Transcendent

by Lisa Beeson

  Transcendent

  By Lisa Beeson

  This is a work of fiction. All the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2014 Lisa Beeson

  All rights reserved

  This is dedicated to my husband for all the work he put into making my dream a reality. Also to my family and friends who supported me throughout this journey.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 1

  There is no possible way to prepare yourself to see your own obituary.

  But there it was, on the bright computer screen, proving her life was over. Her old life, that is.

  Kira Riley (12) of Isle of Hope, GA passed away March 19th. A bright light burnt out too soon. Kira is survived by her adoptive parents Phillip and Teresa Riley, and her siblings Jack, Sadie, and Hector Riley. Her funeral will be held……….

  Her eighth grade school picture stared back at her; awkward smile, long black hair, dark caramel skin, and big blue eyes. Whenever she had to fill out forms, she would always have to check the “other” box for her ethnicity. No one knew where her birth parents came from, so opinions on what ethnicity she could be ranged anywhere between Latina to Middle-Eastern to mixed-race. Her best friend, Ainsley, had always complained that it wasn’t fair that she was as pale as a fish belly, but Kira had a perma-tan year-round. Kira’s sister, Sadie, had always admired Kira’s thick, silky mane of long dark hair. In certain lighting it had a way of refracting light like a raven’s wing, with hints of purples and blues. Though, it was her eyes that always threw people off. They were a deep clear blue of a glacial lake. Her Mom had said that Kira reminded her of an Egyptian Queen with Nordic eyes.

  Ruby had said that she would take care of everything, but she must really be connected to be able to convince everyone Kira was dead without a body for evidence.

  Seeing the obituary on the screen in front of her made it all too real. She could never go back now. That chapter of her life was over. Kira Riley was no more.

  Her heart constricted painfully, as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, while taking deep breaths to steady herself. Now was not the time to have a meltdown. She had to get out of there before someone noticed she was looking at the obituary of a girl that looked identical to her. Emotional people attract attention, and that was the last thing she needed.

  After clicking offline and erasing the web history of the floor model computer she was using, she grabbed the grey generic back pack and mirrored aviator sunglasses she picked up on her way through the store to get to the electronics department.

  Making her way back to the front of the store she decided to pick up a Gatorade, a bag of jerky, and a pair of large metal scissors.

  Avoiding eye contact, but walking confidently, she decided the self-checkout would be the best choice. The least amount of direct contact with people would make it easier to disappear. She couldn’t do anything about the security cameras, but as long as she didn’t act suspicious, she wouldn’t raise any red flags.

  Using the pre-paid credit card Ruby had given her, she quickly bought and bagged her items, then nonchalantly joined a group of giggling girls going into the women’s bathroom.

  Ignoring the girls as they admired themselves in the mirror and gushed over the latest school gossip, she went straight for the handicap stall. Slipping off her old red backpack, she started moving all her stuff over to the new grey one. Everything she had in the world fit into one backpack. Well, that’s depressing.

  She waited for the girls to leave before coming out of the stall, and then threw away the old red backpack in the large trash can. Taking out the scissors, she took a deep bracing breath as she looked at Kira Riley one last time in the mirror.

  Her long dark hair was one of her most defining features. The long tresses reached down to her lower back. She couldn’t remember the last time she had it cut.

  Grabbing a large chunk of hair from the side of her head, her heart sped up as she brought the scissors up, ready to cut through. Telling herself that hesitating would only make it worse, Kira knew she couldn’t waste any more time. She just had to suck it up and get it over with.

  Goodbye Kira.

  Scrunching her eyes closed, she cut her way through the clump of hair moving upward towards the ceiling. When the hand holding the hair came away from her head, she opened her eyes.

  Oh crap! That’s way shorter than I intended, she thought with a sinking dread. Maybe closing my eyes was a bad idea.

  Just then, someone walked in. She looked to be in her early twenties, with pink hair styled up like an old-fashioned pin-up girl, facial piercings, and sleeves of tattoos running up both arms. Stopping short, her mouth falling open, the girl stared as she tried to figure out the bizarre scene in front of her. “Good lord, girl! What are you doing?” she gasped.

  Kira quickly tried to think of an excuse to explain why she was in a Buy-Mart bathroom, haphazardly chopping off her hair – one that would satisfy a chick with pink hair, facial piercings, and alternative clothing. “Umm…teenage rebellion?” she tossed out hopefully.

  The chick thought it over for a second, but then her face filled with understanding. She nodded slowly and began walking towards Kira. “Look, I get it,” she said, while cautiously coming closer. “I’m all about using your hair for self-expression,” she sympathized, as she gently extracted the scissors from Kira’s hands, and then held them up accusingly. “But kitchen scissors!” she said, as though Kira had committed some horrible sacrilege.

  “It was all I had,” Kira shrugged off.

  The chick lightly tapped the handles of the scissors against her lips, as she contemplated the strange girl in front of her. Then she nodded, “Okay, I can salvage this.” She gently ran her fingers through the Kira’s thick hair as though inspecting it. “I’m a hair stylist. Well, almost a hair stylist. I’m this close to getting my license.” She said pinched her fingers close together. “I’m good, don’t worry. My friends beg me to do their hair all the time. All I have to do is run out to my car and get my stuff.”

  This was already taking longer than the Kira had anticipated. She needed to get back on the road.

  Noticing the younger girl looking hesitant, the chick argued, “Look, this will benefit both of us. I get to practice, and you get to not look like an escaped mental patient. Win-Win.” She smiled hopefully as she guided Kira’s chin towards the reflection in the mirror.

  Jeez, she’s right. I do look crazy. Jacked up hair would be almost as bad as wearing a sign that said ‘Look at me’. She had always had an innate ability to sense people’s intentions, and there was nothing malicious or calculating in this chick’s motivations. She just genuinely wanted to cut the hair of the crazy girl she found in the Buy-Mart bathroom.

  Kira gave an amused sigh, and then relented. “Okay, go for it. But it’s got to be fast, my Mom’s going to be done shopping soon,” she lied.

  When the chick smiled, the piercings in her cheeks made it look like she had dimples. She gave a gleeful jump and
clapped her hands together. “Awesome! You won’t regret it. Lemme go get my stuff real quick.” She turned to go, but then quickly turned back. “Don’t go anywhere. Stay right here,” she cautioned as if to a small child. “And don’t you dare touch your hair till I get back, promise?”

  Kira smiled, and then crossed her heart with her finger. “I promise.”

  The chick nodded, and then turned and ran out the door. A second after the door swung closed behind her it busted back open, and she stuck her head back in. “I’m Mandy, by the way,” she said quickly, and then ducked back out, not waiting for a reply.

  After the door closed a second time, Kira picked up her stuff, and decided to wait for Mandy back in the handicap stall before anyone else came in and saw her.

  Kira figured she would have to get used to her new identity of Ariana Reyes, now that Kira Riley was officially dead. The future gaped in front of her like a large mysterious void. Had it really only been five days since her whole world had been turned upside down? She’d had a family, a home, and a bright future ahead of her. And now… who knows what’s in store for her.

  She knew it was her Dad that had put in that bit in the obituary about her being a bright light being burnt out too soon. He had always seen greatness in her, even when she was a weird little kid that didn’t speak and blocked herself off from the world. He had said that he could see so much potential in her, and that all she needed was some time to work things out and make sense of the world. “Once you do, there’ll be no limit to what you can accomplish.”

  God, I miss him so much.

  To fight off the panic and heartbreak that was threatening to consume her, she brought her thoughts back to thinking about her new name. She needed to be comfortable enough with it so that she would answer to it when called. That made her think about when she and her best friends would joke around and call each other by their names spelled backwards. Nate was Etan, and Ainsley was Yelsnia. Kira was Arik, but Nate said it was pronounced Ari, because the K was silent. He always playfully teased her about being so quiet and low-key around everyone except her close friends and family. She had never liked being the center of attention. It almost felt ingrained in her to keep under the radar.

  He had also taken out the K, because when she first started school she was quiet and socially awkward, and the mean kids started calling her ‘Special K’. So like most mean nick names, it had stuck. That is, until her brother Hector cold-cocked some boys that were taunting her in that sing-song way kids do. After that, they only referred to her as Special K in whispers behind her back.

  Since Ari could be short for Ariana, she felt confident that she could get used to it quickly. So Ari, it is.

  The bathroom door burst open, snapping her back to reality. She came out of the stall to see Mandy closing and locking the door behind her. Noticing Kira raise her eyebrows questioningly, she explained “It’s alright. I found one of those janitor signs that say not to come in because they’re cleaning. So we can do this nice and quick with no one bothering us.”

  Putting her case of scissors and combs on the counter, she picked out a comb and started running it through the Kira’s hair. “So what exactly were you going for?” she asked. When she saw Kira’s blank stare, she laughed. “You don’t even know, do you?”

  Looking back at her reflection in the mirror, Kira realized that it would have to be dramatic. Go big or go home, as Hector always said. A spike of pain pierced her heart as she realized her big brother wouldn’t be there to have her back anymore.

  Not letting her thoughts go down that route, she shook her head and said, “I want something that will make me look totally different.” She looked over at Mandy’s reflection in the mirror. Kira was almost as tall as her, but whereas Mandy was pleasantly curvy, she was skinny and childish. “And if you can, I want to look older too.”

  Mandy gave her a knowing grin, thinking this probably had something to do with impressing some older boy.

  Let her think what she wants. All that matters is if she can pull it off.

  Mandy squinted in contemplation, as she walked around inspecting Kira from different angles. Then with a clap, she announced, “I know just what to do. You don’t mind if we go super short, do you?”

  “Do what you want.”

  “Haha, Yay! You’re fun,” Mandy beamed, accentuating her pierced dimples. She grabbed a hair tie and combed Kira’s hair back into a low ponytail at the base of her neck. “The first cut is always the hardest, but since you already did that, this should just feel liberating.” And with a couple snips, the majority of her hair came away with the ponytail.

  Her head felt immediately lighter. Some of the weight of her old life lifting away from her shoulders with the weight of her severed hair.

  “Okay, get your hair wet, while I go set up my salon,” Mandy instructed, while gathering her stuff and moving towards the handicap stall.

  After taking off her hoodie, and making sure her hair was sufficiently wet, she joined Mandy in the stall.

  Mandy had her tools out and ready to go, and had spread trash bags on the floor around the toilet. “I found a roll of them behind the trash can. It should make clean up easier.” Mandy placed a plastic smock around Kira’s shoulders, and then guided her over to the toilet to sit down; positioning her sideways on the seat so she could get behind her. “You are going to have to turn when I say, since I can’t spin the chair around,” she explained, and then got down to business.

  Mandy wasn’t one of those chatty hair stylists. She focused all her attention on the task at hand, which suited Kira just fine; the less lies she had to tell, the better.

  When Mandy was done, she swished the hair in front a couple times to see if it lay right. Then, when she deemed it perfect, she dramatically removed the plastic smock, and said “Voilà! Go look in the mirror.”

  Stepping over the clumps of hair on the floor, Kira made her way to the mirror over the sinks. She didn’t recognize the person staring back at her. When Mandy said short, she meant short.

  The cut was asymmetrical, with it shorter on the side Kira had butchered earlier. The back was cut in short layers down to the nape of her neck. It was longer on top and in the front. Mandy had parted on the right, and her long bangs swept forward towards the left. The longer pieces could be tucked behind her ear, and the shorter pieces of her bangs slightly covered her left eye. She had to admit that she did look older, and somehow taller. She was completely transformed.

  Hello Ari.

  After she finished cleaning up in the stall, Mandy came up behind her, hiding her smile behind her hands. “Well, do you like it?” she asked nervously.

  Ari turned around to embrace her. “It’s perfect! Thank you.”

  Mandy gave her a squeeze then pulled back, idly sweeping Ari’s bangs behind her ear. “I knew this would work. You have one of those faces that can pull off anything.”

  Ari went to go get her backpack so she could leave, but Mandy stopped her. “Wait. Can I take your picture?”

  Ari looked up in alarm. She couldn’t have her picture floating around the internet; she was supposed to be dead.

  Noting the girl’s discomfort, Mandy quickly added, “Look, you can cover your face with your hands if you want. I just want a picture of your hair for my portfolio.”

  Ari thought about it, and figured as long as her face was covered it shouldn’t be a problem. “Alright, I guess it’s the least I can do.”

  “Awesome,” Mandy said while pulling her phone out from her purse.

  Ari covered her face while Mandy took the pictures. When she was done, she put her phone back and started packing up her stuff. Laughing to herself she admitted “I have to say, this is not how I saw my milk run going.” She looked over at Ari and gave her a wink.

  Ari put her hoodie back on and took the mirrored sunglasses out of the grey backpack. Before slipping them on she said, “Seriously Mandy, I really appreciate this.”

  “Hey, no sweat, Sweetie… I me
an, I don’t usually go around giving random people haircuts in public bathrooms,” she said with a laugh. “But, it just felt like the right thing to do.”

  Ari gave her a smile and a nod, and then put the aviators on. Unlocking the bathroom door, she turned back to Mandy. “Good luck with …everything,” she said with an awkward wave. Then she pushed through the door, leaving a different person from when she had come in.

  As she exited the store, Ari quick scan of the parking lot. Searching for anyone paying close attention to her. Everyone seemed normal, so she made her way down one of the rows, heading for the fast food places across the main road. She figured she could spare a couple bucks for a burger. The greasy smells wafting over on the breeze were making her stomach cramp with hunger.

  It was then that she saw him. She should have spotted him sooner, but her hunger had distracted her. She mentally kicked herself for not eating more regularly, so this sort of thing wouldn’t happen. She had been warned never to let her guard down.

  The sunglasses were doing their job. He hadn’t noticed her looking at him.

  This one must be new.

  He didn’t have any signs of decay yet, just the start of a sickly paleness that made people mistake them for drug addicts or wannabe vampires. But Ari knew exactly what he was: a Shade.

  The red ring around his irises, and dark aura – that apparently only Ari could see – gave him away.

  She felt sorry for the poor guy the Shade had taken over, but there was nothing she could do about it. Once the Shade went in, the human soul was cast out. It was a lost cause.

  Forcing herself to move forward at a normal pace and trying to control her rising heart rate, was proving increasingly difficult the closer she came to passing by him.

  Normal people couldn’t see the dark aura that surrounded the Shades, but sometimes they could feel it – that creepy feeling that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Though to Ari, it felt more like when two magnets repel each other – like a physical push against her that made her sick to her stomach.