Aegis: Catalyst Grove (25 page)

Damien chuckled.
 
“Let’s just get past this first bridge, alright.
 
We can regroup later and figure out who to go to.
 
Right now, I just want us to make it out of these woods alive.”

Kel reluctantly agreed.
 
She started to rummage through the small chest of drawers near the door until she saw the dread painted on Damien’s face.
 
She could tell he was really second guessing himself now.
 
Once they stepped foot out of that cabin, there was no going back.
 
Kel put down her bag and turned towards Damien.

“We are going to make it out.
 
You have a good plan, despite the reliance on these sap taps.”
 
Kel forced a smile on her face as she pulled back her sleeve.

Damien wanted to smile back but he couldn’t.
 
The gravity of his decisions was weighing down on him.
 
He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
 
Kel was about to speak again, but was cut off by Graham’s return to the bedroom.
 
He had a few plastic bottles, some cloth hand towels and a large fillet knife.
 

Kel’s eyes got big at the sight of the long curved blade in Graham’s hand.

“What in the world do you need that for?”

Graham held the knife up looking at his reflection in the rusty metal.
 
He twisted it back and forth mesmerized by the streak of light dancing up and down the length of the blade.
 
He kept telling himself that he would not use it unless it was the last option, but he had to have some sort of back up in case he failed to use his power.
 
This was Plan B.
 
Refocusing on Kel who was staring at him, awaiting a rational response, he said, “Relax, it is not for them.
 
It is for food.
 
Like you said, we need to be prepared.
 
If we have to stay in the woods, we need to be able to eat.
 
Squirrel, fish, whatever we can get our hands on.”

Kel relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.
 
“Good. I though you went off the reservation there for a minute.”

“I’m fine.
 
I just want to get this over with.”
 
Graham took the knife and slid it in a light brown leather sheath.
 
He then tossed it to Kel to put into the backpack.
 
Damien and Ailey walked out of the bedroom to look out the windows to see where to go next.

Kel packed up the backpack with all the supplies and swung it over her shoulder.
 
Graham reached out his hand and said, “Let me carry that.
 
You don’t need to be the one hauling it around.”

“I’ve got it Graham.
 
It’s not that heavy.”
 

Softening her voice, she took on a more serious tone as she leaned towards Graham.
 

“Ease up.
 
You don’t need to carry the world on your shoulders.
 
No one here is blaming you for anything.
 
We are not mad and we are not disappointed that you haven’t ‘saved’ us.
 
It’s not a competition, ok?”

Graham was a little taken back by the blunt delivery.
 
He wanted to defend his actions, but she wouldn’t let him.

“You don’t have to be a hero to earn our trust.
 
It is already there.
 
Just accept it and let’s move on.”
 

Evidently, Kel wasn’t one for sugarcoating things.
 
She got straight to the point with no fuss.
 
Taking Graham’s silence as confirmation, she said, “Ok then. It is settled.
 
We go out there and we stick to the plan.”

Graham wrestled with his conflicted feelings.
 
He wanted to trust her, but something inside would not allow him to.
 
He needed more proof that she was not one of them, but there was no way to get that proof.
 
Not until it came time to face their captors.
 
With a heavy sigh, he locked eyes with her.

“Tell me you are on our side.”
 
There was just too much to worry about without having to worry about her allegiance.
 

“What is that suppose to mean?” replied Kel, clearly offended by the question.

“I still haven’t figured you out yet, so I am just going to ask.
 
You haven’t sugar coated anything yet, so don’t hold back now.”
 
Kel crossed her arms and arched her eyebrows, waiting for Graham’s question.
 
“You lied about your power.
 
You were timid about telling us, and I get that….sort of.
 
But now, I have seen you use the same power that Cavaness has, and that can’t be a coincidence.
 
I had you pegged as one of them, but I just can’t see you throwing Ailey under the bus, so just tell me straight.
 
Are you with us or against us?”

Kel stood silent, weighing his words.
 
She slid the backpack off her shoulder and onto the floor.
 
Taking a few steps towards Graham, she said, “You are right.
 
I lied.
 
I wasn’t ready to talk about it, because I didn’t know you two yet.
 
Ailey is my number one concern, and I just didn’t trust you.”
 
Graham looked intently into Kel’s eyes as her eyes got misty.
 
“I can’t prove to you that I am not one of them.
 
Yes, I think I do have a similar power as Cavaness.
 
I don’t know how or why.
 
Maybe they gave me the same kind of bands or something.
 
I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter.”
 
Kel wiped away a single tear that fell down her cheek.
 
“Ever since that day that Ailey arrived at Oak Ridge, she has been like a sister.
 
Ever since my real sister….”
 
Kel choked back more tears.
 
“Well, let’s just say that the bond is the same.
 
I would die for her, and that is something I can prove if it comes to it.”
 
The determination in her voice caused the tears to dissipate as the strength in her voice returned.
 
“If we can’t trust each other when we walk out of this cabin, then we will fail.
 
I don’t know how I can make up for the lie, but I am on your side Graham.
 
We are all in this together.”

If
she was lying now, she would be the most deceptive person on the planet.
 
Graham looked over to Kel.
 
She was looking at him waiting to see what he said next.
 
It wasn’t until Graham saw the look of pain and vulnerability in here eyes that it finally sank in.
 
Graham’s resolve broke.
 
“Ok, we are in this together.”
 
Without thinking, Graham extended his arms and wrapped them around her.
 
She put her arms around his waist.
 
They both squeezed tight, knowing that no words needed to be spoken.
 
Kel was right.
 
They had to trust each other.
 
There could not be any room for doubt.
 
Graham gave one final squeeze for affirmation.
 
“I trust you.
 
Let’s just hope you don’t have to prove that second part tonight, ok.”

Kel backed up a step, smiling as she wiped away another year.
 
“Yea, let’s hope nobody has to.”

Just as they had finished making up, Damien came back into the room.
 
Though the seriousness of their conversation was tangible, he could not turn off his sarcasm.

“Hey, you can flirt with each other later.
 
We’ve spent too much time here already.
 
Let’s go.”

Graham’s cheeks turned red, partially embarrassed, but mostly with anger.
 
“Hey!
 
We weren’t flirting…”

Kel just rolled her eyes and walked out the door past Damien.

“Typical boy,” she said, as she hit Damien with a swing of her hips, knocking him into the door frame.

“Owww.” Damien cracked a small grin, thankful that the mood could lighten up a bit, even if it only lasted for a few seconds.

Graham quickly followed, shoving Damien back into the doorframe with his shoulder as he walked by.
 
Damien just grinned even wider.
 

“Come on, amigo.
 
Lighten up.
 
I was just kidding.”

Damien turned and followed them to the front door where Ailey was waiting patiently.
 
They all gathered in a circle on the floor.
 
The swift silence immediately stripped all of the playfulness from the room.
 
The realization of reality hit them all at the same time.
 

“Ailey, do you know which way to the clearing?” asked Graham.

Ailey pointed out the window of the western side of the cabin.
 
Closing her eyes, she mapped the position of the cabin in the picture.
 
She held up her finger and traced a winding path, assumably the path from the picture at the warehouse, mapping out their route to the clearing in the trees.
 
Once she felt confident in her assessment, she opened her eyes again.
 
She raised her arm again to point out the window, then traced the same path in the air as she had done in her mind on the picture.
 

They all took note of the curves Ailey was making with her finger.
 
After she was done, they all just sat there, letting the awkward silence take command of the room.
 
No one had to speak.
 
The dread and unwanted anticipation was palpable, hanging in the air like a dense fog.
 
Damien looked down at his red shirt, reminding himself of what he said in the cave.
 
He had to convince himself again that this was the right move.
 
“No more running.”

Graham stood and reached for the door and opened it.
 
There was no point to wait any longer.
 
The decision was made.
 
He looked at Damien and Ailey as they walked through the door with a look of forced confidence on his face.
 
Kel and Graham exchanged a mutual smile and nod as she ran out the door.
 
They were now exposed.
 
No going back and no way to retreat.
 

Running to catch up with the others, Graham left the door wide open.
 
Maybe he didn’t mean to on a conscious level, but deep down it was his way of showing Aegis that they were not going to hide anymore.
 
It was time to stand their ground and fight.

C
HAPTER
S
EVENTEEN

Pearched

Chase sat up in the tree behind the cabin like one of the stone gargoyles from Wellington.
 
He put his hand his throat mike.
 
“They have left the cabin headed west.”

Through the static of the radio, a gravely voice answered on the other side.
 
“Roger that.
 
We will cut them off at the clearing.”

Chase waited a few more minutes, letting the small red dots disappear into the trees.
 
Jumping from his perch, he descended until he could grab the branch he was standing on, swinging to a lower branch.
 
He continued jumping down branch by branch in one fluent motion until his feet hit the ground.
 
He bent his knees to absorb the force of landing from the final jump and slowly stood up, gazing in the direction of clearing.
 

“Ahhh, the well laid plans of mice……”
 

Chase pushed his earpiece further in as he spoke.
 
“I am guessing they will make their way to you in about twenty minutes.
 
Stand your ground fellas.
 
They have some extra pep in their steps.
 
We’ve all seen that before, haven’t we.
 
If I am not mistaken, I believe we have some fighters on our hands.”

Speaking in a calm, commanding voice, Cavaness said, “Murphy, Branson, I will take the older girl.
 
It is apparent now we have something in common.
 
Chase, you concentrate on the Damien kid, and be sure that the little one is separated from the rest.
 
We don’t want her touching the others again.
 
As for Graham…..don’t underestimate him.
 
If that cork pops loose and all that pinned up energy comes out all at once, then we are all in trouble.
 
He needs to be isolated.
 
Chase, once you take care of Damien, make sure Graham gets nice and dizzy.”

“Roger that,” said Chase.

The authority in Cavaness’ voice only increased with each statement.
 
“They have been out here long enough.
 
They should be ready to take back to Alex now.
 
The catalysts have taken full effect in each of them, all except for Graham.
 
Hopefully tonight’s events will draw it out.”
 

“We are ready, sir,” said Branson.
 

“Same here,” replied Murphy.

“Ready when you are boss,” said Chase.
 

In somber anticipation of what was about to take place, Chase took off.
 
He ran with supernatural speed and leaped forward, grabbing the edge of the cabin’s roof. Pulling himself up, tucking his knees to his chest, the momentum was strong enough from the initial jump to carry him all the way to the ridge.
 
His sleeves were pulled back to his elbows, letting his glowing wrists show.
 
His eyes had turned a deep amber color.
 
As the stood there gazing towards the clearing, a faint glow began radiating from his body.