by Eros, Marata
Tiffany let about twenty bubbles snap and burst in a row, causing all of us to jump.
Mrs. Terran was on it, she held out a small trash separator casually, beefing it up about a foot under Tiff's mouth. Pointing a finger toward the top she said, “A new home for the nastiness we call gum.”
Tiff looked at her and she stared back, her gray eyes bright and unruffled in her wrinkled face. Wow... Tiff was so not prepared for the intellectual force that was John's mom. She should cave now and not bother.
Tiff appeared to deliberate. Finally, she spit the gum out in an unladylike glob that hit the rim, and slid down to the bottom, leaving a disgusting snail-trail of green ooze on the way down. Geez.
Smith watched this all with fascination.
Mrs. Terran spun on her heel. “Of course, how rude of me.” The tone of voice did not sound like she felt rude. “Join me at the table.” She strode over to a table that gleamed under a hanging LED chandelier with polished arms. We all stood uncomfortably around it and she said, “Sit, please.”
John and Alex slid into place and Smith stuck out his hand. “I'm Officer John Smith from the City of Kent Police Department.”
She shook his hand and the rest of us sat.
“What I say must be held with the strictest confidentiality for now,” he began, “but, due to the nature of what we've discovered and your son's proximity to Caleb, we feel you're on a need-to-know basis.”
I looked at Smith and he nodded. “Garcia knows. It's okay.”
Huh, maybe he was off his period now, I thought uncharitably.
“What does this have to do with John? He is not one to participate in anything untoward, ” Mrs. Terran said, her eyes unwavering.
He was just too smart to get caught.
John gave me big eyeballs across the table. I gave an imperceptible nod back. Don't worry about it , the nod said.
Smith sighed. “It's not anything he's done, Mrs. Terran.”
“Please, call me Joan.”
Huh, I guess adults got status rights, she was still Mrs. Terran to me.
He nodded, continuing, “You may have heard on the news about recent developments on the murders of the children at that old cemetery by Hwy 167?”
“ Clemen's Cemetery. Yes, I was aware. We remain updated about current events, especially those which impact us locally.”
John was busy dying in his chair across from me. I guess there were more embarrassing parents than having one that was famous.
Almost.
Smith leaned back against the chair, folding his arms across his chest. He appeared to decide something. “Mrs. Terran,” ignoring the Joan-thing entirely, “the killer is targeting Nulls.”
Comprehension flooded Mrs. Terran's face. She gave John a piercing stare, as if somehow he had caused the eagle-eye of the killer to fall on him.
His face suffused with a dull brick color.
Tiff squirmed.
Totally awkward.
“He is in danger. All Nulls are in danger. We suspect that the killer may be in a position in which he's in close proximity to kids, access to confidential records and such. John's association with Caleb makes him even more vulnerable because Caleb and Tiff, as AFTDs, are helping track the killer through his death trail.”
“And you, Mr. Smith; you are a part of this investigation in what capacity?” Joan Terran carefully folded her bird-like hands decorated with blue veins captured in milky skin.
“I'm a Null.”
“How many points are you?” she asked.
“Five.”
“I see. Are you not afraid yourself, Mr. Smith?”
Smith shook his head. “I am their protector, their advocate. He has no pattern of killing adults that we're aware of.”
“I think that might change, Mr. Smith. As you circle his lair, pressing in upon his complacency. He may lash out, capturing all the Nulls together, making us essentially vulnerable here.” She gestured with a palm, taking in the immediate space around us.
John jerked straight up in his seat, as though he'd thought of something.
Alex nodded alongside; they both got hit by the intellectual whammy at the same moment.
“It's anarchy,” John said.
Smith looked at him sharply. “Explain.”
John was excited, his elbows glancing the table top, so thrilled to tell his idea that he totally missed his mom's frown. “If all the Nulls were not here, this would be an oasis of chaos.”
Huh, kinda poetic, Terran.
Alex expounded, “We'd have no protection. No way of policing the paranormals. They'd have to be stopped with...”
“Force,” Smith said.
We looked at one other.
Mrs. Terran that summed it up, “If the Nulls were extinguished, then that would leave us undefended and stronger action could be taken. By whom?” she paused rhetorically. “By the same people or another entity like them, waiting for this moment to squeeze their fist of control, taking out the paranormals as a group. By death, containment or worse.”
“What's the ʻor worseʼ?” I asked.
She looked at me in the only way she knew how, with condescension. “That, Caleb, would be experimentation with the blessing of our government.”
Back to that again , I thought, remembering the Graysheets.
Tiff was obviously remembering too, giving me wide, frightened eyes.
“What concession of protection are the police willing to provide?” she asked, her arms carefully steepled on the table, sweatered elbows causing no mar upon its perfection.
“We're still looking into that. But, with the number of Nulls that fall in the under-eighteen, high risk category, a random patrol would be all we'd be able to shake out until we validated more man power.”
“Or another child dies,” she said with surety.
Ouch, she was right.
Smith cringed.
I was with him. It was the hard new reality.
There was a creeper gunning for the Nulls and John was in the crosshairs.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I couldn't get Jade out of my mind.
I knew that she was safe at Sophie's. But after what we'd discovered, the brawl in her yard, the unresolved issue with Brett sniffing around—I had to admit I felt unsettled.
For an extra dose of worry, her dad was out of the slammer.
I lay in my bed, absently stroking Onyx, thinking about the complications of my life, different than last year but somehow the same. Maybe this was what life was? A series of crap that popped up like weeds, some became a jungle and some stayed in line. But pulling them constantly was becoming a chore.
The Boy seems troubled, the Dog thought. He would stay close to him until the somber mood was gone. The Dog thought all of this would go away more quickly if the Boy threw the toy that smelled of him, that was soft and made an interesting noise that the Dog liked.
I watched Onyx jump off the bed and grab that sick-smelling doggie toy. I couldn't understand why he liked it. The squeaker was shot to hell, and it had been a peach color when Mom had bought it. It was some kind of pale sherbet now, with stiff spots where he had slobbered on it.
He approached me, giving me eyes that blended with his black face, his tail wagging, the gaze steady and faithful.
Ah-hell . He needed some time.
I got off the bed and we tore down the steps and out the door.
Mom called after me, “Caleb!”
“Yeah?” I said, my hand on the knob for the front door, the metal warming under my touch. Onyx waited impatiently for me to manage The Parent.
“Where are you going?”
“Takinʼ Onyx out to play with his ball thing.”
“Okay, supper's soon!”
“Yeah!”
“Yes, what?”
I rolled my eyes, this Nazi-response stuff was getting on my last nerve. “Yes, Mom.”
“Thank you. Acknowledgment is a good thing.”
Right.
Onyx
raced out ahead of me and I launched the sucker as far as I could. He watched the pastel-colored toy arc, judging its trajectory then sprinted after it, nose down, all business.
The Dog saw the wonderful soft thing twirl above his head and the smell of it wafted on the wind to him, spearing his nose, giving the Dog the direction he needed to race after it. He lighted upon it, grabbing the fragrant mass into his mouth, giving it ʻsoft mouthʼ. Which made the Dog pause, a sensory memory of his other life sliding just out of the reach of him. He remembered a similar game with the Other Boy, a game in which he needed to not use the sharp things in his mouth for the toy...
“Onyx!” I yelled, seeing that he stood there with the ball-thing in his mouth, staring. What? Was he having a dog moment or something?
The sound of the Boy's voice shattered the memory, and the Dog came to the new Boy, his tail wagging, all memories displaced by the anticipation of another toss.
I hucked the thing again, wiping off the dog grossness on my jeans when my pulse vibrated in my pocket.
I smiled when I saw it was Jade:
Activated: Top-five contact- Jade LeClerc
Still at Sophie's? - CH
Yeah, I'll be here the whole weekend.- JLeC
I'll see ya at school tomorrow and then Gramps is having the BBQ @ his place Sat.- CH
Oh yeah? Hope it's hot weather.- JLeC
shrugs idk, you know how it is around here.- CH
Listen—we didn't really get a chance to wrap up the crap about Brett.- CH
disruption in pulse conversation
I know. But, seriously, Caleb, nothing happened. I don't think he'd hurt me. Look at what's going on... from his perspective. His brother was one of the victims of this psycho, his dad makes mine look tame. Idk, he needs a friend, and it makes me feel bad to be a jerk to him.- JLeC
She couldn't be serious! I thought, lifting my thumb so it wouldn't railroad straight to her pulse.
strong emotive response Jade—wow, is there some amnesia bull- profanity-block happening here? Didn't we just get in the biggest profanity-block -ing brawl in your yard, for cripe's sake? Did he not just try to drag you off, cave-man style and kiss you? Have you forgotten that? He is not safe! This is what I was talking about last pulse: I need help from you. I can't protect you when I'm not around and you airquotes 'feeling bad', for Brett makes you vulnerable to his profanity-block! - CH
disruption in pulse conversation
crying I didn't mean to make this—happen between us. I don't know what to do! He lives by me and what happened today—I didn't want to kiss him! I don't get him! He knows I don't like him! - JLeC
I got him.
Hell Jade, don't cry. Let's just-let's get together tonight and talk in person. I need to see ya. Come on, Sophie will be cool with it.- CH
Idk. Sophie's parents don't like boys coming over.- JLeC
What the hell? I was starting to feel panicky now. I tried to get a handle on this. I took another tactic.
How about you guys meet us at the hide-a-way? Then you're meeting us somewhere and not at her house? - CH
Pausing BRB - JLeC
I died a little while I waited. Jade was the only person on earth that made me feel unsure of myself. I hated that, but I loved her. Why was life so complicated? Onyx stood patiently at my feet wagging his tail, the gross blob in his mouth.
I ripped it out of his mouth and chucked it again. He sailed after it.
My screen lit back up.
Okay, Sophie wants to know what time? JLeC
Idk, let me round up the troops and we'll meet with whoever can come tonight at 8.- CH
That doesn't give a lot of time, with school tomorrow and all.- JLeC
We don't need a lot, I just want to get this behind us right away, figured out. I don't like it hanging around.- CH
Like a black cloud.- JLeC
Yeah, like that.- CH
K, see you @ 8.- JLeC
Love ya.- CH
U2.- JLeC
****
The Parents watched me pork down on the spaghetti and meatballs. I was trying not to shovel but my attempt at self-restraint had turned ugly.
Dad watched with something like a smile.
Mom frowned.
The Hunger had overtaken my thought processes but the frontal lobe was still on line. Maybe there was hope.
“So, to recap, Caleb. This Null—” Dad began.
“Smith,” I mumbled through noodles while Mom scowled. I was dangerously close to showing my food as I talked, and that would provoke the Food Lecture. Which should be avoided at All Costs.
“Right. He thinks that all Nulls are in danger?”
I nodded, slurping a ton of milk to facilitate the load down the pipe.
“Caleb, you're going to have digestive problems. No one is going to steal your food!” Mom said.
Well, probably not but... I swung my forearm around the perimeter of my plate and Dad barked out a laugh.
“I give up!” Mom huffed.
“Okay, back on track. The police will be patrolling the Null's homes?” Dad continued.
I swallowed. “Yeah.”
Mom stared. “Can you expound on this a little?” She was sounding frustrated.
I didn't feel compelled to expound. For me, it was all about conveying information and then everything else was just fluff. Mom liked fluff.
Dad sighed. “Normally Caleb, I am not a big believer in the superfluous, but, we may need a tiny bit,” he held his index and thumb apart by the smallest measure, “more information. Especially in light of the events that transpired last year.”
Fine.
I looked at the clock and realized there was only an hour until showtime with the gang. The parents saw my glance.
“Keeping you, son?” Dad said, getting a tone.
Brother.
“No. It's just, there was this thing that happened at Jade's.” The silence swelled in that ominous way it does when you're gonna drop a bomb. “Remember stupid Carson and Brett?”
Mom frowned at the description but Dad said, “Unforgettable.”
Okay, he was down with it. “Well, they're back, and their little group has grown.”
“What happened at Jade's?” Mom asked, worry making the angles of her face show in stark relief.
“There was a fight.”
Mom slapped her forehead.
Dad said, “Zombies make an appearance, son?”
I scrubbed my face. “Yeah.”
“Great,” Mom said.
“Hang on, Ali.”
Mom rolled her eyes.
“Garcia, Gale and that new guy, Smith, showed up and got it all under control. But now that Carson has picked up an older kid, who's a fire-freak too, and he's dating an AFTD...”
Dad's eyebrows shot up.
“Really,” I stated.
“That's not fabulous news. Why did this escalate into a fight?” Mom asked.
“Because it could. Cuz that's what they're always gunning for. Because Brett digs Jade, and I sort of want to kill him.”
“Caleb!” Mom yelled.
Dad's brows fell low over his eyes. “ Really , Caleb?”
Kinda. “No, but he pisses me off.”
“Language.”
I turned to Mom. “Mom, please.”
“Caleb, watch your tone with your mom.”
I shoved my plate away and stood, Onyx backing away from his beg spot. “I'm going to the hide-a-way at eight. I need to straighten this crap out with Jade. I can't think with Brett doing the stalk-lurk thing with her.”
The Parents watched me walk my plate over to the sink. I scraped the non-protein stuff into the compost canister under the sink and used the gray water spigot to rinse off.
Mom walked over and came to stand beside me.
I was abusing the faucet, turning it on and off with hard strokes, her eyes seeking mine.
I turned. We faced each other. “I trust you, Caleb. But don't forget who you are. What you are .”
I looked down at her, realizing I'd grown taller than her sometime this summer. “I never forget it. I think that it's part of my problem right now. Sometimes, Mom,” I looked at Dad to include him, “I just want to be what I was before . I don't want this bullshit right now. I wanna just hang with my friends and be a regular boyfriend to Jade.”
Mom didn't correct my language.
Normally, I felt better when I could bounce crap off the Parental Unit, but tonight, I just didn't want to be in my house. Hell, I didn't even want to be in my own skin. This whole paranormal thing was blowing. Big time.
“Caleb,” Mom said.
I turned before I hit the front door. I'd get there early, I thought, itching to leave.
“It's a school night, not past ten.”
Dad said, “Be careful.”
“Okay,” I said, sliding through the front door. I turned around once and saw Onyx studying me through the narrow side lite. A plaintive whimper escaped him.
I'll be back soon, boy, I thought at him .
The Dog watched the boy leave and had A Very Bad Feeling. Sometimes the Dog would have a feeling like that. It always meant that something Bad would happen. He did not like the Boy out of sight. His tail did not wag. Instead, the Dog sat down by the low window.
He waited for the Boy's return.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I put my pulse away, the Js were coming. The Wellers were gonna have to sweet-talk parents that may have been getting sick of them leaving the house and coming back abused. But they'd show—somehow.
I pulled my pulse back out and thumbed in my thought: Jade
Hey.- JLeC
Hey, I'm already on my way there.- CH
Huh? Why? - JLeC
Had to get out of the house. The Parents were starting to get on my nerves. - CH
I looked up, keeping my bearings on the side of the road, I'd been walking for awhile and had just passed Scenic, the dead humming their music, calling to me like a lover.
