by SM Olivier
“Reveal yourself,” I commanded him.
I hadn’t realized Remy, Terrance, Collin, Jaxson, Michael, and Will had followed us into the room until I heard the audible gasp. I looked back at the man cowered under the table. I could see him vainly attempt to vanish once more, but he was powerless to under my compulsion.
We had his lap top, we had his research, and most importantly, we had him.
Clean up was no fun, now that the adrenaline of the chase was wearing off. Most of us was returning to the building to get our restrained prisoners. Others were up in the labs, grabbing what we needed and destroying what we didn’t. As I walked back into the building, I looked down at my watch and was surprised to see that it wasn’t even midnight yet. The mission so far was a success, only taking three hours or less.
I should have known to knock on wood. I should have known better than to tempt fate.
I felt the building shake and reached out to steady myself, nearly smacking my head on the door frame. I looked up to see the ceiling tiles shift above me.
“Dammit,” I heard Ned bark in my ear.
“The buildings collapsing! Get out now!” I heard Troy yell. “Someone was hiding down below. He planted bombs. The support beams have been compromised.”
Collin and Ned were running my way as the building shook once more. Collin fell to the ground and Ned ran right past him. “Grab him,” I yelled.
Ned looked panicked and shook his head and ran right passed me. “We need to get out,” He tried to grab my arm and drag me out.
“No,” I insisted. “We can’t just leave him.” I pulled my arm out of his grasp and he let me go. He never bothered looking back.
I cursed and ran towards Collin; he was trying to get back up as the building shook again. I watched in horror as I saw a metal rod dislodge itself and come straight at Collin. I dove to pick him up, hoping I got to him on time. I threw him over my shoulders in a fireman’s carry and grunted in surprise. He outweighed me by at least 80 lbs., but I felt nothing. I ran the rest of the way out of the building towards the waiting vans and vehicles.
I felt a warm stickiness begin to drip down my chest and back, and I looked down in horror to see that I was covered in blood, but I knew it wasn’t mine. I willed my legs to go faster, but the vans seemed too far away still.
“Noah!” I screamed as I came closer to the chaos awaiting me.
Remy and Troy turned to see me running towards them and immediately ran towards me. Remy took Collin away from me and gently laid him on the ground as Troy began to frantically search me for wounds.
“It’s not mine,” I cried out in panic pushing him away. I may have still had the gift of super strength coursing through my veins as he flew a few feet back.
Noah was by my side in seconds. “What’s wrong?” he asked looking me over rapidly.
“It’s not mine!” I insisted as I dropped down by Collins side, noticing the gaping hole, roughly two inches in diameter, with blood pouring out of it, right above the chest plate of his suit.
I took the material of his suit in my hands and tore it open. “Help me,” I pleaded to Noah as I grabbed Noah’s hand.
I had never healed any one before, but I had seen Noah do it often. He always seemed serene and calm when he laid his hands on people. I willed the panicked thoughts away and embraced the peace. I breathed in through my nose and exhaled it out my mouth. As I exhaled the third time, I felt the gift from within rise. It felt like how it felt earlier. I felt more centered, more powerful, with holding my connections hands. I could feel the gentle breeze in the air as it bounded our gifts together. I moved our hands over the open wound, seeing the invisible threads behind my eyelids as they knitted his flesh back together again.
I opened my eyes when I felt the gift leave us. I expected to see the gentle rise and fall of Collins chest. I didn’t expect to see his sightless eyes.
“No!” I yelled in shock, anger, and helplessness.
Noah quickly wrapped me in his arms, his eyes full of pain and sorrow. I could feel his feelings so close to mine. “It was too late, Blake. It was too late, Love. No matter what we did. He was already gone,” he whispered urgently in my ear.
Great pain ripped through me as I sobbed quietly in Noah’s arms. He rocked me and crooned to me. He told me repeatedly that I did everything I could. He told me sometimes we lost people. He told me how much he cared for me, and together we could get through this.
When I finally looked up, I realized we were in the middle of an audience. I could see fear, surprise, awe, pride, envy, and a full range of emotions across everyone’s faces. I didn’t know everyone had stopped what they were doing and watched as Noah and I had tried to save the only person we had lost that night. I continued looking around, not sure how I should react to their attention, until my eyes lit on the face full of guilt.
I stood up, anger motivating my movements. “It’s all your fault!” I screamed as I launched myself at Ned. “You ran right past him! He was fine then! He didn’t have a hole in his chest! You wouldn’t help me go get him. You left him! You left me! You left us!”
I wildly swung at him. I was seeing him through tunnel vision. I saw blood. I didn’t care. It wasn’t until Remy, the only one strong enough to handle me right now, picked me up did I feel all the anger leave me in a rush. I was tired. I had tapped into my gifts one too many times tonight. I felt a giant wave of exhaustion hit me all at once. I saw the blackness threatening to close in on me and I let it.
Chapter 18
I vaguely recalled the truck ride home. I felt myself being lifted out of the vehicle and taken up to my bathroom. I was cradled in someone’s arms as the sound of water reached my ears. I felt someone else’s hands disrobe me.
“Trash it,” I heard Jace command.
I was transferred to someone else’s arms and carried somewhere else. I felt warm water begin to wash over me. Someone’s hands put something in my hair, lathering it up. I watched as I saw diluted blood run down the drain. Someone was running my loofah along my body, as I laid cradled in one of their arms.
“Sleep,” I muttered. “Hungry.” I wanted to sleep but my stomach was cramping horribly with hunger. My other needs within were taking the back seat tonight.
“Is Drake done with her soup?” Noah asked as continued lathering up my body.
“He should be,” Jaxson grunted as he shifted my weight to the other side so that Noah could reach other places.
“I have her towel ready,” Jace said softly. Like he was in a library, not wanting to disturb anyone.
“She still has blood in her hair,” Remy stated as he lathered more shampoo in my hair.
We all stood under the sprays of my shower for a few more minutes. Or it could have been hours. I lost all track of time.
“Drake is back,” Troy said as he came back into the room.
I was shifted once more, the chilly air hitting me as we left the confines of my shower. Jace wrapped me in the warm towel and sat down on the edge of my bed as Troy rubbed a towel over my hair, repeatedly.
“Here’s some clothes,” Jaxson stated as I was laid on the bed. He pulled my arm through a shirt, too big on me, and slid some underwear over my legs. I vaguely recognized his smell on the shirt.
Remy propped pillows under my head.
“Blake, I brought you something,” Drake said soothingly. A warm spoon was placed against my lips and I eagerly opened it. A warm onion and beef broth filled my mouth, before I swallowed.
I mechanically let Drake feed me before I heard Jace say. “I think she’s had enough. Let her sleep.”
“I’m staying here,” Noah insisted as I felt his warm body slide in beside me.
“Me too,” Jaxson stated as I felt his bare hard chest press against her my back.
“I guess I’ll pull out some air mattresses,” Jace sighed.
“I’ll take her couch,” Remy grunted.
“I’ll grab the pillows and blanket,” Troy volunteered.
I woke up to several annoying alarms going off. I felt physically warm, but emotionally numb. I had every reason to despise Collin, but it was hard to separate the boy who had been sweet to me and the man who he had become. I didn’t know if he would have remained loyal to us, but deep down I believed he had been trying. Didn’t that count for something?
I mourned at the loss of a young life, too soon to part from earth. I mourned for the man he had been trying to be. I even felt sadness at the possibility that his child would grow up never knowing him. It was proven yet, but deep down I felt the child was his.
Sadness was quickly replaced by anger. Anger at Horatio. Anger at Ned. I didn’t want that selfish prick near me or the children. How could I trust a man willing to abandon a team member? He had already shown his true colors. His self-preservation outweighed his ability to sacrifice for others. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he’d only taken the extra five seconds to lean down and help Collin up, Collin would still be alive this morning.
Remy stood up first and stretched. He rubbed a weary hand across his face. “Time to get up. Day 1 of training starts today,” his voice boomed filling the room.
I turned and buried my head in Noah’s chest. “No,” I said resolutely.
Noah rubbed my back languidly. “Maybe we should start tomorrow,” he said with a big yawn.
“It’s 6 a.m., we just fell asleep a few hours ago,” Jaxson groaned as he placed one of his hands up my shirt and onto my bare hip.
“Do you think Horatio is waiting until tomorrow? Do you think he cares if we aren’t ready for whatever he may have coming for us?” Jace spoke as he stood up.
I snapped my head around and met his piercing blue eyes. “That’s not fair.”
“But it’s true,” Troy groaned as he twisted his body back and forth, attempting to stretch out his back.
“I’ll grab us some protein bars,” Drake yawned.
“What’s going to happen?” I asked sitting up as I pushed my wild curls off my face.
“We get up, we get dressed, we start day one of training, we get the children ready for school, some of you will go to school, and at 4 o’clock we meet up at the Knights facility for the second part of our training,” Remy said with determination.
“I meant about Collin,” I bit my bottom lip. “Who’s going to tell his parents? Who’s going to tell Rose?”
“Pops and Steven are heading to his parents’ house this morning,” Troy frowned, sadness lingering in his eyes.
“I’m going to tell Rose,” Drake sighed decisively.
“That’s it?” I asked my eyebrows knitted. “What are they going to tell his parents?”
“We’re holding a memorial for him tomorrow afternoon, if his parents elect to take him home,” Jace explained slowly. “His parents are gifted so we can tell them the truth, mostly. He died with honor, protecting our way of life.”
Several alarms went off once more, reminding us to get moving.
We went downstairs where Jemmy, Gavin, and Rachel stood waiting for us. They kept casting glances my way, making me feel more self-conscious. I didn’t know what we were waiting on until Terrance, John, Michael, Dawn, Marcel, and some other guy I didn’t recognize, came strolling in. They were dressed in their running gear. Everyone looked as tired as I felt.
It came increasingly evident I was still under the microscope. I could tell all eyes were on me. I had lost it last night. I couldn’t remember all the details, but I remembered enough.
After pouring a glass of orange juice, I looked at the team, an eyebrow raised. Terrance had a look of respect in his eyes, John had a look of wonder, Michael’s eyes were filled with envy and reverence, Marcel’s eyes were fearful, Dawn’s eyes held admiration, and the last guy looked leery, like he expected me to blow up at any minute.
Heck, I didn’t blame him. I still felt on the edge. I felt trapped within my own body. There was a part of me that wanted to wallow in grief, and the other part wanted to get rid of this anger brewing beneath the surface.
I imagined he was Ned’s replacement. Hopefully he was better at his job then Ned was. I held my hand out to him. “I’m Blake, who are you?”
I heard Jaxson snicker and watched as Marcel took a step away from the new guy. The new guy looked like he was barely older than me, average height, with a slightly rounded belly, closely shorn brown hair, and brown eyes.
“I’m Sam,” he stated as he attempted to give me a fist pump instead of a hand shake.
“The rumors have already started circulating,” Dawn explained in amusement as she gave a pointed look at Marcel and Michael. “So, half of the Knights believe you are either insane and dangerous, and the other half envies us for seeing you in action last night.”
“Wonderful,” I said dryly. “Well, Sam, you should know a few things from the start. I am fiercely protective of my friends and family. If anyone wants to harm them or threatens them, I will show my displeasure. If you are tasked with watching my sister, brother, and our new ward, I expect you to not be a coward, but protect them. Can you do that? If you can’t, leave now.”
“Yea-yea-yes,” Sam finally stuttered.
Terrence dropped his large black hand on my shoulder. His height and size rivaled Remy’s. “He’s proven himself in the past to me,” he said softly. “I’ve briefed my team once more this morning; we’re going to take our jobs seriously.”
“Too bad it’s too late for Collin, since Ned didn’t take it seriously,” I choked out before turning on my heel and leaving.
I already knew the route we were going to take for our morning runs. We were running down the driveway out the gates and down to the first stop sign and back. Remy and Troy had calculated the distance to a little over four miles. As I ran, all I could think about was Collin’s insistence on running with me when he thought I had been oblivious to his deception. I know now I had caught occasional glimpses into who he really was.
He had lived the life of a typical only child; spoiled and sheltered. However, that also left room for his parents to expect more from him. His dad had pushed him the hardest. His Dad had hired the extra tutors to make sure he excelled in classes. His dad had pushed him in sports at an early age. His dad tried to live vicariously through his son. Always seeking to regain his glory days.
His mother had been concerned that her son would never receive his gifts, until she realized she could never use her gifts around him. They pushed him further into the local gifted community, where he met Bridgette. He had dated her for years because that’s what was expected of him. He had admitted to me on one of these runs, that his interest in me was the first act of rebellion.
Maybe this was another sign for me, not to take life for granted. That I needed to live it to the fullest, with no regrets. I needed to take the time to let those I loved and cared for know how much they meant to me. I had already lost my ‘family’ once, and I had a lot of regrets. I never let them know verbally how much they meant to me. From this day forward, I wasn’t going to let the past define my future. I didn’t need to remain broken.
I looked up from my musings and noticed Remy and Rachel had fallen in step beside me. I looked back and noticed that Jace, Troy, and Terrance were steps behind us. Bringing up the rear were poor Jemmy and Sam. I felt bad for the way I came off this morning. I shouldn’t have been so hard on Sam. He wasn’t Ned. It was unfair for me to judge him without letting him prove himself.
I dropped back and fell into step with Jemmy and Sam. “This is torture. Who gets up before the sun? I’ll tell you who, the Devil. The Devil loves the dark,” Jemmy groaned. “I should be sleeping. Whose idea was this?” Jemmy wailed dramatically.
I could see Sam was making a conscious effort of not looking at me, so I decided to give him some time and ran on the other side of Jemmy.
“Suck it up, butter cup,”
I gently ribbed her. “You do realize my legs are a quarter of yours. You should be up there with Remy and Rachel.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “I was blessed with good genetics. I manipulate electronics. I don’t need to be a fast runner or any runner, for that matter,” she grumbled.
“It helps our endurance as well,” I tried to reason with her. “Imagine if we had a tougher mission last night, would you been able to handle it?”
“What did Gavin tell you,” Jemmy asked with narrowed eyes.
“Nothing,” I said in a high-pitched voice, acting like I knew something, when in truth I knew nothing.
She mocked growled. “I am going to kill him. I was a little winded, so what? I could have kept going.”
I laughed, “He didn’t tell me anything, but I run almost every day, and I was starting to feel it.”
“You also became Super Gifted Girl. You were doing things I didn’t think was possible. I wanted to hump you, well if I swung that way,” she said tongue in cheek.
I rolled my eyes. “I missed your dramatics.”
She gave me a saucy grin. “I wish I could remember, but I already knew you were going to be my BFF the moment I saw you. Although…I was a little jealous of you at first because I thought Gavin was crushing on you.”
I snorted. “Hardly, you should have seen how horrified he was when he thought he might be one of my six connections.”
I heard a strangled sound come out of Sam’s mouth before he tripped over his own feet and landed on the pavement with a resounding smack.
I ran back to him as he was wincing and staring down at his hands and knees. He looked slightly embarrassed as I kneeled next to him.
“Let me help,” I said soothingly as I held my hands over his knees first. I imagined peaceful, serene thoughts and felt the warmth radiate from my hands. I watched as the scrapes disappeared. It wasn’t as intense as last night, but it was no less awe inspiring.