Indigo Incite Read online

  “That does sound good,” Grace said. “I’ll have one, too, if you don’t mind.”

  “No problem,” Eddie replied. They followed him to the kitchen and sat at the table while he turned to the cupboards for mugs and hot cocoa.

  The back door opened and closed, and in a moment, Tyler and Liliana rounded the corner.

  Tyler beamed at the sight of the newcomers. “Sarah, you made it!”

  She smiled in return and rose to give him a hug. “Yeah, I made it, all right. It’s nice to finally meet you. I met up with a friend along the way. I didn’t think you’d mind if I brought her along. Figured it would save you the trouble of finding her yourself.”

  Tyler turned to Grace. “I’m so glad you’re here. How did you two ever find each other? We went to your house, Grace, and your mom said that you’d gone on some band trip to Florida.”

  After Sarah and Grace had explained their chance encounter, Eddie turned to Sarah. “How did you get here, from the airport? Who dropped you off?”

  “It’s a long story. It was this couple I met back at the diner in Washington. They happened to be heading to the airport and offered to give me a ride.”

  Eddie raised his eyebrows. “They just happened to be headed to Flagstaff? Isn’t that a strange coincidence?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too, but I didn’t see any reason to be suspicious. They were just a nice, kind of kooky older couple.”

  Tyler took a thoughtful sip of hot cocoa, cupped the mug in his hands, and then pursed his lips in doubt. “And neither of you sensed anything strange about them?”

  “No,” Grace replied. “I mean, their auras seemed a bit shady, but I sensed that it was because they were constantly bickering with each other. I thought it seemed like an odd coincidence that they were coming here, but they didn’t give us any reason to doubt them. They dropped us off and went on their merry way.”

  Eddie hoped that she was right. After their laborious attempts to evade the enemy, the last thing they needed was to announce their location. It didn’t sound like they posed a threat, but it seemed a safe bet not to trust anyone right now.

  “Well,” Eddie said, “I guess now we need to figure out where to go from here.”

  “Oh,” Tyler replied, “in all the excitement, I forgot to tell you that Toby contacted me while we were out in the woods.” He went on to inform them of his most recent conversation with his brother.

  Eddie glanced at the clock. “If we leave now, it will be late and dark by the time we get to Sedona. I know we’re all exhausted. I say we get a good night’s rest and head out in the morning. Anyone up for ordering a couple of pizzas?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Tyler agreed. “That’ll give us time to figure out where this author lives and come up with a game plan.”

  They settled in front of the TV and joined Eddie’s father, who was engrossed in a 1980s detective movie. Eddie noticed that Tyler and Liliana sat together on the love seat. “Hey, I forgot to ask. How was your snowshoeing adventure?”

  The two outdoor explorers shared a moment of quiet eye contact, and Eddie sensed that a silent conversation passed between them.

  Liliana grinned, and then Tyler said, “Snowshoeing…right. It was uh…definitely…interesting.”

  *****

  Eddie stopped at the first gas station he came to, in Sedona, to find out if someone might know where Patricia McCormack lived. Eager to assist, the gas station clerk and three customers who had overheard his inquiry promptly offered directions. No one seemed to know actual street names, but down around a few right-hand turns, past a church, two businesses that advertised psychic readings, another that advertised a map to locate local vortexes, up a steep hill, and they quickly arrived at what they hoped was the author’s home.

  The pueblo-style ranch house had a circular drive and was nestled up to one of the hundreds of majestic red rock formations that made Sedona a popular tourist location.

  “Stay here with the car running…just in case,” Eddie said, as he stepped out. “No sense in all of us walking into a trap.”

  The finely crushed white rock crunched beneath his boots as he strode toward the front door. Overhead, a hawk silently circled. He rang the doorbell and waited while the chimes reverberated throughout the house. He prayed that the author was home. If she wasn’t, they would once again be at a stalemate, with nowhere to go.

  He removed his sunglasses and tapped them impatiently as he waited for a sign of inhabitation. He turned to the car, where his new friends watched with intent, and shrugged, as if to say he didn’t know if she was home or not. Just as he was about to ring the bell for a second time, the lock clicked and the door swung open to reveal a woman, who appeared to be in her early fifties. Slightly stocky, she had shoulder-length, frizzy, reddish blond hair. Dressed in an ankle length tie dyed dress, she was adorned in multiple pieces of necklaces, bracelets, and rings.

  Her smile was pleasant, but Eddie sensed an air of suspicion, as she eyed him quizzically. He realized that he should say something, but he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

  “Can I help you?” She looked first at him and then over his shoulder, to the car parked in the driveway.

  Eddie found his composure and said, “Um...hi…yes. Are you Patricia McCormack?”

  “I am. And who might you be?” She continued to eye him with suspicion, and Eddie knew that he needed to quickly assuage any doubts that she might have, about him.

  “My name’s Eddie. I’ve driven over here from Flagstaff with some friends. We were hoping that you might be able to answer a few questions for us about Indigo Children. I heard that you’re the person to talk to on the subject.”

  Her composure relaxed slightly, but obvious hesitation was still written on her face. She nodded and said, “You heard correctly. I have done extensive research on Indigo Children. Did someone in particular send you?” Doubt lingered in her voice, and Eddie wondered how many times people had come to her door, in search of advice and answers. More importantly, he wondered how many times someone from the IIA had come to question her, and he wondered if she suspected he might belong to the agency as well.

  He looked around to ensure that no one else had arrived. “Is it safe to talk?”

  “Safe? Yes, I believe it is. Though of course we never know for sure now, do we?”

  “No, I guess we don’t,” Eddie said, with a smile. He didn’t quite know how to begin, and so he decided the best place to start was with the truth. “I was sent here by a boy named Toby. He said you might be able to help. He was kidnapped by a group called the Indigo Intelligence Agency.”

  Her eyebrows rose in surprise. Whatever she had thought he might say, mention of the IIA was obviously not what she had expected.

  She glanced again over his shoulder and then said, “Invite your friends inside. It sounds like we have a lot to discuss.”

  *****

  The author guided them into a comfortable sun room. The circular room was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and lined with potted green plants and trees. There was a large rock waterfall on one side, and mingled amongst the plants, were a half dozen bird cages, that housed a variety of colorful, tropical birds. As they entered the room, the birds bellowed out a mixed melody of songs and squawks in greeting.

  “Please, have a seat and make yourselves comfortable,” the author said. “If you’ll excuse me, for just a moment, I’ll have my housekeeper prepare a tray of snacks.”

  Eddie took a seat by himself on one of the four pillow-lined wicker love seats that were positioned around a glass coffee table. Sarah and Grace sat across from him, and Tyler and Liliana claimed the love seat to his left.

  They sat in silence, each left to their own thoughts. Eddie became acutely aware of Sarah’s presence, directly across from him. He tried not to stare for any length of time. Instead, he pretended to be entranced in watching a small, green parrot; however, he couldn’t help but look at her from time to time. His growing inf
atuation was absurd; nevertheless, he felt drawn to her.

  Tyler must have decided that the growing silence had gone on long enough, and he took it upon himself to lighten the mood. “Hey, you know, when I was a kid, my grandma had a parrot that could talk. I wonder if any of these birds can say something.” He stood and wandered over to the cage that housed a green parrot.

  “Wait a minute! I’ve been here before,” Grace exclaimed.

  Tyler turned to her with raised eyebrows. “You’ve been here? When?”

  “Well…I wasn’t exactly here—not physically, anyway. It was in a dream, and now that I remember it, all of you were in the dream, too.”

  “Cool. I guess that’s a sign we’re supposed to be here,” Tyler said. Then he turned back to the parrot and spoke in a high-pitched, parrot-imitating voice, “Polly want a cracker?” The bird looked at him, blinked, and then let out a high pitched squawk. “Hellloooo,” Tyler squawked, in his parrot voice. The bird looked at him and blinked once more.

  Grace laughed. “You did that in my dream, too.”

  He grinned. “Oh yeah? And in your dream, did this bird talk to me?”

  Liliana laughed. “I don’t think your new friend there wants to talk to you.”

  Tyler turned to her. “Don’t be silly. Animals love me. He just needs to warm up a bit. Just you wait and see.”

  He grinned, again, turned back to the bird, and stared in silence, for a few moments. Then the quietude was broken when the bird squawked, “Hello! Hello!”

  The girls giggled at the parrot’s response.

  “What’s your name?” Tyler asked.

  “What’s your name?” the bird responded.

  “I’m Tyler.”

  “Tyler! Tyler!” the parrot screeched.

  “Right, I’m Tyler. What’s your name?”

  “Freddie.”

  “Freddie? Nice to meet you, Freddie. What’s a handsome bird like you doing, all alone, in this cage? There’s a lot of pretty girl parrots on the other side of the room. It looks to me like they have their eyes on you.”

  In response, the other parrots let out a variety of raucous calls and squawks. “See there, Freddie? I think they like you.”

  “Pretty girls!” the parrot replied.

  “That is amazing!” Patricia said, from the doorway. The author reentered the room, strode around the loveseats, and stopped beside Tyler. “How did you do that?” She gazed at him in wonder.

  “Do what? Talk to the bird?”

  “I have had Freddie for ten years, and I’ve never been able to get him to talk. You’ve been here for five minutes, and he’s carrying on a conversation.” She broke her gaze from Freddie to stare at Tyler. “Who are you?” She turned to the rest of the group. “Who are all of you, for that matter?”

  “It’s a really long story,” Tyler replied. “Do you have time?”

  “Eddie mentioned the IIA and said that a friend of yours was kidnapped. For that, I will make time. Please, have a seat.”

  Tyler resumed his seat beside Liliana, and Patricia sat in the empty love seat to Eddie’s right.

  “You have a friend who was kidnapped?” Patricia began.

  “It’s my brother, actually,” Tyler replied. “My twin brother.”

  “I see. And you know for a fact that it was the IIA who took him?”

  “I do. Toby has been able to contact me telepathically. He doesn’t know where he is, but he does know for sure that it’s the IIA who took him. They want to use him for his gifts.”

  Patricia nodded. “Yes, I know. That is what the IIA does. They use teenagers and young adults with special powers, for their own benefit. How much do you know about them?”

  “Not much at all. That’s why we came to see you. Toby said that you know a tracker who deserted the agency. He said that you might know where he is. We need to find the tracker and talk to him. He’s the only one who might be able to give us directions to find my brother.”

  “You aren’t the first people to come around, asking about him. There’s been a slew of agents through here. Some have had official-looking badges. Others have appeared to be college-age kids who claim to be his friend. I’m going to tell you the same thing that I told all of them—I don’t know where he is. If he deserted, then it must be because he doesn’t want to be found.”

  “You don’t know where he is? Or you don’t want to tell us where he is?”

  Patricia smiled and looked at him in silence. A sound from the doorway broke the tension. “Ah, thank you, Maria,” she said, to the housekeeper. “You may set the tray on the table.”

  As directed, the housekeeper set a crystal tray on the coffee table. It was filled with a pitcher of water and an assortment of sausage, cheese, crackers, and fruit.

  “Please, help yourselves,” Patricia said.

  It had been a while since breakfast, and they were all happy to sample the refreshments.

  “This is delicious,” Sarah said. “Thank you.”

  The rest of the group murmured similar responses of appreciation.

  “What can you tell us about the IIA?” Eddie asked the author.

  “You don’t know much about them?”

  Eddie shook his head. “No. We know that they took Toby because he’s what they consider an Indigo Child, but we don’t really know what that term means either.”

  She looked at the members of the group one by one. “How did all of you get involved?”

  “Toby said that they have a list of people they are interested in recruiting, if you want to call it that, and we are all on the list. I guess they’re determined to find us one way or the other.”

  Patricia nodded in understanding. “Yes, that makes sense. There are always trackers who are in search of people like you. The more powerful your gifts, the more useful you are, and therefore, the more determined they would be to find you. I am curious how you came to find each other, but let me start from the beginning and answer some of your questions. I guess the first place to start would be to explain what an Indigo Child is.”

  She took a deep breath. “First off, the term Indigo Child was coined in the 1970’s. It was given to label children who demonstrated a collection of characteristics. It was noticed that more and more children who were born held a series of personality traits and special abilities that hadn’t been widely known before.

  “On a very basic, scientific sense, it was noticed that these children possessed an indigo hue in their auras. That’s where the term ‘Indigo Children’ comes from. They all demonstrated a heightened sense of the energy in the world around them. Those are common characteristics of all Indigo Children, but just as all people are different, so are Indigo Children. They possess a wide range of personality traits and abilities, some more so than others. If you have drawn the attention of the IIA, that tells me that each of you must possess strong abilities in one way or another.”

  “What sort of abilities or personality traits are common for Indigo Children?” Sarah asked.

  “Well, let me begin with personality traits. Indigos are often curious about the world. They’re empathic toward others and highly intuitive, and they often hold a clear sense of purpose for their lives. They can be strong-willed, and they often perceive the world differently. They often don’t feel it’s necessary to follow the normal way of doing things, and they usually have a higher sense of spirituality. Now, please understand, these are just some traits that Indigos exhibit. The list isn’t all inclusive, but they are common personality traits that are seen much of the time.”

  The group nodded their heads in silent understanding, and the author continued.

  “Now then, besides those certain personality traits, Indigos sometimes possess one or two special abilities. They can be telepathic or psychic, they can have the ability to affect electronics and harness energy, and they can have the ability to influence others. Oftentimes, those who can influence others have a dynamic personality that draws others to them. They have also been known to comm
unicate with others of different energy levels, like spiritual beings, and they can see auras.

  “Again, that is just a small list. I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.”

  “What about healing?” Liliana asked. “Can Indigos heal others by touching them?”

  Patricia turned toward Liliana with a look of interest. “Can you do that?”

  Liliana nodded.

  “Well, that’s one that I haven’t come across, before, but it would make sense. If Indigos can harness and manipulate energy, it would make sense that they would be able to do it on another person as well. An injury in a body, after all, is just a series of electrons that have essentially gone askew. So, if Indigos can manipulate the electrons to fix themselves, then it would be reasonable to assume that they could heal an injury, as well.

  “Wow, that is something to think about.” She smiled at Liliana and then was silent for a moment, as though lost in contemplation.

  Grace pursed her lips and leaned forward. “Is there an explanation why there are suddenly more people who are born with these characteristics?”

  “That’s an excellent question,” Patricia said, “and the answer is yes. Actually, there is a very real and plausible theory behind the emergence of Indigo Children. Are you all familiar with DNA?”

  The author looked around the room and they all nodded.

  “Well, that is the first place to begin. Along with DNA is something else called RNA. RNA identifies and responds to experiences that we all have, both emotional and physical, and it carries messages to our DNA. In turn, as our DNA receives these new messages, it has the ability to communicate differently. Over the past few years, this variance in DNA communication has begun to occur more frequently.

  “After a while, the DNA gets rewired permanently, and we see the changes occur more rapidly. We begin to see a leap in the make-up of people as consciously aware beings. Have you ever heard of something called a ‘critical mass’?”

  Most of the group shook their heads, but Eddie said, “I have. I remember hearing something about it, in one of my physics classes.”

  “You may have,” she said, to Eddie. “Critical mass is a term used in physics when it’s referred to obtaining a necessary amount of material to sustain a chain reaction. Critical mass also has another meaning. It refers to a moment in time that an evolutionary trend becomes the norm. As more and more people begin to change, it is believed that the characteristics held by some, will eventually be the characteristics held by most.