by Robyn Steele
Chapter 7
“Holy ride! Those are some impressive wheels over there.” I exclaimed when I stepped onto the porch. In front of our house was a long stretch limousine. As I approached the vehicle I saw that it was a Rolls Royce limo. I don’t think I had ever seen one quite this nice. The pearl white car glimmered in the moon light. A man dressed in a full tuxedo stepped out of the driver’s side door.
“Oh that’s how we got here from the airport.” Lissandra explained. “We should take this for our ride.”
Actually that was a very good idea due to the fact that we would have to squish into either Nate’s truck or Cruz’ sports car. We opted for the limo. The driver opened the door for us and Nate gestured for me to climb in; which I did but Cruz quickly followed me in. Nate looked perturbed but just walked around the limo to the other side and slipped in next to me. I was sitting awkwardly between Nate and Cruz. Lissandra was on the other side facing us. It looked very unbalanced with three people on one side and only one on the other side.
So Cruz, maybe you should go sit by your sister. I told him telepathically.
Oh no thank you. I’m fine here. He answered back.
Don’t you think it would be nice to not make Lissandra sit alone? I countered.
Oh no, don’t move on my account, brother. I’m just fine. You sit there where you can see out better. Lissandra added.
“Uh… Cruz, why don’t you go sit by your sister?” Nate asked.
“We really don’t get along that well,” answered Cruz. “It might be better for you to go sit by her.” His dimples started to dent in his cheek.
I began scooting down into the seat. This was going to be interesting at the least. No telling what’s going to happen. Be nice. I told Cruz.
Have you ever seen me be anything but nice? Cruz thought to me. Apparently Lissandra could hear all my thoughts as well.
I’m sure my brother will be the perfect gentleman. After all, he is sitting next to my future sister-in-law. Now Lissandra had dimples as well as she thought these words.
Oh brother. What have I got myself in to? No, I haven’t got myself into anything! It’s everyone else who has decided my fate that has got me into this. This is a conspiracy!
Nate and Cruz both attempted to put an arm around me. When their arms reached on top of my shoulders they collided. It was kind of funny actually. Lis was giggling and I was trying not to giggle. Nate pulled his arm back down and slid it over to thread his fingers through mine. Cruz put his arm across the top of the seat trying to look coy. Nate kept throwing daggers at him with his eyes. Lis kept giggling. I was rolling my eyes and still sliding down into the seat. This could get painful. I thought to myself.
For whom? Cruz thought.
For everyone! I thought back.
You will never be in pain if I have anything to do with it. Cruz thought.
“Oh brother.” I accidentally thought aloud.
“Do you want me to get rid of him?” Nate said as he was pointing to Cruz.
“No I don’t want anybody doing anything for me! I’m a big girl! I can take care of myself!” I didn’t mean to shout. Well, maybe I did but I was sorry afterward. “Let’s just all go for a quiet ride and have a good time, please.” I pleaded. I don’t know if it was the pleading or my yelling that worked but everyone got quiet after that. At least the bickering stopped.
Despite the seating disputes when we got started, we actually had a great time. Lissandra and Cruz proved to be fun to be around. I showed them the whole town in about thirty minutes. We were out of things to see but didn’t want to go back home. So I took them to see “The White Lady.”
There was an old folk tale that had been around since any one could remember. Legend said that a girl had been stood up at the altar on her wedding day. She was so distraught she had taken off running into the hills. She never came back and no one ever found her. They didn’t know what had become of her but if you drive up the canyon and get out of your car you can see her running around in her wedding dress. Some people say she even chases you. I had never seen it but it was fun to try.
We drove up the canyon and instructed the driver to pull over at the spot that was supposed to be where you could see “The White Lady.” There was a beautiful view of the painted sky as we got out of the Limo. Maybe this was the real reason people came out here at night. After we admired the sunset we walked off the road for a little ways to see if we could “see the white lady.” We walked around and joked about it. We kept calling, “White Lady, please come here.” We were laughing and joking around. None of us really expected to see her. We said it a few more times but we didn’t see anything, so we were headed back when we saw a van pull up behind the limo.
We all took off running back to our ride and barely jumped in, telling the driver to hit the pavement fast! Four men had climbed out of the van and almost grabbed us before we got into the limo. The men turned around and jumped back into their van.
“We need to turn around and head back out! This is a box canyon! There is no way out except the way we came in.” I yelled at the driver.
“With all due respect, ma’am, if we turn around they will surely get you. It would take quite a maneuver to turn this long thing around.” The driver said.
“Okay. We need to think of a better plan. Help me think!” I pleaded. We headed farther and farther up the canyon. We could not shake the van following us. If you find yourself running from another vehicle, a limo is not the vehicle to be in. We couldn’t turn the corners fast or get much speed. The van stayed right on our tale.
“What would you like me to do?” Asked the driver. “We have come to the end of the road.”
“Actually, we should just get out and face them. There are four of us and we could probably take them.” Lis said.
“Unless they have fire power.” Cruz said.
At the end of the road there was a wider area to turn around in. However, as we made the turn, the van pulled up to the side of us and trapped us in place. We could not move forward or backward.
Okay, that’s it! I’m not endangering my friends this time. I jumped out of the limo and was prepared to face the guys in the van. For some strange reason I felt no fear, only anger. Nate and Cruz both tried to stop me and followed me out, trying to pull me back in. I just got more and more angry! I shook my arms out of their hold, “let me go! This is my fight.”
Four men got out of the van and began to walk over to me. I could feel my anger growing. Those goons were putting people I care about in danger just because they wanted me. “Stay right there!” I commanded them while throwing my arm out in front of me and pointing at them. Just as I did, a flame of fire burst onto the ground in front of the men, catching them all on fire. The men began to roll around in the dirt to extinguish the fire.
“Holy smokes! What did you do? How did you do that?” Nate was bewildered and staring into the flames.
Cruz grabbed me and threw me into the limo. Then he pushed the van out of the way. Then climbed into the limo and hollered to Nate to come in, too. Nate slowly turned around and then climbed back in. The driver backed around until he could pull forward. We took off down the canyon as fast as the limo could maneuver the curves. I looked back and saw that the men had extinguished the flames but seemed dazed. They were not moving too fast to get into their van. We got away from them while they were trying to figure out what happened.
I was still trying to figure out what happened when we got home. The flames were real, weren’t they? That was so intense! The reality of what had just happened began to sink in. No one spoke on the way home. I got out of the limo with the help of Cruz. Nate followed me into the house. “I think you better go home, Nate. I’ll call you tomorrow. I think we all need some sleep.” I told him.
“Seriously?! You honestly think anyone i
s sleeping tonight? I think not! We don’t even know what happened.” Nate protested.
“Oh dear.” Grams sighed. She walked over to Nate and said some words I didn’t recognize, while looking at him straight in the eyes. “Faloo mitha ta noku.” When she was finished, Nate gave me a kiss on the cheek, excused himself and left. “He won’t remember a thing.” Grams told me. “Have a seat, Talli. Let’s talk about what happened.”
“Well that’s a great idea!” I exclaimed. “I would love to know what happened!” I plopped down on the sofa. Cruz sat next to me on one side and Lissandra sat next to me on the other side. We related the past events to the adults in the room. My mom nodded and grams gave her a look that seemed to say, we knew it. Apparently momma had a vision of what happened while it was happening. Grams had sensed the danger after we left. Clariee tried to call Lissandra since she is the only one left with a phone thanks to the kidnappers. They didn’t get an answer so all they could do is just wait for us to come home.
“The flame throwing is a gift that some of my people have the ability to do, Talli. It’s very rare. We think that you are exceptionally gifted due to the mixed blood. It probably manifested with strong emotions. What were you feeling at the time it happened?” Grams asked me.
“I…uh….I guess I was angry. Yup, I was angry that those men were endangering people that I care about. I remember getting more and more angry and then I threw my arm out and told them to stop or go away or something to that effect. So are you saying it was me that started the fire?”
“Yes, mi caro. You are the only one there that could have done it. No one else would have that ability. You are very lucky to have such a strong ability. However, you must be wise with your talents. Use them only for good and protection and do not let the wrong people witness them.” Grams instructed me.
I nodded to acknowledge grams advice. “How much more do I not know?” I asked all of them.
“There’s no way of knowing all your talents at this time. They will develop as you mature and discover them. I can tell you about others’ abilities and you can explore to see if you have them too.” Momma answered.
“This has been a very enlightening week, I must say. I don’t think anything will ever surprise me ever again. Yup, you just took the element of surprise from my existence. My new norm is that there is no norm.” I deliberated.
Although I was totally exhausted that night, I could not sleep because of all the events of the day running through my head. I kept wondering what other talents I might have and what this would mean for my life. Would I be able to keep it from my friends? Would I be a freak? Would I always be in danger from people wanting to kidnap me? It suddenly made sense why my mother and grandparents had kept all this from me. I would give anything to have my life back to normal. Well, almost anything. Or, maybe not. These things were going to help me find my dad. That would be worth it.
My thoughts kept drifting back to my father. My father is alive! This is the best thing that has come out of all this. Whatever happens, I am going to find him. I am going to use my new abilities to find my father. What better way to put them to use.
Suddenly there was an image in my mind. It was a large room with no windows. Inside the room was a long desk or work counter. There was some kind of computer on the desk. A man sat at the computer, working diligently trying to solve something. He was a tall, dark, handsome man. He looked to be in his thirties, but then again, so does my mother and she is 140 years old, apparently. The man seemed so perplexed by whatever it was he was trying to solve. He looked very tired in spite of his good looks. He resembled my grandfather and I knew it was my father.
The image soon faded and left me feeling empty and alone. I now knew what I needed to spend all my time doing. I am going to develop my abilities so nothing can stop me from finding my dad. I lay in bed concentrating hard on what powers I might have. I know I can read minds. I know I can communicate telepathically. I think I have extraordinary speed. It seemed that I ran pretty fast lately. I will test that out in the morning. If I’m fast, I’m probably strong. I’ll test that out too. The fire starting thing really scares me, but I need to practice that so I can control it.
I decided to get out of bed and put my mental notes into concrete form so I can go over them later. I got out my IPad and opened the memo app. I typed in everything I was brainstorming about my abilities, things I had just learned about my family, and things I wanted to know more about. I typed all through the night. I typed anything out of the ordinary that I had seen in my life to see if it was connected.
I lay back in bed and concentrated on communicating with my father. I pictured him in the room at the computer that I had envisioned that night. I began to send messages, dad, can you her me? This is Talitha. I have just discovered my abilities and my families’ origins. I don’t know where you are. None of us do. Could you give me a clue so I can find you? I appear to be very talented. Please let me help you come home.
I fell asleep somewhere around five A.M. just trying to contact my dad. I didn’t hear anything from him. However, I’m not giving up. I’ve decided to try to contact him every morning and every night and once midday to see if I can get through to him. Until I find more answers or a better way, that is all I can do. It just has to be enough.