by Nye, Laine
“Okay. We should be about a quarter mile from you right now. I can pinpoint you if you use your gravity control. I will feel the energy and know where you are at.”
So, Steve rose up into the trees. A few minutes later his Dad said I’m right next to you Steve.”
“Yeah. I can see the car. I’m coming down.”
He let himself float in the air while he pulled himself toward the road.
∆∆∆
There were a few police cars at the Spillway area or heading that way on the road from Napa and from Winter which was on the other end of the road from the lake. They got there just in time to watch the drone lose battery power and take its turn down the black water filled hole. The police lifted the van up enough to drag Josh out from under it.
An ambulance was on its way. Josh lay there on the ground knowing that the police didn’t know that he was involved in kidnapping the kid with all the powers. Brad and Charlene had kept that info from getting out so that they could find their son without interference. An officer approached him.
“What happened that you end up under a van? It doesn’t look like it has been in accident so what’s going on here?”
“Oh man officer. I don’t want you to think I am making any of this up. What I have to tell you will sound way too fantastic.”
“We’ll be the judge of that. Just tell us your story.”
“This kid, about nineteen years old tipped this van over on me. That was after he dropped my brother and my friends down that hole out there.”
“One kid. Did all that.”
“Yes. Yes. He controls gravity or something. Just picked them all up at once and dumped them down the hole. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. Worse than when I was in Afghanistan.” He lied about being in the service. The police heard the accounts from Josh about what had happened. He was afraid they would not believe him. But they listened carefully and assured him that what he was telling them matched incidents that had happened in Sacramento over the last couple of days. Of course, Josh knew what incidents they were talking about but didn’t let on that he had been there. He just feigned shock and ignorance at what they said. By then, the ambulance and paramedics had arrived. He was treated and taken to the hospital with an officer accompanying him. They had a lot more questions for Josh.
The police didn’t take long to connect the carpet van to the incident from the Sacramento valley. They were aware that Seth Collins had escaped from the hospital after being shot. They knew he had assaulted two police officers. With the van sitting at the dam, they figured Brad-Seth had to be very close by. They went on high alert.
∆∆∆
One police car had passed the car the Shaws were in with lights flashing on the way to the dam. In his rear-view mirror, the cop saw the car he had passed do a U-turn and go back the opposite way. The car was almost a mile away. Knowing they were looking for a stolen car, which he had not yet reached, not yet seen, he was suspicious about the car turning around. The officer already had his lights on. Now he put on his siren too, flipped a U-turn and began to pursue the vehicle. He made a call on his radio that he was in pursuit of a suspect vehicle. Some of the police that had been gathering at the site near the glory hole jumped in their cars to give back-up to the pursuing officer. Maybe they were about to catch the very dangerous suspect and his accomplice that was his wife.
∆∆∆
Jeff slowly recovered from the swollen windpipe. His breathing was no longer labored. Sherry didn’t know that Jeff had been willing to give up her life for revenge against Brad, so she had been there at his side to encourage him to continue fighting, continue breathing until it was easier to do so.
When Jeff could finally speak, it was in a hoarse voice, quiet.
“It took me years to find him. I spent a lot of money. Now he’s gone again, and I don’t think I will be able to relocate him this time. I might have lost my chances of getting justice for what Brad did to our family.”
“Jeff. Maybe it’s time to just let it go. It all happened so long ago. Get on with your life now.”
Jeff looked at his sister with fierce anger in his eyes.
“It happened tonight. Brad’s son just killed Dan.”
“What?” She gasped. “Are you sure? How?”
He dropped him and the others down the glory hole at the lake.”
“What? Brad’s son has the same ability?”
“Yes, he does. He killed Dan. He almost beat all of us guys together when we went to his house to get him. If I had not had the ketamine to inject him with, we would have lost.”
They were walking back to their car as they were talking. Jeff was not interested in the two men he had brought with him as reinforcements. They were still laying on the ground, injured, one of them bound. Jeff got in the car with his sister that he had been ready to betray and drove away leaving the two men behind.
“We have to go find Dan’s body.” Sherry said in a distant voice. “We can’t just leave him.”
“The police will be all over that place by now. How would we explain why we are there? How could we know what happened unless we were involved? No. Hopefully, they will find Dan, identify him and send his remains back to Utah for burial. I will be happy to pay for that, but we can’t go to him.”
“What about that van you left Utah with. What happened to it?”
“It’s at the dam. I won’t be able to get it back.”
“Can they trace it back to you?”
“No. I made sure that ownership of the van could never lead to me.”
“Are we going to fly back home then? Wait for Dan’s body to be brought back to us?”
“Yes. Sherry, can you shut up now?”
Sherry looked at her brother. Then back to the road. Tears glistened in her eyes from headlights and street lamps. She thought back to the night when Brad had taken her on the date that changed everything. She had felt romantic feelings for him that night, just like he had expressed towards her. She had wanted Brad to kiss her. She had even been exhilarated after she got over her initial fear of being so high in the air. It had been a powerful experience. Then, Brad had dropped her. Her fall had been terrifying. When she hit the ground, she felt this overwhelming rage take over her and when Brad landed next to her she had struck him. And in striking him, she had swiveled on her foot in such a way as to snap a bone in her leg. She blamed it on the fall from Brad’s side.
Thus, began all the hatred, revenge, death, and pain that had cursed her family ever since that night. Ever since she had manipulated her father into going after Brad, so she could have revenge on Brad for dropping her and scaring her. But not injuring her. She had done that herself, twisting that leg too far. Not paying attention to her position because in her rage she wanted to lash out at Brad and hurt him. So much hurt and pain. She had caused it all.
She still wanted revenge on Brad after admitting this to herself. Now his family had caused the death of yet another in her family. Dan was gone.
“We have to find Brad. We have to finish what you started.” Then she took a swig of her ever-present alcohol that she used to wash away her guilt, and her romantic feelings for Brad…
∆∆∆
Brad had flipped a U-turn after picking up his son. He was cruising at a moderate speed back toward Napa. He did not want to draw any attention to their vehicle by speeding.
Everyone greeted Steve as he climbed into the car. Steve saw his grandfather sitting in the back seat.
“Grandpa.” Was all he said. Then his emotions started taking over as the drugs in his system wore off a little more. He reached over to give his grandpa a hug and suddenly burst out crying.
“I just killed several guys tonight. This is such a nightmare. Where will it end.”
Charlene could not have been more distressed than she was when she heard that her son had killed several men. Her breath became ragged. Her face was flushed. Tears burst out of her eyes in great rivulets. She knew she needed to get control of herself for
her son’s sake.
“Are you okay?” Charlene asked her son.
“Physically, I guess I am fine. These drugs they have kept me on make me feel crappy. I just can’t believe all those guys died tonight because of me.”
“No Steve. It’s not your fault.” His mom said to him with tears still running down her face while she tried to keep her voice calm. You would never deliberately kill anyone unless you were forced to. I know this about you.”
“Were they the bad guys Steve? The ones that kidnapped you?” Brad asked his son.
“Yes. And I killed all of them but one.”
“All but two.” His Grandpa told him. “One of them was fighting against us in Napa.”
“Steve, do you remember the library?” Brad asked. Do you remember that you asked me then if it was your fault that the people got hurt in the explosion? I told you it was the bomber’s fault. Remember that?”
“Yes. I remember.” Steve said in a sobbing voice.
“Well it’s the same now. These guys kidnapped you, tried to kill you and you turned things around on them. I saw them put you in the water and I saw how close you came to falling into the spillway. They died instead of you. Would you prefer it to be the other way around?”
“No. Of course not. It’s just that I could have just thrown them into the water but instead I put them right over the hole and when this one guy hit me for doing it, they all fell into the hole I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
Charlene was crying. She had seen the glory hole at Lake Berryessa several years ago, just before she met Brad. She could not imagine the horror that her son must have felt when they tried to make him fall into the hole. Just as significant, he had indirectly caused the kidnappers to fall into the hole. It would have been a terrifying thing to watch.
“Steve.” Grandpa spoke his name quietly. Peacefully. The way he had done on several occasions in Steve’s life when he had seen Steve agitated or upset. Using a calm voice, he had been able to calm his grandson down more quickly than Brad or Charlene could do. “You may have threatened them by putting them over the hole, but you would never try to drop them on purpose. Am I right?”
“Yes. You’re right Grandpa.”
This guy hit you and you lost your concentration and they fell. Is that right?”
“Yes Grandpa.”
His grandfather reached over and pulled Steve over closer and put Steve’s head on his shoulder.
“You are not to blame my grandson. They are to blame. Their death warrants were signed as soon as they came to your home with malice in their heart. You were not their executioner. They all did it to themselves. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” Steve said while still crying. “Thank you, Grandpa. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Thanks Dad.” Brad said to his father. “I’m also glad you’re here Thanks for everything.”
Brad could already feel the tension in the car easing up since his dad spoke to his son.
The police car had passed Brad and family a while back suddenly got very suspicious of the car that had been going the opposite way. He had his lights flashing but now he flipped a U-turn and turned on his siren.
∆∆∆
When Brad spotted the flashing lights of the patrol car, it was after a turn in the road that had hidden what was behind him from view. Then the police car had rounded the curve only a half mile behind him.
“Oops. We’ve got company.” Brad said. The three passengers all turned to look back at the car.
Brad’s father spoke. “You can’t outrun him Brad. Their cars have a lot of extra power. He will catch up to you shortly. I’m sure he has others coming behind him as well.”
“Well, we’ll just have to lose him around the next bend then.”
They drove around the next curve so that they were no longer visible to the patrol car. “Steve, I want you help on this one.”
“What are we going to do Dad.” Steve said in a calmer voice.
“Help me pick our car up. We need to go up about four hundred feet, so he won’t see our reflectors in his headlights.” Brad braked the car to a hard stop. He did not want to have the car moving forward in the air at sixty miles per hour going past the roadway over the forest.
Brad turned off his headlights and told his son, “On Three.”
He counted to three and the two of them lifted the car off the highway rapidly going high into the air. Brad’s father grabbed the back of Charlene’s seat hard enough to make his knuckles crack. Charlene grabbed the dash board. She kept her mouth closed but she was breathing heavily trying not to panic.
Finally, she spoke, “You’ve never taken me up this high before.” She said quietly in a controlled voice.
The patrol car went screaming down the road below them unaware of what had just happened. Brad and Steve were about to start lowering the car back to the road, but Brad’s father intervened.
“Not yet guys. There are going to be more cops behind the first one. They think they have their suspect car and they want reinforcements. By the way, you are scaring me to death.”
There was a lot of tension in the car and no one responded. They just kept the car up in the air, level. Soon three more cars went flying by. Then a fourth. They waited about thirty seconds then slowly dropped back down onto the road. They hurried on trying to keep the same speed as the patrol cars. They didn’t want to get too far behind. They didn’t want to appear us if they had dodged the police but were just using the same road as others might be.
“These police are coming from a good distance away.” Brad’s father stated. The two closest towns are Napa and Winter. Winter is only about 10 miles away. Napa is about twice that. Both towns mean traveling this curvy road. Then there is the highway patrol and deputies. But no one is that close to this area in numbers. That helps us a little. Otherwise we would be over-run with cops with no way out. I think we better continue heading toward Napa but there is a cutoff that will take us toward Fairfield. From there, we can catch I-5 heading north. Where do you want to go after that Brad?”
“We have to go back to Utah for a short-time.” Brad told his father. “I have to get back to the hole.”
“Why? Brad it’s dangerous for you there.”
“Yeah. Dangerous for me here too. I have to go to the hole when it is sucking in like it did that night when it pulled me in. I need to drain off all this excess energy I have in my body. It’s extremely uncomfortable and it seems to be aging me.”
“When did all this take place?”
“It just happened fairly recently. When we were in The Philippines.”
“What if you fall in again?”
“We are going to have some bars made that will allow me to be above the hole but not allow me to get pulled in.”
Their conversation was interrupted when they saw the spotlight of a helicopter up ahead of them. Its spotlight was moving down the roadway.
“Now what do we do?” Brad asked. “There is nothing he can’t see from that high up.”
Brad’s father rolled down his window and stuck his head out to look at the chopper. Its spotlight had not hit them yet because it was still behind the hill at the next bend. But they could see the spotlight easy enough.
“He looks to be about six-hundred feet up. Can you go higher than him guys?”
“Higher than six-hundred feet?” Charlene screeched.
“No time to talk about it. Do it now or we are going to be surrounded by angry cops very soon.” The elder Steve said.
Brad blew his breath out through a rounded mouth. “Are you ready Steve? On three.”
When the car went up, it did so much faster than the first time they had done this. The front end dipped down precariously. Brad had to concentrate very hard to level the car as the front end which was heavier was where his g-force was controlling the car.
They shot into the air faster than an express elevator. At one thousand-feet they leveled off. And waited.
The helicopter wa
s below them now. They knew its occupants would be looking at the road following the spotlight. Not watching above them.
After it passed by them they began to drop back down. The helicopter reached the dam quickly, so it turned around and was heading back the way it had come, towards them. Its spotlight was now searching the sides of the roads sweeping back and forth. Their car had been dropping down slowly and was only about two hundred feet up at that moment.
“They are going to see us.” Charlene yelled.
“Brad, Steve, can you put the helicopter down on the highway?” The elder Steve asked.
“Good idea Dad. Steve, I will keep the car up. You take on the helicopter.” Brad said.
“I’ve got it Dad.”
