Unaltered #2_A Diamond in my Heart

by Lorena Angell

  “On the side of the garage, why?”

  “I’m going to flip the switch while you are standing inside your front room with the front door opened. If the Demons get you, you’ll repeat back to safety. If not, don’t repeat. I want to come explore the darkened interior of your home.” I walked to the side of the garage and pulled the handle that cut all power to his home and waited. Brand didn’t repeat so I went back to the front door.

  “Calli, is that you?”

  “Yeah, this is very interesting Brand. I can see their shapes just outside your door, but they aren’t entering. Let’s go look through your house.” I entered and took his hand and noted right away he was trembling. This experiment was testing his resolve and bravery. I imagined he hadn’t been this afraid since his power first emerged and he accidentally walked into the shadows.

  We did a quick walk through of his home bumping into a few corners and opened doors but found no Demons whatsoever. We even opened a couple windows to see if they’d come in but they didn’t. I deduced that this must be the reason the people of powers of centuries past weren’t killed. My mind completed the thought that perhaps Maetha, who can also see the Demons, told the villagers that they were safe inside their homes after dark. It didn’t answer ‘why’ they were safe, though.

  “Alright, Calli, go turn the lights back on please.”

  I did so and we moved on to the next experiment. “Brand, go get me one of your old shirts, one you don’t care about.” He did so and I retrieved the shirt I’d brought with me. We walked to the side of the house where the porch light created the exact line of darkness and where the small dog yapped with vigor. “Have you ever tried throwing some of your clothing into the shadows?”

  “No,” he answered.

  “My introduction to the Shadow Demons was done this way; by throwing shirts into the shadows.” I bundled the two shirts together and tossed them up and beyond the corner of the house. I’d seen this before, but it still amazed me how the two shirts were torn differently. Brand’s lay in little pieces on the sidewalk and mine was only ripped a little. However, it was ripped. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that when Mrs. Winter threw my shirt it was torn into long strips and now, looking at my ripped shirt it made me realize that my close association with a person of powers was enough for the Demons to take a mild interest in me. I came to the conclusion that if I’d held Brand's hand when he walked into the shadows, I’d have been attacked also.

  “Holy crappola!” Brand laughed out loud. “That was cool! Let’s do it again.”

  “Alright, but this time, I don’t want you standing nearby.”

  “But I want to watch.”

  “I want to see if it makes any difference if you are nearby.”

  “Fine, I guess I can watch my shirts shred any day of the week.” His comment dripped with sarcasm, but he turned and went to retrieve another shirt. I bent down and picked up my torn shirt.

  He returned after a couple minutes.

  “What took you so long?”

  “I like my clothes, Calli. It took me a minute to find one I could live without.”

  “Brand, I want you to go inside the house to the opposite end while I do this experiment, and I want you to repeat with me so we can try a few different variations. Give me thirty seconds, then repeat back to now, alright?”

  He grunted some kind of complaint and walked away. Once I heard the front door close, I looked into the shadows and found the Demons crawling around the sides of the house, following him. I tossed the shirts into the dark and as I expected nothing happened; none of them moved from their chosen spots in the backyard. Hmm, I thought, they are attracted to his presence and his smell.

  The dark and the light swirled together in a dizzying array and I found myself holding both shirts with Brand beside me. “Well? What’s the verdict?”

  “Nothing happened. The Demons were gone. I tossed your shirt but it landed on the ground untouched. Let’s do it again but this time you stay by my side.” He smiled a seductive grin and I remembered, as if I could forget, he’s just a typical teen boy who finds double meaning in everything.

  I threw the shirts into the freshly gathered Demons and once again Brand’s shirt was shredded in midair. I turned to him and said, “Repeat.”

  The swirling effect almost nauseated me. We were back to the starting point once again and this time I had a new idea pop into my head. “Brand, go get your cologne. I want to spray my shirt to see if it is enough to attract the Demons.”

  He did as instructed and soon we’d already repeated back because the Demons hadn’t attacked my shirt. He said, “Maybe it’s only my natural scent they are attracted to?”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right. I think we’ve done enough for tonight. Let’s pick this back up tomorrow night.”

  “Alright,” he yawned.

  Chapter 7 - A Kiss for Good Luck

  I went home and looked up light meters on the Internet and learned that I didn’t know much about the subject. I would need to do some research before I’d be ready to test light levels, but I didn’t worry about it because my dad’s friend, Chuck Stowley, owned a photography studio and I figured I could glean some information from him. On a different topic, I needed to figure out some ways to test the Shadow Demons against the sound of a heartbeat; preferably my own heartbeat. After Mrs. Winter brought it to my attention that my heartbeat was much louder than a person of powers, I wondered if it would be a factor in pushing them back or creating a disinterest.

  The next day I went to my father’s office and entered through the staff entrance.

  “Hey, Calli. I haven’t seen you in a while, you’re all grown up.” My father’s secretary, Mabel Lilenquist, gave me a half a hug with her one free arm as she tried not to drop the files in the other. Her short height and round midsection made it difficult for her to do much of anything but sit at the computer and take calls.

  “Hi Mabel, is my Dad busy today?”

  “Always, but I know he’ll make time for you. Have a seat in his office, there’s a cheese and olive tray in the fridge, dear.”

  I went into the lounge area and peeked in the fridge. The Rodgers Pharmaceutical representative had been by at lunch break and brought food and snacks so my dad could eat while the rep talked up his company’s latest drug. I grabbed a plate and put a few olives and cheese slices on it along with a small meat and cheese sandwich. I also took a bottled water and went into my dad’s office to wait for him.

  I waited an hour before he was able to get away for a moment to talk with me, but first he had to make a few calls and record a couple patients’ notes from their visits. I waited patiently but listening intently as this type of work fascinated me. Apparently someone had just been diagnosed with a brain tumor and the prognosis was dismal, and another patient was suffering chronic migraines but the medications weren’t helping so she was being referred to a pain management specialist.

  I considered for a moment that with my powers I could help these individuals, but then I shook my head in an effort to toss out the notion of saving everyone.

  “So, what brings you by, Calli?”

  “I was wondering if I could record the sound of my heart beating on your ultrasound machine.”

  My father chuckled and sat forward in his high back leather chair. “Why?”

  “I’m conducting an experiment, that’s all. You’ve always encouraged me with my scientific experiments.”

  “Yes, I have. But you don’t know how to operate the machine and the tech doesn’t come in till Friday.”

  “You know how to operate it, Dad. Just flip a few switches for me and I’ll do the rest. I don’t need an ultrasound, I only want to hear and record the sound. I can wait till you have more time.”

  “Now is as good as any other time; your mother and I have a charity banquet tonight so I won’t have time after work to help you. Come on. Do you have a recording device?”

  “My Mp3 player can upload the recording
from your machine.”

  “Alright.” He led me down the hall to the room and had me climb up on the bed. “You’ll need bare skin so the wand will be able to do its job.”

  I unbuttoned my blouse a few notches and he applied a small bit of lubricant. Then he turned on the machine and positioned the wand. “Let’s just take a look while we have you all hooked up, shall we?”

  I bolted upright instantly. “What? Why?”

  “It doesn’t hurt Calli,” he chuckled again, “come on, I know what I’m doing. Lay back down.”

  I couldn’t have him looking into my heart, what if he saw the diamond shard? “Never mind, I changed my mind, Dad.”

  He must have sensed my frustration and changed his approach. “Calli, I’m sorry. Here, I’ve turned it on, there’s no picture only sound. When you’re done, plug your USB cord here and move your file over.” He smiled hesitantly and turned to leave the room. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he said over his shoulder, “Again, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were still traumatized from your accident.”

  Accident?

  I entered his mind and found Maetha had told my parents that I’d been in a vehicle accident while in Montana and windshield glass was pushed inside my chest. It was a plausible lie to explain the small scar on my skin. She told them that I panicked in the hospital and they had to give me a heavy sedative to calm me down. My father figured that I must have had a moment of PTSD and it upset him that he’d brought it on.

  “Dad, it’s alright, don’t worry about it.” I lay back on the bed with the ultrasound wand in my hand and listened as my father gently closed the door. Then I pressed the wand into the goo and located my heart. The gentle pumping, swooshing and silent stretches sounded through the speakers and I experimented with different locations to see which would yield a better sound. When I’d completed, I cleaned the wand and myself and uploaded the file to my player. Now I was ready for tonight.

  The sun had set and my parents were still not home from their banquet. I wrote a note to explain where I was and left it on the counter where they would see it and left the house and drove to Brand’s.

  When I arrived, I pulled out my father’s fishing jacket; the kind with many pockets on the front. “Brand, I have something for you to wear.”

  He looked at the jacket and then at me. “What the hell is that for?”

  I unfastened one of the pockets and removed my Mp3 player for him to see. Then I showed him the two small external speakers I’d attached at each shoulder. I pressed play and watched his face to see what his response would be. His eyes widened and then narrowed in question. I said, “My heartbeat is significantly louder than other people of powers and I have a hunch that it’s an important factor in what we’re doing.” I helped him into the jacket and at one point our faces were very close together. A warm smile spread across his face and I stepped back from him cautiously.

  “Man, you’re stubborn. You react the same way every time,” he said quietly.

  “You should know me by now, Brand. You’ll have earned my respect when I see you using your power for good and not for gratification. Even then, you won’t be successful in your attempts with me, but I’ll see you with better eyes.

  “Huh… let’s do this experiment already.” He walked away from me and over to the corner of the house. “Turn me on, Calli.”

  I rolled my eyes and walked over to him and pressed the play button. “Ok, you’re all set. Good luck.”

  “Can I have a kiss for good luck? You know, I’m about to suffer more pain here all in the name of science.”

  “No.”

  “Can I kiss you then, as a thank you?”

  “A thank you for what?”

  “It works, Calli. The heartbeat works, Watch.”

  Brand stepped forward beyond the line of light and into the darkness. His feet were still on the ground and his body not injured. The Demons had moved out of the way but were still present. They seemed confused, ears perking up while sniffing the air around him; as though they knew instinctually both to attack and not to attack. They seemed just as drawn to his smell as they were repulsed by the fake heartbeat.

  I was elated! I stepped into the shadows as well and walked a circle around Brand watching the Demons glide to and fro out of my way. “This is amazing, Brand!” Before I knew what he was doing, he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to his body and kissed me on the lips. I was completely shocked he would do this and allow me to remember it when he didn’t have to.

  He let me go and said in a different tone of voice, “Thank you, Calli. I haven’t been able to be in the dark for so long, but now, because of you I can be! Oh, and don’t read too much into that kiss. It was strictly platonic.”

  “Platonic? That was platonic? In what universe?” I answered sarcastically in an effort to lighten to mood. “Come on, let’s try some different settings.”

  We stepped back into the light and I pressed the volume button down a notch. “There, try that.”

  “You’re blushing, Ms. Courtnae.”

  “No I’m not. Now go try that setting.”

  He just stood there looking at me for a moment, and then he pressed the volume button reducing the sound to the lowest level. “This is the lowest level I can go without being attacked.”

  “You’ve already tried?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh. Well. I guess we’re done for the night then.”

  “It’s been a good night, Calli. May I keep this ‘heart-attack jacket’? I’ll buy your father another one.” He smiled at me and ran his hands over the front pockets.

  “Don’t worry about it, I’ll replace it. Keep in mind that the batteries will only last just so long, so you won’t want to be caught off guard. I’ll work on another version of the device and try to find something with external speakers included in the unit.”

  “How about attaching a flashlight too? I can’t see very well in the dark.”

  “Good idea. Well, goodnight, Brand. I’ll talk to you later.”

  When I arrived at home, I stumbled upon my parents whispering about me inside their room. I don’t make it a practice to eavesdrop but when my father mentioned my ultrasound I had to listen.

  “Charlotte, it was all wrong. She doesn’t have normal sinus rhythm and I think we should have her checked out. She must have sustained damage in the accident.”

  “Relax; I don’t think it’s anything serious, otherwise it would have shown up in her file from the hospital.”

  I walked away from their doorway and back down the hallway, then I turned and announced my presence loudly, “Mom, Dad, I’m home.”

  My mother immediately opened her bedroom door and greeted me. She didn’t mention anything about my father’s concerns nor did she ask about my evening with Brand. We said goodnight and I entered my room.

  *****

  Over the course of the next seven days, I met with Chuck Stowley and he taught me about the history of lighting. The amount of light put off by one candle flame is equal to one lumen. Now I know why all the light bulbs state lumens instead of watts; with LED and fluorescent lighting the wattage is much less but the amount of light can be equivalent to incandescent lighting. I learned the difference between reflected light and visible light, flux and lux, light amplification and photo multipliers.

  However, Mr. Stowley was reluctant to let me ‘borrow’ a digital light meter that also measured lux readings, so I had to actually purchase one. Mr. Stowley was more than happy to make the sale and as we completed the transaction, I read his mind and was shocked to find that he didn’t really like being around my father, he only liked the ‘free stuff’ my father would buy him or give him because of the association. My purchase fell into the same category; Chuck was profiting off of my father and mother because, let’s face it, my money wasn’t really my own.

  I guess the world revolves around faked friendships, disingenuous greetings and the ability to get others to part with their money. Oddly, I didn’
t allow myself to become offended by this revelation because with it came the understanding that my father needed his friendship with Chuck, no matter how dysfunctional it may be. They both served each other’s needs.

  I began measuring lux readings all around the house and yard and charting my findings in a tablet. The light meter was a good investment because it had a separate unit which measured the light from the display unit. A bright sunny day measured in at 50,000 lux while a heavy overcast day at two in the afternoon measured at 100 lux. Sunrise and sunset on clear days measured 400 lux, and the full moon on a clear night came in at one lux. The most important number, the level at which Demons were present was not as cut and dried as I thought it would be. The further away the Demons are from a light source, like Brand’s front porch or leaping out a bus door and into my car, the more they can exist in random locations. Light doesn’t travel through the body, therefore when the body blocks the light source and creates a shadow, the Demons can attack; such as the incident when we returned from Cedar Point. The light from the inside of my car was sufficient, but Brand’s body created a shadow behind him and the dim interior lighting from the bus wasn’t strong enough to properly illuminate his backside.

  I decided that a minimum safe reading was 50 lux; Brand’s shadow at this level wasn’t too low as to invite an attack. I would make sure the new devices were activated at 75 lux just to be extra safe. I was inspired by the nightlight in the hallway outside my door which had a sensor to indicate low levels of lighting at which time it would turn on. My devices would operate on the same principle, plus it would save battery power.

  I explained all the technical information to Brand and found he wasn’t interested in the how or why the device would work. He only wanted to know it would work. Apparently he’d been thoroughly enjoying his new found nighttime freedom and hadn’t really missed me at all over the last week.

  Chapter 8 - Matchmaker Calli