“Honey, please come out. My brother and I promise not to hurt you.”
Kevin’s leg twitched under the dirt-crusted cloth. It could’ve started out as blankets, a long time ago, but it wasn’t recognizable as such now. At least he wasn’t waving that pitiful pocket knife around anymore. There was more scrabbling. My heart sunk.
“Kevin?”
Malcolm heaved one of the dumpsters sideways to reveal Kevin’s thrashing form.
I darted forward and Malcolm put a hand to my sternum.
“Let me get the knife and search him, then you can check his vitals.”
With a quick slap I knocked his arm away and knelt. “He’s seizing, Malcolm. He won’t hurt me but he might hurt himself.” I plucked the pitiful excuse for a pocket knife from Kevin’s stiff fingers and held it high. “Here take it. Go get the car. Yours or mine – doesn’t matter. I’m sure you know where they are.”
“Melody…”
“Just go, Malcolm. Hurry it up, too.”
“Hold on, I gotta do something first.”
His shoes scuffled across the gravel but I didn’t turn to look. Malcolm grunted and I heard the rustle of clothing before I could see him; he’d hefted a still unconscious Aguirre over his shoulder. Limp arms swayed side to side as Malcolm made his way deeper into the alley to another building’s dumpsters. The light was bad so I couldn’t see what he did. But it wasn’t hard to guess from the noise of a metal lid slamming closed. Aguirre was having a bad night.
Malcolm dusted his hands on his thighs when he returned; his dark eyes shone for a moment with satisfaction.
“I’ll be right back, Mel. Don’t go anywhere.”
We wouldn’t worry about my car. Gerome would send two of the guards to pick it up tomorrow. The quiet serious man was good with details like that. Gerome was my brother’s best friend and they always had their hands in secrets together. He gave me the heebies sometimes though. Maggie, his wife, and I didn’t much appreciate their boy’s club attitude and we gave them shit for it daily.
Kevin squirmed out of his rags and sat upright. The fit was over. The young man’s face was slack and drained of color. He looked almost gray in the dimness.
“Kevin? Can you hear me?”
His head jerked in my direction and a shiver went through his lean frame. The t-shirt he had on was threadbare all over, but especially around the neckline. He didn’t smell the greatest either. How many days had he been sick? The seizure was past and that was a good sign. Maybe it wasn’t too late for him.
I frog-hopped closer and held out a hand palm up. “Can you stand?”
He mumbled into his chest, “I messed myself. Don’t want you to see.”
I stared at the night sky for a moment then wiggled my fingers in invitation, “You think you’re the only person who’s ever done that? Get real, man. Malcolm had to wipe my butt once when I was so sick I couldn’t do it myself. Let me help you. I’ll never speak of it to anyone, ever.”
A throaty engine rumbled on the street. Malcolm was quick.
“Where you taking me?” Kevin’s voice was thin.
Behind me, Malcolm’s footsteps got louder. My brother’s deep voice rolled over my head to echo off the sides of the buildings.
“Our place out in the country. There’re other kids there. You can stay with Melody or in the barracks and you can leave any time you like. We can’t hang here fooling around all night.”
Kevin’s eye’s slanted toward the mouth of the alley. He set his hand in mine and I tugged him upright with me. A fresh wave of outright stench wafted into my nostrils. Kevin looked down, shamefaced at his condition.
I squeezed his fingers for a moment, “We don’t judge, Kevin.”
Some spunk came back and he snorted with a curled lip, “That’s what all those church folk say ‘fore they tell ya you’re going to Hell if you don’t do things their way.”
Malcolm huffed, “You coming or not boy? Time’s wasting and I don’t know shit about Hell unless it’s here on Earth – then, I know enough.”
Malcolm had spent enough time killing people for the government in the Army, so he knew plenty about Hell. I’d attended college, burying myself in my studies, and he’d gone off the deep end after our parents died. He was back, but not all the way. There were memories he’d never share. Gerome was probably the only person he’d willingly discuss any of it with. I worried – a lot, but it didn’t get me anywhere so I did it less now.
Kevin shuffled forward wading through the rags on the asphalt.
We made it to the Suburban without anyone bothering us. The kid was weak and I had to help him onto the back bench seat. I wrapped him in a fleece blanket from the emergency kit in the cargo area. He looked more secure in himself with his filth covered up.
The first part of the ride back to the compound was tense. Road and wind noise cut into my ears like knives as I fretted about the kid’s tenuous Weaver state. Malcolm drove while I sat in the back with Kevin. The boy huddled his whole body into the door’s arm rest with his shoulders hunched.
I closed my eyes to check him in the Web. Canvas strap cut against my breast as the seatbelt locked from my fidget. Damn things weren’t made for tall people. Lots of things weren’t.
Centered – I needed to be centered, Calm crept in as the years of meditative practice caught me in a warm sling.
Spacious and cold – the Web greeted me. Kevin’s essence was fogged and indistinct, nebulous in a birth of a planet sort of way. Malcolm’s orb glowed peacefully nearby, unaffected by the forming presence of Kevin.
As many times as I had seen it, watching a Weaver fully form for the first time was fascinating. Chunks of debris spun and joined together with others to amass a lumped core. Spinning light and sparks of jagged energy crackled around the edges. Colors abounded.
A little of this, a little of that, and through it all a sense of wonder. What made this happen?
I drifted close, drawn by curiosity and concern. An electric zap arced over to my dark blue crust. There was no pain. Kevin was questing for a bond. It was too tempting. All I had to do was let it in.
The crooked fingers of light spread in sporadic frenzied bursts – searching for connection and finding none. Should I accept? If I formed an attachment with Kevin then the Council would have a harder time rejecting our petition for him to join the Wind Runner Clan.
On moral grounds I couldn’t do this without Kevin’s informed consent. I sent a thought his way, hoping it would be received.
“Kevin?”
Startled fear and then, “Melody?”
“None other, kid.”
Confusion rippled like static through his words, “What’s goin’ on? How are you in my head?”
I radiated a calm I didn’t necessarily feel. Kevin was at a crucial stage and if he lost it now it could go bad in a hurry. Disintegration wasn’t an option I wanted to entertain.
“First off, I’m not in your head. Second, this is an actual place for people like us to meet. You’re my kind. Welcome to the club, kid.”
Silence as his core began to smooth, now taking on the appearance of an illuminated purple marble.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What are you, lady?”
Humor leaked out of me at his cynicism. Couldn’t blame him could I? “We are Weavers. This place is somewhere we can go with our minds, free of the physical world for a time.”
“So what’s wrong with me?”
I could feel his hardly held panic slipping out with the next questing bolt of energy.
“You need another Weaver to connect fully here. If you go too long trying to hook in and not succeeding, things could get … bad. How long have you been feeling sick? Can you remember?”
The more he concentrated on my voice the firmer his state became.
“A while…it’s been a while.”
Sweeping revolutions of matter began to circle in rings around Kevin’s newborn core, faster and faster until they became elliptical and then spread upward
and downward to make planetary poles. Just the act of speaking with me was pulling him together in a way I wouldn’t have been able to teach.
Spontaneous Weavers were a wonder and a mystery. They were the beauty of creation condensed. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why the Council was stepping away from seeking them out. Surely it was a crime to leave these children to themselves to die or worse – be taken in by the Warp Faction and brainwashed against humanity as a whole.
I didn’t even want to think about the Warps right now. That subject just pissed me off. Their holier than thou attitudes and violent natures made me want to spit. Not to mention they were responsible for my folk’s death. I was carrying a deep seated hate I didn’t need to share with Kevin.
Another bundle of arcs crackled my way – seeking and finding me. “Kevin, if I accept the invitations you’re throwing my way then we’ll be joined until we die. It’s serious business.”
The arcs curled inward and his new crust began to crumble in places. “Shit! Man I don’t know what I’m doin’! I’m not trying to hook up with you and … stuff. I don’t think about you like that, no offense!”
Joy bubbled out at the absurdity of his misunderstanding of my meaning, “None taken, honey. It wouldn’t be that kind of connection. You need an anchor, someone to ground you here. Most Weavers form those connections through the natural bonds of family, love and friendships.”
Kevin’s essence picked up speed again. “Okay so what are you really asking me?”
Why was this so hard?
“I’m asking permission to serve as your anchor. If you would feel more comfortable making a bond with a male Weaver then I can ask my brother Malcolm if he minds.”
Silence, and more motion.
“I think I’d like it to be you, Melody.”
My heart sang. This was stupid. How many children had I helped like this? The answer was - too many to count. I could sense their faded connections. They’d moved on to have families of their own. Why did Kevin feel so different? I kept the tremor of excitement and celebration out of my mental tone. No need to freak him out any more than he already was.
“Okay then. Reach for me again.”
This time his whole crust erupted in blue spikes. They quested in a wave of energy so powerful it was a struggle to hold my essence still to receive them. No pain lanced at me like I’d feared it would. Kevin’s link settled about me in a cocoon of warm light. I tugged a piece of it through my natural protective shell.
Our minds melded for a moment of outright overlap and then I pushed him backward when he kept coming in a tide of being. He would learn control with my help. I couldn’t seem to tamp down my outright triumph. Kevin would live!
Shock hit me.
“Would I have died?”
I sobered, “If no one found you, yes.”
That gave him pause. Kevin’s mind began to shutter itself, to become less transparent. He was strong. I was insanely proud of that. What right did I have? He wasn’t my son.
Kevin still looked raw and rough but he was stable and I no longer feared his death by disintegration. A brilliant rope of light connected us.
“What will happen to me now?”
I moved closer to Malcolm’s quiescent essence. “I guess that’s up to you. My brother meant what he said about you being free to leave. Physical proximity to me isn’t required for our bond to work. You should be in no danger.”
Oh, how I didn’t want him to leave. He had to make up his own mind though. I couldn’t force it. It would be wrong. My hope was strong that he would be curious enough to linger for a while.
“Do people you find usually stay?”
I projected indifference. “Most if not all but some leave after they get their bearings.”
Kevin’s essence hadn’t picked a color yet. It reminded me of Gerome’s multi-hued brilliance. None of his Web attributes would settle anytime soon. Kevin would need more interaction with others of his kind and a lot of guidance.
Trailing ends of thoughts leaked down our bond and I did my best to ignore them. Our connection was new and erratic.
I asked, “Are you afraid?”
His light wavered, light then dark then light, “Yeah.”
Laughter bubbled up, not at him but at his one-word honesty, “You should be. This is crazy stuff. I’m just glad I found you and you’ll make it, kid.”
Kevin dimmed again, “What do you want from me?”
His seriousness rushed up the line to prove how much he wanted a real answer. God he was so grown up for fourteen! Part of me took a moment to despise the world that had made him that way.
“I could lie and say nothing but your survival and happiness. Incidentally I do want those things for you, Kevin.”
Fear at his rejection of what I was about to reveal made me stop.
Kevin pushed, “I feel something else. There’s something you want and you’re afraid to tell me.”
Astute little bugger. Pride reared its head. He was so smart. “I’m unmarried, childless, and I fell in love with you like you were my own baby from the moment I saw you.” I felt my essence swell at that admission. “I’ve watched you grow and tried to take care of you as much as you would trust me to, but now you’re with us and I want more. I’d like for you to live with me. I want to take care of you – like a son.”
A glittering edge of silvered light ringed Kevin’s core. “I already had a momma. She’s gone.”
Sadness gripped me. “I know, honey, I know.”
The silvered corona around his core dimmed and tiredness flew out and about. “Melody?”
“Yeah, kid.”
“Can we get outta here, this place, for a while?”
Relief hit me. “Sure we can. I’m going to send you a sense of my body so you can search for the same feeling.”
He snorted an unexpected mental laugh. “Ew!”
If I could’ve rolled my mental eyes I would’ve. “Not like that genius! You don’t know it at the moment because this is all so new, but a part of your mind is aware of your body. It senses your heartbeats, your brainwaves and every breath you take. Now settle down.”
Kevin struggled not to be wary. “Are you mad?”
I jerked my essence tight in denial of the feeling. “Nah. You’re going to misunderstand a heck of a lot more than that before you’re done learning about who and what you are, honey. No offense taken. I’m just used to dealing with the wild things at the school. You put me in reprimanding teacher mode.”
I got him straight and when I opened my eyes the world was dark and more than a little blurred. Wind noise was so loud around the windows I wondered if Malcolm was speeding. He tended to have a lead foot.
Malcolm took his eyes off the road for a second to look at the back seat, “Ya’ll doin’ good? The kid settled?”
My butt was sore and my lower back ached from sitting in the same position so long. When I shifted to get more comfortable I glanced at Kevin. He wasn’t hugging the door’s arm rest anymore and his color had returned.
I smiled, “He’s doing fine, Malcolm. Keep your attention on the road and slow down before we get a ticket.”
If anything the Suburban’s engine growled harder and we lurched forward. The vibration of the road increased as my brother chuckled over his shoulder.
“Ain’t a soul out here, sis. We’ve got this highway to ourselves.”
With the new moon only a minute amount of our surroundings was visible as we flew through the darkness. A creeping fog thickened over the flat cotton fields encroaching on the weeds growing at the roadside shoulder. If you were a superstitious person this wouldn’t be the sort of place to take a stroll alone or have a flat tire.
Good thing I wasn’t that sort.
The lights of the compound made a false horizon in the middle of fogged nighttime nowhere land. I sensed Kevin sit straighter across the bench seat as we got closer.
Gerome waited at the gate with his hands clasped behind his back and one
of his stiff starched shirts on with no tie. The wind whipped his dark hair flat to his scalp as we rolled to a stop.
The driver’s side window squealed as Malcolm worked the handle to lower it. Gerome set his hands on the door and leaned in to peer at us in the back seat. He nodded in greeting so I gave him a nod back and then he slapped the metal body twice to urge Malcolm inside the compound.
Kevin was so still at the brief inspection I figured he was readying to run at the first sign of trouble. He’d get less skittish as time went on.
Through the gate I saw someone that made my teeth grind. Cora Harris, the other Council member in residence glared in the headlights of the still rumbling Suburban. Of course she had to be here to cause trouble. Witch.
Her perfect blonde bun was frayed and one finger was hooked in her strand of pearls to keep them stilled against her powder blue cardigan. Anger began to burn in my gut. If she did or said anything to harm Kevin I was gonna lay her out.
Malcolm’s head turned to follow my line of sight and then settled on me.
“Chill out baby sister. Gerome’s got your back. No need to knock out Harris.”
I could feel my lips purse in distaste, and my chin cranked upward with extra attitude I couldn’t quite suppress, “Mind your business.”
Malcolm squinted one eye at me before he pulled to the right along the fence line and cut the engine. He made it out of the SUV first but placed himself as a block between Cora Harris and Kevin’s passenger door with his arms crossed tight over his broad chest. The floodlights reflected on his shaved head.
Gerome sidled up. Weavers didn’t pay much attention to racial and ethnic divides. We had other things to discriminate over, like Outsider’s and Warps. Consequently, like a majority of our community, Gerome’s heritage was a mix. He stood roughly six feet tall with a permanent tan from his Mexican-Indian mother and the narrow grim face of his Anglo father. His hands were in his pockets as he leaned forward on the balls of his feet to meet Cora’s verbal assault.
Cora opened her penciled-in lips to speak. I wanted out so I could hear what she was saying. Wind howled into the cab through Malcolm’s rolled down window. I scooted toward Kevin. He shrank into the seat as I leaned over him to open the door.
VECTOR (The Weaver Series Book 3) Page 33