Chapter 12
Even though the early morning traffic was light, the drive to the hospital with Noah, Rachel and Anna seemed much longer than I remembered it to be.
“Has anyone heard how she’s doing today?” Rachel asked, breaking the silence.
“I talked to her mother this morning,” Anna answered. “She’s doing better, but hasn’t said anything since . . . the accident. Her mom heard her sleep talking last night though. The doctor said it’s normal for someone to be mute after experiencing something traumatic like this.” Anna looked out the window when her voice started to quiver. I reached across and held her fidgeting hand. We continued our journey in silence.
“Anna,” Ms. Stevens called down the hall when we got off the elevator. Lexie’s mother was pacing the hall outside of Lexie’s room.
Anna ran and greeted her with a hug and they both consoled each other. Ms. Stevens looked up at the rest of us and tried to smile as she composed herself.
I pursed my lips and smiled slightly, nodding. “How is she?”
Ms. Stevens dried her eyes with her worn-out tissue before answering. “She’s awake. Doctor said her shoulder will be just fine. Maybe you can talk to her. She won’t talk to me. She only stares out the window. And whenever anyone talks around her, she covers her ears and just cries silently.” Ms. Stevens fought back more tears. “She doesn’t want anyone talking to her.”
Anna went straight into the room without another word, followed by Noah. I hesitated. What if she looked at me and said her first words: “You failed me.”? That’s ridiculous, I thought. As far as she knows, I’m normal. No normal person could’ve done anything to help her.
“Are you okay, Jake?” Rachel asked as she reached out to touch my arm, making me realize that I was pacing the floor and that we were now alone.
“Where’s Lexie’s mom?”
“In the room.” Rachel took my hand. “It’s not too late you know.”
“For what?” I asked. “You heard Ms. Stevens. She’s going to be fine. She doesn’t need a healer anymore.”
“But she does,” Rachel said. “Her body may be healing on its own, but her mind still needs help.”
I looked at her. Go on?
“You helped heal that kid’s mind at the ski lodge. You can do it, Jake. I know you can.”
“How can you be so sure?” I pulled away from her grasp. “I can’t fail again.”
“I saw it,” Rachel said, looking down at the floor. “I didn’t want to have to tell you that. But I had a vision you healed her mind. I know you can do it. Come on.” Rachel pulled me into the room where everything felt cold and barren.
“Anything?” I asked Anna hopefully.
Anna was sitting next to Lexie, holding her hand as Lexie stared out the window. Noah was standing at the foot of the bed with his hands in his pockets, looking uncomfortable.
“Nothing,” Anna answered. Lexie rolled over and pulled the pillow to her ear.
I backed up to the door and motioned for Ms. Stevens to follow. Then I whispered, “When she was sleep talking, what did she say?”
Ms. Stevens answered, “She screamed and then covered her ears and said, ‘My ears! My ears!’ But the doctors have checked her hearing and it’s fine,” Ms. Stevens said.
“I’m sure she’ll start talking soon. This is probably a normal part of the healing process,” I said, sounding way beyond my years.
“I know, Jake. I know. Thank you.”
When we returned to Lexie’s side, Rachel was suggesting to Anna that she take Ms. Stevens downstairs for something to eat. Anna stroked a piece of Lexie’s hair from her forehead and then carefully let go of her hand. Lexie looked at Anna for a split second, then returned her gaze to the window.
“I’ll be right back,” Anna whispered to her.
Once they left, Rachel motioned for me to take a position up by Lexie’s head. Noah gave me a questioning look, and I shrugged in response. I placed my hands over Lexie’s ears and began thinking healing thoughts.
“What are you doing?” Noah asked quietly, but with every syllable he spoke, loud, thundering gunfire split the air. I threw my hands up and jumped back, crashing into a machine.
“What the hell, Jake?” Noah said, coming over to straighten the equipment.
I stared down at Lexie, who had begun crying again. I placed my hands over her ears again and said her name: “Lex?” And again, the sound of gunfire split through my voice, and she flinched.
“Guys! I think she hears gunfire whenever anyone speaks,” I whispered, eyes wide on Lexie.
I put my hands back over her ears and imagined myself catching the bullets with every word that I spoke. “Heal . . . her . . . mind. . . . Erase . . . her . . . fears.”
When I took my hands away, Lexie’s eyes were closed and calm.
“Lexie?” Rachel whispered. Nothing.
“Is she asleep?” Noah asked.
“I think so,” I confirmed.
We watched her rest for a few minutes until Anna and Ms. Stevens returned with a sandwich.
“She’s asleep?” Ms. Stevens asked, surprised.
“Yeah, Rachel has that effect on people,” I teased.
Rachel curled her lip at me and said, “Hopefully she’ll feel better when she wakes.”
Ms. Stevens wiped the tears from her daughter’s cheeks. Lexie’s eyes slowly opened and she reached for her mother’s hand. “Mom?”
Ms. Stevens dropped her sandwich and grabbed both of her daughter’s hands in hers. “Lexie!” Ms. Stevens laughed and cried simultaneously. “She talked! She said my name! Did you hear that?”
I couldn’t help the smile that crept across my face from ear to ear. “I heard her,” I said. And I couldn’t help but notice Lexie didn’t flinch when we spoke.
Lexie’s eyes scanned the room as she slowly sat up, favouring her arm as she did. “Thanks for coming, guys.”
“We’re so glad you’re feeling better,” Anna said, relieved.
“Me too,” Lexie said with a bit of a laugh.
“Well, we should probably head back to school and let everyone know how she’s doing,” Rachel said after a moment of hugs and silence.
“Anna, we’ll be out in the hallway waiting,” I said as I kissed her forehead, leaving her with Ms. Stevens and Lexie.
“Good job, man,” Noah said once we were out of earshot.
“Thanks. I was kind of nervous, but Rachel told me she had a vision of me healing Lexie, so that helped to get me in there.”
“Oh yeah? You had a vision?” Noah asked, turning his attention to Rachel.
“Well, kind of,” Rachel answered.
“What do you mean—kind of?” I pressed.
“I may have just told you that so you would have more faith in yourself,” she looked at me guiltily. “If you think you can do something, Jake, you can.”
I smiled. “Okay, so that may have worked this time, but don’t lie to me again, okay?”
She answered with a smile.
“But thanks anyway.” I looked toward Lexie’s door as Anna emerged. A bounty of conversation flowed through the halls as Lexie and her mother reconnected.
We arrived at school in time for recess, and were swarmed by friends looking for the update on Lexie’s recovery. We reported to all that she was doing much better and should be out in a couple of days.
Tyler and Monica were sitting on our usual bench alongside the school when we approached.
“Hey,” I said with a nod. “How are you both doing?”
“Better, thanks.” Monica smiled slightly as Tyler held her close.
“Good to hear. Lexie is doing better. She should be back in a few days.”
“I still can't believe she dodged that bullet,” Monica said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“What do you mean?” I pried.
“You didn't hear the story?” Monica looked at me. “Lexie should be dead right now. That shooter had the gun aimed point-blank at her head. Then
, just as he pulled the trigger, he slipped or tripped or something and the bullet went through her shoulder instead.”
“No, I didn't know that.” I looked to Anna who appeared just as shocked as me.
“And it was lucky that he slipped because it gave me the chance to hide behind that Pepsi machine.” Monica’s voice became distant as she recounted the frightening memory.
“Definitely had luck on your side,” Noah said.
“But you’re doing okay?” Anna asked, sitting next to her friend, genuinely concerned.
“I am,” she nodded. “Just so thankful to hear Lexie’s going to be okay. It’s such a miracle she’s still alive.”
“Well, maybe not a miracle,” Rachel added, with a touch of cynicism, “but I agree that it’s pretty amazing.”
It was at the beginning of biology class when Ms. Peters arrived at the door and excused Noah and me to help her with a “special project.” We followed her down the corridor and out the front doors.
“Let’s go for a little walk,” Ms. Peters said as we headed around the building. “Fresh air and sunshine is always good.”
Something wasn’t right. Why would she take us outside for a walk unless . . . unless she had some bad news? Her smile immediately calmed my troubled thoughts—her gift had worked on me again.
“What’s going on?” Noah asked.
“I just wanted to give you boys a heads-up that there is a training camp happening this weekend in Toronto.”
“What is this training camp thing?” I asked.
“It’s a three day intensive training camp where you’ll meet Gifted Ones from all over North America and you’ll have the opportunity to train in your specialized category.”
“Okay,” I nodded. “And that’s this weekend? That’s kind of short notice, isn’t it?” What would I tell Anna about why I had to leave for the weekend?
“They don’t give us much notice on these things,” Ms. Peters explained. “Less chance of anyone finding out about the camp and causing problems for us.” She paused as we rounded the corner, and when it was clear there was no one within earshot, she continued. “So our cover is that there is a national environmental conference going on in Toronto for high school students across the country. Our school has been chosen to send a group to represent our area. You will be the volunteers going on the trip, although you won’t really be going. You’ll go to training camp instead.”
“Won’t they notice if our group doesn’t show up to this conference thing?”
“We’ll be sending in five young Interpol agents to replace you for the three-day conference.”
“Why five? Aren’t there only three of us? Who else is going?” I asked.
“Two seniors from our school. They’re also gifted. You’ll have an opportunity to get to know them on the trip.”
“So, Rachel’s going too, right?” Noah asked casually, although his face turned pink. I tried not to laugh.
“Yes, Rachel will be going.” Ms. Peters peered at him over her glasses. “You like her?”
I laughed, “Does he? Does he ever.”
Noah threw a punch at me and scowled, “Rachel's her daughter, dude.”
Ms. Peters let out a laugh. “It's okay, Noah. You're a good kid, so I don't mind. It's those other boys, like her ex-boyfriend, that I don't like her being around.”
“Her ex wasn't a good guy?” Noah asked.
“Well, I shouldn't really say anything bad about him. Let's just say that he was a good kid at one point. He was a jealous boyfriend though, and jealousy will ruin you. Rachel broke up with him. She is much too smart for guys like that.”
Noah nodded in agreement.
There was a silence, then Ms. Peters continued, “Jake, I understand that you have a girlfriend—Anna Taylor, is it?”
I felt my face get warm and my hands start to tingle at the mention of her name. “Yes, Anna Taylor. Do you know her?”
“I've heard of her. Seen her around the school. She's quite a cute little thing, isn't she?” Ms. Peters winked at me.
“I think the word is beautiful,” I said, trying to suppress a grin. Given the opportunity, I could talk for hours about Anna. Tell her anything she wanted to know. I worked at slowing my heartbeat so I could hear Ms. Peters continue.
“I wanted to talk to you about that, Jake. I know you care a lot about Anna and this might be really hard for you to hear, so I apologize in advance.” She stopped walking and turned to me. Although I knew I shouldn’t, I somehow felt relaxed. I admired her gift.
“S'okay. Go on.” I leaned in closer.
Ms. Peters spoke directly at me, each word stinging more than the last. “Jake, darling, it's not safe to have a girlfriend right now. I know it doesn't seem fair, but Anna is very vulnerable. With you becoming a Gifted One, the Defiers are immediately attracted to you and will want to know your weaknesses. Anna is your weakness.”
“What do you mean? Who are these Defiers?” My stomach tightened.
“Well, for every good there is evil. The Defiers are those who defy the laws of the covenant and who can do as much damage as we can do good. They are always trying to weaken us,” explained Ms. Peters.
“And you think that these Defiers will want to hurt Anna for some reason?”
“Of course they will. The only way to severely weaken a Gifted One is to take their source of power, which is oftentimes the person they love. When you are distracted and unfocused, you are very weak. Anna will be at great risk as long as she is your girlfriend, Jake. I'm so sorry to have to tell you that.”
Everything inside of me screamed to tell her she was wrong and that I could protect Anna no matter what happened. That without Anna, I had nothing to fight for. I wanted so badly to prove her wrong, but I knew it was hopeless. Something deep down told me she was right, even though I hated the thought of it.
Ms. Peters continued, “The attack at the lodge . . . we have good reason to believe that was an attempt on your lives.”
“What?” I reacted with surprise, although I had to admit that I had contemplated the same thing the day before.
“Interpol has been doing its own investigation. It appears that the men involved in that shooting were recently reprogrammed. Brainwashed, if you will. It is how the Defiers get random people to do their work for them,” Ms. Peters explained.
“What do you mean reprogrammed?” Noah asked.
“Reprogramming is something that Interpol invented for when they capture any of the Defiers. They reprogram them with a new identity—give them new memories, and sometimes even a new family.” She looked down at the ground. “And now the Defiers have learned how to reprogram people and they are using it to their advantage.”
“So these Defiers kidnap innocent people, reprogram them, and have them go out and kill other innocent people?” I asked, fighting to make sense of it all.
“It’s difficult to understand, but yes, that is essentially how it is done,” Ms. Peters answered. “Which is why, oftentimes, the shooters end up committing suicide. That is how their programming ends.”
“How do you know they were after us?” I asked.
“Your rooms were ransacked—the only two in the hotel.” Ms. Peters’ eyes were large and sorrowful. “I’m sorry, Jake. It’s just too dangerous.”
“Why? Why would they do that? Why would they target us?”
“We are very powerful people when left to our own devices. And they are very powerful people when left to theirs. That is why we are always at war with each other.”
“But what about Noah and Rachel? You don't have a problem with that. Wouldn't a relationship between the two of them put Rachel in danger?”
Ms. Peters began walking again. “Two Gifted Ones are actually stronger together than they are apart. Rachel will always be in danger, and Noah would attract no more danger to Rachel than is already there. To subject Anna to that when she is defenseless and unaware is just careless.”
“So what am I supposed to do?” I as
ked, swallowing the large lump in my throat.
Ms. Peters paused before telling me what I dreaded to hear. “You will need to break up with her, Jake. Leave her be. It is for her protection.”
“And what if I don’t want to?”
She stopped walking and slowly turned to me. “Jake, you’ve been given a great and powerful gift. You have a responsibility to protect people now. You have a responsibility to protect Anna.”
I fought the urge to cry. Or yell. Or run. “But maybe I don’t want this gift! Who says I have to keep it? There must be a way to get rid of it and have a normal life!”
Ms. Peters frowned. “I guess that’s your decision. But you’ll need to decide sooner than later. Once you sign the covenant, the only way to lose your gift is to turn to the dark side. And that’s definitely not the best life for Anna either. So you have a decision to make.”
“What covenant?” Noah and I asked in chorus.
“This training camp is a test to see if you are truly cut out for this. If you choose to continue, at the end of the three days there is a ceremony where you will become branded with the mark of the Gifted Ones. Once branded, you are bound to the covenant.” She took my hands in hers. “But, Jake, without your gift, who will help protect Anna if something like this ever happens again?”
The words stung as they echoed in my head. I was frozen in my place as Ms. Peters continued walking toward the school. She vanished inside and Noah and I were left standing in the schoolyard by ourselves. Ms. Peters was right. I knew what had to be done. Break Anna's heart. And mine. But could I actually do it?
We sat outside for another hour until the lunch bell rang and everyone began filtering out through the doors. The moment Anna came out, the sky seemed to get brighter and the air smelled sweeter. Her face lit up as she caught sight of me.
“I can't do this to her.” I started to panic. “I promised her I wouldn’t hurt her. I promised.”
“You're not doing it to her, Jake. You're doing it for her,” Noah said.
Suddenly Rachel came through the doors and ran toward us shouting, “Jake! Over here! Wait!”
Shaking my head at Rachel, I reached for Anna's hand. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” I choked.
“Yeah, sure. What's on your—”
“First can I talk to you, Jake?” Rachel cut Anna off as she grabbed my arm and pulled me down the path toward the football field.
“Rachel, what the—” I pulled my arm back and stood my ground.
“I am so sorry, Jake,” Rachel began in a low whisper. “I panicked for a second. I saw what you were about to tell Anna and I just needed to get you out of there.”
“So? I don't get it. I have to break up with her. You know that.”
“Yes, you do. I know. But you were about to create a big scene and that is not how it should go.”
“No, I wasn't,” I argued. “I was just going to tell her we shouldn't see each other anymore.” That had been the best I could come up with under pressure.
“Well, I already had a vision about how that ingenious idea would’ve gone over. She gets upset and leaves crying, Eric comforts her, you take out your frustration on Eric, and then you get suspended.” Her voice pleaded for me to reconsider. “Is that what you want?”
I shoved my fingers through my hair and held my head for stability as I thought through Rachel's vision. “How do I do it then?” I finally asked.
“Don’t ask me. The last time I broke up with a guy, he turned all psycho on me. You're on your own.” She reached over and stroked my arm. “Just try not to upset her too much, okay?”
I stared at her hopelessly, waiting for another vision to turn her eyes blank so she could give me some much needed advice on the situation. How do you tell your best friend and soulmate that you can’t be with her?
“Sorry, that's the best I have. Good luck, Jake. I'm sorry.” Rachel walked back to the group and left me standing there, with my back to the crowd and my heart in my stomach.
“You okay?” There it was—Anna’s magical voice. The one sound in the world that I would never get tired of hearing.
I turned and gazed into her deep chocolate brown eyes—pools of mystery with a sparkle of sunshine. “Yeah, it's good. Sorry about that.” I waved my arm toward Rachel, dismissing her.
Anna looked at Rachel and said, “What did she want you for?”
The uncertainty in her voice begged for understanding. I so badly wanted to tell her that she had nothing to be worried about with Rachel. I wanted to share our secret with her. I hated keeping secrets from Anna.
“Who, Rachel? Oh, she uh . . . she just . . . she . . . was just asking about Noah. I think she likes him.” I shifted my weight and crossed my arms, something my mother always told me I did when I was lying. That's how she knew that it was me (not my little sister) who threw the baseball through the garage window last summer, and me (not the dog) who ate most of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies off the counter last week.
Anna looked down at my arms folded across my chest, paused, and then said, “I see. Well, that would definitely be cool if they got together. We should hook them up.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” I mumbled as I put my arms around her and pulled her close. I just wanted to hold her. I knew I didn't have much time left with her, so I wanted to soak up everything. Maybe it wasn't fair to her, but I needed it.
Noah and Rachel were watching us from the benches and exchanging quiet words with each other.
“Listen, why don't we get together after school? Something's bothering you and I need to know what it is. I want to help, Jake.”
I nodded in agreement. My stomach was in knots.
“Meet me at the canoe at four o’clock. We'll go over to the island so we can have some privacy,” Anna whispered as her fingers trickled down my chest.
Four o’clock. Okay. I had a few hours left before I had to end the best thing in my life.