The Leader

The Leader: Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two: Caleb

When Talia and I arrive in New York, USA, I can tell that all she wants to do is walk around and view every tourist attraction there is to offer. However, I constantly have to remind her that we are here for a different reason, and I always state just how crucial this mission is. She continually thinks of me as uptight and 'over tense', though if she knew exactly how I feel right now, she would definitely change her thoughts of me. I think of Maya in every waking moment, and that is most of the time now. I can never sleep, because I'm not holding her in my arms. When I do sleep, I have vivid nightmares of Ian harming her, and I wake up feeling more deprived of energy than when I fell asleep. My love for Maya drives me forward, so that even though I have no energy, I can keep going. I would have crossed a line ages ago if I were human, but my angel half keeps me going. I never eat anymore, because I now draw my energy from sunlight, like a normal angel would. Talia eats and sleeps for so long, and I could do so much more if I were alone. I've had a few sparring sessions with Talia, and I've found that she's almost as good as Maya was before her Initiation. Talia has apparently always been the sporty type, and so she has quick reflexes, and she's a good learner. When I get into a routine, she figures it out quickly and uses it against me. I close my eyes now and think of Maya, but the ever-blurring picture of her face in my mind changes. I'm lying on my bed attempting to sleep, and Talia is on hers and snoring already. The new face in my mind belongs to Josiah, the man who's house Talia and I will visit tomorrow. Josiah will probably join us because he has never liked Ian and he loves to fight. I can't wait to finally add someone to our team. Everything's yours, Maya, I think to myself. My life, my heart, my strength, my freedom and my soul. It's all yours. We arrive at Josiah's place after being in the car for two hours, and Talia is relieved to finally stretch her legs. As we walk up the drive, Talia is nervous, and I roll my eyes. I knock on the door confidently, and then Josiah opens it almost immediately.

"Caleb!" he exclaims, his face lighting up. "Come in, come in." He moves aside so that Talia and I are able to walk past him, and then he shuts the door. He leads us to a small living room and tells us to sit down. When we are seated, he asks what we need.

"Well," I say, "it's a long story, but I'll sum it up for you. Ian marked the girl I love, and now I want to challenge him, but I know he will have a small army of soldiers, so I need to build one as well. Interested?" I ask.

"Of course, I'm in. Where are you planning to fight him?"

"England."

"Okay, done. I have a house in England, and I'll be living there. I'll give you my number, and you just call me when you want to do this." I nod, and he stands. "I have some business to attend to, so I have to leave now. Feel free to stay or go. It's up to you." As soon as he leaves the house, I stand.

"Caleb, is everyone going to be that easy?" Talia asks me as she stands up.

"Oh, no. Of course not. He's just really easygoing, and he hates Ian. Like me, I guess."

"Oh. You're... talking again."

"Talia, I'm sorry, I just... I'm finding it so hard just to cope, and I-"

"I get it, Caleb. I couldn't even imagine what would happen to me if I was separated from Liam."

"Thanks for being so understanding." I smile at her, and she stops, unable to breathe.

"Wow, Caleb. When you smile, it's like the sun's just come out from behind a cloud." I freeze in place.

"That's what Maya used to think," I manage to choke out. She immediately looks guilty.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I open the front door and step outside, though I don't make it to the driveway. I slide down the door and sit on the front steps. I blink about a thousand times, and yet the tears still come. When I close my eyes, the fading image of Maya is barely there, and I hold onto it for as long as I can. I stand quickly and run to the car as fast as I can, then I start it and wait for Talia to get in. She is silent as I put my foot down on the accelerator and make the car reach its limit. However, nothing is a blur. Everything is perfectly detailed in my eyes, and so I see when a car decides to pull onto my side of the road and do a three point turn. I swerve around them calmly while slowing down, and I glare at the driver. It's a young woman, and she reminds me of my mother. My mum received the gift of never aging and so did my father. They are both half-angels, which is why Selene and I are so strong. I speed up again, putting distance between us and the other car, but drawing closer to the building traffic in front of us. I slow down immediately, and I have to go the speed limit, because there are police cars up ahead. The police are stopped on the side of the road, and they scrutinise everyone to see if people seem suspicious. I just look straight ahead, because I couldn't care less what the police think of me. I've had my fair share of jail experiences when I wasn't careful enough and got caught. And speeding only gives you a fine, which I would have no trouble paying. I see a car coming behind us and I know they won't stop in time, so I groan. A splitsecond later I press my foot to the accelerator and move forward a metre just as the other driver stops where the back of the car used to be. I sigh as I hope the driver in front us moves, because they're only an inch away. The traffic inches forward, and I close my eyes in frustration. I turn the wheel, and as the car in front moves a metre further, I drive into the other lane. There is a car coming quickly, and I'm counting on that. I run around the outside of the car as quickly as I can and grab Talia. Then I run off the road just as the other car impacts our rental. I don't stop to let the police see that we've left the car, but instead I keep running, as fast as the car was able to go in the area without traffic. We reach our hotel much quicker than we could have in the car, and then I put Talia down. She sways a bit, and I grab her shoulder and hold her up. When she can walk properly, I take my hand off and we take the lift up to the fifth floor. I immediately fall back onto my bed with exhaustion, but Talia just sits down.