Back in Black - ACDC

Well, I'm back at school. In between classes at the moment. The summer's been fun, hectic, tiring, but wonderful because I was with my family. Ready to knock out another year. It's weird being a senior. Some days, I feel just as lost and overwhelmed as the freshmen. Ah well, I keep to the path I set out on.  I have two years left, but I still need to remind myself to finish what I started. 

That being said, let us continue the grand adventures of Eden, Caden, and Shiloh once again. 

Allons-y!

The Promised Land: (Part 17) Bad Company

Caden was silent the entire drive, but that was not uncharacteristic of him. He’d much rather stay in solitary silence than annoying prattle. It wasn’t like he had anyone to talk to anyway. He liked the silence because it gave him room to think, something it felt like he could never stop doing. He went over the conversation with Ezra again for the hundredth time. Once again, he was in the hall with Ezra, her hand a vice grip on his arm.

“It concerns your brother,” she had said. “I have an image you need to see.”

“No thanks, Ezra.” Caden shrugged his arm out of her grasp, thankful for the fabric of his shirt keeping them from direct contact. “I’m not sure I can take another one of your predictions. Not after what happened last time.” He turned and continued walking.

“You would rather not know?”

Caden stopped again with his back to her. “I would rather not live in fear. The last thing you showed me was my brother being taken by the Atari and I couldn’t stop them.”

“But that has not yet-”

“I KNOW!” He winced at the sound of his voice echoing off the walls. Turning around, he sighed. “I know. I can’t keep doing this, Ezra. I live in constant fear that something will happen to Shiloh. People aren’t meant to see the future for a reason.” Caden stopped for a deep breath, mostly to calm down. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Ezra replied with her signature composure. “I understand your reluctance. If you truly do not wish to know, I will not reveal it.”

Cay exhaled sharply. “Thank you. Now, I need to go deal with this infiltrator before he gets to anyone else. If he gets away, there’s no telling what kind of damage he can do in the resistance. This is the only safe place I can leave Shy. The sooner I leave, the better.”

Ezra nodded in agreement.

“Do you have any tips on how to beat this guy?”

“Bring grenades.” She held up a set of car keys. “You can take the van. I have a supply pack with everything you need in the back.”

Caden zoned back in to his surroundings, flat land, dead flora, no fauna, and a straight road. He had been driving for an hour now, but he still had about an hour to go. Jericho was just a drop-off point if any of the team actually achieved the objective. The rendezvous point was north of Freedom, about halfway between the two cities. Technically, the squad was supposed to meet up after the raid, but Caden had though it safer to go directly to the drop-off point instead. “Looks like that decision saved both our lives,” he thought. “I have to get there before the spy gets the idea to head to Jericho. I hope I’m not too late.”

~*~

Eden walked back toward the orphanage, confused and aggravated. “I can’t believe he just up and left like that!” she said more to herself than anyone in particular. She reached the door only to find it wouldn’t open. Banging her fist against the door, she yelled, “Open up! It’s the ghost of Christmas past!”

Grace opened the door from inside. “Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t realize you were out here.”

She pulled the door open widen enough for Eden to slip through. “It’s getting late and I thought it best to lock up.”

“Late?” Eden looked back at the steel grey sky. “How can you tell?”

The older woman closed the door and slid the deadbolt into place. “The time. It’s nearly 5:00. It will be getting dark soon. Would you be a dear and place that beam over the door?”

“Uh… sure...” Eden lifted a long piece of wood wrapped with rebars and placed it on brackets in the door and walls. “That thing’s kinda heavy… um, will Caden be able to get through that?”

“He’s outside?” Grace asked with a confused expression.

“Yeah, he sort of took off not too long ago.”

“Oh, then he probably doesn’t expect to come back until later.” The elderly woman smiled and wheeled herself down the hall.

Eden followed the squeaky wheelchair. “Does that happen often?”

“Oh yes,” she answered cheerfully. “When he lived with us, he would often set out on his own in the middle of the night and not come back until morning. His brother didn’t take too kindly to getting left behind.”

“Interesting,” Eden muttered. “How long did they live with you?”

“A few years after their parents died. Or was it just one year? I don’t remember. Tragic incident, it was. Don’t worry though. I’m sure he’s just fine. Cay always finds a way out of the worst circumstances.”

“I hope so,” thought Eden. “For Shiloh’s sake.”

~*~

Caden pulled up to the abandoned building and stepped out of the vehicle. Going around to the back of the van, he found the supply pack Ezra mentioned. Like most supply packs, it was standard issue: food rations, water, medkit, and emergency gear. Looking for anything of use in the upcoming battle, he found a handful of mini-grenades. Recalling Ezra’s words, he shook his head with a grimace and put them into his bag. Making sure both handguns were loaded and extra clips within easy reach, Caden took a deep breath and headed inside the building. It was already nearly dark outside, but lights were on inside the empty facility. It was a large building, probably a supercenter that had been turned into a warehouse. Or vice versa. Either way, it was big and filled with empty shelves and boxes.

Caden was alert at all times, keeping his eyes red so he could find any hint of color. That was part of his ability that he had trouble explaining to others. The world around him turned grey and he could only see the color of living people and, occasionally, immediate danger. That was why he disliked greys so much. Other than the fact that they were usually the most self-centered people around, they also blended into the background. For Caden, that was dangerous.

“Blitz!” a deep voice rang out of nowhere and a man stepped into view. “You’re alive. I didn’t think you’d make it.”

Caden glared at the infiltrator. He was a six-foot three-inch tall, square jawed, broad shouldered beast of a man with slicked back brown hair. The long coat he wore failed to conceal the man made of muscle. Being only five-foot five, Caden’s lean limbs and short stature made him look scrawny in comparison. Caden wasn’t intimidated. He was too focused on his anger for that.

“I’m not dead yet, Hunter.” Caden replied with a glare. “What have you done with the others?”

“You’re the only one who’s made it back to the rendezvous point so far.” Hunter looked around. “Where’s Boomer?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know…” Caden muttered.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears

I'll remind you that if you want to ask the characters of The Promised Land questions, feel free to send them to: blackberrymew(at)yahoo(dot)com
Be sure to put THE PROMISED LAND in the subject box.

Happy reading.

The Promised Land: (Part 16) Burn it Down

“Whoa, did you make this?” Caden said in awe when he saw the scarf. He pulled it out of the paper wrapping and admired the woven pattern in the soft material.

“Yep! Knitted it myself,” Hope chirped with a smile. “I hope you like it. Red is still your favorite color, right?”

“Yeah,” he answered hesitantly. “But I can’t take this.” He tried to give it back, but Hope made no move to take it. “Sure you can! I made it for your birthday, silly.” Her bubbly statement ended with an endearing giggle.

“Hope, that was three weeks ago,” an unconvinced Caden retorted.

“So it’s a little late.” She shrugged. “I wanted to give it to you in person.”

“What about Shy?”

“Don’t worry. He’ll get his present when he wakes up.” Hope swung her legs back and forth over the edge of the bed they were both sitting on. “Happy Birthday!”

“Thank you, Hope. For everything.”

She curiously tilted her head. “Whatever do you mean?”

“You, you’re mom, you’re dad…” Caden always felt like he was grasping at straws when it came to expressing gratitude. Somehow, a simple “thank you” seemed so trite in comparison to all the love and care Hope’s family showed the twins. “You’re family has always been there for us. Me and Shiloh, I mean. Shiloh and I. However that goes. Ever since Mom and Dad… ever since…” Caden gave up and sighed. It was still too difficult for him. Hope gently bumped him with her shoulder and he rocked at little. He looked at her over his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she whispered with a smile.

“Cute.” A familiar voiced matched an equally familiar silhouette leaning against the doorframe. Caden stood up quickly out of surprise, robbed of what little joy he had.

“Hello, Ezra,” he said calmly in spite of being caught off guard. It wasn’t exactly that he was unhappy to see the Gypsy seer. After all, he had been looking for her for a few days now. “She just has a way with unpleasant timing,” he thought.

“Blitz,” Ezra nodded in return, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed. “I need to speak with you.”

Caden ran a hand through his hair as he remembered the last time they “spoke.” The news she brought was rarely good. Just as rarely was the information wrong. Looking back at Hope, a half smile flashed across his face before he left the room.

Walking through the hall with Ezra, Caden waited a moment before speaking. “I have the package.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Technically, Shiloh has it.”

“Good,” Ezra responded without a hint of emotion. “Its recovery was executed none too quickly. You should hold on to it.”

“Will you come back to base with us?” Cay had a feeling he already knew the answer.

“That would be unwise,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Trouble brews in the resistance.”

“What else is new?”

“Trouble unlike that I have ever seen, Blitz. Lives are being toyed with, like puppets on strings.” Caden was never quite fond of his resistance tag. When Ezra used it, she seemed to triple the seriousness of the conversation.

“But you want us to go back?” he asked, questioning her consistency.

Ezra nodded and answered, “There is good yet, if you would look for it. All the same, I do not have to remind you to use great caution. There are infiltrators.”

“More than one. Great.” Caden’s dark brown eyes narrowed in thought. “How many and who?”

“That I do not know…” Ezra paused before continuing, “but one of them accompanied you not seven days ago.”

“What?” Caden stopped in his tracks and faced Ezra. He mentally went through the list of people who went with him and Shiloh on the mission. If one of them were a traitor, wouldn’t he have seen it?

Ezra clasped her hands together and looked him over with pursed lips, as if she were debating whether or not he would be able to handle the rest of what she had to say. Finally coming to a conclusion, she spoke. “Your squad is dead and the betrayer waits for you and your brother at the rendezvous point to kill you even now.”

“That can’t be.” Caden shook his head, thick eyebrows knit together in disbelief. He thought back on the mission. “I had a feeling they knew we were coming,” he thought to himself. “Sure, we were jumped and we lost a few, but I made sure the rest got out alive. That can only mean they were killed later. Who could have possibly…” Involuntarily changing his vision, he stared long and hard at the woman. Red. With traces of black. It wasn’t her.

Ezra’s shoulders sagged a little as she watched his eyes resume normalcy. “I’ll try not to be too insulted.”

“I need to go.” Flung into action, Caden started walking at a faster pace with Ezra not far behind.

“Blitz!” she called. “As unhappy as I am to continually be the bearer of bad news, I have more.”

“It can wait.”

Ezra grabbed hold of his arm and turned him to face her, gravity shimmering through her eyes. “It concerns your brother.”

~*~

Eden and Jordan had found the cafeteria and the plate of food Hope left out. After making sure Jordan was ok on his own, Eden set out to find Shiloh’s room. Turning a corner, she was nearly run over by Caden. “Dude, warn somebody before you run into them!”

“Sorry, I need to go,” he said and kept going.

“Hey, wait! I need to talk to you!” Eden ran to catch up with him. “I want to help.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, but increased his pace.

“You’re looking for a cure for these people, right? I want to help.”

Caden scoffed as he entered the room Shiloh was in. Grace was gone, but his twin was still asleep. “Why so interested all of a sudden?” Caden asked quietly as he looked through his bag hanging on the chair. “I thought you didn’t care.”

“I didn’t,” Eden admitted. “But I do now.”

Caden turned to her with a quizzical look, though his eyes stayed dark. “What about home?”

“I still want to go home, but until I find a way to GET there, I’m stuck here.” Eden watched Cay pull out paper, a pen, and start writing. “I want to be useful in the meantime,” she finished.

Thinking about his situation, Caden gave in. “Listen, if you’re really interested in helping me out right now, I need you to stay with Shiloh.”

“Stay with him? Where are you going?” Eden tilted her head.

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Caden finished his note and folded the paper several times.

“So you’re just leaving? Mister hurt-my-twin-and-die is willing to just abandon him now in his condition?” Eden placed a hand on her hip and glared. “What kind of brother are you?”

Standing up to his full height, though still being shorter than Eden, Caden said in a voice louder than intended, “I’m leaving him behind to protect him!” He closed his eyes and sighed before speaking again. “I need to go take care of something and I don’t want him to get hurt again, ok? I’ll be back soon, I promise. I just don’t have time to talk about it right now.”

Caden took the note, now folded into an origami crane, and placed it on the table beside Shiloh’s bed. Grabbing his black windbreaker and bag, Caden left the room. Eden followed him even until he was outside and getting into the driver’s side of Ezra’s blue minivan.

“What do I do if the Atari come back? ”

Caden paused before closing the door. “Hide.”