by CK Dawn
Emma stayed in her room most of the weekend, telling her dad she had a ton of homework. It wasn’t true, but she needed the time alone to recover from the hours at school and the never ending emotions that followed her. Besides the nightmares, playing a game of mental dodgeball against hundreds of students was taking a toll on her and she was losing the game. Emma laid in bed with the covers over her head and tried to drown out her father and the neighbors’ senses. After the reprieve the downpour had given her the other day, Emma was disappointed to find out her shower hadn’t been able to create the same effect. But it was supposed to rain again today, so Emma waited. Maybe the answer was the creation of so much ozone. Whatever it was, it had been glorious and Emma was desperate for more.
Relief finally came as Emma heard thick raindrops start to fall and clatter against her closed window. Thunder rumbled in the distance. If the silence was somehow tied to thunder and lightning she was screwed. There was no way she was going to experiment with electricity. She thought about the alley and how something had been able to block everything out so effortlessly. Could she replicate that herself? Emma decided it was worth finding out as sleep threatened to take her. And what about Mattox? Was he projecting himself as a void in space or had she done that somehow? Sunday her dad would go to work and she could at least investigate the alley, but for now exhaustion won and everything faded to black.
In her dreamscape, the sun was setting as Emma soared like a bird just above the water’s surface. The sun’s purple and orange streamers were a feast to her eyes and its glow warmed her skin. As she glided she let the salt spray hit her tongue and energize her wings as they carried her towards the Cliffs of Moher. The steep jagged rocks jutted straight out of the crashing waves and beckoned her to climb them. She plunged deep into the water and emerged like a rocket up and over the cliff’s ledge to pastures of green rolling hills. Driven to continue Southeast, Emma flew towards the ancient land that called to her.
Vehicles and roads faded, transforming into dirt trails and men on horseback the closer she got to Cadbury. A large tree lined hillfort stood vigil over the lush English countryside and welcomed her. Emma blinked and with a shimmer the empty hill transformed into a vibrant stone castle. Suddenly the hillfort turned dark and leather wings beat at the night sky as large masses screeched through the air. Trees around the castle creaked as ice leached into them, cracking them from the inside. The deafening whipping sound the wood made as it broke and exploded shrouded the screams coming from the castle as tree after tree fell. Defending their leader, knights surrounded their king who wielded a magnificent sword of golden light. Its light shimmered off a wall of encroaching black smoke. Emma gasped when she realized what the wall was. Hundreds of shadow creatures from her nightmares surrounded the hillfort. Dragons blacked out the remnants of the sun as they soared through the air circling the castle and demolishing it to rubble. A giant among men emerged from the wall of shadows and bowled down hundreds of knights as he made his way to the king. His tattered fluidic armor trailed behind him along with his most obedient beasts. With a simple flick of his wrist another wave of knights fell to their deaths. The giant stepped over ashen husks that once were men and cackled with pleasure.
Wind from dozens of dragon wings lifted the human dust into the air and the fallen men were reduced to unrecognizable mounds of grey powder. With every step the giant’s once emaciated skeletal form grew stronger, engorged with life essence from the fallen knights. He looked to the king and screeched and howled. The king showed no fear as he sliced through shadow beasts one after the other. Somehow, his remaining knights created purple glowing orbs out of midair that grew and encased the beasts banishing them back to their own realm.
The scene shimmered again and sounds of a celebration rang in Emma’s ears. Children laughed and maidens giggled as everyone danced. The withered and dying trees were lush and green and the castle was no longer in ruins. Emma wondered if she was seeing something before or after the horrific battle she had just witnessed. Before. Definitely before, she thought, opening her senses up to the people below her. The king looked into the sky. Had he had heard her thoughts? Did he feel her presence when she listened to the court’s emotions?
Come to us, Emma, you are one of us, the king’s words bounced around in her skull as he stared at her floating there in the morning sky.
Emma’s vision zoomed in to the king’s table as a woman sat down. Mom! But the woman never looked Emma’s way. She was focused on a young man sitting beside her. Mattox? At the mention of his name Mattox looked up at Emma.
You’re one of us, Mattox stated inside Emma’s head.
“You’re one of us. You’re one of us,” the crowd chanted. Emma’s mother finally looked up into the sky and smiled at her daughter.
“Mom!”
“Emm-” her mother’s voice was cut off. Headlights rushed passed Emma’s vision followed by a loud crash. Emma was thrust inside the car with her mother as it flipped over. Their bodies flew up and out of their seats crashing into everything over and over again as the car rolled. Windows shattered, metal crumpled, and the rolling finally stopped. A deathly silence shrouded the wreckage that had been their car. Pieces of glass clung to the blood and sweat coating her mother’s skin and a river of her blood was pooling below their feet.
“Mom!” Emma gasped. The impact of the crash had left her breathless. “Don’t leave me!”
Emma opened her eyes, covered her head with her pillow and wept. She hadn’t been with her mom the night she died but the dream had been so real. Staying strong for her dad, she hadn’t realized how much she missed her mother until she saw her and was ripped away from her even if it had been a nightmare.
The noises of the real world began to creep in along with other people's emotions. Someone in two apartments down was happy and celebrating a birthday. Not being alone with her grief and able to mourn her mother without someone’s happiness flooding into her, Emma bit down on her pillow and screamed.
The empty soup can clanked and skipped as it hit the brick wall and rolled with an uneven lilt deeper into the alley. Emma pinched her arm. Ow! Okay, I’m awake. She kicked the dented can again as hard as she could and looked all around, hoping to stir...something. But the sun was shining straight down and without a cloud in the sky the dingy alley was void of most its shadows. There’s nothing here. Emma rubbed her eyes and exhaled in frustration, maybe I was just sleep deprived? Defeated, and only partially relieved, she headed home to await Monday and the second part of her investigation.
Slithering through the darkest crevices of the alley the creature stalked its prey. This one was worth a hefty bounty to the master, so ripe with overflowing life essence, the shadowy beast had never tasted anything quite like her. It shuddered, anticipating the opiate caresses its master would bestow upon it once it returned to the Netherworld. The earth’s darkness would camouflage it soon and allow for more movement and better feeding ground. It sensed no guardians near and for that it was thankful. Being banished by a hunter now before devouring the sweet girl would undoubtedly be a death sentence at its master’s hand. No, the creature would lie in wait near the girl. She seemed to be curious and it knew she would return. Knowing the girl’s desires the creature set its lure and let a tangible thought be carried on the wind along with her name. Emma.
The bell rang and the cacophony of students shuffling out of class was drowning out Mr. Grey, “Don’t forget I need your permission slips tomorrow for the field trip!”
Emma shook her head and put her earbuds in. A field trip with half the high school was not her idea of fun. She moaned at the thought of being trapped on a school bus the size of a sardine can with dozens of teenagers’ emotions invading her mind. Ugh! I hate my life! Then her heart unexpectedly did a little flip flop as Mattox smiled at her before disappearing around the corner.
It wasn’t until lunchtime Emma realized Mel was home with the flu. Mel texted Emma to save her a seat next to Mattox for when sh
e got back unless they got married by then. Emma was responding with a sarcastic “Ha ha” when someone sat down across from her; someone with no emotional signature.
“Assume much?” Emma stated only half-heartedly as she looked up,
“Out of U and me,” Mattox retorted.
“Ha, ha.”
“Hey, I’m just following your lead,” he beamed.
“I don’t dance.” Emma ranted.
“No? Because you’re quite good at it from where I’m standing. Well, sitting actually, finally.” A sly smile was plastered across his face.
He had her so distracted that for the second time since meeting Mattox Daniels everyone around them faded away. She looked from one side of the courtyard to the other with a smile on her face. Her grin widened as she turned back to Mattox, but the echoes soon returned.
“What?” he quizzed her.
“Nothing.”
3
Radioactive Reckoning
“The painted lines on the floor are for your protection, as well as to ensure the integrity of our facility. Please stay behind the yellow line at all times during our tour. Go beyond it into the red zone without the proper identification and well,” the tour guide in the white lab coat stepped over the line to demonstrate. An alarm sounded, followed by an influx of some serious looking men with severe haircuts. He quickly passed his key card over the line of demarcation and the alarm stopped. The guide waived at the security team. “As always, gentlemen, you have impeccable timing. Thank you.” He turned back to his audience, “Now, if you’ll follow me I’ll show you one of our labs in action. This area behind the glass is a contaminant free zone or what you would call a clean room. Here at the Vaughn Institute we utilizes the same standards as NASA in our labs. The test tubes you see there…” the man in the lab coat droned on. Emma tried to concentrate on his words, but the close proximity to four classes of high schoolers was making it impossible.
Emma covertly sent a text to the flu ridden Mel. ‘This sucks! U suck! Wish you were here.’
Seconds later Mel responded back. ‘Lol, miss you too, biotch.’
Everything at the Vaughn Institute was crisp white and sterile except for the floor.A wide band of green strategically flowed down the hallways lined on either side by a stripe of yellow and then red. Emma giggled, picturing herself on the yellow brick road to Oz. Only this Oz had been taken over by a demented clown and his crazy use of colors.
“Now, if you’ll follow me, we’ll make our way to the outer gardens and arboretum. Then we’ll make our way into the hydroponics hangar and greenhouse.” Emma let the tour guide’s voice fade as she allowed students to pass her. She wanted to be in back of the crowd, reducing the amount of white noise in her head.
Since Mel was absent, Emma was feeling more isolated than usual with this field trip. She hadn’t seen Mattox at school, either. She nearly screamed out when an unexpected presence stood next to her.
“Well, this is where I’d come during the zombie apocalypse,” Mattox chuckled as he matched Emma’s pace in the crowd.
She had to laugh, “Why?”
“You mean besides the fact that it’s built like Fort Knox? Let’s see,” Mattox counted things off with his fingers. “Self-sustaining food source, power source, and water supply. Don’t even get me started on the labs. I mean, they could probably cure the zombies and create them,” he chuckled again.
“Yeah, that lab made me feel like Peter Parker fixing to get bit by a radioactive spider or something.”
“Are your Spidey senses tingling?” Mattox teased.
“Ha! All the time. Is the Vaughn Institute the same Vaughn as your building?” Emma asked.
“You never know.” Mattox smirked.
Emma rolled her eyes. “Come on, I want to get outside, these hallways are making me claustrophobic and deathly afraid of clowns at the moment.”
Mattox laughed, “After you, Spidey.”
Emma took a deep breath enjoying the open air and shade from the beautiful boulevard of trees lining their path to the hydroponics facility. The white noise radiating from everyone had diminished outside, but they still muffled the beauty of the institute’s grounds. Mattox stood facing her and smiled. He seemed to be enjoying her reaction to their surroundings. Just then Emma’s teeth were rattled as someone shoved her from behind, and straight into Mattox.
“Hey, watch it!” Emma shouted as she was flung forward, reaching out trying not to fall.
Two boys ran by as Emma grabbed Mattox’s forearms for balance.
“Sorry,” they said in unison, but instead of sensing their remorse, the echoes in Emma’s head became silent, almost as if they were being shielded.
Emma looked around in awe as she clung to Mattox’s arms. She listened to the nature all around her. The birds were chirping, the leaves in the trees were rattling in the wind, and her classmates were simply talking all around her instead of inside her head. She looked at Mattox who was staring at her again and smiling.
He leaned over and softly whispered in her ear, “Who’s the mysterious one now?”
Instinctively she stepped away from him as if his words had shocked her. As soon as she dropped his arms the noises returned. All of them. Slowly, as an experiment, she grabbed onto his arms again. He didn’t protest, instead he held on to her as well. His grasp was strong and his hands were larger than she had realized. She felt small and safe in his embrace. And again the empathetic sounds ceased. Confused by the sudden quietness she looked around. Somehow touching Mattox had cloaked the echoes. Her mind had become deaf to everyone’s emotions and it was beautiful. She could hear the birds chirping in the trees, children laughing as they played, and the sweet smell of cut grass and blooming jasmine as the wind threatened to sweep her off her feet.
Emma looked up at him, her eyes searching his, “How did you-” she stopped herself, not sure how much of her craziness she wanted to share. Her heart was pounding again and her mind was racing. Half of her frenzied response was from the realization that another human had the power to silence the voices in her head. The other half of her reaction was from Mattox himself.
“What’s got you so worked up?” he asked, but to Emma he didn’t seem that surprised.
Emma shook her head and dropped his arms, “I don’t even know you.”
Mattox nodded in agreement, put his hands in his pockets and started to walk away. Ten feet ahead of Emma, he stopped and turned. Mattox raised one of his hands and looked at it before holding it out to her, “Then get to know me.”
Emma gulped and stood dumbfounded for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she stepped forward and took his hand.
4
Neophyte Stalking
Headlights blinded Emma’s vision followed by the loud crash she knew all too well. Knowing she was in the dream Emma had no choice but follow where it took her. She was thrust inside the car as it rolled. Her mother was unconscious but Emma witnessed everything in slow motion from the back seat. Their bodies flew up and down crashing into everything as the car rolled over and over again. Windows shattered, metal crumpled, and then the rolling finally stopped as the car slowly sunk into the water. Pieces of glass clung to the blood and sweat coating her mother’s skin. The glint of the full moon reflected off the pieces at odd angles almost as if her mother were glowing. She was so beautiful. Deathly silence shrouded the wreckage as it descended to its watery grave. A river of her mother’s blood began pooling below their feet mingling with the water from the bay. Blue green swirls mixed with viscous red before turning a hazy brown as the water got higher and higher. Fully submerged now Emma watched in horror as shadows slithered through the car weaving in and out of the windows. They rattled and hissed as they surrounded the car almost as a beacon for other creatures to join. She gasped in fear and bubbles escaped her lips, replaced by murky water rushing down her throat. She was drowning and the shadows rejoiced. Darkness started at the corners of her vision and closed in. But then she saw it, a glimmer o
f golden light and Mattox said her name, Emma! She tried to focus on the light and swallowed more water. Her lungs burned. She just wanted to sleep. Her eyes started to close. Fight it, Emma!
Emma bolted upright in bed gasping for air. Panic consumed her before reality began to reemerge. As her breathing slowed she grabbed the sides of her head, shaking. She sat there for a long time before looking at her clock. Five a.m. Even now she wasn’t alone with her own thoughts. Would she ever know a moment’s peace and be able to process them? Her mind screamed, trying to silence the other emotions always surrounding her. Angrily, she flung her blankets off and got out of bed. The wind current from the tantrum blew her mother’s letter off the dresser and onto the floor. Emma stared at it as she got dressed, leaving it where it was, sticking out under the dresser and tormenting her. She grabbed her backpack for school and tip toed out of the front door. It was still early and dark enough so she decided to explore the forbidden alley before school.
The second period bell sounded and all the classroom doors closed leaving the hallway empty. Mattox paced back and forth in front of Emma’s locker. He knew something was wrong and was beginning to panic. Emma had left for school this morning, he was sure of it, but she’d never made it in. He doubted she was skipping just because it was a Friday. That wasn’t in her nature. I’m an idiot! I should have asked her to wait for me, he said to himself. Mattox had been following her since his assignment began, though he preferred the term reconnoiter over stalking. Today, however, he’d been summoned to report his findings early and was late for school. At the very least he should have texted her. Maybe she would have waited. After spending the day together at the Vaughn Institute Emma finally had warmed up to him enough to give him her number. Mattox already had it, but he couldn’t tell her that of course. He’d already slipped up enough the rainy day in the cab, once for calling her by name, and then he pretty much blurted out that he knew her mother had passed away, but she seemed to have blown it off maybe thinking he had asked someone about her. Mattox couldn’t help but think about how he first met Emma. What should I have said? Hi I’m Mattox a shepherd in the King’s Court, oh by the way, those emotions that you’re feeling? Yeah, they probably mean you’re meant to be a shepherd like me. What’s that? Being a descendant of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table sounds insane? Yeah, you’re right. And so Mattox had decided to wait and reveal things to Emma slowly once they got to know each other. A tinge of guilt crept into his throat. The moment he saw Emma he had felt something for her other than being her guide. He knew waiting to tell her everything was risky with the state she was in, but he had been selfish and wanted to spend as much time with her as he could.