The Key

*This was written as an English assignment* Sometimes the truth is hard to handle.

“Get out of here! Go!” The girl pushed me towards something I couldn’t see. “Take this,” she pressed something into my hand, curling my fingers around it, “Protect it with everything you have. It is the only thing that will help you now.”

        

I wasn’t aware of anything but chaos as we stumbled along. “Go! He’s co-” she cut off and suddenly she was gone. In her place was a cloaked figure, holding a scythe. The figure had a strange bright, sinister smile. He raised his scythe and swung.

 

I bolted upright in my bed, my heart racing. Strands of hair clung to my forehead, and I used one hand to wipe them away. It took me a few moments to realize I was clenching my right hand so hard that it was beginning to hurt. Slowly uncurling my fingers, my breath hitched at what was revealed.

 

On my hand was a charcoal black key, and it looked very old-fashioned. One end was a small circle and the end had two prongs pointing down. It reminded me of a key my grandfather had used when I was young. None of this was necessarily the problem. I was more concerned with the fact that there was a key printed on the palm of my hand, a print that hadn’t been there last night.

 

I scrambled to the sink and scrubbed furiously. No matter what I used, the ink wouldn’t even smudge. I slid to the floor, staring at it dumbly. My brain tried to rationalize this, thinking up unlikely scenarios. Finally I decided that it had probably been Daryl’s work. It was the only thing that had made sense, even though he had no reason to prank me.

 

Feeling slightly better, I heaved myself off of the floor and lazily dressed. It was pouring outside and I had high hopes that it would become a full fledged storm. Adjusting my favorite hoodie and grabbing my keys, I made my way down the apartment stairs.

 

Before I made it to the door, my downstairs neighbor Ms. Kudrow stopped me. “Adam! You don’t look very well; did you stay out all night?”

 

“I didn’t sleep very well,” I mumbled, subconsciously grasping my right hand. She eyed me suspiciously and she must have noticed me tense.

 

“Is your hand alright, dear?” There was too much sweetness in her words for them to be genuine.

 

“Just fine, ma’am,” I followed my impulse to lie to her. That was weird because I didn’t usually lie unless I felt like causing trouble or I needed to. I hurried into the rain, calming instantly.

 

Only when I was in the car and on my way to Blue Moon Secrets did I allow myself to think freely. Blue Moon Secrets was the shop that my best friend Daryl and I owned. We’d been close since we were thirteen, when we’d both gotten in trouble with a teacher. The name of our shop had been derived from our friendship; we were so alike and different that it was almost crazy. Friendship like that only happens once in a blue moon. I smiled as I thought of our cozy shop that we’d made a home away from home.

 

As I knew it would, my mind drifted to the prank he’d pulled. Daryl had a key to my apartment, like I did his, so that wasn’t difficult to figure out. But when had he done it? I’d fallen asleep yesterday around eleven and I doubted that Cara’d be okay with him leaving that late. And what kind of ink had he used?

 

A loud boom of thunder broke me out of my reverie and I soon arrived at the shop. I unlocked the front doors and went to the office in the back. Setting up a soundtrack to play on the speakers around the shop, I went back out into the main room. We had shelves and shelves of books and some of our photography littered the walls.

 

One of my favorite songs began to play and I settled in to wait for Daryl. He didn’t come in for about another half hour. His girlfriend, Cara, was six months pregnant and he liked to drop her off at Moviestop, where she worked, before he came in. Prepping the register was an easy job and I got lost in my thoughts.

 

 

My body is a cage that keeps me
From dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key

I'm standing on a stage
Of fear and self-doubt
It's a hollow play
But they'll clap anyway

 

With that done, I couldn’t resist staring at the key on my hand. I wondered what kind of marker Daryl had used, what had made it so irremovable? Staring at it gave me a strange feeling, almost like the way I felt about huge storms with a little bit of anxiety mixed in.

 

You're standing next to me
My mind holds the key

I'm living in an age
That calls darkness light
Though my language is dead
Still the shapes fill my head

I'm living in an age
Whose name I don't know
Though the fear keeps me moving
Still my heart beats so slow

 

I traced the outline of the curious key with my left hand. And suddenly my dream came back to me. The strange girl, the hooded figure, something I was supposed to protect. New images came, too. A different girl and two guys kneeling before an old woman,

 

“We swear to protect the Secret with our lives. Never will it reach the Sinner.”

 

I clutched at my head, the images being replaced with the beginnings of a headache. Behind me, I heard the door jingle, meaning someone had entered the shop.

 

“I’m sorry but we’re clo…” the word died on my lips. Standing in front of me was the girl from my vision. She had dark curls and clear blue eyes that seemed to see too much. I reflexively grabbed my right hand behind my back. “Can I help you?”

 

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Adam.” Her tone was patronizing, like I should have known this.

 

“Who are you?”

 

My body is a cage
We take what we're given
Just because you've forgotten
That don't mean you're forgiven

I'm living in an age
That screams my name at night
But when I get to the doorway
There's no one in sight

 

“I’m Evie, you dolt.”

 

“I don’t know any Evies.” This chick was really starting to get on my nerves. “Now, can you please get out of my store?”

 

She grabbed my forearm suddenly, as if trying to steady me. “You seriously don’t know who I am? Don’t you have the Mark?”

 

“The Mark? Lady, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never seen you before.” She peered at me closely.

 

“You’re lying. Let me see your hand.” In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have said seen, because that wasn’t true. I’d seen her minutes ago. All the same, I showed her my left hand.

 

She looked confused as she turned it over. Then she looked at me with exasperation. “Your other hand, Mr. Madigan.”

 

I guiltily handed my other hand over and she lightly traced the key. “So you do have it. Where did you get it?”

 

“I got it from my best friend. He drew it on my hand, okay?” I didn’t know why I’d gotten so defensive. “Are you done, because I have work to do?”

 

“Look thief-” I cut her off.

 

“What did you call me?”

 

“You, Adam Madigan, are a thief. You’ve stolen the Secret and I need it back. Do you have any idea how long I’ve protected it?” Suddenly she was ranting at me, her hands flying everywhere. It made me want to laugh.

 

“If you think I’ve stolen it then obviously you weren’t doing a good enough job.” My mouth had always gotten me into trouble. Apparently now was no exception, and it unlocked a fire in her eyes.

 

“The Secret was stolen twenty-one days ago. Since then, eighteen people have died, each passing it on to the next ‘protector’. They were all fools and the Sinner got to them before I could. I am the last chance the Secret has!”

 

“What about the other two? Where are they?” My question made her falter.

 

“How-“

 

“I’ll answer yours if you answer mine.” She nodded so I continued, “What is the Secret? Who is the Sinner?”

 

The Secret is a secret,” she grinned impishly at me. “It is said that years and years ago the Reaper created a key. This key had the ability to unlock the secret. The truth. For years the Reaper held the key, waiting for one who she could entrust the key to. But her brother, the Sinner, grew greedy and tried to take the Secret. He wanted to know the universe’s power and how he could use it to his gain. It was then that she entrusted the key to Caine, Abe, and me. We’ve managed to protect it until twenty-one days ago when it fell into the wrong hands. Caine and Abe have both been…terminated by the Sinner. The first nine people the key fell to where…not the best at heart. Finally the tenth realized what they key was doing to him and he passed it along to greater people than he, but…they were all corrupted. Each cared enough to pass the key on, at least there’s that.”

 

“So…I’m going to be corrupted?” I seemed like I was laughing at the very idea, even though it scared me.

 

Evie looked at me with begrudging eyes, “Eventually they all do.”

 

“Even you?”

 

She was hesitant. “Yes…even me.”

 

It was silent for a moment before she quietly said, “I’m hoping that you’ll pass it on to me. Maybe then I can use it to destroy the Sinner.”

 

It dawned on me what she meant. “You want him to kill me.”

 

“No.” She didn’t meet my eyes. Then it suddenly made sense, how she knew all about the corruption process and the Sinner.

 

“You’ve already been corrupted haven’t you? That’s why you’re here. You want to take the key, not protect it.” My accusations seemed to affect her, but not enough.

 

“No, I swore to protect it.” She was lying to herself. I could tell, how many times had I done so before?

 

Before I could answer, a particularly loud lightning strike sounded and the wind blew the doors open. A cloaked figure swept in before we had time to react, his scythe pointed at Evie.

 

“You will pay for thinking that you would take away what is mine.” It’s voice was raspy. All I could see was It’s brilliant white smile. Evie seemed to be frozen in fear. Laughing the creepiest and most sinister laugh I’d ever heard, the Sinner raised his scythe.

 

I don’t know if I thought about what I did next, or if it was involuntary. I’d like to think I was just a good soul. Maybe, my mind always knew what to do.  I jumped in front of Evie as the scythe swung down. And then I was nothing. I waited for something, anything, to happen.

 

“Adam Madigan, I’ve been waiting for you.” The sound of an old woman’s voice came out of nowhere. “You are the twenty-first person to receive the key. Among those twenty-one, you are the only one to have unlocked the true key.”

 

“The true key?”

 

“My dear boy, the Secret is not given, but earned. The key on your hand gives you the potential to unlock it. And now you have!” She laughed warmheartedly. “The key was your mind. You did something that saved someone who didn’t deserve to be saved. Sacrifice. So now I gift to you what you…deserve.”

 

I waited again, not sure what I was supposed to do. Suddenly another disembodied voice was whispering in my ear. “You want to know the truth, Adam Madigan? The truth is horrible. The truth is, you are an accident, a mistake. You were not meant to be created, but you know who was. Why do you think you and Daryl Nolan are so alike? Somewhere along the line there was an accident and you were made a Human, always hidden under the shadow of Daryl Nolan, never in the spotlight. Now, you will exist as his shadow, exactly what you were meant to be, what you’ve always done, and will always do.”

 

And then the Sinner formed in front of me, flashing his sinister smile at me as I opened my mouth to scream.

 

You're standing next to me
My mind holds the key.

Author's Note

I do not own the song "My Body Is A Cage", all rights go to Arcade Fire

Reviews

[Jordan's Back]

I love the intermix of poetry in with the piece, it made me connect to the Character better, who is obviously a fellow poet, this is so awesome!!!!

[Sophie]

Wow, I love this!