See How She Runs (21 page)

“Right, well, while you are at that, I am
going to go lie down for a while. Those visions always wipe me
out," I said, only half lying. I was exhausted, but mostly I wanted
to be alone so that I could figure out what to do.

I closed my door and locked it before moving
to my escape bag and dumping it out. I went through all of the
contents, making sure I reloaded everything I would need for the
next few days. I knew in my heart that if I stayed, Xavier would
kill both Kennan and Ian. But if I fled, and made my way to the
Council, well, then maybe they would be safe. I could not bear the
thought of something happening to either of the men that had come
to mean so much to me. Ian, the brother I never knew I was missing
out on and Kennan, the man I loved. I thought about my plan and
knew that it was risky. I also knew that it was quite possibly
dumbest thing I would ever do.

I quickly repacked my bag, making sure I had
enough sustenance for several days in the backcountry. I packed
several sets of clothing, and made sure I had all of the maps from
the house detailing my hiking routes. I would not be caught out
there due to another stupid mistake. Oh, let me just leave this map
showing my exact location. Nope, for once I was doing something
smart. I looked at the bag and then back at the door.

I heard Kennan come in and knew that I would
have to do my best to hide my intentions. It would be a miracle if
he did not figure it out. He always could read me like a book.

I walked back out into the living room,
trying my best to act casual. I tried to avoid eye contact with
Kennan as much as possible. I looked toward Ian and tried for a
subject that didn’t scream, "I am planning on running away
tonight."

“So, did you convince them to go and give
their bridge a look?" I asked.

“Yep, I am completely believable in my role
as a civil servant. They said they would have somebody head out and
give it a look," Ian puffed his chest out like he had done
something exceptionally grand.

“Good work, if I had a dog biscuit I would
give it to you," I said with a smirk.

Ian just pushed me in the arm and I hurtled
into Kennan who was looking down at me. I did my best to look away
but Kennan pulled me into his chest, hugging me close.

“I will make sure nothing happens to you, do
you understand me? I will keep you safe. No matter what," he said
fiercely. It was that last statement that I could not bear the
thought of. I had already lost everyone else that I had ever loved.
I was not going to lose Kennan. I hugged him closer, lingering in
the safety of his arms as long as I could. Soon I would be on my
own.

We spent the rest of the evening normally.
We ate dinner and I feigned exhaustion and headed to my room. I
could not look at either of them any longer or I would probably
spill my guts and ruin my plan. As I made my way to my room, Kennan
intercepted me as he had done every night for the past few weeks. I
looked up at him, waiting for our nightly ritual of a kiss that
lasted just a second too long.

“Are you okay, Izzy? You seem off tonight,"
Kennan asked, trying to pry my secret from me.

“Yeah, I am fine. I am just really tired.
Visions will do that to me," I said. I hated myself for lying to
him. But better I lie than he die.

Hey, that was kind of lyrical.

“Well, Ian and I are going to head out. We
should be back by midnight. The wards are up so you should be safe
here," he said before pulling me against him in another hug. He
leaned back and kissed my forehead before moving to my face. This
time his kiss landed just on the edge of my lips. If I turned my
face a fraction of an inch, we would finally kiss. I could have
finally fulfilled my desires of the past four torturous weeks.

I looked up at him and said good night. I
wished he could read the good bye written in my eyes and I prayed
that he would forgive me. I knew I would see him again, I just
hoped he would be happy to see me whenever it happened. I moved
through my door effectively cutting myself off from the two
men.

**********

TWENTY

I set about quietly preparing myself to
leave that night. When I finally heard the guys leave I got up and
began to ward myself. Kennan and I had spent weeks practicing
different wards and I used the three most powerful ones he had
taught me. I cut myself off from the visions. I cut myself off from
the dreaming. I cut myself off from the Guardians. I felt lighter
without all of the ties binding me, but I also felt bereft without
them. I waited another hour before gathering my things and leaving
a note. I could not leave them thinking I had been taken. So I told
them where I was going. I told them I was going over to Bremerton,
where Mike had been stationed in the Navy. Then I would head to the
Council.

I got out my map and plotted my points,
afraid to use any lights this close to the cabin. I was glad that
Kennan had made me hike each of the treks so many times. I felt as
though I could do them blind by this point. I looked at my map one
more time in the dim light of the cabin, and then stowed it and
headed out. I must have hiked for about three hours before I heard
a bellow ring out in the forest.

I heard Kennan’s yell, a feral cry. It
echoed through the forest, promising to rain destruction down on
anything between him and his objective. I stopped moving and made
myself as small as I could. I was scared to even breathe for fear
of being discovered. I stayed like that, hidden inside a rotted out
tree for what felt like an eternity. I finally heard Kennan begin
to move away, shouting my name. I had not been discovered. I got up
and moved soundlessly through the trees.

I had to make it to the river soon. I moved
with sluggish steps, the adrenaline from my flight suddenly worn
off. I finally heard the trickle of the river in the distance, and
thanked God for getting me there safely. I did not want to risk
building a fire so I set up my mat and went to sleep almost
immediately. It felt strange to be so disconnected from everything.
All of my dreams were swept away and I was left with a nothingness.
I was a void which begged to be filled once more. I allowed that
void to cradle me until morning. I found solace in its
emptiness.

I was startled from my sleep by a sound
nearby. I was sure that I had been discovered, but upon further
inspection I found it was only a couple of elk at the river getting
a drink. I looked back toward the forest and saw several more
lingering in the brush. They were all eyeing me warily. Like I
would do anything to the lot of them, seriously. They were huge
beasts compared to me. I watched them for a long time as they drank
up the river and grazed on the grass and underbrush. I was starting
to get a cramp from lying in my current position, so I moved. I
must have startled them, because a moment later I was alone once
more.

I stood up and stretched thinking back to
the first time I spent the night here. I looked back to where
Kennan’s bag would have been. A lump formed in my throat and tears
threatened to fall.

“You are doing this for him. Xavier said he
would kill him. Well, pretty much, so buck up," I scolded
myself.

I set about getting breakfast and looked
around to make sure I had not been followed. I knew that I had two
options. I could either wait it out here for another night to throw
everyone off of my trail, or I could hike out tonight and haul tail
to Bremerton. Thank God Mike wanted to be back at his old Navy
stomping grounds, because Bremerton was just a few hours away from
where I was.

I sat down and weighed my options, wondering
what Kennan and Ian would have done in my position. I decided to
stick it out for another night. I knew there was a very real chance
they had been caught or had hauled butt out of there in search of
me. If that was the case, they would probably be waiting at the
last escape exit today.

I spent the day going through a lot of the
different forms Ian had taught me. I took a run through the woods,
but ran back when I spotted the elk again. I did not want to
disturb them. Mostly, I did not want them to think I was some lady
elk and try to mate with me. I knew the odds were slim, but it must
have happened to at least one person. I got back to my stuff and
took a quick bath in the freezing water. Afterwards, I built a fire
and waited for darkness to come. I was grateful the constant rain
had held off thus far, but from the looks of the sky, my luck would
not hold out for much longer.

By the time night fell, the rain had started
to fall again. I looked up at the sky, wondering why God could not
have held it off for a little bit longer. Ultimately, I knew that
the rain would cover any tracks I might have left. I just sucked it
up and burrowed into my sleeping gear. I was pretty sure at the
rate I was shivering my bag would work its way off while I slept. I
was surprised to wake the next morning still safely encased.

I got up once again and steeled myself for
the hike out. I plotted the points to make sure I hadn't missed any
of the pitfalls I had come across during my last few hikes. I
packed all of my stuff up and stretched out my tired muscles. I
looked back at the clearing longingly and wished I could just hide
out here and let the world pass by. Then I remembered that all I
had left to eat was a power bar and some granola. My stomach won
out. I did not have the fish catching skills of one Kennan
O’Malley.

I sighed, a piece of me missing now that he
was not with me. I had come to depend on him so much in the past
few years and even more in the past month. I could not get the
thought of his eyes out of my mind. I missed his smile. It had the
power to transform me into a puddle of goo. I missed him and I
promised myself if I made it through this I would tell him how I
really felt. No more holding back.

Granted, if I did make it through this, he
was probably going to want to throttle me. So maybe I would have to
feel the room first to see where I stood. It would be my luck to
show up, spill my guts, and then get yelled at. That would kind of
ruin the mood.

I trudged on, thinking of nonsense. I won’t
lie, I spent a good amount of time fantasizing about Kennan. God, I
wanted that man. Not just physically, but in everything. I was kind
of ashamed. I had spent so long being opposed to relationships, and
really having no interest in them, and then all of a sudden there
he was. It was like I finally opened my eyes and saw what was right
in front of me.

My foot slipped, pulling me from my reverie,
and I started to slide down the hill I was trying to trek up. The
rocks came loose under my feet as the rain began falling more
heavily. I slid all the way to the bottom of the hill, now covered
in mud. I checked all of my joints to make sure I was still in
working order. Yep, nothing but my pride was busted. I scrambled up
the hill once more, this time crawling halfway. Once I got to the
top, I stopped and got a drink.

I looked around, and noticed someone further
up the trail from me. I hid off of the trail in some of the denser
foliage and waited for the hikers to pass. I did not trust that
they were out here just enjoying a hike. No matter what they looked
like. At this point, the only people I trusted were Mike, Ian, and
Kennan. I waited with bated breath for them to pass. It was a man
and a woman and they looked completely ordinary.

Except the woman stopped and looked directly
at my hiding place for a moment. I started to move but she shook
her head. It would have been unnoticeable had I not been paying
such close attention. She turned away immediately with the man and
kept hiking down the way I had come up. I heard her talk to him in
hushed tones.

“I saw her camping by the river. That is all
I could see. She has us blocked really well. Even Seers can’t get
through her walls right now," the girl said helplessly.

I heard the slap of skin on skin and I
wanted to run to the girl and defend her. She was younger than me.
Yet, she lied to whoever this was so that I could escape. I looked
down toward the bottom of the hill where they had stopped. She once
more looked in my direction with a ferocity I have never known.

This girl held a strength I could only dream
of. I hoped that someday I would be able to find her. I could not
bear the thought of abandoning her after she had just saved my
hide.

“Molly, I swear to the gods, if you are
lying to me I will make you pay. Don’t think I won’t do it. I don’t
care how talented you are," the man growled.

“I can only tell you what I have seen. I
would not dare invent stories sir," she said with a hint of
defiance in her voice.

So the man with her was with the
Corporation. By the sounds of it, he was a Guardian as well. I
watched them for a moment longer before the tiny blonde gave me a
pointed look as if to say, “Run you moron!" I nodded in her
direction, and tried to communicate with my eyes that I would not
forget her.

I scrambled out of hiding after they were
out of sight and ran for it. I did not know how long I would have
before they headed back this way. I did not want Molly to be found
out either. If they caught me they would know that she lied. I made
a mental note to find her again and help her escape somehow.

I was winded by the time I reached the car.
I checked the parking lot several times before getting in the car
to make sure no one was watching me. I got in and hit the 101 in
the hopes of finding Mike. I knew there was a restaurant he always
talked about frequenting up near Bremerton. It was some little hole
in the wall diner. That would be my first stop. I needed to gain
sustenance for myself and to try and find him. Then we were going
to high tail it to the Council and figure out what to do next.