The Solar Flare

by Laura E. Collins

  Three young women and a few young men surrounded James asking for autographs and taking pictures while more fans were crowded around the rest of the group. Ava stared at the gathering of people, surprised at how jealous she felt as some of these women flirted with James and the bolder ones occasionally touched him. James looked up at her and gestured for her to come to him, which she did not hesitate to. He slung his long arm around her waist as he continued to talk to the interviewers and fans. One reporter even snapped a few photos of them together.

  After almost an hour, the crowd cleared out and the group disbanded for the night. Ava hitched a ride with James in his Vela back to the house. Once at home, the lights illuminated as they entered. The rain that had held off for the performance finally began to fall.

  “Have a drink with me,” James said casually as they walked through the kitchen. It was late, after midnight, but she wasn’t tired.

  “Okay,” she said quietly.

  He opened the fridge and removed some juice while she retrieved a couple of glasses and sat at the breakfast bar. Then he went to the pantry and came back with at least two types of alcohol. He poured a bit of each into a shaker with ice and then poured them each a small glass. “Let’s go into the family room,” he suggested, holding a glass out to her. She followed behind him as he led the way.

  He offered a toast as they sat down on the couch. “To your first Geodesic concert on Sphene, cheers!”

  “Cheers,” she repeated, raising her glass and taking a sip.

  The sat in silence for a few tense minutes before they started chatting about the concert. Ava had noticed that over the last week or so their encounters together had grown much more familiar and intimate. They found themselves lingering over dinner, talking about their lives, getting to know one another better.

  She was relieved when James started talking and told her about how they started the band and how long they had been writing music. He talked about some of his favorite artists over his long history, some of them she had heard of, and some of them she had not. Ava finished her drink and set her glass down. She couldn’t figure out why she suddenly felt a little nervous. The storm outside had picked up and she wandered over to the window to peek out. After a few moments she could sense that he had drifted over to her, so that he was just behind her. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, then slowly slid them down her arms to connect with her hands. His touch sent a thrilling sensation right into her core. She closed her eyes as her pulse quickened and squeezed his hands back.

  She could feel the connection between them, warm and strong. He released her hands and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close to him. She leaned back into him, letting him hold her, his energy penetrating her. They stayed like this for several moments before she placed her hands over his and eased his hands away from her and then broke their connection. She felt conflicted. Being with him felt so right, and yet wrong at the same time. She turned to face him, looking up at him. Her eyes searched his, looking for something. Was it acceptance? Confirmation? Love? Reassurance? Suddenly she felt very calm, as if the struggle had ended. She had sensed all of those things and more. She had no idea why she had always been so sensitive to him or why at this moment she could sense everything he was feeling. His emotions burned inside of him and he wanted her. He needed her. His emotions radiated that had never loved anything or anyone as intensely as he loved her.

  Their first meeting and the events that had followed left him with such little hope that she could ever feel any sort of love for him. Now, things had changed and he could sense her emotions. She did feel very strongly for him. Slowly he embraced her again, pulling her gently to him. She looked up at him and he down at her. Without hesitating he pressed his mouth against hers, kissing her passionately. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body into his, returning his kisses with the same intensity. His hands glided over her back down to her bottom and to her legs and back up underneath her shirt. His energy burned against her skin as he touched her, thrilling her. She ran her hands through his hair and then down over him savoring the ferocity of his energy. Kissing him felt so good, so carnal, she thought. It was as if it was remedying a need somewhere deep inside her. Wesley shares the same energy, a little voice whispered somewhere from the back of her mind.

  Ava suddenly felt very raw inside. She wanted James, but then, she didn’t . . . she couldn’t. She opened her eyes and pulled away from him. The separation was so abrupt she gasped. It almost hurt to have his energy torn from her. He had let her go easily, sensing the change within her and gazed at her with wide, concerned eyes.

  “I’m sorry. . .” Ava said with tears beginning in her eyes. “I . . . I can’t do this.”

  “Ava . . . please . . .,” he held up his hands towards her, as if to reassure her, to beckon her to come back to him. “I know you have doubts . . . it’s okay. I understand if you’re not ready.” Both his face and his voice were filled with sorrow and his breathing was slightly ragged. She could tell how disappointed he was, and she felt guilty. She felt ashamed for wanting James and giving him hope and then pulling back, and upset for betraying Wesley’s love. She shook her head at him, finding it hard to speak with the tears now out in full force, running down her cheeks and she took off.

  She ran as fast as she could up to her room and shut and locked the door behind her. Not that a locked door would keep him out if he wanted to come in, but she did it anyway. She leaned back against the door, closing her eyes, sniffling and trying to calm down. She felt him come up the stairs and stop just outside of her door. She opened her eyes as she felt his energy ebb forward through to her as he placed his palm on the center of the outside of her door. The warmth of his touch reached her back through the door, gentle and calm. She breathed heavily for a few seconds, wondering what he was going to do, and then the energy receded. James removed his hand from the door and slowly moved down the hall towards his own room, his energy dipping with every step.

  Chapter 25: Fear

  New missions always lifted Wesley’s spirits. Kyanos seemed to be well on its way back to normal and the Principia was freshly stocked, powered up, and ready to go. As a family they decided to leave Justin, Rowan, and Mia behind to continue with the re-build of the city and oversee the beginning stages of another starship. It would be easier this time since they still had the plans from the recently built Principia. The others would travel with Wesley to the southern part of the known galaxy to try to detect a traversable worm hole that may connect to a distant universe, a universe where Xavier could be hiding Ava. It would be a dangerous mission, Wesley made if perfectly plain that if they were to go through a worm hole there would be no guarantee they would survive, or make it back. It was a risk he was willing to take.

  They sped to the outermost portion of the known galaxy at absolute velocity for several days, slowing down only when they had reached the southern-most tip that they had ever explored. They decided that they would proceed cautiously as they were now in uncharted territory. Ash and Wesley took turns piloting the Principia, recording the coordinates of their mission along the way. Gazing out the monitors, Wesley saw nothing that would indicate a passageway to another galaxy. Xavier sure does know how to hide, he thought sadly. His anger and frustration had burned away, leaving him feeling hollow from Ava’s absence.

  Ash walked into the flight deck to relieve Wesley and looked at some of the calculations from the ship’s computers.

  “Wesley, did you see this?” Ash asked suddenly, looking up quickly at him.

  “See what?” Wesley rose from the chair immediately and moved over towards Ash. He looked at the monitor Ash was studying. “That? . . . That’s just interference from some radiation.”

  “No, . . . look here!” Ash pointed excitedly at some curved graphics on the monitor. “That is the entrance to a wormhole coming up . . . see how the energy is pouring into it!”

  “I don’t believe it! I’ve been looking at
that all night. How could I have missed it?” Wesley shook his head.

  “Probably because you’re trying too hard,” Ash replied as he got on the intercom and summoned the others to come up to the flight deck.

  For the first time Wesley took a deep breath, trying not to get too excited. After all, there could be several galaxies Xavier could be in for all he knew. “Let’s get to work then, we need to know exactly how much energy we need to front to make it through alive.”

  Over the next day, Wesley and the others calculated the force of the wormhole and made the ship ready for the rocky ride through. This was the first time the Principia had ever traveled through one, and first time missions such as this were riskier than usual. After the ship’s computers registered that the ship was stable, everyone headed for the flight deck.

  “I’ll take this one,” Wesley said to the others while Ash assumed his position to pilot the ship.

  Slowly the ship made its way towards the abyss, the flattened cloud of gaseous matter that was swirling and falling into the passageway. Ash powered down the ship’s engines and let it drift towards the opening.

  “Hold on and keep her steady,” Wesley commanded as they all took their seats and buckled up. His chest rose and fell vigorously as he took several deep breaths and shut his eyes, getting a feel for the ship. He let his energy expand, penetrating his surroundings and the ship itself, fortifying and stabilizing it from the tremendous impact the tumultuous passageway they were about to enter. The ship floated quickly into the eye of the storm, rocking and shaking violently, shuddering from the outside force trying to rip it apart. Suddenly, in a matter of a few minutes, almost as soon as it started, it was over. The Principia emerged unscathed and glided peacefully away from the opening. Wesley opened his eyes; he had barely even broken a sweat.

  “That was it?” He asked incredulously, looking at the others who were attentively looking at monitors and checking reports for damage. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he announced as he retracted his energy back inside.

  “Let’s not get too cocky Captain, we will eventually have to get back out again,” Naomi scolded. The cabin was swept with roars of relieved laughter as they relaxed and looked upon the new territory.

  “Now, if I were Xavier, which, technically I am, where would I go next?” Wesley wondered out loud, looking at the new trajectories on the monitors displayed around him.

  ∞

  In the days after the concert, life seemed to go back to normal for Ava, save for her interactions with James. She was confused and slightly embarrassed over their encounter in the den after the concert. She felt a little awkward when he approached her the next day to tell her not to worry and that he was sorry and would not cross that line with her again unless she was ready. He must have sensed her ambivalence as he gave her plenty of space to think things through after that. This was one thing she truly liked about James, he wasn’t pushy. His calm, laid back nature appealed to her and it seemed that he always, save for their initial meeting, put her needs above his. She could feel that he wanted to talk to her, but all she wanted was more time to think things through and sort out her emotions.

  By Thursday, Ava was still avoiding James, however started to crave the companionship of her friends. Lizeth called regularly to check on her. They all seemed to sense the tension between the two of them. Ava spent more and more time thinking about Kyanos and her family there. She still mourned Wesley, and missed Naomi and Andre. Her emotions didn’t help her either. One day she could feel so close to James and want him near more than anything, and the next, she didn’t seem to feel anything for him. She hadn’t felt so frustrated since the blood transfusion on Orionis when she was supercharged with energy.

  She spent a few afternoons wandering around the downtown area by herself, observing the other people, other humans, going about their business. She saw many couples holding hands, which stirred mixed feelings within her. She had spent so much time with Asterions these past several months that she almost felt removed from humanity. It would almost be weird for her to have a relationship with a human after everything that she had been through. A short while ago, all she wanted was to be one of them again; to have a normal life, a job, a family . . . and now she didn’t. She wanted more.

  Another week went by and even though she resumed her training, she needed to get out and do something. She needed to clear her head and take her mind off of things. One day she decided to call Lizeth to see if she would be willing to come over the next morning and do a little boogie boarding. It would be the perfect distraction, and the perfect challenge to channel some of the anger and frustration she was having battling her own conflicting emotions. Of course, Lizeth wanted to be there for Ava and agreed to come.

  Ava rose that morning and looked out at the ocean from her balcony. The sun was high and the water was calm. A little too calm. This is no good for my training, she thought. She proceeded to shower and dress in her boarding gear and make her way down to the kitchen. Mrs. Maclaren prepared a light breakfast for her while she sipped her coffee. Ava looked around but did not see or sense James’ presence. In fact, she hadn’t seen him for a few days.

  “Mrs. Maclaren, is James here today?”

  “No dear, he left a few nights ago. Apparently there was a meteor shower last week and one of the satellites needed some emergency repairs. The engineers asked him to accompany them on the mission to fix it. I understand some of the family is with him in the Solstice. But don’t worry, they will be back soon.”

  “Okay.” Ava gave the housekeeper a warm smile as the chime rang out, signaling that Lizeth had arrived.

  Travis greeted her at the door and escorted her into the kitchen where Ava was finishing up.

  “Morning Ava! You’re already to go aren’t you?” Lizeth said, taking in Ava’s appearance as she gave her a quick hug.

  “I’ve been wanting to do this for some time. I’m glad you could come, thank you.”

  “No problem. Hopefully the weather will hold; the forecast didn’t look so good the last time I checked it.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine Lizeth,” Ava reassured her as she picked up her tote bag to go and change into her boarding gear.

  When she was ready the two women made their way down to the beach after collecting their boards. Although it was still sunny, the wind had picked up quite a bit.

  “I don’t know Ava, it’s looking kind of rough,” Lizeth observed as they wandered down to the beach. The waves were crashing a little bit more vigorously than usual on the sand. She paused, surveying the situation. “How about we hang out in the pool and have Travis make us some drinks in a little bit? We could relax and take it easy today. What do you say?” Lizeth made the suggestions lightheartedly, but Ava knew she was trying to protect her.

  “It will be all right, let’s try a few times, and if it gets too rough, we’ll go to the pool . . . okay?” Ava was practically pleading with her. She wanted to burn some of her frustration, and sitting by the pool gossiping and drinking was not going to do it.

  “All right Ava, but if I say we need to come in . . .”

  “Then we’ll come in,” Ava smiled at her friend, relieved that she was going to get her own way. It seemed childish, but she really wanted to do something challenging for a change.

  The two women swam out and rode the waves back in a few times. Ava was pounded off again the first time. The second time she did a little better. She loved the feeling of gliding back into the shore, challenging the water. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before, having come from a world where water was scarce. The activity certainly did the trick, she concentrated on what she was doing and stopped dwelling on the incident with James, or her feelings for her family.

  After about a half hour the wind picked up even further and the sky became a little overcast. Ava hardly noticed, but Lizeth did. After the two women rode the waves in, Ava getting knocked off again, Lizeth decided it was time to call it quits.

 
“But we’ve only just started. It’s not even raining. . .” Ava tried to reason.

  “Ava, the weather is changing, this is not a good idea. You are doing very well and you should be proud of yourself, but the currents are picking up and I’m worried that something is going to happen to you.” Lizeth hated spoiling the fun for the day, but she knew that while Ava’s swimming skills continued to improve, she was no expert. “Let’s take a break by the pool and see how the weather is after lunch, okay?”

  “Can I go just one more time? Then I promise we’ll go up to the pool.” Ava said authoritatively, turning to take her board out to the ocean not waiting for Lizeth to reply.

  Lizeth stood on the beach watching Ava paddle out to catch the next wave. The swelling of the ocean and the ferocity of the waves made her nervous. Ava swam out a little further than usual and then turned into position, ready to catch the next wave, and it was a big one. The wave rose up and carried Ava on the board. Everything seemed okay as Ava started to make her way to the shore, but the currents had picked up and sent more waves at her. Ava sucked in a deep breath as she was knocked off her board. The current carried the board out of her grasp and she swam trying to catch it. More waves came, sweeping her further along down the shore.

  Ava couldn’t hear Lizeth from the beach, shouting for Ava to forget about the board and to come to shore. The sky darkened and more waves came, sending her further away from the beach. Ava started to realize that she was in trouble and gave up on the board and put her energy towards getting back to the shore. She swam as hard and fast as she could, but it was hard to keep her head above the water. She gasped for breath, moving her arms, and kicking her legs the way that she was taught, but she was caught in a current that was dragging her away from the beach. She tried to call to Lizeth, but she couldn’t even see her anymore.