by Carl Alves
At Ryan’s house they had two laptop computers, an iPad, modems, and wireless internet. He didn’t understand what half this shit meant, let alone how to use it. Why did people need all these computers? If he was going to stick around in this new world, then he would have to catch up to this technology.
As he walked to Ryan’s BMW, Cotter pondered if he should hit another spot or go home and bang Ryan’s wife. Decisions, decisions. He had to stash away tonight’s winnings, but that could wait until tomorrow. He removed the keys to the car, which weren’t keys at all, just some remote control thing. He didn’t even have to put a key in the ignition. The scientists and engineers had been busy since Cotter had died.
Just as Cotter was about to get in the BMW, Mr. Tattoo stepped in front of him. Cotter couldn’t help but smile. This jack-off was a glutton for punishment. Like it wasn’t bad enough he just got cleaned out playing poker.
“I know you were cheating.” Mr. Tattoo was trying to put all kinds of menace in his voice. Ooh, scary.
“What do you know?” Cotter taunted. “You don’t know nothing. You’re just a punk. I’ve taken shits more intimidating than you.”
Mr. Tattoo raised his hands in a fighting stance. “You’re going down.”
Guys like Mr. Tattoo were useless. He had big biceps, big shoulders, and a bulky physique. Big muscles might look good on the beach, but they didn’t do jack shit for a person in a fight. Those big muscles only served to slow a person down and tired them out quicker. In life, Cotter had been tall and wiry. He had always used those long limbs to his advantage, taking out bigger guys. Plus, he didn’t fight fair.
Mr. Tattoo swung a looping overhand right. Cotter went in toward him, ducking under the punch. He put his left arm around Mr. Tattoo’s waist and hugged him tight so that he couldn’t break free. With his right hand, Cotter reached into his jacket pocket and brought out a knife. He flicked the knife open as Mr. Tattoo struggled.
Cotter stared into Mr. Tattoo’s eyes and found fear. He was certain at that precise moment, Mr. Tattoo figured out he had just messed with the wrong motherfucker. He was the one going down, and he was going down for good. “Go to sleep, darling.” Cotter plunged the knife into the man’s back.
Mr. Tattoo’s eyes went impossibly wide. He gasped, letting out a choked breath.
Cotter removed the knife, and Mr. Tattoo fell to his knees. For good measure, Cotter slashed the man’s neck, cutting his carotid artery. Mr. Tattoo fell face first into the asphalt.
“You just couldn’t leave well enough alone. Guess that was the worst mistake you ever made.”
Cotter wiped the blood off the knife. Just as he was about to put the knife away, a smile lit his face. He put the knife on the ground next to Mr. Tattoo’s body. Good ole’ Ryan’s fingerprints were all over it. Tough shit for him. Cotter laughed out loud and entered the BMW.
Chapter XXV
Jake followed Kenna and her friends to the basement with trepidation. Ouija boards were just toys to goof around with or devices that charlatans used to con people. They couldn’t actually be used to communicate with the dead. Then why was his heart racing? Why did he have goosebumps on his arms? Why did his stomach feel queasy?
Nobody spoke as they stood in front of the Ouija board.
Jake put his hands on his hips. “Okay, what do we do now?”
Kenna sat on the floor at one end of the board. Ben took a seat opposite her.
Kenna looked up at Jake. “Ben and I usually hold the planchette. We call Mia, and she responds.”
Jake took a deep breath. “Okay.”
Ben looked up at Kenna with soulful brown eyes. “I don’t know if I can do this anymore. Nothing good’s come out of this.”
Kenna reached out and touched his hand. “Maybe you’ve been right all along, that we should never have done this, that we caused a whole lot of bad things to happen. But it’s too late to stop now. We let Cotter into our world, and we have to do something to stop him. We gotta make this right. I know you’re scared, Ben. I’m scared too, but we have to finish what we started.”
Ben nodded.
As Jake watched the exchange, he couldn’t help but feel touched at witnessing his sister’s maturity and compassion.
Jake stared intently as they put their hands on the planchette. As they circled the piece around the board, they seemed to be in deep concentration.
"Mia, it's Kenna. We need to speak with you."
Kenna's eyes lit up. Jake felt a certain electricity in the air. It was hard to describe, but something changed, and it wasn't just in his head.
"Are you there?" Ben asked.
The planchette moved to yes.
Jake watched their hands closely, trying to figure out if they were moving the piece or if it was going on its own, but it was impossible to tell.
"Is it definitely her?" Cordy asked.
Kenna nodded.
Jake turned to Cordy. "What do you mean?"
Cordy bit her lower lip. "It's hard to explain. Kenna has this deep connection with Mia. The one time we spoke to Cotter, she felt something different."
Jake wanted to ask more questions but, instead, focused on the Ouija board.
"Mia, my brother Jake’s with us. He's going to help us with Cotter."
The planchette moved from one letter to another and spelled GOOD.
"Mia, do you know how Cotter was able to leave the spirit world and enter our world?" Kenna asked.
The planchette went to No.
Jake asked, "Are you sure you guys aren't moving this thing to spell what you want?"
Kenna's face tightened. "The planchette's moving because Mia's speaking to us." She sighed in exasperation, then her face lit up. "Mia, if me and Ben let go of the planchette, can you move it on your own?"
The planchette moved to Yes.
Kenna stared into Ben's eyes. "Okay. Let go of it."
Simultaneously, Ben and Kenna both removed their hands from the planchette. The tension in the air was palpable as all eyes in the room locked onto the Ouija board. Jake could hear his own breathing.
Jake went wide-eyed as the planchette shot across the Ouija board and landed in the carpet by Carlos' feet. Jake gasped.
Carlos pointed at the planchette. "Did you see that?"
Jake slowly nodded. He had wanted to believe his sister, but it was hard for his mind to accept the supernatural, where things went bump into the night. Even his practical mind could not deny what he saw. Whatever happened from here on out, he was all in. As her big brother, it was his job to protect her, and he would do whatever he needed to make sure no harm came to her.
Kenna looked up at him. "Do you believe us now?"
"I never disbelieved you," Jake said. "I just had a hard time wrapping my mind around this. Ask Mia what she can tell us about this Cotter."
Kenna relayed the question.
The planchette spelled out MEAN THUG CONMAN.
Jake nodded. "Okay, I get the idea. So, this Cotter fellow's a bad dude.”
The planchette continued HURT ME.
"What else can you tell us?" Kenna asked.
CRIMINAL
"Cotter was a criminal?" Ben asked.
The planchette moved to Yes.
"Did he die in jail?" Ben asked.
Once more the planchette settled on Yes.
"Does she know why Cotter decided to enter our world?" Jake asked.
Kenna asked the question.
The planchette moved to No.
"Hmm." Jake began to pace around the room. So, Cotter was a criminal who had used this Ouija board, not to mention Kenna, to come back to this world. Just like when preparing for a fight, Jake needed to learn more about his adversary. "What did Cotter do to land himself in prison?"
Jake watched with a wary eye as the planchette spelled out MURDER, then THEFT, and finally DRUGS.
"Sounds like a real sweetheart," Jake said.
Great, so he had a murdering, thieving, drug dealer on his hands. He had met en
ough of the type in prison. Jake sighed, remembering his own days in the pen. He had led a solitary existence, not making friends or even talking to anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. During his stint, he had two different cell mates. Other than their names, he knew hardly anything about them.
Learning that he was a professional fighter, several gangs inside the joint had tried to recruit him, but he respectfully told them he was not interested. He had tried hard to avoid fighting while in jail, but it was inevitable it would happen. Twice he had been jumped by inmates. In both cases, he had soundly and convincingly thrashed his attackers. Nobody tried a third time, although he had heard rumors from other inmates and even correctional officers that he should watch his back, something he did religiously while in jail.
The only good thing about his prison experience was that if he had to face this Cotter, at least he had dealt with his type before.
"What can Mia tell us about how he entered our world?" Jake asked.
After Kenna repeated the question, the planchette spelled NEED LEARN MORE.
Jake had additional questions, but Mia could not give any substantial answers. She assured them she would find out about what had happened, and what could be done about it. By the end of the session, Jake's head was spinning.
After Kenna put the board away, she looked up at Jake expectantly. “Well, what should we do?”
“Right now, nothing. We don’t know where he’s at, what he looks like, how he can operate in our world. We don’t even know the rules of the game. Mia didn’t give us a whole lot work with. Until we learn more, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s give Mia time to figure this out, then we can come up with a plan.”
Kenna shuddered. “But what if Cotter comes after us? He’s dangerous.”
“Look at this way,” Jake said. “This happened over a week ago, and he hasn’t shown up yet. That means he probably won’t come after you. If he does, I’ll be here to protect you. I won’t let anyone hurt you. That’s a promise.”
Ben looked at him with his soulful eyes. “It’s not just that. If Cotter’s out there doing bad things, then it’s our fault. If it wasn’t for us, none of this would have happened.
Jake put his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Listen, buddy, you had no way of knowing any of this would happen. This isn’t on you. What’s done is done. Now we have to fix the problem, and I’m going to help you.”
As Jake led the kids upstairs, he wondered if he believed that he was capable of doing what he claimed. He knew strange things were afoot and was wise enough to realize it may be beyond his capabilities to stop Cotter, but one thing was certain, he would not let this spirit harm Kenna or her friends.
Chapter XXVI
After what Jake had witnessed in the basement with the Ouija board, his grandiose plans of getting rest and studying footage on his next opponent were out the window. Restless, he paced the living room and then took a walk around the block.
He still could hardly believe it. The incident with the Ouija board and their contact with Mia shook his whole belief system. The problems he had been facing seemed simple in comparison to the ones he now faced.
Jake’s mom picked up on his unease when she arrived home from work. She regarded him with a curious look but didn’t say anything at first. As she cooked a meal of chicken breasts, brown rice, and green beans at Jake’s request, she said, “Sit down. You’re making me nervous.”
Jake sat at the kitchen table but couldn’t stop fidgeting.
“What’s bothering you? You don’t normally get this antsy about fighting.”
Jake looked up at his mom, who had a severe frown. Their relationship had been strained by his going to prison, and he was certain it would never be the way it used to be since a certain amount of innocence had been lost. All the same, he was trying to regain her trust. Lying to her wouldn’t help matters, but the truth wasn’t an option. Believing in Kenna’s story had taken a giant leap of faith on his part. There was no way in hell his mom would believe a word of it.
“I guess the whole thing with Adam’s been bugging me,” Jake said. This wasn’t a lie since the incident certainly disturbed him.
Still cooking, his mom looked him in the eye. “Listen, Jake, I know you and Adam had been best friends since you were little tykes, but you have to face it, the boy’s just no damn good. You let him bring you down before, but he’s behind bars now, and he can’t harm you. You need to forget him. He’s going to be put away for a long time.”
Jake found her sudden shift amusing. The last time they had spoken about Adam, he had assured her that Adam could no longer do him any harm. “I wish it were that easy. You weren’t there when the police arrested him.”
“If I was, I would have thrown him out on his ass.”
Jake sighed. Under normal circumstances he would agree with her, but after seeing Adam’s haunted eyes and shaky demeanor, he wasn’t so sure.
Jake changed the subject. “Are you going to let Kenna come to the fight?”
“I suppose her going last time didn’t produce any long-term psychological effects. She certainly has been pestering me about it. I suppose if June will take her, then she can go.”
“You could always join them,” Jake suggested.
His mom gave him a look that suggested he had lost his mind. “I’m a nervous wreck when you’re fighting. All I do is pace around the house until you call me to tell me everything’s all right. You have no idea what it’s like. If I were actually there watching someone punch you in the face, I would have a heart attack.”
“Well, if you change your mind, let me know. I still have a few tickets for the show.”
“That’s quite all right. I’m sure Kenna will give me a blow by blow breakdown of everything that happened.”
Jake frowned, thinking about how frightened his sister had been earlier. He didn’t like to see her like that. He wanted her to be her happy, care-free self again.
***
June laid both palms flat against the table and stared at him open-mouthed. “Are you serious?”
Jake nodded. “Deadly serious.”
They sat at a booth in the Starbucks. Jake had wanted to take June out to a nice restaurant now that he could afford to do so, but he could not take any chances with his diet this close to the fight. He promised her he would treat her to a nice dinner after this fight.
June, for her part, did not seem to care. She seemed just as content going to a Chipotle as she would to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Still, Jake wanted to show her that she was special to him. For tonight’s date, they settled on a movie at the IMAX theater and then coffee at Starbucks. When he asked for his plain and black, the barista looked at him like he had three heads. He had offered to get June a snack or a desert, but she refused since he wouldn’t be able to indulge in the treat as well because he was cutting weight. She was too good to be true.
“That’s crazy.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“But anybody can fake using a Ouija board.”
Jake folded his hands and kept his voice even. “I’m well aware of that, but two things convinced me. First, Kenna is ultra-honest. But what really swayed me was that Mia, the spirit they talk to, was able to move the disc on her own without either Ben or Kenna touching it. Now, I know that sort of thing can be faked by a clever street magician, but there’s no way these kids could manage that.”
“What do you mean, it moved on its own?”
“It’s just like I said. They asked Mia to move the planchette on her own. They took their hands off it, and it flew across the room.”
“You’re not putting me on? This is all real?” June asked.
“This is as real as real can get.”
June sighed. “If you so strongly believe this, then I’ll take your word for it.”
“You do?” This was hardly the response Jake was expecting. He expected her response to be complete skepticism. He hardly thought she would ac
cept the story with that little of a struggle.
“Most people don’t believe in ghosts. Not me. I had one in my old house.”
Jake narrowed his eyes. “Yeah?”
“The ghost lived in the house I grew up in. I used to feel this presence in my room at night. The room would get frigid. Sometimes, I swear this ghostly presence was right next to me. I would try to talk to it when I got really scared. I thought if I could speak to it, become friendly with it, then it would make me less scared.”
“Did it respond?” Jake asked.
June shook her head. “I wish it did. At least that way I would know for sure. Instead, I had this haunting feeling all the time.”
“So, what happened?”
“We moved. I don’t know if it’s still there. I wonder about it often. Do you believe my story about my ghost?”
Jake nodded.
“Well, I’m with you on this Ouija board business. I trust you, Jake. I know you wouldn’t deceive me. And if this is legit, then you’re going to need my help.”
Jake smiled, a warm feeling settling in chest. Even though he was an ex-con, she seemed to have unwavering faith in him. If their relationship was going to last, and he sure as hell hoped it would, then he needed her trust. He also needed her help. June was intelligent, and she could piece things together he couldn’t.
“So, go over everything one more time,” June said.
Jake relayed what he knew, both what he had witnessed, and what Kenna had told him.
June sat in contemplative silence while Jake sipped his bitter coffee.
June lifted her finger in the air. “I have a theory.”
“Shoot.”
“This might explain another mystery. You know how Carlos had that experience where he blacked out, and Adam claims he has no memory of his killing spree. What if…What if they can’t remember anything because this evil spirit was in them, controlling them somehow?”
