Darkness Falls

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  The girl working the counter finished serving a customer inside the shop, then turned to the window where I waited for my turn. I was surprised to see that I knew her, we became friends last year during one of our college study groups.

  “Delia, hi!” I said.

  “Hi, Anika, hi Trixie!” she smiled, and glanced at my left hand. “So how was your wedding?”

  “It was wonderful!” I smiled. I held my hand out and the sunlight flashed through the diamonds and rubies in my rings.

  “I wish I could have been there. If I stayed here over the summer I would have, but it was just too far from where my parents live.”

  “I completely understand, Delia. Don’t worry about it.”

  “It’s—crazy what happened before that,” she said, referring no doubt to the attempt to murder Miles and me, and frame him for murder/suicide.

  “No kidding,” I said. “It explained everything that happened last year, though. All the bizarre things that were going on.”

  “I’m so glad you’re both okay,” she said sincerely. “I saw what happened on the news.”

  “Yeah, it was on every station. It was quite a story.”

  “And so many unexplained things about it, too, like how that guy died.”

  “Well, he was hit by the bullet meant for me,” I said.

  “Yeah, but… I mean, how did he end up stuck in the wall like that?”

  “Good question,” I said. And that’s all I was going to say about that.

  “So where’s Miles?” she asked.

  “He’s with John and Xander. Trixie and I are hanging out. We’ll meet up with Jenny and Annette in a little bit, they’re shopping.”

  “Cool. So, can I get you anything?”

  “I’m so glad you asked!” I laughed. “Yes, a vanilla latte, please.”

  Delia made my latte, and I paid and thanked her.

  Delectable latte in my hand, Trixie and I found a small covered table facing a fountain and sat down to enjoy our treats. I had fun watching her sort through her purchases, deciding what she wanted to try first.

  It felt as though a dark cloud enveloped the earth, and I looked up, confused. There were no dark clouds, and nothing covered the sun. Something was wrong though, Red Alert wrong. Before I could turn to look behind me, I heard a voice.

  “Well! They say third time’s the charm.”

  I felt chilled. Trixie had an intense look in her eyes and moved to stand beside me, her treats forgotten.

  If I didn’t let Miles know what was going on, I’d get a one-way ticket to an island, and deserve it, too! This darkness was not something to try handling on my own. I took out my phone and held it under the table in front of me.

  I quickly texted Miles,

  I need you. In public, safe, but Mead here.

  Miles texted back immediately,

  on my way, where are you?

  I texted my location, and only then did I look up.

  Professor Mead pulled over a chair from a nearby table, and sat down across from me. Trixie body-blocked him from getting any closer. He completely ignored her, and a memory of Alfred ignoring Chip when he was growling and protective of me, resurfaced.

  My mind was racing, thoughts colliding like butterflies in a tornado. What were my instincts telling me?

  Focus.

  I looked at Professor Mead, sitting there smug and self-assured, that darkness still hovering around him.

  Come on, ability, give me something to go on so I can figure out this mystery.

  “My name is Ryan,” he said, his eye contact intense and unnerving. “And I’m very glad to finally meet you.”

  I felt a wave of dizziness as a strange sound filled my ears. I was momentarily distracted, wondering if there were outdoor speakers at the outlet mall that weren’t working quite right. The sound stopped, and I focused again.

  “Why?” I asked, my innate sarcasm coming to the surface.

  He laughed. Trixie put her front paws on my lap, and I put my arm around her.

  “Why?” he asked in surprise. “I suppose because you intrigue me.”

  “Look, Professor Mead,” I said, not flattered like he seemed to think I ought to be. “I’m not interested in getting to know you any better than I already do.”

  “Oh, really? I suppose there’s a first time for everything. My attention has never been unwanted before,” he said as though we were teasing back and forth.

  I clung to Trixie to stay grounded, I was dizzy and my head spinning, and that sound again, it was like voices. They were inside my head, they didn’t come from an outdoor sound system! The realization almost unnerved me. I kept my arm around Trixie and took a drink of my latte, trying to hide that I was starting to shake. I wondered how long it would take for Miles to get here. I looked at Mead again and focused, in case my ability decided to give me something useful.

  “That’s completely irrelevant,” I said. “I do not want to know you as anything other than the instructor of the Soc class I’m taking this semester. So please focus your attention somewhere else.”

  “Really, now!” Professor Mead said, undaunted. “So you’re taking one of my classes. That sounds like fate to me. We were destined to meet.”

  Instinct told me yes, we were, but not at all in the way that he meant. I continued to pet Trixie and drank more of my latte as I tried to make sense of the strange voices I’d heard and remained aware for anything else that my ability might give me.

  “So why don’t you tell me your name?” asked Professor Mead, leaning forward as he rested his arms on the table, still with that intense, unwavering eye contact.

  “That’s really none of your business,” I replied.

  The look in his eyes said he enjoyed a challenge.

  “That’s hardly fair,” he said. “You obviously know mine.”

  “Yes, Professor Mead. As an instructor at the college I attend. I do not want to know you in a social sense.”

  “That doesn’t mean you have to be antisocial!” he laughed.

  I felt my cell phone vibrate,

  almost there.

  I managed to hold back a sigh of relief as I put it back in my pocket.

  “I suppose I could continue to think of you as Audrey, my favorite actress,” Professor Mead said, exuding what he probably thought was charm.

  “I see. So the reason for this unwanted attention is because I wore a black dress and pearls last week, and have absolutely no interest in you. At all.”

  “I admit I’m attracted to you, but I believe the attraction is mutual,” he said, and I hated his smug look. “It always is.”

  My head was filled with voices I couldn’t interpret, and I nearly blacked out. It was all I could do to hang on.

  “Hello, dear,” I heard Miles say, as Trixie took her front paws off my lap, and he knelt and hugged me.

  “I’m so glad to see you!” I said, hugely relieved. I hugged him back, hard, and the dizziness was gone.

  “I’m glad to see you too,” Miles said, kissing me before sitting in the chair beside mine. “Are you ready to go to lunch?”

  “Yes, I am,” I said, holding his hand tightly, and thinking that food was the last thing I wanted right now. My stomach wasn’t being very welcoming anymore toward the latte, it sure wouldn’t be appreciative if anything else tried to join it.

  “Hello, the name’s Ryan,” said Professor Mead. He smiled and held his hand out to Miles.

  Those voices again.

  “Hello, Professor Mead,” said Miles, shaking hands.

  Professor Mead didn’t let go right away. The muscles in his arm tightened. And then he winced, and let go. Miles looked at me and shrugged slightly, and I almost laughed.

  “Well, I’m at a disadvantage,” said Professor Mead, as he rubbed his hand as unobtrusively as possible. “And, I feel quite famous! You both know who I am, but I have no idea who you are.”

  “We’re students at the university,” said Miles. “At dinner Friday night, a frie
nd told us who you are when you stood in my wife’s way as she attempted to return to our table, and then watched her until we had the blinds in our dining area lowered.”

  Professor Mead laughed.

  “Well! Put it that way, and it all sounds rather terrible.” He laughed some more, as if what Miles said was delightful. “I merely saw a beautiful woman, and hoped to become acquainted.”

  “And now you know that this beautiful woman is my wife,” said Miles.

  “Quite unavailable, and quite uninterested,” I added. “Darling, let’s go have lunch. Coming Trix?”

  Miles and I stood. Miles nodded to Professor Mead, and Trixie picked up the bag of treats in her mouth.

  Miles put his arm around me, and led us to where he parked our SUV. We didn’t speak until Trixie was loaded in the vehicle and we were on our way back to our apartment.

  “Thank you,” I said, squeezing his hand. “It felt very good to know that you were on your way.”

  “It felt good to be needed,” said Miles.

  “Are you kidding? Of course I need you!” I exclaimed.

  “I like to think so, but it’s good to know that you feel that way, too.”

  “I do, in every possible way,” I said sincerely. “And, I don’t want to be shipped off to our island permanently.”

  Miles laughed.

  “Oh my goodness, I need to let Jenny and Annette know Trixie and I are with you!” I pulled out my phone and texted Jenny. She wanted details, but I told her I’d fill her in later.

  “Yeah, I’m sure Xander and John wonder what happened, too. Tony had just left, and all I said was ‘I have to go,’ and I was out of there.”

  “How did you get to me so fast?” I wondered. It took Jenny, Annette, and I almost twice as long to make the drive from our apartment.

  “Apparently I can control traffic lights, either that or I was really lucky today.”

  “Oh my goodness, your abilities are so much cooler than mine!” I said.

  “Yeah, they probably are,” Miles replied. I looked at him and he smiled, making me laugh.

  “Wow. You’re not even a little bit arrogant about your powers, are you!” I said, making him laugh.

  We reached our building, said hello to Steve, and rode the elevator to our apartment.

  “Is everything alright?” asked Xander, looking concerned, as we passed his and John’s apartment. They had the door open, so they’d know when we got back.

  “Professor Mead found Anika at the outlet mall,” said Miles. “She texted me, and that’s why I left in such a hurry without explaining.”

  “Yeah, Jenny called and told us,” said Xander.

  “Maybe we can all get together later this afternoon and go over what I learned,” I said. “Miles and I haven’t had a chance to talk yet, and I’d like to do that first. Does that sound okay?”

  “Sure,” said Xander, proving what a good friend he is by not demanding to have his curiosity satisfied immediately.

  “Just let us know when,” said John. “We’ll let the girls know, and we’ll all be there when you say the word.”

  “Thanks, guys,” said Miles. He unlocked our apartment, and we both went inside.

  “Would you like some tea?” asked Miles, as I sat on the couch and wrapped up in one of the throws that was always ready and waiting.

  “I would love that,” I said, as my gray panther cat hopped onto my lap and curled into a ball.

  “Coming right up,” Miles said.

  I closed my eyes and rested my head against the back of the couch, relieved to be home and comforted by Night’s purring. I heard the rustling of Trixie’s treat bag as she showed Chip the spoils of her shopping adventure. The sound of crunching ensued.

  “Here’s your tea,” said Miles. He sat beside me, and handed me a steaming mug.

  “Thanks,” I said, taking a sip.

  “So…” said Miles. “What happened?”

  I told Miles about splitting up at the outlet mall, visiting the pet treat bakery, sitting outside enjoying the weather and our treats, and then the darkness that fell and Professor Mead joining us uninvited.

  “I figured I was as safe as I would be anywhere else at the outlet mall, and at least there, I was within calling distance of Delia and the nice lady in the pet bakery. My instinct said text Miles, stay put, and focus. So I did.”

  “And what did you learn when you focused?”

  “It was bizarre, and I don’t understand it. Sometimes, after Mead spoke, I heard voices inside my head.”

  I looked at Miles and he looked back, his hazel eyes serious. I sipped my tea, and then continued.

  “I couldn’t understand what I was hearing. It was like… split into several very thin voices, but I think it was one message.”

  I drank more tea while I focused on what I’d heard, then put the mug down and ran my hands through my hair the way Miles does when he’s stressed. Miles put his arm around me, and I leaned against his chest.

  “Okay,” Miles said, considering that. “So… you sensed nothing but darkness. But then you heard these voices.”

  “Yes. When I heard them, it was immediately after he spoke, but not every time he spoke. I was also dizzy part of the time, until you got there.”

  We thought about that for a few minutes as Miles absentmindedly rubbed my shoulder. Trixie used her paw to shove a cat treat toward Pandora, who wanted to know what was in the bag that had the dogs so interested.

  “So what did you decide about the webcams?” I asked.

  “Oh, right,” said Miles. “I forgot all about that. John came over and located a map of the university online, which includes floor plans of the buildings. That gave us the dimensions of the classroom you’ll be in and the layout. Tony was able to give equipment recommendations based on that. We were also able to determine the best place for me to observe the webcam feed while you’re in class.”

  “And where is that?” I asked.

  “There’s a study lab at the end of the hall on that floor. I won’t be far.”

  “Good,” I said. “The closer the better.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” said Miles. Tightening his arm around me, he kissed the top of my head. “So how are you feeling now?”

  “I feel really tired. But that’s probably because of our late night.”

  “That, on top of all of the excitement, no wonder.”

  The antique mantle clock that sat above the fireplace chimed the hour, reminding us that it was lunchtime. My stomach felt fine now, and I realized I was actually hungry.

  We made sandwiches, and while we ate, Miles told me about the webcams he ordered and showed me the floor plan of the room my Soc class would be held in. As soon as the webcams arrived, Miles would use his abilities to unlock the room and put one of them in place. Xander and I would also each have one that we carried with us.

  After lunch Miles called Xander. Within seconds, our friends were seated in our living room, waiting with wide eyes to hear what happened with Professor Mead.

  I explained everything I could remember.

  “Oh my goodness, Anika!” said Jenny. “I feel like we should have stuck together.”

  “Me too, I feel awful!” said Annette.

  “Don’t,” I said. “I’m a big girl, you shouldn’t feel like you need to keep an eye on me. I had Trixie with me anyway, and she was watching out for me until Miles got there.”

  I reached down to pet Trixie, and she smiled up at me.

  “Did you have your pepper spray?” asked Xander, which made us all laugh.

  “Yes! I would have let him have it, too, if he’d given me an excuse.” I must have looked disappointed, because our friends laughed again.

  “Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that you’re on my side?” asked Miles, laughter in his eyes.

  “Yeah, well, you’re lucky one of the only times I didn’t have pepper spray was when—” oh good grief, it’s so hard remembering not to talk about our past! “when, um you reall
y startled me the day you came back to the estate after you got out of the hospital.”

  “Wait, I’ve never heard this story!” said Annette, all ears. I groaned inside and considered bursting into tears, but instead, determined to take the past and do the necessary alterations to make it believable.

  “Well, Polly wanted me to meet Miles,” I said.

  “She’d been working toward that end from the moment I woke up in the hospital,” said Miles. “And I really wanted to meet Anika.”

  “But I was struggling with a recent loss, and couldn’t bear the thought of being set up,” I said.

  “Once I was released from the hospital and returned to the estate, I went to the guest house hoping to meet her,” said Miles.

  “And I knew he’d come back, because I saw the taxi arrive late the night before, and I was trying to get away before Polly could introduce us.”

  “Anika came flying out of the guest house and hit me in the chest so hard, she nearly knocked me down,” said Miles, and I laughed. This was actually kind of fun.

  “I did not nearly knock you down! I bounced right off your chest, and hit the door.”

  Everyone thought that was funny, but it was true!

  “So I grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her, and she didn’t take too kindly to that.”

  “And you’re so lucky I didn’t have my pepper spray!” I was so thankful myself, that I didn’t.

  “What happened then?” asked Annette.

  “Well for one thing, I got a good look at him and realized how completely gorgeous he is,” I said.

  That made everyone laugh.

  “Then, within seconds of talking, I realized he was who I’d been waiting for all my life.”

  “I felt the same way about her,” said Miles. “And the rest is history. And the present, and our future.”

  “That’s a great story,” said Annette.

  Not nearly as great as the whole truth, but… it wasn’t bad. I smiled and gave Miles a sideways hug, the best I could do sitting beside him on the loveseat, and he hugged me back.