125. Ten Years And Then Some

Chris

Caleb was sleeping in my arms. I had manifested a long time ago to carry his weight. I was pacing, and Selena and Jamal were waiting with me. It was taking so long… Ira had left hours and hours ago.

He appeared with a battered guy in his arms. She had won. Rodrigo was there and a werewolf. Larger than Ira. It could only be Brylee. Selena came to take Caleb. Ira was just gesturing to Silvanus. He came closer with the glass plate. I had seconds, and the only guy that would ever talk to me was Rodrigo. He tossed a little black tube at me. “They would have taken the coordinates, Chris. She’s not coming… Wave it in the air. It’s for one view only. Make it count.” They disappeared.

I held it for a long time. Would I wait… Wait for two and half years and then watch it… Jamal and Selena were there. Did I want them to see? Would Caleb wake up? See his mother? Silvanus walked up to Selena and took Caleb. “You stay. If you want to watch it. If not. It doesn’t matter. I’ll take him home.”

The two sat down, making the decision for me. I waved it in the air.

At first, it was her and Louis fighting Qadir…. She killed him. I ran my hand over my mouth. She asked some woman for permission. It was gruesome.

There were so many things going on that I didn’t understand. I had one time to watch… Where were they? After that, it’s the same place. It was that night. Them fighting Ahasuerus. The three of them worked so well together. Marcus and Michael were there. Michael was okay... He was helping, and they had one mission. Getting to me. She was so happy jumping up and down.

Before they left, she talked to Ira.

“Who the hell is Sammy?” I whispered to myself.

Juliet had grown up so much. She wasn’t little Juliet anymore. But she was okay… The first thing she asked was about me… I wasn’t happy, and Ira didn’t care. Juliet cared… She knew about the time… I sighed. It was a relief.

After that, the feed cut out… black for a moment, but I heard her voice. The pictures of us that night. We fighting. She dragged me into the car. I laughed that Rodrigo thought that was a good thing to show me… But it wasn’t Rodrigo, was it… Michael put it together. There was nothing he could show me that had happened in the last two years. Us fighting at the cabin.

After that, it’s Rodrigo’s room down in the science building. Juliet was on the table, talking and talking while he was busy. He looked at the camera and shook his head. She didn’t stop. He had asked her about me… The feed cut out…

I waved the little black tube again when the picture went away. I waved it again. It didn’t want to start. I tossed it at the wall. It shattered… I fell down on my knees in the dirt. That was all I got. I couldn’t move…

“Your Juliet is a little intense,” Selena said hesitantly.

She was. She was scary. Trained to perfection. One mistake after an hour of battle… I didn’t fault her for it. Ripping Qadir to pieces… I was so proud of her.

“She is cute and coming, Chris,” Jamal said, slapping my back. The both of them left.

We would only be traveling the following day. I waited. It took Ira so long to come back. The wolf was there with him. She glanced at me… But also disappeared.

“You know you shot yourself in the foot. No water trading. No traveling if something goes wrong. No war campaigns. Juliet has all the power… And Brylee stabbed you in the back… She has a teleporter. She can still manage all her planets. What the hell is so important that you would risk all our lives. How would we take care of the kids in Yaroon?”

Ira was irritated and tired. He ignored me. “We can’t even ask for help.”

He stomped out of the cave. That was Ira’s way. He wasn’t going to talk to me… And I wasn’t going to leave.

***

I sat there for months. Giving her two weeks to maybe make it… Ira had left me there when I didn’t want to talk to him. It felt good being on my own. Hoping that she would still make it some way.

A year ago, he drugged me and gave me a night with Juliet. I couldn’t be angry with him about that. I told myself I was done being mad at him… But he outdid himself every time. She was so close to killing him. If Ira and Brylee had not intervened, we would have been free of him.

After the three years in the desert, I could teleport so well that it didn’t matter them leaving me. I could probably make the trip in two weeks alone. The cold would only really set in after another few months. I missed Caleb, and I would have to explain to him why his mother didn’t come.

Only thinking about Caleb, I traveled all the way. When I realized where I was, I drew in a breath. Surprised… I had teleported in one shot… I thought about seeing Juliet, and I traveled back to Shumaan. I stood there dumbfounded… All that power and I was useless. Waisted away on Zoreah.

I did it again. It was draining, and I felt better every time. Doing something new… Something that would set me apart… Make me stronger than Silvanus. Stronger than the best teleporter in the City… That could make the trip in a week.

That last time I picked up Caleb and traveled back to Shumaan. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. “Mom’s not coming, is she?”

I shook my head. “It’s been two weeks. I think if they could have, they would have come by now. If the coordinates are gone, they would have to figure it out...”

Caleb liked coming to the cave and looked at the broken communicator in the hollowed-out nook in the wall.

“Guess we don’t need the other plate anymore to go to the five sites. Didn’t you say they were bringing a guy… Maybe you’ll feel better if you talk to him.”

“Don’t tell your grandfather ever. I don’t think the five sites work with my personal ability… I think I can go anywhere.”

“I’ll try, but I am only ten.”

It was an option. Going to talk to Rodrigo.

Caleb was circling the space looking at all the carved-out things in the stone. “They really did do a great job on the wall.” His hand was tracing the pictures.

It was a lot like the tattoo Juliet and I had on our arms.

He laughed. “Come look here, dad.”

I walked over. He was down on his haunches. Right at the bottom, there was writing. I pushed him out the way. Went down on my stomach. It was so well hidden.

Juliet was here. And Jack. Hi Caleb. Be a good boy… Oh, and Chris. I’m going to win our bet… xoxo.

“What does that mean? Xo…xo…”

“It means she loves you. Hugs and kisses.” I hugged him… Come, we have work to do. Let’s go… Can you wait five more years?” I asked Caleb.

“Can you? Don’t be angry with Ira again.”

I picked him up and traveled to the origin city.

***

The last time we were there was after Juliet and my night of passion. We had gone without Ira. We stayed a while. Documenting and walking around. Seeing that everything was fine and that no one was inside. Not that they would come out. The city was self-sufficient and had an ample water supply to relieve all our winter stresses. It was close to the equator of the planet… It meant that it was neither cold nor hot all year round with a teleporter hotspot…

The wall alone that circled the place had to have been built for hundreds of years. I didn’t know how they figured out the parameters. Ira was born there and had led the people out.

Caleb and I sent up flares at the main gate. We decided to stay for the foreseeable future. If we were hungry and thirsty, I just teleported us to Yaroon. Without Ira knowing. I didn’t really care how he felt. Jamal and Selena would be angry. But I couldn’t transport them yet… they were a little big… I lied about using the plate… But that he gave me without hesitation.

We sent flares up every morning at dawn and every evening at dusk. Blowing a horn loudly as we could. There really wasn’t much else we could do. We had five years… Caleb didn’t mind. I spent most of that time teaching him.

One evening we were doing sums, and a book landed next to me. I almost jumped. I grabbed at the thing. It was paper.

“Up there dad,” Caleb said. Pointing toward one of the guard towers. It was so high that it was difficult to make out Rodrigo. He tossed a pen down. I laughed, so happy I was. “Nothing to read? In there?”

He came back sometime later. Tossed down a book. Caleb picked it up. And read the title… “Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin.”

“Seriously? I was thinking like Harry Potter or something Caleb would love.”

He tossed down another book. Caleb scrambled. “Western Civilization in the nineteen-hundreds.”

I chuckled.

Having to teach Caleb at eleven to hold a pen and write the alphabet felt wrong. Juliet was so educated by seventeen that she ran circles around me. Maybe not when she was pregnant.

“You have to try and save space. Write as small as you can. You’ll get it. Don’t worry.”

Caleb loved it. Something to do with his mind.

“Are you going to come to talk to us?” I yelled at Rodrigo.

He had come up every day to just watch us.

It was a few months later when the gate opened. There was a cage on one side and one on the other. Possible to talk but not to enter. A wooden door in the middle with an oval shape cut out. The markings in the wood were embossed like the swatches. The point of no return. He sat on a chair. I frowned.

“What are you doing with yourself the whole day. Bottled the potion yet?”

He twirled his finger around his temple. “Not going to happen.” He whispered. Mocking Ahasuerus.

“Huh… really? It seems your dumber than we thought….” He growled at me but smiled.

“Has he recovered from all the injuries?”

Rodrigo nodded.

“What is he doing?”

“In the lab most days… There is a whole library in there. Seems like your primitive species were once educated. Going places…”

“Doesn’t surprise me.”

“What are you waiting for, Chris?”

“Time to pass… Just a few more years….”

“I wish I could say that.”

“You could just walk out, you know. Why are you in there in the first place?”

Rodrigo’s eyes fell to the endless sand.

“You seem tired for someone that never sleeps.”

“Would you believe me if I told you I missed her… And Charlene and Louis.”

“Yeah, I would.”

“Are you going to tell me why Juliet was here?”

“I think the brandings are the big issue.”

I shook my head. “That can’t be all?”

“You want to complicate things, Chris. Your father wants her to turn against you. Or the other way around. Brylee… Who the hell knows? We all thought she was dead… Did you know she is Louis’s mother?”

“What?!”

“Ahasuerus didn’t know either… They found out when she had to intervene in the fight… Anyway, I’m fixing everything inside. Bring some more creatures so that I can breed with them. Have enough food when your dumb father brings more people in here. And if there are any girls that you could bring around.”

“No! Everyone will be celibate as long I am.”

Caleb giggled.

“Fine boy you have there. Has his mom’s blue eyes. Your light brown hair.”

I ruffled the hair on Caleb’s head. “Yeah, he’s not bad.”

***