by Reid, Terri
Their commanding officer chose well, she thought. Both of these men are sensitive to the things beyond this world. “Sergeant Turner, Sergeant Anderson, are you okay?”
Years of discipline and training surpassed fear and they snapped to attention, eyes alert and bodies poised for attack.
“Ma’am,” replied Sgt. Turner. “What would you like us to do?”
“Actually Sergeant, you are fine where you are,” Eloise replied. “I appreciate your help this evening. Now, it’s going to get a little unusual for a while. Just stay where you are and everything will be fine.”
Both Marines nodded their heads and waited.
Eloise turned to the large group before her. She took a deep breath and then stepped towards them.
“My name is Eloise Parker and I’m from the PRCD,” she began. “I understand that a terrible thing has happened to your town, your homes and your families. I am here to help relocate you.”
A large African-American woman moved toward the front of the group. “What the hell you talking about?” she raged, “I ain’t relocating nowhere – this here is my home and this is where I am going to stay.”
She folded her arms across her chest and stared defiantly at Eloise.
Eloise took a deep breath. “Ma’am,” she began, “Could I ask you your name?”
“Elizabeth, Elizabeth Brown,” she replied.
“Ms. Brown, Elizabeth,” Eloise said, “Are you a church-going woman?”
Elizabeth was insulted. “Why of course I’m a church going woman,” she replied, “I’ve been Baptist all my life – like my momma and her momma before her.”
Eloise nodded. “I should have known just by looking at you,” Eloise said, and watched as Elizabeth calmed down a little.
“Of course, you all know that someday you are going to get your final reward. Because of your good works and the kindnesses you have shown, someday you are going to go to Heaven,” Eloise said, “Isn’t that right?”
“Uh-huh,” the crowd responded.
“And that is the ultimate reward, that place... in Heaven, where you can see your loved ones and where you can bask in the glory of God.”
“Amen,” someone shouted from the crowd. The others in the crowd joined in agreeing.
“And when He comes again in glory – what will be the sign?” she asked.
“A light from the sky,” Elizabeth called out, “A light from the sky!”
Eloise smiled and nodded. “Yes, a light from the sky,” she repeated, “Look around you - can you see that light in the sky now?”
Eloise watched as the spirits before her looked heavenward and turned around until they were all focused on a particular part of the evening sky.
“Glory be,” Elizabeth whispered, “The time has come.”
“Yes,” Eloise said, “The time has come for all of you. Follow that light and go home.”
Elizabeth turned back to Eloise, who could feel the force of the woman’s spirit. “Well we ain’t going nowhere without you,” she stated.
Eloise could feel the pull on her body. She knew that the natural inclination of any spirit was to go to the light and, with such a large group, there was always the danger that their combined power would be too much for her to withstand.
Eloise stepped back and smiled at Elizabeth. “As much as I want to go with you, I can’t,” she explained, “There are more people like you who I have to tell about the light. It’s not my time, Elizabeth. Not yet.”
Elizabeth nodded and smiled. “Lizzy,” she said, “all my closest friends call me Lizzy.”
Eloise felt a lump in her throat. “Lizzy. Thank you.”
She watched as the group, led by Lizzy, walked down the beach. Then slowly, they moved into the sky and circled until it was their turn to enter through the passageway. After about ten minutes, all of the spirits had faded from sight.
She smiled, wiped the trace of a tear from her face and started to turn when suddenly she couldn’t move. Although Lizzy’s force had been powerful, this unseen force was at least ten times more potent. Eloise understood immediately, she was being attacked.
Instantly, Eloise remembered her training and started to breathe deeply, meditate and not allow fear to enter her thoughts. She could hear the worried cries of the Marines in the distance, but she couldn’t answer them. She pictured Andy in her mind – playing on the beach and building a sandcastle. She pictured his sweet smile and scattered freckles. She continued to breathe deeply – in and out, concentrate. She concentrated on the joy she felt when he ran up the beach. The feeling of peace when she knew he was with his grandparents. The little tracks of his feet in the sand. Andy building the sandcastle. But even as she pictured the sandcastle, Andy’s face melted away and in its place was the face of the villager on the beach.
She concentrated on her breathing – in and out, deep and smooth. The man was staring out to sea again. But his eyes were no longer kind. They were angry and glaring. And when he turned to her, he was covered with maggots that crawled in and out of the gaps where his face used to be. His lips were drawn up in a macabre smile and from them came a sound that caused Eloise’s blood to run cold. The same sinister laugh she had heard in her dream.
Eloise gasped aloud and fell to her knees in the sand. The laughter echoed in her head and fear ran through her body. The laughter increased in intensity and Eloise cupped her hands over her ears, trying to block out the sound. She could feel she was losing her struggle and fought harder to gain control.
She was no longer on the beach in Louisiana. She was back on the small island in the Pacific. The villager had her by the arm and was pulling her towards the water. The water was no longer calm, no beautiful sunset awaited her – the sea was dark and stormy and she knew instinctively if she entered the water, she would lose her soul.
She struggled against his pull, grounding her heels into the sand, but slowly he drew her forward. She watched in horror as the sea started to rise and the wave began to move towards them. She tried to scream, tried to fight – but he was winning.
A blast of music shot through her mind. She dropped to the ground as she was instantly released from the evil presence. Opening her eyes, she found herself staring into two very concerned faces.
“How did you…” she began.
Sergeant Turner smiled sheepishly.
“Well, ma’am, I’m a Mormon boy from Briggs, Idaho. And I figured if the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus couldn’t scare away the devil, I reckoned nothing could.”
Eloise chuckled, too weak to even lift herself up.
“Well, Sergeant, I believe you were right.”
She started to lift herself off the ground, but found that her body wouldn’t respond. A moment later, Sergeant Anderson was at her side, trying to lift her up.
“Sergeant Anderson,” she exclaimed in the sternest tone she could muster. “I will be fine in a moment.”
“Begging your pardon, ma’am, but you just got the sh--, I mean the stuff kicked out of you by an unfriendly. I know I don’t understand all that you do, but I know that it took balls to face a bunch of dead people on a dark beach at night. So, if you think me helping you to the Humvee is going make you look weak or something – you gotta know that me and Sergeant Turner, well we ain’t questioning your balls at all, ma’am, not at all.”
Before she could think of how to respond, Sergeant Anderson scooped her into his brawny arms and carefully placed her in the back of the Humvee. “We’ll take you back to your base, ma’am,” he said softly. “I think we’ve accomplished enough tonight.”
She smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you, Sergeant. That would be great.”
“Ma’am, I want to apologize,” Sergeant Turner said earnestly, looking over the back of his seat.
“No, need to apologize, Sergeant,” Eloise said. “You two saved my life.”
“The new Major would have killed us if we let something happen to you,” Sergeant Turner.
; Sergeant Anderson turned sharply and elbowed Sergeant Turner.
“Oh! Sorry. I forgot,” Sergeant Turner mumbled.
“Well, please thank your Major for his concern,” Eloise said, before laying her head back and resting.
Chapter Four
Eloise rolled over and looked at her alarm clock. The digital numbers showed eight o’clock.
“Crap, why didn’t my alarm go off?” she muttered, tossing the light blanket aside. As she moved, she felt light-headed and unsteady.
“What in the world?” she wondered and then remembered her encounter the night before.
She leaned on the dresser and closed her eyes for a moment. She was going to have to figure out what was attacked her and how she was going to deal with it if it happened again. But first she was going to go into the kitchen and pull out her headache cure-all, a Diet Pepsi.
She left the bedroom wearing only her oversized t-shirt that skimmed the tops of her thighs. Her hair was loose and mussed, her feet bare. She padded down the hallway and stopped short when she saw the uniformed man dozing in the computer chair, his feet propped up on the desk.
She slowly walked closer, her heart thudding. Her mind couldn’t believe what her eyes were insisting.
Two steps away from her was Major Paul Grimes of the United States Marine Corps. Eloise could describe him with her eyes closed. He stood about six feet two inches tall, with thick brown wavy hair, and hazel eyes that changed from gold to green depending on what he wore. His smile could make a woman’s heart accelerate and his touch could make her melt. His uniform fit as if it were made for him, emphasizing his broad shoulders, narrow waist and long legs. He was far more experienced in the ways of the world than she and he was the one person in the United States Military she never wanted to see again for the rest of her life.
Some sixth sense must have warned him that someone was watching because his eyes snapped open and he was instantly alert.
His eyes skimmed her skimpy outfit as he slowly lowered his feet and raised himself out of the chair. Eloise felt the blush start at her neck and spread through the rest of her body. Then she got mad. She was not going to let him get the upper hand, she decided. Who did he think he was anyway to just drop back into her life unannounced?
“What gives you the right to invade PRCD quarters?” she asked him.
“Hi Eloise,” he responded, “It’s good to see you again too.”
He stepped closer and she stepped back. He froze in his steps, his friendly smile replaced by a shield of professionalism.
“I’ve been overseeing the operations of the PRCD for the past five months,” he said, “I’m now over this project.”
Eloise felt like she had been hit with a truck. “You’ve been overseeing…” she began.
He nodded. “I know where you’ve been, what you’ve been doing and who you’ve been working with,” he admitted, “I’ve been watching over you, Eloise.”
She shook her head angrily. “Who do you think you are? I don’t need anyone to watch over me.”
Paul stiffened and she could see the anger building. “What the hell did you think you were doing last night?”
“Go away, Paul,” she stated and turned to walk away from him.
“Dammit Eloise, you could have died,” he yelled, grabbing her arm and turning her to face him.
“What gives you the right to question my actions?” she yelled.
“What gives you the right to endanger yourself and my men?” he countered.
“Your men were never in danger. And you, of all people, should know that,” she responded.
“You shouldn’t have gone out there alone. It’s too dangerous…”
“Excuse me,” she interrupted. “Who would you suggest I bring with me? Sally? Look around, we seem to have a shortage of registered psychics in the neighborhood.”
“You could have called…”
“Who? You? That would have been a great help.”
Paul grabbed her upper arms and pulled her to his chest. “If you were a man…” he threatened.
“You wouldn’t be here,” she whispered angrily and pulled back, out of his reach.
Paul stared at her for a moment and then turned and sat back down in the chair. “I want you dressed and ready for debriefing in fifteen minutes,” he stated.
“You don’t always get what you want,” she retorted.
He looked up at her, his eyes filled with regret, and slowly nodded his head. “You’ve already taught me that lesson,” he replied before leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes.
Eloise turned and ran back to her room. She slammed the door, sat on the bed and dropped her head into her hands. Tears burned at the back of her eyes. She took a deep shaky breath and was amazed to find that she was trembling. She placed her hand over her mouth and stifled a sob.
“Damn! I won’t let him do that to me again,” she whispered angrily. “I won’t let him have that kind of power!”
A light breeze stirred the cotton curtain next to her bed. It wafted across the room and gently stroked her cheek. She closed her eyes and lifted her hand to her cheek and then trailed it down across her lips. She shuddered at the imagery the touch brought. She remembered the last time she had worked with Paul.
The air was so hot.
Eloise opened the flap on her tent to catch any passing breeze. Her clothes were dusty and dirty. Her hiking boots were covered in plaster and sand. She was tired, hot and miserable. There were so many dead – so many disoriented and confused spirits. The earthquake had hit Turkey by complete surprise and the structures in the small towns had not been built to withstand the shock. Tens of thousands dead and so many of them needed her help.
She lay back on the narrow cot and closed her eyes. I just want to rest for a moment, she had thought, only a moment. She didn’t know how long she slept, but the soft touch of a hand on her cheek woke her.
She looked up into those beautiful hazel eyes and smiled.
“Hi,” she said shyly.
“Hi yourself,” he replied with a smile. “I found a genie in a bottle in one of the ruins.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think they have genies in Turkey, they’re in Arabia.”
He grinned. “Well, Miss Know-It-All, I happen to have found a rare Turkish genie. What is your fondest wish?”
Eloise frowned, “All I get is one wish? Aladdin got three.”
Paul shrugged. “Different countries, different wish limits.”
She laughed aloud. “Okay, I want a bath – a hot bath.”
“Your wish is my command,” he replied.
Eloise sat up and shook her head. “You can get me a bath? Where? How?”
Paul sat next to her on the cot, leaned forward and cupped her chin in his hand. “You’ll have to pay the forfeit.”
Eloise unconsciously ran her tongue along her upper lip. Her breath was shallow, her heartbeat accelerated, as she hesitantly asked, “What... would the forfeit be?”
Paul lifted her head slightly and moved his head closer, his eyes never leaving hers. His lips were only inches away. “A kiss, all I want is a kiss.”
Before she could reply, he covered her lips briefly with his own. It was over before she could respond and left Eloise hungry for more.
Eloise snapped opened her eyes and shook her head to try to erase the memory. Standing up, she stormed into the tiny adjoining bathroom. She looked into the mirror and saw a pale face with large unguarded eyes staring back at her. Eyes that were vulnerable instead of professional. Eyes that allowed the pain to show. She took another deep breath, bent over the miniature sink and splashed her face with cold water.
Thirteen minutes later she looked into the mirror again. She was dressed in her regulation uniform, her hair pulled back in a neat and tidy bun, and her face was devoid of all emotion. She took a last deep breath, grabbed her hat and purse and went forth to do battle.
Paul was seated on a stool at the kitchen counter sipping coffee
and flipping through paperwork when she entered. She walked to the small kitchenette and opened the refrigerator and pulled out a protein shake. She shook the can a couple of times, pulled off the tab and took a few sips before she turned to Paul.
“You still drink that crap?” he asked.
She looked pointedly at his coffee, “You still drinking that poison?”
He lifted his cup and saluted her with it and smiled, “Touché.”
She slid on the stool two seats away from him and pointedly placed her purse and hat onto the one that separated them. He looked down at them and then up at her.
“Setting boundaries?”
Eloise nodded. “I have always felt that setting boundaries is a good practice. It avoids unpleasantries later.”
His eyes remained cool and professional, but she could tell by his quick indrawn breathe that she had scored another hit.
“Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?” she asked politely.
Paul considered her for a moment and then nodded. “Yes. We should get down to business immediately.”
He placed the papers that he had been studying on the breakfast bar. “These are from General Thompson,” he explained. “The PRCD lost an operative.”
Eloise dropped her drink on the bar top.
“Who? What happened?” she asked.
Paul paused for a moment, making contact with her eyes.
“Cindy Barton was found dead outside New Orleans.”
Eloise wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to run away. But sitting there with Paul staring at her, she knew that first and foremost she had to be professional.
She took a deep breath, and controlled the tremble in her voice. “How did it happen?” she asked.
“According to the report, she was completing a routine assignment. She was at a small hospital outside New Orleans, the people inside had not been ready for the flooding,” he paused. “There were quite a few deaths.
“She had finished her assignment. It had taken her a while to complete...she didn’t have the strong abilities you have. But she motioned to the two Marines that she was done.”