Hi, all my buddies!
And a very warm welcome to the few newbies too! If you have been meaning to catch up, and you don’t want spoilers, stop here and go to the INDEX.
Otherwise, I am so happy for each and every one of you. I thoroughly enjoy the little bits of engagement and the chitchat and just all the love going around.
I am slowly shifting my mindset to actually be able to call myself a writer without that awful impostor-syndrome feeling. I think once I get a hundred subs I’ll finally be able to shake it.
This scene closes Chapter Three, which has been so nice and long and exciting, surely even though we have sorely missed our dear Misty (Elle.)
One quick Q:
If you answered who is Misty, start here. It’s not like I plan on changing it now, it’s a bit late anyway, but for one day (when I maybe go tradpub).
To be clear, her name is Misty. The guys only call her Elle because she hasn’t said a lucid word to them yet, and they have to call her something.
I am just wondering if it might have been a good idea to do something like have a nametag on her nightie, or a monogrammed bracelet or something when they find her so they have some idea and don’t have to come up with some random thing.
Seriously didn’t think of that until now. 😑
As for the story…
We learned a little more about the PG’s rules and methods as well as some broad Teleran/Manorian history. The manor has some upgrades which if you haven’t noticed yet, cost more than just money. Luke is in a little deeper than we expected with the PG and he has some deal with them regarding the boys who are growing up so fast. Tom and Logan have had some sibling rivalry and Luke has had to do some active parenting in his own way.
We’ve met some new characters, Cathy and Victor Morgan and Rashak Grora, and explored a few new themes. We’ve also gotten to know Luke and seen a bit of how he works and what he can do, which has ominous implications.
Right now, Elle (Misty) is still out of the picture and Logan is once again at the depths of his despair, lost, without a friend in the world. His twin brother turned against him and stole his girl - ouch! And there’s still the empath stuff to work out. Tsk, tsk. Growing up is hard.
Next time around we start Chapter Four. So sit back and enjoy the ride.
INDEX | Chapter 3 | Scene 1 | Scene 2 | Scene 3 | Scene 4 | Scene 5 | Scene 6 | Scene 7 | Scene 8 | Scene 9 | Scene 10 | Scene 11 | Scene 12 | Next Chapter → coming soon…
Previously… Logan is in denial about being an empath and avoids his brother out of guilt over letting Luke in his head. He decides to go out drinking to feel better and ends up running into Tom and Cathy out on a date.
My head pounds as I stumble up the steps to the manor house. The newly risen sun’s light is too bright for my bleary eyes. Fumbling with the door handle, I burst inside with an unfortunate crash, clutch my aching skull, and catch a glimpse of myself in the foyer mirrors. I look awful. Absinthe and despair make for poor companions. I want my bed.
I stumble through the house, unsure which way is the right direction. Snatches of time seem to be missing. I shake my head to clear it, then see Tom in the hallway. This is my chance. I grab him by the collar, pulling him into the first door I come across.
"I saw you last night." I sneer at my brother, slurring my words as I am half-blinded by the light flooding in from the ballroom windows. He wrenches my hand off of his collar, clicking his tongue. With an eyebrow raised he snorts derisively, and then starts to grin as he realizes what this is about.
"Are we really going to play a game of 'I saw her first?'" Tom says with a scornful laugh that echoes off the paneled walls and sets the crystal chandeliers tinkling. I swallow the impulse to launch myself at him. Calm down and get a grip. I plant my feet and inhale deeply, clearing the cobwebs.
"No, brother. But I thought you might have a bit more sense." I say, surprised by how calm I sound.
"I get it, Cathy is a soldier. Duty first." Tom states offhandedly, then his disparaging smile shows through. "The difference is, she knows I won't give her the in she wants, and she's still interested. She wants me for me," he says softly with curled lips, his shoulders squared, and fists balled.
"So, you act like she's not any danger to you at all! To us? Like you can handle it, where I couldn't?" I retort indignantly, "Hello?! We are brothers, it isn't a stretch to imagine your abilities are at least on par with mine."
Tom steps forward threateningly as I speak, but I stand my ground and look up at him, when he stops right in front of me.
"Oh please!" he shoves me back. I stumble a few paces but manage to keep my feet. "On par?!" he yells with a caustic tone. "You're half my size." He says, oozing superiority. "I have better energy control than you," he smugly conjures and dismisses a red fireball in his raised right hand, "Not to mention emotional maturity." he jibes, exuding self-satisfaction and an air of gaslit confidence.
Grinding my teeth, I struggle to contain the livid rage inside me. I hiss sharply, and he opens his arms in invitation for me to strike. I resist, by the skin of my teeth, as a wave of dizziness threatens to bowl me over and remind myself who I am up against.
Tom cocks his head with yet another sneer, seeing my hesitation, and feints towards me. It is the last straw. I snap.
I back-step quickly, so I can add extra speed to my strike, and he starts to laugh thinking it's a retreat, underestimating me again. He is caught completely off guard when I launch my shoulder at his waist, tackling him, and sending us sliding across the hardwood floor with a loud creak.
Then I am on top of him, straddling his chest. I hold my right fist at the ready, fully concentrated energy flaming between my fingers, and anticipate the catharsis of pounding him into a pulp.
I strike, he dodges and my fist slams into the floorboards sending burning splinters flying in all directions. I yank my hand back, lining up my next shot in the same breath, when Luke opens the door.
"Hey, hey, hey boys! What’s going on?!" Luke cuts in sternly with a concerned frown, his voice echoing in the emptiness. I break off immediately, but not without reluctance, knowing it'll be trouble if I don't. Tom sits up, then pushes to his feet. His jaw is clenched in frustration but his head is down. Luke clicks his tongue, glaring at each of us as he reads the moment with the lightest mental touch.
"Cathy?" He chides, "Seriously?"
I know where this is going, decide I am not in the mood for it, and storm down the dimly lit hallway, ignoring their stares.
Luke and Tom can carry on well enough without me. Their raised voices, amplified by the hollow ballroom, resound through the house. Tom emphatically denies any wrongdoing. Luke, in his usual fatherly manner, reminds Tom that I am his brother.
"Brothers shouldn't fight outside of the training ring." Luke asserts forcefully. Tom complains that the whole situation is not fair; I'm the one who broke it off with Cathy, it's my own fault I couldn't hold onto her. As I climb the stairs heading for the gym, I can just imagine him stamping his foot like a brat.
Their voices, thankfully, become less distinct the farther I get. Soon only the tone is clear, and even though I don't want to know of it, this empathy thing is too new to me to block out the emotions. Tom's indignity echoes. My jealousy burns.
Tom's perceived injustice at being denied the freedom of his own pursuits is so stupid. He is the one who said Cathy was using me. He repeatedly pointed out how superficial she was, how she was only keeping me on the line to stay abreast of the developments with Elle. And now there he goes chasing after her, like some kind of puppy dog after a bone.
I string up my favorite punching bag with a short nylon strap as Luke's disembodied voice echoes around in my head. I can hear Luke unequivocally berating Tom for provoking me. He makes it clear that he doesn't want to interfere but he can't stand us fighting, and he threatens to put a stop to it if we don't.
I bring up the grav-control panel, set the weight to triple, and brace myself for the increase. The door locks automatically to seal the room and allow the system to kick in.
The gravity builds up fast but smoothly, and within a few seconds, my body starts to feel gloriously heavy. Even breathing becomes a challenge and my joints ache in protest. I take a minute to get used to the weight and adjust my stance to compensate. Then I turn and hit the punching bag with a will. I have to aim higher than I normally would, and it takes concentration to keep my wrist and elbow straight. But with the momentum of my entire upper body behind the blow, the woven graphene cover crumples gratifyingly, and the lead and mercury slurry inside absorbs the impact. It hits like ice, compressing in shards, and sways only gently, its inertia keeping it in place.
My knuckles start to bleed after the fourth stroke. I pause to coat my broken skin in a thin energetic layer. My muscles start to warm up and loosen, and the force of my fists colliding with the bag reverberates right through my spine. As my heart rate increases, I feel the power flowing through me and the pleasure is intoxicating. I smile, realizing that I am starting to feel better, but then the strap breaks and the bag goes flying. Frustration boils over within me, and I scream as the heavy bag slams into the wall with a disappointing thud, cracking the plaster.
I kick off my sneakers and tear off my sweaty t-shirt and jeans and dive into the pool, leaving the sack of slurry, slumped on the floor. The water hisses and steams as it cools me down. I reach the far end, and somersault under the water then dart back to the beginning, doing it all over again.
Tom is supposed to be on my side. How could he take my girl out dancing, hold her hand, and kiss her goodnight? How could he betray me? I shouldn't feel this way. I broke things off after her ‘display’ of puppy love. The scene flashes through my mind, over and over again, as I slice though the water, reach the end, and reverse my stroke.
* * *
As the weeks pass Tom and I grow more distant, avoiding one another. He seems to be getting closer to Cathy. They smile when we run into one another but when Tom tells me about their plans, the thin veneer of civility shatters, and I just walk away. Luke says they will be coming to dinner, so I go out.
Tom is at the base, so I make an excuse to get out of the interrogation that would take me there. Luke has the job in hand anyway. He hasn't actually needed me since the Observer.
Over time, I become despondent, resentful of Tom for his apparent love for Cathy, hating Cathy for coming between us, and despising Luke for not intervening.
Two months later Tom barges into my room with a vicious right hook, that takes me completely off guard. As I pick myself up from the floor, he screams at me, "What did you do?!"
"What? Nothing! What is this about?" I stammer, scrambling to defend myself as Tom grabs me by the collar and draws back for another punch.
"Cathy." He seethes.
"Nothing! I haven't seen her in months."
"She’s stopped taking my calls, she won't see me." He stumbles into the garnet suede armchair.
"What happened?" I ask, feeling compassion well up within me, despite all the bitterness of the past few months.
He won't say, but I can tell. She was never serious. She was using us. She was always asking questions about Elle and our abilities. All she wanted was to get her hooks in so she could figure out the whole story, and when Tom wouldn’t give her the keys, she got bored, or more likely reassigned.
* * *
I feel replete. We talked. It was good, the classic chick-flick moment.
Tom isn't particularly supportive of the idea of his brother being an empath but he is willing to tolerate me exploring the idea with Luke, as long as I don't get too detailed with him. But my work with the PG is finished, and the incident with Cathy has given Luke some leverage as well. We might have won some breathing room.
Once again, Elle is my solace. I feel drawn to her, but today I am sure of who I am. I am not afraid or uncertain anymore. I just have to tell Luke, which means casting off my past, but knowing that Tom will accept me doing it, is all it takes to make that choice easy. I instinctively know that I am the key to unlocking Elle's mind. All I have to do is agree to let Luke use me and we can wake her up, maybe more than that.
The curtains are drawn and the room is gloomy. As I stand at the foot of her bed, staring at the sleeping little girl who changed my life, just by being here, I think about my family, processing all I know about them as a kind of farewell.
Our parents came to Earth, exiled from home, with Mom newly pregnant. Our father took the blame for a few rebellious youths. The kids would have been executed, while a nobleman could choose banishment with honor intact. The rest of our clan followed, but it only lasted a few months. Travel on an ark is slow, and life in space is hard. By the time we crashed here, most of the No'Gards had left, abandoning their pride.
Tom appears out of nowhere, and I snap back to the present. "You were far away." He says, knowingly. "Wanna share?"
"Not really." I shrug.
"I'm glad we are talking again." He admits after a long pause, with a hint of sadness in his voice. It sends my mind racing. I should have realized the conflict was hard for him too.
"Tom, I-" I stammer, unable to find a way to express the turmoil his words have caused.
"I know, brother." He smiles. "I sometimes wonder how our ship ended up crashing. Father never said they were shot down but knowing what we do about the PG..." He trails off, and I look up at him. His hair is longer than before and the flowy blonde bangs frame his face. I see a shadow of our mother, whom we know only from pictures.
"You think if they had been allowed to land, Mom might still be alive?" I muse wistfully.
"Maybe, and we probably wouldn't know Luke." He agrees, leaving. His tone hints at bitterness or regret, but I'm not sure if it is because our mother is gone or because it was Luke who saved us.
Left alone again, I close my eyes and let my mind wander, back to that week of Elle being sick, her screaming and writhing in agony amidst a silvery green glow.
Suddenly, as if from a distance, I see myself standing outside. It is warm and three suns shine brilliantly in the barely blue sky overhead, carmine, azure, and gold. The ground is blanketed with red and orange flowers, and the long soft grass is bright green. A little way off there is a tree, and under it kneels a little girl in a pale yellow dress, with long black hair hanging loosely down her back. She hums happily, weaving flowers into a wreath.
I know the girl is Elle, though she seems much younger than she is now. I watch her for a minute, scared that if I approach, it will break the peaceful atmosphere. She looks carefree and serene, happy. I turn and walk away slowly, deliberately. The warmth fades behind me.
I don't tell Luke.
* * *
Thanks for reading! I hope you’re enjoying following along with my Bottled Embers!
Next time… I’m not going to tell you. Sorry. You’ll have to catch me.
As always, the easiest way to ensure you don’t miss the next installment is to,
for FREE! Also, I promise I would genuinely LOVE to know what you think so far, please feel free to
or better yet, if you want to show a girl some extra love, and support this project,
Until next time. 👋🏻
What a chapter finish! I kinda wanted to punch Tom too. Don't ever date your brother's/best friend's ex, especially right after they break. Bad bro-tical Tom. How did I miss that they are twins? I assumed Tom was older cause he's bigger.
Am I just really tired or is this a longer scene than usual? I noticed that it took longer before I was sad the scene was over.
Its not a chick-flick moment, its called a BM, a bro-moment. Have you ever watched Supernatural TV series? There is one episode where the brothers are working a case and their "life" has been turned into a college play. Everytime they had a long talk, the director called it a BM. Extra funny due to it being an all female cast.
First of all. It's a great "scene" to end the chapter. You brought the emotions to a boil between the two brothers, to such a point that I was afraid actual damage to one or the other was possible before it was worked out. You have definitely pushed Tom into the role of family black sheep, although that was mitigated some by the end of the scene. And the brothers have reached a better understanding of each other for now at least.
You have also filled in holes in the family background just enough to keep the hook firmly set for chapter 4, at least for me. Those are some juicy tidbits! Doesn't seem likely we will see Cathy any more in order to let the rift fully heal.
Now, I'm going to make one comment/suggestion for a possible change in this scene. I hesitated, not being a writer myself, but here goes... In that last pivotal meeting between Logan and Tom, it becomes apparent that Cathy was trying to use Tom just as she was Logan. Then you bring to a close the conflict and misunderstanding with just " I feel replete. We talked. It was good, the classic chick-flick moment". My gut response was, 'why don't I get a glimpse of this soft moment between the two brothers thru actual dialog'? Why such an abbreviated and kind of offhand throw away paragraph? Logan could try to explain what it was like when he experienced an empathetic connection?Could Tom actually say something like, "I don't really get why you want to explore this empath thing with Luke but...if you do... just be careful and don't pull me into this thing!" Just an actual conversation where they kind of agree to disagree and not interfere with each other and what's important to each. Anyway, that conversation just seems important at this juncture. Thanks for the chance to explain my 💬