The Talon Family
Bloody Snow
January
Draft_2
By: Chase L. Currie
Raphael made a mental note to thanks his father for creating awesome, unbelievable items for them to carry on missions, like a self-forming tent for seven and the tent heated itself. With one push of a button of the box label ‘Best Tent Every,’ in the handwriting of Gabriel, popped up and started to build itself. Raphael stood back nodding his head wondering how his father came up with all these cool things.
He opens the tent door, pulling Gabriel into the room, and then zipped it back up. A little screen blinked to life on the door with a simple question. “Do you wish to cloak the tent?”
The wind of the storm knocked against the walls of the tent and Raphael doubted anyone would be looking for them now, but life in his family had taught him to be ready for anything. He pressed the icon which said yes and to him inside nothing change, but outside the tent’s walls matched the landscape around it.
He pulled Gabriel to the center rolling out a sleeping bag for her. He placed her in the bag removing her helmet, arm guards, and most of her leg guards. He wasn’t about to remove the pelvis armor or the chest armor, didn’t need to see that much of his sister. Once, everything was off he linked up to her suit to run a diagnostic on her injuries. The suits told him she had a creaked arm, three broken ribs, and a mild case of hypothermia from the water. The suit and rest were trying their best to combat her injuries and all Raphael could do was hope for the best.
He unplugged from her took all his armor off down to his legs and dug out some food for them. A day later and hours of silences Gabriel came to asking how long she had been out. He told her handing her some water and then went back to reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
“Anything happens?” She asked sitting up in pain.
“Nope, just the storm.”
“It should have passed by now,” Gabriel told him.
“Yeah but too bad we don’t know anyone who has weather powers,” he countered.
“That would be nice.”
“Sure, would.”
“I guess we rest for a bit,” she said, “and then try to find the base.”
“I was thinking the same,” he told her sitting the book down. “I tried to link up to the GPS but nothing. However, I did find something.” He reached over picking up his helmet to cut it on. A moment, later a loud beeping sound came from inside it. “A beacon from the base, I think.”
“Why would they need one?”
“In case they sent out patrols,” he said. “They could find their way back or something else. I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s from the base. I double checked the maps we have, and it seems to be coming from the right direction.”
Gabriel sighed in pain and smiled at him. “Good work.”
“I’m not a dog,” he said cutting his helmet off and sitting it down.
“Sorry.”
“Get some more rest,” he orders returning to his book but back to his thoughts on where his life had ended up.
She laid back down looking up at the tent dance in the wind happy the warmth was keeping the cold at bay. “When we get back I’m going to take a very long bath,” she said.
“That does sound nice,” he said.
“Raphael,” she said softly.
“Yes, Gaba?” he asked.
“I need you to come back to the family,” she told him. “I need my brother around more.”
“I’m still here.”
“No, you are not,” she said. “You have one foot inside your head and the other already out the door, but we, I, need you.”
He didn’t say anything to her for a long moment. She sat up a little to see him staring at her and then he calmly asks, “You ever get tired of the secrets?”
“What secrets?” She asked.
“The ones we keep from each other,” he told her, “but most of all the ones we keep from the world.”
She rose an eyebrow at him and asked, “You keep things from me?”
“Of course, I do,” he said with a sly grin, “just like you.”
“I nev---”
“Lance in New York?” He asked knowing what happens there and how big of a mistake it was for her. A mistake so big she couldn’t bring herself to talk about with him at all. He understood and didn’t mind it. There were things they couldn’t tell each other. It was a part of being a family. Sometimes, it was nice to have a life outside of each other and to have their problems. The family was there when the problems became too much, and you need somewhere to rest or someone to help, there lies the truth of family.
“I’m going to kill Helbis,” Gabriel said with a flat stare.
He chuckled a little. “But do you get tired of keeping them from everyone?”
“I don’t know, guess I don’t think about it.”
“Really?”
“Who are keeping things from?” She asked.
He shook his head and rubbed his jaw. “One of my college entry exams asked me to write about a life-changing event that happens over the past year,” he said. “I couldn’t write about the convent of witches we had to fight or the madman who created genetically modify killer octopi to take over the world. I couldn’t mention the endless terrorist organizations we had to stop over the year. What was I going to write about the endless missions me and my family go on? That we work for a cover Ops army stopping the world from ending or how about the fact my whole family has superpowers. I stare blankly at the paper, and every time one of the exams asked me these questions I skipped it.”
“Well, why didn’t you lie?” She asked.
“Because of tired of lying,” he said. “I lie to the few number of friends I have about everything. I have lied to every girlfriend I have ever had about my life, about our lives. I couldn’t bring myself to write a lie on any of those papers.”
He sighed sitting up a little. “I’m stuck here,” he said. “I want some much more for life, and all I have is the mission and another mission after that. Is this it? Is this all we have now? Is this my lot in life?”
“I understand this life can be hard,” she said listening to the wind, “but we do things most people can’t and we ---”
“I know, I know,” he stopped her from saying it and instead said it for her, “we have a responsibility to do good with our powers. To be angels for someone like mom would always say.”
“Raphael,” Gabriel said sitting up more and said, “I’m mad at you for making me sound like our mother, but …”
He smiled because there was always a but with Gabriel.
“You could run off to a new life,” she said, “none of us would stop you, but you wouldn’t be happy there either.”
He shot her a hard look.
“You would feel stuck there in a matter of no time,” she explained, “because it’s not life you are unhappy with, it is yourself.”
He went to say something, but his jaw locked at the truth of it all.
“I don’t know why,” she said. “I do know you are an amazing person like no one else on this earth. You are my best friend and one of the best guys I know. So, I don’t understand why you hate yourself but find a way to let it go and come back to us.”
He didn’t say a word he looked away as she laid back down telling him, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said thinking to himself about the line from the Bible; “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” He understood it now more than ever, all the secrets and lies about his mother was eating him alive and there was nothing he could do it about it. He hated knowing it. He hated the idea of her blood running through his veins. He wasn’t sure how to overcome hating his mother for the things she did in a life before him. Her sins washed over him no matter how hard he tried to clean it off and most of all, he couldn’t share the stain with any of his family. He had to keep it all to himself for them. He couldn’t bear the idea of changing the image of their mother for them. She had to stay an angel in their minds, no matter what happens to himself.
“I love you too,” he said opening his book once more.
(Writer’s Notes: The thing I debate with most about this part of the story was how to make the characters feel like they were stuck in their lives. I admit it something I have been battling with as of late, and I know, a good writer would write about the storm after it passed, but the need to work through the emotions is needed in the story. Not that I worked through it nor had them either.
For both Gabriel and Raphael, along with all the Talons fighting supervillains or saving the world is nothing new to them. In fact, it happens so much with them it becomes a part of their lives, and they have become dull to the everyday need of it. Which I believe it an understandable place to be in if any of us saved the world daily or weekly it would become commonplace. For most of us, anything that becomes common loses a little of its awe until it is gone, or something wakes us up to it. This feeling is a part of the theme I’m running with for Raphael. Another part is what does one do with secrets about other family members, a member who is dead and gone? I’m not sure Raphael knows what to do or how to handle the situation he has been placed in with his mother. I don’t think any of us would know what to do and he is doing the best he can with it.
But the theme with his mother is not going to come to a head in these short stories. I have planned the next Talon novel around that theme, alright outline the story and everything so you will have to wait.)
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