The Trinity

Let me help

ADRIEL

I was exhausted. We’d travel through western Utah and across most of Nevada. We were nearing Walker Lake, f*****g finally. Cullom was on the other side of Mt. Grant just west of the lake.

Beau had been in and out of it for the past few days while I hauled his heavy ass behind me. I’d given him sedatives I’d stolen the summer before when I’d worked as a ranch hand. They had them for the horses for procedures or any type of events that could cause distress. Even though I had him sedated off and on I still had to remain vigilant. I didn’t want him getting out of his ties and escaping while I slept. My muscles screamed at me from lack of sleep and rest. He wasn’t exactly light and hauling him behind me for miles when he was out of it proved challenging.

I was glad we were approaching Walker Lake. I desperately needed a break and to refuel.

I looked behind me, it was one of the rare moments Beau was up. He needed to eat and drink as well. I didn’t drag him all the way out here through the f*****g mountain ranges and desert stretches for him to die from dehydration. “Please you gotta let me take a break, I need some water Adriel.” I didn’t answer him, just kept hauling his heavy ass.

“What is with you man?” He shouted at me.

“I’m determined.” I stated the obvious hoping it’d shut him up. I liked him better when he wasn’t talking.

“You know every dead body on Mt. Everest was once a very determined individual, so maybe calm the f**k down a bit.” He said to me. I ignored his smart ass comment and dragged him right to the edge of the water and hoisted him upright.

There wasn’t anyone else around this time of year. It was way too hot for a leisurely stroll out in the middle of nowhere. I brought a canteen to his lips, he chugged the water with it running down his chin, until there was none. The water glistened on his chin stubble in the bright sun.

I pulled my shirt off and knelt in the lake and filled up the canteen again with a wave of my hand. The water felt good, really really good. I was moving some water around me just to cool off. I sent a small stream towards Beau to cool him off as well.

He wasn’t talking much anymore, he was just watching me. I walked back over and gave him some more water. When he had his thirst satisfied I popped a piece of an energy granola bar into his mouth. I took a long drawl off the canteen and ate some of the energy bar myself.

“What do you know about Cullom? How do you even know where it is?” Beau asked me, taking me by surprise. I guess there wasn’t much more damage that could be done now, I pushed another piece of granola into his mouth before I spoke

“I read about it in a book I found in my father’s office. You should know though, you stole the book the night you killed them.” I said bitterly.

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, I did not kill your parents. Have you ever stopped and thought about what I would even have to possibly gain from doing something like that? Few people kill just to kill, most have motives. And what would my motive have been to travel to wherever the hell you’re from, sneak in and kill them? Oh and steal a random book, right?” He actually rolled his eyes at me.

This fucker was two seconds away from showing up at Cullom missing some of his teeth. I grabbed him by his shirt “obviously the book, you f*****g i***t. It was the only thing missing. It was invaluable.” I said letting go of his shirt and sitting back down. I needed to rest.

“So what was in this invaluable book?” It was like his filter had completely gone out the window. I guess when you didn’t have anything else to lose a person just said whatever the hell they wanted or maybe that was just Beau’s personality. I couldn’t understand why he acted like he didn’t know it’s contents though. No one goes through that much trouble to get their hands on it and not read it. For whatever reason I decided to play his little game. Maybe he’d reveal something I didn’t know from the book.

“It contained details about the three shifter tribes; earth, air and water. It also had information on The Trinity and the testing facilities and prison at Cullom. Any of that ring a bell?” I asked him.

“The Trinity?” He asked immediately with his eyes going wide. “I’ve heard my brother make references about The Trinity before. He said she was the reason our mother killed herself. You’re the first person I’ve ever met besides him that’s ever said the name.” He told me.

How did his brother know about The Trinity? Where was his brother? Beau mentioned the night we met he hadn’t spoken to him in years. For whatever reason I needed Beau to know

“The Trinity is not the reason your mother took her own life. The Trinity is a very powerful elemental that will bring our people together, she couldn’t and wouldn’t hurt anyone.” I said looking fondly at Noa’s otter on my arm. God how I missed her.

“Jesus. That’s her isn’t it? I see you looking at your tattoo. The otter on your arm is her.” He said to me as I snapped my head back up. f**k.

I was the i***t, not him. I could blame it on my exhaustion but this was a major f**k up on my part. If he shared that information with anyone at Cullom, Noa would be in danger. I didn’t want to hurt Beau, truly I didn’t. What were my other options though?

As I debated on what to do, Beau lifted his chin towards me and then towards his left. A large black bear appeared out of nowhere. Damn it, I should’ve been watching my surroundings instead of arguing with Beau. The bear hadn’t spotted us yet. f**k me, this is not what I needed right now.

I was in no shape to take on a damn bear. Maybe if I were well rested and didn’t have to worry about Beau’s safety too it’d be a different story. It caught me off guard that I felt suddenly protective of Beau as soon as real danger approached. I definitely wasn’t expecting a similar surge I’d gotten with Noa before. Why the hell was I feeling this way?

The bear lifted his snout and sniffed the air. He turned his head toward us. A crocodile and bear fight was definitely a weird match up, but I knew I’d have better chances if I shifted. I didn’t want to hurt any animal but I would use my element to push him toward the water if I could.

Shifters control of the elements considerably weakened if we tried to hurt a defenseless animal with our power. The bear would have to make the first move. Which was fine by me, I had no intentions of barreling head first into this.

“Untie me.” Beau whispered.

“f**k no.” I responded immediately. “So you can fly away and leave me to play with the CareBear over there? I don’t f*****g think so.” I hissed at him.

Beau turned his head toward me and actually looked offended. “I would never do that. I’ll help you, I’ll always help when needed. Even you Adriel.”

Wait. What? He always helped when needed? f**k me. He couldn’t be the helper, could he? Is that why I was feeling weirdly protective of him? That’d truly be the worst f*****g twist of fate I could think of.

But just as I was about to untie his hands the bear charged.