Omniscient Leaps (17 page)

“It’s Fred. He’s doing something to my body. He wants me to wake up.”

“You need to wake up, Kara,” Luke insisted frantically. “It’s the only way you can flash out. You need to get away from him.”

“I’m scared, Luke,” I finally admitted. “I’m scared of the pain, of dying, and of leaving you.” My sobs were irrepressible.

He pressed his cheek against mine and I felt a fleeting moment of security. “You’ll be okay, I promise. The pain will pass. Just be brave. I have faith in you. You’re very bold when you have reason to be.”

I turned my head quickly so my lips joined with his. It was a devious move and I didn’t regret it. If I never saw him again I had at least left him with something to remember me by. The soft warm flair of my two seconds of bliss was enough. “I love you, Luke,” I whispered softly before I disappeared from the peaceful calm that was my happy place. I braced myself as I headed for the unpleasant company that awaited me upon waking.

I censored the sounds that wanted to escape. There was no way I was giving him the satisfaction of knowing how much he had hurt me. I glanced down at my arm and noticed several large burn marks sizzling. The smell nauseated me instantly and I had to swallow the bile rising in my throat.

“I didn’t expect it would take you so long to respond to such an agonizing stimuli. All I have to do is threaten Gage and he responds immediately,” Fred guffawed.

“You burn your own son like this?” I was completely repulsed. More than that, I felt a sad ache for the boy I had spent weeks loathing.

“I said all I have to do is threaten,” he corrected me. “One time was enough.”

“You’re cruel beyond words and I can’t believe the people in this town haven’t seen through your façade. What even made you this way? Lily is such a lovely person and I can’t believe she—”

He smacked me with the back of his hand before I could finish what I was saying. “Don’t you ever mention my wife again. It’s your fault she didn’t get to take the easy way out of our relationship. She could have safely been rotting away in jail, but you just had to go and ruin everything.”

“Why can’t you just let her go?”

“No one leaves me,” he barked. He turned around to fiddle with something and when he couldn’t get it to work he threw it on the ground and began to mash it. “My parents abandoned me when I was a child. I was told they didn’t have the funds to support me and they wanted me to have a better life. Now look how I turned out. Wouldn’t they be impressed?”

I laughed. “You want me to feel sorry for you. Ha! I don’t know what kind of family you ended up with, but they obviously didn’t teach you right from wrong. Maybe if you turned yourself into your colleagues and begged God for mercy, you could still amount to something.”

“And pray every night like my pathetic son, Gage,” he replied mockingly. “Thanks but no.”

He grabbed the container of gasoline fuel and huffed as he exited the cabin. His words with me were clearly over and he was ready to move on to the next phase of his plan.
Flashing anytime here would be great
. Nothing happened.

Besides a soft rustling in the leaves outside, I heard a phone ring. Fred cursed and then swung open the door. He grabbed a bag filled with something and headed for the woods. Gage and Gail should have gotten to the authorities by now. If I could just make it until they showed up I would be fine.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he snorted as looked back at me. “On second thought.”

Before I could react, he whacked me hard with his bag. I was out cold and drifting back to dreamland. I was back at my happy place and Luke was waiting for me. If he hadn’t been there to help me take on the burden of emotions this crisis was causing me, I didn’t think I could face my place of solitude ever again.

“Did I tell you I picked a college?” I announced once he got over the shock of my return. “What are you still doing here anyway?”

“Thinking. What about you?” Luke paused to take notice of the fresh burn marks appearing on my arms and the new welt across my face. His face fell. “You still haven’t flashed?”

“No. Why do you suppose that is?”

“God’s not finished with something. I just wish you didn’t have to get hurt in the process of it all.” He moved towards me and touched my face. It was the first time I ever flinched when his hand made contact with my skin. The pain was excruciating. “You’re going to be stuck home for a week waiting for this to heal. It’s almost as if you leapt with your whole body.”

“Is that even possible?” I asked.

“When you throw something into the mix that is not supposed to be there anything is possible,” he began. I cocked my head to the side and stared at him in confusion. “Your headache medicine for instance.”

“Oh, right.” I touched my face and cowered. “I might have to tell my mom the truth if there are lingering battle scars.” I gave him a half smile and he immediately perked up. “As long as I am better by Friday. I promised too many people that I’d attend that dance.”

Suddenly I had his full attention. His eyes had widened and he moved closer to me. “So you’re going with someone?” I wanted him to sound envious, but I decided that was probably beneath his character.

“As friends, Luke,” I replied. “No one can compare. Remember?”

His nostrils flared along with a brief lip twitching. “That was an underhanded move you pulled earlier, Kara. I expected you to try harder than that.” He crossed his arms and leaned against an adjacent tree as he waited for my response.

“I’m not one of the reserved aristocratic gals from yester year. I told you that. Besides, I thought there was a chance I might not see you again. I had to see what it was like.”

Luke’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “What it was like?”

“To kiss you. This is the underhanded move you were referring to, right?”

I stepped forward and met his heart pounded gaze head on. For a moment I thought he might return the gesture, but he quickly shifted his entire body to face the lake. My approach had clearly been considered.

“Did he knock you out? Is that how you ended up back here… because you don’t seem the least bit tired?” Luke had changed the subject and I snapped back to reality. My life was still in danger.

“He was sprinkling a trail of gasoline outside the hut and then he got a phone call. He said he had to go somewhere, but I think he plans to burn up the place with me inside. Do you think I should start to panic yet?”

Luke’s head whipped around briefly and met my gaze. Then he dropped his head and closed his eyes. I waited for him to speak but he didn’t. His breathing was slow and deep. If I hadn’t been so frightened by his silent reaction I would have kept quiet, but I couldn’t.

“Please Luke, what’s going on? I need your help. Did I mess up that bad. Is God punishing me?”

“He doesn’t punish, Kara. He might discipline, but He doesn’t punish the ones who love Him.” He exhaled loudly and met my eyes. “In the story of Daniel, in the Old Testament, God had the opportunity to take three of His devoted followers by fire, lead them from fire or take them through the fire. He took them through the fire…and let me just add that not one hair on their heads was harmed. That’s how strong their faith was and, even more, that’s how powerful God is. Of course that is only one of so many instances I can refer to. You are safe, believe me. Believe in Him.”

“Oh, Wow,” I replied, momentarily silenced as I wrapped my mind around the truths he’d just revealed. “So why were you sitting there so still when I’m so scared? I don’t understand.”

He reached for my hand as his eyes slowly opened. His voice was calm and soothing. “I was saying a prayer for you. Come sit with me.”

I felt silly at first. As much as I enjoyed Young Life, I hadn’t really prayed much on my own. There were fleeting prayers here and there, of course, but nothing habitual. With my hand in Luke’s, I allowed myself to release the tension I was feeling. I closed my eyes and listened to his voice.

“Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that you have Kara complete this mission and return her home to the safety of her life without any further harm done. We pray that you will help her stay strong during this terrifying experience and fill her with your calming presence. Amen.”

“That was beautiful,” I whispered.

“Concentrate, Kara. Try to wake up on your own this time. You’re nearly finished and then you should have a period of time to recover before you are asked to do anything else.”

“Thanks,” I said softly. I leaned forward and hugged him. It was an embrace filled with a genuine show of gratitude. He’d helped me through something I never could have managed on my own. “I wish you truly understood just how special you are.”

He didn’t pull away and I was grateful. I needed his comfort to be able to concentrate on my departure. I hoped it would be the last. It took several minutes, but I finally felt the tender ache of myself stirring. I opened my eyes to the sketchy cabin and a wide-eyed Gage staring back at me.

Thank you, God.

“I thought you were dead,” he sighed. “I’m glad to see my father hasn’t hurt you too badly. The other lady was a mess.”

“Did you get her help? Is someone coming?” My spirits were lifted before he even answered.

“Her husband is at the hospital with her, but he was making calls. I didn’t want to wait for his backup because I was too worried about you.”

His response was unreal. I couldn’t believe the compassion and bravery pouring out of someone so young. He should have been home playing video games and eating ice cream with his friends. This was no life for him and I finally knew why I was here. It wasn’t just for Lily, it was to save and preserve the sweet living soul growing inside of Gage. He didn’t deserve to live with any further abuse.

“I could just kiss you,” I announced. Gage’s face flushed red as he rushed over to untie me.

The moans and grunts that were escaping his mouth clued me in on just how tough my escape was going to be. “I did everything you asked me to, Kara. I turned those tapes into the chief. I hope he’s looking at them right now.”

I was immediately confused. “But your dad had my bag. He showed me the envelope.”

“I saw my dad watching me, but I knew he was on duty,” Gage explained. “The parade was chaotic and he didn’t see me run to the drugstore. I bought a new envelope and some blank tapes. I couldn’t believe he fell for it. Oh, and I had to borrow some of your money, sorry.”

“You are a smart little boy,” I chuckled. “I can’t even believe you planned ahead better than I did.”

“Thanks,” he chuckled. “These knots are really tight. I might need to cut them.”

Gage rummaged through the miscellaneous items lying around the cabin, but there was nothing sharp enough to cut my ropes. Then I had an idea. It was a painful idea, but I knew it would work.

“Your dad undid my ropes when he was burning my arms. I guess he re-tied them pretty tight. Maybe you could find a lighter and burn the rope.”

Gage was silent. The idea of fire evidently frightened him and who could blame him. Before we could discuss our other options the sound of a car moving along the rocky drive alarmed the both of us.

“You need to leave now, Gage,” I announced. “I’ll be fine trust me.”

“He’s going to do something really bad, I know it,” Gage cried frantically searching the cabin floor.

“You pray to God every night, remember?” He stopped to look up at me. His sad eyes acknowledged my comment. “Trust me. He is answering your prayers tonight and I’m going to be okay.”

“You promise,” he sniffed.

“Yes,” I said, giving him a wink and my bravest face. “Now go.”

He darted out of the open doorway and disappeared before the headlights rounded the corner. Fred got out of his car and moved slowly towards the cabin. I prepared myself for what he might do next. Surprisingly he just slammed the door shut and remained outside.

Moments later I heard several cars moving along the gravel drive. Someone had figured out exactly where he was hiding out and they were coming to stop him. I couldn’t imagine why I needed to remain for the arrest. My body relaxed as I waited to flash out, but it never happened. Fred dodged into the cabin unexpectedly at the last minute.

“Fred Parton, you need to get out here with your hands above your head. We know you have kidnapped a young girl among many other offenses.”

Fred wasn’t going to do as he was told, that’s why I was still here. He leaned towards the window, careful not to poke his head out into the spotlight. “I have a lighter and if you come any closer I am going to touch it to the trail of gasoline I have surrounded the cabin with. You know I’ll do it.”

“What good is that going to do?” the loud voice boomed. “It’s over, Fred. Just follow directions so we don’t have to shoot you.”

“I figure if I am going to go down I might as well go out in a blaze of glory and I’m taking this young one with me.” His evil laughter filled the cabin as he knelt down on the ground by the door and touched the flame to the ground.

A large fire ignited quickly. The cabin was surrounded. “Are you crazy?” I screamed. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. They’re never going to be able to save you now. You are going to burn alive.”

“And you’ll be coming with me,” he cackled.

The flames were ravenous and the heat they were exuding was unreal. “That’s where you’re wrong, Fred.” I felt my body begin to tingle. I was finally leaving and not a moment too soon. “If I were you, I’d beg God for forgiveness because from what I’ve heard hell is a lot worse that the pain you are about to endure.”

“What the—” He obviously noticed that I was fading.

The shouting elevated as the flames began to consume the cabin, I felt nothing. In no time I had vanished from the scene entirely. No one would know what had happened to me besides Fred. Although a part of me didn’t want him to be granted forgiveness, part of me felt like everyone deserved a last chance. I guess I’d always wonder what Fred chose to do in those last few seconds of life.

When my flash concluded, I was not in my bedroom like I assumed I would be. I always returned to the exact moment I left. Did I have more to do? The forest floor was damp and by the position of the sun near the horizon I figured it was early morning. Now to determine just
when
I was.