Supernova

by Mia Rodriguez

Chapter 29: The Colonel

  Royce urgently gets my attention and whispers, “Up.” His index finger points in that direction. I nod vehemently, and he says, “You first.” There is no time to argue who goes first, so I start scurrying up the tree. I’m surprised at how agile I am as I scale the trunk and grab onto branches. It must be all the physical challenges we’ve had to contend with on this mission.

  It’s also my real parents, I realize with surprise. They had shown me how to climb trees, and it’s all coming back. It’s so great not being drugged anymore and being able to recall hidden memories.

  I keep scaling the tree, hustling as fast as I can with Royce closely behind me. We’re close to a hundred feet off the ground when Royce motions me to stop. The voices are too near, and we have to be as quiet as we can. We both stand on heavy branches on opposite sides of the trunk from one another but on the same level as we hug the tree and each other tightly. I subvert the anxious feelings washing over me as I try not to concentrate on Royce’s touch. His proximity and athletic arms threaten to suffocate the air in my constricted lungs.

  “Where are they?” booms a strong voice.

  “I don’t see them anywhere.”

  Can they be talking about us? I ask myself. I delve into Royce’s deep eyes and realize that he’s wondering the same question.

  “If it wasn’t for the blasted rain I would’ve gotten them! How am I supposed to track them now?”

  “Colonel, I’m sure we’ll be back on their trail soon.”

  “What do you know, Stupid Head?”

  “Sir, I’m just saying that—”

  “I can’t believe I got this close and then—nothing!”

  “It’s not our fault, sir—it’s the rain.”

  “The doggonit, blasted rain!”

  “Sir, we’re getting wet. We should take cover under a tree.”

  “Okay . . . I need to get my thoughts in order,” the colonel grumbles.

  I push a gasp into myself as they rush under the tree where Royce and I are at. If they happen to look up, even a tiny glance, they’ll see us.

  “It’s all your fault, private,” the colonel sneers furiously.

  “Sir, I didn’t have anything to do with the rain.”

  “I’m not talking about the blasted rain, Stupid Head!”

  The overwhelmed private steps away from the colonel. I can see his face for the first time.

  Uh-Oh!

  He’s the soldier who had threatened Royce and me when Pilar had shown up with the permit!

  I quickly glance at Royce. His eyes tell me he recognizes the private too.

  “It’s all your fault that they’ve escaped!”

  “Sir—”

  “If you had told me about them when you first saw them then we’d already have them, stupid!”

  They are looking for us!

  Oh no!

  “But, colonel, you told me we were looking for two males and maybe a third person—not two females and a male.”

  “My son got hit on the head; he probably doesn’t remember very well.”

  Could this possibly be D412’s father? I ask myself. It seemed ages ago instead of days when we had run into that arrogant soldier, and I had used my slingshot to disable him. Hadn’t we overheard the rest of the soldiers say that he had a strange military father?

  “Maybe he thinks he saw them, sir.”

  “What!” yells the furious colonel. “Not you too! You’d better listen carefully if you know what’s good for you—my son isn’t delusional!”

  “I’m not saying he is, sir.”

  “Then what are you saying, Stupid Head?”

  “With all due respect, colonel, you did say he got hit on the head.”

  “He saw what he saw!”

  “Sir, head injuries can—”

  “D412 may not remember with perfect clarity, but most of his memory is back. Do you get that, private?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’d better,” he snarls with a deep growl.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I have to clear my son, and you’re of no help at all!”

  “Sorry, sir.”

  “You’re worthless!”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “How are we supposed to find those degenerates now? There trail is cold!”

  “Sir, it might not even be them. You yourself said that there are only two sets of footprints now. Where’s the third?”

  “I don’t know but in my gut, I’m certain they’re the ones who ruined D412’s reputation!” he roars. “And I’m going to get them no matter what it takes!”

  With relief I realize that Pilar had been careful about any tracks to her cousin’s home. That’s why the colonel hadn’t been led there. It had been impossible to cover all tracks as we were coming, but she had done an excellent job of not leading anybody to her family.

  “Let’s get out of here! We need to look!”

  “Colonel, it’s still raining,” he states, his eyes looking at the sky. If he shifts his eyes over a tiny bit, we’re busted!

  “It’s just drizzling,” the colonel snickers with disgust.

  “The tree is covering us, but out there it’s a lot worse,” he states as his head starts to turn up. “This tree is very leafy.”

  Uh-oh!

  “How did a worthless marshmallow like you get in the military?”

  The private’s face jerks back down. “Sir—”

  “I don’t want to hear any explanations from you, Stupid Head!”

  “Colonel, I was just trying to say—”

  “Shut up!”

  “Yes, sir,” he says dejectedly.

  “My son is being ridiculed while we’re here lollygagging. Do you have any kids, private?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Good—a dumb person like you should never have kids.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “We need to find the slippery miscreants who ruined my son’s life!”

  “Yes, colonel.”

  “Let’s go,” he demands, his voice echoing in the forest.

  I don’t exhale until their figures are lost in the woods. Royce puts the top of his head to my forehead and also lets out a long, trapped breath. I don’t pull back or shove him away. The time we’ve been holding onto each other has acclimated me to him. We don’t say a word, but it’s obvious what each is thinking. Our situation just got a lot worse with the colonel nipping at our heels. I gently put my hand on his cheek to assure him that I’m ready for anything. The colonel isn’t going to stop me from what must be done.

  No way!

  Royce’s dark eyes pull me into him. I no longer see the boy who tormented me in high school—these aren’t his eyes, this isn’t his face. The past is the past. This warrior goes with my future.

  My hand keeps caressing his cheek and his face turns toward it, kissing it gently. His breath vibrates on my rain-speckled hand, and his lips inject tingly explosions in my skin. He turns his face up to look at me—as if to ask me permission for what he is about to do next. My eyes go to his mouth, and he knows my answer.

  I wait.

  Impatiently.

  His lips finally reach mine, a tenderness in them that I didn’t expect from such a tough guy. This is the first kiss I’ve ever had—so sheltered has been my existence until now. He represents safety when everything around us is danger. I’m completely stunned that my knee jerk reaction isn’t to push him away. Instead, a slight tremble takes over my will power. I unclench my heart as I go deeper into his inviting lips, deeper into his soul, and deeper into my own self.

  A crying hawk above us reminds us of that we are still on the tree, and we disengage. Disoriented and catching our breaths, we hold tightly onto one another from each side of the trunk. The tree might be in between us, but the kiss closed the gap.

  “We have to get down,” Royce says quietly after gaining control of his breath again.

  I don’t say
anything, but I nod. I still don’t have control of mine.

  He starts to climb down first, slowly and carefully. I follow. As I step onto a thick branch, my head is still in a spin. I try to get a solid footing, but the branch is wet and slippery. My feet suddenly slip forward. I try to unsuccessfully grasp at anything. I fall! Miraculously managing to grab the branch before crashing down, my hands squeeze it with such force that they feel permanently knurled and bloodless. I am now hanging on the wet tree limb with my body dangling below me.

  “Are you okay, Madrigal?!” Royce questions from the branch below me with a shaky, punctured voice. His face is completely drained of color, and his unguarded eyes are wild with a fear I’ve so rarely seen in them before.

  I can only nod. Fortunately, my voice had left me, and I hadn’t screamed. The colonel might’ve heard me if I had done it.

  “Hang on—I’ll be right there,” Royce tells me.

  Climbing back up, he steps on the branch I’m holding onto.

  I find my voice. “Don’t come any closer,” I mutter when the branch starts cracking.

  He frowns in frustration. “The branch won’t hold the two of us.”

  “No.”

  “Give me your hand,” he says, reaching out for me. His hand tries to stretch as far as it will go but finding that it won’t go far enough, he’s forced to loosen the arm wrapped around the trunk. Unfortunately, it’s the only way to get closer to me. “Just make sure you hold on tightly with the other hand,” he implores.

  “I can’t.”

  “You can.”

  “No.”

  “We have no choice, Madrigal. You can’t hold on forever.”

  “I can’t let go,” I assert.

  “Yes, you can,” he says soothingly.

  “I’ll fall if I let go.”

  “I won’t let you fall.”

  I hold on tighter. “It’s a long way to the ground,” I announce.

  “I’m here for you. Give me your hand.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can.”

  “I can’t. I just can’t.”

  He lets out a frustrated breath. “Madrigal, you’ve got to give me your hand,” he demands, his voice losing patience.

  “I don’t think I can hold on to this branch with one hand while I take the other one off.”

  “Madrigal, you can do this,” his voice is soothing again. “I promise you can.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know you. Just think of how brave you’ve had to be so far.”

  I can’t just wimp out now, I tell myself. Be strong. Be brave. And get yourself together!

  “C’mon, Supernova,” he entreats.

  “Okay,” I mumble. “Are you sure you can carry my weight with just one hand?”

  “Positive.”

  “You’ll hold on to me tight?”

  “I’ll never let you go unless you want me to.”

  “Let’s do this then,” I sigh.

  Making certain my left hand has a firm hold on the branch, I carefully start letting go with my other one. Sweat beads roll down my forehead, but Royce stares intently at me, willing me to keep going. As I finish prying my hand from the tree limb, I realize I’m stronger than I think.

  “Good job, Madrigal,” he coaxes.

  I start reaching for Royce.

  Crack!

  The branch I’m holding onto is breaking.