Coming Home: The Finders Series

CHAPTER 6: THE NEW ASSIGNMENT

For the next six years, I went through the most grueling training in the use of my abilities. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it. My instructors just didn't understand one thing about me, though. They kept telling me that I had to let go of my anger. They didn't understand, though, that it was my anger, my rage, that kept me moving forward. I was doing everything now to avenge Kim. Couldn't they see that? Did they understand that? So there I was, standing outside the high Council chamber doors. They were meeting to decide what to do with me.  I think they felt like they let me down somehow, but it wasn't them. Anyhow, I was waiting for their answer.

Finally, they called me into the chamber, and as I entered the big doors, I could sense them all ahead, but something did not feel right. I sensed that they were all leaving – everyone except Councilman Oldbright. He was waiting up ahead for me. He was an older man with gray hair and a warm face.  He looked like he would be right at home as someone's grandfather. He was a bit rotund, but that only added to his charm. He was dressed in a nice pair of navy blue dress slacks and a light blue dress shirt over that he had the familiar white robes with the gold trim that signified his office and rank in the council.

"Greetings, Kevin. How are you feeling today?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"Fine, councilman. I'm a bit nervous about the meeting, however."

He just laughed and replied, "patience is not one of your strong suits, is it, my boy?" I just grinned rather sheepishly and looked down at the floor of the chamber. "Your teachers are concerned about you not letting go of the anger and the rage. They tell me that your eyes are glowing most of the time. Tell me. What is it that has you so angry most of the time? We need to understand this because it is an emotion that we don't have to deal with." He was looking at me with some concern on his face. He was being truthful to me as well because he was on one of the ships that made it safely to the colony. They had never had to deal with anger or rage because its effects could be devastating. This devastation was the reason that from an early age, they were taught to control anger. On the other hand, I was raised by humans who, not understanding my powers, and had no clue that I needed to master my rage.

I spent the next hour or so telling him about how Kim had died and how I felt powerless to save her. How the anger was all I had left of her. How I needed to avenge her death and make things right again. While I was telling him this, the councilman only looked at me and nodded. He has the occasional question or two, but for the most part, he just let me talk. He allowed me to say things that I had needed to say for a long time but never had the chance to. It was therapeutic in a way that I had never known of before. Finally, when I was finished, he asked me just two more questions. The first was what I thought of the Finders, and the second was who this Phil Jones I was thinking about was. I told him that I admired all that the Finders were doing. They were the group that was going out from the colony to look for those of us that did not understand the dreams and the memories. Pete was a Finder. I also told him how Phil had helped me escape the Major and stayed with me making sure that the Major did not find me.

"Good, real good.  It will make it better, then, when I tell you what we want you to do. You are to find Phil and let him teach you how to harness this anger. You can search for him when you are working on your first assignment."

"My new assignment?" I asked.

"Yes, my boy. The council believes that even though you have an issue with your anger, you would make a splendid addition. So do I."

"Addition?" I said. "Addition to what?"

He just smiled and replied, "not too quick now, are we? To the finders, of course."

My whole face must've lit up when he gave me that news. There I was, being made one of the elite, one of the special task force out there finding the lost ones and bringing them home. I was kind of hoping that I might run into Pete out there so I could thank him for all he had done.

The next day, I was scheduled to start my journey to find Phil and the lost ones. I had a good idea where I would start since he had kept wanting to go to the New England states. That still left a large area to be covered. It turned out that the morning was just full of surprises. I didn't know it at the time, but when Pete left during lunch on that last day in Cincinnati, he went back to talk to Phil about being on the lookout for others like us. Phil was happy to assist, and Pete had given him a number to reach the colony on. Earlier in the week, Phil called in with a possible hit. The only thing was that these were kids themselves, and any of our group would probably be adults by now. He was requesting a Finder be sent to ascertain if these kids were somehow ours or not. Since I already knew him, Councilman Albright was sending me to be the Finder, and this was my first case. How I handled it would be a test to see if I really was ready for the responsibility that the council was giving me.

Among my Supplies were a bunch of credit cards and various names so that I had unlimited cash when I needed it. It also supplied me with several aliases to use as well. That was not the only thing.  The car I was given was unique too. For example, it had a full database of the names of the passengers that were on the spaceship that crashed. It also had a voice-activated computer system that was very user-friendly. Lastly I was given the message that Phil had left and his exact location. Well, that made the search a whole lot easier. Who knew?

Now, I was off into the world that feared and hated aliens. They proved it with their movies, television shows, and books. The difference was that I was going out there to bring our kind back home where they belong – back to a safe place without hatred and bias. I had a real purpose to my life now. Still, in the back of my mind, I was hoping that I would run into the Major out here. I would do to him what he did to Kim. She would have her revenge, and justice would be served. I would see to it.

Phil was in a small town in New York State. The town was called Cattaraugus. He was in an orphanage called Crestview. My plan was to find him and see what was up. Then we could start my training on controlling the anger like the councilman wanted me to. As for the kids he had found, I had my doubts. I was proof that we would be older than that now. He found kids so I did not think they were ours, but I would check it out just the same. One thing I had come to understand at the colony over the past six years was that we take care of our own. If these were children of the lost, then they were ours, too, and I would take them back for sure.

I knew what I had to do, and I was off and doing it. I figured this would be fun if nothing else. I was sure that I was going to be happy to see Phil. The question was, was he going to be glad to see me? I kept control of myself so as not to do something that would give me away. Control of my abilities was the one thing that I had learned very well back in the community. I was glad that I did. As I drove, I was using the built-in map to guide me, and it was leading me there all the way. I was loving it. One of the things that I was planning on doing someday while I was out here was going back home to the Donaldsons to explain what it happened to Kim and I. I would also tell them what we were so they could have some peace – peace in knowing that they could not have taught us what we needed to know to control our powers.

I arrived in town after just three days of traveling. I ate only when I stopped for fuel, and then it was only takeout so I could keep moving. I had come in off I-86 and had come into town from the south. I did not think the town was much to look at, but I had been raised in larger cities, and it was larger cities that Phil and I stopped in when we needed cash. Even our Community in Solitaire Mountain was more massive than this. At first, I thought the computer in the car must be faulty, but I was on Cattaraugus Little Valley Road, which was where I was supposed to be. I checked the computer and it was saying that I needed to go to the north end of town to the corner of Jefferson and South streets. I just followed New York to Jefferson and turned onto Jefferson. I only went a couple of blocks when I saw the place. Talk about depressing. It looked like an abandoned grade school building. I pulled into the lot and shut off the motor. I just sat there in the car, wondering what would have brought Phil to this place. Then it hit me! I did not know if he was using an alias or not! How could I have forgotten to ask the councilman about that? Well, as Bob always used to say, there's more than one way to skin a cat. I focused on Phil and reached out with my mind to touch his. Once I knew it was him, I gave him the feeling that he needed to come out of the parking lot. When I was confident he was coming, I got out of the car and just waited.