“I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I had to call you out of class because of your mother. Your Aunt Beth is going to take you to the hospital.”
The world froze. A painful lump blocked Cole’s throat and his next words came out as a whisper. “What happened?”
“I am not sure of the details, but she did request you to be taken there. I am sorry. I don’t know any more. I'll wait with you outside.”
The halls never seemed so long or empty or sickeningly shiny. Cole fought to keep his head straight. Fainting would only make things worse. He had to get to the hospital as soon as possible. I’m sure it’s nothing. She’s fine. She has to be fine.
Consumed by a dizzying blur of emotion, he barely noticed his aunt's minivan pull up in front of the school.
“Come on, Cole, get a move on,” his Aunt Beth shouted in her gruff voice through the open window.
“I hope everything is all right,” the principal said as he guided Cole to the minivan.
As Cole climbed inside, he glanced at his aunt in her familiar dark brown pleated shawl, her gray hair spilling wildly over her face. “Cole! What happened? All I got was a call to come here and no one seems to know anything.”
“I don't know,” Cole mumbled as he turned to stare blankly out the window. Under normal circumstances, Cole knew he would be less than happy at the sight of his least favorite, and only, aunt, but right now he just wished they could be at the hospital already.
When they arrived, they rushed into the waiting room, Beth's shawl billowing around her, and up to the front desk, where the two receptionists were busy talking to people. Beth tapped her fingers on the counter for a few seconds before losing her patience.
“Hey, excuse me,” she said loudly to the nearest receptionist. “This is an emergency.”
The receptionist looked over. “Are you injured?”
“No. We're here to see someone who was.”
“Just one moment, then.” She turned back to the man with which she was speaking.
Beth glared at the receptionist. “What's wrong with this place?” she mumbled.
The receptionist finished with the man and came towards them.
“Oh, are you finished with your conversation?” she said sarcastically. “We need to see Meredith Sicarius. Can you tell us what happened to her?”
The receptionist looked down at a computer screen and began to type. “How do you spell the last name?”
Beth took a deep breath and deliberately spelled out the name. After more typing, the receptionist told them a doctor would be there to see them.
“Seriously?” Beth said, but the receptionist ignored her.
When the doctor arrived, Beth exasperatedly asked him if he might possibly know what had happened.
“She was hit by a car,” the doctor said. “Suffered some injuries on her back and legs. Fractured a couple ribs.”
Cole heard it as if through a haze. The doctor was nothing more than a distant disembodied voice, talking impossible nonsense.
“Will she be all right?” Beth asked.
The doctor glanced at Cole before whispering something to Beth.
At this, Cole broke through some of the fog and noticed the doctor for the first time. He was young and confident, with his hair slicked back. Hot shot straight out of college, Cole couldn’t help thinking. “Hey, what was that?” Cole said, his eyes narrowing. “Will she be okay?”
The doctor hesitated, some of his confidence waning as his shoulders stooped. “Sorry. I said we're not sure yet.”
The world regained the same haze as Cole followed them down endless white corridors of sick people, feeling Death’s grim hand reaching for him out of every curtained cubicle.
At last they stopped in front of a door and the doctor leaned down to speak to Cole on his level.
“Your mother is weak so you can only stay a few minutes,” the doctor said. “We want to let you in, but just try to be calm around her.”
The doctor opened the door. At the sight of his mother lying in the hospital bed, the reality of it all hit him like a tidal wave, choking him up. His weakness embarrassed him and he paused to force down his emotions. “Mom?” he called faintly and for a second he thought he might cry.
Meredith stirred and turned her head toward him. “Oh, Cole. You made it.” Her voice was soft and she looked half asleep.
Beth followed Cole inside but remained silent by the door. Cole stepped up to the bed and looked down at his mother. He knew now why he felt the way he did, and it wasn’t just fear for his mother’s wellbeing. I’m so sorry Mom. I did this to you. I should have tried harder. I should have been a better son. “Mom, what happened?”
“Hit and run... on my way to the grocery store...”
“Did you catch the license plate?” Cole cut in.
“No, it happened too fast. But don’t worry, I’ll be all right. I just need to rest up here...” her voice failed her and she cleared her throat “...for a while. Until then I want you to stay with Aunt Beth.”
Cole couldn’t speak. I’ll never lose again. I swear to you.
“Cole? Don’t give this a second thought. I’ll be up and going before you know it.”
“Okay, just get better soon,” Cole said.
“I will.” She choked up and had to swallow hard to continue. “But right now I need some sleep.”
She turned away from them and Cole left her to sleep, fighting to keep his anger and desperation inside. He would not make a scene here; he was above childish outbursts.
“You'll be all right, Mere,” Beth said quietly.
Kick the floor and shrug, then grunt.
No! I’m not in the mood. Dammit. I’m getting sick of this, you know that? This is for you, Mom.
Meredith turned back at the noise. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just tripped. Sorry to disturb you.”
Beth gave him an odd look but said nothing. Meredith rolled back over and Cole, kicking himself for how ridiculous he was at the most inappropriate times and feeling like an idiot for bothering his mother now, snuck out of the room.
Once they were back in the hall, Beth grunted and shook her head. “Looks like I'm stuck with you. Should've seen that one coming.” She turned and strode out of the hospital, with Cole trailing behind a few steps, the automatic doors whining shut behind them. Beth shielded her eyes from the blinding, afternoon light and looked back to Cole. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”
“I left in the middle to come here. It’s almost over by now.”
“So I can’t take you back there, then, huh? Fine. We'll go pack up your stuff and then I’ll take you back to my place.” As abruptly as she had turned around she turned back and continued on her way. When they reached her minivan she unlocked the manual lock with her key, reaching across the passenger seat to unlock the other door. Cole swung the door open as Beth leaned back to her side. “Get in. Hurry,” she said gruffly.
Cole knew she had nowhere to be, but did not say a word as he climbed into the car. They drove in silence the fifteen minutes to his house. She handed him the spare key and waited in the car while he packed up some clothing. The drive to her house was silent as well and, as they got out, Cole made sure to lock his own door.
“Remember, don’t touch anything,” Beth said, opening the front door. “And find an out of the way place to sleep. Is there a bus near here that you can take to school?”
“No, I think you’re going to have to drive me.” Cole turned away to hide his spreading smile from the look on Beth’s face. I wonder why you never married. Beth was harmless, but still difficult to deal with for even the most tolerant of people. Fortunately, Cole hardly ever saw her except for holidays, when he found amusement in discovering new ways to irk her. In contrast to his usual behavior, however, since he was staying at her place, he decided to stay out of her hair. He ducked his head and disappeared through the door before she had a chance to react.
4
The f
ew times he had seen Aunt Beth’s house, it had always fascinated him. He had an overall distaste for the house, but its uniqueness offered a never-ending supply of odd decorations to discover and investigate. The house was filled with strange masks and paintings on the walls, glass sculptures in cases like a museum, and a myriad assortment of unidentifiable knickknacks cluttering every surface; everything from old dolls, to snow globes, to wood carvings. His most memorable experience had happened two years ago when he was exploring a side room in the far reaches of the house while Beth was distracted with the rest of the family in the dining room. He was looking inside a drawer in an old decrepit desk and, at the very bottom, buried underneath piles of junk, he stumbled upon a particularly unusual mask. It was a dark brown, thick papery material with holes only for the eyes and dark, blotchy stains on the front.
He had innocently taken it to the dining room. “What’s this?” he asked to his aunt’s back. As she turned around to face the questioner and caught sight of the mask, her eyebrows furrowed into a wild look of insanity and the glass in her hand dropped to the rug.
“Where did you find that?” she growled and without waiting for a response she ripped it out of Cole’s hand and stormed off.
Cole looked up at his mother in confusion. She was trying to hide a smirk but gave up. “Don’t worry, Cole,” she said, now outright smiling. “It’s nothing.”
Her smile disappeared as Beth reentered the room. Beth stared down at Cole, still in a state of uncontrollable rage. “Do not touch anything in this house. Got it?” she growled.
Cole nodded and went to stand next to his mother. After a few minutes, Beth calmed down and it was as if nothing had happened, but ever since then, he had kept his explorations a secret. His curiosity would not let him ignore the strange collections filling every drawer and shelf.
He had only been in this house a few times since then. Now he went straight to the “library,” the name he had given to the room with two large bookshelves, which he also liked to use as a bedroom on the rare occasion that he stayed over. “Can I read one of these books?” he shouted into the other room.
“Just make sure you put it back in exactly the same condition and in the same place you found it,” Beth shouted back and a second later, she added, “and don’t touch anything else.”
Cole smiled to himself as he remembered the mask story. He began searching through the bookshelves - something he had done only once before - for a book that would pass the time in the never-ending days he would spend here. He knew it was the only way he would be occupied enough to stay out of Beth’s presence. Dealing with her eccentricities was the last way he wanted to spend his time. He scanned each of the couple hundred books for one that caught his eye, which was a difficult task because they were mainly old hardcovers whose titles on the spines had been partially rubbed off. At last he settled on one entitled Tales, a collection of short stories by Edgar Allen Poe. He took the book down from the shelf, curled up in a large plush armchair, and started to read.
A few hours later he heard a shout from the other room. “Hey Cole! Did you need some food?”
Cole almost fell out of his seat as he was shocked out of his trance. “Uh, yeah, in a minute! Let me just finish this story.”
“Hurry up. I won’t wait here all night!”
Cole finished the last two pages of the story he was reading and reluctantly closed the book. He hadn’t realized how engrossed he had become. He had heard of Edgar Allen Poe but lamented that he hadn’t discovered him sooner. After reading a few of the stories he understood why the book may have been kept away from him at an early age. He rolled out of the chair, stretched his stiff muscles, and wandered into the kitchen.
“There you are,” Beth said. “I had almost given up on you. The food’s probably cold by now. It’s in the pot on the stove.”
Cole pulled a plate out of the kitchen cabinet and opened up the pot, half afraid of what he would find. The smell nearly knocked him over. He took a step back and politely looked up at his aunt.
“I don’t wanna hear any complaints you picky brat. I’m not going to make special arrangements just because you’re here. You’re lucky there was enough for the both of us.”
Cole didn’t bother to answer. He picked up the serving spoon and helped himself to one giant scoop of the unidentifiable green slop. It had the consistency of mashed potatoes and the look and smell of something Cole did not want to think about at that time. He carried it back to the table and devoured it as fast as he could, chewing as little as possible, holding back the urge to gag. Despite his distaste for his aunt, he did not want to be rude.
“Thanks,” he managed to get out and, after dumping his dish in the sink, he hurried back to the library. He collapsed into the same armchair and was immediately absorbed back into Tales.
Beth never disturbed him. In the back of his mind, Cole eventually heard her close her bedroom door. He was lost in Poe's world, locked in the intense, gruesome situations of each story. He finished the book once, but his hunger for more could not be satiated so turned back to page one and started over again. By the time he finished the second time he could barely keep his eyes open. He had no idea what time it was, but he figured he had better head to bed if he wanted to make it through the next day. He placed the book on the floor and shifted positions, feeling the tingling, shooting pain through his sleeping legs.
The creepy stories he had practically memorized were racing wildly through his thoughts. Ghosts, murders, gloom. The darkness around him seemed suddenly foreboding. Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to read this so late. What was that noise? Did I just see a shadow move? Great. Now I’m scaring myself.
He sat there for a few minutes, trying to calm his nerves and convince himself there was nothing there. Come on. Move. You have to get to bed. Trust me. There’s nothing to be afraid of.
Get a book off the top shelf in the next ten seconds.
Another one? Stop with all this unfair nonsense!
But even as he thought it, he was up and moving, feeling no choice but to complete the request. His whole body resisted the quick movement, still being stiff from the prolonged sitting position. As he reached the bookshelf he realized he should have brought over the chair.
Too late. Why am I not taller?
He jumped off the floor, stretching his arm to its limit, trying to grasp a book, but just brushing against the spine. Not good, he thought as he came back down. He had managed to put enough pressure on the book to push it up against the one next to it, causing a chain reaction and sending the last three books on the end tumbling to the floor, to land with a deafening thud. At least I got a book down, he thought as he scrambled to get the chair so he could put the books back up.
He was standing on the chair, holding the books, when heavy footsteps behind him made him almost drop them again.
“What’s going on in here?” came an angry voice behind him.
Cole spun around to see Beth in the doorway in her billowy white nightgown, her hair in even more disarray than usual.
“Sorry, I was getting a book off the top shelf and dropped it,” Cole said.
“Be more careful with my things or you won’t be allowed in this room anymore. You almost gave me a heart attack. And what are you still doing up? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
Cole replaced the books and stepped down from the chair. “I was just heading to bed now. Good night.” He hurried to the door, shutting it in Beth's face before she could say any more. Dammit. These stupid agreements keep screwing with me. They’re going to get me in trouble soon. I gotta stop listening to them or find some way to turn them down. Who knows what it’s gonna ask of me next? Nothing good. It’s never good.
After creating a makeshift bed, he crawled under the covers and looked at the clock. Was it really 2am?! Gonna be exhausted tomorrow. Thanks a lot Poe, he thought as he set the alarm. He shut his eyes and tried to force sleep, but the Poe stories were back, and every time he closed
his eyes, he saw a different atrocity. He tossed and turned for over an hour, trying to block out all thoughts and clear his mind, but the images would not stop. Gonna have some fun nightmares tonight, he thought as he finally drifted off to sleep.
That morning, the alarm sounded way too early, interrupting a blur of odd and terrifying shapes shifting randomly through his subconscious. He did not remember the specifics of any of his dreams, save some images here and there, but they were just enough to confuse him as he woke up in a strange bed. The alarm rang for ten seconds before he was oriented enough to shut it off. He groaned, remembering where he was, and rolled out of bed.
He could barely keep his eyes open as he trudged down the hallway. All of his body parts weighed him down, screaming to go back to bed. Brushing his teeth and changing his clothes failed to shake away any of the sleep. The smell from the kitchen did not help either; if anything it smelled worse than dinner.
“You want some breakfast before you go?” Beth asked from the kitchen table, a big bowl of mush in front of her.
“Not really hungry,” Cole said. “Let’s just go. Wouldn’t wanna be late,” he added sarcastically.
“Well I’m still eating so sit down and be quiet until I’m ready.”
Cole obediently sat at the table and stared down at the floor, tapping his foot impatiently on the chair leg until Beth finished her meal.
“All right. Come on,” Beth said.
Cole quietly followed her out the door to the car. The only conversation during the ride consisted of Beth asking when she should pick him up. Cole felt a wave of relief to be free of Beth as he got out of the car, but it proved short-lived. He looked up at the school before him, wishing he was with Beth instead, knowing the day would be filled with questions and curious looks.
Mrs. Taylor perked up when she caught him entering the room. “Oh, Cole, I heard that your mother was in the hospital, but I didn't hear any details. I've been worried. Is she okay?”
Dark Mind (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 1) Page 3
