Page 11 of Cultivating Caden
Chapter 4
Caden was dreaming.That was the only explanation for the things he was seeing. He stood transfixed, watching himself being attacked, but the terror that he’d felt was absent. It was as though he was watching a movie with the action occurring onscreen, while Caden was an audience member. All that was missing was a big tub of buttered popcorn and a Coke.
The beating was savage. He wondered how anyone could survive it. Then came the plants. At first the trees swayed and creaked. Then branches lashed out, striking the attackers. Their howls of pain frightened him, but Caden couldn’t look away. Grasses, buttonbush plants, and other scrub flora released clouds of pollen, choking the men. They clawed at their throats, unable to breathe. When the tree branches wrapped around their arms and legs, Caden knew what was about to happen. Still, the sight of them being ripped apart made his stomach churn.
The leader was on his knees in front of Caden, begging for his life. When Caden stood, he looked different. His skin had taken on a greenish hue and his eyes glowed. Caden pointed at the man, and the trees responded, encircling him. His eyes went wide, until a branch pierced through them. His howls of agony scared the hell out of Caden.
Then, as if obeying an unspoken command, the trees tore the man’s arms off, which set the man off with unholy cries of pain and pleading. It was quickly followed by his legs. And when he hung there, blood spilling onto the earth, the tree yanked off his head and dropped it onto the hard-packed dirt with a wetthwack.
A noise to his left startled Caden, and he opened his eyes in time to see a young man, maybe twelve, sitting in a chair beside the bed, his hand on Caden’s forehead. Startled, he jolted up. “What the fuck are you doing?”
The young boy reared back, his eyes wide. He wrapped his arms around his chest and dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…. I couldn’t help it. You were dreaming and it hurt. I needed it to stop.”
Hurt? “What do you mean, it hurt?”
“When the man hit you, I felt it. He deserved what happened to him.”
Caden shook his head, trying to force himself awake. “Who are you?”
The boy gave a bright smile. “Tennyson. Most people call me Tenny or Ten.” He wrinkled his nose. “I hate Tenny, though.”
Caden was about to throw the covers off and get out of bed when he realized he was naked. “Ten, can you go into the other room?”
Tennyson giggled. “Okay.” He got up and moved slowly to the door. He stopped and turned around. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
As soon as he left, Caden got up and dressed. He went out into the living room area and found Ten sitting in front of the window, watching the night sky.
“You know that’s just a picture, right?”
Ten shook his head, so Caden decided he wasn’t willing to argue. If the freaky boy wanted to believe it was real, who was he to disagree?
“Did you want some water?”
Ten turned and looked at him. “There’s juice in your refrigerator. Top shelf, left side, behind the soy milk.”
“No, I don’t have anything.”
Ten sighed, got up, walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He rummaged around for a minute, then stood up, a bottle of orange juice in his hand. He opened the cabinet to the right of the refrigerator, took out two glasses, poured the juice, then put the bottle away before he went and handed one to Caden before he sat and chugged the other.
Caden could only stare at his visitor.
“This is good juice. You should drink it. Your body needs the energy.”
So many questions flitted through Caden’s mind, but he went with the most pressing one. “How the hel—eck did you get in here?”
Ten gave Caden a curious glance. “I asked the door to let me in.”
Right, of course.“Do you think the door would let me out?”
Ten turned his gaze on the door, cocked his head, and then looked back to Caden. “It says it’s not allowed.”
“It says it’s not allowed….” Man, this place was a funny farm. A lycan, a kid who talked with doors, and bruises that healed faster than they should. What the hell kind of place had he been dragged into, and why wasn’t he more freaked out about it?
“But it also says it doesn’t think it’s fair. It says you seem nice, and it wishes it could help, but it only follows orders.”
“And yet it let you in….” Caden couldn’t believe he was having such a surreal conversation.
“Sure. I asked nicely.” He pointed at the juice. “Are you going to drink that?”
