“So can you do it?” Elijah has his hand on the stone, very well-locked door.
“I think so. I’ve never done it before though. The last time I did it was when Brody and Easton were trying to add me to their stomachs.” I place my hands right about where the locks are. “I’ll try.” Doubt flows through my mind. I doubt myself. I doubt my abilities.
“Stop doing that.” Elijah places his hand over mine.
“Doing what?” I ask.
“Doubting yourself. It won’t help you. It also has no right to be in your mind. You don’t need to doubt yourself. Trust me.” He smiles cutely at me.
“Okay. Let’s do this.” My voice sounds confident, but my mind tells me otherwise. I stare at my hands. My gaze shifts back to Elijah. “You might want to move your hands.”
“Right!” His hands quickly retreat.
“You also might want to stand farther away from me. I would prefer if you didn’t get hurt.” I smile at him and laugh shakily.
“Nope...wouldn’t want that. You need to be careful.” He squeezes my shoulder and moves to the opposite side of the room.
I refocus my attention to the stone door in front of me. I take in a deep breath. In and out. I relax my hands and close my eyes. My heart beat steadies to an even pace. My temple begins to hurt. In and out.
You can do it. Just breathe. Think of your sister. Think of your family. Think about strength and love. Julian’s voice fills my head. I smile and follow his advice.
Strong, radiating heat shoots out of my palms into the door. In and out. The stone changes to a bright red, molten color. It pulls away from my scolding touch. My body begins to loose its energy. It flees from me. An explosion fills my ears. The door is blown off its hinges. I slump to the ground. My weak body lays on top of the broken ruble.
“Faith, you’re okay.” Elijah lifts me to my feet. I fall against him. “We need to go.”
“I don’t know if I can.” My voice is soft and weak. My temple is throbbing.
“You can.” He pulls my arm over his shoulders and holds me off the ground. His hand wraps tightly around my waist. His feet move quickly beneath us. Mine stumble to keep up with his.
“Where do you think Nevaeh is?” I ask. I can feel some of my strength returning.
“If she’s still alive, I think that she’s probably over in D-block. I was listening to Brody and Easton talk in the hallway. They do an awful job of hiding their secrets.”
I slightly laugh. “I think that I can walk on my own now.” He comes to a pause and concern flashes in his eyes. “I can.” I reassure him.
He slowly releases his grip on me. My weight shifts from his shoulders to my own two feet. I wobble for a second. His warm hands steady me.
“Let’s go.” I grab his hand and take off. His speed overcomes mine, and he leads me towards D-block.
***
Her arms are chained against the moldy wall. Dark bruises cover most of her visible skin. Her blood-stained hair falls over her shoulders. Her breathing is faint and barely noticeable. I rush to her side.
“Nevaeh! Wake up!” I scream at her while Elijah unlocks her shackles. Her restraints release her, and she falls forward into my arms. I catch her and drop to the floor. Tears trickle down my face. I move her hair off to the side away from her beaten face.
“Heal her.” Elijah suggests.
“I can’t… I don’t know how.” My voice stutters. Again the doubt inside of me rises.
“Heal her and kick that waste of space doubt right out of your brain.” Elijah smiles and gives me a little confidence.
“Okay.” I say. I place my hands on her head and concentrate. Her body twitches beneath me. She gasps for air. Her gasp is followed by a vicious cough. “You’re okay!” Joy skips around inside my heart.
“Yeah. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” She smiles.
“Trust me. It’s not the drugs.” I laugh and she joins me.
“She healed you. Faith you did it!” Elijah grins.
“Thank you Faith.” Nevaeh grabs ahold of my hand and squeezes.
“We need to go.” I plunge to my feet and pull Nevaeh up with me. Her body appears strong. Strength flickers in her dark green eyes.
***
We safely travel through the compound without being noticed. The woods now surround us. The sun’s rays are scattered by the leaves over us. The branches and their leafy fingers stretch out over the sky.
“That was easier than it should have been.” Elijah’s voice overtakes the silence.
“Can’t you just count our blessings?” Nevaeh slows to a walking pace. Elijah and I join.
“Nope. That’s not the way I roll.” Elijah makes a joke as he kicks a pine cone. It rolls away.
“Ooh. Mr. Serious cracks a joke. That should be marked in the history books.” I grin.
“Nice one!” Nevaeh throws me a high-five. I chuckle.
“It wasn’t a joke.” Elijah crosses his arms.
“It sure sounded like it.” Nevaeh moves to the other side of Elijah.
“Whatever.” He brushes the comment off. “How long do you think we were held?”
“I don’t know.” I say flatly.
“Well the evil dudes who kidnapped us weren’t very smart. They kept us near our district. Actually we’re right outside the fence.” Nevaeh flattens her hair as she talks.
“How do you…?” I ask.
“Nevaeh has a talent. She always knows where she is.” Elijah explains. "That's the fence over there." He points.
The fence isn’t very tall. It’s a normal chain-linked fence. Rust is formed around its metal rings. Elijah scans it for an opening. One appears in his vision and he steps towards it.
Voices in the distance grab my attention. I fasten my pace. We all squeeze through the broken fence. Elijah moves the branches of a bush to conceal the opening. He shushes us. We crouch and hide from the oncoming people.
“I’m going to crunch your skull and feed it to Easton!” Demetri snaps at Brody. Anger flashes over his face. Brody grunts and rolls his eyes.
“I don’t want to eat him.” Easton protests.
“You two are idiots. First, you lose the prisoners. Actually I don’t even care about the other two. I just want Faith!” My heart drops at the sound of my name. Elijah laces his fingers through mine. “Then you allowed Scarlett to be brought back from the dead.” Frustration passes Demetri’s lips. He stares at Brody and Easton and frowns. “Well find them!” He yells and zips off.
We walk back to the compound in silence. I think about my sister. I think about my mom. I think about my life. I’m on my way to face the fact about how long we’ve been missing. Fear arises inside me as I move forward.
YOU ARE READING
The Sunflower Keeper
خيال (فانتازيا)Faith has finally come of age, and her future will be decided for her. She has to navigate her nerves and her new life while trying to figure out love and who's trying to kill her. She's not perfect, and she knows that. The people she meets and lose...
