The Circle Closes Zlatko Spralja ***************************** Prologue Selena Coombs stepped out of the bar, quite drunk, and into the cold night air. She had had a hard week and had come to the seedy little joint in Goat Town to drown her sorrows. For a couple of hours she could forget about Lucas and Billy and even Caleb. Lucas, you miserable bastard, she thought as she looked in her bag for her keys. Shit, she thought, when she remembered that she had given them to the barkeeper as soon as she had arrived at the pub. No problem, she thought, I'll just get a cab. She saw a phone box across the road and walked across pulling her jacket closer. It was a cold night, even for October, and the wind shrieked as if a portal to Hell had opened and demons were escaping from centuries of confinement. She shook her head at what she had just thought. Were did she come up with them ? I need a holiday, she thought. Anywhere will do, really. Just as long as its as far away from Lucas as possible. She had reached the phone booth and lifted the receiver. There was no dial tone and Selena saw that the cord had been cut in three places. It doesn't matter anyway, she thought. What taxi driver is going to come to Goat Town at two am to pick up a drunk? And if he did come, she thought, I don't think I'd want to meet him. She sighed and stepped out of the booth. She had barely stepped out when a figure clad in black came up behind her and pressed a knife up to her back. "Give me your bag, lady." The voice was indifferent and something else Selena couldn't quite put her thumb on. Selena struggled to think back to physical education classes in her high school days when the class had been taught self-defence. Unfortunately, all she could remember about Health was that it was a good opportunity to smoke in the bathrooms. Selena decided that the safest action was to co-operate. She was reaching for her handbag when what she had been wondering about hit her. His voice, she thought. He sounds arrogant. In fact, he sounds exactly like Lucas. Suddenly, rage hit her as quickly as a car slamming into a telephone pole. "You scum-sucking BASTARD" she screamed, and whirled around. Quick as lightning she kneed him in the groin, and as he doubled over in agony, she kneed him again in the face. In his pain, the knife had fallen out of his hand and onto the footpath. She kicked it away but as she did a fist slammed into her stomach and the air in her body left her all at once. She staggered back a step and was trying to draw a breath to scream when the fist slammed her again, this time in the face. She fell to the pavement, pain exploding in her head. As the man stooped to yank up her handbag, she found her voice and yelled "Help" as loud as her voice box would allow her. The man snatched up her bag and started running down the street. Two men came running out of the bar and across the street. One, a heavy set man reeking of beer bent down to help her, while another, younger and slimmer, took off after her assailant. "Are you bleeding ?" The heavy set man asked her, looking worriedly into her face. "No, no, I'm OK," Selena said, and even as she spoke the pain in her head was getting worse. "Just give me a moment," she said as she tried to get up. Her knees buckled and she fell forward. The man caught her and propped her up. "You don't look OK to me. I'm getting you to the hospital." She didn't feel like arguing, and didn't think she would have won an argument anyway. He put an arm around her waist and told her to lean her weight against him. As she walked across the road, and as she rode to the hospital in an ambulance and even as Billy inspected her injuries, she could only think of one thing. Not Billy, not her attacker, not the man who had helped her or the other man who had chased and caught her assailant. She thought of only one man. Lucas. I Caleb sat in class waiting for Ms Coombs to come in. She was already five minutes late and he was getting annoyed. In the meanwhile, everyone in the class had assumed she wasn't coming, and had made the classroom into a virtual playground. It seemed that every time the football was kicked it seemed to head for a vase or a window, and all the breakables in the classroom had a "smash me to bits" sign on it, visible only to little kids. Tommy Dodge, sometime friend of Caleb, turned around in his chair and asked Caleb if he knew were Ms Coombs was. "I don't know," Caleb shrugged and started taking the books out of his bag. "I heard she was beat up real bad Friday night. Some crazy guy pulled a knife on her. I heard me mum talkin' to my dad. You hear anything 'bout that at the boarding house ?" Tommy looked at Caleb expectantly. "Didn't hear nothin' 'bout that." "Well, my mum plays Bridge with Mrs Madison on Saturday nights and her daughter is a nurse at the hospital and she told her mum and she told my mum. They say she came in Sat'day mornin' real early all bloodied up. I s'pose that means she's not comin' in today." Caleb sat in his chair absorbing all this information. He had mixed feelings for Ms Combs. Lucas didn't like her anymore, but she was his favourite teacher and she had never done any wrong to him. He was worried for her, but he knew that in all probability the stories of her injuries were exaggerated. "I s'pose we'll have a replacement teacher," Tommy said when he saw Caleb was not going to say anything. Prophetically, the substitute teacher strode in and the class quietened down. "Alright," she said, "My name is Mrs Jackson. I'll be your teacher for the day. Get out your books quietly. I don't want to hear a sound." Caleb sighed and continued taking out his books. II "What do you think you're doing ?" Selena heard Billy's voice but did not turn around. "I'm leaving," she said, matter-of-factly, as she did up the final button on her blouse. She turned around, sat on the bed and put her heels on. Billy watched silently from the door. When she approached him, he didn't move. "Get out of my way, Dr Peale." "I don't think so Selena. You had a concussion. I can't let you go." Selena did not answer but she simply pushed past him into the hallway. She strode away from him and he had to jog to catch up. "Now come on, Selena. What is it with you all of a sudden? What's your hurry? I told your principal you wouldn't be in for a couple of days." By this time, Selena had reached the front desk and informed the nurse she was checking out. "No she isn't." "Is she your patient, doctor ?" the nurse asked Billy. "Well, not really." "I'm sorry, Dr Peale, but if she wants to go and there ain't nothin' wrong with her its her right." Billy glared at the nurse but Selena had already started to head for the entry. Billy caught up with her outside. "My shift ends in five. Will you at least let me give you a ride?" Billy asked. Selena saw Lucas drive along the road and stop across the road from the hospital. She looked at him expectantly, but he only parked his car and sat there. "Alright," she said, "I'll wait for you in the carpark" As Selena went around the back, Lucas got out of his car and followed her. III Caleb sat with Boon eating their lunches. They were sitting at a picnic table discussing things boys discuss before girls come into the picture. Tommy Dodge came up and asked if he could sit next to them. "Sure," Caleb said indifferently, shifting over so Tommy could sit next to him. They ate in silence for a while, and then Tommy spoke up. "Caleb," he said, "I'm having a sleepover on Friday night, and we need one more person. What do you say ?" Caleb said nothing, because he knew how Boon would feel. It was unfair of Tommy to invite only Caleb. Caleb looked up, but at some point Boon had left the table while Caleb had been eating. "Okay," Caleb replied, figuring that what Boon didn't know couldn't hurt him. "Great, I'll talk to you tomorrow about when. Gotta go." Caleb ate the rest of his lunch alone. IV "Hello, Selena." The voice was Lucas's, and Selena almost cringed when she heard it. She didn't let it show however, and turned around to face him. He had his hands in his pockets and was standing as if he didn't have a care in the world. Arrogant bastard, thought Selena. "Go away, Lucas." Instead of going away, Lucas came closer. "Now come on, Selena. You've got no right to be angry at me, do you ?" Lucas was now behind her and he put a hand on her shoulder. Before he could do anything else, Selena turned around, so that he had to let go of her. "Touch me and I'll kill you," she whispered menacingly. Lucas' smile was wrenched from his face but slowly, it returned. "Oh, no, Selena. You'll never hurt me, teacher. No one tells me what to do." "Selena." Lucas and Selena looked in the direction of the caller and saw Billy jogging towards them. As he arrived, he asked Selena, "Is Lucas giving you trouble ?" "No, no trouble. No trouble at all." Billy pressed the automatic central locking on his car and the doors were unlocked. Selena looked at Lucas triumphantly, opened the door, and slipped in. She locked the door. V "Ms Holt ?" Caleb called out to the owner of the boarding house as he came through the front door. "What is it Caleb ?" Ms Holt asked as she came into the kitchen where Caleb was standing, peering into the fridge. "My friend Tommy invited me over for a sleep over at his house on Friday night. Is that OK?" "I suppose so. But wasn't Gail taking you to the movies on Friday ?" "I'll tell her I changed my mind. Didn't want to see her movie anyway." Caleb ran up the stairs into his room and shut the door. As soon as it was closed, he heard a voice. "That wasn't very nice." Caleb looked around the room but saw no-one. It was Merly's voice, but he couldn't see her or even feel her presence. "Merly ? Where are you ?" Merlyn materialised next to his bed, in her everlasting white dress. It seemed that she had grown a little distant to Caleb since the death and resurrection of Lucas. Caleb recalled the day she had freed herself from him, appropriately on the same day that Dr. Matt had been released. Her appearance today made Caleb wonder. If she could go around, unheard, unseen, unfelt, even by him, Caleb wondered how many of his conversations with Lucas, with Boon, with Gail she had monitored. It made him uncomfortable, and he regarded her wearily. "That wasn't very nice, Caleb," she repeated, "Gail went out of her way to make plans with you. You can't just break them because you're invited somewhere. And what about Boon ? He is a better friend than Tommy will ever be. You didn't even ask if he could come." "I don't need you to be my conscience," Caleb replied defensively, "and what are you doing listening to my conversations anyway ? Ever heard of privacy ? Ever since you've been dead, you've got nothin' better to do than eavesdropping." He was about to tell her to get a life, but remembered what happened last time she had gone out and done just that. It didn't matter anyway, because she had disappeared, leaving Caleb alone. He was about to say she was a coward for running away, but bit his lip, just in case she was still there. VI Selena entered the air-conditioned building and approached the secretary behind the counter. "Can I help you ma'am ?" the secretary asked as she put down the phone. "Yes, I'm here for the self-defence course" "Name ?" "Selena Coombs" The secretary scanned her eyes down a list. "I'm sorry, Ms Coombs, you don't seem to be on the list. Did you make a reservation ?" "Um, no. I didn't know you had to..." "Well, you're in luck," the secretary said pleasantly. "I had a cancellation just now. Should I put your name in ?" "Yes, thankyou." "OK then. The course is Tuesdays and Fridays, two hours a day, for three weeks. Full payment is $120. Would you like to pay now ?" "Yes" Selena opened her purse and took out two fifties and a twenty and handed them over. The secretary took them, wrote a receipt and told her that the class started at 7pm. "Don't be late," the secretary called as Selena started to move towards the door. Selena didn't think she would be. VII The blare of Gail's horn penetrated the silence of Friday night at the boarding house. Ms Holt came out of the kitchen into the living room where Caleb sat watching TV. "That's your ride, Caleb. Remember to call tomorrow morning if you need a ride home." "Thanks Ms Holt." Caleb picked up his overnight bag from the couch and grabbed his jacket from the stand by the door. Once outside, he saw Gail's car by the kerb. He climbed into the passenger side and closed the door. "Hi Caleb," Gail said pleasantly as she eased onto the road. "Hi cuz" There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Caleb looked out the window at the passing scenery. It was a cold night, and the wind howled around the car. Gail finally broke the silence by asking for Tommy's address again. "436 Birchwood. Just turn right next." The rest of the trip was silent except for Gail turning on the radio station. When she arrived at Tommy's house, she pulled over. "Do you want me to walk you to the door ?" Gail asked. "I'll be OK. Thanks for the ride Gail." "That's fine Caleb. Maybe we can go out next time." Caleb got out and closed the door. Gail saw that he got into the house, then she drove away. She drove towards the centre of town, to the only gym in Trinity. She parked her car and got out. She closed her door and saw Selena walk into the gym. She pressed the central locking on her car and followed her in. VIII Caleb was bored. Tommy had a horror movie playing, but horror movies had no appeal for Caleb. He had seen too much real horror in his life to appreciate Hollywood make up. There were a half dozen boys in the living room, all bundled up in sleeping bags, eating chips and pretzels from the coffee table. Tommy had disappeared, but came back just as the credits started to roll on the film. Caleb looked curiously at what Tommy had gone to retrieve. It was a Ouija board, the kind with spaces for "yes" ,"no" and "maybe." Tommy stood in front of the TV and proudly announced he had found his older sister's Ouija board and that they should try it out. He was met with enthusiasm all round, except from Caleb. I don't need a stupid board to communicate with the dead, he thought. I've got them breathing down my neck. The refreshments were cleared from the coffee table and the Ouija board was placed in the centre. The boys gathered around the table, but Caleb stayed where he was. When Tommy saw Caleb hadn't moved, he called across the table to him. "Close the circle, Caleb," Tommy said, indicating the empty spot where Caleb should sit. Reluctantly, Caleb got up to join the group. IX At the gym, class was beginning. Selena saw Gail stretching and wandered over. "Hello Selena," Gail said to Selena without looking at her. "Good evening, Ms Emory." There was not much more to say, but their teacher had started speaking. "Alright, people, now last lesson you learnt basic defence maneuvers, and were told to practise. Now, I want you to pair off, and show me what you can do. I'll be coming around one group at a time. Each person in the group will have a chance to be the attacker and the victim. You've got five minutes." As fate would have it, or perhaps only mathematical probability, Selena and Gail were paired off. They couldn't decide who should be the attacker, and had done little when their instructor had come around to them "Alright, people, lets see what you can do. Selena, you can be the attacker first." Gail and Selena assumed the positions. Gail stood with her back to Selena and Selena grabbed her from behind. Instinctively, Gail loosened herself from Selena's grip and stepped away. "Excellent, Gail," was the teachers response, obviously pleased with Gail's performance. It was now Selena's turn to be the victim. Gail stood behind her and grabbed her around the waist. Selena elbowed Gail, then turned around. Using her hip as a balance, she threw an unprepared Gail to the ground and then pinned her there by sitting on her legs and holding her arms to the ground. "Very nice, Selena. If you had police backup, that is. If you can get away, then that should be the first choice, understand ?" Selena understood, but she knew their was no getting away from Lucas. X "Is there a spirit present?" For a while, nothing happened. Tommy was beginning to regret pulling out the board when the pointer shifted. It was only a few centimetres, but it was a definite move. He put his finger back on the pointer, and asked the question again. This time, the pointer swung straight to "yes." Half a dozen boys watched each other closely, to see if the movement had been faked, but everyone was met with the same blank look. Caleb really didn't feel like participating, but continued just the same. Tommy had decided to take the lead and started asking a series of questions. "Are you a good spirit?" The pointer moved to yes. Tommy moved it back to the blank section. "Do you live in my house?" No. "Do you visit often?" No "Why tonight?" W-H-Y N-O-T Apparently, the spirit had a sense of humour. "When did you die?" W-H-E-N I W-A-S A G-I-R-L This was not what Tommy had meant, he had wanted to ask how long ago she had died. But he asked her how old she was. 16 Caleb took his hand from the pointer. "What's the matter Caleb, are you scared?" This from Tommy, who was now completely caught up in the game. Caleb was scared, he wanted to know why Merly wasn't visible. It was enough he couldn't see her, he couldn't even sense her. But, perhaps, it wasn't Merly. The next question popped his bubble of hope. "What is your name?" M-E-R-L-Y-N Caleb was waiting to see if anyone recognized his sister's name, but no-one had a look of recognition on their face. "How did you die?" M-U-R-D-E-R The last response made a few boys nervous, and they took their hands from the board, including Caleb. But Tommy continued uninhibited. "Who killed you?" At this point it appeared that the spirit had tired from the game and had left. However, after a moment, the pointer was moving again. L-U-C-A Caleb grabbed the pointer and threw it across the room. "What the hell was that for?" Tommy glared at him menacingly. Caleb didn't what to say or do. "I'm sorry," was all he could say. Tommy retrieved the board but further questioning was futile. The spirit had left after Caleb's outburst. "And thanks to you, it isn't coming back." Caleb retreated from the accusing stares and went to the bathroom. Merly, he thought, why wait 'till now to tell me?. No answer came, so he dismissed the question. But now everything had changed utterly. Caleb didn't like it one bit. XI After her self-defence class, Selena drove aimlessly about. She saw a church ahead, and slowed before parking at the curb and turning the engine off. She got out of her car and walked towards the church. The wind screamed around her, but once inside she felt strangely calm, and the wind was muffled by the double brick building. She sat at a pew at the side of the church and wondered why she had come in. Then she said "God, give me power against my enemies." Selena didn't know if that was a prayer or not, but she certainly felt better. She prepared to leave when a voice behind her startled her. It was so sudden and unexpected that she nearly screamed. "If you turn to God, you can defeat the most powerful of enemies." The voice was of a girl, a teenage girl, but it was as if the owner had lived a thousand years, her voice had such a strange ancient quality. Selena turned around and looked at the speaker. A teenage girl, just as she had expected. She looked strangely familiar to Selena, but she couldn't think of who she reminded her of, so Selena asked her who she was. "A friend," was the simple reply. The girl reached across the back of Selena's pew and touched Selena's cheek. Selena was startled at the gesture from a stranger, but when the white-sleeved hand touched her face, she felt as if she didn't have to worry about anything. She closed her eyes and heard the girl speak again. "Remember, there are no losers except those who have given up." Again, this seemed a strange thing to say to a stranger, but Selena continued to sit there, half turned in her pew, with a strange girl's hand on her cheek. The world seemed to melt away, and Selena felt as if she would like to stay like that forever. The longer she kept her eyes closed, the better she felt. Outside, tires screeched along the road. Selena opened her eyes and immediately regretted doing so. Her feeling of content disappeared with the simple act of opening her eyelids. The girl had gone, and Selena thought she must have dozed off, and the girl had simply left. Then Selena wondered if the whole meeting had been a dream, certainly she had dreamed stranger things. Upon returning to her car, however, she felt confident that the meeting had taken place, and that something special had happened. Selena wondered if she would ever encounter the stranger again. Merly, invisible beside her, knew she would. XII When Selena got home, she found her front door open. Immediately, she went in and saw Lucas at her kitchen table, dealing a game of solitaire. "What the hell are you doing?" Was her immediate response. "Selena, you're home. Good. Your class finishes at nine. Where have you been?" "Lucas, I don't know how you got in or what you think, but you can forget it. Now get out of my house." This was not the response Lucas wanted. He got up and grabbed Selena. "Oh, I'll be leaving, all right, just as soon as I get what I came for." Lucas grabbed her head and forced his lips on hers, his hands squeezing her neck painfully. He grabbed hold of her left wrist and said "now come to the bedroom." "No." "Are you disobeying a simple request like that. I don't like this. I don't like this at..." Selena's fist smashing into the side of his face cut off his last word. Startled by the sudden move, he momentarily let go of her wrist. He grabbed it again as soon as he realized what he'd done. "You'll pay for that, bitch." He began dragging her towards the bedroom again, but Selena stayed rock still. She felt as if she had swallowed some fluid that had increased her strength tenfold. Her whole body felt light, but strong. It was as if the spirit of a circus strongman had entered her body. Her limbs felt supernaturally powerful. She felt adrenalin coarse through her blood, and her heart was beating so loud she was sure Lucas could hear. She brought her knee up to his groin and he doubled over, letting go of her wrist again. This time, she didn't let him get it again. She brought out her leg and it made contact with his face with a satisfying snap. Lucas staggered backwards, unsure as to how he had gotten into this position. He didn't have much time, however, because Selena was now holding him by his neck, and she was kicking his ribs in. Gasping in pain, he managed to retaliate by catching her foot and pushing her away. Unprepared for this, Selena fell to the ground ungracefully. She was winded, and Lucas was advancing. That bitch is really going to pay, he thought. The power in Selena's limbs felt stronger than ever, and as Lucas came up to her, she sprang up, ready for his attack. He came in with a left to her jaw, and pain exploded in her head. She could already taste the blood in her mouth. His right fist was also about to make contact to her face, but Selena saw it in time. Instead of dodging the attack, however, she brought up her own hand and caught his fist inches from her face. Amazing both herself and Lucas, she actually pushed his hand away and brought up her other hand to uppercut him. The unexpected blocking of his punch and the totally unexpected uppercut had Lucas staggering backwards again. The pain in his jaw was like fire. He couldn't believe the power Selena must have put into that punch for their to be so much goddamned pain. His thoughts stopped their however, because Selena had punched him again. This time it was right in the centre of his stomach, and he doubled over. He felt a devastating blow to his back as Selena administered a karate chop to his spine. He fell to the floor, mouth bloody and his body momentarily paralysed. Selena kicked him in the side for good measure and stood for a while regaining her breath. She got down to her knees, and she rolled Lucas over. She grabbed his crotch and applied uncomfortable pressure. "Now," she said, menacingly. "Are you leaving, or do I have to bring in the big guns?" To emphasize her point, she squeezed his crotch painfully but not excruciatingly. He groaned in agony and managed to mouth that he'd leave. "Good," she said simply. She picked him up by the scruff of his collar and he half-walked, and was half dragged by Selena to the door. She opened the door, and placed him outside, like so much garbage. She locked her front door and turned off the porch light. Lucas stood, dumbfounded and unbelieving. Blood trickled out of his mouth and the pain in his back felt like someone was doing construction work on his spinal cord. He was also glad he had already fathered an heir before this incident, because his whole crotch felt suspiciously numb. He wanted to get the gun from his car and kill her, but he dismissed the thought as soon as it came. He had a sneaking suspicion that the dead had screwed him over once tonight already. XIII The bell for home rang, and Ms Coombs' class raced out as soon as she dismissed them. It was good to be back, and she had been gone for almost two weeks. She packed up her books and walked outside into the crisp afternoon air. The fragrance in the air was so lovely, she thought she would take a walk before going home. She turned onto the footpath and walked leisurely for a few minutes when she saw Lucas ahead. He was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, and one of them was going to have to move. The gap between Selena and Lucas was closed quickly but Selena continued walking undaunted. A second before an inevitable collision, Lucas stepped out of her way and onto the grass. Selena continued without even acknowledging his presence. Lucas had a sour expression on his face, but Selena smiled all the way home. --------------------------------------------------------- Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------