Flee (The Aurora Lockette Series, Book 1) (13 page)

“I’m so sorry.” I hung up the phone.

Carmen took the phone out of my hand. “She
can sense the danger as well. She’ll do what you ask.”

“Thanks, but fuck off. You don’t know
her.”

The look on her face told me I hurt her. She
looked like a sad little bird that just flew into a window. She
didn’t say anything back, but she sank deeper into her seat and
seemed intent on looking out the window.

I leaned against the door, watching the
scenery fly by impossibly fast. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

I must have fallen asleep because when I woke
up, we were in Colorado. I craned my head to read the green numbers
on the console. Only two and a half hours had passed by, but we
were already halfway to Denver. I didn’t dare ask how fast
Konstantin was driving, because it usually took me about seven
hours to drive from Wichita to Denver.

Soon we were checking in at the airport
counter for a flight bound to Alaska. I slept most of the
unbelievably long flight, though the stewardess woke me up a couple
of times and instructed me to walk around to avoid blood clots.

I really woke up when we started to make our
descent in Fairbanks. Densely forested mountains surrounded flat
clearings with cars, buildings, and parking lots. A river snaked
through the middle of the city. From the runway, Fairbanks looked
like a miniature toy town compared with the congested Denver
airport.

We got into a rugged SUV with giant tires in
long term parking at the airport. “This is ours. You need an all
terrain vehicle out here.” Konstantin lifted me so I could climb
into the backseat.

He drove through the small city. We passed
city limits and continued on the bumpy highway. He turned on
several side streets until we were on a narrow, unmarked dirt road.
The branches of trees and tall plants brushed against the side and
bottom of the SUV as we inched along. I grabbed the bottom of the
seat so my head wouldn’t slam into the roof of the car.

After several miles of rugged country, a tall
iron gate appeared, blocking the road. Scary looking ten feet tall
barbed wire fence sat on either side. My eyes traced the path of
the fence. It disappeared into a dense tree line.

As soon as we approached, it swung open. “We
have great security.” He gestured up to the cameras mounted on the
gate. “Mostly for show. We really don’t need all the modern
technology. You’ll understand why soon.” After another half mile of
bumpy dirt road, it smoothed into a cracked but paved road.

Buildings clustered around the road; several
small simple wood cabins, some larger wooden houses, and some
industrial looking warehouses.

Carmen chimed in. “Like many small villages
in Alaska, we are self sustaining for the most part. We have to
travel in to town occasionally to get supplies, but we have almost
everything here. This is one of the largest member villages in the
world. We have about twelve-hundred people here.”

They pulled up to one of the larger cabins.
“This is our home. You can stay with us. We have extra bedrooms,”
Carmen said.

I got out of the SUV, taking in the beautiful
mountains, crisp air, and the forest around me. It was a pleasant
sixty or so degrees. “September will be here before you know it, so
enjoy the heat while it lasts,” she said, intruding on my thoughts
in more ways than one.

I followed them into the cabin. It had one
large central room filled with plush couches and a flat screen T.V.
A large fireplace dominated the center of the room. The second
floor was open, with pretty exposed wood beams marking the high
ceiling. “The guest room is up there,” she said, gesturing up the
stairs.

It was beautiful, with pale lavender walls
and deep black bedspread, and a small, attached bathroom. The
window framed the pretty deep evergreen forest just outside. I sank
into the small rocking chair in front of the window.

Carmen interrupted my pity party. She placed
a cool hand on my face, turning me so I had nowhere else to look
but at her. “I’m sorry you are hurting.” She closed her eyes for a
few seconds. “It worked. They lost the trail. Your family is safe.
Why don’t you call your mother? There’s a phone on the nightstand.”
She left the room and I practically lunged for the phone.

“Mom?”

“Where are you? Are you safe?”

“I’m fine. I’m in Alaska, somewhere near
Fairbanks.”

“Did they take you? Because you can hang up
this phone and call 911 before they even know you’ve made another
call.”

“I came on my own accord. I believe them. I
trust them. For now, at least,” I said. “You haven’t called the
police or anything, have you?”

“No.”

“Good, don’t. I’ve got it.”

“Tell me where you are. I can be there in a
day.”

It took me the better part of an hour to talk
her out of coming after me. She finally agreed not to do anything
rash.

It was early evening, though the bright sun
outside gave no indication of the day ending. I joined Carmen in
the kitchen.

“Do you like lasagna?”

“Sure,” I said. “Can I help you with
anything?”

“No, sit down and keep me company. I’m sure
you have some questions.”

“Where’s Konstantin?” I asked.

“He’s in one of the buildings you saw on the
strip.”

“And pray tell, what is the strip? I’m
guessing we are not talking Vegas?”

“The strip is what we call the paved road in
the middle of town.”

“Where are the other settlements like this
one?” I asked.

“Everywhere. In North America, they are here,
Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Washington State, New Mexico,
Washington D.C., and Tennessee. The largest is in New Mexico, up in
the mountains. Most people with abilities choose to live on their
own, mixing in with normal society. They know about us and how to
contact us. They travel to see us occasionally.” She pulled some
ingredients out of the cabinet. “We’re in almost any country you
can think of. Some groups are smaller than others.”

“Why do you live here?”

“We both work for the organization. Most of
the people who live here do.”

The smell of the meat she was browning
reached my nose, and I was suddenly very hungry.

“How did your conversation with your mom go?”
she asked.

“Good. She seems a lot calmer than I thought
she would be.”

“I’m not too surprised to hear that,” Carmen
remarked as she put the large lasagna in the oven. “She seems to
have a tinge of ability, a sensitive like me. She probably
understands on some level all this had to happen.” She closed the
oven. “You are much calmer, I can tell. Konstantin will be home
soon and we can all talk over dinner. We have a lot of ground to
cover.”

Konstantin returned shortly. He kissed Carmen
on the cheek and then invited me to sit down for dinner. We settled
into the picnic style table next to the kitchen. Carmen served me
the warm, delicious lasagna. Konstantin produced a bottle of wine
of which I eagerly drank two glasses. My brain was still struggling
to comprehend the events of the past few days.

After I had finally satisfied my voracious
appetite, I sat silently in my seat, appraising Konstantin and
Carmen across the table. I had just placed my entire life in their
hands. I still wasn’t sure if it was the right decision.

Konstantin cleared his throat and set his
glass down. “The organization has three major goals. First and
foremost is protection. We offer protection from them, media
exposure, and outside knowledge. Keeping our secret is paramount to
our survival, on many different levels. Second, we seek to identify
and educate those who have ability. Third, to figure out why we
exist. We do a lot of research, including genetic, to figure out
where our ability comes from.”

“Is there a brochure or something that covers
all this?” I poured a third glass of wine against my better
judgment, but I needed to be drunk to continue to have this eerily
calm conversation. “And? What has your research provided? What’s
the answer?”

Konstantin smiled. “The prevailing thought
has been we are the natural next step in human evolution. But if we
are evolving, we should be increasing in number, and we are not.
Also, since the ability is not always tied to a specific bloodline,
we believe it’s not so simple.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We must have a purpose, more than simple
genetics or micro-evolution. Some things are beyond the scope of
simple nucleotide base pairs.”

“Like?”

Carmen and Konstantin exchanged a look.
Carmen spoke first. “It’s a lot to know on your first night here.
Perhaps we can—”

“No. I have a right to know.” I used my hand
to cover a burp. “And I’m moderately drunk so I can totally handle
it.”

“She’s right. It’s our number one priority
for her, to protect her. She should know what it entails,” he said.
He took another long drink of his wine, finishing it, before he
continued. “Every person with ability has a handler. This handler
is sometimes an ordinary person, but sometimes another person with
abilities. Once you have a handler, you will be protected.”

“A handler? Are you freaking kidding me?” The
word sounded strange to my ears. I gulped the rest of my drink too.
“Okay, so I need a handler. Can’t you just set it up?”

“It’s not that simple. We can’t choose one
for you. It just kind of happens. When you meet the handler, you
bond with them and they become your protector. Once they bond with
you as your handler, they will change,” Konstantin said.

I put both my hands flat on the table, palms
down. “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t know what that
means.”

Konstantin answered. “It’s an intangible
bond. You can’t will to have it with someone. I can’t go find it
for you. It moves into place when handler is ready. Your handler
shares your life span, no matter how long it is. They will age at
your exact pace. They will be able to sense danger and prevent
exposure. Their presence makes it hard for people to see your
ability. Most importantly, when you have a handler, they can’t
track you.”

“How do you know my mom is not my
handler?”

Carmen answered. “I can see the handler bond.
It’s not there. I’m sorry. I wish it was. Plus, when you bond on
that level, you just...know.”

“Okay, let’s review. There is a person out
there who will be my handler. I have no control over this, and
neither do they. When the time is right, we will bond or whatever,
and then I will be protected?”

“Yes,” Konstantin answered.

“But I want to go home. I have a family.”

“We must wait until the handler finds you.
Your handler won’t know it either until the bond is created. Most
likely, you haven’t met them yet. Whoever it is, they’re not in
your life right now. I’m sorry,” Konstantin said.

I stared at the surface of the table,
examining the irregular, circular lines in the natural wood. I was
too close to losing it to look anywhere else. I was stuck here. I
was alone. I didn’t know any of these people. I was living in a
poorly scripted science fiction B movie.

“How do you know I’m safe here? If I don’t
have a handler, can’t they find me anyways?” I asked.

“We have several gifted people here,
including blockers. They block outside interest in us from the
locals, for one thing. Most importantly for you, they can block
them from tracking us. They make this place a fortress.”

That was it. I hit the point of information
overload. “I’m done. I need to be alone.” I got up from the table
and returned to the guest room.

I jumped into the unfamiliar bed, jeans and
all. Finally, much later than normal, it got dark outside and I
fell asleep.

I woke up early the next morning to the
bright Alaska sun. I noticed for the first time thick black
curtains could be drawn over the window to block the near constant
offending summer daylight. It was only 4:30 A.M. Would have been
nice if I’d noticed the darn curtains the night before.

I took my time getting ready for the day,
carefully choosing a pair of jeans and nice shirt to wear. I spent
extra time to blow dry my hair and apply what little makeup I had
packed in the rush to leave Kansas.

I didn’t care about my appearance today more
than any other day. I was putting off the inevitable, facing the
world downstairs and outside the cabin doors. Reality had become
too strange for my liking.

Carmen was curled up on the couch downstairs,
sipping of cup of coffee. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“No, not at all. The very bright light woke
me. What are you doing up?”

“My sensitivities make it hard for me to
sleep when there is so much pain nearby.”

“Wow. I’m not that pathetic, am I?”

She smiled at me. “Most certainly not. You’ve
been through so much these past few days. There’s some coffee in
the kitchen. We have a variety of foods. Help yourself. This is
your home for now. You may come and go as you please. Please be
careful if you decide to go hiking. It’s very easy to get lost and
it’s grizzly bear mating season. They’re not so friendly to
hikers.”

I poured a large cup of coffee and then sat
down on a poufy loveseat in the living room. “Thanks. You’ve been
very kind. I’m sorry I haven’t said it before. I’m just still in
shock, I guess.”

“It’s a lot to take in. Hopefully when you
meet the others, it will help you feel more at home. Konstantin
wants to show you around, maybe meet some locals. I’ll pick up a
cell phone for you today so you can keep in touch with your
family.” She smiled into her cup. “You could call that young man
you always think about.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Why?” she asked. “Is there something I can
do to help?”

“No.” I took a sip of my coffee while I
gathered my thoughts. “He saw me save the little girl. I hadn’t
discussed my ability with him before. I’m certain he never wants to
see me again, after all the trouble I caused him.”