by Alexie Aaron
“Yes, your majesty,” Ted said, bowing before her. “Let them eat gluten-nut-free cupcakes while we dine on cherry nut wedding cake.”
Mia giggled and pulled out her phone.
~
“Come on, Mia, we’re going to be late,” the little girl insisted.
Mia rose, confused but certain she was having another dream. She was dressed in a blue dress and a white pinafore tied in a big bow behind her. The shiny leather Mary Jane shoes she had on caused her to slip on the carpet of the hall.
“Rough them up on the cement and you won’t slip,” the girl suggested.
“What’s going on?” Mia asked.
“We’re going to be late for school.”
“I’m too old for school,” Mia protested.
“You’re never too old to learn,” the young girl insisted. “Come, Mia, we have to hurry.”
Mia walked down the stairs where another girl waited for them. She opened the door and walked out.
Cid woke up to the distant sound of an alarm. Years of bad eyesight had left the man with an overdeveloped sense of hearing. He got up, pulled on some sweats and went in search of the sound to turn it off.
Ted, relieved that Mia had stopped tossing and turning, fell into a deep sleep. He had been worried that the migraine she was having hadn’t been squelched by the medication Dr. Walters had prescribed. Mia had gone to bed crippled with the pain. When Mia settled down after repeated position changes on the bed, Ted assumed that the meds had kicked in and she was finally able to sleep.
The cold chill of the night air enveloped Cid. He rubbed his arms to ward off the cold as he jogged to the PEEPs truck. Ted must have left something on inside, and it was sounding an alarm. Probably a battery drain; it had happened before. Cid pulled up the back of the trailer door and climbed inside.
An automatic program had booted up on the main computer, and the screen flashed a warning. Cid took one look and left the trailer, running towards the farmhouse. Mia was oobing.
Ted heard the pounding of footsteps on the stairs and sat up as Cid burst into the room.
“What the hell?”
“Mia’s oobing. The computer says she’s been oobing for an hour now. I heard the alarm. It took me a while to find out that it was the computer in the truck.”
Ted listened as he put on the light and examined Mia. She lay still as a corpse. Her breathing was shallow and her extremities were cold. He quickly pulled heavy woolen socks over her hands and feet.
“Did she leave you a note?” Cid asked, searching through the clutter on the nightstand.
“I don’t think she did this on purpose,” Ted said. “She’s all drugged up on migraine medication,” he explained.
“Ring the bell, find Murphy. Maybe he can track her down,” Ted ordered.
Cid ran down the steps and out into the yard. He pulled on the bell cord and prayed Murphy had recharged enough to help them.
“I can’t go in there,” Mia protested, digging in her heels, stopping herself. “I’ll get my new shoes muddy.”
The two girls that held either hand shook their heads. “We know a way, come on, we’re late,” they said in chorus.
Murphy heard the bell. He had been tracking some coyotes north of his property. He looked up, and judging from the night sky, he became alarmed. Why would the bell ring at three AM?
He rushed to the farm to find a blue-tinged Cid pacing in order to stay warm.
Murphy tapped his axe on the ground.
“Good, you’re here. Mia’s out oobing. The alarm says she’s been gone about an hour. Ted says she was in no shape to walk anywhere, let alone out of her body. We think she’s dream oobing.”
Murphy tapped out that he would find her. A relieved Cid ran into the house to warm up and put on weather appropriate clothes.
He moved quickly to the vortex. He didn’t see any disturbance there, which was a relief to the farmer. The vortex would have taken Mia miles away in seconds. Stephen relaxed with the realization that she was on foot. He was well aware that bilocaters moved faster than ghosts. Speed-wise Murphy knew he was at a disadvantage, but if Mia was stumbling around, blindly acting out a dream, then he was confident he would be able to find her. He walked back to the house and studied the two worlds in which he inhabited. In the physical world there was no indication of Mia, but in the ether he saw subtle distortion waves hanging in the air. It was as if a wake had been left in water by a slow moving boat. He followed the wake, increasing his speed until he caught sight of her.
“Who are you, where am I?” Mia asked stopping, trying to shake off the grip of the two girls.
“Come on, you’re going to be late!” insisted the girl on the right. This time she grabbed hold of Mia’s arm hard.
“Late for what?” a male voice asked.
The girl dropped Mia’s arm and turned around. Their jaws dropped open, and their eyes fixed on Murphy’s axe.
He spoke, “I ask you again, late for what?”
Mia turned around and ran to Murphy. He pushed her behind him. He stood his ground and waited to see what the spirit girls would do.
“We want Mia to come play with us. She can talk to the spirit in the woods. We need her,” one said.
“Mia or the spirit in the woods?” Murph asked, feeling Mia tremble behind him.
“Both. It’s time, it’s finally time!” the two said together.
“You go ahead. I’ll bring Mia. I know a faster route. We will meet you at the school. Mia has to ask permission first,” he said calmly.
“Oh, okay,” the blonde child said, reaching out her hand to the other girl before they disappeared.
Murphy turned to Mia. “You’re not dreaming. The sprites pulled you out of your body. Let’s get you back to Ted.”
“But you promised the girls I would be at the school.”
“Explain this all to Ted and Cid, and if they think it’s okay, we’ll go to the school. But we’ll travel by vortex,” Murphy insisted.
Mia nodded. She gripped his hand and allowed him to pull her along. She felt a bit silly dressed as a seven-year-old. She tried to morph into her own persona, but she lacked the energy.
Mia gasped as she forced herself awake. Ted rushed over and took her in his arms. She took a moment to feel the warmth of his arms before speaking, “I was kidnapped by kids. Something’s happening now at the school, and they think I need to be there,” she said and explained what she had gone through.
“The spirit in the woods? Could that have something to do with the witch the children talked about?” he questioned.
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I’m a bit fuzzy and way out of my comfort zone. My oob self is wearing a pinafore and shiny shoes.”
“It’s probably better than what Ralph has planned for you,” Ted teased.
Mia hugged Ted. “You always know how to make me feel better. Murphy thinks I need to go to there tonight,” she explained.
“What do you want to do?” Ted asked, pulling away and looking into her eyes.
“Follow the white rabbit,” she said honestly.
“Then go with Murphy. I’ll bring your body to the school in the truck. Cid will help.”
“Ted, I have to tell you something first.”
He saw her face cloud with worry.
“Go ahead; you know you can tell me anything.”
“The vortex, it makes Murphy very real. Last time we traveled together, things happened.”
“Tell me.”
“I was having trouble with Burt at the time. Murphy and I… well …we had a moment.”
“Burt said you made out.”
“Kissed, that’s all, I swear!” Mia said raising her hand, miming a Girl Scout promise.
Ted took a deep breath. He knew that there was a strong attraction between Mia and Murphy. He was aware that they had some kind of agreement between them not to act on their desires. He trusted Mia but knew that if she was voicing this concern, she wasn’t sure of her side of
things. “Minnie Mouse, don’t you think it’s time to find out where your heart lies?”
Mia opened her mouth to speak, but Ted but a finger gently to her lips, stopping her. “You have all your emotional memories back. You need to find out for yourself that I’m the man for you. I can’t bind you to me with a ring if your heart belongs to someone else.”
“Can I talk now?”
He nodded.
“I love you, respect you, and am consumed by you. If I thought for one moment that I was making a mistake in marrying you, I wouldn’t have said yes. But I agree with you. Don’t worry, Ted, you have more going for you than a pulse,” she said and kissed him tenderly.
“Well, Alice, your rabbit is waiting,” Ted said.
Mia lay back down and stepped out of her body. She turned and looked at Ted and saw the tears of fear he had been holding back start to roll down his face. She stood there wishing there was no place to be. No Murphy to resist, just her and Ted and a normal life. But there were children waiting, and not much time left to fulfill the promise she made to them. She moved quickly out of the house and to the vortex where Murphy and fate were waiting for her.
Chapter Sixteen
Murphy waited while Mia scratched out a map in the dirt beside the vortex. She closed her eyes, pictured where she needed to be and the nearest ley lines to take her there. She also prayed for strength. She looked down at the map and watched as the lines in the dirt glowed orange and moved on their own. Mia grabbed Murphy’s hand just as the vortex sucked her in.
Ley line travel was rife with problems. If she and Murphy didn’t stand close together, the fluctuations of energy could split them apart and send one of them far from where they both wanted to be. Mia was all too aware of the heat of Stephen’s body. Here the laws of physics didn’t matter. Dead was alive and alive was dead. She felt him put his arms around her and pull her close to him. She smelled fresh rain-washed leaves, a scent she attributed to the farmer. She felt as she always had with him, safe. What Mia didn’t feel was desire. She smiled and thanked God for this.
Stephen Murphy enjoyed the feeling of Mia standing so close to him. He didn’t have to worry about her coming to harm this way. He was unaware he was being tested. With Mia he felt a love and a kinship. She had brought him so much. It’s not that he wouldn’t have wanted things to be different between them. It just didn’t seem that important anymore. He had such a rich death with the family he had accumulated through her. He didn’t need to possess her to know she would always be a part of him.
The lights slowed around them, and Mia sensed it was time to depart the line. There were no clever announcements or brightly lit platforms. The ley line simply ended and hurtled Mia and Murphy to the ground. They found themselves a mile north of their objective. Mia got up quickly. Murphy looked around him and wished that there was more light to travel by. He didn’t want to diminish his energy by glowing for Mia. Instead he took her hand, and the two of them moved swiftly through the starless night towards Himmel Elementary School.
Cid drove the PEEPS command truck while Ted cradled Mia’s body against him. Conversation was difficult because Ted was lost in dark thoughts. Cid managed to get small answers to questions about why Mia needed to get to the investigation site using the vortex. She and Murphy would already be there in Cid’s estimation. He and Ted, however, had yet to clear the hollow.
“What surprised me is that the children came for Mia. How would they even know where to find her?” he asked.
Ted didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know. How do French ghosts communicate with the Chinese?”
Cid was puzzled by the reference, but Ted was talking so he continued to make conversation. “I used to think the ether was confining. As we have seen many times, souls get trapped on their way to what they feel heaven is. Others rule the ether with power and menace.”
“Those are fueled by energy, negative dark energy,” Ted commented as he adjusted Mia’s head which was lolling sideways.
“These children don’t seem negative at all. Could we be witnessing the power of a positive energy?” Cid questioned, pulling the truck out on the highway.
“It stands to reason that in order to have balance, you need both sides. So if evil has a hold, it seems to make sense that good would also have a say in the ether. Himmel acts like a beacon, but I don’t think the building fuels itself. I sense something older, something that has been waiting for a long time to emerge. It may be the power source needed to bring all the children together.”
“If it was so powerful then how come John Ashe and the other children remained trapped in the woods?” Cid argued.
“I’ve been thinking about that. Remember when we were having so much trouble in school, and our parents didn’t know anything was wrong?”
“My mother sure was clueless when she sent me to basketball camp,” Cid said.
“I think that sometimes we don’t see what is going on right next to us. We miss the clues. So this power source could be oblivious to the fate of the six children and may have assumed that they wanted to stay there in the woods with it,” Ted reasoned.
“I think you’re projecting your fears into this,” Cid said softly.
Ted turned his head and looked at his best friend. “You heard?”
“These ears are great in investigations, but they put me in a difficult place sometimes when people are trying to have a personal conversation,” Cid admitted. “Before you yell at me, dude, let me tell you what I think.”
“Go ahead,” Ted said.
“I’ve watched Mia and you together. I have the advantage of seeing the way she looks at you when you’re not looking. She loves you.”
“She loves Murphy too…” Ted whispered.
“True, but it’s not the same kind of love. Mia rolls her eyes when Murphy does something contrary and odd. When you do it, she takes it in, and glows with pride, before she bursts with laughter. Now that’s just Mia. Murphy and I’ve developed a rapport…”
“Oh really, those taps give you entry to the man’s soul?”
“No, but we’ve been able to have a conversation. He doesn’t stop talking to me when Mia walks by. He doesn’t talk about her unless it’s business, or I’ve brought her up. You forget I’m alive when Mia’s in sight. I know too much about your relationship. Mia this and Mia that. Mia came to you with her fears. She wouldn’t have if she didn’t hold you in the highest regard. What I’m trying to point out is…” Cid stopped speaking as he navigated the entry to the expressway.
“Well?” Ted asked. “Don’t leave me hanging…”
“What?” Cid asked. “Oh, as I was saying. What was I saying…”
“So help me, I’m going to throttle you,” Ted said between clenched teeth. “You were going to unveil your brilliant observation on Murphy and Mia…” Ted led.
“That’s right. Murphy loves Mia, but he’s not in love with Mia. Mia isn’t in love with Murphy. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t try to come between their friendship, you’d have a fight on your hands, but I believe our spectral friend isn’t out to poach your fiancée, nor is she interested.”
“Doctor Freud, thank you for your enlightened observation. But I’m not going to start celebrating until I see her… well, all of her,” Ted said, looking at her resting form. “To be honest with you, Cid, you have eased some of my fears. As for the accidental eavesdropping… I’m going to soundproof the house, especially the bedroom.”
Cid laughed. “Dude, at least put on some music. Some nights it sounds like feral cats…”
Ted wasn’t embarrassed. Mia would have been mortified, but Ted and Cid had been friends too long for him to take offense.
The two little girls waited for Mia on the front walk of the school. They grabbed her hand, and instead of going into the school, they led Mia in the direction of the woods. Murphy followed them, ready to step in if he felt Mia was in danger.
They moved past the remains of the burned-out house. Mia saw John Ashe an
d his sister sitting on a retaining wall of the excavation. He nodded his head as she went by.
“Can I ask where are we going?” Mia asked.
“We’re going to see her,” the smaller of the girls said. “We’re going to see the first Em.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She means we are going to see the first teacher of children,” the other girl explained. “She was the first. Listen to her, Mia, she has much to tell you.”
The girls let go of her hands and skipped on ahead. Mia slowed so Murphy could catch up and walk beside her.
“You heard the girls?”
He nodded.
“I’m not sure what is going on,” Mia confessed. “This could be an elaborate prank by the children. Or it could be something very important. Either way I have goose bumps on top of goose bumps.”
“I’m here, Mia,” Murphy said.
“I’m glad.”
Mia stopped. They had come to the place where she had fallen. Her father had excavated down a few feet, carefully scraping the earth with his trowel.
“Mia,” Murphy said to get her attention.
She looked up and instead of seeing the woods as it was, with all the overgrown brambles and trees, she saw a neatly kept garden. Squashes and pumpkins clung to the vines waiting for their fall harvest. The herbs were frostbit but still managed to produce fresh leaves beyond the blackened stems. Mia and Murphy watched as a small stone cottage appeared. There was smoke coming from a central chimney, and a light shone brightly in the front window. The door opened, and a woman of sixty came out on the porch.
“Come, Mia, Stephen, it’s time for lessons,” she called.
Murphy’s hand felt different in hers. Mia turned to see a young lad of ten or eleven standing next to her. He pulled at a stiff collar and kicked the dirt with his polished shoes. He looked over at her surprised. “You’re a child,” he said.
“You’re a child,” Mia repeated as she ran her hand across her chest. “Yep, I’m a kid alright. Fu…”
