Chapter 5: The Kingdom Within

'Perfect love casts out all fear.' Solomon reminded himself of his father's last words. Solomon sat next to his mother in the hospital room with his laptop and homework strewn across a desk in the corner. Normally he hated homework, but somehow it made everything going on around him feel less surreal. He was allowed to complete most of his class work remotely since the "accident."That's what the police were calling it: an accident.

She would heal in time, hopefully. The doctor said there was a 50% chance she would be able to walk again. Her spinal cord was bruised, but not severed. Her legs were badly crushed. Not enough to be amputated, but enough to keep her in a wheelchair for years if not the rest of her life. He couldn't bear to think that this was going to be her life from here on out. He tried to go over all the strange things that seemed to lead up to this outcome as his eyes skimmed over a past-due essay.

While his eyes read Chaucer, his mind sifted through a mixture of symbols and body-parts that made no sense. The eye he had taken from the cafeteria was somehow gone after the ambulance came for his mother. It simply vanished off his desk. He hadn't seen anybody go into the room, but then again, the house had a telephone pole through the middle and there had been emergency crews pouring all over it.

It was odd enough that somebody had taken it, but even worse nobody had said anything. Assuming Peppi's theory about him being crazy wasn't true.

His mother stirred from sleep and he shut the laptop closed without even saving the work.

"Has the police officer come back by, honey?" she asked groggily. She had been on pain killers since the surgery three days before. Her days were spent eating and resting now.

"No. He said he would call if anything changed. He still thinks it's an accident. Not sure how a telephone poll is 'accidentally' sawed through at the base, but he wouldn't let me ask any more questions," Solomon said tapping his fingers absently. His fingers picked at their own scabs as his boredom sank in. He wasn't sure she would remember the conversation, but he wanted to be there regardless.

Answers. He needed answers and he knew his mom had some knowledge of what was going on. "Look. I know you aren't allowed to talk about court cases and evidence with me, but have you maybe seen a weird symbol in any of your cases? Sort of looks like triangles or teeth?"

He had asked before and she had pretended to get sleepy. This time her eyes focused on him – almost in anger, or maybe fear. Her gaze was so intense he couldn't read the emotion behind it.

"I was going to go to the FBI, to a federal agency maybe. I hadn't made up my mind." Her momentary focus wavered, and she could barely keep her eyes open under the influence of the narcotics. "I can't go now. They would know." She turned over on her side. "Solomon, you must promise me to stop looking into this. Promise me now you won't do like your father. Don't try to protect me..."

What was she talking about? His father died of a rare and aggressive bacterial infection – a freak infection from swimming in the lake. Her eyes closed and she began to snore. He looked at the clock. He usually went home during the evening, but the last two nights he found himself walking back to the library. The library was just a few blocks from the hospital which was just a few blocks from his school.

The city had grown from a simple small township organized around the city square, to encompass several other neighborhoods and commercial centers. The original township held a mixture of residential and small businesses that included his mother's house. A few of the businesses he passed were boarded up from the "gang activity" that was plaguing the city, but the small crime wave wasn't enough to squash the neighborhood's small town appeal.

Despite everything, Solomon still told himself he felt safe here and did his best to believe it. As the sun began to set, though, a shiver ran down his spine. Was it still the same city? Was it PTSD? Or was this black, inky feeling really overshadowing everything. He had to pass by campus on his way, and the last two days he had met up with Felicity and Peppi on his way to the library. He worked in the library after-school, and perhaps to support him, Peppi and Felicity had been hanging out there to keep him company. Both were worried about his emotional state.

"Skittles?" Peppi asked, but forced the candy into Solomon's mouth anyway.

"Ugh. You know how I feel about candy," he said as the tangy sugar and saliva coated his tongue.

"You work in a library - all the time. Have some fun!" she said, sucking down the last of the bag. "Maybe you should learn to enjoy the moment," she added.

"Peppi, I don't need that many moments..." he said with a mild snicker.

She flashed a toothy smile at him full of candy dye. For a moment everything seemed normal. Too normal.

"Hey. Sugar tits." The three of them stopped. So much for camaraderie!