Being Grey (Beings Trilogy)

by Gina Keliher

Thomas explained a lot to me that night; he was my mum’s mentor and meeting another person like mum and I took some of the scariness away.

  Looking back on it, it seems like an extraordinary thing to introduce to a six year old. There have been times since, when I’ve sworn that I will never introduce my child (if I have any – no plans at the moment) to my work so young. But now I realize that it was the right choice. I grew up accepting it, before my mind had really taught me what was right or wrong. And I’ve also learned since that the earlier we accept our abilities and what we must do with them, the stronger we become when we do ‘come of age’.

  That was my first lesson. And there have been so many since. After that birthday, I joined the gymnastics team. I started taking karate lessons when I was eight. At 10, I learnt how to shoot a gun at the manor. That’s how I met Poppy. There she was in her designer gear. I remember laughing that her headband matched her jacket. It was some sort of green check. We still laugh about that now. She invited me over to ride her horses the following weekend, and we’ve never looked back.

  Whilst mum and Thomas taught me lots, my second real lesson didn’t come for five years, when Poppy and I were introduced to Adrian and the rest of the gang.

  He was already mentoring Annabel and Stefan, and Robbie and Luke had recently moved in after the death of their parents. I remember very clearly how he had us all state our names and had then left us alone to get to know one another.

  Naturally it had been Poppy who had broken the ice.

  “I smell.” She had said.

  “I didn’t notice.” Stefan had replied.

  When we eventually stopped laughing Poppy had managed to explain that she had meant she sensed people’s Beings through smell.

  We in turn detailed how we encountered our first damned Being; me through sight, Robbie through pain, Stefan through body temperature, Annabel through taste and smelly Poppy.

  “What do you call the in between people?” Stefan had asked.

  “Mushrooms.” Was Annabel’s reply which resulted in us all giggling again. “They don’t taste like fillet mignon but thankfully not blue cheese either.”

  “Ah, don’t even mention blue cheese to me.” Smelly Poppy had replied.

  “I call them greys.” I had mentioned matter-of-factly.

  “I like that. Sounds kind of alien, ET Close Encounter ish.” Robbie had replied.

  And it had stuck. We have the pure, the greys and the damned.

  It’s difficult to explain what it’s like keeping this secret I have. It’s all I’ve ever known so I can’t compare it to anything. It’s just my life. I think of everyone without my ability as the odd ones.

  I hope I don’t make it sound like we’re killing someone every other day, because we don’t. I was introduced to this life at 6, and in the last 11 years, I have only seen few people actually die.

  I’ve seen a ‘Gifted’ push a damned Being in front of a train. It shocked me, but it was done so quickly that no one else noticed at all.

  Another time it was a damned Being that my mother killed. I can only liken the shock of this to seeing old people really kissing. I mean a going-for-it kiss! We all know they do it, but we don’t have to see it, do we?

  Then there was the young man that my still impounded car cut in two at the petrol station.

  And of course the very first one, the night of my sixth birthday with mum.

  Chapter Six

  “Hi Mum, I missed you.” It’s gone nine o’clock now. After Jason left, I’ve sat and stewed about it for an hour, and decided that sometimes with problems like this a girl just needs to talk to her mum. I may have a mentor for times like this, but when your mum only lives a few doors down its much easier. Besides, I love this woman so much it hurts if I don’t speak to her every chance I get.

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” Why do mums always say that?

  “I just wanted to ask a few questions. Is dad about or can we chat alone for 5 minutes?”

  “He’s in the study working on a speech for next week. He won’t come out until he’s hungry and we just had dinner, are you hungry?”

  “I just had dinner with Jason Burford.”

  “Oh my goodness. Jason Long Legs? How is he? Did he ever grow into those long legs of his?”

  I know when I’m 35 my mum will still make me blush at boy talk. I can tell her anything in the world, but still, it is mum.

  “Yup, legs look good. As does the rest of him. All except his Being.”

  “Damned?”

  “Dark grey, actually. And he was with Adam.” I get a frown at that. “Jones?”

  “The bully?”

  “You have a good memory!” I laugh.

  “I always have!”

  “Well, Adam’s Being is damned.”

  Mum nods slowly, “Tea.” She says, and sets about making us both a brew. Over a cup of tea I explain that after Jason moved back from Cardiff he had met up with Adam. This surprises us both as they weren’t really friends when they were younger. I tell mum about Jason’s expression when I asked had he killed anyone yet.

  “Jason used to be such a good boy. He always used to follow and protect you when you were young. Perhaps it’s your turn? But that does mean you’ll have to dispose of Adam.”

  “I know.”

  To my surprise, my mum tells me about a story about when she dated dad. My dad is not ‘Gifted’. He works for a big shipping company in the city. When they were dating, my dad was in the Navy and one of his crew had a damned Being. Mum had to kill him. When my dad later proposed, my mum didn’t feel comfortable marrying him without telling her secret. She even told him about killing the crew member. No surprise that my dad thought she was crazy and they’d broken up for a while. Months later they’d met up at one of Poppy’s mums ‘do’s’ and my dad told her he still loved her and would she recount her crazy story. She’d run out of there crying as she couldn’t be dishonest and Lady Howard had spoken to my dad. Mum has no idea what was said at that meeting but Lady Howard has a way of dealing with everything, she’s hierarchy. Mum and Dad were married a few weeks later.

  We had another cuppa while I told her about Glen and about Robbie taking care of the boy on the train and then I went up to my old bedroom. There’s nothing better than waking up to mum making bacon and eggs for breakfast.

  Chapter Seven

  Adrian sighs deeply. He always has a strange look about him when given something to think about. Leaning back in the chair, he’s as still as a statue. If not for his breathing, you’d think a taxidermist had worked on him. We are alone. Robbie and Luke are food shopping.

  I’ve told him about Jason and Adam, brought him up to speed.

  “We need the others.”

  It takes about thirty minutes for them all to arrive and the waiting was done in complete silence. Adrian is patient. I’m not. I’ve got so many questions spinning around my head, it’s a wonder I didn’t break anything with frustration before the others got here.

  Poppy was the last to arrive Thank God she was shopping in London for the ‘do’. When she enters, she brings with her eight large glossy bags full of rustling tissue paper. Usually, she’d be pulling out the prizes and showing off, but she knows when it’s business time.

  When she’s seated, Adrian nods solemnly. He’s tells them my tale.

  “So just to clarify, Alice’s school girl crush now has a virtually damned Being and his friend, the school bully, now has a totally damned Being?” Annabel asks incredulous.

  “It’s not uncommon to come across old acquaintances whose circumstances have changed.” Adrian replies. “In fact, sadly, it’s all too common.”

  “But what can we do about it?” I ask.

  Adrian smiles, “A lot, or very little. For Adam, there is no going back. Once a Being is damned it can’t be undone. For him to have changed, he must have done something very serious.”

  “Like kill someone?”

  “Yes.” Adrian nods, “That would defi
nitely be enough to change someone’s path for the worst.”

  “But what about Jason?” Poppy asks. She sounds as lost as I feel.

  “It shouldn’t be too late for him. But that will depend on a number of factors. First, is it him that has given up doing the right thing or is he being influenced? Both boys have changed. Adam’s Being is now damned where it was once a dark grey. And Jason’s is now dark grey where it was once almost pure. Perhaps both boys have been influenced?”

  “I thought that it may have been Adam that altered Jason.” I say quietly.

  “A reasonable theory. But there is another option.” Adrian pauses, as though for effect, “There could be a dark one at play here.”

  “A Dark One, a destroyer of reason and logic?” Stefan teases, quoting one of his favourite Robert Jordan books.

  Adrian continues, not to be interrupted with his train of thought just yet. “There are also people with your abilities but with damned Beings. They promote evil. The same way that we can pour light into others to see the good in our kind, they pour in darkness.” He stands and stares out over the city. “For generations we have promoted and assisted those with pure Beings. Which individuals the bankers should place their money in, which teachers should school our children.” He shrugs. It’s such a small movement that it’s almost invisible. “They do the same. They show those with most promise where they can make their fortunes –through street crime, violence, theft. They are building their numbers as we try to eradicate them.”

  “So what’s the opposite of ‘Gifted’?” Robbie asks.

  “A loan?” I try

  “Or to take?” Annabel questions.

  “I like that one better. Let’s call them ‘Takers’ Adrian.” Poppy adds.

  “What if it’s too late to save this Jason? What if there is a ‘Taker’ out there and they realise his potential for something evil?”

  “It’s not too late for him.” I say the words quickly, maybe too dramatically. They all look at me as I’m standing defiantly. I don’t remember standing.

  Adrian frowns.

  “I understand you’re interest in this boy, Alice.” He says.

  The room falls silent, but all eyes are on Adrian now. I sit back down again. Poppy slides her hand over mine and gives it a little squeeze. I love this girl.

  “I have taught you all I can about destroying them, how to cover your tracks; how to make it look like an accident or a suicide; how to even distance yourselves from the kill. But there is one more lesson for you to learn.”

  “I’m not learning the Tango.” Stefan smiles brightly. We all laugh. It’s broken the tension.

  Adrian smiles, “No. You don’t have to learn the Tango. But you do need to learn how to selectively hunt. There are times when we need to use those with damned Beings to draw out the people mentoring them, to get to the ‘Takers’. There are times we need to keep damned Beings alive.

  “When you encounter the damned, they are unaware of you. We have the advantage of surprise. You will sense a ‘Taker’ by a feeling of being drained, weakness. The first time it will take a while for your strength to return. Be very careful at this point. Don’t forget their ultimate goal is to kill you.”

  “I felt a bit sick, but that was more to do with the shock than anything else.” I say.

  “Adam is not a ‘Taker’, Alice. You would have known if he was.”

  We’ve all gone very quiet. Stefan can’t think of something funny to say; Poppy isn’t laughing and Annabel doesn’t have any input. We’ve lived all of our lives knowing that our main purpose was to find good people. There was always the element of danger, the ‘dark side’ involved, but this has elevated that danger. This is serious. Really serious. But is Jason worth taking the risk over?

  I picture him in high school, tie pulled loose and his stupid cute little grin. Yes, worth the risk.

  “Then we if all agree, let’s keep Adam alive and go for the ‘Taker’.” Robbie sounds too enthusiastic.

  But we all nod. A moment of silence follows before Stefan says, “And on a lighter note, Glen got offered his job, so celebration party Sunday!” We all break into smiles.

  Chapter Eight

  I’ve done the unthinkable to Poppy. I’ve invited Annabel over for lunch. Poppy arrived home twenty minutes ago, and it’s taken me that long to drum up the courage to tell her.

  “Please Poppy don’t give me that look. I thought it would be nice for the girls to get together and giggle about boys before my date tonight.” I plead.

  “The girls are already here. The girl troll is on her way over.” She pouts.

  We don’t hate Annabel by any stretch. And making fun of her is just our way of releasing a little of the tension that’s still left over after our meeting.

  Even though she’s pulling the most miserable face ever she starts giggling before I do. “She’s not a troll.” I try, hoping this doesn’t turn into a full scale scathing attack. “But yea, she does look a little like one.”

  “Big foreheaded troll with buggy eyes” she’s giggling so much it’s almost hurting her now “and a jutting out chin.”

  Annabel doesn’t really look like this. Unless you squint slightly. Naturally that’s when the doorbell rings so we have to try and compose ourselves. We both run to answer the door and as we open it we take one look at Annabel, look at each other, and then break out into giggling fits again.

  “What’s so funny this time?”

  For no reason at all, that just makes us laugh more. Poppy has to take a bathroom break so I’m left to make up some lame excuse as to why we’re both crazy.

  “We were just guessing what colour blouse you’d wear and we were both wrong. Silly really.” I attempt.

  “Yes.”

  Eek, no more giggling with that response.

  “I thought we’d just go to the café around the corner if that’s ok with you. I wanted to fill you in on my date tonight and ask you for some older girl advice?” Trying to be nice.

  “Sure. I’d enjoy that.” Wow, did she just smile at me? Is there really a girl inside the troll? Oh no, am about to start giggling again so run upstairs to change my shoes.

  We’re seated next to the window in the local café. I love people watching from here. Living in Wimbledon, I always expect to see god like tennis men strutting about in their white shorts but truthfully, it only gets crazy here for 2 weeks of the year, and there’s no white shorts. Just wet people wearing cagoules and eating strawberries.

  “So, you really like this Jason then?” Annabel asks.

  “I, I don’t know. I used to think I’d marry him when I grew up but that was a long time ago. He certainly looks good but obviously he’s gotten in with the wrong crowd. I don’t think you can know if you’d like someone after one dinner.”

  Annabel and Poppy look at each other and start laughing. I’m shocked. One, I didn’t know Annabel could laugh but more importantly two, she’s laughing with my best friend. About me!

  “I don’t think you can know if you’d like someone after one dinner.” Poppy imitates shrugging her shoulder and fluttering her eyelashes. I didn’t do that. Maybe once.

  “OK. He’s cute. Really cute. And I got jelly legs. Did I really look like that? The way Poppy looks when she hears the name Stefan?” You know when you say something and wish you could take it back?

  To my surprise, Poppy doesn’t look mad. On the contrary, she has that faraway look that means she’s daydreaming about their wedding day.

  “Yes, pretty much like that.” Annabel laughs.

  We tease each other for a while and I’m really surprised at Annabel. She’s usually so bossy and a know-it-all but the mention of boys and she becomes as giggly as me and Poppy. I like this side of her.

  Annabel continues, “Did you ever see Robbie with his shirt off? Now that’s really something. Almost illegal but 5 years from now you’ll be fighting the ladies off him.” This catches me by surprise. I think of Robbie as a (not much) younger brother.
“And he’s fast. We were out one night and I saw him move towards a damned Being. Literally came at him with such speed and just punched the guy right in the chest. I bet the medical examiner is still wondering what killed him with such force.”

  I have a moment of unease. If anything ever happened to Luke what would become of Robbie?

  “What are you going to wear tonight?” No prizes for knowing Poppy asked that question.

  “Uh, jeans and that blue blouse I had on last week I guess.”

  “I don’t think so.” They both squealed in unison.

  So off we go to rummage through stores to find the appropriate ‘darrrrrling’ little dress for tonight.

  Chapter Nine

  “I’m not nervous. I’m petrified. I have been on dates before but not with long legged gorgeous Jason. Who I may either fall in love with or I’ll kill. And I’ll definitely kill his friend. Just not as quickly as I’d hoped. Does it mean I’m crazy that I’m holding a conversation with myself out loud?”

  I look in the mirror and apart from the look of horror on my face, I look good. The girls talked me into buying a red dress. It’s got a plunging neckline that I know I’m going to either be fidgeting all night with or I’ll end up taking my ‘old faithful’ black cardigan with me and throwing that on. Its knee length and sleeveless and I’ve got my black shoes on that I wear only on special occasions where I won’t have to walk too far for fear of death by crippling. I want my jeans.

  “You look beautiful.” I turn away from the mirror and there’s Poppy on the verge of tears.

  “Oh come here silly. I’m not going to run away and marry him and leave you.” I hug her like only best friends can.

  “But he’ll fall madly in love with you looking like that.” She suddenly bursts with a smile. “The good news is his Being will rot with all the disgusting thoughts he’ll have!”

  There’s a knock at the door so we run downstairs and Poppy hides in the kitchen when I open the door.