The Innocent

by Michelle K. Pickett

  I reached over the counter and pressed the hold button on her phone. “Route twenty-three? Please. It’s important.”

  “The bus just left,” she snapped.

  “Where’s it going?”

  “The children’s museum to see the dinosaur exhibit…”

  I was out of the office before she could finish the sentence. I ran to Chay and Ben. “Let’s go. Hurry.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Something is going to happen to a bus that just left for a field trip.”

  “The fifth graders. They get to do everything. They’re going to the museum to see the dinosaurs. Like the rest of us don’t want to see the dinosaurs, too.” Ben flopped back in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest.

  I jerked the car into gear and pressed hard on the accelerator, the tires squealing on the pavement.

  Ben sat straighter in his seat. “Whoa, cool, Milayna.”

  I pulled out of the parking lot and turned onto the main road leading downtown, scanning the road for the yellow bus as I drove. Weaving in and out of traffic, I pushed the speed limit way beyond its legal limit.

  “Do you see it?”

  “No,” Chay answered.

  “Is there another way to the museum?”

  “Well, yeah, but this is the best way from the school. Has the vision changed?”

  “No. I still see the same bus and hear the same… well, you can figure that part out. And I see a car… blue. It’s going to run a stoplight. Wait! No, the bus driver runs the stoplight.”

  “What else do you see? Look around. Can you see what corner it is?”

  “No.”

  “There it is.” Chay pointed.

  The bus was in the far right lane. I was in the left lane. We were on a four-lane road in the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic. I forced my way into the next lane, earning a few honks and some fingers to go with them.

  “Um, he’s lucky his mom didn’t see that finger,” Ben said, looking out the window at a teenaged driver I’d just cut off.

  I smiled. He’s lucky his mom doesn’t know he isn’t in school where he belongs.

  I sped up and drove right on the tail of the car in front of me, putting my turn signal on with the foolish hope that someone would let me in. It was no big surprise when they didn’t. So as soon as there was the tiniest bit of space between the cars beside me, I nosed into it and forced the car behind to slow down and let me in—or hit me. Another round of honks and fingers abounded. I had one more lane to cross, but I needed to be in front of the bus before I did. The car in front of me was going faster than the cars in the lane to my right. I was beside the bus. I could see the route number in the window and the kids laughing and talking in their seats.

  “Ben, get in the front seat.”

  “Why? There isn’t room for me.”

  “Sit with Chay. Don’t ask me why. Just do it.”

  “Milayna?” Chay asked.

  “Yeah, um, I think we’re gonna have a bus up our ass in a minute. But don’t worry. In my vision, no one gets hurt.”

  “Oh. Okay. No worries then.” He helped Ben over the seat and buckled them both in.

  I passed the bus. There was just enough room for me to squeeze between the bus and the car in front of it. I swerved into the lane. I could see a stoplight ahead. Taking my foot off the gas, I started to slow down, forcing the bus to slow behind me. I kept my eye on the traffic in the next lane. I didn’t want her to dart over into that lane, but we were going too slowly for her to maneuver something so large into the faster traffic.

  We cruised closer and closer to the stoplight.

  Andy’s Gas ‘n’ Go… Screeching tires….

  “This is the corner. I see the Andy’s Gas in my vision.”

  I eased my foot off the gas, slowing down further. The bus followed too closely behind me. The light turned yellow. I braked. The bus didn’t slow…

  “Hold on!”

  By the time the bus driver realized the light was red and I had stopped, it was too late. Her brakes squealed. The tires skidded across the pavement before the front of the bus plowed into the back of my car. Metal crunched as my trunk was pushed into the backseat of the car. The back end was lifted in the air by the front bumper of the bus, and the car was scooted out into the lane of oncoming traffic.

  Ben screamed. Chay wrapped his arms around him, holding him in place. The impact made my head meet the steering wheel, but otherwise, no one was hurt—in my car or on the bus.

  When the car rocked to a stop, I took a shaky breath and looked at Chay. “Please tell me your vision is gone,” he said.

  “Yeah, it’s gone.”

  He nodded his head, pushed the car door open, and climbed out.

  Metal scraping against metal… Something hitting me… A green pick-up… Spinning….

  “Take Ben. Chay! Take Benjamin. Hurry, Ben, hurry. Get out with Chay.” I pushed Ben out the door just as the green pick-up came into view. I didn’t tell Chay about my new vision. There wasn’t time. I had to get him and Benjamin out of the car as quickly as I could. Chay would’ve stayed. So I didn’t tell him what was coming.

  As soon as Ben cleared the car door, I yanked it closed and lay across the front seats. The console dug into my stomach. I buried my face in the cloth passenger’s seat, covered my head with my hands, and tried to relax my muscles. I’d heard that bracing against impact could cause more damage. Of course, I didn’t have the slightest idea if it were true or not, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t relax.

  The green pick-up didn’t slow down. I knew it wouldn’t. It hit the front driver’s side of my car at full speed. The driver never touched his brakes. The impact dislodged my car from where it was rammed into the front of the school bus. I could feel the car spinning, and I could see it spinning in my vision. I could feel everything happening to me, but I could also see it as it was happening—like I was watching a movie—through my vision.

  The car finally jolted to a halt. I scrambled up and tried to open the door. The frame of the car was too mangled on the driver’s side. The door wouldn’t open. I climbed over the console and tried to open the passenger’s side door. It didn’t open either. I made sure it was unlocked, then I pulled the handle and shouldered it hard. It gave way with a loud groan. I scrambled out of the car and sprinted toward Chay—who was running toward the car.

  “Turn around,” I yelled. The first flame ignited. Chay skidded to a stop and reached out for me. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me with him to the far corner, away from the car.

  The second flame ignited. And then I smelled it. Gasoline. There was a slight breeze blowing toward the curb. Just a hint. Just enough of a breeze to fan the flames licking at the car—and to guide the leaking gasoline right to where we stood.

  “It’s Himmel,” I yelled over the approaching sirens, shouts, and screams of the kids from the bus.

  “Which one is he?”

  “Air and sky.”

  “Huh?” Chay looked as confused as I felt. My head was pounding. It felt like someone had dropped an anvil on it like in cartoons. I wanted nothing more than to lie down and close my eyes for just a minute. I didn’t care if I lay on the hard pavement, just as long as I was lying down.

  “He’s making the breeze blow the gas in our direction. It’s going to ignite any second. We have to move away from these people. If I’m right, wherever we move, the gasoline will follow.” I started running down an alley parallel to the road.

  “Where are we going?” Chay swung Benjamin onto his back and carried him piggyback as he ran easily beside me.

  “To find Himmel.”

  Chay stopped. “Say that again.”

  “I’m going to find Himmel. If you want to keep Benjamin away, that’d be great. Get him as far away from the crash site as you can. If what the hobgoblins say is true, the demons’ powers only extend so far. If you get far enough away, he won’t be able to touch Benjamin.”

  “Their powers only extend so far. And y
ou think he’s around here somewhere? So you are going to go look for him?”

  “That’s my plan.”

  Chay let out a breath. “And what are you going to do when you find him?”

  “Kill him just like I did his brothers.”

  “And if he sees you coming before you can? Then what’s your plan, Milayna?”

  “I didn’t say it was a perfect plan. I just said it was a plan. If you have a better one, I’m open to suggestions.”

  “How about the three of us get the hell out of here?”

  “Because he’ll make me pay. He’ll hurt those people out there, those kids. He’ll do something… and I’ll know it was because I didn’t stay and fight. Knowing something happened to someone else, something I might have prevented, is worse than dying. Living with the knowledge that someone else was hurt, or worse, would kill me over and over every day of my life… and he knows it.”

  Chay adjusted Ben on his back and shook his head. “You aren’t the protector of the world. You can only do so much—”

  “I have to do this.” Turning, I ran down the alley, leaving them behind, dodging dumpsters and boxes of trash. I tried to pace myself. I didn’t know how far I’d have to go, but I figured when I didn’t feel the breeze any longer, I’d be close.

  A loud roar reverberated through the air. I jumped and twirled around in time to see a ball of flames rise above the buildings, facing the road where I’d left what remained of my car.

  Damn it, Himmel. I liked that car.

  “He doesn’t know we left.” Chay walked up behind me.

  “No.”

  “Demons aren’t omnipresent. There was never anything you could do about that gas leak. Himmel never knew you left the scene. He thinks we’re toast right now,” Chay said, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “Where’s Benjamin?”

  “There’s a little donut shop around the corner right there. I gave him a twenty, told him to order as many donuts as he wanted, and to wait for us there.”

  “Chay, he needs someone—”

  “No, you need someone. You can’t go after Himmel by yourself. Even if he thinks you’re dead, he’s still a strong demon. You need someone to watch your ass for you… and I personally love that view of you so I think I’m the perfect guy for the job.”

  I laughed. “Okay, okay, let’s go kill us a demon.” We got ready to run when it hit me. “Wait, feel that?”

  “No.”

  “Me either.” I looked through the opening of two buildings.

  “What aren’t we feeling, exactly?”

  “The breeze. Remember I said the breeze was blowing the gasoline toward us? Himmel is the demon of the air and sky. I figured once I stopped feeling the breeze, it would mean I passed him or was coming up beside him.”

  “It could also mean that he blew up everything and figures he doesn’t need to blow his little breeze anymore.” Chay raked his hand through his hair.

  “Well, there’s that, too. C’mon.”

  We walked down a small service drive connecting the alley to the main road. “You look right and I’ll look left. Make it fast,” Chay said.

  I darted my head in and out quickly. Turning, I flattened my back against the brick wall of the building. My breath came in fast, painful gulps.

  “That way is clear.” Chay turned to look at me. “Damn it. He’s down there, isn’t he? That’s why you’re all pale and breathing hard? You don’t breathe that hard when we’re making out.”

  “Stop joking around,” I whispered. “He’s right there.” I pointed.

  “Is his back to us?”

  I nodded.

  “So what are you waiting for? Do you want me to do it?”

  I shook my head. “You look.”

  He darted his head around the corner and slowly backed away, pulling me with him. “Let’s go. We’ll get Benjamin and get outta here.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing, Milayna!” Chay whispered through clenched teeth. Actually, if a person could whisper and yell at the same time, that was what Chay was doing. “There are at least a dozen demons surrounding him and half a dozen demi-demons. We’re way, way outnumbered, outmatched, out-skilled, out whatever adjective you want to insert. We’re leaving before we find ourselves in a really bad situation.”

  “But I only have to get near him for a second, and the demons will back off as soon as they see the dagger.”

  “The demi-demons won’t. They aren’t scared of your little toy. It doesn’t hold the same power over them as it does the pure demons. Now isn’t the time, Milayna.”

  “You’re right. Let’s go.” I turned and quietly picked my way around the dumpsters and other garbage in the alley. Turning, I raised my eyebrows when Chay didn’t follow me. I motioned to him with my arm. Chay caught up to me and we made our way down the alley. “What were you waiting for back there?”

  “Nothing. I was just rendered speechless and immobilized by you actually agreeing with me.”

  “Ha-ha.”

  We reached the donut shop and went inside to pick up Benjamin.

  He wasn’t there.

  “What do you mean, he isn’t here?” I asked the worker behind the counter. “Where’d he go?”

  Oh, no, no, no. What have I done? I never should have left him.

  “Lady, I don’t know. I’m not a babysitter. Some guy picked him up. The kid seemed to know him.”

  I could feel a lump growing in my throat, making it hard to talk.

  Keep it together. You have to stay clear-headed to find him. You can have your breakdown after you find him. Think, Milayna, think. Oh, Benjamin. I’m so sorry—this is my fault.

  “What’d he look like?” I was biting the inside of my cheek, trying to keep from crying.

  “Black hair. Tall.”

  Xavier. What is he doing here and what does he think he’s doing taking Ben?

  “Thanks,” I said over my shoulder, running toward the door.

  “Where should we start?”

  I skidded to a stop when I saw the police lights swirling ahead of us. “We probably should go back to the accident scene, but I… Ben… I don’t know…” I rubbed my temples with one hand; the other was on my waist, trying to squeeze away the stabbing pain in my side. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Okay, listen. I’ll go to Xavier’s and see if Benjamin is there. I’m sure that’s where the idiot took him. You go take care of what you need to at the accident scene. I’ll call your cell as soon as I have Ben.”

  At my nod, Chay started running toward our neighborhood. I jogged to the accident scene to give my statement to the police. At least with Benjamin missing, I had a legitimate reason for leaving the scene.

  It took over an hour with the police. Another thirty minutes for the tow truck to show up and my dad to pick me up.

  “What the hell happened, Milayna?”

  “I had to stop the bus from running the red light, Dad.”

  “And the only way you could do that was to let it hit you? You could have been seriously injured.” His voice rose with each word.

  “I knew we wouldn’t be. I saw everything in my vision. But the kids on the bus would have been hurt if that driver had run the red light.”

  “Where’s Ben?”

  “Um… with Chay.”

  Oh, please let that be true.

  My stomach lurched at the possibility that Chay hadn’t found Benjamin. Sweat beaded on my forehead.

  He’s with Xavier. Xavier loves Ben. He wouldn’t hurt him… He’s safe. There’s no need to get all worked up over it. So why do I have such a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach?

  We drove the short distance home. I bit my nails all the way, silently willing my phone to ring. For Chay to call and tell me he found Ben with Xavier and he was safe and well. Every second that went by, my insides swirled a little more out of place.

  We were about three blocks from home when my vision blurred and my head started to pound. I knew what wa
s coming. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or terrified to see what the vision held. It might be about Ben. It might be that Ben needed help and that was what terrified me. Or it might be that Chay had Benjamin and all was well… but that wasn’t how the visions worked. They didn’t deliver good news. They were messages of things that were about to go wrong—messages of how to make them right. So if I was going to have a vision, it wasn’t going to be good.

  Chay… Ben… the smell of sulfur….

  I sucked in a breath. Not good. I felt my muscles tense, and tried to relax into the vision. I needed more information. Where were they? Who were they with?

  Xavier holding Ben… he’s smiling… a glowing hole… a sickly gray arm reaching out…

  A hole to hell. A demon reaching out? For whom? Benjamin? The hobgoblin’s words rang through my head again ‘after you’ve watched everyone you care about die…’”

  “Ben,” I whispered.

  I opened my mouth to tell my dad we needed to go to Xavier’s house, that something was very wrong, when my cell phone vibrated. I looked at the message and let out a breath.

  Chay: Got Ben. No worries.

  I tried not to run into the house when we pulled into the driveway, not wanting my dad to know there was anything wrong. I wanted to talk to Chay and see what the deal was before I told my dad anything.

  “Well?” I asked Chay as soon as I got a minute alone with him.

  “Xavier said he just happened to be in the donut shop and spotted Ben.” Chay shrugged.

  I chewed on my thumbnail. Chay looked from my eyes to my teeth nibbling on my cuticle, and back again. Gently, he moved my hand away. “Do you believe him?” I asked.

  Chay threaded our fingers together. “Don’t have any reason not to, I guess.”

  “I had a vision about you and Xavier.”

  “What about?”

  “There was a glowing hole and a demon reaching out of it. You and Xavier were there…”

  “And?” Chay prodded.

  “And Ben.”

  Chay nodded. “We know Azazel wants Ben, Milayna.”

  Yeah. And why aren’t you more upset when I tell you I had a vision of a glowing hole to Hell and you?