Hide And Seek Chapter 4
The next morning was a repeat of the first with getting up, cleaning up, and having breakfast with father Fuller. Lanette came for me around ten-thirty and took me through parts of the church I hadn’t been in to a part of the building that must have been added onto it sometime mid-century. It was the food pantry that doubled as the soup kitchen. The very back faced an alley behind the church that separated it from the high-rise building I had seen the night we arrived. This was where donations were dropped off and care packages passed out on alternating days. There was a hallway with a room on each side, one for dry and packaged goods, the other for perishables with a walk-in fridge and freezer unit. Next was the kitchen which was as big as our restaurants and everything was utilitarian and well used but clean and in working order. This emptied into a hall that led into a huge room filled with long tables and benches with smaller tables with chairs closer to the far wall that had windows and a door for the customers. The outside had a thin strip of lawn packed with picnic tables and the street sidewalk was just beyond that.
I was put through another assessment but this time there was some cooking involved. It was all simple stuff and I passed with flying colors and high praise from Lanette. After I was put to work sorting out new food donations and making care packages until we took a break for a late lunch. Last it was clean up and I was free to do my own thing. I went to find Jared working on the renovations with Tahmoh. They seemed to get along okay from the few minutes I hung around but since I didn’t want to be in the way I wandered off to explore.
I checked out the nave a bit but stuck to the outer perimeter just in case anyone should come in. There was an old lady lighting candles and praying close to the confessionals. Both curtains were drawn so I figured someone must be having a chat with father Fuller but without snooping close enough to eavesdrop I couldn’t really tell. I wasn’t going to get past the alter without the old lady seeing me so I left. The front of the church would be too exposing so I skirted to a side door to find a long hallway with half a dozen doors. I peeked through the windows in each as I passed and saw each was a small meeting room. Some doors had signs like youth, events, community, and one that had little tables and chairs and toys labeled learning. All the doors were unlocked but I didn’t feel the need to step inside any of them. At the end, there was a long hallway on the left with two doors on the left wall. Their doors had no windows and when I tried the first it was unlocked. I cracked it open just enough to peek out and saw I was behind the altar area and quickly shut the door. I guessed the other door was the same and went all the way to the end of the hall. The new hall I entered had four doors and one was open with the sounds of someone typing. It was odd because computers don’t usually make that much noise when you type, but then again it all depends on who is the person banging away in some literal cases.
I crept up to the door a peeked inside to see a side profile of Julie and a monstrosity of a computer. It was big, boxy, yellowish in hew, and just plain ugly. She sighed leaned her head back on her neck and stopped typing. I wasn’t doing anything and thought she might want a break so I knocked on the door.
Her head snapped forward and she looked over at me for a moment then smiled. “Hi Jensen” she swiveled her chair to face me “do you need something?” She sounded not annoyed but cautious like she hadn’t expected me to find her or the office.
I stepped into the doorway but didn’t go further in case I wasn’t a welcome distraction like I first thought. “Nah, I’m done for the day and I was just looking around. I can go if…”
“No that’s okay” she cut me off “I’m just a bit frustrated with this” she waved a hand at the computer. “I could use a break if you want to talk.”
I moved over and sat in a chair that was by the side of her desk but not so close that it would be in her way if she needed to leave. “What is it your doing?” I was curious about the old computer. I looked like something out of an 80’s movie now that I could see it better.
“Updating records” Julie reached out and did something to turn the screen off “sorry but it’s a bit…” she bit her lip in thought.
“Classified” I supplied and she shook her head and laughed.
“No, confidential” she sat back and stretched moving her neck side to side which made an audible crack.
I grimaced but she looked relieved. “Why don’t you work on a laptop or at least something that isn’t older than you are?”
She positively beamed at me “that’s sweet” I guessed she meant about the underhanded compliment about her age “but this computer is so old it can’t hook up to the internet anymore so it can’t be hacked and it has some good programs on it that aren’t available on newer systems that come in handy for us and our” she paused to find the right word again “special guests” she finished.
“Got ya” I leaned back in the chair as much as I could considering it was a straight back to show I wasn’t interested.
“So” Julie clasped her hands in her lap “is there something, in particular, you were looking for in your wandering?” Did you get lost?”
“No,” I shook my head “Jared isn’t done working yet and I just wanted to explore a bit and get the layout of the church.”
“Father Fuller forgot to give you a tour didn’t he” Julie sounded slightly amused. “He gets distracted by his work and forgets the little things. Some times he can come off as rude but it’s just because he has the big picture in mind and forgets the smaller pieces.”
“That’s okay we just figured we’d figure it out as we went. Besides, it’s not like we’ll be going into a lot of the common areas and I’m sure some other places we’ll figure out if we’re not allowed” I reassured her.
Her smile faded just a bit “I guess you’re right” but then she shook her head and the smile was back to beaming. “You want me to show you the VIP seats you’ll be using come Sunday?”
This sounded interesting “Yeah, sure.”
We got up and I let her pass me as we went out. She led me back into the long hall with the doors to the altar area. She opened the first door, the one I had passed up. I wasn’t sure about going in but she waved me on “come on it’s fine.” The entrance it turned out was hidden by a screen here and immediately to the right was a staircase. We went up the wide stairs and came to a tiny landing and door. “Ta da” she said opening the door with a flourish and presenting the interior like a magician’s trick.
The room was small but had enough room for four large very plush chairs and two side tables. The front wall wasn’t really a wall but a carved and tight mesh screen so that whoever was in the room could see out but no one would see them or even know that the room was there since across the alter there was a similar outcropping that just looked like a decorative design in the wall to which I was betting was an exact copy of the place I was in. I was sure I would be able to hear anyone who was in the church, epically if they were at the altar almost right below us. We would have to be very quiet when we were up here. Since the area was built for acoustics so that everyone in the pews would be able to hear the preacher at the altar and the room being almost right above it any sound in here would echo out there. However, being about fifteen feet up we would hear without becoming deaf.
“This is really nice,” I said as I felt one of the chairs. It was soft like velvet and had some give so it would probably be quite comfortable. It would be a struggle to stay awake if Mass was early and boring because if we fell asleep our small not yet full-blown man snores would be heard. I decided we would have to try and sneak our books in for something to keep us occupied if the sermon was not to our liking. I would give father Fuller a chance but I hadn’t attended church regularly and not this exact type either. I didn’t know what father Fuller’s interpretations of the bible were or what he would most likely pick to focus on. So he may get my full attention or he may turn me off it could go either way.
While we stood looking out Tahmoh entered the nave and went over to the candles. He lit one, said a quick prayer, crossed himself, and set off back up the main aisle. I turned to look at Julie “I guess Jared’s done” I whispered. She nodded and we let the room going back down the stairs and into the long hallway.
“Can you find your way back to the kitchen?” She sounded a little disappointed.
“Yeah, I can manage” half turned to go but stopped. “Thanks for showing me that it was cool. Sorry to send you back to work so soon.”
“Any distraction is good for a while and your welcome. Stop by anytime if you want to talk or need another short tour.” We both turned and went our separate ways.
I managed to find my way back to the kitchen without too much trouble. Jared wasn’t there so I went back towards the workshop to see if I could find him. He wasn’t there so our rooms were the next stop but I heard movement on the first floor down and followed it to find Jared in the bathroom testing out a faucet.
“How was your day dear,” I asked from the doorway.
“Demanding and hard” he stood up and stretched and I could hear his back and various joints popping. “Want to rub my shoulders while I have a drink?” He smiled suggestively at me as he wiped his hands off on a rag that had been hanging off the sink.
“Why I’m not sure that kind of temptation is good in the house of the lord, it might lead to something…improper” I smiled back and sauntered into the room.
“Spoil sport” he tossed the rag at me and I caught it as it bounced off my chest. “I may be able to tempt you further when this” he swept his hands about to indicate the bathroom “is all finished and you can have a decent hot shower.”
“Perhaps,” I said but I had already decided he’d earned a kiss later for the work had had already done. I wasn’t a carpenter or plumber but I could tell that a fair bit of work had been done.
“If you’ll excuse me, I am going to freshen up a bit and then we’ll see what to do about dinner, I’m starving.” And if to emphasize the point his stomach gave a loud rumble.
“Did you not eat lunch?” I hadn’t thought about him needing to pack a lunch or if father Fuller would eat with him and Tahmoh or if he would be on his own to make something or that I could have brought him something.
“Yeah, sort of. I guess Tahmoh starts work early or just gets hungry early but we took a break about midmorning and only small breaks after. I wasn’t that hungry when he ate so I only had a snack and the other breaks really weren’t long enough to explore the kitchen and make anything really filling so I just had snacks all day.” He didn’t sound too happy about his day but now that he knew what his future days might look like he or rather we could plan out an eating schedule.
“We’ll figure something out” I voiced my thoughts. “I’m going to go down to my room. Come get me when your done and then we’ll see about dinner” I left him to clean up.
I hadn’t been reading long (since there really wasn’t anything else to do) when Jared poked his head in my door. “Let’s go see what there is in the kitchen before I faint from hunger.”
“If you do, I’m not carrying you anywhere. I’ll bring down some soup and pour it down your throat in hopes you revive but that’s all I am prepared to do.” I got up and put my book away looking at the clock. It was later than I thought it was. We went up to the kitchen to find father Fuller and Julie sitting at the table talking.
“Good evening gentlemen” father Fuller greeted us and Julie stood up.
“I’ll see you all tomorrow” she put on a light coat that had been on the back of the chair that I hadn’t noticed when we came in. “Mom left a pudding pie for you in the fridge” she smiled at us and shouldered a purse that had been under the coat on the chair.
“Bless her” father Fuller stood up now and gave her a brief hug.
“Bye” she waved at us and turned and left.
“Well, I expect you boys came in search of food” father Fuller turned his attention to us once Julie was gone. “You can eat when you like as long as you clean up after yourselves or you can eat with me. I usually eat about six o’clock and it’s usually something one of the ladies has made up or something left from the soup kitchen on days when it’s not crowded. I make my own food on Friday and Saturday” he explained.
“Okay that sounds fair” I said and since it was close to six thought we should eat with him today. It was the nice thing to do and seeing as we were still very new guests…well it was just polite. “I can check and see if there’s something ready and if not I can get something wiped up by six.”
“Excellent” father Fuller clapped his hands together. “If you would be so kind to do that I’ll get a progress report from Jared on the restoration.”
Jared and I looked at each other and I gave a little nod. He sat down and I went into the kitchen. I could hear Jared and father Fuller talking but not the exact words as I snooped through the fridge for anything ready-made to eat. I found a casserole and divided it up rotating the plates through the microwave even if warming it in the oven is best, this way was shorter. There were vegetables and I made a salad to go with the casserole while I rotated the plates. When it was all done it only took me two trips to get the table set.
Father Fuller thanked me and said grace and we eat mostly in silence with a few moments of small talk about our day in between bites. Father Fuller was the one to get the desert out and it was very good. We each cleaned up our own plates and set them to dry before father Fuller wished us good night and headed off to his rooms. Jared and I went back to our own rooms to start the process of getting ready for bed.
“Hey, I have something to show you in an hour or so” I wanted to make sure that father Fuller might be asleep.
“Something good” Jared smiled and wiggled his eyebrows as best he could in a suggestive manner.
“That depends” I smiled right back liking the teasing.
“On what?” Jared walked into my room to stand in front of me as if I was issuing a challenge and he was accepting it.
“On how quiet you can be” I started.
“Hey, I can be quiet” Jared looked only slightly affronted.
“You didn’t let me finish” I huffed and he waved a hand for me to continue but didn’t say anything as if to prove a point. “If you can be quiet while we play since we might be close to father Fullers quarters.” I had no idea if the last bit was true but it would matter on Sunday for sure if the sermon was boring and I couldn’t sneak a book into the special seating room we would be hiding in.
“I’m quite sure I can be quieter than you when I get my hands on you” Jared made a challenge of his own. We would just have to wait and see and hope that we weren’t caught if we were doing anything naughty in the nave. Jared went back to his room and retried his own book and we sat side by side on the bed reading until I decided it was time to do a little exploring in more ways than one.
Neither of us had a flashlight so it took some time for me to retrace my earlier wanderings and Julie’s eager tour to the hidden room above the alter. Jared wasn’t very impressed until I found the light and judged it okay to turn it on for a minute or two so he could take it all in. When I turned off the light I was startled by Jared grabbing me around the waist and stumbling to a chair. He plodded down and pulled me into his lap. He didn’t say anything but his mouth found mine and we started kissing as if we weren’t going to be able to ever again. The chair being small and confining with the two of us in it we didn’t get beyond heavy petting and groping while making out. I will admit that I did make some noise while Jared managed to hold it in along with silent laughter after he shushed me and I realized I had been almost whimpering at his touch. Just for that, I decided that was enough for the night and he wouldn’t need his good night kiss at his bedroom door. We made our way down to our rooms.
In the morning we had breakfast with father Fuller who didn’t mention anything about any random noises in the night. After that Lanette came to get me to begin cooking and Tahmoh took Jared away for more construction work. The day was very busy and it felt just like being back home working a summer day away in the restaurant. Before I knew it the day was over and I was tired. Jared, father Fuller, and I ate together again and talked about our day. Jared and Tahmoh were expected to finish the bathroom the next day and I was on duty to sort off and donations.
We soon settled into a routine of working during the day with me exploring with Julie when I had the time and showing Jared the new little places to make out at night. Sunday services were okay, some I liked some I read through or lightly made out with Jared. We came up with a game to kiss or touch each other when certain words were said and repeated. There was always food after with father Fuller, Julie, Amy, and some of the other ladies of the church. Before I knew it almost a month had passed. I hadn’t been paying any attention to the news but somehow Jared had been.
“I think it’s about time you had a talk with Chris,” he said after he’d come into my room for our nightly reading before bed.
“What?” I was ashamed to admit that I hadn’t thought about talking to Chris for at least two weeks. After we had settled into our routine I had found peace in our private little bubble. I didn’t have to worry about my gift, my siblings weren’t around to bug me, working in the kitchen and with Lanette was like working with mom at the restaurant but without questions about my life and future and school. Best of all I had Jared whenever I wanted and he was a fair substitute for Chris. Besides thinking he was hot and wanting to jump his bones (but not in the church) they were a lot alike. Personality wise at least.
“The army lab has been in a bit of hot water over your treatment, or at least some of it and your escape since they didn’t let you go as they should have. The fact that you haven’t shown up anywhere or there hasn’t been an uptick in found persons led to a bit of a frenzy at first but that’s gone now. The news has moved on and it might be time for us to think about doing the same.” As Jared talked, he fanned out a couple of pages of newspaper for me. I didn’t take them but I could see words from some of the headlines and then side stories and then blurbs. The words that stick out the most are conspiracy, missing, power, abuse, conduct, search, children, home, lawsuit, and of course my name. I don’t see Jared’s or Chris’s names but then again I had just scanned them before looking away. A part of me doesn’t want to do what I must and call Chris. A part of me just wants to stay here like this with Jared forever. “I’ll give you a little time but we need to call him tonight to find out what to do” Jared’s voice was gentle and he left me to my thoughts after that. I closed the door and just sat on the bed and let my mind drift. I thought of so many things I can’t put them all down here.
I was brought out of my aimless thoughts when Jared knocked on my door before opening it and sticking his head through. “It’s time” was all he said and I got up and went to him. We ended up in the same place we had been at the last time we called Chris. Jared held the phone again but this time he felt it safe enough to put it on speaker, but at a low volume.
Chris answered on the third ring, “thank God I thought something might have happened to you I’ve been waiting so long.”
“Sorry, we just wanted to give it some time” Jared answered taking the brunt of whatever anger Chris had.
“Yeah well,” Chris huffed “things still aren’t exactly back to normal here. Mr. Browne and the army lab are having a bit of a catfight. They snarl at each other, threaten each other but haven’t really covered any ground. The press dug into the lab though and public opinion is in your favor. At least the ones who don’t think that they still have you somewhere locked away or that you have been abducted by…well a lot of different villains in that blank space.”
“Yeah I’ve seen some of the national news, my boss brings me the paper” Jared admitted.
“Your boss? I thought you were laying low” Chris sounded suspicious.
“We are” I answered this time “but we’ve been helping out behind the scenes here. Jared’s doing some remodeling work and I’m helping out their soup kitchen and food bank.”
“Hun” Chris was silent for a moment and I knew he was trying to decide on a plan. What it was I didn’t know, Jared might have an idea but looking at him it seemed he was just as clueless waiting for Chris to pronounce our fate. “Well I guess just keep at it for another week or so and I’ll figure out another place to stash you. Maybe something closer to home so when I light a fire under Mr. Browne’s ass to do something to get the lab to stop looking for once and for all you can just come home to finalize anything if it comes to it. Preferably in public, so everyone can know the score and you can stop worrying about looking over your shoulder all the time.”
I didn’t like the thought of leaving before things were settled back home but it did make some kind of sense. “Okay” was all I had to say since until all this was over my life wasn’t really my life but between Chris and Jared I was in good hands.”
“I’ll find another phone” Jared spoke up before Chris could say anything more. “I have the number for your next one in the packet you gave us so we’ll call you in say, two weeks?”
“Works fine for me and I’ll see that it works for Mr. Browne. Get some sleep you two and not in the same bed if you value your lives living in a church right now.” Chris hung up before we could argue. We may have been handsy but I knew not to sleep with Jared here.
“I’ll see if Tahmoh can take me out sometime or I’ll have to go out at night for a phone. Maybe you can get the location of a store that might sell them from Julie” Jared was taking the phone we had used apart.
“You sure that’s a good idea to go out in the day?” I wasn’t so worried about night time. From gossip I had heard and peeks out the windows from some higher perches we had explored the neighborhood wasn’t a bad one and it wasn’t super busy so Jared wouldn’t stick out so much if he came out from the direction of the office building behind the church.
“My name hasn’t been mentioned in the papers and I doubt that there are wanted pictures of me everywhere like there be or have been for you. Schools out and besides mom, the bikers, JD, and Chris I don’t think anyone even knows I’m gone.”
It was sad to think that if not for helping plan my escape Jared’s mom might be the only one to know he was missing from our town. Was it really so easy to get lost? It made me wonder if I would ever use my ability again. I didn’t want to be mobbed or hounded by people asking me to look for someone and I did not want the army up in my business again. If we got back I wondered if I could say my powers had gone away. Of course if I ever found another missing person again saying so would blow my cover and I doubt I could keep it to myself in order to keep that cover.
“It will be fine I’m sure about” Jared’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I was embarrassed I had tuned him out. It must not have been long though because he wasn’t looking at me like I’d lost my mind or give any clue he knew I hadn’t been listening.
“Well I guess if your careful” I knew he had to go I just didn’t like the idea of him going.
“I’ll see if Tahmoh can take me to a store on Monday.” Jared gave me a brief hug “now let's go to bed I’m tired and I don’t want to fall asleep in the nest.” The nest is what we had been calling the room we sat in for Sunday service. We went back to our rooms but it was a while before I could fall asleep.
Sunday passed quickly enough but Monday seemed to drag on and I was anxious all day. I buried myself in the day’s work to try and distract myself but I was a mess by the end of the day and hurried off to see if Jared was still here or if he’d gone and come back. He was finishing up when I got to the room he and Tahmoh had started working on during the last week. The hall of rooms was almost done. We had been offered some of the new rooms but had decided to stay in the bottom level. Less chance of being interrupted in a compromising position. I helped them clean up so I could get Jared alone faster but in the end, it was all for nothing. Jared hadn’t gone out but Tahmoh had promised to take him out on Tuesday which meant another day of worrying for me.
On Tuesday Julie seemed to know something was bugging me but she didn’t push for which I was thankful. I tried my best to be friendly but my worry had me ignoring her as my mind wandered. In the end, I spent a lot of time sorting out donations on my own. I got so lost in my own head that it was Jared who found me at the end of the day and showed off the new phone. The relief that filled me when he told me everything went fine and with the new phone ready to go and an end in sight for this long nightmare nearly had me in tears. My anxiety had played havoc with my emotions as well as all the time to think about home and what I was missing.
The rest of the week went better and on Sunday I decided to tell Julie we were possibly leaving. She had been so nice to me and it kinda felt like having a more mature Mac around. I would miss her when we left. I’d have to ask her not to tell father Fuller as we would do that later and we would each deal with our temporary bosses when our leaving time got closer. I wasn’t even sure when we were leaving just that we most like were. I didn’t tell Jared I was going to tell Julie but I didn’t think it mattered. It turned out it would but not for any reason I could have thought of.
That Sunday’s service was okay and I had paid attention to most of it. After when the meal was being put out I found Julie. “Hey, can we talk?” I asked when we were mostly alone in the kitchen.
“Sure” she smiled at me and waited.
“Um, in private” I didn’t want to be interrupted or tell everyone so soon.
“Let’s go to the office” she turned and walked out of the kitchen and I followed. There were a lot of ‘offices’ in the church but I didn’t think as most of them as that way. There was a room that could have been a small break room in an office building but had a desk and a few nice chairs just a little way form the kitchen. Julie closed the door after me. “Should we sit?”
“No this won’t take too long. It’s just I wanted to thank you for all the time you’ve spent with me when there was work and all. It’s been nice to have you as a friend” at this her smile fell quite a bit. “We’ll be leaving soon so…” I didn’t get to finish.
“Leaving?” Julie looked sad and shocked “but I thought. I mean all the time we spent…you don’t like me?”
Now I was a bit confused since I had just told her I liked her. “I do like you” I reassured her.
“But not like that. I thought you were courting me” she looked a little angry now too.
Courting? Oh… “Um, I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. I wasn’t trying to lead you on I was just trying to be your friend. You are a great girl” really a woman but the word was out so I just went on “but I’m not looking for…that…right now.”
“There is someone else” she sounded a bit angrier.
“No there isn’t anyone else” I had no idea how I had gotten myself into this mess but I was not going to get out of it by telling her I was gay. I don’t think that would be any better for her. “I just have so much else to think about right now and with being on the run I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved with anyone right now. This was only supposed to be temporary until things with the army lab could be settled. I’m needed at home.” I was talking faster and faster trying to say something that would stop her anger.
“But you are needed here” she wasn’t as angry and the sadness had crept back into her voice. “There is so much for you to do here and when the renovations are done you can have an office to work out of. There are so many children to find.”
I flinched back a bit as an uneasy feeling came over me “I’m not sure I’m going to find more people. And even if I did it’s not a business I don’t need an office. If I do find people again it will be random, I’m not taking commissions, one person doesn’t take president over another just because they can get an appointment or think they should have one.”
“But that’s not fair. God gave you a gift and you can’t turn it down” and she was back to angry.
“It was an accident” I really wasn’t feeling good about this now. “No one knows anything about how this works, it could be gone tomorrow. It could even be gone now, who knows I haven’t found anyone since I’ve been here and I’m not sure I want to try. It’s been nothing but trouble. I just want to get everything sorted out and go home.”
She just stared at me anger in her eyes even as tears started. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line like she was trying to stop herself from saying anything. I was about to say something else to try and make her understand when she started forward brushing past me harshly bumping my shoulder as I tried to get out of her way. She went out and slammed the door behind her and I didn’t follow to try and stop her. I hadn’t told her not to tell anyone but I thought she might be too upset to say anything (I was wrong again here). I waited a minute or two in case she was trying to make herself presentable before going into the kitchen.
When I got back to the kitchen Jared looked at me questioningly and I shrugged. I looked around but didn’t see Julie. Either she had left or not come back through here. Amy was gone too but that didn’t mean much since no one else looked at me differently. I didn’t have much of an appetite now but managed to eat a bit before signaling to Jared we should go. Once back in our rooms I told Jared what had happened.
“That’s not good, why did you decide to tell her now?” Jared had begun pacing the room soon after I had started explaining what had happened between Julie and me.
“I thought I already mentioned that” I really didn’t want to repeat myself or explain anymore if Jared was jealous (although I don’t know why he would have been).
“Well what’s sone is done. All we can do is wait now. Even if we called Chris tonight, I doubt he could do anything. Maybe we should tell father Fuller in the morning and he can take care of Julie.” Jared made it sound so simple but I didn’t think it would be so easy.
“Why can’t we just go somewhere else tomorrow or Tuesday. We could get a hotel room” I was fairly sure we had enough money if we picked a cheap place like cross state travelers used.
“Because it looks odd if I try to get a room without having a car and you still might be able to be recognized if we go in the day so it will look very odd to rent a room at night with no car and sneaking you in.” Jared continued to pace and I could see he was working over what to do in his mind. What he had said made sense and was something Chris would agree with. “We’ll just have to stick it out and take things as they come. But we are telling father Fuller in the morning that we’ll be leaving. I hope he isn’t in on this whole bit about you staying here and working to find people.”
“I could tell him that I can’t do it anymore. It’s not like he can prove it one way or another.” I hoped he would buy it and leave it at that. I wasn’t sure what I would do if not. Or what he would do. I shuddered thinking about the ways this could turn into another lab like situation. Not that he had soldiers to keep me in but devout parishioners could be just a step down if given the right motivation. If they wanted me to use my abilities for them and they thought I was going to turn them down after hiding me things might not look so good for the future. But then again maybe I was being paranoid. Only a few people knew I was here and they hadn’t done or said anything about my abilities. But then again neither had Julie until now.
“Jensen” I jerked as Jared laid a hand on my shoulder “calm down you are going to hyperventilate. Now that Jared had said something I found that I was breathing quite hard. I had been so lost in thought and worry I hadn’t noticed. I wondered if this could be something like PTSD and hoped not. I didn’t need anything else to deal with right now. “Deep breaths, that’s it” I took the breaths “We’ll figure it out. It will be okay.” He stood there until I calmed down. “Let’s relax until dinner I don’t feel like doing much else.”
I nodded as Jared lead me over to the bed making sure the door was shut. He laid me down and then slid behind me and held me. It made me feel safe and I was content to just lay in his embrace and not do anything else. “Thanks,” I said and he tightened his hold for a moment.
“Of course,” was all he said and that was it for a long time. We just lay there and I soon drifted off. Jared woke me for dinner and we went to the kitchen hoping everything would be quiet and calm.
Father Fuller didn’t mention anything about us leaving or my abilities or Julie other then that she hadn’t felt good and wouldn’t be in on Monday. I felt a little better about that but guilty at the same time. We ate leftovers from lunch and Jared and I went to bed early. I was still tired despite my nap and fell asleep quickly. Monday came too quickly and I got so busy I didn’t have time to talk to father Fuller. Jared must have been busy too because when I saw him in passing for lunch he hadn’t talked to father Fuller either. In the end we ended up telling him over Dinner. He was not pleased, as he like Julie thought I might work out of the church. He wasn’t as emotional as she had been but he was upset. Jared and I decided that night that we would have to leave early and we would call Chris from our new hiding place at the end of the week.
It was a good decision because the next day Julie was back and she along with her mother Amy tried to convince me to stay. They didn’t care if Jared left as they assumed, he had just been a friend and wasn’t my boyfriend. It came to a head when Amy tried to show me a picture on a lost poster and father Fuller had to stop her. I hid out for the rest of the day. We packed our bags and left that night when father Fuller was asleep. We did leave him a note with our apologies for leaving him in a bit of a lurch as I was skipping out on the soup kitchen with no replacement ready. The renovations were almost done and Jared wasn’t really essential so that we didn’t feel bad about.
We walked all night and Jared found a little mom and pop motel in the morning for us to stay at. I had no idea where we were and I didn’t care as I fell into bed. We laid low until the evening and took off again just to put some more distance between us and the church. We found a motel again and slept all day. We figured one more night of walking would be good and we’d stay where we landed. But our luck ran out that night.
We didn’t accept rides from people even if someone was kind enough to pull over for us in the middle of the night on a back road but I got a bad feeling when a big SUV pulled over to the shoulder ahead of us in the early morning hours. It just sat, the windows didn’t roll down and on one got out to see if we needed a ride. We edged as far from it as we could as we went to pass. As we got to the driver’s door it opened and Mr. Heyerdahl stepped out into our path. He had a large gun in his hand and he looked very pleased to see our surprise. I had no idea how he could have found us and hoped he hadn’t known where we had been the whole time. That might break me if he told me that. But he never got the chance to say anything other than “be quiet and get in the car.”
I have no idea what possessed Jared (he still won’t tell me even now as I finish writing this) but as I turned towards the SUV he made a move to tackle Mr. Heyerdahl. He must have taken his eyes off Jared to watch me get in the SUV (a rookie move) because he wasn’t fully prepared for the fight. And fight they did, arms locked together pushing at each other to try and knock each other away as they tried to control the gun which they both had their hands on. They did fall over after a few moments and all I could do was watch as the rolled over and over on the ground trying to get the upper hand.
I was getting ready to jump into it when it looked like Mr. Heyerdahl might win as he was on top of Jared at last pinning him with his legs to the ground. A second before I went to tackle him a deafening boom sounded and both Jared and Mr. Heyerdahl stopped moving. They seemed to be frozen in time and my heart seemed to stop and I started to scream when Mr. Heyerdahl collapsed on top of Jared. I couldn’t stop the scream that came out of my mouth but I was moving before it ended and I got to than Just as Jared rolled out from under Mr. Heyerdahl. We both just stared at him but he didn’t move.
“What do we do?” I finally asked still not looking away from the body of the former F.B.I. agent.
“We get rid of him and get as far from here as we can” Jared’s voice was soft.
I looked over at him at last and saw he was pale and shaking. He had protected me. No doubt Mr. Heyerdahl would have taken me to some lab set up just to torture me for what I could do. This time if that happened, I wouldn’t be coming out. I knew this and it Jared had known it. He’d acted before I could even let the thought cross my mind. If he could do this to protect me I could help protect him by helping to get rid of the body.
We put Mr. Heyerdahl in the back of the SUV and drove it until we came to an area with some woods and swampy marsh. We cleaned up the SUV as best we could of anything we might have touched. We put Mr. Heyerdahl in the swamp before driving away down the road and torching the car. Then changing clothes he lets as fast as we could. We slept in an ally for a while before starting off again. On a side road that night we burned the clothes we had been wearing the night before. Tomorrow we would call Chris and figure out what to do. We couldn’t go home now.
And here we are now with this part of my history concluded. God only knows what will happen in the months to come. Maybe He could see fit to help me out a bit. But if not I have a feeling I can work things out on my own. I don’t want to hide anymore. I won’t hide anymore. So if any of my enemies are reading this look out because I just might come looking for you.
Link to AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24880471/chapters/60197329