Passing Through the Portal (Fading Into the Shadows Book 0)

  Passing Through the Portal

  Kelly Hashway

  Copyright © 2017 Kelly Hashway

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual places or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, or recorded without written permission from the author.

  The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks mentioned in this book. Trademarks are not sponsored or endorsed by the trademark owners.

  Cover design ©Sloan’s Design Stop

  To Ayla with love

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Also by Kelly Hashway

  About the Author

  1

  Ella and I exited the movie theater to sounds of a fight in the parking lot. Some twenty-year-old guy had a boy probably no older than fourteen pinned up against a black Ford F250. He was holding the kid by his shirt collar and yelling about money he owed him, for what was anyone’s guess. A few others were pretending not to see what was going on. Why some people didn’t feel compelled to help others in need baffled me. I mean, the kid was no match for this guy. If someone didn’t do something soon, he was going to be in serious trouble.

  Ella’s gaze immediately went to mine. She knew me well. I dipped my head to one side and raised a shoulder in a partial shrug. I couldn’t exactly let a kid get beat up.

  “Hey!” I yelled to the twenty-year-old as I walked closer to the scene.

  A few people hurried to their cars, not wanting to witness the altercation that was about to take place.

  “Let him go.” I advanced on the guy, and he released his hold on the kid as he turned to face me.

  “Get out of here. Go!” Ella told the boy.

  He didn’t need to hear more. He ran around to the back of the theater and out of sight.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” the guy asked me, spitting on the pavement to his right. I supposed it was meant to intimidate me, but seriously, it was just saliva. The guy didn’t look like he was from around here. I would’ve known him if he was. He must be from out of town. He had a few days’ worth of scruff on his chin and a bunch of red pimples on his cheeks and forehead.

  “Well, I’m not someone who feels more like a man by beating on little kids. That’s for sure.” I wasn’t usually the one with the witty comebacks—that was Ella’s department—but hanging out with her definitely had its effect on me at times.

  Ella looped her arm through mine. “Come on, Avery. This guy isn’t worth it.” She tugged my arm, turning me away from the guy. “He’s also got at least four years on you, so don’t push your luck,” she added in a voice barely above a whisper.

  While she wasn’t wrong, I couldn’t help feeling a little wounded that she didn’t believe I could take him. Not that I was the fighting type. Sure, I’d been in fights before, but they were never instigated by me. I was always defending someone—like that kid just now.

  “Yeah, you better get out of here before I kick your ass!” the guy yelled after me.

  Ella stopped.

  “Don’t even think about it,” I told her, feeling more like myself. I didn’t want a fight. The kid was out of harm’s way, so there was no reason for this to turn into anything. But Ella wasn’t the type to let someone try to intimidate her. While she wouldn’t want me getting beaten up by some idiot in the parking lot, she’d think nothing about giving him a verbal lashing and then kicking him in the groin. I’d seen her do it before.

  “But—” she started, but she cut the thought off with a sigh when I glared at her. “Fine.”

  “I’m talking to you!” the guy yelled again, and his heavy footsteps on the pavement told me he was walking after us.

  This time I did stop. Threatening me was one thing. Threatening me when Ella was with me was another. I let go of Ella and turned to face him. “You got a problem?” I had really thought he was just all talk when he yelled after me, but I guessed this guy was determined to pound on someone. Lucky me.

  “Hey, Avery.”

  I turned my head to see Quentin Gerard, the star linebacker on the Independence High football team, walking toward me with a few of his teammates. They must have just gotten out of a movie as well.

  “Hey, Quentin,” I said, giving him a nod.

  “What’s going on?” Quentin asked, clasping my hand and pulling me into a one-armed hug before directing his attention to the guy. “You got trouble? Anything we can help with?”

  I motioned to the guy, who was still glaring at me like I just stole his paycheck. “Just this guy thinking it’s okay to beat on a younger kid. The kid’s safe now, but I guess this guy wants to pound on me instead since I interfered.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Quentin stepped toward the guy and flexed his muscles as he crossed his arms in front of him. Quentin was no stranger to the weight room. And with his teammates standing firmly behind him, they were a pretty intimidating group.

  The guy’s features softened, and he took a step back, clearly knowing he was outmatched. “I didn’t hurt the kid.” He waved his hands in front of him, and then he pointed at me and said, “This guy is lying. He doesn’t know what he saw.”

  “If Avery says you tried to hurt some kid, then you tried to hurt some kid.” Quentin walked over and draped his muscular arm across my shoulders. “You see, Avery’s no liar. And he’s certainly not some punk with such little self-esteem he has to pick on guys much smaller and younger than he is.” He moved toward the guy again and raised his arms out at his sides. “But if you are that type of guy, why don’t you take your chances with me?”

  “And the rest of us,” Deacon Wilson said from his position behind Quentin. The others chimed in, letting the guy know they were all in if a fight was what he wanted.

  The guy looked back and forth between them, and then his gaze landed on me. “You got lucky.”

  Quentin stepped forward, and the guy turned and got in his truck faster than I could have blinked. He quickly started the engine and pulled out of the parking spot, his tires squealing. When he was at the edge of the parking lot, he stuck his arm out the window and gave us the finger.

  “Oh, you’re a tough guy now that you’re driving away?” Quentin called after him with a laugh. “Loser,” he mumbled and shook his head as the guy’s taillights disappeared in the distance.

  “Thanks for that,” I said.

  “Hey, no problem, man. You know we’ve got your back.” Quentin slapped my arm and nodded to his teammates. They all nodded to me, in unison. Most things they did were in unison. I nodded back, which made Ella roll her eyes.

  I said goodbye to the guys and shoved my hands in my pockets.

  “You always have people rallying around you,” Ella said. “How do you manage to do that?” She looped her arm through mine again. Ella was always the first one to have my back and the first one to volunteer to help me.

  “Apparently, people think I need saving,” I said.

  “Hardly. More like everyone wants to be a part of whatever it is you’re doing.”

  “Nah. You’re over exaggerating because I’m your best friend.”

  She cocked her head at me. “Right. How many clubs were formed at school at your suggestion? And every one of them has full membership.”

  What could I say? I liked being involved.

  “Come on,” Ella said, tugging on my arm. “Let’s go home. Mom will start worrying if I’m not home at exactly midnight anyway. You know how she
is.”

  Ella’s parents were just like mine. Just like everyone in Independence, actually. Our town was like one big happy family—something Ella absolutely hated. Whereas I liked to be involved in things, she was more of a loner. Other than playing on the tennis team, she didn’t really join clubs at school. And as much as she loved tennis, I had to force her to try out for the team. She liked to keep to herself when she wasn’t hanging out with me. But that wasn’t easy to do in a town like Independence. Everyone knew everyone else, and gossip ran rampant.

  We started walking in the direction of our houses, which were conveniently positioned next to each other. Sometimes I swore the universe wanted Ella and me to be in each other’s lives. We were so different. She was the take-charge type, while I tended to go with the flow. The only exception was when I saw someone being taken advantage of. Then Ella’s influence on me came out in full force. I always thought we were good for each other in that way. I grounded her, and she pushed me to live outside of my comfort zone. She liked being a rebel, going against the norm, and while I was perfectly happy fitting in, I gave in and rebelled with her on occasion. Ella had a way of making my life more interesting and just plain...better.

  While we walked, Ella was busy recounting everything she disliked about the movie she’d dragged me to. Okay, she didn’t ever really drag me anywhere. I loved spending time with her, no matter what we were doing. She was like my other half. We were Ella and Avery. The best of friends. The perfect...

  I’d never tell her how I really felt about her. I loved her too much to risk losing her.

  I glanced down a side street and noticed someone standing there. He or she appeared to be facing us, but it was too difficult to tell because even though they were in full view, all I could see was a shadow of a figure. Nothing more. Strange. I rubbed my eyes, assuming the streetlights were playing tricks on my vision. But when I looked again, the figure was gone.

  I silently laughed at myself. Clearly, I was exhausted. Between not really caring for the movie, which was so boring I’d felt myself nodding off a few times, and the excitement of the almost-fight in the parking lot afterward, I definitely needed a good night’s sleep.

  We passed the next side street, and another shadow caught my attention. Exactly like the last one. I paused and turned in the direction of it.

  “What’s wrong?” Ella asked.

  I didn’t want to spook her. We were almost home anyway, and whoever kept popping up wasn’t doing anything but staring at us. There was no harm in that. I turned to face her. “Nothing. I thought I saw something, but I was wrong.”

  Ella cocked her head to look around me. Did she see him? Had he moved? Was he coming toward us? My mind raced with possibilities, and I whirled around to see.

  The side street was completely empty.

  “Yeah, nothing there. It was probably a stray cat or something,” she said and started walking again.

  “Yeah, a cat. I’m sure you’re right.” I pretended to listen as Ella resumed talking about the movie, but I was sneaking glances at every side street we passed, because I was convinced of one thing.

  We were being followed.

  2

  The thing that bothered me the most was that I couldn’t see the person. Sure it was late and dark outside, but with the streetlights, I should have been able to make out some features on this guy. I didn’t think it was the same guy from the parking lot. He’d been too scared of Quentin and his teammates to try coming after me again. Unless he parked down the next block and waited to see if I’d be alone.

  I relaxed a little when we turned onto our street. I walked Ella to her door as always even though my house was first on our block. “There you are, my lady. Safely to your door.” I bowed. The whole knight-in-shining-armor thing was a joke of ours, and it made me feel more at ease to act like I wasn’t afraid of someone jumping out of the shadows at us.

  “Think about what you want to do tomorrow. Anything to avoid the Independence Day preparations, please,” Ella begged. She hated that our town thought Independence Day was the best holiday ever. They planned for it months in advance, and with the holiday only days away now, preparations were in full force. But I couldn’t really blame anyone for acting that way. The town was named after the day. There was always a huge parade, a giant feast for the entire town, and a play put on by some of the residents. Ella hated every second of it and made sure she was too busy to help out with any of the festivities.

  “You choose,” I said. “I’m up for whatever.”

  “Great. See you in the morning.” She smiled at me one last time before opening her front door and disappearing inside.

  I shoved my hands in my pockets and crossed her yard into mine. A rustling in the bushes between the houses caught my attention, and I jerked my head up. “Hello?” I called, trying not to be too loud since my parents and Ella’s were most likely already asleep and both their bedroom windows faced in this direction. I stopped walking and waited.

  When no one responded, I chalked it up to being tired and a little freaked out over the person who’d followed us. At least, it had seemed like they were following us. I really couldn’t be sure. Not wanting to find out, I headed inside my house. Mom had left the front porch light on for me, but it was clear no one was awake, so I locked the door behind me and tiptoed to my room.

  Deciding to shower in the morning, I tore off my T-shirt and shorts and slipped on some mesh shorts and a really comfy shirt Ella bought me for Christmas last year. The top of the shirt had the words “Season’s Greetings,” and below that was a picture of a pepper shaker saying hello to a saltshaker. Ella said the corny joke reminded her of me because all my jokes were just as bad. Still, I loved it. Or maybe I just loved the way Ella smiled and rolled her eyes every time I told her a bad joke.

  I was already in bed when I realized I forgot to turn off the light. I groaned and threw the covers off me. Then I got up, shut off the light, and closed my bedroom door. But before I could take a step toward my bed, my eyes trained in on something in the corner of the room. A shadow I’d never seen in my room before. My eyes went to the window on the far wall, but the moon wasn’t bright enough to be causing this. The shadow was big enough to be...

  A man stepped out from the shadow.

  “Whoa!” I said, holding my hand up in front of me and stepping back. “Who are you, and what are you doing in my room?” Were Mom and Dad okay? I hadn’t even thought to check their room, but why would I have? I kept backing up, putting space between this strange guy and me. “Are you the one I saw on the street?”

  “Relax,” the man said in a quiet voice, like he was purposely making sure he didn’t alert my parents that he was here. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

  My gaze went to the door as I judged whether or not I could sprint to it before this guy blocked my path. I was fast, but he was much closer to the door than I was, thanks to the way I backed up like a coward. Why had I done that? My chances of getting away now weren’t good at all. “Do my parents know you’re here?” I asked, raising my voice in hopes that Mom and Dad would hear me. If they barged in, we could easily corner the man until the police arrived.

  “No, and they don’t need to know either.” Again, he kept his voice low.

  “Why? Who are you? Why were you following Ella and me?” Damn it. Why did I mention Ella’s name? I didn’t want this guy to know anything about her. I was still holding my hand out in front of me as if that would be enough to stop this guy from attacking me. Something about him told me he was a fighter and he wouldn’t hesitate to tackle me to the ground if I didn’t do exactly as he said. But what did he want from me? Why was he here? Was he related to the guy in the parking lot? An older brother or uncle looking to get payback on the guy’s behalf? I’d only been trying to help that poor kid. I hadn’t thrown a single punch.

  The man stepped toward me, but he was still cast partially in shadow. “I’m someone who needs your help. You like to help people, right?” Hi
s tone wasn’t menacing at all.

  “How would you know that about me?” I asked, finally lowering my hand.

  “I saw you tonight, outside the movie theater.”

  So he had been following me. “It was you I saw.”

  He nodded.

  “Why did you keep disappearing? Why didn’t you confront me then?” Not that I really would have wanted that with Ella there, but it didn’t make sense for him to follow me home and break into my house.

  “We needed to talk alone. From what I saw, you draw a crowd.”

  Was he scared of Quentin and the other football players? “None of those guys were really looking for a fight,” I said. “The opposite actually. They were trying to help me not get pounded on.”

  “Why did you help that kid?” he asked, ignoring my comment. “He was older than you are.”

  I shrugged. “Someone had to. Everyone else was just turning the other way, pretending it wasn’t happening.” Independence had always been a safe place to grow up. I figured people had dismissed the scene because they didn’t want to believe bad things could happen here.

  “But why you?” he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. “What made you decide to do something about it?”

  “It was the right thing to do,” I said, not needing to think about the answer at all.

  He nodded. “I agree, which is why I’m here. I need your help because there are a lot of people in trouble, and I think you’re just the person who can help me save them.” Could what he was saying be true?

  “Why don’t you call the police? That’s what they’re there for,” I said.

  He practically scoffed. “Your police would never help my people.”

  “What people?” I asked. I knew everyone in Independence. If there was some sort of trouble going on, I’d know about it.