Drift (Drift Series)

by Dean, Michael

  He peered down into the dark canyon, pausing as if contemplating whether or not he truly was going through with what he had concocted, glimpsing at the sobbing body resting against his leg. He gave her hair a rough tug, lifting her head enough so she could see over the edge.

  “See that? Sweetheart…do you see that? You won’t feel a thing except the sensation of flight. Everyone wishes they could fly, now you get your chance, babe.” He smiled at the fear on her face.

  “Please. No. Darryl…please.”

  Smiling and laughing, he hauled her to the top of the guardrail by her hair while reaching over with his other arm, grabbing at her clothes for a better grip. With the little power still left in Shade’s weakened body, she grabbed hold of the log railing and held on, screaming as loud as she could.

  Unfazed, he continued pulling and pushing Shade’s body atop the railing.

  In what seemed like slow motion, with one grunting push, he shoved her over the top of the rail. Her legs swung to the other side, the momentum of her body caused her to lose her grip on the rail and she slid to the bottom rung. She held on with both arms as her legs dangled freely above the valley below. Darryl stood over her, gloating.

  “Shade, I hate to break it to you, but I think it’s over between us. It’s been nice, but I think I’ve outgrown you. No more tears, baby, you can do better…in Hell. Do me a favor. Save a spot for me when you get there. Buh-bye.”

  Time stood in suspended animation, almost stopping, when Darryl raised his foot and stomped on Shade’s bare fingers. The thumping sound of his foot hitting her hand and the wooden porch at the same time seemed to be magnified, echoing through his room and into my tormented ears. Shade released her grip; dangling by only one hand now.

  Darryl grinned at her again and waved sarcastically, as if saying “see ya later.” He raised his foot again and crushed her remaining hand.

  This was the finishing piece in a long awaited puzzle. Shade’s hand let go. She gasped and dropped out of sight. Darryl stood there, watching her fall.

  It was over. Even after my treasonous thoughts of compassion and questioning myself about not wanting to have a hand in this disaster, I did what I was supposed to do and adhered to Christian’s bidding.

  I stood from my shadowy corner, disgusted. I’d sat there and watched a senseless, brutal act unfold.

  I knew full well I could have prevented this, just like I aided in it happening. This was beside the point. It would have been counter-productive if I had interfered. Why would I destroy the masterpiece I’d worked so hard to paint? In the split second it took me to recognize exactly what I was feeling, something came to light. I rehashed what I said to Scruffy just hours earlier, the fact that I felt that I was in love with Shade. If I truly loved her, how could I let her suffer such a fate when I possessed the power to prevent it? Why do I have to let this take place?

  Suddenly, a fire blew ablaze inside of me. I wasn’t concerned anymore about what Christian and the council would do if I didn’t see this thing to its violent end. I no longer cared about my own wellbeing; I only cared for one thing.

  Shade.

  CHAPTER 7

  DEVIATE

  Coming to terms with my decision, I jumped into action. I flew with great haste out of Darryl’s darkened bedroom, past where he was standing, still glaring at the fallen Shade. I shoved Darryl to the side, knocking him over and sending him sliding a few feet along the porch. I lunged over the side of the balcony and hurled myself towards the airborne girl. Shade had her arms outstretched, as if trying to grab onto some invisible object. Pure panic was written all over her face as she braced for impact against the canyon walls.

  As I neared, her stare locked on me. I wasn’t sure what I must have looked like coming at her, maybe a foggy shadow, dark and out of focus due to the high velocity as we both rocketed down through the mountainside.

  Before she could become a stain on the face of the mountain, I plucked her flailing body out of the air like an eagle snagging a scurrying mouse, just as her big toe touched a tall tree upon the hillside near the ground. The impact of our bodies coming together caused Shade to disperse and suck air back into her lungs all in one motion. I could tell that she didn’t care what, or who was holding her; she was just glad the uncontrolled fall had come to a stop in a gentler manner than she was anticipating.

  She looked from side to side as she looked down to see the earth. Whatever she was thinking, she was nervous because she hung onto my smoky frame with a grip that would buckle the toughest of men. In an effort to calm her shaking body, I politely changed the way I was holding her: I grabbed her legs and folded them over my right arm as my left arm braced her above her hips and around her lower back, like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold. I made sure to deliver this sacred package to a safe destination. Her nails dug into my back and her head rested over my shoulder as we coasted onto the thickest branch of the tallest oak I could find.

  I softly lowered her battered torso upon the branch, setting her so she could sit back against the trunk. I wasn’t sure she had the strength to stand on her own.

  “Don’t move. I’ll return for you in a moment,” I whispered.

  Shade leaned over onto her stomach and wrapped herself firmly around the branch.

  I sailed away. She parted her lips like she was going to speak, but nothing came out, so she merely rested the side of her face upon the oak and stared off into the distance. I cast my vision upwards, looking for the heartless Darryl.

  While hovering in the air, I saw him, staring down at the unbelievable scene that had just occurred before him. I zeroed in on the jerk at breakneck pace. Before he could move, I was on him. His stupid, mystified look was interrupted when I plunged into his chest with a punch that would knock out Hercules. The force belted him backwards and thrust him through the sliding glass doors. He landed on his back on the floor and continued in a slide that eventually halted in the center of the room. I was already standing on the deck, snarling at him. He peered at me between his legs as he tried to push himself up with his elbows. I stood motionless. Everything was eerily silent between us until he drew the courage to speak.

  “Who…who are you, what do you want?”

  I slowly, and very deliberately, walked toward him. He shuffled his feet and elbows in an effort to get away. His efforts were unsuccessful. When he was able to scurry to his feet, I came at him in a blaze of livid lightning, grabbing him and bulling him into a wall a great distance behind him, neither of us touching the floor as I did so.

  “I am Hell. Nice to meet you. What I want is for you to suffer. And soon, you will.”

  A look of panic shot across his face; his eyes could devour watermelons. Darryl didn’t recognize who, or what was standing in front of him. I knew I appeared dark, smoky, and fuzzy to his eyes. His chin quivered as he dared question me again. “Wh-what…what…what are you?”

  “Inspiration for what you never want to be.”

  Looking perplexed, he could only muster up a worrisome moan in response.

  “Touch the girl again and I will end you. After that, you belong to Hell. Rest assured, that is where you are headed.”

  He responded with a fear that seemed to rock him to his very core. “Okay…okay. I won’t, I promise.”

  I growled at him to put an exclamation point of our meeting.

  He’d had enough; I cast him aside like yesterday’s garbage. He bounced against another section of the wall and was knocked unconscious. As his limp body slid down the wall, I stood over him briefly, looking at the wretched joke that was Darryl. No longer a bully, no longer a threat; the façade of strength and confidence was now reduced to a limp mass hunched over and helpless on the floor. I couldn’t help but smirk.

  My vengeance almost made me forget that I left a very scared young woman clinging to a tree branch about four or five stories in the air. I whirled around and dashed back outside, soaring into the canyon. In a matter of seconds, I reached her. I hovered
over her before landing on the branch beside her. She didn’t blink or move so much as a finger; I wasn’t sure if she even realized I was there.

  “Are you okay?” I leaned over her. She just stared blankly into the darkness, only nodding twice. “C’mon, let me get you back to safety.” I bent over to hoist her up. She shook her head no and clung more firmly to the tree.

  “Shade. Shade, easy; I would never hurt you. Will you please trust me? I know what I must look like to you, but I have to get you to the ground and back to your friends. Understand?”

  Shade finally looked at me; she spoke volumes without saying a thing.

  “I promise, you’ll be fine. Please, Shade. Trust me, trust me now.”

  She unlocked her grip and reached for me. I swept her legs around my arms, cradling her again. I stood up, and very steadily, floated back into the air. Shade buried her head into my chest.

  I pulled her a little closer and rested my cheek against her matted hair. I couldn’t help but marvel over her. She was so strong and courageous. Somehow, given everything she’d just encountered, her composure held together well. Her strong will made her even more beautiful to me.

  I landed just behind the gigantic fence line that separated the valley from the noisy party still going on in the front of the house. I released my hold on Shade and placed her shaking legs back upon the sturdy ground.

  “Look, he won’t hurt you now. I won’t let him, but you must walk along the fence -line and re-enter the party. Waste no time getting back to your friends and drawing attention to yourself. Leave this house as soon as possible; don’t stay alone. Get help. Darryl is still up there, but you’ll be fine if you do what I say. Got it?” She acknowledged she understood with a shake of her head.

  “Good. Now go.” I drifted backwards into the sky.

  Shade moved along the fence then, like she hit a brick wall, stopped and turned around, only to find I was gone. I flew off into the night, fleeing the scene.

  “Thank…thank you,” she said, then quickly jogged back to the safety of the party.

  In moments, I was sitting in my car at the bottom of the driveway. I halted a minute, unable to move. What had just happened? Had I really just saved Shade’s life instead of allowing Darryl to kill her? What would happen to me now that I stopped Christian from gaining Darryl’s soul because he didn’t commit the act of murder? Saving Shade wasn’t part of the plan. She was supposed to die. “Should I go home, ditch the ride, and come back to make certain Shade will be all right?” If I did come back, I could hide way up in the trees and overlook the scene.

  No matter what I decided to do when I returned home, I needed to vacate the area now because I was beginning to see nervous teens quickly trotting down the driveway. There was nothing I could do to take back what I did on this night. So, doing the only thing I could think of for the time being, I took off.

  While pulling away, I realized the passenger seat was empty. I stopped the car, debating whether I should go back and pick up the well-buzzed Scruffy. But, I knew he would find a ride home with other friends. I started moving again, hoping to call it an evening on a very stressful night out.

  At home, I got out of my car and closed the door. Just as I moved forward, Shadow rubbed against my feet. He was happy to see me, but he was also letting me know he was hungry. I picked him up and petted him.

  “C’mon boy, let’s get you something to eat.”

  I placed him back on the ground. He followed me with a hop in his steps. Like so many times before, I brought his food to our thinking tree and fed him. I sat, on yet another branch on this particular night, at least this time it was one that I was quite familiar with, unlike before, and contemplated on my coming consequences for my actions.

  While sitting alone with my thoughts, listening to the cat food being crunched between Shadow’s greedy teeth, something caught my attention in town. The faint sound of emergency sirens and the distinct sight of spinning red and blue police lights racing along the main road. The lights occasionally disappeared between trees and buildings, but it looked as if they were headed towards Darryl’s. It seemed as if the fallout was beginning to unfold. Shade and her friends must have contacted the authorities.

  I had the urge to satisfy my curiosity, plus I wanted to know Shade was being properly cared for. So, I decided to return to the party, I shot out in the direction of Darryl’s home, leaving a startled Shadow behind me. In a matter of seconds, I was back, perched at the top of the tallest tree.

  A slew of cops and an ambulance showed up. I was relieved to see she was safe, as I could see her sitting just outside of the back of the ambulance. While Shade was receiving medical attention, the police went inside the house. I jumped from place to place, trying to find out exactly what was going on. Apparently, they were having trouble finding Darryl. This triggered an all-out search. I heard them talking about how they knew he couldn’t have gotten too far because he was on foot. His banged up ride was still parked in the driveway. The search continued for a couple of hours until a shocking discovery was made. One officer, using his hand-held search light, frantically indicated a reflective object a few hundred feet down in the canyon.

  After some security precautions, followed by scaling down the canyon like worker ants, they reached whatever it was down in the valley.

  Shade and company at the bottom of the house had been joined by their parents. A tragic reality was unveiled, confirming a morbid fear among the investigators. “It looks like we found the suspect…Mr. Darryl Kite. He appears to be deceased.”

  The call bounced off the dense trees like a shockwave. The object reflecting the light back at the officer was Darryl’s still undone, dangling belt buckle, resting just below the white, bloody T-shirt that was slightly shredded but still wrapped around his torso. It looked to everyone that either someone tossed Darryl off the balcony, or he decided not to face the consequences of his actions and committed suicide by throwing himself off. Either explanation would be an ironic twist of fate, considering what he was trying to do to his ex earlier.

  Obviously, it was a big deal. The investigation lasted well throughout the night and into the approaching morning. By four a.m. I had seen enough; it was time for me to get back home, especially since dawn was breaking over Eagle Peak. It seemed as if the entire town of Mountainside heard the news of the drama and were driving near the place trying to get some insight on the tragedy. With the attention being lavished upon the crime scene, it probably wasn’t the best idea for me to be hanging around trees in broad daylight.

  I flew off in a flash and arrived safely home before the sun had fully risen. I landed on my perch, next to the awaiting Shadow, who again greeted me with a rub. Over the next few minutes, the sun lit up another beautiful morning, but my momentary peace was suddenly interrupted a visitor. I hadn’t expected to see him this soon. The temperamental Christian was here. This rare daytime appearance told me Christian was highly aggravated and in no mood to be toyed with. Shadow sensed the disturbance in the force. He hopped up like a spring from a sound sleep and took off deep into the forest.

  Christian hovered just above the ground, perfectly still as he tapped the end of his cane in his open hand. His condemning stare was transfixed upon my being, stinging me with great discern. “What was the last thing I told you, Leo, huh? Do. Not. Fail. Me. Isn’t that what I said? I thought I was clear enough, but apparently, I was not. Where is it written in the laws of Bellock and his council, my council, that you can blatantly disobey my commands and interfere with the will of a prospect? Where?”

  “I’m sorry, Christian. I couldn’t go through with it. I just couldn’t. It wasn’t right.” I should have known better than try to fish for sympathy. How can you reach something without a soul?

  Christian launched himself from the ground and grabbed me withby my throat, rifling the two of us into the air as multiple branches and trees whipped and belted us as we soared past them into the sky. We reached a point in the air where he stopp
ed our momentum, leaving us hovering amongst the clouds. Then, with a growl, he pulled me closer.

  “A conscience! Are you telling me you have a conscience? It isn’t possible, and I will not hear your petty excuses any longer. Your inferiority casts a veil of shame upon me. I. Will. Not. Tolerate it! It’s not for you to judge what is right or wrong! It is your duty to obey me and finish the job! I will take this case before the council. If you’re lucky, we will merely relieve you of your earthly duties instead of leaving your fate solely in my hands.”

  Christian’s sparkling silver eyes turned completely black, hinting at what he truly was. There was a brief, silent-filled pause. I said nothing, not because he was almost choking me, but because anything I said would only enrage him further. But much like the mistakes I made before, I chose poorly again. My silence was rewarded with his continued angry look, keeping me exposed to his intimidating grimace.

  I was fixated on his saliva-dripping, pointed teeth when all of a sudden I was turned on my back and blasted back towards the earth in one breathtaking maneuver. The wind broke over and between our racing bodies as his cold, pale hand squeezed my throat. All I could see were the clouds getting further and further away behind Christian’s fearless face as we rapidly approached the unforgiving ground. Tree branches smacked across my back, extremely painful due to our terminal velocity. Sudden impact was inevitable.

  My body slammed into the ground, rattling every part of my being with a fury. Christian released my throat and stood over me. The relentless force of the fall, and his strength behind it, had actually shoved me a few feet into the ground, almost like I was lying in a dirt-shaped body cast.

  “You will not be attending school, nor associating with any of the humans until I hear the final word from my council. Do you understand me, fool?” Christian pointed his translucent, bony finger at me. “If you disobey me again, Leo, I will personally make sure you never roam the world again. You’d better hope they don’t leave your fate squarely in my hands.” He shook his pointed finger.