She fed Bubba Gadget his can of food for the day and then grabbed another bowl from the cupboards. She bent down and opened the door to the turn-table style pantry. She stored a bag of dry cat food in there, for long vacations and emergency rations for Bubba. She loved the little siamese and while she knew she would be home later that evening, she figured that giving him a bit of extra food would not be all too bad. Bubba sat on the kitchen countertop and she picked him up gently.
“Okay, you. Be safe,” Autumn said, hugging the ball of purring fuzz. “Mom is going out for a bit today and she does not know what time she will be home tonight. But you have lots of gooshyfood and a lot of water, so take care of the apartment.”
Then she set the cat back down on the floor next to his bowl and headed to the front door. Using the peep hole, Autumn carefully looked both ways before deciding that her floor was free and clear and safe for her to slip out of the apartment. Slowly she undid the privacy lock and then the dead-bolt, trying very hard not to make any loud and obnoxious sounds. She felt silly doing this but as she did not know if her life was in danger or not, she did not want to take any chances.
Autumn slipped out into the hallway and quickly locked the apartment door safely behind her. She hoped that Bubba Gadget was safe inside. Muttering a few words, that sounded vaguely like a prayer of some sort, Autumn darted down the hallway to the stairs, down the stairs and then out the front door to her apartment complex.
The girl from OPB was right, it was a uncharacteristicly sunny day for Portland. The sun was so bright that it took a good five minutes for Autumn to fully adjust her darkened eyes back to the light around her. Luckily, she noticed that many other Portlanders were also finding it had to see as well. The contrast in weather her town had always made Autumn laugh a little bit. People complained constantly that it rained too much and that the rain affected their moods. Yet, on the first day the city had any sun, everyone shied away from it as if they were vampires. Of course, after a few weeks of sun, everyone complains that things are drying out and they want the rain back. “Aw, the never ending cycle of life in the pacNW,” Autumn said, shaking her head as she made her way to the Max station.
“I have no idea where he could be. All I know is that Andrews hangs around my store and the rest of the shops on the street. For all I know he could have been picked up by the police or found a shelter to hang out in. Perhaps he has found some money and bussed it over to the Eastside of Portland, away from all the negativity in downtown. And even if I did find him, what the heck do i say? I mean, who, in their right mind actually really believe a word I say.”
Autumn paused, and stepped onto the train when it arrived. She swiftly climbed into a seat near the door and took stock of who else was on the train with her. She saw a lot of the usual commuter-types. Students heading to Portland State University, business men who were either late hour workers or on their early lunch hours and a few random kids. No one wore a trench coat that appeared like the Interpol workers who appeared at her store last night.
Autumn shook her head, “Those men were definately not Interpol. I mean, they could have been but I highly doubt it. The questions they asked were full of holes and strange. So who were they? Were they the ones who hurt that boy? And who is this Blackstone guy.” She reached her hand deep into her pocket and felt the smooth and sharp edges of the stone carving in her pocket. “What is this thing supposed to do for me anyway. The boy said it would protect me, but I am not so sure. Who to trust?”
Finally, Autumn was free of the light rail system and made her way, a bit more round about than usual, to her bookstore. Even though she was sure it was early in the morning, it was hard to tell whether or not Andrews would be near The Page Turner waiting for her to arrive. She walked briskly up to twenty-third and then headed down to her store. She hoped that by giving herself some extra time, she would maybe be able to spot Andrews wandering up or down the streets, his familiar green military pack on his back. She wandered a bit up twenty-third, looking in between the stores and homes that lined the road. There was no sign of Andrews.
Sighing a bit and yawning, Autumn headed back down to her store. She was nervous and had no idea what to expect once she arrived so she attempted to prepare herself for the worst. Instead of seeing more dead bodies or a gathering of police from all over the world, all she spotted was her store. The red bricks looking very solid and the two trees out front looking green, as always.
Autumn chuckled at herself. She had worked herself up into a frenzy for nothing. But she still felt nervous. Rushing to the front door, she slipped her key into the lock. There was no sign of Andrews and that disappointed her a little bit. She was really hoping he’d be there waiting for her like he did a few days before. But she guessed that even homeless old guys have things to do as well.
She disarmed the alarm system and looked at the clock on the register. It was ten o’clock. Not wanting to go home and feeling like she could keep herself occupied at work, she decided to open the store for a short while that day.
“After all,” she said to the books, “if I do not keep the store open then I cannot survive without getting paid.”
She hastily opened the store, realizing that she did not make a deposit the night before. She postmarked the previous night’s receipts and added them into her deposit bag. Then she took the bag back into the backroom office, for safe keeping.
The door chime rang as she was exiting the small office. Autumn held her breath and hoped that it was not any more of the authorities. She had just had enough of her fill of police and strange customs to last her for the whole year.
The air escaped her lungs with a loud whooshing sound. It was Andrews and she felt so relieved that she almost wanted to run over and give him a big hug. Instead, her eyes watered up a bit and she had to chock back all the fear that consumed her the past few days.
“Heya darling,” he announced. Autumn was unsure whether or not he had heard the news. “Had some business to attend to down in Salem. Sorry I was not here to help you yesterday. So, what did I miss? Hey, you look absolutely tired and stressed out. What happened?”
Autumn slid behind the counter and slumped down in her stool. “Oh my god. I have missed you. What a day it was yesterday? And where to begin,” Autumn rubbed her temples trying to figure out how to tell Andrews about all the events going on in the past few days.
“Okay, this is gonna sound really, really crazy Andrews. But you are the only one I can trust at this moment. Remember that kid I was telling you about the other day. The one who wandered into the store?”
Andrews nodded and did not say anything, he gave all of his attention to Autumn. Apparently, something big happened and she did not know what to say.
“Well, he came back here yesterday. Spouting something about having hidden something and about being attacked by things with claws. He had been cut and was bleeding. The wound,” Autumn gasped and fought back the image in her head, “it was horrible. It extended down his chest. He was dying and he knew it. But he asked me to take something out of his pocket and keep it safe from them. And then he told me that if Blackstone, whoever that is, ever finds out where he hid it, the world would be in trouble.”
Autumn fumbled in her pocket and pulled out the small obsidian statue. “So yeah, this is the thing he wanted me to take. And then, he died. And I spent all afternoon talking to the police. I do not think they believe I did it, but still… it worries me.”
“Oh and even more. These two guys, dressed almost alike walked into the store a half hour before closing time and tell me they are from europe and that the boy was some sort of theif. I do not believe them for a second but they were really curious about what he may have dropped and left behind. They searched the store even. But there is nothing here except books.”
“I felt like I was being followed all last night, and my mind kept dragging up all these images from the dream I had the night before. And to top it all off,” Autumn’s voice grew even more haggered as she started babbling. “Both OPB and the news said that there was another attack up over on the trails behind twenty-third, some girl got slashed by some wild beast. And I cannot help but think the two deaths are related. So yeah, think I am crazy now?”
Andrews took a deep breath and then, he finally responded, “No, I do not think you are nuts. A bit stressed perhaps, but not certifiable. Yet. I believe you so far. But I am curious, what did you dream about and how does it fit into all of this?”
Autumn closed her eyes and told Andrews about the dream she had the other night. She told him about the wand and the destruction and the daemons killing everyone and chasing her. She described in detail the robed man and how the boy was killed on stage. When she got to that part, she stopped midsentence. “Oh my god, do you think the dream I had was trying to warn me about the death?”
“It is possible,” Andrews said, reaching out to put his hand on Autumn’s shoulder, “however, I believe that was a small part of the larger events that are going on. Do you think you can take a small lunch break and join me over at Coffee People?”
Autumn looked at the time and shrugged. “I just opened the store late today but I guess I can. I am too stressed out to really focus on selling or talking about books today.”
“I understand that, Autumn. But believe me, I think you will want to hear what I have to say. At least, I hope you will because it may help shed some light on all the weirdness going on. I am glad you trusted me enough to tell me this.”
Autumn smiled, “Who else could I tell all this to? No one would believe me and I am sure they would send me away to rot in some padded room.”
They closed up the store again and made their way to Coffee People. Even though the sun was still shining outside, small poofs of smoke evaporated from their mouths as they walked. The smell of coffee grounds grew stronger and they entered the coffeehouse.
Looking around them, Andrews spotted a nice secluded corner with two plush chairs and a small table. He gestured for Autumn to go over and sit down while he went to the counter. “Do you need money,” Autumn offered.
“Nope, this one is on me,” Andrews winked. Soon he was back over with two cups. “One nice warm chai right here.”
“Thank you,” Autumn said, warming her hands up on the cup and taking a small sip. “Mmmm this hits the spot.”
“Autumn, I believe your story. And after seeing the totem that you were told to take, I know what we are dealing with now. You thought that what you had to tell me was impossible and crazy sounding; well, what I am about to tell you is going to trump everything and cannot leave this room.”
Autumn’s eyes squinted and she grew confused, “Um. Okay, sure. But after all I saw and whatnot, I am sure there is nothing you can say that will scare me.”
“We will see about that.” Andrews said, his voice growing serious. “My name is Graham Andrews and while everyone in Portland thinks I am just a good for nothing homeless bum. I assure you I am not. I am the Leader of a secret government organization based here in Portland. I am quite rich and live up in a house in the West Hills. Our organization, called the Order of the Sacred Word, seeks to guard and protect items of high National Security. Items, that if found in the wrong hands, could bring about the end of the world. We have been following the reports of this Blackstone guy you mention and how he has been attempting to find a scepter very much like the one you described. And you were right to be leary about those two gentlemen in the coats, for they were not european; they were agents of Blackstone sent to find out how much you knew and whether or not you had something that the boy took. And actually, if you want to get technical about it all, they are not even human. But I guess we will have to go into that another day.”
Autumn blinked. She could not believe her ears. Andrews was not homeless and there really were secret government organizations. She openend and closed her mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Andrews looked at her nervously, unsure of what to say next.
“So yeah, I guess all this is really strange. But I am sure if you think about it a bit Autumn, you will realize that what I am saying to you makes perfect sense. Think about your empathy, the fact that your intuition is right one hundred percent of the time. Think about your dream and the visions and warnings it gave you. Think about that scepter/wand from the dream. Think about what would happen to the world if someone like Blackstone got ahold of it?”
“I do not know if I can believe this. It is much more than I can take. Why, even if all this IS true, are you telling me about it? Doesn’t it jepordize my life even more now that I know about what is really going on? And even if all this really IS true, what can I do about it? I am a bookstore owner, not someone like MacGuyver who has the knowledge or tools to save the world,” Autumn was reacting to all this new information and did not know what to say.
“Autumn, please. You are overreacting. I know this sounds weird. But beleive me, I have seen what the ‘everyday’ person can do when faced in weird and unusual circumstances. If I did not think that you could take this knowledge and do something with it, then I would not be sitting here, wasting valuable time, telling a bookstore owner with an uncanny sixth sense about the reality behind magic and daemons now would I?” Andrews shifted in the comfortable recliner. He feared that Autumn was going to walk away and ignore the gifts and talents that she had been given, everything that he told her and end up dead. The latest casuality in Blackstone’s quest for ultimate world power.
The red haired girl with green eyes looked at Andrews and shrugged, “I do not know how to react in this situation Andrews. Look, I gotta go. Home. Need some time to sort this out and figure it out for myself. Please do not follow me or talk to me. I just do not know what to think anymore.”
Tears welled up in Autumn’s eyes as she stood and hurridly ran out of the coffee house, leaving Andrews alone in the secluded corner. She needed air. She felt lost and confused and did not know where to go, except home. The world she once thought she knew felt cold and strange to her. And dangerous.
