Flight of Life (Essence Series #1) (2 page)

Uncle Scott gripped Calloway on the
shoulder. “Don’t look so upset.” He smiled. “You aren’t in trouble.
We were just concerned.” His eyes looked large through the lens of
his glasses. Uncle Scott had gone through more glasses than tissue
paper. He always dropped them or misplaced them because he never
invested in a protective case. He was wearing a new pair
now.

Calloway nodded as he grabbed the spoon
sitting in the stew and shoveled the food onto his plate, avoiding
eye contact with his family. He hated being the liar that he was.
In truth, his grades were horrible and he was struggling in every
class, but it wasn’t because he lacked intelligence. He just didn’t
have the time to study.

“
How was your day,
Breccan?” Aunt Grace asked her son. “You’ve been very quiet this
evening.”

“
It was fine,” he said as
he shoved the food into his mouth. Breccan didn’t meet the gaze of
his mother when he spoke, concentrating on eating his meal as
quickly as possible.

“
There must be more to
this story,” she pressed him as she took a sip of her
wine.

“
You ask me that every
day,” he snapped. “My life isn’t a crazy adventure like you assume
it is. There is nothing to tell.”

The tension in the room elevated after
Breccan spoke. He continued to eat his food like nothing unnatural
just transpired. Calloway kept his gaze downturned as he ate. It
irritated him that his cousin was so disrespectful to his mother.
He told him many times but Breccan never listened.

“
You don’t have to join us
for dinner,” his father said in a threatening tone. He leaned over
the table with his elbows resting on the surface, warning his son
with his proximity. “If you would rather eat in the living room, go
ahead. We don’t want you here if you don’t want to be.”

Breccan looked at his father then
dropped his gaze to his plate, saying nothing.

“
Are you staying, then?”
he asked. Uncle Scott held his fork in his hand but didn’t eat. His
look was directed at Breccan.

“
Yes,” Breccan
mumbled.

“
It doesn’t seem like it,”
he pressed.

Breccan sighed then turned to his
mother. “I got my math quiz back—I did okay. There is a school
dance coming too. I think its winter formal, but I don’t care to
go. Some girl asked me but I told her no—it’s lame.”

Aunt Grace nodded. “And why don’t you
want to go?”

It was obvious that Breccan was annoyed
by the tension in his jaw and the tightness in his shoulders. “I
just don’t want to.”

“
That’s odd,” she said. “I
was excited for my winter formal.”

“
That’s because you’re a
girl.”

“
And what does that
matter?” She laughed.

“
It’s a girly thing,” he
said. “You get all dressed up then complain about how fat you look.
There’s a lot of slow dancing and drama going on. It doesn’t seem
interesting to me.”

“
I think you would have
fun,” she said. Breccan took a bite of his food and chewed it,
ignoring her last comment. “You father and I went to winter formal
together,” she said as she stared affectionately at her husband.
“It was a magical night.”

Uncle Scott nodded. “I still remember
it,” he said as he ate his dinner. “You looked very
beautiful.”

“
I would hope so.” She
laughed. “I was an eighteen year old girl at the time.”

“
But you weren’t quite as
beautiful as you are now.”

Aunt Grace smiled as she touched his
hand.

Breccan looked at Calloway and rolled
his eyes. Calloway tried not to laugh at the exaggerated
expression.

Aunt Grace looked at Calloway. “Are you
going to winter formal, honey?”

He chewed his food and swallowed it. “I
don’t think so.”

“
And why not?” she
asked.

“
I don’t have a date,” he
said. In truth, like Breccan, he had no interest in attending, but
he knew this reason would excuse him from prying questions. His
aunt and uncle were just as invested in his upbringing as they were
of their own son. They cared about him just as much.

Aunt Grace nodded. “Well, you might
find someone before the date arrives.”

“
Maybe,” he said
non-committedly.

She picked at her food and ate a few
bites but left a majority of it uneaten. She never had an appetite.
Calloway glanced outside the window and watched the storm billow
outside the house, swaying the trees in the wind and saturating the
soil with rain. Insects and worms were crawling onto the sidewalk
for a reprieve from the flood, knowing they would drown if they
stayed buried within the soil. But Calloway was looking through the
window for another reason—it had nothing to do with the
weather.

The incident at the Grandiose Historian
Library made him feel flustered and frightened. He assumed he was
going to grab the book and leave with no complications. Yes, there
was a possibility of the Hara-Kir making an appearance, but he
hadn’t expected it to happen in that moment. He wondered if the
place was being watched, waiting for him to make the first move so
they could capture both him and the sacred book. Calloway piled the
food into this mouth despite his overwhelming anxiety. He fought
the stress and kept eating.

“
How was work, dear?” Aunt
Grace asked her husband.

“
It was slow.” He sighed.
“Not very many people came into the store today, probably because
of the storm.” Uncle Scott worked as a manager of a home
improvement store in town. He started working when he was in high
school and was eventually promoted to the manager position. Aunt
Grace was unable to work due to her random bouts of sickness so
money was always an issue. They never went out to dinner or the
movies, unable to afford it unless it was a special occasion.
Calloway felt guilty every time his aunt would return from the
store with new school clothes, mainly jeans because he always
ripped them apart when he rode his bike. Just sharing meals with
them made him feel like a nuisance even though they loved having
him in their home.

Calloway’s uncle took a drink from his
water and returned it to the table. “How are the applications
coming along, boys?” He ate his dinner while he waited for them
speak.

Both boys shifted their weights in
their seats, uncomfortable by the question. Neither one of them had
put any effort into their college applications, but not because
they weren’t interested—they just hadn’t found the time. Calloway
suspected he wouldn’t get into a university anyway—his grades just
weren’t good enough. Unless he had a flawless score on the SAT, he
would be forced to attend a junior college, if they would even
accept him. Breccan’s situation was no different than Calloway’s.
They both didn’t have bright futures.

“
So, can we assume you
haven’t finished them?” Aunt Grace said.

Breccan shook his head and Calloway
just looked down at his plate, avoiding her gaze. He knew how
important it was to his aunt to continue their education. She
wanted a better life for both of them. The guilt weighed on him and
he promised himself he would start right away.

“
You know how important
this is,” Uncle Scott said. “It better be done.”

Breccan and Calloway both
nodded.

Another issue with college applications
was the fee to apply for admission, plus the cost of the SAT.
Calloway couldn’t take any money from his aunt and uncle. They
would budget their money by cutting back on groceries and
electricity and he couldn’t stand the thought. He decided he would
get a part time job working at a grocery store or a sandwich shop
so he can pay for his own application. Calloway decided he would
pay for his cousin’s as well, anything to help out his
family.

Calloway wiped his mouth with a napkin
and pushed his plate away. “Thank you for dinner, Aunt Grace,” he
said as he stood up.

“
You’re welcome.” She
smiled.

Calloway walked to the sink and started
washing his dish. He came back to his aunt and grabbed her half
eaten plate and returned it to the sink, cleaning hers as
well.

“
Thank you,” she
said.

Calloway nodded and put the rinsed
dishes in the dishwasher and cleaned the other plates in the sink,
helping out his aunt in whatever way he could. They took him into
their home and raised him like he was their own son. This was the
least he could do.

Breccan got up next and placed his dish
on the counter, expecting Calloway to wash it. He walked out of the
kitchen but his father stopped him with his words.

“
Aren’t you going to thank
your mother for dinner?” he asked.

“
Thanks,” Breccan said
quickly. He left and closed the door behind him.

Calloway heard his Aunt Grace sigh
deeply as she remained at the table. Uncle Scott rubbed her arm
then patted hand gently. He didn’t mean to make his cousin look
worse by being respectful and polite, but he couldn’t treat her
differently. He wished his cousin would drop his attitude. His aunt
rose from the table and placed Uncle Scott’s dish in the
sink.

“
I appreciate your help,
Calloway.” Aunt Grace smiled. “But you don’t need to do that.” She
rubbed her nephew’s back. “Go upstairs and do your homework.”
Calloway nodded then turned away.

“
Good night.” He walked
through the door and closed it behind him then grabbed his backpack
from the floor before he advanced to the room he shared with his
cousin upstairs.

Breccan was sitting on his bed, waiting
for his cousin to finish dinner and join him. When Calloway came
inside and shut the door, Breccan stood up and stepped in front of
him. “Did you get it?” he whispered.

Calloway opened his backpack and
retrieved the dusty book from the bottom. “It wasn’t easy,” he
said.

Breccan held the book in his hands and
stared at it for a moment. Finally, he opened the pages and leafed
through the material with a confused expression. “I can’t read
it.”

“
I know.” Calloway sighed.
“I was worried this would happen.”

Breccan sighed. “You know what that
means.”

“
Yes,” Calloway said.
“We’re going to have to talk to Easton.”

“
That girl is annoying,”
he said.

“
We don’t have a choice,”
Calloway argued.

Breccan continued to flip through the
book before he finally put it down and shoved it under the bed,
hidden from view. “How’d it go?”

Calloway shook his head. “I was almost
taken.”

Breccan’s eyes widened.
“Are you serious? You
saw
one?”

“
I was chased by one all
across the library—the place is a mess. He even grabbed me by the
arm but I managed to escape after I kicked him in the
stomach.”

Breccan was quiet for a moment. “What
are they like?”

“
Animal-like, creepy,
disturbing—every bad thing you can think of.”

“
Did you see his
face?”

“
No,” Calloway said as she
shook his head. “And I wouldn’t want to anyway. I was already
scared as it was.”

“
You could’ve been
killed,” Breccan said. “And your essence would have been stolen.
You’re lucky you managed to escape.”

“
I was
very
lucky,” Calloway said. “If the
library wasn’t clustered with bookcases and tables, along with it
being pitch black, I wouldn’t have survived.”

Breccan nodded. “Did it say
anything?”

Calloway thought for a moment. “He said
something like, ‘I can see the light in the dark and the light in
shadow.’”

“
What does that
mean?”

“
I don’t know.” Calloway
sighed. “But I know the Hara-Kir can’t see well in the dark because
it had a hard time catching me. I have no idea what he
meant.”

“
Did he follow you outside
the building?”

“
Yes,” Calloway answered.
“I rode my bike into a neighborhood and eventually lost
them.”

“
There were two? Do you
think they followed you?” Breccan asked fearfully.

“
No. I made sure of that,”
he said. “I would never lead them to my family.”

“
I hope you’re right,”
Breccan whispered.

Both of the boys changed their clothes
and crawled into their beds. Calloway’s bed was on the opposite
side of the room, and the ends of the twin-sized beds faced each
other. Calloway stared at the ceiling in the darkness as he
listened to the thoughts running through his head. Even though he
was tired, he couldn’t sleep, and now he suspected he would never
find rest again—ever.

Sandals in
Winter

The boys piled into the beat-up Volvo
sitting in the driveway as Grace got into the driver’s seat. When
she started the car, the engine turned over many times before it
finally ran, and the car shook violently for a moment before it
stopped. There was no heater so Breccan had to wipe away the frost
covering the windows with a warm rag. Aunt Grace pulled out of the
driveway at a slow speed and the sound of the over-worked engine
was loud in their ears. She took them to school every morning, but
the experience wasn’t much better than riding their bikes in the
winter morning air. Every morning, Breccan made his mother drop
them off at the corner so he wouldn’t be seen in the old car.
Calloway didn’t care what kind of car his aunt drove but Breccan
was blatantly embarrassed about it.