Age of Mystics (Saga of Mystics Book 1) (16 page)

She had not spoken to her husband in many days now; it was hard to remember how many had passed in this damp, overheated concrete box. Emma had spent every lunch hour here, in this enclosed garden speaking to her dead husband. He had been cremated when he had passed, and according to his wishes, Emma had spread his ashes in Hawaii. So, she had taken to sitting in the garden and having a one-way conversation with him. However, the thought of sharing this little section of her crazy was abhorrent to her. She had not wanted to do that when Jordan was there, and there was no privacy to do it without him here. She was pretty sure it had been about a week they were trapped there. She also felt guilty, because she was attracted to Jordan. It wasn’t only because of her continuing love for her dead husband, but also because of the age gap between herself and the young soldier, that caused she felt such shame.

On top of that, she had realized a few days ago that she was actually having an effect on the plants themselves. First it had been the way Donna’s burial mound had covered with flowers in less than a day. Then, she had been able to make the plants bear fruit quicker than was physically possible. She didn’t really question this ability, because it had provided food for them. But, now, missing the guidance her husband would have provided, she wondered what good this gift would do if they remained stuck in the garden forever.

Jordan was in the same place he was every day. He knelt near the air opening, picking away at the hole in the wall in tiny chips. In six or seven days, she wasn’t sure, he had picked out about eight inches long, by three inches deep, and three inches wide. At this rate, it would take months to get out of here.

She whispered softly to herself, “Mark, what would you do? What would you tell me to do?”

“I’m sorry,” Jordan called out, “did you say something?”

Emma turned toward him, they would be alone for a long time, she needed to let him know what was going on with her. “Not really. I need to tell you something.”

Jordan stopped picking, turned and walked over to her, sitting next to her. “Sure, what is it? Are you okay?”

“Yes. You are very sweet,” Emma started, “Umm I just want you to know that I sometimes talk to my husband, who passed a while back. It keeps me stable, I guess. I know it sounds crazy, but somehow it keeps me sane.” Jordan just nodded and smiled a sad smile, and no apparent judgment, so she continued. “But, that isn’t what I wanted to tell you. Well, let me show you.”

She reached down to where a young strawberry plant was just flowering, and took a leave in her hand. Concentrating, as she had practiced all the day before and most of today, she thought through the deep process of growth and reproduction of this particular plant. As she conjured it in her mind, she followed the pattern of growth with her eyes, as the plant’s flowers spouted fruit. The fruit grew and colored a deep red as the berries became about half the size of her palm. Fearing him freaking out, Emma looked up at Jordan and saw something quite different.

He had a look of amazement and joy on his face as he took the strawberry off the plant and bit into it. A look of almost ecstasy crossed his face.

“Wow, Emma! That is delicious. That is so cool. How did you do it?” He asked in a staccato of statement and question that mirrored the look of excitement on his face.

She sort of giggled with a little glee at his response, “I don’t know. The last few days, I have just been able to do it.”

“Oh my God, Emma,” Jordan exclaimed, “Could you do that with a vine?”

She shrugged, “I think so.”

“Don’t you think the vine will work much better on the concrete?” Jordan asked, waiting for her to pick up his meaning.

Shocked, Emma snapped off an ivy vine, grabbed some potting soil and walked over to the area in which Jordan had been working. She quickly planted the vine and took it through the planting, rooting and growth pattern to get it up to the opening. She then guided the vine through the process of attaching to the concrete and pulling at it until pieces of cement started to break off. They were small, not much different than the size that Jordan was breaking off. But, Emma could feel micro-crevasses in the concrete and sent tentacles of vine into each one. Within about thirty minutes, she had broken off an amount equal to the amount Jordan had taken out in days. As she broke off her concentration, she realized how much it was taking out of her. She sort of collapsed into Jordan’s arms as he rushed to catch her.

“Emma!” he exclaimed, “You did it! We will be able to get out of here now.” Without notice, he bent his head down and kissed her deep on the lips. Emma gave in and gave up all of the shame she was carrying for being attracted to him. She momentarily forgot about her grief, her fright and her exhaustion. She wanted this young man, and she gave in to the feeling. The wall could wait.

The anticipation was thick as Eric walked back into the camp hurriedly and whistled loud. It was growing dark and he needed to act quickly. “Everyone into the street,” he called out. People began to come out of the buildings all around. Being roughly the time of patrol change over, all of the soldiers and Tigers were soon in front of him as well. He paced and planned as everyone gathered. Once everyone was there and quiet, he spoke to them, using the command voice he had honed over thirty years in the Army.

“Team,” he began, “We have a real crisis in front of us. The south of town is burning, as anyone can see, and it is getting close. What our scouts have discovered is that it is intentional. We met up with some soldiers from Fort Carson and learned the cause of the fire. The commander of the base, General Stone, has ordered the city burned to protect against looting and to get everyone to come to Fort Carson under his control. He has, to put it nicely, gone off his rocker. The problem is that it means we can’t keep our camp here. It means we have to save lives. We have to stop what the soldiers are doing; they are destroying resources right now. We also need to find a safer location. My plan is to go south to the base and demand that General Stone stop. I fully expect a confrontation.”

Eric softened his voice to show care and continued, “I want everyone to know their options. I will need all of our soldiers with me. It is important to me for you all to be safe. So, you can come with us and carry goods for us, you can stay and see if you can survive, or you can run away. It is important to note that the last two options give you no protection, and if you choose them, you will no longer be considered part of our group.”

Eric looked around, trying hard to ensure he made eye contact with everyone he could see. They had twenty-nine soldiers, including the three Ft. Carson soldiers that had turned and joined their side. The other thirty-seven people were “villagers”. He knew he would destroy anyone who chose to leave his group, he would have to in order to retain order, but he wanted to give the perception of choice.

“It is your call,” he said, “make it.”

Eric turned and walked toward the dojo, he called out to his men. “Gather all weapons, as well as what supplies we can carry. Put everything out here in the street, we leave before dark. I want to be at the gates of the base by dawn.”

Readying himself for conflict, he walked into the dim dojo to make sure he grabbed his Bo staff and nunchaku. However, he knew his power lay in his physical and mystical gifts first and weapons second. He had not told his “town” of the battle in the streets just south of camp. He had kept from them the fact that he and his men had destroyed a group of over one hundred soldiers in quick order, and that some of the soldiers had got away and were running as fast as their feet could carry them to the base to report on this. Both Meyer and Damiano had followed him in. He was growing tired of their bickering and sycophantic climbing.

“Gentlemen, we will use every bit of chi energy in this battle, this is our chance. We take down everyone. Many of these foes are battle hardened, but many will join us, once they see our strength. Anyone who attacks us will be killed. All prisoners who engage with us will be brought before me, only I will make the call as to whether they live or die. Clear?”

Both men gave a short bow in acknowledgement of the order. “Meyer, once we are close, you will take eight men and go left flank. Miles, you will take eight and go right. I will take center and go straight to the gates. We will have to kill many of them to show our power and resolve, and we will be tired as we draw close. Due to numbers, they will underestimate us, so don’t let your soldiers play with them. Death will rain on them today.”

In unison, both men said, “Yes, Sensei!”

“Okay, go get ready, dismissed.” Eric turned back, was there anything else he wanted to take with him? He rifled through the items and found a couple of books, as well as a ring he had not put on since his marriage had ended four years before. Then he walked into the pitch black of the private training room and sat to meditate and prepare his mind for what he must now do. Days ago, the men of Fort Carson had been comrades in arms, now they were to be the enemy and he could not think of them as anything but the foe they were.

Eric finished his meditation of roughly thirty minutes and walked out into the growing darkness of dusk. He saw people gathered and without counting them all, it seemed that every villager was preparing to go with them. The implied threat had worked. Eric smiled a satisfied smile. This meant they could bring all of the supplies. He walked out to the middle of the street to find Meyer corralling the villagers.

“Any dissenters?” Eric asked coldly.

Meyer shook his head, “No, Sensei. We have a full count of every soldier and every villager.”

“Excellent,” Eric replied, “I will leave two soldiers from my group to watch over the town-people. How long before we can leave?”

“Within the hour, Sensei.”

“Okay, make it happen.” Eric walked off toward where Damiano was chatting with his set of soldiers.

“Miles, with me,” Eric called out and Damiano came running over.

“Yes, Sensei?” Damiano asked.

“Meyer has his troops ready and all of the villagers in tow. What have your men done?” Eric didn’t even try to hide his disappointment at the lack of efficiency of the group.

Damiano’s eyes went wide, “Sensei, we were waiting to leave, as you have asked.”

Eric turned on him and got close to his face, “Then I suggest you and your men help gather our supplies and get them to the villagers immediately, am I clear?”

The second man bowed deeply, “Yes, Sensei. My apologies.”

“Apologies aren’t needed if you do it right the first time.” Eric said to him and let it sink in. “Now, go. Make it happen.” Damiano ran off to his men and Eric watched as they frantically tried to “help out’, all the while getting in Meyer’s way.

Within the hour that Meyer had quoted, they began their march southward. Eric was beginning to see the value in the former soldiers over their less-trained brothers. None of them had the power that Eric did, but he was able to train people to use Chi. That had become apparent over the last week. Discipline and order were traits that took longer to train.
I will have to find a way to reward discipline over other factors. Yes. Discipline and fidelity are the cornerstones of this new order.
He knew the biggest test of his men was about to come to fruition, as well as the biggest test of his leadership. He steeled his resolve and prepared himself for what lay ahead.

There was no hope of a rescue. Ted was just devastated, they had searched as best they could up and down the river bank and found nothing. It had been hours since Cal had fallen into the river. Max said the dogs smelled death. He couldn’t accept that Calvin Ward was really dead. It was too much to deal with. They had taken shelter from a passing lightning and hail storm in an abandoned house nearby. Calling it a house was being simplistic, it was a mansion, as many of the houses on the border of Black Forest and Colorado Springs were. Someone had broken in, broken things and stolen everything they could get their hands on, but it still sheltered his small group from the storm.

Everyone in the room was sad, but none more than Cal’s family. Natalee had climbed trees to get a better look, which was a feat in and of itself. Ted had no explanation for her sudden fighting ability, immense strength, and lightning quickness. He had no more explanation for this than he had for his own daughter’s new ability to mentally connect with dogs. But, Nat had scaled those trees like she was a squirrel, and jumped between them even, as she tried to get sight of a body, even a dead one. But, Cal had slipped into that drain and they couldn’t even have the benefit of a burial.

Rich stood up in the middle of the group, near where Kate, Kyle and Natalee all sat crying quietly. “I know Cal wasn’t one for church,” he began, “But, would it be okay if I said a prayer?” When no one objected, Rich said a soft prayer and reached for his guitar, which he began softly playing. Much like the situation with Kim in the first few days, Rich’s guitar playing calmed the emotions and restored hope that things were going to be alright. Ted began to wonder if it was anything like Nat and Max’s gifts. He pondered this as they all listened, and then he spoke to the group.

“Everyone,” Ted started, “I today have lost the best friend I enjoyed for forty years. It is hard to function. But, Cal would have told us to keep moving, to stick with the plan.” Everyone nodded, so Ted continued. “Before we go, we need to talk about some things, I think.”

Kayla looked up at Ted, even she didn’t know where he was going. He said, “The abilities, or powers or whatever, let’s discuss them really quick.”

Kayla interrupted him, “Is this really the time, honey?”

“I understand,” Ted replied, “but there is never a good time. I think Cal had more to say about it, and if we don’t get it out in the open, we might not have another chance.” The quiet in the room let him know that it was okay to continue. “Has anyone experienced anything unusual in the last few days? We know about Max and her dogs, I think we all know that Nat has some kind of ability with movement, strength, and instinct. I have noticed some pick up in my senses, that I wasn’t really attributing too much, but I think it is in the same vein as Nat’s abilities. Anyone else?” He looked around the room, expecting one of his family members to talk, but it was Kim who spoke up.

“I have been a Christian since childhood. I have prayed and prayed for things and never experienced anything that could not be attributed to chance. But, I have to admit what is before us, what God has placed in my path. I seem to be able to warm things with my hands. Not a great help in the heat we have experienced, I know, but there may be some need for it.” Kim sat back down nervously. Even in the twilight, he could see how hard it was for her to admit that.

Kyle didn’t stand up, he just said, “Well, there is this.” He held his hand out and a small ball of light appeared in it. It functioned more like a flashlight than anything else. “Not very useful.” He said.

“Seems pretty useful in a world of darkness,” Rich’s southern drawl cut through the darkness they all experienced when Kyle stopped showing the light. “I don’t know if anyone had noticed, but when I play the guitar, it seems to calm the nerves. I don’t know if that is real or not.”

“I noticed it,” Ted interjected. There were a few murmurs of assent.

Adam was next to share. “I think I can heal people, but it takes a lot out of me.”

“But I was able to refill his energy,” Erica offered in sort of a bubbly fashion that made Ted smile.

His mother-in-law then inserted her words, and they seemed almost filled with shame. “I have nothing. I am the same old boring person.”

Both Kate and Kayla broke in with “Me too.”

Jessica said, “I haven’t tried.” And they had a nice little laugh around the room, which had about the same effect as Rich’s play had.

“Okay, that is good.” Ted was starting to get an idea, “In the Army, we inventory our strengths. These are our strengths. Let’s make sure to train them, to try them out, to use them when needed. Let’s not be afraid of judgment. This is the new world; let’s make the most of it.”

As it had grown to night, they couldn’t really see each other and the group broke into little conversations. But Beth stood alone near the window, and Ted could just make out her form in the small difference between the darkness outside and the darkness inside.

She called to him, “Ted?”

He walked over to where she was, “Yeah, Mom?”

“What is that light?” She was looking out the window, and in the far distance, he could see some orange glow and its reflection on some buildings. The room grew quiet and people went to windows to look.

“Is that the big church, Uncle Ted?” Natalee asked. Ted had always disliked that church, with its televangelist pastor and holier-than-thou congregation. He had seen it on his visits to town to see the family, but also knew its reputation nationally and its impact in the area from the last time he had been stationed at Fort Carson years before.

“Yeah,” Ted answered, “I think it is.”

“Is it on fire?” Kim asked worriedly.

“Nah,” Adam said, “I am pretty sure those are bonfires glowing on the side of the buildings.”

“How far away is that?” Ted asked, to no one in particular.

“If we hit that bridge to the south and make our way there,” Kyle answered,” Maybe a mile and a half to two miles.”

The storm had passed and the darkness was deep, Ted was worried about losing another person in the group to the river. “So, we know where we are going in the morning then.”

Everyone agreed, and people spent the rest of the night playing with their abilities. The most useful of these was the examinations that Adam performed on every member of the group. He was able to find some small infections. He even found a skin lesion on Rich and took it out, completely healing Rich. This had tired him out and Erica had come to give him some more energy, but he had stopped her telling her that it would help him sleep. Kyle had learned pretty quickly that he could throw the ball of light. It did no damage, but then he didn’t need to think about it to keep it going. Right now, it was about a centimeter in diameter and would last under a minute, but it was still pretty cool.

Ted and Nat had worked on their abilities together, and Ted had discovered his were a little different than hers. His were defensive mostly, and kept him from being hurt when he sparred with her. Ted was pretty sure that anyone else who sparred with her would have been hurt pretty badly, she had not fully learned control. Jessica had also discovered a skill, but it didn’t work well. She could move things telekinetically, but all they did was shake from side to side, and it drained her terribly to try. People tested their current limits, and Ted found hope in it. They were embracing the world, as it is. He was pretty sure that is the only way they could survive.