The Candle (Haunted Series Book 23)

by Alexie Aaron

  “Why are you doing this?” Weldon asked.

  “It’s for the sake of botany,” Mia said evenly. “This is a failed experiment. Go back to wherever your bones molder. Go back and think this over.”

  The mad ghost nodded.

  Murphy escorted him to the door and slammed it shut.

  Mia waved him away from the door. Murphy moved towards Cid, and Mia took the rest of Burt’s salt and sealed them in.

  “Now, light the candle and make your wish. Remember, it must be made silently like a birthday wish.”

  “What if I screw it up?”

  “Make another wish. Just remember, all within the room you’re in will be affected,” Mia stressed.

  Cid nodded and lit the lighter and then the candle.

  Murphy put a protective arm around Mia. She squeezed his hand. “Remember, Murph. Remember our friendship.”

  Cid blew out the candle.

  Chapter Twenty

  Cid cleaned his glasses as the world swirled around him. The fog he experienced when he removed his glasses was more than normal. He put on his glasses and smiled.

  “Cid Garrett!”

  He turned and saw the blonde with the long white hair, looking out of place in the hall of his school. She carried the large expensive backpack well, despite her diminutive height. Was Murphy with her? Did she remember? He patted himself down and felt the presence of the candle in his pocket. “It was real. It really happened,” he whispered to himself.

  Mia ran down the hall and launched herself into his arms. This caused quite a stir with the few kids who were shocked to see a girl hugging the fat blind geek.

  “We did it!”

  “You remembered?” Cid asked as Mia released him.

  “Yes, and so does Murph,” Mia said. “Let’s go and rescue Ted from the locker.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to leave him in there?” Cid asked. “He would be safe.”

  Mia took his hand and said, “I have to see him one more time. And then I’m going to borrow your mother’s car.”

  “Mia, you’re not leaving me behind,” Cid said.

  “But then you’d be safe,” she said. “You’ve got nothing to prove, Cid Garrett. I know you’re the bravest of all of us. You’re cleverer than your best friend. You see us clearer than if you had twenty-twenty vision.”

  “This is why you need me to come along, and I think we need the egomaniac too.”

  “Well then, it’s time to let him out of the locker. You remember he’s not going to believe us.”

  “Yes, but he did in the end. He’s got an open mind,” Cid said.

  “Let’s go and freak him out,” Mia said mischievously.

  They walked to locker 1010 and Mia put her finger to her lips before she used the remembered combination. She slammed the door open. Mia held out her hand to the surprised boy. “Come with me if you want to live.”

  Cid put his hand to his face. He felt the tears of joy stream down his cheeks but didn’t care if he appeared weak to the others. His best friend was alive.

  Ted looked down at the big-eyed girl with the oversized pack on her back, standing bold as brass, and fell in love. He took her hand and squeezed out of the locker.

  “Mia Cooper at your service. I come from the future. We need to reset time.”

  Ted looked at Cid.

  “She’s not lying,” Cid said. “Come on, we have so much to do.”

  “But what about the test?”

  “Fuck the test,” Cid said.

  Ted, who never heard Cid swear before, was visibly shaken.

  “Are you in, or are you staying for the test?” Cid demanded.

  “I’m in. Fuck the test,” Ted said. He reached in the locker and picked up a few books, thought a moment, and tossed them back into the locker and slammed the door. “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “Cid’s house,” Mia said. “We’re going to take his mother’s car and drive to a place called Smoky Hill River Valley. There is an asylum there that our friend has become trapped in. We’re going to rescue him. He’s going to reset time. Except he doesn’t know it yet.”

  “Is this a game?” Ted asked as he held the door open for Mia.

  “Do you believe in ghosts?” Mia asked, passing through.

  “I guess.”

  “May I introduce you to Stephen Murphy, a ghost and my best friend for life,” Mia said.

  “And death,” Murphy added as he manifested.

  Ted staggered before his natural cool set in. “Is that axe real?”

  Murphy grinned a wicked smile. He looked around, walked over to the garbage bin, and swung his axe.

  CLANG!

  The bin had a big gaping hole in it. The noise of its destruction echoed off the back of the school buildings. Someone pulled open a window on the second floor.

  Ted grabbed Mia’s pack off her back and started running. Cid and Mia followed him, laughing. They crossed the athletic field and exited the school property by climbing the eight-foot cyclone fence.

  “A simple yes would have sufficed,” Ted said, winded.

  “I guess I should have told you that Murph has an unusual sense of humor,” Mia said.

  Ted smiled. “Well that was exhilarating. What’s next?” he asked.

  “You asked us if this was a game,” Mia said. “Cid, please catch him up, but leave the details to a minimum because we really don’t have the time.”

  Ted listened to Cid and argued with him until Mia confirmed Cid’s story.

  “It’s just not scientific.”

  “No, it’s magic,” Mia said. “Magic doesn’t have to follow the science rules. It has its own rules.”

  “But still…”

  “Do you believe in zombies?” Mia asked him.

  “Yes.”

  “Explain them scientifically?” Mia challenged.

  “It’s a sickness…” Ted started and continued to state all the facts as he saw them.

  Cid groaned and muttered to Murphy, “This is going to take forever.”

  “As long as we are walking towards your house, who does it hurt? Your friend has an audience. Let him talk.”

  “But he never stops talking,” Cid warned.

  “He’ll stop, watch,” Murphy instructed.

  Mia grabbed Ted’s hand. It was as if someone took the needle off a record. Ted looked down at Mia.

  “Now that’s magic,” Murphy said.

  “No, that’s chemistry,” Cid corrected.

  “It used to bother me to see them that way,” Murphy confessed.

  “You like her more than a friend, don’t you,” Cid observed.

  “You always seem to know things before everyone else does.”

  “It’s these ears of mine. I hear more in voices than most people,” Cid said. “In the short time we’ve been together, I could tell that Mia feels something deeper for you, but I also know she fears it.”

  “Remember how Mia said magic has its own rules?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, when Mia is an adult, I’m not allowed to love her…”

  “Why?”

  “It’s called a ghostly intrusion. I could be sent to the Dark World for doing married things with her. She won’t risk that. So, she refuses to think of me as anything other than dead. This is what keeps us out of trouble.”

  “But you still love her.”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I ask you something extremely personal?”

  “I’ll do my best to answer you.”

  “At the Duprees, Mia died. You could have been ghosts together. Why didn’t you let her die?”

  “Because that’s not what heroes do,” Murphy said simply. “There is more at stake than me getting the girl.”

  “I know. I’m amazed that a man from your time knows this,” Cid admitted.

  “Just because I lived in the past doesn’t mean I’m stupid. Look at your philosophers, they have been dead longer than me, but their observations are still relevant.”
<
br />   “Touché,” Cid said.

  Ted and Mia walked in silence for a while holding hands. Cid had run ahead to his house to check if his sister was there.

  Murphy disappeared and sought out the solace of nature. He didn’t mind sharing his secrets with Cid. If they were successful this time, he wouldn’t remember what they had talked about. He knew what was at stake. He was surprised how devastated he was when Ted and Burt were killed. These were two men in the future who would take Mia’s heart - but two good men. They were men who allowed him to stay in Mia’s life. In Murphy’s time, this was an impossibility. Wives didn’t have male friends other than their husbands. Mia was such an independent soul, he doubted she would have made a good wife for him. Although it didn’t stop him from loving her. It wasn’t this Cooper curse they bandied about. He wasn’t instantly awestruck with the girl when he met her. If there was a curse, it happened before she came back to live in Big Bear Lake. He smiled remembering that she admitted she came back to be near him. Maybe this was enough.

  Cid waved them into the house. Mia smiled at how Cid had taken the lead. She was going to let him do this because it was his wish, and she had failed so miserably. Cid insisted they all eat something before they made plans.

  Mia excused herself and used the facilities. She took the time to look at herself in the mirror. Sure, she was a goofy-looking girl, but she could at least make an attempt. She washed the Kansas dust off her skin and pulled her hair back from her face, borrowing a scrunchie from Cid’s sister’s supply. As she wound the material around her hair, she thought about what they may have to face when they arrive. It would be just the four of them. The Duprees weren’t going to be included - too far away, too much explaining to do. They needed to leave this afternoon, and that meant they were going to have to navigate the woods just as it got dark.

  The aroma of food pulled her from her thoughts. She left the bathroom and walked quickly to the kitchen.

  Ted watched her walk in. She seemed too familiar with the house. Cid had explained that they had already met and failed at the first attempt to rescue this Burt Hicks guy. How long had she spent here? She and Cid were way too at ease with each other. Why did he care? Why was he feeling insecure? What was wrong with him?

  “Earth to Ted, Earth to Ted,” Cid said.

  “Ted to Earth,” he answered. “Sorry, stuck in a thought.”

  Mia slid over and sat next to him. She grabbed his hand. “It’s time to tell you everything. Please, Teddy Bear, try not to argue too much. We can’t explain why things happened, but we can tell you that they did happen. Listen, and maybe you can tell me where I went wrong.”

  “Go ahead, I’m all ears,” he said, releasing her hand so he could think with the right brain.

  Murphy watched the teens as he sharpened his axe on the soapstone he had unearthed from Cid’s garage. Cid handed Ted a pad of paper when he noticed Ted taking notes on the kitchen table. When Cid and Mia had finished the story, he sat for a moment and looked at his notes and waited.

  “Well?” Mia asked.

  “This Wyatt calling the Dupree house set in motion the Others. You should have gone straight for the mental hospital instead of staying the night at the Duprees. This delay gave the bad guys time to set up. What aren’t you telling me? The story has a hole in it.”

  “You’re surprised by two thugs while you’re handling a percussive bomb. You blow yourself up and die,” Mia said.

  “Damn. How many times did you tell me to leave you and Murphy to fight alone.”

  “I lost count. You’re pretty stubborn,” Mia said.

  “You left her out there?” he asked Cid.

  “I had no choice. Mike picked me up like a sack of potatoes and ran off with me. I did manage to land a few jacks…”

  “Show me the jacks,” Ted asked.

  Mia dug in her pockets and came up with the innocuous looking toys. “Don’t drop them inside,” she cautioned.

  “I think it’s time we gathered materials…” Ted started.

  “Tell me,” Mia said.

  “Tell you what?” Ted asked.

  “Where did I go wrong?” Mia asked.

  “You thought this was all about you. It isn’t.”

  “It’s not?” Mia’s voice squeaked. “The Others have a contract to kill me.”

  “Only because providence gave your grandmother the opportunity to deal with you when you’re vulnerable. She was given a do-over. Anyone would have taken advantage of it.”

  “We won the fight with the birdmen’s help,” Mia said.

  “No, you lost. You let loose the demon inside. The thing Murphy was worried about the whole first attempt,” Cid said.

  “Is this true?” Ted asked.

  Mia nodded. “But you see, no matter how I fought it in the original timeline, I became an assassin.”

  “No, Mia,” Murphy said, manifesting. “You were trained to protect yourself. You didn’t sneak in and kill the demon-with-no-name. Altair said you fought well and were very quick in your fight. You didn’t play with the creature. You got the job done and then came back looking for us.”

  “I sense that’s a hell of a story for another time,” Ted said. “Let’s concentrate on this time.”

  “Yes, Ted,” Mia said.

  Ted raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t used to people listening to him like this. “We need these items,” he said, handing the list to Cid. “Hopefully, we can find most of them here. I have a list I’ll pick up when I go home to inform my sisters that I’m spending the night here. I’m going to also get you a pair of my old pants that I’m sure will fit you. My mother sewed on an extra set of pockets so I could hold all my stuff when I was in elementary school. This will free your arms for other stuff.”

  “K.”

  “Let’s plan on leaving here in an hour. We may have to pick up a couple of things at the Home Depot.”

  “Yes, sir,” Mia said.

  Cid left to find the things on his list.

  Mia looked at Murphy and asked, “What do you think?”

  “Ted was always best at planning, Cid at loyalty, and you at implementation. I think our chances have improved tenfold.”

  “Still no guarantee,” Mia said. “If this isn’t about me, what is it about?” she asked Murphy.

  “I have no idea.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Burt sat up. He looked at his watch. “Thursday afternoon.” He tried to stand and found himself weak. “Whoa, Burt, steady boy,” he cautioned himself, remembering the salt line he poured and his attempt to break out through the window. The work in his concussive state must have been too much for him. Today he was very tired, but he needed to make some progress. If he couldn’t get the door open, maybe he could either climb up into the room above, which had its dangers, or try to increase the window’s size so he could escape that way, maybe lower himself so he could jump safely into the bushes that hugged the side of the building.

  Either plan needed a rope. He studied the material that still hung over the rotted padding. It itself was too fragile, but if he braided it? He began pulling the pads off the wall.

  ~

  Cid heard a car turn into the driveway and was able to warn Ted and Mia before Candy’s keys hit the lock on the back door.

  Ted had pulled Mia into Cid’s room and shut the door. They crawled under Cid’s bed and lay there, barely breathing.

  “Cid!” Candy said, surprised at seeing her brother. “Why aren’t you in school?” she said, narrowing her eyes.

  “I finished the test early, so Mr. Nagi gave me a pass to the computer room. But it was locked, so I came home instead.”

  “Skipping school is a bold move. If I didn’t already know that you’ve probably pissed off the others by acing the test, I’d be proud of you.”

  Cid frowned. He pushed his glasses up on his nose.

  “I want you to spend the weekend at Ted’s.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not going to be home. Sally
’s waiting in the car. Her sister invited us to a party at the college.”

  “Mom’s not going to be happy.”

  “Mom’s not going to be happy to know you skipped school. So you keep your mouth shut, and I’ll keep mine shut.”

  “Alright.”

  Candy looked at him again. “You’re being too agreeable.”

  “I met a girl today.”

  Candy stared at him. “Oh my god, I thought you and Ted were a couple. What’s the girl like?”

  “Long blonde hair and green eyes.”

  “Cute?”

  “Yes.”

  “She’s just being kind. Why would she want to hang around a fat blind boy?”

  “That’s not nice,” Cid said.

  Candy ignored him and walked into her room and changed her clothes. Cid walked around the house looking for any sign of Ted or Mia. He walked into his room and started to change his clothes. They had all agreed on wearing non-reflective dark clothes. He pulled off his shirt.

  Candy walked in.

  “Cid, you want to borrow my bra?” she asked.

  Ted felt Mia stiffen under the bed. He put a restraining hand on her arm. He was surprised just how muscled it was.

  “I don’t know why you have to be so mean,” Cid said. “It’s not my fault I’m sight challenged.”

  “It’s not, but look at you. You’re fat, you’ve got moobs, and you walk around school like you’re a god of mathematics with that scarecrow Theodore. Amy says her brother calls you Gross Gay Garrett. You’re so damn embarrassing to have for a brother. Get your act together, or you’ll get eaten alive in high school.”

  Cid wanted to challenge her but knew the more he talked with Candy, the later he, Mia, and Ted got on the road. “Before I forget, the dealership called, and they are coming to pick up Mom’s car later.”

  “Well, you better be here because I’m busy.”

  “Candy…”

  “Call me tomorrow to check in,” she said and walked off to complete her look. “Hey, nerd boy, have you seen my black scrunchie?” she called from the bathroom.