--Laurel--
Steve left the council and followed the ninja back past the training rooms to another part of the colony, along the torch-lit subterranean corridors. He was beginning to feel slightly claustrophobic from being underground. He longed for open skies and fresh air, and now that he was going back to the Ohio countryside, he couldn’t help but look forward to its clean, unpolluted air. He hadn’t been there since he had been taken away all those years ago.
They turned a corner into another passageway with doors on both sides and more relief sculptures between them. Chris had said he and the rest had gotten used to it all, but Steve couldn’t imagine how they could stay underground for two whole months, going out into the open ever so rarely. He had been here for less than a day and was already getting worn out by all the tunnels, to talk less of a rich billionaire’s son who had probably grown up with water beds and satin sheets.
His mind was buzzing with so many thoughts. How would his mother ever stay here? But where else could she be safe from the benders of the Solution? How was he even going to explain everything to her? What would he say –that she had to stay underground for a while, but it would be all right? What would happen to her job? Her life? She must be so frightened right now. At least seeing him should help with that… except what was reassuring in seeing your only son in the exact same drear conditions you were in?
The passage ended in the same way as the one that led to the council room, with a bend leading to a single large doorway with ninjas on both sides. Steve had the impression he had walked from one end of the colony base to another.
The ninja led him straight to the door and stood aside for him to go through. “Your mother is waiting, sir,” he said, bowing slightly.
Every discomfort Steve felt at being called ‘sir’ washed away in a wave of relief. He hadn’t even realized how worried he had been until he saw her. She sat in the very center, on the only bench in the large, circular room, facing the far wall. Her dirty blonde hair waved down to the middle of her back, shimmering slightly in the flickering light of the torches’ flames. She was in a light pink gown that Steve recognized at once as one she usually wore to stay at home.
She looked up and turned as she heard his approach. “Steve?”
“Mom,” Steve breathed.
Laurel gasped. “Oh, Steve!”
The two rushed towards each other and embraced for one long moment. Then Laurel pulled back and cupped his face with her hands. Steve wasn’t big, but he was already half a head taller than her.
“How are you?” She asked. “Are you fine? Are you hurt?”
Steve breathed a laugh of relief. “I’m fine, mum,” he said. “No fussing.”
She looked him over. “They said you were,” she replied. “But I had to see myself. The wreck in the apartment…”
Steve grimaced. “Sorry about that, it’s all crazy. But don’t worry, mum –I’ll explain everything. It’s going to sound totally nuts…”
“I know,” Laurel interjected.
“Yes, but I swear, it’s…”
“Steve!” Laurel interjected again, grabbing his shoulders. “I know.”
He stopped talking and paused for a second. “What do you mean, ‘you know’?”
“I know, Steve,” she repeated. “Everything.”
Steve looked into her eyes. They were clear with meaning. His opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead, it just remained open, hanging stupidly.
Laurel took his hand, guided him to the bench and sat down beside him. He continued to gape at her.
“I’ve always known,” she said softly. “Right from the beginning.”
Steve shook his head, trying to clear it. “You knew? How? Did he tell you? Dad?”
“No,” she replied. “I told him.”
“What?”
“It was I who had the visions, Steve,” Laurel said. “At least it was at first.”
Steve stared at her in renewed shock. After all that had happened since the previous night, he’d begun to think nothing could surprise him. But he could never have imagined this. His mother, Laurel Wellington, high end executive, had seen visions?
“They started when I became pregnant with you,” she continued. “At the time, I didn’t even know I was pregnant yet, but the visions told me… showed me who I was carrying. I was so frightened, especially when the doctors confirmed I was with child. At first, we –your father and I –wanted to chalk it up to the effects of the pregnancy, although we both knew in our hearts that it wasn’t true. But then, barely a fortnight later, Thaddeus started having the visions too. The exact same dreams, the exact same nights. We didn’t need an interpreter, we knew the meaning of what we saw. We knew we were seeing times long past, ages forgotten, and that these ages were returning again. We knew there was something terrible coming, and you, our son, would be needed to stop it. And we knew the Totem of the Elements, that trinket which had been passed down through the ladies in my family for many generations, was going to be the key.”
“The totem?” Steve asked, wonderingly.
Laurel nodded and shrugged. “It was a horrible looking little thing. When I was little, I never understood why neither mother nor grandmother ever threw it out. But Grandmother began to tell me stories of how it had always brought luck to us, and how it would serve a very important purpose someday, and when it was my turn, I’d taken it willingly enough, even though I didn’t fully understand why. When the visions started and Both Thaddeus and I began to see it both asleep and awake, we took it and went back to your grandma Lily’s. We knew what our duties were. I was to raise and take care of you, while Thaddeus was to organise those with the gift of the connection to the mystical energy and bring back the old ways. So, a few months after your birth, he left on his mission. I never knew what happened, but when I didn’t see or hear from him for a whole year, I knew it was something terrible and he wasn't coming back.
“Your Grandma and I decided it would be dangerous to have you and the Totem in the same place, and that it would be best if you knew nothing and had as normal a childhood as possible. So I got a job in New York and moved here, and the totem remained on mother’s wall in Ohio. I knew the time was nearing when the truth would come to you, and your reincarnated spirit –your true nature –would reveal itself. I had no idea how it would happen, but I’m glad it was the alliance that found you.”
She smiled at him and stroked his cheek. “My brave, beautiful boy,” she said. “You will be so great.”
Steve looked at the ground. “I don’t know about that. What am I supposed to do?”
“What you need to know will come to you,” Laurel said. “You will lead men into the new age and help them survive whatever challenges it may present. Just follow your heart, like I’ve always taught you. Listen to your conscience, and you will always have a clear answer.” She sighed, “I wish I could keep you close for much longer, but your time has come. It is time to rise.”
“What about you?” Steve asked. “The Solution will still be after you. What will happen to your job and everything?”
“My job?” She laughed. “That wasn’t my real job. You were. And now, it is complete. I will remain with the Alliance until the threat is gone. You should be thinking of yourself. Your quest is about to begin, and a big part of the journey is unknown. Be careful, my son. Take care of yourself and your friends wherever you go, and be true to yourself.”
He smiled, tears pooling in his eyes in spite of himself. “Don’t worry, mum. The quest hasn’t begun yet –Today I’m only retrieving the totem from Grandma. I will be back here by dinner.”
She smiled back at him and ruffled his hair playfully. “I thought you had read The Lord of the Rings!” She remarked. “Or at least watched it. Have you forgotten? When you step out of your house, you never know where the path might take you. Be ready.”
Watch Here for the Next Chapter: 'Team Avatar'!
The Lost Legend series is fan fiction based off Nickelodeon's Avatar franchise.
Find more of my original works as Peter M. Ogwara on Amazon!
