Transcending the Legacy Read Online Free PDF Page B

safely.
    The clanking sound of metal rubbing metal and pounding shoes hitting gravel is getting closer and closer. The lightning flashes long enough to see a light mist of fog being parted by a vague line of bodies moving toward us. I stiffen for a moment, remembering the last time I encountered dark shadows coming at me. It didn’t end well. The flash of light is quick and it’s illumination gone, leaving us in the darkness again. “I can’t see anything,” I say nervously.
    I feel Xander and Nate hovering close behind.
    Nate whispers, “Yes you can. Look closer, focus on their energy. Now, look in their direction. Do you see them?”
    Xander hisses, “I can’t see anything!”
    I do what Nate says and sure enough I see them, more than shadows, but less than clear figures. They have weapons; they must be soldiers. I whisper, “I see them. They are hazy, but I see them.”
    The movement of the other plane’s hatch opening catches my attention and I aim my focus to the other guardians exiting. Once again, I see the shapes moving from the plane and a cluster of equipped soldiers moving toward them.
    We each have two soldiers flanking us. One soldier stands in front of Sebastian facing us; he must be the one in charge. Just as I concentrate on his essence, his gruff voice commands us, “Hang out any longer and we will be swarmed. Let’s move. Stay close. Keep the line tight.”
    It ’s the same voice from the intercom on the plane. The soldiers around us grunt acknowledging his hushed command as we shuffle forward, clustered together in a pack.

 
    The air is thick like it was beyond the veil, breathable, but saturated. The pound of our feet on the gravel lacks the echo of an open space. It is strange because this is an open space. I slow for a moment, then widen my stride to keep the line tight. The tell-tale humming vibration stirs deep within me and sparks the pangs of nausea and vertigo instantly. I reach my arms out to hold onto something anything solid; Ezra’s shoulder in front of me is the closest thing to grab for. Immediately, he tries to turn and face me, but I squeeze his shoulder and push him on. “No, keep going.”
    “You alright?” asks the soldier to my right.
    I hold onto Ezra and close my eyes. Closing them helps with the dizziness sometimes. “They know we are here.”
    Nate’s voice is filled with caution now. “How close?”
    The soldier leading in the front calls back. “I’m sure they are watching us from the surrounding woods. We are about one hundred yards out. Let’s pick up the pace , boys. Not too fast not too slow.”
    The soldiers around us pick up their pace and we have gone from a brisk walk to a light jog, maintaining the tight formation.
    Elisha calls from behind, “Why not fast? The faster we move the sooner we are safe.”
    One of the soldiers bordering us scoffs, “The faster we move, the more fun the chase is for them. Slow is safe.”
    Nick gags, “Agh, what is that smell?”
    Another soldier on the line says, “Third Tuesday of the month. You will get used to it.”
    “Third Tuesday of the month. What does that mean?”
    There is no reply, just the sound of gravel deadening below our shoes and metal rubbing metal from the soldiers’ hand rifles.
    “We are here, open her up, now, now!” the lead soldier calls out into the darkness. We are in the middle of nowhere, we aren’t close to anything!
    The suffocating darkness is flooded with a bright white light growing wider and wider as a giant metal door opens. Seeing our goal in sight, our line moves quicker. The next wave of vibrations deep inside of me sets my entire body into a spasm; I wretch forward and stumble. Solid hands take hold of me from either side, keeping me from falling as I pinch my eyes closed until this wave of vertigo passes.
    “I’ve got you , Jes.”
    The warm whisper on my ear te lls me who kept me from falling. Nate. I take hold of his hands around my waist and squeeze them.