Cipher

Chapter One Three years later…

Summer barely restrained herself from putting on a dance show for the neighbors. Bobbing her head just didn’t do justice to the music pumping through her earphones. All she wanted to do was get into the house, celebrate the start of the weekend with some dancing, and then relax for a couple hours before going out with Cody.

What am I going to wear? If I don’t do a load of laundry soon, I’m going to have to pull something off the floor and hope it’s not too wrinkled or smelly.

The sun reflected off her plastic Get off the road, I’m 16 keychain into her eye, making her attempt at finding the house key more of a challenge. Dad had bought the keychain, thinking it was hilarious, and had also attached a canister of mace. Summer put up with both because they’d come with a car. Since she’d turned seventeen a while ago, she thought she might be able to rid herself of the keychain without Dad getting too upset—the mace wasn’t optional; she knew that without having to ask.

Finally. Summer inserted the key and opened the door. She tossed her keys into the bowl on the side table, then ran up the stairs, singing along with Hayley Williams.

At the top of the stairs, she added some dance moves, swinging her curls back and forth across her vision. Moving to the beat, she danced into her open bedroom door.

The sunlight coming through her window was blinding, so she moved across the room and closed her curtains. She spun away from the window, belting out the chorus.

The strange woman perched on the end of the bed put a quick end to Summer’s song and dance. Summer stared, hair covering one of her eyes, heart beating a million-miles-a-minute.

That woman wasn’t there a minute ago.

Was she?

The woman smiled, displaying a set of startlingly white teeth. She didn’t look dangerous. In fact, she was the human version of cotton candy—a pink fluffy dress, bubblegum colored lips, and a Marilyn Monroe hairdo.

Just in case the woman wasn’t as friendly as she looked, Summer reached into her pocket to retrieve her cell phone. Where is my…? Oh holy crap, I left it charging in the car. Summer thought of her mace, downstairs, next to the front door. So close, yet so far away.

The woman tapped her ear and then pointed to Summer.

A gentle tug popped the earphones out of Summer’s ears. Afraid to look away from the woman, she dropped the wires, leaving them hanging from the iPod in her pocket. Without music filling her head, the situation suddenly seemed more real.

She’s dainty. The woman didn’t look very tall either, although she was sitting down, so it was hard to tell for sure. I bet I could take her if it came down to it.

Please don’t let it come down to it.

“Hi, Summer,” the woman said, her voice light and airy. “We need to talk.”

How does she know my name? Summer studied the woman again, sure she’d never met her before. She’d for sure remember a grown woman who dressed like a cartoon princess.

“Maybe we should talk outside on the lawn,” Summer said. Witnesses would put her at ease. Of course, Mrs. Graves was most likely the only person home right now. As far as witnesses went, she wasn’t a very good one. An axe murderer probably couldn’t coax a reaction from Summer’s mentally-out-to-lunch neighbor—a harmless-looking lady wouldn’t even register. Mrs. Graves would probably stare out her window with detached interest, then go feed her army of cats.

“Well, no one can see me but you, so it would look like you’re talking to yourself. And I’m rather sure your reaction to this news is going to be attention-grabbing.” The Cotton Candy Fairy blinked her big eyes like one of those creepy dolls with the moveable eyelids and long lashes.

Okay, it’s official. This woman’s completely insane.

Summer swallowed past the lump rising in her throat. “Are you lost? I know a place down on Peach Street that’s really nice.” That’s where the mental hospital was. If this lady hadn’t come from the hospital, she could use an extended visit there.

“I’m not insane and I don’t have time for this. You’re a special circumstance. I’ve never had to start from scratch before.” The woman tapped her manicured finger on her lips and turned her eyes to the ceiling, like she expected to find answers there. “Let me think for a second. I know it’s going to be hard for you to accept from someone you don’t know.”

The woman slapped her hand to her forehead. “Goodness, me! I never even introduced myself. No wonder you think I’m insane.”

Yes, the introduction was the problem. Not that you broke into my bedroom, claim I’m the only one who can see you, or that wings are all you need to complete your fairy costume.

“I’m Gabriella,” she said with a big flourish and a giant smile, like she was in a beauty pageant. “I dole out assignments, welcome people home, that kind of thing. Before long, you’ll get the hang of this and it’ll become second nature to you. We’ll get you started and then you’ll be right as rain.”

Summer just nodded. This lady was obviously off her meds, and she knew better than to disagree with a mentally unstable person. Under normal circumstances, she’d point out that the phrase right as rain didn’t even make sense.

“Since this is your first assignment, you’ll have more time. It takes a certain skill, and,” Gabriella—if that was even her real name—looked Summer up and down, “I think it might take you a bit to get going.”

The shorts-and-T-shirt getup was because Summer had been at dance practice. “I don’t normally wear this.” Wait. Why am I explaining myself to her?

Summer took a deep breath, trying to clear her head. She eyed the door, wondering if she could get to it faster than Gabriella. “Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I can call someone for you if you like.” She took a generous step toward the door. “Family?” Another step. “Friends?”

Gabriella stood, and Summer froze in place. “I guess I might as well charge on through. Tip-toeing is getting us nowhere. There’s a girl who goes to your school named Ashlyn Moore. Do you know her?”

The name sounded familiar, but Summer couldn’t place a face with it. “No.”

“Well, you need to get to know her. She doesn’t have much time, and she needs you.”

“She needs me to…?” Summer wondered if she was helping or hurting by indulging this crazy woman.

“To help her resolve some things before she dies, of course.”

Summer shook her head. “Okay, this is getting too weird.”

“I know it’s hard to grasp, but this is part of who you are. You get a person assigned to you, and then you help them before it’s too late. We call you Ciphers. You’re more like deciphers, but that’s simply too long, so we decided to go with the shortened version.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I assure you I wouldn’t joke about this. I take my job very seriously. You do the before stuff; I take care of the rest. So, here’s everything you need to know about your job in a seashell—”

“Seashell?” Summer asked. “Don’t you mean nutshell?”

“I knew that sounded wrong.” Gabriella shrugged. “Anyway, you find a way to solve problems for people before they pass on. That way, their deaths will be filled with peace. A big part of your job as a Cipher is bridging relationship issues so that people can deal with their deaths, while giving their loved ones closure as well.” She pointed one finger in the air. “It’s a win-win.”

“Yeah, except for the people who die. And their families. It sounds like a lose-lose.” Unexpected tears formed in Summer’s eyes as the words hung in the air. Death sucked. There was no closure. No help. Only emptiness and pain that gradually got a little duller with time. No one—not even someone who looked as harmless as cotton candy—was going to change that.

This had gone too far, and Summer decided it was time to end it. She cleared her throat, working on making herself sound as serious and firm as possible. “Okay, I don’t know who you are, but you need to leave.”

When Gabriella didn’t move, Summer darted toward the door.

The door slammed shut with a resounding boom. “I can’t,” Gabriella said. “Just like you can’t get out of this assignment.”

Summer grabbed the doorknob and twisted. It didn’t budge, which was impossible. Even if she locked the door, turning the knob released it. She threw her hip into the door, thinking that might dislodge it.

It didn’t, and ouch. Pain radiated from the spot on her hip, up her side.

“You see,” Gabriella continued, “I know all about you and your extra gift. Think about it, dear. You’ve felt it before. Sensed someone’s death coming.”

Summer released her grip on the doorknob and slowly turned to face Gabriella. She’d never told anyone her secret. Not Mom, Dad, any of her friends. No one.

Visions of the deaths she’d seen flashed before her eyes. At first it was only random encounters with complete strangers—nothing seemed certain. Then there was the one that changed everything. The one she couldn’t rid herself of. Because it had come true.

“Your silence is answer enough,” Gabriella said, breaking up the images flashing through Summer’s mind.

How could she possibly know about my visions? And how much about them does she know?

“You said you take people home. Home like…?” Summer couldn’t bring herself to finish.

“I collect them when they die. I’m like a tour guide, if you will. Only there’s no going back from the tour I take people on.”

“So what, you’re like the Angel of Death?”

Gabriella pressed her lips together, not confirming or denying.

“But aren’t you supposed to look scary? Like, have a black hooded cape and a scythe or something like that?” Summer needed a reason to dispute what Gabriella had told her. She’d grasp at any straw, regardless of how illogical.

“Where people get that idea is beyond me.” Gabriella shuddered. “As if my job’s not hard enough, looking like that would scare people to death. Of course, they are already dying, but we’d rather ease them into it, not shock the life out of them.”

Summer pressed her fingertips to her temples, her breaths coming faster and faster. “I’m going crazy.” It was the only explanation. “I need to go visit Peach Street.”

“No one needs to go to Peach Street. Now, we’re getting way off track, and I simply don’t have time for that. Like I said, you’re new, so you get someone who has more than a few days or hours left. Ashlyn and her mom have a very strained relationship. You need to get Ashlyn to make peace with her mom before it’s too late.”

“But I don’t even know her. How am I supposed to do that?”

Gabriella stuck a hand on her hip. “Well obviously you’re going to need to get to know

her.”

Yeah, act like I’m the crazy one.

Okay. I can do this. I can get to know this Ashlyn chick and see what I can do to help her.

Then Summer remembered the awful sensations that followed her visions, how even when she didn’t know the deaths were coming true, the graphic images left her disturbed for days. “I just want to move on with my normal life. I don’t want this job.”

Gabriella stepped forward and placed a hand on Summer’s shoulder. For someone who was supposed to be a hallucination or dream, the woman had a surprisingly solid grip. “Honey, no one wants this job. And no one can do it all. It’s too exhausting to be responsible for everyone. That’s why you get a case at a time. Look, I’ve got a complex schedule to keep, and I’m out of time. I know you haven’t been properly trained, but it is what it is.”

Gabriella patted her dress. “Now where did I put that…? I swear, they’re impossible to keep hold of.” She kept mumbling and searching the folds of her skirt and her sleeves. “Oh well, I’ll just have to get another.” She pinched the air, tugged down, and a brochure appeared in her fingertips. She handed it to Summer. “I want you to study this over the weekend…”

Summer glanced at the title: Repairing Friendships and Mending Broken Relationships.

“And I want you to make contact with Ashlyn as soon as possible. I’ll check back in to help whenever I can. Don’t take this assignment lightly. She’s going to die whether or not you do your job. If she leaves without resolution, that’s on you. It’s one of the worst parts of the job.” Gabriella sighed. “There are actually lots of unpleasant parts, but you have to remember the good that you’re doing, and how comforting it is to know you helped someone’s last moments be more meaningful.”

The jewel-encrusted watch on Gabriella’s arm chimed. “Oh heavens, I’ve really got to go. Study the brochure. Make contact.” With that, she started to fade, leaving a glittery outline before disappearing completely.