by Nathan Jay
“I’m not a pussy!” Michael yelled as he struggled to fill his lungs with oxygen. Wilson could fill his underarms dripping with sweat as he remained locked in his brother’s vicelike grip.
“I never said you were. Let go!”
“You’re not the boss of me! Say it!”
Wilson knew he’d never be able to gain big-brother leverage over Michael again if he submitted.
“Fuck you! I’m not saying it.”
Michael tightened his grip on his brother’s head.
“Say it, and I’ll let you go.”
“Fuck you. You might as well prepare to keep me locked in forever because I’m not saying it.”
At that moment, the phone rang, and both the boys looked at the phone on the table.
“Look! It’s probably Dad calling to check on us. Let me go!”
Michael squeezed tighter.
“Not until you say it!”
“I’m not saying shit! But you can best believe if Dad asks why we didn’t answer, I’m telling on you.”
These words seemed to get through to Michael, and he loosened his grip.
“Go ahead. Answer it, pussy boy.”
Wilson kicked Michael in the butt and ran to the phone.
“Hello?”
“Stop fighting.”
Wilson smiled, and his eyes lit up.
“Grandma Noya! How are you?”
“You boys don’t have time to be fighting one another. You have to find a way to stop viewing each other as brothers and start seeing one another as men.”
Wilson looked at Michael, lying on the floor.
“But how did you know we were…”
“Never mind how I know. I’m your Grandmother, remember?”
“Yes, Grandma Noya.”
“Now go and apologize to your brother. When you finish, tell him I want to speak with him.”
“Okay. Hold on.”
Wilson laid the phone receiver on the table and walked over to Michael.
“I’m sorry, Mike. I need to be more respectful of you. I shouldn’t have hit you, and I’m sorry about that.”
Michael’s mouth dropped open.
“It’s cool. Don’t worry about it. Is that Grandma Noya on the phone?”
“Yeah. Grandma wants to speak to you.”
Michael went to the table and grabbed the phone.
“Hello? Grandma Noya?”
Wilson walked into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. His eye was feeling strange; it burned, and he was seeing large floaters moving throughout his vision. After moving closer to the mirror, Wilson pulled open his eyelid with his two fingers. As soon as he did, a small white worm shot out of his eye and fell to the sink. Wilson watched as the white creature wiggled and squirmed around the sink. Finally, he turned on the faucet and watched as the slippery worm disappeared down the drain. Wilson looked into the mirror again, expecting to see another creature in his eye. There was nothing. Suddenly there was a throbbing in his head, unlike any headache he’d ever had. Feeling dizzy and nauseous, Wilson stumbled to his bedroom, fell on the bed, and slept.
Chapter 21: Charlie’s Theory
“Wilson. You awake?” asked Michael as he shook his brother. Wilson sat up in his bed and looked around.
“What time is it?”
“I think it’s 8 pm.”
“I slept for the whole day? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I tried, but you wouldn’t wake up. Dad isn’t home yet.”
“He didn’t come home from work?”
“No. I tried to call Dad, but he didn’t answer his cell. I guess he’s in a meeting or something.”
Wilson grabbed the phone beside his bed and dialed. The call went to his father’s voicemail.
“You see? Straight to voicemail.”
Wilson’s stomach growled.
“You hungry?”
“I’m starving.”
“Me too. Normally I’d order pizza, but I don’t think we should right now.”
“Yeah.”
“What about spaghetti? It’s easy, and I think dad took out some ground beef to thaw.”
“That’ll work.”
By the time the boys finished their second helpings of spaghetti, Dustin had come walking through the door carrying two large pizzas.
“I see you boys ate dinner. Good. I guess we’ll just save this pizza for tomorrow.”
“Where were you? We tried calling your cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail,” asked Michael.
“I was talking on the phone with your mom,” Dustin responded. Wilson looked up at his father and then returned to eating his plate of spaghetti.
“You did?” asked Michael. “What did she say?”
“We talked about a lot of things. She said she’s coming home in two days. She’s taking a flight out of Paris, and she should be home by Friday. She’s had some problems with her credit card. That’ why she hasn’t called. She just took a few days to figure some things out.”
“Really? To stay?”
Dustin looked at his son for a few moments before he spoke.
“We’re going to try to fix things, but I can’t promise that we will. There are a lot of issues that we need to work through.”
Michael smiled.
“Well, at least you’re trying.”
“Yeah. We’ll see how things turn out.”
Wilson got up from the table and went to wash his plate.
“What about you? No questions?”
Wilson shrugged.
“You can’t enjoy the sunshine until the sun comes out. We’ll see.”
Dustin’s eyes widened, and he slapped his son on the back.
“My God! You are starting to sound like your Grandmother.”
Dustin grabbed two large slices of pepperoni pizza from the box before heading towards his bedroom.
“I’m going to grab some sleep, boys. Wake me if you need anything. Goodnight.”
Michael went to the bathroom and left his brother sitting alone in the kitchen. For a few minutes, Wilson remained seated at the table, thinking about what he’d just heard. He didn’t know how he felt about his mother and father reconciling. A part of him missed her, but his mind told him that her return wasn’t the sign of a mother missing her family. From what his father had said, her return felt negotiated—like mercy. Flashes of her confession to Wilson still burned brightly in his memory. She’d become pregnant with a child outside the marriage. She’d killed it through abortion as a matter of convenience. Maybe she thought of terminating his life when Wilson was in her stomach. One thing was for sure. He didn’t trust her. In the hallucination, she ceased being his mother. And now, he only had a father.
Wilson went to his bedroom and laid on his bed. With so many thoughts swirling around his head, sleep was impossible. Finally, Michael came into the room. As usual, he’d forgotten to dry off. Water was dripping all over the floor.
“She’s not coming back, is she?” Michael asked while sliding his wet body into his pajamas. Unable to hide his frustration, Wilson responded coldly.
“No, she’s not coming back.”
Wilson knew his brother would go to bed crying, but he didn’t care. His mother had chosen to abandon them, and Michael needed to accept it. Michael dove on his bed and grabbed a comic book from the nightstand.
“I knew Dad was lying.”
Wilson was surprised.
“You did?”
“It’s like Uncle Charlie said. He gave too much information. Of course, he was lying. The truth is, Dad probably begged her to come home, and she said she’d think about it.”
Wilson smiled.
“My little bro is smart. You’re growing up now.”
“Ain’t no dummies in this family. At least not anymore.”
Wilson got up, turned out the light, and jumped back in his bed.
“Hey, Wilson?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I sleep with you?”
Wilson smiled
and pulled the covers back. He guessed his little brother wasn’t so big after all.
Chapter 22: The Barrier Breaks
At first, Wilson thought Michael was having one of his bed shaking nightmares. He ignored the shaking of the bed and turned over to go back to sleep.
“Mike. Stop shaking the bed,” mumbled Wilson. Suddenly, a thunderous boom violently rattled the bed and caused the closet door to fly open. Wilson sat up and looked around. Although the room was dark, he felt Michael sit up in the bed beside him.
“Wilson! What’s that?” his brother asked. Wilson could feel his heart pounding. Suddenly a louder boom sounded, this time sending both children flying into the air. Wilson winced as his face pressed against the ceiling before he fell back down onto the bed. Michael went flying through the darkness and slammed into the closet door. Wilson rolled off the bed and grabbed his jeans from the floor. He stumbled over to the wall and turned on the light. As the bedroom light flashed off and on, the bookcase closest to him shook back and forth violently, dumping books all over the floor. Wilson saw Michael lying on the floor.
“Michael! You okay?” Wilson screamed. After letting out a moan, Michael climbed to his feet and stumbled to where Wilson was standing.
“What’s going on? Is this it?” Michael asked.
Just as the house began to tremble again, both boys locked eyes on one another.
“Dad!” they both yelled. The boys stumbled out of the bedroom and into the hall. As they reached the tv room, they saw their dad struggling to maintain his balance at the end of the hall.
“We have to get outside!” Dustin yelled. “The house isn’t safe!”
The two boys followed their father through the trembling house. Struggling to maintain his balance, Dustin grabbed Michael by his shirt and tossed him out the front door. After making sure the boy landed softly in the grass, Dustin grabbed Wilson by his shirt and sent him flying into the grass as well. Both boys crawled to the center of their yard and waited for their father to exit. Dustin disappeared into the shaking house and grabbed a bag. After a few seconds, he dove out of the house onto the lawn.
Wilson looked around the neighborhood. Everyone was on their front lawns, watching their houses shaking.
“This is the strongest earthquake I’ve ever been in,” said an elderly man to his next-door neighbor. The middle-aged woman in rollers standing next to him concurred.
“This is the longest earthquake I’ve ever seen. The aftershocks keep coming. What do you think it is?”
Two teenaged boys flopped down on their lawn to discuss the events.
“It’s the end of the world. It has got to be. Just like my vampire comic says.”
His friend disagreed.
“Are you stupid or something? This earthquake is a regular one, plain and simple.”
Suddenly there was a loud cracking noise in the sky that caused everyone to look up. Wilson watched as a dark violet ball of energy exploded above their heads and released energy across the horizon. The ground stopped shaking, and bolts of lightning began shooting down from the sky.
“Back to the house!” yelled Dustin. Wilson and Michael sprinted to the front door and ran inside. Once they were all in, Wilson peered out the window. The lightning had struck the two boys sitting on the lawn across the street from them, and their corpses continued being struck by lightning repeatedly. Wilson turned to Michael.
“Get the triangle!”
Michael ran into the bedroom and returned carrying the small crystal object his grandmother had given him.
“Wilson!” Michael screamed. “Your face!”
Startled by his brother’s words, Wilson placed his palm on his face. After touching his skin, his eyes widened, and he ran to the bathroom mirror. His eyeball was no longer white. It was the same violet color as the sky. There were dozens of thick veins stretching from the corner of his eye down into his cheek. Each vein seemed to pulsate with every heartbeat he had, making his face seem as though it were breathing. Wilson vomited in the sink.
“Dad!”
Dustin and Michael ran into the bathroom and stared at Wilson.
“It’s just as she told me. You are the protector,” whispered Dustin.
“The protector? Who told you that? Grandma?”
Wilson pushed past his father and ran to his bedroom. He grabbed the phone from the floor and dialed Grandma Noya’s number.
Dustin stood in the doorway.
“You can’t reach her.”
Wilson started to panic.
“Why?”
“She’s gone. The explosion took mom and Charlie.”
Wilson threw the phone across the room.
“She never told me about this! What is it? What’s happening to me?”
“Mom was supposed to tell you.”
“She didn’t! Now, look at my face! I’m a freak, just like mom said! I’m tired of your secrets! Tell me the truth now, or I’m leaving!”
“There’s a book in your Great Grandfather’s house. It’s a book of ancient drawings that outlines what will happen when the barrier to hell breaks. You’re in it.”
“I’m in it? What does that mean?”
“The book shows a child with a glowing eye. He saves the world by going into hell.”
“You haven’t told me anything that makes sense! What’s happening to me?”
“Your face is changing because you are gaining more powers. But…”
Dustin looked away from his son.
“But what?”
“As evil draws closer to you, he can sense your presence.”
“Who?”
“The Evil One. He knows about you. He’s trying to kill you and Michael. Your face and your feelings are the only way he will know who you are. He marks your face with his power, so you are easy to identify to his minions. When they see the mark, they will attack you.”
“Why wasn’t I told this earlier?”
“Truthfully? We weren’t sure if you were the one. Grandma Noya was the only one to sense it. Ever since you were a child, she knew what would happen and tried to prepare you.”
“Is there something else I should know? Am I going to grow claws? Am I going to become a hideous monster?”
“No. The only thing that I can tell you is that the eye will guide you. It will tell you what to do through visions and dreams.”
Michael walked into the room and sat next to Wilson on the bed.
“You and mom aren’t shit,” he said as he put his arm around Wilson. “Both of you!”
“The silence I took was to ensure Wilson grew to his complete potential.”
“It’s still a bunch of horse shit! Everyone has a right to know what their fate is. Who are you to hide that from us? You’re no different than mom!”
Dustin walked over to his sons and sat next to them on the bed.
“There are a lot of things in this world that you don’t understand. Maybe your mother and I haven’t been the best at revealing everything to you, but that’s the life of a parent. Finding the proper balance between how much to reveal to your children and what you shouldn’t.”
Dustin lifted Wilson’s chin to look at his face.
“One thing is certain. We should probably get out of here. If your face has changed this much, something is coming.”
Dustin went to the window and peered out.
“You boys need to pack your duffle bags. We’re leaving in an hour.”
“But where are we going? Wilson’s supposed to guide us through the visions, right? He hasn’t had any.”
Suddenly there was a ringing in Wilson’s head, and everything began moving in slow motion. He looked at his Dad standing in front of the window and extended his arm to yell out to him.
“Daaaad…Moooove!”
The words came out of Wilson’s mouth like a long piece of yarn. Dustin opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Suddenly two hairless dogs with glowing red eyes burst through the window, spraying glass across the room. O
ne animal clamped down on Dustin’s wrist while the other sank its fangs into his neck. Both animals pulled him out of the window, and two other dogs burst into the room. They growled at Michael and were about to attack when there was a flash of light.
Wilson was talking to his dad again as he stood in front of the window.
“You boys need to pack your duffle bags,” Dustin repeated. “We’re leaving in…”
Wilson ran to his Dad and grabbed him by the arm.
“We need to get out of here! Now! I just had a vision!”
Wilson turned to his brother.
“The basement!”
Michael didn’t wait. He sprinted down the hall to the basement door and held it open.
“Come on!” he yelled to Wilson and Dustin. They both ran out of the room and slammed the door behind them. Just as they did, they heard the thud of two dogs crashing against the door. Dustin held the door closed.
“Go to the basement. I’m right behind you!”
Wilson ran to the basement door and beckoned for Michael to go down. As soon as his brother was safe, Wilson turned his attention back to his dad.
“Dad! Let go of the door! I have this!”
Dustin looked at Wilson apprehensively. After the dogs quieted behind the door, he let go of the doorknob and took off running towards the basement door. As soon as he did, the hairless dogs came tearing through the door. Wilson tapped his eye twice and extended his hand in a grabbing motion. The dogs rose into the air and remained suspended, barking wildly and snapping their jaws, trying to break free. Wilson slowly closed his fist and squeezed. Blood from the animals shot all over the walls, and the two dead animals fell to the floor. Dustin made it to the door and paused.
“I need to grab some food from the kitchen.”
Dustin ran into the kitchen and grabbed a large garbage bag from underneath the sink. He rifled through the cabinets tossing in all the canned food, chips, and bread until the bag was full. Dustin was about to head to the basement but turned back to grabbed a handful of spoons, forks, and a pan from the cabinet. Just as he did, a large shadow walked past the kitchen window. Dustin slowly backed away, keeping his eyes on what was just outside. Suddenly the animal pressed its face against the glass. Dustin's heart got stuck in his throat. The animal looked like a bear, but its face was covered in dozens of eyes, all of them blinking independently and searching the house. Suddenly a woman’s scream rang out in the yard. The beast snapped its head around and took off, running towards the sound.