RB 01 Through Flesh & Bone

by Frederick S dela Cruz

  He made her laugh out loud.

  He paused and drank from the glass again. Then he said, “Well, actually, I was adopted. Still lived on a farm in North Dakota, but adopted.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yeah.” He paused again. He swirled the wine around in its glass and stared at it. She remained quiet, waiting for him to continue.

  “Yeah.” He looked up and smiled at her. “I loved my mom and dad, and they were great parents. Unfortunately, they’re both gone now.”

  “Aw, that’s sad. So soon?” She reached for his hand.

  “Yeah, but I have good happy memories. I have one strong memory when I was very young, but the rest of the memories come from when I was a teenager and after.”

  “Like what strong memory?”

  “Like I’m freaked out by shiny green bugs.” He cringed and shook his head. Then he joked, “They’re all freaky with those freaky, green, skinny legs and freaky, little wings - being all freaky and all that.”

  “You’re such a wimp.”

  He nodded in agreement, “Precisely.” He was about to say something else but he stopped.

  “What?” she coaxed.

  He looked intently into her dark brown eyes and said in a soft, low voice. “You know…sorry to get serious here.” He smiled then directed his gazed down to the table. He reached for her hand.

  She responded warmly.

  As he looked down, he continued, “I don’t know who my real parents were. And not knowing who they were…” He slowly directed his eyes back onto hers. “It seems like I’m not sure how I even began. You know?” He frowned, not sure if he even made any sense. After stopping to wait and see if she would say anything, he then explained, “I know everyone has a beginning. But this is going to sound strange…I’ve always had this odd feeling like I’m not sure if I had a beginning.”

  There was silence. Dancy didn’t know how to respond, but she slowly held his hand tighter.

  He apologized, “I’m sorry…it’s a weird thing to say during a first date. I know.” He continued with a grin, “And now that I’ve scared you off. Feel free to call your closest friend for a swift ride home.” He was smiling, but he was half serious.

  His hand tried to let go of hers.

  She felt him pull away, but she continued holding on. She protested, “No, I don’t think it’s weird. That’s how you feel. You can tell me that…I can’t know how it was to grow up like you.” Then, after a quick moment, she joked, “But, uh, can I borrow your cell phone for a sec? I’m gonna need a ride real soon.”

  They laughed together.

  Soon, she asked, “Do you believe in any astrology and birth signs and that stuff?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Yeah, me neither. But it makes interesting conversation sometimes. So, now, when where you born?”

  “Uh, May 31st.”

  “Oh, so, I think that makes you a Gemini. I’m a Leo.” She thought for a second, and then said, “Cool. And from what my cousin tells me, we’re supposed to get along really well.”

  “Ah. I see,” he said with a grin and a nod.

  “Well, for now, sweetie pie,” she tilted her head very slightly to the side and gave him a sly smile, “I guess it’s turning out true.”

  * * * * * * *

  That same night, once again an eerie darkness cloaked the fifth floor of the six-story condemned building.

  Someone, a man in a dark business suit, had just finished retching and expelling from his innards the pasty blood of the victim from New York City. Whom he resembled did not matter, but what was significant was that he had arrived and presented the precious transformative sustenance to the pale entity.

  Weakened and exhausted, he stood and staggered back. Then, feebly, he fell, sprawling out on the dusty wooden floor. Panting, he said, “That’s the second. The second one.”

  The pale entity began to ooze out from the spinning sphere, at the center of the room. This time, due to the nourishment from its first feeding, it had greater ability to contain itself into a much denser form. Once completely out of the sphere and on the floor, it extended from itself four appendages that more closely resembled stubbed arms and legs. A lobe of a head protruded from between its arms.

  The more of this unique kind of blood the pale entity consumed, the closer it came to have human form. In deliberate, yet uncoordinated motion, the pale entity cautiously slid, wriggled, and dragged itself toward the rich, thick, pool of blood. It began to feed, lapping the blood into its poorly molded head. A weak, luminescent glow started to emit from its translucent surface.

  Beside the pale entity, the man’s face showed contentment with the fruits of his toil. A brief moment later, a transformation initiated. His eyes began to glow with a dull orange hue that waxed stronger into a hot and brilliant red. Then, the heat from the red glow slowly spread from his eyes to his head, and then from his head, it disseminated into his chest, and finally, throughout his whole body.

  The stagnant air around him stirred with continuous waves of radiating heat-energy, and the intense heat began to melt together the man’s clothes with his skin. Soon, there were no distinguishing lines or shapes on his body, and only one continuous smooth red-hot surface could be seen on a humanoid form.

  Then, just as gradually as the heat intensified, it began to diminish; and as it did, new distinctive lines formed on the surface of the body.

  Air around it began to cool.

  As the red heat disappeared, the characteristic form of the young woman named Crystal began to appear.

  The red glow vanished.

  A moment later, the transition was complete: the image of the businessman had melted away, and Crystal’s beautiful facade formed to replace it.

  Clothed in black, Crystal raised her shapely silhouette from the floor. Looking around, she noticed the hooded man facing her a short distance away. Her next action was to test the extent of her increased power - the power she gained from the unique characteristics of the blood she had just drank, and then offered to the pale entity.

  Breathing in deep, Crystal proclaimed, “This feels good. I feel stronger. Now, how much power does it give me?” Then concentrating, she stretched out her arm and extended the palm of her hand out into the space in front of her.

  In the darkness of the fifth floor, with the only light coming from the weak glow of the feeding pale entity, an even deeper darker space began to coalesce in front of Crystal’s extended hand. It was the beginning of a tear in space and time that bridged into an unfathomable realm millions of light years away.

  The ability to create this spatial tear came from the unique and rare blood that now intermingled with Crystal’s essence, exponentially augmenting her own innate powers.

  The tear, as it reached the size of a small window, began to pull into its undefined edges all the existing light around it. The outline of the tear sparked and crackled with white-light electricity. The air around it was drawn in, swirling and creating a wind, within the empty fifth floor.

  With strands of her long, waving hair rising up to her face, Crystal intensified her concentration. Her eyes peered into the darkness of the other realm. She could see intense activity and movement in its distance. It was a clash and struggle between two powerful factions, manifesting in explosive bursts of light and energy, and consuming plasma-like fire.

  Suddenly, with a blinding flash of pure red light, a being attempted to encroach through the tear. Its complete form was indistinguishable, but from it, several fiery-red appendages frantically extended, trying to make its way completely through.

  The hooded man watched, intrigued by the possible arrival of the red being.

  Exerting herself, Crystal attempted to open the tear even wider, in order to assist the terrifying being in its struggle. But the increased effort began to weaken her, and the opening into the distant realm grew no further.

  Straining, she gasps, “This isn’t enough. I need more!”

  Without w
arning, a blinding gold and white light sliced through the center of the fiery-red beast, disintegrating its every molecule. The golden light quickly extended further out, streaming through and into the entire fifth floor, filling every corner, and revealing every hidden surface. Outside the building, the intense light projected, appearing as a brilliant golden circle burning through the darkness. It streamed from horizon to horizon, making the condemned building appear as a lighthouse with a tremendous spotlight illuminating all directions at once.

  Quickly, protecting her eyes, Crystal raised her forearm.

  A pounding blast of sound immediately followed, shaking the floor and ceiling with powerful waves that exploded glass windows into thousands of pieces.

  Then, unexpectedly, all light suddenly receded, and darkness converged back into the vacuum.

  Crystal could see no light, other than the intermittent sparks around the perimeter of the small spatial tear. She cautiously lowered her arm, stood, and waited.

  Silence tingled her senses.

  Then, a powerful beam of white, laser light, having the diameter of the tear itself, projected through. Like an eye, it darted to and fro, slicing through the black air of the fifth floor. It focused on Crystal, but she turned to hide her face. It dashed to the pale entity, as it lay on the floor, and then focused on the hissing dark entity that spun as a sphere a few steps away. Finally, it shined its powerful light on the hooded man. On him, it remained for a longer time, as if recognizing who he was.

  The hooded man immediately turned and averted his face, knowing that the light was assessing him, judging him.

  But abruptly, the beam darted back to Crystal.

  This time, she glared back, standing her ground and snarling, “See me and know who I am!”

  Then, quickly, the beam disappeared. But an instant later, out of the darkness, a being of shimmering golden light spoke to Crystal, from the distance through the spatial tear. The being did not wish to cross through the threshold; rather, it protected the tear from being breached.

  It spoke to her. It spoke to her in a language of that realm, in a language defined by rapidly strobing light, generated by the continuous transition of matter into energy and back to matter. Gravely, it warned her not to proceed further in her path. Sternly, it told her to stop. Then, immediately, it vanished, sealing the spatial tear with a flash of electricity and consuming fire.

  Crystal stood without movement.

  The warning had no effect.

  She was not willing to alter her course.

  In the darkness, the pale entity resumed its blood feeding, and soon, a weak glow once again began to emit from its body.

  In thought, Crystal turned away. Realizing she needed to commune with the dark entity, she said to it, “Come. We cannot let them stop us.” Crystal’s entire focus was on nothing but opening a large enough rift to allow the crossing of the Essence. Turning to the hooded man, she commanded, “We must continue.”

  Then, having to rejoin the spinning sphere and the dark entity within it, Crystal started to transform. First, tiny reflective diamond-like facets began appear throughout the surface of her body and clothes. They were an outer layer, making her look as though she had a covering made of reflective shattered glass. Then, the colors of her flesh and clothes started to vanish and become translucent. Soon, all colors and pigments went away. Seconds later, every part of her, inside and out, became millions upon millions of sparkling crystalline matter.

  She was a crystalline being able to appear in humanoid form.

  The transformation continued.

  A few seconds later, the crystals on her face began to flake away and float into the air. One by one, they rose above her, making their way to the spinning, black sphere of the dark entity.

  As the crystals approached the dark entity, it accepted and intermingled with them.

  Layer by layer, from head to toe, crystals separated from the standing form of the young woman, until all parts of her floated into the sphere. Within that spinning sphere, the millions of tiny black particles of the dark entity swirled and blended with the millions of tiny diamond-like facets of the crystalline entity.

  Next to them, the third being - the pale entity - continued to slowly and patiently lap into its blood meal.

  Quietly, the hooded man stood in thought. The power that Crystal gained was of no surprise to him. He knew it would happen; he allowed it to happen. In his thoughts, he said, The blood I have found for her is indeed capable and potent. And I will give her more, as she continues to desire it. Her mind has proven to be intent on this alone. I have already planned to make her desires, the designs of the dark entity, and my purposes meet at a single focal point. Whispering, he said in agreement, “We continue.”

  * * * * * * *

  Dancy’s giggle played in his ears, and he enjoyed it.

  “Come on!” she laughed.

  She was tugging his hand, as she tried to run in front of him, and lead him across the street, before the streetlight turned from yellow to red. She had let her hair down, and it flowed gracefully in the night air.

  They had been walking around San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, just talking. But then, they decided to go to a club. She was taking him to one of her favorites.

  After crossing the street, they reached the entrance of the club and went in. It was just after 10:30 p.m., and still too early for any excitement inside. There were no more than twenty people, but music was playing, as the DJ warmed up.

  They sat close to each other, at a tall table by a wall, and ordered a couple of drinks. Soon, the waitress returned with her Mojito and his Long Island.

  After taking a sip from her drink, Dancy moved in closer. She looked at his lips, then his eyes, and then kissed him. She confessed in his ear, “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”

  He kissed her in return. Then, while his lips touched hers, he grinned, “I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”

  Just then, the DJ began to play an old Rick James song: You and I.

  “Ooh, cool song! Let’s go!” Dancy said as she jumped to her feet and took his hand. They headed for the dance floor. Other people saw them and followed their lead.

  Red, green, and blue lights spun from every ceiling corner, projecting throughout the dimly lit club.

  As she danced, she sang the words to him, locking her eyes onto his.

  It was classic funk song, and he was happily surprised she knew it. She seemed to have the same taste in music as he.

  As she danced, she raised her arms in the air. Side by side, her hands moved elegantly above her, as her feet stayed close together in one spot. As she slowly swayed and waved her long slender body, her red dress flowed with her movements.

  He watched her move with amazing beauty.

  Then Dancy made her way towards him, staring into his eyes. She moved forward with each beat of the song. When she reached him, she slowly lowered her arms around his neck, and he responded with his arms around her waist.

  She came in closer and began to kiss him.

  They stood close together, facing each other in front of Dancy’s apartment door. It was almost two o’clock in the morning. The light outside her door was off, and the only light came from a lamppost far away.

  He rested his hands around her waist, and she placed her arms around his neck. She spoke softly, “Thanks. I had an amazing night.”

  He whispered back, “So did I. And you looked just stunning tonight. Every time I looked at you, you took my breath away.”

  “Why thank you, kind sir,” she said, as she gave him a soft, slow peck on the lips.

  After a moment, he said, “Well, I better go. I’ve gotta wake up early to milk the camels and roosters, and sheer the cows back at the farm.”

  She giggled, “Alright, farm boy.” Then she whispered in his ear, “Call me.”

  “Certainly, ma’am.” He leaned in and kissed her for a long while.

  She opened the door and reached in to turn on the light
.

  They exchanged their goodnights.

  He walked downstairs, and then back to his car, as she remained outside to watch him leave.

  Reaching his Mustang, he waved good-bye. Then, he started the engine and turned on the radio, adjusting the volume down.

  On his way home, he thought about nothing but Dancy and their evening together.

  She had made him feel alive.

  Their attraction was quite natural and almost unavoidable.

  There was something part of her, in her being, which made him feel as if their meeting had been preordained.

  Sighing, as he thought, he said, There’s something about her. What is it? And it feels right…like the timing for this to happen is perfect.

  Something inside him awoke from its deep slumber, making way for other possibilities in his life to surface.

  In his apartment, he opened a bottle of wine. The bottle he had found earlier outside his door he had kept where he left it, on the floor. As he stood at his kitchen counter, he poured the wine into a glass.

  “Time to wind down,” he said.

  He walked to the couch, sat down, reached for the TV remote, and turned it on. He flipped through the channels, through old sitcoms and movies, and then spent a couple of minutes on a paid-program real estate commercial, and then finally, settled on one of the twenty-four hour news stations. He turned up the volume just a bit and drank from his glass.

  After a financial segment, the news anchor began to talk about miscellaneous national news.

  As he took another drink, he heard the female anchor say the words “Israel, South Carolina.” The name of the city sounded familiar, and it sparked his interest. He quickly put the glass down, leaned forward, and listened.

  The news anchor continued, “The FBI stated that there is a high likelihood that the New York City murder is tied to the previous one. In that, the murdered woman was abducted from Jerusalem, Indiana and transported to Israel, South Carolina, where she was discovered.”

  He was almost unwilling to believe what he just heard.

  Quickly, he grabbed his keys, ran out his door, flew downstairs, and unlocked his car door. He jumped inside and pulled from the ashtray the note he found earlier on the bottle of wine.