Axiom Theory: Book Four of the Shadow Series (3 page)

Cliff watched as Test tossed the boulder as though it were a
stone skipping across a calm pond. Though he’d witnessed Test’s power on many occasions, the sense of amazement never went away.

“Well, I guess that answers my question,” replied Test as he wiped his eyes.

“How’s that?” asked Cliff.

Test turned to him and replied. “I don’t know if I
can
forgive myself.”

Feeling
defeated himself, Cliff sighed deeply and let his shoulders slouch. “Boy, you have got to let it go,” he spoke sharply. “What’s done is done; there ain’t nothin’ you can do for that poor girl. She just wasn’t meant to be happy in this world.”

“Bullshit!” shouted Test as he
jumped to his feet. “And in what world was she destined to be happy, Cliff?” He paused, glaring at the old man waiting for his answer. “She’s gone! Not just dead, but gone! Wiped from existence!”

“I don’t believe that
!” shouted Cliff in reply.

Leaning over Cliff, Test retaliated. “Then why isn’t she here?”  he shouted with arms held wide as he looked around. “Why isn’t she standing beside you on the other side?”

Cliff glared into Test’s eyes; the young Shadow’s tortured expression etching itself into his mind. In a broken, yet calm, voice, Cliff replied. “I don’t know, son. But I gotta believe that she is somewhere.” Cliff stood and placed himself in front of Test while resting a hand on each of his shoulders. “It’s called faith, son. You gotta have faith.”

With his vision blurred, Test struggle with a reply. “Jenz said…”

“I know what Jenz said,” interrupted Cliff. “But what if that’s just what
she
was told? Ain’t it possible she was wrong?”

A heavy silence overtook the mountain top as Test pondered Cliff’s words.

“What if she was wrong, boy?” repeated Cliff, this time with a little more intensity. “What if, Test? Just ask yourself that question. Instead of being so focused on the possibility of the worst, why not have faith that everythin’ that happened was for the better? What if Nicole is actually in a
better
place?” The old man paused for a moment, attempting to reign in his own emotions. With his hands still gripping Test’s shoulders, the old man shook Test as he asked a final question. “What if she’s happy now?”

Overwhelmed with thought, Test focused for a moment on Cliff’s theory. Though he
still wasn’t convinced, he admitted to himself that everything suddenly
did
appear less bleak. With tear streaked cheeks and a crooked grin, he nodded to his friend.

The de
scent down the side of the mountain was Test’s favorite part of his early morning treks. Always fearful of being discovered, by the average man or otherwise, he was ever mindful of how much power he released. This meant limiting his time for flight. Though he knew Isaac was gone, he’d learned that there were more Reapers and Shadows in the world than he had ever considered, and he knew that the odds were good that he hadn’t met them all yet.

With a quick burst that sent him upward and outward, he allowed himself to glide over the tops of the trees. The wind on his face carried the fresh scent of the pines and the warm morning sun made each needle glisten as he passed. To him, there were a lot of disadvantages to being a Shadow, but flight was
the one thing that he was grateful for above nearly all else.

At the base of the mountain was the cabin
that Prim had so graciously purchased for them. While Prim had provided the money needed, Test, Cliff, and Alyssa were allowed to choose the location. They had chosen this spot on Black Mountain for its seclusion as well as its beautiful surroundings. While it was not devoid of visitors, the remote location kept any sign of civilization to a minimum.

Prim had purchased the home and property for them with money that he and Jenz had accumulated over the many years of their existence.
The home was microscopic by anyone’s standards, barely six-hundred square feet, and was painted an off white color.  Energy was provided by several small wind generators that powered the pump for the well and the small window unit air conditioner. It was all that provided Test with any comfort from the heat. Due to the home not having much insulation, it was difficult to maintain a comfortable temperature. Though neither Alyssa nor Cliff had to worry about physical comfort, Test took it all in stride. Besides, it always gave a good excuse to take a dip in the cool stream that flowed a short distance from their home.

Thad
, Cliff’s grandson, sent them money once a month so that Test was able to purchase groceries and such. Test was glad that Cliff had found Thad. It seemed to bring his friend a happiness that he’d not seen him have before. That reason aside, he was grateful to Thad for his financial support. He knew it couldn’t be easy for someone making a teacher’s wage to spare anything.

As
Test landed in the clearing in front of their home, Cliff appeared by his side.

“I win, youngin’,” said the old man with a wink and a grin.

Patting Cliff’s back, Test replied while trying to mimic his friend’s trade mark wink. “I wasn’t racing, my friend.”

The two of them walked toward the house, enjoying the last bit of the morning
sun before it became much too hot. As they stepped to the front door, Alyssa’s body glided through the wood.

“Good morning!” she said spryly. “What have you boys been up to?”

Test couldn’t help but smile. “You
can
open the door, you know?”

H
er form to becoming completely solid, she bounced on her toes and then kissed Test on the cheek. “Yah, but why not take advantage of the things that being dead allows?” Though she knew comments like that bothered Test, her speech filter sometimes failed. Grinning widely, she kissed his other cheek. “Just kidding,” she said cheerfully.

“Dang,” said Cliff as he stood to the right side of Test. “You’ve got an old man kinda feelin’ left out over here.”

Alyssa turned her head and received a wink from Cliff.

“You know,” she replied. “You can’t really use that phrase anymore.”

Cliff’s brow wrinkled. “What are you talkin’ about?”

“You’re not old, you’re…”

“Alyssa,” interrupted Test with a stern look.

“Oh, lighten up, son,” answered Cliff as he wrapped an arm around Alyssa’s waist. “If being dead don’t bother either one of us, it shouldn’t be botherin’ you
, now should it?”

With a kiss on the old man’s stubbly cheek, Alyssa said, “Thank you, Cliff.”

Draping her arm over Cliff’s shoulder, the two of them turned toward the door and walked through it. Just before they disappeared completely, Alyssa turned, stuck out her tongue, and then blew a kiss to Test.

For a moment, he thought about phasing to show them that walking through
walls was not something special that they had over him, but phasing took a great deal of energy and it was more than he was willing to risk.

As he reached for the door handle, Alyssa’s head appeared through the door in front of him.

“Are you coming or what?” she asked playfully.

Test began to laugh as Alyssa made faces.
Living with ghosts just as if he was with the living…he’d just remembered one more thing that being a Shadow gave him to be grateful for.

****

Test watched as Alyssa and Cliff walked off into the kitchen. Instead of following them
, he walked to the small living room just to the right of the front door. He plopped down in his favorite spot on the couch, leaned back and stared at the ceiling, and thought a bit more about the conversation he’d had with Cliff on the mountain top.

From the kitchen, the sound of a voice that wasn’t Alyssa
’s or Cliff’s broke his train of thought and he quickly leaned forward, trying to focus on its owner.

“Test!
” shouted Alyssa from the kitchen. “You need to come in here!”

He quickly jumped from his seat and took long strides towards the kitchen. The
cabin being very small, it didn’t take too many.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately noticing the troubled look on Alyssa’s face.

“There’s a message on the answering machine from Prim,” she said.

Again he asked while taking a couple of steps forward, “
What’s wrong?”

“Just listen,” she replied as she pressed play on the answering machine.

The sound of Prim’s voice played with too much base through the cheap machine. “Test, this is Prim. We are going to be paying you a visit in the morning. It’s important, but I’ll leave it at that for now. I will say that we are bringing a friend.” There was a great emphasis given to the word “friend”. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

The message ended and Test immediately played it again to listen for any clue as to why they were coming. Prim’s voice didn’t seem right. Something was definitely bothering him.

“Do you want me to go see them first?” asked Cliff the instant the second playing of the message ended.

Staring at the answering machine, Test took a deep breath. “No,” he replied. “Let’s just wait. It’s probably nothing to worry about.”

“Maybe Lauren’s pregnant?” asked Alyssa in a weak attempt at trying to ease the tension.

Test shot her a sideways grin as he step
ped up to the coffee pot.

A strained silence filled the tiny ten foot by eight foot room that was their kitchen. Alyssa always joked that having two ghosts and a Shadow living here was the only way there’d be enough room. Having had enough of the silence, Alyssa patted the countertop rhythmically and asked, “So, where have you boys been this morning?”

Test stood with his back to her and listened as Cliff answered. He knew he could count on the old man not to say anything that would upset her.

“Oh, we just went for a stroll and cleared our heads a bit,” said Cliff.

Thankful to his friend, Test took a sip of his coffee. He closed his eyes and savored the warm cup of goodness and, for the moment, focused on nothing but the coffee. As was always the case though, Test couldn’t keep the peace within for long and his thoughts quickly returned to the strange tone of Prim’s voice. Something was definitely wrong and he wouldn’t be able to relax until he knew just what it was.

****

The day had drifted lazily by and Test found himself grateful that the sun had set.
He had grown used to life without television and actually found it more of a comfort not to know what was going on in the world. Though they did have a radio, he chose instead to immerse himself in reading. The one new bit of technology that he’d acquired was an e-book reader. Every night, he sat on the couch and got lost in an alternate world that the author provided him.

His new favorite series,
Sands of Time by Monique Martin, was exactly what he needed. With the latest installment just released, he dove into Thursday’s Child, anxious to disappear. He wished that he had the ability of the main characters; to travel back in time and change things. There were so many things in his past that he wished he could fix. “
Who knows,”
he often thought to himself.
“Two years ago I would have thought flying was just a fantasy.”
Secretly he wished for many things.

Test and Alyssa sat quietly next to each other, each reading on their own. Alyssa held a hardcover that Test had bought for her at a thrift store the last time he’d gone into town for food.
It was a small collection of poems by Robert Frost. He wasn’t sure if she’d like it or not, but he found it to be amazing after reading only the first few poems, and decided it was worthy of being a gift.

Minutes turned into an hour, and an hour turned into two. Test’s eyes began to get heavy and the words on the
screen were more and more difficult to keep in focus.

Alyssa could feel it whenever Test began to doze off as the small amount of energy that he provided for her faded. With her book in her hands, she watched as his chin slowly dropped to his chest. In the next moment, the book she was holding slipped through her hands, through her thighs, and fell with a thud to the cushion beneath her. Before he entered a deep sleep, and before his energy faded completely, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

“Good night,” she whispered. “I love you.”

The night was a lonely time for Alyssa.
While Cliff did provide some company, it was often a strained conversation. After all, spending every night together in the same place tends to create a lack of new and interesting things to talk about. Though she would never admit it to Test, night time was a time that she missed being alive. She felt trapped while he slept and wanted nothing more than to curl up next to him, to feel the warmth of his skin and the rise and fall of his chest as he took slow and peaceful breaths.

Night
time was also a time for reflection, but that was something she felt she had too much of. Tonight’s reflection was focused on the visitors that they would receive the next morning. She was anxious to see Lauren. They had an odd relationship, it was true, but they had found a common ground just before Kansas City and Alyssa was anxious to have another woman to talk to again.