body
embedded in the sheetrock, his eyes unfocused and
non-comprehending. Tatiana was sitting on the floor where she had
fallen when my bolt dumped her on her ass. She shook her head to
clear it and looked my way. The rage had hardened into a cold lump
of coal in my chest and the glare I gave her told her all she
needed to know about where we stood.
Not willing to physically hurt her for any
reason, I turned my back on her and headed back to the entrance.
Lydia and Arkady were standing in front of my exit, a nervous
Trenton [at] their side.
“Chris, wait! It’s not what you think! No
matter what you saw….” Lydia managed to get out before I flicked my
hand at the three of them, sliding all three away from the door
without touching them. Spinning to her right, Lydia slammed her
hand on the emergency lockdown button. Bank vault thick bolts of
steel slammed into place around the edges of the titanium
reinforced doors, sealing the exit in armor.
Part of me seemed to be observing from a long
distance away, watching as some other part of me operated my body.
My right hand came up again and the deep purple, almost black aura
that shot from it tore through the locking bolts like a hard wind
blowing away smoke. In moments the steel had eroded to nothing. The
doors are designed to open into the house. My violent exit
'redesigned' them to open out, with one of them hanging from a
single hinge. I was distantly aware of Lydia and Arkady staring at
me as I stalked out into the night, but the black bubble of rage
was too deeply in control for me to acknowledge them.
* * *
I came back to myself sort of gradually,
lying on my back in the damp grass looking up at the night sky
where the field of stars was slowly being covered with a soft
blanket of puffy gray clouds. My head was pillowed on something
warm and furry. My cheeks were wet. The rhythmic sound of large
amounts of air moving in steady rushes, like some kind of great
forge bellows, filled my ears. Gathering my perceptions, I slowly
came to the conclusion that I was in Owls Head Park, my 'head rest'
the torso thick forepaw of a VW-sized spirit bear.
It was deep night, but I could see clear as
day. As I could for every night of the last seven months.
Since I had met her. My brain refused
to offer up her name, for fear the awful scene from the dining room
would replay itself on the movie screen in my mind. Turning my head
to look at my giant companion, I could see nothing of his form,
just his lava bright eyes gleaming in the dark, about four feet off
the ground. He was looking at me calmly, sending no images, just a
feeling of concern. I tried to remember when he had found me and
what I had done since I had left her. Just a hazy stream of
Brooklyn streets, a few people out and about.
My jeans pocket started to buzz. I pulled out
my cell phone and looked at the display. A text from Lydia. There
were seven voice mails and eight text messages a waiting my
attention. I turned it off and stood up to take stock. My clothes
were damp from the ground and a bus-sized hole seemed to have
opened up in my chest. My jaws ached like I had been clenching my
teeth and the black lump of rage had taken up residence in my gut.
Okwari watched me patiently from where he was curled up on the
ground, still not bothering to 'say' anything. What would there be
to say? What could there be to say?
“Eh, pendejo! ¿Qué haces
aquí? ”
The voice came from across the park where a
group of five males had pushed out of the trees lining the field.
Just enough high school Spanish remained for me to understand they
were questioning my presence. The five all wore loose fitting
clothes that hadn't seen a washing machine in days, each different
but all having the same black, blue, white and red beads on them.
They squinted at me, trying to pick out my form in the dark. I had
no such problem, their every feature clear and crisp. The black
lump in my gut wriggled at the tense hostility that their
embedded in the sheetrock, his eyes unfocused and
non-comprehending. Tatiana was sitting on the floor where she had
fallen when my bolt dumped her on her ass. She shook her head to
clear it and looked my way. The rage had hardened into a cold lump
of coal in my chest and the glare I gave her told her all she
needed to know about where we stood.
Not willing to physically hurt her for any
reason, I turned my back on her and headed back to the entrance.
Lydia and Arkady were standing in front of my exit, a nervous
Trenton [at] their side.
“Chris, wait! It’s not what you think! No
matter what you saw….” Lydia managed to get out before I flicked my
hand at the three of them, sliding all three away from the door
without touching them. Spinning to her right, Lydia slammed her
hand on the emergency lockdown button. Bank vault thick bolts of
steel slammed into place around the edges of the titanium
reinforced doors, sealing the exit in armor.
Part of me seemed to be observing from a long
distance away, watching as some other part of me operated my body.
My right hand came up again and the deep purple, almost black aura
that shot from it tore through the locking bolts like a hard wind
blowing away smoke. In moments the steel had eroded to nothing. The
doors are designed to open into the house. My violent exit
'redesigned' them to open out, with one of them hanging from a
single hinge. I was distantly aware of Lydia and Arkady staring at
me as I stalked out into the night, but the black bubble of rage
was too deeply in control for me to acknowledge them.
* * *
I came back to myself sort of gradually,
lying on my back in the damp grass looking up at the night sky
where the field of stars was slowly being covered with a soft
blanket of puffy gray clouds. My head was pillowed on something
warm and furry. My cheeks were wet. The rhythmic sound of large
amounts of air moving in steady rushes, like some kind of great
forge bellows, filled my ears. Gathering my perceptions, I slowly
came to the conclusion that I was in Owls Head Park, my 'head rest'
the torso thick forepaw of a VW-sized spirit bear.
It was deep night, but I could see clear as
day. As I could for every night of the last seven months.
Since I had met her. My brain refused
to offer up her name, for fear the awful scene from the dining room
would replay itself on the movie screen in my mind. Turning my head
to look at my giant companion, I could see nothing of his form,
just his lava bright eyes gleaming in the dark, about four feet off
the ground. He was looking at me calmly, sending no images, just a
feeling of concern. I tried to remember when he had found me and
what I had done since I had left her. Just a hazy stream of
Brooklyn streets, a few people out and about.
My jeans pocket started to buzz. I pulled out
my cell phone and looked at the display. A text from Lydia. There
were seven voice mails and eight text messages a waiting my
attention. I turned it off and stood up to take stock. My clothes
were damp from the ground and a bus-sized hole seemed to have
opened up in my chest. My jaws ached like I had been clenching my
teeth and the black lump of rage had taken up residence in my gut.
Okwari watched me patiently from where he was curled up on the
ground, still not bothering to 'say' anything. What would there be
to say? What could there be to say?
“Eh, pendejo! ¿Qué haces
aquí? ”
The voice came from across the park where a
group of five males had pushed out of the trees lining the field.
Just enough high school Spanish remained for me to understand they
were questioning my presence. The five all wore loose fitting
clothes that hadn't seen a washing machine in days, each different
but all having the same black, blue, white and red beads on them.
They squinted at me, trying to pick out my form in the dark. I had
no such problem, their every feature clear and crisp. The black
lump in my gut wriggled at the tense hostility that their
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