Escapism (The Escapism Series) (14 page)

  I rushed off in the nick of time, quickly paying for the course kit before heading to lecture. I left York Lanes, hanging a right by Blueberry Hill’s patio where I spotted Landon having breakfast with his friends.

  “Xenia!” Landon called. He motioned to his friends in some kind of boy code about who I was.

  “Hey, I’m running late for class.” I walked swiftly past him.

  “Oh, uh—that’s cool. I’ll check you later,” he muttered, clumsily.

  “Want to come to a party tonight?” I asked, cunningly. The fact that Orion would be displeased fueled me even more.

  “Sure,” he replied, smiling agreeably.

  “I just sent you the info,” I said, waving my cell hurriedly.

  “Nice,” he shouted after me. “Is it an open invite?”

  “Sure is. See you guys there,” I hollered, waving over at the table. The guys smiled, waving back.

   I couldn’t wait to see Orion’s expression.     

   Once I stumbled across the lecture hall room, I realized it was the smallest I had seen yet. It was definitely more integrative and fun, holding my otherwise wandering attention for most of the lecture. I occasionally wrote notes, but for the most part, I scribbled random images—even a ladybug. I left for the bathroom, which turned into a twenty minute break as I roamed the building, familiarizing myself.

  Before I knew it, the day was through and I realized I was finally comfortable with the whole college regime. I reunited with the girls on our way home, briefing them on Orion and the party.

  “I think Nicholas has a point,” Calliope said, biting her lower lip. “He seems dangerous.”

  “How dangerous can he be amongst a group of people? I invited Landon and his friends, you two and even Nicholas, but he likely won’t show.”

  “Does he have a girlfriend?” she asked, grinning devilishly.   

  “All this talk about Orion being dangerous and you want to know if he has a girlfriend?” I growled at Calliope, thwarted.

  “I live on the edge. What else can I say.”

  “He is hot, Xeni. Tell me you haven’t noticed,” Marla said, before hopping out of the Jeep.

  “I’m with Nicholas, so I haven’t noticed,” I said, avoiding eye contact.

  “Sure you haven’t,” she snorted. She and Calliope glanced at one another nodding in silent agreement

  The girls took off, getting a head start on wardrobe planning at Marla’s, while I mentally decided upon a white mini-dress with black pumps and a black clutch.

  Once inside my empty house, I grabbed some leftovers and unwound in front of the television. After a few hours, I awoke sporadically from the sofa, in a panic. I checked the time, hurrying off to shower and prepare for the party. Soon after, just as I was applying the finishing touches to my makeup, the doorbell rang. The girls had finished prepping faster than I had expected. We took Calliope’s convertible—it was the perfect way to arrive in style. Even though it was just a party, I planned to be vigilant—after all, it was Orion’s party and I was not entirely naïve.

  At least fifty people had arrived before us. I walked through the crowd, searching for Orion. Marla and Calliope left in search of a bathroom while I stuck to the main floor.

  “Xenia!” Landon called, flagging me down. He walked toward me. “I just got here.”

  “Me too,” I shouted through the loud music.

  “Wow, the sound system is pretty sick. You know the guy who lives here?” he asked, impressed.

  “Yeah, I met Orion on campus through Kiran—I actually don’t know him all that well, but I’ll introduce you to both of them.”

  “Nice,” Landon shouted, bobbing his head to the music.

  “Here come my peeps,” I said, waving to Calliope and Marla through the crowd as they made their way over.

  “This friend of yours has style,” Calliope shouted through the music, continuing, “I’d hire his interior decorator in a flash.”

  “He sure knows a lot of worldly people. This one guy asked me if I’d like to travel with him,” Marla said, laughing frantically. “What a freak! As if I’d travel with a strange man.”

  Calliope and Landon laughed, while I chewed the inside of my lip, anxiously realizing what kind of party we had agreed to attend.

  I looked for Orion apprehensively. “Have any of you seen Orion? A really tall, blond guy with light green eyes?” I explained, for Landon’s sake.

  Landon shrugged his shoulders, and Marla shook her head while checking messages on her phone.

  “If you do, please point me in his direction,” Calliope said, enticed.

  I grimaced at the thought of a creep like Orion near one of my close friends. As I looked across the ever-growing crowd, I saw Kiran.

  “Kiran!” I shouted through the music.

  He turned and danced his way over toward us, shrugging his shoulders to the music. “Well, well. What do we have here? Xenia, I’m so glad you came. Who are your delightful friends?” he asked, intrigued.

  “This is Calliope, Marla, and
Landon
,” I introduced, amused.

  Marla and Calliope smiled, while Landon scratched the side of his head, uncomfortably.

  “
Oh
—sorry dude. Didn’t see you there,” Kiran smirked, extending his hand to Landon.

  Just as I wondered if Landon was a Diplozoe, Kiran looked over, shaking his head side to side—he read me well.

  “Nice to meet you all,” Kiran said, continuing, “Xenia, care to dance?”

  “Sure,” I replied, smiling over at the girls and Landon, while they mingled with the crowd.

  The house was kicking with good music and lots of people strolling about.

  “Where’s Orion?” I asked, while Kiran and I swayed to the music.

  “He’s
around
. Are you having fun?” he asked, genuinely.

  “Sure.
Fun
. Why didn’t Orion mention this would be a
Diplo
party?” I asked, worriedly.

  “Beats me. It’s totally harmless.”

  “
For us
, but what about my friends?”

  “They may feel a tinsy bit…okay, a whole lot intoxicated, but that’s about it. Don’t fret—Orion isn’t even here.”

  “
What
?” I squeaked, continuing, “He doesn’t even show up to his own party? I thought he asked me—”

  “Don’t tell me you thought he asked you out,” he froze, pulling me aside. “Xenia, Orion may seem like an ordinary guy, but he isn’t some young kid looking for love—he’s quite the contrary.”

  “I have to go look for my friends,” I said, quickly removing myself from further embarrassment.

  Kiran shouted after me, “He’s old and dirty!”

  A scantily clad girl stared at Kiran, confused. “Why is everyone saying that?” she shrieked, storming off, while her much older gentleman friend grimaced.

  “Uh. Not him. Sorry dude,” Kiran quickly rescinded from the uncomfortable situation.

  It was definitely not going to be a normal college party after all. I continued patrolling the first floor for any sign of Orion, before moving up to the second floor. Besides the first two rooms, the second level was mostly uninhabited.

  In a vacant room, I plopped on a bed, breathing in deeply before resting flat on my back, releasing a grunt of relief. The blissful silence quickly faded into faint giggling—I sensed a presence in the room.

  “He’s come to play,” Daisy whispered, appearing beside me with her inseparable doll in hand. She pointed to my left, where Lucas stood idly, causing my innards to twist—I thought I would die from sheer agony.

  Daisy vanished amidst my struggle to breathe.

  “Where’d she go?” I gasped.

  “She’ll be back,” Lucas said, tilting his head. “Are you scared?”

  “Yes,” I stuttered. My breath crystallized in the cold room.

  “I’m scared too,” he whispered, placing his tiny hand over mine. “We all are.” His dark hazy eyes waited patiently. Once he recoiled, I knew what I had to do, or at least attempt to do.

  “Lucas, come with me,” I instructed, reaching for his hand. “We’re going to Styx.”

  “No. Not there. There were
ghosts
,” he whispered.

  “I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise. What did these ghosts look like?”

  “They looked just like men, but they weren’t,” he explained.

  “Come with me and you’ll be free again—I promise,” I said.

  Deep down inside, I knew I could restore him to his source. How? I still didn’t know. It took every last drop of energy I had to travel with Lucas by my side.  We arrived at a place that looked like the inside of a cave with dark red stone, and a vast river separated one endless side from the other. Everything looked and felt serene, aside from a nose bleed and dizzy spell.

  “What now?” he simply asked.

  “Give me your hand,” I ordered.

  I searched for answers I wasn’t sure I even possessed.  Using touch—like how Kiran had demonstrated—I peered into his soul for myself. 

  He complied and placed his hand not only in my hand, but through it; the cold, God awful pain was unlike anything I had felt in my life. He looked at his tiny hand, perplexed—the poor child had no clue he was dead. While in Styx, he lost the physical form he possessed briefly, Online.

  He whimpered, and I tried my best to console him.

  “It’s okay, Lucas,” I whispered, reassuringly. I decided to try once more. “I’ll restore you, somehow. Soon, you’ll be all better, I promise.”

 
Now if only I could figure out how to restore his soul.

  As we faced the River, it felt as though the earth trembled from beneath us. I looked down, noticing a light emanating through the creases of my clenched fist. My hand no longer felt painful; instead it felt warm and strong. Lucas apprehensively placed his hand in mine, slowly absorbing the light. I closed my eyes, and we stood by the mystical River Styx, channeling his source until a familiar voice broke the silence.

  “Xenia!” he shouted from the other side of the river.

  “Nicholas?” I bellowed, nearly in tears. The mystical light flashed through my eyes like a bolt of electricity, unleashing information to every cell in my body. I knew all that I needed to know about him.

  On the other side of the River, he waited to accept Lucas—the part of his soul, which died Offline as a child.

  He would remember everything up to his death, which until now, was lost to him. He would find closure in having part of his soul restored to him because of me—his Charon.

  It was here by the River where lost fragments roamed, while passing through Styx—blinded to their source in both the Offline and Online world.

 
I was a part of something good and mystical. Why did I feel so rotten?

  I walked to the very edge of the river and faced Nicholas on the opposite side, waiting eagerly—for Lucas.  

  “Ready?” I asked, turning back to face Lucas.

  “I am,” he replied, walking toward me. “Thank you.”

  Before taking the plunge, Lucas squeezed my hand. He looked past me, horrified.

  “What is it?” I asked, confused.

  “It’s him—a ghost,” he stammered, hiding behind me.

  “Is it still here?” I asked, gazing around.

  “No,” he whispered, peering from behind me.

  I smiled relieved and he nodded, ready for the leap. We jumped into the body of water and instantly appeared on the other side. Lucas ran to Nicholas, briefly pausing.

  “
Help her
,” he cried, before reuniting with his source, causing Nicholas to collapse. I felt Lucas’ sorrow, pain, and confusion absolve the second he was restored. I kneeled beside Nicholas as he laid semiconscious on the ground.

  Across from me, Orion appeared out of thin air. “Bravo, Xenia,” he said, slowly clapping.

  “
Orion
!” I gasped.

  “I couldn’t have done a better job myself, and I have done this for more than two centuries and a half, but who’s counting,” he said, condescendingly.

  “I don’t understand.” I looked down at a semiconscious Nicholas. 

  “That’s funny because I couldn’t understand what all the hype was about you either, but now I’m starting to see it,” he replied. He edged toward the river, rocking backward. “Be seeing you,” he bellowed, falling back into the vast mystical river.

  I held Nicholas in my lap, while he struggled in and out of consciousness, adapting to his restored self. Oddly enough, I felt more energized than I had in weeks.

Restored

Nicholas slowly came to.

  “Xenia, you did it,” he grunted in relief.

   “Did you really ever doubt me?”

  “There were times,” he teased, continuing, “but I knew you’d follow through.” He got up slowly with his arm around me for support.

  “Your name is Lucas?”

  “Nicholas Lucas Wyles,” he whispered. “Everyone called me Lucas as a kid.”

  “Ah,” I nodded, weary. “My first time restoring a fragment—not as bad as I thought.”

  “You’ve definitely found your calling,” he smirked, standing on his own.

  “I guess,” I said, straightening out my back. “I didn’t have much of a choice.”

  He nodded, sympathetically. “I think I should sit for a minute.” Nicholas looked ghostly pale with dark circles under his eyes. He nearly fell over, but I steadied him once again.

   I saw what he saw—my mind was flooded by his images. He was reliving countless childhood memories that were taken from him all too soon. I had nearly forgotten that being restored granted him access to the events that led up to his untimely death—all of which would slowly, and painfully return.

  “You need to get some rest,” I said, worriedly. I drew on knowledge from the powerful light deep within me. “You’ll have a series of visions tonight about your life prior to…you’ll find out how you…
died
,” I flinched.

  “Wonderful,” he sighed, noisily.

  “I can be there for you, if you’d like,” I offered, speaking as his girlfriend.

  “I want to be alone tonight. It’s not something I’m ready to share,” he replied, somberly.

  “Someone should be with you,” I insisted.

  “Someone
will
.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know. Good. Great. Well, I should get home. My mom will think I died or something,” I cringed soon after I uttered the words. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah—no worries. Thanks, Xenia. I owe you my life.”

  “What you owe me is a normal date. No supernatural funny business.”

  I held out my hand, awkwardly. Not much earlier, I held Lucas’ ghostly hand, and now I was about to hold Nicholas’ hand to cross back through the River Styx.

  “Do you feel any different?” he asked.

  “I guess.  Kind of enlightened with all this crazy new knowledge floating around in my head. Like, the River contains a vast power so deep, it draws you in. The Rivers influence—it’s almost seductive. If a mortal were to reach Styx, it would lead to their demise,” I said, waiting for more information to flood my immediate memory. “The treacherous water has healing power, but can suffocate the living and immortalize the dead—if granted by Queen Nyxta.” I shook my head, bemused by the influx of knowledge. “Let’s get going. I’m watching a movie tonight with a friend.”

  “Oh. With who?” he asked.  I sensed a trace of jealousy in his tone.

  He was reserved about the
someone
keeping him company so I embellished a tiny bit.

  “It’s just Landon, but we should really be getting back.”

  “Right,” he replied, smirking, “Lead the way, my Charon.”

  He placed his hand in mine and we plunged into the river. There was no shallow end—just one big deep end.

  We resurfaced after a few seconds, but not the least bit wet. Thank God the majestic portal only felt wet for a split second. Otherwise, I’d have to invest in some serious anti-frizz serum if shuttling of souls was going to become a regular gig.

  “Guess I’ll see you around,” I said, turning away.

  “
Wait
. There’s one more thing I need to know,” he shouted, anxiously. “What would’ve happened to my fragment had it not been restored by you?”

  “Eventually, it would’ve been pulled into the depths of the earth—lost forever—essentially hell. There are only so many times a fragment can pass through the portal.” I was self-assured as my knowledge of the River grew from our second trip.

  “Cool,” he mumbled, clearing his throat. “I guess Orion’s party was a blessing in disguise.”

  “Sure was.” I granted Orion the benefit of the doubt, although a part of me knew his intentions couldn’t have been honorable.

  “Goodnight,” Nicholas said, mimicking a smile.

  “Night,” I whispered, relieved.  How I longed for this day to end.

  On that note, we parted ways.

  As I trekked back to the Online world, I remembered the party. I was the designated driver for the night and had to return. No buts about it.

  I traveled back to Orion’s place, and found myself in the same bedroom, but in another’s company. Surprisingly, we were in the midst of an animated conversation—none of which I could recall.

  “So he said he wanted to
try
…with
me
!” Marla said, excitedly. She continued to talk, and my idle-self sequentially filled me in. The room spun as the influx of information hit me all at once.

  “I mean, I can understand where he’s coming from. He just broke up with his girlfriend this past summer so he needs time to heal. I don’t want to be his rebound girl, and I told him exactly that. He said it’s more than that—he really likes me!”