Ashton Pipe

The Keeper hurried the siblings into a hiding spot. Even though Owen doesn’t need to hide from the Doctor, Keeper still seems determined to keep him hidden. Keeper hides under the office desk.

The siblings watch him through the small cracks in the closet doors. The room is lit by the outside street lamps, giving a blue shade throughout the room. They listen as they hear footsteps through the house, followed by the opening and closing of a door down the hallway. Keeper rummages around in his bag, trying not to make noise, and he pulls out a pouch that Owen recognizes.

It’s the bag that Keeper filled with the purple sand before they had left. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind before, but what did he need with the sand? Keeper slowly gets up from under the desk, leaving his bag but taking the satchel. He pulls the hood on his coat up and silently moves to the door. The siblings watch, cradled by the darkness in the closet.

Keeper slowly twists the doorknob, trying to be silent, and creaks the door open. Every noise one of the three made sounded like the loudest noise in the world right now. Even their heartbeats, well at least Zoe’s and Keeper’s hearts, sounded like a dead giveaway.

This was not what Zoe intended her search to be like. She wanted to find something to expose the doctor, but now she’s trapped in her house. She continues to watch Keeper exit the room silently. She grips her chest and leans against the wall. She looks to the side of the closet that Owen sits in. She might have said she loved him if she could just allow herself to believe he was actually there.

Instead, the two just stare at one another, too frightened to say anything. Keeper makes his way down the hallway and tries to locate which room the doctor is in. He still has the upper hand since she still has little clues that they are in her house. This is his chance.

He hears movement coming from a door on his left. The hallway is small, but the white walls are decorated with more photos. Photos of the doctor, her husband, and a child. Keeper takes a moment to look at them, feeling a surge of strange emotions that he hasn’t felt in a while. He shakes himself back into reality and stands at the door.

He throws it open to find the doctor beside her bed, putting her things down. She turns around and goes to scream, but Keeper covers her mouth and pushes her against the wall. His eyes darken as he glares at her, and she kicks and pounds against him.

“Hey, Doc.” Keeper narrows his eyes. “We need to talk.”

The doctor shakes her head and starts to cry. Keeper only rolls his eyes in response. He pulls up a chair and sits her down in it; he pulls out some sand and holds it in his hand. The doctor freezes, seeing the sand.

“Look familiar?” Keeper chuckles in disgust. “God, you necromancers are all the same. I reckon you've been seeing this through your attachment's eyes?”

“I am not a necromancer!” Dr. Allen starts. “I am a healer!”

“Hm. Interesting. Explain your basement.” Keeper glares harsher.

“I was practicing healing them!” Allen’s eyes dart towards the door.

“You think about running? I will kill you.” Keeper glares.

“Who even are you?” Allen asks, trying to bite back her fear. Keeper only rolls his eyes; he’s tired of answering this question for every mortal he meets.

“I am the Keeper of the Veil. Yes, the same Veil you and your attachments have entered.” Keeper glares at her. “Does the name Owen Creeks ring a bell?”

“No…” The doctor’s eyes widen as she realizes what’s going on. She starts to panic at the realization that not only is her life in danger, but her soul. “HELP!”

She yells out and attempts to run. She manages to make it to the door and pry it open, but Keeper tackles her onto the ground. He laughs as she struggles, only slightly enjoying watching this monster being cut down to only its primal instincts.

Owen and Zoe hear the commotion. Zoe covers her mouth as she hears the doctor’s screams, followed by the thuds of fighting. Owen feels his stomach drop as his mind fills with worry for Keeper. He finds himself running out of the closet and into the hallway, and he sees Keeper standing over the doctor.

“Please! Don’t kill me!” She yells out. “You can’t kill me!”

“Why not?” Keeper smirks as he holds the sand above her, almost as a threat.

“You’ll never be able to find the rest of us!” She cries out and covers her face from the rest of the sand. “There’s a whole community of healers!”

“You aren’t a healer; you’re delusional. You’re killing people, not healing them.” Keeper grumbles as he feels the need to remind the doctor of her horrible mistakes. “What do you mean there’s a whole community?”

“I mean, there’s a church filled with us! Where do you think I learned all of this?” The doctor scoots back against the wall as tears pour down her face. “If you kill me, you’ll never locate the others!”

“Shit,” Owen mumbles. “What are you going to do?”

Keeper grumbles and puts the sand back into his bag. He glares down at the woman, then looks up at Owen. He puts his hands on his hips, and his face softens with regret as he looks at Owen.

“You’re supposed to be hiding.” Keeper looks back down at the woman, who looks confused.

“I was worried you might have gotten hurt….” Owen mumbles.

“Go back, please. I still have to kill her mortal body.” Keeper slowly looks up at Owen again. He kicks the woman in the gut; when she starts to protest, she’s left coughing. “I don’t want you to see me like this. Go.”

“Is there any way you don’t have to kill her?” Owen mumbles though he’s not sure if it’s for his or the Keeper’s sake.

“I wish there was….” Keeper sighs and looks down. “Just… go be with Zoe. I’ll come to get you when I’m done. We’ll take her home; then we can go home.”

Owen stares at the two for a moment, nods slightly, then starts to turn around. He feels this pit in his stomach. He doesn’t feel bad about this woman’s death; he glances back at her. Not a bit. So why does he feel this shame and worry? Owen joins Zoe again in the closet. He sits with her and tries to hold her hand; though his hand goes through hers, he keeps it there. She turns and looks in his direction, almost like she’s sensing him. She looks down at her hand and shivers, almost as though she’s cold.

The siblings sit in the dark closet, there are a few bangs and cries, but after a while, it’s silent. Owen swallows harshly and closes his eyes as he waits for Keeper to collect the two of them, and soon enough, he does. The closet doors open, and Zoe jumps but calms down after seeing him. She looks around, startled. Owen stands up, grabs the sleeve of Keepers’ coat, and looks around Keeper’s face for what he should say.

“Are… you okay?” Owen gets teary-eyed, and Keeper inhales sharply.

“I’m so sorry… I didn’t want you to see that… I know it’s horrible.” Keeper laughs softly and nervously. "Stop crying..."

“I don’t care about her; she was a monster. She killed animals and people for whatever reason-” Owen starts, and he gets choked up. “I asked if you were okay.”

“Yeah, I’m fine for right now. Let’s get Zoe home. You were right….” Keeper looks down. “I shouldn’t have brought her. Seriously though, stop crying.”

“What happened?” Zoe sniffles. She finally climbs out of the closet and grabs her and Keepers’ bag.

“It doesn’t matter; let’s go.” Keeper hurries the two of them out of the house.

They walk through the snow in silence. Owen clings to Keeper’s coat, and Keeper surprisingly accepts it. His head is somewhere else right now, but he finds Owen’s touch... comforting? Even the short boy has a hard time naming what he's feeling at the moment. As they get home, it’s probably around midnight. Zoe turns to the boys and blinks. Her hair is messy, and her eyes are tired.

“Are you coming inside, Zeke?” Zoe looks at Keeper and smiles weakly.

“No… Owen and I are going to head home.” Keeper looks away. “I’m sorry that I dragged you into this. Most of the time that isn’t normally so messy, but there’s more of them, so I had to take her to the Veil.”

“Right…” Zoe laughs softly. “Good luck… and Owen… I love you.”

“I love you too, Zoe.” Owen smiles weakly. “Go to bed, drink water, and take care of yourself.”

“He said he loves you too….” Keeper looks from Owen to Zoe. “And to take care of yourself.”

“Thanks, Zeke.” Zoe smiles and climbs the fence; as she sits on the top of the wall, she looks down at Keeper. “I also expect you to pay for my therapy.”

“Deal.” Keeper chuckles but keeps a stern expression.

“Please come back and visit.” Zoe smiles.

The Keeper rolls his eyes and watches her hop onto the other side. He turns to Owen and holds his hand out. The snow around them acts as a blanket, sheltering them from the view of all mortals who may be around. The darkness comforts the boys as they stand in the freezing air.

“Ready to go home?” Keeper smiles.

“Home.” Owen smiles and takes Keepers’ hand. It feels strange to refer to the Veil as home, but it is his home, at least for now.

In a bright light, the boys stand in front of Keeper’s cottage. Owen blinks as he feels a wave of motion sickness, and the Keeper smiles at his little cottage. Finally, it’s just the two of them. The sand feels warm compared to the snow they were just ankle-deep in.

“Remember to take your shoes off.” Keeper chuckles and enters his home as Owen follows.

The boys take their shoes off. Owen sits at the table as Keeper looks through his tiny kitchen.

“God, I’m starving.” Owen chuckles.

“The good thing is that you can only feel hungry; you can’t actually starve.” Keeper smiles softly, though he still seems tense.

“So… Dr. Allen?” Owen looks at him.

“Yeah. She’ll be around at some point. The Veil will bring her to us.” Keeper sighs. “Are you okay?”

“I… was worried about you.” Owen chuckles as he rubs his eyes. “I don’t know why. You’re immortal… but I was.”

“Thank you.” Keeper sighs and rolls his eyes again. “That’s a hard part of my job. Killing is always hard, but it’s my job. To protect.”

“How did you become the Keeper?” Owen watches Keeper, and the Keeper looks at him and frowns.

“Do you really want to know?” Keeper goes back to looking at the ingredients in his hands.

“Yeah!” Owen smiles brightly. “I’d love to know more about you!”

“I… Well…” Keeper chuckles, slowly giving in to Owen. “Where do I start?”

He thinks for a moment and puts a pot of water on the fire to let it boil. He sits across from Owen on the table, pulls his knees to his chest, and smiles, and he finally chuckles again.

“I’ll be honest; it’s not a great story. However, I like you, Owen Creeks, so I’ll tell you.” Keeper says sincerely, but a tone of sarcasm drips from his lips. “So, as I said before, I died by hanging. When I got to the Veil, I was angry, and I was angry at many people, but mostly my father.”

“Your father? What was he like?” Owen chuckles.

“Massive dick and a bitch baby,” Keeper says and chuckles. “Anyways, I couldn’t move onto my paradise because I was angry. So here I was in the Veil, and I wondered as you did. Till I reached the old Keeper.”

“Now, when I reached the Keeper, I reacted as you did. I was an emotional mess that just wanted to get back at my dad… but the Keeper kept trying to warn me that I was going down a dangerous path.” Keeper looks at one of the plants on his window sill. “He said that I would never reach my paradise if I didn’t let go. However, I found a loophole, and I could replace the Keeper and gain immortality. At first, it seemed like a solution….”

“What is it then?” Owen tilts his head.

“A mistake.” Keeper chuckles. “When he gave me the job, he didn’t tell me how much it would break you. He only had his home, which was transformed into my cottage when I became Keeper. You spend decades watching people die or leave, and you’re always alone… it’s Hell.”

“Oh…” Owen sits back in his chair, and he makes many connections in his head.

The reason Keeper acted so cold at first was for that reason. There’s no point in getting close to people if they leave… that’s something Owen can recall him saying, and it makes sense.

“You’ll leave too… but….” Keeper smiles weakly at the water boiling over the fire. “I’ve decided to enjoy you while you’re here.”

Owen can’t help but feel a little choked up at the idea of leaving Keeper alone again. He starts to protest but realizes there is nothing he can do to stop Keeper from being alone again. He meets Keeper’s eyes as he smiles fondly at Owen.

“What made you change your mind and start to like me?” Owen raises an eyebrow.

“I think it’s because you’re the most human person I’ve met in the Veil.” Keeper glares at the pot, a little annoyed that it took this long for him to meet a decent person here. “You aren’t corrupted with anger… which is also why I hate you. That innocence is something I miss. If I ever even had it.”

“You don’t seem corrupted to me!” Owen raises his eyebrow.

“That’s what I mean; you can still see so much good in people,” Keeper grumbles and puts some ingredients into the boiling water.

“So, can I call you by your real name?” Owen asks.

“Sure. If you want.” Keeper chuckles and looks at him.

“What is it?” Owen smirks and leans on the table to look at him.

“Guess.” Keeper chuckles.

“Ezekiel?” Owen smiles.

“I already told you that wasn’t my real name!” Keeper smirks as Owen’s eyebrows furrow.

“How am I supposed to guess your name?” Owen rubs his brown eyes in frustration. He chuckles.

“You’ve seen it before. I know you have. You’ve said it out loud once.” Keeper chuckles.

“Oh, come on!” Owen laughs. “Give me a hint!”

“Books.” Keeper laughs as he watches Owen make gestures to the large amounts of books in the cottage.

“Very helpful!” Owen laughs as he stands up.

“I’ll give you another hint if you want.” Keeper crosses his arms as Owen runs into the library and grabs all the books that Owen’s read with Keeper.

“Which one of these?” Owen stares at the Keeper.

“You really want to know my name, huh?” Keeper laughs and smiles. “Modern Dark Arts.”

Owen scans through the pages, even the one on attachments that Keeper read out loud for him. Still, he can’t find anything in the pages, so he glares up at Keeper, who rolls his eyes and chuckles.

“You’ve known my name this entire time; why are you struggling to find it?” Keeper chuckles.

Owen sets the book on the table and closes it. He looks at the side of the book, reads the author's name, and raises an eyebrow, and he remembers now as he looks back up at Keeper.

“Ashton Pipe,” Owen says and waits for an answer. “Like the tobacco pipe.”

“Ash is fine.” Keeper, or Ashton, smiles.