Part 18: The Pretender

The Promised Land: 

(Part 18) The Pretender

Lifting his gun, Caden said in a loud voice, “Who are you working for?”

Hunter raised his hands in innocence. “Calm down, Blitz. Put the gun awa-“

Caden shot the ground next to Hunter’s foot. “Let’s try this again. Five teams walked into that facility, four walked out. I know you killed them so tell me who you’re working for!”

Hunter smirked. “Looks like you got me, kid. I’m actually surprised you didn’t catch on sooner.”

Blitz shot again, this time in Hunter’s chest. “WHO?!”

The man didn’t flinch. Caden watched the blood stop pouring from the open wound and crawl back to its source. The wound closed as the metal bullet fell out and hit the floor. Caden grimaced. He wasn’t expecting that.

“I had really hoped you could be reasoned with.” Hunter said as he drew a sword from the sheath on his back. Taking a step back, Caden unleashed five more bullets into the adversary, two of them headshots. Just like the first one, the five wounds closed and five bullets clinked harmlessly on the ground. 

“Then let’s start talking.” Caden took a few more steps back, his red glare ever present. “You killed our squad. I want to know why.”

“Simple. They weren’t supposed to outlive the mission. Neither were you.” Hunter calmly swung his sword up and let the flat of the blade rest against his shoulder. “I’ll give you a break, kid. If you hand over the package, I’ll let you walk.”

“What do you want with it?” Caden spat before he stopped to think about it. He was really getting tired of the conversation, but he had to give himself time to find a weakness.

“It cuts out the middleman, if you will.” Hunter took the blade off his shoulder and started walking toward Caden. “So you do have it.”

Cay’s stomach flipped, but he stood his ground.

“What’s it gonna take to get you to tell me where it is?”

“Sorry.” Caden smirked. “I don’t negotiate with grays.” He shot the four solitary light fixtures hanging from the ceiling and flooded the room with darkness.

Caden dove for cover behind a shelf and thought, “If I can’t see, neither should you.”

Heavy footfalls indicated Hunter was getting closer. “I’m too old to play hide and seek, kid.”

“Who’s hiding?” Cay jumped out from his cover and shot Hunter again. Neon blue light streaked across Caden’s vision and he ducked as the sword sliced through the air near his head. Shooting again, he rolled out of the way, but rammed into a crate. In an instant, the blue light came crashing down on the crate, just inches away from his face. Diving between the giant’s legs and twisting around to shoot him in the back, Caden got up and ran. He turned a few corners and hid behind another crate, trying to catch his breath as silently as possible. He listened intently for a sound, any sound, as he silently pulled a clip out of his pocket.

He didn’t hear any footsteps, but Hunter’s voice came in loud and clear. “You can’t kill me, Blitz. I know. I’ve tried for over thirty years.” Hunter’s voice got closer. “On the plus side, I age well.”

“He’s really getting on my nerves,” Caden thought. With one fluid motion, Caden dropped the empty cartridge, reloaded, and shot Hunter again. Blue lightning shot out and Cay flipped over the sword that nearly took out his legs. Another bolt nearly impaled the teen, but he deftly avoided that attack as well. He took off running again, this time with Hunter right behind him. The massive man’s longer legs made it easy for him to catch up and nearly overtake Caden. In the darkness, Cay just barely had time to turn before running into the wall. He kept running until he found himself trapped in a corner with Hunter blocking his exit, nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Caden pointed his pistol at the attacker.

“Try all you want, Blitz. I’ve killed grown men twice your size.” Hunter’s stride slowed as he approached his prey.

“So have I.”

Cay could hear the victory in Hunter’s voice. “You haven’t got a chance.”

“Who are you working for? The Emperor?!” Caden shouted as he unleashed another volley of bullets.

A deep laugh echoed off the wall. “Not exactly. Life isn’t as straightforward as you want it to be, kid.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Caden saw the blue light swipe toward him from his left. Acting fast, he turned and flipped backwards over the blade. Attempting to execute a backward handspring in the dark, Caden landed on his free hand wrong and crashed on the ground. As pain laced up his left arm from his throbbing wrist, Cay tried to get up quickly enough to avoid the next attack. Before he could do so, Hunter clamped one large hand around Cay’s throat and slammed his head into the wall. Grunting in pain through gritted teeth, Caden fought for breath and clawed at the muscular arm with both hands, his fallen gun out of reach.

“You know,” Hunter said casually. “It’s a miracle you made it out with the package at all. Now tell me where it is.”

“Never,” Cay barely managed to choke out. Hunter let go, but delivered a heavy fist to Caden’s ribs and another to his face before letting him crumple to the floor, gasping for air.

“Do it for your brother, kid. If you don’t have it, I’m going after Boomer.”

“Fine… I’ll tell you…” a broken Caden whispered between wheezes.

Hunter leaned in close to hear him. “I’m listening.”

Caden took another breath and spat out the blood leaking from his cut and bruised lips. Watching Hunter turn from grey to light blue, Cay’s mouth twisted into a grim smile before he whispered, “Finally, some light.”

“What?”

Grabbing Hunter’s head and bashing it against the floor, Caden ripped the pins out of four mini-grenades, shoved them into the stunned man’s open mouth, grabbed his gun, and ran for the door. Pulling the pins out of as many grenades as possible while still running, Caden threw them behind him as he exited the building. The explosions that followed shook the ground and ignited the facility.

Caden collapsed next to Ezra’s minivan, out of breath and out of energy. Pulling himself into a sitting position with his back against a front tire, he rested for a bit to catch his breath. With a shaky hand, he rubbed the back of his pounding head. His wrist throbbed, his side ached, his lip bled, and his throat burned, but he was still alive.

“I need to get to Jericho…” he thought. Grunting with a wince, Caden pulled himself to his feet and went to the medkit in the van’s trunk. He downed a few painkillers with half the bottle of water and wrapped his wrist with an ACE bandage. Going to the front of the vehicle, Caden noticed a jeep sitting behind some debris. Not willing to take any chances, Caden shot holes in all four tires before starting up the van and leaving.

Part 17: Bad Company

The Promised Land:

(Part 17) Bad Company 

Caden was silent the entire drive, but that was not uncharacteristic of him. He’d much rather stay in solitary silence than annoying prattle. It wasn’t like he had anyone to talk to anyway. He liked the silence because it gave him room to think, something it felt like he could never stop doing. He went over the conversation with Ezra again for the hundredth time. Once again, he was in the hall with Ezra, her hand a vice grip on his arm.

“It concerns your brother,” she had said. “I have an image you need to see.”

“No thanks, Ezra.” Caden shrugged his arm out of her grasp, thankful for the fabric of his shirt keeping them from direct contact. “I’m not sure I can take another one of your predictions. Not after what happened last time.” He turned and continued walking.

“You would rather not know?”

Caden stopped again with his back to her. “I would rather not live in fear. The last thing you showed me was my brother being taken by the Atari and I couldn’t stop them.”

“But that has not yet-”

“I KNOW!” He winced at the sound of his voice echoing off the walls. Turning around, he sighed. “I know. I can’t keep doing this, Ezra. I live in constant fear that something will happen to Shiloh. People aren’t meant to see the future for a reason.” Caden stopped for a deep breath, mostly to calm down. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Ezra replied with her signature composure. “I understand your reluctance. If you truly do not wish to know, I will not reveal it.”

Cay exhaled sharply. “Thank you. Now, I need to go deal with this infiltrator before he gets to anyone else. If he gets away, there’s no telling what kind of damage he can do in the resistance. This is the only safe place I can leave Shy. The sooner I leave, the better.”

Ezra nodded in agreement.

“Do you have any tips on how to beat this guy?”

“Bring grenades.” She held up a set of car keys. “You can take the van. I have a supply pack with everything you need in the back.”

Caden zoned back in to his surroundings, flat land, dead flora, no fauna, and a straight road. He had been driving for an hour now, but he still had about an hour to go. Jericho was just a drop-off point if any of the team actually achieved the objective. The rendezvous point was north of Freedom, about halfway between the two cities. Technically, the squad was supposed to meet up after the raid, but Caden had though it safer to go directly to the drop-off point instead. “Looks like that decision saved both our lives,” he thought. “I have to get there before the spy gets the idea to head to Jericho. I hope I’m not too late.”

~*~

Eden walked back toward the orphanage, confused and aggravated. “I can’t believe he just up and left like that!” she said more to herself than anyone in particular. She reached the door only to find it wouldn’t open. Banging her fist against the door, she yelled, “Open up! It’s the ghost of Christmas past!”

Grace opened the door from inside. “Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t realize you were out here.”

She pulled the door open widen enough for Eden to slip through. “It’s getting late and I thought it best to lock up.”

“Late?” Eden looked back at the steel grey sky. “How can you tell?”

The older woman closed the door and slid the deadbolt into place. “The time. It’s nearly 5:00. It will be getting dark soon. Would you be a dear and place that beam over the door?”

“Uh… sure...” Eden lifted a long piece of wood wrapped with rebars and placed it on brackets in the door and walls. “That thing’s kinda heavy… um, will Caden be able to get through that?”

“He’s outside?” Grace asked with a confused expression.

“Yeah, he sort of took off not too long ago.”

“Oh, then he probably doesn’t expect to come back until later.” The elderly woman smiled and wheeled herself down the hall.

Eden followed the squeaky wheelchair. “Does that happen often?”

“Oh yes,” she answered cheerfully. “When he lived with us, he would often set out on his own in the middle of the night and not come back until morning. His brother didn’t take too kindly to getting left behind.”

“Interesting,” Eden muttered. “How long did they live with you?”

“A few years after their parents died. Or was it just one year? I don’t remember. Tragic incident, it was. Don’t worry though. I’m sure he’s just fine. Cay always finds a way out of the worst circumstances.”

“I hope so,” thought Eden. “For Shiloh’s sake.”

~*~

Caden pulled up to the abandoned building and stepped out of the vehicle. Going around to the back of the van, he found the supply pack Ezra mentioned. Like most supply packs, it was standard issue: food rations, water, medkit, and emergency gear. Looking for anything of use in the upcoming battle, he found a handful of mini-grenades. Recalling Ezra’s words, he shook his head with a grimace and put them into his bag. Making sure both handguns were loaded and extra clips within easy reach, Caden took a deep breath and headed inside the building. It was already nearly dark outside, but lights were on inside the empty facility. It was a large building, probably a supercenter that had been turned into a warehouse. Or vice versa. Either way, it was big and filled with empty shelves and boxes.

Caden was alert at all times, keeping his eyes red so he could find any hint of color. That was part of his ability that he had trouble explaining to others. The world around him turned grey and he could only see the color of living people and, occasionally, immediate danger. That was why he disliked greys so much. Other than the fact that they were usually the most self-centered people around, they also blended into the background. For Caden, that was dangerous.

“Blitz!” a deep voice rang out of nowhere and a man stepped into view. “You’re alive. I didn’t think you’d make it.”

Caden glared at the infiltrator. He was a six-foot three-inch tall, square jawed, broad shouldered beast of a man with slicked back brown hair. The long coat he wore failed to conceal the man made of muscle. Being only five-foot five, Caden’s lean limbs and short stature made him look scrawny in comparison. Caden wasn’t intimidated. He was too focused on his anger for that.

“I’m not dead yet, Hunter.” Caden replied with a glare. “What have you done with the others?”

“You’re the only one who’s made it back to the rendezvous point so far.” Hunter looked around. “Where’s Boomer?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know…” Caden muttered.

Part 16: Burn It Down

The Promised Land:
(Part 16) Burn It Down

“Whoa, did you make this?” Caden said in awe when he saw the scarf. He pulled it out of the paper wrapping and admired the woven pattern in the soft material.

“Yep! Knitted it myself,” Hope chirped with a smile. “I hope you like it. Red is still your favorite color, right?”

“Yeah,” he answered hesitantly. “But I can’t take this.” He tried to give it back, but Hope made no move to take it. “Sure you can! I made it for your birthday, silly.” Her bubbly statement ended with an endearing giggle.

“Hope, that was three weeks ago,” an unconvinced Caden retorted.

“So it’s a little late.” She shrugged. “I wanted to give it to you in person.”

“What about Shy?”

“Don’t worry. He’ll get his present when he wakes up.” Hope swung her legs back and forth over the edge of the bed they were both sitting on. “Happy Birthday!”

“Thank you, Hope. For everything.”

She curiously tilted her head. “Whatever do you mean?”

“You, you’re mom, you’re dad…” Caden always felt like he was grasping at straws when it came to expressing gratitude. Somehow, a simple “thank you” seemed so trite in comparison to all the love and care Hope’s family showed the twins. “You’re family has always been there for us. Me and Shiloh, I mean. Shiloh and I. However that goes. Ever since Mom and Dad… ever since…” Caden gave up and sighed. It was still too difficult for him. Hope gently bumped him with her shoulder and he rocked at little. He looked at her over his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she whispered with a smile.

“Cute.” A familiar voiced matched an equally familiar silhouette leaning against the doorframe. Caden stood up quickly out of surprise, robbed of what little joy he had.

“Hello, Ezra,” he said calmly in spite of being caught off guard. It wasn’t exactly that he was unhappy to see the Gypsy seer. After all, he had been looking for her for a few days now. “She just has a way with unpleasant timing,” he thought.

“Blitz,” Ezra nodded in return, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed. “I need to speak with you.”

Caden ran a hand through his hair as he remembered the last time they “spoke.” The news she brought was rarely good. Just as rarely was the information wrong. Looking back at Hope, a half smile flashed across his face before he left the room.

Walking through the hall with Ezra, Caden waited a moment before speaking. “I have the package.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Technically, Shiloh has it.”

“Good,” Ezra responded without a hint of emotion. “Its recovery was executed none too quickly. You should hold on to it.”

“Will you come back to base with us?” Cay had a feeling he already knew the answer.

“That would be unwise,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Trouble brews in the resistance.”

“What else is new?”

“Trouble unlike that I have ever seen, Blitz. Lives are being toyed with, like puppets on strings.” Caden was never quite fond of his resistance tag. When Ezra used it, she seemed to triple the seriousness of the conversation.

“But you want us to go back?” he asked, questioning her consistency.

Ezra nodded and answered, “There is good yet, if you would look for it. All the same, I do not have to remind you to use great caution. There are infiltrators.”

“More than one. Great.” Caden’s dark brown eyes narrowed in thought. “How many and who?”

“That I do not know…” Ezra paused before continuing, “but one of them accompanied you not seven days ago.”

“What?” Caden stopped in his tracks and faced Ezra. He mentally went through the list of people who went with him and Shiloh on the mission. If one of them were a traitor, wouldn’t he have seen it?

Ezra clasped her hands together and looked him over with compressed lips, as if she were debating whether or not he would be able to handle the rest of what she had to say. Finally coming to a conclusion, she spoke. “Your squad is dead and the betrayer waits for you and your brother at the rendezvous point to kill you even now.”

“That can’t be.” Caden shook his head, thick eyebrows knit together in disbelief. He thought back on the mission. “I had a feeling they knew we were coming,” he thought to himself. “Sure, we were jumped and we lost a few, but I made sure the rest got out alive. That can only mean they were killed later. Who could have possibly…” Involuntarily changing his vision, he stared long and hard at the woman. Red. With traces of black. It wasn’t her.

Ezra’s shoulders sagged a little as she watched his eyes resume normalcy. “I’ll try not to be too insulted.”

“Sorry, Ezra. I need to leave.” Flung into action, Caden started walking at a faster pace with Ezra not far behind.

“Blitz!” she called. “As unhappy as I am to continually be the bearer of bad news, I have more.”

“It can wait.”

Ezra grabbed hold of his arm and turned him to face her, gravity shimmering through her eyes. “It concerns your brother.”

~*~

Eden and Jordan had found the cafeteria and the plate of food Hope left out. After making sure Jordan was all right on his own, Eden set out to find Shiloh’s room. Turning a corner, she was nearly run over by Caden. “Dude, warn somebody before you run into them!”

“Sorry, I need to go,” he said and kept going.

“Hey, wait! I need to talk to you!” Eden ran to catch up with him. “I want to help.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, but increased his pace.

“You’re looking for a cure for these people, right? I want to help.”

Caden scoffed as he entered the room Shiloh was in. Grace was gone, but his twin was still asleep. “Why so interested all of a sudden?” Caden asked quietly as he looked through his bag hanging on the chair. “I thought you didn’t care.”

“I didn’t,” Eden admitted. “But I do now.”

Caden turned to her with a quizzical look, though his eyes stayed dark. “What about home?”

“I still want to go home, but until I find a way to GET there, I’m stuck here.” Eden watched Cay pull out paper, a pen, and start writing. “I want to be useful in the meantime,” she finished.

Thinking about his situation, Caden gave in. “Listen, if you’re really interested in helping me out right now, I need you to stay with Shiloh.”

“Stay with him? Where are you going?” Eden tilted her head.

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Caden finished his note and folded the paper several times.

“So you’re just leaving? Mister Hurt-my-twin-and-die is willing to just abandon him now in his condition?” Eden placed a hand on her hip and glared. “What kind of brother are you?”

Standing up to his full height, though still being shorter than Eden, Caden said in a voice louder than intended, “I’m leaving him behind to protect him!” He closed his eyes and sighed before speaking again. “I need to go take care of something and I don’t want him to get hurt again, ok? I’ll be back soon, I promise. I just don’t have time to talk about it right now.”

Caden took the note, now folded into an origami crane, and placed it on the table beside Shiloh’s bed. Grabbing his black windbreaker and bag, Caden left the room. Eden followed him even until he was outside and getting into the driver’s side of Ezra’s blue minivan.

“What do I do if the Atari come back? ”

Caden paused before closing the door. “Hide.”

Part 15: Crash and Burn

 The Promised Land:
(Part 15) Crash and Burn

“Ah, that’s much better,” Eden said as she ran a comb through the last wet tangle. After pulling her golden hair into a meticulous French braid, she looked at the finished product in a full-length mirror. Dirty blue jeans replaced with clean black ones and bloody brown sweater replaced with a burgundy turtleneck. With a satisfied nod at her reflection, Eden pulled on a pair of gray boots, gathered her belongings, and headed out into the maze of corridors once more.

Turning around a corner, Eden happened to see someone exit a room, close the door, and start walking away. She thought it was the same lady from the night before. What was her name again? Emily? Edna?

“Hey!” Eden called out. The woman stopped and turned around, a lock of dark curls falling into her face.

“Um, hi,” Eden said with a wave. “This is kind of awkward,” she thought as the woman looked back at her with a blank stare. “I’m Eden Teknia. Caden and I rode in your van on the way back from Jericho last night.” As she spoke, the lady walked closer to Eden with an expression of interest. The woman had on a long skirt that was brown, layered, and patched. She wore an off-white shirt with puffy sleeves under a dark blue shawl. She looked like someone dressing for another time period. The orange scarf was the only familiar article of clothing Eden recognized. For a long minute, Eden wondered if it was really the same woman. “You… you ARE the lady we rode back with… right?”

The older woman nodded. “Yes. My name is Ezra,” she said with a foreign accent. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” Eden reached out to shake the woman’s extended hand. As soon as their hands connected, Eden’s vision clouded and a flurry of images invaded her sight. The images were flashing far too fast for Eden to make any sense of them. With a terrified gasp, Eden yanked her hand back and stared at the foreigner in alarm.

“Forgive me,” Ezra apologized with a roll in her R. “I was… curious.”

“What was that?!”

“Your future.”

“Excuse me?” Eden wasn’t sure if she was agitated at the visions for coming without warning or at Ezra for barging into her mind and future without permission in the first place. “Definite stranger danger here,” she thought, but curiosity got the better of her and temporarily pacified her anger.

“What did you see? Do I ever get out of this place?”

Ezra calmly folded her hands together. “Only if you choose to leave.”

“What do you mean if I choose to?” Eden balked. “Of course I choose to! Tell me how to get back right now!”

“Forgive me for upsetting you,” Ezra said as she backed up and turned to leave. “Perhaps this conversation should be saved for later. Thank you for assisting with the children. Have a nice day.”

She was halfway down the hall by the time Eden recovered from her stunned state. “Wait!”

Ezra stopped and turned again.

“If you can see the future…” Eden’s mind tried to fit the pieces together. “Then you knew what would happen to Jericho.”

The woman nodded.

“But then… why didn’t you stop it from happening?”

Ezra exhaled slowly, almost as if strained, and thought for a moment before answering. “Jericho is not the reason I am here. I came to help the living make a difference.”

“Explain,” Eden demanded.

“You will see. Another time perhaps.” After a pause, Ezra asked, “May I leave?”

“One more.” Eden crossed her arms and stared hard at the lady. Thinking about all the comments Caden made about needing to find this mysterious woman, Eden asked, “Why does Caden have so much faith in you?”

Ezra pondered the question longer than Eden expected. Maybe she asked a question that actually stumped the woman. That thought made her feel a little better, though it didn’t quite make up for the feeling that people were hiding information from her. Finally, Ezra answered. “Perhaps because I have faith in him.” She tilted her head and smiled. “Try it some time. Farewell.” Without giving Eden a chance to reply, she disappeared around the corner.

“…Weird.” Eden turned around and walked the other way. She didn’t remember where she was going or what she was looking for before the strange meeting occured. Eden was too busy trying to figure out the storm of images she saw before pulling away. She saw a multitude of faces, most of them unfamiliar. Two faces stood out from the rest and kept showing up throughout the barrage. If Eden learned anything from meeting Ezra, it was that her future was closely linked to the twins. But why? Lost in thought, Eden easily missed the tiny bundle on the floor. Until she tripped over it, that is. “Owwww…” Eden picked herself up from the floor and brushed dirt off her “new” clothes. The faintest of sounds caught her attention. “Hm?” It was then she realized that a small child was curled up on the ground. “Oh, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to fall on you. Are you ok?” Eden crouched next to the sad looking lump. The hooded child sniffled and buried its head. “Hey. You ok, sweetie? You’re not hurt, are you?” The kid sat up and shook its head. “I want to go home,” it whispered.

Eden cautiously reached out. The child didn’t move as she pushed back the hood. It was a young boy with auburn hair and grey eyes. “What’s your name?”

“Jordan.”

“How old are you?”

“Ten,” the kid said as he wiped his nose with an oversized sleeve.

Eden pursed her lips before asking, “Where are your parents?”

“I don’t know,” the boy said with a fresh wave of tears. “I was hiding in my room when they took them away.”

“Who?”

“Soldiers. They came yesterday and Mom told me to hide.”

A ball of emotion formed in the pit of Eden’s stomach. “How did you get here?”

“A lady found me and told me she would take me some place safe.”

Eden’s sorrow and compassion received a jolt of pity when the little boy asked, “Can I go home now?”

“Have you eaten yet?” Eden hoped the kid didn’t realize she was trying to avoid his question. Jordan shook his head. “I was hiding when the other kids went to eat.”

“Well, we can’t have you going home hungry.” Eden put as much hope and happiness into her voice as she could muster. “Why don’t we go find some food together?” She stood up and held out her open palm. Jordan placed his little tear-drenched hand in hers and they walked together. Though Eden was indeed hungry before, she found she had just lost her appetite.

Part 14: Hope

The Promised Land:
(Part 14) Hope 

An empty battery blinked in the corner of the screen before it went black. Eden sighed and put her phone away. She was still in the room with Shiloh. In truth, she didn’t really feel like leaving him alone in his uncertain condition. She was starting to wonder where Caden wandered off to when Sunshine walked into the room.

“Oh, hello again,” the girl in the yellow dress said with a happy smile. “We were never properly introduced. My name is Hope.”

“I’m Eden.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Hope stepped aside as the woman in the wheelchair entered. “This is my mother, Grace. I’m sorry to interrupt, but she would like to continue healing Shiloh. If you don’t mind, of course.”

Eden stood up and pulled her chair out of the way. “Not at all. He hasn’t woken up yet, so I was starting worry. You sure he’s going to be ok?”

Grace wheeled next to the bed and pulled back Shiloh’s sheets, his bloodstained shirt recently replaced with a faded blue one. “It’s going to be a while before he wakes, dear,” the elderly woman said as her hands hovered over the wounded area. “His body has a lot of blood to make up in addition to the repairs.”

Eden stepped away from the bed and tilted her head. “Why not just get Caden to donate his blood? They’re twins, right? So they should be the same blood type.”

Grace gave a soft laugh. “That would make this easier, dear, but I’m afraid that won’t work. Although they were identical, the infection altered their DNA. As it stands, Caden’s blood would only harm Shiloh.”

“Oh, sorry,” Eden replied, unsure of how to respond. Her eyes widened in surprise when Grace’s hands started glowing blue. “Whoa. That’s cool.”

“We should leave them,” Hope whispered. With a nod, Eden followed Hope out of the room and down the hall. “I’m sorry for rushing you out. My mother’s power takes a lot of concentration.”

“No problem. My mom’s a doctor so I know what that’s like. Sort of,” Eden replied with a smile dimmed by memory.  She stopped in the middle of the hall and rubbed the back of her neck. Hope paused as well in patient curiosity.

“Um, I hate to bother you about this,” Eden started, “but I kind of need a shower and some new clothes. You think you might have some jeans that’ll fit me?”

Eden watched realization kick into Hope’s facial expression. “Oh! Of course! I’m sure we have something for you somewhere. Come with me!”

As if being granted new purpose, Sunshine bounced down the halls with a mission. She led Eden to a room lined with shelves and filled with boxes. Each wooden shelf had different sizes printed in black across the side. Hope pulled down a couple boxes and opened them. “This is the storage room. You might find something in here.”

Eden wasn’t sure how the frail-looking girl managed to haul the boxes around. They were at least two times bigger than her. One thing Eden never noticed before now was how she didn’t see a single strand of hair from under the girl’s white hat. Poking into one of the boxes, Eden pulled out a large shirt that was neither her style nor size. The cloud of dust the blouse brought sent her and Hope both into a coughing fit.

“Maybe not that one,” Hope said between coughs. She pulled out a trunk and unlatched the hinges. “Try this one.”

Eden pulled out a few articles that looked as though they might fit. Though she’d much rather have an outfit that was both clean, new, and fashionable, she’d have to make do with what was available, especially if she was going to be here a while.

“Find something?” Hope asked.

Eden nodded with a hum.

“That’s good.” Her host pointed out the doorway. “The showers are just around the corner on your left. I’ll have lunch ready for you when you’re done.”

~*~

Caden huffed and wiped the dirty sweat from his brow. With a confident smirk and narrow dark eyes, he sprinted toward his target. Caden swung his leg at the spinning orb. As soon as his foot made contact, he realized a drastic mistake in his calculation: the running back. The two boys crashed into each other before either one could slow down. Thankfully, neither player was seriously injured. Caden laughed in relief as he rubbed his sore leg. It had been far too long since he played any sort of sport for enjoyment. It reminded him of a time when things were different, a time that only existed ages ago. The children continued their game without Caden and he was just fine with that. Lying on the brown grass, he took some time to catch his breath. A cool breeze washed over the field, refreshing the worn-out teen.

“Having fun?” a familiar voice matched an equally familiar silhouette. Caden quickly stood up and brushed off his cargo pants.

“Course not,” Caden replied with a lighter tone in his signature sarcasm. When he looked back at the ongoing game, Hope giggled and brushed the dried grass off his back.

“Hah, thanks,” he said with a smile.

Hope tilted her head, the pink butterfly on her hat shimmering. “You should smile more often, Cay. A real smile, I mean. Not that one you get when you think you’re winning.”

Caden chuckled as he tried to think of a good comeback.

“That’s the one!” Hope exclaimed. “The one you’ve been hiding.”

Cay’s grin diminished as he ran a hand through his hair. "I can’t always afford to smile when the world’s at stake.”

“Good thing it’s free.” Hope’s light tone turned uncharacteristically somber. “The fate of the world isn’t your responsibility, you know.”

“Yes it is. I lived,” Caden thought to himself, but he didn’t tell her that. How could he? He survived the illness and recovered with abilities beyond that of an average human his age. Not only that, but he and Shiloh now possessed something that might be the key to saving people around the globe, a key he could not afford to let fall back into enemy hands. A phrase his father often said snaked through Caden’s thoughts, “Take every chance you get to help someone.” As long as he had that key, the world WAS his responsibility. He had a duty to save others, especially those he cared about.

“Cay.” Concern flooded Hope’s voice. “You can’t help everyone who needs you.”

“I know, but I need to try.”

“Even if you try, you have to let go of those you can’t save.”

Caden looked straight into her brown eyes. “I’ll never let you go.”

After a second of surprise, Hope started crying.

“Uh-oh, what did I say?” he thought.

“I-I’m sorry,” the confused and slightly panicked lad stammered. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Hope lowered her head and hid her tears under the brim of her hat, though Caden could still see them trickle down her fluorescent red cheeks.

Attempting to fix the situation, he pulled out a light pink bandana from his pant leg pocket and handed it to Hope. “T-this is for you.”

“What is it?” Hope asked as she took it and studied the white butterfly print.

Caden jammed both hands into his pockets and muttered. “I saw it in Smyrna so I got it for you. If you don’t like it, you can give it to-”

“It’s beautiful!” Hope exclaimed as she threw her arms around him in a big hug. “Thank you.” After taking a few moments to quit crying, she let go and wiped her tears. “I have a gift for you too, remember? Come with me!”