The Shadow's Touch Page 11

  Those memories conflicted sharply with what I saw now. I Looked at her with my second sight. There was no shadow feeding on her aura. Instead, it shone brightly, a swirling, agitated mix of red and blue. I couldn’t help but think that its apparent distress reflected what was going on inside of her.

  “I’m so sorry Jen,” I murmured.

  Her eyes opened, and a ghost of a smile touched her lips. Her voice was faint and horse. “Finn. You came… you’re okay.”

  I swallowed hard. “Hi, Jen.” I moved to her side. “How are you doing?”

  Her eyes fluttered, but she fought to keep them open. “Finn, they’re here. The shadows are here. They keep drugging me…” She tried to raise her head. “Finn, you have to stop them before they destroy us all.”

  “Shhh, shhh, shhh,” I whispered as I reached down and stroked her hair. The tangles were a sign of how hard it had been for her. She’d always been meticulous about her hairstyles. Recently she’d straightened it, and now it seemed like it might be curling again.

  “It’s okay Jen, I’ll stop them.”

  Her face relaxed, and her earlier half smile returned. “Really?”

  “I promise, Jen. I can stop them and I will.” It was worth whatever black spot that lie might have put on my karmic record.

  She let her head flop back onto the pillow and let loose her breath. “That’s good, so good…” Her eyes closed.

  Strong hands closed on my arms and whipped me around till I faced Dr. Anderson’s blazing eyes. He stepped aside and thrust me toward the door without a sound. I stumbled out into the hall, and turned to confront him, but his obvious anger stopped me. He pushed me another five feet down the hall.

  His voice carried none of his usual calm control. “Finn, what do you think you’re doing? If Dr. Washington saw you here, he would kill you!” he hissed at me.

  “But, I…”

  “No. You are not to go see Jennifer, do you understand me?”

  “But, I had to check to see if she was shadow-ridden.”

  “She’s not. I would know.”

  “Well, I think she can see the shadows. That’s why she’s so freaked out. I don’t think she’s crazy, just confused.”

  His blue eyes bored into me. “Is that your professional opinion, doctor?”

  “No. I…”

  “Hey, lay off, doc.” Unnoticed by me, Gregg had followed us out into the hallway. “Just seeing him was enough to make her smile and relax. Nothing you’ve done has gotten that far!”

  Anderson glared at Gregg who met him eye to eye. To my amazement, Gregg didn’t turn into a pile of ash. In fact, Anderson dropped his gaze first. I must just be a wimp.

  The doc glanced back at me. “I apologize, Finn, but you cannot be here. Her father thinks you are the blame for everything that happened to her, and I am truly afraid of what he would do if he knew you were here to see her.”

  Gregg scowled. “I don’t care what he thinks. If Finn can help her, we have to let him.”

  “Well, that’s not something we can determine tonight. Finn, the police are here looking for you. Come on.”

  I followed him back to the lobby. Gregg returned into Jen’s room.

  The officers took my story at face value. Given the amount of involvement I’d had with the police lately, it wasn’t surprising that one looked familiar, but I couldn’t place his name. After getting my statement, he and his partner went back out and patrolled the campus grounds. Sometime during that period, Gregg rejoined us. He watched over my shoulder as I texted Dave about what was happening. After a few rounds, Dave seemed to buy what I was telling him. His reply was:

  Dave> Sweet! When can we get the Scooby Gang together?

  Somehow, I got the feeling that he wasn’t fully appreciating the depth of the doodoo I was standing in. It was way past the tops of my waders, and I was going to need a mask soon. One cop came back into the building. I typed a quick l8er and went to see what he had to say.

  Turns out, they didn’t find anything except some prints near the window. After that, they offered to escort my mother and me home. My mom seemed as relieved as I at the offer.

  Before we said goodbye to Gregg, I extracted a promise from him to come by and see me the next day.

  When we got home, I was ravenous, and I just started eating my way through the fridge and the pantry. Between bites, I asked Mom why Dad didn’t want to come home with us.

  “Finn, honey, he’s been through a lot lately. Then, when he saw what happened with that poor girl, he felt he should stay at the hospital for a while longer. There’s more to the story than that, but it’s your father’s story to tell.”

  I sighed. Why wasn’t anything ever straightforward and easy?

  After dinner, I checked the locks on all the windows and doors for the second time that evening, and I finally made it to my temporary quarters and collapsed onto my bed. I felt alone and overwhelmed, a guest in my own house. I vowed that the next time a day looked to be turning south like this one, I would go back to bed and hope for a better tomorrow.

  Night Moves

  As I lay back on my bed, searching the patterns on the ceiling for answers, I told Spring, I miss you.

  She knew I meant physically. I know. I’ve had trouble understanding that, but the movies I have been watching have helped me understand it better. Since you humans can just get up and wander away at any time, you have developed these sexual attachments to keep your mates close. It seems that once you impregnate a female, you stick around so you can procreate more.

  Well, that’s not exactly right… I started.

  She said, I know that occasionally a dysfunctional human has sex but leaves anyway. This leaves his partner terribly upset and anxious to find another mate quickly. Less sexually fit human males will then use that opportunity to mate successfully with the female.

  I was a bit bemused. Well, that’s not exactly it, either.

  Yes, it is. Once I mated with you, you only wanted to mate with me.

  But that’s because you were the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

  That was why I was beautiful. I needed to attract you as a mate.

  It occurred to me that I had never thought about how a tree spirit could appear in a form that a human would find beautiful. As she sometimes did, she gave me a rhetorical answer. I simply constructed the image of the idealized mate from images in your mind and took that form.

  Huh! I supposed it made sense. I’d never seen a woman so perfect and so beautiful. Now I realized I probably never would again. Was our sex pleasurable for you?

  Well, not as you mean it. It gave me what I needed to grow and create many strong offspring, so it satisfied my drive to procreate. I suppose, in your world, it’s like scratching a very persistent itch. You cannot ignore it, and when you do scratch it, it’s a tremendous relief.

  Being compared to a scratching post hit my fragile male pride. I had been certain she had been returning every night because she loved me and because I was so awesome in bed. I knew she would feel my disappointment, but I was unable to hide it away.

  Finn, you need not fear. As your friend Dave knows, your seed is mighty. None I have met compare to you, and there is nothing as important as creating life. The sun, which shines in you, filled me. With that light, we created many offspring who will continue on the great cycle. Their offspring will be strong as well. Even now, you give me life. That’s not just some emotional drive to procreate. That is fact. Our bond is unbreakable.

  As goofy, shallow, and juvenile as it showed me to be, her explanation made me feel like less of a failure at love.

  You are wise beyond your months, young Padawan, I said.

  And, the force is strong within you, Finn.

  It totally rocked sharing your mind with someone. But, I still wished I could hold Spring and make love to her again.

  The exhaustion of that extremely emotional day quickly caught up with me, and I drifted off into sleep.

  Dreams of Death an
d Walking

  Damn, I’m drunk. I stumble to the front door and fumble with my keys.

  “Yo , Ricky! Don ’ t forget, the funeral’s tomorrow morning! I’ll pick you up at nine!” yells Jack from the window of his car.

  I wave Jack off without turning around. I don’t want to think about it. What a fucked up way for Chester to die. He could be a real douche, but still, he was my friend, and I don’t want to go to his funeral.

  The rumble of Jack’s car fades away as he drives off, and I try to retrieve my keys.

  Clinkle-Chink. There go my keys.

  “Crap .” I bend over to pick them up.

  “Hey-ya, Rickster,” says Erik from the shadows on my porch.

  I jump in terror and fall on the sidewalk. Pain shoots through my arm as I smack my elbow hard.

  I cradle my bruised elbow and glare up at Erik as he walks up to me. He smiles and says, “You’re lookin’ a little nervous, boy. Got a guilty conscience?”

  I try to focus on the shadow looming above me. “Shit man, you scared the hell out of me. Where’ve you been? Don’t you know there’s a monster snake running around killing people? It killed Chester, man!”

  “Maybe he died from a guilty conscience. It can happen when you back-stab your best friend.”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, that. Listen man, I didn’t have a choice, that old bald dude was going to kick the shit out of me. I had to.”

  “Oh really. Where are the scars?”

  “Uh, I don’t have any scars.”

  “Bruises perhaps?”

  I shook my head. “Look man, he was fast. He hit me once and I couldn’t even breathe.”

  “So you just betrayed your friend.”

  “Look, I’m sorry, but fuck, dude, you killed your dad!”

  Something whips out of the dark and smacks me in the face. Pain fills my world and flashing lights fill my vision. As soon as I can pull myself back together through the pain, I push myself up off the pavement, shake my head, and look back at Erik. “Fuck, Erik! I said I’m sorry, you fuck!”

  “I’m sorry too, Ricky. Did you know there is a special place in hell for traitors?”

  He’s seriously gone off the deep end. I try to edge away. “What?”

  “Say hi to Chester for me.”

  Erik’s shadow seems to grow taller and thinner till he is looming above me. His dark eyes flash green in the dim light. An avalanche of sound surrounds me and pulses through me in a staccato beat and fills me with terror. The shadow snaps toward me with the glint of light off white fangs and searing pain explodes through my shoulder.

  I scream with the pain and somehow I’m running. This can’t be happening. I must be dreaming.

  There is a crashing sliding sound behind me, and I run for the street and the safety of the lights. The pain from my arm shoots through my body and ignites my heart. I’m on fire on the inside. Wake up, dammit! Wake up… Suddenly the fire reaches my legs, and I collapse on the road. Why can’t I wake up?

  The sound of walking comes from behind me. “Poor, poor Ricky…” A new, agonizing pain shoots through my chest as a booted foot connects with my ribs.

  Oh please, let me wake up!

  ***

  I jerked awake with a start and found myself still on the road, walking under a street light. Nearby traffic sounds filled the humid night air pressing against my skin. Terror filled me as I looked around in confusion, then Spring’s calm, soothing presence rose up and surrounded me like a warm blanket.

  Shhhh, This One. You’re just having a nightmare. Everything is okay. Go back to sleep.

  But where am I…

  Shhhh, go back to sleep.

  Relief filled me, and I relaxed. “Oh, good. I hate dreams like that.” I cuddle into Spring’s protection and fall into a dreamless sleep.

  Attack of the B-Movie Monster

  I woke up in my bed late the next morning, physically exhausted. The vivid memories of my dream of Ricky poured a chill through me. I got up and stumbled downstairs to the kitchen.

  My mother had left me a gift on the kitchen table: my report card along with a note.

  Dear Finn, The police are keeping an eye on our place. I ’ ll be back in a couple of hours, and then we can talk about your grades. We have plenty of cereal and milk.

  Crap I should have been watching the mail.

  I picked up the card and quickly found a giant black F for English. No college for me this fall. I considered my resolution from the previous night to go back to bed if the day promised to suck, but I’d still have to deal with this problem tomorrow.

  I sat at the table to eat, moved my mom’s note, and found myself looking at the newspaper’s exuberantly screaming headlines.

  KILLER SNAKE STRIKES AGAIN!

  HUNT IS ON

  CAUTION URGED

  Bed looked better and better. My heart sank further when I read the name of the latest victim: Ricky Granger. He’d been found dead on Derby Downs Road, and had been repeatedly bitten by a large snake and severely beaten. Even without my dream, there would have been no doubt in my mind that Erik Parmely was responsible.

  Ricky wasn’t my favorite person—he had, after all, helped Chester and Erik beat me to within an inch of my life—but the news chilled me to the bone. Erik and his two (now dead) friends had filed counter charges against me after they had beaten me. Under Erik’s command, they had actually beaten up one another before going to the cops to support their claims against me. Because Spring and my bear whistle had healed me, the three thugs certainly ended up looking worse than I did, and I knew I would be tossed in jail. For some reason, sometime later, the two of them recanted and told the truth. The DA dropped all charges. I’m sure there had to have been some fallout with the police from that, but I never discovered what it was. This was the first I’d heard about a bald guy who threatened to beat them up. The only bald headed guy I could think of was Uncle Mark. I’d have to ask him if he arranged for their change of heart.

  If Erik did this to his friends for not backing him up, I was toast. I suddenly realized that I was home alone with a crazed snake-man-serial-killer running loose somewhere. My mom was out doing mom things, and my dad didn’t want to come home. I knew Mom said the police would be watching our house, but what if Erik came in through the back?

  I felt like snake bait, so I called up Gregg.

  He picked up after five rings. “Whadda you want?”

  I immediately felt better knowing I had woken him. I was normally the brunt of the late morning sleeper jokes, so it was gratifying to be on the dishing end for a change. I said in my best imitation of the Bluebird of Happiness, “Good morning, sunshine! Rise and shine! It’s the crack of noon, and it’s time to face life’s little challenges with a smile on your face and a song in your heart! Time to get up!”

  “I really wish you were here right now,” groaned Gregg. “That way I could beat you on the head. It’s only ten! Why are you tormenting me at this ungodly hour?”

  Oh yeah, that. As I recalled the reason for my call, my little, fragile, Bluebird of Happiness took a shotgun to the head leaving nothing behind, but a few pathetic feathers drifting to the ground. “Erik killed Ricky last night.”

  “What?”

  I explained to him my dream and what I had read this morning. After that, I begged him to go to the Shady Oaks facility with me.

  “Sorry homie, I got no wheels. My mom left this morning to go see Jen.”

  “What happened to your dad’s car?”

  “He took it. He’s off to Cleveland for an interview.”

  Moving. “Aw, shit. I’m sorry, Gregg.”

  “Least of my problems, Finn.”

  I tried not to dwell on his imminent departure and came back to the problem at hand. “Okay, I’ll call Dave, get him to take us.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Meanwhile, can you come over here?”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “Erik is after me, and I don’t want to be here
alone.”

  Gregg answered in his best Ebonics, “Ain nobody mess wit muh white homies, ya dig?”

  “I dig, yo. ” I hung up.

  Same here. Don’ nobody mess with my boyz.

  I laughed. Good morning, sleepy head. For a tree, you’ve sure got a knack for language.

  I’ve got a lot of spare time.

  I supposed she did. I quick-dialed Dave. He was more than happy to help out.

  After that, I went to find my shotgun. Once I had found it, filled the loader, and made sure there was a shell in the chamber, I felt much better.

  That looks more dangerous than Erik’s little gun.

  It is, Spring. I visualized the shot spraying out of the gun.

  Gnarly, dude.

  I agreed. It can seriously put the hurt on.

  I made sure the safety was engaged, and took it down to the basement, practiced my Krav Maga, did some sit-ups and some pushups till there was a rap on the front door.

  I ran up the stairs. After I checked the spy hole, I dropped my gun to my side and opened the door.

  Greg’s eyebrows went up when he saw my gun. “Really?”

  I suddenly felt a little silly, but I rallied. “Hey, you get a stalker that can turn into a twenty-five foot long rattlesnake, I’d cut you some slack.”

  With my voice, Spring added, “Ya dig?” A decidedly different take on someone putting words in your mouth.

  Stop that! I commanded. I wondered if this is how someone who is possessed feels.

  Gregg rolled his eyes and stepped inside. “You know you have a cop sitting out front, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, but what is to stop him from coming through the back?”

  He snorted.

  “Laugh while you can, monkey boy. If he comes in here, while you’re busy filling your pants, I’ll be busy filling him full of lead.” When he still smirked at me, I said, “Besides, he already shot me once.”

  That got his attention. “Say what?”

  I told him about my backyard encounter and then showed him the scar on my bicep.