by E Kathryn
Abruptly, a hazy green mist surrounded them. It was cool and calm, but the Shadows felt Rita’s raw power. It was ravenous but joyous to be unbound. This was her true uninhibited power.
The mist blew through them like a strong wind, enchanting everything around it. The gust became violent, then with a small abrupt explosion of Shadows, the entire van vanished, teleported away.
Keller returned to the security camera room with Kimberly. “There’s no way for the Shadows to get to this room. It’s outside the ASI. Someone must have helped them,” he rambled, waking the computers by shaking a mouse.
Kimberly’s heart dropped as she heard this. She wanted the Shadows to escape. She honestly wanted them to be free, but she had been too hasty in encouraging them. It hadn’t occurred to her that Kip would be with them.
She told Mark to take a small group. She assumed that meant the strongest Shadows, not the weakest. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that after all these years, Kip might still be affected by this.
“Keller…” she whispered. She had been wrong. Hesitant to do so, Kimberly prepared to tell Keller the truth.
“It’s gonna be all right,” Keller assured her. “If we can find them fast enough, Kip will be fine!”
Kimberly held her shoulders. “Are we being reminded…” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “First Mark! He has the same face and the same powers. He can pass through the ASI too!” she cried, despairing. “And now Kip…”
“You act as if he’s already dead.” Keller grimaced, guiding Kimberly away from the camera room. Keller trailed off to stray her thoughts. “Do you remember that Scottish Shadow I knew so many years ago, that one we could never find?” he asked gently.
Kimberly shook her head, and Keller smiled, leading her down the hall hand in hand. “That pipsqueak could never do anything right. Sometimes I think about him, wondering if he’s still alive and out there somewhere. But then, I remember he was like Kip, and I wonder if he somehow found the cure we were never able to make. That’s the hope I have, that someday we can cure the Shadows of this disease!”
XV
THE COST OF FREEDOM
The mist cleared over them abruptly like a dust cloud, and the overcast sky of Virginia had vanished. A bright golden sun hung low and glared in through the front windshield of the van.
Mark shielded his eyes, startled at how brilliant it was. The Shadows neared the windows on all sides as slowly the fact that they were nowhere near the ASH finally sank in.
They were free. They had successfully escaped. But all their friends were still trapped. Mark opened the door of the van cautiously, feeling the cool dewy air hit his face as his eyes adjusted to the light. The ground was uncomfortably dry and gravelly, all dust and no grass, and barely thirty feet from the van, the world seemed to end over the edge of a cliff.
Emilie flew up out of the driver’s side door, and Mark whirled about just in time to see her shoot a hundred feet into the sky. Mark smiled. She didn’t even hesitate. Sil laid Elise down in the passenger seat and jumped down to the dusty ground. He stepped out with Mark, following the Shadows as they slowly assembled around the edge of the crag.
“The Grand Canyon!” Mark breathed almost in a whisper, realizing where they were.
“Rita, you’re a genius!” Sil said, finding Rita’s big smile among the crowd of Shadows.
Mark’s heart grew tender. He’d never heard Sil compliment anyone before. Maybe freedom was what Sil needed to shed that cold persona.
Rita shrugged with a great big grin. “I’ve always wanted to come here. It was the top of my bucket list.”
Emilie dropped out of the sky, hitting the dust a little harder than she anticipated as if she had allowed gravity to let her fall. Panting hard, Emilie laughed hysterically. “It just goes on for miles!” Sil hastily knelt down to her where she collapsed, wordlessly checking to see if she was all right. Tears of joy flowed from her eyes, and she rubbed her face to ineffectively stifle them. “We’re free… we’re free! I can fly as high as I want!”
When Sil touched her shoulder, she suddenly threw her arms around him and floated up, crying and laughing as she spun around him. Immediately the tension among the Shadows broke and smiles formed upon all their faces. Mark couldn’t help but share in their happiness as a special kind of euphoria he’d never experienced before washed over his heart.
It was so worth it.
Abruptly, their celebrating was broken and Mark hurried back to the sound of Kip coughing. He clung to the back of the driver’s seat, holding himself up. He gagged on something deep in his chest, and his cough sounded like there was something in his throat he couldn’t get up.
“Kip! Kip… how are you doing?” Mark asked, climbing into the van to be with him.
Getting a brief chance to breathe, Kip pinned his eyes shut, grasping his other hand tightly over his ribs. “I’m okay…” he lied, wheezing.
“You’re not,” Mark fretted, taking Kip’s arm to help him stay upright as he fell into another fit of coughing.
Rita teleported into what little space was unoccupied between the two front seats. “As far as I know, he’s always had really strong allergies. I guess the ASH shielded him from that.”
Mark nodded shakily. “That sounds likely. I just hope he’ll be all right…”
Kip’s coughing finally relented, and he let himself fall against the back of the bench, panting. His labored breathing was painful to listen to, and it sounded like his lungs were filling up. Mark couldn’t do anything for him, and feeling helpless only made him more worried for his friend.
“I… just need to rest,” Kip insisted breathily, barely keeping his eyes open long enough to look up at Mark.
“No way!” someone exclaimed, and Rita perked up, teleporting instantly to the back of the van where the other Shadows had opened the back hatch.
Mark patted Kip’s curly red hair to gather his consciousness a little. “I’ll be right back. Try to stay awake.”
Kip managed a nod as Mark left, rushing around the van to see what was wrong.
Mark’s eyes widened, and he stepped back shocked. In a compartment in the back of the van, the Shadows had found a stocked supply of water bottles, two tents, and food. He gazed in awe of it all. “We have a helper?” he mused, seeing there was plenty for several days.
Mark immediately grabbed a water bottle and started around the van. “Emilie,” he called, gathering her attention to the ground, “find out what all is here and get some Shadows to work on setting up those tents.”
Emilie nodded slightly, giving Mark the opportunity to return to Kip, gently helping him to sit up.
Kip’s breaths were rickety and trembling, and he was unable to control himself while Mark held him upright. “Here.” He opened the water and held it to Kip’s mouth. “Drink up.” Upon feeling the water on his lips Kip accepted it and Mark helped him take several long guzzles.
Kip panted, becoming more cognitive. “More,” he pleaded when Mark tried to take the bottle away. Heaving steadily, Kip’s starlit eyes opened fully, and he asked, “Where are we?”
Mark let go of his friend and sat next to him on the bench. “Rita teleported us to safety,” he revealed. “We’re a long way from the ASH.” Kip gave a weak nod. Hugging his ribs, Kip summoned the strength to lean forward on his own and tried to get up.
Mark stopped him. “How are you feeling?”
Sighing, Kip inhaled deeply, wincing as his face told the truth he tried to hide. There was a piercing pain in his lungs he was struggling to ignore. “Better,” he lied again.
Mark gently laid a firm hand on Kip’s head, ruffling his wild hair with a weak smile. “I want you to stay right here, and don’t do anything. Just try to get some rest.” He didn’t wait for any kind of affirmation. “I’m gonna help them set up the tents. That much I’ve got a little experience in.” He winked.
Among the supplies, Rita found instructions on how to turn the back row of the van into a bed. So, while
the boys cooperated to assemble the pair of tents, she took responsibility for this, even though it was mostly out of curiosity.
Climbing up into the back hatch of the van, she spotted a lever indicated within the instruction pamphlet. On the side of the row, and jammed quite hard, Rita tried to pull it, but it didn’t move. When she got her fingers around it, she wasn’t totally sure if it was broken or just old. Putting her back into it, she pulled even harder, but it wouldn’t budge.
“What are you doing?” Kip’s voice suddenly appeared from the other side of the bench.
Containing her surprise, Rita jumped up to her knees. “I’m trying to turn this row into a bed. Shouldn’t you be resting?”
Kip shrugged, laying his chin and arms across the back of the seat. “I’m feeling a little better, at least. I need to focus on something else.”
Grasping the lever once more, Rita wedged her foot against the wall of the van to get a better angle and pulled it with all her might. Suddenly, it gave way and flung open, and with Kip’s weight on the seat back, it fell. Reactively, Rita teleported a few paces outside of the van, leaving Kip to fall.
Chuckling nervously, Kip raised himself off the flat foam. “Wow, you okay?”
Teleporting closer, Rita sat down onto the bed. “Fine, you?” she asked, worried for Kip’s health and how he was already protecting his ribs.
Kip turned about and plopped down onto the mattress pad, smiling a little as his breathing became noticeable again. “I still can’t believe we’re actually here,” he whispered, closing his eyes, letting himself relax.
Rita smirked, her eyes growing tender. He was so content. Even with how much pain he seemed to be in, he was all too happy to be free with the others.
She was sure it must hurt for him to not be able to run around with the others. Kip deserved this just as much as they did, and small, pure, and kind little Kip would savor every freedom this world had to offer.
She gazed out at Mark setting up the tent with Sil close at his side. Even from this distance, she could see how his back stiffened whenever Sil got close to him.
Kip laughed brightly like a little bell. “We actually did it!”
While he laid on his back, his breathing became hoarser and in the light from outside streaming in, Rita found dark patches growing under Kip’s eyes as he grew paler. Kip attempted to rest, and Rita reached out to lay her hand on his forehead.
She drew her brows together. “You’re running a fever,” she whispered.
Kip coughed a few times and crumpled up onto his side. Rita drew closer to him, laying her hand on his shoulders. “Tell me, Kip, what hurts?” she beckoned.
Kip’s hand covered his mouth as he coughed, and he groaned from the pain in his chest which was ever prevalent. It felt as if his chest was being pressed in, and his ribs ached as if they had been smashed like glass. His head throbbed, and his stomach hurt.
“Talk to me, Kip. Hey, stay awake, okay.” Rita couldn’t tell what was really hurting him. But he had a hand over his ribs and it seemed like every cough felt like being shattered into tiny pieces.
He let out a short answer which was muffled but it was enough for Rita to hear. Coughing, Kip brought his hand over his breastbone, and Rita’s eyes widened.
A dark stream of blood dripped from his lips as he hoarsely cried out, “My heart…”
Rita teleported out of the van instantly. “Mark!” she shouted getting his attention, “Kip’s coughing up blood!”
Mark tensed. “What!?” He kicked up dust as he ran, climbing into the back of the van to see for himself. Kip coughed several more times smearing the blood on the side of his face in the process. Mark forced Kip’s face upward at him. “Kip, look at me!”
Kip opened his eyes dazedly reaching up to wipe the blood from his face. With his hand above him, he saw blood along the heel of his thumb, deliriously aware of it as he promised in a whisper, “I’ll be all right.”
Mark reached behind Kip’s neck as Rita came up behind him with a pillow from the stash of supplies and a blanket. He gritted his teeth. “This complicates things. Passing through the shield injured him.” He looked to Rita as they situated Kip comfortably. “If his lungs are filling with blood, there’s not much we can do to help him…”
“Keep his head elevated,” someone instructed. Both Mark and Rita turned on their heels to see Elise behind them from the passenger seat of the van. Elise supported herself very carefully, unsure of her own strength as she awoke from the sedative. Dizzily, Elise sat forward but didn’t get up. “Make him drink a lot of water and keep him cool. That’ll help with the fever.”
Rita teleported to the front of the van to help Elise. “We thought you’d be out longer…”
Elise shook off her fatigue. “What’s important is that we all stay safe.”
Mark nodded from within Elise’s view. “Kip already drank half a water bottle and that helped him for a while.”
“Let’s not take any chances…” she acknowledged, reverting to resting since she was still under the effects of the dart.
Affirming as much, Rita teleported to Kip’s side, “I’ll keep an eye on him.”
Mark pressed his lips together, his crimson eyes growing darker and he left them. Rita followed him with her eyes as he returned to the tent he had been constructing. As much as Rita was happy to be there for Kip, she kept the urge to stretch the limits of her power quiet in her heart.
She wanted to explore. She had always dreamed of visiting this place. And here she was, confining herself to take care of someone she was sure would be fine if she left for a few minutes. Kip had already mostly passed out, one hand hugging his ribs and the other putting pressure on the bridge of his nose.
Inhaling sharply, she filled herself with the cold desert air of freedom. It could wait. She had all the time in the world to find her way back to her family.
Mark came alongside Sage and a few other Shadows to scan the edge of the cliffs for firewood. He had built a fire before, but wasn’t the outdoorsy type, and neither was his father. But it occurred to him that with his Shadow, building a fire was going to be the easiest thing he had done all day.
He arranged the sticks on the ground next to the van, surrounded them with rocks and exposed dusty soil so it couldn’t spread, then lit his hands on fire. He wasn’t really sure how to best go about making a fire that would keep going for hours, so he stuck his hands into the midst of them, burning the wood with the hottest flame he could produce.
The red flames latched onto the variety of mossy and dry sticks, turning a bright yellow when the fire sustained itself without his Shadow. He smiled at his hands when he realized how easy it was. His first day had been a mess but now he felt like he truly had a handle on his flames. He had refined it, at least to some extent.
After this, the Shadows broke into the food they had found in the van. Underneath a pile of bread rolls was an ice pack which still seemed to be cold, and under that were several packages of hotdogs. Mark puzzled over the sight of it. Kimberly had known they were planning an escape, but had she really put the effort into getting them food ahead of time. It was suspicious, even if it was helpful.
As the light dwindled, the Shadows lit up, and around the fire while roasting their dinner, Mark watched their joys overflow. He sat down near the fire with a broad smile as they chanted in song. “Come now, rest, day meets night, you can rest in hope, you can rest in the Shadow of our Trust.”
Mark understood now, their Trust was the Shadow Trust, the being who had confronted Mark with his commission. Whoever Trust was, another Shadow, or a deity, Mark was thankful for him. Without a little guidance they never would have gotten this far.
His eyes glazed over as the Shadows stayed up late into the night, singing around the fire, and even Kip perked up. The boy appeared from the van with Rita guiding him and a warm blanket draped around his shoulders.
It made Mark happy to see Kip was feeling better and had enough energy to join the Shadows
around the fire. Kip even had enough breath to sing and chant with them the words of their verse, and he didn’t cough. Mark hoped what was wrong with Kip was allergies like Rita had suggested and Kip had once again overreacted as Kimberly said he always did. But the blood… that was real, even if it had only been once.
Mark slipped off into the crackling flames, the wood they gathered disintegrating before his eyes. Trust was such a powerful thing, and Mark couldn’t quiet the fear that the Shadows had no reason to fully trust him yet. Sil and Emilie had put a lot on him with his power to pass through the shield, but it didn’t feel like they trusted him. As far as he was concerned, he was just a tool to them, especially Emilie, who had clearly been trying to escape the ASH all her life.
He didn’t eat and slipped off to the tents in an attempt to find some time alone. The pair of tents had been set up away from the fire, and each were large enough to sleep five. They were incredibly dark inside, but they held warmth nicely especially in the cold October air in the desert. There were multiple mattress pads provided and blankets but not enough sleeping bags, so they were required to share in the cases of the mattress pads. Mark slipped away early so that he could get a hold of a sleeping bag before they were all taken.
Lighting his hand on fire to warm the air gradually, Mark carefully stepped inside the tent and right onto a hard ankle beneath the dark blankets. “Taken!” a voice declared as the Shadow’s legs curled up under the sleeping bag. Mark jumped back startled. The sleeping bag opened and Rita sat up laughing at him.
Mark fell back onto the floor of the tent. “T-there’s two tents. Didn’t we agree this is the guys’ tent?”
Rita guffawed happily. “I’ve slept in that room with nearly half guys and half girls. No one came to that conclusion.”
“That’s messed up!” Mark shivered, putting out the flame on his hand as he sat on the empty mattress pad.