Silverlighters (8 page)

My father stiffened as a uniformed figure got out of the car, moving toward us.

“Look – here he is now,” Beck smiled sweetly. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to tell him yourself.”

“Your dad’s a cop?” I asked as my father glared at me accusingly.

“Sorry – didn’t I mention it?” Beck said breezily. “You have to admit, it
is
kind of a buzz kill.”

She had that right.

“Dad – this is Ellie,” Beck introduced me as my father got out of the car. “And her dad, Mr. Fitzpatrick. I was just telling him about the poker game tomorrow night.”

My father held out his hand, glancing down at the shiny badge on his uniform. “Good to meet you police Chief Gordon.”

Police chief? I raised my eyes at Beck. It just got better and better.

Beck’s father was just shy of six foot, with short brown hair and a matching moustache, sprinkled with gray. He had a warm smile that reached his eyes as he said hello. “Everyone ‘round here calls me Gordon, or Chief Gordon,” he said as he shook my father’s hand. “So can we expect you tomorrow night, Mr. Fitzpatrick?”

“It’s James. And I wouldn’t miss it,” my father said.

“See you at six, then, James. It’s the house at the end of Maine Street. You can’t miss it.”

As we drove away from the school my father gripped the steering wheel tightly, his jaw rigid.

“You could always cancel. Say you’re sick?” I said.

“And risk offending the chief of police?” My father shook his head.

“Can I still go to the movies?” I asked hopefully. But I knew this battle was over.

“You know I’m just worried about your safety?” he grunted.

I nodded. “Yeah. I know. But what could possibly happen? It’s just a movie. And it
is
just up the road from Chief Gordon’s house.”

If only he had said no. Then maybe everything would be different.

9

On Saturday afternoon my father reluctantly dropped me off in town. It felt so good, so normal, to be doing something as ordinary as going to the movies and having pizza.

Beck and Chris were already waiting out the front.

“Look, there’s Melissa,” Beck said as a red car pulled into the parking lot. “The guy with her is Mick. He finished school last year. Works with his dad. They’ve been together for – like – months,” she said wistfully.

I couldn’t help but notice that Chris acted differently with Melissa when she was with Mick. He was less playful. And as we stood in line to buy our tickets, he studied Mick, seeming to shrink in on himself a little.

A flash suddenly went off somewhere behind me, its glare reflected in the mirror behind the counter I was facing. I immediately stilled, instinctively lowering my head, my eyes darting about to see which direction it had come from.

That strange smell filled the air again – but this time it was bitter and tainted, and I didn’t feel the prickling sensation on my forehead.

And it definitely didn’t make me feel safe. It put me on edge.

“Hey – watch it,” Melissa screeched as the flash went off again, and a thick-set man wearing a dark hood pushed past her, running toward the door and out into the night.

I stared after him, still feeling uneasy. I didn’t see his face. He was too quick.

But there was something about the way he moved and the bulk of his body that resonated in me.

Popcorn went flying as Melissa fell back against me, her arms going up in the air as Mick took off after him, shouting.

“Forget about it, Mick,” Melissa called as Chris rushed to her side.

Mick hesitated in the doorway, his face tight with anger, as a tall, thin man with a camera and messy brown hair came over.

“Are you all right?” the man asked, scratching at his hair.

“I’m fine,” Melissa snapped. “What’s with all the pictures anyway?”

“Just doing a favor for the owner,” he said. “He wanted some shots of the snack bar.”

“Oh,” Melissa was all smiles. “I’d be happy to pose for you if you like.”

“Thanks,” he chuckled as Melissa did exactly that. “But I think I’ve got enough now.”

A girl hurried over, carrying a broom and a fresh container of popcorn that she thrust at Melissa. “Can you believe the nerve of that guy?” she said as she started sweeping up the mess.

A few minutes later, loaded up with drinks and popcorn, we made our way in, spreading out across the back row.

The place was almost deserted, but as the advertisements played more and more people streamed in.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Melissa said.

It was them.

They strolled in without a word, their eyes straight ahead as they walked single file down the aisle until they reached the middle row. Then they filed in, sitting directly in front of us, about seven or eight rows down.

“Look – Jonathon’s staring at you. Again,” Beck whispered after the lights dimmed. “I wish Morgan would stare at me like that.”

“He is?” I couldn’t help but notice the way my heart picked up speed as I tried not to look at him.

“Surely you can’t be that blind,” Beck said in her blunt way.

Then the movie started and she turned to face the screen.

I was still feeling tense and couldn’t shake it, but sometime during the movie my forehead started to prickle, and I felt myself relax, but I didn’t consciously notice it or the smell.

Sometimes it crept up on me that way, so subtle I didn’t realize it was happening.

I’m not sure when I saw him – the boy from the cafeteria.

Because of what happened later, the rest of my memories of that night blurred together.

Even though it was dark, I knew it was him. I just felt it.

I stilled, hardly daring to breathe. He was sitting a few rows away, close to the wall. And he wasn’t watching the movie. He was watching me, his eyes little silver moons that shone in the dark.

I looked away, my face flushing.

“Beck,” I whispered.

She didn’t hear me, so I nudged her leg.

“What?”

“It’s him.”

“Who?”

“The boy I saw in the cafeteria.”

“Oh –
that
boy,” she chuckled. “Where?”

“Three rows down. Near the wall.”

“I don’t see him,” she said.

“What do you mean? He’s right there.”

But she was right. He was gone.

“That’s impossible,” I said, too loudly.

“
Shhh
,” someone hissed.

I brooded for the rest of the movie. I knew I had seen him. But I also knew he couldn’t have gotten past without us noticing.

I always thought I would just somehow know when something terrible was about to happen. That I would get that horrible, ominous feeling they talk about in books; I even imagined that I felt it the day my mother died.

But it’s a lie.

I had no idea. None of us did.

We were standing outside, talking about the movie, the conversation quickly turning to what sort of pizza we should get.

“Meat,” Chris said.

Beck shuddered. “After what we just saw – I’m turning vegetarian.”

“Hey – is there such a thing as a meat-a-
tarian
?” Chris asked.

“Yeah. You.” Melissa cuddled into Mick. “Seriously – I think fries are the only vegetable I’ve ever seen you eat.”

“I like potato chips, too,” Chris said, pretending to be hurt. “As long as they’re chicken flavored.”

“Guess what – Ellie saw her mystery man again,” Beck said to Melissa.

“Yeah? So who is he?” Melissa asked.

“Don’t know. I didn’t see him.” She glanced at me, before mock whispering, “I think he’s invisible.”

Of course they all looked at me.

I opened my mouth, but no words came to me, so I snapped it shut again.
  

Seeing the confusion on my face, Chris came to my rescue, nudging my shoulder as he said, “He’s obviously the embodiment of her wildest fantasies. Now mine, she has long, shiny dark hair, and the most luscious … eyes.”

I smiled gratefully at him as the others laughed, quickly losing interest in me as
they
walked out.

“And there she is right now,” Chris sighed, a hand going to his chest. But this time none of us laughed.

Jonathon hesitated as he drew level with me, his eyes dark and haunted. He opened his mouth, but Morgan put a hand on his shoulder, and they continued up the road.

Madison – who enjoyed taunting me at every opportunity – didn’t even seem to see me as she followed them.

“Maybe Chris is right,” Melissa said quietly. “Maybe it is some sort of cult.”

Beck turned worried eyes on me.

They stepped onto the road, and crossed to the other side, stopping just past the Pizza Parlor. Then, their movements perfectly timed, they turned as one, watching us.

A chill crept down my spine.

“Ugh. They’re like robots,” Melissa said.

“I’m going to call it a night,” Mick said uneasily. “Got an early start tomorrow. You coming or staying, Mel?”

“Coming,” she shuddered. “They give me the creeps.”

Melissa linked her arm through Mick’s, giving us a sly smile as she leaned forward to kiss him. “I can think of better things to do right now.”

“Mel, you’re hopeless,” Beck laughed.

Chris couldn’t quite meet Melissa’s eye as he mumbled goodbye.

Across the road, Morgan glanced down at his watch, and said something to the rest of them. All of them except for Jonathon turned then, Madison raising a hand, as though to say goodbye. A horrid knowing smirk on her face.

Then they stared up the road. Their bodies still and unmoving. As though waiting for something.

I heard Mick’s car start as Jonathon stared at me, a strange helpless look on his face.

“What?” I mouthed as we stepped onto the road.

He smiled sadly as Morgan thumped his arm to get his attention, and he too turned away.

All the lights in the street went out then. Every single one of them.

The sign advertising the latest movies. The flashing neon of the pizza parlor across the road. The soft, golden lights of the park beside it.

We still had no idea what was to come.

I stopped, confused, as we were thrust into sudden darkness, the only light coming from Mick’s headlights.

The sense of danger I felt at that moment was complete and overwhelming. Maybe I did have a sense of what was about to happen. Or maybe it was their strange behavior.

Whatever it was, my mind rushed ahead as I realized we’d stopped in the middle of the road, Beck and Chris a few feet ahead of me. That Mick wouldn’t see us until the last minute as his headlights slowly swung toward us, his indicator flashing.

Little did I know the danger was coming from the other direction.

The black car seemed to come from nowhere, the sound of its engine masked by the loud revving of Mick’s car.

I saw the look of horror on Beck’s face.

Chris reaching for her, his frightened eyes on me as he shouted, “Get off the road.”

But it was already too late. It was always too late.

I hesitated, unsure whether to step back or hurry forward.

My brain kicked in, and I moved out of the way. But the dark beast swerved, bearing down on me.

I heard a thump.

A scream.

Then a sudden impact knocked me forward, and the air gushed out of my lungs.

I flew through the air, the dark shadows of the park rushing toward me.

Then I could no longer hear anything. Just the sound of my own breathing as I lay panting on the ground, trying to catch my breath.

There was a heavy weight pinning me down.

Everything felt wrong. Even the air felt different.

I turned my head, and my mouth dropped open as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

It was like I was in some sort of other world. Caught between this and the next.

Everything had just stopped.

The black car was on the wrong side of the road, the corner kissing Mick’s bumper.

Glass from the broken headlight hung in the air, catching the moonlight.

I could see the side of Melissa’s face, her mouth open in a silent scream.

I thought I was dead.

But then I realized I could feel the damp grass beneath me, and that something warm – and very much alive – was lying on top of me.

I could also hear someone else breathing.

I turned my head.

It was him. The boy with the silver eyes.

“Who are you?” I breathed the words heavily. They sounded flat and strange.

He smiled – a slow, sad smile that took my breath away.

“You saved me,” I gasped.

“You saved me first.” His voice was a low rumble, filled with an emotion I didn’t understand.

He turned his head, a deep and terrible sadness in his eyes.

I remembered the others then.

The thump I heard before the world went silent.

The awful scream.

I pushed him away and got to my feet.

I didn’t stop to wonder how I ended up in the park. Not then.