I looked over at Cece, then at the crystal ball in the middle of the table. It struck me as odd that Jemima who was Haitian and practicing a form of Voodoo, used a crystal ball. I thought crystal balls belonged more to Europeans, Africans and Australians. I hadn’t read anything about them being used in Haitian or South American occult practices.

I looked at Cece. I said as much. She looked at me. "Freak, you are just full of the most obscure knowledge. Jemima tends to be a jack-of-all-trades kind of gal."

"Huh?" I said.

She gestured at the religious paraphernalia plastered all over the walls. "I mean, she's not a holy woman of one specific religion."

That didn't make a lot of sense to me, but I figured I still had a lot to learn.

"Is Not-me always that nasty?" Cece asked.

I thought about that, and I shook my head. "No, he seemed particularly grumpy this time," I said.

I decided to pull out the spoon and ask. After a second, I got Not-me's distorted reflection. From the amount of skull I could see, it looked like he was still using zombie Mrs. Streep.

"Fine mess you got us in now, kid," he said.

"Why were you being so rude?" I asked.

"Rude? There I am, minding Jolene Streep's business, happily reading over her shoulder, and then suddenly, I'm in this damn place."

"Huh?" I asked. "But I drove all the way over here with Cece. Weren't you watching the whole time?"

Not me shook his head. "No, it doesn't seem to work that way. I seem to be tethered close to the last place you caught a reflection of me. Why are you here? I thought we had an agreement, kid," he said. "I thought you were going to give it a try, to save people."

I shook my head. "You talked about how everything was ruined and it was all doomed, and I felt like I didn't have another choice," I said.

"Ah, so you decided to go to the witch, huh? Well, why'd you drag me here?"

"I want to get enough answers that I can make up my mind about what I want to do," I said. "I don't know what I think."

"Well, that's remarkably self aware from a twelve-year-old. All right. Fine. What do you want to know?"

"I want to know if I can trust you. I want to know if you're telling the truth. I want to know if I'm stuck with you."

"Well, that's a good set of questions. Fine. I'll play nice. But only as long as that bitch behaves."

"Hey, would you please stop cursing?"

"Really? That's what has your hackles up?

“Why do you curse so much? I don't curse."

"You will. Once you've lived as long as I have. I earned the right to curse. Besides, it means more when I say it. It means hardly anything coming from you."

I put the spoon down and looked up at Cece, who was watching me closely. "He says he'll play nice as long as Jemima does," I said.

Cece smirked. "Oh boy. Well, we'll see how this goes."

After a little while, Jemima came back into the room and served us sandwiches, grapes, and lemonade. She did not seem to be in a hurry to resummon my future self. It felt good to not be in a hurry. I felt like I had been in a hurry for too long now. Jemima and Cece ignored me, which surprised me at first, and then I was grateful for it.

They talked shop about the neighborhood, and I recognized the meat of the conversation, realizing I already knew this info. Who was together with whom, who had broken up with whom, which relationship was going well, who had gotten a new job, who was struggling, who was sick, and who had a kid on the way. I tuned it out, and I ate, and I thought. And for a little while, I stopped and enjoyed not thinking.

Once we had cleared our plates and Jemima and Cece had finished chatting, we cleaned up the table. Jemima walked about with a careful eye on the placement of the candles on the table. After she was satisfied with it, she again walked around the room mumbling to herself and lighting the candles. We took our places and joined hands and using my name, which was rather strange, she again invoked the spirit of my future self.

Once more the room dimmed to black, which I wondered about. I wanted to get up and walk around and see if the room was still there or if I was somewhere else, but my hands were stuck in this strange spiritual cement once more. So I contented myself to watch the face of my older self appear in the crystal ball. I tried to look for my facial features to see myself in the old man, but it was difficult. His ears were too big and his nose was too long. His eyebrows and his eyes were sort of the same, but his eyes had a strange milky quality to them, like he was wearing opaque contacts. He again had on his signature scowl.

"Took you long enough," he said. "You know how boring this place is?"

Jemima raised an eyebrow at him. "Boring? My place?" she said.

"Yeah, I spent nearly two decades apprenticed to you. It's not like there's any part of it I don't know."

Jemima raised both eyebrows and looked up at me. "Apprenticed to me," she said.

Not-me nodded. "Yep. I have the gift. The knack, you called it."

"Ah, you had the knack. I see now why Cece has taken a shine to you," she said this to me. "But what caused you to want to apprentice to me? I already have an apprentice."

"Well, that's in the realm of dangerous future knowledge," Not-me said. "I don't think that's important right now, because if Kid here decides to follow my path, then he doesn't need to know what's coming."

"I don't think that's true," said Jemima. "I think he does need to know what's coming, or he will not succeed."

"What? How do you see it that way?"

Not-me and Jemima proceeded to argue temporal mechanics for a minute. They bandied terms back and forth that I was unable to parse, having never heard them before, and then both ended the argument with disagreement and a harumph.

"So," Jemima said, "you believe that the only way to prevent a disaster is to end up in a future where a disaster is about to happen and only then do something about it."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Not me scowled at her. "Of course. How else are we supposed to change the future?"

Jemima shook her head. "The future does not change suddenly. The future changes one day at a time. I think that if you stand a chance of undoing this disaster, that you must partner with this boy and undo the things that are wrong one-at-a-time. There is no other way to have a significant enough impact."

"What?" Not me said. "That's thousands of events. That would take years."

"Exactly," Jemima said. "It would take years. So, the way I see it is that small things add up, or many drops of rain make a flood. Besides, this will be the boy's decision. He's the one that you have to get to cooperate now. Because he's the one who has the power to change things."

"Oh yeah? I got the power to reset the event marker. I can make him repeat the same day over and over again until I get the results I want. You don't think I'd keep him trapped in the same day forever?"

Jemima cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you so spiteful that you would torture yourself to get what you want?"

"Oh, please. You think I'm afraid of a little pain? What I want is to save people. You are the ones standing in my way."

"I think you are standing in your own way," Jemima said.

"I forgot how irritating you were.” Not-me said.

“Thanks for the information, by the way."

"What information?" Not-me said.

"That I'm going to live at least another two decades. That's longer than I hoped."

Not me began to chuckle, and then it turned into what sounded like a genuine laugh. Something warm. And it was very odd seeing it, because for a moment he softened.

"I forgot how much I missed you, you stubborn old mule."

"Don't call me a mule," she said.

"Ah, well, that inside joke didn't develop for years anyway. Listen, I don't like how you've already thrown a wrench into everything, but I see your point."

"Oh, you see my point?"

"Yeah, the boy's got to decide." He turned his back on her. "All right, kid, here's what she thinks. She thinks that we could prevent the disaster if you and I go around fixing things and killing monsters.“

"Monsters," I said.

He looked at me. "Yeah, monsters. And fixing things."

"What kind of monsters?" I said excitedly.

"No, that's not the point. You're missing the point. Monsters aren’t fun. We’d be in danger all the time if we did that, or… what we could do is spend the better part of a decade preparing ourselves, getting ready to be able to step in and stop the event dead in its tracks. One fell swoop and it would all be over. This is much more likely to succeed. The dilemma about it is you have to try and live my life as this strange luck vampire thing that we've been turned into in order to end up in the same future."

I wasn't sure what I thought. If it had been clear that the life that Not-me lived was the one I wanted, I think that's what I would have chosen. I was beginning to long for some normalcy. However, the idea of monsters sounded good.

I looked up. "Do I have to decide right now?" I said.

"Yes," Not-me said at the same time that Jemima said, "No, you don't."

They glared at each other.

"He damn well does have to decide right now," Not-me said.

"Why?" Jemima asked. "If you have the power to reset the marker, as you called it, which I presume is when this boy begins again, does he have to start deciding this second? It sounds to me like he has all the time in the world."

“Hey!” Cece said. Everyone turned and looked at her. "What about a compromise?" She suggested.

"A compromise?" Several of us said at once.

"Yeah. I mean, how close to your life does he gotta live in order to end up in approximately the same future?"

Not-me hemmed and hawed for a second before finally admitting, "I'm not sure. It would require experimentation and probably a number of do-overs."

"Okay," Cece said. "So, let's assume that in order to end up in a similar future, you don't need to live the exact same life, just hit the major markers."

Jemima nodded. "I believe you are correct on this one."

Cece grinned. "All right, so let's say that you hit the major markers. Why can't you also do that whole raindrop monster hunter thing? I want in on that b.t-dubs. I think monster hunting sounds cool as shit."

I looked from Jemima to Not-me to Cece and shrugged. My nose began to itch. I beginning to not like having my hands stuck. It was becoming awkward.

"Okay," I said. "I'd be willing to give it a try."

Not-me let out a huge sigh. "Okay, all right, fine. We'll give it a try.”

“Do I really need to go get punched in the face by Billy and get detention,” I said, “or can I just offer to help Cece and we go meet Blue Cap Guy?"

"Blue Cap Guy," Not Me said, looking confused for a moment.

“You know, where I got shot on the face last time?” I prompted.

"Oh, I see," Not-Me said. "Yeah, that meetup did set a ball in motion. Basically, Cece proving she's got the goods gets the attention of someone else, which is important down the line.“

"Okay," I said, "I'll agree to try and keep my life on track with where Not-me’s life went on one condition."

Everyone at the table looked at me. "What's that, kid?" Not Me said.

"You have to teach me telekinesis," I said.

Not Me shook his head, laughing. "Fine, and I presume you want to moonlight as a monster hunter?"

I grinned. "Yeah."

Cece leaned forward. "Count me in."

"Okay, okay, okay.” Not-me grumbled. “Can we break up this Scooby-do gang moment?

“Now I want answers," I said. "We've talked about what I'm gonna do and what you want and what Jemima wants, but what am I exactly? What am I capable of?" I looked at Not-me and Jemima.

Not-me shook his head. "Don't look at me. I told you, this is something I never heard of before. If anyone knows anything about it, it'll be Jemima."

Jemima studied us for a moment, then responded. "What you became was not what I had planned. I did not expect to affect you both. I had expected to only rid you of your passenger. You see, once luck is low, a passenger will lose interest. I did not realize that you were already bonded. I thought that you had an evil spirit."

She squinted at the old man in the crystal ball. "Why do you have such a wicked aura?" she asked him.

He turned and looked at her. "Excuse me, you're one to talk."

She shook her head. "You have done things in your lifetime that have scarred you."

"Yeah, well, I don't have to be proud of what I've done, just what I've tried to accomplish."

"But those are not the same things, are they?”

"I'm not gonna argue semantics, but sometimes you gotta get your hands dirty to do the job in front of you."

"I don't find that to be true."

"Yeah, this coming from a woman who created a vampire."

I chimed in and explained to Jemima that our luck had continued to drain.

Not-Me took over and filled in the blanks about his luck following too, and the charm being separate from this reality was unable to break. And our luck absolutely zeroing out.

Jemima nodded slowly and then shook her head. "That should have destroyed you both," she said. "How was it that you survived?"

I looked at her. "I thought you said you did what you did to us on purpose."

"I did," she said. "It had consequences that I did not foresee. I am imperfect. It was a mistake."

I stared at her.

"I'm sorry," Jemima said. "Please, if you can, forgive an old woman for foolishness. I thought to rid you of an evil spirit. Instead, I have changed you in a way that I don't quite understand. So tell me now, how did you survive?"

Not-Me took over the narrative. "Kid here took your symbol and drew it all over himself."

"He did what?" she said.

"Yeah, take out your coin."

"I can't. My hands are stuck."

"Oh, well, you know which one I mean. He drew that symbol, and it actually had the power to affect things."

Jemima cocked an eyebrow. "Really? He had authority over that symbol. This should not be so.”

“What would a twenty-year apprentice to your craft have?" Not-Me asked.

Jemima let out a long "hmm" at this.

"The kid appears to have my authority," Not-Me said. "So, upon learning that he has the authority to bend reality, he draws it all over himself. But, not just forward, he draws it backwards as well."

"Oh," Jemima said. "It would have created a vortex, likely tunneling a new channel into your soul. But the feedback," she said, "that would have destroyed you, especially with that channel open."

"Well, then the kid goes and drowns himself, and we reset to the marker, and he totally dodges the feedback."

Jemima began to laugh. "So then what happened?"

"Well, that was when our luck totally zeroed out. It completely stopped moving, which meant that we were out from underneath the vortex and the draw of the coin, but then we were at no movement."

"Mmm," Jemima hummed at that again.

"So then, I have the clever idea of drawing the symbol backwards again, to see if we could fill the void."

"Nature abhors a vacuum," Jemima said.

"Exactly," Not-Me said.

"So you drew it backwards and then took some luck. This makes sense to me now. You have restarted the battery, but not in the normal way. I can see that you are ambiently absorbing the favor in this room."

"Favor?" I asked.

"Luck, if you like. You label it how you will. You are absorbing from me and from Cece and from things that inherently have luck in this room. It's no wonder that you caught the attention of the entity that you did. Once you messed with his work, he would be able to feel the ripples."

"You mean... As I sit here, I'm growing gradually more lucky, and everyone around me is growing gradually more unlucky?" I asked.

"Effectively, yes. But it's not significant. You'll have to practice with controlling your aura, or you will attract the attention of everything that likes to stomp on bugs. It will also be helpful for you to be able to turn it up and down. I suspect that the trick you did in order to take a little luck from that lady will be required of you to do again and again to maintain anywhere near a normal level. I don't know what the consequences of this will be. But I think since you have the knack, I can give you a gift to make it easier for you to understand. I can open your eyes so you can see."

We were interrupted by a loud boom, not like thunder, but like we were inside a giant drum, and somebody had just struck it. I could feel the air reverberate with the bass of the explosion of noise, and I could see the blackness ripple, though I could not distinguish different shades of color. It was like the pressure it exerted on my eyes allowed me to see how it was rippling.

We were all pushed forward onto the table by the pressure, which seemed to come from every direction, except for Not-me, who appeared unfazed in the crystal ball. He began to laugh.

"Wow, what timing.” Not-me said. “I didn't think it could get in here."

Jemima, looking strained, looked up at me. "I will give you what I promised," she said, her voice coming out more like a groan. "I bless you in my name. And in the name of my mother, and in the name of my mother's mother, and in the name of my mother's mother's mother, may your eyes be opened, and may you see."

With that last word, it was like something rushed out of her mouth, a wave of vermilion color that hit me right in the face. I tried to dodge, but my hands being pinned to the table by this spiritual glue made it impossible to get out of the way.

It felt like being slapped by a wet cloth. I blinked my eyes clear, only to discover there was nothing there. Confused, I looked around and felt a cold jolt of energy as I saw we had been joined by another figure in our room. The dark cloaked figure that I had seen in front of the school now stood in our blackened room with us. I could see him straight on, without trying to use my peripheral vision.

Cece looked frightened. She looked over at Jemima. "Release the summon," she said.

Jemima shook her head. "I can't. It is holding us here." She looked up at the cloaked figure. "How dare you step in here? You are not allowed.”

The dark figure spoke, his voice echoed, as if from far away, but with such terrible volume and force that I could still physically feel it when he spoke. "This one," he said, "has trespassed on my master domain. He is now mine."

He reached towards me.

"I forbid you," Jemima shouted, “In the name of my master!”

But the cloaked figure did not stop reaching for me. As he did, I felt a pain in my chest, sharp and hard, like something had kicked me, but it was inside, like the middle of my chest had begun to break. My throat began to lock up. I tasted bile. My left arm began to tingle and then throb with excruciating pain. I wanted to bend over, but that would lean me closer to the figure. He looked at Jemima.

"Take it up with my master. Your complaint is noted."

He stepped closer, and the pain grew in intensity until spots popped before my vision. And then, graciously, I saw no more.

***