by Lisa White
“Okay, Gracie.” Ben looked around. “Sweetie, we really need to get going again. I promise to make this right. Just lie down and sleep some more. Maybe your head will feel better in the morning.” Ben gently lay Grace down on her side and she curled back into the fetal position on the back seat of the Mercedes.
The last thing Grace remembered was the car moving again through the night. More movement. More darkness.
• • •
Grace woke early the next morning to the thump-thump-thump of the car’s tires on a concrete bridge. She was still moving but the darkness was gone. She slowly turned her head and was blinded by the sun’s rays trying to tear through the tinted sunroof.
Blink. Blink. Focus. Focus.
It was all coming back to her now.
Gregory. Her birthday party. The room’s swirling colors. The darkness. And Ben.
“Ben?” Grace whispered as she slowly sat up in the back seat of the Mercedes.
“Hey, sleepy head. How are you feeling?” Ben’s tired eyes smiled at her through the rearview mirror. His hands gripped the steering wheel at the ten o’clock and two o’clock positions.
“Head hurts.” Grace rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. The bright sunlight was not helping her pain.
“Are you hungry?” Ben’s eyes flickered back and forth from the road in front of him to Grace in the backseat.
On any other day that would have been such a simple question to answer but Grace’s mind was cloudy. Something was not right and it had nothing to do with her hunger.
“Wait,” Grace whispered. Her mind struggled. “Where are we? What’s going on?”
Ben stared at the road in front of him.
“Ben?” Grace pressed. “What happened? Did I drink too much at the party? Please tell me I did not embarrass myself. Where’s Annie? Where’s Gregory?”
“Whoa,” interrupted Ben. “For someone with a headache, you sure are asking a lot of questions.”
“Just please tell me I did not embarrass myself in front of Gregory.”
“No,” snapped Ben. “You did not embarrass yourself in front of your precious Gregory. Geesh, Gracie. Is that all you care about? If you’d look around, you’d see we have more important things to worry about.”
For the first time since she woke up, Grace looked outside at the scenery flying past her back seat window. Gone were the pine trees of the flat South Carolina landscape and in their place were lush, green, rolling hills filled with maples and oaks, trees as wide as they were tall. There were no landmarks. No signs of civilization. Just trees and a two–lane road stretching between them, weaving in and out of the rolling hills. Nothing looked familiar. Not the hills. Not the car. Just Ben. Ben was the only thing she knew.
“Where are we? Where are we going?” Grace asked again. She was now sitting straight up in the back seat of the Mercedes. She looked down at her red satin dress. It had ripped at the side seam sometime during the night, revealing a right leg covered in scratches and bruises. “Ben, answer me. What’s going on?” she asked, anxiety replacing the confusion she experienced earlier.
Ben just looked at her with a strange look in his eyes.
“Ben!” Grace beat her fist hard against the back of his seat. “I said, answer me!” Her aching head pounded with her fist’s thrust.
Ben stared straight ahead and did not answer.
“Ben!” Her anxiety was now replaced by anger.
“Gracie.” Ben talked to her as if she were a child. “You need to calm down now.”
“Calm down?” Grace punched the back of Ben’s seat again. “I’ll calm down when you tell me what’s going on.”
“I’ll tell you what’s going on when you calm down!” Ben replied.
Grace sat back, slamming herself and her aching head against the back seat with her arms crossed. She glared at Ben with unmoving eyes.
Ben continued to stare at the road ahead.
Grace looked out her window. The car behind them had moved into the oncoming lane and was accelerating to pass the Mercedes. The car sped by and reentered the lane in front of them, its speed rapidly creating distance between their front bumper and its back bumper. Soon the car had sped over the horizon, but not before Grace had read its license plate.
“North Carolina?” Grace yelled. “We’re in North Carolina?”
“What?”
“That car. That car had a North Carolina license plate! Are we in North Carolina?”
“I told you to calm down, Grace.”
“Hmph.” Grace slammed back against the seat again. Her head was still pounding, numbed only slightly by her anger.
The silence seemed to last forever, but the car’s clock had only counted out sixteen minutes when Grace said, “Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“Okay, I’m calmer. Now will you tell me what’s going on?”
Ben smiled. “For once, I’m glad for your rapid mood swings.”
“Well?” she said impatiently.
“Well,” Ben said. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“How about you start in the bathroom at the Cavern Café because that’s the last thing I remember.” Memories of the throw-up session she had endured prompted Grace to reach for her purse and search for a piece of gum. Plopping a piece in her mouth, she continued, “Well?”
“Gracie,” began Ben slowly, “do you trust me?”
“I did until I woke up in stupid North Carolina with you driving this stupid Mercedes.” Grace smacked her gum and looked around the car. “And since when do you drive a Mercedes?”
“I have … resources.” He glanced at Grace through the rearview mirror. “Grace, do you trust me?” Ben repeated.
Grace saw the seriousness in his eyes. “Yes.”
“Well, I really need you to trust me now.”
“What does me trusting you have to do with where we are going and what happened last night?” Grace’s voice began escalating again.
Ben shifted in his seat. “Because, honestly, I really can’t tell you everything going on. You just have to trust me.”
“Are you kidding me?” Grace shook her head. “You tell me what’s going on right this instant or … or,” Grace looked around the car and grabbed the nearest door handle, “I swear, I will open this door and jump out of this car. I mean it, Ben! You know I’ll do it.”
Ben’s eyes widened. “What if I told you that I can’t tell you?”
“Can’t tell me what?”
“Can’t tell you … anything.”
“Ben, you are making no sense whatsoever. Now, you tell me what’s going on or I’m jumping.” Grace’s hand was still on the door handle.
Ben pushed a button and locked the doors.
Grace unlocked her door.
Ben locked the doors again.
Grace unlocked her door again. She pulled the door handle slightly, all the while staring at Ben’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Wait,” Ben said. “You don’t understand. If I tell you, they’ll take you away. I’ll never see you again. Please Gracie, you have to trust me.”
“Who’re they?” Grace released the door handle.
“The Council,” Ben sighed, his eyes staring at the road ahead.
“Who’s the Council?”
Ben glanced at Grace through the rearview mirror and gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“Ben, who’s the Council?” Grace pressed.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he replied.
“Ben,” Grace glared.
“Grace, if I tell you, the Council will make sure I’ll never see you again.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll make sure you won’t want to see me again,” she hissed. “Now you tell me what’s going on right now. Now, Ben!”
Ben took a deep breath.
“Ben?” Grace glared and placed her hand back on the door handle. “Your mouth better start moving.”
Ben gripped the steering wheel tighter.
&
nbsp; Grace even thought she saw it bend slightly. “Ben, who’s the Council?”
Ben glanced at Grace in his rearview mirror and then focused on the road ahead. “Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Here goes. Let’s start with the premise that there are two kinds of beings in this world. There are those that are normal and those that are special. Follow me?”
“No.”
“Okay … well … the Council governs those beings that are special.”
“What do you mean special?”
“Special … like they have special powers. Special like they can do some stuff normal humans can’t.”
Grace’s brow knitted together. “You’re still not making any sense.”
“This is harder than I thought,” Ben muttered to himself. “No wonder this is a huge code violation.”
“Ben,” Grace prodded him.
“Okay, let’s start over. You are human.”
“Yes … ?”
“Some people are … more than human.”
Grace looked at Ben like he had lost his mind. “How can someone be more than human?”
“Some people are born with special powers.” Ben shook his head. “Geesh, this hard.”
“What kind of special powers?”
“All kinds. Some have super strength or speed. Some can read minds. Some have super intelligence.”
Grace glared at Ben. “Stop messing with me. Tell me the truth.”
“I am.”
“No. You’ve read too many comic books and have seen too many movies.”
“Grace, this is serious. There are beings in this world that have special powers. And the Council is the group of beings that govern those with special powers. They make the laws that these special beings have to live by.”
“Like Congress for your comic book characters?” smirked Grace.
“Sort of,” Ben said.
“Get real, Ben.” Grace rolled her eyes.
“I am. Please Grace, you have to believe me. These special beings call themselves the Powers. The Council tries to maintain order between the world of the Powers and your world, the human world.”
Grace didn’t know whether to jump from the car because she was mad at Ben her friend for taking her to North Carolina or because she needed to get away from Ben the crazy person. She placed her hand on the door handle.
“There’s more,” Ben continued, eyeing Grace’s hand on the door.
Grace stayed still.
“You see, the Council has existed for thousands of years,” Ben continued. “It ensures that those of us with special powers, the Powers, can live peacefully among you humans. Members are appointed for life. When one Council member dies, the remaining members choose the replacement and so on and so forth. With me so far?”
“No. Wait. Back up. What do you mean those of us with special powers?” Grace gripped the door handle tighter.
Ben glanced at Grace through the rearview mirror and then turned back to the road again. “Anyway, like I said, the Council has been around for thousands of years. A long time ago, the Powers didn’t have to hide their super human abilities. They didn’t flaunt their powers, but if a human happened to discover a Power’s ability, it was no big deal. Everything was explained away with magic or divine intervention or some other lame excuse that the humans believed. But then came the Salem witch trials beginning in 1692. So many of the Powers were murdered because of those trials. They were accused of the vilest things, but there were really no witches in Salem. Just a bunch of Powers who practiced their abilities a little too openly.”
“Uh-huh … ” Grace’s fingers wrapped tighter around the door handle.
Ben eyed Grace and then returned his focus to the road. “Anyway,” he continued, “after the Salem murders, as we call them, the Council had to choose between allowing the Powers to take over the humans or forcing the Powers to hide forever. Because the Powers had always prided themselves on being the caretakers of the human race, the Council chose the latter and we have been in hiding ever since.”
“Uh-huh.” Grace raised her eyebrows. “Tell me more.” Grace thought that the longer Ben talked, the more time she would have to figure a way out of this mess.
“Well, the Powers continued to live among the humans from that time on, but they could never openly practice their superhuman abilities after the Salem murders. To do so was a strict Council code violation, in some instances punishable by death. So, for about three hundred years, the Powers and humans lived together somewhat peacefully until the 1960s, when one of the Council members got tired of hiding his powers. He tried to take over the Council, essentially hoping to convert it from a democracy into a dictatorship. The other Council members booted him off but not before he had gathered a ton of support from some of the other Powers. Apparently, this rogue Council member and his son were very persuasive when arguing in favor of the public use of powers. Anyway, this rebel member was eventually killed but this only made him a martyr among his supporters who started calling themselves the Anti-Powers. With me so far?”
“Sure.” Grace rolled her eyes. “Go on.”
“Well, the Anti-Powers, led by the deceased rebel’s son, have been fighting with the Council and the other Powers ever since. The son has never been identified by name or face but we do know that his whole goal in life is to get rid of the Council and take over the human race. Payback for the death of his father or something Shakespearean like that. Anyway, think of the Council and the Powers as the good guys and the Anti-Powers as the bad guys. There is a kind of cold war going on right now between the two groups with the Anti-Powers wanting to control the human race and the Powers, led by the Council, wanting to preserve it.” Ben glanced back at Grace. “Is any of this making sense?”
“Sure. Whatever you say.” Grace didn’t hide her patronizing tone.
“Grace, I’m being serious.”
“Ben, what does any of this have to do with me?”
Ben slowed the car slightly when he replied, “Because without you, the Council would eventually disappear and the Anti-Powers know it. If the Anti-Powers get you and your genes, they can take over the Powers and the humans would become nothing more than their slaves. That is, if they allow any humans to survive at all.”
At that point, Grace knew Ben was no longer her friend but was instead a certifiable lunatic. She silently watched the trees zoom past her window.
“Grace?” Ben asked. “Are you still with me?”
“Uh-huh,” Grace mumbled. “Just processing it all.” She had to get out of that car. Seeing a small two-pump gas station emerge at the road’s horizon, she said, “Uh … could we stop for a minute? I’m feeling a little car sick.”
Ben glanced at the dashboard. They had less than a quarter tank remaining. “Yeah, I guess it couldn’t hurt. We need some gas anyway.” Ben looked back at Grace. “I’m sorry I’ve thrown so much at you about the Powers and all. I just want you to understand what we’re up against.”
“Sure,” Grace said, not understanding anything at all except that her best friend had gone completely insane.
Ben pulled into the gas station and started pumping gas. He leaned down into Grace’s open window. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, but stay in the car. Don’t get out under any circumstances. I don’t know who all is around here yet.”
“Of course,” replied Grace, feigning acceptance of Ben’s story.
Ben finished pumping the gas and then headed into the gas station. The minute he was out of sight, Grace reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. There were eight missed calls from Annie and six missed calls from Gregory.
“Hello?” Annie’s voice sounded like an exasperated angel on the other end of the line.
“Annie?” Grace whispered into her phone.
“Gracie! Where are you? What the hell happened last night? One minute you were there and then you disappeared. Gregory and I were so worried about you. I mean we looked
everywhere and — ”
“Annie, would you shut up for one second?” Grace interrupted. “I don’t have much time. I think Ben is suffering some sort of mental breakdown or something. He has me in the backseat of this random Mercedes I’ve never seen before, driving through North Carolina, talking about Powers and Anti-Powers and some stupid Council. I really think he’s lost his mind.”
“Where are you exactly?”
Grace looked out her window at the gas station sign overhead. “I told you. In North Carolina somewhere. I don’t know the town but the name of the gas station is Taylor’s Gas-n-Go. You’ve got to help me, please!”
“Who are you talking to?” Ben’s voice boomed into the back seat. He reached through the open window, grabbed the phone out of Grace’s grasp, disconnecting the call in the process, and hurled it toward an empty field on the other side of the road. The phone flew up into the sky so high, Grace never saw it land.
“What the — ” Grace stammered.
“Who were you talking to?”
“Annie. And who do you think you are? That was my brand new phone you just threw out!”
“Look, I’m sorry. But you obviously don’t grasp what I’m telling you. You are in danger, Gracie. They can track you with your cell phone. I don’t care if you were talking to Annie or the Queen of England. From now on, you don’t do a thing without my approval. Got it?”
Grace’s shocked eyes just stared back at Ben.
“Here. I got you something to drink. This should last you for a while.” Ben handed her two bottles of water. “Now sit back there and be quiet. We have a long ride ahead of us and I need you to do what I say. Okay?”
“Okay,” Grace whispered. So this is what it feels like to be kidnapped, she thought as she uncomfortably settled down into the back seat of the Mercedes.
• • •
The foyer in the Reich mansion was darker than most. Dark wooden flooring. Dark Turkish Orientals. Wallpaper of deep burgundy leather. Even the lights from the massive chandelier hanging over his head were dimmed to the point of being useless. So Doc thought it only fitting that his last few minutes on this earth would be spent in such a dark, empty-feeling room. Even the ornately carved cherry deacon bench on which he was sitting was pillow-less hard, uncomfortable. But the elderly man assumed Mr. Reich liked his guests to feel that way.