Immortal Light: Wide Awake

by John D. Sperry

  Benjamin stopped dancing as the music began to die out. He cradled her chin with his hands, “I want you to close your eyes Lucy.”

  Lucy could feel herself begin to lose her controlled constitution and fought the frustrated tears that were imminent. “No, just stop, I need to tell you something, and I—”

  Benjamin looked her in the eyes. “I know what you’re going to say, and before you do, I just want you to close your eyes and listen.”

  A single tear sprang from the corner of her eye. “How could you possibly know what I’m going to say?”

  She wanted to run; she was so frustrated at how much she felt for him and how much he just refused to feel it, too.

  “Lucy,” he made sure to have her attention, “you need to trust me.”

  He was suddenly different: his look, his demeanor, everything about him seemed to transform; he was still the Benjamin she knew, but she knew this Benjamin from only one place.

  Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes as the solitary tear cascaded down her cheek. She felt Benjamin’s hand again at her waist. All was black as she did what he had asked and listened. A familiar song had started. She could feel the rhythm of the clean metallic sound of guitar strings and her body instantly wanted to move to it. The first words of the song came and she knew every one.

  Is that your song I hear playing; ‘Cause I’m feeling it too.

  The darkness began to soften. Words and music filled her mind; she anticipated every line of the song;

  Does it take all direction, control over you?

  She began to feel every note of the music in her body, every beat, and she felt Benjamin’s light flow into her. It wrapped her in magical warmth from head to toe.

  When you sing do you slip away back to the place in your mind?

  Let our love be the one thing you won’t leave behind.

  The darkness was becoming brighter and brighter, Lucy felt herself drifting when the first chorus hit and Benjamin softly whispered in her ear, “open your eyes.”

  As she lifted her eyelids, she saw Benjamin in front of her, holding her, the music still prominent in the air, but as she blinked, she saw that there was no longer a crowd of dancers and the fabric ceiling and all the lights were gone. Under her feet she felt something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Staring into Benjamin’s luminous green eyes, she began to cry tears of joy. She was back; she was in the grove and Benjamin, her Benjamin, the one and only Benjamin, had brought her there. It was real, and as the chorus of the song ended and the music began to build into the next verse, her true love stepped back and bowed to her. She smiled and laughed, tears streaming down her face and curtsied. Upon the gesture, Benjamin took Lucy by the hand, wrapped her up, and as the second verse began, he pulled her off her feet and the two began twirling around the grove in large swooping movements.

  How I long just to hold you; and see you let go as we dance;

  I know you’re reminiscing; through our romance.

  The movements felt natural to her as he let go and spun her in his hand. She somehow knew every step, and she realized she was actually in her true love’s arms dancing better than she could ever have imagined.

  Lucy began to reciprocate the light Benjamin was pouring into her and the dance began to move more fluidly; the motions were bigger, the turns and spins were more graceful, and the lifts were beyond elegant.

  All the notes in time make a melody.

  Night into day, can we move onward from here,

  Where we can stay on and on attached to the memory?

  I know you can feel it, let it take you there.

  The more Lucy put into the dance, the more she felt as one with Benjamin, and she suddenly felt the texture of the ground change to something softer. As they spun, she looked down and verified what she already knew: they were standing in sand. She had brought them exactly where she wanted to. They were at the bay. In two quick steps, Lucy stepped out of her shoes and felt the sand on her feet, the wind and sea air in her face, and Benjamin in her arms. The music was still prominent on the wind and Benjamin raised an eyebrow and grinned, realizing what she had done.

  One more twirl and they were back in the woods. Lucy laughed as they spun and she pulled them back to the beach. Benjamin immediately responded, taking them back to the grove. They were dancing one foot on the sand and one foot in the forest as the music began a crescendo into the bridge. Lucy had never felt joy the way she did hurtling in and out of their havens. The colors of the two golden sunsets blurred together and Lucy just stared into Benjamin’s eyes as they turned around and around together.

  The drums and instrumentation were reaching a climax. Lucy focused all of her concentration in those whirling moments on Benjamin, and by the last words of the song, there was no more distinction between his haven and hers. They had become one in that moment and the ocean tide rolled into the trees and grass, and ferns grew out of sandy shores.

  We have been captured again;

  A new time and place;

  To make a million new memories.

  The music climaxed in a torrent of drums, guitars, strings, and vocals, until in one moment the music and the dancing stopped and Benjamin held Lucy in his arms. All she could do was hold on. There was no force on earth that could have pried her from Benjamin’s embrace.

  He leaned down, placing his lips next to her ear, and she closed her eyes. In the blackness she heard him whisper, “That’s what I wanted to tell you.”

  When she opened her eyes, she was still in his arms, but they were back on the dance floor. Though a new song had already started, the floor was empty. She hadn’t noticed that hundreds of eyes were focused on them. Becoming suddenly aware, she simultaneously realized that they had all seen the dance and that it, everything from her dreams, was all real—every ounce of it was real. She clasped her hands to her mouth and inhaled in disbelief that what she had wanted more than anything for months had actually happened. She didn’t know how to process the emotions she was feeling, and she certainly didn’t have the words. In that moment she realized that more than anything she needed air.

  Her head began to spin and she held up a finger to Benjamin. “I’ll be right back,” she told him, as she turned to find the exit.

  She heard Kat’s voice behind her as she started to run out. “Lucy, are you alright? Lucy!”

  Lucy just ran until she breathed in the cold, damp coastal air outside. Her lungs took in as much as they could. She turned the corner of the building and walked slowly as Kat came running behind her.

  “Lucy, what’s the matter; are you okay?”

  Lucy gave no response.

  Kat was amazed at what had just transpired during the song. She had watched her friend dominate the dance floor with the man of her dreams, and suddenly she was outside, having run out on that miraculous moment.

  “Lucy, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have called him; it was stupid of me.” Kat put her hands on Lucy’s shoulders in the cold air.

  “It’s real, Kat, it’s all real. He just told me.”

  Kat was confused by what Lucy was saying, but then she understood.

  After the initial moment of shock, she was able to respond, “You mean …?”

  “Yes. It’s all real.”

  “He actually told you?”

  “He didn’t say it exactly, but, yeah.”

  Kat was a little skeptical. “Are you sure that’s what he meant?”

  Lucy looked her in the eyes, “There is no way he meant anything else, trust me.”

  Kat looked into Lucy’s face, glancing from one eye to the other. She could see that Lucy truly believed what she was saying. Kat exhaled and hugged her friend.

  “I believe you. I do.” She stood cycling all of the information in her mind. “But, Lucy, if that’s what he told you, then why did you run out?”

  “I don’t know; I just had to get some air.” Then it struck her how it must have looked to Benjamin. “Oh no, is he still in there?”

&n
bsp; Lucy turned back toward the gymnasium doors to go find Benjamin when she felt something dark. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before, like a shadow had passed over them, and it sent a shiver up her spine. Standing up straight she was suddenly and acutely alert, scanning every shadow in the quad.

  Kat noticed her sudden change in demeanor. “What’s the matter?” she asked, when she felt the dark chill that had suddenly come over her friend.

  Lucy held up her hand as if to silence her. Her head jerked from side to side; she had never felt her senses so keenly alert, when she instantly focused on a corner of darkness across the quad in the shadows. Training her eyes on a single spot, she saw what she was looking for, a pair of eyes reflecting light back at her. Grabbing Kat by the arm, she dragged her to the door of the gym.

  “Go get Benjamin.”

  Kat reached out and grabbed Lucy’s arm. “Why? What’s the matter?”

  Kat was scared, the fear evident in her eyes.

  “Go get him, Kat, now!”

  Chapter 16

  Kat’s eyes widened in terror, and she ran into the gymnasium to find Benjamin. Lucy felt a dark restraining force from behind, a sensation she had felt before. It enveloped her in such darkness that she immediately felt all hope leave her, to be replaced with fear and despair. She knew what was coming, and she fought it with all her might. Mustering up what physical strength she could, she reached down at her hip and felt for what she knew wouldn’t be there.

  Of course; it’s the only thing that isn’t real.

  Of all the things Lucy needed to be real in that moment, her sword was the one thing that wasn’t. Her next instinct was to try and summon as much light as she could. She didn’t know how, or if it was even possible outside the haven, but she focused on it; she focused on drawing light from whatever would give it when suddenly she felt it begin to seep into her from every direction. It felt as though it came from the ground and the air. She sensed she was drawing from nearby trees who shared it freely with her. She felt strong, she felt like she could somehow defeat the evil that held onto her, but it wasn’t enough. She tried to push away with her light, but the darkness that was slowly consuming her was too strong.

  Before accepting defeat, she did the only other thing that she could think to do. She needed more time to figure things out, so she concentrated as hard as she could. The thing that held her wasn’t going to make it easy, but she thought jumping to her haven would be possible as long as she stayed conscious.

  Closing her eyes, it took a great deal of concentration, but it didn’t take much time for her to arrive on the beach. She stood at the edge of the surf. It was just as she had hoped, there was no evil presence, but she could feel the fatigue of summoning up light and she knew she didn’t have a lot of time. One minute might have been one minute too long.

  She paced in the sand, her dress blowing like a cape in the breeze of the bay. As she reached down to hold still the whipping satin she felt her sword at her side and, like a miracle, she had an idea.

  Running back through the doors of the gym, no one seemed to notice the look of absolute fear and anxiety on Kat’s face.

  Find Benjamin, find Benjamin, find him, you have to find him.

  The words were like a broken record in her head as she scanned the expanse of the gymnasium. She was heading for the dance floor when she saw him. He was walking toward her already, but when he saw the look in her eyes, he took off at a dead sprint for the door. Kat found courage in his reaction and followed him. It was difficult to keep up, so she kicked off her heals. Benjamin had crossed the entire length of the gym floor in a matter of seconds, and he was through the black curtains and out the door by the time Kat had gotten her shoes off.

  As she emerged from the gym doors, Benjamin was standing facing the last place she had seen Lucy and the horrifying thing that had grabbed her. But as she looked around, she saw one of the most terrifying sights she had ever seen.

  In the quad, standing in a giant half-circle just inside the lights of the parking area, she saw a dozen figures that looked inhuman in so many ways; the one that had Lucy was tall, his black hair long and stringy. His hollow black eyes stared at Benjamin while his mouth gaped, showing a black tongue and jagged yellow teeth that looked as though they had been sharpened on rocks.

  The creature looked like it had once been human, but something had transformed it into a vile, evil shell of what it used to be. The others in the quad looked much the same with long, stringy black hair and black marble eyes that glared, unblinking, as their voices more hissed than spoke.

  “Not another step, pretty boy,” hissed the one holding Lucy.

  Benjamin took off his jacket, tossed it toward the building, and held his hands in front of him.

  “Let her go.” His voice was firm as he trained his eyes on only that one creature.

  Kat watched in stunned silence as Benjamin faced off with it and, to her horror, she noticed the other creatures moving slowly in to surround them. All she could do was scream Benjamin’s name. He didn’t move; he just stayed trained on Lucy.

  Kat began to panic; she wanted to help, but helplessness was all she felt. As terror began to reach critical mass, she heard tires squealing at the end of the school’s main drive. She could make out only the fast movement of a car with its headlights off. She looked back at Benjamin, who was still focused on the creature in front of him. As the sound of the car got closer, Kat was blinded by the sudden burst of light from the front end. As her eyes adjusted to the headlights, she saw a black car collide with one of the creatures, sending it shrieking through the air and exploding into a cloud of what looked like dust and ash. As she watched where the creature had landed, she saw that there was virtually nothing left of it in the darkness.

  Turning back to Lucy and the disgusting creature that restrained her, she noticed that the creature had suddenly frozen and, though it still restrained her, it was completely motionless, lacking any kind of animation whatsoever.

  ***

  Lucy pulled her sword from its scabbard; the golden light gleamed off the blade. Light instantly filled it and it was a part of her. Holding it steadily in front of her, she began to concentrate. If she was going to have a chance at all, she had to bring the fight to her. In her mind she thought only of what was holding her. It had to be possible. Benjamin told her she had brought something with her before, and she had brought Mark, so she figured it was worth a shot to try it again.

  Using no particular identifying name, Lucy just focused on the power that bound her. It took what felt like an eternity, but suddenly she didn’t feel alone in her haven. She had done it. It was there, but she didn’t see it. Spinning around, she looked for a person, a monster, a creature, something. But, she didn’t see anything until she looked farther down the beach and saw a black, shadowy figure hunched over, looking at her. The image caused her heart to race, and she charged it at full speed, her sword slicing through the air with every step.

  Noticing her, the figure walked directly at her, nothing but a three-dimensional silhouette, more slithering than walking. Lucy gained ground faster than she could have imagined while the creature kept coming at her. She knew with every ounce of her soul that she could kill whatever it was in the haven, but she had no idea what that would do out there. At the very least, she hoped it would buy some extra time for Kat and Benjamin.

  The sand felt solid beneath her feet as she got closer and closer to the shadowy figure until finally a collision was imminent. Holding her sword in front of her, she felt a scream come from within; all of her light was focused on striking however she could. She had no idea how she was going to use her sword. Up to that point instinct had been driving her, so she would rely as much as possible on that.

  When she was within five yards of the shadow, she saw it reach out with a sword or a weapon of some sort. It raised it over its head as if to bring it down to attack, and Lucy’s body reacted.

  Gripping her sword in her right hand as sh
e sprinted at the creature, she swung it backhand upward and to the right like a tennis racket, connecting with the creature’s weapon, knocking it out of the way. As her arm continued its follow-through around the right side of her body, she reached around with her left hand and gripped the hilt of her sword with both hands in order to swiftly reverse the direction of the swing. With the sword up near her right ear, she gripped it like a baseball bat and swung, the force of her spin slicing the blade through the neck of her enemy. As she severed the head of the creature, it burst into dust, leaving only a cloud. Lucy arrested her spin in a bent stance, her sword slashing the air in her left hand as she stopped, both arms spread apart, her right pointing to where the dust cloud was dissipating, her left holding the sword away from the scene, pointing outward like a wing.

  When it was all over, Lucy relaxed her arms and stood up in absolute amazement at what had just happened. Her body had responded to the situation and she had no idea where it had come from. Somewhere deep inside her she knew exactly what to do. For every second of the incident from the time she reached her haven to the moment it was over, there was a calculated response to everything the creature could have done, and Lucy was able to analyze and react accordingly without even thinking about it. She wanted to jump and scream for joy, when she realized she was still out there in the real world. She was unsure of what, if anything, her victory in the haven had done for her.

  ***

  Kat watched as the car slammed on its brakes and spun hard, leaving a trail of black rubber on the pavement. As the tail led the car into a one-hundred-eighty degree turn, Kat saw red taillights plow through another of the creatures, turning it to a pile of lumps and dust.

  Before the black car was even done rotating, the passenger door flew open and a tall man with dark hair and a black jacket stepped out, holding what appeared to be two handfuls of long sticks. Benjamin, taking his eyes off of Lucy for only a second, reached out his hand as the man from the car threw over one of the sticks and then, in utter disbelief, Kat saw what it was.