“Lilly is everything okay?” I asked.
“So far,” she said.
“Ben has asked that I ask you to stick around after dinner. He needs to talk to you and the others about some new developments,” Lilly said.
“Developments? Are we going to be attacked again? Is there some new Intel?” I asked.
“There are some new developments, but Ben would prefer to be the one to tell you and the others the new information he has. You understand right?” She asked.
“Of course. Have you seen Garrett around I need to talk to him,” I said.
“No I haven’t but if you see him before I do could you please ask him to remain behind with the others? Ben would like to tell everyone at the same time,” she said.
“Sure, thanks Lilly,” I said.
I turned and walked back to the common area, telling my parents what Lilly said so they would stay behind also.
I sat down, curling up my arms on the table resting my head upon my arms, hoping that everyone would leave quickly so we could get the POW wow over with.
CHAPTER 33
Ben was at his desk gathering maps. They knew that this girl was risking everything to break out the others. They just had no idea where she was. Was she in Texas? Where is the main encampment?
It wasn’t a large city from what Ulric and Lilly could see. If they could just figure out where this girl was they might be able to help her. He rushed out of his rooms rushing to the commons hoping they would be able to do something, anything to help.
He made his way down the long corridors, praying and hoping for the best. Hoping they would find and help these people before the alarm was raised of her treachery and the release of the prisoners.
CHAPTER 34
Garrett slowly slipped out from under the table making his way down the halls where his room was. He sat on the bed, falling back onto it smiling. She loved him, even though she hadn’t admitted it completely, he knew she did. Even if she still cared for Jasper that didn’t matter.
She loved him and not Jasper; she wanted to be with him and not Jasper. His mind whirled with possibilities of love and marriage, even kids.
He laughed at himself knowing he was getting ahead of himself but he didn’t care. He decided to tell his parents; after this was over he was going to marry her, then Jasper would never have her, she would be his and his alone. Jumping from his bed he started going to his parent’s room, taking the long way there, giving him time to think of how he would exactly tell them. Then he would need to talk to Reighlyn’s parents, and ask their permission to date and marry her.
This war has been horrible for everyone; it would raise the people’s spirits to see something good come out of all of this bad.
CHAPTER 35
“Do you know where we are?” The blonde man asked. “I don’t, I’m sorry. My sister never told me where we were, and when she took over the town they blindfolded me just everyone else and every landmark that could have given away the old location of this area had been erased before I was allowed out,” I said looking at my feet.
“Does anyone have an idea where we are?” The blonde man asked the crowd.
“You know where we need to go, can someone figure out how to get us there?” He called out to the crowd again.
“I can fly up and get a good direction and see what’s in our way.” A woman’s voice called from the back.
“I don’t need any of that. I just need to know where you want to go, if I’ve been near there before, or if I’ve been there I can open up a portal. We can all get through without being caught. I only took out a few guards, the rest are still on patrol. This isn’t a small group they’re going to know any minute that what I’ve done. We have to get away from here, or we’re all dead.” I told the blonde man.
He looked at me and then to some of the others, who nodded agreeing with my assessment of our situation. “Let’s move out. Once we get out under the cover of the forest, the girl can go up to the to the top of the trees and see where we are and then we can figure out a safe place to open a dimensional gate, if you’ve been there before that is,” the blonde man said.
“Where’s the nearest gate to the forest?” he asked me.
“To the South,” I said pointing in the correct direction.
“Good, we’re heading south anyway,” he said.
“Let’s go keep yourselves in the shadows, if someone sees you take him out before they alert the entire compound. Keep the young ones in the middle” he called out to the group, turning, leading everyone to the South gate. I watched as everyone turned to follow the blonde man. I looked back at the compound proper, thinking of my sister. My only family, I couldn’t remember my parents, just her. She’d always been cruel, even before her gifts matured, especially to me. I was never what she wanted me to be, I couldn’t be what she wanted me to be though.
I couldn’t be like her, it disgusted me how she seen others, how she treated people. How she would rather torture, maim, and kill a person than she would smile, wave or even say hello to them.
I looked back to the people who had been prisoners for months, some for years. People who had been tortured and scared beyond anything that I could ever imagine, I knew that I couldn’t stay with them if I did I was surely dead…then again maybe I was dead anyway, but maybe, just maybe I would have the chance to experience life, the chance to experience what happiness was, to experience friendship or even love.
I turned jogging after the other people, jogging to my freedom.
CHAPTER 36
Ben unloaded his maps onto the long table. “Can everyone come to the opposite side of the table?” Ben asked.
“Bethany, where’s Garrett? He needs to be here,” Ben said.
“I don’t know I didn’t see him at dinner come to think of it. Let me go check his room real quick, maybe he wasn’t feeling well,” she said heading off toward Garrett’s room.
Ben looked at the people sitting across from where he stood. Reighlyn, so young, yet the entire world rested upon her shoulders as the leader of the Seven.
Blaine, his parents and sister lost to him potentially forever.
Luke, his parents had died in a fatal car accident when he was seven, both of them having been from small families with no relatives to care for Luke, he was taken by the state shuffled from one foster home to another until the Militia had taken over and he made his way to the caves, remembering what his parents had taught him.
Garrett, his one and only son. He had a privileged life compared to the others. He had been raised in a home with both parents, never having to worry, stress or struggle until the Militia came out.
They had prepared him and Avril well for what was to come. What happened to Avril they still didn’t understand?
Ben sighed, hearing footsteps behind him; he turned to see Garrett coming from the hall that led to his living quarters.
“Did you see your Mother? She went to find you?” Ben greeted his son.
“No, I apologize I was unaware my presence was necessary.” Garrett said.
“Take a seat over there. We’ll wait for your Mom,” Ben said. He sounded exhausted taking his seat across from the small crowd that was made up of the Seven and their closest supporters.
Ben began to focus on the maps in front of him, drawing curious stares from everyone across from him at his easy dismissal of his son.
Bethany came back from her attempt at finding Garrett, exasperated he was sitting in front of her and next to Reighlyn she noted with smile.
“Ok now that we are here we can begin,” Bethany said giving Garrett the eye.
Ben stood, looking at these young people the God’s had deemed worthy of championing them.
They had all worked so hard. He hoped and prayed it was hard enough.
“There’s no easy way to go into this, and honestly we haven’t much time. Lilly and Ulric have been working together since the attack. They’ve been trying to discern where the woman, who we now know as Co
ra, has been holed up,” Ben addressed us all.
“You mean you’re looking for Avril and trying to figure out why she deserted us for her,” Garrett said.
Ben sighed. “That too son…anyhow, while Lily and Ulric were ‘looking’ they stumbled upon an event as it unfolded. We have reason to believe that there is someone inside of Cora’s camp who is helping prisoners to escape; we need to help them now if we don’t there’s no telling what will happen to them all.”
“Escapees, you mean that they have seen her actual fortress…and the prisoners escaping?” Garrett asked pointing to Lilly and Ulric.
“How many were there, the prisoners I mean?” Blaine asked hoping his family was counted among the ones who had escaped.
“We don’t have an exact number, the further something is away the harder it is to hold the vision,” Ulric said.
“What we do know is this, a young pale blonde girl is the one who freed the prisoners, she terrified. They all are, they have no idea where they are or how to get to safety, they’re going to attempt to make it south, but south from where they don’t know and neither do we. We have these maps of the world and of the former U.S. and each state specifically. We would like everyone to join hands while Ulric seeks the girl, it should be easier to gain a link with her again since one had been previously established, and quicker now that we have more than just him and I working toward the goal,” Lilly said.
“But none of us have either of your gifts, how is this supposed to work?” I asked.
“Easily actually, and for this exercise you’re not required to have the gift… It’s more like lending your energy; we’re essentially using you to project his gift kind of like a satellite,” Lilly said.
“So we’re sort of like Google Earth?” Luke said giving everyone a much needed laugh.
“Alright, once we find the escapees we need to figure out how to get to them quickly, if we can’t get to them we need to get them to us. Any ideas are welcome,” Ben said.
“Join hands,” Ulric said taking Lilly’s and so on until everyone had joined hands.
We sat there quietly as Ulric mumbled incoherently, I could feel the energy from everyone, almost as if were rotating in a circuit, the energy, I had never felt energy like this before. It was exhilarating. I wondered if it was this strong due to the combined power from everyone here or if it had more to do with those who naturally had stronger gifts.
I brought myself back to reality watching Ulric and Lilly sort through their mental world. I was jerked forward suddenly, I looked up to see Ulric, eyes wide and mouth agape as if he was terrified, and screaming but no sound would come out.
What’s wrong with him?” Garrett called out.
Lilly opened her eyes to stare Ulric who held her other hand, in that instant he jerked forward again toward the table and began pushing through the maps.
He grabbed a marker that Ben had sat on the table with the maps and began drawing lines and circle.
“What’s wrong with him?” Ben asked Lilly. “Ben this is what happens when the information is given sometimes, very rarely but sometimes, the message literally possesses the gifted in a way and comes out by any means necessary,” Lilly said.
Ulric’s mumbles became louder, he sounded as if her were speaking a different language now.
The power that had been circulating between our group peaked...then as quickly as everything began it ended.
Ulric grabbed at the maps desperately, searching for something specific. “Did we get anything?” Ben asked Ulric.
Ulric gave a nod of his head. “We got a lot. A location, where they are, where they left from, and which direction they’re going, even where they’re going to be ambushed. We need to intervene. The good news is they’re in Texas…the bad news is they’re like 300 miles away…this is where we are,” Ulric said pointing to Sonora on the map of Texas.
“And this is El Paso, 300 some odd miles away,” he finished.
“What are we going to do?” I asked no one and everyone.
“I don’t know,” Ben said looking to his wife and the maps she was now staring at.
“Does anyone even know what these lines are?” Ben pointed to dashed lines that seemed to go straight to El Paso.
“Flight lines,” Bethany said.
“Flight lines?” Jasper asked.
I looked at his mom then to Ben. “Flight lines,” I repeated, standing up so fast my chair flew out from under me skidding to a loud screechy stop behind me.
“Flight lines!” I yelled at them reaching into myself pushing my energy out to propel myself gently off the ground.
“I’ve been working on it at night,” I said to everyone. “I’ve gotten good enough to propel myself maybe even with another person for a while.”
“So you think that you are capable of flight or propulsion, and that you can carry another with you?” Dillon asked his daughter.
“Oh, I know I am. I’ve been practicing sustaining my wind and my telekinesis just to be sure. I’m actually really good,” I said holding out my hand to Garrett.
He reached out and stepped up on what seemed an invisible platform, he wrapped his arms around Reighlyn as they floated/flew through the room. She beamed proudly at her accomplishment.
“It’s settled then since no one else is capable of flight, or propulsion Reighlyn and Garrett will go, as long as they follow the map and find the group showing them the way back,” Ben said, receiving debated shouts of who should go and why Reighlyn shouldn’t.
“Calm down everyone!” Bethany yelled over the crowd. “We are well aware of how important Reighlyn is, but the fact of the matter is, is that everyone person is important. She obviously gets this otherwise why would she have volunteered for this mission?” Bethany pointed out.
“Reighlyn, please you can’t do this,” Rowan pleaded with her daughter. “Mom, I can and I won’t be alone,” Reighlyn said still holding onto Garrett’s hand.
Dillon stood up walking over to his daughter, hugging her tightly to him. “I just got you back, I can’t lose you now. I know you have to do this. I know you can do this… You’re my daughter; they couldn’t have trusted a better person,” he said not only to Reighlyn but to everyone in the room.
“She’s worked hard and she can do this,” Dillon said to Rowan.
“Trust in her, trust in me,” he said.
Rowan pulled her daughter to her hugging her. Dillon walked over to Garrett clasping his hand in recognition and respect.
He leaned close and whispered into his ear. “If anything happens to my girl it’s your ass on the line.” Dillon patted the Garrett on the shoulder, bringing his wife and daughter close to him they turned back to the group.
“It’s settled then, get packed up. Take only what you will need. Dillon, you’re the military man here, help them please. You’ll leave as soon as your packed, be quick about it, I fear we’ve wasted too much time already,” Ben said.
“Come on kids, time to get you suited up,” Dillon said.
Dillon kissed his wife and walked toward the weapon’s room with Reighlyn and Garrett in tow.
CHAPTER 37
“Turn around Reigh, I need to measure your shoulders, when were done here I need you to go change. You need to wear black pants, and a long sleeve black shirt, they can’t be too baggy either, boots if you have them and you need to put your hair up,” Dillon said.
“Garrett, go put on the Militia uniform you had on when you came in.”
“Yes, Sir,” Garrett responded, tossing me a wink on his way out.
“Dad, why do you have to measure my shoulders?”
“I’m going to fit you for a shoulder harness for the batons,” he said.
“The rods?”
“The batons, the staff whatever you want to call it,” Dillon laughed.
“This is so you have easy access to your weapons but have a place to put them away when you need your hands free. It’s weird at first but you’ll get used to it. I did,” he said
.
You have one?” I asked amazed.
“Yeah but mine is for my swords,” he said.
“I don’t like the blood.”
“I know sweetie, that’s why you’re drawn to the weapons you’ve chosen, it’s what makes you, you. You don’t have to change that—ever-- for anyone or anything,” he said.
“Alright, got it. Go change, I’ll have the adjustments done on this before you get back.”
“Okay, Dad?”
“Hey Dad?” I called out before I made it out of the door.
“Thanks…for everything you know.”
Dillon laughed “Yeah kid, I know,” Reighlyn smiled, turned and jogged to her room.
Dillon sat down at the table taking in the leather to fit his daughter’s slender shoulders.
“Where’s Reighlyn?” Garrett asked as he walked in noticing she wasn’t there.
“She went to change; she should be back pretty quickly.”
“Okay,” Garrett said taking a seat next to Dillon at the table, watching him stitch the leather.
“Is that for her?” Garrett asked.
“Yeah.”
“Who’s was it?” Dillon looked at Garrett and smiled. “It was mine before I switched to using swords, before the military,” Dillion said.
“I just took off my sheaths, I can put them on a new harness, but I want her to have this one, my grandpa made it for my dad, and my dad gave it to me, now I want her to have it,” Dillion said filling in the blanks.
“That’s awesome; the only thing my dad ever did was take us shopping and buy it for us,” Garrett laughed.
“At least he did that, be grateful son. Some people don’t have parents and have wished for them every night,” Dillon told Garrett.
“Like Luke,” Garrett said looking down. He’d gotten to know Luke fairly well, he really liked the kid.
“Yeah, like Luke,” Dillon sighed.
The Genesis Project Prophecy of the Seven Page 12