Forever Young - Book 2

by Daniel Pierce

  Earthquake? I didn’t know. My mind sought a response from my old life, the one that considered natural causes first. I couldn’t even tell which way was up or down anymore. I struggled to stand, gripping into the earth itself in an attempt to steady myself. I buried my fingers as deep as I could, not just into the sand but into the soil underneath.

  The sand floated. So did rocks and dirt. They warped and expanded in a bizarre spectacle as gravity ceased to be king in a small area around me. I felt heavy and conflicted, and then, as stars formed in my vision, I felt empty.

  The sensations lifted away just as suddenly as they’d come on, and the event was gone. I was fine. Everything around me was fine. The landscape was a little different, and a rock outcrop had rearranged itself to look like a chair, but everything was fine

  I dropped to my knees. The ground was good. The ground was solid, real, sandy, and not moving. The water had been solid and immobile during that little horror show too. I inched toward it, terrified that something else would go floating off into the sun.

  Tess came running. Good, solid, steady Tess, who was definitely not floating away like a wandering star. She took my arm and guided me back up to my feet.

  “Jason! Are you okay?” She peered into my eyes like she was looking to see if my concussion was still a factor. And hey, maybe it was.

  I swallowed hard. “You saw all of that?”

  “Hell yes, I saw it.”

  “What was it?” I looked around. I felt more solid now that I knew I hadn’t hallucinated it. It had been real.

  She looked at me for a few seconds. Then she kissed my cheek. “Hey. It’s okay. I’m pretty sure it was just another awakening.”

  “Awakening? Should we give it a name?” I shook my head, like I could clear it.

  She laughed. “If your sense of humor is still intact, it can’t be that bad. Come on. Remember what I said about doors in your mind and abilities waking up? This was one of them. That’s all it was. It’s okay, and it’s going to work out fine.”

  “That’s easy for you to say.” I massaged my temples. “You’re not the one who was just looking at the world like Isaac Newton’s ghost.” My stomach gave a little lurch. “I think we need to get on a boat real soon.”

  “Why?”

  “Because remember how it was when I was getting control of my water powers? Now imagine that with earth.”

  “Right.” She took my hand and stepped into the water with me.

  We found Kamila and Zarya. Neither of them could think of any earth Ferin trainers off the top of their heads, but they were preoccupied with moving us south anyway. This latest development would have to wait until we got somewhere a little closer to our goal.

  The first part of our trip south involved going north, kind of like driving anywhere around Boston. We joined a group of refugees heading toward the US border to seek asylum. I managed to learn a little bit of Spanish that way, not that Spanish would help me much in Brazil. It was a start, at least. I made sure everyone had plenty of water in their canteens no matter what. The caravan route was long, dry, and miserable. I couldn’t do much to help, but what little I could do, I did.

  When we got to Matamoros, we turned around and caught a bus west. The bus took us to a place called Ciudad Obregón, where we caught a ride on a truck bound south for Puerto Vallarta. It was hot, dusty, and gut-pounding. And safe.

  In Puerto Vallarta, we had a layover of a few days, in which I tried to figure out my new abilities on my own. I went into a secluded area and connected with the earth, the same way I tried to connect with fire or water. I’d say the results were mixed. I didn’t feel as comfortable with earth as I did with the other two, but I’d been working with both of them for longer. I did leave behind some new and different land formations I hoped would at least spark some conversations after I was gone. Maybe the latest round of UFO conspiracy theories would center around Puerto Vallarta. I took a bow as we left, grinning at the surreal mounds. As calling cards went, it was unique.

  From Puerto Vallarta, we boarded a boat for Guatemala City. In Guatemala City, we transferred almost immediately from boat to bus and headed south to Costa Rica. That trip was a little more fraught because the Costa Rican border guards didn’t want the instability of Guatemalans coming across the border into their country. Our fake papers passed muster with no problem, though, and four happy Canadians and our happy Canadian dog passed into lovely Costa Rica for an extended vacation. And then, in Costa Rica, we walked.

  I’d like to say we were the only ones, but we joined up with a group of adventure vacation enthusiasts who were backpacking their way across the country. While there was no part of me that thought sleeping on the ground was a vacation, either in my real twenties or now, I had to say it was a beautiful experience. We saw sloths. They were cute. I hoped the vampires didn’t get them.

  From Costa Rica, we caught a freighter to Colombia. Cartagena is a beautiful city, although its docks are less beautiful. We quickly escaped to a somewhat less run-down part of town to plan our next move. We found a cheap suite hotel that let us bring Daisy inside. We made use of the showers and got takeout food.

  Then we sat down with the map. “Part of me wants to just make a beeline for Rio and take it from there.” I ran my fingers through my still-wet hair. “I feel like we’ve been on the road forever, and I just want to be done. At the same time, the bad guys know we’re coming. They have to. If we go around and down to Chile, and up from the south, we’ll have a better chance of surprising them.”

  “Maybe.” Tess bit her lip. “But we tried that before, and they were ten steps ahead. We thought we’d pulled one over on them, but instead, they were more than ready for us. I think we just have to expect they know we’re on our way and hope for the best.”

  Kamila looked like she was about to object, but then she stopped herself. “You know what? You’re right. I’ve gotten so used to sneaking around and hiding, it’s all I know anymore. I want—I insist—we just walk right in. In fact, let’s do this right. Let’s take the train. We’ll get one of those nice sleeper cars. The kind you can stretch out in.”

  “The kind you can defend?” Zarya asked, raising an eyebrow. “Hell yeah, I’m in.”

  The next morning, we went down to the train station and booked four tickets for the largest sleeper car they had available, heading to Rio. The trip would take a good long time, with plenty of layovers, but it would be a great way to see some beautiful country.

  We were going into what might well be our last adventure. We might as well go into it in style.

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  About the Author

  Daniel Pierce lives in Wyoming with his wife Marissa and their two dogs. After fourteen years as an engineer, Daniel decided it was finally time to write and release his first novel.

  As a lifelong fan of scifi and fantasy, he wants nothing more than to share his passion.

  He invites readers to email him at authordanielpierce@yahoo.com