by Matthew Fish
“Back so early…?” William asked as Mark fell down to the ground and placed both of his arms around his stomach and let out series of loud coughs.
“I’ve…figured something out,” Mark said as he got to his knees and attempted to get to his feet—a venture which was not as successful as he fell down back to the floor. “Basement….”
“I’ll get the key,” William said as he got to his feet and put down a book he was reading.
“Let’s get you up,” Emily said as she helped Mark back up to his feet and kept him steady. “You really don’t take to projecting very well at all, Gosling.”
“What happened out there?” William asked as he brought the basement key and placed it into Mark’s hand.
“A difference in wording,” Mark said as he nodded and attempted to take a step forward.
“Other side if you would, Maddie,” Emily said as Mark lost his balance and nearly fell again.
“Got it,” Maddie said as she took Mark’s arm and placed it around her. They stumbled their way through the entry room and rounded the corner and stopped at the door to the basement. “Would you get the door for us, William?”
“Of course,” William said as he held the door open as the smell of wet, musty stone filled the air. “I’ll take the front—just to make sure he doesn’t take a tumble down these stone steps.”
“I’ll…I’ll be alright,” Mark said. His head was still spinning and his stomach still felt rather wretched. “Alright, maybe it would best if you went first.”
William led the way down the stairs and the narrow hallway that followed. He stepped to the side as they approached the red door.
Mark pulled out his cell phone and flipped his finger up against the screen as the flashlight near the camera lit up. He held it out in front of him as he inspected the cold carving upon the old red door. He remembered the large tree with the two golden deer beside it with their front hooves raised high in the air. He inspected the heads and saw large antlers. “Not deer…but stags.”
“I don’t get it,” Emily said as she shrugged. “It’s a pretty door, but what’s the deal?”
“The white stag used to be a symbol of our people,” Maddie added.
“Caesar said that this symbol was a very old Conductor symbol from Germany when Conductors were called Schmied.”
“Schmied…” Emily said as she laughed. A dead silence fell shortly afterward. “It’s…a funny word.”
Mark placed the key into the lock and pushed the door open. He rushed over to the case of ancient nails and ran a finger down against the glass as he searched out a year. “Come on, Caesar…you have to have it…”
“What are you looking for?” William asked as he stood beside Mark and peered into the wooden case. “What have you figured out?”
“My father left me a message,” Mark said as he continued to search through the extensive number of nails. “He never wanted me to be a Conductor—but he wanted to leave me a clue on how to defend myself if it ever happened…”
“What clue was that?” Maddie asked as she joined the others at the case.
“Our address after my mother died…my father’s address. W. Stag Lane, Park Ridge…house number 513.” Mark said as he moved on to another large case. “Not deer…but stags. Not west…but white…white stag.”
“And 513 is the year of the old one’s birth…” William said as he nodded.
“And here it is,” Mark said as he carefully unlatched a gold lock and lifted the glass frame. Beneath a golden label, rested a single rust colored nail…the flat end of it had the year 513 etched into the metal. “We can beat him…”
“We have to find him first,” Emily said as she placed a hand upon Mark’s shoulder.
“He will be going after the council, I’d imagine…that is, if he hasn’t already taken control of it,” William said as he let out a short sigh. “I know where the council is. I was there when I was initiated as Captain. It will not be an easy mission—they take their safety very seriously. They have many gifted Perpetuals for security…that would prove a challenge to any Perpetual. They also have armed guards which makes it even messier for Mortals.”
“We need a plan,” Maddie added.
“We’re not going in without one,” Emily said as she took a step away from the cases and began to pace back and forth. “If he hasn’t taken out the council yet, then we will be walking into room with a bunch of old assholes who want us dead. If he has, we’re walking into a different kind of trap. Either way…”
“He does not want me dead,” Mark said as he looked to Emily. “He’s playing with me…scaring me off—or…whatever. He could have come after us…he didn’t. He could have killed Emily, but again—he didn’t. He sent my year as some kind of warning.”
“He still killed that day,” William reminded Mark.
“I know,” Mark said as he nodded. “He also killed my father. But, Caesar said that he believed that we weren’t dealing with an evil person. He could probably kill any one he wanted—he could do whatever wanted to. He’s lived since 513, and he’s not revealed himself until recently. He could have gone after the council any time.”
“Maybe we could reason with the council if we explained that we had a way to kill the old one,” Maddie added.
“Or we just need to be there the same time he plans on being there, too bad we can’t text him,” Emily said as she pulled out her phone.
“Alright, the three of you have cell phones,” William said as he nodded. “Who is willing to make a little sacrifice here?”
Emily, Mark, and Maddie all shot each other looks as though they were about to engage in some kind of old west gunfight.
“We can get you a new one, or twenty, when we are safe,” William added as he let out a frustrated sigh. “Who wants to make a temporary sacrifice?”
“Fine,” Maddie said as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and handed it over to William. “Once this is over though, I need to call my parents and let them know I am safe.”
“You can use mine for that,” Emily said as she looked a bit sheepish that she was so unwilling to hand over her own phone. “Sorry…”
“I can’t sleep without my music some nights,” Mark said as he attempted to come up with a good excuse. “Sorry…”
“Thank you, Maddie,” William said as he took the phone and dialed a number. “Yes, this is William…I have a solution to your problem—a way to deal with the old one, permanently. Wait…he turned over? And...you trust this information? Alright, we will be there.”
Maddie winced as William tossed her phone onto the concrete floor and stepped down hard on it as pieces of glass and aluminum fragmented everywhere. “Well…there goes that.”
“That seemed rather informative,” Mark said judging by the half of the conversation that he overheard.
“We will be there?” Emily asked as she placed her hands upon her waist.
“Zampa turned over information in exchange for his freedom,” William said as he reached to his forehead and rubbed it with his forefingers. “He claims that the old one will attack the council at noon tomorrow—if we can stop him, they will pardon us and reinstate all of our positions.”
“Annndd…you trust them,” Emily said as she let out a short laugh.
“No,” William said as he shook his head. “We will go armed to the teeth. We will go in expecting a war—and with two conductors, an Elemental, and a Spotter…we will give them hell. If anything even looks the slightest bit off, then we will take them out.”
“Didn’t work out so well last time,” Emily said as she kicked her foot against the wall. “So best case scenario we lie in wait and trap that old guy and Mark puts that special nail into him and we put an end to that dick Littcott guy.”
“That’d be the plan,” William said plainly.
“Well, it might be the only time we know where he will be,” Mark said as he looked to Emily and searched for some kind of sign that she had any favorable opinions
about this mission.
“They will be greatly outnumbered with the council on our side,” Maddie added. “I doubt that he will come with just Alexander Littcott.”
“Emily…” Mark said as he continued to keep his eyes fixed upon hers. “I promised I wouldn’t go through without a plan…and I won’t without your blessing.”
“One condition,” Emily said as she looked to William.
“Of course,” William said with a nod.
“If things go bad, I take Mark and Emily and project as many times as I can until we are far…far away and we never go back,” Emily spoke as she narrowed her eyes and gave William a stern look. “You’ll be left on your own. I can’t project three people.”
“Understood,” William said as he pointed to the cases. “Load up—prepare for the worst and let’s hope this plays out with us all alive.”
As night fell, Emily and I made love before we fell to the bed, exhausted. We had done the best we could that evening—preparing for whatever might lay ahead. I had high hopes that this third time (third time is a charm…so they say.) would go well. I worried for everyone’s safety. I did not want to lose anyone. This was my new family…sure we were a bit off, I just wanted a happy outcome for us. We deserved that—especially after being knocked down so many times. I felt that I needed to finish things, to put an end to this old one so that we could go back to living semi-normal lives. I knew that things could never be completely normal; life would simply not allow us that kind of luxury. At the least, I expected a small measure of fairness. I did not think that I would be able to sleep that night—with Emily’s help in the matter I did manage to exhaust myself enough to finally allow my worried eyes to close.
I shot awake what felt like a few hours later as I turned and met eyes with a young girl. She was wearing a brown dress—like one of those old time outfits a girl would wear to church or school. She had dark colored hair and glowing grey eyes. She looked to be around twelve or so. There was a strange translucent nature about her skin that let off a very dim white glow in the dark of the room.
“Great…” Mark whispered as he met eyes with the strange girl. “The house is haunted…so ghosts are real as well?”
“I am no ghost,” the girl said softly as she gestured for Mark to follow.
Mark carefully climbed out of bed as the girl led him down the hallway. She stopped at the spiraling staircase and smiled up at Mark as she skipped her way down. He followed behind, wondering why he was not more surprised at the current events. Then again, after everything he had been through—this seemed rather expected. He watched for a moment as the girl disappeared into the entry room. Mark shook his head and ran a hand through his head. What if this was some kind of trap? He didn’t feel afraid. As he entered the hallway the girl was standing in front of the large door that led outside.
“Who are you?” Mark asked as he neared the girl and squatted down to her level.
“Shhh,” The girl whispered as she brought a finger to her lips and gestured towards the door. “Someone’s here…”
Mark jolted awake as Emily jumped up and held a lighter in her hand as she looked around the room for any sign of trouble.
“What is it?” Emily said as she lit the bedside lamp. “What’s wrong?”
“I think…” Mark said as he shook his head and quickly got dressed. “I think someone’s here…”
“In the house…?”
“Well there was,” Mark said as he attempted to form words from his confused mind. He reached for his Standard and Schmied Vest and placed them on. “I mean…someone warned me.”
“Who warned you?”
“A little girl…I thought she was a ghost,” Mark said as the door creaked open.
“Sorry…I heard raised voices,” Maddie said as she entered the room. She was wearing pajamas and had her Heart Sash over them—it looked a bit awkward.
“Someone’s here,” Mark said as he nodded. He led the two down the spiral staircase, just as the ghostlike girl had led him earlier. They quietly made their way into the entry room. Mark paused and raised a hand in the air to gesture for everyone to stop as he spotted William near the door.
“What are you doing down here?” Emily asked.
“The alarm went off—someone’s made their way over the fence,” William said as he looked strangely at the three. “How did you know?”
“A little girl told me,” Mark whispered. “What are we dealing with?”
“The house would not allow someone in who would wish us harm,” William said as he placed a hand upon the large door.
“What does that mean?” Maddie asked as she placed her hand over the door, preventing William from opening it.
“I tried to tell you earlier—this house…it’s not normal. It wasn’t built by normal means…” William said as he looked to Maddie and nodded. “Trust me; I’m not keeping any more secrets. I can’t explain it—I barely understand it myself.”
“Always thought this place was a bit…off,” Emily said as she looked around and shivered a bit. “So who is out there?”
“You’re all armed,” William said as he readied himself. A loud knock came upon the door. “I’ve got my pistol—let’s greet our visitor.”
William flung the door open and pointed the gun at the single man who stood by the carport. The man had slicked back black hair and a goatee. His suit was torn and looked rather shabby. He carried an assault rifle which he quickly pointed at William.
“Bradley…” William said as he raised the gun to the man’s forehead.
“Where’s Caesar,” Bradley said as he trained his rifle on William and glanced over to the three familiar faces. “And who the fuck are you?”
“What is he doing here?” Maddie said as she backed away.
“1806…” William said as he looked back to Mark and nodded then swiftly turned his attention to Bradley. “You called me your Captain once.”
“William?” Bradley said as he lowered his gun. “For fuck sakes, what the hell is going on? Where is Caesar… and what are you doing here? What the hell are they doing here?”
“This is my place now,” Mark said as he stepped forward and rolled the coin between his fingers. “Caesar left it to me after he passed. The only question that needs to be answered, is what are you doing here?”
“Shit…” Bradley muttered as his eyes darted nervously from William to Mark. “I needed a safe place to stay—I’ve been trying to hunt down Zampa, with no success. I’ve been living on the streets. They burned my house down and I’ve been coming up short on every lead I’ve followed.”
“I don’t sense anyone else with you,” William said as he looked past Bradley. “What is your intention?”
“I’ve been on my own since…the incident,” Bradley said as he looked nervously at Mark and the others. “I woke up the next day on the edge of the water…I found my gun. I went into hiding and tried to make things right. I just needed a place to stay and gather my thoughts. You were the one that told me to come here…that first day I brought Mark to meet you.”
“Kill him,” Emily whispered to Mark. “There’s no way we can trust him.”
“She’s right,” Mark said as he nodded. “You betrayed us—you lied to me, kept things from me. You tortured Emily and shot Maddie in the shoulder, all because you thought you could get some revenge.”
“I was trying to avenge your father’s death,” Bradley said as Mark flipped a coin up into the air. “You didn’t trust her at first—you threatened to leave. I was doing what I thought was right. No one else seemed to care about that.”
“Your revenge made everything worse,” Mark said as he took a step forward. The coin twirled in the air and followed behind him. “We went through hell after what you did to us.”
“We’ve been friends for a very long time,” Bradley said as he turned to William. “You know I only did what I did because I needed to.”
William put down the gun and walked away from Bradley. “I leave
it up to Mark to decide your fate. I will not speak on your behalf—it’s his choice to make.”
“Look, Mark, I’m sorry,” Bradley said as he raised his hands and feel to his knees. “I’m sorry Emily…and Maddie—I let the worst part of me overcome everything. I lied to you—I wanted to keep you to myself, I wanted teach you to become the Conductor that killed the man that murdered your father.”
“Justice and revenge,” Mark said as he shook his head. “You remember you explained the difference.”
“I do,” Bradley said as he nodded. “Justice is doing what’s right for the right reason. Revenge is doing what you think is right for the wrong reason.”
“If you knew the difference, then why did you choose revenge?” Mark asked as he took another step forward.
“Because I had set us on a path towards revenge that I could not reverse. The hatred I felt inside of me towards letting your father down consumed me—it made me lie, made me hurt people who did not deserve it.”
“It did not make you do anything!” Mark shouted as he inched closer. “Unlike the rest of us, you had a fucking choice! You chose to go down that path. Revenge didn’t make you into the person you have become—you chose that all on your own.”
“Then end it already,” Bradley said as he turned to Mark and got to his feet. His voice grew soft and saddened. “Please, Mark—send that quarter down. I deserve it…”
Mark allowed the coin to fall to the ground as it bounced at Bradley’s feet. “I’ve had enough of revenge—“
“We can’t let him leave,” Maddie whispered as she reached to her Heart Sash. “He could lead the others to us.”
“You will accompany us tomorrow,” William said as he nodded. “You will help us, if things go bad, you will fight on our side. If things end well, then we will let you go with enough money to get by for a good while. Do what we ask, and you will finally find the revenge you seek. Either way—after tomorrow, you will not come here; you will not contact Mark and his companions ever again. If you do so you will be hunted to the ends of the Earth and turned to ash.”
“I promise,” Bradley said as he nodded once. “I will help you with whatever mission you are going on tomorrow. If you…doubt me for even a moment then you have my birth year—take me out anytime you feel necessary.”