by J. M. Pierce
“Yeah?” replied Thad.
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“Who is this?” asked Thad.
“It’s Prim, but that doesn’t matter,” replied Prim, mildly annoyed. “We don’t have the internet here and we need to find someone. Can you see if you can find a location for a Christopher Dawson? He’s military if that helps.”
“Do you have a general idea of where he might live?” asked Thad.
“No, I don’t.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Remember, I’m heading to Manhattan tomorrow.”
Cliff could see a vein beginning to bulge in the side of Prim’s neck. Before Prim could respond, Cliff interjected. “Just do what you can, okay, son?”
“I’ll try. I’ll call you if I find something.”
In the pause that followed, it seemed everyone waited for Lauren or Prim to make a snide remark.
“All right then,” said Thad. “I’ll talk to you all later.”
As the phone lines disconnected, all remained huddled around the phone in silence. Though she struggled with her place in all of this, the fear and concern on everyone’s faces frightened Alyssa and she needed answers.
“What does all of that mean?” she asked, breaking the tortured silence.
With a furrowed brow and a stern look, Prim answered. “It means that we’re running out of time.”
Chapter 20
Outside of Aiden’s occasional question, the house had become quiet. It was strange to both Test and Alyssa. Though it had only been a short time ago since the others arrived, so much had happened in that span of time that it seemed like days since they’d been alone.
The plan was for Iku and Prim to locate the twins’ location and nothing more. There would be no engagement. Once they’d found them, Iku and Prim would stay put and keep an eye on them until Lauren and Cliff had come up with more information. The hope was that Dawson would know more of what is going on. Test laughed as he thought of Lauren and Cliff interrogating Dawson; it was the perfect good cop/bad cop scenario. Though they hadn’t heard from Thad in regards to a possible location, Cliff and Lauren decided that they would pay him a personal visit in Kansas City. Lauren wanted to prod him along, while Cliff welcomed the opportunity to see his son again.
Test and Alyssa sat on opposite ends of the couch and stared blankly at the cracked window across from them. With a million things trying to enter his mind all at once, Test knew the one thing that was on Alyssa’s. Every couple of seconds, he could see her glance to him out of the corner of his eye, and each time he looked she looked away. After several rounds of peek-a-boo, Test spoke.
“Something on your mind?” he asked casually with a smirk.
Though worry of Lauren’s situation still held a large part of her thoughts, at the moment, only one thing was paramount. Tucking her hair behind her ears, Alyssa replied, almost bashfully. “Well, I was kind of wondering if you’d thought any more about helping Aiden.”
Test reached to her and gently caressed her arm with the back side of his hand. “As a matter of fact, I have,” he replied. “I’ll do it.”
A rush of excitement bolted through her as she patted her thighs and kicked her feet. “Did you hear that Aiden?” she said, planting her feet and leaning forward. “Test said he’s going to help you talk to your mom and dad.”
Smiling so hard he thought his cheeks would split, Test watched Alyssa’s joy and knew what it meant to be happy.
“When can we go?” asked Alyssa.
Caught up in the moment, Test replied. “Well, pretty soon.”
“Like now?”
Holding up a hand, Test tried to slow her up a bit. “Hold on a second though. There’s a couple of things that we should talk about before we go.”
The smile melted from Alyssa’s face as quickly as it appeared. “What?” she asked somberly.
“Well,” replied Test. “This is going to be dangerous. I don’t know if his parents know who I am or not. That aside…,” he looked down to Aiden, wondering silently if this conversation should even be had in front of him. Reluctantly, he continued. “How do we know how his parents are going to react to seeing him again? I think we need to be prepared for everything.”
Flipping her hair behind her shoulders, Alyssa replied. “Honey, sometimes you can’t prepare for everything. I know there are a lot of what ifs and things like that, but honestly, how do you think you’d react if you got the chance to see your son again after having lost him?” She scooted closer to him and took his hand into hers. “Do you remember when I told you about how I found out about my parents’ death?” She waited for a moment as he nodded his head. “Getting to tell them goodbye was the best gift I could ever have been given.”
As Test recalled the story, he immediately understood. “All right then,” he replied, trying to sound positive. “Here’s the plan: I’m just going to walk into their camp, introduce myself, and then bring you and Aiden over. Sound good?”
Test looked down to Aiden who stared up with his big brown eyes. He neither smiled nor frowned; just a blank expression with a hint of sadness.
“You okay, little buddy?” asked Test. “You ready to go see your folks?”
Slowly the little boy nodded his head. “Will they be scared of me?” he asked.
Rushing to his side, Alyssa assured him with a hug. “No, of course not,” she replied as she looked to Test. “They’re going to be thrilled to see you.”
“Will I get to stay with them?” he asked.
A knot the size of Texas became stuck in Test’s throat as he watched Alyssa stumble with a reply. She looked to him and, with a pained expression, pleaded for help.
Test stood from the couch and knelt down beside Alyssa and Aiden. “I don’t think so, buddy,” he replied, resting a hand on top of the boys red hair.
“Then where will I go?”
Alyssa and Test’s eyes met and, with an unspoken understanding, each of them knew what the answer had to be.
“You can stay with us,” replied Alyssa as she cupped his cheek in her hand. She looked to Test with tears welling in her eyes as he smiled while nodding his head.
Test saw that Aiden’s face was still filled with sadness. “How does that sound?” he asked as he tapped the boy’s nose with the tip of his index finger. As the tiniest hint of a smile appeared on Aiden’s lips, Test’s heart swelled with pride. He knew they were doing the right thing.
****
Traveling at ethereal speed, it didn’t take any time at all for Lauren and Cliff to arrive at Thad’s apartment complex. Though they’d stopped three times along the way for Lauren to recharge, Cliff could tell that she was tired. Her face was pale and she was taking short quick breaths with her mouth agape.
“You okay?” he asked.
Wiping her brow, Lauren wetted her lips and shot the old man a quizzical look. “Fine,” she replied short of breath. “Let’s just get inside. I’m tired of being hot.”
As she stepped away, Cliff watched her place a hand on the small of her back. The wheels began to turn as he heard her voice snapping through the air.
“You coming or what, old man?”
Overcome with concern, he took a step towards her. “I’m comin’,” he replied, looking at her with a puckered face. “You sure you’re doin’ alright?”
“I said I’m fine,” snapped Lauren, though keeping her volume under control. She began to turn, but then stopped herself. “Wait a minute,” she said. “Have you been talking to Alyssa?”
Cliff’s head recoiled in confusion. “About what?” he asked.
Lauren examined Cliff’s face for a moment. “Why are you so worried about me all of the sudden?”
“Because your breathin’ sounds like a freight train rollin’ down the tracks and you’re sweatin’ like Niagara Falls was comin’ off your forehead,” replied Cliff defensively.
Leaning into him, Lauren looked Cliff square in the eye. Satisfied that the old man was telling the truth, she turn
ed away and mumbled to herself. “She’d better hope she kept her mouth shut.” She opened the door to the complex and let Cliff pass. As she followed him to Thad’s door, she continued to berate him. “Just because you and Alyssa don’t sweat anymore doesn’t mean that something’s wrong with those of us that do.”
Turning to Thad’s door and paying her no attention, Cliff knocked gently. From the other side, he heard footsteps and waited as he knew his son was looking through the peep hole. Instantly he could hear Thad’s muffled voice from inside the apartment.
“Are you kidding me?”
The door opened and revealed Thad standing in a pair of gray sweats and a Kansas City Royals t-shirt.
“Hello, boy,” said Cliff. “We was just in the neighborhood and…”
“The hell you were, Dad,” interrupted Thad. “You guys came to check and see if I found anything on that Dawson guy yet.” He glanced to Lauren and commented before Cliff could answer. “You look like crap, girl. You feeling okay?”
Rolling her eyes, Lauren quickly pushed past the two men and entered the apartment. She walked straight through to the kitchen where she opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.
Thad watched her as he glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah, just help yourself,” he said as he looked back to Cliff. “What’s up with her?”
Stepping into the apartment, Cliff replied in a distant manner. “Not sure. Maybe she just needs a rest.”
As he stood next to his son in the entry way, Cliff eyed Lauren carefully as she downed the bottle of water in what seemed like three swallows. The two of them stood while gawking unabashedly as she walked into the living room and plop down on the couch.
“So am I right?” asked Thad.
Continuing to eye Lauren, Cliff replied. “Yep.”
Thad groaned as he walked away from his father’s side. “I haven’t even had time to look yet, Dad,” he replied as he sat in the recliner perpendicular to the couch.
Pointing to the television, Lauren spoke. “Too busy watching game shows?” she asked, even though it was obvious he’d been watching the news.
Leaning forward in his chair, Thad replied. “So what if I was?”
Lauren leaned her head back and wiped her wet face with her hands. As she dried her palms on her lap, she continued to look at the ceiling. “Don’t mess with me, Thad. I’m not in the mood.”
Cliff entered the room and sat on the end of the couch opposite of Lauren. “I’m sorry, son. I know you have your own life to live and all, but this is kind of important.”
“So important that none of you could even tell me what’s going on?” asked Thad.
With a dejected sigh, the old man replied. “I don’t think Prim wanted to tell you anything because he was afraid it would influence your visions.” He watched as Thad’s clenched jaw relaxed slightly. Though he didn’t know for sure that it was in fact Prim’s intent, he knew that it is what he would have recommended had the opportunity for a recommendation presented itself.
Sitting back in the recliner, Thad slumped into the chair. “I suppose that makes sense,” he replied. “Doesn’t mean I like being in the dark, but it makes sense.”
“Have you seen anything else since?” asked Cliff.
Looking at his watch, Thad replied sarcastically. “In the last two hours? No, I haven’t seen anything else.”
Cliff shot him a look that demonstrated a fatherly ‘watch that tone’ sort of vibe.
“Sorry, Dad,” replied Thad. “It’s just that my life was kind of getting back to normal since the last time you all paid me a visit.”
“I was just here a couple months ago,” replied Cliff.
“I was talking about the Union Station thing!” shouted Thad as he began to rock in the chair.
“You weren’t even there,” countered Lauren with her eyes remaining locked on the television.
Gripping the arms of the recliner tightly, Thad scowled at Lauren. “Are you serious?” he asked. “I had to put up with some crazy sh…”
“Enough,” commanded Cliff. “None of this matters. What does matter is that we find Agent Dawson.”
Without a word, Thad stood and walked towards the short hallway that led to his bedroom.
“Where’re you goin’?” asked Cliff.
“To get my laptop!” shouted Thad as he disappeared from the room.
Suddenly, Lauren stood from the couch and spoke ominously. “You don’t need it.”
Promptly returning to the living room with laptop in hand, Thad asked, “What did you say?”
Lauren pointed once again to the television.
All three of them stared blankly at the image of a man wearing yellow tinted glasses with tight, clean-cut hair. It was an older military photograph, but Cliff immediately knew who it was without even reading the caption or hearing the newsperson speak.
“Who the hell is that?” asked Thad.
“Shut up!” shouted Lauren as she bent down to pick up the remote from the coffee table. Frantically, she pressed the volume button and glared at the screen.
“… Dawson joins the nearly one dozen missing persons from the region in the last six months who have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The disappearances have been confirmed in Virginia, Massachusetts, and now Dawson is the second confirmed in New Jersey. Information from an undisclosed source states that all are suspected homicides and that, aside from the obvious conclusion that the perpetrator is moving north state by state, each of them seem to follow a familiar pattern. Attempts to get confirmation from state and federal officials have so far been unsuccessful.
“In other news, the cost of gasoline is set to…”
Lauren turned off the television leaving nothing but the sound of the ceiling fan overhead to fill their ears. “Well,” she said after a moment of listening to the twirling blades. “I guess that clears that up.”
Having made his way back to the recliner, Thad took a seat. “Is that the guy?” he asked as he sank into the worn out chair.
“That was him,” replied Cliff.
After another pause, Thad glanced back and forth between Cliff and Lauren. “Are you sure?”
Cliff glared at his son, images of the time he was held captive at the armory in Lincoln flashing through his mind. “I spent time face to face with that man,” he said sternly. “Yes—I’m sure.”
Thad swallowed forcefully. Though he’d not seen this side of Cliff, it wasn’t hard to tell that he wasn’t in the mood for questioning. As he watched the old man stand from the couch alongside Lauren, he felt compelled to stand as well.
“What are you going to do now?” he asked.
Cliff glanced to Lauren. “We go home,” he replied.
“We need to get ahold of Prim,” said Lauren as she tossed the remote to the couch. “If all of these disappearances are from the northeastern part of the country, we have a pretty good idea of where the twins are. He should be able to get close enough that he would be able to feel them if they try anything again.”
With an assertive nod, Cliff replied. “Agreed.” He watched Lauren as she arched her back with her hands on the small of her back. He saw it—the bump was unmistakable. Wide-eyed and nearly bursting to speak, he quickly looked away from her before she relaxed.
With a groan, Lauren laced her fingers and stretched her arms out in front of her. “We’d better get going,” she said.
Turning back to her and doing everything in his power not to stare at her belly, the old man replied. “You sure? Do you need to rest up a bit longer?”
Cocking her head to one side, Lauren glowered at the old man. “Will you knock that shit off!” she shouted in disgust. “I’m fine.”
The room exploded with a blinding flash of white hot brilliance and then in an instant it was gone, taking Lauren with it.
Thad rubbed his eyes and peered into the room through a giant black spot in his vision, realizing he was alone.
With Lauren gone, Cliff was left standing
in the spirit world without a Shadow’s energy to provide him solid form. He glanced to the wall behind Thad which housed the breaker box for the apartment. He’d used it as a source of energy before and it looked as though he would need to use it again. Taking the energy from the box, he was able to cross over and take a more solid form, though not to the extent as moments before.
Sensing his father’s presence behind him, Thad turned to see the shadowy image of Cliff. “She’s a peach,” he said as he continued to rub his eyes.
With yet another concern on his mind, Cliff replied. “Yes, she is. But I’m afraid she’s bruised, son.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Thad, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Shaking his head as if to shake loose reality, Cliff ignored the question. He looked up and, taking a step to his son, gripped his shoulders. “I’ve got to go,” he said. “You be sure to call Test if you see anything, you hear? It’s real important.”
“I will,” replied Thad. “I will.” He watched as his father turned away; the old man’s expression was as faded and distracted as his ethereal form. “Take care,” he said.
Turning for a moment, just before releasing himself back into the spirit world, Cliff nodded and gave a half-hearted wink. “You too, boy. You too.”
Chapter 21
Alyssa and Aiden led the way through the dimming light of the forest. Though they could have traveled quickly, they didn’t. Instead, they allowed the serenity of the trees to calm their anxiety.
They stepped to the creek bank where Alyssa had stood only hours before; the spot where she first heard someone speaking on the other side. Aiden stood on Alyssa’s right side with his tiny hand clasping hers. Test stepped forward and held out his own hand for Aiden to take.
“Okay,” said Alyssa, trying not to let her nerves show. “We’re here. What do you want us to do?”
“I think it best if you two stay out of sight, but stay by my side,” replied Test.
“You’re just going to walk up into their camp?” asked Alyssa.