see how blue and black my foot is sticking out through the end. Swollen too.
I hear Danny suck in his breath and Celeste gasp beside him. But I wave off their concern and try to focus on what Jeff is saying but I can’t. My eyes skim the sea of faces. Battered and bruised and stitched and bandaged. The wave of guilt comes rolling back to me, crashing over me.
Then I see Lana. Refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. Staring at the wall. I continue to look at her. Willing her to look at me. When she finally does I immediately regret it. The pain and confusion in her eyes is too much to look at without wincing.
I sign ‘I’m sorry’, placing my right hand over my heart in a fist in a circular motion while still mouthing ‘sorry’. She nods and wipes tears but turns back to the wall again. She’s lost the only person in the world she can talk to. Literally.
Merrick promptly returns with coffee and a cereal bar for me. The brown brew is the perfect balance of sweet and cream.
He crouches down in front of me and we all sit back and absorb Jeff. He is excited in a furious way. Ready to set out and inflict revenge and retaliation on their opposites. The Lighters may have ultimately won the battle, getting the prize, but Jeff is determined to win the war.
“So, the way I see it. With all the gifts that the Specials have acquired here, I don’t see any reason that we can’t go there and take them back. Josh can see through the walls, Trudy can hear things far off, Danny can plant thoughts, Celeste can find the children by focusing on them and Marissa can compel them to do anything. The Keepers can be the muscle. We can do this.”
He goes on to tell us the plan in it’s entirety. We wait until nightfall. We send someone out as bait for a Lighter. We know one will come since they seem to be running rampant. We capture it and bring it down for ‘questioning’. He didn’t further elaborate on ‘questioning’ and I didn’t want him to.
Everyone is in agreement. No one said, ‘hey, it’s just a couple kids, we can’t risk out lives for them.’ Everyone was upset and ready to get to the action. To the doing and not sitting part.
Once we capture it, we get what info we need, leading us to where Lily and Calvin are. He lets us know where and we go and meet them there. Sounds simple enough.
It’s decided that Miguel will be the bait. It can’t be a Keeper or they may not want to attack as easily and we don’t wanna chance it taking long because it’s wary. Miguel can fight better than any of us, so he volunteered. Oh boy. It begins.
Merrick, Jeff, Kay, Ryan, Josh and Danny, who insisted on helping and Merrick told him he could stand watch at the door, will wait to ambush the Lighter once Miguel lures it out. Then they interrogate.
“Now, Sherry. I’ll need you for some of the questioning. We’ll need to know if it’s lying or not about where Calvin and Lily are. Are you gonna be ok with that?” Jeff asks, looking me dead in the eye and raising sympathetic eyebrows.
“Of course.” It’s all I can say.
The meeting ends and some take off to get some rest as all of these plans will take place at night fall. A lot of them stop to talk to me before heading separate ways. Josh kneels down in front of me and ask me, I counted at least five, if I’m ok in between other adamant questions. I assure him I am before he pats my arm and takes off after Miguel, who also asked how my leg was feeling.
After rib crushing hugs from Ryan and Trudy, I ask Merrick to help me with a shower. He does and joins me, insisting it would be easier to hold me up that way. I agree.
After he helps me get undressed he hops in with me, adjusting the water to my liking and holding me gently from behind around my ribs with one arm. The water is so hot and good. I hang my head and let it roll down my back. Merrick kneads my back and shoulders.
After a freezing, miserable night on the rock hard ground with wounds to boot, I can’t
I hear Danny suck in his breath and Celeste gasp beside him. But I wave off their concern and try to focus on what Jeff is saying but I can’t. My eyes skim the sea of faces. Battered and bruised and stitched and bandaged. The wave of guilt comes rolling back to me, crashing over me.
Then I see Lana. Refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. Staring at the wall. I continue to look at her. Willing her to look at me. When she finally does I immediately regret it. The pain and confusion in her eyes is too much to look at without wincing.
I sign ‘I’m sorry’, placing my right hand over my heart in a fist in a circular motion while still mouthing ‘sorry’. She nods and wipes tears but turns back to the wall again. She’s lost the only person in the world she can talk to. Literally.
Merrick promptly returns with coffee and a cereal bar for me. The brown brew is the perfect balance of sweet and cream.
He crouches down in front of me and we all sit back and absorb Jeff. He is excited in a furious way. Ready to set out and inflict revenge and retaliation on their opposites. The Lighters may have ultimately won the battle, getting the prize, but Jeff is determined to win the war.
“So, the way I see it. With all the gifts that the Specials have acquired here, I don’t see any reason that we can’t go there and take them back. Josh can see through the walls, Trudy can hear things far off, Danny can plant thoughts, Celeste can find the children by focusing on them and Marissa can compel them to do anything. The Keepers can be the muscle. We can do this.”
He goes on to tell us the plan in it’s entirety. We wait until nightfall. We send someone out as bait for a Lighter. We know one will come since they seem to be running rampant. We capture it and bring it down for ‘questioning’. He didn’t further elaborate on ‘questioning’ and I didn’t want him to.
Everyone is in agreement. No one said, ‘hey, it’s just a couple kids, we can’t risk out lives for them.’ Everyone was upset and ready to get to the action. To the doing and not sitting part.
Once we capture it, we get what info we need, leading us to where Lily and Calvin are. He lets us know where and we go and meet them there. Sounds simple enough.
It’s decided that Miguel will be the bait. It can’t be a Keeper or they may not want to attack as easily and we don’t wanna chance it taking long because it’s wary. Miguel can fight better than any of us, so he volunteered. Oh boy. It begins.
Merrick, Jeff, Kay, Ryan, Josh and Danny, who insisted on helping and Merrick told him he could stand watch at the door, will wait to ambush the Lighter once Miguel lures it out. Then they interrogate.
“Now, Sherry. I’ll need you for some of the questioning. We’ll need to know if it’s lying or not about where Calvin and Lily are. Are you gonna be ok with that?” Jeff asks, looking me dead in the eye and raising sympathetic eyebrows.
“Of course.” It’s all I can say.
The meeting ends and some take off to get some rest as all of these plans will take place at night fall. A lot of them stop to talk to me before heading separate ways. Josh kneels down in front of me and ask me, I counted at least five, if I’m ok in between other adamant questions. I assure him I am before he pats my arm and takes off after Miguel, who also asked how my leg was feeling.
After rib crushing hugs from Ryan and Trudy, I ask Merrick to help me with a shower. He does and joins me, insisting it would be easier to hold me up that way. I agree.
After he helps me get undressed he hops in with me, adjusting the water to my liking and holding me gently from behind around my ribs with one arm. The water is so hot and good. I hang my head and let it roll down my back. Merrick kneads my back and shoulders.
After a freezing, miserable night on the rock hard ground with wounds to boot, I can’t
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