by Jeff Altabef
Connor moves beside him, his voice soft. “Are you okay?”
I’m not okay. Linking with Barrett’s brain has changed me, accelerating my development, pushing me closer to the edge of the abyss. Barrett’s father called me an abomination, and now I know it’s true, but I can’t tell Connor—not now, not with everyone watching—so I lie.
“I’m fine, but Barrett....”
He lies next to me, a serene look on his face, his aura gone.
“He was fighting his father. I think he—”
A burst of light explodes around him, and his aura returns. He opens his eyes, bolts upright, and gulps air. Panicked and wide-eyed, he tries to rise to his feet, but he falls back down to the ground.
I sit up and grab his arm to steady him. At first his eyes skitter around, unfocused and wild, but they eventually calm and lock onto me.
When I know he’s here with me, I say, “I’m sorry Barrett. I—”
He shakes me off. “He got what he deserved.... He—” The words catch in his throat.
I can tell he’s struggling not to cry, and squeeze his arm to tell him it’s okay if he does.
He stiffens his upper lip and chases the tears from his voice. “My father is dead. When he died the link must have broken. Luckily, I had not joined him in the next life quite yet.”
“So we have more time then,” says Blake.
Akari elbows him in the stomach.
Barrett rises to his feet. “More, but still not enough. My father talked about an alliance that would detonate the Heart Stone when they discover that he’s dead.”
The sun looks as if it has moved since I linked with Barrett and his dad. “How long was I out?”
“Two hours,” says my mom, her face drained of color, her fingers twirling her hair so rapidly it’s as if she’s attempting to set a new world record.
“That’s impossible! The fight didn’t last that long.”
Aaric shrugs. “Time moves differently when connected to an intergalactic link.”
“We were busy while you were away.” Connor grins. “We can’t just sit around on our arses and wait for you to do everything. I found a cedar box buried under that mattress in the sweat lodge. Inside we found six different hides. Come, take a look.”
He helps me to my feet. My legs tremble, and for a second I’m sure that I’m about to fall, but an invisible hand props me up before I face-plant on the dirt—Aaric, helping me again with his mind. Even with his help, my body feels hollow, nothing but a dried out husk, void of energy, life, or strength.
“They all look like different angles of the same scene,” says Connor. “Now we just have to determine where it is.”
He’s right. All six depict a tall, white stranger with light beaming from his eyes. Two Native American men dressed in loincloths stand behind him. I study all six paintings for a second and then re-assemble them in my mind. Taking pieces of all six, I form a three-dimensional image of the scene.
Akari nods at the paintings. “That’s definitely the twisted arrows symbol. We could barely see it in the first hide, but now it’s clear.”
Blake squints. “The paintings are all dark. From the various angles it looks like they might be in a cave.” He points to two different paintings. “Walls seem to hem in the three people on all sides.”
“Not really.” Akari lifts a different hide. “You see this one? It looks like there’s a gap in the walls. It might be an entrance or something like that. It seems like a faint light comes from that direction.”
I turn toward my mom. “You’ve lived here the longest. What do you think?”
She sighs. “I don’t know, Jules. There’s a state park north of here with caves carved into the side of a steep hill. It’s an old Native American settlement. But this doesn’t look like any part of the park I’ve ever been to.”
Troy smiles. “Remember the school trip to Hippie Town?”
“That was in second grade. Who remembers that far back?”
“You got into a fight with Janet Oaktree.”
“Right.” I nod. “She called me a witch and I slugged her, but I never got to see Hippie Town. After the fight, they made me stay on the bus.”
“I checked it out,” says Troy. “The town is built on top of a series of tunnels they used to mine for gold. The original tunnel was really a series of caves, but when they found gold, the locals expanded the system. They shoveled so many tunnels, the town above them became structurally unsound, so the whole place was condemned. Some hippies live there as squatters—mostly artists and musicians. This looks like it could be one of those tunnels.”
“Those walls look smooth.” Landon points at the collection of paintings. “Caves would be way rougher and less uniform. Tunnels would be smooth.”
“Right,” says Blake. “But the paintings are old, dark and primitive so we can’t trust details like that. Plus, they started mining for gold in Arizona in the 1770s. The orders were established way earlier than that.”
“Maybe,” nods Troy. “But the first tunnel was a series of caves that the locals excavated, and they were definitely dug before the orders were created.”
Blake waves his arms in frustration. “Well, it could be either caves or tunnels. We had better pick the right one because we only get one choice.”
All their faces turn toward me. Somehow this has become my decision. I close my eyes and examine the mental three-dimensional image I’ve created of the scene. I rub my hands over the walls as if I’m in the picture with the characters. I walk along the edges and peer into the light coming from the entrance. I spot something that glitters. I bend down and brush my hand against the stone—it’s a fleck of gold.
I open my eyes. “Landon’s right. Small bits of gold are painted into one of the walls.” I point to the original hide. “You can see it toward the floor by the Alphian’s feet.”
“Hippie Town it is,” says Frankie. “Sounds like my type of place anyway.”
My father says, “I know Hippie Town. It’s a few hours west from here.” He glances at the sky, a worried expression on his face. “We’re running out of time before nightfall.”
“The Deltites will attack when the sun goes down,” says Aaric. “Things will get complicated if we do not find that Heart Stone before they show up.”
Even with Aaric’s help, my legs feel like they might give out on me at any moment.
Troy must sense something’s wrong, because he wraps an arm around my shoulders and helps support me. He cocks his head to the side, asking me if I’m okay in his usual silent way. He knows me better than I know myself. He’s always here to help me.
Landon’s military training kicks in. He starts to talk about the hostiles and makes plans about weapons and buying us more time.
I ignore him and whisper into Troy’s ear, “Come with me. I need to go into the sweat lodge.”
He doesn’t question me. We turn away from the others and head for the grass and mud structure.
Blake calls after us. “Where are you going? We don’t have time for sightseeing.”
Sicheii stands in front of the door to the sweat lodge. The ghostly image of him is eerily present. He showed up when I returned from the link, and has been watching me ever since. He hasn’t said anything yet. He just looks at me with his all-knowing slate eyes.
It creeps me out a little. I wish he’d say something.
Did he come back with me from the white void?
I never asked for this destiny—he never gave me a choice. My time is short, and even now, when I have to will my legs forward, my mind feels as if it’s on fire. The auras of the others are blindingly bright. I can hear their hearts thumping as if my ears were pressed against all their chests at the same time. I fear that I’ve gone insane, and Sicheii’s ghostly image doesn’t help.
I stumble a little on a rock in the dirt. I’m so tired. Every fiber of my being hurts. I would curl myself into a ball and hide if they didn’t need me, but they do. I’m still the Alpha. I wo
n’t desert them now, not when we are so close to the end.
There’s something I need to do, away from the others, so I lean heavily on Troy, soaking in his strength like I’ve done so many times before.
He never hesitates as he half carries me to the lodge.
We keep walking, and I shout over my shoulder, “I need a moment. The world will have to wait a few minutes for us to save it, or it can screw off!”
Connor
Juliet and Troy disappear into the sweat lodge and my heart cracks. My throat stings and my head buzzes.
She looks so weak. She can barely walk.
I grab Aaric’s shirt. “What’s going on with Juliet? What’s wrong with her?”
“You should ask her.”
“I’m asking you!”
He knocks my hands from his shirt without moving and shoves me back a step. “Events have... taken a toll on her. She is... tired.”
I snarl at him. “There’s bloody more to it than that and you know it. She looks exhausted, and yet the energy radiating from her keeps increasing. It’s as if she can’t process it all.”
He hesitates for a heartbeat, and then leans closer to me. “Do you really want to help her?”
My chest tightens and my voice sounds raw. I’m not going to like what he says. “I’ll do anything.”
He leans next to my ear and whispers so only I can hear. “You weaken her. Her... feelings for you distract her and siphon off her energy. I can save her. I can train her to live with her abilities, but you make everything more difficult. You are killing her.”
The world stops, and my head spins. I’m killing her. It’s my fault.
He leans toward me and his eyes, only a few inches from mine, pulse with a crimson light. “Once this is done, you must leave, and let me save her. There is no other way. She cannot be around you.” He turns and spins away.
Barrett nods solemnly at me. He must have heard our conversation.
I meant it when I said I’d do anything to help Juliet. I just never thought it would be this hard.
Juliet
I slouch in the backseat of the SUV and rest my head against Akari’s shoulder, my eyes closed.
Connor sits up front next to Troy, who’s driving, and Blake looks out the back passenger window beside Akari.
I’m not sleeping. The light from their auras bothers me even though I have the sunglasses on, so I keep my eyes shut. Besides, Sicheii’s ghostly image sits in the back with us, which is totally creepy. He hasn’t said anything or communicated with me in any way, yet there he is nonetheless, weirding me out.
Landon, Frankie, and Lisa left the campsite while I was in the sweat lodge with Troy. They went to find weapons and promised to meet us in Hippie Town before nightfall.
Mom and Dad ride in dad’s truck, with Aaric and Barrett in the back. I can’t imagine what they’re talking about. Mom still has a problem wrapping her mind around the idea that Alpha even exists. Her logical, lawyerly mind has limits, and this whole situation has stretched it to the breaking point.
“We’re closing in on Hippie Town,” says Troy. “We should be there in a few minutes.”
I open my eyes and check to see if Sicheii’s still with us. Unfortunately he is, and I sit up straight. “Thank God. I can’t stand the smell from Connor’s jersey. It’s like we’re traveling in a beer can.”
He smirks. “Hey, this is my lucky shirt! If I have to kill dozens of Deltites and their freaky enhanced humans, I want all the luck I can get.”
“You’ll probably scare them away with that stench,” jokes Blake.
Akari laughs and it sounds good coming from her, like she’s finally tossed her guard away while she’s with us. “You should drink sake. At least it doesn’t stink so bad. I’m drunk just from the smell.”
“Don’t worry about it,” grumbles Connor, sounding unusually tense, angry even. “After today you won’t see it again.”
He doesn’t sound like himself, so I playfully hold my nose and bat the air to lighten the mood. “Seeing is not the problem.”
Troy says, “Maybe we should have a bonfire and free the jersey’s spirit so it can travel to the sprit world.”
Akari nudges me. “Is that a real thing?”
I shake my head. It’s easy to forget that she comes from a small fishing village. “Not really, but Connor’s shirt might have a spirit all to itself.”
Troy turns right off the highway and onto a small local road that winds up a rock face. The sun hangs low in the horizon, an angry red ball that looks both dangerous and somber at the same time.
Akari points out my window at an old wooden sign with the words Welcome to Hippie Town scrawled across it in pastel colors. “Looks like we’re here.”
We travel for another ten minutes along the twisty road, until we come to the deserted town. It must have been closed down over twenty years ago. On the right are various shops, all with plywood covering the windows and doors. An abandoned brick hotel stands to our left. Next to the hotel is an empty lot, and after that is a small café that seems to be functional. The café’s exterior is painted a deep shade of purple with little yellow flowers. It doesn’t have any windows, but light flickers from inside where a few customers seem to be mingling.
The town is carved between two steep rock faces. Streets wind their way up the rocks on both sides. Splashes of color and life dot the cliffs, mostly pastels and psychedelic designs—houses painted brightly, stores trying to be noticed.
Troy swerves around a crater-sized pothole and pulls the SUV to the curb in front of a brick building that seems better maintained than the rest. The windows are still intact but a metal gate, which is chained shut, blocks the door. The sign above it reads Tunnel Museum Closed.
We exit the SUV as my dad stops his truck behind us.
Blake surveys both sides of the main street with a turn of his head. “Not exactly a vacation spot. You had a school trip here?”
“That was nine years ago.” Troy claps him on the shoulder. “The museum must have closed since then. Budget cuts.”
Dad waves his phone at us. “Landon will be here in ten minutes.” He’s looking to Landon and his marine training to keep us safe, but Landon can only do so much here. The Deltites will be too powerful for him, but I don’t have the heart to explain that to my father.
Akari stretches both of her arms behind her back, and draws her sword from her pocket. She’s always ready for a fight. “What’s the plan?”
“We are close.” Aaric smiles. “I can feel the energy from the Heart Stone. Juliet and I should find it. Once in my possession, the Deltites will not be a problem.”
Blake squints his eyes at him. He suspects a trap. “Why can’t Barrett and Akari go find it? You two can help us fight off the Deltites until they have it.”
“Possessing the Heart Stone is not enough.” Aaric shakes his head, obviously annoyed with Blake’s ignorance. “The alliance on Alpha will still try to detonate it. Only I can protect us against them and keep us safe.”
“Juliet should go with him,” says Connor, his tone frosty. “This is her home pitch. Maybe she’ll find some clues or something that her grandfather left behind.”
He glances at me for the briefest of moments, and I try to connect with him, but he looks away before I can.
I’m surprised he wants me to go with Aaric. I thought he’d insist on staying close to try and protect me.
The others turn toward me, trusting me, waiting for my answer.
I study each of their faces, memorizing the smallest details: Barrett’s soulful eyes, Akari’s angry scowl with a hint of mischief behind it, Blake’s curly hair that threatens to frizz uncontrollably in the hot weather, Troy’s confident gaze, the scar that runs down Dad’s face, Mom’s beautiful eyes, Connor’s slightly bent nose.
Heroes don’t come in standard sizes and shapes. They’re not always blond and tall and strong and fearless. Real heroes have flaws and fears they have to overcome to do what they know to be
right. If we succeed, no one is likely to even know our names. No history book will mention us, and no movies will be made about us, but I’d stack this group up against any of the heroes we study in school.
I want to stay here and protect them, shield them from the storm that’s coming, but Connor’s right. Sicheii is here with me for a reason. I think he knew where the Heart Stone was located, and who knows what clues he might have left behind? They’re sure to be riddles, and I’m the best chance we have to decipher them. I can protect them best by finding the Heart Stone before it’s too late.
I want to tell them how much I love them, but tears well in my eyes and my throat closes. I don’t know the words... even if I could speak them.
A wind gusts, and Troy tilts his head back to drink in the desert air. “The Wind Spirit is with us.”
My dad places his hand on my arm. “Don’t worry, Love. We won’t let anyone get past us.”
I’m not worried about myself; they’ll die to protect me. That’s what’s bothering me, what drives a stake into my heart—my recurring nightmare.
Is this what it means? They all die, so I can find the Heart Stone and live?
The energy drains from my body, and I almost fall to the ground.
Blake grins. “Don’t you have a crystal to find? I’ll protect the others. I’m a badass, remember.”
Akari chuckles and Connor finally looks at me. I try with one look to tell him all the things I haven’t had a chance to say. It’s not good enough. We should have had more time. I wasted the ride here. I should have been braver and told him how I really feel.
He nods at me, his voice certain and final. “Go with Aaric. It’s what’s best.”
I step toward him, but he turns his back on me.
Aaric gently pulls on my arm. “We should be going.”
It’s what’s best.
I shoot my parents a last glance.
They’re holding each other, and a single tear traces down my mother’s cheek.
I can’t wait here any longer. Another second and I won’t leave, so I steel my nerves and let the desert’s heat and energy fortify me.