Storm Warning

Letting Go

                    We were back at the truck with me sitting on the dropped tailgate as Maddie and Derek stand directly in front of me and go back and forth in a tennis match about what we are supposed to do now that the cabin is gone.

                     “DEREK! What the hell is wrong with you? Arielle cannot do all of this on her own. We can’t abandon her just because it is getting too dangerous or because we just got our first battle wounds. We didn’t know what to expect, but now, we do. Trained assassins. Psycho fire starters. Deranged zealots. Secret lovers.” Maddie runs her fingers through her hair and pulls gently in frustration.

                     Derek shakes his head at Maddie at he works to explain. “Maddie! I don’t want her to have to do this on her own. But she can’t afford to have to protect us while also keeping herself alive. When she learns to control her powers, she will do amazing things, but having us in a fight with people like her, makes us a liability. Having us in a fight with people like us also makes us a liability. You and I have never been in a fight in our entire lives!”

                     “Neither has she.”

                     “She has a greater potential for rising to the challenge than we do.”

                     “You’re wrong.” I arch an eyebrow as her doubt. “She is already amazing, and she will learn control. More importantly, when pushed far enough, everyone will rise to the challenge. How do you know if you don’t try?”

                     “We are liabilities.”

                     “WE AREN’T LIABILITIES YOU HARD-HEADED APE!!” Derek shakes his head at her slide into name-calling as Maddie visibly works to control her ire. “We can help her. I have money, and you are apparently a Wizkid with first aid.”

                     “Our injuries were minor. Anything worse, and we would have been in serious trouble.”

                     Maddie murmurs in an exhausted whisper. “Just because we start as liabilities doesn’t mean that we have to stay that way.”

                     “I understand but until that change happens, what do you expect to happen? They can’t wait for us while we prepare for a war that was never meant to be ours. Besides, do you think our parents are going to go for that? If we ask, they say ‘no’. If we go, they submit missing person reports, meaning that we will be slowing her down as you and I need to stay away from crowds and remain hidden. How does that work when her safest option is in large crowds?”

                     “We can change how we look with hair dye. We can hide in plain sight with her by altering the way we look to other people.” I watch as Maddie grows smaller and smaller with each logical argument Derek makes. It hurts to see such a strong person look so broken.

                     “Maybe. But the point is that we are still liabilities to her, and we make her vulnerable. We are why she is still in town. Without us, Sarah would have taken her and ran years ago to keep her safe. We are a part of the reason why Sarah did not take her and leave. AND now, Sarah is dead. We are why she didn’t leave after Sarah was murdered and why she was still in town, allowing her to be found by someone else that tried to kill her. We are why she was found at the cabin and nearly killed by Danny. We keep her weak.” Ouch! But I don’t fault him for his choice of words. I guess he is right. They are why I have stayed in town for so long. I am weak! And can’t risk them getting hurt because of it. I can’t protect anyone right now.

                     Maddie nods but whines out one last point. “But we can’t let her do this alone. We are all she has left.”

                     Shaking my head, I choose this moment to speak up. “Maddie, I love you. Both of you. But your senior year starts in about 48 hours. I am no longer able to live my best life as a senior. My future changed the moment I found Sarah dead in our home. So, I need you to go back to town and live your life there. I need you to live the life we always wanted.”

                     She turns to me with glistening eyes. As she blinks, the tears break free of their boundary and start to roll down her face. “It won’t be the same without you.”

                     I smile at her sadly. “I know.” I don’t want to but I give her the permission she needs but may not necessarily want for continuing to live her life. “Go to school. Do all of the things we always talked about.” I look over at Derek as I take their hands and bring them together in front of me. “See where this relationship goes.” Derek nods while Maddie wipes away tears from underneath her eyes as they dull with uncertainty. Looking between the last of my people, I smile. “I will be okay as long as you two are. Derek, play your sports. Maddie, go to dances. And if an opportunity presents itself where you no longer think of me or feel my loss, take it. Don’t mourn me. Don’t worry about me. Don’t wait for me. Don’t come after me. Live your life as if I never existed. Do not let your knowledge or memory of me color your life.” Damn. That was a pretty solid speech right there, but hell, if it didn't hurt to say it!

                     While I was speaking, Maddie had walked over to Derek, and Derek was holding her in a tight hug as he smoothed her hair with one hand and rubbed her back with the other. He nodded as he looked over her head at me. Maddie goes to open her mouth, but I talk over her. “Now, I have a plan. And neither of you are going to like it.” Maddie and Derek look at each other with wary expressions before turning back to me. “Hear me out. Derek was right. You can’t come with me. If you get reported as missing people, I will never make it out of this alive. And it will only make it harder for me to get to Vermont. As much as I loathe having to leave you both behind, I must let go. I need to go alone. And as much as you loathe having to stay behind, this is where you belong and where you need to be. But the big issue is how to get any other people that may be looking to kill or recruit me to follow me out of town. Since the people hunting me know who you are, they might stay behind to get to you. So, here is what I propose. Derek, I am going to take your truck. There is no one driving by and is the fastest way for me to get the farthest away from here in the fastest amount of time.”

                     He stares at me with clear ‘no way’ vibes of shock. “You want my truck?”

                     I nod. “Listen. I take your car and ditch it a state over… still in its current condition. You would wait here for some time as I get farther away. Then, you will call the police and report that your car was stolen.” Maddie and Derek open their mouths to refuse as I hold up my hand to silence them. “By doing this, you show the world that you are breaking your bonds with me. Hopefully, making it safer for you. You will want to mention my name on the call. Be irate. Be pissed off. But they will most likely send Marks… that is if my hunch is correct, and they identify him as the one on my case.”

                     Maddie steps forward and grabs my arm. “Arielle, we cannot do that. We will not throw you under the bus to save ourselves.”

                     I nod. “You will because I asked you too. I need you to throw me so far under that bus that I can never hope to dig my way out. If this keeps you safe from those hunting and trying to kill me, I am glad and am completely cool with it. And if you report it, they can get the truck back to you before too long.”

                     Derek steps forward. “The truck is not what or who I worry about.” I smile at him with all of the warmth I feel for him. “But I see what you are saying. We have to get your hunters to follow you if we stay here. We aren’t safe if they stay, but you aren’t safe if they go.”

                     “True. But I can survive as long as you do.”

                     I stare at Derek for several minutes as I watch him fight with himself. Finally, he looks into my eyes and nods. “Okay.”

                     I turn to Maddie who jerks away from Derek with a glare and a vigorous shake of her head. “No. No. NO!”

                     I grab her hand and hold it between my own. “Maddie. You are like a sister to me. They know this. They’ve seen this. You need to get on board. You have time to get on board before the call is made. But I am getting in this truck right now.” I hug her but she does not hug me back. I knew she didn’t mean anything by it, but it hurts to know that during our last hug, she was so angry with me. But I can sort through that pain later. I walk to Derek and hold my hand out. He gently places the car keys in my hand. We can’t afford to have anyone think that this was planned or that they were involved; so, I can’t give him his home key. I walk around the left of the truck and open the door. I step into the drivers’ seat to see that the first aid kits and the book bag that Maddie prepared for me are already in the passengers’ seat. With a last look at Derek, I couldn’t help but feel that he knew this might be the outcome after the cabin went up in flames. I place the key in the ignition and turn it. The truck roars to life. With a pained sigh, I put the truck in reverse. As I back out, I keep my eyes over my shoulder afraid to make eye contact with Derek or Maddie because I knew I wouldn’t go. As I put the truck in drive, I pull away. I watch as Derek and Maddie come to stand together behind the truck. I still keep my eyes on them until they can no longer be seen in the rear view mirror. I could no longer keep my tears from streaming down my face.