Talisman

by S. E. Akers

  You’ve got to be kiddin’!

  I felt like a caged tiger while I sat there, confined in the cramped interior of his car. So many emotions were raging all at once, but “love” was certainly not one of them. Charlotte had seen to that when she attempted to sabotage my plans for college.

  I kicked the floorboard and let out a grunt. No wonder I haven’t heard from any of the Universities I’ve sent applications. They never left the damn house!

  Mike opened his door and started to climb in the car. Samuel detained Mike with a simple tap on his shoulder and began “laying down the law” to “my date”.

  “I don’t know what just happened in there, but I want to make something clear to you, young man.” Samuel instructed. His voice was eerily thunderous and intimidating. “You take care of Shiloh…Do you understand me?”

  Mike appeared skittish and very quiet. Samuel’s “role” was starting to get on my nerves. The only father I needed right now was my real one. I looked through the driver-side window to see Samuel tormenting Mike with his most threatening stare.

  “That’s enough, Samuel,” I called out. “I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself. Get in the car, Mike!” I slammed myself back against the soft black leather seat and impatiently stared straight ahead.

  Mike slid inside, looking a bit shaken. Samuel tapped on the hood of the car and made his “I’m watching you” gesture, one last time. For Mike to be such a young cocky jerk, he sure seemed rattled by a man well into his 50’s.

  I snapped my fingers beside his head. “Are you going to put this car in gear or should I?” I asked directly.

  With a telling grin and a sly arch of his brow, Mike took a hold of the gearshift and not a second later, we were bumping along the gravel drive. I tilted my head towards the side-mirror to catch a glimpse of Katie and Samuel as we pulled onto the road.

  I really shouldn’t have snapped at them like that. After all, “they” didn’t do anything. I stared aimlessly at the trees passing by as we zipped down the curvy road. Well, this evening has been “momentous” so far…

  As we hugged the road alongside Shiloh Ridge, an odd feeling came over me. Maybe it was because of all the crazy things that had happened over past few days (at the rate I was going, surely there would be more “momentous” things to come), or maybe it was because he was driving slower than I would’ve preferred along this creepy damn ridge!

  “Speed up will you,” I demanded. “I um, don’t want us to be late.” With that, his sly grin stretched even wider as he punched the gas, and we shot down the mountain in record time.

  Chapter 9 — How About That Dance ?

  My heart was still racing by the time we’d reached the bottom of the mountain. I tried to pass it off as Mike’s jerky high-speed drive, but I still found myself wound tighter than a banjo string, and I knew the real reason “why”.

  Ugh! I need to calm down! But after considering who was sitting to my left — on top of every-freaking-thing else — that seemed like an unrealistic possibility!

  The ride had been relatively quiet so far (with the exception of Mike trying to pick a song). I wasn’t the least bit interested in making any casual conversation with “my date” anyway. I was content with quietly replaying the past few days over and over in my mind and brooding about how my simple “normal” life had taken a terrible turn for the worse…and it all started after having that godawful daggone dream!

  I’d heard the thoughts of a strange man in my head, as clear as a bell…I even doubted the blindness of a sweet old lady that I’d known for years who just today, had kept a gigantic rattlesnake from trying to have me for lunch…And that miraculous act paled in comparison to the falcon that had saved me from having my neck rung by an unimaginable cloud of evil black smoke the freakin’ day before…I’d swear Professor Tanner Grey was sort of stalking me…Apparently Charlotte had been screwing half of Welch behind my unsuspecting father’s back…My spoiled-brat-of-a-sister and witch-of-a-mother had conned me into going to the Homecoming dance with a jerk…And then to top it all off, I’d just found out that the bitch had purposely tried to wreck my college plans by sneaking out to the freaking mailbox and removing all of my applications before they were picked up by the daggone postman!

  Who does that kind of crap to their “own daughter”? How did things get so DAMN SCREWY?

  Mike waited for some cars to pass before turning onto the highway. I looked over at the mine. It appeared to be abandoned, with the exception of my father’s navy blue truck sitting in the parking lot. The little girl inside me needed her daddy, but he had absolutely no idea what had been going on with me. I hadn’t divulged any of my problems to him because I figured he had enough on his own plate, what with the mine and his questionable job security.

  I tapped Mike’s arm and pointed to the mine. “Daddy wants you to drop me off at the mine after the dance. He’ll take me home.”

  “I can take you home, Shiloh. It’s no trouble.” Mike insisted, rather eagerly. In fact, “eagerly enough” that I got a sneaky suspicion he may have other reasons for wanting to “take me home”.

  Oh, pleazzze, I thought as I propped my head up against the window. “Daddy wants to see me all fixed up in the outfit he bought me. You know…before I go home and take it off.”

  Mike appeared deep in thought as he sat there simply nodding, while a funny-looking grin curled the corners of his mouth.

  Maybe I should have phrased that better? I’d hate to read his mind and see what sick mental image he’s just conjured up in that perverted head of his.

  “Mike? Did you hear me?” I asked suspiciously. He didn’t acknowledge my question. I smacked his shoulder. “MIKE?”

  “Oh, yeah. Sure,” Mike announced as he emerged from his daydream. Unexpectedly, my delusional date threw the car into “park”.

  “Why did you do that?” I quizzed.

  “I need to get something,” Mike replied as he reached over, down towards the floorboard of my seat — right between my legs. My hands flew up and blocked him before he could lean any further.

  “What in the Hell are you doing?” I demanded with a gruff glare.

  “Sorry…Chill, okay?” Mike laughed and threw his arms up in the air. “Could you reach under your seat for me? Please? There’s something under there I need.”

  I rolled my eyes as I felt underneath the seat. They soon narrowed when my hands located the object. I didn’t have to see it to know what it was. I shook my head and pulled out the container. I held up the ornate whisky flask and sneered.

  “Really, Mike. This is what you ‘need’?”

  “I brought it because I wanted to catch a little buzz, but I think you’re the one who needs it,” Mike replied confidently, “…to take the edge off of whatever just happened back there.”

  I laughed. “You think liquor solves problems?”

  Mike looked genuinely concerned. “No…But it’s been my experience that it sure can make you forget about them for a while.”

  I had to admit his offer sounded very tempting, and I needed to relax. Everyone and everything around me had my nerves tied up in knots.

  “Just take a sip or two. I promise. I won’t let you get hammered. I’d hate for your Dad to kick my ass when I drop you off tonight.”

  This was a side of Mike that I hadn’t seen before, but I remained skeptical. Is he trying to genuinely console me or does he just want to get me drunk?

  “I swear,” Mike vowed and raised his hand like a Boy Scout. “We’ll just have a few sips before the dance, and then I’ll leave it in the car. Shiloh, my mom’s a chaperone. I can’t show up drunk to the dance — especially with her there. I may act like I don’t give a crap most of the time, but I’m not crazy.”

  With that taken into account, I found myself seriously starting to mull over the idea while I inspected the elaborate container. The intriguing bottle wasn’t made of glass. It was actually an opulent bronze flask featuring a label that had been carved straight int
o its metal and hand-painted in various eye-catching colors. It read:

  Emerald Eyes Whiskey

  Instead of a plastic lid, a striking bronze topper embedded with a sparkly green crystal lay at its top, sealing its contents. It was really dazzling — too fancy to be just a cap for a bottle of whiskey and decorative enough to make a piece of jewelry out of it.

  “Where did you get this?” I asked curiously.

  Mike had a sneaky grin on his face. “Actually, one of the guys from Xcavare dropped it by the house today, as a gift for my father. He wasn’t home, so the guy left it with me.”

  “Don’t you think your dad will miss it?” I posed with a skeptical laugh.

  “Nope. Look…The top screws on. There’s no seal. I’ll replace it with some of his other whisky from his liquor cabinet and show him ‘his gift’ in the morning. He’ll never know the difference. He’s way to tight to ever buy something like this. This stuff is so expensive and extremely rare. I read where they only make around a hundred of these bottles a year. Hell, Shiloh…That’s a real emerald on top of there!”

  I had to admit I was quite impressed with Mike’s plan and very intrigued by the flask in front of me, as well as its contents.

  He unscrewed the jeweled cap. “Ladies first,” Mike insisted as he pulled onto the highway. “Just take a few sips…to help you relax. We’ll be at the dance before you know it, and I’ll cut you off. Then you can use some of those mints Katie threw in your bag,” he joked and gave me a nudge with his elbow.

  Now normally I would never submit to peer pressure. However, as bad as what things had gotten over the past few days, I rationalized there was honestly no way they could possibly get any worse if I happened to catch a buzz.

  What the heck, I thought as I threw back the bottle to take a sip.

  The whiskey was surprisingly sweet. The only alcohol I’d ever tasted was some hot beer at a pool party two years ago, and it was downright nasty. However, this stuff was as smooth as silk and incredibly delicious. I started picturing all the grimaces people would make in the movies whenever they took a hard shot of whiskey — but my face never flinched.

  Mike’s cell phone rang. He started talking to someone in a very hushed manner. It was obviously Kara. Poor Tyler, I thought as I took another swig. He deserves better than that little slut.

  The closer we got to our high school, the more anxious I became about having to give the bottle of Emerald Eyes back to Mike. I found myself unable to stop drinking it. As soon as we started up the hillside drive that led to the upper parking lot, I took “one more sip”, and then another one, and then yet another. I couldn’t even cut my own self off!

  Before I knew it, Mike was off the phone and had whipped into a parking space. I gave the bottle a light shake and thought, Oooh crap…

  “Okay, hand it over, Shiloh. The bar’s officially closed,” Mike joked.

  As soon as I handed him the flask, he threw it up to his mouth. I flinched and waited for his predictable response.

  “Son-of-a-BITCH!” Mike cried out within seconds and swiftly looked over at me. “You drank the WHOLE FREAKIN’ THING!” Truthfully, he looked more shocked than angry.

  I was appalled after hearing Mike’s confirmation. “Well…”

  “Crap, Shiloh! You’re going to be stinking drunk — not to mention sick,” Mike declared as he nervously ran his hands through his hair and started rubbing his head. “If you get busted, don’t tell ANYONE what you drank, or WHO gave it to you — Understand?” he ordered, sounding all in a panic.

  “I feel fine…Really. Look, I’m sorry, Mike. It was just so sweet and smooth. It didn’t taste like alcohol at all. Maybe that’s why I didn’t realize how much I’d drank?”

  I honestly did feel bad about downing all the whiskey. I didn’t even share a drop of it with him. He was right. I would probably end up embarrassing myself by dancing on a table or worse — clinging to a damn toilet. I suppose I’ll deserve it.

  “I’m sooo glad you liked it,” Mike snapped. “You may be ‘fine’ now, but wait about thirty minutes…then tell me how you feel.”

  “Mike, are you sure there was even alcohol in it?” I asked doubtfully.

  Mike tossed the empty flask under his seat and hopped out the car. “I wouldn’t know, Shiloh. I didn’t get to taste it!” He walked around to my side and opened the door. “Come on. I’ll have to baby-sit you for the evening.”

  A blast of cold air hit me when I took Mike’s hand as he helped me out of the car. I’d left in such a hurry that I forgot to grab a coat. I shivered as I looked up at the dark, starless sky. To my sheer surprise, a flake of snow drifted down and landed on my shoulder. It was the first snow of the season. The first snow was always the most exciting, like getting a visit from a long, lost relative. However, a few weeks of steady “visiting” left you wishing that they would go away — and not return for another year.

  “I didn’t know it was suppose to snow tonight,” I said aloud, still amazed. I held my hands out to catch a few more falling snowflakes. It was really starting to come down.

  Mike seemed puzzled as he looked up at the sky and then all around. He took a hold of my hands and looked straight into my eyes.

  “Shiloh…it’s not. It’s not snowing. What are you talking about?” Mike quizzed skeptically.

  I jerked my hands away and looked at him like he was crazy. “The snow that’s coming down,” I replied as I pointed up to the puffy grey clouds. My joyful expression hardened. Suddenly, I realized there weren’t any puffy clouds and not a speck of snow to be found.

  Where did it go? I wondered as I desperately searched all around for the glistening white flakes. Strangely, they weren’t there anymore. The only thing I saw was Mike, who looked worried.

  “Shiloh, there’s no snow.” Mike shook his head and slapped his hands on his legs. “You’re drunk!”

  I turned and stormed off. “I know what I saw…and I’m NOT drunk,” I called back as I hurried towards the brown and gold gymnasium doors. He was right on my tail.

  Mike caught up with me, just as I was about to enter the building. He placed his hand over mine, pressing it against the door handle.

  “Don’t run off, Shiloh. You have to stay focused. My mom is on the other side of this door. If she finds out that her underage son stole his dad’s whiskey and got his underage date drunk at a school dance, I won’t have to worry about the school suspending me. I’ll be at McDowell County Hospital having her foot removed from my ass! Then, when I get out of the hospital, she’ll take that Camaro she allowed my father to buy me and run over me with it — for humiliating her!”

  I glared back at him. “I told you Mike. I’m not drunk! I’ve gotten a buzz off a few beers before, and I know what it feels like. This is different! I’m not going to say it again. So, shut up and open the door!” As mad as I was at him for not listening to me, I took pleasure in the fact that there was someone Mike Riverside feared more than anything — his mother — and with good reason.

  Mike released my hand and leaned closer. “We’ll see. But remember, Miss Honor Roll…You’ll be in as much trouble as I will. Tell me, Shi…Do you list suspended for drunkenness at a school function as an ‘achievement’ or under ‘extracurricular activities’ on a college application?”

  That was a cold slap of reality. That’s true…Something like that would look pretty damning if it found its way into my school records, but there’s one tiny fact he’s forgetting — I’M NOT DRUNK! Though Mike was standing right in front of me, I leaned closer.

  “Open. The. Door. NOW!” I demanded in a surly voice.

  “FINE!” Mike grumbled.

  I stepped back to clear the door’s path. I watched it swing open, but oddly enough, the same door that had always been painted in our brown & gold school colors appeared to mysteriously turn red — right before my disbelieving eyes. Baffled by the door’s crazy change in color, I turned towards Mike, who was staring right back at me with a foreboding look on his
face. Once I’d realized he was probably standing there thinking I was about to do something stupid, I shot him a glare and turned to face the entrance. I started to head inside when a couple of gold crepe streamers floated out the door, forcing me to take pause.

  “Any day now,” Mike scoffed.

  Disgusted, I attempted my entry again as another long streamer flew out the door. However, this one swiftly changed into something else — A RATTLESNAKE — and it looked even more menacing than the one at Ms. Sutherland’s house! Startled, I gasped and deftly ducked out of its path. Hunched on the ground, I whipped around to see nothing more than a scrap piece of streamer lying on the concrete walkway.

  My mouth fell open. WHAT THE HECK? I thought as I stared at the harmless wad of crepe paper. Mike hastily scooped me up and yanked me into the gym.

  “Come on, Honor Roll. I don’t think it got you,” he cracked.

  My head remained turned, never breaking eye contact with the gold streamer as we entered the building. What’s going on? Didn’t he SEE that thing? He sure didn’t act like it…

  Still locked in a haze of confusion, Mike led me through a maze of decorations and numerous couples standing around. I twitched every time a streamer scraped my arm. He gave me a firm nudge and pointed to a set of wooden doors that led to the gym floor.

  “Time to put your game face on, Shi,” Mike advised. His mom, Elisa Riverside, was standing there greeting all the students before they entered the gym.

  “Come here,” Mike ordered and pulled me towards him. In fact, a little too close. My brow rose, and I pushed him away without hesitating.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I grilled suspiciously.

  “Relax. I’m trying to smell you…your breath, to see if you smell like an Irish pub,” he clarified.

  That sounded reasonable. I did just throw back a whole flask of whiskey. It had to have left some sort of scent on me, though I couldn’t smell it. Like a bloodhound, Mike inhaled a deep breath from where he stood to see if he detected anything. Then, he leaned in to smell the air flowing from my lips. Mike hovered in front of me while he took a few more inconspicuous sniffs. I was feeling extremely uneasy about his actions. There were too many people staring at us. It sure-fire looked like Mike Riverside was trying to kiss his girlfriend’s sister.