Erasing

  Erasing: Shadows

  K.D. Rose

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Erasing: Shadows Copyright© 2013 K.D. Rose

  ISBN13: 978-1512211795

  ISBN10: 1512211796

  Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde Editor: Leona Bushman

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Dedication

  For P.J., Michelle, Madison, Morgan, Zachary, and Brian.

  And for Lucretia Fresquez, without whom this book would not exist.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to Hope Welsh for her invaluable input, work, and advice; thank you to Jeremy Parker for the astral map; to Fiona Jayde for her cover art; and thank you especially to Leona Bushman who puts up with more than any editor should have to.

  Astral Map

  Chapter One

  The Ross Family

  Mira Ross whistled in the kitchen to her three-year-old son, Brandon. A blonde-haired woman who looked barely forty in a beautiful way, she moved gracefully, even when washing dishes. Mira also occasionally sang to Brandon while doing the dishes. Her son cooed from his baby bouncer. His 'ooh, ooh' baby sounds warmed her heart. She had just started the second verse when it struck her as odd that he had stopped mid 'ooh.'

  As she turned around—some objective part of her realized that if she weren't seeing this, she would never have believed it—Brandon's physical body started disappearing in front of her. At first, Mira felt paralyzed. His head had already turned translucent amidst the rest of the kitchen, then actually disappeared. The rest of Brandon appeared ghostly, as if he were traversing between this world and another. Instinctively, Mira frantically threw herself around him, but it didn't make any difference.

  His arms evaporated in front of her eyes, and then his trunk disappeared, leaving a faint afterglow. In despair, and crying, she grasped hold of his legs and pulled them to her. Until now, she hadn't been able to get a word out. As his legs started to evaporate as well, she held on anyway and grabbed his little red tennis shoes, hard. "Not my baby!" She wailed as she clutched the shoe with anger. Then the right shoe disappeared. Mira felt a tug as she watched the last ankle go, the left shoe still limp in her hand. A blood-curdling scream rent the air.

  It came from her.

  She shrieked like a banshee. Michael, her husband, and Morgan, her youngest daughter, ran in from the backyard at the first sound of her screams. Mrs. Ross, Mira's mother-in-law hurried down the stairs. Usually a no-nonsense, stern woman, she currently held a countenance of fright on her face. The ensuing chaos further upset Mira as no one knew what was going on, and Mira could not yet coherently explain.

  "Brandon...Brandon!" was all she could get out at first. Her husband sat her down on a kitchen chair and hugged her. He tried to wipe away her tears away as much as he could, but a torrent streamed down her face.

  When she calmed down enough to recount the events—between wails—she couldn't hold back, Mrs. Ross spoke first. Her tone matched the accusing finger pointed at Michael and Mira. "This is because of that meddling the two of you did when younger."

  Michael regarded his mother with exasperation. "Now isn't the time to bring up the past. We need to figure out what just happened and how to get Brandon back."

  "What about Madison?" asked Morgan.

  "She's at swim practice." Michael answered with a calm he likely didn't feel, for his daughter's sake. Madison, at seventeen, was often away at school activities. "She can stay there for now. There are more important things to discuss and do—and in a hurry."

  "Fine, don't listen to me. I'll just be upstairs out of the way," said Mrs. Ross in her usual curt manner.

  "Mrs. Ross," said Mira, a peacemaker by nature, "we need all the help we can get. Please stay." At that moment, she wished she'd been close enough to her mother-in-law to call her Mom. She looked at her husband with pleading eyes.

  "You're wasting time," said Mrs. Ross, ignoring Mira. "You kids will come up with a plan, I'm sure. I'll just be upstairs." With that, she climbed the stairs to the second floor, a determined look in her eyes.

  ***

  Michael said, "She's right. Every minute we stand here, something else could be happening. We need a plan right now...Mira?" His tone turned softer. He was still in love with his wife after all these years. "Mira, you're the best one at traveling the other plane. Do you remember when we were younger? What do you suggest? I mean, I assume this has to do with astral world travel, just like Mom did."

  Michael and Mira had met when they were both very young and had gone on many adventures together, along with a tight group of friends. After dating others back and forth like all teenagers do, Michael realized that Mira was 'the one.' Michael remembered that when he finally got up his nerve to ask Mira to marry him; she had smiled and told him it was about time. But then, she was a bit older. Still, they married young and had never regretted it.

  But now, Mira sat on the couch, a pillow clutched in her hand, tears streaming down her face. She lamented between cries. "I'm not sure I can think straight. Besides, who would want to take my little boy?" She dabbed her face with tissues. Michael held one of her hands tightly and stuffed more tissues in the other. The family was in shock.

  Finally, Morgan piped up. "You can do it, Mom. Remember that time when I was little and jumped in the deep end of the pool because I didn't know what I was doing and you couldn't swim? Without even thinking, you grabbed a cushion and jumped in right after me and saved me."

  Michael looked at his daughter with appreciation. "She's right, you know," he said to Mira as he put his arm around her and held her tight. "You always know just the thing to do. Our little boy is missing, but we don't know that any harm has come to him. And from what we know of the astral, he is probably okay. I know how strong you are, love. See if you can put your emotions aside and concentrate. We'll all try to help." He kissed Mira's cheek.

  With that, Michael and Mira came up with a plan. It would be dangerous, but journeying to the other world always held some amount of danger, no matter how good you were.

  Michael tried to hide his worry. Brandon is only three! Who knows where he is? But what other recourse do we have?

  So they arranged for Morgan to stay with her grandmother in case Brandon showed up again. Meanwhile, Michael and Mira would prepare for the trip of their lives. It had been a long time for both of them, but Michael was sure it would be like riding a bike. Some meditation, some physical yoga together, and soon they would be…elsewhere, or in this case, in an inexact replica of their world, called the astral plane.

  Michael knew the rest of the family had no clue how extensive the traveling that they and their friends had done in the past. Except for his mother. She knew. Michael sometimes wondered if that was the reason for the distance between Mira and his mom. Perhaps she hadn't liked Mira doing all that dangerous astral traveling with her son when they were younger. Brandon was too young to know anything about travel, though. Michael had no idea what could have gone wrong. He understood that Madison and Morgan knew about travel in general—just from what he and Mira had told them, but so far, neither had shown much interest. The family had certainly never witnessed anyone leave physically from here.

  Even Mira and Michael had rarely seen others take their physical body with them when traveling. It took powerful energy to do that kind of thing. When they and their friends used to go between worlds, only their consciousness went. Although o
nce they arrived, everyone existed in a replica of their physical bodies constructed naturally from their own energy. The age of the body however, was always unpredictable. But their physical bodies, the real body of the person, stayed in the real world. Now Brandon had somehow traveled—or been taken—physically to the other world, right in front of Mira. "A full-bodied assault," Mira had cried.

  Michael hugged his wife again and kissed her on the cheek. She would get through this. He knew her to be strong—even headstrong—and when it came to her children, nothing would stop her from protecting them. Michael was positive the love connection between them and their son would take them right to him. That was one less thing to worry about. What else would be there when they found Brandon, though, he didn't know, and it concerned him. Lack of knowledge could be dangerous at any time, more so in the astral plane. And for a three-year-old! Michael felt his face flush. Somehow this was his entire fault. He had to make it right. Who knew where his baby was right at this moment?

  Was it really an assault like Mira had said? Michael tried to put such thoughts out of his head. Mira had been a prodigy—when she was only a kid, maybe Brandon—but at three? With his whole body? He couldn't fathom it.

  ***

  Morgan went upstairs to check on her grandmother. "Grandma, are you all right?" She leaned like a cat against the doorway. Then she noticed her grandmother's mood had changed a little.

  "I'm all right, sweetie, I just needed to check on a few things." Mrs. Ross sat on the edge of her bed, legs crossed, looking relaxed.

  "What things?" asked Morgan.

  "Well," said her grandmother. "I'll tell you something if you promise to keep it a secret."

  "Of course, Grandma, what secret?"

  "Brandon is okay," she said, then added, "for now."

  Morgan had a quizzical look on her face. "How do you know that?"

  "I don't want to go into the details," whispered Mrs. Ross. "But Morgan, I've trusted you with this so you need to keep it a secret, okay?"

  "Okay, Grandma," said Morgan. Her face showed excitement at having a secret to keep, then she looked crestfallen. "Are you going to tell Madison too when she gets home?" She strummed her fingers over the quilt on the bed.

  Her grandmother chuckled. "No, Madison is a wildcard. I reckon her parents will have trouble with her rebelliousness one day. Probably more than with Brandon at the moment."

  "But Brandon is okay?"

  Mrs. Ross stood up and looked out the window. "Yes, I know that he is safe for now. And I have faith that your parents will figure out a plan that will keep him that way."

  "But you won't tell me anything more?" asked Morgan.

  Mrs. Ross turned and hugged her granddaughter. "Not at this time, but I will when you're older, I promise."

  "But not Madison right?"

  Mrs. Ross chuckled again. "You girls should stay out of competition. You're very different. Yes, I'll tell you more when you're older. Madison, however, will learn everything on her own, the way she wants it. That's her nature."

  "Okay, Grandma." Morgan didn't really understand what her grandmother meant, but if Grandma said that Brandon was okay, then he must be. Some people didn't like her because she came across as gruff, but Morgan knew she could always trust what Grandma said. This wasn't the first time they had had an intimate talk. Morgan gave her grandmother another hug. "Okay Grandma, it's just between you and me." Then she waltzed out of the room.

  ***

  "Mira," said Michael, once they were alone in their bedroom, "you remember what to do and where to go, right?" As distraught as he felt, Michael was still the cautious one. Michael recalled that Mira had always had more of the spirit of adventure in her. That was one of the things he loved about her. But now…

  But now she looked defeated, tears still in her eyes. The trauma of seeing Brandon taken right in front of her seemed to have rendered her helpless. He couldn't stand to see her like this. It wasn't like Mira at all. This wasn't the first time in her life she had lost someone, and Michael wondered if that was having an effect. He didn't bring it up, however.

  "Sweetie," Michael asked again. "You remember the McArthur house in the other world, in the astral, right? The study? It's just like the one here. And if anything goes wrong, we go to the Emergency Meeting Place."

  "Yes, Michael," Mira finally answered. "I remember." But her head dropped low, and she sounded distracted.

  "And you remember how old to be, right?" said Michael with a worried look at his wife. He picked up her hand again and held it gently. Concerned, Michael asked, "Are you sure you're up to this? I could just go."

  He could see that Mira was obviously still distraught, complete with tears running down black with mascara. Lack of complete concentration in the astral world was dangerous. Michael hoped he could make up for the distracted state Mira was in, but it had been a long time since they traveled to the astral. Traveling was something from their youth that they did with their old gang. They were settled down into family life and had been for a long time.

  "Stop worrying about me!" Mira frantically shook his right shoulder. "We can't wait another minute, and you can't go alone. We never travel alone, you know that."

  Michael kissed his wife on the forehead. She did remember the safety rules they had created in the past.

  "Okay," Mira sighed. "I'm ready. Let's go."

  And with that, Michael Mason Ross and his wife Mira lay down, closed their eyes, went into a deep meditative state, and moved their consciousness elsewhere from their bedroom.

  Chapter Two

  And Now I Am Nine?

  Mira was falling. She didn't know where. Her arms were hitting rocks. All she could see as she tumbled was a dark and foreboding sky. Then a dark forest. She closed her eyes. She smelled…hay.

  The next thing she knew, she was sitting on the ground cross-legged. The gravel underneath her legs dug into her skin leaving imprints. A gentle breeze blew. The nighttime scenery was no longer scary. A full moon out blazed across the sky, and she could see a line of pretty oak trees down a lane. Some sort of creek or pond lay just beyond

  Not quite sure where she was...searching her mind for memories, but only a jumble rattled around. She was nine? Was this a dream? If so, it certainly felt real. Taking stock of herself Mira saw her shoes were scuffed. When she reached to smooth her hair, her fingers got tangled. Then she touched her face and realized smudges were all over it, having had her hands on the ground. Way to go. Was she even nine? How did she know she was nine? The oak trees above her had no answers. The gentle moon peeking out from behind the clouds made the surroundings look magical.

  She surveyed the landscape. Now she remembered. It was her family farm. Her house was right over the hill, which meant she must have been playing and fallen down for a minute. She got up and wiped some of the dirt off of her pants. Then nine-year-old Mira headed to the place she knew as home without any thoughts of future husbands in her head.

  Coming up on the old chicken house, she saw Paul, her older brother. The smell of the old boards and manure of other animals was unmistakable. Then the chicken feathers, they had that musty stink of their very own.

  Something…information…memory…flashed in her quickly but then disappeared. She ran up and hugged Paul.

  "What's that for, kiddo?" asked Paul. And then, "Wow, you look a mess! You have smudges all over your face and dirt all over your pants. What have you been into?" He stopped for a minute to gaze at her.

  "I don't know. I was just lost," she answered.

  "You get lost every day, kiddo, the way you wander around, and you're out way past dark." His face looked disapproving, but his tone showed that he was failing miserably at sternness. Mira knew Paul played out in the wild as much as she did. She gave him a hug.

  Everything felt normal again with Paul by her side. She knew that next there would be hot chocolate while everyone sat around the living room and laughed and talked until bedtime. Still, an uneasy feeling she couldn't quite
put her finger on, stayed with her.

  When she went to bed that night, under the quilts her mother had made, the uneasy feeling almost disappeared.

  But then she dreamed.

  Mira was sitting on the ground again, not quite sure where she was. She was nine. She searched her mind for memories, but it was a jumble. Was this a dream? Just as she had earlier, she smelled hay, and the gravel underneath her legs was leaving imprints. Her shoes were scuffed, and her hair was tangled. Was she nine? If so, how did she know?

  Only this time a boy approached her. She looked up quizzically. He didn't look familiar. He had brown hair and was kind of short, but she could tell he would grow quite a bit with age.

  "I’m Michael," he said, as if she were expecting him.

  "I’m Mira."

  At that, he looked concerned.

  ***

  Michael had waited and waited at the McArthur house replica then finally came over to the Emergency Meeting Place.

  "What’s your last name, Mira?"

  "Thomas," she answered. "Why?"

  Thomas was her maiden name. Looking even more concerned, Michael asked, "How old are you, Mira?"

  "My, aren’t you nosy!" she said good-naturedly. "I’m nine."

  Michael felt sick. Mira didn't even realize she was at the Emergency Meeting Place. He figured she probably just astral traveled from her astral family farm too. Damn.

  Michael surveyed her physically. She was supposed to be at least twelve, if not older. He was kind of surprised that he, himself was only twelve and not sixteen, which was his age the last time he traveled. However, it had been a long time since they had come here. All those trips together and for what? He supposed he had regressed a bit since his last time out too. Except Mira was a prodigy. There was no way she should have been nine years old.

  "I'm twelve. I thought you might be twelve too," he said carefully, so as not to upset her. Why hadn't she been at the study as we planned?