Empyreal: Awaken - Book One (2 page)

“No... not every night...” Coralie
answered, honestly, shrugging her shoulders.

“But you do remember these dreams
vividly ... yes?” Katelyn continued to press.

“Most of the time...but not
always...the experience itself feels real to me ... but when I wake
up, even though I can remember most of it, I still feel like some
of the dream is missing, like either it was unfinished or like ...
maybe I just lost it, like it's just gone...” Coralie once again,
allowed her words to trail off. She could hear how senseless her
words sounded in her own mind, yet her parents did not seem to
react as though they had heard something all that
foolish.

Cal's voice broke the tension. “Well,
Cor ... since you're dreaming of being an action, street-fighter
hero ... maybe, just maybe, you could be the next karate kid ...
what do you think? I mean ... I don't really know if I can pull off
the whole ‘Bow to your Sensei thing’ ... It’s just not me … I don’t
think … but I guess I could take a stab at it,” he said, attempting
a bow. “No, doesn’t feel natural...”

Coralie and Katelyn both snickered, at
his continuance.

“Yeah, sure, Dad...I'll work on
that...” Coralie said through a chuckle, “But you know, I think I
would be a much better break-dancing ninja...” she added with a
huge grin, jumping atop the kitchen island and sending herself
spinning on her back. After a few rotations, she spun around and
hopped off the open counter top, landing to her feet. What may
have, otherwise, struck some parents as insanity, sent laughter
through both of her parents.

“I think I'm going to run back up
stairs and see if I can't kick some more villain tail in my sleep
... I wonder how many others can do that?” she said jokingly, and
she started out of the kitchen doorway.

“Okay, Hon – but don't exert too much
energy... we've got the Benefit at the University tonight...”
Katelyn called up to her daughter, as she listened to her prance up
the staircase. Coralie turned just long enough to shout an
'okay'
from the top of the stairs, and then jet into her
bedroom.

Coralie walked into her room and
looked toward her window. The sun had started to peer radiantly
through. She crawled into her bed, turned over, and then covered
her face with her favorite quilt – one that her great grandmother
made for her when she was just a baby.

She took a deep breath inward ... No
matter how many times she had washed it, the quilt still smelled of
Great's house.

From what she remembered
...

Coralie sighed at this … memories were
not her strong suit.

Her bedroom door was still cracked.
She drifted off back to sleep to the sound of her parents' murmurs
traveling up the staircase from the kitchen.

Coralie began to descend into
unconsciousness and her parents' voices had become a collage of
unrecognizable words that had been strung together.

“How long has it been?” Katelyn asked
her husband. “Surely, we have not lost track...”

“A while ... but I’m not so sure ... I
can't be certain ... do you think she has become immune to – I
mean, maybe it just quit working, or –” Cal babbled.

“Maybe... I don't know ... Cal, do you
think ... that maybe it's,” Katelyn stumbled around for words, “...
time?”

“No – No, Kate ... not yet ... she's
not ready!” Cal said, grasping at words of expression.

Katelyn walked over to his side, where
he had taken a seat atop an island bar stool, and put her arms
around his neck. She leaned in close and spoke the words, “She's
not ready, Cal, or you're not ready?”

He sighed at his wife’s words, knowing
there could be truth to them.

“Hey Mom, Dad ... I'm running out to the
library...” Coralie shouted, as she descended the stairs that ran
up the middle of her families' foyer.

“What, honey?” Coralie heard her
mother shout from the back of the house.

“I'm running to the library, I've got
to grab a book for Lit class ... I promise I'll be back in time to
get ready for the Benefit, okay?” Coralie waited hopeful and
patiently for her mother's answer.

“Wait – Cor, if you'll give me just a
half-hour, I can drive you.” Katelyn shouted once more from her
room in the back of the house, bargaining with her daughter. “Or
what about Dad? I'm sure he can drive you ... Cal...”

“No, Mom, really ... it's just a few
blocks to Clark Street. I'll be back in less than an hour.” It was
actually closer to seven blocks, but the word '
few
' sounded
better than the word '
seven
' in this negotiation.

In another attempt at a bargain,
Katelyn come around the corner from her bedroom, stopping to look
at Coralie. “Honey, really, it's no trouble to me … just give me a
few more minutes...”

Coralie tried her own attempt at
haggling. “Mom, really ... I can go now and be back quicker than
waiting on you to get finished. You have so much to do before
tonight … I'll be quick, I promise!”

“Cor, ... you know that I don't like
you going off by yourself, ... it's just not safe.” Katelyn said,
making her way down the hallway toward her daughter.

“Mom, I'm a big girl ... I can take
care of myself...”

Katelyn paused in front of her
daughter, looking into her brilliant and clear blue eyes. “I know
that you are not a little girl anymore...” she said with a smile,
“but, I still worry about you.”

Coralie put her arms around her
mother. “Mom, I'll be fine ... there's nothing to worry about,
okay?”

Katelyn spoke with an agreeing tenor.
“Okay ... just be sure to take Jacques with you...”

“I don't think they allow dogs into
the library, even if they are as smart as Jacques.”

“But the library does have plenty of
places to tie his collar out front for a few minutes ... like you
said, you aren't going to be long, he'll be fine ... and it'll give
us, your Dad and I, peace of mind ... where is he, by the
way...”

“Okay, okay, Mom ... I'll be back
soon.” Coralie said, as she leaned in to give her mother a hug. She
then walked over to the side door and reached for Jacques leash
that hung on the wall.

“Love you,” she called out, as she
closed the door. Coralie smiled when she heard her mother's muffled
Love you, too
seep through the door.

Coralie walked to the fence that
opened into a portion of the backyard and started to call out for
Jacques, but he was already there, awaiting her.

She entered the gate and knelt down to
the ground, near Jacques. Patting his head and his back, she began
to admire his soft, thick, fur coat.

Jacques was mostly white with big,
random splotches and patches of black covering his body, one in
particular that covered his left eye like a pirate's eye-patch.
Jacques' frame was immense and muscular, and he always carried
himself as such.

Even though she felt that Jacques bark
was bigger than his bite, she had always felt safe with him. He had
always been very protective of her. Come to think of it, she
couldn't remember a time when he had not been there. He had always
been a part of the family. He had always been such a lovable and
playful dog. Even in defense mode, though, she couldn't have ever
imagined Jacques hurting anyone.

“Hey boy, you wanna go for a walk?”
she asked while attaching his leash and patting his head, lovingly.
He reciprocated his affection by licking her hand and up her arm
and jumping in attempt to lick her face. “Okay, Okay, bodyguard ...
let's go...” she said, as they set off towards town.

* * * * *

Thessla was a pretty place, she had to
admit, although it had always felt strange to her ... Too small to
be a big town. Too big to be a small town. Somehow it had been
caught somewhere in the middle.

The townspeople of Thessla were left
alone most often – no big city stories, no news casters or writers
trying to find the “diamond in the rough” small town cover story
... It had always been a quite peaceful and beautiful
town.

In one sense, the town felt strange to
her, in another, it also felt safe.

Coralie looked up toward the sky. The
sun was shining bright, reminding Coralie that she had forgotten
her sunglasses. Although she enjoyed the sun, making her feel happy
and warm, she felt herself beginning to get a headache from the
squinting of her eyes to block out the brightness of the
sunlight.

“If we take Johnson Street over to
Ponder Avenue, then we should be able to catch a good bit of shade
on the way in and out ... so, what do you think, boy?” she asked
Jacques, who seemed to be a little reluctant to stray away from
their usual path.

Coralie shook away the silly thought
and gave the command, “Come Jacques!” then with a sudden feeling of
reluctance of her own, she added, “Let's go!” Jacques did as he was
told.

Just as Coralie thought, the old live
oaks that lined the long stretch of Ponder Avenue gave plenty of
shade to make for a pleasurable walk, void of all squinting, which
made Coralie smile a satisfying smile.

After a few blocks, she started to
notice a large orange and white sign up ahead of her. As she
approached the sign closer, she pushed aside the feeling of cursing
her decision to take this street. She stopped, and then looked both
ways. The road that led her straight was closed.
Road Work
Ahead, at the Farland and Ponder Intersection ...
Strangely, to
her right, the road was also closed.

“This way would have put us back on
McCaw Avenue,” she said, directly her words down to Jacques. Again,
she pushed aside her feelings to curse.

Always trust and follow the sun,
dear, it will lead you to brighter places,
her Gran had said to
her many times. This was a time she wished that she would have
remembered to do just that.

She looked to her left. She noticed
that she would have to take the next street over, Industrial
Street. Before she realized, she let go of a cringing motion that
traveled all over her body.

Industrial Street was lined with
buildings, mostly abandoned industry buildings, which were now used
for storage. With the lack of trees and landscape, Coralie had
always thought of Industrial Street as 'cold and lifeless'. She had
never traveled this street much, there had been no need. She, along
with her mom and dad, enjoyed the more scenic routes through
town.

Suddenly, the thought of traveling
this road on foot, alone – with the exception of Jacques, of course
– made her feel small.

“Well, we can't turn back now, Boy. I
promised Mom that we'd be back in less than an hour, and we don't
want them to worry, now, do we?” Coralie said, swallowing her
apprehension.

Jacques let out an uneasy whine. “It's
okay, Boy, let's go...” she said, as she began to lead Jacques to
the corner of Industrial Street.

Coralie looked down the street. Just
as she remembered …
cold and lifeless,
she thought as she
made the turn and continued toward Clark Street.

She kept Jacques close by, watching
for any odd reaction on his part, giving her reason to
worry.

She felt a very uneasy feeling wash
over her. She tried to shake it, but the feeling began to fill her
entire body. Coralie began to tremble slightly from her
nervousness.

She shuddered in thought to herself.
Maybe running could help her shake this eerie feeling. “Come on,
Boy ... let's pick up the pace!” she said to Jacques, who began to
strike a trot beside her.

Up ahead of her, Coralie thought she
saw movement of some sort. She slowed her pace, trying to gain
clarity in her vision. She slowed even more when she thought she
saw another movement.

There
... ahead of her, stood a
figure.

The figure stood still, except for the
occasional shift from side to side, as if awaiting something, or
someone, impatiently. Though the figure was in plain line of sight,
Coralie scanned her surroundings for extra hidden
lurkers.

Just someone, waiting … waiting for
someone ... someone that's not me
... Coralie said to
herself.

Jacques countered with a
whine.

She thought she heard a sickening
sound of laughter … not a joking laugh, but a taunting one. But was
she close enough to hear something come from the figure up
ahead?

Coralie then saw movement off to the
side, a few feet away from the figure, close to the buildings.
One
animal
,
no
…
two
, Coralie said
under her breath. There was one on each side of the figure
now.

They began to move inward, verging
toward the figure’s side. She saw the human figure make a simple,
quick snapping gesture. The animal-like figures immediately flanked
to its sides.

She felt Jacques tense and let out a
low, protective growl from his throat. “Easy, Boy...”she said, in a
low voice, almost a whisper.