by Gary Sapp
knew that you would be.”
Angel flashed her look of confusion again. Chris fought off hurt…he rubbed salvia building at the corners of his mouth but had found his voice again.
“Ever since the day that he let you take me away from my mother and my brother Xavier…I became a man, Hugh. I became a man because I had to.” And then Chris found eyes for young Moses Jackson and somehow he knew he was gazing at the childhood version of himself without having to state it aloud. Both generals knew it. “We wouldn’t have survived any other way would we?”
“Survival,” Keaton shook his head as the sadness of his plight nearly overwhelmed him. “I want to survive this, Christopher.”
“I don’t think it’s too late,” Angel said to him, but looked from Chris to the many faces surrounding their position, but strange and unfamiliar faces to her. “But there is danger all around us. It’s probably worse, Hugh, than both you and I realize right Christopher?”
Agent Prince nodded with some urgency.
“She’s right as usual, Hugh. We have to deal with the hand we’ve been given. You need to surrender to me as we three agreed that you would an hour and half ago. Are you prepared to do that? Are you strong enough to keep your emotions in control so we can all walk away from this alive?”
There are so many of them…and so few of us.
“There is a human sense of comfort and relative safety when you are sheltered under the umbrella of company and fellowship…” Hugh heard his voice trail off and he began to cry. “I may deserve so but I don’t want to die. I’m so scared right now, Christopher. I want to live.”
“So do I,” Agent Prince said and it was the doctor who neared tears as her best friend’s words meaning became clearer to her. “Let’s start the ball rolling by releasing Dr. Hicks Dupree into my custody and care. Doctor, you will take these boys one by one to the care of your old comrade Agent Sheridan and his people just over that hill while I stay with Hugh.”
“No,” Hugh said quickly. “The doctor stays behind. She allowed herself to be detained to shield me from being potentially shot down by…by whoever is pursuing me. The boys stay as well. We all walk together or not at all. Otherwise, one of these trigger happy people may get an itchy finger. I’ll be dead if only one of these men makes an error in judgement or conscious.”
“I have to side with Hugh on this one, Christopher.” Angel said. “He has done some horrible things, some unforgivable, and I’m sure that many people behind those guns out there aren’t nearly as forgiving as you.”
“Alright, I don’t have the time to argue this point. As you said, Doctor, we already have impatient people with Hugh in their scopes as we speak. We need to move though before this gets anymore out of hand.”
Hugh Keaton could see that for himself thank you. In the near distance he saw more civilians—probably those employed by the mass media—flooding the area with hopes of spreading their lies and innuendoes. He knew that his first general knew that all too well. For better or worse, the next few moments of his life would play out for the entire world to see.
And then he made an executive decision.
“Alright, Christopher, I’ve changed my mind. I’ll go with your original plan. I’ll release the children into the doctor’s care if you’ll tell these boys one thing for me first?”
Agent Prince squared his shoulders and stood his ground.
“One point, Hugh,” He said. “And then we have to go.”
“When your father let me take you, I promised him and subsequently promised you that I would never touch you no matter the personal or professional cost to me.” Hugh said and then he specifically found the young eyes of Moses Jackson staring back up at him. “All those years ago, I kept my word to you. I didn’t touch you. I want you to tell Moses that at the least a horrible human being like me can keep his word.”
Christopher looked to the horizon—pained. Dr. Angel Hicks Dupree looked as if she wanted to go to her friend to comfort him…but the thought of leaving the children even more vulnerable to an errand or stray sniper’s bullet kept her at bay.
“We need to go, Hugh,” was the only answer that his first general could supply. “I won’t be able to hold Sheridan and his people off for much longer.”
“Tell them, Christopher,” Hugh pleaded. “I need you to tell them that I kept my word.”
“No,” Chris said—and then clarified his lone words meaning so there would be no mistake. He looked at Moses Jackson once again. “This man, Hugh Keaton, gave me his word that he wouldn’t molest me and he never did. But there are many types of hurt, many types of pain that one human being can administer onto another. I had nightmares about my captivity. I still do. You children—especially you, Moses, will suffer as I have suffered. But you will survive. You will all live on…as…as I continue to live on.”
And you are right, Christopher…you are so very right.
We have hurt so many.
I have hurt so many.
And there was nothing that he could say or do that would be able to undo what had already been done.
But he would at least start with…
“I’m sorry. I know that now. I’m so very sorry for what I’ve done to all of you.”
“I don’t accept your apology, Hugh, I just can’t.” Chris said. “But I have a question for you as well.”
Angel took an involuntary step towards her friend.
“Don’t do this now, Christopher.”
“Let him speak, Doctor,” Hugh said. “The floor is his. Ask your question, General. I owe you an answer at the least.”
“How did my father know to choose you? How did he know?”
Keaton looked away. He looked back and found all five sets of eyes burning through him awaiting his answer.
Chris patience was running thin.
“Answer me, damn you. You say that you owe me. Tell me the truth.”
Keaton suddenly heard something…he could feel a new sensation blowing into this area and it wasn’t the storm.
It was faint a first and he couldn’t put a name to it.
And then the doctor and Agent Prince must have heard it as well and they reacted to it, especially Christopher because he began to swear and curse like Hugh Keaton had never heard a man swear and curse before.
The boys joined the grownups in the game of search and find—they looked to the skies for answers—
And then they all found that answer seemingly at once.
“Oh my God, no,” It was Angel who had spoken.
The hornets were buzzing all around him just like his dead Uncle Templeton had long ago said that they would.
There were four helicopters flying towards him.
He must fly away.
He must.
When Keaton first started to run—he felt the doctor dive at his legs. He would remember that much at the least. She clawed at the one that was nearest to him, but failed to wrap her arms around the bone the way she would have preferred. Moses Jackson didn’t quite understand what was going on…but he gave his best effort in helping her but missed as well.
Agent Prince had made a quick decision of his own—the same one that Hugh would have made in his place—and gathered and shielded the other boys as his top priority. He dove on top of them in an attempt to shield them from all seen and unseen dangers as his federal government training had instructed him to.
The FBI was running towards him.
Some of the journalist ran away.
It was ciaos in its most perfect form.
And then Hugh Keaton raised his arms and ran like the fool that his uncle had frightened him to be.
And after four or perhaps five steps Hugh heard the sound of firecrackers.
And he felt a hundred mosquito bites on his arms, torso, neck, legs and on his head.
And then they were standing over the top of him: The doctor; Agent Prince; various FBI personnel; reporters; Moses Jackson; and finally the other three boys he’d held against their will.
He could feel the doctor’s touch…and the wetness of her tears as she kneeled down next to him.
Why would she cry for him after what he’d done? Why would anyone cry for him?
He saw TV cameras a plenty and heard the clicking sound of still ones taking hundreds of pictures of what was a very lonely boy from Memphis, Tennessee.
The doctor was still crying, but Hugh used the last of his strength to reach out for where Christopher Prince had stooped down. To the man’s credit he only pulled back a little.
“Your father…Isaac Prince…the Caretaker sought me out, trusted me because I gave him my word.” Keaton said as his breathing slowed with each passing second. “Sometimes a word is all that a man has…even a creature like me. I kept my word.”
He saw the fading image of Agent Christopher nod at his words and excuse himself from the scene. Was everything fading, or were his own tears clouding his view. The doctor hadn’t stopped crying. And for whatever reason her crying was all that he could hear.
Well, at least most of the physical pain was fading.
He fixed his attention of Moses who was staring back with what exactly…was it hurt, disgust, curiosity or some strange mix of all of them.
But then the boy surprised him, surprised them all by touching Hugh on his face. He wiped the tears from his eyes and off of his cheeks. Hugh was so thankful for that. He was so thankful that in his dying moments, that he could see Moses and the rest of them all so very clearly now.
And then—
And then, just as quickly, Moses got to his feet again and retreated back to where the other