by David Barco
Stew sits on his porch rocking in an old wooden rocker that is screeching as if in pain. Harrison and JT stop at the steps.
"He is trying to wake up. Glad you guys got here. I am sure he is in some pain," Stew says with his nose pointing to the side.
JT rushes in the door with the bag of supplies. Harrison walks behind him. Stew stops Harrison from entering the house. The door shuts in front of him violently, bouncing off the frame.
"Son. Listen to me for a moment," Stew says with his arm stretched out preventing him from going in.
"He looks scared. He looks about the same age as you," Stew says. "I understand he and his friends tried to take you guys out, but I want you to know that sometimes people make bad decisions. We all can fall into the wrong company."
Harrison listens intently.
"Having the wrong people in your life can corrupt your character. That had to happen to this young kid," Stew says. "Show him what character really looks like. Show him that you are willing to trust him. It could change him and ultimately help him."
Nodding his head gently, Harrison walks inside. Ghost is sitting in a chair with his head dangling as Jaylen and Joseph bandage the wounds on his leg.
Slowly lifting his head, Ghost looks directly into Harrison's eyes as he enters the living room. The swelling in his face makes all the freckles on his face form together.
Tommy sits on the floor in the corner of the room, leaning against the old, worn, white wall.
Harrison walks towards Tommy, but suddenly he feels Ghost grab his thigh softly. "I...wan...I...want to talk...to you...alone.”
Harrison nods in agreement. "Can all of you give us a moment please?"
Jaylen and Joseph get up and walk toward the kitchen. Tommy slides up the wall.
After everyone leaves, Harrison squats down on eye level with him. "What do you want?"
Ghost lifts his head slowly again, shaking as he tries to hold it up. "I... want to make.... a deal?"
"What type of deal can you make us?" Harrison says.
"I... can take...you to the Ark. We found it…and it had some things of your dad and his crew... around it," Ghost responds dropping his head after he speaks.
Harrison stops breathing for a second. Trying to breath seems impossible at the moment.
"What...what do you want from me?"
Lifting his head slowly again, Ghost’s swollen eyes peer into Harrison's.
"I want to be set free so I can meet back up with my dad and brother. I will take you there if you can help me get back to them and not tell them that I joined this masked group."
Harrison takes a step back to get a better look at him. "You have a deal.”
The steam stiffens the air from the shower as if it was trying to overtake every ounce of the air in the bathroom. Taking deep breaths, Harrison's lungs feel hefty like he was breathing in giant stones instead of the air in the bathroom.
Drying his hair with an old shrill pine green colored towel that Stew gave him, he squints as water from the tips of his hair drips into his eyes. He shakes his head quickly making water splash on the tiny oval mirror overtop a small rusty pearl white sink. The water running down it allows Harrison to see small streaks of his face.
Loud banging on the other side of the door makes Harrison opens his eyes.
"Son...you alright in there?" Stew says.
Harrison hurries and puts his clothes on, wiping his hair again quickly with the towel.
"Yeah...everything is fine. Just getting dressed," Harrison replies as he opens the door.
Staring into the swollen black and yellow eyes of Stew, he places the wet towel around his neck.
"You always make that much racket when you are changing?" Stew asks.
Grinning back at him, Harrison lowers his head and walks past him slowly.
"I don't know. Never really paid attention," Harrison says with a giggle.
"Well if you broke anything in there, you will be paying for something," Stew says as Harrison walks out of the hallway.
Harrison's smile grows wider as he enters the living room. Glancing around, he surveys everybody else packing their bags with their dirty clothes from the journey. Sleeping and still tied up, Ghost snores stridently with each breath he takes.
Harrison watches him struggle to breathe, with a concerned look on his face. Zipping his bag forcefully, Tommy glares Harrison's way making eye contact with him as he watches Ghost sleep.
"I wonder if he was always a snorer. Or did that just start recently?" JT zips up his bag and flings it on his back.
Harrison stares at JT, shaking his head in disbelief.
"What?" JT asks with a slight attitude. "I mean it is a fair question, isn't it? Don't tell me you didn't think it also Harrison. We all know he sounds that way because of the beating he took."
JT walks past Tommy who just blinks with a blank expression and points at Ghost. "Just look at him. He can barely breathe right while he sleeps, Harrison. How the heck is he supposed to lead us to the Ark in the Purhara Mountains like this?"
Sluggishly opening his eyes, Ghost looks around with a swollen face weighing his head down. Harrison gazes at him.
Suddenly, a deep cough erupts from Ghost splattering blood all over JT's pants and bottom part of his shirt. Turning quickly to evade it, JT faces Tommy with blood painted on his clothes.
"Just great," JT looks at Tommy. "I blame this on you. If you didn't beat his face in, then my last set of clean clothes that I have wouldn't be stained with his blood."
Tommy responds by just blinking at JT. Shaking his head JT walks out of the room stomping his feet.
Harrison walks in front of Ghost as he tries to lift his head to look up to him.
"Joseph. Untie him please." Harrison says.
Joseph rips the tape off his wrist. He falls to his knees in front of Harrison.
"Not going to help me up you Destine scum?" Ghost says. "Do you like me kneeling before you?"
All of a sudden, Tommy punches Ghost in the face making his face bounce off the floor.
"If you want my opinion, I like you better like this," Tommy says. "Let's get him up so we can go."
Harrison and Joseph stand on each side of him, lifting him up slowly.
"What's that all about?" Jaylen says.
Moving closer to Jaylen, Tommy looks around the room.
"If Stew heard him call Harrison a Destine, we would be found out," Tommy whispers to Jaylen.
At that moment, Stew walks into the living room.
"What are you guys doing with him?" Stew says in confusion. "He can barely walk."
Harrison's heart beats quickly as he doesn't know how to answer.
Crap. We can't let him know that he is leading us to the Ark. We will be found out that way.
"We are taking him to his parents who are at the Purhara mountains," Tommy answers. "He told us that they would be there, so we told him that if he could lead us to them then we would take him there. It's the least we could do."
Stew smiles at them as he takes small steps towards them.
"Sounds like a great idea," Stew replies. "I tell you what. He can't walk really well so I will drive you all to the mountains."
Harrison’s heart sinks. "No, you don't have to. You don't need to go out of your way.”
"I know I don't have to son, but it's the least I can do. I want to make sure he gets to his parents," Stew says walking to the kitchen.
Harrison hears keys rattle loudly from in there.
"Plus, I needed to head that way and get some hay. I will get my pitchfork so I can load it up. You guys meet me at my truck. I will be there in a minute."
Ghost smiles slightly as Harrison and the others droop their heads lightly.
"Sounds like a deal," Ghost announces.
Tommy shakes his head, walking out of the room in disgust. Harrison and Joseph walk gently holding Ghost up. Jaylen lifts Harrison and Joseph's bags up slinging them on to his back with him following behind them.
<
br /> "You guys heard Tommy. Let's get going," Ghost says with a sarcastic tone.
◆◆◆
JT helps grab the bags from Jaylen as Harrison and Joseph lift Ghost on the back of the truck bed. Harrison brushes small pieces of broken and crinkled hay off as Ghost gingerly sits on the rusted burgundy truck bed. Stew, holding his pitchfork, throws it next to Ghost.
"Make sure nothing happens to my pitchfork back there," Stew says, opening the door on the truck. "Two people need to sit back there with him since there are only four seats in here," Stew sits down and closes the door.
"I will sit back here with him," Harrison jumps up in the bed of the truck.
Tommy takes small strides towards the back as JT places his hand on his chest, scooting him back softly. JT jumps in on the other side of Ghost.
"I got back here, you can sit in the truck," JT says. "Go ahead."
JT waves his hand motioning Tommy to get in the truck.
“C’ mon boys looks like we are about to get a nice storm by the look of those clouds, so let's hurry up," Stew announces loudly knocking the dashboard.
Dust bounces in the air from the dashboard making Tommy sneeze as he sits in the front passenger seat.
Turning the key, the truck shakes from side to side as if an earthquake just happened. All of them grab hold tight and hang on as everyone bounces except Stew. Stew takes his hat off, placing it on his dashboard. "Time to roll boys.”
Ghost grimaces with each bounce of the truck. He moans and grunts on each bump.
"It's going to be alright," Harrison holds tightly onto the truck.
A huge bump makes them come up off their butts. Slamming down quickly, Ghost grunts in pain, grabbing his leg.
"Keep telling yourself that. You going to need to," Ghost responds.
Harrison and JT gaze at one another as JT shakes his head with a small smirk. Harrison glares to his right and sees the giant gray clouds stopping the sun from shining on the Purhara city in the distance.
Driving around on the outskirts made the Purhara Mountains seem larger than any other mountains he had ever seen. The city rests underneath the giant mountains. Harrison closes his eyes. Calmness eases his muscles as he takes deep breaths.
He opens his eyes seeing the clear blue water on the other side of the city glisten by the sun that was starting to get overtaken by puffy, dark gray clouds.
A single small raindrop crashes on Harrison's forehead. Trickling down his nose, Harrison wipes it off as it tickles the tip of his nose.
Unexpectedly, an energy blast slams underneath the truck lifting the back of it in the air. Harrison and JT grab a hold of Ghost as they stare up into the clouds. The truck bounces as the back wheels bang back onto the narrow dirt road. Dust flies into Harrison's eyes. Harrison and JT cough continually as the truck slows down.
Harrison digs his fingers on the side of his eyes and flings the small bit of dust and dirt out.
"What the heck," Stew says softly hitting the steering wheel.
Harrison stands grabbing the top of the truck and gazes straight ahead. About ten people dressed in all black and wearing masks stand there.
Harrison hits the top of the truck three times. "Keep some distance.”
The truck stops. Thick black smoke rises out of the rusted muffler.
"Trying to get somewhere?" the one in the front of the group says.
Stew sticks his head out of his window. "I am going to ask you nicely to move."
Scratching the back of his head, the one in the front takes a couple steps toward the truck.
"You see...we can't do that because you have one of ours, and we are going to need him back," he says, taking a couple more steps closer. "So just go ahead and hand him over. We already gave you a warning. Next time I will hit the whole truck."
Ghost starts rolling around in the back of the truck.
"I am back here," Ghost screams as loud as he can.
JT quickly covers his mouth. Muffled squeaks try to squeeze through JT's fingertips.
"Shut up. What type of friends are they if they almost killed you with that blast? I mean really what type of friends do you have?" JT says, pressing his hand harder over his mouth. Harrison and JT glance at one another quickly. "You know what...never mind, don't answer that, my friends have almost got me killed multiple times."
Tommy starts to open the door. Quickly, Stew grabs his arm holding him in the truck.
"You don't need to go out there. I know another way to the entrance of the mountains," Stew puts the truck in reverse.
Slowly he drives backward as the group walk toward them.
"We are taking him to his family. He isn't with you knuckleheads anymore," Stew announces out the window as he turns around.
"We are his family," he screams back at Stew.
Suddenly, he forms a bright orange energy ball and slings it at the truck.
"Hold on," Harrison screams.
Harrison sends energy to his feet sticking him firmly to the bed of the truck. He slaps the orange energy ball with his backhand sending it flying to the road and exploding. Harrison fires two energy attacks back at them.
The truck starts swerving from the explosion. The person in the front blocks Harrison's energy blast. The other energy blast slams into the chest of one of the ones in the back, knocking him on the ground.
"Take this you Destine scums,” he says.
All of them shoot energy attacks at the truck.
"Brace yourselves, everyone," Harrison cries out.
Two of them hit the back of the truck lifting the truck back in the air. As the truck flies up in the air the other energy blasts smash into the bottom of it making it turn in midair. All of a sudden, Harrison, Ghost and JT soar out of the truck bed.
Ghost and JT land next to each other. The truck crashes on to its side and slides for several feet. Black smoke rises from the hood of the truck as moans from inside of it escape through the broken glass shattered everywhere.
Harrison lands, sliding and spinning on the ground on the other side of the road from Ghost and JT. Lifting up slowly, Harrison sees JT rise gently.
Pushing himself up, he feels aches throughout his whole body. The group walks over towards JT and Ghost. The one in the front kicks JT as he tries to get up. JT hits the ground and moans in pain.
"No. Leave him alone," Harrison yells.
He looks over at Harrison, staring at him through his mask for a couple of moments as JT holds his stomach with both hands. He grabs JT by his hair and pulls him up. JT flings his arms towards his face trying to grab him. He punches JT three times in the stomach.
Harrison arises. As he stands, a blue energy ball knocks him back down. Harrison falls on his back. He sits up with a burning pain in his chest from the blast.
"You took our friend and played with him a little we see, so we will take your friend and play with him also,” he announces to Harrison. "You can meet us in the mountain. You can get him back from us there, Harrison."
The others pick up Ghost as a giant black truck pulls up. They fling Ghost and JT on the back of it.
"See you in a little, Grady,” he waves as the truck pulls off.
Harrison drops his head and turns over as the rain pours from the dark clouds.
Chapter 31
The Purhara Mountains
Harrison stands to his feet. He wobbles from side to side as he moves to the overturned truck. The driver's side is at the bottom with the passenger's side sticking up in the air. Tommy climbs out of the broken window on his side. He falls on his face moaning in pain. Jaylen climbs out from the back of the truck and into the crushed truck bed. Joseph follows behind Jaylen, dropping into the truck bed.
"Are you guys okay?" Harrison says helping Jaylen step down on the ground.
As he steps down, he trips on Stew's pitchfork right next to the truck.
Harrison and Tommy walk to the front of the truck. The thick black smoke rushes out of the engine making Stew hardly visible behind the
cracked windshield.
"We have to get him out," Harrison says.
"Scoot back, Stew," Tommy yells.
Tommy lifts his hand up with his palm facing the truck. He shoots a small energy ball at the windshield blasting it to pieces. Small pieces of glass hover through the smoke at them. Stew slides out from the front of the truck.
Harrison and Tommy lift him up as Jaylen and Joseph come over to them.
"You okay, Stew?" Jaylen asks.
"Yeah. I am okay," Stew replies.
Joseph hands him his pitchfork.
"We have to hurry and go get JT. They took him to the mountains," Harrison says. "How do we get there Stew?"
Stew points down the road they were traveling. "The quickest way is to take the road we were on in the beginning. It leads us to the entrance. It will take us about an hour if we walk."
Harrison takes a couple of steps. "We better get going.”
Harrison marches a couple of steps but notices that he doesn't hear the others following. Looking over his left shoulder, the others stand there with a blank stare.
"C' mon we got to hurry up, guys. We can't waste any more time. We have to go and get JT back from them." Harrison says taking a couple more steps.
"Harrison. We want to go get JT back more than anything too, believe me. But we don't know how many people they have waiting for us up there. It could be too dangerous for just us," Jaylen announces.
Harrison stops and puts his head down.
"Yeah man, I mean this just seems too risky. I think we are over our heads with this. We weren't expecting all of this to happen," Joseph says.
Turning around quickly, Harrison still hangs his head towards the ground.
"He was captured because of me. No matter what, I have to get him back. This is my fault," Harrison says lifting his head.
Tears mix in the rain running down Harrison’s face. Tommy walks over and lays his hand on his right shoulder.
"We will go and get him, whatever it takes, we will get him back," Tommy says. "I don't care how many of them there are."
Stew limps over to Harrison and Tommy.
"I am no good to help you all. I am going to get some help and get my truck towed. But please be careful boys," Stew says.