“Yeah, I survived,” Max responded, “though I honestly don’t recall what happened after I was mid-air.”
“But you’re okay? I thought you might have burned something.”
Max pushed his bike forward, applying the hand brakes and going nowhere. “Nah, I’m good.”
“I have to tell you guys something,” Jayden said, stepping out of the Jeep. “I got the ‘cross over’ call yesterday,” she explained. “During the day.”
A bewildered look crossed Connor’s face. “What? Were you having a nap?”
“No, that’s the thing,” Jayden replied. “I was in my friend’s car and WHAM, I got the ‘call’ and he told me I had to cross over immediately, or it would be too late.”
“So what happened?”
“After I crossed over, I was standing near that tall rock face, past the volcano vent. There was a wooden shack in front of me and, well, believe it or not, I was pushed to the door.”
The boys nodded. They knew to expect the unexpected in Dick’s dream world.
“So I opened it and went inside,” continued Jayden. “There was a table and one chair, some harnesses and a big wooden cupboard. But you won’t believe what else I found.”
“I know, I know!” cried out Max. “You found a big metal lever that said ‘Activate Shield.’”
Jayden jostled his shoulder. “Yeah, smarty-pants, so let me finish.” She took a deep breath and put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. “I was actually scared to death – terrified. I could sense something outside, something bad. Then I heard my guy, my ‘Protector’ guy, shouting at me to lock the door. So I did. And then I heard him. That Dick guy. He was chanting that stupid scary chant and then he had a kicking conniption when he couldn’t open the door.”
The boys were staring at her, wide-eyed. “So what did you do?” whispered Max.
“Well, my ‘Protector’ guy kind of propelled me to the window and there was only one thing I could do. I turned on the shield.”
“And then?” asked Connor.
“Then all hell broke loose. He was screaming and shrieking, and I was screaming and shrieking, and then I woke up. My friend probably thinks I’m crazy. But it was horrible. Horrible.”
“Did you see any sign of Georgia in the shack?”
“No.”
“Did you check?”
“Heck, no!” Jayden replied angrily. “I didn’t have time to look around, you know! I think I was there just to prevent Dick from getting in.”
Connor pointed his finger at her. “That’s just it,” he said. “Why would you have to stop him from getting in, unless Georgia was already there?”
“Well, there was nowhere to hide. It was just one big dirty, dusty room.”
“Did you check the cupboard?”
“No.”
Max interrupted her. “That’s where I would hide.”
Frustrated, Jayden turned to him. “I locked the door and I turned on the shield. I didn’t have time to do anything else, so shut up and quit making me mad!”
“Okay, okay,” Max said. “We’re all cool. Right?” Connor’s face was an angry shade of crimson and Jayden’s green eyes were glaring. Max continued. “You said the shack was near the rock face, right?” Jayden nodded. “Then that’s where we’ll head next time we cross over. Jayden, you’ll have to point out the way.”
Max shifted his backpack, his mind reviewing Jayden’s story. “How many harnesses were on the table?”
Jayden shrugged. “I picked up one but I didn’t count the others. Why?”
“Just thinking about how we’re going to climb that rock wall. To get to the top – the end of this journey. You know, the Town of Sleepmore.”
Connor’s anger was still palpable when Jayden’s dad drove up and stopped in front of them. Rolling down the window he called out to them. “Say guys, Jayden’s semi-final ball game is on Saturday. You should come!” With a wave and a smile, he drove away.
Max turned to Jayden with a huge grin on his face, relieved her dad had unwittingly broken the tension between them. “I’d love to come! What time and where?”
“He was kidding,” Jayden responded.
“Well, I’m not,” answered Max. “You’ll come too, Connor, right?” Before Connor could reply, Max added, “I want to see if you can throw in the real world as good as you did before. I remember you sniping apples at those wolves, sitting in the apple tree in your neon pink pyjamas. I was cheering for you from inside another wood shack. Back in our first climbing nightmare. Remember that?”
Jayden rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“Just tell me – your ball game – when and where,” Max persisted.
“You don’t give up, do you?”
Max shook his head.
“Three o’clock at the Keogh complex.”
“We’ll be there, right Connor?”
“Whatever,” he replied, mimicking Jayden’s tone.
“Don’t pay any attention to Connor,” Max advised. “We’ll be there.”
* * *
“Aaagh!”
Richard screamed and screeched in a tempestuous, child-like tantrum, pounding the cable cutters on the ground with so much force that his body reverberated in response. “AAAGH!”
A Crossover was in the shack. He knew it. He could smell their fear, and like a bee to nectar, he was drawn to it.
Anger coursed through his body. The Crossover had locked him out and turned on the shield. “I’m going to make you sorry for that,” he promised. Richard extended his arms upward, inviting the rays of the moon to meld with the fury filling his body. He raised his sickly, scarred head and welcomed the cool moonlight. The rays instigated a measure of calmness and Richard’s anger momentarily simmered.
He couldn’t cross the shield while it was activated and there was only one way to gain access to the rear window of the shack. He had to go back along the other side of the Volcano Vent, re-cross the suspension bridge and dive over the electrified vines. Then he’d be on the ‘right’ side of the shield where he could break in through the window. Richard pumped his fist with continued rage and began the long trudge back to the bridge.
“Oh yes, my unwanted Crossover, you are going to be very, very sorry.”
Chapter 22
All Her Fault
Jayden slowly untied the colourful laces wrapped around her wrist. Morning sun shone through her bedroom window, promising another warm, September day. She sighed, thinking about little Georgia stuck in the nightmare of Dick’s dream world. She couldn’t imagine what Connor was going through. Days had passed since her ‘Protector’ called her out in the middle of the day, and it was almost a week since she and the guys dived over the electrified vines. Jayden placed the laces on the nightstand. They’re ready for tonight... if we get the cross over call.
She strolled downstairs. Her father sat at the kitchen table, a variety of sliced fruit in one bowl and a pile of toast in another. A blue and white flowered table runner crossed underneath the dishes. In front of her chair was a single boiled egg, sitting in its wee ceramic holder. There were tiny rabbits painted on the ceramic and it reminded Jayden of the breakfasts her dad made when she was feeling poorly.
“I’m not sick today, Dad,” she stated.
“I know, but I want you to start your day feeling like a super-girl who is super-charged from a super-egg!”
Jayden chuckled. It was the comment he made whenever he served a boiled egg. She sat down and he poured orange juice into two glasses.
Munching on toast and breaking the shell of her egg, Jayden pointed with her spoon to the papers in front of her dad. “What’s that?”
“Ah, this is something I made for you.” He shifted the paper toward Jayden. Written on it was a large X on the left and another large X on the right. Between the Xs was a straight line joining them together.
“What’s this?”
Her dad pulled his chair closer and smiled kindly at Jayden. “This,” he said, pointing
to the paper, “represents your life. The first X is your birth. The last X is your death.”
Jayden put her spoon on the table and stared at the sheet. “I thought you were going to give me some baseball strategy.” Today was her semi-final ball game. Instead, he had prepared a new ‘life’ lesson.
Her dad continued. “See here, Jayden?” He pointed from one X to the other. “You can’t change the position of the Xs. But what you can change is everything in between. This line is your ‘mark’ on the world.”
“Geez Dad, this is kinda heavy advice before my game, don’t you think?” She took another bite of toast.
“Yes, it might be,” he agreed. “But we’re visiting your mom at noon and I want you to open your eyes to the great potential before you. Not just from dealing with your mom’s situation, but from your own life’s small and large details, and especially from your dreams.”
Jayden squirmed in her chair. She could tell from the set of his head and the rigidity of his body that her dad was more serious about this life lesson than he was about any other.
He reached over and held her hand. “Never be afraid to make things right. No matter what.”
Her mouth dried and it was a great effort for Jayden to swallow. “Oh, Dad,” she replied, “I’m not that girl. I’m not the person you think I am.”
He viewed her quizzically.
“I’m not a nice person at school – no it’s true!” she declared, over-riding his objection. “Everyone at school hates me, or fears me. My reputation is more ‘bully’ than ‘nice.’”
His brilliant, brown eyes stared at her with such a depth of love that Jayden was overwhelmed.
“Listen to me Jayden,” he said in a gentle tone. “How you make things happen or not happen, how you adapt, all the choices you make, well, you still have to love yourself at the end of the day. You still need to look at yourself in the mirror and love what you see. You have to love yourself knowing you’re not perfect.”
He smiled. “No matter what, never be afraid of change. Never be afraid to change.” He patted her arm. “And just one final point that you’ll recognize because I mention it all the time: Remember, you are the painter. Make your life a masterpiece.”
He stood and light-heartedly bowed. “That, my sweet daughter, is my fatherly teaching for the day, for the week and maybe even for the month.”
Jayden smiled but deep in her soul she knew her dad meant every word. Deep down, she knew what he was saying was true. Choices, choices.
Several hours later, Jayden and her dad drove out to the rehab facility to share lunch with her mom. All her baseball gear was packed in the Jeep in preparation for her three o’clock game. At the main desk, they clipped on their ‘Visitor’ badges and then followed directions to the cafeteria. Patty sat in the farthest corner at a table facing the window. Her chin rested in the palm of her hands as she gazed outward and blood-red manicured nails contrasted with the haggard paleness of her cheeks. Jayden and her dad wound their way through an obstacle course of tables, each filled with an assortment of dazed patients and uncomfortably enthusiastic visitors.
“Hey, Ma,” said Jayden, proffering a small bunch of orange and white daisies. “These are from Dad’s garden.”
Patty closed her eyes. They remained closed for a full two minutes as Jayden and her dad repeatedly exchanged ‘what-do-we-do-now’ glances. Jolting as if suddenly awakened, Patty opened her eyes. With a sweeping motion toward the chairs, she said, “Sit.” They sat.
“How have you been, Ma?” questioned Jayden.
Patty leaned forward, her shoulders drooping and her face slack. Her curly blond hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. The blond was a stark contrast to the dark brown roots growing from her scalp. Her mom called it the ‘reverse skunk pattern’ and it was something she hated, something she avoided at all costs. She’d spend her last few dollars on a bottle of hair colouring, rather than a bottle of booze.
“How do you think I’ve been?” her mom responded, voice dripping with sarcasm. They sat in silence.
“HOW DO YOU THINK I’VE BEEN?” she repeated in a loud voice. Visitors around them glanced up in alarm while patients continued eating. They were accustomed to sudden outbursts. An orderly sauntered by and pleasantly inquired about lunch items. “Can I get something for you, Ms. Watson?” he asked. “Perhaps the baked salmon today?”
Patty’s eyes glazed over and Mr. Nanjee nodded his approval. “That sounds wonderful.”
The orderly said, “Very well, I’ll be back in a moment.”
“This place...” Patty announced, fanning the air around her. “This place is driving me nuts!”
Jayden shifted awkwardly in her chair. “Um, my team’s in the semi-finals today,” Jayden offered. “We play at three.”
Patty’s tired eyes gazed at Jayden and then noticed her ball jersey. “Oh yeah, that’s right,” she hissed. “You play ball. Something you never told me before!” Patty raised her voice, anguish and anger underlaid every word.
“Please, Ma,” Jayden countered. “Let’s have a pleasant lunch.”
“Right,” Patty responded, “a pleasant lunch in such a pleasant place.” She forced an artificial laugh and the screeching sound filled the cafeteria. More heads turned, all staring at the loud blond patient in the corner. When nothing else erupted from her, the visitors averted their eyes.
“You’ll be happy to know I’ve found a more pleasant place,” she added. “A place where my guardian angel protects me. I might go there and never come back.”
“Um, where is that?” questioned Jayden.
“You know where,” Patty replied.
Jayden was perplexed. “No, I don’t.”
Patty tapped the table with the pointy edge of her red-lacquered nail. “Then you’ll just have to watch out for me.” Her cryptic response put Jayden on edge.
“I still don’t know what you mean.”
Patty dismissed her with a wave of the hand. “Whatever.”
The remainder of their lunch was filled with stilted conversation. Jayden’s dad spoke mostly of the unseasonably warm September weather. It was an easy, non-arguable topic that everyone could agree on.
Forty minutes later, Jayden and her dad said their good-byes. As soon as they stepped out of the facility, Jayden gulped the fresh air like an oxygen-starved gold fish.
Her father patted her back reassuringly. “She’s getting better, don’t you think?”
Jayden leaned on his arm not knowing what to think. Her mom’s comment about the place with the guardian angel was gnawing at her mind. Is it possible she met the ‘Protector’ guy and crossed over to the dream world? Jayden scrutinized her father, wondering if he had made a similar connection between her mother’s ‘guardian angel’ and Jayden’s cross over ‘Protector.’ She thought back to the statement her mom made when Connor crashed his car into the tree. She said she had previously met Connor ‘under the moon’ or ‘in the moonlight,’ or something to that affect. They had dismissed it at the time due to her agitated state, but... Jayden shelved the thought. It just can’t be, she convinced herself. Why would my horrid, sick mother be pulled into Dick’s dream world?
* * *
Jayden and her dad arrived at the ball park before 2 p.m., giving Jayden plenty of time to warm-up with her team. The Royals’ coach called the girls over to a grassy area behind the parking lot and they began their warm-up, stretching arms, legs and calves. After five minutes of stretching, they teamed up in pairs and began tossing the ball, gently at first and then with gusto.
Mid-way into a throw, a familiar voice shouted a familiar chirp: “Hey, Shortstop!” Jayden completed her throw and then turned toward the voice. It was her friend, D.S.
“Be prepared to have your butt kicked!” D.S. proclaimed.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you know we’re playing you guys next?”
Jayden shook her head. “Nope.”
“Ha! Well don’t say I didn�
��t warn you, ’cuz a ‘royal’ butt-kicking is about to commence.” D.S. smirked and strutted away.
Jayden adjusted her sunglasses and straightened her ball cap. “Oh, yeah?” Jayden hollered to D.S.’s back. “We’ll see who gets a whipping.”
When it came time to play, the TNT Royals picked up their gear and walked to the dugout. Jayden waved to her dad sitting in the uppermost level of the bleachers. He waved back and pointed behind her. She turned and, to her surprise, Max stood in the parking lot, waving. He quickly jogged to her side as Connor sauntered forward in a more casual pace, a slight smile forming at the corners of his mouth. He was wearing an unbuttoned blue-and-grey checkered shirt over a form-fitting white t-shirt. Casual blue jeans completed his ensemble.
“Hey,” he said to Jayden.
“Hey...” she stammered. “I didn’t expect you guys.” Her mind was reeling from Connor’s appearance. Dang but he looks good!
“I told you we’d come and here we are!” Max enthusiastically pumped her arm while nodding to Connor at the same time.
Flustered, Jayden just bobbed her head. Never before had friends come to watch her play. Only her dad.
“Gotta go,” she said and sprinted to her team in the dugout. Butterflies fluttered in her tummy and she was suddenly nervous.
“Good luck!” shouted Max.
Jayden entered the dugout and dropped her glove on the bench.
“Say,” said Mouse, the team’s centre fielder, eyeballing Connor. “That your boyfriend?”
“Heck, no,” said Jayden more quickly than necessary.
“Can he be mine, then?” replied Mouse, her eyes twinkling in merriment. “That’s some kinda eye candy you got there, girl!”
“Girls!” scolded the coach. “Now’s the time for ball, not boys!”
The umpire announced “PLAY BALL” but for Jayden, it was nearly impossible to think of anything involving baseball. She knew Connor and Max were sitting in the stands with her dad and she could occasionally hear Max hooting out her name. Get a grip, girl, she told herself. It wasn’t until the end of the third inning that she entered full concentration mode. Her eyes and her ears absorbed the action in the game and nothing else. Her team was down by three runs when they came to bat at the top of the seventh and last inning. With the encouragement of the coach, the Royals turned their ball caps backward, prepping themselves for a rally.
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