We were glowing as we headed to the vehicle. The
only thing I loved more than a dramatic entrance was a dramatic exit.
“Elliot got away. Four ran away after the other four
went poof. I could feel you and the children. They must have tracked my heat
signature. Who knows what yours is now?”
“The children want to make sure you’re safe.” I
handed him the phone and it rang.
Lucas reassured them we were fine. I wasn’t sure
that was the case, but they didn’t need to know that. We found our way to the
vehicle, people seemed to be keeping their distance from us.
“I wonder how they’ll spin what happened and find a
way to blame me? Everybody reach out and see if we’re being tailed.”
Lucas did a quick sweep of the SUV and we headed to
the gate. Hopefully, Elliot was too distracted by his failure to try anything
else so quickly. The surrounding area had been blocked off for our meeting, but
beyond that was a mass of media and residents waited anxiously to see what was
happening. Word had gotten out about our meeting with world leaders. It’s not
an easy thing to hide in today’s 24/7 media culture and an ambulance leaving a Camp
David summit is going to draw attention.
“You’re glowing,” Lucas said.
“You too, crap.”
Something didn’t feel right and we were headed right
into a road filled with bystanders and law enforcement.
“Stop, I love you,” I said. This was going to be one
of my bigger tests.
I jumped out of the SUV, someone had fired a rocket
launcher and it was headed our way. Elliot wasn’t done with us yet. I couldn’t
understand why he was so determined to kill us.
Did I wrap the bomb or everyone around me? I had no
time to think. I wrapped everyone and sent out a charge to detonate it but it
was too close now. People screamed in terror, but they couldn’t move because I
had them shielded. The rocket exploded right near me. I let out a rush of air
when the force knocked me into the back of the SUV, my head shattered the back
window, stunning me. I contained the energy burst as best I could so no one
around us was hit by the blast wave or bomb debris.
I felt Lucas right by my side, “Relax and let go,”
he said.
I let go and the debris dropped harmlessly to the
ground. The people on the street moved, cameras flashed, there was a burst of
nervous laughter, then a round of applause.
Lucas walked me around to the passenger side. “Is
anyone injured?” I asked the crowd.
Some came towards me, curious of the oddity that we
were, while others shrunk away terrified, thinking I was nothing more than a demon,
the snake in the Garden of Eden sent to steal their souls.
A woman yelled from the crowded side walk, “Can you
help my son?” She approached me cautiously with a child who appeared to be ten
or eleven years old.
“This isn’t
going to end well,” Lucas said.
“I’ll try and help your son, but if it works pretend
it didn’t until you get home. Is that a deal? What’s your name young man?”
“Kyle.” We shook hands.
“Here’s the deal, Kyle? If I make you see, you’ll
pretend you can’t for a little bit longer, okay?”
“Sure,” he said excitedly.
The boy was scared and anxious, but exited at the
prospect of getting his sight back.
I put my hands on his beautiful dark blue eyes. “He
lost his sight after a car accident?” I said.
“Yes,” His mother replied.
“His optic nerves were damaged. He should be fine by
tomorrow.”
I told Kyle. “You’ll see a little bit of light for
now so keep the eyes closed, it will be very bright until you get used to it
again. Maybe get him some sunglasses.”
I kissed his head, “Live a long and good life Kyle,
help people like you’ve been helped.”
He had his eyes squeezed tight. “I promise I will.”
“Good man,” I said.
His mother hugged me. “Thank you.”
Lucas grabbed me. “We need to go, now.” People were
moving closer to us out of curiosity. We didn’t look like scary aliens, but
looks can be deceiving. We took off as the police were clearing the streets, even
they seemed to keep their distance, waving us through traffic.
“We need to dump this vehicle ASAP. You put one hell
of a dent in the back. Are you okay?” Lucas said.
“The usual, I’m hungry and in need of a nap. I
shielded everyone, but not myself enough, I guess.”
“I think we should head back home. I can tell you’re
going down for a while. Elliot is hunting us and I don’t feel like I can
protect you here. You put out a lot of energy with that blast.”
Lucas seemed very stressed out, he was always going
to be a hands on warrior, feeling safer with his guns and knives than with the seemingly
magical powers that I possessed. The hunter always plans on the prey heading
home to the safety of its nest. Elliot would be no different. They had our
general vicinity and would begin the search for us there.
“I understand. You do what you think is best. You’re
right, I’m going down soon.”
We hit a fast food place and I chugged coffee and we
ate burgers. Lucas dropped off the rental and filled out an accident form. He
told them we backed into a pole. He took the blame like a good husband since the
truth was unbelievable. We grabbed a new car and headed towards the airport. The
steady whine of the freeway lulled me to sleep.
I could hear Lucas yelling my name. “We have a bogey
honey, and if you don’t wake up, were dead.”
Lucas banked the plane hard and I rolled onto the
floor, smacking into the seats across from me. That was enough to wake me.
“Ouch.”
I crawled the short distance to the front of the
plane.
Lucas kissed me. “Thank God. I love you and I hope
you can do something.”
“Keep taking us down just in case.” I strapped
myself in as Lucas took the plane down towards the mountain range. He was
pushing this plane to its limits and beyond. I was grateful he was as skilled
at flying as he was everything else.
“You’re glowing.”
“So are you. I can feel the children,” I said.
“I’m not seeing any flares. I never thought about a
plane with flares.” His tone was less than calm.
A missile exploded off the starboard side of the
plane. The turbulence jostled us around and alarms started going off in the
cock pit. Not sure why I was scared I was pretty sure I could no longer die and
I could fly, somewhat. My fear was for Lucas, I wasn’t sure I could bring him back
from a plane crash or if he could fly as well. Again, my life was filled with
more questions than answers.
I unintentionally made a whining sound. “We’re going
to be okay, honey don’t worry. There’s another incoming, make that two. I’m
glad we insured it.”
Someone was very determined to kill us. I wasn’t
sure how much energy I had left in me. We were flying west, into the mountains
and into a storm.
“I am the storm.”
“Works for me,” Lucas said.
It started to lightning around us. We were jostled
around for a few minutes by turbulence.
“I think the missiles are gone. We should be in the
clear.”
Lucas threw out the flight plan and flew below the
radar for most of the trip home.
They had attempted to shoot us down over the
mountains so it looked like nothing more than a tragic accident, chalk it up to
pilot error or the storm. The storm dissipated and we flew into the sunset towards
our children and home.
I woke up briefly when Lucas kissed my forehead and
put me in the back of the SUV. I heard LJ and Allegra and felt Lucas snuggled
up next to me in bed later.
It was pitch black when I awoke, just the faint glow
of a night light in the bathroom. Where ever I was Lucas was sleeping next to
me.
“I love you my amazing wife,” Lucas whispered and
kissed my neck.
“Not as much as I love you. It’s good to be on the
ground.”
Lucas chuckled. “I won’t argue with that.”
“We’re at Joe’s?”
“Yeah, the house didn’t feel safe and with you down
I didn’t want to take the chances of another Russian hit squad or drone strike
while you’re out of it. You saved us in the plane.”
I heard footsteps above us.
“Damn, I think I woke up the whole house.”
“You always do when you come back, its fine.”
Lucas reached over and turned on a light and kissed
me. LJ and Joe came down the stairs with a pot of coffee. Allegra came out of
the back bedroom and gave me a hug, the whole gang was there.
