by Rashaad Bell
Chapter 13
The other me…
It was the dream again, just as vivid as before and yet, it was as if I was watching it take place, my Dreamself preparing to battle the nine Vampiric combatants that surrounded her/me. I or rather she dived towards the Vampire closest, swinging a haymaker, slamming the Blade of Osiris into his temple, the Vampires eyes clouding a dull black, with currents of crimson electricity swimming through it.
She/I pulled the weapon free as the Vampire slumped to the ground, ducking underneath a savage attack from a male Vampire on my/her left, driving the Blade upwards into the bottom of his chin, thrusting the Blades tip into his brainpan.
I/we pivoted suddenly, spinning on my/our heels, jabbing the Blade into the heart of a female Vampire as she tried to sneak up from behind. This time the Vampire burst into flames, the skin burning away to reveal the muscles and tendons underneath, only to burn down to its skeleton, then to ash.
I/we pressed the attack, the Blade of Osiris, suddenly increasing in length, extending from dagger size to the size of a full broad sword. She/I swung, slicing a Vampire in half at the midsection, bringing the Blade close to my/her face to block a vicious claw strike.
I/she did a backflip, then another, landing in a low crouch. There were five Vampires left. We/I ran towards them, screaming in defiance, diving over a lunging monster, driving the Blade into its back, through its heart. I/She continued the front flip as the Vampire burned to cinders behind me/her.
One of the things came at her/us, but we/I sidestepped the attack, ducked underneath a kick to my/our face by another creature, grabbing it by the leg, then slicing the leg off. The Vampire fell backwards to the ground, and she/I drove the Blade into its skull before it had a chance to come to its feet. I/we left the weapon there for a moment, then turned to face the last three remaining Vampires. She/I cracked our knuckles then pulled the weapon free from the corpse, motioning them to attack with my/her free hand.
The first one charged, swinging wildly, as we/I ducked underneath the blow, grabbing the Vampire by his face, my/her fingers digging into its eyes as we pulled its head back, exposing its throat. The Blade of Osiris shrunk down instantly, no longer then a short sword as I/she slit its throat, then its spine and as the body burst into flames, she/I tossed the head towards the last two remaining Vampires, the skull completely burning to ash just before landing at their feet.
“Is this all there is?” I/she challenged. “Is this all that you are?”
There was a hiss, then something unintelligent as a response.
The Blade of Osiris fully extended itself again as the Vampire attacked, swinging its clawed fingers wickedly, left, right, left, right…
I/we sidestepped each attack as if it was nothing, right, left, right, left, swing, decapitation. The last Vampire was already in the air, launching towards us/me when the Blade of Osiris fired, just as a gun would, the explosive round catching the Vampire in the mid-section, the body bursting in to flame, the astral form of its whispery soul being yanked free from its burning frame, dissipating into nothingness.
I/her spun once again, yet this time it was myself personally looking down the barrel of the Blade of Osiris, the very tip of the sword resembling the barrel of a gun.
She looked directly at me. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
The tip of the Gunblade was smoking, my Dreamself’s beautifully tattered white dress coated in thick, black Vampire blood. She could see me. Just like that Vampire could see me the last time, except he didn’t speak, he was simply aware of my presence. This girl though, the other me with the shredded, pretty white dress, kung-fu moves and the sword that shot explosive, soul rendering bullets, she not only acknowledged my presence, but…
She cocked the Blade of Osiris. “ANSWER ME!”
I came awake suddenly, the force of her scream bringing me back to consciousness. I was covered in sweat, the pillow and sheets soaked through, my heart pounding mercilessly in my chest. The dreams were becoming more vibrant, more real, more…dangerous. Even though I’ve had the same dream for over a month, it was only just now, within these past couple of days that I was able to remember more upon...
“I hope you don’t wake up like that every night.” Came a familiar voice. “That would be such a killjoy.”
It took a second for my vision to adapt to wakefulness, but a second was all I needed. I saw him there, resting comfortable in my love seat in the corner, sipping what looked like…a strawberry daiquiri?
My dark haired savior.
“Connor.” I whispered, surprised to not only see him, but to have him here, in my home, in my room no less. “What are you…how did you…”
“Security at this establishment is very lax.” He sipped his drink. “The blonde one let me in. She is very cute, very sexy.”
“Abigail?” I managed. I wasn’t sure what to do; I wasn’t expecting him…here!
“Yes, that’s the one. Gave me a complete police interrogation upon entering.” He placed his drink on the floor. “Nosy little bird isn’t she?”
“What are…what are you doing here Connor?” I sat up on the bed. “What are you doing in my room?”
“I thought we had plans for the evening?” He stated. “Apparently I was mistaken.”
He rose to leave.
“Wait!” I got up, pushing the covers aside.
“Why are you covered in paint?” Connor asked.
I ignored him. “How did you find out where I live?”
“You’re kidding me right?” He picked up his drink. “I’ve had farts bigger then this town.”
“It’s just…I wasn’t expecting you here, at my home.” I wanted to move closer to him, yet I maintained our distance.
“Oh I see. You were planning to stand me up, for whatever reason, which I’m sure in your mind, was paramount, yet in truth, irrelevant.”
“No, that’s not…”
“And yet here I am.” Connor motioned to himself. “Demon in human clothing. Do you wanna dance with the devil in the pale of the moonlight?”
“What are you…” I began.
“I always ask that of all my prey.” Connor finished. He made a beeline towards the door before pausing. “I can leave or I can meet you downstairs.”
What was he doing here? In my home no less! I mean, when I saw him earlier, when I agreed to go out with him, that was one thing, having him show up in my room is something else altogether.
I should be furious and yet I wasn’t. I wanted to see him; I wanted him here with me. I wanted us to go out tonight. I wanted him. Even if a large part of my subconscious warned me against it, having Connor this close…
“Do you always talk to yourself, about yourself, when you dream or was that just for my benefit?” Asked Connor.
“Get out of my room!” I yelled.
“Downstairs then?”
“Yes!”
“See you soon.” Connor slipped out, closing the door behind him.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” I said to myself.
“I can still hear you.” Came Connors response from the other side of my bedroom door.
“Downstairs! NOW!” I fired off. “Can you hear that?”
“I dead man in China could hear that.”
“Connor!”
“Going downstairs now.” He announced. “And do please take a shower, you smell like mass public transportation.”
I listened, trying to hear him going down the steps, but there was nothing but silence. After a few minutes, I came to the conclusion that he wasn’t standing outside my door any longer. I had forgotten all about my plans with Connor. Well, it’s not that I forgot entirely, but rather my intent was to just ignore everything completely, especially since I had never given him my phone number or address.
I figured that our little outing tonight could just be glossed over. I never expected to wake and find Connor drinking alcohol in my bedroom watching me sleep.
How creepy
is that?
And why the hell was he sipping strawberry daiquiris? He had one of Aiden’s Calvin and Hobbes plastic cups, which means he got the drink from here. Which means, not only did Abigail let him in, she was quenching his thirst as well. Did she cook him dinner while she was at it?
I took one of the quickest showers I’ve ever taken in my life, nothing but business between me, the soap and the water. I threw on a Pulp Fiction tee shirt and some destroyed, Abercrombie and Fitch jeans. A little bit of makeup, just a touch here and there, some lipstick and eye shadow and I pulled my hair to the back.
I started down the steps and I could see Connor there with Aiden in the living room, the couches pulled back so there was room for the two of them to maneuver. Abigail sat at one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter, watching the two boys go at it.
“No, not like that.” Connor said, grabbing Aiden’s palm with his hand. “If you do it this way and stick your leg out here, like this, you can flip them to the ground like so.”
Connor moved extremely quickly, twisting Aiden’s palm, flipping him to the ground softly. As painful as it looked, Aiden seemed to rebound from it quickly, Connor helping him up. “That didn’t hurt did it?”
“No, no, I’m good, I’m good.” Aiden got back into position. “Show me one more time again, show me how to do it.”
Connor repeated the move, demonstrating even slower this time, going over each step in detail, not moving on to the next until Aiden acknowledged he was ready to proceed. Abigail just watched silently, engrossed in it all, her drink almost finished. She shoved a mozzarella stick in her mouth.
“Kick his ass baby!” She screamed. “Show him how we get down here in Palm Coast. Oh, Madison, hey you.”
I came up next to her, taking one of the fried cheese sticks from her plate on the counter. “So what’s up?”
“Nothing but the Benjamin’s baby.” She replied.
“So I see you’ve met Connor.”
She offered her drink and I took it, washing down the cheese stick. They really needed to be reheated again.
Abigail ate another mozzarella stick. “And I thought Ethan looked good.”
“It’s not like I can’t hear you.” Aiden announced. “I am still in the room.”
“Oh, you’re much cuter baby, but in a different way.” Abigail gave me one of her looks. “Now show mamma how you…”
Connor deflected Aiden’s attack, then flipped him to the ground.
“…never mind baby.” Abigail finished. She turned to me. “So I hear you have a hot date tonight?”
“Yeah and about that, you just like, what, let him in my room while I was sleeping?” I asked. “He could be a psycho.”
“I’m so not getting the psycho vibe from him.” Abigail admitted. “Plus, its…I don’t know, very hard to say no to him when he asks a question.”
I had a flashback to when I met him at the bookstore and unloaded all my intimate feelings in one breath. “Tell me about it. How long has he been here?”
“I’m not sure.” Abigail paused to think. “Hour and a half, two hours maybe?”
“He’s been here that long?” I continued to watch as the boys just ignored us, wrestling back in forth in the living room, with Connor breaking it off every now and then to give instruction.
“He just showed up at the door.” Abigail said. “Once he told me who he was, that he was THE Hip-Hop Anonymous, what was I supposed to do, tell him to leave? I knew you would want to see him once you woke up, plus he did say you two had made plans.”
“Yeah, I…we met earlier today.”
“Was Ethan there?” She asked.
“Yeah.”
Abigail rolled her eyes. “Pimping since pimping been pimping.”
I disagreed. “It’s not even like that.”
Connor chimed in. “Oh, it’s exactly like that.” Aiden tried a different approach this time, trying to catch Connor unaware, thinking his attention was focused on me. Connor shifted suddenly and Aiden ended up on the ground again.
“Do you see where you went wrong?” Asked Connor. “You didn’t place your foot where I showed you, so I was able to use your body’s own momentum against itself.”
“So what’s up with the amateur UFC match going on in the living room?” I asked.
“Boys will be boys.” Abigail shrugged. “I’m just waiting for somebody to take their shirt off.”
Aiden reached up and grabbed Connors helping hand as he rose to his feet. “Still here Abby.”
“I’m sorry.” Connor came over towards the two of us. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. “Your brother wanted me to show him how I disarmed your attacker, how I was able to get the gun away from him. One thing led to another…”
“It’s cool lil sis, he was just showing me some of them moves you were talking about. I thought you were over exaggerating a little bit, till Connor here showed up and started to break it down, Bourne Identity style.”
“Well he’s just full of unwarranted surprises, isn’t he?” I responded.
“I’m sure there’s a compliment hidden in there, somewhere.” Connor held out his arm. “I’d love to try to locate its position. Shall we?”
He was arrogant, obnoxious and utterly breathtaking. I took his arm reluctantly, our skin touching, the butterflies in my stomach flapping their wings in such a ferocious manner, a whirlwind was caught up inside my chest.
I could hear that little voice inside me, the one that always spoke up when danger was pressing its lips far too close for an introduction. Yet instead of listening to her distress signal, I beckoned closer to dangers call, ready to crash my battered vessel against the shore of destruction.
“So what’s the plan for the night?” I asked.
Connor gave such a devilish smirk, Lucifer himself would be envious. “Just a little breaking and entering with a possible accessory to homicide. The usual.”
“Does that work on all the woman or am I supposed to be the exception?” I was trying not to fall for his tough guy bravado.
Connor gave me a quick wink. “There are no exceptions to the rules, just laws that apply to lesser individuals.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re not that smooth, Connor.”
“I’m as smooth as a hot comb on nappy ass hair.” He took a step back to look at me fully. “Now, you ready to do the damn thing or are you waiting for parental supervision?”
I could hear Aiden laughing in the background. “Knight to Queens’s rook.”
“Checkmate.” Abigail followed up.
Connor opened the front door, his lime green Lamborghini parked sideways across the parking lot. His rims, which there were more of then tires, were jet-black chrome that sparkled with a life all to themselves. I didn’t know much about vehicles but I did know that his car cost more than our house.
Abigail come up from behind, her arm around my waist, chin on my shoulder as Connor made his way towards the driver side door.
“You’re just batting a thousand in the WTF department.” She whispered so softly, I barely heard her.
“You ain't seen nothing yet.” Connor commented over an engine hum so silent, one would be hard pressed to even know it was on.
I shot Abby a wayward glance, then made my way towards the car. Connor pressed a button on the steering wheel and the passenger side door opened up on its own, sliding upwards, suicide style.
Suicide, it’s a suicide side…
I climbed in, locking the seat belt in place, the door closing after me. Connor shifted gears, and then blasted down the street. He had some old school rap bumping out the speakers, something I hadn’t heard of before, but rang inside my ears like premonition.
The Bridge is over, the Bridge is over…
“How can someone your age afford a car like this?” I wondered aloud.
Connor never took his eyes off the road. “Because I’m older then you think.”
My phone rang and when I checked the caller ID, my h
eart sank just a little. It was Ethan. I forgot I told him to call me. I wanted to answer it, the thought of hearing his voice was completely overwhelming; to the point it frightened me at times. I couldn’t understand how I felt so attached to someone I had just…
“Don’t answer it.” Connors voice overrode Ethan’s in my mind.
“What?”
“Don’t answer it.” He repeated.
“And why wouldn’t I?"
“Because I asked you not to.” He was sincere in his request and yet, something told me that I shouldn’t…
“Too late.” He finished.
My cell had stopped ringing, the touchscreen showing one missed call. He didn’t leave a message.
“You knew that was going to happen.”
“Like I know how long it takes before your voicemail kicks in.” Connor was sarcastic, yet playful.
“Whatever. So I met a friend of yours today.” I put the cell on vibrate then placed it in my pocket.
He looked at me skeptically. “I doubt it.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I don’t have any friends.”
“I’m your friend.”
He didn’t reply.
“You saved my life Connor.” The cityscape was flying past us. “We’ll be friends until the day one of us dies.”
“Who was it?” He was dodging. It was the first time I’ve seen him even slightly uncomfortable.
“The guy from the book store, that author dude.” I could just stare at his profile all night. The way his eyes just seemed to glow…
“You know John Rogers?” Surprise was in his voice, which was something I wasn’t expecting.
“Yeah, well, sorta of.” How does his eyes glow like…tiny little, amber hued flashlights? How is that even possible? “We met him today. Had a nice little convo.”
“We?”
“Yeah, Ethan and I.” Glow in the dark contacts maybe? “He said you knew him.”
Connor let out a chuckle. Just one. Very odd.
“What?” Did I say something funny?
He didn’t reply.
“So do you know him?” And I thought it was difficult to get anything out of Ethan.
“Yeah, I know Rogers.” He finally admitted. “Me and him, we go way back.”
“Really?”
“So what did you guys talk about?” Connor pulled off at the next exit. “The weather?”
“No, not the weather, Mr. I’m really not as funny as I think I am. A bunch of weird, crazy stuff.”
“Well, that is his forte.” Connor added. “The man has like, a PHD in the impossible. He’s like Mulder, Scully, Dr. Who and Giles rolled up together in a faux British accent and a fondness for Asian strippers.”
We pulled into what appeared to be an airport, though it was smaller than any I’d ever been to. I didn’t even know Palm Coast had an airport. It must be privately owned because none of the planes I saw there were very big to begin with. They were the kind that rock stars crash to their death in.
“He was telling me and Ethan about alternate dimensions.”
“Very real. Trust me.”
“And the Mark of Pandora?”
Connor pulled the car right up to a plane, stopping just before a metal looking staircase that led to the planes open cabin.
“He told you about that? About the Mark?” He was suddenly serious.
“Yup.” What the hell were we doing at a private airfield? “So what’s with the airplane?”
“What exactly did he say to you about the Mark?” Connor had cut the engine off and turned in his seat to look at me directly.
There was a man that peeked his head out of the planes open door. He titled his hat to me before heading towards the cockpit. He must have been the pilot because I could see him through the window fiddling with the controls. I looked around noticing that the airfield was empty other than of us.
I was getting that feeling in the pit of my stomach again, that feeling a deer must get just before he gets a chest full of buckshot. “Why are we at an airport? What’s going on?”
The flecks of amber in his eyes began to circulate within his iris as he spoke. “Tell me what John said about the Mark.”
“Only that he saw the Mark of Pandora on you, me and Ethan. That it was a Nexus in time for him.” I found myself speaking uncontrollably as if I wanted to just volunteer any and every answer to whatever question Connor spoke.
“Then it has begun.” He whispered to himself.
“He also said that as well.”
The amber flecks stopped moving in their circular orbit around his iris and I felt somewhat normal again. Less…hypnotized. That was the only way to describe it. Connor got out of the car and began walking towards the plane.
“Hey!” I yelled, following after him. “Where the hell are you going?”
“Me?” Connor turned around. “I’m going to San Francisco.”
“San Francisco?” I repeated.
“Yes. San Francisco. Have you heard of it? It’s in California.” Connor started up the steps that led into the airplane, stopping midway. “Are you coming?”
“What are you crazy? I can’t go to California, I’ve got school tomorrow!”
“Trust me Madison; you’re definitely not making school tomorrow.”
“I’m not going to San Francisco with you Connor.”
“Then you’ve reached somewhat of a Nexus of your own then, haven’t you?” He said. “You can either come with me, come to California and find out what is going on. Find out why someone is trying to kill you, find out the truth about this Mark of Pandora, or…” Connor tossed me the keys to his half a million dollar sports car. “You can take those, drive home and that’s that.”
“You can’t be serious?” There was no way I was getting in some plane and flying all the way across the country to some city I’ve never been to, with some guy I just met. I don’t care if he saved my life or not.
“This is it Madison Amber Rose. This is the moment. This is it right here. Your moment. Your Nexus. Your life before and your life after this choice. This is it. Don’t fool yourself. What you do next will have ramifications. It will define the rest of your existence. I know you’re not ready, but when are we ever?” Connor held his hand out towards me.
“Dude, you’re crazy. I’m not going to San Francisco with you; I don’t even know you like that.”
Connor sighed. “I see this is going to need a little visual stimulation.”
I turned away, intent to open the car door, when Connor suddenly appeared in front of me, just materializing out of thin air, blinking into existence out of nothingness, placing his hand on mine.
“Holly shit!” I screamed, jumping back. “What the hell! How did you just…”
Connor disappeared again, vanishing from sight. “Everything as you know it is about to change, Madison.”
I spun on my heels at the sound of his voice. He was directly behind me, sitting at the very top of the metal stairs. It was at least twenty-five feet from where I was standing, there was no way…
He vanished again, disappearing from the steps, only to materialize directly inside of the car, his hands gripping the steering wheel. This time I didn’t jump back. I just stood my ground. I was too scared to do anything else. I was a deer in headlights, frozen in my tracks, unmoving, unblinking, unable to do anything other than watch the events unfold before me in morbid fascination.
“There is more to this world then just class tomorrow.” He stated. Connor reappeared suddenly, standing at the top of the steps. He stood there for a moment longer then walked inside the plane.
I didn’t know what to do! I was shaking all over, my mind seemingly overwhelmed with possibilities. I couldn’t explain what I just saw, couldn’t even comprehend what my eyes were trying to register as fact. It was like, real life CG, right in front of my eyes. It was crazy.
Everything was crazy!
I jumped into the car, the door auto closi
ng as I put my seatbelt on. I needed to get away from this place. I needed to get as far away from Connor as I possibly could. I couldn’t process what was going on. How did he? How did he move like that? I thought that maybe I was crazy, the way he just vanished when we first met, I thought it was just me putting way too much on it, exaggerating my experience, but now…
I started the engine, then turned the key again, thinking the car wasn’t on. The engine let off a horrifying screech. The car was already on, the engine so low I couldn’t tell. I was bugging out so much I couldn’t even tell if I started the car or not. People just don’t…people just don’t do the things that Connor does. People don’t move the way he moves.
Was he even human…
I wanted to put the car in reverse, just whip it around, hit the highway and not look back. I wanted to do a lot of things, yet I found myself doing absolutely nothing instead. I just sat there; head leaned up against the steering wheel, eyes closed as the music blasted in my ears.
The Bridge is over, the Bridge is over…
He was right about one thing though. This was it. This was the moment. I felt so alive. Despite everything, no matter how scared I was, I’d never felt more alive than this particular moment right now. This is the moment. This is my moment. I needed to make a choice.
Either leave now and never look back, or board that plane, fly to California and, well, I don’t know what the and is. I wouldn’t know until the and was upon me.
I turned the engine off.
“Ride or Die.” I said to no one in particular. I got out of the car. I couldn’t turn back now. Not after witnessing what Connor was able to do. He was right about one thing, that’s for certain.
I see this is going to need a little visual stimulation.
I got out the car and walked up the metal steps into the airplane. As soon as I entered a blonde-haired woman closed the door behind, motioning for me to take a seat next to Connor who was resting comfortable on an expensive looking tan leather chair.
