It was a good thing that Garrisonhad exited his La-Z-Boy recliner to go to the bathroom, because hesensed a surge of energy in his daughter's room and sped in therequick enough to intercept a clenched fist that was stopped about aninch from the side of his wife's head.
"That would have left a mark," hemumbled.
Eloise was so focused on herbraiding that she didn't notice the speedy fist heading herway.
"Oh, Garrison! What did you say?"she asked.
"I have to take this child for awalk in the park," he replied as he clenched his daughter's handand led her out of the room.
"Well be back in time for dinner.Is there anything you need me to pick up?"
Eloise completely trusted herhusband, even though she appeared oblivious to all of the specialenergy around her.
"Some seafood would be great," shesmiled, as her husband had always been able to fill her desire toeat fresh lobster even though the lobsters swam up the coast in NewEngland.
Gary and Sharon walked outside andthen they released hands as she waited for near the passenger sideof their perky Dodge Dart.
"No, not today," Gary stated. "Wedon't need a car where we're going."
Gary sped past his daughter at avelocity only he and his daughter could witness. She had never seenher father move in such a way, since he barely moved since passingon the gardening duties to her a few years earlier.
"What the..." she said and thengot on her high horse to catch up.
After about 25 miles he had lefther in the dust and she wasn't even sure if she was moving in theright direction, although the beach was in sight. And then sheheard a voice inside of her head that she had never experiencedbefore.
"You don't have to see me to knowwhere I am," Gary said internally to his daughter, who might havebeen more confused after the message than she waspreviously.
Gary could sense that his daughterwasn't catching on so fast, so he added, "Stop thinking Sharon, andjust be. Focus on the heartbeat, not the location ofphysicality.
Sharon went into deep thought, andbefore she knew it she was standing on a rock formation on a beachin Maine with a couple of lobsters in her hands.
"Who are you?" she asked me as Istood in front of her, the heartbeat of which she had tracked onlyhours before her 18th birthday and her rebirth as a full-fledgedprotector.
Garrison had been tracking both meand his daughter all the way up the coast. In fact, he startedtracking me the previous month when he could sense an increase inmore core temperature and intensity.
"No my dear, I the more pertinentquestion is, "how someone so lovely is in my midst?" I said andthen kissed the top of her right hand like a respectablegentleman.
She was smitten as our eyes met,even thought I was about 80 years her senior, but looked about 20years or so older.
Garrison's first instinct was toprotect his daughter, but the only person he was cosmically swornto protect and serve was me, so he let the harmless flirtingproceed.
"I am Hartwell. ThomasHartwell."
And then I looked over at Gary andwinked at him, trying to reassert any bravado I had lost decadesago. There was a huge shift in energy amassing in the middle of thecountry and I needed to be at the top of my game, which I was stilltrying to reach without the support of my family.
"We should bring all of this freshseafood back to your home and have a beach cookout," I suggested toGary who replied, "That's a great idea!"
"We have much to discuss myfriend," I said internally to him.
I'm not even sure what happened tome in the days leding up to the kids' 18th birthday. It was as ifall that anxiety and aggression that had been storing up inside ofme was bubbling at the surface and was about to explode!
"We have to get ready," I said toGary after dinner as we sat in front of the blaze on the beach. Hewas always so focused on me that he had become oblivious to outersources of energy. He didn't even realize that I had made his wifebelieve that I was his daughter's prom date.
"She will need some training, butwe have the numbers now," Gary said about his daughter Sharon, andthen had a weird sensation toward his Western exposure.
I could sense that he was nowfeeling what I had already been experiencing for weeks, as thepresence of Thad's kids was now apparent to him.
"He had two?!" Gary questioned, asthe sides were now even at three. "And they're quite strong!" headded.
"Yes, they are," Iconquered.
"Could be time to move unless youfeel safe here?" I asked.
"They'll be coming," Gary replied."It doesn't really matter where we are, so we might as well starthere. Knowing you, we'll be moving before long anyway."
Things were a lot different in themiddle of the country for the Brewster family. Mary Brewster alwaysfelt like she was in the middle of a twister she could notcontrol.
"Why do I always feel like areferee with a striped shirt?" she asked her husbandThaddeus.
"Let them play!" Thad imploredlike he did since they were young enough to go at each other. Thadwatched them intently like any doting parent, and wondered if hecould harness all that collective energy and turn the duo into acohesive unit. The "changes" were about to start forming as theirabilities came on line and then they came aware of my presence.While Thad had let his tracking of me go for a number of years, Icould feel that he had reconnected with me months earler and wouldbe leading a search party of three to come get me.
"Why do they always have to livenear the water?" Thad grunted as he focused on the activity inVirginia Beach, Virginia.
Emily and Calvin stopped wrestlingfor a second and she said, "How come we've never been to thebeach?"
Cal snapped, "Because there ain'tno beach to go to!"
"We should probably teach them toswim
