West Nine
Gage
He’s life. . . for us. . .
Like illegal dogfighting, my father fought me. For years, I was forced into confinement to fight another innocent. Some kids pissed themselves and cried. Some were already soulless, far from the kind child they’d been born to be.
Back then, every time I lifted my fists to survive another day, it felt like another piece of any hope I had left was eaten away. But not fighting would cost me. Dad was brutally cruel with his ‘motivations’. He even forced me to beat… I can’t talk about what I was forced to do to Sam.
Once Dad finally got busted over his criminal ring of abuse, and I was taken away, I promised myself I would never be controlled again. That’s why I swung like mad when a body collided with mine, and I was tackled to the ground.
“Easy, kid,” a man ordered in a low, gritty voice. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
With no clue who was on me, I clocked him in the jaw, shouting, “Making this harder for you is all I’m gonna do, fucker!”
“Cool it, kid!”
Boom!
We both froze when a gun fired into the night.
From the ground, we peered in the direction the sound had come from.
What I saw was confusing. Even though it was all happening so fast, time slowed.
Something began to shift inside me. It was hard to describe, but it felt like an invisible force wrapped a blanket around me.
It wasn’t restraining or threatening. It was actually…
comforting, even though havoc and all hell were breaking loose around me.
In disbelief, I stared at another big dude tackling the pastor—who I hadn’t even known was nearby. Then I recognized a sneaker lying on its side, with no owner.
Ethan roared, “Sarah!”
I blinked, trying to clear my mind of this calming effect I was experiencing because it was time to panic. Right? Sarah was on the ground. On her back. With someone on top of her.
That someone wasn’t moving and captured my full attention.
It had captured the attention of the man on top of me also. He sounded gutted. “No,” fell from his lips as he shoved himself to his feet. His heavy footfalls echoed in my ears as I rolled to my stomach, watching him charge toward this ‘someone’ lying over Sarah. I had to get closer.
Dazed, I fumbled on my hands and knees before I stood on shaky legs.
In slow motion, I stumbled toward them both.
As the unconscious form was rolled off Sarah, there was a sensation in my chest that insisted this person was important not only to me, but to the existence of something I couldn’t quite comprehend.
There were chaotic noises all around me, yet I couldn’t hear or feel any of it firsthand. All I could do was stare at this lifeless person. I wanted to be closer. I was drawn to him in such a way that felt like my body was no longer my own. And somehow, I was completely at ease about it.
By this person’s side, I sank to my knees, calmly asking, “Is he okay?” even though the man who had attacked me was giving him CPR.
As if high on drugs, I slowly reached out for this person’s hand. As soon as I held it, I knew who this person was. I sighed because I had missed him so damn much. Then I leaned down to his ear and simply whispered, “Brother, you don’t need air to breathe.”
That was the craziest thing to say to someone, but just like that, brown eyes behind the ski mask shot open. He sharply inhaled. Then, selfless as always, Johnny asked, “Is she okay?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer or react.
I didn’t even get a chance to see him again.
As if someone smacked their hands in front of my face and screamed, “Wake up!” I snapped out of the haze.
Sounds suddenly attacked me, like I had removed noise-canceling headphones.
Blinking, I swayed and released a deep breath, taking in everything all at once.
But that wasn’t what shocked me.
Johnny was now gone! Nothing but matted grass lay in front of me.
I peered around to find him but saw Ethan squeezing the fuck out of Sarah as he crushed her against his chest, she appeared as confused as I felt.
Dale—When the fuck did he get here?—was beating the shit out of the pastor.
The men who had been attacking us were now attempting to restrain Dale.
Finn and Sebastian were exiting the pastor’s home with a tiny girl.
I blinked again, then jumped to my feet. “Where is he?”
The man who originally tackled the pastor was gone, too.
For real! What the fuck just happened?
“Sarah, what are you doing?” asked Ethan as she pushed him away, absolutely intrigued by something else.
I turned to witness her slowly stand. Her eyes locked on a target.
Turning on my heels, I followed her line of sight. It led straight to the tiny girl. She only wore a stained pink pajama dress. Bare toes seemed not to be sure of the grass touching them.
The dazed sensation I had just been jerked from now sucked me right back. Once again, I was sheltered by the mystical blanket. This time, I heard a voice: See beyond what you see.
The blanket around me, invisible to those who stood nearby, grew tentacles. They reached out and touched the little girl. Much like when I touched Johnny only a moment ago and instantly recognized him, I now instantly knew who this child was.
Joining Sarah’s side, we both walked toward the petite girl. When close enough, Sarah reached out her hand to the precious soul. “Hi,” she whispered, in awe.
The child, who had been peering around like she was in a foreign world, gazed up and gave Sarah the most timid wave. She whispered in return, “Hi.”
How can such a simple word say so much? I don’t know, although in its simplicity, it screamed a greeting between damaged souls. A recognition of a fellow spirit. A knowing—admitting—how happy one is to have finally found the other.
With an astonished smile, I looked to Sebastian. “You just rescued Blue’s sister.”
He jolted, then rushed to squat in front of her, to better examine her pixie face. Her sapphire eyes… Then he fell back on his ass, covering his mouth. His eyes were wide with shock. “H-H-How?”
Instinctively, I placed a hand on his shoulder to ease his surprise—him reverting to a past stutter. And I stated, “What a beautiful moment in time.”
The mystical blanket grazed him and he looked up at me. “Is this happening?”
Fresh air filled my lungs. “A miracle?” I exhaled all the blessed air. “It is, my friend.”
At the sight of the phenomenon, Sarah dropped to her knees.
“I feel Blue now.” She started crying, but these tears weren’t full of pain.
There was the brightest light all around her.
“Like I felt Caleb.” Her head fell back, and she cried and smiled at the night sky.
“This little baby girl is why I’m just now feeling you.
Thank you, Blue. I will guard her. I swear. ”
Enchanted, I observed us all, and the earth beneath my feet now made perfect sense. “All connected. Even to those we thought we had lost.” I swayed to the rhythm of life. “Never gone.”
At the sight, not even Dale could stay stuck in his anger. In disbelief, he staggered toward us, pulling his phone from his front pocket. Staring at the little girl, he tapped on the phone, then held it to his ear. He waited, then said, “Honey, I need you to sit down.”
Sarah’s hand went into the air, blindly asking for the phone.
Just as unquestioningly, Dale handed it to her. She put it to her ear. “Mom.”
My heart sighed. It was the very first time I had ever heard a fellow foster call Harmony that. It felt right. Harmony had earned that noble title, and more, long ago.
“We found Blue’s sister.” Listening, Sarah nodded, happy tears streaming. “Yes, in the darkness, there is light.”
The pastor was making threats in the background, promising revenge, and yelling not to touch his daughter, but none of us paid him any mind.
He had tried to build a place where evil could reside.
It could grow to harm others. But he failed.
Instead, we were feeling a loving presence.
We were experiencing the truest beauty on this earth: Love.
Once the house was cleared and the security feeds destroyed, all tracks were covered. Down the dark road, a bloody pastor, now hog-tied and gagged, was loaded into the back of a black SUV that had just received a fake magnet tag over the real one.
Dale’s van was parked behind it. He also received a fake tag, and was told by a bearded man, “If you have a safe place, hide that tag for emergencies.” Then he got closer to Dale and whispered, “We would never stand by while a child was in danger.” He coughed, eyeing the girl.
“The little one, there was no evidence of her existence in the house.” He ran a hand down his thick facial hair.
“Tonight, we found her bedroom hidden behind a fake wall. From what we can tell, by his clothes on the floor at her bed, he was in there with her when our shit-storm hit.”
I thought of Dale beating the pastor. The horrid man was only in boxer shorts.
The bearded man added, “The furniture in that room… older, dated, dusty. The little one isn’t the first, if you catch my drift.”
Feeling ill, I looked to the tiny girl who appeared to be barely six. She looked spooked and was holding Sarah’s hand. How long had she been hidden away? Her whole life? Had Blue been trapped in that hidden room also? How young was Blue when the pastor started abusing our friend? Oh, Blue.
I thought of Blue’s mother at the vigil. Sitting on the bench, she seemed half dead. Oh shit. This man had her living daughter. And no one knew it. And no one would believe a drug addict. That woman’s story must be a horrific one.
Dale’s jaw locked. His nostrils widened as he forced himself to breathe, then he nodded. He opened a side door on the van and began to gently guide Sarah and the little girl inside, but the baby girl dug her heels into the ground, staring at the van as if it were a villain.
Sebastian took a knee beside her. “Do you want Sarah to show you how to get in there?”