Lifting it off of the paper, he held it in front of him, absorbing all of its detail and beauty. The warm feeling he had became stronger, and he was unconscious of the enormous smile on his face until his mouth hurt. At the same time, the colors inside transformed, all fading into a bright yellow which illuminated the entire room. It was so bright he had to turn his head away from being blinded. At that moment, the light subsided.
Jason lifted the rock above his head, trying to locate where the batteries went, but found no access plate. He brought it closer to his face and peered through the clearer parts to see the wiring but found none. The light was turquoise now as he pondered its origin point.
Was it a part of the rock? Was it something separate? How cool was that?!
He heard the back door slam and clanging pans colliding in the kitchen.
“Jason!”
Terror seized him at the sound of his father's voice. The colors made an immediate shift to an inky purple. He didn't want his father to know he had this gift. It wasn't much. Just a glowing rock with some colors in it. But it was his rock. It was his gift.
Reaching down, he slid it underneath the bed, looking at the clock. He wasn't expecting him home that early. His father never came home that early. Jason was usually in bed by the time he stumbled in from the bar.
“Jason!”
His heart crashed against his chest. He didn't want to answer because he didn't want him to know where he was. But he knew if he didn't answer, he would get what he got earlier. Or worse.
“I…I'm in my…in my room,” he replied.
He heard his father's heavy footsteps ascending the stairs. Unsteady.
“Why is the front door unlocked?”
The undertone of his voice growled. He clambered up the stairs, stumbling through Jason's bedroom door, slamming it against the wall. His stare locked Jason's body into rigidness. Did he forget to lock the front door when he went downstairs? Stupid!
“I asked you a question.” It sounded like his father reached into the deepest depths of his diaphragm to impose the lowest voice he could muster, slurred as it was. The smell of alcohol was heavy, besieging Jason's nostrils.
“I...someone came to the door.”
His father stole a sideways glance at him as he steadied himself in the doorway. There was something about that glance. Something in it. Menace. Malice. Evil.
“I…am…sick of you,” he said, unbuckling his belt. “You’ve got an excuse for everything. I’m sick of your excuses. Sick of your whining. Sick of your lying. I'm sick of you!”
His pleas in the past for his father not to beat him always fell on deaf ears. He abandoned that course of action long ago. What worked was finding something to protect himself. But this was different. He could feel it. Something was wrong, more wrong than normal.
“You will die, boy!”
The voice emanating from his father was not his father. It was deeper, guttural, reverberating like multiple voices in a wide chamber. There was a madness in his eyes.
The black leather belt slithered out from around his father's waist, a snake ready to attack with its painful bite. It coiled in its master's hand, waiting for his command.
Bap!
It struck with fierceness, leaving its mark as it had done so many times before. He screamed, scrambling to the other side of the bed as pain coursed through his leg. His was a familiar scream in the neighborhood, but one the neighbors had trained themselves to ignore.
“I don't even know why I put up with you as long as I did,” his father yelled, stumbling to the other side of the bed. “I should have sent you away somewhere.”
The snake struck again, pain rocketing through his thigh. Tears welled up in his eyes, and within moments, a steady stream flowed down Jason’s cheeks. Fear strangled him. The voice coming from his father was almost unrecognizable. He was commanding the snake with more force than he had in the past. On a normal day, he could take what his father dished out. Tonight was different. Tonight, something told him to not stay in that house. He had to get out. If he didn’t, he would be absent from school tomorrow. And the next day. Ad infinitum.
Run! Run!
His mind became overwhelmed by the command, fight-or-flight redlining. He had to make it to the door, preferably without getting hit. To his chagrin, he zigged when he should have zagged, the back of his father's hand crashing into his face. The force knocked him back onto the floor. Black splotches cavorted in front of his eyes and a burning sensation throbbed in his nose which ran with blood.
“Where do you think you're going, huh?!!”
Reacting on instinct, he scurried underneath the bed.
There it was. His gift, swirling with brilliant luminescence. For a few moments, it hypnotized him, causing him to pause and inspect it. Reality gripped him by the legs in the firm hands of his father, who pulled Jason from under the bed. Reaching out, he grabbed the crystal rock, ins insides transforming to the familiar dark purple and black again.
Jason flipped over onto his back and stared up at his father. There was no protection. The snake lay on the ground, cast aside. Finality invaded his father. He was finishing this with his fists, balled up so tight, the whites of his knuckles shone. Jason wouldn't survive the first hit. Even drunk, he was just too big and strong. The only thing he could think to do was to hold the rock in front of him. He didn't know why. It didn’t even make any sense. But he did it.
Gloomy purple light billowed inside the rock. Jason squeezed it with every ounce of strength he had until it hurt. The rock's jagged edges bore into the palms of his hands. He closed his eyes, waiting for the final blow.
His bowels and bladder gave way.
The rock perplexed his father, who stopped his assault for a moment.
“What the...? No!”
The rock let loose a lavender beam, slicing through the air, colliding with his father’s chest. His father convulsed, eyes rolling back into his head. It appeared as if he tried to say something, but his screams choked inside his throat. All he could manage were fits of coughing and spittle. The beam’s impact became a burgeoning splotch on his chest, murky violet tendrils flowing and infecting his skin, using veins and capillaries for avenues. They climbed up to his face in black filaments, turning his body the same color. It filled every crevice, every opening. His fists curled into arthritic claws, every muscle following suit, seizing, freezing him in place like a granite statue.
Jason stared wide-eyed.
Silence.
His body teetered from side to side before gravity had its way, toppling him to the floor. Jason heard the loud thump of his father hitting the ground and jumped with a start. Opening his eyes, he glimpsed the black figure that was his father. Motionless, soulless, vacant eyes stared at him, his mouth petrified open. Horrified, Jason couldn’t move, sitting paralyzed for eternal minutes before managing to rise to his feet.
The rock shifted between purple, turquoise, and a hint of yellow. Something had transpired. Whatever happened had ended it. No more yelling. No more beatings. The pain he thought he would be in the throes of by that time never came. The house filled with a strange quietness. Not just quiet. Peaceful. Jason didn't know what had happened, he was just glad it did.
He had to change his underwear.
Part V - You've Got Company
Jason admired the CRYSTAL in his hand as he sat at the foot of his bed. His father was still in the same position he was twenty minutes ago. He couldn’t believe it. In one moment, the rock had saved and changed his life forever.
Questions assaulted him once again. Was he going to get in trouble for what happened? Should he tell someone about the rock? Would they take it from him if he did? In his relief, fresh fears threatened his mind. He didn't know what to do.
A soft tapping came from his bedroom door.
“Jason?” a voice said. This voice was nicer. Softer. A girl.
Jason spun towards the door.
“Who's there?”
The
rock filled once again with an inky purple.
“My name is Amanda,” the voice said. “Can I come in?”
Jason’s heart thumped in his chest. What would happen when she saw his father?
“No!”
Amanda glimpsed the body on the floor. The head looked encased in gangrene.
“I know you’re scared and confused. I can and want to help you. Will you let me?”
Jason looked down at his father’s body. At that moment, there was a wave a sadness that overtook him, the stone in his hand turning a deep blue.
“Are you going to take me to jail?”
“No honey. I’m not going to take you to jail.”
Jason turned towards the door. A young dark-haired lady stood there. She had big, round, mysterious eyes and a smile that comforted and reassured him. The rock’s colors intermingled with pink though the dark purple was still there only faint. Behind her were two men.
“Don’t come in!”
He held the rock out in front of him as the purple threatened to devour all the pink.
“It’s O.K. Jason. They're my family. This is Sebastian, and this is Tyler. We’re here to help. We want to get you out of here so you don’t get in trouble. Can we do that?”
Jason looked at his father’s body again. He wasn’t sure of anything. The lady seemed nice and if she would make sure he would not get in trouble, then that’s where he wanted to be.
He put on his shoes and grabbed his backpack, depositing A Paladin’s Burden inside. Walking to the door, he stopped in front of Amanda.
“Thank you.”
Throwing his arms around her waist, he embraced her and cried. Amanda looked down, wrapping her arms around him, kissing the top of his head.
“It’ll be okay.”
Moments passed. Jason took his sleeve and wiped the tears from his eyes as Amanda assisted.
“Can we…can we stop somewhere?”
“Where do you want to go, honey? Is there someone in your family you want to go to?”
Jason looked down at the rock, admiring the colors, then back at Amanda, shaking his head.
“No. Can we stop by Frankie’s?”
END OF EPISODE 3
Did you enjoy this episode? Did you hate this episode? Either way, could you be so kind as to leave a review? Your input is greatly appreciated. Just tap the link below to leave a review. Thank you ahead of time.
Leave a review.
Invitation
Welcome back.
If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve read the whole book. Thank you for that. Much appreciated.
Which story was the most enjoyable? Of course my desire is that they all were. If there was one that you enjoyed the most, would you be so kind to mention it by leaving a review? It would be most appreciated. Here are the links:
The Visitor
The Forest
The Gift
I extended an invitation earlier to become an R.I.U. Citizen giving you an opportunity to receive the Easton Livingston’s RIU News Bulletin which alerts subscribers to when new books are released as well as any special cross-promotion, sales, and when special bonus material is available. Here is your registration access again:
Register for R.I.U. Citizenship
If you are looking to get the whole series, you can either go on Amazon and buy it here:
The Dark Corner.
Or you can go to RIU HQ and buy it here:
The Dark Corner at RIU HQ.
Or you can buy the two main stories separately for $.99 each. This includes The Basement and The Confrontation . These two stories ends the series. Kind of. There’s always something more if you are willing and brave enough to look deeper.
Make sure you become an RIU Citizen so you don’t miss my upcoming series featuring the Makarios Cadre titled:
Thanks again. Until next time, see you in the Tapestry.
The Inception Trilogy Page 7
