Talisman 1 - The Emerald Talisman

by Brenda Pandos

  “It has to be those guys from Soquel High that roughed him up. They weren’t too happy when he tried to get them to leave. Maybe they figured he’d snitched on them to the police,” Katie said.

  “But that doesn’t explain his behavior after.”

  “After?” Cameron asked.

  Angry at Mr. Brewster, I decided to tell them everything I knew since he seemed to be doing the same.

  “…I thought maybe he’d been bitten by a rabid animal, but my dad said his injuries were human bites,” I said.

  Dena gasped. “That’s disgusting.”

  “How does your dad know all about this?” Sam asked.

  “From Mr. Brewster I think,” I said.

  Feelings of curiosity caused me to turn my head. As I suspected, behind me was a group of nosey freshmen girls that lingered a bit too close.

  “Get lost from your sandbox?” Katie yelled at them across the table.

  Embarrassed, they rushed away.

  Katie leaned in again with a smug smile to finish. “Well, I heard that if they don’t figure out what’s going on, that they might cancel the homecoming game tonight,” she said with one eyebrow raised.

  “Really?” I said, feeling other onlookers’ snooping interest swirl behind me.

  “Will they cancel the dance too?” Dena asked, concern in her voice.

  “No, I think they are worried that if they hold the game, there will be a riot. The football players want to avenge what happened to Phil,” Katie said in hushed tones.

  “Well, I’m grounded from everything right now, so I couldn’t go to the game if I wanted, but if any of our guys saw what they did to Phil, they’d be kicking the crap out of them right now. “

  “I don’t understand how anyone could be so cruel,” Sam said. “He’s such a nice guy.”

  I felt my stomach tighten when I remembered finding Phil half-dead behind the shrubs.

  “Can we change the subject? This is really starting to bother me.”

  “I know this must be so hard for you,” Sam said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

  “Did you hear about the reporters that tried to come on campus?” Katie announced, oblivious to my request.

  I glared in her direction.

  “No way,” Dena said.

  “I guess the principal made them go away, but they tried to interview some students about what happened,” she continued, proud of her juicy little tidbit.

  “This is getting totally out of hand,” I said, meaning both the drama and Katie’s continued interjections.

  At the same time the bell rang and I was the first to get up. Sitting in class, even Algebra would be better than rehashing all the ugly details.

  But class wasn’t the escape I desired. People still gossiped behind my back and their overwhelming feelings of curiosity gnawed on me. I almost got up and left when the girls next to me wouldn’t stop gawking and whispering to each other. They finally stopped when I glared at them.

  In Spanish though, Mrs. Valenzuela put her foot down and wouldn’t allow any extra talking unless it was in Spanish. It almost felt like a normal day until the announcement came that the homecoming game was postponed. The entire class went into a frenzy and blamed the administration for overreacting.

  I was amazed they’d do something so drastic, but at this point, keeping drama to a minimum would be Mr. Brewster’s modus operandi. The game, though, was the least of my worries. My only tie to homecoming would be helping Sam get ready for the dance tomorrow night.

  When the bell finally rang, I ducked out before anyone could corner me. I wanted to be far away from the school drama and the quicker the better.

  Nobody was home when I arrived to change and get ready for work. I was earlier than I had expected, so I had a little bit of time to kill before heading out.

  The setting sun left the sky a beautiful display of vibrant purple and pink hues so I grabbed a bowl of cereal to eat on the back porch and enjoyed the view. The quiet breeze played against the trees and the birds sang the day away. I closed my eyes and listened to the creek gurgle along.

  All the weight of the events of the past week pressed heavily on my heart. I had no idea anyone’s life could be so complicated. In a short time, I’d managed to meet two terrific guys and lose them both without explanation. I didn’t know if I could handle any more pandemonium.

  A single tear trickled down my cheek and I tried to hold back the emotions I couldn’t seem to keep stuffed down. What I really needed was answers.

  What did I do to have this chaos in my life? Why was this happening to me?

  I feared I’d never know the truth or ever be able to get over Nicholas fully, even though I’d said my goodbyes at the cliff’s edge. In time, I hoped I’d stop thinking about him so much, but something in me craved the completeness he made me feel the night of the fall and I couldn’t help it. Even when I dwelled on the mean things he said outside the theater, as soon as I let my guard down, the longing would come back — almost like his presence was the missing puzzle piece to happiness I’d been looking for all my life.

  I could still feel his strong body carrying me up the hill, his touch when he brushed aside my hair, his tenderness and concern when I fought going to the emergency room. He ruined all future relationships for me because no one could compare. And the sad part was, in one small lifesaving gesture, he’d managed to capture my heart and had no idea.

  I hated him for it.

  And then there was Phil. I knew he was in trouble and for some reason afraid to go home. I constantly worried about him. But then, I was banned from ever being his friend. There was no escape.

  I wanted to throw my cereal bowl and smash it into a million pieces. More than anything I needed to talk to someone who would understand and give sound advice – someone who would tell me I’d survive – someone who had been through what I was going through – someone like a mom. The tears flowed down my cheeks and splashed into my bowl. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and I felt so tired.

  If only I could just stay home tonight.

  I drug out my pity party as long as I could before I walked into the house. I washed my face with water, blew my nose and tried to cover up my red cheeks with a little make-up. The puffy eyed girl in the mirror smiled and conveyed things would work out. It had to.

  When I arrived at work, everyone was happy to see me. It was my first day back since the accident. No one said anything about my red eyes, so I assumed my blotchy face had returned to normal. I wore a smile on my face but had a burden in my heart as I put on my apron and got behind the counter to take orders.

  The evening was slow, which wasn’t typical for a Friday night. Everyone blamed the countywide curfew. I really wanted to keep busy, so I asked if I could organize the storeroom.

  Once I saw the mess, I wished I hadn’t volunteered. Straws, napkins, silverware and condiments were everywhere and needed to be consolidated to make room to stock the missing items. But eager to distract myself, I got right to work. It felt good to dive into a mind-numbing project. When I was done I gathered up the bag of trash I’d accumulated and headed for the dumpsters out back. As I neared the back door I sensed something.

  Evil lurked outside in the alley. I looked out the peep hole expecting something horrific, but didn’t see anything. Convinced my recent drama had me overly spooked, I slowly opened the door and peered out.

  The events I witnessed unfolded like a scene from a scary movie. Three tough-looking guys in leather trench coats approached a lone guy who had his back to me. Their voices were hushed, but confrontational, full of overwhelming confident anger. Warning bells went off in my head to shut the door and get help, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the showdown.

  The ghostlike similarity of the thugs translucent skin struck me odd as it strangely reflected the light of the alley. And the inky blackness of their irises reminded me of those of a shark, unfeeling and cold. I watched them shift their glances from each other to the man they encircled
, almost as if to communicate a secret plan. Suddenly, the rage rose along with the tension. They were about to strike.

  I yelled in my mind for the lone man to run knowing he didn’t stand a chance. But instead, he reached into the folds of his jacket and pulled out a pointed stick, holding it in his hand next to his side, poised ready to act.

  The thugs began to laugh and mock him as they tightened closer around but the lone guy did not move from his position, fearless as ever.

  I held my breath anxious to see what would happen when I heard a “hey” coming from my general direction.

  I almost looked behind me when I realized, the sound came from my own throat. And before I knew it and against my will, I’d stepped into the alley. The big door slammed shut and locked behind me. I froze in terror.

  All four men turned to look at the noisy new intruder in the alley.

  I blinked my eyes and began to process in slow motion. I fearfully stared back at the shifty men wondering if I should try to run for it. But my breath caught in my throat and my knees grew weak when I focused on the face of the lone man. It was someone I knew.

  “Julia, watch out!” Nicholas called to me, but it was too late.

  Suddenly, I was knocked off my feet and one of the thugs was on top of me, his hungry black eyes excited as he growled like a tiger. I tried to scream but nothing came out. He opened his mouth and licked his long, pointed, canine teeth.

  “Hmmm… look who came for dinner,” he said with a hiss and sniffed the air above my collarbone.

  I forced my eyes shut and prayed the nightmare would end when I felt him go limp and fall heavy, right on top of me. I heaved him off and watched as he twitched with a wooden stake protruding from of his back.

  Not sure if he was actually dead or not, I began to crawl away. He grabbed my arm.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded with a raspy voice.

  I pulled with all my might to get away when suddenly, fire spread out from the edges of the stab wound and consumed his torso. The thug squealed as I yanked harder, ripping his arm off his body in the process. I screamed and flailed my arm with the smoldering appendage still gripping me tightly. The fire continued to burn down like a candle’s wick towards my skin. But, right before the flame reached me, his arm’s flesh disintegrated into a plume of dust that flew everywhere. I looked back at the rest of the thug’s body as he dissolved into a pile of ash.

  I stifled a scream with my hand and watched wide-eyed while the remaining pieces continued to sizzle. All that was left was his greasy hand print on my arm. I rubbed violently until it came off, surprised to discover my skin unharmed underneath.

  The sounds of fighting and destruction drew my attention from the ashes to the other end of the alley. I watched in fear for Nicholas’ life as the blur of what seemed like twenty other animalistic men-creatures ambushed him. Every once in a while, one would come flying out of the pack, slam into the pavement, stand up unharmed, then jump back in. After a few seconds, I realized it was the same two guys. They were hurling themselves at him, biting and hissing, trying to get some sort of contact. But Nicholas was faster and fought them off with a graceful ease.

  I sat mesmerized at how the incredible fight looked; like a planned choreographed event. Nicholas was actually having fun, while the thugs were just getting angrier because they couldn’t defeat him.

  And then, after I felt Nicholas’ boredom, he whipped out two more stakes and in one fluid motion, stabbed them both in the chest at the same time. And just like the first one, they squealed and burned up in smoke too.

  Nicholas was at my side before the stakes hit the pavement.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, cupping my elbow and helping me stand up.

  “OKAY? Am I okay? He… they’re…” My mind swam in confusion. I just used my hands to motion to the scorched shells of people.

  “Did he hurt you?”

  I blinked and shook my head, still tongue tied and shaken.

  “Just breath. It’s going to be okay.”

  I furrowed my brow and slowly looked around at the three piles of dust complete with wooden stakes. My head started feeling woozy, so I grabbed the wall to steady myself. Nicholas’ worry heightened.

  “Julia, I know this is hard to comprehend, but I can explain what you just saw,” he said slowly and deliberately.

  “Yes, you need to explain,” I whispered, my voice shaking uncontrollably.

  I realized I was breathing again.

  “I’d prefer not to do it here. Can we go someplace else?”

  “Leave?” I questioned, afraid there were more of them hiding around the corner. I only felt safe next to Nicholas.

  “Yes, someplace other than here?” he asked in urgency.

  “But... there could be more…” my voice sounded frightened, raspy and broken.

  “There’s no more, Julia. But it’s not safe out in the open. Let’s go to my car.”

  I took a few small steps forward and kicked a bag of trash, the one I originally needed to throw away.

  Work. I’m still on the clock.

  “I need to ask to leave early,” I mumbled.

  Nicholas gently put his arm around my waist and directed me out of the alley to the front of the store. The short walk got the blood moving into my limbs and I started to think a little clearer.

  “I’ll wait out here,” he suggested. I stared blankly into his green eyes, managed to gain composure and pulled open the door.

  I don’t remember what I said, or how I managed to collect my things and make it out of the store without causing my manager alarm, but I did.

  Nicholas escorted me over to his black Chrysler 300, opened the passenger door and helped me get in. The door shut and left me alone in the deafening quiet. I drew my feet up onto the seat and hugged my legs. My heart was still beating a mile a minute.

  The word vampire kept ringing over and over in my head and I wanted it to stop. I started to rock back and forth. There had to be a rational explanation for what just happened. Vampires were not real.

  His door opened and he slid in, checking his rearview mirrors carefully first before turning to me.

  “I’d like to take you someplace so we can talk, if that’s okay with you.”

  I nodded, trembling, feeling a little safer in his car.

  “Can you please put on your seat belt?” he asked while putting on his own.

  I drew in a deep breath, straightened my legs and complied with his request. Once the seat belt clicked, he started the car, pulled out of the deli parking lot and headed towards the highway.

  “I owe you an apology Julia,” he started off.

  I turned my face towards him in disbelief. This had to be Nicholas’ twin brother or an alter ego of the one at the theater. Who did he think he was anyway? One moment he played the shining hero and the next a horrible ogre. I wasn’t going to fall so easily this time, even if I knew the apology to be genuine.

  “The night you almost fell off the cliff, I had to lie to you about what happened. I really wanted to tell you the truth, but I couldn’t, so I told you I’d killed a mountain lion.” His voice was low and even, as if he chose his words wisely. “What I actually killed was a vampire.”

  I gulped. That was the first time the word vampire had been uttered out loud, confirming that they truly existed. He hesitated when I didn’t respond.

  “You aren’t handling this very well, are you?”

  “No,” I hoarsely whispered, still feeling I couldn’t catch my breath.

  “You don’t have to be afraid,” he said with overwhelming confidence.

  “You’re kidding me, right?” I stated, wondering if he was in the same alley I was a few minutes ago.

  “I just wish you hadn’t have come into the alley. What were you thinking?”

  He clenched his jaw and gripped hard on the steering wheel. The sudden anger both internally and externally startled me.

  “I didn’t mean to.” I bit my lip and t
urned my head down. “I seem to be a magnet for trouble these days.”

  Nicholas’ abrupt chuckle confused me; I didn’t get the joke. But whatever I said eased his tension, so I didn’t ask.

  “So now you know why I couldn’t see you,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “What do you mean?”

  He paused and took a deep breath. I could sense his guilt.

  “I couldn’t tell you what really happened. You’d already found loopholes in my story. It was best to disappear from your life. “

  I felt a pang of dread in my heart. Nicholas’ disappearing was the last thing I ever wanted. Something deep inside me needed him to be there. I needed the safety he gave me, like a guardian angel.

  He checked his rearview mirror again. The lights of the cars behind us lit up his green eyes like the surf I saw the night before. Their beauty stunned me.

  We turned onto an abandoned dirt road that wove through the woods and ended in front of a meadow. He parked the car and shut off the motor. The sudden silence became uncomfortable.

  “Why would it matter if I knew?” I asked softly.

  “It’s not something you openly share. And trust me; you wouldn’t have believed me anyway.”

  “Maybe,” I said sheepishly, wondering if I would believe him or think he was crazy. “So, is that why you were rude in front of the theater?”

  When I said the word ‘rude’, Nicholas felt remorseful. It made me wish I’d chosen a different word.

  “It wasn’t what I wanted to do. A pack of parasites had just passed you and I couldn’t let them get away.”

  “So those were… vampires too?” I uttered, choking over the word.

  “You saw them?” He frowned. “I was afraid they’d see me talking to you. If they had any idea you and I knew each other… it would’ve been bad.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I think they’ve figured out who I am,” he said, his voice cold. “This group is different than the others – smarter. I’m usually able to eliminate witnesses.”