Fiendish Play

by Angela Richardson

  “So what do you say James? Are you going to take the pill? Or is your darkest memory too hard to bring to the surface? Because I have to warn you...once you unlock any closed doors in your mind, you can’t close them again.”

  I had nothing to worry about. Not. One. Thing. I raised my hand, tossed the pill into the air, and caught it with my mouth. All the while eyeing Anais as it slid down my throat. She just buried her head into her palms, like she had just witnessed my demise. My sweet Anais and her constant fears. It was just a matter of time until this silly night would be behind us.

  After about ten minutes of standing there in the ring with Byron waiting for something to happen, I felt it. My knees buckled first. Then I felt my arms go limp. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to explode right there in front of all those dark faces. Then I felt my face hit the ground. And then...

  BLACK.

  I heard something moving in my room. A loud thump in the dark. I didn’t like sounds that went bump in the night. It made me and my teddy, Mr. Bear very scared. I crawled out of my bed. I tiptoed out of my room and to Mommy and Daddy’s room. They were still awake. Their lights were still on and I could see them through the crack of their bedroom door. I dropped Mr. Bear at my feet. I gave out a tiny yelp knowing Mr. Bear didn’t like to be dropped. I picked him up and held him tight, wondering if I should disturb Mommy and Daddy. I didn’t want them to think I wasn’t a brave boy and was frightened. I stood at their door watching them. Mr. Bear was whispering in my ear, telling me to go in. But I told Mr. Bear to be quiet. I wanted to listen to Mom and Dad. Mommy looked upset and I wanted to know what was wrong.

  “Hey…hey Nor. You need to try and calm down. It’s not good for you and it’s not good for the baby. Come here…” I watched my Daddy pull Mummy’s back onto his chest as she sat in between his legs on the bed. She leaned her head back onto his shoulder. “Let me be the one to carry the worry for you.”

  I saw tears fall down her cheek. Mommy was crying. Why was Mommy crying?

  “Clint – they tried to give him another coin – in broad daylight in the park. Gosh, he’s only six years old…” More tears fell. “You know what kind of coin it was. They’re coming for him.”

  “You don’t really think that do you?”

  “I can feel it. Sense it. Call it mother’s intuition but we need to leave here…now…tonight.”

  Daddy rubbed Mommy’s belly then helped her sit upright. He crawled out from behind her and cupped her face with his hands. “You’re wrong. We’re safe here. You, James and this baby. You are all my life Norah. I’ve made sure we’re untraceable. We can’t be found. And what happened today…I’m sure they’re just messing with our heads…If they wanted to take him, if they wanted to hurt us, if they knew where we were, they would have done it already. We’re fine. James is fine.”

  “Maybe before…but things have changed now…with my Dad gone, we’re vulnerable. They don’t have to worry about what he’ll do. They’re not scared of who I am anymore. They’ll take their revenge. They want James because of what Josh did. They have a plan…I’m sure of it. A sick and twisted plan. We’ve always been a game to them Clint. Just a play thing they like to poke and torture.”

  “Norah…come here. You’re over analyzing too much. I don’t want you getting stressed, especially being so close to giving birth. Look, if it will make you feel better, we’ll move again soon…next week if you want…as long as the doctor gives you the all-clear to travel. You know I’d do anything for you and James. All you have to do is ask, and I will always say, ‘as you wish’. You are my lifeline Nor. Never forget that. So if it will make you feel safer, we’ll move as soon as possible.”

  Mommy sighed and tilted her head at Daddy, the same dreamy look on her face like when she eats too much chocolate. I love when she looks like that. Only me and Daddy can make Mommy look like that because she says we’re special. But why were they were calling each other weird names? Names I didn’t know. Perhaps they were playing games, like how me and Mommy make up stories for fun at bedtime. That had to be it, and I wanted to play too, but I was still worried they might be mad I was up this late. I heard another sound coming from my bedroom. The monsters were still in there. Mr. Bear whispered in my ear again and said I needed to get to Mom and Dad. I couldn’t stay out in the dark hallway. I wanted to feel safe in Mommy and Daddy’s arms.

  I pushed the door open, and it creaked. I dropped Mr. Bear again. Mom and Dad’s eyes went straight to me.

  “Hey sweetie, what’s wrong? You okay?” My Mom outstretched her arms, encouraging me to go to them. I picked up Mr. Bear and ran across the room into her arms.

  “There’s a monster in my room. I can’t sleep,” I whined.

  Daddy rubbed the back of my head. “Did you have a nightmare buddy? Don’t worry. It wasn’t real. We’re here. We’ll protect you.”

  Mommy pulled me off her chest. “Daddy’s right sweetie. Everything is okay now. You’re awake, and see,” she pointed all around the room, “no monster.”

  “But it’s in my room…I’m scared to go back.”

  “Look, we’ll go with you and check it out and make sure the monster’s gone. And if it’s safe, we’ll tuck you back in. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds good Mommy.” I said squeezing her tight. Daddy put his arm around her shoulder and helped her off the bed. Mommy said the baby was coming really soon which is why her tummy was so big and round.

  The door to Mommy and Daddy’s room banged open. It was so loud I jumped, running behind Daddy’s legs. I looked around his waist and saw two big men staring at us in the doorway. I couldn’t help screaming. “MONSTERS, MONSTERS!”

  They were holding guns. I had seen guns before on my cartoon shows so I knew what they were. On the cartoons, guns hurt people. That made me scared.

  “Gotta hand it to you two...you’re hard to find. But you weren’t careful enough,” one of the monsters said.

  I felt Mommy’s hand on my shoulder, grabbing a lot harder than she normally did.

  “What do you want?” she said slowly. One of her hands was on me, and the other was on her tummy.

  One of the monsters chuckled. “The boy of course.”

  Mommy whimpered and pulled me closer. “Why do you want my son?”

  They looked at one another before looking at Mommy again. “To flush him out.”

  I saw Daddy’s eyes looking back and forth from the big men to Mommy. He was trying to think of something to help us. He had that expression on his face.

  “Flush who out? What are you talking about?” Mommy’s voice got higher.

  The big monsters stepped towards Mommy. “Just give him to us. The Lappell don’t want to hurt a pregnant woman…but I will.”

  “Over my dead body.” Daddy stood in front of us. He was standing up with his arms out like a wall. One of his arms was shielding me and the rest of his body was in front of Mommy.

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” one of the monsters growled.

  Daddy lunged at the two big men. Mommy grabbed hold of my shirt and held us both out of the way. Daddy’s arms were flying in all directions. So many loud bangs and thumps could be heard. But in my head, all I could hear was the beating of my heart.

  Daddy hit one of the men and he fell to the ground, not moving. The other man was bigger and was on top of Daddy rolling around. Mommy screamed and let go of me for a second. I ran across the room, wanting to help Daddy fight the monsters. Mommy screamed my name and then I felt something hit my foot. I looked down and saw a black object that had skidded across the floor and came to rest in front of me. It was a gun. I know on TV they were used against the bad guys. Maybe I could use it too.

  I picked up the gun. It was very heavy in my hands. I needed both hands to hold it steady. My Mommy screamed again and then yelled out, making me shake. “James, put the gun down! Put it down!” She tried to run over to me but then she gripped her tummy and fell to her knees. She screamed my name
again before she curled up on the floor. Daddy lifted his head and saw me holding the gun. But one of the big men was on top of him.

  The big monster that lost his gun, hit Daddy’s face, and then ran towards me. I knew what I had to do next. I had to protect Mommy and Daddy. I had to save them. I had to kill the monster.

  I squeezed the trigger with all my might. A big bang went off and I was thrown back onto the ground. The gun falling out of my hands. “JAMES!” my Mommy screamed. The monster fell down. Then I saw red. It came from out of his neck and made a pool around his head. The other monster was also on the floor not moving. Daddy ran towards me, kicking the gun further away from me.

  “Is James...?” my Mommy tried to yell, but she sounded out of breath.

  “He isn’t hurt!” Daddy yelled back. But his eyes went from me to Mommy on the ground to the monster covered in red. He didn’t know what to do next.

  “Did the gun go off in his hand or did he pull the trigger?” Mommy’s voice was very low and very scared.

  Daddy stared at me and then back to Mommy. He looked worried. “CLINT – Did the gun go off in his hands or did he pull the trigger? What happened? What did James do?”

  “I…I…I don’t know Norah. I just don’t know.”

  Mommy started to cry loudly and then got to her knees trying to crawl towards me. When she could reach me, she pulled me close, hugging me tight.

  “It was an accident. It has to have been an accident. He wouldn’t have pulled the trigger. He didn’t know what he was doing…he doesn’t understand what was in his hands.” Mommy kept crying while holding me. I was finding it hard to breathe. I didn’t know why she was so upset. I had helped them. Saved them. I killed the monster.

  Daddy’s arms went around both of us. “You’re right. To him it’s just a toy. He won’t understand what happened. It won’t stay with him. Won’t change him…” Daddy knelt down next to us. “It’s okay Norah. We’ll make sure he never remembers. We’ll help block it out. We won’t let it creep up on him…we’ll use our love…and protection. He didn’t kill anyone. It was a mistake. An accident. It never happened. He’ll never know.”

  Suddenly Mommy screamed. She grabbed onto her tummy. Daddy went to her side trying to help her up. “Something’s wrong!” she yelled, and looked at her legs. “There’s blood. The baby, the baby!” I looked down to my feet where I saw the red from the monster start to get closer to my feet. Daddy picked me and moved me out of the way. He was still holding me and Mommy as we left the room.

  “Grab the bag Clint. You know which one,” Mommy said sounding out of breath.

  “But we need to get you to the hospital right now. I can come back later for...”

  “NO! We can’t come back here. We can never ever come back here,” Mommy strained to say. Daddy looked at Mommy once more and then ran out of the room, coming back very quickly with a briefcase.

  Mommy screamed again. Her arms holding onto her tummy. Tears running down her face. Daddy picked her up, and carried her out the door. Holding both the briefcase and Mommy at the same time. He was so strong.

  “Let’s go James!” he yelled. I slipped running after them, banging my head on the ground. I opened my eyes. Everything was fuzzy. I saw Mr. Bear, who was staring right at me. I could hear the front door opening. My Mom screamed my name again. I looked around. I had no idea what just happened, but I ran after my Mommy and Daddy, holding Mr. Bear, out the front door.

  “James.”

  “Did he pull the trigger?”

  “James.”

  “It must have gone off in his hands.”

  “James.”

  “He took someone’s life.”

  LIGHT.

  I was gasping for air when I came to. Anais was kneeling next to me saying my name. I was sticky with sweat. My clothes clinging to my skin, and the dirt from the floor sticking to my face.

  “James. Are you alright?” Anais’ eyes were open wide with worry. Her palm was on my cheek.

  I coughed. I had no idea what had happened. There was nothing in my head. No memories. Nothing new that was unlocked or revealed. Everything was exactly the same as before, yet I felt like I had been running a marathon. I was physically exhausted.

  “Do you remember anything?” Anais looked over to Byron and then back to me. I shook my head.

  “Norah...Clint...? Where have I heard those names before?” I heard Byron mumbling something about names in the background behind me and Anais.

  Everything was hazy. Like I had been walking in fog and had gotten disorientated. I turned onto my side and started to throw up. My body just started to dispel the contents of my stomach. It couldn’t keep anything inside me anymore. I coughed and sat up. Anais took my hand and rubbed my back.

  “James, your hand is shaking really badly. Why is it shaking like that?”

  I pulled it away from her, holding it to my chest. I still couldn’t find my voice.

  “James what’s wrong with your hand?” she asked once more.

  I tried to speak again, but words turned into sounds. Unable to form together through the black mud that was now my mind. It was concrete. It was sand. It was thick blood pumping from my heart to my brain that stopped me from seeing anything clearly or speaking properly.

  Byron looked down to me and Anais. “See, that’s the thing with the flashback. It will open up a memory. But it will close it just as fast. I think you’ve given us plenty to ponder on James.” I continued to shake my head, trying to remember. “Don’t worry James. Now that it’s out, it won’t be long before it’s clear to you again...and the rest of us.”

  “I need to get out of here,” I moaned, finally able to push words off my tongue. I began to crawl along the ground like an animal. Away from Byron and these people. Even away from Anais. All I could feel was a compulsion to run. Like my life depended on it. Like my family and everyone I dearly loved, depended on it. I had to escape. I had to leave.

  So I did. I stumbled, got to my feet, and ran.

  {20}

  Bang, Bang, Bang.

  When I woke up, all I could see were two eyes staring back at me through a panel of glass. My throat was dry and my head hurt.

  “James?” Marcus’ questioning and somewhat amused face said back to me.

  I lifted my head off the glass and looked around. Where was I? I looked side to side. Somehow I had fallen asleep in the garage in Marcus’ Mustang. I had no idea how I got home and what I did between now and last night. Everything mentally was in a state of unrest.

  “Did you go on a bender?” Marcus asked as I pulled myself into a sitting position. My body ached. Years of memories swirling around my mind. Faces and time moving around trying to assemble in the correct order. Something was shifting so it could take its rightful place. A memory was trying to make itself known. Whatever I dreamed, must have caused everything else to be jumbled up. It’s the only conclusion I could draw that would have my head spinning like this.

  “I...I don’t know how I got here,” I said my voice rough as I heard it leave my mouth.

  “Man, I’ve had nights like these. Believe me! I can’t tell you how many random places I’ve woken up the next morning.”

  I wiped at my mouth. I held my chin moving it back and forth. My jaw was sore too. Marcus was still talking about places he had passed out drunk when I clicked back into what he was saying. “...never again in the alley behind Willy’s. But I’m glad I finally found you now.”

  “Finally?” I asked. Was I lost? I don’t know. It was the first time I had seriously asked myself that question. Being lost could mean so many different things and I suddenly felt like all those things and more.

  “Yeah, well first there’s this.” Marcus pulled out his cell phone and held it up to the window. A long list of missed calls from someone called Tess appeared on his screen.

  Tess?

  “Who’s Tess?” I said confused, rubbing my eyes making sure I saw the name correctly. And why was Marcus showing me his phone
?

  “Tess is my Mom.”

  His Mom? A conversation about Tess and Samuel Voltaggio suddenly appeared in my head. When I was packing back in France, my Mom had shown me a picture of his whole family. She said they were nice people. That their son wanted to be a doctor one day. My mother sounded like she missed them in the way she spoke about his family. Especially Tess and Samuel. I wonder why I never realized that until right now. How did I miss her affection for them? And why was Marcus now showing me the list of calls from his mother?

  “You call your Mom by her first name?” Was my next question.

  “She likes it...” He said shrugging at his cell. “Wait, that’s not the point right now. Dude, she keeps calling me. Like a lot. I can only handle my Mom in small doses. She’s driving me crazy.”

  Was I missing something again?

  “How is this my problem?”

  “Because your Mom has been unable to get hold of you, so she’s been calling my Mom to find out if I’d seen you. And my Mom’s been calling me non-stop asking me for updates. Man — for the sake of my sanity, please call your Mom. She really needs to talk to you. And I really need not to talk to mine. You know what a buzz kill it is to get calls from your Mom when you’re in the middle of...ummm...when I’m busy doing stuff.”

  This time I saw desperation in Marcus’ face. His expression pleading for me to come to his rescue.

  “Sure. Of course. Sorry. I’ll call her right away.”

  “Thanks.” Marcus blew out a breath. “I know how you feel. Believe me. I dodge calls from my Mom all the time too. But yours seems relentless.”

  I nodded. “My Mom’s very persistent.”

  “I can tell.”

  The leather interior squeaked underneath me as I moved towards to the car door. “Sorry for crashing in your car. I can’t even remember getting in here.”

  “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. How much did you drink anyway?”

  I rubbed my forehead still trying to remember something...anything from the missing hours between now and last night. “That’s the weird part...I didn’t have anything to drink.”