Chapter 7: First light
A sound from outside woke me up and I panicked. For a second I didn’t even know where I was or how I got there, but then I remembered. I heard a crashing sound. I could see through the blanket now that the sun was already up. I took out my phone to check it and saw that it was 7:02 am. I had slept too long.
I felt a jolt of fear when heard someone talking outside. It was faint. I slowly moved the blanket enough to look out and to my surprise, someone from outside was staring back at me. My heart raced and I nearly jumped out of my skin. And then he smiled.
It wasn’t one of the men from the night before. This man had red hair, was quite tall and was very muscular. He was also wearing a military uniform.
I didn’t know what to do. I was trapped. I remembered my ability, but then I noticed two other men outside with him. How could I get away from so many? The man talked into a wrist phone, but I couldn’t tell what he was saying. Suddenly the semi door opened, “No need to be afraid,” came a deep voice. “We’re here to help.”
I turned my head and this enormous man, all muscle, looked at me. He did not smile like the red-haired one outside, but I felt like I could trust him.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“My name’s Captain Brock,” he said. “And you must be Tracy.”
“How—how do you know my name?” I asked.
“Because you’re the reason we came,” he said.
I climbed down out of the truck and the other men gathered around. I felt very small compared to these big men and I wanted to hide but I also didn’t want to act afraid. “Why did you come for me?” I asked.
The men looked at each other as if deciding who would talk first. Then Captain Brock paused for a second and said, “Because you’re special,” and then he gave me a wink and walked away.
What did he mean by that? How could he know? No one knew of my ability except my sister and she was dead. Another man and a woman I had not seen before approached me and wrapped a blanket around me and gave me something hot in a mug. It was coffee. “I hope you don’t mind, but it’s the only hot thing we have with us.”
I drank it down and it burned. I had tasted coffee before and never liked it, but I didn’t even care what it tasted like right now, it was hot and I was freezing.
The captain came back, “Okay, let’s get you somewhere safe. It’s time to go home.”
They led me to a truck that was parked outside the fence and I got in with three men and the woman. None of them talked as we started the truck and headed off and I still didn’t know where I was going. But I had nothing here anymore. I turned to look behind me and saw smoke still coming from the block that had burned down. I never saw my house again.
Just as the heater was starting to warm us up, we stopped and everyone got out. Parked in front of us was a military helicopter. I had never flown in a helicopter before. “I hope you’re okay with heights,” said Brock.
I smiled for the first time, “I love them,” I said.
“Then you’re going to love this.”
We climbed aboard and soon we were off. I could see more smoke from below as we lifted off, but I could not see my house. A minute later we were leaving the city and I had no idea where we were going. We flew for quite a while and, while at first it was fun, I was tired so I napped some more in the back.
When I woke up, I was laying on a lumpy couch in an empty room. How did that happen? I tried to get up, but fell back down. It felt like the energy had been drained from me. My legs were still sore and felt like lead. I laid back down and rested. A few minutes later a woman with very dark skin came through. I felt really white compared to her.
“I’m glad you are awake now,” she said in some kind of accent. “The men have never done this before, so it is a bit new to them.”
“Done what?” I asked.
“Well, this place is a secret,” she said. “They used a gas on you to put you out until you got inside.”
I felt scared again, but I pretended not to. “Gas?” I said.
“Something I put together for them,” she said. “Are you comfortable?”
“My back hurts on this couch. Is there a better place I could lay down, like a bed?”
“Well,” she said. “I guess so. But the only beds available are in the infirmary. It’s like a little hospital.”
“Can I lay there?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said. She helped me up and put me in a wheelchair. I felt like an invalid. I hated feeling like that, but I was too weak to stand.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “The affects will wear off in an hour or so.”
She brought me to another room with some hospital beds in it and helped me onto one. “Maybe this is what we should have done at the beginning,” she said. “It is where I work anyway.”
“Are you hungry?” she asked. “I can bring some food and drink for you.”
“Thank you,” I said. I was starving, and thirsty. She left the room and I laid my head down on the white pillow for a little while, but I did not want to sleep again. I felt tired and weak.
“Tracy,” said a deep voice a little while later. It was Captain Brock again. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay,” I said.
“Sorry we had to put you out,” he said. “This place is a secret to outsiders.”
“Okay,” I said, not really knowing what to say. I didn’t even know where I was.
He looked at me for a moment as if deciding what words to use. “Tracy,” he said slowly, “you’re special.”
“I don’t really feel special,” I said. “I feel like a sack of potatoes that keeps getting thrown around.”
“No, I mean special,” he said. “You have a gift no one else has.”
I was shocked. It had always been a secret. I had never shown it to anyone except my sister. My parents didn’t even know about it. I tried to forget I even had it unless I was mad, but that had only happened a few times. How could he…”
“Fire,” he said. “You can start fire.”
“Yes,” I said. “But how…”
“We’ve been watching you,” he said. “Very closely.”
Now I was afraid. Had they been spying on me? Were they going to experiment on me? How much could I trust them?
“Don’t worry about us,” he said. “We won’t hurt you. Anyway, we have to get ready for the others.”
“Others?” I asked.
Did you think you were the only one?” Brock asked with a smile.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The other gifted kids,” he said. “We don’t know what’s going on yet, but we think things are about to get interesting.”
A Note from the Author
The story is really just getting started. Tracy has a large part to play in the rest of the series, beginning with The Gifted, and continuing with Assault from Space. These titles are available for your e-reader as well as in paperback format through a great variety stores, both online and in your neighborhood.
If you have enjoyed Tracy’s Escape, please leave me a review. It is the only way an author like me can get known by other readers. If you want to hear about what I am currently writing or find out more about me, please sign up for my newsletter at aaronkredshaw.com.
More Books
The Gifted (The Gifted Series Book 1)
10-Year-old Andy, along with a few others his age, have magical gifts no one can explain. But when someone bombs his school and kidnaps him, he soon learns that the reason for all of this is his unusual gift. There are other gifted kids that have appeared in recent days and now there is a heated war between two sides to see who will have control over The Gifted.
Now Andy, Han, Tracy, and Guido have been sent on a mission to a small island to investigate what has happened to the other kidnapped children. This leads them into a world of magic and machines, and finally to the secret mission of this island training facility. In the end, it's not what's on the island that is
the most dangerous, but what's underneath it!
Assault from Space (The Gifted Series Book 2)
Han, Tracy, Andy, and Guido have been called upon again because of their special gifts. This time the threat comes from a space station that has control of a weapon that can destroy any city at the press of a button, and the city up next is Han's home. They race the clock as they hurl through space to try to stop this weapon and those who control it.
The Last Place to Stand
Her name is X213 and she lives in a society where technological advancement is the highest form of achievement of man, and the highest purpose of man is to further the development of technology, making us more than human. But the technology she has worked so hard to improve is killing her.
His name is Samuel and he has rejected the world of the Technophiles, even at the cost of losing his own family. But Samuel is not one to sit idly by. His mission is to help rescue those trapped in their world where man meets machine. And then he meets X213.
About the Author
Aaron K. Redshaw grew up in Scottsburg, Oregon but decided one day to take a hint from the geese. He now lives in Scotts Valley, California where he can work on his tan and admire other people’s surfboards. He enjoys the company of his beautiful wife, his two gifted children, and one dusty beast of a car.
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