Discovery

by Lisa White

  At the sound of the man’s voice, Ben stopped his punches and looked down at his former assailant who remained in the fetal position on the forest floor. Ben then glanced up at Grace and mouthed, “Stay.”

  Before Grace could respond, Ben was attacked again, but this time it came from behind. Something grabbed him, tossing him into the air and over his first attacker’s head, but before he could land on the ground, something else caught him and threw him back. His first attacker smiled and stood up, rising at least seven feet tall, and now participated in some sick twisted version of the monkey in the middle game using Ben as the ball.

  On about the third or fourth toss, Ben finally made his move. Just as he was tossed to his second attacker, Ben thrust his leg out and miraculously kicked the second attacker before it could catch him. With the impact of Ben’s kick, the second attacker materialized: a slim, pixie-like woman with wild blonde ringlets framing her face and dressed exactly like her partner. She fell to the ground, clutching her stomach and writhing in obvious pain. Ben then spun around and jumped on the large man in the middle, throwing his thighs around the man’s neck and twisting it until he passed out. The large man slumped to the ground and Ben stood silently over him.

  Ben didn’t move. He just stood there listening, staring at Grace, who by now was almost sitting on top of the Jeep’s dashboard in an anxious posture. After a few seconds, Ben finally heard what he was waiting for. A small twig cracked on the ground immediately behind Ben, prompting him to reach behind his head and grab at the third invisible assailant. Ben took hold of the back of the attacker’s neck and flung the assailant over his head. The attacker landed on the ground with a thud and instantly became visible. He wore camouflage like his partners and was smaller than the first man, however this attacker did not give up as easily. He jumped up and tackled Ben to the ground.

  Ben maneuvered to pin his attacker on the ground and then punched and punched and punched the man until, just as Grace thought he was going to kill the guy, a resounding “Whoa! Stop! Stop!” boomed from the middle boulder. Ben immediately ceased his assault and looked up.

  Out of nowhere appeared an older heavyset man dressed in faded blue jeans and a red plaid flannel shirt. His shaggy thinning hair was dirty blonde with gray highlights, and his face looked like he had not shaved in two or three days. He lumbered toward Ben with a huge smile and said, “Sorry I’m late. Petra didn’t see all this until just now.” He grabbed Ben in a huge bear hug and it was more than a few seconds before the man released his hold.

  Ben stepped back from the man and smiled. “Dave. You don’t know how glad I am to see you.” Ben, barely panting from his fight, turned to Grace who still sat in the Jeep, now with a puzzled look on her face. “It’s okay, Gracie. You can come out now,” Ben called to her.

  Grace’s brow furrowed as she looked from Ben, to Dave, to the three attackers who were now standing behind Dave brushing leaves off their clothes. She shook her head at Ben and did not move from the Jeep.

  Ben sighed and winked at Dave. He walked over to the Jeep and forcefully yanked Grace’s locked door off the Jeep, his strength rendering the door and its lock permanently useless. “Sweetie, I promise you, it’s okay to come out now.”

  Grace unbuckled her seatbelt and silently took Ben’s offered hand. She exited the Jeep very slowly, moving with shocked hesitation. She clutched Ben’s hand in a double-handed death grip, staying behind but as close to Ben as was physically possible as they walked toward the large man in the red flannel shirt.

  “Grace,” Ben said, stopping before the large man, “this is Dad’s best friend, Dave. Dave, this is the infamous Grace MacKay.”

  “It is my absolute pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Grace. We are humbly at your service,” Dave said with a smile and a sweeping bow.

  Grace cocked her head, looking back and forth from Ben to Dave. “Misfit Dave?”

  Dave chuckled. “The one and only, my lady.”

  “Is this your idea of a welcoming committee?” asked Ben, pointing to the trio standing behind Dave.

  “My apologies,” said Dave. “With the Anti-Powers getting more aggressive and all, we’ve had to institute a few extra security measures. Here, let me introduce you.”

  Dave walked over to Ben’s attackers who now stood in a military stance, feet apart with their hands clasped behind perfectly straight backs. “These are the Boulder Triplets. They were born with chameleon-like powers and can appear invisible at will. The problem is they become visible if certain parts of their body are hit. Not a very useful power when fighting to protect the humans, so they came here to live with us Misfits after they completed their training. Despite their power’s limitation, they’re darn good, strong fighters and extremely perceptive guards so they have the prestigious job of protecting our community’s entrance.”

  Dave pointed to Ben’s first attacker. “This very, very large man here is Steve.”

  Steve stuck out his massive hand to Ben and grinned. “Sorry. We had no idea it was you … and her. No hard feelings?”

  “No. We’re good,” said Ben.

  Steve turned and bowed to Grace. “Your Highness.”

  Steve’s regal greeting dumbfounded her.

  “And this young lady is Carrie,” continued Dave, gesturing to the woman.

  Carrie was the smallest of the three in stature but had the biggest smile with ruby red lips that curled up almost to her twinkling blue eyes. She looked at Grace and curtsied. “It is such a pleasure to meet you, my lady.”

  It struck Grace odd to see a woman dressed in camouflage curtsy.

  “And last but not least, we have Elton.” Dave pointed to the third attacker.

  “Hello,” Elton said softly. He was considerably shorter than Steve and much wirier but his eyes were loaded with more mischievousness.

  “Elton?” Grace repeated, not sure she heard correctly.

  “Our parents had a thing for Elton John.” Elton sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He turned to Ben. “Sorry if I was a little extra rough on you. I got kind of excited. We haven’t had any intruders in a while.”

  “No problem. I appreciate your enthusiasm,” said Ben, shaking Elton’s hand.

  “Miss Grace,” Elton continued. “It is truly an honor to finally meet you. I hope we did not scare you too much.”

  Grace returned his smile. “No. I knew Ben could take you. I really wasn’t worried at all,” she joked.

  “Well,” interrupted Dave. “I, too, have the utmost confidence in our Ben’s powers, but don’t believe today is the day to test them any further. Shall we all go somewhere that’s a little less … open?” Dave looked around and up into the trees as he spoke as if they were not alone. He gestured for them to follow him and headed toward the Trio of Boulders.

  “Oh. Yeah, right,” said Ben, retaking Grace’s hand. “Let’s go, Gracie.” He followed Dave with Grace still staying close to his side.

  “Get rid of that Jeep and assume your positions,” Dave yelled back over his shoulder to the Boulder Triplets.

  Grace looked back to say goodbye to her new friends but they had already disappeared into the trees. When she turned back around, Dave was walking straight into the middle boulder. Grace tugged on Ben’s arm and pointed in amazement at Dave who now stood halfway in and halfway out of the large stone.

  “It’s okay Grace. You can do this.” Ben pulled Grace up to the middle boulder and stood behind her. “Ladies, first. Follow Dave and I’ll be right behind you.”

  Dave held out his hand. “Come on, Miss Grace. This is the easy part. Just close your eyes and hang on to me.”

  Grace took Dave’s hand, but before she could look back to Ben, Dave was already pulling her through the large rock and into the mountainside. As instructed, she closed her eyes, and as she passed through the stone, she felt like she was floating in the ocean with waves massaging her entire body. Relaxation overcame her anxiety but, just as soon as the waves had started, they abruptly end
ed.

  “Okay, you can open your eyes now Gracie,” Ben whispered behind her ear.

  Grace slowly opened her eyes, reluctant to leave the lingering relaxed feeling of the waves, and found herself standing in the middle of the unexpected.

  Chapter Seventeen: The Misfit Community

  “Welcome to my world,” Dave declared with a wide sweep of his hand.

  They were inside the mountain, standing on a rocky precipice that jutted out from the steep mountain’s inner wall like a woman’s well-manicured fingernail. Below them, in a deep wooded valley, stretched a wide dirt road bordered on both sides by log cabins of all shapes and sizes. More cabins dotted up the surrounding mountainside reaching deeper into a dense green forest. The mountainside cabins were almost invisible but for the random trails of smoke escaping from a few chimneys and filtering up through the trees. A clear, rippling creek wound between the cabins and wildflowers decorated the water’s edge like an Impressionist oil painting. The air was crisp and the clean smell of early morning dew rushed into Grace’s nose, even though it was almost evening.

  “Wow,” was all she said.

  “Like it?” asked Ben who was now standing beside her.

  “Who wouldn’t? But don’t the Anti-Powers — ”

  “Miss Grace,” Dave interrupted her, “don’t you worry about those crazies. They don’t know anything about this place. Heck, most of the Powers don’t even know we’re here. We have a pretty special way of staying hidden underneath this fake mountain. Come on down.” Dave took a few steps and suddenly jumped off the rocky ledge. “Wahoo!” he screamed as he glided slowly to the edge of the dirt road thirty feet below.

  “He can fly?” Grace asked, her eyes squinting at Ben.

  “Not really. He’s just made this jump so many times he knows exactly how to gage it with the wind and all. You could do it too if you did it enough times,” Ben said as if that were a fact. “Come on. Your turn.”

  Without notice, Ben scooped Grace up into his arms and took a flying leap off the precipice. A few days ago, this jump would have scared the wits out of Grace, but now, having previously experienced Ben’s powers, she simply rested securely in his arms, allowing the wind to blow across her face as they glided through the air. Within seconds, they landed with a muffled thud on the dirt road below. Grace looked up at Ben and exhaled, “Thanks.”

  “No problem.” His eyes were soft as he slowly and reluctantly released his hold on her.

  “Are you hungry?” asked Dave.

  As if on cue, Grace’s stomach growled. Ben and Grace looked at each other and hysterical laughter overcame them. It was a good laugh, one they had not had in a very long time and it took a few minutes for each to catch their breath.

  “I’m afraid that food hasn’t exactly been high on our agenda the past few days,” chuckled Ben. “So, yeah, you could say we’re hungry.”

  “Great.” Dave had a funny look in his eyes. “Because I can see that Petra has dinner ready now.”

  Dave started walking down the middle of the road with Grace and Ben following close behind him. They passed cabin after cabin along the road. Most of the buildings appeared to be residences with wide front porches and roughly hewn rocking chairs obviously recycled from the woods’ discarded branches. The cabins without front porches resembled storefronts from an old western town. One looked like a blacksmith’s shop, one a woodworking shop, but the largest cabin on the road was “Ted’s General Store” as indicated by the large, faded blue letters painted on the side of the building. Despite the numerous buildings, however, not a soul could be seen on the road, on the porches, not even in the cabin windows. It was like a ghost town.

  “Where is everyone?” asked Ben.

  “Ballgame.” Dave glanced at his watch. “Should be about over by about now. But there will be another one tomorrow so you haven’t missed anything.”

  Ben looked over at Grace. “Wait until you see a Powers ballgame. I promise you’ll finally have some fun tomorrow.”

  Grace smiled like she knew what Ben was talking about, but, as usual, she did not.

  Dave’s cabin was toward the end of the road but was built behind the first row of cabins and on the other side of the creek. It sat a little way up the mountainside and appeared to be one of the most hidden cabins in the entire community. It had a wide front porch with six rocking chairs strewn haphazardly all over it and Grace had to fight her impulse to orderly realign them. The cabin’s position on the mountainside gave the front porch rockers not only a fantastic view of the creek but also of the entire road and community below. Grace assumed Dave had intentionally chosen this cabin site more for this voyeuristic view than its inherent camouflage qualities.

  “Petra!” Dave called through the cabin’s screen door. “They’re here!”

  Upon Dave’s loud announcement, out of the cabin walked one of the most beautiful women Grace had ever laid eyes on. She wore blue jeans and a faded Rolling Stones tee shirt, and appeared to be slightly older, around Dave’s age, with gray streaks throughout her thick blonde hair and around her temples. The top of her hair was pulled away from her face with a wooden clip, leaving the remaining long strands cascading down her back. But her face. Her face was unlike anything Grace had never seen. Her skin was porcelain, her lips a deep rose, and her eyes the bluest of blues. She wore no make-up and, even with laugh lines dancing around her twinkling eyes, her face had the softness of a very young child.

  “Benjamin!” Petra wrapped her slender arms around Ben and gave him a squeeze. “How we have missed you so! Just look at you. So tall and grown up! I’m so happy you’re finally here.” Her sweet voice made her words sound almost lyrical. “And you must be Grace,” she said taking Grace’s hand. “It is such an honor to finally meet you and have you in our home. I am so sorry I didn’t see you coming sooner or I would have had everything ready. But you know how we Misfits are. Always one step behind.”

  “Uh … nice to meet you too.” Grace looked puzzled and stood a little closer to Ben. She had no idea what Petra was talking about.

  “Oh, shoot! Forgive my manners, dear. Here I am going on and on and I know exactly who you are and you have no idea who I am. I’m Dave’s wife. At least I am until he finds someone else to put up with him, but we all know that is never going to happen,” she giggled and winked.

  Dave grabbed Petra from behind, his large arms folding around her lean body. “But I don’t want anyone else.” He grinned and nuzzled the back of her neck.

  Petra waved him off. “Oh, pooh. Let’s get these young people some supper. I know they’re starving. Come on inside, you two.”

  Grace and Ben followed the happy couple into the cabin, which had an interior that belonged more on the pages of Architectural Digest than in the middle of a clandestine forest. To the left was an expansive living room with a stone fireplace that reached halfway across the far wall and several large tufted sofas and chairs that invited afternoon naps. Two floor-to-ceiling windows that were at least fifteen feet tall flanked the fireplace and, looking upward, the high ceiling revealed an upstairs loft area with skylights that captured the dusk’s remaining sunlight. To the right of the front door was the kitchen with pine cabinets and a long rustic dining table that stretched between two sturdy benches. The table was filled with more food than was needed for four people and the glistening fine china and crystal place settings looked a little out of place next to the hosts’ blue jean attire.

  “Please, sit, sit.” Petra motioned Ben and Grace over to the table. “Ben, I made your favorite. Hash brown casserole. And Grace, Dave couldn’t exactly see what you liked so I made a little bit of everything for you.”

  Looking at the bountiful table, Grace thought a “little bit of everything” may have been an understatement. Spread over the table were silver dishes filled with chicken, ham, potatoes and more salads and fresh vegetables than Grace had ever seen in her life. “It all looks wonderful. Thank you,” she said. “But, um … do you mind if I
wash up a little first?”

  “Of course! Of course! Right down the hall there and first door on your left,” Petra replied.

  Grace leaned into Ben and whispered, “Come with me.” Her small voice leaked insecurity.

  Ben silently obliged and stood guard outside the bathroom door as she requested.

  “She’s good looking,” Dave whispered to Petra as soon as Ben and Grace had left the room. “It’s too bad Ben is not the Chosen One. They would have made a good couple.”

  “Dave,” Petra quietly scolded. “No matchmaking. Ben’s in enough trouble with the Council as it is.”

  “Hello! Remember me? Powers guy here!” Ben called out from the hallway. “I can hear you two whispering!”

  Dave opened his mouth to reply but before he could utter a word, Grace and Ben reappeared in the kitchen.

  “Thank you,” Grace said, still drying her hands on her jeans.

  “Okay. Now let’s eat,” said Dave.

  The four sat at the long table with Grace sitting closer to Ben than usual. Remembering her own clumsiness, she used extra care when she picked up the stemmed crystal water goblet and slowly moved it to her lips.

  Seeing Grace’s noted cautiousness, Petra said, “I hope all the crystal and china doesn’t make you uncomfortable, dear. We just haven’t ever had royalty in our home and I wanted to make a good impression. Besides, I tried to look and did not see you breaking anything on the table so you can relax. You won’t hurt anything.”

  Once again, Grace had no idea what Petra was talking about. She looked over at Ben with the puzzled expression he had now grown accustomed to over the past two days.

  As if reading her thoughts, Ben said, “For Dave and Petra to see means something a little different than it does for the rest of us. Petra can see the future — sometimes. She isn’t always accurate and doesn’t always see everything but she tries.”