Crimson Echo (10 page)

           
I ran faster, never looking back. I couldn’t bring myself to look at the assailant, because that would make it all too real. I darted in and out of tress for what seemed like an eternity and then I skidded to a stop.

           
In the middle of the forest deep under the trees appeared a tiny cottage, it looked as if it was actually built into the mountain side behind it and the grass was a dewy green that bent sideways in the wind. An old gray picket fence caught my attention immediately and the mailbox at the end of the trail looked ancient.

          
A cobblestone path led up to a bright blue door with tiny windows and a cloud of purplish gray smoke escaped the chimney. A crack in one of the square windows and faulty lighting made me think that the house hadn’t been occupied in a while.

            I didn’t stop long enough to knock, I just barged right in.
I closed the curtains and rested against the old blue door for half a second to catch my breath and then ran some more. I quickly looked around the room noticing everything was left in shambles— it looked like the place had been ransacked.

          
Picture frames had been ripped from the walls, couch cushions slit, end tables turned over and papers covered the floor. As I shoved a pair of kitchen chairs out of my way I spotted the back door and ran for it. Simultaneously, I reached for the handle and paused when the front door slammed. Ice cold chills crept up my spine and I shuttered as a gust of wind whipped around me. I drew in a breath and turned to stare at my adversary as he closed in. I hadn’t expected this.

           There he was in all his thundering glory, dressed in all black as usual. A hint of confusion marred his flawless face. He was breathing heavy and his hair was disheveled. He was holding something tattered in his left hand and tried to conceal it when his eyes followed mine. He was being cautious, not making any sudden moves. I wanted to run to him and throw my arms around him
, but I was frozen with fear. He was shaking.

“Kane, what are you doing here? Someone’s coming.” I spoke, barely over a whisper.

“Lilith, why are you running from me? You know I won’t hurt you.” He ignored me. “I brought you something, but I suppose they aren’t as nice as they were.” He held out a bundle of flowers, nothing was left but stems.

Lilith? I thought. That’s my real mother’s name. How would he know that?

“It’s me Tristan, remember?” I forced.

“Tristan,” he repeated. “You’re not Lilith
?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Lilith was my mother.”

“Why are you here then, if you’re not her?” The confusion turned to anger.

“I’m still trying to figure that out. Like I said before, someone was chasing me and I stumbled upon this cottage.”

“You’ve got three seconds to tell me what’s happened here!” His eyes blazed.

“I don’t know anything. Don’t you know who I am, why are you acting this way?”

“Three…two…” He counted down slowly.

“Kane, you have to remember, it’s me Tristan.”

“One…” An animalistic growl ripped up his throat and he crouched low to the ground.

            I felt the door knob behind my back and quickly ran, slamming it closed in the process. Everything was so dark now, but I continued running until I felt there was a safe distance between me and the cottage. When the moon finally came into view I followed it until I couldn’t run anymore.

            The light of the moon lit up a tiny path that led me to a wide open field— u
pon further inspection I realized it was Echo Memorial Cemetery. There, no less than twenty feet away a mausoleum stared back at me. The moon was just overhead casting a silvery light down on it and on the first step was a man with his elbows on his knees and his palms over his eyes.

            The dark figure
had already found me. I felt shivers again and held onto myself. I wanted to turn away, but I knew I was being drawn to this very place where the man in the shadows sat. Quietly I moved toward him, ready to break out into a sprint at any minute. I pushed myself further, inching closer to him. I had to find out why I was being led here.

            To my surprise it wasn’t Kane waiting for me, it was Gabe. Gabe had been one of my best friends all through my childhood. He kne
w me better than almost anyone, but what was he doing here? I wondered silently. I watched him from behind a headstone for several minutes— he never moved. He was as motionless as the statue that was etched into the mausoleum.

           
Breathlessly, I tip-toed through the granite planks to get a better view of him— I couldn’t tell if he’d been crying or if he still was, when suddenly his head jerked around and his eyes bore holes through me.  His face was still as child-like and innocent as I remembered; only his eyes were different, they were much too cloudy, almost as if someone had watered them down with milk.

“I’ve been waiting…” His voice was eerie.

I walked closer to him trying to understand.

“I knew you would want to know the truth someday.” He continued. “This is where she lies, hopefully in peace.”

“Who? Who is here?” I questioned, keeping my distance.

“The vessel that gave you life, this is her resting place.”

“My mother?”

He bowed his head.

“No, that can’t be. She’s still alive, I know it!”

“Don’t fight the truth child. It was what had to be done to protect you.”

“And my father, is he dea…?” I couldn’t say it.

“He has also fallen. They are together.” 
His otherworldly voice echoed through the graveyard.

“How do you know this?”

“I’ve been sent to warn you. Though you are not alone in this, the people you surround yourself with will be the cause of your demise.”

“Kane?”
My voice quivered as I said his name. I knew the answer I would get, but I didn’t want to believe it.

He bowed his head again. “I’ll give you some time with your… mother. We’ll speak again, I’m sure.”  And with that he walked into a
gust of rolling fog and vanished.

I called after him, although he was already gone.

            I scrutinized the rows of gravestones looking for any sign of human life, squinting into the darkness. Crickets chirped and wings flapped invisibly around me, but other than that I was completely alone. The door of the catacomb caught my eye and as much as I didn’t want to go inside I knew what waited for me there.

          
The grand door took some time to pry open, it was much larger then I. Once inside and only barely able to make out two tombs, I ran my hand along the cold statue of the woman. She was beautiful, even in the fleeting light of the moon.

          
The ivory was in perfect condition and chiseled into the marble were the exact features I had imagined them both to have. Kneeling between my alleged parents, I began to sob as the realization hit me in waves. The aching desire to find my parents and to know them was now violently ripped away from where it resided in my chest. The pain was worse than venom in my veins.

“No!” I shouted. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!”
How could they have left me, to never know who I really am or who I came from? I wept into the sleeve of my thin nightgown.

           
I cried so hard I woke myself up and realized it was all a dream. I noticed Faith still sleeping beside me and decided to make a break for it. I slid out of bed and with red-rimmed eyes, I tip-toed to the bathroom to wash my face.

            S
ilently, I closed the door and flipped the light switch underneath the towel rack. I let the water run for a second until it was warm and splashed my face. I wiped the light smattering of mascara from under my eyes and buried my face in a dry towel. I was determined to make this day turn out better than it had began.

           
Sneaking downstairs as quietly as I could, all the effort was wasted when the last step creaked. I caught myself and held my breath until I was sure I hadn’t heard any movement upstairs. I grabbed my shoes and coat and ran for the door. It hadn’t donned on me until that moment that I didn’t have a ride, but Kane surprised me, yet again. I was thrilled the he had driven us over in my car, but why didn’t Faith say anything about it? I let it go. I was too excited about my new means of an escape to let it bother me.

             Slipping on my jacket, I felt something in the pocket and fumbled it out. I cou
ld have cried I was so happy. Kane must have slipped my keys into my pocket before he left last night. He must have known I would want to get away, now I just had to figure out where to go. I remembered him giving me all those warnings and I wondered if he would agree with a trip to the Blue Mountains. After last night’s dream I knew exactly who I would go see, Gabe. I hoped I could find his house— after all, I had never been there before.

            I hurried out onto the main road before I changed my mind all together and merged onto the highway. The roads were fairly empty for a Saturday and I was relieved— I detest driving on the highway, cars or no.
The twenty minute trip would do me some good, it would give me a chance to clear my head and hopefully I could think of a good excuse for showing up unannounced at Gabe’s door out of the blue.

           
As I continued to ponder that idea the skies opened up and a downfall of rain began to pelt the windshield of my tiny Spider Eclipse. Instantly, begrudgingly, I remembered my dad warning me to pick up a new pair of windshield wipers the next time I was in town.

            Spotting an exit to my left, I merged across three lanes and jumped off of the highway. I
was determined to wait the rain out until it died down enough for me to see. As I pulled into a nearly deserted, yet flooded parking lot I noticed the sign that read: ‘Yesterday’s Treasures’ and I could have sworn that my necklace sparkled in the rearview mirror. I thought it over for a minute and decided it couldn’t hurt to check out the discount antiques store while I waited for the rain to stop.

            Yesterday’s Treasures was t
he only store like it in this small, desolate town. It sat on a small plot of land just this side of the Blue Mountains in Dorough County. Sure, it was a little rundown, but that added character. I had never made it out to the Blues, though I had planned on it long ago. From what I had seen in pictures from the internet, it was a sight to see in the summer months. In the snapshots I found there were fields of wildflowers and tons of wild life.

            I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head and got out of the car and my shoe was instantly full of water— I looked down at the puddle and my wet shoe and cursed under my breath. I wished I lived some place sunny and warm like California.
I pushed on the small screen door and the bell rang acknowledging my presence. I pushed my hood back and cringed when my shoes made squeaky noises against the gray tiled floor.

          
A downpour of heat hit me in a continuous blast until I moved away from the ventilation system— even then, it was still too warm. The windows were fogged over and moisture streamed down the glass, I noticed as I tried to take in the surroundings. A large sign hung on an empty wall that read:
Free appraisals, inquire within.
I had time to kill, so why not?
A teenage boy stood behind the counter reading what looked to be a comic book, I wasn’t even sure if he noticed me until he spoke.

“Can I help you
find anything today?” He asked, never looking up.

“Yeah, I was just wondering if you could tell me anything about this.” I pulled the pendent from around my neck and held it up.

“I’ll take a look at it,” he rolled the comic up and shoved it into his back pocket and faced me. “Tristan,” He smiled. “Is that you, it’s been so long!”

“Do I know you?” His voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place him. It couldn’t be, could it? “Gabe?”

“Yeah, you don’t recognize me anymore?”

“I didn’t know you worked here. You don’t even look the same, what happened?”

            I hadn’t seen or heard from Gabe in nearly five years. He moved to the Blue Mountain Range with his family shortly after Emporia was re-opened. We used to live next door to each other, before he moved. He had changed a lot since the last time I had seen him. The Gabe I knew had shaggy brown hair, hand-me-down clothes from his older brothers and a weight problem.

“It’s called puberty, maybe you should try it.” He joked.

“That’s real mature Gabe, thanks. Believe it or not, I was on my way up to see you and then I was nearly drowned by this monsoon.” I pointed toward the door.

“You were coming to see me? Why?
”

“I missed you. We don’t even talk anymore. I figured we could at least catch up.”

“That sounds really great, but I’m stuck here for awhile. I guess you can hang out with me while I work, if you don’t mind.” He smiled.

           Gabe was never much of a talker, so this was a bit of a culture shock to me. This new G
abe seemed to be armed with an arsenal of confidence now— nothing like how he was just a few short years ago. He didn’t have any friends when he lived in Echo, but bullies—he had plenty. I guess I had felt sorry for him all those years ago and made a conscious effort to be someone he could trust and depend on.