Alice

By Robert Willgren

Alice was in her last year of high school and her only concern was what to do with her life. What courses should she concentrate on in her last year? Whether to go to college, or to join the workforce and stretch out her independent wings.

Something began happening after turning 17, a stirring within that she could not explain and knew nothing of. Others did notice these changes, causing her to realize that her life was quickly evolving. She, unknowingly, came into contact with the most unlikely of people, who became her friends and would stand by her no matter what. In a single day, her destiny was propelled in a direction she had never dreamed. Two local Goth guys and an investor from the city tried to show her what she was becoming.
With all of that, she was developing feelings for one of her protectors. Dangers abounded all around her as she stretched her self-awareness to the limit. Each step of her journey brought additional challenges. Those after her intensified their efforts to gain control of what she was becoming, to take from her what was growing. They would not stop, forcing her to push back.
When they messed with her mom, the gloves came off. The more angry her nemesis made her, the more ground she gained, leading up to an incredible final confrontation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Willgren
• Release date: Dec 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466042810

Robert Willgren

Robert Willgren’s working life has varied from construction to computers. A couple of those positions allowed travel through North America and Europe getting a boots on the ground world outlook. His travel highlights were castles in England, climbing Uluru and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. Robert had always wanted to write one novel. When that goal was accomplished, the writing continued.

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Alice

By Robert Willgren

Copyright 2011 Robert Willgren

Smashwords Edition

Cover Picture by Brenda Sweet

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Alice’s Discovery

Chapter 2 - What Do They Want

Chapter 3 - Staying Hidden

Chapter 4 - The Next Turn

Chapter 5 - The Walker

Chapter 6 - Seeking Them

Chapter 7 - Hiding

Chapter 8 - Recovering Plan

Chapter 9 - Healing to Respond

Chapter 10 - Confrontations

Chapter 11 - Getting Closer

Chapter 12 - Calm Before The Storm

Chapter 13 - Confronting a Taker

Chapter 14 - Dealing with a Jake

Chapter 15 - All in a Week

Chapter 1 - Alice’s Discovery

I learned not to say, Well it can’t get any worse.

Because it can!

Just making that statement seems to cause the forces around you to pay attention. It’s almost like a mysterious phrase that calls up the unseen world to answer, Yes it can. I find it funny though, that it doesn’t work the other way around. For example, how many times have you said, It doesn’t get any better than this? And it gets better? Rarely.

I’m Alice, a 17-year-old going into my last year of high school. I sport wavy brown medium length hair, with green eyes, of average height, and in relatively good shape. I live with my mom and see my dad on the occasion plan. The modern divorced family is the norm these days. I guess the pressures of working, paying a mortgage, paying a bunch of bills, trying to find quality family time, and so on had taken their toll. People just don’t seem to find that happy place between war and peace anymore.

My mom occasionally dates and my dad has another girlfriend, yet again. Even without the challenges of a family, he still cannot stay with one person for long. Unhappiness breeds unhappiness. My mom and I have a close relationship with a touch of space just to round it out. Don’t get me wrong, she is great, and we talk about everything. I don’t get into trouble much so I have avoided those kinds of talks. Plus, since the divorce, no one wanted to put any more pressure on me, then was already there. For quite some time, I was ignored. While they were together fighting, I was ignored, and when they split up, I was ignored, just for different reasons. After the dust settled and things cooled down, I was once again important. By then, I was older, more independent, and enjoyed my unhindered freedom. I was developing my own thoughts, feelings, and understandings. I was not used to sharing that world with anyone older. My friend Beckie would say,

I don’t want my mom involved in everything I do. I can handle my own stuff, my way. I felt the same way, although my mom did not bother me too much about things. She gave me my space. All of this would bring me back to the saying, ‘It can’t get any worse.’ I thought that, at the height of my parents fighting. It did get worse, with dad moving out, then lawyers, court appearances, whom did I want to stay with. In an instant, my life was turned upside down. I didn’t know what to do. No one knows how to act or react to your parents breaking up and finally getting the divorce. The divorces on TV did not seem as bad as it actually was. I never considered the emotional roller coaster that came from a real one would be so intense. I even tried to make things better by being good and not asking for things. None of that worked. Too much damage was done through the fighting process that finding common ground was a lost place. I think it was at that point that I began to feel things. Not emotionally or physically, things that really did not make sense. It felt like my emotions were going to break and I would fall apart. That did not happen. A new world began to open for me to make it through the stressful times. Then I was able to calm down and at least have a stable foundation.

I remember neighbours a couple of doors down from our place had a vicious dog that made me nervous anytime I walked by. The unchained dog would run out from nowhere and charge at me. I would run like the wind to get into my front door. It knew not to leave its yard to pursue me, continuing to bark and growl scaring me. I think it could have easily caught me, if it wanted to. I practiced the art of walking on the other side of the street and only crossing when I was the furthest away from their yard to get into my house. One day returning home from school and not paying attention to which side of the street I was walking on, I made the mistake of passing directly in front of the angry dog’s yard. Out he came at me from behind something, gaining speed as he closed the distance between us. I would normally have run, but not this day.

I yelled, Stop! and I pushed against him with my mind to stop him, while closing my eyes. I opened my eyes quickly when I could no longer hear him. He stopped in his tracks a mere 10 feet away. He looked at me and I looked back at him. He made a half-hearted bark that sounded more like a whimper and backed away to return to where he came from. From that moment on, he never barked or rushed at me again. I wished that same command would work on my feuding parents. I told Beckie about it and she explained that I showed the dog, who was boss. I kept the pushing part to myself. I once tried to get a bird to land on my arm in the park, which did not work. It was fun game for a while believing I had magical powers. After a time, I forgot about that incident as life returned to some semblance of normality. I still had to decide what to do after high school. Mom and dad had agreed to pay for college if I wanted to go; in fact, they encouraged me to go. They would pay for the tuitions, books, and expenses. The high school counsellors were always pushing some program for me to get involved in. It seemed like you were supposed to plan out your entire life based upon what your interests were at the time and hope you made the right choice. It felt like I was being forced to choose a path that I didn’t want to make. The career paths were not that clear to me, and they seemed to change often. I could imagine myself beginning a four-year course only to find out at the end, that all you had was four more years of education. And still ended up working in a dead end job. That to me was unsettling. Now I was going into grade 12, making the pressure to choose a vocation even stronger. I had some interests, nothing strong enough for me to announce to the world, yet. I really did not want to choose right now. It was at this point that I noticed things were calm, in spite of the career path dilemma. Not your normal calm, the calm you get before a storm hits. I had felt this way for a week now. I had the sense that things were too quiet. Then I became suspicious. Beckie had asked me several times now what was wrong. I would say,

Oh you know, grade 12 jitters.

She would laugh as she was actually feeling those same jitters. I knew that I could not put my feelings into words that would make sense. I did wonder why she was not feeling what I was feeling. She often sensed things the same way as I did. Not this time, or at least she didn’t talk about it. I began to think, I was cracking up. I was spending more time on my own, and mom began to notice. I simply said that I needed to consider my future, as this was my last year of high school, as a deflection. I knew it was more than that. Now, each day that passed seemed to bring me closer to some realization, some convergence.

It was Sunday morning just after 7am. I agreed to meet up with Beckie later in the day to hang. I couldn’t come up with a good enough reason to cancel. Besides, I had ditched her a couple of times already. And I was sure there was a ton of text messages on my phone from her. During the past week, my texting dropped significantly. I just was not into the text chitchat that much recently. I was texting all the time, and then I began to lose interest. I was feeling different, disconnected. Sure, I still got the latest on the latest of whom was trying to date whom, and why it wasn’t working out, etc. Or the latest party that someone was having that their parents did not know about because they were out of town. Mom did not go out of town so I didn’t really have the opportunity to have a party. A not so close friend, Susan, had a party last year and some uninvited people crashed it. In the end, the police were called in because of the noise and commotion. The party was broken up, but not before a lot of other things were literally broken up. I heard that she would be grounded until her 70th birthday and lost her phone privileges for 3 months. When I was asked to host a party, I would turn it down saying my mom would never let it happen. And if that didn’t work, I still had the divorce angle. The truth was I never wanted the responsibility for a party that got out of control. I had seen first hand how quickly things could go sour. On the flip side though, I have been to some really great parties where we all had a fantastic time.

I got up and showered. Mom was still asleep, so I tried not to make too much noise as I headed downstairs to have coffee. Our detached 2-storey house had three bedrooms with an average sized back yard. Mom had her flower garden and we had a patio area for relaxing, as well as the occasional meal in summer. I made a pot of coffee for myself and for mom later. I filled my cup and sat in the living room when my new text message sound went off. It was Beckie, filling me in on the latest about Ellisha’s break-up with her boyfriend. For Ellisha, that was not uncommon. And I’m sure there would be a story behind it. I made a mental note to stay away from her for the time being so as not to get caught up in the drama. I knew Beckie wanted to make sure that we were still getting together today.

"meet," she texted.

"our spot," I texted back. Our spot was a bench at the local park, down the street from my house.

"when" texted Beckie.

"11" I sent.

"k" she relied.

We were now set as I did want to see her and would find out what actually happened with Ellisha. Beckie had an uncanny ability of getting to the bottom of things and that saved me a lot of detective work. I got a muffin to enjoy with my coffee before getting a couple of tasks out of the way. Part way through my laundry process I notice mom was up.

Morning dear, mom said as she made her way towards the coffee. The aroma, a homing beacon.

Hi mom. What are you doing today? I asked.

I will be looking through a pile of resumes I brought home. Need to find two reliable people to fill vacancies, she said. It was a busy time for her at work as she was the office manager for a plastic container producing facility and had to narrow down the list of applicants for the Shop Forman to fill the positions.

You’re up early. Perhaps you have something planned?

Yes, I’m hanging with Beckie.

That’s good, she said. Get out of the house and enjoy the weather while it lasts.

Yes mom. She was right of course as the fall brought rain. If you did not like the rain, then the west was not for you. I lived in the small community of Silverhill. From here, you got to experience small town life even though the population was over 25,000 and a big city an hour drive away. The best of both worlds I figured.

I looked at the clock in the kitchen and realized that I had to get going. If I showed up late, then Beckie would think I was avoiding her for sure. I checked the local temperature on my phone. My light coloured shorts and t-shirt would be fine.

Bye mom, I said while putting on my sandals.

Have a nice time dear, she replied back. She was always calling me dear. I was out the front door of our white siding home and went left down the street. I walked along wondering if Beckie had the actual facts on what happened to Ellisha. All I needed to know was what really happened so I could properly deal with the situation. Other than that, I wanted to stay out of it. Others in our little group were beginning to tire of the constant drama. If you let Ellisha have her way, she would only talk about the things that concerned her. My phone bleeped, indicating a new message. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see who it was. It was Beckie asking if we were still meeting.

"On the way," I texted back. I wondered if she was already there or just on the way. She lived closer than I and would most likely be there first. I arrived and walked across the park’s field to our favourite spot, a bench just off a bike path. We both liked the view of the town from here. The park had a small creek separating a grassy area from the sports field.

Beckie was already there; her curly blond hair was covering her slightly freckled face and glasses. Hey Beck, I said as I approached.

Alice, she said with excitement. She got up and hugged me. What’s new girl? she asked.

Not much, I said back. What’s new with you?

Have you heard what happened to Ellisha? she asked.

Only that she broke up, I said.

Well, she began, I found out that she was at the mall yesterday and happen to catch her boyfriend kissing another girl.

I bet that went over well, I said.

Totally, Beckie said. She completely freaked out, yelling and crying. Mall security was called and they were all asked to leave.

Wow, I said. No wonder there was so many messages. I guess I might as well turn my phone off for the next week.

Oh, you’re such a brat, Beckie said.

On the plus side, I won’t have to worry about bumping into her at the mall, I said.

You are so bad, Beckie said.

Sorry, I said. Ellisha’s constant boyfriend problems, is getting old.

OK, I’ll give you that one, Beckie said.

Why are so tolerant with her? I asked.

Ah she is just a lost puppy, Beckie replied. I have a soft spot for lost puppies. Well that was true. Beckie was the peacemaker.

So where did you disappear to this past week? she asked.

You know, the beginning of the last year of high school thing, I said.

Yes, I know about that, she said. What is happening with you? And don’t give me that school stuff, girl. I know you too well.

I looked her way. Perhaps she was feeling something after all. I don’t know how to say it, I have been feeling strange lately.

Strange, like you’re catching a cold? she asked.

No, not like I’m getting sick, just feeling strange, I said. I thought it was just school and having to decide what to do beyond grade 12. That’s not it. I know it’s something more than that. I looked at her again. You think I’m mad.

No, I don’t think you have lost it, she said. Life is changing for us, so you are supposed to feel strange.

Yes I know that, I just feel it’s more, I said. Beckie thought for a moment about what to say next, maybe coming up with something that would make sense to me. As I waited for her next piece of inspiration, I noticed a couple of guys dressed in black, well-worn Goth attire. I would not have paid much attention to them except they were staring straight at me. The look was not the typical ‘guy checking me out’ kind of gaze, but an intense stare. It made me feel uncomfortable. Beckie could not see them as they approached from behind her. She was about to make her next statement when she noticed me, looking over her shoulder. She turned to see the two as they moved closer toward us with their deep stare. She trembled as she became afraid. The dudes did not slow their pace and the one closest to us spoke up and said,

You had better watch yourself.

They continued to stare my way as they passed, then straightened and looked forward as they walked by. Beckie exhaled a deep breath, her heart pounding.

I thought they were going to attack us, she said.

That was strange. I continued to watch them as they kept walking at the same pace.

Strange? Beckie responded. I was scared to death. What if they had a knife or something?

Then we might not be having this conversation, I simply said.

Oh, isn’t that cute! said Beckie annoyed.

I told you, I was having strange feelings. I looked toward the dudes again as they reached the street and disappeared.

What did they mean, watch yourself? Do you know them? Beckie asked.

Never seen them before.

Why are you so calm? Beckie asked.

Because I was not afraid.

Oh yeah, just like when you stopped that stupid dog that used to chase everyone, she said.

I guess.

What ever happened to that mutt? Beckie asked.

Oh I didn’t tell you, I said. She shook her head. About three months ago it was run over.

Oh, that’s sad, Beckie said, then thought about it, OK, maybe not so sad.

Beckie! I said, That’s cold.

Well the dumb thing used to chase me, and I was nice to it. Now those two guys looked evil. Perhaps they were high. So stoned that they didn’t know what they were doing. Should we tell someone?

Beckie, calm down, I said. They have moved on.

Are you sure? she asked. Maybe they’re waiting for us?

Calm, I said, take a deep breath. She began to calm down. I looked back to where they disappeared. They did not return. I noticed that my strange feeling had somehow changed. I was now becoming aware of something. I did not know, what that something was; I just had an aware feeling. And I knew I would see those two again.

Beckie, lets grab a coffee, I said.

Sure, that would be great, she replied. We got up, crossed the park, and headed toward a small coffee shop down the street. Good, it was not too busy, and had some vacant seats outside. Beckie grabbed us a couple of seats and I went inside to get our coffees. I returned with café mocha’s and gave one to Beckie. She swirled it and took a small sip.

Better? I asked. She nodded and took another small sip. I sat to enjoy my mocha. So have you decided your career path?

Of course not Alice, Beckie said. I’m going to hear all about it during the next year.

Yes, I will experience the same thing, I said. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do. Probably go to college, I guess.

I don’t know if my folks can afford college, Beckie began. So I’ll just wait and see. Perhaps I will work for a couple of years to save up and then go to college. I think Beckie’s lack of choices really bothered her. Her dad had been laid off recently so money could be tight, making her choices unsure. I felt bad for her.

Oh Beckie, things will work out, I said. She reached out touching my arm, and said, Thanks. We decided to walk down to the mall and look around. The mall was a fair size. It had a couple big box stores, a bunch of smaller ones, and a food court. We looked around at the back-to-school fashions. Some were OK, while others were not so great. There were a lot of colourful patterns that were a cross between conservative and the wild look. While looking around, I noticed the two guys again. Beckie had not seen them yet. I watched as they walked in our direction on the other side of the corridor across from us. I don’t think they noticed us, as we were partial hidden behind a rack of clothes. I wondered what I should do. They might walk by without seeing us. The thought of hiding from them bothered me. On the other hand, I was not aggressive either. I did not start this, did not make the statement to ‘watch myself’ and that was a threat. I knew what I was going to do and in an instance, I had clarity.

I looked at Beckie with a serious look and said,

Stay here. The dudes were almost directly across from us on the other side of the mall corridor. I could have let them go; instead I marched straight across the corridor toward them. I was about 15 feet away from them when they looked my way with icy stares.

I raised my hand,

Stop! I closed my eyes and pushed out against them. I re-opened my eyes quickly to see what was happening. The icy stare had been replaced with a questioning look of unease. My hand was still raised. They had stopped as I continued to approach them. I stopped within hearing range. They looked like they might run away.

Now, why should I watch myself? I asked glancing quickly at Beckie who had a look of apprehension. The one that warned me earlier tried to speak and was having difficulty. He could not form the words at first.

Uh, I mean, ah, we know what you are, the dude finally said.

And who am I exactly? I asked.

Ah, if you don’t know that, then, ah, I don’t know what to say. He said. This time with my eyes open, I pushed against them again. They were quivering. I had no idea what was happening or how I was doing any of this. I just kept having that recurring thought of awareness, something that had been released.

This is what’s going to happen, I began. "You two are going to turn around and leave. For your sakes, I never want to see either one of you again!

Do you understand me? I said with a strong tone of conviction.

Ah, yes, ah, sure, dude said while the other one nodded. In my mind, I pulled back the pushing. I noticed their quivering was subsiding. I pointed my upheld hand in the direction I wanted them to go. They were unsteady on their feet as they turned around, and with a stumble they walked away. Their pace was not as steady as before. They just had their bells rung.

I returned to where Beckie was still standing. Her mouth was agape.

What’s the matter Beckie? I asked. You appear to have sticker shock. I said, throwing in some humour.

What did you say to those scary guys? Beckie asked.

Oh, they were looking for a certain store that is not in this mall, I said. When they found out that it wasn’t here, they left. I began looking at the items on the rack. I had drawn some attention to what had just occurred. After a moment, people were moving on.

Weren’t those the two guys from the park? she asked.

Oh, I don’t know, I replied. I didn’t ask.

You’ve got to be kidding me? she said. I did not say anything.

I don’t really feel like shopping anymore, I said. I think I will head home and chill with my mom.

OK, she said, still confused about what had happened.

Why don’t we hang one day this week? I asked.

Ah yes, that would be great, Beckie responded.

OK, Beck, later, I reached forward to give her a hug, turned, and left. She stood there watching me go. I wanted to get out of the mall and ponder what had just taken place. The awareness feeling was getting stronger. I just didn’t actually know what it all meant or where it was going. I needed my space for a while. I did not want to go home right away, so I headed for the park. Perhaps sitting at our favourite bench would help. I looked over the park, as I got closer, to see who was there, or more importantly, who was not there. Unfortunately, someone was sitting on my bench this time. Oh well, I can’t have the bench to myself all the time. Over at the sports field, a soccer game was being played by a bunch of kids. I decided to wonder over and watch for a while. I crossed the small bridge over the creek and headed toward the game. Both teams had uniforms, so it was something organized. I had never really paid much attention to the games played here, so this was new for me. A couple of seating stands were set up for the parents to watch. The players were no older than 8 or 9. It was fun to observe them trying to control the ball. I found a spot on a grassy slope to watch where no one was. Player number 12, in a white uniform with stripes, was moving the ball toward the players in blue. He had talent as he managed to get by several blue players approaching the goal net. He made it appear that he was going left, then suddenly changed directions and went right, easily scoring a goal. I laughed as the coach tried to get the blue players to focus on the game. Most players stood there not knowing what to do. It was hilarious and I needed a good laugh right now. I watched the back and forth antics for the next half an hour until the game ended. I overheard someone say that the score was 5 to 2 for the white team. The teams congratulated each other and began to gather their stuff to leave.

My phone bleeped. I checked the display to see a text from Beckie.

"r u ok?" she asked.

"yes fine," I responded.

"weird what happened," Beckie texted.

"what do u mean," I texted back.

"with the guys." She was good at fishing and I did not want to provide any more bait.

"that was nothing," I sent back. If she continued to ask then I would have to cut her off. I put my phone back in my pocket. I looked up across the nearly empty field. On the other side of the field, near the bathrooms, were two people dressed in black. It couldn’t be those guys again, could it? I got up to get a closer look.

Chapter 2 - What Do They Want

As I made my way across the field, the two darkly dressed people disappeared around the corner of the bathrooms. I started to walk faster, increasing my pace to a light jog. I went far enough out to see around the edge of the building. No one was there. I went down the side of the building far enough away to not get surprised by anyone lurking around the next corner. I went by that corner, which was next to the parking lot. The last of the soccer players were loading up. There were a few other parked cars but no other people. Where the hell did they go? I was getting pissed off now. I did not like the thought of being followed or watched. I moved forward, walking along the edge of the grass beside the parking lot. Perhaps they were hiding in one of the cars on the other side of the lot. I checked and the two cars were empty.

A thought came to mind. Instead of pushing with my mind, what if I reached out to