Chapter 10
The next morning started with a nine a.m. wake-up call just as Rachel had promised. On any other day I would have rolled over and ignored it, but I was still on a high from the night before. I jumped off the couch and grabbed a quick, hot shower. Noah was just waking up when I was ready to head down for breakfast.
“Ugh,” Noah groaned.
“Meet you downstairs, buddy. The girls are waiting.” That woke him up a little.
“Rachel?” Noah asked as he stretched.
“Yeah, you slept through her wake-up call. She’s downstairs already waiting. I’ll keep her company ‘till you get there,” I teased as he stumbled out of bed toward the shower.
I stepped out into the hall and noticed Anna leaving her room. I waited for her to catch up and greeted her with a big smile. She was so beautiful—even with just a few hours of sleep and her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail.
“You’re gorgeous,” I pointed out as I took her hand.
“You’re full of it.” She laughed as she nudged me on my side.
We walked hand-in-hand down to the breakfast lounge. It felt like my smile was permanently tattooed on my face. Rachel waved us over to the table where everyone was already seated and eating.
“Looks like we weren’t the only ones to be graced by Rachel’s early morning wake-up call,” I said as we approached the table.
“I’ll be right back. I’ve got to go to the washroom,” Anna whispered.
“Did you want me to order you something?”
“Ham and eggs and milk to drink, please.” She winked and left for the washroom.
I turned to sit down. Rachel slid over to sit next to me and then whispered so no one else could hear, “We need to talk.”
“About?” I pulled the menu up and studied it.
“You and Anna.”
“Didn’t I already tell you to mind your own business?”
“You don’t understand, Jake. There’s more to it.”
“Then tell me, Rachel. What is the big deal?” I raised my eyebrows in anticipation of a big revelation. She had my one hundred percent attention.
“Nothing. Never mind.” She looked away and bit her lip.
I snickered. “You’re something else, Rachel.” I shook my head and looked back at the menu.
We placed our orders a few minutes later. Then Noah sat down between Rachel and me. “Did I miss anything?”
“Slide down. That’s Anna’s seat,” I told him.
“Relax, dude. I just passed her in the hall. She’s talking to Eric.”
I stiffened as I turned to face Noah. I tried hard to fight the emotion that overcame me at that moment. My heartbeat quickened as nausea settled in.
“Jealous?” Rachel mused.
That must be it.
“Whatever.” I shoved the thought into the back of my mind and tried to focus on the menu again.
A few minutes later Anna came back into the room and sat down. She was smiling at something she obviously found amusing.
“What’s so funny?” I asked as I handed her the glass of milk she had ordered.
“Oh, nothing. I just . . . Eric. He’s a character.”
Rachel and Noah turned to gauge my reaction.
I tried to maintain my cool. “Yeah, Eric sure is a character.”
Silence.
“Uh . . . why? What did . . . what did Eric do?” I chuckled as if I already thought what she was about to say was pretty funny.
I could see a smile play at the corners of Rachel’s mouth. Noah lowered his head into the menu.
Anna sipped her milk from a straw and laughed again. “Nothing, really. He was just being a goof. Making fun of Tyler. It was funny.” She looked up at my blank expression and then to Noah who had obviously not caught the humour either, and said, “I guess you had to be there?”
“Yeah. No, I’m sure it was funny.” That strange feeling of jealousy returned.
“Anyway,” Rachel interrupted coolly, “let’s eat and get this show on the go.”
“That sounds good to me,” Noah agreed.
Suddenly Rachel gasped. I looked at her, puzzled. She was staring straight ahead, wide-eyed, at . . . what? Before I had a chance to ask, her eyes refocused and she was back.
“I was thinking,” Rachel began calmly as she slowly turned to face us with a fake smile, “that we should head home. What do you guys think?”
“Already? We didn’t even get any runs in yet,” Anna protested.
I knew enough to know that Rachel had a vision. And by the looks of it, it wasn’t good.
“I know, but the whole resort is going to be taking off right after lunch and we don't want to be caught in all that traffic. Besides, my body’s had enough—haven’t you guys?” Rachel faked a yawn and looked at Noah for encouragement.
Noah said, “I was thinking the same thing. Let's go.”
“Yeah, yeah, sounds good to me,” I added with a smile.
Anna looked confused but I could tell she wasn't overly disappointed. She shrugged. “Okay, I guess that makes sense. I didn't get much sleep last night so I wouldn't have lasted very long today anyway.” She winked at me and blushed a little.
“So it's settled,” Rachel said. “I'll spread the word to everyone else in case they want to follow suit.”
We were on our way home, about a half an hour from the resort, when several emergency vehicles, travelling in the opposite direction, passed us: ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. We all fell silent as we watched from the shoulder of the road as they flew by.
“Wow, it looks pretty serious. I wonder what happened?” Anna's sympathetic voice trailed off.
“Yeah, it does.” I noticed a slight tremble in Rachel's voice. I think Noah did too because he turned to gather more information from Rachel's expression. It was blank. She was deep in thought.
“Why don't you scan the radio stations, Rachel? See if there's anything on the news yet,” Noah suggested.
Rachel scanned the stations. Nothing. Then my phone started to ring. I fumbled through the pockets in my jacket, located my phone, and answered it.
“Eric, what's up?” I glanced at Anna with a confused look. Anna mimicked my expression as she studied my face.
“Dude, are you guys okay? Where are you?” Eric was panicked.
“Yeah, we're fine. We're almost to Truro. Why? Where are you?” I had a sinking, bad feeling about this. I wanted to see what Rachel had seen. To know what Rachel knew. I turned to study her face. She was pale, waiting for answers too. I turned on the speakerphone and held it out for everyone to hear.
“We're still here. We were packing up to leave and we heard all this gunfire and screaming. It's crazy, man. I don't know what's going on down there.” Eric's voice was shaking. “I hear sirens now. Dude, this isn't good.”
Noah spun the Jeep around and started speeding back towards the resort.
“We're on our way back, Eric. Where are you now?”
“Me and Tyler are in my room, but Lexie and Monica were downstairs in the lobby waiting for us. There's no answer on their cell phones. Dude, this really isn't good.”
Rachel took the phone from me. “Eric, it's Rachel. Listen, don't go anywhere. Stay in your room. The shooter is likely still in the resort. Don't call Monica or Lexie again. They've shut their phones off. Put your phone on vibrate in case we have to call you back. Lock the door and don't make a sound. We saw emergency crews heading toward the resort, but just stay there until we come and get you.”
There was silence as we all stared dumbfounded at Rachel. She shrugged and handed the phone back to me. “I just heard it on the radio,” she said, an obvious cover for Anna’s sake.
I hung up the phone with Eric so we could keep the line clear in case Monica or Lexie tried to call. We all sat in silence as Noah sped back to the lodge. What should have been a thirty minute drive only took us about fifteen. Anna was now sitting so close to me that I could feel her breathe. She squeezed my hand
to her chest. I looked at her and saw that her eyes were pressed closed and her lips were fluttering quickly. She was praying. This was something I had seen Anna do periodically over the last three years. She prayed for the baby bird that fell out of the tree in her backyard. She prayed when her parents went away to third world countries. She prayed before every exam. She prayed for everyone and everything. Her parents were never harmed, and she always aced her exams; her success rate was quite good, so I thought it couldn't hurt to give it a try. I closed my eyes and had a silent talk with the Man upstairs.
Hey Big Guy. Just wondering if you can hear me. Not sure how this whole prayer thing works, but here goes. I paused and took a breath, searching for appropriate, God-friendly words. Anyway, as you know, there's a situation going on right now at Wentworth. You know which one I'm talking about? Well, of course you do. Anyway, I don't know how bad it is, God, but if you would be so kind as to spare my friends' lives, I would pay you back somehow. You know, I'll try to be a better person or something.
I peeked through one eye at Anna who was still praying. I decided I should keep going too. God, if you can hear me, can you just send me a quick sign so I don't feel like such an idiot for talking to myself? I mean, I know I'm not supposed to ask for signs, but . . .
And before I could finish, a huge clap of thunder rumbled and shook the car. Anna jumped and I took the opportunity to hold her closer. It could’ve been a coincidence, but I took it as a pretty clear sign.
“Look at those rain clouds coming in,” Anna said as she leaned over me to peer out the window.
Thick, black clouds were rolling in from the west. Noah slowed and turned his wipers on full as we neared the resort. The police had the road barricaded and we couldn't even get close enough to see the parking lot. The emergency vehicles were lined up, getting ready to go in.
“What's going on, Rachel?” I asked as I tried to get a better look.
“I don't know. I suspect the police are trying to secure the building first before they send anyone in.”
My phone started ringing again. I answered it without noticing who was calling.
“Hello?”
Silence. I listened closely and could hear some background noise but no voice. I held the phone away to check the number. “It's Monica,” I gasped.
“Jake?” I could hear her faint, desperate whisper.
I lowered my voice. “Monica, are you okay?”
“Jake . . . I'm scared.”
“Where are you, Monica? Where's Lexie?”
I listened closely as Monica continued, “Jake, they’re killing people. I'm hiding behind the Pepsi machine in the lounge. I got separated from Lexie when they started shooting and everyone started running. . . . I can see them, Jake. I can see them. . . . I think Lexie's dead. I think she's dead.” Monica’s whimper was barely audible.
Without thinking, I jumped out of the car and ran toward a group of police officers who were taping off the property. Anna, Noah and Rachel followed close behind.
“Hey!” I shouted as I neared the group.
One of the officers turned his attention to me and commanded, “Stay back! Go back to your vehicle!”
“No! My friends are in there. I have one of them on the phone and she can see the shooters. They are killing people in there!” I shouted as the cold rain soaked through to my skin.
The police officer turned his attention to me and stared at the phone in my hand. “Stay there,” he ordered before jogging off toward the sergeant. But we didn’t. I held up the tape and pulled Anna through. Rachel and Noah followed us to the front line.
“I thought I told you to stay there!” the police officer barked when we approached.
The sergeant motioned toward my phone. “You have someone on the phone who’s inside there?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” I answered. I explained how Monica was trapped and that she could see the shooters. The sergeant took my phone and we listened as he asked Monica about her location, how many shooters there were and what their locations were. Then the sergeant held a radio to his lips and relayed the information to the Emergency Task Force. We watched nervously as a half-dozen men in black quickly surrounded the building. And then they entered.
I leaned into Rachel and whispered, “What happens next?”
She whispered back, “I don't know. I didn't see this far ahead.”
“Well, can't you think about it and figure it out?” I urged as a wave of frustration came over me.
“It's not like that, Jake. I can only see flickers of things sometimes. I can't control when they come and I can only see a short time into the future. I can't see the outcomes of a lot of events when there are Gifted Ones involved.” She lowered her head and dug her heel into the mud. “I'm still learning too.”
No matter how inexperienced we both were at using our gifts, we were needed today. I knew I could help people—I was certain of it.