CHAPTER 3
The Transmirian Spiral
Twenty minutes after graduation dinner, Jessica pulled up to Mark’s house, an older colonial home, located in a nice neighborhood on Spokane’s South Hill. Several cars, including Thomas’s truck, were parked in a vacant lot beside the home.
Thomas stood on the front lawn next to the makeshift parking lot. She wondered if he’d been out there waiting for her.
“Hey,” he called when she opened her car door.
Before she could return the greeting, a black jeep skidded into the last open spot at the end of the lot. The driver was yelling inside the vehicle. His words were unintelligible, but the tone of his voice was unmistakable. Ray, a football player who Jessica intensely disliked, raged at the crying girl beside him.
Thomas, now at Jessica’s side, scowled at the scene. “That doesn’t look good.”
The yelling stopped. “Let’s go,” he whispered.
Jessica nodded.
They walked over the freshly manicured grass, past the neat rows of planted pansies and petunias, to the front porch. Just before stepping through the open door, Jessica took a quick look back toward the jeep. The occupants were heading toward the house. Ray had a grip on the girl’s wrist and she wiped at the smudged mascara under her eyes with her free hand.
The aroma of fresh baked bread permeated the home. A woman carrying a steaming pepperoni pizza nearly collided with Thomas. “Oh Tommy, didn’t see you there…and Jessica! Here, take this to the game room, will you?” She held the hot pads out to Thomas.
“No problem Mrs. R.” Thomas reached for the burden. “Smells great.”
“Mark made me promise to bring one down every half hour, so if you want anything special on it, just let me know.”
Jessica followed Thomas downstairs. Music and laughter grew louder with each descending step. A spacious game room, equipped with a foosball table in one corner, an air-hockey table in another, and gaming system in a third came into view. The center of the room had a ping-pong table. Jessica cleared a spot for the hot pizza on a table loaded with cookies, nuts, popcorn and chips. Music played from a portable stereo set up under the refreshments. On the far wall a sliding glass door opened onto a walk-out patio lit by tiki torches. About thirty friends were busily engaged in the various activities as well as dancing on the patio.
“Are you up for a round of air-hockey?” Thomas challenged.
“You’re on!” He beat her soundly, three games to one.
“Talking about unfair,” Jessica laughed. “I’ll bet you practice all the time. I’ve played air hockey a total of three, maybe four times.” They watched a game of foosball for a few minutes and then wandered over to the video games.
“Ahhggg!” the boy playing sighed. “I’ve had it. This game’s impossible.”
“Which one is it?” Jessica asked.
“I dunno,” he shrugged, “some fantasy adventure. Here, Thomas.” He handed the controller over.
“Only one can play this game.” Thomas held the controller out to Jessica. “Go ahead; show me what you’ve got.”
“Not me.” Jessica held both hands up. “I never got into video games. I have enough addictions with Solitaire on the computer at home. You go for it; let me see a master at work.”
Thomas began the game and Jessica settled in beside him on a small couch in front of the television monitor. An armor clad warrior, a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, appeared on the screen. The musical score swelled in volume, base violins and tympanic drums punctuating each step the avatar took. Thomas deftly maneuvered the man through a maze of burning buildings, the sword twisting this way and that, slicing through falling debris. A monster made entirely of flame appeared from behind a stone hedge. The warrior jumped over it, spun around and drove his sword deep into its red-orange heart. It stumbled backwards. Bright, white-hot sparks sprayed in all directions. Trumpets blared when the creature screamed out in pain. The sound pounded in Jessica’s head. Cymbals clashed as the monster exploded. The warrior held up his shield against the thermal blast. Waves of stifling heat surged over Jessica. A nearly consumed building, several yards from the warrior, crumbled. Smoke from the charred debris swirled into the air. The distinct smell of smoldering wood filled Jessica’s nostrils. Her eyes watered. She closed them and swiped away the involuntary tears.
In an instant, the happy sounds of a room full of people grew silent. Jessica sat on what was left of a demolished marble statue. Shattered white stone lay in piles at her feet. For a moment she was immobilized, stunned by her abrupt change of location. Smoke tainted the air she breathed. The foul stench of charred flesh made her stomach churn. She threw her hand up to cover her nose.
The distinctive smell brought a sickening feeling of familiarity. Barely one hundred feet in front of her was the burned out shell of a once great building. Most of the foundation stones, though blackened by smoke, were in place. Only a few charred beams, still upright in the piles of smoldering ash, remained of the actual structure.
She knew this place. She knew the statue had been of a large bird in flight. She knew the home had been a welcome haven to all who visited there. It had been that way for hundreds of years. It was the home of the protectors, of Haesom, his wife and his two sons. Slowly, Jessica turned. Behind her lay the once manicured lawns of the estate. A devastating scene of armored corpses, some heaped in groups and others singly sprawled on trampled grass, lay in all directions. Light from the setting sun punched through holes in the smoky haze that covered the field and reflected on polished helmets and broken swords. A cracked spear, its point sunk deep into the earth, protruded at an angle next to her.
From across the yard, a lone man stumbled through the mist. Using a sword as his cane, he limped from body to body searching the unresponsive faces. It seemed a slow, arduous process.
“Hello”, Jessica called out. The man paused, straightened. He looked to where she was standing, but no emotion registered on his blood smeared face. He went back to his grizzly task, seemingly unaware of her presence. Several thin strips of cloth were tied around his left leg, from the top of the thigh to the end of his calf. They were all that held the slashed muscle together, and threatened to snap with each step he took. He arrived at the first of several corpse piles. Jessica was nearly overcome with pity when he reached for the top corpse and pulled it down.
“AAAAGGGHH!” His anguished cry ripped through the eerie silence. He leaned heavily on his sword. “Dead…all dead. How can I bear it?”
Yes, how could he bear it? This poor soldier…how could she bear to witness it? Why was she back here, to this horrible scene of death and destruction?
A low groan came from a cadaver mound only feet from Jessica. She jumped. The man hobbled to the pile, nearly tripping in his haste. He checked each body for breath before heaving the lifeless form to one side. The fifth one he came to coughed. “Reese! Good Lord, boy! I can’t believe you’re alive!”
“Barely, Cordon, barely.” The young man was ashen white, his breath came is shallow gasps.
“Can you stand?”
“Maybe, just give me a minute.” Slowly, some color came back into his face. “Okay…okay, let’s try this.” With help, the rescued soldier rose to a wobbly stance. “How many survived?”
“Now that I’ve found you, four.”
“Four?” Reece’s voice quivered. “We were a thousand!”
“They slaughtered every one left alive. I found the other two, like you, under piles of corpses. I too fell at the head of my men.”
“Grandpa?”
The man shook his head.
“The family?”
“I’ve spent all day searching for survivors. Been over the entire estate and there’s no sign of them. A lot of bodies are burned beyond recognition, others mutilated so badly I don’t know who they were.”
A sob escaped the younger soldier.
“Pull yourself together, boy.”
“I failed, C
ordon. You assigned me the duty of protecting the family. They were just boys, and a defenseless woman.” Cordon nodded, his anguished face reflected Reese’s misery.
Jessica fought her own tears. Remembering her dream-or had it been a vision-from the night before, she turned her gaze toward the grassy knoll beyond. Did he search for the family on the hillside? She closed her eyes against the horror she felt, but then she remembered. Quirt reported he saw the bodies being thrown in the kitchen well.
She opened her eyes. The two men were leaving, leaning on each other for support. “The well,” she called, “look in the kitchen well!”
The younger man stopped, his abrupt action nearly causing the older one to collapse. “Did you hear that?”
“I heard nothing but the wind,” Cordon replied irritably. “Come on. I’ve got to get to Ramadine, warn Larone. And you’re going to Ider Hoffle, tell the elders what happened.”
“Look in the kitchen well!” Jessica yelled. She maneuvered around two bodies to get closer to the retreating men. “Do you hear me? The family’s in the well!”
Cordon froze, his bad leg in mid-air.
“Tell me you heard that.” Reese barely whispered.
“I heard it…a buzzing noise making words in my head.”
“The kitchen well? Could the Saylon family be in the well?”
“It’s worth a look. That’s the one place I haven’t searched.”
Smoke cloaked their receding forms. Jessica didn’t follow after them, she had no desire to see what was in the kitchen well. Instead, she turned her attention to what was left of the great building before her. She walked to the edge of a crumbled partition and gazed into the gutted interior. From deep within the bowels of the burned out building, something called to her. It touched her mind, a whisper, a yearning. She stared downward, past the rubble, past the cinders. A weak light, like the beam from a tiny flashlight, appeared through the darkness. It called again…more insistent…more compelling. It wanted her to reach for it, take it and command it. Justice. Judgment. She reached forward.
“Oh man! This game’s impossible! Marko, when are you going to get cheat sheets for this thing?” Thomas’s voice jolted Jessica back.
“Only wimps use cheat sheets,” Mark retorted.
“Then I guess I’m a wimp.”
Jessica combed her fingers through her hair, trying to reorient. She was certain she was losing her mind.
“You’re probably not very hungry, having eaten such a late dinner, but let’s go look at the food,” Thomas suggested, seemingly unaware of Jessica’s loss of reality. “My dinner was before graduation and Mrs. R. just brought down another pizza.”
“Yeah, yeah…that sounds really great. I could go for a big chunk of chocolate right now. About a pound would be good. ”
“You like chocolate, huh?”
“Ooooh, yes. Best stuff in the world.”
When they reached the table, most of the goodies were gone, but a fresh pizza still steamed. “Hmmm, no chocolate. Guess I’ll settle for pepperoni,” Jessica said. “You’d be amazed at how much I can eat. Running cross-country keeps me famished most of the time. I’ll bet the girls’ cross-country team could out eat the football team any day. I’ve been to buffets with those runners and even I’m amazed at how much we can all put away.” Jessica grabbed two pieces of the homemade pie.
“Drink?” Thomas gestured to a row of sodas.
“Just water. I’m still in training.”
He filled two cups from a glass pitcher.
They took their food outside onto the small, well-lit patio. Music came from hidden outdoor speakers. Thomas led the way, weaving through six sets of dancers to reach two empty chairs. A full moon illuminated the clear night sky. Its light shimmered on the four foot high rock wall surrounding the cement pad. A pleasant breeze blew, and the smell of newly mowed grass drifted on the air.
“So, are you going to Europe with your family?” Jessica nibbled on her large slice of pepperoni.
Thomas set his cup down. “Yeah, I’m the youngest, so my mom planned this whole summer adventure: Italy to see a brother in the Navy, Paris to a friend, and of course, Euro Disney.” He paused for a bite of his pizza. “I did pretty well in our German classes, so there’s Berlin, and finally England for Dad to do some genealogy. We’ll be home the week before college starts.” He took a long drink of his water.
“Sounds exciting. My summer vacation started today and ends Monday when I go fulltime at the vet clinic.”
“Are you going to school this fall?”
“Yep, to the U in Seattle.”
“That’s where I’m going. In fact, Mark and I are rooming together.”
Suddenly college seemed more enticing than ever. She wanted to say something clever, but a large bite of chewy pizza crust stopped her.
On the other side of the patio, a Siamese cat darted out from under some blooming lilac bushes and jumped from the stone retaining wall onto the concrete patio. The feline sprinted across the courtyard, dodging its way around several slow dancing couples. When nearly to the open sliding doors, the animal stopped, twitched its ears and fixed its yellow eyes on Jessica.
“Thomas, look at him.” She pointed to the large cat. “What’s he up to?”
“What makes you think he’s up to something?”
She barely heard him. Her concentration was on the tom. He meowed twice. “Something’s wrong,” she murmured. “I know this sounds crazy, but a girl’s in trouble. There.” She pointed to the clump of bushes from where the cat had emerged.
A muffled scream, barely audible above the music, was heard. “Did you hear that?” Jessica asked.
“Yeah, I did.” Thomas stood up.
Moments later, tearing out from the bushes, came Ray. He leaped to the patio and collided with two couples while crossing to the game room.
“Something’s very wrong,” Jessica repeated.
Thomas headed for the bushes with Jessica close behind.
Through the shrubbery, at the base of a large pine tree, lay the crying girl from the jeep. She was curled up in a ball. Streaks of wet mascara ran down her cheeks. The blackened tears mingled with blood that oozed, unchecked, from the side of her mouth.
Jessica knelt next to the hurt girl. She placed her hand on her head and stroked her hair. Thomas helped her to a sitting position, allowing Jessica to cradle her.
“What’s your name?” Jessica gently asked.
“Jennifer.”
“What happened?” Thomas asked through clenched teeth. His eyes held compassion for the girl, but his mouth was tight, in a grim line.
“Ray’s psycho. I’ve only gone out with him a few times….thinks he owns me. I’m terrified,” she sobbed. “I had to do something, I just had to. He flipped out. I tried to run, but…”
Thomas seethed, “Ray crossed a line.”
Jessica agreed. “He’s probably high.”
“You okay if I leave you?”
Jessica nodded, then caught his hand before he turned. “Thomas…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”
Left to themselves, Jessica helped Jennifer to her feet. They pushed through the bushes and walked around the oblivious dancers to the game room. While they were heading to the bathroom, Mark’s mom stopped them.
“What on earth happened?”
“Her date got abusive,” Jessica answered.
Sliding her arm around Jennifer’s waist, the older woman took charge of the situation. “First of all we need to call the police. No one gets away with this behavior, especially at my house.” Having been relieved from duty, Jessica went in search of Thomas.
She found him out on the front lawn talking with Mark. “…temper.” Mark said. “Got into lots of fights when we were kids.” He shook his head, “I always hoped he’d grow out of it.”
“He needs help.” Thomas added.
“Hey,” Jessica called from the front door. The two young men turned.
“Ho
w’s Jennifer?” Mark asked.
“Your mom’s taking care of her. She’s calling the police.” Jessica walked over to them and Thomas took her hand in his.
“Yeah. Ray can’t get away with crap like this,” Mark sighed, “He bolted out of here before Thomas could let us know what happened to stop him. I’m going back in. Oh, by the way Reddica,” he called over his shoulder, “that was a sweet fall you took before graduation today.”
Jessica winced. Thomas snickered. “Not nice, Mark!” she yelled after him. Looking at Thomas she moaned, “I hoped no one had noticed.”
“Well it was a little hard not to, but you were very graceful.”
“Thanks a lot, you’re about the fifth person to tell me that.” Looking around the deserted yard, she asked,
“So Ray got away?”
Thomas nodded. “He was probably drunk before he got here. I saw him peel out of the parking lot just as I made it ouside. I hope he doesn’t kill somebody.”
“My mom was killed by a drunk driver.” She blurted it out without thinking and now she felt embarrassed. Jessica never talked about her mother’s death. She talked about her mother all the time, but never about her death. Looking down at her shoes, she rubbed her toe in the grass.
“I’m sorry,” Thomas gave her hand a squeeze. “I knew…, but I didn’t know how.”
“I didn’t mean to say anything; I don’t normally talk about it.” Feeling uncomfortable, she stared out at the deserted street. To her relief, Thomas changed the subject.
The Protector of Esparia (The Annals of Esparia Book 1) Page 4
