When He Calls (Moons of Nibiru - Book #1)

chpt - 31: the witnesses

I'M BACK

university is very ... not nice ... with my writing schedule

BUT i am making time, so here is somn ...

***

THEY COULDN'T ALL FIT IN DAWSON'S car, so Kendrick, Noah and Brendon drove with Dawson and Olivia to Olivia's place while Ryan and Caitlin stayed and waited for them at Crunchopolis. The courtyard was being emptied of customers, so Ryan and Caitlin were among five people still remaining.

Caitlin was busy stirring the melting ice into her drink when Ryan spoke, "Noah knows about the newspapers."

His cousin looked up from her drink and saw Ryan's defeated expression. He looked like a child who'd just been disciplined with words.

"I've been meaning to ask why you haven't burned those." said Caitlin, omitting the part where she might have been the cause of Noah's newfound discovery.

Ryan sighed and leaned back in his chair. He folded his arms across his chest and rested his neck on the back of the chair. "I don't know." he whispered.

Caitlin cocked her head. "You sure about that?"

Ryan shrugged.

"It's not healthy, you know?" spoke Caitlin, looking down at her watery drink. "You shouldn't be holding on to stuff that's only going to remind you of that day."

"I'm gonna burn them." Ryan insisted. He sat upright and looked at his cousins. His hands folded together and he rested his chin on his pale knuckles. "I'm just ... waiting."

"For what?" Caitlin said.

"A sign?" Ryan offered. "A sign that I'm actually ready to move on."

"It takes time to move on from something like that." said his cousin. "But moving on requires actually doing things that's gonna help you move on, like burning those newspapers. Do your parents know you still have them?"

Ryan shook his head slowly.

"Why are you doing this, Ryan?" Caitlin asked softly, almost gently. "Why are you punishing yourself like this?"

"I'm not punishing myself." said Ryan, a bemused smile spreading on his lips.

"Then what would you call it?" Caitlin offered.

"Healing," Ryan gave. "In my own way, I'm healing so I can move on. I'll burn those newspapers soon, but give me a little more time."

Caitlin sighed and lifted the cup to her mouth. "Fine," she said before drinking the remainder of her drink. "I'm only allowing this 'cause we have more important things to deal with."

Ѻ Ѻ

"This house is bigger than my apartment back home." Dawson whispered miserably to himself as he studied Olivia's house after entering. He was in the living room with the boys while Olivia left to bring out the grimoire.

"So, how do you suppose we kill this thing?" Brendon asked, motioning to Dawson.

It took Dawson a while to register he was being talked to. "The grimoire will tell us." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I honestly don't know how myself."

"What about Wren?" Kendrick asked. "Can she kill it?"

"Probably?" Dawson was unsure, and he hated it. "She explained it vaguely, but her abilities can't kill people directly. She'd have to touch them and have them do it themselves."

"Sounds awesome." Brendon commented.

"Sounds terrifying and unreal." Kendrick whispered. He asked Dawson, "How certain are you she actually has 'powers'?"

"You heard your friend, right?" Dawson was referring to Ryan. "I'm not the only one who's seen her abilities and what they can do."

Kendrick turned to Noah. "What do you think about this?"

Noah sighed and sank down into the couch. "At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the Earth was flat." he responded. "Children vanishing? Monsters? Hundred-year-old prophecies? A girl with psychic abilities in Marbel sounds like the only normal thing right about now."

"Acceptance?" Kendrick asked.

Noah nodded. "Acceptance."

Olivia returned from whence she came and dropped the grimoire onto the coffee table. "There you are."

Ѻ Ѻ

"Not what I was expecting." said Ryan as he studied the grimoire. "Where are the demonic symbols and leather made of human skin?"

"What is this? Evil Dead?" his cousin teased.

The others had arrived a few minutes ago. Olivia revealed the grimoire to them and sat back as she waited for someone else to take the lead. She hoped for Dawson to take the grimoire and reveal its secrets, but she didn't exclude Caitlin and Ryan from knowing the grimoire's secrets either. The two of them had the same dream as the others did, but theirs had extra information. It made Olivia wonder what Old Lady McKay had told Ryan and Caitlin and why them specifically.

"What are we looking for exactly?" Brendon asked after Dawson expectedly lifted the grimoire from the table.

Dawson didn't answer Brendon directly. If he had to be honest, he did not entirely know himself. He phoned Yves the previous night and told him of his findings. Yves sighed with relief.

"Good," said he. "We need some good news right about now. People over here are becoming superstitious after we revealed what we found."

"What exactly is it that I need to find?" Dawson asked.

"Anything related to this monster." Yves stated, though Dawson doubted if Yves even knew what he was talking about; he never saw the grimoire. If not for Dawson, Yves would have no knowledge of the artefact. "People managed to survive this thing in the past without the aid of modern technology and weaponry. There has to be something we can learn from them."

"Something," Dawson whispered as he flipped through the grimoire. It was heavy with knowledge that needed multiple keys to unlock its multiple secrets.

Brendon looked over the man's shoulder and saw what he was seeing. "That looks like something." said the boy against the man's ear. He pointed to a blue sticky-note attached the page. On it was written: WITNESSES — VERY IMPORTANT.

Dawson gently placed the grimoire back on the table and carefully turned the page. White paper that looked older than him was pasted over the following few pages where what was written on the original pages underneath were translated on the white pages now on top.

"It's a translation for what's written in the grimoire." Dawson observed.

"What does it say?" asked Olivia.

"One would think an interdimensional being of proportionate power would have no weaknesses — that mere mortals (us humans) would never stand a chance of even touching this supernatural entity. One would be wrong, of course, for it's been done before: six accounts have been recorded and collected within this book where this 'visitor' has been defeated upon confrontation." Dawson read as slowly and loudly as he could so that everyone at the table could hear and understand.

"Six?" Noah asked. "You're telling me that all those times this thing has visited Earth it's only been defeated six times?"

"How many times would it take for us to kill it?" Kendrick said.

"Gosh, just read whatever's on the damn pages and we'll ask questions after." Olivia instructed Dawson, clearly not respecting his authority as an adult.

"Right," he just said instead.