Seer

Natalie’s

The school week has ended, and the family has returned to Ron’s house. Gabe and Jonathan both spent the week at home, convalescing.

Jonathan was in the hospital for one night for observation, but the doctor discharged him in the morning when there was no evidence of any physical impairment. They advised his parents that the incident would be labeled “idiopathic”, simply meaning unexplained. They scheduled a series of follow-up appointments, but otherwise had no additional treatment suggestions.

Gabe impatiently endured his exile to the couch. The first two nights he slept downstairs, but then insisted that with his crutches he could make it to his room just fine. Now, with several days of practice, he is swinging around, proficient in the use of the crutches, almost reveling in the feeling of walking with them. He has spent the last two afternoons with the boys in that neighborhood, regaling them with tales of his adventures, although leaving out any mention of guardians. He will continue to keep Natalie’s secret.

As soon as we arrive at Ron’s house, Gabe says “I want to go see Jonathan.”

“Me, too,” Natalie immediately adds.

“Okay,” their mother tells them. “I’ll walk down there with you, I want to see how everyone is doing.”

“Me, too,” Ron copies Natalie with a grin.

The four of them walk to Jonathan’s house, surprisingly not needing to walk slower than usual to match Gabe’s pace. He has become quite skilled with the crutches.

Brad answers the door. “Hey,” he says with a smile, “come on in.”

The adults gather in the living room, and converse about the drama that unfolded earlier in the week. They are all relieved to be past the worst of it, and pleased that both boys are clearly recovering from their ordeal. I hear Jonathan’s parents relate that their son is fine now, just that he has been very quiet since returning from the hospital. They do not feel any particular sense of alarm about this.

The children join Jonathan, who is in the back yard with his dog. The dog’s ears perk up as he hears them arrive, and he leaps up and runs to Natalie the moment he sees her, panting and frantically wagging his tail.

She smiles joyfully at the little creature and drops to her knees to embrace him. “Hi Socks! How are you?”

Gabe approaches Jonathan, who is sitting on the ground where he had been holding the dog. Jonathan watches him come near, but makes no other move. Gabe knows he could not rise easily from the ground if he were to sit there, so he stands before Jonathan, leaning on his crutches. “How are you Jon? I saw you in the hospital. Do you remember?”

“Yes,” Jonathan says, quietly. Then makes no further remark.

“Are you okay now?” Gabe tries again.

“Yes,” Jonathan repeats.

Natalie looks up at Jonathan quizzically. Rather than questioning Jonathan directly, she silently asks me, “Is he okay?”

“I can not tell, my darling. Physically he is healthy, even mentally he seems normal. But as you see, he is far more quiet and passive than ever before. I do not know whether this will remain the case.”

“He’s missing Demon, isn’t he?” she thinks to me.

“Yes, clearly that is so, even though he does not know it. His excitement in life, his spark, so to speak, appear to be missing.”

She frowns and regards Jonathan, absently petting the dog in her lap. She begins to contemplate whether there is anything she can do to help him. She feels guilty about the situation. She knows that it has been decisions made by her which led to this outcome. She and Timothy created the experiment which initially led to the method of using energy, which was then commandeered by Demon, leading to Jonathan’s downfall. She always is motivated by the desire to help others, but she feels that she has instead harmed Jonathan.

“My dearest, it was not you that caused this. The situation unfolded as it did without any ill intent on your part. Do not let this discourage you from your curiosity, and from your efforts to learn.”

Gabe continues his efforts to talk with Jonathan, but is met with only more brief answers. He begins to feel frustrated.

Jonathan’s demeanor is distant, meek, and disengaged. His soul is so quiet and dim, it resembles that of a newborn baby, a tiny burning ember, new to existence, just barely beginning to form. It bears little resemblance to the blazing monolith that his soul had become under Demon’s influence.

The child has profoundly changed. I would find it to be an improvement, as he appears to pose no threat to my beloved in this condition, except that it also seems tragic. Without even knowing it, he is lost.

As is his Guardian. Jonathan needs him. He is incomplete without him.

I continue to search fruitlessly for any sign of his Guardian. I and the other Guardians in our family have begun using additional energy not just to communicate with each other, but to also expand our area of perception, to broaden our horizons. But there is no trace. It is unfathomable. We are all baffled. We all share the same question.

Where is Demon?

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End of Book 2 of Guardians