The Event

35.

"Um, do you care to explain what you mean?" Jorah separated from the group to stand at my side. "Of what importance is Kayne?"

Quint and his family tensed, but Grams looked up with those clouded over eyes. "It's his destiny." She says, her voice thick.

"What is?" I ask, feeling my heartrate pick up.

Grams leaned forward, clutching a hand to her chest and Quint's wife, Tonya crouched down next to her, holding her hand. "It's ok, you can rest-." She was trying to say, but Grams shook her head quickly.

"No." She snipped, then patted Tonya's hand. "No, dear, I'm fine." She said more softly to her before turning back to me and Jorah. The others behind me seemed more concerned with the amazing way that Dani's wounds were healing so quickly and probably couldn't even hear us over Matty's cries, thanking Kayne over and over while holding Dani close to his body.

"The boy," Grams said again, bringing my attention back to her. "He's always the one...every time." She said, nodding to herself like that should mean something to us. "He's the one who can change the tides. He can push it forward, or he can stop it entirely. You, my dear, are important too. He found you, which means we've finally got another chance."

Jorah and I shared a glance probably both thinking the same thing.

"I know how crazy it sounds," Kate, one of the women, said. "I thought so too before all of this started to happen. And if this is true too, then we need him, and the rest of you. We can still turn this around, bring back life, not live in fear anymore...he can do that. With you. Please just hear her out."

Turn things around? As much as I'd like that, I can't see a world anymore where we don't live in fear. This is so close to being the end, how can we ever feel safe again. I want to believe in it, I really do, as much of a downer as I can be sometimes, I want there to be a world for us again. I just can't force myself to see it. Try as I might, I can't conjure up a way to make it happen.

"Come here, child, I'll tell you a story," Grams smiled and I hesitated.

Jorah stood ramrod straight at my side, looking between me and the others. "I don't think we have time for stories right now. We need to get out of here, they will realize they lost track of us soon and will likely circle back to check out things on foot. We need to not be waiting in a hole when they do."

Quint stepped out from his family. "They can come through these woods with every bit of heat sensing technology they've got, dogs, superpowers, whatever they want, and they still wouldn't find us here. It's safe."

"Safe isn't really a word I like to throw around." Jorah said, crossing her arms. I can tell she doesn't like not being in charge. She needs it to feel useful. Her face is strained waiting for Grams to talk again, but she pretty much looks like she may have fallen asleep in her wheelchair.

"Still here." The old woman said as if she read my mind, and a small part of me worried that she may have.

If there is anywhere no one should go, it's my head. Especially someone's grandma.

"Come here, sit beside me." Grams pats her knee and Tonya moves to stand behind her, her hands holding the handles of the wheelchair tightly. I realized in a moment that they were scared, of us. Of me. Likely they should be, they may have rescued us and be going off of their crazy grandmother's senile ramblings, but trust in this world is out the window unless you're blood. I peek over my shoulder to Tommy where he stands towards the back with his arm around Kaylin's narrow shoulders. His sad eyes catch mine, and I realize even blood isn't enough to trust anymore. Will was Tommy's blood, and he'd betrayed him. So these people were really going out on a very breakable limb to bring us in like this. I figured the least I could do was listen to an old lady's story.