Piercing The Fold (16 page)

Saturday is packing day. There isn’t much for us individually to do since we packed light when we got here. We have to do some shut-down protocol in the facility. It would be weeks before the facility would be in use again.

Angela is on tech duty with Siobhan to properly shut down the systems to hibernation and heighten the level of security to automatic termination if breeched by infiltrators. Jake and Nick are cleaning the pool and locking up the gym equipment. Luke and Nate are on cafeteria duty and shutdown. Ezra and I are on trail cleanup, evaluation of trail maintenance, communication of maintenance, and construction of the existing and future trails. It is kind of cool to know that we are creating trails that future trainees will be running and hiking on. In my opinion, we have the most hands-on and creative duty of all of the facility shutdown.

Mapping and recommendations are the most tedious, but so interesting. It sparks a memory. “You know, Ezra, this mapping stuff reminds me of your ant farm back in Georgia.”

Ezra is taken aback by this. “You think so?”

“Yeah. But you already knew that, right?”

I can see Ezra’s smile from the corner of my eye.

“Touché, Jesca.”

We finish shutdown around 5:30 p.m.

I am curious. “So, if the kitchen is shut down, what is our plan for dinner?” I can’t help it. I have a huge appetite at times.

Ezra says, “Come with me. We are meeting in the rec room.”

Ezra opens the door to the rec room. It is dark. This makes me a little confused and a lot apprehensive. All of a sudden, the lights come on.

“Surprise! Happy birthday, Jes!”

Everyone is in the room, including the staff and chefs.

My breath gets caught in my throat where a lump instantly forms. I feel tears forming as well. I look from face to face. I’m trembling. “Thank you, guys.”

Angela rushes up to me and gives me the biggest hug ever and discreetly tucks a tissue into my palm. “We love you, Jes.”

Nick walks over and puts his arm around me. “Yeah,
chica
, we love you. How old are you? Like thirty?”

I elbow Nick. “Nineteen, dork.”

One at a time, everyone comes over to give me a hug. When it is Nate’s turn, we both look at each other. I test the waters by trying to read him. Nothing. The link really is gone. I drop my eyes.

“Happy birthday, Jes.”

He moves in first. In the brief embrace, Nate whispers into my hair, “I will miss you.”

I whisper back, “Me too.”

Ezra breaks the moment with his announcement. “Jesca, we couldn’t let your birthday pass without a celebration.”

Nate falls back with the others in the small crowd. Nick turns on some music. “Aw, yeah baby!”

Apparently, the chefs had prepared this early prior to shutdown. Luke tells us that Fenton had started the cake last night after dinner and worked all night on preparations. The buffet looks like a feast that would test every single taste bud on my tongue.

I walk over to Fenton before indulging in the feast. “Thank you, Fenton. It is truly amazing.”

Chef Fenton bows before me. “You’re welcome, Ms. Jesca. Enjoy your day.”

Ezra is holding the line for me. I walk over.

“How did you remember? I even forgot. I guess being so focused on training and all, I lost track of time down here.”

Ezra looks down. “Jes, you mean so much…so much to us. We have become a family in a way. Not just a team. These past four weeks have created bonds, friendships, love, that will be with you forever, no matter what may happen.”

I change my expression to match his, knowing that Ezra is very serious about his words all of a sudden. He looks away, but I can see something stirring behind those eyes before he looks away.

Nick chimes in behind Ezra, “Jes! Birthday girl! I’m starving!”

Ezra smiles at me. “Yeah! C’mon, birthday girl, move along!”

I smile hesitantly at first. Ezra winks at me. “Happy birthday, Jes.”

With that, I give myself permission to enjoy the feast and celebration for the last night at the facility with my family!

My eyes open.

Sunday. It’s here. Finally.

Then the anxiety starts.

Sunday. It’s here. Already.

It is bittersweet. I am going to miss so many moments with my new family. So many moments. Especially one moment I can’t tear away from my mind.

Nate and I.

I roll over quickly, hoping it will dislodge the thought from my mind. No such luck.
Damn.

I look at the clock. It is 5:30 a.m.

Get in the zone, low emotion, high energy. We leave in three and a half hours.

9 a.m. Ezra and I will be out, in the sunlight, driving to the airport, and getting on a plane to Miami. That is the focus for the next three plus hours.

I am not the only one giving myself the pep talk. When I wheel my bag into the hearth room, everyone is there, focused on our inevitable departures.

No one speaks, just acknowledges each other’s presence. The tension is thick, and everyone has their guard up. This is the one time, if any, that blocking our thoughts is understandable and acceptable.

We have been out of touch for four weeks. Luke told us last night that sometimes the first few days are tough. Day and night confusion, headaches from the sunlight, anxiety, and panic attacks due to sensory overload from the world around us. The mentors have warned us to take everything slowly. They said to ease back into the world.

Luke says, “It’s like you are being born again. You are like a dragonfly in a way.”

Nick scoffs. “A dragonfly. What?”

Luke rolls his eyes. “A metaphoric dragonfly, Nick. Dragonflies start in larval stage, newbies, green peas. They burrow in the ground to develop, grow, change, transform. When they transition, they come up from the earth as a dragonfly.”

Siobhan comes in last. She looks at each of us. “All right, guardians. You have achieved your transformation from trainee. Now, you need to put to work all that you have learned, absorbed, and experienced. Bow your heads.”

We look at each other with confused looks. I guess a bit surprised at how spiritual Siobhan sounds.

Siobhan is irritated by our looks, rolls her eyes, and growls. “Bow your heads!”

That’s the Siobhan I know and love.

Siobhan closes her eyes. “Dear loving God. We are your servants first and foremost. Please give each of the guardians the wisdom and knowledge only You can to make decisions and choices for the salvation of humanity. Amen.”

There is a pause. Then Siobhan raises her head. “Now. You know in your heart what you need to do. Don’t lose your focus out there. There will be distractions, temptations, and illusions to try to trip you up. Know that God will be there. Call to Him. He will have your back.”

Siobhan walks over to Angela and Nick, who are standing next to each other, and pull them toward her. Ezra grabs Nate’s and my hand and pulls us into this growing huddle. Once all of us are included, we just hold each other arm on arm in silence.

As we leave the facility one by one, I can feel that we all have an unspoken understanding to not say goodbye, not look at each other. Just know that we may meet again sometime, somewhere.

Ezra and I are the first to ascend. The elevator seems larger than before, even though logically I know that it can’t be. My pulse quickens while in the elevator. I am anxious about leaving the safety of the facility. We reach the parking lot.

“Jesca. Breathe. You are fine. Put on your sunglasses. Your eyes will need protection from the sun when we ascend. You will need to wear them for a few days.”

The glasses are huge and covered most of my face. Hideous really, but necessary. Siobhan gave everyone a pair before leaving.

We swiftly walk to the car and put our bags in the trunk. Ezra starts the ignition and begins driving. It feels like we are driving forever.

It didn’t take us this long in the descent, did it? Surely we are almost out.

“When are we going to be out?”

Ezra replies, “Just a few more minutes.”

I take a deep breath in and sigh. I start to fidget with my hands.

Ezra hands me a stick of gum. “Here chew on this. It might help distract you a bit.”

The grey, greenish tint of the dashboard begins to change, lightens to a soft rose color.

My eyes are drawn up to my side window.

The first thing I see is reddish, brown dirt. Then a cactus. Another one. Then hills in the horizon. Then sky with soft, thin, stratus clouds. The colors of everything around us are dull, because of the extra coating on the lenses of the sunglasses. I want to feel the air. I hesitate as my hand reaches for the button to put down the window.

Ezra sees my movement. “Go ahead.”

I look over at him. He smiles at me and winks. That small gesture relieves me enough to venture to open the window.

I slide the glass down slowly. I feel a small, warm breeze that whips a few hairs across my face. It feels amazing on my skin. Like it is breathing life back into it after being kept from fresh air for so long. I roll down the window further. My hair begins to whip more quickly around my face. I pull it back with one hand and hold it to the side. It must have grown at least three inches since I was in the facility. I put my other hand out the window to feel the breeze, the sunlight.

“You all right, Jes?”

“Yeah. It’s going to be fine.”

Samson Crest wakes to a whispering in the courtyard outside of his suite.

Sam mumbles and stumbles out of bed as he makes his way toward the voices.
I work too hard for the paid help to disrupt me. Now which one am I going to fire today. Gardener, pool guy?

He creeps to the window in an attempt to catch the idiot that woke him at ten in the morning.

“They know I work late.”

He rubs his grey eyes and scratches his head with annoyance, shifting the shutters to get a glimpse. He sees Xander in his pajama pants and no shirt and a disheveled young lady in a sundress. She is playing coy and giggling, while Xander is holding her hand between his. He is holding her gaze with his hazel eyes.

Sam whispers to himself, “Xander. Of course!” Sam shifts his gaze to the girl.  “Oh, c’mon, hon. The morning after is a little late to be playing coy.” Sam flips the shutters closed and puts his tan robe and slippers on.

Xander kisses her hand and waves her off. Sam watches the rest unfold from the porch off of his suite. Xander runs his hands through his dark brown hair. A wide smile develops, then it’s quickly replaced with tight lips and a deep wrinkle in his forehead.

Sam interrupts Xander by knocking on the wood decking he is leaning against.

“There’s my boy. I take it you had a good night and a good morning?”

Xander is caught off guard and spins around with a hint of a smile. “Yeah, it was a good night. The club did well! We had some heavy hitters come in around 10:30, and they kept the flow of traffic running all night.”

Sam laughs and pulls his robe taut across his lean chest. “Xander, I was talking about the beauty that was exiting the building just now.” Sam points toward the departing young lady carrying her sandals through the side garden gate.

There is a waiting car Xander had arranged for. “Oh, yeah. She was truly unbearable. Blah, blah, blah is all she did from the moment we left the club until the moment I crashed from her ranting.”

Sam’s look becomes confused. “You mean you didn’t…” Sam walks down to the stairway to the deck.

Xander scoffs, “Between the blah, blah, blah, and getting in at 5 a.m. No, not interested!”

Sam smirks. “Okay, stud? Then why so charming this morning?”

Sam heads to a lounger next to the pool and lies out.

Xander joins him. “Well, being the stud that I am, you should know that she was one of our heavy hitters’ best friend’s niece, and she needed a place to crash. I wasn’t about to leave a piece of future revenue out in the streets of Miami at 4:30 in the morning, Dad.”

Sam laughs softly with his eyes closed, letting the warm morning sun touch his face. His graying light brown hair ruffles in the breeze. “Xander. Always thinking one step ahead. You are one awesome young man. You remind me so much of me when I was in my twenties.”

Xander closes his eyes and reclines back on the lounger next to Sam. He jokes, “How could you possibly remember, that was so long ago.”

A very tall butler walks over to them. “Good morning, Mr. Crest.”

Sam and Xander both look up at the butler and address him in unison. “Good morning, Daniel.”

Sam and Xander drink their coffee and take in the exotic landscape around them, the saltwater pool with numerous waterfalls and a grotto. The multiple palms throughout the garden, peppered with bright bougainvilleas and fragrant gardenia.

“So, Xander, what are your plans for today?”

“I have some low-level errands to run. I wanted to catch up with my boys. Grab some lunch with Christian and Zach. You remember them from the fraternity.” Xander had attended the University of Miami.

Sam nods. “Yes. Chris and Zach. Didn’t they go to Pendleton Preparatory with you as well?”

“Yep. Anyway, real low key. Tonight I will be getting in to the club around 9:30, 10.” Xander is about to explain why, but Sam waves him off.

“Xander, I appreciate your checking in with me. But I know you take care of business. When you became general manager of Club Helion two years ago, you earned it. You have proven to be not only a great son, but an exceptionally talented leader in our corporation. Will you need a ride to Helion before I head to Meridian?”

Xander squints at a passing plane above. “No. I’m taking the Panamera in for an oil change and wash while I’m out today.”

“How are you liking it?”

“The car? It’s awesome, Dad! Remember the first time we met?” A wide smile spreads across Xander’s face as he looks over to Sam.

Sam is lying there with a big smile across his face. “That was the beginning of my life. I could never forget that day, man.” Sam opens his eyes and looks at Xander. “You were checking out my silver ’99 Porsche 911.”

“And now I’m cruising in my very own Porsche. I never imagined—”

Sam interrupts him. “You deserve it, Xan. You work damn hard.” Sam’s face becomes serious then. “You have turned your life around since…since we met.”

“You had a lot to do with that, Sam.”

“Yeah, but your leap of faith, that had a lot to do with it also. You chose to get into my car. You chose to change your life in that instant.”

Xander nods and puts his head down.

Sam yawns and stretches. “Daniel! I’m going to retire to my room for a few more hours. Can I expect lunch around noon?”

Daniel immediately appears behind the men. “Of course, Mr. Crest. Lunch will be prepared and on the veranda at noon.”

Sam looks at Xander and puts a hand on his shoulder. “I will see you tomorrow, then. We have a 1:30 meeting with a few of my associates about a venture we are trying to pull into Miami from overseas.”

Xander’s attention becomes heightened. Curiosity creeps into his mind since this wasn’t the first overseas associate meeting. The past four months have encompassed at least three, each with a different group of associates. Xander was only allowed to make a brief appearance as general manager of Club Helion.

Xander takes this opportunity to test the waters of the meeting’s significance. “Do you want to have a pre-meeting conference over an early lunch tomorrow?”

Sam pats Xander’s shoulder. “That’s my Xander. Always one step ahead. Catch you later, my boy.”

Sam’s response was predictably vague. When it came to these meetings, Sam always dodged Xander’s requests to be involved.

Xander leans back, feeling a little deflated as Sam walks back to his suite. Xander closes his eyes again and sighs.

I sure have come a long way.
He is thinking back to the time before he met Sam. The numerous shelters he stayed in night after night. He would put them on a rotation so the staff wouldn’t report him to foster care. They caught on eventually. He thought back to the foster families he lived with. The yelling, the anxiety, and the fear of beatings.

Xander’s peaceful, content face becomes hard and serious.