Second on the Right (26 page)

"I have no idea what it is, and I don't care
to find out. We've gotta get to the main highway, a place with more
people and cars," he said, straining to maintain the speed of the
car on the winding road.

Is it flying? Impossible.
She thought,
blinking to have a better look at it.
What does it want?
Just as she finished the thought, the figure's head raised to look
at her, its eyes glowing red in the early afternoon. "Go, Patrick,
go faster!
Faster!
" she yelled.

The dark figure gained speed. It caught up to
them. A light scraping sound came from the back passenger's side of
the suburban. Eileen whipped around, adjusting the side view
mirror. Pressing her face against the window, she looked back. It
was a boy, not more than twelve, dressed in dark green. He looked
at her with the innocence of a young boy. His brown eyes had a
soft, almost tender expression.

How is this possible? s
he thought.

"Eileen!" Patrick shouted, wanting an update.
"What is it?"

"It, it's a boy," she said, not believing the
words coming out of her mouth.

"A what?" Patrick shouted, swerving as he
tried to take a look.

The boy glanced at the door leading to where
Robbie was currently sleeping in his car seat. He blinked and his
brown eyes turned completely black. Eileen's eyes widened as the
boy clawed and scratched his way alongside the door. All innocence
vanished.

"No, no, no! You cannot have my son!" she
pounded on the window. Undoing her seat belt, she scrambled into
the backseat with Robbie and made sure the door was locked. She
bumped into Patrick as she crawled passed him, causing the car to
swerve again.

"Eileen! What’s going on?" Patrick
shouted.

"It's heading for Robbie's door! Patrick,
it's hanging onto the side of the car!" she cried, leaning over
Robbie to look out the window. At the noise, Robbie woke and began
to cry.

"Shhhh. It's all right sweetie. It’s okay,"
she tried to soothe Robbie.

Eileen pressed her forehead against the
window, keeping an eye on the strange boy. He grinned wickedly. As
he wrapped his fingers around the door handle to open it, Eileen
pounded a fist on the window and yelled, "You cannot take him. I am
his mother!"

At the word
'mother'
, the figure's
grin disappeared. He looked at Eileen for a moment, then let go of
the handle and flew off, disappearing into the woods.

Robbie was still crying. "Eileen. Eileen!"
Patrick called, nudging her. "Hey, wake up."

Eileen sat up straight. She looked at
Patrick. She was in the front passenger seat of the car, no longer
in the back next to Robbie. Everything was calm.

"Hey, Sleepyhead. I think young Robert is
hungry. He's been fussing for the past few minutes," Patrick
explained. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I think. Just…a strange dream," she
tried to explain.

Patrick chuckled a bit, "You and your strange
dreams. What was it this time?"

Handing Robbie a cup of juice and some
crackers, she sat back in her seat and stared at the road. "I—" She
looked back at the side view mirror almost convinced it had been
real. “It was just…frightening. I can’t say more, not with little
ears so near.”

"Right. Well, I'm glad it was just a dream.
Not sure I could handle any more excitement at the moment. Besides,
Robbie's looking forward to seeing the elephants, and I'd hate to
disappoint him." He smiled, glancing at Robbie in the rear view
mirror.

The area of Westport was lush with
vegetation. Hues of greens and yellows, intermixed with a variety
of other floral colors spread around the wooded areas covered the
hillsides for miles. Even in the areas where bedrock had fallen,
moss and vine managed to invade their way over and through the
rocks.

In one particular area, a light stream wound
its way into what looked like a small crack in the hillside.
Boulders had fallen in front of the crevice, covering the view from
hikers who might pass by. An opening, large enough for a preteen or
older child but not for an adult, split the boulders.

The narrow entrance led into a large cave.
Smaller holes on the right, left, and in the back hinted at
additional passageways. The cave had not been explored by the
civilized world. The only sound heard within was the faint movement
of water over rocks, falling into various pools throughout the
caverns. The stream continued to snake its way down the center
tunnel, eventually spilling out into an even larger cavern.

In the center of the shadowy room was a lone
figure. The boy remained motionless, legs crisscrossed, arms
resting lightly on each bent leg. Tufts of hair poked out in
various spots from the hooded sweatshirt he wore. Scattered about
his feet were wings and legs from various creatures, the bodies
nowhere in sight. The boy took in a few breaths, his shoulders
rising and falling. A dragonfly flitted around the water. With
lightning speed, he snatched the creature between his fingers. It
struggled within his grasp. Standing up, he stretched, a grin
slowly working its way across his lips. Then, one by one, he pulled
off each wing. A soft snicker of delight escaped his lips.

It was time.

A thrill of excitement flooded her veins. She
had waited too long for this moment. In order to ensure the boy’s
new-found enemy would pursue him, she knew he had to make his visit
count, so much so that to follow would be the
only
option.
As Daria turned her hand, the pool of water before her lit up and
changed. Instead of seeing the coral, sand and sea life, she could
now see the creature. Daria watched as the arrogant boy pushed one
foot off a rock and lifted effortlessly into the air. Moving
through the tunnels, within seconds he was out of the cave and
squinting at the sunlight. He gained his bearings and headed off.
Flying low, he moved in and out of the trees, grazing the water of
the Sound and admiring his reflection. Returning to the home of
James Benedict, the boy hopped onto the porch and tried the handle
of the door. Locked. He peered into each window, looking for signs
of any occupants. The house appeared empty and dark. Flying around
to the front, he found tire tracks, faint, but visible enough to
indicate the direction With a foul expression on his face, he flew
down the road.

He’s going to toy with them. He might go
too far.
For a moment, Daria let her guard down.
It has to
be. This whole mess must end. He and the weapon need to be
destroyed.
From the beginning, she had been preparing the way
for the one person who would be capable of destroying the creature,
given the right situation. Daria would have to push them all over
the edge. The great manipulator, who was able steer the actions of
Captain Benedict, now controlled events to guide the others for her
gain.

James tapped his fingers nervously on the
armrest of the chair. The flight was taking too long. He unbuckled
his seatbelt and knocked on the cockpit door. When the copilot
appeared, James asked for an estimated time of arrival. There was a
delay before the captain turned to answer him.

"Same ETA as I gave less than five minutes
ago. Sir."

James nodded and returned to his seat. He
felt uneasy and wanted desperately to be home with his family. If
he were with them, he could protect them.
Patrick may be strong,
but he did not have as much too lose when it came to Eileen and
Robbie.
James shook his head, looking out the window. He knew
such thoughts were cruel. Patrick was his friend and would do
anything for him and his family.

James grabbed his briefcase and opened it. He
would work on something to keep his mind off the flight. Pulling a
binder and pen from the briefcase, he leaned back to create a list
of items he needed to take care of once he was back in New York. As
he opened it, a long forgotten black spot decal slipped down into
his lap. He froze for a moment. It was similar to the one he had
received at the airport approximately four years ago.
Could it
be?
He picked it up, hoping to find some clue. There was
nothing out of the ordinary. Tossing it down in his briefcase, the
decal flopped over as it fell.

James heard a whisper by his ear, “Destiny.”
He whipped around. No one was behind him. He was the only passenger
on the flight and, at present, alone in the cabin. The staff was in
the cockpit serving refreshments to the pilot and copilot. Slipping
out of his chair, he checked behind the seats and in the lavatory.
Once he was satisfied that it was only his imagination, he sat back
down.

The word echoed in his mind.
Destiny.
Benedict had mentioned destiny. At the time, James didn’t give it
much thought, but now he sat back, thinking of what Benedict had
said.

"No matter how much ya love... somethin', if
it ain't ta be, we cannot fight destiny. We can do nothin'.”

He had concluded Benedict felt close to
Eileen from when she had nursed him back to health. But was it
really only that, or something more?

At the zoo, Robbie had lost his temper,
Eileen had lost her patience and Patrick had lost his mind. The
constant cries and demands were too much to handle. He was already
on edge.

Parking at the Regency Garage, Patrick opened
the back of the Suburban, removed the stroller, and fought to
opening it. Eileen came around the other side, Robbie in her arms,
amusement shining in her eyes. Patrick tossed the stroller onto the
ground and announced it was broken. Eileen handed Robbie over to
Patrick, picked up the stroller and, with one hand, opened it up.
Placing a few items underneath, she smirked.

"Humph!" he grunted. He placed Robbie in the
stroller and secured him with belts.

Walking through the park, Patrick, Eileen,
and Robbie finally reached Central Park Zoo. A tall red-brick
structure with four archways stood at the entrance. Robbie bounced
at the sight of the bronze statues of an elephant and a bear. Above
these lifelike animals was a small tower with a bell and a clock.
Trees lined the walkway through the entrance providing shade from
the summer sun.

Meet the coolest cats in town at the Allison
Maher Stern Snow Leopard Exhibit!

Watch snow monkeys slosh around in their
pool!

Join our zookeepers as they feed sea lions,
penguins, and harbor seals!

Mini-advertisements of the various exhibits
were splashed throughout the walls within the small zoo. With the
new snow leopard exhibit, attendance was higher than usual. Eileen
typically hated large crowds, preferring solitude or a select few
friends; however, considering recent events, she welcomed the
crowd. It gave her a sense of comfort and protection.

At Robbie's demand, they headed to the snow
leopard exhibit. Robbie fought against his restraints until Eileen
finally unfastened him. While she and Robbie watched the snow
leopard, Patrick scanned the area. As he was looking at Eileen,
something caught his attention behind her, among the crowd. When
the sea of people thinned, he saw him. By the description James had
given, it quite possibly was the same boy from the airport some
years ago. Patrick's eyes widened.