Chapter 26
Su’So climbed out of a giant tree stump and onto the mountainside. He barely had his foot on the ground when a tiny hummingbird flitted about his face. “Enri? What is it?”
The little bird zoomed up to Zalee as she emerged and hovered just above her nose. “He says the void have split up and more Terovians have landed on Shasta. We must get past the tree line before them.” Zalee and Lyca led them over the rough terrain toward Shasta’s peak, taking extra care to stay hidden from sight.
“Enri is a bird? And you can talk to him?” Norm asked, pulling himself over a cluster of rocks.
“A hummingbird,” she corrected, “and we do not talk, but yes, we communicate.”
Norm nodded in approval. “Spying birds and secret passages. You gotta love home-field advantage.”
“It may be all that saves us in the end,” Zalee said somberly.
They moved at a brisk pace, Lyca leading the way, while Enri scouted the woods from overhead. The sun crept behind the western slope of the mountain. Still more than a few hours of light. Near the tree line, the climb became rougher, more treacherous, with deeper ditches and jagged ridges to navigate. Dylan and Norm’s sneakers were becoming more troublesome as they frequently slipped on the loose rocks. Despite their failing footwear, Zalee and the Menehune successfully guided their ascent over the tough stretch of ground.
Doing everything to avoid detection, the boys remained silent. Dylan, especially distant, stared at each plant, tree and rock, his awareness of the world transforming with each step.
“We are almost to the treeline,” Zalee said, bringing the group to a halt. “The shadows will be as dark as night in some places.”
“So, what happens after that?” Norm waved a hand in front of Dylan’s glazed eyes, trying to break his gaze.
“It will be a rocky climb, with no cover,” Zalee paused, her eyes drifting to Dylan. “And that is where the Scion must undertake his journey, alone.”
“What?” Dylan snapped out of his trancelike he was hit in the back of the head by a 2 by 4.
“You must travel alone from the tree line, Dylan.” Zalee recoiled, clearly uncomfortable with the idea. “I am sorry, but it is the way-”
“I’ll be dead before I get a hundred feet.” Dylan pointed toward the peak. “How can I up get there by myself?”
“You will not be alone,” Su’So chimed in. “You will have the mountain.”
“Dylan,” Zalee rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. “What have you learned since you arrived here?”
“I don’t know. It’s kinda hard to explain.” Dylan looked at his arms. “My skin’s been tingling since this all happened, but since I got here, everything’s been going crazy, all the way to my insides.”
“As we passed the trees, you stared at them. Why?” Zalee asked.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Dylan paused, his face reflecting a new, yet ancient, wisdom. “I could see how the trees were made. How they grew by taking in the light. I even see the trees that stood there before and dropped the seeds that grew into the ones that are here now. And the layers of the rocks, how they were once part of something different, but over time-”
“The binding is underway.” Zalee smiled. “The synchronicity is the connection between all that exists.”
“And what of the red glow you saw?” Su’So gestured with his staff. “It is the Earth’s chakra.”
“Chocolate?” Norm asked.
“Chakra!” Z’Keni snapped, correcting Norm’s persistent silliness. “It is a blooming flower upon the Om, the one who chose the Scion. It calls to you.”
“But no one can tell me how to find it or what to do, right?”
Zalee placed a hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “Only Adama has spoken to the Scions of their journey, and he has never repeated what they have told him.”
“Who’s Adama?”
“He is the Ascended One of Telos. The wisest of the Lemurians.”
“Then let’s go see him. Now!” Dylan demanded, storming toward the peak.
“We cannot. Time is still of the essence and-” Zalee’s amber eyes drifted. “He will be angry with me.” She gazed into Dylan’s eyes. “For helping you. I was not permitted to be outside the city. Nor can anyone bring surface dwellers to Telos.”
“Okay, well, the city’s probably too far, anyway.”
“Not really.” Zalee admitted flatly.
“Where’s the city?”
“We are standing on it.” Zalee looked down.
“There’s an entire city under us? Inside the mountain?” Dylan asked, pointing at the ground. “Seriously? Norm, you don’t have any smartass comments?”
“Nope, all out, man. This just gets weirder by the second.”
“Dylan, do not be angry.” Zalee smiled, touching his face again. “There is so much I wish to tell you. There are no secrets.”
“I’m not mad.” Dylan shrugged and shook his head. “I just don’t know how I’m supposed to save the planet. You all seem to have more faith in me than I do.”
“What do you have faith in, Scion?” Su’So asked, squeezing Dylan’s forearm.
“Max.” A gentle breeze blew through his hair, like fingertips rubbing his head when he was little.
“We all had faith in Max. Now it is time to have faith in yourself. Who would Max believe in?” Su’So tapped Dylan over his heart.
Dylan smiled, absorbing the truth of Su’So’s words. “I guess we have faith in each other.”
“We do.” Zalee took his hand in hers.
“I wouldn’t have come this far if I didn’t.” Norm extended his fist. Dylan returned the bump. The Menehune and Zalee joined the ritual, tapping their fists with the boys.
Smiles of hope stretched across their faces. Dylan’s confidence grew, yet somewhere deep within himself, something was still not quite right. An insecurity holding him back. Unable to put a finger on it, he knew something had yet to click fully.
Zalee moved close to Dylan, taking his hands in hers. “Our Scion.” The buzz rushed from his center when something rubbed his thigh.
“That’s Weird,” Dylan jumped.
“What is weird?” Zalee asked, slightly insulted at his choice of words.
“No, no, Zalee. It’s our friend. His name is Weird. Hold on.” Dylan pulled out the phone. “What’s up, man?”
“D-Max! I don’t know what’s going on there, but the satellites I told you about in the area just scrambled and died. I can’t believe the phone works.”
“What does that mean?”
“Either everything just coincidentally bit the dust or a massive EMP shockwave knocked them out.”
“But wouldn’t knocking out satellites draw attention?” Dylan wondered.
“Negative, Ghostrider. The system is linked on one program and a low priority one at that. I don’t think I’m gonna be much help, but I’ll keep monitoring stuff and let you know if I see anything.”
“Hey Weird, if they took out the satellites, how is the cell phone still working?” Norm challenged.
“The cell towers are still up, so we can talk, but I lost your GPS signal. Anyways, I’ll do what I can from here and keep everything I know on the down-low.”
“Thanks, Weird,” Dylan said, “we couldn’t have gotten this far without you.”
“No D-Max, thank you for trusting me and giving a cripple a chance to help. It really means a lot.”
“Weird, you’re not a cripple. You’re the only one who could have gotten us this far. You’re a hero.”
“Bro, listen, I’ll never be the hero, but I for some reason, I think I got to help a hero. You just gotta tell me everything when you get back! Good luck, bro!”
“Thanks, Weird. Later.” Dylan tucked the phone away and found Weird’s vote of confidence strangely uplifting. “Well, what are we standing around for, people? I got a mountain to climb.”