There's an Invisible Man Sleeping in My Bed

Chapter 27

            Thalia was only halfway home, smiling as she enjoyed the feeling of sunlight on her skin, when she felt Colt grab her arm. She half turned to look in his direction, but he began pulling her into a faster walk, turning them down the first side street they came across. “You’re being followed,” he whispered as soon as they were blocked by the brick corner of the first building. “This man has been loitering around your school all day.

            She shivered both because of his words, and because the narrow street they were in was completely shaded by the buildings that lined it. “Should we run?”

            “Not until we’re certain he’s dangerous. I dislike the idea of gossip spreading that you are nervy enough to start fleeing at the first hint of suspicious activity and that you were easily able to detect someone following your trail. That generally makes people think you’re hiding something or have some reason to be afraid. Speeding up can be explained away by you being late to some engagement or another.”

            “I can duck into a store if I have to.”

            “You can. We’ll head towards downtown. I cannot imagine a shopkeeper allowing a young woman to be forcefully dragged from their establishment. Now, we must be quiet. Your tail will be coming around the corner any second.”

            Thalia nodded, doing her best to keep her eyes ahead so she didn’t alert her pursuer that she knew he was there. Colt was no longer towing her after him, though he still kept her hand in his, she guessed so the man behind them wouldn’t wonder why she was holding her arm up.

            They got to the end of street, turning onto the road it merged with. This street was lined with trees, the sidewalk littered with fallen clumps of leaves, sticks, and a mix of different bugs. Thalia did her best not to step on them as they hurried along. They passed her old elementary school, one class outside playing what looked like soccer-baseball to her. She discarded the idea of running in there almost immediately. If the man following her was really dangerous, she would be putting the students in the school at risk.

            Colt steered her down another street by moving her hand in the correct direction and squeezing. She followed his lead, relieved that this was the last road before they turned onto the main street. She estimated they’d be safer there, with enough people around that if she had to scream, help would be with her almost immediately. Help that wouldn’t reveal Colt.

            Just as they passed the opening to a park, she heard a voice call from behind “Thalia Quinn, stop! I need to speak with you.”

            Her steps faltered and slowed as she looked behind her, eventually coming to a stop. The man jogging up to her was wearing a smile. Thalia guessed him to be about thirty, his black jeans and blue t-shirt a more casual look than she’d expected of someone following her. His eyes and hair, as she saw when he got to her, were a uniform brown colour. She felt Colt’s hand tense around hers as the stranger stopped in front of her.

            “Who are you and how did you know my name?” Thalia asked, not bothering to mask the suspicion she felt.

            “My name’s Guy Woodman. I want to talk to you about your cousin.”

            She took half a step back, eyes going wide. “Will? Why do you want to talk about Will? And who are you?”

            “As I said, my name’s Guy Woodman. I am a member of the Builders. I know your cousin William has told you about us, since you’ve been investigating our group. I’m not sure how much he explained, but your cousin is a very special young man. We, the Builders, have committed ourselves to the betterment of humanity. William can help us with that. However, he’s been reluctant to agree. That could prove dangerous for him. Are you aware that a spirit has attached itself to your cousin?”

            Colt’s hand spasmed and Thalia bit her lip, the nodded. “Will said that that’s what you people told him. He also said you’re all crazy.”

            Guy laughed, his eyes crinkling up though they remained the same as they’d been since she’d first been able to see them. “From the uninitiateds point of view, I imagine that’s what it looks like. But I can assure you, this spirit is very real. We have historical, documented evidence of it. That is how we know that, without help, this spirit will likely put your cousin in danger.”

            Thalia went still and cold, doing her best to ignore the pain from the hand Colt was crushing in his grip. “What do you mean?”

            His face went still and serious, his eyes boring into Thalia’s. “This creature often attaches itself to young men. Those young men always lead lives that are filled with strange happenings, mistrust, danger, and more problems than anyone should really be forced to endure. It’s almost as if the spirit attracts trouble, and forces its host to deal with it. That is what young William will have to endure. But don’t worry, we can help him. We can take care of a lot of the problems and there are enough of us that he won’t ever have to face anything alone. But to do that, we need his cooperation.”

            The tremor running through Colt had Thalia worried. She didn’t know how much longer he’d stay silent. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

            “Convince your cousin to help us. I’m sure you’ve found that our group is old, well respected by those who know of it, and has a long tradition of helping others. We won’t let anything happen to William,” Guy said, smiling again.

            Thalia shrugged, deciding getting out of there quickly, Colt was still shaking, was the best option at the moment. “I don’t know if he’ll listen to me, but I’ll think about it.”

            “I can’t ask for more,” he replied, digging in his pocket and handing her a small rectangle. “That’s my card. Please, feel free to give me a call if you run into anything problems or want to talk more. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other.”

            Thalia shrugged, and walked past him, being careful not to brush too close to him in case he noticed Colt. As soon as they were out of sight of Guy, she hurried, eyes locked ahead. If what she could feel from her invisible friend was any indication, he was very close to exploding.