by Бри Деспейн
Daniel kept searching the ground. His face became rigid with frustration. I followed him as he crossed to the other side of the ravine, opposite from where I'd slid down.
He crouched, spreading a few ferns with his hands, and inhaled deeply. "I thought for sure I was on the right trail."
"Like you followed his scent?" I asked.
Daniel tilted his head slightly as if listening. He shot straight up and spun around, staring back up at the ravine wall, about a hundred feet from where we stood now.
Then I heard something, too. A faraway cry from somewhere back up on the ridge. The monkey slipper fell from my fingers. And my heart stopped beating as I watched something that looked like a little white ghost in the twilight toddle out from behind a boulder, and right toward the edge of the cliff. James!
"Gwa-cie!" he wailed with his arms outstretched to me.
"Stop!" I screamed. "James, stop!" But his little legs kept moving. "Gwa-cie, Gwa-cie!" Then Daniel was moving. Running across the ravine floor toward James--faster than I thought possible.
James took another step, slipped in the mud, and toppled over the edge.
"James!" I shrieked as he fell like a limp doll.
Daniel dropped to all fours and leaped like a mountain lion off a boulder. He sailed into the air toward James--twenty feet high, at least. I watched in paralyzed amazement as he caught James in midair and wrapped him in his arms, simultaneously twisting until his back slammed with bone-breaking force into the jagged rocks of the ravine wall. In that split second I saw a look of pain rip through Daniel's face, but he clutched Baby James closer as they ricocheted off the wall and started to fall, twisting out of control, the last twenty feet.
"No!" I clamped my eyes shut and said the fastest prayer ever. I waited for the gruesome sounds of a skull-cracking impact. But instead, all I heard was the shifting of rocks and the crunch of a branch, like someone had jumped a mere few feet on top of it.
I opened my eyes and saw Daniel standing on the ground with Baby James clinging to his chest like a little wolverine. My mouth dropped open.
"Holy sh ...
THE WAY HOME
"Nice word to teach your little brother," Daniel said as I pulled James out of his arms.
Baby James clapped his hands and repeated my expletive with his happy baby lisp. He patted my face with his icy hands. His jumper and his one Curious George slipper were caked with mud. His lips were a ghastly shade of blue, and he shivered in my arms. But thankfully, he seemed uninjured.
"What else did you expect me to say?" I hugged James close, hoping to share some of the panicked heat that had flashed through my body when I watched them fall.
"How on earth? What on earth? That was a freaking miracle."
"Fweaking," James said.
"How did you do that?"
"Miracle," Daniel said with a shrug. He winced. That's when I noticed the bloody tear in his shirt across the back of his right shoulder. I remembered the look of pain on his face when he hit the ravine wall.
"You're hurt." I touched his arm. "Let me look at it."
"It's nothing," Daniel said, and turned away, "No, it's not. And what you did wasn't nothing." I'd heard of people doing extraordinary things when pumped full of adrenaline--but I couldn't believe what I'd just seen, no matter what the circumstances. "Tell me how you caught him like that."
"Later. We need to go."
"No," I said. "I'm sick of everyone dodging my questions. Tell me what's going on."
"Gracie, James is freezing. He's going to get hypothermic if we don't get him home." Daniel grabbed my uninjured hand and pulled me to a patch of mud. He pointed at some animal tracks. They obviously belonged to something large and powerful. "These are fresh," Daniel said.
I remembered that strange animal howl. I hugged James even tighter.
"We need to get out of here." Daniel unbuttoned his long-sleeved oxford shirt and pulled it off, uncovering his faded Wolfsbane T-shirt underneath. He tied the two long oxford sleeves together at the cuffs.
"What are you doing?"
"Making a sling."
"I thought your shoulder wasn't--"
"It's not for me, it's for James." He made a couple more knots in his shirt. "If I wear him up front, it'll be easier for us to make a run for it." Daniel pulled his homemade sling over his shoulder and took James out of my arms. The baby squealed as Daniel situated him in the fabric folds, but sure enough, the shirt had made a perfect little seat for him to sit in against Daniel's chest. "I've been here before. This ravine curves around back toward your neighborhood." Daniel took my hand again.
He started running, pulling me with him.
"But how are we getting out of the ravine?" I asked. "My hand is trashed. I don't think I can climb."
"Leave that to me," Daniel said, and picked up his pace.
I had to sprint to keep up with him. I couldn't believe how fast he ran, especially while hefting James. Daniel never missed a step, even though it was getting quite dark--
we'd probably been gone from the house for more than an hour. I had to concentrate hard on my footfalls just so I wouldn't slip in the mud or trip over boulders.
Anytime my feet faltered, Daniel would pull me up before I could fall. His hand twitched as he held mine. I could tell his shoulders were tightening and relaxing like they had when we rode on the motorcycle. He craved more speed. But I was thankful he didn't pull me any faster. I was breathing so hard I couldn't even speak.
The ravine wrapped around toward the east, and it felt like we'd been running for at least a mile. My feet burned with blisters. My legs and lungs ached. I couldn't see anything now in the dark, so I closed my eyes. I listened to my heart pounding in my ears, and to Daniel's breathing. His sounded so even compared to mine. Just when
I thought I couldn't go any farther, it happened: I felt a wave of energy pass from Daniel's hand into mine. That connection, that lifeline, from the Garden of Angels was binding us together again. Only this time the energy rushed through my body, and I felt a sudden liberating release, and I knew I could trust that Daniel would keep me safe while I ran blind. I let go of myself and let his graceful movements flow through me, let him be my guide in the darkness, as we ran with total abandon in the night.
I'd never felt so free.
I almost forgot where I was until Daniel leaned into me. "Almost there," he said. He let go of my hand and slid his fingers up my arm. In one fluid movement, he gripped me tight underneath my arms, and lifted me up off the ground and onto his back. "Hold on!"
I latched my arms around Daniel's neck and wrapped my legs around his almost-nonexistent boy-hips. James giggled and tugged on my hair. I'm sure I did look funny.
Daniel picked up a sudden burst of speed. We shot forward, and I opened my eyes just in time to realize that he was running headlong into the ravine wall. He jumped onto a fallen tree and leaped.
Daniel grabbed at a root, but he barely touched it. He kicked off the wall and flew another six feet up the slope. His feet touched down on a rock outcropping. He jumped again. I slipped on his hips. My fingers dug into his throat. James clung to my arms. Daniel grabbed a tree branch that sagged over the top of the cliff--with only one hand. And then we were up and over the top. Safe.
Daniel jogged a few more paces into the trees and then leaned forward, panting. I slipped off his back, and the three of us went tumbling onto the dirt-packed ground. I lay next to Daniel for a moment, my body shaking with shock and a whole lot of awe. "That ... was ... was ..."
I'd spent two weeks once watching parkour videos online because my art camp roomie, Adlen, had been totally in love with a French free-style runner. But compared to those films, the things Daniel had done today--
while carrying two people, no less--weren't humanly possible.
Daniel looked at me, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight.
James clapped and squealed, "More!"
Daniel drew in a deep breath. "But we're home, little guy." He pul
led James out of the sling and pointed through the woods to where my neighborhood's lights called like a beacon in the distance.
James pouted with disappointment, and I felt the same way.
Daniel rolled over onto his stomach, still breathing hard. I fingered the tear in his T-shirt and realized that even though the rip was matted with blood, there wasn't a cut in his skin. Only a long, jagged scar where a bleeding wound should have been. I brushed my fingertip down the warm, pink mark. Daniel started to flinch away, but then he sighed, as if my touch was soothing to his skin.
"How ... ? I mean ... What are you?" I asked. Daniel laughed--a real laugh. Not a snort or sarcastic snicker. He stood up and offered me his hand. "I think it's best if we walked from here," he said, and pulled me to my feet. He picked up James and motioned for us to keep going toward my house.
I frowned. Did he really expect me to just walk away?
"Tell me, please. That was so not normal. How did you do all that?"
"Let's get your brother home first. We'll talk when this is all over. I promise."
"Don't promises always get broken?"
Daniel reached out and brushed my cheek.
James coughed. His breath fogged out of his lips. I was so hot from running so fast, I'd completely forgotten that it was cold. I felt a chill creeping up my sweaty arms, and knew James must be even colder. But I also knew once we passed through the fence into my yard, the magic--the connection--I'd felt while running with Daniel would be gone. And my chance for getting answers might never come.
What if Daniel decided to disappear again?
But I knew James had to come first, so I swallowed my questions and followed Daniel through the woods until we came to the fence behind my house. I climbed through the gap.
BACK IN THE YARD
Blue and red lights flickered from the street, illuminating the patched roof of the house. Beeping and shouting and a lot of movement filled the shadows cast by the light. It seemed like half of Rose Crest, including the sheriff and deputy, had converged on the neighborhood.
"Looks like they organized a search party anyway," I said.
Daniel stiffened as he came through the fence. "I should go. Take James. Tell them you found him yourself."
"No way." I grabbed his hand. "You're the hero here. I'm not taking credit," I dragged Daniel toward the front yard. "Mom, Dad!" I shouted. "We're here. We've got
James."
"James!" Mom pounded down the porch steps.
"How did you ... ? Where did you ... ? My baby." She tried to take James from Daniel.
James squealed and locked his little arms around Daniel's neck. Daniel went pink. But that might have just been the glow from the flashing police lights.
"Daniel saved him, Mom." I touched Daniel's elbow. "I think Baby James is a bit attached to his hero."
"Okay, little guy. Let me breathe." Daniel pulled James from his throat. "I bet you're hungry. You want some turkey and a piece of pie?"
James nodded.
Daniel passed James to my mom. She hugged him so tight he whined, and she kissed him all over his face.
"James?" Dad came up the driveway.
The sheriff followed.
Daniel moved slightly behind me.
The deputy tried to bar our neighbors from entering the yard, but he let Dad and the sheriff pass.
Dad grabbed James and swung him around. He looked at Daniel. "Well done," he said, and wrapped his arm around Daniel's shoulder. "Well done, my son."
"I don't mean to bust up this little reunion," the sheriff said, "but I'll need to get your statement." He looked at Daniel.
"There's not much to state." Daniel shrugged. "I found him wandering in the woods, and I brought him home. He must have knocked over his playpen and decided to go on a little adventure,"
I stared at him. That's it? I guess I didn't expect him to tell the truth--he followed the baby's scent through the forest, caught James midair when he fell off a thirty-foot cliff, and then used his very own superhuman powers to get us out of the ravine--but he sounded so nonchalant. No drama at all.
"That's not all that happened!" I practically shouted. Daniel shot me a wide-eyed look, like he was afraid that I'd tell everyone his secrets--which I totally wouldn't. My mind latched on to the first plausible, but furthest from the real scenario, lie I could think of. "He stopped James from falling in the creek!"
Mom cried and pulled James out of Dad's arms.
I was glad it was too dark for anyone to see the "lie marks" spreading up my cheeks. "Daniel's a hero. He saved James's life." I wanted people to know that truth, even if
Daniel didn't want them to hear the real story.
"And the baby was alone? Uninjured?" The sheriff raised his eyebrows and motioned to the bloody tear in Daniel's makeshift shirt-sling. Daniel and I nodded.
"So how do you explain the blood on the porch?" Daniel's face went blank.
"That's not his job to explain," said Dad. "It could have been anything--probably one of the neighborhood cats. Don't you have a forensics lab to tell you for sure;
The sheriff snorted. "The Rose Crest Sheriff's Department is a trailer behind the Gas 'n' Go. I'll have Deputy Marsh take a sample and send it to a lab in the city. It'll take a while before we hear anything." He looked at me. "And there's nothing more you'd like to add? Nothing else you can remember?"
"Daniel saved my brother's life," I said. "That's all there is to it."
A car whipped into the driveway, scattering a gaggle of spectators onto the lawn.
"Mom. Dad." Jude jumped out of the minivan and pushed through the crowd. Not even the deputy could stop him. "I've brought the cavalry! I've got half the volunteers from the shelter coming to help us--" He stopped. The look of triumph on his face shifted into stony nothingness. I followed his hardened glare from James in my mother's arms to the sight of Dad holding Daniel in a fatherly embrace.
"James is safe," Mom said.
"Thanks to Daniel." Dad squeezed Daniel's shoulder. "James would have been lost without him."
The sheriff extended his hand toward Daniel. Daniel flinched--then stared back in disbelief as the sheriff gave him a hearty handshake.
"Well done," the sheriff said. He shined his flashlight along the back fence. "You should get that fixed," he said to Dad. "You're lucky this case turned out for the best. If it hadn't been for your son here ..." At first I thought he was talking about Jude, but then I realized he was smiling at Daniel.
Dad did not correct him.
"We'll wrap up a few things here and then get out of your hair." The sheriff clapped Daniel on the back. "My wife had a conniption when I left dinner early. Her parents are in town... They wanted her to marry an accountant."
"We'll get to work on that fence right away," Dad said, and shook hands with the sheriff. "Daniel, you're handy, aren't you?"
Daniel nodded.
"I'm going to take James inside." Mom smiled slightly and squeezed Daniel's arm. I think it was her way of saying thank you.
I couldn't help smiling. It may have taken some twisting of the truth, but my plan to help Daniel get his life back was working--the lifeline I'd offered seemed to be reeling him in.
But then I heard a deep rumbling coming from the direction of my older brother. He was positively shaking.
"Ju--"
Jude lunged at Daniel. "You did this!" he shrieked, and smashed his fist into Daniel's face.
Daniel fell back, knocking me to the ground with him. Jude went in for another blow, practically stepping on me to get to Daniel, But then the sheriff was on top of him.
He pulled Jude back. Mom shouted.
Jude flailed and screamed, "He did this! He did this! Don't you see?"
Daniel scrambled up from the grass. "Jude?" He reached for his former best friend. "I swear I didn't do this."
Jude wrenched out of the sheriff's grasp and tried to fly at Daniel again. Dad stepped between them. The sheriff grabbed Jude from behind.
&nbs
p; "Calm down," Dad said.
"He did this. He stole James." Jude looked up the sheriff. "Arrest him. Get him before he runs away!"
Daniel stepped back. I knew he could be a quarter of a mile away by now, but he made no attempt to escape. He let Deputy Marsh seize his arm.
"Stop it," I yelled at Jude, and tried to stand on my aching legs. "Stop lying. Daniel saved James. He saved him from drowning in the creek."
"You stop lying!" Jude's face looked twisted like it had the night he found Maryanne's body and then couldn't find me. I was afraid he was going to punch me, too--even though I hadn't known he was capable of hitting anyone until just now. "The creek's dried up and you know it," he said.
Mom gasped. The noise was echoed by the bystanders who'd edged closer to us when the deputy left his post. The sheriff must have loosened his grasp because
Jude pulled away.
"Arrest him," Jude said. "Arrest that monster." He lunged at Daniel.
"Stop!" Dad grabbed Jude's arm and swung him away.
Jude stumbled back on his heels and fell to the ground.
Dad stood over him, one foot planted on each side of Jude's prostrate body. I'd never seen Dad look so domineering. "Back down!" he commanded. "Stop these lies now."
Jude moaned and rolled onto his side. It was like hitting the ground had knocked some sense into him. His face and fists relaxed.
"What do you want us to do?" Deputy Marsh asked. He still had Daniel by the arm. "We can take this one down to the station if you want."
"On what charges?" Dad turned to the crowd, his voice raised. "The baby simply wandered away. Daniel brought him back to us. That's all there is to it." He inclined his head to the deputy, telling him to release Daniel. "Thank you, everyone, for helping us in our time of need," he said in his best pastor voice. "I'm sure you all have festivities waiting for you. And if you don't mind, my family has a few things to attend to."
Dad turned to my mom. "Meredith, take James inside. I'm going to see what I can do about the fence. Daniel, Jude, come with me."
Jude was standing now, but he cowered from Dad's touch. He shook his head and then jogged into the house. April appeared from the crowd and padded after him.