In the Forest of Light and Dark

by Kasniak, Mark

  “If we stay you’re eventually going to discover all kinds of things you can do, whether it be moving things, persuading people, making it rain. Hell, you'll probably be able to shape-shift or be able to travel at an incredible rate of speed like your grandmother could do. But, I'm telling you, Cera, it won't be good enough. It will never be good enough. In the end she will always win, and we will always die.”

  Now honestly, I still didn't fully understand my feelings on why I wanted to stay anyhow. I mean, I had only one friend here, and not to mention that I desperately missed Tucker and my friends back in Saraland. There were kids at school out to get me. Our neighbors are rude and nasty to us, and I have an evil witch who lives out in the forest behind my house that’s trying to kill me. Any normal person would have been glad to just pack up their shit and go back home, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I was sick of running, sick of being poor white trash from Alabama, and sick of being afraid all the time and of having no hope that things will eventually get better.

  “Well, I'm not goin' back.” I said defiantly. “There’s nothing there for me back in Saraland. I’m not goin' back to a life where all I'm ever goin’ to have is dead-end jobs that have me livin' in a trailer while I’m drinkin' myself to death because that’s all that there is in Saraland and you know it.”

  “Cera, we can't stay.”

  “I don't care. I'm not goin' back!” I again yelled at my mama like a child before storming off to my room yet again.

  The South Shall Rise Again

  The next day after school Katelyn and I went to see Terra again down at the historical society. Once there, we had picked up right where we’d left off yesterday with helping me develop and perfect the powers I had already learned. Terra had also showed me a few new ones like being able to make a small flame erupt spontaneously into an inferno. But, I can only do that one if there’s already an open flame present. I can't create fire out of thin air—Yet.

  Terra also taught me some spells too. We had worked on a protection spell for me and my family and we also put one together that would help my Step Daddy Cade recover from his accident faster.

  After practicing for several hours, Katelyn and I then left the historical society where we then hung out in the park while sharing a cigarette before heading home.

  On our way back to my house we had talked about what each of us should do if either of us was to have another unfortunate run-in with Abellona, but not much, if anything, is what we’d came up with when it came to protecting ourselves. What were we supposed to do? I wasn’t strong enough yet, and Katelyn would never be. It sucked, and the more I thought about things the more I started to realize that my mama was probably right. Even if Terra had taught me everything she knew that my grandmother could do, it probably still wouldn't be enough to stop the witch of Mt. Harrison. It wasn't enough for my grandmother.

  We had made our way up my street, and as we approached closer to my house, it seemed like the more abject I was becoming. And I think Katelyn could also sense the way I felt, too, because she had remained just as quiet as I was.

  As we finished our walk and had neared my house, suddenly the streetlamps sparked to life one-by-one halting us in our tracks as we watched each light make its presence known. At the time it was just past 7p.m. and not long before dusk, so the lamps coming on was perfectly normal. But nonetheless, for a moment, I’m pretty sure we both thought it was Abellona doing it and that she might be nearby, which needless to say scared the living crap out of the two of us.

  We had been just a look-see away from the edge of my hidden driveway when I began to feel my heart rate begin to simmer down because I knew that once we’d reached my property Katelyn’s protection spell would have us covered. But that was when I almost had a heart attack. Because, I don't know how it happened, but from behind us, a large black pickup truck had snuck up on us. When it had gotten to within a few dozen yards of us the driver laid down on its horn which sounded more like the air horn off a big rig then one you’d commonly find in a pickup. I swear my heart had stopped for several beats after that, and I watched Katelyn jump straight up in the air like a frightened deer.

  “HEY… HEY THERE, KNOB TICKLER!!!” a voice yelled out from the truck’s passenger side. I couldn't see who it was because of the glare coming off the pickup’s headlights, but I recognized the voice’s obnoxious nature. I then took a few tentative steps forward and unsurely called out, “Owen?”

  “The one and only, darlin'.” he called back beaming as he jumped out of the cab.

  I couldn't believe what I saw, and for a moment I thought it might be one of Abellona Abbott’s tricks. Then, the driver shut off the engine and powered down the headlights before emerging out the cab himself. I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was Tucker, and for the next few moments he just stood there in the roadway staring at me with his Cheshire cat grin spread ear to ear.

  I stared back at him, unmoving as my mind raced to figure out how this could be, all while a whirlwind of feelings begun spinning through me like a hurricane. When I could breathe again, I found that my breaths were weak and shallow, almost hyperventilating, and causing me to feel dizzy. My knees buckled slightly, and for a moment I thought I might pass out.

  “What… You don't remember me anymore?” he said jokingly, and I took to running to him practically knocking him over when I’d leaped onto him wrapping my arms around his neck like a noose.

  “W-What are you guys doin' here?” I asked them while practically choking back a sob that had snuck up on me.

  “Well, Owen and I thought we'd come up and see you for a little while. We know you've been havin' a rough go up here with all these dumbass Yanks, so we figured we'd cover your back for a bit and let everyone know that our girl is not to be messed with. Besides, Owens just been itchin' for a reason to break-in his new fuck-up boots.”

  “But, how... How can this be?” I stammered. “You guys drove all the way up here from Alabama to see me. Don't you have work? Don't you have school, Owen?”

  “Yeah, well…” Owen then said in a low tone as he rubbed the back of his neck. Then he went on, “I… I sort of dropped out. The thing is... I didn't do as good in summer school as I let on. I kinda failed English again, so... I'm just not goin' back. Tucker's uncle gave me a job at the shop, and I'm gonna start workin’ there when we get back.”

  “Oh,” I said not really knowing what else to say, but then I looked for a positive. “Well, at least you got a job. That's better than what most of the guys our age back home have.” I then turned my attention back to Tucker and asked, “What about you?”

  “My Uncle Dale gave me some time off so I could come up here to see you. I guess he must’ve been tired of me mopin' around the shop.”

  From behind me, I then heard Katelyn suddenly clear her throat, and I realized just then that I had forgotten that she was even there. I then introduced her to Owen and Tucker, and when Owen shook her hand, I watched him as he checked her out, which normally would’ve given me cause to call him a pervert, telling him to knock it off and be respectful. But I was so happy to see him and Tucker right then that I would have given him my blessing to marry Katelyn if he wanted.

  A moment later when I’d looked back at Tucker I saw that he had a strange look on his face, like he had just seen something that he couldn’t quite get his head around. “What's wrong?” I asked him as I felt my nerves begin to tense up again thinking it was Abellona.

  “You’d mentioned there were a lot of cats here, but fuck.” he then said with a head nod that encouraged me to turn around.

  Behind me scattered throughout my yard and the copses that lined the sides of the road were about a hundred cats, maybe more. They didn’t so much as make a sound as they furtively crept in and out of the street and nearby bushes while they watched us.

  “Oh, that's nothing, don't worry about them.” I said, trying to reassure Tucker and Owen that they were of no threat. “We have a stray problem around here, but they'
re harmless.”

  The guys didn't say anything else about the felines, they just quizzically watched as the cats zigzagged the area.

  A few minutes later, Katelyn told us that she had better get going and I insisted that Tucker give her a ride home, to which of course, he obliged. Owen then hopped into the truck’s bed so that Katelyn and I could squeeze into the cab with Tucker for the short trip.

  After we’d dropped Katelyn off, Tucker, Owen, and I then went back to my house where we hung out on the deck and drank a couple of my step daddy's beers. Mama was still at St. Christopher's visiting him so I knew the coast was clear for at least a little while longer.

  As we sipped on our pilsners and shot-the-shit it wasn't long before we became joined by Midnight. And, as the guys filled me in about life back home in Saraland she seemed to check them out by circling through their legs back-and-forth while periodically peering up at them.

  As we talked I had asked Tucker and Owen where they’d be staying while they were here, and Owen told me that they had booked a room up for the next week at a small B&B just outside of the village.

  It wasn’t much longer before my mama had come home, and I heard her calling for me when she’d entered the house. I had quickly handed Owen my cigarette so she wouldn't catch me smoking and that was right when the kitchen lights came on followed by her poking her head out through the sliding patio door in search of me.

  “Oh my god!” she gasped as she put a hand up to her chest. “Tucker, Owen... What are you boys doing here?”

  “Oh, hey, Mrs. Singer.” responded Owen, Tucker a small wave. “We decided to come up here for a little while to surprise Cera.”

  “Well, don't you have school? Tucker, I thought you were now working for your uncle.”

  “He gave me some time off to see Cera.” Tucker answered.

  “What about you, Owen. How's your senior year going?”

  I then watched as Owen glanced down at his feet and that was quickly followed by him, saying a long, “Well...” to which my mama didn't need any more explanation. In Saraland when you asked somebody how school, work, or their health was going and got well... Ah...or Um... It meant not good and you should probably just leave it at that.

  My mama being intuitive quickly changed the subject, and I assumed it was because she didn't want to embarrass Owen any further. So she said to me, “Cera, honey, good news. The hospital will be releasing your step daddy tomorrow morning.”

  “That's great, Mama.” I said having been happy to have heard that, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of well-being percolate through me. Maybe, it was seeing my friends from back home again. Maybe, it was the fact that my step daddy was rapidly improving—possibly from the spell Terra and I had conjured—or maybe it was the confidence I was beginning to feel as my powers developed. But I remembered that night as being the best I had felt in more than two months.

  “Boys, where will you be staying while you’re here?” my mama than asked the guys right before heading back into the house. “I can set up some pillows and blankets on the couches if you like?”

  “No thank you, Mrs. Singer. We got a room at a B&B in the village.” Tucker told her.

  And with that, I gave my mama the look. You know the look that every seventeen-year-old girl gives her parents when she wants them to leave.

  My mama caught my drift and said, “Oh, okay then. Well, it's good seeing you boys again, and tomorrow you guys be sure to come around for dinner, okay? And, Cera, don't be up too late, and stay in the yard, alright?”

  When my mama had said, stay in the yard, I felt her voice pierce through me in its sternness, and it almost seemed like she was in my head for a moment. I then just nodded in compliance.

  The very next day school went by in a flash. I didn't even get any shit from the bitches or Mr. McLaren. In fact, I was in such a great mood that morning that when I was in homeroom, I surreptitiously hiked up my skirt past my mid-thighs just to tease Cory Slater a little-bit. There was no doubt in my mind that my good mood been contributed to Tucker and Owen surprising me with a visit, and later when I sat in study hall watching the clock and waiting for it to strike 2 p.m. I found myself absolutely itching to get out. I had hoped that Tucker and Owen wouldn't be drunk already. Because, after all, as far as I knew they’d had nothing to do with themselves all day while I was in school and drinking is as sure of a cure for boredom as nachos are for hunger.

  After the last bell I met up with Katelyn at her locker and we then met up with Tucker and Owen outside of the school. Our plans were to hang out down by the river underneath the bridge on Colmack Road. But before heading down to the bridge we’d made a quick stop at the Kwikfill where I made quick work of convincing Billy Lambert to sell me a thirty-pack of Budweiser.

  At first, he didn't want to do it, saying, “Sorry, Cera, cigarettes are one thing, but selling alcohol to a minor could land me in some real hot water with the law.” So, I then reached over the counter, resting my hand on his arm while looking him in the eyes and gently saying, “It's alright, Billy. You want to do this.” He then nodded at me before ringing up the purchase.

  After we had gotten down under the bridge, it wasn't long before I found myself feeling like I was right back home again. I was with my friends partying in a little tucked-away spot where people and police wouldn't find us. The beers were ice-cold. The shots from the flask Katelyn had brought that she’d filled with bourbon compliments of her parents liquor cabinet were smooth (even though I took mine half watered down) and so was the refer she had. Owen had N'awleans finest metal band EyeHateGod screaming from his boom box (much to Katelyn’s abhorrence) and I thought nothing could bring me down from the way I’d felt just then.

  So, therefore, it wasn't long before Katelyn had to go and kill the mood by saying to Tucker, “So, how long are you boys planning on sticking around for?” to which Tucker replied, “We got to the end of the weekend before we have to head back. I got to be at work Wednesday morning.”

  “Oh, so you'll be here this Friday then.” Katelyn then said, and I quickly noticed the upward inflection in her voice when she said the word Friday. What the hell was she getting at? I thought, and when I had looked at her, she was staring right at me, mouth agape, with that coy look that she liked to give whenever she was about to fuck with somebody. I had no clue as to what she was planning, and then it hit me, but unfortunately it was too late by then to stop her.

  “You know, Tucker,” she said, keeping her eyes on me the entire time. “Cera could use a date for the homecoming dance this Friday.”

  Fuckin’, Bitch. Oh, no you just didn't, I thought.

  “Is that right?” Tucker then said back to her, or maybe he was talking to me but I couldn't tell at the moment. My mind was fully stuck on how I was going to pay Katelyn back for this one. You see, not only was I not the sort of girl who goes to dances. But, given the fact that Keri, Laurie, and Hallie would surely be at the dance along with their meatheads, and with Abellona out there somewhere plotting my demise, adding to that Tucker and Owens’s ability to find trouble. (Which Katelyn had no way of knowing given the fact that she’d just met them and I hadn't clued her in on any of the old stories from back home of their exploits.) If, I went to that dance, I was going to have my hands full that night, no doubt about it.

  “Well, I'd be much obliged to escort this pretty little lady to the ball this Friday evening if she'll have me.” Tucker then said to me as he held out a hand for me to take while he bowed like a Southern gentleman.

  “I... I don't know if goin' to the dance is such a good idea.” I stammered out.

  “Why not, you should go? It will do you some good to feel normal again if only for a little while. Besides, it'll be fun.” Katelyn said, chiming in and yet sounding somewhat chiding.

  “Do something normal? Oh, that's rich coming from the Queen of darkness herself.” I shot back at her jokingly. “Where's your date for the dance? If I have to go, you have to go too.”

&nb
sp; “I'll go with sugar tits here.” Owen then said, speaking up and sounding suddenly perky at the thought of hooking up with Katelyn.

  “I don't do dances.” Katelyn told him shaking her head dismissively.

  “You do now, sugar tits!” I told her.

  “Okay, fine. I'll go, but I'm only going for your sake, Cera.”

  “Whatever you gotta tell yourself, sugar tits... Whatever you gotta tell yourself.”

  I did end up agreeing to go to the dance with Tucker even though I had thought it was a really bad idea given the threat from Abellona and all. I guess deep down I really did want to go though, and I really did want to go with him. But, even more than that, I really wanted to go because I had a feeling that Katelyn had also wanted to go. She had said that she was willing to go because she had thought that secretly I wanted to go, pretending that she was doing me a favor. But, I saw the look on her face when Owen had said he’d go with her. I saw through that gothic exterior and all the witchcraft to where there was still a teenage girl buried in there who wanted to go to the ball.

  Homecoming was just three days away, though, which created a whole new set of problems for me because I had no idea as to how I was supposed to keep everybody safe from Abellona if she decided to strike. So after I had gotten a few more beers in me, I had come up with the not so bright idea to tell Tucker all about Abellona and what’s been going on up here in Mount Harrison since I'd moved here. I had figured that he and Owen should at least know of her existence just in case anything did happen. I knew he wouldn't believe me though, and would think I was just yanking his crank, but I thought I could persuade him if I tried my damnedest.