Splitting a Soul~Chapter 7

Everyone quietly went up the stairs. I heard the stairs creek with the collective weight of the four of us climbing at the same time. Nothing was more suspicious then a bunch of teenagers sneaking out in the middle of the night. Aisling was the first one up the stairs and made a quick dash into the kitchen, followed closely by Kimi. Jack reached the top of the stairs, only to hit his foot on the door and almost fell right on top of the couch-bed in the living room. I jumped up and grabbed his hand, trying to keep him from falling on the sleeping forms of my grandparents. I pulled him back and we quickly moved into the kitchen as well.

“Holy cow, that was close,” Jack said as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Ssshhh!” Aisling asserted, placing her fingers to her lips to quiet him. He just kind of shook his hand at her to brush her off.

“Alright, we’ll go out the back door,” I said as I quietly unlocked the deadbolt, which to me sounded like I had just blown up a stick of dynamite. How had Kimi just walked out of the house without waking anyone? I pulled the door open and it creaked a little, but was open enough. “Head to Jack’s car and we’ll figure out a plan from there.”

“Follow me,” Jack said, ushering us out the door. Kimi and Aisling followed Jack out and I was about to follow, but I stopped when I heard the toilet flush down the hallway. I don’t know why, but I froze and watched my Grandpa Don walk out of the bathroom. In my hast, I hadn’t noticed he wasn’t in the bed when Jack almost fell.

“Ashton, is that you?” Grandpa Don questioned as he looked around. “I’m guessing you’re leaving again?”

“Ya, I have too,” I told him. He just nodded and walked over to the chess set that was set up on the kitchen table.

“We never did get to play that game of chess,” Grandpa joked. “You know I always saw you as a knight.”

“I never saw myself that way. Suits of armor aren’t really my style and I’ve never held a lance in my life,” I joked back. Grandpa Don let out a small laugh and rolled the piece around in his hand.

“Neither do I, as that isn’t the knight I was talking about. In chess, the knight moves in unexpected ways and is the only piece that moves through other pieces,” he explained. “That makes the knight hard to use, especially for those with little experience. However with enough skill, the knight is one of the most dangerous pieces on the board.”

“But you never use the knight, you’re more of a rook guy,” I told him.

“That is because the rook is more suited to me; as I am a very straightforward thinker,” he reminded. In my mind though, Grandpa Don was never very straightforward. “You are different, much more abstract; you move in unexpected ways and you adapt. I don’t know what is going on, but if it is something you need to do then I won’t stop you.”

“Thank you,” I told him, as it was all I could say.

“Here, take this. Maybe it will help you somehow,” Grandpa assured, handing me the black night. He then have me a quick wink.“Don’t worry, I’ll come up with something to tell everyone else; get going.”

“Come on Ash,” Jack called, stepping inside real quick to grab my arm. It was then that he saw my grandfather standing by the table. “Oh hey Grandpa. Listen, we have to go so see you later.”

“I’m not your Grandpa; stop calling me that,” Grandpa Don said irritably, crossing his arms and giving Jack a stern look. I never really understood why Jack always called him that, maybe it was because we had spent so much time together as kids.

“You’re so funny Grandpa. Anyway, time to go Ash,” Jack said before pulling me into the back yard. We walked around to the front of the house and on the way I put the small chess piece in my pocket. When we go to the car, Kimi and Aisling were both standing around.

“Did you forget to unlock the doors?” I asked Jack, but he just shook his head no.

“The moment I turn the key, the whole neighborhood will wake up. We don’t want that, so you better start pushing,” Jack uttered. So all four of us started pushing the car down the street until we reached the hill. We almost lost the car when we hit the top, as it started rolling. Thankfully, Aisling was smart enough to reach inside real fast and pull the emergency brake.

“That was a close one,” Aisling said. We piled into the car and Jack turned the key. The entire car rattled to life once again.

“Ok, let’s get this show on the road,” Jack said and shifted the car into gear. The car jumped forward and then the engine died. “Wait, hold on a second.”

Jack grabbed a small hammer from off the floor and popped the hood. He got out of the car, opened the hood all the way and hit something a few times that I couldn’t see. He then closed the hood and hopped back into the driver’s seat. Jack then started the car again and rolled down the hill. From the noises the car was making, I honestly thought that it was going to fall apart. We were driving for about a half hour; with no one saying much over the sound of Jack’s roaring engine.

“Hey Jack,” Aisling half yelled, trying to get his attention.

“Ya, what is it?” Jack asked.

“You know you’re going the wrong way, right?” Aisling told him. There was an awkward silence for awhile, but when we pulled up to the next light, Jack spin the wheel and pulled a u-turn.

“I knew that,” Jack commented. “I was just trying to give you two a tour of the city.”

“You have no idea where you are going, do you?” Aisling asked him.

“Nope,” Jack commented, matter of factly.

“I’m not paying for gas if you’re just going to get lost,” I told Jack.

“Hey, I know exactly how to get…wherever it is we’re going,” Jack said. “Up ahead we make a…left?”

“Right,” Aisling added. “Ok, time to pull over; I’m driving.”

“Hey, this is my car and no one drives it but me,” Jack countered. Just then the car made another series of choking sounds that ended with a long banging sound.

“Oh gods, we’re going to die in this car, aren’t we?” Kimi said from the back seat.

“You seemed pretty optimistic before when he picked us up,” I commented, tightening my grip on the handle above my head, only for it to break off. I looked at it for a few moments, not really sure how to handle it…and I was making bad puns! It must have been the smoke from the exhaust pipe that was rattling around under the car.

“That was before Jackson started driving,” Kimi added.

“Pull over!” Aisling yelled again. I could tell she was getting a bit frustrated with our current driver. I turned around in my seat and saw her staring daggers into the back of the driver’s seat. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say her eyes were red with anger. It was then I noticed that they were actually turning red.

“Hey Jack, maybe you should,” I suggested, trying to quell Jack’s anger, but it only served to make Jack angry as well.

“Fine, if you all hate my driving then Aisling can drive!” Jack yelled and jerked the wheel to the right, causing us to fly off the road and onto the shoulder. As we stopped, I watched a round disk roll ahead of us.

“Was that one of our hubcaps?” Kimi asked, pointing at the rolling disk.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just get some duct tape and everything will be fine,” Jack said as he jumped out of the car, chasing after his hubcap. Aisling instantly jumped up from the back seat and sat down in the driver’s seat. The car itself seemed to react to her fingers as she wrapped them around the wheel. The engine seemed to run smoother and that rattling sound died down somewhat. Even the ‘check engine light’ turned off.

“This car is in rough shape,” Aisling commented as she looked over the dashboard. She then began rubbing the center of the steering wheel. “What did that mean man do to you?”

“Are you talking to a car?” Kimi asked, looking at Aisling like she was going crazy.

“Of course not, that would be crazy,” Aisling said with a smile. “The car is talking to me. It’s a Hermes thing.”

“Sure it is,” I said. It was then that Jack came running back with the hubcap and kicked it back onto the wheel. He then opened my door and pulled out a roll of duct tape from under my seat. He closed my door with a thud and pulled a few strands of tape off, sticking them to the wheel. From the other side of my window, he gave me two thumbs up and walked around the car, opening his door.

“Hey, that’s my seat!” Jack called, pointing at his seat.

“Not anymore,” Aisling joked, running her hands along the steering wheel. “You don’t even know where you’re going.”

“I just need to borrow a GPS from my dad is all,” Jack said angrily.

“Hello, internal GPS right here,” Aisling said as she pointed to her head. “And I have enough smarts to get us there quickly.”

“But it’s my car!” Jack protested, obviously upset.

“And look at how well you’ve taken care of it,” Aisling countered, neither side letting up. “I’ll fight you for it.”

“Please don’t fight,” Kimi pleaded.

“Name the game!” Jack shouted. Aisling extended her hand out and turned it into a fist. Jack did the same, placing his fist right next to hers. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Aisling said, never blinking.

“Rock; paper; scissors; SHOOT!” they both said at the same time. Jack had paper and Aisling had scissors.

“I win!” Aisling cheered. “Now get in back.”

“Dude, you know you always loose at Rock, Paper, Scissors,” I commented as he grumbled and got in the back seat. He hunched himself over after fastening his seat-belt, and said a few insults under his breath, but I couldn’t hear them.

“Now let’s get this show on the road,” Aisling said as she put the car in gear. “and GO!”