The Saga of Michael Liddle: Into the Abyss

Chapter One The Unthinkable

Lightning lit up the sky drowning the room in a white incandescence, as if magically etching their shadows into the wall opposite themselves, the enchantment only lasting until the darkness outside seized the night once again. Seconds later, a growling rumble surrounded them, shaking the windows in a matching and angry syncopation. Michael swallowed, his eyes flitting to her face and then away. Finally, he peered upwards toward the ceiling, saying, "Where do I begin? How can I explain any of it?"

She observed him shake his head slightly and close his eyes. "I couldn't imagine this being harder than when I had to tell my mother."

Abigail waited. This was the moment. The moment she'd been longing for all evening. Would Michael trust her enough? Enough to share what was behind the grief he had managed to conceal from everyone else—but not from her. Now—tonight—there was more pain than she had ever imagined: the real and compelling reason why he was here with her. She heard him inhale slightly, observe his lips press firmly together. Suddenly, his grip tightened about her hand.

"I don't know if you're going to be able to believe any of this, Abigail. It'll likely freak you out completely." He paused and swallowed again. "You see...you see I'm not from around here. Really not from anywhere near Cantonville."

There was another flash, thunder crackling down upon them, seeming as if it had just exploded above the house. This time they both jumped; his hand almost crushing hers. Abigail pulled her fingers out of his grasp, shaking them to relieve the pain. Michael appeared oblivious to what he'd just done. She could see he was searching for words—trying to find a way to explain. The barriers he had built up, for who knew how long, were breaking, but it still wasn't easy for him. He needed help.

"We all know you're adopted...that you used to live in Bloomington," she said softly, taking his hand again, hoping that would be enough to help him over this final hurdle. Whatever it was that was still holding him back.

Michael shook his head. "No, no. That's not what I mean." He ran his other hand through his damp hair. "I didn't know any of this before Mr. Gooden told me the truth about myself: my birth parents, where I'm really from. I thought...I thought I was just like everyone else."

He was continuing to confuse her. What did anything tonight, or earlier this year, have to do with their teacher from the junior high school? Then a rush of mad thoughts erupted into Abigail's little brain. She took a sudden intake of breath herself. Did Michael know something? Or perhaps more perversely, did he have something to do with Mr. Gooden's mysterious disappearance at the end of the eighth grade? And what about Mr. Hamm and Miss Braun? There had been more than just idle chatter swirling around the school hallways and the town a year ago, so many of her friends speculating that all three of their teachers had been murdered. Was that part of what had been troubling him all year? And Maddy Ellis? Was that the reason she hadn't wanted anything to do with anyone back here? It would all make sense if—if... But—but how did any of this tie into Aloe? What she thought was the reason why Michael was here tonight. Abigail couldn't help herself; impatience and bewilderment impulsively overruled her every other thought.

"Just tell me, Michael. Start at the beginning."

He must have noticed the growing confusion on her face. For just a moment, a wry grin lit up his countenance—such a dramatic change from everything earlier. Does that mean anything?

"You probably can't imagine just how far back the beginning is." His forehead furrowed slightly. "Likely that doesn't matter. You see, Mr. Gooden wasn't what any of us thought. Any of us." He took another deep breath. "But I guess that's where it all really started for me. He gave me an old family heirloom...from my birth father." Birth father?! Gah! The secrets he's been keeping! (In another place, in another situation, Abigail would have been gloating!) "That's how I first met Alow...Aloe. You see, she had one too. They're called sumavel. Even though we didn't really know how to use them, they connected us together. That's when it began between the two of us. Way back in the sixth grade."