Okay, he
definitely knew something was up. Not only had he called me Lexi, which he
never did, but he’d also said I’d be replacing Max, who didn’t work at this
store. Besides that, he’d used the word Dojo. My adrenaline raced into
hyper-speed as I glanced at the clock; it was exactly 9:30 a.m. Jason was up to
something, and I figured whatever it was would become apparent in another five
minutes.
“Good job,
Lexi,
”
a patronizing voice leered into my ear. Smoker’s breath inundated me, and I
tried not to retch. “Let’s just hope for your sake,” he snorted, “I don’t have
to take you as a hostage.” His body shook with laughter next to mine, and I
prayed he didn’t accidentally pull the trigger.
After what felt
like an eternity, the old lady ambled away from the counter, fiddling with the
clasp on her old-fashioned purse. The pot-bellied man stepped forward. We were
next.
Mr. Beady Eyes
shoved a folded piece of paper and a reusable, cloth grocery bag into my hands.
“When we get up there you hand this note to the teller. After she reads it I
want you to put the bag up there too. Got it Lexi?”
“Y-yes,” I
choked out. We stood in silence for several minutes. Eventually, I looked at
the clock which read 9:34 am. If I was right, in one minute the… That’s when I
heard little footsteps pounding across the floor behind me.
I whipped around
as a loud, squealing toddler shouted, “Peek-a-boo, peek-a-boo.”
My captor and I
watched, as the toddler in the blue shirt, dodged away from his mother and ran
towards us with his little fingers pointing directly at me. I was astonished to
see them already back inside the bank. That diaper mess should have taken days
to clean up. How could they be marching straight into danger once again?
Fearing for his little life, I knew it was time to act.
Mr. Beady Eyes
jerked, and I felt the gun shift against my side. Seizing the opportunity, I
jumped away from him while swinging the grocery bag into his face. Momentarily
stunned, he clawed at his face with his free hand. I tried to kick his arm so
he’d drop the gun, but I missed and kicked him in the groin. I’d never had good
aim. A loud roar burst forth from his mouth as he doubled over in pain, but his
gun-wielding hand whipped into the air. I lunged sideways, taking the toddler
down with me.
The gun went
off, and all pandemonium broke loose. Everyone in the bank hit the ground.
People in the store started screaming, their footsteps slapping the tile floor
as they ran in all directions. The toddler’s mother fell to the floor
screaming, “My baby! My baby!”
Out of the
corner of my eye, I saw the man with the red baseball cap pull out a gun.
Swinging his arm wildly around the bank, he seemed undecided on a target.
Before he could take aim, a body in a white shirt knocked him over with some
sort of spinning roundhouse kick. The force of impact knocked the gun loose and
sent it spiraling all the way over to the pot-bellied man who was lying face
down on the floor by the teller’s window. He lifted his head, grabbed the gun,
and slid it under his belly before resuming his defensive position. Okay, I’d
judged wrong; that man had great instincts.
The criminal
with the red cap was trying to stand up, but Jason thrust his knee into the
man’s back and pinned him down. The little toddler was squirming underneath my
body and crying loudly. His mother managed to slide her way over to me, and I
passed him into her protective arms. With her back towards the gunmen, she
covered her child with the rest of her body.
I rolled over in
time to see Mr. Beady Eyes stagger his way to a standing position. He held his
groin area with one hand, his red face contorted in pain. When we made eye
contact his thin lips curled into an evil grin. Growling, he raised his shaky
hand and aimed directly at me.
Jason yelled
loudly, “Alex, move!”
The sound of his
voice propelled me into action. Tucking my head under my arm, I managed to
slide a couple feet towards the front of the bank and further away from the
mother and child. I heard the bullet whistle by and “thunk” loudly as it lodged
itself in the wall above me. Fear rose sharply from my gut, and my teeth
slammed together. I whipped my head around and Mr. Beady Eyes shot me a
venomous look and aimed again.
Splitting his
lips apart, he snarled, “Say good-bye to Lexi.”
My mouth dropped
in horror, and my eyes sought out Jason. In a split second, he rendered the red
capped man unconscious with a lethal blow to the neck. I watched in shock as he
came hurtling towards Mr. Beady Eyes with incredible speed. Flying through the
air in another kicking position, his foot made contact with Mr. Beady Eyes’ upper
torso, but not before the gun fired.
I didn’t know
where the bullet landed, but no one screamed in pain. Jason’s fist connected
with Mr. Beady Eyes’ face, knocking the low-life flat on his back with blood
spurting from his nose. Petrified, I watched as Jason landed next to him in a
rough heap.
Sirens screamed
from afar and people continued shouting and running around in a panic. I
crawled over to Jason and cried out in alarm. His white shirt was blotched with
bright red spots and his sleeve was absorbing blood faster than the Magic
Sponge. I almost fainted in relief when he moved. Reaching over with his right
hand, he applied pressure to his left shoulder where the last bullet had found
a home.
He opened his brilliant
eyes, flashed me a grin, and said breathlessly, “Thank God you’re okay, Alex.
Where’s the gun?”
Hurriedly, I
searched the area and spotted it on the floor next to the circular table.
“There,” I said and pointed.
“Good,” he said.
“Go get it, and bring it to me.” Following his instructions, I lifted the gun
off the floor like it was a rattlesnake ready to strike. I’d never held one
before, and it felt vile. Carefully, I carried it back to Jason. He opened the
chamber with obvious know how, took out the bullets, and crammed them into his
pocket.
“We make a good
team.” Wincing, he covered his shoulder and closed his eyes.
“Jason,” I cried
out, and grabbed his face. “You’ve been shot, and there’s blood everywhere.” I
rested one hand under his chin and gripped his leg with the other. Loose hair
hung in my face as I’d lost my clip somewhere along the way. “That bullet was
meant for me, not you.”
Flinching, he
said, “Alex, just calm down and look at me.” Tearfully, I looked into his eyes.
Through gritted teeth, he said, “Listen, you’ve healed me before with your
touch; you just didn’t know it. After the truck hit me—”
“What?” I
interrupted, backing away. “No, no. Ally and I gave you CPR and…”
“No, Alex.
You
saved me with the power of your touch that day – your Essence. And you
can heal my wound now, before the paramedics arrive.”
I shook my head
fiercely in disagreement. “No, that’s not possible.” My voice quavered.
“Listen. I think
the bullet went all the way through my shoulder, because the back of my shirt
feels wet. Can you reach back and check?”
Chewing my
bottom lip almost raw, I reached my hand around and found that his shirt felt
soggy. When I pulled my hand away it was covered in his blood. Tears pooled in
my eyes, clouding my vision.
“Alex!” He
demanded my attention. Quickly undoing the top buttons, he pulled his shirt
away from his shoulder, exposing the wound. “Place your hands on my shoulder
and focus on healing. I know you can do it.”
Compelled to
obey him, I carefully placed one hand over the point of entry and the other
over the exit wound. Closing my eyes, I shut out the world around me: the
yelling, the blaring sirens, the footsteps racing around the store, and the
scent of gun powder mixed with fresh blood. I focused solely on Jason. My
fingertips started to tingle, and my palms felt warmer. I willed my body to
pass along its energy so I could heal his injured shoulder.
My heart pounded
wildly, battering my chest as if trying to break free. Blood pumped madly
through my veins, sending my pulse into an erratic, unpredictable tempo.
Completely in tune with my vitals, I suddenly became aware of another streaming
current – only this one was stronger, much more formidable. Gasping in
surprise, I jerked and almost toppled over backwards. I could feel my Essence
flowing – strong, like a tidal wave emanating, gushing through, yet also around
my body! My eyes opened wide with shock, and excitement tore through me as I
gazed into Jason’s eyes.
Jessica was
right, my Essence felt like an energy force to be reckoned with. It flooded
throughout my entire body in a steady, vibrant rhythm. My Essence was like a
natural life-force, one continuous ball of power needing no physical organ to
make it produce and perform. I couldn’t believe I’d never felt it before. Now
it seemed so obvious, so present, and so accessible.
Excitedly, I put
a hand on Jason’s cheek and gushed, “I can feel my Essence! It’s incredible.
And I think I can help…I mean, I know I can heal you.”
He smiled weakly
and said, “I’m ready Alex.”
And with that, I
directed the flow of my Essence into his body, flooding him with its power and
regenerating capabilities. He closed his eyes and relaxed. I could feel his
Essence, weak but ever present, until it began to strengthen. No more than a
minute later, he opened his eyes and nodded. I withdrew my hands and saw that
the bleeding had stopped, but the wound still looked nasty.
“It didn’t
work,” I cried out.
He sat up, put
his hand under my chin for a split second, and said, “Alex, you were awesome.
It worked; I promise.”
Looking at him
with confusion and frustration, I said, “No, Jason. It still looks awful.”
He chuckled and
responded, “Alex, an Amethyst heals the afflictions on the inside of the body –
where it matters most. The outside must heal on its own, over time. The
paramedics will bandage me up, and my skin will have to go through the normal
healing process with ugly scabs and bruises, but I’ll be just fine.” He paused
and pulled his shirt up. “You’ve repaired the tissues, the tiny blood vessels,
and any shattered bone fragments inside my shoulder. It’s like you’ve given me
natural sutures that have already dissolved away. I feel good, a little sore,
but whole again. You were amazing! Thank you.”
Interrupted by a
team of paramedics and police officers rushing into the bank, I had no time to
inspect further. I was pulled away from him and assessed for injuries along
with everyone else. I watched as the red-capped criminal was carried out on a
stretcher. Handcuffed and belligerent, it took a whole police escort to move
Mr. Beady Eyes towards the exit. As he turned his bloody face around and caught
my gaze, he hollered numerous, descriptive expletives. One officer gave him a
hard shove, and that was the last I saw of him.
A short, pretty
EMT determined Jason was stable but should be taken to the hospital on a
stretcher. He griped and groaned, but I had to agree with her – better safe
than sorry.
As he was being
carried out of the bank he called out, “Alex?”
“Yeah?” I
answered, pressing my red-stained hands against my pants.
“I believe I owe
you a bowl of African Peanut Soup.” He smiled and added, “And please don’t call
me Mr. Walker again.”
I grinned.
“Fine, but I don’t want you calling me Lexi, either.”
“Deal.” A smile
played upon his lips as he placed his head back down on the stretcher.
I heard someone
say the store would have to close for a few hours while the officers took statements
and investigated the crime scene in the bank. Meanwhile, the bank would be
closed indefinitely pending an investigation. An hour later I’d given my
statement to the police and had spoken with the mother of the toddler. We
hugged each other tightly and then parted ways. Merrick insisted I go home,
even though I argued extensively that I was fine. He said I needed to get
cleaned up and recover, and even arranged a ride home for me in a police car.
I arrived to an
empty house and immediately took a long, hot shower after which I collapsed on
the couch. I left Jessica a message that I’d had a major breakthrough with my
Essence and told her to call me immediately.
So unbelievable!
I could still feel the Essence flowing through my body, rushing like giant,
powerful waves hitting the surf. Wiggling my fingers, I remembered the tingling
sensations when touching Jason’s wound. I’d been so relieved and exalted after
I’d healed him. There was a lot to learn and even more to understand, but this
was one amazing gift. And for the first time, I truly believed I could survive
my rendezvous with mountain lions. I felt incredible. Healing Jason had been
effortless. Now, I needed to know if healing myself would be that simple.
My body
trembled, and I realized I was still shaking from the whole episode. I wanted
to see Jason again. Actually, I wanted his arms wrapped around me, easing away
the memories of the beady-eyed man firing his gun at me. Jason had saved me
too, and I’d forgotten to thank him.
Vibrations from
the old, jumpy washing machine shook the floor as I curled up in a soft, yellow
afghan on the couch. I’d rest for awhile and then tackle a woodworking project,
or maybe, I’d just sleep and dream of Jason.
The next couple
days were completely frustrating. A mandate came down directly from human
resources that neither Jason, nor I, could return to work for at least a week,
maybe two. We were placed on paid leave while we recovered emotionally, and for
Jason physically, from the shooting. Except I was going stir crazy sitting at
home all alone. Ally and Ben had left for Tacoma a couple days before the whole
bank incident had taken place and were to be gone for two weeks. My parents
were in California visiting my brothers. Calling them was not an option
anyways, because they’d fly home immediately. If they learned I’d been involved
with gun-wielding bank robbers, they’d spend the next seven days fluttering
around me.