by Steve Bevil
Sadly, Nathan watched Samantha disappear into the crowd of people who danced and watched the concert. “I can’t keep doing this!” he groaned.
“Doing what?” asked Malick, who also watched the concert.
Nathan turned to look at him and huffed. “Keep lying to people!” he yelled. “The bad guys are still coming after us — so how is keeping secrets helping anyone? All it’s doing is helping push people away from me!”
There was a brief silence as Malick continued to peruse the crowd and then Nathan loudly cleared his throat. “Excuse me,” he said, “don’t let me interrupt anything with my despair!”
“Ah, they’ll get over it,” replied Malick quickly and with a grin.
“Get over it?” blurted Nathan. “Are you even listening to me?”
A moment passed and Malick sighed, running his fingers backward through his hair. “What you need to do is have some fun,” he said. “Live in the moment and stop worrying about everyone liking you. Trust me, you’ll be better off.”
“What?” Nathan exclaimed.
“You’re different, Nathan, and it’s about time you accepted it,” he smirked. “And what’s the point of being out here in the middle of nowhere — in a foggy field — if you’re not going to enjoy it? Wait … is that Lafonda? And who throws a concert next to a monastery and a cemetery anyway?”
Nathan seethed and gritted his teeth. “W–who invited you?” he shrieked. “I haven’t seen or heard from you since camp. Why are you even here!”
“Don’t get your underwear in a knot,” he grinned. “I haven’t abandoned you. Angela invited me.”
“Angela,” groaned Nathan. “That figures.”
“Well, while you’re sitting here being your normal brooding self,” said Malick. “I’m going to mosey on over to Lafonda and the rest of the gang.”
“Um, well, good luck with that,” scowled Nathan. “I don’t think she’s going to be too happy to see you though, not with me lying to everyone!”
Malick looked confused. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy being associated with the life of the party but, uh, what does her being mad at you have to do with me?”
Nathan dramatically tossed his hands in the air. “Well, she thinks you’re the only one I trust to tell anything!”
“Well, of course — that’s true,” grinned Malick. Nathan rolled his eyes at him. “But she didn’t seem so mad a month ago when we were dancing at the closing ceremony.”
Nathan looked shocked and immediately followed Malick’s gaze into the crowd. Lafonda stood next to Jim Darding off to the far right side of the stage. Angela, Alan, Leah, and some of Jim’s friends stood with them.
“What exactly did you guys talk about, anyway?” blurted Nathan.
Malick grinned while running his hands backward through his hair. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said deviously.
“Whatever,” said Nathan, “as you can see, there is nothing going on between you and Lafonda. You see that guy hanging onto her like a lost puppy dog? That’s Jim.” Nathan grinned and had a confident look in his eyes. “And I’m sure if it wasn’t for Angela, you wouldn’t even be here.”
Malick continued to look on at Lafonda and the others. Abruptly, he broke his gaze and then shook his head. “What are we doing out here, anyway?” he asked.
“Umm … Samantha’s birthday party?” said Nathan, sarcastically. He pointed toward the stage. “I know you’re kinda slow, but isn’t it obvious? We’re at a concert.”
“Ha-ha-ha, very funny,” said Malick. “But why here? Why not on campus? Why in the middle of nowhere?” He paused to look around him. “And preferably somewhere without fog!”
“Don’t ask me,” responded Nathan. “I’m hardly ever included on anything and besides our dog, I’m always the last to know — and we don’t even have one!” Nathan paused as he watched Lafonda and the others. “It would be my guess that since Sam’s dad sits on the town’s council, it was easier to persuade them to have a concert out here than trying to convince the trustees to have a concert for his daughter.”
“Trustees?” asked Malick.
“The board of trustees for the university,” said Nathan.
“Oh,” said Malick, eyeing the forest and then the monastery. “It’s still morbid.”
“Ha-ha, well, that’s Cahokia Falls for ya,” chuckled Nathan. “I’m starting to think it’s the home for the weird and unexplained.”
Malick turned around to smile at him, but his face suddenly drew a blank. “Didn’t I hear you say something about the bad guys still being after us? What exactly did you mean by that?”
“Well — that’s what I was trying to tell you earlier,” blurted Nathan. Cautiously, he gave a quick look around him and then leaned in. “I had another dream.”
For a moment, Malick stared at him and then frowned cynically. “A dream?” he asked.
“Ugh!” groaned Nathan. “You know what I mean, not a regular dream; a Dream Walker type of dream.”
“Oh,” said Malick, appearing slightly more concerned now. “What happened? What makes you so certain they are still after us?” He had a stern look on his face. “Have you been using your powers? You guys haven’t been cloaked!”
“I’m trying to get to that,” grumbled Nathan. “In my dream they were looking for the medallion. They said it would help them find the one they’re looking for — the one they seek!”
“Oh, are you talking about Lucas and Lauren?” asked Malick, apathetically. “Because I am not too concerned about them.”
“What?” blurted Nathan. “But I am, and so should you. They know who we are!”
“Ugh! And I thought you were a buzz kill,” sighed Malick. “But what do you know, here comes Jonathan.”
“What!” grumbled Nathan again. “Are you even listening to me … there’s more! I just thought I saw something in the forest.”
“What? You saw something in the forest?” asked Jonathan, stepping in from the side of them. Behind his dark square-rimmed glasses, he had a bright and inquisitive look on his face. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Buzz kill,” whispered Malick, mockingly.
Jonathan’s piercing blue eyes continued to probe Nathan. “What?” he asked, sounding confused. “What is he talking about?”
Nathan cut Malick a quick glare and then rolled his eyes. “Nothing,” he said. “Never mind him.”
Jonathan nodded and his glasses slid down to the tip of his sharp-angled nose.
Nathan glanced over toward Lafonda and the others again and noticed that Jonathan wore the same Justin Bloomer T-shirt, but unlike the others, he had a buttoned up oxford underneath it. “Angela?” he asked, while pointing at the T-shirt.
“Why, yes,” answered Jonathan, with a slight European accent.
“Oh, brother,” commented Malick as Nathan sighed.
“Anyway,” said Nathan, loudly. “A moment ago, I swear I thought I saw someone in the forest.”
“In this forest?” asked Jonathan, as he ran his fingers through his jet-black hair. “Where?”
“Over there!” said Nathan, pointing toward where he entered the forest. He had a serious look on his face. “In the fog, amongst the trees, there was this woman and she was dressed in white.” He caught a glimpse of Malick’s doubtful glare and swallowed hard before continuing. “And I think she had beady red eyes.”
“Beady red eyes?” asked Jonathan, looking hard into the forest. Malick laughed. “Is this what you wanted to talk to me about — why you texted me earlier?”
Abruptly, Malick stopped laughing and suddenly looked serious. “You texted Jonathan?” he asked. “For what? I thought I was the only one you trusted?” Malick cut Jonathan a disgruntled look. “And if I recall, this isn’t the first time you’ve seen something in the forest.” He paused to stare at Jonathan. “Maybe it was just wolf boy here … you haven’t been pawing around in the forest naked again have you?”
Jonathan’s glasses slid
down to the end of his nose as he smirked. “Ha-ha,” he said, in a sarcastic tone. “Funny.”
“First,” said Nathan. “It wasn’t me that said you were the only one that I trusted, Lafonda did, and second,” His right eye appeared to twitch as he stared intently at Malick. “I’m pretty sure whoever was in the forest, it wasn’t Jonathan!”
“So, if not for the beady red eyes …” said Jonathan, “then why did you want to see me? What was the reason for the text?”
“I had another dream,” said Nathan, pausing to swallow. The music from the band continued to blare but he tried not to speak too loudly. “And I’m pretty sure it starred the other Fallen Ones.”
“The other Fallen Ones!” blurted Malick. He had a skeptical, but confused look on his face. “I thought you said it was just Lucas and Lauren?”
“That’s because you won’t let me finish!” snapped Nathan. He paused to glare at him. “But yes, the Fallen Ones — plural.”
With a suspicious smirk, Malick glared at Nathan and then pursed his lips. “But how do you know?” he interrupted, before Nathan could continue. “I mean — it’s not like you’ve actually met a Fallen One.”
“Umm, have you forgotten about my wonderful run in with Lucas?” said Nathan, pointing at the faint scar on his forehead. “In my dream, there was Lucas and Lauren and they were sitting on the steps to the memorial plaza at Grimm Cemetery….”
“Over there?” asked Jonathan, sounding alarmed as he pointed in the direction of Grimm Cemetery.
“Yes,” said Nathan, but then he paused. “But in the Space-In-Between.”
A look of relief washed over Jonathan’s face. “It has to be strange for Jonas,” he said, continuing to look in the direction of the cemetery.
“Umm — Jonas, how come?” asked Nathan, sounding confused.
Jonathan’s eyes were bright and he seemed surprised. “Because his father’s body was found not too far from here — along Route 7,” he said. “It has to be weird for Leah too.” Nathan and Jonathan both drew quiet and began to peruse the faces in the crowd. “Having a concert in the same vicinity they found your roommate’s body has to feel weird.”
“Well, I think everyone is doing the best they can to try to move on,” said Nathan.
“But how do you know it was in the Space-In-Between?” interrupted Malick.
Nathan gave Malick a cold stare. “Because besides them, everything else was washed in gray — or black and white!” Nathan snapped.
“Oh,” said Malick.
“Anyway,” said Nathan, appearing annoyed. “The other two were wearing the same red cloak that Lucas wore when we rescued Leah and the others….”
“The other two?” asked Jonathan.
“Yes,” said Nathan, confidently. “One of them was really tall and had big muscular arms — and he seemed to get along well with the one with….”
“Amethyst-colored eyes?” finished Malick.
Nathan paused. He suddenly had a surprised look on his face. “Yes,” he said slowly. “And there was another one, the one in charge. He was the one who punished Lucas and Lauren for losing….”
“Losing what?” asked Malick.
“The medallion,” continued Nathan. “He punished them for losing the medallion and for not finding the one they seek.” Nathan shivered. “He was more powerful than the others. I can still hear their blood-curdling screams in my head.”
There was a brief silence between the three of them as the sound of music and laughter echoed in the background. “Did he have a crescent-shaped scar? Right below his right eye?” asked Malick.
“Yes,” said Nathan, sounding surprised. “Like a backward letter C.”
“Lucius,” said Malick slowly and Nathan nodded. “The other two were Laban and Luke.”
“Well, it sounds like to me that you know a lot about the Fallen Ones,” sneered Jonathan. “And I wonder why that is? Perhaps your grandmother … or maybe your father can explain it to us….”
Malick’s face suddenly went rigid and his lips snarled. “Did your little computer or raggedy little books tell you that?” he asked, condescendingly. “Because my grandmother, nor my father, would have anything to do with the Fallen Ones.”
“And what about the Order?” snapped back Jonathan.
Suddenly, Nathan’s eyes pleaded with Malick. “You told me your grandmother used to be a member of the Order — but what about your dad?”
Malick stood quiet and his eyes drifted out toward the crowd.
Nathan and Jonathan both sighed in response and shook their heads. “So what’s all this talk about a missing medallion?” asked Jonathan.
“The gold and silver crescent-shaped medallion that Scarlet Priest was wearing the night we saved everyone,” explained Nathan. “And they think we have it; they need it to find the one they seek.”
“The one that was around Pius’s neck before I toasted him?” asked Malick.
“More like killed him,” sneered Jonathan.
“Hmm, I wonder who has the medallion then?” asked Malick, sarcastically. “Maybe wolf boy here — you were doing a lot of sniffing around the memorial steps that night.”
“You guys!” yelled Nathan. “We don’t have time for this, we were all there that night, and they are coming for us.” Nathan paused; he caught a glimpse of Leah making her way toward them through the crowd. “We need to find that medallion and fast, before one of us gets hurt.”
5
CONCERT OVER!
Malick and Jonathan looked at each other in silence. After a brief moment, Malick diverted his eyes and Jonathan looked down, but he had to keep repositioning his glasses. Nathan looked out toward the stage and noticed how the surrounding trees looked like dark and thin elongated fingers stretched out toward the moonlit sky. The incoming fog had completing engulfed Lynn Field and combined with the different colored strobe lights from the stage, cast strange shadows amongst the concertgoers. Nathan’s stomach twisted in knots as he noticed the different faces peering back at him through the darkness. Among the many faces, Nathan spotted Leah’s as she continued toward them.
“Okay,” said Nathan, returning his attention back to Malick and Jonathan. He tried to adjust the volume of his voice in an attempt to project over the loud music. “Let’s not all speak at once!”
Jonathan and Malick both turned to look at each other; both hesitant to speak. Slowly, Nathan shook his head before drawing a deep breath. “Whatever is going on,” he said. “I’m going to need both of you to get it together.”
Malick looked a little adverse to Nathan’s statement and frowned.
“Ugh,” sighed Nathan. “Yes, Malick — both of you!” Nathan turned to glare at Jonathan and then at Malick. “I can’t do this all by myself!”
“Can’t do what by yourself?” asked Leah. Her shoulder-length, mousy brown hair was tucked behind her ears. She wore a Justin Bloomer T-shirt very similar to the one Jonathan wore.
“Angela?” he asked, smiling weakly at her.
Leah paused and for a moment looked confused. “Oh, yeah,” she said, looking down and repositioning the strap to her knitted bag that lay across her shirt. She held up her wrist and chuckled. “With matching glow in the dark wristband.”
Nathan shook his head and smiled. “Don’t you go anywhere without that bag?”
Leah chucked lightly. “You don’t miss anything do you…?” she said. “But seriously, I know you’re like the master of dodging questions. What’s going on? What can’t you do by yourself?”
“What is he doing out here?” asked Nathan, abruptly.
“What?” asked Leah. She attempted to follow Nathan’s gaze into the crowd. “Are you trying to ignore my question again?”
“No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m just surprised to see Argus out here and on top of it, talking to Chief Rosales….”
“Argus?” interrupted Malick. “The crazy guy that runs the lake?” He turned to search the crowd and quickly spotted him. “Wh
at is he doing out here?”
“That’s what I said,” responded Nathan. “And talking to the Chief of Police.”
“Hopefully it has nothing to do with the Order or ratting us out for our abilities,” said Malick.
“The Order?” asked Leah, appearing confused. “What’s the Order?”
She paused; the crowd of people dancing and watching the concert had grown and had finally reached them. “What does the tourist and recreation manager for Lake Charleston have to do with this Order?”
“Nathan didn’t tell you?” said Malick, before Nathan could respond. “He has a tattoo of the Firewalker symbol on his forearm. I’m thinking it’s a good guess he’s a member of the Order.”
“Firewalker symbol?” uttered Leah. “The same one Jonathan and Dr. Helmsley found in the caves?” She turned to look at Nathan. “I thought this was something new — the reason for Jonathan’s research? How is it on some guy’s arm?”
Malick raised his eyebrows and grinned, while Leah stared at Nathan, waiting for a response.
“Ugh,” sighed Nathan. His eyes pleaded with Jonathan’s for help. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” blurted Leah.
“Yes,” whispered Nathan. Even though the music was loud, he paused to see if anyone around them tried to listen. “It’s complicated and we shouldn’t talk about it here.”
“Who else knows about this, Nathan?” she asked, fervently. “Does Lafonda know?” She paused. Several people behind them danced erratically and she took a step forward to stop from being elbowed. “What else haven’t you told me?”
“Umm — and speaking of the Order,” said Jonathan, chiming in. He paused to reposition his glasses after being shoved forward. “I have an update from Dr. Colvers; it’s about the prophecy.”
“Prophecy?” asked Leah, with a deep sigh. She turned to look at Jonathan and then at Nathan. “What’s going on, Nathan?”
A few frown lines appeared on Nathan’s forehead as he gawked at Jonathan. “Jonathan, really — are you serious? Now is not the time!” he shouted. Abruptly, Nathan was shoved forward and after he caught his footing, he rolled his eyes at Malick, who continued to smile. “Ugh, and if someone elbows me one more time — Jonas!”