Something Beckons

            JR drove around aimlessly for hours after witnessing Devon and Melisa having sex. He had tried not to look but he could not, and even now he could barely believe what he had seen.

            A million thoughts and emotions were racing through his head. He thought of killing Devon, of kidnapping Melisa and forcing her to grow to love him. He thought of killing both of them. He thought of killing himself.

  “Ian would kill me if I tried,” he said to himself as the last thought came to him. “Besides, I’d fail at doing that as well.”

            He hadn’t been paying a lot of attention to where he had been driving and soon found himself in the middle of nowhere, stopping in front of a burned down mansion.

            JR didn’t know why, but he felt compelled to leave his car and walk through the mansion. Something, or someone, was drawing him towards it, so he went. He walked through the burnt halls, up the remains of the stairs to the second floor and down another set that lead to what must have been a kitchen at some point.

            He was still not at his destination, though, and he continued on towards a trap door which lead down into what he thought was the basement.

            He descended the rope ladder and found himself in a well-lit hallway. He could not see where the light was coming from, but it wasn’t important; he needed to continue on towards whatever was calling him. On and on he walked, passing though a few lobby-like rooms that were in complete disarray. The walls were riddled with bullet holes and dark patches on the ground revealed where corpses had once been. But the hallways and lobbies were empty.

            Finally JR reached his destination. It was a large circular room, empty save for a glowing green crystal the size of a small boulder in the center of the room. He walked towards it, egged on by some unheard voice, and when it was in reach he touched it with his left hand.

            Power coursed through him, like electricity. He felt himself grow stronger, felt his anger and pain fading away. And then he felt, saw, and knew no more.

            Ian, Ed and Danny were eating in silence in the kitchen. Ian and Danny had made breakfast and coaxed Ed out of his room, though none of them were really hungry.

            As they sat in the uncomfortable silence, JR entered through the front door. He looked over to them, then quickly looked away and strode to the stairs as fast as he could.

  “Where the hell were you?” asked Ian, and JR froze on the first step.

  “Out,” said JR.

  “Thank you, Captain Obvious. We phoned Melisa and she said she never saw you last night. Thought that was where you were going?”

  “Never made it there,” he lied and stormed up the stairs.

  “Look at the time!” exclaimed Danny. “I’ve got to run,” she said and kissed Ian. “I’ll be late tonight so don’t wait up.”

  “You know I can’t sleep without you,” said Ian playfully. Danny blushed, kissed him again and left.

  “So what’s the plan?” asked Ed.

  “Dev’s coming over later; he’ll be staying in the spare room for a while until these handlers arrive, and probably for the time during their stay,”

  “You think they’ll let us stay here?”

  “No, I doubt it. They’ll move the four of us somewhere where they can keep an eye on us, which I prefer. It means JR and Danny stay out of this.”

  “Wish the same could be said of Aaliyah.”

  “We’ll get her back.”

  “You keep saying that, but we’ve got no idea where she is, let alone a plan to rescue her.”

  “The Lord will provide.”

  “To hell with your Lord,” said Ed then looked down at his empty plate.

  “He will not let any harm come to her, and He will not allow you to lose her.”

  “Really? What about Brandon? As I recall He allowed him to be taken from this world. It nearly killed his mother, you told me that yourself. You said you’d been at the funeral, you’d said you’d seen her little over half a year later and it hadn’t been any better. And what about his brother? Or where they not good enough for your Lord to let live? And what of Sa-”

            Ed had no chance of finishing the sentence; Ian was on him in seconds and slapped him so hard he fell of the bar stool.

  “Listen well, child, for I will say this once, God has his own plan and it is not for you, nor I to question it. You will follow, whether you like it or not, whether you believe or not. We learn from death. We remember the Fallen. WE fight for the Living. Those are our words.”

  “Those are your words. Hollow words.”

            For a moment Ed thought Ian might kick him, and for a moment Ian thought of kicking him, but it passed as quickly as it had come to him. Instead, Ian offered him a hand.

  “Hollow words and a fool’s hope, that is all I can promise you.” Ian said. “But it is hope. If you will not trust in God, trust in me, for when have I led you astray?”

            Ed resigned to the truth of it and took Ian’s hand, pulling himself back to his feet.

            The day was mostly uneventful, even after Devon had arrived they didn’t do much. They played some pool, threw some darts, and joined a few online DotA matches. But the thought of their handlers arriving at any moment made it difficult to concentrate.

  “Check that out,” said Ian pointing to the news on the TV in the living room.

            He had been busying himself with his longswords and a sharpening stone while Devon and Ed played a game of chess. The reporter was going on about bodies that had been found, which was not at all interesting except for how the people had been killed.

            JR had just come down the stairs and when he saw that the bodies had been impaled on green stalagmites, he felt all life drain from him. A sudden vision came to his mind. He was punching the ground and instantly the person in front of him was impaled.

  “Isn’t that close to the ruins?” JR heard Ed ask, but his voice was soft, as if he was a great distance away.

  “Yeah,” said Dev, and JR was jerked back to reality.

  “Since when do you wear polo necks?” asked Ian as he noticed JR at the foot of the staircase.

  “Since they came back into fashion,” answered JR as he headed to the front door. “I’m going out, see you later,” he said, and he was gone.

  “Didn’t that appear a little suspicious?” asked Dev.

  “It’s JR, when doesn’t he appear suspicious?” asked Ed.

  “Shadow men, obscure councils, abductions and impaled corpses. Anyone else feel like the Agency never died?” asked Ian and the other two gave a dark chuckle.

            Ian returned to sharpening his swords. He knew that this was not going to end well. Even when they got Aaliyah back, and it was when they’d get her back and not if, it would cost them. Ian wasn’t sure if they’d be willing to pay the price. Any of them.