Hadrian's Wall

by Felicia Jensen

  Suddenly, he said, “That changes everything.”

  What changes everything? He used a tone so definitive I was sure that “everything” was something that would affect the two of us in many ways.

  “Sure. I should have foreseen this.” He nodded, as if expecting some situation. “No. The Council will not open a session without my presence. Not this time. I will call for a convocation of all—judges, guardians, and mantles.”

  Council? A chill went down my spine. I remembered that morning when I heard that bizarre discussion. Those were the same words that I thought had resulted from my insanity. What was going on anyway? You’ve always known what’s going on, girl, but you did not want to see. You aren’t willing to believe it’s real. Now the reality is knocking at your door the hard way and the reality is: You are completely insane! At any moment you will wake up and realize that you still are in the orphanage and today is your eighteenth birthday!

  Shut up! I’m not going crazy!

  Well... If you’re not going crazy, then you are a poor pawn inside a complex game between supernatural creatures.

  “No,” he said on the phone, but it sounded as if he was responding to my conflicting thoughts. “The team must return now. We shouldn’t warn them.” He listened for a few minutes. “The safest place for her is here. The core team will stay with her.” At that moment, he turned his back and began to speak more softly, as if realizing in the midst of his strange discourse that I was hearing everything.

  A few minutes ago his face looked totally relaxed. Now it had resumed its inscrutable mask—cold and distant. I was sorry about that. I was angry at whoever was talking to him because that person was responsible for destroying my dream.

  “I’m on my way. No, I’m going to hunt him.” His back muscles tensed. “This decision is not up to you, Stephen.”

  Of course, it could only be Stephen Cahill, I thought, moodily.

  “Do you have a mission here?” Adrian was saying. “I’m entrusting to you the most precious thing I have...my own life! If something happens to her, I’ll hold you accountable.” He listened again in silence.

  Suddenly, he began to whisper very fast. It became difficult for me to distinguish his words. Now I could only pick a comment or two when anger made him forget that I was paying attention.

  “Tell them I’m coming.”

  Adrian snapped the phone closed so hard it broke. The parts fell to pieces on the ground. The noise of the broken phone falling seemed louder because of the seriousness of the tense situation. Adrian cursed softly and leaned down to pick them up.

  “The third in a month,” he muttered as he placed the pieces in the pocket of his jeans.

  I couldn’t think of a single intelligent comment to make at that moment and apparently neither did he. Adrian knew that I had heard too much of his conversation, so when he turned to face me head on, what I most feared was there - the same indifferent face that I hated.

  Adrian raised his proud head. I thought he would make some sort of revelation, but his silence told me that he was expecting me to speak first. He seemed to be trying to remain cool, but obviously he was having some difficulty. He clenched and relaxed his fists. The veins in his sinewy arms appearing like the exposed roots of a tree and then disappearing.

  The way he looked at me was frightening. I swallowed hard. I think the movement of my throat caught his attention because his eyes went down to my neck before regaining focus. He looked at my lips, still sensitive from his kiss. The embers of our moment of passion had cooled and the light in his eyes was gone. I’d never seen him so serious.

  I had difficulty to deciding what to say. I was feeling awkward and rejected, but I struggled to begin.

  “This morning I overheard a conversation very similar to one you just had.” He scowled, but said nothing. Increasingly nervous about his silence, I continued. “The conversation seemed so absurd that I thought I was hallucinating. When I entered the room where the voices came from, there was nobody there. That conversation...it was not a hallucination, was it?”

  He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms.

  “So now you’ve decided you’re ready to ask,” he said derisively. “Sorry, but this is not the best moment. The right moment has come and gone.”

  “Why?”

  “Because time is short,” he muttered.

  I felt my heart race. Was this a farewell? I swallowed hard waiting for whatever was to come next.

  “I have to go,” he finally said.

  I closed my eyes. I was helpless, watching everything fall apart because of a damn phone call. What had changed? So now he does not like me anymore?

  It seemed that truth - the truth that I did not want to recognize - was within my reach. Would it not be safer for me to remain quietly in my bubble? Girl, you lied to Dr. Barringer!

  Even if the truth is an illusion, deep down I was like any human being, contradictory, incoherent, and fearful. I blinked in surprise, noting his silent approach.

  “I need to go,” he said again.

  “No, I want answers,” I protested, literally throwing myself at him. “One of the guys I met earlier said he already knew about me—about my getting lost on the mountain. He said he’d heard that I arrived in town for a summer course and that I suffered an accident before the semester began. I wasn’t even enrolled in UWall. I just decided to go to college today, so who spread these rumors and why?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “I was not here!” I continued, unable to contain myself. “I worked in a department store in South Portland. Damn it! I was there! I was attacked by a man named Simon Cridder. Someone brought me here and I think it was you.”

  He very slowly withdrew my arm from his neck and looked at me with that same disconcerting coolness.

  “It doesn’t matter what you believe now,” he retorted. “The important thing is that even if you don’t accept the facts as they were presented to you, it’s what ensures your safety. It’s what prevents a confrontation of indefinable proportions. A lot of things depend on the confirmation of your stay at the Polish Man Springs Resort. That’s what you need say to whoever asks you, okay?”

  No, I didn’t understand why I should lie to others. Yes, because he had just confirmed, albeit indirectly, that whole thing was a lie.

  “I do not like being manipulated or labeled crazy.”

  Adrian’s laugh was cynical and that hurt.

  “What do you suppose people will think if you mention giant panthers, flying monsters, or whatever it is? You will be considered crazy if you do.” His face softened a little, but his eyes had not lost their fierce glare. “Right now, I cannot clarify anything for you. You will have to trust me. That’s all I ask of you—trust me.”

  We stared at each other like two opponents in a boxing ring. I still had wobbly legs because of the kiss, but he seemed fully recovered, as if nothing had happened. This irritated me.

  “Do not forget the eyes that change color,” I added sarcastically.

  He was not to be caught off guard and responded in the same tone, “Sure, how could I forget? But that was not your most interesting crazy, was it? How about...the old woman who was washing clothes in the fog?” He uncrossed his arms and bowed his head. “What do you expect to achieve saying a lot of this nonsense? Forget what you cannot understand!”

  Damn, as if I had not tried! Just today I had agreed for this purpose.

  “Oh, it’s easy for you to say!” I screamed.

  He grabbed me by the arms and pulled me to his chest.

  “Okay, let’s not fight! The first kiss should not be so quickly followed by the first fight. He laughed softly, next to my ear. “Listen, I really have to go. Whatever happens, you must trust me!” His voice became urgent. “I’ll find a way to be with you. I don’t know when or how, but I swear I will. Meanwhile, the guardians will be my eyes and ears and will be attentive to everything you need.”

  I jumped back. “Hey! I don’t want these sinis
ter people following me around town. I will be the butt of jokes throughout the whole college.”

  “Nobody will notice them. They are very discreet.”

  “Damn it!” I whimpered. “You must give me one good reason for me to accept this nonsense!”

  He frowned, visibly annoyed. He sighed. “Some time ago, there was a sabotage in our business and an attack. My father was almost killed. It’s a long story. But long story short, the same group that committed that attack is preparing to make another attempt. This time, the scheme is bigger than the first one.” He paused, carefully choosing his words. “They already know that you are my weakness and are likely planning use you to get what they want from me, so you need to let my people take care of your safety.”

  Weakness? Me? I couldn’t believe that I represented something more than an act of charity for him.

  “And what do they want?” I asked.

  He hesitated for a moment.

  “They want possession of a medical formula that we are developing.”

  “Oh!” What could I say?

  It was not something unusual or implausible. Movies about corporate espionage were showing this kind of thing all the time. It was perfectly normal and far more coherent than the bizarre conversation I had imagined hearing and interpreting this morning—except as it relates to predators and dark gods...that’s still remain a mystery without solution.

  But predators and dark gods were only accessories supplied by an overactive imagination, were they not?

  “What exactly did you hear this morning?” Adrian asked, reading the indecision on my face.

  “A few weird things.”

  “A few weird things,” he repeated patiently. “And did you hear the whole conversation?”

  “No. The voices were low and the noise of the air conditioning prevented me from hearing everything.” Does he noticed the trace of hysteria creeping into my voice?

  He nodded, as if realizing something I did not understand.

  “It’s possible that you have interpreted what, in fact, you did not hear?”

  It’s that? Like a hallucination of completing? I mean, I heard something and I had deduced other things left unsaid between the lines? I think I’ll ask Dr. Barringer about it.

  “Damn! Do not underestimate my intelligence!” I shouted, furious for feeling so confused.

  “You’re right. That’s what I’m doing, isn’t it?” Adrian looked so hurt that I regretted shouting at him. “I don’t want to do this with you. To be honest, I don’t want to leave you more confused than you already are, but now is not the best time to clarify the situation. When I tried, you didn’t pass any of my tests.” The look he gave me was half sad, half playful. “As much you want to know now, I think you are not prepared to share my problems.”

  The perfect face was twisted in agony. “Melissa, you should proceed with your new life—study, make friends, grow. Eventually, you may be ready for the next step and then you can make your choices consciously, free of my influence. Please understand! Even if I do things that hurt you, I really care about you.”

  Definitely, this was a turn down! I was being dumped.

  I looked at him incredulously. First, he kisses me and then he goes straight for my jugular!

  “Never forget that’s it for your own good. You will have to trust me and be patient, but above all, you will have to trust yourself.”

  He gave me a quick kiss and left. I stayed in an apoplectic state as he disappeared under the arch covered by the plants. Moments later, I heard the powerful engine of his Alfa Romeo fire up and he left full speed.

  “One step forward, two steps back,” I whispered, feeling devastated.

  I felt the tears start to fall down my face and I panicked. When I started to cry, I couldn’t stop anymore.

  One hand rested on my shoulder, startling me. I looked back saw the strange and scary eyes of Keyra McPherson. Even though she smiled in a gentle manner, I shuddered. How sweet could a shark be when he shows his teeth?

  “I imagine that all this must be...” she paused, looking for the right words.

  Bizarre? Freaky? Painful? What?

  “...new to you.”

  I nodded without really understanding her point.

  “To get involved with Adrian Cahill, a girl needs to be strong...to get her head together. I suspect that you are that kind of girl.”

  Here’s what was the point really was: Have I got my head together?

  “Come on.” She pulled me by the arm. Her strong, cool hand did not allow resistance. “I don’t know what he told you, but you must do exactly as he ordered.”

  I nodded vaguely. I was certain that she had seen and heard our entire conversation. My face felt hot.

  We climbed the porch steps. I turned one last time toward the entranceway arch. Adrian’s red car was already far away, snaking through the sharp curves of the steepest streets, a good distance from where we were. It was just a red dot amid brown bricks and gray stones. I lifted my eyes up and looked at the tiny shadows of the panthers on top of the walls. Their outlines only were visible because of the sunlight covering the rock formation. I turned to find Keyra’s carefree smile.

  The sound of a car parking in front of the house made us both turn to look at the same time. It was an F-150 pick-up.

  * * *

  So this is the room allocated to me. Mmmm! Spacious. The wooden floor was almost entirely covered by a red shag rug with geometric designs in yellows and greens that broke the sobriety of decoration. The furniture was very old, but well kept. There was a dresser, a large trunk leaning against the bed and a closet. The four-poster bed was single—relatively big for a single with short, sculpted columns that supported the canopy. Soon I noticed that my suitcase and shopping bags were next to the trunk.

  Wait a minute! I frowned. There were supposed to be only two bags, but now there were five. I went over to check and I verified that those were the same clothes that I’d tried on in the stores and Charity suggested that I take. At the time, I refused and she did not insist. I should have known that Charity wouldn’t give up so easily and then Adrian colluded with his cousin.

  I looked around and noticed there was a shelf right next to me, facing the bed. It was modern furniture, obviously didn’t fit among the others, although it was discreet. It accommodated a 42-inch television with an enormous red bow tied around it, plus the DVD equipment below it.

  What’s this? I moved closer and pulled out the card attached to the red bow tie.

  How do you expect to watch your favorite movies without the proper equipment? A birthday gift cannot be half given, don’t you agree?--Adrian

  This time the note was signed.

  “He tricked me!” I pursed my lips.

  “Who tricked you?”

  I turned toward the door and saw Delilah standing there.

  She stared at the shopping bags, casting a knowing look at the designer brand names stamped on the bags. With her experience in the fashion business, I’ll bet that she had quickly evaluated the fine clothes without having to unfold them.

  “Wow!” she exclaimed.

  I took advantage her attention to the shopping bags to quickly pull the red bow off of the television, tucking it away behind the shelf. It would be embarrassing for me to have to explain this kind of gift. I hoped that she’d reach the conclusion that equipment was mine and wouldn’t ask any questions.

  “May I?” She was already inside the bedroom, her head bowed in my direction. I shrugged and she took that as a yes. “Yay! I’ll help hang up your clothes in the closet.”

  Thankfully, it was all we did in the minutes after. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Oh my goodness!” she cried, holding a large black handbag, discreet-looking with delicate, colored designs on the seams.

  “What happened?” I thought maybe a mouse had popped out of the handbag, but no, actually, she was stroking the handbag as if it were her little pet. For a moment I contemplated the possibility
that I wasn’t the only abnormal person here. It felt reassuring in a strange way.

  “Hey, don’t you recognize who made this handbag?” she asked incredulously.”You need to know that only ten of that design are manufactured each year! It’s all handmade by specialized Italian artisans. Honey! Madonna has one of these!”

  “Oh... cool. What else could I say? To me, a handbag was just a handbag—useful only to carry things.

  Delilah stroked the handbag once more, gazing at it with covetous eyes before she nested it between pillows on the bed as if it were a newborn baby. Her hands touched it with such reverence that I almost couldn’t stifle a laugh...almost. This “Addams Family” look she was wearing didn’t match the things she said she liked. It was as if a party girl had decided to dress up for Halloween. Was she trying to impress someone in particular or was it a form of “political protest in post-adolescence”? Perhaps she was a militant with a cause...I didn’t believe for even a minute the thing about urban tribes.

  Curiosity overcame me. Why did she insist on pretending to be a creature of darkness when it was obvious that she wasn’t? Remember, girl! In Hadrian’s Wall, nothing is what it seems to be.

  Well, we were not yet close enough friends to engage in personal talks, but there would be no lack of opportunity to discover what was so mysterious about her “Area 51” persona.

  Fighting for a piano. Elbows nudges. A coffin. And I’m the one who’s crazy?

  I shook my head, mystified, and began to put the clothes on hangers. Delilah came over and started to do the same. We both worked in silence, but she couldn’t contain herself for long. Soon she was praising or criticizing the items in my wardrobe. Obviously, her criticisms were directed at my old clothes, what was left of them and the cheers were for the few elegant pieces that Charity had directly or indirectly provided me.

  Delilah began decreeing what matched with what and according to her deliberations, she was keeping the pieces together. I didn’t pay much attention to her chatter about fashion. I could never memorize the amazing amount of combinations that she could do with my measly two coats.