The Touch (Healer Series)

by Allison Rios

  When the beer was getting the best of them, Max bolted upright without warning and a feeling of unease caused the hairs on the back of AJ’s neck to stand straight up. He’d felt something similar a few times before and hadn’t thought much of it. Max’s reaction though made it seem much worse than AJ had ever imagined the feeling being.

  “Max-”

  “Shhhhhh,” Max responded, raising his finger to his mouth. His eyes were closed, his hands down at his sides as if he were feeling for something in the dark.

  AJ waited in silence as Max listened for whatever it was he heard. Minutes passed yet it felt like hours, and the feeling in the pit of AJ’s stomach grew. Max was visibly shaken when he sat back down.

  “Max, what’s going on?” AJ asked, now worried about his friend. “What is it?”

  “It’s a Grim,” Max countered, his eyes still staring into space. “I felt it at first, but now I can hear him,” he continued. AJ remembered Max going on about Grims in the past, yet he had never encountered one. At least that he knew of. And he hadn’t paid close enough attention because he knew they were simply a part of the world that he couldn’t take away, one that was needed to keep the earth’s balance in check despite the fact that they were the bearers of death.

  “Remember that not all Grims follow their laws AJ,” Max began, starting the story from scratch as if he’d never discussed the topic with the kid before. “There aren’t many malicious ones left. When one exists, they pick somewhere and want to wreak havoc. There’s a broken trust between our groups and we must always be cautious when one is around.”

  “Where is he? Her? It?” AJ felt as if he should have probably paid better attention to all those lessons Max had taught him. “I don’t even know what they’d look like. Is it here to find us?”

  The Grims were an eager group, and their mission in the world was to bring about death to keep order in the populations. However, there were certain Grims who held a different mission: destroy Healers and bring pain and suffering to the human population. Plagues, accidental explosions and hurricanes were just a few of the many ways the Grims brought their cruel touch to the mortals, and while most of these occurrences were small-scale and created by the non-combative Grims some were designed to send messages.

  “He’s within 100 miles. I’m not quite sure where.”

  “Max, what does this mean? Do we have to do something?”

  AJ was, quite frankly, a bit scared. He hadn’t encountered a Grim yet, and the thought scared him a bit. He barely had a handle on his own capabilities, let alone fighting off someone who was against him.

  “There’s Healers closer to him,” Max said. “I can feel them, too. However, we should be prepared in case he heads near either of us.”

  He paused, his senses coming back and separating him from listening for the others.

  “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you, AJ.”

  AJ was not okay, clearly flustered by this information. He could feel his hands shaking as he placed them on his hips, tugging at his loose-fitting cargo shorts.

  “What if he ends up in Lee?”

  “I’ll be there with you,” Max said. “I will keep my thoughts focused on the Grim. I’ll know if you’re in the same area, and I’ll come.”

  Taking another step towards AJ and placing a strong hand on his shoulder, he leaned in closer to him.

  “What are your questions, kid? Your face says you have a lot.”

  “I don’t know enough about them, Max. About which are okay, which are evil. I don’t know how to defend myself against them. Or how to stop them from doing what they do if I need to.”

  “Come with me,” Max replied, patting AJ on the back and leading him towards the den. He scanned the bookshelves with his finger, pulling an old book off of the shelf and setting it onto the table. The dust made it evident the book hadn’t been read in quite awhile.

  “The only thing that distinguishes Grims from the rest of the population is their constant use of dark clothing,” Max said, having opened the book to centuries-old writing that began with Grim. “Telling them apart from the general population – on top of the feeling they generate within our souls – used to be a lot easier before dark denim made them more style icons as opposed to harbingers of death.”

  “They haven’t changed their sense of style since the beginning of time. These Grims have a mission in life, as you already know. When bad things happen it’s the result of a Grim’s fingerprint. Tornados, cancer - all the unexpected occurrences that humans believe are bad luck or happen for no reason come from a Grim having touched their lives. As awful as it is, these things have to happen. While the rest of the world wants the answers as to why someone is sick or why bad things happen, they don’t look at the top layer: people have to die for the world to continue on. If everyone lived, everything would just turn to chaos. It’s the few bad apples of the Grims that we have to watch for: the ones who don’t use their gift for balance, but rather to cause pain and destruction.”

  “What if a Grim goes through an entire town, just touching everyone?”

  “It’s not that easy for them,” Max replied, signaling for AJ to sit. “They can only touch one person per day. More than that would drain them far too much. The average Grim is more sensitive to being drained of their energy than we are. That doesn’t go to say that Mother Nature hasn’t made some things easier for them. For example, if a storm is brewing, they may generate a tornado. This doesn’t happen often. It takes most of their energy and puts them at risk of dying. If they start an epidemic, like they did with the Spanish Influenza, touching only one person a day can generate a lot of pain and suffering. It’s a communicable disease and one person can spread it to an entire city. Grims are tricky, and use these things to their advantage. A select few take joy in watching people suffer.”

  AJ realized at that moment what Max had known all along – a Grim had touched his mother. Maybe if he’d paid closer attention, he thought, he would have realized that sooner. His stomach tied in a knot that he had only before felt upon her death and tears welled in his eyes. The anger shot through his veins and with clenched fists he stood up, towering over Max.

  “You knew? You knew and you didn’t tell me? That’s bullshit, Max! Bullshit!”

  AJ threw his can across the room and watched it smash against the wall, the contents spraying like an open hydrant.

  Max sat in silence, taking the verbal beating as he had with all the other new Healers who had learned the truth about someone they loved dying. AJ knew what Grims did and yet he hadn’t tied it into his own life. He’d only thought about it happening to others. Max kept his eyes on AJ, knowing the kid wouldn’t hurt him.

  “Were you close to us? And you did nothing? Were you that close to us that you could feel the Grim, and you didn’t step in? No Healer did?”

  “AJ, this is why we aren’t allowed to heal those we love most, our families. Sit down, so we can talk.”

  AJ glared at him and slowly shifted his weight back to sitting, directly across from Max. His eyes never left his friend’s.

  “I met your mother once, in the hospital. I sensed the Grim, an evil one. I was there to follow his path and try to right the suffering he caused for those who didn’t deserve it. But the visions of your mom, they did not tell us to heal her.”

  “Why?” AJ asked, his eyes brimming with tears that finally began falling down his cheeks. His mother had been his world, his reason for existence. She had given up so much to give him everything he needed as she raised him as a single mom. He knew after meeting Max and learning the rules regarding his gift that he couldn’t have healed her himself, although that guilt never left him. He had always wondered why no one had healed her.

  “Why was she chosen not to be healed? Why was she taken away from me?”

  “Everything serves a greater purpose, AJ.”

  AJ wanted to reply with his emotions. He wanted to yell that he didn’t give a shit for greater purposes but that
was a lie. He was committed to the destiny he’d been handed; it just didn’t apply strictly to his mother.

  Max leaned forward towards his friend. AJ had one of the most golden hearts he had ever encountered in a Healer, and it broke Max’s heart to see the pain his friend endured.

  “The visions I had when I touched your mother showed me you and your strength. They showed the good you would do in the world, and the man you would become because you had loved her so much. You would take all she taught you and use that – along with your need to heal others and protect them from the same pain you felt - to be a strength in this world. The things you are meant to accomplish you wouldn’t do if she were here because you wouldn’t want to risk your life and put her through that. The world needs you. There are people out there who need you to change their lives. You have a destiny you must fulfill.”

  He reached over and placed his hand on AJ’s arm, gripping it tightly as if to say he was sorry. AJ understood the unspoken gesture, placing his own hand on top of Max’s. In silence they sat, the only sound that filled the room coming from the tears falling down AJ’s face.

  “Let’s call it a night,” Max said, standing up and walking over to retrieve a pillow and blanket from the hall closet. “It’s been a long evening. You have a long drive and a hard day’s work tomorrow.”

  “That I do,” AJ said, standing up to stretch, pulling off his tank top to reveal the finely tuned muscles in his upper body.

  “Damn. Maybe I need to start working out again. I miss the days when I would hit the gym for hours. The only workout I do now is hiking these woods every day. Keeps me young.”

  AJ smiled and reached out to shake his buddy’s hand.

  “See you in the morning, Max. Thanks.”

  Max could see AJ was still thinking about his mother, questioning the meaning of it all. As a newbie, he knew the kid had difficulty accepting the concept that not everyone on earth can or should be saved. Immense problems would arise from a world so populated.

  AJ understood the premise; acceptance was another matter.

  **************************************************

  The early morning drive was difficult since AJ had only slept a couple of hours. His mind had been filled to the brim with questions about why good people had to die when there were people like him who could save them. He knew the world would be full of people and he rationalized an abundance of population by thinking Healers could still let the nasty people die without healing any of them. In the end he knew the decisions weren’t his to make, which didn’t make his mission in life any easier. His mother was a good person who deserved a long and happy life and though he knew Max had no choice, he couldn’t help but let a part of his heart be angry with his friend for what he could only describe in his mind as a betrayal.

  The insomnia gave him plenty of time to think.

  He was a bit perplexed that he hadn’t been able to see visions of Addie as they spoke. Vacancy of thoughts hadn’t happened to him before. He’d touched countless people, learning about what type of person they’d become and whether utilizing his gift and draining himself was the destined path. He’d learned early on that people needn’t be ill for a Healer to have these visions. At some point in life, everyone was going to get sick. With Addie, there was nothing but a fast-paced slideshow.

  AJ recalled the last visions he’d allowed himself to experience before the result forced him to flee from his lonely home; the reason that he had to find a place where people might not recognize him. The memory made him anxious.

  He had spent time volunteering in hospitals. The position provided him the opportunity to visit with those who needed healing. It was during his time there that he met Sarah. She came into the hospital needing emergency surgery and he was delivering magazines and other knick-knacks to patients when he walked through her door. She was sitting up in the sterile metal bed, her face battered and bruised and half-hidden behind the blond ringlets that framed her face. She was nearly unrecognizable as a human as a result of the abusive hands of a mugger.

  She opened her eyes into tiny slits – the widest they would release – and AJ smiled at the bright and lively green that was exposed. They held more sadness than he had ever encountered prior, minus his own life experience. She forced a smile which caused his heart to sink a bit. He always thought it was such a shame that amazing people who held a tremendous amount of strength and beauty both inside and out still had the ability to smile for others while undergoing such pain.

  They chatted for a moment and he handed her a magazine, his fingers brushing her swollen, purple and black speckled hand. The shock ran through both of them as he saw her future - a clear view of her opening tall wooden doors to a shelter for battered women. She would use this pitfall in her life to come back stronger and assist women who were going through the same. They would flock to her because she understood, and she would save more lives than she could imagine. That was all it took for him to lean forward, place his hand on her arm and continue talking. She felt the warmth of his touch and relaxed instantly. The tingling scared her a bit, yet felt so kind and inviting that her hand moved on top of his. She drifted off into her subconscious, something AJ saw each time he healed.

  He patiently stood there as her bruises disappeared, little by little. Her vitals strengthened and her cuts evaporated into thin air. The bruised and battered woman who had entered the hospital was gone, replaced by a stronger woman with a newfound purpose. As he was about to remove his hand the nurse walked in and gasped at the change in her patient who, a half hour earlier, had been bruised beyond comprehension. She dropped the chart and backed up while AJ stood not knowing what to do next. He hadn’t even thought about the possibility of healing someone like this in such an open place, where people were sure to see the difference. On patients with heart problems and brain injuries there hadn’t been such a threat. The changes were internal and often simply deemed miracles. Her facial injuries and the kindness shown through in her visions had caused what some Healers would refer to as a lapse in his judgment, and he quickly walked out of the room. He had healed external damage which, over time, would have healed itself. Sarah had not been in life-threatening danger and that had been AJ’s mistake – his downfall was injured women and children.

  The nurse screamed for others, yelling at AJ to stop. He kept going. He knew with his registration as a volunteer he’d be found in no time. Though he had done nothing wrong, the revelation of his ability to heal would cause chaos in the community and chaos for his clan. He raced home, quickly throwing everything he could into bags and suitcases before tossing it into his car and setting off for somewhere new.

  As his car barreled out of the city, his shaky hands had twisted on the steering wheel cover much as they did when he needed to keep them occupied. He looked at them closely. He had finally begun to see the very same hands not as an enemy, but as a gift. With the very hands he at times loathed he could change the outcome of Mother Nature, lifting the illness right from the body, as if he were pulling it out with a string.

  He recalled all that Max taught him, promising to be better about his people’s history so that he would know more about the way their societies worked. There were many names in the legends for people of his kind: voodoo practitioners, witch doctors, wizards. They were names people made up to attempt in vain at an explanation for the unexplained. Most people walking the earth believed in these beings only as fairy tales, thinking that magic did not exist. However, there were others who knew better.

  AJ was a Healer with no guidance, at least not at first. He had discovered at age 21 that he was endowed with this gift. At six foot two, dirty blond hair and tan skin, eyes as blue as a cloudless day, he was extremely handsome. His eyes were fierce and piercing, his shoulders broad and strong. With an angled chin and hands that could palm a basketball he was entrancing, menacing, and beautiful all at once. He was a loner even before his discovery. That didn’t keep him from being noticed.

 
; If he had chosen to, he would have never had problems finding a date. Those days were long past, though. As his mother fell ill, his only responsibility was to taking care of her and filling her last months with happiness. He took more pride in that than any of the trophies or awards he had received for his athletic skills.

  Living alone and studying to be a physical therapist, he spent his days working with those injured in car accidents and other traumatic situations to enable them to walk again and be independent. Because of his good looks and charming personality he was easily able to meld to people, breaking down their barriers and getting them to open up. He had an ease about him.

  That wasn’t to say he didn’t have a mean streak. His temper was a hot one, often getting him in trouble – most often when someone he cared about was in trouble. He was the first to stand up for what he believed in. He never backed down and had visited the principal’s office on more than a couple occasions.

  His uncle, the man who had been the closest thing to a father that he had ever had, died when he was merely a toddler, and his mother died of cancer only months before AJ found his gift. The first time it happened he was scared beyond belief. An old friend stopped by to visit and see how he was faring. When he shook his friend’s hand it was almost as if an electric shock went through them as AJ’s mind filled with images of his friend becoming a physician and standing with an award. It rattled AJ to his core; he had never experienced anything like that before. They laughed off the shock as dryness in the air, and AJ didn’t mention the visions.

  In the course of talking, his friend mentioned how he had been planning on becoming a surgeon. However, because of a broken wrist he’d suffered years ago his mobility was impaired and some feeling was lost in his fingers. It cost the young hopeful the opportunity to perform surgery. He had decided to change his focus to becoming a pediatrician, though he was a bit distressed that he’d never realize his dream of surgery.

  AJ asked him to reach out his hand and let him take a look at it. His friend at first objected, arguing that the useless appendage had been poked and prodded by the top doctors in the city and they all agreed they could not reset it without affecting the nerves even further. Nevertheless, he extended his arm to AJ who touched the wrist to feel how the bones were structured. Perhaps, he thought, physical therapy might be an option to help restore feeling. As AJ’s fingers touched the wrist, the shock and warmth flooded back again and AJ didn’t pull away. He rotated and flexed it, and then said he was sorry he couldn’t do anything to help. His friend appeared dazed for a moment before snapping back to reality in sheer panic.