Cyrus and the gods among us

The ghost come out when the sun goes down...

The three of us have been out here almost all day and the sun is close to setting.

"Hey. We should head up."

"Yeah. We still on for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

"We have a tutoring session..."

I face palm, "I totally forgot!"

"Wow. Am I that forgettable?"

"No! It's just... I just..."

"I was joking. How's your arm?

"It still hurts, but it's better now."

"That's good." she punches my other shoulder. "How's your other arm?"

"You're a jerk!" I say, rubbing my shoulder.

"I know." She walks up to Lilyainna, leaving me behind.

***

We see my house, and along with it, Nicole's brother, James.

Lily runs up to the house. "So your brother came to pick you up?"

"Yeah."

"How's your Mom doing?"

"Not well. She's still getting over it."

So Nicole's Dad was just killed in Afghanistan. Two weeks ago, his commanding officer came to inform them. They really haven't told anybody. The only reason I know, is because I was there at there house when he came. The most ironic thing about it was Nicole and I were talking about World War II.

"Oh...." we've reached the front porch. "Before you go, do you want to see something?"

"Sure."

I grab her hand and take her up stairs to the attic. "This is another place I like to hide."

"I thought you said you get claustrophobic."

"I do... Sometimes. If it's raining outside, it's kind of hard to go back out in the woods and read a book. So instead," I gesture around me, "I come up here."

"What's so interesting, that you'd like it up here?"

"That's what I wanted to show you." I walk over to a box and start to open it, but then realize that she's not next to me. "Nico-" I start, but am cut off by her lips on mine.

It takes me a minute to realize what she's doing, but after I figure it out... I start to kiss her back.

After a bit, we pull away from each other to catch our breath.

"You know what you said in the woods about why Jeffrey thought I broke up with him for?"

I nod my head, because I don't trust myself to say something.

"Well, let's just say his age was only part of it." She smiles at me, and gives me another small kiss on the cheek. "Now what was is you wanted to show me?"

"Um-" Darn! My voice just cracked! Nicole starts laughing. Right let's try this again. I say to myself. "I wanted to show you this."

I pull a small, wooden box out of the one I just opened.

She takes it and opens it. Inside is a Purple Heart. The highest award for someone is the U. S. Military can receive. A metal for bravery in the field.

"Where did you get this?" Nicole asks me.

"My Grandfather gave it to me. Do you remember the storm 6 year's ago?"

"The one that knocked down the clock tower?"

"Yeah. Anyway, one of the horses had gotten spooked by a flash of lightning. I was still out in the barn with him, making sure everything was in there, and that the animals had food and water. I was in that horses stable when that bolt hit. Grandpa keep yelling at me to get out of there, but I couldn't just leave. Mom always comforted me when I was sacred, why couldn't I do the same for the horse?" I look over at her and see that she's trying not to cry.

I continue with my story, "I was able to calm him down enough for me to walk over and grab a brush. Once I had the brush, and started brushing him down, he calmed down and stayed that way all night. Last year when he passed away, he gave it to me, telling me how brave I was. He told me that he got that metal from a friend of his, telling me why he got the metal from his friend."

I stop. I can't tell her without crying. It's to hard thinking about him.

"Why did his friend give him the metal?" she asks.

I sigh and tell her, "He saved his life. Grandpa and a couple of his buddy's were out on a scouting mission, and were attacked by a group of teenagers in listed in the opposing side of the war.... Grandpa was able to make a deal with them in order to make sure that his friends were safe, and that they could return home to their families. He dropped his weapon, and raised his hand in surrender."

"Your grandfather was willing to sacrifice himself for his friends. But... If he did that, when he returned home... Why didn't he receive a Purple Heart?"

"The guys who captured him, forced him to work on there side. He tapped in to communication lines for them. The lines that told them where the Army was, and where they were going to be."

"So... Your grandfather was a hacker?"

"In a way."

"Is that where you get it from?"

I freeze, then look over at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I know it was you who hacked into the school computers. You're the anonymous author for the school newspaper."

"How....? What....?"

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." she leans forward and kisses me again.

I smile like a crazy old guy, who's seen people for the first time in years.

"Does this mean you're my girlfriend now?"

"We'll see."

She hands me back the box, and I put it back into the other box.

"Come on. My brothers going to wonder where I am."

"Okay."

The two of us walk downstairs holding hands, until we reach the bottom. We release each others hands and walk to the dinning room, where we hear voices.

When we walked in the room goes quiet... Then everyone starts talking again.

"Oh crap!" I say, "I forgot to grab something on the way down. I'll be right back."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

I run upstairs to my room and grab a book off the book shelf. I look at the cover then to make sure that it's the right book, and that Caleb and Alex didn't mix up the sleeves again, I take the sleeve off. Good. It's the right book.

I walk back down stairs, but on the way down something stops me... Something I can't really explain.

I look over my shoulder, and see a blueish light. I gasp and turn around.

"Cyrus? Where are you?" Nicole calls up the stairs. "I'm coming up, okay?"

I want to tell her no, to stay down there, but I can't talk. I'm frozen.

Nicole reaches the top of the stairs, with Lilyainna right behind her, and they both stop.

They see exactly the same thing that I do.

My grandfather standing right in front of me.