Destiny's Path

by Robyn Steele

We drove silently for a while, this handsome stranger and I. Glancing over at him slightly, through the corner of my eye, I could see he was staring straight ahead. No expression apparent on his face. What I would give to know his thoughts right now. I really wish I could read minds. Then I could truly know if I were safe. I must be crazy going with a complete stranger like this! I hope I made the right choice. I hope I won’t regret this.

  “Talitha, you must know, there is no one whom you would be safer with than me.” Cruz offered solace, without turning his gaze.

  The mind thing again. I forgot. Okay, so I need to know what you are thinking and what you are going to do. And you need to know that I am trained in self-defense and not afraid to hurt you. How’s that for communicating since you can read minds.

  “You should know, Talitha that those of us who can read minds don’t just go around reading minds all the time. That would drive us crazy hearing everything everyone thought. We have to… sort of hone in on a person’s thoughts. Like, we concentrate on a certain person to hear what they are thinking. Only then can we hear.” This time he looked right at me with those mesmerizing eyes of his. I could feel my cheeks flush. Those eyes made me want to surrender my tenacity right there, although I wouldn’t. I am much stronger than that.

  “Where, exactly are we going? I can’t be gone that long. They won’t stop looking for me”

  “You measure time quite different than I do.” A sweet smile embellished his face. “We could go where ever you like. However, must I remind you, we need to evade your mother and grandparents?” One eyebrow arched as he peered through his eyelashes at me. “What is your suggestion?”

  I couldn’t think of anywhere we could go in this small town that momma and grams and grandpa wouldn’t think to look for me. Geesh. Look at me now. I can’t believe I am actually trying to deceive my family. That’s not like me at all. I don’t want to worry them. That’s not right.

  “Text them. Tell them you’re okay and you’ll be in touch.” Cruz answered my thoughts again. “Don’t tell them where we are.”

  I texted my mom and told her not to worry, that I was fine, that I would be in touch. Then I turned my phone off so I wouldn’t be distracted. Something told me this was big. We drove out of town and turned off on the old road that went to the next town. The road was still used because it meandered around a few farms and houses. However, the only people that used the old road were the people that lived out there. We turned down a dusty, dirt road and pulled off to the side under a big umbrella tree. Cruz stepped out of the car and I followed. We straddled an old log facing each other. His deep blue eyes were piercing me to my soul. I was ready to hear all he had to say. Good or bad, I was ready to hear it.

  “Okay, I’m waiting. Start talking.” I demanded. I was a little impatient, a little frustrated, and profoundly curious. Doubt of my competence to handle what was to come, crept into my mind. I quickly chased it away.

  Cruz leaned in closer to me as if what he was about to reveal was a secret and there were a crowd of people around to hear. “I must reveal to you a little at a time.” He put a hand up to still me as I began to open my mouth in protest. “Not to keep anything from you. It’s just a lot to take in at once. I must reveal it one precept at a time. When you understand what I have given you, I will give you more. Do you understand?” I hesitantly nodded, but wasn’t sure I did understand.

  He told me about a galaxy called Seletria. There were a great people that populated the center star in this galaxy. The star, called Teletria, became polluted to the extent that it could no longer sustain life. Inhabitants of Teletria all planned a great exodus of their planet in order to preserve their race. They had the technology to propel their ships for long distances. However, unbeknownst to them, they did not have technology perfected enough to land their ships at the chosen target. Some ships had landed on Earth. They had no idea where the other ships had landed.

  “My family the DaMonicos, were among the people that came here from Teletria.” Cruz paused after providing me this information. I’m sure trying to read my mind to decipher my attitude towards this edifying information. Amazingly enough to myself, I was not shaken by this revelation. It was if I had just savored my first piece of fruit and craved more. There was something familiar about his words. It was if the knowledge were already there waiting to be awakened.

  “Who were the others that came? My family, perhaps?” Sometimes when a story is being revealed to me I just know the rest of the story before it is told. This was one of those times.

  “You are correct in your assumption. You are a descendent of these people, or more precisely, you are a descendent of the Zoraidas.” Cruz took a deep breath and then proceeded. “Your grandfather changed his name to Harrington when he moved to this country. The DaMonicos mostly still live in Italy.” He settled back, leaning on one hand to let all this soak in.

  Teletrians are gifted, so to speak, with abilities that Earthlings don’t possess. We use the full capacity of our brains, or near to it. Like the ability to read minds and the super strength. Teletrian brains are more advanced in neurogenesis than Earthling brains. Our brains are more evolved than theirs. Earthlings may have the same capacity but have not learned to use it yet. Our genetic makeup is very similar to Earthlings, as if we were all created by the same being.

  I had a bazillion questions and wasn’t sure which one to ask first. Conveniently, Cruz could hear my thoughts and knew which ones to answer first. So he continued, “When our people first came to Earth, they were a very peaceful people. We tried to live unnoticed for our uniqueness. We tried to not let our abilities show and tried not to speak of where we came from. No one could know we were from another galaxy. People could definitely not accept that back then. In those days people would have killed anyone they could not understand. Ignorance led to fear and fear led to killing. A lot of people were called witches and burned to death. Nowadays people cannot know about us because they would capture us to run experiments on us and may ultimately kill us in the process. So you see why we need to protect our secrets.”

  Cruz adjusted himself around the log to get more comfortable. I wanted to know so much more. This was so much to take in. “Why don’t we drive somewhere? It seems this may take a while.” I offered. I wanted to be sure we weren’t interrupted by my over zealous family.

  We decided to drive farther away from my home, towards a neighboring town. As we drove on, Cruz continued to fill me in on my heritage. “Our ancestors decided to not divulge the secrets of our race to any children born here until they reached the onset of adulthood, when our abilities begin to emerge. That assured children would not have to keep secrets until they were old enough to understand. It would not only be burdensome to children to keep secrets, it would be extremely difficult not to slip up and release information accidentally.” This eased my anger towards my mom and grandparents for keeping everything from me.

  I still didn’t understand why grandpa chased off Cruz so quickly and didn’t want me to talk to him. He certainly wasn’t dangerous and I think I’m old enough to handle the “secret” now. If he is from our same “culture” why wouldn’t grandpa welcome him to his home?

  “The answer to that, my dear Talitha, is an old and long story.” Cruz let out a big sigh with this statement. “Let’s pull off to that little café over there and grab a coke or something, relax a little so I can finish.” He pulled the car up to the curb.

  Inside the cozy little café were 6 tall bar stools, we sidled up on two of them at the end. There was a young girl with long brown hair pulled up in a pony-tail wiping the counter down. She came over with her note pad and pen and took our order for two Dr. Peppers, one with lots of ice, and one order of cheese fries.

  There were only four other customers in the café. Three guys who looked about my age, and a girl with them maybe a year or two younger. One boy had his arm around her
pretty cozy. The boys were laughing and joking pretty loudly. We weren’t eaves-dropping. However, they were just too loud to ignore. We heard the boy with his arm around the girl saying, “Come on, you know you wanna go.” The girl just shook her head and said, “I can’t.” The other boys were laughing and said, “Come on TJ, you’re not gonna take no for an answer are ya.” They carried on for a few minutes, laughing and poking at the boy and girl.

  Suddenly, Cruz walked over to the table, said something to the guys sitting there and turned around and came back. I asked him what he had said to them but he just told me he gave them a warning. It seemed a little strange that he would interfere like that. However, I shrugged it off because I still wanted my answers, and not change the subject. I wanted to get back to our conversation.

  Cruz began the long, old story he had promised me. His great-great-grandfather and my great-great-grandfather had been close friends. They shared the same struggles with trying to keep secrets and maintain normalcy. They collectively had decided to marry only among their own people from Teletria in order to preserve their purity and to keep their secrets. They had made a pact that no one was to marry a non Teletrian.

  “I don’t understand.” I wondered. “You speak as if this was when our people first came here and yet it is about our great-great-grandfathers. That is only four generations back, as in about 150 years. Have we only been here that long?”

  “No amica. Our people have been here for hundreds of years. Our lifespan is about five hundred years. About half a millennium” Cruz carefully landed each word as to not alarm me. He knew this was a lot to comprehend at one time.

  “Holy birthdays! That is like forever! I can’t imagine living that long. What do you do? How do people not know? What…..what did you call me?”

  “Amica, it means my… a…oh great. I didn’t mean to slip that out. Sorry. You are not ready for that. Just know that it is a term of endearment.” Now, it was Cruz’ turn to have crimson cheeks.

  Although I was a little curious about that “term of endearment,” I just wanted to learn more about “my people.” I continued my inquisition, “So if our life expectancy is about a 500 years, how old is my grandparents? How old is my mom? How old are you?”

  I no longer had the last syllable out of my mouth when Cruz jumped up and ran out the door into the parking lot. As soon as I realized he was out the door, I followed. I got there just in time to see Cruz catapult, one by one, three guys across the street. A closer look revealed they were the three boys sitting in the café earlier. The girl stood in the parking lot, mouth gaping open. Cruz asked her if she was okay. She nodded but could not speak. When Cruz offered her a ride somewhere or asked if he could call someone for her she just ran inside the café.

  Cruz grabbed me by the arm and suggested we leave quickly. “Now do you understand the necessity of hiding our abilities from the rest of the world?” He explained as we drove away. “That girl is going to call a friend and tell her she just saw ‘superman’ save her. I don’t know if anyone will believe her, but we can’t take a chance. It’s a good thing they don’t know us around here.”

  “What, exactly did you save her from?” I wondered aloud.

  “Those guys were thinking some pretty bad stuff. They were trying to force her to get in the truck with them. One was sort of her boyfriend but doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. The other two were along for the ride and wanted to join in. Something bad would have happened to her if they had succeeded in getting her into the truck. Normally I wouldn’t interfere and would never have used my strength like that in front of others. I just heard what they were saying and thinking and I knew where it was going. Since I couldn’t diffuse it inside, I had to follow them outside.” Cruz rubbed his forehead like he had a headache.

  “Nobility is a good trait, although I thought you didn’t listen to people’s thoughts all the time.” I countered.

  His deep blue eyes searched me. “Please don’t be afraid. Sometimes I hear people’s thoughts when I am not trying to. It is usually when there is a need to protect someone. All I know is that if I can hear thoughts when I’m not trying, I better pay attention. If I don’t, someone will suffer. I have learned that this past year or so since I got my abilities. It’s like a premonition of danger, but it’s audible and it’s directly from someone’s thoughts, sometimes projected at an unusual distance.”

  We sat in silence as we drove on to the next town. He was letting all the information set in and I was trying to process it. Finally, he continued, “As to your last question; I am not much older than you. I am almost twenty years old. My father, Alessandro, is 142 years old. Your father is the same. They grew up together, very good friends actually.”

  “You know my father? I never knew my father!” I interrupted excitedly. This was the best information he had given yet!

  “I did not know him. My father knew him and spoke often of him. He told me many stories of when they were young.” Cruz’ dimpled smile was emerging. We had found a common ground here. He knew he had brought up the right subject at that point.

  The mention of my father reminded me of the other cherished people in my life. “I need to call home and let them know I’m alright.” I told him. I pulled out my phone and turned it on. It lit up like Christmas. 20 texts and 30 missed calls. Wow! Now I was kind of scared to call. However, that didn’t stop me. I didn’t want them to worry, no matter how much trouble I was going to be in.

  “Hi momma…” I couldn’t even get a word in.

  “Where are you? Are you okay? Where have you been? Who are you with? I can come get you right now. Just tell me where.” Momma pleaded.

  “Sorry mom. I didn’t want to worry you. Just trust me, please. I’m fine…”

  “Talitha Harrington. You have worried us sick! You need to come home, now. We need to see that you’re okay!” My mother was frantic. I really couldn’t blame her but I needed to do this. She needed to let me.

  “Mom, I know everything. I’m with a friend. I’m really sorry but you just need to let me do this. I need to know about my dad.” Tears were forming. I couldn’t talk any more. I just hung up the phone and turned it off. Then I rethought about it and turned it back on. I texted:

  Love all of you. Please let me do this. T

  I then turned the phone back off and put it in my pocket. “You should probably turn around and head home. They’re pretty worried. I think they’ll let me continue our conversation back home.” I told Cruz. I slid down in my seat, wondering what kind of repercussions I had to deal with.

  “Certainly my dear. Home it is. The last thing I want to do is upset you or cause you any problems.” Cruz turned around and headed toward Harrington. He continued to offer me the information I was now craving. “Our grandfathers were close friends, as well. Our families had been close for as long as anyone could remember. The riff started with our grandfathers, though. The two families have been apart ever since. Silly, don’t you think, that people would let an argument keep them from a long old friendship?” He peered over at me to see my reaction.

  “I suppose that depends on the argument. Although, there are not many things that would warrant a feud. If that’s what it is.” I answered.

  “Our people have always married within our race, as I told you. We have been very careful to not cross into other races. One way that we insure this is we are betrothed at birth. I know that may sound old-fashioned but you realize how long this tradition has been around.” He paused to observe my reaction. “No one is forced to marry their betrothed. They spend time together and cultivate a relationship. If it doesn’t work out, they simply don’t unite in wedlock and go their separate ways.”

  “How many times does that happen?” I asked.

  Cruz hesitated for a minute. He looked away and thought for a minute. “I can’t think of any. They always fall
in love. All the times I have seen. I’ll have to ask about that later. I just know that the option to not marry is there. Anyway, a long time ago our grandfathers had both been betrothed at birth, as per custom. The girl your grandfather was betrothed to had been killed before she reached adulthood. Unfortunately, your grandfather had fallen in love with the same girl that my grandfather was betrothed to. They both courted her but she fell in love with my grandfather and they were married. Your grandfather’s heart was broken. He knew that it was best for my grandparents to marry and he accepted it. Still he was distraught. He left the village they lived in and no one seen or heard from him for quite some time.

  “But here I am.” I prompted. “I am his descendent. Don’t tell me we’re cousins! I really couldn’t handle it if my grandma had a baby like that.” Oh my goodness. This is getting bad.

  “Oh no! Not at all. Your grandma is a very honorable woman. No… your grandpa went to live in another village. While he was there he met a woman and fell in love with her. She was not of their race. They were married and had a child. Your grandfather thought if he went back home that people would accept him and his wife. They didn’t. The punishment in those days for marrying out of the race was death. Your grandfather pleaded for his life. Not for his own sake, but for his wife and their unborn baby. The council decided to let him live because he had a family and a baby on the way. The baby was now part of their race. They could not deny him, even if he was only half. But my grandfather never accepted your grandmother or her son, I’m sorry to say.”

  “Wow! This is like Romeo and Juliet. This is a fascinating story. So the baby was my father, right?” I guessed confidently.

  “You are correct. However, many of our people didn’t agree with the council’s decision. They thought that laws were broken and there should be no allowances made. Your grandfather still fearing for their lives packed up his family and left our village. He never spoke to any of our family again. That is where the feud began.” Cruz’ eyes were saddened and did not sparkle the way they did before. I could tell this feud really bothered him.

  “That’s silly. You’re so right. That is just silly. People shouldn’t be torn apart because of a disagreement like that.” I said. I couldn’t imagine how people could let ridiculous disagreements sever their ties. It sounded very immature.

  “I’m glad you feel that way. Our fathers felt that way too. They secretly became friends even though they were miles apart. They even made a pact between them that my father has passed on to me.”

  “What is the pact?” I asked.

  “I will tell you later.” That was all Cruz said. We remained silent the rest of the way to Harrington. I was glad to hear that Cruz’ dad and my dad had sense enough to remain friends. I was curious about the pact but I would not push it. He would tell me when he was ready. For some reason I felt I could trust Cruz.

  Just at the outskirts of town a van and a truck forced us off the road. We were cornered by the two vehicles and before we could make a move both our doors were suddenly ripped open and four large men pulled us out of the car and dragged us into a van. Cruz kicked the heads of two of them and knocked them over but the other two pulled guns out and jammed them into our faces. We temporarily surrendered as we didn’t really want our heads blown off. As they sped off out of town they tied us up, gagged us and put blindfolds on us.

  I was terrified! Who were these men and what did they want from us. Did they want money? We weren’t the wealthiest people around but I’m sure my grandparents could manage something to appease them. I wish I could get this tape off my mouth so I could at least talk to Cruz. Wait a minute. He can hear my thoughts. Now if I could just figure out how to hear his thoughts. Concentrate Talli. I concentrated hard trying to send my thoughts to Cruz. I focused all my strength on getting a message to Cruz. Try hard! Harder! Concentrate!

  That’s right! Keep trying babe. You can do it. Cruz thought.

  OMG! I just heard that. Say something, Cruz! Let me try this again.

  You did it! That’s amazing! Now try to keep calm. Don’t let them know we are communicating. Try to act dumb.

  No problem! I have no idea what’s going on! I’m really, really scared, Cruz.

  Don’t worry hon. I’ll get us out of this. I won’t let anything happen to you. I just don’t want them to see any abilities if I can help it. I need to wait for the right time to move.

  You mean you can break these ties and get us out?

  I’m pretty sure I could. But I can’t try yet. I’m going to try to hear what they are thinking for now. Then we can make plans for our escape.

  They’re… planning to take us… to their …bunker? What could that mean?

  What?! Cruz! What is it? Who are they?! I panicked. I would have spoken out loud had there not been duct tape over my mouth.

  I can’t tell who they are. They aren’t interested in me. They want you. Actually, they want your grandfather. I don’t know what for. They haven’t mentioned that. I don’t understand much of this. Cruz was looking alarmed, now. I need to move quickly. I can’t let them take you.

  The two men in the van were both sitting up front and had their guns put aside. Cruz broke his hands free and untied my hands. He pulled out a pocket knife and in what seemed to be one swift movement, cut both ties from our feet. Before I realized what was happening, he grabbed me around my waist, pulled our blindfolds off, lifted me up and kicked the rear doors of the van open and flew out onto the side of the road. I don’t think we actually flew. It’s just that the jump was so powerful we seemed to fly across the road. Cruz set me down on my feet and hollered “run!” Holding my hand, we ran through the trees on the side of the road. We ran further and further away from the road at my new super speed. Soon we found ourselves by a lake and no one seemed to be in sight. We stopped and sat down on a rock to plan our next move.

  Looking around at our surroundings, I realized we were at Silver Lake, one of the most resplendent lakes around. It was also about 30 miles from Harrington. The lake was completely hidden by thick woods. We should be pretty safe here but we weren’t taking chances. Who knows how close those guys could be. Maybe they could run fast too.

  “Where should we go from here? Do you think we should go to my house and tell my grandfather? Or do you think we should run further away?” I inquired. I paced around frantically. Cruz was deep in thought. This was like a scene out of a James Bond movie. This can’t be really happening to me!

  “If we go to your house I guarantee they will be waiting incognito somewhere nearby. They would surely grab you. They probably split up and one of them is probably searching around here for you now.” Those gorgeous blue eyes looked so worried. He looked up at a hill just above us. “Let’s hide in that cave for now while we figure this out.”

  The cave was hidden by bushes and rocks. It was about four feet wide and twenty feet long. Inside was damp from a spring that emerged from the mountain. We sat in the back of the cave where it was dark, while we planned our escape. We kept quiet and spoke through thoughts only, in case someone was hunting for us. We decided it would be best to sneak out and head towards the airport. We decided to hide out at a friend’s house in Italy.

  So what do you think they want from my grandpa? I asked Cruz. Do you think they are Teletrians or regular people?

  My guess is they are probably Teletrians by the way they tore off the doors on my car. Cruz answered. “Regular” people, as you call them, could not have done that.

  So they can run fast and read minds and all that stuff?

  Probably. Not all Teletrians have the same abilities but collectively they probably have them all covered. Cruz told me. We need to lay low until we can figure this out.

  I wasn’t real keen on the idea of spending the night in a cave without a sleeping bag or blanket. However, I wasn’t too keen on being ca
ught either. I guess the cave was the lesser of two evils. Building a fire was definitely out of the question. This was going to be a long night. I wanted to text momma or someone for help but they had taken my cell phone when they tied us up. How did I get myself into this situation? My life had been so average and now look at me; thrown into this nightmare!

  We sat in the very back of the cave and remained quiet. I heard some voices talking, faint at first and then they got closer. I was so scared and nervous I thought I could hear my heartbeat get loud and I was afraid someone else could hear it. Can you hear my heartbeat? I asked Cruz. He gave me a quizzical look as if he couldn’t understand why I would think that was a possibility. I just feel like it’s loud. I guess I’m just scared.

  Understanding dawned on his face as he scooted over by me and put his arm around my shoulders. I didn’t stop him. It gave me a feeling of protection, even if it wasn’t going to make a difference. It calmed my soul to have a strong arm around me. Try to keep still and try to keep your mind clear of thoughts. Hopefully they will not see the cave and keep moving on. Cruz tried to console me.

  This mysterious stranger was becoming my friend, someone I could trust, and someone it felt good to be around. The voices were audible for some time as they were moving about looking for a trace of their prey. Obviously they did not see the cave and could not find us. The voices faded away as they moved on. Although we did not let our guard down in case they were bluffing or still in the area.

  As night fell upon us, the temperatures fell also. I wasn’t sure if the chills were caused from terror or cold. It was probably both. Cruz took his jacket off and wrapped it around me. We stayed in that same place and position all through the night. Neither one of us dared to sleep.

  By morning we were stiff and cold and starving. We hadn’t heard any voices all night so we decided to venture out of the cave. Luckily we drank water from the spring in the cave but we were in great need of something to eat. It felt good to stretch my legs and back and moving warmed me up really fast. If only my stomach wasn’t growling.

  “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with your territory here. What would you suggest we look for to eat?” Cruz asked me.

  “I could really go for a nice juicy steak right now.” I joked with him.

  “Umm, sure, I’ll get right on that.” He laughed.

  “One can dream, right?”

  Stop. Don’t move and don’t talk. Cruz communicated with his mind.

  What is it? I asked, but as soon as I thought it I heard what he had heard! It was a rattle snake! OMG! Now what? The terror was back all too soon. I had a huge fear of snakes. Stopping was not a problem. I froze in my tracks. Keeping quiet was another thing. An overwhelming urge to scream bloody murder had overtaken me. Okay Talli, keep your cool. Don’t let it out. I kept trying to talk myself into staying calm. I knew any minute I would lose it. The snake was squirming towards me and I didn’t know how much longer I could stand it.

  Suddenly, in one swift move, Cruz pulled out a pocket knife and speared the snake, severing the head. I let out a big breath and collapsed on a rock with my head in my hands. Either my emotions overwhelmed me or I was releasing pent up emotions because the tears were pouring from my eyes and I was shivering again.

  Cruz wrapped his jacket around me again and tried to comfort me. “I’m okay. I just think that I’ve been holding it in too long. I’ll be alright. Thanks so much for taking care of the snake, though. That honestly terrified me.”

  “I don’t think the snake bite would have hurt either of us. However, it will make a good breakfast.”

  “What?!” I was puzzled. How would it not have hurt us? He was headed right for us.

  “Snakes don’t usually bite Teletrians but if they do, the bite doesn’t hurt us. Well it may sting a little initially, but it isn’t toxic.” Cruz explained.

  “Shut up! That is totally cool! You mean to tell me that I do not have to fear snakes?”

  “I don’t see any reason for it, no. So help me gather kindling to make a fire. We’re going to cook breakfast.” Cruz began picking up small pieces of wood and dried leaves and arranging them in the middle of stones he had placed to create a fire pit.

  I reluctantly began to gather kindling also but couldn’t help but grimace at the thought of eating a snake. The thought definitely was revolting. However, my gut protested loudly and angrily at the thought of denying nutrition any longer. It’s amazing what you are willing to do to for self-preservation. Still, I could not get enthused enough with the cuisine to motivate or salivate.

  Cruz seemed enthusiastic, though. I mostly watched him gather and build and then rub sticks together to start the fire. Then he skinned the snake and roasted it over the fire and then quickly extinguished the fire. The procedure took a while so by the time the meat was cooked I was so famished it was appealing more and more.

  I couldn’t help but notice the lean, strong, muscled physique Cruz was blessed with. Definitely some nice eye candy to enjoy while I waited. What was I thinking? I guess it couldn’t hurt to just think and look. That didn’t mean anything. I noticed the edges of his lips curled up slightly and his lovely blue eyes twinkled. OMG. Did he just hear my thoughts? Is that why he’s smiling? I really need to watch that. I don’t want to send him the wrong message.

  “Bon appetite.” Cruz said as he handed me a piece of snake meat.

  “Thanks. I guess.” I reluctantly took the meat and slowly held it to my lips. Ugh! There has to be another way. I can’t do this. “Sorry, Cruz. Thanks for finding the ‘meat’ and cooking it and everything but I don’t think I can eat it.”

  “Are you sure? You’ve got to be starving.”

  “I am but I guess not that much. Not enough to eat a snake.”

  “Many people like the taste of rattle snakes. They think it tastes like chicken.” Cruz tried to reason with me but when it comes to eating strange things I am not reasonable. I don’t even want to be reasonable.

  “I’m fine. I’ll wait ‘til we get to civilization. Thanks any way.”

  “Hold on. I think I have a mint in my pocket.” Cruz put his hand in his pocket and retrieved a peppermint wrapped in cellophane. “It’s not much but maybe it will keep your blood sugar up.” Cruz shrugged as he handed the mint to me.

  “Thanks!” I grabbed the mint and shoved it in my mouth. Okay. Maybe I was hungry. “Umm, maybe I’ll try the snake meat after all.”

  “Good, I will feel much better if you do.” Cruz tore off a piece of meat.

  I closed my eyes, held my nose, threw the meat into my mouth and swallowed whole. I guess that wasn’t so bad. Maybe I can handle a little ole snake. I tore off another piece and did the same. Eventually we both had satisfied our hunger and were ready to move on.

  We ran through the desert towards the airport. However, we didn’t make it to the airport. About halfway out of the desert we were spotted by the kidnappers. They had been waiting for us to leave. As soon as we spotted them we turned around and ran back the other way towards Harrington. We almost reached Harrington when we were met by the kidnappers again. They had split up and had us covered from all angles.

  We ran back the way we had come and when we noticed they weren’t following us we found our cave and slipped inside again. We huddled together in the back of the cave and kept quiet, waiting to see if they followed us.

  We really need to come up with a plan. How are we going to ditch these guys? I asked Cruz in my mind.

  I have no idea, yet. Cruz answered. Don’t worry, though. I will think of something.

  You really think you can? I had serious doubts.

  I think we need to summon backup. Cruz suggested.

  We began to leave the cave but stopped when we heard two men’s voices talking nearby. “The old man won’t come around unless we find her. It’s your fault they got away. You’d better find
her. I need Demetrio fast! I can’t wait any longer.”

  Did I hear that correctly? What did he say? It sounded like he said Demetrio. I thought to Cruz.

  I was wrong before. I assumed when they said “old man” that they meant your grandfather. Obviously they are referring to your father.

  “My…father…” I spoke at a whisper. I was stunned. I had never known him but yearned to do so. In my excitement I ran out of the cave. I had to know about my father. If this would get me the chance then it was well worth it. “I’ll go with you…”

  Talitha! No! Cruz attempted to stop me and pulled me back into the cave. However it was too late. The men heard me and ran towards the cave. Cruz met them with a swift kick to the head to both men. A battle ensued between the three of them. Cruz bloodied both men badly and I thought we could run for it until one of them pulled a gun out. We froze in place.

  Two of them grabbed me as I felt the blunt object smash into my head. I don’t remember anything after that. They must have knocked us out. Because the next thing I remember is laying on the floor of the van, blindfolded, gagged and tied. When I came to and began to stir, one man said don’t bother tying that again as he shoved the end of the gun into my abdomen. Ouch! I must have a broken rib.

  There wasn’t a chance of escape. I didn’t want that. I wanted to meet my father. This was more than I could ever imagine. I never knew if he was alive and now I may get the chance to meet him. Then it occurred to me that that wasn’t such a good idea after all. What was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking. I reacted on emotions. If they are doing this drastic measure to bring my father out of hiding, what are they going to do to him?

  Exactly! You didn’t do him any favors and now your life is at stake too! Cruz sternly rebuked me. I’m not sure what to do now. I’ve got to figure this out. I’m going to try to send telepathic messages out there. Some family and friends have the ability to pick these up. Some have the ability to send them. I’m hoping if I send strong enough messages that they will get to somebody. Sometimes it works if the person you are sending them to has a strong ability with telepathy.

  Then I will try that too! Maybe someone in my family can do that. I offered. It’s worth a try. I’m really sorry I got us caught. You don’t deserve this. They’re not even after you. You just got captured for association with me. I don’t blame you for being mad at me. I apologized to Cruz.

  Talitha, my dear, I would never be mad at you. Frustrated, yes, but not mad. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you. It is my duty to protect you. I’m glad I’m with you. Cruz was not only sending me messages, but I could feel something radiating from him that enveloped me and made me feel somewhat safe. I know that sounds weird. I really can’t explain it, even to myself. I just can feel something unexplainable and it is comforting. If I have to be in this predicament, I’m glad Cruz is with me. I wonder if Nate would be able to comfort me this way. Somehow I think only Cruz can do this.

  I concentrated my mind to think thoughts to momma and grandpa and grandma. I thought them separately, hoping that would give more energy. I concentrated to momma first. Momma, please hear me. This is Talitha. I am in a lot of trouble and need your help. I’ve been kidnapped by three men who want to use me to bring my father out of hiding. Please, please hear me. Grandpa, please hear me. This is Talitha. Grams, hear me please. I took turns focusing on each one. I pictured them in my head while pleading with them. Then a thought came to me suddenly. Daddy, or father, or whatever I should call you, Demetrio this is your daughter Talitha. Please hear me.

  I concentrated and plead with these four people until my head ached from concentrating and then I still kept trying. Each one I focused on I would try to imagine them in my mind. When I imagined my father I pictured grandpa at a younger age but thought in my mind it was my father.

  We drove for quite a while. I didn’t know exactly how long since I was blind-folded. It felt like half a day. However, it was probably not quite that. But then it could have been more. Time became blurred in that situation. Then the van stopped and they moved us out of it. It felt like we walked about a mile, being prodded forward by our abductors. Then we were led into an enclosure of some sort. We walked up a ramp and then through what seemed like corridors and then into a room. There they took off our blindfolds and removed the duct tape. They told us not to bother screaming. We were too far from civilization for anyone to hear. I didn’t bother testing it to see if that were true. We had walked so far through trees or bushes, it was most likely true and I didn’t want the duct tape back on.

  “So where do you think we are?” I asked Cruz when we were left alone. They hadn’t tied us to anything. They just left the ties on our hands. They had put shackles on our feet so they could move us out of the van and into this place. The shackles remained on, I’m sure to deter running away if we could get outside.

  I’m not sure where they have brought us. Are you okay? Cruz answered with a question of his concern. I would guess about 200 miles from Harrington. Which direction could be anyone’s guess? There seemed to be a lot of brush out there on our way in.

  Yes! That’s it! We are out on the reserve. I could smell sagebrush. About 170 miles south of Harrington is the Juniper reserve. There are miles and miles of nothing but Juniper trees and sagebrush. It’s rocky and mountainous. No civilization. If we travelled to the middle of the reserve, we would be about 225 miles from Harrington. We go there to hike sometimes. There’s a huge gorge we like to hike in. My grandma knows the place very well.

  You should keep trying to contact them telepathically and include this knew information. Have them contact my family for backup.

  We were still speaking through our minds in case our captors were listening. I continued to send thoughts to my family in hopes they could receive them. Including the information of where we thought we were.

  So the question I have is how do they get the message to my dad if they don’t know where he is? The question was just as much for me as for Cruz. They probably think my mom will call the cops and it will be on the news! That’s how they get the message to my dad.

  You’re right! They think he will see it on T.V. and come out to find you. Then they can get him for whatever it is they want him for. Cruz answered enthusiastically. If we can stop them from reporting this to authorities and it doesn’t get on the news, it will buy us more time to get away because they will still be waiting for your father.

  Yes! That’s a great plan! I just hope I can get through to them. I’m going to try some more.

  I am too.

  We both sat there concentrating on contacting our families for help and warning them not to contact authorities. As I was concentrating on contacting Grams, I felt a strange sensation. I didn’t hear anything but I felt like I was being heard. It was just a feeling I can’t explain. But it gave me hope. That was a start.