Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Flowers of Occultism ❯ Trust ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5

Trust

 

They're really making themselves known now.

 

No matter how many times they do this, I will never understand them. What can they hope to gain by attacking humans? Even a human's entire life force isn't that much power, especially not for what they use it for.

 

And what, more importantly, was that strange power I felt?

 

I know it wasn't evil, because it didn't try to consume me. But what then? There has to be something in the city, aside from Will, myself, and the invaders, who has a power but no way to focus it.

 

………That idea certainly sounds tempting………but, there's just no way to be sure. If it is the right kind of power though, we finally might have a way to beat them. Endangering a young girl's life (as I said, IF that is the power) is not really on my list of future accomplishments.

 

Besides, even if it was, it would be impossible to find her. Much less convince her to help us.

 

………………… 230;..

 

***

 

Okay, fine. I'll admit it. It was pretty.

 

But, it still felt completely fake. I mean come on, there's all of this wide-spread urbanization around, and then there's this huge stretch of land that's completely countrified? Seems pretty weird to me.

 

I don't know, maybe that's just the sarcastic girl in me looking for a way to vent. But, hey, we had enough flowers, trees, and grass at home. I wanted to see some city.

 

No one else seemed to share my opinion. In fact, they all wanted to ride around the park in one of those horse-drawn carriages that were lined up on the street. Frankly, I thought we might as well have just thrown on I heart NY T-shirts and tattooed signs to our forehead saying, `I'm not from here, please shoot me.'

 

I did consent in the end, though albeit grudgingly, only because I did want to see everything, which included the park. The carriage thing seemed the easiest way to do that.

 

Once we neared the horses, my country heart made me soften. I loved the animals, I really did, and it just saddened me that they were stuck here pulling these heavy things instead of running free. Or even a saddle and reins would be an improvement.

 

We split up into two different carriages, with Dad, Molly, and Celia in one (for once I was glad that Celia couldn't be more than five feet away from her mother), and Cali, Julie, and me in the other. I walked closer to the horse pulling ours (I'm not entirely sure of the breed, but I think it was a Clydesdale), grasped his long head between my hands, and silently apologized for its burden. He whinnied softly and nuzzled me with his nose, like he understood me, which I have to admit kind of freaked me out.

 

I didn't tarry over it too much though, because we had to leave. I hastily climbed in, having one whole side to myself due to Julie and Cali taking up the other side. It did feel a little awkward, but, it was better than sitting next to Celia.

 

***

 

Our driver chatted on about the city, what movies had been filmed here and such. I tried to listen, but given the fact that I had more energy than most of the people I know (excluding Jo, having more energy than her would just be unhealthy), sitting down didn't bode well with my system. Especially when my mind gets going, running on full steam.

 

Cali used short words and nodded occasionally, which was my sister's way of politely showing she wasn't really interested. In fact, she was pretty much ignoring everything except her camera, which was snapping pictures of every insignificant detail.

 

I personally don't understand pictures; on account of I don't see why every second of your life has to be relived, especially in little photographs. It already happened, why would you need to see pictures of it six years from now? If you want to see something again, just go back to whatever you visited.

 

Julie was, of course, flirting, but she did it so flamboyantly that I can't believe that the guy really bought it. Watching it was actually pretty creepy, because the driver had to be around his late twenties.

 

Looking out across the huge expanse of green, I let my mind wander. Mostly it focused on that voice in my head, which had now persistently kept itself silent. I tried to force it back out, but I couldn't. It was so odd though; it was like some part of me had suddenly decided to make itself known. I had no control over it; it seemed to at purely on its own intentions.

 

I was drawn out of my thought by a movement in the trees. It was strange; something in the leaves seemed to sparkle for a moment before the leaves rustled, like something had jumped out of it. But, there was nothing below it, and it had all happened so quickly that I couldn't be sure that it had even happened. I sighed in annoyance at myself. Having hallucinations was something I could honestly live with, but the fact that such a little thing had distracted me made me wonder if I was developing ADD.

 

I laid my head back on the seat, listening to the loud, methodic clopping of the horses' hooves. I closed my eyes, trying to take in everything around me simply by listening. I wondered if my sense of hearing was rapidly evolving as my sense of sight had, for I could actually hear some insect land on a flower and begin feasting.

 

Before I could test its limits further, I heard that rustling in the leaves again. This time, however, I stubbornly refused to open my eyes until the last second. And, by then, it was too late.

 

The carriage jolted a little, not violently, but as if we had hit some kind of bump. My eyes snapped open to see what happened, horrifying images of the black thing coursing through my mind. I knew something had dropped into the carriage.

 

I froze as I realized my assumption was false. No, not something. Someone.

 

“Why hello there”

 

I swear I felt my heart screech to a stop, then pick up again tenfold. I shook my head to clear it (or maybe just in denial) and pinched my side. It hurt.

 

Okay, if I wasn't dreaming, than the image in front of me had to be real. Even though it was absurd and impossible, it was real. My mind was only intelligible enough to form one word.

 

“Steven?”

 

His ever-present grin grew wider as I said his name. He still had a purple tux on, but it was all different. The jacket and slacks were a lighter purple, and in a richer, darker purple thread roses (plus their leaves and stems) were intricately and beautifully embroidered all over. The jacket was left open, and underneath it he wore only a red, low-cut, v-neck shirt. The neckline was low enough to see where the tendons of his neck joined the collarbone and the top-most beginnings of his chest. His skin was pale, I decided. Not stark, albino white, but a healthy looking, slightly pink tinted pale. It was about as fair as my own.

 

I suddenly remembered Julie and Cali. I shot a nervous glance their direction and hoped like a kid with a fatal disease that the carriage ahead hadn't heard anything. No one was turning around, so I thought myself safe for the moment.

 

I focused my eyes back on Steven's and tried to give him a hard look. This actually proved to be somewhat difficult, as all my eyes wanted to do was ogle. “What are you doing here?” I hissed, shock still tinting my voice.

 

He shrugged, as if he cared nothing for my precarious situation. “I was just in the neighborhood, saw you guys here, and decided to drop in.”

 

I would have grimaced and said something about the bad humor, but my mind was focused on more pressing matters. “Steven, you have to disappear,” I pleaded desperately. “Do you have any idea what Dad would do if he saw you here? He would think you were stalking me or something even more drastic.” It was true; my father was prone to overreaction, very much like me, as you can probably tell. I was surprised that Cali and Julie still remained silent. I couldn't see their faces, so I guessed they must still be in shock.

 

Steven's grin disappeared for a moment and his mouth twitched, which I guessed was his version of a frown. I supposed that this was in reaction to my use of the word “stalking.” However, he soon smiled a different grin, one that made my heart pound and my blood chill. His eyes gleamed on me with a stare that seemed almost predatory (oh jeez not this again). I felt like I was staring into the eyes of a tiger.

 

He inched closer to me in the seat, fluidly, like he knew exactly what he was doing. He leaned in and carefully moved his lips………………right near the lobe of my ear. “He can think what he likes,” he whispered huskily, and rubbed the back of his hand against my arm, both of which made me shiver. “But…I do need to talk to you.” He paused, looking over at Cali and Julie. “……………Privately”

 

A long time ago, when I was little, I once down a whole glass of wine, thinking it was grape juice. It didn't hurt me really, but it did leave me feeling like my head was buzzing, like a hive of bees was stuck in it. That's kind of how I felt after Steven whispered that to me. It was a miracle that I could even comprehend what I had said.

 

Once I was able to trust that my abilities to think and breathe were working properly, I turned my head to face him, being careful not to whack him with my ponytail. “How?” I whispered back to him, testing speech.

 

He seemed to ponder this for a moment, like it had never occurred to him until now, and then he did something that I thought was going to give me a heart attack. He stood, balancing perfectly with the rocking movement of the carriage, a feat I would have found nearly impossible.

 

Nobody even turned their head, Julie and the driver kept talking, and Cali kept taking pictures. No one seemed to notice the extra person with us except…………..me.

 

I was naïve enough for a moment to believe that everyone was playing a trick on me. Steven seemed to sense this, and the mischievous smile he threw over his shoulder said he was either laughing at me or trying to prove me wrong. Or both.

 

Carefully, but obtusely, he stepped up onto the seat, right between my sister and Julie. Again, neither of them noticed. Finally turning his head away from me, he called to the driver. “Ramón!”

 

The driver broke off in mid-sentence and blinked several times, as if he was waking up from a long sleep. I watched (a bit unbelievably) Julie turn her head away from him, as if they had never been talking and he had never held her attention.

 

The driver smiled in recognition. “Ah, Steven! How are you?” (Judging from his name and accent, I guessed he was from Spanish descent.)

 

He sounded like an old college room mate or something. Although Steven laughed good-naturedly, as if they did know each other, something about all of this strangeness made me wonder if the recognition was real.

 

“Ah, same old, same old,” Steven replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Listen, Ramón, I need to ask a favor……” What that favor was, I didn't know, because he lowered his voice to a whisper.

 

Ramón looked confusedly at him for a moment, some kind of unspoken question to Steven, I realized. Steven said nothing, but cocked his head in my direction, never taking his eyes away from Ramón's. Ramón quickly glanced over to me, then locked eyes with Steven again and nodded.

 

He pulled back on the reins and the horses slowed to a stop. Steven jumped off the side of the carriage, back flipped once and landed so perfectly on the ground that any Olympic athlete would have turned green with envy. He reached over and undid the latch on the door, and instead of pulling out the steps to get down, he simply held out a hand to me.

 

I hesitated for a moment. Clearly, he intended to talk now. But my conscience didn't let me break the rules easily, for as I mentioned before: I was taught to shut up and do what you're told. When I was younger even the smallest infraction was punished with consequences. If he found out that I wasn't there when they got back, he wouldn't be too happy.

 

“They won't even know you're gone,” Steven's soft voice broke my trance. He had another gleam in his eyes, not predatory like before, but warm and amiable. “I promise, everything will be all right.” His voice mimicked his eyes; it was in a husky tone, like a man addressing his lover.

 

The simile made me edgy, in a good kind of way. I wanted so badly to trust him, but I was scared. As I mentioned before, my father terrified me. Needing reconciliation, I looked to Cali and Julie, so oblivious to everything that was happening, and wondered if he had done the same to the others. For I knew, somehow, that it was him who had done that. Along with so many other things, I realized, as memories from the church, came flooding back.

 

I turned my gaze back to Steven's, and something in my eyes made him nod. “Trust me……….Haliara.”

 

`Trust him……' My eyes widened as the same voice who had barked orders at me in the alley spoke to me again. Well, now the choice was obvious. I knew better than to try and argue with that.

 

I grasped his hand, and he in turn took both of mine and placed them on his shoulders. He then placed his hands on either side of my waist and, very gently, lowered me to the ground, spinning me a few times in the air, as if we were dancing.

 

When I looked at him again, he had the strangest expression on his face. He looked at me oddly, as if my hair had suddenly turned green. “What?” I asked, not angry, but worried that I had done something to make him change his mind.

 

He blinked and shook his head infinitesimally before smiling, clearly back to the old Steven again. “Nothing,” he muttered, nodding to Ramón over my shoulder. I heard the clip-clop of the horses' hooves again as the carriage carried on, one passenger short.

 

***

 

We started walking, with my arm in his again. We kept the silence for a little while. It wasn't awkward, for me at least, I was just happy being next to him. I noticed, again, that my body seemed to relax when I was with him.

 

My mind, however, could not be restrained. Thoughts were circulating through it at a frightening velocity. How had Steven, for I was ever more certain now that it had been his doing, done that to Julie and Cali? Had he also influenced Ramón somehow? And what of the other strange phenomena that had occurred around him? The more I thought about him, the more things I found that didn't make sense.

 

Then, I came up with something that made quite a lot of sense, but still managed to surprise me.

 

What if Steven wasn't entirely…………human?

 

I immediately countered with logic. Well, if he wasn't human, what was he? I had no answer to that, and my little voice was supplying no help now. So, I tallied up what I had seen so far. Teleportation and levitation (or illusion, I still wasn't sure about what I had seen in the church), odd colored hair and eyes, an unusual amount of grace and acrobatics, weird obsession with roses, inhuman speed and agility, and now being able to maybe read and control other people's thoughts and actions.

 

Huh. Sounds like something you would read in manga.

 

I looked up at him, curious, but trying now to be speculative. He was looking down at me, the gold flecks in his eyes glittering expectantly. It took me a moment to realize that he had asked me a question and I hadn't heard him.

 

“Er……what?” I asked, cursing my own stupidity.

 

He chuckled lightly and was kind enough to repeat the question. “Are both of those girls related to you?” It was nothing more than simple, honest curiosity that reflected in his voice.

 

“No, just Cali, the one who was taking pictures.” I added that last bit because I didn't know if he would know who Cali was, but if he had, it wouldn't have surprised me much.

 

Steven nodded, showing he understood. “Tell me about them.” It was really more of a request then a demand. And I knew he wasn't just referring to Cali and Julie.

 

I for one couldn't fathom his interest. “All of them?” My `family' was pretty typical, or so I thought. No movie stars or other famous people (though I was sure Cali was on her way), no druggies or addicts (…..no comment…..), no one particularly extraordinary or special.

 

Still, he nodded, seeming a little more interested than a normal third-party observer. But hey, who was I to judge him? I knew I definitely couldn't refuse him, he had too much of a hold on me for that. And I also knew that hold had the potential for a very dangerous weapon.

 

I paused for a moment, trying to decide how I was going to begin. I figured that I would start with those I wasn't too fond of, then move on up. “Well, I've told you about my father already. That one girl who doesn't know when to shut up is Celia, Molly's youngest daughter. Honestly, I'm not sure if she has any more manners, politeness, modesty, than a….” I made myself stop. There was no need to get carried away, for when I did, I wasn't sure if I could stop.

 

Steven started laughing, and I was glad for it. I didn't get to rant about Celia often, so when I did, it was better if someone took it laughing than with poor grace. There was no telling what could make her break out and go crying to her mother, so it was good to have allies, aside from my father.

 

“So I take it you're not exactly the Olsen twins,” he said after he had calmed down some. I was surprised by the reference (although it was rather old-fashioned), and I couldn't help wondering if he was referring to the fact that we weren't at all alike or we didn't get along.

 

It didn't really matter to me, I was happy with either situation. “She's like a puppy without any of the cuteness.” This brought along another round of laughter, and I found myself laughing too.

 

I looked up to the sky, trying to fit descriptions again. “Julie is actually pretty easy to get along with, as long as you make sure that every topic is focused on her or something that she's interested in. She's an incredible flirt, as I'm sure you've seen. I think she has four or five potential `boyfriends' back at home. She's also crashed two different cars, although technically one of them she wasn't driving. That's pretty much it for Julie. She has a few minor annoyances, like her self-obsession, but that's mainly just a result of insecurity. But hey, she's had to live with Celia since she was two; I think she deserves some slack.”

 

Steven nodded again, waiting patiently for me to continue. He seemed like he was waiting for me to say something specific, like he was trying to figure something he was hoping for, and something I said about my `family' would confirm his suspicions. If any of this was the case, he of course didn't say anything about it.

 

I went on with Molly next. “Molly is generally everything you would expect from an up-town mother.” (And she was, she was from the north side of Sioux City) “She's a full-time realtor, good cook, effective housekeeper, and very often, taxi driver for her kids. I don't really agree with her parenting style, but that's not my business to get involved in. I do wish that she would stop pretending to be my mother sometimes.” There frankly wasn't a lot I could say about Molly. I had never taken (nor wanted to take) the chance of getting to know her. I was kind to her out of general respect only.

 

By now we had walked a pretty good ways (I don't know I wasn't really paying attention), when Steven stopped. I'd been aimlessly staring at the ground most of the time (as I said, not paying attention) so I returned my gaze to in front of me, and was struck aghast by what I saw.

 

Before me lay a fairly small grove entirely encircled with huge, towering trees. They were so big and thickly spread that no light shone into the grove except at the very top, where the trees folded inward towards each other, but allowed an almost perfect circle of sky, right in the middle. Forming a circle inside the trees were huge rose bushes. Not the little Iowan wild roses either. These were a bright red, full bloom, just-out-of-a-romance-movie roses. But it wasn't the right season for roses, at least not ours anyway. And with as little sunlight that was allowed in, how could they grow, and be in full bloom? Maybe they ran on a different biological clock? (Sorry, ADD again, back to the place.) Inside these bushes were some wildflowers a small, empty patch of grass.

 

It was all so beautiful. The whole entire park paled in magnificence to this tiny grove. As I looked up in the circular break in the trees, I imagined that it would be ten times as beautiful at noon, or when a full moon was high in the sky.

 

“Wow…….” I heard myself whisper, surprised at my own voice.

 

Steven chuckled lightly again. “You like it? It's my secret garden.”

 

I shot him a quizzical look as he led me over to the patch of grass and sat down. I copied him. “Steven……..” I trailed off, not quite sure what to say. I took a breath and held it for a moment. “It's just……..there's some things about you, and things that you do that……. well, just don't make any sense to me.” I hesitated, wondering if I had crossed the line. He wasn't smiling anymore, and that made me worried. “I don't want to intrude,” I added quickly, resisting the urge to raise my hands in defense, “but I would like to know.”

 

He sighed. Not irritated as I had feared, but more like he had come to a conclusion within himself. “I suppose that is only fair, but before I reveal anything about me, I believe you are still unfinished.” I balked. “With your family I mean,” he added, smiling again. “Please, tell me about your sister, and if you wouldn't mind……………..your mother too.

 

As always, discomfort reared its ugly head at the subject but…………it was so odd. Just as soon it appeared, it vanished, leaving only lingering traces. I trusted him so completely now that I could simply lay my life in his beautiful hands. And for someone who tries her best to rely on herself, that was a very, very dumb thing. Especially since I had only talked to the guy what….twice? And I didn't even know anything about him…….

 

I forced my worries aside. “Well, those two are actually pretty easy, counting as they're really the ones I ever felt really familiar to. Cali's real popular in school, though not quite an `it' girl, but still someone everyone wants to be. She's very modest about it though. She's constantly involved in something, has got a pretty steady boyfriend, and she's a very big Christian. She can get kind of bossy, but I suppose every girl says that about her older sister. As long as we agree on something, we usually get along very well. That can prove difficult sometimes, however, because we are almost opposites.”

 

“How so?” Steven piqued, appearing as if I had enticingly captured his interest.

 

“Well for one thing, she looks like a super model. She's also a huge social butterfly. Me, I'm pretty plain. Everything about me; my looks, my clothes, even what I eat is all generally plain. It does help me stay inconspicuous though, for I'm not very social either. Outside of my friends, I usually tend to avoid a person, which drives my dad nuts.”

 

He frowned, and it was the first time I had ever seen him do so. “There's nothing wrong with wanting to avoid people, I do so myself regularly.” (I fought the urge to snort as I imagined that had to be incredibly easy for him) “Although I could argue with your `plain' description. But, I don't wish to interrupt. Please continue.”

 

I had to admit I smiled just a little at the compliment. I didn't hear things like that very often, at least not by anyone I had this kind of interest in. At his request, I continued. “Mom was……….unique, for lack of a better word. And I absolutely loved her for that fact. She wasn't anything like Molly; she was very tomboyish. She didn't cook much, she hired a housekeeper to clean every week, she was pretty sporty, and when she got mad, everyone in the neighborhood knew about it. Her personality was entirely her own, and she loved being a wife and mother. Dad and I actually got along when she was around.” My eyes narrowed as I got to the hardest part. “The doctors called it cervical cancer. She would be in and out of the hospital for weeks at a time, before she finally fell asleep, and no one could wake her up.”

 

I jumped a little as I felt his arm go around my shoulders. He had moved a lot closer to me and I hadn't expected it. “I'm sorry,” he said again in a low voice, sending my heart a flutter.

 

I stayed silent for a while, enjoying the close contact and staring into his eyes. The gold flecks seemed dance in the dim light, very apparent against the dull navy-blue. They seemed to be searching my eyes for something, like he had some expectation he wanted them to meet.

 

I suddenly recalled his promise. “Okay, your turn.”

 

He smiled, and opened his mouth to explain, but he went abruptly rigid, as if he had seen or heard something that scared him. The change was so quick that I had to ask, “What?” even though I could feel some kind of black cloud that suddenly intruded upon us.

 

“Shh,” he hushed me, a bit snappily due to the tension, but not rudely. His eyes meticulously scanned the area, scanning for something I was sure an ordinary person would not see. Suddenly, his head whipped around to something behind me. I didn't dare turn to see what it was.

 

He slowly reached down and held out his hand. “We have to go,” he said, with such a deathly seriousness in his voice that my heart started flying for a different reason from before.

 

I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet. I let him pull me along as we set of at a brisk pace towards the opposite direction of what had scared him.

 

When the trees had finally receded into a much larger clearing, I thought we were safe. But, Steven tensed up, and I followed him as I heard an all too familiar snarling behind me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key:

(excluding Jo, having more energy than her would just be unhealthy) - Any one of my friends who are reading this, I dare you to deny this statement

 

And I also knew that hold had the potential for a very dangerous weapon.—What she means is that Steven could use this trust against her to make her do something stupid or relay any information she's given him to her father. Sad that people still do that, huh?

 

She has a few minor annoyances, like her self-obsession, but that's mainly just a result of insecurity.—Julie's the kind of girl that is never quite happy with herself. She's always trying to better her image in some way.

 

(And she was, she was from the north side of Sioux City)—Sioux City is right outside of Sergeant Bluff.

 

Short Key this time, email or review with any further questions you have! (Review anyway; it really helps with the writing)

 

For my friends out there reading this who have never been to this site before and would like to know how, just click the “Write a Review” tab somewhere near the bottom of the screen. Just add advice, praise, or anything you want to put in there (Meg, keep it rational please).

 

I've asked Meg to draw Steven's little `garden' (you are free to refuse, Alice), but we've got lines to memorize and a whole bunch of other crap to do, so when and if it happens, I'll get it scanned and uploaded onto here.

 

I think that's all for now. This chap took me forever to write, so sorry for the delay. It's real long, interestin', and important tho!

 

Until Chapter 6, in the words of Meg and I, AGEDP Jefefery.