The ambulance raced into a different entrance with lights flashing, but it was the light emanating from within Lauren that had Thad in a trance. It was like nothing he could have ever imagined. For a moment, none of it seemed real. As he stared, Lauren stood and glanced into the car, gave him a naughty little smile, and then shot straight up into the air and out of view. The car shook from the shockwave and Thad threw one hand to the dash as the other gripped the steering wheel tightly.
“Amazin’, ain’t it, boy?” asked Cliff.
Thad looked to his grandfather in disbelief. “That’s putting it mildly,” he replied.
Lauren had propelled herself straight up into the air about one hundred feet and then, after locating Nicole, shot off towards her. In a matter of seconds, she let herself fall from the sky and landed in front of the trees to which Nicole was racing.
“And just where do you think you are going, sweetheart?” asked Lauren devilishly, her knees bent slightly as her hands rose towards Nicole.
Nicole froze, staring at Lauren but seeing the image of Test within her mind. The power of a Shadow was something that she hadn’t seen for some time. The combined beauty and horror of Lauren’s display was more than her already fragile mind could take. She felt her legs giving way, and struggled to stay upright as her vision faded.
Lauren reached out and took Nicole into her invisible grip just before the damaged girl’s body hit the ground. With both arms outstretched, she guided Nicole gently to the ground. As she took a step towards her, Thad’s car pulled up and stopped just behind Nicole’s limp form. The use of her power gave her the feeling of invincibility and she closed her eyes for a moment to relish the pulses as they radiated through her body. A sudden and shrill voice knocked her from her trance.
“Tone it down, Lauren!” shouted Cliff. “We’ve got her!”
Her eyes snapped open and, for a moment, she wanted to fly away from all that was before her. Suddenly a voice came from behind.
“You are not the monster, remember?.”
Startled, Lauren turned and could see a shadowy figure standing behind her. Steadily the form came into view. It was Maggie.
“These people need you. Remember who you are—who you want to be,” said Maggie gently.
The surge of energy within her began to fade, and Lauren watched her hands as the light began to dim with it. She continued to let weak pulses release in order to aid Maggie in holding solid form, and stood motionless as the woman readied to pass towards the car. Holding out a hand, she stopped her momentarily. “How did you know we were here?” she asked respectfully.
“Cliff shared his concern for Marcy just before you two left,” replied Maggie, glancing past Lauren to Nicole as she lay on the ground. “I thought I might be of help.”
Watching as Maggie walked past her, Lauren turned back towards the car to see Thad carrying Nicole to the already opened car door. She rushed to him, hoping that she could somehow help.
Having watched the interaction between Maggie & Lauren from the opposite side of the car, Cliff spoke softly to Maggie as she approached. “Looks like you’ve got a good effect on that girl, Ms. Davis,” he said with a grin.
“She’s a good kid. She just needs some love,” replied Maggie, a look of concern on her face as she bent over, glancing through the window to Nicole who was now lying across the back seat. “That poor girl; what on earth has happened to her?”
“What hasn’t?” replied Cliff solemnly. “We’ll make it right, though. As long as we hang together, we’ll get through all of this.” Cliff watched Maggie’s face as she glanced to Thad.
“Cliff,” she asked, “is that—Elijah?”
With a chuckle and a proud smile, Cliff replied. “No, I’m afraid I haven’t got to see him. That there is my grandson, Thadeus.”
Maggie raised a hand to her mouth. “My God, Cliff, he looks so much like you.”
“Thad,” spoke Cliff over the top of the car, “come here a minute. I’d like to introduce you to someone.”
Thad looked over top of the car to the two spirits standing on the opposite side. He walked around the front of the car and stood to Maggie’s side.
“Thad, this is Maggie Davis,” said Cliff motioning to Maggie. “She is Test’s mother.”
With a polite smile, Thad reached out his right hand to shake Maggie’s. “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am.”
Maggie looked down to her hand, concerned as to whether or not her form was solid enough for a handshake. She reached out and tried to take Thad’s hand into hers, but pulled back embarrassed when it passed through his.
“I’m sorry,” she said with a slight blush on her cheeks. “It is truly a pleasure to meet you.”
Thad stared at his hand, mystified by the cold, tingling sensation left in his hand.
“Please, no apologies needed, Mrs. Davis,” he replied cordially, though his voice was filled with awe. “It’s a sincere pleasure to meet you as well.”
Maggie glanced to Cliff. “So polite,” she said. “Looks like your son did a fine job in raising him, Cliff.”
A proud look once again took over the old man’s face as he watched his grandson. “Yes, I’d say so.”
Mildly embarrassed from the praise, Thad replied with a weak smile. “Well, I don’t think Dad can take all the credit. My guess is that the visions aren’t the only thing that I inherited from Grandpa here.”
With a gasp, Maggie replied. “What? You can….” She paused with a hand partially covering her smiling face.
“Yes ma’am,” answered Thad. “I have it, too. Though I don’t yet know if I’m as excited about it as you seem to be.”
The smile slowly melted from Maggie’s lips. “Oh, Thad—if I may call you that—you have an incredible gift. You should cherish it.”
“Oh, I do Mrs. Davis,” replied Thad.
“Maggie. Please, call me Maggie.”
“Yes, ma’am—I mean, Maggie. I am very grateful for my gift. It’s just that it hasn’t been easy.” He turned to Cliff. “If only Grandpa here could’ve been around to help me learn a little more about it.”
Cliff’s chest deflated slightly. “One of many regrets, boy.”
“No, no, no, Grandpa. I didn’t mean it like that,” replied Thad with a grimace. “I just….”
“It’s okay,” said Cliff with a wink.
Cliff suddenly realized that he could see Lauren over Thad’s shoulder as she stood at the front of the car. She was being unusually patient, and Cliff then remembered that they were here for a reason.
“You ready?” he asked over Thad.
“What’s the plan, old man?” asked Lauren.
Thad turned and looked at Lauren with disgust. “Could you show a little respect?” he asked indignantly.
Cliff chuckled. “It’s okay, boy. That’s just her way.” He turned to Maggie. “I was thinking that you and Thad would stay here with Nicole while Lauren and I went in to find Marcy.”
Nodding her head in agreement, Maggie replied. “That’s sounds fine. Whatever you need me to do, Cliff.”
Cliff motioned to Thad. “You gonna be okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. You two just be quick about it, okay?”
From behind him, Lauren laughed lightly. With a wry grin, she replied to Thad’s comment while speaking to herself. “Without you and the girl, the two of us could be in Texas before you could get out of this parking lot?”
“Okay, Lauren,” said Cliff. “Let’s be discrete going in.”
As if she was reading his mind, Lauren nodded in agreement and took a step back from the car and held her hands to her side.
Cliff looked back and forth between Maggie and Thad. “We’ll be quick.” He looked to Lauren and gave her a wink.
In an instant, Thad found himself standing alone in the parking lot.
****
Lauren and Cliff slipped through the hospital entrance, everyone around them oblivious to their presence. Lauren was quite used to ex
isting in the Shadow realm. It was yet another aspect of her power that gave her the feeling of superiority over the human race. Her only regret was that they couldn’t move faster. Neither of them knew where Marcy was, and she wasn’t sure how they were going to find her.
“Well, we’re here,” she said in a snarky tone. “Now what?”
Cliff didn’t respond right away. Instead, he glanced at his surroundings. “What time is it?” he asked.
Lauren wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Huh?” she huffed.
“What time is it?” asked Cliff once again. “Do you see a clock?”
Before she could answer, Cliff walked toward the visitors counter and then proceeded to pass through it as though it were air. He stood behind the elderly black woman that sat in the chair behind the counter and looked at the phone that sat to her right.
“Six o’clock? Damn,” he said aloud. “I hope she’s still here.”
Still on the opposite side of the counter, Lauren rolled her eyes in frustration. “What do you mean you hope she’s still here?”
Cliff raised his gaze to meet hers. “I don’t know if you know this or not, but time really doesn’t hold any meaning for me anymore,” he replied gruffly.
“Well that’s planning ahead,” quipped Lauren. “So I’ll ask again—now what?”
Cliff turned away from her, in part to avoid any escalation in conflict, and in part to think of what to do next. “I think you’re going to have to phase back,” he said with his back to her. “Let’s find an empty elevator so you can do it without being seen.”
Lauren passed through the counter and stood by the old man. “Um—you do know they have cameras in the elevators don’t you?”
Cliff’s shoulders slumped. “Well what do you suggest then young lady?” he asked, trying to keep his tone upbeat.
Lauren passed him by, and without looking back said, “Follow me.”
Cliff followed her as she walked towards a gift shop that was behind the visitor’s station. On the ceiling, to the left of the shop, was a sign with an arrow pointing towards the restrooms. The two of them traveled quickly down the hall, and Cliff watched as Lauren stepped to the women’s restroom door.
“You coming?” she asked with the mischievous smile of a child.
Cliff grinned forcefully. “I’ll wait here.”
As Lauren passed through the door, Cliff shouted. “Just be sure that you….”
Before he could finish his sentence, the restroom door opened and out walked Lauren. She had phased sides so fast that Cliff wondered if she’d even looked to see if there was anyone in the restroom.
“Were you seen?” he asked.
She passed him by, unable to hear his words, and turned back towards the restroom door, speaking into empty air as an older man with a cane shuffled past them. “Hang with me, old man,” she said with an exaggerated wink, an intended jab at Cliff’s often expressed habit.
The older man with the cane, assuming that Lauren was speaking to him, turned and made a lewd comment.
With a giggle, Lauren responded, both flattered and repulsed, as she walked away. “Uh-I think I’d break more than just your hip.”
Cliff simply shook his head and followed her lead. He watched as she walked back to the visitor’s counter and stood before the old woman on the other side.
“Good evening,” said the woman with a generous smile.
“Hi,” responded Lauren curtly. “A friend of mine works here and I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to her office?”
Slightly taken aback by the seemingly young girl’s demeanor, the woman replied politely. “Sure, what’s your friend’s name?”
Cliff watched as a sudden look of panic fell on Lauren’s face. She drummed her fingers nervously on the counter, trying desperately to recall the name she’d heard several times before, and the old man watched with great pleasure as her discomfort seemed to increase.
“Her name is,” began Lauren, pausing for a moment. She lowered her hand from the counter and began to let a week pulse radiate through her.
Cliff could feel the energy, and he knew that she was offering it to him in order for him to tell her the name. Still, Cliff made her wait a few more anxious seconds before speaking it into her ear.
The old woman behind the counter watched with a furrowed brow as the young woman struggled to recall the name of her friend. Suddenly, as if turning on a faucet, the name spilled out of the girl’s mouth.
“Marcy Jackson!”
With a polite smile and questioning eyes, the woman began to look through the directory on the computer.
“Well, we have a Marcy Wilson that works in processing,” the woman replied, “but I don’t see anyone by the name of Marcy Jackson.”
Lauren leaned her head back and looked up into the white tiled ceiling. With her thumbs hooked into her back pockets, she once more released a small amount of energy in hopes that Cliff could help.
The old man was getting a great amount of pleasure watching Lauren squirm. He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help it. He did recognize the last name of Wilson as that of Marcy’s longtime boyfriend, Mark. The thought of the two of them getting married made the old man smile.
“That must be her,” he shouted. “She got married!”
“Oh yes,” said Lauren to the woman. “I can’t get her maiden name out of my head. I knew her in school as Marcy Jackson.” Lauren forced a pleasant smile onto her lips, and she could feel the heat of her flushed cheeks as she reeled from embarrassment.
The woman pushed up her glasses and grabbed at a note pad. “That’s fine, dear. The older you get, the more of that kind of trouble you’ll have up here.” She tapped her head merrily as she jotted down the office number and directions on how to get there.
Taking the small piece of note paper from the woman, Lauren replied in a most sincere manner. “Thank you very much. I’m sorry to be a pain.”
“No, no, dear. That’s what I’m here for,” replied the woman.
“Well, thank you again,” said Lauren as she stepped away from the counter and walked towards the bank of elevators on the adjacent wall.
Cliff watched Lauren with guilty pleasure as she fidgeted anxiously with her hair, obviously shaken by the moments prior. After what seemed like an hour, the elevator door on their right opened and revealed the interior to be empty. The two of them rushed quickly inside, Lauren pressing the button to close the door quickly. The instant the door closed completely, a steady flash of color began to race down her arms.
“Thanks a lot, old man!” she shouted.
Cliff took the energy that she offered and materialized. Laughing nearly uncontrollably, he forced himself to speak. “You’re—you’re welcome!” He continued to laugh. “Oh and what happened to ‘the elevators have cameras’?” he asked sarcastically motioning to her arms.
“Shut up!” she barked angrily. “That was funny to you?”
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Cliff answered after taking a deep and cleansing breath. “Ah, Lauren—you could’ve asked before.”
“Before when?” she snapped.
“Before you thought you’d be cute and shift sides without telling me first,” Cliff responded as he scratched the stubble on his cheeks.
He watched as Lauren scowled at him, the fury on her face was almost comical. To him, this was nothing to get that upset over. “Okay, okay—settle down now. I’m truly sorry I left you hanging like that,” he said as he rested a hand on her shoulder. “It wasn’t right of me. Let’s just….”
Before he could finish, the door to the elevator began to open and Lauren quickly dropped her release of energy, causing Cliff to disappear into the backdrop of the stainless steel walls that surrounded them.
“Oops,” said Lauren playfully as she placed her index finger on her bottom lip.
She walked out of the elevator, feeling the tug of Cliff’s spirit on the small of her back as he walked behind her. Looking down at the note given to
her by the receptionist at the visitor’s counter, she read as she took small steps forward.
.
Fourth Floor
Take a left off the elevator
Down the hallway
office 414 on the right hand side
She looked up and was slightly startled at the mass of cubicles in front of her. The hallway to her left was nothing more than a wall on one side and a line of cubicles on the other, spaced evenly every eight to ten feet. She suddenly became aware of several sets of eyes that were peering over top of the divider walls, and a rush of heat flashed through her as a mild sense of panic kicked in.
Stammering slightly, she waved a hand in the air. “Hi,” she said nervously.
Cliff, slightly taken aback by Lauren’s sudden insecurity, watched her intently, hoping that she could handle this situation.
“Hello,” replied a woman with thick glasses that appeared to be three sizes too large for her face. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“We,” she paused, another rush of heat surging through her, “I was looking for Marcy?”
The woman smiled and pointed to Lauren’s left. “I think she’s still here. Her office is just down the hall and on your right.”
Lauren nodded politely. “Thank you very much,” she replied, turning from the woman.
She walked quickly down the hall, grateful that the situation had passed, but was now stressing over the next one that would present itself. As she neared the end of the hall, she could see a light on in the second to the last office on the right. Seeing a shadow through the window, she stopped and took several deep breaths to calm herself.
“Jesus, you’d think this was the hardest thing I’d ever done,” she whispered to herself.
Cliff grinned and spoke reassuringly, though he knew his words couldn’t be heard. “You’ll be fine, kiddo.”
Just as Lauren lifted her foot to take the next step towards the office door, a young woman exited the room.
“Oh!” the woman shouted, placing a hand on her chest. She leaned forward and then flashed a brilliant smile. “I’m so sorry, but you scared me.”
With a crooked grin, Lauren replied. “No apologies needed.”
The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series Page 10