At first when he got home, he thought about calling his buddies, Tom and Jason, but they were both at work and he didn’t want to bother them. He thought about calling Emma, but quite honestly he didn’t want to burden her either. Just the night before, he had been so excited that she agreed to go on a date with him. Now he didn’t know what to do. He really wanted to see her, but he wanted to be strong in front of her as well. Right now he felt anything but strong and he didn’t want to look like a fool in front of her.
Aaron got on his knees and began to pray. There was nowhere else to go. There was nothing left he could do, but simply go to God. As he prayed, he cried out to God for justice and he pleaded with him for answers. He felt deflated. He felt destroyed. He didn’t know what was going to happen next. “What do I do now God?” He said out loud. No answer.
He got up to grab a pop out of the fridge. His throat had been pretty dry and he felt the fizz would help. As he opened the can, a new thought came into his mind.
Keep your date with Emma.
Aaron couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t ever know when these thoughts would come, but he was sure glad to it did now.
“Thanks,” Aaron said to himself.
15
Friday came and once again the four guys stayed home from school. Jordan’s dad went in on Thursday and spoke to the principal. To his surprise, the principal gave every excuse in the book on how Clayton’s actions were excusable. “He was under a lot of pressure from football,” “It wasn’t as bad as you say,” “Boys will be boys,” and “Your boys had to have done something to provoke it” where among the different excuses given. Franklin Bennett was beside himself, and decided Jordan would stay home again as he and the other parents discussed what to do.
The other parents agreed that their boys were better off letting things cool down, so once again it meant they would keep the boys home. The guys, of course, had no problem with it since it just meant they could hang out together. Their wounds were healing and the swelling in Jordan’s face was gone. They were all really excited because the weekend was also ahead of them and they were all spending the night at Josh’s house.
Convert spent his time trying to line up some more work since his last job had literally been blown up. He was meeting with a guy today about a possible room addition, which looked to be good work all through the winter. He had told Marie about what had happened at the police station and she seemed upset by it but not alarmed. Convert continued to notice how Marie was never exactly surprised at anything that was happening. She certainly seemed concerned, but her demeanor was that of expectation. Convert just hoped that Jack’s death hadn’t put her in a mode of pessimism where she just began to expect bad things all of the time. That had never been the person she was, but it was his fear of what she could become. He also tried to give Aaron a call to tell him about what had happened at the police station, but his phone went straight to voicemail. Convert knew that usually happened when the phone was off. He decided he would talk to him later and decided not to leave a message. He smiled as he thought about Aaron getting ready for his date with Emma tonight. “He’s probably so nervous that he forgot to turn on his phone,” he said to himself.
Emma sat in her office thinking about her date with Aaron tonight as well. She had been waiting for this for a long time and she was both excited and nervous. Excited because she liked him so much, nervous because she wanted him to like her and she didn’t want to mess anything up.
The city of Galesburg had a special parade after school in anticipation of the Galesburg Fire’s home playoff game next Saturday on Halloween. Different floats built by students and business drove down Main street flinging out candy, which the little kids with grocery bags ran out to get off of the road. Some floats were Halloween themed while others displayed how bad they would defeat the Fire’s opponent. It turned out to be a major event as many people from the town came out. At the end of the parade was the Galesburg High School marching band belting out this year’s routine. Following them, all sitting on top of two fire trucks was the football team with Clayton Stoneking front and center.
Kids screamed out his name hoping he would wave to them or throw out some candy. Even many of the adults were trying to get his attention. They knew this kid would have a big future and they wanted to be able to say they were there when it all began for Clayton. There wasn’t a person in the parade that doubted the team would win the state championship. It was a forgone conclusion and on Halloween they would take their first step.
As 4:30 rolled by, Emma got ready to leave. Some of her co-workers could see her excitement and wished her well. Her and Lisa had spent last night picking out the perfect dress and now it was time to get ready. It was only an hour and a half until Aaron picked her up and she wanted to make sure everything was perfect. She quickly went to her car and hurried home. She prayed tonight would be the night she had dreamed of. In a week of insanity, she hoped for some normalcy. Later on, when she looked back at the aftermath of what happened in Galesburg, she would remember it was the calm before the storm began.
16
At exactly 6:00, Emma heard a knock on her apartment door. She opened it up to see Aaron standing there wearing a shirt and tie looking extremely handsome. He looked at her in awe as she stood there before him looking radiant in her dress. Her smile had always been something he noticed about her, but her deep brown eyes were just as captivating. He stood there speechless for a moment and then realized he had been holding roses behind his back. He brought them around and gave them to her as she invited him in. Emma was touched by the flowers and thanked him for them. She had an empty vase on her coffee table and she immediately grabbed it to put the flowers in.
“I can do that for you while you finish getting ready,” Aaron said taking the vase from her. “Although to be perfectly honest, I don’t know what else you would have to do. You look absolutely beautiful!”
Emma blushed as she gave him the flowers. Things were going great so far. “Thank you, Aaron,” she said. “You look very handsome yourself.”
“Thanks,” he said with a grin. “I was going for hot, but handsome will do I guess.”
Emma laughed out loud and Aaron loved every note of it. She was such a happy person and he really needed to be around her right now. “Let me just get my shoes and we’ll get going,” she said.
Emma’s heart raced as she went into her room to grab her heels. She had to calm down so that she could put them on without snagging her tights. She was so excited for tonight and she loved how comfortable he was around her. She knew she loved him, but she had to let it play out at his pace.
She walked out of her room and Aaron stood there with the flowers on the coffee table and her coat in his hands. “Well we’re all dressed up,” she said. “Where are we going to go?”
“Have you heard of that new steakhouse that opened downtown?” Aaron asked.
“Sure. I’ve never been there, but I’ve been wanting to check it out.”
“Well, tonight is your lucky night then.”
You can say that again, she thought.
Aaron helped her with her coat and she took his arm as they walked to his car. He opened up the door for her and she thanked him as he closed it behind her. For the first time since the football game, they talked about their lives as opposed to what was going on currently. From the drive there and throughout supper they caught up on what they did after high school and throughout college. They laughed as they reminisced over past youth group antics and they updated each other on where their friends were since high school. They sat for over two hours enjoying each other’s conversation. It was a well-needed night for both of them.
After supper, Aaron asked if they wanted to take a walk over to Seminary street and get a dessert from the new bakery that opened up. It closed in about half an hour at 9:00, but they had plenty of time to get there. Emma was stuffed from supper, but w
as more than happy to take a walk with Aaron and spend more time with him.
As they walked the couple blocks it took to get to Seminary Street, they unconsciously began holding each other’s hands. Neither knew who initiated it, but neither wanted to let go either. The night had been unseasonably warm for late October and that made the walk even better. With about a block left until they would turn onto Seminary, Aaron knew he needed to tell Emma about what had happened at church.
“Emma,” he said, “there is something I wanted to tell you about that happened yesterday.”
Emma could detect the sadness in his voice and turned her head to look in his eyes. “What happened?”
“I got in trouble at work for standing up to Clayton.”
“What? You did? What did they say?”
“They said I had no right to tell Clayton that he wasn’t allowed at youth group and, of course, I disagreed. I saw what he did to those boys and he is extremely dangerous. I had to protect them.”
“Of course you did. Who had a problem with that?”
“Clayton’s dad and our senior pastor.”
“Really? I understand how Clayton’s dad could be blind to him, but Pastor Charles too?”
“Unfortunately, they are two peas in a pod. They said I screamed at Clayton, which isn’t true at all and since his friends were the only witnesses they believe Clayton’s lie over what really happened.”
Emma looked at him stunned. Nothing like this would ever have happened with Jack. He would have seen through the lies. Maybe that’s why Jack was taken out of the way…
“So anyway, they told me that I am suspended with pay until Sunday, November 1st when they will decide whether or not I will remain there as a pastor.”
“What?” Emma said horrified. “How is that possible? That’s so unfair. You were watching out for those who needed safety. What about the boys? What about their parents?”
Aaron sat down on a bench and Emma, still holding his hand, sat next to him. “They forbade me from coming back on church grounds. If I do, they will consider it trespassing. They are announcing the special meeting on this Sunday. You’re actually the first person I’ve told about this and I didn’t tell you sooner because I didn’t want to ruin our date.”
Emma placed her hand on his shoulder. “Tonight has been wonderful. You haven’t ruined anything. I cannot tell you how sorry I am right now that you have to go through this. It’s completely unjust.”
“Exactly. I have never been more humiliated and hurt in my life. I would expect this from people who either don’t know Jesus or don’t care about him, but I never expected it from my church. I know I didn’t do anything wrong, but sometimes I just feel like walking away from it all, not God, but the job. Who’s going to believe me?”
“I believe you,” Emma said.
Aaron looked at her and smiled sweetly. “Thank you.”
“Can I tell you a true story?” Emma said.
“Sure.”
“This happened way back in 2nd grade at Gale school, but I remember it as plain as day.”
“Wow. We’re going way back.”
“Yep, but it’s always stayed in my mind.”
“What happened?”
“It was winter and it had just snowed. At recess, all of us kids were in our winter gear having fun making snowmen and throwing snowballs. My friends and I were busy making our own snowman and we had just put the head on him when I heard a kid crying behind me. I turned around to see a classmate of mine named Pete Houser crying in the snow. He was a special needs kid and was often picked on by the older kids. Well, in this case there were three fifth graders picking on him and they looked like giants to me. They had pushed Pete down face first in the snow and stole his hat from him.”
“He stood up with the snow still all over his face and tried to get his hat back, but the bullies kept throwing it to each other playing keep away from him. Every once in a while if he got too close they would trip him and laugh at him while he was down. I felt so terrible, however there was literally nothing I could do, but to go try and find the teachers on the other side of the building. I was just about ready to go when all of the sudden I saw someone jump into the middle of those guys, snatch the hat out of the air, and pick Pete up from the ground and brush him off. That person was you.”
Aaron grinned sheepishly. “I remember.”
“Well, so do I and I was enamored by it. Without any thought for yourself you jumped in there to rescue Pete from those guys. You stood in front of him and told them to knock it off and stop picking on him. In truth, they could have ganged up on you and beat you up, but they saw your face and knew you meant business. So the mean fifth graders left the second grader alone because he was now protected by a fourth grader.”
Aaron laughed.
“I’ve never told you this, Aaron, but on that day you became my hero and as the years went on you remained that same person. I was captivated then and I’m still captivated now. You stood up for those boys at church because that is your nature and you can’t change who you are. You are a real man of God and I couldn’t be more proud of you.”
Aaron looked into her beautiful eyes. “I thought Superman was your hero.”
Emma squeezed his hand. “You’re my Superman.”
“You know, I think I really want to kiss you,” Aaron said.
“Well,” she said with a smile, “who’s stopping you?”
And on a beautiful autumn night, sitting on a bench in downtown Galesburg, Aaron and Emma, shared their first kiss.
17
Thomas Rule stared at the twelve shadows that stood before him. Eric and Lance had made good on their obligation and were able to provide all the people needed to carry out the strategy the Scarlet had for Halloween night. They all stood in the darkness of the practice field next to the football stadium. On the other side of the field was a long line of tall pine trees, which often served as a windbreak. There was no wind tonight, but the cover provided by the trees served their purpose of concealment.
The shadows stood in silence. They were obedient to the code they adopted. Thomas was very pleased by everything that came together and was continually impressed by the Thinker’s grand designs. The Thinker, of course, was not there with them. He avoided exposure as much as possible and didn’t interact with targets. Thomas, however, was one of the Scarlet’s Actors and that meant he was always the one interacting with and manipulating people. Thomas loved what he did and he loved the adrenaline of moving on without a trace. The Earnest Weller project was a masterpiece. They took everything he had and vanished without anyone knowing. The Galesburg project was on an even greater scale and so far everything had gone to plan.
Thomas gave his characteristic warm smile as he looked at the group before him. They were nothing more than tools. They had their use and then, unknown to them, they would be disposed of. It always gave him a rush to manipulate and now it was time to shine.
“Thank you for being here,” he said. “It’s a pleasure for me to meet all of you. Now, I’m sure you know why we are meeting, but I think it is important to remind you of our purpose. It’s freedom. Freedom from the rules and powers that have done nothing but oppress you and keep you from the true value of who you are. Here we are next to a gigantic football stadium, which took millions and millions of dollars to remodel and all of it is used to worship Clayton Stoneking. Can one of you tell me why Clayton is worthy of such praise while none of you are? Why is it that football gets all of the attention while no other sport or activity does? Jane, you were an all star volleyball player? Did your team get any money or did you get the worship that Clayton gets?”
At first, Jane stiffened as she heard him address her directly. She was surprised that a man she had never met knew these things about her, but what he said rang true. She knew she had to stay silent, but she also knew she had permission to res
pond to Mr. Rule.
“No, sir,” she said.
“And what about both of you, Jake and Matthew? You have amazing abilities on your skateboards and yet does a dime go toward a school skate park? Why is that not considered a sport?”
Jake and Matthew, who were newly recruited this week, both nodded in agreement.
“The same goes for all of you. This football season has shown everyone where our city’s values lie and I can assure you that those values do not fall on you. It’s not right. It needs to change. Well, that change starts with us.”
“You are here because the Scarlet has deemed you worthy to be called a shadow. You have shown the aptitude and desire to carry out what needs to be done and I have the means to provide you with the reward you seek: the freedom to do whatever you want.”
Together we will show this city who we really are and who they should fear. Destruction will come swift and hard and none of you will be caught because you are one with the night. We have the means to protect you. As you know, the bomb earlier this week was us and yet Eric walked out of the police department free and clear. His witnesses left terrified because they saw the power we truly possess. That same power is offered to you. On Halloween night is when we will strike. Out of the shadows we will come and back into the shadows we will go.”
Thomas looked at them with satisfaction as he saw that they affirmed what he was saying. They were ready to strike and do exactly what they were instructed to. Nothing would stop the Scarlet.
The Scarlet Plan Page 25