Mind of Darkness

by Jes Drew

  “Brown gave it to me,” the man answers. “He thought I might need it. I hoped I wouldn’t, but now I do… Oh, please come.”

  “Who is this? Where are you?”

  “I’m Jin Yin- Mulan Lin’s brother. Surely you’ve heard of her.”

  “I have.” Just this morning, actually.

  “Good. I’m hiding in a warehouse near the Montgomery Museum of Fine arts. Please come quickly. I don’t think I can hold out much longer-”

  “What’s going on?”

  “No time to explain. Just come. Please.”

  The line goes dead.

  Kyle glances at me. “So, he’s near the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts?”

  I scowl. “You shouldn’t eavesdrop on conversations.”

  “Technically, the conversation was meant for me.” Kyle sighs. “If only it wasn’t lunch time...”

  “We can eat later. But this man is in trouble. And Senator Brown gave him our number.”

  “I know.” Kyle drives into a parking lot, turns around, and drives out facing a different direction.

  I call Dad’s number. He picks up immediately.

  “Dad,” I say, “someone just called from Senator Brown asking for help near the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. We’re going to check it out, okay?”

  “I suppose so. It’s better than a lunch date, anyway. But be careful.”

  “I will. Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  I hang up.

  Kyle sighs. “But really, couldn’t this Jin have waited until we were at the restaurant? Then we could have at least taken lunch to go.”

  “Your stomach can wait.”

  “It’s not my stomach I’m worried about; it’s my burrito. It’ll be so lonely without me.”

  I roll my eyes.

  “I’ll be back, Burrito,” Kyle calls longingly. Then he turns to me. “Do you have your costume? Mine’s in the trunk.”

  I pat the purse I carry now for just that reason. “It’s right here.”

  “Good. So here’s the plan: we find a phone booth, dash to the museum, find and rescue what’s-his-face, and then eat lunch.”

  I nod. “Sounds good to me.”

  ~~~

  Dressed in a ski mask, a pair of ski goggles, a black scuba suit which has thankfully grown with me, a short karate robe, black gloves, and black slip-on shoes, I rejoin Kyle at the car. Kyle has become Villain Hunter with an army helmet, a gas mask, a camouflage shirt, a pair of camouflage pants, a pair of gloves, and a pair of boots.

  “Enjoy your phone booth?” he asks.

  I shudder at the memory of the gas station restroom. “I would have preferred a phone booth.”

  “Blame technological advances.”

  “Oh, I will.” I drop my purse, which now holds my regular clothes, into the back of the car. “I will.”

  Hunter locks the car and then offers me his gloved hand. “Well, now that we’re done primping, are you ready to go?”

  I take it. “Yes.”

  Then, together, we dash off towards the Montgomery Museum of Fine Art at around the speed of sound.

  “Stop!” Hunter orders suddenly.

  We both come to a halt, and then inertia sends us flying in opposite directions.

  I sit up. “That could have been smoother.”

  Hunter jumps up and then helps me up. “But it was effective. Oh, Ninja- you forgot to take off your necklace.”

  I look down at the whistle still around my neck. “Oops.” I tuck it into my karate robe.

  Hunter removes his phone from his pocket and dials the number that had called us. “Hello? We’re here.”

  “You are?” Jin says. “That was fast.”

  “Yes,” Hunter agrees. “Now where are you?”

  “I’m in the abandoned building a few blocks down from the museum.”

  Hunter and I look up and see a decrepit building not too far away.

  “I see it,” Hunter tells Jin. “Now what’s going on?”

  “I’m hiding from a group of terrorists attempting to kidnap me.” He clears his throat. “They’re wearing all-black.”

  I scan the landscape and find at least five buff men wearing all black milling around.

  “I see them,” Hunter says. “What do you want us to do?”

  “Find me in the building and escort me out to safety. Please.”

  “Can do,” Hunter assures. “Sit tight. We’ll be right with you.”

  “Thank-you,” Jin whispers before Hunter hangs up.

  Hunter turns to me. “Did you hear?”

  “Yes.”

  “Eavesdropper,” he answers. “Now let’s go.”

  Hunter and I dash over to the decrepit building.

  “How do we get in?” I ask.

  Hunter scans the building with his super vision. “There’s an open window over here.”

  We creep towards it.

  “After you,” Hunter whispers.

  “How gallant of you.”

  “That's my middle name.”

  Rolling my eyes, I climb in. Hunter follows close behind.

  “What now?” I whisper.

  “We play hide and seek,” he answers.

  I nod and melt into the shadows of the rather creepy looking rooms. The building must have been an apartment complex or something at one time, and remnants of its past glory litter the ground. However, lighting fixtures are not one of the pieces of furniture remaining.

  I creep across the wall into the next room. It’s just as dark and cluttered.

  “This place gives me the creeps,” I whisper.

  “Not just you,” Hunter whispers back.

  I jump ten feet into the air- literally. “Shouldn’t we split up?”

  “No,” he answers. “Bad things always happen when people split up.”

  “You’re right.” It’s good to not be alone.

  Together, we creep into yet another room.

  I scan the room with my super hearing. “I don’t hear anything but us.” Then I freeze.

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “No,” Hunter breathes. Then he pushes me to the ground with him on top of me.

  “What-”

  I’m cut off by a massive explosion that shakes the whole building and sends Hunter and me flying into a wall.

  I wince and hold still while my body repairs itself. It takes only a second.

  Then I become aware of the heat.

  I pick myself up and turn around. Flames climb the wall opposite us, but they don’t stop there; the fire is eating its way to us.

  I turn to Hunter, who is still lying on the ground. I shake him.

  “Come on; we have to go!” I cry.

  Hunter makes no movement.

  “We don’t have time for this!” I scream, yanking Hunter up. “This is what happens when you try to shield me.”

  I wrap one of Hunter’s arms around my neck and drag him towards the nearest exit. I’m strong, but he’s still awkward-shaped.

  “You idiot! You should have let me take the brunt of the explosion. I’m the one with the regenerating health, Moron, not you.”

  I blink back tears as I drag him out of the room. This room has no fire, but smoke is rapidly filling it up. “Now, thanks to your middle name, we’re both in trouble.”

  I falter a bit, but quickly regain my balance, and continue plowing through the room. “It’s a good thing you have that gas mask, bozo. The smoke is even beginning to affect me.”

  I begin to feel dizzy, but I ignore it and keep going. Only one type of gas can give me any long-lasting trouble (but it was so troublesome that it left me with no super powers for twelve hours), but the few people who know about it are either allies or in jail.

  Or dragging themselves down an abandoned apartment’s hallway.

  “If you really want to be gallant, Moron,” I gasp, “you’d better wake up and help me get your sorry carcass out of here.”

  Hunter does n
othing and I fall.

  Painfully, I sit up, but I can’t seem to bring myself to stand, so I grab Hunter’s shoulders and begin to crawl.

  “You’d better not be dead, because if I’m going through all this work in vain…” I cough violently, but continue crawling. “If you’re dead, I’ll kill you.”

  Come on, Charisa; get yourself and Hunter away from the fire. Come on. Do it. Be strong.

  Out of sheer will, I manage to drag Hunter and myself out of the smoke-filled room and into another smoke-filled room. I feel un-explainably weak. Unnaturally weak.

  “We'd better not die,” I tell Hunter before collapsing on the ground next to him.

  Chapter Two: Emily

  “Where are you going?”

  I pick up my pace and try to go faster. Try to escape subtly.

  “Come back here!”

  Throwing subtlety to the wind, I try to run like the wind. Have to get away. Have to get away. Have to-

  “Get back here, Emily!”

  Suddenly, arms grab me from behind and wrestle me to the ground and-

  My hands hit concrete and my eyes fly open. Just in time to watch a car skid by, splashing a puddle in my face. I jerk back spluttering. “What’s going on?!”

  “Emily!” my mother yells. “Are you awake?”

  “Of course I am...” I glance back to find that the arms I am in are my panting father’s.

  And it’s like the car splashed ice-cold water on my soul. “I was sleep-walking again, wasn’t I?”

  Mom nods, her face pale as she stands in the sidewalk wearing a dressing gown thrown over her too-large Disney pajamas.

  “Come on,” Dad says, barely releasing me to help me up. “Let’s get back home- we have much to discuss.”

  ~~~

  “Maybe you shouldn’t go.”

  I glance up from my mug of hot cocoa to stare at my parents to see if they’re serious. They are. “But I have too! I can’t exactly stay here, now can I?”

  “Of course not,” Mom agrees. “But you can come with us. You know the Islanders would love to have you-”

  “And you know I can’t go back. Not yet.” I stare past my parents, to my reflection on the microwave. My long, straight brown hair is plastered to my ghostly pale face by that disgusting street water. I look like a creature from darker fairy-tales, not the seventeen year-old high school graduate I’m supposed to be. Not ready to start college, for sure.

  At least, that’s how my parents seem to see it. “We talked about this already. Christopher will be there too-”

  Dad crosses his arms. “But Christopher won’t be sleeping under the same roof as you. At least he better not.”

  “I’ll have a roommate. And I’ll explain my… condition to her. Make sure we keep the door locked or something like that.”

  “Like we do?” Mom rubs her face before frowning directly at me. “You’re still technically a minor. You should come with us. Your foster siblings will love us all together in their birth home-”

  “Oto and Ata will be just fine without me. And I’ll be just fine there. Tonight was an… anomaly.”

  Dad frowns. “One anomaly is all that it’ll take to get seriously hurt, or worse.”

  Mom moans into her hand.

  I push my damp hair away from my face. “Please- this is the opportunity of a lifetime! It’ll help me figure out what to do next. And going back to the Island will only make my PTSD worse.”

  Neither of them look terribly convinced.

  So I go for my trump card. “Not to mention their world-renown therapists was one of the reasons we thought it would be a good idea for me to go. If anyone can help me, it’s them.”

  Dad glances at Mom before turning back to me and sighing. “We’ll discuss this more in the morning. Go get some sleep.”

  I nod and hope that sleep will be preparing me for the first day at my pre-college classes, not disappointment.

  ~~~

  I wake up ready. Ready to convince Mom and Dad to let me go. Ready to have a proper summer. And most of all, ready to get a chance to get a head-start on the rest of my life.

  I climb out of bed and change into a crisp, green blouse, a pair of tan capris, and a pair of tan loafers. To accessorize, I put on a green and white bead necklace that my cousin Mary-Ann made me (it’s one of many), a matching bracelet, and a genuine pearl ring that I purchased on my family’s Florida vacation and that’s been with me on all my crazy adventures last summer and that my boyfriend, Christopher Williams, used to (kind of) propose to me. I also grab my satchel which I never go anywhere without. It’s good to feel prepared.

  Prepared to take my first step toward a future beyond my childhood alongside the man I love. First pre-college, then we’ll probably get engaged, then college, then we should probably get married, and after that- no idea. At all.

  That was one nice thing about last summer, I suppose. I knew exactly what I was going to do next- stay alive.

  Pushing away thoughts of the future, I focus on today and brush out my long, straight brown hair. Then I apply some eye makeup to highlight my large, green eyes before applying some lip gloss. I wish I could do something about my freckles, but I’m not allowed.

  Then I do my devotions before leaving my room. The house is still quiet- obviously my cousins are still asleep, so I do my best to keep it that way.

  Since no one else is awake, I take it upon myself to make breakfast.

  “Trying to prove you’re responsible?”

  I glance up to see my mom leaning on the door frame, dark circles under her eyes as her brown hair falls unkempt around her face.

  “I shouldn’t have to prove anything,” I answer, flipping the sausages. “I proved I was capable of taking care of myself and others just fine when the stakes were much higher last summer.”

  “And I do trust you, hon. When you’re awake.”

  Pursing my lips, I scramble the eggs more fiercely. “You’re going to have to let me go someday.”

  “No I don’t,” Dad says, striding in as he wipes his glasses on the front of his shirt.

  I turn to stove off and cross my arms as I turn to face them. “Oh, so it’s okay for Ata- who is a year younger than I am, by the way- to be engaged, but I can’t take a pre-college scholarship that was generously rewarded to me just for being famous?”

  “You can.”

  “I mean, this is a chance of a lifetime-”

  “I said you can.”

  “If you really want, we could probably get my Joseph to come too, since he also got invited. Keep him away from Ata for the summer-”

  Mom claps her hands together, startling me.

  “We said you can,” Dad adds.

  I blink. “I can?”

  “If that’s what you really want. I mean, you have breakfast to think about it. You are a mature young woman, and we do trust you. So we’re leaving this up to your judgment.”

  I blink again. “Really?”

  They both nod.

  And I smile. Because I am so, totally, going.

  Suddenly, Uncle Gerald and Oto both charge in, startling us all.

  Dad and I frown at our respective younger brothers, who just glance around at all of us in confusion. “I smelled breakfast.”

  ~~~

  Uncle Gerald and Oto are only the beginning of the onslaught. Chase and Mary-Ann skip in soon after, followed by Aunt Donna. My sister gracefully slides in- so unlike her twin brother though they have the same black curls and tan skin I will always be envious of.

  And at the stroke of nine, Grandmother graces us with her presence. Her regal brow creases when she sees me. “This doesn’t have to be our last family breakfast for the summer- are you sure you don’t want to come with us to Emily Island, Emily?”

  Not facing my parents, I nod.

  Mary-Ann reaches for the maple syrup. “But it’s named after you.”

  “Yeah,” Chase mutters, his fork missing his sausage. “Even though I asked for it to be named after me fir
st.”

  “Hey, I didn’t ask at all,” I say. “Christopher did it all on his own.”

  Chase grunts. Then he sneaks a piece of his pancake to Ollie, Mary-Ann and his cat, which will eat anything but baked beans.

  I turn from Ollie to face my parents. “Besides, I really, really want to do the Yin Program. It’s extremely elite, and if I do it, I won’t have any trouble getting into a college.”

  “You wouldn’t have any troubles anyway,” Dad mutters. “You’re clever enough on your own.”

  I blush duck my head.

  Grandmother sniffs. “College smollege. Have you given any thought to what career you want?”

  “Well… yes.”

  “And?”

  “No idea- but I do know that I want to major in biology.”

  Grandmother stirs her coffee (England dwellers or not, except for Oto and Ata, we were all born in America). “So you want to be a scientist?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Grandmother shakes her head. “You can’t be so indecisive.”

  Aunt Donna pats her mother-in-law’s hand. “It’s okay, Ruth. I didn’t know what I wanted until I met Gerald.”

  Uncle Gerald grins. “Then you knew you wanted to be my wife, right?”

  “No- your secretary.”

  “Which is almost as important,” Grandmother says. “I needed some help keeping you three dreamy inventors rooted in reality.”

  Uncle Gerald buries his head in his hands. “You give advice for advertising a better crop duster once and you never hear the end of it.”

  Grandmother arches one regal eyebrow. “You wanted me to say ‘it’s so simple, a pig could fly it.’”

  Mom turns to me “Oh, are you sure you’ll be all right up here without us, Emily?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I assure. “It’s not like I’ll be alone; Christopher’s coming too.”

  “He’ll keep her safe,” Oto agrees. “He took a poisoned dart for her once, don’t you know.”

  Mom pales.

  I give Oto a not-helping look.

  Oto grins back.

  “Don’t you know?” Ata echoes before shaking her head. “You and your slang, Oto.”

  The doorbell rings and I stand up. “That must be Christopher and Joseph.”