The Clearwater Chronicles (Book 1): Shadows in the Light

by David Barton

  “Well, if you could get her to come to a meet, that would be even better. I’d love to meet her.”

  “And if I can’t?”

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” He walked off to the door pulling it open a little before turning back around. “Oh, just a little extra information. She can get a little violent and like I’ve said already, she’s special.”

  With my new life with a vigilante superhero in it, I jumped to the conclusion he wasn’t talking about her ability with an instrument. “Fine.” I watched him leave, the door left wide open. I expected the two guards to walk in and escort me out of the building. However, no one came in.

  I slowly got up from the chair and walked to the doorway. It was a short corridor that shot off to the left for a few metres. It ended in a wooden door. When I walked through that I found myself in an office. There were desks everywhere. It almost felt like the paper.

  I made my way to the closest elevator and went to the lobby. As I was walking past the reception desk I heard someone’s voice. “Excuse me sir.”

  When it didn’t stop I looked around. Sitting behind the desk were four women. One of which was looking in my direction. I walked up to her, “Were you talking to me?”

  “I was indeed, sir.” She bent down under her desk and pulled up my bag. “This belongs to you?”

  I had completely forgot about it. “Yes it is. Who left it here?”

  “One of the guards, told me to hand it back to you when you left. Also, I was told to give you this.” She handed over a little black, zip up bag.

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. I’m just a receptionist. Please have a nice day.”

  “Thanks, you to.” She pulled a face. “As much of a nice day you can have whilst at work.”

  “Thanks.” I slipped my bag onto my shoulder and headed out. Once outside I leaned up against the wall of the building. I opened the bag and pulled out a phone. It didn’t seem top of the line but it still had a touch screen. I flipped it over and there was a post-it on the back. It simply said call me when you’re ready.

  The phone I put in my bag. I chucked the black bag into the bin along with the post-it. I looked up at the signs to get my bearings which was hard since I didn’t come to the centre very often. If I was remembering right I wasn’t too far from the park and the music hall.

  I dug my phone out as I walked. Not to contact anyone, just to see how long I’d been in the room for. Just over a hour had passed making it just after lunch time. That explained why I felt so hungry. So I got a hot dog from a small vendor on my walk. After devouring it I still felt hungry.

  Unfortunately I didn’t pass another one vendor. I arrived at the music hall. I had never been here and the sheer size and style of the entrance had me in awe. The double doors were surrounding by some kind of decorative border made out of metal. The pattern was mesmerizing.

  I walked into the large lobby. It was completely empty apart from a single cleaner pushing a hoover around the floor and a lonely receptionist who was reading a magazine behind the long desk. As I got closer she looked up in surprise but smiled. “Can I help you?” She almost seemed excited that someone was here that she could talk to.

  “I was wondering if there was a rehearsal or something like that going on?”

  “In fact there is a ballet rehearsal in the third hall.”

  “Third hall? How big is this place?”

  “It’s the biggest music hall in the city. You can just follow the signs up the stairs over there.” She pointed and I looked. “It’s easy enough to find.”

  “Thank you, I’ll let you get back to your magazine.”

  She gave me a shy smile, “Don’t get many people come in during these hours.”

  “I guess everyone is busy getting lunch.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, it was nice to have met you. Hope you don’t get too bored before you get to go home.”

  “Not long left. I finish at two.” The words were blurted out of her mouth, then her cheeks flushed red and she averted her gaze.

  “Not long then.” I followed her instructions and went up the stairs. Following the signs I soon popped into a large room. Seats were circled around a single stage in the very middle. Dancers in tight leotards were rehearsing on the stage. There were only two women down there. It shouldn’t be too hard to find her.

  Then it dawned on me. I didn’t know her name or even what she looked like. I pulled out the new phone and switched it on. I watched the dancers moving around, depicting some kind of silent story.

  The phone vibrated as it powered on. When I looked down it had already started downloading some kind of file. The bar filled up and a picture came up. She was pretty in a girl next door kind of way. Her brunette hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. She was wearing some kind of uniform but I couldn’t tell what kind.

  My eyes darted to and from the dancers. Trying to figure which girl it was but neither of them seemed to fit the photo. The woman in the photo didn’t seem like the ordinarily stick thin ballet dancer.

  With none of the women fitting the photo I left and decided to head back to the receptionist. I received another big smile when I arrived. “Excuse me, I hate to bother you again.”

  “No, no. It’s okay. I’ve already read through my magazine three times. How can I help you?”

  “I was just wondering if there’s anything else going on. I don’t think the ballet rehearsal is the thing I’m looking for.”

  “Oh, um. What are you looking for then?”

  “Well.” My eyes dropped to the phone that still showed the photo. Then they slowly rose back up to the receptionist. It was her. The girl in the photo looked just like her. “Um.” My mind flashed up the words dangerous and special.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I leant my elbows on the high desk in front of me. “I’m looking for a girl.”

  My mind wandered off searching for something to say. “Oh really. Is this girl anything special?”

  My eyes widened at the word special as it came out of her mouth. “I guess.”

  “Well, like I said, I get off at two.”

  “Oh?” I looked at her. Her big smile, her flushed cheeks. The way she couldn’t keep eye-contact with me. “Oh. Would a bit later be okay?”

  “What time?”

  “Maybe around five. I have a few things to sort out until then.”

  “Sounds good.” She lifted herself from her seat and pulled out a pen. I watched as she wrote her number onto my palm. She gave me a cute smile as she said, “Make sure you don’t wash that off.”

  “I’ll put it in my phone as soon as I’m outside.” I smiled as I backed away from the desk. My smile was genuine because I had managed to find the girl and make sure she’s with me tonight. Also, knowing that I had just pulled someone with minimal effort made me feel even better.

  As I left the building I pulled out my phone, punching in her number and saving it. Then I got the new one out, dialling the only number that was saved in the contacts. A voice came as the line was picked up but it wasn’t Mr Henrikson. It was someone else asking, “How did it go?”

  The voice was smooth with a lack of emotion, like a killer’s. “It went well. She’s meeting me later on tonight. Where does Mr Henrikson want this to happen?”

  “Hold on.” There was a pause. Mumbles in the background before he came back on the phone. “There’s a construction site on the outskirts of the city on the east side of the island. By Hollow bridge.”

  “Right, she’s meeting me at five.”

  Another pause before he spoke again. “That will be fine. Bring her straight to the construction yard. There’s a little diner by it. Say you’re just getting a coffee to-go. We’ll take it from there.”

  “Okay.” There was no more conversation. The line was cut-off and I was left there holding a phone to my ear. What were they going to do to this girl? She didn’t look any older than twenty and she acted even you
nger than that.

  It didn’t matter. I had to forget about her and concentrate on the vigilante. He needed to be contacted so he knew the plan.

  He hadn’t contacted me yet so I decided to ring him. Maybe he had passed out again. He picked up with a groggy voice but he soon perked up when I mentioned Henrikson’s name.

  Once off the phone everything was set up. He was going to get there early to keep an eye on things for when I arrived. He also promised to keep me out of trouble and I believed him. Since I had a few hours to spare I decided to head home. Have a shower and at least make an effort to look presentable for the girl. Even if it was a fake date.

  When I got home I was surprised to see the superhero wasn’t there. I dismissed his absence and got showered and dressed in a nice outfit. As I walked out of my bedroom I was startled by the two people casually sitting on my sofa. Out of all the people to see I wasn’t expecting to see my mother this late in the city. More surprising, she was with my father.

  “What are you two doing together and what are you doing here?”

  My mother gave me one of those smiles only a mother could. “Both of those questions are answered with one word. You.”

  “What do you mean? What is this all about?”

  “We’re worried about you.” Her sweet voice made it seemed like she cared. I wouldn’t have believed those words if they had come from my father. It seemed like they knew this because he stayed quiet for a little while. “We both have only ever cared for you. This time it is no different.”

  “Just come out with it mum. What is it?”

  “It’s a little hard to explain and it would be better to show you.”

  “How would you do that? I don’t even know what you’re on about.”

  “Take my hand.” She held her hand out but the motion my eyes followed was my father holding onto hers. It seemed so strange to see them like this. Something must be truly wrong but I had no idea what. “Please, son.”

  I reached out just out of curiosity. Our palms touched but I felt nothing. Only her soft skin. Then she closed her eyes and I noticed the grip she had with my father got tighter. Then there was a flash of blue light and I wasn’t in my apartment any more. Instead I was in a dingy looking place. It didn’t look like any one lived there. It looked more like a den where someone would come to hide.

  I tried moving but it seemed like I was just here to watch. My vision moved from the wall to a mirror and I was even more shocked. The man who stared at me was myself. I couldn’t remember being in a place like this. It couldn’t have been that long ago because I didn’t look any different.

  Then I saw behind me in the mirror a soft glow of blue. It reminded me of when I touched my father’s hand. It grew brighter and brighter and I got the feeling that something was wrong. I tried to move my body but I couldn’t. As my mind rushed for anything I felt something around my hand.

  The grip was tight and then I remembered my mother’s hand attached to mine. I shook my hand from the feeling, trying to break the connection that brought this sight to me. It took effort but I finally snapped myself back to reality where I almost fell to the floor.

  I gained my footing on the floor and faced my parents. “What the hell was that?”

  “It was a memory.”

  “I don’t remember it therefore it can’t be. You two are lying to me.” My words were aimed more at my mother than my father. I never expected anything like this from her.

  My father stood up. “She’s not lying to you. Just because you don’t remember it, doesn’t mean it’s not there inside your head. There’s something that you’ve suppressed but with our help you can remember again.”

  “You two have gone crazy and I want you out of my apartment now!” I was shouting loud enough I’m sure my neighbours heard my voice.

  He took a step forwards, bringing us face to face. “Look, you need to remember. There are many reasons but the biggest one is your safety.”

  “No. Just get out.”

  His eyes searched mine and his face was emotionless until anger flamed in his eyes. I felt his grip on my arms without noticing he had moved. Then my eyes were blinded with the blue light that had invaded the so called memory of mine.

  I tried to break free but his grip was too tight. So I lashed out. My fist hit his chin. Not only did it feel good because the light disappeared but it also felt good just to punch the man. It was something I had wanted to do for a very long time.

  As I looked up at the man rubbing his chin, he seemed so small. He seemed so insignificant to me as a father and a human. If I knew this feeling would come after punching him I would have done it ages ago. “I think we should leave. It’s clearly not working like this.” My mum stood up and took this small man by the arm, leading him out of the apartment.

  I blew out a long breath that seemed to go on forever. My fist hurt but it felt so good at the same time. It felt like I had broken the tie of father and son with him. Somehow I felt lighter than before.

  I checked the time and was shocked it was almost five. I hadn’t taken long getting ready. God knows how long I was out with that fake memory going through my head. What the hell had gotten into them? I pushed it away and locked it behind a vault door in my head. With it there I could forget about it and carry on with my plans.

  Once on the street and on a tram I called the girl. She picked up almost immediately sounding very eager about tonight. “Hi, where do you want to meet up?”

  “Meet me at the music hall. I don’t live too far from there.”

  “Okay, I shall see you in twenty minutes then.”

  “Great. Can’t wait.” I put my phone down and shoved it in my pocket. It had been a long time since I’d been on a date and I didn’t have my bag with me. Usually to calm myself down I would take photos. Concentrate on something else. Without it the nerves fluttered around my belly like butterflies.

  I got off at the music hall. She was standing there. Her hair down, below her shoulders. A small amount of make-up on. A simple white sun dress and a white jacket over her shoulders. She looked cute, standing there smiling at me as I walked over.

  “Hey. Do I look okay?”

  “I was just thinking how cute you looked.”

  “Really?” She did a little twirl for me. “Thank you.”

  “So, I have something to do before we start our date properly. Something that came up last minute.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  “I just have to head over to the construction site near Hollow Bridge. My mate is there and I need to pick up something from him.”

  “That doesn’t sound too creepy. Is it okay if I come with?”

  “Yeah of course. It will only take a small amount of time.”

  “Great.” She hopped next to me and hooked her arm around mine. “It’s a great night to walk.”

  I looked up. The night sky was starting to take over from the soft glow the disappearing sun was creating. No stars were visible at the moment but it wouldn’t be too long. She was right, it was a nice night for a walk.

  We walked the distance between the two points. We talked about many things. Mostly about her. I tried to keep as much about myself out of the conversation. I had no idea what was going to happen to this girl and I didn’t want her knowing important information.

  We finally came across the construction site. It was bigger than I thought it would be. There was a large piece of scaffolding surrounding something covered by a massive sheet. It was circled by construction machinery. Sitting all by itself was a small cabin where the office must be. There didn’t seem to be any sign of life. No lights or cars sitting in the darkness.

  “Are you sure your friend is here?”

  “That’s what he said. Why don’t we go check out the office for him?”

  She slowly nodded. Then we made our way down the slope carefully. The place seemed even more dead as we walked towards the cabin. It was so silent. Not even a bird chirped in the night sky. There should be people
out there. Not only the vigilante but Mr Henrikson’s people should be around to take her away.

  My fist hit the door to the cabin. There was no answer so I twisted the handle and pulled it open. Inside was full of shadows. “Wait out here. My friend is probably playing a joke on me. Planning on making me jump no doubt.”

  “Sure.” She smiled as I went inside the cabin. I walked around, my eyes not seeing anyone inside. Where the hell was Henrikson. He said he would be here. I cursed under my breath and went back outside.

  “He’s not in there. Sorry for wasting your time with this.”

  “It’s not a waste of time?”

  “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

  “We got to have a nice walk and a nice chat.”

  “Oh right. It was a nice walk.” I walked out onto the dirt. “So, where do you want to get some food?” Looks like I’ll be taking this girl on an actual date tonight.

  “I don’t think we’ll have time to eat tonight.”

  “Oh?” I turn and look at her. The sweet, shy girl that had been chatting my ear off now looked different. She wasn’t smiling and her eyes gave me chills as she looked at me.

  “I usually have to wait until the end of the date before coming somewhere more secluded.”

  She must think I was up to something naughty. “Look, I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression but this wasn’t a trick to get you alone.”

  “It doesn’t matter because we’re alone now. Now, I can do it earlier.” I was about to protest but she moved and I felt something cold and sharp against my throat. She pushed me backwards until I hit the cabin. My heart was pounding in my ears.

  “What’s going on?”

  “There’s something I didn’t tell you amongst those lies I’ve said tonight. I’m not a normal girl.”

  Henrikson’s warning came to mind. How she was special and dangerous. I couldn’t believe I let my guard down just because she acted all sweet and innocent. Now I was in the middle of nowhere with a knife against my throat.

  “You have just made it so easy for me. I have to thank you for that.”

  “What are you planning on doing with me?”

  She laughed. It wasn’t natural and sounded full of evil. “Don’t you think it’s pretty obvious what I’m going to do to you?” She put more pressure on the knife. “You men deserve it anyway. It’s not like I’m killing you for no reason.”