by Patra, CS
“Thank you, ma’am.” Crystal nodded, leading everyone up the stairs. It took them some time to make it up there because there was a lot to see. There were several paintings and pictures on the walls. The bannister itself looked like polished gold with the way it shone under the light. The staircase seemed to take forever with how big it was.
“This really does feel like something that came out of a fairytale,” Jackie said, admiring one of the paintings on the wall. It was a picture of the Blackwell family that had been taken when Ash was still a toddler. He looked so cute with his dimpled smile while holding a small stuffed elephant. There was his father, looking proud and strong. His mother was actually smiling for the camera and she seemed so serene and soft. There was another little boy who looked very much like Ash. This had to be his older brother, Harrison. They both had the same blue eyes, defined chin, and big dimples on their cheeks. It was hard to believe that a few years later, this same boy would end up committing suicide. To this day, no one would know why.
“Ash looks so adorable in that shot,” Crystal noted. “He’s actually smiling in it. Then again, he has no idea what’s going to happen later.”
“People get cynical when they get older,” Nikhil said. “I don’t blame Ash for ending up the way he did. Anyway, let’s go see him.”
Ash’s door was slightly ajar when they finally made it. Misty gently pushed it open and saw that Ash was busy trying to weld something. “Oh, sorry! I forgot to knock!”
Ash stopped long enough but didn’t turn around. “It’s okay. No one ever knocks. At least you didn’t burst into my room and grab me from behind like my girlfriend did. Just come on in and find yourself a place to sit. If you need more chairs, you can go to the next room and pull some from there.”
“What are you working on?” Ren asked, taking a look at his work space. It was large and could fit at least fifty people in it. It was a little messy due to all the things that were on the floor. He did have chairs in the room so they all took their places. “How come you closed up your window?”
“I usually do that when I’m working in the evening.” Ash lifted his goggles and turned around. “Sorry for the way I look. I didn’t get a chance to wash up.” Instead of his usual fancy clothes, he had on an old green shirt rolled up at the sleeves, jeans with faded knees, and a pair of Converse sneakers. Everyone just stared at him and he had no idea what to make of it. “What?”
“I’ve never seen you dressed down like this before,” Nikhil said. “You’re usually well-dressed and clean and you look like you’re made of a million bucks.”
“I’ve worn casual clothes in front of you.”
“Yes, but...you look so...so...” Misty tried to find the right word for this. “You look different, but a good kind of different.” She picked up one of the elephant figurines on his desk. “You look like your age.”
“Be careful with my figurines. They can break easily. As for the way I’m dressed, don’t get that impressed. I’ve been trying to work on this project for a while. I can’t seem to get it to come out right,” he murmured. “The top half is fine but the bottom half jams. I might have to start all over again.”
“What is it for?” Crystal asked.
“You remember that underground arena that we went to last night? I signed up to participate in their next battle and I put the project aside after that guy died. It’s high time I got back into it. I’m just not satisfied with how it’s coming out.”
“I see,” Pam murmured, deciding to change the subject. “We met your mother downstairs. It was tough trying to convince her to let us in. I don’t blame her. I would be suspicious if someone my age claimed to be a friend of my son’s.”
“Don’t let her intimidate you. My mother is a very proud woman, but she’s only that way to hide how she feels inside. She did lose her favorite child, after all,” Ash muttered. “Ever since I found out that Harrison killed himself, I’ve wanted to know who he was talking to. It doesn’t sound like anyone we’ve already met.”
“Do you think finding her will answer your questions?” Jackie asked. “What if she doesn’t want to be found?”
“Well, tough luck for her. She might have answers that we’re seeking for too,” Nikhil said. “Where do you think this woman is?”
“Who knows? She could be miles away.” Crystal said. “We need to find out who it is first.”
Pam hated that she was curious to see the video. Still, it was worth a shot. “Honey, I’m going to ask you something that you may not like to do. Do you still have the video?”
“It’s in my room.” Ash nodded. “Why?”
“Do you mind if we see it? Maybe we can figure out who that woman is.” She turned to Misty. “If you want, you and Misty can step out…”
“No, I can stay,” Misty said. “This won’t scare me. I’ve seen worse things.”
“I’m immune to the video now,” Ash added. “You can watch it a million times in front of me. In fact, let me go get it. I’ll get changed in the process.”
Once he left, Pam turned to the others. “He’s hiding his true feelings.”
“Of course he’s hiding his true feelings. The poor kid is hurt,” Ren said. “He’s trying to hide it with this bravado and it’s not really working. Underneath that posh and proud appearance is a kid that’s dealing with a lot of shit.”
“Aren’t we all?” Crystal sighed. “I’m not sure if this is a good idea.”
“I don’t really like it either, but maybe it could hold some answers for us,” Pam mused.
Ash popped the video into his computer and turned it on. They saw a boy who looked very much like him enter a room with his knuckles bloodied. He looked like he was running out of time. There was indeed someone else in this room, but her picture was never on screen. From the looks of it, Harrison did know who she was and had been in contact with her for a while. He kept looking at his hands and crying. Pam looked over at Ash and said that he was pretty stoic. The shock of this video had already worn off on him. Instead, he was just locked on his brother’s last moments.
“It doesn’t matter what happened to me. This is over. We can’t keep doing this anymore. I don’t want to put my family in danger especially not Ash. You must promise me that you can’t tell them about this. I don’t want anyone to know. For Ash’s sake, he must not know what I’ve been up to. Destroy all this as quickly as possible. Make sure nothing is around. I don’t want anyone finding out what I found out. I don’t want them to know. Do it for yourself if not for anyone else.”
“Why are you doing this? What did they find out?”
“They know everything. They will come after Ash unless I disappear. You cannot tell my family what I’m doing. Please. Get rid of the evidence and I will get rid of myself. You know nothing, okay? If they ask you anything, you don’t know what happened. We never had this conversation.”
“...All right. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to disappear. I don’t have a choice in this matter. I have to keep Ash safe at whatever cost.” Harrison went off screen at that moment and his voice cracked. ”It was a pleasure knowing you. Please do not say a word to my family about it. I need to make this look like an accident. It will be easier for them to accept.”
The video ended right there and Pam had to take a deep breath. Harrison Blackwell clearly knew more than anyone else did. He had the answers that they were looking for. The person who knew what went down that night was the other woman. It didn’t sound like Marie or Dr. Chang. It didn’t even sound like Patty.
Pam looked over at Ash who had paled a little, but kept his composure. She could tell that this video had hurt him again. He was desperate for answers but was stuck. Until he found this woman, he had no idea what to do. She wanted to reach out and give him a hug. He would probably refuse it but he needed some love. It was clear he didn’t get much of it in his own family.
“Wow!” Doug whispered once the CD was out of the computer. “The truth is all
over that video.”
“Yeah, it is,” Ash agreed. “My parents don’t even know. They still think Harrison’s death was an accident. They have no idea that he wanted to die. To this day, I can’t figure out why. I don’t know why he had bloody knuckles. Who was he fighting before he came into the room? My brother never hit anyone in his life.”
“Maybe he hit the wrong person,” Ren said. “It’s not a reason that someone would kill themselves though.”
“I don’t doubt that our friends at Project 99 have something to do with this,” Jackie said. “Your brother knew more than you did at that time. He wanted to keep it a secret.”
“Unfortunately, that secret wasn’t kept. I know everything,” Ash sighed. “I always knew I was different. I just couldn’t figure it out. I still wonder what would have happened if my brother stayed around. What if…”
Pam didn’t want to hear any more of it. The pain in his voice was too much. He could try and hide it all he wanted. The proof was deep inside of him. She got up and put her arms around him. “It’s okay, baby. We all want to know what might have been. We can’t change it, but we can move forward.”
Ash looked up at her. “You’re hugging me.”
“I know.” Pam didn’t let go or apologize for it. She pulled him in closer and rested her chin on top of his head. It was clear that he was not used to this. He was trying to squirm out of her grasp but she wouldn’t leave him.
However, there was another feeling in the air. She was suddenly seeing things and the room had changed. She could hear everyone’s voices, but all she could see was memories. She saw Ash as a little boy playing with Harrison. She saw them running around and laughing. She began to feel all of his emotions rushing through her body. She could feel all his tension and his confidence surging in her veins. It was though they were melting together.
“Pam! Ash!”
Those voices pulled her out and she let go of Ash at that moment. “Huh?! What happened?”
Ash looked at her. “What’s going on? You were holding me and I saw a whole bunch of scenes that don’t make sense!”
“I was seeing a bunch of memories of you,” Pam said. “I was feeling what you felt. It was like we were becoming one…”
Nikhil nearly fell over when he heard that. “Oh my God! Do you know what that was?!”
“No! What was going on?”
He took a deep breath before answering. “I think you were starting to fuse.”
Chapter 16 – Doug
It was so shocking to see a fusion almost take place. The two of them were almost melting into each other. Doug wanted to know what would have happened if they hadn’t been snapped out of it. Ash and Pam kept looking at each other, trying to figure out how this happened. Pam touched his shoulder gingerly and he shuddered. There was a feeling in the air that made them uncomfortable.
“That was just weird,” Misty said. “I’ve never seen anything like it and I don’t think I want to.”
“Are you sure it’s a fusion?” Pam asked. “I don’t feel any different.”
“I’ve got a lot of different memories in my head,” Ash said. “They’re definitely not my memories. I felt a lot of different things inside my soul. There was a warm, tingly feeling and then I felt like I was hit by something strong.”
“Same here. I was feeling happy and then I felt like I dove down into darkness. What do you think all that means?”
“I think it means that you were feeling all of Ash’s emotions and he was getting all of yours,” Nikhil said. “I read that can be a part of fusion. You start seeing things that should be in the other person’s mind, not yours. You began to feel their dreams and desires. You learn everything about them. It’s almost like you’re learning about them through osmosis.”
“How did they pull that off though?” Doug asked. “Pam hugged him and they just started to fuse.”
“Yeah, I was just feeling bad for you,” Pam said. “You looked like you needed a hug. I decided to give you one. That’s when it all started. I was holding you and wishing that I could make the pain go away. I may not be your mother but I hate seeing anyone so sad.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I wasn’t sad and I didn’t need a hug,” Ash muttered. “I appreciate it but it’s unnecessary. Watching that video just makes me want to find out who did this. I know Harrison wouldn’t just end his life. Something triggered inside of him.”
“Well, this is big,” Crystal said. “This is the closest any of us has gotten to a fusion. At least, we have an idea of what it’s supposed to feel like. Do you think you can do it again?”
“I wouldn’t risk it,” Ren said. “You saw what happened to those other fusions. We’re lucky that these two were able to pull away when they did. I bet if we ask Patty, she can give us a better explanation. She can tell us why this happened.”
“Let’s go to her house now,” Misty suggested. “I bet she’s still around and we have plenty of time.”
“I’m okay with that,” Doug said. “We can go there for a little while and see what she has to say.”
As they were heading downstairs, Mrs. Blackwell was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. “You took an awfully long time up there.”
“It’s okay, Mom. We had to search long and hard.” Ash said, going to the closet and finding his coat. “I have to go out for a little bit but I will be back.”
“Ashton, stop slouching!” She scolded him, going over and trying to wipe some dirt off his face. “What is this? Didn’t you wash your face?”
“I did wash it! Let me go!” Ash was turning beet red thanks to his mother trying to remove dirt. “You’re embarrassing me!”
“It’s better that I take care of this than have you go out looking like a ruffian.” She took a step back and nodded with approval. “It’s not the best but it’s going to do. You may go out but remember that we have an important meeting at eight-thirty. I need you to be there. Our future depends on it.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“It was a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” Doug said as they were leaving. He had picked up a random book in Ash’s room to prove that he was looking for something. “I found what I needed! Thank you for allowing me to come in!”
“Take care of yourselves.” It didn’t sound like she meant it. If anything, she seemed relieved that they were leaving now.
Once they were outside, Crystal turned to Ash. “What kind of meeting do you have?”
“Oh, we’re meeting with wine sellers again,” Ash sighed. “I don’t know why they insist I sit in on this. They’re trying to get me to follow in their footsteps but I’m trying to make my own path. I have no bedside manner to be a good doctor and I have no interest in wine. I’m not even old enough to drink it yet. You can imagine how bored I get.”
“You have doctors for parents and they sell wine as well,” Ren noted. “I can see why you’re sitting on a pile of money.”
“My life isn’t exactly a cushy one. Yeah, I have the money, but I don’t have much else.”
Doug could feel things getting tense so he decided to change the subject. “You know, you guys were asking me about Fahrenheit 451 last time. I reread it over the weekend and found something strange in the back cover. I’m not too surprised by that since that’s where I found that vault key. There were some strange equations on it. I was wondering if you guys could take a look.”
“I can try and figure it out,” Nikhil suggested. “Did you bring the book with you?”
“It’s in my car. You can read it while we’re on the way to Patty’s house.”
Doug got behind the wheel of his car while Nikhil took the passenger seat. Behind him, Ren and Ash took the back seats. The girls were all going in Pam’s car. Nikhil flipped through the pages and went to the back where all the codes and equations were. “Huh! You weren’t kidding about this! These are some complex equations. I haven’t seen anything like this in years.”
“Does it make any sense to you?”
“Not
really. They solved the equations, all right, but that doesn’t tell me anything. There’s also a code here. There’s no guide to helping me figure it out though. Maybe it’s a message, but I have no idea what it means.” Nikhil handed the book to Ren and Ash. “Do you guys think you can put this together?”
“Oh, I love decoding stuff!” Ren exclaimed, looking at the symbols that were written. “I see what you mean though. This is going to be tough. Let me see...” He pressed down the book’s back cover and tried to find symbols that were alike. “I’m making a wild guess here but anything that repeats is probably a very common letter. Think Wheel of Fortune. It’s probably an R, S, T, L, N, or E.”
“That isn’t going help much,” Ash said. “Are there some words that are two or three letters? That could help narrow some stuff down.”
“Yeah, there are but those could be any two or three letter words,” Ren said. “Let me see if there are some that repeat. Then those could be a common word like ‘the’. Do you have a pen?”
“There might be one back there in between the seats,” Doug said. “If there isn’t, we can wait until we get to Patty’s place.”
Ren dug through the space between the seats and found a pencil. “All right, I got something! The end’s a little blunt but it will work. Now it’s time to see what this says. Years of watching game shows, don’t fail me now!”
Ash rolled his eyes in response. Doug focused on the road ahead and hoped that Ren could break everything down. They needed to figure this out. They needed to know what these words meant and what this could lead to.
It was possible that their lives depended on it.
Chapter 17 – Ren
Ren mulled over the puzzle while the others were talking to Patty. He had figured out what three of the symbols could be. He saw them repeating throughout the paragraph so he assumed they were an T, H, and E. He began to fill out other places where similar symbols were. So far, he had a ton of ‘the’ in the paragraph and a ‘he’ in a few areas. Other than that, nothing else made sense.
