Stealing Childhood Read online

  Stealing Childhood

  a shaman detective novel

  by

  Terry Persun

  First Edition Copyright © 2019 by Terry L. Persun

  Cover art and design by Fiona Jayde Media.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction

  in whole or in part in any form except in the case of

  brief quotations embodied in critical or review articles.

  Published Independently by Terry Persun

  Printed in the United States of America

  For those who are lost

  Chapter 1

  Dan glanced out the window where a gremlin ripped at a panel on the wing of the 747. The gremlin swung around toward him, bared its teeth, exposing long canines and a set of sharp incisors, then went back to its destruction. Thin fingers capped with tough nails worked away at the panel. Dan’s body jerked as he sat upright in his seat.

  “What?” Jason whispered. He sat in the aisle seat and a young woman sat between them. She looked to be in her late thirties. Her head leaned against the headrest, eyes closed, listening to something from the plane’s console selection.

  Dan bent down to look out the window again and saw only the soft moisture from clouds flowing over the wing. He could have been in the dream onset stage of hallucination, or fully dreaming for all he knew. But the experience felt real, and he knew every alternate state offered up that possibility—most of them delivered. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen gremlins before.

  Jason reached toward Dan as if needing his attention. “Dad?”

  “Nothing.”

  “That was not a nothing look.”

  “I saw a gremlin.” He pointed. “Working at that panel on the wing.

  Jason bent down and looked across the young woman and his dad and out the window.

  The woman opened her eyes and removed one of her ear buds. She had a quizzical look on her face. “Did you say gremlin?”

  “I must have been dreaming,” Dan told her.

  She looked over at Jason and cocked her head.

  Jason peered over her and asked his dad, “Are you worried?”

  Dan performed a quick body scan, felt a tension at the base of his solar plexus. “A little.” He reached to the seat compartment in front of him for his notebook.

  “If you’re going to write this down…”

  “That’s what I do.”

  “What’s going on?” the woman asked.

  Jason appeared to be in a calm mood. He smiled and shook his head at the woman. “Nothing’s going on. Sorry to bother you.”

  She placed her ear bud back in and, before leaning back, gave them a short shake of her head.

  After she closed her eyes, Jason shrugged. “Let’s get rid of it, just in case. I’ll go with you.”

  Dan jotted a note about the gremlin in his notebook, then reached across and patted Jason’s hand. “You’re on.” He pulled a pair of ear buds and a splitter from his jacket pocket, then his phone from his shirt pocket. He held the phone up for Jason to plug his ear buds into the splitter and quietly secured it in the woman’s seat compartment trying not to disturb her any more than they already had. When everything was connected, Dan tapped on his drumming app, and the sound of double drumming entered his ears as though he were drumming himself.

  They both closed their eyes.

  After three easy breaths, Dan found himself in a large rectangular, gray metal box. It looked like the inside of a shipping container. He heard a lot of scratching and banging from his right, which was where he’d seen the gremlin. It was trying to get at him for some reason.

  It wasn’t totally dark in the container, but Dan was used to being able to see in the dark when in an altered state. He paced inside for a moment then said, “I request the right guide that will offer me my highest understanding of this predicament.” The moment he said the words, he realized the scratching sounded like some kind of code and not just the gremlin. It was telling him something. Warning him by its frantic nature.

  He shook his head. There was nowhere for an animal to enter the container, but that didn’t matter. A hole could open up, the animal could just appear out of nowhere, or anything could happen. It could even crawl out of him, not the most comfortable way for it to work, but not impossible. It was more important for him to remain aware and follow his intuition—that was always the way, to follow when he felt like following and lead when he felt like leading. He stilled his body and went down on one knee to wait. No sooner did he reach the cold metal floor with his knee a crow landed on his shoulder. He liked crows. They were intelligent.

  “Those were your scratches, not the gremlin’s. Warning me. What about the gremlin?”

  Crow lowered its head and whispered. “Have you forgotten our language?”

  “Crows have many languages. I have not learned them all.”

  “Then find a translator.”

  “Can you help me find one?” Dan wondered briefly if he needed a second guide.

  Three more crows flew from somewhere behind him and landed on the floor of the container. All three began to squawk in different languages. The one on his shoulder whispered again. “What would you like me to do?”

  Dan fully understood that he had to make a choice, maybe more than one. What choices were there? He felt as if he should follow, but was being asked, literally, to lead. Several vocal languages were being expressed through the crows and then there was the language of the scratches. “Tell me about the scratches. They appear to be coming from a different altered state.”

  “There are many sides and many languages. You cannot escape without listening,” Crow said.

  “Jesus Christ.” He stood. “I hate it when you start with all the encrypted statements. I just want to get rid of the gremlin trying to crash this fucking plane.” Something felt wrong. He didn’t trust all the voices, which was unusual. He didn’t know whether to lead or follow.

  The crow flew away, and the other three crows flew toward Dan. He had to duck for them to fly by. A wide hole opened in the side of the container, letting in a blinding light. The crows flew out. He heard the return call from the drumming but needed more time.

  Chapter 2

  Jason shook his head, his lip turned up at the corner, one eyebrow lifted slightly.

  “You look nervous,” Dan said.

  “The return call came early.”

  “Me, too. Anything else?”

  “A dozen guides. All spoke a strange language I couldn’t interpret. In fact, each one a different language.”

  The woman between them stirred, and Dan and Jason both looked at her quietly for a moment. Jason removed the connector from the phone and rolled his ear buds up. Dan put the phone and his buds away as well.

  “I don’t like early returns. I sense trouble,” Dan said.

  The woman reached up and removed both of her ear buds. She wore her brown shoulder-length hair in a black band to keep it back. Her eyes were brown, too.

  “Sorry to bother you,” Dan said.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Don’t you know?”

  “Dad!”

  “Sorry, of course you don’t. I’m not sure why I asked that.” Dan glanced at Jason, who shrugged. “Just something we do,” Dan told the woman.

  “You mentioned languages. Which ones?”

  “Not sure, why?”

  “I speak half a dozen languages. I’m an interpreter.”

  Dan reached for his notebook. “Convenient.”

  “What do you mean by that?” she asked.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Jason said.

  “What do you keep writing down?” she asked in a rude voice.

  Jason said, “You have to
understand, my Dad is like that, he—”

  “Any non-verbal languages?” Dan asked.

  The woman looked at him, then Jason, then back at Dan. “Yes,” she said reluctantly, “sign language.”

  “Oh.”

  “Is there another kind?”

  “Morse code? Anything with scratches?” Dan asked.

  “I heard scratches, too,” Jason said.

  The woman shook her head. “You guys are. . .”

  “We’re on a special mission,” Dan said. “Do you have a card? We may need an interpreter.” He saw Jason silently say, “What?” with his lips.

  When the woman turned to look at Jason, he sat up quickly as though not questioning anything. She pulled a small hand purse from her seat compartment, removed a card from its side panel, and handed it to Dan.

  “Mindy Jenkins,” he read. “Who are you interpreting for in Seattle?”

  “A legal firm with some international problems. I can’t really talk about it.”

  “Interesting,” Dan said.

  “So, I’m convenient and interesting. That leads me to ask exactly what special mission are you two on?”

  Dan put her business card in his pocket. “We don’t know yet.”

  “You don’t know? I mean, I know why I’m going, even thought I can’t tell you, but you don’t know?”

  “We get these calls,” Jason said. “The government. Well sometimes. Anyway…”

  Dan said, “This time it’s for the FBI. They haven’t debriefed us yet. And after they do, we won’t be able to talk about it anyway. Sorry about my son’s mumbling.”

  Jason looked as if his feelings had been hurt. “I wasn’t sure what I could say.”

  “We don’t know anything,” Dan reminded him.

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Well…” the woman started to say when the plane jolted and she was interrupted by the captain speaking over the intercom. “Would everyone please get back to your seats and secure your seatbelts.”

  Dan bent down to glare out the window. “The engine’s blown.” He sat straight and peered over the people and seats in front of him. The flight attendants were securing everything quickly, shuffling around, and getting into their jump seats.

  “Did I hear you correctly?” Mindy whispered.

  “Secure your belt,” Dan said.

  She fumbled with her belt, trying to tighten it. “Oh my God, oh my God.”

  Dan placed his hand over hers, which white-knuckled the armrest beside her. He reached toward Jason and shook his other hand in the air to call him into action.

  “What the hell’s that mean?” Jason asked.

  “I don’t have time for this, Jason, just…he glanced at Mindy…take care of her while I check this out.” He didn’t take time to insert his ear buds or use his drumming app. He leaned back, took a long, deep breath, and stepped into an altered state where he could witness his emotions only. He’d been there before, but not often, because most of the time it was blocked to him. That’s how things worked for him. It wasn’t magic like everyone thought. He checked for any deaths, never a comfortable place to occupy. And that’s why the state was so elusive. But, he surmised, and correctly, this time there were more than just his life involved. He was let in.

  Wading through all the fear, the spikes in heart rate, blood pressure, noise, took a moment. They were all just sensations he’d learned to recognize over the years. Some things can’t be learned. They had to be experienced. Once he began to sort things out he separated essential emotions from manic ones. So many people, so many different reactions. The intercom scratched and mumbled from the physical realm. He had to keep that out, so he could find what he was looking for. A death, but only one. Only one. And, strangely, not everyone was open to him.

  After another long return breath, he popped his eyes open.

  “Dad? Did you hear?”

  Dan rolled his eyes. Of course not. Jason should know that.

  Jason held Mindy’s hand in both of his. Her head flat against her headrest. “The right engine blew, but he claims he can land this way and not to worry.”

  Mindy’s lips quivered. “The gremlin?”

  “We’ll be okay,” Dan said. “The pilot’s right.”

  “How did you know about the gremlin? Are there two of them?” Her eyes were wide. “Check the other wing.”

  “Nothing to worry about,” Dan said in the most calming voice he could muster.

  “But…”

  “Where’d you go, Dad?”

  “It’s not important. What’s important is that we’ll be fine. Well, most of us.”

  Mindy didn’t look happy with that assessment.

  The aisle packed with travelers the instant the plane stopped taxiing—a roadblock. Dan wrote that down. Everyone wanted off the plane as quickly as they could do so even though they were on the ground and safe.

  Dan reached across Mindy to touch Jason’s arm. “Just wait. They’ll want to get the dead man off the plane first. Besides, we’re on the ground. Being in a hurry now won’t change a fucking thing.”

  “I’d like to get off,” Mindy squeaked.

  “Trust me, it’ll be less stressful if we wait for these idiots.”

  “Dad, do you have to insult everyone. They’re just scared.”

  “No, they choose to be scared. The threat is over. They’re all safe but want to hold onto their fear.” He shook his head in disgust.

  Jason shook his head, too, but for a different reason, one that Dan understood but didn’t appreciate.

  Jason leaned into Mindy and took her hand again. “It’ll only be a short while. So, where are you from?”

  “New York,” she said with surprise. “Aren’t you? That’s where we took off from.”

  “Yes, yes, of course. I was just...”

  We know you are eager to depart the plane, but this will only take a few minutes. We have an emergency in first class that we have to clear out first.

  There was an audible moan up and down the aisle, but it didn’t stop people from continuing to try to push into line.

  Dan peered over the seats and saw two airport personnel walk into the first class seating area.

  “Oh my God,” Mindy said, craning her neck. “What happened to him?”

  “He died,” Dan said. “Probably a heart attack from all the excitement.”

  Mindy slumped into her seat, shaking her head.

  “Is that all, Dad?”

  “Yeah, just one.”

  “How do you know all this? How did you know he was dead, that it was only one?” Mindy asked. “Who are you?”

  “He’s a shaman,” Jason told her.

  “Really?” Dan said. “Do you think that’s going to help?”

  “A what?” Mindy’s cheeks scrunched and her eyes narrowed.

  Jason shrugged. “He does things, goes places, where he can learn things.”

  “Still not helping,” Dan said. He turned to Mindy. “I’m an investigator and know a lot more about everyone on this plane than the airport officials probably know. That’s my job.”

  A man, crouched in the row of seats in front of them, looked back at Dan. “You here to catch terrorists?”

  “No. For God’s sake.” He looked at Jason then back at the man. “Just move along.”

  Mindy appeared to relax but had a strangely smug look on her face.

  Dan raised his eyebrows toward Jason. See what you started?

  After the person who died in first class was removed on a stretcher, the plane emptied. There was some fumbling with overhead compartments, some grumbling, and one woman tripped and fell onto her hands and knees.

  Chapter 3

  Dan and Jason walked with Mindy toward baggage claim. “That was a scramble,” Dan said.

  “I hope that woman is okay.” Mindy held Jason’s hand.

  “She’s not dead,” Dan said.

  They went down the escalators toward Baggage Claim and stood together. The operation took longer to
get started than they’d expected. Jason stayed with Mindy to help with her bag, and Dan scanned the area looking for FBI agents. “They’re coming,” Dan said, staring across baggage claim at three people dressed pretty much in the same dark suits. Why was their posture so impeccable? One woman and two men approached. She was in charge, a giveaway by how she led and how she carried herself. She even wore stereotypical dark glasses on an overcast day. As they approached, she scanned the room. When her eyes landed on Dan, he nodded.

  “How’d you know it was them?” Mindy asked.

  “They’re walking clichés,” he said. “Jason, you get our bags and I’ll check in with them.” He met the three of them a dozen feet from Jason and Mindy. “Dan Johnston.” He held out his hand.

  She didn’t take it. “Agent Cora Rafsky,” she said. “Just to let you know, I don’t like working with people I’m not familiar with. This is a touchy case.”

  “Then let’s get to know each other,” Dan said, still holding his hand out while matching her glare.

  “Another thing. I’m in charge of this mission. I’ve been on it much longer than you. You have skills, they tell me, but you can’t go off on your own.” She stared at him. “You have to be able to take orders.”

  Dan lowered his arm. He didn’t say anything.

  “Well?”

  “Well, what? You never asked a question. As for getting to know each other, it takes two.”

  She raised her chin, not that it could go much higher. “Did you have something to do with that man dying on the plane?”

  “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

  “I assure you—”

  Dan turned around and walked toward Jason and Mindy.

  “Where are you going, Mr. Johnston?”

  Dan motioned toward his son. “Jason, get our bags. We’re leaving.”

  Before he got to Jason and Mindy, the other two agents flanked him. The one to his left said, “Don’t be upset with Agent Rafsky. This is an important case to her.”

  “To her or for her? I’ve seen this shit before. She’s trying to get promoted and doesn’t want me in her way. That kind of person doesn’t want anyone standing between them and where they think they’re going. Well, I’m not about to get trampled during the mad rush.”