Reborn

by Orrin Jason Bradford

  He was reminded of one of his mother’s favorite sayings: where there’s a will there’s a way. Well, I have the will so I’ll just need to find the way, James thought as he reached deeper into the desk drawer and pulled out a small black book. He leafed through the pages until he came to the one he’d been looking for with Hickory’s name at the top. He tore it out and burned it.

  Shack

  1

  Pat and Allan sat around the kitchen table with their mugs of coffee and TJ’s note between them; the breakfast of French toast long forgotten.

  “I knew he was upset about Mimi not being able to come over any longer, but I had no idea he would react in this way.”

  “We have to remember he's a teenage boy who thinks he's in love," Pat replied. "Who knows? Maybe he is in love. That's really not for us to say, but if we can get into the mind of a teenage boy I don't think running away is that unusual." She knew there was a lot more going on with TJ than just his upset over Mimi, but there was really no way she could let Allan know. She had already texted Oliver and canceled their appointment. Now she had to figure out what she could do to help Allan get TJ back. Or did she? Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. What if TJ just disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again? It sure would make her life easier, and maybe, just maybe Allan and she could get on with their lives minus the complication of a son who was really an alien.

  As she stared into her half-empty mug of coffee, she considered it. Could she live with herself, knowing that she'd been the cause of his running away? What if they learned later that something terrible had happened to him? What if he was killed, or mugged, or arrested for vagrancy? As callous as it sounded and made her feel, it was this last possibility that concerned her the most. TJ was like a walking time bomb, set to go off at some random time that no one knew. One thing was sure. When he did go off, all hell would break loose. She could see the headlines now:

  Alien Discovered Masquerading as Human

  The story would go on to describe how a small town veterinarian with assistance from a prominent P.I. from Charlotte had been instrumental in protecting the alien from being discovered.

  No. She wanted TJ out of her life, but this wasn't the way. Not to mention that if she was honest with herself, despite everything, she still cared for the boy, alien or not. She thought on one of her father's favorite lessons. Her father, who occasionally admitted to having Buddhist leanings, often quoted Buddhist teaching that the middle way was best. Over the years Pat had learned that there was much wisdom in that approach to life. So, what would be a middle of the road solution for the TJ problem? She didn't have an answer to that question; not yet, but at least it felt like the right question to be asking. That was often the start to finding a solution. So, the first order of business—find TJ.

  2

  It had been a full twenty-four hours and still not a word from TJ. In the first hour, they'd ruled out calling the police or sheriff department. There was just no way they could take the risk of involving them. Allan had called Kendra and Mimi just to let them know what had happened. Neither of them had a clue where TJ might have run off to but promised to be in touch if they heard from him.

  “Let’s try not to panic,” Pat finally said. “Many kids who run away stay gone less than a day, then they either calm down or get hungry and come on home. Let’s give TJ a little time.”

  Allan reluctantly agreed, but now it was the next morning and still no word from TJ.

  Pat and Allan sat around the kitchen table, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Allan asked for about the tenth time in the last twenty-four hours, "Where do you think he would go? He's never been anywhere other than this house and the land around it… except for that brief excursion to Homlin's place. Do you think he'd try to go back there?"

  Pat shook her head. "No, I don't think so, but I could be wrong." An idea suddenly came to her, and she stood up. "I may know how to find out where he went."

  “How?” Allan asked.

  “Follow me,” Pat replied as she walked into Allan’s office and sat down in front of the computer. “TJ has spent countless hours in front of this thing. It’s become his window to the world in many ways. Let’s just see what’s in its browser history.”

  Pat pulled up the list of sites visited over the last month. There were hundreds of different pages ranging from gaming websites, mostly related to a game called Mercenaries, to sites about wolves, owls, and several other animals. Pat scrolled down, scanning through the list like a speed reader and then suddenly stopped.

  “There, that’s where he has headed,” she said as she pointed to the screen and a long list of sites all with the word, Asheville NC, in their name.

  “Asheville?” Allan asked. “Why Asheville?”

  “Why not Asheville?” Pat replied. “It makes sense to me. It’s reasonably close and a fairly good size city. Should be fairly easy to stay incognito there.”

  “Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Allan replied. “So, now what? Do we drive over and see if we can find him?”

  “No," Pat replied. "Least not yet. TJ is too smart just to be standing on a street corner waiting for us to find him, and Asheville is too large, but I know someone who may be able to help. His name is Shack Lawson. He's a P.I. in Asheville of some dubious reputation, but he and I have always gotten along pretty well." She decided it best not to mention the number of times Shack had tried unsuccessfully to get her into bed. "I'll call him later today."

  Allan glanced at his watch. “It’s already 9:30. Why not call him now?”

  Pat chuckled. “Shack doesn’t have much use for early morning calls, and believe it or not, 9:30 is still way too early. I’ll give him a call around noon. I’ll probably still be waking him up, but at least he won’t be so ornery then. You go on to work. You’ve got lives to save.”

  “Yeah, and cats to spay,” Allan agreed. “Keep me posted though.”

  “Sure thing," Pat said as she stood up and kissed him. "I know how important TJ is to you," and I’m discovering how important he is to me as well, she thought, surprised by her own admission.

  3

  TJ’s leisure journey to Asheville took him along the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craven Gap where he found himself in the late afternoon. Off in the westerly direction, the sunset turned the clear sky a brilliant mixture of orange and red clouds against a deep blue sky while down below in the valley set the skyline of Asheville, the lights beginning to twinkle in preparation for another late fall evening.

  TJ had shifted back to human form for the last few miles, not wanting to take the chance of running into other humans along the road as a wolf. He stood now in awe of the scene below him. He had known that Asheville was one of the fastest growing areas of western North Carolina, but none of the pictures he’d seen of it on the internet had come close to capturing its beauty or its size.

  I think I’m going to like it here, he thought, as he studied the skyline that included several large buildings highlighted with a line of purplish mountain ranges in the background. He'd searched on the internet for cheap places to stay but hadn't found anything under fifty dollars a night. At that rate, his borrowed nest egg would be gone in no time, but his luck was holding for the night temperatures promised to be unseasonably warm. He figured he'd just sleep in one of Asheville's many parks, at least until he found a job.

  He'd start his search for gainful employment first thing the next day. Tonight, he'd treat himself to a good meal in a restaurant close to the park he'd selected for his temporary housing. If he was careful, his stash should easily last until his first paycheck. He might even drop in on one or two of the nightspots of which he'd read. The Orange Peel, a favorite bar and entertainment venue that had been open for three years, had already become well known for some of the popular bands they'd hosted. Yes, his new life in Asheville was going to be very good.

  Asheville

  1

  As TJ entered the main business section of Asheville, the sun set behi
nd the western range of mountains and soon the day turned to night. He stopped a couple of people on the street and asked where a good place to eat could be found. Two out of the three recommended the Mellow Mushroom, and the last one even gave him directions to it.

  He was less than a block away and could see the sign up ahead when his keen hearing picked up the piercing scream of a woman followed by several loud words of anger off in the distance, accompanied by the equally angry retorts of a man. TJ took a couple more steps towards the restaurant, but then stopped when he heard a second even more blood-curdling scream sounding as though the woman was being killed.

  He followed the voices down a narrow side street with poor lighting. Hearing a third scream, he picked up his pace to a run while the few people he saw around him appeared to ignore it all. Maybe they don't hear it as well as I am, he thought as he turned down an alleyway and saw a man and woman at the end of the alley grappling with each other. The man threw the woman down and appeared to be trying to wrestle her pocketbook away from her while she held onto it tenaciously.

  “Hey, stop that!” TJ yelled as he ran towards them. “Leave her alone.”

  The man ignored him as he continued to try to yank the purse out of her hand but only ended up dragging her along the ground. As TJ ran towards them, he lifted his pack off his back and prepared to sling it at the large man's head, but when he did the man deftly ducked, and the pack swung through space, throwing TJ off balance.

  “Now!" TJ heard the man shout, and with that, the woman was suddenly standing up next to him and slinging her pocketbook at his head. Her aim was considerably better than his had been. It hit him hard against his left side, and he fell, slamming his head on the dirty pavement of the alley.

  The next few moments became a blur for TJ, as the man and woman jumped on him and beat him viciously; the man kicked him with his sharp-toed boots while the woman continued to hit him with her purse that felt like it must be filled with bricks. At one point TJ felt himself beginning to shift shape, he couldn't tell which and it didn't matter. He lost consciousness before the shift could take.

  2

  He awoke sometime later with a terrible odor assaulting his nose. He slowly opened his eyes but found himself still in the dark. It took him several minutes before he was conscious enough to realize he was resting on a mound of smelly garbage in an enclosed area designed for such trash. His head felt like the top of his skull might jettison from the rest of his body, and his ribs and groin ached from where the man had kicked him multiple times. He slowly rose from his prone position, only to crack his head against the hard metal top of the dumpster in which he'd been thrown.

  After waiting for the stars to clear, he pushed the top open and found he was still in the alleyway. He looked around for his backpack, but his assailants had apparently taken it with them. That's when he noticed he was colder than he'd been before. They'd also taken ownership of his ski jacket. He stuck his right hand into his jean pocket and came away empty. They'd taken all his money as well. He leaned on the side of the dumpster, waiting for vertigo to pass, and felt drops of blood trickle down the side of his head.

  “Welcome to Asheville,” he whispered as he slowly collapsed back into the pile of garbage.

  3

  TJ awoke the next morning to the sound of a loud and persistent beep, beep. He reached one arm out to hit the snooze button of his alarm clock, but his hand landed on a wet, slimy pile of unknown origin. His eyes flew open at the same time his nose awoke to a strangely familiar stench. He groaned as the memory of the night before flooded into his awareness. One of the worse nights of my life, he thought. He vaguely remembered leaving the dumpster at one point during the night only to return less than an hour later. The night temperature had plummeted as a brisk, chilling wind blew through the streets and alleyways of Asheville. He looked for some other shelter from the wind, but every place he looked had already been taken by someone else. It was a harsh welcome to the homeless community. He had read on the internet about the growing population of homeless people in Asheville but hadn't fully comprehended how many men, women and yes, even children lived on the street without a home to go to.

  And now I’m one of them, he thought. The realization sent a new chill through his body; one independent of the cold temperatures. Finally, after being yelled and cursed at by several of the homeless, TJ retraced his steps back to the dumpster, which suddenly looked more welcoming than it had when he’d first abandoned it.

  I sure hope someone hasn’t taken my spot, he thought as he lifted the lid and looked inside, then breathed a sigh of relief when he found it still empty. “Home, sweet home,” he whispered as he climbed in and pulled the lid down to reduce the wind. Okay, maybe not sweet, but at least it would serve his purpose for the night. Tomorrow, he’d start pounding the pavement for a job and turn this downward spiral of his life around.

  But what the hell was that irritating noise that had awoken him and continued to blast in his ear? As he had the thought, he felt the dumpster suddenly shudder and then shake more violently as it was lifted into the air. He jumped up, hitting his head once again on the hard metal of the dumpster’s top, then wincing in pain, pushed the top open. The dumpster started tilting towards the garbage truck that had lifted it into the air.

  “Hey! Hold on. I’m inside here!” he shouted at the top of his voice. “Wait just a minute!”

  The two sanitation workers who looked like they might have spent their own night in a dumpster stared first at him and then at each other with shocked looks. Finally, one of the men waved at a third man in the truck's cab, and a second later the dumpster stopped moving.

  “What the hell you doing in there?” one of the men asked.

  “Trying to keep from freezing,” TJ replied as he crawled to the edge of the dumpster and jumped down to the alleyway.

  “Well, I’ve never,” the other man replied. “Getting so you can’t take a step in this town without stepping on some bum.”

  “Take it easy, Jed,” the first man answered back. “If it weren’t for this job, that could be you or me.”

  His comrade grunted something unintelligible as he waved to the truck driver to resume emptying the dumpster.

  “Speaking of jobs," TJ said as he turned to the one who had expressed some sympathy for his plight. "Know where I can get one?"

  “Nah,” the man replied, suddenly appearing far less interested in him. “Especially not looking and smelling like that.”

  TJ looked down at his stained shirt and pants. His gaze traveled down his body to his tennis shoes, where a dried banana peel stuck to one of them. He kicked it off. The man made a good point. No one would consider hiring him in his current condition.

  “Do you know where I can find a bathroom then?”

  “You may be able to sneak into the library when it opens at eight. It's just a couple of blocks away," the man replied. "Just don't tell anyone I told you so. And stay clear of their rent-a-cop."

  The man climbed onto the side of the truck, and the empty dumpster was lowered to the ground. "You're new to the street, aren't you?"

  “Maybe,” TJ replied, suddenly wary of answering such a question.

  “There's a shelter over on Ravencroft, not far from here. You can ask anyone for directions. I know you might want to go it alone, but if it gets too bad, they should be able to help."

  “Thanks, I appreciate the information.”

  “No sweat, kid. Like I said, there but for the grace of God…." And with that, the truck pulled out onto the main street and away.

  TJ followed the truck out of the alley to the main road where the city was slowly starting to awaken. As he walked along following the directions the garbageman had given, he noticed several people glaring at him, and one or two even appeared to cross the street to avoid him. Not that he could blame them. He surely couldn't brag about his appearance and was finding it hard to put up with his own smell.

  He found the library just a couple bloc
ks away but continued to walk around until it opened. He needed to pee badly, and the walking seemed to help. As soon as the doors opened, he entered along with several other patrons who frowned at him but refrained from saying anything.

  Locating the bathrooms near the rear of the building, he rushed over to the closest urinal and relieved his aching bladder. He then walked over to the line of sinks to clean up. As he stared into the mirror, he gasped. Who was that scruffy, bloodstained kid staring back at him with the matted, greasy hair? He tilted his head to one side to get a better look at the scalp wound. He pulled a couple of paper towels from the dispenser, wet them and tenderly cleaned the wound. It had bled quite a bit but didn't appear to be that deep. As long as it didn't get infected, it would heal within a few days. He used several other wet towels to clean away the blood and dirt before finally clogging one of the sinks with a towel so he could soak his head, using the hand soap to wash his hair.

  While he cleaned himself, an elderly man entered the bathroom, paused a moment to glare disapprovingly at him, then quickly relieved himself at the line of urinals before disappearing without bothering to wash his hands. TJ took another handful of towels to dry himself and was in the process of blow drying his hair with the one lone hand dryer when he felt a firm hand grab his shoulder from behind and spun him around.