Switch Child

by David Howells

Colin could feel the touch, though not as strongly as he might have before the accident. Live voice also had a different feel to it than what Colin heard through the cell phone, but his vocabulary didn’t have the word for it. Had he been older, perhaps ‘resonance’ would have been used. For security’s sake, Karl managed to get Colin to stop causing East Wing electrical fluctuations. However, strengthening Colin’s grasp of the world through his new senses by exploring every device in the building kept the child busy as the adult did what he could to keep all the parts of the Facility up to spec and code. Over the next few days, Colin actually began helping his Dad chase down problems in the electrical upkeep end of things. Karl couldn’t remember the last time he was so happy. “Hoffman and Son”. Had a nice ring to it.

  “Now, Mr. Hoffman, you said you checked all the Facility’s circuits and there were no more fluctuations? Anywhere?”

  “No, Ma’am. Whatever it was that started off in the building must have gotten bored and went outside to pester other systems. Maybe it was an electrical poltergeist or the spirit of the Energizer Bunny. All I can say is that the Facility’s anomalies came mysteriously, and left just as mysteriously.

  The trained Detective watched the interviewee. The guy was smooth, despite his quaint rustic presentation. He wasn’t a baddie, but he wasn’t telling all he knew either. Why? What else was there to this story? So far, everything jived with all the other reports. Her intuition sniffed the air.

  “Thank you, Mr. Hoffman. Say, what happened to that boy you talked about? Still reading to him?”

  There was an unexpected side effect to Colin absorbing his essence into the electrical realities of the room, then the building, then the city, then the region...he reached too far. So much of his mind was routed to his Dad and their journeys, plus his outreach to know and do more, that the corporeal brain died. In a way, it was a liberating blessing. Without that tether holding him anchored, Colin became a new species of one.

  “I’m sorry to say that the boy passed away a week ago. Brain injury patients can be pretty fragile in ways we can’t predict. At least, that’s what the Docs say.”

  “Oh, God. I’m sorry. Mr. Hoffman, it seems you’ve climbed your share of mountains. I admire people who have done that and still retain a giving nature. You’re a role model, in my book. Shame my ex didn’t take some lessons from you.”

  “Oh, then I return your sorry feelings. You’re a nice lady and you have a difficult job that throws you in front of enough bad types to jade even Mother Teresa. You’ve been nice to me, even though you’re exhausted. You’re ok in my book, too. We done, Ma’am?”

  “I suppose, Mr. Hoffman. If I have any further questions, I may have to call you in again. Any objections?”

  “None at all. It’s my duty, right? I’ll bring Ring Dings.”

  “Riiiight. Good day, Mr. Hoffman.”

  “Karl, if you like. Good day, Detective.”

  The door was closing, as she got in the last word. “Alice.”

  “She’s pretty.”

  “You’re six years old. You’re not supposed to know that yet.”

  “Dad, I’m growing up fast. You wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen at different websites.”

  “Son, you are SO grounded, or you would be if I could figure out a way to do it.”

  “Don’t worry, Dad. You’re a good role model. Hey, think that lady Policeman will call you? I think she likes you.”

  “Not likely. I gotta be at least ten years her senior. So, after my two weeks notice is up, where would you like to go?”

  “Disneyland!”

  “Disneyland it is. Can afford it now, too. Tell me again how you shunted your inheritance into my account...wait...no, I think I’d rather not know.”

  Detective Sergeant Alice Roland finished jotting down her thoughts on paper and was just starting to nibble the eraser in curiosity when her cell phone buzzed. It was supposed to have been turned off. Must have bumped the ON switch.

  She pulled it out and noted a text message.

  ‘Very nice to meet you. Ever been to Disneyland? Might be fun to find our inner child again. Karl.’

  Oh, when Dad found out...

  Thank you for reading SWITCH CHILD. Constructive criticism or commentary on connections struck in your own life are welcomed at twosword@earthlink.net (put the title of the book or story you’re referring to in the subject box). I invite you to peruse the novels on this site. VANESSA, the flagship of that series, is offered to you at a respectful price of FREE.

  Sincerely yours,

  David L Howells, DC, EMT, NMT, NUT

  OTHER WORKS BY THE AUTHOR

  TIME SNAP – “In The Beginning” are the first words of Genesis, and they tell us that the first thing to be created was Time. When the machinery of Time fractures, all animal life on Earth freezes except those near enough to Heaven’s observation portals. While Heaven races to repair the machinery of Time, Host watch over Humans wandering through frozen life seeking other survivors, while watching out for Opposition Host.

  HELL RISE - The sequel to Time Snap. Hell is not what it used to be, as the Fallen Host radically change how they manage Human souls. One of Lucifer’s leading Angels wants Moriah back in Hell and will stop at nothing to either bring her back, or destroy her.

  VANESSA – A mentally fractured and hideously powerful spirit of a Georgian plantation and slave owner hold in thrall the men and mounts of a Civil War foraging party. She is avenging the death of her husband and children by putting the enemy spirits through a daily ritual of Hell. Ryan Fitzgalen was rendered spiritually clairvoyant and caused to be the world’s oldest man by a WW II experiment using electromagnetic power for naval stealth technology. He and the spirit of his deceased wife, Vanessa, are no match for Mad Annie, and so must call in his distant descendents to even the playing field.

  VANESSA: FAMILY TREE – Sequel to VANESSA. The epic battle was over at the Edwards Estate. The Fitzgalen Family regroups to lick its wounds, mourn its dead, and pursue their mission of saving souls stuck on the Earth plane. What happens when an underground spirit desperately hiding from judgment beneath the ground doesn’t want to be found, and is ready to strike anyone who tries?

  VANESSA: ALL HEAVEN BREAKS LOOSE – Sequel to Vanessa: Family Tree. Ever since humans began to wonder of the world’s miracles, knowledge of death and what comes after was precious and elusive. The Fitzgalen Family appears to have new authority in this awareness. That unwanted notoriety has a way of creating devotees, and very powerful enemies.

  VANESSA: MENDED HARPS – Sequel to Vanessa: All Heaven Breaks Loose. When a human spirit merged its energies with an ancient oak tree during the Battle of the Rhinebeck Cemetery, a new species was born. Amidst legal entanglements that hamstring the growing Fitzgalen Family’s efforts to pursue its holy mission of spirit liberation, a greater question arises; how do you deal with an emerging competitive species?

  VANESSA: FALLEN COLORS – Sequel to Vanessa: Mended Harps. Conclusion of the VANESSA series. The world’s religions have witnessed great changes, miracles, and proof that the dead walk the earth. Earth feels poised on the brink of a great change. The one who has a hope of leading the world away from cataclysmic holy wars of dominance is an autistic child, who is guarded by a being of great power…an Angel, Avenger Class.

  Contact the Author with Comments and Questions

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