Eventide

Chapter 10. Artillery

Chapter 10

Artillery 

(Titanium, by David Guetta, featuring Sia)

     Mom and Seth stayed with me for a week.  Mom talked with me during those days, really talked, opening up about her past with Dad, her future with Charlie, her worries about me and Seth, and about her place on the council among the Tribal Elders.  She had her doubts and insecurities, just like a real person.  I had always thought of her as a force of nature, sure and unstoppable, so this was a side of her I’d had never seen.

     She was still the strongest person I knew.

     The weeks dragged, hollow as an empty tin can.  Daylight hours consumed more and more of the night as the season changed, leaving just a few hours of darkness between sunrise and sunset.

     Quarrels I’d had with Dad plagued me.  They echoed dully during every down moment.  This wasn’t like a broken bone that would mend.  It was more of an arthritic pain, a part of me I would have to live with for the rest of my life.

     If I could have spoken with Dad just one more time I would have apologized for everything; every disappointment, every argument, all the pain I’d ever caused him, every mistake I’d ever made.  That would never happen, though.  I’d forever lost that chance.  I would have to cling to Mom’s claim that he had loved me and hope that wherever Dad had gone, he knew how sorry I was.

***

     Things did move on, but slowly, and I wasn’t sure it was for the better.  The nightmare changed from terrifying to heartbreakingly sad, now that my secret was out and I knew the accusations were coming.  Each night, my friends and family demanded to know how I could have killed my own father.  Each night, I took it in silence because I had no answer for them.  Each morning, I awoke huddled in a tight little ball with my arms around my knees, my cheeks wet.

     It wasn’t all bad, though.  Brogan called me from the plane, and every day thereafter, just like he said he would.  He didn’t press me to talk about my father or what had happened.  Our conversations were more about what I had done with my day and about our mutual friends.  

     His calls were like a lifeline, thrown daily to give me a rest from treading water.  Without them, I might have gone under.

     He asked after his team as well.  I had participated in a few searches, now that tourist season was upon Trapper Creek.  They just weren’t the same without Brogan.  Three out of four searches ended with me finding the our lost lambs and bringing them in.  He had chuckled about that, saying it was nothing less than he had expected from me.

***

     A crazy idea struck me out of the blue as I phased after a routine patrol.  I had been idly pondering the Volturi blitz and something random Garrett had said.  The idea was dangerous in the extreme, insanely so.  But, what if it worked?

     Emily was living proof my theory was possible.

     Before I could chicken out, I ran inside and stabbed the speed dial.

     “No more training for a while,” Garrett said firmly.  Not much on social graces, I thought.  Kate had a lot of work to do on his manners if she wanted him presentable around humans.

     “I’m not looking to train,” I said.  “There’s something you need to see.  Meet me in the clearing in a half hour.”

     “Is this important?”  I could hear the aggravation in Garrett’s voice.  He was still angry at me for flipping out on him.