“What about my life here? How am I going to explain to my friends, the university and my boss? I can’t just say, ‘See ya! Gotta go save the galaxy.’”
Ezra says, “It’s all been taken care of.”
His seeming arrogance for having everything under control makes me want to challenge him. “How?”
Ezra looks at me. “Within every state, city, town, suburb, company, school, group of friends, there are at least a handful of us Jesca. At least a handful of Sondians too, unfortunately. I only need to make a few phone calls to the right people. No questions asked.”
“What about Elicia? I have to tell her something more than sending some foot soldier to say farewell for me. She won’t understand. I have to talk with her.”
My Dad speaks up. “She and her family know Jes. Elicia’s family is part of the fellowship. She’s known about you since you both were young.”
Elicia was told about this before me? Was she supposed to be some kind of guard over me or something? Is that what our friendship was based on? Some fellowship code to keep this from me? “Why was she told and not me?”
Ezra says, “Elicia has been a watcher for you. She was to keep you safe and be close by when I couldn’t be. You have to know, Jesca, she was your best friend before anything else. She found out that she was a watcher when you were both in middle school. You have to understand that she wasn’t to tell you anything for your own safety. She’d never intentionally hide anything from you unless it was to protect you.”
I reflect on the times Elicia had been by my side. Even though I feel betrayed, I still feel I owe it to our friendship to say good-bye myself. I need to let her know that all of that time, the memories, still meant everything to me. “I have to see her.”
My parents and Ezra are weary as I leave the house to walk to Elicia’s house from mine. I guess I was somewhat prepared for the separation from my parents, with their surprise moving announcement yesterday, but not with Elicia. Not physically seeing her every day is foreign to me. We’ve been inseparable forever and now I’m being scooped away into some facility to train? All of it’s fucking bonkers.
The conversation starts awkwardly as soon as Elicia opens the door. She mumbled through the cracked door. “Do you come in peace?”
I half-smile through my mental fog. “Yes, Licia.”
She opens the door wide and lets me pass. As we sit at the kitchen table, Elicia says, “So on a scale of one to ten, how pissed are you with me?”
I raise one hand to her, fingers splayed. “About a five.”
I soften my voice and smile, seeing her small relief that it isn’t a ten on my pissed off scale. “Ezra told me how you struggled. I know what you had to do. I still love you.”
She nods and seems to relax even though she still has a serious look on her face. “I wanted to tell you. It just wasn’t time yet. That night at the shop when you passed out I was so close to telling you, but Ezra said not to. Jes, we’ve been through all the stereotypical and clichéd best friend shit so please understand that I did it out of duty to protect you. I still love the shit out of you.”
The grin she provokes is welcomed relief. “I love the shit out of you too Licia.”
And with her saying, she still loves the shit out of me and my returning the sentiment, everything’s forgiven.
As I walk back to my parents, I think about the last couple of days, mainly the last twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours ago, my life was predictable for the most part. Now, my reality is unquestionably altered.
CHAPTER 8: THE UNDERGROUND
Jesca
Ezra has no responsibilities for me prior to leaving for Nevada. “Everything has been taken care of” he said. The packing of the apartment, the dismissal from my job, my withdrawal from the university. He took care of all of it.
Three days later, we’re en route to “the facility.” I expected some kind of special agency acronym for the place, but he kept calling it, “the facility.”
On the flight, I doze, but not very deep. I’m afraid of my dreaming track record on a crowded plane; could get hairy. Ezra doesn’t seem to have a problem sleeping. I’m still in shock my professor has more to do with my life than just being a physics professor on campus.
By the time we begin our descent, Ezra comes out of his self-induced coma, rubbing his eyes, and then catching me watching him intently. “Get some sleep Professor Kahn?”
Yeah, I’m jealous; sue me. I look at him with a heavy-eyed stare of envy.
Oblivious to my dilemma, he nods and stretches. “Yeah, you?”
I don’t even bother responding. Jerk.
As we exit the plane into the terminal, two men in suits encircle Ezra and me. As we walk on, I lean over to Ezra. “Guards?”
He whispers back, “Guardians actually.”
As we drive away, Ezra yawns and looks over at me. “Once we get settled, you really need to get some rest.”
The drive is long, but the SUV we’re riding in is comfortable. The two guardians are silent the entire trip. Ezra yawns and I glare at him with resent. “Jesca, you need to try to get some sleep once we get settled in the facility.”
Having no clue where that could be in the sea of desert, flat, and plateaus, I ask, “Where is that exactly? There’s nothing out here.”
He doesn’t answer directly. “Everything is subterranean. Training rooms, debriefing room, cafeteria and your accommodations for sleep. Plus a few other departments.”
“Sounds like a school.”
Ezra keeps talking paying no mind to my commentary. “The entire facility is about a ten-mile radius. Decent size for the amount of staff, trainees and mentors we have on the property.”
“How many trainees will be there?”
“We usually have four or five trainees, and each one has a mentor. Unless there are casualties.”
“Uh, because of the training?”
Without missing a beat, he continues. “No, because of what happens after training, when you leave. The casualty ratio is significantly low. Our training is rigorous enough that we make sure you’re confident in your abilities before being sent to your territory. But, you’re a target once you go out into the real world. Just like we’re watching the Sondians, they’re watching us.”
I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. I don’t like not knowing my surroundings and my next step and this goes against everything I hold myself to. I remind myself that my life isn’t what it was last week. No, my life is completely different now, not by choice.
The monotonous speed of the car is hypnotic and almost lulls me to sleep, when suddenly the truck downshifts. Looking around, I see a small, run-down gas station in the near distance. It looks vacant. A metallic sign shifting in the dry wind reads Willy’s Gas and Repair.
As we pull off the road and into the small parking lot of the gas station, I feel my chest tense and my skin crawl with anxiety. Ezra’s hand comes to rest on my shoulder suddenly. “Jesca, this is the safest place in the world for you right now.”
I take a deep breath in and release the small bit of anxiety.
The driver presses a button on what looks like a garage opener. The door to the garage begins to lift slowly as the driver pulls the truck into the empty spot inside. Once we’re in the garage closes behind us, leaving us in darkness.
“Um, isn’t it dangerous to leave a car running in a closed gara—”
I’m unable to finish the word as the truck jolts and begins descending. I grip the handle on my door, more for my anxiety than anything. The darkness doesn’t reveal anything as the smooth motion down continues. Then, a light comes from beneath. As we get deeper, the metal space around us comes into view. Some kind of small, metal enclosed parking lot. Four trucks identical to the one we’re in are parked just in front of us. The driver shifts the truck into gear and we pull into one of the vacant parking sp
ots.
As the driver kills the engine both he and the other guardian exit the truck, Ezra opens his door. “Home sweet home.”
Slowly, I open my door and take a deep breath, wondering how the air would feel, smell, and taste down here. It’s cold and crisp, nothing stagnant about it, which is what I imagined. As I take in my surroundings, Ezra and the two guardians are already walking toward a door, our bags in tote. “You coming?” he calls to me.
I jog over to help take one of my bags off his hands, but he brushes my hand away. “I got it.”
Abruptly, we all stop in front of the only doors in this underground garage. I expect one of the guardians standing in front of it to open the door. “Is there a secret knock or something?”
He points up at the camera to our right. “Just waiting for them.”
The click of a deadbolt and the beep representing permission alert one of the guardians to reach for the handle and pull the metal door open.
White walls with nothing on them are all around us as we walk through the passage. We come to an elevator, and without pressing a button, the doors slide open. I assume we’d be going up, but when the doors shut, we descend even further. How deep into the earth were we going?
Ezra seems to respond to my thoughts again. “The farther off the grid and hidden by Earth’s natural electromagnetic field core, the better off we are when it comes to Sondian trackers.”
“This is the second time.”
My question is direct, and if he did read my mind, he’ll know what the hell I’m talking about. “That. What you just did.”
He grins. “What read your mind?”
“Yeah.”
He looks at the two guardians and they respond with a grin similar to his arrogant one. “We all have abilities here Jesca. You aren’t the only one.”
Suddenly, the elevator door opens and the three of them lead us out into another hallway. Annoyed by their condescending attitudes, I smart off. “Abilities. I’d call them more of a curse in my case.”
Ezra stops and turns on me. I almost run into him. “Believe me. You’ll have a different opinion after a few sessions in the field.”
As he turns and follows the two guardians, I question him again. Yeah, just like he can read my mind, I know that my questions piss the shit out of him. “The field?”
Ezra turns to me put out once again. “Mock missions.”
He turns to walk on and adds, “I can’t wait to see what you can do.”
His words bring anxiety and pressure. “Great, I’m glad I fascinate you.”
As the guardians ahead of us come to a door, it slides open revealing an entryway similar to one in a house. Its decor is warm and welcoming with an entry table, coat rack, all the things you’d expect in the entry to a home, which is so random compared to the sterile passage we just came through. The door shuts behind us quickly and Ezra and the two guardians set our bags against the wall. The two guardians leave us, walking down a hall to the left, while Ezra starts walking down the hall to the right. He looks at his watch, and then angles back to me. “C’mon. They’ve already started.”
I’m curious to see the people producing all of the chatter so I stay close behind Ezra as I follow him into the open doorway. “Sorry, we were delayed. Is everyone else here? Hey, Luke.”
I stand in the doorway and watch Ezra shake hands with another man about the same age as him. I look around me. There’s a burning fire in the hearth, three oversized leather chairs, two leather sofas, and a long table with filled chairs. I’m guessing these are the other guardians and trainees.
Ezra follows Luke behind the sofas to the table, looking back to make sure I’m coming. I move into action as Ezra motions to three people on one side of the table. “Jake, Siobhan, and Luke.”
The people on the other side of the table look just as vulnerable as I must to them.
The mentor called Siobhan looks at me, then Ezra. “So this is Anna’s girl.”
Ezra replies, “Yes, this is Jesca.”
Everyone is looking at me strangely.
“Hi,” is all I can muster.
Jake jumps in. “Well, this is a perfect time for introductions from the green peas!”
He stands just a tad shorter than Ezra as he rises. His combat boot wearing attire on his muscular build says he’s going to make whomever he mentor’s life a living hell.
“I’m Jake, as you already know. Nicholas’ mentor.”
Poor Nicholas. He doesn’t seem to be worried as he nods his head at me and the others next to him. “Hey.”
He looks like he could be Jake’s twin with his similar features and build. Only difference is the color of his eyes—blue.
Siobhan rises from her chair, her auburn hair being the most striking feature. She’s dressed in a black tank and black combat pants, looking very Lara Croft, Tomb Raider. “I’m Siobhan.”
She motions to the girl across from her. “This is Angela. She’s just a bit nervous, but I’ll break that.”
Angela spews a chain of words, which might have a chance holding meaning if they came together right.
Siobhan holds her hand up to Angela, stopping the unintelligible rant. “Stop!”
Siobhan looks at us. “She says hi.”
Angela sighs. “Hi.”
Angela has straight, light blond hair and big blue eyes that look too large for her face. The third mentor stands. “I’m Luke. I look forward to learning more about each of you.” He seems so pleasant and welcoming. Luke has a tan complexion and black hair. His eyes contrast his skin; they’re a light honey color. “I’m Nathaniel Sera’s mentor.”
As he motions to the guy across from him, I’m still focused on the last name, Sera. I’m about to nudge Ezra to my right, but the guy, this Nathaniel, turns and looks at me, keeping me from making my move. His eyes are different; the lightest green I have ever seen. I feel the sensation of home as I look into them. “You can just call me Nate.”
As he looks at Ezra and nods, I feel like I have had home taken from me. No doubt that’s the weirdest thing I have felt on the trip down here, but the day is still young.
With my trancelike stare broken I focus on the last name again, Sera. There’s an obvious relation to my adopted parents. Is he a nephew? Wait that would make him my cousin! Shit, and I was totally checking him out!
Ezra leans in close all of a sudden. “Breathe. You aren’t related.”
I move away from Ezra deeper into the room to sit at the table, keeping him from seeing my cheeks flush. I really need to start trying to keep him out of my head. Sitting down at the open seat next to Angela, I ask, “When can we start the debriefing?”
Siobhan answers, “We thought we’d wait until after lunch originally. Give you all a bit to settle in, but we can start now.”
Nate speaks up. “I agree with Jesca. I think it’s safe to say that we all want answers. You’re just prolonging the inevitable.”
As we all look over at Angela and Nick, they both nod in agreement.
Ezra claps his hands together. “All right, let’s head to the debriefing room. Follow me.”
We all file out following Ezra down a hallway across from the living room. We pass one door on the left and one on the right. We come to a T in the hallway. Ezra turns right, and we all follow. I glance down another hallway to the left and notice a handful of doors. Are those our rooms?
Ezra speaks up as we walk. “We’ll give you a complete tour of the facility after the debriefing.”
I mumble, “Thanks, Ezra.”
He couldn’t have possibly heard my voice, yet he calls back in a singsong way. “You’re welcome, Jes.”
Damn it. Okay, mental block going up once I figure out how to do it.
Nate catches up to me. “Why is he talking to you that way?”
I look up at him and those eyes dem
and my full attention, along with his broad shoulders, and muscular chest under his tight, white t-shirt. Nate grins as he waits for me to respond. “Is it some kind of mentor heckling thing?”
God, that smile! I look away from him feeling all kinds of vulnerable. “It’s his special way of addressing me.”
Nick chimes in as he walks ahead of us. “When did you all start figuring out the abilities shit?”
I answer, “Three weeks ago.”
Nick nods at me then questions Nate. “How about you?”
“Same, three or four weeks ago, but I have always felt a little different. All of a sudden, those crazy, bizarre, nightmares I had for years as a kid were becoming real, I think.”
The look of confusion he has is so familiar to what I have been feeling for weeks.
Nick scoffs, “Yeah, totally man. Fucking sucks!”
Another voice comes up behind Nate and me. “The feeling of something tracking me was what hit me the hardest.”
Hearing Angela speaking intelligible words catches me off guard as I glance back at her. “When did you start experiencing all of this?”
“Same scenario. About a month ago, things short-circuited in me. I mean, that’s what it felt like. My parents and Siobhan intervened as soon as things started getting unbearable. I thought I was losing my mind.”
It isn’t just me. The relief of knowing this washes over me and I can’t believe how good it feels not to be alone in this. We all experienced similar events within the last four weeks. But, what’s that mean. What significance has the last four weeks had?
As we each file into the debriefing room, Ezra stands by the door. As I pass he says, “The significance is what we’re preparing you for.”
Ugh! I fucking need that mental blocking ability. Now.
Ezra remains standing as we all sit at the table. “All right. Why you and why now? How can all of this be possible? Just a few of the questions that replay in your minds on a frequent basis now that you know what you’ll be—a guardian. You’ve been chosen to fight this battle, so get that out of your head. There are no mistakes about it. All of these events, the nightmares, the feeling of being watched, stalked, the energy and abilities coming forth, they’ve occurred for a reason beyond anything you could ever imagine.”
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