by Melissa Frey
The other of the two booths was full of a group of white-haired men, chatting about the events around town loud enough for Kayla to hear. The three remaining tables were filled with a group of teenagers on their phones, a young mom and dad desperately trying to corral their two toddlers, and a gossiping group of older women who seemed to be keeping an eye on the group of older men.
Kayla slid into the booth as quickly as she could, avoiding eye contact with the locals who had all looked up when the bell on the front door shook and Kayla and Grady had stepped inside, shaking rain droplets from their jackets. Kayla was glad Justin wasn’t here. Someone could recognize him here, and bring him unwanted attention. Just the two of them were getting enough unwanted attention as it was.
“Hi, I’m Kathy.” The thin, bubbly waitress approached their table. “What can I get for ya?”
Kayla smiled at her appearance—it felt good to be allowed to smile, if just for a moment—and tried not to stare. Their waitress was smacking a large wad of gum and even had a pencil tucked behind her ear, which she now pulled out. Her curly red hair, unruly and short, clashed harshly with her unflattering yellow uniform.
Kayla looked at Grady, who was clearly fighting a grin. “A soda and a burger for me.” He glanced at Kayla. “Hmmm . . . chicken for you?”
Kayla nodded in response, pleased that Grady was getting to know what she ate. “Chicken sandwich, please. No mayo. And a water, no ice.” She handed the menus to the amiable middle-aged waitress who smiled as she collected them and left the table.
Kayla took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Big day, huh?”
Grady nodded slowly. “I would say so.”
“Let’s not repeat it, okay?”
Grady met her gaze. “Definitely.” He reached across the table for Kayla’s hand and she smiled at him as he slowly rubbed the top of it.
Then she noticed the slight slant of Grady’s head and the furrow of his eyebrows and her smile fell. “We have work to do.”
“Yes, we do.”
Kayla reached in her backpack and pulled out Justin’s book. She had kept it with her all day, knowing that Justin had more important things on his mind but wanting to keep it safe.
She opened the book, hoping to find something more than the gibberish that Mandy’s book had held. She held her breath without meaning to as she opened the front cover.
Less than a minute later, Kayla exhaled loudly and frowned. The symbols were more of the same nonsense that Mandy’s book had so infuriatingly displayed. Kayla flipped through the ancient pages slowly, checking each page to see if anything was readable. She began flipping a little faster—still with great care—searching for something she wasn’t entirely sure she’d find.
Wait . . . what was that? Kayla stopped, then started flipping backward. She was sure her eye had caught something.
“What is it? What did you find?” Grady moved to the edge of his seat, his neck craning to see the page.
Kayla simply furrowed her brow, still searching. Then . . . Her hand stopped on the page that had caught her attention.
There, on a seemingly innocuous page, was a collection of hundreds, maybe thousands, of symbols. And in the middle—the exact middle, she was almost certain—was the symbol for fire. The same symbol that adorned the cover.
But the symbol itself was not what had caught Kayla’s attention. The shape of it and the surrounding symbols seemed to form a bigger picture, something Kayla couldn’t quite make out, but it was enough to catch the attention of her subconscious mind.
What was that?
She turned the book around to face Grady. “Do you see anything on this page? Anything unusual?”
Grady scrutinized the page, eyes squinting. He bit down softly on his bottom lip, which made Kayla smile, just a little. She loved when he did that. “What is it? What are we looking at?”
Kayla turned her attention to the page, viewing it upside-down while trying to understand what had stopped her in her tracks. She sighed as her smile slowly faded and her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know.”
Their enthusiastic waitress arrived with a beaten up brown tray full of food and drinks. Just as soon as the saucy woman set her plate down, Kayla politely moved it aside to continue to examine the book, which she turned around to face her again. She just stared at it until the waitress headed for the kitchen with her empty tray. “I think . . . I’m not sure, but I think these symbols are pieces of a larger symbol, or . . .” she took another long look at the page, then her eyes widened. Finally.
The seemingly random collection of symbols formed a picture.
Kayla almost laughed. “I know where I’ve seen this.”
“Where?” Grady snagged a fry and munched on it, still on the edge of his seat as he leaned toward Kayla over the table.
“This looks like one of the images I’ve seen in my visions. A river, or a lake.” Her fingers hovered over the page as she outlined the shape.
Grady turned the book around to get a closer look. After a minute, his mouth fell open and his deep blue eyes widened. “Amazing.”
Kayla nodded, her smile widening. “I think this is a clue to the next location.”
Grady grinned back and winked at her. “Excellent.”
Kayla relaxed her shoulders and returned the book to her bag. She slid her plate in front of her, barely stretching her hand around the monstrosity they called a chicken sandwich before lifting it to her mouth. “Now let’s eat before this gets cold.”
CHAPTER 22
Gone
The rain had stopped by the time Grady pulled into the hotel parking lot. On Kayla’s lap were two white foam containers with whatever food was quickest to cook up at the diner before they left. At least Mandy and Justin would have the option of eating, even if they didn’t feel like it.
Kayla could understand how they must be feeling, especially Justin. It had taken her months to even be able to catch a breath after the accident. It was nearly a year before she felt any semblance of normalcy. And even then, things were never the same, not really. She frowned, staring out the window at the overcast evening sky.
Grady pulled into a parking spot and slowly shifted the Jeep into park, then leaned back in his seat with an audible sigh. Kayla reached over and grabbed his hand. She could imagine that the thoughts going through his head were similar to her own: How should they act around Justin and Mandy? What should they say? She wished she knew.
As soon as their car doors slammed, the door to Mandy and Justin’s room opened and their two friends stumbled outside, blinking in the waning sunlight. Mandy wiped a stray tear from her cheek with the back of her hand.
Kayla could tell the instant that Justin registered their presence. He smiled—a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless—and hurried over to her. He eyed the food she was still carrying. “Something for us?”
Kayla wanted to smile back, but was too confused to do anything but hold one of the white containers out for him to take. He muttered a quick ‘thanks’ before grabbing a plastic silverware packet from the small brown bag she held in her other hand and leaning up against the car. Mandy followed suit, the prospect of food seemingly lightening her mood as well. Kayla shook her head and raised her eyebrow at Grady, who simply shrugged.
After a few minutes, Mandy broke the silence as she chewed on a fry. “So what happened? You found something, right?”
Kayla had no idea what to say. Grady just stared.
“We felt it.”
Grady found his voice, barely a whisper. “What?”
Justin, gnawing on a piece of bread, answered him with his mouth still half-full. “We were just sitting there, and we suddenly could see what you saw. It was in the book, right? A river or something?”
Kayla just nodded, staring.
Mandy jumped in. “It made us remember what brought us out here. Why we were here in the first place.” She looked at Justin, reaching over to stroke his shoulder.
Justin nodded slowly, his expr
ession softening as he gave Mandy a half-smile. “My mom would’ve wanted us to continue. She was excited for us, eager even. You all saw it. She wouldn’t have wanted us to give up now.”
Kayla fell silent, contemplating Justin’s words. His whispered confession seemed sincere enough, but Kayla wondered at his newfound acceptance of his mother’s death. Shouldn’t he still be grieving? Had he ever let himself grieve? He didn’t even look like he’d been crying.
Kayla glanced over at Mandy, the question in her eyes. Mandy simply met her gaze with less worry on her face than Kayla had seen since their discovery at Justin’s home. The corners of Mandy’s mouth turned up slightly, an obvious attempt to calm Kayla’s worries about Justin.
It didn’t work.
Mercenary Outpost, Location Unknown
“Sir?”
The Commander looked up from the map in front of him without lifting his head. “Yes?”
The Commander of the Western Detachment, a thick, steely man sitting on a collapsible stool behind a piece of plywood laid across two empty water barrels, appraised the tall, muscular soldier who’d just entered his tent. The soldier stood at attention, his gaze fixed on an unimportant spot on the tent’s back wall. “The targets were hit, per your instructions. Clean attack, in and out.”
One corner of the Commander’s mouth turned up. He couldn’t help it. “And the Americans?”
There was the slightest hesitation before the answer came. “We are still watching that develop. We are unsure of their next course of action. I do not think they have been able to form any plan to continue on their misguided quest.”
“Good.” The Commander looked back down at the papers he’d been working on. This was better than he’d expected. From the report, it sounded like his orders were carried out thoroughly. But one can never be too careful . . . He looked up again. “Were the targets confirmed dead?”
A longer pause, and the soldier shifted his weight. That couldn’t be a good thing. “Well . . . I . . .” He cleared his throat. “I believe so, sir.”
The Commander lifted his head and stared directly at the soldier, who still would not meet his gaze. “You believe so? Did you not confirm?”
The young man shook his head, slowly. “The Americans arrived sooner than we expected. We had to leave without solid confirmation. But we believe they were dead; neither one was breathing when we left.” The last sentence was hurried, the words spilling out as fast as he could say them.
The Commander stared off into space, contemplating this news. After a few long moments, he nodded to himself. “Where are the others?”
The soldier’s face visibly relaxed. “The men have returned. They are resting now; I assumed you would approve of them taking the rest of the day off.”
The Commander nodded, uncertain of whether or not the soldier would even see it; he seemed fixated on that same spot on the back wall. “That’s fine.” Then he forced a smile, knowing that the soldier would be able to hear it in his voice. “I am happy to hear that the mission went well. Thank you.”
The soldier’s gaze met his for a split second before the younger man went back to his bothersome staring.
The Commander waved him off. “You are dismissed.”
The soldier nodded once, then turned to leave.
But then the Commander thought of something. “Soldier?”
The man whipped around. “Yes, sir?”
His superior stood, coming out from behind his makeshift desk and crossing the small space to where his soldier stood. He placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder as he spoke. “I want to commend you personally. This was good work.”
The young soldier was beaming, but somehow managed to do so without smiling. “Thank you, sir.”
The Commander nodded and released the shoulder of the other man, who promptly took his leave.
The Commander allowed himself a long, satisfying smile. This really was going better than he expected. The Elders would be pleased. Surely Fate must be smiling on them.
Then he remembered what his soldier had said, how unconvinced he was that the mission was one hundred percent successful, and the smile died on his lips. He abruptly turned, quickly storming out of the tent. He had to check in.
Bozeman, Montana
Kayla was awakened by a bright light shining in her eyes. She squinted, then sleepily raised her arm to shield her eyes. Where was she?
She sat up, blinked. What was that light? She noticed a blinding streak of light coming in the window to her left . . . Oh, yes. It must be morning. And that made this her hotel room. In Bozeman.
And it all came rushing back. She sighed, wiped her hands across her face and through her hair, blinked a few more times. She pulled her knees up to her chest under the blankets, resting her forearms on them and gazing around the room. It wasn’t usually this hard to wake up. What time was it?
Early, according to the bedside clock. She groaned. This was way too early, even for her and her morning-person tendencies.
She lay back down and pulled the blankets up to her neck, turning away from the blinding sun. It was too early to get out of bed, even to close the privacy curtains.
A knock sounded at the door, and Kayla groaned again, mumbling “go away” to whoever was interrupting her sleep—er, waking.
The knock sounded again, more insistent. Kayla flung off the bed covers, swung her legs off the bed, then pushed herself up with both arms to a sitting position. With her feet finally on the ground, she opened her eyes.
There was that incessant knock again, followed by a “Kayla?”
Kayla jolted to her feet. Grady? What was he doing up this early?
“Coming!” she called as she reached for the sweatshirt laying on top of her suitcase. Grady didn’t need to see the ratty T-shirt she slept in.
She swung open the door, probably a little too harshly. Groggy to wide awake in 1.9 seconds’ll do that to a person. “Grady? What are . . . ?” Then she noticed the expression on his unshaven face, one she’d seen only twice before, both much too recently.
When Mandy had been attacked, when they’d first found Justin’s parents . . . “Grady, what’s wrong?” Her heart pounded erratically in her chest.
“It’s Justin.”
“What . . . is he okay?”
“He’s missing.”
Kayla didn’t hesitate. “Give me ten minutes.”
“Meet me in Mandy’s room.”
Kayla hurried back into the room to get the quickest shower on record—not overlooking that fact that Grady had said “Mandy’s” room.
That didn’t bode well.
“Mandy?”
Kayla, in khaki shorts and a loose T-shirt just nine minutes later, pushed open her friend’s hotel room door, thankful that Grady’d had the foresight to prevent the door from closing with its own lock. As Kayla entered the still-dark room, Mandy lifted her tear-stained eyes to meet Kayla’s gaze. Kayla crossed the room as fast as she could and took a seat on the bed next to Mandy, draping an arm across her friend’s shoulders. “What happened?”
Mandy sniffed. “Justin’s gone. I don’t know where. I woke up and he was just . . . gone.” A fresh gush of tears spilled down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands.
Kayla pulled her closer and looked over at Grady, who was sitting across the room. She wished Grady could read her mind, though she wasn’t even sure what she was thinking. She just knew they needed to do something, and fast. Mandy didn’t need this, especially now.
For a second, Grady appeared to be just as lost as Kayla was. Then something in his eyes changed, and he ran out of the room.
What was he up to?
Fortunately, Grady returned what had to be only a few minutes later, though it seemed like an eternity to Kayla. “What’s going on, Grady?”
Mandy looked up at the sound of Kayla’s voice, her eyes flying to Grady’s face. Kayla felt her friend’s body tense under her arm. Grady, please have something—anything, she begged wordles
sly.
Grady’s look couldn’t really be described as a smile, or a grimace, but Kayla definitely saw something there, something that released the tightness in her chest the slightest bit. “I just spoke with Dr. Coolidge. He said that Justin was there fifteen minutes ago.” Mandy gasped. “He said that Justin had already left, but maybe we can start there. Not really sure how much we’ll be able to find out, though.” Grady frowned.
Mandy jumped to her feet. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Then she looked down at her pajama pants and top as if noticing them for the first time. “Uh . . . give me a few minutes.” She offered a sad half-smile, then headed for the bathroom.
They rendezvoused at the Jeep in less than five minutes. Mandy appeared wearing dark jeans and a fitted black T-shirt, her hair thrown up in a messy ponytail. She jumped in the backseat before the rest of them could even open their doors. Kayla noticed a strange energy about her, almost as if she were bouncing up and down, but not quite.
Grady threw the vehicle into reverse, then headed to the entrance of the hospital.
The doctor was waiting for them. He rushed over to them as soon as they burst through the ICU doors, quickly leading them to Roger’s room. Just before they reached the doorway, Dr. Coolidge turned to them. “Justin was here less than thirty minutes ago. He seemed distant, distracted—understandably, I suppose.” He sighed. “He went in to see his father. Then, a few minutes after he arrived, Justin just suddenly ran out. We don’t know why.”
Grady nodded for the group. “Thank you, Doctor. We appreciate you letting us know. We just really need to find him, and this was the first place we thought to look.” He glanced over at Mandy. “We won’t be long, I promise.”
Dr. Coolidge nodded and headed back toward the lobby.
CHAPTER 23