Vision of Sacrifices

by Vincent Morrone

  “You want a dog?” He said. “You? You roll your eyes at Larry and Spock all the time.”

  “So?” I said. “I roll my eyes at Zack and Simon. Sometimes even you. And always Grandpa.”

  “Having a puppy can be a lot of work.”

  I looked over to the little white puppy. I had never really wanted a dog. I liked them fine, but hamsters were more my style. However, that dog needed to come home with us. Not right away, but when it was time.

  “I really think we should take the white one,” I said. “Please.”

  Uncle Mark looked into my eyes and I knew he’d say okay. He was such a softie.

  Before long, we were headed to the front door with Dr. McKnight as he explained when our puppy could come home with us. Suddenly, I felt a cold, familiar chill go through my bones. I cringed as if someone in the room had just scraped their fingernails down a chalk board.

  For the briefest of moments, I flashed to a churning shadow creeping through dead grass. It swirled in hunger and desperation, a black mass of malevolence and hatred that stained whatever it touched.

  It was over within seconds. I tried to refocus on what Dr. McKnight was saying to Archer who was talking about how his brother Thorne might want one of the puppies, but I couldn’t.

  Payne noticed. “What happened?” he said. “Another vision? The boy?”

  I was amazed at how adept Payne was at reading me.

  “No,” I said. “Not him. I think they’re back.”

  I felt Payne stiffen. I didn’t have to explain further. He knew I meant the Shadow Creatures.

  “Archer,” I called. We were all outside in the parking lot. Payne was parked next to my uncle’s squad car. Archer was a little farther away.

  “Listen,” I said, signaling to Uncle Mark and Payne that I needed a minute, and walking toward Archer. “I just wanted to say thanks. You were really great out there.”

  Archer shrugged.

  “I didn’t do anything, really. Anyone could have gotten a box.”

  “We saved some lives today. You did good.”

  Archer actually blushed. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and told him goodnight before walking back to Payne and Uncle Mark.

  “Don’t overreact,” I said to them both, seeing that they both looked worried. Payne must have told my uncle about the flash. “It was just a feeling. There’s no reason to panic.”

  “Bristol,” Payne said, “these things want you dead.”

  “So we take it easy, and don’t do anything rash. If those things could just kill me, they would have done it by now.”

  Payne pulled me into his arms.

  “I’m not going to give them the chance. We need to work together.”

  I nodded.

  “Do you think they’re tied to this boy?” Uncle Mark asked.

  I shrugged, not knowing how to answer. “Maybe.”

  “Payne,” Uncle Mark said. “Take Bristol home. Bristol, talk to your grandfather. I’m going to head to the station and go through a few missing child reports. See if I can figure anything out.”

  “You want any help?” Payne asked.

  “Yeah,” Uncle Mark said as he jabbed a thumb in my direction. “Stick close to this one.”

  As Uncle Mark closed his door, Payne kissed me.

  “Not a problem,” he whispered in my ear.

  “Not that close,” Uncle Mark grumbled, before he pulled away.

  “Are you okay?” Payne asked as we drove. He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other interlinked with mine. It was dark out now, and the half-moon was bright in the sky.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” I said.

  He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Oh, I don’t know, you just dealt with a ghost in front of my cousin? You had a vision of a boy who needs help? Not to mention, you spent the first half of today trying to learn to drive with your grandfather.”

  “I think you should be more worried about Grandpa,” I told him. “Archer just seems to think I’m a magnet for trouble. He said he wants in the next time something happens.”

  “May not be a bad idea,” Payne pulled into my driveway.

  “I agree,” I said. “As far as the boy, that’s upsetting. Seeing his face, and knowing he needs us is so frustrating. But I have to believe that I’ve gotten this vision because I can help him.”

  Payne pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed it gently.

  “We will help him.”

  Next thing I knew, he leaned in for a real kiss. Payne had that way of kissing me that made my mind go blank. I felt like I was seeing stars.

  Pulling away, it took me a moment to realize that part wasn’t all in my head. Someone was flipping the house lights on and off.

  “I guess that means I should go in,” I said.

  Payne just laughed.

  Chapter Three

  Send In The Clowns

  Journal of Bristol Blackburn

  Uncle Mark has had zero luck trying to locate the boy in my vision. Every few nights he’d bring home a picture of another missing boy, but none of them were the child I saw. I keep hoping I might get a flash of one of the boys in the pictures, at the very least, so I could help them, but no such luck.

  All my friends are excited about going away to college, but even more excited about prom. Maggie called me last night screaming at the top of her lungs because Toby McKnight asked her to go with him. Archer has plenty of girls batting their eyelashes at him, but he honestly doesn’t seem too interested in going. And poor Hunter keeps being approached by plenty of guys, but she’s waiting for someone who might never ask her...

  “Hey, you guys,” Maggie leaned into Toby’s arm. “Do you want to all rent a limo together on prom night?”

  We were all at Frank’s, a dinner place we frequented, sitting at one of the back booths. I was sitting near Payne. Across the table, Archer was in the middle of a whispered conversation with Ian, while Hunter sat between me and Maggie.

  The table was littered with plates of mostly-eaten burgers, fries, and onion rings. Big paper soda cups were all near empty. There was even a pile of wet napkins sitting on the table in front of Ian, who had spilled a glass of water at the beginning of the meal.

  “My grandfather said the limo was on him,” Hunter said. “So, we can all meet at my place to get ready.” A smile came to her face. “No boys allowed, though.”

  “Great,” Payne pulled a face. “Where am I supposed to get ready?”

  “My place,” Archer said. “I say all the dudes meet there.”

  I felt Payne stiffen.

  “I don’t know. Is your dad okay with it?”

  “Don’t know,” Archer said with a shrug. “Don’t care. He’s not invited. Now would be a great time to tell you my news. I’ve got my own place. I’m moving in this weekend. So you guys can all help me move.”

  All at once, everybody started to talk about how they were busy this weekend with important things to do. Hair washing. Clipping their toenails. Re-organizing their sock drawers. People drew out their cell phones and claimed they had important doctor’s appointments every day for the next three months.

  “I’ll buy pizza,” Archer added.

  “Get it from Mario’s, and you’re on,” Payne said.

  Archer nodded, and everyone agreed.

  “So, where is this place?” I asked.

  “Over Ian’s garage,” Archer said. “They’ve got that really cool apartment. Used to rent it to some young couple who finally saved enough to get their own place. Private entrance. It’s perfect.”

  “Sounds great,” I said.

  “Ian told me about it once that couple said they were moving out,” Archer continued. “But I didn’t want to say anything until I signed the lease. It’ll be cool. He and I can play video games. Sooner or later I’m going to beat him at something.”

  “Not likely,” Ian said with a grin.

  “My dad’s not too pleased,” Archer added. “So, I really want to get my stuff tomorrow while
he’s out of town. Avoid a scene.”

  Toby looked at his watch, and then tapped Maggie on her shoulder.

  “We’ve got to go,” he told her. “You promised your mom you’d be home by five.”

  “Right,” Maggie got up from the table. Toby pulled her chair out for her and helped her into her jacket. “Bristol, Hunter, we need to get our dresses soon.”

  “It’s not even April,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “Prom isn’t until mid-June. There’s plenty of time.”

  “Not if you want a great dress,” Maggie said before she sauntered out of the diner, pulling Toby with her.

  “Bristol,” Archer got my attention next, as we walked up front toward the register. “I need to talk to you and Payne for a minute.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Ian,” Archer said, as we reached the lobby. “Can you wait here while I talk to Bristol and Payne? Hunter will keep you company. I just need a couple of minutes.”

  Ian nodded. Hunter sent me a confused look. I wasn’t sure if Payne had brought her up to speed.

  As we got outside, Archer turned to me.

  “Anything new?” he asked as we stepped outside. We were standing in front of the diner’s big window. I could still see Ian and Hunter inside as a waitress came over to start clearing plates from another table.

  “No,” I said. “Nothing. Uncle Mark did find out who the dog belonged to—some guy who lives out there. Bit of a whack-job. His wife had just left him. Said he couldn’t afford to deal with a pregnant dog.”

  “Any chance he had the kid?” Archer said. “Maybe in his basement?”

  “He didn’t have a basement,” I said. “He lived in a trailer. Uncle Mark went inside to talk about what happened. Payne and I passed by so I could get a look at him, but I didn’t get a flash. I don’t think there’s a connection.”

  Archer glanced into the diner window, where Ian had apparently spilled something else. He was grabbing napkins to clean up some water from a nearby table, with Hunter standing next to him.

  “So, now what?” Archer asked.

  I shrugged. To be honest, I didn’t know.

  Archer looked back inside. He seemed impatient.

  “Something up?” I asked.

  He sighed. “There better be.”

  Suddenly, Archer did a fist bump toward the window and motioned for us to look inside. Ian and Hunter were kissing.

  “Whoa,” I exclaimed.

  Archer smiled.

  “I’ve been trying to convince Ian to go for it, so we made a deal. If I stood up to my dad and moved out, he’d ask Hunter to prom.”

  We all looked again. They were holding hands now.

  “Do you think she said yes?” Payne joked. I smacked him in the arm with a groan.

  “So,” I said, as we started toward the parking lot. “What about you, Archer? Got a prom date yet?”

  “Me?” Archer said. “No. Like I said, I just don’t want to ask anyone. I can always go stag.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” Payne said.

  “No, there isn’t,” I agreed. “But maybe I could fix you up.”

  “Or,” Payne interrupted, sounding amused. “He could go stag.”

  “What?” I said. “I can fix him up.”

  Payne rolled his eyes as we reached Archer’s car, which was right next to Payne’s.

  “Look,” Archer fumbled in his pocket for the keys. “I just haven’t met anyone recently that I’d like to go out with. And I don’t want to go with someone to prom on a blind date.”

  “Fine,” I said. “I’ll just introduce you. That’s all. If you like her, you can ask her yourself.”

  Archer looked unconvinced.

  “Whatever,” he said. “I’ll meet whoever it is.”

  “Great,” I said.

  “You have no idea who to set him up with,” Payne said as he started to head to the driver’s side of the car. “Do you?”

  “Shut it,” I told him, and gave Archer a playful tap on the arm.

  My world shifted. I was in that dark, damp room, and I heard the thundering boom again. The terrified boy near me had backed up to the corner, trying to make himself as small as possible.

  A second blast echoed nearby, sounding like a bomb and rattling the room. Louder. Closer.

  “It’s okay,” someone said to the boy. His eyes darted to the side, to look at who was talking. “It’s going to be okay.”

  I couldn’t see who was talking to the boy, even as they continued to reassure him, but the voice sounded young and oddly familiar.

  There was one final bang. The young boy screamed.

  “What happened? Did you have a flash?”

  Payne was racing around the car to my side, while Archer had his hands on my arms, trying to keep me steady.

  “Was it him?” Archer asked. “The kid?”

  I nodded and quickly told them the details.

  “So,” Payne said. “Two kids?”

  “I think so,” I said. “We’ll have to tell my uncle.”

  Journal of Bristol Blackburn,

  To my disappointment, the few extra details my new vision had supplied wasn’t helping Uncle Mark in his investigation. I couldn’t give any description of the second boy. I hadn’t seen him or heard more than a few words. There was really no reason to believe these kids were connected before their kidnapping. They could both be random boys that were grabbed from different parts of the country. The only thing was, the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced I’d heard that other boy’s voice before. I just had no clue as to where.

  The next night, Payne stayed for dinner so he could talk to Uncle Mark about the fact that he wanted to become a police officer. Uncle Mark was supportive, but told him he should still go to college.

  Zack interrupted them the first chance he could get in order to ask about dessert.

  “Aunt Breanne came by. She brought an apple pie.”

  I loved the fact that Zack called her Aunt Breanne now.

  “I think we have vanilla ice cream. Zack, why don’t you come help me. We can make plates for everyone. Grandpa, you want any?”

  “If I’m alive, assume I want pie. It’s probably a safe assumption even if I’m dead.”

  I laughed, and Zack and I headed for the kitchen. He was finally starting to get a little height on him.

  “So,” Zack said as soon as we were alone, “are you and Payne getting married?”

  “What?” I responded. “Why are you asking me that?”

  Zack shrugged as he reached into the freezer for the vanilla ice cream, and carried it over to the counter where I was pulling bowls out from the cabinet.

  “Isn’t that what people do when they’re in love?” he asked. “You used to get all weird if we called him your boyfriend, but now you guys say ‘I love you’ all the time. It’s getting gross.”

  “Thanks,” I said, as I put a slice of pie in a bowl and placed it in the microwave to warm up for thirty seconds. “But we’re kind of young to get married. Are you trying to get rid of me?” I bumped him with my hip.

  Zack didn’t make eye contact as he scooped ice cream on top of the warm pie.

  “Zack,” I said. “Why are you asking?”

  Zack just shrugged. I placed another warmed up bowl in front of him.

  “Hey,” I pulled Zack over to me. “Listen, we haven’t even talked about it, but you heard Payne. He wants to work for your dad. We’re both going to a local college. I’m not going anywhere. And even when I do, we’ll see each other. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

  I leaned down and gave him a kiss on his cheek. I could see a smile tug at the corner of his mouth despite his best effort to sneer.

  “All right,” he said. “Don’t get all mushy on me.”

  He gave me a quick, almost embarrassed hug, then went back to the ice cream in a hurry. The next scoop of ice cream missed it’s mark and landed on the counter a good three inches from the bowl.

  “Y
ou’re making a mess,” I told him. “You’ve got ice cream all over the counter.”

  Zack started to try and pick up the ice cream with his hands.

  “What are you doing?” I said. “You little goof ball. Use a paper towel.”

  He thumbed towards the paper towel holder near the sink.

  “We’re out,” He said. “I can’t reach them in the pantry.”

  “You could just ask me to get them,” I said as I walked over to the pantry and opened the doors. “I mean, how hard is it to—”

  My next words were swallowed up by a scream. Zack ran to my side. Payne and Uncle Mark were there in an instant.

  “What is it?” Zack asked, looking around.

  “Bristol!” Payne grabbed me.

  I pointed to the inside of the pantry.

  “What do you see?” Uncle Mark asked.

  “C—c—” I stuttered as I kept pointing, trying not to scream again. “Clown!”

  Everyone stared at the pantry. Then back to me.

  “What’s with all this screaming? And where is my pie?” Grandpa had finally arrived.

  I backed away from the pantry as the clown emerged. He was over six feet tall, with long, curly red hair that was most certainly a wig. His face was painted white, with blue paint lining his eyes. There was red on his nose and giant lips which were curved to a permanent smile.

  He wore a bright blue hat with an orange flower in it, and a red and blue striped shirt, with giant orange suspenders. There was another flower on the left suspender, one that I suspected shot out water. His pants were big and bulky and were a mishmash of different colors, each pattern louder and louder.

  If I hadn’t been so terrified, I would have asked for the number for his tailor to give to Maggie.

  “Bristol,” Uncle Mark said sharply, bringing me back to focus. “Talk to me.”

  I swallowed hard. Nobody could see him but me. That meant that it was a ghost. I had a clown ghost in the pantry. I had never been afraid of ghosts in my life.

  But this was a clown!

  “I’m seeing a clown,” I said. “He’s in the pantry.”

  Zack was still looking back and forth between me and the pantry, which as far as he could tell held paper towels, cans of soup, and boxes of microwaveable mac and cheese.