The Calling

by Rachelle Dekker

  —The Scientist will expect results that I fear we will not be able to demonstrate. Many among the project team are beginning to question whether or not the objective can be obtained. Can the mind be rewired to serve the greater purpose, or will it always fight for its own selfish rights?

  —The fear of not being able to produce the results required has some physicians making mistakes, putting the patients at further risk. Although the terminal failure rate has settled, many patients will never recover from a mental standpoint. Their minds are too broken for continued testing; another batch of trial patients will be brought in. We need positive results quickly.

  11

  The archer quickly led them along the edge of the woods. The forest backed up to a large grouping of buildings surrounded by a parking lot worn from time and overgrown with foliage. The Seers had scouted the buildings once but found the insides filled with small shops too destroyed to be used as refuge.

  Remko had placed Selena and the girls between him and the boy with the bow in order to keep an eye on everyone. Remko waited for another ambush, waited for the archer to turn on them, but the farther they traveled the less worried Remko felt. If the archer were the enemy, he would have acted by now.

  He was impressed with the way the archer knew the woods, the way he moved the group around obstacles, keeping them covered and out of sight. Remko was starting to believe that maybe this boy actually did want to help. But where had he come from? He said very little, and Remko restrained himself from asking questions that might cause their rescuer to leave. The truth was, until Remko knew where they were and that they were safe, they needed the archer.

  Remko kept an eye out for things that were familiar to him. He knew they were headed west because of the location of the sun. He knew they needed to meet up with Sam, Wire, and Kate back at the cave, but he wasn’t sure how to proceed now that the archer was with them.

  Even if the boy was trying to help, Remko couldn’t risk leading him back to their vehicle and then possibly to camp. But he wasn’t sure how not to. Options and thin solutions rumbled around inside his head. They were coming to the end of the woods, and Remko knew he needed to think of something quickly.

  “Where are you headed?” the archer asked.

  Remko said nothing, unsure how to answer.

  “Can’t tell me; don’t worry—I get it.”

  The archer glanced back at Selena and the Carson girls. “Interesting company to be traveling through the woods with. No wonder the CityWatch is after you.”

  If the archer recognized Selena, then he had to be from the city. But why was he out here?

  “You travel alone mostly?” Remko asked.

  The archer nodded. “Never have to worry about anyone but myself.”

  Remko felt a surge of envy that he shoved aside.

  “Must be lonely,” Selena said.

  The archer shrugged. “I don’t have the best track record of choosing good company, so lonely is fine with me.” He came to a stop and pointed forward. “That’s the edge of the forest there. It spills out at the bottom of the eastern hills—are you familiar with those?”

  Remko nodded.

  “I’ll leave you here then.” The archer turned to head back into the trees when something snapped to the left of them. His bow was raised as quickly as Remko could register the sound. They all paused and Remko readied himself for another CityWatch encounter.

  A small bunny hopped out from behind a tree and scurried off for protection. The archer lowered his bow and Remko’s stance eased. Lucy let out a small laugh and Selena smiled at Remko. “It was probably a really vicious bunny.”

  Both of her girls softly giggled and Remko couldn’t help but smile. The archer did the same and took a couple steps away from the group.

  “Thank you,” Selena said. She took a step toward the boy and gave him a warm smile. “You saved my daughters’ lives; I’m not sure how to repay you for that.”

  The boy shook his head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save your other daughter.”

  Selena sucked in a painful breath and held the archer’s eyes for a long moment. The archer didn’t look away or seem uneasy as Selena’s eyes searched his face. The ease and confidence with which he carried himself was impressive.

  “What’s your name?” Selena asked.

  The archer again turned to leave but after a short step paused and looked back over his shoulder. “Jesse. Jesse Cropper.” He glanced at Remko, speaking a message with his eyes that Remko understood, then disappeared into the trees.

  Keep them safe, the archer had said silently, and Remko intended to.

  By the time Remko and the Carson women reached the cave where the others were waiting with the transport vehicle, the sun was nearly hidden behind the mountains, the last of its rays dimming in the sky. Kate rushed to meet them as they walked up, punching Remko in the arm and then proceeding to hug him. “We were just about to go searching for your bodies. What took you so long?”

  Remko gave her a half grin and walked into the cave, where Wire and Sam looked relieved to see him. “The CityWatch backup showed, so we had to take the long way around.”

  “The archer helped us, though,” Lucy said.

  Sam crooked an eyebrow at Remko. “Archer?”

  “The one responsible for those friendly arrows, I’m guessing,” Kate said.

  “His name is Jesse. He was very kind,” Selena said.

  Kate, Sam, and Wire shared a worried glance.

  Remko nodded and tried to ease their concern. “We parted ways miles from here, but we can take an alternate route back to camp. As far as I could tell, he was traveling on foot, so that gives us the advantage.”

  Sam gave Wire a final look, and Wire flashed Roxy. “I’ll keep an eye out for anything strange.”

  “We need to head back; we’re already hours behind schedule. People will start to worry,” Remko said. Everyone nodded and climbed into the pod. Remko overheard Rayna telling Sam that a bunny had scared Remko on their trek back, and Remko felt peace in the fact that after everything she had seen in the last couple of hours, the thing she was going to remember most was the bunny.

  The ride back to camp was quiet. Lucy and Rayna fell asleep, and Selena was lost in her own thoughts. Kate and Wire passed Roxy back and forth, playing a touch-screen game that Wire had designed in his spare time. Sam kept his eyes on the road ahead as he drove, his window rolled down, the cool night air rustling his hair.

  Remko was glad to be headed back to camp with everyone in tow and unharmed. All in all, the day could be marked as a success. He found his mind drifting back to the archer a couple of times. Jesse. He wondered how he’d come to be alone, to use his weapon the way he did, to understand both the woods and the city so well. As children growing up in the city, you were always taught that survival outside the city walls was impossible, that dangers could be found around every turn. But that was just another lie the Authority used to manipulate people into feeling fear so that they would obey. Their power was all based on fear: the fear to disobey, the fear to end up alone, the fear to discover you’re worthless. As people living under the Authority, all the decisions you made, you made out of fear.

  On the other hand, sometimes it was hard to see much difference in what they were doing now.

  The Seers might be free of the Authority’s rule, but were they not still basing all their decisions for survival on fear? Wasn’t the fear of being captured the resounding echo that drove all of their moves? Could a person ever be devoid of fear, ever move and live in a way that fear wasn’t the driving force? Aaron spoke of a path beyond the control of fear, a reality they were fighting to bring to fruition, but was it actually possible?

  When they reached the tunnel entrance, Remko was surprised by how quick the trip had felt. After a few more minutes of driving through the dark subway tunnel, the lights of camp came into view. Selena stirred her girls awake as several Seers walked to greet the van, Carrington included. As Remko stepp
ed out of the front passenger seat, he could hear Carrington’s sigh of relief.

  Remko pulled her into his arms and held her tight. She buried her face in the base of his neck, and the sweet scent of her hair filled his senses. She placed a kiss on his shoulder and pulled back. “Aaron is here, in camp.”

  Remko could feel the shift in the atmosphere the moment the words left her lips. Kate and Sam, followed closely by Wire and the few Seers that had ventured out to meet the van, headed toward the fire where everyone had gathered.

  A smile lit Carrington’s face, and her joy seeped into Remko’s tired bones. He smiled in response and released his hold from around her waist. She looked over his shoulder and her eyes froze on the three Carson women standing in the shadows.

  Remko had totally forgotten that Selena and her daughters would be a surprise to Carrington, and he wished he’d thought to warn her. She moved past Remko toward Selena and extended her hand in greeting.

  “Welcome. My name is Carrington. I knew your daughter.”

  Selena grasped Carrington’s hand and just held it. “She spoke of you once; you are just as beautiful as she described.” Selena’s eyes welled with tears and Carrington, without hesitation, pulled her into an embrace. Selena, shocked for only a moment, embraced Carrington in return.

  Remko gave the four girls a moment of privacy and started again toward the fire, keeping them in sight as he did. After a couple of minutes, they started in his direction and soon they were all in the center of camp. Children’s laughter filled the subway and Remko knew Aaron must be telling one of his famous tales.

  The Seer leader was standing in the center of the crowd with most people seated around him. He preferred to tell stories with his entire being. His arms were stretched high to the sky to emphasize the size of the creature in this particular tale. Wire and Kate were across the crowd, headed for the equipment tent to record the day’s happenings. Sam had perched himself on an upside-down crate near the fire and was eating the soup that someone offered him. He saw Rayna and Lucy and motioned them over.

  Selena nodded her permission and the two girls moved carefully toward Sam. They caught the eyes of everyone around the fire, as their faces were so recognizable. Looks began to flutter toward Selena as well, but Carrington looped her arm through the cautious woman’s, pulling her close. Selena smiled at Carrington’s kindness and ignored the curious looks.

  Aaron noticed the two Carson girls as they sat beside Sam, and he turned toward them. “That is a beautiful necklace you’re wearing,” he said, pointing at Sam’s pendant still hanging from Rayna’s small neck. She was clutching it in her hand and glanced down when Aaron mentioned it.

  She paused for a moment, afraid to speak, before looking up at Aaron. “It’s magic.”

  “Magic? What does it do?” Aaron asked.

  “Makes me invisible.”

  “A beautiful girl like you, why would you need to be invisible?”

  “So they can’t find me.”

  Every eye in the camp was on the girl and Aaron as they spoke.

  “Who?” Aaron asked.

  Rayna bit her bottom lip and dropped her eyes to the necklace still nestled in her palm. “The city.”

  Remko heard Selena inhale sharply beside him and watched Lucy’s face register a similar pain. The turmoil these little girls must be facing suddenly fell upon Remko. It was unfair for such a traumatic death to touch their innocence.

  “I know a true story about a young boy who was afraid,” Aaron said. “He was small—not much bigger than you—and his home and all the people he loved were under attack.”

  Rayna lifted her chin and watched Aaron with wonder. Lucy was watching as well, along with all of the other children who were inching closer to hear another story.

  “See, they were being tormented by a monster, a giant from an enemy kingdom, and this giant was threatening their king, saying he would kill anyone who stood against him. Now, this young boy surely felt fear, but he didn’t feel powerless even though everyone else said he was just a small boy, and what could he do against such a monster?

  “Now, imagine the army out in the fields trying to decide how to defeat this giant. Imagine the king, worried about what would happen to his people. And then imagine what happened when this young boy showed up, too small for armor or a sword, and marched out onto the grassy plain to face the monster alone.”

  Rayna’s face crumpled with fear. “Did he die?”

  Aaron smiled and dropped into a crouch in front of Rayna. “No, he won.”

  Rayna’s eyes grew wide. “How?”

  “He had magic too.”

  She held out her pendant, smiling. “Like mine?”

  “A different kind of magic. A kind that lived inside him. See, Rayna, that young boy was already magic in a way. His faith and belief made him powerful, so that he could face the monster and not be defeated.”

  “Wasn’t he afraid?” Lucy asked.

  Aaron turned to face the older of the two sisters and nodded. “Of course; fear is a very real thing. But the boy knew the power he possessed was greater than his fear. Because his power came from somewhere much greater than what he was afraid of. It came from his trust in the Father.”

  “I wish I had power like that,” Rayna said under her breath.

  “Oh, but you do,” Aaron said. “That’s why you’re here, Rayna; the same kind of magic that helped that boy can help you.”

  Rayna’s eyes lit up with excitement. “And Lucy, too?”

  Aaron chuckled. “Yes—all of us.”

  Lucy shook her head. “It’s just a silly story. We are not magic.”

  Rayna’s smile fell and she looked to Aaron to tell Lucy she was wrong.

  “Arianna used to tell me about her power, the power that lived inside her, like the magic you talk about, but that didn’t save her,” Lucy said.

  Aaron reached out and took Lucy’s hand. She edged backward just a bit but didn’t pull her hand away. “Yes, it did. It saved her from her fear. It can save you, too, from the weight you carry. You can be free. You can be magic.”

  Aaron held Lucy’s stare for a long moment and the rest of the camp stayed silent. Tears gathered in Lucy’s eyes and she blinked them away. Rayna stood and moved to hold her sister’s other hand. “Maybe we could be magic?” she said, in the smallest voice, almost too soft to make out from where Remko stood.

  Streams of tears were rolling down Selena’s face and tears dotted Carrington’s cheeks as well. Lucy gave Rayna a weak smile and nodded. “Maybe.”

  Before any of them could say another word, Kate called out for Remko from the edge of the crowd. He heard a couple of people gasp as he turned to see Kate standing behind a hooded figure, the figure’s arms clasped behind its back and the muzzle of Kate’s gun pointed at its head. Several people moved to gather their children and escort them to safety, and Kate shrugged her apology to several glaring onlookers.

  Aaron stood from his crouch and moved toward Kate, as did Remko and Carrington.

  “I found him snooping around behind the equipment tent,” Kate said.

  Sam moved to the prisoner and yanked down his hood.

  “Jesse,” Selena said. She was standing behind Carrington, both of her girls at her sides.

  “You know him?” Kate said.

  “Kate, meet our archer,” Remko said.

  “I’d say it was a pleasure to meet you, but . . . ,” Jesse said.

  Kate placed the end of her weapon at the nape of Jesse’s neck.

  “How did you find us?” Remko asked.

  “He followed us, clearly,” Kate said.

  “On foot?” Remko said skeptically.

  “I don’t really open up well at gunpoint,” Jesse said.

  “Tough,” Kate replied.

  Remko glanced at Sam and Sam stepped forward and touched Kate’s arm.

  She looked at him in shock. “You have got to be kidding me. We don’t know anything about this punk, and you want me to let him
go free in camp?”

  “We’re all right here,” Remko said. “He isn’t going anywhere.”

  Kate huffed in disbelief but after another second dropped her gun and stepped back.

  Jesse rolled his shoulders and faced Remko. “Thank you.”

  “How did you follow us?” Remko asked.

  “Actually, you followed me,” Jesse said. “I have been living in these subway tunnels for a while.”

  “Impossible,” Wire said. Remko hadn’t even noticed his approach. “I scanned these tunnels for miles and got no readings of human life.”

  “You learn to hide pretty well when you’re on your own,” Jesse said.

  “How long have you known we were here?” Remko asked.

  “Since you showed up.”

  “Why wait till now to turn up?”

  Jesse shrugged. “I got curious after today. After seeing her.” He nodded toward Selena. “I started to put the pieces together. People tell stories about the rebels, the Seers, and I wanted to see for myself.”

  “Bad idea,” Kate grumbled.

  “I don’t mean anyone harm. I didn’t even bring my bow.”

  Remko had been wondering where it was. He scanned Jesse’s face, looking for signs of falsehood, and found nothing.

  “So you are out here on your own?” Aaron asked.

  The rest of the group turned at the sound of his voice. Remko had almost forgotten he was there.

  “Yep, just the way I like it,” Jesse answered. He looked Aaron over and a light went on behind his eyes. “You’re not at all what I expected.”

  “And what did you expect?” Aaron asked.

  “I don’t know; the way you have the Authority scared, I would have guessed you’d be more intimidating.”

  Aaron laughed and shook his head. “I am just a teacher.”