Omniscient Leaps (10 page)

In the hall everyone was staring at me. I felt my face flush every time someone stopped to stare. “Someone likes it rough,” Hailey snorted as she closed the distance between us. “Or does your daddy mishandle you when mommy’s not home?”

“Her dad died when she was three!” Reyna snapped harshly, shoving Hailey out of the way. “Now back off!” Hailey was shocked, as was everyone else standing in the hall. “What are you looking at people? Get back to your classes!”

“Thanks Rey,” I said, grabbing her hand. Jer had taken off to meet up with some of our mutual friends. They were glancing in my direction so he was obviously discussing the markings on my neck.

Reyna dragged me into the bathroom. She checked all the stalls to make sure we were alone. Then she barricaded the door. “Now spill! I don’t know what’s going on with this new religious cult you joined. I’ve tried to give you your space, but this is unacceptable. Who did this to you?”

“Young Life is not a religious cult,” I snapped back. “My friends would never hurt me, which is more than I can say for the people you hang out with! They make snide remarks behind my back at every opportunity. I can’t believe I ever even considered them friends.”

Reyna’s face softened. “I know Hailey can be cruel but—”

“But nothing. Those people were never really my friends. They only acted like it for your sake. She didn’t even know about my dad, really?” She bit the inside of her cheek because she knew I was right. “I’m fine with it. I just don’t need you giving me any slack about my new friends. And as for my neck, well, I didn’t want to worry anyone. I got caught in an alley last night on my way out of the library and someone attacked me.”
That sounded realistic and she knew I loved going to the library. Besides, it wasn’t a complete lie, I was attacked. God surely didn’t approve of lying. Until I figured out how to cover my tracks while doing His work I’d have to pray He’d forgive me.

“Oh my,” Reyna cried. She immediately pulled me in for a hug. “Did they catch the guy?”

“No. But I kneed him in the groin hard enough to merit a trip to the Emergency Room. Seriously. I’m fine.”

“You’re like a sister to me, Kara, and I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.” She stepped back and stared at me. I began to feel like she was checking for holes in my story. “If you’re happy with your new friends then I am happy for you. Sorry for giving you a hard time.”

“No problem,” I said, stepping towards the door.

As the door swung open, the third and unwelcome flash of the day, rushed over me. I couldn’t believe I had taken my time off for granted. This was arduous.

With my feet planted at the far edge of Gage’s property, I searched for the walkie-talkie and hoped it was still functioning. If Fred Parton caught me on his property there was no telling what he would do to me.

“Why are you doing this? I don’t understand why you won’t just let me take the kids and leave. You’re miserable.” The connection was fraught with static, but it was still easy to recognize Lilly’s voice.

“Just tell me who she is!” Fred shouted. “I’m miserable because you want to leave. If you give me her name and address I will forget everything. We will just stay together like none of this ever happened.” There was a long pause on the line. “I am in some serious trouble at the station and if they find her first I could lose my job. Is that what you want?”

“What are you going to do to her, Fred?” Lilly whimpered.

“What do you think, woman? I am going to take care of the problem before it ruins our lives.”

“I don’t know her name or where she lives. She just appeared to me.”

I heard a loud smack and I prayed the boys were nowhere in sight when that happened. Gosh, I never realized how good I had it living with just my mom. Things weren’t as tough as I had once thought, not by a long shot. If Fred got his hands on me I was sure it would be a fatal encounter. I needed to speak to Luke. I had no idea how I was going to resolve this hazardous situation unfolding around me seeing how I was now at the center of attention.

The flash came before I could give it another thought. I stumbled into the hall feeling like I hadn’t slept in weeks. My throat burned and I felt weak. Reyna grabbed my arm.

“You look like you need to go home,” she whispered as she steadied me. I nodded gratefully. “Let me get my stuff and I will drive you. I don’t think you should get behind the wheel today.”

The drive home was comforting. I listened to Reyna fill me in on the recent gossip. Her voice was in constant motion. I didn’t fully listen to what she was saying, but the sound of her voice was hypnotic. I allowed myself to let go of all my worries while she was pouring out the details of her life. Considering I hadn’t seen much of her during or outside of school, there was a lot of catching up to do.

“Now you get inside, eat some dinner and go to bed,” Reyna insisted. “And your mom is going to flip if she sees your neck, so you better do something about it.” I nodded. “It’s already fading. Maybe it will be gone by morning and you won’t have to explain a thing.”

“Mom’s working late tonight. That shouldn’t be a problem. Thanks Rey!” I ran up to the door, unlocked it and dodged inside.

“Food, water, and sleep. That’s all I want,” I mumbled to myself as I stumbled into the kitchen.

I stood by the counter and spoon-fed myself some leftovers as soon as they came out of the microwave. I was too lazy to carry my plate over to the table, so I propped myself against the corner area of the counter top. Dinner was over within five minutes. I downed two glasses of water and slowly dragged myself in the direction of my bedroom. Sleep sounded heavenly tonight.

I slipped into my pajamas and reached for the light switch. Instead of diminishing, the light got brighter. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but then I realized what was happening. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I closed my eyes and prayed for it to end soon.

After relinquishing control to God, I opened my eyes to find myself lying in the grass in front of the beautiful church, Luke’s place of residence. My sobs started slowly but as soon as he appeared I couldn’t contain myself. I didn’t care if he wanted to keep his distance, I couldn’t. I ran into his arms full force and clung to him. He held me without reservation.

When I was ready, I released my grip and pulled away. “Sorry… rough day. This would be flash number four and after several weeks without—”

Luke didn’t let me finished. He ran his fingers along my neck, examining the bruising with his eyes blazing. “Who did this to you?” His unsteady voice surprised me and I wanted to believe his concern was beyond what he felt for his other charges.

“Gage’s dad,” I began. He touched my neck lightly once again and I forgot what I was saying. My head began to spin as my feelings for him rushed to the surface. “Um. Yeah. Well… I thought I left my physical form when I traveled, but obviously not, right?”

“You do leave your physical form. Your spiritual form, the form that belongs to God, travels. It takes on a physical-like form when it needs to, but it’s definitely not all of you.”

“That’s reassuring,” I laughed. Luke wasn’t amused. He appeared frightened and I wanted to know what he was thinking. “What’s the matter?”

“I guess he hurt you enough to make your spiritual pain surface in your physical body.” He paused to brush my neck again. He was exceedingly anxious. “I don’t like this. I don’t want you confronting this man ever again. Do you understand me?”

“Luke,” I protested. “It’s not like I can just sit it out when God sends me off to do something.”

“Oh yes you can!” Luke shouted. We both gasped. The fierce intensity that had powered his words was shocking. He kicked a nearby tree and lowered his head into his hands.

“Do you want to go into the church? You always seem so at ease when you are in there.”

Luke shook his head. “I can’t go in there like this. I haven’t felt emotions like this in years…maybe ever. Entering God’s presence like this would be shameful.”

“Luke?” I stepped forward and grabbed his hands. “I think you are allowed to express a little bit of anger every fifty or sixty years. Don’t you?”

I saw a flicker of a smirk encroach upon his face and then it was gone. “I don’t like that you are in danger and I dislike even more the fact that there is nothing I can do to protect you.”

“It’s not like your leapers haven’t experienced danger before, right? I’m sure I’m not the exception.” I was pretty confident in my assumption. I might have been inexperienced, but if God thought I could handle it then I was certain some of the other leapers had delved in much more serious agendas.

“This is different,” he said, pulling away from me. He yanked his blond hair in frustration. For a moment I wished I were the one running my fingers through his tousled locks to calm him.
Focus Kara.

“I know I am new at this, Luke, but have a little faith in me.”

His head whipped around and his eyes pierced mine. I stumbled backwards slightly while I held his gaze. For a split second I thought I knew what he was trying to tell me, what I hoped he was feeling. Then he looked away.

“This isn’t a question of faith, it is a matter of security,” he began. “You are new at this and you are way out of your comfort zone. You young people think you can change the world, that you’re invincible. You have to be more careful. You have to complete your task in the most delicate and subtle way possible. No more bold moves Kara, I mean it.”

His rant knocked all hope I had out the window.
What was I thinking? He thinks of me as a child, a helpless child.
“I will come up with a plan of action Luke, one that will keep me out of the spotlight. But just so you know, I wasn’t trying to be bold. I was doing what I thought was right at the time.” I spoke my last comment in harsh tones to get my point across. He definitely understood and even appeared wounded.

“Thank you,” he said graciously. I almost felt bad for being so insolent. “You probably need your sleep and I have a lot to think about.”

“Right,” I replied. Suddenly I didn’t want to go, but I had no choice. He was practically insisting that I leave. “So will I just—”

After being interrupted once again, I wondered if I’d ever fully understand how the flashes worked. Somehow God knew when we were finished and He zapped me back to my bedroom. I stood still, letting the ache of the day settle in upon me. My mind was silent for once. The concerns of the day no longer mattered as I laid my head upon my pillow. As much as I wanted to see him again in my dreams, Luke had business to attend to. My head understood that, but my heart, well that was another misfortune all together. I wanted what I couldn’t have and nothing would make me feel better about that.

“So I hear several guys in the group want to ask you to the prom,” Jenna announced merrily as we headed to her house after school the following day.

The soda I was currently nursing bubbled up into my nose. “What?”

“Yeah, I thought that would get your attention. You have been zoning since we left the building,” Jenna snorted. “The dance is only two weeks away. Have you selected a dress?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it to be honest with you,” I admitted. “The research I did on the Victorian era was supposed to get me in the mood, but I never pursued the issue further. Maybe I never intended on going.”

Jenna stopped sharply beside her front door. “Oh, you are going! My mom actually got me two dresses.
She
couldn’t decide. Can you believe that? She’s going to chaperone and her enthusiasm crossed my threshold of tolerance weeks ago. Anyway, you can wear one of my dresses.” She swung the door open and pulled me inside.

“Are there lots of people going without dates?” I probed. I was really too depressed to think about going to a dance with someone I wasn’t even interested in. Then of course, the one person I’d want to go with me would fit in perfectly, besides the fact that he was over one hundred years older than everyone and he didn’t like me
that
way.
Ugg!

“You’re going to have a date. I already told you there are several boys interested. Even I have a date and I haven’t dated anyone in years.” Jenna opened the door to her bedroom and I followed her inside. I didn’t want to disappoint her, but she needed to know where I stood.

“If someone from Young Life group asks me, I’m going to have to say no… I just don’t like any of them romantically.”

“Kara, you can still go and have fun,” Jenna replied with an eyebrow raised. “Just explain that you want to go as friends. That way you can dance with other guys too if you want to.”

“There’s no one at our school that I want to dance with,” I said firmly. Jenna pulled two dresses from her closet and stared at me with sad eyes. My obvious attempt to make this entire undertaking difficult for her was clearly taking its toll on her. “But I will have a great time playing the field.”

“That’s the spirit.” She giggled and threw me a dress.

It took twenty minutes to get dressed, more time than it usually took me to get ready in the morning. The corset was slimming, I’d give credit where it was due, but I felt like I could barely breathe. With its puffy sleeves, cinching waist and ruffles that trailed from my waist to the floor, I barely recognized myself. My red hair stood in stark contrast against the green hues of the dress and I found myself wondering what Luke would think if he saw me now.

Jenna stepped forward to examine me, most likely to butter me up with accolades, and was cut short.  Before she had the chance to say a word, I flashed out. I found myself standing in the grass outside the church with Luke just a few feet away talking to a beautiful Asian woman. My heart sank as I pondered the pair standing before me. Certain she was one of his other leapers, I observed her from afar. Her face told a tale of strength, maturity and a life well lived in the adult world. Next to her, I was a child.

Luke most likely concealed his feelings for these other woman in my presence because I was too young to understand. How could he not care for this one? She was stunning. The jealousy pulsed through my blood until I realized where I was and whose work I was doing. Why did I flash here like this? I really didn’t have anything to say to him after our conversation the night before.