The Peacekeeper

Part Twelve

Screw this. Screw it all. Lucas Thompson is a selfish bastard. I slammed my car door shut and got in the driver's seat. I don't need the Peace Corps to find my dad. I can, I can join the search and rescue team. Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'll join the search and rescue team and find my dad, so we can buy an apartment somewhere new and start fresh.

I white-knuckled the wheel.

It's not supposed to be this way. I'm supposed to be in school, not pulling my classmates remains out of the wreckage. I'm supposed to be at home, watching Star Wars with Dad, Apollo, and Art.

It's not supposed to be this way.

Relaxing my grip on the wheel, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to start searching up rescue and recovery teams in my area. I don't need Lucas. I don't need the stupid Peace Corps. Jericho County was planning a sweep of our West Ember county, maybe I could join. I've been screwed over so much, that if I can't find a search and rescue team I might just lose it.

The first result was coordinating in three weeks. I don't have time for this. Hallions were known to capture people and just dump them in fields after doing who knows what.

I have a hard decision to make. If I go back, I have to work with Lucas. If I continue on my own, it will be infinitely harder to find him. I need to seek advice.

Twenty minutes later i was sitting at my Grandmothers kitchen table. The woman was old, too old to take me in and care for the both of us, but she managed on her own.

"So, what brings you to your old Grandma?" She poured a great deal of hot water into a mug to make a cup of tea for me.

'Thank you. So, Grandma, you know how I've been keeping you updated with Dad and stuff? And how I was offered a position in the Peace Corps? I don't know what to do. I can't just do nothing, but the Corps would be my best chance to find him." I sighed. "But the boy is just.. off. Hes not like you would expect him to be."

She nodded. "Whats his name?"

"Lucas. Here, it's his card." As we both took sips of the hot tea I slipped the card out of my wallet. Pleasantly surprised, shes made my favorite. "Lavender, huh?"

Grandma hummed her agreement while mulling over the card. "I think that you should keep trying. Nothing ever worth having comes by itself. The opportunities may present themselves, but its up to you to take them."

I felt like I understood. "When you left Germany during world War Two, you left on your own accord, didn't you? Nobody forced you?"

"Yes. I left because the opportunity was there. I knew that I had a better chance at life here. Make it on your terms Ann. The world isn't going to play fairly if you allow it to play how it wants."

I nodded, sipping from the cup quietly. The recovery process has been so difficult. I've built up what many would just leave broken. There is so much at sake here.

"How will I know what the right choice is?"

"You will go back, try the session one more time. Sleep on it tonight, and when you leave that day, you will know what you need to do." She grasped my hand across the counter. "You have the opportunity of a life time Annie, don't waste it."