by The Awethors
* * *
“Run!” Her mother’s frail body flashed in her mind and startled Abbey awake. She realized that she must have passed out. Trying to stay warm and dry she tugged her hoodie down further over her face, but it was no use. The rain had already seeped through the fabric and she was soaked and freezing.
How long have I been here? How many days? Abbey took a minute and finally surveyed her surroundings. Even in a daze, running away from her mother’s body and the strange sensation from the cop, she had still ended up in a familiar alley. She remembered the sun setting and rising at least once. She was extremely tired, but closing her eyes again and seeing her mother’s dead body was not an option.
A shimmer of light caught her eye. Crazy Carol’s stash of whiskey was behind the dumpster next to her. Abbey could see the glass bottle hugging the same brick wall she was. That would warm her up and numb everything else, at least for a little while.
But then what? Abbey shook her head back and forth trying to make sense of it all, but her brain still seemed clouded by a fog. A haze of doubt was clinging to her subconscious. She wasn’t sure what was real or imagined anymore. Did I really see that shadow turn into a monster? And what about that strange buzz I felt around that cop? I felt it down in my bones. What the hell was that? OMG, am I freaking turning into spider girl or something? What’s happening to me? She rubbed her eyes ferociously, as though it would wipe away the image of her mother’s withered body. That had been real. She was certain. What am I going to do? I’m all alone!
Sounds of happy school kids walking down the street drew her attention to the alley’s opening far in the distance.
The strange buzzing started to resonate through her body again, just before one of the kids slowed their pace. What the hell? Abbey thought.
A boy with floppy brown hair tripped over his own feet as if he, too, had felt something. He stopped and looked down the alley.
Abbey gasped, cowering deeper into the shadows waiting for him to leave.
The boy and his friends looked like snooty rich kids, all dressed up in their school uniforms and plaid ties. They even had umbrellas with their school’s name on them; S.B. Devere Academy.
“Humph, sounds stupid,” Abbey whispered.
“C’mon Muddle!” another boy shouted. And with that, the curious boy turned and walked away.
As the group of students continued their journey, Abbey’s senses seemed heightened. She could still make out some of their conversations and she could feel the buzzing dissipating the further the kids walked.
“... I don’t understand. Why can’t I just have my driver take us to the museum? I cannot get out of this neighborhood fast enough.”
Abbey imagined the boy who responded was the same one who almost spotted her, “Headmaster Frobisher said it would build character…” Their voices finally faded into the cacophony of the busy New York street.
She may have imagined the strange shadow creature, but she was sure the tingling she felt was real now and she knew exactly where she was going to go to get answers. Her brain was screaming for her to follow her instincts.
Abbey placed her uneaten sandwich next to Carol’s bottle of whiskey, dried her tears, got up, and walked out of the alley.
Hope Rising
Abbey’s instincts led her to the alley below her apartment. The smell of burnt popcorn assaulted her nose, but was comforting and familiar somehow, just like her little word. Standing in the alley, Abbey kept her back to her own apartment, there was nothing left for her there. Instead she only looked forward, up through the pouring rain into her neighbor’s open window on the fifth floor. Above her head there was a fire escape ladder on the second. Finally being so close to Bernie’s apartment, she could feel the same faint buzzing in her bones that she felt when the cop had grabbed her arm and when the school kids had walked by. I knew it! she scoffed.
Whatever it was that had happened while her mom lay dying, she knew it had awoken something within her. The buzzing seemed almost second nature to her now, like breathing in a warm familiar scent, like home. Abbey felt as though she were on the verge of discovering a hidden world that these unnatural encounters had opened up to her, like a cloak covering her eyes had been lifted and she was finally seeing the world as it truly was.
Taking a deep breath and a leap of faith, she jumped, grabbed the ladder, and pulled. It came down to the ground with a rusty squeal. She couldn’t help the chuckle that filtered through her rain soaked tears as the burned popcorn’s scent came towards her again. Mr. Alley Cat Dude, I think you forgot to check your microwave.
Feeling like the scrappy little black kitten herself, Abbey took another deep breath and started to climb. With every rung she knew she wasn’t just leaving the city’s alleyways behind but her sewers of despair and addiction as well. She knew she was climbing towards her little word and her future. The word was with her now. It was becoming a part of her with every rung she climbed. She knew she was climbing towards her fate.
When she reached Bernie’s balcony she crouched down, peered through the open window, and began to panic. What am I going to say? He doesn’t even know me.
A soft chuckle reminiscent of Saint Nick’s came from the couch. Then Bernie, and the scruffy black kitten curled up beside him, looked up towards the window. The kind hearted man waved Abbey in from behind his bowl of popcorn, “Hiya, hon. Come on in. Welcome home.”
Epilogue ~ Cloak Unveiling
Manhattan, NY ~ One Year Later
Bernie folded his hands as he finished telling his audience the young neophyte’s tale. He didn’t need shepherd senses to know that Abbey’s unfortunate journey had touched Lourdes Reese. Bernie contemplated giving her a tissue but knew that as a hunter she would take it as an insult.
Lourdie blinked several times. She sat in stunned silence, images of the story Bernie had just told her undoubtedly playing wildly in her head. She seemed horrified by Abbey Thorne’s story as Bernie had recounted it.
“That’s awful, Bernie!” she finally said, wiping away her tears.
“Sorry, hon, but it’s true,” Bernie said, still fighting the urge to hand the brunette beauty a tissue. “It’s as much as I’ve been able to get outta the poor girl, but I’m sure there’s more we’ll never know.”
Lourdie shook her head. “Why are you telling me all of this?” she asked, looking between Bernie and Marcus Vaughn.
“The neophyte took her gloaming bond and chose the path of a hunter” Marcus Vaughn, knight of the King’s Court New York, stated matter-of-factly from behind his desk.
“Lourdie, hon?” Bernie looked to Marcus for approval before continuing. “We think she would benefit from a strong female role model in her life and well-”
“You want me to take her on as an apprentice?” Lourdie asked, looking straight at Marcus. She suddenly seemed displeased, having spotted the ambush.
Bernie couldn’t recall a time he’d ever seen the hunter with an apprentice in tow. Which was odd, really. Lourdes Reese was one of the best hunters in the King’s Court so naturally she should have an apprentice, or several for that matter. Bernie tried to ignore trivial things that weren’t his business, but his senses were telling him there was something hidden here. Opening his senses a bit, he picked up that Marcus, as least, was failing to conceal some sort of relationship with the hunter. With Lourdie, there was something more.
Heavily relying on his southern disposition for discretion, Bernie concentrated on his goal instead. “It’s still your choice, but I was hoping you’d meet the girl before making your final decision,” Bernie said. “Abbey and the rest of the freshman hunters start orb training at school tomorrow.”
“I’m actually making your participation in the delvir class a bi-annual event as of now,” Marcus said. “I hope you choose an apprentice, Lourdie, whether it’s this girl Abbey or not. It’s time my best hunter had an apprentice.”
“I’ll meet her, but I’m not promising anything
and I don’t like being cornered like this. You know me, Marcus.” Lourdie stated.
“I know.” Marcus seemed pleased with himself.
“I have training, so if that’s all?” Lourdie got up from her chair without waiting for an answer.
“That’s all,” Marcus said, coolly.
“Thanks, hon,” Bernie beamed at Lourdie.
“Only for you, Bernie,” Lourdie said, giving Marcus a look before leaving the knight’s office.
Bernie waited until he heard the elevator ding before continuing his conversation with Marcus. “Have you had time to consider my personal request?”
“I have,” Marcus stated. “Do you have anywhere in mind?”
“I figure I can work the reception desk for a while. Stan could use some field trainin’ anyway,” Bernie scoffed. “That kid’s shepherd senses didn’t even tell him what Abbey was up to when she followed me to the Vaughn building.” Bernie laughed to himself, remembering how eagerly Stan had raised the plate of cookies as Abbey watched from across the street. Stan, the rookie shepherd might benefit from Bernie sticking around, as well. “And I reckon other neophytes will still find their way to us even durin’ my semi-retirement. I’ll help them as best I can, too.”
Marcus drummed his fingers on his desk as he contemplated Bernie’s request.
Bernie knew that a shepherd asking to stay in court for an extended period of time after shepherding a neophyte in was unusual, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was important to stay. He tried to erase the image of Abbey’s mother from his mind and focused on his shepherd senses that had never failed him. “I just want to stay close for a while, you know, in case Abbey needs me. The kid’s been through enough. I don’t want to be the next one that leaves her.” He couldn’t explain his feeling to Marcus, but something was telling him that there was more to Abbey’s story, a lot more.
“Okay, Bernie, okay,” Marcus said. The knight leaned back in his chair and both men looked down at Central Park, the Chiarshadrin they had sworn an oath to protect.
