Chronicles of Stephen BoxSet

by Kenyon T Henry

  They sat quiet; only the sound of chewing broke through the silence. The light outside faded with each passing minute. Across the window reflected shades of red, orange, purple, and dark blue.

  Patty broke the silence. “Okay, this is a little weird. What am I missing?”

  No one spoke up.

  “Stephen, I thought just you and I were going to go out for dinner. I don’t mind Vincent and Alistair, of course. But I feel like you three are keeping something from me. Is this a joke of some sort?”

  Stephen took a sip of his soda before setting it on the table. “You know how you wanted to know everything?”

  Patty nodded her head.

  “Well,” Stephen continued, “I’m gonna give you that opportunity. First, I’m giving you full disclosure. You’re going to hear some things that will seem strange and impossible.”

  “What are you talking about?” Everything about Patty—her voice, facial expressions, posture, and mannerism—showed concern.

  Stephen knew in his heart that Patty couldn’t be the one responsible for all this—the trafficking, the planned bombing, Waltz’s death. It simply didn’t make sense.

  “Patty, I need to know if you trust me.”

  “Of course I do. What’s going on?”

  “Are you hiding anything? Is there anything in your life that you wouldn’t want me to know about, or see?

  “No, nothing . . .” Patty’s facial expression changed from concern to curiosity. “What do you mean see?”

  Stephen gulped down another swallow. “If you trust me, I’ll show you.”

  Patty nodded slowly.

  Stephen did what he had never wanted to do: invade Patty’s mind. He searched the deepest corners. Nothing remained hidden from him. There were no doors or walls. Her mind was as open as anyone’s had ever been—maybe even more open. He saw her life, past and present. It was warm to him, much like the sun had been earlier that day. He withdrew.

  “Just as I told you guys, she’s good.”

  Vincent and Alistair looked at each other; confusion flooded their faces. Patty sat quietly.

  “Guys? Give us a moment, will you?” Stephen stood up as the two men moved across the room to sit at the kitchen counter.

  “What just happened? What was that about? What do you mean, ‘She’s good’?”

  “There’s a lot to explain. In time, I will answer your questions as best as I can. For now, I’ll cover the big stuff.”

  “Okay? Should I be scared?”

  “Yes.” Stephen sat on the coffee table in front of Patty. “This will sound crazy.”

  “Well, get it out already.” Patty’s words whipped out. Stephen could tell she grew more worried by the second.

  “There are people in the world with abilities that others don’t have. I’m not talking about athletes or scientist. I’m talking about other kinds of stuff. These people are engaged in a war between good and evil, dating back more than two thousand years.”

  “Are you serious?” Patty’s voice got loud. “You think this is a joke, right? If you don’t want to trust me, why don’t you just tell me it’s over?” Patty grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

  Stephen stood to his feet. “Why haven’t you told me about Brandon?”

  Patty froze, her hand on the knob.

  Vincent and Alistair made their way to where Stephen stood.

  “Who is Brandon?” Vincent questioned, looking at Stephen.

  Patty let go of the knob and turned toward the others. “How do you know about my brother?”

  “You have a brother?” Vincent asked.

  “I had a twin brother. But he died when we were younger.” She locked eyes with Stephen. “How did you know about Brandon?”

  I saw him in your mind. I can see your memories, hear your thoughts, and feel your emotions. Please don’t be afraid.

  Patty’s eyes widened. She didn’t say a word.

  “Did he just do his thing?” Alistair inquired.

  “He did,” Vincent replied.

  Patty walked to Stephen and threw her arms around him.

  Alistair’s face contorted as he scratched his head. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  Vincent shrugged.

  Patty pulled away. Stephen, now confused, wasn’t sure what to say. “Uh . . . what?”

  “That was beautiful.” Patty rubbed Stephen’s arm and held his hand.

  “Most people get freaked out when they hear me inside their head.”

  “Oh, that was weird, no doubt. But I could feel you.” Patty bit her lip for just a moment. “You’re scared that I won’t love you. And you love me so much.”

  Stephen smiled. “I am. And, I do.” He hadn’t meant to share his emotions. They were so strong, however, he hadn’t been able to fully conceal them.

  “This is a lot to take in though. I need to sit back down.”

  They all sat back in their original spots.

  “So, you can read minds and use telepathy?”

  “Yes, among other things.”

  “There are others that can do this too?”

  “Yes, and no. There are others with abilities, each somewhat unique to the individual,” Stephen explained.

  “Why now? Why are you telling me now, when you wouldn’t before?”

  “Well . . . I-I . . . umm.” Stephen didn’t know exactly how to answer her.

  “Stephen, if ye don’t mind,” Alistair chimed in, “I’ll take this one.”

  Stephen felt relieved. “All yours.”

  “Stephen has been having visions of a sort. Someone has been invading his mind. We aren’t one hundred percent certain why. But we believe that whoever it is may be responsible for Waltz’s death.”

  Patty gasped and quickly covered her mouth. She looked at Stephen with watery eyes.

  “Unfortunately, it gets worse. The person killed Waltz to get to Stephen. Remember my friends from Waltz’s funeral? We are part of a group called The Mighty, which dates back to the mighty men of King David. It’s our heritage, passed from generation to generation. These gifts were bestowed upon us to fight a group called Fallen, so named for the Nephilim—fallen angels. They want power and control of God’s creation.”

  “Why are they after Stephen?” Patty asked.

  “There’s a lot we don’t know about Stephen. His bloodline is in question. We keep a close track of all the bloodlines and their children. Stephen is unaccounted for.”

  “What does this have to do with me?” Patty enquired.

  “Stephen’s last vision had memories of previous events, including Waltz’s death. This time, the memories had a new detail he had forgotten: a woman with red hair, whose face remained hidden. And you happened to be in the park the day Waltz died.”

  Stephen felt the hurt and anger rising up in Patty as she began to understand.

  “Wait. You think I had something to do with any of that?” She glared at Stephen, as though warning him to choose his words carefully.

  “No, Patty, I didn’t.” He tried to hold her hand, as she pulled away.

  “He is telling the truth,” Vincent interceded. “But someone else suggested that the vision could be pointing to you as the culprit. That someone is one of The Mighty, so we really had no choice but to eliminate the possibility.”

  “I knew it wasn’t you,” Stephen pleaded.

  Patty looked at Stephen. He saw her glaring eyes soften. “I believe you.”

  “Patty, you aren’t going to like the next part,” Stephen replied.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I need you to stay away from me for a while, to make it appear that we had a falling out. I’m hoping it will draw someone out.”

  “No. I’m not leaving you.”

  Stephen knew all along this would be the hard part. He learned Patty could be obstinate. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  “You need to. You could get hurt. Being away from me is the best place for you. Aside from that, they need to believe we had a fight. Go s
tay with your niece, Kaylin. I’m sure she’d love to spend time with you. Just don’t go back to your apartment.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. I need you to leave. I can’t do what I need to do if I’m worrying about you.” He could see Patty was hurt. “Look, I know you’re a strong woman. This isn’t about being strong. This is a battle that you have no clue how to fight. I’m not sure I do, but it’s my fight. You’ll distract me from what I need to do.”

  “Fine,” Patty said softly, pouting. “But who’s going to take care of you?”

  “We will,” Vincent said.

  “What—Vincent gets to stay?”

  “Vincent is . . .” Stephen looked at Vincent, who understood and nodded. “Vincent is one of us too.”

  “Oh, of course he is.” Patty grabbed her purse and headed to the door. Stephen couldn’t help but feel like he was experiencing deja vu.

  “Patty, I love you.”

  Patty turned back to Stephen and kissed him on the lips. “I love you too.”

  Then, she left.

  Stephen didn’t like leaving things like that with Patty, but he knew it was too risky right now otherwise. Besides, he had a plan.

  Chapter 18

  “It’s okay, Stephen. We will take care of her.” Alistair paused to listen as Stephen spoke on the other end.

  “I know. I can’t help but worry,” Stephen replied. “Patty’s important to me. Tell Vincent to keep me updated. Alright?”

  “Aye. Relax, Stephen. She’ll be fine. And Vincent knows to call ye back in a couple of hours. We’ll talk later.” He ended the call and handed the phone back to Vincent—seated beside him in the driver’s seat. “Ye know we’re in trouble if anything happens to her, right?”

  Vincent smiled and sipped his latte. “I do. But do you?”

  “What do ye mean?”

  “When I let Stephen in my head, I saw something I didn’t understand at first. But I do now. Stephen has not accepted Christ. He is not truly a Mighty.”

  “I know. But he isn’t one of the Fallen either. He’ll have to make a choice soon. I feel it coming. I can almost see it.”

  “Will you be able to see his choice?”

  Alistair looked at the moon. The moon looked very clear, unlike Stephen’s future. “The way my gift works is that I see possible futures based on choices that have already been made.”

  “If the choices are made, how are they only possible futures?”

  “Possible, because once I see them, I am able to introduce new choices, creating new decisions. And I can always change my own decisions.”

  “So, your visions change.”

  “Occasionally. I seldom see the end result. When I do, yes, they have changed. What I see are often suggestions. See the moon? See how it becomes more defined and brighter as the sun goes down?”

  “The closer you get to the vision, the clearer it becomes.”

  “Yes. Twenty-four hours is usually the point when I can see something clearly. It may lead to something else. But that’s usually when a specific vision becomes clear. Everything else seems like a feeling.”

  Both looked across the street to see Patty through the window of a modest house. Kaylin sat with her.

  “I need to stretch my legs.” Vincent got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk. Alistair joined him. “You saw a vision of us watching over Patty, right?”

  Alistair nodded.

  “Do you know what happens?”

  “I don’t.” Alistair grabbed a leaf from a nearby plant and began crinkling it. “I just know I need to be here. That’s what I saw shortly after she left yesterday.”

  “But there’s something you’re hiding.”

  Alistair looked away from Vincent. How could Vincent know there was more to his vision? “Yes, there’s more. I don’t know what happens. I just know it’s bad.”

  Vincent looked back to the window, seeing Patty and Kaylin. “Bad how?”

  “I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “Until then, cheers.” Vincent swallowed the last drop of his latte and chunked his cup in the trash can.

  ****

  The tops of the buildings blocked out the setting sun as Stephen walked down the sidewalk toward Waltz’s memorial. As he approached, he could see Bernie waiting on him. It had been little more than a day since he’d last spoken with Bernie about Patty. He dreaded the conversation ahead. If only he was certain what the truth was, it would be much easier.

  He had two milkshakes in his hands—a half-full chocolate and a vanilla.

  “I got you a vanilla milkshake, Uncle Bernie, from Crown’s. It’s a little runny, but still good.”

  “Thanks, Stephen.” Bernie took a sip. “That right there’s good, real good.” He took another sip. “I’m glad you asked me to meet you here. It’s good to make sure we remember him together.”

  “Yeah, it is . . .” Stephen had a hard time focusing. His heart wasn’t in the conversation but somewhere else. He stood there looking at Waltz’s memorial.

  “Are you gonna drink the rest of your shake?”

  “No, Unc.” Stephen didn’t want to talk to him, but knew he had to.

  “What’s wrong, Stephen? I haven’t seen you like this in a while.” Bernie turned to Stephen. “Is it Patty?”

  “Kind of.”

  “Listen, I know you love her. But with the dream you had, you need to let her go. I’m afraid she’s trouble for you, boy.”

  “What if she isn’t?”

  “If not, then you don’t need her caught up in all this craziness. But I think we both know she’s the cause of what’s been going on with you.”

  “How did you do it, Bernie?” Stephen looked at Bernie, as though trying to burn a hole through him.

  “Do what?” Bernie shrugged, before taking another sip.

  “How did you get into my head? How did you plant those images of a red-haired woman in my memories?”

  “Now hold up a sec, boy.” Bernie placed his hand on Stephen’s shoulder. Stephen knocked it away.

  “I know your tell. It’s the same as mine. When you lie in poker, you can’t help but rub the back of your head. That’s why you suck at it.” Although Stephen raised his voice, no one paid them any attention.

  Bernie’s facial expression changed from concern to fear. He took a step back from Stephen. “Stephen, calm down. People don’t need to hear this.”

  “Does it look like they care?” Stephen motioned to the numerous people that passed by them. “They don’t care. I’ve seen to that.”

  “You’re using more and more of your ability.”

  “Don’t change the topic. Why did you do it? How did you do it?” Stephen shoved Bernie, who back-peddled several steps. “Why did you kill Waltz? Why are you framing Patty?”

  “Stephen, I didn’t . . . Arghhh.” Bernie fell to one knee and grabbed his head. “Get out of my head, boy.”

  You want me out? Tell me the truth.

  “I can’t. You don’t know what’s going on.” He fell to both knees. “Arghhh. Please, Stephen, don’t.”

  “Tell me, or I’ll lock your mind away in this torment for the rest of your life.”

  “Stephen—”

  “No, I trusted you. You and Waltz raised me. He trusted you.”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  Stephen stopped. “What?”

  “He didn’t trust me. He knew something was wrong. That’s why he seldom stayed here when you were gone. He stayed in the alley, knowing I wouldn’t go there.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  Bernie panted. Blood trickled from his nose.

  “That’s where my brother, Will, died—Bernard’s dad. I can’t stand the sight of that alley. He was Mighty. He didn’t listen though. He was supposed to wait for help but didn’t.”

  “He was supposed to wait for Waltz?”

  “Yes. I swear, I never held a grudge against Waltz. It wasn’t his fault. I never would�
�ve hurt Waltz. You gotta believe me.” Bernie sobbed. “You and he are family.”

  “Why the lies about Patty? Who are you hiding?” Stephen saw it in Bernie’s mind, for a brief moment, while Bernie had lost control. “No, no, no.” Stephen pulled at his hair with both hands. “Why-why him?”

  “They got to him. He’s one of the Fallen, Stephen. They deceived him. Waltz helped Marie come back from the darkness. I want to help him.” Bernie pleaded with Stephen, his sobs barely discernible from words. “He’s been family to you, Stephen. He’s the only close blood I have left. I can’t lose him like I lost Will. That would kill Wanda.”

  Stephen paced back and forth for a moment before squatting down to face Bernie. “You want to help Bernard?”

  Bernie nodded.

  “Then you’re going to tell the Mighty everything.”

  “I covered up the truth. You don’t know what they’ll do to me,” Bernie begged.

  “Whatever it is, I know it won’t be worse than what I will do to you, if you don’t.”

  Bernie conceded. Stephen helped Bernie up and drove them back to his apartment, where he waited for his check-in call from Vincent.

  ****

  Vincent looked at his watch. “Eight-fifteen, almost time to call Stephen. Do you think I could go ahead and call?” he asked Alistair.

  “We should have one more look around the block before we call.”

  “Is everything alright?”

  Alistair sensed something different. He just didn’t know what it was. “I can’t say. It’s almost time for whatever is going to happen.”

  “Okay, then. You go to the right. I’ll go left.”

  “I think we should stay together,” Alistair suggested.

  “I don’t. We can’t let anything happen to Patty.”

  “Ye haven’t been trained. How are ye gonna fight if ye have to?”

  “With all that I have.” Vincent replied.

  “Alright. If ye see anything, call me.” Alistair stared at Vincent until he nodded.

  The two men went their separate ways down the street. Alistair glanced back a time or two at Vincent. He couldn’t help being concerned for him. But Vincent had been right. Patty was the reason they were there. Before long, Alistair rounded the corner, and Vincent was out of sight.