Aegis: Catalyst Grove

by Nathan Roten

  Ailey rolled her eyes and took hold of the side of the closet. With the closet door still open, she shook it as hard as she could. She stopped after a few more seconds and walked back over to the front, pointing inside. They all looked intently into the closet, but did not see anything. Ailey huffed and stood on top of the bottom shelf and pointed at the farthest clothes hanger to the right. Everyone leaned in to look. It was not moving. All the other hangers were swinging from the disruption, but this one was perfectly still. Kel reached up and pinched the hanger in-between her thumb and index finger. She tried to wiggle it, but it would not move. It was fixed into place. She then reached up and slid her finger along the top of the rod to investigate why this one was stuck. There was a groove on each side of the hanger in the metal rod. Curling her fingertips around the hook of the hanger, she pulled back, forcing the hanger to slide along the grooved track. The back wall of the closet clicked, then creaked, coming slightly ajar.

  Ailey had done it again. Her mutism had proved to be a valuable gift. Her power of perception was incredible. Kel pulled back the door all the way. Behind the back wall of the closet was a narrow stone staircase. It was only wide enough to fit one person at a time. The treads of each stair were carved directly into the stone of the mountain. Electrical wire ran along the top of the right wall with a small light every ten feet or so. The lights had an iridescent shine that brought new life to the stairwell at each turn.

  Graham went first. He wanted a chance to prove himself to the others. If there was danger at the top, he would be the first to confront it. It is funny how insecurity can make people act in such irrational ways. The others did not seem to question his loyalty or even his ability to use his gift when the time came, but Graham did not see that. He was blinded by his inability to act, and in a effort to prove himself trustworthy, he was set on throwing caution to the wind. All caution that is, except letting Kel take the lead. That was something he was not yet willing to risk.

  They all twisted and turned up the stone staircase until they reached the top, where a weathered wooden door stood, waiting to greet them. A small beam of light stretched out over the ground underneath the door like a golden carpet. It was almost as if it were welcoming them back home. Graham felt for a knob, but there wasn’t one. He put his hands on the door, feeling around for a way to open it. The light shining on the door was dim, especially when contrasted with the light coming from underneath it. Graham moved his hands upward until he felt a metal latch inset into the wood just above his head. He stuck his index finger into the metal groove finding a small ring. He pulled against it until he heard a click, followed by the creaking of metal hinges.

  Graham slowly pulled the door until he could fit through, realizing they were at the back of another closet. The hangers were full of random articles of tattered clothing. He pushed them to the side in order to pass through. He continued cautiously, stepping out into the bedroom, noticing that every wall was made of wood. The bedroom was small, and so was the closet. It couldn’t have been any bigger than the free standing closet from the cave. The door to the bedroom was open. Graham quietly made his way across the room as the others emerged from the hidden closet door. The wooden floor creaked and moaned under Graham’s feet. He immediately slowed his pace and bent his knees more in an attempt to take more pressure off the floor as he crept across. The others took notice and did the same.

  Reaching the door, Graham braced his arms and chest against the doorframe, peaking his head around the corner. The room in front of him was a small kitchenette. A tiny living room lay beyond it. There was one more room beside the bedroom, but that was it. That is all this place was. It couldn’t have been more than twenty feet wide. Seeing that the kitchenette and living room were empty, Graham eased his way out of the bedroom, shuffling with his back against the wall over to the adjacent room. Treading lightly so that the floor did not creak and moan, he made it to the next room. He poked his head around the open door and saw a small pedestal sink and a toilet.

  Graham’s shoulders sank as he let out a big sigh of relief. He turned around and walked back over to the bedroom motioning to everyone that they were safe to come out. They came out one by one. First Damien, then Kel and finally Ailey. They all looked around at the tiny little cabin. Everything was made out of wood, even the countertops. By the look of things, this place had been here a long time. The whole place was run down. Evidently, this cabin had also been vacant for a long time.

  “I think this may be one of the cabins from the picture. It certainly looks like it has been here that long,” said Graham standing in front of a small couch. The cushions were all torn and stained with age. Graham looked at the three mirrors hanging on the wall above the couch.

  “What is with these mirrors? Did they get a bulk discount or something?”

  They all walked over to where Graham was standing and looked at the wooden mirrors mounted to the wall.

  “Yea, I think I remember seeing these back at Portfield Manor,” said Damien.

  “Why three? It is always three,” said Graham.

  Shrugging it off, Graham turned around to the others, then at the two windows looking out into the woods. Graham quickly shuffled back over to the bedroom and waved the others over to follow. Kneeling on one knee, he said, “We don’t have much time. If they knew the river swept us away to that cave, then they certainly know that we will have made our way to this cabin.”

  They all nodded.

  “Ailey, do you remember that picture?”

  Ailey nodded.

  “Good. I want you to close your eyes and picture the woods behind Mr. Alexander. Can you see it?”

  Another nod.

  “Great. How many cabins are there?”

  With her eyes still shut, Ailey held up two fingers.

  “Two? Ok, now think back on how far we have traveled from the warehouse. Now, go back to the picture and look at where the two cabins are. I know it is just a guess, but do you think that we have gone far enough to reach the 2nd cabin, or have we only reached the 1st?”

  Ailey held up two fingers again.

  “You think we are in the 2nd cabin?”

  Ailey shook her head side to side. With her eyes still shut tight, she pointed to her chest, then pointed to the side of her head. She then pointed to the floor and extended two fingers again.

  “Sorry Ailey, can you do that again? I don’t follow,” said Graham.

  “She said she knows that we are in the 2nd one,” said Kel.

  Ailey opened her eyes and shook her head up and down.

  Graham looked at Damien, breathed heavily, then turned back around to Ailey.

  “Good. I was worried we were way out in the middle of the woods somewhere. If we are really in the 2nd cabin, that means that we are closer to the clearing in trees that we thought.” Graham looked up through the small bedroom window. The sun was making its way well beyond it’s mid-day position in the sky. The angle of the sun was casting long eastern bound shadows as its rays enveloped the trees and rocks around them in a warm embrace.

  “It is getting late in the afternoon now. If we are going to do this, it needs to happen before it gets dark. We are fish in a barrel here, and they have the advantage at night since they know this place like the back of their glowing hand.”

  With each discussion, the plan was becoming more and more real. Graham sat there on the damp wooden floor looking at the others. Damien had been like a brother for years. It hadn’t been more than twenty-four hours since he met Ailey, but she felt like a sister already. He wanted to like Kel. Her reactions to Damien’s little stunt as well as his plan to fight back were compelling. Maybe he was being too hard on her.

  Graham watched Kel as she held Ailey close to her side, picking tiny pieces of debris from her hair. It is evident that she is like a mother to Ailey by the way she cares and protects. How could Kel turn her back on Ailey now? It did not make sense. Maybe she was just self-conscious about her power. He wanted to let it go a
nd embrace her friendship, especially now that they their lives were dependent on each other. He swallowed hard as the pit in his stomach grew deeper. As he watched them shake their heads in agreement with the plan of escape, he hoped that he would still have his family after tonight.

  Kel let go of Ailey and looked around the room for supplies. Walking back over to the closet, she rummaged through the moth-eaten clothes, tossing shirts out as she continued her search. She thought for a moment that they could put these dark colored clothes on instead of wearing the bright red sweats. Maybe then they could continue to hide and not have to risk their lives, but they were too ragged. There were more holes and gaps than actual fabric. Not wanting to waste any more time, she continued to chuck clothes out of the closet. Like a dog flinging dirt out of a fresh hole in the ground, ragged clothes kept flying out of the closet as Kel stripped it clean looking for something.

  “Ah ha! Yes!”

  She emerged from the closet with a small black backpack. She pulled the zipper to open the pack and reached inside to see if there was anything worthwhile.

  “Ailey, I need to you take that blanket off the bed and fold it up for me. Graham, why don’t you go into the kitchen and look for something to carry water in. There was a pond in that clearing, or at least there was when the picture was taken. We are going to need water and blankets if we survive this thing. I hope we can make it back to town, but we have to be prepared to stay in the woods during the night if we don’t.”

  Graham agreed with Kel and walked out of the bedroom, being mindful of the two windows in the living room.

  Damien was on the floor, looking under the bed for anything else they could take with them. Kel turned around to face him.

  “Have you thought about what we are going to do once we get out of here? Who are we going to tell this to? I know that Director Pitman from our Orphanage won’t believe us. You said this ‘Ms. Winstone’ won’t believe you. Actually from what you said earlier, these people are friends of hers. They are probably even well known in this community. With our luck, Alex is probably the Mayor.”

  Damien chuckled. “Let’s just get past this first bridge, alright. We can regroup later and figure out who to go to. Right now, I just want us to make it out of these woods alive.”

  Kel reluctantly agreed. She started to rummage through the small chest of drawers near the door until she saw the dread painted on Damien’s face. She could tell he was really second guessing himself now. Once they stepped foot out of that cabin, there was no going back. Kel put down her bag and turned towards Damien.

  “We are going to make it out. You have a good plan, despite the reliance on these sap taps.” Kel forced a smile on her face as she pulled back her sleeve.

  Damien wanted to smile back but he couldn’t. The gravity of his decisions was weighing down on him. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Kel was about to speak again, but was cut off by Graham’s return to the bedroom. He had a few plastic bottles, some cloth hand towels and a large fillet knife.

  Kel’s eyes got big at the sight of the long curved blade in Graham’s hand.

  “What in the world do you need that for?”

  Graham held the knife up looking at his reflection in the rusty metal. He twisted it back and forth mesmerized by the streak of light dancing up and down the length of the blade. He kept telling himself that he would not use it unless it was the last option, but he had to have some sort of back up in case he failed to use his power. This was Plan B. Refocusing on Kel who was staring at him, awaiting a rational response, he said, “Relax, it is not for them. It is for food. Like you said, we need to be prepared. If we have to stay in the woods, we need to be able to eat. Squirrel, fish, whatever we can get our hands on.”

  Kel relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I though you went off the reservation there for a minute.”

  “I’m fine. I just want to get this over with.” Graham took the knife and slid it in a light brown leather sheath. He then tossed it to Kel to put into the backpack. Damien and Ailey walked out of the bedroom to look out the windows to see where to go next.

  Kel packed up the backpack with all the supplies and swung it over her shoulder. Graham reached out his hand and said, “Let me carry that. You don’t need to be the one hauling it around.”

  “I’ve got it Graham. It’s not that heavy.”

  Softening her voice, she took on a more serious tone as she leaned towards Graham.

  “Ease up. You don’t need to carry the world on your shoulders. No one here is blaming you for anything. We are not mad and we are not disappointed that you haven’t ‘saved’ us. It’s not a competition, ok?”

  Graham was a little taken back by the blunt delivery. He wanted to defend his actions, but she wouldn’t let him.

  “You don’t have to be a hero to earn our trust. It is already there. Just accept it and let’s move on.”

  Evidently, Kel wasn’t one for sugarcoating things. She got straight to the point with no fuss. Taking Graham’s silence as confirmation, she said, “Ok then. It is settled. We go out there and we stick to the plan.”

  Graham wrestled with his conflicted feelings. He wanted to trust her, but something inside would not allow him to. He needed more proof that she was not one of them, but there was no way to get that proof. Not until it came time to face their captors. With a heavy sigh, he locked eyes with her.

  “Tell me you are on our side.” There was just too much to worry about without having to worry about her allegiance.

  “What is that suppose to mean?” replied Kel, clearly offended by the question.

  “I still haven’t figured you out yet, so I am just going to ask. You haven’t sugar coated anything yet, so don’t hold back now.” Kel crossed her arms and arched her eyebrows, waiting for Graham’s question. “You lied about your power. You were timid about telling us, and I get that….sort of. But now, I have seen you use the same power that Cavaness has, and that can’t be a coincidence. I had you pegged as one of them, but I just can’t see you throwing Ailey under the bus, so just tell me straight. Are you with us or against us?”

  Kel stood silent, weighing his words. She slid the backpack off her shoulder and onto the floor. Taking a few steps towards Graham, she said, “You are right. I lied. I wasn’t ready to talk about it, because I didn’t know you two yet. Ailey is my number one concern, and I just didn’t trust you.” Graham looked intently into Kel’s eyes as her eyes got misty. “I can’t prove to you that I am not one of them. Yes, I think I do have a similar power as Cavaness. I don’t know how or why. Maybe they gave me the same kind of bands or something. I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter.” Kel wiped away a single tear that fell down her cheek. “Ever since that day that Ailey arrived at Oak Ridge, she has been like a sister. Ever since my real sister….” Kel choked back more tears. “Well, let’s just say that the bond is the same. I would die for her, and that is something I can prove if it comes to it.” The determination in her voice caused the tears to dissipate as the strength in her voice returned. “If we can’t trust each other when we walk out of this cabin, then we will fail. I don’t know how I can make up for the lie, but I am on your side Graham. We are all in this together.”

  If she was lying now, she would be the most deceptive person on the planet. Graham looked over to Kel. She was looking at him waiting to see what he said next. It wasn’t until Graham saw the look of pain and vulnerability in here eyes that it finally sank in. Graham’s resolve broke. “Ok, we are in this together.” Without thinking, Graham extended his arms and wrapped them around her. She put her arms around his waist. They both squeezed tight, knowing that no words needed to be spoken. Kel was right. They had to trust each other. There could not be any room for doubt. Graham gave one final squeeze for affirmation. “I trust you. Let’s just hope you don’t have to prove that second part tonight, ok.”

  Kel backed up a step, smiling as she wiped away another year. “Yea, let’s hope nobody has to.”


  Just as they had finished making up, Damien came back into the room. Though the seriousness of their conversation was tangible, he could not turn off his sarcasm.

  “Hey, you can flirt with each other later. We’ve spent too much time here already. Let’s go.”

  Graham’s cheeks turned red, partially embarrassed, but mostly with anger. “Hey! We weren’t flirting…”

  Kel just rolled her eyes and walked out the door past Damien.

  “Typical boy,” she said, as she hit Damien with a swing of her hips, knocking him into the door frame.

  “Owww.” Damien cracked a small grin, thankful that the mood could lighten up a bit, even if it only lasted for a few seconds.

  Graham quickly followed, shoving Damien back into the doorframe with his shoulder as he walked by. Damien just grinned even wider.

  “Come on, amigo. Lighten up. I was just kidding.”

  Damien turned and followed them to the front door where Ailey was waiting patiently. They all gathered in a circle on the floor. The swift silence immediately stripped all of the playfulness from the room. The realization of reality hit them all at the same time.

  “Ailey, do you know which way to the clearing?” asked Graham.

  Ailey pointed out the window of the western side of the cabin. Closing her eyes, she mapped the position of the cabin in the picture. She held up her finger and traced a winding path, assumably the path from the picture at the warehouse, mapping out their route to the clearing in the trees. Once she felt confident in her assessment, she opened her eyes again. She raised her arm again to point out the window, then traced the same path in the air as she had done in her mind on the picture.

  They all took note of the curves Ailey was making with her finger. After she was done, they all just sat there, letting the awkward silence take command of the room. No one had to speak. The dread and unwanted anticipation was palpable, hanging in the air like a dense fog. Damien looked down at his red shirt, reminding himself of what he said in the cave. He had to convince himself again that this was the right move. “No more running.”