The Exodus

by Ali Winters

  A thin dusting of snow covered the city. Kain shivered and hoped it would be the last snowfall of the year. The increasing warmth of the lengthening days had prompted the first blades of grass to poke up through the layer of flakes. Clouds overhead spread out as far as the eye could see, obscuring the sun and making the sky a solid, dark gray that made the time of day hard to determine.

  Kain climbed the small grassy knoll and joined Holter where he was waiting on the bench, a place that he’d come to think of as theirs. It was his way of humoring the man and keeping him from getting too comfortable. He didn’t want Holter to think he’d be okay with him stopping by whenever he felt like, or that he was ready to try a typical father-son relationship.

  Kain brushed his hand over the seat planks of the brass bench to clear off the snow and sat down.

  For a long time, neither of them spoke. The park was busy with people huddled in their jackets walking their dogs. A few joggers passed, their footsteps pounding on the pavement rhythmically. Everyone was in their own world, paying little attention to those around them. It was nice enough to be outside, but not so warm as to allow for hours of casual conversation.

  “It seems like a lifetime ago that we sat on this bench for the first time.” Holter sighed contently, but there was a hint of weariness in his tone. It was hard for Kain to imagine everything the man had been through in his life.

  “Yeah, it does,” Kain agreed.

  “So much has happened since then.”

  Kain nodded, wondering where the conversation was going. He was about to open his mouth to ask, but stopped when Holter spoke.

  “You’ve handled all of this better than anyone expected.” Holter looked at his son out of the corner of his eye.

  Kain took in the man’s words. Was something else expected? “I didn’t have much of a choice. It was either flip out and hide my head in the sand, or deal with it.” He leaned back and thought about everything that had happened.

  His mother had raised him to deal with his problems, not run from them. But it was worth it. After all, he’d met Nivian. His life changed beyond anything he could have imagined the day she showed up and turned his world upside down. He’d been able to protect her and come away from it all with his life, and hers, intact.

  “Facing it head on seemed more productive. Life will always throw the unexpected at you. Granted, it’s not usually this extreme, but in the end, it’s how you handle yourself that makes the difference.” Kain lapsed into silence. There was no point in being offended by others having expected him to run from the situation.

  “That is very wise of you.”

  Kain shrugged. “It’s not as though I’d been living a lie. I’m still me, and Ma is still there. The only thing that’s changed is that now I know there’s more to this world. I’ve learned where I came from and that there’s so much more to who I am than I realized. Knowing what I know now could never take anything that mattered away from me.”

  “Aurey did a wonderful job raising you,” Holter said proudly, his chest puffed out slightly.

  “I’d like to think so.”

  “I would like to spend time with you so we can get to know each other better.” He held up his hand before Kain could object. “I’m not trying to make up for not being there when you grew up, but I would like to get to know my only son.”

  Kain studied the man’s face. It’s true that Holter had his reasons for leaving them, and he had been able to grow up leading an ordinary life. There was never a time when he didn’t feel safe or cared for. There was no way of knowing what life would have been like for him and his mom if Holter had chosen to stay.

  “All right, I think I’d like that as well.” Kain coughed, clearing his throat in the awkwardness of the situation, wondering why he was being so formal.

  “You have no idea how happy that makes me.” Holter smiled and lines formed at the corners of his eyes.

  “Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll just start with getting to know each other first,” Kain said, his forehead creasing. It felt weird saying that to a man he hardly knew. Would he ever get used to this situation? Throw a Reaper at him and it was just weird enough that he could deal with it. But put him in a situation with the man who fathered him? Now that is where it got complicated.

  “Aurey will be thrilled.”

  “What?” Kain asked, leaning away from the man.

  “Your mother and I are—”

  Kain held up a hand. “Don’t say it. I don’t want to know about your… personal lives.”

  “Kain, it’s natural. You’re our s—” he tried again.

  “Nope, I don’t need to hear this. We,” he gestured between them with his finger, “are just starting to talk more. I don’t want it to get weirder than it is. I just can’t think of you in that way yet. Just—please don’t.”

  Holter let out a deep laugh and Kain grimaced. Logically speaking, he understood that biologically, the man next to him was his father, but it didn’t mean he was ready to hear details. His mom had already tried talking to him about it on the phone a few weeks back. Kain shuddered at the memory. He loved being close with his mom, but that kind of thing was a little too personal for his liking.

  “Have you kept up practice with your powers?” Holter changed the subject.

  Kain shrugged. “No, I haven’t seen a reason to.”

  “That is no excuse. It’s irresponsible of you to neglect them.”

  “You’re going to lecture me now about responsibility?” snapped Kain.

  Holter dropped his gaze. “This is something that is important for us all. You never know when they will be needed. We must always be prepared.”

  For a short moment, Kain felt guilty bringing up the past like that, even when he knew the reasons. He understood the truth of what Holter was saying; it was just difficult for him to swallow anything about duty from the man who’d abandoned him before he was born.

  “Fine, I’ll start practicing again soon,” he conceded.

  “What would the Reaper think of you spending your time learning how to wield powers that could destroy her?”

  Kain bristled at Holter’s less-than-friendly way of referring to her. “Her name is Nivian, and she doesn’t dictate what I do.” Kain ran his fingers through his hair, pushing the strands from his eyes only to fall back when he lowered his hand. “It hasn’t come up in conversation, but she’d understand.”

  “Then why haven’t you told her,” Holter probed.

  Talking about Nivian with anyone set him on edge. He had no reason to talk to other Reapers about her, and he wasn’t sure he trusted any of the Hunters enough. Their motivations were still questionable and he wasn’t about to risk her life by unknowingly giving them information. Holter had sworn up and down things had changed now that the truth of Yeva’s plans had come to light. Though the man’s insistence that Kain stay away from Nivian made him wonder if there was more to the story that he wasn’t being told.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell her if it ever seems important enough to bring up.”

  “Understood.” Holter’s face revealed nothing more than the usual concern he wore every time he brought her up.

  At first, his meetings with Holter had just been his own curiosity, satisfying the shallow interest he had of the man. He’d never brought it up because there never seemed to be a natural segue in any of their conversations. A small part of him just didn’t want her to worry about him spending time with the Hunters when she was still suffering with the lingering effects of her injuries.

  “Would you mind taking a ride with me? There’s something I want to show you,” Holter asked.

  “What is it?” Kain narrowed his eyes; the abrupt change of subject caught him off guard.

  “Hunter Corp. We’ve made some changes in operations since finding out the truth of what really happened.”

  “Hunter Corp? You’d never mentioned that before.”

  “All Hunters work within the company, but n
ot all are privy to what happens at the top level. We are very selective about who knows about it.”

  “Selective, huh? Then why tell me about it? I’d think I’d be the last person who would be trusted. I grew up away from all of this and my best friend is a Reaper.”

  “Because, even with all of that, I trust you, and you’re my son. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Holter stood and adjusted his hat. “I have no doubt you’ll exceed my expectations.”

  Kain thought it over. He didn’t have plans over the next few days, so it’s not like he could use work to get out of it. And then his curiosity over what they actually did was piqued.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Kain pushed up from the bench, glad to be standing again. The cold of the metal had started to bite through the layers of clothing and chilled his skin uncomfortably.

  “You should clear your schedule if you have other plans, this will take a while.”

  “How far is it?” Kain asked, walking behind the older man remembering the last time he got in a car with a Hunter.

  “It’s about three hours away, but it will take a while to show you around. We will be gone overnight.”

  “Okay, I’ll just go home and pack. I’ll—”

  “There’s no need. We will provide you with everything you could want or need.”

  Kain looked in the direction of his home. He wouldn’t have time to say anything to Nivian. Though if he were honest with himself, he had wanted some time to think after the revelation he’d stumbled on a few days ago. The pull was still there, strong as ever, but he needed to understand what it meant, and why.

  “Lead on,” he said, sweeping his hand in front of him. Holter said nothing but led them to a familiar black limo that waited on the far side of the park.

  As they drove, Kain realized he’d taken this route before. He turned to the driver and furrowed his brow. “Is this—” he started.

  “The same drive you took with Karen?” Holter interrupted. “Yes. We are headed to the hangar now.”

  “That’s your location? I don’t remember seeing any other buildings for miles.”

  “It’s not just a hangar. The location serves a dual purpose. One of them being a mode of transport as well as a cover for regular trips. As I told you before, there are levels to Hunter Corp. that many don’t know about. Nothing is more hidden than that in plain sight.”

  The metal structure of an airplane hangar loomed ahead of him and the two accordion doors that spanned the width of the building were open to show several types of aircraft.

  A howling wolf in a crescent moon was painted on the side of a jets tail parked in the middle of the hangar. He almost didn’t recognize the detail from his last visit. At that time, it had held no meaning to him.

  Their driver parked the limo in the lot to the right of the building. Following Holter, Kain walked through a door on the side of the building with gold letters stating “Entrance” on the glass pane.

  Spare parts scattered the floor along the left wall. To the right, faux walls had been erected to create small offices, spanning from one end to the other, and only half of them had windows looking into the main area of the hangar.

  Workers bustled in, out, and around, for the most part ignoring them. Occasionally one would glance in Kain’s direction, but would quickly turn back to their task.

  As Kain looked around studying the place, a ginger-haired man wearing a grease covered flight suit exited one of the offices, wiping his hands on a rag. His face lit up when he spotted them and jogged over.

  “Holter! I didn’t expect to see you back here for a few more weeks.” He clapped him firmly on the back before turning to Kain. “Hello, you must be Kain. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Colin.”

  Kain took the man’s hand and gave him a firm handshake. “Nice to meet you.”

  Colin nodded once at Holter before turning back to Kain. “Glad you could join us. Follow me.”

  Kain glanced a quick look at his father who nodded in answer to his unspoken question. They followed Colin into one of the offices near the center of the hangar.

  “Please, have a seat,” Colin said, motioning to a rickety wooden chair in front of an old metal desk. Holter turned and closed the blinds to the room, blocking the view. “So, can I assume you know that not everyone in our organization knows what we are doing here?”

  “Yeah, Holter told me a little about it on the way up,” Kain confirmed.

  Holter locked the door to the office. Kain cut his eyes to the man’s suspicious actions. It was a good thing he trusted him.

  “Good,” Colin nodded. “Let’s get started then, shall we?” He stood and walked to a locker on the sidewall. Pushing it along hidden tracks along the wall, he revealed the opening to a tunnel that headed down into an unknown depth.

  “Is this the bat cave?” Kain quipped.

  “No,” Colin gave him a lopsided grin. “This is so much better.”

  The tunnels were long and dark. White LED lights lit up the path directly in front of them as they walked. Kain took an almost instant dislike to the underground passage; it made him feel as though he were trapped in a metal version of a hamster’s maze.

  After traversing what had to be a few miles in the underground tunnels, they finally reached a fifteen-foot high, metal door. Colin placed his hand on a black pad to the side. Bright green lights lit up the screen and scanned his palm. Clanging echoed off the steel walls that surrounded them as the wide doors in front of them opened to reveal a large laboratory. Lights, flush with the solid steal ceiling, ran from one end to the other, lining up perfectly with the workstations directly underneath. They appeared to be fluorescent lights but lacked the unsteady flicker. A wide aisle ran down the center of the room, separating dozens of rows of tables.

  A blonde girl who looked like she should still be in high school walked between work stations, stopping to chat with some of the people bent over their projects. She looked up sweeping her shoulder length hair behind her ear, and marched toward them with a large grin plastered across her face.

  “Hi, it’s nice to see you again!” she said with the slight lilt of an accent Kain couldn’t identify. She threw her arms around Holter in a tight hug. Kain frowned and wondered why Holter was so familiar with such a young woman when he’d just gotten back with his mother.

  The overly friendly girl wore a long, white lab coat that looked one size too big on her pixie-like frame. Turning to him, she beamed, showing off a large, perfectly white smile. “And who do we have here?” she asked.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Kain,” he said flatly.

  She ignored his outstretched hand and enveloped him in a tight hug with a strength he would have thought impossible judging by her size. Pulling back, she examined him from head to foot. “It’s about time you joined us, Kain. I was beginning to doubt you would. I am Azira.”

  “I just wanted to bring him here and show him around. I thought maybe next time he could help out with the developmental research projects, if you needed an extra hand. I’d like Kain to be part of our organization.”

  “Fantastic! Come with me then, I’ll give you a tour of the facilities.”

  Kain hesitated as he glanced back at Holter already deep in conversation with the other man.

  “Go on. I’ll catch up with you,” he said dismissively as he headed to a vacant table.

  “We’ll start with the halls,” Azira said picking up a black remote off a nearby table. She jerked her head to indicate he should follow.

  “What is that?” Kain asked.

  “This?” she asked brandishing the object. “It’s a locator. You probably noticed the off shoots of tunnels. We’ve built a labyrinth. If you wander down one without one of these before you’re familiar with them, it would take forever to find you again.”

  Azira pressed one of the unlabeled buttons on the remote and lights lit up along the base of the tunnel, lighting a path.

  “Here,” she said, handing him the remote. “You take
the Hansel, and you can pick where we go first.”

  Kain’s brows furrowed. “The Hansel?”

  “I call it that because it gives us a trail to follow. Besides, if men can name their cars, I can name my gadgets.”

  “I like it,” Kain said, and pressed the top button. The path of lights faded, replaced by an alternate path.

  “Ah, you picked the chem lab, good choice.” Azira winked and began leading him down the path.

  “This is all fascinating, but what’s the goal of this? Why hide it from some of the other Hunters?” Kain asked.

  “Your father has been around a lot longer than most of us. We trust him. And when he came back from the fight, he explained everything.” Azira stopped so suddenly Kain would have run her over had he been walking any closer. She turned to face him, her mouth drawn in a tight line. “We had no idea what Yeva’s plan was, we wouldn’t have woken her if we did.” Abruptly she turned back around and continued walking.

  “That’s good to know.” He wasn’t sure what else he should say at this point. The tone in her voice was short, as if it were difficult to talk about. Then again, Kain couldn’t blame her. If he’d believed something all his life and did what he thought was right, only to find out it was wrong, the slew of emotions and guilt he’d feel would no doubt be over whelming.

  “We know the Reaper helped you.”

  “Two of them actually—three if you count Silas,” he corrected absentmindedly as he took in the metal tunnels with a new appreciation. They weren’t just simply tunnels, the ceiling had slats every fifteen feet, for what he assumed was, to allow barriers to swing into place in case of an emergency.

  “So I heard. Yeva has lost sight of our purpose. We were born to protect the balance of life—not fight with the Reapers over power. Though there are a few Hunters out there that still hold fast to what she had claimed, their belief in her continues to keep them blind to the truth. We only bring those who have proven themselves down here.”