Free Eighth Fire by Gene Curtis Page B

submerged when a hand on
his shoulder startled him. He turned and saw Gerod wearing a face
mask, grinning at him and holding out an oxy-cap. Mark took the
capsule and Gerod went to LeOmi, tapped her leg and shoved his arm
into the hole with her. Mark felt a wave of relief. A moment later
she backed out and started shoving more rocks away from the
hole.
    Gerod grabbed her shoulder and spun her
around to face him. He waved his index finger back and forth in
front of her face while mouthing the word ‘no’ and then pointed to
the other submarine. He motioned for them to follow and started
swimming for the sub’s belly. They shed their cloaks so they could
swim.
    The larger sub had an open hatch on the
bottom that opened into a small pool in the bottom of the boat.
Gerod removed his goggles and fins, tossed them onto the deck and
used the built-in ladder to climb out. Mark and LeOmi followed.
    Gerod, still grinning, nodded and said,
“Congratulations. You guys did a good job at proving yourselves
worthy to join the rescue team.”
    Mark felt a wave of anger and hostility wash
over him. He thought it very strange that he was feeling these
particular emotions; there was no logical reason for it. He knew
this probably had been some kind of test or something and he’d done
well. At least he thought he had. He didn’t answer Gerod.
    LeOmi yelled, “How could you do such a
thing! What kind of man are you?”
    Gerod rebuked, “Young lady, you need to get
a hold of your emotions. We didn’t cause that accident, the student
in that sub did. We were standing by just in case he couldn’t deal
with the situation. As far as you two go, we were notified to
expect you just after you left The Oasis. Neither of you were ever
in any real danger, although, for a moment there, we thought
somebody was going to have to intervene. LeOmi, you were a bit
reckless. You need to control your emotions a little better and
reason things out a little more. Getting yourself injured or killed
doesn’t do anyone any good.”
    The anger Mark felt increased, and then just
left. It felt as if it hadn’t been there at all. He asked, “What
just happened?”
    Gerod said, “Just about every year we get a
natural rescuer. It’s unusual to get two, but it’s not unheard of.
They’re usually identified on their first day as a sophomore during
orientation simply because of all the testing going on. There’s
ample opportunity for students to get into situations they perceive
as life threatening, and usually at least one manages to do just
that. We don’t tell students that except in the case of natural
rescuers. Rescue teams are stationed in key areas and students are
closely watched.
    “Now, as natural rescuers you’ll be given
tools and equipment you’ll likely need in the future; some of which
you’d have found very useful today.”
    Mark said, “I don’t mean that. I mean I just
felt angry enough to fight and it just went away, like turning off
a light bulb.”
    “I’m sorry, I can’t discuss that.”
    That was an odd answer. It meant Gerod knew
exactly what Mark was talking about and it didn’t take much
thinking for Mark to realize what was going on. Last year he had
wanted to keep some of his abilities secret and Mrs. Shadowitz had
agreed to it. He glanced at LeOmi and saw she was frowning at him.
He hadn’t been guarding his thoughts and he knew everyone in the
sub was reading the thoughts in the front of his mind. He thought
back to last year’s Choosing Event and how the Emerald Captain had
walked up to meet her before she had even entered the gate. Today,
when they had come out of the mountain, two horses were waiting for
them. That confirmed it. LeOmi had been pre-chosen too, and she had
the ability to project her emotions. He looked back at LeOmi and
now she was scowling at him. He thought, Don’t worry. I won’t
tell anyone, and I’ll try not to think about it.
    After a moment Gerod said, “Well, that was
an interesting aside.