Fading Amber

by Jaime Reed

  I expected a maze of outdoor units with metal roll-up doors, but they were indoor compartments trapped in a concrete warehouse at the side of the property. That was our target, but for some reason Caleb went inside the office to talk to the owner and waste precious daylight hours. He’d been in there for forty minutes, and I wasn’t trying to be here after dark.

  To kill time, I called Mia and got her voicemail again. I texted Angie with the location of Gunner’s body, but left out how I came about that information. Hopefully, the search for Gunner would keep the Cambion militia distracted for a few hours. Mom called me twice to check on me, but I left her a vague text telling her I was with Caleb and turned off my phone. I figured if I was going to be grounded, I might as well be legit about it. It was for a good cause.

  With that accomplished, I looked in the back seat to double check the inventory in the duffel bag. Before arriving here, we’d made a quick stop at the hardware store for supplies: a hand saw, some rope, gloves, bolt cutters, a lighter, a can of kerosene, and a bag of Starburst. This was a sketchy combination to have rolling down the conveyer belt, but the tattoo-clad girl ringing up our items couldn’t have cared less if we were setting a church on fire.

  “Have you ever done something like this before?” I had asked Caleb once we were back in his Jeep.

  His eyes were on the road and with a slick, dimpled grin, he said, “Search my memories for the answer later.”

  Thinking now of what we were about to do and what was at stake, I realized that we were still unprepared. All we had was half a plan and a whole lot of nerve, but countries had gone to war with less.

  The sun was falling behind the trees, pulling away its warm coat to reveal an early glimpse of stars. With darkness approaching we had maybe four hours to hit the rendezvous point. There was no telling how long it would take to get Tobias’s body, and Caleb was operating on his own directive.

  Just when I was about to fall asleep, Caleb approached the Jeep with keys in his hand.

  I rolled down his window and asked, “What was that about?”

  He leaned inside the window, chewing on a cherry Starburst and looking all kinds of hotness. “Rented a moving truck. Whatever they’ve got in that unit is gonna be big and won’t fit in my Jeep. We need to be mobile. Got a good deal too. The dealer’s a nice old guy, but can’t see for shit. He’d seen my brother around here a few times and he thought I was him.”

  “Are you really that surprised? You guys are like really messed-up triplets. I have perfect vision and still get confused.”

  “Yeah, but I’m the cute one.” His smile fell as quickly as it appeared. “I’m gonna pull the truck back here, then we’ll go into the building. I checked out the area—we should be fine. There’re only men around so in case anyone approaches us, I’ll need you to work your magic.” He winked at me then leaned farther in the window for a quick peck on my lips.

  I couldn’t argue with that. At least Cake Boy was on point, and though I might not know all the details of his plan, I trusted him. I had to.

  He left for a few minutes, spoke to the owner, then returned inside a white industrial pickup. Caleb parked the truck then climbed out. I joined his side with the duffel bag of supplies. We walked toward the doors, staying cool and keeping an eye out for any overly helpful workers.

  No, we didn’t look obvious at all rolling up in A-Team posse formation. All we needed was to walk in super slow motion with hard techno music in the background. Adrenaline pumped in my system, excitement, fear, and raw badassery.

  Since it was business hours, the automatic glass doors slid open without a key. The air sucked through the vents in a vacuum and as we stepped in, the doors sealed closed again with a Tupperware burp.

  “It’s climate controlled; keeps moisture out,” Caleb explained.

  The place was an oversized cinder block with metal stairs, a giant freight elevator on the bottom level, and very active security cameras in the black ball in the corner. I felt like a spy on a secret mission with all the covert ducking and dodging.

  Caleb spotted a cart with wheels and pulled it into the elevator with us.

  Before I could ask, he dropped the duffel bag inside and said, “We need some way to get it out, just in case.”

  The doors opened and we stepped into the wide hallway of cell block five. Gray walls with glass doors lined either side of us. Just as Tobias said, the floor was covered in oil. It glistened inside the cracks in the concrete, though black with dirt and tread. We followed the letters on each unit—odds on the left, even on the right.

  Stopping in front of our desired unit, I understood why it was hard for Tobias to just crawl under the door. The doors were airtight with thick tinted glass; hiding whatever was inside from view. The key pad was imbedded into the wall so it couldn’t be pulled out or broken.

  “Are you sure it’s this one?” Caleb asked.

  I nodded. “That’s what he said, 521.”

  Caleb stood in front of the key pad and punched in a series of numbers too quick for me to see. Nothing happened. Swearing, he tried another set of numbers and failed. He pressed his back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling, consulting the overhead bulbs for insight. I kept eyeing the elevator, getting anxious as the risk of being caught grew severe.

  Caleb used five more codes with no success. He placed his head against the glass and took a deep breath. He must’ve had a eureka moment, because his head shot up and he rushed to the security box again. This next code elicited a beeping noise then a metallic clank. I looked down and saw the door part from the wall an inch.

  “Awesome! What was the code?” I pulled the handle and almost dislocated my shoulder. The glass was at least four inches thick.

  Caleb grabbed hold and pulled it the rest of the way. “At first I thought it was Mom’s birthday. Then I thought it was the day she died. I even tried all of our birthdays. But turns out it was our parents’ wedding day.”

  “Aww. That’s so sweet.” My smile withered when I caught the strong whiff of spring flowers and something sour just underneath it.

  “Yeah, Haden’s a softy like that.” Caleb scrunched up his face, no doubt smelling the odor, too, then stepped inside.

  He clicked on the switch by the door and glaring fluorescent lights flooded the empty room from above. Two sets of air fresheners were taped to opposite walls, the kind with those battery-operated spritzers with a timer. I half expected a coffin or some sort of time capsule, so it came as a disappointment when we found a large deep-freezer on top of a wooden pallet in the center of the room. The front of the white box was sealed with a metal latch and reinforced with a padlock.

  “Now what?” I touched the lock and found greasy residue on the metal. I wiped my hands on my jeans.

  “It’s a simple padlock; a bolt cutter should do it.” He went for the cart in the hall and returned with the cutters. Once the lock was off, he lifted the latch and went no further. We stepped back, expecting an explosion or some glow to fill the room like an angry genie, but nothing happened. That meant we had to open it manually. Great.

  “We shouldn’t look in there,” I muttered, the full weight of what we were doing now coming to a head.

  “It could be pork chops in there for all we know. We need to make sure it’s Tobias’s body.” He said a whole lot for someone who didn’t move a muscle.

  I tipped my head toward the box. “Fine, you look in there.”

  He shook his head keenly. “No, you look.”

  “You’re the man with the plan. You go see. Didn’t you want to be the hero here to save the day? Well, here you go.” I gestured to the ice box with a sweep of my hand.

  “Where’s all that feminist rhetoric now? You wanted empowerment; have at it.”

  “Feminism has nothing to do with crusty dead things. Unless Tobias’s corpse is being sexually harassed on the job, or not getting equal pay, then it’s not my department. Now hop to it.”

  We just stared at the freezer, terr
ified at whatever curse came with opening Pandora’s Box. Whether it was from superstition, watching too many movies, or good ole common sense, we completely froze, but we’d come too far to turn back now.

  “Fine, we’ll open it together,” he decided, his voice thick with uncertainty.

  Side by side, we snuck toward the box. We stretched our arms out as far as they could go until our fingers tucked under the lid.

  Eyes glued to mine, he said, “Ready? On the count of three. One, two, three!”

  The lid flipped open and we backed away and almost fell to the floor from the odor that shot out of the freezer. Rotting meat, sewage, and decay rolled up in a mixture of eye-watering funk. I’d never smelled a dead body before, but it was an odor I would never forget. I covered my nose in the collar of my shirt and inched closer.

  Sure enough, Tobias’s body—what was left of it—lay at the bottom of the freezer. I recognized his inky black hair, muscular frame, and the angelic, ambiguous features. He lay on his back with his knees bent so he could fit inside. His eyes were shut and his mouth was closed, giving the impression of peaceful sleep. But the illusion fell flat due to the broken arrow poking out of his chest and the dark circle of blood around the piercing. This sad image had all the makings of a slain vampire in his coffin, except a vampire should’ve turned to dust, whereas Tobias looked, well . . . soupy.

  Half his body was submerged in a dark green liquid, which I guessed was olive oil. It had mixed with something else, parts of Tobias too disgusting to name. Everything below the shallow surface had dissolved into a thick sludge of grease. Only his face, his hands, which rested on his stomach, and his bent knees were intact, but hollow and as thin as a plastic mask floating in water. Sustaining its familiar, human form, the skin looked delicate with no bone structure to support its shape.

  My knee bumped the side of the freezer, making the body wobble in a life-sized Jell-O mold. I was certain that if I touched it—and I sure as hell wasn’t—the skin would cave in and sink to the bottom.

  Then there was the smell, that noxious, acidic rank that clung to the back of my throat, no doubt stuck to my clothes, and would ruin my appetite for the next few weeks.

  I wasn’t Tobias’s biggest fan, but this was cruel and unusual punishment that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I couldn’t blame him for wanting vengeance. I would want the same thing if the tables were turned. Caleb, however, didn’t share my compassion.

  I was so horrified at the sight that I hadn’t noticed Caleb pulling out his phone. Using both hands, he tilted the phone for a good angle. “Marvelous, darling. Work it, work it, work it. Make love to ze camera. Fabulous,” Caleb coached in a really bad French accent.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, covering my mouth.

  “He’s gonna want proof that we’re not bluffing,” he answered, twiddling with his phone.

  “Why the photo? Aren’t we going to just give it to him?”

  He made a face at me like I’d lost my mind. “Hell no. We’re gonna make a deal.”

  “What sort of deal? Caleb, we can’t—” Whatever I was going to say had been interrupted by movement in the freezer.

  I screamed, jumped away, and almost knocked Caleb down. I held on to him, snatching at his body for safety, comfort, reason, anything. I hadn’t imagined it, and the horror-struck look on Caleb’s face confirmed what I saw.

  Swallowing my heart back down, I slunk toward the box again, inch by agonizing inch. My plan was to close it and by no means look inside, but it didn’t work. I saw it, and worst of all, it saw me. The eyelids had opened and revealed a milky white film over the eyes where color should’ve been. Nothing else on the body moved but those blank sockets, which followed me from left to right.

  Having seen enough, Caleb slammed the lid shut and hooked the front clasp.

  “All right, that’s it. I’m out.” I went to the door. A hand caught mine and I jumped, ready to swing.

  “Sam, wait,” Caleb said. “He can’t move. He’s paralyzed, remember? He’s harmless.”

  “He?” I said incredulously. “You telling me that Campbell’s cup-o-demon over there is alive? I mean really alive? How can Tobias be in two places at once?”

  “I don’t know, but that’s why he wants it. He’s still attached to it, more than we realize.” Caleb looked back to the freezer. “If so, then he can’t truly inhabit another person’s body unless this one is destroyed.”

  I didn’t like the crazy look on his face, the wide-eyed mania of a mad scientist. “Whatever you’re thinking—don’t. Dougie is still—”

  He held my arms to keep me from swinging at him. “You need to trust me. If all goes well, Doug and Mia will get out alive.” He slipped past me and into the hall. He returned moments later with the strangest-looking jack I’d ever seen.

  “What is that?”

  “It’s a pallet jack. Found it by the elevator. Good for lifting heavy objects, like freight.” He aimed the two prongs directly under the wooden pallet under the freezer. When it was secure, he pumped the handle until the entire load lifted an inch off the ground.

  “Come on.” He dragged the haul out of the unit and into the hallway.

  I had to use the strength in my legs to close the door and it locked automatically when it connected with the wall.

  Getting the freezer down the hallway was a bit trickier than we thought. I could see Caleb strain to tow the box along and my added strength didn’t make much of a difference. Tobias had mentioned once that he was heavy, some crap about cloud density, but damn.

  Once inside the elevator, I asked, “How are we going to get this onto the truck?”

  He tossed me a smile as if I were the cutest wittle thing he had ever seen. “The rental truck has a lift gate in the back, Sam. Let’s just hope it holds.”

  Not wanting that look tossed at me again, I didn’t ask what a lift gate was. That could wait until we got outside and I could see for myself.

  It was dark by the time we got out of the building and the temperature had dropped twenty degrees in minutes. We hurried as best we could toward the rental truck without being noticed.

  Caleb started the engine, then came around the back of the truck and pulled down the tailpiece. With a flip of a switch on the side, the metal flap lowered to the ground, and I was introduced to the aforementioned lift gate. Caleb rolled the load onto the plank and flipped the switch again. He and the cargo elevated onto the truck bed with an audible strain that made it clear that Caleb wasn’t going to get a return on his rental deposit. The tires sank into the dirt, but it was safe enough for us to drive.

  Caleb searched the area for witnesses. “We need to hurry; this place closes in a few minutes.”

  “What about your Jeep?” I hitched my thumb to the vehicle behind us.

  He slammed the flap shut when a pair of high beams glared from the path entry. Before I could get a good look at the vehicle, Caleb grabbed a fistful of my coat and pulled me down behind the truck. I turned to him and he pressed a finger to his lips. I rose slowly, allowing the freezer to shield me as I risked a peek at the black van that pulled up in front of the warehouse.

  Four men leapt out of the van before it could come to a complete stop. I couldn’t see their faces but each man was dressed in black shirts and jeans. They moved together in a stiff collective formation that spoke of some sort of militant training. Their dark heads looked from left to right, searching the parking lot, and we ducked when they turned our way.

  “Shit. They’re here,” Caleb whispered, squatting low with his back against the truck.

  I wasn’t following. “Who?”

  “Ruiz’s men. They know about the storage unit.”

  I peeked over the truck to the men talking to one another and then crouched back down. “Do they know the code to get in?”

  “Doubt it. They’re probably gonna guard it or try to break in later. We have to get out of here.” He pulled his keys from his pocket. “Once they go inside, I want you to take
my Jeep and follow me out of here. Keep your phone on so I can call you. Don’t answer the phone unless it’s me, okay?” He dropped the keys in my hand.

  We looked to the men hovering in front of the building. One by one, they passed through the sliding doors toward the freight elevator. I quickly backtracked what we’d done that might have given us away: the odor in the hallway, the smeared streaks of oil on the floor. There was no time to worry about it now; the main thing was to be gone before they came out again.

  “Go!” Caleb sprang up and went around the driver’s side of the truck. I got to my feet and ran to the Jeep three cars down. By the time I got in, gunned the engine, and put the Jeep in reverse, Caleb was rolling out of the lot. I was right behind him. We passed the front gate and were on the main road leading back to the parkway.

  I kept my eyes on the road and my mission clear. However, my mind veered off course more times than what would be deemed safe while operating heavy machinery. My foot eased off the gas so I wasn’t dry humping Caleb’s taillights, but I stayed close enough that no cars could cut between us.

  As instructed, I turned my phone back on, but no sooner than my thumb pushed the POWER button, I got bum rushed with calls from Angie and Mom. The longer I drove, the harder it got to ignore the buzzing sound and my cell skittering across the passenger’s seat. I finally gave in and answered the call.

  “Samara! Where are you?” Mom didn’t sound happy.

  I clamped the phone between my ear and shoulder. “I’m with Caleb.”

  “Why aren’t you home? Do you not know the meaning of grounded?”

  Thankfully, my groan was drowned out by the engine. Did Wonder Woman or Buffy have to worry about parents blowing up their phone while they were trying to save the world? Hell no! That’s what voicemail was for. “Mom, I promise I’ll get back home as soon as I finish.”

  “Finish what? And what are you doing near Jamestown?” she yelled.

  My neck straightened, but I caught the phone before it slipped from my shoulder. “How do you know where I am?”

  “Your bracelet, or have you forgotten? I want you home right now. You hear me, Samara Nicole? Now!”