by J. M. Pierce
“Damn that boy and his temper,” said Cliff, appearing around Prim’s side. “That fool boy has done lost his head. I expect this episode will draw some notice from folks ‘round here too.”
“What happened?” asked Alyssa.
With a sideways grin, Lauren was happy to answer. “Oh, we told him that he had to stay here while we all went out and did some reconnaissance so he threw a temper tantrum about it.”
With his arms folded across his chest, Prim continued. “And in the process could have given away our location.” He looked to Cliff. “Fool boy is right.”
Alyssa looked down to Aiden again with a grin as he wrapped his arms around her leg, obviously frightened by the loud strangers in front of them. “Well,” said Alyssa. “It’s been a long time since he’s gone off the deep end, right?” She looked between Cliff, Lauren, and Prim, waiting for one of them to at least nod their head. When none of them did anything more than scowl at her, she tried to defend her love one more time. “He’s done well for a long time, controlling his emotions I mean. He doesn’t talk about it, but I know he struggles with a lot of things.”
“And that is exactly why he has to stay here!” shouted Prim.
Aiden buried his face into Alyssa’s leg and began to whimper. She reached down and rubbed his back while shooting Prim a scowl of her own. “Can we please stop shouting?” she asked firmly.
Not having acknowledged the young spirit yet, Cliff took a step forward and knelt down at Aiden’s side.
“Well hello there, youngin’. What brings you here with Ms. Alyssa?” he asked.
The old man watched as the boy allowed his right eye to leave Alyssa’s leg in order to get a look at who was talking to him. Giving him a quick wink, he smiled and asked, “What’s your name, son?” The boy quickly buried his face once again, but then immediately peeked back out at Cliff.
“His name is Aiden,” said Alyssa.
With a pat on the boy’s shoulder, Cliff said. “Well hello there, Aiden. I’m Cliff. Pleased to meet you.”
Slowly, Aiden revealed more of his face; his large brown eyes glistening from the tears that had nearly come rushing moments before.
“I’m sorry if we scared you,” said Cliff. “It’s been a spell since any of us were around a youngin’ like you.” He watched as Aiden glanced fearfully to Prim. With a gruff chuckle, Cliff extended a hand towards both Prim and Lauren. “These are my friends, Lauren and Prim.”
The boys expression suddenly changed, his nose wrinkling in a way to cause Cliff to chuckle a little more. “What’s the matter, son?” he asked.
Aiden glanced between Prim and Cliff several times before answering. “That’s kind of a funny name,” he said in the candid way that only the innocence of youth could get away with.
Though he was still upset with Test, the little boy’s comment brought a small grin to Prim’s lips. “Yeah, I hear that a lot,” he replied. Turning to Alyssa, Prim tried to be as polite with his questioning as the moment allowed. “So, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?” He watched as Alyssa’s eyes grew wide. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to like her answer. Without taking his eyes off of her, he spoke to Cliff. “Cliff, would you mind taking our young visitor into the other room for a minute? Lauren and I need to speak with Alyssa.”
The old man stood and extended his hand for the boy to take, but Aiden continued clutching Alyssa’s leg tightly.
“It’s okay,” said Alyssa as she gently pried Aiden’s arms from her. “He might look a little rough, but Cliff’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.”
Slowly Aiden released his grip and took Cliff’s hand. Walking past Lauren and Prim, the two of them strolled out of the room with Aiden looking over his shoulder most of the way.
Turning themselves to make sure that the boy was out of the entry way, Prim and Lauren phased back to the world of the living.
“Spill it,” said Lauren, she and Prim standing menacingly as Alyssa materialized. “Why’s the kid here?”
Fidgeting with her shirt, Alyssa replied. “Well, you see, I was out walking in the woods and came along this camp.”
“Stop,” said Prim firmly while raising his right hand. “We don’t have time to recap your morning. Just tell us why the boy is here.”
“Jeeze,” said Alyssa as she tucked her hair behind her ears. “I didn’t think doing the right thing would cause so much of an issue.”
Prim and Lauren were both unfazed by her comment. They remained motionless while awaiting Alyssa’s answer.
“Fine,” said Alyssa. “He died recently, but didn’t know it until I told him.” She watched as the two Shadow’s expressions lightened slightly. “You should have seen him,” she continued. “He thought his parents were mad at him. He said they never talked to him anymore or gave him any attention.”
“So, what, you’re going to adopt him?” asked Prim with a light hint of malice in his voice. “That’s the last thing we need right now, a child to worry about.”
Alyssa’s eyes shot to the floor. When she looked up, she noticed that Lauren was staring at Prim with the color completely washed out of her face. She watched as Lauren slowly raised her right hand to her stomach.
“Lauren,” asked Alyssa. “Are you feeling okay?”
As if coming back from another world, Lauren’s head snapped to Alyssa as she nodded fervently.
“Don’t try to change the subject,” barked Prim.
“I’m not!” shouted Alyssa defensively. “And don’t yell at me!”
Brimming with frustration, Prim rubbed his face. “I apologize. It’s been a long morning.” He glanced to Lauren and could clearly see why Alyssa asked if she was alright. “Are you okay?” he asked taking her elbow into his hand. “You look very pale all of the sudden.”
Chewing on her lip and yanking her arm away, Lauren gave a curt response. “I’m fine.”
Alyssa took the opportunity to consider her options. She knew she had to ask Test to help Aiden give his final goodbyes to his parents, but Prim and Lauren didn’t necessarily have to know about it, especially if Test was staying behind when they all were leaving. She could deal with Test after they were gone. “Look,” she said, interrupting the awkward moment between Prim and Lauren. They both turned to her though Lauren’s eyes seemed distant. “He just needed a friend. He was scared and I didn’t want to leave him alone. I haven’t committed to anything, so don’t get all worked up. Okay?”
More concerned now with Lauren’s behavior than the presence of the kid, Prim replied. “Yeah, whatever.” He turned back to Lauren who refused to make eye contact with him. “What’s the matter?” he asked, attempting to touch her arm again. Once more she pulled away.
“Nothing,” she replied as she turned and walked away towards the bathroom.
Prim’s brow furrowed as he looked back to Alyssa. “What the hell just happened there?” he asked.
Concerned herself, she looked over his shoulder and watched as Lauren disappeared from view. “I don’t know,” she replied though she had her suspicions. “Why don’t you let me talk to her, okay?”
Nodding his head weakly, Prim simply turned and walked into the living room, plopping himself on the couch, resting his head on the wall behind it.
****
Test sat in the middle of the crater with his arms wrapped around his knees. Though it had taken a bit of doing on his part, he had managed to calm himself enough to think a little more clearly. Unfortunately, after moments such as what had just transpired, the clarity brought about intense feelings of regret.
He knew it was a mistake to have released such power. Had Isaac still been alive, he most certainly would have revealed his location. Now, he didn’t know who might be watching. What he did know is that he was going to catch hell from Prim and Lauren when he returned. Worse, he would get a speech from Cliff which would only leave him feeling worse than he already did.
Suddenly, he heard the sounds of a helicopter in the distance
. “Shit,” he whispered as he picked up a small rock and hurled it through the air. He looked up, but couldn’t see the craft just yet. Instead of waiting, he chose to phase to the spirit world to remain hidden from the unwelcomed visitor.
The sound of the helicopter’s blades sent chills down his spine. It seemed every time he’d heard them in recent memory, they were coming for him, or because of something that he’d done.
He remained seated in the same position, though the view of the world around him had changed. Blurred lines whipped like visible wind as he continued into look to the sky. Finally, after a short wait, an orange and white helicopter appeared over the top of the trees and was flying alarmingly low. He watched as it hovered on the edge of the crater, obviously surveying the scene and looking for an explanation. He half-heartedly chuckled to himself as he thought of what he’d hear on the radio later tonight.
With the craft still hovering overhead, he stood, looked up, gave a quick salute, and rushed with otherworldly speed into the cover of the forest.
CHAPTER 13
Since Destin’s powers had come to be, Ashley’s days had been spent teaching the boy how to do the simple things. She found it best to keep Casper out of the picture, as his constant spewing of condescending remarks kept Destin from even trying half of the time.
Quite by accident, she had discovered the perfect spot for their training sessions. Destin had seen an advertisement for Jenkinson’s Boardwalk on the television and wouldn’t stop nagging her about going. “You don’t even know what that is,” she’d told him over and over again. But it didn’t matter. He saw other kids laughing and having fun and told her that he would try harder if she would take him there.
Upon striking the deal with who she now called her apprentice, they visited the park. To her surprise, it was an amazing place. Not for the rides or the scenery, but for the opportunity. There were so many people walking around that using her powers to pick pockets or to steal tickets was as easy as taking candy from a baby.
She’d woken up that morning with a lack of energy and enthusiasm that not even the most potent cup of coffee could kick start. As usual, since their first visit to the boardwalk, Destin was up bright and early (what she considered bright and early anyway), ready and waiting for her to get out of bed. Apparently, she’d been there too long.
“Ashley?”
She heard Destin’s voice whispering through a crack in her bedroom door.
“What?” she answered, her voice snapping like a whip. She continued to linger in and out of sleep until she heard his voice again.
“It’s getting late,” he said. “Shouldn’t we get going?”
Smashing her face into the pillow, she asked, “What time is it?”
“It’s ten o’clock,” he replied.
She rolled to her back and pulled the covers over her head. “Come on, Dest, it’s more fun when we go at night. There are more people there.”
“I know, but today they’re having an anniversary thing or something. I saw a commercial on T.V.”
Grumbling beneath her covers, she replied. “In a little bit.”
Suddenly, the blankets were ripped from off of her. She shot up in bed, thinking that Destin had quietly crept in. To her surprise, the boy was still standing in the doorway, right arm extended towards her with weak pulses of light fading beneath his flesh.
She glared at him for a moment, ready to yell at him, when suddenly he grinned mischievously. Unable to keep her face from matching his, she rolled her legs off the bed.
“I guess the practice is paying off, huh kid?”
Destin’s grin turned into a full toothed smile. “Does this mean you’re not mad at me?” he asked.
“I’m always mad at you,” she replied, trying to curb her smile as she stood and walked to the closet. “Now get out of here so I can get dressed.”
“Does this mean we’re going then?” he asked timidly.
Without answering, she reached out with her left hand and allowed her power to shove him backwards and close the door. Before she could even get the t-shirt off the hanger, she heard Destin’s muffled voice from behind the door.
“Is that a yes then?”
With an uncharacteristic giggle, she answered trying her best to sound irritated. “Yes! Now go away!”
As she slipped off her pajamas, she found herself smiling. It wasn’t that she’d never smiled before, just not for the reason she was then. Whether she liked it or not, she felt herself beginning to care for Destin in a motherly way.
After a moment of pondering, she shook her head as if trying to shake the feelings out. “Shit,” she said under her breath. “This wasn’t in the plan.”
****
Destin’s sight had returned and the involuntary gasp for air caused his body to arch painfully. Though Ashley had taken him on the other side many, many times, he’d never gotten used to the awakening. He couldn’t wait until he learned how to do it on his own.
His lessons had mostly consisted of lifting objects, or crumpling things from a distance. He’d gotten pretty good at lifting wallets out of people’s pockets as they walked by, but his favorite thing to do by far was to cause the Ferris Wheel carts to rock back and forth while watching the people inside squirm.
With the fog cleared from his mind, Ashley released her hold on him and began to walk away. He shook his head briefly and rubbed his eyes before jogging off after her. As he caught up, he matched her pace, but stayed just behind and to the right. He took a few long strides before he asked what he thought was a reasonable question.
“When do I get to learn to do other things?”
Ashley didn’t even look over her shoulder as they weaved their way through the increasingly thick crowd of people. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Like when can I learn to go travel on my own, like you and Casper do?”
“You mean on the dead side?” she replied, turning her head slightly.
He’d heard her call it that a couple of times and each time it had sent a chill down his spine. “Why do you call it that?” he asked.
Not breaking stride, Ashley laughed and lowered her head so that her hair hung over her face. She flipped it up and stopped while turning to the boy. “Seriously? Why do you think we would call it the dead side?” Destin stared at her blankly as he shrugged his shoulders. With a twisted expression, she continued. “Some of our kind simply call it the ‘other side’. Some call it ‘the spirit world’ or ‘spirit realm’. Casper and I thought that was kind of boring, so we started calling it the dead side.”
Still not understanding, Destin continued with his blank stare.
With people walking by at a constant pace, Ashley looked for a place to sit so that they could speak more freely. Across the walkway, and down about twenty yards, was an empty bench. She quickly took Destin’s hand into hers and drug him swiftly to it. As they both sat, she turned herself to him.
“I guess I never thought about the understanding part of things,” she began. She watched as Destin’s eyes lit up with anticipation. A stray grin appeared on her lips. “The dead side is the world where the dead walk as if they were the living. We, as Reapers, can walk in both worlds. The trick is that we can only spend so much time on the dead side until we run out of energy to keep ourselves there.”
Destin’s nose and brow wrinkled.
“What’s the matter?” asked Ashley.
The boy hesitated a moment before answering. “Well, I’m a Reaper, right?” he asked.
Ashley began to nod her head. “Yes, more or less.”
“Then why don’t I remember being on the other side when you take me there?”
Raising her eyebrows, she had to think about her answer as the conversation had gotten much deeper than she’d ever considered it might. With a deep breath, she exhaled sharply and patted her knees. “You don’t remember because I take you there. Whenever a Reaper takes someone to the other side, human or otherwise, if they don’t use their power, the
y die.” Her words were so matter-of-factly that she might as well have been talking about how to plant a garden.
Destin’s eye grew wide as he tried to process what he’d been told. “You mean I die every time you take me somewhere?”
Again, with absolutely no emotion, Ashley replied. “Yep.”
Destin turned his eyes into the crowd and stared through them all as if they weren’t even there. “So do you bring me back to life each time?”
Ashley giggled. “Kind of—I bring you back to this world. You see, if we take someone to the dead side, they have a short period of time where they can still return to this world without consequence. However, if we keep them there too long, there is no coming back for them.”
Destin swallowed heavily. “That’s kind of scary.”
Ashley placed a hand on Destin’s shoulder. “Not really,” she replied. “I know how long you will survive, and I make sure that we even cut it under that.” With a grin she shook him gently. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
Destin grinned back. “So when can I learn how to travel on the dead side?”
“Well,” replied Ashley. “I don’t know for sure. Some of it depends on your powers and how advanced you are. I wouldn’t think it’d be too long before you discover how to do it.” A thought hit her as Destin replied and it overshadowed his words. Maybe she’d need Casper in this training after all. His barrage of insults and teasing might just be what Destin needed to push his evolution farther and faster.
“Ashley!”
Destin’s shout awoke her from her thoughts. “What?” she replied with an annoyed sneer.
“What about flying?” he asked.
With her thoughts drifting back to a use for Casper, she stood from the bench. “Come on,” she said taking Destin’s forearm into her grip. “We’ve talked enough for today. Let’s go have some fun.”
CHAPTER 14
Lauren leaned on the bathroom counter and stared solemnly at the wall across from her. The hopelessness that she was feeling was something that, since meeting Prim, she’d thought impossible to experience anymore. A gentle knock on the door caused a rush of panic to race through her and she quickly sidestepped to the toilet, lowered the lid, and took a seat.