There was one thing I had to know though, “Will I be able to have any contact with her at all?” I could live without seeing my mom every day if I knew that she was safe. But I also knew that Sam and I were all that my mom had now. She had some friends and co-workers she got along with, but I knew that losing us like this would break her heart.
Thankfully his face was kind and his eyes serene. I knew what his answer would be. “Yes. You will be able to call her, write notes, everything other than coming here to see her.”
The thought of losing both my mother and my daughter had been ravaging my insides for so long. The knowledge that I would be able to keep Sam with me and still contact my mom was like walking through the gates of Paradise! I could not willfully dislike the bearer of such news if I tried. With one step I threw my arms around his neck and brought him into a strong embrace. “Thank you so much, David,” I murmured.
Pulling away a little shocked, he mumbled, “Thank Rick. I did nothing here.” But seeing the look of disapproval flooding my features, he surrendered with, “You’re welcome, Allison.”
And with that, I had made peace with leaving my home behind. But then another thought entered my mind. I was leaving my mother in the care of some ‘shields’ I knew nothing about “What if the war spreads here to Texas? Will this shield you mentioned protect her from that?” I knew that it wasn’t likely there would be fighting here, but she couldn’t protect herself if the riots continued to grow and people started coming this way.
“The shield will only hide her from others with power. It will mask your essence in this house and blur your connection to her. But it isn’t physical. It’s not a bubble that she can hide under. The war…” He looked down and shook his head. Maybe he was as terrified as I was. “Hopefully we can stop the war. Hopefully now is not the time for the end of the world. But if those things should happen here, the shield will not protect her from the powerless. And if we cannot stop it, I fear there will be no safe place left.”
So, finding a crazed killer and saving my family from him wouldn’t be enough. Now I had to figure out a way to stop World War III too. Great.
Chapter 6
Airplane
“Mom, can I talk to you?” She had looked more angry than hurt when Rick showed up and I took him aside to chat, but now I had to talk to her and tell her only what was allowed. Every step of this got harder. And here I was, not only leaving her alone, but not even being able to tell her the whole truth. After a loud sigh, she nodded and followed me into her bedroom, the place we always had our little talks.
Not wanting to look her in the eyes, I sat on the bed and stared at the floor. When I finally looked up, before I could even get a word in, she started throwing questions at me. “What the hell is Rick doing here? Is he involved in all this? Tell me what the hell is going on, Allison.” Well, not exactly what I was expecting, but understandable nonetheless.
“Rick approached me last Sunday.” I wanted to stop there and leave it at that. I did not want her to know the truth about me.
“Did he hurt you, Allison? I asked him, no, I demanded that he never return!” She shook her head and muttered, I just cannot believe that he came back after all these years.”
“Of course he didn’t hurt me, Mom, why would you ask that? You told him to never come back? Why? I thought he just disappeared one day.”
“On your sixth birthday something happened to you. It was just after midnight sometime, and you woke up screaming bloody murder, like you were some horrible pain. The only thing you would say was ‘Rick, Rick.’ I could do nothing for you. You were begging for Rick, so I called him and asked him to come. At the time, I was almost jealous, thinking that you wanted him to comfort you instead of me. He got there in less than 10 minutes, which I thought was odd, saying he was still in town from earlier business. He held you in his arms as you cried and screamed…” She shuddered at the traumatizing memory. “He asked me to get something out of the bathroom, and when I returned you were quiet. I thought you had died. I grabbed you from him and could tell you were still breathing, but you felt so lifeless. There was this purple stuff all over you. I mean, it scared the hell out of me, Allison. Rick was talking about some old Indian remedy or something, as if that was why you were all purple or something. It never made sense to me.” She paused, trying to regain composure, and then continued, “You were scared of him after that. You begged me not to let him come over. You didn’t want to go to church because you thought he would be there. Do you really not remember that?”
Everything I remembered about Rick was good though: playing together in Fiesta Park, day trips to National Parks and zoos, and the childlike knowledge that I was completely safe when he was around. “Not even vaguely,” I answered, shaking my head as I spoke. But none of the past mattered now, I would ask Rick about it later. I had come in here for one reason and one reason only.
“Mom, I don’t know about everything that happened back then, but I do know about now. That man from the park was trying to kill me.” She nodded. David said she already knew that much, so I went on, “He won’t stop until I am dead. Please don’t ask me why, just believe me. And what’s worse, he would kill you and Sam too.” I stopped, letting her take that information in. I knew she wanted to protest, but I started talking again before she could, “I am leaving, Mom. You will be safe if I am not around, but I am taking Sam with me.” With that, she looked heartbroken. Her body hunched over and her eyes filled with tears.
Expecting a tirade of objections, I was shocked when she nodded. “I knew this day would come. I hoped and prayed that she was wrong, but she never was. After all these years, I was actually starting to believe it though, that she could possibly be wrong, at least once.” Her tears ran freely now. She got up from the chair across from me and sat down on the bed placing her hand in mine.
“Who, Mom? What are you talking about?”
“My grandmother, my mother’s mother. The day after my birthday, when I was still very young… maybe 5 or 6, she took me into her room and told me that my daughter would be different. That part has always been very evident.”
Smiling at me, I had to smile back, knowing it would be the last time I would see her smile for a very long time. “But then she said that because you were different, special, you would have to leave me one day. That it would be painful for me, but that I had to let you go. She said you would have a very unique gift and a very precise destiny.” She paused, breathing slowly in an attempt to stop crying.
“Now, at the time I had no idea what she was talking about, but she wrote those words all over my things – in my diary, on pictures of the two of us, and in my favorite books. Not to mention, she instructed my mother to never let me forget.” We sat there quietly; holding each other, wishing things could be different. “I can’t explain the things happening, or how she could have known, but I believe that you do have to go. I support you in this, as I have supported you in all your endeavors. But I have to ask you, please let me know how you are doing, where you go, and all that.”
With that, I smiled. I knew I could promise her at least that. “Of course, Mom. I’m not sure where we are going, but I will let you know once we get there. And Sam and I will call you as often as we can!” With that, we sat there in a long, strong embrace. Neither of us wanted to let go, but I knew I had to. “I love you, Mom. You are the best mother anyone could ever ask for and I am thankful every day for you.”
She looked at me, hugged me, and said, “Allison, you are the light of my life, and I would never trade you for anything. You be safe, and keep Sam safe too!”
I nodded. “I will. No matter what else happens, I will keep her safe.”
***
It was somewhat unbelievable, but at the age of 21 I had never been on an airplane. The closest I had come was when I was 17 and picked my mom up from the airport after she had flown back from visiting my aunt in Kansas.
So if David and Rick had not been leading the way when we enter
ed the terminal, I would have gotten lost in a matter of minutes. After getting our tickets and dropping off our baggage, we walked through the metal detectors, and went to the boarding gate. As we walked around, Sam was just as in awe from the spectacle as I was. I gripped her hand tighter; the thought of letting her go now scared me more than anything. If I could see myself getting lost here, how would a 5 year old fend?
“Mom, are you okay?”
I was blinking back tears again. It was so hard to leave my mother behind. Not to mention, I hadn’t even begun to deal with what Alex’s death meant for us. He was the only man I had ever loved, and he was Sam’s father. Even though I really wasn’t sure I had wanted to marry him anymore, he had been a big part of my life for so long and now he was gone.
I looked down at her and smiled. “Yes, Sammy, I am.” I was scared, yes, but I had hope and faith that things would turn out right, whatever right was. I knew that Sam would be safe with us, and my mom would be safe also.
We finally boarded the plane at 9 pm. Sam sat next to me with Rick and David a few rows behind us. I let Sam sit in the window seat and she had fallen asleep about 30 minutes after we took off, which left me to my thoughts. Remembering what my mom had told me, I wondered if perhaps I got this power from my great-grandmother. Maybe her predictions came from power too.
I looked behind me and saw an empty seat next to David and Rick. Rick was in the window seat, David was in the middle seat, and no one sat next to David. I kissed Sam’s forehead and squeezed past the lady to walk back to them. I still had not had a chance to talk to Rick about what had happened when I turned six and this way he couldn’t escape.
I sat down and made sure I could still see Sam from their seats. Happy that I could, I leant around David to speak to Rick, trying to ignore the microscopic sparks of fire that burst between us every time I was near him.
“Can I ask you about something my mom told me just before we left?” I said to Rick.
To my satisfaction, he nodded, “Sure. Ask away.” He always seemed too chipper for my liking, like he missed the part about my impending death or the destruction of the world.
“Okay, well…” Suddenly unsure of how to word my question, I paused. “Umm, I always thought that you left of your own volition, but Mom said that she asked you to leave.” I figured I should straighten this out. If there was no reason for me to hate him, then I probably shouldn’t.
With a questioning look on his face he stated, “That is not a question, darling. But yes, that is true.”
Annoyed at Rick’s observation, I added, “Well, why? You told me at church that you had business to take care of. But she asked you to leave, that’s not business. And, I don’t remember anything about waking up in the middle of the night, in pain, and screaming for you.”
After that, David stood up and offered me his seat. I guess he was tired of me leaning over him, or maybe he was just trying to be a gentleman. Either way, I was grateful that I would no longer have to talk around him. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to share with the whole plane. I accepted his offer and moved to sit in between the two of them. As David took my seat his arm brushed across mine and those tiny, fiery sparks ignited up my arm. I tried to ignore it, but when I looked at him I thought I saw confusion flash across his face. He must feel it too.
Trying to distract myself, I turned back to Rick. “Please explain these things to me.” Sitting back, I leaned into the seat preparing myself for information that I was not really sure I wanted but knew that I needed.
“Where would you like me to start?”
“Preferably from the beginning.”
“On your sixth birthday you received your power. That is the pain your mother remembered you feeling. I bound your powers, which is what we have been doing to all powerful children for years. We come into their lives so that when they obtain their power, they call for us, and we can bind them.”
Well, that made sense. I remembered all too well the pain I felt over the last couple of days, and I could only imagine a six year old feeling that. And the purple ‘Indian remedy’ must have been the same purple I saw around me the two times I felt my power recently.
“If everything works out well with Sam being at the Compound, we may consider doing something different with her, but that’s a different story. The business I spoke of was taking care of you, which I did. You took that as why I left, but I meant it as why I had appeared in the first place.” Ouch! That hurt. He only came to take care of business, which happened to be me.
Apparently my face showed the hurt I felt and he added, “Not that you were just business, darling. I came to love you as if you were my own daughter.”
Again, not the best thing to say to me. “Not that I could ever replace your father,” he blundered on. Sighing deeply, he rephrased his last statements, “It was my task to bind your powers, yes. But I did feel love for you, dear. I have never been blessed with children of my own, and for me you were the closest thing to that I have ever felt. I know that your father was an amazing man. I hope that clarifies it a little for you.”
“Okay, one other thing. I am not sure if it will make sense, but I’m going to ask you anyway.” After a nod of approval, I continued, “My great-grandmother told my mom that this would happen. That I would have to leave someday, and that I had a special gift. Does that mean that she had powers too?”
Smiling, “First of all, we call it ‘power,’ as in, a singular word. To answer your other question, yes. It would be safe to assume that she did.”
“What’s the difference between power and powers?”
“We have power. This power allows us to do things powerless people cannot. It is singular. It is a gift.”
Still slightly confused, I did not press the subject. Instead I wanted to know more about my great-grandmother. After a quick glance at Samantha to make sure she was still sleeping soundly, I asked, “So, if she had power too, does that mean I got it from her? Is it genetic, or what?”
He looked at me very intently, maybe deciding just what to say. “Yes, in a way it is genetic. However it is not a mutation of any sort. It is a gift from God that has been passed down from generation to generation.” As if that was explanation enough, he just stopped. I still had a million more questions to ask but before I could ask any of them, he stopped me by ending the conversation with, “When we get to the Compound, it will all be explained to you. It would be very hard to teach you how to control your power if you did not know where it came from and what you will be up against.”
I accepted that for now. If all my questions were to be answered shortly, I could be patient enough to wait for them. It felt like I was in an episode of Supernatural, with those two cute Winchester brothers that fought demons and saw all kinds of crazy, unreal things. It wouldn’t surprise me if they busted in and tried to save the day. If only they were real though, then I wouldn’t have to save the day. “Fine, I will wait. I do have one last question for you though…” Waiting for his reaction, which was a somewhat annoyed look followed by a calm and patient nod, I continued, “Where is this compound that we are going to?”
A smile found its way to his lips, spreading them just slightly upwards. For an older man, he was just as handsome as I remembered him, not the same kind of handsome as David, who was gorgeous, but he had that older and wiser look. It seemed like he hadn’t aged at all, of course I was young and could be remembering incorrectly. Breaking the smile he said, “The Sierra Nevada Mountains. After we arrive at Carson City, Nevada, we will board a small private airplane to Winnemucca where my car is waiting. We will drive west for about 30 minutes to our helicopter pad. We will arrive at the Compound via helicopter just over an hour and a half after we land in Carson City.”
The Sierra Nevada Mountains? For a girl who had never been outside of Texas, let alone seen snow, I couldn’t have picked a better place. “Why there?” My curiosity always got the better of me.
Rick let out another priceless smile and conclude
d with, “Where is there a better place to stay hidden and safe than surrounded by naturally occurring giant walls? Mount Whitney is one of the tallest mountains in the United States, you know!” Then he nodded toward my seat, I looked forward to see Sam stirring. I realized then that we were also almost there.
My excitement at landing and for the trip ahead of us grew so quickly, I was caught off balance as I stood to walk back to my seat and fell back into David’s arms. But instead of the tiny sparks, this time when we touched it was an all-consuming fire. What the hell was going on?
He helped me get my footing and smiled a jaw-dropping grin at me, “Almost there, don’t get all wobbly on me now.” Flustered, I readjusted myself and walked back to my seat. My first airplane ride had been enlightening, relaxing, and exhilarating all at the same time.
I looked over Sam to see out the window and was amazed. Nevada was nothing like Texas.
Chapter 7
The Compound
After landing, we collected our bags and boarded the small private flight to Winnemucca. Both plane rides had hardly any turbulence and were nearly perfect flights – which was lucky for my first experience of air travel. Sam enjoyed the novelty of it all, but it was obvious she hadn’t realized that it was anything more than a vacation yet.
Power Page 6