IA_Initiate

by John Darryl Winston

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  THE DARKNESS

  NAZ, Meri, and Artie spent the next hour celebrating Naz’s success at the chess tables, even though Meri didn’t quite see it that way—as a success. They continued playing games, going on the rides, and eating as much junk food as they could, just before the point of sick stomachs, which was a lot of food in Artie’s case. On the way home from the festival Naz and Meri’s number increased by one. Artie was so enamored with Naz and his performance against the Chess Master that he fabricated an excuse to his parents to allow him to ride the Helix back to the Exclave with Meri and Naz. The excuse was something about Mr. Ledbetter requiring it for extra credit in math class and being part of the chess team.

  Naz stared out of the window slightly concerned. I hope we make it home before dark, he thought. He had played it close, maybe too close, he worried. He wasn’t exactly sure where Artie lived except that it was in Marshal Park. His biggest concern was Meri. During the twenty-five-minute ride home, Artie and Meri continued to blather on, Artie about how Naz almost beat the best chess player in the world and Meri wondering how Naz could have lost to a homeless man in the first place.

  Come on … come on, Naz thought as he watched the sun quickly begin to duck behind the horizon in the west. The long day of discovery and events, coupled with the drone of Meri, Artie, and other passengers, along with the hum of the Helix lulled Naz to sleep. Artie and Meri soon followed suit.

  Naz awoke with a start as the Helix jerked and began to slow. He wiped his eyes, looked out the window, and gasped. The sun had set, and Naz realized they had gone several miles past their stop.

  “Wake up!” said Naz, nudging Artie and Meri.

  They both awoke reluctantly, stretching casually and unaware of their predicament.

  “We missed our stop,” panicked Naz.

  “Me,too,” said Artie less concerned.

  “What do we do now?” asked Meri.

  “We have to get off … now… at the next stop,” said Naz.

  There was something else in the car ahead that Naz could plainly see in the now well-lit train. They must’ve gotten on while we were asleep, Naz thought. First the festival, and now here, they’re following me. He cursed himself for being so careless. He had told Meri weeks before that there were no such thing as coincidences, so he wasn’t buying this as one either. Both Artie and Meri read the distress in Naz’s expression and turned to see what concerned him so. It was the gang that had confronted him earlier at the festival. Naz flashed back weeks before to the sight of Red poking his finger at Tone’s beak. Naz then reached up to feel the scar on his neck that Gruff had given him in the knife fight.

  “What?” asked Artie and Meri in unison.

  “Nothing,” Naz said as he stood up.“We have to get off now,” he said, grabbing Meri by the arm and compelling her to stand.

  “I’ll say,” said Artie,oblivious to the danger the three boys represented.“We have to catch the train coming back the other way now.”

  Naz was hoping it would be that easy, but when the train came to a complete stop, and the three boys in the other car stood up, he knew that he, Meri, and Artie were in trouble. He thought maybe they should stay on the train, but he was sure now the three boys would also remain on the train. In his mind, he figured he had a better chance out in the open. He tried to remain calm and not alert Artie and Meri to their dilemma until he could evaluate the situation and figure out something.

  They stepped off the train and began to walk down the dark, deserted street. Seconds later, as Naz turned his head slightly, he could see the gang was getting off the train as well. Under the few working lights at the station, he could make out Mohawk’s haircut, and it made him wish, for a moment, that Ham were there. Even though he and Ham were not on speaking terms, Naz thought, I could sure use his help right now. Artie was a big boy, but he didn’t necessarily spark fear in anyone who might seek to get the jump on him. And, of course, there was Meri. What am I going to do to protect Meri and defend myself at the same time? Naz agonized. He could now hear the boys laughing and speaking indistinctly in back of them. With the sun no longer out, the autumn chill took over, and Naz looked at Meri and Artie to see puffs of air expand, and disappear.

  As surely as the darkness had come, as Naz anticipated, the voice returned,too“Where are we going?” asked the voice.

  Naz remembered what Dr. Gwen had said about the voice so he listened.

  “Where are we going?The voice asked again and then,“I’m scared!”

  “Why are we walking away from the train?” asked Artie confused.“We need to catch it going back in the other direction.”

  “Fine. You go then,” said Naz with a manufactured calmness as he walked forward holding Meri’s hand.

  Artie turned, saw the boys, and decided to continue on with Naz and Meri. There were no houses near the train stop, only abandoned businesses, condemned warehouses, vacant office buildings, and very little light.

  “Do something, Naz,” the voice said and then,“I’m scared,” again.

  Naz continued to listen. That’s weird, Naz thought. It called me by name. That never happened before. And we’re all scared. That’s no help to me. If I’m scared, I can’t do my job. I can’t help Meri.

  “I’m scared,” said Meri, as she turned her head to see the boys behind them.

  “I told you … never be scared of nothin’,” Naz said to her in a confident tone.“Plus, me and Artie are here; you got nothin’to worry about. Right Artie?” Naz continued as he took in his surroundings.

  “Right,” whimpered Artie.

  Think, think, think, thought Naz. What to do? What to do?

  “It’s so dark,” said Meri.

  “It’s toodark,” said the voice.

  “And I’m cold,” said Meri.

  Hearing Meri’s words, Artie began to rub his hands together then he reached down to grab Meri’s hand.

  Dark? questioned Naz in his mind. Embrace the darkness, he thought. He looked over at Meri and Artie, who were also now holding hands, and realized that with them at his side, there was no way he could outrun the boys.“‘Embrace the darkness.’ That’s what Dr. Gwen said,” Naz remembered.

  “Huh?” replied Artie.

  Meri just looked at Naz curiously.

  Suddenly one of the rare working streetlights between the gang and Naz, Meri, and Artie blew out. Glass from the broken light rained down on the pavement effectively slowing the gang down a bit.

  “What the…,” said Artie.

  “A… a coincidence,” stammered Naz.

  “But you don’t believe in coincidences,” said Meri looking back and forth between the broken streetlight and Naz.

  That is true, Naz thought. Then he took a deep breath, forced himself to remain calm, and as Dr. Gwen had promised, the voice was gone.

  “What’s goin’on? What are we gonna do?” panicked Artie.

  Naz ignored Artie in favor of deep thought and reflection. Meri began to pray the Lord’s Prayer, and this made Naz think of Harvis’ words ‘To look into the skies and see an angel.’ An angel, he thought. If angels do exist, now would be a good time to put in an appearance. He thought of—what he was now starting to believe was—the angel that he saw at the water fountain that first day of school when the voice said, ‘What are you looking at?’ What am I looking at? What am I looking for? he wondered,and it came to him.“Mr. Fears said, ‘True vision goes beyond what the eye can see.’” Naz stopped suddenly.“I knowthis place,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” Artie asked.

  “I know this place, Section 29. I lived here for two years. Artie?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Now watch this, there’s a big, old office building two blocks up and to the right. We used to play hide-and-seek there. We called it ‘the maze’ because of all the hallways and rooms that seemed to lead into each other. It’s all boarded up except in the back. There are two big doors that open … kinda like barn
doors, but smaller.”

  “So?” said Artie.

  “So you have to go there, ahead of us … now!”

  “What? I’m not …”

  “Artie!” Naz said in a forced whisper as the gang began to close the distance between them again.“You have to go now. It’s me they want, so they won’t follow you. Besides, you’ll need a head start. Wait for us at the doors in the back. We won’t be that far behind you.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Artie with a desperate look on his face.

  “Absolutely. Now go, before it’s too late. Run!”

  Artie reluctantly released Meri’s hand and lumbered ahead. The gang began to yell out obscenities in Spanish and English, but they did not pursue Artie.

  Meri looked back.“They’re getting closer, Naz. You better do your thing.”

  “My thing?” He thought about all that Meri had told him earlier—about how he handled the bully on the playground and how Bearn died, and then he realized what she was asking him to do.“Look, Meri, there’re always alternatives to violence and fighting.”

  He waited until he felt that Artie had a good head start.“Meri, it’s your turn. Just like on our errands when I say go, I want you to run as fast as you can. Make a right at that first street, and run to the back of the building that will be directly in front of you. You’ll see Artie.”

  “OK!”

  “Firecracker,” Naz said as he bent down and picked up a big rock.“GO!”

  Meri darted down the street. At the same time Naz turned around and threw the rock at the gang. Surprised, they all ducked. When they looked up, Naz was gone. He ran after Meri and Artie, and the gang followed. Naz caught up with Meri and picked her up in his arms as he rounded the building. They both found Artie waiting in agitation.

  “Let’s go!” said Naz as he looked down. In the moonlight he could barely make out a woodpile of broken two-by-fours.

  “I’m not going in there,” said Artie.“It’s pitch black. We won’t be able to see anything.”

  “I’m counting on it,” said Naz, as he grabbed Meri’s hand and started into the vacant office building.

  Artie hesitated until he heard the three boys coming around the corner. He picked up a broken two-by-four and ran in behind Naz and Meri.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  INITIATE

  “NAZ!” Artie called out in a forced whisper.

  “Shhh ……,” whispered Naz as he reached out and grabbed Artie’s arm, causing him to jump. He pulled Artie down a hallway where Meri was waiting.

  “Listen,” whispered Naz.“Get on either side of me and grab my hand. Just walk slowly in the direction I lead you, and we’ll be back outside in ten minutes … ouch! And put that down before you hurt somebody,” he added, grimacing as Artie accidentally hit him in the ankle with the two-by-four.

  “Sorry, but, how … how can you see?” asked Artie, quietly putting the two-by-four down.“It’s pitch-black in here. I can’t even see my hand in front of my face.”

  “Trust me; I know what I’m doin’,” assured Naz.

  “Yeah, trust him,” said Meri.

  The gang entered the building.

  “Hey, SeñorNaz,” called Gruff.“Why don’t you come on out? We just wanna’talk to you.”

  How do they know my name? wondered Naz.

  “You know them?” asked Artie.

  “No … I mean … yes,” Naz stammered.

  “Well, which is it?” asked Meri.

  “Shut up; I have to concentrate,” said Naz.

  “Yeah,” said Meri to Artie.

  Artie tutted at Meri. Naz thought back to what he discovered earlier at International Academy. He then remembered everything he knew about the vacant office building: the maze as he and his friends used to call it. It was a labyrinth of connecting hallways and offices. He would combine all that he knew about both situations, and at that moment he realized why he always came out on top in hide-and-seek when he played there. He breathed deeply and listened to every sound in the dark building.

  “Yeah, Naz,” said Mohawk. “Come out, come out, wherever you are … so I can stick you and your fat friend like I did your other little buddy.”

  Naz remembered every inch of the once-familiar office building in a place he had once called home.

  “Yeah, and save the little girl for me,” said Red.

  This infuriated Naz, and he had to take deeper breaths to calm himself.

  “Grab my wrists,” said Naz.

  Artie and Meri complied.

  “Meri, start crying,” directed Naz.

  “What?” said Artie, surprised.

  Meri started making sounds as if she were crying, and this still surprised Naz even though he had requested it. He hadn’t heard her cry in so long, he couldn’t tell if she were actually faking.

  “Louder,” directed Naz.

  Meri really poured it on.

  “Shut up, Meri!” Naz played along in a less convincing but adequate supporting role.

  Artie listened, stunned.

  “There they are. Use your lighters,” orderedGruff.“You stay here. Nobody gets out of that door,” he said to Mohawk. Gruff and Red blindly headed in the direction they thought they heard Meri and Naz.

  With his arms slightly extended from his sides and his palms facing up, Naz led Meri and Artie quietly up and down different hallways and in and out of different offices until he reached another corner of the building where he stopped.

  “Wait,” whispered Naz as hecontinued to listen intently.“Artie, keep your eyes closed no matter what.” Then Naz whispered something in Meri’s ear, and there was some rustling between them.

  “What are you guys doing?” whispered Artie.

  “Shh …,” whispered Naz.

  “Where are you?” yelled Gruff, frustrated.

  “Over here!” yelled Naz. He was starting to enjoy himself.

  “Why’d you tell ’em?” Artie whispered.

  “Shh… I got this.” Naz laughed quietly.

  “They’re over there,” said Red.

  “C’mon,” said Gruff. When he and Red could see each other through the lighter’s small flames, he signaled Red to go around the opposite way so they could corner Naz, Meri, and Artie. Gruff then extinguished his own lighter to opt for complete darkness as Naz had.

  It was so dark in the building that the small flames from the lighters were not much aid to the gang, but they could hear noise coming from an area near the front of the building far away from where they entered, and they moved to investigate. They would slowly converge on a small office from where the noise was coming. Just before they entered, they pulled their knives.

  “Come on, Señor Naz.Join us, and nobody gets hurt,” said Gruff.

  As they slowly entered the room, they could see a small, dim light and hear a continuous sound coming from the center of the room. They approached cautiously and saw that it was a phone—Meri’s phone in the middle of the floor, her favorite song,“Love Child” playing. Angry and frustrated, the two boys cursed as Gruff stepped on the phone and smashed it to pieces.

  Meanwhile, Naz had led Meri and Artie back near the exit of the building, within fifty feet of where Mohawk stood guard. Naz opened his eyes so he could barely see Mohawk holding his lighter and guarding the only exit. He could also see the faint moonlight shining through the open doors. Now we close the barn door before the horses get out, Naz thought.

  Meri opened her big brown eyes as far as they would stretch, as Naz had whispered for her to do moments before. Naz flashed back to the Chess Master looking at the key around his neck, and he reached up and gently touched it. Even though he didn’t believe in luck, it just seemed like the thing to do. He thought about Tone and all the cool sounds he could make. Tone would sure make this a lot easier, he thought. Then, ever so quietly, Naz made a clicking sound with his mouth—a sound he used to make Tone fly whenever he wanted him to. The sound was just loud enough for Mohawk to hear. Mohawk turned toward the sound and
slowly moved in that direction to investigate as he held the lighter in the hand of his outstretched arm. As he got closer to them, Artie began to tremble. Naz nudged Artie as he closed his own eyes and refocused on the sounds around him.

  When Mohawk was within five feet, he noticed two tiny flames in front of him that grew as he moved forward. When Mohawk was inches away, he realized he was looking into a pair of eyes that reflected the lighter’s flame. It was Meri’s eyes. Just a little closer, Naz gambled. I am the silent soldier, he thought.

  When Mohawk realized it was Meri,he smiled.“Hey,little girl,” he said.

  “Hi!” replied Meri animatedly, then immediately poked him in his eyes with two fingers. Mohawk covered his eyes, dropped the lighter, which extinguished immediately then stood erect and screamed in agony. His scream alerted Gruff and Red, who had only just realized they’d been duped when they discovered Meri’s phone. In the darkness, the two boys scrambled to Mohawk’s defense, but it was too late. Naz’s next reaction was instinctual and instantaneous. Mohawk was on his feet for less than a second before Naz would send him crashing to the floor with a leg sweep.

  “Let’s go!” Naz said as he led Meri and Artie out of the building. As he passed Mohawk writhing in pain, Naz said to him,“That … was for my little buddy.”

  Outside Artie held the doors closed while Naz used a broken two-by-four from the woodpile to secure the doors from the outside and effectively trap the gang members inside. Moments later the boys could be heard shouting obscenities and banging on the steel doors that imprisoned them.

  Naz, Meri, and Artie exchanged high fives and headed for the train.