A Hidden Element

by Donna Galanti

  He slipped into the storage room and pushed aside the shelves of supplies, pulled up loose wooden planks from the floor, and lifted the latch to his freedom. Cool air blew up from his sanctuary. See, Manta, you are wrong. Being weak does not pay. He climbed down into darkness and sent her away.

  But she would not leave. There is no one here with you. No one follows you. Your so-called strength has left you alone. And this will be your downfall. You loved me once. You were kind once. Find that loving part of you and embrace it.

  Anguish struck him. He didn't recognize the feeling at first. It rose inside him like an angry animal. He fell to his knees on cold dirt. He was alone. So alone. As he had been in that cold well. Let these feelings go. Release me from this pain.

  Something wet touched his cheeks. He reached his hands up. What was this? Tears. Horror filled him at the evidence of his weakness. He rubbed his sleeve across his cheeks.

  Manta's fingers traced his back. Her touch burned into him, not like the whip's agonizing pain but with agonizing healing. Why do you suffer so at your own hand? You have punished yourself enough. Go forward with love and make all the wrongs you have done right.

  Her face appeared again and soft hair moved across his cheek. He put his hand there, wanting to feel her on him one more time. He smelled her skin, tasted it, and held it close to him.

  Only you can release you, Adrian. I love you.

  And she was gone.

  He cried out for her. I love you, too. Don't leave me again.

  He reclaimed the pain he thought he had long ago discarded. He stood. Blackness filled his every crevice in this pit of his creation. He slid his hands along the tunnel wall and forced himself to run on again, toward freedom.

  Then a voice called to him from far away. Manta? No, Laura. She came to him. Had Manta sent her to him as his second chance? He didn't know. But he knew what he had to do now.

  Snow swirled thick around Ben. It piled up to his calves and grew higher. He reached the fence that surrounded the compound and pulled himself up and over it, ripping his side on barbed wire. He gasped in pain and fell hard on the other side. Dizziness slammed into his head but he fought it off and stumbled on through the wilderness, shivering. He held Laura's love warm inside. It kept him going. And then, he heard her calling to him. We need you, Ben.

  And he held Laura in his arms once again. The ground quaked beneath them. He wasn't in the woods anymore. Another time and place came to him. She smelled of sunflowers. Running, running. Up he carried her through a tunnel of dark earth. Ben tripped. Snow blew white across his filthy hands. Why was snow in this tunnel of long ago? Throbbing pain burned his torso. The ground shifted beneath his feet. He tripped and crashed down, slamming Laura into the mud. So cold and wet.

  She moaned, unconscious.

  Up. Up. He went again.

  Pine struck his nose and he breathed deep to will his dizziness away. He slammed into trees. Their spindly arms pushed him around in circles. Playing with him. Why didn't they show him the way? Icy snow beat his face and hands.

  Up. Up. He went again.

  Dead. They were all dead down there under the earth.

  He had to leave them behind. But not Laura. Never Laura. He held her tighter. Anger and fear fueled him. The wild woods grabbed him. Tore at him until he bled. Like Laura's twin had bled him. He shoved the taunting arms away, angry to be held back.

  He bounced off earth walls and cradled Laura's head to his own. Then light spilled ahead. A great rumbling bellowed below him. The ground shook and he stumbled on heading for the light.

  Laura. Charlie. They were being held by a maniac.

  Confusion flooded through him. How could Charlie be here? He wasn't born yet.

  Laura's moans grew. He ran on, lurching sideways and, with a gasping leap, flung himself on the ground. The shaking took over. He crawled. Each movement forward shot pain in his head. The earth fell behind them, crushing all below. And Laura's screams matched the cry of earth falling. Final darkness came for him, strong and permanent in its grasp. He fought it away—again.

  Ben, we need you. Charlie needs you. Come back to us. Ben looked down at Laura. Snowflakes painted her cheeks and glistened in her chestnut hair. Her eyes were closed, her lips did not move.

  Charlie's dying. Help me.

  He had to get to them. Had to turn back. "I'm coming, Laura."

  He blinked and she was gone. His arms hung empty. Cold pushed its icy fingers into him. The snow stung his eyes, penetrated every crevice. He was alone in the blizzard. Laura had never been in his arms. They weren't in the tunnel. Could he save her now like he had once in that tunnel long ago? The night the earth fell and crushed their friends—and Laura's brother—with it. This time he could fail. If he did his family would be lost and he would be alone again. Like the little nine year old boy he had once been whose parents were crushed under a spaceship.

  He couldn't lose his family again.

  He wouldn't live through it this time. He wouldn't want to.

  Charlie's room had been empty. Laura used the map to navigate down darkened hallways to reach the sanctuary. She heard voices and shrunk against the wall, gripping Benny. He cried out and she gave him a bottle to suck. How she wished she could feed him. Oh, Ben, we're coming. I'm bringing our sons to you.

  And a blast of arctic ice chilled her.

  I'm coming for you, too.

  Ben's words came to her but swirled away with snow. He was somewhere so cold and white. Wasn't he hidden away as Caleb said? She had to get out of here and get to him. She shook the vision away and eased to the edge of the sanctuary door. A body sprawled on the altar and two figures, outlined by candlelight, tangled together.

  Charlie! And Caleb was shaking him.

  "No!" She ran toward them. "Let him go."

  Caleb turned to her. "He's killing himself."

  Caleb placed Charlie on the floor. She knelt at his side. Benny's sobs were muffled against her skin. "Charlie, please, don't do this." He was killing himself, like her twin had—only he had succeeded. She couldn't save her brother from himself that night long ago, but she had to save her son.

  She placed her hand on his head. He was still there, inside somewhere. She stroked his face. Her beautiful boy's face. Her son who had been through so much. She should never have turned her back on her powers. It blinded her to their enemy who was here all along.

  "He couldn't save Leah," Caleb said. "He said he had no one."

  But you do, Charlie. You have me.

  She willed life into him. Love coursed through her with a hand on each son, one who just had his first breath and one who was drawing his last.

  Caleb knelt beside her and placed his hands on Charlie's body, too. "Leah took my powers but they're coming back. Come back to us, Charlie." She stared into Caleb's eyes as he willed life into her son with her. Such kind eyes. He was the sort of man Charlie could grow to be.

  "Yes, Charlie. Don't leave me. Not now. I need you. Your dad needs you."

  She kissed his face, his fingers. Beautiful strong fingers.

  We'll get you the surgery. We'll make you look like you want. I promise you.

  He looked like a man, but he was still her child. She felt his pain inside. It was so hard to be a teenager who didn't fit in. She wanted to look into his eyes and tell him he did belong. He belonged with her and Ben and Benny.

  She felt a spark inside him. Benny gurgled against her. His tiny life force surged in her and she passed it from one son to another.

  "You have so much life left to live."

  No life. A whisper in her head.

  "You couldn't save Leah but you saved me," she pleaded with him. "If it weren't for you I'd be a lost soul, too. I wouldn't belong. But because of you I have your dad and you and now Benny."

  I killed my dad.

  No. Your dad's alive. Waiting for us.

  Not true.

  Yes.

  Caleb placed a hand on her shoulder. "We need to go. Others could
find us here. I'll carry him."

  "No, he's coming back to us. I hear him." Then she whispered. "Be brave, Charlie."

  Being big doesn't mean you're brave, Mom.

  Being big of heart does.

  I have no heart.

  You do. The biggest of all.

  I'm a freak.

  No. I thought I was, too, once. But your father showed me I have all the good from both worlds. To him I was the most human person he knew.

  No good. I'm evil, Mom. Like Adrian. Like your brother.

  Lots of good, Charlie. There is nothing you've done I can't forgive. My brother chose dark. You are stronger than him.

  "Choose life, Charlie. Open your eyes and meet your brother."

  And he did.

  His eyes moved to Benny. He reached up a hand and touched his brother's fingers. "He's so tiny. He's so…Adrian." He looked in shock at Laura.

  "He's your brother."

  "Big Brave Blue," Charlie whispered.

  "Like you." Laura squeezed his hand.

  Caleb helped Charlie stand. He swayed and looked away. "I'm a Destroyer."

  "We all can be. Human or Elyon," Caleb said. "But it's not who we have to be."

  A door slammed somewhere. Voices carried to them. "Let's go," Caleb said.

  Charlie grabbed Caleb's arm. "Leah, you've got to save her."

  Caleb picked Leah up and placed her gently under the altar's curtains, hiding her. "I'll come back for her. I promise."

  "You can bring the dead back to life?" Laura stared at him, not believing.

  "Yes. It's how I saved Ben."

  "Promise?" Charlie looked back at Leah.

  "Promise."

  "If we let her die we are no different than Destroyers."

  Caleb nodded and pulled Charlie away. They left the sanctuary and darted down dark hallways through the giant maze. The community was coming to life in the early dawn hours. Her murder would be discovered soon. Twice they stopped and hid in shadows as people went about their daily business.

  Laura gripped Charlie's hand as they ran. And he let her. She didn't want to ever let go.

  CHAPTER 41

  They came to the end of a corridor.

  Caleb looked behind them then slipped into a door that seemed invisible in the dim light.

  "It's an old storage room not used anymore. They shelve things here we've outgrown but we may have future use for."

  Charlie and Laura moved into the room. Light from a small window bathed them in gray. Daylight grew. Snow blew hard at the glass, scratching to get in. Caleb pulled a door up from a hidden latch on the floor.

  "Someone's been here," Caleb said. "The shelves have been moved."

  "Adrian," Laura said.

  "The Elders locked him up. Maybe he was here earlier…" But it bothered him anyway.

  "Let's hope."

  Caleb nodded. "The tunnel is down here. And this is where I leave you."

  "No, Caleb, come with us," Laura said.

  "I can't. I have to save Leah. And I need to be with my sons."

  "But you aren't with them now," Charlie said.

  "I have faith I will be soon. Someday we will be together."

  He put his hand on Laura's. Her tiny hand held such strength. The vision of them pressed naked together again flashed before him. He bent and kissed Benny's cheek, his breath warm on Laura's breast, as it had been once. She shivered and he knew she felt their time together, too.

  "He will grow into a fine man, like Charlie." Then he straightened up. "Give me the map."

  A door shut somewhere. They all tensed. Listening. Silence held them captive, and the snow that blew against the pane with little ticking sounds was the only thing they could hear. Laura unfolded the map. They spoke in softer whispers.

  "Follow the tunnel until here. See the whipping shack? There's a door in the tunnel wall. It leads to a cellar under the shack." He looked at Laura and then Charlie. "This is where Ben is."

  "For real?" Charlie grabbed the map scanning it.

  "Yes. Adrian had him killed and buried. I went back and dug him up and brought him there to heal him. He suffered greatly, though and is not all well yet. It will take time."

  Laura placed a hand on Caleb's arm. "That was difficult for you."

  "Yes," was all he said. "Then continue on through the tunnel. It will end more than a quarter mile past the whipping shack. Beyond the fence perimeter. There is a vehicle there, fully fueled. It's not hard to figure out how to use. Adrian hid it for his escape. It's now yours."

  "Then where do we go?" Charlie looked out the window. "It's a blizzard out there."

  "Head east. It's six miles to the road that leads into Benevolence."

  "Six miles?" Laura said louder, then whispered, "We'll die in the storm."

  Caleb pulled out a bin. He handed them two thick hooded robes lined with fur. "I hid these here long ago in case I needed them to escape in the winter."

  "There's an extra one there," Charlie said.

  "For my other son. I planned to leave with them."

  Laura took the robe, clasped Caleb's fingers for the two brief seconds they touched. "Thank you."

  He nodded and she looked into his eyes for the longest of moments. Then he pulled out a glow stick and snapped it. It lit up green, much brighter than a Halloween one.

  Charlie grabbed it. "Thanks."

  "You'll need it down there."

  Charlie put his robe on over his old one, but Caleb motioned to Laura to wait. He pulled down a cloth bag hanging on a peg, ripped a large piece off. Laura understood. A sling for Benny. Caleb wrapped it around her and crisscrossed her chest. She folded the sleeping baby into his new cocoon. Then she put her new robe on. It was bulky but warm. Benny fit snug inside.

  "Hurry now," Caleb said.

  Charlie hesitated then hugged him. "Thanks…for…not being like Adrian."

  Laura touched Caleb's face. You will get the chance to be a father to Jeremiah and Josiah.

  He smiled down at her. I hope.

  The snow beat at the window urging them on. And someone will love you back deeply someday, Caleb.

  He wanted to believe it. Someday.

  "Come on, Mom," Charlie eased his tall frame down the trap door. Laura followed him, nimbly stepping down with Benny strapped to her.

  She looked up at Caleb before she disappeared into the earth. "I won't forget you."

  "Good luck. I'll pray for you." He wondered if he'd ever see her again.

  "I'll pray for you, too."

  Then she dropped into the darkness.

  They were on their own.

  Ben tried to move his feet. They were down there somewhere but he couldn't feel them. The snow packed tight in every opening. He tried to move his stiff fingers then shoved them back under his armpits. He thought he was heading back to the compound but he was disoriented.

  He would die if he didn't get shelter soon. But he could die at the hands of the Elyons, too. Laura had called to him. He had no choice.

  Laura, where are you? Talk to me. I'm here. I'm coming back for you.

  Trees caught him as he stumbled. A raging world of white tore at him. Another time appeared before him. He, Charlie, and Laura had been housebound in a blizzard. They had no power and no heat. Darkness descended as the storm beat at their door. The snow piled up four feet high. The storm of a century. Charlie had been ten.

  They wrapped themselves in blankets and played board games by the fire, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. He recalled his son's laughter. It burst out all night and he felt comforted knowing his son thought he was funny. Laura lit candles and they winked in the windows as snowflakes flew at them trying to get in.

  When it came time for bed Charlie hugged him and told him it was the best night ever and could they do it again? But they never did. That world of white had been warm and content. A world he hadn't wanted to end. Or his time with his son. In the morning their disconnect had returned, cold as the bright winter sky that hung over the bl
owing sea of snow drifts.

  Ben blinked. Charlie and Laura were gone. He fell to his knees and struggled to get up. Each breath like a fist slamming into his chest. Tears streamed down his face from the frozen wind.

  "Laura," he yelled into the storm. A yellow haze grew overhead, blurred by the artic onslaught. The wind slammed into him and he grabbed onto a tree. A rescue helicopter? Could they fly in this weather?

  He peered up as the yellow grew larger. The wind knocked him to the ground

  It was no helicopter.

  Adrian moved stealthily in the dark. And Laura's voice carried to him. Charlie was with her. Then he heard a cry. She had her baby as well. How could they have known about the tunnel and escaped? And if they knew, who else did? It had to be Caleb. It did not matter. She was here and coming to him with her sons. Manta had sent them to him.

  He flexed his hands willing power back into his drugged body but it was useless. He had never been drugged before, never been at the mercy of others. Tollen would pay for this like his brothers, Brahm and Feo, had paid for their betrayals. Perhaps not now but someday. After he had taken Laura and their family and built a new life, she would see she belonged with him, not a weak human.

  Charlie would help him. Adrian had been there for him all these years from afar and now with him in the flesh. He had turned the boy on to his true nature. He could not turn back now that his wings had unfolded. Charlie wanted to fly with him.

  Laura's voice floated toward him like ghostly echoes, haunting and fleeting. He stopped and waited for her. And as she came to him Adrian saw her naked before him in his mind, chestnut hair gleaming in candlelight. Her nipples rose pink and luscious and he nipped and sucked them, rolling them on his tongue. She quivered beneath him and he delighted in her trembling limbs seeking release. Her smooth skin moved into his and he licked the sheen glistening on her from their tangled meshing. She opened her deep, brown eyes then and gasped as pleasure spiraled through her, and he pushed deeper into her.

  He grew hard thinking of her moaning with lust and longing beneath him. And when he had shot his Destroyer seed into her womb a new child would grow. They were a powerful pair, each a twin who had survived. Together, they doubled their strength. Those in their way would die.