Discovery (28 page)

“Yes! Yes, Vector!” Grace exclaimed. “I'm here! You're okay. You're going to be okay. Just keep breathing. That's it. Just keep breathing.” Grace looked up at Ben. “He's … he's alive!”

Ben smiled at Grace with disbelief. He then looked up at Petra, questioningly. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders at him in return. Ben quickly scanned the room and every face in there was filled with the same questions that swirled around in his own head.

Every face but one.

Dave stood directly across from Ben with wide eyes staring at Grace and Vector. His face held no questions but was a mixture of joy and vulnerability all at the same time. He staggered a few steps backwards and fell into a nearby chair.

Petra ran to him. “Dave?”

“I never imagined … I mean … it can't be. It's not possible.” Dave stumbled over his words, his wide eyes never leaving Grace's face.

“What?” Petra leaned down and put her slender arm around her husband's broad shoulders. “What is it, dear?”

“It's Grace. She's not supposed to have any … but she does … she's … she's got the Gift,” Dave stammered.

And with those words, Ben knew their lives had just gotten a lot more complicated.

The rocky precipice just inside the entrance to the Misfit community provided an expansive view of the valley below, but it was the underside of the precipice that was the more desirable location this night. Without the watchful eyes of the Boulder Triplets, the sharp ledge's underside provided a unique hiding place for unwanted visitors who needed to remain anonymous. As the wind from above whipped violently around the precipice, it brushed past the camouflaged soldier crouched below. The warm gush of air sent an odd shiver down the soldier's back as it ominously whistled through the rocks like a warning bell to stay hidden.

Huddled in the rocks, his eyes strained through the darkness, waiting to catch a glimpse of her. He had followed his leader's commands to the letter but he did not expect his contact to be so late. His patience was growing thin and he decided to give her five more minutes before reporting back to the princes. It was not his fault she had failed her part of the mission. Surely the princes would understand that. But, being understanding was not one of their virtues so, on second thought, perhaps the soldier should extend his wait to ten minutes. The five minutes more could be the difference between celebrating a successful mission and incurring the princes' wrath upon his return.

As he pondered his timing, he heard a branch crack a few yards away. He sat still, his trained breathing maintained his silence. If it was her, she would know where to find him.

Within seconds, she appeared at his side, breathless, with glowing aquamarine eyes even the darkness could not suppress. “Hey,” was all she said.

“Did you deliver the package?” the soldier anxiously asked.

“Yes, but I wish you had told me what was in it.”

“The younger Prince thought the surprise would help your credibility. How did they react?”

“Just as he thought they would. They have no idea what to do next.”

“And the girl?”

“She's still here with Ben but I doubt they'll be here long. If you all are going to take her, it better be soon.”

“I'll relay that to the princes.” The soldier started to get up when she abruptly grabbed his arm.

“Please tell my brothers what I did. Please make sure they know I completed this part of the mission,” she said, hanging onto his arm, waiting for his assurance.

“Of course. I'll tell them. Just make sure you're ready for your next part tomorrow morning,” he nodded before disappearing into the night.

• • •

The cabin's expansive great room felt small, crowded with the few Misfits that Petra and Dave had invited into their home. Word had spread quickly of Carrie and Marshall's demise but Vector's miraculous recovery remained a secret shared only by those in this room, along with Numbers and Birch who had taken the old man home to recover from his ordeal. While other Misfits boarded up their cabins and naively prepared to battle the Anti-Powers, Grace and her small circle of Misfit friends anxiously surrounded Dave and his large pile of antique books he had scattered on the wooden coffee table in front of the fireplace. Ben sat beside him on the overstuffed couch, knowing his own superhuman powers could not help Dave in his endeavor, but wanting to be close to him just the same.

“I just knew my father-in-law's old books would come in handy one day,” Petra said to Rebecca in the kitchen as they fixed drinks and cake for the crowd. “Dave wanted to send them off to the Council library when his dad died, but I saw we were going to need them one day so I talked him into keeping them. At the time, I didn't see why they would be needed, just that they would be, but who cares so long as we have them here now.”

“Shhh! Quiet, woman!” Dave yelled at Petra from the other room. “I'm trying to think in here!” He poured over the old, musty, leather-bound history books, releasing hundreds of years of dust with each page he turned. After what felt like an eternity, he finally looked up at Grace who sat beside Ben. “Your Highness, near as I can tell between these books and what I can see from the past, no one in the Family has ever had any powers.”

Fully aware of all eyes in the room on her, Grace shifted slightly in her seat toward Ben.

“And on top of that,” Dave continued, “no one has had the Gift since the 1300s and even then it was very, very rare.”

Ben reached over and held Grace's hand with a reassuring smile.

“What exactly is the Gift again?” Grace asked hesitantly.

Dave took a deep breath and smiled, his eyes softening at the childlike naiveté Grace's question revealed. “Miss Grace, the Gift is the rare power to heal the injured or resurrect life with your touch. It is the greatest power our world has ever known … and you've got it.”

Grace's fingers tingled as the image of the butterfly from the cabin's front porch railing floated through her head. Death did not work differently in the Misfit community. Death just worked differently for her.

“So what do we do now?” DJ looked at Ben.

“We get Grace back to the Council and away from the Anti-Powers immediately,” Ben replied without hesitation or emotion.

“And how do we do that with the Anti-Powers obviously too close for comfort?” Rebecca asked as she carried in a tray full of drinks.

“I don't know yet. But I think we're going to need a lot more of that before the night is over,” Ben half-smiled pointing to a soda can perched on the tray.

Petra placed a large pound cake next to the drinks. “I'll go make some sandwiches and get a pot of coffee brewing.”

“Can I help?” Grace slowly stood and unsuccessfully tried to release Ben's hand.

“You need to stay here with me,” Ben said still holding onto Grace's hand.

Grace wrenched her hand free. “Look, I've just been told I'm a freak even in your world. I need to do something normal and fixing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is about as close to normal as I can get right now.”

Ben looked at Petra, then at Grace. “Okay, but stay away from the windows and don't leave the cabin.”

“I'll keep her in the kitchen,” Petra said, patting Grace's hand and leading her out of the room filled with the staring eyes.

Once Grace was out of earshot, Dave looked to Ben and half-jokingly said, “Is there any way you could just speed back home and pick up some other full Powers on your way back? We sure could use some more like you right about now.”

“I'm not leaving Grace.” Ben's response sounded more like a military order than a statement. “She's a member of the Family and has the Gift and she just became a lot more valuable to the Anti-Powers, if that was even possible. Now it's way too risky for just the two of us to travel back home alone. They'd kill me and do who knows what to Grace. I'd need about five more full Powers with me to adequately protect Grace on that trip.”

“I could go if you tell me where,” DJ spoke up.

Ben looked at DJ questioningly. “You'd have to move so fast the Anti-Powers don't see you leave. And then you'd have to make it all the way to South Carolina, staying invisible the entire way. Think you can handle that?”

“Watch me,” the tall lanky Misfit grinned. “I can try. It'll be nice to finally use my Power for something other than running the field in a ball game.”

Ben started scribbling on a nearby scrap of paper. “Okay, here is my brother Tom's address. Don't use any phones. I still don't know how the Anti-Powers knew we were here and, while phones taps are a little old-fashioned, we can't take any chances. Get to him and he can get you to the Council. They'll be able to send full Power troops immediately.”

“Your brother knows the Council?” asked Dave, raising his eyebrows.

“He does now that his younger brother is in so much trouble with them,” said Ben.

DJ grabbed the paper and headed to the door, stopping only to hug Rebecca.

“Please be careful,” Rebecca whispered.

DJ kissed her full on the lips. “You too,” he winked at her and then disappeared out the door and into the night.

“Do you think he'll make it?” Ben asked Dave.

“He'll make it,” Rebecca answered him assuredly.

Ben nodded at Rebecca before continuing, “Okay, now to strategy. What do we know?”

Dave walked over to a desk on the other side of the room. “Here's a map of our little community under the mountain.” He moved aside his old books to spread the map across the coffee table. “Now we don't know for certain, but we can assume that Anti-Powers have breached our entrance and are hiding somewhere on this map.”

Ben looked at the faces crowded around the map. “They wouldn't come here without some sort of plan. And we still don't know how many we're dealing with or what kind of powers they have.” Ben rhythmically tapped his fingers on the map, analyzing the placement of each cabin on the broad canvas. “Do you have a list of everyone living here and their powers?”

“Right here,” Sarah shoved a legal pad in Ben's face. “Star and I started working on this while you all were looking at those old books. We all want to help Grace if we can.”

Ben took the legal pad and looked up at Sarah. “Thanks. This list will be a big help.” Ben studied the list for a few minutes and, while he tried to hide it, his disappointment was evident to everyone in the room. “Is this everyone we've got? These are their powers?”

Dave sighed, “Ben, my son, there is a reason we're called Misfits.”

“But surely there's more than this.” Ben tossed the list down on the coffee table and slouched back on the couch. With this collection of practically useless half-Powers, his strategy had just changed from offense to defense. “Okay, then we just need to hold off the Anti-Powers until DJ reaches Tom and the Council sends back full Powers. Is Vector's the most secure cabin you've got?”

“Nope,” beamed Dave proudly. “Mine is. We've got a secret basement. Only entrance is through the back bedroom. Petra saw we would need it one day so we designed it before we even thought about the rest of this cabin. Now, at least we finally know why we built it.” He then scanned the collection of faces in the room and sheepishly added, “Well, it was a secret basement until just now.”

“Okay, then that's where we'll hide Grace,” Ben said just as Petra and Grace returned carrying sandwiches and coffee.

“So now you're hiding me?” Grace asked. “Don't I get any say in this?”

“No,” Ben replied without looking up at her, his eyes still studying the map in front of him. “Petra, take Grace down to your basement and get her settled. I'll be down in a little while.”

“Now, wait a second. What if I don't want to just sit in some basement? People are dying because of me! The least I can do is stay and help too.” Grace stomped her foot, indicating a new mood swing. “I want to know what you're going to do. What are you going to do with me?”

Ben looked up at her, his blue eyes stern and emotionless. “I'm going to keep you alive, Grace. I'm going to keep you alive.”

The bare wooden paneling lining the basement walls matched Grace's mood. It was dark and dismal and smothering. Even the basement air was dull and stale. And, but for the brightly quilted bed on which Grace sat, there was little furniture in the room and its starkness intentionally contributed to Grace feeling like a prisoner of war in a Nazi concentration camp.

Because that is what she was now. A prisoner of war. A pawn. A token to be taken home by the winner. No more blending in. No more staying on the sidelines. She was now the center of some strange world she knew nothing about, nor did she want to know.

“Here you are, Your Majesty,” Petra sang out as she nimbly climbed down the ladder in the corner of the room. “I noticed the reading selection down here was a little old. I mean you probably weren't even born when most of these books were written. So I thought I'd bring you some newer books and the few magazines we have. You never know when you'll get out of here.”

The pained look on Grace's face immediately made Petra regret her last words. “Can you see how long I'll be down here?” Grace asked.

“No, dear,” Petra smiled. “Dave and I have tried all night to see anything that might help but we've only gotten bits and pieces. The only thing we know for sure is that the Anti-Powers will be here this morning. I saw them fighting our Misfits on the main road in front of the general store.”

Grace looked at her watch. “But it's almost morning now.”

Petra patted her hand. “And that's why I wanted to check on you this one last time to see if you need anything before I head out. Ben worked all night to plan out what each of us has to do and that includes me and Dave.”