Seven

Chapter 7 of The Watchtower Chronicles - Water

The minute the last period bell rings, I hurry outside to my car, ignoring the other students who are wishing each other a Happy Thanksgiving,  and drive away as fast as possible to get to Roseville Road.  I feel the sweat beading at the top of my forehead as my car zooms down the road.  Watching the numbers carefully, I suddenly screech to a stop when I reach number 48.  The house itself is an old manor home that certainly has seen better days.  What once could maybe have been a warm and inviting family home is now a broken down, paint-peeling, probably condemned, abandoned house.  I can’t imagine why Mrs. Edmonton would pick this place of all places to meet me.  Perhaps whoever she is introducing me to lives here, but I cannot imagine someone actually living this derelict home.

Checking the clock in my car, I see that I am five minutes early.  Trying to pass the time, I take out the book again and study the pages concerning the Daughters of Darkness and Sons of Light, particularly staring for a minute at the painting of Arlen and Nerine.  They both look so familiar to me; perhaps Arlen is the one Mrs. Edmonton wants to introduce me to?  It wouldn’t be too surprising to me if she plays a part in this legend somehow; she is certainly eccentric enough, and trustworthy.  Not wanting to wait in the car any longer, I take a deep breath and step out of the car.  As I press the button to lock it, I hear someone behind me.  I jump and turn around to see Jax hurrying up to my car.

“Jax!  She told me to come alone!  What part of alone didn’t you understand?” I exclaim, reaching out and giving his shoulder a small shove.  Jax puts his hands up in self-defense.

“Come on Ren, do you really think I was going to let you come alone?  And, judging from the sight of this house, I’m glad I came,” he says indignantly, giving me a look that says he knows he is right.  I look back at the house, and though I don’t want to admit it, I agree with him.  I sigh and turn back to face him, crossing my arms.

“Alright, but stay out on that front porch while I go in.  Maybe she won’t care as long as you stay outside, but if she or whoever she’s introducing me to sees you and cancels it,  it’s all your fault,” I tell him.  Jax opens his mouth to argue, but then sees that it is a losing argument.

“Fine, but if you need me you scream got it?” he said, reaching out and squeezing both of my arms lightly.  I nod, secretly hoping that it wouldn’t come to that.  He lets go, and we walk to the front of the house.  Jax wrinkles his nose at the peeling porch swing, but takes off his jacket and uses it as a cushion to sit on it.  He sighs as it creaks under his weight and pulls out the history book he borrowed from the library.  He looks pointedly at me and begins to read, humming quietly to himself.  Once he is settled, I walk up to the front door and knock.

“Enter Serenity,” I hear Mrs. Edmonton’s voice call from within.  I push the door open with a creak, and with one last look over at Jax, I step in.  The door shuts behind me with a snap and I know I must move forward.  Tentatively, slowly I walk into the homes large foyer, which is dark, musty and full of cobwebs.  Suppressing a cough I call out.

“Mrs. Edmonton?  Where are you?”  I hear the floorboards creak from overhead and I make my way up the winding staircase to the second floor landing.  At the end of the hall, I can see a flicker of light coming from under a barely cracked open door.

“Mrs. Edmonton?” My voice squeaks as I call out again, slowly willing myself to put one foot in front of the other.  I am beginning to regret even coming here in the first place; my heart is pounding, and I swallow hard to try and even my breathing.

“In here dear,” I hear my teacher call from the lit room.  I finally reach the door and slowly push it open. Mrs. Edmonton is there, but she is alone, dressed in all black and standing staring into the fireplace.  She looks up as the floorboards creak under my feet, alerting her to my presence.

“Mrs. Edmonton?  I thought you said someone would be here-” I begin, but she cuts me off.

“All in good time my dear, there is no rush,” she purrs.  She walks over to me, and I automatically take a step back.  She looks down towards my stomach and reaches out towards me.  I cling to the hem of my shirt, and she finally meets my eyes.  They have the same hunger in them I had noticed earlier today, and I involuntarily shudder.

“Lift it up,” she whispers, and I look at her, bewildered.

“Just a bit dear, let me see it,” she says, her voice louder this time but not by much.  Shaking, I lift my shirt hem just an inch, where the water droplet birthmark is visible.  Mrs. Edmonton sucks in a sharp breath, and I let my shirt fall back in its’ place.

“So long.....” She murmurs, barely audible over the sound of my pounding heart.  I stumble back, my instincts telling me to run to the door.  Faster than I could have predicted, she reaches out and grabs my right arm, steadying me.  Instinctively, I close my hand with the water droplet tattoo tightly into a fist.

“Well, I can wait for the other person who is coming outside,” I say shakily, but she just stares at me.

“Nobody else knows you’re here,” she breathes, her eyes glittering keenly at me.  I wrench my arm out of her grip, and back quickly towards the door and grip the handle with a hand.  As I begin to push the door open, she strides towards me.  She grabs my hand again and I cry out; wrenching open my clenched fist she looks delightedly at my palm.  Touching the markings I scream; a horrid burning pain shoots from my pain to every corner of my body, and it takes every ounce of strength I have not to black out.

“Aquaria....” she says, and right in front of me her appearance begins to change.  Her face bubbles, her features morphing, and suddenly she drops to the ground, releasing my hand.  I let out a shout, breathing heavily, wondering if she is dead.  The minutes tick by, and slowly, she begins to rise, the black clothing she had donned shedding from her body.  I open my mouth to scream again but my voice is caught in my throat as she straightens with a little shake, her eyes still fixated on me.  The woman standing before me is not my teacher, but the woman from the pool, the woman from my dreams, and the woman from my book.

“Y-you,” I squeak, and the woman slowly smiles.  She takes her time in answering me; her hands glide up and down her arms as if she has not been used to this form for quite some time.  She runs her hands through her long black hair and sighs satisfactorily. 

“Call me by my first name Aquaria dear, Nerine,” she hisses, her eyes trained on my face.  She looks back down at the clothing she had been wearing and cackles, making the hair on my forearms stand up straight.

“Too long in that miserable old body,” she murmurs then looks back up at me.

“I’ve been watching you for some time Aquaria dear; I had to make sure that it was really you.  Of course, I had to wait until you turned eighteen to even begin this little investigation, but here we are.  Right where I want you,” she tells me, her voice dripping with scornful amusement.

“What did you do with Mrs. Edmonton?” I whisper, almost afraid to know the answer.  To my surprise, Nerine’s facial features distorted, changing quickly back to the face of the teacher I thought I knew, before returning to her true form.

“The real Mrs. Edmonton? Well let’s just say she took a.... an early retirement about a year ago,” she says with a laugh.  I feel my stomach drop, and my feet almost slip beneath me but I am able to steady myself on the doorframe.

“I’ve waited so long for this moment, you know.  Imagine how happy my father will be when I bring back the first of the four brats that escaped us so long ago.  Not that he cares whether you’re dead or alive,” Nerine breathes, and I can feel the eager anticipation wafting off of her.  She steps towards me, and I finally find my footing.

“Aquaria, it is time...” she hisses, and instinctively I react; I wrench the door open and back out quickly.  I feel the aftermath of an explosion next to me and see one of the ornate wood carvings on the balustrade crumble to shavings.  I finally find my voice and scream again as loud as I can.  As if waiting, Jax is in the foyer, running towards me as I fly down the stairs.

“Jax we have to go - now!” I exclaim, but when we turn around to go back out the front door it closes and locks with a snap.  I hear Nerine cackle menacingly as she glides down the staircase.  Jax grabs my hand and we run through an open door towards the kitchen.  He doesn’t let go of my hand but breathes heavily.

“What…is that?” he pants.  I shake my head, knowing there is no time to explain.  In my fearful haze, I see the taps at the sink shake dangerously and it is as if a light bulb goes off in my head.

“I wonder,” I say, slowing down.  Jax looks back at me as he is wrenching back the side screen door with a bewildered look on his face.

“Serenity, come on, let’s go,” he hissed, getting the door open and stepping outside onto the back deck.  I look back and can see Nerine getting closer from the front foyer.  I look back at the shaking taps, and concentrate, putting my hand with the tattoo out in front of me like I’ve seen in the movies.  It starts as a small stream but the more I concentrate it quickly sputters into a full burst of hot water sent towards the hallway.  A surprised screech tells me I did what I meant to and hit the target.  I run towards the back door and run outside.  Jax follows, staring behind us with his mouth agape, but doesn’t say anything until we reach the river about half a mile away from the house.

“What...was.....what....did.....” he pants, bending over and looking at me.

“I don’t know Jax, I don’t know! I just had a feeling it would work,” I say, just as out of breath, then continue.  “It was a trap, she’s really Nerine, that horrible woman from that book, she’s real, Mrs. Edmonton is dead and I think she wants to kill me next!”  Jax looks aghast; his face goes pale and his eyes are as wide as saucers.

“But why?” he asks.  He straightens up, looks behind us and grabs my arm before I have a chance to respond.

“Looks like she didn’t stay down long enough,” he says, and I will myself to look back.  Nerine was gliding over the ground, the leaves barely rustling under her black dress.  We back up to the edge of the river, and Jax holds onto my hand. I can feel him shaking and I wish we were at his pool; at least I know there I could control that water.  The river behind us looks too swift and choppy for me to do anything.  I squeeze Jax’s hand and wait for our fate.

“Serenity!” I hear a cry behind me.  A flash of light and upon looking round to the other side of the river, I see Coach Alden standing there, staring past me towards Nerine.  Looking back, Nerine’s smirk has changed into a snarling glare.

“I always said that you won’t always be here to protect her, you have failed, she is MINE now!” she screeches.  Coach looks at me desperately, making motions for me to come towards him.

“Serenity, I can’t cross the river to help you until you get in,” he shouts quickly.  I stare incredulously at him and then down at the churning waters next to me.

“Uh Ren we don’t have much more time,” Jax warns, and I see he is right; Nerine can’t be more than fifty feet away from us.

“It’s okay Serenity, trust me,” Coach yells.  My brain whirrs, thinking that it would be incredibly naive of me to trust two teachers who are clearly not who they seem to be in one day.  However, every other fiber in my body is pulling me towards the rushing water.  Taking a deep breath, I turn around and hop into the river, planting my feet down on the rocky bottom as firmly as possible.

“Good Serenity, now concentrate,” Coach says, and I see him appear in the water next to me.   I see that with me in the water, Nerine is now charging towards Jax, who is standing there, completely petrified.  ‘No,’ I think to myself, the idea of her harming him boiling inside me ‘not my best friend you--.’

I feel the same sensation as the night of my birthday tug at my stomach and the roaring rush of water surrounds me.  I vaguely am aware of the large wave forming behind me, and I realize that I have to get more creative than that.  My mind spins, and slowly the water moves in front of my line of vision, swirling slowly into a cyclone.  I send it towards Nerine, who has stopped just feet from Jax, her eyes wide with shock.  Jax seems to regain his senses and rolls out of the way as the cyclone makes contact with her. 

A flash of light and Coach is gone from my side.  I see the light go into the cyclone, and Nerine disappears.  I release my concentration and the cyclone disappears, the water slowly making its’ way back to the river.  I scurry up the bank and over to Jax, who is sitting up slowly as if in a daze.  He looks up at me as I run over, sinking to my knees and wrap him into a hug.

“What...what...was that really  you?” he sputters.  I shrug my shoulders.

“Yeah, I think it was,” I say, then can’t help but laugh.  Jax looks at me incredulously, and then joins in.

“Well, what a day huh?” he says, putting his arm around me again.  We stand, and look around for any sign of Nerine or Coach, but neither of them are in our lines of sight.

“Is she...gone?” he asks, but before I can answer, Coach appears again, walking towards us with a great smile.

“No, she is not gone for good, but she’ll stay away awhile, all thanks to you,” he says, his hands clasped together.  He looks exhausted, but proud.  Jax and I look at each other then back to Coach.

“Coach....what,” I begin, but he interrupts.

“I know you have many questions Serenity, and I can answer them for you.  But we must go somewhere else, perhaps somewhere inside and a bit warmer for your friend Jax here,” he says.  I look over and notice that Jax was shivering ever so slightly.  Noting that once again my own clothes are dry, I shed my parka and hand it to him, which, after a moment he takes with a gratified smile.

“So Jax can come?” I ask, and Coach nods.

“Yes he can, I believe he has seen too much to not be involved.  But I must express the dire need for secrecy.  We have kept her hidden for years, and now that she’s eighteen, her protection is more important than ever,” he says, looking Jax straight in the eye.  Jax does not falter under his gaze once and nods.

“I understand Coach Arden,” he says solemnly.  Coach relents and goes to stand in front of the river, now back at its strong current.  

“Take my hands you two,” he instructs, holding out his hands to the side for each of us to take.  After exchanging a glance, Jax and I reach out and grab one of his hands.  I feel my stomach lift as we are vaulted over the river and land safely on the other side, where I had first seen Coach earlier.  Jax laughs and claps his hand together.

“That was..AWESOME Coach, how did you do that??” he exclaims.  Coach laughs, and looks at me.

“Well, I think we can start off with one little explanation,” he says, then turns around and continues to walk towards the road, where I can make out his truck sitting idle on the side.

“Coach?” I question, and he waves his hand.

“My names not Coach Arden, I’ve never been in the Marines, never was deployed on duty.  I just let that rumor carry on so you wouldn’t realize who I truly was until you were ready.”  I raise my eyebrow and he grins before continuing. 

“I’ve assumed many identities over the years, from a janitor at the elementary school when you were younger, to the ice rink owner when you dabbled in ice skating, and finally as your swim coach since you were nearing eighteen and needed me to be as close as possible to you without setting off any alarms,” he says, whipping the keys out to his truck and allowing it to self-start with the tap of a button.  I can feel Jax looking at me, as if to ask what is wrong with this man, but I hurry to Coach’s side and press him.

“What do you mean?  Why do you need to protect me?  Who are you?” I ask, even though I am almost certain I know the answer.  Coach was halfway to opening the door, then stops and looks directly at me.

“My name is Arlen, son of Light, and I am your protector.  Now get in, and all your questions will be answered,” he simply says.  I do not know whether it is from lack of sleep or the excitement from the days’ adventure, but I feel my legs begin to give out underneath me.  My eyes roll into the back of my head, and crumpling to the ground I hear Jax call to me before everything goes black.