Aegis: Catalyst Grove (23 page)

They all turned to look at each other, trying to figure out if anyone was getting the point of the story.

“Really guys?
 
Do I need to write it in crayon?
 
These bands let them take our energy, or life force, or whatever you want to call it.
 
These are sap taps.
 
I think they allow our energy or power to come out.
 
The thing is, we can use them for ourselves.”
 
Damien pointed to each of them as he spoke.
 
“Kel, you used it to break Graham’s chair and uproot those trees at the bottom of the hill.
 
Graham, you used them to make a mess in that hallway.”

“G, thanks for the compliment,” said Graham.

“You know what I mean.
 
I even used them to light up the water and pull you guys out of it.”
 
Dropping the clothes, Damien bent his elbow, holding up his arm in front of him.
 
He pointed to his wrist.
 
“We can use these to our advantage.”

“Wait.
 
You made the water push us to the top?” said Graham.
 
“I thought it was just another current from the pool.
 
That is amazing!”

Kel was deep in thought.
 
She wasn’t so sure about this.
 
“That sounds great in theory Damien.
 
It really does, but I can’t control these ‘powers,’ and neither can you.
 
I just watched you try.”

Graham had never seen Damien this determined or serious.
 
“What choice do we have?
 
Even if we escape this maze, do you think we are just going to run up to Ms. Winstone and tell her about all this?
 
She knows Chase.
 
She knows Cavaness.
 
There is no way she will believe our word over theirs.”

Kel looked at Ailey, then at Graham.
 
Graham shrugged his shoulders.
 
“He has a point.”

“Of course I do.
 
And that is just it.”
 
Picking us the shirt from the floor, Damien let it dangle from his hand as he he held it up in front of everyone.
 

“The
point
of of these red shirts is that we can’t hide or run anymore.
 
They expect us to keep running.
 
We obviously cannot hide any longer.
 
We have to turn the tables on them and use the element of surprise.
 
We have to fight.
 
We have to win and expose what they are doing.
 
It is the only way to end this.”

Graham looked over at Kel to see her reaction.
 
Her eyebrows were arched in surprise and a hint of curiosity.
 
He did not see that coming.
 
He would have bet that was what she wanted.
 
His resolve about her motivation softened slightly, but even still, he could not take the chance and trust her.
 

Damien dropped the dry shirt, yanked off his wet shirt and threw it to the floor.
 
He took a towel and quickly dried his upper body, then bending over, he picked up the thin, red sweatshirt again and pulled it over his head.
 
Finishing where he left off, he looked everyone square in the eye.

 
“…and it will be the one thing they do not expect.”

C
HAPTER
S
IXTEEN

The Calm Before The Storm

Graham and Damien collected their new apparel and walked back out of the room, letting the girls change in privacy.
 
They made their way over to a dark corner so the could also dry off and finish changing into their new gear.
 
Despite donning the emblem of the group that was trying to hold them captive, the clothes actually felt pretty good.
 
They were not cotton like normal sweats.
 
They felt like they were made of polyester and elastic, but as soft as silk.
 
There was also a thin insulated liner sewn to the inside that kept them warm and comfortable in the cold, damp cave.
 

Graham looked over at Damien as he finished pulling his pants up to his waist.
 
“I’m sorry I dragged you into this.
 
This is all my fault.
 
Maybe we didn’t even need to come here if I had told you about my problem in the first place.
 
I’m going to get us out of here, amigo.
 
I promise you that.”

“No you won’t.
 
WE
will get out together.
 
I wanted to come here just as much as you did, so don’t go whipping yourself, alright?
 
Besides, I’ve got a plan.”

He whispered into Graham’s ear.
 
Graham’s eyes got big and his jaw dropped a little.
 

“You are crazy.
 
I can’t even…I mean, I haven’t done anything yet.
 
I think I am broken or something.”

“You will.
 
I know you haven’t let loose yet, but you will.
 
When the time comes.”

The girls walked out of the room in their new clothes.
 
Kel hated it.
 
She kept tugging at her shirt, still not quite on board with Damien’s plan.
 
Ailey, on the other hand, loved it.
 
She was all smiles. She loved anything red.
 
It was her favorite color.
 
Plus, it was warm, and most importantly, it was dry.
 
For the first time since being in Portfield Manor, she was actually comfortable.

Damien gathered everyone around and explained his idea of how to fight back.
 
He went through the list of everyone’s ‘special abilities’ and then described how they could work together in a surprise attack.
 
When he was done, everyone was quiet.
 
Kel felt very uneasy about it.
 
This was serious.
 
It wasn’t Graham’s favorite either, but he could not come up with anything better.
 
No one was speaking up, so Kel decided to break the awkward silence and reveal the elephant in the room.

“We could get hurt doing this, Damien.
 
Injured, maybe even killed.
 
How do you know we won’t get hurt doing this?
 
How do you know if we can even use these bands to do anything?”
 

“I don’t.
 
I can’t know that we will all make it out of here in one piece, but I have to act on what I already know.”
 

Kel remained unconvinced.
 
Her body language told Damien that she disagreed.
 
Her brow was furrowed and her arms were crossed over her chest.
 
Talking it through was not working.
 
He knew what needed to happen next.

In a spontaneous dash, Damien sprinted towards Kel, shoving her violently to the ground.
 
Without thinking, Kel reacted.
 
She held her hand out and shot a beam of light from her hand as she fell backwards; her wrist lighting up with a golden shimmer.
 
Damien flinched but did not move.
 
He just stood there like a statue.
 
His eyes were shut tight with his head turned to the side as the force hit him right in the chest.
 
It knocked him down on to his back with a loud thud towards the water’s edge.

Graham stood there in total shock.
 
Did Damien suspect she was one of them too?
 
Would she finally show her true colors?
 
Kel pushed herself onto her elbow, looking up to see what happened to Damien.
 

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?” yelled Kel, her voice echoing throughout the cavern.

Damien pushed off the ground with his hands up to a seated position.
 
He held his chest with his hand trying to massage the pain away.
 
“I told you. I had to make a decision based on what I already know.”
 

Frozen, Graham and Ailey couldn’t move a muscle.
 
They just stared at the Damien, watching the scene unfold.

“Good
gosh
that hurt!’ said Damien.
 
He put both hands to his chest rubbing fervently up and down.
 
“Look, I admit we can’t do these things on command, but we can when our instinct takes over.
 
If we don’t think, but just let ourselves react, the bands work.
 
They can let us attack.
 
I knew you would have a hard time believing me, so I thought I would just show you.”

Kel lay there trying to process what Damien was saying, not to mention what they both just did.
 

“But…how did you know I would do that?” she asked.
 

“I didn’t.
 
It was an educated guess,’ said Damien.

Her curiosity began to replace the anger of being shoved to the ground.
 
Kel pulled her hand back so she could get a good look at it.
 
She could not deny what just happened, and it was true her wrists lit up just then.
 
They still had a fading glow.
 

Graham could not believe what he was seeing.
 
Two different emotions fought inside him like dueling dragons.
 
One one hand, he was thrilled to see others like him.
 
The burden and shame of secrecy seemed like a distant memory now.
 
The answers he had been seeking did not come how he wanted or expected, but they were unfolding, and now, he shared this rare bond with his best friend.
 

On the other hand, a looming sense of dread waged war on his new found joy.
 
As he continued to watch, he could see that Damien was right.
 
They could not run any longer, but he still could not perform.
 
How ironic that he previously shunned human interaction because he could not control his power, but now he could not use it when he wanted to protect his friends.
 
No matter how hard he tried, he could not help.
 
All he could do was make things hover, and that wasn’t going to get them out.
 
Sure, he worked with Kel to blast Chase, but that was her power, not his.
 
He could feel himself holding back with each opportunity to act, but he didn’t know why.
 
He was scared to death that he could not be of use when the time came.
 

Damien stood up while still trying to massage the pain out of his chest.
 
He walked over to Kel and helped her up to her feet.
 
“Sorry about pushing you like that.
 
I had to do it hard enough to make it seem real.”

Kel wanted to be mad, but she couldn’t.
 
What he did was actually pretty brilliant.
 
“Don’t apologize.
 
That was probably the best thing you could have done.”

The all walked back towards each other.
 
Ailey grabbed Kel’s hand, studying it to see where the energy could have come from.
 

Graham spoke first.
 
“Ok, so we have a plan to get away from this compound.
 
That is great, but it’s not going to do us much good if we can’t get out of this cave.”
 
Turning to Damien he said, “Do you have a grand plan for that, too?”

Damien shook his head.
 
“No, I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”
 

Ailey walked away from the group.
 
She began making her way around the edge of the water, then around the perimeter of the cave.
 

“If this is part of their compound, then they have to have a way in and out besides that waterfall,” said Kel.
 
“If there is a way out, she will find it.”
 

Feeling very comfortable with Ailey on the search, Graham let himself relax.
 
As she made her way around the cave, Graham had to get something off his chest.
 
He was ashamed to admit his self-doubt to the others.
 
Surely they had noticed that he has not yet been able to contribute to the group.
 
All he had done so far is lead them into more trouble.
 
Plus, this would be a good test for Kel.
 
He would try to get a read on her as he opened up.

“Guys, I don’t know about this.
 
I don’t think I am going to be able to help when the time comes.”

“Don’t start doubting your self now, amigo.
 
You just saw what Kel did.
 
Do I need to push you down too for a little confidence booster?”

“I know it’s coming now.
 
Nice try though.
 
But seriously.
 
I couldn’t get us out of that room, I just stood there as you got captured, it was Kel’s blast that knocked Chase unconscious.
 
It was Kel that kept us from falling over the edge of the gaping hole in the ground, and it was you who saved us from drowning.
 
Even Ailey has found our way out by finding the picture of Alexander and of the floor plan.
 
You all have done all the heavy lifting here.
 
If this plan is going to hinge on anyone, it should be you or Kel.
 
Not me.”

“It’s not going to work that way.
 
I have to create the distraction.
 
Ailey is too young to fight, and besides, I am not really sure what she can do anyway.
 
She has to stay hidden.”
 
Damien took two steps forward to be face to face with Graham.
 
He placed his hand on Graham’s shoulder.
 
He looked at him until Graham finally made eye contact.
 
“I have to be beside the water.
 
I don’t know how I know, but I can just feel it.
 
That only leaves you.
 
It will be your time to shine.
 
We can all feel how strong you are.
 
If anyone can give the final K-O punch, it is you.
 
You just have to get past your self-doubt, thats all.”