Piercing The Fold (8 page)

I approach my parents’ street and begin the turn onto it when I sense someone close by and in my house.

Ezra? What the hell is…

I pull into the driveway, park, and move swiftly with determination to the front door. I don’t knock, just let myself in. I am beyond good manners after last night and no sleep. I walk into the family room, and my eyes immediately meet Ezra’s, ignoring my parents’ welcome.

I jump right in. “What the hell? Coming to my parents’ house to worry them. What right do you have to involve them now?”

Dad stops my rampage with an uncharacteristic yell. “Jes, stop it!”

I am taken aback since this is so out of character for my dad.

Mom starts, “We already know, Jesca. We have always known.”

Mom’s eyes well up with tears. Dad walks over to her and embraces her quickly. Ezra looks at my parents with heartfelt sadness in his eyes. It angers me the way he looks at them. How dare he.

How could he come here, talk to them behind my back, then feel sadness for them? How could my parents keep all this from me?

“Why?”

The rest of my thoughts get caught in my tightening throat. I clear my throat and try again. “Why keep so much from me?”

I look at each of them, now knowing they all have a part in this.

Dad breaks the silence. “Your biological mother wanted it that way. She wanted you to grow up with as normal a childhood as possible. Mom and I honored her wishes and did all we could to keep things normal, the average American life. We knew eventually it would come to this. This day.”

Mom and Dad both look at Ezra with worried eyes.

I look at Mom and Dad, then at Ezra.

“What? The secret that my biological mother wanted you to keep?”

“Jesca, your mom and dad are referring to the next step, our training.”

I move to the sofa, which is covered in moving plastic.

“I need lots of answers. First, Ezra tells me that my freak-out episodes and hallucinations are normal. Mom and Dad, you tell me you’re moving, like, tomorrow! Ezra unloads the Doberman…”

Ezra corrects me, “Dobria.”

I continue, “Dobria, Sonde, another galaxy, traveling to other worlds through wormholes, and more sh…stuff that still has my head spinning.”

I put my face in my hands. “Now you are telling me my biological mother, who I know very little about, wanted all of these things to be kept from me until I could handle it? Now?”

Ezra says, “Until your mind would no longer allow it to be caged within you. Your abilities are beginning to flood your mind and body. If you keep on like this and don’t learn how to control and harness these gifts, you might very well lose your mind. That is why I ‘unloaded’ all of this stuff on you and…” Ezra sighs. He looks sad all of a sudden. “Look, Jes, God knows you need answers. We are able to give them to you now.”

Ezra, Dad, and Mom look at each other, then at me.

I get the cue.

I am at center stage and not prepared. I need to organize my thoughts. All of this is insane, unreal. I can’t deny the abnormal things that are happening within me. How can I deny that reality? And I cannot seem to control any of it. Ezra, Mom, and Dad are the only people I can trust to give me answers. The thing that frightens me is, am I ready to hear the truths that could alter the path of my reality for the rest of my life?

“Who was my biological mother?” I look over at my adopted mom with soft eyes; I don’t want to hurt her.

Ezra brushes his hair back with his hand. “Your mother’s name was Anna Gershon. She was a Dobrian guardian. You look so much like her, Jesca.” Ezra’s eyes become tender. “Her eyes were bright green, though, and her skin was fairer. And she was about an inch or two taller than you.”

Feelings stir within me just hearing about someone that I am a part of, other than what I have known my whole life. It makes her more real for me.

Ezra continues, “She was one of the best at seeking out the Sondians and specialized in the undercover missions. Anna was so brave. A true mentor to many, including myself.” Ezra looks down with a small smile on his mouth.

I can’t help but feel a bit in awe of her from his very emotional description of her. I quickly gain my composure. I need answers, not a walk down memory lane. I harden emotionally.

“What happened to her? Why did she leave?”

Ezra looks up at me sharply. His brown eyes narrow with anger behind them. “She did not leave you by choice. She was murdered.”

I feel a long breath leave my body, like hope is seeping out. A hope to know this woman someday.

“During her last mission, she became pregnant with you. She immediately wanted to become inactive as a guardian and settle in Georgia. She wanted you to have a normal life. And she succeeded after you were born. She was able to enjoy being a mother for a short time before she passed.”

A knot develops in my throat.

Ezra says, “The Sondians had spies as well. She was such an asset to Sebastian and the fellowship. Balthazar sent out head hunters to eliminated her…and you.”

Ezra’s voice becomes deeper and angrier. “I was sent in as one of Anna’s protégés. I was the best choice to protect her and you. One day, Anna sent me to run some errands for her, and when I returned, you were both gone. With Sebastian’s and other guardians’ help, I was able to track Anna and your location. The Sondian head hunters had you and your mother holed up in an old, run-down cabin on the edge of town, near the first set of hills before the terrain became mountainous.

“We wanted to wait until dusk to attack, but Anna was putting up such as strong fight from the sound of it.” Tears begin to well up in Ezra’s eyes, turning them a golden color. His voice becomes more intense. “She wasn’t the type to back down from a challenge, especially with you in harm’s way. I can only imagine the hell she gave him.”

Ezra looks up at me, then away quickly. “We knew we had to get in there silently and quickly. As soon as we heard her cry out, we attacked.”

I am on the edge of the sofa, tears clouding my eyes. I know this isn’t going to end cleanly and peacefully.

“We attacked from every entrance to the small cabin, and you were in safe arms immediately.”

Tears finally begin to flow from his eyes. “I was able to talk with Anna briefly before her passing. Her only request was that I find safety for you and give you a normal life. When the time came, I was to mentor and prepare you for your purpose as a guardian.”

I wipe furiously at my cheeks now stained with tears. I can’t stop them from overflowing. Mom and Dad come to sit next to me.

Mom starts, “And that is when Ezra found us. He was a single man, not an instant family. Sebastian told Ezra about us. We were inactive Dobrian guardians and could provide safety and normalcy for you.”

Dad says, “We were so happy to have you, Jesca. We wanted you to know that you were a part of us, but you still had a biological mother. That is why we gave you your mother’s maiden name as part of your name, Jesca Gershon-Sera. Your mother, Anna, was a great leader for the fellowship. We were honored to become the parents to you that we knew she would have wanted to be herself.” Dad’s voice begins to crack. He clears his throat. “Ezra stayed close by. He remained an active Dobrian guardian, now a lead mentor himself, for this very purpose—to train you. Your mother, Ezra, and I knew this was inevitable. You would begin to experience the abilities you inherited from Anna. The need for your mind and body to seek out the purpose it was meant for. All of those discussions about space, the possibility of wormholes that we had so many times as a family…”

Mom adds, “The conversations about God, Heaven, and Hell. The conversations about where and how they could have been created. How Earth may not be the only inhabited world. Those conversations we had over the years all had a purpose. Those conversations were the only influence we could give you that might help you through this very event in your life.”

All of the memories of talks under the starry skies as a little girl, dinner table conversations about space, the universe, and God all came flooding in. All the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to take on a grander picture.

Dad says, “You needed to be prepared somehow for this. If we didn’t reveal all of this at the right time, the time we prayed about…”

Mom adds, “The time we would have to let you go and find your purpose as a Dobrian guardian.” Mom begins to sob loudly. Dad leans in to comfort her.

Dad looks at me as he hugs Mom. “This is you, Jes. No more hiding. You are just like Anna: strong, independent, intelligent, and brave. It is time that you find yourself, your true self.”

Ezra speaks after a moment. “We will be meeting with the others on the outskirts of Nevada for debriefing and intense training at the facility…”

All of the added details seemed to melt away as my mind begins to numb. Then I hear nothing more.

I interrupt, “What about my life here? How am I going to explain to my friends, the university, and my boss? I can’t just say, ‘See ya! Gotta go save the universe.’”

Ezra says, “Jes, all of it has been taken care of.”

I challenge him. “How?”

Ezra looks at me. “Within every state, city, town, suburb, company, school, group of friends, there is one of us, a fellow Dobrian. And at least one Sondian, unfortunately. Over the last two decades our numbers have grown exponentially. I only need to make a few phone calls, and you are clear to go. No questions asked.”

I push. “What about Elisha? She has been my friend forever, I have to tell her something more. She won’t understand. I have to talk with her.”

Dad interrupts, “She knows. Her family knows. They are inactive as well. She has been aware of her purpose since she was very young.”

Elisha was told about this years before me? Did they think I wasn’t mature enough? Did they not trust my judgment or my level of responsibility? I feel betrayed by all of them. My best friend kept such a huge secret from me. How could she?

It really pisses me off now as I think about it.

“Why was she told and not me?”

Ezra says, “Her family and her purpose are different from yours. Elisha and her family are part of a cast of watchers. They monitor the safety of higher-ranking guardians and their families, like yourself. Elisha has been a watcher for you. She was to keep you safe and be close by when I couldn’t be. You have to know, Jesca, she was your best friend before anything else. She found out that she was a watcher when you were both in middle school. You have to understand that she was not to tell you anything, for your own safety. She would never intentionally hide anything from you unless it was to protect you.”

I reflect on the times Elisha had been by my side. I still feel I owe it to our friendship to say good-bye myself. We shared years of life together. I need to let her know that all of that time still meant the world to me and that I am not as mad as I could be. I know why she did what she did. I look at Ezra. “I have to see her.”

Ezra nods, already knowing my intentions.

I walk to Elisha’s house from mine. Mom and Dad’s good-byes with me were not so bad. Overall, not much would change from the relationship that we’ve had since I had moved out on my own. Still, my heart feels a little deflated at the absence of them that I would be experiencing. I guess I wasn’t prepared for that.

With Elisha, it is going to be really hard. Not physically seeing her every day is definitely going to take a toll on me. We have been inseparable forever.

Elisha comes to the door, and the conversation starts awkwardly. Elisha makes light of it by opening the door a crack and whispering, “Do you come in peace?”

I half-smile. “Yes, Lisha.”

Elisha opens the door and lets me pass. We sit at the kitchen table. Her parents are out to the movies for the night.

Elisha says, “So on a scale of one to ten, how pissed are you with the situation?”

I put both of my hands on Elisha’s shoulders and respond. “About a five.” My voice softens, and I smile at my dear friend. “Ezra told me how you struggled. I know what you had to do. I love you, Lisha.”

Elisha’s face becomes serious. “Jes, I wanted to tell you. But it wasn’t time yet. I had to wait until you started experiencing your abilities. That night at the shop when you passed out and Ezra took you to grab some food, oh man, I was so close to telling you. Ezra said that it wasn’t time. You are my best friend, Jes. We have been through all the stereotypical and clichéd best friend stuff. Please know that I did not do all this out of duty first. But out of love for our friendship.”

I hug my best friend to get her to hush. And with that, we both stand there, embracing, and everything is forgiven.

Elisha breaks the silence. “It really blows that we won’t be able to talk while you are in training.”

I playfully punch Elisha in the shoulder. “Yes, it does. But after training, you are the first phone call I will make.”

We both smile.

“Are you freaking out? I mean you have gotten some major breaking news within the past twenty-four hours that will change your life and the way you look at reality forever.”

I sigh, feeling the anxiety creeping in again. “Yeah, I’m freaked.”

Elisha touches my arm. “Hey, you are strong, Jes. You have always been the smart and brave one. I have been so honored to be your best friend all these years. And now, your purpose is here. Embrace it. It is yours!”

Elisha is right. My purpose is right in front of me. It scares the hell out of me, though. I can’t walk away from it. Not after all that I have learned in the last twenty-four hours.

Twenty-four hours ago my life was predictable for the most part. Now, my reality is unquestionably altered.

Ezra has arranged for my apartment to be packed up and stored while my training takes place. As I pack up my clothes for the month of training, I reminisce of times with Dad, Mom, Bethany and Elisha. The days working at Benson’s Bookstore with Elisha. Talking with Mom on the balcony as we look up at the stars. Walks around campus in the fall as the leaves just start to turn and litter the ground. Jogs with my dad around the lake.

The other memories creep in. The darkness in the nightmares, the hallucinations and contorted, grotesque faces. The voices. My abilities. Those memories keep pushing the happier times farther and farther away from my grasp. There is no way I am going to retreat and cower now. It is time for all of it to be revealed.