Witness

by Lori Darnell

  “As I continued my training, I knew it would be a long time, if ever, before I would see him again. Though I had tried to run away with him before his escape, I feared leaving on my own – I was never as good at getting away with things as Dean was. So I stayed on the inside, and learned as much as I could – maybe it would become useful later, if I could escape. As the years passed, I showed promise as a trainer. Then I was promoted again, given more freedom. I saw Dean on the rare occasions I was allowed outside of the compound and we could manage to do so secretly, and then I was given you, and then Jill took her place with us as well." He seemed relieved, finally able to be free of secrets.

  Having divulged many painful memories in a very short amount of time, none of us were anxious to continue the previous conversation. We changed the subject and chatted idly for a long while about the details of the trip we were taking. The conversation then moved into the kitchen as Dean fixed us dinner. He was quite a good cook. As we feasted on roast beef with mushrooms and a colorful array of vegetables, Jill spoke for the first time in hours. Still not used to the idea that she would be able to vocalize, we all turned to stare.

  "James, why did you lie to me? You knew that I should be able to speak?" Her accusing stare was full of tears. "All these years, I always thought I was broken, somehow. No one wanted to be around me. Why?" Even her hoarseness from lack of use could not hide the pain that was evident in her voice. James considered his words for a few moments before he spoke.

  "Jill, I never meant to hurt you. It was safer for you, honey. If they knew your gift was less limited... I was afraid they would have taken you away. I didn't know if you would be able to control yourself, and I couldn’t take the chance, not there. You and Marcus are the most powerful psychics that have ever left that compound; I knew it the day after Marcus had told me that you had come to his room with your assigned Priest. But I needed to try to keep you safe – for your sake, for Marcus’ sake." His eyes pleaded with hers for understanding. She relented, grudgingly.

  "It still hurts you that didn't tell me. Don't keep secrets like that away from me again,” she nearly whispered. I could understand her feelings of betrayal. James had kept many secrets, his reasons for doing so were often just as secret. James continued as though Jill's words hadn't affected him, but I could tell from the brief intake of breath marking his pain that he regretted hurting her. He directed the conversation back to the next day’s events.

  "Jill, please don't talk in front of the Reverends we meet. I don't want the Church to know you are capable of speech. Only in an emergency should you use your voice in public. You may not know this, but your voice is quite powerful, in combination with your gift of manipulation. Just imagine the possibilities." James seemed in awe of the gifts of mental prowess he had sitting in front of him. Despite the fact that I trusted him, I was wary of this. I didn't like the idea of Jill being used, for anyone's purposes.

  "Jill, just remember, your safety comes first. No matter what the Church or these two have planned. I won't let anyone use you." I turned my glare on James and Dean. "Does everyone understand?" I emphasized, splitting my glare between them. They had the grace to appear abashed.

  "Yes, Marcus. We don't want to use her. But you're right. There are a lot of people out there just lining up to use you both. You have to look out for each other. Dean and I can take care of ourselves. In the end, it could be much easier for you to protect yourselves, more that we could protect you. Please try be safe."

  Jill and I took our leave of them shortly after we cleaned up our dinner dishes. We were both exhausted again from the recent overflow of new information. It seemed as though there would never be a time when we could be calm and safe and happy, not worrying about what would happen to us next. James was right. We were too valuable of a commodity. For a private moment, I fervently wished there was a way to change that.

  As we walked into my room, Jill stopped in front of me. I paused and closed the door. She was still very upset with James and what he had kept from her. I realized abruptly that I hadn't even thought about it. I was so curious about whether she could speak, I didn't think of how he must have known all along she likely could, and how that would hurt her. I turned back to her and she was looking at me, tears running down her face.

  "Marcus, how… How could he do that to me?" She ran into my arms. I held her, trying to soothe her, but I really wanted to know the answer to that question, too. There was more to this than he was telling us. There had to be. It was cruel, the way he kept this from her... and from me. How were we supposed to trust him with our lives, if he couldn't trust us with knowledge as personal to ourselves as this?

  She knew my thoughts were in line with hers. Her body shook slightly with her sobs. I tried to comfort her, patting her back and rocking her lightly, but it had little effect.

  "Jill, there has to be a reason he didn’t tell us. Maybe we can figure it out ourselves. It would be better that way. We won't ask them again. I know we can figure this out, trust me." I pleaded with her. I hoped she was aware I didn’t know, I didn’t keep this from her. She took a deep breath to steady her breathing.

  "Marcus, I trust you," she said pointedly. We stood in silence as she calmed herself. It was late, and we had to pack our belongings. As we walked through both rooms gathering our things, not speaking, I grew more anxious. Jill felt it too. We were being dragged back out of our dream, and into reality. I had a sudden, intense urge to delay the inevitable.

  "Come here, Jill," I invited. Let's just go to bed, and pretend reality isn't coming back for a little while longer." Electricity seemed to charge the atmosphere of the room with my words. Instantly she was willing, warm, and waiting. She seemed to need this as much as I did. How did I deserve to have her in my life? She was more than anything I had ever hoped for. She was more than anyone deserved.

  No longer content to wait, she stalked purposefully across the room, discarding her clothes as she closed the gap between us. Her eyes burned with desire. I shed my clothes quickly and met her halfway. She reached up to kiss me, her warm tongue sliding against my lips. The desire raged within me, pulsing in my blood. I picked her up and held her tight in my arms. Our mouths were harsh, demanding, as we continued in what felt less like the joining of spirits, and more like some version of a mating ritual, desperate and feverish.

  We left my room behind where our bags were packed on the bed, a reminder of our dream ending, and into her room. I slid her body down the length of mine onto the bed, bringing my mouth hungrily to her pale and perfect breasts, my large hands supporting her back on either side. She threw her head back, arching her back and pushing her entire body into mine. My body reacted with urgency as my need moved from desire to pain, and I entered her, thrusting forcefully. I couldn’t be gentle about it, and she didn’t want me to be. I could see it wasn't just desire for her either. Her need was just as great as mine.

  For the rest of the night, we let passion drown out the doubt, pain and fear felt… after all, we could sleep on the train.

  Chapter 18

  As involved as were with one another, we barely noticed when daylight dawned and the knock sounded on the door, alerting us it was time to go. We practically had to run out the door to catch up with James and Dean, who were already packed and waiting, wearing twin grins of mockery. James had to remind me to brush my hair as we walked out the door. Jill giggled and ran her hands lovingly through my locks, smoothing them into a more acceptable state. She had already pulled her long hair into a tight bun. It made her look severe, yet beautiful. Of course, she was always beautiful.

  The car ride to the train station was quiet. No one had anything to say. It was obvious we were all uncomfortable with the idea of this new situation, with a Reverend there to watch our every move. We would have to be very careful. Jill and I went back to our more comfortable and complete form of silent communication. It was obvious that James and Dean shared a similar form of conversation. Every now and again I would catch Dean
, who was driving, smiling at James knowingly - there was a private joke there, I could tell, though I didn’t know what it was.

  "James, how come the Church doesn't use you and your gifts anymore?" The thought had just occurred to me. I should have thought about it before; I had absolute trust in this man, but during our last few days that trust has been sorely tested.

  "Well, you see, when I twenty, there was an accident. More accurately, it was an attack on the compound. A bomb went off near the class where I was sitting, trying to focus my abilities on a subject - much like you saw Jill do, the first time you met. For months after the explosion, I couldn't hear anything - sounds or anyone else. I couldn't project thoughts. I was terrified that Dean would be lost to me forever. But about a year later I heard Dean... he was crying. He knew about the explosion." He glanced at Dean.

  "You see, the people I was staying with - they were the ones that set the bomb off,” Dean explained. “They kept it from me; they knew about James, they knew what he meant to me. When I found out about the explosion, I described him to them. They told me he was in the class, that they thought they remembered his body, which was true - James’ body was lying injured on the floor. But they never stayed to find out if James was alive." He closed his eyes for a second, gulping, which made me nervous – after all, he was driving. But when he opened them, I could see fresh tears stream down his face. Despite the knowledge that James was alive and well, the year of loss obviously still pained him. I considered what it might be like to live so long thinking Jill was dead and physically shuddered at thought.

  "When I heard him crying, I yelled at him,” James broke in. “I screamed as loud as I could inside that I was okay, and, well, he heard me. I never let the Church know that my gifts had returned. That is why I became a teacher. I wasn't useful to them anymore. At least, not in the way they had first thought to use me." James placed his hand over Dean’s resting hand, and we rode the rest of the way in silence to the train station.

  "Marcus, please grab our bags, and I will go get our tickets," James directed. He began to set foot toward the station door, but I put my hand out to stop him.

  "James, how are we going to get there before nightfall? It is so far away, and the sun is already edging toward the horizon." James smiled at me, patting me on the shoulder.

  “I forgot; you haven't traveled by train before. The trains move fast - really fast. No one can afford to fly these days.” He walked toward the ticket office while Jill held the trunk open for me. The bags were heavy, but not too heavy. I moved all of them in one trip to the platform.

  James was back moments later, beaming. "What luck! We were able to get a room on the train. It is private, but don't be too open." He glared at me, and I nodded once. I was sick of his warnings; sick of the lies, half-truths, and untold stories. Jill and I were both tired. I didn't plan on speaking much at all to either of them.

  The train was larger than I would have anticipated. I saw the gleaming silver stretch beyond the platform for quite a distance in both directions. Dean met my awed gaze and chuckled. However, as we stepped on the train it became obvious this would not be the most comfortable way to travel – for me.

  The stench of tightly packed people, with varying degrees of hygiene (and it’s lack) made a sickly cloud of body odor. I winced as we walked through the seats toward another section of the train. Here the aisle was very narrow; I noticed I had to bend my head slightly not to hit the lights as we proceeded forward in the direction of our cabin. Other passengers passed through this narrow aisle in both direction; we had to brace ourselves against the outside wall as they squeezed past us.

  "Ah, here we are." James sounded relieved to have found our little travel room. As the door slid open, I sighed. The door was very narrow and even shorter than the aisle outside.

  "Sorry Marcus," James said as he had to step sideways to get through the door.

  “Don’t worry about it – it isn’t your fault that the train was built for midgets,” I muttered quietly, eliciting cautious laughter from the group. Dean couldn’t contain his smirk as he went through the door in the same manner as James. Jill, showing off, lightly stepped through the doorway with no problems. She looked back and batted her eyes at me coquettishly. I glared at her. I held my breath and squeezed through the door, having to bend my knees to duck far enough to get through the archway.

  "Maybe for the next leg of the trip, we should ride in coach." Dean was apologetic. I finally took my seat on one of the two small benches in the room. Jill and I took up the entire space... but to be fair, I took up the greater portion of it. She snuggled into my side.

  "No, its fine. I would rather be away from all the noise out there." Their thoughts, fears and troubles were hard to ignore as my visions tried to break through. It wasn’t like being at the compound; the Church officials all seemed to have a common goal and purpose to their thoughts; over time, they grew easier to ignore, like background noise. But the people on the train with us were not united in any way – their futures seemed to spin off in chaotic and distracting directions. I was in control for now, but I didn't know how well that would work in a crowd for too long.

  I felt the shifting weight as the cars started to move forward. Jill squeezed tighter into my side. She was frightened, but she would not say a word. I ignored it. I wouldn't let them know her fear. I looked out the small window and watched the city lights fade and the countryside encroach up on us at lightning speed. Trying to focus on objects moving out the window reminded me of my visions, when they had first started. It made me dizzy, so I closed my eyes and dreamed of freedom. A place where Jill and I could be happy.

  I slept the entire train ride away. Jill seemed to do the same thing. I felt the jarring motion of the train stopping again, but I paid little attention to it. It had happened frequently, stopping at other train stations along the way. I only awoke when James grabbed my knee.

  "Marcus, we are here." Still groggy, I opened my eyes to see that Jill was still sleeping, snuggled under my arm. She looked so fragile; I hated the idea of waking her. If there was any way I could have let her sleep through this, and I could have endured this alone, I would have left her in the boxcar, willingly.

  "Jill, sweetheart. We are here." She moaned and turned her face toward my chest. I hugged her as she roused slowly. She looked half asleep as we maneuvered off the train into an awaiting car. She became more alert when we got in the back seat and she tried to vie her way back into her spot and I pushed her away. Only then did she realize what was happening, and reluctantly, she pulled back into herself.

  The Reverend had met us at the train station; he was in the front seat with James while Dean, Jill, and I sat in the back – directly behind James. I could see James’ eyes harden defensively in the rear-view mirror as the Reverend situated his belongings and buckled in. His glare looked directly at me in warning, then away to the road as the car began to move forward.

  Jill looked up at me with fear in her eyes. She wanted no part of what was coming next; she was scared of what the Reverend might discover, and what he might take away. We just found our freedom; it was a terrible feeling to have it so abruptly ripped from us with no certainty of when or if it would return. I silently reassured her that everything would be fine, and it would be over soon. She wasn’t convinced, but she looked forward then, serious and determinedly focused on the back of the car seat.

  "I see our witnesses have finally arrived!" the Reverend chuckled eagerly over his shoulder. "I have been waiting to meet you for weeks. Marcus, I have heard tell of your talents. I am anxious to test them myself." His voice sounded intimidating, with underlying innuendos. I saw James stiffen. I decided immediately that I was not going to take anything this man said lightly.

  "You may call me Reverend Michael if you wish, or just Reverend. Most people around here do. I am interested in what you can pull from the girl I have." So it was a girl I was going to read... I hadn't been sure.

  The Reverend looked
back at Jill with a leering eye. "She is quite beautiful; around here, this beauty is rare. James, you must tell me where you found these two! The girl is so... and the boy - I have not seen their equal." James looked back at us with concern. He looked at Dean, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

  "Reverend Michael, please don't get too attached. You see, the Church already has plans for them. We can't have them damaged in any way. I hope you can forgive me. I didn't know you were expecting..." The Reverend shot a glance back at me, ignoring Jill.

  "With those eyes, it isn't surprising. No wonder you kept him to yourself. I would have been reluctant to share such a treasure." He grinned at me grotesquely, which made me feel instantly ill.

  "The Church has assigned a bodyguard, just in case we have trouble along the way. You can understand the value of two powerful psychics - especially when the Church has interest in… future generations?" The Reverend, who was still staring in our direction, turned slightly towards James, his eyes popping widely at the thought. "Ah, I see you understand," James said, sounding detached and confident. Conversation ceased for a moment, while the implications of this idea began to sink in.

  I was furious. Even though I knew it was a lie to keep us safe, the warning words of Isis burned in my ears. Jill whimpered softly at my side, biting her lip to stay silent, keeping her eyes forward. No, I thought, loud enough to be a scream. Our child would never belong to them! I would do everything in my power to prevent any children we had from ever knowing the evil of the Church.

  "Of course, of course,” the Reverend broke in, interrupting my vehement internal speech, “I wonder though... does the boy show interest? He was with you for many years, after all - we all have heard of your insatiable appetites! Would the boy be willing? Just looking at him makes my mouth water." The Reverend’s eyes perused my frame, heedlessly and hungrily visualizing every square inch of me. It felt like being softly kissed head to toe with leeches. Despite James’ warning, the Reverend did not appear very deterred.