Rua Read online

  …

  It was dark outside, and Celeste was in her room. Dinner was over, dishes were washed, and all was quiet except for the faint sounds of a TV on somewhere in the house.

  She felt the dark night outside calling out to her. She propped open the window and leaned out into the cool air.

  Her cell phone beeped back in her room. It was a text message from Tink. Don’t wear purple tomorrow. I will effin’ kill you if you do because it will ruin my look.

  She texted him back. No worries. I’m too cool for purple anyways.

  She tossed the phone aside and climbed into bed. She turned off the light and pulled the black comforter up to her chin. Light from outside her window crept across the ceiling. She stared at the shapes the shadows made, hoping one wouldn’t morph into a bird or anything else weird.

  A shaft of yellow light split her comforter in half.

  “Celeste, are you awake?” Her mom stood in the doorway.

  “I am now.”

  She clucked her tongue and shut the door behind her. “It’s cold in here.” She hugged herself. “Is your window open, child?” She shut it.

  “Hey. I liked it open,” Celeste mumbled from her bed.

  Her mom sat on the edge of the bed, placing her hand on Celeste’s face. “You have always liked nighttime. When you were little, you always used to ask to go outside when it got dark.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m a freak.”

  “You’re not a freak.” She wrapped a curl of Celeste’s red hair around her finger, something she’d done for as long as Celeste could remember. “You okay? How are you really doing with all this moving around?”

  “I’m okay, really. I’m fine. I make my adjustments, make my friends, then go on my way. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Okay.” She tucked a curl behind Celeste’s ear.

  “When is Dad getting back?”

  Even in the dark, Celeste saw her mother’s face brighten at the mention of her husband of twenty years.

  “Well, I just got off the phone with him. I would’ve let you talk to him if I had known you were still up. He’ll be back from China soon. He’ll be here for sure for your birthday.”

  “Cool.”

  The room grew quiet. Her mother sat there, breathing evenly, but not saying a word. Celeste sighed and rolled over so she faced her mom. “Stop worrying. I’m fine.”

  “Okay, baby. I just want you to be happy.”

  “I know. I’d be really happy if I could get some sleep.”

  “Okay.” One more gentle pat on the cheek, and she was gone.

  Alone in the dark, Celeste felt better.

  . . .

  She stood in the middle of the street. Her house was a few blocks away, a gray shadow in the night. Moon-lit clouds painted wispy shapes in the black sky.

  It was so quiet, almost too quiet. All the houses and streetlights were dark. No cars were parked in the narrow driveways or on the street. There was no traffic.

  Where is everyone? How did I get here?

  An unnatural, multi-directional wind mussed her waist-length hair, sending it billowing around her.

  The ground trembled beneath her feet. The pavement below her began to form bumps under the surface, pulsing in strange rhythmic waves. She yelped in fear before running to the sidewalk.

  The ground surged its black tar, morphing to fill the street with strange humanoid shapes. They moved in all different directions, surging and twisting around each other.

  She screamed and backed up. She was in Jennifer’s yard again. She pounded on the front door. “Please, let me in!” She thudded and thudded, but there was no response.

  She turned back to the street. The humanoid shapes were all still there, some short, some tall. Except now, they weren’t twisting and turning. They were all perfectly still, facing her.

  She ran down the street, looking for an escape. The shapes, in perfect unison, turned to face her as she moved.

  She stopped on the sidewalk. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and counted to ten. I must be dreaming. I must be dreaming. I must be dreaming. She repeated her mantra out loud.

  She opened her eyes. The shapes were still in the street, still watching her.

  “Mom? Dad? Is anyone out there? Can anyone hear me?” She was crying now.

  A figure stood in front of her house. His face was obscured by the night. She walked to him. The humanoids tracked her movement with their featureless faces. As she approached, she recognized him: Rylan.

  “Rylan? What are you doing here?”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but no sounds issued from his lips.

  She was near him now. “Rylan. I can’t hear you. I can’t understand you.”

  Veins bulged from his forehead. He gestured wildly. He was screaming, even though he was mute. He pointed to something behind her.

  She spun around. A huge, black bird flew in her direction, coasting a few feet above the ground. The bird dwarfed her with its massive size. It moved closer and closer, and as it did, the shapes in the street advanced around her. The darkness closed in on her. Rylan was gone, and she was alone.

  The sound of her own screaming woke her up. Apparently, it’d woken her mom as well.

  “Celeste?” She ran through the doorway, braids and white nightgown flying. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” She sat up in bed and wiped a shaky hand across her forehead.

  Her mother sat on the edge of the bed. “Nightmare? You were screaming like crazy.”

  “Yes. It was one of the nightmares where you are aware you’re dreaming because it can’t be real, but you can’t wake up, you know?” She stared at her shaky, white, hands.

  “Do you remember it?”

  “Not really. Something with giant birds in it or something.” The lie came easily. She was losing her damn mind, but it’d probably be best if she kept her crazy to herself for the moment.

  “Giant bird, eh? That’s weird.” She patted Celeste’s hand. “Come downstairs and have some tea. I ordered it from Sri Lanka. It’ll help you relax.”

  “All right.” Celeste flicked on the light and pushed her feet into her slippers. She followed her mother’s slight frame to the kitchen.

  Her mother pulled out the battered red teapot, filled it with water, and placed it on the stove. A few minutes later, Celeste wrapped her hands around the warm tea. It smelled like lemons.

  Her mom sat opposite from her, watching her as she drank. “Your nightmares are getting worse.”

  Celeste shrugged and stared into her the pale yellow tea.

  “What are your other nightmares about?”

  “I don’t know. I wake up knowing I had a scary dream, but I don’t remember what it was.” Celeste shook her red curls.

  Her mom carried her tea over to the sink. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I remember having vivid dreams when I was a teenage girl. Probably all the hormones.” She jerked her head in the direction of the back of the house. “Back to bed with you.”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  Celeste returned to her room and hopped back in bed. The dark was comforting, but not as safe as it normally made her feel. She wrapped herself up in her blankets and shut her eyes. She was determined not to think of anything weird, so she let her mind wander. It flitted over the school, Tink, and Rylan. Rylan with his green eyes, his smile, and his pointed questions. Rylan, who’d made appearances in otherwise frightening dreams. Rylan, who’d started school just a few weeks before she did.

  Who was Rylan? And why couldn’t she get him out of her head?

  CHAPTER 3

  She woke when the bright light from her window hit her bed. “Ugh.” She headed to the shower. Thirty minutes later, after the obligatory peck on the cheek from her mom, she set out to school on foot.

  She walked in the road instead of the sidewalk, staring at the pavement as she went. It looked normal.

  A loud double honk pulled her out of her intense pavement inspection.


  “Hey, pretty lady. Whatcha’ looking at?” Tink idled next to her in his car, window down, elbow jutting out the window, big smile on his face.

  “Hey yourself.”

  “Get in, sister. I’ve got some candy for you.” He punctuated his invitation with an exaggerated evil laugh.

  She snickered. “Mister, I don’t think you have the kind of candy I like.” She got in the passenger side.

  “Yeah, I think I do.” He reached behind him to extract a box from the backseat and opened it. “See? Doughnuts with sprinkles. Who doesn’t like sprinkles? They’re so happy-looking.”

  “Hmm. Tasty.” She grabbed a doughnut.

  “What kind of candy did you think I was offering, you nasty girl?”

  “Oh, well, I just assume that all men want me. Sorry.”

  “Girl, shoot!” He pulled into the parking lot. “Ready for day two?”

  “Sure. It’s easy with you here.” She finished off the doughnut and licked her fingers.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here. It’s nice.”

  They walked into the depressing beige building together. Long rows of battered red lockers lined the inner hallway. She scanned the numbers until she found hers.

  “So, we should like, I don’t know, go do stuff this weekend.” Tink leaned against the bank of lockers.

  “What kind of stuff is there…”

  Rylan entered the building, walking down the hall in a straight path to her. His backpack was slung casually over one shoulder.

  She straightened at his approach.

  “What are you looking at?” Tink asked.

  Rylan met her eyes.

  Pain ripped through her head. Her knees buckled and she hit the floor, gripping the sides of her head in agony. Throbbing, pulsing waves of hurt swept over her.

  “Celeste?”

  She heard Tink’s voice, but it sounded far away.

  “Oh, my God, somebody call 911!”

  The waves of agony lessened, shrinking as the seconds ticked off. She felt her body move, but she wasn’t sure how it happened. She rolled her head forward and tried to look up, but she couldn’t open her eyes.

  “Celeste?” Another voice, this one feminine and unfamiliar. “Open your eyes. Can you hear me?”

  She did. A pretty Hispanic woman leaned over her. She wore scrubs with a teddy bear print and a stethoscope around her neck. “Good girl. Keep those eyes open, I need to check them, okay?”

  “Okay,” Celeste said in a watery voice.

  The woman pulled out a pen-sized flashlight from her pocket. “Follow this with your eyes, okay?” She moved it up and down, left and right. Finally, she clicked it off and put it away. “You have colored contacts, very dark. What color are your eyes?”

  “Purple.”

  “Interesting,” the woman said.

  “No, weird.”

  The woman smiled. “That’s not weird. I’m Ingrid, the school nurse. Can you tell me what happened?” She pulled out a blood pressure cuff as she spoke.

  “I don’t know. I was just talking with a friend and all the sudden my head started to hurt.” She rubbed her temples.

  “Does it hurt now?” She wrapped the cuff around Celeste’s arm, pumped the bulb until it was tight, and read the meter.

  “No. It doesn’t at all, actually.”

  “Good. Sit up, slowly now.” She snaked her arm around Celeste’s back, and helped her to the sitting position. “Okay?”

  “Yes.”

  Ingrid put the cuff back in the drawer, pulled out a clipboard, and leaned on the counter. “Do you do any drugs? Alcohol?”

  Celeste laughed. “No.”

  Ingrid frowned. “You need to tell me if you have. If you get a wacky dose of drugs, it can kill you. You can go to sleep and never wake up.”

  Celeste pulled the smile off her face. “No, for real.”

  “Okay. Here’s what I’m gonna do. You need to go see your regular doctor to get checked out. I’m calling your mom to come get you.” She put her clipboard down. “You’re lucky Rylan caught you before you hit the ground and carried you in here. I’m glad you didn’t hit your head on the lockers or the floor.”

  “Rylan carried me in?” Celeste echoed.

  She smiled. “Yes, he did. I’ll go call your mom.”

  Celeste closed her eyes. She’d been in his arms, and she wasn’t even awake for it. No. Don’t think like that. I have bigger fish to fry.

  Did Rylan cause her pain? Not possible, but neither were pavement birds.

  “Celeste, your mom will be here soon.” Ingrid was back in the room.

  Celeste opened her eyes. “Oh, thanks.”

  “Why don’t you lie down until she gets here? Want me to turn off the light?”

  “Yes.”

  She closed the door behind her as she left.

  Celeste rolled away from the door, folded her hands, and tried to sleep on the uncomfortable examining table.

  At first, she couldn’t get her mind to shut off. Rylan, birds, and other weird things crowded her mind.

  Eventually, the voices in the hallway faded to a point where she heard the electronics buzzing quietly in the room. The soothing white noise pushed her to the brink of sleep.

  “Celeste.” A female voice, very close to her ear.

  “Huh?” she answered.

  “Celeste.” Again, very close.

  “Yes?” She rolled over, expecting to find Ingrid or another school official. The room was empty.

  She wasn’t alone, of that she was certain. “Hello?” She laid back and closed her eyes. “I’m losing it, aren’t I?”

  “It’s time.” The voice again, right next to her ear.

  “Holy crap, what the hell is this?” She ran to the light switch. Even with the room filled with bright artificial light, she still didn’t see anything. She walked in a circle around the perimeter of the room, ducking to look under the examining table and stool. She knew she wasn’t alone, and it frightened her.

  “Go away,” she said.

  Silence.

  “Great, I’m talking to a table.”

  “Celeste?” This time the muffled voice was familiar.

  Her mom burst through the door. “Who are you talking to? Are you okay?” She pushed a thick swath of curls out of Celeste’s face.

  “I’m fine.”

  “The nurse told me what happened. Do you remember anything?”

  Celeste shrugged. “It just hurt really bad, and then I passed out. It was weird.”

  “Did you have a headache this morning? Is your stomach upset? What happened before you passed out?”

  Celeste stepped out of her mother’s arms. “I don’t remember.” But she did. It was Rylan, when he’d made eye contact with her.

  Her mom wrapped an arm around her waist. “Let’s go. I made a doctor’s appointment. No more school today.”

  They walked out of the nurse’s office. Celeste glanced behind her as they left. Rylan was sitting on the floor in the hallway, face buried in his hands. He didn’t see her.

  …

  Celeste curled up on the corner of the couch with a quilt and one of her mom’s teas. This one was pineapple-flavored. It was kind of gross.

  Her mom walked into the room, phone in hand. “Your father wants to talk to you.”

  Celeste took the phone. “Hi, Daddy!”

  “Hi, baby. You okay?” He had a deep voice that reminded her of tall oak trees and cold weather.

  “I’m okay, I promise.”

  “Your mother said the doctors didn’t find anything wrong.”

  “Nope. I’m good to go.”

  “The doctors are wrong. Healthy teenage girls don’t get nasty headaches and pass out.”

  “I’m fine, Daddy. He said it could have been a migraine.”

  “But you’ve never had migraines,” he said.

  “I know.”

  “I’ll be home in a few hours, baby. We’ll find a specialist or something to make sure it doesn’t
happen again.”

  “Dad, please. I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

  He sighed. “I will worry, but I’ll shut up for now. What do you want for your birthday?”

  She smiled. “I don’t want anything.”

  He laughed in his deep throaty way. “So you don’t want any beautiful hand-printed scarves or shawls I may have picked up?”

  “Well, if you’ve already bought them.”

  “All right then. I hoped you would take them off my hands.”

  “Did you get Momma some tea?” she asked.

  He chuckled again. “Of course. I got the weirdest tea I could find. Hopefully she hasn’t had it before.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “I love you, babe. Put her back on?”

  She handed the phone to her mom then went to her room in the back of the house.

  It was finally dark outside, which made her feel good. She threw open her window to let some chilly night air in. She read her book, checked her cell phone text messages from Tink, and studied the patterns on her comforter, anything to keep from thinking about her day.

  If she ignored it, it’d go away. She lay back on the pillows and let the night take over. Hopefully, she wasn’t losing her mind.

  CHAPTER 4

  She woke in the middle of the night. The house was silent, her door was open. She sat up. Why had she woken?

  “Oscail an doras.” The voice again, in her ear.

  “Who is that?” she hissed into the dark. She threw back the covers. “Hello?”

  The moon was out, filling her familiar room with strange light. Her open door loomed darker against the dark.

  She paced around the small space; closet, dressers, door to her connected bathroom, her twin-size bed, and her large garden window. Nothing.

  “What the hell!” She sat on her bed. She was either crazy or haunted by disembodied voices. Either way, she loses.

  The open door stayed still, the room dark and quiet.

  She crab-walked back to the head of her bed, sat cross-legged, and closed her eyes. “Whatever you are, go away. Eff off. Peace out. Got it?”

  “Do not be afraid.” The voice was close again.

  Holy crap.

  She jumped out of her bed and this time didn’t stop until she was across the house in the living room. She stood behind the long, red couch.