Stepping into the Sky: Jump When Ready, Book 3 (10 page)

“We’re managing just fine,” Joseph said. “We have the
whole deal figured out. Right, honey?”

Rose spun back to face him, gathering her hair against
the breeze that had suddenly picked up. “I’m sorry. I was thinking about
something.”

“I was just telling Henry we’ve got things all buttoned
up.” Joseph kept his eyes on hers. “Nothing left now but making sure we have a
special day together. Right, babe?”

Rose offered  him a smile but it seemed forced. “That’s
right.” She took a deep breath and brightened her smile for Henry. “So, how did
you and Nikki meet? I bet it was someplace interesting like college. Or maybe
you were travelling and met her in Paris or someplace beautiful like that.”

There it was again, Rose’s trait for imagining the best
of circumstances. Somehow, she’d remained a happy person. Or maybe she’d
countered her sadness by creating beauty within herself. Henry fought the urge
from before. He knew he didn’t have a choice but to keep trying to make Rose
face the pain that would end her imprisonment.

“We actually did meet at school,” Henry said. “Good
guess.”

“I knew it!” Rose beamed with happiness again.

Joseph wrapped his arm around her. “Well, you also said
Paris.”

“But I said school first.”

Joseph nodded. “True. I’ll give you that.”

“But it wasn’t exactly a straight line,” Henry said.
“Things were kind of bumpy at first.”

Rose leaned in toward him. “What do you mean?”

Henry hesitated. “Well, at first I was dating Nikki’s
best friend. I still feel kind of guilty about that.”

Rose drew back a little, waiting for him to continue.

“Karen was nice,” Henry said. “For a while, I even
wondered if we might get serious. And it wasn’t like I meant for things to
change. Then I met Nikki and stuff just sort of happened.” Henry kept his eyes
on Rose even as he felt Joseph’s gaze burning into him. “Was Joseph ever
attracted to one of your friends? I mean, that kind of thing happens a lot.
People get drawn to each other for all kinds of reasons.”

Suddenly, Rose jumped up. She stared at Henry, then
Joseph, her head swiveling back and forth a few times before she started
walking.

Nikki was just now crossing the beach in their direction.
She called out to Rose. “Are you taking a walk? Do you want company?”

If Rose heard her, she gave no sign of it. She kept
walking a path parallel to the water, her heels kicking sand with each stride.

Joseph turned to Henry. “Nice try but I know her.”

Henry stared into his hateful eyes, trying to ignore the
smile growing on Joseph’s lips. “You’re going to lose,” he said.

Joseph laughed. “Think so? Because, if I know Rose,
she’ll be pushing you out of her thoughts in three…two…one—”

Darkness fell immediately, a much deeper darkness than
the night before—an impenetrably thick void, leaving Henry blind.

If he remained sitting on a beach, he had no way of
knowing.

If Joseph still sat next to him, Henry couldn’t say.

Nikki had been walking toward them moments ago and she’d
vanished along with Rose.

Henry jumped to his feet, stumbling, not sure where to go
or which direction to turn. “Nikki!”

“That’s right, call out for your girlfriend.”

Henry didn’t recognize the voice that just whispered in
his ear. It had to be Joseph, or whatever Joseph reverted back to in the
darkness. This was his true world, after all, this place without light.

Henry called out again, so Nikki could find him too.

“Henry?” Her voice sounded far off. Henry wondered if
she’d gotten confused and run down the beach. But were they even on a beach
anymore? Hadn’t the beach just been another part of Rose’s dream?

Henry waited to hear that other voice hiss at him again
but for some reason Joseph—or whatever Joseph really was—had moved away. Or he
stood nearby watching. Henry had no way of knowing. He ran too, trying not to
lose his footing or stumble again. A few times he thought he saw shapes in the
void but he wasn’t sure. It could have been his imagination.

“Henry, where are you!” Nikki sounded a mile off now and
Henry wasn’t sure he was even running toward her.

Then he saw a light, faint and distant, flickering. He
pushed on, hoping it was the same light that had beckoned the night before,
that he’d find his way back to the house.

It seemed like forever as he continued to run, his heart
pounding and his breath coming in gasps. But the light was definitely drawing
nearer. Flickering less. Henry saw it clearly now, fog swirling past it. That’s
what was causing it to wink on and off, he realized.

He strained his ears but didn’t hear Nikki anymore. There
was just him and the darkness and that one light. At least it was still in
sight and Henry knew it wasn’t far now. He’d be there in a minute.

Suddenly, the sound of his footsteps changed, no longer
thudding against earth but instead pounding on what sounded like wood. Henry
slowed to a walk, unsure now where that light in front of him led to. He didn’t
remember this sound from last night. He hadn’t experienced walking on anything that
creaked like the wood beneath him did now. It felt as if the wood gave slightly
at his steps. Still, he kept walking, the light close. It seemed like no more
than twenty feet away.

A breeze came out of nowhere and the fog swirled away
from the light. Henry looked down, able to see his own feet for the first time
in the glow. He saw planks of wood. He stopped and listened, thinking at first
it was the wind rushing past his ears. Then he realized—the sound was water.
Henry knew that sound well, the rolling flow of a river. He tried to fight off
the panic rising inside him as his heart pounded even more. He’d been around
rivers since he drowned but only a few times, and in daylight, knowing in those
times he was perfectly safe. That nothing could happen to him, despite the fear
that had fought to win over his emotions. Now, it was all he could do to not
give in to the icy terror nearly paralyzing him.

Henry squinted through the darkness at the churning
water, the flow breaking white as it rushed over boulders glistening in the
night. This wasn’t just a river. These were rapids, the river swollen and
roiling. He took another tentative step and wood creaked beneath his feet. He
was walking on a pier, he realized, one stretching out toward that torrent. The
light twisted in the breeze, as if suspended on a chain or hook. So close but
that meant something entirely different now. That light marked the end of the
pier.

Henry stopped and the wood beneath him groaned as if it
might give.

“This isn’t real.” Henry spoke the words softly.

He said the same again, raising his voice more, his heart
still hammering in his chest. “This is not real.”

Still, he stepped slowly back. Wood creaked again. Henry
raised his voice to a shout. “This is not real!”

“Yes it is.”

The whisper reached out of the dark, right at his ear
just as something grabbed his ankle hard and pulled. Henry’s arms wheeled, his
hands reaching out but there was nothing to grab hold of. He slipped against
the wet boards and fell. He clawed at the wood but didn’t have a chance. A
moment later, he was in the water being dragged down, that invisible hand
locked around his ankle. Henry fought against the images—knowing that was
exactly what they wanted—but the images still rushed at him. The day he’d died,
his ankle wedged between rocks, the struggle he’d lost as the water had kept
plowing over him as he’d grown weaker against the rapids. Struggling had only
made it worse, a one-sided fight, a sparrow beating its wings against a
hurricane.

Henry looked and saw the hand gripping his leg, a pale
arm in the inky water. He saw the flowing red hair of a woman who grinned up
from beneath him, her face somehow lit in the darkness. Their eyes met but
Henry saw nothing human in those eyes that glowed green as whoever she was
continued to pull him under.

He felt another sharp tug, this time on his arm, yanking
him up.

Henry looked in that direction but saw no one, not even a
grasping hand.

Another jolt, even more forceful.

Resistance came from beneath but with less strength than
what had now claimed hold of him. He felt one last pull from below and then she
lost her grip. Henry surged up. He broke the surface and gasped for air, eyes
clenched tight against the unexpected blast of daylight.

“Henry! Oh, my God, Henry!” A girl’s voice as she gasped
too, winded from exertion.

Henry knew this voice. He’d known it since the day he was
born.

He opened his eyes to see Bethany staring back at him,
her own eyes full of tears. “Henry, what happened? What were you thinking?”

The rocks of the riverbank pressed into his back. The sun
beat down from above as his sister knelt next to him, seventeen again, staring
into his eyes.

Feet pounded against the ground and a shadow fell over
him. “What happened? Henry, you weren’t supposed to come here alone!”

Henry’s brother stared down at him now too, lean and
muscled, wearing shorts, his chest bare. Henry remembered now—John had been
lifting weights in the garage when he’d taken his bike out, fully intending to
sneak off and come to the river even though he wasn’t supposed to. Especially
because he wasn’t supposed to.

John dropped to his knees too. “Are you okay? What the
hell happened?” He reached out and grasped Henry’s forearm, helping him to sit
up.

Henry coughed and looked around. He saw the others too
now, all those teenagers who’d been clustered on riverside boulders sunning
themselves when he’d trudged past them. He thought he’d heard some of them
laughing before as he’d walked toward the river but none laughed now. They
stared, eyes wide, watching the scene play out.

“I got stuck,” Henry said. “I didn’t mean for anything
bad to happen. I was just, I was just going to—” But the words stopped and
instead tears came. Henry couldn’t stop them now and he gulped for air.

Bethany wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight,
rocking him. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “You’re okay now. We’re right here.”

John clasped hold of his shoulder. “Damn, dude, we could
have lost you there. Be more careful, okay?”

Henry nodded but the tears streamed from his eyes,
running down his face. He ran the back of his arm across his cheeks to dry
them, embarrassed, realizing what had almost happened. In another minute, he
might have drowned if Bethany hadn’t gotten there in time.

In that moment, Henry realized all of it had been a
dream. He’d almost lost the fight against the rapids and he’d been trapped
under water. For how long? He had no idea but obviously his brain had been
deprived of oxygen long enough to create another world entirely. He’d imagined
a group of teenagers in some weird sort of afterlife place. It had seemed so
real! He’d even known each of their names but he couldn’t recall them now. They
were already fading with the dream.

Henry pressed his palm against the ground and got to his
feet. He took a few unsteady steps, trying not to look at the groups of
teenagers watching from a distance. Still, his face burned and he felt like a
fool. He’d be starting high school next year and everyone would know this had
happened.

As if reading his thoughts, Bethany said, “Don’t worry
about them. It’s fine. You’re fine.”

Henry stumbled, still weak, his head foggy.

“Take it easy.” John placed his hand on Henry’s shoulder
again. “Take your time.” He looked into Henry’s eyes. “What do you say? Ready
to go home now?”

“That’s right,” Bethany said. “Let’s go home.”

That was all Henry wanted to do. It felt like decades
since he’d been home. All he wanted to do was go—

“Henry!”

Henry heard the girl’s voice but it sounded far away. He
kept walking alongside Bethany and John, his feet on the earth again. He told
himself the voice was just a lingering part of the dream he’d experienced. That
it wasn’t real.

“Henry, I’m right here! Can you see me?”

Her voice came louder now and Henry wanted to listen.
Whoever she was, she had a name. He remembered her from the dream. He could see
her face inside his mind, her brown eyes and jet black hair, almost like she
meant something to him. He looked at Bethany, then John, to be sure. They
didn’t hear the voice, he could tell. They looked at him, their gazes
reassuring. The voice wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

“You’re okay, buddy,” John said.

“We’ve got you,” Bethany said.

“Henry! I’m right here!”

Henry felt sure he knew her voice. Suddenly, he felt
hands grasping his shoulders, holding him tight. The daylight around him
started to fade. He felt the warmth of her breath as he gasped next to him.
Part of him recognized the scent of her skin and hair.

“You’re almost back to the house! Listen to me.
Henry
!”

Henry opened his eyes to darkness. Her eyes stared back
at him, reflecting the only light, the light he’d been walking toward. She took
hold of his hand. “Come on. It’s okay.” She pulled him forward. “Everything’s
going to be okay. You don’t have to tell me what happened. Not yet. Just come
with me. Please!”

Henry knew who she was now. Nikki. Her name was Nikki. He
held onto her hand and followed, knowing that only one thing here was real.

Seeing a Sign

Nikki listened as
Henry recounted for Martha the events they’d experienced in Rose’s dream world
so far. He finished with what he’d gone through just before they’d decided to
come back. She was glad Henry hadn’t asked her to describe what she’d been
through the other morning in the garden. Nikki just wasn’t sure she could tell
anyone about it without breaking down completely. Not yet, anyway. In time,
she’d probably be able to tell Henry. At least, once she could manage to think
of it without the certainty that she’d be fighting off tears.

Martha kept her eyes on Henry too, her gaze caring and empathetic.
When Henry came to the end, she said, “I’m sure it’s been overwhelming. I tried
to tell you it would be unlike anything you’ve experienced before.”

“You didn’t exactly do it justice,” Nikki said, forcing
her trademark smirk into place.

“As you can imagine,” Martha said, “it’s a difficult
environment to describe.”

Henry laughed bitterly. “You did say it was a dream
world. It’s a total
nightmare
. Is that anything like what you
experienced when you tried?”

Martha thought for a moment and Nikki wondered what
memories she might be calling to the surface. Had she too been reunited with
the family she’d known over a hundred years ago? Had she also thought she’d
been offered the chance of returning to that life?

“I found myself tested,” Martha said. “That much was for
sure. But that wasn’t the reason I failed in my attempt at delivering Rose from
that realm to this one.”

Martha glanced down at her coffee table, where she’d once
again provided drinks and this times snacks. Evidently, she’d known upon seeing
them at her door that they’d be in need of sustenance now that they’d 
returned. “The fact is, I wasn’t in Rose’s dream very long at all. Not nearly
as long as you two have been. It would appear Lysrus and I were right about the
two of you being able to connect with her.”

“I don’t know if it will remain that way when we go
back,” Henry said.

“
If
we go back,” Nikki added. She’d come to
realize just how dangerous their situation had been. In fact, had either of
them been alone she felt sure they wouldn’t have even known to return to this
realm again. They would have succumbed to the dream tailored for them. Both
times, one of them had broken the spell for the other before it was too late.

Martha glanced back and forth between them, her
expression suggesting no bias toward either possibility. “As we’ve said from
the start, it’s entirely up to you. We won’t try to influence you, nor will
anyone hold it against you if you decide you’re unable to return to such a
haunted place.”

Martha’s words reminded Nikki of the dream she’d woken up
from this morning—the woman trying to comfort her children from the sound of
that trapped soul in their house. Suddenly, Nikki realized something she hadn’t
before. That hadn’t been a dream. She’d been reading that woman and she had no
doubt that family now inhabited the house in which Rose had grown up.

Nikki looked up to see Martha watching her. Their eyes
met and she wondered if somehow Martha knew what had just crossed her mind.
Possibly, Martha had been suspecting it was just a matter of time before Nikki
established a connection with the woman in that house. Still, if Martha knew
what Nikki had experienced, she didn’t say anything, even though it was another
reason for Nikki and Henry to try helping Rose. After all, how could they turn
their backs on both the haunted and the one unknowingly doing the haunting?

Martha simply glanced once again at Henry, then Nikki.
“There is no right or wrong thing to do,” she said. “There’s only what you
think is the best thing to do right now. All of this, either way, is a step in
your development. And, either way, you’ll be the ones to determine which step
you’re ready for next.”

~~~

The night before, they’d been beyond relieved to find that
all it took for them to return to their own realm was for them both to decide
to do so. As soon as they did, the front door of their sanctuary had started to
glow, a pale blue in the dim hall. The energy coming from it was palpable and
they’d known right off that this too had been created for them. They’d opened
the door and crossed through it to find themselves standing in front of Halfway
House. Only in that moment had they realized how utterly exhausted they were
and they’d spent only a few more minutes together before going inside and
climbing the stairs to their rooms.

That morning, they’d both slept in and it hadn’t seemed
likely that anyone else remained asleep since the sun was already high in the
sky. Nikki went to Henry’s door, sure he’d agree that it was time to check in
with Martha and they called on her right away, assuming they’d find the others
downstairs after. Now, they searched Halfway House, finding all the rooms
downstairs empty. They checked the food court, game room, movie theater and
pool. Last, they tried the kitchen, where Nikki had been kind of hoping to find
Naomi creating something new.

Henry shrugged. “Maybe they wandered off in different
directions.”

Nikki tried to hide her disappointment. She’d been
looking forward to spending some time together as a group, hoping for some
lightness to counter the darkness of the last couple of days. A glance at
Henry’s eyes confirmed he’d been hoping the same.

“Well, I guess we have a decision to make,” Nikki said.
“I guess we should probably—”

Laughter sounded out back, from what seemed like a
distance. Nikki’s heart lifted. Henry crossed the room and swung the door open
to look outside. He turned back to Nikki with raised eyebrows. “You’ll love
this.”

“Please tell me they’re not racing Air Hogs.” She’d heard
Naomi’s laughter in the mix so it didn’t seem likely. Naomi might remain a
little girl in many ways but she was still more mature than Jamie and Simon
much of the time.

“No, it looks like Jamie is trying to outrun a horse,”
Henry said.

“Horse?”

Henry nodded and returned his attention to the scene
outside. “Well, a small horse. Out by the stable.”

“Stable?” Nikki knew she shouldn’t be surprised to learn
they now had a horse and stable. Still, she hadn’t seen that one coming.

She followed Henry outside to see that, sure enough, the
fence surrounding their yard now sat at a much greater distance back than it
had two days ago. How the trees behind it had also moved, Nikki didn’t try to
comprehend. If fences could move to accommodate a horse and stable, then
naturally trees could shift to a new positon as well. Within another newly
fenced off area, Naomi and Simon continued to laugh as they watched Jamie try
to outrun a snow white filly.

“Call it off, Naomi!” Jamie tried another futile attempt
at outmaneuvering the animal.

Henry and Nikki jogged toward them. “Pretty horse,” Nikki
said, which was definitely true. The filly pranced gracefully, tossing her mane
in the breeze.

“A pretty horse who appears to have fallen in love with
Jamie,” Henry said.

Naomi cupped her hands around her mouth and called out to
Jamie, who’d been chased to the furthest point in the fenced off area. “She’s
just playing with you, Jamie! And Becky is not an
it
! She’s a
she
!”

Jamie dashed back in the direction of Naomi and Simon,
the filly wheeling about to trot after him. Henry and Nikki reached the fence
and climbed onto it to watch the spectacle.

“
Becky
,” Naomi cooed. “
Here, girl!
”

The horse stopped and shook her head, her eyes tracking
Naomi’s. Jamie scampered over to stand behind Simon.

“That thing is crazy,” Jamie said.

Naomi shot a look in his direction. “Becky is not a
thing
either.” She held out an apple and Becky trotted over to take it from her.
Naomi ran her hands along Becky’s neck as she spoke in soothing tones. “No
wonder you chase Jamie around. I would too if he kept calling me an
it
.
You go on and keep doing that until he learns to be more respectful.”

Henry and Nikki opened the gate and entered the horse pen.

“You manifested a
horse
?” Henry said. “Naomi,
that’s seriously impressive.”

Naomi giggled, still combing her fingers through Becky’s
mane. “Don’t be silly. She was just here when I woke up this morning.”

Nikki and Henry exchanged a quick glance.

“Were you maybe thinking about owning a horse?” Nikki
said.

Naomi shook her head, then reconsidered and nodded.
“Well, I’ve always wanted a horse if that’s what you mean. But I’d always
figured it for something that might happen when I got older. You know, someday,
when I wasn’t a kid anymore. But I don’t really think of it as
owning
a
horse. More like knowing a horse.”

Naomi’s words stopped Nikki for a moment since the
distinction was so well put. Naomi continued to grow up, little by little.
Nikki could no longer tell herself that she might be imagining those changes.

“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” Simon stepped forward to
join Naomi. He patted the side of Becky’s neck. “I wonder how big she’ll get.”

Jamie remained where he stood. “Not too big, I hope.”

Hearing Jamie’s voice, Becky looked up. She shook her
head and snorted.

“She’s looking at me again,” Jamie said.

“Henry thinks she’s in love with you,” Nikki said. “I bet
it’s your horns.”

Jamie unconsciously reached up to check the spikes of his
mohawk. “Horses aren’t into horns. That’s cows.”

“How would you know what cows are into?” Nikki said.
“Never mind. Don’t answer that.”

Everyone burst out laughing, except Jamie, whose face
turned red. Nikki glanced over to see if Naomi got the joke. Evidently, she got
it well enough since she continued to snicker.

“Kind of a weird deal,” Simon said. “We were having
breakfast this morning and we heard something outside.” He pointed at Becky.
“Turns out it was her.”

Naomi spoke softly. “I wonder where she came from.”

Nikki had wondered about the same from time to time.
After all, they were surrounded with living things. Birds flew through the sky
while dragonflies and butterflies flitted through the air during the day.
Squirrels ran after each other in play and rabbits scampered from sight at the
sound of approaching voices. Was this one of the places where animals went when
they died? That answer seemed as likely as any other. In this moment, Nikki
knew only one thing.  “Becky came here to know you too,” she said.

“And Jamie,” Henry said. “She really wants to know
Jamie.”

Jamie rolled his eyes but reached out tentatively to
touch Becky’s head. She nickered and closed her eyes.

“There you go,” Simon said. “She just wanted to have some
fun before.”

“See, she loves you,” Naomi said. “You just need to let
her know you love her too.”

Becky stayed long enough for Nikki and Henry to comfort
her, then turned and trotted away.

“Bye, Becky,” Naomi said. “I’ll be back to check on you
later!”

Jamie turned his attention to Henry and Nikki. “Okay, so
that’s the news here. As far as I know. Unless Naomi is hiding a panther
somewhere. Did you two wrap that deal up?”

Nikki exchanged a glance with Henry before shaking her
head. “Yeah, not exactly.”

“Making progress at least?” Simon said.

They started walking toward the house.

“I’m not so sure about that either,” Henry said. “So far,
the other side may even be winning.”

As they continued to walk, Nikki and Henry told them
about what they’d experienced while trying to free Rose. Although, Nikki didn’t
mention what had happened to her the other morning in the garden. Not
surprisingly, Henry remained silent on whatever he’d gone through alone as
well. Still, they didn’t even have to include those moments for the others to
widen their eyes and shake their heads as they listened.

They climbed the steps to the back deck and Simon stopped
walking. He looked back and forth between Henry and Nikki. “Blimey, it sounds
like something out of a horror movie.”

“It’s all so
creepy
,” Naomi said. She took a seat
at the outdoor table and the others moved to join her.

Once they were all seated, Jamie cracked a smile. “Damn,
there I was all insulted that Lysrus chose only you guys. Now, I’m freaking
glad he recognized me for a slacker.”

A few moments passed with no one speaking. From the
distance came the sound of Becky’s hooves as she galloped in her pen.

“Please tell me you’re not going back there,” Naomi said.
“I don’t think you should.” Her eyes glistened, as if she fought back tears.

The last thing Nikki wanted was to scare her and she felt
glad they hadn’t told her the worst parts. Not long ago, they wouldn’t have
told her as much as they had.

Another moment passed in silence but this time Nikki
caught Jamie making eye contact with Simon, then Naomi. Naomi returned her gaze
to the field where Becky had now dropped her head to munch on grass. Simon
stared down at the table while Jamie glanced up at a passing flock of birds.

“What the hell is it?” Nikki said, startling Henry, who
turned to scan the other faces at the table.

“Guys, are you not telling us something?” Henry said.

Jamie was the first to speak. “We had planned on telling
you but we figured it for good news at the time. Now, well, things have kind of
changed.”

Simon cleared his throat. “Yeah, it might only serve to
complicate things.”

It didn’t surprise Nikki to learn that they’d been up to
something. In fact, she would have been surprised if they hadn’t tried getting
involved somehow. Still, she’d never imagined they’d discover anything
significant.