Pulse of Heroes

by A. Jacob Sweeny

  Michelle felt a little hurt that Elliot was hiding her from the rest of his friends, but she chose not to say anything, instead turning inwards and remaining quiet while they walked through the woods. When they got to Michelle’s home, Elliot refused to come in, stating that he had things to do and needed to get back. Michelle eyed him, scrutinizing his face for hints that would tell her what was really going through his mind. Elliot knew that face way too well, and felt irritated that he had to make things clear to her. He never wanted to be held accountable towards any other woman and there he was trying to explain himself despite everything.

  “Michelle, this has nothing to do with you,” he told her, giving her a small smile to assure her that he was not mad at her, which was true enough.

  “But you didn’t even tell me where you were born,” Michelle said, as a way to prove to him that he was still being elusive.

  “I told you I didn’t like to talk about my childhood,” Elliot answered in annoyance.

  “I was just asking because I’m curious. I’m not forcing you,” Michelle fired back at him. Elliot felt bad; of course Michelle would want to know where he came from, that was natural and there he was berating her for it.

  “Nun Ki,” he said to her.

  “What?” Michelle asked, confused as ever.

  “Nun Ki is where I was born. Look up Eridu on the Internet. It’s the same place, you’ll get plenty of hits.”

  Michelle looked at him with excitement, “I will…” Neither of them knew how to say goodbye to one another. Michelle definitely didn’t want to say it, and Elliot knew that if he uttered that word, Michelle’s feelings would get hurt because goodbye always sounded so formal. The more time he spent with the girl the more he understood that Michelle was a lot more sensitive and susceptible to getting her feelings hurt than she let on. The whole tough and stubborn girl act she put on was just her way of shielding herself. After all he wasn’t born yesterday, and he’d met women like her before. He was even married to one.

  On the way back to his home Elliot once again questioned his own intentions. What did he want? If he didn’t want Michelle’s attention, then why was he trying to be extra nice to her? And there he was, telling her tales about his adventures and about high officials in ancient Egypt and Korean royal blood. How could she not fall for him? Of course a young woman like Michelle would be very impressionable. Even if she weren’t young she would still find herself in the same position. Women always liked it when a man was a bit older or more experienced. It was these men that helped teach or initiate them into the real world. Such a man was a guide and a knowledgeable protector. Elliot was no exception. He fit perfectly into that mold, and in Michelle’s eyes he was perfect. The fact that he had almost 5000 years of experiences and knowledge was all the more tantalizing to the girl.

  Did Elliot want Michelle to fall for him? Was he craving the attention of a woman? But if attention was all he wanted, he could get that anywhere. Women were very easy for him to attract, it seemed unfair to them because in any given situation he had the upper hand. No woman had ever resisted his advance except one; it was one of the perks of being one of his kind. If that was all he wanted, he wasn’t being fair to poor Michelle. She was so young. Or was she?

  Elliot felt confused and conflicted because it was a very recent and isolated phenomenon that a seventeen-year-old female was raised to believe she was still just a child. For thousands of years girls just reaching puberty would have already been betrothed to a man, and by seventeen they would have been married and most likely given birth to two children. He himself was married to Xander’s grandmother by the time she had turned 19, and that was less than a hundred years ago. So how was it that things had changed so quickly in the Western hemisphere, he wondered while enjoying the sounds of the crushed pine needles under his feet? When Elliot reached the school he still didn’t have his mind made up, but when he walked into the living room it became clear that some of his friends had made up his mind for him.

  Chapter 8

  The next morning was Michelle’s early Sunday morning date. Her alarm was set for 7:00 AM because she had promised Francesca she’d be at her house by 8:15. The madness, Michelle thought as she stumbled on the way to the bathroom. She was extra tired because after Elliot left she had spent hours at the computer researching Eridu and ancient Sumer. There was so much data out there that Michelle eventually got an information overload headache. Hiding her healing bruise behind a thick layer of concealer, she looked at her image in the mirror and felt a little embarrassed about the way she was dressed. There was nothing really wrong with the outfit, but she thought that she looked like an old woman in her white cotton skirt and one of her mother’s summery blouses. What else did people wear to church on Easter Sunday? She had hardly ever attended any church events, let alone an Easter Sunday service.

  Of course, Francesca thought Michelle looked beautiful and very much lady like. But then again Francesca was wearing a dress with an impossibly complex flower print design over a dusty rose background. And although the dress was otherwise hideous, Francesca looked like the perfect sweet little old lady in it. Michelle helped Francesca load a couple of dishes she had prepared for brunch into the small back seat of the car, and off they drove towards Saint Alodia.

  One more time it seemed like the Jaguar had it’s own agenda of gathering attention from anyone that laid eyes on it. Francesca gave small waves from the passenger side like the queen of England, and eventually even Michelle got into it after she got used to the honking that came from all directions, although she still jumped a little when it came unexpectedly from a fast passing vehicle. After parking the vehicle, the two of them made their way to the church’s grounds and Michelle realized that although Francesca was quite alone in Willow’s Creek, she was quite well known at the church. Her friends were as ancient as she was of course, but nonetheless it was nice to see Francesca happy and social.

  Michelle sat through the service patiently and tried to follow everyone else with the standing and sitting as much as she could. She hoped that no one was looking at her too closely to see that she wasn’t really saying the prayers in Latin. The service itself was shorter than she had expected, which made Michelle glad because it was very cold indoors and she couldn’t wait to get back out into the sun.

  Outside, everyone seemed happy and the children were extra excited for the egg hunt. There were a few prizes for the winners and the grand prize was a huge Easter basket that included a giant chocolate bunny and numerous other goodies. After the egg hunt it was time for brunch, and Michelle was starving so everything looked good. It wasn’t the run of the mill casseroles that she had expected would be served at church: here the tables were filled with wonderful food and desserts. She could definitely do this once a year, Michelle thought to herself while happily munching on one of Francesca’s special almond and candied orange Easter biscotti.

  After a few more introductions and hellos, Michelle decided to go find a sunny spot to sit down in and relax. Whatever energy she had earlier was drained by the amount of energy that her stomach needed in order to digest all the goodies she had stuffed down her throat. Whenever Michelle was tired she became extra hungry, and this Sunday was no exception.

  Michelle gave the food display a last glance to see if she could find anything else that she wanted, and spotted a Cadbury Cream Egg next to a large tray of cross buns. One of the kids must have abandoned it, Michelle thought, reaching for the egg. But just as she was about to pick it up, somebody from the other side of the table grabbed it right in front of her eyes. Michelle looked up to see who would dare claim the egg that was so obviously hers. Her eyes landed on a handsome young man in a beautiful white silk shirt and perfectly fitting slacks. He seemed surprised by her glare, but she wasn’t sure because he was wearing sunglasses. “I’m sorry. Is it yours?” he said, offering the egg to Michelle. Michelle felt her cheeks blush. She must look like such a pig she thought.

  “No, I was just
…” Michelle didn’t finish the sentence because while looking at the young man she thought that she recognized him. He looked just like the guy that Elliot pointed out to her on the monitor as being from Georgia, not the state of course.

  “No need to be embarrassed. You were here first,” he said, handing the egg back to her. But by this time Michelle had no intention of taking it.

  “Um… they’re really not my favorites…” Michelle lied, because actually she was crazy about the little flavor powerhouses. She just stared at him after that.

  “I’m sorry. Have we met?” he asked her, taking off his sunglasses with a magnificent smile and reaching out to shake her hand. When she could see his face Michelle was sure of his identity, and his extra bright green eyes only affirmed her suspicion. “I’m Rion, like Orion without the O,” he said to her. Michelle told him her name in her quietest voice possible while trying to avoid looking into his eyes. She didn’t want to reveal that she had recognized him. He told her that he was new to the area, and that he lived in the next town over.

  “That’s nice,” Michelle answered back. But Rion picked up on Michelle’s nervous hesitation, and immediately put one and one together. What were the chances that the Michelle standing before him was the same Michelle that had been the subject of all the arguing between Elliot and the rest of the guys at the school the night before? The way she looked at him and the way she avoided his eyes, it could either mean that she knew who he was or that she was one of those women that could pick up on their unusual energy; certain women had a very powerful sensitivity to people like him. Perhaps she was one of them and was just feeling frightened.

  “Where are you from?” Rion asked, because he certainly wasn’t going to let her get away without giving him more information.

  “I’m from Willow’s Creek,” Michelle answered, wishing that she had never seen that damned egg.

  “How interesting,” Rion said, smiling back at Michelle. Yes, he was very handsome, Michelle admitted to herself. Just like Elliot he had an ethereal aura, like an angel, but a princely angel. He stood very tall with his shoulders and back perfectly positioned. She wondered why he was trying to look in her eyes when he spoke to her? Did he know who she was? Had Elliot pointed her out to him? Rion told her that he attended the church regularly, and that he was glad to meet someone closer to ‘his own age’ since most of the people were older or they had families already and were busy running after the little ones. He also told her that he was not Catholic, but closer to Greek Orthodox, whatever that meant, but there weren’t that many Greek Orthodox churches in the area, so a Catholic one would have to do.

  Michelle saw Francesca from the corner of her eye and used that as an excuse to leave the conversation. But as she turned, Rion grabbed her hand and placed the cream egg in it. As soon as he touched her Michelle felt a surge of warmth radiating from his hand and spreading to hers, then all throughout her body. It felt very similar to the way she felt when Elliot touched her, and she found herself feeling light headed and slightly scared.

  “It was nice talking to you Michelle, I hope we meet again.” Rion let go of her hand and smiled widely. Michelle walked away from Rion as white as a ghost. She could feel him looking at her as she made her way all the way out to the parking lot. That was Elliot’s Michelle; there was no doubt about it. He couldn’t blame Elliot for being attracted to her, as she was very beautiful and classy, not to mention her sensitivity to their kind was fairly strong. There was also a bonus to her that he was sure Elliot would never appreciate in a million years. Michelle attended church, and it was very hard to find a single beautiful woman in the area who did. She was a little immature though, and a bit shyer than the women that Elliot was usually attracted to. Maybe his old friend was changing after all those years? Rion watched Michelle drive away, then shook his head a bit before putting his sunglasses back on and heading back home himself.

  Michelle waited outside Francesca’s house for Samantha to pick her up. She was still rolling the guilty Cadbury Egg in the palm of her hand, and wondering if Rion had figured out who she was, and had he meant to touch her like that on purpose, as if it was some sort of a test? Francesca had asked her who was the handsome young man that she was talking to at the church and Michelle replied nonchalantly that he was some guy. Francesca gave Michelle one of those questioning looks, and asked her if she had been seeing more of that young man that had made her cry. Michelle tried to answer back with her own question, asking why on earth would Francesca think that, but the old lady just waved her finger at her and said that she couldn’t lie to her. How did she know things like that, Michelle wondered, while waiting for her ride.

  To Michelle’s surprise, Tim’s truck appeared from down the road and pulled up in front of her with Samantha in the passenger seat waving excitedly. It was good to see Sam, Michelle thought. As the truck rolled to a stop Tim jumped out and before Samantha could even get out of her seat he swung the passenger door open to let Michelle in. It was nice to see him too, Michelle thought, thanking him as he shut the door behind her. It felt safe and calm to be next to her familiar friends. There were no surprises or great secrets. Things were comfortable and stable and Michelle realized that it felt good to feel like that. “What happened to the bug?” Michelle asked Samantha while still smiling at Tim.

  “We thought we’d surprise you, especially since you didn’t even bother to say goodbye when you left Fort Bragg,” Tim answered instead. Michelle explained her sudden departure from the beach that day, and was thankful that Samantha didn’t say anything about Elliot. Why shove it in Tim’s face? After dropping Samantha off, Tim turned the truck around and headed back down the street to Michelle’s house. When they pulled into Michelle’s driveway, Tim killed the engine and enthusiastically jumped out to open the passenger door.

  “You’re being awfully nice, Tim. Should I be concerned?” Michelle asked laughing. Tim laughed too with his wonderful broad smile, and told her that she better remember this day because he wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the act. Tim walked her to the door and Michelle could tell that he was waiting to be invited in. And she might have even considered it on any other day, but after all that she had been through in the last few days, she just needed some down time. And besides, it was Sunday, and she hadn’t lifted a book since she got out of school on Wednesday. Tim understood, especially when she told him that her parents would be arriving home any moment from a long and tiring trip. But he was still disappointed.

  “What?” Michelle asked Tim when he stood at the doorway looking at her strangely.

  “Oh nothing,” he answered, roughing up the hair on the top of her head. “I’m glad you’re OK. I wasn’t the only one that was worried about you out there. And I was disappointed that you couldn’t join us for the big abalone feast.” He looked at his feet and Michelle knew that it was hard for any guy to talk like that. She stood up on her tiptoes and messed up Tim’s hair as he had done to her.

  “Don’t be silly. I’m all right. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” And with that, Tim walked back to his truck while Michelle waved goodbye.

  Once inside, Michelle actually remembered to disarm the alarm system, and then headed straight to the answering machine in the living room to listen to messages. One was from Toby wishing the family a happy Easter, and another one was from Sam telling Michelle that she hoped it was ok that she had brought Tim with her when they picked her up. The next message was from her parents. They had gotten a late start on their drive back and were planning to have dinner in Monterey. Michelle looked at the clock and saw that it was only 4:30 PM. She quickly calculated that they would probably arrive home no earlier than 11:30 pm. She had plenty of time to do her homework and plenty of time to think about Elliot, even about Rion. As the answering machine shut off, Michelle turned around to head upstairs and was almost startled to death by the sight of Elliot standing next to the front door.

  “Oh my God! Elliot you’re going to give me a heart attack
! Can’t you just knock on the door like normal people?” she asked, still holding her hand over her heart. Elliot didn’t answer the question. He took a few steps towards Michelle, but then changed course and headed to the backdoor to look out at the back yard.

  “Nice guy,” he said in a neutral tone, trying not to betray his feelings. Michelle couldn’t believe that Elliot the super-being was feeling threatened by a normal guy. If Elliot was jealous of Tim, it was a good sign for sure.

  “Yes, Tim is a nice guy. Very nice in fact… and is that jealousy I hear in your voice? First of all…”

  “I’m not jealous!” Elliot replied a bit too loudly. He then laughed to show that he was not upset in the least. Once he was satisfied that he had proved his point, he told her in a calmer voice that there were things that they needed to talk about. Michelle could sense that whatever it was he wanted to tell her was not going to be pleasant, and she tried to think of anything to say to veer the conversation elsewhere. Just then, Crumb appeared through the cat door and Michelle picked him up and nuzzled him while asking him in her baby voice if he was hungry. Elliot looked at her a bit annoyed because he knew that she was stalling. Maybe he was jealous of the cat too, Michelle thought.

  She decided to leave Elliot standing in the living room and let him make up his own mind as to whether he wanted to follow her into the kitchen or not. All she told him was that she was going to go feed her cat. Elliot did stand in the living room for a few seconds before following behind. Once Crumb was fed Michelle made Elliot wait while she changed her clothes because she couldn’t stand being in that church outfit any longer. Elliot was obviously in a surly mood, and she thought that maybe the extra time alone would help change that. And besides, Michelle desperately wanted to get into her sweats, although once she undressed she decided on a comfy pair of jeans instead; she had to maintain some level of credibility with Elliot around.