Stark Shadow

By Kyle Melnik

In the wake of their adolescence, Ben and Steven Thatch find themselves facing problems with which neither of them knows how to cope. Their mother, Tess, winds up in a coma following an accident and their father, Larry, struggles to support the family absent her income. Amidst these emotional and financially troubling times, the two boys learn to accept great changes in the way they think. Their mother finds her own challenge in simply waking up.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 3, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462015580

Kyle Melnik

Kyle Melnik is a student, music composer, lyricist, pianist and guitar player. He has earned his black belt in martial arts and has various interests including an interest in philosophy. Kyle began writing Stark Shadow just before his 15th birthday and is currently writing a fantasy trilogy. Stark Shadow is his premier novel.

Book preview

Acknowledgements

Thanks to my mother and father, for their inspiring deeds and plentiful supply of information on the wild adult world, as well as helping to proofread this work as it developed.

Thanks to all who helped me weave the plot and meld the story into the completed work it is.

Dedicated to readers around the globe.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Reflection Synopsis

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Reflection Synopsis

In the wake of their adolescence, Ben and Steven Thatch find themselves facing problems with which neither of them could know how to cope. As their mother, Tess, winds up in a dire sleep following a horrible accident, their father, Larry, must find work to support his children while his wife cannot. When bad turns to worse as Tess’ erratic symptoms give grim signs and dramatically reduced income threatens Larry with financial trouble, his children begin to learn of and accept great changes in the way they think, and Tess finds her own challenge in simply waking up.

Chapter One

This morning, Tess Harpsie woke to the wet licking of an affectionate dog’s tongue on her arm. As she rolled over in a fit of restlessness, the morning sun breached the cyan veil on the window and she woke up, reluctantly.

Tess let her mind slip out of the dream and sighed at the pleasant thought of having a pet dog. Without waking her slumbering husband, Larry, she stealthily left their elegant bedroom. Light seeped in the windows lining the walls of the hallway, casting Tess’ moderate shadow on the regal paintings occupying the opposite wall.

Looking back to the computer down the hallway and tempted to check her e-mail, Tess turned instead to the kitchen for a quick bite of food. Munching on some juicy red grapes, she marked off another day on the calendar and happily recalled her 35th birthday celebration from a week ago. Smoothing her long, bright-blonde hair, Tess yawned and stuck the remainder of her grapes in the fridge for later.

Making her way to the bathroom in the middle of the hallway, Tess stumbled drowsily into the doorway and, quickly glancing around, made sure to softly shut the door. After using the laser on her teeth, she flashed a magnificent smile at herself in the spotless mirror. Locked with her image’s glistening sapphire-blue eyes, Tess playfully made expressive faces at herself and quietly giggled.

Circling back to her bedroom, she sat on the vacant space next to Larry and checked the ornate, analog clock on the heartwood table next to her side of the bed. It was only 5:32 in the morning, so Tess intended to sleep until 7:00 A.M. with the curtains closed.

Shortly before then, however, she was awoken yet again by the sound of the phone. In frustration and exhaustion, she reached for it and accidentally knocked it off of the charger.

Ugh… who is calling at this time? Tess glanced at the clock and sighed hazily at the time. Maybe I should have gotten to sleep earlier last night.Tess reached down and grabbed something as the message machine had finally started up, and pulled it towards her only to hear a small whine. Her eyes opened wide in shock as she peered over the side of the bed to see a small, fuzzy brown and white tail wagging vehemently for a few seconds before it vanished under the sheet draped over the bottom of the bed, which concealed the various containers and items stored under it.

Tess shot a quick look at her snoozing husband and started to get out of bed to look under it as her message machine went off. Hello, this is Tess. What’s up?There was momentary silence, followed by two short chuckles. Her husband continued, No, this is actually a message machine. We can’t get to the phone right now, or we’re away or something like that. Tess’ voice finished, You’ll hear a beep in a few seconds, so please continue then. Thanks! The two laughs echoed through the hallways of the house as Tess dropped to the floor to investigate the mysterious sound.

Hey, this is Ciara! rang the phone. Tess lifted up the dangling sheet, but it was still quite dark underneath her bed, so she got up and started looking for a flashlight. I’m calling about this new project I’ve recently started… I think you’ll like it, but it’s a surprise until you see it! She found the flashlight and lied down next to the bed again. Until then, Tess! Ciara hung up, and Tess groaned slightly.

She was about to lift up the sheet again, when something wet rushed out and touched her nose lightly. Agh, yuck! What was that? Angrily, she wiped her nose and looked down.

There was a dog, slowly squirming its way out of the tight space. Brown and white tail whapping anything in range, its nose continued to probe everything it could reach. Its small paws scratched once or twice behind one of the large, floppy beagle-ears on its long face.

Now out in the open, it stared expectantly at Tess, who was astonished by this dog’s sudden appearance. She spotted the collar, which was colored to match the fur around the dog’s neck; camouflaged. She snatched the tag and skimmed the details.

No! No, wait a minute, that can’t be right… Tess looked at the dog again, who was moving closer to her to avoid being practically choked by Tess’ iron grip on the collar and tag. It seemed affectionate, as though not the slightest bit unfamiliar with her. Tess checked the dog’s gender; she was female. The tag read:

{Fuzzball}

{Tess Harpsie}

Naturally, Tess assumed that her awakening earlier had been a dream, and that this dog was only part of it. Larry turned over and Tess glanced at him for a half-second before spinning back and pinching herself.

Ow! She looked at the dog again, who had leaped onto the bed and was making herself comfortable on Tess’ pillow. Tess slapped herself, and Fuzzball jumped up at her action. Finding this situation rather strange, Tess held her cheek and decided to answer the message on her phone, being sure to mention her ‘guest’. Since Ciara is such a good friend to her, she may be able to set things straight.

Almost immediately after having started the call, Ciara answered, Nuh-uh, Tess! I know you hate surprises but I’m not going to give in to my urge to tell you this time!!

Tess could practically sense the wide grin on the other side of the line. Hello, Ciara. I was wondering if you remember me getting the dog that’s shedding on my pillow at the moment.

Heh, dog? When did you get a dog?

Tess’ eyes widened in curiosity, and then she began to elaborate. When I woke up this morning, a dog was licking my elbow. She has a tag, and it says she’s mine. Her name’s Fuzzball, she’s a beagle and I found her under my bed just a moment ago.

Wow, you’re not joking, right? Hmm. This is strange… let me think. There was silence for a moment. You really don’t remember where you got her? You should look up the location of the nearest shelter and take her there.

No, I don’t want to get rid of this fuzzy, adorable dog! Tess pet the dog. At least, not just yet. I just want to find out where she came from. Larry stretched and wiped his eyes.

Oh, alright then. You should still look for the nearest shelter, that’s probably where she came from. Maybe you can ask the people there for more info.

Tess moved to Larry’s side of the bed and they kissed briefly. She showed him that she was on the phone, so he tried to be quiet until he saw the dog.

Tess! What’s with… why is… where did this dog come from?

Shush! I’ll talk about it in a minute, Tess replied sharply with stress. I really need a vacation, she thought quietly in her mind.

What’s that, Tess? Ciara asked over the phone. Oh, never mind, I should be off for now, I’ve got some work to do. You should do that shelter thing, and Tess…

Fuzzball suddenly raised her head. Alert, she glanced around the room before leaping up and darting under Larry’s naked legs, out the door and down the hallway. Uh, I’ll do that. Thanks, Ciara! Have to go, dog seems hungry. Bye! Tess hastily hung up the phone and helped Larry up.

Pulling up his pants, Larry questioned again, Where did that dog come from? What happened to your too-busy-to-care-for-a-dog schedule?

Sorry, hun. I have no clue where that dog came from, but I’ll find out as soon as I can.

Shrugging awkwardly, Larry continued getting dressed and yawned as Tess pursued Fuzzball into the kitchen.

She was sitting calmly and sweetly by the fridge when Tess arrived. Overcome by how adorable this dog was, Tess reached into the fridge and grabbed some sliced turkey.

Sit! Fuzzball jumped up, snatching the turkey and nearly knocking Tess down. Steadying herself, Tess stated, Bad dog! Sit! She forced the dog’s back-side down. Good, stay. Fuzzball began to rise, still staring expectantly at Tess. No, don’t get up, stay. She walked around in a circle. Good dog! Good stay! Tess chuckled and tossed another small piece of turkey at Fuzzball.

Finally realizing that she might be late for work, Tess glanced at the clock, smile quickly fading from her sleepy face. Oh, goodness, the time! She pecked her husband on the cheek, changed into day-clothes and took some cereal in a cup on her way out the door.

Tess always liked the scenery around where she lived. Being autumn, the colors painted on the trees were brilliant and radiant, bringing out such definition in the surrounding landscapes. The morning sun peaking over the horizon etched patterns across the mountains in the distance, where the clouds’ shadows would be. Light danced across the lake’s misty surface as leaves fell gently into it, adding ever so slightly to the ripples of movement created by the fish. The trees swayed in the wind as pretty Stratus clouds loomed overhead. Tess pondered her being here, thinking how lucky she is to observe such beautiful things as she drove into town.

Tess thought, What a strange dream I had last night. And even stranger was the situation this morning! Sometimes, I really do think I’ve gone mad. But that can’t be, I feel great! About to revolutionize the world with my current project… oh, don’t get ahead of yourself, Tess. You’ve got a long way to go before that thing is done.

Tess nodded her head at the thought. No rush. I’ll get there soon enough. She cycled through radio stations for a few minutes, but found nothing interesting by the time she arrived at the town’s main five-way intersection.

Named for the large amount of shale deposits in the general area, Shale Square is usually bustling with energy; the buildings are connected to pack many small businesses into the town. There are no alleys and the two-story walls of buildings tower over the Square. The library lies at the center of town with several small stores across the street from it. Nearby are a number of diners and assorted shops, including auto-maintenance, sports goods, computer accessories and video game rentals among other things. There are cross-walk signs and a stop light to control the ever-moving traffic in Shale Square.

Suddenly, by the time she had realized that she was stepping on the wrong pedal, Tess had collided with the car in front of her, the airbag out as sudden as it was startling. Oh… oh no. No, no, no no no! Pushing the quickly deflating airbag out of the way, she slowly climbed out of the shaken-up vehicle to examine the wreck and found that she had no injuries. Looking at the other car, she noticed that she hit the driver’s side head on and it was slightly smashed, but no other damage. It was inert in the middle of the five-way intersection.

The cars barely touched… but that was so loud! The bang, it hurt my ears… it was like lightning.

Hello? Are you alright? There was no reply at first, but someone started to cough. Sir, are you alright? Oh, my… Tess turned around for a moment with a sense of guilt, shaking her head and sighing heavily in worry. She turned once more when the person replied to her question. Through the autumn morning mist, a figure was visible exiting the front passenger seat.

"Goodness; that was startling! What happened, Ms.?"

I missed the brake pedal. I am so sorry about that, sir. Very sorry, I really didn’t mean to do that… Harpsie, sir, are you hurt? The person did not respond, so Tess choked as she continued, I need your information. The figure moved into the open as curious onlookers gathered around to spy the accident.

The tall man – Robert Knipe – had an English accent and lacked much expression in his face besides happiness, however, he gestured often when speaking. He was wearing a long-sleeved collared gray shirt with dark-blue stripes. His pants were well-fitting jeans that seemed to be stained with coffee.

I’m perfectly fine, just a tad shaken up. I suppose you’re not injured as well, yes? He gave a long, drawn-out sigh and stood for a moment before looking at Tess again. Oh, I wasn’t going anywhere that would be important. Robert, Ms. Harpsie, Robert Knipe. The two stood beside each other, looking at their cars. You were going somewhere important, no?

Tess stood for a few moments before realizing that she was being addressed. Oh, sorry. I was just heading to work. I need your information, though.

Do you have a spare, ma’am? Robert inquired, completely ignoring Tess’ request as he attempted to start his vehicle.

"Why, of course I do. It’s the law to carry a