Death of a Fallen

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2Riley and Jonathan sat on the dock for what seemed like hours. Riley was wrapped inside his own thoughts about how to fix the problem. This was usually Jonathan’s forte, but Jonathan was no longer himself. Riley was deep in thought when Jonathan stood to stretch his muscles. Riley saw, for a moment, the pained expression on Jonathan’s face as he merely tried to stand. He hated to see him like this, but he had to quickly force the thought away, knowing Jonathan would sense it.

“I think I’ll walk around the property for a bit,” Jonathan said. “Need to stretch my leg out.”

Riley was about to ask Jonathan if he would like some company, but then stopped himself since he already knew the answer. Truthfully, he couldn’t blame Jonathan for not wanting his company when it was out of pity. Riley would be judging every step and resisting the urge to ask Jonathan over and over if he was okay and hoping he wouldn’t say something to upset him.

“Would you like to come with me?” Jonathan’s question caught him off guard.

Even though Jonathan’s intention was good, Riley knew the response that his friend wanted to hear. “I think I’ll sit here for a little bit and enjoy the stars a while longer.”

“I don’t mind if you want to come with me.”

Riley looked at his friend for a long moment and wondered if this was the first time Jonathan had ever lied to him. Seeming to pick up on Riley’s thoughts, Jonathan quietly turned and proceeded down the stairs. In that moment, Riley realized that Jonathan had just lied to him. Sure, it was a small one, but from the moment they had met, Jonathan had always told Riley that he could never lie and would always tell him the truth. However, instead of becoming upset, Riley felt pity for his friend and fear that Jonathan was, in fact, losing a part of himself.

Several minutes had passed since Jonathan offered the invitation to join him. Riley wanted to give him enough time so they wouldn’t have to be in each other’s awkward company. Riley went inside the house and collapsed onto his bed. He was asleep within a few minutes. Little by little, the nightmares that Riley had hoped were gone forever began to creep back in. They seemed to emerge from the corners of the darkness where they had once been laid to rest. One in particular, the worst, was the day Riley’s life was forever changed.

Everything was the same as it had been that night—the rain, the words he and Allison had shared. Except now the dream opened up even further. Riley sat in the driver’s seat looking out at the c*****e that just occurred. Allison lay slumped and motionless in her seat. Blood was everywhere. A figure walked up to the passenger side of the car, leaned down, and spoke in a voice that sounded almost a whisper.

“Memores sumus vestri in mortuis.” Then the demon gave a horrendous scream and vanished. Riley shook his head and rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, the figure was Jonathan.

Riley bolted upright on the bed and looked around. He couldn’t focus on anything in particular as he scanned the empty room. The morning sun creeped through the blinds, revealing dancing dust particles on its thin, outstretched beams. Riley wiped the back of his arm on his forehead. He got up and stumbled to the adjacent bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face to clear the cobwebs and dried his hands on a towel. He walked into the living room where he found Jonathan in his usual recliner.

In place of a “Good morning,” Riley moved closer to Jonathan and said quietly, “Memores sumus vestri in mortuis.” In a blur of movement, Riley found himself now looking up at Jonathan, who had sprung to his feet and now towered over him. The grayness Riley had started to see in his eyes was now a dull blue. They sharpened into a piercing blue before turning into a purple so dark and unnatural that Riley tried to look away. However, Jonathan placed his hands on either side of Riley’s face, forcing him to stare back into Jonathan’s eyes. Riley tried to struggle away from him, but it was as if he had a refrigerator lying on top of him.

“Get the hell off me!” Riley cried out.

Jonathan then leaned closer and whispered, “Just focus on my eyes.” His grip was so tight that Riley knew he could do nothing unless Jonathan allowed it. Giving in, Riley did as he was told. Staring back into Jonathan’s eyes, Riley could see that the purple of the iris was slowly spinning. He felt the living room disappear around him. He could feel himself beginning to panic as the awful scene of the crash now appeared all around them. He clamped his eyes shut. After a few moments, bewildered and scared, he asked Jonathan to please stop. He opened his eyes only to see Jonathan standing nose to nose with him. Everything started to spin. He couldn’t believe what was happening. Everything turned to black. Rain was falling all around them, the droplets splattering off Jonathan’s shoulders.

All around them, people began yelling as hurried footsteps rushed to their aid. Riley heard someone cry out, “Oh my god! Call an ambulance!” Once again, he was reliving the most horrific day of his life. What was happening? He had tried so hard to push it to the farthest recesses of his mind and here it was, happening all over again.

Just as quickly as the dream appeared, it was gone, replaced by complete darkness and quiet. Was he awake or dreaming? Riley couldn’t distinguish what was real and what was a dream. What was happening to him? Then he felt something shift to the right of him. A large hand gently touched his forehead. With some relief, Riley knew it could only be one person. He opened his eyes. He was lying on his bed. Jonathan sat beside him. He tried to speak, only to find that his mouth was as dry as a ball of cotton. He coughed from the strain of trying to use his vocal cords. As he sat up, a bottle of water was placed in his hand and Jonathan helped him raise it to his lips.

Jonathan spoke quietly. “Small sips, Riley. Take small sips.”

Ignoring him, Riley downed several swallows as fast as he could, only to be rewarded with a coughing fit, which splattered water everywhere. Jonathan patted him on the back until the coughing ceased. Riley managed to get a couple of words out in a rough voice. “What happened?”

Staring at Riley, Jonathan wore a look of weariness and concern. He asked a question of his own. “What is the last thing you remember?”

Riley wanted to yell at Jonathan, but he relinquished and with some trepidation closed his eyes. Immediately, the quietness found him and just as he started to visualize his last thought, he shook off the remaining grogginess. He opened his eyes, staring hard at Jonathan. He said in an accusing tone, “Did you wipe my memory? Did you wipe my memory like you did the night my Allison was stolen from me? The night you failed to protect her!”

“No, Riley, I didn’t,” Jonathan replied softly. He felt the sting of Riley’s accusation and his claim to Allison.

Riley found he was unable to look at Jonathan the way he once did. Jonathan tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. Feeling uncertainty and fear from the one person who was supposed to always protect him.

“I would never—” Jonathan began to say.

“I can’t believe you anymore,” Riley said angrily. “You aren’t yourself, and I know you are lying to me. How do you expect me to be honest with you? I feel like I don’t know you anymore. And then last night you tell me you’re afraid you’ll one day go over the edge. What does that even mean?”

Jonathan sat quietly for a moment. “Please, just tell me what you remember.”

“Fine,” Riley said irritably. “Last night after we called it a night, I had the dream that used to haunt me every night—the one that kept me in fear of falling asleep. This time I saw the demon that caused the accident. I still couldn’t make out its face, but it spoke to me in a weird language.”

“It was Latin,” Jonathan replied. “Do you remember anything else? Think really hard.”

No longer afraid to close his eyes, Riley concentrated. “There was a lot of shouting. The rain was coming down harder than I remember. I could see Allison and there were people running up to the car.”

“Are you sure you couldn’t make out the demon’s face?” Jonathan questioned.

Opening his eyes and looking at Jonathan, Riley saw that his friend’s eyes were once again their piercing blue. “No, I can’t make it out. I can hear its voice, but that’s it.” Riley got up and did his best to steady himself. He wondered how long he’d been out for.

Jonathan read his mind. “Two days.”

“What? How could that be!”

“I had to put you into a deep sleep for your own safety,” Jonathan said calmly.

“Why?”

Jonathan’s expression turned sad. “Because when you walked into the living room the other morning, you were speaking in Latin. You pulled a gun out and almost took your own life.”

This time Riley’s unstable legs did give out, but Jonathan quickly steadied him. “I did what?” But he didn’t allow Jonathan to answer. “No. Why, why would I do that? I don’t remember grabbing the gun out from underneath the bathroom counter.”

“It gave me a shock as well. I’m just glad I still have the ability to move quickly when I need to. I managed to stop you just as the hammer started to fall.”

Riley was shaken by the thought that somehow he could step that far out of bounds and attempt to kill himself. “My God, what the hell is happening to me? And I was speaking Latin? What did I say?”

This time Jonathan put both hands on Riley’s shoulders, making him look at him. “It means: Remember, you are a mortal.”

Riley felt the goose flesh come up on his arms and shook his head. “So, what do we do now?”

“We need to leave and go back to Taupe City right away. I need to talk with Granny. I believe she will be able to help us.”

Still in shock, Riley went through the motions of opening dresser drawers to retrieve things to pack.

“I’ve already packed a bag for you,” Jonathan said. “I also emailed our clients to let them know that we had to leave due to a family situation.”

At this moment, Riley couldn’t care less about clients and lawns. He walked out of the bedroom and went into the living room where the nightmare had overtaken him. Quickly passing the spot, he went out the door and headed for his truck. Jonathan was close on his heels, carrying Riley’s bag. He locked the door behind them and then followed Riley out to the truck. He watched as Riley climbed into the passenger side of the truck instead of the driver’s seat. Sliding in with as much ease as his large frame could muster, Jonathan got behind the steering wheel. He flipped the visor down and the keys dropped into his hand. He started the truck, shifted into drive, and eased the truck down the long driveway.

Riley then reached over and grasped his arm. Jonathan turned to look at him. Meeting Riley’s eyes, he could feel the plea running through his mind. Please help me, I don’t want to die. Jonathan sent positive vibes of peace back to Riley and then spoke softly. “I won’t let you. Trust me.”

With that, Riley broke eye contact then went back to looking out the window. Jonathan maneuvered the truck onto the twolane road, then headed for Taupe City. The sky, that just hours earlier had been blue and cloudless, was now covered in darkgray, scattered clouds that stretched out before them. Every now and then the moon would peek through, offering some bit of light and hope, only to be covered again by darkness.