0.05 Emergence Read online

  Books by Denise Grover Swank:

  Rose Gardner Mysteries

  (Humorous southern mysteries)

  TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES

  TWENTY-NINE AND A HALF REASONS (June 2012)

  The Chosen Series

  (Paranormal thriller/romance/urban fantasy)

  CHOSEN (The Chosen #1)

  HUNTED (The Chosen #2)

  SACRIFICE (The Chosen#3)

  REDEMPTION (The Chosen #4) (October, 2012)

  The Chosen Shorts Series

  Emergence (The Chosen Short #1)

  Middle Ground (Will’s story) July 1, 2012

  Untitled (Reader’s Choice) August 1, 2012

  On the Otherside Series

  (Young adult science fiction/romance)

  HERE

  THERE (December 2012)

  EMERGENCE

  A CHOSEN Short Story

  By Denise Grover Swank

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright 2012 by Denise Grover Swank

  Copy Editing by Jim Thomsen

  Cover art and design by Cynthia Moyer

  EBook formatting by Lucinda Campbell

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used factiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Chapter One

  Emma scowled as she studied the figures on her computer screen. Something was off and it set the hairs on her neck on end. She thrived on order. It was one of the reasons she’d become an accountant. She’d learned long ago that while people always let her down, she could almost always count on numbers.

  The phone on her desk rang, adding to her irritation. She was already behind on the Wallace account. Any more interruptions and she’d never make it to the daycare on time. Again.

  Picking up on the third ring, she cradled the phone on her shoulder as she glanced down at the file next to her. “Hello.”

  “Ms Thompson, there’s been another incident.”

  She sucked in a breath and turned her face toward the corner of her cubicle. Not again. “What happened?”

  “We’d rather discuss it person, if you don’t mind. We need you to come right away.”

  Chewing on her bottom lip, she tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure I can get away.”

  “Ms. Thompson, I’m not sure you understand. Waiting is not an option. You need to come pick up your son. Now.”

  “But…” Covering her forehead with her hand, she hid the tears that filled her eyes. How many more times could she take off work and keep her job? But she didn’t have a choice. “I’ll be right there.”

  “He’ll be waiting in the office.”

  Emma hung up, trying to shake off her rising panic. This was the fifth incident in three weeks. Jake’s second daycare. How many daycare centers were there in Little Rock?

  Her gaze turned to her boss’s door. He was going to be furious, not that he needed much more encouragement after she had spurned several of his advances. It was subtle enough that she had no proof to take to HR, but it was enough to make her uncomfortable. The incidents with Jake hadn’t helped matters and in one weak moment, she wondered if she should have just gone through with it. She really needed her job. But one thing stopped her.

  She had been used by a man once before, and she’d kill the man who tried it again.

  Thankful that it was at least after three and she’d already worked six hours, she shut down her computer and locked up the client’s files. She ignored her worry over not being able to work in the morning if Jake was kicked out of daycare again.

  Squaring her shoulders, she knocked on her boss’s door then pushed it open without waiting for a response, poking her head into the crack. “Hey, Tyler. Got a second?”

  “Emma.” His tone was cold and brisk.

  “I need to take off early today. My son has come down with a fever.” Her stomach twisted with anxiety.

  “You realize you’ve used up almost all of your vacation time.”

  “His daycare won’t let him stay if he’s ill.”

  “And some of your clients are complaining.”

  This was news, although not surprising. It only added to her fear. “Tyler, I can work on the accounts from home. It doesn’t matter if I’m sitting at my desk or my kitchen table.”

  “It’s against company policy and you know it, Emma. I’m sorry but you leaving today is out of the question. Figure out someone else to pick up your kid. Shut the door on your way out.”

  She hung her head. She was fully aware of the company’s confidentiality rules and her suggestion went against every principle she possessed. But then, so did her next move. She lifted her head, her eyes piercing his. “I’ll be sure to talk to Human Resources about it. While I’m filing my sexual harassment complaint.”

  His face paled, then reddened. “Excuse me?”

  “We both know that your advances go against company policy. I’m sure Loretta would love to hear about it.”

  He paused with a grin. “You don’t have any proof, Emma. Nothing will come from it, and you know it.”

  “Maybe so, but I think we’ll just let Human Resources sort that all out.” He’d win. They both knew it. But his reputation might be tarnished in the process.

  He rolled his eyes and waved his hand toward the door. “Sure, Emma. Take off the afternoon. Take off the rest of the fucking week.” He glared at her. “But if this happens one more time, you won’t have a job to come back to. Threat or no threat.”

  “Thanks,” she muttered in a sarcastic tone as she shut the door.

  After pulling out of the employee parking lot, she allowed herself a short moment of victory. She may have gotten away with getting the afternoon off, but Tyler Matheson was the golden boy of Schiller and Schiller Accounting, quickly climbing the rungs to a corporate executive job in the nationally respected, commercial accounting firm.

  Tyler wouldn’t fall from his pedestal without a fight.

  Emma’s days were numbered.

  She didn’t have time to dwell on it long before the daycare center came into view. Pulling into a parking spot, she turned off the engine and gripped the steering wheel. A woman in scrubs walked up the steps and through the entrance. It was shortly after three-thirty, and parents from the University Medical Center would be getting off their shifts and picking up their children. She considered, not for the first time, making an appointment for someone to examine her son.

  Jake wasn’t a normal child.

  Emma followed the mother, entering the daycare office instead of buzzing into the children’s area. Jake sat in a chair, his short legs dangling over the edge. He looked up at her with his big, deep blue eyes, his mouth turned into a frown. He’d changed so much in only a few weeks’ time. No longer the happy, bubbly child she’d known for two years, Jake was now withdrawn and sullen.

  But if he really saw the things he claimed to see, she couldn’t blame him.

  She scooped him up into her arms, hugging him tight. He buried his head into her shoulder and she felt his body shake with a sob. Stroking his short blond curls she whispered in his ear, “It’s okay, baby. It’s going to be okay.”

  “Ms. Thompson.”

  Emma lifted her head to glance at the director, a middle-aged woman who wore a perpetual scowl. Why had she enrolled Jake in this dreary place? Then she remembered it was because she’d only had two days to find a replacement. She’d had no choice.

  “If you could come into my office so we can chat.” The director backed up and waved her in.

&
nbsp; Emma took a step toward the opening when the director held up her hand. “Leave Jake outside. Lori will sit with him.”

  Glancing from Jake to the young woman at a desk, Emma hesitated.

  “It will only take a few moments.”

  Emma set Jake in the chair and knelt in front of him. “I have to talk to Miss Martha. I’ll only be a minute, okay?”

  He nodded, his eyes shiny with tears.

  She hesitated. The conversation with the director would be pointless. This was the second incident here, and Emma was sure Jake was going to be expelled. Jake clearly needed her more than she needed closure with Discovery Zone Daycare.

  “It’s okay, Mommy.”

  How had this happened? How had he turned into this little old man in a two-year-old’s body? She choked back a sob of fear.

  “Ms. Thompson.” The daycare director’s impatience grated on Emma’s already frazzled nerves.

  “Mommy, you need to talk to her.”

  Emma didn’t dare ask how he knew that. She didn’t want to know.

  Leaning toward him, she cupped his face, touching her forehead to his. “I’ll be right back, and then we’ll go home, okay?”

  His face softened, some of the seriousness leaving his eyes, and he was her Jake again. Her little boy. “I want chicken nuggets,” he whispered.

  Her chin trembled and she wiped a tear from her eye. “Chicken nuggets it is. I promise.”

  “Okay.”

  She kissed his forehead, fighting her tears as she stood, and smoothed her skirt. She wanted to get this over with and take her son home.

  The director shut the door, and sat behind a metal desk, folding her hands on top of a planner. Her mouth pursed, deepening the wrinkles in her forehead. “There was another incident with Jake and another child today. This one was quite serious.”

  Emma crossed her legs and rested her hands on her knees. “And?”

  “Ms. Thompson, I’m not sure you’re taking this seriously.”

  “Perhaps I would if I knew what this was about.”

  The woman cleared her throat and glared. “Jake told a girl in his class that she was going to fall off the slide and break her arm.”

  “Jake has always had a very active imagination.”

  “The girl fell off the picnic table two hours later and broke her arm.”

  Emma’s chest tightened. “Small children are often accident-prone.”

  “Most children don’t predict their accidents.”

  Emma narrowed her eyes and pulled out her coldest tone. “What are you suggesting?”

  “This isn’t the first time Jake has warned a child of an impending accident.”

  “As I said, small children are prone to accidents.”

  “Yet Jake knows exactly what is going to happen to them before it happens.”

  Shifting in her seat, Emma rolled her eyes. “Mrs. Williams, I don’t have time to sit here and beat around the bush. You called me here from work. Surely you have something else to say.”

  “We believe Jake has psychological issues that need to be addressed.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “We believe Jake is intentionally hurting his classmates.”

  Anger flooded Emma’s head and she fought to remain calm. Losing control was not an option. Ever. “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t aware Jake was anywhere near the little boy when he cut his head open last week. The incident report said that Jake was in the restroom when the boy fell.”

  “Well, yes…”

  Emma tilted her head, glaring at the woman. “I’m sorry, but I fail to see how my son could injure a child in another room.”

  For the first time, the director showed uncertainty. “We haven’t figured that part out—”

  “And who is we?”

  “The assistant director and myself. And one of the parents is a child psychologist.”

  “I’m sorry.” Emma fought to keep her voice from rising. “Are you telling me that you had someone examine my child without my permission?”

  The director’s eyes widened. “Oh, no! I assure you that’s not what happened.”

  “Then how could this parent know anything about my son?”

  “We…we discussed the issue with him.”

  “You discussed my son with another parent? Aren’t there confidentiality rules or laws you need to follow?”

  The woman’s face paled for several moments before her eyes hardened. “Ms. Thompson, you’re missing the point of this conversation. Your son is a very troubled child. Children are being harmed, and your son is telling them exactly what’s going to happen to them before it occurs. The child psychologist has never seen something like this in a child so young.” The woman paused then lifted her chin. “Ms. Thompson, has Jake suffered any kind of abuse? Physical or psychological?”

  Emma stood. “How dare you!”

  “I’m not insinuating it was you. It’s often an unsuspected family member. An uncle. A grandfather. A father…”

  “There is no father.” Emma fought to keep the bitterness from her words.

  “It’s not uncommon for abused children to manifest their anger on others.”

  “No one has abused my son! I’ve heard enough. Jake won’t be back.”

  “No. He won’t. He’s officially expelled from our school. I strongly suggest you seek help for your son, Ms. Thompson. In fact, Child Protective Services has been notified.”

  The blood rushed from her head and she stumbled on her heels. “What?”

  “We are bound by law to report suspected abuse cases.”

  “My son has not been abused!”

  “Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?”

  Emma threw the door open and picked up Jake and his backpack, stomping out of the building. Her shaky fingers fumbled with his car seat strap and he reached his hand to her cheek. “It’s going to be okay, Mommy.”

  Closing her eyes, she leaned her cheek into his hand before she realized what she was doing. She was letting her two-year-old son comfort her. She forced a smile and kissed his forehead. “Of course it is, you silly billy. We’re going to go home and have chicken nuggets and ice cream. You want some ice cream?”

  He nodded.

  “Ice cream it is!’

  “Miss Thompson?” a woman asked behind her.

  Emma shut the minivan door and turned to face the assistant director. Great. Now what? “Yes?”

  The young woman leaned close. “I think it’s wrong what they’ve done. Jake’s a sweet little boy. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  “Thank you,” Emma mumbled, surprised at how much the woman’s admission meant to her.

  “I may be out of line, but I know this isn’t the first daycare Jake has had issues at.”

  “Well…”

  “Oh no! I’m not judging.” The woman held up her hands, a business card between the fingers of her right hand. She handed it to Emma. “I just thought Jake might be better with a nanny, especially since you’re always racing to get here before we close to pick him up.”

  More guilt washed in at the newest evidence supporting her greatest fear. She was a terrible mother. Biting her lip, she took the card. “Thanks.”

  “Good luck.”

  They drove the short distance home, Jake singing to a children’s CD as Emma fought to keep the lid on her rising panic. The daycare had called Child Protective Services and she was about to lose her job. How could things get any worse?

  After an early dinner, Emma took Jake in the backyard and pushed him on the swing on the new play set she’d had installed a month ago.

  Before it all began.

  While he dug in the sandbox, she sat next to him, dipping her bare feet into the sand.

  Jake looked up at her with a blank look.

  Her heart stuttered. She recognized that look.

  “You’re going to see the ocean.”

  She forced a smile. “I’ve never seen the ocean. That would be fun. Maybe we can go to Gulf Shores for vac
ation next summer.” Although she doubted she’d have much vacation time left after all of this.

  He shook his head, tears in his eyes. “No. I won’t be with you.”

  Terror flooded her blood stream. “Of course, you’ll be with me. We’re a team, you and me, remember? We’re a package deal.”

  He shook his head.

  “I will never leave you, Jake. Never.”

  “I know. But you won’t have a choice.”

  She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him toward her, his eyes widening. “I won’t let anyone take you from me either, okay? I won’t. I promise.”

  Jake wrapped his arms around her neck. “I know, Mommy. I know.” But his voice was soft and sad.

  He didn’t believe her.

  Chapter Two

  Jake was quieter during his bath, and Emma forced a cheerful conversation, to the point of endless babbling. At bedtime, she rocked him in his chair, reading his favorite stories.

  When she closed the cover of the last book, Jake took her hand in his. “I’m sorry, Mommy.”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I know.”

  She paused, unsure she wanted to broach the subject of this afternoon. “Was it like the other times?”

  “Yes.”

  His word hung heavy in the air, filling her with grief. The incidents were becoming more frequent.

  “Miss Martha said you told the little girl that she would fall off the slide and break her arm, but it happened when she fell off the table. See? It was different than you saw it.”

  “I tried to stop it.”

  She stuffed her disappointment. “Like the boy at your old daycare?”

  “Yes.”

  That had been one of the first incidents.

  “Do they always scare you? The things you see in your head?”

  “Yes.”

  Her arm tightened around his waist.

  “I know I wasn’t supposed to say anything. But I saw her in my head. Her arm bent funny and she screamed and screamed. She fell off the slide in the story in my head. I tried to stop her from getting on the slide but she fell off the table instead.”