Branded (The Branded Series) (11 page)

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.

We waited for
several
minutes until the sound of a gunshot split the air. Then another. Then, from
the sergeant’s radio, the words: “Area is secured. Shooters are down. Send in
as many paramedics as you have.” An ambulance squealed past us. And another.
Noah started running first, and then Rachel. I grabbed Anna's hand and we ran
after them. Into destruction. Devastation.

People were crying
and running out of the building and into the waiting arms of trauma personnel.
Others were screaming the names of their loved ones as they frantically
searched the crowd. Paramedics rushed in with stretchers, looking for victims.
We caught up to Noah and Rachel and fought against the crowd to get into the
building.

“Noah! What
are you going to do?” I shouted as I grabbed his arm.

“We need to
find Monica and Lexie!” He stopped and surveyed the sea of people. “Rachel, you
and Anna stay out here and keep your eyes open. Jake and I will go inside.”

Anna squeezed
my hand. “Jake, I . . . I . . . be careful.”

I grabbed her
and gave her a quick kiss. So thankful that she was safe. So grateful for
Rachel's vision. “Here, take this,” I said as I handed her my cell phone. “Call
Eric and tell them what’s going on. It should be okay for them to come down
now.”

We entered the
lodge
unnoticed as emergency crews ushered the unscathed out of the building and the
paramedics helped the wounded. Dozens of people were lying injured, which was
mind-numbing to witness. I wanted to help them, but first—where were Monica and
Lexie?
God, please let them be alive
.

“Over here!”
It was Noah, tugging at a Pepsi machine.

“Monica!” I
hurried to help Noah. “How on Earth did you get in there?”

“I don't know;
just get me out of here.” Monica’s face was stained with tears and her whole
body was trembling.

Noah and I
counted to three and edged the machine away from the wall just enough to get
Monica out. She collapsed into my arms and cried uncontrollably. I tried not to
imagine the scenes that had unfolded in front of her eyes only minutes earlier.
I held her for a long time, rocking her gently and telling her it was going to
be okay.

Pandemonium
was all around us. A guy about my age sat on the floor with his head in his
hands as he rocked back and forth and cried for his sister, whose body was
covered with a white sheet at his side. A woman sobbed as she cradled her
husband's lifeless body in her arms. A young child curled up beside his bleeding
mother who lay still beside him. An arm, soaked in blood, reached out for help
from behind the bar.

I stopped
rocking Monica and stared at that familiar, blood-stained limb. Blue nail
polish. Yellow watch. “LEXIE!”

Covered in
blood, Lexie was lying on her back. By the looks of it, she had been shot in
the shoulder. Her eyes were glazed over and she fell in and out of
consciousness.

“Lexie, hang
in there,” Noah commanded as he tore off his shirt and wrapped it around her
shoulder. She didn't flinch. “Jake, stay here with Lexie. I'm going to take
Monica out to Rachel and Anna. I'll get a paramedic for Lexie.”

Noah shot a
meaningful glance at me as he led Monica away. He mouthed, “Fix her, Jake.”

I knelt down
beside Lexie and reached out to hold her shoulder. She was breathing, but only
just. She didn’t try to say anything, but her eyes found mine and pleaded for
help. I peered back at her and tried to remember the thoughts I had when I was
healing Anna's arm.

I started
thinking about Anna and how thankful I was that this wasn't her. Not that I
wasn't concerned for Lexie, but if it were Anna . . . well, I couldn't even
think about that. I owed Rachel big time for this. As annoying and intrusive as
she could be, she had saved some of us today.

Before I knew
it, Noah was back. “Jake, how is she?”

“Where's the
paramedic?” I demanded, angry that I hadn't made any healing progress.

“I couldn't
get one. There are a lot of people who need help. Is she any better?” Noah
asked.

“No! I can't
concentrate. I . . . I can't do it.” I shook my head in frustration, admitting
defeat.

“Snap out of
it, Jake! You have to do this. She will die if you don’t.”

I closed my
eyes and my hands kept the pressure on Lexie's shoulder. I tried to think of
something positive. Something other than all of the devastation that was
surrounding us. My mind was spinning.
Think, Jake! Think!

“Jake!” Noah
shouted as he knelt down beside Lexie and held her head in his lap. “Hang in
there, Lexie. You're going to be okay.”

Lexie's eyes
rolled back and her body started trembling.

“No, Lexie!
HELP! SOMEONE HELP US!” Noah shouted over his shoulder.

I turned to
see a female paramedic looking in our direction. I waved her over and moved
aside. My head was still spinning and I felt queasy and drained. Noah and the
paramedic carefully moved Lexie onto a stretcher as I watched, motionless.

And then I was
alone, surrounded by chaos and blood. I frantically looked around the room for
a familiar face. People were pleading and crying for help. I stared at the
little boy who was still curled up beside his unconscious mother. He too was
alone and scared.  I walked toward them and crouched down beside his mother.
The little boy looked up at me with hope in his big, brown eyes.

“Hi,” I said,
my voice sounding as weak as I felt.

He tried his
best to smile, but his lip only quivered as he whispered, “Can you fix my
mommy?”

“I hope so,” I
said as I unzipped his mother's jacket to reveal the hole in her chest. I
quickly covered it up again and took a deep breath. “What’s your name, little
man?”

“Liam,” he
said softly.

“Well, Liam,
why don't you hold your mommy's hand and I'll see if I can fix her for you?”

Please, God.
Please.

I hesitated as
I decided where the best place to put my palms would be. I closed my eyes, took
another deep breath and placed my cold, trembling hands onto her chest. The
warm blood saturated them.

I tried to
think positive thoughts but all I could think about was this little boy without
his mother. I watched as Liam pulled his mother's hand to his lips and kissed
it. A tear trickled down his face and onto her fingers. I could hear his quiet
pleas for her to wake up: “Please wake up, Mommy. I want to go home. Please,
Mommy.” This poor child was waiting for his mother to sit up and give him a
big, warm hug. He needed her. My eyes filled with tears.

“Hey, excuse
me! This lady needs help over here,” I called to a paramedic, as calmly as
possible.

The paramedic
turned to me and answered with confidence, “That one's gone. I've already
checked her. Move on to someone who has a chance.”

My eyes jolted
back to the lifeless woman. Until that moment, I hadn’t noticed the white sheet
that had been covering her body.
Oh, no
.

“That man said
he can't fix my mommy,” Liam told me with wet eyes. “Can you do it, please?” He
pulled a Band-aid from his pocket and handed to me. I slowly took it, and
that’s when I noticed the dozen or more Band-aids stuck to his mother’s face,
arms and chest.

I wanted to
fix her. I had wanted to fix Lexie too, though. I just couldn't do it. I wasn't
strong enough. I started getting angry at my gift.
Why me?

I looked again
at Liam and at his lifeless mother whose chest was still beneath my hands. My
eyes stung as I thought about this woman tucking her little boy into bed at
night. I thought about all of the times that she had kissed his bumps, wiped
away his tears and held him in her arms for just one more minute before letting
him go off to school on his own.

“You're doing
it, mister.” Liam's excited voice broke through my train of thought.

I looked down
and watched as his mother turned her head ever so slightly toward her son and
let out a small, but definite, sigh. I jumped back and called over to the
paramedic, “She's alive! I need help over here!”

The paramedic
came running with a stretcher and took over. I looked at Liam who was still
holding his mother's hand, and staring at me with pure adoration.

“Thank you,”
he choked, as the tears poured out of his eyes.