SWRC: Hidden Pasts (Book 2)

Chapter 18 Healing Together.

Zach watched as Neeran clutched her head and collapsed to the ground before fainting after the strange man had said her real name. Being incorpreal, Zach couldn't catch Neeran as she fell onto the ground in front of him. While he'd been distracted with Neeran collapsing, he hadn't noticed the strange Figure had just simply vanished back into the forest surrounding them.

The moment the Figure had faded into the surrounding forests, two more new figures appeared in the small clearing with them. Considering everything that Neeran and her team had gone through recently, it wasn't a surprise when they reacted to the appearance of the two figures with hostility and drawn weapons.

"Don't worry," reassured the man, putting up his hands in a surrender like position. "My name is Jax Briaxe and this is my sister Star. We're friends of Neeran's."

"Where did you come from?" asked Joel, not removing the gun he held.

"From the house on the hill."

"You're the hermit she got the book from!" exclaimed Harry.

"Hermit?!" exclaimed the man introduced as Jax as he then grumbled. "She's in trouble when she wakes up."

Jax looked at the six young faces before him and sighed.

"Come on you lot," said Jax, motioning behind him as he picked up Neeran. "Come with me and you'll be safe from recapture."

"Wait, how'd-"

"Neeran's told me a lot about all of you, plus I know everyone in that Base has just woken up and I know that they're going to be looking for the six super soldiers who just ran away from there," replied Jax with both a knowing and understanding look on his face as he explained the situation to them. "And if you think I'd sell you out to them, you are very sorely mistaken."

Jax had started to head back on an unseen trail when Joel exclaimed, "Wait. What about the other man who was just here? Who was he? And where did he go?"

Jax froze instantly, and slowly turned his head to the blond haired figure behind him.

"What other man?"

"The one who was just here," replied Joel. "He had brown-blond kind of hair and his clothes seemed to blend into the forest behind him. Actually, he looked a lot like you."

Jax didn't hesitate in reply, with a slight tone of fear seeming to creep into his voice, "Come. Don't ask why, just come. It's not safe here out in the open."

The boys all glanced at each other before following Jax and his sister back to their cabin in the hills, or mountains if you were in Australia. It was not very far away but it was a slight uphill climb, although they reached it quite quickly. Jax led them into the the main room of the house as Neeran began to stir again.

Groaning, Neeran asked, "What happened?"

Jax set her down and stepped back as the other members of her team filled in the deatils as to what had happened, but Jax wasn't listening to what they were saying. His mind was blocking out the sounds of their voices as he mulled over the thoughts and memories that the blond haired boy had brought back to him with the mention of the figure they'd seen and how he'd apparently looked like him. Jax's mind had reached a decision as to who the figure they'd seen was and he knew that there was no one else that this person could be.

"Jax, you have to tell them who he is," said Star.

"He's forced his hand, so I guess I don't really a choice," replied Jax, balling up his fist in frustration and noticing that the other chatter in the room had come to a halt.

"What are you talking about?" asked Neeran, asking her question tentatively.

Jax met her gaze and saw that everyone wanted to know what they were talking about, so, with an exasperated sigh, Jax explained.