The Paradox Read online

  The moment our car enters the town of Whisper, Idaho; a heavy, angry rain begins. The thick, large drops hit the windshield, like fists pounding down on glass. The small-town blurs under the sudden downpour. The night sky is coated in a blanket of darkness, almost too thick to be natural. And even though the heat is on, I feel a sudden chill that makes me shiver. It’s as if the town doesn’t want us here.

  Well, that makes two of us...

  I looked up Whisper before we got here. It’s on the edge of a forest called Greenstone Forest. And on the outskirts of town, there’s mountain range and two small lakes. The travel guides tell us it’s a great place to fish, hunt, and camp. Guess what I don’t know how to do--Fish. Hunt. Camp.

  Basically, this is a nature loving campers, hunters, or a fisherman’s dream destination. But guess what, I am a city girl through and through. I want more than the great outdoors. I want bright lights, loud music, a town that never sleeps.

  They have “Starbucks” under sights to see. WTH? How is a coffee shop a big main attraction?

  As we navigate the streets of Whisper, I am relieved to see a bookstore. They may be my only saving grace to this little hell hole in the middle of nowhere.

  I would be lost without my books.

  I’ve always had this feeling that one day, I would wake up and find myself in some sort of crazy situation like my favorite book characters. That I would stumble across a conspiracy that I had to convince the world was real.

  The feeling pretty much died the moment we crossed the border into Whisper.

  Okay, Sailor you vowed not to be bitter about this. You vowed to be supportive of your Dad.

  Yeah, but can’t we be supportive in Chicago or Los Angeles? Why did we have to move to the middle of nowhere?

  Sigh.

  I just can’t hold it back anymore.

  I sigh again.

  Dad looks over at me and raises an eyebrow.

  A few minutes later he makes his way down a tree lined street and pulls up in front of a blue and white two-story house.

  “This is it. This is our new home.”

  He says proudly. The first one to comment is my white Shih Tzu; Loki. He barks in my lap and wags his tail excitedly.

  “Loki likes his new home, don’t you boy?” My Dad asks as he unbuckles his seat belt. Loki gets even more excited.

  “Sailor, what do you say? Wanna take a look inside?” He asks, turning towards me.

  No! I want to run screaming from this place and back to New York City. I want to be back among gleaming skyscrapers, museums and first-rate pizza shops.

  Sailor Monroe, stop your bitching and moaning! You know why you had to leave New York…

  “Yeah Dad, let’s go see it.” I reply, flashing my warmest smile. We cover ourselves with our jackets, I grab Loki and we head for the house. It only takes seconds for Dad to locate the key under the matt and unlock the door. The house is furnished. The décor is old but in good condition.

  “So…what do you think? We haven’t bought it yet; we’re just renting but we will have the option to buy if we want.” Dad says.

  His words hit me like a hammer in the chest. We could buy this house. That would mean that our life in New York City was officially over. It’s stupid but even as we packed and said good-bye to friends and family, I thought somewhere in the back of my mind, we’d somehow find our way back to New York.

  Seriously, how did we get here?

  What the hell happened to my family?

  But of course, I know exactly what happened.

  Six months ago, my life imploded…

  I came home from school and found my Mom’s lifeless body in a tub full of red water. She killed herself and left me to find her. It’s strange to see a guy cry but when that guy is your father, it’s just heartbreaking. Dad fell into a depression so deep, he never got out of bed. And when he did manage to leave the condo, he’d run into a person who knew mom and they’d ask about her. Or he’d walk by the restaurant where they had an anniversary dinner. They were married for seventeen years, and that adds up to a lot of memories.

  Soon New York City became a living monument to the woman that left us. No sixteen-year old wants to leave their friends and their life behind and move to a small town; especially a town that, according to the Internet, has only one Starbucks which again according to the brochure is a main attraction. So, when Dad received an email from a company looking for a new head chef for their Inn, I said “No.” There was no way that was going to happen. My Dad wanted the move to be something we both agreed on, so he declined the offer.

  But in the following days, I watched him shirk even further inside his head. And I knew that I had to do something. So, I not only agreed to move to the middle of nowhere, I championed the move. That’s what you do for the dad who gave you horsey rides. That’s what you do for the Dad that took you to ‘American Girl’ and drank tea from pink teacups just to you happy.

  The dad who slept in your closet for a week straight to prove to you that there were no Monsters hiding in there. The dad who cooks chicken soup from scratch at 3 am because you had the flu and woke up starving. And finally, that’s what you do for the parent who sticks around even when life gets hard.

  We love each other and we’re a team.

  “Biscuit!” Dad calls, jarring me back to the present.

  “What do you think of the house?”

  “It has real potential.” I reply. He smiles. And I am reminded again why I gave up New York. My dad hasn’t smiled in months. And now, he’s beaming.

  “Let’s check out the upstairs.” Dad says.

  “I think Loki has other plans.” I reply as I look over at my “not-so-subtle-”dog, going around in circles and barking towards the door. “I’ll take him for a walk.” I offer.

  “No, not in that rain. I’ll go.” Before I can object, Dad cell rings. He says it’s the company and he has to take it. “That’s fine, I’ll walk Loki.”

  I reply as I scour the first floor of the house for an umbrella. I find an old red one in the hall closet.

  “Okay, be back soon.” I call out.

  “A quick walk Biscuit, it’s bad out there.” Dad says whispers before going back to his conversation.

  “Sorry about that Jeff” He says talking to his new boss.

  “C’mon, Loki. Let’s see what wondrous trees await you here in Whisper.” I open the door, Loki walks out. Dad calls out to me once again, “Biscuit, thank you for giving this place a shot. I love you.”

  “I love you too Dad. Be back soon.” I reply as I close the door behind me.

  The rain is not letting up, if anything it’s getting even louder and even harder. Loki sniffs the flowers at the base of the tree just outside our new house. The wind wrestles with blows with such force, it’s bending my umbrella sideways, making it damn near useless. The roar of the storm echoes in my ear and my clothes are soaked though.

  “C’mon Loki, I’m shivering my butt off here. No time to get real personal with each tree okay?” He looks up at me and howls in a high pitch, pitiful tone. “Alright, fine. We are going around the block, once. Then back inside.”

  Thunder rumbles overhead and an arc of lightning strikes so bright I see dots and my hair stands on end. A branch groans and snaps plummeting to the ground a few feet in front of us. Unfortunately, it scares the hell out of Loki; he rockets off into the tree lines and I panic.

  “Loki! No!” I shout as I drop the broken umbrella and take off after him.

  I search through the clearing calling his name, but it’s so dark I don’t see any sign of him. I go deeper into the woods and scold myself for not dressing warmer. My teeth chatter as goosebumps erupt across my arms.

  “Loki, it’s okay. Come here boy. I’ll give you a treat w
hen we get back!” I shout, patting my damp pants in hopes he’ll run toward me.

  A bright flash catches my eye, a few yards away. “Loki?”

  I walk towards the light hoping Loki does the same, but as I get closer, I freeze at the scene unfolding in front of me. Between a large group of oak trees, a brilliant light carves into the air, creating a small narrow hole. It shimmers a bright gold, glimmering like those rings of fire at a circus, but the light doesn’t dance like flames. Instead, it pulses, as if it’s alive and breathing.

  What the fu--…?

  I move closer to the hole, reaching out with my hand.

  Just as my fingertips touch it, A woman bursts through, inches from me and I scream, falling back on my ass hard enough to grunt. I scramble on my hands and knees trying to push myself up out of the mud. My heart is racing as I lock eyes with the mystery woman.

  She has impossibly luminescent skin and long flowing silver hair. Her eyes are full of terror as she leaps forward. A massive skinless hand with black claws reaches out of the opening as it starts to close.

  “Look out!” I scream, jumping fully to my feet, not sure what the hell I’m doing or why.

  I can’t let him, or it, get to her. It’s not what a hero would do, and when you’re fantasizing about adventure, no one wants to be the villain do they?

  I feel my feet pushing me forward. I lunge for her with no real plan other than to protect her. The hand snatches her before she can get away. It wraps itself around her neck and lifts her high off the ground. She struggles desperately trying to loosen the creature’s hold. Her silver hair spills over the sharp claws, as her feet dangle and kick frantically in the air.

  I reach behind me and pull my pocket knife from my back pocket, I open it and lunge as I slash down, plunging the blade into the creature’s forearm. It doesn’t react. Not even a roar or grunt.

  The hole opens back up, as the rest of the creature emerges. Nothing could prepare me for what stands in front of me. I have never seen anything like it, not even in a movie, and I know if I don’t help this woman, she will die for sure. I look into what should be the creature’s face and take a deep breath as I plan my next attack.

  A gaping hollow hole sits where his eyeball should be and one side of the ugliest face I’ve ever seen is poking through the hole. It turns trying to get through the hole as it narrows and I see it’s twisted, drooling jaw lined with razor sharp teeth.

  Oh shit.

  I try to think of what all my favorite heroes would do and attack it again, this time harder and without stopping. I hack at its exposed wrist until it growls and releases the woman’s neck. She falls to the wet forest floor and quickly turns toward the rip in the air.

  Now the woman is safely out of the creature’s grip, I step back away from its reach and help her to her feet. She begins to chant something as her eyes light up the same color as the sparks. The opening starts to close up as she chants, but the creature’s second hand emerges and tries to pull the opening apart. It manages to come through the opening. Whatever horrors I feared when I first saw the hand is nothing compared to the horror I feel at what I’m seeing now.

  I’m starting to regret all the times I wished for adventure. All the times I imagined myself thrown into danger. In my mind, I was strong, a hero. Someone who knew what they were doing and defeated the bad guys. In reality, I’m a sixteen-year-old kid armed with what feels like world’s smallest knife, and I don’t have the first idea how to get out of this situation alive, let alone victorious.

  The creature is well over six feet and it carries a dark sword. Its body is made up of charred flesh and flames with seemingly nothing holding it together. How it’s even standing is beyond me, but if the flames hurt it, it doesn’t show it. Both of its eye sockets are hollow, and its twisted jaw is connected to a large gaping mouth which unhinges to reveal its countless rows of jagged razor-sharp fangs that drip with a green steaming ooze, that melts the ground as soon as it hits. It smells like death and brings with it an unnatural chill.

  I swallow hard, looking frantically around me for something to use to shove the creature back to wherever the fuck it came from. I’m too late. The opening closes the rest of the way, trapping us with the creature. It steps forward with a roar that sends icy fingers of fear running up my spine. Before I can step back, it slaps me with the back of its hand, and I’m blinded by pain as I go hurtling through the air.

  My head smashes into on a rock breaking my fall. Of course it does, it’s just my luck. The back of my head tingles as warm blood oozes down it. I’m dizzy and when I try to sit up am overwhelmed with nausea as the pain of my landing travels though my body. I feel winded and I try to suck in a breath. I manage to get some air in, but it’s raspy and it leaves me gasping. I try to ignore the pain and manage to half sit up. A few yards away, the creature zeros in on the woman again.

  I watch in amazement as she holds her hands out and sends a gold current rushing from her fingers into the creature’s chest. Gold sparks crackle around her fingertips. The creature cries out, wounded and enraged. She attacks again but this time the beast is prepared. It shields itself with its sword and manages to deflect the current. Before the woman can fire again, the creature growls and leaps forward to finish her off. Its claws cut through the air, seconds away from scooping out her insides.

  I can’t let that thing kill her. I can’t fail to save a life - not again. I stumble to my feet and hurl myself in front of the woman; Time slows down. And when the creature’s claw comes down, it slices right through my chest.

  Fiery agony fills my whole body and I can hear the air whistling through the set of slashes, an almost guaranteed death sentence on my chest. My knees buckle and I tumble to the ground. My time as a hero it seems is pretty short lived. I was never meant to be the hero. I’m the bit part character that gets killed off in the first chapter.

  The woman screams as if she knew me. She side steps my body as I remain on my knees, watching. She positions herself between me and the creature and she fires another current at the creature. The creature turns its attention to her, easily deflecting her shot and it steps closer, with a deep monstrous roar. She fires again, but this time, the current is growing weaker as it turns blue then, almost grey as it fizzles out and doesn’t even reach the creature. She’s weak, too weak to beat it. The creature circles her, sensing that she is almost beaten.

  She doesn’t give up though. She circles too, trying to keep me shielded from its wrath. She holds fire, and I’m hoping that she is rebuilding her strength, getting ready to launch an attack with more vigor.

  As I watch her battling, I can feel my blood running freely from my wound and my breathing is getting more labored, but when the woman fires another blue flash at the creature, it’s brighter than the last one, and her resolve gives me hope.

  The blast reaches the creature. It doesn’t kill him, but it does knock his sword from his hand as he attempts to use it to block the shot. I stretch for the sword. Maybe if I can get it, I can help somehow. The sword is just out of my reach. I try to crawl toward it, but it’s like my legs are no longer a part of me. My brain commands them to move, but they ignore the command. I am frozen in place, too weak to move.

  The creature roars, angry she disarmed it. It closes the gap between itself and the woman and grabs here in its large hands. It lifts her off feet and slams her into a tree next to where I’m barely kneeling. It releases it hold on her and she slides to the ground. There’s blood running down her forehead as she locks eyes with me, nodding toward the sword.

  “I can’t reach it.” I croak, coughing with each word, as I try again, forcing my arm to stretch further than it should. I feel a new wave of warm blood soak me as I drag the claw marks on my chest further open.

  The creature is charging us. This is it. This is how I will die. I’m sorry dad, I think to myself.

  She moans with pain as her fingers inch towards me. She signals for us to join hands. We are going to die together. I s
tretch my arm as far as I can manage. Our fingers brush and with another moan she manages to pull herself closer to me.

  When our fingers finally touch, a warm sensation envelopes me, a rush of energy so intense I forget my hissing chest and numbness. She flicks her wrist and a green reflective beam begins to form. It grows, forming a bubble around us, a bubble that holds the creature back from us, and I know now she wasn’t planning on taking my hand so we could die together. She took it so she could save us both.

  The beast pounds angrily on the barrier, roaring and snarling. With each attack the bubble fades a little as our protection weakens. She ignores the creature. Her head snaps up looking into the darkness and small smile forms on the corner of her lips and her eyes gleam as the rain pours down on her face. She turns to me, smiles and whispers.

  “Sailor Monroe. You have proven yourself. Thank you.”

  Her eyes close before I can respond and her tight grip on my fingers slackens. I know without any doubt that she’s dead. I don’t have time to mourn the woman who just saved my life, or at least prolonged it a little. creature just broke through the barrier.

  It comes at me with unbridled rage. I refuse to die lying down, I don’t care how much it hurts; I’m dying on my feet. I push myself off the ground and stand strong, igniting a fresh wave of pain and warmth. The forest spins around me as I brace myself on the trunk of the tree. My arm covers the gaping hole in my chest, as if that will help me now. It won’t. I know I’m about to die. But heroes don’t die whimpering on the ground. I hold my head up high and look into the creature’s face with defiance.

  The creature grabs the sword and raises it high above his head. I brace myself for the end and pray that my dad and Loki know how much I love them. And pray that my dad can find a way to exist after I’m gone. Losing my mom almost destroyed him, and now this.

  Daddy I love you.

  I see a flash of movement behind the creature and before the sword comes down, a figure comes out of the shadows, rips a tree from the ground and swings it at the creature knocking it away from me. He picks the creature up, lifting it high over his head and slams it down, causing the whole forest to shake. The figure pulls a bright blue electric sword out from seemingly nowhere and skillfully hacks the creature in two.