At some point, I must have drifted into a dreamless sleep. For that, I’m thankful, because I was exhausted. I awake to Chris shaking my shoulder.
“Calli, wake up.”
My eyes try to adjust to the darkness of the cave. The fires have nearly died out, but the faint light of dawn illuminates the waterfall at the front of the cave. I sit up, stretch my arms, and take Chris’s offered hand.
“What time is it?” I ask.
“Five-thirty. Can you come tell us if the Demons are gone yet?”
Justin sits right near the edge of the cave opening and he moves out of my way as I stumble toward the entrance.
I don’t need to look. I can tell they are gone because the air smells peaceful. “They’re gone now. You can wake the others.”
Everyone is ready to go in less than two minutes. I remember I haven’t spoken to Chris yet about giving the diamond to Justin. I also haven’t noticed if the fake diamond has an odor like the real one. I don’t remember detecting a smell when we received the diamond from Mr. Bates—not like the scent of the real diamond anyway.
“Chris, will you come here for a second?”
He leaves the others and comes over to me. I focus on the diamond in his pocket. Even before he gets to me, the intriguing odor hits my nose-buds with an enthralling, invigorating, icy smell. I can’t determine if the odor is from the diamond or the metal box, but it doesn’t matter which. What matters is Justin needs to carry the package to attract the Hunters in his direction.
“Chris, the package has a scent. I can smell it, and if I can, I’m sure the Hunters can too. I think—”
“—Justin should carry the package,” he finishes for me.
I nod.
He hesitates a moment before he leaves me to give Justin the stone. Justin tries to refuse, but Chris’s lips tell him he’s responsible for the mess we are all in and he should man up and try to help us out.
Justin takes the small box and puts it in his pocket, zipping it shut. He scowls in my direction. Happy now, muck?
Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.
Justin leads his half of the group out of the cave and down the trail, backtracking a little before cutting off to the right and running into the dense forest.
The plan is that the rest of us will stay in the cave and wait for the Hunters to start following Justin’s group. They will run for twenty minutes and then turn back. Hopefully by then we’ll be coming up on the rear of the Hunters, and Justin’s group will be coming back to close them in. I hope the Hunters will simply give up and not try to fight. That would be the easiest way to resolve the problem.
Chris sits down next to me near the cave’s opening. We both make sure our bodies and heads are hidden as we keep our eyes peeled for the Hunters.
I ask, “Do you think they might explore the cave before following the scent on Justin?”
“I hope not.” The fear in his voice does not go unnoticed.
“I don’t think I should watch for them.” I begin to move away from the opening.
“What? Why not?”
“My mind-reading ability kicks in whether I want it to or not. If I accidentally go into one of their minds and they sense it, it might alert them to our presence. I’ll sit over here, and you can communicate with me through your mind.” I move over to the wall of the cave and sit down. “Can you tell me more about Justin?”
“What do you want to know?”
“He’s faster than you are, yet he lets you win? Why?”
“Going right for the big questions, huh?” he mutters, then answers with his thoughts. I’ve been the fastest for a while now, until recently when Justin challenged me to a private race. Before that happened, I discovered he’d been associating with the Death Clan. When he beat me in the race, I threatened to expose him, but he begged me not to. So I ordered him to tell everyone I won. He did.
“Why is it so important to be the fastest?” I know Chris isn’t telling me everything, but I decide not to press the issue.
He speaks his answer this time. “At my age, once I fall behind, I become washed up. I’m the oldest of the group.”
“So, at what point do you accept others are faster than you?”
“When I’m ready to move on, or someone decides to make a scene.”
“What will you move on to?”
“Well, there are things I want to do. I’d like to settle down somewhere and get a job. Eventually I’d like to get married and have a family.” He looks at me.
I don’t want to hurt his feelings. I can’t even wrap my mind around his emotions. How do I begin to tell him his vision of us won’t come true? “Chris, I’m only sixteen and—”
“Who said anything about marrying you?” He smiles and turns his head away, then tenses. His mind hits me with, There they are.
I turn to the group of Runners huddled in the far corner of the cave and put my finger to my lips. They are already quiet, but this is the signal the Hunters are near. I focus back on Chris, and he opens his mind to me.
I find that by looking into his head I can see the present as it unfolds through his eyes. Incredible! I see our pursuers walking around the spot where Justin took his group into the forest, looking for footprints and sniffing the air. One Hunter has a long rifle with a scope over his shoulder and enough ammunition around his belt to take down a pack of wolves. The other Hunter holds a handgun at the ready.
The two Runner slaves are recognizable due to their typical body structure and good looks. One looks like a lean, muscular Viking, the other looks like an African marathon runner. The two Hunters, on the other hand, look like they haven’t shaved . . . ever . . . or taken a bath. I can smell their putrid aroma. They both have a lot of what looks like dried mud in their overgrown beards. Gross. Bushy mustaches cover their mouths, and large, protruding noses identify them—as if the other physical attributes didn’t—as Hunters.
One of the Hunters must have picked up on our scent because he looks up toward the cave. He takes a step toward us, then another. He sniffs the air and takes yet another step.
The other Hunter calls him, “What is it, Lachlan?”
Lachlan smells the air again. “The scent is stronger this way.” He points in our direction.
As I watch the Hunter through Chris’s eyes my lungs seem to freeze with fear. I can’t breathe.
Lachlan inhales our scent again.
“Come on,” the other Hunter says, motioning with his hand. “They’ve already gone.”
Lachlan turns away and takes a step in the other direction, then stops abruptly. He peers over his shoulder in the direction of the cave for a moment before he grabs the hand of the Viking Runner and disappears into the trees.
Chris and I exhale simultaneously.
“That was close!” I say.
“Too close.”
“Chris, I experienced the whole scene through your eyes. You didn’t even need to tell me what was going on, but I didn’t know how to tell you without making a sound.”
Chris stares at me in amazement, then turns and motions for the others to come over. “Let’s go,” he says. “Stick with the plan. Lizbeth and Tyler, you two are the contingencies.”
They nod.
I catch Chris’s attention. “What’s a contingency?”
With his mind, he tells me, If anything happens to either Justin or me, Lizbeth and/or Tyler are to take our places and deliver the package.
“What about me?”
You’ll be kept safe if a battle breaks out. You’re too valuable. Let’s go.
“But the three of us have to be together for the delivery to be successful.”
“Hey, I don’t plan on dying today.” He takes my hand, and we lead the others out of the cave.
I consider the fact that no one ever plans on dying. It just happens. But then I realize that isn’t entirely true either.
I immediately pick up on the Hunter’s scent, and we begin our pursuit. As we run through the trees and thick underbrush, I feel the warmth emanating from Chris’s hand. I’m tempted to try to view his future or extract more from his memories about what he saw in the vision about me, but I hold back. We need to get through the present situation first.
We run for about five minutes until the scent of the Hunters intensifies, letting us know they are close by. I detect movement up ahead in the trees, and put my hand up to warn my group to slow down. A loud pop of gunfire causes a flock of birds near us to scatter and our team to hit the ground.
I crawl a couple of feet to get a better vantage point of the gully we’ve entered. Justin’s group is positioned on the south slope, each Runner stands perfectly straight behind one of the narrow tree trunks in an effort to avoid being hit with a bullet. Which means the Hunters are somewhere to the north. I can’t locate them. The bigger question is whether or not the Hunters have figured out we are pursuing them.
Another shot splits the air. An agonizing scream from one of the female teammates lets us know someone has been hit.
I cast a concerned glance at Chris and whisper, “Come on, let’s go.”
“No, you stay here. Tyler, Jonas, Yang, and I will take care of this. We’ll double back, circle around, and try to come up behind them.”
“No! They may discover you coming and turn on you. The wind is working against you. They’ll smell you coming.”
“We’ll run faster than our scent travels. Besides, Hunters don’t have eyes in the back of their heads.” He winks and takes off with the three other boys and speeds down the trail the way we’ve come.
I watch helplessly as more shots ring out in the woods. Another yelp of pain hits my ears, this time from a boy. I need to get closer to the Hunters. I have a bad hunch about how this could all turn out. If only I can get some information from them before the situation turns sour. I start to crawl north.
“Stay here,” Lizbeth says. She has a hand on my ankle.
“I have to try to read their minds,” I say. “I won’t get too close.”
Surprisingly, she lets go.
I crawl forward, staying in the bushes as much as possible, until I find a clear view. I try looking into the mind of the Hunter closest to me. Nothing. I try for the other one. Nothing. I try for the Runner’s mind, who looks to be African, and enter immediately.
On the immediate edge of his mind I sense fear and entrapment. His name is Azeel, and he’s originally from Nigeria. His family had moved to New York right before his running ability surfaced. The day his power emerged, four men arrived to take him away. The highly emotional moment viewed through Azeel’s memories humbles me. I witness the death threats, the pleading, and the tears as he is ushered away and forced to be a slave. Definitely a stark contrast to what I experienced when my pseudo-running powers emerged. The Hunters control his rebellion with the threat his family will be hurt if he doesn’t obey. His memories fill my mind, showing a council meeting of several Hunters planning this particular hunt, planning to go after the Sanguine Diamond to harness its powers.
I pull out of his head and enter the mind of the other Runner. His thoughts tell me his name is Stefan and he’s from Sweden. His family was murdered by the Hunters when his power surfaced. He’d been taken captive as well, and forced to be their slave. He’s been beaten horribly for attempting escape. I experience the hatred in his heart for the Hunters, especially the ones right in front of him.
Another shot rings out, and chaos ensues.
Chris and his group assault the Hunters from behind. Chris leads the charge with a running punch to the back of a Hunter’s head, knocking him out and sending his rifle flying. One Hunter drops his handgun, but quickly retrieves a knife from his ankle. Chris effortlessly ducks and dodges the Hunter’s attempts to maim or harm. Jonas and Yang fight with the last Hunter, while Tyler joins Chris.
No one is aware Stefan has picked up the handgun, except me, because I experience it in his mind. I feel his intent to kill, and the exact moment his finger begins to squeeze the trigger of the gun.
The Hunter Chris and Tyler are fighting takes a bullet to the head and drops to the ground. The second Hunter that Jonas and Yang are fighting falls just as fast from a dead-on shot to the chest. Then, I become aware Stefan is raising the gun to his own temple.
“No! Stop him!” I yell too late. As the bullet enters his head, it seems to enter mine too.
* * *
I must have blacked out.
My senses begin to return to my body one by one, making me aware of how much pain is coursing through my head. I can’t open my eyes for some reason. In fact, I can’t move or speak. Panic begins to spread like wildfire through my body. I hear Chris’s anguished voice chastising Lizbeth.
“Why didn’t you protect her? Why did you let her get so close? How did she get shot?”
“I don’t think she was shot, Chris. She must have passed out and hit her head. She’s still breathing. ”
“She shouldn’t have been standing while all that gunfire was flying around.”
“She wasn’t. She was lying on the ground, looking through the brush. She yelled something and passed out. Just give her some time. She’ll come to.”
When I can finally open my eyes, I see Chris bent over me. His eyes reveal his worry. I reach up and grasp his hand.
“How are you?” he asks.
“Better. Help me sit up, please.”
He does so, and I look around at everyone. Some of their mind-blocking abilities need work because I can read their concern about blood dripping out of my ear. I touch my ear and my hand comes away with clotted blood, causing a flashback about the firecracker exploding in middle school and leaving me without my hearing.
However, I can hear just fine at the moment, so I put that fear aside.
Kayla and Ricky are sitting near me on the ground. They have both sustained injuries from the gunshots: Kayla in the calf and Ricky in the shoulder. Both have other teammates applying pressure to the bleeding wounds with their hands. I want so much for them to be whole again, for them to be healed. Their agony and pain pull at my heart, and I wish very much to help them.
Somewhere behind me, I hear Justin arguing with Chris about whether to return to the cave for safety or to try to make it to a town with injured Runners. My focus is still on Kayla and Ricky. I examine Kayla’s leg wound and instinctively reach out toward her. The heat of her wound radiates against my hand, and the lead in her flesh almost calls out to me. Chris and Justin hurry over after Kayla shrieks. Chris kneels down by us. Kayla grabs Chris’s arm and wraps her arm around his while I will the bullet out of her calf muscle with my thoughts. Astonishingly, the dull gray color of the lead becomes visible as it emerges from the wound and falls on the ground. The wound then silently closes.
The hushed amazement of the others tells me this kind of thing doesn’t usually happen. Kayla is still holding onto Chris, but he doesn’t seem to be aware. He’s distracted, watching me. His eyes are wide and his face beams with a different kind of amazement.
I turn to Ricky and reach forward, placing my hand on his shoulder. Again, I locate the hard piece of lead in his flesh. With Ricky, I’m able to sense broken bone fragments in his shoulder.
“Your shoulder is broken,” I tell him.
No one says anything as I work the bullet out of the wound. I place one hand on the back of his shoulder and the other on his collarbone and hold them firmly as the bone knits together under my fingers. I can feel his shoulder heating up between my hands.
“How does it feel?” I ask him.
“A bit like broken glass, except it’s hot and crackles a little.”
I continue working the flesh and bone between my hands.
“Is there any pain?”
“No. I feel great.”
“Good. I think you’re done now.”
I sit back and watch him test his shoulder. He rotates his arm all the way around, raising and lowering it.
“Thank you, Calli!” he says with a broad grin. “You’re better than our Healer.”
Why hadn’t it occurred to me I’d used the healing ability? Where’s Jonas? I have to find him. While searching the crowd, my eyes make contact with Chris’s eyes and I see the joy there. I can tell what he’s thinking without reading his mind: I’m a Healer. His vision will come true, and our lives will eventually intertwine. No time to deal with his grandiose misinformation. I look beyond him for Jonas.
“Who are you looking for?” Chris asks.
“The person I told you about last night.”
“Come with me, Calli.” Chris pulls his arm away from Kayla, takes my hand and leads me away from the group.
I keep trying to locate Jonas.
“Calli, look at me.” His stern tone catches my attention.
He puts his thoughts to the front of his mind. You can’t expect yourself to be able to heal a cancer patient. Healing those bullet wounds was—simply amazing—but Ricky and Kayla knew they were hurt. Jonas isn’t aware he has cancer. What if you tell him and try to heal him and you aren’t successful? Then you’re left with a distraught boy, and you’ll be beating yourself up for not knowing how to help him. We simply don’t have the time to waste trying out your newfound power. Besides, if we don’t reach a town tonight, there will be no healing anybody, ever.
“All right. You’re right, I mean. Okay.”
“But?” he asks.
“No buts. We need to get moving. What about the bodies?”
Chris looks over his shoulder and says, “They’ll have to stay here. We can’t carry them.”
“Shouldn’t we at least cover them up?”
“With what?”
“I don’t know, leaves maybe? They shouldn’t be left like that.”
“They just tried to kill us. Do you think they deserve a burial of sorts?”
I shrug my shoulders.
Chris continues. “The prisoner will go with us.”
“Prisoner?”
“We’ll hand him over to the Mind-Reader’s council for an interrogation. They’ll perform a read to investigate his intentions.”
“I’ve already done that, Chris. I was in his mind. He’s innocent. He was kidnapped and obeyed the Hunters only because they threatened to hurt his family. The other Runner was also an innocent captive. His parents were murdered by the Hunters’ Clan. That’s why he killed the Hunters and then shot himself.” I pause while I review the memory of the Runner’s death in my mind. “I’m confused. When he shot himself in the head, I felt the bullet go through my own head, and I passed out. But I don’t understand why I had blood . . . ” I trail off, “unless the experience of being in someone else’s mind is far more of a physical act than I originally thought.”
“Well, try not to be inside someone’s head when they die.”
“I’ll make a note of that.” I smile at him.
“Release the prisoner,” Chris orders as we return to the group.
“What?” Justin struts over. “Let me guess. Calli jumped into his mind and saw something that justifies setting him free?” His tone of voice mocks and pokes fun at me.
“Let him go,” Chris reiterates, directing his orders to Will and Michael to set him free. “He’s innocent.”
“What’s your name?” I ask the Runner for the sake of the group.
“Azeel,” he says with a rich African accent. He appears to be in his twenties and he stands taller than anyone in the clan.
“Where’s your family, Azeel?”
“In New York. The Hunters told me if I didn’t do exactly as they ordered, my family would be killed.”
“How old were you when you were taken captive?”
“Sixteen. Four years ago, after racing my friends home from school, the men showed up and took me away.”
“Then, you were the one I missed,” Chris states, dropping his chin to his chest. “I’m so sorry.”
All eyes fall on Chris.
“I was given the assignment to pick up a new Runner right after I turned nineteen. Only, when I arrived, I’d missed him. That had to have been you—New York, four years ago.”
“Four years ago, yes.”
Justin has been in the background, pacing, while we questioned Azeel. “We’re burning daylight here,” he says, placing his hands on his hips. “What direction are we heading, Chris?”
“West. We can make it to a town by nightfall. Azeel, come with us.”
“I must make sure my family is okay.”
“We can do that once we reach the next town. We have to find a place to stop for the night.”
I stop Chris before he starts to run. “The packs. We need the Hunters’ packs. They have enchanted tents and who knows what else that might come in handy.”
Chris agrees.
We run over to the three dead bodies. Ricky, Yang, and Chris open the Hunters’ packs and take a few objects. I don’t pay attention. My eyes and thoughts are on the dead Runner, named Stefan. He was a prisoner, like Azeel. Someone missed picking him up, just like Chris was too late for Azeel.
Chris flips open a thin blanket retrieved from one of the packs and lays it over Stefan. Azeel hurries over to help.
Azeel says, “Thank you. Stefan was a good friend.”
Chris nods to Azeel, respectfully, then looks up at me. I wish I could read his mind.
As we reassemble to start running again, I overhear Justin throw another hushed jab at Chris. “You and I both know why you missed Azeel. Hope you can live with your consequences of your choices.”
Chris whirls on Justin and utters harsh words. He’s definitely bothered over losing Azeel to the Hunters.
* * *
We run faster than the wind over peaks and through valleys, over rivers and lakes, until the sun hangs low in the evening sky with clouds tinged red and orange. My running abilities have improved from the day before, and I don’t doubt for a second I am the fastest in the group now.
We arrive at the small Idaho town of Kamiah. We maybe have an hour before the Demons will emerge. Luckily, two motels are located on the outskirts of town. Chris, Justin, and I head to the office of the Moon Glo motel to purchase rooms.
“Good evening,” says the female clerk at the front desk.
Chris responds, “Hello, we’d like four rooms, adjoining if possible.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, we only have two rooms available tonight.”
Chris turns to Justin. “Run over to the other motel and see if they have any rooms.”
Justin nods and hustles out the door.
The clerk adds, “The two rooms I have are adjoining though, if that helps.”
“We’ll take them.” Chris unzips his front pocket and pulls out a credit card and slaps it down for the clerk to process the payment. I notice the name on the card is High Altitude Sports, the name of Clara’s company.
While the clerk types on her computer, Chris turns to me and says, “Go see if Justin was able to get rooms. If so, divide the group the way we did this morning. Azeel stays with us. Tell Justin I’ll be over to pay as soon as I can. If there aren’t any rooms at that motel, we’ll have to cram into these rooms.”
The clerk looks up, having obviously overheard what he said. “Uh, we have an occupancy limit per room, young man.”
“I’ll pay any extra charges per person.”
I leave the office and hurry over to the other motel. Justin is coming out the door as I approach.
“Any luck?” I ask.
“Yeah, they have rooms,” he replies with an indignant tone.
I turn on my heel before he says anything else and jog back to the group outside the Moon Glo. “Chris asked me to send everyone who ran with Justin this morning over to the other motel.”
Justin reaches us and interrupts me. “What are you doing?”
“Following Chris’s orders.”
His face tightens and I figure he’s about to launch into a rant about how I’m the slowest and lowest. Thankfully, Chris comes out the door and prevents a tirade.
I say to Chris, “He said they have rooms. I already told Justin’s group to head over to the other motel.”
Chris looks at everyone and raises his shoulders. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go.” Chris hands me two keys with numbers. “Take everyone else to the rooms. I’ll be right back.”
Once we are situated in our adjoining rooms and Chris has returned, I part the curtains and spy the Demons creeping about in the shadows. We cut that to the wire.
Chris stands by me and stares out the window into the darkness.
I say, “You know, the Demons aren’t interested in me. If we run into this situation again, how about if I handle the payments so you don’t have to risk your neck?”
“That would be a good idea, but your name isn’t on the account.”
“Oh.” I pause a moment, then ask, “Are you worried about Justin?”
“Yeah. I’m worried he’s going to turn on us. On everyone.”
Going to? He already has. “What makes you think that?”
“He’s threatened by you and your powers. Haven’t you noticed how he looks at you?”
“Like he wants to crush me under his heel?”
“That’s the look.” Chris smiles, then his expression falls. “What did you see in my future, Calli? What does the future hold for us?”
“I don’t like to look,” I say, casting my eyes to the floor. I’m not ready to see if anything has been altered yet. “Seers only have visions that start at four weeks in the future and beyond. They can’t see something in the near future at all, so it’s possible the handoff will have already happened by then and I won’t be able to see the future any longer.”
He gently places his hand under my chin and lifts it so my eyes are raised to his.
I can’t help myself. I look. The future, as seen through Chris’s perspective, rushes into my mind: the meadow with the gathered clans, as before, and the three of us standing in front of a stone table. Chris thrusts his hand forward with the box containing the real Sanguine Diamond I had switched earlier and opens the lid for the Death Clan to see. The moment the diamond is exposed, Chris recognizes an extreme amount of powers radiating from the exposed diamond. He pulls his hand back, refusing to give the box to the Death Clan leader. Chris’s body fills with pain as the leader kills him. I come back to the present. Damn! Switching the stones is not the answer to saving Chris. I step away from him and move to sit on the edge of the bed.
“What did you see?” Chris kneels in front of me.
I notice everyone from the two rooms has gathered around to hear. I can’t possibly tell them what I’ve seen. I choose my words with care.
“The delivery is not going to go well. One or two people may die.”
“What do you mean?” Chris asks.
“I can’t say exactly what will happen.”
“You can’t, or you won’t? I die, don’t I?”
I look at the curious faces, all full of apprehension, and nod my head. I hear several sharp intakes of air.
Chris responds, straightening his spine, “Then, I’ll make sure I’ve put my things in order before the meeting.”
“I’ll make sure you don’t die, Chris.”
“How are you going to do that? Sacrifice yourself?”
I don’t answer.
My silence alarms him. “No! I won’t have that, Calli. If it’s my time to die, then so be it. I won’t have you—” Chris breaks off abruptly, then stands and turns his back to me as he stares out the window.
All I can do is guess what kind of thoughts he has racing through his mind at the moment.
Chris takes a deep cleansing breath and lets it out slowly. Then turns back to me and musters up a half-smile. He looks beyond me and says, “Azeel, come with me. Let’s get you in contact with your family. The rest of you should get to bed.”
I use the opportunity to take a much-needed shower to wash the crusted blood off my neck and ears, after which I crawl into bed and try to relax my mind. I share a bed with Lizbeth, while Shanika and Ashley share the other one. Even though the bed isn’t the most comfortable, it still beats sleeping in a cave on rocks.
* * *
I awake to some incredibly annoying snoring. Somewhat like a bull moose yodeling in pain. I have to find out who has the loud schnoz, so I get out of bed and walk carefully to the open adjoining doorway and look in on the boys to see if I can identify the culprit. My mind is flooded with images and memories and dreams, a jumble of everything going through their unconscious minds.
Let me just say, teenage boys’ dreams are definitely x-rated, and I’ll leave it at that.
I notice right away that most of Chris’s mental walls are down, making for an unusually easy mind-read. It makes sense that ma