Grounded

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

This isn't right. I grip the thought like a life raft. Deep within me, I find some human strength, some part of me that isn't owned by the power. I'm in church on Sunday, singing hymns with Mary. I hear her voice, as clear and innocent as silver bells. I see my father's work-worn hands, taste freshly baked bread, feel the tops of the wheat as I run to my tree.

"Be in the world but not of the world," Bishop Kauffman says. His voice is solemn and I long for his hands on my shoulders. This is not me. I have a soul. I have a conscience. This violent sport is not who I am. I am a woman of God. A powerful force for hearth and home. I will not allow this world to have me any longer.

I direct my resolve at our coupled hands and somehow find the strength to let go of Korwin.

He turns those radioactive blue eyes toward me like I've committed a grave offense.

"This isn't right," I say, and this time it's not just in my head. I've said it out loud.

"Right?" Korwin repeats. He shakes his head like he doesn't understand.

"We've got to get control," I rasp, but my voice is still not my own.

Korwin continues down the now abandoned street but his movements are jerky. Mine are too. I think I have it by the tail but it's so big. I wrap and wrap and wrap the power around the spool at the back of my brain but there is just too much. Oh, the pain! I want to let it out again but I can't.

We're close to the fire station. It's only when I see my father and Jeremiah huddled beneath the lip of the dumpster that I realize it's still raining. Although it comes down in sheets, none of it touches us. We're still too hot. What is it they're doing? My father has his legs hugged to his chest and is yelling at Jeremiah to do the same.

Ack! My power surges and sweat breaks out across my forehead as I fight it back. Wrap. Wrap! I wind it around the spool and tie it off. Why does my father look afraid? I shake with the effort of concentrating. The puddle! Oh my word, he'll be electrocuted!

"Korwin!" I command. He's twitching next to me. Every few seconds he reaches for me only to pull his hand back. "You have to fight it!"

This time I can tell I'm more me. Without Korwin to recharge my cells, the power has to fizzle out some time. I bite my lip and wind and wind. Oh! Will it even fit inside of me?

"It hurts!" Korwin yells.

"Fight it!" I cry.

For what seems like an eternity, I struggle to gain control. Korwin moans next to me. When it gets too much, I scream. It seems to help. I lean forward, catching myself on my knees and yell until my voice goes hoarse. I'm sure I have nothing left to give. Containing this monster will kill me.

A drop of rain is my savior.

It's cool and wet. When it lands on my forearm, it rolls off my skin and drips to the pavement. I jerk my head up. Korwin's glow has faded as well. His skin steams but his hair is wet.

"It's going to be okay, Korwin," I call, but I don't dare comfort him with my touch. Instead, I hobble past him toward my father and Jeremiah. The closer I get to them, the more I can see the fear in their eyes. They huddle together against the metal of the dumpster.

Can't they see how weak I am? But then this thing is a mystery even to me. It must be something out of a nightmare to my father and Jeremiah. I need to show them. If I can prove I'm in control, then maybe they'll trust me again.

I crouch down and gently scoop my father's hands inside my own.

"Lydia?" He gasps.

"Don't worry, Daddy, I'm still me." With the last bit of power I have left, I will energy between his fingers. Exhausted, I release his hands. He opens them and a tiny electric-blue butterfly flutters toward the sky before breaking apart above us. The rain has stopped but something warm and wet drips down my chin. I wipe the back of my hand across my face. Blood.

It's Jeremiah who catches me when I topple toward the concrete.

"No," my father says, but when I search his face he's not looking at me. I follow his line of sight and see a CGEF Humvee driving in our direction. There's a weapon mounted on top. A huge rocket launcher I only recognize because of David. The officer in control takes aim at Korwin, who is just a few feet in front of us, and triggers the rocket.

I have a second to see Korwin's blue glow blink and fizzle in the rain.

   

Boom! A barrage of rubble sprays toward us, and then I'm consumed by total darkness.