Stepping into the Sky: Jump When Ready, Book 3 (3 page)

Nikki kept her gaze fixed on Martha. “Are you saying what
I think you’re saying?”

“Unfortunately, that was the truth of the situation.”

“Wait,” Henry said. “Do you mean he planned to murder
her?”

Martha hesitated, closing her eyes briefly. “He
envisioned someone else doing it, but yes. That was his plan. After which, he
intended to marry Linda, Rose’s best friend.”

Nikki shuddered. “That’s just sick.”

“I agree, it represents the very worst of human nature. The
car accident you saw occurred on the day Rose found out about their affair. In
fact, that was the same morning Joseph told Linda about his plan. That
conversation took place just minutes before Rose discovered them together.”

Henry turned to Lysrus. “I don’t understand what we just
saw. The first scene was the end of Rose’s life, obviously. But what were the
scenes that followed? What was going on?”

“The first scene is from the past,” Lysrus said. “The
other two are from the present. In fact, both just took place simultaneously.”

Henry frowned, confused. “Do you mean one followed the
other?”

“No, I meant what I said. One was from the physical
realm, the reality of Rose’s situation. The other was from the delusion Rose
has wrapped around herself, created from guilt. The fact is, Rose was brought
up to believe that her actions would result in her spending eternity in hell.
In her mind, she’s a murderer who committed suicide.”

“Rose’s spirit is torn,” Martha said. “She thinks she
inhabits the dream world she’s created, the one in which the things she
desperately wanted remain perpetually playing out. In actuality, she continues
to haunt the house where she grew up decades ago.”

Martha’s words made Henry recall the car Rose had been
driving. There hadn’t been time to give it much thought but he’d imagined it to
be someone’s vintage car. “When did all of this happen?”

“May, 1964,” Martha said.

Henry had grown used to the vast differences between how
time worked for them compared to those in the other realm. On one level, he
knew that he’d died over twenty years ago. At the same time, it had felt like
months passing while he’d remained a teenager. But he still felt a jolt of
shock. “She’s been trapped for over seventy years?”

“Yes,” Martha said.

“Hasn’t anyone tried to help her before?”

Lysrus nodded, his gaze serious. “Others have tried. They
weren’t successful in shattering Rose’s dream world. And that’s what has
to happen for her to Transition to this realm.”

“Why do you think we might be able to help her?” Henry
said. “Why not send Martha or someone like her?”

“He did send me,” Martha said.

Henry didn’t know what to say. Neither did Nikki, it
seemed, but he suspected she had to be thinking the same thing. If someone with
Martha’s experience and strength hadn’t been successful, how could they
possibly be?

Lysrus’s eyes lingered on Martha’s for a moment, as if
silently conferring about something. After a moment, Martha nodded.

Lysrus returned his attention to Henry and Nikki. “You
should know that there are considerable risks involved.”

“What kind of risks?” Henry said.

Lysrus regarded them both, his expression grave. “You saw
the entities surrounding Rose. You heard them as well.”

“I couldn’t see what they were,” Henry said. “They looked
like shadows.”

“They can take any appearance they’d like. Which is just
a small part of what makes them so dangerous. They feed on pain and suffering,
exactly the kind of energy created by trapped souls. In Rose’s delusion, they
perpetuate her dream by posing as the very people she once loved. They’d like
nothing more than to trap others as well. It’s quite literally how they
survive.”

Nikki’s gaze shot from Lysrus, to Martha, then back to Lysrus
again. “Couldn’t someone from your level rescue her?”

“Nikki, what did you think when you first saw me?”

She thought for a moment and Henry knew it wasn’t easy to
accurately recall that brief first encounter. The experience had been too
powerful, too disorienting.

“I was kind of shocked,” Nikki said. “At first, I thought
we’d been hit by lightning. There was all the light and that feeling like
electricity. Then, I guess, I thought you might be an angel or something like that.
I imagined seeing wings.”

Lysrus turned to Henry and waited.

“Basically, the same,” Henry said. “It was… I didn’t know
what to think. But then I thought about angels too. I guess my brain kind of
just went there.”

Lysrus nodded. “How do you think someone would react if
they’ve been existing in a delusion for over half a century? Particularly, if
that person believes she deserves going to hell for her mistakes? Do you think
she might imagine seeing something other than an angel?”

Gazing Up at the Stars

Lysrus thanked
Henry and Nikki for considering his request, then turned and walked toward
where they’d just seen images of Rose’s life playing out. As before, the light
parted to reveal an even brighter light. Lysrus disappeared into that gap, as
if dissolving into the light itself. The Veil, Martha had called it, a barrier
Lysrus had allowed them to look through just briefly. Henry couldn’t help
wonder what more was held beyond it, what kind of realm Lysrus had just
returned to. At the same time, part of him suspected he was better off not
knowing. At least, for now. Eventually, maybe, he might know more but it was
difficult to imagine when that might be.

A moment later, they followed Martha back to a point in
the light she somehow knew led back to the level they’d come from. Together,
they crossed through and into her familiar space again. Henry couldn’t deny the
relief he felt at the sight of sofas and chairs, books stacked on end tables,
paintings hung on walls and curtains framing windows, as massive as those
windows were. Through those windows this time, Henry saw a meadow with tall
grasses wafting in a breeze, beyond that rolling sunlit hills. He felt sure
Martha had provided that scene for comfort and she’d been right to do so. There
might be a point in some future where, like Lysrus, he and Nikki no longer
remained tied emotionally to the physical realm but right now Henry embraced
seeing a place that looked as if it belonged on Earth.

For once, Henry and Nikki didn’t wait for Martha to offer
them a place on one of her sofas. They both shuffled toward them and plopped
themselves down.

“Holy crap,” Nikki said. “That was weird as hell.”

Henry let his head fall back against the cushion and
looked up at the ceiling, grateful to see one there. “That was a new record,
definitely. And that’s just the level where we can meet. I can’t even imagine
what’s happening on the other side of that.”

“I don’t want to freaking know,” Nikki said. “I think
I’ll just hang onto having a body for now, thank you very much.”

Martha took a seat across from them, a gleam of mirth in
her eyes. “It’s a bit much at first.”

Nikki shook her head and sighed. “Yeah, no kidding. Right
now, I feel like having one of Naomi’s brownies and a big glass of milk.
Followed by a seriously long nap.”

“Totally.” Henry felt his eyes starting to close.

“Hello, you two,” Martha said. “Please, stay with me for
a few minutes.”

They straightened up to pay attention.

“Still with you,” Nikki said.

“I just wanted you to know that there’s another reason Lysrus
asked you to try helping Rose. I did tell him that if anyone had a chance, it
was probably the two of you. Partly, because of what you’ve done before. But
it’s also because you’re still teenagers, like her. For different reasons
entirely, of course. It’s impossible to say how Rose will perceive you. It’s
her dream, after all. But we suspect she’s more likely to open up to people she
senses to be of a similar age.”

Nikki perched forward. “What happened when you tried?”

“I couldn’t manage to get close enough,” Martha said.
“The world Rose has created around herself is very small, with just a few who
she views as trusted souls. Like all wounded creatures, her self-preservation
instincts are keen. In this case, by self-preservation I mean her desperate need
to stay locked inside her fantasy.”

“But the same thing that might make us successful might
also get us trapped alongside her,” Henry said. “Do I understand that part
right?”

“That’s right,” Martha said. “You’ll have to become a
trusted part of her dream. However, if you succeed at that, you’ll also be
at the risk of being influenced by others helping to ensure that the dream
remains a trap.”

“But you could just come get us out again, right?” Nikki
said. “I mean, if it goes wrong?”

Martha hesitated. “I could try. The fact is, you might
not recognize me. Not if you got sucked in far enough.”

“But we don’t have to do this,” Henry said. “Lysrus made
a point of saying that.”

“Absolutely, and that’s important to keep in mind. This
is truly a dark world you’d be entering. These entities around Rose are
basically parasites, feeding off her misery. They’d gladly welcome more of the
same. Please take your time to think about the risks involved. I realize it’s
not an easy decision to make.”

Martha rose from the sofa, signaling that their time with
her was over for now. Henry wondered if she had some task to carry out related
to Service. He couldn’t be sure, of course, but clearly she wanted to give them
some time to discuss what they’d been told and to weigh their decision.

When they got to the door, Henry turned to her. “I
understand what you said about Rose possibly trusting us—that we might be able
to get through to her. But you’ve also spent all this time making sure we’re
okay. After all that, why would you suggest to Lysrus that we face this kind of
danger?”

 In Martha’s expression, Henry saw warmth and
concern, as always. But he saw even more this time, an emotion she’d never
displayed before. Fear.

Martha’s eyes glistened. “Because I think the two of you
are ready,” she said.

She didn’t explain more.

~~~

One thing that had always been comforting about Halfway
House was that usually everyone kept to a similar schedule. They got up at
roughly the same time, they shared meals and typically they did something as a
group at least once each day. At times, of course, they split off from one
another but they always ended up together again. And, usually, they all went to
bed at around the same time each night. The fact was, they cared about each
other and enjoyed being together most of the time. All of this meant the world
to Henry. After all, in order for him to let his own family on Earth get on
with their lives, he’d created a new one for himself here.

Tonight, though, he needed some time alone to think. Once
everyone had gone back to their rooms, Henry descended the stairs quietly,
hoping not to draw attention. The irony wasn’t lost on him that, while in the
physical realm, he could have simply floated above the stairs, here that wasn’t
an option. This world could be rearranged to suit their imaginations in many
ways but their shared agreement held some Rules in place. One of them being
that in this realm they couldn’t pass through walls or fly through the air at
will. Here, they agreed it was probably better to keep things as “normal” as
possible.

Henry stepped out onto the veranda, carefully closing the
door, and took a seat in one of the Adirondack chairs. He could have gone to
his pond, he knew, or the stretch of beach he sometimes walked alone, but
he needed to stay close this time. He needed to be near these people, his
second family. If he and Nikki decided to do what Martha and Lysrus had asked,
Henry suspected it would affect all of them. Either way, whether or not he and
Nikki were successful. The look in Martha’s eyes had told him as much. They
were ready, she’d said, and Henry had sensed deeper meaning in her words.
Things were likely to shift soon. He could feel it.

The fact was, he wasn’t sure what to do. Was trying to
save this person they’d never met a risk they should take? Mostly, he didn’t
want to influence Nikki. He knew that around him she’d act tough and
unemotional. She always did and Henry suspected he knew why. She’d helplessly
watched her family slip away even as she’d been able to read their thoughts and
feel everything they’d gone through. Until the end of their lives, she’d kept
trying to reach out to them. After that, Nikki had built her own sort of shell
around herself. Nothing like that girl, Rose, had done, but the purpose was the
same. Nikki too was a wounded soul, and the last thing Henry wanted was to
cause her more harm.

The stars sparkled above and Henry looked up, no longer
questioning whether they were real or created as part of this in-between
existence. This was the same night sky he’d looked at as a child and wondered
about as his imagination had continued to expand. Some things were instinct and
Henry instinctively knew the truth of at least that much. He searched inside
himself, hoping instinct would tell him which way to go now. But too many
thoughts and feelings crowded in. What he felt was new to him, something he’d
never known before. Something he’d imagined, definitely, but just a few times.
After all, he’d been so young when he’d left the world he’d known for this one.
But lately he’d felt himself changing and those around him changing too. Sure,
they all tried to act like things were the same but they weren’t and, on some
level, all of them knew.

Henry tried to push thoughts of Nikki, and the others,
away so he could focus on making a decision. Rose needed someone to help
her—someone who could possibly succeed where others had failed. It seemed
strange to him that Lysrus thought they were capable of doing just that. It
seemed somehow even more strange to think that Martha hadn’t been able to
accomplish what clearly she too thought they might. Henry tried to tell himself
he didn’t know Rose, that her life—no, her afterlife—wasn’t his concern. That
he and Nikki had no reason to put themselves in danger. At the same time, part of
him knew—had known even before he’d come outside to be alone—that he couldn’t
just turn his back on her and pretend things would be the same tomorrow. There
was no going back now and Henry knew it, just as he knew Nikki had probably
already reached the same conclusion.

Henry sat for a few minutes more, gazing up at the stars,
then decided to go upstairs and knock on Nikki’s door. She’d still be up. He
had no doubt about that. And there was no way he’d be able to decide what was
right without talking to her.