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“You
already care deeply for him, don’t you?” She sounded worried.

I
ignored her question. “Please say yes. It will make things easier between him
and me.”

Fiddling
with her clip, she rotated it nervously between her hands. “Okay, fine. If he
asks, I’ll pretend I did it.”

“Thanks,”
I said quietly. “And don’t worry, I won’t hurt him.”

Frown
lines formed around her lips. “It’s not him I’m worried about.”

“I’ll
be fine,” I assured her with a smile and gazed down at a small crowd forming by
the dock. “Wonder what they’re doing?” I pointed.

She
glanced at the group of people and said, “Oh, it looks like they’re feeding
Popeye. He’s the local, one-eyed harbor seal – grossly overweight from being
overfed by tourists. He’s quite the crowd pleaser.” She smiled.

I
turned and faced sideways on the bench. “You said Jason has a hard time letting
people in.” I hesitated. “Is there a story behind that?”

Her
face looked stormy as she wrapped her hair tightly on top of her head and
hastily fastened it together with the clip. “Yes, he was hurt pretty bad by a
girl he’d been dating pretty seriously for more than a year.”

She stopped,
so I prompted her. “Yeah, what happened?”

“Well,
the Bellingham Circle was hosting one of the annual events at the Retreat; it
was like a four day event. We had a huge crowd of Guardians from all over the
country, especially a lot of younger people. Jason’s girlfriend at the time,
Carissa
,”
she said the name distastefully, like she’d just swallowed a tablespoon of Cod
Liver Oil, “hooked up with another guy, a Guardian from Chicago. Within a week
she’d broken Jason’s heart, packed her bags, and caught a plane to Illinois
where she joined her new boyfriend’s Circle.”

“She
must have been a complete idiot,” I said with chagrin. I couldn’t imagine
finding someone better than Jason.

Hannah
raised one eyebrow. “She was much worse than that. I never did like her. I was
upset with how she broke his heart. And don’t tell him I said this, but I was
happy to see her go.” She patted her stomach like she was trying to communicate
with the little guy kicking in there. “The down side is that ever since then
he’s been even more reserved and guarded with his emotions. I offered to either
subdue or erase the memories for him, but he said they were important –
essential in understanding who he is and how he deals with things.”

I
touched her shoulder. “Thanks for telling me about it.” My train of thought was
cut off when I spotted Jason, Jessica, Madison, and Laci tearing down the dock.
I looked after them with astonishment and pointed. “What are they doing?”

Hannah
bounced to her feet. “One of them must’ve had a premonition,” she said in a
panicked voice.

Just
as she said that, I felt my snapshots coming on strong. As I closed my eyes,
the images appeared:

a boat full of people

a speedboat traveling at high speeds

the two boats colliding

people sailing through the air and into the
water

“Oh
no! Look,” she said and motioned towards the harbor waters. A speed boat was
barreling on a direct collision course with a lavish pleasure boat. The
pleasure boat was over packed with passengers, all of whom appeared oblivious
to the approaching speed boat. Of course, I already knew disaster was about to
strike.

In
horror, I watched as the speed boat crashed into the side of the pleasure
craft, ripping through it like a torpedo and chopping it into two separate
pieces. Clashing metal and fiery sparks accompanied the flying debris. Boat
parts flew through the air and crashed several yards away. White water sprayed
in all directions, momentarily blocking my view of the wreckage. Bodies burst
through the white spray and smashed into the bay with the same cruel severity
as the flying scraps of boat metal. Bile rose in the back of my throat as black
smoke twisted up from the center of the boats. I worried that maybe a wire would
short circuit or a damaged fuel line might ignite.

Hannah
whacked me once on the arm and motioned for me to follow. We shot down the
dock, her with amazing speed and agility for someone so pregnant. Screams
echoed from all directions as our feet pounded the wooden dock. Eventually, we
turned and scurried down a steep ramp until we made it to the end of a lowered,
floating dock. There we joined Jessica who was hunched over with one hand on
her knee and the other on her forehead like a visor.

“Over
there,” she said and pointed.

Scanning
the water, I spotted Jason, Madison, Laci, and a big dog swimming as a group
and then breaking off in different directions. A moment later Shelby and Trevon
shoved their way through the crowds and appeared by our sides. Trevon kicked
off his shoes and dove into the cove without a second thought. Shelby did the
same but tossed her glasses to Hannah before following him into the water.
Shelby swam swiftly through the water, but I couldn’t spot Trevon anywhere. It
was like he’d disappeared from sight.

After
a few minutes, Madison returned dragging an unconscious woman to the dock.
Jessica and Hannah grabbed her and immediately began assessing her condition.
Meanwhile, Jason appeared with a boy of about eight, who was limp and
motionless.

“Alex,”
Jason breathed heavily and hoisted the boy into my arms, “I think he has some
serious internal injuries, see what you can do before the paramedics arrive.
And get ready to hit the deck, Laci thinks the boats are going to explode.”

My jaw
dropped and I grabbed his arm. I barely had time to utter, “Be careful,” before
he took a gulp of air and dove back under the murky water. Placing my hands on
the boy’s arms, I could feel his Essence wavering. Somehow, I knew he’d
experienced blunt trauma to the abdomen and suffered from a spleen injury.
Focusing solely on him, I blocked out the screams and chaos of the people
swarming the pier around me. My Essence surged to life in forceful waves, and I
directed my energy into the young boy. I could sense the power of healing
taking place in his small body. Shortly after, his eyes fluttered open, and he
gasped for air.

“Nice
work Lexi; I’ll take him now,” Hannah said, stretching out her arms. As she
took him, I stared in awe at the two mangled boats. Clouding the inlet, the
stream of black smoke seemed to be steadily increasing. My friends were
swimming around the waters trying to save people, and a few other good
Samaritans had finally made it to their own boats and were heading towards the
wreckage as well. Passengers on the small boats stood ready with life
preservers, waiting until they got close enough before tossing the floats to
the victims.

Madison
and the dog, a Golden Retriever, returned with two more injured people. Before
I could step in and assist, a couple of helpful bystanders vaulted past me and
hoisted the victims out of the water. The larger of the two bystanders, a huge
man, said, “We’ll get these two off the dock and ready for easy transport when
the ambulance arrives.” With that they pushed their way through the throngs of
people. “Step aside. Injured victims coming through. Clear a path people!”

Heaving,
Madison pulled her own dripping body out of the water, but the dog turned and
headed back out. That’s when I noticed Laci and Jason swimming dangerously
close to the boats.

Appalled,
I cried, “What are they doing?”

“They’re
putting up a shield so that when the boats explode the blast doesn’t hurt
anyone who’s still in harm’s way,” Madison explained breathlessly.

“But
they have to do it carefully,” Hannah added. “There needs to be a balance
between protecting people from the explosion and not completely blocking the
blast, because that would seem really odd to all these gaping spectators.” She
waved her arm.

“You’re
sure they’ll be protected enough?” I asked with renewed concern.

Wiping
her brow, Jessica looked up from the unconscious lady she was assisting.
“They’ll be fine. Promise.”

Trevon,
Shelby, and the Retriever returned with a couple more people. They boosted an
adult man and a toddler to the dock before climbing out themselves. The shaggy
dog shook his fur, and cold water droplets flew through the air pelting my
face. With a loud bark the green-eyed dog disappeared into the crowd of
onlookers. Jessica was kneeling over the man, and Hannah was gripping the
dark-haired toddler in her arms.

She
turned to me with a look of urgency. “Her Essence is terribly low Lexi. You’ve
got to take her!” Very carefully, she handed me the little girl; grief and
terror washed over her face as if she was giving me her own child. Immediately,
I cradled the girl in my arms and directed my Essence once again.

While
I was attending to the toddler, a thunderous boom blasted through the entire inlet,
followed by several more consecutive, small explosions. Instinctively, people
dropped to the dock and covered their heads. I did the same and shielded the
little girl with my body. Breathing heavy, I trembled uncontrollably. Not
because I feared for the toddler; I felt confident in my abilities now. I was
frightened for Jason and Laci. Despite the reassurances from everyone they’d
come out unscathed, I still had my doubts. All this Guardian stuff was still
relatively new to me, and I needed to see with my own eyes that they were okay.

Red
hot, blazing chunks scattered around the surrounding waters, and a wall of
flames ripped across the water where gas must have leaked onto the surface.
Hovering above us, the black smoke carried with it the scents of scorched wood
and burning chemicals. The port of Friday Harbor had erupted in chaos; screams
filled the air, people pushed and shoved, and boat motors roared to life.

Searching
through the haze for Jason and Laci, I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw both
their wet, blonde heads bobbing in the water. The little girl in my arms
coughed and opened her big, brown eyes. Smiling, I hugged her tightly in hopes
of comforting her, but she let out a monstrous wail. Luckily, Hannah stepped
in, took the child, and soothed her with a gentle, sing song voice. Her natural
mothering instincts appeased the little girl, who immediately calmed down.

Nervously,
I stepped to the edge of the dock, waiting for Jason and Laci to arrive, and
when they did it was with one more wounded person. Trevon and Shelby grabbed
the lady from Jason and set her down by Jessica who turned her attention to the
lethargic woman. I, in turn, grabbed both Jason’s and Laci’s wet arms and
poured my Essence into them before they could object. I knew enough about
Guardians to know that using their abilities weakened them, and I was going to
make darn sure they got the energy boosts they needed too.

Breathing
hard and trembling, Laci thanked me through chattering teeth. “Thanks Alex,
your Essence is kicking my cold butt right now.”Soaking wet with her black
shorts and floral print blouse plastered to her skinny frame, she looked almost
a victim herself.

I
suppressed an urge to grab Jason in my arms and wrap myself around him.
Dripping wet, with his blue t-shirt clinging to his muscular body, he looked
way too enticing. My pulse quickened and a deep yearning coursed through me.
Pushing aside all thoughts of ravishing him on the spot, I nodded and offered a
relieved smile before turning and focusing my attention on Laci. “You guys were
amazing, but you sure had me scared for awhile.”

“Me
too,” Laci said in between deep breaths.

“We
had everything under control,” Jason said confidently, water still trickling
down his face.

The
next hour was crazy. The paramedics arrived and took care of the injured people
while the coast guard and fire department scoured the accident scene and
cordoned off certain areas. We all kind of stepped back and disappeared into
the crowds. Hannah managed to reunite the little girl with her mother. She said
it hadn’t been hard to find her, because she was the one lady screaming
hysterically about her baby girl.

When
we were sure everything was under control we said our good-byes to Hannah, who
decided to stay and help out her friends on the police force. We gave each
other a knowing look, and I told her she could call me anytime she needed help
reducing the swelling in her feet.

Sailing
back to Towhead Island, I found out about Trevon’s and Shelby’s Flairs. Trevon
could transport himself from one place to another – his range being about a
mile. Shelby, or Pyro, as they’d nicknamed her, could start and manipulate
fires. I’d finally put two and two together and realized that Max had been the
Golden Retriever. Even though everyone was exhausted, we were happy with all
the lives that had been saved. We talked briefly about the fatalities and were
well aware there had been plenty. That discussion changed the mood as our
solemn bunch headed back to Towhead; the day’s events had taken an emotional
toll on all of us.

###

Later
that evening, we greeted the Nelson’s when they arrived, and I finally met
Jason’s parents, the Walker’s.

“Lexi,
it’s a pleasure to meet you. Please call me Janet,” Jason’s mom said. She was a
pretty, petite lady, and I could see where Hannah had inherited her blonde hair
and light blue eyes.

“Thanks,
Janet,” I said rather shyly. “I’ve enjoyed my stay here this week. I love the
old antique furniture and your pressed flower pictures in the Victorian room.”

“Oh, I
love that room, too. I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” she said. Turning towards
Jason’s dad, she said, “Lexi, this wonderful man is my husband Jim.”

“Nice
to meet you.” He smiled and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. Not shaking
hands felt awkward, but Jessica had warned me that hand to hand contact between
Guardians and Amethysts was extremely painful for the Guardian. With his
straight nose, angular jaw, and symmetrical facial structure, he looked a lot
like Jason. The exception being that his eyes were a steel gray rather than
aqua-marine.