by Bryan Cohen
Natalie caught a glimpse of Erica's eyes when she looked toward Ted. It didn't seem like anybody was home.
"I remember thinking that you're hot." Erica pulled at Ted's shirt.
When he tried to back away, one of the buttons ripped loose.
Natalie growled so loud, she nearly scared herself. "That's it! Enough of this freak show. Get her inside. Float her if you have to."
It took a few tries to get Erica through the front door, but once they did, they each sat beside Erica on the Finleys' downstairs couch. When Natalie felt the velvety-soft cushions beneath her fingers, she pictured the last time she'd touched it, sitting beside Ted as she and the Finleys watched a movie. The wooden wall panels, medium-height blue carpeting and the ancient TV set were still the same, but nearly all the circumstances around her being there had changed.
Natalie and Ted forced Erica to drink an entire glass of water before she had permission to speak again. Whenever Erica made a motion off of the couch, Natalie commanded Ted to use his powers to keep her there. When she finally settled down, the interrogation began.
"Where do you last remember being before you – fell off the wagon?" Natalie wished she had a lamp to shine right into Erica's eyes.
"I remember going on dates with Ted." She gave a brain-free smile in her boyfriend's direction. "I remember him touching my body and putting his lips against–"
"I'd rather not hear the details." Natalie snorted at Ted before she turned her attention back to the drunk girl on the couch. "Do you remember Nigel and the dark souls?"
Erica gave a puzzled look. "Is that a band? Are we in a band?"
Natalie gestured to Ted. He appeared stunned by Erica's response and needed a second before he shook out of it.
Ted's voice was tentative, as if he wasn't sure whom he was truly addressing. "You remember our dates, but what about Beth and the burning building?"
Erica gave the same confused look, but this one came with a smile. "Sorry, I don't remember a building. You're looking really sexy. Are we almost done?"
When Ted smiled back, Natalie considered taking a ceramic figurine from the end table and throwing it through the TV screen. She could feel the anger seeping out of her like fiery sweat.
Ted must have sensed Natalie's mood, and his smile faded. "It's like someone selectively changed parts of her brain."
Natalie stared at Erica. "Changed? Or erased?"
"Changed. The other memories have to still be in there." Ted tugged at his shirt. "They just have to."
"I could've blacked out the memories. It happens." Erica lurched forward. "I think I'm going to be sick."
Ted and Natalie guided Erica to the downstairs bathroom. As the door opened, she ran toward the toilet and started to puke. Natalie gave Ted a dirty look as she put her hands around Erica's hair to pull it back.
"So, this is your golden girl?" Natalie spoke loud enough to be heard over the noise of Erica's vomiting. "The one you were still in love with when you dated me?"
Ted frowned and leaned back against the wall. "I never had to hold her hair back."
Natalie gripped Erica's hair more tightly. "Lucky you."
Erica took a few deep breaths before she continued to evacuate her stomach. The smell of alcohol and regurgitated food quickly spread through the tiny space.
Natalie watched as Ted made an effort to say something.
He gave her a series of looks that conveyed contrition, fear and pain. Natalie felt bad for giving him such a hard time. After all, his girlfriend, the person who was helping to keep him alive for the last few months, appeared to be gone. It was a strange situation, but that didn't make it any easier to cope with.
"I'm never drinking again." Erica's voice echoed from inside the toilet bowl.
Natalie patted her on the back. "I'm sure you've never said that before."
After Erica was through, Natalie and Ted carried her the old-fashioned way back to the couch. She curled up and fell asleep within the next minute. The other two sat on the floor with their backs against the base of the loveseat.
"I'm sorry, Ted." Natalie put her arm around his shoulder. "I shouldn't have tried to make you feel bad. This isn't under your control."
Ted stared straight ahead.
"When we were kids, Erica was never satisfied with doing what everybody told her. She wanted to make life bigger, better and more exciting." He sighed. "When she took me along for the ride, I felt more interesting. More fun. When she left me behind, all I wanted was to get back to how she made me feel."
Natalie didn't know what to say at first. This was the first time she'd heard Ted open up about the girl who had his heart. "It sounds like you were more in love of the idea of a person than the actual person."
Ted broke his stare at the wall and looked over at Natalie. He let out a labored breath. "You might be right." Ted pulled his knees toward his chest and rested on his arms. "But none of this matters. Without the new Erica, we're pretty much screwed." Ted buried his face.
Natalie pulled him toward her. "We're gonna figure this out."
"No, we're not." He lifted his head. "This is something from another world, Nat. It messed up Erica's head and it could do the same to all of us."
Natalie saw the tears start to form in Ted's eyes. She couldn't tell if he was more scared that the new Erica might be gone for good or that they were in way over their heads.
Natalie tried to push down her own feelings of fear. "Look. You wanted me to be a part of this team. Well, here I am. Let's go stop this guy, fix Erica and save the freakin' world."
"So…." Ted wiped his eyes and his lips almost formed a smile. "You're in?"
Natalie rolled her eyes. "Sign me up. But no tights. No one wants to see these thighs."
Ted sniffled and hugged Natalie. She felt herself grow nervous and warm at the same time.
"Thanks, Nat."
As good as it felt, Natalie shrugged out of the hug. She stood up and pulled Ted with her. They took a long look at the sleeping, brainwashed Erica.
"Thank me when we win," she said. "If we win."
Chapter 34
Mr. Redican stumbled through the front doors of the school and collapsed to the ground. The pain from the impact of his ribs on the solid floor paled in comparison to his roaring headache. His head pounded so loud, he thought it might erupt right there on the Treasure High logo. Invading the memories of a protector had strained even the power of the book. It was too strong for anyone other than a living soul to contain. He wondered if he'd be able to use the power on Ted himself, or if the book would burn him from the inside out in the process. Using a nearby glass trophy case, Redican tried to steady himself enough to stand.
A janitor heard his struggle and shuffled over to his side. "Hey, man, you OK?"
The janitor smelled like oven cleaner, which comforted Redican. He was a man who worked hard to fulfill his job. Redican took the janitor's arm and hoisted himself up to a standing position.
"Thanks." Redican took gentle steps toward the wall where he could support himself. "I think I can take it from here."
The janitor looked him up and down. Redican figured if he appeared even half as bad as he felt, he'd seem like he was on the brink of death.
"I can call an ambulance." The janitor took a closer look into Redican's face. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not interested in cleaning up any bodies today."
Redican laughed. At least, he tried to. The sound came out like more of a wheeze.
"You won't have to." Redican pushed off the wall and took in a deep breath. "I just got into something a little too powerful for me to control."
The janitor nodded as if he understood everything. "The same thing happened to my brother." He turned in the opposite direction to walk back toward the cafeteria. "He's serving three more years in county because of it."
Redican kept up with the janitor, just in case he fell over again.
"You know, teaching students what they need takes a lot out of me." Re
dican felt his legs get back into a rhythm. "You want a kid to rise to his full potential, but sometimes they need more than you can give."
The janitor put his hand on Redican's shoulder and beamed. "I wish I had a teacher like you growing up. Someone who cared as much as you."
Redican thanked the janitor and made it to his classroom without toppling over again. He crumpled into his desk chair and took long breaths to try to get the oxygen circulating again. Then he closed his eyes and thought backward.
He pictured himself on the battlefield of a raging war. It was less of a war, really, than it was a slaughter. The dark souls had found a way to slip into the world of his people. His family lived in a small village that was being overrun by a band of marauders. He watched as dozens of men covered in black, leathery armor took out their swords and slashed at the townspeople. He watched as one farmer put down a shovel and put a hand up to protect himself. A dark soul with a grotesque beard drew his sword and appeared ready to kill. But instead of slicing at the farmer, the bandit stabbed himself to death. When the farmer attempted the same trick again, multiple attackers cut him down.
Redican's view shifted to inside his family home. The wooden cabin had been ignored thus far in the attack, but they knew it wouldn't last for long. His parents were packing a knapsack full of supplies to hide the three of them underground. The sounds of swords, screaming and fire filtered in through the windows. As a child, his name was Altoor, and he was deathly afraid of everything happening around him. It took all his willpower not to scream in terror and give away their location.
"My sweet boy." His mother opened up the trap door that led below the kitchen. "We're so proud of you."
Her grin normally warmed his body, but even her pasted-on smile couldn't calm him in the midst of the attack.
He rubbed at his watery eyes. "We're gonna be safe, right?"
His father pounded at the wall. "We'd be safer if the light souls cared about us as much as they did their precious Earth."
The young boy looked up at his father. The man was so massive, the boy thought he could take down the entire army if he wanted to.
He watched as his mother consoled his father. He looked at himself as a young boy, not knowing that his world was about to change for good. The three of them went through the secret passage and walked for what seemed like hours. They came to a shimmering blue portal.
Redican had watched this scene play out a hundred times, and it never failed to bring him to tears.
"What do I do?" the young boy asked.
"You survive." His mother seemed to fade as she spoke. "You survive, my sweet boy."
Redican mimicked the actions of his young self, reaching for his mother before realizing that she wasn't really there. It took Redican years to understand that his parents had planted themselves in his mind as they protected his safe passage to Earth.
"Avenge us." His father looked back in the direction they'd come from. A rumbling sound shook the cave walls. "You may be the only one left." His father looked into his eyes and shed a tear as the tunnels started to collapse. "Avenge us, Altoor."
Redican wasn't sure how he was able to overcome his fear long enough to dive through the portal before being crushed to death.
It took years for him to recover from the attack and the loss of his parents... of his home. Once he did, Redican knew what he needed to do. If he wasn't able protect the other worlds from the dark soul army, he'd need to find someone who could.
Redican saw the potential of his purpose coming to light when he viewed Ted on the news. While most humans were blind to the fact that Erica was no teenager but his so-called protector from the light soul army, he'd spotted her from a mile away. She would be the one to keep him under wraps. Erica would ensure that Ted served the purpose of protecting Earth and the Realm of Souls. Redican and others from the less fortunate worlds knew that Ted could be much more.
The power of the book Redican had stolen was harvested from the very core of his own home world.
He removed the tome from its drawer and placed a glove on his finger to turn the pages. As each sheet moved from left to right, it seemed to hum with energy. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to handle much more of its strength. If he touched it one more time, the janitor might have a whole lot more to clean than the inside of an oven. He closed the book and considered his next course of action.
Redican took a moment to walk down the hallway and get the images of his parents' deaths out of his head. As he did, he walked past something that made him realize what he had to do. One more use of the book would likely kill him, but he knew that the plan forming in his head would rid the universe of Ted's protector and show the boy who he was meant to become. Redican smiled as he looked up at the wall and spied a prom poster.
"Tomorrow night." He took the notice off the wall and crumpled it in his hands. "That's when everything changes forever."
Chapter 35
Dhiraj yanked at the handcuffs until his wrists were as raw as his throat. His cries for help hadn't even gotten a glance out of an apartment window from the complex. Even when he unlocked and opened the doors, nobody seemed to hear him at all. If they did, Dhiraj guessed they didn't care.
It'd been several minutes since Jennifer walked through Daly's door. He was relieved that he hadn't heard a gun shot, but there was no way to know what was going on up there. He pictured the worst-case scenario of Daly lying in wait for her, tossing Jennifer to the ground and stabbing her to death just like he had the old Erica. He pictured another scenario in which Jennifer shot Daly to death and ended up going to prison for murder. He watched her try to explain how the man had killed her friend, even though Erica was still alive. Dhiraj had to believe that neither situation had occurred. It was the optimistic escape he had to believe.
"Escape." Dhiraj looked at his phone as the idea formed in his head. "Of course."
He flipped through the phone's touchscreen to find the video app. He searched for ways to escape handcuffs. After a few low-rated videos, he found exactly what he needed. He hunted around the car to find an object to pick the lock, eventually settling on the metal ring from his house keys. Dhiraj nearly took off his fingernails in an effort to straighten the metal, but it was all worth it when the video's tactics actually worked. As he wrenched his arm free, the handcuffs made a clacking sound against the dashboard.
His first instinct was to call the police as he ran to the stairs to help Jennifer, but he pushed the plan to the side. If they found out that Jennifer had broken into Daly's home and pointed a gun at him, she'd go to juvenile hall at the least, and he'd be the accomplice. Dhiraj likewise ditched the idea of running in and trying to save her. If he dashed into the middle of some kind of standoff, he'd potentially get himself or Jennifer shot. Instead, he opted to take it slow.
He walked up the stairs, attempting to make as little noise as possible. When he reached the door handle, he turned it in slow motion and let it open inch by inch. When he wasn't blown to bits, Dhiraj figured it was safe enough for him to go all the way in. The smell of mold washed over him as he saw Jen pointing the weapon at Daly. He thought he'd get it aimed in his direction as well. Instead, Jennifer was so focused on the former deputy that she barely acknowledged her friend's entrance.
"Hey, Dhiraj." Jennifer's tone had reached an alarming level of intensity. "I was telling our comrade here about some of his transgressions."
Dhiraj produced a guttural noise in response, but he wasn't sure how much more to say. He was worried he'd take her attention off the man sitting in the recliner and Daly would charge the two of them. Then again, the man looked quite calm for a guy who might be shot within the next few minutes.
"What is this, a teen beach party?" Daly fidgeted in the chair.
Jennifer scoffed and aimed the gun at Daly's crotch. "As a person who slept with a 16-year-old girl because he was too immature to handle anything else, this is probably playing right into your fetishes."
Daly looked like
he wanted to snarl at Jennifer, but he kept his facial expressions as neutral as possible given the insult.
Jennifer continued. "You were just so scared someone would find out you were such a pervert. So you killed my friend. My best friend."
Dhiraj reconsidered his idea of calling the cops. Under the age of 18, he figured Jennifer couldn't get too much time for breaking and entering. As long as he could keep her from firing that weapon.
"Two points." Daly changed his expression to a grin. "Erica never mentioned her bony, squeaky hag of a friend, so it seems like it was a one-way relationship. Second, your friend is still al–"
Jennifer moved closer to Daly, and Dhiraj followed suit. The man flinched when Jennifer made a motion with the gun. Dhiraj could feel his heart beating through his chest.
"You and I both know the person in Erica's body isn't her." Jennifer cranked her neck to the side and focused back on Daly. "You killed the friend I knew and there's no reason I shouldn't go eye for eye on your a–"
"Jen!" Dhiraj didn't even realize he spoke until Daly looked over at him. "You can't do this. If we get the cops in here, Daly is going to go to jail. It won't be for murder, but–"
Jennifer roared. The primal sound shocked both Daly and Dhiraj.
"That's not good enough, Dhiraj." Jennifer shifted the gun and fired a bullet through the glass porch window.
Dhiraj covered his ears as shattered glass crashed to the ground. Daly kicked off his heels, nearly causing the chair to topple over backwards before it balanced itself back into place.
Jennifer moved the gun back to its original position: trained right on Daly's body. "He killed her and he should be dead, too."
Dhiraj couldn't let this go on any further. He did the stupidest thing he could think of: he wedged himself in the space between Jennifer's gun and the man who had murdered Erica LaPlante.
"If you kill him–"
"Move, Dhiraj!"
"Your life'll be ruined."
