The Centerpoint Trilogy (2 page)

“I was reluctant too,” she admitted. She did not want to go out with someone that she didn’t even know, but her friend had pushed. It wasn’t her fault that she didn’t date often. It wasn’t that she was against the idea; it was just that Anna had a hard time finding the person that she wanted to date. She was too busy and too...flighty. It seemed that her head was always somewhere and the last place she found it was on the dating scene. It was too exhausting. “I’m glad I came however.”

That made her date smile. “I am too.”

Now, Anna had a disastrous date or two in her life, so she was very relieved when it began to go very well.  It seemed that she and Ethan had a lot in common. They were both very passionate about what they did. The overlap seemed to be that they both really enjoyed literature and writing. They spent nearly a full hour discussing the works of Shakespeare. It was pretty amazing. They then moved over to the television shows that they watched and Anna found that Ethan was someone who actually enjoyed her talking his ear off about Doctor Who. That was fantastic!

              It was such a good date that the hours started flying by. She and Ethan were both passionate, but shy and a little socially awkward. There was just so much that they both enjoyed discussing. They got along and perfectly. She felt like she was doing things right.

At the end, Anna was almost sad to go. “I had such a good time,” she said, leaning over and giving him a huge hug. He hugged her back firmly. “Can I see you again?” She hated that she might sound desperate, but she had not clicked with someone in a very long time. She had to take every opportunity that offered itself to her.

“Obviously,” he said. He chuckled at that, running a hand through his sandy brown hair. He smiled, wide and once again that smile had her a bit floored.

She parted ways with him almost giggling. She was not a giggler. It was just good. It helped the unease that had been affecting her greatly for quite a long time.

Things were about to get so much better.

Anna was not a woman who giggled. The whole action was juvenile at best. She was twenty-seven years old and giggling was hardly an appropriate reaction. She had better ways to express her emotions by this point, didn’t she? Anna did not need giggling to express how happy she was. Yet, that was what she found herself on the verge of when she returned home from her date. She walked into the house and set her purse on the table beside the door. She turned on a light, because her apartment was always so dark at night and yes, she giggled. It came out of her like a high pitched chuckle at first, and then developed into a full fledged, chipmunk giggle. She was just stupidly happy. That was all there was to it.

Crossing the room, she sat down on the sofa. Next to the sofa was a small end table with the telephone on it. She grinned and knew that she had to call Brianne. Lying back, she picked up the phone. She dialed her friend’s number and waited patiently. It rang and rang until Brianne picked up.

“Oh hello Anna,” Brianne drawled. Her tone was utterly mischievous. Brianne always sounded as though she had a trick or two up her sleeves. It didn’t matter that the two women were on the phone. Anna knew exactly the smile that Bri was wearing on her face.  She knew exactly why her friend was calling and she wanted all of the information. Brianne loved a good story, especially if the story involved one of her friends. How are you?”

She almost didn’t want to give the other girl the satisfaction. It was nothing against her, but Brianne was always pestering Anna to date. She kept telling her that it’d be good for her, that it’d make her happy, that she needed to take a chance. Anna had become so tired of hearing it that she had finally given in. Really, Brianne was crazy.  The girl acted like it was absolutely necessary when it was not. It was not needed to lead a successful, happy life. Relenting, she spoke. Brianne could win this time. She’d had a fantastic time and she wasn’t going to lie about it. “I’m fantastic,” she confessed, feeling a heat rise up on her cheeks.

The girl literally squealed. The loud pitched sound made her pull the phone back for just a moment as it invaded her ears. God, was her friend crazy? Brianne was about the same age as Anna, but could be very immature at times. The sound made Anna wince. God, she was shrill. “Ah, that’s brilliant!” she yelled. “How was it? Tell me!”

Anna looked down as she thought about the date. She didn’t know how to describe it in a way that didn’t sound like she was gushing. She supposed she would have to allow herself a little time to gush. “I had the best time,” she admitted. “Ethan was really smart and adorable. We talked for a long time and really got along. It was good. He’s an all around charming guy, Brianne. I would really like to see him again. I honestly didn’t want it to end.”               Brianne squealed a little again. The noise made her shake her head. God, she needed to stop. . “Oh, that’s great sweetie. I was hoping it would work. I heard that Ethan was just like you and I hoped it would work. You both really seemed to need someone. This could be it for you Anna! Really!”

“It was just coffee,” she said again, rolling her eyes.

She and Brianne spoke for a bit longer. Their conversations were mundane and about work and friends. It was really enjoyable. Usually Anna wasn’t much for chatter, but both were in a great mood and yes, this time she enjoyed it. There was a lot to talk about. Sometimes idle chatter was something that got the unusual off of her mind. It had a good purpose.

Her mind was on the handsome, charming Ethan almost constantly for the next day. He was just the whole package. On the surface, he was gorgeous. He had that strong jawbone and the light stubble. It peppered his face, so adorable. His deep brown eyes were so gorgeous and seemed so intelligent. There was something wonderful going on behind them.  He was thin, but not bony. He had a lean, defined muscle. The man was utterly gorgeous and she had to admit it. She had never been so attracted to a man in her life.

He was also so witty and charming. The banter had been fun. She felt that he was a match for her when it came to intelligence and talk. Nothing that they said was idle. He had great intelligence. She supposed that was obvious, being that he was a teacher. They also had a lot in common. That meant a lot to her.

Anna honestly had high hopes. It was not something she could usually say about dating and men. The whole idea never gave her high hopes, but not because she was bitter or anything. She was just a logical person and it hadn’t fit into the equation that much. Not that she was saying Ethan was “it” or her “soulmate” or anything like that, but it was kind of nice to go on a date and actually feel like there was a prospect.

The rest of the day was boring. She was not working that day, so she had errands to run. She went to the store, cleaned up,  and blah, blah, blah... Life could be very eventless at times, but who said that boring was always a bad thing? People took for granted how nice it was to be without obligation. She did not have to do anything and it was good. At night, she watched a movie she’d been meaning to see. It was very interesting. Drowsy, she fell asleep shortly afterward.

Her dreams returned to that awful room. It was a small room with wooden walls. Now, as an adult, she knew that she was in an apartment building. There were two windows, but they were pasted over with black construction paper. The pair of women stayed close to the wall, and the man was in the center. He looked at everyone in the room with a strange emotion, one that she didn’t entirely understand. The man looked right at her. His clear blue eyes pierced into her soul and scared her to death. She took a deep breath and tried her best to look away. All she wanted to do was look away.

She forcefully looked away and across the room. There were so many other children. Boys and girls, they were of all races, shapes and sizes. They looked absolutely terrified and most of them stared at the man, captivated by his terrifying eyes. One looked at her. He looked at her with soft, brown eyes that conveyed gentleness and intelligence. They seemed to sparkle amber in the light, even though they were much softer underneath.

Those were Ethan’s handsome, soft, brown eyes. They were not on the grown man she had gone on a date with, however, but on a young boy. He looked at her deeply, as thoug he was trying to get into her soul and see what was there. He looked at her deeply, earnestly trying to express something to her.

“It’s time, my children,” the man started, drawing her attention back to him. “It’s time for the world to explode.

Anna woke up. She let out a tiny cry and then rolled over on the couch. She needed to stop dreaming about that man. If he wanted the world to explode then he needed to explode it. He needed to stop invading the dreams of people who had the misfortune of being kidnapped as children. It was pathetic.

Chapter Four

              Taking night classes had seemed like a good idea at the time. Ethan worked all day and it was the only way he could get credits towards a Master’s Degree. Online classes were also an option, but they did not command his focus in the same way. So, here Ethan was. He was a brand new teacher who was also in school in the evenings. It was absolutely, utterly exhausting, but still he tried his best. Ethan yawned and closed his eyes briefly. He was in a room of twenty-five others, awaiting his professor’s arrival. Most of them were teachers, or other education professionals like he was. He watched as people began to shift in their seats. Everyone glanced at their phones, or up at the clock on the wall. He heard muttering other students talking about getting out of there. There was intense frustration and it was obvious. Nobody had any idea where Professor Binns was. All the tired and irate group knew was that he was late.

Five minutes later, Professor Binns finally arrived. An older man with greying hair and a thick beard, he staggered into the room. He had strange, thick spectacles. His face was pale and his eyes were so wide.  His eyes wideness helped Ethan instantly sense that he was disturbed by something. He kept opening his mouth and closing it again, but at last, he spoke. “I must inform you that there’s been an explosion on South Street,” he declared grimly. “It’s so close by that I fear some of you might be affected. I took so long getting here because the whole area is a madhouse.”

“What?” a girl near the front of the classroom asked.

The chatter began, one of those commotions that was hard to quell. People spoke to those next to them in hushed whispers. What had happened? How could it happen? He did not speak to anyone, but just pulled back, mentally and watched as everyone else went on and on. The news had obviously stirred up a reaction.

“What caused it?” someone else asked, a man near the back of the room.

“I didn’t hear,” Professor Binns said. “I just know that it’s really bad…”

Ethan’s heart pounded. The word explosion weighed heavily on his mind. He could not handle that word. How many nights had he dreamed of explosion? How many nights had he dreamed of the threat that the world would explode? His stomach twisted and although nobody he knew lived near South Street, he knew he had to go. He was compelled to go to the scene and see if it had anything to do with his horrible dreams. He had to go.

He stood. “I’m sorry,” he said, even though he was sure that nobody was listening to him. Ethan then left the classroom, and headed to the parking structure, running as he made his way there. He moved fast. At first he was going to take his car, but then he decided that it was useless and turned on his heel, going the other way. South Street was only two blocks away. Ethan ran. He could not stop running. He had to find out what was behind the explosion. It could be completely unrelated, but he was a man who trusted instinct and instinct was telling him that something was very wrong. The words were still in his head: “the world will explode.”

Chaos greeted him on South Street. The entire block was lined with firetrucks. He counted six immediately. Sirens blared on some and yet others stood silent. They had been opened, all of their tools removed. People were held back behind caution tape, but still they stood and stared in absolute horror. Police were standing in front of them, using poles and caution tape to try and hold the people back. Several of the men wore annoyed expressions on their faces. He was sure the effort had to be exhausting.

Ethan could not see the explosion, held too far back behind the tape, but he did see the billow of smoke rising up in the air. It was a long, cylindrical tower of black colored smoke that rose high above them. It went almost straight up into the air. Ethan rushed to the closest point he could reach. Thanks to the caution tape it was not much closer. He could still see nothing except for that rising tower of smoke. The sight frustrated him and he decided that he had to ask questions. “What happened?” he asked a female bystander. The woman was younger than he was, blonde and petite. She was staring at the same billow of smoke that he was. Her eyes were wide and her jaw was slack. She was totally horrified.

“The police and fire don’t even seem sure,” she said. “The explosion came from the library, probably, but spread down the whole corner.” She gestured down the road. Her eyes seemed pretty locked on that towering smoke. Ethan couldn’t blame her. His eyes were not leaving the spot either. It was so horrible. Nausea rolled through him.  His stomach hurt and he shook his head. He wanted to look away, but god, he couldn’t. It was such a horrible sight and it made him feel sick. He was sick for many reasons.

The idea of a library exploding touched something deep inside of him. He was a knowledge-oriented man,  one who took pride in his knowledge and spreading ideas to others. The library being destroyed meant that thousands upon thousands of books had been destroyed. He also thought about the explosion. That meant that those words, the ones in his head, were coming true. It made him sick with fear. He forgot all about his sickness, however, when he caught a flash of red hair.

              He had been utterly charmed by Anna, the girl he’d been set up with. She was totally beautiful, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her red hair framed her face perfectly and her green eyes were so lovely, so passionate. He loved the way that her smile reached them and that they were expressive, along with everything else about her. She was just the most beautiful woman that he’d ever seen. Her beauty was elegant, simple.  He had not, however, been fully taken in until they spoke. She was witty, charming and intelligent. She spoke about the subjects that meant a lot to her with an extreme sense of passion. She was wise, intelligent and honestly, it was the first time that he had ever been taken in totally by a woman.

Here she stood. It was undoubtedly Anna standing there. She was looking at the vertical line of smoke. Her eyes were narrowed and he was pretty sure that he saw tears glimmering in the corners of those beautiful green orbs. He saw the movement as she had to force her gaze away for just a moment. Her devastation was palpable. He wondered why she was so devastated. Was she feeling the things that he was? Horror shot through his heart when he realized that it could be personal for her. The library had to have been open, even though it was late. What if a friend was hurt, or worse? He worried for Anna instantly, immensely.

“Anna,” he said, approaching her. He walked over to her in long strides and gently put a hand on her shoulder. He feared for the worst. What if someone she knew had been hurt in the explosions? Sympathy struck him hard. What if someone that she knew lived or worked nearby and she was unsure about everything. Her heart leapt hard into her throat.