Chapter 7

Facing off

∞

“Well, well, well,” Decker said as he entered the clearing. “If it isn’t li’l miss walking stick!”

Tommy had started to try and figure out a way around entering their ambush. To him it seemed utterly ridiculous to knowingly enter an ambush point when you knew exactly where the ambush point was. Whitney pointed out to him, however, that it didn’t matter one way or the other. She explained to him that his earlier point still applied. They couldn’t outrun them, and if they tried to maneuver away from them it would only serve to make them even madder than they already were. It was actually smarter to just fall into their trap and hope they could out talk their adversaries.

“Leave us alone, Decker!” Riley commanded as the rest of Decker’s gang came out into the open. Every single one of them was armed with a Rattan Eskrima staff and every single one of them was closing in on them as if the small group were a feast.

“I’ll leave you alone, runt! As a matter of fact, you can even run along if you want,” Decker informed her. “It’s her I want,” he added pointing toward Whitney.

“Decker ... Man, she didn’t know what she was doing. She’s blind and deaf,” Jacob cut in.

“Shut the fuck up,” he said as he turned back to Whitney. He took a step forward and looked at her suspiciously. “Blind and deaf?”

“Yeah, man. She’s both blind and deaf. She didn’t even realize what she was doing. She just reacted to some unknown person trying to grab her!”

“Oh, well I didn’t know that. I guess I’m totally being a jerk and over reacting,” he said. He stepped slightly aside and waved his arm in an ushering motion as if he were allowing them to pass.

“You mean we can go?” Jessica asked.

“FUCK NO, YOU CAN’T GO! I’m not buying that blind and deaf bull shit! That bitch broke my nose and I’m gonna make her pay for it like I promised!” he said as he jabbed the end of his staff into the ground.

“Over my dead body,” Tommy said taking a step forward.

“Hey, fine! That can be arranged,” Decker said.

It was as Tommy made his statement and took his step forward that something changed in Whitney’s mind. The something that changed was inarticulate in its description and was signified to Whitney by one, lone brown leaf, and there was no doubt that it was driven by her sense of danger.

That one, lone brown leaf, twisting in the breeze, set against a backdrop of its green compatriots, all of which were doing their own twisting, as if they were having a secret argument, like a kennel of dogs barking for attention. That one, lone brown leaf, dancing on the end of its twig, hanging on for dear life, from a branch in its tree, like all of the other, greener leaves. Whitney’s mind (using Tommy’s vision and hearing) plucked the differing color of that single brown leaf, from its perch in the tree behind Decker, and she became aware of her awareness.

She wasn’t just aware of that one brown, dancing leaf. She was aware of every leaf on every tree that surrounded them, but it was more than even that. She was aware of every twig that lay carelessly around their feet, aware of every blade of grass that tickled every ankle that stood in the clearing, aware of every flinch on every face, and every subtle movement of every finger.

It wasn’t long before that Whitney had crossed the bridge by herself. She had been just as alone as that one brown leaf in her endeavor to cross, and her fear of crossing it and falling, had danced through her heart just like the leaves in the trees were dancing in the breeze, but all fear had left her. Fear was something she felt when she was at risk of humiliation, for her heart’s desire to make connections with other hearts, beat in her chest and in her mind.

But Whitney did not fear danger. She craved it.

“Wait!” Jacob cried out. “Did you mean it when you said that Riley could leave?”

Whitney was relieved to hear Jacob’s question, because his question was also a part of the plan that was beginning to form in her mind. The first step of that plan was to get everyone else out of that clearing.

But her reasoning for wanting them out wasn’t to keep them safe. They were in no danger and her heart knew that. They were as safe as babies in a nursery that was staffed with expert nurses, because they were with Whitney, and as long as they were with her no harm would come to any of them. She would make sure of that.

The reason that she wanted them out wasn’t to protect them from Decker and his gang. The reason she wanted them out was to protect them from what they would see if they stayed, and to protect her and Tommy’s secret. The secret of what they could do was still a sacred secret.

A smile crossed Decker’s face, brightening it temporarily, erasing the darkness that lie inside his heart, and disguising his intentions. “Yes,” he said genuinely. “All of you are free to go. All of you except for her.”

Whitney had no doubt that this part was true, because she could see the intelligence behind Decker’s eyes as easily as she could see that one brown leaf as it danced behind him, and over his shoulder. She couldn’t see his plans specifically, but she knew he had them, and she knew that if it were her that were in his shoes, she would want to minimize the risks--the fewer the adversaries inside of the clearing, the fewer the potential threats. He would allow the others to leave, but not because he had empathy for them.

“Go,” Tommy said to the others. He motioned to each of them individually, encouraging them to make like the trees that encapsulated them and leave.

Riley was the first to take flight. The fear in her eyes engulfed her face, making it look wider than it really was, as her feet began to move in wide sweeping strides, carrying her body along with them, increasing in their speed as she went. Whitney’s awareness stayed with Riley as she fled. She was prepared to react if she needed to. She was prepared to defend the girl that she was becoming fond of, but Decker kept his word and allowed her to go.