by M. A. Torres
“There’s something else...” added Kevin. “I think Raven is looking for a child—a child from our town.”
“A child? Why do you think that?” asked Olivia.
“I’ve been having vivid dreams of a man and a woman, asking me—pleading me—to protect the child. I think this child is the key.”
“What child? Has the man or woman mentioned the child’s name?” she asked.
Kevin shook his head. “No.”
“Oh, man!” pouted Robbie. “Well, either way, we’ll be there fighting the fight!”
Robbie placed his hand forward. Excitement flashed on the others’ faces.
Kevin smiled and met his hand with his, making an ‘X.’
‘Sword!’ they hollered.
Jake smiled, then joined them with a fist bump.
‘Hammer!’
They turned to Matthew.
“C’mon, Matt Bratt. We’ll hold our breath!” said Jake.
Matthew walked up hesitantly, and they all crossed tapped their forearms.
‘Spear!’
They met with the web of their thumbs.
“Arrow!’
That’s when they realized there was one more in their group. Olivia was watching them—a smile of intrigue on her face. The boys’ faces blushed with embarrassment at having done something so geeky in her presence.
“Ahem, Olivia, that’s just something we do sometimes; not always,” said Jake, his cheeks beet red.
“Yeah... we don’t do it all the time,” said Matthew, trying to play it cool.
Olivia nodded, her eyes wide, and the half-smile still on her face.
“Would you like us to add you to our handshake?” prodded Kevin. “It’s cool if you don’t... it’s like a little silly thing we do. Like Matthew said, we don’t do it all the time...”
The boys tensed up, awaiting her response.
Olivia let her smile grow wider. “Sure, why not?”
The boys smiled with excitement.
“OKAY!” hollered Jake.
“Olivia, you’ll be whip since you’re so good with one!” said Robbie.
“She is?” asked Jake.
“Yes, you should see her!”
“Well, I’m okay,” she said humbly.
“She’s more than okay! She tore up the scarecrow that almost came out of the mirror at my house! She can wrap and tie things up with it too!”
Kevin’s eyes widened with realization. “Olivia... you were meant to wield Whiplash!”
Jake and Matthew stared blankly, their mouths gaping.
“Whiplash?” she asked.
“Yes! It’s the name of Parelore’s whip! She was the goddess of the seas back in Derathiel! It can’t be a coincidence!”
“Kevin, one step at a time,” said Robbie.
“Robbie... Lightning was meant for you!”
“Lightning? That sounds cool, but what are you talking about?”
“Lightning... Whispawn’s bow! The god of the sky!”
“Kevin, Kevin, Kevin... this is exciting, but Robbie’s right. Let’s take it one step at a time,” advised Jake.
Kevin forced himself to calm down. “Yeah, you’re right.” Then he approached Olivia and took her hand in his. “Okay, now this is the Crimson Knight Salute.”
“Crimson Knight Salute... I like that!” said a smiling Jake.
Kevin demonstrated the steps of their handshake. Olivia followed along, mimicking each hand gesture, and meeting his hand with hers. When they reached the final gesture, their hands lingered together as he looked at her.
She looked at him.
They released their hands abruptly.
The others noticed the moment and traded a quick glance.
“Okay, what g... g... gesture can we do for ‘whip’?” Kevin asked, suddenly nervous.
“Hmm, I don’t know. I’m gonna have to think about that one,” she said.
“Very well, that’ll be everyone’s homework. Come up with a hand gesture for whip!” instructed Robbie.
Everyone had no choice but to nod.
“Yes, sir!” said Jake.
“DUDE, YOU GUYS HAD a moment back there!” hollered Matthew as they pedaled back home. Kevin rode with him once again, standing on the rear crossbars.
“No, we didn’t,” said Kevin.
Jake chuckled. “Yup, you sure did. It was as obvious as Matthew’s piss stench!”
“Shut up, bro!”
“There was no moment! All I did was stutter like a fool,” objected Kevin.
“Dude, you guys have chemistry!” said Jake.
Kevin laughed. “Chemistry? What are you talking about?”
“Yeah, Loverboy. Is that what you and Maria have—chemistry?” mocked Matthew.
“Of course! She just doesn’t know it yet!”
They rode back to their neighborhood side by side, down the wet Wakefield roads. Minutes later, Jake turned down his street, and Matthew and Kevin continued towards theirs.
From Matthew’s house, Kevin continued home on foot. His legs were sore and fatigued from carrying his gear, but his house was not far. Minutes later, he turned into his cul-de-sac. From afar, he noticed something leaning against the side of his garage. As he approached, he recognized it... it was his lost bike!
Kevin rushed and grabbed the handlebars. He scanned the bike excitedly, then walked it to his front door. He heard footsteps approaching from around the corner, followed by a familiar voice.
“Kevin Martinez... the most dangerous kid with a Sloppy Joe... starter of food wars... sandwich warrior!”
“Huh?”
It was Zander.
“No one answered the doorbell, so I tried knocking on your window.”
“Zander. You found my bike?”
“Yeah. One of the Blood Ghouls had it—was gonna sell it, but I convinced him not to.”
“You convinced him?”
“Yeah... sort of.”
“Thanks so much!”
“Don’t mention it. Took everything I had not to pawn it...”
“Pawn it?”
“Sell it to the pawn store. They buy used stuff,” explained Zander.
“Well, thanks for not pawning it. You have no idea how much I’ve missed it.” Kevin pulled out his house keys. “You hungry?”
“Did your mom make her delicious food?”
“I don’t know, let’s check.” Kevin opened his front door. As he rolled his bike inside, his armor clanked within the bags.
“What’s in there?” asked Zander.
“It’s my armor.”
“Your armor?”
“Yeah, we need it when we travel to Derathiel.”
“Wow. Can I see it?”
Kevin placed his bags on the floor and opened them. He reached inside the first bag and pulled out his helm, then handed it to Zander.
Zander inspected it, turning it every which way. He tried to slip it on, but the helm would not fit. “Man, you’ve got a puny head.”
Kevin didn’t hear him. His face was buried inside his refrigerator.
“So, you guys actually travel there every week?”
“Almost every week.” Kevin pulled out the leftover Chinese food and placed the containers inside the microwave.
Zander returned the helm to the bag and continued inspecting the rest of the armor. “Have you guys learned anything new?”
“We’ve learned some, but we’re trying to figure out the rest.”
Kevin handed Zander one of the Chinese food containers. “It’s not my mom’s cooking, but I think you’ll like it.”
Zander took it and ate. “Mmmm, this is good. So what have you guys figured out? Any word on those freaks who were ‘feeding Vengara’?”
“No. But we found a field of those crystalline trees out in the forest.”
Zander paused. “You what?”
“There’s a whole crystalline field in the forest by Robbie’s house.”
“Robbie... he’s the little red-headed kid. The
one who shot me with the paintballs, right?”
“You were a big jerk back then. But yes, that’s him.”
Zander looked on with concern. “You guys have to destroy it! What are you waiting for?”
“We need to find out who’s using it! Robbie set up a camera. We’re sure whoever’s using it is working for Raven.”
“I’ll tell you who’s working with Raven! Those freaks from the high school. We find them, we’ll find their leader. I still remember what they look like. The girls all had dark, dark hair, with black lipstick and eyeliner. One guy had a scar down his right eyebrow.”
Kevin thought for a bit. “Maybe one of these days we can check out the high school, see if you spot them.”
“I’d be down for that.” Zander placed the food container on his mouth and tipped his head back to eat every morsel. “Can I have something to drink?”
“Yeah, there’s lemonade in the fridge. Make yourself at home.”
Zander did just that. He took a glass from the sink and served himself. “So, where’s your mom?”
“Probably at the mall.”
Zander placed the now empty glass back inside the sink. “Okay, I’d better leave. Thanks for the grub.” He walked to the front door. “I’ll check out the high school this week. If I spot them, I’ll spy on them—find out where they hang out or where they live.”
“That would be great!” Kevin opened the door to let him out.
“See ya at school, Kevin. Enjoy your bike.”
“See ya... and thanks again!”
Zander took off down the sidewalk. When he reached the corner of the street, he paused beside Old Em’s house.
Oh no! He better not!
He looked around for a moment, then rushed into her front yard and unplugged her new snowman animatronic.
Before Kevin could act, Zander had taken off with it, around the corner and down the street.
Chapter Eighteen:
A Night to Remember
Kevin Berry raised his cup and sang along loud and proud with the music. The surrounding teens cheered him on, chanting his name and pumping their fists. He chugged the contents of his glass and sang some more, screaming the lyrics he knew and making them up when he didn’t.
This was the first house party he ever hosted, and had been the talk of Wakefield High School the entire week. He would have waited for the coming Christmas break, but his parents were out of town this week, not next, so he and his friends had managed to set up and promote the party last minute. And the party couldn’t have come at a better time—Kevin and his girlfriend Gloria had just broken up, so he aimed to have as much fun as possible, and make the second half of his senior year the greatest it could be.
His house was a sprawling estate built on the west mountainside overlooking Wakefield Falls, complete with an indoor theater, heated swimming pool, and outdoor cabana. Colored lights lined the exterior facade, and Christmas animatronics and blow-ups adorned the front landscape. The centerpiece of the display was a collection of ten, eight-foot-tall animatronic kids from various nations, wearing Santa hats, and assembled side by side, singing various holiday tunes. Their mouths opened and closed in sync with each song, and their bodies swayed with the rhythm of the music. Many had been so impressed by the scene; they had remained out front and not yet joined the party. They lingered about, listening, and taking video of the mechanical choir group.
Kevin and his friends had invited the entire senior class, and by the looks of the present crowd, most had made it. However, the two most popular seniors at Wakefield High—Sage Vincent and Megan Donnelly—were noticeably absent. Rumors abounded that Sage had broken up with Megan for good—just days after getting back together. Kevin didn’t care much for them personally; he just hoped one or both would make it tonight to elevate the event’s status.
Kevin made the rounds through the various clicks, stopping by for small talk with many of them. Present were most of the jocks from the football, basketball, and baseball teams. They lingered throughout the house—some shooting pool or throwing darts in the game room, while others swam in the heated pool. Kevin made sure there were plenty of towels stacked beside the pool and enough chalk available for the billiards table.
Kevin was pleased to see most of the varsity cheerleading squad had made it. Some were relaxing in the hot tub while others danced by the cabana. Kids from the drama club, chess club, debate team and production and video club were present too. Kevin spied some of the school delinquents, including Eli Thompson, who had been suspended from school multiple times and was rumored to be a member of the notorious gang, The Blood Ghouls. This party had the makings of a memorable event and was sure to elevate Kevin’s status in the eyes of his peers.
After restocking the coolers, Kevin sighed and looked for a place to chill. He scanned the crowd and noticed his good friend, David McCall, standing by himself at the edge of the backyard, overlooking the valley below. He served himself a drink, then made his way towards him.
“David, what’s up, man?”
“Kevin, what’s up bro?”
The two shook hands and bumped shoulders.
“You’ve got some view here, Kevin,” said David as he gazed across the valley.
Kevin’s backyard ran to the edge of the mountainous cliff. Wakefield Falls spanned the valley below, the city lights strewn like a colorful galaxy.
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice.” Kevin pulled out some binoculars from a storage bin and handed them to David. “Here,” he said.
David took them and held them up to his eyes. “I see Wakefield High from here.”
“Oh yeah, you can see the entire town.” Kevin took a drink from his cup. “Where’s Jenny? I’m surprised she’s not with you. Is she going to come?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Are you guys still goin’ out?”
“Oh yeah. She’s just been really anxious lately. Anxious about me, anxious about her friends...”
“Anxious about what?” inquired Kevin.
“I don’t know. She won’t say. Just keeps making me promise her things. I had to promise to drive the speed limit, to look twice before driving past intersections, to chew my food slowly before swallowing... I don’t know what got into her.”
“How weird, man.”
“Yup. But she’s been like that with all her friends, not just me.”
Kevin nodded, contemplating. “She’s good friends with Megan Donnelly, right?”
“Yeah. That’s who she’s with right now.”
“She’s with Megan right now?”
“That’s what she told me.”
Kevin thought for a moment. “Is it true Sage broke up with her for good?”
David continued gazing through the binoculars. “Who knows... probably. Maybe that’s why she wanted to hang with her tonight—Megan might be upset.”
They stood there for a few more minutes, viewing the vast field of lights beneath them.
“Okay, bro. I’m going back to check on the party. Call Jenny. Tell her to come and bring Megan.”
“Yeah, I’ll call her in a bit.”
Kevin continued his rounds. None of his guests concerned him; none except Eli Thompson. He scanned his backyard and through the glass doors of his house, but Eli was nowhere in sight. His stomach churned with uneasiness, so he decided to track him down.
Kevin walked the first floor, searching through every room for the rumored Blood Ghoul, but he was nowhere around. Then, he ascended the grand staircase and entered the balcony overlooking the rear grounds. Many more partied there—many except Eli.
“Excellent party!” said Gabby Murphy as she twirled to the music, the contents of her cup splashing onto those around her.
“Thanks, Gabby.”
“Kevin, great party, bro!” hollered Peter Gifford, one of the football players.
“Thanks, man. Hey, you know who Eli Thompson is, right?”
“Yeah, just saw him walk down that hallway.” He pointed
to the right.
That hallway led to the master bedroom, an area off-limits to the party guests.
“All right, thanks!” Kevin approached the master bedroom and noticed the door was still closed, and the ‘Do not enter’ sign still posted on it.
He cracked open the door and entered. His parents’ room was dark and still. The king-sized bed sat low against the far end wall, hiding in the shadows. The soft moonlight spilled in from the French doors to the right, lighting the carpeted floor before him. He scanned the room and noticed everything in order, and then he approached the French doors, which opened to one of the home’s many balconies.
He stepped out and found Eli standing by the far-left end, smoking a cigarette, and staring silently ahead.
“Hey man, no one’s allowed in here. Didn’t you see the sign on the door?”
Eli gave his cigarette a puff. “Sorry, bud. Just had to scope the house, man. I’ve never seen one this big.”
“Yeah, well, you need to go back downstairs.”
“Chill, man. I’m just having a smoke.”
Kevin stood by the open door, waiting for Eli to follow him back. “Now, dude!”
Eli didn’t listen. He remained by the far end of the balcony, smoking away. “I have a really bad feeling about tonight, bud. Have you seen those two downstairs? The one with the scar down his eyebrow and the girl dressed in black?”
Kevin sighed. “Man, don’t make me call the cops.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little face. I’ll be on my way. Just answer my question. Have you seen them?”
Kevin thought for a moment. There were too many people in his house. Most he knew, but some he didn’t, and the kids Eli had mentioned did not ring a bell. “There are too many people downstairs... I haven’t noticed them all.”
“Well, you’d be wise to kick those two out. I’ve seen them before, and nothing good ever happens when they’re around. Nothing good.”
Kevin nodded. “You done?”
Eli walked towards the door. Kevin plucked the cigarette from his lips. “No smoking in the house.”
“Consider yourself warned,” said Eli in a lowered tone.
Kevin followed him back to the stairs when a feeling of dread swelled inside him.
“Eli...”