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Rose took a quick breath then knocked on the bright white door as she stepped inside. Roxy was writing on top her bed. “Hey Rox?” “Yeah?” Her sister looked up. “What’s wrong?” she asked, sitting up quickly. “I think I need to talk to Dirk.” Roxy’s eyebrows shot up. Her lips formed a perfect oh of surprise. Rose leaned against the door. “Are you sure?” Rose gripped the door handle, as if she were grasping for some stability. “Okay, let’s go,” Roxy said as she dropped her pencil and grabbed her scarf. “We’re off to see the Striders.”
~O~
The Strider’s house was across the street and one house over from the Lalonde’s residence. “Hey Dirk, I need to talk to you!” Roxy shouted at Dirk’s open window as the two sisters neared the house. Roxy stormed up the sidewalk and banged on the big front door, with Rose trailing behind. *thunk thunk thunk* No answer. “Striders! Open up!” Just as she was about to knock again, it opened. “Hello ladies.” Mr. Strider was standing shirtless in the doorway with a sword resting on his shoulder. Roxy pushed past him without a word. “Hi Uncle Dale,” Rose said as she slipped by him. “What’s with her?” he asked, gesturing to Roxy’s back as she hurtled up the stairs. Giving a slight shrug for an explanation, Rose hurried to catch up.
Roxy was already halfway up the second set of stairs by the time Rose reached the second floor. “Dirk!” Roxy hollered. Dirk’s half-open door was no match for her big-sister instincts, and she barged into his room. “Whoa!” Dirk shouted when he saw his cousins . Whatever had been on his screen was quickly minimized. “We need some help,” Roxy said. Rose, having finally caught up with Roxy, glided past her sister. “I need some help.”
“Okay...? What’s up?” he asked, not moving an inch. “I’m,” Rose rubbed her arm nervously. “I’m seeing things.” “What kinds of things?” She bit her lip. After a pregnant pause Roxy quickly intervened. “Dirk, she’s seeing things and you said to come if anything started happening with her after... That.” His mouth drew into a tense frown. “I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.” “I’ll tell you what’s going on! She’s seeing things and it’s obviously bothering her. Now get up and help her,” she said, and promptly grabbed his arm. He swatted her hand away. “Stop that. I’ll try and see if I can tell what’s going on from the other side,” he grumbled. “Close the door and take a seat.” He gestured to his cluttered bed.
~O~
“Now what?” All three teenagers were sitting in the darkened room. “Shh.” Dirk’s face was stricken with concentration. “I need to be unconscious or else I can’t do anything, so be quiet.” Roxy huffed and settled back into the bed. She looked at her sister, who had been sitting in silence since they had shut the door. Roxy gave her hand a comforting squeeze then leaned against the wall. It was almost completely silent, save for the quiet buzz of the computer and the rap music that was wafting up through the floor. All of a sudden, Dirk’s head lolled to the side. The two Lalonde’s sat up with surprise. He didn’t move. “Dirk?” Roxy whispered. He didn’t even twitch. “Finally. I thought he would never fall asle- Rose?”
Rose’s face was frozen in a look of shock and terror. “What is it?” Roxy grabbed her shoulders. “Rose!” Rose had remarkably grown even paler within seconds. “Stop it,” she said. Roxy froze. “Stop it,” she repeated, louder this time. Roxy stepped back, keeping her hands up. “Stop it,” her voice cracked as she said it. Roxy tried to stay completely still. “Stop it!” Rose shouted. Roxy didn’t see anything, not one thing. The only sound was their breathing.
Then, without warning, Rose let out a shriek and dove away from the bed. “Rose!” Roxy chased after her as her sister bobbed and weaved away from something that only she could see. “Rose, what is it?!” Roxy pleaded. *bang* Dirk’s door flew open, blinding the sisters and stopping them in their tracks. “Why are all the lights out?” Dave asked, flipping the switch. “Run!” Rose screamed at him. “What? Why is he sleeping in his ch-” Then Dave pitched forward. Torn between her sister and her cousin, Roxy was frozen as the two both suddenly acquainted themselves with the ground.
“Rose!” Her sister’s face was buried in her hands. “What just happened?” Rose sucked in a shuttering breath. Then she slowly released it. She muttered something under her breath. “What?” “Check Dave!” she said, striding toward the fallen Strider. She quickly took his pulse. “He seems fine... But how did he...?” She let the question hang in the air. Then Dave sat up. Rose nearly jumped out of her skin. “It was amazing,” he murmured. “Landing in a pile of puppets?” Roxy muttered incredulously. Dave shot her a look that she pretended not to notice. “No.” He pulled off his glasses, and Rose gasped while Roxy tried to process why his eyes were suddenly orange. Those two luminous eyes suddenly focused right on Rose. “You were amazing.” Rose leaned away from her cousin.
“What?” Roxy wasn’t sure what they were going on about. “Why am I the only one in the dark?!” Neither of her relatives responded. “You’re a beacon, Rose. I’m sorry if I did anything to upset you.” “Dave what are you talking about? You just got here!” “Haven’t you figured it out yet, Rox?” “I’m not supposed to yet. That’s not how the story goes.” “What?” Rose turned to look at her sister. She was oddly cryptic sometimes. “That’s Dirk,” Rose said, looking back at Dave. “That’s...” Roxy’s eyes darted to Dirk’s body in his computer chair. Then she let out a quiet, “Oh...”
Dave snorted, still not taking his eyes off of Rose. “I can’t describe it. It was like you were a lighthouse in a never-ending sea. I didn’t know why, but I knew I needed to latch on, to get away from the water, the others, the madness. Nothing else mattered. In that moment, you were the only thing I needed,” he explained. No one spoke. “That was... poetic.” They ignored her. “I don’t know...” “What is it?” Rose’s brow was furrowed with confusion. “Why me?” Dave only blinked in response. “Why do they all latch on to me? Why does it have to be only me?!” Dave’s eyes wandered around the room. “I... I don’t know.” “Why not?! You promised you could help me, Dirk!” He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. “Rose?” Roxy said, gently touching her sister’s shoulder, “We’ll get through this, okay?” Her shoulders tensed. “No.” “What?” Roxy said, pulling back ever so slightly. “I don’t want to get through it. I want it gone!” She pulled away from Roxy’s hand. “Whatever this is that’s making me do this, I, I want it gone!” Rose shouted, and with that she ripped away from her sister and ran down the stairs. “Rose!” Roxy started after her, but she was gone.
“Rose...” She slowly lowered her arm. Her hands balled themselves into fists. “Dirk!” she shouted, spinning on her heels. He flinched. Then his eyebrow quirked. “What.” He didn’t even try to make it into a question. He knew what was coming. “You didn’t help her one bit! You made things worse if you did anything at all!” “Don’t blame me for this.” “Who else would I blame for this?” she bellowed. His face melted into an off-neutral shade of disgust. “I think you know exactly who’s to blame for this.” She blanched. She tried to stutter out a rebuttal but he silenced her with one sentence, “Don’t lie to me.” Slowly she closed her mouth and stepped back. “You know something. I don’t know why you won’t tell anyone. How bad can it be?” Her eyes misted over. “Don’t ask me about it until...” Her voice trailed away. “Until?” She locked eyes with her cousin. “Don’t ask me until you get trapped outside of your body.” She marched out of his room in the steps of her sister.
At the bottom of the stairs she stopped in the kitchen. *chop chop chop* “Uncle Dale?” He looked up from the vegetables he was mincing with an absurdly large sword. “Hm?” “Thanks for letting us come over.” “Anytime,” he grunted, returning to the finely chopped veggies with a slight smile on his face. *chop chop chop* She turned to leave, then paused. “One more thing,” she said over her shoulder. “Mm hm?” *chop chop chop* “Check to see if Dirk is alright.” *chop chop ch-* He looked up again with a question on his lips, but she was already gone. He pulled off his hat and rubbed his head. Then he shrugged, pulled his cap back on, then continued chopping the vegetables. If you listened closely, you could tell that his heart wasn’t in it anymore. The spirit and vigor had dissipated, but the task was still at hand, and it needed to be finished, so that was what he did. *chop chop chop*