Shadows of Deliverance

by Amy Hale

  “Damn,” he muttered. “I appreciate his brilliance, but Wes way overdid it on the painkillers.” Colt was a big guy but had always had a low tolerance for medication. A little went a long way, and it appeared to Colt that he’d had more than a little.

  He leaned against the wall for support as he shuffled his way down the hall and to the dining area. The voices increased in volume with every few steps he made. He pushed open the doors and stepped inside. Chaos greeted him.

  Wes and Kyler stood toe to toe, their voices raised to each other in a fever pitch. Blake and Colt’s brother Brett were on either side of them. They both looked reluctant but ready to jump in if the argument came to blows. Rachel held Caesar, attempting to shield him from the fighting as he struggled to turn in her arms.

  Colt put his hands over his ears in hopes it would muffle the noise that painfully bounced around in his head like a pinball machine. “What the hell is going on here?” he yelled, causing more pain to ricochet off his brain.

  Everyone froze and turned to stare at him.

  Brett’s lips curved into a relieved smile. “Thank God you’re finally awake.”

  Colt continued to scowl. “How could I sleep with all of you screaming at each other?” He turned his gaze on Wes. “What kind of drugs did you give me anyway, Wes? I’ve been asleep for hours.”

  Colt noticed the not-so-subtle exchange of nervous glances.

  Brett spoke up. “More like days.”

  Colt took a step forward and stumbled. Rachel moved to his side in an instant. She looked at Wes. “Should he be out of bed? It seems too soon.”

  Wes shrugged. “I’m not sure. This whole thing has been weird. The medical books don’t cover stuff like this.”

  Colt tried not to lean against Rachel, despite her insistence to help him stay upright. “I should sit down.”

  She led him to a nearby chair and helped him settle in before releasing her grip.

  He rubbed his face and released a slow, calming breath. “Okay, now explain to me what happened. How have I been out for days? Jeremy shot me last night.”

  Blake shook his head. “No. It was almost a week ago.”

  Colt took in the faces starting back at him. His mind flashed back to Blake’s illness when they first found him, Rachel, and Caesar at the hotel. He imagined that his face was now as pale as Blake’s had been then.

  Brett took the seat next to Colt. “You died on us. You were dead. D-E-A-D.” Emotions caught in his throat, preventing him from saying more. Rachel reached out and took Brett’s hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

  Colt couldn’t believe his ears. “What? How is that possible? I’m here.”

  Brett cleared his throat. “You’d lost too much blood. When we removed the bullet, it only got worse. Wes did his best, but it takes skill as well as knowledge. In the end, we drove to the nearest town and Kyler convinced a doctor to help.”

  Colt raised an eyebrow. “Convinced?”

  Blake smirked. “As only Kyler can.”

  Colt looked into Kyler’s eyes, the perfect match of his twin sister Elana’s. “So, you used mind control on him.” Colt sighed and frowned.

  “Listen,” said Kyler, “we knew we were losing you. It was our only option. We got him back home safely and he was none the wiser. I convinced him to forget he’d helped us.” He paused. “Or that he stole several bags of O positive from the hospital.”

  “Dear God,” moaned Colt.

  “See?” Caesar stepped forward to stand in front of Colt. “We need you, Colt! You have to guide us so we don’t do stupid stuff.”

  Colt raised his eyes to Caesar’s. “I appreciate all you guys have done for me. It’s just … the mind control thing gives me the heebie jeebies.” He smiled as he looked at Caesar. “You haven’t done anything stupid. You all were just taking care of me. Why would you think you need me? Look at all you can do.”

  Rachel raised her hand. “That’d be my doing. We need someone sane to keep us all on point.” She gestured to the group around them. “That fight you walked in on? That’s us without you—panicked, frustrated, and unfocused. We need a leader.”

  He looked around the room at these amazing people he now called friends and nodded. “I see.”

  Kyler sighed. “While you were resting, we tried to figure out the next step: How to get Jane and Elana back. But we couldn’t agree on a course of action. And Brett insisted we wait for you. I can see he was right. I already feel more optimistic.”

  Brett smirked. “About damn time someone listened to my brilliant mind.”

  Rachel playfully smacked the back of his head. “Your mind might be sharp, but your mouth is gonna get you bound and gagged.”

  Brett smiled up at her. “That sounds promising.”

  She rubbed her temples. “I don’t even know why I try anymore. You’re hopeless.”

  Colt’s expression tensed. “They’ve had Jane and Elana for a week? The devil only knows what they’ve done to them.”

  Caesar scrunched his nose in confusion. “Is that how the saying goes? I thought it was ‘God only knows’.”

  Colt frowned. “Not in this instance. Jeremy and Gregory are the spawns of Satan. And I intend to send them straight back to Hell.”

  Two days after regaining consciousness, Colt sat on the edge of one of the overstuffed chairs in the library. He’d been rotating his arm and shoulder with caution, testing out his mobility. Pain still limited his strength, but he could use it. He knew he should give himself more time to heal, especially after Brett had described the last week in detail. Colt found it odd that he didn’t remember any of it. While his heart hadn’t stopped for long, it had been enough to convince Brett he’d be planning a funeral next. Everyone claimed it was nothing short of a miracle. They’d said he somehow revived on his own after the doctor had given up on CPR. It sounded impossible, but since meeting Jane, he’d learned that nothing was truly impossible. He just wished he could recall something about his brush with death. Did he cease to exist? Did he visit an afterlife? And if so, where did he go? His mind spun with questions and he’d likely never know the answers. Not until he died again someday, which he hoped would be many, many years in the future.

  He stood and stretched slowly, assuring he didn’t move too fast and lose his balance. He inwardly cursed his inability to heal quickly. Why couldn’t I have been born with special abilities? The thought surprised him. He’d heard the horror stories and knew the extreme difficulty that each gifted person faced. It wasn’t an easy life, yet he couldn’t help feel a tad envious. If he’d been gifted, maybe he’d heal faster. Maybe he wouldn’t have been shot at all. Maybe he’d feel more useful to the group—to Jane. He pushed his doubts aside and walked away from the comforting fire he’d been enjoying moments earlier. The library had become his second favorite room in the building, his bedroom being his top favorite thanks to Jane.

  Rachel entered the library just as he reached the door.

  “How are you feeling, Colt?” Concern furrowed her brow.

  “I’m gonna be fine. I’m a little slow, but I don’t think it’ll take me long to bounce back.”

  She nodded. “Glad to hear it. I wish I had Jane’s gift for healing. I’d abracadabra your ass and we’d get this show on the road.”

  He frowned. “Yeah, we could use a little magic right now. Or a miracle.”

  She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “We’ve already gotten one, maybe a second miracle isn’t so hard to believe in.”

  He wanted to hope, to believe she was right, but his mind and heart warred against each other.

  Rachel squeezed his arm. “She’ll be fine, Colt. She’s smart, powerful, and probably really pissed off. I wouldn’t want to be in Jeremy’s shoes right now.”

  He smirked. “All true. So, let’s figure out how to give her a hand.”

  They stepped out of the library together and were nearly run over by Caesar. He heaved in panicked breaths, and his eyes had opened wide with fright
.

  Colt placed his hands on Caesar’s shoulders and bent down to look him in the eye.

  “Whoa, hot shot! What’s the rush?”

  Caesar took a huge gulp of air and exhaled it slowly. “I was up in that big tree, being a gatekeeper like Jane said. I saw someone coming down the dirt path! I can’t see who it is, but they are headed this way.”

  Rachel looked at Colt. “I’ll get the others. Meet me near the front.”

  Colt nodded and she ran down the hall and out of sight. He turned back to Caesar. “I’ll grab my binoculars then you can take me to your tree.”

  Caesar stood tall and displayed a sense of maturity that far surpassed his ten years of age. “Yes. Excellent idea.”

  Colt made the short walk to his room and plucked the binoculars off his dresser. He turned to find Caesar waiting in the doorway.

  “Ready?” Caesar asked.

  “Yes, lead the way.”

  Colt followed him down the hall and out the side door closest to the boy’s favorite tree. Reaching a huge oak, Caesar climbed swiftly and pointed to a lone figure in the distance. Colt moved directly behind him, scaling the tree carefully to avoid re-injuring his shoulder. Once settled in the large crook next to Caesar, he raised the binoculars to his eyes. He thought he recognized the lone figure. Jocelyn’s silver hair gleamed in the sunlight. She and Cameron had decided not to join them in this fight. Last time he’d seen either of them, they’d insisted on staying in that broken-down cabin in Kentucky.

  Colt called over to the rest of the group congregated near the front. “It looks like Jocelyn.”

  Rachel didn’t wait for further comment. She dashed down the dirt road before anyone could stop her.

  Colt and Caesar continued to watch from their position in the tree. After the fiasco with Jeremy, he’d become leery of allowing anyone else to join them. Trust was in short supply.

  He saw Rachel approach Jocelyn and they hugged, so he climbed down and motioned for Caesar to do the same. As they approached the group, all eyes focused on the road ahead.

  “Is it really Jocelyn?” asked Wes, a hint of hope in his voice.

  “Yeah, I believe so.” Colt sighed. “Do you think we can trust her?”

  Wes looked Colt in the eye. “I do. She’s not your average person, or even your average gifted, she’s special in many ways. But she’s not a traitor. She hated The Curators as much as anyone.”

  Colt nodded as he watched Rachel and Jocelyn walk toward them on the path. “I hope you’re right, Wes.”

  Moments later, Jocelyn had timidly greeted everyone in the group. Her eyes locked with Colt’s. “Can we talk in private?”

  He studied her for a moment, then nodded and motioned for her to follow him. He led her through the front entry and into the hallway. They entered the library and Colt asked Kyler to stay nearby and keep an eye out for anything that looked or felt off. He wanted to trust Jocelyn, but he couldn’t do it just yet.

  She sat in an overstuffed chair and leaned her head back. She blew a strand of her silver hair out of her face and rolled her head to look at Colt, who sat in a similar chair next to hers.

  “Man, I’m exhausted. Getting here was quite a trip.”

  Colt only nodded in acknowledgment.

  “So, I guess you want me to get down to it.”

  Again, he stayed silent.

  “Okay, here’s the deal. When Jane hugged me before you all left the cabin, I saw … I saw something.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You saw something? Explain, please.”

  “Well, my gifts are kind of … I don’t know. No one likes them. When I touch people, I can see their future, or at least a piece of it. Not the most popular party trick when you mostly see the bad things.” She sighed. “People tend to avoid you completely. It’s why I push everyone away. It’s easier than being rejected.”

  She tucked her slender legs underneath her and put her hands in her lap.

  “Colt, I saw death when Jane touched me. It wasn’t specific, just a large graveyard, but I got the impression the meaning held significance.”

  He frowned. “It certainly sounds ominous.”

  “Yeah. Jane was alarmed when I told her, but she didn’t seem terribly surprised. I wonder if she’s had a premonition of some kind.”

  Colt put his head in his hands. “I think she has.” His eyes raised to hers. “She’d been having these odd visions and nightmares. She wouldn’t talk about them at all, but they terrified her. Losing the people she loves is the only thing I can think of that would likely scare her that bad.”

  Jocelyn pressed her lips into a thin line. “When you’ve been alone for so long and you finally find family—” she gestured as if they were surrounded “—you tend to hang on with both fists.”

  “Jocelyn, can the future be changed?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I truly hope so. All we can do is try, right?”

  “Does this mean you intend to join us?”

  She gave him a shaky smile. “Yes, I owe it to Jane. To everyone, really. If I can help, then I want to be useful.” She cleared her throat. “I know something has happened to Jane—I felt it when I got here. Her aura is missing. So, start at the beginning. Tell me everything. We’ll figure this out as a family, if I’m still welcome.”

  Colt was still wary of putting his full trust in her, but he also knew Jane would have received her with open arms. He’d give Jocelyn a cautious welcome and have Kyler try to determine her intentions if possible.

  “We appreciate all the help we can get, Jocelyn. Thank you for coming.”

  Jane walked next to Jeremy, her steps hesitant and slow. She knew she had to play her part for now, but every fiber of her being resisted her plan to cooperate. She had to force herself to calm down and appear open to the ideas presented to her.

  As they passed through a large activity room, Jane noticed that most of the children sat at desks or tables, reading. Several pairs of eyes looked up at her before quickly returning to their work.

  “Jeremy, what are they doing?” The surprise evident in her voice.

  He grinned. “Learning.”

  “Learning what?”

  He stopped and turned to her. “History. Music. Poetry. Art. Whatever they are interested in.”

  Jane was speechless. “Everyone?”

  He nodded. “Yes, everyone.”

  In the past, the gifted had been only allowed to learn the basics of various subjects, until they were declared ready for higher learning. This comprised most of their education. These more engaging subjects were considered unnecessary and a privilege, so the permission for extra instruction was given only to the extremely gifted Centerpieces, such as herself.

  He cleared his throat, then spoke loudly, shaking Jane from her woolgathering. “Hello, everyone. Enjoying our lessons?”

  All the children smiled or nodded. Jane quickly took in as many faces as she could before their noses ducked back into their books. It shocked her to see that many of them actually seemed … happy. But then she supposed this method was a huge step up in comparison to the old way of learning, which involved slaving over a desk and then punishing battles against each other.

  Jeremy began to walk again and motioned for Jane to follow. She’d only been a step or two behind him, so she took one last glance around before walking through another set of doors and into the hallway. As she left, she saw one young lady smile at her and wave.

  Jane’s brows drew together as she tried to understand the true situation these students faced. The children appeared happy. They didn’t show evidence of being drugged or scared. Jeremy’s changes were hard to fathom.

  They continued to walk until they reached a wing that branched off to the left. When Jeremy stopped and opened a door to his right, he invited her to enter. She walked into a beautifully furnished room. A large bed with light-blue sheets and big fluffy pillows sat against one wall. An ornately carved wooden dresser rested against the opposite wall next to a narrow
door that she suspected was a closet. A padded rocking chair sat near the nightstand and the bed. The light and pleasant decor beckoned for her to relax. She silently wondered if this room belonged to Julia or some other higher rank in the organization.

  “Please, Jane, have a seat on the bed and tell me what you think.” He winked at her.

  She eyed him with caution as she moved toward the bed and gingerly sat on the mattress. She found herself blissfully sinking into its unbelievable comfort before remembering where she was. She tried not to show emotion as she watched him take a seat in the rocking chair.

  “Do you like it?” Jeremy asked.

  “Do I like what? The bed?” She had no idea of what he expected her to approve, or why.

  “The room. Do you like this room?” He looked at her as if she were dense.

  “Oh. Yes. It’s lovely.” She didn’t know what else to say.

  “Good. It’s yours.” He stood and walked to the closet, then pulled open the door. “There are clothes in here that should fit, and I’ll be sending a couple of the guys on a supply run soon. If there is anything at all you need, please make a list, and I’ll see that it’s taken care of.”

  “Why?” Jane asked quietly, shock at his congenial treatment still coursing through her.

  “Because I’m not a monster, Jane. I know you think so, but I’m going to prove to you otherwise. You’ll soon see that I’m right about everything. I just had to get you calmed down first, which unfortunately meant resorting to the antiquated tactics of my uncle. Thanks to you, he’s no longer with us and we can progress forward.”

  She didn’t trust him. Not even a little.

  He placed his hands on his hips and looked around. “Well, I should go. We have a mandatory meeting in about forty-five minutes. Hall B. Please be there so we don’t have to come looking for you.”