by E G McNally
Taylor waited while Grandma left, then quickly got dressed. She pulled her hair back, put on some shoes, and hurried downstairs. Both Grandma and Grandpa were watching the news channel again.
“Taylor, did you notice anything strange at the game last night?” Grandma asked. She was watching a follow up about the game.
“Um . . . not really,” Taylor hesitated. “Unless you’re talking about the coach, he was arrested for something. I’m not sure what though.”
“Well it’s a good thing you weren’t there then. Apparently he was so angry about his team losing, that he was threatening the kids and shot a gun off in the woods. A couple of the kids had to wrestle him to the ground and got knocked around a bit, but they’re all alright. I don’t think that the coach will be coaching anymore though. Could you imagine?” Her grandma exclaimed with amazement.
She released a deep breath and lied. “Oh, that strange thing, that’s why I was home so late. Didn’t want to worry you, sorry again.” Taylor was relieved to find out that nothing had gotten out about her. She wondered why the guys at the game didn’t say anything about her, and then noticed the time.
“Grandma, can you take me to school, there’s no way I’ll make it in time.” She asked.
“Sure, go start the car; I’ll be out in a second.” She replied.
Taylor grabbed the keys off the dining room table and darted out the door. She started the car and moved into the passenger seat. Once Grandma showed up, they headed for the school. It only took a couple of minutes and Taylor was glad. She didn’t want to talk about the game, or anything from the last few days, actually. As soon as they pulled up to the curb, Taylor hopped out of the car and hurried over to the doors.
“Watch out for any crazy gun happy coaches, okay,” Grandma hollered with a smile, out the passenger window.
“Sure thing,” Taylor turned in response and then ran into the school building. She headed straight for her locker. To her surprise, Kim was waiting there, leaning with her back against Taylor’s locker holding a newspaper. Taylor walked up to her and brushed her aside in order to gain access to her locker.
Kim looked at Taylor, pointed to the newspaper in her hand, and back to Taylor. “Have you seen this?” She said.
“Yeah, it was all over the news this morning, the coach got in trouble.” Taylor replied.
“You know that’s not what happened.” Kim whispered, glaring at Taylor.
“What do you mean?” Taylor responded innocently. She didn’t remember seeing Kim outside, only the group of boys and the coach.
“I saw you, last night.” Kim poked her chest. “I was on my way to the car when I heard some fighting. I ducked behind a tree, and that’s where I saw what really happened.” She leaned in closer to Taylor and said with a hushed voice. “You’re like a gargoyle or something, aren’t you? And you can definitely heal people.” She added.
Taylor closed her locker door, after she had finished getting out the right books for class. She paused for a moment, crocked her head, and groaned.
“Honestly Kim, I don’t know what’s going on with me right now, but I’ve got to get to class and so should you. Please don’t say anything?” She begged, before heading to class.
“Sure, but you have to talk to me later, k” she replied, wandering off to her first class.
Taylor shook her head in disbelief, groaned again, and stepped into first period just as the bell rang. No one seemed to care that she wasn’t seated. She glanced around the room; Derek was still nowhere to be found, and so, she shuffled back to his seat, and sunk into the chair, keeping to herself for the entire lecture, which concluded with a return of old reports.
Once the bell finally rang, Taylor hurried out the door following the last student. Just outside the classroom, someone snagged her arm, pulling her hard against the wall.
“Tim, what do you want?” Taylor asked, surprised to see him talking to her at all.
“I need to talk to you, but not here. Meet me at the graveyard across from your house, after dark.” He whispered, alarming her with his sense of urgency.
“What’s with everyone being so secret today, seriously?” Taylor commented.
“Huh?” Tim responded.
“Nothing,” she shook her head, “Sure, I’ll meet you there.” She replied, brushing his hand off of her arm. “Can I go to class now?”
“Sorry, just remember, after dark. . .” Releasing her arm, he nodded at a few people in the hall, and then disappeared around a corner.
The rest of the day was unusually tense; rumors of the coach’s episode flooded the halls. Apparently, he’d always been a bit of a hot head and so the story wasn’t far from the truth. No one was going to miss the jerk, but the basketball team would be hurting until they found a new replacement.
Taylor ate lunch alone, hiding at the far side of the cafeteria. Derek and Kim were both absent for the remainder of the day. She was a little suspicious, after the little run in with Kim that morning. The cat was out of the bag, and who knows how long it would be, before the whole town formed a lynch mob to hang her. Kim knew what happened, the boys from the game knew, and no one at school was bothering her as usual, Taylor felt the uneasiness of the calm before a storm stroll through the school. Something bad was coming but she couldn’t tell what. She just had another one of those chills that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck.
After lunch ended, Taylor sped to her next class avoiding the strange looks people were giving her. A couple in particular even made a point to move across the hall as she passed by, Taylor was very uneasy by now, and couldn’t wait until her final class was over. As soon as the bell rang, she lurched from her desk and out of the school, swiftly crossing the parking lot. She wanted to avoid as many people as possible. After the morning rumors of the coach blew over new ones must have started, and Taylor was sure they were about her. But everyone was avoiding her, and with them the afternoon rumors, she was sure were about her.
“Hey Taylor, get in.” Kim yelled from her car, pulling up behind Taylor.
“Sure, anything to get out of here, everyone’s been acting strange this afternoon, do you know why?” Taylor said, jumping into the car.
“No sorry, I’ve been at home helping out my dad.” She replied.
“Look, I’m not going to tell anybody about anything, but you have to do something for me.” Kim commented.
“I guess so, it’s not like I have a choice.” She replied.
“It’s just that . . .” Kim hesitated, “My dad, he’s really sick. It’d really mean a lot to me if you could try to heal him. I saw you heal Tim last night, and if you could just try that again. It’s just that we’ve tried all sorts of medications and treatments and he’s still getting worse. The doctors don’t know how much longer he has, please try.” She begged, wiping a few stray tears from her cheeks.
“I guess I can try, but I don’t know how I did that the first time.” Taylor explained. “But I’ll try.”
“Good, that’s all I want. I really think you can do it.” She exclaimed, far more confident in Taylor than she was in herself.
Kim changed direction in the car and drove both Taylor and herself upriver to her house. They pulled up to a large Georgian house. Kim rushed out of the car and up to the front porch. Taylor followed behind a little nervous of what was to come. They walked inside, Kim leading Taylor, through a grand living room and up the staircase. Taylor was alarmed by an old woman staring out of the front window. She seemed distraught, rocking back and forth mumbling to herself.
“Sorry, that’s my mom, she’s really upset about this whole thing, but she’s willing to try anything.” Kim explained, redirecting Taylor’s attention.
Taylor stayed behind Kim as they entered the room. Kim’s dad was tucked into some blankets on the bed. The room was fairly barren, beside a large oxygen breathing machine in the corner. Kim said something to her dad and then looked at Taylor.
“You can try now, he’s ready. His
cancer is in the final stages and we’ve little hope for anything else. . . Please make him better.” She whimpered.
Not really sure how she did it the first time, Taylor placed both her hands over Kim’s father’s chest and began focusing. A minute went by, and then another. Kim stayed quiet and watching the scene from the corner. Nothing appeared to be happening. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. She stopped, wiping her brow, and then refocused, placing her hands over his chest again, concentrating on healing his body.
“Is it done? Did it work?” Kim scooted toward her father.
“I don’t think so Kim. I’m not sure how I did that last night.” Taylor apologized, pulling her hands away.
“Change into a gargoyle and then try again.” Kim urged. “You have to heal him, I saw you do it last night. Please.” She pleaded, tears pouring down her face.
“I’m sorry I don’t know how that happened or why. I promise if I can figure it out I’ll come back here and fix him, I promise.” Taylor replied to Kim nearly crying. She truly was sorry that she couldn’t heal him. And further more she was afraid that he might die before she had a chance to figure it out, Kim would resent her forever.
“I’m sorry,” Taylor whispered, backing out of the room. She made her way down the stairs and to the front door. Kim’s mom looked up at Taylor questioningly. Taylor nodded her head and frowned and then Kim’s mother looked away and began sobbing.
Taylor left the house and trudged home. The walk wasn’t far. She had to cross the bridge and stopped as she neared the graveyard. She wondered where Tim would meet her later and then continued home.
She wiped off her feet, before entering the kitchen, and then placed her back pack against the wall.
“You’re home late,” Grandma commented, peeling a potato.
“Sorry, this girl, Kim, invited me over for a little while. Can I help you with anything?” Taylor offered.
“No thanks, everything is almost done. Thanks for the offer though.” Grandma replied, finishing up the last potato. “I’m glad you’re making friends so fast. New towns can be tough sometimes.”
“Yeah, but people have been pretty cool so far,” Taylor lied. She didn’t really want to involve her grandparents in her extremely bizarre personal issues.
She joined Grandpa on the couch, while he was finishing up the news, sadly picking up on another report of missing children.
“It’s such a shame, with all those poor kids going missing.” Grandpa commented.
“I wonder why there’s been such a spike in abductions lately.” Taylor replied, staring off into space.
“I don’t know if there’s been such a large spike, as much as the news just covering more of them.” He added. “But who knows, life’s been pretty scary lately.”
“Dinner time,” Grandma interrupted.
They all sat down for another great meal, made by Grandma, munching away at the steak and mashed potatoes, paired with a hearty salad and French bread. Taylor enjoyed eating with her grandparents; they usually kept up a good conversation and enjoyed a laugh or two, but tonight she was in a rush. Glancing outside, she realized it must have been dark for over a half an hour, and she needed to get to the graveyard. She wolfed down her piece of French bread, jumped up from the table and found a coat at the closet.
“I’m going to go for a walk.” She said, pulling the door open.
“I guess so; just don’t break a leg or anything.” Grandma hollered, with a perplexed look on her face.
“Ha, ha . . . sooo funny.” Taylor smiled at them, before closing the door and disappearing down the street.
The night was clear and a light breeze chilled her bones. She wasn’t sure what she might find in the graveyard and didn’t want to think about it. She crossed the street, running through the entrance of the graveyard, and looked around, but nobody was in sight. Maybe he was waiting somewhere in back. She wasn’t sure where he’d be waiting, and so she hurried toward the back, figuring that a walk around the graveyard couldn’t hurt.
“Psst, hey, over here,” a voice whispered.
She looked around and saw a hand, behind a large tomb with a statue on top, motioning her to come closer. She crept in closer, until Tim reached out and yanked her coat, forcing her to slam against the side of the tomb.
“Look, I needed to tell you this before anything else happens. They rest of the guys are planning something serious. They have no intentions of saying anything about you. Instead they just want to get rid of you and make it look like an accident. They’re keeping me out of the loop because they think I’m a softy. But I got wind that they are planning some sort of attack on you and you need to get away before they do.
“My uncle deals with this sort of thing that you’ve got mixed up in. I can send you to him, but you’re on your own from there. Here’s some cash, just take it and go.” He said, pushing a clip of money into her hand.
“But . . . what . . .” she was interrupted, as the sound of breaking glass echoed through the neighborhood. Someone down the street screamed, and suddenly the air began filling with the thick smell of kerosene and smoke.
“Oh my god, the house is on fire.” Someone down the street shouted. “Call the fire department.”
Taylor and Tim both ran to the edge of the graveyard peering down the street.
“No, that’s my grandparent’s house!” Taylor screamed, lunging into the street, but Tim grabbed her, pulling her back to the curb.
“They’re inside! I have to save them.” Tears streamed down her face as she was screaming and prying at Tim’s grip.
“Do you want them to see you and kill you to,” he yelled back at her. “You can’t go back there. Please, just take the money and go find my Uncle.”
“Let me go, let me go! Please let me go!” She whined, as they both watched the fire eat away at the house.
The fire department finally arrived, pulling out the hoses and blasting the roof with heavy streams of water. Two men ran into the house and moments later carried out a body. Once the ambulance finally arrived, Grandma and Grandpa were placed in gurneys and wheeled into an ambulance, but the scene didn’t look good.
Taylor’s cries where now sobs and she was grasping consciousness of the situation. What was she going to do? Her grandparents were the only family she had left. She tried to figure out a solution when Tim interrupted.
“Take my car.” He shoved the keys into her shaking hand. “It’s the only car up the road. Take it and drive north, until you hit Canada, and then look for a town called La Baie. Once there, find an inn called The Thirteen Moons. My uncle owns the place. His name is Jacque. No one will look for you up there. Just get out of here and lay low. I know what you are, we talked in the church. Now get out of here and find my uncle, he can help.” He shoved her toward the car, sprinting off down toward the fire.
She clenched the keys tightly, looking back at the smoldering house, and wiped the snot and tears away from her face.
“I’m so sorry I brought this on you guys,” she whispered, running up the street until she found a black Lexus, the only car on the curb.
She didn’t want to leave, but at this point she had no better ideas. She looked around for Tim, but found no sight of him. Strapping into the car, she glanced down the street once more, and then left the curb heading north for the intersection.
Chapter XI: Long Drive North
It was late and Taylor was tired. She had just experienced one of the most excruciating days of her life. She watched as her grandparent’s house burned to the ground and the paramedics carried their bodies out from the house. She had no idea if they were dead or whether the boys that started the fire thought that she might be dead as well. She had to leave. She needed to find someplace safe and she needed time to figure out what was going on with her body. Time, which she had plenty of, as she began her long journey north towards Canada.
“Tim Ambler. . . Who would have guessed? The so called basketball hotty was the guy I met at th
e church. And apparently I wasn’t dreaming.” She mumbled.
The interstate was about thirty minutes away from town and she was already sick of driving. Normally a good drive was relaxing now and then, but with all the crap that just happened, she didn’t want to be left alone with herself.
Signs started to blur, not recognizing one town from the next, and so she pulled off in Orano, to fill up the gas tank. She wiped her eyes, pulled off on the exit, and drove down the circular road to the gas station. She filled up the car and picked up a map and some food.
She settled back into the car and opened the map, pinpointing La Baie, knowing she would eventually need to find the place. After safely returning to the interstate, she popped open a soda and some chips and began munching away the mile markers. The further north she drove the thicker the appearance of snow became.
She stopped again in Presque Isle for gas, and once more, after the border patrol, in Jacksonville, before heading on to Les Treize Lunes in La Baie.
Taylor became weary as the drive north dragged on. She chugged down sodas just to stay awake. Then finally the sun began to kiss the horizon, and the dark night was lighting up. The deep blue began changing into a lighter hue of purple. Off in the distance, light blue clouds began appearing out of the dark, and the shadowy passing of trees on the side of the road turned into a snowy blanket of pines and furs.
Taylor spotted a sign with some words, which looked like La Baie, but she wasn’t sure because half of it was covered in snow powder. She pulled out her road map and glanced at it, still driving, and watched for more signs. As the turn got closer, so should another sign to direct her.
While she was watching the signs she noticed that everything was written in both English and French. She remembered that she had taken a French class once upon a time, but wasn’t sure how much she would remember. Hopefully everyone up here, or at least everyone she needed to speak with, understood English.