Unit Jumper

Unit Jumper

A shiver ran through Marcus as he crouched in the middle of a barren, corn field.  The looming, black, storm clouds drew closer and the wind began to pick up, ruffling his shaggy blond hair.  No other living being was outside of some sort of shelter; none, except him.  They had good reasons too; the storm that was approaching was supposed to be the biggest in thirteen years.  Yes, anyone in their right minds would not be waiting there for the forty mile an hour winds or dare to brave the deadly tornadoes that would be sure to touch down.  But they didn’t know the secret he did; he knew he would not be harmed in the storm, she wouldn’t allow it.  ‘She’ was the unnatural being that had appeared in every deadly storm that hit where Marcus was.  He never noticed her until the past year, however, he believed she was there because he realized how many near death storm moments had come his way, yet he was still alive.

The first time Marcus saw her she seemed to be floating down on a wave of leaves; Marcus was sure she was riding the wind rather than leaves.  He had been walking back to his farmhouse when the sudden storm hit and thing quickly grew ugly from there.  The tornado had formed in the field to his left and its path was heading straight at him; he knew there would be no escape from the deadly winds.  Then, she rode down on the wave of leaves; her hair was jet black and her eyes were a piercing light blue color.  Her skin was paler than any other Marcus had seen before, almost whiter than snow.  She landed about a hundred yards away from him and turned to look at him for a moment; in that moment Marcus experienced calm in the storm.  He couldn’t explain it, he should have felt fear or regret, after all he was seconds away from death.

 The girl looked away and walked towards the tornado, Marcus wanted to scream but nothing came out; he thought she must have been suicidal.  She entered the tornado and instead of seeing a body fling out, Marcus saw her rise in the tornado with her long hair flying in every direction as she raised her arms.  To Marcuse’s surprise the tornado began shrinking, and by the time it would have reached him, it was just a small swirl of wind in the girl’s hand.  She stood in front of him and blew away the swirl in her hand as if it was no more than a birthday candle, smiled at him, then ascended on the wave of leaves once more.

When Marcus had reached home he could hardly believe what had happened to him, and his mom could hardly believe that he was alive.  That was a year ago when he was fifteen, today, on his sixteenth birthday he felt an adrenaline rush as the lightning began, followed by the sound of thunder.  He wouldn’t stand now that the lightning started, not until she showed up.  The girl would never speak with him, but the mystery made her that much more intriguing.  The storm was upon him now, the wind whipping around him, and the rain pouring bucketful’s of frigid water on him.

Thirty minutes into the storm and Marcus had begun to lose hope, maybe she wouldn’t come today, he thought about running back to the house where his mother would wait with a worried expression on his face.  After his father had died in a tornado Marcuse’s mom was very protectant of all the kids during storms.  There were seven of them, Andrew was the oldest, then Marcus, next Jason and Jamie the twins, Jamie was the only girl in the family.  After the twins came Henry, and last was David.  Marcus was thinking about his family when a sudden, and very close flash of lightning jerk him back to his surroundings.

The storm was getting extremely dangerous; Marcus would have kicked himself if he had not been crouching on the ground.  Why was he so daring?  His need for an adrenaline rush would be the death of him.  Lightning was circling all around him when she appeared; this was the first time she rode no wind.  She descended from the sky on the steps of the lighting, and for the first time Marcus saw her as a radiant and very powerful creature.  Her feet touched the ground and the storm around them calmed, it was like they were in the eye of a storm.

“You like near death experiences, don’t you?”  She asked.  Her voice surprised Marcus, it wasn’t soft as he imagined it, or strong and powerful.  It was the most dangerous type of voice in the world, the kind that could manipulate you into doing anything.  Marcus knew he shouldn’t trust her, that he should have stopped looking for her in storms since the first time they met.

 “We have been watching you,” she continued, “You’re different, as are we.” She smiled and Marcus knew she was either drawing him into a trap or offering him a once in a lifetime opportunity; yet again his need for adrenaline and adventure won over.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, “And who are you?”

“Come with us and all will be explained,” She said in a singsong voice and Marcus struggled to keep control of himself.  She brought down another lightning ladder and extended her hand for him to take.

“Come with us, we can fill the void that haunts you every day.”  Marcus began to reach out and a smile started forming on the girls face, then all the sudden Marcus snapped out of it and jerked his hand back.

“Who are you?” He shouted and her smile quickly vanished, “What are you trying to do to me?  I am not as much of a fool as you might think.”

“If you were no fool then you would not reject our offer,” She hissed, her face inches away from his; he could smell the smell that only occurred after it rained.  “Come with us or our protection will leave you then what do you think your life would be like.  Your home lies in the path of our alley.” He knew she was talking about the tornado alley, and he realized for the first time that it was her who protected the family home through the years.

“Do you control the storms?” Marcus asked warily, she let out a long laugh that sounded like a sweet melody, and then replied with the former charm, all sting gone from her voice.

“We not only control storms but all elements; it is what we were appointed for just as you were appointed to care for the earth and the creatures that rely on it.”

“But if I am appointed to care for the land then why do you want me to go with you?”  Marcus challenged, he knew that if he pushed it to far then he and his family would pay. 

“Did you not hear me, I said you are different; every once and a while one of the land dwellers has a power surge flow through them and it can change their nature and they acquire a new trait so they may be approached to change their life.  Only a few people know about the different units and only they can approach new members.”

“So you want me to leave my family behind after what they have already been through, and following you into some unknown place, all because I am different,” It was more of an angry and confused rant than a question.  Marcus had no idea what to think about the whole thing; he wished they had never moved to that farm after his father died.  Everything was falling apart yet something in him wanted to go into the unknown; it couldn’t get any worse could it. The girls face had hardened once again.

“We are getting inpatient with you boy, we will be back at the next storm, then, you will have an answer.” Her voice that hissed out the words then, suddenly, she seemed to change her mind and her face softened then she spoke again, using the mesmerizing tone that was so dangerous.

“Just remember,” She said as she climbed the ladder of light staring down into his eyes, “Only two other land dwellers have changed their units; only two have ever had the privilege of being called a unit jumper.”  With those last words she disappeared into the clouds.  Rain once again poured down onto Marcus, but that was all that was left of the ferocious storm.

Marcus headed back to the farmhouse hoping to sneak inside, dry off, and pretend he’d been there the whole time however, his mom had other plans.  The instant he walked in the door she breathed a sigh of relief, but he had been warned too many time to receive any more gratitude of his return.

“How many times do I have to tell you to come home when a storm is coming, you know how dangerous they are.  You will not get out of this house again until I am sure you won’t go running off hoping to get ripped apart by a tornado……..”  Marcuse’s mom ranted on and on but he ignored the words to distracted by the choice he had been given.  He gave her a kiss on the cheek and headed up the stairs to get dried off not waiting for her to finish.

“This is the last straw,” she shouted up, “You hear me; I will ship you off if you don’t stop ignoring me.”

Marcus’s mom’s last words made it through his thick skull and bounced off the walls inside unable to escape.  She had been threatening that for the past three storms, Marcus was smart enough to know his mother would ship him hundreds of miles away, rather than see him die in a storm.  If he wanted to experience storms the same way he had for the past year he would have to become a unit jumper.  If he wanted to stay with his family he would have to give up storms, forever.  He thought about two words: family and storms.  He thought about which burned more, like a wild fire that couldn’t be contained, and which was icy freezing his skin.  He repeated the words aloud a few times to see his reaction to each of them.

Marcus stayed up almost all night thinking about the two choices; by three in the morning he had made a decision and drifted into a disturbing sleep.  When morning came he saw the skies were dark, promising another storm.  He headed downstairs to eat breakfast and his family was sitting there waiting for him.  While they ate the others carried an easy conversation; only Marcus and his mother remained silent.  He sneaked a peek out the window and smiled as he saw the clouds, big mistake.  For the rest of the day his mother frowned on him and made sure he never had a chance to exit the door; he had to get out, to leave.

 Marcus found his opportunity when his mother headed upstairs; he dropped the dishes he had been working on and darted to the door.  His mother saw him from the upstairs window and shrieked; she had lost him.  She knew he had been visited on his sixteenth birthday as had two of her children before him; one of them refused the offer but the first accepted it.  She now knew Marcus would follow his older sister into the clouds; He was heading out to meet her now, though he did not know.  Their eyes were the giveaway, the same light blue that mesmerized anyone who looked into them, just like their father’s.  She looked out and saw lightning flash, just one streak.  A shadow descended it waited at the bottom only for a moment, then, two shadows ascended the bolt and it disappeared into the other realm.