Speak No Evil Trilogy

by Amy Richie

  “Look,” I said with a sigh, turning back to the boy, “I don’t want to be here anymore than you do. Just hear me out then we can both leave.”

  The boy continued to glare but didn’t say anything else. I took that as a good sign.

  “Tell Toby that I’m ok,” I started.

  “You’re not ok,” the boy’s lip turned up in a snarl.

  “I’m alive,” I pointed out.

  “But not ok.”

  “If you’re talking about being normal - I gave that up a long time ago.”Back when the world turned it’s back on me. What was the point in trying to please people anymore?

  “You’re…weird,” he finally settled on the weakest insult I’d ever heard. Weird? Really?

  “Will you tell him?” I ran my hand roughly through the hair hanging loosely by my face. I had tried to tie it all back that morning, but that was so long ago.

  “I don’t even know where he is.”

  “But you said...you said you talked to him.”

  “No I didn’t,” he denied with a stubborn shake of his head.

  Clenching my teeth tightly, I swung my eyes down to my scuffed up shoes. They had been white and clean when I left Nine Crosses with Toby; not anymore. Strange how much difference six days made.

  The wind picked up speed, sending my hair flying in and out of my face angrily. “You don’t know where he is?” I didn’t want to admit Tristan was right, but it was beginning to look that way.

  “I already told you I don’t,” his lips snapped shut on the last word. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you and I wouldn’t be your messenger boy.”

  “Whatever,” I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

  “You’re disgusting.”

  So we were back to the insults now? That was quick.

  “Waste of life. You should just do the world a favor and die.”

  “Alright,” I held my hand out, showing him my palm. “Obviously this was a waste of time.”

  “Didn’t I say that already,” Tristan piped up unhelpfully.

  “Shut up,” I muttered under my breath.

  The wind picked up even more, biting and cold. “Let me go,” the boy screeched. “Leave me alone!”

  “I will, just calm down a little.”

  “Worthless girl. Your own parents wanted you dead, do you think anyone on this earth cares if you’re alive? Everyone knows you killed Austin.”

  “I….I didn’t.” I took a step away from him. If he wanted to be like that, he could just stay here all night for all I cared.

  “That’s why they put you in the loony bin,” he continued. “So you can’t kill anyone else. But they don’t like you there. The nurses all wish you were dead.”

  That was probably true. None of them would look at me, they just shuffled past me without ever seeing me. This boy was just speaking the truth - how could I get mad about that?

  Suddenly a huge gush of wind surrounded us, blowing salt into my face.

  “No one will ever love you, Ren,” the boy grinned. “Toby hates you so just leave him alone.”

  Then he was gone.

  Chapter Three

  The wood underneath me was cold - much colder than I expected it to be. Then again, it was still the middle of the night so I shouldn’t have expected much from the lone bench sitting on the side of the road. It wasn’t really fair for the bench.

  I shifted slightly, pulling my jacket closed in the process. I really wished the zipper would work, but it was free so I couldn’t complain. Tristan had spotted it two days ago in the trash at one of the fast food joints we were visiting that day. How could someone throw it away just because the zipper was broke? That didn’t seem fair either.

  “So where we headed this time,” Tristan asked happily beside me.

  I pressed my lips tight together but gave my anger up quickly. Really, I didn’t know where I was going this time. The boy had been my last lead. I didn’t know where to go from here.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted on a sigh. “I really don’t.”

  “Eh,” he shrugged lightly, “don’t let it bug you too much. Most people don’t.”

  I ran my tongue lightly across my top teeth. Don’t let it bother me? I didn’t have anywhere to sleep; I hadn’t in six days. How could I not let it bother me that I was going blindly on the whim of a dream lady who may or may not be real?

  Ugh!

  My stomach rumbled loudly, made louder still by the silence that surrounded us. I pressed my palm into my protesting stomach. When was the last time I had eaten? This morning? Or was it last night? I couldn’t remember.

  The entire trip had consisted of nothing but a few randomly placed fast food sandwiches. Not that I was one of those health freaks that required every wedge of the food pyramid to be filled daily, but a tall glass of milk sounded ok right now.

  I ran my tongue across my teeth again. Or some water, I thought longingly. Anything but vending machine hot chocolate.

  Digging deep into my cherished red back pack, I pulled out a zippered pouch that had been with the jacket. Inside, I had shoved all the money I still had from Toby. The pouch had gotten alarmingly lighter over the past several days. Maybe I would have enough to get breakfast though.

  I sifted through the bills quickly, my empty stomach dropping. That might not even be enough for another bus ticket. If I wasn’t careful this would be my last bus ride. It could be anyways. I didn’t have enough money to just go wherever the wind blew me. My stomach growled again but I ignored it this time.

  The next town we stopped in, I would get out and find a vending machine. Sixty cents on a bag of chips would hold me over until…

  I shook my head quickly, not wanting to think of until when. I had already let myself think long enough down that road. I didn’t know where I was going and I didn’t know how long this road was.

  I pulled my jacket tighter around my waist and shifted again on my seat. I had never felt more alone than I did sitting on that empty bench. I had spent the majority of my life alone - but not ever really alone. Toby was always there.

  “Why aren’t the ghosts here?” I wondered out loud. I hadn’t seen any since we left the school.

  “I didn’t want them floating around,” Tristan answered, “so I sent them away.”

  “Ahhh,” I nodded slowly. Tristan had control over the ghosts, he could send them wherever he wanted to. For the first time ever I felt a twinge of sympathy for my ghost- people. I felt like someone was controlling me too - like I wasn’t even deciding my own steps.

  I wasn’t even sure where the bus was heading, and yet I was still waiting for it. Then again - I had picked this bus. It was the one that would come first, so that’s why I chose it. What was the saying Mrs. Hock liked to use? I wracked my brain, focusing way too hard to remember something that wasn’t even important.

  “Do you have to go to the bathroom,” Tristan asked loudly.

  “No.”

  “Then what are you doing?”

  “Trying to remember.”

  “Remember what?”

  “A saying from Alice in Wonderland.”

  “What?”

  “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there,” I suddenly recalled.

  “Ok,”his face scrunched up in an ugly scowl.“Good thing you remembered that; I'll have to get that tattooed on my a…”

  “Just stop talking,” I sighed, “please.”

  “Do you know what I think,” he asked softly after several long minutes of silence.

  “What?”I probably didn’t want to know.

  “I think you should go back to Nine Crosses.”

  Not what I expected. “Why would I go back there?” I scoffed.

  “At least there you have a bed and three meals a day.”

  “Psht,” half of my face turned upwards into a grin. “Careful Tristan, it almost sounds like you care.”

  “I just don’t
want you to die before you’re ready to join me,” he shrugged, reclining back on the bench.

  “I’m not joining you.” I scooted further away from him, as much as the bench would allow.

  “You will,” he promised.

  I closed my mouth on any retort. Let him think that if he wanted. “Do you like being alone, Tristan?” I swallowed hard.

  “Me?” His eyes widened but the surprise didn’t last long. “I’m not alone.”

  “I don’t count.”

  “I have two brothers.” His face darkened slightly at the mention but he didn’t elaborate.

  “Still?”

  “Yeah, it’s sort of a family business.”

  “Ohhh,” I let my eyes widen as I took in his meaning. “I don’t have any brother or sisters. Just my dad and…mom.”

  “And what a mom,” he whistled lightly through his teeth.

  “I always knew my mom wasn’t like other moms,” I caught my bottom lip between my teeth, unsure why I had even brought her up. As a general rule, I didn’t even think about my mother.

  “You were only six when she died.”

  When she killed herself, I silently corrected him. “Still…I knew.”

  “Maybe,” he half conceded.

  So what if Tristan didn’t believe me?“She must have been trying to save me from you.” Had my mother been able to see the ghost- people too?

  “Your mother wasn’t a Seer,” Tristan automatically shot down my hypothesis.

  “A what?”

  “And neither was your father,” he plowed ahead without me, “before you get that in your head too.”

  “My father…” He wasn’t much of a father, not really.

  What kind of a father would send his daughter away to live in a place like Nine Crosses? Even if I was crazy. Lots of people were crazy - some of them didn’t even have a reason. They just were.

  Before I got moved to D ward I had a roommate named Julia. She ate crayons, whole crayons. For no reason. She just liked the taste. Her parents put her in Nine Crosses too.

  “You can’t worry about what kind of parents you had.” Tristan’s words shocked me. “You aren’t them.”

  “Not even close,” I agreed readily.

  “You’re … better than she was.” His words came out in a rush.

  “I’m not,” I disagreed. My mother was a beautiful woman with dozens of friends, ruined in the prime of her life by having a crazy daughter. I didn’t blame her for trying to kill me. Didn’t blame her one bit.

  I pulled my legs up on the bench, crunching them close to my chest so I could wrap my arms around them. When I was little I sat like this a lot - with my face tucked into the crevice my knees created.

  A perfect hiding place.

  There was lot to hide from then, just like there was now. Would I still be able to hide though? Or had I gotten too old to play that game?

  “Can I tell you something?” I half whispered.

  “Yeah,” he whispered back.

  “I’m scared.” I turned my face then and our eyes locked.

  Being scared was nothing new; I had spent my entire life being afraid of every shadow. I never knew which ones would come alive.

  Without Toby, all my fears seemed to grow; grow so big that I didn’t know if I’d be able to face them. How was it possible that someone so mean to me had changed into a beacon of strength?

  Tristan sat beside me now, not smiling but not sneering either. Just staring. What was Tristan to me? The longer I was with him, the more confused I was. My mouth fell open slightly as my thoughts swirled around in my head. No wonder I was crazy.

  “The bus is here,” Tristan murmured.

  The loud screeching of the bus pulling to a stop in front of me was enough to break my paralysis. I unclasped my hands, letting my legs fall back over the bench until my feet hit the ground.

  “Good,” I nodded quickly. “About time. I need some sleep.” Maybe Nona would be able to come visit my dream when I could finally go to sleep. Then she could tell me what to do to find Toby. I only hoped she had some better ideas this time.

  It didn’t escape my notice that I was actually hoping an imaginary lady would come into my dreams. Oh well, I inwardly sighed, whatever it took to find Toby.

  Chapter Four

  Shuffling to the back of the bus, I took the seat furthest from the driver. Considering I was the only person on the bus, I had a pretty wide selection of seats. I slid across the stained fabric to situate myself next to the window.

  I had never been on an empty bus before. It was strange. Tristan sat down lightly beside me, craning his neck to look around the empty seats.

  “Cozy, huh?” His eyebrows arched high on his forehead.

  “Not my first choice of words,” I mumbled. Being this alone, I would have no excuses to talk to Tristan. Oh well, I shrugged, I needed to sleep anyways. I needed to talk to Nona.

  The scenery passed quickly, changing from buildings to trees and fields as night gave way to the inky grey of morning. Still, sleep wouldn’t come; my nerves were stretched too tight to allow it. “Ugh,” I groaned, rubbing the back of my neck.

  “Do you need me to sing a lullaby,” Tristan asked sarcastically.

  “You know any?” I asked without looking his way.

  “Not really,” he snorted. “There’s the one about putting the baby into a tree and then laughing when it falls out. I might remember that one.”

  I looked to see if he was teasing; his eyes were scrunched up in apparent thought. “You’re so weird,” I whispered.

  “This coming from a girl who just escaped a mental hospital,” he grinned.

  I let my head fall until it rested against the cool glass of the window. The inky grey morning hadn’t given up its claim on the area, leaving a dull overcast sky in its wake. I hated stormy days.

  I let out a deep breath, effectively covering the window in a thin layer of white fog. Using one finger, I traced little designs onto the window. It was disturbing that they all ended up looking like hearts. I quickly smeared them away before Tristan could see.

  “Maybe you should try counting sheep,” he suggested lightly.

  “That never works,” I grumbled. Breathing heavily out again, I began counting anyways. What did I have to lose?

  It was around 442 that my eyelids finally got too heavy to keep open.

  *****

  “Ren.”

  My eyelids fluttered open before my brain fully woke up. I had hoped that Nona would visit my dream with all her ghostly wisdom, instead I got a creepy voice calling my name.

  I sat up straighter in my seat; outside, the world looked exactly the same. Inky and grey. There was no way to tell how long I had been sleeping, it wasn’t like I felt refreshed and ready to face the day or anything.

  “Ren,” the whisper sounded again, reminding me why I had woken up before Nona could come. Beside me, the seat was as empty as the rest of the bus.

  My breath came out in a white fog that hung just beside my face before disappearing. Had it always been this cold? And where was Tristan?

  “Tristan?” I whispered, then had to swallow quickly before a scream could escape with his name. There was no need to scare anyone else on the bus, the driver.

  No answer.

  Maybe it was the boy from the school; maybe he was mad that I had trapped him and was coming for his revenge. My tongue seemed to swell in my mouth, making even the simple task of breathing difficult. “The ghost- people can’t hurt you,” I tried to tell myself. “They can’t hurt you.”

  I sank lower in my seat, silently pleading for Tristan to come back to the bus. As much as I didn’t like him for tricking me and trying to lure me into killing myself - I really hated being alone with the ghost-people more.

  It was like the hotel room all over again on the night I left with Tristan. Toby had left me alone then, and now Tristan had left me alone too. Who would come this time? If i
t was just the boy, maybe I could handle it.

  Suddenly the bus exploded with light and cold. At least a dozen ghost-people had appeared out of nowhere. So much for handling it.

  The tiny scream escaped my lips before I could stop it. I had never seen this many ghosts in one place before. Or maybe it was just because the bus was so small and they filled the space up with their cold fury.

  I smashed my hands to my face, trying to cover my eyes in a childish gesture. I knew they were still there but maybe if I couldn’t see them, I would be able to breathe again.

  “We still see you,” a woman cackled. “Are you that stupid?”

  Whimpering, I pressed my fingers tighter against my eyelids. There was a loud burst of noise as they all tried to be heard at once.

  “Hey stupid,” a rough voice called out above the others. “Why are you still alive?”

  “Do the world a favor,” a different voice continued, “and kill yourself.”

  My breath was coming out too fast but I kept my hands tight over my eyes. “Just go away,” I pleaded in barely more than a whisper. “Please, please, please.”

  “No one is here to save you now,” a woman snarled close to my face.

  “Are you going to cry?”

  “Don’t just sit there. Get up and jump off the bus; no one wants you to be alive anyways. Just a pain - that’s all you are.”

  “A disgrace to your father. He just wants to forget you were ever born.”

  I lurched forward suddenly when the entire bus jerked sideways, skidding dangerously in the gravel on the shoulder of the road. My hands fell away from my face to grip onto the back of the seat in front of me, which was now not even an inch away from me.

  I pushed myself back but it did little good. The bus overcorrected badly, sending me flying again - this time completely out of my seat. I landed hard onto my side in the middle of the aisle. I twisted my body until I was flat on my back.

  Looking up was a bad idea, I realized as soon as it was too late. At least six angry faces sneered down at me.

  “What are you doing laying down?” one of them asked.

  “Just…resting,” I gasped, still reeling from the unexpected trip to the floor.