The Tenth Year

Chapter 7 - Grayson

I didn't know how to react. A part of me wanted to scream in excitement but another part wanted to just curl up in my place and wait for life to happen. Reegan was giving us a way out. She kept on talking about how we had to leave the field. Run away and never look back. Save ourselves. That, of course, also meant leaving our lives in the Headquarters behind.

I found myself torn. I dreaded the life of a runaway. I didn't think I could find the strength to go back to it. I really liked my life at the Headquarters, my room, the people that had become my friends. But, then again, what life would I go back to if my little brother wasn't there. My inner confrontation was still going on when Reegan rose to her feet and grabbed my sword. I was immediately alarmed. For some reason it looked wrong in her hand.

She took a step toward me and offered me the sword, hilt first. "If we're going to do this, we'll need you," she said softly as my hand moved on its own. My fingers found their way easily around the golden hilt, its smooth feeling giving me goose bumps. Before I knew it I was on my feet too.

Her green eyes were looking straight into mine. She looked like she expected me to say the right thing, to agree with her plan and run away. I still wasn't sure I could endure a life of running again. But the decision wasn't really about me. It wasn't about Reegan either. I looked down at the two people that meant the most to me. They both looked confused and scared.

"You don't have to do this," Zoe whispered. Her eyes were glistening with the tears she was holding back. "You can go back to your lives."

"For how long?" Reegan demanded. She wasn't usually this harsh, especially when dealing with Zoe, but I understood she needed to make her point. "And what kind of live would we go back to?" Zoe still didn't agree. She forcefully shook her head. She was about to speak but Reegan cat her off. "I know it is a lot to ask. But you know what they say, desperate times..."

She didn't need to continue. We all knew what she meant. Her plan, which was not much of a plan really, was definitely a desperate solution to an even more desperate situation. But for now it had to work. Because she was right. In the end it wouldn't matter if we returned to our old lives or not, there was really no going back. And looking at the options in front of me, running away did sound like the solution. Even though it might lead us to an even more painful future, I had to think about the present.

"Reegan is right," I said eventually. I watched as a tear run down Zoe's face. She tried to hide it by facing the other way.

"I really don't want this," Zoe muttered but her voice was buried under Reegan's remark. "I am glad you do, 'cause we are going to need this sword of yours."

I smiled at Reegan and then knelt next to my brother. "What do you think, pal? Are you ready to be a Nomad again?" A huge smile spread on my brother's face. It took me so much by surprise that when he wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged I fell backwards dragging him and my sword with me. In his mind, running away probably meant he didn't have to become an angel, but I knew that wasn't the case. I looked up at Reegan and she immediately knew what I was thinking. We still had a lot of things to figure out. First of all, a way to get out of this field.