by Carlos King
Feeling bad for her judgmental stance, Jade replies, “I understand. It’s not your fault. You were just doing what you had to do to escape that horrible place.”
“Exactly.” Drake answers Jade’s other question. “The reason why the brand is on the back of this body is because it’s like a tattoo for the soul. No matter where I go, or what body I’m in, this mark will be there. The only way it’ll ever go away is if God himself took it off me.”
Drake angles his head down. The thought of being categorized as a monster for the rest of eternity clearly depresses him. He’s turned his back on Hell, and Heaven has turned its back on him. He’s now stuck between realms, lost and confused.
Jade senses Drake’s distress and tries to console him. Seeing that Drake’s hand is still positioned on the center arm rest, she places her soft hand over his. “Who knows, Drake…Maybe God will see what you’re doing for me and let you back into Heaven.”
Drake looks at his hand and then up at Jade. A smile crosses his face. In spite of everything he’s told her, she continues to show love and concern for him. “I’ve done bad things, Jade. I’ve done a lot of really bad things.”
“We’ve all done things we regret, Drake. Some people’s actions may’ve been worse than others, but I feel that it’s the good things we do that counteract the bad are what matter.”
Jade’s words have taken Drake’s love for her to a new zenith.
In Jade also sees Drake in a totally different perspective, also. To go through all that he’s been through and still have good intentions in his blackened-heart speaks volumes to her. She sees Drake as a lost, wounded puppy. A puppy that has been mistreated and abused for most of its life and seeks nothing more than a loving hand to nourish it back to health.
The two briefly stare at each other in silence. They’re so focused on each other that they fail to notice that the bus has come to a stop. Drake gradually leans in to Jade, slowly closing his eyes. Jade does the exact same.
Before their lips connect, the bus driver calls out. “We are now in Wakarusa, IN. Anyone getting off in Wakarusa, IN, this is your stop. For those of you who aren’t getting off in Wakarusa, you have fifteen minutes to visit the truck stop or make use of their facilities.”
The portly bus driver proceeds to open the bus door. He rocks back and forth in order to gain enough momentum to get up. After a strenuous exertion, plus the use of the steering wheel, the driver pulls himself up and steps down the narrow stair casing, exiting the bus.
Jade and Drake look around the bus and realize they’re the only people who were still on the bus. Jade and Drake exchange an odd glance with one another.
“Okay, did he really just do that?” Jade asked.
“Shit!” Drake exclaimed.
“What’s wrong?” asked Jade.
Drake’s eyes are aimed at the front of the bus. “The damn driver…He just told me where we are. I know our location now, which means I’m gonna have to try and block my mind off so they others won’t know.”
“That shouldn’t be hard for you.”
“That only worked because I made myself forget who I really was. With all I’ve done today there’s no way I can raise doubt to who I am again. I got a taste of my inner evil today at the supermarket. That taste is like a drug…It’s seductive and addictive. And with that being the first time I’ve used my powers in nearly a year, the sensation of it almost made me relapse.”
Jade walks up to Drake and places her hand in the center of his chest. “I trust you, Drake,” she declared. “Just because you come from a bad place and forced to do bad things, doesn’t mean you’re destined to be a bad person. I believe you have a good heart. At times you may be a little rough around the edges, but I know now that that’s only because of what you’ve been through. But it doesn’t matter what I think of you. You have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that you’re better than what you’ve been dubbed as.”
Drake smiles at Jade’s heartwarming words of encouragement. “For you, I’ll try my hardest. Now, let’s get off of this bus before the driver comes back and makes another announcement.”
Drake takes Jade by the hand and the two exit the bus.
Once they’re off the bus they take in the sights of the small farmers’ town of Wakarusa, Indiana. The small antique shops and mom and pop stores make up the majority of businesses that fill the heart of the town. Other businesses such as lumber yards and factories make up the rest. The countryside atmosphere is fresh and exceptionally beautiful all at the same time. The simplicity of the town is reminiscent to a time when the world was a much simpler place.
“So what do you think?” Jade asked enthusiastically as the stood amidst of Wakarusa’s shopping square.
Looking around, Drake responds, “I think that bus doubled as a time machine and we’ve been sent back to the earlier 1900’s.”
“I like it. This is one of the few places in the world where you can actually leave your door unlocked. Everyone knows each other here. They’re all hard working people who look after one another. I don’t think there’s one bad person in this town.”
Drake smiled. “Until now.”
CHAPTER 22
Making their way through the town square, Jade and Drake allow the feel and appearance of the town to soak in. Wakarusa’s historic town center is lined with quaint little shops that not only service the needs and wants of the locals; they also serve as points of attraction to passing visitors. Its low count population, which consists of fewer than 2,000 residents, explains why there are only a few people occupying the streets.
“I have to ask, Jade. What made your uncle move here? Was he born here or something?”
“No. My dad and my uncle were both born in the suburbs of Chicago.”
“Chicago? He left a fast-paced place like Chicago to come here? By comparison, this place would be like stepping back into colonial times.”
“He got tired of the big city life,” Jade explained. “He wanted to move someplace where things moved slower than what he was accustomed to. A place where your rewards in life are tantamount to the amount of hard work you put in.”
“Why? Why the hell would he want to leave the bright city lights for lantern town?”
“I don’t know the logic behind his reasoning. I just know that’s what made him move here. Things didn’t work out the way he planned, though. During the height of the economic crisis, things got really hard and tight around here. Eventually my uncle developed an ‘abandon ship’ mindset. He sold the place to my dad for cheap. A year or so later, the town was revitalized when it received funds from the stimulus package. The property grew in value. My uncle tried to buy it back but my dad declined all his offers. They haven’t spoken since.”
“So who stays here now?” Drake asked. “Farmland has to be tended to on a regular basis, and if your parents are staying in Crown Point then there’s no way they’re doing it.”
“They hire one of the local farmers to come out and take care of the land.
“Are we gonna have to worry about any farmers mistaking us for burglars?” Drake asked.
“No,” Jade answered. “I got to know the neighbors when we first came down here to vacation. They know I belong around here. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Drake smirks. The last thing he’d ever worry about is a human. In contrast, it would be something he’d be more than willing to entertain. No matter how hard he tries, Drake will always have an evil inside of himself that thrives on confrontation and destruction.
The two continue walking toward the Harris farmhouse. Along their short journey, they talk a little bit about everything. They discuss the first thoughts Jade had when she found out Drake was a demon. They talk about the initial thoughts that came into her mind when she saw Alex for the first time in two years. They even talk about Drake’s thoughts toward Alex. The two things they didn’t discuss were the whereabouts of Alex, and the demons that are after her.
It’s not a
s if they didn’t have these thoughts in the back of her mind, it’s just that for the time being, that’s where they want those thoughts to stay…In the back of their minds.
After walking for nearly half an hour, Jade and Drake find themselves walking along a narrow road, surrounded on both sides by towering crops that spanned out as far as they eye could see.
Jade disrupts their flowing conversation and points up the road. “There it is.”
Drake follows the path of Jade’s finger to a beautiful two-storied home. It is an all white house, with a matching barn in back. The setting of the sun highlights the house perfectly. The rays reflect off the home, creating the kind of picturesque view any artist would admire.
“Wow!” Drake said, stunned. “That is a really nice house…Despite the fact it’s in the middle of Mayberry,”
“I told you,” she boasted. “Come on. I wanna show you the barn.”
“Yippee,” Drake sarcastically played as Jade pulled him by the hand.
What Jade and Drake are completely unaware of is that someone is watching them closely from inside the farmhouse, observing them from a second-floor window as they cut across the yard and head towards the barn.
Sensing something isn’t right, Drake turns his attention to the house.
“Is something wrong?” Jade asked.
Drake doesn’t respond immediately. Instead, he persistently stares at the house, trying to pick up on anything that seems out of place. Drake could easily use his powers to find out if anyone is in the house or not, but if he uses his telepathy to scan the house it would alert the other demons to his and Jade’s location.
Ruling it the weird sensation as a false alarm, Drake turns back to Jade and says, “No. Everything’s cool. I thought I heard something…It’s nothing.”
CHAPTER 23
The sun has set, darkness now covering the land. Inside the barn behind the Harris farmhouse, Jade and Drake lay next to each other in a pile of hay, staring up at the nighttime sky through the opening in the roof of the barn. The two are admiring a star-filled sky that they’re not accustomed to seeing in the city skies. The flickering light that dimly illuminates the barn is being provided by an old lantern that Jade has hung near the barn’s doors. The entire atmosphere makes for a very romantic and soothing setting.
Jade is telling Drake about the very first time she ever visited the farmhouse. She details all the renovations her parents made to the house and how they practically rebuilt the barn from the ground up and how all three of them spent the whole summer painting both the house and the barn. She also tells Drake about how her time at the farmhouse with her family really helped her to get over Alex’s death, which was only a year prior at the time.
“I think that’s what really made me love this place,” Jade concluded, staring up at the nighttime sky. “It lifted me to a better place. I’m sorry. I’ve been talking your ears off ever since we got here.”
“No, you’re good, babe. I like listening to you,” Drake admitted. “I can actually relate to where you’re coming from.”
Jade turns to Drake. “You can?”
“Yeah. I get what you mean about how an outside influence came along and changed you for the better.”
Continuing to lie in the hay, hands tucked behind his head, staring up at the stars, Drake explains, “I know because you did the same for me.”
Jade sits up and faces Drake. “I did?”
Smiling, he replies, “Yeah. It’s because of you my entire outlook towards things has changed. I mean I already knew I wasn’t happy with being what I am, but I figured there was nothing I could do about it…Just roll with it, you know? And then you came along. You made me remember a part of myself I thought died a long time ago. I never figured a human, especially one I was sent after, would ever impact me like that.”
“I’m surprised myself,” Jade blushed.
“Don’t be. You’re a lot more special than you give yourself credit for. I knew that the moment I realized my allure didn’t work on you.”
“That doesn’t make me special…It just means I’m unique.”
Drake sits up and stares Jade in the eyes. “Semantics, Jade. Either way, it’s something to be appreciated and cherished. Finding a person to love is something special, but finding someone who completes is something unique. Both are great things that should be treasured.”
Swept up in an emotional whirlwind by Drake’s words, Jade tries her best to maintain her composure. “Is that how I make you feel or are you only using that as an example? Honestly.”
Drake continues to stare into Jade’s eyes, answering her with the upmost sincerity, “That’s how you honestly make me feel.”
Lost in a moment of pure passion, Jade and Drake inch their faces towards one another’s until their lips touch gently. With their eyes closed, their kiss grows more and more passionate with every passing second. Drake softly caresses Jade’s neck. The two lean back on the hay, refusing to let their lips separate.
The two are only interrupted when the crackle of hay hits their ears. Startled, Drake and Jade turn their sights toward the disturbance. They’re both shocked to see Alex standing in the doorway, glaring at them.
“Oh, no, please don’t let me interrupt,” said Alex, his tone peculiar.
“Alex?!” Jade called out excitedly. “Alex, it’s you!”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Jade gets up from the pile of hay and rushes over to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Alex, however, doesn’t seem to be moved by the affectionate gesture. Sensing something is awry, Jade releases Alex and takes a couple steps back.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“Wrong? What could be wrong,” asked Alex with a noticeable attitude. “I managed to fight off four demons and escape with my life. I ran a tad under three hundred miles to get back to you, only to find out that the one thing you’re not lacking is companionship.”
Standing to his feet with a grin on his face, Drake says, “Calm down, angel. You got it all wrong—”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Alex scornfully interrupted.
Jade tries to settle Alex down. “Alex, I know how this looks, but it’s—”
“Do you?! Do you really know how this looks, Jade? If you did you wouldn’t be standing here trying to convince me otherwise.”
Jade and Drake are both equally caught off guard by Alex’s unanticipated attitude. It’s expected for him to have a cold shoulder for Drake, but he’s never displayed this type of aggression toward Jade before.
Jade tries to clarify the situation. “I’m trying to tell you that it’s not what you think. Me and Drake have been talking about random things ever since we got here—all to keep me from worrying myself to death over you. We were sitting here talking when one thing led to another. Before we knew it, we—”
“You were magically playing lizard tongue with the scavenger,” Alex rudely inserted.
Jade is silenced and shocked by Alex’s crudeness. She has no idea what to say or think. The Alex standing in front of her isn’t the Alex she knows.
Alex’s harsh words don’t sit very well with Drake, either. Standing right in across from Alex, Drake assertively asks, “What did you call me?”
Ready to match Drake’s assertiveness, Alex stares him down with an icy glare. Once again, it is Jade who steps between the two, keeping them apart.
“You heard me, hellboy! I called you a scavenger! You do know what a scavenger is, don’t you? It’s a vulture. It’s something so pitiful that its entire existence relies on the remains and leftovers of others.”
Drake answers, “Look, I don’t know what your problem is—”
“You’re my damn problem!” Alex snapped. “And you’ve been my damn problem from the minute I met you!”
“I’m the one who got her out of the house while you were busy trying to make yourself look like some kind of hero,” Drake came back.
“I stayed behind to fight off the things you
led to us! If you would’ve just stayed the hell away from us we could’ve both laid-low until I figured a way out of this shit,” Alex exclaimed.
“Don’t give me that shit,” said Drake. “You know just as well as I do they’re gonna come after her with everything they’ve got until the alignment passes.”
Jade maintains her post between the feuding pair, keeping a hand pressed against each of their chests.
“Knock it off you guys!” she exclaimed. “We need to stick together here! We don’t have time for pointless fighting right now!”
Alex’s angry eyes lock with Drake’s. “I don’t need him.” He turns and walks away, heading for the barn doors.
Just as Alex nears the doors, Drake tells him something that causes him to stop dead in his tracks.
“You’ll need my help more than you know, angel! Despite what you think, you aren’t strong enough to take on what lies ahead of you. The way Hell works is just like Heaven. The longer you’re there, the more you become that place and embrace its powers. There are some who’ve been collecting for hundreds of years—some even thousands. How many years do you have on your side…Two? Granted, for some odd reason the power you possess seems to be a lot greater than it should be, but that won’t mean a thing when you come across an elder. Someone who’s been acquiring their power for centuries. Hell, you’re not even strong enough to get through me.”
After hearing Drake’s last remark, Alex has been given all the reason he needs to lose his temper. He turns around to face Drake. His eyes are ignited, golden-flames glowing bright, his facial expression unmistakably indicating his intentions.
Attempting to convince Alex to stand down, Drake tells him, “Don’t do this, angel. This isn’t about us. Our focus should be set on keeping Jade safe until the window for the portal closes.”
