Wheeler

Yo! Leah just asked where steaks come from.

O'Leary

Weird. Steak factory?

Wheeler

That's what I said!

You hang out with Leah?

Wheeler

😉

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Chapter 5 — Asher

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Asher adjusted his backpack and exhaled a deep breath. He was free. Ms. Rutherford's chemistry test was hard, but easier than expected.

Heading out the school's side door, Asher rubbed his eyes as the day's brightness slapped him in the face. His knuckles left behind a dark purple afterimage as he pulled them away. The voice. The woman. She would end him. As the purple faded, the sun's light flooded in.

Headlights beamed on the large tree as the car raced towards it. They were going to crash!

Asher stopped — his hands reached to his tightening chest. The back of his fingers and the tip of his thumbs curled as if he grasped a phantom seat belt.

"Hey man, you got done quick." O'Leary came out of the school's door and grabbed Asher's backpack. Giving it a friendly shake from behind.

Asher shifted with the bag. It didn't even register.

His dad was shouting, his sister in front and brother beside him were screaming. His sister, Miranda, reached back from the front seat. She grabbed Asher's shirt and yanked it down. Maybe he'd avoid the tree's spear-like branches, but would she?

O'Leary let go. Asher dropped to his knees. He was having trouble getting air, his skin was on fire, and his heart pounded as if he'd just done two hard minutes of skating.

"Shit," O'Leary squatted and dropped his hand to Asher's back as his friend rocked on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "Asher, you know what to do. Remember what the doctor said."

Asher heard his friend and used O'Leary's voice as an anchor. The school's lawn came back into focus. He was back, but it wasn't what he remembered. The attack only worsened.

He saw purple and spiders. Purple spiders were everywhere. They skittered across the houses in the distance, swarmed across the grass, and they flowed like a wave straight for him.

"Asher, you can do this. It's a panic attack, or your PTSD, but you can get through this. Name three things you can see?" O'Leary scanned the area. "Here, I'll go first. Bike rack, tree, ass hat." O'Leary pointed at Wheeler, about to sprint across the street to avoid the crosswalk.

Asher let out a whimper, his eyes wide. One hand moved from his chest to his neck. He could see them, but the purple spiders were swarming over all of them. It was too much. His mind ripped him back to the accident.

Blood, so much blood.

"Dammit Asher, focus on those three things. Say them out loud."

Asher was trying, but his vision danced from one traumatizing situation to the other. This wasn't real, only O'Leary. He was real. The rest was in his mind. He pulled his vision from the accident and focused through the swarming spiders, pulling in a deeper, ragged gasp of air.

"Bike rack." He squeezed out the words, blinking, trying to clear his eyes of the tears.

"Tree." He took in a deeper breath, one hand holding and rubbing the front of his neck while the other still clutched his chest. He could feel O'Leary's hand making small circles on his back.

He scanned the street, looking for the last item. "Ass hat," he pointed with his chin and felt the pressure ease off his chest as he took in a gulp of air, then repeated the three items again a second and third time. "Thank you, thank you." He fell back from his knees to sit on the grass beside his backpack. O'Leary must have taken it off him at some point.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

O'Leary shrugged. He stood from his squatting position, reached down, and offered Asher a hand up and a smile.

"One second." Asher shifted his legs and stuck his head between his knees. He felt O'Leary sit on the grass next to him.

"That was a big one, eh?"

Asher could feel his arms trembling but focused on taking slow, deep breaths. "It was something alright." He brushed tears from his eyes. O'Leary didn't need to see them.

"What did it?" He reached out his hand and hovered it over Asher's shoulder for a moment before setting it down.

"The light. Too bright, too fast." The reasoning made sense, but something felt off. "I think."

O'Leary nodded.

"I just…" Asher paused, then put his hands to his knees and stood up. "I just don't get it, O'Leary. I mean, it's been years."

"I know, bud." O'Leary stayed sitting, but Asher could see the sympathy in his hazel eyes. "But, that accident… it was a big deal." He pushed up. "It's going to take time, nothing else for it."

Asher wiped at his eyes again, "thanks."

"Always. Now, what's the plan?"

"I need to get a TV remote, then I guess hang until 'ass hat's' year-end party." Asher couldn't help but smile at Wheeler's impromptu nickname.

"Do you want to go visit them first?" O'Leary asked.

Asher knew who he meant. He didn't need to visit any graves today, so he shook his head.

"Alright, need me to come with?"

"Nah, I got this. Besides, I'm not feeling too great."

O'Leary quirked his head, "oh?"

"Just a headache. I'm okay. It happens sometimes after an attack." Asher did his best to hold the quiver out of his voice. "I'm fine, really."

"Okay, but…."

*FLICK*

Asher stood on the sidewalk in front of a store. The sign attached above the door read 'Shady Pawn' written in white paint on a black background. It looked like a kid had scrawled on a chalkboard. The shop was close to City's downtown but was on a lower traffic side street of shops and boutiques. Most businesses down here loved their neon and other lights to advertise, but their glow blended together into an unreadable streak of color, making Shady Pawn stand out as something different.

A motto his Aunt Terri lived by.

Asher put his phone away and turned in a circle, looking for O'Leary, but he wasn't sure why. He'd left O'Leary back at the school crosswalk. Right? He shook his head, then took off his backpack and double checked that he'd brought the busted TV remote with him. It was there. He reached for the door — he'd see O'Leary at Wheeler's party later.

"Get ready. He's going to open it."

Asher's arm froze as his hand wrapped around the door's handle. Asher twisted and looked left, right, even took a moment to glance behind him, but no one was there. "Hello? Someone there?"

He shook his head and opened the door. He felt as if someone brushed past him, but he ignored it and walked in. "I'm not going crazy."

"Hey Kiddo," said Terri with a wave as soon as Asher entered. She was behind a glass counter filled with odds and ends. Everything from collectable toys to old lighters and hockey cards.

She was the owner of the store and had been a family friend since before Asher was born. She and Asher's dad, Hyrum, had served in City's military together when they were younger.

When tragedy struck five years ago and Asher and his Mom lost Hyrum, Miranda, and Ben, his older sister and younger brother, in a car accident Terri did what she could to help — Asher doesn't know how they would have survived if she wasn't there.

She'd become like a second parent, or friend, when he needed a kick in the ass or a shoulder to lean on. Stuff he couldn't talk to his mom about was fair-game with her.

Asher brushed at his eyes. They were bothering him today. Maybe he had spring allergies now. Great.

"Looking good, kid," said a gruff male voice.

Asher's eyes went wide. They darted around, looking for the source. But only Terri was here. He only had a moment to glance around before an earthquake went off in his skull. It felt like his head could crack open at any moment.

*FLICK*

"Give me all your money," said a gruff male voice.

Asher felt something stick him in the side as he walked into the store. His pulse quickened; his shirt stuck to his sweaty side where the barrel pressed.

"Boy, you put the firework down, or I swear I will enact my child security measures." Terri pointed up at the sword hanging above the counter.

Wheeler let out a cackle and stepped back, giving the firework a spin in the air. "You should have seen your face, Asher." He held the Roman candle close to the end, just enough to give the impression of a barrel, and replayed his line, "Give me all your money," he said in his best mugger voice before laughing again.

Asher grabbed his hand to stop it from shaking and snarled at Wheeler. "Not funny."

"Whoa, sorry, Captain. It was just a joke. No need to bring out the blade, Terri. I'm just here to pick up some party favors for tonight." He looked back at Asher, "Mom gave me her credit card," he said with an evil sounding snicker, before turning back to Terri and trotting to the counter.

Even annoyed, he couldn't help crack a smile at the insanity that was Wheeler. Before the end of the night, Asher would hold a hose by the backyard trampoline as Wheeler, covered in accelerant, wearing fireproof coveralls and helmet, went up to the roof of his home and started lighting fireworks.

He had done it multiple times, and it had become a staple of the Wheeler party.

"Let me deal with this fool first, Kiddo, then we can see about getting you a remote for your mom," Terri reached under the counter and pulled out a list.

"How did you know?" asked Asher as he approached the counter.

"What?" Terri put the list down and looked over at Asher.

She wore an urban camo jacket of digital print open in the front, a black concert tee she got from a band called Deathmetal Cowboys under it, and blue denim skinny jeans. Her dark hair was up in two strand twists, with just a hint of gray showing throughout. She almost never had a full smile on her lips, but Asher had learned to watch her eyes — they were shining with a smile now. "Because I know you and Susan."

"But…," Asher reached into his bag. Pain lanced through his mind.

"He's fractured," said a woman.

Miranda? That was his sister's voice, but she was dead.