“Max? Hey, Max, wake up!” Lewis called over the receiver.
“Huh…” I mumbled, lost in thought.
“They’re heading your way!” he warned, as if we were doing battle. I laughed and hung the walkie-talkie on my belt loop. In a matter of seconds, I was surrounded by hundreds of living zombies with cameras and mobile devices outstretched.
“Can you take our picture?” a teenage girl with colorful braces asked. Her two best friends all wrapped their arms around one another and smiled.
“Sure,” I said, with a weary smile. Click.
“Thanks!” she smiled. One of them whispered in her ear and her face fell red with embarrassment. “Shut up, Kadence!”
The other girl pushed her into me, causing us both to lose are balance. “Ask him. Come on!”
Frustrated, I steadied both of us with warming hands. I was completely uncomfortable. “Ask me what?” I dared to ask.
“Will you take a picture with my friend, Alexis? She thinks you’re cute.”
“Oh my God, Kadence! I can’t believe you said that!” Alexis blushed brighter. They all squealed in anticipation. I cringed inside, but tried my best to act flattered.
“No problem.” I smiled, politely.
“And me too!” the third girl almost shouted.
“Umm…all right,” I said. Just then, Lewis strolled up with a huge smile and a thumbs up. Click. Squeal. Click. Squeal.
“Thank you!” all the girls cheered, and ran off already uploading the pictures to one of their many social accounts. Lewis laughed and tossed me a cold bottled water.
“Still have a way with the ladies, I see,” he said, like torture.
“I guess,” I sighed, and took a small drink.
“Admit it, Max, you’re pretty.”
“Shut up.”
In a fit of laughter, he said, “You know I’m right! Heck, why do you think the teenage girl ratio has spiked in the last three or four years!” He motioned with his hands like a cheesy spokes model on a morning game show. “Exhibit A, tall, dark and brooding!”
Blushing completely, I rolled my eyes. “Are you done?”
“Sure.” A large smile filled his face. “I’m just jealous of your hair, you know that,” he teased, and ran his hand over his clean shaven head.
“Whatever,” I moaned, with a half smile.
All of a sudden, from behind us came a dull rumble of thunder and the smell of summer rain. It was intoxicating, but different from the smell of the islands when it rained. Especially when it was because of Asia’s unpredictable moods. Still, I inhaled a deep chunk of it and enjoyed the dusty scent. The clouds that housed the approaching storm rolled up in a matter of minutes. That’s how the monsoons were in the desert, sudden and powerful.
The scene immediately made my heart ache for Asia. Even though I was emotionally in hiding, part of me, deep down, always hoped that maybe in the sea of strange faces that I waded through every day, maybe I’d see a certain rainmaker and her beautiful pout. Not this time though.
In a breathless whisper, I sighed, “How I crave your storms…”
Suddenly, from the outcropping that hung over one of the main lookouts in the canyon, came a scream. Lewis and I pushed past everyone to get to the terrified person.
“Help me, please! My son! My son climbed the rail!” a terrified mother screamed. Lewis latched onto her with calming hands as I assessed the situation. Sure enough a small boy had climbed up and over one of the less secure fence structures. He should have never even been let that close to the railing, but there was no time to debate that now. He was just outside the reach of his mother. Her arms were outstretched toward him and he giggled and laughed at her as if this was a silly little game to him. The boy was only feet from a nasty tumble.
“Miss, what’s your son’s name?” I asked, scaling the railing.
She cried out, “Robbie! His name is Robbie!”
“And how old is he?” Lewis followed quickly with another question. His tone was much more calm than mine and it helped ease the mother’s panic, even if it was only slightly.
“Five,” she gasped in fear as he took a step backwards, closer to the edge. From what I could tell, the boy hadn’t even looked behind him to see the fall that awaited him. He was too busy torturing his mother. Robbie stomped his feet in excitement as he saw me slip over the fence and onto his side of the railing.
“Robbie, I’m Max.” He giggled and waved to me. “I need you to take my hand.”
“No,” he laughed, and took a small step backwards. The audience of tourists let out a collective gasp. It rustled along the crowd like a breathy echo. Lewis motioned for them to all be quiet.
“Please? I have a secret surprise for you if you do,” I said, making something up. He looked at my hands and saw nothing.
“Where is it?” Robbie asked.
I wanted to lunge for him, but he was just far enough away from me that if I miscalculated at all it would end tragically. My hand began to vibrate with nervous heat. The clouds above rumbled again and the first drops of rain began to fall down upon us. Great, just what we needed. Robbie looked up at the sky and a small flash of lightning caught his attention. Thunder followed and he flinched.
“Hey, look over here, Robbie. Don’t worry about the thunder.” I stepped closer. I was almost close enough now. I held my breath, readying myself to snatch him up.
“Max…careful…” Lewis warned. I nodded back to him in agreement, and when I did I saw something that locked me in place. My Uncle Frank’s ghost. It was at the back of the bubbling crowd and he wasn’t alone. Standing next to him, holding his hand was my deceased little sister, Mia. They both smiled my way and waved as if in slow-motion.
Oh God, not now. I squeezed my eyes together and let out a shaky puff of steam.
“Max, you okay?” Lewis asked. I shook my head and opened my eyes.
“Mia?” I whispered. Her and Frank were now much closer in the crowd. Her big brown eyes still as wonderful as the day I lost her.
“Max!” Lewis shouted. I quickly focused my attention back to Robbie who now had his arms wrapped around his chest as the wind had brought a new chill. He had finally noticed just how close he was to the edge and began to cry.
“Robbie, it’s okay, I’m here. I just need you to walk slowly toward me,” I managed to say. My head was spinning still. I was used to seeing the spirit of Frank by now, it happened on a monthly occurrence, but Mia… Why was my sister here?
“Trust me, Robbie.”
“I’m scared,” he sobbed. Me too. His mother wailed behind me, calling his name over and over. Lewis tried to quiet her, but it was no use.
“Don’t be scared, little man, I do this kind of stuff all the time.” Complete bull, but I was out of time. If the wind picked up anymore then I would surely lose him.
“I want my Mommy!” he cried, as the rain fell thicker. At that precise moment, I knew exactly how he felt. My stomach rolled over and I looked back behind me for my uncle’s ghostly support and strength, but when my eyes searched the crowd, he and Mia were gone.
“No!” I huffed, silently. Where did they go? Why was Mia here? Suddenly, it hit me, she was warning me. I was going to lose this boy like I lost her so many years ago. On that awful day when our parent’s car wrecked along the mountainside. I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t control my fires, my curse.
“That’s it,” I mumbled. “Robbie, do you wanna see something cool? A magic trick?”
Wiping at his eyes and shivering, he said, “What…kind of…trick?”
“Max, don’t do it,” Lewis warned, looking around at all the eyewitnesses. I ignored him and waved both my hands at Robbie.
“Watch this…” With a quick shake, I tossed the extra moisture from my palms and twisted my hands together as if I was making an invisible snowball. I brought my balled up hands to my mouth and blew inside of them with a quick hot puff. A burst of flames spun to life, turning like a bright globe within them. Robbie??
?s eyes popped out of their head and he leaned toward me. Slowly, I lowered my hands and opened them up. The spinning fire singed the falling raindrops and the moment reminded me of the first time I had revealed my powers to Asia. I smiled and slid my hands outward.
“Wow!” he called out. I leaned forward as the crowd of onlookers fell silent. The sound of building wind and restless thunder were growing stronger. We were out of time.
“Come here, and I’ll show you how I do it,” I smiled, nervously. With a clap of my hands the ball of fire disappeared into a tumbleweed of wet smoke. Black curls spun up past my face. Holding out my undamaged hands, I asked, “Deal?”
“Okay,” he smiled, but his horrifying predicament caught up with him again, and he looked to be on the verge of tears.
“Hurry, Max,” Lewis insisted. Lightning flashed all around and the loudest crash of thunder ripped along the canyon’s walls. Robbie froze, just inches from my fingertips.
“Almost there, big guy…just one more step,” I pleaded, and held my breath again. His icy fingers slid into mine and I locked my warm hand around his, but before I could pull him to me, the ground slid out from under him. There was too much rain built up and my worst fear had come to fruition…
Mudslide.
“No!” his mother screamed. The crowd all mimicked her horror.
“Oh no!” I shouted. Robbie’s small body shot away from my grip as if he had been yanked from me. He started to scream as he slid backwards with his small arms flailing out for me. I lunged forward and caught one of his forearms. Mud and water ran over me, making my body slide slowly. I dug my other arm into the murky ground, trying to stop the momentum. Robbie screamed so hard that his voice cracked, and I was whisked back in time to the deadly day on the mountain with my baby sister. My heart raced as the pain hit me again.
“Not this time!” I growled. The storm had now hit full force and the water poured down the side of the cliff like a small river. Quickly, I pulled Robbie to me and pushed myself back to my knees as fast as possible, and let my body fall backwards into the racing mud. I buried my shoulders and back into the gunk and pulled him to my chest. He was shrieking and holding me with all his strength. We both began to slide again as the ground gave way to the torrential flooding. Lightning ripped along the sky as we turned into a human water-slide ride. Instinctively, I slammed my feet into the wet terrain and for a split second it seemed as if it would be enough, but it wasn’t. Rocks and thick brush collected along our muddy bodies and rushed us to the final drop off of this cliff. If I couldn’t stop this now, we would shoot off the edge in a total free fall to the bottom of the canyon. No surviving that.
“Max!” Lewis bellowed from high up above me. The rain fell in waves and we started to slide even faster. Robbie had stopped screaming because he had passed out, so I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as possible and tried to keep him tucked inside my grasp. My fires were begging to be free. They would not let me die, not like this, but I couldn’t risk letting them out. Not after what happened all those years ago with my sister. When I couldn’t control them and she fell away from my hands on fire. Her death was my fault, but I wouldn’t let Robbie be my next casualty.
Steam slithered from my head and shoulders as I rode the thick wave of mud to the end. I looked around as the different pieces of desert whipped past me as we picked up speed. I was feeling dizzy and my back felt like it had been shredded by a thousand razor blades. Dirty rain water splashed inside my mouth as I cussed this doomed situation. As my bloodshot eyes focused on the end of our ride, I accepted that this was the final encore for me. Hopefully, only me. I decided in those last seconds that maybe if I held little Robbie tight enough, keeping him from the direct impact of hitting the canyon floor, I could cushion the fall enough to at least save him.
Just then, my Uncle Frank’s ghost materialized at the edge of the fall and he called out,“Trust the pain!”
“I’m trying!” I cursed, with mud in my throat. I jammed my eyelids closed and pulled Robbie into me, making my body a protective cocoon around his motionless torso. I gave into the horror and we slid right through my ghostly uncle and over the edge like a rocket. Time stopped as we began to fall and remarkably my eyes cleared just enough to see the gray skies overhead. As we fell, my body felt cold and my senses betrayed me.
As the raindrops surrounding us seemed to slow down and stop in mid air, an unbelievable scent rushed through my pores…
Cherry blossoms.
TWENTY-THREE: FALLEN ANGEL
~ Angel: Theory Of A Deadman ~
The thunder in my heart was tremendous. My pores yearned to open the floodgates of fire, but I held strong. My arms wrapped like ropes around little Robbie. My legs pulled up to his body, cradling him as we fell. Our lives only seconds from ending. That was until her storm.
“Asia!” I called out. As soon as I did, Robbie and I stopped falling. Impossible as it seemed we came to a stop just feet from crashing into the watery rocks below us. The raindrops hung magically in the air next us. I even reached out with one hand and touched a glistening drop with my finger. It rolled in slow-motion like a bubble. After a brief moment of disbelief we started to move again, only this time much slower. I extended my legs and straightened my body, never relinquishing my grip on Robbie.
As my shoes connected with the muddy floor of the canyon, the rain began to fall normally again. Unexpectedly, Asia’s voice shot from the speaker of my walkie-talkie. “I’ve got you, Max.”
“Impossible,” I gulped. Asia was powerful and her gifts over the elements were unmatched, but this was different. She couldn’t have saved us…could she?
“Are you hurt?” she asked. I looked up into the rainy sky, trying to see to the top of the ledge we fell from. My view was skewed by the falling storm, but I could barely make out two shadows hanging over the railing. One was obviously Lewis as the reflection of his glasses signaled me like a SOS beacon. The other was tall and had long dark hair that whipped along the wind accordingly.
“She found me,” I whispered down to Robbie, and he began to stir in my arms. From the walkie came her voice again, this time much more impatient.
“Max! Are you safe?” she scolded, and a violent crash from the clouds above shook me to my bones. I scooped up my walkie and clicked the talk button.
“How did you do that?”
With relief in her voice, she said, “I didn’t.”
Confused, I focused my eyes even harder on the shadows above. “Then who did?” As I asked another shadowed outline appeared between Asia and Lewis. It was smaller and appeared to be waving at me. Asia didn’t come for me alone.
In a panic, Lewis’ voice cut through the speaker. “Max, how’s the boy?”
“Safe.” I ran my hands over him to check for any damage I might have missed. He was wet and muddy, but unharmed. Although, I did notice a faint burn mark along the back of his shirt where my arms held him tightly. “He’s good. Lewis, I’m heading for the extraction point.”
“Chopper’s already on its way,” he said, exhausted.
“Sounds good,” I said, in a gasp. Quickly, I repositioned Robbie against my chest with one arm and gave Lewis one last order. “Don’t let Asia leave.” Click. I clipped the walkie-talkie to my pants and began running for the emergency extraction point a mile away. Seconds after lightning split the sky above me in a ear piercing snap and I knew Asia had gotten my message. With a tired smile on my face I pushed my legs faster along the flooded trail.
At the extraction point I watched from a safe distance as the rescue helicopter lowered onto the landing pad. Moments later we were inside, safe and dry. The pilot looked at me and gave me a thumbs up with a“How the hell did you do that?” look on his face. Robbie stirred back to consciousness and I rubbed some of the mud from his face. He smiled up at me and grabbed my warming hand.
“I want to go home,” he said, emotionally spent. I leaned back in my seat and looked out the window as we began to rise up in t
he air.
“Me too,” I whispered.
Minutes later we were back at the main rescue station of the canyon. Robbie’s mother was hysterical and wouldn’t stop kissing him. The sight made me miss my daughter. The thought crushed me and I needed to get away. I rushed from the room and the building as fast as I could. When I reached the muggy air of the outdoors, I was stopped in my tracks.
Standing in the parking lot was Asia and Star. Asia’s hair was longer and much straighter than I remembered. Strands slithered along the wind, teasing me with her cold, but beautiful stare. Star was almost twice as tall as I remembered. Her hair was longer too and still wavy blonde, almost white. Her silvery eyes were surrounded by natural makeup and made her look much older than the thirteen years she was. She waved to me sweetly, as if she missed me. Asia, on the other hand, just watched me hard and still. The skies had cleared a little, but still they carried her emotions. Slowly, I walked up to both of them. Heat stirred inside my belly as I approached.
Looking at Star with a forced smile, I asked, “How?” She smiled up at me and pointed to her head with a gentle finger.
“Oh, that’s right…telekinesis.”
“That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen,” she gushed. As my hands filled with heat I placed them in my pockets and leaned into her.
“Thank you for saving me, Star.”
“No problem,” she said, embarrassed. Without looking at Asia and her heart attack stare, I walked past them not saying another word. I knew it was rude. I knew it was cold, but I didn’t care. Asia left me all those years ago. Obviously she knew where I was this whole time. My anger blinded me as I walked back to the canyon’s visitor center. Rain pounded me every step of the way, but I never looked back. Lewis ran up to me with a dry towel in hand as soon as I arrived.