Chapter 24

Chapter 24

 

Zach had been pacing the length of his room with his eyes closed for hours. He had caught the tail end of the clash that afternoon at school. The fact that Kelli was still on a rampage was one thing, but Gwen seemed to be in genuine pain afterward. She wasn’t holding back like she did with Brent, that could only mean what Kate told him was true. He didn’t think she was lying, but he just couldn’t allow himself to consider it. He had been trying to do as Gwen said, hoping time would solve his woes, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that wasn’t going to happen. The problem was his parents, Gwen didn’t want to go against them. Whereas he believed her welfare was more important than their chauvinistic attitude, but how was he supposed to convince her of that? No matter how much pain she was in, Gwen made it clear she didn’t want to damage his family. As far as he was concerned his parents had already done that when they forced him to choose between the two. Though somehow he doubted she would agree.

Damn it!

Why did Kate think he held the key to making everything better? All he could do was find dead ends and impossibilities. Zach opened his eyes and kicked the edge of his bed in aggravation which accomplished nothing other than stubbing his toe. He hadn’t noticed it had grown dark outside, the digital clock on his desk revealed the late hour. Zach’s heart fell, Gwen would be on the streets by now so even if he had a plan the chances of finding her were slim. At that moment a cloud moved over the moon casting a huge shadow across his room and a chill ran down his spine. Darkness filled his vision until he couldn’t see anything. When his horror hit its plateau a scene opened up before him. An empty street, it didn’t seem at all special. Trash cans lined next to buildings on one side waiting for their pick up date and a grassy lot with trees creating a natural fence on the other. A few of the street lamps were burnt out, but that was all. It was like watching a movie, he could only look at what was shown to him. Suddenly there was a hurried movement, a person entered the area and then another close behind. He couldn’t distinguish much right away, the figures were completely black with no facial features, they looked like stringless marionettes. The first was unmistakably female, her long hair and physique gave her away, the second had no curves and broad shoulders, so it was male. She seemed to be running from him or at least trying to, she was stumbling a lot considering they were on a recently paved road. He had to admit, if there was a point to this vision he couldn’t see it, nothing jumped out at him. As though the vision had read his thoughts the male’s hollow eyes began to glow. He was a Hex, a deduction that was easily reinforced when bright orange beams shot from his face toward her. Catlike, the female form leapt out of the way and kept running. It was impressive that she continued without hesitating when he clearly had the upper hand. The male fired another shot which struck a telephone pole by her elbow. She stopped and swung to face him, Zach observed the girl raise her arm and throw a softball sized orb of light.

Instantly a blast ripped through the darkness causing it to liquefy and stream away. He caught a brief glimpse of his room before he pitched forward, landing face down on his bed with his legs hanging over the edge. As the shock diminished he grew aware of two things, the dull throb in the back of his head and the location of every shadow in the room. He could feel them in the corners, along the floor and even under the bed creating a map in his mind’s eye allowing him to see his room with his face hidden in the covers. On top of that Zach was sure he could hear them speak.

“Danger . . . danger . . .”

“Injured . . . injured . . .”

“Needs help . . . needs help . . .”

“Won’t survive . . . won’t survive . . .”

Gwen. It had to be her. He slowly lifted his head, then rose until he was on his feet again. The ache made him feel heavy, but it was ebbing away and a new sharpness took its place. Everything around him, colours, lines, dimensions were so clear and focused though it was almost midnight. Despite the confusion growing from this amazing change, Zach could only think of Gwen. The vision was about her, she was alone and too weak to win this fight, he had to find her before it was too late. The next thing he knew Zach was in the hall, strange he didn’t even remember opening the door. Speeding toward the stairs he couldn’t ignore the change in his sight. He could spot the spider hiding in the dark under the hall table as easily as the dust on the picture frames that weren’t cleaned often enough. He flew down the stairs, disturbing shadows from the corners, plus any peacefulness that had settled into the house after sunset. Julie stepped out of the living room as he reached the landing.

“What’s wrong?” she asked spotting the determination on his face.

He turned to face her, recognizing she might be of some use tonight.

“Are they home?” he asked, his voice matching his expression.

She blinked, unsure of what was happening.

“Um, no not yet,” she replied staring at him quizzically.  “Why do I have a feeling that’s what you wanted to hear?”

“Simple, because if I was looking for them my appearance would be far more submissive,” Zach explained. “Anyway I don’t have time for this, I’m going out to find Gwen, you can either help me or hurt me.”

“Huh?” Julie asked, blinking again.

“She’s in trouble,” he said patiently. “I don’t mean might not make it home in one piece, I mean might not make it home, period.”

Her eyes swelled to the size of poker chips at the thought.

“How can you be so sure?” she asked, her voice small.

“I’ll explain later,” Zach said quickly. “Are you with me or not?”

She remained silent, her brain was having trouble functioning through this insanity. He interpreted her lack of response as a no and moved to leave.

“W . . . wait, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand,” she stuttered springing after him. “What’s changed all of the sudden? How do you know anything about Gwen’s condition? Above all, why would you believe that you could protect her even if she was in over her head?”

He had already opened the front door and was half way out when he glanced back at his sister.

“I changed, Jules,” he said seriously. “The minute I met Gwen and she introduced me to her world I realized that’s where I wanted to be even if I wasn’t really one of them. In all honesty, sis I don’t think you’re ready to hear the truth about the rest.”

Julie’s face paled momentarily, it didn’t take a genius to understand what he meant or that he would leave permanently if she refused.

“What do you need?” she asked her expression matching her brother’s.

Zach had to grin, it was good that he could count on at least one family member.

“You swiped the scanner, can you do the same with a dash cam?” he asked stepping toward her, but keeping the door ajar.

“I can try,” she replied.

“Do whatever you have to just don’t let them find out,” he told her sternly.

“Okay,” Julie said taking her keys from their hook by the door. “What about you?”

“I’ll call you when I find her, until then hang tight,” he said.

He checked his phone’s power bars and slipped it back into his pocket, his sister did the same, then nodded. He let her pass, following just behind and closed the door, silently asking the shadows to lock it for him. Julie stared at him as if to reassure her conscience she was doing the right thing, then hopped into her car. Zach inhaled the cool night air deeply, it sent a surge of energy into his core. As Julie started the car he felt the darkness seep through the soles of his shoes and crawl up his legs. She drove along the road which led downtown, Zach kicked off the sidewalk and raced down the street. He couldn’t believe the speed he was going, almost like flying except he could vividly feel the pavement beneath his feet. Strangely, he could still hear his sister’s car, he would recognize it anywhere. He moved faster and was more than three blocks away before the sound finally faded. However the whispering shadows remained in his ear as if they were floating over his shoulder.

“Faster . . . faster . . .”

“Time’s running out . . . running out . . .”

It always came as an echo, like the words were flowing to him from another world.

“Faster . . .”

Great, they can tell you to hurry, but what about direction? Zach stopped to catch his breath, not nearly as tired as he expected. He instinctively placed his hand on the fence next to him for added support, it was shaded from the street lamps by a large oak tree.

‘It’ll take too long like this,’ he thought. ‘There has to be a better way.’

He was ready to get back to the search when the wood grain under his fingers disappeared. He gazed at his hand and was stunned to discover it wasn’t there, his wrist ended at the surface of the fence. It was beyond weird, but he didn’t panic, with the voices in his head it really wasn’t worth the trouble. He took a breath and flexed his fingers, they still worked, he didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger. He stepped closer to get a better look, bending his elbow to avoid losing more of his arm to the darkness. There was about an inch of space between his wrist and the fence’s wooden planks which was filled with soft, swirling shadows. Curiosity overcame his rush, he extended his arm and sure enough the area up to his elbow vanished in the black smoke. Thinking his arm might have gone through the fence he reached around, feeling for wood, but found nothing. He could still feel his hand so he wasn’t numb, curiosity fading he wondered what Gwen would tell him. The words ‘trust your powers’ entered his mind, he could only assume it was his instincts guiding him. Now more than ever he needed raw instinct. Zach scanned the region for pedestrians, he was alone, one quick movement and he was plunged into darkness. After a few moments the black engulfing him lightened revealing the world in greyscale. He was floating in midair, slightly higher than the lampposts, looking down at the street he had been standing on seconds before. Now one with the shadows he saw the world in a whole new light, literally. Places that should have been dark and blurry were clear as glass, almost glimmering. On the other hand the areas under the street lights were as dark as a black hole. Without a doubt these were spots he should avoid. Just as he was starting to notice the stillness of the neighbourhood the voices returned, this time more pronounced and echo free.

“She cannot run for much longer.”

Zach closed his eyes in concentration, held out his arms and spread his fingers like TV antennas to deliver his thoughts to the shadows.

‘Which way?’

He sensed the words pulse from his fingertips out into the air waves and waited. A brisk wind blew from the north, whipping up the ends of his clothes playfully. Suddenly he heard something, a sound being carried to him on the wind currents. Rapid breathing, Zach frowned, it wasn’t exactly the directions he had ask for, he couldn’t even tell if it was Gwen there wasn’t enough for him to analyze. He tried to clear his mind to focus on the sound if it was Gwen he had to narrow in on its origins. The volume increased at a snail’s pace, frustrating, but it was better than nothing. Finally out of the blue a new sound, a short panicked scream instantly triggering his memories. His eyes snapped open, he soared down into the streets in a panic, it was definitely Gwen. He could hear the breathing more clearly now and almost see it furling through the alleys. His skin felt like it was made of millions of suction cups sticking to nearby shadows allowing him to move. There was a strange beauty in this world, the glittering areas reminded him of moonlight on a deep pool of water and filled him with the same sense of ease. The blackened places had no such emotions associated with them. He once came too close to one when he took a turn too fast and it sent a jolt through his nervous system. He was stunned, but didn’t lose his hold on the shadows. Every now and then another little scream would reach him and his hearing sharpened further and the path became clearer. He left the residential catwalks and slipped onto a street full of small shops. Two solitary cars with rust around the edges and a Japanese motorcycle were parked at random spaces along the road. A handful of last minute shoppers wandered from one store to another unaware he was hidden within the sidewalk shadows surrounding them. He passed through the area at high speed into a neighbourhood of inexpensive townhouses, a little rundown, but nice enough. All the windows were dark, it seemed no one was a night owl around here. Which was a good thing because Zach was certain he was close. He climbed the walls of the nearest row of houses, it was easier to view the street without feeling exposed. Even in his shadowy form the hard plastic siding poked him as he moved, uncomfortable, but he tuned it out, this was more important. When he reached the last of the townhouses he stopped and searched the street. Someone was definitely coming, it was hard to tell at this distance so he retreated to the roof and waited. He felt like a forgotten gargoyle watching over his assigned post. Although, he was invisible to Normals he had a sneaking suspicion a Hex could spot the mass of dark matter looming over the roof. There were two people, the first was a few lengths ahead of the other, slender and a clumsy runner. The pursuer was larger and more confident in their movements. Zach’s next breath caught in his throat, the one closest to him was female and looked just like the girl in his vision. Just to be sure he let his eyes return from their shadow state, the flash of red was enough to convince him. He slid to the back side of the roof, with the hope he would be shielded from sight, changed out of his shadow form, grabbed his cell and dialled.

“Hey, it’s me,” he said risking a glance at the road. “I found her.”

Reviews

[Matthew Ian Herrawood W]

I suspected he would become a Hex but although it makes sense I never expected him to be a "dark" Hex. I suspect it may be because we don't know what types of hex there are it might be worth a line that mentions them in the Hex book when he is reading about lightbearers it could be added easily as a comment,of its oppisit. This was a little hard to follow though I'm honestly not sure how you could make it clearer without telling the reader straight out what's going on. Hope I made sense let me know if not and I will write it better

[NinjaPi]

Lol bhouff. I agree cmpletely. once again dark alley. think about it Emi.