by Aaron Slade
I gave a small, agitated hoot, running my fingers through my hair. I looked at Randy, still asleep on the couch. “We better wake everyone up then. We all need to be prepared.”
Within the next hour, everyone had eaten and surrounded the small table in the kitchen. Sara and Matthew gave detailed directions on everyone’s job. Sara spoke to each person individually, giving them precise details of what they could expect.
“This is the main prison building,” Matthew said. He demonstrated with the model in the middle of the table. “The building is eight stories tall and there are thirty cells on each floor.”
Sara’s model was remarkable down to the last detail. There were no windows, except for the building’s ceiling, which allowed natural light to shine into the prison. The miniature building was cylindrical and hollow down the middle. Each floor circled around the building’s walls.
Sara placed a pen behind her ear. “The first wave of our plan may be the most important, and it involves Adam and Donnie.”
Adam and Donnie stepped forward, hanging over Sara to see the maps. They listened to her every word.
“There are some seventy guards in the facility,” Matthew said. “Half work the day shift, and the other half work the night shift. The night shift begins at twenty-one hundred– nine at night. If we wait until midnight all the day shift workers should be asleep. Adam and Donnie will teleport into the barracks section of the facility here.” He pointed to the location on the map. “The barracks are located just under the prison itself.”
“Adam will be teleporting the sleeping guards out of the prison,” Sara said. “You have to make sure all the guards who will wake up for the day shift are out of the prison. Teleport them to the Wilderness.”
Adam nodded, but stayed mostly silent. He’d barely spoken even to me since Matthew’s team arrived, but Adam had always been the type to get quiet when he was stressed.
“Donnie,” Matthew began, “it will be your job to make sure that no one reports the two of you if you’re seen. Any active guard on duty you see, put them to sleep and wait for Adam to teleport them out.”
Donnie went and sat with Adam to coordinate their strategy.
“Now,” Sara said. “We can’t teleport all the guards out. If we try, we fail.” She looked at Matthew, who must have seen this in his visions. “Just focus on the the ones that are sleeping. Having said that, we have to be prepared to fight and defend ourselves.”
“According to my visions,” Matthew started, “the guards will know that something is up within twelve minutes of us being there. We’re going to be attacked, and some of them will be using guns instead of their abilities.”
“Next I need Evee and Cricket,” Sara said. “Your job actually starts as soon as possible.”
“What do we do?” Evee asked.
“We need you two to go to the prison and scout it out,” Matthew said. “Adam will make sure you know how to get there. It’s important that you find Casper’s parents, his uncle, and Seth’s dad. The cells should be numbered. Once we know where to find them it will be easier to navigate the building.”
“How will we know what Seth’s dad looks like?” Evee asked.
“I have a picture of him,” Mrs. Grindle said. She took the picture out of the bronze frame next to the chair in the living room and gave it to Cricket.
“How is Cricket going to avoid being seen?” Adam asked.
“My body can travel on an electric current,” Cricket said. “I’ll be able to scope out the entire prison as long as there is electricity there.”
Adam looked impressed, and I was sure I did too. I had never heard of an EHT like Cricket’s. But of course I was from small-town Fallon. There were probably a million abilities too unique for me to imagine.
“What about me?” Seth asked. His body was barely the height of the table. Sara picked up the map of the prison so he could see it.
“You’ll be on one of the rescue teams,” Sara said. “You, Randy, and me will be together. We’ll find your father.”
Randy’s ability was so intimidating; I didn’t think the guards would be prepared for it. Randy had more confidence in Sara’s plan than anyone else.
“Are you sure this will work?” Seth asked.
“No more doubt,” Randy demanded with a smile. “Sara’s got this.” He placed an assuring hand on Seth’s shoulder.
“Once we find the people we’re looking for,” Matthew began, “we have to unhook them from their IVs.” He stressed that this was important.
“The IVs automatically regulate the Knight drug,” Sara explained. “You have to pull out the IV before you use the syringe. Then comes the difficult part. It will take a few minutes for the Knight drug to wear off completely. You have to offer a constant protection to your family until they can walk on their own.”
Mom’s metabolism ran fast, so she’d be my first person to wake up. Once Mom and Dad were able to function normally, they would be able to take care of themselves. Uncle Jesse and Seth’s dad wouldn’t be able to move as quickly– they would need extra assistance.
“This all seems like a lot,” I said, making eye contact with everyone around the table. My gaze stopped on Sara and Matthew. “Couldn’t Adam just teleport in, grab them, and teleport back?”
Matthew shook his head. “That was Sara’s first plan, but if we do that, we fail rescuing everyone. This is the only way to bring back all four of them.”
“Once we have everyone we came for,” Sara said, “we meet on the first floor of the building.” She turned to Adam. “Adam will be there waiting on everyone to teleport us back to Fallon. He’ll teleport us two at a time.”
I watched Matthew reach up and massage his temple as if he had a headache. This part of the plan seemed to make him nervous. I didn’t think anyone but me noticed. I shrugged it off. Matthew believed that the plan would work because he could see it. We didn’t have any reason to worry.
“Everyone needs to be studying these maps in their spare time,” Sara said. “Evee and Cricket, you need to leave soon.”
Everyone at the table went their separate ways as if they were athletes leaving a huddle. Adam stood next to Cricket ready to teleport her to the prison. I found Evee before she left. I led her aside so that no one could hear us.
“Be careful,” I said. I worried more for her than anyone else.
“I’ll be fine, Casper. Nothing can touch me.”
I knew she was right. I couldn’t allow myself to think about Shannon’s prediction. Evee’s real body would be miles away from the prison, so I didn’t have to worry. If Evee was going to die, it wouldn’t be tomorrow. I trusted her and Adam’s judgment.
“I have to go,” she said.
Adam disappeared with Cricket as Evee’s phantom body faded out of the room.
For the rest of the afternoon, Evee’s phantom body went back and forth from the prison to Seth’s house. She had found the cell numbers of my parents and uncle, but was still looking for Seth’s dad. He would be older than the way he appeared in his picture. Cricket was going to remain in the prison until the next day, keeping a constant surveillance. I couldn’t help but admire her bravery and dedication, especially when I considered that she didn’t even know the people she was saving.
It was still a few hours before Adam and Donnie would go to the prison for their part of Sara’s plan. They sat on the couch, huddled over the maps Sara had drawn. Adam got off the couch a few times to practice being stealthy with Donnie. Donnie demonstrated some type of professional combat training that would help in the situation, showing Adam how to move and attack.
“What’s wrong?” Sara asked. She spoke to Matthew, who still looked like he was suffering from a headache. Matthew hadn’t moved from the table all day. The more Sara worked on the plan, the more confidence everyone had, but Matthew looked frightened.
“It’s nothing,” Matthew said. He shuddered and his expression turned vacant. Whatever visions he saw, he didn’t feel the need to t
alk about them.
“You should tell us,” Sara suggested. “We need to be prepared for whatever you’re seeing.”
“That’s the problem,” Matthew said. “I’m not seeing anything.”
“Our plan is still going to work, right?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he muttered.
“You don’t know?” Randy growled. “The whole reason we’re doing this tomorrow is because you said it was our best chance.”
“It is our best chance,” Matthew snapped. “That doesn’t mean we’ll succeed.” He returned to massaging his temples with his eyes closed.
“What are you seeing?” I asked.
He searched for the best way to explain. “You have to understand,” he said, “when I see the future, I just see flashes of what’s going to happen.” His breathing changed before he continued. “I see us getting everyone and then meeting on the bottom level to leave… and then… nothing. I can’t see anything else until we get back to Fallon.”
“Nothing?” Randy questioned.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Matthew answered.
“I wish this psychic lady would have sent a better seer than this guy,” Randy barked. “He’s just a fortuneteller.”
“Relax,” I said. “We’re all doing our best.” We were doing so well, I didn’t want things to fall apart now. Randy felt stressed– we all did, but we had to hold it together.
“No,” Matthew said. “He’s right. I have no idea why I was chosen for this mission. I’m the worst seer in the rebellion.” He got up from the table and sprinted outside the house.
When he was gone I turned toward Randy. “Cut him some slack. Fear and doubt are things that we don’t need right now.”
“I know,” Randy said. “He’s been doubting himself all day. I thought I could get him to prove me wrong. He’s a fragile, little guy. I was hoping to light a fire under him.” Randy closed his eyes and tried to calm down. I thought I could see him counting under his breath.
I followed Matthew out the door and into the front yard. His back was turned to me as he stared at the sunset. The horizon blocked half the sun from sight, turning the yellow rays into different shades of rose and blush in the clear sky. I sensed that Matthew was trying to find an escape in the beauty of the scene, but I could also sense that he hadn’t found anything to help him unwind. He didn’t have any trace of an aura.
“You okay?” I asked, standing next to him.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I’m just… worried.” As I tried to walk around so that I could see his face, he turned away. He brushed something off his cheek.
“Why are you worried?” I asked. “I thought you said you can see us succeeding tomorrow.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I know what I said… but there’s a chance that we fail too.” It was hard for him to mention the possibility of failure. Thinking about it made it more real.
I searched for the words that would give him confidence, but I didn’t know that there were any.
“I think it’s important for us to have hope,” I said. I grabbed his shoulder so that he couldn’t turn away. I faced him, and I could see all the color was gone from his face.
“Hope is good,” he said. “I have hope, but I’m still afraid.” He took a deep breath and looked at me. He examined me for a few moments. “You don’t look afraid at all. How can you be so brave? We could die tomorrow.” It sounded as if he wanted to know my secret, but there was no secret. I didn’t have a choice in my bravery.
“I know,” I said. “But I can’t allow myself to be afraid– not if I want to be any help. My extra-human trait works differently from most. If I’m afraid or angry, it doesn’t work at all.”
“How do you stop those feelings?” Matthew asked.
I stared at the sun– the same color as my aura. “I remind myself of all the good things in my life. One good thing in particular.” Thoughts of Evee invaded my mind, making my aura flash.
“You really love her, don’t you?” he asked.
I remembered that he was psychic when he guessed who I was talking about. “More than I can say in words.” I understood more than ever that words couldn’t begin to describe some emotions. “If it weren’t for her, I might still think I was human.”
Matthew gave a muddled look. “I don’t understand.”
I’d forgotten that he didn’t know my whole story. He had only seen me fly. He had no idea that I used to think I was human. I explained to him the odd circumstances of my childhood and how my ability worked.
“I had no idea,” he said. Shock solidified on his face. “When I was younger, I heard rumors that a human had been born, but I never thought I would meet him, but of course I guess you’re not really human.” He chuckled.
I thought that since he and I were connecting, he might answer a few of my questions. “What did Zana mean when she said that I was going to join you?” I asked. “And why are they trying to kill me?”
He had a moment of awkward hesitation before he spoke. “You have no idea who you are, do you?”
Even if I didn’t, I could tell Matthew did know. I’d learned more about myself in the last few weeks than I would have thought possible, but Matthew meant something else. I shook my head to answer his question.
“We all have a destiny, Casper Vance,” he said. “Coming here to help you rescue your family is part of my destiny. Shannon told me before I left that the only way you would ever get your parents back is if I helped you.”
“I guess I should be grateful that you came then,” I said. I tried to stay positive even though he hadn’t answered my questions.
“You don’t owe me any gratitude,” Matthew insisted. “I’ve been fighting the Military my whole life. I had orders to come here, but the reason I was chosen was because Shannon said she could see I was the only one who could help you.” His breathing changed and the fear returned to his face. “It’s just a lot of pressure trying to make a certain future happen.”
“Why didn’t Shannon just tell you what to do?” I asked. I noticed a trend with Shannon. Nothing she predicted made anything easier on anyone.
Matthew gave a curt, frustrated laugh. “It’s a test finding your purpose. That’s why I’m forbidden to answer most of your questions. You’re not ready to know who you are yet, Casper. Just like me, you’ll have to discover your destiny on your own.”
I shared his frustration after he quit talking. A part of me understood, but I wanted to know the answers almost as much as I wanted my family back. If there was a secret about me, I deserved to know.
The front door of the house opened behind us, and Seth called to us.
“Evee’s back, Casper,” he said. “She found my dad. His cell is on the third floor.”
“That’s great,” I said. “I’ll be right in.”
Seth shut the door and I continued to stand next to Matthew. There was one more question I wanted to ask him. He must have seen the look on my face, seeing that I wanted to ask a question; he spoke before I could vocalize it.
“I know what you want to ask me,” Matthew said. He gave me a piercing look. “Shannon told me you would ask about Evee.”
A wave of emotion swept over me, causing my aura to extinguish. I gathered the courage to ask my question, swallowing hard and hoping I could handle the answer. “Is she going to die?” I whispered.
“In whatever part of the future that happens, I haven’t seen it.” Matthew said.
I wondered how long Evee’s death would plague our future. “Why did Shannon tell Evee in the first place?”
“I can answer that,” Matthew said, shrugging his shoulders.
I didn’t expect an answer, but I hung on his every word.
He placed a hand on my shoulder, a lot like Adam did. “It was important that you and Evee found each other. You needed her. Shannon told her exactly what she needed to hear so that you would find each other.”
There was
a lump in my throat. “Can I stop it?”
He looked like he was about to break some bad news to me. “Seeing the future is a frustrating gift. Some things you can change, and some things you can’t– it’s like the future has a will of its own… that’s what we precogs call fate.”
It wasn’t the answer I hoped for. He could see my disappointment.
“I think the important thing is that when it happens… if it happens,” he corrected himself, “that you be grateful for the time you had.”
I thought about how much my life had changed since I had met her. I did need her. I would rather have had her be mine for a minute than never at all. No matter what happened, I was lucky to be the one that loved her. I’d only known Evee a little while, and I didn’t feel prepared to lose her. It wasn’t wrong for me to want more. I needed more time with her. I wanted a lifetime with her.
The door opened behind me. I turned around and saw Evee’s hand gripping the door knob. She showed her incredible smile, complimented by her rare irises. “Casper Vance,” she said. “Give me a squeeze.” She opened her arms for me.
The amber hue radiated through my skin, and her cyan aura became visible too. Our pearl aura erupted as I embraced her. I pressed my face next to hers, smelling the intoxicating aroma of her dark hair. She was really here.
“Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?” she asked. She pressed her cheek against my chest. I could tell that she’d missed me as much as I had missed her.
I felt an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. “I’d love that.”
She kissed me, but kept it short before we drifted into the sky. Matthew led the way into the house. Evee and I followed.
“Adam and Donnie will leave in a few hours,” Matthew said. “We should all look over the maps more and then get some sleep… we leave after sunrise.”
PRISON
Casper: