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Nick collapsed on his bed, exhausted from the long
day. He couldn’t imagine why he was so tired. He had slept
much
later than normal that morning.
He heard a knock on his door. “Come in,” he
called.
Derek walked into the room slowly, eyeing Nick as
he did. “Nick, we need to talk,” he said carefully.
“Oooh, I knew this was coming,” Nick taunted.
“Time for Nicky’s punishment?”
“Come on, Nick. You should know me better
than that. I must admit, however, that your behavior today at the
school
was completely unacceptable. I haven’t seen you behave like this
since…”
“Since when?” Nick nearly shouted. “Since
Julia’s death? Come on! Tell me!”
“Yes!” Derek shouted at last. “You’re behaving
childishly, Nick. You treated Philip terribly after Julia’s death,
and you’re
treating me and Principal Walker just as terribly now.”
“Walker—“ Nick said, wringing his hands. “Why
does his name have to be Walker?”
Derek stared. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.”
“Yeah, one hell of a coincidence. The timing
couldn’t be any more perfect.” Derek watched him carefully.
“She died
three years ago today.”
Derek shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Nick.
I—“ he paused. “I can’t believe I forgot,” he finished quietly.
Nick shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, well,
forget it. I don’t really want to talk about it.” He stopped
and looked over at
Derek, who was trying to make himself invisible. “I don’t know
what happened, Derek. I used to be able to trust you with
anything. You’re the only one I told about my father,” he admitted.
“But every time I look at you lately all I can think about
is Julia. I know you didn’t mean for anything to happen, but
I can’t help but wonder if you hadn’t split us up… I know, it’s
not fair to accuse you, but I don’t have anyone else to blame!”
“The demon.”
Nick shook his head. “We could’ve helped her,
Derek. You know that.”
Derek looked at his friend and sighed. There
was no sense trying to speak to him tonight. “Get some rest,” he
told
him. “We’ll get back to work in the morning. I want to
speak to a few of the children.” He looked at Nick more closely.
“You think you can handle a few school children?”
Nick smiled weakly. “Think I’ll need my gun?”
he joked.
Derek smiled, relieved to hear the lighter tone
in the young man’s voice. “Good night,” he said as he left the room.
Once alone, Nick sank onto the bed. He lied
back, crossing his arms over his chest, and prayed he would have no
more visitors that night.
*
Philip Callaghan stood in the doorway, arms crossed.
“I think we convinced him,” he said to the women.
“We?” Rachel said incredulously. “I think
you did all the convincing on your own, Philip.”
“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “I don’t know what we’d
have done if you hadn’t shown up.”
Philip flushed slightly. “I’m sure you would’ve
thought of something,” he said quietly. “So,” he said, changing the
subject. “Have you heard anything from Nick and Derek yet?”
Alex frowned. “Actually we haven’t.
I’m surprised; usually Derek is good about keeping in contact.”
Philip nodded, concern touching his features.
His thoughts turned immediately to Nick. Although he wasn’t aware
of
Nick’s recent problems, he had a strong feeling that something was
not right with his estranged friend. “Maybe you should
try to contact them,” he said shortly.
“We already did,” Alex said, glancing over at Rachel.
“The motel manager wasn’t very polite. He just said they had left,
and hung up.” She paused, frowning. “He certainly wasn’t
interested in talking to me. Seems people in Santa Mira don’t
care too much for outsiders.”
“Classic small town,” Rachel said as she mused over
the information they had dug up.
Philip was barely listening. He stood leaning
against the doorway, attempting, without much success, to appear
nonchalant as he worried about his friends.
*
Nick sat with his arms folded on the table, watching
every movement of the boy across from him. “What happened after
that?” he asked.
“Nothing,” the boy responded. “Everything
just kinda fell back down.”
“Fell back down?” Nick shook his head.
“How old are you, Jake?”
“Twelve.”
“Twelve. And the best you can describe it
is “everything fell back down”?”
“That’s what happened!”
“I’m sure it is,” Nick said, leaning back.
“Do me a favor, would you Jake?”
“What?”
“Don’t quit your day job.”
*
The girl across from Derek stared at the tabletop,
a small frown creasing her forehead. “It happened so fast.”
Derek
only nodded, then waited for her to continue. “One minute everything
was normal, then everything started flying around
the room, then it just stopped.”
“How long did it last?”
The girl shook her head. “Maybe a minute.
It didn’t even seem real.”
Derek started. “What do you mean?”
“It was like something out of a movie,” the girl
replied. “This stuff doesn’t happen in Santa Mira.”
A secretary poked her head into the small room.
“Are you done with her?” she asked Derek. He nodded. “Come
on,
Jenny.”
Derek frowned as the two left the room. What does
happen in Santa Mira? he wondered.
*
Nick groaned as another girl exited the room.
He was getting nowhere with the questioning. All of the children
had the
same story. He was growing incredibly tired of hearing “everything
just started flying around”.
He looked up as a tall, blond-haired boy walked
in. He was by far the best looking he’s seen all day, and he walked
with an air of confidence usually seen only in teenage boys.
He was obviously from one of the upper classes. Mr. All
America, Nick thought with some amusement.
“Hi,” the boy said as he sat. “I’m David.”
“Nick Boyle,” Nick said, extending his hand.
“You’re a lot braver than the others,” he said with a grin.
“Yeah, they’re all punks. Most of ‘em are
scared of their own shadow.” Nick laughed. “They’re lying,
you know.”
Nick looked up, pushing the file he’d been looking
at aside. “Who are?”
“The other kids. They’re just telling you
what Principal Walker told them to. He called everybody into his
office a week
ago to tell us what to say to you guys.”
Nick stared at the boy in disbelief. “You’re
kidding,” he scoffed.
David shook his head. “Nothing really happened.
I was in the cafeteria every day that week. I didn’t see anything.”
“Hey, kid, I’m serious, if you’re pulling my leg—“
“I told you!” David shouted. “I’m not the
one who’s lying!” He paused, and took several breaths before continuing.
“The
principal’s a freak,” he said. “Nothing happened. He wanted
us to make up something to tell you guys.”
“Why would he want to do that?” Nick pried.
“How should I know?” David retorted. “Maybe
he wants something from you,” he said finally.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. It’s just an idea. I
told you everything I know. Can I go now?”
“Yeah,” Nick said. “Get outta here.”
*
Patrick Walker smiled as he surveyed his surroundings.
The tapestries, the hooks, the chains, the pendulum, the
stage; everything was in place. “This place hasn’t changed a
bit,” he said to himself, chuckling.
He walked around the basement, running his hand
across the wall as he did. He was careful to avoid contact with any
of the objects along the wall, but stopped to examine several.
The object that kept catching his eye was a tapestry near
the top of the stairs that led down to the stage area. The tapestry
itself was muddled and confused, but the center was
both beautiful and exotic, and he could not keep his eyes off of it.
Walker stared at the tapestry for several minutes,
thinking about the woman and child it portrayed. He ran his finger
across the woman’s face, then started back up the stairs. He
ran up the last flight of stairs and hastily left the basement,
quietly closing the door behind him.
Walker turned to continue down the hall, then paused
and looked at the small lock on the door. He tried to remember if
the door had been locked before he entered, but he had not made any
note of it earlier. He leaned closer to the
doorknob, then bent to examine the floor in front of the door.
A few tiny flecks of rust sprinkled the floor where he knelt.
He cursed himself for his carelessness, then hurried
down the hall toward his office.
*
“Derek!” Nick ran through the door and found
his friend sitting at a small table across from a young red-haired girl.
They were talking quietly.
Both man and child looked up as Nick burst in, eyes
widening.
Derek closed his eyes, then opened them again quickly.
He hoped Nick would not come out with another absurdity.
Nick paused to catch his breath, then spoke directly
to his associate. “This is a hoax.”
Derek groaned. “Nick, I don’t know what you’re
talking about,” he said.
“Dr. Rayne!” Another shout penetrated the
walls of the small, windowless office. Walker ran in, breathing heavily
from
his exertions. “Dr. Rayne, I need to speak with you,” he said,
when he was able. “Immediately.”
“Surely it can wait—“
“No.”
Derek sighed, but got up and pushed in his chair,
then followed the principal out into the hall.
“Alright,” Nick said as the door shut behind the
Precept. “Sit down,” he ordered.
The red-haired girl did so immediately, paling slightly
at the ex-SEAL’s tone.
“What’s your name?”
“Julia.”
“Julia?!” Nick stared in open horror at the
girl, again unable to conceal his shock. He shook his head, trying
to clear
away all the thoughts that surfaced in his mind. “Alright, listen
up, Julia. I need you to tell me the truth. Do you think you
can do that?”
The girl nodded.
“Good. Now tell me what really happened that
day in the cafeteria.”
“I already told your friend-“
“Tell me!” Nick’s face flushed with anger.
He didn’t have the patience to deal with anymore of these children now.
Especially not a girl named Julia.
“Okay.” Julia sniffed, and Nick noticed with
disdain that her eyes were red. She was crying. “I only told
him what I was
supposed to,” she cried, tugging at a strand of hair. “I didn’t
want to get in trouble.”
“Hey,” he winced before saying her name, “Julia.
You don’t have to cry. Nobody’s in trouble, alright. We just
need to
know what really happened. You see, somebody might be playing
a really mean trick on us, and we wouldn’t want that.
Is that what you want, Julia?”
“No,” she replied, sniffing again. “Mr. Walker
said if we didn’t lie that really bad stuff would happen to us.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Bad stuff. He said I would be sorry if I
didn’t say what he told me to.”
“So, did anything at all happen, Julia? Or
did he just make the whole thing up?”
The girl stared at him, chewing absently on a lock
of red hair. Finally she spoke. “He made it up.”
Nick grimaced. “Another god-damn hoax,” he
muttered.
“What?” the girl asked, looking at him with red
eyes.
“Nothing. Now get out of here.”
*
Derek watched as Walker paced back and forth across
the corridor, his hands clasped behind his back. “How can you
possibly lay blame on Nick?” he asked the principal. “He wants
to help as much as either of us do.”
Walker shook his head. “I hate to tell you
this, Dr. Rayne, but I think your friend has another agenda. He’s
been
nothing but trouble since you got here. Why wouldn’t he try to
write it off as a hoax?”
“Nick may seem like trouble, but he has good intentions.
Sometimes he gets a little carried away, I admit, but he would
never do anything to intentionally set us back in our work.”
The principal snickered. “He’s got you fooled,
then. I don’t see why you can’t see what is so blatantly obvious.”
“Nick would never betray me.”
“Who said anything about you?” Walker scoffed.
“He doesn’t have a problem with you. I’m the one he’s after.”
Derek tried not to show his frustration. “Nick
isn’t after anyone. I’ll be the first to admit that he has an attitude
problem.
But that is his problem, it stems from his own personal experiences,
and it has nothing to do with you! If I felt Nick was
hindering the investigation in any way I would have him pulled off
the case.” As he glared at Walker he could feel his face
burning with anger. “As for you, Mr. Walker, I suggest you keep
your opinions of my associate to yourself from now on,
and allow us to do our job.”
The principal said nothing, but glared back at the
Precept furiously. Then he muttered something to himself and yanked
open the door to the main office, startling Nick, who was reaching
for the handle on the other side. “Excuse me,” he said
rudely, pushing past the younger man.
Nick glanced at Walker as he passed, then turned
his attention to Derek. “What was that all about?”
“Nothing,” Derek replied, his face dark.
Nick shrugged. “Well, if you don’t want to
talk about it—“
“Did the girl have anything else to say?”
“Actually, yeah. I think we better have a
little talk, Derek.”
*
“Forget it.”
“Oh, come on Philip,” Alex coaxed. “Just this
once?”
“No,” he refused emphatically.
“You might even have a good time.”
“I’m a priest, Alex. I don’t date.”
Alex studied her friend’s face for a while, then
decided to give up. He wasn’t easily swayed. She turned back
to the
computer screen. “I wonder what Derek and Nick are up to,” she
said, watching for Philip’s relieved expression at the
change of subject.
“They called earlier didn’t they?” Philip asked.
“Yeah. Rachel talked to Derek. He told
her he wanted me to look up some old files on the principal of the school.
I’m
not sure what I’m looking for.”
“The man’s obviously corrupt.”
Alex laughed, shaking her head. “Everyone
in authority is corrupt. Except for you, of course.”
“And Derek.”
“Oh yeah, him too.”
The priest smiled, but continued to worry about
his friends. They seemed to be keeping a lot from them. He
looked to
Alex again. “Did she tell them I’m here?”
“I don’t think so. If I understood Rachel
correctly, Derek gave her the orders and hung up. He didn’t waste
too much
time with greetings.”
“That sounds like Derek,” Philip said. “I
guess that means she didn’t talk to Nick.”
Alex nodded. “He wasn’t even there.
Apparently he and Derek decided to split up and dig around in different
areas.
Nick went to Maine.”
“Maine? What’s in Maine?”
“A lot of trees and snow. And lobster.”
“Seriously, Alex. What was Derek thinking?”
“Who knows?” Alex responded, then paused and thought
for a moment. “Maybe he wasn’t.”
*
Nick picked up speed as he raced after Derek, pushing
his legs to go faster. His legs, however, were still watery from
his chase after the demon, and the demon’s “death” when Nick had finally
caught up to him. He fought even harder to
catch up with the Precept, but Derek was pulling farther ahead with
each step.
Nick tried to shout at the man to slow down, but
could not find the breath to even cough. Finally, Derek reached a
fence
surrounding a large field, and he bounded over it without any hesitation.
Nick followed suit, and ran until he nearly
slammed into the other man’s back.
The Precept had stopped dead in his tracks, and
now stood before a scarecrow. He seemed unable to move. Nick
looked directly at the scarecrow, and felt his legs give beneath him.
He collapsed to the ground, crying out as he did.
“Noooo!”
Nick knew what would happen next, he prayed it would
not. He could almost see the charred skeleton, the smoke
billowing from the burning cross, the electricity still pulsing through
his beloved’s body. He closed his eyes in anticipation,
and forgot entirely that Derek was at his side.
Derek placed a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder,
hoping that with that simple touch he could ease some of
Nick’s sorrow.
He could not. Nick watched the cross intensely,
ready to spring up stop something that he could not prevent from
happening. He remained on his knees, waiting with terror for
the lightning to streak from the menacing sky.
Suddenly, an enormous ripping sound permeated the
air, overpowering even the steady droning of the rain. A bolt of
lightning flashed brightly in the dark sky, lashing out brutally as
it struck the cross. Julia’s body was racked with tremors as
the electricity surged through her. The thrashings of her lifeless
body were like the movements of a puppet. Nick could
not bear to watch any longer. He turned his face toward the uncaring
sky and shrieked again, pouring his entire soul into
the scream.
Derek pulled urgently on Nick’s sleeve, and urged
him to get up. He had a feeling something terrible was going to
happen.
The cross and field still burned with the bright
lightning. The fire leapt off the cross onto the surrounding grass,
creating
a small ring around the scarecrow. Nick stared numbly as Derek
hauled him to his feet out of the way of the spreading
fire. The fire spread. As it did, the flames between the
growing ring and the cross miraculously were extinguished.
Then, suddenly, everything within the fire ring
erupted and disappeared, including the cross and Julia’s body.
Nick stared, but his eyes were blank and unseeing.
None of his friend’s efforts were aiding in bringing him back to
consciousness. He only stared at the spot where the cross had
burned, his eyes burning holes where Julia’s face should
have been.
“Nick,” Derek whispered, daring for the first time
to speak.
Nick did not respond.
Derek cleared his throat, then tried again, speaking
more sternly this time. “Nick.” Nick still did not respond,
but stared
straight ahead, catatonic. Derek cursed quietly. “Let’s
get out of here,” he said, and pulled the young man after him.
*
“Damn,” Alex muttered. “This can’t be good.”
“What?” Rachel asked, appearing behind her.
Alex looked up, slightly startled. “Where’d
you come from?”
“I was in the kitchen making Kat something to eat.
She decided to come over here with me today.”
“Where is she now?”
“In the parlor coloring.”
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew,” she
said. “I’d hate her to hear me talking like that.”
“Yeah,” Rachel agreed, “so would I.”
Alex looked back to the computer screen. “I’ve
been doing some research on Patrick Walker. You know, that principal
of that school in Santa Mira.” Rachel nodded. “Well, turns
out Mr. Walker has a very interesting past. He worked for a
preparatory school in Maine for several years before he took his position
in Santa Mira.”
“That would explain the trip to Maine.”
“Yeah, I was wondering about that. I guess
Nick is digging around for something at the school there. Anyway,
you
want to know why Walker left the school?”
“He couldn’t bear the thought of passing up all
those wonderful opportunities?” Alex only stared. “Never mind.”
“Okay. He was caught embezzling.”
Rachel was shocked. “From a school?”
“It was a preparatory school, Rachel. There
was definitely spare money in the budget.”
“How much did he take?” Rachel asked, leaning forward
to view the information for herself.
“About 60,000.” Alex looked in disbelief at
the computer screen. “Can you imagine what he could do with all that
money?”
“Just the thought makes me shiver,” Rachel said.
Alex nodded in agreement. She smiled sadly.
“I wish Derek and Nick were here.”
“So do I,” Philip agreed, entering the room.
“Any word from either of them?”
*
Nick would not eat. He sat silently across
the table from Derek, and stared with unseeing eyes at the Precept.
Derek
coughed uncomfortably.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Not really,” Nick replied, pushing corn across
his plate with a fork.
“You really should eat, Nick.”
“I just said I wasn’t hungry!” Nick snapped, and
jumped out of his seat. “I think I’ll go for a walk,” he said as
he headed
toward the door.
Derek laughed. “Not in this weather.”
“A little rain won’t hurt me.”
The Precept advanced on his younger friend.
“Nick, I’m serious. The last thing we need right now—“
“Oh, shut up, would you? I’m going for a walk.
Don’t you want me to get out in this nice Maine air? You said you
were
bringing me here for a change of scenery. Well, I haven’t seen
any scenery!”
“If you’ll just wait til morning.”
“Oh, yeah, sure, when you can come along.
What’s the matter, Derek? You afraid you’ll melt?”
Derek grimaced. He wasn’t getting anywhere
arguing with the young man. “Fine. Go for your walk, if you
want. But I
don’t want to hear you complaining to me tomorrow when you catch cold.”
“Don’t worry, you won’t!” The door slammed
behind him.
Derek shook his head after Nick left. He wished
they hadn’t come here.
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