Pulse of Heroes

by A. Jacob Sweeny

  Michelle looked at many photos that afternoon. Some of them she recognized because she had seen copies of them hanging at City Hall. It was fascinating to look back at the past, to look at the people and their clothing, to read the signs advertising chewing gum and soap at a small market that stood where Mr. Meyers’ store now stands. The photos of Francesca's wedding were straight out of a silent black-and-white movie. Francesca was a beautiful girl once, with the fairest blond hair curled up underneath her wedding veil, and her husband so happy and proud standing next to his new wife, although he did look a bit older than her. Michelle looked at the Francesca that was sitting next to her and the one looking out from the photo and a chill ran down her spine. Would this happen to her, she thought? Will she lose her looks and one day be a lonely old lady? It didn't seem fair, seeing what time had done to this very kind woman.

  Michelle flipped the page and was now looking at photos of the reception party. The whole affair looked to be very fancy and she thought to herself that the way women dress today was nowhere near as beautiful as they did back then. Michelle examined the faces of the wedding guests, looking closely at their expressions, at the jewelry they wore, the way their hair was pinned back, even the food they were eating. She noticed that the men back then all wore pretty much the same suits in slightly different shades, just like they do nowadays. It was hard for her to tell their ages, as most of them wore mustaches or beards and large hats. But then her eye landed on an image of a young man that did not have a mustache or a beard. She looked closer at his face, and although the image was a bit faded he seemed very familiar. Her eyes must be tired she thought, because they were obviously playing tricks on her. But no matter how many times she blinked to try and clear them, there was no mistake.

  Elliot was in the photo staring back at her from across all those years.

  Chapter 5

  Michelle spent hours scrutinizing the old photograph that Francesca let her borrow. She had told Francesca that she wanted to show the photo to her mom because she thought the gentleman in it might be a family member. She felt bad about lying, but she knew the truth was much too bizarre for anyone to accept. When she went back to Francesca’s later that week, she thanked her and returned the photo. She had made a copy of it at home, hiding the copy safely between the pages of a book.

  Michelle asked Francesca if she still couldn’t remember anything about the young man in the picture. She sadly told Michelle that he could have been one of her girlfriends’ suitors or one of her husband’s military buddies, but they were all dead and buried a long time ago. Which would mean that the young man was most likely also gone. How wrong she was, Michelle thought. He was nowhere near a grave, but only a few miles from where they sat. How could it be possible? They were looking at a photo that was over 70 years old, and yet there was Elliot, looking exactly as he did only weeks ago, she was sure of it.

  The longer Michelle stared, the more she felt like she was losing her grip on reality. It was as if she had gone down the rabbit hole and was now in Alice in Wonderland world. Nothing made sense anymore. She was in a place where time had no meaning, and where the rules of nature were reversed and perverse. Michelle didn’t believe in supernatural things like demons, magic, or ghosts. She wasn’t even sure about God, although she hoped that there was someone watching over her and her family. With that in mind, she had not the slightest notion as to what she was dealing with. The events that had taken place since Halloween night were all mounting evidence that something very strange was going on in Willow’s Creek, and she was somehow right in the middle of it. Who could she turn to now, she wondered? She felt so alone, more so than ever. This was beyond anything her parents could fix or explain. Her friends would just think that she was crazy. Her teachers? She didn’t think so. There was no one.

  Michelle arranged to visit Francesca weekly, and told her that she would help her around the house when needed. Francesca tried to pay her for her time, but Michelle refused. The way Michelle saw it, it was as if Francesca was a grandmother, as both of hers had passed away. One before she was born, and the other when she was only four years old. Michelle helped Francesca with odds and ends in the garden like raking leaves or weeding, even planting sometimes. She also helped her collect more of the wonderful lemons, and even refilled the bird feeder that had hung empty for many years. Francesca definitely had a green thumb, and she talked to the plants and flowers as if they could hear her. She told Michelle that they did in fact hear her, and the way that they blossomed, she just might be right.

  One afternoon, Francesca told Michelle that she had decided to stop having food delivered to her home.

  “Why?” Michelle asked, surprised.

  “Come,” Francesca said, wobbling out the back door to the yard. Michelle wondered what the old lady had up her sleeve this time. Although Francesca was 93, her personality was still like that of a little girl. She was very excitable and full of life. She certainly didn’t see life as a countdown to the end, but rather as a continuing adventure. Michelle followed her to an old shed on the side of the house. It looked like an old barn from a children’s picture book. “Wait here,” Francesca said as she disappeared into a small side door. Michelle heard her on the other side of the doors wrestling with what sounded like a heavy metal chain. She then saw that Francesca was trying to push the doors open. Michelle helped her, although it was a struggle. The old hinges creaked and cracked and it was obvious that they had not moved in many years. A flurry of dust got sucked out of the darkness when the doors finally opened, and Michelle had to turn away to let the dust cloud pass her by. Francesca was standing at the entrance smiling while Michelle was still struggling to peer into the darkness. There were no lights of any kind in the shed. Eventually, Michelle’s eyes grew accustomed to the dark.

  “So, what do you think?” Francesca asked. Michelle saw that she was now standing in front of a small vehicle, but she didn’t recognize the make or model. “It still runs. I start it every once in a while,” Francesca said, patting the car above the front wheel as if it was a horse. “You do know how to drive a stick shift?” Michelle bent down in front of the car searching for a logo, but all she noticed was the unusual shape of the front grill. She had never seen anything quite like it. Francesca laughed, “Oh, no need. If you’re wondering, it’s a Jaguar 1954 Roadster, a 120 or something like that. We used to take it out on the weekends. Renzo was so proud the day he brought it home brand new.”

  When Michelle got home she called Samantha and told her all about the car. It was beyond cool or even sick, it was like a beautiful work of art. The problem was that Michelle needed more practice in driving a stick shift. She also needed to pass her driver’s test. She had already taken Driver’s Ed. at school, and had a certificate that let her drive if an adult was in the car, but she hadn’t bothered with the actual license because she didn’t have a car yet. She asked Samantha if she could give her a couple of lessons in the VW bug since it was a stick shift. So, on Saturday, Samantha and James picked Michelle up and they drove to an abandoned lot where they practiced for hours. James was a senior and had just turned 18, so it was perfect because he counted as an adult. It was a lot of fun and there were also a few scares. But the end result was that within another week, Michelle had passed her driver’s test and was patiently waiting for her official picture driver’s license card to arrive in the mail.

  Obtaining her driver’s license kept Michelle’s mind occupied for the entire week, but once she passed that hurdle she was back to giving her full attention to the photograph and to Elliot.

  She decided to turn to the local library for some answers, and spent many hours there exploring picture books of old Willow’s Creek and leafing through books about the supernatural. She didn’t find anything in terms of old photos, and the other books just went on about the same tired old monsters like werewolves, vampires and physically grotesque witches. The Internet was similarly of little use. She found plenty of sites that described Aliens
hiding amongst people and how they were physically superior to humans. There was no way that Elliot and his friends were Aliens. There were also numerous conspiracy theories about the government putting chemicals in the drinking water to make humans weak and prevent them from living up to their full capacity both physically and mentally. They argued that if not for all the chemicals people could be much stronger and faster, and their brains would be a lot more powerful, like superhumans. She did find something on a site about Asian martial arts where the writer explained that with lots of training and discipline a person could actually walk up walls. That made her feel a little better, although it still didn’t explain the photograph. Maybe it wasn’t him after all, she thought while looking at it in bed one more time before turning out the light.

  The first drive in the Jaguar was a blast. Francesca and Michelle carefully cleaned the car together before taking it downtown to the market. When they were finally on the road it only took Michelle a couple of minutes to get use to it. It was a marvelous afternoon and Francesca was smiling from ear to ear under the sun with the top down. Michelle was amazed at how many people honked and waved at them to let them know that they liked the car; some of them just gave the thumbs-up as they drove past. Michelle was received warmly in the market, and she was very relieved by the show of support. After being dismissed from her position, she had thought that she would never be able to show her face there out of pure shame.

  While Francesca enjoyed walking up and down the aisles, Michelle excused herself to the bakery next-door to pick up something sweet for after dinner at home. She would be right back she told Francesca, who in turn stuffed a couple of dollars in Michelle’s pocket and asked her to pick up some of the jellied center shortbread cookies they had, but only if they had strawberry because she wasn’t too crazy about the apricot ones.

  When Michelle entered the bakery, she immediately saw Xander sitting at one of the tables drinking coffee and reading the local newspaper. Their gazes met immediately and to Michelle’s surprise, Xander smiled at her warmly. Baffled, Michelle did not return the polite gesture; all she felt was shame and foreboding. The last time he saw her Elliot had been accusing her of something awful, and then Mr. Meyers had asked her in front of everyone to leave and wait for him outside. She felt completely demoted then, and now seeing Xander again brought those feelings back. Michelle cursed the universe. What were the chances that he would be there that afternoon? She wanted out, and the longer she stood there in his view, the more likely he was to remember how pathetic she was. Luckily, the pie she came in for was ready to go, but unfortunately for Francesca, they were out of the strawberry cookies. Michelle paid for her order and headed to the door quickly. But just as her arm was extended to grab the handle, Xander got up from his seat and called her by her name.

  Michelle turned around and reluctantly walked back to where he was standing. If her lips didn’t say it, her eyes definitely did; they were pleading for mercy.

  “Michelle, I am so glad to have run into you here,” Xander said while pulling out a chair so she could sit opposite from him. “Here why don’t you sit down for a…”

  Michelle cut him off, “That’s really nice of you Mr. De Costa but I’m kind of in a hurry.”

  “For just a minute then. I insist,” said Xander, still smiling but a bit more firmly. Michelle sat down on the edge of the chair with one leg already extended towards the door, just in case he got too comfortable. Xander sat back down and put his hands on the table as if in prayer. He took a moment to collect his thoughts while Michelle sat there looking at her feet like a guilty little girl that was about to get reprimanded.

  “About that afternoon,” Xander began, and Michelle’s heart immediately sank. He told her that he wanted to apologize to her for the way that Elliot had behaved. Michelle looked at Xander in surprise, wondering if her hearing was ok.

  “Apologize to me?” she asked, but then remembered that Xander had walked in after her phone was already lying on the floor. Perhaps Elliot hadn’t told him about how the entire misunderstanding had unfolded. But Michelle had nothing to lose anymore, and confessed to him that she was in the wrong.

  “I did try to take a photo of that thing on the wall,” Michelle admitted. “I started it, and I’m very sorry Mr. De Costa. I really am, and I paid for it already. I got fired.”

  Xander looked at Michelle with surprise and sadness. “Is that so?” he asked, and then added that he was even more sorry to hear that. “Look,” he said, “the boys at the school are not bad, or criminal in any way, but as you saw they can get heated, and overly so in certain situations. Taking a photo of private property without asking is wrong, but it is also wrong to physically accost someone. Kahl told me about Elliot grabbing your wrist, and I myself saw the evidence of your broken phone. Elliot felt quite remorseful afterwards.” Michelle couldn’t believe the words that came out of her mouth next. She told him that she didn’t think Elliot had really tried to hurt her. Why was she protecting him even after everything that had happened, she wondered to herself? But Xander maintained that Elliot was still out of line.

  “You’re right Michelle. I know Elliot well enough to know that he was not trying to hurt you, but as men, we often underestimate our own strength. Elliot is a kind person. I will be the first to vouch for that.” Michelle wanted to tell Xander that she had seen Elliot’s kindness firsthand, but she decided against it. She was going to keep her word, even if she never saw Elliot again.

  Xander cautioned that it was better for Michelle to keep her distance from the school, explaining that each of the students there had unique issues that they were working on, and until they get control of those drawbacks they should just be avoided. At all costs. That was why they chose to locate the school in that secluded area to begin with. Someone called Xander’s name from behind the counter and he rose up and shook Michelle’s hand. “That’s my order. I’m glad we got to talk and I hope you understand. I really am sorry about you losing your job.”

  Although Michelle had seen a more compassionate side of Elliot, she didn’t believe that he felt horrible about anything. He’d had his chance to let her off the hook, yet he had refused. Most likely, Xander just said those things to her in order to try and clear the air. Michelle wondered if Elliot had anger management issues. She was, after all, quite scared by the temper he displayed. But could he have really hurt her? Maybe the town was right to reject the school, and she was just a naive girl fighting against the tide of smarter and better-informed individuals.

  That evening when Michelle got home her parents told her that they were planning a trip down the coast to Camarillo to spend Easter Sunday with her godparents, Mr. & Mrs. Ashland. They had been good friends of Michelle’s mother’s parents, and had taken on the role of distant grandparents to both Toby and Michelle. The plan was to leave Thursday morning and spend the entire weekend there, returning by Sunday evening. It was a long car journey, although it was one of the world’s most beautiful coasts. They were even planning to spend a day in Catalina, her mother said excitedly.

  Michelle really did love the Ashlands, but she had already made her own plans for the long weekend. When Michelle disclosed that information to her mom the two of them went around in circles, each stating their case as to why the other should give in. Michelle’s mom just couldn’t understand why on earth Michele was making such a big deal about staying home all weekend just to go to a small get-together with her friends.

  Finally, Michelle’s father couldn’t take the arguing anymore and put his foot down. “You know, I would rather have a peaceful trip than have to sit in the car for a six hour drive with someone who doesn’t want to be there. Michelle, you’re old enough to stay home by yourself, or maybe you can spend the weekend with Samantha, but this better not be about some raging party that you’re planning to have while we’re gone.”

  Her mother protested immediately. “What about that darn school, Ron? I just don’t feel that it’s a good idea to leave her
here”

  For some reason Michelle couldn’t take the idea of her mom even mentioning ‘that’ school; it was her territory.

  “It’s called Hekademos Learning Center, Mom! And they are not dangerous!” she blurted out.

  “How do you know what it’s called? Have you been out there?” her mother asked, upset. “Ron, say something.”

  “Everyone knows what it’s called, Mom! It’s no big secret…”

  In the end, Michelle got her wish. She would stay home for Easter break.

  The reason that Michelle had been so adamant about staying home that weekend was something that her parents had completely overlooked. And they should have known better, considering where they lived. The first of April wasn’t just April Fools’ Day. It was also the first official day of Abalone Season. Northern California and lower Oregon were known to be the best areas where the delectable and highly prized red mollusks could be found. Everybody in the counties of Sonoma, Mendocino, Napa, and Marin knew all about it. It was a time-honored tradition to drive up the coast, find a place to park, and head down steep trails to rocky outposts jutting out at the ocean’s edge. Everyone knew someone who knew someone else that had told them about some secret spot where the treasure was in abundance.

  This year was the first time that Michelle had been invited to join an expedition somewhere near Fort Bragg. A few people were going from her school, including Samantha and James. They were going to be joined by a group of people from another school down south, and would camp out on Wednesday night to get an early drop on all the other abalone divers that were going to show up. It was an epic show of bravery to dive down into the murky freezing waters, unaided by any sort of scuba equipment of course, and pry one of the giant shells off the rocks. Every year people died. It was not a sport. It was a hunt, and people mistook it for a game. The waters off the Mendocino coast were rough, freezing and a popular spot for great white sharks.