Divinity: The Gathering: Book One

by Susan Reid

  I eyed him out of my periphery. Though I didn’t want to come back tonight, I thought it was nice of him to ask and offer.

  “Maybe. But uh, Joel and I are just good friends.” I then said looking up at him.

  He looked down at me with a smirk, “Nothing wrong with that, I wasn’t insinuating anything.” he then said.

  I waved it off, “No, I know, I was just clarifying it if he came across as rude that’s all.”

  Cam laughed a bit, “He came across as a very caring and protective friend.” He replied.

  “He is.” I told him, smiling at his understanding of Joel’s behavior.

  “You really look beautiful tonight.” Cam then said.

  My mouth fell open slightly as the butterflies began to flap around wildly again, and I couldn’t help but smile up at him.

  He had driven the black sports car, and I admit that I couldn’t wait to ride in it, as he held the passenger side door open for me.

  I got in and buckled myself up, admiring the high tech sound system and all the other unique gadgets in the dashboard, as he went around and got into the driver’s side.

  He paused at the door with his hand on the handle, and I wondered why.

  He was looking off somewhere for a moment, and then he opened the door.

  “Sit tight and stay in the car, I’ll be right back.” He said, and he appeared serious, almost angry. His jaw was working as if something or someone had just ticked him off.

  “Uh…okay,” I was about to ask what was wrong, but he had already closed the door.

  What was that all about? I wondered.

  I leaned over to look out of the driver’s side window, but Cam was gone…out of sight as if he had completely vanished.

  There was no way he could have moved that quickly for one, and he would have been easy to spot given his height.

  Where the hell had he gone so fast, and what was wrong?

  Okay, here was possibly more proof. Maybe I’d be able to catch him in the act of something with my own eyes this time —if I knew where to look for him.

  I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out anyway, against his request, and scanned the parking area for him, or any sign of something unusual or supernatural.

  It was getting colder now, as if the already chilly temperature had dropped ten degrees in the last twenty minutes, or maybe it was just me.

  I rubbed the sides of my arms, feeling chilled to the bone even in my coat.

  In the distance, I could see one of the bands take the stage, and heard them begin to address the crowd with an echo from the sound system, and people instantly began cheering and applauding.

  I scanned the parking area again for Cam. Nothing but groups of young concert goers and people scurrying to get into the show before they missed anything, passed through the parking lot. Where the hell had he gone and why?

  “You here by yourself?” I heard a shady voice behind me.

  I spun around to see a guy dressed in long black duster, a t-shirt with one of the bands on the front, and torn jeans with chains across each rip. His shiny black and bleach tipped hair was spiked at sharp angles, and it looked like he was wearing black lipstick too. He put out his joint casually, after blowing out a stream of smoke. I frowned with annoyance; the air around me now reeked strongly of weed.

  “No, I’m waiting on my date. He’ll be here in a minute.”

  He smiled, it was a little hard to make out his features though, even in the lighting of the parking lot from where he stood, but I didn’t need to. I didn’t like the feeling he gave me as it was.

  “Really? That’s a live ride,” He said referring to the car, as he slowly began to saunter towards me.

  Why hadn’t I put my mace in this purse?

  I reached behind me for the door handle and pulled up. The click of the door caused the interior lights to illuminate, and he was suddenly in front of me in three strides of his long legs.

  He chuckled, “Relax, you’re not staying for the show?” he asked looking me up and down as if I were a playboy model centerfold.

  My heart pounded hard in my chest, “No. Excuse me.” I said as I pulled on the car door a little more, and that was when he slammed a hand on the window to stop me from opening it wider.

  I gasped, tense and ready to fight and defend myself if need be.

  The thug reached for my hair, taking his time to slide the length of a few long, spiral curls in between his fingerless gloved fingers…fingers that had black tattoos on them.

  I looked at them peculiarly for a moment, automatically seeing the similarities in design as that demon cop and Cam’s.

  I slapped his hand away, not having anywhere to go, and flattening myself even more against the car to keep some space remaining in between us. I didn’t feel ill or nauseous, but I didn’t like the feeling and vibe I was picking up from him either. It was dark, black and negative.

  “Feisty and tough; I figured that much, I like that,” He smirked.

  “My date is a cop,” I stated, pressing myself against the car door even more, with him practically on top of me.

  He chuckled, “You sure about that?” He leaned in to whisper to me while grinning malevolently.

  I didn’t know what he meant by that, but I was prepared to knee him in the groin in the next few minutes if he tried anything else or didn’t back up.

  “You know, I happen to be a close friend of Army Oblivion.” He then said.

  “That’s great, maybe you should go hang with them.” I replied.

  He smiled again, “You’re cute. They’re gonna be disappointed you’re leaving so soon.” He then said, pushing up against me more, and pinning me to the car door. I wanted to heave.

  “Ah, ah…my man, I wouldn’t try it…way too many eyes out here — way too many,” Someone said suddenly in a demanding tone off to the left of us.

  He turned his head, as if annoyed, towards the source, but remained crushed against me, and I leaned over to get a look for myself too.

  Sitting on the hood of a white Camaro, and casually leaning against the front windshield, was a medium built young guy. It was hard to see his face, but he wore some sort of dark gray or white duster looking coat too, with a hood, and it was pulled over low in front of his face. From the sound of the slang tone in his voice, he sounded like he was from the streets.

  He then raised a fully gloved hand and threw some sort of gang sign thing in quick succession with his fingers, forming what looked to me almost like the letter ‘C’, ‘H’ and ‘P’ in sign language. Upon seeing that though; the thug seemed to pause, and then he cocked his head like a bird, looking around the entire parking lot before finally pulling back and stepping away from me, slowly.

  He grinned at me, tilting my chin up to him with his index finger and blowing me a kiss.

  I really wished I had my mace or brass knuckles right about now…I was in the perfect position and height to nail a firm chin check uppercut. I also wondered who the other guy was…another thug? Gang member?

  Whatever he had said or motioned with his strange hand code signals had apparently been an intimidating warning of some kind. I mean he did tell him that there were too many eyes out here, but that would have been obvious to anyone. However, no one else had made a comment, or bothered to intervene and speaking of, where was Cam?

  The ‘would be’ assaulting thug began to saunter away. He looked back at us once, and then in one smooth dismount that any gymnastics coach including myself would have given a perfect ten to, the young guy who had been sitting on the Camaro soundlessly leapt with agile grace to the ground into a crouch, and then stood up…watching the thug until he was gone.

  He was actually more built that he appeared while sitting, and he was about Joel’s height.

  I remained tense, how did I know this guy didn’t just want to assault me for himself?

  I watched him carefully, feeling trapped and vulnerable, thinking that I should have stayed in the car like Cam had said to do in the first
place.

  The young guy nodded at me with some sort of recognition, and in the lamplight of the makeshift graveled parking area, I could see him smile beneath the hood of his robe, or cape or coat thing.

  “I would say to stay out of trouble but in your case…trouble is going to be finding you girl. Keep your guard up,” He said with a chuckle and a nod of his chin. I didn’t think that last gesture had been for me, because he was looking past me. I turned my head to see who it was, but I didn’t notice or see anyone out of the ordinary or in particular looking in our direction.

  “I’m not out here alone.” I stated.

  He laughed a bit, “Yeah I know.” He replied.

  He knew? His response got my attention, and when I whipped my head back around to face him…he was gone…no sound of footsteps, and absolutely nowhere in sight. That was impossible!

  At first things were getting scary, and they still were, but now, it seemed like everything around me just kept getting more bizarre. It was like certain aspects of my dreams were all beginning to unfold a little at a time, in some way. Drake had had been right, apparently I’ve been getting glimpses of what was to be in my dreams back from when I first started having them at the age of four, and now things were beginning to all sort of feel like…de ja vu`.

  That wasn’t a good thing, because it meant the worst was yet to come, and that the world would truly end the way it did in my dreams.

  I sighed and shivered with one last look around. I think I was going to take both the mysterious cloaked guy and Cam’s advice after all, feeling goose bumps despite having my coat on. I climbed back into Cam’s sports car and locked the doors.

  In the next few moments that Cam still remained M.I.A, I suddenly remembered the picture of us that China took. I pulled my phone out of my purse with heart pounding, and tapped the picture to enlarge the image in the text message, and it opened, vivid and as clear as day.

  It was a good picture, and we did look good together except for one odd thing, which apparently China had noticed too because she texted a comment underneath it, ‘See? Your aura is so bright …what are those things in the background?’

  I swallowed. All around my body, it looked like a freaking white solar flare exploding outward from me against the scene behind us. I’d never noticed that before in any of my pictures.

  Cam looked damn good of course, but I zoned in on what China was talking about behind him.

  I zoomed in and scrolled around the picture in the background behind him, and I could just make out white forms, translucent and smoky looking, but with distinct human shapes and amid those…shadows. China had seen them? Ever since her possession she was beginning to see more and more things that she’d never seen or mentioned seeing before. White forms…angels? Ghosts?

  I felt hot and ill.

  I’d had a bad feeling about this concert, and I didn’t want to stay here, but at the same time now I was certain that something really, really bad was going to happen here tonight, and my friends were here. I had to try and convince them to leave. I’d text China and then Joel, hoping they’d listen and not think I was going into creepy and crazy mode again without a good reason, other than seeing shadows here. When I glanced back down at the picture, I could see something else behind Cam and I furrowed my brows. I zoomed in again and held my phone up closer to my face to see.

  I could have been wrong, but I could make out a distinct shadowed, dark outline of what looked like…wings folded behind him.

  My blood suddenly turned cold, and I stared at the image for a while before having to finally look away, feeling my eyes begin to cross since I had been peering at the image on my phone so closely. I forced myself to find some other rational explanation as to thinking that the silhouette behind him resembled wings. It could have easily been an optical illusion, or simply a real shadow that resembled wings, because my mind was already in that mode and looking to see something like that. I was already suspicious of him not being human anyway. I had learned about this kind of perception imagery, taking Psychology during my high school senior year. It was a plausible explanation and a possibility.

  My fingers trembled, making it hard for me to reply to the picture text that China sent first, telling her to that: ‘Those r shadows, don’t have good feeling, plz tell Joel and leave asa u finish ur interview, call or text me when u get hme, plz!’

  I prayed she would listen, and then I prayed for God to watch over them, and everyone here tonight.

  I then saved the picture to my phone, and then resent it to Cam. It’d be interesting to hear what he’d say about it, if he would even notice any of the shadows, ghost figures or my aura too without my pointing it all out to him. I looked over the picture once more, getting goose bumps while waiting for Cam — who had essentially disappeared and abandoned me.

  I waited for China’s return text I panicked internally, wanting to get my mind off of my impending worry for the moment. I began going through Cam’s music collection in the console between the seats, which included what looked like industrial groups I’d never heard of, a few R&B artists and opera? He was just full of surprises; I couldn’t envision him listening to that kind of stuff.

  He scared me when he opened the driver’s side door and got in casually, as if nothing had been wrong, and he hadn’t just vanished into thin air and left me for the last thirty minutes.

  I thought I had locked it though.

  “Sorry about that. I saw some trouble brewing back there.” He simply said as he inserted the car keys, cranked the engine, and it revved to life.

  The lights of the dashboard, fancy CD player and the on board navigation system casted an inner glow, where I could only make out shadows of his face. I saw no sign of sweat or anything that would give way to him being in an altercation, and I wondered if he were armed or had his badge, and if that had been enough for him to ‘handle’ and end said altercation by simply flashing one or the other.

  Surely that wouldn’t have taken more than twenty minutes though.

  I thought about that thug, what he said, what he wore and looked like, and the marks on his fingers, but more importantly…what that had been all about. Who had that other peculiar guy been, and why did it seem like he knew me or something? They both acted as if they did, and though it was evident that the thug had ‘ill will’ in mind, I wondered why a simple gang sign from the other guy had stopped him.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “Nothing major, I took care of it. You look a little shaken up though, are you okay?” he then asked.

  I looked at him dubiously in the dimness of the car.

  “Why wouldn’t I be okay?” I asked.

  “No reason, just checking.” He replied with a smirk.

  I eyed him suspiciously. If he had wings, where were they? He surely didn’t have them now.

  Cam drove dangerously fast, but expertly, which shocked me, and we made it through the thick of slow moving traffic without incident or close calls.

  I glimpsed down at Cam’s forearms for a moment to see if I could create a mental picture of what I had seen before, and compare it to the demon cop, but his sleeves had been rolled down. It was hard to see his hands, so I would wait until later. I chewed the inside of my cheek for a moment in thought. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to mention the almost incident to him, and finally decided that I wouldn’t.

  He put on some opera of his own choosing, and I found it surprisingly bearable and soothing on low volume even though I couldn’t understand Italian.

  “I sent you the picture,” I told him, my heart racing when I thought about his image.

  “Thanks.” He replied.

  I cut my eyes towards him, but I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, however the feel of the hot static he gave off was present again, along with his unique fresh scent.

  “I’ve never really listened to opera before. What is this one about?” I commented, and then asked.

  He inhaled deeply and exhaled softly, �
��She’s been shunned by her family. She’s saddened over the fact that she can’t have the man she wants because she was condemned as being a loose woman simply because she fell in love with someone other than the one she was arranged to marry. They’ve branded her, and now no man wants her, so she feels no other alternative than to run away and end her life.” He explained.

  I paused, “That’s beautiful but tragic, over a guy? I don’t know about that. Run away but live to love another day.” I said.

  “Good point, but why not?” He smiled.

  “I mean, I understand being in love with someone even though I’ve never made it to that point myself, but to have no hope of anything beyond that? I find that kind of pathetic.” I explained.

  He nodded, “Desire and need is a powerful combination. Sometimes, love is more mental than physical and if you’ve convinced yourself that only one person exists for you then that’s all you see, all you know and all you want — it becomes consuming,” He then said looking over at me.

  My hormones were awakening, alive with energy, begging for some direction and release of the kindling heat within. His reply had surprised me and it gave me one more reason — as if I needed anymore, to crave him.

  I licked my lips and studied his profile for a moment, and then went back at my phone, which I left on vibrate in my lap just in case China or Joel texted me back. I don’t know if he would have, figuring I was still pissed at him, but China hadn’t yet either.

  Should I worry? She was probably still talking to and hanging out with that band or something, but I hoped Steve and the whole gang was with her too though.

  Finally, my phone buzzed and Cam’s head moved slightly as he glanced over at me, but he didn’t say anything.

  China texted back: ‘Seriously? OMG! Ok, I wn’t scrw w that we’ll be lving shrtly…Joel alrdy left I thnk.’

  I felt so relieved. I would call him later to verify, I was sure he probably did leave…hurt and angry, and I felt bad and guilty. I should have never given him the idea that something beyond friendship was a possibility for us whether we had sex or not.