Misfits, Inc. (11 page)

“We need to get the hell out of here,” Vance
quickly announced.

“What about the woman?” Skyler suddenly asked.

“Wake up, man,” Logan cried out with conviction. 
“She’s dead!”

“He’s right, Skyler,” Hailey informed him and
clutched his arm.  “We have to go--now.”

They turned and hurried along the torch lit tunnel,
revealing tunnels branching off in many directions.  They could hear snarling
and movement from all around them.  All four ran in the direction of the opening. 
As Hailey looked behind them, she saw a beast running for them.  It was going
to reach them before they found the exit.  The beast suddenly stopped and
slowly backed away while snarling.  Marcus appeared in the tunnel near the
entrance, startling them.  All four cried out then stared at the head of
security.  He stared back at them with surprise and possible anger.

“You shouldn’t be in here,” Marcus informed them. 
“The mineshafts are dangerous.”

Skyler cast looks from Logan to Hailey.  She saw Skyler
raise his brows in suggestion to Marcus’ sudden appearance just when they
needed him.  Hailey avoided looking at Skyler.  She no longer wanted to
entertain his fantasies; she just wanted to get as far away from the mineshaft
and whatever caused the woman to scream.

H
ailey and Skyler sat on the sofa in the living room of her
suite with drinks in their hands.  Logan leaned against the portable bar and
refilled his own glass.  There was an unusual silence among the three as they
watched Vance pace before the balcony door.  He repeatedly shook his head and
looked at them as if they were crazy.  Hailey wondered how long it would be
until he actually spoke after Skyler told his nearly unbelievable retelling of
Logan’s fairy tale.

“Do you know how insane you sound?” Vance demanded,
finally breaking the silence.  “I can’t believe I’m still standing here
listening to the three of you.”

“I walked on a rope one hundred yards above a
ravine,” Logan announced, astonished by his own words.  “No, scratch that.  I
ran
across a rope above the ravine.”

“So you have good balance,” Vance replied and
cocked his head while grinning mockingly.  “That doesn’t make you a mystical
warrior.”

“You may not be willing to accept the fact that
you’re a part of this team,” Logan informed him, “but you have to admit, what
happened today was some pretty serious shit.  You can’t explain it, so you
don’t want to believe it.”

“I don’t want to believe it, because I’m not
insane,” Vance launched back.  He indicated Hailey without looking at her and
raised a brow.  “Your magical princess isn’t saying much.  She thinks you’re
insane too.”

Hailey knew she’d been unusually silent throughout
the entire Vance initiation.  The events of the day had her very confused.  She
wasn’t ruling out the entire thing being just another one of her nightmares.

“I don’t know what to think,” Hailey replied
softly.  “Two women are dead, and I’m convinced we may have heard the fate of
another.  I’m just overwhelmed by all this.”

“We need to talk to Marcus,” Logan firmly informed
the others.  “He’s vital to our mission.”

“Our mission?” Hailey suddenly demanded.  “Do we
even have a mission?”

“See,” Vance scoffed.  “I told you she didn’t
believe you either.”

Skyler looked at Logan while completely ignoring
Hailey and Vance.  “Yeah, and say what?” he demanded while flapping his arms
around wildly and nearly spilling his drink.  He then tilted his head and
widened his eyes dramatically.  “By the way, Marcus, you’re the chosen Guardian
of a magical princess.”

“Well,” Vance snorted with a humored look, “at
least you know how you sound to me.”

“So we’ll just have to prove it,” Logan replied and
ignored Vance’s comment.

“News flash, piano man; unless you’ve got some cute
parlor tricks, I’m not buying it either,” Vance launched back.  “Are either of
you even listening to yourselves?  She’s not a magical princess, you’re not the
Jolly Green Giant, although, you do look a little like Mr. Clean.”  He then
looked at Skyler and waved him off.  “And you’re just a freak.”

Skyler sneered at him and appeared offended.  “I
don’t like that term,” he muttered.

“Explain what happened,” Logan fired back at
Vance.  “Explain those creatures.”

“Hey,” Vance snapped defensively, “I didn’t see any
creatures.  I only heard something in the shadows.  For all I know, it could
have been a dog.  And as far as what happened--
nothing
happened
!” 
He wildly gestured with his drink.  “We may or may not have heard a woman being
killed.”  Vance stared at Logan with a serious look and pointed accusingly. 
“That’s what happened.”

Hailey groaned softly, stood, and approached Logan
at the bar.  She set her glass down and allowed him to refill it.  He glanced
at her several times, as if waiting for her to respond.  When she didn’t, his
disappointment showed.

“Come on, Hailey,” Logan announced firmly.  “You
have to believe this is real.  You saw the creatures.  You saw actual ghosts. 
Talk some sense into him.”

“I’m not the one who thinks he’s some mystic
warrior,” Vance snapped back at Logan.

Logan frowned and stared at Hailey with a demanding
look.  “Talk some sense into your Charmer before I charm my foot up his ass.”

Hailey wished she knew what to believe.  She
finally glanced at Vance, still uncertain what she should say regarding what
had happened over the last two days.  Vance immediately looked away and
continued pacing the room.  She was suddenly curious.  She studied him for a
long moment and watched as he cast glances at her but never really looked at
her.  His behavior had struck her as odd from the beginning, but she had just
assumed it was because he had no interest in her.  The playing field had
changed and any romantic illusions were thrown by the wayside.  Why did he
still refuse to look at her?  She set down her drink and approached him with a
curious look on her face.  He cast a look, saw her approach, and turned away
from her.  His actions seemed so natural, yet so unnatural.  What was hiding in
his eyes that he didn’t want her to see?

“Vance, look me in the eyes,” she said simply.

“Why?” he scoffed while remaining turned.  “What’s
that going to prove?”

Logan’s expression dropped as he stared at them. 
He suddenly turned arrogant, leaned on the bar, and tilted his head.  “What’s
the big deal, man?  Just look at her.”

Skyler slowly sat forward and watched intently as if
finally understanding.  Vance groaned with disgust then turned to face Hailey
and attempted to look into her eyes.  She saw something strange in his eyes, as
if his world shattered.  He immediately looked away and ran his trembling
fingers vigorously through his hair.  All three stared at him with the same
look of astonishment.

“Why can’t you look me in the eyes?” Hailey asked,
clearly surprised by the reaction.

Vance immediately fidgeted and cast a glance back
at her.  “I don’t know.  I get this really messed up feeling.”  He turned oddly
defensive.  “Not in a sexual sort of way.”  He shifted uncomfortably and again
ran his fingers through his hair, nearly pulling some out.  “It’s a strange
feeling like in that dream I had.”

“Dream?  What sort of dream?” Skyler suddenly
gasped and jumped from his seat.

Vance appeared reluctant to respond and continued
his pacing.  Skyler crossed the room, joining them near the balcony.  Vance was
unusually silent a moment then exhaled softly.

“Nine years ago, I was supposed to marry an
heiress.  I was going to have everything I’d ever wanted, and all I had to do
was say ‘I do’.  I didn’t love her, but I wanted to be someone.”  He hesitated
and avoided looking at any of them.  “You know; someone important.”

Skyler nodded with complete understanding but
didn’t interrupt him.

“I felt trapped in my own private hell that I’d
created,” Vance announced.  “A few days before the wedding, I had this dream
that I had beautiful women crawling all over me.  It was the most erotic dream I’d
ever had.  Then I saw a woman with a brilliant light surrounding her.  The
light was so bright; I couldn’t even look at her.  She told me if I went with
her, I’d have everything I ever wanted.”  His voice trailed off with his
thoughts.  “She pulled me into the light with her--”

There was an odd silence as Vance drifted off into
another world.  Logan and Skyler stared at him with lusty anticipation to the
rest of the story.

“Well?” Logan finally bellowed out breaking the
silence.  “What happened?”

Vance shrugged.  “I woke up.”

Logan and Skyler groaned with disappointment. 
Hailey hid her smile and shook her head at their reactions.  She found their
boyish fascination humorous.

“I know it sounds crazy, but something happened to
me in that dream,” he insisted almost defensively.  “I woke up feeling
different
.” 
His enthusiasm quickly returned along with his charming smile.  “I broke off my
engagement, fell into my own fortune, and enjoyed every moment since.”

Skyler glared at Hailey and placed a hand on his
hip while pointing demandingly at Vance.  “He gets hot women and wealth? 
Feeling a little ripped off here, Hailey.”

“Wait,” Logan suddenly announced then looked at
Hailey as well.  “If that dream was your first encounter with Vance, then that
means this was predetermined nine years ago.”

“No, I met Hailey twelve years ago,” Skyler
insisted.

“That can’t be,” Logan said while shaking his head
in disbelief.  “That would mean I wrote “The Gift”
after you’d met her.”

Hailey stared at Logan and felt something she
hadn’t before.  It was as if thoughts were coming to her from her subconscious,
feeding her stories she wasn’t sure she could believe.

“I must have given you the story,” she remarked,
astonished by her own admission.

Skyler threw his hands in the air excitedly and
grinned his pleasure.  “Finally!  She’s a confirmed believer!”

“I don’t remember any of it, but there’s no other
explanation,” Hailey informed Skyler then looked back at Logan.  “Did your life
change at some point?”

Logan leaned on the bar and considered the question
only briefly before speaking.  “When I was in college, before I wrote the
fable, my father was pushing me to become a doctor, but I wanted to be a
musician.  I remember waking up out of a dead sleep, sitting at the piano, and
playing every symphony I’d ever heard.  That’s when I changed my major.”  He
stared at her and shook his head uncertainly.  “But why give me the story to
publish?”

Hailey shook her head and shrugged without a clue. 
She felt like everything was just speculation and couldn’t really prove any of
it.  It again seemed more like a dream than reality, and the words she was
speaking weren’t even her own.  She wondered if she overreacted by encouraging
them but somehow couldn’t help herself.

“She never knew her destiny,” Skyler announced as
if picking up some divine inspiration.  “Her uncle died unexpectedly when she
was young, so everything had to happen while she slept.  I was her only link to
the rest of you.”  He looked at Logan.  “She chose you to write the story, so
you could awaken her subconscious, which you obviously have.”

“That means our meeting wasn’t accidental at all,”
Logan suddenly announced.

“It was destined from the beginning.  I knew it! 
We have to talk to Marcus,” Skyler insisted with renewed enthusiasm.  “Maybe we
could combine our powers and communicate with him through our minds or some
shit.”

Logan glared at him while folding his arms across
his chest.  “Now I know you aren’t suggesting something as pathetic as holding
hands in a circle.”

“We have to trust our instincts,” Hailey replied
then extended her hand to them.

Skyler was quick to take her hand.  Logan groaned
with defeat, joined them, and took her hand.  He cast a stern glare at Vance as
if commanding him to join in and look stupid with them.  Vance rolled his eyes
and reluctantly joined hands with them.

“I hope no one walks in and sees this,” Vance
muttered with disgust.

They shut their eyes and concentrated for only a
few minutes, but it seemed like a lifetime.  Nothing happened.  Logan opened
one eye and looked around. 

“This is ridiculous,” Logan scoffed.  “Nothing
happened and we look stupid.”

Hailey gripped Logan’s hand, silencing him.  He
again shut his eyes.  The room suddenly rattled and objects bounced on tables. 
All four opened their eyes with surprise but didn’t release the others’ hand. 
The balcony doors flew open and a gust of wind blew into the room.  The
fireplace erupted into flames along with every candle, starling all four. 
Smaller objects levitated from nearby tables.  Ivy and vines grew and stretched
through the open balcony doors, filling the room.  Parrots and cockatoos flew
into the suite, circling them and dive-bombing the cat on the nearby chair. 
The black cat chased after them and leaped at them from its position on the
floor, attempting to catch them.  Hundreds of butterflies fluttered into the
room and landed on all four.  It was a strange realization that somehow they
were able to create this.  All four were overjoyed by what they were doing. 
The cat danced around on its hind legs and attempted to catch the butterflies.

A colorful parrot landed on Vance’s shoulder and
flapped its wings.  The vines blossomed beautiful flowers and continued to
travel the room.  Before their eyes, the black cat stretched and transformed
into the panther, startling everyone.  It was true.  Every word of it was
true!  There was a knock on the door.  All four were startled and jumped
apart.  The levitating objects crashed to the tables, the birds flew out the
open balcony doors, and the plant life shriveled and rolled outside.  The
balcony doors slammed shut with a gust of wind.  The panther jumped onto one of
the chairs, immediately changing back into the little black cat.  They
exchanged odd stares.  Before anyone could speak, there was a louder more
urgent pounding on the door.  Hailey hurried to the door and opened it to
reveal Marcus.  He stood in the doorway with a serious look on his face. 
Hailey appeared surprised then almost humored to see him.  Had they actually
succeeded in summoning the Guardian to them?