Part Three

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*Amir*

As the small group of us walk away from the ones staying in the SUV, we heard Liberty yell, "Please be careful," pleading for our safety.

Luna nodded.

"It's okay," she said as she spun around to face our family. Then she roamed around me and stood at my side.

"Stay close," I told her.

She smiled as I watched Colin navigating between cars. "I'm not sure where to start." Pausing, she bit down on her lip. "I'm not able to feel anybody."

"It'll come to you," Colin said, facing her.

Luna looked at me and started laughing. "Are you suddenly not wanting to go through with this?" She read my thoughts.

I grinned wryly. "There's no turning back now. It's been a while since War, so this one will just be added to another one of my many battles."

And it will. Colin stepped up to a car in the emergency lane with many people who were sitting in chairs with the Dallas Cowboys logos on them. Some had phones in their hands and kept eying the barricade at the start of traffic.

"How should I do this?" Luna asked, nibbling on her lower lip.

I had to praise her. I had to worship the ground she walked on. She was being so brave and cautious, but I could sense her soul shaking and how nervous she truly was. She kept eying the line of cars up the road, hoping we weren't found, and I could feel her weariness about wanting to go further. But she was staying strong, and I was in awe of her.

"How do you want to start this?" I asked her, drawing her attention. "You have the power, and whatever you feel, I can feel too."

Her eyes lit up. "And I love that feeling."

"All right, no need to get kinky right now. We'll have our fun when we escape this circus."

"Hm. Don't talk about the circus. I haven't used all my tricks with you, yet, Mr. Khan."

I giggled. That's my Luna: my life partner who I'll cherish until my dying breath.

Colin and Darren stood next to a group and began talking to them. I tensed as I saw a few people turning to see the commotion. Then many just stayed still, watching two crazy men talk about connecting to each other telepathically. Colin stood around the back of one car and told the group of people to pick a number from one to ten, and one man said six, so Darren projected his spirit next to Colin to show them how real they were. Then Raul ran over and joined in.

It felt like time had frozen when several more questions and answers were floating between mouths, and one wanted to know something deeper. He wanted answers to our species, and that was something none of us could provide. We didn't know where we originated from. Not yet, anyway.

Darren then said something and Colin heard it, and that shocked the group.

I heard Luna's breath hitch. This group is believing us.

Then we saw our duo move over to the other car in front of them, repeating the same act. Shouts of applause were heard, and several people honked at them, clearly not interested in whatever they were selling. Motorists gawked inside their vehicles, while some dropped their jaws in disbelief.

Luna felt a dizzy spell and collapsed into my arms. "Baby, baby, what is it?"

"I... feel... them. Pure-pure souls."

Damn. Okay. Now onto a different plan, if I had one. "Where are they?"

Colin and Darren looked over our way and dashed toward us. "What's going on with Luna?" Darren asked. Raul stood on the other side of me and helped her up.

"She feels Pure Souls."

"Four. Maybe eight." Luna's breath was unsteady.

"What do we do?" Colin asked. "We tried to open it up over there."

"We know."

The people who thought we were messing around marched over to us. Then Luna's eyes widened, and she pointed at two guys next to each other. Everyone went quiet.

One guy stepped forward. "Why is that woman looking at me like I have extra arms? She's looking at my best friend like he's sick. Who are you people?"

"I'm sorry," I said, standing up. I nodded for Faisal to prepare to do any tests needed. "My wife and I have a gift. We can see people who are like us, telepathic, before their powers manifest. She doesn't mean any harm, but she can sense the aura between you and your friend."

"Which is?" he pondered, clearly not dismissing what we were feeding him. If that was me and I didn't have my powers, I'd be freaked.

"You two are linked. You're tethered. Paired. You'll have powers soon to communicate telepathically." Wow, my baby straightened up and said that like a champ. I was proud of her.

Faisal looked over at me and nodded with his chin. Then he spoke up to the group. "Look. I have a testing kit that will determine if you're like us. A tethered soul. That means you're part of a hidden species, and we can connect telepathically."

"We know that, dude, but I don't know how my best friend and I are paired? We don't see each other that way. We're straight."

"Our species pair souls. It's not always about a love connection," Darren explained. "Our species is supposed to help one another, and this traffic is the reason we need help. Those men in uniforms are searching for four of us to experiment on us. And then they'll look for anyone else who tests "positive" for a specific gene. That's why my friend and I wanted to shed some light."

The two men looked at each other and back at him. "Are you and that man paired?" They pointed to Colin.

Colin and Darren shook their heads. "No," Colin said. "My wife and son are in Japan, hiding from them, and I only met Darren a few weeks ago. He and I are tethered to different people. I am paired with his wife, Sue, who is in our car a few feet back. And Darren is paired with her—Cami."

"But how do you know my best friend and I are paired souls?" the man continued, his baseball cap falling off his red head.

"Because..." Luna said, stepping forward. "You have a link that I can feel, see, and connect you two. I can see people who are linked for life. I know little about my ability, and I loathe it, but I have to put up with it. And my daughter is back there, with my family and friends, fearing for our lives. If you take the test and it shows positive, then you'll know you're like us. This will be the biggest test you ever have to take."

"All right." The man stepped back with his small group of people. "You people are crazy."

"No," I said in a stern voice. But somehow, in the back of my mind, I felt this urge to do something I didn't even know would work. I took Luna's hand, and we stepped back an inch. Glancing around at our group and the rest of theirs, I said in a deep voice, "Watch."

Standing between cars, holding our hands together, I told her telepathically to let her aura soar, and that's what we did. Somehow, on this evening, our bodies glowed. A pure white light with our edges tinged with gold beaconed under the dark sky, forcing everyone all around us to look this way.

I heard several people swearing, and our group kept staring at Luna and I like we were two aliens
who descended to Earth. But the thing is, I didn't know how I knew to do this. I never read about it. I just felt it in my soul to hold her hand and glow. Maybe that was part of my "light" side, and this was a way our powers magnified.

After a few moments of staying like this—and I could have sworn we were lifted off the ground a few inches like we were a set of witches or something—all that I heard were people shuffling around. 

Silence.

People must have been amazed. We kept our eyes closed and just held onto one another like something could split us apart any moment now. Man, I couldn't sworn I heard a frog hopping somewhere. That's how quiet it was. Then, somehow, we slowly brought our bodies down to the ground.

A second later, a thunderous applause drowned out my comment I made to Luna, but luckily for our connection, she still heard me. Luna and I are still glowing like we had a nuclear weapon in our bodies and people were cheering?

Faisal chuckled as he stepped closer to us. "I take it that they've seen weirder stuff on the planet."

Yeah. Great. That doesn't do us any good. Though, he had a point.

Several people started taking pictures of us, and I rolled my eyes. Seriously? I guess that was to be expected. Glowing like a light bulb and everything.

"Wow." Luna turned to me. "We didn't just do that. I don't understand how that happened."

"It's because you two are Pure Souls. You are light, Amir, and Luna is dark." Colin glanced around at the group of men who questioned us. "What do you want to do about them?"

"Take their tests, if they're willing, but we need to act fast," I told him. "And Faisal, explain their powers to them and the species when it shows positive. They won't know what to think after today."

"How did you know you'll do that glowy worm thing?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Honesty, it felt like something surged through my skin and told me to sparkle."

"Well, being the dynamic duo we are, of course we'll sparkle," Luna said, winking at me. I giggled and kissed her deeply in front of the crowd. I needed her kisses. But then, we started glowing again, and it almost felt like we couldn't turn it off. I didn't want to.

"Okay. Guys, we need to go," Colin ushered us. My wife and I pulled away and walked with the group back to where they stood. "Just so you two understand, Pure Souls are able to do wonders together. And the unity oath was just the beginning. Your instincts will soon kick in, and you'll know what to do next."

Faisal walked back over to the crowd and the two men agreed to take the test. I saw them smile and give each other chest bumps like they just won a prize of some sort after getting their results, and then one guy asked about their gift. My cousin described what was to be expected, and many others asked to come forward and have a test taken. So Faisal spent a few minutes letting the ones who stood in his line know their genes. Some were disappointed to learn they were negative, while others smiled and thought it was fantastic to be positive. But they didn't realize the issues that our kind go through on a daily basis.

They'd understand soon enough.

Colin and Darren both grinned and looked for others whose aura they could both feel. Then Luna and I did our act again, glowing for the crowd. Off in the distance, I could hear a helicopter moving. No doubt one was coming our way after flying toward the back of traffic. Things were about to become very real in a matter of seconds.

Unease grew among the motorists and their passengers, becoming thicker than the humidity in the air. It seeped into us, making my skin feel itchy as I let myself glow for a few more minutes. Now I understood why Pure Souls were special; we had the power to feel non-tethered souls. This could enlighten a few folks.

Like someone pressed the pause button on a remote, everyone around us stopped and stared. I was the Star to my Moon. Their hands were clenched on their phones as they snapped away, making me feel like some kind of celebrity. The crowd's expressions kept changing from surprise to confusion as some continued to gaze at us in awe. Many were exchanging glances and wondered what to do. I could sense their curiosity intensifying at the discovery of a new species. Then some moved away from us, but they couldn't get far between the blocked cars.

We needed to do something bigger.

Faisal's voice filtered into my thoughts while we stayed like light bulbs. 'I'm going to take out that highway sign.'

'Make sure no one is nearby,' I replied.

Faisal stepped back and brought up the blaster that he had in his hand, then aimed it toward the sign. He gently pulled the trigger, and the sign that said Downtown Dallas was forty miles away was now gone. That's when people got the hint that we weren't putting on some side show. This wasn't some optical illusion to stand around and point at, either. We meant business, and we needed a way to keep going. And they may not have understood what was going on, but their human instincts kicked in quickly. And now the party really begun.

It all became about getting away from the strange couple who's shinning brighter than the moonlight. I quietly laughed, thinking of how my Moon feels glowing next to me. People started scurrying like ants and jumping back into their cars, dashing away like someone scared them to death. Some people streamed away from the highway and ran toward the tall trees as they looked for shelter, and some were so rampant, they kept falling over each other like they couldn't get away quickly enough. Luna and I stopped our glow act and began walking toward our group.

But the crowd kept rushing forward, tumbling on top of us. The entire highway was now littered with people running in many directions, scared out of their wits. For a split second, I lost sight of Moon.

I rushed forward, parting the crowd running near me like the Red Sea. Their loud screams were already annoying me to death. It was like a bad buzz clinging next to my ear.

"Moon!"

Her answer was faint, but it was inside my head and near my ear. "I'm beside you!"

She stumbled around a small group who were frozen in front of us. They saw our Glow Show, I take it. "I think we got their attention. Let's make a run for it."

"That's what I'm thinking." I held her hand in mine and welcomed the intense spark that flowed from her skin to mine.

Our group appeared back on the other side of us, and Faisal looked around, noticing many cars moved out of the way. "We should move the others, right? We can't get through."

Good idea. We'll blow them up. They were left abandoned and taking time to jump in and turn the engine on would slow us down. We had a few rocket launchers from our hospital escapade. We just needed to keep Moon and everyone safe.

I brought my attention on a line of cars in front of us within the four lanes, vehicles ranging from luxury cars and ones on their last leg. I wouldn't mind taking one of the luxury ones with us.

Colin walked over to one of the BMWs and jumped in behind the driver's seat. A helicopter passed over us, and we saw that they were searching through the crowd of people darting into the forest.

"I'll move this car. You guys work on the others," Colin said, driving a car off the street. We had about twenty more cars left, and then we would have enough space to run.

So each of us ran back to the Hummer and grabbed a rocket launcher. Then we grabbed any weapon that could be of use. Walking back to the line of cars, we blasted car after car out of the way after Raul and Cami stood on both sides to confirm there wasn't anyone inside them.

Then we heard a baby in one car, screaming loudly. Luna rushed over to the car and picked it up, holding it to her chest. "How could anyone abandon their baby?"

"I don't think the parent's were paying attention." I turned back to the group with weapons in their hands. "Don't forget to check the front and back seats as well as the trunk. We don't know if anyone was kidnapped and got stuck in this traffic."

"True," Cami murmured. "But we'll continue to do those cars that we checked and leave the doors open. That shows the car is empty."

"Good plan. What's the progress with the SWAT team?" Faisal asked.

"They're all in the forest and looking through the trees for us," I said, standing next to my wife and the baby. God, I couldn't wait to grow our family. Having a baby with Moon was my dream.

"I'm going to take this baby girl back to my family. They'll take care of her while we make a way for us to drive through," my amazing wife said.

Luna was such a beautiful and caring woman.

"Let's go!" Colin yelled in the middle of chaos.

I turn toward Faisal and saw a teenage guy hidden behind a tour bus filming the destruction, which was probably a YouTube Video success by now. But the bus gave me an idea. We could use that to run from here. I hoped the keys were still inside; people were scattering everywhere.

"Hey, I have an idea," I said, standing beside a red beaten truck. "Let's grab the rest of our group and bring them to that bus. We'll hop on and drive away as quickly as possible."

"Okay. We need to hurry," Luna said, glancing at the baby. We dashed to the Hummer and packed everything in our bags, then headed to the SUV. "What do you suppose her name is?"

"I don't know." She was a cute little baby, though. Blue eyes and brown hair bushy around her head. Maybe, eight-months-old?

As we got to the SUV, a woman rushed forward and saw us holding the baby. "Oh my God. My baby. Thank you for taking care of Abigail. I was so in shock of what I had seen, and she was asleep. I can't even believe I left my baby."

"Ma'am, it's okay. We saw her and got her away from harm," I said, as Luna handed Abigail back to her mother. "Just monitor her." The baby was a Tethered Soul. Her aura was bright. A Pure Soul.

The woman darted off and joined several others running into the bushes. Thirty minutes went by, and we gathered our supplies and the group, then headed toward the bus. Faisal made sure the keys were still inside, and Colin groaned about leaving his precious Hummer behind. All of us piled onto the bus and Colin swerved himself behind the wheel, stating how he was used to driving large Humvees.

After adjusting the bus out of the tight space and hitting a few vehicles surrounding it, we finally made our way onto a tiny vacant lane and got past the front of all the traffic. Driving as quickly as we could, Colin swerved a few times around pot holes and parked vehicles, but then he slowed down and slowly came to a stop.

"Why did you stop?" I asked.

"There's a road block up there. See those road signs?" I peered forward and cursed under my breath.

"Then we'll get on foot and run through that forest. They're not searching over there," I said, gazing toward our left. Luna looked back at me and nodded her head.

As we stepped off the bus, we all made a run for it through the branches and over long streams, hearing the buzzing of helicopters flying above our heads. Then when Luna was coming close to a hilltop, she ended up slipping and rolled down the long hill until she reached the bottom.

My heart stopped. "Moon!"

But then, I felt a dart hit the back of my shoulder, causing me to fall backward, my eyes flickering. I gazed around, barely able to keep my eyes open, and I tried my hardest to talk to her through my mind, but it was to no avail. I couldn't even see or hear anyone, and within seconds, my brain shut off.

I slipped away into the dark trenches of my mind.

We were caught.

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A lot of action, right? I wonder what  happened with the group? And what does the pure light mean for Aluna? More of that for later!
Fun fact: Abigail is my niece's name. And Elijah, who is Chase's nephew in the story, is my real-life nephew; Abigail's brother. My other nephew, their other brother, is Christopher. His name is added in the series, along with various relative and family member's names. Ha! There's that saying: Be careful around a writer. They'll put you in a story. I should say that is true. 😊