Five | Vanished

Michelle pushed her fork through the pile of green beans on her plate and sighed. Normally, she would have enjoyed her food but today, grief was weighing her down and stealing her appetite from her.

She had been to this restaurant many times before with her grandfather yet she couldn’t recall one singular occasion. Instead, it was a mashup of several different moments, blurred and messy at the moment. Sighing in frustration, she lowered her head and closed her eyes.

“Nehemiah will be here soon,” Ezra assured her as he took a sip of his green tea.

“It’s fine,” she muttered, rubbing the side of her face. “I sprung it on you kind of last minute.”

“What changed your mind?” he asked. “The last time we talked about it, you were completely against it.”

“I need someone to stay with,” she answered honestly. “Sunny is moving back in with her aunt and uncle this afternoon and I’m scared to spend one more night in the apartment alone.”

He nodded slowly. “So are you actually interested in the Apprenticeship?”

“Yes.” She put her fork down. “I want to take over the CEO position now. It feels wrong to just sit back and Liam have it.”

“Ah, he’s here.” Ezra motioned over towards the front door where a taller man entered, wearing a brown coat that came down to his knees. His chocolate colored hair was neatly parted down the middle and his dark eyes accented his olive skin.

The two brothers looked nothing alike unless you focused on the eyes. Only then did they resemble each other. Many people had told her that Nehemiah took after their father and Ezra after their mother.

Nehemiah settled down in the chair next to Ezra and told the waitress what he wanted to drink.

“When do you want to begin your Apprenticeship?” he asked, putting his elbows on the table. “Anytime is fine.”

“This afternoon,” she answered without hesitation. “I want to be moved out of the apartment before nightfall.”

He leaned his head to the side. “This is because of your Nightmare, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” she answered.

“You’re not actually interested in the Apprenticeship because you want to learn about the Gateways,” he spoke.

She was quiet, knowing that the reason she came to the brothers was selfish but she couldn’t do anything about it. They were her only hope and the Apprenticeship was a good excuse.

“But I understand,” he continued. “You have no one else right now and being alone in such a state is not a good idea for you.”

She nodded.

“Also, with Vanished back, this is a good opportunity for you to do what your Grandfather always planned on doing.” He rubbed his jaw in thought. “Although I don’t know every single last detail of your grandfather’s plan, I’m sure you know more than I do.”

She leaned her head to the side. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just supposed to find Vanished.”

“And you did.” Ezra cut in. “But there was more your grandfather had planned.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“That’s not important right now,” Nehemiah spoke. “Let’s finish discussing the Apprenticeship. I know that you are currently dealing with the loss of both your grandparents and that it might be hard for you to focus on the training.”

He looked her in the eyes and maintained the eye contact for a little too long. Although it wasn’t obvious, she couldn’t help but think that he didn’t want her to think about what Ezra had started to say. Whatever it was, he knew there must have been a reason her grandfather didn’t tell her about the next step in his plan.

“I’m willing to do it,” she answered. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll give you a month,” he said. “You can live with us during that month and then for the last two months we’ll do the training. That way the Apprenticeship will be finished by the time you are old enough to be CEO.”

Three months.

Three months until everything would be semi-fine.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke. “Sounds good.”

The rest of the meal went smoothly but she was tempted to bring up what Ezra had mentioned yet she didn’t for fear that Nehemiah would once again turn the direction of the conversation onto something else.

As she left the restaurant, she looked over her shoulder to see Ezra wave before heading towards his car. Nehemiah gave her a nod as he pulled out of the parking lot and she waved back numbly.

They were keeping something from her and although she was sure they would tell her when they thought she was ready, she didn’t like the idea of not knowing.

She let her hand drop as both cars disappeared down the street, leaving her standing numbly in the middle of parking lot.

****

Michelle sat cross from Nehemiah in his office, wiping her hands off on the legs of her jeans. She left finger prints everywhere she touched and she could still taste the dust in the back of her throat, making her cough.

His office was bigger than her room and there were wings off to the right and left, their shelves filled to the brim with books, manuscripts, and scrolls. She took the sight in little by little yet it was impossible to not feel small in the middle of the room.

“How do you like your room?” he asked, not looking up from his paper work. “No one’s ever lived in there so I’m afraid it’s a bit dirty.”

She rolled her eyes. Dirty was an understatement. It was terrible. A thick layer of dust coated everything including the floor and she had to vacuum, dust, and mop before even moving in a single box. Ezra had been kind enough to assemble the bed they had pulled out of another room but even he had a hard time handling the smell of dust. She could still hear him sneezing in the kitchen.

“It’s okay,” she assured him, shifting in her seat. “Is that all you needed from me?”

He finally looked up at her, taking his glasses off and setting them off to the side.

“No,” he answered. “I need you to sign some papers for the Apprenticeship.”

Sliding the files across the table, he leaned back in his chair and watched as she clicked the pen open and closed as she read over them.

“I’m not trying to scam you into signing your soul over to me or anything.” He laughed. “But I’ll explain what they are anyways.”

“This one—.” He tapped his finger on the paper. “—is the general contract, proving that you’ve agreed to live with us for the next three months.” He nodded towards the one she held in her lap. “That one states that you’ve agreed to push back the process a month to help you get used to your surroundings.”

She nodded, flipping through the pages. “And this one?”

It was printed on off-white paper and the font was slightly different from the others.

“That one,” he drew it out for several seconds. “Is in case you get hurt while under this contract. Basically, it says that if you get mentally or physically hurt or killed while under my care, I can’t be held accountable for it.”

She looked up at him slowly, their eyes meeting. “Is there a possibility that I will be hurt in the next three months?”

He didn’t answer and with every second he remained quiet, she started to regret her decision. Maybe living by herself would have been better after all. At least back in her apartment she was safe from anything that could crawl out of the woodwork from Echonia or Elrona and harm her. She was safer yet at the same time she wasn’t.

Staying in the apartment would mean staying alone—with a rogue Nightmare. As it was, she knew she needed to notify Gateway Inc. so they could help her before things went south fast but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Asking for their help was like admitting defeat.

And yet she had done it anyways. She had clawed her way out of her comfort zone to finally take Ezra and Nehemiah up on their offer and now, she would be in more danger.

“Probably not,” he finally spoke. “Sorry for the delay but I was trying to think of the odds of you getting hurt or killed.”

She was quiet and he continued.

“As you know already, this is the risky part of the job. We deal with anything that comes through the Gateways and we protect earth from possible damage. Although no one has lost their life on the job in over seven years, there is always a small possibility that it’ll happen to you. That’s why you have to sign papers saying you’re aware of the chances and won’t press charges if anything happens. We just don’t want to be sued.”

He smiled slightly and nodded towards the paper. “Please sign on the x.”

She tried not to think as she scrawled her name in sloppy cursive along the line. Even if she did die, it would be better than living and suffering for her whole life.

She slid the papers back to him. “Is that all?”

“One more thing,” he said. “I need you to look at something for me.”

He spun in his chair and pulled a scroll off the shelf. As he splayed it out on the table, he pointed to the middle.

“I can’t read this,” he said.

She examined the ancient-looking manuscript before her, reaching out to let her fingertips brush against the worn edges. As soon as she touched it, she pulled back, a jolt running through arm.

It reminded her of the rush of adrenaline-like energy that had rushed through her body less than a day ago. She pulled her sleeves down to cover her arms when she caught sight of the black running down her arm, tracing her veins.

She looked up at Nehemiah to see that he was staring at her hands. Looking down, she saw that the inky blackness hadn’t stopped at her wrists like it had before but had continued onto the back of her hand and around her fingers, twisting and turning as if it was a tangled thread.

“You’re a Child,” he spoke, breathless.

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she shook her head. “No, you’re misunderstood.”

“I know what that is.” His steely gaze met hers and she found herself wishing to disappear completely. “I’ve seen it before.”

She bit her tongue, searching for something to say.

“Read it.” He nodded towards the scroll once more. “Now that I’m sure you can understand what it says, I need you to translate it for me.”

“Translate it?” she echoed. “It’s written in English.”

She looked down at the scroll, taken aback as the letters written in thick black ink began to change, distorting and bending until they formed symbols and shapes she had never seen. No matter how hard she tried to remember what had been written there moments ago, she couldn’t recall it.

Blinking, the letters once again rearranged themselves, and she could read it.

“Why did it do that?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the scroll.

“Because it’s written in Old Form Echonian, the original writing system of Echonia,” he answered. “This manuscript is almost as old as the world its self, dating all the way back to the first king of Echonia. Although this way of writing was long since forgotten, there are only a few people that can read it. Those that spend their whole life learning how to read it or those that are born with the ability to do so.”

“And those are the Children.” She once again reached out to touch it, greeted by the all-familiar sensation like before.

“What does it say?” He leaned forward. “I’ve been trying to translate it for years but have never been able to.”

“Just get Vanished to read it for you.” She let go of the edge and sat back in her chair. “He’s probably better at than me.”

“He won’t do it for me.” He frowned. “He says it’s like talking about the Grim Reaper—he’s prone to show up when you’re done.”

She rubbed her jaw. “Then maybe it’s best you don’t know.”

Raising an eyebrow, he set his jaw. “Read it or I’ll shred these contracts.”

When she hesitated, he reached out and picked the pages up, preparing to tear them like he promised.

“Fine.” She yanked them from his grasp and slammed her palm down on the old wooden desk and started to read. “‘Two worlds together, rotating and spinning as one. Two people, one to protect and one to redeem. Glass will shatter and the Nightmares will Vanish. Only one will survive—chaos or peace.’ Kind of confusing if you ask me.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s talking about you and V.”

She raised an eyebrow. “It’s just an old writing, how could it have anything to do with us?”

Opening the drawer under the top of his desk, he pulled out a pile of manuscripts and flipped through them till he found the one he was looking for.

“This manuscript is from a couple hundred years ago—not really that old but it records what happen to the king that wrote this scroll.” He tapped the ruin covered piece of paper under her hand. “Here, listen to this. ‘King Alaion was dethroned on the presumption that he had gone insane after seeing a dream of the future. He wrote of his findings in a scroll that has yet to be found, recording what he saw in the form of a small prophecy.’”

“A small prophecy?” she laughed, tracing her fingers over the ruins. “This is massive. It just translates well.”

“That’s not the point,” he said. “The point is that whatever this prophecy is talking about, it’s going to happen.”

“Why? Because some messed up old man saw it in a dream?”

“It wasn’t a dream,” he corrected. “They had no other name for it so they decided to call it that but, in reality, he traveled sideways through the Gateway.”

Her eyes widened. “How is that even possible?”

“It’s technically not, but many people have done it and there’s always a reason for it,” he answered. “Sometimes, they go backwards in time, seeing things that have already happened, or they go forward, seeing things that are yet to come.”

“That’s exactly the problem,” she started. “Just because he saw it several hundred years ago doesn’t mean it’s going to actually happen.”

“That is a good point and there is a small possibility that’s the case but we can’t be too careful.” He leaned back in his seat. “As it is, the Nightmare’s are already targeting you.”

She knew he was right and it was useless to argue with him. He knew what he was talking about and had obviously taken time to research everything and make sure it was all true.

Hanging her head, she rubbed her temples and took a deep breath. “So what do I do?”

“First off, you need to meet Vanished.”

****

Michelle felt him before she saw him. It was as if she had slipped into a bathtub filled with ice cold water the moment she stepped out onto the roof. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dark so she stood still, waiting and freezing cold.

Then she saw him.

He sat on the edge of the roof, his feet hanging in the empty air. His midnight black jacket danced with the wind that twisted around his body, pulling at his white t-shirt and dark hair.

She stepped forward and his head turned, eyes practically glowing against the night sky. The color was somewhere between green and blue, similar to the haze of neon lights that came up from the city below.

A black mask covered the rest of his face, making it impossible for her to see the expression on his face, but she didn’t need to see him to know that she was annoying him.

“Nehemiah told me to find you,” she spoke, hating how small her voice sounded. “But you obviously don’t want me around right now.”

She shivered as her words hung loosely in the frozen air.

He once again looked over his shoulder at her, but this time he took the mask off, revealing the rest of his face. Although she was still several feet away from him, she could see the scars that covered his face, barely sunken into the skin, reminding her of a spider web.

Silence hung over them for a split second before he swung his feet over and stood up, stepping towards her. She involuntarily retreated as he neared and he stopped.

After waiting a moment, he stepped forward again and she retreated. She felt the cold metal of the door against her back and pressed her palms against it, hoping it would give way and let her retreat down the stairs and back to the penthouse.

“Who are you?” he questioned, closing the space between them.

He reached out his, slidding his hand up the side of her neck and brushing her hair out of the way. Running his thumb over her skin, he let out a sigh and leaned back on his heels.

“You’re marked, Glass.” He smirked.