Shudder - The College Years Ch. 09

"Wow," Nevyn continued. "You should see what's in Connie's brain. She was going to sell you guys out, did you know that? Of course you didn't, because you trusted her. You thought she'd keep her word because you peered into her thoughts one time, forgetting that people have been known to change their minds. Rookie mistake, Derek. You got to do better next time, if you make it that is." Nevyn's eyes flickered over to Bekka, and Derek could have sworn he saw a brief flash of remorse before Nevyn added, "I was hoping it would be Aubrey lying there. Bekka was wrong for leaving me, but, well, I didn't want this. She was the first person to really like me while knowing everything I was."

Derek wasn't sure if he should try to stall, or let him get away so he couldn't get a chance to hurt his sister when she returned. He could barely move and talking took a great deal of effort too, so he wasn't sure how far he was going to get.

Connie's body got up and opened the glass door that led to the hall. She stood in the doorway and looked back at Derek's prone body. Nevyn's voice gave Derek one last warning before he disappeared. "I hope you make it out of this Derek. I really do. But should our paths ever cross again, stay out of my way, or I will end everything you hold dear."

Considering the amount of awfulness Nevyn had subjected his friends and family too, Derek thought that statement was a little rich. Before he could articulate any kind of response, Nevyn was gone.

Aubrey was winded as she opened the front door to the research center. She didn't have time to catch her breath though as she spied a frantic Connie coming towards her. "Connie? What happened? I..."

"I think your brother is going to make it but Bekka isn't unless I get some supplies that I have in my car." Connie said in a rush as she pushed past a confused Aubrey.

Aubrey didn't ask questions though. She just wanted to get to her brother and best friend and see the damage. She unlocked the security door and saw through the glass the body of Derek and Aubrey. She still assumed Nevyn was inside Derek's body, until what Connie had said a second ago hit her. She had said her brother was probably okay, but Bekka wasn't. But her brother had been in Bekka's body, unless he wasn't anymore. She cautiously went over to the body that had housed her family's antagonist for so long and looked into his face. She saw her brother's scared eyes staring back at her. She tentatively whispered, "Derek? Is that you?"

"Yes," Derek exhaled. Then was able to flop an arm in Bekka's direction. "Help her."

"Her?" Aubrey asked looking at Bekka carefully before asking the question she thought she already knew the answer to. "Derek, where's Nevyn?"

Derek's mouth tightened as he whispered, "Connie."

Aubrey gasped, but then shoved that bit of terrible to the back of her mind and checked Bekka's pulse. It felt like there might be something there, but if there was, Bekka's life was hanging by a thread. She put her lips on her friends and began CPR. As she did, she saw Derek with great effort slowly slide his body next to Bekka's. Aubrey was trying to keep from crying but she still felt the tears form in her eyes. She wasn't going to give up. She was going to get her friend back. And then they were going to find Nevyn, and they were going to stop him from ever hurting anyone ever again. She saw Derek's hand fall onto Bekka's stomach. It was throwing off her compressions. "Derek, get your hand out of the way. We're going to get her back."

"Listen!" he said as loudly as he could. It wasn't loud at all, but he had said it forcefully enough that it got her attention. "Go get someone, anyone, right now. The first person you see, drag them here."

"What? Why?" Aubrey asked.

"Just do it Bri," Derek said. "This is the only way I can think to save her."

Bekka's stomach began to shudder underneath Derek's hand. Aubrey saw it and her eyes widened and the emotions she had been trying to contain flooded to the surface. "Derek, no! You can't hop her. You can't leave your body without a soul! You just got it back! What are you doing?" She stopped as she realized Derek could no longer hear her. He was inside a dying Bekka. She hadn't been dead yet, or else Derek couldn't have hopped her, but she could be at any second. A light filled the room as Derek's body began to disappear. She fought panic and knew there was no time, she needed to find someone for Derek to have a chance.

As Aubrey was running from the room and to the street to do what Derek had asked her, time had slowed considerably in the place that Derek now found himself. He was inside Bekka's mind, and it seemed to be breaking down around him. He listened for her consciousness, but heard nothing. He began searching and dove as deep into her center as he could.

It was there that he found the personification of Bekka's soul, like Nevyn had described. Bekka seemed to sense his presence, and called out to him in the darkening mindscape, "Derek, why are you here? I'm so tired. You should go."

Derek couldn't open Bekka's mouth to communicate back with her. It was taking all his effort just to not lie down and join her in this place. It would be so easy just to stop, and let the light fade. Instead, he pushed himself to cover her like Nevyn had said.

Bekka's soul protested. "No, don't. That feels weird."

Derek persisted, and held on tighter. He enveloped Bekka, but instead of setting his will on consuming her soul, he tried to intertwine them as tight as he possibly could. The rest would be up to his sister. Bekka struggled against him though, but as she did, her soul grew weaker and it began to fade. Derek felt fear grip him as he saw that he was beginning to fade as well. He was rapidly losing strength and dug deep to hold on. In this place it felt like hours, but Derek suddenly sensed an exit. Someone was making a conduit that he could escape to. He set his will on moving through that passageway into whatever body it would take him. As he felt his consciousness begin to shift to another host, Derek locked onto Bekka's soul and pulled with the entire force of his being. If she could not come with him, he would not leave, and they could die together.

A stranger that had followed Aubrey into the lab cried out as his hand began to shudder. At the same moment, a burst of light erupted from Bekka's eyes, nose and mouth.

Epilogue

75 years later

A black man in his mid twenties drove through the small coastal town. As he did, he glanced around, seeing the quaint shops, most of them closed. This was not surprising, as most everyone had other things on their minds these days. Every so often, he would look at the instrument in the front seat. It had guided him this far, and he had been assured of its accuracy, but if something didn't happen soon, it looked like he might have to drive into the ocean if the readings were to be believed.

He came to an intersection and the ocean spread out directly ahead of him. He had the choice of turning right, or left, or getting his car very, very wet. He considered the instrument carefully, turned right, moved forward slightly, considered it again, then went left. The road curved as it followed the shoreline. He passed a wharf and a beach. His memories told him he had never seen the ocean before, while other memories contradicted this. He blinked rapidly, trying to keep his eyes focused and sharp. They fought back though. His eyes had bags under them and wanted very much to close. He had been driving for almost 24 hours straight. He didn't have time to rest though, as any moment he might find himself on the other side of the continent. He had a suppressor shot in the glove box, but those were only for emergencies because of the damage they did. He wondered if this could be classified as an emergency. He hoped he didn't have to make that call.

The beach vanished in his rearview and again he had to make a choice as the road went either straight, or turned and followed the outer arm of a bay. The instrument said turn, so even though the road would soon end, he turned. The road shrank as the arm of the bay grew thinner the longer it stretched out into the ocean. A simple concrete barrier served as an end point for the road, but dry land continued another few hundred yards. It was covered with rock and sand and patches of coarse grass. The man squinted his eyes as he surveyed what he could from his car to the ocean, and at first he thought he was alone. As he got out of the car though, he spotted a figure facing in towards the bay near close to where land gave way completely to ocean.

He walked briskly towards the figure at first, but soon slowed when he was a hundred yards away. He approached cautiously, not wanting to appear as any kind of threat in case his instrument was wrong. As he neared, he saw the person was fishing. When he was twenty yards out, he saw that it was a man, and given his current garments and features, the description that came readily to the man's mind was sea captain. The stranger had white hair and a grizzly, wild beard. He was staring at the ocean like he was trying to pick a fight with it. He wore a dark blue cap that looked like it had weathered many a storm, a matching blue coat that kept him warm from the wind that was now blowing at quite a clip. He looked to be at least in his sixties, possibly older, and was standing with one hand on a fishing pole, and the other in his pocket. He didn't seem to have a care in the world, but he did come off a little crazy, because he seemed to be having a conversation with himself.

This last detail caused the other man to look around, wondering if there was another person nearby that he had somehow missed. There wasn't. Then he wondered if maybe the sea captain was talking on a wireless device. He attempted to be considerate of this fact and raised a hand in greeting instead of calling out. The sea captain did not acknowledge him in any way, just kept on having his private conversation. It was close enough to be overheard now. It certainly sounded like there was someone on the other end of a device, as the speech was intermittent, as if allowing for another person's remarks.

"No, we'll go home soon enough. Stop your complaining. Ha! That's rich, you can't get cold. Everytime I come out here it makes the temptation bearable. It's the only thing that keeps the need at bay. Well that and...well yes...yes that's why I chose it, so it wouldn't be such a problem...You don't think I miss it too. I do, and it's not easier with you thinking about it all the time...Yes, pretty much all the time. I'm not a spring chicken anymore, I can't just...that's right, I'm not going to. If you already know the answer to the question why ask it? Him? I don't know who he is? Maybe he's someone that just likes being around people that talk to themselves, either way he hasn't tried to kill us yet, so I don't think he's with him."

Every time the black man had worked up the courage to jump in at one of the pauses in the conversation, the sea captain's voice growled another bit of dialogue. Finally the sea captain took the initiative by giving a slight turn so that one of his eyes could fix on the man that had been watching him for the past few minutes. "Did you come out to see the ocean or just have a good long look at a retired fisherman?"

"I, uh, I'm looking for someone and, well, I thought maybe you..."

"There's a lot of people been looking for each other for about the last five years now. Every once in awhile they find each other, but it doesn't last. It's like all the tourists we used to get here." At this the sea captain jabs a finger back towards the small coastal town. "We'd have people driving through all the time. They'd stop in and take in the sights and local color. And then they'd be gone after a few days, so no point in getting close to any of them. Just like it is now, every person in town is nothing but a bunch of damned tourists. And by this time tomorrow, there'll be a fresh wave of them."

The black man nodded politely, even though he was pretty sure this man was sounding crazier by the minute. He tried to remember that the device had led him here, and that he didn't have time to waste. Still, he needed to exercise caution. "The person I'm looking for isn't a tourist. We're pretty sure he's been here for awhile, because there's one signal that never moves."

The sea captain's gaze was completely on him now. He was squinting even harder, as if trying to see more than just the man in front of him. "Who's we?"

"Pardon?"

"You said we're pretty sure. Who's we?"

"The others who she has us find."

"What others?"

"Ones who are...special."

"Special how?"

"They're like you I suspect. They tend to stay more...fixed."

"My sister found a way to track them down, huh?"

The black man blinked hard, then asked, "You are Derek, aren't you?"

The sea captain suddenly looked very tired. His mouth formed a tight grimace as he nodded.

The black man clenched a fist in celebration, before extending the palm for a handshake. "It's an honor to meet you. My name is Stephanie. You're sister sent me to get you because we need your help. We are after the one responsible for the great upheaval. We seek to bring him to justice any way we can, even though that might prove impossible, since apparently he can't die.

"Oh, that I might be able to help with," Derek said. He ignored the extended hand as he squatted down to pick up the bag at his feet. Almost reflexively, his hand slipped inside to touch its contents. He didn't dare bring it out into Stephanie's view, because that would give her the need. Everyone who saw it fell under its curse, although he knew it wasn't a curse at all, but something much more sinister. The only reason he could resist it was because of the bloodline that echoed in his soul. It was his ancestor that had started the whole damned mess. But none of it would have happened if it hadn't been for the mental pull of the thing inside the bag.

It had taken Derek almost a lifetime to find the instrument of their chaotic journey. Thankfully he had lives to spare. His rough hands move along the object's wooden handle, feeling the indentations of ancient runes that had been carved into it centuries ago when it had first arrived in their plane of existence. His hand touched the smoothness of its center, where the mirror itself was inlaid, and he felt its pull. He quickly, though reluctantly, withdrew his hand from the bag. The other voice inside his head was already begging him to point it at Stephanie and say the words, but he tuned her out, something he had a lot of practice with. He knew he'd have to use it again soon though, and permanently this time, before it drove him mad. And he hoped that when the time came, he'd get to use it on Nevyn, and wipe him from existence.

*****

Author's note.

I hope you enjoyed this arc. Thanks to everyone who checked in and commented. It helps push me to finish. Special thanks to TimeStop Master for suggesting some very good ideas throughout the story. Look for the next arc soon!