I felt multiple pinchers stinging me through my thick clothing and gasped as fiery heat raced through my limbs. The tender unprotected skin of my hands felt like they had been doused in acid. I heard a muffled scream off to my left and my heart went out to my friends. It seemed ironic that after facing true evil in the face, mere insects would be the downfall of us all. Though my body burned and I was terrified that I was being eaten alive, I found the willpower to cast out my very last blanket of emotions to my friends. I could at least give them comfort in our darkest hour, I thought to myself as I shifted my focus off my pain induced state and instead on easing my friends pain and grief.
Summoning enough of my new power to help all my friends wasn't as effortless as it might have been under less dire circumstances, but I was still able to assemble more than I would have thought possible. I couldn't help wondering briefly, as I cast it out with all my might, if The Light had bestowed my extreme gifts to me for a situation such as this. Was it his plan to make my final act one that would at least bring peace to those that he held in such high esteem?
I realized after several pain filled moments that my body had gone numb while I was focused on my friends. I could no longer feel the weight of the insects the covered me nor could I feel their painful bites. The end must be near and my only regret was that I would not see my love one last time.
I felt a tugging on my arm that was firmly wrapped around my head. Horrified, I pictured the monstrous bugs chewing their way through my arm and carting it off to the dark forest to never be seen again. A whimper built up in my throat and spilled out of my trembling lips. The pressure on my arm increased and before I could comprehend what was happening, I was hauled to my feet.
Strong arms encircled me.
"How the hell did you do that?" Shawn asked me incredulously, giving me a bone-crushing hug.
"Do what?" I asked confused. I pulled out of his arms and saw that everyone had encircled me, awe-struck. Lynn and Sam reached out and grasped my hands in theirs. "Where did they go?" I asked in a trembling voice, scanning the area around me, frantically looking for the loathsome bugs.
"You drove them away," John said, looking at me in disbelief. "I felt it when you cast it out. I swear I felt the ground move."
"So did I," Jaime piped in, standing close to me like she was drawn to me.
"I don't understand," I said, sinking down on one of the logs around the fire pit. "I was just trying to send comfort and peace to all of you."
"Well, you most certainly did that," Paul said with a laugh. "By ridding the camp of the bugs, you definitely brought peace and comfort to Amelia and me," he continued, dragging Amelia into his arms.
"So you guys think that I—was somehow able to use my gifts to drive all the bugs away?" I asked, my tone making it quite clear I thought they were all a little crazy.
"How else do you explain what happened," Sam asked, joining me on my rough seat.
I shrugged my shoulders as I fought the impulse to weep. My emotions were a mess from the energy I had exerted and the relief I felt that all my friends were safe was tangible. The whole experience felt like a dream if not for the multiple bites that covered my hands. I studied the bloody mess for a minute, sickened that chunks of skin were missing from my knuckles and the soft flesh that made up the back of my hand. I looked up at my friends and saw similar angry bites on the exposed chests of the Protectors in our group.
"When you expelled all that energy, what results were you trying to achieve?" John asked, not bothering to hide his intrigue.
"I only had one thought, which was to give all of you peace before you died," I said apologetically, realizing how morbid it sounded that I had contemplated their demise.
"Amazing," John said, deep in thought. "Obviously The Light felt the best solution to bringing us peace, short of killing all of us, was to use you."
"You are correct," Haniel's deep voice said behind me.
"Haniel, dude, your timing really sucks. Where were you like five minutes ago?" Shawn asked, not bothering to hide his disgust.
"I believe my whereabouts are no concern of yours," Haniel said, making the chain of command quite clear.
Shawn opened his mouth to retort, but thought better of it, snapping it back shut. He glared at Haniel though, making his distaste obvious before sinking down on one of the logs with Sam.
Haniel returned his stare before finally answering him. "My duties were to get all of you to this destination and to deal with Victor directly. Any further assistance goes against my instructions from The Light."
"So, we're just supposed to fend for ourselves," Sam asked quietly.
"You are not by yourselves. You have a Gift," he said looking pointedly at me.
"What?" I sputtered. "Not again with the gift?"
"Krista, how can you keep denying that?" Lynn asked me.
"Because it all seems so ridiculous. Why am I the one that's been "blessed" with such extraordinary gifts when I'm only going to be here for a short while?" I asked, clearly fed up with all the hero worship.
"What do you mean 'short while?" Shawn asked, standing up to glare at me now.
Crap, I had let my emotions take over and wound up showing my cards before I was ready. "Come on guys, surely you know I can't carry on with any of this after we're done. If Mark can be saved then I'll spend the rest of my life thanking The Light, but if he has to be destroyed…" my voice broke and I had to swallow several big gulps of cool air before I could continue on. "If he has to be destroyed, there will be nothing left for me," I finally finished flatly. I turned away from their stares that had shifted from horrified to pity.
"How do you know?" Sam asked in a voice filled with thick tears.
"Because Sam, it's what we we're created for," I said, all fight gone from my voice. "I don't want to be special. I just want my Protector back and if I can't have him, I have no purpose," I said, turning from my group and striding purposefully for the tent. The fact that I now possessed extra abilities and could stand up to Victor's dark powers didn't bring me joy, instead it only seemed to widen the gap between what Mark and I had once shared.
I pulled the downy-filled sleeping bag up over my ears, but I could still here the mumbled voices of my friends outside. Craving peace, I pulled my iPod out of the pocket of my hoodie. I scrolled through my playlist and picked a song that was sure to drown out all background noise. After placing the earbuds in my ears and closing my eyes, my friends' voices were gone and I was alone to ponder my own solitary thoughts. My last coherent thought before I let sleep lure me in was how desperately alone I truly was.
Chapter 7
I woke several hours later feeling slightly disoriented. The sunlight streamed through the nylon of the tent, so it was obviously morning. It had been a while since I was able to sleep that soundly. Oddly, the nightmares that had plagued my dreams for so long were absent. I sat up, slowly pushing the heavy sleeping bag off of me. The sun beating down on the tent made the interior of the tent toasty warm making the sleeping bag unnecessary. My friends were still dead to the world, so I quietly crawled out the narrow flap trying to avoid their legs on my way out.
The campsite was surprisingly quite as I looked toward the fire pit. Jaime, Kieran, Kim and Jenna were sitting around the blazing fire drinking what smelt like coffee. A breeze blew through the campsite chilling me through the material of my hoodie. I rubbed my arms vigorously, instantly missing the heat of the tent. The fire looked inviting and I yearned for its heat, but embarrassment over my outburst last night had me looking back at the tent.
"Krista, come on, pull up a log," Kim said, clearly sensing my dilemma.
"Yeah, come join us," Kieran said, warmly patting the spot beside her. "What's your poison, coffee or hot cocoa?" She asked, indicating the two different kettles on the metal grill that perched on the rocks over the fire.
"Um, coffee would be sublime," I said, grateful that they were trying to act normal.
"Where is everyone?" I as
ked, cradling my steaming cup of "liquid gold" between my hands.
"The Pauls are gathering firewood over there," Jaime said, laughing at the duo of their names.
"It's a good thing you're from different Bands or that would get very confusing," I said, trying to keep the mood light.
"I know right," Jenna said laughing. "The rest of the guys went out to scout the mountain and Haniel will be back by dusk."
"Did he say when you guys are going to go find Victor's lair?" I asked, casually studying the rich coffee in my mug.
"In a couple days. He wants the guys to map out escape routes down the mountain in case things go wrong. He has instructed each Protector to grab their Guide and separate from the group if it looks like Victor is defeating him," Kieran said in a scared voice.
I couldn't blame her. It seemed insane to even be contemplating a contingency plan. Was it even possible for Victor to defeat Haniel? A brief mental picture of Haniel's lifeless body thrown to the side of the mountain flashed through my head and my heart pinched just thinking about it. Haniel was my beacon of light, thinking of him being snuffed out was enough to make the hot coffee in my stomach swirl around uncomfortably.
"I guess that makes sense," Jenna piped in, seeing the delicate shade of green my face had taken on.
I nodded my consent. It was important that the Links use whatever means necessary to continue on.
"So, how are all the kids?" I asked, steering the conversation away from the painful path it had taken.
"They're growing quickly," Jaime said enthusiastically. "Here, I will show you some pictures on my phone before it officially dies."
I oohed and aahed over the pictures of the kids at different stages of play. Without knowing any of them personally, I could clearly pick out who was linked to whom. My heart ached at one picture that showed a darling brown haired, brown eyed boy perched on a swing. He was gazing toward the sky as if he was trying to understand the mystery it held.
"That's my Logan," Jaime said, quietly peering over my shoulder.
"What a cutie," I said in a choked voice. I felt a keen connection with him. We had both lost a very precious gift.
Not wanting to upset Jaime, I flipped to the next picture and smiled when I saw Timmy standing next to the most precious little girl I had ever seen. She looked about two and yet, her hair hung halfway down her back in great big ringlets. She and Timmy were holding hands and whoever took the picture caught them in mid-giggle so both their faces were lit up and their eyes shined with mirth. The picture reminded me of the cute black-and-white style that had been popular with greeting cards for a while.
Jaime laughed when she spied the picture too. "That's Reagan. As you can tell, they're two peas in a pod. They're never far from each other's side if they can help it and boy are they both mischievous," she said fondly.
"They're so cute," I said, still studying the picture.
"They are, and both are so good-natured except for their mischievous streaks of course. Like I said last night, Timmy still misses his parents, but it's almost like their bond is stronger. I've been exposed to this life and our connections my whole life and yet, their bond even surprises me. Even at only two years old, it seems to me and the others that Reagan already knows how to dissipate Timmy's pain. It's truly amazing," she said, swiping away a stray tear.
I finished scrolling through the pictures and finally handed the phone over to Jaime as the battery finally gave out. "Oops, sorry, I used the rest of your battery."
"That's okay, Paul bought me one of those cool portable chargers. I'm going to go try it out," she said, heading toward her tent.
"So, Krista, how's your mom? I didn't get a chance to ask you yesterday." Jenna asked.
"She's good," I said, trying to gloss over the turmoil I had left behind.
"Really?" Jenna asked in her uncanny way of knowing when she wasn't getting the whole truth.
"Okay, maybe not good, but she's adjusting. I called her last night like I promised which seemed to help. I had to lie to her to get here, but I've become quite proficient at that," I added sarcastically.
"I'm sorry it had to come to that Krista."
"Me too," I added, quietly studying the ground at my feet. Talking to Jenna was a lot like talking to Lynn. They both seemed to be able to get to the root of a situation without even trying.
"Krista, I know you hate talking about these new powers of yours, but I want you to know we are all extremely proud of the way you've handled yourself."
"Thanks," I mumbled, feeling ashamed of myself. Here I was, paranoid of being the subject of their gossip that I had kept them all at arm's length.
"I just don't want to let you guys down," I finally admitted. "I know my hybrid powers are insane, but I just don't want everyone to count on them." I said, expressing my greatest fear.
"Krista, we're not expecting you to protect all of us. We would never put that kind of pressure on you," Kieran broke in, reaching for my hand. "I will admit I'm selfish though. I don't want to lose you. I know it's cruel of me to say that since I didn't lose my link, but we all love you so much that your absence would probably be the biggest blow any of us have ever felt."
"How can that be? You guys have lost Links from your own bands," I asked warily.
"Their deaths were staggering to all of us, but you're our Gift," she added, holding up her hand as I tried to scoff. "Deny if you must, but it's true…."
Any further conversation was cut off as my friends staggered out of the tent joining us as the others returned from their scouting trip. Soon our small campsite was buzzing with activity as breakfast preparations began. I noticed for the first time that the netting that had surrounded our campsite was gone. I looked at Shawn questioningly.
"Haniel told us it would no longer be necessary. Victor won't employ them again now that you defeated them," he answered.
"Oh," I said, feeling pleased about my powers for once. "It'll be nice not to have to worry about icky bugs," I said, feeling myself flush slightly at Shawn's knowing look. "Okay, being a freaky hybrid has it perks," I admitted as he busted out laughing.
"Now you're talking. We'll have you admitting how cool you are in no time."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Smalls," I said, mocking his oversized build.
I giggled as he exaggerated his walk making himself appear even bulkier.
"Hey Krista, you want to go with me to the stream to get more water," John asked, carrying the two oversized jugs we had brought along.
"Sure," I said, jumping to my feet enthusiastically, happy to have a chance to chat with him.
The stream was about a half-a-mile up the mountain from our campsite and John and I hiked the distance in silence. Once we got to the small stream that was really nothing more than a trickle slowly making its way down to the base of the mountain, we sat on a downed log so we could talk.
"So, I'm guessing you're pretty freaked out about the whole 'Gift' thing," he said, shooting me a sideways glance.
I laughed at his statement. In our steady flow of texting, John now knew me like an open book and knew how much I detested all the attention I was getting lately. "Yeah, that's putting it mildly," I said, still laughing.
"You still discovering new music?" John asked, switching gears which was a specialty of his.
"Yep, with a lot of help from Lynn. She's really got great taste in music. I like most of the stuff she suggests, but sometimes she can give me something that's a little out there."
"Yeah, I can see that from the way she dresses."
"Yep, she's got her own style that's for sure," I said, unscrewing the lid off one of the jugs so I could dip it into the clear ice cold water.
"John can you hand me the other jug?" I asked, reaching my hand behind me expectantly.
"John?" I said, turning around to get his attention and discovered he was right behind me with his back to me. I gasped in pain when he took a step backward and stepped on my boot-encased toes.
"
Ow," I complained, hoping around on one foot. "You stomped on my foot," I continued to gripe until I realized John's attention was focused on the shadowy forest to our left.
"What is it?" I asked, all humor gone.
"A black bear," John said, never taking his eyes off the woods.
"Are you sure?" I whispered as if that would keep it from noticing us.
"Positive. If you look close enough you can make out its massive shape just beyond the tree that seems tilted."
"Do you think it's a coincidence or is it a puppet of Victor's?" I asked, still whispering.
"Oh, it's a puppet for sure. Otherwise it wouldn't be stalking us like this. If it was seeking water it would have come lumbering out. Same goes if it was hungry."
"What's it waiting for then?"
"I don't know, maybe to see if we're going to run."
"Are you kidding me?" I asked not wanting to believe.
"I wish I were…" He started, only to be interrupted when the bear stepped into the narrow clearing.
The sheer size of it was staggering as it reared up on its hind legs and roared its displeasure.
"Krista, when he charges, just run. Don't look back. Get to the camp and prepare the others.
"You're insane, there's no way I'm leaving you."
"Krista, do as I say," he demanded in what I was sure was his dad voice.
I crossed my arms stubbornly. "No John, I'm not leaving you. I've already lost someone I care about by leaving."
"Krista, it's not your fault you were knocked unconscious. You can't keep blaming your…" John was cut off as the bear roared one last time before charging toward us.
Time seemed to stand still for me as I watched the beast lumbering toward us. Its hindquarters seemed to move in a blur as they propelled him across the small clearing. Its deadly teeth gleamed in the morning light as it jumped on John with one mighty leap.
John screamed at me to leave one last time as the bear used its huge paw to knock him to the ground. I watched in horror as blood began to bead up on John's face where the long claws had made contact.