Lester of Two Evils

The Rift

"I'm sorry, Dad," Lester said as he examined Bernard. While he was relieved to find his brother breathing, he still remained in some sort of catatonic state.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, son," said Mr. North.

"But it's my fault," said Lester. "If I'd come to you and given you the opportunity to explain—"

"We could still have ended up where we are right now," Mr. North said, adjusting his position atop Thomas, who could do little more than mutter the occasional curse word. "There's no point in dwelling on regret. Sometimes, the mistakes we make lead us to where we're meant to be. Believe me, I know better than most."

Lester had never really thought of his father as someone with a past. Let alone one that must have included some troubling choices.

"We can talk about all of this later," Mr. North said. "Right now, we need to figure out what to do with your friend here and get help for Bernard."

"Will he be okay?" Lester asked.

"We'll bring them both to Mr. Noxumbra. He'll know what to do."

Before they could put their plan into action, a loud rustling came from the edge of the marsh. A second later, a haggard-looking Ben Titus burst out of the reeds.

"Edward North!" he shouted. "Get off that poor boy, now!"

The old postmaster's uniform was soaked through and covered in mud from the chest down. He'd obviously failed to find the path across the water or perhaps fallen off.

Amanda and Mae, on the other hand, must not have had as much trouble. Following the sound of pounding footsteps on wood, both girls appeared at the boardwalk's exit. They spotted Lester kneeling beside his brother and quickly came running over.

"I'm sorry we're late," puffed Amanda. "Why is your father sitting on Thomas? And what's happened to Bernard?"

Perhaps feeling Amanda had covered the basics, Mae stood silently, looking around with wide eyes. As her gaze settled onto Thomas, there was a change in her expression. It was something Lester had never seen before. Was she angry?

"Thank goodness you're here," Thomas called to Ben, his voice shaking. "They're both crazy! That one," he said, motioning to Lester with a jerk of his head, "lured me down to this field, so his weirdo father and brother could ambush me. Someone call the police!"

"It isn't what you think, Ben," said Mr. North, pushing down on the struggling Thomas. "He attacked my sons."

"All the same," said Ben, "you're going to get off of him, or you and I are going to have a problem." He brandished his walking stick like a weapon.

Leaving Bernard in the care of Amanda and Mae, Lester jumped to his feet.

"Careful, Dad," Lester said. "Ben's a member of The Light. He told me so himself."

Mr. North gaped at the old man, a look of bewilderment on his face. It was as though he were attempting to incorporate this new information into years of memories.

"It's true. I am," Ben said. "And I'm only going to ask you one more time to let that boy go."

"If you belong to The Secret Order of The Light, then take a look around you," said Mr. North. "Odd weather for October. Can't you feel it? This is no ordinary kid."

"Be that as it may," said Ben, "I'm still going to have to insist you hand him over to me."

"You knew," Lester said. It wasn't a question. He and Ben had gotten to know each other well over the last few years. "You knew about Thomas. About who he was and what he was here to do."