Samuel

Chapter 20

Light moisture held onto his skin, latching on as anchors, digging deeply, refusing to let go. Shifting slightly a drop of dew coalesced on his cheek before dripping into his open mouth filling it with the taste of fresh water. Awaking with a slight startle at the taste of fresh water as his hands and legs were bound together, his mouth free from a gag, Samuel blinked rapidly to shake away the fresh haze of sleepiness. Not quite dawn yet, the air resonated with the coming of light, the silent electric sensation which proceeded dawn. The animals restlessly moved about as the birds began to sing their melodies.

The blonde-haired woman sat on a nearby tree branch silently eyeing Samuel as the other man rifled through the boy's possessions. Shaking the sleeping bag, he emptied the contents onto the ground, scattering them wildly, tearing the bag against a nearby sharp rock. Struggling, a pained looked washed over the man's face as he became distracted. His body tensed as his eyes scanned the surroundings. After, he finished, the man walked back into the forest with a puzzled expression, appearing distracted by something outside of the campsite.

"You seem to have worked yourself up a bit. We bound you for your own good." The blonde-haired woman said to him, her voice light yet serious.

Staring blankly at the woman as he lay on his right side with his legs tied to his hands like a pig to the slaughter, Samuel inwardly seethed. Grass tickled his face, twigs poked deep into his sides, and pine needles irritated the boy's skin. Ignoring all of these, his focus remained on the two and their energies. Heavier than Samuel's, although deficient in other areas, he surmised they did not reach further in capacity than his own.

The other man, not in sight, Samuel attempted to feel him as he moved further into the distance. Less than a mile, but faintly pulsating energy radiated from him, he shone as a beacon in Samuel's mind's eye.

Realization dawned upon him, as he thought to himself, "So that's how they discovered my location."

As Samuel studied them, surprise filled him as he noticed faults in particular areas of their aura's. Lacking substance, these areas waned as their energies pulsed through their bodies. Quizzically, he glanced at these locations as the bioenergy flowed through each of them.

One Operate, the woman nearest to him held the largest gap surrounding her head as the rest of her form contained an earthy opaque tone swelling around her. Clear to Samuel, cognitive weaknesses, surrounded her mind. The other operative held a transparent, exceptionally light bronze color surrounding his body with deep opaque bioenergy encircling his head. Unfortunately, despite their weaknesses, their physical strength far outclassed his own, Samuel held no chance of escaping unnoticed.

"Interesting I have to make note of that." He thought to himself, his eyes holding a stern gaze.

Absorbing his surroundings, Samuel attempted to take in as much information as he could. While the partner of the woman continued to investigate something within the forest, Samuel's eyes latched onto her. Examining the opperative, Samuel thought back on how she spoke and carried herself. The woman's accent betrayed her origins. Unable to place it, Samuel new it wasn't local.

"So kid, that was some punch earlier. I thought you would have taken off my head with that blast." The woman said, once more to Samuel

Samuel looked absently at her as she eyed the boy intently. Continuing, she said with a sigh, "I see why they want to bring you in now."

Looking in the direction of her partner for a moment, her eyes squinted in concern as Samuel noticed a tickled pass over his flesh.

Turning her head back toward Samuel, she said, "It shouldn't be too long now. Our ride is almost here." The woman stated, matter-of-factly, placing his hand on her knee and standing. "Well." She pressed while taking a deep breath, "I guess I can remove those bindings. You won't cause any trouble will ya?" Samuel attempted to shake his head, but it merely squirmed a little.

Walking over to the boy, the woman froze after a few steps. Her movements, slow and deliberate, displayed pure horror, within her eyes. The pallor in her face drained as she craned her neck looking to where her partner absconded. Samuel gazed up at her quizzically, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What is wrong with this woman?" He thought to himself.

Taking many moments later, Samuel felt the shift in gravity. Doubling around the area, it filled the land as a tidal wave, pushing all around it away, taking all thought far from the minds of the individuals. Animals, in the area, noticed and took flight. Birds tweeted and cawed in distress. A sound of thundering steps in the woods pulsated throughout the forest. Squirrels, chipmunks, beavers, deer, coyote and foxes fled, running past Samuel and the frozen woman. Feeling the tiny feet and claws of the squirrel's attempting to scurry to freedom, their pads bounced on his face and neck. The previous energy he felt from the woman's partner vanished, suddenly.

"No! It is more than that. It was taken up into another. How could I not feel the stronger one coming? Incredible! Simply astounding." Samuel marveled to himself with no fear present, simply wonderment. His thoughts ceased as he felt the pressure increase around him. "Here they come!"

Samuel felt the thousands of different life forces radiating from a single origin. An amalgam of power and bioenergy, siphoned from countless individuals and living things, this person, who neared, pulsed with the radiance of the sun. The woman who bound Samuel must have felt the same, clearly out of her league, as her weakness, too apparent, illuminated her inferiority.

Her lips whitened while her hands instinctively tried keeping the power at bay as she remained anchored to the position while it moved closer. The closer the being came, the denser the energy felt. Difficult to breathe, now, the woman grabbed her chest as her eyes glossed over. Peering at Samuel then the direction opposite the new foe. She made the decision of self-preservation. Focusing her power to her feet, she fled as a blur. Swiftly she moved over leaves and broken branches. In an instant, she vanished.

As the woman fled, Samuel noticed another source of energy, nearly imperceptible, it hung under the cloud of overwhelming power moving ever closer to the bound boy. In his periphery, Samuel saw a puzzling sight. A shrouded figure crouched atop the trees. Its presence unnoticeable until it moved. Looking closely, Samuel noticed its clothing wafted in the breeze. A soft pulse emitted from it. Feeling light, broken, detached, as smoke dissipating in the wind. In parts, appearing translucent, other areas presented an opaque quality, dark, too dark for the light of day to reflect upon it.

Shifting quickly to the left, as it gazed in that direction, Samuel noticed the increase in power coming closer. The boy returned his eyes to the figure high in the treetops. Briefly, Samuel witnessed black wisps of translucent fabric move away. An unnerving shudder ran down his spine as he saw glowing orbs inside a hood. Brilliant blue spheres, shimmering like light bulbs, penetrated Samuel as they studied him. Wafting in the breeze, one moment, it was gone the next. Almost as if the impending energy bearing down upon Samuel rebuffed it.

"How did I not notice that creature before?" Samuel thought to himself briefly as relief drifted into his being. Unable to notice his heart hammering in his chest, Samuel welcomed the bulldozer of power barreling towards. Him. "The way it looked at me, it felt inhuman." Samuel mused.

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