I expect us to try.
Carson turned up the t.v., trying to drown out the voice in his head. A red-headed news anchor appeared in the center of the screen. She stared straight into the camera with deadpan eyes.
“And yet another sad story from Bishop Bay today where local residents Richard and Emily Cross were found dead in their home.”
Carson moved up to the edge of the bed. The camera panned across the front of a small white house. The red shutters that covered the windows stuck out like a sore thumb. Men dressed in blue jackets with the word PARAMEDIC printed on the back walked in pairs. They carried a stretcher in between the four of them. Neighbors stood out in their yards to watch.
“Although no official cause of death has been released at this time, authorities do believe that heart failure may have been a likely cause. More on this story at eight.”
Carson turned off the tv and threw the remote against the wall. Carson didn’t know what to do. He wanted to help Abigail but he was scared to die. Did that make him wrong? Just because he had powers was he automatically responsible for saving other people? He wished Dr. Taylor had been more helpful in solving the conundrum for him.
Carson turned over and screamed into his pillow. It didn’t offer any help.
“Everything ok?”
Carson looked up to see his mother standing above him.
He felt embarrassed that she had heard his outburst.
“Can I sit,” she asked.
Carson moved over so that she had space.
“How was the funeral?”
“It wasn’t much of a funeral. They already buried him and there were only like three other people there.”
“Oh,” Ellie said. “I can take you by the cemetery later if you want.”
“No thanks.”
“Are you sure? Cause I thought maybe after we could see your dad and-”
“I said no.” Carson didn’t even bother trying to hide the anger in his voice.
Ellie kept going. “Why are you so scared to go to the cemetery?”
Carson jumped out of bed, yelling. “Why are you always pushing for me to go? Why do you always have to bring up the fact that dad is dead.”
Ellie’s eyes widened. She bit the edge of her lip. “I think you should talk to him, you know. You never talked about what happened, you didn’t go to the funeral, and you refuse to even step foot in the cemetery.”
“Because it’s my fault, ok?!” Carson’s voice cracked as the tears started to pour down his face.
“It’s my fault that dad was in that accident and it’s my fault that Jacob is dead.”
Ellie stood up and pulled Carson close to her. He continued to cry, not caring about anything else. Ellie and Carson swayed back and forth. When his crying finally quieted down she sat back on the bed with him.
“What do you mean it's your fault,” she asked softly.
Carson waited to answer until his crying was manageable.
“That day that we left. We were driving and then there was this crash. Dad tried to stop but we crashed too. I was hurt and I got out but dad’s seatbelt was stuck. He kept asking for help but I was too scared and hurt. How can I face him again if it’s my fault that he’s dead?”
The memory brought back both the pain of that day. He could still feel the deep cuts on his legs even though they had long since healed.
Ellie smiled weakly. “Is that why? Carson, that doesn’t make it your fault. Accidents happen and you were just a kid. You shouldn’t blame yourself for something like that.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Carson said.
“It really is. You were a kid. You still are now and maybe that’s why it’s so hard for you to understand. I read the reports from that day and I know for a fact that most people would not have been able to help.”
Ellie reached out and grabbed his hand. “Your father would want you to forgive yourself. He wouldn’t like it if he saw you like this.”
Lightning lit up the room.
Ellie started to leave but Carson called after her.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” Ellie said. She wiped her own tears away with the back of her hand.
Carson thought over his words carefully. He couldn’t reveal too much of the truth to her.
“It’s not a question, really. After everything that happened recently with dad and the museum and Jacob, I’m scared that I’m going to end up dead like them.”
“We all die someday, Carson. Whether it’s tomorrow or fifty years from now, everyone’s time comes eventually. What happened to Jacob is tragic and honestly, it wasn’t fair. It’s never fair when someone dies before they’ve had the chance to really live. But that’s the point of it all, isn’t it? You have to live. You can't just lock yourself up until your time comes. You might as well already be gone at that point.”
Ellie locked eyes with him. Carson could see the years of wisdom behind them.
“Our responsibility to those that are gone is to live for them, to fulfil the dreams that they didn’t get a chance to fulfill themselves.”
She looked out of the window and into the forest. A look of remembrance flashed across her face.
“Do you remember when your father first died,” she asked, returning her attention back to him.
Carson nodded. Of course he remembered. He remembered it every day.
She continued. “I buried myself in my work. If I kept myself busy then I didn’t have to think about it and if I didn’t come home then I wouldn’t have to face the fact that your father wouldn’t be here to greet me. It helped at first but then one day I realized that I was destroying the memory of your father by hiding myself away. I had a responsibility to keep moving on no matter what, of living the life that he wanted me to live. How could I do that when I wasn’t here with you?”
Ellie brushed his hair back. “You were everything to your father. I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you with this before but I know that he wouldn’t want you hiding away like this.”
Ellie took a deep breath. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that yes, your father and Jacob may be gone but you need to carry on their memory and in that way they will never truly die. Fight for what they believed in. Be the amazing person they both knew you to be.”
Carson thought over his mother’s words when she left. Although he hadn’t felt fully resolved about what happened he did feel like an enormous weight was taken off his shoulders. He felt somewhat at peace with his dad. Now he just needed to do right by his best friend.
Jacob had given his life for Carson and here he was, wasting that sacrifice. It didn’t matter how many lives he could save. Jacob would still be out there fighting Nick until he couldn’t anymore. That was the kind of person he was.
Carson looked down at his watch.
4:30.
“Shit,” he said loudly, running for the door. He grabbed his umbrella despite the sun breaking through the clouds.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
|||||
CARSON MADE IT TO Abigail’s house with only a few minutes left to spare. Carson ran up the steps and knocked. His knuckles rapped hard against the wood, pushing it open.
“Hello?” Carson called out into the darkness. He stepped into the house and searched for a light.
“Hello?”
No answer. Carson walked through the house, turning on each light as he went.
“Abigail?”
When he walked into the kitchen he could see a pair of black boots sticking out from behind the counter. He ran forward and found Abigail’s father laying on the ground. Carson stuck his fingers against his neck, searching for a pulse. He let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t dead.
Carson bolted up the stairs. The second floor was completely destroyed. Deep scorch marks were cut into the walls. Carson traced the grooves with his fingers. They still felt warm. He made his way into Abigail’s room, steppin
g over the furniture that had been tossed around. Her room was trashed. Her bed had been thrown across the room and her desk was overturned, its contents scattered everywhere.
Carson walked around the room looking under everything he could. He felt as if she would somehow appear if he just kept looking. He threw a lamp against the wall in frustration. The lamp shattered, plunging half the room into darkness.
Carson’s phone rang. He shakily pressed it against his ear.
“Abigail?”
“Guess again,” a low voice replied.
“Nick,” Carson hissed.
“I have your friend here. Meet me at the fisherman’s warehouse in an hour. Alone.”
Carson dropped the phone. Paralyzing fear gripped his chest. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. The house shook violently. The walls cracked around him. Windows exploded in their frames.
Clutching his stomach Carson made his way into the hallway. His fear melted into anger. Nick had taken everything from him. This wasn’t a choice he could make anymore. He had to face Nick and make sure that he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.
Carson made it back to his house in record time. He stood outside the door that led into his father's study. He wasn’t ready but he knew that he needed to go in. Abigail was depending on him. He slowly opened the door. Cold air rushed out into the hallway. The room inside was filled with soft sunlight. Carson could see the dust particles floating through the beams of light as they streamed in through the blinds. The book that Abigail had dropped still lay on the floor. Carson picked it up and returned it to its place on the shelf. Hundreds of rocks and crystals sat on shelves that lined the entire room. Near the window at the back of the room sat his father's large mahogany desk. It was still as cluttered as it was the day he died.
Carson admired how the light reflected off of the crystals. It was a bittersweet feeling. He missed spending time in the study. Carson remembered the times when he would do homework while his father worked. He picked up a display case that sat on the corner of the desk. Inside was a large chunk of labradorite. It shone in the light, a mix of a hundred shades of blues and yellows and oranges shimmering in the sun. The dark blues, which reminded him of a deep ocean, seamlessly transformed into bright pinks that called back to memories of forgotten sunsets. Out of his entire collection this stone was his father’s favorite.
Carson wiped away the thick layer of dust from the case. In one quick motion he slammed the case against the desk. The stone fell onto the wood with a loud thud. Carson reached underneath the desk and pulled out the black heavy-duty backpack that his father had always used when they went hiking. He flipped it over and dumped out its contents. He threw the labradorite into the backpack and ran to the shelves and started throwing in everything that he could fit. Amethyst, quartz, silver. Anything he felt his powers connect to he took.
His body buzzed with energy like it never had before. He didn’t fight against it. He didn’t cower from the power. He welcomed the vibrations that worked through his fingertips. When he couldn’t fit anymore into the backpack he threw it over his shoulders. He pulled out his phone and dialed the last number he would have ever thought he would put into his phone.
“Hello?”
“Matt. I need your help,” Carson said.
“What do I need to do?”
Carson smiled. For the first time in his life the pit of anxiety and fear that he normally felt was replaced with confidence and determination. This time he would be ready for Nick. This time he would win.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
|||||
WHEN ABIGAIL CAME TO she found herself in an unfamiliar place. From what she could tell she was in a warehouse of sorts. Large metal walls surrounded her on all four sides. Large, metal equipment stood in rows in the middle of the room. She could hear the ocean just beyond the walls. Abigail tried to move but found that her arms were bound to the chair she was sitting in with duct tape. She struggled against the restraints which only made them tighter. Abigail closed her eyes and focused. The cold chill that came with using her powers travelled down her spine and into her arms, building up in her hands. Abigail was filled with a comforting warmth as her powers took over. Orange flames poked through the silver and illuminated the room in a gentle glow. She moved her hands around, ripping through the melted tape. Just as the last strip had finished burning away a cold hand shot out of the dark and grabbed her. The flames disappeared.
Nick clicked his tongue. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Abigail shivered. She fought against his powers, trying to get away. He was too strong for her.
“I don’t need you running off before the fun begins.” The blue light faded when he let go of her wrist. Nick pulled out a roll of thick silver tape and quickly retied her hands.
“You’re psychotic,” Abigail spat.
“I’m just trying to survive,” he replied.
Nick threw the rest of the tape across the room and crouched down in front of her.
“If you try to escape again I’ll kill you before you make it to the door.”
She screamed into his face. “What do you want from us?!”
He looked down at her. Abigail tried to act like she wasn’t intimidated. It wasn’t working as well as she hoped.
“I just want what you stole from me.”
“What the hell are you talking about? We didn’t take anything from you.”
Nick laughed, climbing up the metal steps to the warehouses’ second floor.
“Do you really think you were just given your powers? Do you think that there were no consequences? No one just gains abilities like these. It’s not natural.”
Nick held up his arms so that she could see. “Apparently I’m the only one that’s having to pay that price. I won’t be for long.”
Nick disappeared into another room, leaving Abigail alone in the dark.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
|||||
THE PLAN WAS SIMPLE. Get in, get Abigail, and attack. Carson had explained the plan to Matt and the two friends that came with him as they drove to the warehouse. Cade and Tyler wore matching expressions of fear as Carson explained Nick’s deadly abilities. Carson didn’t think that they were bad people now that they weren’t beating on him. He hoped that they’d live long enough that he would get to know more about them.
Matt slowed his truck to a stop a mile away from the pier.
“Let me go first,” Carson said. He threw his backpack over his shoulders. “Give me a ten minute headstart and then you guys come up from the beach. I think there’s a back door so I’ll make sure to unlock it as soon as I get in. Hopefully I can get Abigail out of there before you guys get there. If not then I’ll make sure Nick’s distracted enough for you to get to her.”
The others nodded.
Carson made his way down the hill that led to the pier.
“Carson, wait,” Matt shouted. Matt jogged down to him.
“Hey. For whatever it's worth, I’m sorry about everything I did before. If I could take it all back then I would.”
Carson patted him on the shoulder. “Thanks. Help me save Abigail and I’ll consider your debt paid.”
“You got a deal, man,” Matt said, shaking Carson’s hand.
Carson expected Nick’s lair to look more like a super villain's lair. The fishery wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. The sun was setting behind him. It’s light reflected brightly off the surface of the ocean. Carson hid in the bushes that lined the sidewalk just before the pier started. He watched for any movement. He needed to be careful. There were no second chances this time.
Carson clutched the strap of his backpack tightly. The weight of the rocks were pressing painfully into his shoulders. His connection to the stones was the only thing that helped to comfort him as he waited.
The early evening air was warm. The stillness of it was unnerving. Even the sound of the crashing waves just beyond the fishery seemed muffl
ed. There was still no movement. Carson reached into his backpack and pulled out a few small crystals.
The attack came suddenly and without warning. A sharp pain ripped through Carson’s arm as a piece of jagged metal slid across his bare skin. Carson dove through the bushes and rolled out onto the pier. Another piece of metal barely missed him as it soared past him. Carson charged his energy into the crystals he held. He launched them in the direction that the attack had come from. Nick emerged from behind the nearby trees. He flashed Carson a murderous grin.
“Took you long enough. I was starting to think you wouldn’t show.”
Carson pulled out a thick piece of quartz from the backpack. He held it in front of his body like a dagger.
“Where’s Abigail,” Carson asked.
“She’s a little tied up right now,” Nick joked. A surge of blue energy traveled down his arms and into his palms. “Would you like me to deliver a message?”
Carson ignored him. “I understand now, Nick. I understand why you’re doing this.”
Nick’s grin disappeared. “You don’t understand anything. Not yet.”
Nick thrusted his hands forward and launched a beam of energy. Carson dove onto the ground and threw the stone. Nick snatched it out of the air with ease. He held out the crystal in front of him to inspect it.
“You know, I thought that you would have been a challenge. I guess I already killed off the real competition. Such a disappointment.”
Carson focused on Nick’s hands and directed his powers outward. The sharp crystal twisted, pulling Nick’s arm with it. The point stabbed him through the shoulder. Nick screamed out in pain. Carson stayed focused and drove it in as deep as he could. Nick tried to pull it out but Carson managed to keep it in.
With Nick distracted Carson ran for the entrance to the building. The fishery was much bigger than it looked from the outside. He made sure to lock the heavy doors and started making his way through the maze of giant machinery. Small offices lined the outer edges. Finally he found the back door and let Matt and the others inside.
Inversion Page 16