The Legend of the Firewalker

by Steve Bevil [paranormal/YA]

  “Oh,” she said, pausing to lean back on the table. “It’s not a big deal, I thought you knew.”

  “Well, it’s a big deal to me,” he said.

  She sat up straight again and shrugged. “I don’t understand why it would be such a big deal to you.”

  I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’ve only been dreaming and thinking about Leah constantly for almost two months now, he thought.

  There was confusion in her face and he knew the only remedy was to confess everything, but decided not to. “You are right, Lafonda,” he said. “It’s not a big deal.”

  She paused and her eyes looked into his. “You are hiding something again, Mr. Nathan,” she said.

  He tried to appear innocent. “What do you mean?”

  She tossed her long black hair behind her shoulders. “I am going to go along with it this time,” she said. “But in all these years, I’ve never heard you tell me I was right about anything without an argument first.”

  Nathan smiled wearily and shrugged. “I guess there is a first time for everything,” he chuckled.

  “Yeah,” she added, pointing at him. “Like you deciding to wear your orange leadership shirt.”

  He laughed nervously. “I guess so…”

  “Anyhoo,” she said with a laugh. “You are actually staying in Amanda’s old room and Jonas is staying in Leah’s room and Andy – is staying in mine.”

  “Amanda’s old room?” he asked.

  Lafonda glanced down and twirled her locket again. “Yes,” she said, solemnly. “Amanda became Leah’s roommate after Jamie died.”

  “Oh.” Nathan looked confused. “Who is Jamie?”

  She quickly looked up with a surprised look on her face. “You don’t know?” she asked. “It was all over campus and in the news.”

  Nathan raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

  “A story about it even appeared in our yearbook,” she continued, sounding still surprised. “It was a memorial piece.”

  “Sorry,” he said, with remorseful eyes.

  Lafonda shook her head. “You know,” she said. “You really have this escape into your own world thing down pat.”

  “Can you just continue with the story?”

  She rolled her eyes before continuing. “Jamie’s body was found outside Grimm Cemetery at the end of our first semester, last year,” she said.

  Andy stepped out of his room and Lafonda lowered her voice. Andy had a towel in his hand and looked like he was headed for a shower. “From what I remember,” she said. “Leah and Jamie went to a party and Leah left the party early without Jamie. Leah said she came back to the dorm room and fell asleep – and didn’t realize Jamie was missing until morning.”

  She leaned towards Nathan and whispered. “I think they asked Leah to identify the body,” she said. Her voice grew thin and she looked sad. “Leah said there were deep wounds and scratches on her arms and legs. She was really shaken up about it and I think she blamed herself – that’s probably why she was having nightmares.”

  “Nightmares?” he asked.

  “Practically everyone on the floor knew. We would often hear Leah screaming in the middle of the night.” Lafonda clenched her chest. “Some nights her screams would be so blood curdling.”

  “That’s awful!” he said.

  “Yeah. And unfortunately, sometimes she would get teased by the girls on our floor.”

  “That’s messed up,” said Nathan. “Why would you tease someone that’s been through something like that?”

  Lafonda shook her head. “I don’t know, Nathan. I wanted to help Leah, as much as I could, but she rarely talked about it.”

  Bam, Bam, Bam!

  Nathan and Lafonda looked up to see Jonas dribbling his basketball with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

  Nathan shook his head and stood up from his chair. “Jonas,” he called. “It’s late; can you give it a rest?”

  Jonas stood up, placed his basketball under his arm, and quickly secured his falling towel.

  Lafonda diverted her eyes and hopped off the table. “On that note,” she said. “I’m leaving.”

  Nathan laughed.

  She stood in front of the elevator and pressed the down button. “Good night, Nathan,” she said, cheerfully. “See you in the morning!”

  The doors opened and she stepped into the elevator. “Oh, and good night Jonas,” she added. She gave him a quick wink and a thumps up. “Good catch grabbing that towel.”

  Jonas raised his hand to wave good bye, but quickly had to secure his towel again.

  Nathan looked at the puddle of water that was accumulating at the base of Jonas’ feet. “You are a mess,” he said. He took the basketball from underneath Jonas’s arm. “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Sure,” he said.

  Nathan grinned and said slowly, “Go – to – bed.”

  “Oh, okay,” said Jonas.

  Nathan sighed heavily and walked into his room.

  Later, after his shower, he lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He thought about what Lafonda had said about Leah and her roommate Jamie. “It had to be tough dealing with all of that. And to top things off she was having nightmares and having to defend herself from those monsters.”

  He turned over to his side and stared at the clock. It was getting late and he couldn’t fall asleep. “I still don’t know what those creatures were that I saw attacking her. And they were nowhere to be found during my last dream about Grimm Cemetery.”

  Nathan shivered. Just the thought of Grimm Cemetery and what was supposedly to come frightened him. There was a knock on the door and he jumped and glanced at the clock again. “Who in the world could that be?” he wondered.

  He then heard someone say his name in a low whisper. Nathan shook his head. “Jonas,” he said. He shoved his feet into his shoes and opened the door. “Jonas,” he snapped, but in a whisper. “Do you know what time it is?”

  Jonas cast his eyes away from him and hung his head down low.

  Nathan took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. “What’s wrong? Why are you still up?”

  “I can’t sleep,” said Jonas. “I was going to the bathroom and then I saw that your light was still on, so I figured you couldn’t sleep either.”

  Against his better judgment, Nathan nodded. “Yeah. I’m having a hard time falling asleep too.”

  Jonas smiled and quickly slid past him; taking a seat on his bed.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Nathan warned. His eyes were wide. “It’s time for you to go to bed and we’re not about to stay up late talking.”

  Jonas hung his head down low again. He looked disappointed. “But you said you can’t sleep either,” he protested.

  Nathan raised his eyebrows. He had a stern look on his face. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I am done trying.” He pointed towards the door. “Back to bed, Mr. Riley.”

  “Okay, okay,” Jonas said. He stopped mid-walk and stared at the orange and black basketball that sat in the back corner of Nathan’s desk.

  Nathan grinned and shook his head. “Go ahead and take it,” he said.

  Jonas smiled and bounced the ball.

  Nathan cringed. “Don’t bounce it,” he said. “It’s too late for that; you’ll wake everyone else up.”

  “Sorry. I forgot.”

  Nathan sighed. “Just promise not to do it again.”

  Jonas had a wide smile on his face. “Oh, okay,” he said. “I mean – I promise.”

  Nathan held the door open and whispered. “Good night, Jonas,” he said.

  “Night, Nathan,” he replied.

  Bam, Bam, Bam!

  Nathan tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness. “What was that?”

  Bam, Bam, Bam!

  Nathan sat up in bed. It was the wee hours of the morning; still dark outside. That sounds like a basketball, he thought.

  He got out of bed and opened the door to his dorm room. There were voices and chattering coming from the
hallway, so he gradually put his head out from his door. “What’s going on out here?” he asked.

  Andy stuck his head out from his dorm room doorway to look at Nathan. “I have no clue,” he said with a shrug. “I was in bed sleeping when I heard a loud noise that sounded like a basketball.”

  “It was Jonas,” shouted Hugo, after sticking his head out from his door.

  Nathan started to walk towards Hugo when he noticed that the door to Jonas’ room was wide open and the lights were off. “Where is he?” he said. “And how do you know?”

  Hugo yawned and his eyes looked heavy. “As soon as I heard the dribbling I got up,” he said. “That’s when I saw Jonas with his basketball.” He yawned again, this time covering his mouth. “He was acting weird. I called his name and it was like he didn’t even hear me.”

  Nathan turned his head to look down both ends of the hallway. “So, where did he go?” he said.

  “He went that way,” pointed Hugo. “Towards the end of the hallway.”

  Nathan hurried past Hugo and quickly glanced into the bathroom and shower area.

  “He went that way,” said another camper on the floor. “He turned the corner at the end of the hall.”

  Nathan continued past several campers that were now standing outside their doors. At the end of the hall was Jonas’ basketball; nestled in a corner. Nathan could hear the sound of shuffling feet approaching from behind him. “You guys go back to your rooms,” he said, sternly. “I’ll look for Jonas.”

  Andy pouted, but followed Hugo and the others back to their dorm rooms.

  Nathan decided to leave Jonas’ basketball and turned the corner at the end of the hallway. “Jonas,” he sighed. Jonas was standing at the door to the staircase a little ways away. “Jonas!”

  Abruptly, Jonas outlined the perimeter of the door with his index finger before stopping, palms out, towards the middle of the door.

  Nathan squinted and slowly continued towards Jonas. “What is he doing?” he grumbled. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open. A blue light crept from Jonas’ hand and engulfed the door in blue light. “Jonas!” he cried out.

  Jonas vanished through the door as if it weren’t solid and Nathan went into hot pursuit behind him. He stopped at the foot of the illuminated door, closed his eyes and stepped through.

  Slowly, he opened his eyes – everything was shrouded in grey. The air was humid and it felt like he had just stepped into a muted vacuum. “Jonas, where are you?”

  Nathan immediately noticed that his hands felt warm and that they were red again. Scratching and faint shuffling noises came from below. “Déjà vu much?” he asked himself. “Is this a repeat of Grimm Cemetery, but the stairway edition?”

  Cautiously, he peered over the banister. “Jonas!” he called out. Jonas was down below; his shoulders were oddly held back and he walked with a strange gait.

  Nathan took to the stairs and caught up with him. The sound that he would normally hear while walking on the metal staircase was missing. “Jonas!” he cried, but Jonas continued to walk forward; not even a flinch or a blink.

  The scratching and shuffling noises drew closer. It sounded to him like an army of little feet. Suddenly, there was a soft high-pitched wail that came from down below. It sounded like grinding metal.

  Nathan’s hands started to tremble and his eyes grew wide. He looked over the banister. “I’ve heard that sound before,” he said. “In my dreams about Leah.” He saw what looked like small black or grey creatures running up the staircase. He could tell some had very sharp teeth because several of them had stopped to gnaw on the railings.

  “Jonas!” he yelled, but Jonas continued to walk down the staircase. Nathan grabbed him by the arm. The high-pitched sound screeched louder as the creatures drew closer and closer. “Jonas,” he yelled. “Wake up!”

  Jonas didn’t try to resist Nathan’s pull, but his legs continued forward. Nathan tried standing in front of him and shaking him by the shoulders. “Jonas,” he yelled again. “Snap out of it!”

  Nathan’s hands trembled – the patter of little feet sounded like the creatures were directly behind him. Jonas’s eyes were definitely glazed over. Nathan paused and reluctantly slapped Jonas in the face. “Wake up!” he cried.

  Jonas moved his head and fluttered his eyes a few times before focusing on Nathan’s face. “Nathan,” he murmured. He looked confused. “What’s going on? And what are we doing in the stairway?”

  “No time to explain,” said Nathan, glancing over his shoulder. “We gotta move!”

  “Why?” slurred Jonas. “I want to sit down for a second.” He placed his hand to the side of his head. “My head is dizzy – and I think something’s wrong with my eyes.”

  The stairway suddenly got cold and a metallic screeching sound filled the air. Jonas shivered. “What was that?” he blurted. The sound of shuffling and scratching grew and so did Jonas’s eyes.

  Nathan intently looked him in the face. “Look,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with your eyes.” Jonas looked confused again and Nathan sighed. “You are supposed to see grey.”

  Jonas shook his head. “Oh – okay,” he said. “But why?”

  Nathan pointed over the banister. “That’s why.”

  “What the…” stammered Jonas. “What the heck are those?”

  “You see those teeth?” asked Nathan. “Run!”

  They stumbled up the staircase with the grey and black creatures not too far behind them. Nathan felt like they couldn’t move fast enough. The creatures were now on the same level as them. They were trying to surround them; climbing up the walls and ceiling.

  There was panic in Jonas’s voice. “They’re everywhere,” he cried. “Like roaches!”

  “Head for the door!” Nathan shouted.

  Jonas hurried for the door and Nathan followed. One of the creatures sprung from the ceiling, landing at the heels of Nathan’s feet. “Aaah!” he yelled. Its small hairy arms and hands swiped repeatedly at his legs and feet. Furiously, Nathan kicked; trying to avoid its sharp teeth and long nails. He was finally able to kick the creature in the head; sending it flying over the heads of the others and down the stairs.

  “The door won’t budge!” said Jonas.

  “What?” Nathan cried, pushing him to the side. “This door shouldn’t be here. There was a blue door here!”

  Jonas tried the door again. “What blue door?” he yelled. “There is no blue door.” Relentlessly, he pounded on the door, but every hit was met with silence. “Help!” he yelled. “Somebody help us!”

  Creatures from the ceiling were dropping down in front of them and on top of the others, starting to surround them by the door. There was a deep growl from some of them and a high-pitched screeching sound from the others. For the most part, they appeared cloaked in shadow, making it hard to track their movements.

  Jonas placed his back against the door and covered his ears. “Why are they making that noise?” he groaned.

  Nathan could see them up close now. They were just how he remembered them in his dreams about Leah, especially their sharp teeth and long nails. He remembered how they’d clawed at her flesh; scratching her and biting her. Nathan thought the creatures looked like overstuffed hairy gerbils the size of small cats, but with flat faces and no tails. He found himself equally as disturbed by their manic red eyes as he was by their claws and teeth.

  Nathan felt Jonas cowering behind him and several of the creatures looked ready to pounce. Nathan’s breath labored. His heart pounded against his chest. “Stay behind me!” he cautioned Jonas.

  Stealthily, several of the creatures launched into the air. Their claws pointed at the boys; saliva falling from their mouths. Nathan crouched down and his hand shook uncontrollably as he raised it to shield his face.

  Without warning, a huge ball of energy emerged from Nathan’s hand, knocking several of the creatures unconscious and leaving a trail of blue light. The force from the discharge of energy sent Nathan and Jonas h
urling backwards, forcing the door open, and landing them on the floor on the other side.

  Nathan shook his head and stood up. Jonas placed his hand against his head and Nathan helped him to his feet. “How did you do that?” asked Jonas.

  Nathan looked down at his hands. They were still red and trembling. “I don’t know,” he said. “But my hands are still shaking, so I don’t think we are out of this yet.”

  “But I don’t see them,” said Jonas, while cautiously looking around.

  Suddenly, a metallic screeching sound reverberated through the air.

  “Yeah?” said Nathan. “Then what the heck was that?” He pointed to the wall. “And look – everything around us is still in grey!”

  Jonas was shaking in panic. “What are we going to do?”

  “Come on,” said Nathan, gesturing with his hand. “We need to find another door.”

  Nathan and Jonas turned the corner to the hallway leading to the dorm rooms and the bath and shower area. Jonas noticed his orange and black basketball that was now grey, sitting in the corner. “It’s like – frozen!” he said.

  Abruptly, Nathan stopped. “What’s frozen?” he asked.

  Jonas had a vacant expression on his face. “My basketball,” he said. He reached down and attempted to pick it up. “See, it’s like frozen and it feels like a wall or some barrier is stopping me from picking it up.”

  Nathan raised his eyebrows and gave him a stern look. “Jonas, let’s go,” he said. He hurried over to the nearest door, but it was locked.

  “Why are we checking doors again?” asked Jonas.

  “Well,” said Nathan, while continuing to check each door. “I am guessing since we came through a door, that you activated by the way, we need to go through another one to get back.”

  “Me?” Jonas frowned. “That I activated?” He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. “It’s getting cold again,” he stuttered. A high-pitched sound filled the hallway again followed by scratching and growling noises. “What are we going to do?”

  Nathan placed his hands on his hips. His hands had started to tremble more. “We have to do something fast.”

  “Can’t you do that hand thing again?” asked Jonas.