Page 19 of Dark Flame

“That’s all unless some of the eight have died since I saw the records. The others all either killed themselves or were killed.” Kane nodded and looked away for a moment and nodded at Mary to continue.

“Valentina is thirty-two. She has the ability to make anyone fall in love, or hate. And last, but certainly not least, isIsobel.” Kane looked at the tiny dark-haired woman huddled against the man called Garrett. Large sunglasses covered her eyes. “Isobel’s family didn’t know how to handle her, so they removed her eyes as a child.”

“Christ! Why would they do that?” asked Flip.

“She isable to send a laser-like pulse that can literally rip holes through ten-inch-thick steel. The problem is it wasn’t her eyes. It’s herability to hear and sense the dangerthat was her gift. It’s as if she sees and hears it and then can focus on whatever it is that needs to be her target. I suppose, in your terms, the eyes act like a surface-to-air missile. Although I don’t really understand that either. The eyes were just the tool. Despite her parents’ actions, her eyes actually still function; she can see. She has glass eyes in but can still see even without the optic nerves or vessels.”

“Fascinating,” said Adam and immediately regretted it. The young woman smiled. “I’m sorry, Isobel. That was cruel of me, and I didn’t mean to be cruel. It’s just, well…”

“It’s okay, Doc. I know you meant it from a medical point of view. Maybe you can find a way to tell me why these still work,” she said, removing her sunglasses. Adam smiled at her and nodded.

“That’s our little band of misfits.” Mary stepped closer to Kane. “We’re tired of running, Kane. We heard that you took out Moore, and we’re more than grateful, but we need a place to rest, recover, and hopefully regroup to hunt down the woman.”

“You know about her?” asked Kane.

“We do. We all do. At one time or another, she was hunting all of us and trying to experiment on us. We want her taken out. We’ll do whatever you ask. We need a leader.”

“You look like you’ve done okay on your own, Mary,” said Kane admirably.

“She’s done an amazing job,” said Gable. “She’s the strongest woman I know, and not once did any of us ever try to take her place. That should speak volumes to you, sir.”

“We really are a band of misfits, aren’t we?” said Adam, grinning at the group before them.

“How long have you all been running?” asked Kane. Aislinn, Fiona, Melanie, and Nat all were moving around the yard now, handing out plates of food and hot coffee.

“I’ve been running for almost thirty years. The others? Anywhere from ten to twenty years. All were children at the Depot at one time or another.”

“I know you,” said Nat, staring at David and then Griffin, “and you.”

“We were older than you,” said Griffin. “I didn’t think you’d remember. But yes, we were there at the same time. Obviously, so were Garrett and Gable, but they pretty much stuck together. We remember Fiona was there as well.”

“She was?” said Nat, scrunching her nose. “I don’t remember seeing Fiona,” said Nat.

“She was gone before you arrived, Nadine,” said David. “It was almost like they didn’t want more than three or four kids there at any one time. We all overlapped at some point, but I don’t think they could control more than a few at a time.”

“We’ve also discovered that the girls typically identified their gifts earlier than the boys. Most of the boys didn’t see the gifts until puberty. The girls usually as young as five or six.”

Mary took a sip of coffee, and Ben reached out to hold her plate for her. She smiled up at the ruggedly handsome guard who escorted them in. She could sense that he was not ‘one of them,’ yet something about him was pulling her in.

“How do we know you aren’t working for Karena?” asked Adam.

“I guess you don’t, except that if we wanted you dead, with our abilities, you’d all be dead,” said Mary. “Just know that we all want what you want; we want her gone as well. All of the men here served in the military, Kane. Every one of them. Some were even Special Forces but had to hide their gifts. I would think they possess skills you can use. We know about Moore’s desire to create an army, and we want to be a part of the right army. An army that will put our gifts to good use. We’ve been waiting for a true leader, and I think you’re it, Kane.”

Kane nodded and paced back and forth in front of the rag-tag group. He couldn’t turn them away. They were all like him, like them. Now faced with so many, where would they stay? How would they feed them all? As if knowing his thoughts, Spook walked up to him.

“Remember, we have all that money I transferred,” he said with a smile. “Everyone here can still have their place. We have plenty of money for food and clothing. We could use tents as temporary housing until the cabins are constructed. I don’t mind bunking with others until it can all be done.” Kane nodded at his friend, appreciating the advice and the selfless actions.

“Alright, everyone can stay. Mary? I want to meet with you, Hawke, and Nash since you’re the oldest of the group. We’ll figure out where everyone sleeps later. Ashley and Isobel? You go into town with Nat and Fiona. Get whatever clothing you all need. We have an account big enough for everyone. If anyone needs medical treatment, let Doc know.”

“Only Regan and Ivy need assistance. Regan has been getting severe headaches since absorbing the data from the ranch, and Ivy has a terrible rash on her back.” Doc nodded and pointed the way inside the cabin.

Kane stared at the group of people standing around the cabin. The sun was up behind them, the crisp air starting to warm a little. All these years, he’d thought he was the only one. Then he met Adam, Flip, and Spook and knew there were at least a few more. When Aislinn fell into his lap, he couldn’t believe there were still more. Then it was Fiona and Kat. So many children, now adults.

“Okay, let’s figure this out.”

CHAPTER TEN

“Kane, are you sure about these people?” asked Spook. “I mean, that’s a lot of skill out there that could wipe us all out in a heartbeat. Laser eyes? Are you fucking kidding me?”

---