Earth Blend (19 page)

“
Thank you, Eli, for helping him. I
can take it from here.” Gregg did not look Eli in the
eye.

“
He knows, Uncle Gordi. He found me in
the park. Percone knows, too. They said my mother's name is Crysa.”
Austin said, before closing his eyes.

Gregg finally looked at Eli, who was staring
pensively at him. “I'm sorry, Eli. We told no one. We were trying
to protect Crysa and Austin. Up until a few days ago, he showed no
signs of Earthling abilities.”

“
I'm not sure how Suron will react to
this news. It is forbidden for our kind to procreate.”

“
Please, keep our secret.”

“
Suron is already aware of unusual
activity in this area. I am not sure how long this secret will
keep. Speaking of secrets, I must confess one of my own.” Eli took
a deep breath before continuing. “I'm sure you recall the
helicopter that Austin and Julie jumped from and the man that was
on board with them. One thing I never told you was that his body
was not found at the crash site. It was suggested to me recently
that this man may still be alive.”

“
Luke? No, how is this possible? Where
is he?”

“
That is what I am trying to figure
out. Until then, please keep a watchful eye on both Austin and
Julie. I've met Julie's father, at least she has someone else to
look after her. I am going in search of answers. Please be on your
guard. I have not told Julie of this fact, I did not want her
worrying, but now I feel it would be better if she were
told.”

“
I agree as well. I will tell her
tomorrow morning. Please, find this man and make sure he is no
longer a threat to any of my people.”

Looking down at Austin, Eli said, “Do not
allow him to use his Earthling abilities. It will draw more
unwanted attention to this area.” Looking back up at Gregg, he
added, “I will do what I can.” He then nodded and left to find
Crysa.

Eli called in to the hospital and asked them
to cancel his appointments for the day. The sun was beginning to
rise and he had his work cut out for him. He needed to find
Crysa.

Gregg rubbed his hands down his face. He
hoped Eli was successful in finding Luke. He had enough to deal
with without adding that awful man to the mix. After covering
Austin with a blanket, he rested in a nearby chair. Tilting his
head back, he let the exhaustion of the day drag him down to
sleep.

Luke had his belongings packed and ready to
go. He was going to leave today whether Crysa wanted him to or not.
He had found his ticket out. He held up the little bottle of clear
liquid once more and smiled. “I forgot I had you.” He said, shaking
it. He heard movement outside the cave and quickly pocketed the
vial. He turned to watch the vines separate and open, allowing
Crysa inside.

Crysa looked at Luke’s bag, already packed
and sitting on his make-shift bed. “Good, I'm glad you're ready. I
have her schedule down.” She recited the places and times she had
seen Julie.

Luke listened and committed it all to
memory, he didn't have to write it down. “So, how far am I from
where I need to be?”

“
Follow me, I'll lead you to edge of
the apartments she stays in.” Crysa exited the cave.

Luke picked up his bag and his revolver,
which he tucked into the back of his waistband underneath his
shirt. He followed her to their destination.

Once at the edge of the woods, she said,
“You remember our deal. You take the girl, leave the boy
alone.”

Luke dropped his bag on the ground. “I
can't thank you enough, Crysa. This has been a wonderful experience
for me.”

Crysa rolled her eyes, “Just get on with
it.”

“
I don't want to leave without showing
you just how grateful I am.” Luke pulled the gun from his waistband
and pointed it at Crysa.

“
Really?” Crysa asked. “You know those
can't hurt me.”

Luke shrugged and fired a bullet, hitting
her square in the stomach. “It's the symbolism that counts.”

Crysa was pushed back as the bullet entered
her. She felt fine for a few seconds until a burning sensation
began to build inside of her. The pain then became unbearable. She
clutched her stomach and fell to her knees. “What...?”

Luke tucked the gun back into his waistband
and knelt down next to Crysa. “Funny thing about PCB's. Very
harmful to the Earth. A bullet laced with the stuff could do some
real damage to an Earthling.”

Crysa fell over on her side and stared up
at Luke. “Why...? I saved you.”

“
You're going to have to choose your
friends more wisely, but then again, I solved that problem for you,
too. Here is what is going to happen. The PCB's will travel through
your body, poisoning everything it touches. You will die a very
slow, painful death. But, never fear, I intend to honor our deal
and just take what is mine. Now if your boy toy tries to interfere,
all bets are off.”

Luke stood and dusted off his knees and
picked up his bag. “Have a nice... death.” Luke said as he walked
toward the apartment building.

Crysa reached out to him but could only
choke out a call as her throat began to close up. “C...m...
ba....”

Luke smiled to himself, “Man it's good to
be back.”

15. The Past Repeats Itself

Julie opened her eyes. Her body was
sore, but when she looked at the man that she snuggled with all
night, she smiled. She was still in shock that her father was
alive. This was the one bright spot in her whole life right now.
She studied his face; he only looked to be about twenty seven years
old, maybe. In reality he was three times that age. To Julie he
looked the same as she
remembered. When he arrived to pick her up at the
day care center he always had stubble on his face, and his hair
would be slightly tousled from when he ran his hands through it,
deep in thought.
She was surprised when he opened his eyes and caught her
examining him. His blue eyes had the same twinkle. She buried her
face in his chest. “Sorry.” She muffled.

“
Don't apologize,” he laughed. “I did
the same thing when you were sleeping last night.”

“
I still can't believe it's you, that
you are here.” She said, lifting her head up once more.

“
I'm here and I'm not going anywhere
ever again... unless you want me to.” He said and kissed her
forehead.

“
Are you hungry?”

“
Um, maybe just a tad. I'm actually
still stuffed from all the food we had at your Uncle's.”

“
Well, that’s good then, because I
haven't had a chance to go food shopping yet.”

“
Then let's put that on our list of
things to do today. We'll stock your refrigerator.”

“
I like that plan. But I have to work
first, at the hospital. This is my night off at the
cafe.”

“
You work at a hospital. I would have
guessed that. I hope you are careful and remember to keep eating as
you go around healing.”

Julie rolled her eyes. “Yes, dad.” She
loved how that sounded.

The two stood and stretched, laughing at
their duplicate movements.

“
So fill me in. What is your
relationship with this Doctor Elsworth?”

“
We're really good friends.” Julie
answered, but did not look her father in the eye.

“
He seems to care about you very
much.”

“
How can you tell? You met him for
like two seconds.”

“
A father knows. What about this
Austin fellow? I haven't met him yet.”

Julie turned to him and smiled. “You'll
like him.”

Trevor noticed the difference in the way
she sounded when she was talking about Austin.

“
So how does he fit into your
life?”

“
I like him... a lot.” She said and
blushed. “And can we stop talking about the guys in my
life?”

“
Alright, fine, but I do want to meet
him.”

“
So you shall, tonight. I promise. For
now, I'm going to shower and get ready for work.”

“
I'll head on down to your Uncle's and
take a shower there. All my stuff is there.” He walked over to his
daughter. “I guess I'll see you tonight.” He said, embracing
her.

“
I'm so glad you are here.” She said,
squeezing him tightly.

“
Me too, pumpkin. Me too.” He did not
bring up their topic of the night before. He knew they would
revisit the conversation soon, but it would be on her terms. He
kissed her on the forehead and left her alone to get
ready.

He had a key, so he unlocked Gregg's
apartment and was startled to see him asleep in the chair. He was
even more surprised to see a young man asleep on the couch. “You
must be Austin.” He whispered. He decided to let both men sleep and
headed for the bathroom to get ready for the day. He knew Gregg had
been up for a few days in a row; he was happy to see the man
finally getting some rest.

Julie finished showering and got dressed
for work. She knocked on Eli's door to see if he had left for work.
She wanted to apologize for crying on his shoulder last night. When
he didn't answer, she assumed he must have been already at
work.

She avoided knocking on her Uncle's
apartment because she did not want to be thrown into another
conversation about her new ability. She would deal with it
eventually, but for now she wanted to have a normal day and be able
to come home and talk to her dad.

She hoped Austin had the same kind of
evening with his friends. She looked forward to hearing about all
the fun he had last night.

She was walking through the parking lot
towards the hospital when she thought she heard someone cry out.
She stopped and listened.

“
Somebody, please help me.” She heard
a woman's voice call. “I think my leg is broken. Please
help.”

She followed the voice around the side of
the building. At the back corner she saw a woman sitting on the
ground, her leg bent at an odd angle. She moved over to her quickly
and knelt down next to her. “Oh my God, what happened?” She asked.
She noticed the woman had bruises on her face. “Did someone hurt
you?”

The woman nodded, tears streaming down her
face.

“
I'm going to help you, okay?” Julie
said. “First we have to straighten your leg so it can heal
properly. This is going to hurt, but I'll try and keep you calm.”
Julie said, placing her hands on the woman. She tried to ease the
woman's pain as she straightened her leg. “See that wasn't so bad.
I don't think it's broken, I think it is just a bad sprain.” Julie
said as she healed the woman's broken bone. She figured it would be
easier to accept being pain free in a few moments if the woman
thought it was just a sprain.

Julie fell back against the wall next to
the woman as she dealt with the pain she had taken in. “You're
gonna be just fine, see?” She said through clenched teeth. Julie
then heard the sound of someone clapping. She saw a pair of denim
clad legs walk near them. Scanning upward, she saw the two gloved
hands. She, finally, looked at the face and stared dumbly at the
man she recognized. The man who was supposed to be dead.

Luke knelt down in front of her. “Hello,
sweetheart. Did ya miss me?”

“
This isn't possible... you
died.”

“
Someone started that nasty rumor, but
it's not true. Here I am, in the flesh. Time to go home,
sweetheart.”

“
No.” Julie said through clenched
teeth.

“
I figured you 'd say that.” Luke
said, and then grabbed the arm of the woman Julie had just healed
and bent it until everyone heard an audible snap.

The woman screamed in pain.

“
Stop it. Leave her alone.” Julie
reached over to her and repaired her broken arm. She felt herself
growing weaker. “Let her go.”

“
I will, eventually.” Luke said. He
picked up a nearby rock and smashed it on the woman's
hand.

“
Ahhh, why...?” The woman whined in
pain.

“
Stop hurting her.” Julie said. She
knew if she kept healing the woman she was going to be too weak to
fight him off. She made a decision; she grabbed Luke's gloved hand
and sent her anger into him, but nothing happened.
S
he let her
hand drop, figuring she was too weak.

“
We can just go now and leave her in
pain if you want?” Luke suggested seeing her fighting to stay
awake.

Julie grabbed the woman's arm and went in,
healing her hand. Her own hand throbbed as it tried to heal itself.
She closed her eyes and said, “I wish you had stayed dead.” Then
everything went black.

Luke turned to the woman cowering next to
him. “You were very useful, thank you.” He said before reaching for
her head and twisting her neck. He smiled at the satisfying sound
of her neck breaking.

He popped open the trunk of the woman's car
and placed Julie inside of it. “We're going home, Laney.” He said,
brushing her hair away from her face. He slammed the lid closed.
“Thanks for the car.” He said to the dead woman and drove off,
proud of what he had accomplished.

Eli was growing weary as he made his way
through the park. He had no luck finding Crysa. All his thoughts to
her went unanswered and no one seemed to have seen her recently. He
was surprised when he came to a cave entrance and found Percone
sitting outside of it.