Transcending the Legacy by Venessa Kimball

figured that out yet?”
    As Xander’s fixed stare bears down on me, I stand firm, not backing down from what I have grown to believe as the truth in our existence as guardians. “I have faith that once I get to the mounds, I will be freed from this thing that has latched onto me. Right now, I need you by my side on this cousin.”
    As I wait out Xander’s decision, the heavy silence between us crumbles from the sound of a massive explosion from above.

I stand next to Elisha, Nick, Siobhan, and Jake watching the doorway I rushed from moments earlier.
    I was talking to Ezra and he was pissing me off with his over protective dad complex. He begged that I stay close to him and Sebastian and not do anything stupid. That little gem ticked me off and I let him have it.
    My anger was quickly doused when he rested his hand on my shoulder and told me, “I just want to you to be safe, alright?”
    The magnitude of his sentimental touch and words went deeper as I saw a glimpse of my mother holding Ezra in her arms beyond the veil. A myriad of sadness covered me as I remembered that image for myself. Michael had put a dagger through my father and my mother held him as I raged in Michael’s direction.
    Wanting the image to end, I closed my eyes and pushed it as far back in my mind as I could. I nodded at Ezra in understanding and acceptance of his request to stay close to him and Sebastian. When he left, I was hit with the nausea and a heated sensation covered every inch of my body. I listened for the tell-tale hum that usually accompanies it, but it wasn’t there. It felt just like it did earlier, when the Dwellers attacked Briggs’ camp. As I turned searching for the cause, I locked eyes with Xander first, then Nate partially in the shadows behind him. No one else was in the room, just the two of them and me. Suddenly my stomach retches and the absent humming spikes to flood my ears. I wondered if something had attacked Briggs and his troops above and we just hadn’t heard it from down here. Trying to remain unaffected in front of Xander and Nate, I rushed from the room.
    As soon as I got out there, the humming completely stopped, but the squeamish feeling lingered. I saw Elisha and made a bee-line toward her.
    Seeing my expression, Elisha grabbed something from one of the bins and shoved it into my hand. She demanded, “Eat this. You look like you are going to pass out.”
    Absently, I nibble on the nutrition bar she handed me moments earlier and stare at the doorway I just rushed from while Elisha, Nick, Siobhan, and Jake stationed around me. Nate and Xander have been there a while now. I consider marching back in there, but it would stir up Ezra and the others. They may just be talking. Trying my hand at my telepathic ability again, I try to listen to their thoughts. I come up with nothing though. Damn it.
    My stomach lurches again and I take another small bite of the bar. What is making me nauseated? Only Dwellers and shifters have that effect on me. I look at the entrance we descended from, but I don’t see or hear movement. Briggs and his men are up there. If something was going down, they would have come to us. If Dwellers were attacking, it wouldn’t be this quiet.
    “I wonder what it will look like out there? I mean, we know what it smells like,” says Nick breaking the silence among us.
    Jake huffs, then says, “Third Tuesday. I don’t think Kyoto did that with the bodies.”
    Siobhan replies, “We wouldn’t have known if they did. We only went out a few times before...” Siobhan shifts uncomfortably and looks away from our huddled circle just as she softly says, “. . . before the last time.”
    Tenderly, Jake puts his arm around her. Elisha, Nick, and I look at each other discreetly, knowing that the last time was when Angela didn’t come back.
    I look back at the doorway; still no sight of them.
    What are they talking about in there? Are they fighting? I close my eyes and try one more time to get into