CHAPTER 39
We Gotta Get Out of this Place
Tick. Tick. Tick. The second hand on the clock behind Mr. Joshua, which I was positive was moving in deliberate slow motion, taunted me relentlessly as I did my best to focus. We were discussing "Possession: A Romance" by A.S. Byatt but I was unable to answer even the simplest of questions. I had read the book. I had liked the book. At the moment, however, my mind was too preoccupied with Ty and Michael to concentrate. I struggled through the entire class to expel them from my brain and replace them with Roland and Maud, to no avail.
Of course, Mr. Joshua read my distress and called out to me before Karen had a chance to grab me after first bell.
"Hey, Mr. Joshua," I grimaced.
"That's two days in a row, Miss Jacobs. What's going on with you? I'm sure you read the book. It's unlike you not to participate."
"Miss Jacobs? Why are you being so formal?" I asked in a lame attempt to avoid his question.
"Esther. What's up?"
"It's Essie. I just have a lot on my mind. I'm sorry. I'll do better tomorrow. Can I go now?"
He studied me for a long moment then raised his left arm in the direction of the door, giving implicit permission to leave. I practically ran out of the classroom.
Karen and Ty were just outside the door.
"Are you in trouble?" Karen asked nervously.
"Do you need me to talk to him?" Ty asked audaciously.
"Y'all, stop. Wow! Did I just say that? You're a bad influence on me," I laughed.
"You'll be a southern belle before you know it," Ty teased.
"I do declayah, Ty Gregory, don't you look dashing!" I quipped in my best Scarlett O'Hara imitation.
He grinned widely. Karen shook her head. "Even to me, that sounds like it needs a lot of work. A lot. You gonna be around at lunch today?"
"Yeah, sorry about yesterday. We took off at lunch and went to Tybee."
"Nice."
"It was. I needed a break. Still do, but I'll be around. See you then," I waved as she went left and Ty and I went right.
During the lunch break, Ty made good on his promise to introduce Jennie to Jace. "Jace," he said in a low voice as soon as he saw Jennie approaching our table, "I know you've seen Essie's sister, Jennie, around. You've been dying to meet her. She's really cute and you two have so much in common. You should ask her out today."
"She is really cute," Jace repeated, staring in her direction. "Introduce me."
"If you insist."
Jennie weaved her way through the crowd, her eyes nervously fixed on me. When she made it, I casually said, "Hi, Jennie. What's up?"
Remembering one of my suggestions, she answered, "I thought I had enough money for lunch, but I don't. Do you have any I can borrow?"
"Sure." I started digging around in my purse and Ty took the opportunity to make the introduction.
"Jennie, I don't think you've ever met my good friend, Jace."
Jace stood and waited for Ty to continue, a goofy grin plastered on his face.
"Jennie Jacobs, this is Jace Robinson. Jace Robinson, Jennie Jacobs."
"I've been dying to meet you, Jennie. Would you like to go out with me sometime?"
"Um, sure," she said hesitantly, looking at me, bewildered.
He reached into his pocket and took out his phone, saying, "What's your number? I'll call you later."
She gave him her number and he stored it in his phone. "I'd better get going. Thanks for the money, Essie." Turning to Jace, she said shyly, "It was nice to meet you, Jace."
"My pleasure, Jennie. Talk to you later," he said enthusiastically.
She shot me a look that screamed, "Oh, my gosh!", but she said nothing, and my sister turned to leave. I hoped that this would be the beginning of a mended relationship between us. With everything that was going on, I didn't need friction at home.
The rest of the day passed without incident, but I still felt like I needed some away time. With my birthday coming up in just a couple of days, I knew the weekend would be busy. The nights with Ty had afforded me some much needed sleep, but I needed some girl time.
After final bell, I met Ty at my locker. "Would you be upset if I spent the night with Karen? I mean, the last three nights have been absolutely wonderful, but I could really use some girl time. You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not."
"Thanks. I didn't say anything to her yet, but I'll give her a call when I get home. I'm sure she'll want to get together. By the way, did Mara tell you that I told Karen about the angel stuff? I figured she would, but you haven't said anything."
"She told me," he sighed.
"You're angry."
"I'm not angry. I'm disappointed that you did it after I told you not to, but I understand that you need a friend to share this with. I don't know what I would've done without Mara."
"Thanks, I think."
He brought me straight home - there was no time for Black Creek today - so that I could get my homework done. I gave him a quick kiss, told him I'd see him at school in the morning, and jumped out of the car before he had a chance to get out and escort me up the stairs, as was customary.
As soon as I got to the back porch, I called Karen.
"Want to spend the night in Eden, Arizona?" I asked as soon as she picked up.
"Um, okay."
"Do you have a sleeping bag?"
"I think so."
"Okay. Grab that and any food or drinks you want for the night. I'll be over in an hour."
"I'll be ready."
I loved that she didn't ask even one question. She was always ready for an adventure. I did only the homework that was absolutely necessary and then packed a bag. I found a sleeping bag and a tent in the garage and I threw everything into the trunk of my car. I ran back into the house to leave a note for Mum and the kids, explaining that I was spending the night with Karen to cram for an upcoming exam.
Karen was waiting on the porch for me when I pulled in to her driveway. She looked excited.
"I'm afraid to ask..." was the first thing she said after tossing her stuff in the back seat and closing the passenger side door.
"You won't believe it until you see it anyway," I assured her.
It only took two country songs to get to the library. When I pulled around to the back, not wanting to raise suspicion over my vehicle being left there overnight, Karen stopped singing long enough to ask, "Are you checking out a book for the trip?"
"We're here," I announced, turning off the engine and popping the trunk.
"Are we taking a trip using our imagination?"
"Haha. Grab your stuff."
The library was still open, but we couldn't very well trek through with our gear, so I used the key that Miss Ginny had given me to open the door to the Historical Society's private entrance on the end of the building. Her office was empty; she must have left for the day. That was probably for the best. I didn't want to waste any time making small talk.
I made a beeline for the bookcase and opened it just as Miss Ginny had done the last time I was here. While I had included the Kodesh in the information I had shared with Karen on Saturday night, I guess it got lost in the whole angel narrative, because her eyes were wide with surprise.
"Come on," I urged, as I felt around for the light switch on the wall. Once I turned on the light, Karen joined me and we dropped our things on the floor.
"This is the War Room," I told her, shutting the door tightly behind us. "I can explain the meaning of everything, if you'd like, or we can continue on."
"I've had enough of school today; let's get to the fun stuff."
"Okay. We have to move the table and chairs out of the way first. And the rug, too."
"Yes, ma'am."
We made short work of the task at hand. Then I retrieved the Star of David from the retro star clock and placed it in the grooves of the disc in the floor. It opened, after going through its movements, and I picked up my gear. Karen followed.
After winding our
way down the staircase, I stated formally, "This is the Kodesh."
"Is this Arizona?"
"Not yet. We're almost there. This way," I laughed, leading her through the cavern. "If you have any immediate questions, just ask. Otherwise, we'll have all night to talk."
"I'm good."
When we arrived at the portal, I opened the door. "I know this looks like nothing but darkness in here, but trust me."
Karen was a good sport and stepped over the threshold with me, into the Seam. Before I closed the portal door, I warned her, "This is going to make your insides all jumbled, so hold on to me. But don't worry, it only last a few seconds."
"Whatever you say," she said trustingly.
I closed the door and said "Arizona" out loud for Karen's benefit. Since it was my third time, the internal tumult was minimal.
"Holy crap, Essie," Karen yelled.
I gripped her arm securely and gave her a few seconds before I asked, "Are you okay?"
"I think so. What the heck was that?"
I found the door handle in the darkness and pushed it open.
"That, my friend, was teleportation ? la the derekhs; one of the perks of being chosen," I smiled boastfully. "And don't worry about the turbulence. It diminishes every time you use the portal. And I intend for us to use it a lot."
"So we're really in Arizona?"
"Amazing, huh? Hot springs, here we come," I shouted, as I grabbed Karen's arm and sprinted through the Kodesh.
When I opened the disc, I was surprised to find that the Guardian hadn't been by to rearrange the furniture, since we had been unable to put it back in its proper place. Better for us, I thought. We entered the former church and navigated through the debris that covered the floor of the crumbling structure.
Once outside, Karen finally acknowledged that we had, in reality, been transported from Eden, Georgia to Eden, Arizona. It was the middle of the afternoon here, since we were now in the Mountain Time Zone, and the sun was still high in the sky. I pointed out some of the ruins as we made our way through the ghost town to the hot springs.
We chose to make camp right next to a water hole that was in the shape of a guitar, decorated with many beautiful colored stones, which had a wooden sign that designated it as the "Source Well". Close by was a bonfire circle where we'd be able to make a fire over which we could roast the marshmallows that I brought to make smores.
It took us a while to figure out how to put the tent together correctly and by the time we were finished, we were hot and sweaty. The Source Well was pretty warm, so we agreed to explore the other springs to find one that was just right. We stumbled upon a mud bath and decided to give it a try before relaxing in one of the springs.
Never having had the opportunity to be covered in mud before now, Karen and I had too much fun slathering ourselves in the warm, creamy balm, occasionally throwing some at each other. The only bare spots on our entire bodies were our eyes and our mouths. I wished I had thought to put my phone in a baggie so that we could take pictures of ourselves looking like the last surviving golems on a desert planet.
It didn't take long before we started feeling tight and crunchy, so we walked like zombies to the closest spring. Dipping our toes in, the water temperature felt perfect. Bits of cracked earth fell from our bodies as we bent down to sit on the edge. We reposed there for a while, silently taking in our surroundings.
"I'm getting in before my face shatters," Karen said in a small voice, her mouth barely moving.
"Good idea."
As I slid slowly into the spring, I was glad that I had thought to come here with Karen. We'd only been here less than a couple of hours and my spirit already felt refreshed. Weeks and weeks of restless nights due to supernatural overload had left my tank empty, although I hadn't realized how low it was until now.
We floated lazily around the spring for close to an hour and I answered all of Karen's questions regarding the War Room, the Kodesh and the derekhs. We agreed to start googling some of the other Edens so we could plan our next adventure.
We noticed we were starting to prune, and starting to get hungry, so we left the tranquility of the hot spring to rustle up some dinner. Drying off, I felt silky soft and rejuvenated. We combed the area looking for tinder and sticks to start a fire. When we had gathered enough, I recalled how Michael had built his fire that Saturday night that now seemed like forever ago, and followed his method, step-by-step. Once we had the fire going, we changed into dry clothes and collected our food items from the tent, dropping them on one of the sleeping bags that we had spread out by the bonfire circle.
We feasted on a dinner of Lunchables and fruit snacks, washed down with a few juice boxes, and remarked at how amazing this all was. When the sun had set, we donned our hoodies, put some larger logs on the fire, and assembled everything we'd need to make smores.
The smell of wood burning was one of my most favorite aromas; combine that with roasted marshmallows and melting chocolate and I was in heaven. We savored our smores as we gazed at all the bright stars in the black cloudless sky.
"Are you scared?" Karen asked in a concerned voice.
I knew she was referring to the final battle. "I try not to think about it too much. I mean, it is what it is, right?"
"You know I'll do anything I can to help you."
"Thanks, Karen. I know you will." After a brief pause, I changed the subject. "You know, I was thinking... maybe you and Colton? He's such a sweet guy. Have you ever considered him as boyfriend material?"
"That came outta left field!"
"Well?"
"I don't know. He is very sweet. And adorable. Like a giant teddy bear."
"Haha. That's exactly what I thought when I first met him."
"What ever made you think of that?"
"Just thinking about a double date."
"I doubt Colton can afford the places Ty takes you."
"Hey, he takes me to the Waffle House."
"True," she laughed.
"Think about it, okay? You know Ty can make it happen. Actually, he can make it happen with anyone you want."
"I hadn't considered that, but I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for looking out for me."
"You're my only friend. I have nothing better to do than obsess over your love life," I joked.
"Great," she groaned.
We enjoyed the fire for a little while longer, but then decided it was time to move into our sleeping bags in the tent, since the temperature had dropped to 65?. We picked up our food containers and stuffed them into one of the empty grocery bags, shook out the sleeping bag we had been sitting on, and turned in for the night.
I'm not sure if it was the mystical healing powers of the hot springs or the fact that I hadn't had an evening free from family, boyfriend, homework, or internet in months, but I slept like the dead all night long. If I did dream, I had no recollection of it upon waking to my phone's alarm which I had set for 5:00 am, two hours behind Eden, Georgia. After washing our faces and brushing our teeth in the spring, we quickly packed up all our gear, threw some water on the last of the embers, and walked swiftly back to the church, having to enlist the help of the flashlight apps on our phones to light the way, since it was still dark.
Doing everything in reverse, we found ourselves back at my car at 7:45, feeling a little blue as we faced another long, boring day at South Effingham High School. We had just enough time to stop by the coffee shop before first period. Thankfully, Mr. Joshua didn't mind us bringing coffee into his classroom.
Having just beat the second bell, I didn't see Ty until after Brit Lit. Karen and I had settled on a story which had us grabbing fast food in Pooler, followed by coffee and dessert at our favorite local coffee shop. Back at her house, we studied for a while, then watched "Mean Girls", a movie both of us had seen multiple times. Hopefully, he wouldn't press for details. Despite how easily I did it, I really didn't like lying to Ty, but I did it because I was following Mr. Joshua's advice to keep the Kodesh and the Ataroth secret
. I'm not exactly sure why I still felt I should do that; it was just a nagging feeling that I couldn't seem to override.
He was leaning against the wall directly across from the door of Room 116. His arms were folded over his chest and he didn't smile when he saw me.
Oh, crap, I thought. I swallowed hard. "Hey," I sang, forcing my face and voice to belie my nervousness.
He looked at me intently, but said nothing.
I walked right up to him, feeling certain he had checked up on me at Karen's, unsure how to proceed. "What's wrong?" I asked innocently.
"You want to know what's wrong?" He paused for several beats of my pounding heart, then grabbed me and pulled me to him tightly. "I missed you," he breathed in my ear.
The school had a "NO PDA" rule that they tried hard to enforce, but I didn't care about that at the moment, as Ty brought his lips to my mouth and kissed me. I could hear students whispering and felt their stares bore into my back, but I just didn't care. We kissed until the first bell rang for World History.
"Wow," I panted. "I think I'll stay with Karen more often."
He didn't say anything, but he picked me up in his arms and spun around in the now deserted hallway. He held my hand tightly as we walked to class and kissed my cheek sweetly before we walked through the door.