by A. Kennedy
“Hopefully, we will never see him again,” Ryan added.
My face paled just thinking of Zac. “Um, Ryan, is um ...” it felt like someone’s hand was around my throat restricting me from talking, “are you sure Zac isn’t dead?”
“Yes, I’m sure, Windy,” Ryan said in a hushed tone. “However, that isn't a good thing. He should be dead.”
“Oh,” I sighed. I didn’t know what consumed me more, fear or relief. Zac, the man I once knew, was good, and a small part of me still loved him. The other part of me wanted the monster dead. He was the exact guy my dad warned me about. He was too myopic to realize that Manipulators like me posed no threat to him, but he would kill us all. Including me. How could he want to kill someone he once loved so much he was willing to marry them? I guess nothing is ever unconditional. “We weren’t in the house for a full ten minutes. How did you know we needed help?”
Ryan shrugged. “I could feel a change in the air. I knew immediately something was wrong.”
All these things that I should have known and understood about the Manipulator world, yet I had no clue. I guess that’s one reason I should never have stopped training. But I didn’t have a trainer. I shook my head and looked out the window. A feeling of loss engulfed me as I watched the trees blur and turn into cornfields. I thought I had everything figured out two nights ago. I was going to finish school, start my career, and then maybe settle down, marry and who knows, have a couple of kids. I was running from that life. Running from my future. Doug said I needed to stay in Tybee for a while, so that meant I would probably miss my exams and have to redo all the classes. My job would even fire me and state no call, no show. How would that look to possible future employers? Feeling like a failure, in my book, was one of the worst feelings in the world. I wished my dad were here. He would know the right words to make me feel better. But he was not, and I had to be strong. Not just for me, but for my mom, too.
I shook my head to myself and looked over at my mom. She was looking out her window, lost in her own world. The world had taken a toll, sucking the life out of her. She defeated depression after my dad died, and then she found out she had cancer. The cancer was what really made her weak and fragile, but the doctors were confident that she would make it through the treatments without difficulty.
My mom turned and looked at me. She reached over and pulled my hand away from my mouth. I was biting my nails, a habit I've always done when I was lost in thought. “Darling, you really shouldn’t do that. It’s not good for your nails, you know?”
“I know,” I said, looking at her. I smiled. Despite her hair being gray at the roots, she looked young. No one would guess that she was nearing fifty. The chemo didn’t even drain her youthful looks. However, it drained her spirit. “I don’t realize I’m doing it.”
“Maybe we should get you the no-bite polish again.” She smiled, knowing that it didn’t work before.
“Yeah, Mom. It’ll work like it did last time, huh?” I tossed back. Her sarcasm was nice to hear again. Normally she was mopey, but today I felt as if I had my mom back, the mom before dad passed. I couldn’t help but look at her and laugh and steal another hug from the woman who was the only family I had.
Boa sat in the passenger seat. He turned around to face us before he asked, “Anyone hungry?”
I almost turned down the offer, but I had a feeling if I did, then mom would too. If there was anyone who needed to eat, she did. She was so tiny and a good fast food meal was just what she needed. “Sure, where are we going?”
“Well, there isn’t much of a selection except a McDonald’s coming up. It’ll be the last exit where we can stop and fill up too because, well, this highway doesn’t have much to offer until we get to Savannah.”
“Sounds good to me. What do you think, mom?”
“It has been a long time since I’ve had fast food; I’ll be like a kid wanting to order everything.”
“McDonald’s it is.”
“I don’t really care for McDonald's,” Ryan said.
“What?” I replied. Judging by the grin on his face, he must have been joking. Out of reaction from being teased, I reached over the seat to give him a playful shove. As my hand made contact with his shoulder, he snatched it with his own hand. I started blushing from his touch and I tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip. “Hey,” I giggled. “You can let go now,” I told him. All that did was cause his smile to grow.
“Hey man, don’t forget what I said earlier,” Boa stated toward Ryan. Ryan released my hand and his smile vanished. I was confused, and judging by the look on my mom’s face, she was too. The car became quiet until we reached McDonald’s.
“What did you say earlier?” I asked Boa.
“Don't worry about it,” Boa replied, looking out the car window.
“Does it have to do with me?”
“I said don't worry about it, Windy. If the time comes, you'll find out,” he sighed and looked back toward me.
“So it does have to do with me?” I asked already knowing the answer.
“No,” Ryan said with frustration. “It has to do with me and right now I don't want to talk about it.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Boa shook his head. Defeated, I dropped the topic, but I wouldn't forget it. I looked to see if Doug and the others had followed; they hadn't. “Where are Doug and them? Aren’t they hungry?”
“I’m sure they are starving, but we have to have them in front of us to warn us of any danger.”
“Warn us of danger?” Danger seemed to be my middle name recently. Everywhere I turned, I heard the word.
“They’re just making sure there are no roadblocks or anything like that. You know Zac has the whole state of Georgia looking for you. Which reminds me, put these on.” He handed me a pair of sunglasses and a hat in hopes that no one would think I was the girl the state was looking for.
“I don’t know Boa. You think a hat and glasses are really going to work?”
“It’ll have to do for now until we can get you some hair color. Besides, you still look pretty rough.” Boa paused and observed me. “Which makes you look completely different from the picture they have posted everywhere.”
“Oh thanks, you’re soooo sincere,” I said sarcastically.
He laughed at me before he added, “You’ve always been beautiful to me, even when you have a knot the size of my fist on the side of your head.”
I couldn’t help but laugh with him. He always dished out a compliment right before an attack. Just like the good ole’ days when we were “knee high to a grasshopper” as my dad would say.
Bellies satisfied and a full tank of gas, we were back on the road. The guys were talking, but mumbling was all I heard by the time the sound carried to my ears. The trees began to shrink into shrubs, and the horizon began to stretch further as the hills disappeared.
“Windy and Mrs. Gale, I think you two need to act like y’all are sleeping and try to hide your faces as best as possible,” Boa said, turning to face us.
“What? Why?” I exhaled.
“Um, because we are coming up on a road block,” Boa said with irritation. “Did you not just hear Ryan on the phone?”
“Does it look like I listen to everything y'all ramble on about up there?”
He rolled his brown eyes, either trying to think of a comeback or annoyed. I wasn’t sure. He sighed, “We don’t have time for specifics. It’s about a mile up the road and they are checking as many cars as they can. Windy, they are looking for you.”
“Wha-what?” I stuttered.
“Here, take this, Mrs. Gale.” He handed her a blanket. “Cover up your face as best as you can, and Windy tilt your hat a little so that way they can’t get a good look at your face. And if for whatever reason they try to wake you up, don’t budge. Make them believe that y’all are out and hard to wake up,” Boa finished.
Mom and I situated ourselves about the time Ryan started to slow down. The slower he went, the faster my heart seemed to
go. I felt as if I were running from Doug in the woods all over again, except there were others who were at risk for trying to rescue me. That thought scared me more than ever. My mom grabbed my hand under the blanket and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
When we came to a complete stop, I heard Ryan roll down his window. I tried to slow my breathing down as best as I could.
“Where you heading to, sir?” a strange voice asked Ryan.
“Tybee Island,” Ryan replied coolly.
“Business or fun?”
“Both.”
The officer chuckled. “I call those workcations. I’m gonna need to see your license and insurance before you can continue.”
“Yes, sir.”
I heard Boa shuffling through the glove compartment looking for the insurance. Apparently, he found it because the cop said, “thank you” and walked away from the car. All was quiet, and it seemed like the police officer was taking forever to return to the car. When he finally did, he told Ryan, “I need you to pull over to the shoulder of the road. We have to check you out further.”
Fear crept up my back and sunk into my stomach. My body began to shiver as I imagined the entire carload being arrested for possible murder and kidnapping. As we pulled over to the side, Ryan said to Boa, “Damn, the wind is really crazy today, huh? I wish it would calm down.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what might be going on outside the car. I was too scared to look, so I took several deep breaths and thought of a happy place to try to get my mind off the current situation. The beach. The sand in between my toes. The waves crashing. The wind blowing my hair. The smell of the salty air. The sun was rising over the endless water. Dolphins soared out of the waves. I heard voices, but they were at a distance. Someone nudged me, and I watched my vision disappear.
“Windy, we're good,” I heard my mom murmur.
I sat up and noticed the car was in motion. “They let us go?”
The guys up front started laughing at me. “Yeah, we just had an outdated insurance card so they had to run the tag. That was all,” Boa said.
“Really?” My face twisted in confusion. “But isn't the car in my dad's name?”
“Nope. It's under another name.” I could hear Boa smiling.
“Who's?”
“Why, Doug's, of course,” Ryan answered.
“So like that, they ran the plate and then we were good to go?” I said in disbelief.
“Yeah, they studied y’all two but then turned back to us and said we were good after they ran the plate.” Ryan acted as if the stop was nothing. “I did get reprimanded for not having a current insurance card.”
Stopping again was no longer an option for us. We slipped through the police once. Meeting them again was not a risk we wanted to take. When we passed through Savanah, the sun was completely up and the historical town was just beginning to wake. The town, with live oaks and Spanish moss growing all over the limbs at every corner and every square, was just as I remembered. You didn't have to have a tour guide to know that this city was old and rich with history. Most of the buildings that lined the streets were built in the 1700s and 1800s. The cemetery was home to some of the first settlers, and if you looked long enough, you could find ghosts walking with the living, or so people said.
The historical district of Savannah slipped out of sight as the marshy water began to line the road. We came to a bridge that took us from the mainland to the island. The car wandered off the highway and took streets that barely held two vehicles. We pulled up to a small condo, located at the north end of the island.
“Finally,” I huffed. I was safe. My mom was safe. We were safe. The little brown condo faced a channel of water that came from the Savannah River.
“I know what you mean,” Boa replied.
We stepped out of the car and started grabbing what few things we packed. “Who's all staying here?” I asked no one in particular.
“Us, Doug's group and someone Doug brought to help you.” Ryan stood tall and seemed flustered with his own answer.
With Boa and Ryan still gathering their belongings, I walked inside. A long hall that had doors on either side greeted me. Uncertain where to go, I walked down the hallway and called for Doug. When I got to the second door on the left of the hall, a tall, slender, solid man stepped out. Backing away, uncertain, I watched as he looked me over from head to toe and grinned.
“I-I was looking for Doug,” I said, stumbling over my words.
“He's back here.” He brushed his hand through his short blonde hair and started down the hallway. Following the intimidating stranger, we found Doug in the kitchen. The stranger went over to Doug and patted him on the back, “Man, how did you know I needed someone to snuggle with at night?”
“Excuse me? Did I just hear you right?” My words were still shaky, which irritated me.
The arrogant guy turned around, his gray eyes smiling, “Awe, sweetie don't be so loathsome. I don't say that about just any girl.” He whistled as he studied my face. “Look at that shiner.”
My face began to burn and my hand instinctively covered my bruise on the side of my face.
“Knock it off, Jason,” I heard Boa from behind me. “Windy, this is Jason, the guy who is going to be teaching you to control your powers.”
My jaw dropped in disbelief. Jason found it amusing and began to laugh. “Aw, babe, it’s not that bad. Women die to have alone time with me, and soon it’ll just be you and me. We could make people jealous, you know?” He winked.
I turned to look at Boa so I didn’t have to look at Jason. “There is no way I am working with this prick.”
Ryan walked into the room to hear the remark and whispered in my ear, “It’s not that bad. You just have to get past his remarks, and he is actually a cool guy to be around. I promise if he lays a hand on you in any way that makes you uncomfortable, I’ll drown him. Simple as that.” His breath on my neck was sending shivers from the top of my head all the way to my toes and did nothing to stop my irritation.
“Boys,” Doug warned. “Boa, show Windy where she'll be sleeping.”
“Come on,” Boa grabbed my hand and led me down the hall to my room.
It had two twin beds, and my mom occupied one of them. She was smiling a genuine smile. “Oh, Windy,” she said delighted. “I know we are in hiding, but I think I could hide here forever.”
I smiled at my mom’s delight. “It’s nice. Reminds me of the condos Dad used to get when we would visit here.”
“One of the reasons I feel so comfortable.” She sat on her bed and gazed out the window. It happened every time I mentioned Dad. Old memories instantly consumed her, and she seemed to withdraw from the world.
“Mom, are you going to be okay here?” I said in a whisper as I looked into her teary eyes.
She nodded her head and said, “Baby girl, I’ll be fine. Just lost in some old memories; lost and extremely exhausted. Why don’t you go see what the boys are up to and leave me to take a nap.”
I walked toward the mini kitchen where I heard the guys debating about which actresses and singers they thought looked hotter.
“For an older woman, I’d prefer Natalie Portman,” Ryan said.
“Prefer her over Megan Fox?” Boa responded, stunned.
Boa and Ryan weren’t talking like this earlier, but I guess if Jason is in the mix, the conversation becomes shallow. I looked at each guy with disgust. Seeing me walk in, Boa immediately had a guilty face. Ryan had his normal grin, and Jason looked at me as if I were a prize he had won. “Can’t you guys talk about something else?”
Jason, with raised eyebrows, spoke first, “We could talk about you.”
Ryan turned toward Jason and with a calm yet threatening voice said, “Never talk to her like that again. I wasn’t kidding when I said I would drown you.”
“Wow, man. Calm down. Sorry, I didn’t realize,” Jason stopped and studied Ryan and his balled fists for a minute before turning to me and studied my blushing face. “Look, Ryan, I’
ll drop the jokes, but don’t get too attached. You’d have a better chance with Natalie Portman. You know you can’t—”
“Damn it, I know!” Ryan yelled. His face filled with anger as he shoved Jason back. He didn’t even look at me when he walked by to go outside.
Before I could react to what had unfolded before me, Boa butted in and said, “So, Windy, have you met Jason before?”
I glared at Jason. “Not ‘til today, and that was too soon.”
“Oh babe, that truly hurt,” Jason replied trying to look scorned.
Boa cleared his throat and turned to Jason. “Look, dude, respect this one. She may end up kicking your ass. I’ve seen what she can do without training.”
“Yeah, we’ll see,” Jason said, winking at me.
Doug entered from the sliding glass door that led to the deck overlooking the river and addressed everyone in the room. “Time for the meeting. Everyone ready?”
“The what?” I spat out. “Am I going?”
Doug nodded, “I wouldn’t dare show up without you.”
My mouth twitched with uncertainty. “But I thought I needed to stay hidden—you know, protected.”
“And you are being protected,” Doug said as if it should be common knowledge. “You have five guys ready to fight for you. And you have an entire society that has been anticipating your arrival for a while.”
I took in a deep breath that caused me to cough. He had to be kidding. The entire Society had been waiting for me. How could I meet them looking like I did? “I’m not ready. All I have is this humongous t-shirt and sweatpants.”
Doug didn’t respond; he smiled and nodded toward Jason who walked up beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I tried brushing it off, but he was prepared for such a move because his arm wouldn’t budge.
Acting like Sherlock Holmes, he said, “Don’t worry, dear Watson. I put some clothes in your closet.”
“But how ... you don’t ... wait ... what?”
The arrogant chap was laughing at me as he grabbed my arm and half dragged me to the room I was staying in. I looked back to see Boa’s hands covering his face and Doug trying to stifle a laugh. I walked quietly into the room to avoid disturbing my mom. With Jason right next to me, I went to the closet, and my chin dropped in surprise. The closet was full of new clothes. “Oh, wow.” I looked at Jason who was smiling, but not like his previous pompous grin. “Thank you,” I managed to say.
