“Hey Earth to Dick. You alright in there?” Blinking rapidly Dick shook his head and looked to the side. Gav was looking at him, somewhat annoyed and his arms folded. “I’ve been trying to talk to you. I’ve got rightful complaints to make.”
“Yeah. Right. Sorry. Physical activity and all that stuff, right?” Dick mumbled.
“Dick you okay. You’ve been out of it all morning,”
The two of them sat in the bleachers of the gymnasium. Both in the shorts and short sleeved gym uniform. There were students playing basketball on the court while others just walked circles around the place. Staying active was the name of the game. Except they were ignoring that rule and sitting together.
“Yeah I think. Just slept bad.”
“Bad how? Sleep wrong? Dreams? Over hear Keenen doing it?”
Dick made a severely ugly faces and scowled. “I didn’t want to imagine that image.”
Gav broke out into laughter and snickered lowering his head. “Had to do it ya buddy.”
He took a deep breath and shook his head quickly. “I had a dream about mi hermano. And he was alive. Not just alive but like with us. Together. And it was great. You, me and him were getting into trouble. I think he and Lily were dating. It was too good to be true in a lot of ways. And waking up to normal was. It was rough.”
Gav stared at his friend and shook his head. “Geez Dick. I’m. I’m sorry man.”
“Nah. Nah it’s fine. Not an I’m sorry moment. Just. Been thinking about him a lot recently. And just imagining what if? You know?”
“Yeah. I think at least. Wait, isn’t today?” he began to ask looking at his friend. Dick nodded slowly.
Gav got off the bench and walked to his friends side and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “For what it’s worth. Dealing with the two of you would have probably been hell but I can say I would have loved you both the same.”
Dick laughed and shook his head slowly. “Thanks Gav. I’m sure one of us would have been manageable.”
“Sure. One of you,” Gav shook his head clapping him on the back. “Come on let’s get to the lockers before class ends. Get a jump start before all the other sweaty boys get there.”
“I thought you liked sweaty boys,” Dick asked raising his eyebrow.
Gav held up a hand and shook his head, “Not these sweaty boys.”
“Fair enough.”
Both went toward the locker room and changed out of their uniforms and into their regular clothes. Dick paused as he felt his pendent against his bare chest. Touching it lightly he frowned slowly, giving it a light squeeze and shaking his head. His brother was dead and he knew that acutely but the dreams didn’t help one bit. Just filled him with regret.
Pressing his forehead against the locker he took a very slow breath and stayed there until Gav called for him from the other side. “Hey you coming?”
“Hey Gav give me a few. I’m going outside. Need to call someone,” he said and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Yeah sure. I’ll let the coach know you’re stuck in the bathroom.”
“Thanks Gav,” Dick walked out the back entrance of the locker room and stuck a rock in the door so that would partially close and not lock him out. The air was chillier than he initially thought and he shuddered rubbing his arms. Going toward the wall he leaned against it and scrolled through his contacts quickly.
He hovered over Samantha’s name more than once and remembered the previous night. She told him to reach out if he needed her and now was as good a time as any. But she would be in class and if he was going to talk to her he’d rather it be face to face. He needed someone who knew him better. Scrolling up slowly he hovered on Keenen before hitting call.
The phone rang a few times before his uncle finally answered. “Hey mijo. You okay? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”
Dick could hear voices, some shouting, in the background. “Snuck out. Just needed to talk. You free?”
Keenen was silent for a moment before going, “Yeah. Just give me a second. Get to a quieter spot.”
There was a bit or ruffling on the other side, loud enough that he pulled the phone away from his ear. He took a few minutes but Dick heard a door close and Keenen responded. “Alright mijo. What’s up?”
Dick sighed and slid down against the wall until he was sitting and pushed his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. Past couple of days I’ve had a few dreams. About Rey.”
“Tu hermano?”
“Si. And they weren’t bad dreams. They were good dreams,” he said softly. “Like I dreamed that he was around now. That he was going to school with me. And we were talking and hung out and he was a part of the group. We got into a fight in the dream but we figured it out by the end. It was so real.
“And when I woke up he wasn’t there. And everything was normal,” Dick said his voice dropping as he stared at the ground. “And I hated it. I wanted to go back to sleep. To stay in the dream but I couldn’t. Heck I’m barely remembering it right now. It’s going away slowly. And I don’t want to forget him.”
“I know what today is mijo. It’s been a long time since then but I know you haven’t forgotten. Which is why I can say for certain that you won’t forget him.” Keenen said and sighed. “Do you know why your mother named you and your brother Richard and Rey?”
Dick shook his head and stared at the concrete. “I never thought about it outside of they both started with R.”
Keenen laughed softly and Dick could hear the gentle smile in his voice. “Mi hermana was very much a good Christian and she loved the symbolism in names. When she was blessed with you two she fussed over your names for months. Your father actually came to me for advice on just how to deal with her.” He chuckled.
“But after a very long time she finally decided on a pair of names. Rey which translates roughly to king in Spanish. And Richard which has many equivalences to king in the English language. Before you were born she called you her little kings.”
Dick smiled to himself vaguely remembering his mother’s face. “I can remember that. Mama always called us that when we were together.” He smiled slightly remembering his mother’s voice, whether scolding them for drawing on the walls, encouraging them whenever they were outside exploring the world or just hugging them and being happy.
“She loved both of you dearly. Rey was your twin, your mother’s other king. No matter what he’s apart of you and he always will be. The fact that you dreamed about him in your life right now shows how much he’s going to be there. Just like your parents are watching over you from heaven he’s watching over you as well. You’re never going to forget him.”
Dick nodded his head slowly and sighed. “Thanks Tio. A lot.”
“Somas familia. I’ll always be here for you mijo,” Keenen seemed to be thinking for a moment and then let out a sigh. “And I know you’re having a rough one. I normally won’t say this so don’t take this for granted. If you think you need to take the day off you have my permission. This time.”
Dick glanced at his phone and snorted with a suppressed laugh. “Really tio? You’re saying I can skip school?”
“I can take it back you know.”
“No no. I appreciate it. I might take you up on it.”
“Just let me know if you do so we can be on the same page with the excuse,” he said and laughed for a moment. “Te quiero, mijo”
“Te quiero Tambien,” Dick hung up then and lowered his hands. His chest didn’t hurt as much but his mind was still all over the place. Frowning he picked up his pendent. Popping open the pendent he looked at two pictures. One of a dark curly haired woman, with dimpled cheeks and a smile so wide it was almost ear to ear. Behind her was a black man with fresh cut hair and glasses. His smile was far smaller but no less warm.
And in the lap of both of these were a pair of babies looking lost. Wearing identical shirts and shorts with tiny booties on their feet. One was staring toward the camera and the other was looking up toward his parents.
Hands shaking slightly, he shut his eyes and closed it. Getting off the ground he walked back to the door and kicked the rock away and let the door close. The gym was still empty and as he walked toward the door he heard the bell ring.
As he walked Gav whistled and waved him over. Lisa was present as well and the two looked at their friend with uneasy frowns. “Hey,” Dick said as he finally got within reach of them.
“Gav told me about the dream. You okay Dick?” Lisa asked
“Not gonna lie. I’m in between. But I’ll be okay in the long run. You’ll never guess what tio said though.”
“What? That you can skip school?” Gav said laughing and Dick smirked shrugging his shoulders. “No way are you serious? Keenen gave you permission to ditch?”
“Just this once. So I’m probably gonna take it. You in?”
“Are you kidding?” Lisa rubbed her hands together and laughed. “I’m already out the door.”
“Seconded.” Gav said holding up his fingers.
“Alright so we go to our lockers, meet back here and then hop on a train?” Dick asked and both of them clutched hands and pretended to sniffle.
“He’s growing up,” Lisa whispered.
Gav wiped his eyes, “I know. I’ve never been prouder.”
Letting out a deep exasperated sigh Dick brushed past the both of them. “Meet back in five,” he said and went toward his locker.
Opening it he reached for what few books he knew he’d need for homework the next day. He knew Lily would be miffed that he ditched but he couldn’t be here any longer. Lily would understand. Or at the very least she could sympathize when he talked to her about it tonight.
Slinging the bag over his shoulders he went back toward the gym and both Gav and Lisa were there bags on their shoulders. They walked back toward the locker rooms and slipped out the back doors and met on the outside of the school. Taking the path, the long way around they got to a main street and toward the train.
It arrived a few minutes later and the trio boarded it, sitting down in the very empty seats. With most people either in school or at work the train was almost entirely empty. “So where are we trying to go?” Lisa asked. “Not towards anyone’s house though I figure yours is open since this was Keenen’s idea.”
“It’s open but I want to get my mind of things,” Dick said his voice not full of the normal energy it might have. “Got any ideas of great Gavington?”
Gav was leaning back as he thought about it for a moment before giving a quick nod. “I’ve got the place. We just need to get there. Going to have to hop a few trains though. Up for the adventure?”
“Sure. Where we going?” Lisa asked swinging on the hand rail to stand up.
“Gasworks. Duh.”
Both nodded in recognition, Lisa laughing and Dick cracking a smile. “Haven’t been there in a while.”
“None of us have,” Gav said. “We’re overdue for a trip. Granted I’d want to take everyone but us three delinquents will do for now.”
“Well if we’re going to Gasworks this is our stop,” Dick said glancing outside the window as the station past. “And the next one isn’t near us. We got a decent walk to go.”
“That’s why we’re going to be hopping a few trains,” Gav indicated and laughed.
Getting to his feet they each got to the station and pushed through the turnstile and down the stairs. Once they were on the sidewalk they started a jog toward the subway station. The streets were pretty empty though the random walker or homeless person was there.
Crossing a few streets and j-walking through traffic they made it to the stairs taking them quickly down into the darkness. One by one instead of swiping their cards they just jumped over the turnstile and sprinted to an escalator. They ran down the steps stumbling off the final step one at a time and laughing.
“Oh look. Right on time” Gav said pointing as the train came down the tunnel with a metallic roar.
“All aboard,” Lisa said all but skipping forward as the doors hissed open. A few people stepped out and the trio took seats near the front of the car. The train lights blinked a few times as they crossed out from the tunnel and outside across the tracks.
Dick looked out across the empty space, other tracks crisscrossing across the gravel. He could vaguely hear Lisa and Gav talking beside him but his mind was elsewhere. His phone vibrated a few times and he blinked then reached down to pull it out. He had a text flashing from Lily which he expected.
Gringa: Hey where are you? It’s been like ten minutes.
Me: Me, Gav, and Lisa are skipping school
Gringa: What?!
Gringa: Seriously?
Me: Yea
Me: Having a really rough day. Like really bad
Gringa: Are you okay?
Me: idk
Gringa: Tell me about it later.
Me: I will. Promise
Locking his phone, he glanced at his friends both looking outside at something in the distance. He stopped for a second, looking past them and took a slow breath. He imagined his brother sitting on the other side of Gav. He was there laughing and pointing at something outside the window.
Both of them looked out and Lisa hit him but Gav grinned even wider. Rey smiled and then looked toward him asking him why he was spacing out. His voice sounded like his own, except with a more pronounced accent. Dick smiled and looked at the ground holding his pendent lightly.
Shutting his eyes he wiped at the corner of them for a second and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes his brother was gone and both of Gav and Lisa were standing up, holding onto the supports. “Come on Dick. This is our stop.”
“Yeah. I remember this place.” He said as he got up. He could see the tall buildings around them but closer were smaller ones, parks and an elementary schools. They got off onto an outdoor platform a chill breeze rolling across and making Dick shiver and making a face. “Almost there team,” Gav said pointing toward the next set of stairs that went up and joined with a bridge that would take them over a set of stairs and toward the city again.
Lisa was the first one to get to the arcade and shoved the doors open. The place let loose sounds of beeps, whistles, and alarms of games playing on standby. Explosions, fighting techniques, and gunfire all echoed around them. The arcade had a few people there but for the most part it was empty.
There were two levels, the bottom level with a lot of arcade machines and games but above were the more traditional ones like ski ball, basketball machines and air hockey. There was a man behind a counter on the first level. He had a mug on the stained display case of colorful prizes.
“How’s it going,” he said raising his eyebrow at the three of them and taking in their uniforms. “Skipping class huh?”
Lisa held a finger to her lips and grinned, “Don’t tell anyone. Our friends here needed a break from things. Real pick me up.”
Dick gave a weak wave and forced a grimace. Gav clapped him on the back as they walked toward the counter, “Trust us. He’s been having it bad.”
The man behind the counter made a face and chuckled. “I remember what it was like being your age. Playing hooky, especially when days got rough. How about this? You guys get to have at the place. Just don’t break anything or it’s my ass.”
“No way seriously?” Lisa asked wide eyed and then grinned harder. “That’s awesome. You’re awesome!”
She ran back and grabbed Dick’s hand. “Come on. We’re heading upstairs.”
Getting dragged along for a second before getting his footing Dick quickly climbed the stairs with her and she pushed him toward the air hockey table. She mashed the reset button a few times until the puck was released.
Plucking it out she placed it on her side of the table as she felt the soft flow of air. She leaned against it and glanced at Dick who gripped his side of the table and held onto his striker.
Gav walked over to the middle of the table then grabbed the puck and held it up as he glanced at them. “Alright. Lisa. Or Dick. Who’s going to be the winner of this contest? No body knows. We’re going for good clean fun. No trick shots. No grabbing the puck. Please trash talk. Any questions.”
“Nope.”
“Let’s get on with it,” Lisa said tracing her striker back and forth.
“Yeah yeah. Get to it you animals,” he said bouncing the puck forward.
They played three full games, each one going down to the last point but Lisa ended up stealing each of them. “I swear she’s cheating,” Dick said as he stepped away from the machine.
“I am the champion, my friends,” Lisa clasped her hands together waving them above her head. “I’d like to thank my coach for my arm and the school for giving me eyes that could spot a bad hit a mile away.” She said and took a quick bow as well.
Gav and Dick both rolled their eyes and turned toward one another, whispering loudly. “Is she talking to her adoring fans?” Dick asked.
“I didn’t think she had any after she punched that one fan.”
“They just wanted an autograph.”
“And she went ape shit. Poor guy had a broken face after that.”
“Hey I can hear you two jerks,” she said leaning against the table.
Gav glanced over his shoulder and smirked. “Oh us? What do you mean?”
Dick grinned. “We’re just talking about the latest gossip. Don’t worry champion. You were thanking everyone correct?”
She tossed one striker at Gav and he caught it with a laugh. “You’re next gay boy.”
“Looking to get crushed that soon?” he asked sauntering over to the side of the table. “I’ll oblige and take your championship title.”
Dick laughed and stood in front of the table and raised his arms and pointed toward Lisa. “We’ve got a lesbian.” He pointed toward Gav. “We’ve got a gay.” Picking up the puck he set it down on the middle of the table and smirked at both of the.
“Only one member of the community may hold the title of champion of air hockey. This needs to be some clean dirty fun. Gav may turn a blind eye to some cheap shots but don’t try me. You can be DQ’d.”
Slapping the puck forward it bounced against one wall and it rocketed toward Lisa and the game started. Both of them were focused as they started shouting insults at one another because neither of them could score a point. Dick smiled watching them and winced when he heard a harsh ringing in his ear.
He took a step back and put his hand to his head. Looking back he glanced at the two of them. “I gotta. Gotta use the bathroom. I’ll be back guys.”
Both acknowledged him barely as they focused on the game and he ran down the stairs. The guy wasn’t at the front counter at the moment and Dick vaguely heard him in an office. Dick sprinted out the door and looked back and forth as he tried to trace the ringing in his ears.
Turning he grunted as he gripped the wall and stumbled forward. It was ringing consistently and lowered as he went toward the right of the arcade so he turned around and started running. He’d been down this path too many times over the past few weeks.
Rounding a corner, he heard a bus rumble past him but as he approached an alleyway. The alley was empty and he looked around it sharply confused. He heard the ringing but the alleyway was empty. Nothing within it. Turning around slowly he looked for a sewer grate and then looked above and the ringing turned into a higher pitch whine. “The roof. Can this thing fly? How am I getting up there?”
Glancing around he turned and saw no fire escapes or easy way up there. He glanced all the way up and saw a few air conditioners sticking out of windows. He did the math in his head for a second and nodded. “Alright, idea.” He mumbled manifesting his geist. Throwing one chain forward it soared wide before landing on top of one of the air conditioners.
The chain wrapped around it and then locked together. He gave a tug and for the time being the unit didn’t creek or move. Running toward the wall he jumped. The chain went taught and held his weight as he pressed both feet against the wall. Holding his breath and squeezing tightly on the chain he started to climb one step at a time, scaling the wall. Once he made it to the top he hopped over the edge. Flicking his wrist, the chain came back to his side and paused glaring.
A giant white creature was crouched over a body crunching away at it. There were laundry lines strung out with linen to dry. Most of them were splashed with red. He was definitely too late to save whoever that was and he swore under his breath.
“Hey!” The wraith whipped its head to face him. It was like a worm with no eyes and just giant square teeth. It was horrendously pale, with thick fingers clutching what was formerly the torso of a man. Dick cringed away and it roared at him sending blood and spittle his way. It got up slowly working forward and Dick let the chain go loose on the ground.
The wraith looked at the geist before stomping forward and digging into the roof. He threw the chain forward one of the points aimed straight for the things head. It ducked down avoiding the chain and continued to sprint. Dick took a step back and jumped rolling away as it slammed into the spot where he was. Bringing his chain back he threw the other chain hitting its head and wrapped around its throat.
Yanking his arm back he squeezed it around the things neck and the wraith let out a choked cry. Yanking on the chain it dragged him forward and then turned dragging him across the roof. It tried to drag him over, already swinging its claws. One came close and he avoided it narrowly as the second came at him. Raising his free arm, he tossed the other chain forward swatting the creatures claws away.
Letting the chain go slack around the wraiths neck he scrambled away putting distance between them. Whirling around he gripped the chain and started spinning it slowly. The wraith growled hitting the ground with one claw. Giving it a faster spin, he started swinging the chain like a whip directing it with one hand and holding it steady with the other.
It smacked into the wraith with meaty sounds and he kept up his assault keeping his distance. However, the wraith moved and caught the chain in it’s mouth suddenly. Eyes wide Dick was pulled off his feet by the raw strength of the creature and was thrown into the roof and almost off it.
Looking up he felt the air rush past him and covered his face. The wraith let out a shout before he heard a small explosion. The air crackled and he raised his arms to protect himself. Blinking quickly, he saw the wraith was gone, eradicated by the explosion. And a stranger was there now. “Whoa. Thanks for the save.”
The newcomer turned to look at him and brushed his hair backwards. Dick’s heart skipped a beat. It was like looking into a mirror. A dark, twisted, red eyed mirror. When he heard his voice, it was like a recording of his own playing back.
“Hello hermano. It’s been awhile.”
Dick stared his mouth hanging open. He felt frozen in place. The man in front of him, calling him brother, holding a whip dressed like an everyday person. The weapon faded away and Dick didn’t even pay it any mind. Clenching both his fist he took a step forward and his eyes stung. “Rey?”
“Yeah,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “You look good Richard. Life’s been treating you well.”
“Y-yeah. Been living with tio. Keenan,” he said off hand and frowned. “He’s been good to me.”
“Well I’m glad for that much.”
Taking another step forward Dick reached out to him but let his hand hang there before falling back. “How? How are you alive?”
Rey turned to face him and Dick saw his features. His skin was smooth for the most part but there were some scars along his cheeks and neck. His hair was longer than Dick’s, tied in a ponytail. And his eyes were red, smoldering like rubies as he stared back, sending him back to that night so many years ago.
Finally crossing the distance between them Dick touched his chest and it was solid. The clothes were rough but they were real. He touched his face and it was soft. His eyes softened slightly, the red cooling. Meeting his eyes Dick shook his head and pushed back pointing at him.
“You died. I watched you die! With mama y papa!” he felt his tears escape his eyes. “You got killed by a wraith! Como estas vivo?”
His tears were falling rapidly. Without realizing he moved forward and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly. It took a second but Rey hugged him back tightly. Time stood still for the pair of them in that moment. Sighing Rey smiled holding onto him and shut his eyes taking in a slow breath. But he pushed him away slowly at arm’s length and walked toward the edge of the building.
As he stared over the edge Dick rubbed his eyes quickly and shook. “Talk to me Rey. How are you here? Where have you been my whole life?”
Rey turned to face him and after a few seconds let out a breath. “I can’t tell you that much Richard. I’d advise you and Keenen o leave the city for the weekend though. Take a small vacation. It’d be good for you.”
“What are you talking about?” Dick asked wiping his eyes again.
“I can’t tell you. I shouldn’t even be talking to you like this,” Rey shrugged his shoulders. “But I had to see you with my own eyes before it was too late. You look good hermano. Adios.”
Turning he stepped off the edge of the building. “Wait!” Dick sprinted toward the edge and looked at the ground but there was no trace of him. No place where he would have hit the ground. He was just gone. Looking around he gripped the edge of the building and felt his vision swim.
Taking a breath that made him stumbled back on the roof. Glancing at the ground he saw his pendent on the ground, the chain broken and picture cracked. Shaking he picked it up and felt his chest ache with pain. “Dammit. Dammit!”
The Harlequin Library 