Spark: One of Us Series

by Faulks, Kim

  “Let’s see them,” Bigshot called with his hand flat on the table.

  Two of heart, two of spades, two of diamonds. I stared at his cards and laid my mine flat. It was a shit hand…I didn’t have jack. But I whispered the words and they were true…every single one of them. “Straight flush.”

  Dark, beady eyes followed the movement, fixed on the cards I played.

  I never tried to understand the game, not really.

  Didn’t care about the cards, or the rush. Didn’t care about the fucking casino’s or the house at whatever table I sat at.

  I only tried to understand them. The players, the money…my goddamn ticket out of here—for a while at least.

  Find the tell in the corner of their eye, or the way they moved as the blonde at the bar suddenly straightened with drinks in hand and sauntered toward the table.

  “Here you are, winner,” she murmured, drawing my gaze.

  Painted black lips curled with a smile as I pushed up from the table and rose. “Thanks for the game, guys. But I think I’m done.”

  “What?” Bigshot snarled. “No fucking way. You just took twelve hundred off me and a grand off the other guys here. Least you can do is play one more, give a man a chance to win it back.”

  I shook my head, leaned forward and scooped the bills into a pile. Three fucking hours I sat at this table. Three fucking hours I stared at his smug smile. “I’d love to, but real-life calls.”

  He dropped his hand from the table and leaned forward. I stiffened, waiting for a gun or a knife, reliving that fucking demon inside my head.

  Goddamn fucking pussy…

  I swallowed the ghost of those words as I palmed the wad of bills in front of me. “It’s been a pleasure.”

  Power rushed through my center, sending tendrils out into the room. The man they saw was not the real me. I learned long ago to keep myself hidden, keep myself quiet.

  Finley Stutter had disappeared on that bus ride from Juvie, and I planned to keep it that way. I shoved the fistful of bills into my jacket pocket…

  Beast.

  I flinched and turned my head, catching the smug sonofabitch as he rose from the table. “What did you call me?”

  He lifted his head, lips flat as he clenched his jaw. “Didn’t say nothin’”

  Animal.

  The word…a whisper…a woman’s whisper. I lifted my head to the blonde dressed in silver smiled. “You okay?” she asked.

  Filthy…filthy animal.

  I flinched as the floor seemed to fall away from under my feet. The bitter scent of ozone filled my nose, sinking fangs deep.

  You’ll be a good girl, won’t you?

  That voice…that voice found me…I knew that voice. Knew it from my nightmares…knew it from that place.

  You’ll be a good little sleeper…

  Good little sleeper.

  I stumbled backwards, smacking into a chair behind me. Steel legs howled against the floor until the thing toppled.

  “Hey,” the dealer muttered. Dark eyes sparkled as she lifted her head. “You okay?”

  She scanned the others as the blonde stepped backwards, gaze fixed on mine.

  “You okay, buddy?” The player at my right lifted a hand toward me.

  I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah, just need some sleep is all.”

  I left the table and the players behind and made my way toward the hallway. Too many plays. Not enough sleep. Just tired is all. Just goddamn tired.

  I rubbed the corded muscle at the nape of my neck and headed for the door. The same bouncer stood sentry. Big and hulking, tribal tatts on the inside of his arms. I gave him a nod as he stepped to the side, letting me pass.

  The sooner I was out of here, the better. I shoved through the door and stepped into darkness. I blinked and breathed in the cool night air.

  My boots rang loud on the steel landing. I gripped the rail and made my way down the stairs at the back of the building as the door closed and then locked behind me.

  Streetlights buzzed overhead, the glare blinding as I passed. I kept my gaze low and dug my hands into my pockets. Fingers skimmed the outline of my burner phone. I grabbed the cell, dragged it free and pressed the button on the side enough to see the time before slipping it back into my pocket.

  “You played well tonight.”

  Silver dress sparkled as she stepped out of the shadows. She raised a foot, and leaned sideways, pushing one heel free and then the other. Brown eyes never once strayed from mine, waiting for me to say something.

  “Thanks.”

  “You know I don’t play, right?” she murmured and took a step on bare feet, her heels dangling in her hand. She glanced behind me to the back of building. “They want me in there as a distraction.”

  My gaze slipped, sliding down the swell of her breast. “Figured that, but there are worse ones out there.”

  Black smeared lips curled with a smile. “See, now I figured you’d be sweet. You just had that kindness about you. Missouri, right?”

  I slowed my steps. “Lakeside.”

  A breeze picked up, howling through the alley next to her. I shuddered with the cold and curled my shoulders. “Well, it was nice meeting you, distraction. You have yourself a good night.”

  “You too.” She turned away, took a step toward the chrome grill of a car parked in the alley behind her before she stopped. “Say, you don’t want to grab a coffee or something, do you? My damn feet are killing me, but I’m too wired to go home.”

  Coffee. Sex. Maybe both were on the table? Maybe not. I licked my lips, and glanced toward the train station.

  “I could really do with the company. It’s hard being on your own, you know?” she called and then took a step backwards. “Unless you’ve got somewhere else you need to be?”

  I smothered a laugh and looked at the lonely road. At three a.m. I’d be waiting at the train station for hours. Hours in the goddamn cold with the wind howling through the platform.

  I turned back to her and she smiled and lifted her hand. “Come on, I promise, I’ll make you pay.”

  The laughter seemed intent to spill free. I shook my head and then turned toward her. “Make me pay, huh?”

  I could picture it now as I took a step, the windows of her car fogged on the inside from heated breaths as I buried myself inside her in the back seat. Those perfect lips parted, breath rushing.

  Beast.

  I winced at the word and stopped dead.

  Animal.

  I wrenched my gaze around, scanned the darkened corners. “Did you hear that? That sound…those words.”

  “What words?”

  “Beast, and animal,” I murmured. She was silent, flinched a little when I took a step toward her. “Did you?”

  “No.” She glanced toward her car as though the thought of coffee had suddenly grown cold. “I didn’t hear anything. Probably the wind, and you being tired. You look tired, man.”

  My boots were heavy, weighed down and worn-through from all the years of running…all the years of pretending to be someone else…anyone else.

  Goddamn fucking pussy. Too much like you’re Momma.

  Pain flared through my head. I slammed my palm against my temple, stumbling.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  Movement at the corner of my eye. I lifted my head to find her heading toward me, mouth moving…even though I couldn’t hear the sound.

  My heart was thundering, crowding out everything else.

  Her hand wrapped around my waist. Hospital, she mouthed the word, pulling me with her as she made for the car.

  Chrome glinted, morphing shadows into the light in the reflection. I could see myself, just a dark blur, moving closer. Dirt and gravel crunched under my boot.

  Beast, the faint voice called, and the snarl of thunder followed.

  Stars sparkled above me as I lifted my gaze. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Not one hint of a storm, and yet I felt it coming. I swallowed hard. “I should be going…”

&nb
sp; The silver in her dress glinted as she dropped her arm from around me and stepped backwards into the dark.

  “Think it’s a little late for that, don’t you?”

  I wrenched my gaze toward the movement as two guys stepped out from around the front of the car.

  “Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” one of them said and glanced at my pocket. “Just hand it over and you’re free to go.”

  Beast…

  The word flared through my skull. I winced, stumbled as one came toward me. Boots skimming loose gravel on the ground. “Just hand it the fuck over, dude.”

  I forced my gaze up…and my power slipped. A black man stared back at me as I turned toward the car window. He lifted his hand the same time I did. His lips moved as well as we murmured. “I don’t think so.”

  Tattooed numbers were exposed on the inside of my wrist as I turned. No matter how hard I tried. The power never changed them, leaving my lies bare to the rest of the world even when the real me remained hidden. “Just leave…I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Both the men grinned and then shook their heads. The mouthy one opened his hands, palm up. “You don’t want to hurt us? Who the fuck you think you are?”

  The other one was silent, but actions always spoke louder than words. He reached into his pocket and pulled a pistol free. Silver sparkled, just like the woman’s dress, as he aimed the muzzle at the center of my chest.

  I should’ve known she was trouble…should’ve fucking known.

  The sparkle of her dress caught the corner of my eye as she lifted a hand, the small black revolver snug in her palm. “Just do it. Do what they fucking said. Give us the money. I don’t want to shoot you.”

  She wasn’t going to shoot me…wasn’t going to do a damn thing. “Just hold a minute…no one’s going to shoot anyone.”

  She lowered the pistol, winced and then squeezed.

  The boom tore through the alley, a punch to my thigh, shoving me backwards. I stumbled, smacked into the car before my knee gave way.

  “Jesus Christ,” the mouthy guy roared. “What the fuck did you do that for?”

  Blood spread outwards staining blue jeans black.

  “What the fuck…” my attacker whispered.

  I jerked my gaze up. Pain rushed now, pushing all the way to the surface. The illusion was gone, bleeding out as I pushed to my feet.

  The guy with the gun stumbled back. His brow narrowed as he shook his head. “This ain’t right man, this ain’t right. What the fuck happened to your face?”

  Pain turned to anger, and then slipped lower into rage. I skimmed my fingers along the ground, catching dirt and rocks as the blonde moved closer.

  “I’ll fucking shoot you again.” She aimed the gun at my chest. “I’ll fucking shoot you. Just hand over the money.”

  I shoved my fist full of dirt into my pocket.

  Animal.

  My pulse boomed inside my head.

  Beast.

  Dirt and rocks were all I had as I dragged my fist free. The pain was blinding, spearing through my thigh as I took a step. “You want it?”

  All three looked at my fist and then stepped closer.

  “Do you want it?” Hate mingled with rage as the crack of thunder grew louder inside my head.

  The past was calling…flashes of neon white light tore through my mind. In an instant I was back in that TV room in Ripley, staring at the screen while a storm raged down…a girl…a girl dressed in blue.

  Beast.

  Her voice filled my head.

  She called me like the lightning called thunder.

  She whispered in my head, and moved through my bones.

  Animal.

  I held to that word. Held onto that dark rush of power that followed, and raised my hand.

  It wasn’t about the cards, wasn’t even about the players themselves. It was all about that sparkle in their eye, and the tell in their face. It was about their hopes and dreams playing out like a movie in front of them.

  And with the hopes and dreams, also came their fear…

  I licked my lips, tasting blood in the back of my throat.

  Cold blood, earthen and dank.

  Like dirt.

  The blonde flinched and took a step backwards, her eyes focused on my outstretched hand. “What are you doing?”

  “Go on,” I murmured. Pain savaged my leg as I took a step. I swallowed it down. “Take the money, that’s what you want, isn’t it?”

  The guy with the gun jerked his gaze to mine, and then to the fist full of dirt. Hundred dollar bills spilled out between my fingers. It’s all they saw, all that consumed them.

  Energy hummed through the darkness, morphing my power into something else. Something hungry, something dangerous.

  My fingers trembled as they unfurled. Dirt and rocks stuck against the creases of my palm. The blonde licked her lips, glanced at the two others and then stepped closer.

  She reached out as I moved close, buckling my elbow and lifted my palm. The other two followed, like lambs to the slaughter as I inhaled hard and then blew.

  Darkness gathered. Darkness stained. It wasn’t the money they saw now. It was the dirt. Thick and choking, cold against their skin, pushing them backwards as they stumbled deeper into the alley…and to their own death.

  Her arms flailed, she stiffened and jerked her gaze behind her and that hunger inside me opened up.

  Six foot deep waited for them. I blew again and they stumbled, screaming.

  “You wanted it, right?” I murmured as they fell backwards.

  The dark alley became their nightmare as the specks of dirt turned into an avalanche.

  It wasn’t the game I cared for…

  It was them…it was this.

  Hopes and fears, both an illusion in the game of life. One I played for keeps.

  The mouthy asshole clawed what he believed were the walls of his own grave. I gave him the illusion, gave him everything he wanted, while the other two flailed and smashed at the dirt in their own six-foot tombs of dirt.

  But it was him I focused on, the asshole with the fucking mouth, and I poured all my hate and rage into his private glimpse of Hell.

  He slipped as the dirt rained down, clumps smacking against his face as they hit, covering his feet, and then his legs. There was no stopping this, no holding back the landslide as the grave filled.

  I watched that spark of fear in his eyes as his screams rebounded along the alley. But it was a dark night, a cold night. And the alley was far from salvation, from even the poker game in the building upstairs.

  The big brute stiffened. He waived his arm over his head, trying his best to stop the unseen dirt raining down on him. He hit the asphalt with a thud. Choked gasps filled the air as his friend with the gun called out. “Stu….Stu!”

  The blonde cried out and slammed her hands over her ears, for a second she saw through the illusion, finding me in the shadows of the alley. “Get the fuck away from me!”

  I turned, leaving their cries and screams behind in the alley. Dirt fell from my palm as I gripped my thigh and stumbled.

  Still that darkness lingered. That cold, hunting beast.

  The faint growl of thunder carried overhead. I could smell it now, the storm…the danger.

  Something was coming. Something I couldn’t yet see.

  But it was real.

  Just like the cries for help in the alley behind me.

  I clenched my jaw and stumbled, leaving them far behind.

  I had a storm coming. A storm I needed to find.

  And with it the girl from all those years ago.

  The girl in the blue dress.

  The one who commands the sky.

  Spark

  2019

  Doctor Mossman Gready, a former world-renowned psychologist is due to stand before a committee of his peers tomorrow…the faint sound of the reporter drifted into the room.

  “Leah, please for the love of God,” Dad muttered and turned his head. “En
ough already. How many times must we watch the damn thing?”

  She never answered, only stood there in front of the TV with the remote in hand. It shook as she lifted it, pointing the laser at the screen and pressed the button.

  Her hair was disheveled. The collar on her shirt crooked as she turned toward us. “As many times as it takes to sink in. We have him, Seth. We have that sonofabitch. Harper can stand there and lie all he wants, but tomorrow it’ll all be on record, and there won’t be a goddamn rock big enough for them to hide under.”

  Footsteps crunched on the gravel outside. I flinched and turned my head watching as the guard swept the front of the house.

  Things moved in slow motion. The guard. My dad. The world. I licked my lips and lifted a hand toward the glass on the table.

  There was no sound now. My world was as silent as the ticking inside my head. The white tablet in my palm took care of it all. The thoughts, the pain…the lightning.

  That’s the way…I placed the tablet against my tongue and lifted the glass toward me. Swallow…breathe. I closed my eyes and waited for the dull echo in my head to slip away. I didn’t have to wait long.

  “Spark…You…okay…honey?”

  Warped words found me. I was already nodding, already whispering the words he wanted to hear as I opened my eyes. “Fine, Dad. Just fine.”

  He stepped closer, brows narrowing as he reached out. Warm fingers closed around mine, stealing the amber vial from my hand. The white plastic lid gave a pop under the pressure of his thumb. He stared at the contents, and then lifted his gaze to mine. “How many of these have you had?”

  Not enough. Concern flared in his eyes. He reached for my arm, turned my hand, palm up, and pressed his fingers against the inside of my wrist.

  And all I could see were those numbers. Four one zero four.

  “Don’t go.” The words slipped from my lips. “Just don’t go.”

  Dad flinched and raise his gaze. “What, to the hearing? We have to.”

  I glanced to the TV screen, which was now dark, and swallowed hard. My tongue felt thick, my thoughts were slow. Stay here with me, stay here and pretend none of this exists. Stay here and pretend we’re a family, a normal, happy family.