I help Eli into the living room and set him on the couch. “What the hell happened, man?”
“Honestly, I don’t remember much of anything. The doorbell rang, and no one was there, but there was a cell phone on the ground playing a movie or something.” He grabs the bottle of water I offer him and takes a long drink. “Then there was a sharp pain in my neck and everything went black.”
“We all have to be more careful,” I warn. My phone buzzes in my pocket. “McNab.”
“What’s going on there? Do we know anything yet?” he asks.
“Yes we know that we can add another threat to the list.” I inhale a breath. “We had a close call this morning.”
“Is she okay?” The worry in his tone is unnerving to me.
“She did fine, but there’s cleanup.” I walk out onto the driveway away from Eli’s disapproving look. “A lot of cleanup, level six.”
“Carl, the scale only goes to five. What happened?” he asks, bristling up to a panic.
“That kid that's been stalking her came after her, and she did some real damage.” I think for a minute. “Well at least that’s what the blood spatter patterns tell me.”
“Jesus.” I can feel the concern rising in his voice. “And she really did okay?”
“McNab, she’s doing a damn good job on her own. She’s fine physically, but I’m getting very concerned for her mental state. She’s starting to get cold.”
“She’ll come back ‘round,” he says with certainty. “She has to.”
“Well, she made the call that we don’t involve the cops and clean up on our own.”
“How bad is it?” he asks, not really wanting the answer.
“It’s pretty bad. You remember Tijuana?”
“Schizophrenic chupacabra?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I inhale.
“Oh shit.”
“Wes and the boys are getting it cleaned up.” It’s nice not have to be on cleanup anymore.
“Okay, I want that whole scene cleaner than baby Jesus’ rectum after a three day enema and a baptism.” He’s regaining his composure.
“You got it, boss.” I try not to sound condescending.
“I’m about to get on the plane, I’ll be back by morning.” I can hear the frustration in his voice.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll send you a message if there are any new developments.”
“Carl?” He sounds young and vulnerable like when I first met him.
“Yes?”
“Please take care of her.”
“You know I will.” The call is disconnected and Wes comes out wearing yellow kitchen gloves and carrying cleaning solution.
“Are Pitch and Quag not helping?” I ask. Poor Wes always gets the shitty end of the stick.
“They aren’t here,” he answers, spraying the concrete.
“Where are they?”
“I’m not sure, I got a call to meet them but I got lost. I came back here when I couldn’t get them on the phone to confirm the address.” He stops what he’s doing and looks up at me.
“Where were you supposed to go?” It’s all coming together that we were all meant to be out of the house. Bailey is far more calculating than I originally gave him credit for. I’m not sure how exactly he’s been able to fly under my radar. I’ve never gotten anything from him other than being a little socially awkward and very obsessed with Shay. This operation puts him at a whole new level from delivering flowers in the hospital to get into her room.
It makes me question my abilities. Am I slipping? Will I be able to protect her? There’s no telling, but I think I may need to take some time to refocus when McNab gets back. I know he needs me. But I should be on top of things. I should be fit and in fighting form.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Eli breaks my train of thought. I turn to find him bracing himself in the doorway.
“Wes is on cleanup, McNab will be back tomorrow and we need to get her out of here for a little while.”
“Where is everyone else?” He nods his head toward Wes.
“I’m not sure, I haven’t heard from Harry this morning either, but it’s early.” My phone rings again.
“Pitch?” I answer.
“Yeah man, we’ve got a problem.” He maintains his cool demeanor even though I can hear the panic and irritation in his voice.
“Of course we do.” Eli looks at me and shrugs. “What have you got?”
“I think you’re going to want to come down here.” There’s an echo on the other end of the line.
“Where are you?” I ask him.
“We went to the address you told us to go to.” It’s always hard to tell whether Pitch is actually irritated with someone or if it’s just how he talks to people.
“What do you mean? I didn’t send you guys anywhere.” This is not good.
“You texted us this morning at four AM. You sent this address and said Wes would meet us. He never made it, by the way.”
“I didn’t send you any address.” It sounds like this could be some kind of setup. “Get out of there…now!”
“Dude, no can do. This is a crime scene and it’s loaded with huge EMF fluctuations,” he says.
“I appreciate your dedication, but I didn’t send you there. I have a bad feeling about this. You need to get out of there.” I can’t stress enough the importance of getting them out or they could be the next victims.
He doesn’t answer. I only hear a cacophony of noise; yelling, slamming and chaos coming from the other end of the phone. “Pitch!”
The phone goes dead and there’s nothing but silence. “Shit!”
“What’s going on?” Eli steps out the door, noting my concern.
“I don’t know, something’s happening and I have no idea what it is.” This is incredibly frustrating. It’s all gone completely out of control.
Wes comes back outside looking as white as a sheet. “Are you okay?” Eli asks, full of concern.
“I’m sorry, I-I-” He’s fumbling over his words.
“What is it?” I bark at him.
“I didn’t realize she was in the bathroom and…” The color returns to his face in full red blotches that travel up his neck.
“Oh.” Eli looks at him with a slight smirk.
“I’m going to make sure she’s okay,” he says, but stops short when a car pulls in the driveway. “Shit.”
“Shit is right. You get in there and get Shay ready to go; I’ll keep Trish out here.” This is the last thing we need is another unknown. We don’t need Trish seeing the mess in the house.
“Hey meat sac, Needle dick scurried in the house awfully fast when he saw me. What’s going on?” Trish slings her giant purse over her shoulder.
“He’s just leaving.” I position myself between her and the door. Wes goes back inside. He’s pretty skittish, especially when it comes to women.
“In a bathrobe?” She puts her hand on her hip.
“Yeah, well Shay had a rough night. He’s trying to get ready.”
“I came by to check on her. She wasn’t answering her phone.” She looks past me into the house.
“Why don’t you meet her for lunch?” I’m trying to think of anything to get her out of here.
“I want to see her now.” She’s insistent. I dig into her thoughts. I don’t care how big this fucker is, I need to talk to Shay. I need my friend.
“Listen, Trish. Here’s the thing. She’s still super fragile and isn’t dealing well with things that aren’t carefully planned. She’s sort of in a state right now. She’s got an appointment with Doctor Green at ten, why don’t I have her meet you at around noon?” I need to be careful with Trish now. She’s pretty fragile herself. I don’t know what’s going on, but she’s upset.
She stands and glares at me a moment before agreeing. “I guess that’s fine since she’s got an appointment anyway. Tell her to meet me at the diner on Palm Bay Road, but make it two thirty.”
“Perfect, that will give her plenty of time t
o spend with Doctor Green.” I put my hand on her shoulder, but it feels unnatural touching her. When my hand makes contact with her a dark chill travels through me. I wasn’t expecting her to have so much darkness in her. I knew she was unhappy, but this seems excessive.
“Okay, thanks.” She softens and the darkness subsides slightly.
“Hey Trish?” I ask as she’s walking toward the car.
“Yeah?”
“Be careful and take care of yourself. I’m sure Shay will be looking forward to seeing you.” I try to find something to say to make her feel better.
Trish sprays me with a disapproving look while thinking, Yeah, fuck you, fatty. I’ve had about enough of assholes keeping me away from my best friend, including the loser at my house.
Well I tried. Now back to the issue at hand. Let’s see how Wes is faring inside with the bloodbath. I walk in the front door and Shay is combing her long hair. She’s wearing a long sleeve shirt, which seems to be a bit much considering it’s already eighty degrees. I’m sweating like a white mouse in a tampon factory, and it’s only eight in the morning. “Hey darlin’, you know it’s hotter than the devil’s nut sack out there?” Speaking of Trish.
She smiles sweetly in response and looks away from me. “I know, I’d just rather be covered.” She rubs her arms absently.
“Sorry.” Nice Carl, you idiot. Get your wits about you and think.
“Trish wants to meet you for lunch at the Palm Bay Diner at two thirty, you up for it?” I ask, really hoping that she is. It will be good for her to get out and do something normal.
She looks to Eli. “Is that okay if we meet Trish?”
Eli’s expression sours at the thought. I give him a look that says he can’t say no. “Sure, if that’s what you want.”
Good boy Eli. “Then it’s a date, why don’t you send her a text confirming the time.”
Oh shit, text message. “Hey Wes, what was the address you were texted?”
Wes comes over and shows me his cell phone. “The thing is this address doesn’t exist.”
“Okay, get Lori on the phone and get their GPS coordinates.” This is bad. For some reason Wes was sent to a different address than Pitch and Quag. I call Pitch’s phone, no answer, straight to voicemail. Shit.
“Eli, have you talked to Harry this morning?”
“What’s going on?” Shay asks.
“No, I haven’t heard from him. It’s still early though.” He takes a moment to think about it. “I haven’t heard from him since last night. I told him to keep Miranda out of here for the night. I’ll call him.” Eli walks into the kitchen calling Harry.
“Carl, what’s happening?” Shay asks again.
“I’m not sure. We were all sent to different addresses. Which in and of itself wouldn’t be strange, but why would Bailey specifically send us to different places? It would have been just as easy to get us all out of the house by sending us to the same place.” I wrack my brain trying to figure out why he would do that. “You go get ready, you don’t want to be late for your appointment.” She smiles and turns to go back into the house.
Wes comes back in the room with a slip of paper. “Here you go. This is their last location.”
“Thanks Wes, make a run with me.” Wes looks at Shay and then the carpet.
“Don’t you think I should finish this up first?” He holds up the cleaning solution in the spray bottle.
“Yeah, you’re right.” I don’t want to leave Shay right now, but she’s just going to see her therapist. She can handle that on her own.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Uh Oh, A Fire
Shay
Going to see the shrink is the last thing I want to do. Honestly, when I play all the shit back in my head, even I think I’m crazy. I hope everything’s alright with Pitch and Quag; they’re strange, but they are cool guys. I would totally hang out with them even if I didn’t have a demon with a hard-on after me.
It sounds so ridiculous, but sadly it’s true. I tossed and turned half the night trying to figure out how to kill the Specter. Now Bailey is a threat. He’s ripe with the smell of the Specter; I feel his presence when Bailey is near me.
Studying my reflection in the mirror gets more and more haunting every time I do it. I see things in myself that I either missed or were never there. There’s a bloodlust in my eyes. Knowing that you’re capable of actually hurting someone is both empowering and difficult to deal with. If I had to kill Bailey this morning I would have.
I examine each mark on my face and find a little dried blood I had missed on my scalp. I rub it off with a wash cloth. It could be mine or it could be his. I shudder, thinking of how he felt on me. I should have been able to protect myself better. I should have known it wasn’t Eli sooner. This all confirms that I need to work harder, train harder. I’m going to become self reliant, able to take care of myself.
The reflection staring back at me is so foreign, like someone I don’t know anymore. It’s like looking at the memory of Aiden, standing outside myself looking in. I’m a witness to this spectacular disaster that is my life. Constantly surrounded by pain and death, I'm a threat to all of the people I care about. How many have suffered because of me?
The image in the mirror sneers at me, mocking me. She’s hardened and I already know that her decisions are going to be made out of fear. Fear of loss, fear of being discovered as weak, fear of fading into nothing. Part of me wishes I could go back into the void, stay and live in the misery there. Perhaps then I wouldn’t be a danger to anyone.
There I discovered an ability to deal with that fear. The terror out here of constantly wondering who will be hurt next runs through me like battery acid and I have to look away, ashamed of what I’ve become. So battered and bruised, I look like a victim. In the void, I wasn’t a victim. I figured it all out there, I learned the Specter’s game and beat him at it.
That’s it, that’s the answer. I have to beat him in there. I have to take him out on his turf. That has to be how to do it. There he walks in both forms, solid and vapor. If I can get him to solid form, I know I can defeat him.
I envision the portal. The sulfur and rotting peat stench fills the air. A small black hole appears behind me in the mirror, and it’s growing. A low level of blue light pours from the spot in long spiking beams that blanket the room in despair.
I’m impressed with myself that I can open the entrance to the void. I turn around to be sure it’s in the room and not just the mirror. Instinctively I reach up to touch it. My fingers brush the opening and it feels the same way it felt when I touched a dead rabbit when I was six. When I touch it again, the coldness flows up my arm, causing it to be discolored. The gray hue of death travels up to my shoulder. I jerk my hand away quickly when Eli comes around the corner.
“Shay! What are you doing?” He looks at me then the portal with a look of shock and disappointment.
I can’t tell him the truth, that I want to go into the portal to defeat the Specter. He’d never understand, and wouldn’t let me go. I catch my reflection in the mirror and I’m disgusted at the girl staring back at me about to lie. About to say whatever it takes to get what she wants, about to be weak and acquiesce to someone else’s wishes. “I’m going to go back to the void; it’s the only way for me to defeat the Specter.” The truth clipped the wings of the lie in the nick of time and flowed from my mouth much to my own surprise.
“What?” Eli looks at me, astounded by this revelation.
With my jaw set I answer him. “I’m going to stop the Specter. I’m going to do it in the void, the only place where he has a solid form.”
The pain in his eyes is unsettling. He’s at a loss for words and he’s taking the time to craft his response. He swallows down the lump in his throat and takes my hands in his, hanging his head. “Shay, I understand you need to do what you think is best.” He pauses for a moment too long.
I inhale a deep breath to start my diatribe when he puts a single finger over my lips. “Shhh. I s
upport you.” The pain in his eyes fills the entire room, piercing my soul with it’s sharpness.
I have to take a moment to replay his words in my head to be sure I heard them right. “You support me?”
He puts his hands on my face to look me square in the eye and with a tight smile says in a whisper, “I will follow you, be by your side, now and forever.”
“Really?” is all I can say. The fact that he’s said he believes in me amazes me.
“Yes, Shay.” He hangs his head and drops to his knees still holding my hands. “I will be with you; I will always find you when you’re gone. I never want to spend another minute without you. There is nothing that can ever keep me from you. Whether you’ll have me or not, I’m here. I’m with you, now and always.” He presses his head against my belly and I clasp him to me.
His words humble me into a near submission, as though I want him to beg me not to do it so I can surrender. “Surrender,” I whisper with my eyes closed tight.
“What?” he asks, looking up at me with his cobalt blue eyes.
“Nothing.” I try to wipe the tears from my eyes before he can see them, but it’s too late. I drop down to my knees because at that moment I need him to hold me. I want him to feel me yield to him, not that I won’t be doing what must be done, but just my general submission as a proclamation of trust.
“I love you, Eli.” I look up at him with a sappy grin.
He pulls me in tighter. “Loving you is all I know.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Crossing Over
Carl
The atmosphere at the warehouse is rife with death. Fear passes by me in thick molecules of sulfur and the smell of blood. Pitch’s rental car is parked in front and is surrounded by police cars, a CSI unit, an ambulance and two coroner’s vans. That’s never good.
The large bay door is closed, but the smaller door is wide open, lending itself to the flurry of activity going in and out of the building. The first body bag is wheeled out. I have to get in tune with everyone. Quiet the noise I don’t need to hear. Focusing has been hard lately, but with some distance from Shay I should be able to regain it.
INK: Abstraction Page 18
