Authors: Brandt Legg
By nine all doubt was gone. Tanya said Rose
hadn’t stayed out past nine as long as she’d known her. Tanya came into the
reading room while I was looking into the crystal ball.
“The police already knew she was gone and
said she’s not a missing person. They consider her a fugitive.”
“A fugitive? Are you kidding? Do they know
we’re talking about Rose?”
“They said there is a warrant out for her
arrest.”
“For what, telling the future while under
the influence?”
“I’m serious, Nate. We used to be neighbors
with this cop, and I called him for advice. He pulled her up on the computer to
make sure she hadn’t been in an accident or something. Then he was like,
‘Tanya, how well do you know your stepmother?’ and said ‘the Department of
Homeland Security through the FBI issued a warrant on charges of terrorist
activities.’ Does
terrorist
ring any bells, Nate?”
I’d been telling myself that this couldn’t
have anything to do with me, that there would be some logical explanation. But
now, she wasn’t just missing; Sanford Fitts had her. “This is outrageous! We’re
living in a police state!” The sick feeling growing inside won out over my
anger.
“Nate, what are we going to do?”
“I’ve got to warn my mom.”
Tanya was distraught.
Mom answered. “The people who have Dustin
took Aunt Rose while we were gone today! They issued a warrant claiming she’s a
terrorist. They said she fled,” I said.
“Nate, are you sure? Could she have fled? What
if she found out about the warrant and went into hiding somewhere?”
“I guess that’s possible, but I think she
would have let us know somehow. Either way, you need to stay away from the
house. I think you could be next.”
“I’d like to see those bastards come knock
on my door. They would--”
I cut her off. “Mom, these are not the kind
of people to mess with. You’ll suddenly have a heart attack or a car accident.
Don’t be crazy! They got Dad, Dustin, and now Aunt Rose. I don’t want to be
alone in the world. Go stay with someone. Don’t be by yourself. Promise me.”
“Okay. Okay. I’ll go to Barbara’s. But what
about you? They want you most of all.”
“I’m not staying here tonight. I’ll keep
moving.”
This time I read the front walk and within
a few minutes I saw them, two armed men. Viewing from behind, the agents in
blue DHS parkas and matching ball caps, looked at Rose’s face, which expressed
no surprise.
One of them said, “Rosemary Ryder Phelps?”
“Yes,” said Rose.
“Ma’am, I’m Agent Dandon and this is Agent
Fitts. We have a warrant for your arrest.” He handed her papers. She didn’t
even glance at them. She must have known something. There was no struggle; she
hadn’t fled.
Surprisingly, other images burned into me
at the same time; I was suddenly staring at my dad behind the Station
restaurant. A man in a ball cap was talking to him the morning of his death. It
was a quick glimpse from behind, but it had to be Fitts! Why else was I seeing
it now? They were laughing, and something flicked from Fitts’ hand that my dad
didn’t see. He swatted at his neck like a mosquito bit him, but it was too
late. Whatever Fitts had shot into his bloodstream was already moving through his
veins. He had been murdered! Then a second realization hit me: Fitts was the
same man who had, in the Outview from the campground, chased me and shot me in
another lifetime.
I was reeling in despair and rage when
Tanya interrupted me. “What should we do?”
“Leave here now! They could be back any
minute. We need some place to stay tonight.”
“They don’t know me. Why wouldn’t my house
be safe?”
“Let’s go, we’ve been here too long!”
As we were rushing out, I saw Rose’s phone
again and grabbed it. Tanya zipped out of the driveway and swerved dangerously
into traffic. I dialed Sam’s number.
“Now they took my aunt Rose!”
“Nate, slow down, who took your aunt?”
“Homeland Security arrested her just like
Dustin. They’re claiming she’s a terrorist. Once again we have no idea where
they’re holding her. We need your sister now!”
“They can’t just do that. This is getting
out of hand. What the hell is going on? Sounds like we may need more than just
my sister. I’ll call again, but my guess is even with this the soonest we’ll
get her involved is Monday at nine. Can you be here?”
“Why not now? Or this weekend?”
“She’s slammed. This case is eating up
every minute on research, witness interviews, whatever lawyers do in big
litigation. She couldn’t do much over the weekend anyway.”
“Mom’s after me to go to the media, which I
think is too risky. She’s also talking to other lawyers, trying to get someone
to help.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to your mother, and
I’ll call my sister again right now.”
I tossed Rose’s phone on the dash and
turned to Tanya.
“I saw them arrest Rose. The agents, one of
them killed my dad . . . and me! I’m sure they took her when I saw the rainbow
spill into the clouds on the beach. Spencer must have seen it happen. Why
didn’t he tell me? Why couldn’t he find a way to stop it? Why didn’t they wait
for me? How did they find us?”
“Nate, what are you babbling about? Are you
going to freak out on me?”
“No, no. I’ll be okay.” But I wasn’t sure;
it was too much at once. Fate was pushing Fitts and me together in the cruelest
imaginable karmic catastrophe. I phoned Amber.
“Bridgette?” Amber asked, sleepily.
“No, it’s Nate.”
“Nate? Oh, I fell asleep talking to
Bridgette. Are you okay? What time is it?”
“They got Aunt Rose! Arrested her for being
a terrorist.”
There was silence.
“Amber, are you there?”
“Yeah. Why would they take Rose?”
“It’s not safe for you to stay alone. Can
you go somewhere?”
“Not this late. I’ll be fine tonight. Even
bad guys have to sleep.”
“I’m not so sure. Go to a hotel. Tanya and
I are heading to her place now. I don’t think they know about her, so it should
be good for a night. Call me the minute you’re up.”
Another sleepless night. It was ironic; all
I wanted was sleep, when only ten days before it had terrified me. But my mind
was churning with the conspiracy that had taken over my entire existence. I
tried to block it out; I had to sleep.
I quizzed myself on my new abilities and
the five great powers while passing time in the night. Outviews and prophecy
were done under Timbal. Colored pops I now knew were signals from the universe.
The wind noise that came when spirit guides announced their presence,
channeling through guide writing, and seeing shapeshifting were all part of
Foush. But Lusans, the holographic-like healing balls were the most exciting
part of Foush. They felt more magical than any of the other stuff. Manipulating
space, or Gogen, allowed me to move objects, which was super fun and continued
to amaze me each time. Also part of Gogen was traveling the astral, which was a
whole mind-boggling trip all its own. Reading objects and people were different
forms of Vising and totally surreal. My new way of “reading” books might be the
most practical thing I ever learned because it opened up all of human knowledge
to me. How was I going to remember all these powers, and how much more was
there? The technique for putting people to sleep was part of controlling
consciousness known as Solteer. I wondered if there was a way to use that on
myself? It was all quite fantastic, but the real powers were still to come.
39
Saturday, September 27
Kyle, Linh, and Amber arrived at 8:30 a.m.
They would have been earlier but were extra cautious to make sure no one was
following them. The strain on Kyle’s face was evident. Authorities were after
me, and he was involved. I recognized the look of no sleep. Amber hugged me
first; she held on so long I was afraid of accidently reading her life.
“I’m just glad you’re safe,” she said.
“Any luck seeing Rose?” Kyle asked.
“Nothing,” Tanya answered for me.
Linh looked tired and sad. “What’s wrong?”
“Them taking Rose is tragic. And who’s
next?”
“It’s so screwed up. They can call anyone a
terrorist and take them,” Kyle said.
“They’re the terrorists,” Amber said.
“Lightyear needs to be exposed.”
“I know where Dustin is.”
Everyone looked at me. “He’s being held in
a house just outside of Ashland.”
“Let’s go,” Amber said.
“Is Rose there?” Tanya asked.
“Not as of this morning. Dustin’s well-guarded.
We can’t just storm in,” I said.
“I think we could,” Amber said.
“This isn’t some Disney movie,” Linh said.
“It’s the government we’re up against.”
I hadn’t told them about any of my new
powers and believed we really had a shot at getting in and out of there safely.
Spencer had to know I wouldn’t wait long before doing something. I worried that
each day we didn’t act, Dustin was that much closer to getting killed. And
where was Rose?
“For the moment Dustin is okay, and we know
where he is. Aunt Rose is missing without a trace. I can’t see her. Everything
that works with Dustin comes up blank with her.”
“Could that mean she’s dead? I mean would
you be able to see her if she were dead?” Tanya asked quietly.
Linh ran out of the house in tears. Kyle
started after her.
“I’ll go,” I told him.
“I could have saved Rose.” She was crying
when I caught up to her. “The dream I tried to tell you about yesterday before
we got cut off; Rose was running across a giant dartboard and big darts kept
landing next to her. Each time one hit--and they were big and sharp--she would
turn in the other direction. She was scared, and the darts kept coming. Finally
she got to a place when the darts stopped.”
“Is that it?”
“Rose looked down and realized the place
she stopped at was the bull’s-eye. She looked up and screamed just as the dart
hit her. It was terrible,” she sniffled.
“Linh, you didn’t know that was a warning.”
“But I did. As soon as I woke up I knew
something bad was going to happen to Rose.”
The guilt was mine. If I had turned back
and listened to Linh’s dream instead of racing toward Spencer in my pursuit to
save Dustin, I could have told Rose about it. She might have been able to hide.
Whatever happened to her was my fault. Even before the dream, it was me who put
Rose in jeopardy the minute I went to her house. “You’re all in danger because
of me.”
“It’s not your fault. You didn’t do
anything wrong.”
“I need to be more mindful.”
“You’ve been reading too much Thich Nhat
Hanh.” She smiled.
“More like not enough.”
“You love history so much you should know
that truth always prevails in the end.”
“Maybe, but sometimes ‘in the end’ can take
centuries.”
“Are you scared?”
“Yeah.” Impulsively, I took her hand.
“Linh, even if I die, I’m not really dead. You know that, don’t you?”
She nodded, fresh tears falling.
“I’m not frightened of death.” I was
telling myself as much as her. “What I’m scared of is not triumphing over these
killers. It’s not just Spencer’s words anymore. I’m starting to sense how much
is at stake. It’s everything.” My words were crystallizing what I’d been
feeling. There was more to it than saving Dustin and finding Dad’s killer. Spencer
wasn’t training me just for that. I was beginning to admit that to myself. He
was right. It was a war, and I couldn’t walk away if I wanted to as I’d been
drafted lifetimes ago.
Kyle came out of the house. “Wanted to make
sure you two were okay.”
“We’re not,” I said. “But I guess no one is.”
He gave me a strange look.
“I brought you those books you wanted.” He
opened the hatchback and handed me the box holding dozens of volumes by Thich
Nhat Hanh, and twice that number from his uncle’s library on quantum physics,
astronomy, and philosophy.
I took the books inside and held them one by
one. The others sat around watching, totally amazed that in such a simple way I
could quickly absorb so much information.
“I didn’t know Rose, but she was psychic,”
Amber began. “What if she’s using some technique to block you so that you won’t
look for her?”
“Why would she do that?” Tanya asked.
“I don’t know. So he’d concentrate on
saving Dustin instead of her? Or maybe because it would be too dangerous to try
and get her. Or what if she has some trick to get away on her own, and we could
mess that up?”
I was about to tell Amber that she was
grasping, but I saw the hopeful look on Tanya’s face and said, “Yeah, maybe.”