Transcendent

by Lisa Beeson

  What I really wanted to do was run out the door as far away from him as I could, but that seemed impractical and I didn’t need people thinking I was more of a spazz than they already did. So, reluctantly I told Nate and Ainsley to go ahead without me, and I walked over to where Mr. Briggs sat at the teacher’s desk.

  He steepled his fingers and waited for all the other kids to leave the room before he began, “You are a lot smarter than you lead people to believe, Kira,” he accused.

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m just a quick learner. It’s not a secret, I just don’t like to show off.”

  He leaned back in the chair. “A quick learner, huh? Is there anything else you’re good at? Athletics…? Or music perhaps? Do you have any special quirks that others don’t? You shouldn’t have to hold back your talents Kira, they’re meant to be cultivated and shared.” He was fishing for information and throwing off a major creep vibe.

  He started to spin a coin on the desk. When it slowed down and fell flat with a metallic clink, I saw that it looked an awful lot like the buffalo nickel I’d given to Walter. What were the chances he’d have an identical nickel minted the same year as the one I had given to the street performer? How did he get that? What had he done to Walter? He saw me looking at the coin, and lifted an eyebrow as if to dare me to ask where he got it.

  I tried to get myself under control and sound as nonchalant as I could. “Sorry to disappoint you, sir, but I’m just a normal eighth grader who is going to be late for history if I don’t leave right now.”

  As I turned to leave he grabbed my arm. “You are anything but normal, Kira.”

  I looked into his eyes and I could tell he wanted to use me for something, but for what – I couldn’t tell. I was about to punch him in the throat if he didn’t let go of my arm. But just then one of the office ladies knocked on the open door, and he quickly let go.

  “Mr. Briggs, I need to…,” the office lady began, but I didn’t hear the rest of what she said, because as soon as he let go, I was out of there.

  I ran down the hall, shoving through groups of people as I went. I was half-way to my history class when Miranda stepped in front of me, blocking my way. “What’s the hurry Special K? Is there a ghostly ‘energy’ chasing you?” She smirked, and her cronies snickered behind her.

  “I know it’s hard for you, but can you not be a raging bitch right now, Miranda. I don’t have time for your crap today.” Then I side stepped her – relishing the shock on her face, since I’d never stood up to her before – and ran the rest of the way to history. I ran into class and plopped down in my seat.

  As I was trying to regulate my breathing and pulse, Mrs. Jessup called out to me, “Miss Riley… excited to learn about Manifest Destiny, are we?” She looked over the reading glasses perched on her nose.

  I gave her my most innocent smile. “Always, Mrs. Jessup…I sure do love history.” Then I gave her a hearty thumbs up to accentuate the point.

  Shaking her head at my uncharacteristic behavior, she seemed to put it down to normal pubescent weirdness, and went back to what she was doing.”

  Chapter 9

  “I didn’t see Mr. Briggs for the rest of the day, which calmed my nerves considerably, and the day went on as usual. That is, until I was almost through diving practice. I had just pulled off a flawless back somersault with a twist with barely any splash. Coach Timmons was cheering me on as I came up from the water. “Awesome job, Kira! That was great!” he praised. I mentally patted myself on the back, and swam over to the side. As I pulled myself out of the pool, I caught Briggs staring at me through the small window in the door that led to the hallway. He was talking on his phone, and when he saw me looking towards the door, he ducked out of sight.

  That was it. I was done.

  I dashed into the locker room before the rest of my team, quickly rinsed off, and put on my school uniform skirt, and white-collared short sleeved shirt with the school insignia on the pocket – I had forgotten to bring my street clothes – and then I towel dried my long hair and put it up in a topknot. I hastily said goodbye to my coach and made a roundabout way to the front steps so I wouldn’t run into Briggs. Then, I waited for Hector. Sadie usually got a ride from her friends to dance class after school, and Hector’s soccer practice normally ended just before diving practice, so he was usually outside waiting for me with the car to drive me home. But, of course, today of all days he was late. I sat on the front steps and scanned up and down the street for his car, and that’s when I saw the black sedan parked down the street. In it were two guys in suits and dark sunglasses looking right at me.

  Aw, heck no, I thought.

  My scalp tingled as I stood up, and then Briggs opened one of the front doors. “Oh Kira…,” he said as though he didn’t already know I was out there. “…do you need a ride home?” he asked.

  I looked into his eyes and saw that he had no intention of taking me home. I didn’t wait for him to take another step towards me. I jumped down the stairs and ran in the opposite direction of the sedan. I didn’t know where I was headed; I just knew that I had to get out of there fast.

  I heard Briggs shout after me and curse. Then, quickly looking over my shoulder I saw him hop into the suited guys’ sedan as they pulled up to the steps. It was time for evasive actions. I made a hard left onto the next street and pushed my legs and lungs to work harder than I ever had before. I thought to myself, why did I have to wear a skirt instead of khakis today?

  After a couple blocks, I cut right down another street, hastily dodging honking cars and pedestrians in my way. I looked back to see the sedan turn too. I instantly regretted getting a bright red backpack at the beginning of the school year.

  I ran down a one way street that went in the opposite direction than what I was running. That way, they couldn’t follow. Then, I made my way down to Forsyth Park.

  I ran into the park thinking that they would have to get out of the car if they wanted to chase me in there. I ran till I reached the fountain towards the middle of the park to stop and take a breath. I had a stitch in my side, and I was sweating like nobody’s business, but I was still riding on the adrenaline wave, so after a few deep breaths and a couple stretches, I started running again. I took one of the paths radiating out from the fountain – the one that came out at Hall Street.

  Quickly looking up and down the street for the black sedan, I noticed a brightness coming from the outside patio of the restaurant across the street.

  You gotta be kidding me…, I thought.

  The brightness was coming from the brawny, well-dressed guy I had seen going into Adelina’s the other day. Today he wore a nice buttoned-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of high-end, dark slacks. His hair was styled fashionably, and his watch looked expensive. The only thing keeping him from looking like a normal, well-built business man were the tattoos on his forearms and at the base of his neck. The tattoos had a strange iridescent quality that I’d never seen before. And there was something about him that felt different than other people.

  He had been standing up from his table to take some money out of his wallet to leave a tip for the waitress, when I had stopped. Putting his wallet back into his pocket, he looked up as though he sensed something that surprised him, to see me standing there, staring at him from across the street. He looked at me strangely at first; I couldn’t tell if he was confused or angry. Then his eyes fell to my sternum, and they widened in disbelief.

  I looked down and realized that my necklace must have come out from under my shirt while I was running. He looked like he was about to come over and rip it right off my neck.

  And I thought, Sorry, Shiny-man. Not today.

  I tucked the jewel back into my shirt, and then I saw the sedan coming down the road towards me. The passenger window was rolling down, and I saw one of the Suits holding some sort of strange gun.

  Scalp tingling, I pivoted on my left foot and dashed back into the park. I had to dig deep to keep going a
t a fast pace; every breath was agony. But I had to keep going or the Suits, and now Shiny-man, would catch up to me.

  When I felt like I couldn’t go another step, I hit my second wind. Only this wasn’t a normal burst of energy – the world started to go into slow motion… just like it had in my dream.

  For a second I thought that the suited guy must have shot me and I died back at the street. It didn’t seem possible, but as I left the park behind, I was going about a block per second. It was so surreal. I didn’t feel scared anymore, though. I didn’t feel anything but pure focus as I maneuvered around cars and pedestrians that seemed to be going at a snail’s pace. I kept going till I saw Ms. Ruby driving in her tan Corolla. She was coming up to the corner of Abercorn. I tried to stop and I almost fell flat on my face from my momentum – something I had to work on. After regaining my balance, I jumped up and down, waved my arms, and screamed her name to get her attention. I knew I could trust her to get me home to safety. She was friends with my Mom, and I had known her since I was little. When Ruby saw me, she stomped on the breaks and screeched to a halt right in front of me. She rolled down the passenger window and yelled, “Get in the car, Kira!”

  I opened the door and jumped in. I managed to cough out between deep breaths, “Ms Ruby… There are people… chasing me… I need to get home!”

  She kept on driving down Henry St. in the opposite direction of my house. She gave me a sad lop-sided smile. “I’m so sorry, baby girl, but you can’t go back home now.”

  My chest constricted, and the blood rushed out of my head. “What do you mean I can’t go home?” I screeched. Maybe I had made a horrible mistake trusting Ruby. I locked in on her intentions and they were still only for my well-being.

  Keeping her eyes on the road, she tried to answer in a calm reassuring voice. “We had hoped that you’d be able to stay longer with the Rileys until you were grown, but it seems that They found you too soon.”

  “Wait. Who’s this ‘We’, and who the heck is They!” I yelled, feeling frustrated and confused.

  She gave me a quick look of reproach, and then returned her focus to the road. “Now, there is a lot I need to tell you, but you need to try to calm down. Panicking and yelling isn’t going to help the situation.”

  I wanted to scream at her for having the nerve to tell me to calm down after she just told me I could never go back home. But I needed to calm down if I wanted her to answer my questions, so I took a couple deep breaths and tried to calm myself.

  “That’s better...,” she soothed. “Now, the ‘We’ is my sister and I. We’re what you would call Seers or Oracles.”

  “Oracles… Like from ancient Greece?” I asked skeptically.

  “Are you gonna listen? Or are you just going to scoff?” she reprimanded.

  I shut my mouth. Who was I to question, with all the crazy stuff that’d been happening to me recently? And maybe she really had spoke straight into my mind when I was five.

  She looked over and saw that I was contrite, so she nodded. “Okay, I don’t know exactly who They are. I only know that they are very powerful with a long reach, and they like to swoop in and grab up the most talented Progeny that they can find. For what purpose… I don’t know, but no one ever sees those people again.”

  My blood ran cold. Briggs really was trying to kidnap me. “Hold on, who are the ‘Progeny’? And do the Suits think that I am one of them?”

  She let out a long breath through her nose. “The short story is that the Progeny are the descendants of an ancient race of celestial beings that umm… got intimate with humans long ago.”

  “Celestial beings… are you talking about angels, or aliens?”

  She cleared her throat, and then tried to skim over my question. “Umm…yes. Anyway, the bloodlines have been so watered down with human DNA, that now only a few people show any traits that have managed to get passed down. Have you ever heard of ‘junk DNA’?”

  “Yeah, non-coding-protein DNA”

  She looked over and gave me a surprised smile. “That’s right. Well, it’s extremely rare, but when certain people get together some times that DNA gets ‘activated’. Giving their baby so-called ‘supernatural abilities’. As to whether you are a Progeny or not, I don’t think so. You’re different than them somehow. You’re able to do and see things even the most talented Progeny can’t.”

  How did she know what I could do or see? I haven’t told anyone about that. She saw the question on my face, and pointed to her eyes to remind me that she was a Seer…or an Oracle… or whatever she was. “If I’m not a Progeny, then what are the Suits after, and how did they find me?”

  “Tell me, has anything happened to you lately that seemed out of the norm or… strange?”

  I nodded, and told her about what happened with Rachael, Walter, and the necklace. Then I took it out to show her. She looked over and then blew out a low whistle in amazement.

  “And the Suits weren’t the only ones that were chasing me,” I told her. “Walter had said that people with gifts, or I assume ‘Progeny’, had brighter energy. Well, before I found you, there was this really bright guy who seemed to be very interested in this necklace.”

  Ruby tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “Well, the Suits, as you call them, have ways of pinpointing spikes of energy that Progeny put off when they use their gifts. You have the very rare and unique ability to amplify energy, which includes the abilities of Progeny. I don’t know about the necklace, but I’d stay away from the bright ones if I were you. They might not want to let you go once you boost their abilities.”

  I agreed that that was not in my best interest. But that got me thinking, “You’re not brighter than a normal person, but you said you have the gift of sight? Aren’t you a Progeny?”

  She shook her head. “No, no, I’m all human DNA. But humans have always had the potential to tap into the Aethos. Prophets, Seers, and the like, are just more inclined to do so.”

  I had no idea what Aethos was. She smiled and said, “The Greeks called it Apeiron, but my people have called it Aethos as far back as anyone can remember. It is the limitless energy of the Cosmos; the stuff that connects us to everything in the Universe; the matter in the void, where everything is created and destroyed. It’s the energy that you’re blessed to be able to see with your own eyes. When you tap into the Aethos, anything is possible. I’m only able to get glimpses of it now and then. My sister Cass is more adept than me, but we both saw you coming.”

  I looked over at her in surprise. “You had a vision about me?”

  She nodded. “Visions aren’t like watching the television, there is a lot of interpreting that has to be done. But I saw that a child of limitless promise was going to come from the water with a storm from the east, and that the child must have a firm foundation in order to grow strong and true. Then I saw two saplings; one that grew in the light and one that was shadowed from the sun and grew in darkness. The sapling that grew in the shadows became twisted, and bent to the will of the weeds around it. And it poisoned the earth with its rotten fruit. The sapling that was bathed in sunlight grew to be a strong mighty tree whose branches spanned into the heavens; whose fruit would nourish and enlighten the souls of Man.”

  I thought that vision couldn’t be about me, it was impossible. The burden of the souls of Man couldn’t be on my shoulders. If it hadn’t been for that bit in the beginning about coming from the water, that vision could be about anyone. Every child has limitless promise, don’t they?

  Ruby continued, “We tried to give you the best beginning we could by putting you with a family like the Rileys. I called in a lot of favors to get you there. But now you must use the firm foundation they have given you and continue to grow in the light on your own, baby girl.” Ruby kept on driving out of town, and then merged onto 1-75 towards Atlanta.

  My heart broke, and I asked her, “You’re really not going to take me home, are you?”

  Sadness and empathy filled her eyes as she slowly shook her h
ead no. She said, “I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but you have to let them go. Those bad people after you will use them to get to you, by any means necessary. And believe me, they are not above using torture to get the information they want. If your family believes that you’re dead, then they won’t be a source of information about you anymore. It’s best if you distance yourself away from them as much as possible, and I’ll take care of everything else.”

  I sat there, trying to take this all in. I thought, how could I leave my family? They took me in and loved me as their own, and this is how I repay them? By pretending that I’m dead and breaking their hearts? They’re all I had in the world. I’m still just a kid for heaven’s sake. But if I truly love them, I would do anything to keep them safe…even if that means being dead to them. In that moment, my dream with Absolem made sense to me. He told me that I had to let go for their sakes… but let go into what? What’s in the abyss?

  I sniffed and wiped away my tears. “Where am I supposed to go?”I asked.

  Ruby patted my leg. “Don’t you worry about that, baby girl. I’m taking you to Atlanta, where you’ll get on a bus to New Orleans. That’s where my sister Cass lives and she’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

  Well, at least I’m not totally on my own, I thought. The adrenaline that had been coursing through my veins was finally wearing down, and I felt like all my energy had been drained away. My eyelids started to droop, and I blinked in and out, trying to stay awake.

  Ruby looked over and saw my head bobbing. “You go ahead and sleep, now. It’ll be a couple hours till we get there.”

  I wasn’t going to argue, and within a second I was out cold.”

  Chapter 10

  “I was awakened by a slap to the face. My eyes popped open to see Ruby leaning over me, shaking my shoulders.

  “Did you just slap me?” I asked, incredulous.

  She sighed in relief, and leaned back against the open passenger door. “I’m sorry, baby...But I couldn’t wake you up, and you were fighting me.”