Stepping into the Sky: Jump When Ready, Book 3

by David Pandolfe

  Henry stopped and the wood beneath him groaned as if it might give.

  “This isn’t real.” Henry spoke the words softly.

  He said the same again, raising his voice more, his heart still hammering in his chest. “This is not real.”

  Still, he stepped slowly back. Wood creaked again. Henry raised his voice to a shout. “This is not real!”

  “Yes it is.”

  The whisper reached out of the dark, right at his ear just as something grabbed his ankle hard and pulled. Henry’s arms wheeled, his hands reaching out but there was nothing to grab hold of. He slipped against the wet boards and fell. He clawed at the wood but didn’t have a chance. A moment later, he was in the water being dragged down, that invisible hand locked around his ankle. Henry fought against the images—knowing that was exactly what they wanted—but the images still rushed at him. The day he’d died, his ankle wedged between rocks, the struggle he’d lost as the water had kept plowing over him as he’d grown weaker against the rapids. Struggling had only made it worse, a one-sided fight, a sparrow beating its wings against a hurricane.

  Henry looked and saw the hand gripping his leg, a pale arm in the inky water. He saw the flowing red hair of a woman who grinned up from beneath him, her face somehow lit in the darkness. Their eyes met but Henry saw nothing human in those eyes that glowed green as whoever she was continued to pull him under.

  He felt another sharp tug, this time on his arm, yanking him up.

  Henry looked in that direction but saw no one, not even a grasping hand.

  Another jolt, even more forceful.

  Resistance came from beneath but with less strength than what had now claimed hold of him. He felt one last pull from below and then she lost her grip. Henry surged up. He broke the surface and gasped for air, eyes clenched tight against the unexpected blast of daylight.

  “Henry! Oh, my God, Henry!” A girl’s voice as she gasped too, winded from exertion.

  Henry knew this voice. He’d known it since the day he was born.

  He opened his eyes to see Bethany staring back at him, her own eyes full of tears. “Henry, what happened? What were you thinking?”

  The rocks of the riverbank pressed into his back. The sun beat down from above as his sister knelt next to him, seventeen again, staring into his eyes.

  Feet pounded against the ground and a shadow fell over him. “What happened? Henry, you weren’t supposed to come here alone!”

  Henry’s brother stared down at him now too, lean and muscled, wearing shorts, his chest bare. Henry remembered now—John had been lifting weights in the garage when he’d taken his bike out, fully intending to sneak off and come to the river even though he wasn’t supposed to. Especially because he wasn’t supposed to.

  John dropped to his knees too. “Are you okay? What the hell happened?” He reached out and grasped Henry’s forearm, helping him to sit up.

  Henry coughed and looked around. He saw the others too now, all those teenagers who’d been clustered on riverside boulders sunning themselves when he’d trudged past them. He thought he’d heard some of them laughing before as he’d walked toward the river but none laughed now. They stared, eyes wide, watching the scene play out.

  “I got stuck,” Henry said. “I didn’t mean for anything bad to happen. I was just, I was just going to—” But the words stopped and instead tears came. Henry couldn’t stop them now and he gulped for air.

  Bethany wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight, rocking him. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “You’re okay now. We’re right here.”

  John clasped hold of his shoulder. “Damn, dude, we could have lost you there. Be more careful, okay?”

  Henry nodded but the tears streamed from his eyes, running down his face. He ran the back of his arm across his cheeks to dry them, embarrassed, realizing what had almost happened. In another minute, he might have drowned if Bethany hadn’t gotten there in time.

  In that moment, Henry realized all of it had been a dream. He’d almost lost the fight against the rapids and he’d been trapped under water. For how long? He had no idea but obviously his brain had been deprived of oxygen long enough to create another world entirely. He’d imagined a group of teenagers in some weird sort of afterlife place. It had seemed so real! He’d even known each of their names but he couldn’t recall them now. They were already fading with the dream.

  Henry pressed his palm against the ground and got to his feet. He took a few unsteady steps, trying not to look at the groups of teenagers watching from a distance. Still, his face burned and he felt like a fool. He’d be starting high school next year and everyone would know this had happened.

  As if reading his thoughts, Bethany said, “Don’t worry about them. It’s fine. You’re fine.”

  Henry stumbled, still weak, his head foggy.

  “Take it easy.” John placed his hand on Henry’s shoulder again. “Take your time.” He looked into Henry’s eyes. “What do you say? Ready to go home now?”

  “That’s right,” Bethany said. “Let’s go home.”

  That was all Henry wanted to do. It felt like decades since he’d been home. All he wanted to do was go—

  “Henry!”

  Henry heard the girl’s voice but it sounded far away. He kept walking alongside Bethany and John, his feet on the earth again. He told himself the voice was just a lingering part of the dream he’d experienced. That it wasn’t real.

  “Henry, I’m right here! Can you see me?”

  Her voice came louder now and Henry wanted to listen. Whoever she was, she had a name. He remembered her from the dream. He could see her face inside his mind, her brown eyes and jet black hair, almost like she meant something to him. He looked at Bethany, then John, to be sure. They didn’t hear the voice, he could tell. They looked at him, their gazes reassuring. The voice wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

  “You’re okay, buddy,” John said.

  “We’ve got you,” Bethany said.

  “Henry! I’m right here!”

  Henry felt sure he knew her voice. Suddenly, he felt hands grasping his shoulders, holding him tight. The daylight around him started to fade. He felt the warmth of her breath as he gasped next to him. Part of him recognized the scent of her skin and hair.

  “You’re almost back to the house! Listen to me. Henry!”

  Henry opened his eyes to darkness. Her eyes stared back at him, reflecting the only light, the light he’d been walking toward. She took hold of his hand. “Come on. It’s okay.” She pulled him forward. “Everything’s going to be okay. You don’t have to tell me what happened. Not yet. Just come with me. Please!”

  Henry knew who she was now. Nikki. Her name was Nikki. He held onto her hand and followed, knowing that only one thing here was real.

  10

  Seeing a Sign

  Nikki listened as Henry recounted for Martha the events they’d experienced in Rose’s dream world so far. He finished with what he’d gone through just before they’d decided to come back. She was glad Henry hadn’t asked her to describe what she’d been through the other morning in the garden. Nikki just wasn’t sure she could tell anyone about it without breaking down completely. Not yet, anyway. In time, she’d probably be able to tell Henry. At least, once she could manage to think of it without the certainty that she’d be fighting off tears.

  Martha kept her eyes on Henry too, her gaze caring and empathetic. When Henry came to the end, she said, “I’m sure it’s been overwhelming. I tried to tell you it would be unlike anything you’ve experienced before.”

  “You didn’t exactly do it justice,” Nikki said, forcing her trademark smirk into place.

  “As you can imagine,” Martha said, “it’s a difficult environment to describe.”

  Henry laughed bitterly. “You did say it was a dream world. It’s a total nightmare. Is that anything like what you experienced when you tried?”

  Martha thought for a moment and Nikki wondered what memories she might be
calling to the surface. Had she too been reunited with the family she’d known over a hundred years ago? Had she also thought she’d been offered the chance of returning to that life?

  “I found myself tested,” Martha said. “That much was for sure. But that wasn’t the reason I failed in my attempt at delivering Rose from that realm to this one.”

  Martha glanced down at her coffee table, where she’d once again provided drinks and this times snacks. Evidently, she’d known upon seeing them at her door that they’d be in need of sustenance now that they’d returned. “The fact is, I wasn’t in Rose’s dream very long at all. Not nearly as long as you two have been. It would appear Lysrus and I were right about the two of you being able to connect with her.”

  “I don’t know if it will remain that way when we go back,” Henry said.

  “If we go back,” Nikki added. She’d come to realize just how dangerous their situation had been. In fact, had either of them been alone she felt sure they wouldn’t have even known to return to this realm again. They would have succumbed to the dream tailored for them. Both times, one of them had broken the spell for the other before it was too late.

  Martha glanced back and forth between them, her expression suggesting no bias toward either possibility. “As we’ve said from the start, it’s entirely up to you. We won’t try to influence you, nor will anyone hold it against you if you decide you’re unable to return to such a haunted place.”

  Martha’s words reminded Nikki of the dream she’d woken up from this morning—the woman trying to comfort her children from the sound of that trapped soul in their house. Suddenly, Nikki realized something she hadn’t before. That hadn’t been a dream. She’d been reading that woman and she had no doubt that family now inhabited the house in which Rose had grown up.

  Nikki looked up to see Martha watching her. Their eyes met and she wondered if somehow Martha knew what had just crossed her mind. Possibly, Martha had been suspecting it was just a matter of time before Nikki established a connection with the woman in that house. Still, if Martha knew what Nikki had experienced, she didn’t say anything, even though it was another reason for Nikki and Henry to try helping Rose. After all, how could they turn their backs on both the haunted and the one unknowingly doing the haunting?

  Martha simply glanced once again at Henry, then Nikki. “There is no right or wrong thing to do,” she said. “There’s only what you think is the best thing to do right now. All of this, either way, is a step in your development. And, either way, you’ll be the ones to determine which step you’re ready for next.”

  ~~~

  The night before, they’d been beyond relieved to find that all it took for them to return to their own realm was for them both to decide to do so. As soon as they did, the front door of their sanctuary had started to glow, a pale blue in the dim hall. The energy coming from it was palpable and they’d known right off that this too had been created for them. They’d opened the door and crossed through it to find themselves standing in front of Halfway House. Only in that moment had they realized how utterly exhausted they were and they’d spent only a few more minutes together before going inside and climbing the stairs to their rooms.

  That morning, they’d both slept in and it hadn’t seemed likely that anyone else remained asleep since the sun was already high in the sky. Nikki went to Henry’s door, sure he’d agree that it was time to check in with Martha and they called on her right away, assuming they’d find the others downstairs after. Now, they searched Halfway House, finding all the rooms downstairs empty. They checked the food court, game room, movie theater and pool. Last, they tried the kitchen, where Nikki had been kind of hoping to find Naomi creating something new.

  Henry shrugged. “Maybe they wandered off in different directions.”

  Nikki tried to hide her disappointment. She’d been looking forward to spending some time together as a group, hoping for some lightness to counter the darkness of the last couple of days. A glance at Henry’s eyes confirmed he’d been hoping the same.

  “Well, I guess we have a decision to make,” Nikki said. “I guess we should probably—”

  Laughter sounded out back, from what seemed like a distance. Nikki’s heart lifted. Henry crossed the room and swung the door open to look outside. He turned back to Nikki with raised eyebrows. “You’ll love this.”

  “Please tell me they’re not racing Air Hogs.” She’d heard Naomi’s laughter in the mix so it didn’t seem likely. Naomi might remain a little girl in many ways but she was still more mature than Jamie and Simon much of the time.

  “No, it looks like Jamie is trying to outrun a horse,” Henry said.

  “Horse?”

  Henry nodded and returned his attention to the scene outside. “Well, a small horse. Out by the stable.”

  “Stable?” Nikki knew she shouldn’t be surprised to learn they now had a horse and stable. Still, she hadn’t seen that one coming.

  She followed Henry outside to see that, sure enough, the fence surrounding their yard now sat at a much greater distance back than it had two days ago. How the trees behind it had also moved, Nikki didn’t try to comprehend. If fences could move to accommodate a horse and stable, then naturally trees could shift to a new positon as well. Within another newly fenced off area, Naomi and Simon continued to laugh as they watched Jamie try to outrun a snow white filly.

  “Call it off, Naomi!” Jamie tried another futile attempt at outmaneuvering the animal.

  Henry and Nikki jogged toward them. “Pretty horse,” Nikki said, which was definitely true. The filly pranced gracefully, tossing her mane in the breeze.

  “A pretty horse who appears to have fallen in love with Jamie,” Henry said.

  Naomi cupped her hands around her mouth and called out to Jamie, who’d been chased to the furthest point in the fenced off area. “She’s just playing with you, Jamie! And Becky is not an it! She’s a she!”

  Jamie dashed back in the direction of Naomi and Simon, the filly wheeling about to trot after him. Henry and Nikki reached the fence and climbed onto it to watch the spectacle.

  “Becky,” Naomi cooed. “Here, girl!”

  The horse stopped and shook her head, her eyes tracking Naomi’s. Jamie scampered over to stand behind Simon.

  “That thing is crazy,” Jamie said.

  Naomi shot a look in his direction. “Becky is not a thing either.” She held out an apple and Becky trotted over to take it from her. Naomi ran her hands along Becky’s neck as she spoke in soothing tones. “No wonder you chase Jamie around. I would too if he kept calling me an it. You go on and keep doing that until he learns to be more respectful.”

  Henry and Nikki opened the gate and entered the horse pen.

  “You manifested a horse?” Henry said. “Naomi, that’s seriously impressive.”

  Naomi giggled, still combing her fingers through Becky’s mane. “Don’t be silly. She was just here when I woke up this morning.”

  Nikki and Henry exchanged a quick glance.

  “Were you maybe thinking about owning a horse?” Nikki said.

  Naomi shook her head, then reconsidered and nodded. “Well, I’ve always wanted a horse if that’s what you mean. But I’d always figured it for something that might happen when I got older. You know, someday, when I wasn’t a kid anymore. But I don’t really think of it as owning a horse. More like knowing a horse.”

  Naomi’s words stopped Nikki for a moment since the distinction was so well put. Naomi continued to grow up, little by little. Nikki could no longer tell herself that she might be imagining those changes.

  “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” Simon stepped forward to join Naomi. He patted the side of Becky’s neck. “I wonder how big she’ll get.”

  Jamie remained where he stood. “Not too big, I hope.”

  Hearing Jamie’s voice, Becky looked up. She shook her head and snorted.

  “She’s looking at me again,” Jamie said.

  “Henry thinks she’s in love wi
th you,” Nikki said. “I bet it’s your horns.”

  Jamie unconsciously reached up to check the spikes of his mohawk. “Horses aren’t into horns. That’s cows.”

  “How would you know what cows are into?” Nikki said. “Never mind. Don’t answer that.”

  Everyone burst out laughing, except Jamie, whose face turned red. Nikki glanced over to see if Naomi got the joke. Evidently, she got it well enough since she continued to snicker.

  “Kind of a weird deal,” Simon said. “We were having breakfast this morning and we heard something outside.” He pointed at Becky. “Turns out it was her.”

  Naomi spoke softly. “I wonder where she came from.”

  Nikki had wondered about the same from time to time. After all, they were surrounded with living things. Birds flew through the sky while dragonflies and butterflies flitted through the air during the day. Squirrels ran after each other in play and rabbits scampered from sight at the sound of approaching voices. Was this one of the places where animals went when they died? That answer seemed as likely as any other. In this moment, Nikki knew only one thing. “Becky came here to know you too,” she said.

  “And Jamie,” Henry said. “She really wants to know Jamie.”

  Jamie rolled his eyes but reached out tentatively to touch Becky’s head. She nickered and closed her eyes.

  “There you go,” Simon said. “She just wanted to have some fun before.”

  “See, she loves you,” Naomi said. “You just need to let her know you love her too.”

  Becky stayed long enough for Nikki and Henry to comfort her, then turned and trotted away.

  “Bye, Becky,” Naomi said. “I’ll be back to check on you later!”

  Jamie turned his attention to Henry and Nikki. “Okay, so that’s the news here. As far as I know. Unless Naomi is hiding a panther somewhere. Did you two wrap that deal up?”