When War Calls(121)

He had been taken away from Alyssa.

The rain came then as he opened his eyes, drenching him as he could no longer see further than twenty yards in all directions. The lightning strikes were almost on him now, their rumble no longer deep, but sharp and high pitched, screaming in his ears. The wind was increasing with the storm’s arrival and he felt his feet begin to slip backward. He felt panic, knowing he could easily fall to his death. He stood his ground for Alyssa’s sake. He could not die now, not when she was waiting for him to return.

‘Stay on your path,’ he heard Raquel call out. ‘Be free of all else.’

Fall. Stay. Leave. Run. Remain. Believe. Deny. He couldn’t decide which was the right choice—which would allow him to pass the test. He felt he was being pushed to his limits, being forced to make the choice no matter if it were right or wrong.

‘I won’t let her go!’ he shouted, more to the storm above than Raquel as he continued to fight against it.

The heavy rain became a drizzle then as the ground began to shake. From the top of the mountain, through the darkness, came boulders the size of him, forcing him to dodge left and right on the slippery rock surface. He jumped and ducked under them as they came, avoiding them easily but almost losing his balance twice. More came, some ten times the size of the first, causing the whole cliff to tremble as they bounced violently toward him and crushed anything that was beneath. He could not jump these, and he dared not risk diving under them. Instinctively he jumped to his left, rolling out of the way of the first, only to find himself in the path of another. He jumped back to his right and ran a few steps, but was then in the path of two he had not seen. He tried to step between them, but his right shoulder was caught by an edge and he cried out in pain. Without a moment to spare he reached out with his left hand and ignited the endobrace, causing the third boulder of the group to shatter into a million pieces. The fragments hissed with the energy as they were sent flying in all directions. He remained protected by the shield so that did not bother him. He then used the endobrace to stop the final boulders coming toward him in the same manner, and when the last fragment had quieted, silence returned. No more came. All that was left was the wind blowing against him as he knelt on the edge, holding his right shoulder and breathing heavily.

Raquel walked to him; her hair was wet but she was uninjured by any of the fragments.

‘There is one that keeps you from the edge,’ she said.

Jaden said nothing for a moment, steadying his breath with his eyes closed.

‘I can’t live without her.’

‘Your choice is made,’ said Raquel, and without another word, she walked ahead of him, leaving him where he was.

Jaden remained behind. He did not have the energy to follow her. Had he failed the test? What did she mean his choice was made? Was he meant to fall over the edge to pass the test? It almost seemed like Raquel had wanted him to die.

After regaining his breath, Jaden stood and followed her.

It took three days before he was able to catch up with Raquel. He had been running in the wrong direction, but just when he was about to give up, he had seen her walking parallel to him not far to his left. Once he had found her, he followed but purposefully trailed her by twenty yards. He needed more time to think, to reflect on all that she had said to him. She had considered that he might be able to help her, but he had not been ready. Her path was a path walked alone. He could not join her when what he wanted most was to be with Alyssa again. He was unsure how the test had come to be or whether it was even completely real. There was still pain in his right shoulder. The avalanche had been real, of that much he was sure. But if it were created by Raquel or she had simply used what she knew would happen to her benefit he could not tell.

Raquel was meditating on a ledge she had found at the edge of a lake, where there were no trees to block the final warmth of the day from the setting sun. Jaden approached her, looking over the water to see the golden light reflecting from ahead. He sat on the ledge and closed his eyes, waiting with her.

‘One may not always rely on another,’ she said after a moment. ‘There is a time when they must heal alone.’

‘How can one heal when there is nothing to heal for?’

She opened her eyes. ‘The water is peaceful. There is little that disturbs it on the surface. Below, it hides its scars. Throw a stone.’

Jaden searched about him and quickly found one he could throw. It made a splash as it landed twenty yards away.

‘The surface is troubled,’ said Raquel. ‘It will soon calm, with the stone now on its bed.’

‘More stones will be thrown,’ added Jaden. ‘Someday it will be filled with them.’