“No…don’t worry about him; this is just how he’s coping with what he sees. He’s a good boy...I’ve seen deep inside him.”
“Yeah, well, I saw hell,” I countered, knowing whatever she saw had to be really deep inside.
Nana raised one eyebrow. “Was it like a dream, or a reality?”
“There is no reality like that.”
“Then he was letting you see the place Draven is called to…they all have a way of showing you what they want you to see. When I see him, I see a boy who’s scared and confused. When Draven and Aden see him, they see a boy that’s trying to hard to be something he’s not; they see the act that says he’s not afraid.”
“That wasn’t an act – he’s a perve.”
“He’s jealous,” Nana said firmly.
“Of what?”
“What Draven has: you.”
“What?”
“I think he has a crush on you…Draven caught him wandering through his thoughts of you, and a fight broke out. I think he just wants what Draven has – someone who understands what he is and loves him in spite of it.”
“OK, that’s gross – and second of all, I am what Draven is.”
“No, dear, you’re not…you’re on the opposing side – and you need to make sure you keep Draven fighting to be on your side.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Listen,” Nana said as stepped closer to me. “Everything has changed…I thought that if…I always surrounded him with love and made him see that there was a positive to the darkness he would see that this day would never come…but it’s here now, and we just have to figure out how to fight it.”
“Explain to me what he’s seeing. I know you’ve seen it; Evan told me so.”
Nana looked down, then up at me. “It’s like a dream, a nightmare; anything can happen…at first I thought it was in his head, but now after watching Grayson and Winston, I think it’s more like an out-of-body experience; his soul goes somewhere dark.”
“He said he was moving between memories, picking things up – that Britain could even see him.”
Nana nodded. “When I saw that, I knew I was right about the out-of-body experience. Somehow, he’s moving himself; he’s found a different level of his gift - but it’s dangerous, Charlie…I don’t know what to expect. All I know is that right now, the only thing saving him is you and his music.”
“I’m not a good luck charm. I wanna learn how to do what he’s doing – fight at his side. I don’t have the temper he has. I’ll be able to see clearly.”
“You need to master seeing first. How easily is it coming?”
“I have to tell myself to focus; it’s easier to see the dead - at least, I think it is. I really haven’t helped much of anyone lately. I can feel the impatience building,” I answered as my eyes drifted toward the night that was just outside the garage.
“Well…seeing any of us isn’t doing you any good. We’ve all learned to guard our thoughts; we had to. If these kids or Draven see our fears and take them to that place with them, we’ll become a target. They’ll come after the ones they care about – or even know.”
“Why? Explain this to me – what demons?”
“Charlie…if there’s no one to go home to, then there’s no reason to go home…these demons want these kids to stay there - for what, I don’t know or understand.”
“How am I gonna learn to see if everyone has their guard up?”
“Go in public. People watch.”
“Public didn’t work out for me today,” I said as my anxiety instantly made itself known in the core of my stomach.
“That Bianca girl is thriving off your fear. You would have been fine if you’d just calmed down…anger would have even served you better than fear.”
“Easy for you to say,” I mumbled.
“Charlie, don’t fight me on this…I don’t know how to guide you. I’m going on a feeling and a hope.”
“When you taught me to see again – to see that night of my party – you told me not to step into a memory, that I could get trapped there. Have you changed your mind? Is it safe to do what Draven’s doing?”
“I still don’t think it’s safe to step too far into a memory when you see it at first; if the person you’re seeing decides to remember differently or replaces that memory with another, then you’ll be trapped. I do think it’s safe to go back though, the way Draven does – as long as you know you have a solid way out.”
“I don’t get what he’s doing.”
“He’s just building his memory, remembering what he saw as his own. With that memory, he can go back. He’s managed to build a porthole – or passage – all around this world. If he’s ever seen it, he has a doorway there.”
“Do you think I can do that?”
“I have no doubt that you can, that you can do more than I’ve had a chance to fathom.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Do,” she said as she halfway smiled.
“Shouldn’t that girl be in school? How long does she have to stay with me?”
“She’s always been home schooled. Her tutoring started a week ago.”
“Maybe that wasn’t a good idea. She should be around other kids her age.”
“She would have to talk first.”
“What – she can’t talk?”
“There’s nothing wrong with her beyond trauma. Grayson said she hasn’t said more than a few words over the past four years.”
“What happened four years ago?”
“Not sure. I know she saw what happened to her mom – why she’s missing.”
“I thought we didn’t know where she was – that those boys thought she was in the nightmare? Can she see?”
“She looks deep, but I don’t know what she sees because she’s hiding it from everyone – including herself. As far as the nightmare or what happened to her mom...I don’t know; they all seem to see something different when I ask them.”
“No dad?” I asked, trying to make sure I understood the background of this girl.
“There’s a dad, but where he is and what side he’s on is still a mystery.”
“Are you serious? You think he’s a demon or something?”
“I don’t know…I just have a feeling, and Autumn hasn’t bothered to tell me if I’m wrong.”
“This is crazy.”
“Listen, if you still plan on leaving this world with Austin one day, you need to get it into your head that some things cannot be clearly explained. You have to fathom another field of the mind; you have to believe in the unbelievable and trust your soul.”
“I already believe in what cannot be explained; I practically lived with two ghosts my entire life – not to mention I have some demon or wannnabe demon hunting me.”
“Right. Just take one breath at time, and you’ll figure this out. I’ll call the tutor and tell her Monroe is with you.”
“You might wanna call Kara and my mom,” I said blankly, not really caring to explain any of this to them.
“I’m sure they’ve been expecting it. Your mom wanted Monroe to stay with you from day one.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised.
Nana shrugged her shoulders. “She has a soft spot for teen girls who walk on the dark side.”
“Very funny. I wouldn’t call it a soft spot…more like a silent tolerance.”
At that moment; the back door opened. Aden was holding two big bags, and Monroe was standing behind him. I looked at the bags as he passed me to put them in the truck, then back to Monroe.
“Did you pack anything that wasn’t black?” I asked sarcastically.
She smirked, then looked down as she passed me. Nana patted my shoulder. “That’s three responses,” she whispered proudly.
Just as I was about to get the passenger side of the Hummer, I heard footsteps on the stairs and turned to see Winston coming down them. My body tensed; I was prepared to kill him. He raised his hands defensively. “Look – so
rry I was a tool. I get crazy when I game; the wrong personality comes out.”
“You only need one personality: yours. Stop trying to be somebody else – you suck at it.”
“Fair enough,” he mumbled as he looked down. “Truce.”
“For now,” I answered with a half-smile on my face.
He looked up with a fearful expression, but when he saw my smile, relief took over his eyes. “Thanks,” he said as he reached for his jaw and rubbed the place where Aden had hit him. It was red and would soon bruise. I almost felt sorry for him – almost.
“Let’s go,” Aden said as he climbed in the driver’s seat.
Nana hugged me once, then went to Winston’s side to look over his jaw. When I climbed in the front seat, I looked back at Monroe. She had her arms crossed, and she was staring out the window.
“This is gonna be a blast,” I mumbled as I pulled my seatbelt across me.
Aden smirked as he pulled forward. Once he turned on the main road, the whispers began and shadows started reaching for the Hummer. Monroe nervously scooted to the center of the backseat; I had no doubt she could see at that point. Aden flipped a switch on the dash that caused the Hummer to light up, then I reached for the radio and turned it up as I mumbled, “Be patient; I’m coming for you.”
Once my words were said, my name screamed out in agony as we raced down the dark, winding road that led to my house.
I made a split second decision: I wasn’t going home – not right now.
Chapter Five
I reached for the radio to kill the volume and turned to face Aden. “Not going home – not now.”
“I’m not taking you to that school,” he scuffed.
“I have a car.”
“I have your keys,” he retorted.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Monroe nervously following the bickering between us. I really felt sorry for this kid.
“Why are you being a jerk? Why can I not go there?”
Aden rolled his eyes. “Seriously, jerk? I deserve that? Look, that school has a lot of energy in it. They have to help as many shadows as they can before you come; they would cause you to go mad if you went there now. Why can’t you just trust me?”
“I’m sick of being the weak link.”
“Well…figure out how to see again,” he said bleakly.
“Fine. Take me to town; let’s people watch.”
“It’s night time, Charlie. More shadows, less people.”
“I’m not a freak of nature that can’t handle the night – or a child, for that matter. Go to the mall, then.”
“Mall? No,” he said firmly.
“Look, let’s just go downtown…there will be lights and people, and we can get coffee, ice cream - something. I have to figure out how to see, Aden. I have to know how to help him.”
Aden’s jaw tightened as he looked in his rearview mirror at Monroe, then to the road. He reached in his pocket for his cell phone and started to text.
“Give me that,” I said reaching for the phone. “No texting and driving. Who are you talking to?”
Aden didn’t fight me for the phone; instead, he gripped the steering wheel. “Draven,” he said shortly.
“Why – for permission? Are you serious?”
“Whatever. Tell him where you’re going, then.”
“Where am I going?” I asked smugly.
“Town, I guess – not the mall.”
I smirked as I looked down at his phone, somewhat aggravated at the way I was left behind. I pulled up the text box for Draven’s number and typed: “Going to town to learn how to see again so I won’t be the weak link– thanks for waking me up that was awesome - NOT – CM”
“Done,” I said as I handed the phone back to Aden. I noticed that Monroe was watching over my shoulder. Her dark eyes were wide. “Don’t worry – I’m not always like this,” I mumbled as I reached to turn up the radio.
Aden reached to stop me. “Listen – you wanna see again, then you’re gonna listen to me.”
“Fine – teach,” I said, turning in my seat to face him.
Aden shook his head as he passed the road that my house was on. “Fine – listen,” he mumbled. “Stop thinking about it; this is natural to us – like breathing. Do you think about breathing?”
“No…it’s not natural. If it was, I would have never forgotten how.”
“You forgot how because you let a demon in your life and were too stubborn to ask for help.”
“Stop it. No lectures; just teach.”
“You doubt yourself. Don’t try to deny it; you do.”
“I just think it’s my imagination sometimes,” I mumbled, regretting that I’d demanded he take me to town. My anxiety was making it hard to breathe – I’d rather be at home, playing my music - but then the idea of being the weak link...wanting to change that gave me the strength to listen.
“It might be, but your imagination is building what you’re seeing. In the living, everything about a person screams who they are on the inside - the way they dress, speak, breathe. Your mind is trying to open a door for you, and you keep closing it.”
“I’m not. I’m focusing.”
“You’re not supposed to focus; let your mind do the work. Sometimes...sometimes I don’t even leave when I see I just know. I know what’s happened to them, why they are the way they are. If I want to understand it further, then I go deeper in my mind and stand in their memories.”
“I don’t like going deep...I’m scared I won’t come out.”
Aden opened the console in-between us, then reached in and pulled out a necklace - one that I knew was Draven’s - and handed it to me. Draven’s first pick was on the leather cord that was worn by time. It was broken now.
I furrowed my eyebrows. “How did that happen?”
“Don’t ask,” Aden mumbled. “Look, you need a base – use that. Hold on to the pick, rub your thumb across it – something. When you feel like you’re slipping too deep, think about that pick – home, your life. Allow it to give you some separation from the memories you’re standing in.”
“Do you have something like this?”
He nodded, then reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a nub of wood. “The bottom of my first drumstick,” he said as he tried to grin. “I had to find something that would balance me as I helped Draven.”
“Have you followed him?”
Aden’s expression grew dim. “I have...it’s messed up. It’s not memories; it’s like a dream - and in this dream, you can do anything, show any kind of power. I’m worried about that – that it’ll become addicting to him…I can see how addicted Winston and Grayson are.”
I looked over my shoulder at Monroe. “Have you been there?” I asked her.
She didn’t answer; she just looked down. I stared at her for a moment, not really focusing, but trying to let it come to me…nothing happened. I looked at Aden and tried to hide my frustration.
“You can’t see them…they’re more guarded than you’ve ever been.”
“Looks like we have something in common, then,” I said as I looked back at Monroe. She smiled shyly as she looked up at me.
“She likes you,” Aden mumbled.
“Don’t talk about her like she’s not here.”
“Sorry – it’s become habit. She usually sits still as a statue; not tonight, though,” Aden said as he looked in the rearview mirror at her. “You brought her to life.”
“Too many boys around – right?” I said, looking over my shoulder at her. Her pale cheeks blushed slightly.
We drove to the strip I went to earlier this morning. Our town wasn’t really a city per se, and there wasn’t much to do around here. Most of the kids from school would come down here and drive in circles or park in the storefront parking lots and sit and talk. I didn’t know how many people to expect to see in town tonight; it was a weeknight, but most of our friends – well, Madison’s friends – were home for Fall Break, surely bragging about the newfound
freedom they all had at college.
Sometimes I felt cheated that none of us would have that kind of life, but most of the time I was relieved that I didn’t have to look forward to the stress of freshman year. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t skipping college; in fact, my mother had insisted that as long as I was in this world, I would take classes. Not knowing what I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’, I enrolled in the basic online classes. Last week, I’d grown so bored that I had worked through every part of my syllabus; all I had left to do was review for the exams. I felt like a total dork with no life when I did that, but now I’m glad I worked so far ahead. I doubt that I’ll be able to focus on anything to do with school anymore.
Surprisingly, there were several people walking along the sidewalks, and the traffic was heavy. I guess people were out enjoying their break, being with old friends again.
“Alright,” Aden said as he pulled up to a red light. “I doubt we’re gonna go over fifteen miles an hour for the next two blocks. Start looking at the people walking by. If you get it, then we’ll park and walk a block or so.”
“You want me to see that fast – while you’re moving?!”
“I can do it.”
I glared at him, which only made him laugh. “We can go home,” he said, reaching for his blinker.
“Stop, fine,” I mumbled as I looked out the passenger side window. The first people I saw were a middle-aged woman and a young boy. I gave up on focusing and just stared. All at once, I saw them in the last store they were in. She bought him a game with a gift card. In this image, I focused on the card and saw the words ‘love Dad’.
“Ok,” I said, nodding to them so Aden could check my ability. “Divorced. Dad is a paycheck that thinks gifts substitute love.”
“Is that a guess?” Aden asked.
“Kinda. He gave him a gift card; why would he do that if he could just take him?”
“You’re assuming. Look deeper.”
I rolled my eyes and looked back to the little boy.
“Hurry – light’s changing.”
As Aden said that, I was gone from the truck, watching that little boy talking to his dad on a webcam. His dad was in uniform. The little boy was talking to him about how he’d done everything his mom asked all summer, just like he asked, and he became choked up when he asked when his mission would be over.