Chapter Text
It was a cold night tonight. His little one floor, four room house seemed empty. More so than just a lack of furniture. The bedroom had a small chest of drawers; it was just enough for his small wardrobe. There was not even a real bed yet, just a daybed. The bathroom had a small shower, toilet, and a sink. There was hardly room for his toothbrush and soap bottle; with no cabinets, everything sat on the tiny vanity. The kitchen/dining room was similarly temporary. A folded up card table served as the dinner table when there was company, an oven was built into the counter without a working stove top. The most functional piece was the microwave. The freezer portion of the fridge worked, but only barely. The living room had a few folding chairs, a radio/cd player, and a window. Most of the house was lit by lamps, but the kitchen had a ceiling light. The bedroom didn't even have a window. But it was the existence he choose for his current life.
"Oh, Edwin what have you gotten yourself into now?" Little sister always chimed when she came in. While she wasn't actually his sister, Eloise was more of a sibling than his own real sister had ever been. One of the few people he still kept in contact with after his parents’ death, Eloise assisted Edwin while he was moving into the shabby little house.
“It was a fixer upper,” He told himself. He could afford it with the money from the inheritance, and a 9-5 McDonald’s job offsetting the cost; he could retire at the age of 55, and still have money left over to give away. "Well, my faucet stopped running. The pipes don't leak, and there is pressure coming in. If you open them up all that comes out as air pressure. Ever heard of that one Eloise?"
"Only from this P.O.S. you call a home."
"You know I'm just trying to be smart with money; when I finish school and get a better job then I'll move. This is what my job can pay for, and I'm trying to save my inheritance for emergencies." Eloise just gave him her usual look of 'when you finish school?' They both knew he wasn't going to finish school any time soon. He had to figure out a way to finish high school. It was the end of his junior year into senior year when the accident happened. His parents had been driving in upper Michigan on vacation, and had left him to his own devices for a few days. Nothing unusual until the police showed up the second day of their trip. They were near the cabin when a deer jumped out on the car. It landed on the windshield. The car swerved into a tree, sending both his parents into the broken windshield. He was told both died instantly. His blood sister took care of the funeral arrangements. The inheritance was divided up according to the will, and she took her share as an excuse to jump state with her family and move to California. It was a brighter place there than Detroit, and she needed a fresh start in a new place. He choose the homeward road. The house was sold, along with the cabin and all the other property, other than the cars. He got the little focus, and she got the Saturn. Edwin did manage to hold onto one other piece. His dad's bike, Big Red, which was a Harley softail classic. He had taken lessons and everything, and got it adjusted for himself. Dad's favorite mechanic became a close friend after the accident. The so called "Road Dogs" were down a member, and this road puppy was in line to step up.
"What's up?" she asked from the doorway into the kitchen.
"Gas prices." he remarked in his Smart-Alec fashion.
"Not what I meant stubborn. I mean what's up with you lately?"
"Nothing."
"Bull, spill, unless you would rather have a baby sitter for the next 3 days."
"What about your school?"
"We have Friday off; there's no school because of teacher conferences in Ann Arbor."
“Well, you're going to just have to accept nothing as your answer and use your days off for something smarter than watching me to figure out what's up." Eloise laughed. Her trap worked.
"So something is up, you're just too much of a stubborn ass to tell." He started to turn red, the usual sign of her winning a mind game.
"Have you noticed anything weird lately? Lights flickering, radio static, electric shocks not hurting?" Eloise gave Edwin a quizzical look.
"Are you sure the city air isn't making you crazy?"
"I'm serious here. When I get tired the lights all seem to dim some. When I'm mad at something they seem brighter. One time I got pissed trying to fix the stove top, and the light I had hanging next to me exploded. Like total circuit overload. I took it into the store, it was only a week old, and they said they had no reports of problems. I was the first person to complain, and the circuitry looked fine other then it being fried. No tampering, no cross wires, no signs of overdrawing electricity."
"When were you going to tell me you had a light explode right next to you?"
"Eventually, but that's not the point. Weird stuff is happening around me, and it all involves electricity."
"That's it, I need to get you out of this house. You're going absolutely bonkers. And no wonder! You do the same routine day in, day out. Wake up, work, come home to more work, and sleep. Rinse and repeat."
“You forgot to mention eating in between work and coming home to do more work."
"Is that the only thing you eat?"
"Well I snack for part of the day. . ."
"That's it, you’re coming with me!" Eloise quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the house and into her truck.
"Is this a bad time to mention the nightmares?" Edwin sheepishly asked. He was already in trouble with little sister, and yet he decided to add fuel to the fire.
"The nightmares are back and you didn't tell me?!?!?!?"
"Well I was going to."
"When? After they ran their course? You remember what happened last time?" It had been a strange place to be. Edwin's dreams seem to possess his days. He saw flashes of light, and a cloaked figure standing there. Down an alley, in the other room, and when he slept. The stranger was about his height with the same build. It was almost like looking through a strange mirror, one that shrouded you in dark clothes and power. "You considered walking to this figure and talking to it. If you start acting loco, you know that the state's going to lock you up. Call it post-traumatic stress disorder or some other story."
"Yes, I know. I'm not crazy. I just have bad days."
"Days? Try weeks. You’re lucky I didn't have much homework or after school stuff, or I wouldn't have been there to watch you freak out every five minutes and calm you down again."
"Look, let’s just go somewhere. You’re stressing me out, and I think I see him in the rear view mirror sitting in the living room."
"I can't; the car won't start."
“What do you mean it won't start?" Edwin had a very bad feeling what the answer was going to be.
"It's like the battery is dead. It won't even turn over."
"See? I told you it's something weird with electrical."
"I just had the battery checked. It had like six months left. At least."