by Nathan Roten
Cavaness cupped his hand and patted the back of Graham’s neck. It was surprising to see a hint of compassion in his eyes. What was even more surprising was that Graham actually felt close to him now. Just hours before, Graham had such hatred for him, but now, he saw his real nature. This guy actually had a heart. Graham would have never guessed.
Cavaness made his way over to Kel next. “Kelly, you are already quite the Pusher. I look forward to our time together.”
Making his way down the line, he passed Damien. He nodded his head saying, “Mr. Ortega.”
Damien was about to address Cavaness, but he had already made his way to Ailey. Damien frowned, but quickly shook it off.
Cavaness knelt down beside Ailey and gently took hold of her leg. “You are a fiery one. I hope it didn’t hurt too bad.”
Ailey shook her head.
“Good girl. I am anxious to see what you are capable of. There is a lot of strength in that little body.”
He gave a quick pat on the back of the head as he had done with Graham, then made his way to the door, closing it behind him.
There was a moment of silence before Graham spoke. For him, there was only one choice to make. Soon, Greenwood would be a distant memory, but first, he had to tell the others what he just realized.
“Guys, Alex is one of the Alexanders. It has been eating at me this whole time. I knew he looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It wasn’t until he adjusted his vest that I realized that he looked exactly like Mr. Alexander from the warehouse picture and the portrait at Greenwood. He must be the great grandson or something. When he kept saying ‘we’, he must have been talking about his whole family line.”
“Are you sure about that? That would mean his name is Alex Alexander. I really don’t think his parents hated him that much,” said Damien.
“Alliteration aside, I am sure. He is the most powerful man in this state. I don’t know about you, but I am staying. What are you guys going to do?”
“Are you kidding me, amigo? I just drained a whole pond with a blast from my hands. I am not going anywhere,” said Damien.
Kel smiled at Damien’s remark, then turned to Graham. “We don’t have much to go back to. We do not have any brothers or sisters back at Oak Ridge. All we do there is exist. Here, we can have a reason to exist. Danger or not, we are in.”
Ailey shook her head in agreement with Kel.
Graham could hardly contain his excitement about his new home and family members. “Ok, then. I guess it is settled.”
Damien gave Kel and Ailey a big hug, then turned to Graham and gave him a pound as he started singing “We are family…….”
“Stop that,” said Graham.
Damien stopped singing, but continued humming the song as he strutted to the beat in his head over to the table filled with food.
“You gotta watch him. He gets trapped in his own world sometimes,” said Graham. Kel smiled and gave a little chuckle as the food on Damien’s plate slipped off and on the floor as he continued humming and dancing to the song in his head.
“Kel, I never got a chance to say I am sorry for not trusting you. It is a thing with me.”
Kel shrugged it off. “We all have our thing. Plus, it looks like you will have a lifetime to make it up to me.”
Graham blushed a little and nervously scratched the back of his neck. “Yea, I guess so.”
Ailey was still standing beside Kel, picking at her wrist, trying to make them glow again. “That goes for you too, sis,” said Graham. Ailey looked up at him with a grin. She walked up to Graham and threw her arms around his waist, squeezing tight.
Graham put his arm back around Ailey and squeezed her even tighter. “Come on, let’s go tell them our decision.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Implosion
Once Alex and the others had taken their seats at the table, Graham stood at the opposite side and said, “You really don’t know what this means to us. I still don’t know why or how you knew what we are capable of, but none of that really matters. I can speak on behalf of us all when I say that we accept your offer. We want this to be our home.”
“That is music to my ears,” said Alex. “I will submit these papers first thing in the morning then. You will still need to go back to your Orphanages until the paperwork has been processed. Once the process is complete, you will officially be members of my household.” Alex pulled back his sleeve to look at his watch. “We still have some time before your Directors come for you. There are a few things I would like to show you about this place.”
They all stood up from their chairs. Alex led the four of them over to the set of three mirrors to their right.
“There are many unique qualities to our powers that are difficult to explain. These are one of those things. I want to bring you back to the warehouse where you were first kept. We will be going there using this,” Alex said has he pointed to the first mirror.
“Sweet! Is this another secret passage like what was in the cabin?” asked Damien.
“Not exactly,” said Alex. “It is a passageway, but not a normal one. These are called Transit Mirrors. Among the variety of giftings, there are some that enable people to infuse their power into objects. The power injected into the object will remain there as long as the person who put it there is still alive. We call them ‘Weavers.’ Only the most masterful of Weavers can craft these mirrors. Their power is fused into the backside of two mirrors at the same time. This forms a bond between them. Once that is complete, the mirrors are placed back to back. This is when the passage is formed. Next, the mirrors are placed in the two desired locations were you want to travel to and from.”
Graham reached his hand out to put his fingers in the dimples in the wood. Alex gently grabbed his hand to keep him from touching the mirror. “You only want to put your fingers there if you intend to take the mirror with you to the other side. Since you are all brand new to all this, I want you to hold on to one of us as we go through. We don’t want anyone left behind.” Alex reached out and took Ailey by the hand. He then placed his other hand to the center of the mirror. His wrist illuminated and in a fading mist, they vanished.
Graham, Kel and Damien stood there speechless. Chase reached over and put his hand under Graham’s chin and pushed his jaw up to close his mouth. “This is only the tip of the iceberg my friend.” Chase took hold of Graham, placed his hand on the mirror and vanished.
Branson took Damien, and Cavaness took Kel. Within seconds, they were miles away in the warehouse at the top of the hill. The feeling was exhilarating. Going through the Transit Mirrors felt like the first drop you experience on a roller coaster. Cavaness and Chase emerged as if it were nothing, but Graham and his friends all came out on the other side with every muscle in their bodies tensed.
“You get used to it,” said Chase, grinning at the others.
They were all now in a large office. Alex opened the door and led them down the hall and to a small foyer with two elevators on the adjacent wall. All of the furniture in the foyer was turned over on their side.
“Recognize anything?”
“Yea! This is where we crawled down that elevator shaft,” said Damien.
“Yes, and a great plan, I might add. Very inventive,” said Alex.
They continued to walk down the hall towards the larger rooms, where Damien found the files and the pry bar. There were other people in the building now, straightening things up. One of them had a manila folder in her hand. Alex asked the woman if he could see the papers. He unfolded the sides of the manila folder so that everyone could see the contents. He flipped through a few pages until he found the one he was looking for. He removed the piece of paper and handed it to Damien.
“Casey Hagan. That is the one you read, am I correct?”
“Yea, but we took that with us. Kel had it folded up in her pocket.”
“We are re-stocking the facility. We want to be sure this all looks as real as possible. It was Chase’s idea to
add the files. He did not want anyone else to go through the trauma of believing they were being abducted by aliens. This gives Catalyst Grove a more ‘down to earth’ perception.”
Graham and the others chuckled at Chase as he began to blush. “Hey, I am a Star Trek fan, what can I say? I have an overactive imagination.”
“These rooms were our training rooms when we first tried to develop people’s giftings as willing participants. That is why you see our Sun Emblem on the floor of every room. Like I said before, it took us years to realize that the power only surfaced as a result of stressed circumstances. We did not want to send new members to the frontline to draw it out, so we purchased this entire estate and all of the surrounding acreage to be our development center.”
They continued down the hall to where they were first held captive. There were two men in the room removing the broken chair, and bolting a new one to the floor. Alex pointed to the dangling wires and the leaky pipes. “Each stage along the way has the necessary elements in place to develop the different types of giftings. We wanted every type of power to have the option to move the subject from point A to B and C. Damien, you mentioned that you were all lab rats in a maze. Well, you are not far from the truth, however, it is for the benefit of the rat, not the one conducting the experiment.”
“These mirrors; I noticed them in every place we went, even the cave,” said Graham.
“Yes, we have placed Transit Mirrors at each stage along the way. It is how we keep tabs on you, as well as staying ahead of you.” Alex looked at Chase. “Not all of us have super sonic speeds. While the others were out moving you through the various stages of the Grove, I was monitoring everything from the mirrors. Not only can you move through them, but you can also look and listen.”
Alex turned around and walked back towards the office with the mirrors. Once they had returned, he held his hand up to the side of the middle mirror. His wrist began to glow as the reflective properties of the mirror faded away to reveal a small, dark living room made completely of wood.
“I try not to make a habit of eavesdropping, but I heard all about your plan. It was I who let the others know about your intensions at the clearing,” said Alex.
He held his other hand to the side of the mirror to the left. The reflection faded into a view of the underground cave. “Let’s go here.” They paired up as they did before and within seconds, they all appeared in the underground cave.
“I bet it seemed rather harsh to make you all tumble into the river. On the surface it was careless, not to mention extremely dangerous. What if you could not swim?”
Alex walked over to where the edge of the cavern wall met the edge of the pool. A large basketball size rock sat in the corner. He bent down, retrieved the stone and threw it in the water. A few moments went by as the new recruits questioned what was happening, until the surface of the water began to bubble and the stone returned to the surface, floating in the pool.
“I mentioned earlier that there was one other Aquatic to come through here. As she advanced in her power, she helped develop a reaction-based current below the surface. Nothing can stay underwater for long. Even in the stream where you originally fell, you were protected.”
Damien thought for a second about when they fell over the waterfall. His previous excitement over the Transit Mirrors faded quickly in a new sense of disappointment. “So you are saying I did not help my friends get out of here.”
Alex looked over at Damien. “To the contrary, you tapped into the power of the current. Did you notice how that rock only just broke the surface?
“Yes.”
“And what happened to your friends? They went airborne, didn’t they. Because you are an Aquatic, you intensified the current, getting them to the surface quicker. No doubt you were able to help in a time of need.”
Damien’s pride quickly returned.
Mirror by mirror, Alex took them around the entire facility, showing them the various stages and how each section had options for the development of each gifting as well as having built in safety protocols. Wanting to show them one final location, they traveled through another mirror, and arrived in a dusty cellar. Alex opened the wooden door to expose the edge of a cliff.
“Are we at Greenwood?” asked Graham. He looked behind him to see three small mirrors hanging below bundles of dried leaves suspended from the ceiling joists.
“Yes, we sure are. This is where you almost fell to your death, or so you thought,” replied Alex. Alex took hold of the doorknob and opened the door. They all took one step out of the doorway and then sidestepped to the left along the narrow path, starring out over the towns below the cliff. Alex looked over and motioned to Chase, and immediately, Chase jumped over the edge.
The kids all reached out as if to stop him. “WAIT! What are you doing?!” yelled Kel.
They all peered over the edge as a strong wind blew upwards from the edge of the cliff. The seconds that ticked by seemed like an eternity while they contemplated why Chase would jump. As the wind grew stronger, a voice carried in the wind. “Whoooohooooo!” It was faint at first, but the sound of Chase’s voice grew louder as the heavy winds lifted him upwards though the air and back onto the ledge.
Alex smiled at the kid’s perplexed expressions. “You see, you were protected even before you arrived. Nothing you have encountered to this point has been without our complete protection.”
“Unbelievable,” whispered Graham. This was stuff you only read about in books. He could not believe what he was seeing. He half expected to wake up at any moment back in his bed, snapping out of a dream. His eyes were telling him one reality, but his mind was reasoning with another. Two different worlds were before him. One was the world he had always known. A world of predicable daily routines protected behind the walls of Greenwood. Nothing exciting and nothing abnormal. The other was filled with superhuman abilities that should not be possible or exist, yet here it was; right in front of him.
Walking back into the cellar, Alex moved his right hand back and forth as if creating ripples in a pond. As he did this, the view of the cave faded and the reflective properties of the mirror were restored. He then hovered his hand over the third mirror and Portfield Manor appeared. Alex grabbed Ailey by the hand and took a loving, but firm grip.
“I do not think you need any further evidence. I hope this makes up for the temporary pain you endured last night. Come, let’s head home.”
Still holding Ailey’s hand, Alex placed his hand in the center of the mirror. Two by two, they all emerged from the mirror in a different room of Portfield Manor. Graham and the others again emerged tensed and rigid from the roller-coaster feeling of traveling through the Transit Mirrors.
Graham looked at Damien with a grin. “That was awesome!” he whispered.
“I know, right?! I want to do it again!”
Kel was still doubled over a little, her body numb and tense. “Not me. I hate that feeling. Who in the world would want to keep doing that?”
Ailey silently laughed as Kel was trying to shake off the nerves. She would have done it a thousand times. She smiled at the goosebumps covering the entire length of her arms.
Alex watched them mingle, enjoying their energy and the joy of the moment. It wouldn’t always be like this, though. He knew that eventually the time would come to use their powers for the purposes of which they were given. The other side was building their forces and so was he. The times were growing increasingly evil, like a looming storm visible in the distance. He was burdened by it, but for now, that knowledge would remain his own. True joy and contentment is hard to come by these days. He wanted them all to enjoy it for as long as possible. It is joyful times like these that give people perseverance in the hard times.
Alex pulled a pocket watch from his vest pocket. He put his other hand to his mouth and cleared his throat. The sound carried throughout the room, causing everyone to turn around. “Your Directors will arrive in about an hour’s time. As much as I would like to stay and
hear all about the past 24 hours, I must be on my way to New York for some urgent business matters. As I said before, you will each need to return to your Orphanages until the papers have been filed and processed. This is not my first time in the system, and I have very good friends who are among the leadership of the adoption agency, so the wait will not be long.”
Alex clasped his hands together as a wide smile extended across his face. “I am thrilled that we will be together. I truly am. I look forward to spending time with each and every one of you. You have handled yourselves with impressive integrity through this time of refining and discovery of your giftings. I will send Chase and Cavaness to you once the paperwork has been processed. Until then, be safe, and guard your power. We are not keen on broadcasting who we really are, plus, you will discover that everyone else will be unable to see your catalysts. For something like this, prudence is our best ally.”
Alex turned to leave, but Graham spoke out before he had a chance to open the door.
“Are you an Alexander? It has been bugging me this whole time. You look just like the picture of Mr. Alexander, both from the warehouse and the painting that is in my Orphanage.”
Alex grinned as he turned around. “You have a keen eye for details, Graham. How much do you know about the Alexanders?”
Graham looked up and to the right, tapping his finger on his chin as he tried to remember. “Not much, really. I know that they pretty much own this whole town. Mr. Alexander built our Orphanage, and was one of the founders of Wellington. He was pretty rich, and evidently had a lot of power. That’s about all I know.”
“You are mostly right, all but the ownership. He did purchase the land that is now all of Portfield, but as he delegated responsibilities of the growth of this town to others, he gave the land away to those families. He set well rounded men as the pillars of this town. It was never his intention to have all the power. It was never in his nature. Now, that is enough history lessons. To answer your other question, yes, I am of the Alexander family…in a manner of speaking. Now if you will excuse me.”