And Ruin Followed Behind Her

Chapter 10-3

DAYLIGHT ONLY PROTECTED you so much in Chandler, and then only against people who felt shame or feared repercussions for their actions. The men who hunted me had neither shame nor fear. If they wanted to take me, they would take me. It was a risk I was willing to take.

Elka gave me much to think on as I crossed the street and walked away from her tea shop. I would be lying if I said the thought of disappearing at will wasn’t intriguing; being anywhere in the world whenever you wanted held a certain appeal for somebody that hated Chandler and missed Chicago.

I could work in the city and still be home by nightfall to take care of Mama, then make visits to Gettysburg, the Kremlin, and the Louvre on weekends. While I could never leave Chandler, I would be able to visit anywhere in the world I wanted.

But the thought of that much power also scared me. The sensations I felt after disappearing were as frightening as they were exhilarating—my head buzzed, and my body filled with a manic energy. The ability to do that at will and harness that kind of power, I wondered if I would lose myself to it.

Plus, I mean...I was crazy, right?

No matter what Elka said, the idea that magic existed was cuckoo banana pants. Up until this morning, magic was the furthest thing from my mind. Now, an old woman in a tea shop showed me her wings, told me magic was real, and I was just going to believe her? How do I really know that wasn’t just smoke and mirrors? Maybe she had a pulley tucked behind that register which helped her fool naïve women.

Then again, that sounded even more crazy.

My logical brain couldn’t comprehend something so fantastical, no matter what my eyes had seen. It would be like saying a fire-breathing dragon could walk right through downtown Chandler and stroll out of town.

Could it happen? Sure. I can’t disprove the existence of dragons, but every bone in my body said that believing in dragons was for naïve idiots.

I stepped into Mystery Spot Park ruminating on the knowledge Elka gave me. I had avoided the park last night and this morning, but something about meeting Elka bolstered my confidence. I wanted to feel the energy of the mystery spot coursing through my veins.

Every inch I moved forward town the hole at the center of the park made my heart beat faster, until I could hear the thump in my ears as I stepped up to the spot and looked down into it. What wonders fell down that hole and never came back up? What horrors are buried in there?

“Well, well, well, if it ain’t Ms. Colored,” Duncan sneered from behind me. “You don’t look sick, Ms. Colored Bitch.”

Duncan and three other men were standing behind me. They were there to take me, I knew, but they had all the time in the world. And so, they inched forward slowly, confidently. Duncan smiled with a smugness only a seventeen-year-old boy who’d never felt pain could muster.

“You’re supposed to be in school, Duncan,” I said to him, inching backwards in panic.

“So are you, Ms. Colored,” he responded. “But my dad says finding you is more important than school. It’s more important than anything in the world. He has big plans for you.”

I decided to stop backing up. I dug my feet into the ground. If I was going down, I was going down swinging. “I know all about your Daddy’s plans. I’ve seen them strung up all over town.”

“I’ll bet you have. He has a thing for uppity, black folk, but he’s got a special place for ones who can disappear in the blink of an eye. He’s seen a lot of things, but he ain’t never seen that before. In fact, he almost didn’t believe me when I told him ‘bout you, but I was real specific. I told him every little detail. When I finished, his eyes went wide, and his mouth started waterin’. He’s been looking for you a real long time. Yeah, he’s got big plans for you, girlie.”

“Hey!” I heard from behind me. It was good ole Chuck Dixon, last good man in all of Chandler. “What do you folks think yer doing?”

“Back up, old man,” Duncan said. “My daddy pays your salary, so just turn the other way.”

“The town pays me,” Chuck said. “To look after this park, and everybody in it, including Ms. Freeman here.”

“You wouldn’t be sayin’ that if you knew what she was,” Duncan replied, fire in his eyes.

“I know enough about Ms. Freeman to know she deserves protecting, just like everybody else.”

Duncan pulled back his jacket to reveal a pistol in his waistband. “Is this the hill you want to die on, Chuck? I know about you. Too weak to make it in the Army. They wouldn’t even use you as cannon fodder.”

Chuck flipped the lock on his own holster and grabbed the handle of his gun. “It’s not the hill I want to die on, Duncan, but it’s a hill I will die on, if that’s what it takes.”

Without another syllable spoken, a gunshot rang out. Blood poured from Chuck Dixon’s mouth as he collapsed on the ground.

“Chuck!” I shouted.

One of the men behind Duncan held a smoking gun in front of him without an ounce of fear on his face. “Goddamn it, Frank!” Duncan shouted. “We’re not supposed to kill anybody.”

“It was a life or death situation,” Frank replied, shrugging. “He was about to draw on me.”

Duncan turned to Frank, and I took the distraction to run to Chuck. He coughed blood on my pants as he turned to me. “You’re a damned fool. Get out of here.”

“I’m not gonna leave you.”

“Then you’re gonna die, too. Don’t be an i***t. Run.”

“Don’t you die on me, Chuck,” I moaned, tears filling my eyes.

He smiled. “Don’t tell me what to do, Ms. Freeman. I’ll do as I damned well please.”

By the time I looked up, the Shadow Men surrounded me with guns drawn. There was nowhere to go. There was nowhere to hide.

“He’s right, Ms. Freeman,” Duncan said to me. “You should have run.”

My body started to vibrate faster and faster, numbing my hands and feet and setting my chest to tingle. Everything turned to a purple so bright I couldn’t see anything but the color. I grabbed Chuck’s hand, and together—we vanished.