The distinct sound of a toilet flushing preceded Halli’s “Woo hoo!” from a doorway half the distance across the room from the bar.
Johnathan laughed. I laughed. Lost in relaxed laughter, and surrounded by the comfort of the first place we’d been able to call home in a long time, Johnathan’s grip on my hand tightened and he pulled me to him. My breath caught in my throat as he wrapped his arms around my waist, then lifted me up and squeezed me tightly. His unrestrained joy and his arms wrapped around me so perfectly were my idea of heaven. He so rarely laughed, and we’d had so few moments of this kind of closeness.
I could have kissed Seth! On the cheek, of course. My first real kiss was saved for Johnathan. And every real kiss after that, too.
We spent the next couple of hours cleaning up, picking out our areas, and organizing our possessions. We checked out the stove and found that one of the burners still had gas piped to it. We discussed the plausibility of keeping the ice box supplied with enough ice to keep food cold, and decided it would be difficult at best. Halli came up with a brilliant solution. She gathered a few bricks, cast a freezing spell on them, and put them in the ice box. We wondered if they might actually stay cold in there for two or three days before we had to zap them again. Only time would tell.
Seth constructed a trap door over the stairs using broken boards from the room above. Meanwhile, Johnathan and Alec filled us in on what they’d found out on their information-gathering expedition.
“Some of us can register as siblings, stating we’re homeless. They can’t require past records that way,” Johnathan explained. “But, I think it would be suspicious if we all did that. As homeless students, we don’t even need a parent or guardian to sign for us. We asked a worker at a homeless shelter and she gave us a copy of the McKinney-Vento Act that says, basically, that schools have to register homeless kids even if they don’t have a parent to sign for them, or past school records, or proof of immunizations.
“As for those of us who won’t be registering as homeless, we talked to a couple of document specialists some thugs pointed us to. They said making fake school records wasn’t a problem … the problem is their asking price for doing so.”
“Yeah, I don’t know where we would come up with that kind of money,” Alec added. “They wanted like a hundred bucks per person!”
“I can probably get my real records,” Seth said in a hushed voice.
We all looked at him.
Finally, I broke the silence. “How?”
“Well, don’t be mad, ’kay? I sometimes contact my family.” We all sat in stunned silence. “They understand why I had to leave and they’ll do what they can to help us. I’ll have my mom mail them to our grocer friend. I might even be able to have her send my sister’s records for Paige.”
“Okay. Perfect. Thank you, Seth,” Johnathan said. I think we were all a little jealous that Seth’s parents understood and supported him as best they could. “One more thing, though.” Johnathan added as he turned to Halli. “You aren’t going to be able to join us at the school, Hal. You’re too young and look even younger than you are. But, we’ll find something for you to do to help, don’t worry.”
Halli’s face fell; some of the sparkle left her eyes. “I kind of figured I wouldn’t quite fit in as a high-schooler. I’ll help however I can, though.”
“Thanks, Hal. Okay, since Paige will hopefully be using Seth’s sister’s records, you guys’ll need to act as siblings. We’ll just need to find a parent to sign for you. Alec and I will be brothers. We won’t need records if we play homeless … and we are homeless. They’ll probably just test us for placement. I’ll go talk to Joe tomorrow to see if he can play dad for Paige and Seth.” Johnathan wiped at the sweat beading on his forehead. “I’m feeling kind of funny today.”
“Funny how?” I asked.
“I’m not sure how to describe it. I feel a little shut-in, like I need to be outside. I’m just a little sick to my stomach, too. I’m sure it’ll pass soon. It’s nothing, really.”
I wasn’t reassured. For the first time in a couple of days, I thought about the bite he’d received.
“Let me see your hand, John,” I demanded.
He bunched his eyebrows, surprised, as though he hadn’t thought about his hand wound for a while either. He held his hand out to me. It looked the same as it had a couple of days ago. My concern deepened when his hand started shaking. He pulled it back quickly, probably hoping I hadn’t noticed the tremors.
“See? It’s fine, Paige.” He smiled but his eyes showed worry.
“Johnathan, hold both hands out.”
Eyes rolling, he held his hands out to me, palms down. They both shook. He closed them into fists and shrugged. “It’s just because I haven’t eaten today. Don’t be such a worrywart.”
“I am worried about you. I’m going to get you some food. You stay put.” Yeah, I could be bossy at times.
I made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and brought him our last can of lemon-lime soda. He ate it all. He chewed each bite for too long and swallowed like he was forcing it down—like he had no appetite at all.
We cleaned up a little more. Halli and I focused on scrubbing the bathroom, while Seth looked for a way to rig up a shower in a back room that had probably been used for storage at one point.
Late in the afternoon, we all gathered at a table near the bar. Johnathan’s face was pale, with small beads of sweat on his forehead.
“I really need to get out of here for a while,” he said. “I didn’t plan on patrolling tonight, but I’m thinking maybe Seth and I should go try to contact his family. The sooner we get those records, the sooner we can figure out what’s happening at that school, and hopefully prevent any more so-called suicides.”
“Johnny, you aren’t looking so good, bud,” Alec said. He was the only one that called him Johnny. Johnathan hated it.
“I’m fine, Alice,” Johnathan said, a little defensively.
“Okay, whatever, man.”
I knew I wouldn’t be able to talk him out of going, so I just said, “I’m going with you. I could use an evening stroll.”
Alec and Halli wanted to come, too, so we gathered our gear belts, set our wards, and headed for aboveground.
e walked the two or so miles to Frink Park, where Seth had found an old pay-phone with rotary dial—and he’d apparently been able to use it before without it going up in smoke and flames, although it had crackled a lot and cut him off before he was done.
He called his parents collect. He was able to convince his mom to send the records we needed. He didn’t tell her exactly what we needed them for, but assured her it was for a good cause.
We decided to hang out at the park for a while before starting the walk back to our new home. This was one of our favorite parks. The seventeen acres gave us plenty of room to roam. It had a creek, wooded areas and hiking trails. We walked a little ways down a trail and stopped in a small clearing. In the center of the open space, a fire pit sat surrounded by a couple of benches made out of large logs. Johnathan stumbled up to a bench, and fell more than sat onto it. He was no longer pale; instead, his skin was flushed a dark red. He had rivulets of sweat pouring down his face and the hand tremors appeared to have extended to the rest of his body while intensifying tenfold.
I rushed over and sat next to him. I took one of his hands in mine; it was burning hot. I wiped the sweat from his brow, which was, unbelievably, hotter than his hands. “Johnathan! Oh my gosh, you’re burning up! Are you okay?” Dumb question, since he was obviously not okay, but I was near panic.
“I don’t know. I’m really dizzy and everything hurts. I feel like my skin is crawling. Something’s not right, Paige.” He looked at me with a desperation and fear I’d never seen before. Not from anyone, but especially not from my brave Johnathan. I was really scared.
The others gathered around us, concern written all over their faces, too. “What should we do?” Alec asked me.
“I … I don
’t know. We need to cool him off. See if you can find something to bring some water from the creek in.” My voice shook. It was cool outside already and about to become even cooler since the sun was getting ready to set. Johnathan was shaking uncontrollably. “John, maybe you should lay down.”
He gripped my hand with bone-crushing strength and I saw through the tears in my eyes that his other hand gripped the bench with equal intensity. His fevered eyes widened in terror. I could see his muscles undulating unnaturally beneath his skin.
“Paige … lock me in a circle. Do it now!”
“What …?” I hesitated.
“Now, Paige!”
I jumped up and looked for a place to draw a pentacle. The fire pit was surrounded by cement. I took out my chalk and drew a circle as big as I could in the limited space. I carefully and quickly drew the pentagram. As soon as my chalk made the last mark of the pentagram, Johnathan surged forward into the circle.
“Close it!” he choked out in a growling voice.
My heart raced and my hands shook uncontrollably. My mouth went dry as I tried to swallow. His eyes had turned a frightening yellow-gold color and his pupils dilated and constricted at a dizzying pace. I dug in my belt for a straight pin and almost dropped it before pricking my finger to draw a drop of blood to close the circle with. Halli stood nearby, and joined her power to mine to give the spell added strength.
The circle closed just as Alec and Seth came running down the trail.
“What are you doing?” Alec yelled, grabbing me by the arm.
“He wanted me to!” I yelled back, ripping my arm free and turning to face him.
“You guys, stop!” Halli yelled. “Look at Johnathan!”
We whirled toward him. Johnathan was in the throes of agony. His body doubled over, bent almost in half. And … he was changing. We stood watching, speechless, as Johnathan’s humanlike screams turned to animalistic howls of pain and rage. His body contorted again, and he bent to all fours like a dog, except his arms were longer than his legs. His bones shifted shapes, stretching his skin taut to the point I thought he’d rip right through it. Black furry hair sprouted in thick patches over his body. His already large muscles grew to enormous proportions, ripping his T-shirt. Claws erupted from his hands and feet, ripping through his tennis shoes. His teeth lengthened and multiplied and his face elongated into the shape of a deformed wolf. He snarled and then looked up at the now-risen full moon and howled in rage and lustful yearning.
“Someone’s gonna hear him. We need to put up some wards.” Halli, always the voice of reason.
I couldn’t move. The others set about putting wards up around our small clearing. I backed to the bench Johnathan and I had been sitting on just moments before and sat down hard. This is my fault. The changeling did this to him. Tears streamed down my face. I started to hyperventilate as the animal Johnathan had become screeched and howled and started to pound on the barrier that enclosed him. Each time a part of his body touched the invisible force field, a bolt of sheer blue power shot out from that spot.
Seth and Halli sat next to me, Seth’s arm around my shoulders. Alec knelt in front of me.
“Paige, slow down your breathing, you’re going to pass out,” Halli said gently.
I tore my gaze from the awful sight before us and sought solace in Halli’s eyes. She reached for my hands and squeezed them. “Breathe with me, Paige.”
I followed her pattern of breathing slowly, in through my nose and out through my mouth. It helped stop the numbness that had started around my lips, but did nothing to slow the sobs that now escaped my throat.
We sat that way, huddled together in silence, for several minutes. We stared at our leader, now reduced to a howling, slobbering monster. He began to claw at his face. Streaks of blood spilled from each rip of his skin, but his claws relentlessly continued to dig.
“Johnathan, no!” I screamed. I ran to the circle and begged with the Johnathan-creature. “John, stop! You’re hurting yourself! Please stop!” My hands clutched at my chest as the pressure built inside, ready to explode.
My pleading aroused his bestial instincts to a fever pitch. He re-doubled his efforts to escape the circle. His yellow eyes watched me, unblinking, unwavering. He licked his lips. Drool dripped from his jowls. Fear shot through me like rivers of ice through my veins. Animal instinct kicked in, my fight or flight mechanism urging me to flee. I shuddered and retreated into the trees. I fell to the ground and screamed in anger and fear; my arms covering my head and ears.
Hours later, Halli coaxed me out of the woods. Arm in arm, we walked back to the clearing, where Seth had started a fire in the pit to keep us warm and give us some light. The creature that had been Johnathan didn’t stop his screeching, or his howling attempts to escape until just before dawn. The moon fell in the sky and we could see the light of the sun as it started to light up the clouds to the east. He curled up on the ground into a fetal position and just rocked back and forth. A pathetic mewling sound escaped his throat.
Before the sun had fully risen, Johnathan transformed back into himself, his ripped clothing barely covering his body. He lay there, trembling, and my heart ached for him. For me. For us.
I broke the circle and laid my black pea coat over him. We all wore longer coats or jackets of some sort to hide our gear belts. I knelt next to him and reached to brush his hair out of his eyes. He flinched, closing his eyes tighter, then pulled my coat over his head.
I laid my hand on his shoulder. The trembling soon turned to sobs. After about five minutes of hearing his sobs and forcing myself not to cry, I pulled my coat back from his face.
“Look at me, Johnathan,” I said, tender but stern.
He didn’t try to pull the coat back over his face as I dabbed with my sleeve at his cheeks streaked with a combination of tears and blood. He kept his eyes closed.
“Johnathan, look at me,” I repeated.
He drew in a breath, then exhaled sharply. He swallowed hard and opened his eyes, looking into mine. I almost couldn’t stand the shame and sorrow I saw there.
“John,” I pressed on, my voice surprisingly unwavering. “I will find a way to fix this, I promise. This is my fault. I’m so, so sorry. I will find a way to fix it.”
Johnathan shook his head and sat up slowly. He took my hand in both of his and stared at them as he spoke. “This is not your fault. What … what happened last night? It’s all a blur.”
I didn’t want to tell him, to remind him, about the last eight hours or so. But he’d asked. And, maybe, he would know some answers. “You … you … changed, John. You yelled for me to lock you in a circle, so I did, and then you changed into … something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. Like a half-man, half-wolf … thing. You were very angry and clawed at your face and arms in frustration. I … I think you would have hurt us … and others … if we’d let you out. I’m sorry, Johnathan.” I’d been trying to hold back tears for his sake, but the memory of the creature full of rage tipped the scales and a few tears escaped and ran down my face.
“Please don’t cry, Paige. You did exactly the right thing. I could never forgive myself if I hurt one of you, or anyone else for that matter. I don’t know what’s happening. I think I need to go see Madame LaForte. She might know what’s going on and how to reverse it.”
He stood, as if he meant to go visit the old psychic right that minute. “Johnathan,” I said. “Let’s get you home and cleaned up, first. Then, I’ll go with you to see her.”
He looked down at himself, seeing for the first time his torn and ravaged clothing, his bare feet, and the wicked, self-inflicted scratches. He was dirty and blood-streaked. “I can’t walk through the city looking like this, can I?”
“No, you can’t,” Halli said. “Let’s go to the creek and clean you up a little. You can wear Alec’s jacket, but I have no idea what to do about shoes. Yours are torn to shreds.”
“I’ll just have to go barefoot.” He stood up
slowly, reminding me of an old man, and handed my coat back to me.
All five of us made our way to the creek, Johnathan stepping carefully in his bare feet. He stuck both hands in and splashed the cold water on his face and hair. He did the same to his arms, chest, and feet. Luckily, his pants had survived with only a few tears.
Alec’s denim jacket was a little snug on the bigger Johnathan, but it didn’t look too weird. The walk back to our Underground home was a quiet one and Johnathan’s feet were raw by the time we reached it. He had an extra pair of shoes stashed away, shoes he’d found in a dumpster. They were bright blue and yellow high-tops. They looked ridiculous.
I tried to convince him to rest a little before going to see our psychic friend, but he was adamant that he was fine to go right then. He needed information. I understood. I wanted information, too, but, I was exhausted and I could only imagine how much more so he was. When I saw that I wouldn’t be able to talk him into waiting, I insisted on going with him. The others wanted to go, too, but Johnathan told them all to stay, stating, “Stay here and get some rest. Madame LaForte will respond better if only two of us go.”
There was no hand-holding or talk of dates on this outing. Johnathan barely spoke a word as we walked through the downtown lunchtime crowds to Madame LaForte’s home. Johnathan knocked on the door and we heard a raspy voice yell, “Go away!”
“Madame LaForte, it’s Johnathan and Paige. Could we please talk with you for just a moment?” Johnathan asked.
“Oh, Johnathan,” she said in a softer tone. “Why didn’t you say so? Just a minute, I’m coming.”
The elderly psychic had a smile on her face when she opened the door. She really had a crush on Johnathan. “Come in, come in!” she said as she ushered us into the foyer. She shut and locked the door and then turned toward us. She laid her wrinkled hand on Johnathan’s forearm to escort him into her sitting room … and she stiffened. She shrieked in disgust, “You tricked me! You are not Johnathan! Get out! Get out! Get out!”
Five: Out of the Dark Page 6
