Ember Rising Light (Book One) Page 17

  Chapter Thirteen

  It was unseasonably warm during our first teacher’s work day in mid-November. Tray was at work and I was home cleaning.

  Krista had slept over at our house the previous night, but she left to go out to lunch with her grandmother. Although they invited me to join them, I politely declined their offer.

  While I was cleaning my bedroom, I discovered some items that Krista had forgotten. Her strappy silver sandals, her black, jeweled mini skirt and one of her cosmetic bags had been hiding underneath my bed. She had brought over ten different outfits yesterday and modeled them for me. She was trying to decide which one to wear to her grandmother’s holiday party.

  Krista’s grandmother frequents the casinos in Monte Carlo, Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Every holiday season, Elizabeth throws a glamorous casino-style party for all of her friends. Krista says they are loads of fun. It’s the only time she feels comfortable enough to dress in a provocative outfit and slink around seductively. She gets all dressed up and helps her grandmother serve the guests.

  I held the forgotten miniskirt up to my body and looked in the full length mirror. It was so short that I blushed. The rhinestones sparkle just like on a showgirl’s outfit. The three inch heels on the sandals are plenty high enough for me to break an ankle. So, I put everything in my backpack to return to her on Wednesday.

  Krista reminded me of a sultry Cinderella when she modeled that outfit. I was struck by just how pretty she is…well, not that she is normally ugly, but we’re both plain blue jeans and t-shirt types. It was like my best friend was a conservative librarian by day and secret, steamy seductress at night. It was both fascinating and frightening…

  I had reluctantly opened the small window in the kitchen while I cleaned. I braced myself…not knowing what to expect. My last encounter with one had ended in bloodshed and pain. Although a gentle breeze was blowing, nothing strange occurred. I breathed a sigh of relief. It’s silly to be afraid of an inanimate object like a window, but most fears aren’t rational anyway.

  My stereo was turned up just loud enough to hear in every room, but it still could not hold my attention. My thoughts started to race around in useless worry.

  I obsessed about my memory lapses, psychotic episodes, my fantastic flight, the crazy scenes at school and (what feels like) my pending mental breakdown…what to tell Tray…what not to tell Tray. My anxiety level kept increasing, but my mind refused all forms of resolution. So, my thoughts continued their murky journey through the darkness and fear.

  Then without warning, the wind picked up. It rushed by me with a gale force, instantly springing me from my mental wanderings. The howling wind forced its way inside causing the window to rattle. My hair was being violently blown back like I was standing behind a jet plane. I automatically reached to close it. These freaky North Carolina rogue winds are insane…

  No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t budge. The wind doubled in force as I struggled and fear seized me. It was slamming against the house, seemingly determined to demolish it!

  I bolted from the kitchen and the wind actually knocked me over!

  Crawling to escape, I scrambled to my bedroom and forced the door closed. The wind assaulted the wood, trying to get to me. My heart was pounding as I fought to keep the door in place.

  For a few seconds the wind seemed to almost surrender. It was still attempting to force its way inside, but at least the house stopped moaning. I barely had enough time to sigh in relief.

  The storm, however, was far from over…

  The wind somehow bullied its way through the wood! It no longer mattered that I was pressed against the door. The air was inside the room with me.

  Then, my stereo took on a life of its own. The volume set itself to an ear-piercing level as the incredible cyclone ripped through the speakers. A brilliantly sparkling celestial wind funnel lifted from the chaos. My dresser drawers were yanked opened and the contents were captured by the storm. My bed sheets were stripped and my pillows came out of their cases. Everything in my room got swept up in the crazy vortex. Debris flew skyward and was plastered to the ceiling.

  Although the music was already playing at a deafening volume, it refused to be outmatched by the noisy unreal storm. It turned its own volume up!

  I stood, frozen in time. The insane stereo is drowning out the gale force wind. Except for me, the floor is barren. Even the heavy furniture is stuck overhead. The music had transformed into an all-consuming being inside my bedroom. Occupying every inch, it was painfully loud. I rushed toward the most offensive sound. But, terror would grip me before I could make it to my goal.

  My stereo is possessed!

  The blue readout displayed three brilliantly blinding question marks, instead of the number for the volume setting. Electrical sparks spewed in every direction as something…perhaps, evil…took control. Smoke was rising from the back of it. Still, the music’s volume kept right on climbing.

  Fear swiftly turned into sheer willpower as I fought my way through the pandemonium. With my hands clamped over my ears, I was determined to reach my stereo. I’ll knock that possessed sucker into the middle of next week if I can get close enough to do it.

  The brilliant shimmering cyclone spun turbulently while I wrestled against it. The wind responded to my decision by pinning me to the ground. The celestial storm and thunderous music fed off of each other. At first, I thought they were battling, but that assumption was wrong.

  They are creating a cataclysmic union…an awesome, combined power. I just happen to be caught in the middle of their building uproar. Both continued growing more intense as the seconds ticked by.

  The entire scene was bedlam. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. I realized with a bizarre kind of clarity that I could lift a car with my own bare hands, if the need arose. Even with my newfound strength, I couldn’t seem to move forward. My bedroom door is only three feet away, but I am mired in invisible quicksand.

  Is it even possible to escape from something like this??

  The pressure of the wind against my body is tremendous. With great effort, I finally managed to force my body into a seated position. It was wasted effort because I was still stuck in place.

  It was utter pandemonium in my bedroom. The earsplitting music and roaring cyclone continued assaulting my ears.

  “PLEASE STOP…”

  I yelled the command and it echoed strangely inside my head.

  The phantom music and the incredible/impossible cyclone obeyed my command. Everything ceased…briefly. One second the furniture and debris was stuck to my ceiling and the next, gravity resumed control and released its hold. I instinctively covered my head as all the items came crashing back to earth.

  Then, silence…

  Amazingly, nothing had landed on me. My ears were ringing in the deafening stillness. My metal bed frame looked warped; otherwise, the furniture appeared to have weathered the storm.

  The possessed stereo was lying upside down on the floor, mocking me. The display was still illuminated, but it wasn’t playing music, anymore. Now free, I ran over and kicked it in retaliation. It hit the wall and shattered into pieces.

  I cautiously walked backwards, keeping my eye on the fragments of the possessed stereo. Dashing to the bathroom in reverse, I stepped into a freezing cold shower to help shake me from my frightened reverie. I forgot to take off my clothes in my state of overwhelming panic. Laughing from the absurdity of my life and this crazy turn of events…why didn’t I just go to lunch with Krista?!

  Shivering uncontrollably, I finally turned off the water. I peeled off my wet clothes and wrapped up in a towel. The hallway was quiet and undisturbed as I tiptoed toward my bedroom. Then, I peered around the corner to look inside.

  I had almost convinced myself that everything would be perfectly normal, but it was still the same chaotic mess. I found an outfit and then, I cleaned up the wreckage. I considered all th
e possibilities of what just occurred. The best I could come up with was this house must be haunted.

  “Come out, come out…wherever you are,” I said aloud and held my breath in anticipation.

  No apparition appeared and nothing out of the ordinary happened.

  I managed to get my bedroom back in order before Tray got home from work. We had long, unusual gaps in our dinner conversation. The persistent ringing was making my head throb and also making it hard to concentrate. He told me more about his boss, who he seems to admire. Then, he told me about his difficult day of complicated car repairs. He talked in ‘mechanic-speak’ – his native language. I mainly nodded in response because I didn’t know how to interpret.

  Still frightened by the ‘haunted-cyclone-possessed-stereo’ incident, I pretended to fall asleep on the couch. In true brotherly fashion, Tray covered me up with a blanket and left me, alone. I would end up lying awake all night because of the ringing in my ears. I decided to go straight to the nurse’s office since they are obviously injured. I just hope I don’t have permanent hearing damage.

  “Um, Ember, it’s like a tomb in this house. Something’s definitely missing. So, where’d your stereo take off to?” Tray inquired as he sat down at the table to eat breakfast.

  “It kinda…broke…” I offered.

  Sadly, I didn’t think about the fact that Tray would notice the lack of music. I play the stereo every morning, all morning long. It’s part of our usual routine.

  “How exactly, does something ‘kinda break’?” he asked me, curiously.

  I shrugged my shoulders and prayed that he would just drop the subject. That would never happen – not with my brother, at least.

  “Okay, I get it. You’re not ready to explain that nonsense, yet. Guess that means I’ve gotta figure it out for myself. Where’d you put the ‘kinda broken’ stereo? I’ll see if I can ‘sorta’ fix it,” Tray stated and looked me right in the eye.

  “Oh, I’m sure it can’t be fixed. There’s no need wasting your time. It shattered into a billion pieces…” I announced, intentionally over-exaggerating my voice in an effort to cover my distress.

  “And, you forgot to tell me anything about this, because…” Tray said slowly, narrowing his gaze.

  I had no explanation I could share, so I stared at him, speechless. I’m always and forever listening to music. I love the beats and the rhythms. Music can lift a person to the highest, heights or lower them deep into the depths of depression. We’ve lived without a television on many occasions, but we always have a stereo – a way for me to escape into a world of my own.

  “I, um, I didn’t exactly forget that it happened. I just didn’t want you to rush out and go buy a new one. We don’t have the extra money for it, right now. Besides, it was my fault that it got busted,” I stated, looking at the floor.

  Even though my statements are the truth, I still feel guilty. I’ve never kept anything from my brother before. But, I don’t want him to know that I’m a mental case in the making. In order to prevent that from happening, I chose to deflect the question.

  “Ah, sure, ok – lemme know how that works out for you. I don’t see us living without a stereo for very long, but you’re in charge of the money, I just earn it…” Tray said, half-heartedly.

  “I didn’t mean it like that…” I countered with a slight edge in my voice.

  He dismissed my protests and finally retrieved the broken stereo from the garbage. Tray looked over the pieces with astonishment. I could see the unasked questions behind his ocean colored eyes. After his investigation, even he had to admit the stereo is beyond repair.

  I wonder if Tray feels like I’m spending all of his hard earned money and he never gets a say…

  That thought bothered me, tremendously. He had already given up his entire youth in order to raise me. So, he should at least be able to buy what he wants to, from time to time. But, this isn’t something for him. It’s for me and has to be replaced because of something I did. It seems that I’m destined to feel guilty about my brother’s life, regardless of my good intentions.

  We rode to school in tense silence – well, except for the ringing in my ears…