Requiem (5 page)

I cried out. Not so much a scream, as a low,
guttural moaning, sobbing for my father. The alleyway quaked, as if
the earth below was trembling in the presence of such evil. Dark
turned to dim light, and I focused as Jared’s warm hands shook me
awake.

“
Nina?” he said, holding my
cheeks in his hands, waiting for me to look him in the
eye.

Once again soaked in my own sweat, I tore my
nails from my palms, still clenched from trying to force myself to
stay in one place. Jared looked down, and then left for only a
moment, bringing back two rags.

“
Jesus, Nina,” he choked
out.

The white towels hid the four tiny,
half-moon gouges in each hand, but quickly revealed the damage as
they began to turn red.

Jared placed another rag, this one wet and
cold, on my forehead, wiping away the sweat and tears. My eyes felt
swollen and tight. Although the dream was over, I couldn’t stop
crying. Jared’s expression was heart breaking. It was the same
expression he had when he let go of my hand in the emergency room,
as if I were dying before his eyes.

“
I can’t fix this,” he
said, his voice breaking. “I don’t know what to do to help
you.”

“
You’re helping,” I said,
my voice raspy and faint. I left the bloody rag on the blanket, and
touched my hand to his face. Too tired to hold up my own arm, it
fell to the mattress. Streaks of blood marked Jared’s cheek,
prompting me to turn my hand palm-up to see the oozing tears in my
flesh.

“
I’ll take care of that,”
Jared said, reaching under the bed to fetch the first aid
kit.

My head rested against the headboard as he
tended to my wounds, kissing my fingers when he finished each
hand.

“
Jared?”

“
Yes, Sweetheart?” he said,
thick with agony.

“
Would you make some
coffee?”

“
Yes,” he said
simply.

He left me alone, rushing down stairs. I
looked down to my red-stained hands, and then to the clock. It read
three-thirty. Rubbing my eyes, I struggled to block out the
shrieking that still rang in my ears.

Jared returned with a steaming mug of dark,
bitter caffeine. He sat beside me on the bed with renewed hope.
“Okay,” he said, carefully passing the cup to me, “let’s talk about
this.”

“
No.”

“
No?” My answer caught him
off guard. It took him a moment to recoup. “Nina, there has to be a
reason for this.”

I took a sip and sighed. “I told you. I’m at
Titan every day. I’m surrounded by Jack and memories for hours at a
time. Think about it. The dreams didn’t start long after I started
my internship.”

“
That doesn’t add up, Nina.
You should be comfortable being there by now. The dreams should
lessen, not get worse.”

An attempt at rational thought proved
futile. My mind was clouded by fatigue, and it didn’t take long
grow frustrated and give up. “I don’t want to think about it,
Jared.”

“
You must be exhausted.
But, let me try. Tell me about the dream.” Jared smiled when I
conceded with a sigh. “Please?”

“
It was different this
time. I tried to control it and let it happen without me being
there to watch, but it kept pulling me back.”

“
What pulled you
back?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. The dream? I
would stand still and concentrate on staying in place, and then I
would get pushed to the next scene. But once…I stayed for a while.
I saw something I haven’t seen before.”

“
Yeah?” he asked, anxious
to find answers.

“
The d—,”

“
Nina,” Jared said, firmly
interrupting me.

Nodding with understanding, I continued, “I
stayed behind. Gabe and Jack jumped to the next building like they
always do, but this time I stayed on the roof, and the Others, they
surrounded me. Dozens of them, hundreds of them—I don’t know—they
surged past me.”

Jared nodded, still waiting for an
epiphany.

“…
and then I fell through a
hole, and I landed in the alley. I didn’t watch this time. I kept
my eyes shut.”

“
Did that help?”

“
The noises were just as
bad.”

He waited for something to come to him.
Thoughts were clearly racing through his mind as he methodically
checked off each scenario, each possible explanation, and then went
on to the next. Frustration scrolled across his face and he stood,
walking to the railing that ran along the edge of our bedroom. He
looked down to the lower level, squeezing the metal bar so tightly
it complained as he twisted his hands back and forth.

Coffee finally made its way through my body,
rushing through my veins. I kicked the covers away and planted my
bare feet on the cold floor. “Movie?” I asked, but he was lost in
thought. In the subdued light, I could see his mouth moving, but he
made no sound. “Jared?”

His lips continued to move, and the metal
still whined under his grip.

“
You’re going to break the
railing,” I said, walking the few steps to reach him.

He stiffened under my touch. “They won’t
answer.”

“
Who?”

“
Eli. Samuel.
Anyone.”

“
Maybe they’re
busy.”

“
Exactly,” he said, his
shoulders falling. “I can feel how exhausted you are, Nina. I don’t
know how you’re still functioning. I can feel the way your body
tenses and panics when you’re having the dreams. I don’t want to
frighten you, but this is…if you want to believe it’s Titan, okay.
But I need to figure this out.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
I’m calling Bex. I’m going
to have him come in for a few days while I try to find some
answers.”

“
You’re
leaving?”

“
Just for a few days,
Sweetheart.”

I grabbed his shirt, panic tightening my
throat. We hadn’t been apart for so long, the thought of even a few
days without him frightened me. I would feel naked…vulnerable.

“
But you promised. You
promised you’d never have to go away.”

“
I did. I’m not going
away,” he said, touching my cheek. “I’m a phone call
away.”

“
No.
No
…send Bex.”

“
Bex doesn’t have my
connections, Nina. Not yet. He doesn’t know what he’s looking for,
he doesn’t know the right questions to ask. I have to do
this.”

I shifted my weight to one leg, trying to
relax and play off my fears. “You can’t go…you can’t.”

Jared touched the thin skin under my eyes
with his thumbs, silently pointing out the darkened circles.
Without another word, Jared pulled his cell phone from his back
pocket and dialed.

“
Bex. I need you to stay
with Nina for a while.” He snapped his phone shut, keeping his eyes
on mine.

“
Don’t do this.”

Jared tucked my hair behind my ears. “You’re
overreacting.”

“
Please?”

“
It’s only a few
days.”

I frowned. “You don’t know that.”

“
If I don’t find anything,
I’ll just come back. Forty-eight hours, and I’m right back here. I
promise.”

“
You promised you’d never
leave me.”

He laughed at my stubbornness. “I’m not
leaving you. I’m going to work.”

One side of my mouth turned up and I sighed.
Jared leaned in, kissing my forehead with his warm, soft lips.

The engine of a speeding motorcycle grew
closer to the loft, stopping just outside. Within seconds of its
silence, a quiet knock came from the door. My smile melted away,
and Jared threw a few things in a duffel bag as Bex sprawled out on
the couch downstairs.

“
Mom wants you to call,”
Bex said, holding the remote in front of him, flipping on the
television.

“
Keep it down, Bex. Nina’s
going to try to sleep.”

I crossed my arms, angry that he refused to
compromise. “I can’t sleep without you. You think I’m exhausted
now? Forty-eight hours from now I’m going to lapse into a
coma.”

His arms encircled me, kissing me once more.
“At least you’ll get some sleep.”

He was trying to keep the mood of his
departure light. Jared didn’t enjoy leaving me anymore than I, but
he felt strongly enough about my recurring nightmares to break a
promise. That realization only left me more unsettled.

Jared gently pulled each of my fingers from
his shirt. Imprints of where I had crumpled it between my fingers
remained in the fabric, and I hastily ironed it out with the palm
of my hands.

“
Come home soon,” I
whispered, trying to keep my voice from breaking.

Jared touched his lips to mine, and then
looked to his brother. “Bex?”

“
Got this,” Bex said,
lifting his thumb in the air.

Before my eyes finished blinking, he was
down the stairs and out the door.

For a few moments I felt nothing, but the
second air filled my lungs, an overwhelming sense of sadness came
over me. Jared hadn’t been more than a block away from me since I
came to my senses and begged him back last May.

The bed seemed miles away, but I slowly made
my way to it. The moment my backside sunk into the mattress, I
heard purposeful stomping up the stairs. Bex ran at me full speed,
jumping up and taking flight, landing precisely one inch away.

I didn’t flinch.

“
Hey,” Bex said, elbowing
me. “Death Jungle is on. Come watch it with me.”

“
Where is Jared
going?”

“
I dunno…come on,” he said.
His voice was already deeper, and he had been taller than me for
several months. If I didn’t know he was still a kid, I would have
thought he was a fellow college co-ed. He still hadn’t quite filled
out –the only thing that gave him away.

He tugged on me to follow him downstairs,
and I reluctantly agreed, resting my head on the arm of the
sofa.

A ridiculous array of mutilation and mayhem
filled the screen. Bex watched with unyielding focus, but my eyes
struggled to stay open. Shifting to find a comfortable spot, I
settled in and let my mind drift into oblivion. In the darkness,
with the screams of dying jungle wanderers in the back ground, I
somehow stayed away from the dark building and my father.

Chapter Three

Four Feet

“
Please?” Bex asked,
holding open the passenger-side door.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Don’t tell your
mom.”

“
I won’t!” he said. He took
my backpack and threw it in the back as I collapsed into the seat.
Within seconds he was beside me, starting the engine.

“
You’re so cool,” he said
with a wide grin.

“
The only reason I’m
letting you drive is because you completed your driving course at
Cleet. If you can out-drive cops, I’m assuming you won’t wreck the
only thing I have left of Jack.”

Bex frowned. “Buzz kill.”

He pulled away from the loft, using his
blinker and obeying every traffic law along the way. I watched the
trees pass, the reds and oranges signaling the arrival of Fall.
Jared’s whereabouts lingered in the forefront of my mind, but the
wall I had learned to form around my feelings had long been
routine. I didn’t want Jared to make a mistake. or get injured
because he sensed my anxiety.

“
Coffee shop,
Oh-seven-hundred,” Bex reported, pulling behind Kim’s dilapidated
Sentra.

I shot him a look of disbelief.
“Seriously?”

“
Jared said you were to
meet with friends Kim and Beth, to be prompt, and keep watch one
block north, with front door in sight.”

“
It’s me, Bex. Don’t act
like a military robot. It creeps me out.”

Bex smiled. “I just want to do this
right.”

I returned his smile and gave him a hug.
“You’re doing great,” I said before stepping out onto the
sidewalk.

Shoving my hands in my pockets to ward off
the frosty morning air, I walked toward the front door of our
favorite coffee place. The green door swung open and shut with
patrons coming and going several times before I reached the handle.
Just as I walked in, someone ran into me from behind, nearly
sending me to the floor.

A familiar giggle tittered behind me. “Geez,
I’m sorry!” Beth said, undoubtedly putting forth every bit of her
southern charm. “I was trying to catch you,” she breathed.

My brows turned in. “Okay…why?”

She shoved a piece of notebook paper at me.
“This. Josh got this in the mail yesterday, and he gave it to Chad.
It’s from Ryan.”

I ripped it out of her hand and scanned it.
Everything seemed to be fine. He had completed boot camp, and was
now in specialized training; something about explosives and being a
weapons expert.

“
Great,” I said.

“
But he’s doing well! He
seems okay, right?”

“
Yeah,” I said, returning
the paper.

Kim shoved me from behind. “Hey!”

“
What is with you two
today?” I said.

“
I saw Beth do it. Looked
fun. Can I kick you later?” Kim said, her expression void of
humor.

“
No, you most certainly can
not.” I turned to order, craning my neck once more at Kim to prove
I was not in the mood for her antics.

We settled in at our usual table, grumbling
about upcoming tests and papers. Beth shared Ryan’s letter with
Kim, and complained about cutting back more hours at work, making
their cupboards more bare than usual. As Kim and Beth discussed
Chad’s foul mood due to his feeling that his man-of-the-house
status was at risk, I had an epiphany.