Descended (10 page)

“Now we JUMP!” Carter grabbed Violet’s hand pulling her over the log and into the rushing stream of water below. She had no time to think about what was happening, nor did she care. She was with Carter and felt completely safe in his hands. It felt invigorating as she hit the cool white water, immersed under its power. Violet opened her eyes under the sparkling clear water and there he was…Carter. He swam over to her and put his hands out in front of his body. Violet reached for his hands and the two of them kicked there feet up to the surface of the river. They came up out of the water with mouths open, inhaling the first needed breath of air into their lungs as they lunged up out of the water, laughing heartily.

“That was great!” Violet shouted in enjoyment as she ran her hands over her soaking wet hair, wiping the water droplets off her face.

“I thought you might enjoy that, you looked like you could use a little adventure.” Carter looked at her with a wincing smile.

He couldn’t help but wonder what was different about this girl he had known most of his life. While they weren’t close, he knew her well enough to know she was not someone he would be the slightest bit attracted to. She was different, changed somehow; he could see it in her eyes. This was not the girl Carter knew as Vivian.

“What is it about her” he wondered, “that has me so mesmerized?” That was a question that Carter was not going to figure out anytime soon so he just decided to bask in the moment here and now. She looked amazing with the tiny tear drops of water clinging to her long curled eyelashes slowly slipping down her cheeks and onto her bare shoulders. Even soaking wet she was beautiful, glistening in the sun.

“What?” she said, noticing Carter staring at her like she had the bear still behind her?

“Nothing…” Carter said not knowing how to tell her what he was really thinking.

The two of them dove under the water, flipping and flittering about, splashing and dunking each other in a playful flirtatious way until the sun started to fade. Cater noticed it was getting late and knew they probably needed to head back to town, but really didn’t want the day to end. He couldn’t remember a time better than the one he was having right here with Violet.

Violet too began to notice the change in the day and knew Henry would be getting worried about her. Like Cater, she too did not want to say goodbye. Reluctantly she decided to tell Carter she had to go. They swam to the bank and got out of the water. Carter quickly grabbed a towel from his backpack and wrapped it around her, drying her off. Violet looked up at him with a childlike shy glance as he rubbed her with the towel to warm her. But she was not cold, not at all.  In fact where she stood, inches from Carter, all she felt was a blazing heat throughout her entire body and Carter felt it too. Something sparked instantly between them.  It was a strong, almost magnetic desire they both felt with just one touch. Surprised by the unexpected connection, Violet handed the towel over to Carter and said she had to go.

“Wait!” he stopped her from walking away abruptly. “Let me walk you to your car,” Carter said.

“I didn’t drive.” Violet responded, forgetting just how far away she was from Newcastle.

“Then how did you get here?” Carter asked stunned.

“
Ummm
…A friend gave me a ride?” she answered quickly.

“A friend?
Where is this friend? Do I know them?” he inquired.

“You ask a lot of questions and no, she doesn’t live in town.” Violet was grasping now.

“Oh, well then, why don’t I give you a ride back to town and we can call your friend and save her the trip?” he said.

“No thank you,” Violet said getting nervous again.

“Ok… how about I wait here with you until your friend shows up? What time did you say SHE was picking you up?” Carter asked.

“I didn’t!” Violet responded looking up to the sky, seeing the eagle circling around the parking lot, probably laughing at the predicament Violet was in.

“Go Carter, really I’m fine. She is going to be here any minute and she’s
kinda
well…boy shy so it’s probably better if you’re gone.  Anyways, I’m a big girl and I really don’t think I need a babysitter,” she said.

Carter could tell Violet did not want his company, but wasn’t sure why.  She seemed to be hiding something but he really had no interest in pushing her on it. He felt it was best to honor her weird request and leave.

“Ok then, but watch out for those bears because I won’t be here to save you,” Carter teased.

“I saved myself!” she argued again.

“See
ya
tomorrow Violet,” Carter said smirking at the flared temper he found adorable.

“Yeah, tomorrow.”
Violet waved goodbye as he got into his jeep. He backed up to where she was standing and said “Vie
?.
”

“What did you say?” Violet was completely stunned hearing her name coming out of his mouth.
Her real name, not Vivian.
 

“Vie. That’s what I’ve decided I am calling you. Vivian is nice but just doesn’t seem to fit the girl I just spent a day of adventure with. Besides, Vie is French for life and seeing that you just got a second chance at it, I’d say it’s perfect!” Carter declared. “You don’t mind do you Vie?” he added, almost sure of the answer.

Violet was even more convinced just how special Carter Stone was. He seemed to be able to see right into her soul and know exactly who she really was in minutes. It actually scared her a bit.  No one has ever gotten that close to her before.
No one except Gabriel.

“Vie?” Carter called to her as she stood drifting away in thought. “How does it sound?”

“It sounds perfect!” she agreed.

“Well then…Goodbye Vie,” Carter said sadly as he departed.

“Goodbye Carter,” Violet said back warmly and affectionately with a timid smile and a wave.

Gabriel appeared again congratulating Vie on a job well done. He was pleased about the relationship that Violet had engaged in with Carter and was happy that the mission was off to a great start. 

“So would you like a ride home friend?” Gabriel asked Violet sarcastically.

“Nope, I think I’ll go the same way I came,” she said needing to run and process all that just happened.

“But I’ll race
ya
.” Violet took off running like a horse out of the gate leaving Gabriel in her dust. Gabriel always appreciated a good challenge. As he watched Violet getting further and further away determined to beat him, he thought maybe this time he would let her win. Gabriel’s hearing was as keen as his sight and he could hear Violet talking smack to him as she ran toward Newcastle. Gabriel listened to her getting confident and then cocky about the win she now felt was a sure thing. Then he decided “Nope, not this time,” and took off screeching past Violet, repeating her smack words back at her and laughing all the way to the finish line- Henry’s home.

Gabriel sat with arms folded on her bed just waiting for her to walk through the door. “Hello my small snail like friend,” he greeted her.  “Did you stop for dinner by chance?” he added as he flipped through the pages of the magazine he pretended to read.

“
Hahaha
!” she laughed sarcastically. “One day soon it will be me who is sitting all smug and you left feeling defeated my friend.”

Gabriel stood up and tugged at her messy, tangled hair and said, “I look forward to that day too Vie, more than you know.” He really did look forward to the day when Violet was as strong as him and hoped that day would come soon. How he worried about her constantly and knew there would come a day when he could not be there to protect her. He truly wanted Violet to be a fierce warrior capable of defending herself from any threatening force in this world and beyond. It was his soul’s mission from the moment he first saw her.

There was a knock at the door and then Henry entered Violet’s room. Gabriel was gone and Violet stood, looking a mess.

“What happened to you?” Henry
asked,
concerned about the way she looked.

“What?” Violet looked at herself in the mirror and immediately understood Henry’s concern.

“Oh, “she said trying hard to think of an explanation. Then, as usual, Violet reverted to the half-truths that made her feel less deceitful with regards to Henry.

“Umm…I just went for a swim with a friend,” she said.

“
Hmmmm
…” Henry wanted to ask more questions, like who she was with, where she was, etc. but decided that his daughter was home safe and she seemed unusually happy and that was good enough for him for now.

“Hey, you better get to bed early tonight kiddo. I want you to be well rested for your first day back at school. And don’t try to do too much honey if you feel tired or…”

“Dad…please
stop
worrying!” Violet begged. “I will be just fine,” she said as she kissed his cheek and sent him out of her room.

“Go relax…watch some television and I promise to do the same.”

“Goodnight honey,” Henry said lovingly as he closed her bedroom door behind him.

Violet sat on her bed, reflecting on her glorious day.  Just thinking about Carter Stone put a huge smile on her face. She got up and walked over to her window to close it before she turned in for the night. As she started to close it, she noticed a familiar vehicle that was halted at the stop sign out in front of her house. “It can’t’ be?” she thought to herself while peering out her window. It was! Sitting at the stop sign in front of her home was Carter Stone and he was looking up at Violet too. Violet quickly shut the window and pulled the curtain over.

“Now how in God’s name did she beat me home?” Carter wondered suspiciously.

Chapter 7

Secret Diary

“Come in Gabriel,” a deep authoritative voice called out to him.

“You have some news to report?” he said inquiring about Gabriel’s presence.

“I do,” he said ready to update
Camulus
about their mission at hand. “Violet has made contact with the subject,” he reported happily.

“Already?
Well that is good news,”
Camulus
replied turning to face Gabriel. “And is the subject responding as we hoped?” he inquired further.

“Better than we hoped Sir!” Gabriel said confirming his belief in Violet’s ability to serve as a Guardian. “Gabriel, we need not get too far ahead of ourselves here. Making contact is just one small step in the success of our mission as I am certain you are well aware,”
Camulus
stated stomping on Gabriel’s news.

“I am well aware of that Sir, and I am sure YOU are aware that one may walk over the highest mountain one small step at a time,” Gabriel countered back to him.

“Hmmm…,”
Camulus
uttered under his breath at Gabriel’s comparison. “I am glad you have faith in Violet’s ability to successfully complete our mission. I will hold off on my dubious judgments until they are otherwise warranted”
Camulus
walked past the tall white pillars and stood under the archway that opened to a scenic paradise of their world.

“Are your men ready on the ground?” he asked changing the subject.

“They are Sir,” he replied.

“And Reese?”
Camulus
looked at Gabriel awaiting his response.

“Still working on him Sir,” Gabriel said knowing
Camulus
would not be happy.
Camulus
turned around quickly and bellowed out loud to Gabriel, “You need to find him Gabriel…he is a loose cannon!”

“Sir, you know he is disenchanted by the decisions that have been made in acting as intermediaries between this world and the human one.  We need to give him time. I know him he will return to us.”

“Gabriel, I am warning you… if he falls, I will not save him.”
Camulus
sternly put Gabriel on alert to his decision without exception regarding one of the wayward Guardians, Reese.

Reese was a young Guardian that felt disenfranchised by the council and the decisions that were being made regarding mankind. He believed that Carter Stone had made a choice and it was to
ignore his destiny. He also believed that interfering with Carter’s decision ultimately diminished his “free will”. But the Council thought differently about Carter and the subject of free will. They saw him as a boy with an impeded soul and not as boy that was disregarding his greatness. The only thing they aspired to do on the mission was to unblock his soul and allow him to make a choice concerning his destiny.

The Council debated for many hours at the meetings about the theory of free will, choices, and mankind.
Camulus
argued that man does not have free will without limitation. People are not free to act contrary to their nature. He gave an example that man cannot choose to fly. Stating he can choose to travel by plane but he cannot choose to sprout wings or become a bird. He implored the council to see what he did and said with conviction, “Will, you see, is not entirely free.”
Camulus
tried to explain the council’s position on Reese by saying that Carter, like all men, is bound by the limits of his nature and that he does not have freedom to be anything he is not. “But Carter does not know who he is or more importantly what his nature is,”
Camulus
stated to the council.  “It is our obligation to shed light on the boy so that he can exercise his own free will and choose his destiny with clarity and absolution.” He said, “Every being has that right and every soul deserves that chance!”
Camulus
ended on that note. Reese did not agree with them and soon after the decision was made to go seek Carter, he left the gates. No one knew where he was, not even his close friend Gabriel, who was determined to find him.