The Time Master

    The full moon sparkled over a gang of oaks.  Crooked branches pointed down at Evan Santos as he hid behind a wide trunk, using its body and shadow to evade Clara, his little sister.  He smiled, listening to the fallen leaves betray her location with every step she made.  He stifled a chuckle when she got closer.  Sometimes she made hide and seek too easy. “You better not be moving, Evan,” she warned before looking behind the wrong tree.

    While he waited for Clara to find him, a crisp breeze shuffled the leaves where he hid.  Glancing down, a glint of polished metal caught his eye and he knelt to explore the discovery.  He picked up a gold necklace with a locket, and as he raised it for closer inspection, the case sprang open, revealing a gemstone glowing red with a radiance all its own.  It throbbed, almost like a heart, and as he stared, an image of a crescent and a star appeared.  “This is so cool.”

    “Gotcha!” Clara yelled, poking him in his right shoulder.  “Hey, what is that?”

    “It’s mine.” Evan flashed the amulet in her face for only a second before putting the chain around his neck.

    As they walked back towards their mother’s cabin, the menacing trees vanished.  In their place, concrete buildings surrounded a desolate street.  Instead of crunching twigs underfoot, Evan kicked aside aluminum cans.  Somehow, he was back in the city.  He watched with wide eyes as a lanky stranger held his father at gunpoint in a dark alley.   

    “Please, don’t shoot.”  With trembling hands his dad handed the wallet to the beady-eyed mugger. “I have a family.” 

    A loud pop echoed throughout the alley, followed by blue smoke. 

    Evan shouted, “No!” He stood paralyzed by fear, watching the pale heathen run off as his dad lay on the pavement, a pool of blood surrounding his body.

    “What’s wrong Evan?” Clara stood in front of him, shaking his shoulders.

    All of a sudden, the morbid scene disappeared and he was back with his sister, a few feet away from the cabin.  The smell of gunpowder replaced by the aroma of fried fish, signaling all was normal.  He sprinted past Clara and burst through the door.  Both parents were in the kitchen, laughing.

*

    The rest of the evening went well.  His mother took a liking to his newfound charm and wore it.  The next morning, Evan awoke to sobs.  He found his mother sitting by the fireplace, staring at a picture of his grandmother.

    “Mom, what’s wrong?”

    She gripped the charm, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Where did you find this medallion?”

    “I told you, in the woods.”

    “Last night, I spent some precious time with grandma.”

    “But she’s dead.”

    “It felt like I was a little girl again.  She kept telling me when I got bigger I would marry and have a family.” She glanced around and said, “Grandma taught me how to bake in this very cabin.  It seemed so real.”

    Evan told her about his experience with the unique amulet.  He wondered what secrets it possessed.

    She caressed his cheek and handed him the charm. “Your father and sister will be up soon. I’ll make breakfast.”

    Evan enjoyed the rest of his vacation.  His father took him fishing and he recalled how he struggled with his nine-year-old frame reeling in the larger bass.  Nevertheless, his dad made him feel important.

*

    The first evening back in the city, Evan leaned against his window, hoping to listen to the city’s pulse.  An array of lights sprinkled across towers of skyscrapers, contrasting greatly with the serene environment of his mother’s cabin.  Expecting to hear the neighborhood teenagers playing loud music and shout at each other with disturbing cusses, Evan detected a subtle abnormality.  All was quiet.  A strong breeze stirred blue curtains, brushing against his sandy hair.  He wore the amulet around his neck and it beamed red.  Wind picked up its intensity, casting debris in the empty streets below.  A whisper reached his right ear.  “What in the world was that?”

    He tilted his head to his right, eyes scanning a neighbor’s apartment.  The shades were closed.  A few seconds later, Evan refocused on the streets below.  Another whisper brushed by his other ear, causing him to look left.  As if the wind could spit, droplets of rain descended upon him.  The more he got wet, the brighter his charm lit.  Just when he was about to shut the window and seek refuge from the sudden burst of rain, another more distinguishable whisper brushed by him.  “Death.”

    “What about death?” He couldn’t believe he was talking to the elements. 

    The wind hissed, “He must die.”

    Evan did not understand how wind could talk and he had no idea what it was trying to tell him.  He shut the window when a loud knock on the door startled him.  He went to the living room, spotting his sister watching television and his mother answering the door. 

    A policeman took off his hat and said, “Are you Mrs. Santos? I’m Officer Willie Banks.” The grimfaced lawman stepped inside.  “I have bad news.”

    Evan clutched the amulet, the vision of his dad’s fate fresh in his mind.  He blurted, “Father’s dead.”

    The time charm flared through his fingers. Chills ran down his spine.  The more the officer talked, the more distant his voice became.  Evan wished he could change his father’s fate.  He clutched the fiery amulet and muttered to himself, “Dad can’t be dead.” He lifted the charm to his face and prayed for his father’s safe return. 

*

    A week passed.  The funeral was difficult for all of them, but Evan had refused to go to school.  His favorite foods tasted bland.  Bathing wasn’t high on his list of priorities.  He lagged behind in his studies, and was consumed with the amulet.  He spent much of his time on the internet researching anything he could find on rare gemstones or time manipulation.  His fruitless efforts ended when his mother insisted he attend school. 

    At night, the charm glowed.  Evan sat in his bed, baffled by what he saw.  Images of the school’s bully, Stan Peterson, appeared before him.  They were at a baseball field.  Although Evan was tall for his age, Stan towered over him with an extra hundred pounds.  A crew cut made his face seem wider.  “I want that bat, loser.” He reached for the bat and with one motion, stiff-armed Evan, knocking him to the dirt in front of their dugout.  The other players laughed. 

    “I’m tired of your crap!” Evan yelled, rising from the ground.  He dusted himself off and took his eye off the bully for just a second when Stan sucker punched him, dropping him again. 

    “When I ask you for something, Santos, you hop to it, boy.”  The charm had popped loose so that it showed over his shirt. “Look what we have here.” Stan Peterson ripped the charm off Evan and went back to the dugout.  The blazing sun disappeared behind dark clouds. 

    Darkness faded as the images slowly disappeared and Evan was back in his room.  The next morning with his stomach tied in knots, he trotted off to school.  The day dragged until he found himself in baseball practice.  He reached for a bat, but cringed when he heard Stan speak. “I want that bat, loser.” The bully reached for it and with one motion attempted to stiff-arm Evan, but Evan sidestepped him and the big guy fell.  The other players laughed.  Stan got up, his face covered with dirt, and charged at Evan, who swung the bat across the fat boy’s stomach.  He keeled over, landing with a thud on the ground.

    “I’m tired of your crap, Peterson.  You can’t bully me around anymore.”  Evan dropped the weapon, ignored the coach’s shouts, and ran home.

    As he approached the building’s entrance, he realized that once again, the charm showed him his future and this time he changed it.  He muttered to himself, “There has to be a way to reverse the past.” While he waited for the elevator, a thought popped into his mind causing him to smile.  When he entered the apartment, his mother was sitting on the sofa, gazing at her wedding pictures. 

    “Mom, I can fix it,” he said, hurrying to her side, “I can bring dad back.”

    “Honey, your father’s dead.  You need to move on.”

    He pulled the charm out from his shirt.  “When I wear this, it shows me the future, but when you wore it, you went to the past.”

    Her hazel eyes met his.

    “Come on mom, it’s worth a try.  Put on the charm and think about when dad was killed.” He handed her the amulet. 

    As soon as she grabbed it, it beamed red.  He hugged her and the apartment disappeared, replaced by a street corner.  Daylight was extinguished in favor of nightfall.  Evan recognized where he was and led his mother towards the alley.  They sprinted until they ran into a familiar face.  Officer Willie Banks was on foot patrol.  “Sir, my father is in danger, please follow us.”

    They arrived at the alley.  Evan’s heart thumped as if it tried to escape by tearing a hole in his chest.  His father was handing the gun wielding mugger his wallet. 

    Officer Banks yelled, “Freeze!”

    A gunshot broke the night’s silence, followed by another.  Evan felt a stinging in his left arm.  The mugger lay on the pavement.  Blood drained out of his chest.  His eyes had an empty stare.  Evan’s mother embraced his dad whose eyes opened wide when he saw Evan, yelling, “Call an ambulance! My son’s been shot!”

    Evan glanced at his arm; trembling, as blood trickled from the bullet wound, and fainted.

*

    Because of his wounds, Evan missed baseball practice.  His encounter with Stan never materialized but hoped the amulet would clue him in as to when he needed to defend himself.  His father was skeptical of their account but was grateful to be alive. 

    The next night, Evan was in his room with his arm in a sling, when a familiar sound buzzed his ears.  The wind hissed, “Death is near.”

    Strong waves of air sent a lamp crashing to the floor.  He stared at a mirror as beads of sweat trickled down his face.  The amulet pulsated.  A sudden burst of flames surrounded him.  A gray haze covered what he recognized was his mother’s cabin.  No longer in his room, his jaw dropped when he examined his surroundings.  Charred trees drooped on barren land.  A multitude of people marched in single file, shackled in chains.  One of them shouted, “Don’t take us to that madman!”

    A young woman dressed in a thong and covered in muck, begged her captors for mercy.  Evan gasped when he recognized her.  It was his sister, Clara.  He heard her yell, “My brother didn’t order this.  He’s not a monster!”

    A man stood in Evan’s view.  The boy marveled at the gargantuan barbarian standing before Clara.  Each leg was as wide as the oaks he hid behind when playing with his sister.  Hanging on his belt, were skulls of what appeared to be newborn babies.  “Master Evan possesses the Star of Hades.  He is master of this domain.  Only the worthy shall live.” 

    When the soldier turned, Evan caught a glimpse of his yellow eyes.  An indentation divided his head.  White dreadlocks hung in constant animation like starving snakes eager to pounce on their next meal.  The beast’s imposing presence kept the nine-year-old Evan in a trance until his sister spoke again.

    “Evan is not a killer.  I know the government killed my parents, but it was a mistake.  My parents were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

    The soldier hissed, “Why do you protect your fallen leader?” He pointed his finger at her and said, “The master vowed those responsible will kneel before him.”

    She cried, “I have to live with the fact that I detonated the bomb.  They weren’t supposed to be there.”

    The vision cleared.  Evan was no longer inside the frightening world of the future.  He was back in his room.  He stared at his wide-eyed reflection and spoke in a robotic manner, “The Star of Hades hasn’t been wrong.”

    In a trance state he made his way to the kitchen, picked up a knife and went to his sister’s door.  He nudged the half open door and saw her lying face down on the bed, listening to her i-pod, reading a magazine.  The familiar wind swirled through the window and hissed in his ears, “Need blood.”

    He raised the knife.  Tears clouded his vision.  He told himself it was to protect his parents.  This was his opportunity to change the future.  Evan listened to the whispering wind and felt the amulet merge with his chest.  Its cryptic red glow made him appear like an angel of the sun, an angel of death.

 
- 2171 words