by Aaron Slade
“We can’t risk taking Casper to another survival city,” Amanda said. “The Military will be looking for him. He has to learn to control his ability as well. He stands out too much now that he… glows.”
“We don’t go anywhere,” Principal Vance said. “Matthew has a plan, but it’s not time yet.”
“What are we waiting on?” Amanda asked. “Every day that we stay here, we put our son in more danger.”
“Matthew said the timing has to be just right,” Principal Vance said. “He told me we’re all leaving Fallon, but he didn’t say where we were going. He has his orders, but he can’t tell us yet.”
Casper left the table, walking into the dim light of the living room. No one wanted him to be alone. I thought hard about following him, before Amanda spoke.
“What do you think we should do, Evee?”
I thought hard for a few moments. “I don’t know. I’m going wherever your family decides to go… if that’s alright?”
“Of course it is!” Amanda said, giving me a brief smile and squeezing my hand. “You’re part of the family now.”
Shannon’s prediction had come true. I had the family I’d always wanted, but at what cost? Would I ever see my own father again? Adam could have taken them anywhere in the land. I might never see Dad again. In some ways, it bothered me. He’d chosen his side and I’d chosen mine, but I still found myself hoping that he was safe.
Sara and I both slept in the living room of Adam’s house. His parents fled Fallon like everyone else after we exposed the Military’s plans, which made lots of room in the Howard home. Seth and his parents stayed at their house a few blocks away along with Matthew, Cricket, and Donnie. We’d seen them off and on the last few days, but we decided to give the Grindle family as much privacy as possible.
It wasn’t easy for me to fall asleep. The way I drifted into unconsciousness was a lot like dying. It scared me to think how close I’d come to death, but it was wondering about Casper’s ability that kept me awake. He’d saved me, but how? He could now add healing to the list of things his ability could do. What he did reminded me of my own mother’s ability.
I awoke several times in the middle of the night, unsure if I’d actually been asleep or not. I didn’t feel rested, which I blamed mostly on the uncomfortable couch. Sara managed to sleep soundlessly in a recliner across the room.
I noticed the light in the living room change. An amber glow radiated from somewhere in the room. Lying on the floor next to the couch was Casper. He heard me stir on the sofa and looked up at me. His handsome face was perfectly visible in the light of his aura.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I can’t sleep.”
“Me either,” I replied. “I imagine the floor isn’t very comfortable. Why don’t you go back to your bed?”
He shook his head. “I want to be near you.” He said the words like he was addicted to my presence. His aura’s glow brightened just enough for me to see his facial expression. There was no smile but deep pain in his eyes. “When I’m near you, it doesn’t hurt as much. The energy your aura gives off is calming. Being close to you is the only time I’m comfortable.”
I leaned down to Casper’s face, giving him a kiss. “Time heals all wounds. Adam will never be gone as long as we keep his memory alive.”
When Casper jerked his face away from mine, I thought I’d said the wrong things. “What’s wrong?”
“I want to ask you something, but I don’t know how.”
I found his hand with mine. “Just ask.”
“How… What… Did…” He couldn’t find the right words at first, but he took a deep breath and relaxed. “What was it like… dying?”
I understood his hesitation to ask. I didn’t know if I was ready to talk about it. “I don’t know if I can describe it. I wasn’t in any pain. I just remember it being dark. Then there was this music. It was like singing, but different. Then there was this white void. The singing disappeared, and I woke up.”
“Do you think Adam was in pain?” Casper asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know…”
“What do you think happens… when you die?” Casper’s lip quivered.
“There’s no way to know,” I said. “My dad told me that when you die, that’s it– you no longer exist. I don’t know if I believe that. There’s got to be something more. Don’t you think?”
Casper’s muscles tensed under my hand. “How could Matthew not have seen that Adam was going to die?” Anger burned in his voice, and his aura muted. “He should have been able to see that coming.”
“Matthew did everything he could,” I said.
“I feel guilty,” Casper said. “I’m sad that Adam is gone, but I’m happy that you’re still here. I thought I’d lost you. Does that make me a bad person?”
“No,” I insisted.
“And I keep thinking that if only Adam had stayed at the prison, he might still be alive. I could have saved him like I saved you.”
“Adam’s a hero,” I said. “If he hadn’t teleported Zana and my dad out of the prison, we might never have gotten out alive. Zana’s powerful and trained to kill at whatever the cost. Adam saved us.”
Casper nodded. “I can still feel him. Every morning I wake up thinking he’s still here, but he’s gone. His absence is unbearable. I keep thinking how I’ll never teleport with him again. He’ll never sneak up on me again. He won’t be there to protect me anymore.”
I could feel Casper’s sadness weighing on my own heart. I pulled him into my arms as tears fell from my eyes, hoping that death wasn’t the end. Wherever Adam was, I hoped he knew how much he’d been loved.
DESTINATIONS
Casper:
On our last morning in Fallon, Matthew gathered us in Adam’s old living room. Matthew gave everyone instructions to come with a bag of our belongings that we wanted to take with us. I packed what clothes I had left, including Adam’s clothes. I wore one of his shirts since most of mine burned in the fire. He would have wanted me to have them anyway, or, at least, I wanted them.
Seth, along with both his mom and dad, still had a part to play in all of this according to Matthew. I didn’t know how much we could trust Matthew’s visions, but I didn’t know what choice we had. Seth carried a duffle bag as big as he was. Cricket and Donnie relaxed in the living room, talking with Mrs. and Mr. Grindle. Mr. Grindle looked frightfully thin and pale, but he had a warm smile, which he directed at his wife and son.
I hadn’t seen the Grindle family since we arrived back from the prison. Seth beamed with happiness around his father. When Seth introduced me to his father, Mr. Grindle shook my hand with a firm grip with all the emotion of a hug, whispering the words, “thank you,” in a raspy voice.
He didn’t owe me any gratitude. A minute later, Uncle Jesse whispered in my ear that Mr. Grindle hadn’t thanked me for rescuing him, but for befriending Seth and helping him all these years. With Adam gone, I’d forgotten that I still had friends. I wondered if Seth and I could ever share a deep connection like I had with Adam. Would I ever call Seth or Randy my brother, or was that something that only occurred once in a lifetime?
Donnie and Cricket stood with Matthew in a section of the room so that everyone could see them.
“We all have choices to make,” Matthew said. He produced a stack of envelopes from his pack. Cricket and Donnie both smiled when they saw the yellow packets.
Uncle Jesse shifted his weight next to me, and looked like he was concentrating on the thoughts of the three team members.
“What are those?” Seth asked.
“Shannon’s orders,” Donnie replied, grinning with anticipation.
Everyone in the living room settled down, finding a seat in a chair or on the carpet. Mom and Dad sat across from Evee and me. Mom bit her nails, reminding me of the way Adam used to bite his. Seth sat on the floor in front of his parents, Randy, and Sara. The time had come for us to leave Fallon, and none of us looked prepared.
“My parents are waiting for me in Reno,” Sara said.
“Mine too,” Randy added.
“It’s not safe for any of you to return to the Military’s survival cities,” Donnie said. “The Military will know your faces, and know you’re helping the flyer. It’s important that everyone chooses to accept the orders.”
Everyone in the room looked disgruntled, making awkward eye contact with one another. If we didn’t all agree, we would never know what Shannon intended for us to do next. Evee squeezed my hand.
“How do we know we can trust what’s written on them?” Uncle Jesse asked.
“The woman who wrote these letters is the reason you’re no longer in that prison,” Cricket said. “Shannon has all of our best interests at heart. You can trust her. She saved your life twenty years ago, if you remember.”
Matthew walked around the living room, handing out the envelopes. There were names handwritten on each one. He handed me mine. Written on the front of the envelope were two names: Casper and Adam. Matthew continued handing out the instructions. Each sealed envelope had been addressed to a group of people, but none of the envelopes showed Evee’s name.
My eyes met Evee’s, and she shrugged her shoulders.
“Why is Adam’s name on this?” I asked.
“Shannon wrote these instructions weeks ago,” Matthew answered. “Perhaps, when she wrote them, her visions showed Adam still alive.”
“Why is my name not on any of the envelopes?” Evee asked.
Matthew shrugged his shoulders, refusing to say anything.
Evee’s shoulders sank as she connected something in her head. “I was supposed to die… and Adam was supposed to live.” She spaced out with a vacant expression.
I didn’t know the words to make her feel better. The infinite possibilities for the future baffled me. Did I save Evee at Adam’s expense? Was it my fault Adam was gone? Uncle Jesse’s hand gripped my shoulder. When I looked at him, he shook his head– responding to my thoughts.
“That doesn’t matter,” Matthew insisted. “You’re alive. We can’t change the past. I’m going to insist that you go with Casper. I think Shannon would agree that the two of you shouldn’t be separated. After what Casper did in the prison, it’s obvious you influence how his ability works.”
I looked at Mom and Dad, sitting on the couch across from me. Their names were on the same envelope as Matthew, Cricket and Donnie’s names. Uncle Jesse’s name was alone on his envelope. Everyone in the room seemed to realize at once that accepting the orders meant going separate ways.
“We’re all going to be separated, aren’t we?” Uncle Jesse asked.
“At least for a while,” Matthew answered.
“I’m not opening it,” Mom said, crossing her arms.
“Amanda,” Matthew said. “Whatever is written here is something that will help us win the war.”
“What war?” Mom cried. “You use the word war but this is the first I’ve heard of it. Why does my son have a separate envelope from me?”
An uncomfortable silence followed as Mom held Matthew’s gaze.
“We can’t know what each other’s orders are,” Matthew said. “We can only read our own. The enemy has ways of determining information. If you want to protect your son, you can’t know his instructions.”
Mom continued to refuse the envelope. Dad settled her down, and turned to me. “What do you think, Casper?”
I stared at the paper in my hand. Whatever it said, I wanted to know more than anything, but I didn’t want to be separated from my family. Seeing Adam’s name next to mine was painful, especially knowing that there was a chance that he didn’t have to die. Evee looked at me, waiting for me to answer. Whoever this seer was, she was the reason that I found Evee. She was the reason for all of this. I thought for sure Shannon must have a plan.
“I’m going to do whatever mine says,” I announced.
Evee smiled and looked at me. Her grip around my hand tightened.
“I’m in,” Seth said. He stood up and held the envelope with his name on it. Randy and Sara’s names appeared on the envelope as well.
Randy and Sara looked at each other, and then Randy looked down at Seth.
“I guess we’ll do it too,” Sara said. She looked nervous, but she smiled when Randy put on a brave face.
Everyone in the room turned toward Mr. and Mrs. Grindle. Seth’s parents held the envelope with their names on the front. They looked at each other, then looked at their son.
“I’m not a big fan of the idea,” Mrs. Grindle said. Her plump face turned white. “I’ve waited seventeen years for my family to be whole again– I don’t want my son to be somewhere I’m not.”
“Mom,” Seth said. “I know I look like a child, but I’m not. I’m an adult.”
“Let me finish, Seth,” she said. “I don’t like it, but I’ll do whatever the paper says. Without this woman’s help, I might never have seen my husband again. Or worse, Seth might still think Nikolai abandoned us all those years ago.”
“I agree with my wife,” Mr. Grindle said. His legs trembled as he stood up.
It looked like a weight lifted off Matthew when Mr. and Mrs. Grindle confirmed their willingness to follow the orders. He turned towards my parents, waiting for an answer.
Dad spoke first. “I don’t want to be separated from my son, either, but I’ll do whatever the orders are.” He looked at Mom sitting on the couch. She looked as if she couldn’t believe her ears. She loved our family too much to allow it to be broken up.
She shook her head swiftly before anyone asked her to reconsider.
“Honey,” Dad said. “At some point while we were in that prison, Casper grew up. We have to let him make his own decisions. I think it would be wise for us to follow what’s on the paper.”
“Casper is more special than you realize,” Matthew said. “He has a destiny that lies beyond Fallon.”
I didn’t know what to think when Matthew said this. I’d never felt special, and his words made me nervous. I turned towards Matthew. “What does Shannon want with me?”
“She wants to help you. Shannon knew at this point, you would have a lot of questions about your ability. She knows you don’t understand it. She says that she can help you control it.”
I knew I had to go. I wanted to go. I had so many questions that needed answering.
Mom buried her head in her hands. “I feel like my life is out of my control. I’ll do what’s on the paper, but…” She turned to Matthew, “I want your most excellent promise that I’ll see my son again no matter what’s written here.” Mom looked at me, tears glistening in her eyes.
Matthew hesitated. “I was told you would ask this of me. Shannon told me to tell you that you will see your son again if you choose to follow what’s in the envelope.”
Mom blinked so that the tears fell from her damp eyes. She looked at Uncle Jesse who confirmed with a curt nod that Matthew was telling the truth. “Fine,” she said softly.
“Good,” Matthew said. He looked relieved that everyone had chosen to accept. “Remember, do not tell anyone else about your orders. It will be the difference between life and death.”
Everyone tore into the envelopes. I waited before I opened the one that belonged to me. Seth was the first to have the letters out, and he handed one to Randy and Sara. After reading it, they looked at each other confused, and then turned their eyes towards me. Sara looked at Randy, her brain already in motion for whatever their orders were. Seth’s smile was impossible for me to read.
Mom and Dad read their orders. It took them a while to read the piece of paper. Mom erupted into tears when she finished, shoving the orders out of her sight. She cried uncontrollably. Every
one remained calm except for Mom. What had it said to make her so emotional? Dad and Uncle Jesse did their best to console her. “It’s going to be okay,” Dad said. “We’ll be alright.” He rubbed her back.
Mr. and Mrs. Grindle read the directions on their letter. Neither of them reacted to whatever they read. They stayed calm and collected.
“Open it,” Evee said.
I ripped the yellow paper open, taking out the letter. I unfolded it, expecting paragraphs of information, but there was only one sentence on the page, followed by a series of confusing directions and times. Shannon wrote a simple message at the top of the page.
Come find me.
Evee and I looked at each other confused. “Where is…”
Matthew cut me off. “For your eyes only,” he barked. “Whatever you read, I can’t help you with it, and neither can anyone else.”
I read over the list of times and directions, and figured that I’d meet Shannon in approximately one week.
After a few minutes, Donnie spoke, breaking the tension in the room. “I think it’s time we leave.”
Everyone in the room moved at once except for Evee and me. She and I still hadn’t talked about what we would do. Everything was moving so fast. I had so many questions, but I could see that Matthew wasn’t going to give me the chance to ask them. He evaded me in the small living room, and then my family found me.
I was locked in a tight hug with Mom before I even realized what happened. “Just know that wherever you go, your father and I love you very much.” She squeezed the back of my shirt in her hands. She had to pry herself off as if everything in her body told her to not let me go.
Dad and Uncle Jesse were next. Each of them gave me a warm embrace and told me goodbye. “I love you,” Dad said.
“I know,” I replied. “I’ve always known.” Dad and I hugged one more time, this time with moisture in our eyes.
“Be careful,” he said.
“I will.”
Mom and Evee finished saying their goodbyes. Evee looked just as emotional as Mom did.