Shadows of Deliverance

by Amy Hale

  In a panic, she tried to move her hands, but she couldn’t feel them. She willed her mind to command her body, but nothing happened. Colors emerged in the distance, and she reached for them, but no matter how close she came to them, they continued to move farther away. Her instincts told her that she needed to hold on to those colors with every bit of strength she had. She pushed forward against an unseen force, her determination propelling her closer and closer. Once she managed to get within touching distance, the tips of her fingers penetrated the vibrant barrier. Her reward formed in an instant feeling of joy and hope.

  For a scant few seconds, Jane saw faces that seemed familiar and she wanted to get closer. She needed to touch them. But as she inched closer, a darkness crept up around her, first covering her feet then slowly making its way up her legs. She struggled to break free, but she felt as if she were stuck in molasses. It continued to engulf her as she fought against it. The last thing she remembered seeing was a sliver of purple and green before the darkness overtook her.

  Cameron worked to prepare for the arrival of Colt and his group. At this particular time, it appeared the easiest entrance would be a door near the back of the building that led down to a basement-like area. It was locked, but he felt sure, given a little time, he could get it opened for them. He had yet to figure out what secrets were held behind that door as he couldn’t access it from the inside, but his hope landed squarely on that room possibly being where Elana was being kept. Even if he happened to be wrong, it still remained the most accessible door for their needs. He’d have to figure out the rest of the plan once he got them inside.

  His large size intimidated many of the younger gifted children. His stature was considered tall by anyone’s standards, but his six-foot-seven-inch frame made him seem a giant in the eyes of those who were much smaller. One young girl in particular always gave him a wide berth. She had short brown hair cut into a chin-length bob and her eyes often focused on the floor in front of her rather than on those she spoke to. He noticed this same child as he entered the mudroom. He’d had every intention of checking the door, but her presence stopped him short. She froze when she saw him.

  Cameron gave her a small smile, something he rarely shared with anyone. He put his hands in his jeans pockets.

  “Hi. I’m Cameron. What’s your name?” His voice was soft and calm.

  She clasped her hands together in front of her and studied her fingers. “I’m Deb.”

  He crouched down so he would be closer to eye level with her and less intimidating. “It’s nice to meet you, Deb.”

  Her only reply was a quick nod, then she pulled her shirt collar up and into her mouth. She bit and tugged it nervously.

  He watched her fidget and he remembered another little girl with that same nervous habit. When he knew her, Sybil Mayfield had to have been of a similar age as Deb, roughly seven or so. She’d owned a closet full of chewed up shirts. His foster sister for a short while, he adored young Sybil. One night, her father came home drunk, which was a common occurrence, and he lost his temper with her mother. He started hitting his wife and Sybil tried to intervene. This resulted in Sybil getting hurt as well. Cameron never could stomach a bully and this action broke the last straw for him. Without realizing he’d done it, he’d thrown up his shield to protect Mrs. Mayfield and Sybil. Mr. Mayfield got a nasty shock and it sent him to the floor.

  His drunken state didn’t allow for logical thinking and he charged at Cameron, not letting the phenomenon of Cameron’s gifts register enough to cause him alarm. Cameron caught the man in his arms and whirled him around to face the females cowering before them.

  “Do you see what you’ve done? You’ve hurt them! You are a horrible man!” He held Mr. Mayfield still, assuring he had time to take in the battered vision of his wife and daughter. “Never again,” Cameron growled from behind him. Then he picked the man up and tossed him through a large picture window in the front room.

  Mr. Mayfield lay sprawled out on the front lawn and didn’t move. Cameron feared he’d killed him. Mrs. Mayfield stared at Cameron in shock. It’d be one thing to see a grown man throw another grown man through a window, but Cameron had been only ten at the time and his height and build had still been fairly average. No one would believe this ordinary-looking boy could have ever taken out a man of Mr. Mayfield’s excessive size.

  He ran away that day, assured in his mind that he was now some kind of fugitive. He lived on the streets until Professor Russell discovered him and his talents. Now, there he stood, peering into the scared face of a similar little girl, wishing he could do more to protect her.

  “Deb, do you like it here?” He hoped his voice sounded as smooth as he’d intended, despite the emotions he battled.

  She shrugged.

  “Are you afraid of me?”

  She nodded again.

  “You don’t need to be. I’m a friend, and I’m here to be helpful to you and all the other kids.” He smiled at her.

  She pulled the shirt from her mouth and looked up at him. “Are you going to hurt her too?” Her expressive eyes welled with tears.

  “Hurt who? I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  She took a couple of steps closer. “I saw the scary guy take the pretty lady to the bad room.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.” Dread began to fill his mind.

  “The pretty lady—the new one. Jane. He took her to the room where you change.” The concern was evident in her voice now.

  “What man? You mean Jeremy?”

  She shook her head. “The other guy, with the creepy eyes.”

  “Gregory.”

  She nodded her head vigorously.

  “Can you tell me what room he took her to?”

  She pulled her shirt back into her mouth.

  “Deb, it’s important. I can help her, but I have to know where she is first.”

  She tugged her shirt down and reached for his hand. Placing her small palm against his larger one, she said, “I’ll show you.”

  Deb led him out of the mudroom and down a short hallway. He walked slowly behind her; his upper body bent in an awkward position so she could easily keep hold of his hand. She turned left at the next door and it led to a short flight of stairs. Stairs that he knew led to the same area he’d hoped to access for Colt.

  He crouched down in front of her once more. “Deb, why is this room bad?”

  She pointed down the stairs. “There’s a big metal door down there. People that go down there change before they come back up.”

  “How do they change?” He tried to keep his tone even so he wouldn’t alarm her.

  “They forget things.”

  He frowned. Hell, that can’t be good. Jeremy is absolutely messing with their minds.

  He patted her on the head. “Thank you, sweetheart. I’ll check on Jane. Why don’t you go read a book before they call lights out?”

  She looked up at him and gave him a small smile. “Okay.” She took a couple of steps away when she stopped and turned back to him. “It’s our secret. I won’t tell anyone you helped her.” Then she skipped away as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  Cameron carefully took each step one at a time, assuring he made no sound as he moved. Once he reached the bottom, he peeked into the hall to get an idea of the layout. There were several heavy doors, and at the far end stood two big metal doors.

  He situated himself into the shadows by the stairs and concentrated on sending a message to Kyler. Colt wasn’t going to like this at all.

  Jane struggled to think. Her eyelids felt heavy, and it took a monumental effort to open them. When her vision came into focus, she saw Gregory standing in front of her. His arms crossed his chest as he watched her. His face looked intense, as if he were on edge. She went to rub her face and discovered her hands had been restrained to the chair.

  “Why are my hands tied down?” she muttered.

  He placed his hands behind his back. “You don’t remember?”

 
; Her eyebrows knit together as she tried to recall how she’d ended up in the chair. She couldn’t even remember how she’d gotten into the room. “No. I don’t remember anything.”

  He crouched in front of her and studied her face. “What about Colt?”

  She started at him with a blank expression. “Who?”

  Gregory smiled. “Good girl. I think you’re finally ready.”

  She frowned. “Why do I feel like I’ve been hit with something heavy?” Jane pulled against the restraints. “Would you let me out of these things? I’m developing a massive headache.”

  At that moment, the heavy door pushed open and Jeremy entered. He took one look at the situation before him and frowned. “What the hell, Gregory? We agreed this wouldn’t be productive.”

  Gregory stood, reached into his pocket and pulled out the remote, his thumb hitting a red button that released Jane’s arms and legs. “She needed to drop some baggage. I simply helped her along.”

  Jeremy walked to where Jane sat and helped her stand. He glanced from her to Gregory. “Did it work?”

  “See for yourself.” Gregory smirked.

  Jane looked at the two men in confusion. “What are you two talking about?”

  Jeremy held her hands in his and looked into her eyes. “Can you tell me how you got to this facility?”

  She bit her bottom lip as she gave it some thought. “We migrated from the old building, I think. I recall walking through lots of trees.”

  Jeremy nodded. “Good. What about your friends?”

  Confusion clouded her face. “My friends? They all came with us, didn’t they?”

  He held her gaze. “What about Colt?”

  She shook her head. “Who is this Colt you keep talking about?”

  Jeremy grinned and turned to face Gregory. “We may have gotten lucky. We don’t know how long this will last.”

  Gregory shrugged. “I think it will last long enough.”

  Jane put a hand to her forehead. “You guys are making my head hurt worse.” She swayed and reached for the chair to steady herself. “I don’t feel so good.”

  Jeremy helped lower her back into the seat. “We’ll get you to the doctor soon to be sure you’re okay.”

  With her eyes closed, she inhaled deeply to will away the pain now coursing through her skull. She saw no colors, only grayscale swirls and black masses. “I think I need to go to my room. I’m in pain and very tired.”

  Jeremy nodded and helped her to her feet once more. She squinted her eyes as he led her to the door. She needed to see where he led her, but the light felt almost unbearable. They walked through the heavy door and down a dimly-lit hallway. As she passed each room on either side of her, she caught flashes of a memory—darkness and isolation pushed its way into her emotions but left almost as quickly as it arrived. She shook it off and chalked it up to being in pain as well as exhausted. They reached the end of the hall to a small flight of stairs. As Jeremy and Gregory helped her cautiously climb each step, she got the odd sensation that they were being watched. At the top, she stopped and looked back. No one was there, but she been sure she’d felt someone behind them.

  Jeremy and Gregory didn’t outwardly appear to notice anything so she brushed it off and gladly let them help her to her bedroom.

  Jeremy stood outside her closed door and glared at Gregory. “You idiot!” he hissed. “It’s one thing if she doesn’t remember things, but if she’s hurting and acting odd the others will notice. We hadn’t tested it to that extreme yet. What were you thinking?”

  Gregory rolled his beady eyes. “Stop being so dramatic. She’ll be fine, and no one else will notice a thing.”

  “I’m not so sure,” Jeremy remarked, concern lacing his voice.

  Gregory gave him a bored expression. “You are such a pansy.” He threw his hands up in exasperation. “Who cares if they notice? We run this show. No one is going to go against us.”

  “It’s that kind of arrogance that got my uncle killed. He didn’t believe anyone could go against him either.”

  Gregory placed a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. “I’m not being arrogant. I’m simply confident that we have this under control. Colt is severely injured, if not dead by now. His little band of misfits are a mess without Jane. She remembers none of them. We now have the upper hand.”

  Jeremy shook his head. “We can’t afford to underestimate any of them. Believe me, if Colt’s alive, he’ll come for her no matter how extensive his injuries are.”

  “But he’s average. He will be useless against our gifts. Only a fool would jump into something like this with his limitations.” Gregory’s expression turned gleeful. “Although, I admit, I do kind of hope he’s that big a fool. I’d love to crush him under my boots.”

  “Just stay alert,” Jeremy commanded. “He still has help from a few that are gifted, and as a team, they could be more dangerous than we expect.”

  Gregory nodded. “Will do.” He turned on his heel and strolled down the hall as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Jeremy watched him go and silently wondered if teaming up with Gregory had been the best course of action.

  At that moment, he saw Cameron coming toward him. “Hey, Jeremy, I’m looking for Jane. I’ve got a nasty cut and I know she can heal it quickly.”

  Jeremy glanced down at Cameron’s large hands. A small white towel had been wrapped around his left thumb and he held it in place with his right hand. Blood soaked through the material.

  “She’s in her room.” Jeremy eyed him with suspicion. “I’m sure you can find someone else to heal it.”

  Cameron sneered at him. “Listen, man; I don’t know another person in this building that can heal the way she can. The way she helped Rachel …”

  Jeremy held up a hand to cut him off. “If you go in there you absolutely do not mention anyone from that group to her, you understand?”

  “Sure, no problem. I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about any of those losers. I just want my thumb to stop bleeding. I have a one on one game with Alex in about twenty minutes. I’m not losing to that jerk because of a handicap.”

  Jeremy stepped aside to allow Cameron access. “Make it quick. She’s tired and needs to rest.”

  “You got it,” Cameron muttered as he turned the handle of her door.

  Jane sat on the edge of her bed and rubbed her temples. Her door opened and she saw Cameron enter and close the door behind him.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  He held out his injured thumb. “I could use your healing touch.”

  She frowned at him. “Healing touch? You must have me confused with someone else.”

  Cameron cursed under his breath but she didn’t catch what he said. He stepped closer. “You have a gift of healing. I’ve seen you do it. I’ve cut my thumb, and I need your help.”

  She shook her head.

  “Please. At least give it a try?”

  His words came out almost as a plea, and she felt guilty for denying him, even if his assertion was delusional.

  She held out her hand. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do, but don’t be disappointed if nothing happens.”

  He walked to where she sat and placed himself next to her in the chair. She gingerly unwrapped his thumb to find a deep gash on the underside, just above the knuckle.

  “How on Earth did you do this?” She asked.

  Cameron shrugged. “Cut it on a knife.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You’d think a tough fella like you would know to avoid that.”

  He studied her face. “Maybe I wanted an excuse to see you.”

  She chuckled. “Ha. Right. Why would you want to see me? We don’t even know each other.”

  Cameron frowned. “Yeah. Right. I’m just being stupid. Can you heal it?”

  She touched his thumb and closed her eyes, fully expecting nothing to happen. A warm sensation traveled down her arm to her fingers. Her eyes flew open when she realized that power was indeed flowing from her hand to his. She watched in amazem
ent as the skin pulled together and merged seamlessly, not even leaving a scar. The blood that stained his skin became the only evidence left that he’d ever been harmed.

  Cameron smiled. “Thank you.” He stood and she grabbed his hand, refusing to let him leave.

  “How did you know I could do that?”

  He appeared to consider his answer. “You’d be surprised what I know.”

  She still gripped his hand tightly. “That’s not an answer.” Her head began to pound harder and she released him to rub her temples once more.

  “Are you okay?”

  He reached for her and she shooed him away. “I’m not feeling well. You should leave now.”

  Cameron walked to the door. Before he opened it, he turned back to her. “Ask yourself why you can heal my cut, but not your own headache. Ask yourself how I know you, but you don’t know me.” He turned the knob and left without another glance as he quickly shut the door behind him.

  She reclined on her bed and pressed her palms to eyes. What is happening to me? Why do I feel so … so … out of place? She hoped she could sleep and that her mind and emotions would rest too, but somehow, that chance felt slim.

  Less than an hour later, Jane stood in the library, a book in her hand. She pushed herself to relax and read anything that might make the nightmares go away. She had napped for less than thirty minutes and had been plagued by horrifying images the entire time.

  She saw Cameron sitting with her new friend Katy. They both looked up and caught her staring at them, so she averted her eyes and concentrated on finding a place to sit on the other side of the room. She flipped through the pages of a mythology book, but nothing she read stuck with her. She couldn’t concentrate. She questioned her ability to remember Katy, but not Cameron. Obviously, they were all friends, so she couldn’t grasp why her mind felt so muddled. She wondered if she was going crazy.

  As if by magic, Katy suddenly appeared next to her. “Hi, Jane. How was your day?”