by B. R. Miller
~*~
“Where am I?” I ask, trying my hardest to open my eyes.
I fight through the pain that’s radiating all over my body and get a good look around. I’m strapped to a chair, shirtless, in a solid concrete room. I look down at my arm and notice an IV has been applied and some liquid of some form is being pumped into my body. That could be what’s causing my whole body to feel like it got ran over by a dump truck then lit on fire. David. Where’s David? I turn my head as far around as I could and I see him, also shirtless and strapped to a chair, our backs pressed together.
“David?” I nervously ask.
Nothing. His body remained motionless. I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing or not.
“David!” I yell. “Wake up!”
A stir. Good! At least he’s alive! I try my best to wiggle the chair around so I could see him better. David hung his head low and his breaths were shallow and coarse. I took a look at his head and noticed bruising around his eyes and steady stream of blood was drooling from his nose. He obviously was beaten up worse than I was, probably for resisting and trying to fight back, like we’re taught to do.
“David?” I nervously ask.
He ever so slowly raises his head but only enough to make eye contact with me. Nothing was said. I just stared at him in disbelief. He looked as if he had given up.
“David, don’t look at me like that,” I pleaded, fighting back tears.
David hung his head and focused his attention on his breathing. The only door to the room swings open and soon enter three large men followed by Jonathon Hein. The three men, each with an automated rifle, circle David and I while Hein grabs a chair from the corner of the room and pulls it up to me, sitting on it backwards.
“Looks like we have a little predicament, boys,” Hein began. “You see, the way I see it, you two were trespassing on private property. I’m not sure what your objective was, maybe it was to take out me, maybe it wasn’t, but how can I now trust you two that you won’t go squawking back to that overly paid prick of a CO of yours where I’m at?”
I just hung my head, avoiding eye contact; taking a cue from David. David didn’t move. I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing or not. Everything in me told me to try and reason with him, cut him a deal of some sorts, but the training in me told me to never give in. I slowly raise my head and make eye contact with Hein’s. A small smile creeps across my face as I’m enthralled with a new sense of found courage. Big mistake. Hein’s get’s an evil glare on his face and immediately one of the three men approaches Daivd.
“Don’t touch him!” I yell.
The man brings the butt of his gun up and brings it down hard and swiftly upon David’s skull, knocking David out again. The man then approached me and the last thing I remember was praying that God would take us away from this hell. Then everything went dark.
~*~
I quickly run over to where Cooly is lying, not ready for what I’m about to see. Cooly, expressionless and stiff, lies there, blood covering his chest. I bring a hand up to cover my mouth, I can not bear the sight. I turn away and look towards Skinner who’s still sitting up against the cubicle wall, in his own little world.
“Patty!” Amille yells.
Patty comes running up, gun still drawn.
“I think this is in your area of expertise,” Amille calmly says.
“Here,” Patty says extending his hand with his gun in it towards me, “hold this.”
I turn around and stare at the gun.
“Come on! It’s not like I have all day here!” he yells.
I quickly grab the gun and watch as Patty rips open Cooly’s shirt, exposing six fresh bullet holes. Patty closes his eyes and hover’s his hands above Cooly’s chest. Ever so slowly, the blood began to go back into the holes from which it came. I looked up at Patty in amazement as I realized that he’s one of us; like Skinner and myself! I wanted to say something but I didn’t want to interrupt the deep concentration that behold Patty. Then, as the blood became scarce, the bullets, one by one, slowly wiggled their way out, the holes closing up behind them. I could tell this was the hard part based on Patty’s expressions alone. He strained and strained and eventually I saw Cooly’s chest slowly rise then slowly fall. This happened a few more times before Cooly shot his eyes wide open and sat up! Cooly takes a few deep breaths in and looks around.
“Cooly!” I yell in excitement, almost dropping Patty’s gun.
“Did we get ‘em?” Cooly calmly asks.
Amille nods and puts a hand on Cooly’s shoulder, “Yes, we got them. And we got you back thanks to Patty.”
Patty’s sitting on the ground, knees up to his chest, trying to catch his breath. I run over to Skinner and kneel down in front of him. A comforting hand finds its place on his knee and a glimmer of a smile creeps across my face.
“Hey,” I begin softly, as if I was talking to a ten year old, “it’s ok. It’s all over now.”
His eyes finally met mine and I could tell he was slowly being pulled back into reality.
“Cooly?” he asks.
“Yeah, he’s alright,” I began. “It’s amazing, you should see what Patty can do!”
Skinner just gives a slight nod as if to affirm that he heard me but wasn’t really interested. What was going through his mind I may never know but I’m glad I got my old Skinner back. In the days, weeks, months and years to come, we never knew how the Raves got to us without showing up on anyone’s maps but we took it like we did everything else, with an open mind and an eager attitude.
~Chapter Four~
I slowly step one foot in to feel the temperature. Ah, perfect. Soon the rest of my body was immersed in the water from the shower. I look down at the drain and notice that the water is stained red from the blood that is on my clothes and body. I stick my head under the spray and look up into it, letting the water wash over my face and find its way down my body and into the drain, washing away worries and cares. I hear the water turn on in the shower next to me and I know Skinner is just getting in. He’s still a little shook up about what just happened but he seems to be doing alright. Patty’s up with the other’s, assessing the situation and cleaning up, after showing us down stairs to their locker rooms so we could a much needed shower.
Time seems to stand still in the shower and I don’t even bother to take off my clothes. They needed to be washed anyways. I rest my head against the shower wall and let the water run down my back, sending warm shivers all throughout my body. The tingling sensation seems foreign to me probably because it’s been a couple months since my last actual shower. I relish in it, letting the water run down my arms, into my hands and off my fingers. I slam a fist into the shower wall in frustration as I begin to think about the day’s events. Soon, against my will, a tear forms in my eye, followed by another then another and soon I find myself in a full out crying spell for reasons I don’t know why. Maybe the events of today are finally setting in and I just can’t contain it all inside anymore. Or could it be that, for some reason, a part of me needed to cry? Whatever the reason, I soon found myself slowly sliding down the shower wall until I was on the ground, water gently falling like a heavy rain.
Those Raves came out of nowhere. What if Skinner and I weren’t there? Would they have been able to stop them? What about Skinner? What if he freezes up like that again in the middle of battle? These questions raced through my mind as the warmth of the shower slowly seeped into my cold, frail body. I concluded that all things happen for a reason and what that reason may be is clueless to me right now but I know that, in time, things will work out for the greater good.
An hour, maybe two, goes by by the time I decide to step out of the shower. I notice that Skinner’s still in his shower so I take the time drying myself off. Slowly, I manage to take my soaking wet shirt off as it suction cups to my body. I lift it up and inspect it and notice a hole on the back side of it. I stick my finger through it and make a mental note to either get a new shirt or repair this o
ne some time. I then peel off my pants and wrap a towel around my waist. After laying out my clothes to dry, I walk over to the sink and turn the hot water on, steaming up the mirror. I close my eyes and feel the steam rising up from the sink and enveloping my chest and face. I open my eyes to see a cloudy image of myself staring back at me. I tilt my head to the side and wonder if we’re really pulling this off. That gets me thinking about my family and how much they will have changed since I left.
“Where ever you are,” I begin, talking to the clouded image in the mirror, “I hope you’re doing O.K.”
With that, I bring my hand up and swipe it across the mirror, bringing the image back into perspective. I look long and hard at the reflection and try and decide if I like what I’m seeing stare back at me. Part of me loves what I’ve become, with my powers and all, but most of me barely recognizes me! How did I get this way? I was slowly losing touch with reality and I knew it, too. I couldn’t live this way. How am I supposed to have any sort of a normal life when I’m like this? So I make a vow, once I return home, I will never use my powers again, never. My powers aren’t who I am, they’ve who I’ve become. It’s because of my powers and who I am that I’m on the run today instead of going to high school like every other normal teenager. It’s because of my powers that my family was taken away from me, but at least I know they’re in good hands. The problem is the powers are addicting. Once you start, it’s almost impossible to stop using them. During training, we were always using our powers, even when we weren’t training, all in effort to better utilize ones powers. But this isn’t training. They never teach you how to un-use ones said abilities.
I’m here, right now, and there’s nothing that can change that fact. The present always follows me. I dwell on the past while the future waits patiently and the present, poor present, gets thrown aside. I need to live in the now, the present. I hear the shower shut off and I’m snapped back into reality. I find myself still staring at myself in the mirror, never losing eye contact. I quickly scammer over to my clothes to check to see if they’re dry yet. Skinner steps out of the shower, fully clothed as well.
“What time is it?” he asks.
“Last I checked around four a.m.”
Skinner nods and proceeds to strip off his clothes in the same fashion I did.
“Ah, man,” Skinner groans. “I’ve got a hole in my shirt! Look!”
I just laugh and hang my head.
“What? What’s so funny?”
I pull up my shirt and put my fingers through the hole that called my shirt home. Skinner lets out a big grin and throws his shirt on the ground.
“Well it’s about time we got new clothes anyway!” he says.
Amille comes around the corner and slowly walks in, his gun resting gently in his two hands.
“How ‘ya guys doing?” Amille casually asks.
Skinner and I both nod but refrain from commenting.
“Look, I hate to do this but we have to move again. This place has been compromised. It’s not safe anymore.”
I hang my head in frustration then look over at Skinner who lowers his eyes to meet mine. The expression says it all, “Fun’s over.”
“Helicopter’s up in ten.”
With that, Amille turns and walks out, leaving us alone with our thoughts, which presently weren’t too nice.
Skinner looks at me with a smirk on his face then says, “This tis the life we live.”
I nod and hang my head. I should have known we were going to be on the move some time soon. Once we find a place that’s somewhat nice, we always have to get up and go; never getting comfortable. It makes for a hard life. You’d think it’d be nice to travel a lot and get to see all sorts of new and exciting places but truth is, we travel mostly at night so we don’t get to see these new and exciting things and we’re always on the move so you never get to really enjoy a place anyways.
Skinner throws me another towel. “Come on,” he starts, “get dressed.”
I drape that towel over my head and just sit there for a few moments, enjoying these last few moments of peace before we leave. In all my travels, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, these are the moments you have to hold onto. They’re only here for a split second before they’re gone and lost forever. I resort back to these moments when I feel like there’s no good left in the world or maybe I just need a little pick-me-up. I close my eyes and envision my family. Them being there with me brings me peace and soon a smile creeps onto my face.
“What are you smiling at?” Skinner asks.
I never answer him. I simply enjoy this moment I’m having with my family, even though their thousands of miles away. Soon I’ll be home. Soon I’ll be able to hug my family and tell them about my day and ask them how there’s was. Soon I won’t have to be always on the guard and soon I’ll be at peace.
~*~
We hit a bump and I’m jostled awake. At first, I’m unaware as to where I was but then the sound of the truck shifting gears clues me in that we’re in the back of a truck. I can’t see anything because they put a black bag over my head and my hands are tied behind my back, still shirtless. I don’t sit up as not to alarm whoever is in the back with us that I’m awake but I slowly try and feel around to find David. I wait for the next bump for me to roll over and that’s when I find him, David, lying stiff. I can’t tell if he’s breathing or not or even if he’s alive. We lie there for close to a half an hour while the truck bumps along the road, cluing me into the fact that we’re not on pavement.
Soon, the bag is pulled off my head and I see the three men who were in the room with Hein’s, David and myself. One of them grabs the bag on David’s head and quickly rips it off. David’s still unconscious.
“This one’s still out!” One of the men laughs.
With that, he picked up David like he was a sack of potatoes and throws him off the edge of the truck.
“No!” I scream.
Then the man turns to me and picks me up. But before throwing me off, he holds me up so I’m eye level with him.
“Good luck out there. I hear it’s supposed to drop below freezing tonight. Hopefully the two of you don’t freeze to death,” he says mockingly, before throwing me off the edge of the truck.
I hit with a hard THUD! The ground barely breaking my fall, I scour in pain as my lungs feel like they’re on fire. I focus and try to regroup my emotions. I reassess the situation and remember that David was only a short distance back from me. I do my best to try and stand to my feet but fall smack on my face. My legs just have no strength in them. I spot David about fifteen yards behind me, not moving. I start crawling, hands behind my back, on my stomach towards him. I struggle to find the strength within me but then I just remember that that’s David down there hurt badly, if not dead, and I somehow summon the strength to keep going on.
I soon reach David and I can see that he’s still breathing but barely.
“David?” I nervously ask.
I never get a response just coarse, shallow breathing.
“We’re going to be alright, you hear me?” I say, the reality of the situation begins to set in as I fight back tears.
“Tristan,” David utters.
“Yes, David,” I anxiously begin. “What is it?”
“There’s something I want to tell you.”
“Yes?”
David took a few more coarse breaths and it looked like he forgot what he was saying. David was slipping into shock.
“David? You were about to tell me something?”
“The Apostles did three things while on Earth,” he began very slowly. “First, they met God. Then they sought after God. Then they went to be with God.”
A coughing spell interrupted him.
“I’ve done the first two,” he restarted, “now it’s time for me to do the third.”
“No! David, you can’t go!” I pleaded.
David coughed some more and his breathing became coarser. He wouldn’t say anything else. I just laid my h
ead on his chest and listened to him breathing. The pain in my lungs was almost unbearable. It seemed to be getting worse and worse instead of better with time.
I don’t know how much time had passed before I rolled over and stared up at the sky. The moon shone brightly that night amongst a sky of endless stars. There was no breeze that night but the crisp night air stung my lungs with each breath that I took. My eyes began to feel heavy when all of a sudden I’m being immersed in light and a strong wind. I look up towards the light and suddenly everything feels O.K.
Next thing I know, I’m being picked up by a group of men all shouting my name. I don’t remember anything passed that point. I later would realize that the men were carrying me onto a helicopter and to safety.
~*~
The helicopter ride was a long one and we were still unsure as to where it was taking us. The sun eventually peeked its head over the horizon and we knew we made it through one more night; survived one more night to just fight another. Where ever we were going, we hope it was a place we could spend a few days at and just rest. The past twenty four hours have been draining not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
A few hours go
by and we land at an American military base to refuel; we weren’t even aloud out of the helicopter. A few minutes later and were back up in the air flying towards our next destination. I sit back and think about all that’s transpired over the last twenty four hours. Not only did we barely escape with our lives from a village fire (which we were responsible for by the way) but we also managed to kill four raves in the process. All in all? Not a bad day, not a bad day at all.
~Chapter Five~
The dark blue of night was slowly fading away to the bright oranges of morning when we got the signal that we were about to land. I quickly rushed to a window and looked out to see where we were. Desert. Nothing but desert for as long as the eye can see except for a mountain range along the horizon. The helicopter began to descend and I grabbed ahold of the bucket seat for stabilization, the window holding my gaze. We flew over a compound of some sorts and were landing in the middle of it.
