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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
We follow Evan and James in the dark night, through trees thick with the smell of pine and evergreen. The only sound to be heard is that of our feet on the ground, the leaves crunching, the twigs snapping under our weight. The land around us seems silent, too, holding its breath in anticipation.
Being in the forest, even one as sparse as the one we are currently crossing, is like being at home. The familiarity and surrounding presence of nature is a balm to my frayed edges. It balances me.
Evan and James make a momentary stop a few feet away from us and bow their heads close together in quiet conversation. I nudge Myra. “Look at them.”
“I know,” she whispers. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
Pride and endearment swirl in the air around us, so much that I can almost reach out and touch it. We stand there for a moment, just studying them, watching the way the two of them work together, devoid of anger or resentment. United for a common goal. Evan’s hands move animatedly as he explains something to James, who nods in agreement.
Myra speaks again, and I can hear the frown in her voice. “But we really need to deal with—you know . . .”
I sigh, my eyes still on Evan. They’re brothers. Why is it such a bad thing? The reality of that fact still hasn’t sunk in and I do not have the faintest idea how to go about it. My heart twinges painfully as I recall the look on Evan’s face during the stakeout, when I was sure he was going to share something monumental with me. “Yeah, I know. But not now. Later . . . after all this.”
James gestures for us to follow them, and the conversation ends abruptly. We continue to weave through the trees, following the boys’ lead to keep quiet. A few minutes later, we reach the edges of the foliage and stop. Evan and James crouch down behind a thicket just by the edge of the clearing. We follow suit.
“Listen up,” James whispers. “This is what’s gonna happen. Keene and the others are on the other side of the clearing. See that cabin?” He points over the bush to the clearing up ahead.
Sure enough, a tiny cabin, just like the one we were held in, stands near the top of the gentle slope, about thirty yards away. Light shines through a single window on the side wall. Shapes move behind the glass, shadows of the people inside, and my hearts clenches. What are they doing to my friends?
“There are three guards,” James continues. “Keene, Evan and I have a plan to get Neveah and Dwayne out of there. You guys stay here and wait—”
Myra cuts him off before he has a chance to finish. “No way, James. We’re coming, too.”
“Yeah,” I add. “We’re not leaving you guys alone.”
Evan shakes his head firmly, very firmly. “No.” His tone leaves no room for negotiation. “There’s nothing you can do to help. Stay here and wait for us to call you.”
“We don’t have our cell phones,” Myra retorts. I search my pockets; she’s right. “They took them.”
James tosses his to me. “Hang on to this.”
YOU ARE READING
Color-Gifted (Color-Gifted, #1)
Teen FictionSeventeen-year-old Megan Cole has never felt like she belongs. Growing up without friends or siblings, and an absent father, she has always felt alone. An outsider. All that is about to change. In the summer of her graduation, a stranger proves to h...
