Powers were starting to be documented all over the world. The obvious religious and societal movements started questioning the origins of these powers and not surprisingly, how to eliminate the problem all together. Fortunately there were not so many enhanced people or huge power related happenings that the enhanced were seen as a major threat. For now, anyway. That had a lot to do with the fact that “super” was a pretty generous term. In a lot of cases, male powered individuals were nuisances at best. At worst, there would be a global level threat enhanced person, and no woman had presented herself as this. Many still didn’t believe that women could get powers. That suited us just fine. We had a path to follow and the less potential spotlight we could receive, the better.
Donna could feel, more and more, that the tides and currents of time were leading somewhere and pulling us in. But she still couldn’t get a sense of what was going to happen or when. Whatever was coming was still a ways off and we were not ready. So all we could do was live, prepare, run, and hide. We didn’t spend all those years on the run though. We worked too. Sometimes normal odd jobs. Donna had a knack for picking up skills. She once taught herself to do basic home electrical wiring in an afternoon. She could also tear down and rebuild a computer and do all kinds of auto repair, among other things. I mean, being able to sense the correct next step in a procedure didn’t hurt. I managed to pick up a few things too, making myself generally useful. Sometimes we helped people. These were mostly people on the fringes that had no one else to turn to. No one paid much attention to them so no one paid much attention to us. That lack of attention helped keep us off the radar of any organizations or entities that would be interested in our existence. Sometimes we did things that were a little risky. For example, there was this one time in Korea…
Well maybe a little backstory first. Back in Donna’s early Army days, she had a good friend by the name of Choi Jin-ae. Jenny, as she was also known, was originally from North Korea. Jenny and her mother escaped to South Korea when she was five. Her father and brother had been traveling with them but got caught. Jenny eventually made her way to the U.S. where she enlisted in the Army to get a faster path to American citizenship. The plan was to send money to her mother so the rest of her family could escape the North. When she was a citizen she could then bring her family to America. Donna met her at an Army school and they ended up becoming good friends. It was a stroke of luck that they got stationed together in South Korea. Jenny was able to visit her mother whenever she could. Donna tagged along a few times. With Jenny's help, Donna got pretty decent at speaking Korean. After two years in Korea, they lost touch with each other after getting assigned to different duty stations.
Jenny briefly came back into Donna’s life when I was seventeen. We were clearing out a storage locker that we had in Los Angeles. It was rented under a false name of course. Donna had a lot of stuff there from her former life as well as the various currencies, forged legal documents, and IDs that we used. Donna came across a picture of her and Jenny in a box. Now, normally when people find pictures of old friends we may find ourselves wondering where they are and how they’re doing. This goes to a different level with Donna. Pictures represent fixed moments in time and space that she can use like starting coordinates for a search. She could use pictures to find people in the past, present, and with some focus, the future. Donna just wondered where Jenny was and her mind did the rest. She did not see Jenny clearly at first, but what she saw gutted her. I knew something was wrong when she suddenly dropped the picture and quickly walked out of the storage locker. She had this serious look on her face and started dialing a number into her phone.
“Where to?” I asked her.
“South Korea,” she said.
“Which cover?” I asked.
“Any of the mother/daughter or sisters will be fine,” she said while waiting for someone to pick up on the other line.
I opened a filing cabinet and pulled out the necessary IDs and passports. I grabbed a bundle of South Korean won, a bundle of USD, and put them in a backpack. We already had go-bags in the car. Donna had stepped out of the building so I locked up. I wasn’t wearing a hijab anymore, but I had a scarf loosely around my neck that I used to cover my head when outside. Without really thinking about it, I left the scarf around my neck. It was becoming somewhat of an unconscious habit to not cover my head at all. When I got outside she had just finished talking to someone over the phone.
“Airport?” I asked.
“Motel,” she said.
It was only a few minutes away. Donna didn’t talk. She was in planning mode so I let her be. When we were inside our room she turned to me.
“You are not going to like this,” said Donna.
“What? Is the job messy? We can handle messy,” I said.
“No, not the job. Although that is going to get messy. I mean you are not going to like how we get there.” she said.
“How are we going to get there?” I asked, feeling concerned.
“I need to contact the Jinx,” she said.
By this point Jess, aka Jinx, had built a reputation that was becoming somewhat legendary or infamous depending on who you asked. We’d heard a few different accounts of what they were like from different sources. The reviews were mostly positive, but some negative, and a fair amount were mixed. Donna managed to get a contact number just in case we needed their services. They could easily rub people the wrong way for both valid and invalid reasons. Sometimes they did both at the same time. But people still contracted Jinx because they were the best at what they did. That and they were really the only one who could do what they did. Fortunately personality and appearance were the only uncertainties with Jess. As long as you treated them right and paid on time, their service was unmatched. I wasn’t sure why Donna was apprehensive. I didn’t really care how they appeared as long as they could help us. I was more concerned about fumbling pronouns. I still get nervous about that.
“Okay. So what’s the problem?” I asked.
Donna sent a text and got a reply seconds later. She texted something else and got a pained look on her face.
“What is it?” I asked, beginning to feel more concerned.
Jinx materialized in front of us. The “punk” version. The look was not necessarily gender specific, but the fit of the clothing leaned more female. They had a red mohawk, a beat up black leather jacket with patches and chains, worn/ripped hip hugging jeans, and black boots. They wore a white tank top that looked like it was hastily cut with scissors to show their midriff. Everything had a slender fit. Jinx took off their sunglasses and looked me up and down.
“How you doin?” they asked me.
“Jinx?” asked Donna.
“In the flesh,” they said, winking at me.
They smiled at me in a way that I think was meant to be seductive. I took a confused step back. It pains me to admit that interest from a girl… I mean a person who wasn’t a guy… Give me a moment to mentally berate myself.
Okay. The point being, interest from someone not conforming to the gender and hetero norms threw me for a bit. In that moment, they looked more feminine so I thought of them as a girl. Anyway, attraction from a woman was not what really put me off balance. I mean, okay, a little. Please don’t judge me. Look, to my knowledge this was the first time I’d experienced overt interest from any gender. My discomfort was because I didn’t see myself as someone who could be desired by anyone of any gender and I didn’t know how to handle the interest Jess was clearly showing.
“We need immediate transport to this address in Seoul. Then transport in and out of North Korea, location to be determined,” said Donna.
She scribbled an address on a notepad and showed it to Jess. It took a moment for Jess to avert their gaze at me to look at the note.
“Hmm… I don’t know,” they said, shifting their weight from one hip to the other. “I’m kinda swamped right now.”
“20k. Half now and half when the operation is complete,” said Donna.
Yes, we had that kind of money. Don’t ask. Jess paused silently for a second to process the number.
“Is she part of the we?” asked Jess, looking at me again.
“She is with me,” replied Donna.
Donna gave her classic, we don’t have time for this kind of BS, look. Jess took the notepad from Donna, flipped through the empty pages, and tossed it over their shoulder.
“After consulting my busy schedule I believe I can accommodate you,” they said.
“We didn’t even tell you when we want to go,” I said.
“Eh, details,” said Jess.
“Are you free now?” asked Donna.
“I thought you would never ask. Grab what you need, ladies,” said Jess.
I put on the backpack with our money. Then Donna and I picked up our go bags and Jess stepped between us and grabbed Donna’s hand.
“Do not, under any circumstance, let go until we arrive,” they said.
Then they put their other arm around my waist and held me tight.
“So what’s your name?” they asked me.
I felt slightly dizzy then realized our surroundings had changed. Donna took a knee and took a deep breath.
“The first time can be a little disorienting,” said Jess. “You won’t feel it next time.”
We were in an apartment. Not an American apartment by the looks of it. It was also small. In retrospect, it was probably a decent size for Korea. Donna pulled her hand away from Jess and stood up slowly. Jess kept their arm around my waist and stayed tight against me.
“I’m Sarah. Do you still need to hold onto me?” I asked.
“Need is a strong word,” they said.
“Let go,” I commanded.
They let go and stepped back.
“You’re no fun,” they said, looking disappointed.
Jess took off their shoes and put them on a small shelf by the door.
“Shoes go over here, by the way,” they said.
“We’re not at the address,” said Donna, taking her shoes off.
I took mine off, picked up Donna’s, and put them on the shelf.
“I know. Welcome to my humble abode. One of them anyway,” said Jess.
They flopped onto a mattress that was on the floor, opened a small bag of chips that was next to it, and started snacking.
“I don’t care where we are, I paid you to take us somewhere else,” said Donna.
“Look, we can’t just materialize in or in front of anywhere.” Jess said, shaking their head and rolling their eyes. “People would start to talk. Besides, we're only a couple of blocks away,” they said.
Donna pulled out her phone and began to dial as she stepped out on the small balcony. Jess was trying not to, but they could not stop looking at me. I’m sure other people had looked at me in that way, I just never noticed. My younger self could be oblivious to such things but proximity made it hard to not notice. I needed a distraction from their enamored gaze so I looked around at the sparsely decorated apartment. There was a thin layer of dust on everything.
“This is your place?” I asked.
I ran a finger on an empty shelf, making a line through the dust.
“Yeah. Not bad for a sixteen year old, am I right?” said Jess.
I rolled my eyes this time.
“Seriously though, it’s not my only place,” they said, sitting up. “I have a few of them. I rent random places here and there for a month or so at a time. I pay in cash up front, with a little extra thrown in to keep questions from being asked. So maybe it’s more of a safe house. My actual place is way nicer. I can show it to you,” said Jess, feeling hopeful.
“I’ll pass,” I said.
“Your loss,” they replied.
They tried to not sound disappointed but it didn’t work. Then Donna came back in.
“Someone is coming over,” she said.
Donna’s contact was one of Jenny’s cousins. He told us that Jenny never got her U.S. citizenship. He didn’t know what happened but she ended up back in South Korea. Then her mother passed away recently. This caused Jenny to get more desperate to get her father and brother to the South. This involved interacting with increasingly shady characters. A week ago, Jenny emptied a bank account and disappeared. There was a rumor that one of the smugglers she contacted may have actually been working for North Korean agents. Donna then asked for Jenny’s last known location. She already knew but was now in the habit of confirming what she had seen through her visions. After he left, Donna closed her eyes for a minute. I stepped beside her and waited. She opened her eyes and nearly collapsed but I caught her.
“Maybe take a knee next time,” I said.
I’ve made this suggestion many times. Focused reading of future events can take a lot out of her.
“Maybe,” she replied.
That was always her reply.
“What was that?” asked Jess.
“Recon,” said Donna.
She started to lay out the plan before Jess could ask any more questions. We made our move a couple of hours after sunset. Jenny was in a detention camp way up north, near the border with China. Jess teleported us inside the perimeter, right in front of the main entrance and then they disappeared. They would not go into the building since they didn’t know the layout or what dangers were inside. That was all on us. Donna could have scouted out each future of us going into the building but envisioning the future was becoming increasingly harder for her, mentally and physically. She also didn’t want to wait any longer to get Jenny out so the time was now.
The main entrance was a two-inch thick, steel barn door. I tore it off its frame and tossed it. An explosion was the sound of Jess dropping a grenade on an electrical junction. Besides meeting us for the evacuation, that was the extent of their involvement. The power failed and emergency lights came on inside of the building. The outside went dark as I charged forward. I ran through doors, gates, and a couple of walls. Donna picked up a rifle along the way and made fast work of anyone who would be trouble. We reached Jenny’s cell door and I tore it off the wall. Jenny was on the floor. She frantically crawled to a dark corner and tried to make herself as small as possible. Donna rushed in and knelt next to her friend.
“Jenny, Jenny, it’s me, Donna,” she said.
Jenny just screamed and tried to weakly fight Donna off. She was in bad shape. Besides looking like she suffered regular beatings, she hadn’t washed in who knows how long. Her clothing was worn, torn, and filthy. Donna grabbed Jenny’s hands. She started singing something in Korean I could not understand. Jenny stopped fighting and looked at Donna.
“Jin-ae. It’s me, Donna. I’m getting you out of here,” said Donna in Korean.
Jenny didn’t say anything. She just started crying and wrapped her arms around her friend.
“I got you. You’re going to be alright,” said Donna.
I could hear yelling so I stepped out into the hall. Guards with flashlights were approaching and started shooting at me. I was honestly surprised at how much they were hitting me in normally fatal spots. In my experience, guards tended to not be so accurate.
“We need to go,” I said.
Donna said something to Jenny in Korean then led her out of the cell. They kept low behind me. Donna put one arm on my shoulder and Jenny locked her hands onto Donna’s belt.
“Do not let go,” Donna said to Jenny.
I carefully started moving forward. I was trying to walk briskly but I had to slow down a couple of times. I couldn’t risk exposing Donna and Jenny to the gunfire. Bullets passed through my clothes and fell to the floor. The other me twitched but I managed to keep her asleep. Donna leaned to my sides as needed to take shots. When we reached the entrance to the building, I was getting hit more and more. The outside lights were back on and a spotlight was shining on me as I stood where the metal barn door had been. Donna pushed Jenny down behind the wall at the entrance. She stayed low and kept her hands over her head. Donna used me and the wall for cover. Jenny flinched every time Dona fired the rifle. We were in danger of getting overwhelmed. I was about to ask Donna how Jinx was going to get us out when I began falling through the air.
As I understand it, Jess materialized behind us. They were sideways, in the air, and twisting. They put their hands on Donna and Jenny, then touched my back with their foot. We arrived on the outskirts of Seoul at a house with a walled off garden. It was another one of Jess’s safe houses. Donna and Jenny arrived as they had been; Jenny covering her head; Donna in a crouch with the rifle. She had instinctively stopped firing and set her weapon to safe right before our transport. Where I stood in relation to the others happened to correspond to the location of the koi pond. So I went in. Jess continued their midair twist and landed on their feet, looking very impressed with themselves. In hindsight, I have to admit that the retrieval was impressive. I, at the time being completely soaked in pond water, could not fully appreciate it.
After I had some loud choice words with Jess, Donna had me shake it off. She was sending Jess and I back for the rest of the prisoners. I honestly expected Jess to explain that it was not a part of the deal and demand more money, but they said nothing. Donna said she wanted to come with us, but she couldn’t leave Jenny alone. I bit my lip and held out my hand for Jess. They grabbed it and I could swear their hand was more caressing mine than it was just holding it.
“Are you serious right now?” I asked.
They looked at me innocently.
“What?” they asked with a cheap grin.
Jess and I materialized just inside a tree line near the camp. The guards had lined up some of the prisoners for a firing squad. I thought we were going to be too late for some of them. Jess let go of my hand and calmly spoke.
“Stay here. I got this,” they told me.
Their demeanor was completely serious now. Before I could say anything, Jess was gone. In rapid fashion, the guards and soldiers outside began to disappear. Around twenty men vanished in seconds. I could just barely make out the hazy image of a person appearing next to or behind each man just before he vanished. And then before I knew it, I was just inside the entrance to the prison with Jess crouched behind me.
“Just start walking,” they said.
As we made our way through the buildings, the camp personnel kept disappearing. When they were all gone, we led all the prisoners outside. Some cried. Others hugged me and shook my hands. Every time someone tried to shake Jess’s hand or hug them, Jess awkwardly backed off or teleported a few feet away and apologized. When we had everyone gathered Jess turned to me.
“I can take it from here,” they said.
Jess put their hand on my shoulder and I was back at the house with Donna. They teleported with me but they were gone so fast you wouldn’t have noticed they had been next to me at all. About an hour later Jess returned to the house. They assured us that they could take care of arrangements for the other prisoners and that they were safe. I asked Jess why they got awkward when the prisoners tried to thank them.
“Don’t know what you mean,” they said.
I was about to clarify but Donna shook her head. So I dropped it. Jess let us stay at the house as long as we needed. Donna and I ended up staying with Jenny for a few days. I went for walks to explore on my own so Donna and Jenny could catch up. When she said she felt up for it, we took Jenny to her cousin’s house. Donna left our money bag with them to cover whatever Jenny needed. Jenny never did speak with me much but I wasn’t bothered by that. The next day Jess brought us back to our motel room in LA. Fortunately Donna had booked the room for a couple of weeks. Jess didn’t talk much. They didn’t even show any sign that they were attracted to me. Their mind was someplace else. I tried to thank Jess and shake their hand but they backed away awkwardly. Donna tried to give them another five grand but Jess refused. Then suddenly the light in Jess’s eyes returned.
“So unless you have any other business, is this transaction concluded?” asked Jess.
Before Donna could say anything, I asked a question.
“What did you do with those guards?”
I’m not a fan of killing, even if I’m not the one doing it. I’ve managed to not kill anyone since Donna found me. I know it’s sometimes necessary for Donna to do it, but it weighs on me every time.
“Okay, because I like you guys, I’ll tell you the truth. They’re fine. I left them in the woods a good twenty miles away or so from the camp. I mean, I can’t guarantee what will happen to them now, but not my problem,” they said.
“So no volcanoes or ocean drops?” I asked.
“Where would you get an idea like that?” asked Jess with a mischievous smile.
They were telling us the truth about the prison camp guards but they were not going to confirm or deny what may or may not have happened to others before or after this job. Jinx had a reputation to uphold.
“I believe our business is concluded,” said Donna.
“Fantastic. Thank you for flying Jinx Air. I hope I can be a part of any of your future travel needs.” they said.
Then Jess took a step closer to me and looked into my eyes.
“If you ever feel... experimental,” they said to me.
“I don’t think I will,” I said.
“Shame,” said Jess.
They scanned me with their eyes one more time and then vanished. I didn’t quite catch on at the time, but Jess was being extra into me at that moment to try and hide what was really going on in their head. I took a deep breath and found a wall to lean against.
“Told you,” said Donna.
“Is Jenny going to be alright?” I asked Donna, changing the subject.
“Eventually. Her cousin is a good guy. His family will take care of her,” she said.
“And her father and brother?” I asked.
“Dead,” she replied.
I just nodded my head. I had a feeling that was the case.
“What were you singing to her in the cell?” I asked.
“Something her mom used to sing to her and her brother,” said Donna.
“I’m glad we found her,” I said.
“She appreciated your help by the way. She told me to thank you. Jenny didn’t say much because she isn’t too comfortable around people she doesn’t know. She’ll be like that for a while,” said Donna.
“I understand. And the other prisoners?” I asked.
Donna held onto the back of a chair to steady herself and closed her eyes for a few seconds. She felt for the possibilities and tried not to see them too much.
“They’ll do fine for the most part. But the rest of their lives will be on them now,” said Dona, opening her eyes.
“Why did Jinx back away when I tried to shake her…” I paused and winced. “I mean their hand. They were clearly interested in me earlier. They also acted weird when the prisoners tried to thank them.” I said.
“Don’t beat yourself up about the pronouns. Jinx doesn’t mind the occasional slip up as long as you are genuinely trying. Anyway, they have issues with people approaching them and touching them. Jinx can initiate touch, but receiving it is a little hard for them. They manage to be brave when doing business, but it’s a struggle. Seeing how the prisoners were being treated brought up some feelings in Jinx they try to forget,” said Donna.
“Why is that?” I asked.
I knew that Donna would have researched Jess, and had looked into their past.
“It’s their story to tell. If and when they want to tell it,” she said.
“Fair enough,” I replied.
I didn’t want to pry. Jess’s story wasn’t my business unless they wanted me to know. It’s funny saying that since I am now in fact telling you their and everyone’s business.
“I need a nap,” I said.
I laid down on my twin bed and closed my eyes, trying to let the events of the past few days filter out of my mind. My body didn’t need rest so much as I my mind did. I focused on my breathing and let my brain relax. It wasn’t quiet meditation, but it worked sometimes. Within a couple of minutes I fell asleep. Donna sat at the tiny table in our room. She laid her head down on top of it and covered it with her arms. She closed her eyes as tears started to form. Her legs trembled under the tension she felt. The chains of the timeline were weighing her down. The world was locked into a path with a dark destination she could not see and she could do nothing about it. She couldn't even warn me.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHILdcSrQim
