Scout scrambled to his feet. “Jimmy, it’s too late.” The words almost choked him on the way out. “Hunter’s gone. Let Catherine heal you, man.”
Jimmy stumbled two more steps and leaned on Scout. His body was on fire and sweat smothered Scout like Jimmy just climbed out of a hot bath in hell. Jimmy’s hands fumbled over Scout. “Take care of them, Scout. Get them all home safe. You’re in charge now.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jimmy shoved Scout into Catherine. Scout twisted in midair with the little girl in his arms. He fell hard with Catherine on top of him and without plowing his head into the concrete. His breath rushed out from the landing. He lay on his back, trying to suck in air and watched Jimmy lope sideways, zigzagging and staggering to the Escalade. Scout moved Catherine off and patted his pocket.
Scout looked up at Ginger who was standing there staring as her departing boyfriend reached the Escalade. “He’s got the keys!”
She snapped her attention at Scout and then whipped it back to Jimmy, who slid around to the driver’s side door and was struggling to open it. For a second, it appeared he wouldn’t be able to do it. Then he was inside and the Escalade’s engine turned over with a deep rumble.
“No!” Ginger sprinted for the Escalade and dove into the open back hatch as the big SUV lurched forward, crashed through a corner of the wooden fence and tore through the alley out of sight. Jimmy was gone.
Scout finally caught his breath, jumped to his feet and ran to the alley. The Escalade was nowhere in sight and with a squeal of tires, the roar of the engine quickly faded from earshot deep into the neighborhood. The surrounding space fell silent except for the singing of birds.
“Scout, we need you over here!” Molly yelled from the garage.
Scout ran back and found everyone huddled around Hunter’s body. Molly’s hands rested on the sides of Hunter’s head. Billy held one of Hunter’s hands and Raven held the other.
Catherine knelt next to Billy on the right side of Hunter’s chest. She glanced at Scout with her shoulders drooped and sorrow lining her face, but he saw the determination set in her blue eyes.
“Can you bring him back?” Scout asked.
“He’s not that far away yet. I need all of you to help me pull him back.”
Amidst the tears, everyone nodded. Scout took the open spot at Hunter’s feet again and grabbed hold. Losing two friends in one day was not an option he wanted to live through.
Light flowed from Catherine’s palms and Scout bowed his head. The little girl’s power spread beneath him and brightened in blinding intensity. He tightened his eyes shut as the radiance coursed through the garage and everyone within, crackling like a livewire, pulsing with energy and force.
Fearing for Hunter and especially for Jimmy, Scout did the only thing he could, no matter how little he thought it would help. He prayed.
Scout asked for forgiveness for his many wrong-doings, including his absence, and then he asked for blessings upon those around him, the two that had left, and those that were back in Independents, and finally he accepted God’s will. Amen.
The searing light hummed in a renewed crescendo, the vibration pressing against his eardrums. Once more, Scout felt the tug to his inner essence. His emotions tumbled out of control. He laughed hysterically without knowing why, and then felt crushed into the ground by grief. Unexpected sensations invaded him: the smell of summer flowers in a wide open meadow, the crunch of autumn leaves underfoot, the cold taste of winter snow on his tongue, and the patter of spring rain splashing around him. The pull of Catherine’s will, drawing more power nearly ripped him across Hunter.
Someone cried out, but Scout couldn’t be sure who. At this point, the cry could have come from any one of them as Catherine took what she needed to heal Hunter’s broken body so his spirit could return.
Hunter’s feet jerked with spasms like he’d been plugged into a socket. Scout thought about the things they had shared, the good and the bad, the many times they argued and fought, along with all of Hunter’s glorious crashes. They had lived through so much together, so many experiences. He wanted his best friend back and allowed Catherine access to everything he could spare to make that happen.
A final brilliant flash clapped like an up close supernova. Total darkness doused the light. Scout fell over exhausted and passed out.
Fourth of July
EPILOGUE
The motorbike raced beneath her, threatening to throw her off and she wrapped her arms tighter around Hunter. She faced the coming wind as the sun’s heat lathered her skin from up high. They climbed a hill that overlooked a green valley. A solitary tree stood tall in the mid-morning sunshine, casting its shade across the valley. Hunter rolled to stop.
Ginger drove up beside them in a yellow jeep with a rusty front bumper. Her seatbelt strapped low beneath her growing belly. Billy and Catherine were buckled in the back for safety and when Catherine saw her tree, she rocked forward like she was seized with an urgent need. If her power and ability allowed it, and Molly thought it just might, she would have teleported them the rest of the way.
“What are we waiting for?” Molly asked, shaking Hunter’s shoulders and sharing in Catherine’s eagerness.
Hunter twisted his head and nodded at Catherine.
She smiled at him and pointed. “That’s it! That’s it right there! Let’s go already!”
Hunter laughed and revved up his motorbike that drowned out the little girl’s pleading cries. He popped the clutch and guided the group the rest of the way before cutting the engine.
“Catherine, wait!” Ginger yelled. “We haven’t stopped yet.”
The little girl rushed past Hunter and Molly, bounding through the green grass like a deer heading for fresh berries. She hugged her tree and squealed. “Hello, tree! Did you miss me?”
Molly hopped off the back of the big bike. Hunter swung his leg over and removed his Ray-Bans with the scratched up lenses. The scratches were worse on the left side, but the eye was no longer there to make a difference.
Hunter walked over to the tree and threw his arms around it, pressing his cheek against the bark. “Hello, tree.”
Molly giggled. Her boyfriend had been changed by the events in Denver. She felt blessed for everyday they were together.
Catherine seemed very pleased. She hugged Hunter. “Thank you so much for bringing me here. I’ve missed my tree an awful lot.”
“I know. You’ve told me.” His face tightened and he hissed in a breath. “Be careful, I’m still not a hundred percent.”
Catherine released him and placed her tiny fists on her hips. “I wish you’d let me finish?”
“The pain helps me remember. I want to remember.”
Catherine wasn’t able to save his eye or the teeth that he lost in the fight. She did bring Hunter back from Death’s door and Molly was grateful for that. Nothing else really mattered, except for the price that Jimmy had paid a mile away in the front seat of the Escalade with Ginger in his arms. Hunter didn’t need the pain to remember. Molly guessed he wanted it so he didn’t feel the guilt. Jimmy wouldn’t have wanted that either, but Molly was having an impossible time convincing her stubborn boyfriend.
Ginger waddled over with Billy holding her hand, helping her on the uneven terrain. “Catherine, how many times do I have to tell you to wait until we come to a complete stop and I turn off the car before you unbuckle?” Ginger’s maternal instincts had shifted into overdrive when she found out she was pregnant.