“Well,” said Thad, looking to his grandfather’s shadow as he rolled his eyes. “That went well.”
“She’s coming,” replied Cliff. “That’s all that matters.”
Thad watched as what existed of Cliff’s form faded from view. The room had suddenly become increasingly uncomfortable, and he watched the second hand tick on the clock anxiously. After several minutes had passed, he couldn’t wait any longer.
He stepped into the doorway of Nicole’s room, and found her sitting on the end of the bed. Behind her was a duffle bag stuffed so full that the zipper, though zipped shut, looked as though it could rip apart at any moment.
“Come on, we have to…,” he began, but stopped as he noticed the small trickle of blood running down her forearm. “Ah, you’ve got to be kidding me!” he shouted. “We don’t have time for this!”
He stepped to her forcefully and grabbed her by the arm, lifting her to her feet as a syringe and spoon fell to the floor.
She stumbled, her eyes barely open, and spoke, her words slurring so badly that Thad could barely understand. “Okay, okay,” she responded. “I’m packed and ready to go.”
Thad struggled to keep her upright as she continually tried to sit back down on the bed. His small frame didn’t allow him to lift her, so he slung her left arm around his shoulder and walked her out into the living room. As he approached the front door, nearly dragging Nicole’s comatose body, he barked angrily.
“I’ll never understand how someone can get to this point.” He gripped the door handle forcefully with his free hand and flung the door open, rattling its hinges. “Come on, Grandpa. Let’s get the hell out of this shit-hole!”
As they reached the first floor, Thad’s adrenaline was fully engaged and the girl’s weight barely registered with him anymore. He glanced around the room, grateful that no one really paid any attention to them. “Funny,” he thought to himself. “I come in and it feels like everyone’s looking at me. I walk out with a junkie, and it’s like I’m one of the crowd.”
Once to the car, Thad opened the back door and basically poured Nicole’s limp body into the back seat. She lay still across the seat, her eyes open only to slits, and stared blankly at the back of the front seats. Thad slammed the door and quickly rushed around the side to get in.
The instant he turned the key in the ignition, Cliff appeared in the seat next to him. Though not in full form, he was visible enough for Cliff to see the look of concern on his face.
As he pulled out into the street, Thad asked. “Now what?”
“We go and pick up Lauren,” replied Cliff.
“And then what?”
“We head to Washington.”
“What?” shouted Thad. “I have work. I can’t just up and….” He stopped himself mid-sentence, suddenly remembering the vision he’d had as he was entering the apartment building.
“Look, boy,” began Cliff. “You need to….”
Thad waved a hand to his grandfather in a quieting manner, and then closed his eyes briefly in thought, struggling to remember the details.
“What is it?” asked Cliff.
“You said we need to go to Washington?”
Nodding his head, Cliff replied. “Yes, around Forks.”
“There’s lots of trees there, right?”
Cliff nodded his head once more. “Yes. Why, what’s on your mind?”
“When I was going into the building, I had a quick vision. It was really fast, but I saw a bunch of trees.” He paused in thought again. “A bunch of trees—and a house with a big back porch.”
Cliff’s eyes opened wide. “What else did you see?”
Thad glanced in his rearview mirror, checking to see if it was clear to change lanes, and then glanced at Cliff. “There was a man there. I couldn’t see his face, but he was standing in the trees just watching the house.”
Cliff turned anxiously in his seat. “What did he look like?”
“I told you, I couldn’t see him. The only thing I could see was his hair. He had dark brown hair that was all messed up.”
“That’s it?” replied Cliff. “There’s nothing else?”
Feeling the fright in the old man’s words, he responded regretfully as he gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “No. That’s all I saw. What does it mean?”
“It means we’d better get our behinds to Washington, and in a hurry.”
Chapter 10
Evening had come and Test found himself struggling once again. Lauren was right, the comfort hadn’t lasted long.
He stood in the spare bathroom with the door closed and the shower running. The hot water quickly humidified the air, causing the mirror to fog over. Having removed his shirt, he stood leaning on the counter over the sink in his sweatpants. He looked at his reflection through the fog and wiped away a spot so he could see his face. His hair short and stubbly, just growing in, he struggled to even know who he was anymore.
The dream had left him feeling helpless and full of regret. It seemed to him that his life was destined to be filled with tragedy and heartache. Just as his mind had begun to spiral into a vortex of self-pity, he felt what was becoming a familiar pull to his left.
“Who’s there?” he asked, though he was fairly certain of who it was.
With no reply, he held out his hand and began to release a mild pulse of energy. He felt her hand grip his first, and then watched as Alyssa materialized.
“You doin’ okay?” she asked.
Test shrugged. He could tell by the troubled look on her face that she was genuinely concerned. “I guess,” he replied.
She pulled him into her and placed a gentle kiss on the center of his chest. Turning her cheek and resting her head on his bare flesh, she listened to his heartbeat. She’d never thought of it before, but as she listened, she found it to be amazingly un-extraordinary.
“You seen Mom?” he asked.
“No, I haven’t.”
She lifted her head and peered into his blue-gray eyes. Placing her palm on his cheek and, trying not to let him see her notice his scar, she rubbed it back and forth. “Getting kind of scruffy there, mister,” she said with a playful grin.
Test tried to restrain it, but her smile was contagious. “Yeah, well, I’ve been a little preoccupied,” he replied.
Alyssa slid around him, letting her hand slide across his bare back as she passed. She opened the wooden medicine cabinet that hung on the wall, but not finding what she was looking for, promptly closed it. She opened the top drawer on the cabinet, just to the right of Test, and pulled out a package of razors.
The two of them looked at each other’s hazy reflection in the mirror. Alyssa stepped behind him and held the razor up as she caressed his right cheek with her free hand. She watched as a smile washed Test’s lips.
Without a word spoken, she gripped his arm and guided him to the edge of the bathtub, sitting him down purposefully. Turning back to the sink, and with no shaving cream to be seen, she grabbed at the bar of soap that rested by the sink and turned on the faucet. Working a thick lather in her hands, she turned off the faucet with her wrist. Kneeling before him, she placed her lathered hands on his cheeks, and leaned in to him, kissing his lips softly three times. She worked the lather into his stubble, coating his face and neck, and then grabbed a towel that Test had set out for himself earlier. Bringing the razor to his face, she started at his right ear and brought the blade down gently. With each pass she placed her lips to his, each kiss lasting a touch longer than the one previous. As she got to his neck, she lifted his chin with her index finger and gracefully guided the razor up, tenderly kissing the strip of freshly shaven flesh after she lifted the razor.
With the touch of her lips on his neck, Test’s pulse began to race, igniting within him an increase of the energy that allowed Alyssa to become more real, more alive. His eyes nearly closed as he savored her touch, he could see the red pulses of light through the slits in his eyelids as they raced down his arms. All too quickly, he fe
lt her lips press against the opposite side of his neck as she made the final pass with the razor. With his eyes now closed, the white noise of the shower nearly hypnotized him. He felt a gentle push on his chest as Alyssa’s lips connected forcefully with his, causing him to grip the side of the tub. She continued to push, and he allowed himself to be maneuvered into the hot stream of water coming from the shower head. He swung his legs over the tub’s edge and, with their lips still connected, lay back in the tub with Alyssa on top of him. The bliss of her touch overshadowed the lack of comfort that the tub provided, and he allowed himself to get lost within it.
****
It took a matter of minutes for Thad, Cliff, and Nicole to reach Thad’s apartment to pick up Lauren, and in a half hours’ time, Thad had downloaded directions to Forks from the internet, and packed the essentials.
Now heading West on Highway Two, no one in the vehicle had said more than two words since leaving Kansas City. Per Cliff’s instructions, Thad had made sure that their route would take them through Lincoln, Nebraska. Though he knew that this is where his grandfather had lived, he wasn’t privy to the reason why they were to pass through it.
Lauren sat in the back seat and stared impatiently out her window. Never in her life had she taken a substantial trip in a car and she knew that this one was going to be brutally long. When she was younger, before her transformation, her family didn’t own a car. Back then, a car was a luxury item owned by the wealthy, something her family was far from. While she did own a car now, she rarely used it; mainly for trips into town to get food and supplies. If ever there was somewhere to go that involved a considerable distance, her powers allowed her to travel much faster than any car could take her.
“So how long until we get there?” she asked, sounding something like a five year old whining from the back seat.
“Lincoln?” asked Thad. “A couple of hours.”
“No,” replied Lauren, “home, in Forks. How long until we’re back in Washington?”
Thad rolled his eyes as he looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Oh, well, that’s a little over thirty hours according to the website I got the directions from. Two-thousand some miles I think.” He let out a slight chuckle as Lauren’s eyes opened so wide that they nearly looked as though they’d fall out of their sockets.
“Are you shitting me?” she shouted as she gripped the back of the front passenger seat. “I could walk faster than that!” A lone red pulse raced down her arm, and when she saw it, she closed her eyes in an effort to calm herself. She took a deep breath, in through her nose slowly, and then out through her mouth. In a calm voice, she spoke matter-of-factly. “I’m getting out at the next stop.”
“You can’t,” replied Cliff as he appeared transparently in the front passenger seat. “I may need you.”
Lauren closed her eyes, squeezing them tightly as if in pain. “How did I know you were going to say that?”
“He may need you, hell,” chimed Thad, “If you’re not around and the Reapers show up, we’ll all end up just like him.” He turned to his grandfather and with a wink, was quick to clarify. “No offense, grandpa.”
“Just shut up and drive, Thadeus,” replied Lauren, speaking his full name sarcastically as she flopped back in her seat. “Do you think you can maybe go a little faster, too?”
Leaning forward in his seat to see her better in the rearview mirror, Thad raised his voice in response. “The name’s Thad, Lauren. And I don’t think getting pulled over while we’ve got a young girl comatose and passed out in the back seat is going to get us to Forks any faster!”
“Oh come on, I can just…,” shouted Lauren.
“Enough,” interrupted Cliff. “Damn! It’s like being on a car ride with a couple of five year olds.” He turned round in his seat and scowled at Lauren. “Look, I know this isn’t your ideal way of travellin’, but it’s what we have to do right now. You were so concerned about rest earlier, why don’t you close your eyes and get some sleep.” Thad chuckled next to the old man as Lauren stared wide eyed in shock at the old man’s sudden aggravation. Cliff turned to him. “And you! You’d best wipe that grin off your face, boy. We’re all family here now. True, not all of us blood, but we’ve all got to stick together like we was.”
Thad grimaced as he thought of the next thirty some hours stuck in the car with his new ‘family’.
“Now,” said Cliff, “everyone just take a deep breath and try to relax. We’ll be to Lincoln soon enough.”
Questioning himself as to whether or not he should ask the question that’d been on his mind since leaving Kansas City, Thad stretched in his seat as he spoke. “So why are we going to Lincoln anyway?”
Cliff smiled as he looked out the windshield. “To see an old friend.”
Chapter 11
The sight of Lincoln on the skyline gave Cliff’s mind some peace. While the ride had been quiet since his scolding of the others, the tension in the car had made for a long trip.
In a drug induced sleep since leaving her apartment in Kansas City, Nicole righted herself in the seat and rubbed her eyes. “Where are we at?” she asked, the slurring of her words telling the others that she was still under the influence.
Lauren looked at her with disgust and then turned away.
“Who are you?” asked Nicole bluntly.
Continuing to look out her window, Lauren replied. “I’m the bitch that helped save your life.” She glanced over her shoulder to Nicole. “If you need anything else answered, ask the old man or Thadeus.”
A crooked smile appeared on Nicole’s face. “Who shit in your oatmeal this morning?” she asked with a giggle.
Lauren rolled her eyes. “Look, I’m trying my best to turn over a new leaf, but if you’re gonna try to push my buttons, I….”
“Alright,” interrupted Cliff. “Nicole, this is Lauren. She’s a friend of Test’s.”
Nicole tensed instantly as she stared blankly at the old man.
“Friend isn’t really the right word there, Cliff,” Lauren spouted.
It was the old man’s turn to roll his eyes. “Fine, she’s….” He paused for a moment searching for the words. “Lauren is like Test, she has gifts and abilities, too.”
Slowly, Nicole began to slide away from Lauren, but her movement was stopped by the door. Still, she tried to push herself farther, almost climbing onto the arm rest.
Lauren smiled slyly. She’d always enjoyed the sense of dominance that overcame her when a human discovered her power.
Cliff reached over the seat towards Nicole. “It’s okay. Nothin’s gonna happen to you, sweet heart.”
“Yeah right,” replied Nicole under her breath while keeping an eye on Lauren. “So is anyone going to answer my question? Where are we at?”
From the driver’s seat, Thad answered. “Just getting ready to pull into Lincoln.”
Continuing to stare uneasily at Lauren, Nicole replied. “Why are we going to Lincoln?”
“We’re going to see Marcy,” answered Cliff with a wink. He watched as a sudden light washed over Nicole’s face, a touch of color seeming to return to her cheeks. “Does that make you happy?” he asked.
She nodded her head lightly and grinned, her expression and demeanor almost child-like. “Yes. It’s been a long time. Why though? Is she in danger too?” she asked.
Cliff did his best to keep the cheerful tone that had suddenly lightened the mood inside the car. “I don’t think so,” he replied. “But I want to be sure. I’m hoping Thad here will see anything if she is. Regardless, I think it’s a good idea to give her a little warning.”
“Are you sure?” asked Nicole, the subject seeming to bring around a little more sobriety. “You could just be making her worry about nothing.”
Cliff angled his head. “True,” he replied, “but I’d rather her be aware and alive than oblivious and dead.”
A silence took over once more, and after a few minutes, Thad interrupted it. “Where are we going, Grandpa?”
&nbs
p; “Keep goin’ a few miles,” replied Cliff. “You’ll see the hospital just off the side of the highway.”
It was another fifteen minutes or so before Thad took the exit ramp that led to the hospital. The sight of the building brought an obvious sense of panic to Nicole as she tried to push her legs straight, forcing her back into the seat. She began to pat her thighs and her breathing had become erratic.
“You gonna be okay there?”
Nicole, surprised at Lauren’s voice asking the question, turned and nodded her head in a series of short, quick bursts. “I saw enough of this place last year. I didn’t think I’d be back again so soon.”
With a sigh, Cliff turned to comfort the girl. “I’m sorry, Nicole. I hadn’t thought about that. I suppose you and me both seen enough of this place.”
It took her a moment, but Nicole slowly realized that this must have been where Cliff had died. The feeling of regret now mingled with every other emotion that swirled inside her. “No, it’s okay. I get why we are here. It’s just….”
Silence gripped the car once more, and after moving through several stop lights, Thad pulled into the hospital parking lot and quickly found an empty stall. With a deep sigh of relief, he put the car into park, but before he could turn off the ignition, Nicole exploded out of her door and began to run through the parking lot toward a line of trees on the opposite side.
“Nicole!” shouted Cliff.
The three of them watched as she ran clumsily through the lot, weaving in and out of the parked cars and bouncing off of every third one.
“Lauren,” said Cliff sternly as he turned in his seat. “You have to get her.”
Rolling her eyes, Lauren opened her door and stepped out onto the black top. She could still see Nicole running, and was actually surprised at how far she had gotten. Slamming her door, she walked to the front of Thad’s car and did a quick scan to make sure that there was no one else in the parking lot. Just as she was ready to pulse into the air, she heard the sound of an ambulance approaching and instinctively lowered herself to the ground.
The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series Page 9