by Bryan Cohen
"It already is!"
Dhiraj felt something he didn't expect. Amidst all the fear and uncertainty, he stood up straight and looked right into Jennifer's eyes. "If that's what you really believe, then I don't know how to help you." Dhiraj stepped out of the line of fire but kept his eyes fixed on Jennifer's. "If your entire existence revolves around the lives of other people, then you never had a life to begin with."
Daly started to laugh. "Look at Indian Tony Robbins here." Daly stood up from his chair and took a step toward Jennifer. "The truth is, Sheriff's daughter, it was fun. Stabbing a girl who wanted me oh-so-badly and watching the blood drain out of her."
Dhiraj refused to let Daly get to him. "Screw other people, Jen. Who needs Ted or me or Nat or Erica. Don't throw everything away because of any of us."
Daly took another step toward Jennifer, and she took one back.
"I did it all under your father's nose, too. When I put the last pile of dirt on your friend's cold body, I knew I was going to get away with it. I have gotten away with it."
"Don't you dare come any closer!"
Dhiraj pulled out his phone. "If you think your life isn't worth it, Jen, you can kill him right now. But if there's some chance that you want to become something other than a friend and a killer, I will get the police here right now."
Daly took another step toward her and when Jennifer inched away her back reached the front door. Dhiraj knew he had to buy more time. He ran toward Daly. The man took a wild swing and Dhiraj felt a painful slap against his cheek as he tumbled to the ground. Dhiraj ignored the stinging sensation and turned toward the standoff.
"It's just you and me, Jen." Daly closed the distance between them once again. "You want to go out just like your BFF did?"
Dhiraj dialed 9-1-1 as he watched Jennifer's trigger finger twitch. He was surprised to see a smile spread across her face.
"Nope." She aimed the gun exactly where she wanted the shot to go. "I'm gonna go my own way."
The gun went off, sending a bullet in Daly's direction. Dhiraj closed his eyes and prayed.
Chapter 36
Ted ran the gamut of emotions as he floated Erica into the back of Natalie's car. She'd passed out after throwing up two more times in the toilet. Ted wondered if the girl he'd grown up with was actually back for good. If that was the case, he couldn't help but be happy that a dead childhood friend had come back to life. Then again, the new Erica was his protector, a girl who had led many lives and a person he was beginning to fall in love with. The person who'd inhabited Erica's body for the last three months would know what to do in this situation. Ted was stumped, and he knew he'd be completely lost if it weren't for Natalie.
"We should go through her pockets." Natalie stared straight ahead as they drove across town. Despite her ordeal from the last day and a half, she seemed focused on dealing with the issue at hand. "Maybe we can find a clue."
Ted shook his head and grinned. "That's brilliant. Teammate."
Natalie snorted. "It was in a movie. Now, which one's her place again?"
They parked about a block away from Erica's house and Ted waited until the coast was clear before floating his unconscious friend around the back of the house. Ted used his powers to fly all three of them into Erica's room.
"So, this is where the magic happens?" Natalie looked like she'd rather be next to an active volcano than in the peach-colored room.
"Hardy har." Ted began rifling through Erica's pockets. "You wanna check her purse?"
Ted hoped to find Erica's phone, but they came up empty. They spread out everything they found on the bedspread. Aside from a few coins and her car keys, the only thing of value was a receipt to the coffee shop on Main Street.
"Seems like as good a place to start as any." Natalie squinted and walked over to the air conditioning vent. "Hey, there's something in here."
Ted used his powers in lieu of a screwdriver to reveal the hidden item. It was a short bottle filled with clear liquid. He uncapped it. The burning aroma confirmed its contents.
Ted sighed. "We should see if there's any other booze hidden in here."
They found three other secret liquor hiding locations throughout the room: underneath a miniature dollhouse table, in the back of an end table bottom cabinet and in a storage container beneath her bed. They poured all the alcohol they could find down the drain.
As Ted poured the final bottle down the bathroom sink, Natalie stood in the doorway with her arms folded.
"I think you should be prepared."
Ted rinsed the bottle out with cold water. "Prepared for what?"
"We don't know what happened, but for all we know, the old Erica could be back to stay."
Ted feared that Natalie could be right, but he refused to believe it. He squeezed past her and back into the bedroom. He looked at Erica, as if he was trying to pull additional information out of her mind.
"She remembered going on dates with me. When she sobers up I’m sure she'll…."
For a moment, he thought he saw the image of a man sitting across from Erica. He almost had a clear picture before the memory zipped away from him. When he tried to do the same thing again, the image was gone. Ted leaned back against the wall. He felt tired for some reason.
"Are you OK?" Natalie asked.
Ted wondered if the location of the image he'd seemingly pulled from Erica's head had been a meeting at the coffee shop.
"When I looked at her, I almost... I think I saw a memory."
Natalie gave him a sideways glance. "What do you mean you 'saw a memory'?"
Ted shook his head. "I'm not sure, but we have to go there. See if there are any clues." He looked back at Erica and felt his stomach start to work overtime. "Leaving her here like this... it doesn't feel right."
Ted pulled the covers over Erica, who instinctively wrapped them around herself. He sat down beside her.
Natalie cleared her throat. "If we don't find out who did this to her, it could be a lot more than one brainwashed girlfriend we're dealing with."
Ted nodded. He pushed some hair away from Erica's face and kissed her on the cheek. She murmured a whispered response and went silent again.
"You're right. Let's get a smoothie."
When they arrived at the shop, a crowd of patrons surrounded Ted. He thought it was funny that people who would've passed him by just three months earlier were now hounding him for a selfie or an autograph. He figured it was a good thing he didn't like coffee, or getting his morning fix would be a major pain.
Natalie squirmed as the patrons gathered around them. She spoke loudly enough to be heard over the masses. "I should tell them how pale you look with your shirt off. Maybe they'd be less impressed."
Ted pinched Natalie in the side. "I would float you off a cliff." He gestured to a barista who stood by an open table. "Potential witness #1."
Ted recognized the girl as a Treasure High alum from the previous year. Despite the fact that she was at least two years older, the barista was in a losing battle with her attempt to suppress several girlish squeals. "Oh my gosh." She almost knocked over one of the chairs as she tried to pull it out. "Ted, here's a table for... can I get you something... I just can't."
The girl started to turn away in embarrassment when Natalie took her arm. "Would you be interested in sitting at a table with the one and only Ted Finley?"
The sound that came out of the barista's mouth scared Ted. He could best describe it as the midpoint between a tire screeching and a dog's squeaky toy.
"I... I would love that."
It took a minute for the girl to stop hyperventilating, allowing the crowd to settle as the espresso smell wafted over. When the barista calmed down, Ted cut to the chase.
"This girl." Ted presented a picture of Erica on his phone. "She was here yesterday. Can you remember if she was with anyone?"
The barista's eyes showed that she recognized Erica, but she wasn't very interested in answering the question. "You know, it's great to date someone y
our own age, but you can learn a lot more from an older girl."
Ted felt the barista's leg touch his underneath the table, rubbing up against him and causing his cheeks to go from peach to bright red. It took a fair bit of willpower for him to push it away.
"Erica's an old soul." Ted put the phone back in his pocket.
"Really old." Natalie leaned back in her chair, aware of the physical flirting going on. "Like, nursing home old."
Ted kicked his shoe into Natalie's. "Can you please answer the question?"
The barista told them that Erica was in there with an older guy the previous day. "I was in the back when a whole bunch of weird stuff started to happen."
"What kind of weird–"
"People were saying stuff at the same time. They didn't have control of their own bodies. It was...."
"Weird." Natalie looked at Ted. "Sounds like what happened to Beth." She put her attention back on the girl. "Do you guys have a security tape or something?"
The barista contorted her face and looked like she was about to cry. "We – we looked for it yesterday. We were going to try to post the weirdness online. But then we erased it. It wasn't by accident – it was like we didn't remember doing it."
After the barista made a last-ditch pitch for him to go on an "extra-long date" with her, Ted and Natalie exited the coffee shop, smoothies in hand. They walked a block or so until they found a secluded-enough bench for them to talk in private.
"She was nice." Natalie took an extended sip of her drink and smiled.
"Can we focus here?" Ted put his hand on the bench, accidentally grazing Natalie's. He pulled it away and felt himself starting to blush again. "I... so... Erica was here with some guy."
"Erica and older guys don't mix." Natalie didn't blink.
Ted attempted to ignore her. "We need to figure out what Beth and Erica have in common."
Natalie took another sip. "They're both sluts. Or at least they were."
Ted let out an exasperated groan and stood up, kicking the concrete base of the side of a building.
"Come on, Natalie!" He turned to face her. "My girlfriend – and my partner in all of this inter-dimensional insanity – is gone, maybe for good. There's something going on that I can't explain. Plus, I just saved you from a creepy cult's headquarters. Can't you stop cracking jokes for one second?"
Natalie's smile turned back to neutral. She stood up to meet Ted's gaze. "I'm sorry."
Ted didn't know what he expected from his ex, but he knew from experience that sincere apologies like this one were rare.
Natalie took a step closer to Ted. "I've been mad at you. And her. It wasn't all acting when I joined the GHA. But you're right, I appreciate you getting me out of there."
"When I thought you hated me, I felt like I'd lost at life."
"I'll never hate you." Natalie took Ted's hand.
This time, he didn't pull it away. Feeling her skin against his was familiar and comforting. He took in her smell, which persevered despite being holed up in a cell for the last 24 hours. His instinct to kiss her hadn't completely gone away in three months, but he kept himself from moving closer to her face.
"Good." Ted gripped her hand more tightly. "I'm lost with this stuff. What do we do now?"
Natalie let her hand drift away from Ted's and paced in the opposite direction. "We should call the sheriff. Maybe he knows something we don't."
Ted agreed, though he dreaded the call. Dhiraj had sworn Ted to secrecy about Jennifer's whereabouts. Before the GHA meeting, Ted had ignored Sheriff Norris' call in an attempt to avoid lying. He took a deep breath and dialed the number.
"Ted." The sheriff seemed frantic over the phone. "Jennifer is missing, I need to–"
"She's safe." Ted hoped Dhiraj wouldn't disown him as a friend for sharing part of the secret. "I know she's with Dhiraj and he's trying to help her, but I don't know all the details."
The sheriff was silent on the other line. All Ted could here was his shallow breaths.
"That's all I know about that, Sheriff, but we're in a crisis here too. Did Erica tell you about any kind of–"
"She met with your teacher." The sheriff's tone of worry had completely gone. It was replaced by pure rage. "Redican. Good luck." Sheriff Norris hung up.
"What'd he say?" Natalie asked.
"Two things. I think Dhiraj is a dead man. And the bad guy might be Mr. Redican."
"The sub?"
Ted looked around the alley. "Beth and Erica are both in his class. So am I."
He didn't understand. Redican seemed to be one of the only teachers who cared that they learned anything.
Ted felt a deep pit in his stomach. "We need to get somewhere safe before he does the same thing to us."
They tossed their empty smoothie cups in the garbage and ran back to the parking lot. Natalie hit the unlock button on her key ring. Instead of hearing the clicking sound of the locks, something different happened completely. Natalie's car vanished, leaving an empty parking space.
Natalie looked around in every direction. "What the hell?"
"Language," a voice said from across the lot.
Ted and Natalie looked back to see Mr. Redican walking toward them.
"Hello, children."
Chapter 37
Erica woke up when the bright pink light from the setting sun streamed in through her window. Her stomach still felt queasy from earlier, though she couldn't quite remember where she'd been sick. Erica was relieved when she couldn't see or smell any vomit in her room. She sat up, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Then she waited her customary five seconds. It was the small bit of peace she would allow herself before the self-loathing sunk in.
When she opened her eyes, Erica noticed something different from the usual scene. There was a glass of water with a note attached to it. She grabbed the two aspirin sitting next to the glass and read the message.
"I hope you feel better soon.
Please call me when you get this.
– Ted"
Erica took the gifts, but she ignored the message. Instead, she started hunting for a drink to take the edge off. When she realized that her first hiding place had been compromised, Erica went into a mad scramble. She tossed clothing out of her bottom drawer, rummaged through the back of her dresser and got dust everywhere when she pulled open her air conditioning vent. She knew that Ted and whoever else had put her there had taken every last bit of her supply.
Erica felt like she was about to burst, and she let out all her rage in a single punch. Her fist went right through the wall like it was softened butter. Erica glanced at the wall and looked down at her immaculate hand. She hadn't felt a thing.
What the hell?
She pulled over an old dollhouse to cover up the hole before she turned on her computer. When she logged onto her social media accounts, she was surprised to see very little activity over the last few months. Before that, she'd received dozens of messages asking her where she was and hoping that she was OK.
Of course I'm OK. I'm sober, but I'm not dead.
Erica felt the urge to look herself up. The stories about her disappearance popped up quickly. The older ones included a wave of pieces that asked where she might have gone. The most recent stories discussed her return and her relationship with superhero Ted Finley. Try as she might, she couldn't remember how they started dating. When she strained to recall her past, the minutes before her death came back to her.
Her mouth was pressed firmly against Deputy Daly's when she felt the piercing pain in her side. Erica had no idea what it could've been at first. She stumbled to the ground in terror and watched the blood trickle down her side into the grass and dirt. When she saw Daly standing over her, Erica put two and two together.
"Why would you... don't you love me anymore?" Erica wasn't sure if all the words made it out of her mouth.
It didn't matter much if they did. Daly had stopped paying attention to her. She watched as he stepped on the end of a shovel to give it eno
ugh leverage to break the ground.
He's digging a hole, she thought. He's digging a hole for me.
Erica tried to crawl away. She felt the dirt going beneath her fingernails as her hip shifted below her. There was so much pain she could barely stand it. She needed to live, and the only way she would be able to survive was getting help. Erica pulled at the grass to help her move forward and she pushed her legs to propel her body away from the man she'd loved. She attempted to repeat the motion several times over. Erica wasn't sure how far she was getting, but Daly's chuckle gave her lack of progress away.
"You're tenacious." Daly only needed to take a few steps to get ahead of Erica. "That's one of the reasons I fell for you. It's also why I need to kill you."
Erica stopped trying to escape. The pain of his words coupled with the throbbing of her side made movement feel impossible. In an instant, she saw all of the things she'd be missing out on for the rest of her life. She was surprised to see the face of a boy she hadn't talked to in several years. An apparition of Ted Finley appeared between her and Daly. Erica reached out for him.
"I'm sorry. I loved you. I'm sorry."
Daly assumed Erica's words were meant for him. "If only love was enough. Trust is what keeps you alive. I guess you'll know that for the next life."
Erica passed out from the loss of blood, but some time later she was conscious and still alive. She felt herself being dragged by her feet. Any efforts to speak or stop the movement were thwarted by her body's unwillingness to comply. Her body fell through the opening to the hole and landed on a soft heap of freshly shoveled dirt.
"Goodbye, Erica. It was fun while it lasted." Daly filled his shovel and dropped the contents on top of her.
Erica tried to call out to him one last time. When nothing happened, she resigned herself to death. By the time the fourth shovel full of earth landed on her, her body complied.
Erica's mother walked in, interrupting her daughter's stupor. Erica wanted to yell and scream and tell her mother to go to the furthest pit of hell. But just like in the grave, Erica couldn't get up the energy to speak or move. When her mother asked her if she was OK, Erica somehow inspired herself to give a mild nod and accepted an invitation to dinner.