Erasing: Shadows (The Erasing Series) Read Online Free Page B

confused and upset, but it wouldn’t be good.”
    “Right,” said Michael. He popped a few more Tums. “She could end up in a forest or a storm. Or alone in the desert—you never know what the unconscious will do, so everyone needs to concentrate hard because Mira won’t be able to. So I will find her first and try to develop our old rapport. Knowing her, she will want to learn, and then I’ll introduce her to Jonathan like before.”
    “Let’s write this down,” said Lu.
    “I have paper and pen,” said Onie.
    Lu looked at the group. “We really haven’t changed much personality-wise. There’s Onie with supplies on hand, Jonathan ordering us around, and Zac falling apart.” She laughed.
    “I think it will be easiest if we think of this like a play. We all have our parts that are mimicking how we met and acted before. Only don’t forget how serious it is,” said Trina.
    “I agree,” said Michael.
    The group spent the next hour recalling their collective memories, remembering the old days, and then reenacted some of their initial encounters with Mira. Michael decided to leave out some of the negative events so as not to traumatize Mira. In the end, they had a plan.
    “Does everyone feel comfortable with this?” asked Lu.
    “Do you mean, do I feel comfortable as a nineteen-year-old?” said Jonathan. “Hell, yeah. Loving this.”
    Everyone laughed. Perturbed, Zac spoke. “I’m surprised that I’m only twelve. I thought I’d be older. Why am I the only one that was automatically so young?”
    Jonathan answered, “Well, it is representative of your inner evolution, so physically you may be older, but astrally, in this world, you haven’t really done that much more traveling or advanced your learning so you haven’t particularly grown intellectually or evolutionally ‘here.’ And remember,” he added, “when Michael first came back, he was twelve too. And look at him now—he can stretch to any age.”
    Zac frowned. His wife saw and added, “It’s not a bad thing, Zac. Some people get older and can’t go back because they’ve lost their sense of wonder and attitude of learning. Other people never grow up because they never mature. I think we are right where we are supposed to be, and you never know, this adventure may change us a bit.”
    “Yeah, hopefully in a good way,” Zac acquiesced.
    Lu and Trina at sixteen voiced no complaints.
    “Actually, Onie, this may come in handy, because you know we are not exactly the same ages as when we first met Mira, except for me, so I think Zac being closer to her age is a good thing,” said Michael.
    “That’s a good thought,” said Zac. “I feel better.”
    Jonathan was gathering his things and making moves to go. “It’s getting late. Is everyone clear on what to do? And the order to do it in?”
    There were nods all around. Michael added, “Okay, from now on, I am twelve-year-old Michael. Is everyone also clear where to sleep tonight, how to eat, and all the practical things? We sleep in the real world, eat in the real world, but if anyone can, someone should bring some real food to the astral next time.”
    Jonathan volunteered to try.
    “Okay, unless there are any last concerns, let’s get this show on the road,” said Trina.
    Onie had one last comment. “Everyone remembers our name, right? We loved it at the time and believed we were so slick. Mira liked it.”
    Michael remembered back to his younger self. “The High Five Gang.”
    “Right!” said Zac. “And anyone who actually gives a high five, you know is masked.”
    “Yeah,” said Trina, “Never mind that none of us ever learned how to mask…”
    Masking, a very advanced skill, was when people could travel the astral but disguise themselves as someone else, either real or invented. The degree of realism as to how they looked was representative of their skills. This was why some people appeared scary. Maskers could also change their age, as Michael was doing, however that