The Legend of the Firewalker

by Steve Bevil [paranormal/YA]

  There was a familiar male and female voice behind him. It sounded like there was an argument about whether or not there was enough time to check research. Nathan’s face lit up. “Jonathan!” he said. He turned around; in the doorway to the computer lab were Erin Rosales and Jonathan Black.

  “It won’t take long,” Jonathan said. “I just want to check a few websites and my email.”

  “Just whatever,” she said, waving her hand. “Just meet us in Fisher Hall’s computer lab.”

  “Thanks Erin!” responded Jonathan happily.

  “Do you have to be so happy about it?” she asked, mockingly.

  Jonathan paused, secured the backpack on his shoulder, and smiled.

  Erin raised her eyebrows. “I am so glad this is almost over,” she muttered while walking away.

  Nathan sprung to his feet; he wanted to catch Jonathan before he walked past him. He quickly bent over his chair and peered at his computer screen to see if the article and online newsletter by Colvers were still open. “Okay,” he said. “Now I just need Jonathan to see this without telling him why.”

  “And where are you going?” asked Lafonda.

  Nathan was surprised to find Lafonda standing in front of him. They really hadn’t spoken to each other since the day he, Malick, and Jonas had snuck out to Jonas’s house. He could tell by the look on her face that she was still upset. He could also see he was losing his chance to stop Jonathan.

  Out of habit he checked to see if she was still wearing her white tennis shoes. She was. “Umm, hello to you too Lafonda,” he smirked.

  Lafonda glowered. “Just in case you were planning on leaving,” she said. “We aren’t scheduled to leave here for a few more hours.”

  Nathan watched as Jonathan approached them. “I’m not leaving Lafonda,” he said. He smiled sarcastically and then sidestepped her. “Hey, Jonathan,” he said.

  Jonathan stopped abruptly. It was as if he was surprised to see them. His eyes were wide, but looked irritated as if he had been rubbing them. “Hi Nathan,” he said. “And Lafonda.”

  Lafonda stood there; head cocked to the side and her arms folded. “Hi Jonathan,” she said. “Shouldn’t you be in the other computer lab?”

  Jonathan hesitated. “Umm, yes,” he said. “But I am headed there after this.”

  Lafonda tossed back a long lock of her dark hair over her shoulder. “And why can’t you just use the other lab?” she asked.

  Jonathan sneezed and then paused to reposition his square-rimmed glasses.

  “Bless you,” said Nathan, eyeing Jonathan suspiciously. “Do you have a cold or something?”

  “No,” he responded. “Allergies.”

  Nathan still eyed him suspiciously. “Oh.”

  Jonathan pursed his lips. “I need to use this lab because last night I convinced the tech guy on duty to allow me to download a large file from a colleague of mine in London,” he said. He held up the slim black drive that was in his hand. “I didn’t have a large enough storage device to get it off the computer. Pretty much any computer will do, the tech guy was nice enough to show me how to save it to the Lawrence Hall public server.”

  Lafonda stepped aside so that Jonathan could pass them.

  “Wait!” blurted out Nathan.

  Jonathan jumped. He seemed startled.

  Both Lafonda and Jonathan awaited an explanation. “What I meant to say,” Nathan said. “Is that you can use my computer.”

  Jonathan looked perplexed. “But I can use any computer.” He pointed. “Look, there are plenty of open ones.”

  “Yeah, what’s the big deal?” asked Lafonda. “Are you trying to leave or something?”

  Nathan cut Lafonda a disapproving look. “No,” he said. He took Jonathan’s backpack off his shoulder and placed it next to his computer. Jonathan looked confused, but put up little resistance. “Sit down Jonathan,” he said.

  Jonathan sat down and repositioned the chair closer to the computer. He paused and then leaned in to the computer screen. Nathan could tell that he was reading the article. “Find anything interesting,” he said. “Is he a real doctor? I mean – does he seem legit?”

  “Real doctor?” asked Lafonda, suspiciously.

  Jonathan stammered. “I—I don’t know,” he responded. “Is there a reason why you are looking at this?”

  Both of them stared at Nathan awaiting a response. He could hear Malick in his head, warning him to keep everyone in the dark. He shrugged. “Oh, I stumbled upon it,” he said. “I thought it was interesting; his research on secret societies and stuff. The newsletter says he has his Ph.D. Do you think he’s a professor at a university or something?” He paused. “Oh, and if it helps, I also noticed he has several YouTube videos.”

  Jonathan hesitated again. “I – I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think I can help you.”

  Both Lafonda and Nathan looked surprised by Jonathan’s response.

  “Let me see,” she said. “Maybe I can help.”

  “No!” shouted Nathan and Jonathan in unison. Jonathan closed the browser window and proceeded to place his storage device into the USB drive. “Excuse me,” he said. “But I promised Erin I wouldn’t be long.”

  Nathan looked confused and wondered why Jonathan didn’t want Lafonda to see it.

  Lafonda rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Whatever,” she said. “Are you all set for the banquet on Saturday?”

  Jonathan continued to copy the file to his drive from the public server.

  “Hello, Nathan,” said Lafonda, obviously annoyed.

  He slightly jumped. Nathan had been so engrossed in what Jonathan was doing that he forgot to answer her. “Oh – umm – sorry about that,” he stammered. He paused to scratch his head. “Yes, I am definitely ready.”

  Lafonda rolled her eyes again. “Most likely you won’t see me on Friday because I am leaving early to drive to St. Louis to pick up Leah.”

  Nathan smiled. He was excited about finally meeting Leah, but he was most excited because her arrival meant the close of camp. He felt like once camp was over, things would go back to normal again.

  “And you don’t have to worry about the girls,” she said. “Angela will cover for me and chances are, you guys won’t even have a bonfire on Friday because it’s supposed to rain.”

  “Woohoo!” shouted Nathan. “No more bonfires!”

  Lafonda lightly chuckled, but then pursed her lips. “Don’t get too excited,” she said. “I said that it’s supposed to rain; I didn’t say that it will.”

  “But wait,” he said. “What about the fireworks on Saturday?”

  “There is a chance for rain on Saturday too,” she said. “But I guess we would just move the banquet indoors.”

  Nathan peered over at Jonathan. His file was almost completely downloaded. Nathan stretched his neck to see if he could read the name on the file.

  “So how is your buddy these days?” Lafonda asked in a sarcastic tone.

  “My buddy? Who, Jonas?”

  Hearing Nathan say his name, Jonas looked up and smiled. He was sitting at a computer next to Christina Williams.

  “He’s doing okay,” Nathan said.

  Lafonda grinned. “I meant your buddy Malick.”

  Nathan’s face turned red after he realized that she was serious. He hardly thought Malick was his buddy. “Ha-ha, funny,” he said. “And how is your buddy?”

  Lafonda’s forehead creased. “My buddy?” she asked.

  “You know,” he teased. “Leah.”

  Lafonda fixed her gaze on Nathan and then tossed back her hair. “She’s fine,” she responded, confidently. “In fact, I received a text message from her this morning.”

  Nathan nodded. “Okay,” he said. “That’s good, but don’t bother asking again about Malick because I don’t have an answer for you.”

  Lafonda grinned. “Leah said she was looking forward to seeing campus again. She also said she was excited to finally have the chance to meet you.”

  “Wh
at? Really?” Nathan blushed. “I mean – why would she be excited to meet me?”

  “I told her about you,” she said. “And don’t worry, I only told her about the nice Nathan that was sincere and caring; not the rebel without a cause Nathan that abandoned us a week ago.”

  Nathan glowered. “Ha-ha, funny Lafonda. I am not turning into Stephen Malick.”

  “We’ll see,” she said.

  Nathan frowned.

  “Lafonda,” called Eva Marie Evans. “Can you please help me?” She had a hint of desperation in her voice. “My computer just froze!” She frantically pressed several buttons on the keyboard. “I hope I hit save.”

  “I’ll be there in a second,” Lafonda responded. Jonas overheard and was heading over to help her. The computer lab technician was coming over to help as well. “Okay, well, you know the deal for Friday and Saturday,” Lafonda said. “And lucky for you, my grandmother made sure everyone was prepared as far as dress attire for the banquet.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Lafonda grinned. “Now you don’t have to fret about what to wear to impress Leah.”

  Nathan’s face turned red again. He remembered the hard time he’d given Roy about packing the slacks and loafers LaDonda recommended on the dreaded gold paper.

  “Lafonda!” called Eva Marie again.

  “Coming,” she said. Lafonda smiled one last time at Nathan and walked away.

  Jonathan suddenly pushed back his computer chair and stood up. Nathan took a few steps back to avoid getting hit by it.

  “All done?” he asked.

  Jonathan peered over his shoulder before turning his attention back to the computer screen. “My apologies, Nathan,” he said. “I am sort of in a hurry.”

  “Did you get what you needed?” asked Nathan.

  Jonathan quickly deleted the file from the computer, closed the Internet browser, and placed the slim black storage device into his pocket.

  Nathan frowned. “Hey,” he said. “I was looking at that.”

  “Sorry again,” he said. Jonathan placed his backpack over his shoulder. “You really should come up to the Cahokia Caves sometime,” he continued. “We will be entering inside the secret chamber any day now and there are a few things that I would like to show you.” Jonathan cautiously looked around the room before whispering. “And I think you will find it very interesting.”

  Nathan raised his eyebrows. He didn’t know what Jonathan was talking about or why he would think he would find the caves interesting. “Okay,” he responded slowly.

  Jonathan patted him on the shoulder and proceeded to walk away.

  “Wait,” said Nathan. He paused and Jonathan looked at him inquisitively. “I have a question for you,” he said. “It’s about your research.”

  Jonathan adjusted the backpack on his shoulder and repositioned his glasses. “Yes?” he said.

  Nathan drew a big breath. “In your research…” He paused. “Have you come across anything about – dark and powerful forces?”

  Jonathan stood there for a moment and then leaned in. “That’s a very good question,” he said. He spoke softly, “There are many dark creatures mentioned in Cahokia mythology. But there is one story that is often repeated and stands out; and that’s the legend about The Fallen Ones.”

  “But that’s just a myth, right?” asked Nathan.

  There was a vibrating sound from the vicinity of Jonathan’s leg and he pulled out his cell phone. He stood in silence as he read the text. From the look on his face, it appeared serious. “Please forgive me,” he said. “But I really have to go.”

  “What is it?” Nathan asked.

  Jonathan stumbled, placing his phone back into his pocket. He fidgeted with his backpack nervously. “Everything’s fine. I just have to see Dr. Helmsley immediately.”

  “But wait!” said Nathan.

  “Everything will be okay,” said Jonathan, reassuringly. “The dark may have its minions Nathan, but the righteous have their heroes.”

  18

  A LIGHT IN THE DARK

  Nathan sat quietly, looking into the fire. Darkness had set in and a cool breeze gently nudged the flames towards the lake. He thought about the evening and how Malick had repeatedly dodged his questions about The Order. He had hoped by the time they were done filling the fire pits that Malick would have at least answered one of his questions, but he hadn’t. The only thing Nathan was able to get out of him was a slight reaction when he mentioned his theory that The Order was a part of some secret organization. Based on Malick’s reaction, particularly his repeated attempts to find out how Nathan developed this theory, made Nathan think he was probably on the right track.

  Nevertheless, he was still clueless and Malick apparently wanted him to stay that way. He’d insisted that Nathan was better off not knowing and told him to stop asking questions. Nathan recalled his exact words were to ‘remain in the dark.’ By the time the fires were set, Nathan was so frustrated that he was relieved when Malick volunteered to help LaDonda escort a sick camper, Drew Waters, back to Lawrence Hall.

  Nathan continued to look into the fire but his gaze was broken by the sound of laughter followed by a sudden crack of thunder. Lightning struck violently across the sky and soon a dark grey thunder cloud slowly made its way over Lake Charleston and the bonfire area.

  “Wahoo!” shouted Hugo. “We made it to the last bonfire before it rained.”

  Jonas and Christina Williams sat on the other side of the fire while Andy high-fived Hugo behind them. “Yes!” he yelled. “Camp is officially over.”

  “Come on,” said Alan, who was sitting next to Christina. “Camp wasn’t that bad was it?”

  “Technically,” chimed in Angela, “camp isn’t over, we still have the closing ceremony tomorrow.”

  “Yeah,” said Hugo. “But leadership classes are done and there are no more projects!”

  “You know, Andy,” said Eva Marie Evans, with a cup of water in her hand, “I never saw your last project.” She placed her hands on her hips and looked at him skeptically. “Are you sure you even completed yours?”

  Andy’s face turned red; almost matching his hair color. “Yes, I did,” he said, sounding rather annoyed.

  Hugo laughed. “Yeah, I guess you can call what you turned in finished,” he said.

  Andy’s face went from red to sour. “Whatever,” he muttered. “I got it done.”

  Eva Marie Evans laughed. “I probably didn’t get to see it because you probably turned it in late.”

  “I’ll show you late!” shouted Andy. He grabbed Eva by the waist and threw her over his shoulder.

  “Aaah!” she yelled, her feet dangling in the air.

  Andy had a wide grin on his face. “How about some water to cool you off?” he asked.

  Andy headed towards the lake and Hugo let out a huge laugh. Eva windmilled her hands and feet in an attempt to get down. “Don’t you dare Andy – put me down!” she yelled. Eva’s cup of water flew out of her hand and landed in Jonas’ lap; wetting his pants and spraying water into Christina’s face.

  “Hey!” yelled Christina.

  Angela quickly rose to her feet. She had her purple hairbrush in her hand and pointed it at him. “Okay, Andy that’s enough,” she scolded. “Put her down and knock it off!”

  Andy sighed and released Eva.

  Eva ran her fingers through her hair and fixed her shorts. “You can be such a jerk sometimes,” she said, before storming away.

  Angela sat down. “Gosh,” she said. “They are never this rowdy.”

  Alan laughed vigorously.

  “Why are you laughing, Alan?” she asked, slightly annoyed.

  “At you!” he said, while holding his stomach. “What were you going to do? Hairbrush them to death?”

  Erin tried not to giggle and Nathan laughed.

  Angela looked down at the purple hairbrush in her hand and placed it in her back pocket. “Shut up, Alan,” she said.

  Alan pointed. “You a
re hurting my stomach from making me laugh so much,” he said.

  Angela rolled her eyes. “Ugh!” she said. “I’ll be glad when Lafonda comes back.” She slowly rubbed her neck. “Watching my girls and hers is way too much for one person.”

  “Tell me about it,” protested Erin. “I’ve been practically by myself for four weeks!”

  “Sorry, Erin,” said Angela, empathetically. “Where is Jonathan anyway?”

  Nathan broke his gaze from the fire to look around for Jonathan.

  Erin placed the front of her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ears and sighed. “I don’t know,” she said. “He’s been gone pretty much all week and hasn’t told me anything.”

  “You don’t know where he is?” asked Nathan, surprised.

  Erin scoffed. “Nope,” she said. “I haven’t really talked to him since Monday. I guess he figured camp is over, so why bother.”

  “That really sucks,” said Angela. She had a sad look on her face. “You should say something to LaDonda.”

  “I’m done with Mr. Indiana,” Erin added. She stretched her legs out in front of her, causing them to become illuminated by the fire. “I’m just glad camp is over and I don’t have to deal with it anymore.”

  Alan tossed a small stick into the pit missing the fire. “Oh, well,” he joked. “He’ll turn up eventually – he’s probably lost in a cave somewhere.”

  Erin laughed.

  Alan paused to toss another stick into the pit. “So, when is Lafonda coming back with Leah?”

  “She’s supposed to be back tomorrow morning,” said Angela, cheerfully. “I can’t wait to meet Leah and to see what clothes they bought.” She suddenly grew quiet, but then abruptly checked her silver and gold-starred cell phone. “I am, however, surprised that I haven’t received one text message asking for my opinion on dresses.

  Alan shrugged. “They probably got caught up in the moment with shopping,” he said. “I know I do.”