A.I.R. Shattered Soul

by Amanda Booloodian

  It was evening when we started hearing voices. It was difficult to make out what was being said. I couldn’t even figure out which direction the voices came from. They came nearer, and then started to fade.

  A sense of urgency jolted through me and I jumped up. Looking around didn’t help. Chewing on my lip, I closed my eyes and forced my thoughts away. We had to act, and move faster.

  I tried to feel for the Path instead of reading it. The sensation was unfamiliar. Air around us started to feel heavy, but with frantic flares tossed out. I wasn't sure I read it correctly.

  Vincent was standing in front of me when I opened my eyes.

  “What do you know?” Vincent asked.

  “Something’s wrong. Something happened.”

  “We need more.”

  “I'm not sure.” I kept my voice quiet, and turned around on the spot. I felt around for the passage of people. My focus slipped and the Path opened up once again. Through closed eyes, I fought the torrential flood of information and focused on the sensations.

  It threw me off balance but I steadied myself against a tree.

  “That way,” I said, pointing down the hill behind us. In the distance, there was a streak of vibrant, eager purple.

  Pushing the Path away, I started jogging down the trail. I could hear Vincent keeping pace behind me. Time seemed to slow and it felt like it was taking forever to reach the spot that I had seen.

  When I reached the spot, I felt around, trying hard not to open the Path. “There were people here not long ago. I looked in both directions the trail had run and I was locked with indecision.

  “Which way?” Vincent asked. His steady voice was reassuring.

  “That way.” Once again, we rushed off and it wasn’t long before we reached an overgrown trail. It may have been an animal trail at one time, but the way the grass was worn down, you could tell something large had been through.

  I pounded down the trail, trying to be quiet, but the pressing of intensive need urged me faster. The trail ended at a well-worn and maintained park trail. We had to be a few miles away from the fairies at this point. I didn't pause to catch my breath or guess the direction; the air remembered the direction of those we were pursuing. Even though I couldn't see it, I could feel the purple pulsing through the area. Being a Reader had never worked in this way before, but it felt familiar and I trusted it.

  Before long, I could make out voices ahead. Slowing down, I listened intently. It could be two people out walking; I didn't want to jump out at innocent people.

  “Two months of this shit and we finally have something to show for it.” It was a male voice.

  “We better get a good pay out for this,” came another male voice.

  “This fucking fairy is going to get us richer than you can imagine,” the first guy replied.

  I'd heard enough. I ran forward, not caring how much noise I made.

  I rushed around a bend in the trail and spotted the two men who had been talking. One of them was carrying a box, the other an empty cage.

  “Stop where you are!” My voice shook with anger. “Federal agents.”

  The two men turned toward me, dressed in camouflage like hunters. One man was large and hairy with a large mole on his face. The other guy had narrow beady eyes and a nose that was much too long for his face. Mole was startled and Snake was pissed. Clinging to their possessions, they both took off running. Why didn't I have my gun out? There was not much I could do but run after them.

  They ran down the trail, which was lucky for me. They were out-of-shape, so I was gaining. The bad news was I could no longer hear Vincent behind me. Where the hell did he go? It didn't matter. The men didn't run for long. They hesitated at a fork in the path and made a wrong turn. They followed the trail straight into a box canyon. There was only one way in and one way out, unless they were planning on climbing rock walls that quickly soared high. The entire area was less than half a football field in size, but there was no getting out unless they came back through me.

  Both men turned to face me. In one hand, I held a tranq gun, in the other a can of Mace. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough for the out of shape men.

  “Put the box and cage down and step away!” I yelled. Mole man put the box down, but Snake sneered at me.

  “What's got your panties in a twist?” Snake's face was red from the exertion of running. His mouth turned down and his eyes were dark and menacing.

  “Put the cage down and step away,” I repeated.

  “The way I see it, it's two to one. Two men, one little woman,” said Snake.

  “One woman federally trained to take your ass down,” I replied with hostility.

  The man's sneer faded. It looked like he was thinking over my words and it looked like it took effort. He put down the cage and frowned. “It's just an empty cage,” Snake said, sulking. Then the man half grinned and took a step forward. I took a step forward, meeting his stupid grin with a hard glare.

  I felt the hard metal of a gun pressed to the back of my head. I didn't move or drop my hard stare, but inside, my mind had gone blank.

  “Drop your weapon,” came a deep voice from behind me. I didn't move, but the numb coldness of fear started spreading through my body. Then I heard the distinct sound of a hammer being drawn back. “Don't be stupid. Killing you won't bother me in the least.” I dropped my weapons, but made no other move. The Mole man looked nervous, but Snake looked pleased. Snake took a few steps closer.

  Fear coursed through my body along with a surge of adrenaline. My mind kicked into gear and fought furiously to find some way to get out of this. Where the hell was my partner?

  Chapter 8

  The air became thick with dark excitement from Snake. He took another few steps closer.

  “I am a federal agent.” With a gun to my head, my brain was having a hard time coming up with a plan. “Put your weapon down and step away.”

  “I have no doubt you are a federal agent,” came the steely voice behind me. “But I do doubt your ability to do anything. Maybe it will be no surprise to others that you never make it home.”

  Taking a few deep breaths, I called to the energy of the area. I tried to calm the situation. Since I was far from collected, it took extra effort. I was surprised at how far my influence ranged. Snake became a little dazed and Mole seemed to relax.

  The man behind me was calm to begin with, which was troubling. After a few moments, the gun moved from the back of my head. I'm sure it was pointed at me, but I sighed in relief that it was not pressed against my skull.

  The relief was short lived. Hard metal crashed against the side of my head, slamming me into the ground.

  Pain shot through me. My eyes blurred. I clutched at my head, but realizing I was prone, I knew I had to move. With some effort, I kept one hand pressed to my head, rolled over to my knees, and tried to get to my feet. My fingers clutched my head and started to feel slick. As I made it to my knees, a foot struck me across the ribs. I cried out as my body rolled over, putting me straight on my back. I couldn’t tell if it was tears or blood running down my face.

  Snake's angry sneer came into view. “Shouldn't have tried to stop us. Stupid woman.” He started to bring his foot down on my stomach. Grabbing the foot, I softened the blow to my stomach, but not by much.

  There was a commotion off to the side, but I kept my focus squarely on the man's foot in my hand. Using a burst of adrenaline, I twisted his foot, forcing him to fall back.

  Still on the ground, I turned and caught my first look at the man who had held a gun to my head. He was well built, all muscle where the other two were flabby.

  Unfortunately, he was standing, once again, with a gun to my head. However, he wasn’t looking at me.

  “Enough!” The man with the gun grabbed my shirt collar and pulled me up. My stomach rolled and my vision blurred again. For the second time today, I had cold metal pressed against my head.

  “Federal agents aren't supposed to be here.” The man's voice w
as deep and calm. “You, step back next to the rocks.”

  The blurry shapes began to take form. The man with the gun had his attention focused on Vincent. I didn’t know where he had come from, but Vincent had the Mole on the ground. His knee dug into the man's back. Mole appeared to be unconscious. Vincent looked up at me. His eyes had turned almost completely black. Only a small band of white remained. It lasted only a few seconds before he looked away and walked slowly back to the rock bluffs.

  The gun was removed from my temple. “You, pick him up and let’s get out of here.” The steely voiced man put an arm around me and dragged me backwards. Snake moved between us and roughly tried to pull his partner up. He had some difficulty, but after one look at me and the man with the gun, he dragged the man away.

  We waited silently until all noise the other two made had disappeared into the coming night.

  “We don’t need to take long here,” my captor said.

  I didn’t say anything. I was at a complete loss for what to do. Do you make someone talk in this situation or attack? Thoughts seemed to be running through murky water in my mind. Somewhere, I knew the answer was there.

  As the sun started to set, I decided it didn’t matter. I was probably dead either way. Tensing, I got ready to push his gun arm away.

  Metal brushed against my cheek. “Don’t make me pull the trigger.”

  I shut my eyes and tried to get my muscles to relax. In the distance, we heard a horn blaring.

  “I have to admit, I didn’t expect federal agents.”

  I felt the man’s breath on the back of my neck and cringed. He forced me to walk with him to the entrance of the box canyon.

  “You especially,” the man gestured to Vincent, “intrigue me. I’d love to know what you did to knock my employee unconscious so quickly.” We stopped moving. I could barely make Vincent out in the shadows of the cliffs.

  A few silent moments passed. Did the man expect Vincent to answer?

  “Ah, well, I can’t allow you to follow me.”

  My stomach churned as I sensed Vincent move subtly. The frustration rolling from him was palpable.

  “I’ve never killed a person,” the man continued. “Luckily, I have another option.”

  The gun moved out in front of me directed straight at the box lying forgotten on the ground. I heard the crack and saw a flash as the bullet left the gun, but my ears went silent and the expected echo didn’t follow. The hole in the box registered in my mind. I tried to step forward, but the ground rushed up to meet me.

  Stunned, I lay there, afraid to move. Why did I leave the house today?

  Through the ringing in my ears, I heard Vincent's voice. “Cassie? Are you okay? Cass?” His anger swept over me. My stomach churned harder and I instinctively pulled back as he approached. Taking in deep breaths of air, I tried to push back the turbulent emotions and calm myself.

  “Are you okay?” Vincent's voice demanded.

  I nodded, which was a mistake that caused a rushing in my ears. Trying not to move my head too much, I looked toward the box. “The fairy?”

  Vincent went over to the cardboard box on the ground. I held my breath and watched, hoping like hell the person inside was safe. Whatever the man thought, if he had killed the fairy, he had murdered a person. Most of the Lost were people, maybe not human, but if you started thinking of sentient Lost as animals or creatures, your perspective became skewed.

  Very carefully, Vincent opened the box. A small shape darted out. It moved so quickly that I had trouble following. Disappearing into the forest, the fairy was gone.

  Vincent turned his attention back to me. He didn't come closer, but watched me intently. I could feel that much of Vincent's anger had left, and harsh sadness had taken its place.

  “We should go after them,” I said. My head pounded, but my stomach started to settle as the adrenaline left my body. I also ached all over. It didn’t mean the bad guys weren’t getting away.

  “They’re gone,” Vincent said.

  Knowing he was right didn’t make it any easier.

  “Do you need my assistance?” His voice sounded stony, but after the short time we’ve been together, I knew he was trying to rein in his emotions and hide behind indifference.

  Hiding behind lies can be a safety net. I should know since I do the same thing by trying to convince others and myself that I’m whole after meeting Vincent.

  I wanted to lie back on the ground, but instead, I motioned Vincent over to me. He slowly came, as though worried I might lean away again. I reached out and used Vincent's arm to pull myself up. Dizziness threatened to swamp me, so instead of standing, I chose to sit on a nearby rock.

  “You should let me take a look at your head,” Vincent said. I turned toward him. He wore an aura of uneasiness, but the rest of his emotions seemed settled.

  “Okay,” I said.

  Putting his hand under my chin, he inspected my eyes first. Since he wasn't a doctor, I wasn't sure what he was looking for. His eyes, which I had mistaken for black earlier, were green with lines of gold darting through them. After a few moments, he turned his attention to the side of my head.

  A pronounced frown settled into his face and his anger flared so suddenly that it made me gasp and wince. It wasn't pain, like the pain in my aching head. It was more like being slashed across the body by some invisible force. I shuddered. Closing my eyes, I tried to force the anger away, but that only made my head hurt worse. Vincent moved away quickly, leaving me alone on my rock.

  My mind was a jumble of thoughts. What the hell was happening? Emotions from other people don't affect me this way. Feeling weak and depressed, which I despised, I watched as Vincent gripped his hands tight. He took a few deep breaths and relaxed his hands. When he returned, he inspected my head. His expression and his touch made him feel detached and void of emotion.

  “I'm fine,” I lied, pushing his arm away from my face.

  “You were threatened, kicked, and pistol-whipped. You are distinctly not fine.”

  “I'll be fine then,” I said. He was right though, I hurt like hell. “Where did you go on the trail? You were right behind me.”

  “I heard another person, so I pulled back,” his voice was hesitant. “It did not go as I planned.”

  “You need to work on your partnering skills. But next time, you can practice on someone else.”

  “Do you think you can stand?” he asked.

  Sighing, I opened my eyes. My own partnering skills were lacking right now. Critically, I inspected Vincent.

  “I should have asked if you are all right,” I said. “I didn't see what happened.”

  “You're avoiding the question,” Vincent said.

  “Maybe, but I didn't see what happened. Are you okay?”

  “It was a mistake,” Vincent said angrily, “I thought I could circle around fast enough.”

  “Good plan,” I said.

  “No,” Vincent said roughly, “I shouldn't have left you alone.”

  I shrugged. “You're not used to having a partner, and I've only had Logan as a partner. It's not a great combination.”

  Vincent didn't reply, so I let it drop.

  “There has to be another road nearby. They came to the fairies from a different direction,” I said. “We need to call this in and check on the fairies.”

  “I’ll check on the fairies and bring the truck to this side of the park.”

  “And you leave me behind without a plan?”

  Vincent hesitated and turned. “You're going to—” he stopped. “One of us should stay here and make sure no one enters the area, and call this in.”

  “That sounds like a plan. I’ll call it in.” Moving my head as little as possible, I looked around. “I need my tranq gun though.”

  Vincent grabbed the dropped weapon and handed it over with my missing Mace.

  “That'll work,” I said.

  “I'll hurry.” He disappeared.

  Darkness crawled through the box canyon. I gripped
the gun tightly in my hands. Usually, I was not an introspective person. Since joining AIR, I had been more a 'jump in and get it done' kind of person. I usually didn’t look back or think twice about the decisions I made, possibly because Logan had been leading me.

  Now things were different. We weren't only relocating Lost, we were working against killers. Then there were the reactions I had been getting from others. The fairies hated me. They threw things, dusted me, and wouldn't talk to me. I had met loads of fairies, and none of them ever treated me that way before.

  Thinking about the Path was worse. What the hell was wrong with my power? Why was Reading so different? What use was I if I couldn't handle the Path?

  Then there was Vincent. Beyond the fact that he was dangerous, I knew very little about him.

  Darkness grew around me. Keeping the gun gripped tightly in one hand, I pulled out my phone. Time to stop dwelling and get to work.

  Hank picked up right away.

  “Reporting in,” I said.

  “Good. I found your log.”

  I didn’t have the willpower to interrupt, so I listened to him continue.

  “It hadn’t made it to my desk yet, but it had been made. It had been rerouted since Vincent’s transfer hasn’t officially gone through. We’re all on the same page now.”

  I sighed. It was good to know, but after the afternoon I had, I couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for the found log.

  “What do you have for me?” Hank asked.

  Beginning from our position on top of the hill, I started going over the events. I avoided everything about the Path using the terms, ‘I knew’ or ‘we discovered’ when necessary. I kept my voice steady and kept the pace slow. The sound of furious typing sounded through the phone.

  While I slowly took Hank through the afternoon, the pain became less intense. When I came to the part where the third man joined us, I started stumbling over the descriptions. Hank let me finish. A few times throughout the conversation, Hank covered the phone and shouted instructions to someone in the office.

  His voice was calm when he probed deeper with questions, starting with my injuries. After explaining each one, I assured him I didn’t need an ambulance. He reminded me that I was required to see the doctor the moment I returned. After agreeing, he continued the inquiry. Each question was answered as clearly as I could.