Perennial

by Potter, Ryan

Along with that unbelievable message Face sent me.

  There’s no way. It’s just some sort of final cruel joke of his.

  “William?” I say. “Wake up, William. Come on. We don’t have much time.”

  Oval City shakes at its foundations, and I’m knocked sideways. Ancient dust starts falling from the ceiling. I figure we’re goners if we’re not aboveground and off Oval City soil in less than five minutes.

  “William!” I shake him again. He groans and rolls onto his back. “Yes. That’s it! Wake up. We need to get out of here. The place is self-destructing. You’ve beaten Perennial before, which means you can do it again.”

  “Alix?” He opens his eyes and looks at me. “Why? After everything I’ve done, why are you still helping me?”

  “There’s no time to talk.” I take his hands and squeeze. “Can you move on your own?”

  “I…” He closes his eyes and nods slowly. “I think so.”

  A violent tremor, followed by awful cracking sounds, brings William quickly to his feet.

  “The walls,” I say. “They’re caving in.”

  “My head feels like it’s caving in. Where’s Face? Did he hurt you?”

  “Face is gone, William. And so are we if we don’t get out of here right now. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “Dizzy, but I think I’m good. Did Face tell you who killed me?”

  “Just follow me,” I say, ignoring the question. “It’s almost over.”

  I take his hand and lead us out of a room that’s moments away from sinking down to God knows where.

  ***

  Despite the cool October air, a stifling, hellish heat greets us the moment we climb out of the underground shaft and step back on Brewster Loop. The ground continues to shake. We hear the faint wail of sirens in the distance. William and I are exhausted and covered in dust, but we somehow manage to muster the strength needed to drag the manhole cover back over the opening, hiding any hint of us having been down there.

  “The police will be here any minute,” I say. “Can you drive?”

  “Always.”

  Brewster Loop shakes angrily, forcing us both to keep a hand on the side of the Yukon for balance. Once inside, we slam our doors closed. Then William starts the engine, executes a tire-squawking U-turn and heads straight for the exit.

  “Hurry, William!”

  “The road!” he yells. “It feels like it’s sinking!”

  “Just get out of here and we’ll be fine!”

  “Oh my God,” he says, staring wide-eyed into the rearview mirror when we’re one hundred feet from Alfred Street. “Alix, look.”

  What sounds like the world’s loudest thunderclap makes me flinch and scream. I glance over my shoulder and see Aruna’s tiny, blanket-covered body. Then I look above her and out the rear window. The four Oval City towers are collapsing, sending an enormous cloud of purple, grey, and black skyward that forms what looks like a multicolored dome-shaped smokescreen over the ruins of Oval City. What scares me even more is the sight of Brewster Loop caving in like a sinkhole twenty feet behind us. The cave-in snakes toward us as if hell-bent on taking the Yukon down with it.

  “William, the road,” I say. “It’s collapsing and chasing us at the same time.”

  “I see it!” he yells. “Hold on tight, Alix.”

  Although the right side of my head bangs against the passenger-side window, William somehow manages to keep the Yukon under control and expertly completes a dangerous high-speed right turn onto Alfred Street. I feel all of my wounds heal instantly and my strength and abilities fully returning the moment we leave Brewster Loop. The evil road completely collapses behind us, sending a fresh cloud of purple, gray, and black into the afternoon sky.

  The final explosion occurs as we cross over I-75 and turn left onto the northbound service drive. I watch in stunned silence as a fireball the size of a football stadium erupts over Oval City. On the opposite side of the service drive, the first wave of emergency vehicles approaches the fiery scene, but they’re too late, and I know that’s good. What I wonder is if anybody else sees the thin band of Perennial purple surrounding the fireball.

  William is silent as he merges onto I-75. I watch the fire until we’re too far away to see it. After one last look at poor Aruna, I turn to William and break into tears.

  “Alix, what’s wrong?” William says. “You did it. You destroyed Face, Perennial, and Oval City! It’s obvious that Face was lying about not killing Mr. Watkins and me. He’s the only one who had motives. I don’t care what he said about respecting me for beating Perennial; the simple fact is that I was his top dealer and a huge threat to him once I walked away. He wanted me dead. Face killed me, Alix. You passed Vagabond’s test.”

  I pull myself together and stare out the windshield. William is right. Oval City is gone. Face is gone…Well, for now anyway. Most importantly, I sense the entire Perennial operation is ruined. A dangerous factory that produced a sinister drug no longer exists. Yes, there’s still Perennial out there, but the leader demon is history. No new Perennial will be produced, meaning Face can no longer pursue his goal of using Perennial to possess human souls. Somehow I know this.

  But one troubling issue remains.

  “It’s all one big lie,” I whisper.

  “I know I’ve lied to you,” William says. “But I love you, Alix, and in the end, I couldn’t let Face trick you. His plan was to take the knife and kill you with it.”

  There’s a long silence.

  “Take me home, William,” I say calmly. “There’s something I need to know.”

  William nods and speeds toward Beaconsfield. Police and emergency vehicles speed past in the southbound lanes, their sirens screaming. I reach around to the small of my back and feel Blade securely inside the sheath. Then I put my face in my hands and think hard about my past, present, and future.

  ***

  Dad isn’t home. William and I stand in my father’s office. I’m back in my jeans and Detroit Tigers sweatshirt, staring at Dad’s large safe and thinking back to my battle with Face as the Crawler. Face wanted something from this room besides Blade and my soul. He wanted something inside Dad’s safe. I sensed it.

  “I know the combination,” I say. “I’ve never had to use it, but I know it. My mom told me when I was a little girl.” I pause. “Dad has no idea.”

  William and I stare at each other. I know he loves me. And as crazy as it might sound, I love him and always will. Yes, he’s told many lies, and I’m smart enough to realize I’ll never fully trust him, but in the end he redeemed himself in the underground portal room. William more than likely saved my life. I was ready to give up Blade and trust a demon. Technically, William has about nine hours left before his energy disappears and he’s gone from my life forever, but something tells me he’ll have to vanish much earlier than midnight.

  I take a deep breath, crouch in front of the safe, and spin the dial, stopping it on the six numbers that match the month, date, and last two digits of the year I was born. I turn the steel handle clockwise. The safe door opens toward me with a loud click.

  Inside I find countless neatly arranged stacks of hundred-dollar bills in ten-thousand-dollar bundles.

  Dad has millions in here.

  I move a few bricks of cash aside and see numerous clear bags full of the evil purple powder that has changed my life forever. Perennial. The only other item in the safe is a sheet of yellow paper, folded in half. I unfold it and find myself staring at a list of ingredients. The recipe has no title. It doesn’t need one.

  Tears streaming down my face, I take out my phone and dial 911.

  And that’s when I hear Dad barge into the house, calling my name and demanding that I come see him immediately.

  I wipe my face and stand. Blade is motionless and secure in the sheath. The demon slaying might be over for now, but the human danger hasn’t passed yet.

  “Stay in here, William,” I say, giving his hand a squeeze as I pass him an
d head for the closet. “This is between my dad and me.”

  I grab the emergency gun in the top corner of the office closet, the one and only gun Dad has taught me how to clean and use. The irony, of course, is that I’m taking the weapon because I’m afraid of him.

  ***

  He’s waiting for me in the middle of the living room, halfway between the foyer and the kitchen. Clint Keener looks pale and unstable. His eyes constantly dart around the room as if he senses a trap. There are some people you can never really know at all, no matter how well you think you do. My dad is one of them. That’s what I’m thinking as I stare across the room at him, both hands behind my back, one gripping the gun, the other balled into a tight fist.

  “Alix, why did you miss school today?” he asks quietly. “And whose Yukon is parked in our driveway?”

  There’s a long silence.

  “I know about you, Dad.” A warm tear trickles down my face. “I know everything.”

  He nods but doesn’t say anything, just scratches his unsightly beard and stares hard at me.

  Finally, he says, “And what is it that you think you know, honey?”

  “Mom didn’t know for sure, but she suspected, didn’t she?” I pause. “It’s been going on for years. That’s why she gave me the combination to the safe.”

  He looks more distraught now. I tighten my grip on the gun.

  “Did you look in my safe, Alix?”

  “You killed William Weed and Mr. Watkins, didn’t you?” I start crying but manage to stop. “You’re a dirty cop, Dad. You work for Face, but you want the whole thing to yourself. There was never any insurance money, was there? It’s all Perennial drug money.”

  “Alix, listen to me.” He raises his arms in a calming gesture. “Everything in that safe is related to an undercover Perennial investigation. You’re getting emotional and making up crazy stories. I’ll explain everything, but you need to breathe and relax, honey. Be a master of your actions as opposed to a prisoner of your re—”

  “I am a master of my actions!” I yell. “You have no idea what I can do. I’m different, okay? I can see things other people can’t. I’m a two-way psychic, Dad. How do you like that? Even the government is interested in me. So don’t lie to me, okay? I’m sick of people lying to me. Face is gone! Perennial is gone! It’s over!” I choke back more tears. “How could you do this?”

  “Alix, did you have anything to do with what just happened in Oval City?”

  “Do you know who Face really is?”

  “I’m not sure what you mean by that, Alix. And I’m not sure how and why you even know about Face. But I’ll tell you who Face is. Face is a freak. He’s a drug kingpin who likes wearing things over his head to hide is identity and intimidate people. Problem is I’m not somebody who’s easily intimidated.” He keeps glancing at my waist, surely wondering what my hands are doing behind my back. “You just said he’s gone. What did you mean by that?”

  Blade’s lack of movement confirms that my father knows nothing about Fire and Light. To him, Face is exactly what he just said—a freaky drug dealer.

  “I meant that Face is gone forever from your life,” I say. “But he sent me a message before he left.” I swallow hard. “Face asked me how well I really know my father.” Dad doesn’t respond. “Marc Watkins was the creator of Perennial and the main maker of the drug. You killed Mr. Watkins at Face’s request because you were Face’s partner in Perennial, and Mr. Watkins was in the process of exposing everything, especially you. You have the Perennial recipe in your safe. You know how to make the drug, so getting rid of its creator was no big loss.” Dad closes his eyes for a few moments and then opens them. His vacant stare chills my bones. “Two years ago you killed William Weed in this house because William was the top Perennial dealer and decided to quit the drug business. Face was okay with William leaving, but you weren’t. You killed William and made it look like a suicide, and I’m guessing you snatched this house up once you had enough cash to move us here. I mean, no Beaconsfield cops would ever think to come sniffing around the house of the almighty Clint Keener. As long as you own the house, you own the crime scene of the murder you committed.” I hear the faint sound of something clicking outside and pause, but my unstable father shows no sign of having heard it too. “I think what you ultimately wanted was to get rid of Face, but he always ended up being stronger and smarter than you, didn’t he?”

  “You shut up!” he yells, forcing me to take a step back. “Goddamn you, Alix. Everything was for you. Don’t you get it? All of this is for you. I want you to have the future you deserve.”

  “Oh my God, it’s all true.” Tears stream down my face. “Why, Dad? Why? How could you do these things? It goes against everything you and Mom taught me about how to succeed in the world. You’re like some kind of monster I don’t even know.”

  “Alix, stop it,” he says. “I need you to listen. If what you’re saying is true and Face is gone, then we can keep all of this between us and get far away from Beaconsfield. Nobody needs to know. There’s enough money in that safe to keep us comfortable for the rest of our lives.”

  “No,” I say, shaking my head. “Don’t even try that. Please. Just stop.”

  Dad is about to say something, but then he looks over my right shoulder, and his eyes bulge like basketballs.

  “Hi, Mr. Keener,” William says, entering from the hallway and standing near the entrance to the kitchen. “We never met officially, but I’m sure you remember me.”

  “What the…?” Dad squints. “Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?”

  “You know who I am,” William says. “If not, maybe this will help.” He rolls up his sleeves to show his dragon tattoos. “I was fond of baseball hats and sunglasses when you knew me.” He gives me a look. “So tell me, Mr. Keener: What does it feel like to be a cold-blooded killer?”

  “William?” Dad says, suddenly pale and confused as he stares at the tattoos. “No,” he whispers, shaking his head. “It can’t be. I killed you.”

  It happens too fast for me to stop it. Dad draws a gun from the small of his back. I scream as he fires two shots at William. The sound blasts through my ears, but what shocks me most is that William doesn’t even flinch. The bullets pass right through him and lodge into the plaster wall.

  William smiles. “You can’t kill me again, Mr. Keener. I’m already dead.”

  “Stop it, Dad!” I bring my gun around and aim it at my father just as he’s about to squeeze off another shot. “Drop the gun, Dad. Please, drop the gun.”

  My father looks at me for a moment, stunned. Then he lowers his gun and stares at William in disbelief.

  “What’s happening?” Dad says.

  William turns to me and says, “Congratulations, Alix. You passed.” Then he smiles at me with those perfect teeth and stares at me with those aqua-green eyes. “I love you. Good-bye.”

  He’s leaving for good.

  “William, no!” I say. “Not yet!”

  The front door crashes inward and flies off its hinges into the living room. Four bodies enter the house in a blur. When I look back for William, he’s gone—vanished without a trace.

  Then chaos.

  A female voice: “Alix, drop the gun!”

  Dizzy and in shock, I look away from the kitchen and see London Steel staring at me from a few feet away. She has no weapon that I can see, but the government man and woman from the Group have their guns drawn and aimed at Dad, the two agents saying things about what Dad is being charged with. The fourth person surprises me. It’s Mr. Dobbins, the big guy who took over for Mr. Watkins, but the sight of a gun in his hand convinces me he’s not actually a substitute teacher at all.

  I drop the gun and fall to my knees. My father drops to his knees but doesn’t drop his weapon. We’re staring at each other, father and daughter. Less than ten feet separates us. The room is silent.

  “Why, Dad?” I ask one last time. “Why?”

  “I’m sorry, Alix,” he say
s. “I have nothing left.”

  He’s bringing his gun up toward his open mouth when another loud blast fills my ears and makes me scream. Dad’s gun flies out of his hand and lands on the other side of the room. Three people pile onto my father and subdue him.

  I’m wailing and crying. The room is spinning. The last thing I see is London Steel opening her arms and wrapping them around me. The last thing I hear is her voice close against my ear. “Let it out. Let it all out. It’s all over now, Alix. It’s all over.”

  Then I drift into silent blackness.

  Chapter 36

  The next thing I know, I’m moving through an endless sea of cottony white nearly identical to the one that started all of this only four days ago. The only difference is the presence. William is gone, but Vagabond has kept his promise. My mother is here.

  I come to a sudden stop. The cloudy white gives way to clear, crisp white light. I’m barefoot and wearing the same white summer dress I wore in the nightmare, but this time there isn’t a speck of purple in sight. This is no nightmare. I know it the moment she appears in front of me. Martha Keener wears a white dress identical to my own. She’s barefoot too, her long, dark hair combed straight back over her delicate shoulders.

  Words aren’t necessary. We simply smile and then cry as we embrace. I feel her cool skin for the first time in more than a year.

  “I’m so sorry, baby,” she says, kissing my cheek. “But I’m here right now and this is real. You need to stay strong for me, Alix. Can you do that, honey?”

  “I think so.” I dry my eyes and hold her hands. “It’s just so awful, Mom. I’ve lost you, and now I’ve lost Dad. You knew he was doing bad things, didn’t you? That’s why you gave me the combination all those years ago.”

  “I suspected he was hiding things, but I never dreamed it was as serious as it was.” She gives my hands a good squeeze. “You did the right thing, Alix. Never second-guess yourself.”

  “It’s so hard,” I say. “Knowing your own father could do such horrible things. I always thought of him as a perfect king.”