Chapter 21 - Brandon
“We are going to do a wide search,” I explained to the group.
Kaleb, Westley, and Asher all stood ready.
“I want all of the ground swept, and everyone needs to keep their eyes and ears open. If you see anything, please let the rest of us know immediately. Do not try to be a hero and fight it. You have no idea if there is one or twenty out there.”
Jade had explained she felt a pull toward the woods, and I believed her. Her powers were new, but I saw what she was capable of, and that wasn’t even her true potential. If she felt there was something out there that posed a threat, I took it to heart.
Jade stared into the woods, her arms wrapped around her middle, and her fingers gripped her skin. She looked uncomfortable as she stood there. I watched her eyes remain fixed on the trees.
“Jade, where do you feel the pull? Is there a specific spot?”
Jade looked at me before looking back at the woods. She chewed on her lower lip. “West.” She waved a hand toward that side of the woods. “But that’s it. I don’t have a definitive spot.”
“You have anything else to offer besides just that?” Kaleb asked, looking like he didn’t entirely believe her.
Jade glared at her brother. “Why don’t you believe me?”
Kaleb frowned. “I do believe you, Jade, but your power is new. Are you sure it’s not like…your body adjusting?”
Jade’s eyebrows went up. “My body adjusting? Have you forgotten that I gave birth to a child? I know my body, and I know my feelings. This is new, but I know it’s because something is out there.”
“Exactly, it’s new.” Kaleb scratched at his head. “So, maybe think about this before we send a crap ton of people out searching for something that may or may not be there.”
Jade narrowed her eyes at her brother. “Kaleb, I know what I’m feeling. It’s a hybrid. It’s the same feeling that I felt when I watched one rip apart Nick. Don’t question me about whether or not I’m sure because I am.”
Asher made an “ooo” noise and snickered next to us. Kaleb sighed before elbowing Asher in the gut, making him bend over in pain. Kaleb gave his sister a sympathetic expression as an apology.
“Now that we’ve got that over, can we get back to sending people out?” I asked, wanting to get moving with the search. If Jade was right and there was a hybrid out there, I wanted to get it before it got to us. I didn’t need another outbreak like last time.
“Yes, we should have enough people.” Asher waved a hand around the group. We have about fifteen guys with us. We could split up into two groups and cover more traction than just one.”
“Alright.” I waved a hand down the middle. “Left goes with Kaleb, and the right goes with me.”
“I’ll be joining,” a new voice spoke up, and I turned to find Dale walking toward us. I looked at Jade, whose eyes had widened slightly. Why was he here? And how did he even know about the search party?
“Dad, what are you doing here?” Kaleb asked, looking at his father with a shocked look.
“I thought I would come watch training, but it seems there is something more important than that. What are you doing? This doesn’t look like proper form.”
I glanced at Jade for a moment, seeing the way her shoulders dropped slightly. She looked so small when her father stood next to her. It made me question what had all happened in the past. I knew that their relationship wasn’t great.
“Jade is certain there is a hybrid close by, and we are going to investigate it.”
His head snapped to Jade, and I watched his upper lip lift slightly. But he quickly calmed his face, letting it fall flat. “Ahh, so a feeling? I’m guessing you have no evidence to back this up?”
Jade went a deep red, and I curled my hands together. I was about to speak, but Kaleb beat me to it.
“Dad, we don’t have time to explain. Either join the group or leave us to work.”
I half expected Dale to argue or to say something, but Dale straightened his shoulders and nodded. “Alright, fine. I’ll join Brandon’s group to help with the search. Another set of eyes is always good. Besides, I want to see Jade’s power in action.”
My stomach dropped slightly, but I could see the horror on Jade’s face.
She looked ready to puke, but turned away and started walking into the woods, clearly wanting to avoid anything else.
Dale looked at me, waiting for me to say something.
I wanted to tell him he wasn’t needed, but as uncomfortable as Jade was, he was another body.
“Alright. Let’s get moving,” I said, waving a hand and looking at Kaleb. “Radio me if anything happens.”
We split into our groups and headed into the woods. I walked closer to Jade and hooked her arm. I could feel her shaking as we walked. “Are you okay?” I asked in a soft voice as I leaned in closer to her.
She glanced over her shoulder at her father, who was several feet behind her. She slowly nodded, though her eyes disagreed. “I’ll be fine.”
I frowned, knowing she was telling herself that. “I can send him back. If you think this will interfere with your ability to help, I will gladly send him back. Or send him to be with Kaleb’s group.”
She quickly shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Honest.” She offered me a tight smile, but I knew it was forced. “We have other important things than this. I can set aside my discomfort for this.”
Jade moved ahead of me, and I sighed. I knew she had a point. We needed to focus on finding the hybrid rather than her discomfort. But I hated the look in her eye. I hated the way she seemed to curl in on herself after watching her grow and flourish over the past several weeks.
We continued to walk, but there was nothing to be seen. I looked at Jade, who continued to stare deeper into the woods like she was looking at something. I knew even if we weren’t finding anything, she was feeling something.
“Our area is clear,” the radio beeped, Kaleb’s voice filling the silence. “Nothing over here. Do you want us to go deeper or head back?”
“Go deeper,” I responded.
“Well, isn’t that just perfect?” Dale spoke up, turning toward Jade. “Are you happy? You just wasted all of our time.”
Jade chewed on her lower lip, refusing to look at her father. I felt anger bubble to the surface and ground my teeth together.
“Dale, just because we don’t see something now, doesn’t mean she’s wrong. There could be a hybrid, and it might be moving.”
Dale waved a hand. “Then why aren’t we seeing any signs that one was here?” Dale looked around. “No footprints, no scent of one. I don’t see one. I’m going to trust my senses over her word.”
I ground my teeth together, trying to hold my tongue, but I’d had enough.
“Dale, you know just as well as I do that witches have a sixth sense. They have a pull, a connection, and a feeling for things we don’t see. While we lean on our five senses, they lean on their sixth. So, if Jade is feeling something, I’m going to trust that.”
I looked at Jade. “Tell him what you’re feeling, Jade. How do you know?”
Jade swallowed, and I watched her work her jaw, licking at her lips. She took a slow, steady breath in. “It’s like a compass. I felt a sensation take over me, starting small, but it started to grow like alarms were going off through my entire body.”
Jade straightened her shoulders, finally looking at her father.
I watched her raise her chin as she looked him in the eyes.
“This sensation grew when I watched a hybrid rip apart a person right in front of me. I watched it sink its teeth into his neck and tear at his flesh. It was only moments later that I released my power and watched it run. I felt that tug, the energy that the hybrid possessed, and I feel it now.”
I watched her suddenly grow a little taller.
She curled her hands into tight fists. Her face filled with anger as she continued.
“I may be new to my power, might not even know my full potential yet, but I know what I feel. And when I say I know a hybrid is out here, I mean it’s not an if, it’s a where!
So, stop trying to make it seem like I don’t know what I’m doing because I do!
I’m not incompetent, and if you get in the way of me tracking it down, I will have you removed! ”
Jade’s voice was a shout, and the rest of the group had fallen quiet, listening to her as she let her father have it. I saw pure confidence in her eyes.
I couldn’t help but smile when I saw her like this. I loved seeing her confident in herself, knowing what she believed. She was a completely different person from who I saw when I first arrived.
Dale’s mouth snapped shut. Jade hooked her arm with mine and pulled me a few feet away from her father. Her face slipped, and I could see a shift in her eyes. Her lower lip quivered, and I pulled her closer. “Jade, are you going to cry?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. I could see tears forming in her eyes, though. “I just think he might be right.”
I crouched down slightly, looking into her eyes. “Why do you say that?”
“Because we’ve been walking forever, and he’s right. I feel this….I mean, it’s deep in my chest like an alarm is going off, but we’re not getting anything. There is nothing around us. So….I must be wrong.”
I shook my head. “Jade, your body is telling you something is out here. Right?”
She slowly nodded. “But what if Kaleb was right and I’m just adjusting?”
“Do you think you're just adjusting?”
She remained quiet for a moment before she slowly shook her head. “Then how come we aren’t finding anything? Not even a single footprint.”
I had learned a little about witches over the years, and I knew there was so much more to learn. Each witch was different in their powers and abilities. Some were powerful while others could hardly protect themselves.
“Witches are just like shifters, Jade. No one is the same. I’ve seen witches that have sight and can see miles ahead…” I paused as I realized something. I pulled out my phone, mapping out how far we had come. We were about five miles outside of town.
I showed it to her. “Where do you feel the pull?”
She stared at the map before she pointed. “Around here, maybe.”
My eyebrows went up. “Wow, that’s….wow.”
“What?”
I smiled. “Your witch ability has been dormant for generations, and you are the first in many years to have it. You’re also a part shifter, so your ability to feel is part of that.
Jade, you’re going to be powerful, and you have no idea how amazing that is.
” I reached up and cupped her face. “You have the ability to sense things miles away. The ability to possess fire. Normal witches have to work years to get where you are right now, Jade. I don’t know a lot, but from what I do know, this is good.
“You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m saying this because you deserve to know just how great this is. Jade, trust yourself because I do. This is new, but you’re going to learn as you go.”
She softly smiled, and I kissed her nose. “Now, let’s figure out our next steps.“