Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen)

by Hayden, Sean

  “Connor Ryan, I raised you with better manners than that. You go call her this instant. Tell her to bring her folks, too.”

  My mother was one of those women who lived under the assumption that they had to make enough food to feed several small armies during the holidays. Unfortunately, every year when the holiday finally did come, she panicked about the amount of food she made and always extended last minute invitations to the surrounding neighborhoods, friends, friends of friends, enemies, school janitors, or anybody else she could find to help eat two twenty-pound turkeys. She never understood the concept of leftovers. “Okay, Mom,” I said and pulled out my phone.

  I sent her a simple text. You’re coming for dinner. Be here at 3.

  She replied with a simple, K.

  “She’s coming,” I hollered over my shoulder.

  “Mom made me invite Elizabeth, too,” Cae whispered quietly.

  “Isn’t she eating with her parents?”

  “They’re eating at two. Her mom is the worst cook on the planet, so she jumped at the opportunity.”

  “How are the two of you doing?”

  Cae looked over at me and I watched a single tear leak from her eye. She shook her head and I reached over and patted her arm. “I know,” I said simply.

  She nodded. “The parade this year sucks. It’s the same floats from last year and they’ve had like twenty country performers.”

  I laughed. If there was one thing Cae hated more in this world than me, it was country music. I couldn’t blame her. “Joy.”

  The day rolled by pretty quickly. The smells of turkey, stuffing, gravy, and the other twenty side dishes Mom made filled the house and made my stomach rumble. We didn’t even eat lunch to keep our stomachs empty for dinner. At least we were eating early.

  Clarisse showed up at exactly three. I was kind of shocked. She was never on time for anything. Except school. Sometimes. “Hey, worm, thanks for the invite,” she said and strolled through the door carrying a bottle of wine. I followed her into the kitchen where she hugged Mom and handed her the bottle. “My parents told me to tell you that they were sorry they couldn’t make it, but to give you that for taking care of me. Mom’s working at the bowling alley and Dad is on duty this weekend. Hopefully nobody will burn their house down.”

  I laughed quietly. Clarisse had told my parents that her parents were a bartender and a fireman. It was actually kind of clever since the only things open on Thanksgiving were the bowling alley and apartment fires.

  “Awww. What a shame they had to work,” Mom said and hugged Clarisse again.

  “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

  “Well, you’re always welcome here, Claire,” Mom continued. “And if you ever need a place to stay, we can put Connor on the couch.”

  “Wouldn’t he be more comfortable on the porch?”

  Mom started laughing, which only confirmed my suspicions that they were both evil. “Hardy har har,” I said lamely and shot Clarisse the bird when Mom wasn’t looking.

  Dad saw me though, and cleared his throat. I gave him a sheepish grin. We left them to finish cooking the meal and went to sat on the couch. Cae saw Claire and got up to sit in the big recliner that was usually occupied for long stretches of time by my father. Why she thought I would want to sit by Clarisse, I had no idea.

  “Hi, Claire.”

  “Whattup, squirt. How you doing?” She sounded light-hearted, but I saw the concern on her face as she got closer to my sister.

  “Hangin’ in there.”

  Clarisse gave her a smile and patted her head as she took the spot on the couch closest to my sister. That was good. They could chat about girl things while I watched the Somethingorother Dog Show. I didn’t want to watch it; it was another Sullivan Family Tradition. It never ceased to amaze me how many stupid things we did on a daily basis in the name of tradition.

  “What time are we eating? I’m starving and the house smells amazing.”

  “In an hour. We always eat at four.”

  “What have you been doing all day?”

  “Pretty much sitting on the couch watching television. I went up to my room and played video games and contemplated the meaning of life for a while, but that got boring, too. What about you?”

  “I organized my closets, took a shower, and did my nails.”

  “Sounds like you had even more fun than I did.”

  “Oh, yeah. Loads.”

  We were saved from having to converse further by the sound of the doorbell. “I’ll get it,” Cae said from her spot. “It’s probably Liz.”

  “Anything else new?” I could tell by her whispered voice that she didn’t mean anything in the mundane world.

  “No. Just training with Raven.”

  “You asked her didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re such an idiot. How did that work out for you?”

  “Very well, actually. She explained that she didn’t do it.”

  “And you believe her but not me?”

  “She’s a little more convincing than you are.”

  “True. She’s scary.”

  “Very,” I added and turned to see Liz and Cae greeting Mom and Dad.

  “Since everybody is here, let’s eat,” Mom called to Clarisse and me.

  I stood first and offered Clarisse my hand to help her up. She gave it a funny look before taking it and pulling herself to her feet.

  “I’m not that old,” she said.

  “I know, but your walker is in the other room and I didn’t want you to fall without your life alert necklace.”

  “That’s so sweet!” She leaned in, wrapped me up in a hug, and promptly stomped on my foot.

  I could actually hear the bones crunch inside my Airwalks. “Ouch!”

  “Shut up. You deserved that one,” she said and helped me into the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong, Connor?” Mom rushed over when she saw my limp.

  “He accidentally bit his foot,” Clarisse added helpfully.

  “Oh, was it in his mouth again?”

  “Up to the ankle.”

  “Well hobble over to the dinner table, sweetie,” Mom said to me without an inch of compassion.

  We sat as Mom and Cae started shuffling dishes full of steaming food and set it all over the table while Dad stood in front of his chair and carved the turkey with his usual ineptness. By the time he was done, it looked like someone had ripped the carcass apart with their hands while the bird was still alive. The only thing missing was the feathers and blood.

  It did however, smell wonderful and I found myself drooling, waiting to get my hands on its succulent flesh. My stomach made weird noises that sounded vaguely like whale-song. I looked away from the turkey to see everyone had stopped what they were doing to stare at me.

  I blushed. “Sorry. Hungry.”

  Mom rolled her eyes and the rest of them laughed. Dad tossed me a wing in sympathy. I started gnawing on it while the rest of dinner was brought out. Soon enough, everyone stood and joined hands. Clarisse looked at me quizzically. I mouthed the word grace.

  She nodded in understanding and took my hand. Dad mumbled a few words about being thankful and bounties. I didn’t really pay attention. I did, however, feel sort of uncomfortable during the ordeal. I made another checkmark in my mental “what’s weird about being a demon” list. It was a good thing my parents weren’t overly religious. I might have burst into flames or something. I looked over at Clarisse. She looked just as uncomfortable as I did. I think I even saw a bead of sweat on her otherwise perfect forehead.

  Dishes were passed and plates were filled. We had just settled down to chow when the doorbell went off again. Mom looked up in surprise. “I wonder who that is,” she said and stood to answer it.

  “I’ll get it Mom. You eat,” I said and made my way to the front door.

  I opened it. My girlfriend stood there looking very embarrassed. “Hi Connor. Is that offer for dinner still open?”

  “Yes! Come in.
What happened?”

  “I called your phone but you didn’t answer. Dad had something come up and had to cancel dinner and movies. You sure it’s not too much trouble?”

  I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a kiss. “Never. Come on,” I said and took her hand and dragged her into the dining room.

  Everybody seemed surprised and happy to see Jess. She had that effect on people. Everybody but Clarisse. I caught the look she was giving Jessie and it wasn’t exactly what I would call “friendly.”

  Mom immediately got up and got her a plate. Dad dragged in a chair from the kitchenette set and made room between him and me. Jessie took off her coat and draped it over the back of the chair before sitting down.

  “What do you want to drink, sweetie?” Mom opened the fridge and peered inside. “We have coke, milk, water, or juice.”

  “Water is fine, Mrs. Sullivan. Sorry for the lack of notice. Dad had something come up.”

  “Don’t be silly. We’re glad to have you. Now maybe Mr. Mopeypants can enjoy his dinner without sulking.”

  “I wasn’t sulking! It was more of a pout,” I added with a wink at Jess.

  We ate and talked for what felt like hours. By the time we were done, I felt miserably full. I liked it. I felt the world fading as I slowly slipped into a turkey induced coma. I managed to mumble the word, “Couch,” to Jess as I stood and waddled in that direction.

  “I’ve never seen anyone eat so much in my life,” I heard Mom say worriedly to my dad as I left the table.

  “He’s growing. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Honey… He ate a turkey.”

  “I used to eat four or five when I was his age.”

  “You’re so full of shit.”

  I ignored their conversation and plopped down on the couch. I thought I heard it creak a little, but it was probably just my imagination. At least I hoped it was.

  Jess sat down beside me and the rest of the girls filled up the room. “Movie?” Cae looked around the room to see if anyone was interested.

  “Put it on,” I said knowing Cae would catch my meaning.

  There were exactly four Sullivan Thanksgiving Traditions. The parade, the dog show, stuffing ourselves silly, and finally, watching The Nightmare Before Christmas.

  Cae grabbed the DVD and popped it in the player before sharing one of the large chairs with Liz. She hit the play button on the remote and the movie started. Jessie snuggled in closer and Clarisse plopped down on the other side of me.

  “What movie is this?”

  “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” I whispered back to Clarisse. The beginning of the movie was my favorite part.

  “I’ve never seen it.”

  “Me neither,” Jessie chimed in, too.

  “You’re in for a treat. It’s one of our traditions. To kick off the holiday season. Tomorrow we go buy a Christmas tree and decorate the house.”

  “Huh. I’ve never had one of those. We really don’t do Christmas at my house. Dad is kind of funny that way.”

  I genuinely felt sorry for Jessie. I stroked her hair.

  “Me neither,” Clarisse said.

  What was with the women in my life? I felt bad for Clarisse, too, but I refrained from stroking her hair. “Well, come over. Both of you. You can help and join in.”

  Both of them looked at me, smiled, and nodded. “Why don’t they spend the night? I’ll call their parents and let them know it’s okay with your father and me, and that they will be spending the night in your sister’s room. Under guard. In isolation. And that you’ll be spending the night in the locked garage.”

  “Gee. Thanks, Mom.”

  “You’re welcome, sweetie. Jess? Claire? Are you up for a Sullivan Family Christmas?”

  “You bet. But you don’t have to call my folks. They’re both working and leave stuff like that up to me.”

  Mom nodded in understanding. “Want me to call your father, Jess?”

  “He said he’d call when he was finished. I’ll let you talk to him then.”

  “Okay. Mr. Sullivan and I will be upstairs watching TV. Come get me when he calls,” she said. “Liz, you staying , too?”

  Liz nodded and never took her eyes from the movie.

  We watched in silence. Jess and Clarisse both were enraptured by the movie and I actually caught the two of them smiling, even during the musical numbers. If anyone asked me, I’d deny it, but I had This is Halloween on my iPod. It was one of my favorite songs and always reminded me of my favorite time of year.

  The movie ended and we switched to some mind numbing TV shows. We looked for another movie to watch and failed miserably. Jessie’s dad called after a while and Jess spoke a few words to him quietly before handing the phone to my mother.

  “He said you could stay, sweetie,” she told Jess before handing the phone back to her and looking over at me. “He also wanted me to remind Connor that he has several shotguns.”

  Dad started laughing from his seat in the kitchen where he and Mom were playing cards. “I’m going to have to get some, too.”

  “Don’t worry, Dad. I was lucky to find Jessie,” I said.

  “I meant for your sister.”

  “I knew that.”

  “Connor, come help me get the sleeping bags and blankets out of storage. The girls can have a campout in the living room.”

  I nodded. “Good idea.”

  “And if I hear so much as a creak on the stairs, I’ll borrow one of Mr. Sullivan’s shotguns. Do we have an understanding?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good. I really wanted to see you graduate high school. It would be a shame to kill you now.”

  Chapter 15

  The pounding on my door woke me up. I glanced over at my charging phone and saw seven am shining brightly. I groaned inwardly. We were on a holiday, who the hell was pounding on my door before noon?

  “What,” I wailed miserably at the door.”

  “Come on, honey. We’re going to get the tree.”

  “The trees are still asleep, Mom. Go back to bed.”

  “We’re doing something special this year. Come on.”

  “How about sleeping in? That was pretty special the last time I checked.”

  “Connor Ryan Sullivan. You get out of that bed this instant. Don’t make me send your sister up here with ice and water again.”

  “She’s still sleeping anyway. Or she would be if she was smart.” I slid my head back under the covers. After the parents had gone to bed, we stayed up pretty late. I know Mom came out every thirteen minutes to make sure I wasn’t being too huggy with Jess, so I knew she had to be half asleep, too.

  “She is. I’m sending her up.”

  I listened to Mom’s footfalls as she walked back downstairs. I strained to hear what was going on down there, but I couldn’t make out her voice. I distinctly heard the words “ice” and “water” as well as the maniacal giggle of my sibling. I cursed under my breath, got out of bed, walked over to the door, opened it, and shouted, “I’m up!” I slammed it and wandered around looking for somewhat cleanish clothes.

  Two minutes later I was in the kitchen with one wide-eyed father, an over-planning mother, two vampires who were way more awake than they should have been, a confused looking demon, and Jess, who was as beautiful as ever and appearing quite amused.

  “What the hell, Mom? What’s going on?”

  ”We decided to do something special this year, since it will be more than the four of us. We’ll drive up to Kildare and cut our own Christmas tree at the farm up there.

  “When did you decide this?”

  “When your father and I woke up this morning.”

  “Old people are weird,” I mumbled and hugged Jess before grabbing the last of the coffee out of the pot. Learning my lesson from the day before, I sipped it slowly. It wasn’t as hot as straight out of the microwave, so I gulped it down greedily before tossing the plastic mug that said, “World’s Best Dad,” in the sink. “I’m ready.”

&n
bsp; The seven of us piled into the parent’s minivan and once again, I was sandwiched between Jess and Clarisse while Cae and Liz got the whole back backseat to themselves. It wasn’t that I minded the proximity to Clarisse, but some alone-time with Jess would have been nice. I shot my sister a dirty look, wanting the backseat for just that purpose.

  “Don’t look at me, Mom said if you and Jess made for the back to kick out your kneecap. She wants you where she can watch your hormonal ass.”

  I sighed in frustration and turned back around. Mom shot me a smile from the front seat and Clarisse lost it, laughing loud enough to actually hurt my ears.

  The drive took a little over three hours. My ass was numb and my palm was sweaty from holding Jessie’s hand the entire trip. Dad finally announced, “We’re here!” The rest of us began clapping.

  There was no snow on the ground, but we were still in the spirit of the season. The early-morning air was calm, quiet, and chilly. It couldn’t have been more perfect as we piled out of the minivan.

  The owner of the tree farm walked out of a large wooden barn to greet us. “Mornin’, folks. Looking for a tree?”

  “Yes, do you have any here?” I tried not to sound sarcastic, I failed miserably. Luckily he had a sense of humor.

  “First time I heard that joke. Good one,” he said and winked at me.

  I had the decency to blush. Clarisse still smacked me in the back of the head.

  “Thank you,” Mom said to her appreciatively.

  “You’re welcome. Let me know if you need me to take him out back and kick the crap out of him.”

  “Maybe later, sweetie.”

  I felt Jess’ quiet giggle more than heard it. I looked down at her and she refused to make eye contact. “You, too?”

  “What?” She tried sounding innocent.

  “I heard you giggling over there.”

  “Love you,” she said simply and smiled, finally meeting my eyes.

  “Love you, too.”

  “You two are gonna make me barf my nonexistent breakfast,” Cae felt the need to chime in.

  I kissed my girlfriend soundly.

  Dad’s conversation with the tree farmer was interrupted by dry-heaving noises emanating from my sister. “Knock it off, both of you.”