Free Legions by Karice Bolton

like a magnet
pulling only me over. I had to see what was going on. I ran as fast
as I possibly could without bringing attention to myself. As I got
closer, I saw the ambulance already leaving that was on the scene,
and a police car arriving near an intersection. From what I could
tell by the people congregating, something happened in the vicinity
of the crosswalk. I tried to push myself through the crowds,
worrying more with every step that Athen was the one hit, wounded
in the crosswalk.
    “Miss, we need you to stay
back.” I heard the officer telling me.
    “I was supposed to meet
someone at the Starbucks, and they aren’t there. Can you tell me
what’s going on?”
    “There was some guy who was
trying to save a little girl from getting hit in the crosswalk, but
instead he got nailed. None of the witnesses really can figure out
how or why the little girl was out there, or how he got there so
quickly to push her aside. Her parents are over there. Undeniably
shaken.” The officer said, pointing to a family who looked like
they now understood that every day was truly a gift.
    The color was draining from
my face. My eyelids were becoming so heavy. My arms felt as if they
were pinned to my sides. The flashing lights bringing on a headache
like no other, challenging me to stay focused. I knew it was Athen.
He was trying to save a little girl’s life. I tried to get the
words out, but my lips could barely move, and no sound was coming
out. They knew we were coming and planted that poor girl out there.
The demons knew he still has good in him. His natural instinct
would be to save her.
    “I’m sorry Miss, what? Are
you okay?” He asked as he was guiding traffic around the blocked
lane.
    “No, yeah, I’m fine. It
sounds horrible. Is the guy okay?”
    “Well, that’s the really
odd part. He hasn’t a scratch on him, but they are going to take
him over to Victoria General, just in case.”
    “Really?” Was all I was
able to get out before the wave of nausea came flooding over
me.
    Arie came bounding up
behind me.
    “Is that the friend you
were looking for?” I heard the officer asking me as he summed up
Arie, which was always a hard thing not to do with her effortless
beauty.
    “Uh, yeah. That’s her
alright.” I said, relieved for the timing of everything.
    “Thanks for the info,
Officer. Sorry to bother you.”
    Arie and I headed over to
the Starbucks to regroup with Cyril. It seemed that our plans were
not necessarily in sync with someone else’s around here. It was now
our goal to figure out who that could be.
    “So that throws a wrench in
things doesn’t it?” I stated as I claimed chairs for us all. Cyril
went to stand in line and order for us since it seemed like we
would be here for a while trying to figure things out.
    Arie grabbed the green
plush chair by the window, and I grabbed the one next to her. I
moved the little table close to me knowing I wouldn’t do a good job
of balancing things right now without a flat surface to help. My
nerves were toast.
    “Do you think he’s okay?” I
finally uttered the words that I’d been wanting to ask since
standing next to the officer.
    “Yeah, he’s fine. If he
wasn’t, you wouldn’t be able to wander around and speak to me. It
would render you about as useless as the day he was first taken
away.”
    “Well, I guess I should
find some comfort in that one. Not to get overly cocky, but it’s
kind of matching my dream, huh?” I offered.
    Cyril was ordering our
drinks and pastries when I felt another presence, one of us – but
on the wrong side. Arie caught my gaze as I searched the
coffeehouse for the answer. I saw a couple in the corner looking at
real estate ads, and a group of students snacking and doing
homework. Nothing out of the ordinary until the door
opened.
    A woman with raven colored
hair walked in with as much confidence as I’d expect from one of
them. Her dark eyes and pale skin were such a startling contrast
that I found myself