T.O.R.N.: There's Only Right Now

Chapter 17 Brennan

Just when Brennan began to fear for his life because his search for Michael had led nowhere, his Asante was his saving grace. While eating his room service breakfast he decided to find something on television to distract himself from his imminent doom. Carmichael was still asleep in the queen bed adjacent to his own, so he muted the volume. But as he flipped through the channels he stopped on CNN's red breaking news banner because of the headline—"Caramel Sheriff murdered in local lounge, surgeon wanted for questioning." Then he saw her. Someone had recorded her on their phone. The video showed Asante as she got up from a table and slowly walked out of a lounge. The camera then panned back to the table where a man sat with blood streaming out of every orifice on his face covered in boils.

A moment later Carmichael's phone rang. He woke immediately and answered. "Yes, ma'am, no, no. Yes, right away," he replied, then hung up the phone. Brennan turned to face him. He stared at the television. "Seems it's your lucky day. Though Schmidt wouldn't help you find Michael, looks like your girlfriend will do the trick." Carmichael got up, pointed to the television and walked into the bathroom.

Dr. Schmidt wasn't happy when Brennan had returned to her empty-handed and had asked for more favors.

She left him with, "This time I'll do my own bidding."

This frightened Brennan and had him immediately fear for Asante's life. And although he was happy to have a lead on Asante for his own fate, he needed to devise a plan to ensure Asante could join him possibly away from The Sephiren and The Wave, if necessary.

"What's the plan?" He called out to Carmichael in the bathroom.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that, Brennan. When the time is right you'll be asked to do what's necessary. Until then enjoy the ride."

He was definitely out of the loop. He would have to come up with something proactively and seize the moment when it presented itself. He hoped Asante would be ready for him because it might come down to her life or his own.

* * *

"Then to top it off you bring this child here!" Aissa screamed at the top of her lungs as she paced back and forth. Though it was three am, all the members of The Wave were present in the great room in the main house at the Eslan Institute. Asante was still in a trance-like state. She had never known the power she felt that flowed through her while she sat at that table. It was freedom, but her unwillingness to control it cost someone their life. Her rational would have her believe he deserved it for what he was doing to the child that now sat beside her, but her higher-self knew that was wrong. She was a murderer and she would now have to deal with that reality.

"Marie, how could you let this happen? Have you been teaching her to entrain without my knowledge? How can she be so powerful to take a life with such ease and mastery within moments?" Aissa asked.

"No, of course not. I only described the process to her a few moments earlier...it all happened so fast. I wasn't even sure what she was doing until it was too late." Marie explained completely still disheveled.

"The same way she was able to give life during that surgery without knowledge of any of this," Nyrraw interjected, "because, she is The Aurora." Suddenly Asante was brought back to the moment. Everyone in the room's eyes on her.

"Now more than ever she must be protected. We need to demonstrate love and patience with her. Not frustration and scrutiny, Aissa." Nyrraw continued, "She obviously is more powerful than any of us imagined and her connection to The Now is deeper than we thought possible, so let's seek to understand before we seek to be understood."

"That's all well and good but know The Sephiren will be at our doorstep in twelve hours or less, so yeah, there's that!" Aissa said, not backing down.

Chelo then moved to the center of the group and put his hand on Asante's shoulder. "If I may, placing blame and contemplating the enemy's next move isn't going to serve us. Neither is coddling Asante. We need to be proactive. There's always a solution in The Now, so let's find it. We don't have Michael nor can we read the notebook, but we have what they both point to. Asante."