Sons of Thunder

by Bowen Greenwood

  “Connor,” he said, “I understand why you feel bad. I would, too. We’re human. We make mistakes. It’s what we do. But don’t forget that forgiving mistakes is what God does. And helping us redeem mistakes is also what God does. With God, there’s no shame and condemnation.”

  Connor lifted his head enough to say, “Redeem? And just how am I supposed to do that? They’re being held in the middle of a compound defended by a lot of people with superhuman abilities. There are dozens of them and only four of us.”

  Moses replied, “I didn’t say you were supposed to redeem it. Redeem doesn’t always mean to undo. Don’t think of it as something you have to do, Connor. Trust God with the people who are still in the Legion’s prison. Remember He loves them, too. It doesn’t have to be about you doing something.”

  And yet, even as Ethan Moses spoke, Anna said, “But we have to do something! We can’t just leave them there.”

  Connor and Mr. Moses turned to look at her.

  The older man said, “Ms. Wales…”

  “They need our help!” she said. “What good is it having these Gifts if we can’t use them to help people?”

  Mr. Moses replied, “Wait a moment, Ms. Wales. Why does this upset you so?”

  “Because I didn’t know sh–”

  She paused, and collected herself. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to yell. But if they’re being held against their will, we can’t leave them there. We can’t. God wouldn’t want us to ignore the fact that people are being held against their will and being tormented.”

  “Ms. Wales, please listen to me. God wouldn’t want us to be hurt either. Everything Connor told us about the Legion is deadly serious. They attacked a military installation. They’re trying to plan some kind of revolution against the government.”

  “This is not a joke. This is not a game. The kind of activities and intentions Connor described qualifies as a cell of domestic terrorists.”

  Moses finished, “We can’t just barge into that.”

  Anna replied, “What then? What should we do? I have to help them.”

  The older man replied, “The sensible thing to do here is tell the authorities.”

  “The authorities?” Anna replied. “You mean Maven Flake? No thanks. I’m trying to save them from being locked up, not just have them locked up in a different place.”

  Watching her, Connor recognized the same confrontational behaviors Anna had shown when he challenged her explanation for how the Gifts worked. The girl had some temper issues.

  Moses said, “Being in Flake’s facility is much better than being held by the legion. At least there, you told me you weren’t dealing with verbal abuse. You must trust the authorities.”

  “It really makes me mad when you say things like that, Mr. Moses. ‘You’re too young. Trust the adults. Let the people in charge handle it.’ I don’t like being treated like I’m not good enough or smart enough. Don’t brush me off.”

  She went on, “It wouldn’t make a difference if I was eighteen or forty-eight, the right thing to do is the right thing to do. There’s no age limit on knowing right from wrong, and you don’t have to have any kind of credentials.”

  Moses replied, “Ms. Wales, I would never brush you off. I hoped you knew that about me already. Try for a moment to see it from my perspective. Connor told me Pitch tried to kill him. If you try to go help those prisoners, you’ll literally be in deadly danger. You could die.”

  “If I took you back there, the police would put me in prison for child endangerment.”

  Her reply was immediate. “I am not a child!”

  But Mr. Moses said, “What would the world think of a fifty-year-old man sending a nineteen-year-old girl to risk death?”

  She replied, “That’s what generals in the army do. Tons of people enlist in the army at eighteen or nineteen.”

  “That is an entirely different matter!” Mr. Moses replied. “Generals and soldiers are trained and equipped to risk lives in war.”

  She replied, “Well according to Connor, this Sebastian person says it’s a war.”

  Mr. Moses replied, “And you just said it’s not.”

  Anna said, “Look, Mr. Moses, I can’t just leave them there.”

  “And I, Ms. Wales, can’t be a party to sending you into a situation where you could be killed. If any of your parents or families were here, they would tell you not to go. I’m the only adult here, so it’s my job to stand in for them. You are not going.”

  Anna stormed out of the conference room, fists clenched at her sides.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  As he showed the boys to their rooms, Mr. Moses tried to smooth over the situation.

  “Be patient until morning,” he said. “Everything will improve after a good night’s sleep.”

  Connor replied, “It’s hard for me. I can see the logic in what both of you are saying. I want to help those people, too, but… there are so many things that could go wrong if I went back there. I just don’t want to.”

  Mr. Moses replied, “You don’t need to be the judge of who’s right and who’s wrong, Connor. I’ve known Anna longer than you. I’ve seen her lose her temper before.”

  He paused for a chuckle and added, “You should have heard her shouting after we came back from our first attempt to rescue you. She didn’t like it very much when you turned her down.”

  Connor replied, “I remember the look on her face. But I don’t want to write the whole thing off to Anna losing her temper. She has a point. People are in trouble and … well, the three of you have these Gifts that could help. I understand why she feels like it’s wrong for us not to do something.”

  “I don’t really want to go fight the legion again,” Spark replied.

  Connor nodded. He knew Spark was still dealing with the escape from Area 51 and trying to go back to the Legion HQ would be a special challenge for him.

  Spark went into one room when Mr. Moses pointed at it, and Connor went into the next. He said goodnight to Mr. Moses, assured him that he hoped for a better discussion in the morning, and then turned to settle into his room.

  That’s when his eyes popped open. Mr. Moses was seriously rich! The marble floors and oak paneling of the rest of the place had been impressive. But in the bedrooms, the carpet was so thick it felt like walking on a warm cloud. The huge bed was piled high with pillows. There was a giant floor-to-ceiling window looking out on Las Vegas.

  And in the corner of the room was a Jacuzzi built right into the bedroom, all for him. This was nicer than the nicest hotel room he’d ever been in!

  Connor was about to yank off his black, Legion-issued shirt and head right for the whirlpool when there came a soft knock on his door.

  Anna’s voice whispered, “Connor? Open up.”

  He went back to the door, turned the handle softly, and eased it open.

  Anna and Spark hurried in, pushing him out of the way to avoid staying out in the hallway where they could be seen.

  “What’s going on?” Connor asked as he shut the door.

  Anna walked into the room a bit and turned to where she could see both boys at once. She put her hands on her hips and stared at them for a second.

  She said, “I’m going to the Legion headquarters tonight and getting those prisoners out. I can’t make either one of you come with me, but I’m asking you to. I really need your help. I can’t just leave people to be tormented by the Legion. That’s not what Jesus would do.”

  Connor’s mouth opened and hung that way. He stared at her and then turned to look at Spark, who wore a similar facial expression. They both turned back to Anna and spoke at the same time.”

  “But we can’t!”

  “Of course we can,” she replied. “The question is, will you?”

  Connor replied, “But Mr. Moses said–”

  Anna cut him off, asking, “He can tell you to do anything he wants but why do you have to do it? Humans can be wrong, but God never is. And he doesn’t want us to sit silently when evil is b
eing done.”

  Once again, Connor and Spark turned to stare at each other with wide eyes. Even as he did, though, Connor remembered what Mr. Moses said about how helping Pitch get free of the Legion might have been God’s plan all along.

  Spark said, “It took us days to walk here from there! How are we going to get there again before Mr. Moses finds out we’re gone?”

  She rolled her eyes and said, “You’d think eventually you guys would get used to living in a world of miraculous Gifts.”

  Then she closed her eyes and, less than a second later, winked out of existence. Suddenly, she was standing across the room, on top of Connor’s giant bed.

  Another moment of closed eyes, and she was back in front of them.

  “You just leave the Transportation to me,” she said, and somehow both boys could hear the capital letter when she said it.

  After a pause to collect his wits after her demonstration, Connor said, “Anna, what do you need Spark and me for? Couldn’t you teleport right into the Legion’s prison? Right into the very cell and teleport back out with the prisoners?”

  She didn’t answer right away. Anna chewed on her lower lip for a while and refused to make eye contact with anyone.

  Finally, she said, “I can take you to the entrance to their base easily enough but not right to the dungeon.”

  Looking confused, Connor asked, “Why not? That’s what you did with me isn’t it? You just popped right into my cell and offered to take me out. Why can’t you do that now?”

  “Look, there’s more to this than you know,” Anna replied, her cheeks getting red.

  Connor held up his hands to the side of his head and said, “Hey, I was just asking. It seemed simple to me. I saw…”

  Anna spun away to face the windows. The words that came out of her were a strange combination of a shout and a whisper.

  “You don’t understand!”

  Spark put his hand on Connor’s shoulder.

  “Take her word for it, Connor,” he said. “If the two of you go, you’ll have to find another plan. Do you remember where the Legion’s base is? Can you tell her anything that might help with the teleporting?”

  Connor took note of his friend’s exact words. “If the two of you go…” made it pretty clear that Spark himself didn’t contemplate going.

  Connor said, “Well, it’s a few days’ walk north and a little west from here. It’s a cave under the mountains in the desert, but I don’t have any idea how to pinpoint it exactly. It was night when we left, so we weren’t exactly memorizing landmarks. Plus, there was the small matter of running for our lives.”

  Anna turned back around and sighed.

  She said, “Relax. I don’t need landmarks or anything like that. I don’t move us, God does, and he knows exactly where the Legion’s base is. If I pray and ask to be there, I trust him to get me there without me knowing anything at all about where we’re going.”

  She added, “Getting in is where you two come in. Spark, we need you for this, too. I don’t know your whole story, but I can tell you feel pretty strongly about the Legion. Even so, I need you. You can’t stay behind.”

  Spark frowned and said, “Wait just a second here. I’m not sure I like this plan. I left the Legion because I don’t want to kill people.”

  Anna replied, “I don’t want you to either. We’re not the legion. We’re not at war. We’re going for one reason: to set people free.”

  Spark said, “Yeah, but I don’t imagine Sebastian will let us. His man Pitch fought like a lion when we tried to set ourselves free. It’s only going to be worse now.”

  She said, “Remember, I’m not doing this because it makes me feel good. We’re not going into this under our own power. Spark, you don’t want your power to hurt people? Good, neither does God. Remember to trust him. He loves you, He loves me, and He loves the people in the Legion base – both the prisoners and the Legion. Trust him to take care of you and them. If we’re doing what He wants, whatever happens we can trust him to use it for our Good.”

  Connor angled his head to the side and said, “How do we know we’d be doing what he wants, though? Shouldn’t we… I don’t know… I mean, how do you know what God wants, anyway? Should we ask or something?”

  Anna took a deep breath, paused, and then took another deep breath before she spoke.

  “You’re right, Connor. We should pray.”

  She stuck out her hands to either side of her, reaching for the boys’ hands. Connor happily took her hand, Spark took the other, and then the boys gave each other an awkward glance before they, too, joined hands.

  There followed a moment of awkward silence as Anna stood with her head bowed and eyes closed. No one spoke. Spark made an awkward arm motion like elbowing Connor without letting go of his hand.

  “This was your idea,” he said.

  Connor looked nervously at Anna, then shrugged and closed his eyes.

  “God… um, hi, or whatever. Greetings. So… I guess it’s pretty obvious that I haven’t done this in a while. Sorry about that. We… well, we have a question. There are some people… anyway God, they’re in trouble. Some other people, bad people, are holding them prisoner. Anna feels really strongly about going to get them out, but Spark and I aren’t really sure. I guess, what we want is for you to tell us what to do. Or, you know, let us know your will. Or however you’re supposed to say it. Could you help us figure this out? Maybe send some kind of sign?”

  Connor paused, peeked out of one eye, but no one was giving him any hints about how he was doing. Finally, he just said, “Amen.”

  The door to Connor’s room opened, and Ethan Moses stepped through it.

  He hadn’t changed clothes for bed, still wearing his business suit. Connor was impressed that he still looked completely un-rumpled despite the lateness of the hour.

  Mr. Moses didn’t say anything; he simply looked at the three expectantly.

  Anna curled her hands into fists again and turned to face the older man directly. She was ready to dive right back into their argument from earlier.

  Quickly, Connor stepped in front of her and said, “Hi, Mr. Moses. We’ve just been praying.”

  “That’s always a good idea, Connor.”

  When he didn’t say anything more, Connor got worried that Anna would start an argument if he let the silence go on too long.

  He said, “We were asking God if he would give us some sign about what to do about the Legion’s prisoners.”

  Mr. Moses smiled and gave a wry chuckle.

  “And I came in. I think God’s telling you to let the government handle it.”

  At once, Connor heard an exasperated noise from behind him. To prevent Anna from starting a fight again, he spoke again at once.

  “Don’t you remember what you told me about Pitch, Mr. Moses? You said Pitch needs help. You said maybe the reason God brought me and Spark and Pitch together was so we could help him get free of a bad crowd. You said maybe we would see him again and maybe we could set him free.”

  “Mr. Moses, the people in the dungeon aren’t the only ones who need to be set free.”

  The older man didn’t reply right away. The silence grew, and this time Connor had no fears about what Anna might say if she got angry.

  Finally, Mr. Moses said, “I went up to Anna’s room to assure her that just because I disagree with her doesn’t mean I don’t value her or her ability to make moral judgments. I found her gone from her room. And at that moment I believed she had already teleported herself to the Legion headquarters. I realized the same thing Maven Flake did: when you’ve got a person on hand who can teleport wherever she wants, you can’t keep her in one place unless she wants to stay there.”

  “I actually came here, Connor, to ask you to help me find my way to the Legion’s base and catch up with her. Finding her here with you was the biggest relief I’ve felt in a long time.”

  He smiled at Anna. She looked like she wanted to stay mad but smiled a little bit back.

&nbs
p; “I’m doing my best to look at it from your perspective. You’re all past eighteen. You’ve been in college for almost a full school year, Connor, and longer for Anna. This is what our culture says: you’re crossed the threshold between child and adult and earned the right to make your own decisions.”

  Mr. Moses said, “But from my perspective I feel so old, and you look so young. People my age feel a responsibility to help people your age. We want to keep you from harm and support you in becoming who God wants you to be. The calling to protect and nurture the next generation is part of the gift God gives you as you get older.”

  He went on, “If I could stop you from risking your lives, that’s the right thing for me to do. But I can’t. So if three young people are going to risk their lives no matter what I do, the right thing to do becomes different.”

  He smiled, stepped forward until he could reach Anna, and put a hand on her shoulder. Then he put the other one on Connor’s shoulder.

  “I’m going with you.”

  A grin broke out over Anna’s face, and Connor felt a wave of relief wash over him. There was something about Mr. Moses that made Connor feel more peaceful. Whatever they were going into, he wanted the older man along.

  “But remember why we are going,” Mr. Moses said. “We are not the Legion. We’re not there for conquest or to win victory at any price. We’re going to set people free – as many as we can. Prisoners or followers of Sebastian who have been trapped by lies or whoever else we find; they are all our brothers and sisters. They’re people we want to help. They’re people we want to help get to know the Lord. This isn’t about fighting. It’s about God’s love.”

  With that, Mr. Moses offered one hand to Anna and held out his other one until Spark took it. Anna offered her hand. Connor said no once before, and he was determined to never do it again. He took her hand, smiling at her, as Mr. Moses and Spark completed the circle.

  Anna closed her eyes, bowed her head, and said, “Lord, we’d like to be outside the Legion’s headquarters, please.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The experience was jarring for Connor. He blinked, shook his head, blinked again, and tried to adjust to the different light levels. Even though the same moonlit night covered both Las Vegas and the desert north of it, it still felt remarkably different. There was no city light anymore, making it even darker. There was no city noise. And the air-conditioned comfort of Mr. Moses’s tower was absent here.