Balancer's Soul (55 page)

He pointed over his shoulder. “Behind
those bushes is a waist deep and slow moving stream. I would say
about thirty yards away.” She nodded and turned her head to look at
the fire.

Connor led Sarah to the other log and
she sat down first followed by Connor. She understood why they sat
on the larger log. Since Connor’s frame is larger; he needed more
bottom room.

***

For the next two hours they talked
about the carnival and what went down at graduation. And then Kara
asked “Speaking of… How are you feeling, Brother?”

Connor tore his eyes away from his
blunt sister. Looking up he noticed that the sun had gone down and
the stars were twinkling in the clear night sky. The light given
off from the fire reflected off the trees eerily. He added a few
sticks into the fire to keep the night’s cool air from chilling
them. Then his hip was beginning to feel sore so he took Tool out
and laid it next to himself, on the ground.

Looking back at Kara who waited
intently and impatiently for an answer, he retorted “I’m fine Kara.
I wasn’t hurt too bad, luckily.”

“But there was so much blood?” She sounded
worried.

“It was only a small cut.” Connor felt
Sarah shift uncomfortably next to him. Putting his arm around her
for comfort, she stilled and leaned in closer to him.

Mark came to the rescue. “Kara, the
head bleeds profusely. Even from a small cut. It usually looks
worse than it actually is.” Connor mouthed ‘Thank you.’ and Mark
barely nodded for his conformation and then asked Sarah “Are you
cold?”

“Not really, but I am getting slightly
famished.” She smiled up at Connor.

Kara threw her head back and barked a laugh.
“I don’t think we brought enough food to fill your bottomless
pit.”

“I think I can survive from the meager
morsels we brought with us.” Sarah said giving a small smile to
Connor’s sister.

Mark grabbed the bowl and walked over
to the stream to refill its contents while Connor pulled out his
pack and grabbed four apples and two family size cans of chili.
After tying the rope back to the tree he walked back to the
fire.

Mark had already returned with the
bowl full of water and set it over the fire to boil. Connor tossed
everyone an apple as an appetizer until the water became hot enough
for the cans of chili to be added.

Connor had forgotten to grab the bowls
and cups from their packs and Kara obliged by getting them herself.
Kara and Mark ate the first batch of chili and after Connor walked
over to the stream again to refill the can; Sarah and he finally
ate.

It was around midnight from the way
the crescent moon hung in the clear night sky when Connor said “We
had all better get some sleep tonight. The sun will be up in about
five hours.”

No one had any arguments because every
single one of them were weary from today’s journey. Connor added a
few pieces of oak to the small fire to keep it from dying during
the night.

Kara picked up her quiver and longbow
and laid them at the mouth of the shelter. She laid down on the
litter and it crackled as it supported her weight. She was then
followed by Mark and his weight sunk the litter down into the soil
by an inch. They took the left side of the lean-to
shelter.

Sarah went to bed first as Connor
stood and washed the utensils, cups and the bowls in the stream. He
strung up the metal bowls and cups on the side of the shelter to
keep them from getting dirty. He was tired and finally knew
everything felt secure enough for the night.

Crawling into the litter;
Sarah was already laying on her side and her back aimed in his
direction. As his full weight was taken by the bedding Connor
tossed the other half of their sleeping bag over the two of them
and then wrapped his right arm over Sarah’s abdomen. She shifted
her body to press her back flush against his chest then thought
softly in his mind.
“It was a bit of work
getting up here, but I actually had a good time walking with Kara
today.”

“She’s annoying, but she
can keep you entertained for a rather long time.”
Connor felt Sarah silently laugh as her back
shook.

“This is the first time I
have gone camping with someone else that wasn’t family. I mean I
usually go by myself or with my parents. We have this tradition in
my family that we go camping together once a year, during the
winter solstice.”

He thought it odd so he
asked.
“Why on the solstice?”

“I was born on December
21
^st
over three hundred
years ago. It’s better to call my birthday the solstice rather than
giving the expressed date. It sounds cooler too.”
She turned around on the litter and moved up to
look at him, face to face. She wanted to see his reaction he
supposed.

“Can I ask what your exact
age is?”
He cracked a smile and she smiled
back with mirth.

“Connor, Balancers don’t
keep their exact ages like humans do. We count our ages by every
century we survive. Last time I checked I was the eleventh youngest
of our entire clan. That is unless someone had another daughter in
the past twenty five years.”

“Well if that’s true I
would be considered what? Being that I am not even a century
old.”
At that she smiles his favorite
smile.

“You are considered a Child
until you become one hundred. Then you will be considered an
Adolescent until you reach the age of five hundred. Then you become
an Adult for the next one thousand years. If you reach the age of
one thousand five hundred you reach the age of being a
Sage.”

“So I’m a Child
huh?”

“And I’m an
Adolescent!”
and she giggled
silently
.

Connor leaned forward and
they kissed softly and quietly. After they ceased the kiss they
stared into each other eyes. He had another question.
“Are there any more age levels as
Balancers?”

“There is only one more
level. They are known as the Elders. There are only thirty Elders
and they are our leaders. Each of the them are all well over eight
thousand years old!”
Her eyes became soft
while his eyes went wide.

He delved into her mind
even more to see what she pictured. In her mind she imagined
herself holding his hand while staring off into the sunset. Orange
streaks from the sun gave everything a new shade of color. Birds
flew towards their nests while the wind swirled loose leaves. They
stood on a castle terrace smiling at each other.
“What is that picture meant to be?”

“Since you saw it; it was
what I imagined us being if we would be lucky enough to one day
become Elders.”
She smiled at him in
longing.

“I will do whatever it takes to make your
dream a reality.”

“It will be nothing more
than a fantasy.”
She closed her
eyes.

But still she honestly wanted to
become an elder.

“BULL!”
He mentally shouted to her and her eyes shot wide
open.
“Now that I have your attention; I
will make sure that one day you make Elder. Do you know what that
means for you?”

“I sure do. It means that
we will have to put up with each other for a
LONG
time.”
Sarah wrapped her arms around his head and held him in her
vision.
“I can’t imagine spending my life
with anyone else.”
Sarah pulled herself
closer and gave him one more kiss. Then she stopped suddenly and
drew away.
“What was that?”
Her eyes shot open again as Connor focused his
hearing on a noise.

There was a soft rumbling sound
getting steadily louder. It had a gravelly feel to it, but it
wasn’t a steady sound, it kept oscillating in and out. Connor
didn’t budge a single muscle, nor did she as he tried to figure out
where he heard this sound from. It seemed a familiar, dim memory.
Then it came to him. Connor started to laugh quietly and he knew
Sarah wanted an answer. “Kara’s snoring.” Sarah broke into a smile
and she too started to laugh. “She hasn’t snored in years as far as
I can remember, since I made her stop.”

“How were you able to stop
the sound of
that
locomotive?” Sarah gestured with her head towards where the
other couple slept.

“I put one of my dirty socks in her
mouth.” Sarah had to take her arms from around his head to cover
her mouth to muffle the laughter that shook the litter.

After a few more minutes, she calmed
down, but laughing tears still streamed down her cheeks. Her front
was pressed to his and she used his left arm as a firm pillow. Then
a similar snore tore alongside Kara’s as Mark snored too. Not long
after, she started her gentle and innocent snoring and he knew she
was finally asleep. Connor, tired as well, fell asleep not long
after.

The morning came and Connor awoke
first. The first rays of light were filling the eastern sky, but
the image of the sun was still hiding below the horizon. It was
surprisingly crisp this morning and a thick fog had rolled in the
camp. He gently lifted his wife’s head and sat it down gently on
the covering. He easily slid out of the bedding and walked to the
fire without disturbing anything. It remained burning softly so he
added a few more branches and stoked the fire, bringing it more
life.

Connor picked up the bowl and walked
to the stream and filled it completely. He returned and put the
water over the fire to boil.

He walked over to the snore section
and gently touched Mark’s shoulder. He was asleep in the same
position that he did with Sarah. Mark awoke, turning his head
slowly and carefully and his eyes focused on the person who
disturbed his slumber, looking groggy. He whispered “What time is
it?”

“Early.” Connor whispered “I need some
help getting breakfast ready.”

Mark nodded and slipped out of bed
easily without rousing his girlfriend. They walked away from the
girls and to the fire before they spoke. “What do you need help
with?” Mark said while stretching.

“The water still needs more time to
boil so I think we should go clean up first.” He suggested. Plus
Connor needed to put a theory to rest that’s been scratching the
back of his mind for a long time.

Mark nodded and they walked to the
suspended packs to get their cleaning supplies. Tool had already
been slid into his belt loop as they walked to the stream. Connor
stripped down to his boxers and held Tool and a bar of soap. He
then entered the frigid stream. The water came nearly up to his hip
till he submerged his entire body in the clear water and it about
took his breath away. It was like getting punched in the chest. He
started lathering his chest when Mark asked “How’s the
water?”

“Crisp!” Connor answered with a shiver
and Mark laughed. He also broke down to his boxers and did a
cannonball into the stream, splashing everything in sight. Connor
had no alternative but to laugh. When he resurfaced Connor saw that
the water came up to the middle of his friend’s abdomen. After he
finished lathering Connor tossed the bar over to Mark and he
started up his cleaning ritual.

Lucky Tool had been sharpened before
they left because it was still sharp enough to shave with, even
after its use building the camp shelter. After he finished shaving
he dunked himself in the water again and as he came back up he saw
Mark’s pupils flash momentarily again. Connor didn’t react in any
way as he walked out of the stream. He started drying his legs when
Mark said “Do you shave your legs too, Little Missy?” and started
laughing.

“At least someone won’t make a mistake
and call animal control on me; unlike someone else I know.” Connor
fired back and they both started laughing at each other.

“Touché. I need to shave as well.
Could I use your hatchet?” He tossed Tool and Mark caught it by the
handle. He lathered his face with the soap and shaved.

As Connor finished putting on the
spare black pants and shirt, everything that scratched the back of
his mind about Mark all fell into place. The past linked together
in a rush. The first time Mark went camping and sprained his ankle,
Connor couldn’t see where he tripped. How quickly the bruise and
the swelling showed up was the next abnormal indication. Mark’s
drastic change in muscle development required hours upon hours of
labor yet he didn’t do nearly enough. It came about too quickly
since Connor knew his lifestyle and he doesn’t work out like he
does. What seemed even more odd about the development was that his
muscles looked exactly like Connor’s, but only smaller to fit his
frame. The way he moved when they brought everyone to the cottage
for the first time indicated he knew exactly what he was doing. And
most of all, those quick flashes in his eyes weren’t natural. All
of the pieces came together and Connor then knew exactly what Mark
is.

He didn’t call him out on it, but at
least he finally solved Mark’s big secret.

After Mark finished shaving and
putting on a clean pair of clothes they walked back. They each put
their dirty clothes in a plastic bag. Connor took out four small
packets and some sealed sausages and meat patties. Mark walked over
to collect the bowls and cups. He also grabbed a skillet