by Sharon Sant
Eleven: Revelations
Jacob tried to call Ellen as soon as he felt it, but he couldn’t get through. The recorded message said her mobile was off. He had ignored the fact that he wasn’t supposed to use his phone in the hospital, and that it was the early hours of the morning. His instinct told him she was ok, but he didn’t trust his instinct at the moment. And he couldn’t contact Dae; it seemed that, like Ellen’s mobile, he was switched off too. He knelt up in bed and twisted himself round to face the window, staring out at the lamp-lit hospital grounds. Through a gap in the heavy cloud, the crescent moon hung in a cold sky at its smallest, a tiny silver thumbnail.
A male nurse, one of the night staff that he didn’t know very well, popped his head round Jacob’s door. ‘Are you alright? I thought I heard you call.’
Jacob turned to face him and nodded, realising that he must have shouted out loud as he saved Ellen. ‘Sorry, bit of a nightmare, that’s all.’
‘You weren’t watching that gory late film were you? I would have had nightmares going to bed on that, lucky I’m working tonight. Do you need some help settling down?’ He gave Jacob a good natured smile. Jacob shook his head. ‘Well, if you’re sure you’re alright…’
‘Yes. Thanks.’
The nurse disappeared and Jacob was left alone to brood again in the gloom. Where are you Dae? What’s going on out there?
Jacob flicked on a lamp, hauled himself off the side of his bed and paced slowly around the tiny room, working his leg muscles. When they started to ache, he sat back down again and grabbed a book, A Brief History of Time, from the side-table. He smiled to himself as he scanned the blurb, thinking what Dae would say if he saw it. It turned out that his mum’s well intentioned gift was useless, even in Jacob’s humble estimation. A year ago, he would have found it fascinating, but now he knew that it was all wrong, and besides that, even if there had been something worth learning in there, in ten minutes he would have digested it all. He threw it down in disappointment. Was this what life was going to be like now? Where was the fun in knowing everything? His thoughts turned back to Ellen and he tried to call her again but the same recorded message greeted him as before. Sensing that she was safe was not enough; he wanted to hear it from her lips. He wondered if he should phone her house, but then imagined the conversation: Hello, Mrs Richards, it’s Jacob. Yes, I know it’s the middle of the night, I just wondered if Ellen had been abducted by a psychotic alien – could you run and check for me? Yes, if you see her catatonic in her room, that probably means she has.
Jacob went back to the window and pressed his nose against the pane, gazing out. He could see the car park, now deserted under pools of orange light. The wind tossed up bits of litter outside the hospital shop. The forlorn sight of the empty grounds did nothing to lift his spirits. He left the window and sat back on his bed. Perhaps he ought to try to sleep after all. There was nothing he could do but wait for news.
Jacob climbed back under the covers, pummelled his cushions into a soft mountain and leaned back. He forced his eyes closed. He was weary, but the strength required to keep his eyes shut was more than to have them open and he found himself staring at the ceiling of his room.
Ioh…
Jacob bolted up. The voice wasn’t coming from his room, it was in his head. Instinctively, his answer returned in the same way.
Dae?
Yes.
Where are you? What’s happening?
I see the Blockers have worn off.
Blockers? Oh, yes. Jacob realised that his hunch had been right; Makash must have been giving him something to dampen his perception.
She is safe, Ioh.
Jacob exhaled. What happened?
As you feared, Makash will not leave you alone now – not ever. He will use any means to persuade you to join him… and if you don’t, eventually he will become bored of playing games.
But you’ll be with me… won’t you?
I am tired, Ioh. Very tired now. I will help for as long as I can but you must ready yourself. I will not always be here.
You can’t leave me! I don’t know what to do without you.
You will be ready when the time comes. I will hold Makash for as long as I can to give you time to get strong.
Where is he now?
You do not need to trouble yourself -
I do! You want me to defend myself, yet you keep secrets from me, treat me like a child. Stop it. Stop covering up and tell me what I need to know to survive! Jacob’s hands gripped his blankets. For a moment there was silence. Dae?
I am here. Dae seemed to pause and collect himself. Jacob could sense the exhaustion in every syllable. Makash was trained as a Watcher, in the same way you have been. Although your studies were cut short, I believe you are evenly matched but he has a fury and ruthlessness that you do not possess. Danger will be ever-present for you while he lives. You can never entirely defeat him while you remain on Earth; your power is too weak there. And while you remain on Earth, he will hunt your loved ones relentlessly. Until you join him, or until he tires of chasing you.
And when he gets tired of chasing me…
He will kill you.
What about my family?
By that point, I imagine he would have already killed them.
Then I am left with no choice but to join him.
There is always a choice. To join him would be as dangerous as to oppose him. Do you really think he is to be trusted, even if he gets what he wants?
Jacob brooded for a moment. So I have to spend my life looking over my shoulder?
Yes.
And there’s no other way?
No.
Then I can’t ever come to Astrae. I have to be here, with my family. I don’t care about the rest of the Universe.
Coming to Astrae is the only answer. Why won’t you heed my words? Here your power is infinitely more effective; you will have the might of the Astraen Council and the people on your side. Makash will concentrate his efforts here, away from Earth. From here you can protect them in a way you could not possibly do on Earth.
How do I know you’re not lying? There was silence. So I just up and leave, tell my parents that I’m going to live on another planet and I’ll be home for Christmas?
You will not be able to return.
What!
You will not be able to return to Earth. You belong on Astrae. Your path was chosen with your birth.
Not by me.
Nonetheless.
I just leave them forever? Why can’t I come back?
Because you are destined to be the Watcher.
I can’t do that to them. They already thought they had lost me once, it almost killed them.
You can make them forget you.
Jacob thought about the idea of wiping himself from their memories, erasing his existence on Earth. The happy times of his childhood, gone from all minds but his. No. I couldn’t do that.
Surely to disappear without explanation would cause them far greater pain.
Jacob’s head spun with all the decisions he suddenly had to face. Can I think?
There is no time.
Please. This is hard for me. You wouldn’t understand.
Ioh… my son. I understand more than you know.
I don’t know what to do… I can’t think straight anymore.
You are tired. Sleep now.
Dark warmth rolled over Jacob’s mind. Dreamlessly, he slept.
One of the things Jacob hated most about hospital was the way they woke the patients at the break of dawn when there was nothing better to do than lounge around like captive animals in a zoo. It seemed unnecessarily cruel to deny them the welcome oblivion of a little extra sleep; the days were long enough as it was. He pushed himself up and glared at the cup and saucer by his bed with its content of sickly orange tea. The loud, unfailingly cheerful woman who delivered it had already disappeared through the door before he had time to ask for more milk, as she did every morning. He leaned over and took th
e cup anyway. Sipping between grimaces, his thoughts returned to his night time communication with Dae. The promise of what life was to be weighed heavily on him. Surely there was another way?
At nine o’clock his mum always came and was allowed to stay most of the day. When his little alarm clock struck the hour, the door of his room opened on cue, but instead of Maggie, Ellen stood in the doorway.
‘Can I come in?’
Jacob was unutterably relieved to see her safe, but part of him wished she hadn’t come. He remembered his resolution; it would be madness to weaken now.
‘If it’s about yesterday,’ he told her in dull tone, ‘nothing has changed.’
‘It’s not about that.’
‘What then?’
‘Does that mean I can come in and you’re not going to freak out on me?’
Jacob leaned back on his pillows and Ellen took the gesture as permission. She sat next to his bed. He stared past her at the wall.
‘I actually don’t know why I’m here. I just felt like I needed to see you.’
Jacob’s throat tightened. ‘Well,’ he began, trying to sound unconcerned, ‘if you don’t know then why come?’
‘It was just things that you said. Yesterday.’
‘I thought you hadn’t come to talk about what I said yesterday.’
‘No. Not about leaving you alone… other things, things that you’ve sort of hinted at a few times. I would believe you… when you said weird stuff was happening to you.’ She hesitated before continuing. ‘I had a dream last night, at least, I think it was a dream, though not like any dream I’ve ever had before. It was the strangest…’ Ellen clapped a hand to her mouth. ‘That doctor! It was the doctor in my dream! He’s not here today, is he?’ Ellen asked glancing around, suddenly fearful without understanding why.
Jacob straightened up. ‘You remember it? What did you see?’
‘To be honest, it’s a bit jumbled up now. But he was there. I think he was leading me somewhere… somewhere far away. I was going with him, and then someone else appeared and stopped him….’
‘Dae.’ Jacob whispered under his breath.
‘What?’
‘Nothing, carry on. What else?’
‘I felt like... this sounds crazy…’ She paused.
‘It won’t sound crazy, trust me.’ Jacob forced a smile.
‘I felt as if my soul was being torn away from my body.’ She sat back to study his reaction. Jacob didn’t flinch. ‘And then you called me. You told me to wake up and you saved me. I don’t know how I know, but I’m sure that if you hadn’t something terrible would have happened. I haven’t slept all night. That’s why I needed to talk to you.’
‘You and Luca have to forget about me, stop coming. It’s hard to tell you why. I promise I won’t let you have another dream like that, nothing will happen to you from now on. You believe me?’
Ellen nodded uncertainly.
Jacob leaned forwards and held her gaze. ‘You know that I’m not mad?’
‘I know you’re not. But I don’t understand…’
‘It’s hard, I know.’
‘Even so, I think I have a right to know what’s going on. There’s something else too; last night when I left here… this sounds silly, but I felt sure I was being followed.’
He paused, wondering what to tell her. The moment was interrupted as Jacob’s dad arrived.
‘Hello, Ellen! Come back for round two have you?’ Phil grinned at them both, but it quickly faded. ‘This looks serious, haven’t interrupted anything have I?’
‘No…’ Ellen gave Jacob a meaningful look. ‘I’m just going.’
‘No need to go on my account,’ Phil began, ‘I’m only stopping half an hour, I’ve got to go and get supplies so that my son can eat when he gets home later.’
‘It’s alright, Mr Lightfoot; visiting time will be over soon anyway.’
‘Did you say I’m coming home today, Dad?’ Jacob interrupted.
‘Yep.’ His grin reappeared. ‘Is that ok?’
‘More than ok.’ Jacob smiled, for a moment everything else forgotten. Ellen’s voice pulled him back and he remembered the danger they were all in.
‘I’ll be off then.’ She pulled her coat on.
‘Ell, come and see me at home later.’
‘I’m supposed to be seeing Luca tonight… that’s if he turns up.’ She looked thoughtful. ‘I have a few questions for him too.’
‘Please. Just ten minutes, that’s all.’ Jacob needed to hear the rest, it might be important. Suddenly, though, she didn’t seem as if she felt like sharing it.
‘Maybe.’ She turned to Phil. ‘Bye, Mr Lightfoot.’
Phil held up a casual hand. ‘See you later, Ellen.’ As she left the room he turned to Jacob. ‘What was all that about? Looked very intense, you two aren’t…’
‘No, Dad!’ Jacob said irritably. ‘You know she’s seeing Luca.’
‘Well,’ Phil countered airily, ‘it doesn’t sound like she will be for much longer.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I may be old, Jacob, but I still know a thing or two about women… and there is one who is not happy.’
‘Yeah, but still…’ Jacob reasoned, struggling to control his now tumultuous emotions as new and badly timed possibilities occurred to him, a situation that could only complicate everything, yet a situation he had craved for so long that he couldn’t quite dismiss it. ‘Luca’s my best mate. Even if she finished with him, you don’t go out with a mate’s ex.’
Phil shrugged. ‘I don’t think Luca’s the sort to be bothered. He’s far too laid back for that.’ He fixed his gaze on Jacob. ‘Life is short. You’d have to decide how much you want her.’
Twelve: The Gamble
Jacob stepped into the parquet-floored entrance hall. It was papered in his mum’s choice of late Victorian design and smelt of newly waxed wood and home baking. The sight was all at once familiar and yet strange, so much bigger than he remembered, in the same way he had always noticed whenever he had returned from holiday. One hell of a holiday, he mused. A rush of conflicting emotions attacked him - fear, longing, regret, determination. The last time he had been in this hallway he was deathly ill, hours away from the car accident that threatened to take his parents from him a second time. He gave an involuntary shiver and tried to shake the memory. From now on, he would keep them safe, no matter what the cost.
He glanced up the stairs, in his weakened state a daunting gradient, but up there the sanctuary of his own bedroom waited. Jacob was surprised by how much he had missed his own small space. Part of him longed to bolt up there now and climb under his duvet to hide from the world that demanded so much of him. But not yet.
Phil dumped Jacob’s bags by the front door and ushered him in to the sitting room. Jacob smiled to himself, knowing that his mum would tut in the same old way when she saw where he had left them. He loved that constantly bickering affection that they shared. Any moment now he would see her as she was meant to be seen - not weeping at his bedside or nursing a plastic cup of congealing vending machine coffee - but where she looked right, happy at home with her family back around her. His eyes were the colour of blue agate and his dad noted the change with satisfaction.
Jacob followed his dad into the sitting room, desperate to receive the hug that was waiting from his mum, and froze.
Maggie rose from the sofa as he had imagined she would do, but in the chair next to it sat his Uncle Dan, a six-foot-four giant grinning up at him.
Jacob wasn’t ready for this. He hadn’t seen his uncle since his parents had died-but-not-really, in a time that now didn’t exist for anyone but him. The sight of Dan’s huge frame crammed in the same armchair as the day when the police were waiting for him spiralled Jacob right back into the nightmare.
‘Are you alright, Jacob?’ Maggie stood him at arms length and appraised him, her forehead contracted into a deep frown. ‘You look a bit pale.’ She turned to Phil and said in a low voice, ‘I tol
d you he wasn’t ready for home.’
‘I’m fine, Mum.’ Jacob quickly collected himself; there was no way he was going back to the hospital. He forced a smile, despite the tingling of his scalp and shallow breaths that made him dizzy. ‘I’m just tired.’ He sat on the sofa. ‘Hi, Uncle Dan… where’s Aunt Carol?’
‘Home. To be honest, I just called round to see your dad about something. I didn’t know you were coming out today, but when your mum told me the good news, I thought I’d invite myself to stay. Don’t mind, do you? Only I didn’t like to come to the hospital…’ he gave an exaggerated shiver. ‘Those places make me feel a bit nervous. No offence…’
‘None taken.’ Jacob grinned at his uncle, feeling slightly more normal again. Uncle Dan had an infectious good nature that was hard to ignore. ‘Can’t say I’m that keen either.’
Dan leaned back in his seat and scratched his beard. ‘How are you then?’
Well, Uncle Dan, I nearly died. I spent ten months of my life in a coma. I lived through my parents’ deaths and then watched them come back to life again, creating a parallel universe in the process. I’m being stalked by a psychotic alien with serious vengeance issues who is intent on killing me and my entire family. I’ve just found out that I’m not actually human. I’ve been told I’ve got to leave my home and not tell anyone where I’ve gone and never return so that I can watch out for a load of soppy beings on another planet. Oh yeah, and on top of all that, I can’t stop thinking about my best friend’s girlfriend.
Jacob gave a wry smile. ‘I’m fine, Uncle Dan. Glad to be back.’
Maintaining the mask of normality had been harder than Jacob thought it would be. It was bad enough coping with his mum and dad, but Uncle Dan’s frequent and hearty laugh scraped at Jacob’s frayed nerves, despite his good intentions. Jacob wanted nothing more than to retire to his cosy space upstairs alone to collect his thoughts and make plans. He was glad to see his uncle finally leave.
‘I think I’ll go and lie down, if it’s alright,’ Jacob told his mum as she rinsed some mugs.
