The Book of Elements

by Cynthia Woods

  He needed to alert Caeli, but still did not want her to know that he was here. Vin moved very close to the younger man who was slightly taller and thinner than his cohort. Instead of trying to move the man, he was able to gather the air into a concentrated ball and shove it forcefully into the man’s back, causing him to stumble and bang his leg on the unseen table in front of him. A large, silver photo frame displaying a wedding photo of him and Caeli, which had been standing beside a few other items on the tabletop, fell over and clattered to the floor. While the man stooped to retrieve it and tried to stop it from making any further noise, Vin hit him with another blast of air. This one caused him to topple over and hit his head against the wooden leg of the table. The commotion brought the other man stomping angrily, yet surprisingly silently, into the room. He jerked his partner up off the floor and gave him a noiseless warning to be more careful, pay attention to where he was going, and to stop making such a racket.

  Caeli woke suddenly, not certain what roused her. It was dark outside and a sliver of moonlight shone through the window, which was still open and allowing the wind to swirl around the room. The air seemed slightly agitated in its movements. A thump that sounded like someone running into a wall rose to her ears from downstairs. There was someone in the house! How could that be? She locked the garage door when she came home. The front door had two deadbolts securing it. All of the first floor windows had steel security bars covering them. Could the intruder have come in through the back door? It was deadbolted as well. However, whereas the front door was steel-cased, the back door's case was wooden. It was more vulnerable.

  She and Vin had not been paranoid in securing their home, just extremely cautious. Over the years, they both had been victims of violence. When they built their home, they preferred to err on the side of extra protection to deter any repeat episodes. Nevertheless, given her recent state of mind, Caeli was forced to admit to herself that she could have forgotten to lock one of the doors.

  There were no more sounds from below, but she felt certain of what she heard. Caeli quietly eased herself out of Vin's favorite chair where she had fallen asleep and moved the few feet to their large walk-in closet on the left wall. She silently pushed the handle down and eased the door open just wide enough for her to enter. She slipped inside and closed the door quietly behind her. With a few steps, Caeli moved to the back of the closet, pushed aside a row of clothes, and tapped the wall to reveal a hidden mechanism that opened a concealed entryway in the back wall. This door opened inward so that she was able to return the clothes she had pushed out of her way to their original positions before moving farther into the secret room and closing the hidden door. Caeli felt a certain satisfaction knowing that the door disappeared from the view of anyone who might enter the closet after her.

  The small room was only twenty four square feet, the same width as her closet and four feet deep. Inside, a three legged table was placed at the end of a small army-style cot against the back wall. A large cabinet with two tall doors was built into the wall to her right, covering all but a foot of the wall’s surface on either side. All the walls in the room were simple sheet rock painted black to prevent any reflections from inadvertently revealing the room’s location to a determined intruder.

  On the smooth top of the little round table sat two phones. One was a landline and the other was a cellular phone resting in its charging stand. She picked up the receiver on the former only to find it had no dial tone. Either one the previous storms knocked out the telephone lines or the bold prowler took the precaution of cutting the exterior phone line before beginning his criminal mischief. This did not discourage Caeli. After all, that was why the cell phone was in here.

  Though she never before had cause to use it, Caeli was definitely glad it was here now. She picked it up from its holder and dialed 911. The display flashed at her indicating there was no signal where she was standing. She moved closer to the cabinet on the right wall, which was against the exterior of the house. Two bars now showed on the phone’s display. That would have to suffice.

  Caeli redialed 911 and whispered her situation to the female dispatcher on the other end. After being quickly transferred to the local sheriff’s dispatcher and repeating her story, Caeli was assured that officers were on their way. The operator maintained the open call while Caeli waited for help to arrive. She wanted to go and sit on the cot, but knew she would lose the call connection if she did, so instead, Caeli leaned against the closed doors of the cabinet. In a soft voice, Caeli numbly replied to the dispatcher’s requests for periodic status updates over the next ten minutes.

  In the meantime, Vin returned to the bedroom where he was glad to see that Caeli had been awakened by the disturbance downstairs. She did not panic, but rather worked her way into the secret room at the back of her closet to call the police. They had made these arrangements should a scenario like this ever happen. Vin was relieved that Caeli remembered and calmly carried out the plan.

  Vin stayed in the bedroom watching the doorway as he heard the men trudge up the stairs. He watched as they searched the other rooms and eventually worked their way into the bedroom. The younger one went to search the adjacent bathroom, while the brutish man first checked the bedroom and then the closet, expecting to find her there. He was becoming more irritated the longer he searched without locating her. Vin thought perhaps the man might inadvertently discover the secret room the way he was pounding on the walls. It infuriated Vin that he could not be physically present to protect Caeli.

  Caeli glanced over toward the secret door when she heard noises in her bedroom. It now sounded like more than one man, but she couldn’t be sure. She did not hear the sliding sound of drawers opening or other noises that would suggest rummaging through her belongings or looking for items of value. If that was not the case, then they must be looking specifically for her. Caeli felt a chill and hoped the police would arrive soon. She was not afraid of being discovered in her hiding place, but she did not like the thought of this incident being directed against her.

  All of a sudden, there was a brief scuffling sound on the other side of the wall. At least one intruder finally made his way inside her closet. Could he know the location of her hideout? Surely not! She and Vin were the only two who knew it existed. They built it themselves, having asked the contractor who built their home to make the walk-in closet larger than what they really wanted. This allowed them to add the extra wall and frame in the small area without anyone else’s knowledge. It was a secret they strictly maintained. Not even Salma knew the room existed.

  Caeli listened carefully to the sounds in the closet, but it did not seem like the movement was headed in her direction. It was more like a general search of the space. Just to be on the safe side, she crept to the right side of the cabinet and pulled a long, serrated knife from its sheath hanging on the wall. Caeli glanced down at Vin’s katana propped up against the same wall, resting in its own black leather sheath.

  A memory of watching Vin as he practiced with the sword flashed briefly through her mind. Caeli momentarily considered grabbing the sword instead, but then decided against it. She was much more comfortable with her knife, which Vin had affectionately named her short person’s sword. During their martial arts training, it had proven to be better suited to her shorter stature and movements.

  "I saw the lights come on up here. She has to be up her somewhere. Make sure you check all the cabinets and the closet in the bathroom. If we go back empty-handed, and he finds out she was here all along, the payment he gives won’t be what we bargained."

  Caeli overheard the gruff voice as he whispered loudly to his companion. This confirmed her suspicions that there was more than one intruder and that they were specifically looking for her. She felt another chill in the air around her and heard the same voice mumble a vague notion about the air getting thick.

  There was still no sign of the police, and Vin was not going to sit back and allow them find Caeli. By now, his anger at this intrus
ion and the threat to his wife had reached its boiling point. He tried valiantly to keep his emotions under control as he had been taught. Vin knew he needed to think clearly if he was going to find a way to help Caeli. But, it was too much to ask of him. The minor disturbance he created turned into a much stronger force than he intended.

  As Vin moved toward the door of the closet where he could get a better view of the man inside, the air began to thicken around him and push forward to engulf the thug. The man almost immediately began to make guttural, wheezing sounds as if he were trying to breathe through mud. He began to gasp, trying desperately to draw the thick air into his lungs and push it back out again. Vin could distinctly hear the pounding of the man’s heart now racing in reaction to the grave situation.

  After just a few minutes, Vin was able to regain his emotional control and allowed the air to flow a little thinner. He provided only enough air for the man to draw shallow, life saving breaths. If this goon had been whisked off to the top of a mountain, the struggle to breathe would likely have been less difficult; but this would not kill him, only deter his movement. Vin watched as the man suddenly stumbled and fell into the clothes hanging behind him, almost too weak to stand.

  Blaring sirens could now be heard approaching the house. Red and blue colored lights flashed through the curtains and dotted the room with tinted displays of light. Help had arrived at last, and Vin had successfully deterred the would-be kidnapper. He returned the air to its previous calm state, and the man’s breathing returned to normal. Vin simply stood by and waited, expecting the officers to arrive inside within minutes.

  Unfortunately, the guy Vin released was angry now that he caught his breath and more determined than ever to reach his unseen goal. He pounded his fist against the wall several times in a fit of uncontrolled rage before uttering a fluent stream of curses. He continued to rummage through the closet, red-faced in his rage. His hand passed near the secret lever that would release the door, but in his lingering dizziness and fury, he did not detect its location. Vin’s anxiety was barely held in check as he refrained from taking any further action. He wondered what was keeping the police. Why hadn’t they reached the room yet?

  The intruder’s face was getting redder and a large vein running across his scarred forehead was pulsing at an alarming pace. The man began to pant as if he were again having trouble breathing. Vin double-checked himself to make sure that he was not causing this. He wasn’t. The man continued to suffer for what seemed like an interminable amount of time, though it could not have been more than a minute or two.

  "Oh that’s just great!" Vin swore to himself.

  "If he keels over, the police won’t be able learn anything from him. I want to know what’s going on and who orchestrated this plot."

  As if his thoughts triggered some preordained event, the man’s already stressed and long diseased heart exploded beneath his ribs as a result of the unaccustomed strain. He dropped to the floor with a loud thud, dead before his body hit the carpet. Vin felt no remorse for the man’s unfortunate luck. He was only angry that the man would not be able to tell the police who hired him.

  The noise in the closet caught the attention of the second intruder. He rushed in from the other room to find out what happened.

  "Dude, you ok? What happened? Billy, where are you? What’s all this fog?" The mystery accomplice piled question upon question as he sought to find his partner. Caeli heard him enter the closet and approach the unmoving first man, who must have passed out on the floor. She, too, was curious to know what happened to him, though she figured that whatever it was served him right.

  "Hey! What the heck? Your face is all blue, and …oh shit! I gotta get out of here." He apparently discovered his partner was not unconscious, but dead.

  Caeli felt another chill in the air and saw little bits of dust swirl around on the floor. The wind in the other room, which must be blowing in from the window she left open, caused eddies of dust to dance as it passed through the closet and beneath the bottom of the hidden door. Caeli imagined the wind might cause shirt sleeves and coats to blow by the second man’s face, disorienting him in the dark and unfamiliar surrounding. That could certainly be disconcerting. She had no idea what he meant by the fog. Whatever the cause, the guy was going to leave. That was perfectly fine with her.

  Vin had hoped the police would be able to apprehend and question both intruders, but fate negated that possibility. He had no time to dwell on it before the second guy came running to see what happened to Billy. After having overheard the conversation between the two thugs a few minutes earlier, and knowing their nefarious intentions, Vin was not inclined to show this one mercy either. Yet, it would serve no useful purpose if this one inadvertently died, too. Vin was not the least bit concerned for any unpleasantness that might befall the lackey, but he would try to keep this one alive, if possible. Whatever the outcome, he absolutely would not permit any harm to befall his wife! Where were the police?!

  He carefully caused the air around the dead man to become cloudy, making it more difficult to get a clear view of the body crumpled on the floor, and then Vin thickened the air around the younger man’s throat. He noted with satisfaction that it was having the same effect on the younger man as it had on the first.

  Vin suddenly felt the presence of other people in the house, though he had no idea how he was able to do so. He briefly diverted his attention from the man in the closet and heard sounds of a new type of commotion downstairs. The police had finally entered the house and were ascending the stairs. Caeli was out of immediate danger now, and Vin released his hold on the second man, who had already fallen to his knees with labored breathing. The fog rapidly dissipated, and the air in the closet returned to normal. The man coughed and gasped in relief as his lungs were finally able to draw several quick breaths.

  The police finally arrived. They must have found the same entry point that the failed kidnappers used. As they apprehended the second man, his breathing seemed to return to normal, and none of the officers noticed the wind or mentioned seeing any fog. They took the bewildered man into custody and removed his dead comrade. Caeli listened to all of it from the safety of her concealment.

  "Ma'am? Ma'am, are you still there?" Caeli abruptly remembered the phone in her hand and the call she was holding. She had been so intent on the actions of the two men that she completely forgot the 911 operator holding on the other end of the line.

  "Yes, I’m still here. The police are here now."

  "Ma'am, can you get to the officers? They don’t know where you are." The dispatcher’s voice was concerned.

  "Do you need their assistance?"

  "No. Tell them I’m ok. I’ll meet them in the downstairs living room as soon as I work my way out of my hiding place. Ask them not to shoot me please." Caeli heard herself make the flippant remark and wondered at her own casual behavior under the serious circumstances. Perhaps it was just the shock of the whole ordeal settling down on her. A moment of silence elapsed on the other end of the phone, and then the dispatcher’s voice returned

  "It’s safe to come out. They have the remaining intruder in custody and are waiting for you in the living room. I’m glad you’re ok."

  "Thank you." Caeli ended the call already having heard the officers leave and plod back down the stairs. She returned the blade she was holding to its sheath, and then waited to be sure nobody else would be around when she emerged from her secret room.

  A few minutes later, Vin watched Caeli leave the safety of her hiding place and go downstairs to speak with the officers waiting there. He took only a moment more to ensure that everything was under control before he focused on locating Javeed and left Caeli to the temporary care of the officers at the scene.

  After straightening the parted clothing, this time from the closet side, Caeli took a quick look around. It looked like a prize fight had taken place in her closet. She did not linger, knowing there were people waiting on her. She moved to the top of the stairs and step
ped softly down each one.

  Two officers waited for her in the living room near the front door. As she approached them, she passed the front window and caught a glimpse of flashing lights from the police cars and an ambulance out front. Caeli was somewhat surprised to be reminded that the sun had set. After her brief talk with Vin, she had slept most of the day; a feat she hadn't thought possible.

  "Ma’am, are you all right? Are you hurt?" The elder of two officers asked. He looked like he might be fifty, clean shaven with short, dark hair beneath his standard issue police cap. Both his uniform and his hair were a little ruffled from his recent exertions with the suspect, but he was otherwise neatly groomed. He had the posture and confidence of experience and a familiarity with this type of situation. Caeli remembered him from the search efforts, though he did not seem to recognize her yet. But there was something more about him. Caeli felt certain that she had met him in the past, but she couldn’t place the recollection just then.

  The second officer was younger, probably in his mid to late twenties; perhaps a few years younger than herself. His uniform was impeccable, and his smile was meant to be reassuring. He seemed considerably less seasoned than his coworker. Caeli's observations of the officer's deference to Captain Erickson led her to believe that the older officer was mentoring the young man who settled quietly into a chair and pulled out a notebook and pencil while his superior spoke to her.