Authors: Tara West
“Mom, what is your gift?”
She smiled, a sparkle of mischief dancing in her eyes. “You mean you don’t know?”
“No.” I shook my head. How could I know when I’d never seen her use it?
“Hmmm.” She tapped her chin, pretending to be lost in thought. “As often as I use it on you, you should have figured it out by now.”
Scratching my head in confusion, I tried to understand what she was talking about. “Grandma said you never use your gift.”
“I don’t,” she reddened, “usually, but sometimes I can’t help it. I think that’s why I’m always barging into your bedroom. I’m trying to fight the urge to use my gift.”
“Hey, ladies, how are we doin’?” Ted’s gruff voice echoed from the hallway.
Maybe it was all the drama from today, but I was suffering from a major brain fart and my head hurt too much to figure out Mom’s gift. Guess I’d have to find out later. I wasn’t sure if Mom wanted my step-dad discovering the freak jean ran in the family.
Ted walked into the living room, looking like he’d just been dragged through the gates of hell. As a paramedic, it was his duty to rush to the scene of the accident but he forced us to go inside the house. After my dream last night, I really didn’t want to visit the wreckage again, anyway.
Holding a longneck beer in one hand, he sat in his chair. One of the knees on his black, dressy pants was torn. His white shirt was trashed, ripped at the pocket and smudged with filth. As he rubbed a hand through his tousled hair, I noticed lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before.
After taking a long gulp of beer, he finally spoke. “Guy had a suicide note in his pocket.”
Mom gasped.
My limbs went numb.
“Is he dead?” Mom asked.
Ted looked at me for a long moment and then finally nodded.
A tremor shook my body with earthquake magnitude as I was vaguely aware of Mom’s muffled scream.
Setting his beer on the coffee table, Ted leveled me with a haunting look. “AJ, I don’t understand how you…” His voice trailed off as he fisted his hands until his knuckles turned white. “I just wanted to thank you and to apologize for not believing.”
Swallowing a lump in my throat, I nodded. “That’s okay.”
Turning to Mom, Ted leaned over and took her hand in his. “Mike isn’t going snowboarding tomorrow.”
“Believe me,” Mom said, “he knows better than to disobey me.”
Chapter Fifteen
Sweat dripping from my damp hair, I nearly fell out of bed while fumbling for my cell phone. I had to know the time.
Six-thirty.
I swore.
Mom, Ted and I had stayed up until nearly two in the morning, playing board games and watching movies. I couldn’t remember having so much fun with my parents, even though a dark gloom haunted the back of my mind. Mom should’ve made Mike come home right away, but she and Ted were spooked after the accident and agreed no one was driving until morning.
I’d finally fallen asleep about three in the morning, despite the uneasy feeling that had settled in my stomach. But not long after I’d surrendered to a fitful rest, I’d had the falling dream.
Despite Mom’s orders, Mike had gone snowboarding. How did I know he was going to do this?
Besides the fact I’m psychic.
Oh, yeah, Mike was a spoiled brat who was so used to getting his way, he just thought he’d ignore Mom and go on the trip.
Turning on the light switch, I hastily dressed, all the while calling Mike every bad word on the planet.
I had to go wake up my parents. Hopefully, we’d stop him before it was too late. Panic and anger forced my blood to pump overtime. I didn’t know just how big this mountain was and I hoped I wouldn’t have to climb it to save my stupid brother.
Another question triggered the alarming tempo of my heart. How would we be able to find Mike in time to save him?
Just as I opened my bedroom door, I nearly ran into my Mom standing on the other side of the threshold. She was already dressed in jeans and a thick coat.
“Here.” She handed me a coat and gloves. “It’s cold up there.”
“But how did you…”
“No time to explain,” she said. “We’ve got to get your brother before it’s too late.”
Ted was in the driveway revving his truck engine.
Climbing into the backseat, I squealed at the site of my grandma sitting next to me. Lunging toward her, I wrapped my arms around her tiny frame.
“Easy, dear,” she laughed, “Your grandma’s got only one set of lungs.”
My mom turned around, smiling at us both through the lines of worry that creased the edges of her mouth. “Thanks for coming, Mom.”
Grandma nodded, and for a long moment, their gazes were locked. As the seconds ticked by, I felt the familiar tension between them melting away, like snow thawing in the spring time.
“I’m glad I came, Margaret,” Grandma spoke through a weathered smile.
Inhaling deeply, I realized I’d been holding my breath while waiting to see if Mom and Grandma would get along. “How did you know?” I asked Grandma.
“I didn’t.” She winked, tossing her long ponytail over her shoulder. “I just figured your brother would be going to that stupid mountain, so I came here to slash his tires.”
Despite the thick smoke of fear that stifled the air, I laughed. Grandma hadn’t abandoned my cause. She had meant to help me save Mike all along, even if it meant vandalizing his truck.
“I caught her skulking around the yard with a butcher knife.” Ted said.
Way to go, Grandma!
“I didn’t see Mike’s truck in the driveway, so I was hoping he parked by Ted’s workshop.”
Ted had a workshop out back with a large overhang that my parents and Mike would park their cars under whenever we had bad weather.
Turning onto the highway, Ted stepped on the accelerator. I felt like we’d been thrown into warp speed, as my head jerked back with the truck’s movement. My brother might be a complete, immature idiot, but his family was determined to save him.
I prayed we’d find him in time.
****
After nearly three hours of driving, I’d fallen in and out of a fitful sleep. Mom and Ted encouraged me to rest. My brother wasn’t answering his cell phone, so I think my parents wanted me to dream again so I could find out Mike’s next move.
But I hadn’t slept long enough to dream. Pulling my jacket closer, I tried to warm my bones from the growing chill that had sliced through the barriers of the truck’s warm cabin. As we made our ascent up the mountain, the air in the truck thinned, which meant each worried breath was even more difficult to inhale. Every mile or so there was a new turn-off to a different peak or detour.
How would we know which road to take?
I thought about asking, but I knew my parents had enough on their minds. Maybe Mike had already told them where he was going.
Leaning forward, I tried to examine their faces to see if I could read anything from their expressions. Ted’s gaze was on the road. Mom had her eyes closed tight, her fingers pressed to her temples.
Weird.
Was she shielding her eyes from the sun?
Mom’s eyes flew open, and her blank stare made her look more like a zombie. “Turn left at this next road.”
“Are you sure?” Ted asked. “Those jumps are too high. He said they were going to start on beginner hills.”
“Do it!” Mom commanded.
Ted had to apply the brakes hard for us to make the turn. I screamed as the truck nearly spun out of control.
Soon we were on the new road, heading up a winding hill that had me gripping the sides of my seat. Looking over at Grandma, I wondered if she was ready to piss her pants, too.
She flashed me a rueful smile.
What was that all about?
Following Mom’s orders, Ted made a few more turns, always taking the more treacherous paths in our spiraling ascent to the land where AJ is eternally wetting her undies.
It suddenly dawned on me that I really didn’t like heights. I couldn’t believe my brother was stupid enough to go this high.
Why did Mom insist we go this way? I didn’t think she’d ever been to Hell’s Peak before.
But Mom seemed so certain, almost like she knew exactly where Mike was.
Oh, crap. How could I have been so blind?
She knew about my secret phone calls with Bob. She was there for me when I left the game early. She’d been waiting when Sparks drove me home from Lowe’s beer bust.
Widening my eyes, I looked at my mom with a new understanding. She was telling Ted where to turn, but she had closed her eyes again. How did she know how to get there, unless she’d been following Mike’s progress?
Unless she was watching him right now with her mind.
“Only a few miles and we’ll be at the bottom of the hill.” She said with a shaky voice. “He’s just started the climb.”
O-mi-God.
He was already climbing the hill. Were we too late? How totally weird that my mom was watching my brother, but they were still miles apart.
After a few more tense minutes, we were at the base of…of…what the heck was that thing? That giant tidal wave of white, hard frost was no hill!
Jumping out of the truck, my body was immediately assailed by the frigid air. I rubbed my shivering arms before Mom spun me around and helped me slip into a thick coat. Pulling the hood over my head, I strained my neck to try and see the top of this monster glacier. An enormous hill swept up to the clouds in an almost picture-perfect slope. It was breathtakingly beautiful, until my gaze found the top.
Nothing but a sheer drop on the other side.
Just like in my dream.
Was Mike really that stupid?
Yes, he really was.
“Everyone, stay here!” Ted barked before plowing through the snow toward a group of teens huddled at the bottom of the hill.
As Ted climbed over a leaning fence, I noticed all the ‘danger’ and ‘keep out’ signs attached to the posts. My brother and all these other idiots had ignored the warnings. You didn’t need to be a psychic to know this hill was a death trap.
Ted’s booming voice seemed to echo throughout the mountains as he flashed his badge at the teens and demanded one of them get off his snowmobile. Revving the motor, Ted raced toward the base of the hill.
Even with a motor, would my step-dad reach my brother in time to stop him?
“He’s not going to make it! Mike’s almost at the top!” Mother wailed.
Bundled in a large wooly jacket and ten too many scarves, Grandma bounded up to me with the energy of a snow bunny. “AJ, is that where he’ll fall?” She was pointing to the other side of the slope, to the drop, which had to be several hundred feet.
Visions of the dream assailed my memory.
Icy hard, gray and unwelcoming. “If there’s ice below that drop, then yes.”
“Then we need to go find out!” Grandma ordered.
Looking at the fluffy soft padding that nearly swallowed the entire bottom portion of my legs, I knew that solid ground was far from here. Then I realized just how cold my feet were getting. And aching, too, kind of like they were numbing and bruising at the same time.
Probably not good, but I didn’t have time to think of my pain right now. If I had known I’d be trekking through forbidden glaciers trying to save my brother from breaking open his head, I’d have worn snow gear, not jeans and athletic sneakers.
Ignoring Ted’s command to stay put, Mother, Grandma and I stepped over the sideways fence and did our best to race through the thick snow. It was hard, and with each step, my shoes threatened to slip off completely. I knew I’d get total frostbite if I lost them. My toes were numb enough already.
“He’s at the top!” Mom screamed. “Hurry!”
She plowed ahead of us, crying as she pushed forward. As we struggled to get to the bottom of the cliff, I could see just up ahead where the snow ended, swallowed up by a sea of ice, gray and solid.
Then Mother stopped and stilled, as if the frigid air had frozen her solid. Closing her eyes, she grasped my arm. Even through the padding of the jacket, I could feel the pressure from her grip.
“Ted made it,” she whispered hoarsely. “He’s talking to Mike.”
But panic, not relief gripped my heart as my brain was flooded with images from my dream.
My step-dad yelling at Mike. “Stay away from the ledge before you fall!”
Mike retreating back from Ted as he argued. “You can’t tell me what to do!”
My step-dad lunging toward my brother. “Don’t do it, Mike!”
But as Mike tried to dive out of Ted’s reach, he stumbled backward, tumbling right over the side.
“He’s falling!” Mother and I screamed in unison.
Sucking in a huge breath of air, I braced myself against the image of my brother splattering all over the cold hard surface. Falling into each other’s arms, Mom and I gripped each other tightly as a tiny falling shadow came into view.
My jaw dropped but only a silent scream escaped my lips as my brother’s death unfolded before me.
There was no way he could survive the fall.
Only then did I notice Grandma pushed several paces ahead of us. She was standing on the ice, directly below my falling brother. Her arms were stretched open as her long, gloved fingers reached out toward Mike.
Was she crazy?
In another instant, my screaming brother was hovering just above Grandma’s head, suspended in mid-air like he was connected to an invisible bungee cord.
With a wicked giggle, Grandma stepped aside and lowered her arms.
Mike fell to the ground with a thud, cursing and cradling his arm as he curled into a ball on the ground.
A startled cry escaped my throat before it bubbled over into uncontrollable laughter.
Chapter Sixteen
“Krysta,” Sophie squealed. “How much of that stuff are you going to use? It’s not even Christmas anymore.”
Rolling her eyes at Sophie, Krysta flashed me a devious grin while hanging wads of mistletoe over the living room entryway. “This is so cool of your mom to let us have a New Year’s party.”
“Yeah,” I shrugged. “My mom is pretty cool.” Even as the words came out, I couldn’t keep from smiling—something I’d been doing a lot lately.