Chapter Four
Robbie, Keith, Johnny and Dana had been up all night and were in the middle of a late breakfast when Tracy and the gang all returned from the hospital. Plenty of food was still left, so Tracy and the rest of the gang took some plates and went into the library where there was enough space at the table.
Richard picked at his sausage links with the fork and said, “Man, Berto’s leg! Just so messed up! You know he’s the only reason I play football? To him, the game meant everything.”
Tracy was intrigued, “Don’t you like playing?”
Richard shrugged nonchalantly, “There can be a precision to running a route that’s almost as good as surfing, but those moments are really rare. Berto’s like my brother. Without him there, the appeal’s pretty thin.”
Tracy was shocked, “You mean, you’ll quit the team?”
He nodded, “Yeah. Team sports are not my style. Plus, all this stuff that happened last night, well, it sort of puts life in a really different perspective. Can’t just keep doing the same thing after all that!”
Chloe nodded, “No kidding!” In her mind’s eye she saw Yuri slash the air with the knife and felt the blade pierce Saul’s brain case and she felt the recoil of the gun as she blasted the Sheriff. She shook her head to banish the thoughts. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same. How could I?”
Demetria wiped a tear from her eye, then smiled and said, “The things of our past are very sweet, and we can always preserve their memory and treasure them rather than think of it as loss.” She squeezed Chloe’s hand.
Robbie and Keith joined them. Robbie said, “Keith and I were discussing your situation, Demetria.”
She nodded and said, “I would like to hear what your evaluation is.”
Tracy was startled, “What situation?”
Keith said, “Well, we think the Brotherhood is a danger, Demetria, and you’ll have to hide. We’re assuming they’re watching the place right now, so we need to sneak you out. It’s our best option.”
Tracy put her hand on her chest and gasped. “We’ll all have to hide! They’ll be coming after all of us soon.”
Robbie patted Tracy’s shoulder, “It might come to that. I think the rest of us are safe, at least for now, but Demetria’s in danger, and we risk a direct confrontation if she stays here. They think they own her.”
Tracy bit her lower lip, and nodded her head. “Alright. I think you’re right. That makes sense.”
Demetria nodded her head slowly. “You are right. I don’t want to go far away, though. I will disguise myself and stay close by. There is something very special about this corner of the world and I feel I need to stay here.”
Robbie agreed, “If you’re hidden near here or a thousand miles away, I think the result is the same.”
Tracy asked Demetria, “What do you mean this place is special?”
Demetria got up and walked outside and motioned for the rest of them to follow her. They filed out after her, and Robbie brought Johnny and Dana in tow. Demetria was drawn back toward the spring. She put her hand on the sandstone and pressed her face against it. “Your family was drawn here to live.” She said. She kept her hand on the green stone surface. She patted it fondly. “Then, I was drawn to you. This place is very, very old. There’s a very strong connection here.”
Robbie was curious. He felt very attached to the property, but just assumed it was just his familiarity with the place, “What do you mean by connection?”
She took his hand and put the palm on the rock and said, “It’s a difficult skill to master, but you can do it if you practice. It is a very subtle sensation, really more fundamental than even an emotion, too basic to translate to words.”
Robbie looked at Dana, “This is more your department.”
Dana rolled her eyes and said, “Quit the gruff act. You’re more subtle than you let on!” She planted her hand on the rock. Demetria put her arm around Dana’s shoulders and they both closed their eyes. Dana’s arm tingled. In her mind’s eye, as if looking through thick gray fog, she saw a grove of trees and a meadow. She opened her eyes again and gasped. She looked at Johnny. “It’s like the reflector!”
Johnny looked around at the spring and the pool. The rocks formed a semicircle. “That’s really amazing. I guess it’s easier than Matt thought. It was right here all along.”
Demetria was puzzled, “Reflector?”
Johnny and Dana looked at Robbie. He sighed and nodded and said, “Go ahead. We don’t need to keep any secrets.”
Tracy noticed they were avoiding eye contact with her. “Hey! What secrets?!” She demanded.
Robbie was about to talk but Dana interrupted, “Tracy, a few years ago, your father discovered a way to cross over to the other side. Johnny built a giant metal beach-ball type thing that amplified this connection.” She gestured around at the rocks. “Matt and Telia are alive, though we lost contact with them a few years ago.”
Tracy nodded, “They just talked to us,” She pointed at Richard and herself. “Well, that is, we both had a dream about them.”
Demetria was just starting to recover some of her strength and energy and was just starting to feel hopeful. She breathed in the air of the spring, then tapped a finger on her temple. She speculated, “It’s possible if he spent a lot of time here, he was basically getting hints from the other side about this reflector.”
Tracy looked around in amazement. “We would come here all the time the summer before I went to Tweedy Pines.”
Robbie said, “That’s the summer he got the idea.” He scratched his beard.
“Whoa! Is this for real?” Richard asked. He pushed his blond hair out of his face, and put his hand on the rock and closed his eyes and relaxed, like the moment after jumping onto his surfboard as he caught a wave. He saw the meadow and the fuzzy form of a girl. He opened his eyes again and asked, “Hey, is that you?” He looked at Demetria.
“That’s Stephanie.” Demetria said. She smiled and hugged him and gave him a kiss. Her energy was returning and they all felt their spirits lift.