Brand and Beth are situated across from us, cuddled up close. Not much has changed since breakfast.
Chris seems distant. He hasn’t said much.
The plane engines begin building speed and the plane rolls forward. We slowly make our way to the end of the runway. When the nose of the plane turns to face the runway, the plane accelerates forward without pause, pushing me back into my seat with the force needed to leave the ground.
Once we’re in the air, I figure I better try to talk with Chris about the awkwardness between us. I say, “I’m sorry if I said anything upsetting last night.”
His frustrated expression and tone of voice draws Beth’s attention. He says, “Are you kidding me? Why are you apologizing when I was the one to screw up?”
Sheez, I really wish I had more experience with relationships. I feel my cheeks heat up as if I’m in trouble. Frankly, I don’t really know where I stand at the moment. My head has been buried in books for so long, ignoring the conversations on the lips of others that I’m now communication-challenged.
“I’m sorry, Calli. See, I did it again.” Chris takes my hand and gently squeezes it.
“You know, Chris, we don’t have to talk at all.” I switch over to telepathic words. Maybe you need some healing kisses. I smile, hoping to lighten the mood.
“I get a little snappy and defensive when I’m stressed. That’s why I left your room last night.”
“Oh, that makes more sense. How about next time you’re feeling that way you tell me?”
“Okay. I was also nervous.”
“Why?”
“Well,” he leans his head next to mine and whispers, “I couldn’t get that invisible kissing session from the compound out of my head. I really wanted to . . . I was hoping . . .”
His warm breath on my ear and his topic cause my cheeks to warm rapidly.
Brand chuckles, “What’s going on, Calli?”
“Mind your own business,” I reply.
Beth playfully smacks his arm. “Leave them alone. Come on, we’re moving.” She pulls him out of his seat and leads him away.
Once we’re alone, I ask Chris, “If you were hoping and wanting, why did you leave?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what? I don’t bite . . . often.” I nudge my shoulder against his, letting him know I’m joking.
“You’ve never been in a relationship before. My past relationships didn’t last, obviously. I don’t want to scare you away like everyone else.” He looks down to the floor. “Sorry. I’m rambling.”
I listen to his words and think them through.
He brings his gaze to mine and continues. “Listen, I want to date you, Calli. I don’t want you to feel you were cheated out of experiencing first-love. Hopefully, I’ll be the only boyfriend you’ll ever have. I’m not a pro either, so we can go slow.”
“I’m kind of relieved, to be honest.” I touch his hand and let out an exhale of relief. “I don’t know the first thing about having sex. We have decades and centuries ahead of us. There’s no point in rushing to the finish line.”
He pulls his hand away and turns in his seat toward me. “I wasn’t talking about sex. Is that . . . is that what you thought was going to happen last night?”
“No . . . maybe. I don’t know.” I’m officially embarrassed. Even my toenails feel like they’re blushing. “I guess I thought that’s how things would go.”
“I think you’ve been watching too much television. I’m not your stereotypical, chick-flick kind of guy.” Taking both my hands in his, he says, “Calli, I want to clear the air here. I don’t ever want to put you in a situation that makes you uncomfortable. Like I said, I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t watch television,” I mutter defensively, then look at our clasped hands. “I guess I thought because we saw the vision of our future, you’d want to—”
“Someday, when we have sex—and we will, obviously, because you’ve seen our grandchildren—it will be when you’re ready, and not because you think we’re supposed to.”
I ponder on his words and wonder how he under-stands my mind better than I do.
He continues, “I know you don’t fully understand the difference between guys and girls.”
“Sure, I do,” I correct him. “I’ve read about the male body in my parents’ medical books.”
He smiles. “That’s good, at least. You understand the mechanics of the male body. I doubt those books explained what it feels like to have raging male hormones.”
“No, they didn’t. But, when I extracted your mind at Maetha’s I didn’t see anything like that.”
“You were searching for other topics, thankfully. I want you to understand that when we’re close, like when we kiss, our bodies react.”
“That’s nature’s will in its simplest form. Moving the species forward, procreating.” I can’t help but feel like I’m the narrator of nature-themed documentary.
“Yes, but just because our bodies react doesn’t mean we have to have sex. It’s not your fault or your responsibility to help me out, either. I can assure you I won’t die because of being turned on, regardless of what other less-respectful guys might say.”
I ask, “Do you think a couple should be married before becoming intimate?”
“Do you?”
“I asked you first.” I grin.
“Are you asking if I have religious views?”
“I guess so.”
“No, I don’t have beliefs that dictate how I behave. I have only my conscience and my desire to do my best. As for being married before sex, I think there are extremes on both ends. I’ve watched friends jump directly to sex and have one-night-stands, then regret it. I’ve also seen kids right out of high school get married just to have ‘God-approved’ sex, only to find out later they have nothing in common. My own parents waited till marriage. They had a short engagement in the hopes of staying ‘pure.’ My mom didn’t get to see the real side of my dad until she was his wife. I’ve heard her talking to other people, saying how she regretted not getting to know him better before they got married. I think she meant she wished she’d dated him longer or had a longer engagement. She might have been talking about sex, I don’t know. I decided long ago I didn’t ever want to have regrets because of jumping in too fast. I became determined to be in a committed relationship and in love before going there.”
“So, have you ever been in love?” I regret asking such a personal question the moment the words leave my lips. “Sorry. You don’t have to answer.”
He stares at me for a moment. “You know, Calli, if you want to extract my mind you can.”
“I don’t want to. I might see more than I want.”
“That’s a good point. Well then, yes, I thought I was in love once.”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a bit jealous.”
“I didn’t know you yet, Calli. I hadn’t seen the vision. Do you want to know who?”
“No,” I say. His answer confirms his only love wasn’t Kikee. I don’t need to know more.
He asks, “What are your religious beliefs, and how do you feel about intimacy before marriage?”
I’m happy he’s directing the subject away from him. I say, “You really went out on a limb by telling me your views, Chris. What if I was someone who firmly believed in waiting till marriage?”
“Then I’d compromise and try my darndest to make things work.”
I think I love him even more for that comment. “Well, don’t worry. You and I have similar beliefs. My parents are not religious. Nor am I, unless there’s a religion that follows the scientific method.”
“I think that’s just called being a scientist.”
“My mom always talked openly with me. She’s one of those matter-of-fact people who don’t mince words or beat around the bush. She taught me I should wait to have sex until I met someone I wouldn’t mind being a co-parent with. Someone who would be a responsible parent and pull his share of the load.
My mom taught me lust can be confused with love and when we make decisions based on how we feel, we sometimes make bad ones. Logic should always come before feelings. That’s what she says anyway.”
“Now I know how your mom feels toward sex. But what do you feel, Calli?”
I snuggle close to him. “I feel very much in love with you. I know what lust feels like, too. I think when we’re ready to move to that level, it will feel right to both of us.”
“So, you don’t believe we should be married before then?” he presses.
“Not given what we know about our futures. Besides, my mom would freak out if I got married soon. She’d be more like, ‘Oh, you only had sex? You used protection, right?’ Instead of ‘Married! What in the bleep, bleep, bleep were you thinking?’”
Chris chuckles. “My mom would freak out if she thought I had sex before I got married. She’s traditional that way. My dad . . . I don’t know what my dad would have said.” His expression falls.
I touch his arm. “Chris, I feel marriage is about love and commitment to another person. Devotion. I value that level of connection. It’s what my parents have.”
“I hope we’ll have that, too.”
“I know we will.
Crimson speaks to my mind, letting me know she’s arrived in North Dakota already and has rented a car. She’ll be waiting for us when we get off the plane.
As I inform Chris about Crimson, Brand walks by and asks, “How did she beat us here if she doesn’t fly in airplanes? Does she run super fast or something?”
“Or something.”
* * *
Like she promised, Crimson is waiting for us when we step off the plane in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Brand scoffs, “A minivan? She rented a minivan?”
Beth asks, “Why is that a big deal? Do you have something against minivans?”
“Well,” I say, “there’s seven of us in total, plus our luggage and boxes. What did you expect her to choose?”
Brand grumbles, “I just don’t like them, that’s all.”
She greets us as we load into the van. Anika sits in the front with Crimson. Chris and I move to the back-bench seat and Brand and Beth sit on the middle seat.
“Anika, direct me where to drive you,” Crimson says peacefully. I sense she’s giving Anika calming strength. Now that we’re in Anika’s home town she’s probably feeling the heavy weight of reality.
We drive through the streets to a rather large home with a metal security gate. Anika gets out and walks around the front to the security keypad. She enters a code and the gate begins to slide open. Turning to Crimson, who has her window rolled down, Anika says, “I’ll just take my bag and go from here. You don’t need to drive in.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
I’ve already grabbed Anika’s bag and hand it forward to Brand before Crimson asks. Brand opens the door and passes it to her. He says, “We’ll see you tomorrow, Anika.”
“Thank you,” she responds meekly. I notice an older woman has come out the front door and is walking to greet Anika. “Bye everyone.” She waves and leaves.
Crimson drives away. No one says a word. In my mind I’m thinking about how difficult this must be for Anika. Her life will be so different now with her parents’ deaths.
Brand clears his throat. “Crimson, how do you travel? Do you run . . . you know, like a Runner?”
“I can if I need to.” Crimson keeps her voice level, almost bored sounding.
“But Runners can’t out-run an airplane, so how were you able to get here before us? I know you didn’t drive.”
“I fly.”
“But you said you don’t like flying.”
“Not in planes.”
I can’t see Brand’s face to see his reaction, but the gasping, choking sound he makes paints a good picture in my mind.
“No way,” he says, instantly doubting her. “Seriously, how do you travel?”
“I click my heels and wiggle my nose. What do you want me to say, Brand?”
Beth nudges him with her shoulder, as if to get his attention. “She said she flies.” Beth’s mind opens and allows me to see she’s a bit embarrassed with how casually Brand talks to Crimson. She feels he’s not showing Crimson the respect she deserves.
Crimson says, looking out the window, “Perfect. There’s a shopping center across from a hotel.” She pulls into the hotel parking lot. “Chris, will you secure us two rooms?”
“Adjoining?”
“Close together, but they don’t need to be adjoining.”
Chris extends his hand to me, which I take, to accompany him into the lobby. The place is nice and clean, like most hotels I’ve stayed in. The female receptionist welcomes us and more than willingly fulfills Chris’s order for two rooms. Not surprisingly, she’s apparently smitten with Chris’s good looks. He kind of comes across rude, in my opinion. And yet, she seems undeterred. Her per-sistence might have something to do with the fact she’s checked out both our left ring fingers.
Chris takes the keycards and we go back out to get the others.
I ask, “Do you get tired of girls coming on to you?”
“Yeah.”
“I can tell.”
He turns his head as if he’s about to say something, but we arrive at the van, so he doesn’t.
* * *
Chris and Brand put their belongings in their room and follow us to ours. I set my bag on one of the beds and Beth adds hers.
Crimson walks over to the table and sets the box down she’s carrying. Then she points to the second bed. “Beth, you can have your own bed. I’ll be out on errands tonight.”
Beth picks up her bag and sets it on the other bed, then does a belly flop onto the center of the mattress and rolls over on her back. “Nice bed,” she says.
Brand asks, “What kind of errands? Are you going to go ‘flying’ around?” He makes air quotes with his fingers.
Crimson sits in one of the extra chairs in the corner. She doesn’t answer.
Brand says, “Did Calli tell you I wasn’t able to charge a topaz with my Repeating quartz.”
I note the change of flow in Brand’s conversation right away. He must have repeated.
“I already know. That’s unfortunate.” Crimson lets out a sigh. I imagine she’s let down that she won’t get to experience the repeating power. “Are your powers still fully functional?” she asks Brand.
“Yes. I’m worried they’re going to disappear. Do you think they will?”
“I don’t know.”
He scrunches his brows together. “Can’t you look to the future to see?”
“No.”
“No?”
She looks at different papers from the box while responding, “Humanity isn’t dependent on you keeping your powers.”
“So, I’m just a fun little experiment or something?”
She sets the papers down and looks directly at Brand. “No, you’re the result of government experiments. It’s harsh, I know, but that’s the truth of the matter.” Crimson’s shortness with Brand indicates to me she’s getting tired of his incessant questions. However, she’s not heartless. She adds, “Don’t fret over it, Brand. I like you. In fact, if repeating was a cosmic power, you’d be my chosen leader of the Repeaters. It’s just not important in maintaining the human race.”
“Oh, well, okay,” Brand trips over his words. “I guess I’m like a side-kick then. Not really useful.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t useful, Brand. Look what your power has brought to pass already. I’m not going to switch my focus just to find out if you will keep your powers.”
I jump into the conversation. “I, for one, looked forward to trying out Brand’s power. Too bad the topaz didn’t take.”
Jonas and Mary bi-locate to the room without warning.
“Hey everyone,” Jonas beams proudly.
“Jonas,” I say, “did you bi-locate on your own? I haven’t been able to figure out how to
do that.”
“No. I had Mary’s help. Where’s Anika?”
“With her family,” Crimson says. She extends her arm in front of her and slowly moves it in a half-circle, from her left to her right. As she does so, the blue, glittering, secrecy mist surrounds our group. “Let’s get started with the first Task Force meeting. I’ve gone over the files from General Harding’s compound and separated them for you to investigate.” She looks at Brand and Beth. “The two of you will be investigating individuals, searching for the level of knowledge they’ve amassed while working at General Harding’s compound. We need to know who knows too much.”
Beth asks, “What do we do when we find someone who might be a threat?”
“You’ll discuss as a group how to handle the individual. If I feel I need to interject, I will. Jonas has been set up with a complex computer system on the island. He’ll do his part from there. If you run across someone who you think needs to be tracked, pass the name along to Jonas.”
“You know how to do that kind of computer hacking?” Beth asks Jonas.
Jonas smiles. “Oh yeah. If there’s information to be found, I’ll find it.”
I ask, doing a little math in my head, “Are you already in Bermuda, Jonas?”
“No, we’re still traveling. Right now we’re stopped, so we can bi-locate with you.”
Crimson hands the files to Beth, “You two take these and go to the other room and look them over. I need to talk to Chris, Calli, and Jonas.”
“Okay,” says Beth. She takes the room key and they leave.
Crimson turns to us. “Come sit at the table.”
We each take a seat. Jonas and Mary stand nearby. The blue mist floats with us, keeping our conversation private.
Crimson says, “The first thing I want to teach you is how to block your minds as a Diamond Bearer. Calli, I want you to close your eyes and imagine the checker board analogy Maetha shared with you. Jonas, Mary will explain this with you when you two leave the meeting. This is a mental exercise. Keeping others out of your mind is all a mental game. So, Calli, imagine the checkerboard and your game pieces set up, except place your front row game pieces on the red and black squares. Now take your remaining pieces and pile them on top of the others to create a wall.”
The Diamond Bearer's Secret Page 3