A Human Element (21 page)

Ben stared at the road ahead but she heard his thoughts loud and clear. He was thinking about that morning making love to her, unprotected. And now what if she was pregnant? She had asked him to stay that first night. Could he stay if it was forever? His final question burned in her mind.
But do we even have the promise of forever?

"I don't know, Ben." Laura answered him aloud. He looked startled and turned his attention back to driving.

Felix remained silent, a guardian from the backseat.

They reached the outskirts of Albany and strip malls popped up with restaurants and stores.

"There." Felix pointed at a fast food chicken joint. "Go through that one."

Ben pulled in to the drive-thru restaurant and ordered them all grilled chicken sandwiches, fries, and lemonade. Not the healthiest meal, but they needed something to go on. Laura felt a headache growing and hoped it was just due to lack of food. They ate their food in silence.

"Just where am I heading to?" Ben balanced his sandwich on his lap as he steered the car back on the road.

"Turn left at the light and go down a few miles." Felix stared out the window.

Ben crumbled up his food wrapper and shoved it in the drive-through bag. "All these years you've been watching us, making sure we survived to come together?"

Felix nodded.

"You rescued me in Hawaii, so why not from my abusive foster father?"

Laura sipped her lemonade, images fresh in her head of Ben being tied to a rock and standing before a burning bed. He hadn't opened up to her about these events. Then she grew angry as she thought of this man knowing her loved ones would die and doing nothing about it.

She turned around in her seat to face Felix. "And you left me notes warning me of this man coming and to use my powers, but you never showed up to rescue my parents or Moe or Renee. Why? Couldn't you have stopped him?" Laura's voice rose louder. "If you can see into the future and know these things then you could have done something! But you just let them all die. Why?"

Felix sat still with no trace of expression on his face. "Because as a Seeker, my privilege of seeing into the future also comes with the law I must not interfere with the future unless it's for a greater good. If I had, the course of your life might have changed and your brother would keep coming. He wouldn't stop. He would keep killing those around you to torment you and eventually kill you, as he plans to do now. And fate has a hand in it too. Fate seeks to re-align itself to its correct path, no matter how bad the outcome. Those that died were meant to die, at that time or another. Fate would find another way to achieve its set course."

"But you
did
interfere in my life," Ben insisted, glancing at Felix in the mirror. "You saved me from those men. Why not from my foster father?"

"Yes, I did interfere once because I saw the future. I saw those men in Hawaii would indeed kill you and then you and Laura would not meet. The survival of the Elyon people depended on your meeting. I want the Elyon people to continue. Interference then rose above the law. I must only interfere to change the course of the future if it is vital to the desired end result. This is a moral code Elyon Seekers abide by to keep order within their world. A code I have adopted and abide by. I did not interfere with your foster father because I knew you would escape and survive. This is why I did not become involved."

Ben sighed. "When did you start watching me?"

"You were fourteen years old and in foster care."

"Did you know what happened to me in those foster homes?"

"Yes."

"You saw me with Frank too, later. You were at my foster mother's funeral."

"Yes."

"You knew then what Frank did to me? Was going to do to me?"

"I did, but I also saw you escaped from that awful place and went on to survive it. I saw you after the Navy too, living in squalor and drunk in Florida."

"If you're so like God, why didn't you rescue me then? I could have drunk myself to death."

"But you didn't and I knew you wouldn't. I knew you would overcome and go on to have a successful career. Besides I would not have been able to rescue you if I could."

"Why not?"

"From that kind of evil only you could be rescued from yourself. And you did. You are stronger than you think, Ben. And I am not God. What I can do is a curse as well as a gift."

"And my family, my friends?" Laura took in Felix's massive outline against the back window now while his green eyes flickered as they passed under street lights.

"I'm sorry for your losses, Laura, but I saw you too would continue and survive these great tragedies. If I interfered it might have changed the future so your brother did reach you and kill you before I could stop it. That could not happen. We need our Elyon race to continue. I have spent years learning about them. They are a beautiful people, full of courage, talent, and love. Most are good beings. It would be a great tragedy for them to die out. I am honored to be part Elyon. I was lucky enough to grow up in a facility where I was well taken care of. I would have preferred a home, parents, siblings, but I had to accept I am a government experiment. Now it is up to you to fulfill your destiny.
Our
destiny."

Laura reached over and placed her hand on Felix's arm. He flinched when she touched him but didn't pull away.

She closed her eyes. "I see your life. Women in white coats drawing your blood. Doctors in blue playing a game with you as a boy. You're in a yellow room. It's where you sleep. You like it as it reminds you of the sun you can't see. There are toys, books, movies, games. Yes, you were taken care of but there was sadness. You wanted a normal human life. And I sense…I sense emotion."

Laura opened her eyes but didn't remove her hand. Felix placed his large hand over hers.

"Yes, I feel things but not with the intensity you do. I am a dispassionate bystander who follows the authority that created me. It's all I know, all I can do if I want to survive."

She gazed into his green eyes and felt sorry for him. Like her brother, he too was tormented, imprisoned in the cell he sprung from. Imprisoned within himself.

"Why are you here now then, if you shouldn't interfere?" Ben banged the steering wheel.

"Because Laura's brother is coming to kill her this time. There's no mistake he's after you, Laura. And he will kill us too, Ben, unless we protect ourselves."

"Does he have a name?" Laura needed to know.

"X-10. It's his project number. It's all he has ever been called."

"He never had a name," she whispered to herself.

"Don't feel sorry for him. He
is
the monster you have dreamed about, Laura. He will kill you with no remorse. He will torture you and rip out your throat too. He's done it before. And he'll enjoy doing it to you."

Laura shook her head and put her hands over her ears.

"Stop it, for God sakes," Ben yelled, hitting his fist on the dashboard. The car swerved. "Why tell her these things?"

Felix looked at him in the rear view mirror as Laura sat with tears streaming down her cheeks. "She must realize what
he
is, as she must realize what
she
is. If she doesn't then it may be her death sentence. Don't feel sorry for this being. I know what he has done. I saw into the future what torment and death he would come to cause, not only with your loved ones, Laura, but with others. He is sick and twisted and enjoys killing. He is a product of genes and environment. A concoction of rage, remorselessness, and inhuman strength."

"What about you?" She wiped her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you have children and carry on the Elyon line?"

"Because I am sterile as a result of science experiments. Besides, I can never hope to find a partner and mate as you two have done."

Laura blushed at his blunt words.

"You are our only hope. You and Ben will make a healthy perfect child. I've seen it. There's been no communication from Elyon in a long while. The planet may already be dead for all we know. I have tried to seek it out without success. It's been months since I connected with it and found Elyon beings alive."

"You can do that from here? Connect with Elyon?"

"Yes." He explained no further and turned to the window to scan the dark streets they passed. Traffic pushed around them on all sides.

"He's coming now." Laura felt it for sure.

"Yes," Felix said. "But he's still far away. He's traveling on foot now. We must prepare for our fight with him. We could all die."

"I thought you could see the future and know," Laura said.

"Yes, but events preceding can change in a second, re-directing the course of events. It can happen, unluckily so."

"Let's hope we're lucky," Ben said.

"Indeed." Felix agreed. "Laura, I'm counting on your telekinesis powers as well to fight X-10."

Laura put her head to her knees. "I don't know if I can do this."

"How is this going to end?" Ben looked at Felix.

"X-10 must die, of course. If you don't kill him he will keep killing. He'll continue his rampage until he is brought down."

Laura jerked her head up. "You want
me
to kill my own brother?"

"It's your destiny. Unluckily so."

They sat in silence as Ben drove, bumper to bumper now in rush hour traffic.

"Turn left at the light here and pull over," Felix ordered.

"Why are we stopping here?" Ben pulled over under a street lamp. They were on a residential street with row homes.

"I must go. I'll be back, soon, when I'm needed."

"Wait," Laura cried and grabbed Felix's arm as he pulled up his duffel bag from the floor to leave. "You can't just leave us after all you've told us. What are we supposed to do now? Where do we go? And if my brother can kill from afar then he could kill us at any time."

"But he won't. I believe he has been killing those around you all these years to feed his rage against you. But he wants to kill you in person for heightened revenge. And there is nowhere to go you can hide. He will find you. You must be prepared."

"And what if we decide to take the chance of running away?" Ben demanded. "Why sit here like prey, waiting for the end? I have enough money. We can live comfortably moving from place to place for quite some time. Perhaps the FBI will catch him before he catches us."

"If you take that chance you just prolong the same outcome. Don't you want this to be over? Do you really want to live in fear all the time? And what if he tires of chasing you and seeks you out and kills you with his mind powers? Together we can fight him and end this monster and go on."

"How will we know when this X-10 is coming," Ben said. The fluorescent light from the street lamp leant a garish look to Felix, carving deeper shadows into his rugged face.

"I will know and I will be there when the time comes. The time is soon, but not today. I have things to do."

"What things could you possibly have to do?" Laura still gripped his arm. Violent images flowed from him to her, of warfare, suffering, and death. The scene disturbed her. She eased off her fingers, leaving Felix to pull his arm free.

"I need to focus on seeking out the future, immediate and long term. I need to ensure my visions are correct for now and the outcome will be the desired result. I need to be alone to do this. I have seen X-10's destruction. We need any detail of information as well that could aid us if we are not only to kill him but live afterwards. He is the one thing standing in our way of the Elyon race,
our
race, to carry on."

"So, you're saying we'll be safe tonight at the cabin?"

"Yes, as far as I can see you are safe, for now."

"We can leave. Run. Keep running," Laura pleaded.

"Again, he will find you. He will never stop. Trust me."

"Trust you?" Ben grabbed his arm. "All we know is this science fiction story you've told us without much proof. How can we trust you?"

Felix moved Ben's hand off him. Ben grabbed his jacket but Felix covered his hand mid-air with his fist, holding it steady. Ben grunted trying to move his arm but couldn't. Laura watched their struggle.

"I saved your life, isn't it proof enough you can trust me? Remember that night and what would have happened to you. I stopped it from happening, didn't I?"

Ben nodded and Felix let go of his hand.

"Laura, stay strong and work on your powers. You will need them soon. Ben, you must protect her. She must survive. Do you understand? Trust me and all will work out."

"I trust you," she said looking at him with total acceptance.

"That's good because right now, I'm all you have." Felix stepped out of the car and strode down the dark sidewalk. Where he headed she didn't know.

"We're on our own," Ben said looking at the man in black retreat into the night shadows. Felix turned a corner and was gone.

Laura took his hand. "Just for now. He said he'll come when the time is needed."

"I feel like that time of need is now."

She moved into his side, feeling his warmth and tried not to feel the same way as he pulled out onto the road.