Page 35 of Coerced

“We need two drivers. I’m not going to be one of them.” Clem crossed his arms. “Figure it out, Harker.”

“Well,” he said, “in mission skills, Ms. Chapman has Jax and Tara ranked as the top strategic drivers, so each of you is elected. Gigi, Gemma, and me with Jax. Travis, Maddy, and John with Tara. Clem, you can ride with whoever you want.”

“I think I’ll stick with you.” Clem snickered. “Funthings happen around you!”

8. I Was Kissing Her, Moron!

Kerry

It took two hours of driving and another one of hiking to reach our destination. We looked around for a decent place to make camp and Maddy found a spot that was sheltered by a steep rock face on two sides. As the others split up to find firewood, I stood guard as Tara dug into the earth to make a small crater.

As I watched her smooth out the sides, I had an idea.

#

Gemma

“You’re not throwing that at her.”

John moved in front of Tara and crossed his arms as Kerry bounced a fist-sized rock in his hand.

“Okay, I’ll throw it atyou. Tara, shield him with a wall of dirt before this rock hits him.”

“Um, can you throw a practice one off to the side first?” Tara requested. “So I can see how fast you’re going to throw it.”

Kerry tossed the rock up and down a few times before winding up and hurling it across the small clearing faster than my eye could follow. I did, however, see the explosion when it impacted a tree’s trunk. Bark, stone fragments, and splinters of wood flew everywhere as a deafeningcrack!resounded through the clearing.

“Oh my goodness!” I squeaked.

“And you wanted to throw that ather?!” John shouted, his fists clenched at his sides.

“Okay, Tara,” Kerry picked up another rock, oblivious or indifferent to John’s anger and Tara’s panic. “On three. One, two, three!”

Biting my lip, I watched as Tara dropped straight to the ground and touched her fingers to the earth. A thick slab of dirt rocketed up a few inches in front of John, just in time to bear the brunt of the rock. Kerry hadn’t thrown it nearly as hard as the practice one, and I realized he’d been trying to scare Tara into reacting faster.

“Very good!” he called out. “Hey, I have another idea. Can you make a dirt wave? Something like a ripple that moves across the ground?”

“I don’t know. I never tried.” Her brow furrowed. “Like I said, I’m just a gardener. I work mainly with plants and trees.”

“You’re more than just a gardener, Tara,” John told her. “You’re an earth goddess.”

Without seeming to think about it, Kerry grabbed my hand and tugged me with him across the clearing. I had to trot to keep up, but it made me smile.

“If you can control the ground, can you control water, too?” he asked her.

“Some.” Tara seemed uncomfortable. “I can channel it where I want it, but I can’t create it.”

“How much have you ever tried to move?”

“Just enough to water something. A few gallons, maybe?”

“Did that strain you?”

“Not at all.” she said.

“Can you turn the snow into water?”

“I don’t know. I—”

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