Jaxson, Noah, and Troy began laughing. “This isn’t a video game,” Troy finally said. “There’s no boosting.”
“But-but I’ve worked with him before, and he’s never been able to lift his shield, let alone carry people in it,” Michael stuttered.
“They’re connected,” Terrance shot his team member an annoyed look. “I’m sure you’ve heard of people becoming stronger through their connection.”
Michael mumbled something, clearly embarrassed.
I reached over and patted his shoulder with a smile. “It’s okay. I’m learning too,” I whispered.
He gave me a grateful smile.
“Now!” We barely heard the yell on the other side.
“We’re good,” Jemmy yelled, her voice clearer now.
Drake dropped his hands down to his side. “She makes me stronger,” Drake confirmed as he gave me a level look.
I smiled at him as I heard an angry huff behind us. I didn’t have to turn to know Rose had walked closer.
It was nearing eleven by the time we hoped were encountering our last obstacle. We were all getting exhausted. I was regretting only eating a banana at breakfast that morning, and my sleepover. Okay maybe not my sleep over—that was worth the lost sleep—but I was definitely exhausted and hungry.
The moment we got close to the obstacle, some of our team started crying or screaming.
I was struck with an immense feeling of loss and fear as I looked down at the water. Its depth was unfathomable and wide, but there were rocks jutting out that we could walk on. What was concerning were the large creatures under the water’s surface.
“It’s an illusion,” Jaxson said as tears rolled down his face.
“They’re going to eat us!” John screamed as he turned to run in the opposite direction.
I blinked for a moment, something wasn’t right. I could feel it deep in my bones. Realization dawned as I felt the presence above me. I just couldn’t see them.
“Stop!” I yelled. “John, come back,” I commanded him.
He resembled a cat that was about to get a bath. He was coming back, but utter terror was in his eyes.
I walked over to Jace and Jaxson and grasped both of their hands. “There’s an empath, instilling fear and sadness in us and an illusionist making us believe there are…river monsters?” I explained to them as chaos reigned around us.
Jace nodded, seemingly unaffected by the other empath. Did that make him stronger?
He smiled down at me and caressed my cheek. “I can’t feel it,” he whispered, confirming my belief.
“Let’s do this,” I said with determination. I knew with a group our size it would require all three of us working together. Jace and I pushed the feelings of comfort and warmth towards Jaxson and waited for him to get himself together.
“Holy crap,” Jaxson muttered as he wiped his face. “Now I wish I hadn’t snitched on you,” he looked at Jace. “I forgot what that felt like.”
Jace started chuckling as he turned to explain to me. “When he annoyed me as kids, teens even, I use to torment him with fear. He told Dad, and I was grounded for a month. I had to skip the homecoming dance that year,” he said with mock bitterness.
I giggled imagining that. Jax would have tried to push his older brother’s buttons. He would have wanted to be included in everything. I could see the older guys wanting to have time to themselves. Jace had a lot of patience, but even he had limits.
“Ready?” I looked at them with a smile.
“When you are,” they said in unison.
I closed my eyes and gripped their hands. I immediately felt the warmth filling me. I swore I heard the scampering of the squirrels nearby, and the birds singing above, like they were inches from me. I felt the breeze caress me. I smelled the water, dirt, leaves. The breeze caressed my skin. All my senses were so acute, so sensitive.
“Now,” I barely whispered as I felt us connect.
It was like I was transported out of my body. I was hovering above us. I could finally see what it looked like when we used our connections together. It was so surreal. I felt like I was dreaming. I saw the glow that encompassed us. We looked like we were nearly transparent.
My team seemed to snap out of it as trendils of gold crept across the dying leaves and twined around them. One by one, comprehension dawned on their faces. They looked over at us with a combination of gratitude, awe, and surprise before they turned and began to cross the water. Jumping or hopping from rock to rock.
My heart was warmed when I saw how well they worked together. We had proven that, time and time again this morning. We hadn’t argued. We hadn’t belittled anyone, even when some of us came up with some far-fetched solution to an obstacle. When someone fell behind, someone else would drop back and encourage them. When someone stumbled, someone was there to catch them before they fell.
The empath and illusionist had done a number on them. They had already been physically exhausted, so they were more susceptible to the empath. After five minutes under their influence, they were now emotionally exhausted, but our bond wasn’t severed. My team was still working together.
Rachel, Jemmy, and Marcel were having difficulty jumping to some of the rocks. Marcel and Rachel, because they had shorter legs and Jemmy because endurance wasn’t her strength yet.
I watched the last person cross and dropped my hands. If I was exhausted before, now I was damn near comatose. I had used my gifts too much today. I tried to allow others on the team to use their gifts when they could, but sometimes there was no way around it. Rachel, Jemmy, and John were part of the team, but none of the obstacles required them to use their gifts of energy manipulation and fact detection.
“I got him,” Jace said with concern as we came back to the clearing in front of the river.
I smiled at him in appreciation, knowing he was going to help Jaxson cross. The rest of our team were across at a safe distance, cheering us on as the other team came into the clearing.
They had been in high spirits for the first few obstacles, but as the day wore on they had begun to snipe, yell, and disparaged each other. This race had been an eye opener for me. I knew now which teams I would never want to work with and which individuals came up short. We hadn’t seen quite a few teams, so I had a feeling they weren’t taking their training seriously, or they lacked the motivation or endurance needed to be an excellent agent.
“Come on, Blake!” Jemmy encouraged me.