Page 2 of Desert Wind

“So cool!” said Garrett. “Water, wind, animals, and speed. We’re superheroes!”

“But,” hesitated Nash, “superheroes aren’t real. Something is wrong with us. Should we tell our folks?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Gage. “It’s probably nothing, and it will go away soon. Besides, our mom hasn’t been feeling so good lately, and I don’t want to make her worse. She gets real upset easy.”

“Yeah. Yeah, maybe, but if it doesn’t go away soon, we have to make sure we have a pact. No one tells anyone what’s happening with us. No one. If they find out, we could all be in trouble,” said Nash. The other boys all nodded, linking pinky fingers and swearing their secrecy to one another. “We’d better get back before someone realizes we’re gone.”

Only someone did realize they were gone because the boys were being watched at all times and didn’t know it. Cameras hidden in the forest and anywhere that the boys might travel had been placed all over the base. They had no idea that every move was being observed.

It was only three weeks later that Garrett, Griffin, and Gable left. Worse, they hadn’t even said goodbye.

“Why are they gone?” asked Nash, trying to hold back tears.

“Son, their father was needed somewhere else. The base packed them up and moved them to another location with very little notice. It must have been very, very important for them to do it so quickly,” said his father.

“It’s not fair!”

“I know,” said his dad. “Being a military child is hard. I promise we’re going to be here for a while. I’ve been told that I’m needed here a while longer.”

They did stay at The Depot a while longer. Almost four years before his father was transferred to Arizona. By then,Nash knew that something was terribly wrong. His mother was sick and not getting better. His father was losing weight. And Nash was more powerful than ever.

Something deep inside was telling him that he couldn’t trust anyone. Not even his parents.

About once a month, two soldiers would come to the house to have dinner. He watched as his parents appeared to be uncomfortable with their presence. They rarely spoke to them, and the soldiers didn’t bother to speak either.

Usually, he was given a pass on dinner if there were adults in the house. But these men wanted him at the table, and his father agreed. Nash didn’t like it. They seemed to watch everything he did.

By the time he was a senior in high school, he knew he was being observed both near and far. His mother had died of an unknown cancer, and his father was planning to retire as soon as Nash graduated.

Nash was ready to strike out on his own and join the Marines. Much to his father’s disappointment, he didn’t want anything to do with the Army.

For their final senior outing, their entire class went on a camping trip to Fossil Creek Waterfall. The girls were on one side of the camp, the boys on the other. But that didn’t stop Nash from speaking to the only girl he’d ever had a crush on.

Jenna Brooks was tall, pretty, sweet, and considered one of the ‘good girls.’ She didn’t cuss. She didn’t drink. And she didn’t seem to date at all. One of the things that appealed to Nash was that Jenna rarely wore makeup. She dressed conservatively and just seemed to be an all-around good person.

They spent two days laughing, joking, and hiking. When one of their fellow hikers came up missing, the group spread out to try and find her.

Josie Stevens couldn’t swim, and for some reason, Nash just knew that’s where she would be. He could feel it in his bones that water was the place he would find Josie.

He ran toward the reservoir and could see her arms flailing beneath the surface. Checking his surroundings, he felt that he had to do this. The risks were huge, but he couldn’t let the girl drown.

With a sweep of his arm, he parted the water, pushing it to the side like the parting of the Red Sea.

Poor Josie coughed and sputtered, gasping for air.

“Josie! Here, hurry!” he said, waving at her.

She crawled through the muddy floor of the reservoir and made her way up the bank to dry land. Releasing the water, Josie didn’t even seem to notice that it had been dry for a moment, then filled once again.

“Oh my gosh! What happened?” she said, still coughing.

“I don’t know. You must have fallen into the reservoir. It wasn’t very deep where you were. You struggled a bit, but you were able to walk out by yourself. You were very brave.”

“I-I walked out?” she frowned. “No. No, I don’t think…”

“It’s okay. Everyone is looking for you. Let’s go.” As they made their way around the bend, Jenna Brooks was standing there smiling at the two of them.

“You found her!”

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