Ann, it's me. Open up.
Did something else happen? What are you doing down here.
Open the door, Ann.
She opened it with a scowl that quickly morphed into horror
as she read my thoughts
. "
No! Ryan, what are you thinking?
"
"He's my Special. Move." I deposited her to the side swiftly and went to Calvin.
I tried really hard not to glance at Ellie, because I didn't want to deal with two things at once
, but I still couldn’t stop
from glancing her way. She stood, her mouth slightly open, and watched me. Calvin
looked up
,
shock
ed
to see me and eve
n
more shocked when I took his arm and said, "Come on, champ. You're getting your wish."
He grinned and made a noise of excitement, but then Sherry stopped me with a hand on my arm.
"Ryan, what's going on?"
"He needs to do this," I said low. "I've been
so
blind
lately
, we all have. They're
Specials for a reason, Sherry. This is his job, his
task
,"
I emphasized. Her eyes went too round and she bit her lip. She looked at Calvin with a look that a mother would give. I felt her pain, literally, it hurt me to think about this, but it had to be done.
"O-ok," she stuttered. "I mean
," she turned to Lana, "h
e's not my son."
Lana was a different kind of woman and mother. She was perceptive beyond what most people were capable of. She gave me this look that told me she understood. She smiled and broke at the same time and signed 'What I wouldn't do to change things, but they are what they are.'
I bowed to her slightly in thanks and pulled Calvin's arm. He came willingly and said, "Yes! Finally! I've waited so long for this that I was starting to feel like it would never happen unless I
made
it happen."
I stopped in my stubborn, inhuman tracks. Was that a message directly for me or was it? I turned to Ellie, who still looked at me with a longing that I had known was there for a while now. She was shy, like me and my human self. I had kept her at a distance because I feared hurting her. If this all ended today, could I give up the After to stay here and die a human?
What if I fell in love with her, would that change my decision? Merrick and Jeff were pretty adamant and sure of their decision
s
.
Could I risk breaking her heart to explore that?
My body answered for me as I found myself propelling across the carpeted floor to her. She let her arms fall to the sides and closed her eyes, squinting in a way as if I'd hit her instead of kiss her. I plowed into her, my arms going around her like I'd seen the other men do so many times. My lips took their first taste of
female flesh and I felt a growl work its way into my throat. But she whimpered and that halted all movement, until she gripped my neck and tugged me closer. I felt clumsy and awkward, but she didn't seem to be complaining, and when she opened her mouth to me and I felt her tongue reaching for mine…
I pulled back and licked my bottom lip. I could still taste her there, smell her. Gah, I had to get out of here. I hugged her to me and spoke against her ear. Something in me
that I didn't understand
was extremely satisfied when she shivered. "
I'll be back. I just couldn't go another minute without knowing what that felt like."
"I'm glad you did," she said breathlessly and laughed as she leaned back and touched my chin. "Please come back
,
because
I really
want to do that again."
I
felt myself
smile and stole one last peck before sprinting toward the door with Calvin. We'd wasted too much time already and I knew that
I was going to have a fight on my hands with the other Keepers.
"Thanks, Calvin," I told him as we rounded the corner and clapped him on the shoulder.
"For what?" he asked.
"For making me brazen."
His face scrunched up. "You mean I said something to make you want to kiss Ellie?"
H
e turned back and thought. "That was
not
my intention."
"Th
at
I know," I told him through a laugh
. We went through the back door and he gasped as he looked around. "Still want to help?"
"Yep," he replied and gulped. "Let's do this, Ry."
I felt a ping in my gut. "Ry?" I asked and looked over at him. He was almost my height now.
"Yep, Ry. It suits you, man."
I chuckled, but sobered
as a Lighter looked at us and started to inch toward us
. "Stay close."
"
You
stay close. I'm ready to bar-b-que some Lighters."
"Calvin, be serious. This is…serious," I mumbled and tried not to question my decision. Then I
heard Jeff in my mind and wante
d
to just block him and push him out. But I didn't.
Ryan, what are you doing?
It's what's right, Jeff. My conscience was buzzing. It's time for the Specials to start fulfilling their tasks.
Are you nuts!
He got hit in the arm and swung around with distraction. I winced, but he just sat up and glared at me.
Our job is to protect them.
Our job is to protect them until they can fulfill their task. This is Calvin's and I'm done talking about it.
I turned to Calvin.
"Calvin, you ready?"
"What is that thing?" he leaned back and said. "It's wicked."
"Yes, it is. Do you feel anything?"
"Like what?"
"Like a…buzzing or
a
sense of purpose?"
Calvin laughed and gave me a strange look. "
What are you talking about, Ry? Are you asking me if there's a bee in my pants?"
"What? No. I'm just asking if you feel anything different
.
"
He laughed and clasped me on the shoulder like he was the adult and not the other way around.
"You mean like if I'm supposed to be doing this or not? Yeah. I fee
l
that.
Stand back, Ry." He held his hands up in front of him just as the beast turned to grin at him. "I'm sick of this thing already."
I gawked and felt my teeth grind together at the injustice of the whole situation. Why was I given one purpose and one onl
y, to watch over a boy, a
nd then to have to turn him loose to find his own way against a beast? It felt so right in my gut and conscience, but so wrong in my human head.
I watched, as did we all, as Calvin and the thing went head to head. Calvin's hands burned and blazed. The beast smiled and cocked his head to the side in contemplation. "You sent a child to do the job," he mused. "A hot hands Special with an unjust ego the size of a Buick."
I stared at him. He seemed so…
"Human?" he finished my thought and grinned. "I am. I am the best of both worlds. Lighter part to read your thoughts, Taker part to deflect your gifts, human part to catch you off guard and my true nature,
the
Graphter, to end you all once and for all."
"
Never heard of it," Jeff barked in his
way that was becoming his own. "Sounds like a trick to me."
"Only the ones with the lower hand need to use trickery, Keeper," the thing mused with a smile. "You can call me the new Taker if you like, for I and others like me will continue to come and share all of his traits."
Calvin bolted toward him. I felt the gasp settle in my throat like a lump, but he apparently had a purpose. He ran straight to the things back, let his hands touch the beast's back and let his gift loose on him. He yelled, "If you wanna be the Taker, then die like the Taker!"
And he did, but not without one final look over his shoulder as he burned. It was as if he knew this was going to happen…and he was happy to make the sacrifice. I felt everything in me cringe and become uneasy.
Right as the lightning began to build, he said, "We know
right
where you are. We'll see you again."
And the lightning took him with a blast that knocked us all down on our butts. I coughed and sat up, staring at the spot that he had just been. Did that really just happen?
I found myself blurring to Calvin, who had been knocked back the furthest. I leaned over him and shook my head when he leaned his head up to grin at me. "That was so awesome!" he yelled. "Did you see that?"
"No, Calvin," I chuckled in exasperation, "I had my eyes closed."
"You did not. You totally saw!"
"Yeah, I saw. You kicked butt."