Chapter 12

Soon I felt the approach of a large group of people from down the mountainside.

I started to concentrate and found that I could feel them just as I had felt Lyssa and Jim and just as I had sensed the members of the compound. I could feel that they were anxious, that they were looking for us, that they were concerned about our safety. More specifically, they seemed to be concerned about Lyssa’s safety. There seemed to be a lot of thoughts regarding her.

I scanned around the perimeter finding Lyssa and Bob returning from their scouting. I motioned to Jim in the direction from which they were returning. I wanted to see his reaction when they appeared from the woods where I was pointing. I mean, if I had to live with this gift, then I might as well enjoy it, I thought to myself.

When Bob did appear out of the underbrush, Jim looked over at me. It seemed, as though any doubts he might have had, were being addressed. He then silently motioned that our ride was rapidly approaching. He walked over to take the left flank anxiously scanning the horizon for any signs of trouble.

In another minute, Lyssa appeared through the underbrush, and as I watched her approach, I was reminded of the way a leopard sneaks through the underbrush and grass as it approaches its prey. She was obviously beautiful, even in the morning after not sleeping, and after a difficult night of travel through the woods.

But I was also amazed at the raw power that she exuded, the lethality that surrounded her, the way her muscles bunched and contracted with a subtle grace, but an unmistakable power.

She crept up and took a seat beside me, running her hand across my forehead, “Are you feeling all right?” she asked with a somewhat concerned expression on her face.

“Yes, I’m fine, just tired,” I answered, “I could use a very long sleep in a warm bed in the near future, but I am not complaining.”

She smiled at me with a warm look in her eyes, “Soon enough, David, soon enough.” And with that, she turned her attention from me to the small, mounted patrol, that had appeared at the far edge of our clearing.

Jim pulled out a mirror and gave a small flash, helping them to localize our exact location while Bob actively scanned the area on either side of the patrol and then continued his sweep of the woods behind us. It wasn’t until then that I noticed that they had drawn their guns and were following their visual scan with the barrel of their guns.

In another minute the patrol arrived, pulling to a halt a few feet from the edge of the woods. There were five men on horseback, all with weapons drawn and at the ready. They too were scanning the horizon and looking a little anxious. They had on the same fatigues that Lyssa and the two guards with us, and they each looked like someone you would not want to mess within a dark alley.

I didn’t have long to study them, though, because Lyssa whisked me out of the woods, half pulling and pushing me toward a horse that the men had brought with them. We each mounted up and then took off in the direction that they had come.

For a few minutes it was a glorious feeling, riding on horseback across the open prairie, the cool air against my face. Lyssa was just in front of me, her hair flowing in the wind as we galloped. As I relaxed and started to take in the sights I enjoyed, for the first time in a long time, the feeling of riding on horseback across the fields.

The ground was flying by and within a few minutes, the rock outcropping that I knew was the fortress grew larger and began to loom above us. Once again, the size of it struck me, for though it seemed quite large, it took us several more minutes to get to the entrance.

This time though, we used a different entrance. The place was so large that I didn’t see the entrance that we had used the last time. Instead, it seemed that we were heading straight toward a stone wall. As we neared that wall though, the lead rider suddenly turned and then they disappeared.

When the other riders slowed as they neared the wall, I realized that there was a cleverly carved entrance, but it was at such an angle and carved so carefully, that facing it from straight ahead, you could not see it.

We dismounted and with a group of guards around us, Lyssa led me into the fortress and down a long and winding hallway. A cool breeze blew in our faces as we walked, a gentle rise along the way, with small electric lights near the floor to light the way. The air in the hall was damp, like in a cellar, but it was fresh and clean.

Lyssa seemed to be preoccupied as we walked, looking ahead and not talking. I left her alone, not wanting to disturb her, and I reflected on the incident that had occurred in the meadow just a few minutes earlier.

It still gave me the creeps when I thought about it. That feeling of cold as if it were piercing my mind. I still got chills as I thought about it. I thought more about the sense I had that there had been a person behind it, some sort of consciousness. I still couldn’t put my finger on it, but as I concentrated on it, the feeling seemed to grow. I concentrated on it some more and it grew colder and colder. I felt the chill bumps break out across my body, and then, for just a second, I knew that there was someone there, I felt a thought of surprise come across.

Just then Lyssa touched my arm, distracting me, and I lost my concentration. The feeling, or connection, was gone. I looked up and realized though, that she had just saved me from walking into a wall. I turned to look at her and saw a look of concern in her eyes.

“David, are you alright?” she asked.

“Yes, just preoccupied.” I answered. “I am tired and have a lot on my mind.”

She nodded, “We’ll let you get some rest in a few minutes, but Alexandra wants to talk to you for a few minutes first and she will have some questions. Apparently, there was a minor skirmish at the compound after we left and we are investigating whether it was just an uprising of rebels or whether it was an attack by some of our enemies.”

I nodded and wondered just how much was going on around me that I didn’t understand. I further wondered if I was the cause of the commotion.

Lyssa took me by the arm and led me up a narrow flight of stairs that had been intricately carved out of the rock, well worn by what appeared to be years of use. We climbed a few flights and emerged into the opening that we had the last time I had visited. Again, there was a small crowd of people gathered there in small groups, talking and socializing.

We didn’t stay there though, as Lyssa led me across the courtyard and into the same small room where I had talked with Alexandra before. Lyssa motioned me to a small couch located in a corner and a young girl brought in a small tray of food and a pitcher of ice water. I realized how hungry I was and immediately picked up a sandwich and wolfed it down, chasing it with a glass of some of the coldest, freshest, water I had ever tasted.

Lyssa had disappeared through a small doorway and in a few minutes, she re-emerged with Alexandra, looking regal as she had the last time I saw her. She smiled at me as she walked over and bent down to kiss me lightly on the cheek.

“David, it is good to see you again,” she said with a warm smile of her face, “however, I am sad that it had to occur under such circumstances as these. I understand that you have had some trouble with your treatment and perhaps even developed some side effects. Are you doing better now?”

I nodded and wondered just how much she might know and how much Lyssa had told her.

“Yes, it has been a difficult time, but I seem to be recovering from my ordeal and I am learning to adjust to the side effects. I take it that Lyssa has shared with you what I told her?”

“No.” she answered, “Lyssa has not told me anything except that she is concerned about you. She takes her word very seriously.”

I nodded, “Yes, that she is, and very loyal as well. I will be honest with you, Alexandra, I do not know who to trust other than her, and she seems to trust you, so I am going to as well. My treatment has had a serious side effect and I need to know if this has ever happened before, but I want you to promise that no matter what, you will never repeat this, or use it against me.”

“I am glad that you trust me, David,” she replied, “Josh was a good friend of mine, and since he chose you, I will always try to help, and protect, you.”

I smiled and realized that she was right and I had everything to gain, and nothing to lose, by telling her.

“Alexandra, I think that the treatment has had a serious side effect on me. It seems that I now have the ability to sense other people’s thoughts and emotions.”

She looked at me quite strangely and I sensed a slight bit of fear. I realized that she was afraid that I could read her mind and I suddenly wanted to let her know that I could not.

But then just as suddenly, I knew that she knew, and a whole different sensation came over her. I realized that she had sensed MY THOUGHTS! She had suddenly known that I could not read her mind at the same moment that I had thought it. Then I realized that perhaps she could read minds.

She stood suddenly and turned to me, “David, quickly clear your mind and come with me. Think of your home in North Carolina and think nothing of here.”

She took me by the hand and led me quickly down a tunnel deep into the bowels of the compound. The deeper we went, the colder it got, the staler the air became, and that noise in the back of my mind, that warned me when other people were around, continued to fade until I could no longer hear it.

We finally arrived at a large heavy metal door which she unlocked and pushed open with a loud squeak. Inside was a small room, that appeared to be carved out of solid granite, the air was dry, and the room felt oppressive. One small electric light burned over the door, the wire leading to it dangling down and disappearing into the metal door frame, like an umbilical cord. The light itself casting a dim glow over the whole room in a shade of burnt yellow.

There were two small folding metal chairs in the room and a small card table there as well. Alexandra motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs while she closed the door and locked it.

For a split second I wondered where Lyssa was, but a glance at the worried, even scared, look on Alexandra’s face soon made me forget about her.

“David,” she began, “Josh had warned me that this might happen. It was part of the reason that he chose you. He too had some strange ability to sense things about people, but I never felt such a strong sensation from him our entire lives, as I just did from you.”

“He warned me that you might be stronger than he was and that this strength could cause a great deal of trouble, even danger. And worse than that, it could cause a great deal of danger to those around you.”

I looked at her, wondering how much she knew, wondering if she too had gone insane. She had always been kind to me, helping me, and so far, had been the only person who had been completely honest with me.

“David,” she continued, “I wasn’t even alive when Josh underwent his treatment, but as a child I remember hearing how sick he had become, how close to dying he had been. Many accused his family of giving him too much of the herb, but many had witnessed the dose and knew that was untrue.”

“He also had a period of time after his treatment, while he was recovering, that he didn’t want anyone around. His family was very concerned about him and tried to keep all the well-wishers away.”

“He told me a few days before he left to find you that a similar thing might happen to you, that you might be very ill for a while after the treatment, might even seem to go insane. He asked me to take care of you, look after you, help you deal with this, should it occur.”

“But David, the biggest danger is that if others find out about this, they will try and come after you, to use you, study you, manipulate you. Josh never wanted that to happen. He tried to conceal his gift, to keep it in check.”

“He once said that there were a few others like him. Some of those that had gone insane were like him but they hadn’t been able to cope with the sensations. And then there are those that had left to live alone. These people have been called hermits and there are a number of them scattered across time in our history.”

“But what are you supposed to do to help me?” I asked. “How are you supposed to understand what I am going through, how can you help me control it if you don’t know what it is?”

“David, I do not understand what you must be going through, I cannot even begin to imagine. But I can understand the consequences. I can imagine how you could be used as a tool, a weapon, or worse yet, that you could betray the very people you care for, just because you cannot control this gift that you have.”

“What if Lyssa were in trouble, in hiding, and for just a second, you thought about where she was hiding and projected your thoughts on her enemies the way you did on me upstairs just a few minutes ago. How dangerous could that be for her, and for you?”

“I don’t know how to protect you, I am not even sure that down here, in this room that we are safe. Josh seemed to think so, he helped to build this room, used it to come relax, and talk. He also would write down here, think about things. He would need to be alone for a while and this was his place to escape.”

“Yes, this is probably pretty safe. I can barely feel the sensation of other people down here, it may be the quietest I have had since I underwent my treatment. The only sensation that I can feel is your presence,” I replied. I relaxed for the first time in a long time and figured I could talk to her, tell her what had happened.

“I do have one question for you. When we were traveling through the forest on our way here, and we had stopped to await the cavalry, I had the strangest sensation as if someone were probing my mind, like an ice-cold wind blowing across me. The strange part though, was that there was a presence behind it. I would swear that someone was behind it.”