by Aaron Slade
“Well I’m up, let’s leave!” As I stood up, I brushed my right shoulder against a box, which reawakened the burning feeling on my arms. The control I’d established on my ability wavered. My whole body tensed in the agony, and I let out a heavy sigh. After a few seconds, the searing twinge finally subsided.
Adam watched helplessly as I calmed down. “If we leave, there’s no place for us to go,” Adam said. “Your house is gone, my parents will turn you in and we can’t leave Fallon because of the perimeter.”
Silence struck Adam and I the moment the basement door opened. Light from upstairs revealed a staircase that led out of the basement, and a tall shadow of a person stretched against the wall behind us.
“Is Casper awake?” Seth called down the stairs in his raspy voice.
I shook my head no, encouraging Adam to lie for me and begging to leave, but he answered Seth honestly.
“Affirmative!”
Seth ran down the stairs, reaching up to hold on to the handrail. His short legs made each dropping step awkward. “The two of you should come up stairs.”
Adam and I had a private conversation in our eyes for a second before he acknowledged Seth again.
“What did Beverly say?” Adam asked.
“THAT’S MRS. GRINDLE TO YOU, ADAM HOWARD!” a voice boomed from upstairs. Seth’s mom didn’t sound like she was in a pleasant mood.
I shook my head violently at Adam, saying with my eyes I’m not going up there. I didn’t want to insult Seth, but his mom was such a grump.
Seth gestured for us to follow him, and Adam obeyed. I reluctantly followed, feeling gravity double as we slowly climbed up the stairs. I didn’t know if it was because we were behind Seth, who had to take the steps one at a time, or if I just dreaded what waited for me at the top.
We entered the top floor of the house– much brighter and kinder to the eyes than the basement. My first impression was that Mrs. Grindle and my mom had exchanged some decorating tips over the years: open living room, freshly picked azaleas, and beige curtains around the windows. The house was oddly reminiscent of my own, but I reminded myself that the Military built all the houses in Fallon.
Mrs. Grindle sat in the living room, waiting for us. She was a round woman, who had always been a terribly unhappy person as long as I could remember– especially around me. She had brown hair with hazel eyes to match, and a shadow of a mustache. My parents said that she needed time to warm up to me, but so far I still got the cold shoulder from her– except for now. Her eyes glared right at me, or possibly straight through me.
I scanned the room, eyeing the front door and wondering if I should run. On a table across the room, I found a picture of a familiar man. I’d seen him before– the night the two of us snuck Seth to Vegas for the fights. Colonel Ford arrested this man– the escaped convict– with the Knight. It really was Seth’s dad. I quit staring when Mrs. Grindle noticed where my eyes went.
“Well,” Mrs. Grindle said, waiting on me to speak. “I imagine the two of you will want to explain yourselves to me.”
Adam and I both began at the same time, trying to speak over the other. Our auras extinguished and our combined, nervous explanations overwhelmed Mrs. Grindle. Neither of us made any sense.
“STOP,” Mrs. Grindle demanded. She gestured for all of us to sit down. The three of us sat on the couch opposite her. For a moment, I thought Seth looked nervous too when I couldn’t see his blue hue. “Casper, start!” she barked.
I was almost too nervous to talk. She commanded our attention and respect similar to the way Evee’s dad did. “Well… I-I’m a little lost myself,” I confessed. “I really don’t know what the plan was from here, but I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
Her facial expression didn’t change– still bitter and miserable. “When they didn’t find your body in the fire, Randy Alcott came by to see if my son was hiding you here. Can’t tell you what an inconvenience it is to be suspected of hiding you. I don’t like getting involved in Military affairs.”
My fists clenched, but not for Beverly Grindle. I was determined to have my revenge on Randy. I didn’t worry about my ability not working. The thought of giving Randy what he deserved made me incredibly happy– overjoyed even.
“What about you, Adam?” Mrs. Grindle asked.
“I’m helping Casper,” Adam said simply. He didn’t cower from her, but was still nervous. “I can’t go home or my parents will try to stop me.”
She paused for a few seconds, turning to the window. “This town is falling apart, isn’t it boys? The Military’s registration riled up the town, people need food, and hoodlums are burning houses.” Her words confused me. She got up from the chair and walked to a nearby table where the picture of Seth’s dad rested next to a stack of newspapers. The youthful man in the picture didn’t have the untamed beard or exhausted look like when I saw him in Vegas.
Mrs. Grindle came back with the weeks’ worth of newspapers. She laid them down in front of me. “I already know what the Military is saying… What’s your story?”
“First, I want to know why you’re helping us,” I said. I needed a reason to trust her if I was going to confide in her. She would need to know about my ability. “You’ve never liked me.”
Seth shifted in his seat next to me, glancing up at me awkwardly. “Be gentle,” he whispered under his breath. His mom scared all of us, but Seth knew how easily she could fly off the handle.
“No, Seth,” Mrs. Grindle said. “Casper’s right. I’ve never treated him the way I should. I’m sorry I’ve let so many opinions cloud my judgment of you Casper. But I have my reasons for helping you.”
I didn’t break eye contact. “Tell me.”
She gazed downward for several seconds. “Because of your dad.” A pleasant but small smile formed on her lips. “Because James Vance is the reason that my Seth has friends. He helped my son, and I feel that I should help his son.”
Her answer was more than I expected. I remembered life before Seth and I became friends– the lone, small boy eating lunch in the cafeteria with his mom who came to keep him company. Mrs. Grindle’s words were so sincere, I thought I could trust her, or at least I wanted to trust her.
“My family wasn’t plotting against the Military,” I said. “The Military just wanted my uncle because of his extra-human trait. They took my parents because they thought my mom and dad knew the truth.”
A crooked grin formed on her lips. “What truth?”
I didn’t know if I should answer. It would be hard to convince her of what the Military was really doing. I still didn’t know if I completely trusted her either, but I had to trust someone. “The truth is that the Military isn’t what it seems. The Military hunts people for their abilities, and it’s responsible for all sorts of violence in society. High ranking officers like Colonel Ford secretly plot attacks and murders so that people will think they need the Military to keep them safe.”
She didn’t react to my story. She seemed skeptical. I wondered how long it would be until she threw me out on the streets. She picked up the picture of Seth’s dad, staring at it for a moment.
“Why would the Military not take you, if you know all of this?” she asked, staring at the man in the picture.
The answer was simple. “Because they think I’m human.”
She paused as she processed the emphasis on my phrasing. “They think… you’re human?” she questioned. “Aren’t you?”
She was missing the key to the whole story. My ability set off this chain of events.
“No,” I answered confidently.
“I don’t… understand,” she said. She closed her eyes in concentration. “What about all the newspapers after they pronounced you Homo sapien? Why have you been keeping it a secret all these years?”
Seth chose the right time to speak up. “He just found out recently that he had an EHT. He just told me last week.”
I’d been right to trust Seth. I knew if he hadn’t told his mom, he wouldn’t have told anyone else.
Mrs. Grindle trusted her son’s words, and faced me again.
“What can you do?” Mrs. Grindle asked me.
My words would be lost on her. I had to show her the same way I showed my parents. She would need to see it to believe it. I searched through the stacks of papers until I found the right one. I held up the picture of the dark figure flying above Main Street.
She gasped, and her hand drew to her chest. “You?” she croaked.
I nodded gently. “The Military wants to kill the person who can fly. If they discover that it’s me, I won’t have a chance of survival. They still think I’m human.”
She looked like she was waiting for a sign. After a few seconds she finally began to talk. “Do any of you know what my ability is?” Her tone changed so abruptly, I had to wonder if this was the same woman from five seconds ago.
“You’re some kind of psychic, right?” Adam asked.
“I’m officially classified as a weak mind-reader,” she corrected. “But that’s not what I do exactly.” Her robust figure stood a little taller in her pride. “I have a talent for knowing when people lie to me. And as far as I can tell, both of you are telling the truth.”
Her ability made me slightly nervous. In the past few weeks, my ability to lie had become invaluable.
She handed Seth the picture of the man that sat next to her. “Your father didn’t leave us, Seth,” she said. “That was a lie I told you to keep both of us safe.”
Seth stared at the framed photograph in puzzlement. He made a strange face as he processed the information. He looked up at Mrs. Grindle. “If he didn’t leave us, then where is he?”
Mrs. Grindle turned her face away from all eyes in the room. “Eighteen years ago, when I was pregnant with you, the Military kidnapped your father the same way they kidnapped Casper’s parents. They told me he was involved with some kind of criminal activity, and they had to arrest him. They gave me the option of saying that he left Fallon, so that it wouldn’t hurt my reputation or my unborn child’s.” She faced us with a wet streak down one cheek. She smiled as if the weight of seventeen years of lies was lifting away. “The whole time I was listening to the Military’s story, I sensed they were lying, but I didn’t know what I could do. So I let everyone think that your father abandoned us, and I kept what I knew about the Military to myself.”
“Dad had an ability that the Military wanted?” Seth guessed again.
Mrs. Grindle nodded her head.
“What could he do?” I asked.
She dried her face with her hands, slightly smearing her makeup. “He had a rare ability. He could create a vacuum in any space. He could enclose a space with his mind and remove all the air and matter from it.”
“What would the Military want with him?” Adam asked.
“Before the three of you were born, there were rumors of a rebellious group living in the desert, empty towns, and in the Wilderness,” she explained. “These people rejected Military authority. It’s rumored that the Military killed many of these rebels. That only happened after they kidnapped my husband. He was a good person, but if the Military exploited his EHT, he could have killed thousands at a time by suffocating them.” She fought back all her emotion.
Seth moved across the room to comfort his mother, hugging her as best he could with his small arms. The news unnerved Seth, but I could see that there was some happiness in him. He had a small smile, and his blue aura was somewhat visible. I imagined that he found joy in finally knowing the truth about his dad. He finally knew that the man who should have loved him and been a part of his life wanted those things. How many other people out there knew the truth like Mrs. Grindle? They’d be easily recruited for our cause.
“He loved you so much, Seth,” Mrs. Grindle said. “I’ve wanted to tell you that for seventeen years.” She beamed at her son.
I couldn’t imagine the strength it must have taken to hide this horrible reality from her son all these years. I wasn’t the only one suffering from what the Military had done. Mrs. Grindle had stayed silent, convincing her son of a terrible lie that had kept them safe.
“The last time I saw him, the Military gave him the Knight drug,” Mrs. Grindle said. “A small team of soldiers came into our house late one night, and took him away. The memory haunts me every day.”
I pushed my own memories out of mind. I saw her fear as my own, but I couldn’t let it take hold of me. If I could sense fear or sadness, I imagined, I would feel something similar to what I had felt when my parents were kidnapped.
“I don’t even know if he’s still alive,” she continued.
I knew I had to tell them what I knew. “He is,” I said without missing a beat. Everyone looked at me, wondering how I could possibly know. “I saw him, and I recognize him in the picture now. He was the escaped convict that was near Fallon last month.”
“I don’t understand,” Seth said. He found his mother’s face.
“I heard the man’s name that night,” I said. “Colonel Ford specifically said the name Grindle. Colonel Ford convinced me not to say anything, and now I know why.” Did I do the right thing in keeping it from Seth? I didn’t know, but I felt relieved to tell him.
“He’s alive?” Mrs. Grindle asked. “Do you know where he is?”
“Colonel Ford told me where they were taking him,” I said. “The prison out in the desert.”
Mrs. Grindle froze. “I thought that was for murderers.”
“If I had to guess, your husband’s not the only innocent person being held there,” I said.
After an hour, Adam and I were back in the basement, except this time with Mrs. Grindle’s blessing. I kept my backpack with the journals under my cot. The journals were all I owned now. We were too big to wear Seth’s clothes, so Adam teleported to his house when he knew his parents would be gone to get clothes for us.
Mrs. Grindle made dinner for the four of us. Hunger caught up with me when I smelled the food. I could tell that Seth and Adam were hungry as well, especially Adam, who looked half-starved.
The three of us relaxed in the basement as we waited for dinner. “So what’s your plan?” Seth asked.
“I don’t have one yet.”
My mind hadn’t thought as far as my parents yet. I was clueless as to how I was going to infiltrate a secure prison. I
would rescue Evee first, but we had to find a way through the barrier before that was possible.
“You’re going to rescue your family, aren’t you?” Seth accused.
I looked at Adam to see if I should lie to Seth. Adam gestured for me to tell him the truth. We couldn’t lie to Seth to protect him anymore. He was an adult, even if he didn’t look it.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “I have to try and free them. They would do the same for me.”
“Good,” Seth said, standing tall. “I’m going too. I want to free my father as well.”
I’d been afraid of this. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” Seth would be defenseless in a fight, but I couldn’t say that aloud. “I don’t want to put any one else in danger.”
“Doesn’t my father deserve to be freed too?” he asked. He looked like an angry child, but his dark eyes showed his true age. Seth was determined.
“Yes, but I don’t know if I’m going to succeed in rescuing my own parents. We could die trying.” Seth was too small. He could get seriously injured or killed.
“I’m going,” Seth said with finality. “And don’t tell me I can’t because I’m small– that would be like calling you human, Casper. I can be useful, and I will free my dad.”
How could I tell him no? He deserved the chance to fight for the people he loved just as much as I did. His dad had been in the prison longer than my parents had. He deserved to be free.
“Fine, Seth,” I said. “As soon as we have a plan, we’ll include you.” I looked at Adam to see if he was going to agree.
Adam nodded. “There’s something we have to do first, though,” Adam said. He was still looking at me. “E
vee needs us to go and get her. From what she told me, her father is keeping a close eye on her. The bigger challenge will be breaking through the barrier.”
The three of us looked up at the window that was level with the ground outside. The scarlet gleam of the perimeter shield reflected in the glass.
“We have to rescue Evee first,” I agreed. “Once we have Evee, then we have to try and convince the town of our story.”
“The truth!” Seth stated.
“The truth.” I agreed.
FROST
Casper:
Waiting in the dark, cluttered basement was all I could do until Adam and I figured out how to get through the barrier. I didn’t know what I was waiting for, but hiding was my only current option. Boredom nearly pushed me into a nap when Adam teleported over me. The white light of his aura ignited the dark corner of the basement. The well-known prickly feeling ran through the side of my body that Adam’s aura touched.
“I can teleport through the barrier,” Adam said ecstatically. He was still in the clothes he had slept in last night, grinning from ear to ear.
I raised my head off the cot, now fully awake. “What? How? It’s meant to stop teleporters.”
Adam danced to some unheard music in his celebration. “I don’t know how I did it, but I tried it this morning, and I could get through it.”
“Had you not tried before this morning?” I assumed that Adam would have at least attempted to teleport outside of the dome before now.
“No,” he confessed. “Other teleporters tried and failed, plus I’ve been keeping a low profile with you. Not to mention, Zana might be looking for me now that I’ve disappeared. What if the reason I can get through the barrier has something to do with why I can also teleport other people?”
It made sense. Adam had always been different compared to other teleporters. “Why is it that the rules never apply to you?”
“Just lucky, I guess.” The pearl hue radiated through his skin.
Our biggest challenge for rescuing Evee was getting through the Military’s perimeter. Now that it was no longer an issue, it would be a piece of cake. We get Evee, and we get out. Simple. Evee’s absence started to hurt. It wasn’t physical pain, but more like a pressure that made me more aware of my heart– more aware that she wasn’t with me.