NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
“Kassy, you’re like one of those little yapping dogs that gets all excited and pees on the carpet. No one died. Docks and boats can be replaced. And the ducks are okay. That’s what’s important, right? And tell the boys in the back that no one can handle a damn ship with a faulty 472 time accelerator.” He switched off the computer and patted the command dash saying goodbye to it. Climbing out he was impressed with the ability of the ship to form such an almost perfect half-moon shape and yet still be intact. A small group of people, including several from the press, gathered waiting for him and clapped as he stepped onto the river bank.
“...… minor damages, really. Our people are safe, that’s the main thing.” William told a Fidean News reporter standing next to him. He looked at the destruction around him and nodded. Three very nice cruisers, one white, the other two blue and white, were now pretzled together harmoniously, the blues and whites reminded him of an abstract painting of a blue sky with white pristine clouds.
“You could have been killed! What were your thoughts in those final moments?” Suzie or Sally or Nellie- he couldn’t remember her name -…asked him.
He shrugged, rubbing his hair with the towel the smiling emergency team handed him. “The well-being of the people really, and of course the ducks. You have to watch out for ducks in a situation like this because ducks don’t think well on their feet. That’s a big ship. Could’ve caused some major damage, wiped out entire blocks of the business district, the movers and shakers in Fidea, and someone I would imagine, although I’m not certain whose absence would have been noticed.” He grinned, the small group chuckled.
“So brave!” The reporter patted his arm and he smiled. “What do you think happened?”
“Simple. Some engineers screwed up and the time jump malfunctioned, whipping me forward then back again. Back and forward. Ridiculous. Although fun at a party there is no way to control the damn ship when you’re bouncing around like that.”
More press had hurried to join the group and a balding, freckled man stuck a microphone in his face. “You signed up for this job, right? And you crashed a ship that costs how much? The budget of a small country? What do you have to say to that, William? Not the first time you’ve destroyed property, right? Would you like to comment?”
William smirked, stared at his towel then took a deep breath. “What do I have to say about that? The budget and so on? We could stop developing and when the attacking hordes come we will simply say... what’s your name, sir?'”
“Reginald Blue.” He took a step back.
“Glad to meet you, Reggie. As I said, the attacking hordes will come to call and we’ll tell them who to talk to you, right?” He smiled at the balding reporter. “My job, while exciting, is necessary for the safety of our planet. In fact, there are few pilots qualified to test and use the newest technology, and the latest designs. After this experience I understand why many don’t sign up,” he said. Turning up the charm he winked at a few of the people. “Those people are intelligent people who want to live.”
The crowd nodded, laughed, and clapped, sharing all-knowing looks that said Sir William was wonderful and their personal hero. A young boy pushed through the crowd and asked him for his autograph. He obliged.
Suddenly, his boss, Kasani Royale, drove up with three of the department’s engineers, taking William’s place in front of the press.
Kasani stood next to William, his hands clasped behind his back indicating that he was indeed in charge. “We are very grateful that no one was injured in this unfortunate incident. Also, naturally, grateful for the skill and bravery of one of our top pilots, Sir William.” Kasani said, patting William on the back, perhaps a little too hard causing William’ s head to jiggle slightly back and forth.
“He is known for his exemplary bravery, however, we do need to take him back to the lab and allow our medical team to make certain that he has not sustained any injuries.”
William appreciated this only to the point that he was impressed with Kasani’s expertise at lying and misdirection, especially when it came to the press.
Once inside their transport pod Kasani began the shouting that William knew was inevitable. “Do I really need to say it again? Let me handle the questions! I can’t trust you to be discreet and your obsession with the press is exhausting.” He said, dispensing his favorite blue vodka from a nozzle on the side galley. “In the future you will refer any press or public relations groups to me. You know our research is classified. And our funding is always volatile.”
“I didn’t tell them anything classified. I should have, however, told them the names and addresses of these three idiots in the back who call themselves engineers. Don’t take me to the lab. I’ve had enough fun with you people today. I’ll go to Height’s for a calming pint or two.”
##
William loved walking into Height’s bar. The air was different, warmer, and friendlier. Calm and tolerant. Height had kept the old wood floor and wood paneled walls, but the tables were high pressed metal, the chairs comfortable poured plastic, the swirls and impressions unique to each one.
“Hi Height.”
Height, the bartender and owner, had earned the nickname early in his life due to his extraordinary height, and everyone loved walking in and addressing him as William had.
“Hey, hey, it’s our hero! Everyone!” Height addressed the room over the chatting. “Sir William has once again saved thousands of people and a whole lot of businesses over in Elton by landing that hunk of metal in the Drake River! Salute!”
They all raised their glasses while William bent over the bar and gave a small wave toward his friend. “Thanks.”
Height moaned and motioned to the front door. “Crap, crap, crap. I could throw them out if you want. Some of your buddies just walked in. The engineers,” he said in a hush.
“Oh, joy,” William said as he enjoyed a few more sips of his ale, munching on the toasted cheese Height slipped his way.
He didn’t have to turn around to know that it was the engineering department wearing their impressive suits and shiny shoes that clicked on the well-worn planks. Shiny shoes on old, dusty floors didn’t fit in Height’s, and neither did the men.
Height always kept a pair of slippers for William under the bar and gave them to him. Slippers were important to William, and, after his battle with the photon monster his fame started a cult of slipper-loving fanatics.
He adjusted his long black coat, a gift from a most outstanding man named Rem. It wasn’t really impressive except for the never-ending pockets sewn into its red, worn lining. Really, nothing was outwardly impressive about William.
He was proud and happy about that.
One of the engineers walked up behind him and everyone in the place pretended not to watch. The fellow engineers sniveled.
“Get ‘em,” Height whispered.
“Hey, Billy Boy, had a little trouble today huh?” Greenridge chuckled, grabbing William’s shoulder as if they were comrades. His voice was too high, making him sound immature, which he was, so it fit. “Perhaps it’s time to go back to the trash barge. The most damage you could do there is drop a container of trash on the wrong side of a dead planet. Right, guys?”
“Yeah?" William chuckled. "I liked those days. I didn’t have to deal with pain in the ass skunk breaths like you. Let’s get real about what happened today." He turned and smiled at the man with an un-earned smirk. "There was nothing wrong with my flying. The ship malfunctioned, and you damn well know it.” He grew louder with each word. “You screwed up the time travel tech and I almost crashed into the Elton business district because of it.
“No one was hurt, no bridge touched, no car overturned, no ducks destroyed--and I know that because I checked on them. That’s right, I care about ducks! I’d like to see any of you try skidding along on top of a river, in the middle of a city full of people who had no plans on dying today, manage to kill not a single duck and still salvage the bajillion dollar piece of equipment that you screwed up!”
Greenridge held William’s gaze and moved closer, toe to toe. “Got a little rage issue there, Sir William?”
“Rage? No, Greenridge, only disgusted with having to share the air around you while leaving all of your limbs attached to your repulsive body.”
The engineer was drunk. William knew where this was going.
“Everybody knows not to screw with you,” he said, spilling half a tankard of Height’s home brew on the floor.
“Everyone? Hmm. That’s a helluva lot of people, Greenridge.”
“Yeah, it is. And you know what? Every damn person in this bar knows that your missing wife is probably dead. It’s too bad really, I mean it. But all these years later and they still excuse your crap. What they forget is that you were an asshole long before you married Briana. Once an ass always an ass, I say.”
A communal gasp went around the room and everyone leaned closer.
William grabbed him by his jacket, lifted him up, and watched as his feet flopped around trying to connect with the safety of the floor.
The people around them quickly stood and moved to the walls, except for a very large man in the corner eating his soup.
"Okay, okay! You can put me down now. I get it, I do. William, I apologize!”
William shook, vibrating Greenridge, the thin, powerless man’s teeth chattered.
“You’re a little t-t-testy, I can see that now. Testy is understandable in your situation. I’m sorry! I mean it. It’s gotta be tough.”
The entire pub vibrated, the walls creaking. A few puffs of dust floated down from the ceiling.
William stopped it.
“Testy? You haven’t begun to see testy.”
Greenridge panted, his eyes wobbling. “B-Briana is really powerful, no? As strong as she is beautiful, and she’s probably still alive!” He had taken the wrong road with William and he knew it. He gulped air. “N-no, I mean to say that, without a doubt, she is alive! Her disappearance is tragic, one of the worst in our history. Tragic!”
William dropped Greenridge, put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
Greenridge smoothed his expensive, slick suit, his fellow engineers whispering behind their hands.
William enjoyed that Greenridge was no longer Alpha dog. A small bonus in a shitty day.
Greenridge, his jaw set, lips pulled back into a hideous grimace, stared at the group then back at William. He polished a smudge from his shoes, nodding to his group. Then he lashed out at William and knocked him to the floor. People in the bar moaned, grabbing each other as if that would protect them through the upcoming, predictable, spectacular tumble.
William slowly rubbed his head. “You surprised me. I didn’t think you had the balls for a sucker punch."
Then the extraordinary happened. The soup eating giant in the corner picked up a table with each hand and threw them across the bar.
Now the people ran. They pushed each other and scrambled over chairs and upturned tables.
Gritting his teeth the giant uttered a low, threatening snarl at William.
William growled back.
Greenridge crouched and scuttled toward the door.
William tilted his head at poor, doomed Greenridge. The man smiled and Greenridge flew upward, hovering over them, whirling like the blades of a helicopter. His head banged up and down, side to side, and he screamed with every thump. One by one the people crept back in.
“I was having soup.” He threw his empty bowl at him, followed by half-full ale steins. “A fantastic corn chowder that I’ve looked forward to for weeks. Now it’s on the floor and on my shirt and I am not happy. And the guy in the coat over there is pissing me off, too. I just wanted to eat my soup! In a quiet, civilized space.”
The man snarled at William.
They both hissed, grabbed each other and tangoed. Height laughed making the glasses rattle and crack.
“Steve!” William grinned. “I didn’t even see you over there .”
He continued to spin Greenridge, waving his finger at him as they danced.
“Stop or I’ll puke on you!” It was very likely that the puking would happen.
Steve looked up. “Oh, sorry about that.” He lowered Greenridge to the floor. He couldn’t move, holding his head and shutting his eyes. “Everything’s spinning!”
Steve ignored him. “How the hell have you been, William?”
“I’m alright. Test pilot now.”
“I heard. Very nice. Pays good?”
“Yeah. It’s good.”
Steve whispered, his eyebrows knitting together. “Briana?”
“Following leads. Nothing, really. Just fishing in the dark.” Rubbing the back of his neck he stared away.
“We go back a long ways, you and I. Hell, we’ve gotten thrown out of more places than most people have visited. Some I don’t even fucking remember!”
“’Tis true, ‘tis true.”
He patted William on the back then motioned at the doorway with his head.
William muttered. “Crap.”
Leeber walked in and the room fell silent. “Height, the place looks fantastic. New stained glass.”
Height smiled. “I made them. No one else noticed, thank you. New hobby.”
Leeber arched his eyebrows turning around to gaze at the new back windows. “Exquisite.” He nodded at those in the room who he knew, which, as usual, was everyone.
“Leeber, it’s been too long.” Steve shifted from foot to foot. Greenridge walked slowly to the door. One of his once shiny shoes now absent, his slick suit dirty and ripped, he fell, stood, fell again, gave up and crawled out the door.
“Steve, you know better,” Leeber said without looking at him.
Steve put the tables and chairs back in their proper places.
“William started it.” Grinning he stooped down, took a step out the door and turned back to William. “The next dance…save it for me. Right?” Steve nervously laughed two small laughs, then looked at Leeber, who crossed his arms and hrmphed.
“Sorry.”
William stared at Leeber slipping his hands in his pants pockets. Leeber ignored him and walked to the back corner. Sitting beneath a wall of clocks, none of which ever read the same time, Leeber smiled at a young woman sitting, slumped as if trying to hide.
“Please, join us.” Leeber stood offering her a chair.
William, now curious, watched Leeber, hoping to be invited over. And he was, although with a stern look from Leeber. Looking at William’s slippers he shook his head, sighed, and signaled to Height to bring them drinks.
“I really don’t want to be here.” Rocking slightly in her chair she stared at the clocks.
“We understand,” Leeber said.
“But, I have no choice, I know because I have wrestled with it for days and days now. I really don’t want to be here, but I have no choice. None.”
A plain woman with slightly crooked teeth, straight hair that framed her face, she had surprisingly, bright-red, bejeweled fingernails. She was exactly the type of incongruous character that intrigued Leeber.
“My name is Leeber, and this impertinent man is William.”
She didn’t offer her name taking a large drink of her fizzy red wine.
“I know something about Briana,” she whispered more to the wine than to them.
William leaned forward, his elbows on the table, legs in a sprinter’s crouch. His impatience was hard to hide, his left leg bouncing. Leeber glanced at him and William settled down.
“I met Briana once. She helped my great aunt to transfer into a bird. That was my aunt’s request when she passed over. She even made it so that Aunt CeeCee could transform herself as long as she wanted,” she spun a bracelet around and then back. She looked at William, staring into his eyes, and told him in a rush. “Briana is still alive.”
William’s heart skipped a beat. “What? How can you know this? H – How do you know, why do you think that? Do you know where she is?”
Leeber shook his head at William. “Calm down, let her talk.”
“I play on a team at the Lindley Virtual Games with Bax’s brother Dex. We made it to the finals. I have lots of fun with most of the people on the team, but he’s an ass. Hate that guy, he’s scary as hell. He told me once that his sister was the most powerful Fidean on the planet, maybe even the universe. One of the other guys argued and I remember him saying that Bax was powerful enough but that it would have taken one of her sisters to take Briana. I knew she meant one of the Sisters.”
William raised his eyebrows trying to gauge Leeber’s reaction. There wasn’t one.
“I think he meant Briana. In fact I’m sure of it. Obvious, right?”
Leeber rubbed his forehead sighing. “A special task force has been assembled dedicated to catch Bax, but they’re no match for her. She doesn’t want to be charged, obviously, for either her father’s death or Briana’s disappearance. I think she’ll stay away. But, I’m straying from the topic at hand, about you, about this news.”
She put her hands on the table, continuing to spin the thin bracelet. "Dex said that she is powerful enough to keep her, that there was no way she could escape. She stumbled over her words. "Well, I mean he didn't exactly talk about Briana as if she had been captured, but all about what she might, or might not do in the future. So, you see why I think he knows that she's alive. That's why I had to come here even though I know that if Dex found out I would be killed. There's no doubt about that. When I met Briana she radiated such a light. I could feel her love." She turned her head away, sniffed, patting William's hand. "I'm so sorry." Her voice cracked.
Leeber traced the circle on the table left from his glass.
“Charlie.” Her eyes widened, startled that he knew her name. “You need to avoid Dex at all costs now. Totally avoid him and any conversation about him. Don’t go back to the games, don’t even talk to anyone who talked to you about this. You never know what people are really all about, or, more probably in this case, what Dex would do to the people who talked about him. He could be paying them, too, giving out the information he wants out there. If they discover that you watch them, talk about them, you will be in extreme danger.”
William wanted to ask her more but Leeber gave him a sidelong glance that said they needed to stop.
“I can’t tell you how much this means,” William patted her hand. She held his for a brief second. “Thank you. If you ever need me, please call.”
She hurried to the door.
Leeber, watching her leave, moved his chair back and looked at William who was breathing hard the anger evident in his face.
“Listen, William, before you start arguing with me, I’ll take care of this. I’ll find out about Dex. I know some people who are efficient at persuasion. We have arrangements, associations. They never fail.”
“Yeah, I know you do, but…”
“I’ll keep you up to date on their efforts. I will take care of it. You can trust me.”
“I know you will, but, come on, this is the best lead we’ve had in years. I’ve been after Dex for a long time.”
Leeber paused. William finished his drink waiting for Leeber to come to the point.
William leaned back, tipping his chair.
“Don’t do that, you’ll fall and break your damn neck.”
He put the chair down.
“I need you.” Leeber’s voice fell flat.
“Damn, Leeber, I have known you my whole life, three hundred and seventy-one years, and I‘ve never heard you say that. Never. You’re serious.”
“I can’t do what I used to do. Part of getting older. A thousand next month.”
“No kidding! I didn’t know. Damn, you are old. You look old.”
He hit Leeber on the shoulder. Leeber grinned. “Thanks for that. Now, enough kidding, I really do need your help.”
“You know I would do anything for you.”
“It’s about an Earth boy. He is known to us as The Mac, there he is simply called Mac. He is crucial, probably against forces that you know nothing about, deadly forces. It is very probable that this Earth boy has a part to play in it,” Leeber’s hard, old eyes bored into William’s. “I have never asked anything like this of you. The Assembly, or to be honest, the Circle of Eight, asked you to take on the photon monster, but now I am asking you to do this. I would do it myself William but I am no longer strong enough. So I need your help.”
William sat back staring at his hands. “Who is this kid? What’s so special about him?”
“This is the part you’re not going to like. I can’t tell you.”
A clock chimed and then another, but none on the same times. They both paused and listened to the clocks.
“The Circle of Eight. Last time I met with them they took me to a beautiful place with lavender fields and told me that I could stay there. Promised me a nice cottage, a dog . . . Remember?”
“Yes. Your expression,” he rubbed his eyes, “that was fantastic.”
“They wouldn’t have really done that, would they? Put me in a flower filled prison if I hadn’t agreed to help?”
He grinned, enjoying it. “And I would have let them.”
William stared at his empty glass, tapping his nails on it.
“But I would have visited you from time to time.” Joking they felt the moment knowing it was rare, hadn’t happened in a long time, and may not ever happen again.
“You old bastard. Now, what about this Mac kid? And how is he more important than hunting for Briana? He’d have to be damned important.”
“He is. Or, he could be. Or, he may not. Or, he could save all of Fidea. We have no calculations or measurements. But he needs someone. His mother has just died and his father is an idiot, hunting down some mythical bird and can’t be reached. The boy is living with his aunt. That’s all I can tell you. He needs help, protection, and close monitoring.”
“Well thanks for clearing that up.” He wadded up a handful of nut shells and threw them on the floor. “What the hell, Leeber? What’s going on? The Circle of Eight is always dangerous, always scheming. I don’t like any of this.”
Leeber smoothed the table top, avoiding William’s look.
“This kid, I just jump over to Earth, kill a monster or something?”
“No.”
William rubbed his face and took a deep breath. “Okay, what then?”
“Guard him and monitor him. It seems that others want to control or destroy him. He doesn’t know who he is or what he is capable of. To tell the truth we don’t even know what he is capable of, probably more than we’re estimating. . He is integral to something that was meant to be groundbreaking, beyond explanation.”
“Meant to be,” William leaned on the table, rubbing his hair and face. “Dammit. So it failed, right?”
“All I can tell you that this must be kept confidential. There is a risk that we could all be convicted for our work with Mac. If we were exposed, there could be grave consequences.”
“Death?”
“Yes, or worse. Launching.”
“Launching, sent out into space until you die, right?” He shivered. “I’ll tell you what . . . if you get that sentence I’ll kill you myself.”
Leeber grinned. “Let’s call that Plan Z.”
“Right. I’ll make a note of it. So, when do I go see this kid and what can I do to get back to the Dex issue?”
“You leave in the morning.”
“The morning. Don’t know what I’ll wear, and I need a haircut.” The sarcasm failed. “And Briana?”
Leeber looked out the door.
“I’m afraid that you’re the only one I can trust. I wouldn’t ask this if there was any other way. And, I have no idea when you’ll get back to hunting down Dex. I will promise you that I will do anything and everything to find Briana.”
William rarely got angry at Leeber. He pointed at the door. “I should just walk out that son-of-a-bitchin’ door and go after Dex and tell you to go to hell with this Earth kid!”
Leeber pushing his chair back, nodded to Height, then walked past William. Just before he stepped out he turned.
“I know, but you won’t.”
Now available on
AMAZON
Kobo
B&N Nook
CHAPTER FOURMac, always on time was now cursed with a seven-year-old cousin, Misha, living in the category of always late.
Fifteen minutes passed as he waited under the old oaks, kicking rocks across the crumbling driveway. But according to Misha the first few minutes of school were boring anyway.
Misha hopped down the back steps with the left sleeve of her sweater on her right arm. The other sleeve, confused, dangled down her back. Grabbing her, cramming her arms into the correct sleeves, they began the daily drudge to school. Only it was far from a drudge to his cousin as she loved twirling. She never just walked anywhere, no matter how much Mac yelled or threatened, bribed, or begged. Misha simply twirled, a world-renown twirler.
Mac glanced down the street, yelling “Misha, quit! Now!” It was too late.
“Look who it is boys!” Rhett James and his friends: the morning was complete. Rhett was in the usual place, the sun was in its sky, and snotting snails lived under rocks.
“Check it out.” Rhett’s followers nodded on cue. “If it isn’t our new best buddy,” Rhett’s bony shoulders shook up and down, as he laughed.
“Hey Rhett. Morning, henchmen.” Mac walked on keeping Misha far away from them.
“You know what everyone calls you at school? Orphan boy. Yeah. Everybody knows that you’re a freak. If we beat the shit out of you right now and tossed you into the river, no one would care. But you know what?”
“Oh, please, wise one, tell me.” Mac, bowing waved Rhett on.
Rhett, the tallest of the group, with spindles for legs, dirty red hair and a wide, ugly mouth, was always shadowed by his enforcer, Monster. He could pass as a hairless bear, shorter than Rhett but three times as wide.
“Nobody wants you here. Loser. Just a big loser, loner, no friends, nothin’. Why don’t you go back to your old school? Oh, that’s right, you can’t. Mommy died so now you’re living with your hot little aunt. You guys seen her?”
The ‘guys’ smiled.
“You’re way over the line,” Mac pointed his finger at him. “You are not, will not, talk about my aunt like that.”
Rani, Rhett’s sister, walked up, wrapping her long hair into a loose pony tail. Glaring at the boys Mac thought it was interesting that they immediately took a step back.
“‘Orphan boy’? Are you really that cold and st-t-t-tupid?” Rani leaning forward, hands on her hips, ready to charge.
“Get lost, Rani. None of your business.”
“God, I hat-t-te you!”
“S-s-shut up! I wish you’d d-d-died when you were b-b-born,” Rhett mimicked Rani’s stutter.
“Honest to God. Mom and Dad get embarrassed when you’re around. You’re a ffffucking f-f-freak just like orphan boy. They make a great little couple, don’t they guys?”
The “guys” all nodded. Mac was sure they were afraid not to. Mac stepped toward him.
“This has nothing to do with your sister. It’s about you and me, and you’re nothing but a damn bully. You’re a coward. I’d like to have this conversation when you’re all alone.”
“Yeah? Think I can’t handle you?”
Rhett ran full force at him, but Mac stepped back and slammed a fist into Rhett’s gut, knocking him face-first into the rocks and gravel.
Rhett, spitting out dirt and pebbles, slowly stood. “Orphan boy, you’re really going to be sorry you did that. Have you met Monster?”
Monster grinned, almost drooling.
“Yeah, how couldn’t I? First period he smacks me on the back of the head every day. Sure, I know Monster.”
Monster grabbed his shirt shoving Mac backward. Mac swung and hit him in the jaw, but Monster stepped back, wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip ramming his thick shoulder into Mac’s chest, pinning him against a tree. Sharp bark cut into his elbow and forearm. Mac fell, moaning.
Rhett walked by Mac, his head up, shoulders back, clucking at the cut on Mac’s elbow. “What a shame, you’ve torn your sleeve. Now your aunt will have to buy you another one. You’re really costing her, right, orphan boy? My dad says she’s losing her house. And you sure haven’t helped, right, orphan boy?”
Mac tripped Rhett, knocking him to the ground. Bloody snot ran down Rhett’s face. Mac was going to laugh, looked at Monster hovering over him, decided to laugh later, maybe Thursday, around seven, after dinner . . .
Rhett glared at Mac as he wiped his face on his sleeve. “I’ll get you. You’ll pay. Big time.” He vibrated with anger, jiggling up and down. “Just die. Then your pretty little aunt won’t have to feed your sorry ass anymore. No more burden, right? Die, orphan boy. Do us all a favor.”
“Fuck off!” he snapped. Mac had never said that to anyone before and it didn’t feel good. It just reminded him how out of control his whole damn life was.
In a flash he missed his mom. The thought was a total surprise. He missed knowing that she would be pissed at him if she knew that he had said ‘fuck’. There wouldn’t be anyone who cared what he did or said. But she always had, and he had lost that.
He missed her.
He choked up and tried to hide it. Misha, convinced that she could kill Rhett sprang at the boys, a stick over her head, twirling ninja style. Rani caught her and wrestled her down before she hurt herself.
Rhett stepped toward Misha. Laughing he kicked at the gravel, sending a small cloud of dust into her face.
Mac rushed him, knocking him against the tree, pushed him harder, his arm against Rhett’s throat.
“You touch my cousin and you die. Got that?”
“Ooooh, so Mac’s gonna keep me from getting his little cousin. I think I’ll run away.”
“Yeah I think that would be a good idea.”
“Whatever,” Rhett backed up, snickering as he looked at Misha
Rani stomped over to her brother kicking him in the shin, making him hop away.
Following him she kicked him with each word, “No-one-wants-ttto-see-your-butt-ugly-face-around-here-anymore!”
Monster walked away, glancing back at Rani. It was strange to see the big man afraid.
“I hate him! I’ll get him if he ever comes close to you, Mac,” Misha picked up a rock. “He’ll be sorry, dammit.”
“Don’t cuss. Calm down, you’re seven. I think he might win.” Mac brushed his hands off on his pants. “Stay away from him, got it?”
Rani walked beside Mac but stared at the ground and the houses they passed.
“Mrs. Ruben loves gnomes,” she pointed at a small garden with little statues.
Mac nodded rolling his sleeve down, covering the scratch. “Some people like that kind of stuff.”
“Yeah. How’s your arm?”
“It’s good. Nothing, really. Yeah, it’s okay.” He struggled to find something, anything, to say.
“I hear that Brandon has mono, going to be out all s-s-semester. Mr. Stout said that someone else could b-b-be your chem partner. I said I would. If you want.”
She blushed, which made Mac smile. “Yeah, that’d be great. I’m almost flunking.”
“I have an A.”
He grinned. “Figures.”
She laughed.
Turning the corner they were caught in the loud crowd of yelling, pushing, running kids. Misha’s school was next to the high school and Mac watched her twirl into the building. The first bell rang just as they walked in.
“I’m going this way,” Rani pointed at the stairs.
“That way for me. I hate home room. I guess Monster will be there. What a bizarre day.” The noise around them made it hard to talk. “See you in chemistry.” Staring at her, he stood still until the second bell rang.
“Lunch?” She asked.
“Oh, yeah. I didn’t realize that we both had first lunch. See you.”
The sounds and kids pushing around him faded as he watched her disappear in the crowd. Walking into homeroom he couldn’t stop smiling, even when Monster smacked him on the back of the head.
“Good morning, ass.”
“Morning, orphan boy.”
Mac turned staring at Monster who looked surprisingly uncomfortable.
“Name’s Mac.”
Monster looked away.
“Mac . . . Whatever.”
Monster saying his name felt like defeating Rhett.
“Name’s Ted.”
Surprised Mac said, “Good morning, Ted.”
Monster actually giggled. “Ready for the history test?”
“Never!” Mac ignored the daily announcements trying to cram for the test.
Mac stepped in the cafeteria line, looking for Rani but didn’t see her. He usually dreaded lunch, mainly because he had the free lunch. He qualified because of Aunt Holly’s income. People around him would stare, sometimes laughing.
Free lunch was usually milk, a cheese or bologna sandwich on stale white bread, an applesauce, and a cookie. The real lunch was tacos. He loved tacos.
An older woman with a name tag that read ‘Betty’ looked at Mac and coughed, looking away, handing him a tray with tacos, three instead of the two that everyone else was getting.
“I don’t get a regular lunch,” his voice was low as he looked around to see if anyone was watching.
“Oh, darn. I guess I messed it up. I do that sometimes.” Handing him the tray she moved on to the next kid.
“Thanks.” She didn’t look at him, but he saw her grin.
A group of girls pushed by laughing in a high pitched sound that would make dogs howl in pain. Then he saw Rani, sitting in the back next to two other girls and a guy. Seeing him she smiled. He was surprised to see that she had free lunch, too.
“Hi.” She pulled the top off of her applesauce, glancing at his tacos.
“The weirdest thing,” he put a taco on her plate, “I usually get the free lunch, too, but today the lunch lady gave me this. Have a taco.”
“She did? Betty, right? Once in a while she’ll g-g-give me a chocolate milk and an extra cookie. She’s really nice.”
“I talked to Monster in homeroom. Couldn’t believe it. We kinda bonded. He told me his name.”
“Yeah, Ted, but no one’s called him that since about third grade. We all used to call him teddy bear so that’s when he started telling everyone to call him Monster. That’s amazing that he told you that.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
Mac took a bite of the taco. It crumbled, some landing in his lap.
He shook his head, embarrassed. At first she looked sympathetic then giggled.
“D-D-Don’t you hate that?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
More silence.
“I had an algebra test, pop quiz,” she said.
“History test. It wasn’t anything that I had studied.”
He thought about kissing her, about asking her out. For those few seconds she stared back then turned away, blushing.
The bell rang and neither one had eaten their cookie. They both slipped it into their backpacks.
“For later,” he said.
“Right.”
Chemistry was on the other side of the building so they had to rush to get there. Chemistry was one of the classes he liked, mainly because of the teacher, Mr. Stout. He was tough and never lectured from notes. That was impressive.
This was the first time that he and Rani were partners. Fern, the girl at the station behind them, grinned at Rani. It seemed that Rani had told her about him. He thought that was good, he hoped that was good.
As they were getting their Bunsen burners out and lining up the chemicals, they brushed hands a few times. She blushed again and a rush of excitement hit him.
A flash of fire exploded from Fern’s station. The flame shot up to the ceiling. People screamed. Mr. Stout grabbed a blanket, wrapping Fern in it. Panicked, she cried and tried to get away but he held onto her, lowering her to the floor, putting out the embers in her thick hair. .
“Sam!” he yelled at the tall kid in the front row, “run to the office and tell them to get an ambulance!”
Mac put his hands over the flame, pushing it down, back into the bottle. The fire was out.
Paramedics came quickly and, lucky for her, Fern only had a chunk of hair burned, a few burns on her hands and arms, and her eyebrows singed off. The smell of it, along with burnt rubber tubing, lingered in the air. One girl sat down on the floor crying. No one could get her to stop. Most of the kids stared silently at Fern’s station.
Mr. Stout tried to go over safety around the flames but they were too stunned to listen. “Alcohol, open bottle, causes a flammable vapor. The flame was fueled and erupted. Going forward we . . .”
As the shock wore off a few of the kids stared at Mac, but he was just as confused as everyone else.
After school Rhett and a group of kids stood waiting, staring at him. Rhett stepped forward, lit a piece of paper and threw it at him. Everyone laughed.
Mac knocked it off his shirt and stepped on it, walking away.
“Hey, orphan boy, I didn’t know you had such talents. Be interesting to see what else you could do. Like stop a fire in a house. Like yours!”
Mac walked on. He hated Rhett, but now, more than anything he hated what was happening to him. Everything felt out of control. Passing the gnomes he thought that he saw one of them wave at him. He didn’t stop to look. What would he do if it had moved? Walking on he refused to look back.
That night he tried to sleep. His room used to be Aunt Holly’s arts and crafts room. She was an artist and her supplies, sculptures, etches, and paintings were everywhere. She had tried to make space for him fitting in his bed, nightstand, lamp, desk and a few posters with pictures that his dad had taken. But it was crowded. Sometimes he had dreams that the stacks of cloth, canvases and modeling clay fell on him, smothering him.
Under the bed was a metal box that had all of his stuff from his childhood, things that his mom and dad had given him, like his grandfather’s watch. Looking at pictures from magazines that he sorted them, putting the jellyfish one on top. It was one of his favorites.
In an envelope he had a few black and white photos of his dad and him. There was one that he always looked at, almost every night. His father had given him one of his old cameras and was teaching him how to use it. They had been at the zoo, taking pictures of trash, and bugs, weird plants, and people’s feet as they walked by. In front of the bear exhibit his dad had started taking pictures of him, so he took pictures of him. Facing each other, laughing, snapping away people walked by and smiled. An older man stopped and took pictures of them and had sent them to his dad. He smoothed the one where they were laughing so hard that they almost fell over.
It used to make him smile. He slid it back into its envelope.
CHAPTER THREE
Mac, always on time was now cursed with a seven-year-old cousin, Misha, living in the category of always late.
Fifteen minutes passed as he waited under the old oaks, kicking rocks across the crumbling driveway. But according to Misha the first few minutes of school were boring anyway.
Misha hopped down the back steps with the left sleeve of her sweater on her right arm. The other sleeve, confused, dangled down her back. Grabbing her, cramming her arms into the correct sleeves, they began the daily drudge to school. Only it was far from a drudge to his cousin as she loved twirling. She never just walked anywhere, no matter how much Mac yelled or threatened, bribed, or begged. Misha simply twirled, a world-renown twirler.
Mac glanced down the street, yelling “Misha, quit! Now!” It was too late.
“Look who it is boys!” Rhett James and his friends: the morning was complete. Rhett was in the usual place, the sun was in its sky, and snotting snails lived under rocks.
“Check it out.” Rhett’s followers nodded on cue. “If it isn’t our new best buddy,” Rhett’s bony shoulders shook up and down as he laughed.
“Hey Rhett. Morning, henchmen.” Mac walked on keeping Misha far away from them.
“You know what everyone calls you at school? Orphan boy. Yeah. Everybody knows that you’re a freak. If we beat the shit out of you right now and tossed you in the river, no one would care. But you know what?”
“Oh, please, wise one, tell me.” Mac, bowing waved Rhett on.
Rhett, the tallest of the group, with spindles for legs, dirty red hair and a wide, ugly mouth, was always shadowed by his enforcer, Monster. He could pass as a hairless bear, shorter than Rhett but three times as wide.
“Nobody wants you here. Loser. Just a big loser, loner, no friends, nothin’. Why don’t you go back to your old school? Oh, that’s right, you can’t. Mommy died so now you’re living with your hot little aunt. You guys seen her?”
The ‘guys’ smiled.
“You’re way over the line,” Mac pointed his finger at him. “You are not, will not, talk about my aunt like that.”
Rani, Rhett’s sister, walked up, wrapping her long hair into a loose pony tail. Glaring at the boys Mac thought it was interesting that they immediately took a step back.
“‘Orphan boy’? Are you really that cold and st-t-t-tupid?” Rani leaning forward, hands on her hips, ready to charge.
“Get lost, Rani. None of your business.”
“God, I hat-t-te you!”
“S-s-shut up! I wish you’d d-d-died when you were b-b-born,” Rhett mimicked Rani’s stutter. “Honest to God. Mom and Dad get embarrassed when you’re around. You’re a ffffucking f-f-freak just like orphan boy. They make a great little couple, don’t they guys?”
The “guys” all nodded. Mac was sure they were afraid not to. Mac stepped toward him.
“This has nothing to do with your sister. It’s about you and me, and you’re nothing but a damn bully. You’re a coward. I’d like to have this conversation when you’re all alone.”
“Yeah? Think I can’t handle you?”
Rhett ran full force at him, but Mac stepped back and slammed a fist into Rhett’s gut, knocking him face-first into the rocks and gravel.
Rhett, spitting out dirt and pebbles, slowly stood. “Orphan boy, you’re really going to be sorry you did that. Have you met Monster?”
Monster grinned, almost drooling.
“Yeah, how couldn’t I? First period he smacks me on the back of the head every day. Sure, I know Monster.”
Monster grabbed his shirt shoving Mac backward. Mac swung and hit him in the jaw, but Monster stepped back, wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip ramming his thick shoulder into Mac’s chest, pinning him against a tree. Sharp bark cut into his elbow and forearm. Mac fell, moaning.
Rhett walked by Mac, his head up, shoulders back, clucking at the cut on Mac’s elbow. “What a shame, you’ve torn your sleeve. Now your aunt will have to buy you another one. You’re really costing her, right, orphan boy? My dad says she’s losing her house. And you sure haven’t helped, right, orphan boy?”
Mac tripped Rhett, knocking him to the ground. Bloody snot ran down Rhett’s face. Mac was going to laugh, looked at Monster hovering over him, decided to laugh later, maybe Thursday, around seven, after dinner . . .
Rhett glared at Mac as he wiped his face on his sleeve. “I’ll get you. You’ll pay. Big time.” He vibrated with anger, jiggling up and down. “Just die. Then your pretty little aunt won’t have to feed your sorry ass anymore. No more burden, right? Die, orphan boy. Do us all a favor.”
“Fuck off!” he snapped. Mac had never said that to anyone before and it didn’t feel good. It just reminded him how out of control his whole damn life was. In a flash he missed his mom. The thought was a total surprise. He missed knowing that she would be pissed at him if she knew that he had said ‘fuck’. There wouldn’t be anyone who cared what he did or said. But she always had, and he had lost that.
Now available on Amazon
He missed her.
He choked up and tried to hide it. Misha, convinced that she could kill Rhett sprang at the boys, a stick over her head, twirling ninja style. Rani caught her and wrestled her down before she hurt herself.
Rhett stepped toward Misha. Laughing he kicked at the gravel, sending a small cloud of dust into her face.
Mac rushed him, knocking him against the tree, pushed him harder, his arm against Rhett’s throat.
“You touch my cousin and you die. Got that?”
“Ooooh, so Mac’s gonna keep me from getting his little cousin. I think I’ll run away.”
“Yeah I think that would be a good idea.”
“Whatever,” Rhett backed up, snickering as he looked at Misha
Rani stomped over to her brother kicking him in the shin, making him hop away.
Following him she kicked him with each word, “No-one-wants-ttto-see-your-butt-ugly-face-around-here-any more!”
Monster walked away, glancing back at Rani. It was strange to see the big guy afraid.
“I hate him! I’ll get him if he ever comes close to you, Mac.” Misha picked up a rock. “He’ll be sorry, dammit.”
“Don’t cuss. Calm down, you’re seven. I think he might win.” Mac brushed his hands off on his pants. “Stay away from him, got it?”
Rani walked beside Mac but stared at the ground and the houses they passed.
“Mrs. Ruben loves gnomes,” she pointed at a small garden with little statues.
Mac nodded rolling his sleeve down, covering the scratch. “Some people like that kind of stuff.”
“Yeah. How’s your arm?”
“It’s good. Nothing, really. It’s okay.” He struggled to find something, anything, to say.
“I hear that Brandon has mono, going to be out all s-s-semester. Mr. Stout said that someone else could b-b-be your chem partner. I said I would. If you want.”
She blushed, which made Mac smile. “Yeah, that’d be great. I’m almost flunking.”
“I have an 'A'.”
He grinned. “Figures.”
She laughed.
Turning the corner they were caught in the loud crowd of yelling, pushing, running kids. Misha’s school was next to the high school and Mac watched her twirl into the building. The first bell rang just as they walked in.
“I’m going this way,” Rani pointed at the stairs.
“That way for me. I hate home room. I guess Monster will be there. What a bizarre day.” The noise around them made it hard to talk. “See you in chemistry.” Staring at her, he stood still until the second bell rang.
“Lunch?” She asked.
“Oh, yeah. I didn’t realize that we both had first lunch. See you.”
The sounds and kids pushing around him faded as he watched her disappear in the crowd. Walking into homeroom he couldn’t stop smiling, even when Monster smacked him on the back of the head.
“Good morning, ass.”
“Morning, orphan boy.”
Mac turned staring at Monster who looked surprisingly uncomfortable.
“Name’s Mac.”
Monster looked away.
“Mac . . . Whatever.”
Monster saying his name felt like defeating Rhett.
“Name’s Ted.”
Surprised Mac said, “Good morning, Ted.”
Monster actually giggled. “Ready for the history test?”
“Never!” Mac ignored the daily announcements trying to cram for the test.
Mac stepped in the cafeteria line, looking for Rani but didn’t see her. He usually dreaded lunch, mainly because he had the free lunch. He qualified because of Aunt Holly’s income. People around him would stare, sometimes laughing.
Free lunch was usually milk, a cheese or bologna sandwich on stale white bread, an applesauce, and a cookie. The real lunch was tacos. He loved tacos.
An older woman with a name tag that read ‘Betty’ glanced at Mac and coughed, looking away, handing him a tray with tacos, three instead of the two that everyone else was getting.
“I don’t get a regular lunch,” his voice was low as he looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to him.
“Oh, darn. I guess I messed it up. I do that sometimes.” Handing him the tray she moved on to the next kid.
“Thanks.” She stared at the meat and lettuce, ignoring him, but he saw her grin.
A group of girls pushed by laughing in a high pitched sound that would make dogs howl in pain. Then he saw Rani, sitting in the back next to two other girls and a guy. Seeing him she smiled. He was surprised to see that she had free lunch, too.
“Hi.” She pulled the top off of her applesauce, glancing at his tacos.
“The weirdest thing,” he put a taco on her plate, “I usually get the free lunch, too, but today the lunch lady gave me this. Have a taco.”
“She did? Betty, right? Once in a while she’ll g-g-give me a chocolate milk and an extra cookie. She’s really nice.”
“I talked to Monster in homeroom. Couldn’t believe it. We kinda bonded. He told me his name.”
“Yeah, Ted, but no one’s called him that since about third grade. We all used to call him teddy bear so that’s when he started telling everyone to call him Monster. That’s amazing that he told you that.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
Mac took a bite of the taco. It crumbled, some landing in his lap. He shook his head, embarrassed. At first she looked sympathetic then giggled.
“D-D-Don’t you hate that?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
More silence.
“I had an algebra test, pop quiz,” she said.
“History test. It wasn’t anything that I had studied.”
He thought about kissing her, about asking her out. For those few seconds she stared back then turned away, blushing. The bell rang and neither one had eaten their cookie. They both slipped it into their backpacks.
“For later,” he said.
“Right.”
Chemistry was on the other side of the building so they had to rush to get there. Chemistry was one of the classes he liked, mainly because of the teacher, Mr. Stout. He was tough and never lectured from notes. That was impressive.
This was the first time that he and Rani were partners. Fern, the girl at the station behind them, grinned at Rani. It seemed that Rani had told her about him. He thought that was good, he hoped that was good.
As they were getting out their Bunsen burners and lining up the chemicals, they brushed hands a few times. She blushed again and a rush of excitement hit him.
Suddenly a flash of fire exploded from Fern’s station. The flame shot up to the ceiling and the crackling of glass breaking and the wall scorching set off panic. People screamed. Mr. Stout grabbed a blanket, wrapping Fern in it. Panicked, she cried and tried to get away but he held onto her, lowering her to the floor, putting out the embers in her thick hair. .
“Sam!” he yelled at the tall kid in the front row, “run to the office and tell them to get an ambulance!”
Mac put his hands over the flame, pushing it down, back into the bottle. The fire was out. He had no idea why he had done it, or why it had worked. He trembled.
Paramedics came quickly and, lucky for her, Fern only had a chunk of hair burned, a few burns on her hands and arms, and her eyebrows singed off. The smell of it, along with burnt rubber tubing, lingered in the air. One girl sat down on the floor crying. No one could get her to stop. Most of the kids stared silently at Fern’s station.
Mr. Stout tried to go over safety around the flames but they were too stunned to listen. “Alcohol, open bottle, causes a flammable vapor. The flame was fueled and erupted. Going forward we . . .”
As the shock wore off a few of the kids stared at Mac, but he was just as confused as everyone else.
After school Rhett and a group of kids stood waiting, staring at him. Rhett stepped forward, lit a piece of paper and threw it at him. Everyone laughed.
Mac knocked it off his shirt and stepped on it, walking away.
“Hey, orphan boy, I didn’t know you had such talents. Be interesting to see what else you could do. Like stop a fire in a house. Like yours!”
Mac walked on. He hated Rhett, but now, more than anything he hated what was happening to him. Everything felt out of control. Passing the gnomes he thought that he saw one of them wave at him. He didn’t stop to look. What would he do if it had moved? Walking on he refused to look back.
Now available on Amazon
CHAPTER SIX
Dylan ran.
The bird would take him down, ripping his flesh from his bones. He would scream, just like the butchered animals that he’d heard.
“God, I’ve never been a praying man, but please help me. I’m not who I pretend to be. I’ve lied. I’ve pretended, God, oh, God. Help me!”
The sun setting left him adrift in this sea of scratching branches, sliding mud, and sharp rocks. His face bleeding; the deep rips in his skin stung. His hands were slick, with blood or mud, he wasn’t sure.
Then rain--angry, heavy rain—fell making it almost almost impossible to see. Exhausted and unable to stand he dropped to his knees, crawling. The scent of the mossy ground and wet leaves should have been wonderful, always had been to him, but now the scents seemed like the depths of a grave. Every movement painful, his knees were punctured with sticks and rocks.
He sat.
There was little use in moving on, possibly going in circles. “This wouldn’t be a bad place to die. Better to die here, even in the pouring, freezing rain than at a cubicle. You could die in one of those and never get noticed. At least I’ll be a food source here. Beetles mostly.”
Thinking about death brought thoughts of Mac and his heart ached with grief and regrets.
The rain wasn’t as sharp now and he thought about getting up, but he was tired. The soft, wet fur of a creature brushed up against his hand. He didn't move. It was incredibly soft, low to the ground, with a large fluffy tail.
Skunk.
He held his breath and kept still. It moved on and he decided the universe had given him a sign, get out of there, keep moving or smell like a skunk.
As he grabbed rocks and tree roots, pulling himself along, he found one that was thicker than his leg. He tugged on it. He had discovered that these roots usually didn’t have any bushes on top of them and he could move without getting scratched.
The rain stopped and fell into shallow puddles. The ground below him gave way and the sound of a fast moving stream below made him dig in his heels trying to stop. It was too late. Head first he dropped into the icy black water. Fighting to get to the banks, he climbed over moss covered logs and rocks but they were too steep causing him to fall over and over, just to start the climb again. The cold numbed his legs and feet, his teeth chattered. Bouncing side to side he caught his ankle on a log and excruciating pain ran up his leg. It was possible that it was broken. The swirling water twisted his backpack, catching it on sharp overhanging branch. He had to slip it off or be sucked under. The current dragged him on but he hit a log that wasn’t slimy and slippery. It must have just recently fallen. Climbing on top of it he could feel the bank. It seemed shorter than the others he had tried to reach. He dug his fingers into the wet mud and rocks
“No, no, no,” he whispered spotting a shadow moving further down. The silhouette took a step, and its head dipped to the ground then rose incredibly high. It turned its head and stared at him.
“God, please God. Help me, help me.”
It trampled bushes charging after him, soon joined by another and another.
The fear gave him a burst of energy and he quickly pulled himself higher on the bank, opposite the birds. He slipped, dipping down into the water then pushing up the hill again. Then he felt an opening. A cave, not large but definitely a cave. Laughing he clawed at the dirt and pushed, throwing himself into the dark space.
“Thank you, God. Thank you!” He might never make it out but he didn’t want to think about that. In this moment he was safe and he could finally rest.
The entrance was narrow but as he crept along he was eventually able to crawl. Before him was a faint glow, some type of light filtering down and being reflected. Crystals. He’d seen caves like this before. As he pushed himself further back into the darkness of the cave he stopped, stunned.
He was not alone.
Now available on Amazon
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.de
Amazon.fr
Amazon.it
Amazon.nl
Amazon.co.jp
Amazon.in
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com.br
Amazon.com.mx
Amazon.com.au
See what's coming .
“Kassy, you’re like one of those little yapping dogs that gets all excited and pees on the carpet. No one died. Docks and boats can be replaced. And the ducks are okay. That’s what’s important, right? And tell the boys in the back that no one can handle a damn ship with a faulty 472 time accelerator.” He switched off the computer and patted the command dash saying goodbye to it. Climbing out he was impressed with the ability of the ship to form such an almost perfect half-moon shape and yet still be intact. A small group of people, including several from the press, gathered waiting for him and clapped as he stepped onto the river bank.
“...… minor damages, really. Our people are safe, that’s the main thing.” William told a Fidean News reporter standing next to him. He looked at the destruction around him and nodded. Three very nice cruisers, one white, the other two blue and white, were now pretzled together harmoniously, the blues and whites reminded him of an abstract painting of a blue sky with white pristine clouds.
“You could have been killed! What were your thoughts in those final moments?” Suzie or Sally or Nellie- he couldn’t remember her name -…asked him.
He shrugged, rubbing his hair with the towel the smiling emergency team handed him. “The well-being of the people really, and of course the ducks. You have to watch out for ducks in a situation like this because ducks don’t think well on their feet. That’s a big ship. Could’ve caused some major damage, wiped out entire blocks of the business district, the movers and shakers in Fidea, and someone I would imagine, although I’m not certain whose absence would have been noticed.” He grinned, the small group chuckled.
“So brave!” The reporter patted his arm and he smiled. “What do you think happened?”
“Simple. Some engineers screwed up and the time jump malfunctioned, whipping me forward then back again. Back and forward. Ridiculous. Although fun at a party there is no way to control the damn ship when you’re bouncing around like that.”
More press had hurried to join the group and a balding, freckled man stuck a microphone in his face. “You signed up for this job, right? And you crashed a ship that costs how much? The budget of a small country? What do you have to say to that, William? Not the first time you’ve destroyed property, right? Would you like to comment?”
William smirked, stared at his towel then took a deep breath. “What do I have to say about that? The budget and so on? We could stop developing and when the attacking hordes come we will simply say... what’s your name, sir?'”
“Reginald Blue.” He took a step back.
“Glad to meet you, Reggie. As I said, the attacking hordes will come to call and we’ll tell them who to talk to you, right?” He smiled at the balding reporter. “My job, while exciting, is necessary for the safety of our planet. In fact, there are few pilots qualified to test and use the newest technology, and the latest designs. After this experience I understand why many don’t sign up,” he said. Turning up the charm he winked at a few of the people. “Those people are intelligent people who want to live.”
The crowd nodded, laughed, and clapped, sharing all-knowing looks that said Sir William was wonderful and their personal hero. A young boy pushed through the crowd and asked him for his autograph. He obliged.
Suddenly, his boss, Kasani Royale, drove up with three of the department’s engineers, taking William’s place in front of the press.
Kasani stood next to William, his hands clasped behind his back indicating that he was indeed in charge. “We are very grateful that no one was injured in this unfortunate incident. Also, naturally, grateful for the skill and bravery of one of our top pilots, Sir William.” Kasani said, patting William on the back, perhaps a little too hard causing William’ s head to jiggle slightly back and forth.
“He is known for his exemplary bravery, however, we do need to take him back to the lab and allow our medical team to make certain that he has not sustained any injuries.”
William appreciated this only to the point that he was impressed with Kasani’s expertise at lying and misdirection, especially when it came to the press.
Once inside their transport pod Kasani began the shouting that William knew was inevitable. “Do I really need to say it again? Let me handle the questions! I can’t trust you to be discreet and your obsession with the press is exhausting.” He said, dispensing his favorite blue vodka from a nozzle on the side galley. “In the future you will refer any press or public relations groups to me. You know our research is classified. And our funding is always volatile.”
“I didn’t tell them anything classified. I should have, however, told them the names and addresses of these three idiots in the back who call themselves engineers. Don’t take me to the lab. I’ve had enough fun with you people today. I’ll go to Height’s for a calming pint or two.”
##
William loved walking into Height’s bar. The air was different, warmer, and friendlier. Calm and tolerant. Height had kept the old wood floor and wood paneled walls, but the tables were high pressed metal, the chairs comfortable poured plastic, the swirls and impressions unique to each one.
“Hi Height.”
Height, the bartender and owner, had earned the nickname early in his life due to his extraordinary height, and everyone loved walking in and addressing him as William had.
“Hey, hey, it’s our hero! Everyone!” Height addressed the room over the chatting. “Sir William has once again saved thousands of people and a whole lot of businesses over in Elton by landing that hunk of metal in the Drake River! Salute!”
They all raised their glasses while William bent over the bar and gave a small wave toward his friend. “Thanks.”
Height moaned and motioned to the front door. “Crap, crap, crap. I could throw them out if you want. Some of your buddies just walked in. The engineers,” he said in a hush.
“Oh, joy,” William said as he enjoyed a few more sips of his ale, munching on the toasted cheese Height slipped his way.
He didn’t have to turn around to know that it was the engineering department wearing their impressive suits and shiny shoes that clicked on the well-worn planks. Shiny shoes on old, dusty floors didn’t fit in Height’s, and neither did the men.
Height always kept a pair of slippers for William under the bar and gave them to him. Slippers were important to William, and, after his battle with the photon monster his fame started a cult of slipper-loving fanatics.
He adjusted his long black coat, a gift from a most outstanding man named Rem. It wasn’t really impressive except for the never-ending pockets sewn into its red, worn lining. Really, nothing was outwardly impressive about William.
He was proud and happy about that.
One of the engineers walked up behind him and everyone in the place pretended not to watch. The fellow engineers sniveled.
“Get ‘em,” Height whispered.
“Hey, Billy Boy, had a little trouble today huh?” Greenridge chuckled, grabbing William’s shoulder as if they were comrades. His voice was too high, making him sound immature, which he was, so it fit. “Perhaps it’s time to go back to the trash barge. The most damage you could do there is drop a container of trash on the wrong side of a dead planet. Right, guys?”
“Yeah?" William chuckled. "I liked those days. I didn’t have to deal with pain in the ass skunk breaths like you. Let’s get real about what happened today." He turned and smiled at the man with an un-earned smirk. "There was nothing wrong with my flying. The ship malfunctioned, and you damn well know it.” He grew louder with each word. “You screwed up the time travel tech and I almost crashed into the Elton business district because of it.
“No one was hurt, no bridge touched, no car overturned, no ducks destroyed--and I know that because I checked on them. That’s right, I care about ducks! I’d like to see any of you try skidding along on top of a river, in the middle of a city full of people who had no plans on dying today, manage to kill not a single duck and still salvage the bajillion dollar piece of equipment that you screwed up!”
Greenridge held William’s gaze and moved closer, toe to toe. “Got a little rage issue there, Sir William?”
“Rage? No, Greenridge, only disgusted with having to share the air around you while leaving all of your limbs attached to your repulsive body.”
The engineer was drunk. William knew where this was going.
“Everybody knows not to screw with you,” he said, spilling half a tankard of Height’s home brew on the floor.
“Everyone? Hmm. That’s a helluva lot of people, Greenridge.”
“Yeah, it is. And you know what? Every damn person in this bar knows that your missing wife is probably dead. It’s too bad really, I mean it. But all these years later and they still excuse your crap. What they forget is that you were an asshole long before you married Briana. Once an ass always an ass, I say.”
A communal gasp went around the room and everyone leaned closer.
William grabbed him by his jacket, lifted him up, and watched as his feet flopped around trying to connect with the safety of the floor.
The people around them quickly stood and moved to the walls, except for a very large man in the corner eating his soup.
"Okay, okay! You can put me down now. I get it, I do. William, I apologize!”
William shook, vibrating Greenridge, the thin, powerless man’s teeth chattered.
“You’re a little t-t-testy, I can see that now. Testy is understandable in your situation. I’m sorry! I mean it. It’s gotta be tough.”
The entire pub vibrated, the walls creaking. A few puffs of dust floated down from the ceiling.
William stopped it.
“Testy? You haven’t begun to see testy.”
Greenridge panted, his eyes wobbling. “B-Briana is really powerful, no? As strong as she is beautiful, and she’s probably still alive!” He had taken the wrong road with William and he knew it. He gulped air. “N-no, I mean to say that, without a doubt, she is alive! Her disappearance is tragic, one of the worst in our history. Tragic!”
William dropped Greenridge, put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
Greenridge smoothed his expensive, slick suit, his fellow engineers whispering behind their hands.
William enjoyed that Greenridge was no longer Alpha dog. A small bonus in a shitty day.
Greenridge, his jaw set, lips pulled back into a hideous grimace, stared at the group then back at William. He polished a smudge from his shoes, nodding to his group. Then he lashed out at William and knocked him to the floor. People in the bar moaned, grabbing each other as if that would protect them through the upcoming, predictable, spectacular tumble.
William slowly rubbed his head. “You surprised me. I didn’t think you had the balls for a sucker punch."
Then the extraordinary happened. The soup eating giant in the corner picked up a table with each hand and threw them across the bar.
Now the people ran. They pushed each other and scrambled over chairs and upturned tables.
Gritting his teeth the giant uttered a low, threatening snarl at William.
William growled back.
Greenridge crouched and scuttled toward the door.
William tilted his head at poor, doomed Greenridge. The man smiled and Greenridge flew upward, hovering over them, whirling like the blades of a helicopter. His head banged up and down, side to side, and he screamed with every thump. One by one the people crept back in.
“I was having soup.” He threw his empty bowl at him, followed by half-full ale steins. “A fantastic corn chowder that I’ve looked forward to for weeks. Now it’s on the floor and on my shirt and I am not happy. And the guy in the coat over there is pissing me off, too. I just wanted to eat my soup! In a quiet, civilized space.”
The man snarled at William.
They both hissed, grabbed each other and tangoed. Height laughed making the glasses rattle and crack.
“Steve!” William grinned. “I didn’t even see you over there .”
He continued to spin Greenridge, waving his finger at him as they danced.
“Stop or I’ll puke on you!” It was very likely that the puking would happen.
Steve looked up. “Oh, sorry about that.” He lowered Greenridge to the floor. He couldn’t move, holding his head and shutting his eyes. “Everything’s spinning!”
Steve ignored him. “How the hell have you been, William?”
“I’m alright. Test pilot now.”
“I heard. Very nice. Pays good?”
“Yeah. It’s good.”
Steve whispered, his eyebrows knitting together. “Briana?”
“Following leads. Nothing, really. Just fishing in the dark.” Rubbing the back of his neck he stared away.
“We go back a long ways, you and I. Hell, we’ve gotten thrown out of more places than most people have visited. Some I don’t even fucking remember!”
“’Tis true, ‘tis true.”
He patted William on the back then motioned at the doorway with his head.
William muttered. “Crap.”
Leeber walked in and the room fell silent. “Height, the place looks fantastic. New stained glass.”
Height smiled. “I made them. No one else noticed, thank you. New hobby.”
Leeber arched his eyebrows turning around to gaze at the new back windows. “Exquisite.” He nodded at those in the room who he knew, which, as usual, was everyone.
“Leeber, it’s been too long.” Steve shifted from foot to foot. Greenridge walked slowly to the door. One of his once shiny shoes now absent, his slick suit dirty and ripped, he fell, stood, fell again, gave up and crawled out the door.
“Steve, you know better,” Leeber said without looking at him.
Steve put the tables and chairs back in their proper places.
“William started it.” Grinning he stooped down, took a step out the door and turned back to William. “The next dance…save it for me. Right?” Steve nervously laughed two small laughs, then looked at Leeber, who crossed his arms and hrmphed.
“Sorry.”
William stared at Leeber slipping his hands in his pants pockets. Leeber ignored him and walked to the back corner. Sitting beneath a wall of clocks, none of which ever read the same time, Leeber smiled at a young woman sitting, slumped as if trying to hide.
“Please, join us.” Leeber stood offering her a chair.
William, now curious, watched Leeber, hoping to be invited over. And he was, although with a stern look from Leeber. Looking at William’s slippers he shook his head, sighed, and signaled to Height to bring them drinks.
“I really don’t want to be here.” Rocking slightly in her chair she stared at the clocks.
“We understand,” Leeber said.
“But, I have no choice, I know because I have wrestled with it for days and days now. I really don’t want to be here, but I have no choice. None.”
A plain woman with slightly crooked teeth, straight hair that framed her face, she had surprisingly, bright-red, bejeweled fingernails. She was exactly the type of incongruous character that intrigued Leeber.
“My name is Leeber, and this impertinent man is William.”
She didn’t offer her name taking a large drink of her fizzy red wine.
“I know something about Briana,” she whispered more to the wine than to them.
William leaned forward, his elbows on the table, legs in a sprinter’s crouch. His impatience was hard to hide, his left leg bouncing. Leeber glanced at him and William settled down.
“I met Briana once. She helped my great aunt to transfer into a bird. That was my aunt’s request when she passed over. She even made it so that Aunt CeeCee could transform herself as long as she wanted,” she spun a bracelet around and then back. She looked at William, staring into his eyes, and told him in a rush. “Briana is still alive.”
William’s heart skipped a beat. “What? How can you know this? H – How do you know, why do you think that? Do you know where she is?”
Leeber shook his head at William. “Calm down, let her talk.”
“I play on a team at the Lindley Virtual Games with Bax’s brother Dex. We made it to the finals. I have lots of fun with most of the people on the team, but he’s an ass. Hate that guy, he’s scary as hell. He told me once that his sister was the most powerful Fidean on the planet, maybe even the universe. One of the other guys argued and I remember him saying that Bax was powerful enough but that it would have taken one of her sisters to take Briana. I knew she meant one of the Sisters.”
William raised his eyebrows trying to gauge Leeber’s reaction. There wasn’t one.
“I think he meant Briana. In fact I’m sure of it. Obvious, right?”
Leeber rubbed his forehead sighing. “A special task force has been assembled dedicated to catch Bax, but they’re no match for her. She doesn’t want to be charged, obviously, for either her father’s death or Briana’s disappearance. I think she’ll stay away. But, I’m straying from the topic at hand, about you, about this news.”
She put her hands on the table, continuing to spin the thin bracelet. "Dex said that she is powerful enough to keep her, that there was no way she could escape. She stumbled over her words. "Well, I mean he didn't exactly talk about Briana as if she had been captured, but all about what she might, or might not do in the future. So, you see why I think he knows that she's alive. That's why I had to come here even though I know that if Dex found out I would be killed. There's no doubt about that. When I met Briana she radiated such a light. I could feel her love." She turned her head away, sniffed, patting William's hand. "I'm so sorry." Her voice cracked.
Leeber traced the circle on the table left from his glass.
“Charlie.” Her eyes widened, startled that he knew her name. “You need to avoid Dex at all costs now. Totally avoid him and any conversation about him. Don’t go back to the games, don’t even talk to anyone who talked to you about this. You never know what people are really all about, or, more probably in this case, what Dex would do to the people who talked about him. He could be paying them, too, giving out the information he wants out there. If they discover that you watch them, talk about them, you will be in extreme danger.”
William wanted to ask her more but Leeber gave him a sidelong glance that said they needed to stop.
“I can’t tell you how much this means,” William patted her hand. She held his for a brief second. “Thank you. If you ever need me, please call.”
She hurried to the door.
Leeber, watching her leave, moved his chair back and looked at William who was breathing hard the anger evident in his face.
“Listen, William, before you start arguing with me, I’ll take care of this. I’ll find out about Dex. I know some people who are efficient at persuasion. We have arrangements, associations. They never fail.”
“Yeah, I know you do, but…”
“I’ll keep you up to date on their efforts. I will take care of it. You can trust me.”
“I know you will, but, come on, this is the best lead we’ve had in years. I’ve been after Dex for a long time.”
Leeber paused. William finished his drink waiting for Leeber to come to the point.
William leaned back, tipping his chair.
“Don’t do that, you’ll fall and break your damn neck.”
He put the chair down.
“I need you.” Leeber’s voice fell flat.
“Damn, Leeber, I have known you my whole life, three hundred and seventy-one years, and I‘ve never heard you say that. Never. You’re serious.”
“I can’t do what I used to do. Part of getting older. A thousand next month.”
“No kidding! I didn’t know. Damn, you are old. You look old.”
He hit Leeber on the shoulder. Leeber grinned. “Thanks for that. Now, enough kidding, I really do need your help.”
“You know I would do anything for you.”
“It’s about an Earth boy. He is known to us as The Mac, there he is simply called Mac. He is crucial, probably against forces that you know nothing about, deadly forces. It is very probable that this Earth boy has a part to play in it,” Leeber’s hard, old eyes bored into William’s. “I have never asked anything like this of you. The Assembly, or to be honest, the Circle of Eight, asked you to take on the photon monster, but now I am asking you to do this. I would do it myself William but I am no longer strong enough. So I need your help.”
William sat back staring at his hands. “Who is this kid? What’s so special about him?”
“This is the part you’re not going to like. I can’t tell you.”
A clock chimed and then another, but none on the same times. They both paused and listened to the clocks.
“The Circle of Eight. Last time I met with them they took me to a beautiful place with lavender fields and told me that I could stay there. Promised me a nice cottage, a dog . . . Remember?”
“Yes. Your expression,” he rubbed his eyes, “that was fantastic.”
“They wouldn’t have really done that, would they? Put me in a flower filled prison if I hadn’t agreed to help?”
He grinned, enjoying it. “And I would have let them.”
William stared at his empty glass, tapping his nails on it.
“But I would have visited you from time to time.” Joking they felt the moment knowing it was rare, hadn’t happened in a long time, and may not ever happen again.
“You old bastard. Now, what about this Mac kid? And how is he more important than hunting for Briana? He’d have to be damned important.”
“He is. Or, he could be. Or, he may not. Or, he could save all of Fidea. We have no calculations or measurements. But he needs someone. His mother has just died and his father is an idiot, hunting down some mythical bird and can’t be reached. The boy is living with his aunt. That’s all I can tell you. He needs help, protection, and close monitoring.”
“Well thanks for clearing that up.” He wadded up a handful of nut shells and threw them on the floor. “What the hell, Leeber? What’s going on? The Circle of Eight is always dangerous, always scheming. I don’t like any of this.”
Leeber smoothed the table top, avoiding William’s look.
“This kid, I just jump over to Earth, kill a monster or something?”
“No.”
William rubbed his face and took a deep breath. “Okay, what then?”
“Guard him and monitor him. It seems that others want to control or destroy him. He doesn’t know who he is or what he is capable of. To tell the truth we don’t even know what he is capable of, probably more than we’re estimating. . He is integral to something that was meant to be groundbreaking, beyond explanation.”
“Meant to be,” William leaned on the table, rubbing his hair and face. “Dammit. So it failed, right?”
“All I can tell you that this must be kept confidential. There is a risk that we could all be convicted for our work with Mac. If we were exposed, there could be grave consequences.”
“Death?”
“Yes, or worse. Launching.”
“Launching, sent out into space until you die, right?” He shivered. “I’ll tell you what . . . if you get that sentence I’ll kill you myself.”
Leeber grinned. “Let’s call that Plan Z.”
“Right. I’ll make a note of it. So, when do I go see this kid and what can I do to get back to the Dex issue?”
“You leave in the morning.”
“The morning. Don’t know what I’ll wear, and I need a haircut.” The sarcasm failed. “And Briana?”
Leeber looked out the door.
“I’m afraid that you’re the only one I can trust. I wouldn’t ask this if there was any other way. And, I have no idea when you’ll get back to hunting down Dex. I will promise you that I will do anything and everything to find Briana.”
William rarely got angry at Leeber. He pointed at the door. “I should just walk out that son-of-a-bitchin’ door and go after Dex and tell you to go to hell with this Earth kid!”
Leeber pushing his chair back, nodded to Height, then walked past William. Just before he stepped out he turned.
“I know, but you won’t.”
Now available on
AMAZON
Kobo
B&N Nook
CHAPTER FOURMac, always on time was now cursed with a seven-year-old cousin, Misha, living in the category of always late.
Fifteen minutes passed as he waited under the old oaks, kicking rocks across the crumbling driveway. But according to Misha the first few minutes of school were boring anyway.
Misha hopped down the back steps with the left sleeve of her sweater on her right arm. The other sleeve, confused, dangled down her back. Grabbing her, cramming her arms into the correct sleeves, they began the daily drudge to school. Only it was far from a drudge to his cousin as she loved twirling. She never just walked anywhere, no matter how much Mac yelled or threatened, bribed, or begged. Misha simply twirled, a world-renown twirler.
Mac glanced down the street, yelling “Misha, quit! Now!” It was too late.
“Look who it is boys!” Rhett James and his friends: the morning was complete. Rhett was in the usual place, the sun was in its sky, and snotting snails lived under rocks.
“Check it out.” Rhett’s followers nodded on cue. “If it isn’t our new best buddy,” Rhett’s bony shoulders shook up and down, as he laughed.
“Hey Rhett. Morning, henchmen.” Mac walked on keeping Misha far away from them.
“You know what everyone calls you at school? Orphan boy. Yeah. Everybody knows that you’re a freak. If we beat the shit out of you right now and tossed you into the river, no one would care. But you know what?”
“Oh, please, wise one, tell me.” Mac, bowing waved Rhett on.
Rhett, the tallest of the group, with spindles for legs, dirty red hair and a wide, ugly mouth, was always shadowed by his enforcer, Monster. He could pass as a hairless bear, shorter than Rhett but three times as wide.
“Nobody wants you here. Loser. Just a big loser, loner, no friends, nothin’. Why don’t you go back to your old school? Oh, that’s right, you can’t. Mommy died so now you’re living with your hot little aunt. You guys seen her?”
The ‘guys’ smiled.
“You’re way over the line,” Mac pointed his finger at him. “You are not, will not, talk about my aunt like that.”
Rani, Rhett’s sister, walked up, wrapping her long hair into a loose pony tail. Glaring at the boys Mac thought it was interesting that they immediately took a step back.
“‘Orphan boy’? Are you really that cold and st-t-t-tupid?” Rani leaning forward, hands on her hips, ready to charge.
“Get lost, Rani. None of your business.”
“God, I hat-t-te you!”
“S-s-shut up! I wish you’d d-d-died when you were b-b-born,” Rhett mimicked Rani’s stutter.
“Honest to God. Mom and Dad get embarrassed when you’re around. You’re a ffffucking f-f-freak just like orphan boy. They make a great little couple, don’t they guys?”
The “guys” all nodded. Mac was sure they were afraid not to. Mac stepped toward him.
“This has nothing to do with your sister. It’s about you and me, and you’re nothing but a damn bully. You’re a coward. I’d like to have this conversation when you’re all alone.”
“Yeah? Think I can’t handle you?”
Rhett ran full force at him, but Mac stepped back and slammed a fist into Rhett’s gut, knocking him face-first into the rocks and gravel.
Rhett, spitting out dirt and pebbles, slowly stood. “Orphan boy, you’re really going to be sorry you did that. Have you met Monster?”
Monster grinned, almost drooling.
“Yeah, how couldn’t I? First period he smacks me on the back of the head every day. Sure, I know Monster.”
Monster grabbed his shirt shoving Mac backward. Mac swung and hit him in the jaw, but Monster stepped back, wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip ramming his thick shoulder into Mac’s chest, pinning him against a tree. Sharp bark cut into his elbow and forearm. Mac fell, moaning.
Rhett walked by Mac, his head up, shoulders back, clucking at the cut on Mac’s elbow. “What a shame, you’ve torn your sleeve. Now your aunt will have to buy you another one. You’re really costing her, right, orphan boy? My dad says she’s losing her house. And you sure haven’t helped, right, orphan boy?”
Mac tripped Rhett, knocking him to the ground. Bloody snot ran down Rhett’s face. Mac was going to laugh, looked at Monster hovering over him, decided to laugh later, maybe Thursday, around seven, after dinner . . .
Rhett glared at Mac as he wiped his face on his sleeve. “I’ll get you. You’ll pay. Big time.” He vibrated with anger, jiggling up and down. “Just die. Then your pretty little aunt won’t have to feed your sorry ass anymore. No more burden, right? Die, orphan boy. Do us all a favor.”
“Fuck off!” he snapped. Mac had never said that to anyone before and it didn’t feel good. It just reminded him how out of control his whole damn life was.
In a flash he missed his mom. The thought was a total surprise. He missed knowing that she would be pissed at him if she knew that he had said ‘fuck’. There wouldn’t be anyone who cared what he did or said. But she always had, and he had lost that.
He missed her.
He choked up and tried to hide it. Misha, convinced that she could kill Rhett sprang at the boys, a stick over her head, twirling ninja style. Rani caught her and wrestled her down before she hurt herself.
Rhett stepped toward Misha. Laughing he kicked at the gravel, sending a small cloud of dust into her face.
Mac rushed him, knocking him against the tree, pushed him harder, his arm against Rhett’s throat.
“You touch my cousin and you die. Got that?”
“Ooooh, so Mac’s gonna keep me from getting his little cousin. I think I’ll run away.”
“Yeah I think that would be a good idea.”
“Whatever,” Rhett backed up, snickering as he looked at Misha
Rani stomped over to her brother kicking him in the shin, making him hop away.
Following him she kicked him with each word, “No-one-wants-ttto-see-your-butt-ugly-face-around-here-anymore!”
Monster walked away, glancing back at Rani. It was strange to see the big man afraid.
“I hate him! I’ll get him if he ever comes close to you, Mac,” Misha picked up a rock. “He’ll be sorry, dammit.”
“Don’t cuss. Calm down, you’re seven. I think he might win.” Mac brushed his hands off on his pants. “Stay away from him, got it?”
Rani walked beside Mac but stared at the ground and the houses they passed.
“Mrs. Ruben loves gnomes,” she pointed at a small garden with little statues.
Mac nodded rolling his sleeve down, covering the scratch. “Some people like that kind of stuff.”
“Yeah. How’s your arm?”
“It’s good. Nothing, really. Yeah, it’s okay.” He struggled to find something, anything, to say.
“I hear that Brandon has mono, going to be out all s-s-semester. Mr. Stout said that someone else could b-b-be your chem partner. I said I would. If you want.”
She blushed, which made Mac smile. “Yeah, that’d be great. I’m almost flunking.”
“I have an A.”
He grinned. “Figures.”
She laughed.
Turning the corner they were caught in the loud crowd of yelling, pushing, running kids. Misha’s school was next to the high school and Mac watched her twirl into the building. The first bell rang just as they walked in.
“I’m going this way,” Rani pointed at the stairs.
“That way for me. I hate home room. I guess Monster will be there. What a bizarre day.” The noise around them made it hard to talk. “See you in chemistry.” Staring at her, he stood still until the second bell rang.
“Lunch?” She asked.
“Oh, yeah. I didn’t realize that we both had first lunch. See you.”
The sounds and kids pushing around him faded as he watched her disappear in the crowd. Walking into homeroom he couldn’t stop smiling, even when Monster smacked him on the back of the head.
“Good morning, ass.”
“Morning, orphan boy.”
Mac turned staring at Monster who looked surprisingly uncomfortable.
“Name’s Mac.”
Monster looked away.
“Mac . . . Whatever.”
Monster saying his name felt like defeating Rhett.
“Name’s Ted.”
Surprised Mac said, “Good morning, Ted.”
Monster actually giggled. “Ready for the history test?”
“Never!” Mac ignored the daily announcements trying to cram for the test.
Mac stepped in the cafeteria line, looking for Rani but didn’t see her. He usually dreaded lunch, mainly because he had the free lunch. He qualified because of Aunt Holly’s income. People around him would stare, sometimes laughing.
Free lunch was usually milk, a cheese or bologna sandwich on stale white bread, an applesauce, and a cookie. The real lunch was tacos. He loved tacos.
An older woman with a name tag that read ‘Betty’ looked at Mac and coughed, looking away, handing him a tray with tacos, three instead of the two that everyone else was getting.
“I don’t get a regular lunch,” his voice was low as he looked around to see if anyone was watching.
“Oh, darn. I guess I messed it up. I do that sometimes.” Handing him the tray she moved on to the next kid.
“Thanks.” She didn’t look at him, but he saw her grin.
A group of girls pushed by laughing in a high pitched sound that would make dogs howl in pain. Then he saw Rani, sitting in the back next to two other girls and a guy. Seeing him she smiled. He was surprised to see that she had free lunch, too.
“Hi.” She pulled the top off of her applesauce, glancing at his tacos.
“The weirdest thing,” he put a taco on her plate, “I usually get the free lunch, too, but today the lunch lady gave me this. Have a taco.”
“She did? Betty, right? Once in a while she’ll g-g-give me a chocolate milk and an extra cookie. She’s really nice.”
“I talked to Monster in homeroom. Couldn’t believe it. We kinda bonded. He told me his name.”
“Yeah, Ted, but no one’s called him that since about third grade. We all used to call him teddy bear so that’s when he started telling everyone to call him Monster. That’s amazing that he told you that.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
Mac took a bite of the taco. It crumbled, some landing in his lap.
He shook his head, embarrassed. At first she looked sympathetic then giggled.
“D-D-Don’t you hate that?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
More silence.
“I had an algebra test, pop quiz,” she said.
“History test. It wasn’t anything that I had studied.”
He thought about kissing her, about asking her out. For those few seconds she stared back then turned away, blushing.
The bell rang and neither one had eaten their cookie. They both slipped it into their backpacks.
“For later,” he said.
“Right.”
Chemistry was on the other side of the building so they had to rush to get there. Chemistry was one of the classes he liked, mainly because of the teacher, Mr. Stout. He was tough and never lectured from notes. That was impressive.
This was the first time that he and Rani were partners. Fern, the girl at the station behind them, grinned at Rani. It seemed that Rani had told her about him. He thought that was good, he hoped that was good.
As they were getting their Bunsen burners out and lining up the chemicals, they brushed hands a few times. She blushed again and a rush of excitement hit him.
A flash of fire exploded from Fern’s station. The flame shot up to the ceiling. People screamed. Mr. Stout grabbed a blanket, wrapping Fern in it. Panicked, she cried and tried to get away but he held onto her, lowering her to the floor, putting out the embers in her thick hair. .
“Sam!” he yelled at the tall kid in the front row, “run to the office and tell them to get an ambulance!”
Mac put his hands over the flame, pushing it down, back into the bottle. The fire was out.
Paramedics came quickly and, lucky for her, Fern only had a chunk of hair burned, a few burns on her hands and arms, and her eyebrows singed off. The smell of it, along with burnt rubber tubing, lingered in the air. One girl sat down on the floor crying. No one could get her to stop. Most of the kids stared silently at Fern’s station.
Mr. Stout tried to go over safety around the flames but they were too stunned to listen. “Alcohol, open bottle, causes a flammable vapor. The flame was fueled and erupted. Going forward we . . .”
As the shock wore off a few of the kids stared at Mac, but he was just as confused as everyone else.
After school Rhett and a group of kids stood waiting, staring at him. Rhett stepped forward, lit a piece of paper and threw it at him. Everyone laughed.
Mac knocked it off his shirt and stepped on it, walking away.
“Hey, orphan boy, I didn’t know you had such talents. Be interesting to see what else you could do. Like stop a fire in a house. Like yours!”
Mac walked on. He hated Rhett, but now, more than anything he hated what was happening to him. Everything felt out of control. Passing the gnomes he thought that he saw one of them wave at him. He didn’t stop to look. What would he do if it had moved? Walking on he refused to look back.
That night he tried to sleep. His room used to be Aunt Holly’s arts and crafts room. She was an artist and her supplies, sculptures, etches, and paintings were everywhere. She had tried to make space for him fitting in his bed, nightstand, lamp, desk and a few posters with pictures that his dad had taken. But it was crowded. Sometimes he had dreams that the stacks of cloth, canvases and modeling clay fell on him, smothering him.
Under the bed was a metal box that had all of his stuff from his childhood, things that his mom and dad had given him, like his grandfather’s watch. Looking at pictures from magazines that he sorted them, putting the jellyfish one on top. It was one of his favorites.
In an envelope he had a few black and white photos of his dad and him. There was one that he always looked at, almost every night. His father had given him one of his old cameras and was teaching him how to use it. They had been at the zoo, taking pictures of trash, and bugs, weird plants, and people’s feet as they walked by. In front of the bear exhibit his dad had started taking pictures of him, so he took pictures of him. Facing each other, laughing, snapping away people walked by and smiled. An older man stopped and took pictures of them and had sent them to his dad. He smoothed the one where they were laughing so hard that they almost fell over.
It used to make him smile. He slid it back into its envelope.
CHAPTER THREE
Mac, always on time was now cursed with a seven-year-old cousin, Misha, living in the category of always late.
Fifteen minutes passed as he waited under the old oaks, kicking rocks across the crumbling driveway. But according to Misha the first few minutes of school were boring anyway.
Misha hopped down the back steps with the left sleeve of her sweater on her right arm. The other sleeve, confused, dangled down her back. Grabbing her, cramming her arms into the correct sleeves, they began the daily drudge to school. Only it was far from a drudge to his cousin as she loved twirling. She never just walked anywhere, no matter how much Mac yelled or threatened, bribed, or begged. Misha simply twirled, a world-renown twirler.
Mac glanced down the street, yelling “Misha, quit! Now!” It was too late.
“Look who it is boys!” Rhett James and his friends: the morning was complete. Rhett was in the usual place, the sun was in its sky, and snotting snails lived under rocks.
“Check it out.” Rhett’s followers nodded on cue. “If it isn’t our new best buddy,” Rhett’s bony shoulders shook up and down as he laughed.
“Hey Rhett. Morning, henchmen.” Mac walked on keeping Misha far away from them.
“You know what everyone calls you at school? Orphan boy. Yeah. Everybody knows that you’re a freak. If we beat the shit out of you right now and tossed you in the river, no one would care. But you know what?”
“Oh, please, wise one, tell me.” Mac, bowing waved Rhett on.
Rhett, the tallest of the group, with spindles for legs, dirty red hair and a wide, ugly mouth, was always shadowed by his enforcer, Monster. He could pass as a hairless bear, shorter than Rhett but three times as wide.
“Nobody wants you here. Loser. Just a big loser, loner, no friends, nothin’. Why don’t you go back to your old school? Oh, that’s right, you can’t. Mommy died so now you’re living with your hot little aunt. You guys seen her?”
The ‘guys’ smiled.
“You’re way over the line,” Mac pointed his finger at him. “You are not, will not, talk about my aunt like that.”
Rani, Rhett’s sister, walked up, wrapping her long hair into a loose pony tail. Glaring at the boys Mac thought it was interesting that they immediately took a step back.
“‘Orphan boy’? Are you really that cold and st-t-t-tupid?” Rani leaning forward, hands on her hips, ready to charge.
“Get lost, Rani. None of your business.”
“God, I hat-t-te you!”
“S-s-shut up! I wish you’d d-d-died when you were b-b-born,” Rhett mimicked Rani’s stutter. “Honest to God. Mom and Dad get embarrassed when you’re around. You’re a ffffucking f-f-freak just like orphan boy. They make a great little couple, don’t they guys?”
The “guys” all nodded. Mac was sure they were afraid not to. Mac stepped toward him.
“This has nothing to do with your sister. It’s about you and me, and you’re nothing but a damn bully. You’re a coward. I’d like to have this conversation when you’re all alone.”
“Yeah? Think I can’t handle you?”
Rhett ran full force at him, but Mac stepped back and slammed a fist into Rhett’s gut, knocking him face-first into the rocks and gravel.
Rhett, spitting out dirt and pebbles, slowly stood. “Orphan boy, you’re really going to be sorry you did that. Have you met Monster?”
Monster grinned, almost drooling.
“Yeah, how couldn’t I? First period he smacks me on the back of the head every day. Sure, I know Monster.”
Monster grabbed his shirt shoving Mac backward. Mac swung and hit him in the jaw, but Monster stepped back, wiped a small trickle of blood from his lip ramming his thick shoulder into Mac’s chest, pinning him against a tree. Sharp bark cut into his elbow and forearm. Mac fell, moaning.
Rhett walked by Mac, his head up, shoulders back, clucking at the cut on Mac’s elbow. “What a shame, you’ve torn your sleeve. Now your aunt will have to buy you another one. You’re really costing her, right, orphan boy? My dad says she’s losing her house. And you sure haven’t helped, right, orphan boy?”
Mac tripped Rhett, knocking him to the ground. Bloody snot ran down Rhett’s face. Mac was going to laugh, looked at Monster hovering over him, decided to laugh later, maybe Thursday, around seven, after dinner . . .
Rhett glared at Mac as he wiped his face on his sleeve. “I’ll get you. You’ll pay. Big time.” He vibrated with anger, jiggling up and down. “Just die. Then your pretty little aunt won’t have to feed your sorry ass anymore. No more burden, right? Die, orphan boy. Do us all a favor.”
“Fuck off!” he snapped. Mac had never said that to anyone before and it didn’t feel good. It just reminded him how out of control his whole damn life was. In a flash he missed his mom. The thought was a total surprise. He missed knowing that she would be pissed at him if she knew that he had said ‘fuck’. There wouldn’t be anyone who cared what he did or said. But she always had, and he had lost that.
Now available on Amazon
He missed her.
He choked up and tried to hide it. Misha, convinced that she could kill Rhett sprang at the boys, a stick over her head, twirling ninja style. Rani caught her and wrestled her down before she hurt herself.
Rhett stepped toward Misha. Laughing he kicked at the gravel, sending a small cloud of dust into her face.
Mac rushed him, knocking him against the tree, pushed him harder, his arm against Rhett’s throat.
“You touch my cousin and you die. Got that?”
“Ooooh, so Mac’s gonna keep me from getting his little cousin. I think I’ll run away.”
“Yeah I think that would be a good idea.”
“Whatever,” Rhett backed up, snickering as he looked at Misha
Rani stomped over to her brother kicking him in the shin, making him hop away.
Following him she kicked him with each word, “No-one-wants-ttto-see-your-butt-ugly-face-around-here-any more!”
Monster walked away, glancing back at Rani. It was strange to see the big guy afraid.
“I hate him! I’ll get him if he ever comes close to you, Mac.” Misha picked up a rock. “He’ll be sorry, dammit.”
“Don’t cuss. Calm down, you’re seven. I think he might win.” Mac brushed his hands off on his pants. “Stay away from him, got it?”
Rani walked beside Mac but stared at the ground and the houses they passed.
“Mrs. Ruben loves gnomes,” she pointed at a small garden with little statues.
Mac nodded rolling his sleeve down, covering the scratch. “Some people like that kind of stuff.”
“Yeah. How’s your arm?”
“It’s good. Nothing, really. It’s okay.” He struggled to find something, anything, to say.
“I hear that Brandon has mono, going to be out all s-s-semester. Mr. Stout said that someone else could b-b-be your chem partner. I said I would. If you want.”
She blushed, which made Mac smile. “Yeah, that’d be great. I’m almost flunking.”
“I have an 'A'.”
He grinned. “Figures.”
She laughed.
Turning the corner they were caught in the loud crowd of yelling, pushing, running kids. Misha’s school was next to the high school and Mac watched her twirl into the building. The first bell rang just as they walked in.
“I’m going this way,” Rani pointed at the stairs.
“That way for me. I hate home room. I guess Monster will be there. What a bizarre day.” The noise around them made it hard to talk. “See you in chemistry.” Staring at her, he stood still until the second bell rang.
“Lunch?” She asked.
“Oh, yeah. I didn’t realize that we both had first lunch. See you.”
The sounds and kids pushing around him faded as he watched her disappear in the crowd. Walking into homeroom he couldn’t stop smiling, even when Monster smacked him on the back of the head.
“Good morning, ass.”
“Morning, orphan boy.”
Mac turned staring at Monster who looked surprisingly uncomfortable.
“Name’s Mac.”
Monster looked away.
“Mac . . . Whatever.”
Monster saying his name felt like defeating Rhett.
“Name’s Ted.”
Surprised Mac said, “Good morning, Ted.”
Monster actually giggled. “Ready for the history test?”
“Never!” Mac ignored the daily announcements trying to cram for the test.
Mac stepped in the cafeteria line, looking for Rani but didn’t see her. He usually dreaded lunch, mainly because he had the free lunch. He qualified because of Aunt Holly’s income. People around him would stare, sometimes laughing.
Free lunch was usually milk, a cheese or bologna sandwich on stale white bread, an applesauce, and a cookie. The real lunch was tacos. He loved tacos.
An older woman with a name tag that read ‘Betty’ glanced at Mac and coughed, looking away, handing him a tray with tacos, three instead of the two that everyone else was getting.
“I don’t get a regular lunch,” his voice was low as he looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to him.
“Oh, darn. I guess I messed it up. I do that sometimes.” Handing him the tray she moved on to the next kid.
“Thanks.” She stared at the meat and lettuce, ignoring him, but he saw her grin.
A group of girls pushed by laughing in a high pitched sound that would make dogs howl in pain. Then he saw Rani, sitting in the back next to two other girls and a guy. Seeing him she smiled. He was surprised to see that she had free lunch, too.
“Hi.” She pulled the top off of her applesauce, glancing at his tacos.
“The weirdest thing,” he put a taco on her plate, “I usually get the free lunch, too, but today the lunch lady gave me this. Have a taco.”
“She did? Betty, right? Once in a while she’ll g-g-give me a chocolate milk and an extra cookie. She’s really nice.”
“I talked to Monster in homeroom. Couldn’t believe it. We kinda bonded. He told me his name.”
“Yeah, Ted, but no one’s called him that since about third grade. We all used to call him teddy bear so that’s when he started telling everyone to call him Monster. That’s amazing that he told you that.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
Mac took a bite of the taco. It crumbled, some landing in his lap. He shook his head, embarrassed. At first she looked sympathetic then giggled.
“D-D-Don’t you hate that?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
More silence.
“I had an algebra test, pop quiz,” she said.
“History test. It wasn’t anything that I had studied.”
He thought about kissing her, about asking her out. For those few seconds she stared back then turned away, blushing. The bell rang and neither one had eaten their cookie. They both slipped it into their backpacks.
“For later,” he said.
“Right.”
Chemistry was on the other side of the building so they had to rush to get there. Chemistry was one of the classes he liked, mainly because of the teacher, Mr. Stout. He was tough and never lectured from notes. That was impressive.
This was the first time that he and Rani were partners. Fern, the girl at the station behind them, grinned at Rani. It seemed that Rani had told her about him. He thought that was good, he hoped that was good.
As they were getting out their Bunsen burners and lining up the chemicals, they brushed hands a few times. She blushed again and a rush of excitement hit him.
Suddenly a flash of fire exploded from Fern’s station. The flame shot up to the ceiling and the crackling of glass breaking and the wall scorching set off panic. People screamed. Mr. Stout grabbed a blanket, wrapping Fern in it. Panicked, she cried and tried to get away but he held onto her, lowering her to the floor, putting out the embers in her thick hair. .
“Sam!” he yelled at the tall kid in the front row, “run to the office and tell them to get an ambulance!”
Mac put his hands over the flame, pushing it down, back into the bottle. The fire was out. He had no idea why he had done it, or why it had worked. He trembled.
Paramedics came quickly and, lucky for her, Fern only had a chunk of hair burned, a few burns on her hands and arms, and her eyebrows singed off. The smell of it, along with burnt rubber tubing, lingered in the air. One girl sat down on the floor crying. No one could get her to stop. Most of the kids stared silently at Fern’s station.
Mr. Stout tried to go over safety around the flames but they were too stunned to listen. “Alcohol, open bottle, causes a flammable vapor. The flame was fueled and erupted. Going forward we . . .”
As the shock wore off a few of the kids stared at Mac, but he was just as confused as everyone else.
After school Rhett and a group of kids stood waiting, staring at him. Rhett stepped forward, lit a piece of paper and threw it at him. Everyone laughed.
Mac knocked it off his shirt and stepped on it, walking away.
“Hey, orphan boy, I didn’t know you had such talents. Be interesting to see what else you could do. Like stop a fire in a house. Like yours!”
Mac walked on. He hated Rhett, but now, more than anything he hated what was happening to him. Everything felt out of control. Passing the gnomes he thought that he saw one of them wave at him. He didn’t stop to look. What would he do if it had moved? Walking on he refused to look back.
Now available on Amazon
CHAPTER SIX
Dylan ran.
The bird would take him down, ripping his flesh from his bones. He would scream, just like the butchered animals that he’d heard.
“God, I’ve never been a praying man, but please help me. I’m not who I pretend to be. I’ve lied. I’ve pretended, God, oh, God. Help me!”
The sun setting left him adrift in this sea of scratching branches, sliding mud, and sharp rocks. His face bleeding; the deep rips in his skin stung. His hands were slick, with blood or mud, he wasn’t sure.
Then rain--angry, heavy rain—fell making it almost almost impossible to see. Exhausted and unable to stand he dropped to his knees, crawling. The scent of the mossy ground and wet leaves should have been wonderful, always had been to him, but now the scents seemed like the depths of a grave. Every movement painful, his knees were punctured with sticks and rocks.
He sat.
There was little use in moving on, possibly going in circles. “This wouldn’t be a bad place to die. Better to die here, even in the pouring, freezing rain than at a cubicle. You could die in one of those and never get noticed. At least I’ll be a food source here. Beetles mostly.”
Thinking about death brought thoughts of Mac and his heart ached with grief and regrets.
The rain wasn’t as sharp now and he thought about getting up, but he was tired. The soft, wet fur of a creature brushed up against his hand. He didn't move. It was incredibly soft, low to the ground, with a large fluffy tail.
Skunk.
He held his breath and kept still. It moved on and he decided the universe had given him a sign, get out of there, keep moving or smell like a skunk.
As he grabbed rocks and tree roots, pulling himself along, he found one that was thicker than his leg. He tugged on it. He had discovered that these roots usually didn’t have any bushes on top of them and he could move without getting scratched.
The rain stopped and fell into shallow puddles. The ground below him gave way and the sound of a fast moving stream below made him dig in his heels trying to stop. It was too late. Head first he dropped into the icy black water. Fighting to get to the banks, he climbed over moss covered logs and rocks but they were too steep causing him to fall over and over, just to start the climb again. The cold numbed his legs and feet, his teeth chattered. Bouncing side to side he caught his ankle on a log and excruciating pain ran up his leg. It was possible that it was broken. The swirling water twisted his backpack, catching it on sharp overhanging branch. He had to slip it off or be sucked under. The current dragged him on but he hit a log that wasn’t slimy and slippery. It must have just recently fallen. Climbing on top of it he could feel the bank. It seemed shorter than the others he had tried to reach. He dug his fingers into the wet mud and rocks
“No, no, no,” he whispered spotting a shadow moving further down. The silhouette took a step, and its head dipped to the ground then rose incredibly high. It turned its head and stared at him.
“God, please God. Help me, help me.”
It trampled bushes charging after him, soon joined by another and another.
The fear gave him a burst of energy and he quickly pulled himself higher on the bank, opposite the birds. He slipped, dipping down into the water then pushing up the hill again. Then he felt an opening. A cave, not large but definitely a cave. Laughing he clawed at the dirt and pushed, throwing himself into the dark space.
“Thank you, God. Thank you!” He might never make it out but he didn’t want to think about that. In this moment he was safe and he could finally rest.
The entrance was narrow but as he crept along he was eventually able to crawl. Before him was a faint glow, some type of light filtering down and being reflected. Crystals. He’d seen caves like this before. As he pushed himself further back into the darkness of the cave he stopped, stunned.
He was not alone.
Now available on Amazon
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.de
Amazon.fr
Amazon.it
Amazon.nl
Amazon.co.jp
Amazon.in
Amazon.ca
Amazon.com.br
Amazon.com.mx
Amazon.com.au
See what's coming .
The Bokor are hunting Mac. Book 2 of the Sir William & Mac Life Without Slippers Series.
Releasing this winter. Limited number of copies will be given away. Stay in touch.