Chapter 17: Strawberry Morning

Chapter 17
Strawberry Morning

It was a terrible night for me. I barely slept. When I did sleep, I would dream of darkness. From that darkness, a smile would appear, and a metallic flash. Then I would wake.

So I spent the hours studying.

Daybreak came, and I did my daily routine, but I still took the bus instead of the subway. I still felt it was too early to be seen there again. Eason said there would be no problems, but I wasn’t so sure. When people fear you once, it’s difficult to forgive or to forget. I took the bus to school.

I arrived just as class started. The class was half empty, but I saw that purple skull ribbon. I sat down next to her, and she smiled.

“You’re not in this class,” I whispered.

“I know,” she whispered back.

The professor continued on with his lecture.

“Why are you here in this class then? You don’t even attend our other class.”

“Well, I wanted to give you something.”

“Excuse me!” the professor turned toward us. “If you have something more important than me to say, then please say it to the class.”

“No. Sorry,” I stated.

Class ended fifty minutes later. Grace and I walked out from the lecture hall.

“That was the first time I’ve ever gotten in trouble with a professor.”

“Sorry,” she stated. “At least, it’s a new experience!”

I shook my head, and we continued walking.

“So, why did you come today?”

“I wanted to say ‘sorry.’”

“You planned on getting me in trouble?”

“No!” she laughed. “I wanted to say ‘sorry’ for being so out of character – for being so moody.”

“You were stressed, so don’t worry about it. I’m always moody.”

“You are moody!”

“Thanks.”

“But still, I’m sorry.”

“Okay – but don’t really, don’t worry about it.”

“Here!”

She handed me a wrapped package. It was wrapped in black paper with a purple bow. A small skull patch laid on the bow. It looked like the ribbon in her hair.

“What’s this?”

“You’ll see!” she smiled.

I opened the package and pulled out the red tie.

Smiling is infectious.

A strawberry was sewn onto the bottom of the tie.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome!”

“So what do we do now?”

“How ‘bout lunch? You’re paying!”

It was an interesting way to start the day.

Text and Images © Jonathan Lee

Another Delay

I apologize for these delays. Graduation, job hunt, and other matters have really started falling into place. Coming back Monday with hopefully no more delays. I hope this, however, tides you over.

-Jon

Chapter 16: Remnant

Chapter 16
Remnant

“He was there when we left.”

“This is bad.”

“Who is he?”

“Jack Ulog is one of the most dangerous men alive. I’ll call you later.”

Call ended.

I closed my phone. The fact that I could even answer my phone still surprised me. It was dead yesterday, and now, it was alive. Like Jack.

Clickclickclickclickclick.

I turned toward the woman who stood on the stairs, clicking her red fingernails against the banister.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. You must have been speaking with a representative from the Crown of the Sun. I suppose it was Eason.” An almost wistful tone upon her voice. “No matter. Would you listen to what we have to say?”

“No.”

Words pressed against the lips of the woman’s mouth, but before they could escape into the air, I continued.

“But Grace wanted to, so here I am.”

The woman smiled, but it was a smile of mist – fading in a moment. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Anna.”

“Hank.”

“Grace.”

“It’s a pleasure. Let me begin by telling you of the Children’s mission. We search for unity and peace. We wish to understand the Affects and reach toward them, for not all things are evil. Let me show you.”

A door opened from the top of the stairs, and something human walked out. But it was not human. It had a head, eyes, mouth, nose, hands, feet, and skin, but all at once, everything was wrong. It had a head of grey twisted hair, dull grey eyes, a pale thin mouth, a blank sharp nose, sickly ashen hands and feet, and skin like moonlight.

“This is Anthony, a Remnant – an Affect that was once human.” The creature waved at us.

“What?” Grace spat out.

“We don’t know why there are such things or how they came into being, but can we deny them existence? Do we follow the words of the Crown and believe all Affects are evil?”

Anthony descended from the stairs and raised a hand toward me. My mouth twisted. I raised my own hand and caught his. His hand was strangely powerful in its grip, but it was neither hot nor cold. It felt absent, ethereal, but also present.

“How do you do?” he asked.

I stared at Anthony. “You can speak.”

“Yes.”

“Anthony is a Remnant that still resembles human. There are many Remnants of different size and shapes, but not all can speak. Anthony, like some other Affects, is special and can remember.”

“What do you know about Affects then?” Grace asked.

“Legends say that-“

“I don’t want to know what legends say. What do you know?”

“Affects are what is left.”

“What is left? Left after what?”

“Miss Lovenson, you know.”

A shadow cast itself across Grace’s eyes.

“That Roc was special.”

Grace held Gilbert tightly in her arms.

“Your family, Miss Lovenson-“

The doors behind burst open. Eason walked in, smoke trailing behind him.

“You could’ve called,” Anna smiled.

“They’re coming with me.”

“What if they want to stay?”

“Do you want to stay?”

“No.” Grace’s voice whispered.

I began “She said“

“No!” she raised her head and beamed in sing-song.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward Eason.

“What’re you doi-“

“Let’s go!” she shouted. “Eason’s treating us to lunch!”

“What?” Eason blurted.

“Then, take them, Eason,” Anna stated. “Please do visit again under happier circumstances.”

“Not anymore,” Eason answered.

“Oh, and Miss Lovenson!” Anna shouted.

Grace turned around toward her.

“Find out what your parents were researching.”

The doors to the suite closed, and we found ourselves in the elevator, descending down.

“Why did you come?”

“I felt uneasy leaving you two in the hands of the Children, and with Jack wandering the streets, I can’t take any chances.”

Didn’t you say I would be drowning in a whirlpool alone? The words nearly escaped my mouth, but I knew better now. I had learned from the last time I had pushed someone away.

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“What?” Eason asked somewhat shocked.

“I said ‘thanks.’” I stated clearly.

“Did Jack hit you across the head?”

I bit my lip. He smiled.

“What are Remnants?” Grace asked Eason.

“Shades,” the detective replied.

“Shades, huh?”

We walked out of the building and into the streets. It was raining now. Eason opened the doors of his car and let us inside.

Text and Images © Jonathan Lee

Hiatus 'til Monday

No Chapter for today. Resuming on Monday - school.

Chapter 15: Jack

Chapter 15
Jack

“Who are you?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

A flash.

Grace stood before me, clutching her sword against the man in black.

“Shadows?” the man’s mouth twisted wryly. “You don’t interest me.”

Grace suddenly slid back into me, and we fell to the floor. I could feel something warm drip onto my hands. Blood ran down Grace’s arm.

The man in black began to walk toward us, shaking the blood off a knife. It gleamed wickedly.

I tried lifting Grace up. “Come o-AHH!”

I was pinned against the wall, his hand crushing my throat. The cold metal tapped my face. A swift pain. He licked the blood from his blade. My head began to spin. Two voices – laughter and worry. I could hear Grace screaming. I could hear laughter, such terrible laughter. It all drowned out to a strange thumping. My eyes began to close.

Silence.

The man’s eyes opened white. His grip loosened, and we fell to the floor.

“Are you alright?” A man in a suit stood before me.

I was covered in blood. My back hurt. My throat still tried to reshape itself from his grip.

“Hank! Hank!” Grace ran toward me. “Oh my god.”

“It’s not mine.”

“We should leave,” the man stated.

“Who are you?”

“I am an agent of the Children.”

Grace helped me up.

“What do you want from us?”

“I would like you to come with me.”

“To where?”

“To meet my master.”

“And what does your master want?”

“Only to talk and to offer answers.”

“Well, we would like to be left alone.”

“Maybe Miss Lovenson would like answers to the event from twelve years ago.”

Grace’s eyes widened.

“Okay.”

The two of us followed the man. I turned behind me and saw the man draped in black on the floor. Blood flowed onto the street floor.

“Please get in,” the man in the suit stated.

He opened a door to a black sedan – luxury class. We entered the back seats, and he proceeded to the front. My phone began to ring. I looked at it curiously. It died yesterday, and I had not recharged it.

Eason calling…

“Hello?”

“How are you two feeling?”

“We’re fine.”

“I went to check this morning, and you two had already left. Where are you headed now?”

“We’re meeting with the Children.”

“What?!”

“Just to hear what they said. We listened to you too.”

Silence.

“We also met the man in black.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. He’s dead. An agent of the Children killed him.”

“Where’s the body?”

“Drive down Raleigh to Kensington. You’ll see a crashed cab and our dead driver.”

“Okay. Be careful about the Children.”

“Okay.”

“We’re here,” the agent stated.

The car stopped in front of an apartment high-rise. He ushered us in pass the lobby to the elevators and then to the tenth floor – the suites. We exited the elevator and found ourselves facing a door. The man opened the door, and we found ourselves in a suite the size of an entire floor. Before us was a crossed stairway. A woman holding an umbrella stood on the landing.

“Hello, Hank. Hello, Grace,” she stated. I had heard her voice before but where?

Suddenly, I heard a strange thumping in my head. Like the sound of a heart, but then, it stopped.

Ring. Ring. I looked at my phone.

Eason calling.

“Hello?”

“He’s not here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jack isn’t here!”

Text and Images © Jonathan Lee