Death of the Body

  “What is that power?”

  I did not know, all I had been able to figure out was that I didn’t remember my life in Orenda until the day in the orphanage when Father Michaels gave the ring to me, and after that, I couldn’t remember the twelve years I had lived on Earth.

  The demon looked a bit confused, which was good, because even I wasn’t sure how, exactly, I was able to live two places at once, either.

  “Is the ring responsible for your ability to cross into this world?”

  I didn’t know. I wasn’t alive when I had crossed into this world, at least, as far as I knew. I had been dead.

  “Impossible.”

  Perhaps you have an explanation then! You were there. Joshua killed me, I thought angrily.

  “Give me the ring.”

  No.

  I could see the demon’s frustration start to boil. It caused his hold on the human body to slip, which caused his hold over me to slip. I wiggled my finger.

  “Give it to me and I will let you live.”

  I still couldn’t speak. Liar, I thought.

  He screamed. At first I thought his scream sounded metallic, but then the bed of the truck ripped away from the cab, completely severing the truck in two. I saw the bed fly hundreds of feet into the air and disappear somewhere in the desert.

  “I will kill you.”

  You can’t get into the cab.

  A look of exasperation crossed his face momentarily and he started stomping his feet in frustration. Honestly, it was a bit amusing to see a grown male figure throwing a temper tantrum like a five year old.

  “I can’t,” he growled at me. He spun my head around toward the oncoming traffic, “but that can.”

  The demon used his power to force my head around to where I could see a large oil tanker as it wound its way unsuspectingly toward us. I could now move my entire hand and was able to see back through the pathway the demon was using to control me. The path went into places I had never before seen, so it was difficult to trace back directly to the mind of the demon.

  I did, however, know his intentions. His intentions were to cause that truck to barrel into me and explode. With any luck, the symbols and protections I had used would incinerate with me, and he could then take the ring and give it to Joshua.

  I had hoped to live long enough to sort out the details I had just learned. This demon knew about levels and said he knew more of them than I did. He called them worlds, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were more like alternate realities, like I had read about in sci-fi novels. He had confirmed that Orenda was a place—that it did exist—and that I had been there, physically, as I was here now. He could not explain my death, which led me to believe he could not explain the twelve years I had spent on this planet without memory of my past life, or how I could not remember those twelve years once I did. He didn’t know about the ring, at least not that it was somehow important—I wondered how my ring could exist on my finger and in another place at the same time.

  I knew the demon could sense my thoughts, but I also didn’t care—and neither did he. He was too busy controlling the truck, which was gaining speed at an alarming rate. The truck was close enough that I could see the driver flailing about in the cab. No doubt he had no idea why his truck was behaving so erratically.

  Maybe if I could break the demon’s control over the diesel I could survive, but every power, level, world, doorway, whatever it was that I knew, everything physical needed to be spoken—while the demon was in a body every spell had to be physical. I couldn’t cast him out but I had to do something!

  The red and blue flashing was now reflecting off the large tank full of oil. I didn’t have much time. I closed my eyes and followed the trail of power the demon was using to grasp my mind, looking for anything familiar.

  It was like following a silver strand of light through a wormhole to an unknown universe. There were so many distractions, things I had never seen before, but every time I started to get distracted by one of the oddities I found, I lost the silver trail and had to start over.

  I told myself to focus and to move quickly. As I followed the trail I found a doorway, not symbolic or imaginary, but quite literal. It was open far enough for the tiny strand to fit through. I pushed, it swung wider, and I fell through it. Then there were yellow eyes all around me, watching me. I could hear their anger as they shouted curses at me, trying to get me to forget about the silver string and fall into the unknown.

  The strangest thing about this place was that it was cold. Freezing. My mind started to fight with me. I tried to get it to push forward, but everything was so sluggish here. My vision was hazy, my thoughts blurred, but I could see another door just a few feet in front of me.

  Then familiar yellow eyes confronted me and spoke:

  “You are too late, Edmund. In just moments, you will be dead. Then, I will take whatever soul you might possess and bring you back here. Do you really think you can pass through my world freely? Do you think you can use my powers? My doors? My worlds? Stupid, stupid boy. Without the path I laid out, how will you find your way back?”

  Then it was gone. Everything. The silver line, the doorway, everything went black.

  I had no idea where I was, or what ethereal state I was in, but it took me a long time to realize I was falling. It wasn’t that everything was black, but there was so much space between the few quick flashes of color that I wasn’t sure if I was imagining them. I felt like I was gaining velocity as I tumbled over and over myself.

  The demon was right. I had no idea where I was or how to get out. I felt like I had fallen for an eternity when in reality it could have only been a few moments—because I was still alive—the truck hadn’t hit me yet.

  Then everything stopped. I looked around me and discovered seven ancient-looking doors. There were many that were strange, but three that I recognized. I had seen them before, although only in my mind, like I could see them now.

  One in particular caught my attention. It was the only one I knew would help me at the moment. Although I knew how this door worked, I had never used it without knowing where I was starting from or how to get to where I wanted to go. I would undoubtedly pass through worlds, levels (whatever they were) that I knew nothing about—but anything was better than death, right?

  I remembered what it was like to die—the pain, the fear, the doubt, and the unknown. Somehow I had cheated death once. Now I was about to try again.

  I drew in a breath, a real breath, and walked through the door.

  The sensation was familiar, like having my whole body sucked through a vacuum tube at the bank, but so much was unknown to me that I almost missed the path back to my body. Thankfully, the glimmering red and blue reflecting off a large silver tank as the tanker buckled my front bumper was enough to catch my attention. I snatched my body away from the destruction and fell headfirst into the unknown.

  Teleportation had been something I had tried in the past, but never with my own body. Small objects, like pens, screws, maybe a nickel or two. I had been able to move these objects from one end of the room to another, but I had never been able to track their exact path through the space in between spaces, and sometimes I failed to make them reappear.

  I opened my eyes and hoped to be back in California or anywhere far away from demons. I found myself again passing through strange places and universes. I realized I had no idea how to get home. Unexpectedly, I had the strangest desire to go on that date with Quon’s cousin.

  Something was happening to me. The tips of my fingers were tingling and when I looked at them they appeared to be imploding on themselves. As I tried to stretch them out, my hand stretched into eternity instead. The harder I tried to uncurl them, the longer and longer they appeared.

  But what was unnerving was that this sensation seemed to be spreading. It wasn’t long until my whole arm appeared two-dimensional and I couldn’t feel my fingers at all.

  I didn’t panic until my chest collapsed and I couldn’t breat
he. I gasped until I no longer had a throat to do it with. I didn’t feel like I was holding my breath—it was more like I had no lungs.

  I felt darkness creep over me and reach toward my eyes. I fought as they dimmed slowly, first from the outside, then inward.

  As my eyes went dark, everything went cold, a familiar cold. There were no words to describe the sensations that coursed through my body—or what was left of my body. Perhaps the demon had been right. Perhaps I couldn’t navigate the worlds he knew so much better than I. He was more powerful, and now he had won.

  My consciousness was sufficient to feel a dim glimmer of pain as my molecules lost cohesion. I consigned myself to a second death as I felt my body rip apart.

  Thirteen

  The most amazing thing about feeling myself enter a state of oblivion is that I still felt. When I realized that I could still feel, I became almost nauseatingly familiar with my surroundings. I was exceptionally cold and the smell of sweaty socks filled my nostrils, but most obvious was the intense screaming.

  “What the… Edmund? Someone hand me that blanket.”

  The voices were frantic.

  “Is that blood?”

  I didn’t recognize that one. It was too high-pitched.

  “Call the campus nurse. Edmund? Can you hear me?”

  I could feel hands on me but I couldn’t respond.

  “He’s cold as ice. Quon, stop staring and help me get him under some blankets.”

  “Is it hypothermia?”

  “I don’t know. Get under here with me, we need to get him warm.”

  Moments later it felt like two giant fireballs were lying on either side of me. Their heat was enough to make me recoil.

  “He’s freezing!” I heard Quon exclaim.

  “I don’t know the number,” the unknown voice returned.

  “Just dial zero!”

  Ouch… just how close was Nicholas when he yelled that into my ear?

  “Hurry up so you can get in here with us.”

  “Where did he come from?”

  “Just dial the damned nurse!”

  “Jesus, I think he’s bleeding!”

  Thick heavy accent: yup, that was Quon. “Jesus” in a Japanese accent sounded funny.

  “At least he’s thawing. Put a little more pressure on that if it starts to bleed too much.”

  The fireballs were ebbing down into a comfortable blaze. The voices I heard before I drifted off to sleep were calmer.

  “Is the nurse on her way?”

  “Yes. She said to give her a few minutes to gather some gear. I didn’t exactly know what to tell her was wrong, so she didn’t want to leave anything she might need behind.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “That I guessed hypothermia, and a couple of bad gashes.”

  “You didn’t tell her…”

  “What? That he appeared out of thin air. No. I really didn’t know how to go about saying that.”

  “We’re going to have to figure out a way to cover for the hypothermia.”

  “You could always tell her he got caught outside in the rain.”

  “I guess that’s as good of an excuse as any. By the time she gets here at least the ice should be melted.”

  ***

  The next time I woke was because someone was calling my name.

  “Edmund?” then to someone else, “That is his name, Edmund?”

  “Yes. That’s his name.”

  I opened my eyes to see a round, carefully made-up face hovering over me. I stiffened as the light from a nearby window caught her teal colored eyes and made them momentarily flash yellow.

  “You’re okay. You’re in your room, in bed.”

  I peered into her eyes, searching for any sort of demon presence but there wasn’t one.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine,” I lied, my throat scratchy. I swallowed harshly.

  “You have some very dedicated friends. They probably saved your life.”

  I rolled over to find Nicholas lying next to me in bed.

  “Hiya, Edmund,” he smirked.

  I chortled drowsily. “Where are your clothes?”

  “I could ask you the same thing. I took mine off at the insistence of this kind nurse. You arrived without yours.”

  “Arrived?” the nurse questioned.

  “When I found him,” Nicholas covered.

  The nurse seemed to accept that answer and instead focused on me. “Edmund, how did you get the cuts on your chest?”

  But I wasn’t paying attention. I was still caught off guard by the realization that I was naked.

  “Huh?” I responded.

  “The cuts.”

  “I… I don’t remember.” My hand prodded at the bandages strapped tightly to my chest. I was bundled so tightly into the covers that I could hardly move. Nicholas gave me a dirty look when my hand grazed his leg.

  “Well, you were lucky. The scratches are bleeding but they aren’t too deep. I don’t see any reason why you need to go to the hospital if you don’t have insurance,” the nurse continued. “Just stay in bed for a few hours until your body temperature returns to normal and make sure you change the bandages every day. Drink lots of warm liquids, but not too hot, and you,” she pointed to Nicholas, “stay there with him for another hour or two.”

  I could practically feel his scowl as the nurse grinned, making fun.

  “Get plenty of sleep, Edmund, and call me if you need anything. In the future, a better story might help. Getting caught in the rain in southern California? I’d try something a little more creative. Maybe include the cafeteria’s freezer.”

  The nurse smirked, but made her way to the door, closing it softly behind her.

  “You… owe… me… big… time,” Nicholas enunciated through a clenched jaw.

  I couldn’t do anything but laugh in response. I was so happy. Teleportation! It had worked. Granted, it was more painful than I would have imagined. I didn’t realize my entire molecular structure would have to break down to make it work, and I didn’t know much about how I came out looking on the other side, but I had escaped. I was back in California, in my room, hundreds of miles from where I started. And I was alive.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You don’t want to know,” I answered.

  Nicholas grunted in response. “Your boss says if you ever decide you want to show up for work again, you can do it at minimum wage.”

  “What? Why? What time is it? What day is it?”

  “Thursday.”

  “I was gone for four days?”

  “Three and a half. You’ve been laying here like a popsicle for ten hours. You’re lucky I got the ice off you before the nurse came in. Xia thought you stood her up and Quon and I were worried sick when you didn’t answer your phone.”

  “Ice? Xia?”

  “Where have you been?”

  “I don’t know. Ice?”

  I could see Nicholas get that look on his face, the one where we were breaching a subject he didn’t want to discuss.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said.

  “You’re the one who started asking me questions. Ice?”

  Nicholas balked, but I knew he was going to answer my question. My eyes were pleading with him.

  “Look,” he snorted, “we were worried about you. You never showed up after our text conversation, and I tried and tried to get you to pick up your phone, but you never answered. Then a few days ago I get this call from the Nevada department of… of… transportation-something-or-another telling us your truck had been involved in some kind of accident with an oil tanker? But that they weren’t even sure if you were in the truck. Then this morning you appear out of thin air, blue as death, naked, frozen solid, ice literally covering your body, with five giant bleeding gashes on your chest.”

  He paused, his eyes now pleading with mine.

  “Does this have something to do with…” the words caught in his throat, “… the orphanage.??
?

  Bingo. He had finally cracked. I nodded.

  “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

  And just like that, Humpty Dumpty was put back together again.

  “Oh, here. You’d better call Quon. He got a little freaked out when the nurse told everyone to take off their clothes and get into bed with you,” Nicholas winked, “so he took Xia shopping. He’ll want to know you’re awake.”

  “The nurse asked everyone to take off their clothes, huh?” I laughed, taking my phone from Nicholas’s hand. “She probably just wanted to see you naked.”

  “She did leave her phone number.”

  I gave Nicholas my rehearsed disappointed-in-him look.

  “Don’t look at me. She left it for you!” he grinned back.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle as I pressed the contacts button on my phone and scrolled down to Quon’s name. I was about to hit dial when an eerie feeling came over me. “Wait,” I said turning the phone over, scrutinizing its very existence. “Where did you get this?” The last time I saw the phone had been in the truck.

  “I was wondering when you were going to ask. Some cop came over and said he was driving by after the accident. He stopped to help and found your phone by some miracle. Luckily, he was already on his way to California, so he dropped it off. He made it sound like he was pretty sure you weren’t in the truck, so that was somewhat comforting…”

  “What did he look like?” I asked, very alarmed.

  “Dude, chill. Just a regular cop.”

  “But what did he look like? What color was his hair, his uniform,” I gulped, “his eyes?”

  “Why are you freaking out? He came by, dropped off the phone, and left. It’s not like I went out for a night on the town with him. I don’t remember.”

  I kept my eyes on him while I hit the dial button and waited, rather impatiently, for Quon’s voice to answer on the other end. “Hi Quon, I’m just fine. Hey, do you think you could come back to the room for a minute. We need to talk.”

  Nicholas’s eyes grew large at the “we need to talk” line, and after I hung up he had little to say except, “No. No, no, no, no, no.”

  He was suddenly out of bed, pulling on his favorite pair of button fly jeans. He looked up at me once more as he pulled a shirt on over his head. “No.”