11th Times the Charm
an excerpt

Chapter:

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound jerked Greshen out of his thoughts, and his head jerked upwards, a dark look in his eyes.

He’d finally gotten rid of everyone else in the household. No one would be around to interrupt.

Greshen rose off the couch and went to the door. He pulled it open, and smiled at the person standing on the porch, half soaked from the pouring Portland rain.

“Hi there Nlad.” Greshen said to the man. “Come on inside and get warm.” He said, and opened the screen door for the man, and a moment later, closed the oak door behind them both. Greshen led Nlad to the hallway, and then back, to where Greshen’s room was. Inside, he took a seat on the floor in front of the table sitting in the middle of the room. Nlad took a seat too. Greshen leaned forward and picked up the large bottle of wine that had already been uncorked. “Wine?” He asked Nlad, who nodded, so he poured him a glass, and then refilled his own. “So,” said Greshen, settling back against the couch, his wine glass in hand. “I heard you had something important to speak about?”

“Yes, I do.” Nlad said, and sipped his wine. He was trying to keep himself calm. This was such an important and yes, delicate, situation, and he so very much didn’t want to screw it up. He was sure he wouldn’t get a second chance. “I wanted to ask you something, and I thought coming to you in person would be the best way. I’m old fashioned that way.”

“What way?” Greshen asked, his tone light, but that dark glint still luring in the hearts of his pupils.

“I’m old fashioned, in how I feel I should tell those closest to the girl I love, that I would like her hand in marriage, before I tell the girl.”

Greshen’s eyes widened for only a split second, and then he covered this up.

“I know Moralis trusts you. She’s said so. She considers you one of her closest friends, and I’ve even just seen it in her eyes. I felt the best way to go about this, was perhaps to tell you my intentions first, alright Greshen?” Nlad said, trying to get an answer out of this man, but it wasn’t working. Something about Greshen was different, something about his eyes, and his voice. “I want to marry her Greshen. What do you think?”

“Is that all?” Greshen asked coldly, and downed the last of his wine. He leaned forward to pour himself another. “Isn’t there anything else you want to mention? Something you want to confess?” Nlad cocked his head, incredibly puzzled.

“No.” Said Nlad. “I don’t think so.”

“Like how you’ve been working alongside Shefhen.” Said Greshen, growling out the last word, the name of Nlad’s previous trailer buddy. Nlad hadn’t even opened his mouth, before the man was going on. “You’ve been living with Shefhen, working alongside him in making contact with Moralis again, sending her gifts, terrible gifts.” His voice was growing lower, and his tones….colder.

“I’ve…no idea what your talking about Greshen.”

“Then you don’t recognize these?” Said Greshen, his voice having risen, and shoved the boxes and cards before Nlad’s eyes.

“Shefhen’s gifts…for his old lover.” Nlad said, terribly confused, as he took in the sight of the things before him….things he did recognize.

“So you admit it.” Said Greshen, sitting back again and sipping his drink once more.

“I don’t admit anything.” Shouted Nlad, but then Greshen flew to his feet, and yelled for the first time. It was jarring.

“Admit it Nlad. You’ve been lying to her this entire time, planning to help Shefhen hurt her again!”

“No.” Said Nlad, backing away.

“You’re lying.” Said Greshen, and grabbed Nlad by the collar, and shoved him up against the wall. Nlad let out a grunt of pain.

“I’m home!!!!!!!!”

This shout immediately caught Greshen’s attention, and Nlad saw the older and taller man’s eyes go wide. There seemed to be almost a panic glistening there. Nlad had yet to see that emotion in this man who was obviously closest to Moralis.

“Shit!” Greshen swore, and again, the man did something that took Nlad by surprise. He’d never heard this man swear before either. The list of odd things in this situation was going dangerously up by the second. “You,” said Greshen, and immediately Nlad was jerked away from the wall roughly, but he was pretty sure Greshen wasn’t trying to be rough, but he was just in an incredibly big hurry instead. This jerking motion led to Greshen also jerking open the door to a small cubbyhole space just to Nlad’s left, and behind a pile of beanbags. In a flash, Greshen had shoved Nlad inside, where the younger man lost his balance, and fell on his ass. His eyes shot to the man peering at him through the cubbyhole, but before he could speak, the sound of a gunshot went off, followed by a scream. Nlad felt a shudder go through him at the sound of it, and then another, as he heard the noise of laughter quickly following it.

“Stay in there buddy, and don’t come out until all the noise in the house is gone. Understand me?” Greshen asked, and instead of arguing with him, the tone he was using and that panicked look that was still in his eye, caused Nlad to merely nod, and keep his mouth shut. Greshen began to shut the door, but then seemed to pause, and to bite his lip. “You swear to me your not lying?” He asked, and Nlad looked him right in the eye, and didn’t nod, shake his head or say a single word, just looked into the eyes of the man Moralis trusted with her life. “Good.” Greshen said, and shut the door to the cubbyhole, and then there was the sound of the beanbags being piled up in front of it again. Nlad sat in the almost pure darkness, waiting for something else to happen, many thoughts flying through his mind at once, any one of them as true or false as the next, but also anyone of them as terrifying as well.

There was a second gunshot, and Nlad jumped almost a foot in the air, hitting his head on the stairs above his head, making a thud. His heart froze for a second, and then his breathing began to speed up significantly. Had the shooter heard him? Had Greshen already taken the shooter down? Who was the shooter? What were they doing in this house? Why had Greshen reacted the way he did?

Nlad waited, thinking at any moment the shooter might begin taking down the beanbags that were really the only protection for Nlad right now. Nlad waited in the darkness, trying to keep himself calm.

After the second gunshot, there was silence for a few moments, and then Nlad heard several orders barked aloud. Nlad pursed his lips, knowing that those shouts had not been from Greshen. He clenched his hands, as he got himself to calm down.

A few beats later, and Nlad heard the front door bang shut very loudly. He waited a long time after that, making himself wait for as long as he possibly could make himself patient for. It felt like an hour, but was probably more like fifteen minutes.

And then he smelled something. He sniffed, trying to make out what it was. He continued for several minutes in this same state of mind, trying to figure out just what it was that tickling the inside of his nose. When he finally realized what it was, it gave him such a bone rattling start, that it was several moments more before he could force himself to take action.

Smoke. He was smelling smoke.

And now he was hearing the noise of the smoke alarms going off, which was almost deafening in their fierceness. The thought struck him that whoever had just been in the house must have just set it on fire, because this smell was getting thicker and thicker. In fact, when Nlad shoved open the cubbyhole door, and tried to shove his way past the beanbags, the smell was so stifling, that he continued to crawl across the carpet, making his way very slowly toward the hallway.

It was here he saw the fire.

It had engulfed almost the entire kitchen, was working on the dining room. The flames of it almost completely blocked any possible way of Nlad making for the front door of the house, and out into the cool fresh air he knew lay beyond. He knew he didn’t necessarily need to take the front door to leave the house. There was a second door upstairs, he could take down to the backyard, and then away from the house….but what pulled at him and kept him from doing just that, was his wondering at who had screamed. He was pretty sure, but he had to check.

He crawled closer to the dining room, and the pure heat of it burnt him like nothing he’d ever felt before. It made him cough, no matter how low he kept to the ground, and made his eyes burn and water too. By the time he reached the place where he could turn into the living room, tears of water were running down his cheeks steadily. The flames were almost touching his flesh now, and it felt like they already were to him. Nlad looked, and saw what he’d already suspected.

He took in the sight slowly, and had to catch his breath several times with each piece of the scene he had to force himself to accept.

The living room had also been lit on fire. The curtains hanging in the window against the far wall were burning up, and were beginning to set the papers sitting on the desk in front of it, on fire as well.

Whoever had done this, had left the front door open wide. Six feet from the oak door though, a body lay flat on the ground, crumpled on the kokopelli rug of gold’s brown’s, except that the rug had been turned red where the body was lying. If he remembered his name correctly, Nlad was sure that was the man named Danny.

Nlad had been afraid of this. This meant he had no choice but to go into the living room, even though he felt his own flesh was melting off his bones already and onto the scorching hot tile floor behind his body. Despite this, he thought of the tears that would run down Moralis’s cheeks if she found out Danny, someone very close to her, had died, and because Nlad had been weak when it had mattered most. Thinking of how Greshen had warned him not to hurt Moralis, Nlad shoved himself further forward across the ground, and crossed the steel lining that divided the line of the white and yellow tile of the dining room floor, and onto the wooden floorboards of the living room. Nlad continued to push himself forward, using fingers and toes, knees and elbows in every way he could, heading for the body that always seemed to lie miles ahead of him, and out of reach, but he continued forward, not allowing himself even the thought of turning into the coward he would be if he turned back now.

He finally did cross those miles of empty space though, and just as the flames of the room, the heat, the smoke, the lack of air, just all these were getting to Nlad and taking a toll on him, he finally reached Danny. Nlad had no time to check for where the man had been shot, and whether it was safe to move him. The building was on fire! He had to get out, and he had to take Danny with him…..somehow.

Nlad’s eyes shot towards the front door, and how the flames had just taken to the oaken door. Nlad swallowed hard, a lump in his throat as he thought about having to get himself out that door of heat, and not alone. He would have a second body to contend with as well.

He would have to though.

He grabbed Danny’s arm, and because it was the only way he could of that would remotely, possibly work, Nlad shoved himself to his feet. Immediately, the heat of the room as well as the smoke making for lack of air, all become much worse, unimaginably so in fact. He grabbed Danny under the arms, in the armpits, and tried to lift him, but couldn’t. Nlad was not strongly built like Shefhen, or Moralis’s ex-boyfriends she lived with. He didn’t have impressive muscles or a large impressive figure. He was slender and agile, neither of which was going to help him out in this situation. He would have to make it work though. So he did. He grabbed Danny under the arms again, and stumbling the whole way, and almost loosing hold of the man twice, Nlad went for the door. When they got to the entrance, there were already flames lapping at the wooden lining above the door. Nlad took a deep breath, pictured that day on the MAX when he first met Moralis, first saw him look at him, and then call her friend, and describe what he looked like, what he “really” looked like. That moment, when it had flashed into his mind that that meant her dream man, the perfect of perfection for her, was him.

He tripped and stumbled and threw himself and Danny through the doorway, feeling flames snatch at him as he went, not wanting to release him, but were forced into it anyway.

Outside, Nlad forced himself to not allow himself to relax just yet. He dragged Danny down the cement driveway, and down to where it ended. There, he found he could go no further, and collapsed to the ground. Nlad’s chest heaved as he gasped for air…..then his eyes were drawn to the woman standing not 20 feet in front of him, staring unwaveringly at the house burning in front of her, having apparently not noticed him and Danny yet.

Nlad looked at Moralis, wanting to yell at her to get her attention, but not having the energy to scream, as his throat felt too scratchy and sore. He waited, hoping she would finally look away from her burning home, and down at him.

Finally, their eyes connected, and Nlad lost the hold he hadn’t realized he’d still been maintaining on Danny’s arms, and as the man slumped completely onto the edge of the street, Nlad opened up his arms just in time for Moralis to fall into them completely and utterly.

Nlad felt her tears on her cheeks, and again, the warning flashed into Nlad’s mind of, “you better not make her cry.” He closed his eyes, pushing away Greshen’s previous warning, and just hugged her as tightly as she was him, almost choking each other, but it didn’t matter much to the either of them. They had both just had a big scare, and wanted to take comfort from each other.

Finally, the two sank to their knees, and Nlad even felt a single tear stream down his own cheek. He wiped it away before Moralis saw it. He wanted to be strong for her. He needed her now, and so he would not fail her.

“Danny,” Moralis gasped into Nlad’s shirt. “Go help Danny, Nlad.” He nodded his head, and released her reluctantly, kissing her cheek first, having not realized just how much he’d missed her skin since he’d last seen her, until now. He knelt down on the ground, and straightened out Danny’s form on the driveway.

Nlad knew nothing about the medical field. He’d never even taken a CPR class. All he knew was the basics a person learned from watching too much TV. He checked for a pulse, found one. He checked for breathing, found some.

“He’s alive.” He sighed aloud, and heard a similar sigh of relief from behind him, where Moralis was standing, waiting for this very verdict. “Moe,” he said to her, using her nickname, and beckoned her over with a hand. “Please help me search his body for where the bullet went in.” She came over reluctantly, and Nlad felt bad for having to ask her this at all. He’d known from day one she could be very sensitive emotionally. She was strong in not letting it in the way when it mattered yes, but it still made him feel guilty to have to put her into a situation where she was forced to take that action.

“His lower chest.” Nlad finally breathed, afraid of that. He’d watched enough of ER and House to know a wound like this could be fatal if not seen to almost immediately. “Moe, you call 911 okay?” He asked her, trying to be as gentle as possible, but also get what needed to be done as quickly as possible, before it was too late.

Nlad wasn’t even thinking about where Greshen must be. He wasn’t even allowing himself to contemplate the fact he’d heard a second gunshot, and now Greshen was nowhere to be seen, just like those who had broken in, for Nlad was sure there had been more than one, perhaps two or three in fact because of the shouting he’d heard towards the end. He know he’d heard more than one person, and none of them had been Greshen…..he wouldn’t mention Greshen to Moralis for now. He’d wait until the rest of her household got here to support her, and then he’d break the news that he wasn’t allowing himself to think about and instead fully focusing on helping Danny.

He listened to Moralis call 911. He watched her from the corner of his gaze, as she paced up and down the street, very obviously trying her best not to glance at her house right her left, and then left, which was still burning. Nlad heard her give the information on the emergency, the house address, and then get off the phone….which you really weren’t supposed to do. He knew why she had though.

“I’m going to call the others here, okay?” Moralis told him, holding her cell phone in her hand as she paused before dialing, as if asking for his opinion. He nodded of course, and then she disappeared into phone world again, as she called the 10 other people who lived in this house with her. While she did this, Nlad waited anxiously for the ambulance to get here. He tried to keep Danny as comfortable as possible, and tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure, but everything he did felt wrong.

Then Danny began waking up, the last thing that Nlad would have expected of the severally injured man. His eyes fluttered, and then opened, and immediately, he grunted in terrible pain. Nlad jerked his head up, and looked towards the mans face.

“Nlad,” gasped Danny with surprise, and grabbed his hand with his own shuddering one. Nlad focused all his attention on him, hoping Moralis would not glance over at them, and notice what was going on. He feared it would even be too much for her to block out, for her to handle and not break down.

“You’re alright.” Nlad was saying, trying to comfort him. “We’ve called 911. An ambulance is on the way. So try and relax, and stay awake.” He didn’t know if the last part was a good idea or not, but it sounded right, unlike everything else he’d done so far that evening, or that entire day in fact.

“No,” gasped Danny, tightening his grasp on Nlad’s hand to almost a painful amount of pressure, and then Danny pulled him close, and Nlad had no choice but to lean over him to listen. “Nlad, listen to me my boy.” He said to him, each sentence a gasp for air. “The person that was here, who shot me, and set my house on fire, is named Shefhen. He was….” gasp, “Moralis’s 10th boyfriend. They broke up because he sexually and physically abused her, and Greshen had to save her from him.” Another gasp. “Shefhen was put in jail, but got out this week. He wants her back. Protect her, please.”

“Of course.” Said Nlad, nodding his head and tightening his hand inside Danny’s. Danny sighed, releasing Nlad’s hand, and letting his head fall back.

“She is everything to the people who live in this house.” He slurred out, before then passing out again.

And so the ambulance arrived. When it pulled up, its sirens wailing, its lights flashing, as it pulled up the curb, Nlad looked up with a start. He was incredibly jumpy at the moment, but it made sense for him to be. Next, a fire truck came wailing and screaming around the corner, and then came to a abrupt stop before the burning, flaming house.

Paramedics rushed out of the ambulance and over to where Nlad sat at the end of the cement driveway, Danny’s head gently laid in his lap. The five of the white suited paramedics came over, the last two bringing over a stretcher. Reluctantly, Nlad got up and surrendered Danny into their care. They’d know what to do far more than he would, he was sure.

Nlad crossed the street, and then sighed onto the edge of the gray cement curb. He felt wiped of all energy, and as if his legs wouldn’t have held him if he’d stayed standing any longer than he had. He watched those working with Danny across the street for a few seconds, but the sight of them eventually faded from his eyes, turning to a blur, and instead, his mind turned to what he hadn’t wanted to think about, what he hadn’t wanted to face, but was strong enough to know he had to, for Moralis’s sake, for he knew he would soon have to tell her his side of what had happened.

His heart was racing, as he considered the information that had just been imparted to him. Shefhen, the man that Nlad had been meeting with, who he’d met on the day he moved to Portland Oregon with the Blood Butterfly Caravan, he’d dated Moralis, abused her, and been put in jail for it, and that was the man who had just broken into the house, shot Danny and taken Greshen, after probably shooting him too, possibly killing him already?

“Sir,” said a police officer, who had just climbed out of his squad car, which was parked on Nlad’s side of the street. The cop looked around, took in the scene with his trained swift eyes, and then focused fully on Nlad.

There was no doubt in Nlad’s mind that he was going to want a report on what had happened. Nlad pursed his lips, trying desperately to decide how much he should say, and if he should leave anything out.

“My name is Officer Johnson. I’m a police officer,” and he flashed his badge at Nlad like they do in the movies, so quick that had it been fake, Nlad wouldn’t have had any way of knowing…and he would recognize a fake ID too, from working with the Blood Butterfly Caravan, and having to make sure underage people’s did not get into the concerts and haunted houses.

“I’m Nlad Janen.” He replied, taking the man’s outstretched hand with his own, and shook it firmly, he himself knowing that many judged a person on their handshake, cops almost for sure would too. He was often one of those people, so he knew. “I assume you want the story on all this?” Nlad asked, and the officer nodded his head.

“Yes, if you would, Mr. Janen.”

Nlad did.

“I am Moralis Aveve’s boyfriend, the woman who is standing across the street, on the cell phone. She is calling the rest of her…family.” He motioned to Moralis, and also paused before the last word of his sentence, unsure of uttering it. “Nlad was continuing. “I came over tonight to see her, but she wasn’t home yet, so I got to talking with Greshen, another member of this household,” the officer was jotting things down in his notebook as Nlad talked now, making him a bit more nervous than he had been, he pressed on though. “Somebody came in the house, and we heard a gunshot, which was the shooting of Danny.” Nlad motioned to the man that was now being gently but quickly transferred to a gurney, and then transported into the back of the ambulance. “Greshen rushed out to help, and I heard a second gunshot. When I finally got the guts to come out into the living room, it was because I smelled smoke. When I reached the living room, both Greshen and the other shooters were gone…” This was where he was interrupted.

“Shooters? More than one?” Nlad nodded.

“I heard shouts after I heard the second gunshot. I know there was at least two voices, one male, another female. There might have been more, but I’m not sure.” Officer Johnson motioned for him to go on, so he did. “So I finally came into the living room when I smelled lots of smoke. I dragged Danny out the door, and to the end of the driveway. That’s when you all arrived.”

“Very heroic of you.” Said Officer Johnson. Nlad nodded.

“When the woman you love is in pain or danger, I believe a man can do anything, or at least should have the heart to try.”

“And how long ago would you say this all happened Mr. Janen?”

This was the hard part, because how was Nlad going to explain why he’d stayed in that closet so long, instead of coming out and helping? Fear was the only answer he could come up with. He didn’t like it, but it was half true, but half of his fear hadn’t been of the shooters. Some of it had been of Greshen, who had threatened him in order to keep him from coming out. Now Nlad understood why Greshen was so overprotective of Moralis. It was because he’d had to save her from Shefhen, who’d abused her, and he no doubt didn’t want anything like that ever happening again. Hell, Nlad couldn’t blame him.

“I was afraid, Officer.” He finally replied, and it was right at this moment that Moralis came over, and looped an arm around one of his. He tightened her against him; liking the comfort the feeling of her body against his hip gifted him.

“That’s all for now Mr. Janen. Thanks for all the help.” Said the Officer, and flipped his notebook shut, and pushed the very small pad into the pocket in the back of his pants. “But there will probably be more questions. I’ll be in contact.” And the cop turned and began heading back towards his squad car.

“Officer Johnson,” Nlad called, waving a hand. The Officer turned to look at him. “Do you have my contact information?” The Officer gave a high, hearty laugh.

“You’re Nlad Janen. You’re with the Blood Butterfly Caravan. Contact information will be easy to find if I need it.” And the cop turned away, climbed into his squad car, and drove away from their house, which had by now been practically put out.

It left Nlad and Moralis standing together, looking at the house that had just now stopped burning. They just stood for a few moments, both waiting for their heartbeats to slow back down to being the usual steady. Once they had, they still said not a word, but instead kept their arms linked with each others, the contact of Nlad’s right side to Moralis’s left side was as intimate as it could be with where they were standing, in public….they half both wanted to get out of here, run away from it all, and throw themselves in a hotel bedroom, and stay there all night, not sleeping a wink, skipping the complimentary breakfast, but perhaps sneaking into the pool in the middle of the night for some “play” while others were all sleeping.

“You have to face this.” Nlad whispered to Moralis. “We will face this.” He enunciated the “we” part of his sentence, trying his best to show her he wanted to support her, that he planned to be here for her, and be with her every step of the way that would lead away from this moment, and hopefully into a better future than the terrible minutes they were just experiencing and still were. “Okay?” Nlad asked her, still quietly as he could, although he wasn’t quite sure why.

“Okay.” She replied just as softly, and tightened her hold with both hands on his right arm.

Chapter: