Talisman 1 - The Emerald Talisman

by Brenda Pandos

  “What happened?” Mrs. D’Elia asked with concern in her voice and tears in her eyes.

  Mr. Brewster cleared his throat, possibly because he wanted to control the conversation. I couldn’t believe he’d be so insensitive to her feelings, so I ignored him and told her the story.

  After I finished, Mrs. D’Elia welled up and turned to be comforted by her husband. He draped his arm around her shoulders. I felt his overwhelming blame.

  “Did anything else strange happen, maybe before you found Phil. Possibly during the bonfire?” Mr. Brewster asked.

  I wondered if I should mention what happened at the beach. I didn’t trust Mr. Brewster. He seemed to have an air of concern for his students, but I knew different. He was more concerned about how his school was going to portray him to the public eye and kept tight controls to make sure his students didn’t embarrass him.

  “No, nothing significant happened,” I said cautiously.

  “Do you know of anyone who would want to cause Phil harm?” Mr. Brewster asked with distrust in his voice.

  What a weird question. Everyone likes Phil.

  “The nurse said it might be an animal attack—“

  “Just answer the questions please.”

  I paused, waiting for my dad to stand up for me, but he remained silent. He was angry and I didn’t know why. I’m sure being drug in here from an important business meeting, when his daughter didn’t tell him she was playing ambulance in the middle of the night would be a lot to comprehend and forgive.

  “No,” I finally said.

  “So, you did not see anyone physically harm Phil?”

  “No, like I said, I found him in the –”

  “And you took him directly to the hospital? Alone?” Mr. Brewster fired back.

  “Yes, but –”

  “Did anyone see you put him in your car?”

  I grit my teeth. This line of questioning was getting ridiculous.

  “No.”

  “Did he tell you who hurt him?”

  While he was unconscious? Or after he wanted to rip my head off.

  I forced myself to act civil, reminding myself that they were only concerned for Phil’s welfare as I was.

  “I don’t think anyone hurt him,” I said emphatically. “The nurse said—“

  Mr. Brewster leaned forward in his chair and glared at me. “We know what the nurse said. A yes or no would suffice.”

  “No,” I said with a sigh.

  Mr. Brewster continued his volley of questions. “Did he ever mention before if his life was in danger to you?”

  I suppressed a guffaw.

  “Uh, no?” I said with an intentional sarcastic tone.

  “And you didn’t meet secretly somewhere after you left the hospital?”

  I pursed my lips before answering.

  “We didn’t leave together and to answer your next question again, no, I don’t know where he is,” I said slowly enunciating each word.

  Mr. Brewster’s eyes grew into slits while he remained visibly calm. If it were only the two of us in this meeting, I’m sure other words would have been exchanged. Even still, I felt backed into a corner.

  “Well, then, if you were so concerned about Phil, why didn’t you tell anyone last night?”

  The question hit me like a blow to the stomach and I suddenly felt anything I said would be used against me and wanted a lawyer. What could I say? That my Dad was unavailable and I thought he wouldn’t really care. Or that I didn’t know who to tell at midnight when Phil probably just went home. I barely knew him anyway.

  “I don’t know,” I said and looked down at my shoes.

  Mr. Brewster let out a long sigh.

  “Okay, then. If there isn’t anything else you want to tell us, then you can go back to class,” he said without hiding his animosity.

  Anger burned inside me. Not only was I being accused wrongly of helping Phil run away, no one thanked me for actually saving his life. I glanced at my dad. His overwhelming disappointment matched his “we-will-talk-more-about-this-later-young-lady” face and the D’Elias plain ignored me. I was the enemy in their eyes.

  “Oh and I’d like you to keep this conversation private please,” Mr. Brewster slid in right before I left the room.

  The words stung like lemon juice on a paper cut. I made a loud humph after I walked out. What happened between me and Phil was my business and I’d tell who I wanted.

  Candy wasn’t at her desk when I exited the office and I was glad. My brave outer exterior started to crumble and I would be mortified if Mr. Brewster knew he’d made me cry.

  Tears fell silently down my cheek as I ran down the hall careful to avoid eye contact with curious onlookers. I had no intention of returning to class, but I needed somewhere to hide. I spotted the library.

  Wiping away my tears, I ducked inside. The computers were located at the back wall in cubicles with desks. I slipped into the closest one, logged in and began typing into the Google search field. After a minute, I found the exact website I needed and clicked it. I scanned the page and then read through a list of symptoms.

  irritability

  excessive movements or agitation

  confusion

  hallucinations

  aggressiveness

  bizarre or abnormal thoughts

  muscle spasms

  abnormal postures

  seizures (convulsions)

  weakness or paralysis (when a person cannot move some part of the body)

  extreme sensitivity to bright lights, sounds, or touch

  increased production of saliva or tears

  difficulty speaking

  I printed out the list, shoved it in my pocket and left the library after more students sat at the desks next to me, giving me weird looks. I realized I needed to be in a more secluded place. My emotions were difficult enough to control as it was and I didn’t want to have to deal with anyone else’s on top of it.

  Careful to avoid being spotted, I snuck out to the parking lot and got into my car. What I really wanted to do was drive to the cliffs, but decided against it. With my luck, I’d get caught and right now staying under the radar seemed imperative. Since I was already excused from History, skipping the rest of class seemed harmless.

  The hour flew by and I got lost sorting through the facts. It concerned me that Phil’s behavior closely resembled many of the symptoms from the list. The problem was I didn’t know him well enough to predict his next move. I hoped wherever he ended up, a sensible person would make him go back to the hospital. But deep in my heart, I knew whatever information Mr. Brewster and his parents were keeping from me was the key to finding him.

  I watched students mill around the campus on their way to their next class and decided to stay in my car. My eyes were puffy and my mascara was a mess. The last thing I wanted was a bunch of nosey questions about why I was upset.

  I kicked myself for not being more assertive. I should’ve demanded that Mr. Brewster and the D’Elias tell me what they knew. But knowing Mr. Brewster, he had the whole thing planned and intended to make me look guilty. It must have fed his ego to prove he knew his students so well. But they were completely on the wrong trail.

  My head hurt and all I wanted to do was lean back and close my eyes. Far away I could hear the waves crash and the fog horn blare as the cool salty breeze tickled my face.

  “Where have you been?”

  I jerked awake. Sam stood outside my car window with her hand on her hip and a frown on her face.

  “Haven’t you been getting my text messages? Have you been here all afternoon?”

  I groggily looked over at the clock on the dash and realized I’d slept through all the rest of my classes. Sheepishly, I avoided her gaze, adjusted my reclined seat forward and rubbed my swollen eyes.

  “Tell me what’s going on, Julia,” she demanded when I didn’t respond right away. “You didn’t come back to class. Then they announced that if anyone had any information about Phil’s whereabouts to
let the principal know. I thought you were in big trouble or something.”

  I opened the door and stepped outside.

  “I kind of am in trouble,” I said.

  “In trouble? Why?”

  “Because I was an accomplice in his escape from the hospital and didn’t tell anyone,” I said with a hint of cynical disdain.

  “What? No way.”

  “They…” I said with air quotes “… seem to think that my silence is admission of my guilt, but whatever. They’ve got it totally wrong anyway. They think someone beat him up, but the nurse told me he was attacked by an animal.”

  “What do you mean they? Who else was in the office?”

  “Phil’s parents and my dad, but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.”

  “Oh, wow,” Sam said with concern. “So he didn’t go home after all.”

  “No.” I looked down. “I couldn’t come back to class. After getting ganged up in the meeting, I needed to get away and think. But, I didn’t mean to miss the rest of the day. I’m going to be so busted.”

  “Oh,” she said, her anger melting away. “Sorry I yelled at you. I was worried when you didn’t come back.”

  “I left my phone at home by accident,” I said, wondering how many other messages I missed.

  “That would explain why I didn’t hear back from you.”

  Sam was gracious to be so forgiving and I felt bad for worrying her. Her presence could’ve eased the blow while I processed all of this nonsense, but I didn’t need to drag her into the mire with me.

  “Sorry,” I quickly replied. “Please don’t tell anyone, or I could get in more trouble.”

  “You mean I can’t tell Katie?” she said with a silly smirk.

  I frowned back playfully and shook my head. We both let out a laugh.

  “Seriously though, don’t worry. They’ll find him,” she said with a reassuring smile.

  If I could see the hope she exuded, I imagined it would look like sunlight radiating iridescently off of her skin. I wanted so badly to think so too, but there was no way to explain the change right before he vanished from the hospital. Phil’s terror and anger frightened me and deep down, I wasn’t sure if I actually trusted him anymore.

  “I hope so,” I said knowing it was an empty wish.

  We hugged and Sam’s compassion flooded over me putting a temporary Band-Aid over my tattered spirit. For a brief second I wondered if I should just have her come home with me, but I knew I was in deep trouble with my dad and needed to smooth over that situation first. Begrudgingly, I got back in my car.

  “I’ll call you if I hear anything,” I said as I shut the car door.

  And like I suspected, as soon as I drove away, Sam’s buffer vanished and all my grief flooded back in.

  When I got home, I threw my things on the floor, rushed into my Dad’s office and slammed the paper I printed out in the library on his desk.

  “I know what’s wrong with Phil,” I said.

  My Dad looked up from his computer screen and glowered over his glasses. I internally pushed past the annoyance I felt from him and answered his glare with determination. I had to get him to understand the truth.

  “Rabies. That’s got to be it, he’s got rabies,” I blurted out. “Look at the list.”

  His eyes glanced down at the paper and then back up to me.

  “I could also say you’ve got a few things on this list as well.”

  My mouth dropped open.

  “What?”

  “Let’s see.” He drug his finger down the list. “Irritability, yes… confusion, yes… irrational behavior, yes.”

  I slumped down in the chair in front of his desk. “I’m serious Dad,” I said, watching my credibility crash down in flames.

  “I’m serious too, Julia. Your behavior as of late has been very disappointing.”

  “I can explain everything.”

  “You’ve had enough time to explain; now you’ll listen. You didn’t go back to class like you were instructed today. You also went to a bonfire on a school night that you didn’t ask permission to attend. You didn’t even let your brother know you were going.”

  “But –”

  “No buts. I cannot trust you, or your judgment. First, you decided to take a shortcut in the woods and got seriously hurt. And now you’re narrowly missing gang fights. Do you not understand there’s a serious gang problem right now?”

  “But –”

  I stopped when Dad gave me the infamous ‘sleeper wave’ scowl – when he knit his brow together to form one ominous fold of skin that jut out over his eyes. His uni-brow resembled the scary silent wave the beach signs warned about. If it snuck up on you unaware, it would pull you out to sea. I was a goner.

  “You’re grounded...”

  My chest constricted, but I kept silent and waited, knowing from past experience if I didn’t let him finish, the punishment would get worse.

  “…no extra-curricular activities, no going out after dark without permission from me. I forbid you any contact with Phil. Period. And, if anything happens that’s remotely out of the ordinary, you will call and tell me. Understood?”

  “Yes,” I said with my head hung low. This was much worse than I expected.

  “Okay, then. You’re free to go,” he said.

  I stood up and walked towards the door. I felt his anger dissipate just a bit. I sensed he knew he’d gotten through to me, so his love and concern could flow out instead.

  “Sorry, Dad,” I said with a quiver in my throat.

  “Come here, Julia,” he said with arms stretched wide. I ran into his chest and sobbed. “It’s going to be okay, honey.”

  This was a typical response for him. Lots of yelling and threats and after he felt his point was made all became forgiven though the punishment stayed in tact.

  “Dad, I’m so sorry... I didn’t know what to do... I had to take him to the hospital… I didn’t help him run away, I promise,” I said through tearful rasps. “I really think he has rabies.”

  Dad gently let go and gave me a tissue to wipe my snotty nose.

  “The bites were human,” he said gravely. “It’s a sick gang initiation and Phil is somehow involved.”

  Human bites?

  “Oh.”

  “And if it doesn’t stop, I’m thinking of moving. I initially wanted to come here to get you away from madness like this in L.A. Now it’s infecting this city as well. I was looking to move to Oklahoma.”

  “What?” I gasped. “No, not Oklahoma.”

  The thought that I’d never see Nicholas again gripped my heart from nowhere. Deep down I must have still hoped we’d work things out, but didn’t know I’d suppressed the desire until this moment.

  “I’m not done doing my research, but I’m going to find a place where I can feel safe leaving you and your brother while I travel. I should have done it when you were babies, maybe then…”

  I held my breath. He was referring to Mom’s disappearance. Maybe he’d finally talk about it and break the silence. More than anything I wanted to know what really happened.

  “Mom’s disappearance wasn’t your fault, Dad.”

  He cleared his throat and turned to his computer monitor. I felt the familiar stone wall come back up; the one that hid all the feelings he’d stuffed down deep. Every time the subject was breeched, he shut down. I waited for years to feel his grief and felt nothing.

  For a long time I felt responsible and thought if I could only remember what happened, I could solve the case. But the memories stayed locked up tight in my subconscious without any hint of a key. And Dad’s response was to second guess every decision he made thereafter. We both couldn’t move on.

  “I have a lot to do, Julia,” he finally said.

  “Okay,” I said as I left his office feeling rotten. I should have known better than to mention her. “Please, let’s not move to Oklahoma.”

  “We’ll see.”

  . . .

  11 - ANSWERS

  T
he next day, the school walls were covered in fliers with Phil’s description offering a reward for information leading to his safe return. Ironically, it seemed everyone suddenly knew him personally and told first hand accounts of his last words and possible whereabouts. Some said he provoked the attack while others claimed the serial murderer left him for dead but he escaped and ran for his life. One rumor even speculated police attacked him after the bonfire because he refused to leave peaceably and Phil ran for fear of arrest. But the general atmosphere, fuelled by greed, wetted the appetites of attention seekers, anxious to get a piece of the action.

  But the worst part of it was someone leaked that I was the last person to see him. So again, people I didn’t know were coming up to me asking me questions, but I declined to answer. The whole charade disgusted me and I refused to be a part of it.

  “What happened?” Katie asked quietly as we all sat at lunch.

  “Why are you asking me?” I said, infuriated by her insensitivity. “Just ask anyone, I’m sure they’ll tell you the whole story.”

  I looked directly at Sam.

  “Julia, I promise, I didn’t tell anyone anything.”

  I studied her feelings, thankful to find she told the truth and felt guilty for questioning her.

  “Sorry. I know you wouldn’t. It must have been Mr. Brewster. He probably said something when he interviewed other people.”

  The thought made me furious. He was the one who said not to say anything.

  “Well, where do you think Phil went?” Dena asked tactfully.

  I scanned everyone’s eyes and studied their intent and found them loyal. Even Katie was concerned for once.

  “Whatever I say stays in this circle, agreed?”

  Everyone shook their head and I took a few extra seconds to get full confirmation from Katie.

  “I promise,” she said after feeling the weight of my stare.

  “Okay,” I said and everyone leaned in so no one outside of our circle could hear what we discussed.

  “Honestly, we only talked at the bonfire for a little bit so I’m not really sure where he’d go. The only thing I know is that he’s got a girlfriend in L.A. and his parents made him move his senior year because his dad got a promotion. Maybe he’s upset after getting beat up and needed her support. I bet that’s where he went,” I whispered.