The Solar Flare

by Laura E. Collins

  “No it isn’t and I’m sorry you are burdened with this.”

  Ava let the comforting sensation of his energy flow into her as she leaned into him, feeling herself relax in his embrace. For a long time they stood holding each other. She let her thoughts wander through the past year of her life. She closed her eyes and remembered how she felt when she was falling in love with him and all of the times that he had been there for her. She recalled all of their adventures, the scariness of the virus that almost took her life, and their good times. She couldn’t let it go . . . it didn’t compare to her life now. She needed him as much as he needed her. Suddenly she opened her deep blue eyes and looked up into his warm brown ones. It was all the assurance she required to know that she could never be separated from him again. There was just no way.

  “It’s you! I choose you!” She said breathlessly as she pulled his face down to kiss him. He returned her kisses with a ferocity she did not know was in him until they were both breathing heavy.

  “Are you sure Ava? I cannot promise that our life together will be easy until Kaden is dealt with,” he said honestly.

  “Your problems are my problems, remember?” She replied, smiling up at him. He returned the smile and kissed her once more.

  “We should leave now,” he said softly.

  “We can’t just leave. I have to tell him. I owe him that much,” she said solemnly.

  Wesley held her out at arms length. “No way Ava, there’s no telling how angry he could become. He might lose control and hurt you. No . . . it’s not worth the risk.”

  “I’m telling him in person whether you like it or not. I cannot just simply run out on him. He deserves an explanation . . . wouldn’t you?” Ava tried to reason with him.

  “I suppose so,” Wesley said with uncertainty. He didn’t like this, but he had to honor Ava’s request. He did not want to argue with her now that she had made the decision to go back with him.

  “I need you to go back to the ship and make whatever plans that you need to. I need some time to speak with James, . . . and pack.” Ava’s voice trailed off. She was already getting emotional at leaving her home. “Can you give me three hours?”

  Wesley nodded, squeezing her hand. “Be careful Ava. I don’t know what I would do if he hurt you.” Together they walked back up to the house. Ava walked inside, and Wesley disappeared, teleporting back to his ship. She stood for a few moments in the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water trying to collect her thoughts before approaching James.

  The house was quiet and Ava didn’t see anyone, not even the housekeepers. She looked through all of the rooms on the main floor but didn’t see or sense James. She decided to head downstairs into the basement where the studio was. Sure enough he was sitting at one of the keyboards writing music with his headphones on. He was clearly trying to distract himself from what was going on. Ava could feel his energy trembling around him as if he knew what was coming. He saw her approach, removed his headphones and stood.

  “Hi,” he said softly.

  “Hi,” she responded shyly. She took a deep breath. It’s now or never, she thought. “James I want you to know how thankful I am that you saved my life several times. I truly appreciate all that you’ve done for me and the experiences that you have given me, but I have to make a decision and my decision is that I will return to Kyanos with Wesley.”

  James placed his hands on her shoulders and pleaded with her. “No, Ava. Please don’t go back with him! I love you, I can’t bear it if you leave now. His enemies are still out there. He could be putting you in terrible danger!” There were tears forming in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry James, I’m so sorry. This was not an easy decision for me.” She began to feel tears welling up herself.

  “You have feelings for me Ava, I know that you do!” His energy pulsed around the room, rising in intensity, absorbing right into her. He embraced her, holding her to him in desperation.

  She gently drew back from him and looked directly up into his eyes. “I do have feelings for you . . . I love you.” She hesitated as he sucked in his breath at her admission. “And if I could split myself in two and stay with you I would. But I love him, and I made him a promise I will not break.”

  “Stay with me, don’t throw your life away fighting in his war!”

  “I can’t, . . . I’m sorry. We’re leaving at five o’clock,” she looked down at the floor, wiping her tears away with the back of one of her hands.

  Ava felt his energy run cold and start to collapse in on itself. He began to feel like a dark, empty void until she couldn’t feel him anymore. She had never seen him, or Wesley for that matter, this way before. He was breathing heavily with his nostrils flaring and his bright blue eyes boring into her, but she did not let the sensations around her intimidate her. He pressed his lips into a severe line, removed his hands from her shoulders and stepped back from her. She could feel his anger smoldering within him.

  “If this is your decision . . . then so be it Ava. I can only hope that he will keep you safe,” he said harshly looking at her one last time. Then he stiffly marched quickly out of the room, leaving her alone with tears running down her face. She wasn’t supposed to feel this sad but she couldn’t help it. She hurt him badly and she could feel how awful it was; he was absolutely devastated. She could feel her heart breaking for James despite the love that she felt firing up inside for Wesley. She didn’t even know how such a thing was possible. She remained there for a few moments to pull herself together before heading back upstairs to pack.

  She stood in front of her dresser just as she had done many times before. She stared at the photograph of her and James at the concert, taken by one of the reporters. She removed her Sphene ID card from her wallet and placed it on the dresser. Then she numbly took her hands and undid the clasp on the necklace James had given her the night before and set it down in the jewelry box next to the earrings she had been wearing. She picked up the gold locket Wesley had given her long ago and put it back in its rightful place around her neck. Next she put her grandmother’s earrings that she had always been so proud of back in her ears and managed a weak smile at herself to give her the strength to keep going.

  And now for the closet. Ava pulled out a rather large travel bag and pondered what to take. She didn’t have many cold weather clothes, at least nothing suitable for the frigid temperature of space travel. She felt guilty about taking anything from here because all of it was given to her. Then she reasoned that they wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway and started packing some of her favorite clothes and workout attire. About half way through she glanced down at the small safe sitting on the floor of her closet.

  She knelt down and opened it to reveal the case containing the gun James had given her. She picked it up, feeling its weight in her hands, wondering what to do. Quickly she made a snap decision and grabbed the photo from the dresser and put it in the case. Next, she carefully set the gun back down with the charger, closed and locked it and placed it in her bag. She proceeded to carefully pack more clothing and shoes around the case to conceal it. There would be no customs inspections where she was going and Wesley didn’t need to know about it . . . yet anyway.

  At quarter to five she lugged the heavy travel bag downstairs to the foyer and gazed up at the beautiful stained glass ceiling for the last time. She opened the front door and stood there waiting. Mrs. Maclaren appeared from the back of the entryway and gave Ava a big hug. There were tears in her eyes. Ava hugged her back and said she was sorry she had to leave. Even Travis came out to shake Ava’s hand and wish her well. Ava nodded, taking the handkerchief he offered her.

  She wasn’t prepared for what came next. Suddenly they started arriving, leaving their Velas parked all over the front drive. Melanie, Lucas, Lizeth, Nicholas, Blayke and Emma all arrived at the same time. Ava dragged her bag out onto the porch and down the steps onto the drive to meet them.

  “We heard you were leaving us,” Melanie said softly as she came to hug
Ava. Ava hugged her tightly, wondering why life was so full of hard decisions and heartache. Melanie was her good friend and she felt so sad that she had to leave all of them. In a short period of time, they had become her family.

  “I’m sorry,” was all Ava could manage.

  “We understand how it is. Don’t apologize for your decision. You love him and that’s all that matters. Your heart and your mind are like our energy and our essence. You are an exquisite example to us all on what it means to be human. It is what we strive for every day.”

  “Thank you Melanie.”

  “Take care of yourself kid,” Blayke teased, holding up his fists in a guard position. It made Ava smile.

  “I will . . . I promise.”

  Lizeth was next. “I’m sorry about what happened to you on the beach. Please be careful Ava.”

  “That was my fault, I was being foolish. Thank you for your friendship, I’m going to miss you. I’m going to miss all of you.”

  “Here, take this, it is for your eyes only,” Emma said as she handed Ava what appeared to be a small cosmetics bag.

  “What’s this?” She turned it over in her hands. She could feel there were a few small objects inside.

  “It’s life insurance,” she said mysteriously. “If you should ever need us, inside you will find the code to unravel the signal to contact us. You know, just in case.”

  “Thank you.” Ava wasn’t sure she would ever need it, but put it in her bag anyway.

  Ava hugged them all again. Her face was a wet, flushed mess by the time she saw Wesley’s courier approaching. “Where is James?” She asked Melanie quickly. She had been feeling the sadness building up since the others arrived. She wanted to see him again, just once more to say goodbye before she left for good.

  “He just couldn’t take it Ava. It’s better this way. Maybe one day, when he’s accepted the situation, we can come and visit you,” Melanie said hesitantly as she smiled sadly at Ava. She nodded back at her, knowing inside that day would probably never come. Before she knew it, Wesley was back at her side. He said a polite farewell to James’ family before ushering Ava quickly back towards the courier. Andre scooped up Ava’s bag as he and Naomi thanked the others for their hospitality and their kindness to Ava and then they were off.

  It took mere minutes to reach the concealed Principia. The cloaking mechanism worked so well to conceal the ship and it seemed odd that they appeared to be driving right up into something invisible. Once inside and the ramp to the cargo area was closed everyone hopped out and Wesley gathered Ava into a passionate embrace and kiss while Andre and Naomi smiled.

  “Come, let’s get you strapped in for lift off. Andre will take your bag to our quarters.” He seemed so happy, but still a little on edge, as if he expected something to happen.

  “Ava! Welcome back!” Ash called to her as they walked towards him on the way to the observation deck.

  “Hi Ash!” Ava smiled at him, looking into his sky blue eyes, happy to see another familiar face.

  “Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten the way home!” He joked.

  “Very funny,” Wesley said dryly as he led the way holding Ava’s hand. She laughed lightly. Once Ava was safely secured in her seat, Wesley took the one next to her and fastened himself in.

  “You’re not going to the flight deck?” She asked, a little confused.

  “I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he said seriously as he took her hand and kissed it.

  Ava leaned back and closed her eyes, concentrating on the familiar feel of Wesley’s energy as Andre counted down and the ship powered up. Everything was just as smooth as she remembered it as the Principia soared upwards into the atmosphere, and then further and further away from the green haze of the planet known as Sphene. She was once again in the company of her trusted family and she should be happy. She was happy, but she was also sad. Wesley seemed to pick up on her emotions and squeezed her hand.

  “Let’s get you settled,” he suggested, unbuckling her safety restraints as the cabin pressure evened out and the Principia glided along steadily. Ava took his hand and walked with him up to his quarters. She noticed that he closed the door behind them once they were both inside. “How are you doing, are you okay? I know how intense he can be.” He seemed very concerned.

  “It’s going to take some time,” she answered honestly.

  He nodded, drawing her close to him. “You’re cold,” he observed, wrapping his arms around her.

  “Wesley, why do you suppress your energy from me?” She asked, remembering how wonderful it felt when James shared his with her.

  “I don’t want to hurt you . . . why?” He looked puzzled.

  “I want to feel your energy, it won’t hurt me if we’re careful. Just . . . turn it up a notch,” she said lightly.

  “Okay,” he said cautiously pressing his lips against hers. “Ava, I love you.” She warmed up immediately as his familiar energy penetrated her, comforted her and excited her. They kissed passionately, their hands roaming over each other.

  “I love you too.” Ava pushed Wesley’s shirt off over his head and ran her hands over his sculpted chest and broad shoulders. His impressive physique never failed to thrill her. It seemed like it had been ages since they had been together and she could feel her spirits rising. Her skin tingled everywhere he touched her as he slowly slid her T-shirt over her head. He leaned forward into her, lifted her up and gently laid her down on the bed. She could feel his intense desire for her. Their energy started connecting, strengthening the bond between them. She wanted him, she needed him. She needed to forget James. This is how it should be she thought as he kissed her. She had made the right decision.

  Chapter 29: Hope and Doubt

  Wesley slept more soundly than he had over the last several months. As he woke he reached over to where Ava had been only to find the space empty. He opened his eyes and shot out of bed in a nanosecond, donned some clothes and teleported around the ship frantically looking for her. Naomi and Ava gasped as Wesley startled them when he suddenly appeared before them in the kitchen. The two women were sitting at a small table with mugs of steaming hot tea in front of them.

  “What’s wrong?” Ava asked, getting up and walking over to him quickly.

  “Nothing . . . nothing,” he breathed heavily as his eyes raked her over. “I was just wondering where you were.”

  “I couldn’t sleep. It’s the reverse time change,” Ava explained. “Naomi and I were just catching up.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. Please, . . . go back to your visit. I’m going to shower so that I can relieve Ash.”

  She kissed him softly and smiled at him as he walked out of the kitchen.

  “He’s been beside himself with worry for you since you disappeared. He’ll be okay once we’re back on Kyanos. I think he’s still in shock that James didn’t try to stop you from leaving.”

  “He’s a good man,” she said softly.

  “I don’t doubt that Ava. He saved my life once.” Naomi smiled at Ava, herself feeling relief that James let Ava go without a fight.

  “How long will it be before we are home?”

  “We’re going to take a little detour back down to Earth first. Wesley and Andre want to check out that hangar where Kaden had the Andromeda. If they are still there we can ambush them, if not, perhaps they left some clues behind as to their whereabouts.”

  ∞

  Ava sat in the observation deck with Naomi as the Principia neared the wormhole that had brought them to the new universe that James had taken Ava to. On her way to Sphene she had been holed up in her quarters on the Solstice and had no knowledge of it. It was comforting to have Naomi’s company during this risky part of the return trip, even though they told her that coming through had been a breeze. The other three Asterions remained in the flight deck. Ava could sense the ship slowing down and feel Wesley summoning his energy to brace the ship for the journey into the abyss. They sat in silence as they watche
d the monitors.

  The ship shuddered, shaking them in their seats and the temperature dropped several degrees as they began passing through. They could not see much from the cameras, just some occasional bursts of light and what appeared to be clouds of light debris that they were passing through. Sometimes they didn’t see anything at all, except the usual blur that they saw when they travelled at absolute velocity. After some rather wild turbulence and a minor panic attack from Ava, the Principia sailed out into the universe that they had come from.

  Over the next few days on the journey back to Earth Ava related stories of her experiences on Sphene and what James and his family had taught her to her family. She even recounted the harrowing story of her near drowning experience and how James had saved her only a few days before they had found her. Wesley seemed very distant and looked away during that part of the story, figuring out that was how he had found Ava, through James’ desperate fear that she was going to die. The thought of how much James had come to love Ava disturbed Wesley. The fact that James honored Ava’s wishes to return with him demonstrated exactly just how much he did love her. Deep down, Wesley had doubts that he could have been that strong and felt ashamed for himself. Ava was human and not bound by their laws or attraction, she had to be the one to make the decision and James had no choice. Wesley felt sorry for him now.

  Ava became somewhat nervous the closer they ventured towards the old abandoned hangar, remembering the events of what transpired there. Ash cloaked the ship again as they pulled in closer and hovered a short distance above and away from the entrance.

  “Let’s send in a Scout first,” Wesley advised.

  The “Scout” was simply a motorized flying remote controlled camera able to give them a visual on what was happening inside the hangar. Ash was proud of his new toy, especially since it assumed the risk of going in first and not them. Everyone congregated into the flight deck to watch what the news would be. At first it was hard to see anything due to the snow flurries but once inside they saw through the night vision that the hangar was empty. Ava could immediately feel the energy of the Asterions around her sink in disappointment and even a touch of fear because there could be no telling where Kaden and whatever new crew he assembled would be by now. She hoped Kyanos was okay, she could not shake the guilty feeling that she was the reason their planet had been left unprotected.