“Do you know where we are?” Gabe asked puzzled.
“No, I have never heard of this town and I know most of the towns and cities in this state,” I replied.
I didn’t want to sound like a nerd but I had recently drawn a map of New Hampshire, listing every town and city. It was a school project and I had received and A+.
“Let’s go into the town hall and see where we are,” Gabe ordered, as he walked towards the town hall.
The town hall was directly across the street from the library. We walked into the unlocked building and made our way to the main office. Once there we found papers that stated we are in Holliston, Massachusetts. Gabe was surprised because he hasn’t been able to teleport that far. I pulled open a drawer and retrieved maps. I found State of Massachusetts and New Hampshire maps. At closer inspection I discovered we were over two hours from the warehouse.
“We need to figure out how to teleport back or find a car and leave now. We are defenseless from the screamers,” I gulped.
Panic made my chest tighten with every new and unpleasant thought that entered my racing mind.
“Let’s figure out how we teleported here to begin with. I know we were touching,” Gabe said, as he took my sweating hand, “Let’s picture home and hopefully we will teleport there.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I tightened my grip on Gabes hands. His hands felt big wrapped around mine. I opened my eyes and gazed into Gabes blue eyes. He stared back intensely and we faded away into nothingness once again. Complete darkness surrounded me. We teleported but we were not back at the warehouse. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. A small night light illuminated a small glow from a bathroom. I took a deep breath it was my bathroom and I was back home in the bunker. I released Gabes hand, walked to the kitchen and pulled a cord hanging from the ceiling. The bunker came to life and I felt safe, I was home. Gabe roamed around the bunker and took everything in.
“Um, where are we?” He asked confused.
“This is my home. Actually my home is upstairs this is my family’s bunker.”
“You have a bunker in your basement and you left it to come to the warehouse? What is wrong with you? You have everything you need right here. I never would have left this place,” Gabe blurted out.
“Silas and I wanted to find others. It was a strong pulling we had and honestly I wanted to kill every screamer out there,” I stated.
I down a gallon of water I retrieved from a cabinet. I then handed a full water jug to Gabe. He also consumed the water within seconds. His face was pale from teleporting, color slowly spread across his hard-lined face.
“We should stay here for the night and get some rest. I am exhausted and my whole body feels like I ran a marathon,” I suggested, yawning and stretching my arms.
“That is a good idea but everyone is going to be searching for us. No one takes off without telling Quinn. I mean we’re not held there like prisoners but they do like to make sure everyone stays safe. If you want to leave you let someone know,” Gabe exclaimed.
“I don’t think there is anyway we can teleport again today. My energy is depleted and I bet yours is too. We will explain everything when we get back, for now let’s get some rest,” I replied.
Gabe followed me to the bedroom.
“Do you prefer the left side or right side of the bed, I’m not picky. I do like to spoon when I sleep,” Gabe remarked.
He smiled and winked at me.
“That is my parents bed. You can sleep on the top bunk. Make a wrong move and I will shoot you,” I stated firmly, climbing into my bed.
“Prude!’ Gabe sobbed.
I laid in bed wide awake replaying the days events over in my head. If my gift was to take others gift what did that mean? Could I take more then one at a time? Could I take all of their gifts? I had learned how to take Silas’ without hurting him but it felt different with Gabe. His energy was rough around the edges and it didn’t feel pleasant like Silas’. I needed time to practice how to take it safely. Why would I need to take anyone’s gift away from them? Should I take away something that wasn’t mine to begin with. These thoughts kept me tossing and turning until sleep finally won the battle going on in my head. Sleep also came with a price these days. Nightmares filled my dreams and morning couldn’t come soon enough.
Day 61:
The next morning I woke up early, I checked all around my home making sure everything was still in order. I hoped my dad had come home. There were no signs that anyone had been there. The note I left for my dad lay unopened on the dining room table. My fingers traced over my dad’s name on the envelope. I didn’t allow myself time to feel sad. I pulled my emotions back in and found Gabe in the backyard. He was staring off into the rolling fields and wooded acres of endless forest that surrounded my house.
“The views are captivating here. I could live here for the rest of my days,” Gabe said and smirked.
“It is beautiful here and safe. Honestly, I wanted to stay here too but I had to end my mother in the driveway one night not so long ago. It made me realize I may have a bigger purpose now and if it means killing the screamers or saving lives, then that is what I will do. I will come back here one day but not yet,” I explained.
“Glad you have a solid plan!” Gabe stated, sarcastically.
“Why are you so against using your gift and others using theirs?” I asked.
Gabe revealed, “It was shortly after I woke up from the sickness. I realized I could teleport. It freaked me out the first couple times I did it. I teleported to a few different rooms in my house, then to my school homeroom, then to a fast food joint I used to go to. It is down the road from the warehouse. I saw smoke coming out of one of the chimneys and I decided to check it out. That’s how I found the group, once I told Quinn about my gift he had me practice everyday. One afternoon I was practicing but this time I was really tired and drained. I had teleported a couple times already that day. You know, each time we use our gift it drains us. I didn’t know at the time that water revives us, I concentrated on teleporting to my grandparents house to check on them. I was too drained and when I teleported I ended up in my grandparents basement. It was cold, dark and the air stank of rotting flesh. I knew I was in serious trouble because in the darkest corners of the basement were night screamers. They were hunched and huddled everywhere my eyes checked. The screamers knew I was there. They let out a screaming whale and charged at me. I thought I was dead but my survivor mode kicked in, a wave of pure energy rushed through me and I teleported back to the warehouse. I decided after that I didn’t want to use my gift. Sure, I could teleport but what good was it if I ended up surrounded by those monsters.”
I watched Gabe wander aimlessly with worry pouring off of him. I wanted to assure him everything would work out but I had a hard time believing it myself. I stayed silent and listened to the sweet songs the birds were singing. Time ticked away and I wanted to get back to the warehouse but I mostly wanted to get back to Silas. I knew I couldn’t rush Gabe but I found myself growing impatient as the sun moved higher into the sky. Finally, after some time Gabe stated he was ready to go back to the warehouse, together we teleported back to the warehouse cafeteria.
This time it felt easier to teleport. I didn’t know if it was Gabe or me that made the trip smoother, maybe it was both of our energy’s working together. We were standing in a room full of people discussing our whereabouts. An older women saw us appear, she let out a startled shriek. Everyone in the room stared open mouthed at Gabe and me.