The Twelve Stones (4 page)

“Sure
,
bud,” Ted replied almost to himself. The fact was
,
he was still so distracted that Alex could have asked for black tar heroin and Ted probably would have agreed. Ted McCray was a man of science. Empirical observations that matched experiments and results; that’s what had shaped his worldview for nearly as long as he could remember. But nothing in his lifetime of scientific experience and knowledge could explain what he had just witnessed, and that, more than anything else, disturbed him.

“What about Scott?” Alex asked, unsure of what else to say. “Can he still stay the night?”

Ted snapped back to reality. He still had a boy to raise
,
and
that boy
was looking to his father for answers.

“Well, his mother is on her way over to pick
him
up, I’m afraid.” Ted sighed, “If I were you, I wouldn’t count on being able to play too much over at his house for awhile.”

“But he’s my best friend! This wasn’t my fault; it was Scott’s stupid idea to climb that tree! I didn’t even know he wanted to do it!” Alex protested loudly.

“I know it wasn’t your fault
,
pal, but sometimes…” Ted trailed off, “Sometimes,
m
oms get overprotective of their kids
.
E
ven though accidents happen, some people just can’t accept that they can’t control every piece of the world at once. And for those people, sometimes they feel threatened until they get enough distance to see it’s not so bad after all.”

“What does that mean?” Alex demanded.

“Well, it means that you’ll get your best friend back after his mother has calmed down some and becomes rational again.” Ted smiled, “Don’t worry, this ban isn’t permanent. I’ll make sure of that.”

Alex, reassured
,
turned to go back to the guest room to return to Scott and their paused video game, but before he could escape, Ted grabbed his son by the shoulder. “Not just yet
,
bub,” he said in a firm tone of voice.

“What?” Alex asked scared.

“Now, I know today wasn’t your fault….”

“
It wasn’t?”

“No, like I said, it’s an accident and no one could’ve seen it coming.” Ted paused, clearing his throat uncomfortably
.
“The thing is
,
bucko, what you did, what happened today with Scott’s injuries, that’s not something that we can tell people. Things like what happened to us today can be dangerous in the real world if people found out about it.”

Ted pulled out the ottoman and sat down on it
,
drawing his son closer. “You know that stone you found? Whatever it is, I think it’s better if an adult
h
a
ng
s
onto it for now.”

Alex’s eyes grew wide in protest as he clutched his prize in his fist even tighter. Ted held up his hand to prevent the inevitable temper tantrum.

“This isn’t negotiable
,
Alex. This stone is dangerous
,
and I don’t want you to touching it until I tell you it’s OK.”

“But it’s mine! I found it fair and square; it’s not yours to take!” Alex screamed violently.

“I know
,
buckaroo, I know it. And I promise it will be yours again when you’re ready for it. Whatever that stone is, and until I know more about it, I’m not letting you get anywhere near it, all right?”

Alex lost it. “Mom wouldn’t have taken my stuff!”
h
e shouted
,
running away as he threw the stone at his father’s feet. Alex retreated, running back up to the guest room and slamming the door hard.

Ted swallowed, picking up the black stone off the floor
and
wrapp
ed
it in one of the makeshift rags he had used for Scott’s injuries. Ted turned and glanced at the family photo on the piano taken only a few short weeks before the tragic accident that took his wife – Alex’s mother. It had been taken during a family trip to San Francisco. They were having a picnic in Battery Park, with Ted laying on his back with his arms around the two most important people in the world to him: his wife and his son.

“I’m doing the right thing
,
aren’t I
,
Helen?” Ted asked the photo. “Whatever this is, he can’t possibly be ready for whatever power that’s in there.” He paused, and thoughtfully placed the wrapped stone into his pocket. “I don’t think anyone’s ready for it yet.”

Ted retreated downstairs to his workshop/basement. Opening his desk drawer, Ted opened the small safe contained within, turning the combination dial a few times. Dropping the rag inside, Ted closed the door, hoping he could forget about it for now.

Ted retreated back up to his guest room
,
knocking softly on the door before he entered. Alex sat in the chair opposite next to his friend, the two of them sullenly playing video games together. Alex’s ten year old face was fixed in a scowl.

“Hey
,
Alex,” Ted began awkwardly, “I know it’s rough and hard to understand right now. But honestly, this is the best thing for you.”

“But that’s mine
,
D
ad!” Alex whined
.
“I found it.
I
t’s mine
.
I
healed
Scott with it.”

Ted entered the room, and approached his son clasping his hand on his shoulder.

“What if we made it a trade?”

Alex perked up at this. Scott looked up as well. With Alex’s generosity, that usually meant that whatever Alex received, Scott would probably have free reign on it too.

“What do you mean?” Alex asked.

“Well, that Super Nintendo thing just came out
a little while ago,
didn’t it?” Ted asked, knowing full well he was getting it for his son’s birthday anyway.

Alex began to get excited.
“Yeah, so?”

“So, what if we go to the mall tomorrow, pick up that Super Nintendo plus whatever games you want
,
and I get to keep the stone for awhile.” Ted went around the chair, winking at his son. “I promise, fair trade value
.
W
hattaya say?”

Alex thought about it for a moment until Scott, who had remained silent until now
,
hissed, “Get
Street Fighter
! It’s the best game out there!”

Ted laughed, “Yes, we'll even get
Street Fighter
.
”

Alex wiped away the tears in his eyes, and for the first time that afternoon looked at his father with a smile. “Deal.”

Ted grasped his son’s hand and shook on it.

It was then that a screech of tires interrupted their
father-son handshake. A heavy four-by-
four truck barreled down the quiet neighborhood street, the engine groaning as the driver urged the aging vehicle to move faster. It slammed to a stop in front of Alex’s house
.
A
woman who would feel perfectly at home on the front lines of a professional fo
otball team got out of the beat-
up Chevy Wagon, stomped up the front steps
,
and screamed, “SCOOOTTT!!”

Scott winced and rose from his chair slowly.

“Take it easy,” Ted urged.

“I’m OK
,
Mr. McCray, I think Alex
cured
everything. I don’t
think anything's broken anymore,
” Scott replied, his eyes downcast.

“No
,
I meant with your mom.” Ted replied
,
grinning. Scott laughed and returned his friend’s father’s wink.

“
See ya later
,
Alex.” Scott called over his shoulder as he left the house.

“Later
,
man
.
”
Alex
frowned
. Scott’s mother could be terrifying when she was angry. Scott, shoulders slumped like a prisoner going for his last meal, walked downstairs and out the front door, closing it behind him.

It was only when the tires screeched away that Ted finally sighed with relief. He looked at his son and wondered
:
what else do you say to a kid after he’s seen his best friend nearly die?

“
How about some food?” Ted managed after a moment.

It was these sorts of times that he missed his wife the most. He was supposed to have help with this kind of stuff. His heart
s
welled in his chest. He had no idea what else he could say. So he drew his son in and hugged him.

Alex stood there, the events of the afternoon replaying in his head. His father’s awkward embrace suddenly made everything clear for him. They had something incredible in common. Neither one had any idea how to react to what they just saw. They only had each other. It was that moment that Alex decided to be brave for his father. He would not ever let this man down in his life. He swallowed and looked at his dad with shiny new eyes.

“
Are you sure you’re gonna get me
Street Fighter
?”

Ted choked up. He couldn’t help but laugh. Smiling broadly, he scooped his kid up, and took him to the kitchen, where he would do what fathers did and make his son some lunch.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, after again promising for the hundredth time that they were indeed going to the mall tomorrow to purchase the video game system, Ted finally got Alex to bed. Going downstairs to the front door, Ted opened it and looked outside, unsure as to what he was even looking for.

After ensuring
that
the night remained still, Ted closed the door.
He checked
twice to make sure
it
was locked
,
then
went downstairs to the basement and opened the safe that contained Alex’s stone. Careful only
to
grasp the edges of the cloth that held his son’s prize, Ted put it into his coat pocket and went outside of the house he had designed for his wife. She had never lived to see it.

He opened the French doors that were on the far side of the house and walked out onto the deck
,
looking up at the black night sky. The stars flickered and danced above
,
slyly offering their secrets to Ted, as he closed the ornate doors behind him. Opening up his jacket, Ted removed a pack of stale cigarettes. After his wife died, he had quit smoking for his son
,
hoping to last a few extra years.
He shook
them loose, the stale tobacco scent
catching
on the damp evening air. It had been years since Ted had
even touched a cigarette
. Whatever the risks to his lungs, Ted considered, after what he saw today, he was sure one
smoke
was not going to be the end of the world. Fumbling with his lighter, he snapped the wheel several times until the flame caught, as he managed to coax the end of the old cigarette to light.

“
Idiot
-
proof lighters,” Ted muttered to himself. He put the lighter back into his pocket and felt for the flannel shirt that contained Alex’s mysterious stone.

Squeezing the warm lump through the bloodied flannel, Ted looked up at the stars above. It was a particularly clear night for Onyx. The altitude had a great deal to do with that. The clear cold mountain air was far above the smoggy cities below, and there was little light polluting the night sky as Onyx was in the middle of a bowl
-
shaped valley. The stars
, each a tiny point of light hundreds of light years away,
shone brighter than ever tonight, and
their crown
, the Milky Way
,
made for an incredible vision, sweeping impossibly large
across the sky.

The night sky never ceased to amaze Ted. Even on the brightest and clearest of nights, he knew that he was only seeing a small portion of what
s
pace had to offer, a mere 6,000 or so stars. Hidden behind them were millions upon billions of stars and galaxies, each stretching far and away into infinity.
Even
now, the light that had begun its journey several thousand years ago ended its travels as a tiny photon, hitting Ted’s eyes.

“
Enough procrastinating,” Ted muttered to himself.

Steeling himself, he puffed on his cigarette a few times, getting the cherry nice and hot. Pinching the cigarette between his thumb and forefinger, he squeezed his eyes and pushed the red
-
hot ember into the skin on his forearm.