by JM HART
Her mom had been so excited the last time they were there. The Australian undergraduate, Callie, was packing up, finished for the day. Jade’s mom wanted to share her excitement, but all Jade did was pout, being difficult, demanding to go home. She didn’t care what her mom was up to. She didn’t want to look at specimens of organisms under the microscope, didn’t care about the regenerating dying cells. Or the way the deformed structures were transforming: due to one added ingredient, the virus was being destroyed. All Jade was thinking was, Last year it was bird flu; this year it’s a new virus, which has been spreading from East Asia for nearly ten years. There was always some virus or disaster on the horizon.
“Remember last week?” her mom had said. “You were wearing your great- gran’s bracelet when you knocked your drink over and you cut yourself on the glass. You remember that day, right?”
“Whatever …” Jade remembered saying. Jade had done everything she could to be as normal as possible and to forget how smart she was, but now she felt bad for being so rude. Her mom had just wanted to share.
“Do you want to know what happened?” she had continued, ignoring Jade’s frustration.
“Yeah, sure, like I need a bullet in my head.” She had turned away, left the lab to wait in the car. She’d listened to music, turning it up until it was blaring and posted senseless messages online. It was well over an hour before Jade had noticed the time. Her mom usually didn’t keep her waiting this long; worried, Jade called her cellular phone. It went straight to message bank. Damn! How dumb is my genius mother, forgetting to turn on her cell. Reluctantly, Jade had gotten out of the car and went back to the lab. The building was locked. Jade walked around the unusually dark grounds to the main entrance. The compound was deserted. A good-looking security guard, a Native American, lounged behind the desk in the foyer watching television. She had tapped on the glass door; nothing, so she tapped again, he looked up and pretended not to see her. She pulled her hood down and parted her black hair to show her face. The guard’s expression changed, his eyes opening wide as he pretended to see her for the first time. They checked the lab and nobody was there. The guard concerned called the police and her dad. To this day her mother has never been found. Jade still hopes one day she will come home.
Jade looked back at herself in her mother’s colorful shirt. Mom would return if she could, Jade thought. Since the day she went missing Jade has changed, by focusing on her studies and staying out of black clothes as her mom had wanted.
The sound of a car horn brought Jade back to the present. Leaving the memories behind, she quickly caught an image of herself in the mirror. Jade stepped outside, onto the porch and into the embrace of the sun. The old Indian man watched her from under the shade of the tree. Today for some strange reason, it actually gave her comfort to see him. She boldly waved before she jumped into Ben’s car and pulled on her seat belt. Ben leant over to kiss her lips, but she only offered her cheek. He was three years older. She looked sixteen and intellectually was way beyond. Graduating junior high at the age of twelve, two years before her peers was annoying; she had once tried to avoid all the attention by being an emo. Over the past year, since her mother’s disappearance, she had made lots of changes, from dark withdrawn emo to stunning intel. Girls lined up for Ben’s attention, but Jade wasn’t one of them, and maybe that’s why he found her interesting. They drove down the boulevard to the beach in silence, strongly sensing each other’s physical presence.
Ben took her hand as they walked across the soft sand. The beach was filled with smells of suntan lotion, mixed with the hot food of vendors on the boardwalk. The sparkling Atlantic Ocean was the greatest attraction living at Myrtle Beach and kids reckoned that cruising the boulevard was the bomb these days. The water was forever coming closer, swallowing the sandy beach. Stretching out on her towel, Jade dug her toes deep into the cooling sand.
Ben sat on his knees to apply lotion to her back. “No thanks, I can do it,” she said, sitting up.
He handed her the lotion. “Did I tell you I got the football scholarship to the University of California?”
Jade, not really listening, lay back on her stomach and twirled her bracelet around her wrist. Touching and tracing the smooth symbols, she went into a trance.
“Let’s go for a swim? Jade. Jade, wake up. Have you been smoking weed or what?”
“What, no, I don’t want any. I don’t do drugs.”
“Ha ha, you are a ditz, for an intel. Do you want to go for a swim?”
“Don’t call me that. Why do jocks call intellectual people intels? What’s wrong with being intellectual?” She could see behind him girls from college coming towards them. Quickly, Jade jumped to her feet. “Sure, that sounds great,” she said, brushing off the sand and picking up the snorkeling gear, thrusting it into his chest. “Let’s swim out past the last pier of the boardwalk and beyond the breakers.”
“Aren’t you going to take off your shorts?”
“No.” Jade grabbed his hand and pulled him across the heating sand. Together they ran into the ocean, dropping themselves down into the tiny breakers, and molding themselves into the wet sand to pull on their flippers. The waves gently knocked them off-balance, and Ben reached for Jade as the water rushed back out to sea. Suddenly, he jerked away and pulled his hand from her shoulder, shaking it by his side, as if he had touched a fire.
“Did you feel that?” he said.
“Feel what?” Jade looked into his eyes. “What, what’s up?” she said feeling self- conscious.
“I just felt a … zap, an electrical surge from you. I felt a current race through my whole body and I’m standing in friggin water. I feel like I should be glowing right now.”
“Very funny, Ben, I bet you say that to all the girls.” Jade dived into the next wave and swam out. In the silence under the water she thought, Why am I with Ben? Am I so insecure?
“Hey, wait up,” he yelled.
Jade could hardly hear him as she dived back under the next set of waves. Beyond the breakers she cleared her snorkel, blowing water like a whale. Treading water she looked back for Ben and saw him still on shore talking to a stunning teenage girl. Typical, she thought, and started swimming back towards him, then stopped. She spat out the snorkel mouthpiece and argued aloud with herself: “What am I doing? I don’t need this. Yes, I do. I need him to fit in with everyone.” She looked around to see if anyone had heard her. She turned away from the shore and began to swim further out into the Atlantic Ocean. Ben finally caught up with her just as she dove under again. She didn’t want to talk to him. She felt a sense of peace under the water and stayed there for as long as she could. Her hair floated like seaweed around her. She held it away from her mask. Her flipper dusted clouds of sand off the ocean floor. An old turtle swam below her. Up above in the distance, the surface of the water began to churn. A speedboat was approaching. Oblivious to the boat, Ben floated on the surface, face down watching Jade. Suddenly she turned towards the sky. She surfaced, cleared her snorkel, pulled the bit out of her mouth and yelled at the boat as it passed.
“Why’d you race off?” Ben asked. “And we shouldn’t be so far out.”
“What? It’s not like you were alone for long anyway.”
“Jealous are we?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Maybe a little?”
“Who’s the jerk in the boat?” she said.
“Maybe we should get back. We are really too far out.”
“There is this massive, beautiful old turtle down there. Come, I’ll show you,” Jade said and chomped down on the mouthpiece.
Before she could dive under, Ben tapped her on the shoulder. “Wait. I want to tell you something. I really like you … you’re not like the other girls, you confuse me. You’re smarter. You have lovely silky hair, and you have no idea how pretty you are. You have nothing to be jealous about.”
“You don’t know me,” she said and stuffed the snorkel bit back in her mouth.
�
��I know enough to know I want to get to know you better. I know how old you really are too, and …” He wanted to tell her he knew about her mother and how hard it must be for her, but he couldn’t.
Jade felt exposed, naked. “And what ? What Ben? Why did you bring me here?” What has gotten into me, she thought. Why do I need him to like me so much, why am I so angry? He started to talk, but she wasn’t listening.
“I know what you’ve been through because my dad was one of the investigators on your mom’s case.”
Jade couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What?”
“I saw you, at the police station,” he said quickly. “Waiting for your dad. I was there sitting next to you in the waiting area. I was getting a lift home from my dad after being in the city.”
Even with her flippers on, it was getting harder to tread water as Jade tried to push aside the memories of that day. She had been sitting in the waiting room staring at the floor, listening to the general commotion of the station. The smell of alcohol, vomit and antiseptic came flooding back. She had felt afraid and lost. She had counted anything and everything to keep her mind distracted. The person next to her had offered her a stick of gum.
“You had on a black pullover with a hood and black jeans, and you didn’t even look up, when you took the gum, to say thank you,” Ben went on. “Your dad came out looking exhausted. He hugged you and your hood fell down and your hair tumbled down your back. When you both turned to leave you looked me in the eye. I felt something. I asked my dad who you were and he said a sad fourteen-year-old girl who Just lost her mother. That’s how I know how old you are, you’re fifteen. I followed the case on and off over the year. Your mother was a brilliant scientist and you are a chip off the old block. I knew it was you when we first met at school.”
Jade was uncomfortable, confused and excited all at once, not really sure how she felt. He said he always liked her, and he felt something special that day. “You knew, all this time?” Blood rushed to every pore and her entire body blushed. She clamped her jaw tight, afraid she would release a neurotic girlish squeal. She said nothing while her body moved up and down with each gentle cresting of water. “What do you think about my mom? I believe she is alive.”
Ben looked like he was struggling to stay afloat. “I do too,” he said. “Let’s go back.”
Jade looked at him, trying to work out if he was telling the truth. “Okay, but first let me show you this turtle.” She dived under the water.
Jade and Ben smiled at each other behind the masks. Above, the speedboat turned back in their direction and below the turtle swam up towards them. Ben and Jade reached out to the turtle. Petite fish swam to Jade’s bracelet and hung on. Ben held her other hand and they both hovered, watching. He’s going to kiss me, she thought. How stupid, I’ve got a snorkel in my mouth. Jade laughed silently to herself. The moment couldn’t last, oxygen was depleting and together they swam up to the surface. Ben was slowing his ascent trying to pull her towards him. She was out of air and had to let go of his hand. She broke the surface and the speedboat struck her from behind. Dazed, she felt a hand reaching down into the water and grabbing her. She could feel her body being dragged beside the boat like shark bait before she was yanked on board. Stars and darkness filled her vision and the last thing she could hear was Ben screaming something in the distance and gunfire over her head.
*
Her throat was sore, her lips were dry. Jade staggered through the mud, climbed over fallen trees, and searched for the sky. Twilight was looming as the sun dropped over some faraway horizon. The trees started spiraling around her. She was out of breath, losing consciousness, falling to the forest floor. Where am I? Panic and dread was turning into terror. Why am I running? Darkness invaded her consciousness.
She had woken to the smell of the cooling forest, not knowing where she was. Slowly she got to her feet. Her legs were unstable; as if drugged, she staggered. She reached up and touched her head — it hurt like hell, she felt nauseated, dizzy. Struggling to remember where she had been, she yelled out into the trees. What the hell is going on! Scared, she dropped to her knees, her head pounding. Acidic bile scorched her throat and her head felt like it was exploding with each dry-retch. She touched her head and her hair was sticky. She hugged herself, feeling cold. She sat on the mulch and drew her knees up to her chest. What’s my name? Jade. What’s my address? North Myrtle Beach. Okay, at least I know who I am! What’s the last thing I remember? Jade rocked back and forth thinking. Swimming, snorkeling, I was holding Ben’s hand, that’s right.
These memories gave her little solace as she looked around at the dense forest surrounding her. We were following a turtle. The ocean had been warm and clear; sunlight cut through the crystal water sparkling on the ripples of soft white sandy ocean floor. She looked down at her filthy white shorts and bare feet. Feeling scared, at the same time with a sense of calmness at having regained a little control of her thoughts; the eye of a storm. Jade shivered. All sorts of scenarios were going through her mind. Where did I get this hoody? Who dressed me; I don’t remember getting out of the water let alone getting dressed.
Jade slowly got to her feet, climbed and stumbled over rocks and up the embankment of the muddy creek. She had to fight off the panic and find a way up above the trees, to see where she was. The light disappeared. Darkness waltzed with the shadows of the trees. A wolf’s howl vibrated through her bones.
*
The flow of life was visible in the sway of the trees. A white deer, a doe, stood tall watching the girl. Listening and hearing the visions of the future. The deer was not the only one who was watching the girl. The forest became silent, the shadows haunting. The deer could feel something, a wolf — its heart was pounding in its chest, and it had woken to the smell of human fear. The deer watched the dark wolf drool in anticipation. It began its descent towards its prey. The deer’s heart, beating strong, blossomed with mercy. The smell and sounds of the forest amplified. The girl felt the oncoming charge of the wolf and frantically looked up into the trees, searching for a place to hide. Her shoulders slumped, defeated.
The deer moved gracefully, determined to confront the snarling monster. With each moment her heart filled with certainty. Her desire to protect was stronger than the beast’s desire to destroy. It raced towards the girl, watching her, unable to stop her from falling. The girl was paralyzed with fear. The deer saw into the wolf’s eyes, they were red, almond-shaped pupils, with black slits swimming in a sea of yellow. It was getting closer. It traveled not alone, but accompanied by dark angels craving to please its master of death and capture more souls. The deer watched as the child confronted the darkness and saw into the eyes of the wolf, into the depths of its soul, as if searching for a sign of hope. Finding none, the girl threw her head back and screamed as darkness closed in. Help! Then whispered as she collapsed onto the forest floor. Help me. The white deer, in a flash, came up from behind and stopped directly in front of the girl as fear stole her sight and she slipped into the abyss of uncertainty and darkness.
The forest held its breath, the rivers stood still. The deer’s protective aura expanded. Darkness had grown confident from the child’s fear. The deer took a step towards the wolf. Clouds above began to shift. The white deer drew wisdom to her side. She had to protect the child to free the future and heal the spirit. The moon spoke, the stars joyously competed to illuminate, and the darkness fractured. The wolf calculated; the pack circled behind. The deer still dared to defy the wolves.
The deer saw the morning star pulse, watching from above and time accelerated. Thirsty spirits and captured souls fed off the starlight. Nourished, strengthened, they rose above the murky tones of darkness and the morning star descended from the heavens. The restless wolves moved from side to side looking over their shoulders and howling.
They became edgy, sensing danger as the morning light shone on them, and the shadows moved with the acceleration of time. Their leader stood firm, growling, huge teeth gle
aming. The wolf focused on the deer’s veins, bulging with life. The wolf lunged. Like a thunderbolt, a magnetic pulse radiated down. A burst of light from the morning star showered upon the white deer and the girl. The full force of the morning star’s energy slammed into the ground, repeling the wolves back into the woods as if gravity vanished along with the darkness.
The starlight dimmed, folded within itself, again and again, getting smaller and smaller, until it became the size of a pebble and floated into the heart of the deer.
Butterflies danced upon the residual beams of light. The forest glowed; fluorescent morning dew dropped onto the undergrowth, and the flow of life continued. The deer lay down beside Jade, protecting her, giving her warmth while she was unconscious. A spark of the morning star light floated from the deer and settled, fading into Jade’s old copper bracelet.
6
Prophecy: Casey. Utah USA.
The smell of mounds of old paper files and fresh paint was strong, but the size of the bold little man standing behind the mahogany desk was more captivating. Tiny beads of sweat traveled down the side of his face, and disappeared into the folds of fat that rested on top of his white collar. His breathing was labored, the air conditioner roared like an ascending plane accelerating for take-off. Nevertheless, tiny beads of sweat continued to pop up on the solicitor’s head. He picked a handkerchief off his desk and mopped his round head and brow.
“Mr and Mrs Campbell,” he said taking his seat. Fat wedged into the sides of the armchair as he wriggled and sank noisily into the leather. “Sorry about the state of my office, we are moving premises. Now, Mrs Campbell, as you know from my email, you have been invited here for the reading of your great-aunt Daisy’s will.”
