Polaris (4 page)

Thinking back, she remembered Nakal’s eyes. Had they flickered? “Where is Nakal?”

“He’s in the living room watching TV,” Parker answered.

“Are the phones working?” She scanned the room.

“Sorta. It’s on for a few seconds, but then it loses the connection before the call connects,” Parker said.

Mrs. Martin sighed and handed the glass back to Aaron, motioning for him to place it on the nightstand. “Maybe I did pick up some sort of virus from him. I’ll just lie here for a moment longer. You boys look on the refrigerator. There should be a business card from the towing company. Keep trying to get a call out and ask them to come out here.” A wave of dizziness passed over her as she closed her eyes.

She heard Aaron and Parker quietly shutting the door behind them as she drifted into a deep sleep.

The boys were together in Aaron’s room, thinking about what to get into next. Nakal went to the window and peered out.

Parker hit Aaron on the arm. “Come over here. I gotta tell you what happened to me last night,” he whispered. He glanced over at Nakal, pointed to him, and made a crazy face.

Aaron huddled over the desk, listening to Parker as Nakal continued to blankly stare out the window.

“I tried to find the site where the meteor landed,” Parker said.

“What?” Aaron said. “Tell me what happened.”

Parker shushed his friend. “Lower your voice. I don’t want Mr. Weirdo to hear. I was in town with my parents when I overheard a crazy old man telling people something had come into town.”

“The storm?” Aaron asked.

Parker shook his head. “No, I don’t think that was what he was talking about. I asked mom what the man was telling them, but she wouldn’t repeat it, saying he was just being creepy. That’s when we saw the meteors streaking across the sky and then we heard a loud boom. Right after that, they said over the radio that one of them hit over in the woods.

Aaron leaned in closer to Parker. “Well, did you see anything when you went out there?”

“Just some weird looking fog,” Parker said. “But I heard something inside the fog.” He lowered his voice. “It chased me near the Old Washington Bridge.”

“Show us.” Nakal said, as he slowly turned around. And, for the first time—he smiled.

The phone rang and Mrs. Martin picked it up. “Hello?” she said into the receiver. There was a lot of static on the line. She tried sitting up. “Hello?” she repeated.

“Shelly, it’s me, Teresa,” Parker’s mom said.

“Oh, yes.” Mrs. Martin said. “I didn’t realize the phones were back up. I need to make some phone calls.”

“I’m happy I caught you before you left,” Teresa said. “The main road into town is closed. A large tree fell over and knocked down some power lines. It’s blocking the road. We will be a little late getting back home.”

Mrs. Martin took a sip of the water Aaron left on her nightstand. Her mouth seemed to sizzle as the water touched her tongue. “We were unable to go into town. The car has a dead battery.” She fought to stay conscious. “I’ve also caught some type of virus and feel awful.”

“Oh no, Shelly. As soon as we’re able, we’ll get back to your house. I’ll bring you some medicine. Do you have food?”

“Yes, we have plenty of food. I’ll be fine. Just need some more rest. If that doesn’t work, I’ll call my doctor.” She removed the phone briefly to wipe the sweat from her face. “Any more news about your sister?”

“Yes, there was. We were able to look at the footage from the store’s surveillance camera. One of the videos showed her talking to a young boy around our kids’ age. They walked off toward a rear exit.”

“Mom?” Aaron poked his head in her bedroom door, interrupting her conversation. “We’re going to go outside for a while. Yell if you need anything.” He was gone before she could object.

Mrs. Martin’s mind raced. Her pulse accelerated. “Teresa, what did this boy look like?”

“He was a strange looking kid with dark hair and pale skin. He wore old clothes that were way too big for him—”

“Teresa, I’ve got to go. Something has come up.” She hung up the phone and climbed out of bed as quickly as her feverish body would allow. Her legs wobbled beneath her as she made her way into the hallway.

“Aaron,” she called out. “Come here.” She was too late. They were already outside.

Mrs. Martin started to go upstairs but stopped when the walls around her appeared to spin. “Could it have been Nakal?” She made her way into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.

The water momentarily cooled her fever. She reached for a towel to dry her face when she noticed a tear-shaped symbol on her neck.
Where did this come from?
As she ran her shaky fingers against it, she remembered Nakal’s touch.

“He knew about the old man at the gas station,” she whispered. “Why did he call me Mom?”

She made her way back toward her bedroom to call the police about Nakal when she heard a faint shrill sound coming from upstairs. Walking up the stairwell to Aaron’s room, she felt a draft coming toward her. As she entered, she saw a large hole in the ceiling. “What in the world?” She gasped as she walked toward it.

Nakal’s pungent odor permeated the air. The scent entered her lungs and burned with each labored breath she took. Too filled with horror to cry out, she stood numbly and watched the hole enlarge and spread down the wall to the floor. A blue haze filled the room, blocking out the light that shone through the window. She felt herself being pulled toward the black hole as it increased in size. The darkness pulled against her as if it was a great vacuum. A low shrilling sound came from the opening. She tried to scream. Her feet slid against the carpet toward the hole. She managed to grab the leg of the desk as her feet lifted from the ground. The pull increased. The darkness reached out, cradled her hands, and caused them to open. She slipped helplessly into darkness.

The boys walked single file along the tree line with Parker leading the way. As they neared the Old Washington Bridge, there seemed to be a shift in the air. Tangible, small electrical currents pulsed through the atmosphere. A faint shrill came toward them from the fog. The sound whipped through the trees and rustled the branches.

Parker looked over his shoulder at Aaron, and his breathing rate increased. The icy air burned against their faces. Their pulse heightened with each step they took.

Parker held up his arm, motioning for them to stop. “Right down there,” he pointed, “is where I heard it coming from.

Nakal took over the lead and picked up the pace without saying a word. He led them right up to the edge of the fog then turned around to face them. The screeching sound grew louder, and the ground began to shake every half second or so as if a giant elephant were approaching them.

Aaron and Parker’s eyes grew wide. They watched as a grin spread across Nakal’s face and he erupted into laughter.

Aaron placed his hand on Parker’s shoulder and took a step back, pulling Parker with him. There was a strange odor in the air that Aaron remembered smelling on Nakal.

“Why are you laughing?” Aaron asked.

Nakal’s eyes glowed amber as tiny sparks flickered from them.

“It begins now,” said Nakal.

“What are you talking about?” Parker said.

The ground shook harder, indicating that whatever it was within the fog was getting nearer to them.

Aaron continued to pull on Parker, quickening their backward steps.

“What’s happening?” Aaron asked.

Nakal raised his arms and signaled for something. Directly behind him emerged a large red blob-like creature shaped like a bloated letter X. Its skin was the texture of a dodgeball, while its face was void of any features, except for a small oblong opening in the center that opened and closed like fish gills. The creature swayed back and forth, and any area where its arms touched disappeared.

Just as Nakal and the creature began to move toward them, Aaron noticed a swarm of birds in the midst of a high-speed vertical dive toward them. The birds swooped down and viciously pecked at the creature.

“Let’s get out of here,” Aaron yelled.

Aaron and Parker ran back through the woods and didn’t stop until they reached Aaron’s house. They climbed the front stairs two at a time and burst through the front door.

“Mom!” Aaron yelled.

They both charged through the house.

Aaron flung open the door to his mother’s bedroom.

“Mom!” Aaron shouted. Her bed was empty.

“Maybe she’s in the kitchen,” Parker said.

The boys checked in the kitchen, before continuing the search up the stairs and into Aaron’s bedroom, which they found empty. They split up and ran through the rest of the house before meeting up in the living room.

“What just happened, and where’s my mom?” Aaron said. He paced rapidly around the room.

Parker nervously peered out the window. “Who the heck did you guys let into your house? Did you see his eyes?” He rubbed his glove across the glass in a failed attempt to get a better view. “Do you think they’ll come back here?”

“Oh, man,” Aaron pulled off his hat and rubbed his head. “Last night … his eyes … ” Aaron stuttered out as he sat on the edge of the couch.

“Last night, what?” Parker demanded.

Aaron stumbled over his words a few times. “I’m not sure how to say it.”

“Just spit it out.”

“Last night, I thought I saw Nakal’s eyes glow, but I was looking at his reflection in the mirror
and
there was a bird staring in the window, “Aaron paused. “I think they were looking at each other.”

“What?” Parker’s voice rose an octave. “You serious?”

Aaron nodded.

Parker narrowed his eyes. “You saw all of that and you stayed in the room with him?”

Aaron huffed. “I thought I’d imagined it.”

“Did you tell your mother?”

“No.” Aaron threw his hands up. “Again. I thought I’d imagined it. I have to find my mother.”

“The car is still out in the driveway and she was too sick to walk anywhere.”

“True,” Aaron said, “But she was on the phone before we left, maybe Mom is down at your house?”

Parker’s eyes perked up. “Yeah, maybe my mom came back from town and stopped by to pick her up or take her to the doctor.”

Aaron ran into his mom’s room, picked up the handset, and held it against his ear. He looked at Parker and frowned before hitting the receiver button a few times. “It’s dead.”

Parker pulled out his cell phone and dialed his home number. After a few seconds, he looked at the face of the phone and sighed. “No signal.” He walked to the other side of the room and held the phone up in another attempt to get a signal. “Nothing.”

“Let’s just run down to your house. Maybe your phone there is working,” Aaron pulled his hat back down on his head and zipped up his jacket. Parker followed behind him.

As they made their way through the deep snow to Parker’s house, Aaron took in his surroundings. The area where he’d grown up and played all his life was now the site of a bad horror movie happening in real time.

“Did you see that thing erase the trees?” Aaron shouted to Parker. “What
was
that?”