Waves roll in as the sun dips below the horizon; hues of yellow, orange and pink illuminating the sky in a brilliant sunset. Secluded from echoes of children’s laughter and patronizing stares of inquisitive people, this makes the private Southern California beach the perfect place for a date.
Robyn Davies, a 17-year-old teenager with cerebral palsy, stares at the sunset in awe. Sitting on a bench, hot pink crutches propped up beside her, she tucks a strand of thick brunette hair behind her ear.
“I wish we had more days like this.”
Robyn’s gaze shifts to her girlfriend, who sits beside her in a power wheelchair. Dark eyes catching the glint of the setting sun, Paisley Mills offers Robyn a wistful smile.
“Your gelato is melting.”
Glancing at the brownie batter gelato turning into soup in the paper cup, Robyn tosses the leftover mess into the trash can next to them. “Sometimes, I think about how much easier it would be if all I had to worry about was whether or not I’ll ever pass that AP English exam or the next Pre-Calc test or what I’m wearing to senior prom.”
Moving her wheelchair, Paisley grabs Robyn’s hand and pulls her closer. Robyn inhales the scent of lilacs and honey, the mist of perfume lingering on Paisley’s skin. Just as Paisley is about to kiss her, a loud scream shatters the serene moment. Down by the water, a teenage boy struggles in the tight grip of a tall, cloaked figure who opens a portal in front of them, a swirling chasm of teal and green, and steps through. In the next moment, the portal closes, vanishing into the air.
“What was that?!” Paisley exclaims. “I thought we were alone.”
Robyn sighs. “It was a portal. Guess we’re not alone after all. I need to talk to Catherine. She’ll want to hold a Council meeting tomorrow.”
Now, this special place that had become a sanctuary to them for months was destroyed by the ever-present reminder of Robyn’s duties. Her life as a Caller.
* * *
Inside a nondescript warehouse, a private meeting commences. Dull grey walls and hard cement floors adds to the gloominess of the building’s interior. A long table occupies the middle of a large room with people sitting in chairs on either side. Robyn sits next to her parents, Mark and Leslie Davies. She’s been attending these meetings with her parents since she developed her abilities as a Caller when she was 14 years old.
The leader of the Council, Catherine Delacorte, a Black woman in her mid-fifties with dark red lipstick and an elegant burgundy dress, sits at the head of the table.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” Catherine begins. “Peter could not be here today, but he just informed me that his son, Nathan, is trapped in the Depths. It’s suspected that a rogue member of the Callers kidnapped him and left him there. Since Peter is distraught, I suggested that someone else should go into the Depths and rescue his son.”
As one of seven members of the Council, Peter Carr ranks just below Catherine. If something happens to her, Peter will take her place. A burly man in his early sixties, Peter has the ability of clairvoyance. His son is 16, only a year younger than Robyn. Nathan hasn’t shown any burgeoning signs of being a Caller or inheriting his father’s clairvoyance. Just an ordinary teenager.
And now he’s trapped in the Depths. Alone.
Robyn looks around the table. The Council sends Callers into the Depths to retrieve specialized items for them, usually with the help of certain inanimate objects, like teleportation crystals and amulets, that Callers have summoned from their vivid dreams. Sometimes Callers have even summoned small animals.
“I’ll go,” Robyn declares, breaking the silence in the room. She meets Catherine’s fierce, imposing gaze. “I’ve been training, honing my abilities. I can do it.”
“Robyn—” Leslie starts to protest, but Catherine cuts her off.
“You think you can do it?” Catherine challenges. “Go into the Depths alone? My child, you’re far too—”
“I’m not a child,” Robyn retorts, keeping her voice even. “I’m 17. I turn 18 this summer. I’m perfectly capable. Besides, I was the only Caller who witnessed him being kidnapped.” Robyn shivers. She knows about the shadowy alternate dimension. Some people are lured there with no hope of escaping on their own.
“Then how do you propose to get him out?” Catherine asks.
“I don’t know yet. I’ll figure it out once I’m there. But I won’t be alone. There’s a white wolf that keeps appearing in my dreams. If I can call the wolf to me before I go through the portal, we can go together.”
“A wolf?” her mother questions, touching her daughter’s arm gently. “Your father and I have been able to call small birds, butterflies, a squirrel… but a wolf? They’re dangerous. What about something else from your dreams?”
“I’m not Little Red Riding Hood. We have a connection. I can’t explain it, Mom, but it feels right.”
Her father sighs. “And you trust the wolf? To protect you, not hurt you?”
Robyn stares into her father’s worried eyes. “You don’t have to trust the wolf. I don’t expect you to. But you can trust me.”
“Very well, then,” Catherine says, studying Robyn as if trying to slice through her invisible defiance. “Robyn will call upon the wolf. They will go through the portal that leads them into the Depths. There will be a full moon, providing the amplest time to travel to and from the Depths once the sun sets…”
Even though Robyn tries to focus on Catherine’s instructions, her mind wanders to her dream about the wolf from the night before.
Feet unsteady beneath her, she grips her crutches even tighter. Sweaty palms be damned.
Her gaze remains transfixed.
A magnificent white wolf stands several feet in front of her, eyes dark brown and curious.
Robyn finds her voice. “Why do you keep showing up here?”
She’s never felt threatened by the appearance of the wolf in her dreams. In fact, quite the opposite. Its presence brings warmth and comfort.
The wolf moves closer, whimpering. White fur gleaming in the dim light.
Magnetism and piqued curiosity draw her closer as she reaches out to touch the soft fur…
“Will that be a problem?”
Robyn blinks, brow furrowing.
“What… When did you say it was?” Robyn asks, caught off guard by the sharp intonation of Catherine’s voice.
“Two days from now. This Saturday right after sundown.”
Robyn pales. Bile rises in her throat. Saturday is her senior prom. The one memorable night her and Paisley will have together before they graduate.
Although they planned on staying together, Paisley had enrolled in a musical theatre camp in New York City for the summer while Robyn planned on staying in Southern California to mentor disabled kids at a day camp. In the Fall, Robyn would attend the University of California, Berkeley, while Paisley would attend the University of California, Los Angeles.
“Ms. Davies, will that be a problem?” Catherine repeats, impatience lacing her tone.
Robyn wishes she could slink lower into her chair and become invisible. Any day but that one. The day meant for her and Paisley.
“No,” she manages, holding back tears that burn her eyes as they threaten to fall. “No problem at all.”
* * *
Something cold presses against her cheek and she opens her eyes. The large white wolf looms above her, unthreatening.
Adrenaline rushing through her, she sits up slowly, noticing her crutches beside her. The wolf nudges her arm gently with its nose. Unafraid, she reaches out and scratches behind the wolf’s ears and strokes the top of its head. This is the first time she’s touched the wolf, the first time she’s run her fingers through its soft, white fur. Excitement courses through her. She’s bonding with this animal now, building trust.
“You want to show me something?”
The wolf’s ears perk up, nudging her with its nose before backing away and giving an encouraging howl-bark.
“You want me to follow you?”
The wolf whimpers, trotting ahead. Robyn grabs her crutches and stands, following the mysterious creature. They’re surrounded by thick brush and darkness. She squints to see the wolf’s shape ahead of her, feeling like Dorothy following Toto straight into the center of a whirling tornado.
“Well, this isn’t the Yellow Brick Road,” she mutters under her breath.
The wolf moves farther away, now completely enveloped by the darkness.
“Hey, wait up!”
Cold air bites at her skin as she shivers, an unsettling feeling washing over her.
Suddenly, she hears the faintest whisper. A teenage boy’s voice.
“Help me…”
* * *
“…Robyn?”
The voice startles Robyn awake. She finds herself on her bed with a spiral notebook open in her lap and Paisley staring at her, a worried expression on her face.
“What?”
“Are you okay?” Paisley asks. “You’ve been out of it for, like, an hour or so. I know Pre-Calc is boring as hell. I don’t blame you. Should we switch to another subject?”
Robyn sighs, running her hands through her hair. “No, just… Maybe a study date was a bad idea.”
Paisley closes her Pre-Calculus textbook. “Movie, instead? I could always use a re-watch of Finding Dory. Or how about a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend marathon?”
Robyn tears her gaze away from her girlfriend, trying not to cry. She doesn’t want to break Paisley’s heart, but she knows she must tell her about her imminent journey ahead. “Paisley… we’re not going to senior prom tomorrow night and it’s all my fault. I’m going into the Depths. There’s someone trapped there and I—”
Color drains from Paisley’s face. “Wait, what? On the night of our senior prom?”
Robyn meets Paisley’s gaze. “I told Catherine I would go. That was before I knew it was the same night.”
“And when exactly were you planning on telling me this, Robyn? Prom was supposed to be our night. One last hurrah before we graduate.”
“I’m so sorry, Paisley, but I have to do this. I need to show Catherine that I’m capable enough to—”
“So, that’s what this is about?!” Paisley exclaims. “You’d rather kiss Catherine’s self-righteous ass than go to prom with me! I bought a prom dress months ago!”
“I know, but—”
“No, you don’t know, and you obviously don’t care enough about me or about us if you’d rather play up to some woman who doesn’t even like you. It’s fine. I’ll just go solo to our senior prom and drown my feelings in fruit punch and Sarah McLachlan.”
Paisley shoves her textbook in her backpack, zips it up and rolls to Robyn’s bedroom door.
“Paisley, wait. Don’t do this. Please…”
She doesn’t look back. A minute or two later, Robyn hears the front door slam.
* * *
Hands sweating and heart pounding, Robyn tries to calm herself by taking deep breaths and shifting her weight from one leg to another as she balances with her crutches.
She stands in front of the portal that will take her into the Depths to find Nathan. But first, she must call forth the wolf.
“Are you sure about this?” Catherine says, looking at Robyn with skepticism. “We can always have a more experienced member of the Council—”
“No,” Robyn insists. “I’ve trained for this. I’m ready. The wolf will come to me. I know it.”
Gripping her crutches tightly, Robyn closes her eyes and focuses on nothing but the image of the beautiful white wolf. Its dark brown eyes and gleaming white fur. Its cold nose pressed against her bare skin.
Come on… come on…
A cold breeze wraps itself around her. Then, the air seems to still.
A familiar whimper. Opening her eyes, the wolf stands before her. No one says a word as they stare at the beautiful creature in awe.
The wolf trots over to Robyn and nuzzles her side, wagging its tail.
“It’s good to see you, too,” Robyn murmurs. She lifts her right hand to scratch behind the wolf’s ears.
“Well done, Robyn. But before you go, here are two teleportation crystals that will help you return to our world.” Catherine places the crystals into her hand. Robyn tucks them into the pocket of her jeans. “Now, are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
With a wave of her hand, Catherine opens the portal, a swirling vortex of purple and black.
Determined, she steps through the portal as the wolf follows beside her.
She doesn’t know what she’ll come back to, what her relationship will be like with Paisley upon her return. They haven’t spoken to each other since their argument, which was days ago. But she wants to make things work between them.
Before she’s swallowed into the dark abyss, a final thought tugs at the edges of her mind. Barely a whisper.
I’ll make things right for us again, Paisley.
* * *
She lands on her back, moaning in discomfort as black spots cloud her vision. After a few moments, the world around her stops spinning. The wolf licks her cheek gently.
“I’m okay. Good… wolf. I’ve been thinking about what I should call you. How about Mist? Do you like that name?”
The wolf whines, nuzzling against her in confirmation.
Robyn grabs her crutches and stands. She looks around, terrified. The Depths is a forest-like environment shrouded in trees with twisted branches and dirt paths that lead to who-knows-where.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all…
“Where do I go?” she says aloud to no one in particular. She glances at Mist. “Do you know where Nathan is? You were going to show me in my dreams when I—”
Something snaps behind her, but she can’t turn around fast enough to see what it is.
“Hello?” she calls out tentatively. “Who’s there?”
Nothing.
Following Mist further into the darkness, she pushes forward, feet and crutches stumbling through the dirt. Suddenly, the wolf darts off the path.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Robyn asks, as she keeps moving. “Do you see something?”
Mist barks, large paws digging into the earth.
“What—Ahh!”
Robyn sinks into a soft patch of quicksand-like dirt. Twisty branches tangle around her legs. Around her crutches. Pulling her into the ground. Waiting to swallow her whole.
“Shit! HELP!”
This is it. She’s going to be trapped here forever. Just like Nathan. What if it’s already too late for him?
Laughter erupts and echoes around her, coming from somewhere unseen.
“It’s about time you showed up here, Kendrick,” a menacing voice says. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back just so I could—Oh, fuck!”
Robyn stares at the familiar face of the teenage boy from the beach, dark hair a tangled, matted mess. He brushes it away, cerulean blue eyes going wide with surprise. His shirt and jeans are ripped at the knees and elbows, caked with forest grime and dirt.
“You’re not Kendrick,” he mutters.
“Help me!” Robyn struggles.
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“I’ll explain. Just help me first. Please!”
Mist growls at the teenage boy who glances at the wolf with apprehension.
“You know this creature?” he asks her.
“Yes, he came with me to find you. Now, will you help me?”
“He doesn’t seem to like me very much,” the boy replies. “I’ll help you, but tell your snarling dog not to bite me in the ass.”
“His name is Mist and he’s a wolf,” Robyn says, and looks at Mist. “It’s okay, Mist. He’s going to help me.”
Mist stops growling, but both boy and wolf regard each other with caution.
Carefully, the boy frees her legs from the tangled branches and she fumbles with her crutches, hoping she can find purchase on ground that won’t sink beneath her. As Robyn struggles to stand and he finishes untangling her, Robyn loses her balance again and lands directly on top of him.
Robyn’s eyes sear with curiosity and determination. An awkward moment of tension passes between them. Robyn pushes herself away from him and grabs her crutches, standing up.
The boy gets to his feet, still staring at her.
“I saw you get kidnapped on the beach. You are Nathan, aren’t you?”
“Why does it matter?” he counters. “I still don’t know who you are.”
“My name is Robyn. I’m a Caller. The Council sent me.”
He studies her for a moment before answering. “Yeah, I’m Nathan.”
“Who’s Kendrick? Was he the one who kidnapped you?”
Nathan pales. “He’s… he’s no one. Let’s not talk about him, alright?” Robyn notices dark shadows fall over Nathan’s eyes.
“Look, I just want to help you.”
“Why should I believe you? Don’t get me wrong. You are cute and all. Not exactly my type, but we could—”
“You know what?” Robyn interrupts. “The Council left out the part about you being a giant dick. Guess I’ll just have to find my way out on my own. Come on, Mist.”
As they begin to walk away, Nathan’s voice stops them.
“I’ll tell you about Kendrick.”
This gives Robyn pause. Even if she doesn’t like this obnoxious douchebag, she wants to know more. Shifting her weight, she turns to face him. “…If? There has to be an “if,” right?”
He smirks. “If you tell me more about you. You just waltzed right in here wanting to save my ass. I don’t need you to save me when I’ve been surviving just fine on my own. Time works differently here. It’s already been three weeks.”
“Catherine said your dad’s really upset.”
“You don’t know my dad the way I do.”
“Okay, we won’t get into your daddy issues right now,” says Robyn. Nathan huffs indignantly in response. “Who is Kendrick and what does he want with you?”
“It’s not about me. Kendrick is a rogue Caller and he had a major falling out with my dad.”
“So, we are going back to your daddy issues.”
Ignoring her, Nathan continues, “Dad and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. Kendrick told me he made a deal with my dad. It backfired on Kendrick, so this was his way of getting revenge.”
“By kidnapping you and trapping you down here?”
“Yup. Lucky me,” Nathan replies. “Come on, I’ll take you to my hideout. It’s not good to be out here in the open for so long.”
* * *
“Wow,” Robyn says, looking around Nathan’s hideout. Leaves and twigs are woven intricately together, creating makeshift furnishings inside the cramped space. Some furnishings, such as the bed, are made from unpolished wood, rough but sturdy.
“Like what you see?” Nathan jokes. “You know I only have one bed.”
“I thought you said I wasn’t your type.”
“You’re not, but that doesn’t mean—” he starts. Robyn rolls her eyes.
“I have a girlfriend,” she replies. Then, without missing a beat, “You made all of these things?”
“I learned quickly,” he replies. “You have to make do with what you have.” Robyn sits on the floor and Mist lies down beside her.
“Tell me about Kendrick. Why did he trap you here?”
“Dad never liked working under Catherine. You know how she can be.”
“Yeah, she’s difficult. So, what did your dad do?”
“He’s been working on honing his clairvoyant ability since I was little. But he wanted to find a way to manipulate it, make it more powerful. He came here to see if he could find others to help him strengthen it.” Realization dawns in Robyn’s mind.
“But he never told Catherine…” she said. Nathan shook his head.
“No. But, according to Kendrick, my dad found him. They made a deal. My dad would help Kendrick become a member of the Council and Kendrick would help him strengthen his clairvoyant ability. But my dad was too afraid of being kicked out of the Council if he fulfilled Kendrick’s request, so he betrayed Kendrick.”
“Then Kendrick kidnapped you to get revenge on your father.”
“Pretty much. That’s why I keep waiting for Kendrick to come back, so I can trap him myself. He comes into the Depths to make deals with other rogue Callers. He has a Golden Key that can get us out of here. It can create a portal that would allow us to return to our world. It’s risky, though, because Golden Keys have dark magic and are typically used by rogue Callers to go between worlds. But, I thought, if he trapped me here to begin with, then using the Key is my only way out.”
“But I got caught in one of your traps instead.”
“Sorry about that.”
“You’re so not,” Robyn says. She reaches down to scratch Mist’s ears.
“So, I told you my story,” Nathan says. “Your turn.”
“What else do you want to know?”
“You just seem defensive,” he says with a shrug. “Like you put up walls around you.”
“Around you, maybe,” she half-heartedly agrees. “But if I wasn’t saving your self-righteous ass, I’d be dancing the night away with my girlfriend at my senior prom.”
“Your senior prom?”
“Yeah, it was happening when I left our world. The one night I promised my girlfriend would be just for us. I’ve missed many of our date nights because of Caller training. When I told her I had to come here instead, we got into a fight and haven’t spoken since,” she sighs. “Anyway, are we settling in for the night? We need to make a game plan for Kendrick’s next appearance.”
“Sounds good to me. Kendrick deserves to rot for what he did.” Nathan’s face softens in the dim light. “I’m sorry about screwing up your senior prom.”
“Goodnight, Nathan.”
* * *
They spend the next two weeks setting up various traps for Kendrick around the Depths. One is a fishing net with a pulley system. Another is a metal bear trap.
“We’re definitely gonna need some more wood,” Nathan tells Robyn as he fiddles with one of their makeshift traps during their second week of trap making.
“The better wood is in the deeper part of the Depths. You told me not to go there. I might not find my way back.”
“I’ll go,” Nathan says. “Someone needs to stay here and keep watch.”
“And you trust me to do that?” Robyn asks.
Nathan smirks. “Does that surprise you?”
Robyn licks her parched lips, but doesn’t answer. She glances down at the wolf standing beside her. “At least take Mist with you. He’ll keep you safe.”
Nathan’s gaze shifts from Robyn to Mist and back to Robyn. “Shouldn’t he stay with you?”
“You’re trusting me to watch your hideout. I’m trusting you with my companion,” Robyn replies. “Hey, Mist, go with Nathan for a bit, all right? He needs you.”
“Come on, Mist,” Nathan says. “Let’s go get some more wood.”
“It’s okay, Mist,” Robyn says, giving him a quick scratch behind the ears.
Mist looks at Robyn longingly before Nathan slaps his thigh. “Come on, boy!”
She watches as Mist trots to Nathan’s side and the two of them disappear into a deeper part of the Depths.
Some time later, Robyn carefully walks along the dirt path, several feet away from Nathan’s hideout. A gentle gust of wind makes the leaves rustle around her, tree branches swaying low in the semi-darkness. Her thoughts drift to Paisley, imagining the way she’d look in her new dress, hair curled in a fancy updo, body swaying to the beat of the music…
SNAP! Robyn freezes.
“Nathan? Mist?”
Silence.
As she heads back to Nathan’s hideout, someone grabs her from behind. Losing her balance, she falls back on her assailant who wraps an arm around her waist, a knife gleaming in the dim light against her throat.
“Well, well, Nathan never told me he had a girlfriend,” the leathery whisper grates against her ear. Hot breath sears into her skin as a man’s tall frame towers over her. His raven black hair and piercing emerald green eyes emit a menacing glow in the semi-darkness.
She gulps.
Kendrick. She struggles in his grasp, unable to find purchase on the ground with her crutches.
Damn it.
“I’m not his girlfriend!”
“Likely story, sweetheart,” Kendrick sneers. “I saw you two earlier. It’s noble of you to want to save him but, when I slit your throat, all he’ll find is your blood on the ground.”
“Let her go, Kendrick.” Nathan’s voice echoes from behind them. Kendrick turns around, eyes landing on Nathan.
“Why should I?”
“You don’t really want her. I’ve been your target all along, right? You’re the one who trapped me here. So, why don’t you just kill me instead?”
“Nathan—” Robyn chokes.
“Killing you right away is too easy. I’d rather watch you suffer, then I’ll kill you,” Kendrick taunts, pushing the knife’s sharp blade closer to Robyn’s neck. “So, why don’t you watch me kill her first?”
Suddenly, a white blur comes out of the darkness and launches at Kendrick. All snarls and sharp white teeth.
Mist!
The wolf’s teeth sink into Kendrick’s arm, the one holding the knife against Robyn’s throat. The knife falls from his grasp as he tries to shake off Mist. He drops Robyn, who crumples to the ground, moaning in discomfort.
“Robyn!” Nathan rushes to her side. “Robyn…”
“I’m… I’m okay,” she manages, struggling to sit up. “Just gonna have a few bad bruises and scrapes.” She watches as Mist drags Kendrick towards one of the traps Nathan set, causing him to stumble and fall, a metal bear trap clamping itself around one of his legs. He howls in pain. Distracted by his leg, he doesn’t immediately notice Nathan digging his fingers into the pockets of Kendrick’s pants in search of the Golden Key. Nathan moves just out of Kendrick’s reach once he finds it. Too quick for Kendrick to grab him.
“I believe this is mine now,” Nathan tells Kendrick.
“Get back here, foolish boy!” Mist releases Kendrick and returns to Robyn, licking her cheek with his large pink tongue.
“You saved me,” she whispers into Mist’s thick fur. “Thank you.” Nathan helps Robyn stand and steadies her while she gets her balance. Leaving Kendrick behind, they head back to the exact same location where Robyn and Mist had entered the Depths.
Robyn reaches into her pocket and pulls out a teleportation crystal. Throws it to the ground.
They wait.
Nothing happens.
Robyn throws another crystal to the ground.
Still no portal.
“It didn’t work. Why didn’t it work?” Robyn wonders aloud, glancing at Nathan and shifting her weight uneasily.
“We’ll have to use the Golden Key,” Nathan says.
“You want to risk using dark magic?” Robyn asks.
“The crystals didn’t work. We don’t have any other choices, do we?” he says. Robyn considers this.
“All right. But I think we should hold onto each other as we go through the portal. Let’s get out of here.” Nathan places the glowing Golden Key in her open palm. She carefully draws a large circle in front of them, opening a portal. A swirling vortex of burgundy and silver.
Nathan places an arm around Robyn’s waist. Mist remains pressed lightly against Robyn’s other side as they step through the portal. All three of them connected. The shadowy world of the Depths evaporates.
Plunging into an abyss of darkness, an unseen force propels them forward and rips them apart. They land with a loud thud on familiar ground. The Council’s warehouse. Groaning, Robyn sits up, noticing Nathan a few feet away. He glances at her, getting to his feet. Next to her, Mist nudges her arm with his nose and whines softly.
“We made it,” Robyn says, giving Mist a quick pat on the head. She stands up, regaining her balance and Mist remains by her side. She smiles softly at Nathan before looking around at the others in the room.
Catherine, Peter, Robyn’s parents, and other Council members are there, waiting. Even though she’d spent about two weeks in the Depths, only two days had passed in their world. Robyn’s parents rush to her.
“I’m fine, I’m fine, I promise,” she whispers as they embrace her.
“We’re just glad you’re okay,” Leslie replies, pressing a kiss into her daughter’s hair.
“But you need medical attention,” Mark adds, noticing the purple bruises that mar the sides of her face as well as the scrapes on her arms.
“I know,” Robyn says as she pulls back. “But I want to talk to Paisley first. We got into a huge fight before I left and I need to fix things between us.”
“Sweetheart, your mom and I would feel much better if you got checked out at the hospital first. We’ll take you to Paisley’s house tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Robyn concedes, her heart sinking in disappointment.
As Robyn leaves the warehouse with her parents, a momentary shiver runs up her spine. It’s so brief she barely notices the uneasy feeling of something calling to her.
As if some invisible presence lingers around her. A whisper of temptation. The seductive pull of dark magic.
Waiting.
* * *
The next day, Robyn finds Paisley in her room, both hands clenched nervously in her lap. She’d texted Paisley earlier that morning telling her that they needed to talk and Paisley had reluctantly agreed.
Paisley maneuvers her power wheelchair, turning to face Robyn standing in the doorway.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I should have never said those things to you. I just wanted—”
“Paisley,” Robyn interrupts. “We’ll be on opposite sides of the country this summer and we’re both going to different universities in the Fall. But I’m here now.”
“You’re hurt,” Paisley says, noticing Robyn’s injuries.
“Just a few scrapes and bruises. I was examined at the hospital last night. I’m fine.” Robyn takes a few steps forward while Paisley stares at her, unconvinced.
“You’re sure?” she asks. Robyn nods.
“Absolutely sure. Now, how about a re-watch of Finding Dory?”
A small smile flits across Paisley’s lips as she rolls forward, closing the space between them. Without hesitation, Robyn kisses Paisley passionately. She smells like lilacs, honey, and home.
Lara Ameen (she/her) is a screenwriter, fiction writer, disability activist, and PhD student in Education with an emphasis in Disability Studies at Chapman University. She received an MFA in Screenwriting from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and a BA in Film Studies with a minor in Disability Studies from UC Berkeley. She has given lectures and presented on panels with prominent actors, writers, and showrunners about disability representation in the media at the Writer’s Digest Novel Writing Conference, Skylight Theatre, American University, Chapman University, CalArts, CSUN, and UCLA. Her scripts have placed in Screencraft’s Bahamas Screenwriters Residency Program, Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition, and Fresh Voices Screenplay Competition. She is a 2018 recipient of the NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship. Her next piece of short fiction is forthcoming in Disabled Voices Anthology (Rebel Mountain Press) in March 2020. Passionate about intersectional disability representation, she hopes to publish a short story collection as well as Young Adult and Adult fantasy novels about queer disabled characters who save the world. As a screenwriter, she wants to become a showrunner for a supernatural/sci-fi/fantasy TV drama series featuring a diverse cast of disabled characters portrayed by disabled actors. “Caller” is her first published short fiction story.
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