by M. J. Sewall
There were only three employees left to close the restaurant. His shift manager Victoria had left a few minutes earlier. Wes was on the grill, and Jody was taking orders. He paused when he saw Jody’s expression. It was the three men from his flash, alright. They had ordered and were taking a seat. Jody came to him, and whispered, “There, like, aren’t any more Nazis, right? One of those guys gives me the creeps.”
The Nazi question made Zacke smile, but her expression made it flicker. He didn’t need a flash of her thoughts to know she was freaked out.
“No more Nazis.” He saw the three men huddled in the corner table. “But I’ll take their tray over when the food’s ready.” She smiled her thanks.
Zacke mopped the area behind the yellow floor sign until their food was ready. Jody gave a signal, and Zacke took the three burgers and fries to the men. One man reached for the food quickly, but the other man caught his hand.
“I’ll take it.” said the younger, blond guy.
Zacke noticed the chains on the man who had reached for the tray first. He’s a prisoner being transferred, Thought Zacke.
He’d seen a few of those already, although the chains looked like no handcuffs he’d seen. Being close to a federal prison, it happened. But most of the time, the guards were in uniform and drove a prison bus. They rarely brought the prisoners inside for anything more than the bathroom.
The blond man smiled and took the tray before Zacke put it on the table. He did a strange thing, his finger brushed under Zacke’s wrist. He almost dropped the tray, but the blond man steadied it and said, “Oh, sorry. We’re just really hungry after our awesome road trip.”
Normally, Zacke would have engaged them. Maybe asked them where they were from, what brought them to Sea Valley. But not tonight. He smiled thinly, left the table and went to wash his hands and wrists in the kitchen hand-wash sink. They still didn’t feel clean. He hoped they would eat and leave quickly. Not only were they creepy, he had a ton of homework to finish when he got home.
He certainly didn’t want to get into the business of these three, but his sub-conscious must have wanted to know more. A few fragments came. No images, just words.
Mixed race I think
But power?
Yes. Strong mental lock…
hidden power
New Birth?
Activated?
Are they talking about me? Zacke wondered. He looked out to the dining room. They were eating their burgers and fries. The doors had been locked to new customers, the open sign turned off. The other two employees were doing their side work in the kitchen. Zacke had no choice but to go back in the dining room with his mop. He finished the far side of the dining room, and spied two of the men going to the bathroom.
One of the men was standing outside the door. Definitely a prisoner. That was the same procedure he’d seen before. The guard had nothing to worry about, since there were no windows in their bathrooms.
The chained man came out and the guard escorted him back to the table. Good, thought Zacke, the bathrooms are the last things to clean. He put the sign in front of the men’s room door, just as the guard tried to come back in.
“Oh, sorry sir. This bathroom is closed. You can use the ladies room. No one’s in there.” Zacke smiled, and the blond man returned the smile, but seemed to be sizing him up.
He said “Thank you,” but didn’t enter the ladies. The blond guard walked back to his table. Zacke locked the men’s door behind him, then saw the mirror. In rough streaky pink soap, the message read:
Zacke Run
A chill went through him, but he forced himself to stay calm. No one spells my name like that. Name tag is in my locker. How’d they know my name at all? Who are these people?
A knock came at the door.
It was his co-worker, “Zacke? Those guys just left. I’m done. Can you use the buddy system and leave with Jody?”
Trying to slow his heartbeat he replied, “Yeah dude, I got it.”
“Thanks, Zacke,” said Wes, his footfalls fading.
He finished the bathroom and checked the ladies just to make sure no one was hiding there. You’re being dumb, he told himself, but that message on the mirror was not a hallucination. Jody finished and they both left together out the back door, setting the alarm as they went.
Jody’s boyfriend picked her up, and Zacke looked around, unnerved by the thought of the three block walk home.
Ehrhardt stepped out from around a corner, “Hello there. I wanted to thank you for the good service.”
Zacke’s heart sped up. The man was shorter than him, probably in his thirties or forties. His confident manner made Zacke think that he could handle himself, and Zacke himself had never been in a real fight. “Thanks. You can leave feedback online if you want. There’s a survey at the bottom of your receipt.”
“We wanted to thank you in person,” an American accent came from the other direction, “you seem like a very special kid.”
Zacke briefly wondered where the third man was, but clearly, these were the dangerous ones. Just about to take the message’s advice and run, the German man spoke, “Don’t you feel special, Zacke? Maybe you can do things no one else can do? Can you tell what I’m thinking?”
Zacke didn’t answer, but felt an unpleasant sensation, like something foreign in his head. He clamped his metal sphere tight, and saw the blond guy wince, then smile, “My boy, you are special. We can help you understand what’s happening to you.”
“Stay right there,” Zacke said, trying to sound formidable.
The men were about a dozen feet from him, both coming closer. Zacke put his hands on either side of him, outstretched to each man, as though a gesture alone could stop them. He knew of one way he could get away. He thought of his mother and knew he promised himself he’d never do it again. A warm tingle danced through him, warming his entire body. Both men paused, sensing something might happen. The German looked angry, the blond man smiled.
Zacke jumped when he heard the honking. He noticed the German reach under his suit jacket. A small white rusty Toyota sped toward him. The honking continued as it pulled up. He looked inside, then pulled on the handle and jumped in.
As they sped out of the parking lot, Zacke looked in the side mirror. Both men just stood there, not moving. They disappeared out of sight as the small getaway car zoomed around a corner.
Zacke asked, “What are you doing here? You left like a half hour ago.”
Victoria replied, “I was in the parking lot trying to figure out how to ask you out. Looks like I’m saving your cute butt instead,” she smiled. “Who were those guys? Should I call the cops?”
“I have no idea. Some Nazi and a surfer dude,” said Zacke, looking back.
“That’s a weird combo. What did they want with you?” asked Victoria, “Were you about to take on both of those guys?”
“No way.” Zacke let his heart slow down. He felt the special tingly heat drain from him. “Guess I was hoping for a knight on a white horse.” He indicated the car.
Victoria laughed. “Ha! I like that. Here I thought that I was being a stupid girl, all afraid to ask a guy to coffee. Now I’m the hero.”
Zacke smiled, “I could use some coffee. Can we get it to go? I don’t want Hitler and Joe Surfer ruining our first date at Starbucks.”
Victoria smiled, and looked sideways at Zacke, “Starbucks date, takeout. Deal. No Nazis allowed.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN - NIGHT WALK
Atext went off in Katie’s dark room. She’d only been asleep for a half hour, after finishing season four of the British show Misfits. Sammy hadn’t texted her all week, but now a one appeared at 12:52 am.
Hey girl. You still awake? Take a walk with me.
She stood up, and went to the window. There he was, standing just outside the fence by the gravel driveway. He smiled. She smiled back, and texted a reply.
You’re so bad! Gimme 2 minutes.
She sniffed two piles of clothes until she found pants and
a shirt that were mostly clean. She put on a light jacket to hide the fact that she was too lazy to put on a bra, and climbed out her window. Her mom and stepdad’s window was across the house on the other side, but her step-sisters was right next to Katie. She’d have to be careful.
Katie inwardly cursed their loud gravel driveway as she landed, and jumped onto the strip of cool grass as soon as she could. Instead of going down to the squeaky gate, she jumped the fence and Sammy helped her over, his hands firmly on either side of her waist.
A tingle went up her back as she landed next to him. The moonlight lit his light brown hair from behind as she looked up to him. A full foot taller than her, she imagined him lifting her against the fence and kissing her by moonlight.
Instead he smiled. “Come on, let’s go to the park.”
Katie knew which one he meant. The run-down park was just a hundred feet of grass in a narrow strip, with a small merry-go-round and an ancient swing set. It was nestled next to the hill that marked the end of their town. No one went there, especially this late.
It was perfect.
“Sammy, I thought we were gonna hang last Sunday,” Katie said, trying to sound casual.
Sammy replied, “Sorry Katie Kate, I had to stay with the fam. Mom has this new thing about Sunday dinners. My brothers bolted right after dinner, but I had to watch The Notebook with her.”
Sammy said, “I hate that movie…”
At the same time, Katie said, “I love that movie.” They both laughed.
Sammy rolled his eyes, “Ugh. The only good part is when they finally have sex.”
“Ugg. Boys,” said Katie, “Of course that’s the part you like. Kissing in the rain? Them staying together? No romance in this town, I tell ya.”
He turned quickly, and presented a white daisy. She hadn’t even seen him pick it. He smiled, she smiled. He presented his hand. She put the small flower in her hair, and took it gently. They walked like that for the next block. Why does he even like me? He’s a senior and all the girls love him. But she silenced the thought as she felt the warmth of his hand. But those girls aren’t here, are they?
They got to the park. He broke the hand holding and sprinted for the swings. Katie ran too. He got there first, but she pretended like she’d won and insisted on taking his swing. He wouldn’t budge.
“We can swing together.” He gently pulled her onto his lap. She wanted to resist, but part of her didn’t want to resist. They swung together, their body heat making her a little dizzy.
“This is nice,” he said. Then the flashes came.
His body on top of her…
The cool wind on her bare skin…
His hands pushing her down...
She jumped off the swing.
Sammy stopped swinging, “Whoa. Katie, I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong? I just… I really like you.”
Katie stood, facing the swing.
He stood, his hand slowly rising up the chain, He looked down, and said, “I’ve just… never felt like this about anyone.”
Her heart skipped. Sammy looked like a lost little boy. She took a step closer, his face shadowed by the bright moonlight. Then slowly, her lips were on his. He didn’t fight it. Her first real kiss had taken much too long, and she would enjoy it.
They broke, then their arms were around each other again, kissing deeply. Before she knew it, they were laying on the cool grass, his weight pressed down on her. It felt nice, at first. Then something changed.
It wasn’t a flash, he was actually starting to hurt her, pushing her hands down. Katie struggled, “Sammy, stop.”
“Oh, come on Katie. I want this. I know you want this too. It’s too late to stop now. Come on,” he grabbed her hands and pulled them roughly up over her head with one hand. He’s so strong. His other hand was on her stomach, moving up.
She said, “NO!”
In a flash, his weight lifted, and Sammy was flying. He vaulted five feet in the air, flailing his arms. She scrambled to her feet as he landed just short of the rusty merry-go-round.
The look of shock on his face was like a cartoon. His hand shot to the back of his head. Sammy realized his head was less than an inch from the hard metal edge of the merry-go-round. He scrambled on shaky legs, enraged, “How the hell…?”
For a split second she felt shame. Then anger flared in her. He faltered at the look on her face. Sammy regained his swagger and stepped toward Katie, “What the f…”
“Now, now, my boy. No reason for vulgarity.” said Ehrhardt.
The brothers appeared. Parked by the curb was a red convertible, its top up.
Derek said, “We saw what happened. You were trying to take advantage of this girl.”
The boy looked from man to man, his eyes wide. “Wait, I didn’t…” then he found his arrogance. “You’re not a cop. I didn’t do anything. Mind your own business.”
The bravado leaked away as Ehrhardt stepped toward Sammy. “Boy, listen to me. You will go home. Erase her number from your little cell phone there. Ignore her at school. Never speak her name again. Don’t even think of her.” Ehrhardt was in the boy’s face, his breath hot, “If you come near her again I will rip off those little bits that boys your age value so dearly, and feed them to you one spoonful at a time.”
Sammy’s brave persona cracked. He stumbled, then sprinted away. Sammy didn’t look back.
Derek looked to Katie, “Are you okay, miss?”
Katie had wrapped her arms across her chest, her thin jacket not stopping the chills from rocking her, “Yes, yes I think so.” she worried about how much they had seen. She’d never flung a person into the air before.
“Would you like us to call anyone?” Derek asked tenderly.
“NO! I mean, no. Thank you,” stammered Katie, “I have to go home now.”
Derek soothed, “I understand. I’m sure you would not accept a ride from strangers after what just happened, but maybe we could walk you home? We only want to make sure you’re okay.”
She didn’t want anyone around her now, but how could she refuse? She wasn’t sure how much her talents would have protected her from an angry Sammy. They may have just saved her. Also, there was something vaguely familiar about them.
“I’m Derek, and this is Ehrhardt.”
“Hi, I’m Rebecca,” she lied.
“Hello ‘Rebecca,’” Derek smiled, “I wonder if we might discuss that little trick you just did.”
They did see me, “What? Umm… Oh, I don’t know. I guess it was one of those emergencies. You know, a mom can lift a car when their kid’s in danger. Like that.”
Ehrhardt shook his head, “That was not an accident. My brother and I are special, too. On the way to your home we’d like to discuss how we can help you bring out some of your powers.”
“Powers?” Katie said, “I’m not, like, a superhero or anything.”
“Neither am I,” Derek moved his hand and whispered some words she didn’t understand. A giant barn owl appeared on his arm, “I’m no magician either. There are more of us than you know. We can help each other.” The owl looked at her, made the questioning noise owls do, then flew off into the darkness.
She released a little of her mental control and a few images floated in, a small glimpse of some things these men could do. The images were amazing, even though she sensed they were not showing her everything. But somehow, in some strange way, she felt stronger around these men. Safe. They walked to her house and Katie was told amazing things.
***
Outside the park, from the deep shadows among some trees, John looked on. He was about to rush in when he saw the boy on top of the terrified girl. A car pulled up before he could act. When the boy went flying off the girl, the two men were too fast, and made contact first. Two men. Please don’t be the brothers.
John looked for the license plate, but it was a rental car. No help there. Then he saw movement in the back seat. Just then, a man with long hair spun around and looked right at John.
&nbs
p; John thought, Impossible. A real finder?
The man looked at John and held up his hands to show that he was chained. By then the brothers were walking off with the girl. They rounded the corner and were gone.
John went to the door, but it was locked. The man said “Driver’s side.”
John opened the door and flipped up the front seat to get to the back. “Who are you?”
The Witness spoke quickly, “My name is not important. Everyone in this town is in danger. Those are very dangerous men. How many are you?”
John said, “Just me. How did you know I was here? Not even the best finder can see me.”
“I am the best finder,” said the Witness.
John replied, “Then let’s get you out of there.”
“You can’t. They have the keys and I’m chained to this…”
John thrust his short sword in and up, breaking the chain. The Witness was free. John replaced his sword into the scabbard strapped across his back. “Let’s go.”
“You have to remove my necklace. It’s a binding charm,” said the Witness.
“Is it safe for me to touch?”
“Yes. It was charmed to bind me alone.”
John carefully removed the charm. The Witness shrugged like he’d shed a thousand pounds. The necklace fell to the floor of the car.
Out of bondage, the Witness thought of using his old talent to disable the car for good. But it would bring the brothers running back. He said, “We need to hurry. You alone are no match for those monsters.”
John led the way, hurrying on foot away from the captures. “I need to know everything, but first I need to know who those men really are.”
The Witness kept up the fast pace, “Their true warrior names are Caron and Sazzo.”
“The brothers. Damn,” remarked John, “It is them.”
“Who are you, really? How can I trust you?”
“My warrior name is Pentoss,” replied John.
The Witness showed a true smile for the first time in many years.
CHAPTER TWELVE - LAST BELL