by SM Olivier
“Sam,” I yelled, breaking his concentration. Ford started to plummet at an alarming speed down towards the earth.
Rachel tackled the young girl just as I heard the gasp from my connections.
“Holy crap! He can fly,” Sierra breathed out in wonder.
I watched in shock as Ford flew towards us. As he drew closer, I could see shock and elation light up his features.
Chapter 20
“They can’t get away with this,” I said between clenched teeth. “They left all these children here to fend for themselves and tucking tail and running.”
I knelt down from where I was at, brushing Noah away as I wrapped the wound on my arm. It wasn’t deep but it definitely stung. I hissed as I wrapped it as tight as possible. “Tend to the others first,” I explained as I gave him a pointed look.
Noah gave me a look of frustration but nodded.
My energy was beginning to wane from the tight hold I had on the teens surrounding us.
“We need to take them down,” Jemmy said grimly as she took Sierra’s hand and guided her towards Gavin.
I was confused by her intentions until I saw her narrow her eyes and glare at the retreating helicopter. I watched in shock as the helicopter began to sway back and forth with alarming ferocity. It was spinning out of control, and I knew it was Jemmy and Gavin that had taken ahold of their electrical panels with the help of Sierra increasing their powers from this distance.
“Now,” Jemmy yelled right before the helicopter came plummeting down to the ground. It erupted in a ball of flames within seconds.
“We need the sweepers,” Remy said grimly into the headset.
“We see,” Will stated just as gravely as he spoke back into our earpieces. “Noah,” Will stated.
“Yes, Pops,” Noah responded austerely. “Bring the kit out. There’s ten vials of sedatives in there. Administer them to the most volatile teens. Place them on the chopper coming back. We have another chopper in route.”
“You want to take them back with us?” a horrified voice said in our ear pieces. I didn’t recognize the voice, so I assumed it was from the Illinois team.
“We can’t neutralize them, and they’re just children,” Sierra snapped back.
Noah looked at me hesitantly. “Can I break the connection?”
I closed my eyes. I knew my gift was contained with my other connections surrounding me. “I’m fine. We’re fine. I’ll keep them occupied.”
“Come here,” I commanded the thirty or so teens surrounding us. They all started walking towards us. “Sit,” I instructed them. They all sat in a perfect line in front of us.
Noah nodded before reaching into his pack and extracting a canvas pouch.
“When did Dad give you that?” Jaxson asked suspiciously.
Noah shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve had it for a while.”
The other teams came out of the woods, circling us. Some of them seemed transfixed and horrified at the burning building in front of us and the downed helicopter approximately one hundred yards away from us.
“Someone needs to see if there are any survivors,” Terrance muttered as he stared at the building.
“There are,” the man with the x-ray vison gasped in horror.
“Let’s go,” the man with the ability to manipulate water stated as he started to run towards the building.
A group of gifted jogged after him including Gavin, Marcus, and Sierra. “Be careful,” Remy stated. “We don’t know when or if the building will collapse.”
“Copy that,” Gavin yelled back over his shoulder.
Yaris knelt down beside one of the teens, extracting a canvas pouch much like Noah’s. Jace looked at him with a raised brow.
He shrugged. “I was a medic in the Army before I joined this outfit. I’m no Noah but I can navigate around this,” he stated with a wry grin as he injected the first teen. It didn’t take long for the injections to take effect before he slumped down.
Remy knelt down and picked him up. “We need five people to return back to the choppers to accompany them back to base and restrain them. I think most of them have physical gifts but don’t take them for granted.”
“They’re so young,” a Non muttered in a revulsion as he lifted the first teen Noah had injected.
“Horatio kidnapped, bought, and rescued most of them. He knew if he indoctrinated them early they can be loyal soldiers,” Troy explained as he lifted the next teen Yaris administered the sedative to.
“This is why they need to be stopped,” Spencer said grimly.
“My thoughts exactly,” another Non nodded.
“I’ll go back to base with them,” Terrance volunteered. “Most of my team is here. Can you ensure Potter, Bryant, and Harrison return on another chopper?”
“Will do,” Jace reassured him.
“If they are child soldiers, why are we taking them back with us?” the teacher asked barely repressing a shudder.
“Even dogs taught how to fight can be rehabilitated,” Drake explained to her patiently. “They’ve been brainwashed and abused. What should we do with them?”
She shrugged, seemly chastised as she turned to look at the wreckage of the helicopter.
Sounds of the other helicopter coming filled the air as more of the teens were administered the shot. We carried the teens off. Some of us pairing up to do so. I was exhausted from using my gifts too much, so there was no way I was going to tap into my gifts any longer.
“Maybe you should rest,” Jace suggested gently as he helped Gavin with one of the people that was rescued from the building.
I shook my head resolutely. “I’ll stop when I need to.”
“You need to get your wound looked at,” Remy frowned at me.
I looked down at the bandage on my arm and shrugged. “It can wait.”
“I can fly,” Ford said in wonder as he took his seat across from me. I was leaning against Noah, seeking his warmth as he placed his healing hands upon me.
“We saw that,” Jaxson said with a grin. “I don’t think I ever seen a gifted fly.”
“He doesn’t even have wings,” Yaris grunted as he looked at Ford a bit suspiciously.
“My brother and Dad aren’t going to believe this,” Ford said with bemusement. “When my gifts didn’t manifest as a teen, I didn’t think I was going to get them. By the time I joined the marines at eighteen, I’d given up all hope.”
“How does that even work?” Spencer asked. “As a boy, everyone raved about how strong and fast my Grandma’s plant grew. When I was teen, I caught her growing them. She finally confided in me with her secret. I never realized how many…gifted people were out there. I know she thought she was the only one out there.”
“Generally, our gifts manifest as teens,” Drake began to explain as he linked his hand with mine, gently stroking my arm. “It’s also in a time we most need them, if we have them within.” He looked over at Ford. “I imagine you never had the need to…fly. It’s not a common gift, and one that can easily be kept dormant forever.”
Ford mulled that over for some time. “Truthfully, I was always afraid of heights until I joined the marines. Then when heights were required, safety devices were present, so I didn’t ever need it.”
“So, it’s a possibility a lot of people have gifts that they aren’t aware of…” Yaris almost seemed excited by the prospect. “My uncle is capable of walking through physical objects; walls, doors, trees. Can I…” he almost seemed embarrassed by his train of thoughts.
“You do,” Gavin and Herman said simultaneously.
“Although it’s no guarantee that you have the same gift,” Gavin added.
“So, don’t go charging walls,” Herman gave him a lopsided grin.
Yaris looked away seemingly embarrassed.
“Oh, my goodness you’ve tried!” Jemmy cackled.
Those of us within earshot laughed. My overactive imagination imagined the shorter version of Mr. Clean running full force at a wall. I stifled my
laughter behind my hands.
“You’re fucking with me,” Yaris said narrowing his eyes on them, clearly deflecting the attention away.
“We aren’t,” Gavin held up his hands and looked over at Spencer. “You do, too.”
“What?” Spencer leaned over in excitement.
“We don’t know,” Herman said. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s as big as flying or anything most of us can do, but you definitely have a gift.”
“I think you both may be a four or five, at best,” Gavin said sympathetically.
“What does that even mean?” another one of the Nons asked leaning forward.
“You know Usain Bolt?” Drake asked as he leaned forward.
“The Olympic athlete?” he asked in confusion.
Drake nodded. “He’s more than likely a one or two. Half of the people that have gifts go their whole lives without even knowing it. Speed is a gift but not one person would take notice of it. Most people count his speed because of his natural athleticism and drive. His natural athleticism is actually his gift.”
“Do…do I have it?” the Non-asked hopefully.
“No,” Sierra answered softly. “You were never aware of the gifted until you met your sister in law. Typically speaking, gifts are passed down through blood lines. If you don’t have a blood relative with a gift, you are highly unlikely to have any.”
“How can we tell what we have?” Spencer asked as he looked over at us.
Gavin looked over at Drake, deferring to his expertise. “As far as I know, there isn’t anyone that can tell you exactly what you have. Herman can feel gifts, Gavin can see gifts, and Sierra can boost gifts. They can sense any gifted but they are unable to say what they are.”
“Do you think you can boost us?” Yaris asked clearly excited to find out he was gifted.
Sierra shook her head. “I’m sorry, no. Without you knowing what it is and having some control of it, I can’t help you.”
“Pops may be able to,” I said somewhat grimly. “It was something he use to do…”
“I do think it’s time to let Pops know,” Troy cleared his throats. “If we already have gifted individuals in our training program, then we might as well start utilizing them if we can figure out what their gifts are.”
“I can fly,” Ford said proudly as he held up his hands. A few of us groaned while the others laughed.
***
“Wake up! Wake up!” a chipper voice crowed in my ear.
I sat up with a start and looked around. I was disoriented for a moment and had to catch my bearings. Ella and Nadia were perched on the end of the bed, and Jemmy and Rachel were in my doorway. Everyone looked too…well, awake.
I looked down at my watch and groaned. It was only eleven. I hadn’t fallen asleep until nine. We had to process all the teens, and I wanted to ensure that the few people that got injured were mending before I went to bed.
When I returned to the apartment, I immediately crashed into bed with Jace. I reached back to touch him but was surprised to find his spot empty beside me.
“He’s already up and gone,” Jemmy stated smugly. “Get up, get dressed, let’s bounce. We got shopping to do.”
“I’m hungry,” Ella said plaintively.
“Me too!” Nadia exclaimed loudly.
“I need a shower,” I groaned, smelling the faint smell of smoke on me. “Can you give me thirty minutes? Go grab a snack from the DFAC, and I’ll meet you there.”
“We can find a snack here,” Jemmy said with a shrug.
“No, you can’t,” I stood up stretching. “We’re pretty much wiped out of everything in both apartments. Between Kade, Micah, and Patrick, all the food disappears. We need to go grocery shopping.”
“We need to go real shopping. Christmas is less than one month away, and we have a large shopping list,” Rachel demanded with exaggeration.
“The boys can go tomorrow when they go shopping,” Jemmy volunteered.
“We can squeeze in grocery shopping today,” I said with a feigned eyeroll. “Has anyone even thought about the logistics of Christmas shopping? We have no room to put everything as it is.”
“My Dad’s taken care of that,” Victoria said quietly as she stepped forward.
I was surprised to see the teen behind Jemmy and Rachel.
“Her Dad was called back to Washington,” Rachel said. “And her caretaker won’t be hear until Monday. My Dad volunteered to watch her until her people were in place. But let’s be real,” Rachel scoffed. “No teenage girl wants to hang out with my Dad and brother if they can go out shopping.”
“Awesome,” I said genuinely. I could understand her angst. I could see how she could struggle with this. I wanted her to feel more comfortable here. “What’s your Dad working on?” I asked Victoria.
“He’s insisting that the family units get more room. Did you know that there are floors below us that are completely empty? Did you know that there’s a passage that connects to the adjoining mountain that is completely empty? It’s identical to this facility. Originally when they built this, it was supposed to house close to fifteen hundred people, and we’re only at twenty percent of the room utilized,” Victoria explained, and I realized after one day, the boys had already helped her shed some of her prickly shell.
I was aware that there were plenty of floors not being utilized. I just hadn’t realized to what magnitude. The boys had already found those levels but were disappointed to find them all empty. With the exception of the ground floor, nothing else was used. I was completely unaware of an additional passage to another mountain, though.
“Well, that will be nice,” Jemmy said enthusiastically. “I think Sierra and I finally got Gavin to commit to moving in as a…family.”
“Oh yeah?” I said with a smile. “That’s awesome for you guys!”
Jemmy nodded, a small shadow crossing her face. “It’s a step in the right direction.”
“Well, if you want to get some shopping done, maybe you should let me get in that shower,” I said reluctantly as I looked longingly at the bed again.
“Can we get some food?” Ella whined.
“Yes, you little heathen,” Rachel joked. “Let’s get some food. Thirty minutes and we’ll be back.” Rachel ushered the girls out of the room and out of the apartment.
“Thanks,” I yawned loudly as I padded over to the hallway closet.
I grabbed my clothing and threw it into Noah and Jaxson’s room. I fully expected to see Jaxson still asleep. They were already gone too. I shook my head and peered into Drake and Troy’s room. They weren’t there either. We had all returned back to the apartment together with the exception of Noah. I wondered why they didn’t wake me. Knowing them, they probably assumed I needed my sleep more. Truth be told, that wasn’t the only thing I needed.
I stepped into the shower and groaned as the warm water hit my skin. It felt delightful and much needed. There was no way I could have taken one last night. Scratch that—this morning.
After several minutes of standing under the water, I knew I had to get out or the girls were going to hunt me down. I reluctantly turned off the water and grabbed my towel. I exited the bathroom and entered Jaxson and Noah’s room. I was surprised to see Noah shedding off his clothing. He looked more tired than I felt.
“Hey,” I said in surprise. “Are you just now coming home?”
Noah sighed. “Yeah. That new healer needs a little more practice honing her skills. She misdiagnosed some of her patients. Some of the people that we rescued from the fire almost succumbed to their injuries.”
I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed his shoulder. “I admire your dedication to healing people. You should have let me stay.”
He chuckled as he kissed the top of my head. “They needed to learn. The Nons that were just hired needed the experience, too. Their training in the military was great for combat situations but some of the things we encounter are more…intricate. Plus, you needed the sleep.”
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“And you didn’t,” I said in exasperation as I gently bit his shoulder I had just kissed.
“Hey girl,” he laughingly yelped. “You better stop that unless you want to end up on your back,” he threatened in a low voice.
“What happens if I want to be on top?” I asked him saucily.
I felt his immediate reaction against me. “Oh yeah…you know I’ve been using a lot of my gifts tonight and I would really like to get rid of this…extra energy.”
“Then why are you still dressed?” I looked up at him with a raised brow. “The girls are going to be back soon so we’re going to have to make it quick.”
He chuckled once more as he quickly discarded his clothing. I knew I surprised him when I pushed him back onto the bed and dropped my towel. “Damn girl. You are so sexy,” he muttered as I climbed on top of him.
I smiled at him and kissed his mouth lightly. “You don’t have to flatter me, you’re already getting laid.” I joked.
“I’m not trying to flatter you, just telling you the truth,” he said with a thickness in his voice as he lovingly started to caress my breasts.
“Mmm,” I moaned in appreciation as I felt my nipples react to his knowing hands immediately. As much as I loved the foreplay, I knew the girls were going to be back any minute, and I needed him as much as he needed me.
I grabbed his manhood and sheathed myself onto him. I hissed loudly as he filled me.
“Why the hurry?” Noah teased me as he grabbed my hips.
“I told you the girls will be back soon, now shh,” I commanded him as I began to rock on him.
“Yes ma’am,” he groaned as he thrust his hips towards me.
I generally wanted to prolong my pleasure but today I was racing for it. I leaned forward and braced my hands on his chest, ensuring that my bud was rubbing against him with the perfect amount of friction. I gyrated my hips with wild abandon, loving the feel of him against me and in me as he grabbed my rear with equal fervor.
Within moments I felt the inner warmth begin to unravel. I felt myself reaching that pinnacle and I let go with a keening cry.
“That’s it loves, give it to me,” he commanded with satisfaction in his voice.
