Airel - Aaron Patterson [91]
“So. We need to talk,” Michael said unexpectedly. We were moving along a well-worn path guarded by green shrubs and ferns that brushed our legs as we walked by.
“Yeah, I guess we should try to work out some nagging questions about this whole mess. What do you know so far about why we’re here?” I wondered if he believed Kale’s claim that I was a descendant of the Sons of God, a half-angel of sorts.
“Well…” He shooshed in a heavy sigh as he began, “I think I’m here by accident. He’s interested in you, and I just happened to get in the way.” His face clouded over.
“Yeah, but somehow I think Kale wouldn’t mess up like that. He doesn’t seem to do anything on impulse. I mean, just look at how he lives. Everything is just-so.” I jumped up on a log that had fallen across the path and Michael vaulted over it without even thinking.
“Well, it doesn’t matter why I’m here. He wants you, to train you… to do what? Develop your ‘powers,’ or the powers he believes you may have.”
“Michael…” I wondered if he remembered my head injury, and if he was still fighting the reality of what was going on. “I do have some abilities that I cannot explain. You remember when I fainted at football practice?” He nodded as we kept walking. “Well, it healed. I heal very fast. I’ve tried it out a few times, and it’s true. I’m also strong enough to kick down the heavy door to my room… but that one I’m still trying to figure out.” I left out the mind-reading bit. No use freaking him out.
“So he’s telling you that you’re part angel and part human? That’s kinda… unbelievable, really.”
“Yeah, I know.” I felt like I had to say that just so he wouldn’t feel awkward. But I believed it readily enough for me.
“You know, it feels like we’re in a movie or something. I just wonder when we’re going to wake up. Maybe when we do, we’ll find ourselves back in the mall parking lot, where we started. On our first date.” He looked at me.
He was so romantic. I could die. The memories came back, honestly warm and fuzzy. “I know, it’s weird, huh. But for what it’s worth, I believe Kale. I don’t know why—but I do.” Up until this point I did not know what I really thought of our kidnapper. I didn’t like the situation. But I knew I could trust him. He seemed to have this code of honor, one he would never cross. They say that chivalry is dead—but what if that age was still clinging to someone who had actually lived through it? How would they go about their days, I wondered. There was something about Kale that was different in that respect.
“I think I trust him,” I said, trying to close the deal. “He seems to know something that we don’t.” I paused for a minute, thinking. “Ya know, it’s like he kidnapped me on purpose. Maybe to protect me from something?”
“Yeah, that’s true enough, I guess. From what though? ‘The Brotherhood?’ I doubt they still exist, though they might have a long time ago.” Michael was playing with a long blade of grass and the tip bounced in his hand like a bobber on a lake. It was hypnotic.
“Well it’s possible. Who knows,” I said. “All I know is that I need him for now—I have too many questions about these so-called abilities, and he seems to have all the right answers.” I looked at Michael. “So far.”
He seemed to resist what I was saying.
“Look, I just want to be careful. I need to figure out what I can do, if anything, to get control of my abilities before I hurt someone I care about.”
“It’s not that.” He looked genuinely disturbed and worried. “Airel, you know that even though we don’t know each other that well, I still feel you’re…” He hesitated, his gorgeous blue eyes hiding behind a momentary shadow.