Page 4 of Reckoning

Abel and Lilith Bandy were standing at the edge of the crowd, watching for Tate, when they saw him coming out holding Briar Lowe’s hand. Her knee was bleeding, but Tate was steadying her with every step she took.

“There he is, with Briar!” Lilith said.

Because Briar was the only student who got hurt, Miss Ellen was right behind them to talk to the parents. Tate was their hero, and she intended to let them know.

The Lowes and the Bandys reached their children at the same time. The rain was beginning to abate, but by now, they were all soaked to the skin.

Miss Ellen’s pretty blond curls were plastered to her head, but she was calm as she began to explain the conditions of two of her students.

“Mr. and Mrs. Lowe, Briar has a cut on her knee. She fell while we were running to the basement. I carried her the rest of the way down, but I believe the cut is deep enough for a stitch or two, so I suggest you get her to the doctor. Tate has been her best friend. He sat with her when she was crying and afraid and held her hand. He has been my good helper today.”

And then Miss Ellen shifted her focus to the Bandy family and laid her hand on Tate’s head.

“Your son saved our lives today. We would have all blown away if he had not warned us. The lunchroom was loud and noisy, and from the window of the lunchroom, the sky was clear. We did not know what was coming at us from behind until Tate came running toward me. I saw fear on his face, and when I asked him what was wrong, he said a storm was coming and we had to go to the shelter. I looked out the window and saw nothing worrisome and didn’t believe him. But he kept insisting, and there was so much fear in his voice it was impossible to ignore. It was only after he began screaming in absolute horror, demanding we had to go, that the lunchroom went quiet. It was in that silence that we finally heard the roar. It was those last precious seconds that gave us the time we needed to get everyone to safety. Mr. and Mrs. Bandy, your son has been blessed with a very special gift. It has been my honor to be his teacher, but the school is gone, and the students will all be in the public school in town now. I just wanted you to know that none of us would be here, if it had not been for him.”

Then she knelt down beside Tate and hugged him. “Thank you, Tate. Never stop being you,” she said, then hugged Briar. “I loved being your teacher, and I’m sorry you fell in the rush.”

“You picked me up and carried me,” Briar said. “And Tate held my hand in the cellar when I cried. Tate is my best friend.”

“Miss Ellen, thank you for taking care of our children,” Abel said, and picked Tate up in his arms.

“We are so grateful,” Lilith added.

“We would not be standing here had it not been for your son’s warning,” Miss Ellen said.

Tate was silent, but he was leaning into his daddy’s strength and presence. He still didn’t know if he was in trouble with his daddy, and Briar’s parents were looking at him as if he’d done something wrong.

Mariah Lowe shifted her glare from Tate to the teacher. “What did you mean, when you said he saw the danger coming? That he warned you? Like a vision? He has visions?”

Abel glared at Mariah Lowe. “Your meager attempt at thanking my son for saving your daughter’s life is not necessary, and your daughter’s knee is still bleeding.”

He gave Roger Lowe a strange look, then picked up his son and took his family away.

Roger Lowe looked down at his daughter. She was shivering and rain-soaked, and the cut on her knee had to be painful. Ashamed that he had not immediately picked her up, he scooped her up in his arms and began reassuring her everything was okay as they headed back to their car.

But Mariah was more concerned about the unnatural child that had been allowed in their school than she was her own daughter’s injury, and was complaining all the way back to their car.

Miss Ellen was sad. She knew others in the area would feel the same as the Lowe family had. She’d come here to teach children, not indoctrinate them. And this moment was clearly her signal that it was time to move on.

* * *

Tate sat in his mother’s lap all the way home with his head tucked beneath her chin and a blanket wrapped around him to take away the chill of being so wet. His mother and daddy were silent, which made him certain they were angry.

They were angry, but not with him.

The power was still off in Star Ridge as they sat down at the kitchen table with milk and cookies. Tate took a bite of his cookie, but his fear of having done something wrong made it hard to chew and swallow.

Then his daddy reached for his hand. “Tate, I need to apologize to you. I know I told you not to talk about your special gift, but I was wrong. If you had done what I told you to do, everyone would have blown away. I was wrong, and your mama agrees with me. You were born with a great gift, and it was wrong of me to ask you to deny it…understand?”

Tate sighed. All the weight of guilt and fear began to fade. “Then I didn’t do a bad thing?”

“Absolutely not!” Abel said. “You did a very good thing. But now the decision to help when you feel the need has to come from you. If someone asks you something that you think is wrong, you are not required to help them. As you grow older, you will understand more about what I mean. For now, if you are confused about what someone is asking of you, ask me first. I’ll know if they are honest people, or if they want you to help them steal or harm. Okay?”

Tate’s eyes widened. “People do that?”

Abel sighed. “There are good people and bad people everywhere. Sometimes it’s hard to tell one from the other.”

Tate nodded. “Like Briar’s mama. She’s a bad person.”