Bonus Chapter – Theo Finds the Letter

I watched as the small piece of paper fell from my fingertips and floated down to the floor. The thin sheet fluttered and swooshed effortlessly in the air before landing near my left foot. It took everything I had not to lift my boot and stomp on it. Despite the paper's unassuming appearance, I knew what it was—it was the end of my good life.

That's what I felt as I continued to stare in disbelief at the smudged letters that were still visible from where I stood. They had been written by someone I cared about, but, apparently, she had a different idea of what love meant.

My entire body ached as the words began to sink in, causing a sickening pain in the pit of my stomach. My hands clenched repeatedly into tight fists at the sides of my body. I wanted everything to stop. To end. I just wanted her back.

So many thoughts were going through my head, almost as if I had a busy six-lane highway racing through my brain. The cars on that imaginary road were putting on their brakes and then speeding back up as they continued forward into darkness.

Something didn't seem right. Esa was tough, but I never saw her writing something like this thing.

The last lines in her letter kept echoing through my thoughts: Please, Theo, I hope you understand. It's time for me to go. Don't search for me. I don't want to be found.

I guess it shouldn't really matter to me. At least I knew the truth now. I could stop worrying about her. I shook my head several times, trying to clear it. The past few days had been an ugly blur. It had been exactly five months since I had last seen Esa James, my girlfriend and best friend.

At the time, she was walking out of her brother's lab. Her long white hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail. The one moment I briefly glanced at her, I remember thinking her hair shimmered in the light. She had looked beautiful... and completely lost in thought as she passed by me.

She'd said she would be back in a little bit. Nothing seemed abnormal about her behavior. We had done missions before on our own. After all, we were soldiers above anything else. Her thin fingers had brushed against my arm as she walked by, sending a soft shock through my body. I hadn't even really paused to look into her eyes that day. We were both busy.

At the time, I had thought I would see her again in just a few minutes. So, I continued toward the lab. That was my ultimate flaw. It was something I would gladly take back right now. I would give anything to see her again. Even if only for a few seconds.

We had been together for so long that it was hard for me to think about not having her in my life, but, apparently, she had different plans. Esa James no longer wanted to be with me. I had to assume that when she walked past me that afternoon, she knew she was leaving the team and me.

Esa had a graceful walk. It was almost as if, at one point, she had been a dancer, but I knew that was far from the truth. She hated dancing. Really, she hated anything that would make her less of a soldier. She was one of the strongest people I knew... and she was mine. Or, she had been mine.

Over the past few months, the entire team had spent countless hours trying to find her, but she was gone. There were no signs pointing to her whereabouts. No signs pointing to the fact that she was still alive.

All of that changed today with the delivery of the letter. Esa hadn't been captured, she had simply wanted out of the group and left. She had decided this was no longer a fight she wanted to be a part of. Simply put, she had abandoned us. She abandoned me.

I straightened and puffed out my chest. If she didn't want me, then I didn't want her. That was that. I tried to tell myself, I would be fine. We all would be fine.

"Hey, Theo, any luck on finding Esa?" Luther asked, as he strolled down the hallway toward me. Hearing her name on someone else's lips made me flinch.

"No. Nothing," I responded dryly, knowing, at some point, I would have to tell the others about the letter. But for now I wasn't ready. Instead, I slid my boot to cover the piece of paper lying on the floor.

"Hmm. It's odd. Let me know if you want to go out searching in a little bit. I've got plenty of time today to see if there are some years we've missed."

"Okay. Thanks, but I think I'll just go out on my own," I responded, shrugging my shoulders and hoping Luther would take the hint that I didn't want to be around anyone, much less him.

Luther had an odd expression in his eyes as we stood there staring at one another. "Okay. Whatever." His eyes pinched slightly closer together. "I'll go out on my own."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was a complete waste of time. She didn't want us to search for her. She had taken the necessary measures to make sure we couldn't find her.

Luther turned and headed back in the direction he'd come from. I watched as he clasped his hands together, creating a ball of electricity. Suddenly, he threw the ball at the blank wall in front of him, leaving a small black hole with singed edges.

"You will need to fix that," I yelled over at him, shaking my head several times at the sight, but it wasn't long before I glanced down at the paper again. It was calling me.

I knelt and picked up the white sheet. If there was one person I needed to tell, it was Samuel. As Esa's brother, he had a right to know she'd left us. Maybe, secretly, I was hoping he would be devastated, like me.

I wadded the paper in my fist and set off toward Samuel's lab. The glass door slid up as I approached the entrance. Samuel was sitting at one of his desks, staring intently at the glowing computer screen in front of him.

"What's up, Theo?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of the screen.

"I received something today."

"Like what?"

"A letter from Esa," I responded, without hesitation as I watched his body. He went rigid; then he swiveled his chair to face me.

"From Esa? Really? Why would she send a letter? Why not just send a v-chat?" Samuel asked with a perplexed look.

"I don't know. Here." I thrust the paper toward him. I definitely didn't want it. I just wanted to get rid of it.

Samuel looked down at the sheet in his hands. "Something isn't right about this, Theo. Esa hasn't written anything on paper in years, if ever."

"I know. I thought the same thing, but LUX printed it for me," I said, throwing up my arms in frustration. "Esa must have known I could have traced any other sort of correspondence."

Samuel huffed. "LUX!" I knew he was questioning the source, but, at the same time, calling her to answer his questions. The image of a spritely young girl with a pixie cut of pinkish hair suddenly appeared on the wall across from Samuel.

"Yes, Captain James?" LUX asked.

"Where did this come from?" Samuel asked, thrusting the paper toward LUX's screen.

"I don't know. I've already tried to trace it, but it somehow appeared on my hard drive earlier today."

"Hmm. That's not easy to do," Samuel said, shaking his head. "Very few people know the passwords to get to your hard drive."

"No, it is not very easy," LUX responded flatly. "But apparently it can be done, Captain James."

"But Esa wouldn't know how to do it," Samuel muttered. I knew where he was going with his train of thought. How would she know? It seemed impossible, but there was always a slight chance. "And she definitely wouldn't know how to do it and cover her tracks. The only person who might be able to manage this is my mother," Samuel continued, rising from his seat and pacing.

"We've heard she's dead," Theo said.

"I haven't seen the body," Samuel sighed.

"Good point."

"If Esa's alive, why haven't we been able to feel her energy?" Samuel asked no one in particular. I knew he was trying to figure out how his only sister could vanish without a trace.

"What are you guys doing?" Audrina's voice suddenly echoed through the room.

Without uttering a word, Samuel handed her the piece of paper.

Audrina's eyes grew wide as she read. "Do you guys think this letter is legit?" she questioned sarcastically, looking between us.

"Yes and no," I said, unsure of what the real answer could be at this point. I felt so much anger and hurt, but, really, I felt that way because Esa hadn't confided in me. If she was doing a solo mission that required her to disappear for a period of time, she'd gone on it without telling me. That's not how relationships should work. She knew she could trust me, but she hadn't. Frankly, her actions were the ultimate betrayal.

"Maybe someone has kidnapped Esa and they are trying to throw us off and insinuate that she decided to leave us," Audrina suggested.

"It's possible," Samuel said. "Possible."

"She left us for a specific reason, Samuel. At some point, she will want us to find her, but, by then, it may be too late." I crossed my arms.

"Too late?" Samuel asked, looking back at me.

"Yes. By the time we find her, it may be too late for me and Esa to have a future. She left me, Samuel. She didn't tell me where she was going. She just left. I honestly don't know if I will forever forgive her." My head sagged as the last words escaped my lips. I wished the situation had been different, but it wasn't. Esa was gone... and I was broken.

Note from the Author

Thank you for reading Jump Line. I hope you enjoyed reading this book. It is the first of a series.  The other two books can be found at the following links:

Book 2 - Time Hunter: https://www.wattpad.com/story/66069829-time-hunter-book-2-jump-line-series

Book 3 - Timed Out: https://www.wattpad.com/story/118707897-timed-out-book-3-jump-line-series

I hope you will check it out to see where Esa, Samuel, Theo, Audrina, Gave and Luther end up and whether or not they find Dr. Marie James.

Warmest Regards,

- Darcy