something important to attend to. Clint had the day off from his job as a guard, so he offered to babysit Zachary and Rebecca.

    He arrived at their house and knocked on the door. Aria answered the door and welcomed him in. She offered Clint a beverage but the new guard kindly declined.

    “Thank you so much for coming in to help babysit them, Clint,” said Aria.

    “You’re welcome. Where’s Damian? Did he already go to work?” asked Clint.

    “Yes. We’re just so busy today,” said Aria.

    “I see. I just wished I could’ve said hi to him. He is my friend after all. Oh well, I guess I’ll tell him after you guys return home,” said Clint.

    “Now, my number’s on the fridge and so is Damian’s in case you don’t have either. If neither of us are back before nightfall, the kids go to bed by nine the latest since they have school tomorrow. There’s plenty of food supplies in the kitchen chests so you could craft them something for lunch and dinner if needed. Zachary can be a little mischievious and will want cookies, so tell him that if he wants one, he needs to eat a healthy snack for finish his meal first. Damian and I have been doing that to make sure he’s not eating too much junk food. If he and Rebecca have a typical sibling argument, it’s easy to break up the fight, but if you need to give either of them a timeout, just make them stand in the corner for like five minutes. And one more thing, if the kids want to go out rather than stay cooped up in here, just remember to put a note and state where you guys went, and please don’t leave Ground City. Only exception is Bianca’s farm, since I trust her,” said Aria.

    “Aria, don’t worry. It’ll be fine. I can handle Zachary and Rebecca. Captain Reginald sometimes looks after young children himself and he showed me a few things on how to look after kids. Zachary and Rebecca are in good hands. I promise,” said Clint, smiling.

    Aria smiled at him.

    “I appreciate the help Clint. Thank you,” she said.

    “Mommy!” said a voice.

    Zachary and Rebecca came running in.

    “Mommy, do you really have to go?” asked Rebecca.

    “I do. I’ve got so much stuff to do today. But don’t worry. Uncle Clint is here to babysit you both. Now promise mommy that you’ll both be on your best behavior for him, okay?” said Aria.

    “We promise mommy,” said Zachary and Rebecca at the same time.

    Aria smiled at her children and gave them a hug. The children returned the hug almost immediately. She patted her kids on the back and let go of the hug.

    “I’ll be back later. Be good for Uncle Clint you two,” she told them.

    “Bye mommy!” said Zachary and Rebecca.

    Aria waved goodbye to her children and headed out. After she left, the kids turned to face Clint.

    “Uncle Clint, can we go play at the park?” asked Zachary.

    “In a little bit. Your mom just left,” said Clint, smiling nervously.

    “Oh, can we play tag?!” asked Rebecca excitedly.

    “But I want to play hide-n-seek!” complained Zachary.

    “And I asked first!” said Rebecca.

    “Whoa, calm down children. We’ll play a couple rounds of both and then go to the park? Does that sound fair?” said Clint.

    “Okay,” said Zachary and Rebecca.

    A little while later, after playing some hide-n-seek and tag, Clint gave the children a couple snacks and packed up a lunch to bring with them to the park. They headed to the park and they saw a few other kids playing on the playground. Zachary and Rebecca rushed over to play with the other kids.

    “Stay in sight so I can keep my eye on you two!” Clint called out to them.

    “Okay Uncle Clint!” Rebecca called back.

    Clint smiled at them at sat down on a bench that was facing the playground so that he could keep an eye on them.

    “Hi Clint!” he heard a voice call out to him.

    Clint turned around real quick to see that it was Bianca. The guard blushed, because Bianca was his crush, and she was aware of how he felt for her. Bianca actually returned the same feelings for him, but they hadn’t had gone on a date yet. They agreed to wait until they were ready.

    Bianca walked over to the bench and gave Clint a smile. For some strange reason, she was carrying a chicken with her.

    “Hi Bianca. What’s with the chicken?” he asked her.

    “Oh this little rascal got out of the chicken pen again. I just managed to catch him. I better get him back to my farm now. Is it your day off?” asked Bianca.

    “Yeah, but I’m babysitting for Damian and Aria,” said Clint.

    He turned his attention back to the playground. Zachary and Rebecca were on the swings now, laughing and shouting as they went up as high as they could.

    “I see. If you can bring them by later, I don’t mind. I bet they’d like to see the animals,” said Bianca. “If not, then I’ll see you around.”

    “Alright. Bye Bianca,” said Clint.

    “Bye Clint,” said Bianca.

    Clint watched her leave, blushing and smiling as he did.

    ‘She’s so cute…’ he thought.

    “Uncle Clint,” said a voice.

    Clint stopped blushing and turned around. Zachary had gotten off the swings and was now standing a few feet away from him.

    “Who was that girl you were talking to?” asked Zachary.

    “A-a friend!” Clint stuttered. He was blushing.

    Rebecca came running over, and when she heard how nervous Clint was, she smiled and jumped up excitedly.

    “You like her!” she said excitedly.

    “N-no I don’t!” said Clint.

    “You like her! You like her! You really like her!” said Rebecca excitedly.

    “Rebecca, please stop…” said Clint nervously.

    “Okay. Sorry Uncle Clint,” said Rebecca. “I saw her pet chicken. Is it like the Founder’s chicken before she left and adopted that girl with the same name as her chicken?”

    “No. Bianca’s chicken is a normal one,” said Clint.

    He didn’t like the question. He was one of the only few who knew the truth that Benedict became a human. Isa made the story that Benedict ran away, and since they couldn’t find her, she adopted a human girl who had the same name as her pet chicken. It was better than telling the whole town that a person from another universe turned Benedict into a human. The town was already a little curious about the whole portal thing, so they didn’t need to know about the universe bit either.

    “How many does she have?” asked Zachary.

    “A lot. She does own a farm,” said Clint.

    “Really? Can we go see all the farm animals?!” asked Rebecca excitedly.

    “Hmm…” said Clint. “Tell you what, if you eat all of your lunch and after we go leave another note back at your house, we’ll go over and see her farm. But you got to remember to behave and listen to what Bianca says about her animals. You don’t want to startle them.”

    “Okay Uncle Clint!” said Rebecca excitedly.

    “I don’t want to go to the farm. I wanted to go home,” said Zachary.

    “But Zachary! There will be animals there! Horsies, piggies, chickens, maybe even llamas!” said Rebecca.

    “Wait, llamas? Will there be llamas, Uncle Clint!?” asked Zachary. Now he looked excited.

    “If you want to find out, maybe you should come to the farm,” said Clint, giving Zachary a smile.

    “Okay!” said Zachary.

    After eating lunch and leaving another note back at the house, Clint walked Zachary and Rebecca over to Bianca’s farm. Zachary and Rebecca were super excited to go to the farm, so Clint had to make them hold his hands on the walk there so that they couldn’t run off ahead of him.

    When they arrived at the farm, they found Bianca feeding some of her animals.

    “Oooh! Look at the horises!” said Rebecca.

    Bianca heard Rebecca squeal in excitement. She turned around and when she saw Clint, Rebecca, and Zachary, she smiled. She quickly handed her horse an apple and then walked over to the three.

    “Hi Miss Bianca!” said Zachary.

    “Hi Zachary, Rebecca, and Clint,” Bianca greeted them.

    “Miss Bianca, can I pet your horsies?!” Rebecca asked. She jumped up and down in excitement as she spoke.

    “Calm down. I’ll take you to my horses, but you should calm down first so that they don’t get startled. They’re gentle creatures and should be treated with kind care,” said Bianca.

    “Okay, Miss Bianca,” said Rebecca.

    Clint chuckled as he saw Zachary and Rebecca excited. He and Bianca led them to the farm and started showing them the animals.

    “The llamas are so cool!” said Zachary.

    He gently petted one. The llama looked at him and spat in his face.

    “Ew gross!” he complained.

    Rebecca couldn’t help but giggle.

    “It’s not funny!” Zachary snapped at her.

    “Sorry…” said Rebecca.

    “It’s okay Zachary. That’s just his way of saying hello. Josh is a good llama. When he spits in your face, it’s just his own way of saying hello,” said Bianca.

    “Really?” asked Zachary.

    Bianca smiled and said, “It’s his way after all. Animals are like people because they can have personalities to.”

    Zachary looked at the llama and smiled at it. He gently petted it on the head again.

    “I wish we could have a pet like all the ones you have Miss Bianca! We want a puppy, but mommy and daddy say that no one can look after it because no one can be home to take care of it…” said Rebecca.

    “It takes a lot of responsibility to look after animals, Rebecca. Even I find it hard to look after all my animals just on my own. But… a pair of hands to help would be good. Maybe when you’re a little bit older, your parents can let you come to the farm and help out,” said Bianca.

    “Really?!” asked Rebecca excitedly.

    “You have to talk to your parents first. It’s not my decision, okay?” said Bianca.

    “I will! And if mommy and daddy say yes, I’ll do my best to help you, Miss Bianca!” said Rebecca.

    “I wanna help to! Can I help to?!” said Zachary.

    “You’ll have to ask your parents,” said Bianca.

    “I hope mom and dad say yes!” said Zachary.

    The group heard a pig squeal. The children turned around and spotted the pig pen.

    “Miss Bianca, can we pet the piggies?” asked Rebecca.

    “Of course,” said Bianca.

    She opened up the gate and let the children run into the pen. They were careful and petted the pigs gently.

    “Those two sure have a lot of energy,” Clint said, smiling nervously.

    “Yeah, but you sure are a good uncle for them,” Bianca joked.

    “I guess. I feel flattered that they call me uncle though. Damian was my first friend when I moved here, and I’m happy that I moved here to become a guard,” said Clint.

    “I miss my home. My old farm that my grandfather left for me, and the town in the valley I grew up in, but I still love it here as well. And I have hope I can still find a way to visit my old friends. You’d love them, Clint. And I know they’d love you to. I hope I can find another portal back home…” said Bianca.

    Before Clint could ask, he and Bianca suddenly heard Rebecca scream in panic. They looked over to see that some people had come onto the farm.

    Only they weren’t people. They were witches, and they saw the children playing in the pen with the pigs.

    “Oh no!” said Clint.

    He pulled out his sword and charged at the witches. Clint slashed one and killed it, but another one saw him. It threw a potion of harming at him. Clint shouted in pain as he got hurt.

    “Clint!” cried Bianca.

    “I-I got it! Get the kids out of there!” said Clint.

    He stumbled, but he did his best to stand up and attack the witches again. Bianca quickly climbed into the pen and grabbed Zachary and Rebecca. She led them away and out of the pen, but once they got out, they saw a couple more witches eyeing them angrily.

    Rebecca and Zachary screamed in panic. Bianca pulled out her sword and said, “Get in the barn you two! Go now!”

    The children ran for the barn while Bianca fought the witches. Clint killed off the last few witches that first came to the farm. He turned around and saw that Bianca was fending off a couple witches herself, and that Zachary and Rebecca were running to the barn.

    But before the children could get into the barn, someone popped up from a bush nearby. It wasn’t another witch. Instead, it was Brian and Brad, two bullies from a group that bullied Aiden and antagonized some of the citizens of Ground City from time to time.

    “BOO!” both of them shouted.

    Rebecca and Zachary screamed in panic, running into the woods to get away from the bullies.

    “No! Come back! Rebecca! Zachary!” cried Clint.

    Brian and Brad laughed hard, but they stopped when an arrow almost hit them. Bianca angrily eyed them and had her bow and arrows out.

    “Get off my farm!” she shouted angrily.

    The bullies quickly turned around and ran away. When they were gone, Bianca put her bow away.

    “Urgh! That’s the second time they somehow got mobs onto my farm… I need to tell the Founder that they’re somehow getting mobs onto my farm…” said Bianca.

    “Oh notch! Damian and Aria are going to destroy me!” cried Clint in panic.

    “Clint, calm down. We’ll find them. Come on! Let’s get my horses and we’ll go after the kids!” said Bianca.

    She ran over to the barn and opened up the doors. She pulled out two of her horses. One of them snorted in disgust at Clint.

    “Not now, Montique! We have to go on a search and rescue mission!” Bianca snapped at her horse. She sighed at him. She figured Montique had to act that way around Clint, but now wasn’t the time for this.

    Bianca got on Montique while Clint got on the other one. They quickly rushed off into the woods to follow Zachary and Rebecca.

    “Zachary! Rebecca! Where are you?!” shouted Clint.

    There was no response again.

    “Oh notch! We gotta find them! I’m such a screw up!” he said.

    “Clint, calm down. We’re going to find them,” said Bianca.

    About a half hour later, Clint and Bianca still couldn’t find Zachary and Rebecca. Clint was getting anxious about the safety of the children and worried that they wouldn’t find them before nightfall.

    “Bianca, where are they?! I’m getting so scare now! What if something got them!? Oh notch! What if some zombies got them!? I’ll have failed someone again!” said Clint.

    “We’re going to find them, Clint. We will,” said Bianca.

    “Zachary! Rebecca!” Clint called out.

    There wasn’t a response.

    “Oh notch…” Clint said nervously.

    The two kept on looking for a bit more, until they could hear some sobbing nearby.

    “Zachary!? Rebecca?!” said Clint.

    He and Bianca made the horses rush over to where they heard the sobbing, and they saw Zachary and Rebecca hiding behind a tree. Rebecca was crying and her brother was holding her to calm her down.

    “Kids!” said Clint. “Thank notch you’re okay!”

    “Uncle Clint?” Rebecca said, sniffling a bit.

    “Are the bad men gone?” asked Zachary.

    “I scared them off. Come on, let’s get you two home,” said Bianca.

    She and Clint got off the horses and walked up to the children. Clint picked up Rebecca and put her on his horse before he climbed on. He’d rather have her ride in front since she was smaller. Bianca helped Zachary get on Montique and climbed on, though he sat behind Bianca, so he had to hold on to her.

    “Let’s take them back to the house. I don’t want any more things trying to scare them,” said Clint.

    “I agree. You two hold on tight, okay?” said Bianca.

    “Okay…” Rebecca sniffled.

    Clint and Bianca made the horses break into a run, and the group started to run out of the woods and back to Ground City. Once they made it out of the forest and back into the streets, it was easier to see, but the four stayed on their horses as they made their way to Damian and Aria’s house.

    After about a ten minute ride, they finally arrived back at the house. Clint and Bianca climbed off the horses and helped the children get down.

    “Let’s go inside,” said Clint.

    He and Bianca started to walk the children back inside, but someone suddenly grabbed him and pulled him away. Rebecca and Zachary screamed in panic. It was Brian and Brad, but this time, they had the rest of their group with them, including Andrea, the only girl and the leader.

    “You’re going to pay for making me look like a sissy in front of two little twerps!” Brian shouted at Clint.

    Clint only frowned. He didn’t want to frighten Zachary and Rebecca, who were hiding behind Bianca as she stood in the way to protect them from the bullies.

    “Just stay behind me kids. It’ll be okay!” Bianca whispered at them.

    Andrea walked up to Bianca and slapped her across the face. Brad grabbed Bianca and pulled her away from the kids. Andrea angrily eyed them.

    “Leave them alone!” an angry voice shouted.

    Damian and Aria had returned, but when they returned to see that their friends and their children were being bothered by the bullies, they rushed over. Damian pulled out his sword while Aria came over and pulled the children back.

    “Leave my children and my friends alone!” Damian shouted at them.

    “You don’t scare me, old man!” Andrea snapped at him.

    “But I scare you!” another voice snapped at them.

    Isa and Reginald showed up. They pulled out their swords and eyed the bullies angrily.

    “Let go of Clint and leave my town right now. If you leave now, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll go easy on you this time…” Isa sneered at them.

    Brian let go of Clint and he and the rest of the bullies backed off and ran away. Once the bullies were gone, everyone put their weapons away. Damian put his sword away and rushed to his kids.

    “Daddy!” said Rebecca.

    She and Zachary hugged Damian almost immediately.

    “It’s okay, kids. They can’t hurt you again,” he whispered to them, hugging them back.

    “Clint! Bianca! You two okay?” asked Aria.

    “We’re fine. And the important thing is that Zachary and Rebecca are safe,” said Bianca. She rubbed her cheek a bit, right where Andrea slapped her.

    “It’s all my fault they got in danger… I brought them to Bianca’s farm and the bullies scared them off. We went to find them and we were bringing them home, but I guess they decided to stake out and wait us out here… I’m sorry for putting them in danger…” said Clint.

    Damian let go of his hug with Zachary and Rebecca. The children rushed to Aria and gave their mother a hug. The guard walked over to Clint and gave him a small smile.

    “It’s okay, Clint. You protected my children and took good care of them. I’m grateful that you kept them safe from those bad people,” he told his friend.

    Clint couldn’t think of the right response, but he gave Damian a small smile as a way to say, “Thank you,” since he was touched by Damian’s kind words.

    “Founder, I actually need to inform you on something. Those bullies have been leading mobs to my farm somehow to antagonize my animals, and just today, they scared off Zachary and Rebecca,” said Bianca.

    “Thank you for informing us, Bianca. We’re going to make sure that we keep an eye on those trouble makers from now on. They’ve been doing much worse now…” said Isa.

    “How worse?” asked Clint.

    “I’ll inform you and Damian later. Right now, the important thing is that Zachary and Rebecca are safe,” said Reginald.

    A while later, everyone stayed at Damian and Aria’s for dinner. Aria took the children upstairs to read to them after dinner was over, and Bianca took her horses back to her farm and went home for the night. Isa and Reginald sat down at the kitchen table with Damian and Clint to discuss something else.

    “I’ve informed the other guards about this already, so you should both know about it as well. That group of bullies are not to be trusted. I don’t know how, but they’re getting pretty sadistic,” said Isa.

    “The Founder and I returned to the ravine where all those monster spawners were to see if we could find any clues on who could’ve set it up, and we caught one of them trying to set up new spawners. I don’t know how they’ve been getting their hands on those devices, but it’s clear that they’re getting pretty dangerous,” said Reginald.

    “That may explain why they were able to get mobs close to Bianca’s farm…” said Clint.

    “Keep on high alert for that group. Report anything suspicious on them, because if they are going to keep doing this, we have to lock them up,” said Isa.

    “Yes Founder!” said Clint, doing a salute.

    “I will, Founder. They’ve already threatened my children today. I won’t let them hurt my family again,” said Damian.

    After wrapping up the discussion, Damian walked Isa and Reginald to the front door. After he told them goodbye, Damian turned around to see that Clint was still feeling guilty for earlier.

    “Damian, again, I’m really sorry I put Zachary and Rebecca in danger…” Clint said sadly.

    Damian smiled at his friend again.

    “It’s okay, Clint. You protected them and you brought them back to me. I forgive you,” he said.

    He gave Clint a pat on the back. The new guard gave his friend a small smile.

    “You know, you’re pretty good with kids. If you and Bianca ever get married, I know you’ll be a great dad,” Damian said, smirking at Clint.

    Clint stopped smiling. He blushed nervous.

    “Wh-what?!” he said.

    “I’m just teasing you!” Damian said, trying not to laugh.

    Clint only blushed. He couldn’t even smile a tiny bit.

    “Uh… U-Uh…” he said.

    “I know you like Bianca, Clint, and I heard you told her how you felt. You should ask her out when you think the time is right. I’m not teasing you. Just letting you know, buddy,” said Damian.

    “Y-yeah…” said Clint, still blushing.

    The end!

    And till next time on “The Adventures of the Three Heroes”!