Thirty Three
Keith was behind the wheel again. Tiana had woken him a hour earlier and asked
him to drive for her. She had enough,
she needed rest. Keith wondered why they
didn’t get a hotel room, they would have to stop eventually anyway, but the
look in her eyes had told him not to ask.
He also didn’t ask why they were the only two driving. He didn’t have to ask that. He already knew. As long as Larissa and John weren’t
concentrating on where they were headed they would have a better chance of not
leaving a trail. Tiana did not need to
tell him that, he knew. He knew from
hearing the tales from others who were picked up, followed, traced. Whatever words you wanted to use.
Since he wasn’t sure where they were headed either, he
didn’t both to look at the signs. He
only drove, keeping to the highways, staying on the main interstates, watching
the other cars roll by, watching the scenery change and wondering.
They reached Portland mid morning. Keith looked in his rear view mirror and
watched Larissa’s face as she saw the city for the first time. It was majestic, with the bridges and water. So green too.
Vastly different from the high plains desert she was used to. He wondered if they would make it out to the
rainforest in Washington. He wondered
what she would think of it if they did.
Tiana stirred beside him and sat up straighter in the seat.
“Portland.” She said.
“Yes.” Replied Keith.
Tiana looked back at John, watching him closely. Keith knew she was looking for signs that he
was signaling the corporation of where they were. He might not be aware of what he was doing,
or he might be double crossing them.
Keith didn’t like John very much.
He understood what John had wanted and he understood what John still
wanted and he didn’t like it.
Tiana seemed satisfied with what she saw, though, as she
turned around and nodded towards the hood of the car.
“A few more hours and we’ll be closer to where we are
going. I think we should stop though,
get some food and take a break.”
“I’ll pull off at the next exit, we’ll see what we can
find.” Keith responded.
The next exit proved to be a main exit for the city and they
found themselves in the downtown core of the city. It was busy and crowded. They found parking in a garage and piled out
of the car in search of food.
“Oh my legs” said Larissa, “I feel like I’m walking on
needles. I didn’t realize they were
asleep.”
She limped around the garage for a bit until she found her
feet again. They all followed suit, all
suffering from sitting in the car for so many hours.
“Come on,” Said Tiana, “Let’s see what we can find.”
They walked out into the busy streets and looked
around. Larissa pointed towards one restaurant
and Tiana towards another. They looked
at each other and laughed. Keith half
listened as he watched John look around.
He watched John’s energy more than he watched the person. John’s energy was interesting.
He watched as John pushed his energy down into the ground,
as though he were going to ground himself into the earth. Then John would pull back, up into his body
and the energy would start to shoot out of the top of his head. He would stop that and it would shoot down
again. He looked like he was ready to
explode.
The girls had settled on a place and they began walking
towards the restaurant.
“Tiana, can I have a word with you before we go in?” Keith
asked.
“Of course.” Tiana replied and waved the other two inside.
“Tiana, I’m worried about John.”
“I know Keith. But we
are stuck with him.”
“He doesn’t know what to do with his energy. He’s all over the place. He is going to attract attention if he is not
careful.”
“I’ve got him under control right now, Keith. He will be fine.”
“But…”
“No ‘buts’ Keith. He’s
with us, he’s under our protection. He
has nowhere else to go unless it’s back to the corporation and separation from
himself. And you know what they would do
to him this time. They would separate him
completely. Do you want that to
happen? He’s only just got himself back.”
“I know.” Keith looked at the ground. He knew she was right to want to protect the
guy, but he was also very worried about them, about Larissa. John could get them caught if he did the
wrong thing. He was a freaking beacon to
the corporation. They knew what his
energy looked like and they would be keeping an eye out for him.
“I’m well aware of the risks, Keith. I swear I am.
But so is he. As much as I am
keeping him under wraps, he is also doing everything he can to keep himself
under wraps as well. Just as Larissa
is. The only one who isn’t controlling their
energy levels is you.”
“But I…”
“No Keith. You are
more powerful than you think. You just
haven’t pushed yourself yet because you are afraid. And that is understandable, considering the
things you have seen. But you have got
to control yourself as well. You are as
big of a risk, if not greater, than John is at this point.”
Tiana turned and walked into the restaurant, leaving Keith
on the sidewalk alone.
He hadn’t thought about it that way. Her words stung him and at the same time they
rang true. He knew she was right. He wasn’t allowing his true powers and he wasn’t
shielding himself either. He would need
to work on both fronts.
He pulled open the restaurant door and followed Tiana
inside.
Thirty Four
Lunch was delicious and went without further incident. The four sat and talked about the scenery,
about the décor, about the food, about the weather. They stayed away from any topics that would
get them emotional. Feeling a bit bored
by the conversation, Larissa’s eyes strayed to the windows and the scene outside.
“Tiana, are we in a hurry to get where we are going?” She
asked.
“Since I am not sure where we are headed, I guess the answer
is no. Why?”
“There is a shop here that I have always wanted to
visit. Do you think it’s possible?”
“What store?”
“Powell’s bookshop.” Larissa pointed to the bookshop across
the street. She had heard that you
needed a map to find anything in the store and even then you could get lost for
hours. She wanted to see if it was true.
“I don’t see why we wouldn’t have time for a quick stop.”
“Yay!” Larissa clapped her hands together in joy.
The four made their way across the street and into the
bookstore. Larissa grabbed a map and
studied the layout and the floor before her.
It was better than she had imagined.
“This place is huge.” John said.
“It’s one of the largest bookstores in the world, I believe.”
Said Larissa.
“Right. Well, should
we stick together or split up?” asked Tiana. “I am leaving it up to you, can
you be responsible?”
The others laughed in response.
“How long will you give us?” Asked Larissa.
“One hour. Any more
than that and we may leave to big of a trail.” Tiana said.
“Done.” Said Larissa and headed towards the bookcases of
books.
She spent a good twenty minutes walking up and down the
aisles. She would read the titles, the categories
and touch the bindings of the books that she passed. Keith had stayed with her for a time, but she
lost him in one of his favorite sections.
She had continued to walk on.
When she was sure she was alone, she made her way to the section that
she had been interested in the entire time.
She walked up to the metaphysics sections, hardly believing that
they had an entire section of the store devoted to the subject. She traced her fingers over the categories she
had yet to learn about. Numerology, I
Ching, Shamanism were just a few. She
wondered what book she might get to help her on her current journey. It seemed that back on campus Keith had been
guiding her study a lot. He had
introduced a lot of the basic concepts to her, but she wanted more.
“If you want a really good book to start with, I would go
with this one.” Tiana startled Larissa and she jumped away from the shelf she
was studying.
“Oh, I’m sorry Larissa.
I thought you would have heard me for sure. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s ok. I guess I
was really lost in my own thoughts.”
Larissa looked at the book that Tiana was holding. It was titled “The Subtle Body.”
“Huh. I guess I could
start with this one.” Larissa said.
“I know, you are looking for something more romantic. But I
think that good, honest information may be more helpful to you at this point.”
Tiana said.
“I suppose you are right.” Larissa said.
“Look, it doesn’t hurt to have several books on different
topics to read. Why don’t you pick out a
few more on different subjects to get a feel for what is all out there? Just because I suggest one doesn’t mean you
have to limit yourself. I’m not a professor.
I’m only suggesting what has benefited me.”
“Thanks Tiana.” Larissa said.
“I’m looking for a couple of specific volumes, while we’re
here, so I’ll be in this section with you.
Ask me anything you want to, but don’t feel bound to do anything I
suggest. It’s your own path,
Larissa. You get to make it up and you
get to follow it.”
Tiana smiled at her and then turned and walked around the
corner. Larissa let out the breath she
had not realized she had been holding.
Permission. That is
what Tiana had just given her.
Permission to find her own way to and be herself. That was what had been missing the whole
time. Keith had told her what to do
since he had found out what she was capable of.
Heck, she had been doing what she had been told her entire life.
Interesting that she felt so light, so easy now. She turned to the shelves and saw them with
fresh eyes. What did she want to learn
about? What did she want to read? She let her eyes travel across the titles,
picking several out to peruse.
By the time the hour was up, Larissa held six books in her
hands. Including the volume that Tiana
had suggested. She felt a little kid’s excitement
over the prospect of reading each of the books.
She wanted to know what the author’s knew. It was a whole new world to her.
The four checked out, each with a few books, and headed to
the car. Larissa wasn’t looking forward
to being back in the car again. It was
silent, they didn’t talk much. She kept
her mind off the signs, off of seeing where they were going and she knew that
John was doing the same. But she still
wondered where they were headed. She
wondered if Tiana actually had a destination in mind or if they really were
driving to nowhere.
Tiana took the wheel again and soon they were through the
city and crossing the Columbia River into Washington. Larissa had never seen a river so wide
before. She watched a large cargo ship
on the water. She knew the cargo ship
had to be gigantic and yet it looked tiny on the water below.
She watched out the window as the scenery continued to roll
past her. She could not believe how
green everything was, the trees were so lush and full. She was amazed to see the vegetation on the
sides of the roads. It was winter time,
wasn’t it? And yet everything was so
green.
Before she knew it they were entering a city again. She could see the office towers of Seattle
before them as they traveled North. She
wondered if they were going to stay somewhere in Seattle, or if they would just
keep driving North.
“We will not be staying in Seattle. But we are getting close.” Tiana said,
reading Larissa’s mind.
No one in the car said anything more as Tiana navigated the
city traffic. Larissa’s breath caught in
her throat as they travelled over a bridge and she could see the Space
Needle. There was a large lake in front
of it, boats on the water. Her eyes
opened wide as she watched a plane land on the water. She had never seen it done before. She knew it was possible, but…
Shaking her head, she looked out the widows, looking from
side to side at a city that was so different from the one where she had been
raised. The landscape was so different
as well, it was like Portland, but not the same. Of course, she thought, they were different
cities, they would not be the same.
Still, she was surprised by what she saw out the window.
Tiana continued to drive, eventually getting off at an
exit. Larissa had not been paying
attention when she did so because she was thoroughly distracted by a logging
truck that was rolling next to them.
There were huge trees, actual tress, loaded on the truck. She could see the bark, the moss, the sap
leaking from them.
They continued to drive until Larissa realized where they
were headed.
They were getting on a ferry. Another first.
Thirty Five
Tiana stood on the deck of the ferry and watched the land
shore slip from view. The others stood
at the front of the ship, looking out to the sound. She wondered if she would ever look upon the
shore in the same was as she was at that moment.
She knew where they were going. She knew what she was going to ask the others
to do for her and for the Earth. She
knew it would not be easy, but she was hopeful that they would all agree and
put themselves at risk for what she hoped was a good outcome. She had no way to
tell if what she was going to suggest would actually work.
She’d had a vision the night before, when Keith had been
driving she had seemed to fall asleep for a bit. She had not, in fact, been asleep. Instead she had been shown what they were
supposed to do next. In full living
color she had been shown where to take the others, what to say when they got
there and what they were to do next.
Even though her visions had always been right, she still had
doubt in her mind. Were they doing the
right thing? Was taking these three to a
place they had never been…
Tiana shook her head.
She could not start doubting herself so fully yet. There was plenty of time for that later,
after they did what she saw them doing.
If it did not work, then she could doubt. Until then, they had no choice but to move
forward.
It was too late regardless.
She sent out her energies to see where the corporation was. She knew they had seen all four of them in Portland,
exploring the bookshop. She had been
unsure about them going, but Larissa had been so excited. They had not been noticed at first. She had seen that they were treated just like
everyone else. But when Larissa had
entered the metaphysical section the energy of the entire store had shifted.
It had felt like an alarm going off. Tiana had bee lined it to where Larissa was
to see if she had been picked up. When
she found the girl alone, she had let out a breath, but stuck close just in
case. They were not accosted at the
store, perhaps it was too busy there and the corporation knew that they would
make a scene. She wasn’t sure why they
were not taken. They were able to make
it out of Portland unscathed. Tiana strengthened
her shields, doing her best to keep them hidden on the trip North.
She had not heard any warning signals as they entered the
ferry dock or on the ferry itself. She
knew it was all monitored, and anyone reviewing the footage would see all of
them clearly. If they were found to be
on an island, well, who knew what would happen to them?
“Are we being followed?” John said, standing just behind
her.
“I don’t think they have found us here yet.” She answered
truthfully.
“But they have found us other places?”
“Yes. They spotted us
in Portland, at the bookstore. Larissa
tripped something there.”
“But they didn’t capture us, or even attempt to capture us.”
“No. I find it
strange that they did not. Why would
they leave us John?”
“Maybe they did not know it was us. Maybe they have a constant watch on the place,
because it is such a big bookstore, and when anyone goes into the section it
trips an alarm. They save the footage
and watch it later. Adding people to the
watch list.”
“So they may not know we were there yet.”
“And they may not know we are here yet.”
“But they will.”
“Most likely. They
are not stupid. Once they see that we
were in Portland, they will search all available cameras to see if they can
pinpoint where we might have gone from that point.”
“Including ferry cameras.”
“Eventually, yes. But
Tiana, their technology is not the stuff of movies. It might take them days to get the footage
from the ferry system. By that time we
might have moved on.”
“Let us hope it takes them days, John. For we need time to do what comes next.”
He nodded at her and stared past her at the distant
shore. Tiana walked past him and into
the boat to use the restroom and make her way back to the car. The ferry trip was a short one and they would
be docking soon. They were close to their
destination, even if none of the others knew it. She wondered what they would say when she
arrived.
Thirty Six
Tiana took the wheel again.
She seemed to have a destination in mind now. Larissa wondered where they were headed as
they pulled off the ferry and started down a two lane highway. The trees were thicker here than they had
been on the other side and she felt a little claustrophobic staring into the forest
that was so close to the road. The trees
were so tall.
Not that they didn’t have tall trees where she was from,
they just seemed so much taller here. And
thicker and somehow greener. She couldn’t
place her finger on what was so different, only that something was.
They drove past a small town, which was very small compared
to everything else Larissa had seen on the West coast. Just as she was settling down for another
long drive, Tiana slowed the car and pulled into a short drive.
They pulled up to a blue house with Tibetan prayer flags
draped down from the entrance. Larissa
had not seen anything like that before and she felt a little shock, she was not
on her college campus any longer.
“Right,” Said Tiana, “This is our destination. They are not expecting us, at least I don’t
think they are expecting us. So let me
go in and talk to them. I think perhaps
you should stay put in the car. Or close
to it. I’ll be back.”
Tiana got out of the
car and started up the drive. The others
sat in the car. They said nothing. In fact, they had said very little to each
other since leaving Portland. Larissa
wasn’t exactly sure why, but the silence made her feel uneasy. As though the others were keeping something
from her and she hated to think that they were.
Of course, logically, she knew they were keeping some things
from her. Tiana had kept the destination
a secret so that she could not think about it, wonder about it, and send
signals about it. Though she could never
have imagined the forest around her or the building in front of her. She wondered what was inside of that
building. What it would be like to walk
up those stairs. Would the energy be so
different from many of the houses she had visited in her lifetime?
Something told her that it would be.
Keeping herself from getting too lost in the location, she
did not want to concentrate on anything too deeply, Larissa wondered about the
men. Keith and John did not seem to get
along. Scratch that, Keith did not seem
to get along with John. John seemed to
be ambivalent about all of them, especially Keith. Larissa wondered if it was because John had
shown interest in Tiana. Which didn’t
make sense. Keith said he was not really
interested in Tiana, that he was only interested in her. So why would it matter if John was interested
in Tiana?
The thoughts started her spinning in a circle in her
head. She did not think that she could
figure out what was really happening between the men right at that moment, but
perhaps it would get clearer to her.
Then a thought struck her.
What if Keith was jealous of John? John had special abilities that had not been compromised
by the corporation. What if Keith was
jealous of those abilities? That kind of
made sense. Keith was not as powerful as
he wanted to be. Larissa had seen him
look at her in wonder when she was catching on to what he was teaching her so
quickly.
There had to be more though.
Abilities alone wouldn’t cause Keith to act in such a manner, would they?
Larissa knew that she could get the bottom of the issue if
she could read Keith’s energy. She had
already read John’s energy, when she had connected him to himself. She had learned all kinds of things about him
in those few moments. She had touched
his deepest soul, she had met his higher self and those that remained outside
of the body he inhabited. She had been
with him when he met them as well. It
was beautiful. She knew what he was on
Earth for, what he had hoped to accomplish before he had been taken
hostage. She knew more than she could
ever express.
But she had not connected Keith. She had assumed that he was already fully
connected to his higher self. That he
was already aware of all the details that she had shown John, and through
showing him had learned herself. Maybe she
was mistaken. Perhaps Keith was not
connected.
She studied the front of the house.
She could not connect Keith here. Not now.
The moment had passed for her to do that. If she were to show her ability here they
would be found quickly and she knew better than to do that. She also knew that Keith would not be able to
connect himself, not while they were hiding.
She would have to find another way to figure out what was
happening. They needed each other too much
right now for them to be having any kind of argument. Maybe Tiana knew what was happening. Maybe Tiana would know the answer.
As if she knew Larissa was thinking about her, Tiana appeared
on the porch of the building with a man.
They seemed to have worked out what ever needed to be worked out. Tiana was smiling broadly as she approached the
car. She flung open the door.
“We’re here!” She said.
“Where is here?” Keith asked her.
“Welcome to the Earth Sanctuary. We have lodging for the night, real beds and
everything!”
Earth Sanctuary, Larissa thought. What a funny name for a lodging house. She pushed open her door and walked to the
trunk to get her bag. As she pulled her
bag from the trunk she heard a flutter of wings and looked up to see a large
bird make its way across the sky.
“This is a kind of nature reserve.” Tiana explained. “You
will see some animals here, but mostly its birds.”
“Interesting.” Larissa said.
A nature reserve? Tiana had
indeed brought them to the last place anyone would think to look for them.
They made their way up the steps and the man who had been
talking to Tiana before stood at the top, waiting for them.
“Hi, I’m Chuck.” He said.
“I’m Larissa.” Larissa said. “This is Keith and John.” She
pointed to the men in turn.
“Nice to meet you all.
I will be at my house if you need anything. Tiana, I trust you will speak to me about
your plans tomorrow.”
“You bet Chuck.” She smiled at the man.
Chuck made his way off the porch, leaving the four to
themselves again.
They made their way inside.
It was an older home that had been turned into lodging. They entered into a good sized living
room. Exploring the space, the found two
bedrooms set up with several beds. The
ladies took one room, the men the other.
They started organizing their things and taking showers.
Larissa lay on the bed, glad to finally be able to stretch
out, and listened to the noises of the house.
It had been a long time since she had been in a house, she felt as
though she had lived in a dorm or apartment for far longer than she had. She wondered if college did that.
“I’ve got to run to the store to get supplies.” Tiana said,
walking into the room. “I think Keith is coming with me. You are free to explore the grounds,
Larissa. There’s a map downstairs. Stick to the grounds, you will be safe here.”
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