I repeat, “Piece of cake.”
* * *
“Thank you for meeting with us,” I say to Jie Wen.
When Crimson said Chris and I would be meeting with some Bearers, my mind immediately listed off my least favorite, who I hoped would be last on the list. I should have known better.
“We didn’t have a choice.” Jie Wen motions to Chuang, Marketa, Kookju, and Ruth.
I say, “Of course you had a choice. Thank you for choosing to meet with us. I’ve been given an assignment that I will need the help of all the Bearers to accomplish.”
Jie Wen snarls. “You come to us with your so-called assignment, wanting us to abandon our work to help you? We perform acts that will help humanity, young lady.”
“You don’t even know what I’ve been asked to do.”
“I don’t need to know. Nothing is more important than what I’m charged to do.”
Yeah, this is going like I thought it would. “Your assignment is no less important than mine. However, all of the Bearers need to work together to save the most lives.”
“The only lives we’re concerned with are those who will advance humanity forward. Saving men, women, and children who don’t serve that purpose isn’t our concern.”
I scoot to the edge of my seat. “Men, women, and children are the human race! We need to save as many as we can, or the world’s population might end up being just a handful of really smart people. Humanity consists of all levels of intelligence, ideas, and age groups. If only one group of people are saved, humanity will struggle to survive.”
“You have no idea what it feels like to struggle. To not know where your next meal will come from. No cans or boxes to open. No drive-thrus, no twenty-four-hour stores. Only a blade and the wild, and only if you were able to feed yourself would you consider breeding and becoming responsible for someone else.”
“What’s your point, Jie Wen?” I ask. “All you’re saying is you’ve come from a time before progress and inventions created an easier way of doing things. You’ve personally saved people who then went on to invent machines and devices and medical techniques that have made the world into what it is today. You’re right. We wouldn’t have survived a day in the life you were born into. But we weren’t born then. We were born now. We get to enjoy the fruits of your efforts, but don’t think for a second we’re not aware or grateful of just how far Diamond Bearers, such as yourself, have brought us.”
“And you should be.” He sits back in his chair and raises his chin and looks down his nose at us.
“We are. Your experience is needed to help formulate the best solution for the assignment I’ve been given.”
Kookju joins the conversation. “What is your assignment?”
I turn slightly to face him. “Crimson told me a cosmic energy blast is coming that will bring a new power, one that is strong enough to wipe out humanity as we know it.”
“Why would she put you in charge of this if it’s so important?” Kookju asks.
“I don’t know, maybe because I didn’t already have an assignment.”
“What if I refuse to help?” Kookju folds his arms across his chest.
“That’s your choice. But I’m really hoping you choose to help.”
I hear Kookju’s thoughts, She’s too weak.
Jie Wen says, “If this was truly important, Crimson would have asked the Bearers personally.”
I tilt my head to the side. “How do you know she’s not doing that right now?”
Jie Wen tenses his lips and hisses, “How dare you suggest you speak for Crimson!”
“I didn’t say that. She gave me the assignment and asked me to tell the other Bearers and get them to help.”
I can see Chris out of the corner of my eye. He’s breathing quickly and his jaw is set.
Ruth enters the conversation. “Where is the blast going to hit?”
“Portland, Oregon.”
Because of the Blue Diamond, I hear anonymous thoughts. Cut her some slack. She’s just doing her job.
Yes, lighten up, Jie Wen.
Ruth says, “I’ll look to the future to see if any lives in Portland are more important than the rest.”
“Thank you, Ruth. I’ll get back to the rest of you with other ways you can help.”
Jie Wen stands. “No. I won’t allow myself to be taken off task because Crimson wants her new pet to look important.”
Chris stands as well. I sense his irritation level has maxed out. “What don’t you understand? You won’t have anyone else to preserve unless you help Calli. This new power could destroy humanity.”
“If the world’s population was really at the precipice heading to extinction, saving it would not be placed in the hands of a child.”
“Don’t insult Calli!” Chris warns.
Jie Wen laughs. “Or what? Then there’s you, Chris. A Diamond Bearer by accident. You shouldn’t even be here. You certainly haven’t earned the right to bear a diamond.”
That’s it, I’m going to use my Mind-control on him.
Crimson orders, Leave now!
“We’re done here.” I grab Chris’s arm, expecting I’ll have to drag him away. He follows without incident. Then I realize Crimson must be forcing Chris to leave.
I hear thoughts as we leave the room. They can’t handle the heat. They’re too volatile. What was Crimson thinking?
Once we’re outside the building, we head straight to our rental car we secured earlier today. Crimson says, Get in the car. Chris, you drive. I’ll follow beside the car.
Where do you want me to go?
Just drive, Chris.
With Chris behind the wheel, we drive away from the building without a destination in mind. We drive in silence for a few minutes. I don’t know what Crimson’s going to say. I hope she discusses ways of getting through to Jie Wen and the others, because I don’t know what else to do.
Chris pulls over at a park. He turns the car off and gets out and opens the back door. I sometimes forget he can’t see Crimson in her invisible state. I assume she must be communicating privately with his mind, telling him what to do. I wish my Blue shard would allow me to read her mind, but no. He closes the door after she’s inside the car, then he gets back in and shuts his door.
“Hold my hand,” Crimson says. She reaches over the back of our seats for our hands. I place Chris’s hand on Crimson’s as he can’t see her. As soon as we take hold, I notice the blue mist of secrecy surround us. She drops our hands and says, “Chris you cannot lose your temper like that. Calli needs you to be strong and calm in those types of situations.”
“I’m sorry. I get angry when they insult Calli.”
Crimson doesn’t respond to his words. Instead, she says to me, “If you use your Blue Diamond on another Bearer, they will figure out you have it and not Maetha. Keeping the secret is imperative. Maetha was able to keep the Blue shard a secret for many centuries. Once she began to disclose the existence, she was careful with whom she told about the quantum entanglement. Only Mary and Duncan know about the mental connection between myself and the Bearer of the Blue shard, and up until Jonas received the diamond while you still had the shard inside you, no other instance of quantum entanglement existed.”
“Is that why you assigned Duncan to me and Mary to Jonas? They were the only ones who understood?”
“Yes. However, Duncan does not know Maetha surrendered her Blue Diamond and I want it to remain that way.”
“Don’t you trust Duncan?”
“Loose lips sink ships, Calli. Have you ever heard that phrase?”
“No.”
“Calli, at this point, I don’t know who will choose to support my desire to bring in younger Bearers. I don’t want them knowing you have the shard. As for Jie Wen and company, they already don’t like you. If they knew I gave you the Blue Diamond instead of one of them, they’d hate you all the more. They’d have to respect you, but they would hate you. You need to earn their respect before they find out you h
ave the shard.”
“How am I supposed to do that? You heard Jie Wen.”
“Your actions will speak louder than words.” She turns to Chris. “You on the other hand, need to under-stand this clearly: if you lose your cool like that again, I won’t allow you to accompany Calli on this task. She has more patience than you, but once you became enraged, she almost cracked and used the Blue shard. Your life has held many disappointments and anger-inducing events. You must control your anger. It’s impossible to forget what’s happened to you, but you can control your actions.”
“I understand.” Chris bows his head.
“Maetha and I have worked for far too long to have this upended at the last second.”
We sit in silence for a few moments. After being reprimanded by the world’s oldest human, I’m feeling pretty humbled. I think back on the tense moments in the Bearer meeting. Perhaps I could have approached the topic differently.
Crimson changes tone and speaks to my mind. Marketa is trying to bi-locate to you. Listen to what she has to say.
The blue mist evaporates and Marketa materializes in the back seat near Crimson who is still invisible.
“Calli, Chris, I want to offer my assistance and show my willingness to embrace the new direction the Bearers are moving. This situation with the blogger has opened my eyes to the need for more vigilant Bearers. I want to learn what you know about the world today. What would you have me do?” She bows her head and waits for a reply.
Crimson tells me what to say.
“Will you accompany me to college and be my protector?” I can’t believe Crimson wants me babysat at college. “I don’t want to take a chance with the blogger trying to locate me. Will you do that?”
“Yes. I’ll work hard to keep the blogger away so you can focus on your studies. I’ve been slow to accept the new advancements of the modern day. What better way to learn than to be around you, and in a learning environment?”
Marketa seems nice enough, but her response feels a little forced. I say, “Meet me on campus on the first day of semester.
“The University of Toledo, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there.”
Marketa disappears and Crimson reinstates our private discussion. “With the Tennessee law enforcement off your backs before the blogger could get a crazed manhunt started, and with Marketa offering to help out, I believe we’ve accomplished what we needed to do here. I’ll have Rodger fly you two to Ohio where Calli can get ready for school. Chris, you’ll continue on to the east coast. I want you watching Max closely. Brand, Beth, and Anika are handling things nicely in Colorado. I’ve got some issues to tackle concerning Maetha and her new identity.”
I ask, “Do we need to meet with more Bearers to discuss the blast?”
“Yes, but not yet. I’ll let you know. For now, return to the airplane. Leave the keys in the ignition of the car when you get to the plane and I’ll have someone take care of it.”
She opens the back door and gets out, maintaining her invisibility. She closes the door. I watch as her body slowly lifts from the ground until she’s obscured with trees. I lose track of her.
“She’s gone.” My head is cranked all the way back as I press my face against the window trying to see her. “I’m really glad I’m not with her right now. Flying is not my cup of tea.”
Chris stares blankly out the windshield. He says, “I think she does this on purpose.”
“What?”
“Limit our time together.”
“Well, it sounds like we’ll have a little time together on the flight to Ohio,” I say, trying to cheer him up. But I’m just as let down.
Chapter 13 – Digital Warfare
Marketa is less than social. She doesn’t talk much. For a roommate, she’s rather boring. As a Diamond Bearer, she’s all business. I know she can’t read my mind because I had Chris test my walls on the way back to Ohio. Marketa’s thoughts are normal and nothing to note. Dull. And that’s okay.
I find her behaviors and habits unusual, though. I think she might be OCD because she’s constantly straightening everything. She does strange things like readjust the bedspread, align the drapes and blinds, and rearrange books on my bookshelf. One day she’ll arrange them in alphabetical order, the next day she puts the books in order according to colors of the covers, or topics, or smallest to largest. I’ve found myself straightening everything around me just so she won’t.
One thing she told me is she likes the modern flat irons for hair. “They are so much easier than warming an iron over the fire or using an electric clothes iron.” She describes how she’d have to lay her hair out on an ironing board and straighten it manually. I guess there isn’t a cosmic power that straightens hair.
When I try to ask her about her history, she changes the subject. The only thing I know for sure is she’s from the Czech Republic, even though she speaks like an American. I figure that’s a good thing because it helps her blend in better with the students. If she had an exotic accent, she’d bring attention to herself.
I saw two female students in the dorm wearing what looked like obsidian on leather cords around their necks. I tried to read their minds but found what I feared. The girls were wearing Yellowstone Obsidian. I talked to one of them, asking where she got the necklace, pretending I liked it. She said she ordered it online. I didn’t press for information.
My class schedule is back to normal, but not having Brand around to keep me company really stinks. Day in and day out I do the same thing. Attend class, eat lunch, attend class, eat dinner, do homework, study, and research the city of Portland.
I need to learn the layout of the Portland area, the major roads, highways, interstate routes, etc. If I’m going to be able to get the city’s government to listen to me, I’d like to be able to suggest evacuation routes. I’ve concluded there are some obvious bottlenecks in the roadways.
The Columbia River hems the city in on the north and it’s crossed by only two bridges: the 205 and I-5. Heading east, I-84 follows the river through the Columbia River Gorge. On the Washington side of the river, a two-lane, narrow and winding Highway 14 heads east. But for Portlanders to get to the 14, they have to cross the river on one of the two only bridges. A smaller road, Highway 26, heads east from Portland toward the inactive volcano, Mt. Hood. The road eventually connects with I-84. So that’s an evacuation option.
Heading south, the 205 curves around and connects with I-5 about ten miles south of Portland. This could be a major bottleneck, backing traffic up into the hot zone. The highways that head west might help alleviate the southbound traffic. Highway 26 heads west directly from the city center and ends at Seaside, OR. Highway 30 follows the Willamette River out of Portland in a northwestern direction and eventually meets up with the Columbia River at the town St. Helens. The Pacific Highway heads southwest out of Portland along with a couple other minor highways.
The question is: how far away from the blast is far enough? Maybe an exit to the west won’t even exist.
I try to view the future once again. I look for specific elements of the blast, such as where it will hit. Nothing comes to mind, but I’m not surprised. I can’t see actual cosmic energy. I look for traffic jams associated with evacuation. I begin to envision several bridges in a row in the downtown area, all loaded bumper to bumper with vehicles. I see the dual-decked I-5 bridge curving up and over the Willamette River. All lanes are being used for southbound traffic.
I pull out of the vision and write down what I’ve just seen. A central point will need to be established from which everyone should move away in the opposite direction. The central point will be the location of the blast, wherever that’s going to be.
I try to envision the blast. I see nothing. I look for my participation in helping capture the cosmic power in a diamond. Nothing.
I switch my thinking to the organization of evacuation plans. What kind of management and planning will need to be implemented to make this happen? Hal
ting inbound traffic into Portland from the north, south, east, and west won’t be a small task. I figure at some point I’ll need to learn more about the city of Portland’s evacuation protocols.
I look back to my map. Vancouver, Washington, is only a few miles away from downtown Portland. Will it be far enough away, or will Vancouver need to evacuate too? If so, traffic flow on I-5 is essential for mass evacuation.
I scrunch my eyes closed and rub my temples to ease the tension. This type of study and contemplation occupies most of my days and nights, eliminating my social interaction. Several girls from the dorm have asked if I would perform my matchmaking services for them, but I’ve declined. I’m just not in the mood. I guess I’m a little frustrated not being able to do what I want when Marketa is around. I’d love to have Chris bi-locate to my dorm and talk, but talk about what? We have to be careful what’s discussed around her. I can’t use my invisibility or mind-control. At. All. That’s the hardest, I think.
I’ve bi-located to Chris a couple times and we’ve had some heart-to-heart conversations, which is great. That preserves my sanity, plus I’m feeling like I know him so much better.
In a few minutes, the Bearers are having a gathering. We are to bi-locate to Jonas. Marketa prepares for it by closing and locking the door. Then she sits cross-legged on her bed and closes her eyes. I do the same on mine.
Connecting with Jonas’s diamond is easy. The first thing I see and hear is the ocean and rolling surf as it slides up the gentle beach. Jonas sits on a log just out of reach of the waves. I look around and see several more Bearers materialize. Marketa is slow to connect with Jonas, which I find interesting. Chris appears across the circle and winks at me, sending my heart into palpitations.
Quit it, Chris, I tease.
Just wanted to see you get worked up, that’s all.
Maetha says, “Jonas, go ahead.”
Jonas looks around the circle and takes a breath. “I’ve been working on locating the origination point of the blog. I already tried to get the host server to shut it down, but that’s how I discovered the host is an anonymous server. Freedom of speech is a big thing worldwide. These types of servers cater to individuals like our blogger to help them broadcast their views unchecked and unstoppable. This type of setup is a good thing when it’s used to reveal corruption or scammers, but in our case and the world of the clans, this is terrible. The servers bounce around from Japan, to Malaysia, to off the coast of western Africa, so they’re impossible to track down. But I have a plan. We’re going to flood the Internet with similar websites that, with everyone’s help, will outrank our nasty blogger and bury his site several pages deep.” Jonas finishes and waits for questions.
The Diamond Bearer's Secret Page 18
