Alexandra Adornetto: Hades

“Beth, you still here?” Tapping into the radio waves had left me drained, but I summoned whatever remnants of energy I had left to create friction in my fingertips, which I ran lightly over his cheek, a feather-soft caress. I saw the hairs on his arms stand on end.

“Do that again.” Xavier smiled.

We weren’t far now from the Easy Stay Inn. The landscape was becoming more familiar and we had almost left the sharp cliffs behind. I had just given myself permission to breathe easy when something unexpected happened. The Chevy lurched and then accelerated straight past the turnoff, leaving the low rectangular façade of the motel behind.

“What the hell?” Xavier looked around. “Beth, what’s going on?”

The car seemed to take on a crazed purpose of its own. Xavier’s foot slammed repeatedly on the brakes, but they refused to respond. The steering wheel was locked. I slid over to the driver’s side to help him but my attempts to will the car to stop were in vain. Suddenly, I glanced up and saw in the rearview mirror two eyes like glowing embers staring from the backseat.

“Don’t do this, Jake!” I pleaded. The car was now veering crazily from one side of the road to the other. Xavier’s efforts to steer it back on course were futile. The car continued to crash forward, branches lashing out across the windshield, stones crunching under the wheels.

My heart stopped when I saw what we were heading for. Jake was maneuvering the car away from the woodland and toward the rocky escarpment. A couple of times the Chevy teetered so close to the edge I was sure it would tumble right over and smash against the cliffs. Dust rose in clouds impairing Xavier’s vision, but there wasn’t much he could do other than press his back against the seat and wrestle ineffectually with the wheel.

I turned and saw Jake sitting calmly in the back. He was smoking a French cigarette and blowing smoke rings out the window.

He was playing a game with us.

“STOP!” I begged Jake. “ Please stop!”

The accelerator hit the floor and the car lurched drunkenly as if it were being steered by a blind man. The cliffs fell sharply away to the right and there was nothing but a fine metal railing separating the road from the devastating drop. I needed to manifest — even if only to tell Xavier what was happening, to see if there was some way I could get him safely out of the car. But fear crippled my concentration. It’d require every scrap of energy I had left to appear to him and even then I wasn’t sure I could do it.

Suddenly I caught sight of his hands gripping the steering wheel. I saw my promise ring and the trademark leather wristband he always wore. I knew the feel of both by heart. Those hands had held mine so many times; they had comforted me, fought for me, protected me, and anchored me to the world of the living. I remembered the moment I first saw Xavier sitting on the pier. He’d looked up at me, the light of the setting sun picking up the golden strands in his honey brown hair. I remembered thinking his eyes held so much depth. I’d wondered then who he was and what he was like, not expecting I’d ever see him again. The memories flooded back to me. The two of us sharing chocolate cake in a booth at Sweethearts — he’d looked at me as though I were a puzzle he was determined to solve. I remembered the way his voice deepened when he was roused from sleep, the way his lips felt against the back of my neck. I remembered his smell, his fresh clean scent like the woods on a summer day. I remembered the way the crucifix around his neck glinted when the moonlight caught it. I knew everything about him and every little detail was sacred to me. I realized then that our subliminal connection could transcend any physical barrier.

Without any warning I manifested right there in the passenger seat. Xavier nearly yelled out in shock, and his ocean eyes widened while Jake pushed his face between the two front seats.

“Hello, darling,” he said darkly. “Thought I’d find you here. Bit of car trouble I see.”

“Beth,” Xavier whispered. “What’s happening?”

I realized suddenly that he couldn’t see Jake. He had no idea what was going on.

“It’s okay,” I told him. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Beth, I can’t do this much longer.” His voice almost broke. “Where are you? I don’t know what to believe anymore and I need to get you back.”

“Oh, boo hoo!” Jake whined from the backseat. “She’s mine now, tough break.”

“Shut up!” I snapped and Xavier looked surprised. “Not you,” I clarified quickly. “Jake’s here with us.”

“What?” Xavier swung around, but to him the backseat looked empty.

“Just trust me,” I said as the Chevy lurched violently close to the edge of the cliff. Xavier gasped and lifted an arm to shield his face, expecting a collision, but the car swung back onto the road at the last minute.

“Xavier,” I said. “Look at me.”

I didn’t know how much time we had together, but I needed to let him know he wasn’t alone. A familiar Bible verse floated into my head. It was an old favorite of mine and came from Genesis 31. It spoke about the Mizpah, the Meeting Place. It was a place that could be anywhere and nowhere at the same time. A place that didn’t exist in this dimension but held more power than anyone could understand. It was a place where a reunion of spirit could occur without any physical presence. I remembered the day at Bryce Hamilton when I’d run into Xavier’s arms, terrified that one day we’d be separated. The words from that afternoon came back to me clear as day: “Let’s create a place. A place that’s just ours; a place we can always find each other if things ever go wrong.”

“Do you remember the white place?” I whispered urgently.

Xavier’s body unclenched a little as he looked directly at me. “Of course,” he murmured.

“Then close your eyes and go there,” I whispered. “I’ll be waiting for you. And don’t forget … it is only space that separates us.”

Xavier drew a deep breath and in his eyes I saw an understanding that hadn’t been there before. He closed his eyes, let go of the steering wheel, and sat very still.

I heard Jake’s harsh voice from the backseat. “I’ve had just about enough of this sentimental crap for one day.”

“Listen …” I whipped around to try and reason with him, but it was too late. I felt a sickening jolt in my stomach as the Chevy skidded to the side of the road, smashed through the flimsy iron railing as if it were made of matchsticks, and plummeted over the cliff face.

“No!” I screamed.

Xavier didn’t react. He was still in the white place, indifferent to whether he would live or die.

I watched the Chevy plunge over the cliff in what seemed like slow motion. I heard a sickening metallic screech as the underbelly of the car scraped across the rock ledge. It seemed to teeter for a moment; its body tilting precariously as it balanced on the edge. Then gravity took over and with a deep shudder and a cloud of dust, the car fell. At the sight of it, nearby birds squawked and fled the trees, vanishing into the sky as they sounded their warning. I saw Xavier’s body get thrown forward and collide with the steering wheel. The moment seemed to last for the longest time. My vision tunneled and I noticed the strangest things. The sunlight through the windshield hit Xavier’s hair, making the strands glow copper and gold. Xavier’s hair had always been a soft shade of brown like honey or walnuts, but today, in this moment, I could have sworn he wore a halo of golden light. Xavier had made no effort to protect himself. Anyone else would have thrown his hands up to shield himself, but Xavier remained unnaturally calm and still. He showed no signs of panic, as if he were resigned to accept his fate. When his hair shifted out of the way, I caught sight of his face and it struck me how young he looked. I could see in him the schoolboy he would have been not so many years ago. His skin was smooth and unmarked, without even a wrinkle to mark his years on earth. He’s hardly lived , I thought to myself. There were so many things he could have been, and now he’d never get the chance to really grow up … to be a husband … to be a father … to make a difference in the world.