by S. E. Akers
We’re safe, I thought as I looked at my watch. At least until dawn.
There had been plenty of times over the years when I would look at someone and think, “I’d love to be a fly on the wall”. Being cooped up with a terrified cheerleader in the dark for over an hour with her screaming for help at the top of her lungs while throwing the mother of all hissy-fits sure changed my tune. I’d seen teens in slasher flicks that weren’t so bent out of shape and would bet anyone a million dollars that psychos locked in asylums had more composure. I could actually hear her bones quaking. That was bad, but the crying was even worse. My guilt twisted my gut with every second that passed.
I pressed my fingers against my temples. This is all my fault!
“I shouldn’t even be here!” Kara raged. Her angry cries soon eased into fearful moans. Talk about awkward. If I’d heard an animal howling like that, I wouldn’t have blinked at the idea of grabbing Daddy’s double-barrel to put it out of its misery. Every terror-stricken cry made me wince. Just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, her bawling softened into somewhat tolerable snivels. Thankfully. Those I could handle for the next eleven hours of my sentence. However, to my complete shock, she started spilling more than tears — pretty much every wicked little bean in her bag.
“I’m sorry I knocked Olivia off the pyramid,” Kara blurted out loud, her voice weary with remorse. “This is my punishment! I KNOW IT IS!” she swore.
Quietly, I raised my head and folded my arms. Oh, this is going to be good.
Kara continued, “And I’m sorry I told that girl at the bar that Mike was gay. If I ever get out of here, I’ll give him the napkin I took with the other girl’s number on it.”
Lot of good THAT will do, I thought with a shiver. I remembered seeing her at one of the tables during “mass”. She can’t answer without her arms…or head.
Kara kept rambling on and on about how sorry she was for EVERYTHING she had ever done. She copped to fake rumors she had started since she was five, flirting with guys she didn’t like (just because her friends did), hazing and harassing classmates, blackmailing her little sister into selling all of her fundraising crap over the years, and even drugging the toddlers she babysat with cough syrup so they would shut up and go to sleep. From the time she spilled her apple juice on and around Zack William’s chair in First Grade to make everyone think he’d wet his britches to pulling a tissue out of Rebecca Landry’s shirt in Eighth Grade during Algebra, just to prove she stuffed, the now “penitent cheerleader” left no holds barred.
“I’ll start doing my own homework…writing my own papers, too,” Kara promised with her hands clenched. “I still have nightmares about what I had to do to get that proctor to fiddle with my SAT score!” She gagged a little after fessing up to that one. “I wont steal another dime out of my mom’s purse, and I’ll stop sneaking my dad’s whiskey out of the house and selling it to the guys on the football team. I’ll even stop spitting in people’s food at work… Even the cheapskates!” she vowed like she was doing them a favor. “And I’ll give Ty back his class ring. I should have already done it,” she admitted. “I hope he’s okay.” She remained quiet for a moment and then added, “He was lucky Shiloh was there.”
I slowly turned my head towards her. In a roundabout way, that was probably the nicest thing she had ever said in reference to me.
Kara took a deep breath. “And I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated her on this trip… Okay — the past few months… OKAY — since kindergarten,” she rephrased. I had to check to make sure that someone wasn’t twisting her arm like a screw. “She’s not all bad. I guess.” Kara looked thoughtful for a moment and then let out a winded sigh. “I wouldn’t really know. I’ve always been kind of mean to her.”
I shifted carefully, desperate to find a comfortable position.
“I don’t hate her. I don’t,” Kara proclaimed and then bit her lip. “Everyone else likes her. They always have.” There was something foreign in her voice that seemed to be guiding her words. Could the mean-girl I’d known for years actually have a heart that wasn’t a frigid block of ice?
“I wanted to be her friend when we were little,” Kara revealed in a whisper. “But she was always with KATIE.” Kara wiped her tear-stained face. “I’m sorry for something else. I didn’t mean it when I said I was happy that Katie died.”
My mouth fell open. No she DIDN’T!
“I know. I KNOW… It was horrible, and I’m sooo sorry! I guess I always wanted to have a friend like that. I was just jealous,” she said and started crying uncontrollably. “Nobody has ever wanted to be a friend like that to me… NOT EVER!” Kara let out a tearful scream. “Who could stand me? I can’t even stand myself!”
Hearing Kara’s heartfelt admission made me feel even worse. She went on and on about how inseparable Katie and I were throughout the years, how we never argued, but mostly about how we were always there for each other, side-by-side, something she’d never experienced from any of her countless, as she called them, “acquaintances”. Who knew that what the queen-of-everything secretly wanted most of all was a genuine friend? But then again, a friendship like ours was something you couldn’t win in a competition or buy from a store. You had to earn it. And right now, I felt like the most undeserving little liar on the block. The more she built me up, the further my heart sank. All I could think about was what Katie must be thinking about her “bosom friend” right now. Lying, scheming traitor came to mind. That, coupled with Kara’s over-abundance of kind words was starting to make me sick. An image of me wearing a pageant sash draped over my chest that read, “Crappiest Friend Ever” in shiny sequin letters, flashed in my head. I never, ever should have lied to Katie about what really happened that night at the graveyard. Everything snowballed from there. Any and all trust between us was probably shot for good. I didn’t even want to think about how low her hope had sunk. I feared that most of all. I couldn’t live with myself if all of “my lies” ended up binding her to that diamond forever. Even worse, she had NO ONE to talk to. The only person she could vent my betrayal to was ironically, ME — the one person she never wanted to speak to again! I rubbed my hand over the spot where her pendant would normally hang. It felt just as empty as my heart. I knew Tanner would keep her safe, but I wanted her with me. Thinking she was dead paled in comparison to the grief I felt. This was heart-wrenching Hell. I sighed to myself and slumped against the cold, craggy stone wall. As far as I was concerned, nothing, not even all the missing ingredients, would be enough of a magical elixir to repair the damage I’d done.
Shiloh, you suck… You don’t deserve a single friend.
Kara picked up the iPhone lying beside her. After a couple of clicks, she announced, “There. I deleted the pictures. And I promise, if I ever get out of here, I’ll apologize to her for every mean thing I’ve ever done.” Kara sniffled and wiped her nose in one quick swipe. “Maybe we can be friends…if she even needs one?” she cried. “I know I do.” Hysterically, she started wailing again and beating on the walls. It was even worse than before. She flailed about, barely able to catch her breath. I jerked and accidentally knocked over a stack of rocks. The unexpected “crash” sent her over the edge.
“WHO’S THERE?!? WHO’S IN HERE?” Kara shrieked, looking petrified and waving her cell phone around like a flashlight. “PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!” Just watching her curl up into a ball made my guilt shift into overdrive. I couldn’t let her go through this all night. What person could?
I sighed. Aw, screw it…
Slowly, I crept towards her and lowered myself beside her shaky, cowering frame. Since there wasn’t a “good way” to do this, I simply retracted the invisibility spell and shined the now visible light from my ring beside her face.
Just as Kara whipped up her head, I said a gentle, “Hi.” That was my subtle approach.
As I’d predicted, Kara clenched her eyes shut and let out an ear-piercing scream — actually, several of them.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!” s
he bawled, kicking her legs and swatting her arms at nothing but empty space. I imagined the only thing it came close to was watching someone have a seizure after a case of Red Bulls and a hit of crack.
“KARA! Open your eyes! It’s me.” It took her a good couple of seconds, but something finally kicked in her brain. Cautiously and with her body still trembling, she holstered her crazy-act and lifted her head. She simply stared at me like I was figment her imagination had conjured. I waved my hand back and forth to make sure she wasn’t in shock. Slowly but surely, her pupils started to track my hand. Her eyes fell upon my golden topaz. I figured I would try to pull her back to reality with a little affirming conversation.
“This is what you saw in the locker room.” I wiggled my fingers, hoping for more of a response. “You were right. It glows,” I said with a light laugh.
“You’re really real?” Kara mumbled. “Really?”
“Yes,” I confirmed and placed my hand on her arm to prove it.
Kara sprang to her feet. “What are you…DOING HERE?” She started searching around the chamber. “Is this a rescue? Is there another way out?” she quizzed impetuously. I rose up and placed my hands on her shoulders.
“No, Kara,” I said as I gently lowered her back down to the ground. “No one’s coming, and I’m pretty sure no one but the jaguar and the guys who chased you in here knows where we are.”
“How did you know about the cat? The man?” Kara muttered with a dazed look.
Start at the beginning. That’s always best. “Coach Hayes got sick. The bus driver took him to find a hospital.”
“Our chaperone ditched us?” Kara interrupted in a huff.
“Yeah, but let’s try to stay focused, okay?” Kara nodded, so I continued. “We were supposed to meet out front and catch a bus that would take us back to Veracruz. When I finally found you, those men were dragging you into the jungle. I followed them.” Kara’s face was getting paler and paler by the second. I guessed a verbal rehash of probably the most horrific moment of her life wasn’t the greatest or most considerate idea in the world. Hey — They’re not “gold” every time. I decided to change course. “Anyway, I kind of helped you get away.”
“You helped me?” she quizzed skeptically.
“Yes.”
“Where were you?” Kara asked.
“The same place I’ve been for the past hour…invisible and right nearby,” I replied.
“But that’s impossible?” Kara questioned.
“Is it anymore impossible than a jaguar turning into a man before your eyes?” I countered. Kara slumped back against the wall with a familiar look dancing in her eyes. She was dwelling on every terrifying detail, replaying it over and over while her mind searched for a logical explanation.
When her mental-movie had played out and all of her logic and reason had been officially stowed, she turned her head to me. “You saved my life?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
The next thing I knew, Kara lunged at me. Stunned, my muscles didn’t relax until I heard her crying. “No one’s ever done anything like that for me,” she whispered tearfully and squeezed me even harder.
“Well, technically…this would be the second time,” I admitted. Kara released me and pulled back. “At the club in New Orleans,” I confirmed to the clueless look on her face. “That stamp the bouncer marked your hand with sort of put a spell on you. Marco wasn’t a very nice guy,” I phrased delicately. All things considered, I thought she had reached her limit for supernatural shocks for the day (possibly lifetime), and I wasn’t about to go into any depth about the fangs and claws he was hiding. I didn’t have an emerald, but even my gut knew she would puke non-stop after thinking about how much kissing and butt rubbing she had permitted that night.
“What did those guys want?” Kara asked, still rattled.
“About that,” I started and took a deep breath. “Kara, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. This is completely my fault,” I admitted. “They thought you…were me.”
I pretty much hit the highlights with her — telepathy, glowing sword that could butterfly a tree, pulling powers out of stones, lightning bolts on command, my trip to Catemaco, and the fact that there were others like me who would kill to claim what I possessed. Seriously, I’d gotten her into this mess. I owed her that much. We still had to get out of here…alive. But I only told her about my supernatural-self, nothing about Katie and certainly not anything about Bea or Tanner. It didn’t make sense to throw anyone else under the bus. To my surprise, she didn’t have many questions. She basically listened. I think I needed that cathartic release most of all. I’d been so dishonest to Katie and secretive with Tanner that I guessed my conscience pretended on some level I was pouring my heart out to someone on the other side of a confessional. Even though she wasn’t “whom” I needed to own up to, I still felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
“So, this thing inside you…that’s what they’re after?” Kara asked.
“Yep,” I confirmed.
“Can you, you know feel it?” she asked with a wince.
“Now that I’ve had time to really think about it…Yes and no. That’s what’s weird. I feel like someone’s watching me, I think, but he doesn’t ever say anything. I knew something was wrong when the fire shot out of my hands, but I thought it could’ve had something to do with the curse. Well, I think that’s what I was hoping.”
“Have you tried to do the lightning thing again?” Kara asked. Her genuine concern lifted the corners of my mouth. I still found it hard to believe I was sitting here, locked in an ancient building and talking so freely about this stuff to off all people, Kara freakin’ Leighton.
“No. A part of me is scared to try. I don’t know if this Helio is blocking it or not. But if he is…I can’t imagine why?” That was my biggest concern. This was someone Adamas seemed to trust. A friend, I assumed. What reason would he have for screwing with my powers?
“Can I ask you something else?” Kara posed.
I detected some reservation. “Shoot,” I replied casually.
“Aren’t you worried that I’ll tell?”
“No,” I said with a doubtless grin. “I can take care of that…if I have to.” Or the goons outside will, I thought quietly.
“Is that what happened to Ty? Did you make his memories disappear?”
“Not intentionally. It was a side effect I found out about later, after I’d neutralized the poison.”
“Who poisoned him?” Kara pried.
“I’d rather not say,” I stated firmly. Kara noted the look in my eyes and didn’t push the issue.
“I’m sorry about the way I acted at the hospital,” Kara said.
I grinned. “I’m sorry about shoving you into the fountain that night, too.” Even she chuckled a little at that one.
Kara’s face lit up. “Is that what happened to Mike’s memories?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“Did he get poisoned too?”
“No,” I answered flatly.
“What hap—”
“I can’t tell you. It wouldn’t be fair to Mike.”
“Why?”
“Kara, I can take your memories right now.” Honestly, that was the last thing I wanted to do. If Screaming-Mimi was scared out of her wits before, who knows how bad she would be if a sudden case of amnesia was thrown into the mix?
“Okay. Okay,” Kara said. “I was just curious.”
He is too, I affirmed quietly.
“I really do like him, even if he is a royal jerk sometimes.”
“I know you do,” I answered. If her jealous actions weren’t enough of a sign, her brainwaves sure were.
Kara’s eyes twinkled. “Can you tell if he really likes me? You know, read is mind?”
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked. Kara shook her head like guilt-less child. “I try to stay out of people’s heads. I wouldn’t want someone rummaging through mine.”
“All right,” Kara sighed. “I just thought it migh
t save me some heartache. He’s been sending me mixed signals for weeks. I thought if I came on this trip and spent some time with him that it would clear things up.” Kara let out a frustrated laugh. “But honestly, he’s been even worse.”
“Don’t take it personal. Mike’s got his head so far up his own butt right now, I’m surprised he can commit to breathing,” I phrased diplomatically.
Kara’s head was spinning. “You know why he’s acting weird, don’t you?”
I nodded. “But again…I can’t say.”
“Is it a girl?”
I rolled my eyes. “No, Kara. It’s not ‘a girl’.” I swear! Even in a life or death situation she has a one-track mind! I took a composing breath. “It has something to do with his father,” I assured her on a much softer note. “That’s all I’m going to say.” Suddenly, my head started to tingle a familiar vibe. “Terrific,” I grumbled aloud and smacked my hands on the ground. Kara was curious, but I shushed her with a wave. I wanted to make sure I heard every cross word out of Tanner Grey’s mouth.
“WHERE ARE YOU?” Tanner called out. I couldn’t help but find myself amused. He could holler all he wanted. Without an amethyst, I couldn’t answer. “I’m here at the hotel and you’re not. Neither is your roommate. You’ve got ONE MINUTE and the clock is ticking!”
I grinned and propped my legs up on the base of a statue. One minute? Bet he didn’t think this would come back to bite him on the butt.
“What?” Kara shouted.
I shook my head. “Someone’s just trying to contact me telepathically.”
“Great! Tell them where we are and they can come get us.”
“I can’t. I don’t have what I need to talk back to him. He can only speak to me.”
“He?” Kara questioned. Her bewildered look morphed into a postured smile. “Is it that Professor Grey?”
One-track mind. I denied her question with a big fat “NO”, but the look on my face screamed something different.
Before I could issue a formal warning, she promised, “I won’t say anything. I swear.” She even held her hand up like a Girl Scout.