by Nye, Laine
He nodded. “But there is all this pent-up energy inside me that I can feel that came from the hole. I learned to recognize that feeling with the gravity control. But not like this. Never like this. It is so much stronger now and I feel like I could explode there is so much pressure inside of me.”
“Maybe that means your abilities will come back in time since the energy is still inside of you.” She offered.
He shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so. It feels too different than it did before. Guys, I need a few minutes to get some strength back before I get up.”
After about twenty minutes, he was finally able to sit up. “Help me up. We need to get back to the tour van before they leave us behind.”
“We need to get away from this hole before it starts acting up again.” Charlene said.
“Do you have any different-kinds of abilities dad?” Steve asked. “Maybe you got new stuff.”
“I don’t think so. I don’t think anything good came from this. Thanks for saving me Steve. I knew you could do it. And thanks for trying to stop me from falling in the hole.”
“You’re welcome dad.” Steve answered soberly. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“This thing is far more powerful than the one in Utah.” Brad said. “Infinitely stronger. More dangerous. More… Everything. None of it good.”
“Let’s get away from it.” Charlene said. “You don’t know if it could erupt again. Or whatever it does.”
They walked back to the tree line and made their way back to the trail with Brad having his arm around Charlene for support.
“Why did you have to come here Brad?” She asked. “Why did you take this risk. You already had a problem with the one in Utah once. Why tempt fate?”
Brad shook his head. “It was different this time. It was like I was being beckoned here by some powerful force. Much stronger than before. I knew about the danger from my experience in Huntsville. But ever since the last time I rode that hole, I have been aware of this one. Always tugging at me in the back of my mind. Now it seems like it was a trap or something. I just don’t understand it.”
“You can’t go back to any one of these holes again Brad. I won’t let you.” She told him.
“I don’t want to go back anymore but…”
“What?” She asked.
Now I can feel the one in New Zealand. It’s on the South Island. I can almost picture the topography in my mind. It’s calling to me now. I have never felt it until today,”
“No Brad.” She expressed firmly. “Never again.”
“I agree. But I hope this thing doesn’t continually tug at me the way the other two have done.”
“Brad. You will have to get used to it. We can never, ever do this again.”
Charlene never bossed Brad around. Nor he her. But on that day, she spoke more firmly to him than ever before.
They finally emerged from the trail and saw the tour van down in the parking lot near the boats that took people over to the cave they had been in. The tourist guide looked relieved to see them.
“Glad you guys could make it. We almost gave up on you.” He said with an accent born from learning English as an adult. His smile was genuine. Welcoming.
Brad approached him with a grim expression.
There is a dead man up on the trail next to that big hole in the ground. I think they call it devil’s hole.”
The tour guides face changed from cheer to darkness in an instant.
“This will be the third one reported to me in the past five years. I’m surprised that you saw a body. Usually, the victim is not seen again.”
He walked over to the crew of boaters and told them about the body. With grim expressions they looked toward the trailhead and started walking that direction.
Brad and his family climbed into the van and the trip back to Puerta Princessa commenced. Brad and Steve were both exhausted. Brad wished that Albert were still alive to help him, counsel him like he used to. He missed Albert greatly.
That night at the motel room Charlene invited her husband outside with her to a bench they could sit on while watching the stars. He willingly went with her. Knew she wanted to talk. Wasn’t concerned about her wanting a discussion because she never made their talks confrontational. He sat down next to her on the bench. She leaned into him.
“I was terrified today. Not just for you but for Steve and myself. I thought we were all going into that accursed hole.” She told him.
He nodded thoughtfully. “I’m sorry I endangered us.”
“Why is it so hard to resist? Why couldn’t you just walk by or walk away as soon as you had a peek?” She asked without accusation. She really wanted to understand.
“I cannot explain. These holes have a powerful influence on anyone who uses them. This devil’s hole today was so different from anything in my experience. It was far more powerful. Far more unpredictable. It saturated me with the energy. I feel like I have been filled to the top and more still wants in. Like over-inflating a balloon. I can only hold so much.”
“I’m worried about you.”
“Why, Charlene?”
“Because of what you just said about being too full of this stuff. Because you have been using the gravity control for so many years that you have come to rely on it and now it’s gone. Because you are always being tugged towards these holes.”
“Yeah. Losing the gravity control is like losing a hand or an arm. I feel vulnerable, helpless.” “And that’s why I am worried. Do you think that your ability might come back over time or that maybe there is a way to let out some of this pressure you are feeling and then you’ll get it back?”
“I don’t know. I don’t understand anything about this. I used to think I was knowledgeable about this stuff. Experienced. After today, I just don’t know.”
“Did you enjoy Ugong cave?” She asked, changing the subject.
“Yes. Never been in an underground river before. That was fascinating.”
“And that green lagoon was so beautiful.”
He nodded his agreement, but his mind was distant. Still thinking about everything that happened today and so long ago in Utah. Trying to make sense of it. Didn’t help.
“You going to be okay?” She asked.
He smiled a tired smile at her. “Yeah. I suppose so.”
“You want to get some rest?”
“In a while. I am enjoying the stars and you leaning against me.”
“You’d better be.” She assured him.
He reached his arm around her and pulled her in tighter.
“I still feel safe in your arms Seth Collins. Or whoever you are.” She told him.
“You’d better.” He answered. They kissed.
“Are the Collins going to be okay?” She asked later in the room.
Brad smiled. “The Collins will be fine.”
“What about the Shaws?” Steve asked jokingly. “Are they going to be okay?”
“Yes. They will be just fine too.” Brad answered soberly.
∆∆∆
Charlene’s love for Brad was absolute. She was fully devoted and loyal to him and always would be. She supposed that in the times they were living in, they were a rare couple. Neither of them had any intention, (nor would they ever) of stepping out on their spouse. Breaking their relationship was the last thing they wanted. Both had a few people over the years that didn’t care that they wore rings on their fingers that said ‘married, unavailable’, These types still flirted with Brad or Charlene on occasion hoping to seduce one of them away from the other. People expected to get a boost to their ego through successful seduction. It was not to be so with this couple. Brad loved his wife too much to hurt her through adultery. His wife was the same.
Charlene was a particularly compassionate woman. She hated to see others in pain, be it emotional or physical. This deep-rooted kindness, and her devotion to Brad were both from the impact of her childhood. Charlene was raised in a two-parent home wherein she felt greatly love
d by both her parents. She felt that she had an idyllic life. Her dad was her hero. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. Her mom was her rescuer. The one to turn to when she was hurt or afraid. She loved her parents dearly.
One year, her father seemed to be more distant than he had been in the past. He was becoming unkind to his wife, Charlene’s mother. Charlene noticed this, and it bothered her. She had asked him twice if he was mad at mom and his answer was no. The third time she asked him the same question he blew up. ‘Stop asking me that stupid question. I’m fine.’ He said. He didn’t say no. He didn’t mention his wife. He only said, ‘I’m fine.’ That bothered her that he turned it around into something about himself only. Not about Charlene’s mom. Her feelings were hurt in a way that had never happened before. Her father became increasingly angry and hostile towards his wife and Charlene could not understand that.
At age ten she overheard her parents yelling at each other in a moment of finality. There were certain words that came from the argument that would be forever etched into her brain. Her mother’s words came first. ‘I just want to know who she is. Do I know her?’
Her father answered harshly. ‘It doesn’t matter if you know her or not. I’m leaving.’ And with that he stormed out the front door. He didn’t say goodbye to his daughter. Charlene heard the front door slam hard enough to shake the home. Then he was gone. Gone from their home. Gone from her life. She never saw him again. He left his clothes and his guns and his other belongings. He left his wife and daughter. Someone else mattered more to him than all this.
She was heartbroken. Her tears turned from sadness to bitterness at age eleven. She learned to hate all men. When she saw some legal papers on the table one time, one word was etched in her mind. Divorcement. Then, sometime after that men started showing up at her home showing interest in her mom. Charlene hated all of them. They were very nice to her. It didn’t matter. She hated them.
Her mom married one of them. Charlene hated him and was mad at her mom for getting married to someone who wasn’t her dad. Mad at her dad that he had left and made it, so Charlene’s mom would get married to someone else. That was when she was twelve. But over the next few years, she decided she could not continue to live in a world of hate. She was no longer happy. She had once been very happy and now those feelings were gone. A teacher told her that happiness isn’t based on what someone else does, happiness came from within one’s self. Therein was the source of happiness. As a fountain draws water from below to display the beautiful spray patterns that people liked to see, so happiness came up from deep inside and it influenced others to see the beauty from your personal fountain of joy.
Charlene slowly changed back after that. Her hardened looks changed to softness, vulnerability, beauty. She became a lovely young woman who was well liked by those who had once stayed away from her. Her closest friend had been one who once thought she was too mean to be friends with. Now that friend hung on every word she said and everything she did. They had been so close until Charlene went off to college. Moving from Atlanta to Sacramento had brought her into new worlds, new friends, and that was where she discovered Brad and fell in love with him. The fires of tribulation had forged a wonderful woman that easily attracted a shy, hesitant Seth Collins.
∆∆∆
When they arrived back home two weeks later, Brad returned to work as always. His business partner, Phillip Massey welcomed him back and told about another deal he had made in Brad’s absence to sell a five-year old Cessna to a burgeoning pilot. Business was going very well for them. Especially after the deal that Brad had closed in Cebu.
Phillip Massey was of diminutive stature. He had ebony skin with dark intelligent looking eyes. He was hard working, impeccably honest. A good man. He wasn’t as creative as Brad, but he had the connections that made their business possible. They made a good team. Their aircraft business was starting to take off over the past five years. Before that it was a hard, slow climb. Between the two of them, they had built the business from the ground up over the last twelve years. Phillip had an overweight, but nice-looking wife, though she was taller than him. Her skin was darker than her husband’s, her hair more tightly curled. They had no children. They couldn’t conceive. They were content to just be together. Brad trusted Phillip’s wife as much as he did Phillip. Of all the people that Brad knew that were in business, he chose to work with Phillip.
At the end of their day, as they were leaving, Brad tried to shut the office door and lock it, but the door jammed and wouldn’t shut. He stepped back inside to look at the door frame while Phillip explained.
“Yeah. I have been having trouble with this door for the past week. Don’t know what’s wrong. Seems the door frame may have warped.”
Brad stood on the inside. Phillip was on the outside. Just when Brad put his hand on the door frame to feel it, noticing a gap, Phillip tried to slam the door shut again. Brad’s fingers were smashed, and the door bounced open as he withdrew his hand which was in considerable pain.
“Oh my gosh. Sorry Seth. That was really-bad timing. I didn’t know you were sticking your hand in the doorway.”
“Just an accident.” Brad said looking down at his left hand. His fingers had the skin torn all the way off them and were bleeding heavily. His middle finger was throbbing painfully. More so than the rest of his hand. It felt like it could be broken. He let Phillip apply some first aid bandaging to it.
He went home with his whole hand throbbing and he was being very careful with it. When Charlene saw it, she was very concerned.
“Shouldn’t we take you to an after-hours clinic?”
“I’ll take aspirin tonight. If it still bothers me a lot tomorrow, I’ll go see our doctor.”
“Men are stubborn creatures. Aren’t they?”
“Only when they are awake, so it’s okay.”
She just shook her head.
“I can certainly tell that you’re awake.” She said whimsically.
Their home was a two-story house. They could have afforded a much bigger home like Phillip had, but they were comfortable where they lived. There was a large living room at the front when one walked through the front door. Across from the front door and through the wide living room was a hallway to the right with an office, the master bedroom, and another bedroom across the hall from the master bedroom. Just before the second bedroom was the stairway leading up to where Steve’s room was along with a very large family room and a smaller bedroom they used for storage. Downstairs at the end of the hall was a large walk-in closet. The kitchen was to the left of the doorway from the living room opposite the hallway with a dining room adjacent to it. All in all, a nice comfortable place to call home. Phillip pushed them to get into something nicer, but they liked what they had.
They had two large savings accounts and three checking accounts with a sizable deposit on file in each. Things were good for the Collins family.
The next day when Brad got up he noticed his hand was barely sore. He looked down at it and was surprised to find that the torn off flesh that led to so much bleeding was almost completely healed. He wiggled his fingers. They felt much better. No more throbbing. By the next day, he examined his hand again. There was no more pain. The middle finger was fully flexible. His hand looked as if he had never been injured. He told Charlene about it.
“Look at this Honey. My hand has completely healed.”
She gasped. “Brad. Two days ago, you looked like you had a serious-problem. What’s going on?”
“I guess I picked up an ability in The Philippines after all. I just didn’t know.”
She looked into his eyes earnestly. “That’s amazing. I’m glad. But all these things that happen to you as a-result of your going near those holes in the ground… It’s just hard to process even after all these years.”
“Still wish I had my gravity control instead of this healing thing. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll be glad to have it at some point.”
“Hey. I wonder if you could us
e it to heal me?” Charlene asked.
“Is there something wrong?” He asked with concern.
“No. I’m talking about if someday I get hurt. Could you heal me?”
“I don’t know Charlene. That’d be nice if I could though.”
Chapter Two
Steve Collins graduated from high school at age seventeen. He was considering what college he wanted to go to. Legally, his name was Collins. But the name of his father was an alias that had become his legal name. Mom still called his dad Brad because that was the name he was given at birth. But after the horrendous difficulties he’d had in Utah, his father, Steve Shaw, who was Steve’s grandfather and namesake had Brad’s name changed through his DIA contacts. That way, Brad could disappear from those who hunted for him. Steve’s grandfather had worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency, the DIA, for many years and so it was easy for him to call in a couple of favors to protect his son Brad.
Steve was walking behind a cluster of stores in a strip mall on his way home one afternoon, taking a shortcut he used often to get home. He heard a girl in distress and some guys laughing and taunting. As he passed one of the store backs, he looked to the left where the sound was coming from. The next store was smaller than the others, so it was tucked in further. Brad saw the small group of people up near the back door of the store. Four guys had a girl up against the wall of the store and would not let her leave. She was wearing a uniform identifying her as an employee at the store behind her. Steve knew her from school. He knew the four guys that had her trapped as well.
She had always been a studious, quiet girl. Not given to rebellious actions or defiance. Well liked. Somewhat attractive. The four guys were known trouble makers. Drug users. They were out of school now. Not graduated. Just out. Steve knew from their reputations that this girl was in serious trouble. She had been grabbed by the group and dragged out the back door of the store she worked in.
Steve turned toward the group. Nancy was her name. He couldn’t remember her last name. He would find out later that it was Cooper. She looked at Steve with pleading eyes and mouthed the words. “Help me.”
