Anomaly

by Caitlin Lynagh

  ‘You vanished. But it seems you must have been on the very edges of both forces.’ Alice pulled a puzzled expression as she looked up at him; she was remarkably calm for someone who had almost lost her entire existence. Had she done this to herself? ‘We couldn’t sense your soul,’ he added.

  ‘How long have I been…’ she paused as she searched for the right term, ‘absent?’

  ‘Weeks, maybe months, I’m not totally sure. What happened, Alice?’ Alice frowned at his words and then got to her feet.

  ‘I guess I should start at the beginning and then we can see if we can make any sense of it,’ she said.

  ‘That would be a good idea,’ Ahrl said, inclining his head once.

  Alice took a few moments to order her thoughts. She explained the disturbance she had felt right at the beginning of Kyle’s last year. She talked about the grey emotions surrounding Kyle’s soul, making it difficult for her to use any form of Positive suggestion, and inevitably making it easier for Negative to screw things up. She talked about her suspicions concerning Sophia Leto and she talked about her notebook which Kyle had received in the post. She mentioned the missing pages and how she had no idea how they had been torn out or even where the last one was hidden. Alice spoke about Kyle’s nightmares and studies, how he had been plagued by Negative in his dreams. She explained about the near miss at Halloween and how even then, Sophia Leto had been acting strangely. She talked about the page in the wall outside her house and how Kyle had found it, and eventually she came to the incident with the van. She described the Negative energy and its line of intent, she admitted to her feelings of panic and fear and she reluctantly told Ahrl about how she had pushed Kyle from its path. She then described her state after the event and how her awareness had returned slowly, and then she spoke about the futures for Kyle which had presented themselves one after the other. When she had finally finished describing the very last possible future scenario for Kyle she gazed down at the floor and began to twirl her thumbs around one another like stubby figure skaters.

  ‘Interesting,’ Ahrl replied finally.

  ‘I didn’t mean to do it… I just couldn’t let him be hurt or…’ her words trailed off. Ahrl rubbed his jaw.

  ‘I think you did the right thing, even though it was stupid and risky,’ he said finally. ‘You were incredibly lucky, Alice.’

  ‘I know.’ Pink shame painted her cheeks.

  ‘You saw all of Kyle’s future pathways. I don’t know how you managed that without the fountain, but you did, so we will have to deal with it. It’s an anomaly. You are an anomaly.’ She did a double take on her surroundings and panic flashed across her face, their reality distorting slightly as though it were experiencing an extreme heatwave.

  ‘Have I crossed over completely now? Can I go back?’ she asked desperately. Ahrl frowned.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said. There had never been a scenario like this in the afterlife before. ‘Your energy levels are still too low to return. We will have to speak to The Thirteen, the others will probably want to know what has happened, if they don’t already know of course.’

  ‘Do they know I’m back?’ Alice asked.

  ‘Well, I sensed the disturbance you caused so I’m sure they did too,’ Ahrl replied.

  ‘I caused a disturbance?’

  ‘All the time.’ Ahrl grinned.

  ‘You knew about Sophia didn’t you?’ Alice said.

  ‘Yes, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you much there. The fountain has been quite indecisive lately.’

  ‘What about my pages? Why have they been torn?’

  ‘The pages from your notebook?’ Alice nodded. ‘They were just a couple of well-timed and well-placed suggestions.’ He smiled innocently.

  Twenty-One

  The festive period for Sophia was different. The Letos celebrated both Christmas and New Year as a family and with a few select friends. However, just because a large portion of the world was on their holidays, there was no respite from their gifts. In fact Sophia had spent most of her time deep within visions and disagreeing with everyone.

  A small Christmas tree stood in the corner of the lounge, its white lights flashing slowly. Sophia’s uncle and aunt had come back from Dharamsala in India for a brief visit; they were helping the monks there. Elias, Sophia’s brother, had just recently returned from America; there was a girl out there who passed regularly through their thoughts.

  ‘So how is she?’ Flo asked Elias in her gravelly voice.

  ‘Fine,’ Elias replied. ‘I stopped a couple of Negative souls from reaching her, but she was completely oblivious to it all. She’s a semi-famous blogger now and has been picked up by an American fashion magazine.’

  ‘A fashion blogger?’ Sophia asked incredulously. It didn’t sound like the occupation of someone who could help the world.

  ‘Yes little sister, not everyone out there can be a scientist like you.’ He grinned. ‘Though I have to admit, our work is a little underwhelming at times, it would be way cooler if we had some sort of weapon, or fought actual demons.’ Flo shook her head and tutted.

  ‘Your imagination is too big for your head sometimes Elias; you wouldn’t want any of those things to be true. Besides the real demons are within the mind.’

  ‘Yes, but most people have psychologists to deal with those,’ Elias replied. He pushed his long, dark, unruly locks out of his eyes.

  ‘We’re not superheroes Elias; we don’t have capes of flaming swords. We can’t even show most people what we see, but we have a moral duty help, even if it is only one small step at a time,’ their father said.

  ‘Cassie, Paul, how is his Holiness?’ Flo asked, ignoring Elias and turning to their aunt and uncle.

  ‘Travelling a lot,’ Cassie replied.

  ‘Still going strong for his age,’ Paul said. ‘The monks are doing all sorts of scientific research up there, some of it Sophia would be interested in.’

  ‘What about Kyle, Sophia?’ Flo asked.

  ‘He’s OK, despite the near miss with the van,’ Sophia said. ‘His soul is still incredibly grey and I still think he saw Alice.’

  ‘We must bring him in,’ Elias said. ‘If Kyle truly did see Alice then he shares our gifts.’

  ‘That might be our only option,’ their father agreed.

  ‘Let’s not be too hasty,’ Flo said. ‘He had a nasty shock; he could have seen anything and he would have believed it.’

  ‘Gran, he was adamant that Alice was there,’ Sophia said for the umpteenth time.

  ‘Alice is gone now, Sophia. We’ve had no memories, no visions, no dreams, nothing. I’m sorry.’

  ‘That doesn’t mean that she’s gone,’ Sophia replied. ‘We thought she was gone for good once before and she surprised us by coming back. I was right about Red Oak and no one believed me.’

  ‘That’s because you were the only one who saw those visions,’ Elias replied. ‘Usually, if it’s something important we all see and feel the same things.’

  ‘That has been the norm, plus you are fairly new to all of this knowledge,’ their father agreed.

  ‘And whose fault was that?’ Sophia said bitterly.

  ‘Sophia.’ Their father sighed.

  ‘Yes, you were right,’ Flo said. ‘But crossing over Positive and being a Deykashee soul claimed by Negative are two completely different things. She’s not coming back this time.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘No buts, Sophia. Not this time.’ An uneasy silence fell across the room.

  ‘We should watch him regardless,’ Elias said finally. ‘If he saw Alice, he may see others, and if that’s the case we’ll need to keep an eye on him.’

  ‘Elias is right, Mother,’ Cassie said.

  ‘Yes, yes.’ Flo nodded unhappily. ‘Sophia can’t transfer now anyway; she will complete her
Master’s at Red Oak and keep an eye on Kyle.’ Flo looked directly at Sophia as she spoke. ‘I would suggest that you watch him from a distance and be less involved.’

  ‘That’s difficult,’ Sophia replied. ‘He attends all the guest presentations and he has my journal.’ Flo blinked.

  ‘Your journal?’

  ‘Yes, I gave it to him after the incident with the van.’

  ‘Is this your journal with all of your physics theories?’ Elias asked, sitting up straighter.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘But…’ Elias’ face paled. ‘Doesn’t your journal contain some of the theories for the afterlife?’ Sophia nodded.

  ‘Sophia…’ Flo said in dismay.

  ‘You didn’t see him! You didn’t see his soul. When he asked about my journal and we spoke about time, his soul flared up so brightly with Positive energy it was almost blinding. I thought that maybe it would help. I thought that with Alice gone…’

  ‘Sophia this is dangerous; you know how people react to our knowledge and gifts,’ her father said sternly.

  ‘Yes, but it’s Kyle…’

  ‘And Kyle knows nothing. As far as he’s concerned he’s a normal human being with a very tragic past,’ Flo said. ‘Sophia, we’ve tried to talk to people before about what we know. People don’t believe anymore; they need solid evidence and we can’t provide them with that yet.’

  ‘We will definitely need to keep an eye on him now,’ Elias said.

  ‘You’re right, maybe we should send Elias back with Sophia,’ Flo said. Sophia was about to protest; she wasn’t a child anymore. She didn’t need Elias to look after her. A spark of hot energy shot down her spine and she gripped the side of the sofa. An image jumped into her mind and knocked out all of her other thoughts. A man was lying on the floor of a small cramped room, lined with shelves and files. She then saw Kyle in an exam scribbling away as the minutes ticked by, then a sea of people dressed in black, a gravestone, and Kyle dressed in a suit amongst the mourners. His face was devoid of all emotion; he wasn’t crying but he wasn’t truly there either, whatever small shred of Kyle that had been left was now completely gone. The images faded just as quickly as they had arrived and she found herself staring at her grandmother.

  ‘What was that?’ Sophia asked, blinking repeatedly.

  Twenty-Two

  Hailey was right about the torn pages, it wasn’t like Alice at all. Talia did reply to Hailey’s email, but she couldn’t tell them anything that they didn’t already know. Talia had found the notebook amongst Alice’s belongings in a box in the attic and since it had Kyle’s name written on the front of it, she had sent it across right away. She knew nothing about the torn pages.

  The days drew on and the nightmares were just as frequent as always. Kyle stared blankly at the champagne flute in his hand. The New Year was about to begin in… he checked his watch, thirty-five minutes. They had been invited to his aunt’s house this year and the whole family had descended on the smallholding. His Aunt Claire lived just twenty miles to the southeast of Elbridge, and owned a country-style house which had a couple of acres, several stables, and horses.

  Kyle’s younger cousins were sitting on a large rug on the floor, playing a game on a large flat screen television. Kyle stood behind the brown leather sofa with half an eye on the television; his grandparents had gained first dibs on the sofa and armchairs due to their age. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his uncles chatting merrily away, discussing the latest sports results. Kyle grimaced. Alice notebook’s and missing pages filled his mind with strange questions and confused feelings. He had spent the last few days trying to revise for his upcoming exams but at every turn his thoughts had derailed themselves and wound up on Alice. His eyelids tightened as she flashed through his mind; her face and smile were like dazzling sunlight tearing through his grey clouds. He gazed down at his fizzy alcohol and was wondering if he should upend his glass when a heavy hand fell on his left shoulder.

  ‘So…’ his father’s low voice rumbled. ‘How are you, Kyle?’ Kyle turned to face him.

  ‘I’m good,’ Kyle said.

  ‘How’s the studying coming along?’ he asked.

  ‘Fine.’ Kyle shrugged.

  ‘Good, one year left now, keep up the hard work.’ His father squeezed his shoulder and then went off to join Kyle’s uncles’ conversation. Kyle felt his insides twist. Yes, one year left but the thought brought him no warmth or excitement. He watched his father go. Matthew had finally switched off from work long enough to relax for a few hours, but he did seem a bit short of breath. Kyle frowned. The room was too hot and he needed some air. He left his glass on a small side table and picked up his coat as he headed out the front door.

  Kyle eased open the door, trying to be as quiet as possible and he stepped out onto the porch. Hailey was sitting on the step below his feet. She glanced up at him as he shut the door behind him and then went back to staring across the snowy driveway.

  ‘Hey Hailey,’ he said as he sat down next to her.

  ‘Hi.’

  ‘Are you ok?’ Kyle asked.

  ‘No not really.’ Hailey sighed. ‘How can I get Dad to listen to me? He won’t even entertain the idea of writing.’

  ‘He’s just worried about you Hails,’ Kyle said. ‘He’s trying to help.’

  ‘Has he helped you Kyle?’ she asked. Kyle felt the muscles in his stomach tighten.

  ‘Well… yes. I have Dad to thank for most of the references and skills on my CV.’

  ‘Why are you doing business Kyle? You never wanted to do business,’ Hailey said.

  ‘It’s just what happened,’ Kyle replied, keeping his eyes on the floor.

  ‘No it’s not. You were accepted for a physics degree and then you let Dad change your mind.’

  ‘It was the right thing to do.’

  ‘Right for who? Dad or you, Kyle?’

  ‘Me. I couldn’t… it was…’ His voice cracked as he tried to speak. Hailey didn’t understand and he couldn’t explain. ‘Dad wants you to think about your future seriously. Even if you do write, you’d have to find a publisher.’

  ‘I know,’ Hailey said.

  ‘You should really consider doing a degree that opens doors for you.’

  ‘Is that what you did Kyle? Or did you just close them?’ Her words stung. She paused and then picked up a stick and poked the snow. ‘I’m not even sure I want to go to university; what’s so good about being in all that debt anyways?’

  ‘Hailey…’

  ‘And even school, school doesn’t teach you anything about the real world; it teaches you to recall facts. It’s a shame English doesn’t teach you how to write books or articles or about journalism. It doesn’t teach you how to proof read or edit, the things you’d need even for university or office work. It should teach publishing and opportunities.

  ‘School is important,’ Kyle said.

  ‘Yes, it is, but we’ve been doing it all wrong for centuries. It’s out-dated.’ She hugged her knees to her chest and frowned at the snow. They fell silent again for a few long moments; they could hear their cousins laughing and the adults chatting. They could even smell the warm pastry from the mini sausage rolls cooking in the oven. ‘Alice’s birthday is coming up soon,’ she said softly. Kyle stiffened. ‘Are you going to be doing something for it?’ she asked.

  ‘Doing something?’ Kyle replied, his warm breath fogging up in front of his face.

  ‘Yeah, sorry, it was a random thought really… I thought you might visit her grave or something. I usually light a candle but no one’s been up to her grave in a while. I feel guilty but I have exams that week,’ she said weakly, her shoulders tensing and her neck disappearing like a turtle, as though she were anticipating an explosion. Kyle stared at her wordlessly; the last time any of the Hunters had been to Alice’s grave had been
two years ago. He saw a faint flash of gold cross over Hailey’s irises and he blinked twice.

  ‘Sorry,’ Hailey said.

  ‘No, it’s OK. I haven’t really thought about her birthday.’

  ‘Well, you don’t have to,’ Hailey said. ‘Like I said, it was just a random thought. I don’t really know where it came from actually.’ She laughed nervously.

  ‘I’ll think about it.’

  ‘Have you found the third page from Alice’s notebook?’

  ‘No.’ Kyle shook his head.

  ‘I was trying to figure out where it might be but I couldn’t come up with an answer,’ she said. Kyle shrugged. ‘You don’t seem to care much about it.’

  ‘I do, I just…’ Kyle’s words trailed off. ‘It’s just hard Hailey. Every time I hear her name, or think about her, or even remember any of the past it just…’ he lowered his gaze to the floor. ‘It just hurts.’

  ‘I know,’ Hailey said softly. ‘I’m proud of you brother.’ He looked up at her. ‘I’m proud that you’re sort of talking about Alice again, it’s… different.’ She smiled a thin sad smile, but it was still a smile. ‘I miss her too.’ Kyle nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and Hailey sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder.

  They sat together for a while, until neither of them could take the cold any longer and reluctantly returned inside to celebrate the beginning of the New Year. Kyle chinked glasses with his relatives and was embraced in many hugs and sometimes kissed on the cheek. He didn’t know why people insisted on celebrating the end and start of the year. Most people carried the same failed resolutions and promises forward from the previous years anyway. He didn’t usually see the point in making them, but as his grandma kissed him on the cheek, he realised he did have a resolution of sorts. If there was a third missing page, he was going to find it.

  Twenty-Three

  Kyle was still thinking about Alice’s notebook when he boarded the train back to Rediff, and when he got on the bus to Red Oak University, and when he was sitting in his last exam before the beginning of his last semester, and when he stood in line to purchase a train ticket on the morning of the eighteenth, and when he boarded the train that would take him up to Scotland. He thought he was crazy as he sat down in a window seat, but thinking he was crazy wasn’t going to solve anything. He pulled off his scarf and gloves and tucked them into his rucksack, and then he pulled out Sophia’s journal and began to flip through the pages. Cameron had left the journal on his bed and now his exams were out of the way, he could study Sophia’s theories without feeling too guilty.