Fade Into You

“Fade Into You” - A Kannon Falls Tale

She walked past the hippie toward the payphone in the parking lot of the Pink&Black alone in her own little world and thoughts, old acoustic guitar hanging from her back the zippo in her left hand snapping it open and closed. If she could pinpoint in time that moment that she could call perfect, Naomi Sadler would would say: Eight in the morning, June fourth, 1999. the morning that the sun came through the old window blind and curtains causing everything to dance with angels of dust and vanilla yellow light as they emptied out the old house on Charleston street, her mom wept into her hands standing barefoot on the wooden flooring.

The sickness had progressed as had the treatments leaving Mrs. Sadler as bald as a new born. And, Naomi found this moment, this mere second in time... beautiful. Eight weeks later, it would be one of the last lovely memories she'd have of the woman who raised her.

Naomi and Dean Sadler moved on, as they had to. Her father had wanted to shut the world in on himself, to lock it all away and to live in the pretend idea that his wife was alive and she was simply elsewhere. But he couldn't. He was alive, and Naomi were still alive.

And they did live. Slowly at first. After Mrs. Sadler's heart had stopped they lived one minute to one minute. Then hour to hour, day to day, then week to week, finally month to month when they got a good handle enough on the pain to make it through. There were great times, and sad times and all those wonderful times people live in.

Naomi grew. She made friends, she made enemies. But the world would open up to her one day and no matter how hard she tried to shut it out, it would seep through the cracks and come for her. She had to be ready.

The first sight of it was a rainy Friday night over at Jackson's house killing time like they always did, goofing around and having fun celebrating the dying of the school year and the coming of university and the real start of their real lives. She'd started a large bowl of popcorn in the microwave when Lil' Joey finished rigging up the old VCR. Somewhere one of the boys had come across a tape of some 'haunted childrens show'., it was probably Thomas. He had some weird obsession about those ever since he found out that Power Rangers had been made in Japan. Him and Jackson were yelling and tackling one another on the sofa killing time before Naomi finished with the snacks.

“TK,” She called out to the living room for Thomas Keen, everyone called him TK since the other Thomas was a part of the group before him. “Hey TK I need you in the kitchen.” This caused the other boys to hoot and holler about her needing him in the kitchen, and she just shook her head. They maybe her best friends but they were still immature for her taste. Especially Other Thomas, he'd been getting weirder as of late. When TK showed up, that all disappeared and light was brought back to her as she looked into his eyes.

“Hey.” He spoke the general greeting for their generation.

Naomi felt the heat in her cheeks and the warmth in her stomach, “Hey.” She said back leaning some to look up into his hazel eyes. “I just wanted, you know, a minute or two alone with you before we go back out to the jackasses.” She giggled, she wasn't a giggler, but something odd and wonderful happened when she was with him. It wasn't a crush, she had those before, it was something terrible and more. It was great, and she hated it at the same time.

TK just leaned forward and put his forehead to hers and they stood there looking into each others eyes. Her pulse rose, she took her fingertips and put them against his hand and their fingers interlocked. And in this moment, it was beautiful.

“Hey, yous guys comin'?” Cut the voice of Lil' Joey bringing them back to then and there. They made it to the door of the kitchen leading into the living room of the ranch style house before they let go and took their places on the old sofa, the cushions scattered about and the blanket that was supposed to be draped across the back pushed down somewhere firmly in the crack between the cushions and the back of the sofa.

She took up the position near the right arm, bringing her knees up in front of her and her feet digging down into the fabric and braced herself for an assault on good television. The children's program in question was 'Candle Cove' or something like that, poorly done show about a little girl and her 'pirate' pals. Naomi was sure that if everyone in the group turned out their pockets right now they'd produce more money then the budget of this show had.

A smile crept on her face as TK put his arm around her and she nuzzled in closing her eyes as the terrible puppets acted terrible to a terrible story.

Naomi slept.

Opening her eyes, she was in the Beautiful Moment. Her mother in the middle of the room hands over her eyes, the light warm against her skin and the room filled with the smell of the old house and still air in Summertime. But it wasn't the same. It was only this room, and the light came in from the creases in the walls and the door behind here that should have lead into the long hallway into the kitchen. And more then anything, Naomi wanted to stay here.

“You can't.” Spoke Mrs. Sadler, not removing her hands from her face. “You can't stay here no more then I can come to you where you're at. But we are always together baby girl.”

“Why are you crying then?”

“I'm not crying because I'm sad...” There was a soft little laugh as Mrs. Sadler removed her hands, there were light lines of tears rolling down the curve of her face.. “I'm happy, happier then I'd ever been Naomi. Yes, there's sadness in this because I know I'm going to die soon, but I'm getting to spend whatever time I have left with my wonderful husband and precious daughter. The two most important people in the world to me.” She walked over to her daughter and pulled her tight against her frame.

It was at this, Naomi had realized how frail her mother had become but she was happy, breathing deep there was the warm welcomed smell she hadn't realized was missing. The smell of her mother's perfume and faint hint of something like ginger.

“I really wish I could be there for you baby girl, but things are going to change soon. They're going to change in ways you won't understand.” Mrs. Sadler moved her hands up and cupped her daughters face, the thin fingers pushing softly into her hair line. “But be who you are, smart and strong. Be that woman and you can succeed over anything baby girl.” Her mother drew her back into a hug and there was a pause. “I am so sorry for what has to happen next, but it has to happen for a reason. I pray to god there was another way, but...” The hug was broken and a kiss placed on Naomi's forehead, the way her mother did it when she was four years old. The way that let her know that everything was going to be alright and that the world has some reason for the things it did.

“I wish I could stay here forever mama.”

“I know you do. I know. But you can't. There's a whole big world out there for you. To live, to laugh, to fall in love.” Her voice was a soft whisper, barely to be heard over the natural sound of the world, and with that she let go of her daughter and stepped back, bringing her hands up to her face and turning away.

Naomi put her hands up in the air, and in that moment she was a small child dancing around once again in the bright Summertime world of the past and memory.

Slowly waking she was alone in the living room. Naomi got to her feet and looked around, the night had turned darker and the storm taken a much bitter turn. The sounds of the others outside on the covered patio brought her attention to the waking world. The beauty of that time in the Summer years ago gone now, her left hand rubbing her eyes as she stretched and blinked.

“Hey I cut the paper doll. Ya' gotta' bleed for it.” It was Other Thomas' voice speaking to Jackson it sounded like. Jackson's normally low voice couldn't be made out through the storm windows, it was only by the fact that Other Thomas' voice was shrill that it traveled as well as it did. She knew he was a friend now but in college they'd go their different ways. The same was probably going to happen with all the others with the exception of her and TK, Naomi could she her and him together for a long time. The others, unless something life bonding happened in the next five weeks – were just going to be a half remembered person who she spent time with during her 'awkward youth'.

In the months after the fire and the thing from Hell coming to life, whenever she'd catch the scent of fire, or see it, there was a cold terrified response somewhere in the lizard part of her brain that screamed for her to run, to run hard and to run fast. Something that had lasted less then one hour had made her phobic of one of the primal forces of the world.

Her fingers dug the change out of her pocket as she walked past the hippie. Guitar on her back swaying wit her movements. Naomi leaned in, resting against the cool metal of the machine and dropped the change in and dialed. “Ross Mueller?” She asked and tensed up. TK had told her that his grandmother had dealings with this freak show in the past and there was something about him that was damaged mentally on a fundamental level and showed up at the Pink&Black almost weekly.

The voice wasn't what she expected. It reminded her of one of those generic voice actors from a kids cartoon back in the '80s. “Who is this? How'd you get this number?”

“I'm Jessica Keen's granddaughter.” A simple enough life to start out the fabric misdirection. “I heard you're the man to talk to about things most people don't want to talk about, things that people can't believe in. Listen. I'm going to be frank. I know a lot of what you're saying is made up crazy talk so you can get info out of people they don't realize they're giving you. But I need you to cut the bull and talk straight with me. Ok? Do you understand?”

“You were sent by the UFO people and the Illuminati...”

“I said cut the bull and talk straight with me.” There was a firmness in her voice that she wouldn't have been able to call up a few months ago.

“Alright. Alright. I'll drop the act.” He muttered into the phone, his breathing rasping against the receiver as he held it too close to his mouth. “What are you wanting to know? What do you need to know?”

There was a faint disgust at the sound inside of Naomi for a second but she moved back to business. “I need to know.. everything about around here. Every note, scrap of info, everything. Got it? Because if you hold back anything it'll probably cost me my life. In one weeks time, meet me at Ellen's Cafe off one-oh-five. Got it?” She slammed the phone down on the plastic hook and the entire rig shook.

Naomi quelled her anger. There was more at stake then just her life. A lot more. The general anger she now felt at the world didn't help anything, in fact it got in the way now she needed to be calm and collected, to listen to things, every little thing, every drop of rain, every ray of sunshine. It was still six hours to day up and her meeting with the other members of the new Midnight Society.

Barefoot she walked the two miles to the Red Falls town square, the moon big and beautiful overhead, guitar moved into her lap as she sat down under the clock post and started to strum something. She didn't have the keen music skills of Lil' Joey, but with the six strings she could make a pleasing sound, the same series of chords played over and over again.