There were only two things keeping him in the tree. The first was the one order he had to follow to not be detected. Even if the group never caught up to him, they would still be aware of his presence which was enough for Marcus to not want to risk moving. That wasn’t even his main concern. There was only one direction he could head. The southern and northern routes were blocked by hillside which would make his attempt to flee even more difficult. To head west would be to head toward the village this group came from which would mean he could be seen by others of their tribe. That would leave his only option of running east toward Leena’s village.
Even if he turned south at the stream where the hillside was not as steep, there was no guarantee all of the warriors in pursuit would follow him. Marcus was unaware if they knew about her village, but none of them had thought about it since they arrived near him. It was a risk he couldn’t chance. The last thing he would ever want to do was bring more hardship to Leena’s life.
They were on an expedition to a salty spring, and this was the first phase of their journey. There would be several more nights spent camped along the way before they made it to their destination. The group would spend several weeks there gathering supplies and hunting before making their way back to their village. All Marcus had to do was survive the night in the tree, and they would depart in the early morning.
It felt impossible many times throughout the night. Two men were on guard at all times taking turns on watch with the rest. Only the women were allowed to sleep undisturbed. Several times he felt like he would not be able to hold out long enough. At those moments, he let his mind wander to his beloved Leena, and the visions of her in his mind would give him the strength to keep going.
In the hour before dawn, he stretched each limb carefully one at a time. His bones and muscles were stiff and achy from being cramped together and tightly wound around the tree. It did little to increase his comfort more than a few minutes.
Light started to break through the trees illuminating the ground far off below him. The group awakened and packed up their camp while a meal was prepared. Minutes seemed to stretch out forever, but soon the group was on their way through the valley.
Marcus waited until he was certain it was safe then waited some more. After what he had already endured, staying in the tree a little longer to be assured would be child’s play. When he did begin to stretch and move before his descent, the pain was enough for him to consider jumping to the ground. He would survive the fall, and his body would heal fast enough. It wouldn’t do. There would be a risk the he would be heard by someone or something who may come to investigate. In that case, it would be hard for him to flee with the injuries he’d suffer.
The climb down was much slower than his ascent had been because of how difficult it proved to get his limbs in working order again. It took him around twenty minutes, but his feet were once more on solid ground. He stretched for quite some time before beginning the long walk back. The thought of finding a spot to rest nearby was a constant in his mind, but he wouldn’t be able to fully relax until he made it to the familiarity of his tree.
Marcus had cut the distance in half by the time the aches and pains in his body wore away. The only nuisances he had left to deal with were exhaustion and hunger. Stopping to survey his surroundings he checked for more travelers in the area not wanting to make the same mistake as he had last evening. Certain there was no reason for concern, he took off a sprint making it home in record time.
As he laid down in the hollow trunk, he thought about how narrowly he had escaped. It was entirely his fault. He had grown complacent in this spot near the little village. Their routine was well known to him, and he could enjoy the area within several miles at a leisurely pace knowing he would not be seen. This reinforced that it was time to move on. He couldn’t let a lapse like this happen again for he might not be as lucky. A new terrain with new people to study would sharpen his senses and keep him alert. It would be safest, but it would mean leaving Leena behind. The last thought he had before passing out into the longest sleep he’d had since arriving was that if he never attempted to go that far again, he would be safe amongst the small piece of land he knew.
Chapter Eight
Lilah sat on the porch swing with her coffee and a blanket draped over her. It was still dark outside. In a few weeks, daylight savings would have the sun rising by now. She looked out over the horizon trying to figure out which way was east.
“Sunrise to your left,” she heard a man say. She turned and saw her Uncle Todd step outside followed by her mom.
“Can’t sleep?” her mom asked.
“I did for a bit, but when I woke up...” Lilah shook her head. “It’s just so sad.”
“What is?” Abby passed Todd a confusing look.
“The tsunami,” she looked at them surprised they didn’t know.
“There was a tsunami?” her Uncle Todd asked.
Lilah nodded.
“I haven’t even turned the TV on yet to hear the news,” he said, walking to the rail.
Lilah didn’t say anything. She hadn’t watched the news either.
“How did you hear about it then?” he asked.
Lilah just looked at him. She glanced at her mom then looked back at her cup hoping to find an answer inside.
“Lilah?” her mother said her name more as a question.
“I…” Lilah wasn’t sure how to answer. “I heard it.”
“You heard it?” her mom sat next to her, and her Uncle Todd knelt down next to the swing.
“You could hear the tsunami?” His interest seemed genuine, but it worried Lilah.
“No, not the tsunami.”
“Then what did you hear?” he shifted around and sat on the porch in front of her with his back to the railing.
“The people,” she answered as her mom took her hand.
“I woke up, and the voices…” Lilah trailed off again. Tears were in her eyes at the memory of the screams. The knowledge that her ability to hear them must be somehow unusual only added to her distress.
“I could hear all of these voices at once. It was like an extraordinarily loud hum. If I try now, I can hear it still. It’s so loud like everyone is talking over everyone else, but some voices are the loudest or more frantic.”
“And that’s how you know about it? You heard,” her mom paused, thinking of how to finish her question. “You heard the victims?”
“Yes.”
Her mom squeezed her hand and put her other hand around her shoulders giving her a half hug. Todd wasn’t saying anything, and Lilah couldn’t hear his thoughts.
“Is this different too?” she finally asked them.
“No, not really,” her uncle stood back up and walked to the steps of the porch looking around before coming back toward her.
“I can listen now and hear the people who are trapped, or the thoughts of those whose loved ones are missing. It’s just that I usually don’t try to hear their thoughts until after I hear about the disaster. Not the other way around.”
Lilah leaned forward and looked back at her mom. “So this is different,” she repeated, certain this time.
“You just have to learn to control it, Lilah. That’s all,” Abby tried to reassure her. “You were flipped like a switch, remember? Ours had to gradually warm up like an oven. We learned control as our powers grew. It is different, but it’s not a difference to be concerned about.”
Lilah couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw her mom and uncle exchange a fleeting worried look. She tried, but they definitely weren’t allowing her access to their thoughts either. She headed back inside to her room not sure she wanted answers to the questions that plagued her.
Lilah looked at her clothes from the night before tossed in a heap on the floor. There were dirt and grass stains and a few blades of grass still managed to cling tightly. Their lifestyle meant they always had to be ready to pack light which means clothes were limited.
‘I guess its laundry da
y,’ she sighed as she gathered the pile and the rest of her clothes. She walked down the back stairs to the utility room where the washer and dryer were hooked up. ‘Good. No one else is using it.’
Most of her family were still asleep, but a few had wandered down the stairs. She could hear them in the kitchen, but it was hard to tell if she was listening in on thoughts or conversation. The tsunami was the main topic of conversation this morning. Lilah was a close second. There seemed to be a lot of curiosity concerning how quickly her powers came flooding in last night. They had to be unaware she was close enough to hear them which means she managed to turn her thoughts off without intending to again.
She sighed and leaned onto the washing machine with her head hung down. This was too much for her to deal with right now. Between her powers, learning the truth about the Elementals, and the boy she quite literally couldn’t get out of her head, she had enough going on without having to worry about if she was some kind of freak. More than she already was given her family.
Lilah fumbled with her clothes turning them right-side out and checking pockets. That’s when she found the paper she had tucked away the night before. She had forgotten all about Jackson’s note. Lilah finished starting her wash then darted back upstairs. She laid on her bed and carefully unfolded it.
Jackson was in his garage working on his 1979 Firebird. Lilah knew this because she had been able to sense him all morning. It was almost impossible not to spy. She didn’t have to try to have the images start playing in her mind. In fact, she had to force it to turn off with great difficulty, and even then, she still knew what he was doing. The only time it dulled was when she focused on something else, but that was hard too. Distractions kept interrupting her concentration bringing Jackson back to the forefront.
Written on the paper was his number. Lilah’s heartrate quickened, and she felt her face flush. She had met many good looking guys in her life, but none of them had interested her. Her parents were okay with her socializing. She had attended school dances and had even dated. There just hadn’t been anyone that really caught her eye regardless of how handsome, friendly or caring he was. One quality of Air is they mate for life.
‘Is that why I feel this way? Could I have possibly found my match this young?’ She knew her mom was over two hundred and fifty years old before she met her dad. Lilah shook off the thought. ‘Unlikely. It’s probably just nerves and stress from everything else I’ve dealt with in the last twenty four hours.’
Lilah picked up her phone and added his number. She pulled up a new text screen and stared at the phone for several minutes. She didn’t know what to say. She set the phone down thinking maybe this was a bad idea. It definitely was bad timing. She picked it back up immediately and typed, “Hey. It’s Lilah…from the restaurant.”
‘Send,’ she thought as she pushed the button and listened to the phone chime the notification. She kept the phone in her hands intent on the screen and was about to go find something distracting while she waited for a response when she saw the three dots.
‘He’s typing!’ Lilah felt the nervous excitement grow.
“Hi. I wasn’t sure if I would hear from you. How you feeling today?”
“Good. Better. Thanks for helping last night.”
“It was nothing. Glad I was there.”
Lilah felt a growing panic. She’d never been in this position before. She finally met someone she wanted to talk to, and she couldn’t think of anything to say that didn’t sound dumb. As hard as she tried to think of something, her mind kept going blank.
He texted again, “A bunch of us are going to a party tonight. It’s an annual bonfire in the country in honor of Halloween next week. Want to go?”
Lilah squealed then typed, “Sounds fun.”
“So that’s a yes?”
“Yes.”
“I can pick you up at 7?”
More panic. Her mom would never agree to this. “7…at the restaurant. Meet you there.”
“I’ll see you then.”
Lilah set the phone down and rolled over to stifle a scream into her pillow. She had a little over twelve hours to figure out how she was going to manage to get out of the house tonight to see Jackson.
“No,” Abby’s voice was firm. For a moment, Lilah regretted not choosing to sneak out again.
“Mom,” she began.
“Absolutely not, Lilah!” her mom’s anger was growing.
Lilah glanced at her Uncle Todd who quickly shot her a look saying he was not getting into this conversation. “Wouldn’t it be a good thing?’ she asked.
Her mom looked at her like she had suddenly sprouted Spock ears and a Pinocchio nose. “After last night, you guys were worried about people talking. So let me stop the gossip, or at least put a spin on it.”
Lilah could tell her uncle was processing the idea as a good proposal, but his words didn’t match his thoughts. “I’m sorry, Lilah, but we have no idea what’s going on or when we will be needed. We need to stay here, stay together until we know more.”
“I’ll have my phone, and you guys will know where I’m at if I’m needed,” Lilah scoffed, thinking she probably won’t even be a necessary part of anything that happens.
“We don’t even know how long we’ll be in this place, Lilah,” her uncle finally voiced his opinion. “Now isn’t the best time to make friends.”
“I know that. I do. I can’t help it. I like him.”
Abby smiled, “he was cute, wasn’t he? I can see why you’d like him.”
“It’s not that.”
Lilah stared at her glass of water concentrating on keeping her thoughts turned off while images of Jackson kept floating through her mind. It was like an endless gallery of still frames from the restaurant, and Lilah couldn’t figure out how to stop the slideshow.
“I know you’re upset, but there will be other parties. Other boys,” her mom added.
Lilah shook her head, “This one is different.”
“What do you mean?’
Lilah looked at her mom and stopped concentrating. Her mom’s expression slowly changed to surprise, and Todd sat down next to Abby on the couch. “Is that him?” her uncle asked. “In the garage?”
“Yes,” Lilah answered.
“You’re stalking him?” her mother teased.
Lilah felt her cheeks turn red. “I’m not trying to. I can’t turn it off.”
“You see him all the time?” she asked.
“Yes, even when I’m listening to others’ thoughts or talking to you or going to the bathroom!” Lilah yelled out exasperated. “Once I learned to shut out the crowd of voices in my head this morning, he was still there, and I can’t get him out of my mind no matter how hard I try.”
Abby and Todd didn’t say anything for several minutes. Lilah leaned back on the recliner with her eyes closed watching Jackson work on an old car with a friend. They were talking and laughing like what Lilah assumed normal people would do.
Her uncle interrupted her thoughts, “Do you think...?”
Lilah opened her eyes. Her mom looked at Todd and said, “It sounds like it.”
“What?” Lilah asked.
Her uncle leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Last night at the restaurant, did you see Jackson before you passed out?”
“Yes.”
“You heard his thoughts?” he pressed on.
“Yes,” Lilah adjusted the recliner to sit up again trying to read the faces of her mom and uncle.
“Did you hear his thoughts first? Before you heard the other customers?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think,” her mom prompted. “Just try to remember.”
Lilah thought back to when she first entered the restaurant. She knew the waitress spoke to her. She had heard a few comments, but she wasn’t yet trying to determine if they were thoughts or spoken words. “I really don’t know for sure,” she finally said. “Jackson was the first person I knew I could hear what they were thinking, a
nd afterward, the thoughts of everyone become so loud and overwhelming. I just can’t be sure if his were the first.”
Silence. They were mulling over what Lilah had said.
“Well, that’s it, then,” Uncle Todd finally stated.
“Todd,” her mother begged.
“It makes sense, Abby. Everything that has happened? We couldn’t figure it out. We didn’t know what was happening or if it was connected to why Marcus wanted us here. This….THIS….makes sense of it,” he emphasized.
Her mom sighed.
“What makes sense?” Lilah asked. Then before either of them could answer, she asked, “He’s my match, isn’t he?”
Her mom collapsed into the back of the couch and some low moan escaped her lips.
“I think so,” her uncle told her.
“I had wondered that. Earlier. I’ve never reacted to anyone this way before, but I thought it was just my nerves or something. I’m still so young.”
“Yes, but everyone’s-”
“Different,” Lilah cut off her uncle. She took a sip from her glass and looked away out the window. “Jackson is my match, and that triggered everything?”
“Think of it like puberty,” her mom explained.
Lilah shot her mom a look, “You’re kidding.”
Todd laughed hard and unexpectedly causing him to cough several times to be able to regain control.
Her mom grinned and tried to choke back a laugh, “No, sweetheart, I’m not. It’s a huge change. Normally, you go through it slowly. We all…,” her mom motioned toward Todd and the other family gathered in the kitchen, “have compared it to puberty before. A second puberty. There are different signs that occur, different stages, and eventually, it’s over. You’re on the other side of it fully equipped.”
“And, honestly, I think you’re the first in the family to find their match before going through that process,” her uncle added.
Abby thought about it for a moment then nodded, “you’re right. Meeting Jackson…well, I think that triggered your Elemental puberty to commence at once.”
Air: The Elementals: Book One Page 9
