“Thanks for a fun night. Oh, and the water.” She giggled.
Andrew looked on as she walked away. Their hands were still holding each other. He finally let her go and smiled as she exited through the front door.
“I’ll see you later.” He hollered
Leaning back on the counter-top, he breathed out in relief. He took a moment to try and piece together the dream he had but he couldn’t make any sense of it. Instead, he adjusted his thoughts to today’s plans.
He needed to be in Kennedy Park in 35 minutes. He splashed some tap water over his face to awaken his senses; then headed for his car. He climbed in the driver seat and started up the engine. As he checked the rear view mirror, the reflection he saw caused him to jump out his seat and dart out the driver’s door. He sat on the ground, terrified to his core, breathing deeply and shaking his head. A few moments passed and he looked around before hesitantly climbing back into his car. With his entire body trembling, he sat back in the driver’s seat and again dared to peer into his mirror.
“I’m still here.” Snarled the devilish copy. Its beady, sunken, yellow eyes winked at him as its malicious, decomposed smile followed. Andrew closed his eyes tight and tried to focus his thoughts. He took a deep breath and gave the mirror one last look. The grotesque replica was gone...for now! Sighing in respite, he closed the door and drove off towards Kennedy Park to meet his friends.
Adam woke up feeling like hell! He yawned slowly, his throat craving hydration. Clearly still disorientated and half asleep, he didn't realise he was still in Jaime's bedroom. Wiping the dribble from his mouth, he looked around to see where he was. Jaime then burst through the door, toothbrush in hand.
“Oh good, you’re up. Come on get ready, we gotta be in Kennedy Park in like 30 minutes.”
Adam blinked painfully, rubbing from the outside of his eyes to the inside of his nose. “How are you even up and functioning man, I still feel drunk?” He asked, puzzled.
“I’m used to it and plus we have some big things to figure out today. I’m gonna need that brain of yours in working gear. Come on, up. Up!” He threw Adam a bottle of water that was sat on top of the desk and shuffled back into the bathroom to finish up. Adam took a deep gulp, followed by a thirst-quenched satisfied breath and then gathered his shoes. They both headed for the car.
“So what’s the rush?” asked Adam. Jaime climbed in the driver seat and locked in his seatbelt.
“You remember what happened last night right? Coz I sure do!” Jaime explained his thoughts. Adam nodded.
“We need to have a talk with Andrew, a serious talk. Not to mention test that crazy strength again, I gotta see that shit again with sober eyes.”
Adam looked confused. “We?” he asked.
“Yes, We.” Replied Jaime. “You think I’m not gonna include you in this? You have every right to know what’s going on with Andrew just as much as me and Josh. Besides,” he paused, “I need someone with actual intelligence. Josh isn't the sharpest tool in the box.” They both laughed. Adam wound the window down to get some well-needed air. “Ok, let’s do this.”
Whilst driving, they filled the time discussing what they thought was wrong with Andrew. Debating on such a thing consumed the entire car journey, and within no time, they were already at their intended destination. Entering the park, they looked around for a discreet spot in the woodland.
Kennedy Park was an enormous green mass of naturally preserved woodland. The grass was well kept and tended to regularly. Flowers of all kinds blossomed and thrived all over and Amidst the recreational parts of the courts and playground space, there was a small patch of forestland which was packed with massive trees both storey's and acres wide. Vibrant shrubbery entwined between the oaks and beeches, creating a wild yet passive environment. The solid advantage of this area was that it was well hidden away from the public eye and exactly where Jaime was heading. ‘Meet me at the forest at the end of Kennedy.’
Andrew read the text whilst exiting his car. Following the instructions sent to him by Jaime, he walked through the main park. During his stroll, he spotted Coach Stevens walking his dog.
“Hey, Coach.” He shouted out to him and waved. Coach acknowledged his greeting with a similarly stiff wave back in the distance. Continuing his stroll, he neared the end of the park.
“Yo.” A shaky cry pierced the serene air. Andrew spun around.
“Hold up man!” Josh sluggishly jogged to meet him. He was out of breath and clearly still suffering the effects from the prior night's events. Bent over with his hands on his knees, he spent a few seconds gathering himself.
“Does Jaime gather what time it is?” Finally catching his breath and producing words. “He knows I like my sleep. It's half friggin 1 pm!”
Andrew laughed. “He clearly has something important he wants to discuss with us.” Josh looked at him clearly not impressed. “I was in bed with that beautiful blonde from last night. Karen? Sharon? Maybe it was Charlotte?” He paused to think. “Ahh, it was one of the cheerleaders anyway. This better be important.”
Andrew shook his head in disapproval and cuffed him in the back of the skull playfully. “Get moving man.”
They both walked until they were finally met by Adam and Jaime.
“So what’s so important that you had to message me at midday when I have the biggest hangover ever?!” Snapped Josh.
“Ok, so we all remember what happened last night.” Jaime’s tone was heavily sarcastic. “If you've forgotten, let me refresh your memories. Andrew lifted my Land Rover Defender above his head. Remember that?!”
“Your point?” Replied Josh
“My point? My point?! Are you serious?” Barked Jaime. “So we’re just accepting that as normal now?” He turned to Josh and began to rant. “Ok, first of all, last night you were the one who said we should try and make sense of things today.” He turned his attention back to Andrew. “Secondly, we haven’t even spoken about the incident with you and Adam yet. And thirdly,” his tone softened, “How did it go with Louise last night?”
They all fell silent in anticipation of his answer. Andrew crossed his arms and smiled, exciting their curiosity. “That’s none of your business.” They all sighed in disappointment. “But. I’m seeing her later,” he interrupted. “Anyway, what have you two come up with?” He pointed at Adam and Jaime, “Got me lurking in these damn trees like a weirdo.”
Adam stepped forward. “Well let's go over all the facts here. Shall we? He began to count on his fingers. “One, you told Jaime about your eyes changing colour the other day.”
Andrew looked at Jaime, “You told him?”
“I had to man. We need answers” Replied Jaime.
Adam continued, “Josh also witnessed this and can back it up.”
Josh butted in, “Yep, saw that shit with my very own eyes.” Adam carried on his deductions.
“Two, you also told Jamie you could hear voices in your head. And when you came to my rescue, you said you could hear me from two floors down.. Three, Your strength and dexterity has increased exponentially in the last 24 hours; something we can all attest to. And the last thing; when you met me you knew my name before I introduced myself to you, and we’ve never crossed paths before ever. How would you know that?” A hush fell on the group of boys, as they all fell into deep thought. Finally, Josh broke the silence.
“Bro, are you some sort of alien? ‘Cause this is some freaky weird shit.”
Andrew looked at him with a comically sarcastic expression, but then when he turned his gaze on Jaime and Adam, they looked at him with intense inquisitiveness; almost as if they were awaiting a straight forward answer to Josh's absurd claim!.
“Come on guys! What, you really think I could be an alien? Really? I think you guys are still drunk from last night.”
Jaime felt uncomfortable about the idea that his best friend might be from another planet; however he was totally lost for an explanation. “What am I supposed to think? You literally had my car ove
r your head last night. My car weighs like 2000kg!”
“Doesn’t make me an alien, though! Come on Jai, YOU OF ALL PEOPLE? You have known me since we were little! I think you’d know by now if I was. Plus are we forgetting the fact my mother has a birth certificate for me? Yes, it sounds so crazy but my mother actually gave birth to me. In a hospital. With doctors. Picture that...”
Jaime looked at him with an unimpressed expression on his face. “Ok, Ok. Enough with the sarcasm please.” Adam interceded their rapport. “A.R, do you know anything about your father?”
A deep sadness crept across Andrews face. “Not really. He died when I was 7.”
Adam apologised for his intrusion but Andrew patted him on the shoulder and laughed it off. He continued with his line of questioning. “What do you remember of your father?”
Andrew stood in a thinking man pose, hand on his chin and began digging deep into the recesses of his mind. “My dad was a big guy,” he smiled as his memories began to flood back, “intelligent too. There was nothing he couldn’t fix or didn’t know. He was always so chilled and patient with me and mum too.” His voice began to shake with emotion. “I remember on weekends he’d have jazz or gospel playing on the radio full blast in the morning. And he’d sing his heart out while he cleaned the house. He loved music. Then every night, he’d always make me recite the Lord’s Prayer before bed.” Josh put an arm around his friend's shoulder to console him. Then a useful thought popped into Andrew’s head. “He was in the army but wasn’t active. Then when I turned 7, they asked him to go back into the field to do a job. That was the last time I saw him.”
“Hmmm...” Pondered Adam.
“What are you thinking?” asked Jaime.
“Well, you said he was in the army right? Well, this is gonna sound crazy...but just go with me on this. I once came across some documentation online about some secret human gene-modification trials they were attempting in the army, to create better soldiers. Obviously, it was dismissed in the media as just another conspiracy, but what if they actually managed to succeed? Maybe, just maybe, your father passed on the genes to you? That would explain the increase in physical abilities you’re exhibiting now. And, maybe the voices in your head are a side effect or something? Then when they realised what they had done, they recalled your father and killed him to keep their secret safe.”
Josh and Andrew looked at Adam in a silent disbelief. “Ok, I’m going home!” said Josh, “I’m missing out on a girl for this?! You lot are trippin’.” Jaime then interrupted him. “Wait. Put it into perspective Josh. Does that really sound so ridiculous after what we saw last night?”
Josh paced in a small circle rubbing his forehead. “I need to sit down.” He walked over to a nearby bench and slumped onto the seat. “Ok, so say if you are right, what then? Won’t the army know his dad had a son? Wouldn’t they be after him and his mum too?” They all took a moment to decipher the reality of Adam’s theory. “I have no idea what to think right now.” Said Jaime. The unimaginable concept of the situation left them all stumped with bewilderment.
“Adam, did you say that Andrew knew your name before you said it?” Jaime asked intently. Adam nodded. Turning his head to Andrew, he asked, “Care to share how you did that?”
“Well, umm,” he sounded hesitant to explain but continued, “If I remember right, I was handing you your stuff back and then my hand touched yours. Then all his thoughts just became my thoughts. It was like I could see into his mind.”
“Great. If this wasn’t weird enough already!” Josh jumped up. Fed up, and confused, he begun waving his hands in the air. “Now you’re some sort of mind reader? Jesus, next you’re gonna tell me you can fly or come from the planet Krypton or some shit. Oh, and, by the way, When were you planning on telling me how you and Professor-X over there met?” He pointed in Adam’s direction. They all began laughing as Josh seemed to be having a mental breakdown.
“Do you think you could do it again?” Asked Jaime
Andrew looked puzzled. “Do what?”
“Read our thoughts.” He replied. Josh’s eyes grew in disbelief. He was not happy with having his mind invaded. “No, no, no, no! I’m not being some damn guinea pig for your experiments And, I for one, like my privacy thank you.”
Adam grinned. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“You don’t ever say that! Whenever you say some shit like that, something bad always happens!” Barked Josh.
“I’m down if you are A.R.” Jaime rose to his feet and extended his hand. They both looked in Josh’s direction for his approval. He stood shaking his head side to side in dispute but reluctantly offered up his arm.
“I swear A.R... if I end up some kinda brain dead vegetable after this, I'm gonna kill you!”
Adam laughed, “You couldn’t kill him. You’d be a vegetable.”
“Just get on with it.” Barked Josh.
Andrew pulled his sleeve down and one by one his friends cautiously placed their hands on his forearm. Adam stood back and watched.
A few seconds went by as they eagerly but fearfully anticipated what would happen next. Andrew stood quietly, studying his friend’s faces, then his own arm. Frustration began to build as nothing appeared to be happening.
“Guys, I don’t think this is gonna work.”
“Well, how does it normally work?” asked Jaime.
“I dunno. Normally something happens on skin contact.”
Adam could see nothing was occurring. He began to ponder and recollect back to his experience with Andrew. “What was going through your head when you met me?” He asked. Andrew tried to recreate what he could from the incident where he had saved Adam.
“I-I remember hearing your fears and could almost feel how scared you were.”
“Hmm,” he contemplated for a few seconds. “That’s it!” Clicking his fingers with a sense of solution he quickly turned to Josh and Jaime.
“What mutual fears do you two share?”
The pair began to look unsettled. “Errrm,” Jaime’s voice became shaky as his brain began to delve into the darkest parts of his mind. Josh stayed quiet but he too appeared visibly disturbed as thoughts of his deepest fears filled his mind.
Just then, Andrew slowly uttered a word. “Spiders? You’re both scared of spiders.” Josh looked at Jaime astonished but Jaime was still sceptical. “Wild guess!” He protested. Adam could see that somehow Andrew was sensing the fears of his friends. He looked around frantically, running towards an area of greenery and began searching the bushes. “A-ha,” he shouted as his hand gently clenched shut. Turning around slowly, he carefully stepped towards his 3 friends. As he got closer, his balled up fist began to unclench to reveal a huge black 8 legged creepy crawly.
“No, noo, noooo. Get that thing away from me!” Screamed Josh. Jaime wasn't equally frightened too and began to tremble at the sight of the monstrous arachnid nearing its distance to him. Andrew began to giggle as his two friends cowered, but his laughter was cut short.
“Argh!” he winched in pain and rubbed his temple to ease the pain. Closing his eyes, he tried to concentrate on overcoming the sharp interference his brain was having. As Adam stepped closer taunting the two boys with the beast, the pain intensified in Andrews head. His fist clenched and both Jaime and Josh noticed the tightening of forearm muscles in their hands.
“Are you okay bro? A.R you good?” Asked Josh.
His eyes began to brighten as they all watched in amazement. The dark chocolate shade of brown his pupils normally were was drowned out by the stunning illuminated tone of blue.
He looked directly at them. His mind began to decipher through their thoughts, with each fear passing through him. And with it, each emotion was felt and experienced. Within a few seconds, he had transgressed from their childhood terrors up to their current day dreads. His eyes closed abruptly and his arm relaxed. Weakened from the ordeal, he buckled back onto one knee. All three of his comrades rushed over to assist him.
; “Look at me A.R, are you ok?” Ordered Jaime
He opened his eyes exhaustedly. Turning to Jaime, he said, “When you were 4 years old your cousin played a prank on you. He hid beneath your bed and when you sat down, he grabbed your feet and tried to pull you under. Now you never dangle your feet or sit by the edge of your bed because you’re afraid something will drag you underneath it. You always check below your bed before you go to sleep”
Jaime couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His mouth hung open, dumbfounded. “How in the world?” he asked himself.
Andrew rose to his feet and dusted his knee off. Focusing his gaze on Josh; he opened his mouth and then hesitated. He was reluctant to speak. Josh could sense he was holding back.
“It’s cool bro, just say what you saw. It’s nothing to me, I’ve lived it already remember.”
Andrew nodded, stiffened his jaw and took a slow sigh. “You’re afraid of needles because your mum used to be a heroin addict when you were a kid and you were born addicted to the drug.”
Josh lowered his head. He felt slightly uncomfortable and ashamed. “I’ve been hiding that secret all my life ya know.” He said solemnly. “I thought, I thought people would think differently of me, or...or it would affect my chances of playing professional football. Seeing needles just freaks me out sometimes.”
Andrew gave him a light hearted punch to the arm to knock him out of the depressive funk he was in. “Hey bro! No one's judging you here, man. At least you’re not some sort of mind-reading alien.” Jaime contributed to uplifting his friend. “Yeah man, you’ve overcome your past. Just do you, man.” The three of them turned to Adam, who was still examining and petting the nightmarish insect.
“So, how did you know that was gonna work?” asked Andrew.
“Before you answer that drop that thing or I’m gonna drop kick you.” Snapped Josh.
Adam laughed and gently threw the spider back into the bushes. “You said that when you heard me for the first time I was in trouble and you could sense it, feel it even. The key emotion I was feeling was fear. I was scared, in pain, terrified. I concluded that this ability you seem to have is triggered by empathy.
Nephilim Page 9