Augur of Shadows

by Jacob Rundle

  “Maybe mom isn’t home yet,” Henri prayed out loud, throwing in a few Hail Mary’s. He realized that there would be no one answering him, so he stopped speaking out loud. He saw his house from a distance, and he didn’t see his mother’s car. Henri released a sigh, thanking someone who was watching out for him.

  “Henri…” a mysterious voiced whispered in his mind. Henri stopped walking to see who was whispering in his ear. He turned around, but he saw nothing or no one, which caused a chill to course down his spine.

  “What’s that?” Henri didn’t like the chilly feeling in the air, and he didn’t appreciate feeling like someone was watching him. He picked up his pace on the sidewalk, avoiding any tiny obstacles in his way. His mind had one mission, and the mission was to get home safely. At the present moment, Henri wished that someone was with him in case something happened.

  “Who’s there?” Henri waited for any sign of a response. He walked towards his house, ignoring the increasing creepy vibe he was feeling. A sharp pain stabbed Henri’s stomach, forcing him to run to his house. The pain became more intense as the seconds passed. When he made it up his front stairs, he spun around to confront whoever was stalking him. Henri saw nothing but his front tree, and the trashcans that he hadn’t retrieved the other day.

  Henri panicked; he didn’t know what to do. The area went silent, and he heard nothing but the breathing of an invisible force. He felt as though an unseen bubble had formed around him and his front porch. His heart increased its output, and Henri’s breathing became erratic.

  The wind picked up loose materials from the ground, and a sharp, unexpected breeze passed through his proximity. The wind flew through the open crevices of the trees, creating an eerie howling. Henri quickly scanned the area again, yet he still didn’t see anything. He tried to channel his frustration away from a feeling of terror.

  “What is going on?” Henri mumbled under his breath. He glanced up into the early evening sky, and he saw dark clouds were rolling towards his house as though a tide during a full moon. The branches and bushes’ tall blades were bent over by an unseen terror. He backed up against his door, trying to open it only to realize that he had left his house key elsewhere.

  The eerie screeches rapidly became more prevalent. He pounded frantically on the door, hoping someone would answer.

  “Where are you, Mom?” Henri remarked, trying to keep calm. However, the invisible force had him on alert. He pounded on the door till his knuckles were bloodied and bruised.

  “Mom! Open the door!” Henri didn’t stop pounding on the door. A moment later, he lost all hope because he felt as though something unavoidable was going to happen to him. Henri knew that he couldn’t win the fight, but he would go down fighting.

  He felt it behind him, stepping closer as time passed. He felt the coldness of its presence and its desire to devour him. When the front door opened behind him, and his mother’s voice inquisitively asked, “Henri, what are you doing?”

  “Mom. Thank God!” Henri rushed past her and slammed the door shut. He looked out the side window, making sure the thing was gone. His heart had almost leaped out of his chest, and his lungs overworked. Gradually, he started to calm his nerves.

  “Henri, what is going on?” his mother asked. Her look expressed her worry, and he knew that he couldn’t tell her the truth.

  “M- Mom,” Henri stuttered, “someone was following me, and I got spooked.” He lied to his mother, and he hoped that she bought the lie.

  “Someone followed you home?” His mother panicked. He knew that she had a million scenarios run through her mind. She always tended to be a somewhat of a worrywart.

  “I’m okay, Mom. I promise,” Henri expressed. His mother walked towards the kitchen, and she commanded him to follow. Henri knew that she still wanted to discuss their argument from the morning. He unwillingly followed her into the kitchen.

  Henri and his mother sat down at the kitchen table, gearing to have a difficult discussion. Henri locked eyes with her, yet neither said a word for a few minutes.

  “Mom-” Henri decided to break the silence, but his mother interrupted him.

  “No, you will listen, and I will speak.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Henri replied. He could sense her anger, her total unhappiness.

  “I understand that you are going through a lot right now, but you seem to have forgotten that I too lost your father. He was my husband and my best friend. Don’t you think that I miss him?” She looked away, trying to hide her tears. Henri thought about trying to get a word in the conversation, but he realized that she had much to say to him.

  “I also understand that you’re struggling with something. I want to know what it is, and I want to know now.” She knew that her son was in pain. He started to ponder if it was the right time to tell her. He would be elated if she knew, and they both could move forward, but he feared her reaction.

  “Mom, I don’t know why you continually say that I am struggling with something.” He hated lying to her, but the fear of a possible negative outcome scared him half to death.

  “Henri, I know when you are lying to me.” She caught his side eye. She didn’t know what it was like to struggle with oneself and have the fear of not being accepted.

  “Mom, why can’t you just let it go?” Henri pushed back, and his mother hated when he did so.

  “Because we need each other right now. All we have is each other, and I refuse to lose you too.” She wanted her son to understand that she would always be there for him.

  “Mom, I said that nothing is wrong. Stop worrying, okay,” Henri replied. He saw the hurt in her eyes, but he knew that he wasn’t ready to tell her yet.

  “You said that you had something to say last night. What’s changed?” She didn’t want to let the topic slide because she had seen a change in Henri’s behavior, and she had to know.

  “Oh, that. I figured it out. I was just nervous about school, and now that the first day is over, I am perfectly fine.” Henri hoped that she believed what he said so that he could change the subject.

  “Okay. Okay. You do know that I am here for you. Whatever it is. I will always be here for you, and I will always love you.” She leaned in to kiss Henri on the forehead. She stood up from the table and started to make dinner. Henri felt at ease that the conversation was finally over. He was never one who enjoyed discussing his feelings.

  His mother turned around from the stove to have one last word, “Now, since the difficult part is over. We are going to discuss your attitude this morning.”

  “Oh, crap,” Henri mumbled. He braced for his mother’s final verdict, and he knew that she would be relentless. Although Henri didn’t like the idea of being punished, he did love seeing his mom heading back to her full glory.

  CHAPTER 8

  A month had passed since Henri found out about his connection with Siméon, and he finally had some time alone this Saturday to think it over. He hadn’t put too much faith into the thought of past lives, but now he felt as though he needed to start believing in the concept. He had just had a difficult time trying to process the entire subject.

  For the past week, Henri had avoided Siméon at school every chance he had. He hated that he felt differently about him, but he couldn’t help how he felt. Henri believed that there was a difference between knowing you have a future with someone versus knowing if your feelings are your own, and he wanted to figure that out on his own.

  Henri was excited for the day ahead since his mother would be gone all day, and he didn’t have anything to do but complete some school work. He wanted to venture into the city, and he wanted to visit City Park. He didn’t want to be rude to his mother, but she hadn’t given him any space since his dad passed away. She feared that if he was alone then he might do something.

  Henri had to be smart about venturing off to the city since he was technically still grounded for his outburst last month. However, with his mother having left already, he didn’t have to explain what he was goi
ng to do for the day.

  Henri slowly got up from his bed, and he started to get ready. As he was brushing his teeth, Henri started having flashes of images in his mind’s eye. The images contained Trish and Abby. However, they weren’t from his dream. Henri dropped his toothbrush to the floor as the throbbing of a rapidly approaching migraine left him feeling as though he couldn’t open his eyes.

  “Oh, crap.” Henri rubbed his forehead and eyes, thinking it would relieve some of the pain. Unfortunately, the throbbing became more severe as time passed.

  The images continued to flash through his mind until he noticed one that was vastly different to the others. He saw a man that was running for his life from something. He had a look of terror on his face, and he was screaming.

  “Get away from me! God protect me!” He prayed to something, anything, as the thing, which the man was running from, approached him. Henri could feel the man’s fear and terror. Henri wanted to scream to him, but he realized that the man wasn’t in front of him.

  The more tuned into the vision that Henri became, the stronger the feelings of projecting started to flare in his stomach and mind.

  “Oh, no.” Henri knew exactly what those sensations meant, and he didn’t want to project to the man. However, Henri thought about it again.

  “What if I…” Henri thought before attempting to project to the man so that he could help him. He quickly finished getting ready, and he ran to his mirror. He thought that it might be easier to project looking into a mirror.

  Henri looked into the mirror, trying to get another vision of the same man. He calmed his mind, so he didn’t mess up the projection. He didn’t want to project to the wrong place.

  He stared into the reflection of his own eyes, relaxing his mental hold onto the present reality. He felt as though his mind was stretching across time and space. He hadn’t felt this way the last time he had projected, but the feeling was extremely empowering.

  He remembered what Siméon had told him about projecting, how he had to keep a time and place in mind so that he didn’t end up in a place or time that he didn’t want. Henri remembered the exact image of the man running from the darkened figure.

  Henri hadn’t thought this through, but he knew that he had to help the man. He didn’t know why he would receive the vision if he wasn’t supposed to help him. Henri knew deep down in his soul that he was meant to do this, and he wasn’t going to overthink it anymore.

  The projecting this time around felt different, and Henri took note about the variances. When he returned from helping the man, he would have to speak to Siméon about it. Henri knew that Siméon wasn’t going to be happy about what he had done.

  He felt a shift in his body and mind that left him feeling disoriented. He opened his eyes to find himself in a strange place. He looked around to see if he knew anything, but he didn’t recognize anything.

  “Where am I?” Henri walked the streets to find any signs of life. He saw abandoned cars on the streets, and the buildings were almost gone. He was shocked to see a city in a state of such destruction. He continued down the streets, and he started to recognize certain structures.

  “What a minute…” Henri stopped in the middle of the street, looking around to find the street signs. He rushed over to one of the crossroads and found a sign. When Henri read the sign, he fell to his knees.

  “Oh, my god. This is my neighborhood.” He wanted to cry at the sight of his city. His mind raced with panic; he didn’t want to believe it.

  He thought about seeing if he could find his house, if this was truly his neighborhood. He guessed that his house was not too far away. He raced to his house to see if anyone was home.

  The falling debris and the burning trees distracted Henri. He had to avoid being pummeled. As he was making his way to his house, a strong acrid scent hit, and he remembered the scents from his vision. He stopped running when he remembered where he was. He was in his dream, or he projected to that time again.

  “Oh, shit. I know where I am.” The realization slapped Henri in the face, and he knew exactly where the man was going to be. He changed his direction and headed to where he knew the man would be. Henri felt a sense of urgency because he had no idea what the shadowed figure wanted to do.

  Henri arrived at St. Lucia’s Catholic Church, and he couldn’t believe the sight before his eyes. Half of the church’s roof was ripped off, every window was blown out, and the giant stained-glass window above the front doors was shattered into a million pieces.

  A chill ran down Henri’s spine, giving him an uneasy feeling.

  “What did I get myself into?”

  Henri began to worry that he had made a mistake. He had no idea what he would do if he ran into the shadowed figure.

  “Well, let’s hope that I can get the guy out before we run into that thing.” Henri snuck through the front doors, trying to find the man from his vision.

  He frantically searched for the man, but he found it difficult with there being no light inside the church. The entire atmosphere of this time and place gave Henri an awful feeling of despair.

  “Is this the future?” Henri became overloaded with the possibilities of what had happened in the city. For a split second, he couldn’t handle all the sadness and terror. He tried to focus his attention on saving at least one person, and he could worry about the rest later.

  He quietly stepped through the nave of the church. Henri saw belongings that must have been left by the people who were here at one time. A stuffed rabbit was the only thing that stuck out to Henri, and he had no idea why a stuffed toy was drilled into his mind.

  He continued searching for the man by going behind the main altar. He saw a door, leading to a back area. He tried to open the door, but it was locked.

  “Shit.” Henri tried to open the door again. “Come on.”

  He thought to see if there was an alternative route into the room, but he hadn’t been to this church before. He went to the left of the door to see if there was another way through when he heard someone scream.

  “Get away, creature!” The man screamed loudly enough to jolt Henri’s attention, and Henri knew that he had found the right door. He tried to open it, but this door was also locked.

  “What the…” Henri looked around to see if he could find anything that he could use to open the door. Seeing an iron rod on the floor nearby, he picked it up and started to pry the door open. Henri felt a rush of urgency to get it open.

  “God will beseech thee!” The man thought his ineffective words would stop whatever it was after him. Henri felt worse for the man, and he knew that he had to get through the door.

  After many attempts to pry the door, Henri finally broke the lock and the door flew open. What he saw on the other side terrified even him, and he loved horror films. It appeared as though Henri’s brain couldn’t register what he was seeing. The only thing that Henri’s brain processed was the man’s screaming.

  There was a giant, monstrous shape sliding its way toward the man until Henri broke into the room. The man in his vision seemed so familiar. Henri tried to remember where he had seen him.

  “Tim Stevenson?” Henri couldn’t believe the man before him was the same man from his dream a few weeks ago. Henri became paralyzed with the realism of the situation.

  “Get out of here, kid! It’ll get you too.” Tim tried to get past the creature, but it lunged a spear-like tentacle at him. Somehow, he avoided the figure’s attack. The figure shrieked, sending chills down their spines and shattering any remaining class in the church. They had to cover their ears so that their eardrums didn’t explode.

  Henri glanced over at Tim, and the figure now had him in its grasp. Henri fought to get up from the ground, but he still had a ringing in his ear that caused a sense of disorientation.

  “I didn’t come all this way to lose you, Tim.” Henri found the strength deep inside of himself, and he broke free of its psionic attack. He got off the ground, and he rushed over to figure. However, the figur
e sensed Henri’s advance, summoned another tentacle, and lunged it at Henri.

  Henri didn’t have enough time to avoid the attack, and it grabbed him, compressing his body.

  “I… can’t…. breathe…” Henri was horrified at the outcome of his foolish venture, and he wished that he had brought Siméon with him. The shadowed figure’s grip became tighter with every breath. Henri felt his ribs starting to crack.

  “Oh, God!” Henri had no idea as what to do. The figure contorted its body to face Henri. The figure’s appearance was horrifying. Its upper body was indiscernible. The only word that came to Henri’s mind was “galaxy”.

  It stretched its neck and head across the room to be face-to-face with Henri. Its warm breath hit Henri’s face that brought back a memory.

  “Oh, shit. It was… you! You were the thing that followed me home.” Henri was absolutely terrified at the idea that it was this monstrosity stalking him on his way home. He was lost for words, and he couldn’t move even if he wanted to.

  Henri now had so many questions, and he had no one to ask. He struggled to free himself, but the creature’s grasp was still too tight. It returned its body to its normal position and made its way to Tim.

  The creature revealed another tentacle protruding from its body, thrusting it at Tim. The spear-like weapon pierced Tim’s chest, spreading its poison through Tim’s body. Tim became cold and lifeless, leaving Henri devastated and destroyed.

  “No!” Henri tried to break free, yet his body grew numb, and his emotional stability shifted towards an imbalance of rage and aggression.

  “I was supposed to save him. And you killed him.” Henri’s anger intensified, revealing inner energy he had never experienced before. The energy pulsated throughout his entire body, creating a new level of synchronicity that was unfamiliar to Henri.

  The creature sensed a change in Henri’s aura, and it threw Tim’s body away as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. The sound of Tim’s lifeless body smashing into the darkened wall enraged Henri, allowing an unforeseen light to emerge. He felt a sense of hope with the newfound energy, and Henri prayed that it was usable against the creature.