Designed with a Destiny (3 page)

***

Designers with animal DNA have a much higher
tolerance to cold than non-engineered humans, so we barely notice
the just above freezing temperatures outside. Lawrence on the other
hand shivers uncontrollably beneath the blanket that Sophia thought
to bring before leaving the apartment. His skeleton-like body
wrapped mummy style in it weighs nothing to me, and hoisting him
above my head to get him over the fence is effortless. Sophia gasps
when she sees me, and yells, “Stop it—you’re going to hurt him!”
causing me to pause and turn around with Lawrence balanced high
over my head like a waiter holding a serving tray.

“Seriously—you’re worried about me hurting
him?”

“I didn’t do this to him,” she says
defensively, biting her lower lip.

“
Son, let her be and put me down. Not
everything is as it seems and Sophia helped me more than she hurt
me,”
Lawrence says breaking into my center for telepathic
communication. I startle at the intrusion and he softly chuckles.
“I finally found your frequency channel. You’re not as easy as
the McCullough girls.”

“
One would think that it would be the
same frequency for everyone,”
I respond as I drop him over the
fence in the arms of a patiently waiting Austin.

“
Not quite. That’s why it took you so
long to connect with Cat. Her frequency is much higher than the
rest of the Designers.”

The mention of her name brings an ache and
longing that momentarily paralyzes me.

“
I want her back, Dr. Emerick.”
I
blurt out mentally, fully aware of how desperate I sound. There is
a long silent pause before he responds and I gather by his choice
of words that he’s doing his best to break the news softly to
me.

“
She’s designed with a purpose Ronan. You
must leave her to succeed on her own with this mission. Her ability
to influence people on a higher vibrational frequency is the
catalyst for a massive energy shift in the human race. It begins
with the Harringtons and will end with every world leader reacting
from a realm of positive energy—energy that comes from thoughts
consistent with love, and peace. If you intervene, it will likely
end in her failure to influence the Harringtons' color screening at
all.”

My breath catches in my throat as I consider
his words and come to the realization that he’s nothing but a
lunatic. He may have convinced Cat of such a ridiculous notion, but
I wasn’t buying it, and there was no way I would allow him to use
her as the sacrificial lamb in his crazy scheme. My parents used to
say you can’t argue with crazy, so I disengage from the mental
conversation with Dr. Emerick, and take my frustration out on the
fence, unleashing a powerful kick that splinters two of the planks
in half, making a loud snap that pierces the air like gunfire. A
minute later, I’ve managed to create an opening large enough for
all of us to fit through and Sophia’s wide-eyed look of fear makes
me feel somewhat better.

“After the ladies,” Brandon says, offsetting
the tension with a lighthearted gesture, offering Sophia one hand
as he bows and sweeps the other through the hole. She shrinks away
when she passes by me, and only relaxes when Brandon flashes a
lopsided smile. It’s a smile that almost every girl responds to,
and when he follows it with a hearty laugh, she unexpectedly smiles
too. Claire ignores the opening altogether, and takes a few running
steps launching herself easily on top of the fence where she
crouches lightly, surveying the landscape around us. She focuses on
something in the distance then makes a low hissing sound like that
of a feral cat.

***

The black SUV sits motionless with the
engine still running, in the middle of the wide open field that
separates the last row of houses from the airport. Austin grows
impatient as we wait for them to make a move. We dutifully did our
best to avoid a face to face confrontation, staying off the streets
altogether, traversing back yards by kicking through one fence
after another until we finally reached the edge of the
neighborhood. Alisha couldn’t possibly blame us for the events that
were about to unfold. After all, the knuckleheads were leaving us
no option but to teach them a lesson.

“Can you tell what they want?” Austin asks
irritably, peering through the hole in the fence.

“Neither of us can penetrate the armored
coating on the vehicle. It’s acting as a shield against our remote
traveling abilities,” I reply with an equal level of chagrin. No
sooner do the words leave my mouth when a small port near the rear
window opens and the barrel of a rifle is slowly projected through
it.

“Do they not know that we can see that?
Apparently, no one informed them that Designers are equipped with
enhanced vision and hearing,” Brandon says chuckling. Sophia looks
up at him with curiosity, but doesn’t question the statement.

“They wouldn’t dare shoot at us after we
delivered such a spectacular performance last night?” he says
sarcastically as the barrel of the rifle tracks side to side.

“Better play it safe and get…” My words are
lost in the explosion of gunfire that shatters the air. Sophia
screams and Brandon curses as he knocks her to the ground, landing
hard on top of her. With reflexes of predator and prey, the rest of
us are on the ground in a flash. As hard as I try to cradle Dr.
Emerick from the impact, he still makes a loud grunt when the two
of us hit the ground.

“Did anybody get hit?” I holler, lifting my
body off of Dr. Emerick who’s gasping for air, but still able to
get an audible, “No” out. One by one, the others declare the
same.

“Those dirty bastards,” Austin hisses,
getting up off the ground to peer through the hole once again. His
face, red with anger, blends with his copper hair and he looks like
a madman when he snarls and raises his arm straight out in front of
him. One by one, the rest of us join him in a mental cloud,
synchronizing our own thoughts with his.

“Where thoughts go, energy flows,” Brandon
mutters, donating a heavy dose of energy to the mental substation
that acts as a reservoir for Austin as he prepares to wield it
against the SUV. “Time to have a little fun,” he says, and a sly
smile forms at the corners of his mouth.

“
Make it quick, they’re getting ready to
shoot again,”
I warn him, ready to tackle him back down on the
ground. I am remotely hovered over the SUV watching as it rises off
the ground, and can see it rocking when the occupants inside
realize they’re airborne, and begin to shuffle around inside. The
rifle barrel moves until it is pointed straight at Austin’s
face.

“
Now…!”
I shout and Austin obediently
snaps his wrist. The SUV flips on its side with the gun barrel
facing skyward just as another loud blast pierces the air.

Austin flicks his wrist again, and the SUV
rotates a second time, now completely upside down, hovering a good
ten feet off the ground.

“Stand back,” I warn, kicking the fence
boards so hard that some fly over our heads.

Austin steps through first, followed by
Brandon, then Sophia, who gasps and stumbles when she sees the
inverted, floating SUV. “That’s impossible,” she whispers, grabbing
Brandon’s arm for support. Dr. Emerick squints and shades his eyes
with a pale, shaky hand, trying to get a look at the spectacle. He
then surprises all of us when he tosses his head back and laughs
out loud. “Bravo kids! That is a marvelous use of energy!”

Austin, who still has his eyes transfixed on
the vehicle and an arm extended parallel to the ground barely even
flinches when Claire launches herself on his back, climbing like a
monkey onto his shoulders where she settles down and mimics the
intensity of his trance-like gaze, before raising her arm to match
his. “Bounce,” she whispers, moving her hand up and down like
someone dribbling a basketball. The SUV moves like a yo-yo gently
bobbing in the air, and Dr. Emerick laughs even harder, causing the
rest of us to smile.

“Merry-go-round,” Claire chirps, switching
from a bouncing hand motion to swirling her finger in the air. “Oh
yeah, that’ll teach them to shoot at us,” Austin says approvingly.
He keeps the vehicle in the air, while she uses telekinetic forces
to send it spinning like a top. I have a feeling these two are
going to be at it for a while and although I’m not convinced they
need the additional energy input from me, I feel obligated to be on
stand-by.

“Brandon, why don’t you take Sophia and Dr.
Emerick to get the plane ready and I’ll stay and give them back
up,” I say, handing the frail, but still chuckling Dr. Emerick to
Austin. Sophia clings to Brandon’s side and although she still
seems be in a state of shock, she readily complies when Brandon
orders for her to climb on his back then takes off in a slow jog
across the open field towards the airport.

“There it is, check it out,” Brandon says,
banking the airplane to the right so that the rest of us can get a
good look of the SUV lying upside down on the roof top of a vacant
house. “We created one hell of a tornado,” Austin says, and they
both crack up laughing at the inside joke.

“I sure wouldn’t mind sticking around to see
the look on their faces when they figure out where they are,”
Brandon adds splinting his stomach as he roars with laughter. Even
Sophia can’t help but laugh with the two, although she’s still
shaking her head in disbelief. I had a feeling they’d be carrying
on about the incident for most of the way home, so I remove my
headset and recline my seat, closing my eyes to think about my next
move in finding Cat and our parents.

“Ronan, there’s something I have to tell
you,” Sophia says, her voice barely audible above the drone of the
airplane engine. I had been trying to connect with Cat, knowing
full well that a telepathic connection in an airplane is nearly
impossible, so the sound of a female voice startles me.

“What…?”

“He owns an island in British Columbia,
Canada. I’ve only been there once but I know it’s where they hold
most of their important meetings. I overheard the two men that took
Cat say that they would need to stop for fuel in Great Falls to
make it into Canada. I’m pretty sure that that’s where they were
headed. I can show you where it is on the map,” she offers eagerly.
I regard her silently for a moment and she begins to fidget with
her shirt, plucking phantom lint from the front of it. I don’t
bother telling her I already know about the island. In fact, I
don’t bother commenting at all, and instead close my eyes and go
back to what I was doing before she interrupted me—thinking about
Cat.

“You’re welcome, Jerk,” she mutters under
her breath, assuming I can’t hear her above the engine noise.

“That’s only one member of my family. Now
tell me where the rest are and I’ll be sure to shower you with the
appropriate level of appreciation,” I retort. The silence that
follows is testimony enough of her uselessness to me, and I sigh
heavily wondering if I’d ever see my wife or parents alive
again.

***

Dr. Emerick sleeps the first leg of the trip
back to Canada, and after stopping for fuel and a bite to eat,
spends the second half trying to establish telepathic communication
with Brandon and Austin. There’s an instant respect for the elder,
who through years of studying and practice has learned to do what
we were designed to do. He says that through genetic engineering
and manipulation of neurons, Designers are attuned to a higher
awareness and vibrational frequency. He’s spent the better part of
his life trying to accomplish the same and has only achieved a
fraction of our own abilities using energy. By the time we are
circling the Freeman estate, he’s beaming triumphantly at being
able to telepathically connect with every single Designer on board.
Thanks to Claire’s healing energy, and a good meal, he seems to
have gained some strength, and insists on walking the length of a
football field from the airport hangar to the Freeman house, albeit
using my arm as a crutch.

Alisha, Jason and Natalie are all waiting on
the back deck by the time we unload the plane and head for the
house. There’s speculation amongst us on who will receive the most
wrath for our little excursion and I brace myself for Alisha to get
a head start on me with a mental scolding—but she doesn’t.

“This is good. This is a very good place for
you to be,” Dr. Emerick murmurs, stopping to survey the landscape
of forest surrounding the house. “Spending time in nature is like
receiving a blood transfusion of energy—do it as often as you can
and you’ll be charged and ready for anything,” he advises, inhaling
deeply. The high clouds over the western range have captured the
last of the red-orange rays of the setting sun giving us a
brilliant twilight glow that also doesn’t go unnoticed. He lets go
of me long enough to turn in the direction of the sunset, and
spreading his arms skyward, he gives a slight bow, uttering
something in what sounds like a Hebrew dialect. I glance up at
Alisha, who remains motionless with the others on the deck and
something about her vacant expression makes me feel uneasy.

“
Hey Ali, on a scale of one to ten, how
would you rate your level of anger right now?”
I ask
telepathically hoping to lighten her mood. From where I am midway
across the yard, I can just barely see the redness and puffiness of
her eyes. She looks directly at me and pulls the wool shawl tightly
around her shoulders. A moment ago, I was grateful for the slow
pace of Dr. Emerick, delaying my confrontation with her, however
now I resist the urge to throw him over my shoulder and run for the
house.

“
Ali, I can explain. We had no choice but
to bring them along. I promise we didn’t hurt anyone or do anything
to jeopardize your family,”
I quickly add. She dabs her nose
with the end of the shawl, and looks down at the ground.