Claimer: Yes, this story is mine! All of it! Thank you.
A/N: Please forgive me for not getting this out sooner. I have been working on my fan fiction. Yes, it’s a plug. So, check it out. Anywho… hehe. Read on people and don’t forget to review.
Chapter 2
“Oh, God! Ethan!” Mrs. Hawkins gasped. “Where have you been? I tried to call you but you left your cell phone here!”
Ethan winced as he headed for the stairs, “Sorry, mom. We went to the movies then got a bite to eat. I didn’t think to call.” He paused at the foot of the stairs and eyed his mother. The bruise marks on her face were worse than his own. Because of them, she had stayed home. Mrs. Hawkins never called Ethan unless there was something she needed him to do while he was out or she wanted him home at a certain time. In a surprisingly calm voice, he asked, “Was there something you needed?”
A flicker of panic flashed across her face before a force bright smile was found. “Oh no, Ethan.” She waved his concern away, “I just wanted to check up on you.”
‘Right,’ he thought sarcastically. “Mom, if something’s …” A clap of thunder loud enough to shake the house drowned out his comment. The lights flickered a couple of times before going out. “s**t,” he grumbled.
“Ethan,” his mother warned.
“Sorry, mom.”
Even in the dim light he could see his mother roll her eyes and shake her head smiling. “Go on and get out of those clothes. I’ll find some flashlights.”
“Yes, mom.” He watched Mrs. Hawkins go into the front room before turning back to the stairs. There was a nagging feeling that something happened while he was gone. ‘Dad has waited until I was gone to mess with mom before. And it’s not like she hasn’t lied to me before either.’ He took off his wet shirt once he was in his room and kicked off his shoes. ‘Why can’t I have a normal life? Ya know. With a normal mom and dad, loads of friends and the best girlfriend in the universe?’ He had unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans but paused to look at Faith’s bedroom window. The curtains had been pulled shut and a dim light was flickering against them. “Maybe I am getting the best girlfriend in the universe,” he sighed.
The main phone rang. “I’ll get it!” Mrs. Hawkins yelled. Ethan moved to his bedroom door to listen in. “Hello? Faith! Is everything alright? Oh, they did here to.” There was a moment of silence before she laughed, “It’s not a problem, sweetheart. We have plenty of room!” Again, she laughed, “Sure, I’ll leave the door open.”
Ethan heard his mother hang up the phone. His pulse was racing. The last time Faith had slept over was back in the fifth grade. That was when things between his mother and father started to become bad. Faith listened to one of their verbal battles. It had frightened her so much that she had sneaked back into her room through his window. She had kept her distance from the house and only came over when Mr. Hawkins was away.
“Ethan,” Ms. Hawkins called up the stairs. “Faith’s coming over. Can you bring down some blankets and pillows when you’re done changing?”
“Yes, mom.” He darted back into his room, hurriedly yanked on his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt and sprinted to the linen closet. A knock at the front door made him pause. He could hear his mother walking to the door. ‘The quicker you get the blankets, then the sooner you see Star.’ Ethan selected the softest blankets and fluffiest pillows before sprinting to the top of the stairs. He slowed down to catch his breath and force himself to be calm.
“I’m s-sorry, Mama Hawkins,” Faith said through chattering teeth. “I w-was in a rush to be around p-people. F-forgot my clothes b-back at the house.”
“I’ll find you something to wear,” Mrs. Hawkins soothed. “Hang your clothes in the hall bathroom.” She met her son halfway on the steps. He was trying his best to hide the excitement he felt. His mother knew him too well. She patted him on the shoulder. “I’m happy to see her, too.”
Ethan watched Mrs. Hawkins disappear into her room before bounding down the steps. Faith had already closed herself into the hall bathroom. He paused for a moment pondering what she would look like without her clothes. Mrs. Hawkins humming snapped him back to reality. With a sigh, he set off to fix Faith’s bed.
~::*::~
In the bathroom, Faith used the flashlight (Mrs. Hawkins always kept in there just in case) to find a towel to wrap her chilled form in. She wrapped her soaked hair in a towel as well.
“You’re such a baby,” she grumbled at her reflection in the mirror. If there was one thing she hated with all her heart, it was being a lone. She had learned to handle it while her parents went on their Pow Wow trips to Arizona. But the lightning, thunder and lights going out didn’t help much. Every scary movie she had seen in her entire life flooded her mind. She plopped onto the toilet seat with a huff and played with the medallion around her neck. “Major baby…”
“Faith?” Mrs. Hawkins called through the door. “I have some clothes you had left from the bar-b-q awhile back.”
“Oh?” Faith opened the door. In Mrs. Hawkins arms were Faith’s favorite pair of jeans and the baggy shirt she had received from her uncle as a birthday joke. It had an Indian maiden walking through the woods with a wolf at her side. The joke was Ethan was the wolf and Faith the Indian maiden. Ethan liked it. Faith didn’t. The outfit even came with a pair of her underwear, bra and socks. “Wow! I forgot I left them here!” she exclaimed as she took the pile.
“How could you?” Mrs. Hawkins asked in amused shock. “You were covered in mud from head to toe. I wouldn’t let you in the house until you changed.”
“Yeah,” Faith beamed. “That was the best football game ever.”
“Only because you cheated!” Ethan bellowed from the living room.
Faith started to step out of the bathroom to make him repeat himself to her face but was stopped by Mrs. Hawkins. She was failing badly to hide her smile, “You’re in a towel, sweetheart.”
All anger disappeared as the heat in Faith’s cheeks flared. “Oh,” she whispered and dashed back into the bathroom.
The storm raged on. The winds picked up speed thrashing the rain against the windows. Lightning and thunder faded a bit only to return in greater force. All the while, the electricity remained off.
Mrs. Hawkins had made some tea. Their stove was gas, which was a godsend in her eyes. The three of them sat on the floor by the sliding glass doors to the back yard and watched the storm. After two rounds of tea and cookies, Mrs. Hawkins hugged Faith and Ethan and went to bed. Uneasy silence punctuated by thunder hung between them.
Unable to take the feeling the silence was generating in his stomach, Ethan teased, “You did cheat.”
Faith rolled her eyes, “You’re just jealous cause you didn’t think of it first.” She pulled the blanket tighter around herself when crash of thunder rocked the windows.
“You knew I would stop to see if you were hurt!” He leered, “I should have expected that from a girl.”
“Oh, that’s it!” Faith lunged at Ethan knocking him onto the floor. She straddled him and proceeded to tickle him. He laughed and begged for mercy. The fact that he was stronger than her was far from his mind. “You take that back, Wolf!” she demanded stopping long enough for him to catch his breath. Her glare was cracking. “It’s not funny,” she snorted.
“Yes it is!” he busted up again.
This time Faith fell out laughing. He was right. It was funny. The Hawkins’ backyard was drenched after the water fight which had everyone participating. Those who had enough sat on the patio and watched the game. Faith and her father, Mr. Coogan, were one team while Ethan and Mr. Hawkins were on the other. It was a close game and the Hawkins would have won if Faith hadn’t faked an injury which fooled Ethan. When he went to check on her, she tossed the ball to her father who scored a touchdown just before the buzzer, which was Mrs. Hawkins with a stopwatch and a whistle, went off. Everyone but Ethan laughed for weeks about it. He was angry for falling for the trick. After a while, he found the laughter in it but still liked to tease Faith with it.
“Don’t make me come down there!” Mrs. Hawkins yelled from atop the stairs. “I did say I wanted to sleep!”
“Sorry!” Faith and Ethan giggled in unison. They laid on their backs, staring at the ceiling listening to Mrs. Hawkins’ footsteps back to her bedroom. A sigh of relief followed by muffled giggles bubbled forth once her bedroom door closed.
“I’d better go to bed too,” Ethan said, “before we get into any more trouble.”
“Mama’s boy,” Faith teased.
He shrugged, “What did you expect? I’m not gonna challenge her!”
“I don’t want to either! I’ve had her spankings.” She shuddered at the memory, “Thank God she didn’t give mom pointers.”
Ethan chuckled, “Goodnight, Star.”
She gave him a hug, “Goodnight, Wolf, and thank you for the present.”
He pulled back enough to gaze lovingly into her eyes. “Your welcome.” They remained in each other’s arms for a moment before Ethan reluctantly backed away. “’Night,” he mumbled and trotted up the steps to his room.
Faith groaned, “I’m a damn tease,” and plopped face first onto the make-shift bed on the couch. The constant drumming of the rain against the windows and frequent thunder was all that was heard in the house for the rest of the night.
~::*::~
A rooster’s crow woke Ethan up from a great dream about him and Faith swimming around in this pink and blue cloudy water. Their bodies were glowing and bare with only the medallions around their necks. Somehow Faith’s hair and little puffs of clouds would cover any unmentionables that would have been for either to see. Faith and Ethan had swirled around each other in a form of tag and was about to touch hands when the rooster interrupted. He bolted into a sitting position only to smack his head against something hard. It and he yelped in pain.
“Blessed heavenly goddess!” it hissed in a little girls voice. Rubbing his forehead, Ethan opened one eye to find a pair of gray eyes like his own glaring back at him. A little girl with messy dark brown hair and golden tanned skin in a creamy white night shirt was sitting on his legs with a hand on her forehead. “That hurt, big brother!”
“Big BROTHER! I’m an only child!” he snapped. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my bed!”
The little girls face crumbled, “You’re being cruel, big brother. I only wanted to wake you up.” She buried her face in her hands and wailed.
Ethan panicked. He shot out of bed, which tossed the weird little girl on the floor. His room wasn’t his room at all. The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of wood planks. Two tattered curtain covered windows were on one wall only. The bed was pushed against the wall farthest from the windows. A table with two chairs, a small handmade trunk, and a metal tub with a chair and stand beside it were all that decorated the room.
Gone was his computer, big TV with the DVD player and game console. No more semi-plush carpet with the soda stain by the door. Not even the clothes on his body were what he wore to bed. He was clothed in a knee length, patched up, dirty cream colored nightshirt. The only thing familiar to him was the sun medallion around his neck.
“Holy s**t,” Ethan whispered placing his hands on his head and looking around dumbfounded. Sensing someone behind him, he quickly sidestepped a swinging hand. He moved into a defensive position and froze when he saw his opponent. “MOM!”
Mrs. Hawkins had on a peasant shirt with the traditional lace-up-the-front vest that boosted her ample chest with a patched up skirt and a bonnet covering her dark brown hair. She placed her fists on her hips and scowled at him. “You listen here, young man! I will not permit such fowl language in this house!”
He didn’t know if he should cry or laugh. Either way, his mind was screaming for him to run. Somehow, the Twilight Zone had come to play a trick on him. One big problem: Ethan didn’t find it funny. Closing his eyes, rubbing his temples, and plopping onto the bed, he chanted, “Calm down, Wolf. Just clear your mind and calm down.”
“Mom,” the little girl said in a shaky voice, “I don’t think big brother’s feeling good. Maybe he should stay in bed.”
He shot off the bed again and shouted joyously, “Yes! That’s it! I’m dreaming!” He pointed to the little girl who was now hiding behind Mrs. Hawkins’ skirt, “You’re not real!” Beaming at Mrs. Hawkins, he announced, “And you can’t be my mom! You look like her but you’re not her!” He gallantly climbed back into bed, “All I have to do is go back to sleep and I’ll wake up in my real room with my real mom and Faith will be down stairs sleeping on the couch.” Ethan pulled the covers over his head and snuggled into a ball focusing all his energy into sleeping.
Mrs. Hawkins and the little girl’s footsteps were heard shuffling out the door and down some steps. Muffled voices filtered up to Ethan. There was another voice added to the high pitched tone of the little girl and Mrs. Hawkins. It was male and it sounded angry at what they had to say. “I’ve had enough of this!” he yelled loud enough to be heard. “Ethan Daniel Hawkins! Get your a** down here, now!”
For the third time that morning, Ethan bolted out of bed. A chill ran down his spine. “Dad?” he asked shocked. “No way! This can’t be happening!” He backed up away from the bedroom door as stomping was heard up the stairs and down the hall. A man dressed in a white pull-over long sleeved shirt, dark brown pants that stopped at his knee and met with rich tanned boots busted into the room. The ice gray eyes, pale blond hair, tall wiry body, and strong jaw line was unmistakable. It was Mr. Hawkins looking mad enough to kill. Ethan was backed up against the wall shaking his head in wide eyed fear, “This isn’t right… It just isn’t…”
“No, boy,” Mr. Hawkins growled. “It ain’t. You’ve sassed your mother for the last time.” He lunged at Ethan, who easily dodged the attack. Mr. Hawkins rammed head first into the wooden wall. Ethan figured he would collapse or be stunned from hitting his head that hard. The man reared around clearly unaffected by the blow and angrier than before.
Mrs. Hawkins stepped in his way with her arms stretched out at her sides, “Please stop this, my love!” Her face was contorted with grief and fear, “Can’t you see what’s wrong with him!?! He’s got the Curse!”
It took a moment for Mrs. Hawkins’ words to sink in. When it did, Mr. Hawkins reared back in horror, “No!” He stared at Ethan in disbelief for a second before shaking his head sadly, “My own boy…” The same man who was going to beat him into submission now sounded choked up.
Ethan was beside himself with confusion. “What curse?” The question made Mrs. Hawkins fall into Mr. Hawkins’ arms crying. Ethan felt his heart break. It might not have been his real mother but he still felt a great attachment to her. The little girl hugged Mrs. Hawkins’ legs tightly and cried with her. Mr. Hawkins was the only one who remained anywhere close to calm as he continued watching Ethan.
Figuring that if he asked the question again he would cause more crying, Ethan plopped onto the bed and waited for everyone to calm down. It never happened. Any time Mrs. Hawkins or the little girl looked at Ethan, they would crumble into tears again. Mr. Hawkins couldn’t stop staring at Ethan. After a few more minutes of wails and glances of despair, they maneuvered out of the room leaving Ethan even more frustrated than before, scared, and longing for home.
He clutched the medallion with his eyes shut, whispering, “Where are you, Star? Are you mixed up in this, too?” Ethan opened his eyes half expecting Faith to walk in laughing and saying, “April Fools!” He waited. And waited. And waited.
Ethan stood up wide eyed and breathing hard. He could still hear the sobs of the little girl and the woman who looked like his mother. Her husband was trying to calm them both. Ethan paced in front of the door. This could be real. That’s what was looping in his brain and becoming louder and louder with each step. The sudden urge to leave gripped him so fierce that Ethan bolted from the room and slammed into the hall wall. Franticly he glanced from side to side. There was stairs to his left. Ethan sprinted down them nearly falling on his face. At the bottom he froze. The fake Hawkins were shocked to see him… and afraid. Fear was etched into all of their eyes.
Mr. Hawkins managed to find his voice first. He slowly stepped in front of Mrs. Hawkins and the little girl, hands out in an I’m-unarmed gesture. The fact that this Mr. Hawkins was willing to protect them kept Ethan frozen in shock. “It’s ok son,” Mr. Hawkins whispered in a soothing voice. “We’ll go to the healer. She can help you get better.”
The word “healer” didn’t sit well with Ethan. He hated doctors. He felt they were people who enjoyed torturing people and was paid for it as a bonus. A “healer” could do the same just with primitive tools. “I’m not your son,” Ethan said mocking the calm voice Mr. Hawkins used. The statement made Mrs. Hawkins and the little girl crumble into tears again. Ethan continued in a louder voice so he was heard, “And I’m not going to any healer, doctor, or whatever the hell you want to call it. Stop joking around. This isn’t funny!”
“This isn’t a joke, son,” Mr. Hawkins pleaded.
Ethan’s last shred of sanity snapped. “STOP CALLING ME YOUR SON!”
He went hysterical looking for a way out and away from these crazy people. Mrs. Hawkins and the little girl huddled in the corner while Mr. Hawkins tried to catch Ethan. Ethan easily dodged Mr. Hawkins and escaped out the front door. He skidded to a halt when a horse and it’s rider nearly ran over him. He scrambled to the closet wall slipping in puddles of water and mud as he did so.
Covered in dirt and mud, Ethan glanced around in despair and awe. The house he just came out of wasn’t anything like the one he would normally call home. The streets were mud and dirt. People walking by were also dressed in peasant clothes. There were horses and carts not cars and bikes. It was like he had been plopped in the middle of some giant medieval back-lot. Except there wasn’t any cameras around. No modern technology at all.
“******** me…” Ethan gasped. The so-called Mr. Hawkins was right. This wasn’t a joke. It was real. Ethan was so confused he curled into a ball and cried his heart out.
~::*::~
Alright folks. That’s it for this chapter. Don’t hold your breath for the next one. I am continuing this from home which isn’t giving me much time to write. But really, that’s no excuse. I’ll be giving my stories the very best. Thanks for reading.
greengal48 Community Member 
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