Transcendent

by Lisa Beeson

  The closer she got, the harder it was to control the panic and fear rising within her. She had to get a grip. Whenever she felt strong emotions, it ended up affecting the people around her. And it almost always attracted trouble.

  He was in the next row of cars over from her. Leaning on the back of an old Taurus, he took a long drag from a clove cigarette – the kind that you can smell a mile away and coats the back of your throat. Shades like to posses human bodies so they can experience the ‘delights’ of the physical world. They feed off dark emotional energy like fear, lust, and anger. Once they have a body, their hobbies were usually vices and other unsavory activities.

  Ari was almost past him, and he still hadn’t noticed her; she was almost in the clear. That’s when a mother with three obnoxiously loud children got out of a mini-van, two parking spots down from the Shade. They were going to walk right by him on their way into the store. The Mom’s attention was on trying to keep the two older boys from pummeling each other over a toy. While the youngest, a little girl with bright red hair, was skipping behind, oblivious to the world around her. She reminded Ari of what Ainsley might have looked like when she was little.

  If the little family had been paying attention, they would have seen the cringe-inducing leer that the Shade had given the girl as she skipped by. Ari felt his dark intentions like a foul miasma creeping towards her.

  Every nerve in Ari’s body screamed in protest at the evil things that monster wanted to do to the little girl. He put out the cigarette on the back of the car, and made as though he was about to follow them.

  NO! She screamed inside her head.

  His head snapped around to look right at Ari.

  Crap. Crap. Crap.

  His eyes widened as he salaciously sniffed the air in her direction. It was as though he could smell the fear she had for the little girl. Ari’s emotions were on overdrive, and it seemed to be affecting him like a drug. He was getting high off her fear.

  She had distracted him from the girl – good. But now all his attention was on her – bad.

  Time to run.

  Ari thought about tapping into her inner energy that allowed her to run and jump like an Olympian on crack. But she didn’t like to use it since it drained her energy like a bad sugar crash. She was a pretty athletic normally, so she decided that she’d only use it as a last resort.

  Like a predator sensing when it’s prey is about to flee, the Shade licked his cracked lips, then shot forward between the two cars that were between him and Ari.

  Ari turned and dashed down the row towards the main road. Ducking and zigzagging through the cars, she tried put enough distance between them to throw him off of her scent.

  Fortunately for her, Shades weren’t known for their athletic prowess. Their decadent life styles were to thank for that. She could hear his feet slapping against the pavement as she put distance between them. Quickly ducking between a couple of cars towards the end of the lot, she slid down on her stomach then rolled under an SUV to stay out of sight.

  She heard him calling out to her, “Come out, come out, little kitten. Don’t you want to be my special little pet?”

  Gross.

  Judging from where his voice came from, he was at least two rows away from her. He had lost her – good.

  “I’m going to fiiiiind yooouuu…” he sang out, like he was playing some kind of demented game of hide-and-go-seek.

  Not a chance, sicko.

  Ari looked out from under the SUV, and saw that there was a gas station at the back of the lot near the main road. There was a red Ford pickup truck parked at one of the pumps, and it had a canvas tarp draped over the back, protecting whatever was in the truck bed. The truck owner put the gas cap back on, and then went inside to pay or get snacks.

  Perfect.

  “Heeeeeere Kitty, Kitty…” the Shade taunted.

  Now or never.

  To avoid being spotted by the Shade, Ari rolled out from under the SUV and crouch-walked between the cars. There was still a good distance between Ari and the red truck. If she wanted to get there without been seen, there was only one thing she could do. Taking a deep breath, she tapped into her inner energy, and then sped across the distance towards the truck.

  Whenever she went into what she called ‘hyper-speed mode’, Ari felt like she was in one of those action movies where everything goes into slow motion around her.

  It only took a second or two to make it over to the truck. Reaching the back, she lifted up a section of the tarp and quickly climbed up into the truck bed underneath. She knelt down under the tarp, next to what looked like random pieces of scrap metal, copper Pipes of various sizes, and an old red and white barber shop pole.

  Crossing fingers that I don’t get tetanus back here.

  To protect her hands, she stuffed them into the sleeves of her hoodie and cleared a space to lie down. She was starting to get that drained battery feeling she got after tapping into her abilities. Pulling out the bottle of Gatorade and the jerky from of her bag, she downed both in about five seconds.

  Knowing she’d be useless for a while, she laid down, using her backpack as a pillow. She was able to stay awake long enough to hear the truck owner get into the driver’s seat and start the engine. As the truck pulled out of the gas station and onto the main road, Ari welcomed the deep dreamless sleep that overtook her.

  Chapter 2

  Adam Lennox chugged the last bit of soda from the bottle he bought at the gas station back in Tyler, Texas. He had crossed the border between Texas and Arkansas about an hour ago, but he still had a couple hours until Little Rock. He was thinking that he should probably stop for dinner soon.

  Searching for the plastic bag he used as a makeshift garbage can, he took his eyes off the road long enough to miss the armadillo daringly making its way across the road. Adam looked up just in time to dodge it, but not the pot hole next to it.

  The stuff in the back defied gravity for a second then slammed back down. That’s when he heard the yelp. Most people would have missed it, but Adam’s ears had been trained to pick up things others didn’t. Twenty years in the Army had fine-tuned his senses to pin point things out of the ordinary.

  Dammit! I’ve got a damn stowaway.

  He suspected it was some homeless vagrant, or maybe an illegal trying to make his way up north. The hell if I’m going to be someone’s coyote.

  He checked his GPS and saw that he was coming up on a town named Hope. Adam knew exactly where he wanted to stop. There was a barbeque place called Charlie’s about five minutes outside of town that he remembered seeing it on his way down to Texas.

  It was dinner time, so the parking lot was filling up. He drove the truck towards the back and parked in a spot that couldn’t be easily seen by the restaurant windows.

  He reached for the Ruger Ranch Rifle that he kept under the passenger seat. It wasn’t much, but it was damned intimidating when held in someone’s face. If all went well, he’d scare the piss out of the bastard and they’d high tail it out of there. And if it didn’t go well – he was prepared for that too.

  ******

  If Ari hadn’t been dead asleep she wouldn’t have made a sound, but being awoken by slamming into the metal truck bed drove an involuntary sound from her lungs.

  Staying absolutely still and silent, she tried to gauge his intentions.

  She could feel his wary agitation, so she figured he must have heard her. She expected him to have pulled over right away, but he didn’t. He kept on driving.

  What’s he up to?

  She wouldn’t be able to get a more accurate reading on him until she could look into his eyes. She didn’t understand why that was; it just seemed to work better that way. So now she would just have to wait for him to pull over and confront her.

  She pulled the large metal scissors from her bag, just in case. Not that they would do much, but a quick stab might give her enough time to zip out of there.

  Ari felt the truck start to slow down and make
a turn. Judging by the smell, they were near some place where they had barbeque.

  He was parking. She put her back pack on, and scrunched up as far as she could against the back of the truck’s cab. Scissors out and ready, she heard the driver side door open and close. Then she heard the sound of rifle getting cocked.

  ******

  Adam got out of the truck and cocked the rifle; mostly for effect, since he wasn’t planning on using it. He walked slowly to draw out the suspense. When he reached the back of the truck, he shouldered the rifle with his right arm, then with his left he quickly unhooked the tarp and flung it back; bringing his hand back to the rifle to aim at… Aw hell. It’s a kid.

  Adam couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl with that short hair, baggy jacket, and big-ass sunglasses. The kid had jumped when he’d flung the tarp back, but recovered quickly, holding out a pair of scissors ready to attack.

  Adam chuckled to himself, lowering the rifle. The dark hair and tan skin made him think the kid could still be an illegal – just a young one. “Hablo English?”

  The kid scowled in confusion. “Are you asking me if you speak English?”

  He could tell it was a girl, and she was American, by her slight southern accent and the pitch and cadence of her voice.

  Pointing at the scissors, he asked with a condescending smirk, “What, exactly are you going to do with those, kid?”

  “I dunno… Just in case I feel like getting stabby,” she said, while making an awkward stabbing motion at him.

  Adam fought back a laugh. This kid had gumption, he’d give her that. “Well, there’s no need for that,” he said, while lowering the back end of the truck, and then laying the rifle down onto it. “But you are going to tell me what the hell you’re doing in the back of my truck. And take off those damn glasses so I can see if you’re lying to me,” Adam demanded.

  The girl put down the scissors, then took off the mirrored sunglasses.

  Jesus, those are some blue eyes!

  ******

  Ari looked into the brown eyes of the man who had pulled a gun on her. She knew that he wasn’t going to shoot her as soon as he saw she was a kid. He wouldn’t have even if she wasn’t a kid. She could see that he was a good guy. Not too fond of stowaways, but good.

  He had a lean muscular build, and a military bearing. Though, he had probably been out for awhile, judging by the length of his hair. It was dark, except for some grey around his temples. He had to be at least 6’2” if not taller, and maybe in his late thirty’s, early forty’s.

  She didn’t appreciate his condescending tone. And even though he didn’t mean her any harm, it didn’t mean she had to tell him anything. So, she sat there silently.

  “Alright, looks like I’m just going to have to call the cops. Maybe they can deal with you. The hell if I’m going to get in trouble for carting a runaway across the country.” He pulled his phone out of his pants pocket.

  “No, wait! Don’t! I’m not a runaway… Well, not really…” she pleaded.

  “Whatever, kid. Your parents are probably worried sick about you,” Adam said, unlocking the screen on his phone.

  “No, they’re not. I promise!”

  “And why do you think that?” he asked, continuing to ignore her pleas and bringing up the dial pad on the touch screen.

  “Because they think I’m dead.”

  That got his attention. He looked into her eyes and could tell she was telling the truth. He asked slowly, “Why do your parents think you’re dead?”

  Ari held his gaze. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Just trust me. They’re safer if they think I’m dead.”

  Again, he could tell she was telling the truth. “What’s your name, kid?”

  “Ari.”

  “Lie.”

  “It’s not a lie. That’s my name now,” she countered.

  Adam raked his fingers through his hair. This was getting complicated. “Alright, kid, whatever you say. I’m hungry, and from the looks of it, you could use a meal too. C’mon,” he said, jerking his head towards the restaurant.

  “Nah, that’s okay. I’m fine,” she tried to assure him, but her stomach growled in response. Traitor.

  “Lie. Get out of the truck. I’m buying you a meal and that’s that.” He moved the rifle to clear the way for her to scoot out.

  “You don’t understand, the further away you are from me, the safer you’ll be. People are after me, and I need to keep going.”

  Adam’s brow furrowed with concern. “What do you mean, people are after you?”

  She couldn’t tell him. Even she had trouble wrapping her mind around everything that has happened to her.

  Nervously biting her lip, she packed up the scissors and sunglasses into her bag. “I gotta go. Thanks for the ride.”

  “Hey, hold up. You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. I can help you, Ari. No one is going to hurt you while I’m around. You can trust me.” He held out his hand to help her out of the truck.

  She looked into his eyes; he meant it. He sincerely wanted to protect her. It was so tempting. She was tired of being alone. And it would be so nice to be able to share this burden – to be taken care of. She was still a kid after all, but she couldn’t in good conscience put him in danger.

  Noticing her hesitance, he tried again. “You don’t have to worry about me, Ari. I was an MP in the Army. I served three tours – two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I know how to take care of myself. It’s alright, we’ll figure this out. But first, let’s eat – C’mon.” He motioned for her to come forward with his hand.

  Ari’s stomach let out another traitorous growl. So with a defeated sigh, she nodded and let him help her out of the truck. As he took her hand he shook it briefly, “My name’s Adam.” She nodded and hopped down off the back of the truck.

  As they walked to the front doors of the restaurant, Adam pointed out, “Just so you know, you look like hell. You might want to clean up in the restroom, while I get a table.”

  Ari knew she should probably feel insulted, but she was too hungry to care. She just shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, and kept walking. The smells from inside were making her stomach tie in knots with anticipation.

  It was cool and dark inside, and random Americana was hung haphazardly on the walls. A juke box was playing Piano Man by Billy Joel over the cacophony of conversations and the clatter of people playing pool in the back room.

  Ari quickly scanned for potential threats, then noticed that Adam was doing the same thing. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to keep him around – for a little while anyway.

  All clear.

  She spotted the restrooms to the right, and then nudged Adam with her elbow, to let him know that’s where she was headed. He nodded, and then went to the hostess to put his name on the waiting list for a table.

  Ari pushed her way through the restroom door and walked over to the large mirror over a line of sinks. Oh jeez, he was right. I do look like hell.

  Her hair was sticking up on one side, her face was smudged with dirt, and her clothes…well, her clothes looked like she had rolled around in a parking lot and then slept in the back of an old truck.

  She took off her backpack and hoodie, and then went over to one of the sinks to wash her hands and face. After that, she grabbed a brush from her bag and wet it under the faucet to try to tame her rebellious hair, then went into a stall to change into her extra clothes.

  As she was dressing, the door opened with a burst of sound. Ari looked through the crack in the stall door to see two women dressed in tight shirts and mini-skirts. While checking their make up in the mirror, they talked about how horrid their boyfriends were. Then one asked the other, “Did you see the hottie waiting for a table out there?”

  “I so did. Why can’t I ever get a man like that?” she asked, while adjusting her shirt to show more cleavage.

  “Oh, you totally could. I swear,” the other replied.

  Then they
started talking about how nice his muscles looked in that t-shirt, and that the little bit of grey in his hair was so sexy.

  Oh lord. They’re talking about Adam, she thought in disgust. Ugh, that’s awkward.

  Having had enough, Ari zipped up her jeans and put on her blue Adidas t-shirt. It was faded and old, but oh well. At least I don’t look like a hobo anymore.

  She shouldered her backpack and came out of the stall. As she made her way towards the door, one of the women said, “Oh Honey, aren’t you adorable. I love your hair. I must know where you got it done.”

  Ari continued to the door, but turned back before she went through. “Well, if you must know….in a Buy-Mart restroom.” And with that, Ari pushed through the door, sufficiently satisfied with the confused looks on the women’s faces.

  Smiling to herself as she made her way over to Adam, she saw him stand up as the hostess called his name for a table. He gave her a look that asked what she was smiling about. Ari shook her head telling him not to worry about it.

  The hostess asked if a booth was okay, and they both said that it was fine at the same time.

  “Is it a daddy/daughter date tonight?” the hostess asked, as she grabbed a couple menus.

  Adam looked uncomfortable. “Uh, no…”

  “He’s my Uncle…” Ari interjected, cutting him off. “He’s taking care of me while my Mom and her new husband are on their honeymoon.”

  “Aw isn’t that sweet,” the hostess cooed.

  To Adam’s credit, he went along with it, giving a lopsided smile and patting Ari’s shoulder in confirmation.

  The hostess led them to a booth towards the back by the pool tables. She put the menus on the table and told them their server would be with them in a minute, before dashing away.

  Both Adam and Ari went for the side that would give the best view of the restaurant and entrance.

  “Trust me, Ari. I know what I’m doing,” he said, while gently pushing her to the other side.

  Sitting down with a huff, Ari sulked. “You don’t even know what you’re looking for.”