by A. Kennedy
“Windy, you can’t tell anyone. Promise me.” His stare was intense, and he was truly worried that I might tell someone.
I held my arm up. I had my hand pulled into a fist, all except my pinky finger.
Boa looked at my hand and laughed. “Just like the first time we met.” His pinky locked with mine, and we agreed with a pinky promise.
“A pinky promise is not allowed to be broken,” I said sternly.
“I never have broken that promise.” He began to grin.
When I first met Boa, he was new to our school. He was the only kid playing alone, so I walked over to him. He kept his head down, ignoring me. The only way he would talk to me was after I told him I could do magic with the wind, but before I showed him, I made him pinky promise that he would never tell a soul.
He knew about Manipulators before because of me. Without sharing my secret, I wondered how he ended up helping the Manipulators. “How did you get mixed up in the Manipulator world?”
Before Boa could answer, there was a knock at the door, and Ryan came in. “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” I said and at the same time Boa said, “Yes.”
“Boa was just helping me find some clothes that I might be able to bring with us,” I said.
“Here, they might be a little big, but they should do,” Boa said as he handed me a couple pairs of sweatpants.
Ryan glanced at the clothes Boa had given me and frowned. “Windy, we can stop on the way down there and buy you some clothes.”
“I don’t have much money. As a matter of fact, I have none.” My heart sank to my stomach. Feeling dependent on someone for money hurt my pride.
“Don’t worry, I can get it,” Ryan assured me.
“Thank you, but you don't need to do that. I'll be fine with these.” I held up the over-sized clothes Boa had gathered and smiled.
“I insist,” Ryan added.
I looked at Boa. I didn’t know why. It could have been to seek comfort from someone who knew me. His statue-like face noticed right away how uncomfortable Ryan’s comment made me feel.
“Always have to flaunt your money around, don’t you, Ryan?” Boa turned to face Ryan.
“Look, all I’m trying to do is help her out,” Ryan replied. He began to raise his voice.
Boa’s lips pulled back in a snarl. “Help her out like you helped out my sister, huh?”
Ryan stepped closer. “Leave Kate out of this,” he seethed.
Boa rolled his shoulders, bracing for a fight. “Why should I?”
Ryan’s hands balled into fists, and his nostrils flared as every muscle in his body tensed. “What happened between Kate and me is for us to know,” he growled. “Apparently she didn’t trust her own brother enough to tell him exactly what happened.”
My eyes widen in disbelief as Boa advanced and grabbed Ryan’s shirt. Someone from the doorway yelled, “ENOUGH!”
Doug stood, taking up the entire doorframe. Boa released Ryan’s shirt but didn’t back away. Doug looked between the two making sure they heard his command, and then he turned toward me with a scold on his face and eyes full of concern. “If you ever do something so stupid again, I’ll tie you up for the rest of your life, young lady.”
I stepped back, shocked. My own father never talked to me like he just did. He turned to the boys, and his scolding face seemed to change to agitation. “You two better make amends and fast. We have a long trip, and I would hate to have to tie up my two most reliable backups. Let’s get the remainder of your stuff and go, now.”
I decided to follow Doug down the stairs. The guys apparently had their own battles to deal with before we got in the car together. At the bottom of the steps, I came face to face with another man whom I hadn’t met yet. He stood over me by at least half a foot. His face had a bold roughness, reminding me of a young Clint Eastwood. He smiled.
“Ay, you must be Windy.” He held his hand out, “The name's Steve.” I shook his hand. His Australian accent told me he was the one helping Doug in the woods yesterday. “And outside is my wife, Renee. I believe ya've met her.”
Looking out the window, I noticed the moon reflecting off her copper hair. “Um, nice to meet you, and yes I’ve met Renee.” I looked down knowing that I probably upset him by my actions, too.
“Ya nearly gave her a heart attack when ya jumped out the window. I don’t appreciate recklessness.”
I glared at Steve. His face muscles were tense and his eyes narrowed in disapproval. I felt cornered. “Well waking up tied to a bed didn’t do my heart any good.”
“Ay,” his face softened. “I know. Sometimes in this life, it’s hard to determine who to trust. But if someone cut the ropes that tied your wrists down, ya probably should trust em, Ay?”
Steve turned and continued upstairs. I went and sat down on the couch and waited to leave.
I was relieved when the boys finally came down and Doug started barking who was going to ride where and what cars we were taking. “Windy, you will take your Mustang, but Ryan will drive and Boa will ride with y’all. Me, Renee and Steve will ride in the BMW. Now let's get going, quickly.”
As we loaded up, Ryan and Doug stayed outside the cars to talk. The topic was no mystery because they kept looking at me. Doug kept shaking his head no. If Doug said no, I decided I would run again. Tears welled up in my eyes and I felt the pulse of the air around me. I watched as the trees swayed back and forth, as if a storm was coming. I looked at the guys and saw Ryan giving me a warning look. He mouthed “calm down.” They said a few more words and Ryan got in the car with a sour look on his face, which told me he probably didn’t have good news.
“So, we’re going to my mom's, right?” I asked.
“Well, Windy …” Ryan began.
“Don’t ‘well, Windy’ me. Either we go see her or you let me out of this damn car!” I screamed.
“Whoa, killer. We’re not going to stop and just say hi.” He turned and smiled at me. “We're going to go get her and take her with us. You just have to tell me how to get there.”
I couldn’t help my excitement. I leaned over the front seat and gave Ryan a tight squeeze. “Thank you, Ryan. You don’t know how much this means to me.” My heart was beating hard and my body was shaking with excitement.
“Yeah,” he shook his head. “I told Doug either we pick her up and take her with us, or we risk you doing something stupid. It took a little bit of convincing, so you had better show him some appreciation. He’ll be expecting it.”
Ryan told us the plan as I directed him to my mom's house. It would be one of the guys and me entering. We decided Boa was the best choice. If too much time had passed before we came out, the others would go in.
“That's her driveway, right there, the one with the brick mailbox,” I told Ryan as he slowed the car down.
“Wait here until I give you the signal, then you can go in,” Ryan said after parking the car.
I got out of the car as soon as I saw Ryan wave me out. I met Boa at the front door, relieved that everything seemed safe.
“You think she’ll remember me?” Boa asked as I looked for the door key under the welcome mat.
“I’m sure she will. She adored you. Why would it be different now?”
“Because,” Boa shrugged. “Zac probably has her brainwashed that you’re dead and she might think, I don’t know, she might think ...”
I jumped up with the key in hand.
While I unlocked the door, Boa continued. “She might think I kidnapped you, and I’m doing the same thing to her. I’m not quite sure what she’ll think. Just anxious is all.”
“Yeah, me too. Hey, they said they were only giving us ten minutes and then they were coming in, right?”
“I think that’s the plan, why?”
“I’m just really nervous.” My stomach had a sinking feeling that filled my body with dread. “I have this feeling something bad is going to happen.”
With my hand on the cold doorknob, I took a deep breath.
There were plenty of people here to help if something went wrong. I twisted the knob, gave Boa a ready-or-not look and opened the door. Without taking time to look around my childhood home, I headed straight for my mom’s room. Boa trailed behind, holding my hand as I guided us through the dark. I knew she would be sleeping; the time was nearing 3:30 in the morning. When I made it to my mom’s room, I tiptoed in while Boa stayed in the hallway.
“Mom, get up.” I shook her gently. “Mom, it’s me, Windy. Wake up please, we need to leave now.”
“Windy,” My mom said sleepily.
“Yes, mom it’s me. We have to go, and you can’t take anything. We have to leave now. Please get up and put some clothes on so we can go,” I pleaded. “I only have ten minutes.”
“Windy.” She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed. “I thought you were dead. Zac said he would find you, but I didn’t believe him.” She started crying.
“Shhh, Mom. It's ok. I'm ok. Zac didn't bring me here. He’s the bad guy. We have to get out of here. Come on, I’ll explain everything on the way down to Tybee. We’re going to the same place we used to go with Dad.”
“But, but Zac is right, well, he was right over there.” Mom pointed to her empty rocking chair she had in the corner of her room. “Where did he ...”
“I’m right here, Mrs. Gale,” Zac said from my mom’s window seat. “Hello, Windy.” He was looking outside. I could see his facial features thanks to the full moon casting a glow on his face. Any other time I would have thought it made him look attractive. Now I couldn’t help but think he looked like a creep.
“Mom, we have to go. Boa!” I yelled, knowing Boa was in the hallway.
“Windy, you’re not going anywhere,” Zac said with an unsettling calmness. “Not you, not your mom, not your friend. Not until you listen to why I did what I did. I really was hoping it wouldn’t come down to this, but you had to put your nose where it didn’t belong.” Zac walked over to me, grabbed me around the waist, and pulled me close. Maybe two nights ago I would have wanted him to touch me. Tonight, however, I was shaking for fear of what he might do. “You wanted to know about my job. Well hun,” he brushed his hand over my cheek, “I kill mutants.”
“Mutants?” I whispered.
“Yes, mutants.” His eyes flared. “Little freaks who have powers that no human should have.”
He wasn't talking about mutants. He was talking about Manipulators. Anger replaced my fear and the air started blowing around us.
“Is your friend one of them?” Zac whispered in my ear.
“I don't know what you're talking about” I whispered back. I leaned back so I could see his eyes. He didn't realize that I was controlling the wind.
“Windy,” I heard a strong, southern voice from behind me. The voice wasn’t Boa’s.
“You’re outnumbered, Zac.” My voice shook uncontrollably. “It would be in your best interest if you released me.” I felt Zac squeeze me tighter, making a silent statement to me that he was not letting me go.
“I’ve taken on more than two guys before. I’m not worried,” Zac sneered.
“Why do you insist on hurting people?” I felt the adrenaline course through my body.
He looked at me disgusted. “They aren’t people, Windy. They’re demonic freaks.”
“What have they ever done to you?” I hissed.
“It’s not what they’ve done to me. It’s what they’ve done to society.” His face came closer, and I could smell the whiskey on his breath.
“And what’s that?” I gritted out through clenched teeth.
“They’ve polluted it, and I’m going to clean it up.” He tried to kiss my cheek, but I tilted my head away before his lips could touch me.
“If society is so polluted, then why haven’t I heard about these mutant freaks?” He squeezed tighter making it hard to breathe.
“Because they do a good job at covering it up.” My questions were irritating him.
“Who’s they?” I asked in a gasp for air.
“You’re hurting her,” I heard Ryan say hotly from behind before Zac could respond to my question.
“Are you the freak controlling the wind right now?” Zac said to Ryan. “I suggest you go ahead and hand yourself over, or I’ll kill her.”
My head started to spin and dots began to float in front of my eyes. My waist felt like it would explode along with my lungs. Despite the pain I was in, I couldn’t let Ryan hand himself over to Zac. I shook my head to Zac’s question for Ryan. Water seeped from my eyes as I tried to take a breath so I could speak. “I am,” I said hoarsely.
He let out his sinister laugh. “You,” he laughed louder. “You are doing this?” The wind picked up and papers started flying around the room. He laughed again, “And to think I’ve had a mutant freak in my bed.” He put his lips to my ear and whispered, “I will kill you, my love.”
I knew he would, and it made me feel cold all over. Between gritted teeth, I took one more sharp breath and I said, “Not if I kill you first.” A look of surprise came over Zac's face.
Ryan and Boa jumped in to tackle him. Zac released me, and I fell to the ground. I quickly scooted away as air stung my exhausted lungs. I heard the men struggling. Zac was pinned beneath Boa, and Ryan was hitting Zac in the head with something. I could hear the blows. Once. Twice. By the third time, Zac was motionless. Boa got up off the ground, and Ryan checked Zac's wrist; he nodded his head in satisfaction and dropped Zac's arm.
Boa ran past me, grabbed my mom by the arm, and headed out of the bedroom. Ryan tried doing the same with me, but I stopped him from pulling me up off the floor. I knew I should have been happy that Zac would no longer be a threat to me or anyone else, but a part of me still loved him. The fight inside was finally gone. I felt Ryan lift me off the floor to a standing position. “Windy, we have to leave before he wakes up.”
“He’s not ... he’s not dead?” I squeaked out.
“No, but it might be really smart if we got out of here before he wakes up and we end up dead.”
I allowed Ryan to guide me out of the room. Looking over my shoulder, I stared at Zac until he was no longer in my sight.
Ready for me to climb in, Boa had the car door open and the seat pushed forward. I slid into the backseat and looked over at my mom. “Mom,” I choked. I reached over and hugged her. She squeezed, and I could hear her crying sniffles.
“Windy,” she sobbed into my shoulder. “Thank God you’re alive.”
As the car pulled out of the driveway, I leaned over into my mom’s lap. She stroked my hair, and I could feel the stress seep out of my pores. I closed my eyes and knew that I would finally drift off to sleep.
Chapter 10
“Windy, you know you’re special, right?”
“Daddy, you tell me that all the time.” Dad and I were sitting on the beach. For once, we weren’t training.
Soaking up the rare moment, he replied, “I know. I just want you to know because other people will start seeing it.”
I shrugged. “Is that a bad thing?”
He looked away from me and gazed out over the ocean, trying to figure out how to answer my question. “It’s not a bad thing for me to see that you are special, but some may see it as a threat.” He looked at me. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
I shook my head, “Why would someone see me as a threat?”
He sighed deeply. “Some people, who are naïve, think that you are a monster because you possess a special talent to manipulate the wind. Then there are people who might see you as a threat because you are the greatest Wind Manipulator out there. And, well, power can be threatening to some. I just want you to know because it's going to be hard to trust others around you.”
An unfamiliar pain began to squeeze my heart. “Daddy, I don’t understand. How could someone think I’m a monster?”
Tears started to form around my 12-year-old eyes. My dad wrapped me up in his loving arms, “Shh, my darling Windy. Those people who think that
we are monsters are the real monsters. They don’t understand us, so we scare them. They even go to the extreme of hunting us. Which reminds me, if anything ever happens to me, your mom is going to need you.”
The sobs came again, his words stung all the way to the core. Why would anyone want to hurt my dad? He hadn’t done anything to anyone. “Nothing can happen to you. I won’t let it.”
“Windy, just promise me, please.” There was urgency in his voice. Before he said more, he looked to the sky as if asking for help from above. “I know it is hard to listen to what I’m telling you, but you must listen.” His voice softened but still held its imperativeness. “I know you’re young and this may seem overwhelming, but you need to always remember who you are and where you come from. You need to learn who you can trust and who could possibly turn into your enemy. You have enemies you have never dreamed of because you are so special. Just as I have enemies I never dreamed to have. My enemies, well they are gaining on me, and I don’t know how much longer I will be able to run from them. Please, Windy, promise me you will take care of your mom if anything happens to me.”
“Promise,” was all I could get out in between my sobs. What he was telling me was crushing my heart, and just the thought of him being gone hurt.
Dad tilted my head up so I could look into his green eyes and see his encouraging smile. He kissed me on my forehead, which eased my pain, but it didn’t stop the tears from coming.
“Windy, you’re crying. Are you okay?”
My mom's voice was soothing, and it eased the pain that the dream had caused. I leaned over and hugged her. The lump in my throat took a moment to go away, but when it did, I was able to answer, “Yeah, I’m good. Just a bad dream is all. What about you? Are you okay?”
“I’m doing better now that I'm with you.” She squeezed me closer to her. “I thought I would never see you again.”
I reciprocated my mom’s squeeze. “Why would you think that?”
“Zac thought you might be dead,” my mom said, shuddering.
“Mom,” I leaned away so I could make eye contact with her. “Promise me you will never believe anything that man ever tells you.”