by Safari Spell
LOCAL FARMER DISCOVERS CROP CIRCLE.
I only had enough time to scan the article and the oversized picture beside it before Bosh found me. I jumped, not sure why I was worried about her knowing what I’d done. It wasn’t as if I’d stolen money out of her purse.
“Bosh, why did you throw this away? It’s probably just some kids playing a prank for attention. It isn’t real.”
She paused before saying anything.
“I threw it away because it was trash, honey.”
I lowered the paper. Her tone was somber.
“Why did it upset you then?”
“Oh, I have heard of this before – when I was young. I never thought I would see something like it.”
I shook my head.
“Do you mean a crop circle?”
Finally! I could bring up the crop circle photo. She was reluctant to answer me, of course. The look in her eyes was one of an old fear. She once lived in a world very different than this one. Whatever memory was unfolding in her eyes, it seemed fresh. She took my hand and led me back to the table. I sat down while she paced, clasping and unclasping her hands together nervously like she was about to tell me I was adopted.
“My grandmother once told me a story of seeing one when she was sixteen. She said that she was walking to school along the road one day with her sister when they noticed it. No one could figure out how it got there. Soon after, people started disappearing.”
I felt like I’d just been told a ghost story. I tried not to look spooked, but I knew something she didn’t – I was about to disappear, too.
“People disappeared? Anyone she knew?”
“Yes, an old friend of her sister’s. She was a few years older than them. They never did find her.”
“They never found her? What do they think happened?”
Bosh looked away.
“My grandmother was a strange woman. Nobody believed her story.”
I leaned my cheek in my hand and methodically ran my nails across my other thigh.
“Well, how did they explain the crop circle?”
Bosh knit her brow.
“Why do you ask that?”
I gulped.
“I saw the photo in the old album, Bosh.”
She looked angry all of a sudden. So angry her lip began trembling.
“Talor. This is my house and you should not go through my things!”
I straightened quickly and turned towards her. I had to fight the urge to go stand in the corner. Bosh only ever used that tone on me as a child.
“Bosh, I didn’t go through your things. Please don’t be mad. I thought you took it out and it was ok to look at.”
“Did you touch anything?”
Bosh’s uncharacteristic response scared me, so I lied.
“No, I just looked at things.”
She was still angry, but her expression softened.
“Oh honey, that is good.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It is all right, dear.”
Bosh looked out of the window, so I rubbed her hand. I could tell she was uncomfortable even recalling the story of her grandmother seeing a crop circle. But I couldn’t let it go. I had to know if she knew anything else. Things like I knew. Her blank stare at nothing outside said more than she ever would. Her gaze was fixed. I followed it to where she was looking and saw a handful of people standing by the wheat field near the house.
“Will you see what it is, honey?” she asked, touching me low on my back.
I nodded and hurried outside. When I got there, Bosh’s neighbors were all pointing at something in the wheat. When I walked up to it, my heart dropped. I could see the edges of a massive crop circle – one that wasn’t there the day before.
“Who did this?” I demanded, looking around at all the other bystanders.
Bosh’s neighbor, Mr. Croft, shrugged. He was an old farmer. His usually sullen, aging eyes suddenly seemed vibrant.
“Never seen a thing like it in my life, darling. It wasn’t here yesterday, though.”
Mrs. Croft came up beside me and wrapped a hand around my shoulder.
“You don’t have any friends who might like to play a joke on you, do you? Because it is still trespassing on our property.”
“No, ma’am.”
Another man who had been walking around the length of the circle came up to join us. He was wearing a greasy old baseball hat. When he lifted his head, I knew it was the same old man from the cemetery. My breath caught in my throat. He noticed me before I could slip away.
“You should get back inside your home, miss. Safest place for you. All of you, really,” he warned, eyeing me.
Mrs. Croft fidgeted and mumbled to herself, waving her hands senselessly in the air.
“What do you think? Aliens did this? I never heard such foolishness. A bunch of young kids trespassing on private property.”
Jet took off his hat and wiped his brow. He looked straight at me.
“No, ma’am. Nothing like that at all.”
“Should we call the police?” Mr. Croft asked.
Jet looked back at the crop circle.
“Won’t do a bit of good. I’ll handle this, Larry. Alice. You folks go on back home.”
They exchanged looks. Reluctantly, Mr. Croft nodded.
“Well, all right. We’ll call the police to report it. Young ‘uns shouldn’t be roamin’ on private property anyways!”
Mrs. Croft looked down her nose at me. She was a tall woman with a nose to match.
“You make sure to tell your friends that! I saw that boy driving up here the other night. Sure he didn’t bring any of his friends?”
I cleared my throat, remembering my manners.
“No, ma’am. He was alone.”
She nodded as they headed off towards their house. Jet put his hat back on his head and waited until they were out of earshot.
“You need to get inside a human home. Don’t leave once the sun goes down. They can’t enter without an invitation. The sons can, but the fallen can’t.”
I started to pace.
“Are you an angel?”
Jet lowered his head and touched his wrinkled hand to his heart.
“I am.”
“Then take this off me!”
I held out my wrist. Jet looked at the shimmery skin.
“I do not have the authority.”
I pointed to the crop circle.
“What is this? Why is it here?”
“It is how the fallen travel outside their strongholds. These symbols open the earth like a combination to a lock. What you see is the movement underground,” he answered, squinting as the morning sun rose higher in the sky.
“Well, if it’s like a door or a portal or something, can’t you just lock it back?”
“It takes time. The symbol not only stirs up the earth, but all the beings within it. There are dark things coming this way, child, and even I cannot hold them all.”
Staring at the crop circle made me shiver.
“Please help me.”
He was quiet a moment.
“You must leave this house, this city. Go now.”
“I can’t leave my family!”
“You must go far from here, and waste no time. If you delay any longer, it will be too late.”
I closed my eyes while I soaked in everything he said. When I opened them, he was gone. I was left standing in the middle of a crop circle alone. It felt alien and cold on that once sacred, safe ground, as though things were stirring beneath my feet that could reach up and grab me through the dirt. I always thought that it was worse putting a dead person in the ground than facing anything that could come up out of it. Now I wasn’t so sure. I kicked at the dirt, angry I’d delayed leaving. I could’ve gotten hundreds of miles away by now.
I watched my breath materialize in the winter air while I thought about what was coming. The c
rop circle was supernatural proof that I was being hunted, but I wouldn’t make it easy for Rami. I didn’t waste one more second standing in that field. I took in a deep breath and prepared myself for the end. And then I ran home – too fast for even the hounds of hell that were coming after me.
34
I still hadn’t figured out what lie to tell Bosh when I got back inside. The timing was terrible. It was unsettling how we had just been speaking about the crop circles when one popped up in the field next to Bosh’s house. I made myself wait outside until I caught my breath from running. I didn’t want to alarm her. My phone began to vibrate in my pocket, but I ignored it.
“What has happened?” Bosh asked.
“Oh, well, um,” I started, but my phone kept vibrating. “Just a second, Bosh.”
Frustrated, I looked down and noticed that Azalea had called me four times in a row and it was obvious she wasn’t going to stop until I answered. Bosh was still looking outside where we had all been standing and I was grateful she couldn’t see the crop circle from the house. As she made her way towards the door, I licked my lips so the lie could slip through easier.
“Just some trespassers. They said to stay inside until the cops came. Hey, can you make some coffee? I’m pretty tired,” I asked, rubbing my eyes and yawning.
Bosh nodded and moved to the kitchen. When my phone rang for the fifth time, I answered.
“Hey, now is not a good –”
“Something’s wrong with Jesse!” Azalea cried, her voice frantic.
My heart sunk.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, closing my eyes.
“He’s really sick! Please come. I don’t know what to do!”
“Oh my God, call an ambulance, Azalea!”
She just started sobbing on the other end of the line, so I knew I needed to go. Whatever was happening, she needed me. Bounding into my room, I grabbed my purse and keys. Bosh tried to catch me as I ran past her.
“Honey! What is wrong? Where are you going?”
I grabbed her around the shoulders in a fast hug, kissing her white hair and breathing in deep. Her coarse hair got caught in my lips as I pushed them against her forehead. I was afraid I would never see her again and I wanted to remember everything about her – including her smell. It was coffee grinds and cooking oil, and I fought a tear as I accepted the counterfeit scent.
“Stay inside. I love you,” I said, my voice cracking.
I floored it all the way to Azalea’s house. I was stressed out not knowing what I was walking into. Nothing could prepare me for the scene I found. Jesse was shirtless and pale, his hair wet and dirty. He was bleeding from gashes on his shoulders. It looked like he’d been beaten up. He stared straight through me as I froze in the doorway. Azalea appeared around the corner, shaking her head through tears.
“Thank God you’re here! I think it’s drugs. That’s why I didn’t call the ambulance. What do we do, Talor?”
Oh no. Just like Rose. It wasn’t drugs, but I couldn’t tell her that. I closed my eyes and looked down, trying to decide. Sage. We needed Sage. He was the only one who could do anything.
“He’s in shock, Azalea. Cover him with a blanket.”
Azalea whimpered and nodded her head. We moved towards the couch and grabbed a thick throw. I wrapped it snug around his shoulders and took his cold hands in mine.
“Jesse, try to focus. Did something attack you?”
For some reason, he just began mumbling to himself like the roadie Dead Reckless kept around. I knelt there for a minute listening to his senseless banter. He was talking to himself like it was one of us. He stood up and started stumbling around all over the house. I took out my phone to call Sage.
Just as I found his number, I heard a loud thud. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see something on the hallway floor. I arched to look and saw Jesse lying facedown. He wasn’t moving. I ran to him and knelt down to feel for a heartbeat. He had one. I breathed a sigh of relief. But there was vomit on the floor.
“Azalea, bring a rag,” I called, trying not to get sick.
I helped him over to the couch so he could lay down. As I tossed the blanket back over him, he got really emotional and started crying.
“What if I’m g-getting…sick like…your mom, Ta-alor?” he slurred, shivering.
A twinge of sadness and confusion ached in my chest. I didn’t know why he would ask something like that. I paused to look at Azalea, who had returned with a glass of water and tears rolling down her cheeks. She tossed the rag on the floor and buried herself beside him on the couch.
“Then we’ll take care of you,” I said, subdued.
My answer made him cry more, so I’m not sure if it was the right or wrong thing to say. I hugged him. I knew I would have to call Sage, but I stared at my phone. If I did this, Azalea and Jesse would know about him. They would know what he was. I heard the other end of the line ring once before Jesse started thrashing around on the couch and screamed like he was being tortured. Azalea tried to hold him down.
“Do we take him to the hospital?”
Jesse swallowed hard and grabbed Azalea’s arm.
“No hospital. He said no hospital!”
“Who is ‘he’? Who were you with? Tell us, Jesse! Who did this?” she screamed.
Before he could answer, Jesse’s eyes rolled in the back of his head and he passed out. Azalea covered him with a blanket and hysterically started dialing 911. I dropped my own phone and grabbed hers, hanging it up. She nearly clawed my eyes out trying to get it from me.
“No! What are you doing?”
I grabbed her.
“Azalea! Azalea, they can’t do anything for him. I called someone who can help, but you have to calm down. Things are about to get really weird and you need to control yourself if you want to help Jesse. Understand?”
“But I’ve seen this before,” she cried, going limp in my arms.
“What do you mean?”
Azalea was staring at the wall.
“Remember Valerie? It was after trivia one night. She went outside to smoke, you know. I stayed inside. When she went out, she was herself. When she came back in, her eyes had changed. She became withdrawn, like she was high or sick or something. She’s never been the same.”
I touched her hand. Valerie was dead, but she didn’t know that. It suddenly occurred to me that I’d seen so much death lately that I’d nearly been desensitized. She didn’t even know her friend was dead. No one did yet. I watched her stroke Jesse’s forehead. I needed to tell her. It was time. I hesitated, but with everything coming to a head so quickly, there was no more time to keep things to myself. Everyone around me was in danger now, and they had a right to know why.
“Azalea, did you notice if there was a mark on Valerie’s neck that night? Something like a bite?”
Azalea sobered up quickly. Her forehead crinkled in thought. After a few seconds, the lines flattened and she cut her eyes at my feet.
“You mean like Jill from Harvest Moon?”
“Well, actually, yeah.”
“You’ve been keeping things from me.”
“Yeah…I mean, God. I’ve wanted to tell you for some time, but it just never got easier. I always thought it would. Maybe once I got used to it, I guess,” I answered, a bit ashamed of myself.
“If something you know can save his life, please tell me. I don’t care how crazy it is.”
I took in a deep breath and squeezed her hand. Then I told her everything. When I was done, she brushed her hair out of her face and sat back. She seemed to take it all in stride – maybe a little too well, actually.
“So, why didn’t you tell me this? You think I’d steal your special boyfriend or something? Have I ever stolen a guy from you?”
“My God, you actually think this is about a guy? Don’t you think I questioned my own sanity for a while? We’re talking about vampires, dragons, and werewolves – things that are supposed to be fa
ke.”
She gave a short laugh and shook her head, looking up at me.
“I always thought that Spencer of yours was a demigod. He turned out to be one after all?”
I bit my lip and tried to turn away before she caught the terrible truth in my face, but I wasn’t fast enough. Spencer’s death was still too new, too fresh. I wasn’t skilled enough to bury it from view.
“Oh my God, Talor – what happened?”
I took a few steps away. I heard her get up and come over, but I turned and flashed a smile before she got to me.
“I was kind of hoping all this would turn out to be some super realistic dream and we’d all go back to failing college. Mostly I was hoping I wasn’t actually going crazy. And I didn’t want you to think I was.”
“After being friends for fifteen years, you really think I’d call you crazy?”
“How could I know? I don’t know anything anymore. Not what’s real, not what’s fake. I don’t know what’s going to happen, just that I have to leave.”
Azalea blinked hard a few times.
“You were just going to disappear on me?”
“I don’t have a choice, Azalea.”
“If there’s anything I know about you, it’s that you are the strongest person I know, and you’re not doing this alone anymore. I’ll go, too.”
I hugged her.
“I wish you could come, but I don’t want you involved. The only reason I’m safe is because of this thing,” I replied, showing my wrist with the iridescent ornate seal.
Azalea squinted and tilted her head.
“I saw you get that. It was at their show, right? Was he there – this, um, Gregory you mentioned?”
I covered the seal. It felt like an evil eye that could see everything. Hear everything, even.
“His name is Rami. Anyway, I still don’t know how or when I got this. Listen. I want you to stay away. It’s dangerous.”
Azalea’s eyes softened. She seemed to understand. She was loyal, but she knew what I was saying was true. She stood up and took in a deep breath.
“Tell me how to help you.”