Walking Among the Shadows: Awakening: Revised Edition (16 page)

“Really? Do I? Well, I do have
a killer hangover and the cold breeze blowing in because the front door is wide
open really isn’t helping my mood.”

“No one twisted your arm to
involve yourself in underage drinking.”

“No, they didn’t…you are so
right…but that doesn’t change the fact I have a hangover.”

“Young man I don’t have any empathy
towards your current mental state because your irresponsibility led you down
this road.”

I could see that this back and
forth show with Agent Smith was not going in my favor and no matter what I said
I couldn’t aggravate him. He was calm and calculating, never rattled or taken
off his square. This guy was really good.

“So, what now?”

“We need to figure out your
whereabouts and if you had anything to do with the victim’s demise.”

“Why would I have anything to
do with that?”

“The last person upset with
him and threatened him was…well…you, in fact. And it just so happens that you
threatened to break his neck. Being that we found him with a broken neck, and
me being the investigator I am, I decided, ‘hey, why not go ask the
out-of-control teenager a few questions and see where that leads!’”

His sarcastic tone and smug
attitude was really getting to me and I wished I could just dropkick those
glasses and that smirk right off his face.

“Threatening people isn’t a
crime, is it? I was angry because of the crappy call he made.”

“Yes, we could see that. But
threatening someone can be constituted as a crime…just for future reference.”

Right at that moment I had an
epiphany and decided to use my newfound wisdom to get me out of this mess.

“Really? So that means the
threat you made to me at the game was a crime?”

“Wait!” my mom interjected.
“You questioned my son at the game without my authority? And you threatened
him?”

“Ma’am, it wasn’t really a
threat…my team and I stepped in when your son had the referee cornered in the
stands and we wanted to prevent a situation.”

“Yeah, true,” I said, “but
your comment had nothing to do with the ref. You told me you knew I had
something to do with Steve’s death and soon I would be the property of the
federal government.”

“What the hell!” I could see
my revelation was making my mom extremely upset and Agent Smith very uneasy.
Jackpot! Now I could ride this wave all the way to shore because I was drowning
going back in forth with Agent Smith.

“Your threat drove me to drink
because I had no idea why you would think I had something to do with his death.
I thought Steve died of a heart attack or something.”

“I thought so, too, son,” my
mom agreed. “So are you saying my son murders people by giving them heart
attacks?”

“No, ma’am, your son is
twisting things. You can’t see what he’s doing because you are too close to the
situation.”

“First of all, Agent, I
willingly allowed you and the officers in my home and at this point I am
willingly kicking you the hell out of my house. You are not to speak to my son
or threaten him without my consent and I wouldn’t give either to the likes of
you.”

“It was so much pressure, Mom,
and I couldn’t take it! I needed to forget the visuals he put in my head about
the things the government would do to me when they arrest me and throw me in
jail,” I whined.

I was laying it on thick now,
and my mom was eating it up like Ms. Pac-Man.

“Wait, did you tell my son he
would be thrown in jail?”

“Not exactly but…”

“But what? You alluded to it?”

“Something like that, ma’am,
but I was really trying to…”

“Okay, that’s it. Elude your
asses out of my house right now!”

“Mrs. Storm, you are making a
big mistake.”

“A mistake for protecting my
son?” she interrupted. “Agent, I am asking you and your team to leave my home
and property at once. If you need any additional information concerning my
son’s whereabouts or statements, we can arrange for my lawyer to contact your
office. But at this juncture you are not allowed to directly communicate with
my son going forward. Until you have a warrant or some other paperwork, you are
also not allowed at my home. Good evening, gentlemen. Now get out!”

My mom cleared the entire
living room in less than five minutes. As Agent Smith was walking out the door
I could see he was upset at how things played out. He turned and looked at me,
shaking his head and I just gave him a huge smile and a thumbs up.

As he walked out the door, I
walked over and slammed the door behind his back and whispered, “Bitch” when
the door closed. I peered through the peephole to see his reaction and to my
surprise he was peering through the peephole as well. Seeing him that close
startled me and I jumped back. He turned towards the street and walked away
laughing. How did he know I was looking through the peephole and better yet how
did he know I was startled by it? Before I could try and figure it out I felt
two sets of eyes staring down my back, burning a hole through my shirt and the
back of my head. I slowly turned to see looks of disgust from Sarah and rage
from my mom.

“Aiden, in the office now!” my
mom demanded.

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten
an ass-chewing like the one my mom gave me that evening. She was so angry I
thought she might get “old school” on me and get a belt or something….she was
that mad. Of course the conclusion was punishment, no car, no fun, no TV, no
video games, and kitchen-cleaning detail until further notice. My mom didn’t
even consider that I would be guilty of murder, but she did know I was out
drinking and driving until I passed out.

Something she would not
tolerate. I really hated disappointing her, but it’s like my life was spiraling
out of control and no matter how much I tried to hold onto the boy I was, he
kept slipping through my fingers, and at this point I didn’t know how much of
the old Aiden was left. And to be honest I really didn’t miss him. The old
Aiden would have pissed his pants at the very idea of being questioned by an
FBI agent. With all my martial arts skills and physical ability I was soft and
timid; a soupy kind of dude, and after getting a taste of the new and more
aggressive Aiden, I had come to realize just how lame I used to be. I just
wished this new Aiden wasn’t a possible serial killer but only a social badass.
But I guess you can’t have summer without a bitter winter….

The referee’s murder was all
over the news that evening and I could hear my mom watching the news in her
bedroom. His name was Mark Humpton. Father of two and alumni of the school that
beat us…well technically beat us, because in reality they lost. But that was
all I could make out. Now I understood why he would cheat for them, but it
wasn’t an excuse I was willing to accept. But was I so angry to actually break
his neck? I was angry, and if I had caught him I wanted to give him a good
pounding with my helmet, but would I have done that? No, not likely but drunk
on my ass…no telling what I was capable of. I tried to convince myself that I
didn’t kill him, but without much information I wasn’t convinced, and if I was
guilty of murdering the ref, then why not Steve?

He did have something I
wanted, and short of a career-ending injury or death he wasn’t going to give it
up without a fight. That night I didn’t get much sleep because I was sure word
would get out soon enough that I was a prime suspect in his murder and I
couldn’t blame anyone for suspecting me, judging by my behavior at the game. I
mean, who does that? Run down a referee with intentions to helmet-pound him
into the ground? Damn, I was getting out of control.

The next morning Sarah was in the
family room watching TV when a breaking news report came on. It seemed that
there were multiple recordings of the game and from all angles it was clear
that I caught the ball. Even though I wasn’t allowed to watch TV, and Sarah was
warning me, I just waved her off; I needed to see this. The news speculated
that it was an angry fan who was distraught about his call, but I wasn’t
implicated in his murder. Another video came on and to my surprise someone was
recording the altercation between me and the ref, and they recorded him telling
me that he had in fact cheated. The audio was clear, and the video was crystal
clear. It must have been one of the kids sitting right where we were standing
when he made that comment to me. No video of me chasing him, just us standing
shoulder to shoulder and him making that comment about the reality of the world
and us losing in it. Watching it again angered me further so I decided to walk
away from the TV before I blew another fuse. I walked away just in time because
my mom walked in at that very moment asking what we were doing. We lived in the
age of YouTube and online catalogs of everything people did in their lives, and
before today I hated it. Now I was a fan and contemplating getting me a YouTube
account as well. Go figure, right?

At school that afternoon the
coach had a meeting with the team and then had a private sit-down with me. He
just stared at me for about a minute and then said,

“Well, I guess you’ll be
playing for the rest of the season. It’s horrible how it played out, but we
have to move on from this past weekend and try to piece together acceptable
behavior regardless of the situation.

You can’t flip out every time
something doesn’t go your way, Aiden. Life is full of disappointments and if
you can’t handle them you will never mature. You will be like these idiots who
refuse to let go of the past and find themselves left behind.”

He said he saw great potential
in me and that I was destined for great things, but that same potential
unrealized and misguided could also lead me destined for horrible things. He
said there was a fine line between being famous or infamous. It really was a
lot to think about, but the coach was genuinely concerned and I respected that.
So I told him I would behave better and actually intended to do so. I wanted to
confide in him about the six agents who were basically stalking me, but I felt
it was better for his own safety to keep him out of it. The last time I
confided in someone about this darkness inside me it didn’t turn out well.

Over the next few days, things
were still very tense and uncertain around the school. Several law enforcement
agencies came to our school to talk about the recent deaths and how we should
govern ourselves when walking home from school. The days were getting shorter
during the winter months, and soon for most of us, going home after school
would be a trip mostly done in darkness. So they gave us the whole “travel in
groups” speech and also encouraged us to catch a ride with family or friends we
knew well instead of walking home. It should have been just the standard safety
presentation, but the six suits were present at all of the presentations. Never
sitting in front with the rest of the presenters, but strategically seated
around the students in the auditorium; two on the left, two on the right, and
two at the very back of the auditorium. No one seemed to notice them or be
bothered by their presence but myself. I knew why they were there and for whom.

I would notice them in
different places around Deerfield too, just sitting there, watching and waiting
for me to slip up and make a mistake so they can pounce on their prey.
Sometimes I swear they would even be sitting on the bus coming home from school
and again no one noticed them being there but me…all six of them seated
similarly as they were seated at the auditorium. It was extremely odd and
intimidating. I would wonder what strategic purpose did that seating
arrangement have? Did it help them survey their surroundings better? Did it cut
off all exits I might try to use? I just couldn’t figure it out and why no one
other than myself noticed it. Of course I wasn’t going to mention it to Sarah
or anyone else because that would open another conversation that I wasn’t
willing to delve into.

Jason came over the following
Friday with Chicago Bears tickets in hand. They were owner’s box tickets! Jason
knew a lot of wealthy and powerful people and great seats to all the sporting
events was one of the many perks he enjoyed because of the circles he traveled
in . Of course, my mom protested because at that moment I was still on
punishment, and after bringing Jason up to speed on the events that transpired
the previous weekend, he seemed pretty bummed about the idea of me not going to
the game. But again Jason, having the uncanny ability to get people to respond
to his wishes, convinced my mom and she allowed me to go. After that, Jason
would come every weekend with tickets to a sports game. Sometimes it would be
all of us and other times just me and him. Jason was known by so many people,
that going places with him was like being in the president’s entourage. Special
treatment, exclusive access to locker rooms, etc.; nothing was too exclusive
when it came to Jason.

During the times it was just
the two of us, I found myself bonding with him more, talking about my newfound
aggression and insecurities on controlling my emotions during the games. His
advice was priceless and he always made sense of my insecurities. Speaking with
him and watching the games helped me become a much better football player and
gave me the confidence to control my emotions during difficult situations. It
was like the more time I spent with Jason, the less time I thought about my
dark secret. These times were a much-needed vacation from the day-to-day battles
I fought trying to keep my dark impulses at bay. Being around him became like a
drug habit to me, and I found myself looking to him for emotional support as
well as mental stability.