Chapter Sixteen
Marie
Marie's blood was boiling in her veins, she was ready. Last night, she and her mom talked to her dad about Marie leaving. They told him she was going to stay with her Uncle Josh for the summer. Marie told him that he was sick and she wanted to go help out. He was uneasy about her leaving school early, but Marie's mom was very persuasive.
After that, they talked all night when her dad went to bed. Marie had so much energy and she hadn't felt this good in years. She still required some sleep, but her mom said that would soon pass once she got the human side of her under control. But everything else was working just fine.
Her vision was so clear, it was ridiculous. Looking into the mirror gave her a whole other feeling. She was amazed by the change. If only the people at school could see her now. Destiny would probably freak.
She was taller, if that was even possible, her hair grew and was inches from her bottom. Her eyes were so light, they looked burnt orange. She was gorgeous.
She was leaving now to train and she couldn't wait. Her and Brenton were first traveling to Whitehouse, Texas, and they would then have to map out from there how to gather the others.
This was the first time she would be traveling without her family and it made her feel mature and, at the same time, a little nervous.
Apparently, her Uncle Josh was her mentor. All this time, she hadn't known that he was an angel. She also found out that he wasn't really her uncle, he was her mom's angelic other half. They had just told her he was her uncle to make it easier for him to be around without having to explain. It made sense, because there was no family resemblance.
She sensed Brenton approaching. Her mom felt it, too.
“ Promise me you will stay safe,” she said in her mind.
A single tear rolled down Marie's face, “ I pinky promise,” she thought back to her.
Her mom pulled her into a hug. They held for a minute until Brenton appeared through a shadow on the wall.
“It's time,” he said.
Marie let go, grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. Marie's mom wiped the tears from her eyes and faced Brenton.
“I'm putting her in your hands. I know you are capable of keeping her safe. If anything goes wrong or you need my help in any way, you call me. Don't try and do this by yourselves. You need to remember that fighting together is your greatest defense,” she said.
“Yes ma'am, I promise. If it comes down to a choice of saving her life or mine, it will be her life every time,” Brenton answered.
She kissed him on the forehead, “Thank you,” she said and turned toward Marie. “Do not lose that cellphone just in case we can't communicate mentally. If I call and you don't answer, I will come find you. And if you're not hurt when I find you, I promise you, you're gonna be,” she smiled.
“I love you mom,” she said.
“I love you more.”
They finally got outside and Marie looked around for a car. Brenton laughed out loud when he read her thoughts.
“Not this time sweetheart, we're hoofing it,” he said pointing at his shoes.
“Say what?” she said looking down. “I've never done that before.”
“Remember what I told you last night, concentrate, let your mind do all the work and your body will follow.”
Marie didn't know how this was going to work. She struggled trying to remember everything they were pounding in her head and now this. She understood she was having to learn sixteen years of work in a couple of months, but she wished they would cut her some slack.
“I know this is a lot for you to take in, but this is the best way for you to learn. I promise, once you get out there and stretch your legs, mentally and physically, you will love it. You'll wonder why you haven't traveled like this every time,” he said and winked.
The memory of the kiss passed through her head and she wondered if he put it there or was it her who was fantasizing. His lips were so soft and gentle, she could have gotten lost in that moment.
Before she realized what she had done, Brenton was in front of her with a dreamy look on his face. He put one hand behind her neck and the other on her waist and kissed her. She let go and gave in to it. She loved him.
He let go of her and looked into her eyes. “I love you, too,” he said and kissed her again.
She had never felt this way before about anyone. She felt like her world would end if anything ever happened to him. She wanted to be connected to him forever. She would do whatever she had to just to make sure they would be together.
Suddenly, Brenton froze. Marie looked up and his eyes were glazed over. She tried to search his mind, but she was only getting faded images. The last thing she saw, before Brenton snapped out of the trance, was a hole opening up in the ground and someone being thrown in.
He looked up to the window of the house and her mom was standing there with her arms folded. He nodded and turned to Marie.
“We gotta go,” he said.
Marie was confused, to say the least. There was a mental exchange between him and her mom and she was left out.
“Wait, what just happened?”
His demeanor changed once again. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled. This was starting to get weird to her.
“Listen, you can do this. I know you can,” he said squeezing her shoulders. “Just stretch those legs and run,” he finished and shot off down the street. “ Catch me if you can,” Brenton said in her head and she couldn't ignore the challenge.
She took off slow and gained speed from there. Her head was filled with too many things. It was hard to focus, but the thought of Brenton taunting her made her want to push. She let go of everything that was weighing on her and thought about being as fast as the wind.
Before she knew it, she had picked up a great deal of speed. Water sprayed against her face as she ran across the Platte River. The river was wide and slow running, and wound down the valley in lazy curves. It was flanked by steep ravines that plunged down to its banks, which were sparsely vegetated with small saplings and scrub, and had cast most of the river in shadow.
She chuckled hysterically, thinking about how cool it was to be an angel; she could actually run on water.
She looked to her left and right, expecting everything to be blurred, but it was all so clear and vivid. She could make out every detail on every single thing she saw. She whizzed past house after house, rows of trees, fields of land and she didn't tire. It was amazing.
She concentrated to locate Brenton. He was still ahead of her, but not by much. She dug deep and continued ahead. It was like she was infused with nitro and someone had pushed the button to make her go into hyper drive. She felt so alive.
Twenty feet ahead she saw an endless amount of trees and mountains. They were passing through a forest, that was a deep, peaceful green, and it seemed to her as if a cool breeze wafted off it. The trees appeared to be conifers of some sort. The mountains rose in graceful folds above the level, their peaks etched clearly against the clear blue sky, where the granite beneath the surface broke through to limn the contours.
They were in Ouachita Mountains, she thought to herself, but didn't know how she knew that name. It wasn't Brenton putting thoughts in her head; she didn't feel his aura at that moment. She didn't know how far they had run, but she did know they were in Oklahoma.
She finally caught up with Brenton. Together they ran side by side, ducking and dodging trees. Climbing the mountain took mere seconds. She watched as Brenton ran up a tree and swung from branch to branch before gliding back down.
She was nervous about trying it herself, but she couldn't resist. She picked up speed and leaped into the air. She looked down to see she was almost fifteen feet off the ground. She landed on a branch and balanced herself for a second before jumping off and catching up with Brenton. They were already on the way back down the mountain.
“ That was so fun. My heart is still racing. How far have we ran?” she asked.
“ Far. We're a lmost out of Oklahoma, about to hit Texas,” he replied.
She knew where they were; words and locations just popped in her head. How did she know though? She would have to ask her uncle when they made it to him. She had so many questions.
“That's crazy cool! We've only been running for like a half an hour.”
“I told you. Best way to travel.”
She would never drive or fly again. The air hit her face and caressed her. If she closed her eyes, she would feel like she was flying. It was refreshing to be open and free.
They veered toward the highway and picked up speed heading across the state-line. They were almost there. She felt a familiar presence and knew it had to be her uncle.
Once they passed the city called Texarkana, she saw a dark purple trail lingering in front of them. It reminded her of the one she had seen at Helena's.
She pictured seeing her uncle and he appeared in her mind. “ Follow the trail babygirl; it will lead you right to me. I'll be waiting.” he said, before cutting the connection.
As they went, the aura became darker. It pulled her along with the promise of love and warmth at the end of it. She couldn't wait to see him.
Within minutes of running on high speed, zipping through more woods, they came out on the other side into a clearing. They skidded to a stop in front of an enormous house.