Of the Blood

by Joshua Laack

Chapter 8

  Andrew scanned the next item and smiled at the elderly lady with the large bun in her gray hair. She was telling him about her husband who had passed away nearly a decade ago. He heard the same story every time she came into the store. He didn't mind though most of the time.

  “Bertram was an amazing man. He used to ride a horse for two and a half hours both ways to come and visit me in town. You young kids these days have no idea how good you have it.”

  “You're absolutely right Mrs. Paxley, we do have it good these days.” She humphed.

  “At least you see that. Most lads your age don't understand.” She talked a bit more and Andrew did his best to smile and agree with her. He wasn't certain why, but he was anxious for his shift to end. His heart had been racing ever since work started, though he couldn't think of a reason. Halfway through the shift, it had slowed, but not all the way back to normal. He tried to think back on the day, but he didn't come up with anything that would explain the nerves or the heartbeat. He had been a little bit disappointed that Josefina hadn't come to school, but that didn't make him anxious, just disappointed. He shook his head and tried to focus on what he was doing. He had been doing that a lot since meeting her.

  Like it did any time he wanted to be somewhere else, Andrew's shift crept by at a snail's pace. He checked the clock constantly, but instead of hours moving by each time, it was minutes. When ten o'clock crept onto the face of the big clock on the wall he stamped out and headed for his car. He was more than ready to be at home.

  Trusty Rusty was waiting in the lot, right where he left it. He remembered parking in a rush as if he would be late if he didn't hurry. The memory felt fuzzy, but Andrew shook it off. He was just tired from work.

  The engine rumbled as the key turned and the car started. The rusted muffler groaned as it often did whenever Andrew first started it or if he drove too fast. He paused as that thought went through his head. Something wasn't right. He saw a flash.

  The speedometer was vibrating at almost a hundred miles per hour, but that couldn't be right. He never drove that fast. Something was wrong with his memory. He tried to figure it out as the memory played in his head.

  Andrew realized that the view of the speedometer in his memory was from the passenger seat. Who was driving? In his mind, Andrew tried to turn and look at the driver. A soft voice overlapped the thoughts and the replay. It was a memory of words spoken and Andrew saw eyes in front of his face, but there was no one there.

  While he was driving home from work, Andrew tried to remember being there. He was sure that he worked because it was after his shift and he was driving away from the store. He remembered driving there, but everything after that was fuzzy. Maybe he needed to see a doctor and get his head examined. Come to think of it, his heart had been acting funny too. Maybe it was time for another check up, though just thinking of the last one made him flush.

  It was embarrassing to have to undress for a doctor, worse since he wasn't comfortable with his body. Not that he thought he had a bad body, but it wasn't much compared to most of the other guys at his school. Andrew had long ago given up being muscular and tan like them. His destiny was to be wiry and pale as long as he lived.

  Andrew pulled up to his house and parked the car. He locked the doors and walked up the sidewalk to his house. There were no lights on inside, but that didn't surprise him. It was just before ten thirty and his parents both had to be up before the sun. They were in bed by about a quarter to ten on weeknights unless they had plans like the previous evening.

  A squirrel ran by him in its rush to get to a tree. The small shape blurred in the night that was dimly lit by random street lamps. It wasn't the squirrel that Andrew saw running past him though. In its place was a dark shape the size of a man that had been running on the side of the road. The squirrel continued on its trek, but the thoughts it had evoked in Andrew didn't fade with its passing.

  The events of the day came rushing back to him and his mind sifted through them. At the end of it all, he reached the memory of Josefina in his car before work. Her eyes stared into his and her voice told him to forget. As before, when he looked at those eyes and heard those words, he felt the recent memories start to slip from his grasp. At the same time, he could feel the darkness upon him pushing on the back of those memories, trying to make them fade faster. The feeling made a growl of frustration rise in his throat.

  “No!” The night echoed with his growl and muted word as Andrew struggled to hold onto those memories. “I will not forget,” he muttered to himself. An audible click sounded in his mind, and without understanding what he had done, the memories firmed. Another moment passed and they were as strong as ever. Andrew frowned. The next time that he saw Josefina, she had some explaining to do.

  He turned the key in the deadbolt on the front door and stepped into the dark interior. He slipped out of his shoes and trudged up the stairs. Inside his room, he shut the door before flicking on the light. There was no need to wake his parents in case they left their door open.

  The room was empty. Andrew placed his school bag on the bed and then went into his closet to get a shirt to sleep in. He moved into the bathroom and brushed his teeth and then stripped down for a full shower.

  The warm water cascaded down his back and he felt himself relax. It wasn't until that point that his heart rate reached its normal beat. It had been pumping fast for most of the afternoon and evening. Andrew thought to himself that he was going to have a heart attack and die young if he didn't figure out how to keep that from happening.

  He toweled himself dry and slipped into boxers and the shirt he had grabbed to sleep in. His hair was still wet, but it was fine hair and would be dry by the time he was ready to sleep.

  Andrew liked to read for an hour or so before bed. He had some homework to do, but nothing popped out at him as urgent. He was a horrible procrastinator when it came to school work. He wrote papers and did almost everything the night before it was due. He seemed to get it done and get decent grades, so he didn't see a reason to put any more effort into it than that.

  He stepped into his room and started to walk to the bed without turning on the overhead light. The lamp was all that he needed for reading. He stopped. There was no noise, but Andrew felt his heart pick back up a bit. At the same time, a sense of calm flowed over him and the ever present dark cloud pulled back, giving him a view of the light beyond. This feeling had happened to him only a few times, yet he knew it immediately.

  “Hello Josefina,” Andrew said to the darkness. He reached for the lamp and flicked on the soft light. She was standing there, in the center of the room, staring at him.

  “How on earth did you know that I was here,” she asked, eyes wide and brows just about lifting off the top of her face. Even in the soft light of the lamp, she seemed to glisten as if she stood under the brightest rays of the sun. Andrew shrugged.

  “I just felt you,” he replied. She frowned and shook her head.

  “I had no idea that was even possible. Even I... most people cannot sense another presence without some sign to give them away.” Andrew felt a strange feeling of exuberance at surprising her. He was also looking forward to the rest that he had to share. She was going to be shocked.

  “Yeah, I'm not sure how I did it either. Speaking of doing unexpected things... you have a little bit of explaining to do.” She looked at Andrew for a moment and then smiled a small half smile.

  “I told you, I like to surprise people. That's the reason I'm here. I didn't think you would mind.” He shook his head, complete with a small half smile of his own.

  “No, I don't mind at all, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm referring to earlier. The thing that was following me that you and the other man like you attacked.” This time, she was more on guard. Her eyebrows rose slightly, but that was the only outward sign of surprise.

  “How on earth?” She shook her head. “Apparently I didn't make you forget as well as I thought.” She stepped closer a
nd looked up into his eyes. “You will forget everything that happened today. You will remember working and then coming home and going to bed.” When she had spoken before to his unaware mind, those words had slipped into Andrew's subconscious and worked like she wanted. Now, whether it was the knowledge of what she was doing or some other reason, the words were just words. He shook his head.

  “No, I don't think I would like to do that. I think I would rather you explained what is going on and who you are.” There was a long pause as Josefina stared at him, pondering what to do about this unexpected situation.

  “Astonishing,” she said after a time. “I haven't met anyone like you before Andrew. No one has ever been able to remember when I did not want them to.” Her head tilted to the side and the feeling that he knew her from somewhere else flooded through him, though he couldn't bring any memories of it to mind or say why he felt that way. “I wonder why you are able to.” He shook his head again.

  “I don't know, but that is not what we are talking about here. You attacked that dark, man shaped thing earlier and I would like to know what it was. I would also like to know how you are so fast and strong.” Josefina stood there for a moment.

  “I cannot tell you. I'm sorry, but I just can't.” She stood there a moment longer staring at him, and then she was gone. The curtain shivered for a moment before it stilled. Andrew hadn't seen the window open or close, but he knew that she had gone that way.

  Who was this girl who had the power to command minds to forget and to move like the wind? What was she? And most importantly, why was he, Andrew Stephen Marks, not afraid of what the answers to those questions might be?