Ascended (3 page)

Fallon shot daggers from her eyes, enraged
with jealousy at the thought of Gabriel and Vie as a team again. The group of Guardians who had been on the last mission with Vie all began to cheer for her and even started chanting her name.

Gabriel held out his hand
, prompting Vie to join them at the podium.

She stood up, glared at Gabriel, and defiantly said, “No
, thank you,” before exiting the arena.

Gabriel charged out the door behind her and shouted, “Violet
, stop!” but she continued to walk.

“Vie
, I am ordering you to stop now!” It pained Gabriel to use his authority, but he had no choice in response to her insubordination in front of the group.

Vie stopped but did not turn around. She couldn’t face him
; she couldn’t stand to see the pity in his eyes. She knew the only reason he was relinquishing his leadership position was to stay behind to babysit her, and that hurt almost as much as losing Carter. Her entire existence was crumbling before her eyes and she couldn’t stop it.

Gabriel
placed his hand on her shoulder, turning her around, forcing Vie to face her humiliation.

“Vie, what is happening with you? I thought this would make you happy
,” Gabriel said in a softer, gentler voice.

“Did you really think it would make me happy to know you
’ve given up your life to stay back here and babysit me? That you’ve promoted me to some position you believe will appease me for a moment and make me forget about Carter? There’s nothing you can give me that would make me forget about him! There is nothing you can sacrifice for me to take away my pain. Don’t you get it, Gabe?” she shouted.

“Is that what you think?
That I’m staying behind to babysit
you
? That I’m trying to appease
you
? That I think this will make
you
forget about Carter? You, you, you is all I hear, Vie! Well guess what? This is not about you!” Gabriel yelled right back at her.

“I hate to burst your self-absorbed bubble
, but I am staying behind for Reese, not you! You see, Vie, the people here believe Reese betrayed the brotherhood, and I’m certain he did not. I’m staying behind because I promised Reese I would find and expose the real traitor and make whoever it is pay. I can’t do that if I’m off running missions.

“
Oh, and contrary to what you believe, I selected you for the training arena because I believed you were the best Guardian for the job…a decision I am regretting right now. You see, I saw something special in you long before our mission and before Carter Stone. From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were a force to be reckoned with—a special soul—and a warrior like me. The person standing before me right now is just a shell of the one I used to know. We spent months trying to teach Carter to push through the pain and anger to realize his destiny, and here you sit, engulfed in your own. I’m glad Carter isn’t here; I’m sure he’d be as disappointed in you as I am,” Gabriel said sadly, walking away.

The words Gabriel spoke were harsh and they echoed in her head as she raced down the hall. She rounded the corner and sat, holding her knees, crying, replaying his words in her head.

Gabriel was right about one thing: Carter would be disappointed. Vie was thinking that she was even disappointed in herself, but she couldn’t seem to control any of it. She rocked in the corner, sobbing, and wanting to give up.

Then she heard a voice
—Carter’s sweet-sounding voice—saying, “Everything is going to be all right. You can do this, Vie.”

She
jumped up, excited, and looked for Carter, but he was nowhere to be found. “Carter!” She called out to him, searching up and down the halls frantically. Realizing he wasn’t there, she reverted back to her squatted position in the corner of the hall and then she heard it again.

“You can do this
, Vie,” Carter’s voice whispered in her head.

Gabriel had already returned to the podium, ready to announce his next change within the Guardians’ venue when suddenly the door slammed open. He looked up and there stood Vie in the doorway. There was a dead silence in the room, all eyes focused on her. She took one step forward, and with a firm, resounding voice she said, “Gabriel, I accept.”

Chapter
Three

Fade Away

It was Saturday, and Carter sat in his room
, looking out the window at the rain still falling from the sky. He didn’t mind the rain. In fact, it was quite the opposite: it reminded him of Vie. He closed his eyes and he could see her spinning exuberantly in it, watching while the droplets of water kissed her skin. It was a memory Carter kept close to him; it was their first date, their first trip to Devils Tower.

Even
though the Tower offered Carter warm memories of Vie, it was also representative of devastating ones, where he’d lost Vie not once, but twice. He was determined he wouldn’t allow the Tower to destroy the very memories that kept him alive. He vowed not to suppress even one thought he had of Vie, knowing all too well that if he did, she might disappear forever. Although he retained each memory, both good and bad, he had not yet returned to the Tower, a place that had once offered him great peace and solace.

Carter’s mother, Katherine, made her way up the stairs to his room with a meal she’d prepared, though she suspected he’d refuse to eat. She had discussed her concerns with Henry, her longtime friend, and he had promised to send her son home from the hospital even if it meant he had to throw him out.

Carter had been practically living at Weston Memorial for the past month since Vivian’s collapse at the Tower, having convinced his mother that she should homeschool
him so he could spend every waking moment at Vie’s bedside. He did all his schoolwork there, unwilling to leave her side for one minute longer than was necessary each day.

Katherine knocked, disrupting Carter’s thoughts, and entered the room carrying a tray.
She set it on the bed next to him, but she knew he wasn’t going to eat. Katherine was a doting mother who was becoming extremely worried about her son. She wanted with all her heart to ease the pain Carter was feeling and felt helpless in the knowledge that she couldn’t. She worried about what would happen to him if the girl he’d loved was no longer here, and she hoped and prayed every day that God would send her son the miracle he needed—the miracle they all needed.

She couldn’t take it any longer. Like Henry, she was frustrated and decided she needed to do something, anything, to help her son push through the storm.

“Get up!” Katherine said with a firm tone. “Grab your jacket. Come on, let’s go.” She left no room for refusal.

“Where are we going?” Carter asked.

“It’s Saturday; we’re going to the reservation,” she replied.

“No
, Mom, not today,” he said, turning back to face the window, despondent.

“Yes
, Carter, today,” she insisted, grabbing his arm.

“Do you think you
’re the only one who feels like he can’t function without Vie?” Katherine started her lecture. “What about Henry? Don’t you think he would like to stay in bed, curled up in a ball, wallowing in his own misery? He doesn’t, Carter. He pushes though it, he moves forward, and he hopes that today will be the day Vie opens her eyes.”

“Well, I’m not Henry
, and I don’t know what point you’re trying to make!” Carter shouted.

“Well
, then, let me make my point clear. Vie would be so completely disappointed in you right now; I’m glad she’s not awake, so she doesn’t have to see what I do when I look at you. Carter, I saw you two together, and it was a rare and wonderful thing you shared. Vie awakened something inside you, something strong and fierce…and something I no longer have the privilege of seeing. You know, Carter, the way I see it, you’re one of the lucky ones. You’ve been given a gift—but you’re squandering it away.” Her face was filled with sadness and regret.

“I can’t help it. Existing in a world without Vie is like trying to breathe without air. Don’t you think I want to have that positive
sunshine-y
attitude about waking up to a brand new day like you do? I tell myself every time I enter that hospital: today will be different, today she’ll return to me. Well, guess what? It doesn’t work. Yesterday, today…nothing changes,” Carter stated mournfully.

Katherine watched her son unleash what
he had been keeping bottled up inside. She moved closer to Carter, her tears flowing freely now, and gave him a warm, tender embrace that only a mother can give; the hug that makes it seem like everything will be all right, makes you feel safe, loved, and gives you strength to carry on.

Releasing him,
she said, “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present. Come on, Carter, let’s unwrap the present and see what it holds.”

Reluctantly, Carter took his mom’s hand and followed her to the
Jeep parked outside. They drove to the reservation, neither of them uttering a word. Although Carter had agreed to go, his heart just wasn’t in it.

They arrived and unloaded the supplies that had been donated to the children on the reservation. The two of them headed toward the recreation center, which no doubt would be full due to the
many days of rain they’d been experiencing. The children all ran to Carter immediately, excitedly jumping up and down and hugging him.

It warmed Katherine’s heart to see how deeply the children loved
Carter and missed seeing him, but more importantly, she knew how very much he needed them right now. As she watched them together, Katherine saw something almost instantly that she hadn’t seen on Carter’s face in almost a month: the hint of a smile.

Being on the reservation
, Carter realized, was exactly what he needed. Only there was he able to forget, if only for a moment, the pain residing in his soul.

After hours of play with
the children, Carter watched as they retreated to the story circle with Katherine. He loved listening to his mom read stories to them; it reminded him of his own childhood and the comfort he’d felt in every bedtime story. What he especially admired was the way Katherine changed the stories as she went along. She altered the names and places of the words written on the pages, replacing them with the names of the children sitting in the circle. Katherine believed it was important for the kids to attach themselves to the stories, and the best way to accomplish that, she’d always told him, was by hearing the names of their friends in the words read. Today, Cici was going on an adventure to a magical place; her little face lit up when she heard her own name sail from Katherine’s lips, straight to her ears.

Carter noticed the Chief standing in the corner with his arms folded, almost glaring at him.
Though Carter loved his father dearly, he didn’t turn to him for answers to the questions he’d had throughout his life. He had always looked to the Chief for guidance; it was just the way it was, the way it had always been with them. The Chief was a very important part of Carter’s life and had been for as long as he could remember. They had a silent bond, unbreakable and unwavering, and he believed the Chief could see into a place in him that no one else even knew existed…no one except Vie.

He nodded at Carter and signaled
for him to meet with him outside. The Chief stood under the awning, staring out into the rain, and a moment later, Carter was standing beside him.

“Come, walk with me
Waka Ozuye
.” The Chief addressed Carter by his Lakota name, one that meant ‘sacred warrior.’

“It’s raining,” Carter said
, confused by the request.

“It is
, my son. Perhaps together we can return the sun’s rays,” was the Chief’s cryptic reply.

“I’m not really bothered by the rain,” Carter said.

“Of course you’re not; a drowning man is never troubled by the rain,” the Chief responded with another riddle.

They walked to the edge of the plateau that looked out upon
Devils Tower and sat together on the cold wet earth. The Chief always sat on the ground, claiming it permitted him to think more deeply and to feel more keenly. He said being at one with the earth was a way to see more clearly into the mysteries of life and come closer in kinship to other lives around him. He sat Indian style, placed his hands on his knees and glanced at Carter, waiting for him to follow. Reluctantly, he did, and the Chief closed his eyes, preparing to meditate beside him.

“Listen to me
,
Waka
,” Carter heard him say. “The sky sheds its tears for you, my son. It is time to dry those tears and bring back the golden rays of the smiling sun.” His statement was profound, and Carter struggled to grasp what he was being told.

He showed his
surprise at the Chief’s insinuation that he was the reason for the rain. He broke away and opened his eyes, looking directly into the dark mystical eyes of his friend.

“You think I
’m the reason for the rain? Skies don’t cry; people cry.”

“Yes,
Waka
, people cry; yet you have not. You must cry to free your soul and to rid the dark clouds from the sky,” he said.

“If I cry, then I say goodbye to Vie. I won’t say goodbye to her, not now, not ever,”
Carter shouted.

“No
,
Waka
, crying does not mean you have to say goodbye to her. It tells her you love her, it tells her your soul weeps for her, it tells her you will never forget her,” he said wisely.

T
he Chief stood up and turned Carter around to face the Tower. “Cry for her Carter; release the rain inside your soul!” he half-encouraged, half-demanded.

Carter looked
at the massive rock in the distance and was suddenly overcome with emotion, falling to his knees and screaming her name as the tears came flooding to the surface.

The Chief rested his hand on Carter’s shoulder and smiled at his release. It was bittersweet for him to witness the sorrow deep inside Carter’s soul, but necessary
nonetheless.

When
Carter was finished, the Chief helped the exhausted young man to his feet and said, “Your journey has just begun,
Waka
. If you stay on the path, you will find what you are looking for.”

Carter looked into his eyes, almost as if he could see his destiny looking back at him
; he knew with certainty that the Chief was speaking words of truth.

As the Chief
turned Carter back around to face the Tower again, the clouds parted, giving way to the warmth and comfort of the sun. There was nothing more magnificent than the sunshine after the rain.

“You see
,
Waka
, sunshine is a ray of love that gives life to every living thing…every living soul. You started a journey that you must continue, no matter what the cost. Every man has his own destiny. The only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him. And I promise you, my son, your journey will lead you to exactly where you belong,” he said with conviction.

Carter looked to the horizon
, knowing the words the Chief so eloquently conveyed to him were words of great knowledge and truth: in order to honor Vie, he had to walk the path no matter how difficult it seemed. He gazed out toward the mighty rock towering behind the picturesque landscape of the reservation. It was then that he saw the most vibrant rainbow hovering over it.

He thought of Vie. Suddenly, he could feel her presence in the wind that blew across the plateau.
The gentle breeze caressed his face like a warm kiss from her lips.

The Chief smiled at Carter and said, “It’s a new day.”

Katherine and Carter said their goodbyes and started toward the
Jeep. Carter heard a sweet little voice calling to him to wait. He stopped and saw Cici coming toward him, carrying something in the hand she had hidden behind her back. Carter kneeled down to face her and looked into her big round eyes.

“I forgot to give you something
, Carter. It’s from Vie,” she said shyly, and handed Carter a wilted violet.

Carter remembered Vie had given a violet to
Cici on their first visit to the reservation together. Vie had been very attached to Cici, as was Cici to her. Looking at it, Carter could almost see Vie walking toward him with the delicate purple flower tucked behind her ear. He handed it back to Cici, telling her, “Vie would probably want you to keep this.”

S
he pulled him close and whispered in his ear, “No, Vie asked me to give this one to you. I still have mine.” She pulled another violet from behind her back.

“She did?
When did you see Vie?” Carter asked, certain that her answer would reflect the many weeks since they’d visited.

“Yesterday,”
Cici replied.

Stunned by her casual response, Carter asked
Cici where she’d seen Vie

W
ith a timid little smile, she said, “I saw her where the violets grow,” and then she ran, giggling, back toward the reservation.

Impossible
, Carter thought as he watched her run. She stopped and turned back once, gazing at Carter with secrets in her eyes. The Chief appeared beside her, put his arm around the little girl, and nodded his head at Carter as if to agree that it was so.