Faith to Follow your Heart

PART 10

From his crouched position, in the darkness behind Kivar, Jake didn’t understand what was going on.  It was all so strange, talking about planets, difference races, and kings?!  What on earth was going on?  He was completely confused, that was for sure, but one thing he knew for certain was that there was little anyone else could do to resolve the situation amicably, except for him. 

He was almost within touching distance of the animal threatening his girlfriend, and something inside Jake refused to let him walk away.  He had to do something, Max couldn’t, it was obvious he was being held tightly as was Michael and Isabelle, so it was all down to Jake to save the day.

Watching intently, Jake waited until the last possible moment, waiting for Kivar to almost tumble out the word [I] ‘five’[/I].  Just as he opened his mouth, Jake summoned up all the strength he could find before bellowing out an almighty scream, and then lunged himself head long at the large man. 

Startled guards loosened their grip on the three aliens, allowing Max, Michael and Isabelle time to fight back with vengeance.  In the commotion, the gun in Kivar’s hand went off, the sound reverberating loudly around the empty walls.  Ellie’s screams added to the pandemonium in the room as everyone fought for supremacy. 

Spinning round, Max quickly punched the guard full in the face, knocking him backwards and making his head to hit the floor hard.  Glancing at Liz and Ellie, Max turned his attention to Kivar.  By now Kivar had pushed the young boy off his body and was clambering hastily back to his feet. 

“I don’t think so!”  Max said forcefully, taking the gun he had removed from the guard and pointing it at Kivar.

“Like you’re actually gonna use that!  You’re too human Max Evans, you can’t kill an innocent person like me.”  Kivar chuckled evilly.

“Innocent?  I wouldn’t call holding my family prisoner innocent!”  Max yelled vehemently.  “But you’re right, I wouldn’t do it, I couldn’t stoop as low as you Kivar.”  Max added, starting to lower the gun.

Seizing his opportunity, Kivar started to lunge towards Max, in an attempt to catch him off guard.

“Max!”  Liz cried out, alerting her husband to the potential and very imminent danger.

Raising the gun, this time Max didn’t hesitate, unloading three shots into Kivar’s onrushing body.  As each bullet embedded in his body, Kivar’s onslaught slowed, and as the third hit him, he collapsed into a heap by Max’s feet, dead.

Dropping the gun so that it made a loud clanging noise on the floor, Max rushed over to Liz and Ellie, quickly untying them.

“Oh god Liz!”  He cried out, pulling her eagerly into his arms.  “Are you ok?  Are you hurt?”  He asked putting his hands either side of her face quickly wanting to make a connection with his wife to make sure she was ok and uninjured. 

“I’m ok Max.”  She sobbed, tears streaming down her face.  Pulling her close, Max fused their lips together in a raw passionate kiss, sealing all their emotions at that moment and easily opening a poignant connection between the two of them.

Jumping from her seat, Ellie rushed over to where Jake was lying face down on the floor.  Turning him over, she was suddenly aware of the warm, sticky, red liquid oozing from a wound just above his heart.  It was then that she realised the first bullet that had gone off had hit her boyfriend and seriously, possibly potentially fatally, injured him.

“Dad!”  Ellie screamed, tears rapidly forming in her eyes.  Jake’s breathing was very shallow, his eyes barely open, it was obviously he was very nearly on death’s door.

On hearing his daughter’s cries, Max relinquished his grip on Liz and rushed to Ellie’s side.  He too was greeted by the same sight of blood pouring from the gunshot wound. 

For a split second, the rush of images was nearly all too much for Max.  The sight of seeing Jake lying so helplessly clearly dying from the gunshot wound reminded Max of the Crashdown those years previously.  He had healed Liz that day, ignoring what it might have meant to him and how he could have been exposed.  The pain of feeling helpless and scared for a moment was all too real, he’d in the end hesitated for only a short moment when he’d split open her uniform and seen the seeping blood from her chest.  He knew, in his heart, if he had his time over again he wouldn’t hesitate to save the love of his life.

“Help him!”  Ellie cried, bringing Max back to reality.

“I can’t sweetheart, you have to do it Ellie.  You can heal him.”  Max said trying to stay calm for his daughter.  Inside though he was anything but calm, instead he was sharing the pain and panic drowning his daughter.

Placing her hands over the open wound, Ellie stared into Jake’s half-mast eyes and tried to make the necessary connection to heal the damage.  Her heart was racing, she couldn’t get in, she couldn’t make the connection to save her boyfriend.

“I can’t do it!”  She panicked.  “Help him dad!” 

“You can do it Ellie, just relax, you have to do it.”  Max insisted trying to install calm in his panicking daughter.

Watching Ellie try again, it was like history repeating itself.  He remembered once more the panic and anxiety as he had tried to heal Liz that day in the Crashdown.  He too had struggled at first to make the connection, his emotions getting in the way.  In his heart though, Max knew he had to let his daughter heal Jake.  In healing Liz he had changed both their lives, his destiny had evolved from Tess; he couldn’t stand in the way of Ellie and her destiny.  She had to heal Jake, plain and simple.

“Just take a deep breath and clear your mind Ellie, you need to relax.”  Max instructed, seeing panic still painted over Ellie’s face.

Listening to her father’s words, Ellie tried to do as he said.  Taking a deep breath, she blanked her mind of all thoughts and images, concentrating only on Jake and her feelings for him.

Inside the following seconds, the connection was finally formed.  Averting her mind to the damage caused by the bullet, Ellie quickly set about fixing it and dissolving the piece of metal still lodged in Jake’s body.

It seemed like an age, but really it was only a few moments before Ellie fell back exhausted due to her healing exploits.  Catching her limp body, Max pulled her into him and held her tight.  That night had changed all of them, Max knew it, but in his heart Max also knew it would shape his daughter’s future.

Flickering his eyes open, Jake glanced around the strange surroundings.  He could remember very little about what had happened, and it took him a few moments to realise where he was.  The neat, tidy room slowly drifted back into his memory, reminding him it was the lounge of his girlfriend’s house.  Familiar faces stared back at him, Ellie’s showed signs of pain and worry. 

All the memories and images he had pushed to the deepest depths of his brain came flooding back with enormous speed.  The cave, the talk of kings, planets, aliens all rushed through his mind like a painful video.  The reminder of hot searing pain as the bullet hit him also sprung to his thoughts.  It had been like no other pain he’d ever experienced, the blood pouring out of his wound red hot and sticky. 

Instinctively, his hand swiftly moved to the area that had previously housed his almost fatal wound.  The area felt slightly damp, as if the blood had been there, but the pain and any evidence he had actually been shot was completely gone. 

“I think we’ll leave you two alone for a few minutes.”  Max announced, breaking the silence.  Leading the other occupants of the room out, he left his daughter to talk with her boyfriend.  It was not going to be an easy conversation, Max was sure about that.  His fatherly instincts wanted to step in and spare Ellie more heartache, but in his own heart Max knew it was something his little girl needed to do, she was nearly a grown woman after all.

“Are …… are you ok?”  Ellie queried softly, suddenly feeling very alone in a room she normally felt so relaxed in.

“Yeah, I guess.”  Jake said, speaking his first words since the adventure.  “But ……. But I got shot Ellie …….. what happened?”  He added.

“Well …….. I guess I kind of healed you.”  She replied modestly.

“Healed me?  How?  I don’t understand.  What happened to us?  Who was that man?  Why did he want you?”  Jake reeled off.

“I understand you’ve got a lot of questions, I’ll try and answer them as best I can.”  She replied, taking a deep breath.

At that moment, Ellie wasn’t sure if she really wanted to tell Jake all she knew she had to.  She had dreamed so many times of telling him about her Alien heritage, but now the moment was upon her, she wished she had a get out clause.  It was one thing to dream the outcome, but this time there was clearly no way back once the words were uttered.  Ellie just prayed and hoped her faith and judgement in Jake was substantiated.

“I could heal the bullet wound in your chest because ……. because I’m special Jake.” 

“Special?  Like how?  No one can dissolve bullets.”

“No one human can dissolve bullets.”  Ellie replied softly.

“What are you saying, you’re not human? “  He queried flippantly, almost laughably. 

“Something like that.  This isn’t going to make much sense Jake, but I’m going to tell you anyway.  My father was in the 1947 Crash.”  She told him.

“What?”  He replied, clearly confused.
”My father, aunt and uncle were in the spaceship that crash-landed back in 1947.  They were in these sort of incubation pods for years, until they emerged aged six.  My father is only part human Jake; the other part of him is alien.  And that makes me part alien too. “  Ellie informed him, saying the last part in a soft voice.

It was the first time Ellie had ever uttered the words to someone outside her tight knit family.  It felt strange, but also somewhat calming to finally admit it, as if she was telling herself being different wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

“Yeah good one Ellie!  I know I had a nasty fall, but I’m not delusional.  There is no such thing as Aliens; there was no crash in 1947.  It’s just a myth that drummed up business for this dreary town.”  Jake replied, practically laughing at Ellie’s admission.

“I’m not joking Jake, I would never lie to you.  I know it’s hard to take in but it’s the truth.  I am different to you, alien, not of this earth, extra terrestrial, whatever you want to call it.”  She pressed.

“But it’s not possible.”  Jake reiterated, seeing how honest Ellie’s face was looking.

“Well I guess I’m living proof that it is possible.  I could save you Jake because I have powers, without them I don’t think you’d be alive right now.”

“Powers?  You’ve got powers?  You make it sound like you’re like superman or something!”  Jake laughed. 

“It’s true.”  Ellie replied, somewhat hurt by the way Jake was brushing off her words.  It was as if he was expecting her to lie, like she often did it and was rarely honest with him.

“Ok, ok, say I believe you, come on then what powers do you have?”  He questioned.

“Well, I can connect with people.”

“Connect with people?”  He queried.

“Yeah, I can link my mind with someone else and get a rush of images.  That’s what happened when I healed you.  I got images of you as a child, playing by the sea, and when you won your first basketball match, and became captain.  I could sense how you felt too, how elated you were.”

“You saw that?”

“Yeah.  I can also dreamwalk.”  Ellie pressed on.

“Dreamwalk?”

“I can enter people’s dreams, see what they’re thinking about, follow where their mind take’s them when they sleep.  It’s something I inherited from my aunt.”  Ellie replied.

“Right, connecting, Dreamwalking, anything else?”  Jake queried, clearly not believing his girlfriend.

“Well I can sense things and I can manipulate the molecular structure of things.”

“You can what …..?”  Jake spluttered, unable to understand the concept.

“I’ll show you …….”  Ellie said, deciding a visual demonstration might add weight to her story.

Walking over to an exquisite glass vase sitting on the windowsill, Ellie picked it up and placed it on the coffee table directly in front of Jake.  Looking straight at him so she could see his reaction, Ellie slowly drew her hand down over the vase.  The sculpted crystal went from being ornate to a lump of glass and then back again as she passed her hand.

Jake’s eyes practically burst out of their sockets at the sight in front of him.  Clearly dumbstruck, he had lost his voice, unable to take in or comprehend what Ellie had just done.

“That’s how I healed you.  I dissolved the bullet and repaired the damage inside you.”  She told him.  “Now do you believe me?”  She asked gently.

“I’ve ……….. I’ve got to get out of here.”  Jake announced, swiftly jumping to his feet.  A sick feeling was rising quickly from his stomach; he needed fresh air to try to regain composure of his insides.

“No Jake ……..”  Ellie started, but Jake had already bolted from the room and was racing to the front door.

That certainly hadn’t happened in any of her dreams about telling Jake, never once had he just bolted from the room without a single word.  Screaming and yelling at her yes, hell even pulling her into his arms and saying it would be ok, but never just running without a single word.

Standing desolate in the middle of the hallway, Ellie didn’t know what to do.  Tears formed rapidly in her eyes, her heart smashing into tiny pieces.  Her whole world was crashing down around her; not least that Jake hadn’t taken the news well.  There was the obvious possibility he might blab to all and sundry, making her an even further outcast at school. 

“Go after him Ellie.”  A familiar voice behind her said gently.

“But I can’t, he’ll just refute me and push me away again dad.”  She cried.

“One more try, please.”  He replied softly, smiling gently at the little girl.

Watching her father, Ellie couldn’t help but admire him even more.  He had been through everything she was now facing when he had told her mother.  She had done exactly the same as Jake, pushed Max away as if admitting aliens could exist was too scary and dangerous.  Yet her father had kept pushing and won her mother round, but could Ellie do the same to Jake? 

At that moment she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to put herself through more emotional turmoil.  Maybe she wasn’t meant to have a love, a soulmate or a best friend.  Maybe her destiny was to forage the world alone, shoulder on without a comforting shadow or figure to help her when she stumbled.

PART 11

Seeing his daughter in so much pain cut Max right to the core.  He hated seeing any of his family hurt, always wanting to soothe it away, and most of all he hated his children exposed to such pain.  But this was one time he couldn’t scope Ellie into his arms and take away her sorrow with his powers. 

This was one time Ellie needed to find her own inner strength and path.  He could steer her in the right direction, but he couldn’t hold her hand as she walked the journey.  He pained him to do it, but Max knew this was one set of steps Ellie had to make on her own, her own future depended on it.

“You can do it Ellie, you just need to find the strength from deep inside you.  It’s there, you know it is, you just need to believe it is big enough to get you through this.  Go after him, make him understand, tell him how much he means to you ………. It’s your destiny baby.”  Max told her softly but firmly, before handing his daughter her coat.  “If you run you’ll catch him before he makes it to the end of the road.”  He added, pulling her into an embrace before watching her hesitate for all but a moment and then disappear out the door.

From behind him, Max felt a familiar body draw up to his and rest her chin on his shoulders.  She had felt his pain and how much he had been torn between hugging Ellie and allowing her to fly free.  It had taken all his strength and courage to allow his girl, his first-born baby, to run out the door to her inevitable destiny.  Liz had felt the emotional pull inside Max wash over herself also and nearly drown her in his emotions, he needed her right there, she knew it.

“I’m so proud of you babe.”  Liz whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I don’t feel very brave right now ……. did I do the right thing there?”  He asked, questioning his own judgement.

“You don’t need me to answer that Max, you know in your heart you did.  She’s not a child anymore, she’s sixteen years old, she needs to live her life now.”  Liz replied.

“Is sixteen old enough though?  Is she wise enough to choose her own direction, or walk her own path?”

“Of course she is, she’s had a wonderful teacher in her father.  I met you when I was sixteen Max; you blew me off my feet and turned my world upside down.  And I was only a year older when I had Ellie.  She’s sensible and it’s time we trusted our daughter to use her own judgement.”

“I don’t know if I want to let her go yet.”  He admitted.

“Then just loosen the reins slightly …….. and remember Abbie will love your undivided attention!”  Liz reminded him, making a smile flush across his face.

Staring deeply into his eyes, she slowly lifted her head to touch her lips with her husband of so many years.  The connection was effortless and instant.  Image after image rushed between the emotional couple.  The times together as teenagers, their fun with their children, the troubled times they’d fought through to experience the good ones.  Pain, sorrow, happiness and joy surged through their bodies, mixing with the tears of relief at being safe they both shed in the middle of the empty hallway.

“Jake!”  Ellie yelled as she neared him.  “Please Jake.”  She added, but he kept on walking away from her.

“Just give me a chance …………. Please.”  She pleaded, slowing to a stop as she gave up hope he would listen.

Her voice rang out in his head, like a record that wouldn’t pause or cease.  He couldn’t take it in; it was all too unbelievable, like something out of Hollywood, how could she be an alien?  The mere thought repulsed him, but his heart shouted out loudest.  He hadn’t chosen to fall in love with Ellie, his heart had chosen her, and he was sure it was pure, unadulterated love that seared through his veins towards her.

It was that thought, and that thought alone that finally halted his fast moving feet.  His back slowly turning to face her made Ellie exclaim softly, her breath hitching in her throat ……….. she had a second chance.

“Thank you.”  She breathed gratefully, drawing up alongside him.

“You …….. you can’t be an alien Ellie.”  He said clearly, more of a statement than a question.

“Why not?”  She questioned.

“Because ……….. because I love you, and I can’t be in love with an alien …… ‘cause I know it’s not just some silly crush, it’s the real thing I feel for you.”  He replied honestly.

Throwing a weak smile his way, Ellie took a deep breath.  Her next action was clear to her, but it would mean opening up for the very first time.  It would mean literally bearing her soul to the man who had just professed his love for her.  Just the mere though that he might actually really care for her sent shivers down Ellie’s spine.

“I …… I want to let you see me Jake.”  She stumbled.

“I can see you.”  He told her, not understanding what she mean.

“No, I mean really see me, see into my soul and experience what I feel right now.”  She said, placing the palm of her hand over her heart.

“O ……… ok.”  He said hesitantly, gently nodding his head as if the simple words weren’t enough confirmation.

Pulling the sleeves of her top up slightly, Ellie locked her eyes with Jake and carefully slipped each set of fingers either side of his temples.  Her eyes communicated to him trying to make him remember he was safe; it was still her despite the alieness.

“Just take a deep breath and try to clear your mind …………… trust me, I won’t hurt you I promise.”  She said gently, trying to help him to relax.

Allowing their eyes to continue in the locked staring contest, the connection was opened after a few brief moments.  So many images flashed past them, it was impossible to take it all in or even catch a breath. 

He saw the real Ellie Evans, he saw how she felt when her parents had told her about her other worldliness heritage.  He saw her pain at her brother’s suffering before he was healed as a baby.  Then her feeling of being different and isolated at school.  But most of all he saw how she felt about him, he saw how she saw him, how he was always laughing, always popular, always free and never trying to hide in the shadows like she did.  He felt how she felt when he was around, how her head felt giddy, how her hands sweated, how her vocal chords seemed to become severed as she struggled to say something witty. 

It was the most amazing journey and insight into the girl he truly loved, it was like nothing he had ever experienced before the intensity so amazingly, awe inspiringly strong. 

When Ellie finally dropped her hands, it was clear she had practically blown Jake away with the enormity of what they had just shared.  She dropped her eyes slightly, almost embarrassed at baring her soul so openly, no longer did she have any secrets from him now.

She was somewhat afraid she’d overdone the images, perhaps bared too much of who and what she was.  But in her heart, Ellie knew she had to show him everything, no more secrets, she wanted to be an open book to him for the first time in her life. 

“Wow.”  He finally exclaimed, slowly returning to earth as he caught his breath.

“Yeah.”  She replied, dipping her head further in shyness.  This was all so very new to her, and perhaps even more frightening than the feelings she encountered each time they kissed, this seemed so much more permanent. 

Knowing he needed and wanted to say something to comfort her, Jake gently slipped his fingers underneath her chin and gently eased it upwards so he could fall deeply into her dark brown swirling chocolate eyes.  There was still reservation in them, like she was still afraid of his reaction, perhaps expecting him to bolt once more.

“I loved you before this Ellie, and I didn’t think it was possible to feel even more for you, but I was wrong.  God you are so beautiful, so amazing, so strong, so ……….. special.  Thank god you’re mine.”  He breathed against her lips.

In one swift movement, he covered the distance that separated them, pulling her into his arms and allowing their lips to connect. 

The kiss was even more passionate, even more searing than normal.  The emotions of them both mixed with raw passion taking them to a deeper level of intimacy.  It was purely a kiss, but it was also so much more.  It sealed everything they had shared that night, all the pain, being terrified and lost, disbelief and then to where they were now, and the love they shared so evidently.

Feeling his lips caress her’s, Ellie fleetingly felt grateful that Jake had a strong hold on her.  Such an affect his kisses had on her body, Ellie was sure she’d melt into a puddle on the pavement if he let go.  Her legs felt like jelly, her heart pounding so hard, but it felt so exhilarating.

For once in her life, she finally felt free.  The secret she’d carried around for so very long, only talking to her family about it, had finally been revealed to the one person except Andi she really wanted to tell.

And her heart also confirmed that it had been even better than any of her wildest dreams, because she had been totally honest.  The simple words of telling him her extra terrestrial part hadn’t been enough, she’d had to show him, let him experience who she really was.  To show him that although she was part alien, she was still a huge part human, and still the same Ellie Evans Jake Sanders had fallen in love with.

Tears gently fell down her face as they finally parted their passionate embrace.  But they were not tears of sorrow, instead tears of immense joy and happiness.  For never before had Ellie felt fit to burst with such ecstasy. 

“I don’t care who or what you are Ellie.  You’re my girlfriend; you’ll always be my girlfriend.  You’re special to me not because of your blood, but because you are just you ………. And that its all I will ever want …….. you.”  He said honestly, slipping his hand inside hers as she rested her chin on his shoulder and looked into his eyes once more.

They stood there for a while longer still taking in the magnitude of what they had experienced.  Eventually, they turned and headed back to the Evans’ house, hand in hand, souls joined in only a way an alien and human soul could.

They were soulmates, it had been written in their future, destined to be together, forever, always as one.  And one day, they would take up their rightful seat as King and Queen of the country Ellie’s father had ruled so prestigiously and rightfully.

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