Feeling myself wandering into dangerous territory, I shook away the memories and confusion and focused on getting ready for training.
***
“Good morning, Allison.” David greeted me the same as he did every morning.
I no longer felt the weight of the power in the Compound anymore. I was strong enough now that I could balance it. But even though the aches were gone, it was too hard being around David and not touching him. So we went straight into a comfortable hug. I felt his strong arms encircle me, and as I placed my head on the silky shirt that covered his chest, I could smell his unique cologne and breathe in his warm aroma.
The first day had been the hardest. Walking, standing, just being in here, had made it hard to breathe. It felt like I was exerting myself just by being awake. And that night had been even harder because David wasn’t there to take the pain away. I had even gone into the shower, hoping that sitting in the tub and letting the hot water pour over me would make it easier.
But every day got better. By the time the first week was over, I no longer felt any strain from being here. The heaviness was gone. I could lift my feet without feeling like an 80 year old woman. I could walk around or skip down the hall if I wanted, and I would be ok.
“Good morning, David.” I replied, and then pulled out of his embrace. It sounds simple enough, but the action was much harder than it should have been.
Was it wrong of me to want so much more from him than just our teacher/student relationship? Our relationship was already a close friendship, but I wanted even more than that. I wanted to be able to hug him longer and sit next to him with his arms around me. I wanted to cuddle with him and see him laugh more often without reserve. I wanted to be more than his friend, but was it too soon to want that? And would he ever want it too?
I put those thoughts on the back burner so that I could focus on my goal of getting out of here today. I needed to breathe in fresh air, not Compound recycled air. It may have been weird, but I was from Texas. Everything was fresh in Texas. I needed that fresh air.
I’m pretty sure he knew I had something on my mind right away, because as he turned to walk to our normal spot in the hall, I didn’t follow. I stood still and waited for him to come back, still trying to decide how to put into words what was on my mind. He stopped, turned to face me, and looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to talk.
“David, I understand that I am not the best. And I know I have a lot more to learn. But I feel like I’ve reached a plateau, and I need a change of scenery.” I thought about saying a ‘change of pace’ as Sharon had this morning, but I wanted to emphasize the most important part. I didn’t want to change what we were doing, but where we were doing it.
He paused, taking in my meaning. He was concerned my shield wouldn’t stay up long enough to actually practice. I knew that. He had told me as much on several occasions. But this time I wouldn’t take no for an answer. Before he could deny my request, I continued, “I will keep my shield up, I have been practicing in my study as well. Plus, you will be there, and worst case scenario, you can help. We won’t be in danger, there is no one around. No Rising members to attack. Not even any powerless coming to loot or freak out on us. If it gets to be too hard or I can’t do it, then we will come back. No harm done, but I have GOT to get out of here, at least for a little while.” I tried to show him with my face and my eyes how serious I was. I needed this. I needed fresh air.
“Ok, let’s go,” he said, and he turned to lead me out of the Hall and into the elevators.
I walked in silence next to him, slightly stunned that he hadn’t argued with me about it at all. I had been prepared to argue for a while, and beg and plead if necessary. As we walked, he placed his right hand onto my back to guide me along. I had been here for a month and he knew I still wasn’t sure of all the twists and turns in this maze of a building. But was I foolish to hope that there was more to it than that?
I knew my way to the dancers studios, and to the Hall, my rooms, and to the cafeteria, but that was about it. Sam and I had gone ‘exploring,’ as she called it, one Saturday afternoon, trying to see if we could visit every place in the Compound. We just ended up getting pretty lost.
As we walked, I still marveled at the beauty of it all. Every painting that adorned the walls was breathtaking and different. All the floors were covered in a regal carpeting that complimented the dark wood walls. Each lamp was different and antique looking and cast just the right amount of light, it wasn’t too bright, but not dim enough to look creepy. Everywhere you went in the Compound smelled different, but always good. Anywhere near the Cafeteria smelled like rich gourmet food. Near the dancers you could smell their dances, not like sweat from working out, but like strength and happiness. I still often had the feeling that this was more of a castle than a secret compound. It could have been so easy to forget what was going on outside in the real world if that wasn’t what we were all here to prevent.
I expected to go through the massive front room, the one with the huge staircase, but we actually went up in the elevators and came out into a room that was still large and beautiful, but definitely not as phenomenal as the front room. There were a few couches, a lamp on a side table, some paintings on the walls, and a sculpture of an angel holding a newborn, but right in the middle of the wall across from the elevator door was another very tall door. It was made of dark wood and looked very heavy.
As we walked toward it, David turned me to face him and said, “We will try this. If you can’t keep your shield up while we practice, I’ll cover you until we get back inside.” I nodded to show my agreement, and he continued, “I know it’s been a while since you have done this, but it won’t be the same as the first time. The first time walked into the Compound, you were feeling the influx of power around you. You are used to it now, but that means it will feel weird when you walk outside. This will be the first time in a month that you haven’t had to hold your own against the power around you. You will feel like… like you just lost 100 pounds or something, like you are as light as air.”
“Thanks for the heads up.” I said, and started walking towards the door. After his little speech, and the lack of a door knob, I assumed the way out was the same as the way in; you just walk right through.
It felt very similar to the first time, though this time it only took a few seconds. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off me. It was weird. I started jumping around, enjoying the feeling. I could feel that David was right behind me so I turned to acknowledge him, and as I saw him, I stopped to stare. His eyes shone like gemstones, his aura wisped around him like green silk wrapping him in a gentle embrace. My breath caught in my chest and I watched him walk towards me. Mesmerized, he touched a strand of my hair and let it fall through his fingers in a purple haze.
“Beautiful.” The word was hardly spoken aloud, but sounded so profound. I felt my cheeks burn ruby red and looked down, breaking our eye contact.
He seemed to return to the present then and stepped back, “I’m sorry, I just…” and then he took a deep breath, cleared his throat and changed the subject, “C’mon, let’s go, there is a place we can practice while outside.” He turned to the left and started leading me down a path.
I finally looked away from him, though somewhat unwillingly, to take in my surroundings. We were in a deep, narrow valley. The walls of stone that went up all around us had little patches of vines, grass, or flowers sticking up here and there. Obviously we were still on the mountain, but also naturally hidden – should anyone be looking. We were up pretty high, and I could feel a chill in the air, but thankfully the huge cliffs all around us blocked most of the wind. In Texas, the trees, fields, and hills created a very grassy scent, but it was so hot that it was more like steamed grass. Here it was different. We were so high, the air felt thin, and smelled so much fresher than Texas.
As we walked down the narrow path, our bodies moved closer together and I suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape as our shoulde
rs touched and my body relaxed at the familiar comfort of his body.
Everything was pretty, but when I saw the small meadow that he was taking me to I stopped moving. It was gorgeous, a perfect circle. It wasn’t too big, maybe 200 yards in diameter. There was a gazebo on the left with ivy growing up all around it and dozens of different kinds of flowers, their mixed aromas creating an intoxicating scent. To the left was a small pond that shimmered in the sunlight. I heard a thrumming noise before I saw a hummingbird fly past my head and hover over a large hibiscus. It looked fake, like a dream; too good to be true. I could almost imagine a unicorn walking by, like this was straight out of a fairy tale. Just as David had said a few minutes before, I couldn’t help myself from murmuring, “Beautiful!”
He chuckled next to me. “I remember the first time I came up here. I thought it was magical. This is the perfect time to come, too. It’s April, springtime. The flowers are in bloom, and it rains enough to keep the pond full. Once you are in better control, you should come out here at night; the dancers come to help things grow and it can be amazing to watch.”
I remembered Sharon telling me she was teaching Sam how to dance to the flowers. I had thought it sounded so funny, but when she showed me the dance, all the funniness disappeared. It was mind blowing. The way she moved, even without music, was unlike anything I had ever witnessed before. He turned to look at me, assessing my reactions, “How are you feeling? I can feel your shield up. Is it difficult?”
Until he had said that, I hadn’t even noticed my shield was up. Not my physical shield, the one that would defend against attacks, but the shielding of my power so that I would now appear normal. I imagined it like a cloak that surrounded my brain, and spread out over my body to camouflage the power that was within. It was the shield I would need to maintain if I wanted to stay out here or ever live outside the Compound so that no member of the Rising would notice me. Every minute of every day for the rest of my life, I would have to keep this shield up. It had been almost instinctual though. I hadn’t even thought of putting it up.
“I’m feeling great! It’s not even difficult at all,” I said, dumbfounded. He’d made it seem like it would be difficult. “I know I can do this!” I no longer felt unsure of myself. He returned my smile with one of his own.
We went to the gazebo and sat down, crossing our legs and facing each other; it was the same position we sat in every day in the Hall. He said, “Remember to keep your shield up.” I nodded, I would not forget. “Ok, I think today you should practice reading my mind.” He smiled and readied himself, getting into his battle stance, so to speak. He placed his hands on his knees and closed his eyes. I followed his lead and sat in the same position, closing my eyes as well. We had tried this a few times before, but I had never been able to actually hear anything from him. But today already felt different.
I allowed my power to flow over to him. I felt the wind pick up and blow my hair around as I reached out to his mind with mine. I searched for the spot I knew his mind was, trying to get a grasp on something… anything.
I listened, not with my ears, but with my power, waiting for something to happen. After a few minutes, I sighed, feeling like a failure. Though I had been successful in keeping my shield up, I still didn’t hear a peep from him. I opened my eyes to look at him and was surprised to see his eyes staring into mine. As soon as our eyes met, I could hear him. I felt the tickling of his power as it mingled with mine, and I saw, very clearly, his mouth staying shut. It was like his eyes had unlocked something my subconscious mind had been trying to keep locked. I could hear him thinking, You can do it, I know you can. Just don’t give up… keep trying.
At first I gasped, my mouth dropped. The feel of his power like this was exhilarating, something I had never felt before. Sure I had felt him heal me, but this wasn’t the same. This was our power merging and unifying in a single purpose. I could feel mine, separate from his, but also feel our power as a whole.
I felt as though in all this time I had spent with him I hadn’t learned a microscopic amount of who he really was, not compared to this moment now. Feeling his warmth wrap around me and mine invade him was like getting to know him on a cellular level. I could feel his generosity, taste his sincerity, hear his honesty.
But then I realized he could feel me listening too, his mouth opened into a huge grin, and his face beamed like rays from the sun. He then, very deliberately, thought, I knew you could do it!
I couldn’t believe it anymore. I was too excited to stay calm so I jumped up and down and laughed out loud. He stood with me, and as I jumped into his arms for a hug, he held me tight and spun me around.
I felt giddy. As light as air. Powerful!
“I did it! I could hear you!” I was so excited.
Then I stopped and pulled away to look at him and said, “I so told you! I just needed a change of scenery.” He winked at me and we laughed together again.
The rest of the day went the same way. We practiced and I did exceptionally well. When he asked me to try and lift a flower and bring it to us, I knew I could do more than that. I could feel the strength in me flowing through each muscle and down each bone. I had complete control of it; it was like another muscle I just had to learn how to flex. So I surprised him by bringing the entire rose bush to him. Though it was impressive, I regretted it immediately because I had just ruined the entire bush. David promised to get some of the dancers up to fix it at night though.
Then we practiced with my defensive shield. Before today I had only been able to produce it a few times and it never lasted long enough for a good lesson. But when we practiced this time, I was able to produce a full shield that defended against everything David could throw at me– His attacks included him trying to read my mind, move me telekinetically, and teach me Latin by touching me, the last of which I almost purposefully allowed him to do.
After all that, we decided to try my new found abilities with distance. The furthest apart we went was from one side of the meadow to the other, but I could still read his mind and shield against his attacks.
The whole morning left me feeling invigorated and empowered. Good thing there were no tall buildings around because I might have thrown myself off the side in the false hope that I could fly.
***David***
We had eaten lunch while sticking our feet in the pond, and now the sun was setting. We couldn’t actually see the sunset because we were buried in a mountain between two cliffs. But we noticed the sky getting darker and the light fading away.
As the sun went down, so did the temperature. I was leaning against a tree, watching as the dark blue velvet overtook the light; Allison was resting on her back on the ground, looking at the sky also.
I couldn’t help but look down at her. She was beautiful – beyond beautiful. Not in a magazine model way; her nose was not perfect – it was slightly rounded, and her jaw was more pronounced than some women’s. And though petite, she didn’t look helpless, she looked strong and powerful. Her eyes were deep and filled with knowledge, and her lips were the perfect shade, like coral but deeper. The purple highlights that had developed in her thick brown hair were hidden in the dusky light.
She closed her eyes, not sleeping… maybe she was thinking, or praying. She looked peaceful. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did fall asleep, she had worked so hard today. She had shocked me with everything she did. I had trained people that took a year or more just to be able to leave the compound without losing their internal shield.
But when she sat in front of me and joined her power with my own, able to link our minds and read my thoughts, I had finally tasted the rich flavor of Allison. The young mother, now single, who put her life aside to raise her child. The strong woman who didn’t back down or run away at the first sign of danger. The woman who stood up and demanded we bring her child with us, so she didn’t have to leave Sam behind. I got to see and feel the real Allison. The one who was unsure of herself and feared failure, but didn’t let the fear stop her.
It seemed like overnight she blossomed into this fully trained woman who no longer needed my help.
The thought of that brought me up short. If she didn’t need my help, would that mean I wouldn’t spend the days with her anymore? There had been a time I actually had a life outside of Allison Stevens, though it was hard to remember now. It seemed like all I could think about lately was her. How smart she was. How fast she learned. How great her potential was. How funny she was. The way her eyes light up when she says good morning.
I think about the way she laughs, and how her entire body shakes when she does. And the tiny wrinkles she gets at the sides of her eyes. I think about the way she holds her daughter and sings her to sleep at night, the way she talks to her mother and tries to appear strong so she won’t worry about them here. I think about helping her, talking to her, being near her, touching her and holding her in my arms…
And then I feel the guilt at those thoughts. She just lost her fiancé. Could I be her friend, her confidant, her teacher, and protector? Yes. But could I be more than that? Could I hold her in my arms late at night and touch her soft skin? No, she wouldn’t be ready for love for a long time.
And it was at that moment I realized that I loved her, more than my own life; I would die to save her. I would figure out what to do about Damien and the Rising. We would stop the horsemen and not let another Seal be opened. I would not expect her to save the world alone. I knew many here expected her to do just that. They believed her to be the one, the one spoken of in the prophesy. But I didn’t believe it. How could she be, she had Samantha.
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