Failing Test: Book One of The Shadow Series Read online

  Nicole’s rate of descent quickly changed from erratic to slow and controlled; it felt as if she were falling in slow motion. With eyes closed, she waited for impact, but instead felt herself land gently on a pile of brittle straw. As she opened her eyes, she was struck by the beam of a small flashlight. Barely able to see through the light, she could make out the shadow of a small man standing with the light in hand approaching her.

  “I’d say he’s a pretty handy man to have around, wouldn’t you?” asked Cliff as he took Nicole by the arm. “I’ve got her, son. You can let her go.” With great strain, the old man helped her from the ground and gently scolded her as he brushed bits of straw from her clothes. “You gotta watch out for these old barns. No stairs you know, just that rickety old ladder going up . . .” he chuckled mischievously, “or down in a hurry if you ain’t payin’ attention!”

  Nicole’s eyes had adjusted, and she realized that it was the old man from the shopping center standing beside her. She looked into his face, and once again, he gave her a wink and a crooked grin.

  “How do you do, Miss? My name is Clifford Johnston, but I’d appreciate it if you just called me Cliff.”

  Peering down from the loft, Test struggled to see their silhouettes. He reached out for the ladder and recklessly descended towards the floor below. In his haste, he missed the final rung and fell haphazardly to his knees. As he picked himself up, he quickly took several steps towards Nicole.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, ignoring the pain in his right knee.

  Nicole looked at him with a blank expression as her eyes rolled back. With no warning, she fell limp. Test quickly dropped to her side and cradled her in his arms.

  “Nicole?” He feverishly repeated her name several times.

  “She’s all right. She just fainted,” said Cliff in a soothing voice. “Let’s get her outside and into some fresh air.”

  Test stood and gently lifted her into his arms. Following Cliff, he walked out the front door and to a pile of straw that lay strewn about next to the barn. Cautiously, he laid her down and knelt beside her. He lovingly stroked her hair and then, with the back of his hand, caressed her cheek.

  “I’m so sorry, Nicole. What have I gotten you into?” said Test as he gently rocked back and forth. He looked to Cliff. “How many more lives do you think I can screw up in one day?” he asked, the sarcasm born of frustration.

  “Oh now stop feelin’ sorry for yourself. She’s just fine,” spouted Cliff.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Test. “How did you know where to find me?”

  Cliff smiled, pulled out his cigar from his shirt pocket, and put it between his teeth. Pushing his glasses back up higher on his nose, he replied, “You ever stop to think that maybe you’re not the only one with a gift?” he asked.

  Test looked at him with a wrinkled nose and down-turned brows.

  “Honestly, son, I know you are young, but ain’t you ever heard of psychics and what not?” said Cliff smiling, his cigar clenched in his teeth and tucked tightly into the corner of his mouth.

  The two stared at each other in silence. Test started to speak several times, but stopped himself each time until he was finally able to get it out.

  “So, are you telling me that you’re psychic?” he asked.

  Laughingly, Cliff replied, “Oh I don’t know about all that, but I got gifts.”

  Test dropped his head and spoke with irritation in his voice. “Cliff, my brain is fried from everything so you’ll have to excuse me when I say . . .” He paused and collected the words in his head once again. “Will you just say what’s on your mind and be done with all of the bullshit!”

  Cliff snapped straight and yanked the cigar from his teeth. “You best watch your mouth, son. Ain’t nobody that talks to me that way!” He stood as menacingly over Test as a tiny elderly man could and continued. “I know things. When I first met you in the store, I knew you were a good kid. I also knew you was special. I even knew when we pulled up to the shopping center that there was going to be trouble.”

  “Then why didn’t you say something!” yelled Test.

  “You better settle down, youngin, and let me finish,” said Cliff as he leaned over and into Test’s face. “Don’t you think that if I knew that there was going to be trouble, that there was a chance that I would also know how it would end?”

  Test fell short in his attempt to understand Cliff’s words. Confused, he sat down beside Nicole on the hay. He rubbed his hands nervously on his face and then ran them back through his hair. Suddenly he remembered his dream from the rest stop. See you soon, son, rang clearly in his head.

  “The dream,” whispered Test as he looked up to Cliff.

  “Yep, that was me. The dream was yours, but I came to visit,” responded Cliff happily and with a smile. “And here I am. I told you I’d see you soon,” he said with a wink.

  “How? Tell me,” asked Test, amazed.

  “You remember when we first met?” asked Cliff. “I told you I could tell about people. Well, the reason I can tell about people is because I can get in their heads. Sometimes I can see what’s comin’ for them too, but that comes and goes.”

  “So you knew the whole time what I was thinking about doing when we were at your house?” asked Test.

  As soon as he asked the question, Nicole stirred. With a gentle moan, she slowly came to. Test jumped back to his knees and leaned over top of her.

  “Hey, baby,” he said softly, once again stroking her jet black hair.

  “Hey,” she replied in a distant and foggy voice.

  “Are you okay?” asked Test, looking at her affectionately.

  “I’m fine . . . I think,” replied Nicole as she looked at Cliff.

  “It’s all okay, sweetheart. You’ve had quite the day, haven’t you? I can understand your doubts,” said Cliff.

  “What do you mean doubts?” asked Test.

  “It’s nothin’, son. Let’s get this beautiful girl up on her feet,” replied Cliff as he motioned for him to stand and then backed away.

  Test stood and took Nicole’s elbow, helping her as she stood.

  “Slow down. I don’t need you passing out again,” he said somewhat in jest.

  Nicole gathered her bearings and then looked around. The moon was now on the horizon in the east, and the last glimpse of pink was all but gone in the western sky. The blanket of night was beginning to become freckled with stars, glimmering against a dark blue black background. Test looked up with her.

  “As promised . . . your country night sky,” he said as he reached for her hand.

  As before, she quickly pulled away from him. She couldn’t look him in the eyes and was visibly shaken.

  Turning to her fearfully, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Boy, are you blind?” asked Cliff bluntly. “She’s scared of you.”

  Test shot a hateful and annoyed look at Cliff and then turned to Nicole. She was staring at him timidly, hiding behind her bangs.

  “Is he right?” he asked.

  Nicole didn’t say a word. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she nodded.

  Test’s face became filled with pain. “But why, Nicole; what’s changed?”

  Cliff put his hand on her shoulder and spoke reassuringly, “Tell him, sweetheart. It’ll be all right, just tell him.”

  For some unknown reason, she felt a comfort in the old man’s touch. She breathed more deeply and felt the tenseness within her begin to ease. She looked at the ground, afraid of the conversation, and said, “Right before Cliff came into the barn . . .” She stopped. The emotions returned in a flood, making every word labored and agonizing. “Before Cliff came into the barn, your hands . . .” Again she paused.

  “Go ahead. Tell him.”

  She looked into Test’s eyes. She could still see the innocence within him. “Your hands were glowing, Test.”

  Test focused on her lips, trying to process what she had just said. He didn’t understand.

  “What do
you mean?” he asked.

  “I mean glowing.” With each word, her energy level grew. “Your palms were red, and the backs of your hands were blue!”

  Test responded with a roll of his eyes and tilted his head backwards to the sky. “Come on, Nicole. It had to have been the sunlight or something shining in through a crack,” he replied.

  “Oh, now, you come on, son!” barked Cliff. “Listen to her!”

  In a state of disbelief, Test looked at his hands. They didn’t look any different than they ever had. He tried to think back to the moment and what was going on inside him, but so much had happened over the last twenty-four hours that he couldn’t pinpoint anything.

  He stared at the moon hovering on the horizon just above her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Nicole. I guess I don’t know what to say.”

  “No need for apologies, son, you are who you are. No controllin’ what you are inside,” replied Cliff.

  “He’s right, Test; you don’t have to apologize to me,” said Nicole as she massaged her temples with her fingertips. “I don’t understand what is happening though and all of this scares me! I’m on a farm in the middle of nowhere with my boyfriend who’s now starting to glow in the dark, and his friend the creepy little old man who winks at me as I’m flying over him in a parking lot.” She turned to Cliff. “No offense.”

  With a chuckle, Cliff replied, “None taken, young lady.”

  Test reached out and gently gripped her arms and looked deeply into her eyes. “I understand how you’re feeling, and you’re justified. I know this is all over-the-top crazy, and to be honest, if I was you, I don’t know if I’d be here right now. The worst part of everything is that I don’t know what to say or do to make anything better.” He hesitated, unsure if she even wanted to hear what he had to say next. “I love you, and I swear that I would never do anything to hurt you. I don’t know what I’d do without you right now.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she replied as she took his hands into hers. “I just need to catch my breath.”

  A rush of comfort overcame him as a smile appeared lightly on Nicole’s face. With the last bit of sunset to his back and the moon to Nicole’s, he leaned in to give her a kiss.

  “Look, I hate to interrupt this moment, but I’m gettin’ eaten alive by these damned bugs out here. What do you say we get back up on the interstate and head to York and grab a hotel room?” asked Cliff gruffly.

  Annoyed by the timing of Cliff’s suggestion, Test turned and shot another hateful look to his new friend.

  “Come on, you kids. You can do that business later. I can already feel the West Nile runnin’ through my blood,” said Cliff with a chuckle.

  Test looked down to Nicole’s smiling face as she spoke. “You know, a soft bed does sound pretty good right now,” replied Nicole as she walked towards the cars, gently tugging Test’s hands.

  Test followed her, and as they passed by Cliff, he shook his head playfully. Cliff simply smiled in reply and followed them to the cars.

  “You okay to drive?” asked Cliff.

  “I’ll be fine. Let’s just go,” replied Test, now feeling every second of the day. “I’ll follow you.”

  Cliff climbed into the Monte Carlo and took off down the drive before Test had even shut the driver’s door on Marcy’s car. As he put the car into drive, Test looked to Nicole. She suddenly appeared very frail and drained. The sparkle in her eyes had dimmed some, and he couldn’t help but feel responsible. As they took off down the drive, he reached across the seat and gently touched her cheek. She turned and looked at him with a half-hearted smile. Before they could get a mile away from the farm, she was sound asleep. It was painfully obvious that nothing would be solved tonight, and he was beginning to wonder how he would ever solve anything.

  Chapter 19

  Comfort

  After an agonizing drive while wrestling with his eyelids, they had finally pulled into York. In front of them, Cliff was leading the way to the hotel just down the road. Test reached over and touched Nicole’s leg and gave her a gentle shake.

  “Hey, baby, we’re here,” he said softly.

  She awoke for just a few seconds, briefly opening her eyes and immediately falling back to sleep. Test turned into the hotel parking lot and parked next to the Monte Carlo. Shutting the car off, he opened the door and stepped out into the night. He looked up to the sky for some inspiration, but the lights from the interstate had drowned out the majority of the stars that had decorated the black canvas only a short time ago. Part of him wished they’d stayed at the farm.

  “She okay?” asked Cliff. He stood at the rear of Marcy’s car with his right hand on his back, stretching and bending over gingerly.

  “Yeah, I think so. She’s really tired though,” Test replied.

  “How ’bout you?” asked Cliff.

  “Honestly, I don’t know anymore,” he replied smiling unknowingly.

  “You gotta take it as it comes, Test. There’s no other option,” replied Cliff, matter-of-factly.

  “It’s all coming too fast. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

  “You need some good rest, son. It’s an amazing thing what a good night’s sleep can do for a man,” replied Cliff as he fiddled with his cigar. “You think you can get her to the room?” he asked, motioning to Nicole in the car.

  Test looked over his shoulder and replied, “Yeah, I think so, but could you try to get a room close to the outside? I’m beat, and if I have to carry her, I don’t know how far I’d be able to go.”

  Cliff nodded as he turned and walked to the entrance of the hotel lobby. Test walked around the car and opened the passenger door. Squatting inside the door, he once again put his hands on Nicole’s legs and gave a gentle shake.

  “Come on, Nicole. Let’s get inside. We’re at the hotel.”

  Nicole opened her eyes and looked at Test. She let out a deep and prolonged yawn and then a shallow smile.

  “Hey, baby,” she replied groggily.

  “How you doin’?”

  “I’m okay,” she replied as her tired eyes struggled to stay open. “I’m sorry about before.”

  “Don’t,” replied Test quickly. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. I’ve put you through too much and you had every right to feel that way. I’m just glad that you’re here. I really need you.”

  “I’m glad, too,” replied Nicole, patting his hands as they rested on her legs.

  As Test stood and backed away from the door, Nicole turned and stepped out of the car. Using the door as a crutch to steady herself, she fought the light-headed feeling brought on by standing too quickly. Once the haze had cleared, she closed the door and took Test’s hand. He led her to the back of the car, and leaning on the bumper, Nicole looked up to the blank sky.

  “No stars here,” said Test, noticing her line of sight.

  Nicole, without moving, replied coldly, “Nope.”

  “Did you like the farm? I mean . . .” Test stopped. “That was dumb,” he said aloud, more for himself than for Nicole. He thought, She gets freaked out by your glowing hands, falls down a hole, and passes out. What’s not to like, you idiot?

  Nicole stared at the ground, rolled her eyes, and wore a devilish little smile. “Sure, Test. It was pretty,” she replied with a giggle.

  He leaned back on the trunk next to her in silence and felt insanely awkward, somewhat like he had felt the first night at Nicole’s house. He just wanted to be done with this day and go to bed. After a couple minutes of silence, Cliff finally came out of the hotel.

  As he removed his glasses from his nose, he said, “We’re just right inside here, but I think you two had better walk around to the back. I’ll go back through the lobby and open the door for you.”

  “Is everything okay?” asked Nicole.

  “Relatively speaking, yes, but I’m sure everyone’s been watching the television and I’d be willing to bet your pictures have been national news all day long,” replied Cliff with a yawn.


  “Good point, my friend,” replied Test.

  Test and Nicole turned and followed the sidewalk that took them around to the side of the hotel. As they reached the door, with the card key entry light showing red, Test unconsciously pulled on the handle and it came open without effort. What security? he thought. He opened the door, leading Nicole with his hand on the small of her back, and walked into the long hallway covered with red carpet in a reticulated pattern. Ahead of them, Cliff shuffled down the hall, stopping midway down and inserting his card key into a door.

  “Here we are, folks. Home sweet home,” he said, his voice lacking his now-familiar ornery tone.

  Test put his hand on Cliff’s shoulder and said sincerely, “Thank you once again my friend. I owe—”

  Cliff cut him off. “No, you don’t,” he replied firmly.

  They filed into the room, noticing nothing but the two queen-sized beds. Nicole immediately fell face-first onto the bed farthest from the door and after a brief pause, crawled up the bed, pulled down the covers, kicked off her shoes, and buried herself in the blankets. Test walked over to the side of the bed and leaned over her. Kissing her on the forehead, he whispered into her ear, “Good night, baby. Sleep well.”

  Within seconds, she was sound asleep. Test walked to the other side of the bed and sat on the edge. He kicked off his shoes, put his face in his hands, and took a deep breath. He could hear Cliff at the sink splashing water on his face. After a minute or so, he looked up as Cliff walked back into the room, patting his face with a towel.

  “Hey, Cliff, what happened at the shopping center after we were gone?” asked Test. “Did the police take you or what?”

  “No, sir. Everyone was so focused on you that once you got into the car to leave, I took off, and no one even noticed,” he replied.

  “So you didn’t see what happened to my mom?” asked Test timidly.

  “No. I’m sorry, I didn’t,” Cliff replied solemnly. “I saw her fall, but I wasn’t around long enough. I knew if the police would’ve got me that I’d never be able to get back to you.”