The X Factor

by Bella Street

  Gareth emitted a choked laugh, then shook his head.

  “Seriously, it's over. We need your brains right now figuring out how to get us home. That's all that matters.”

  He sighed. “Okay...and I have been working on that. I'll talk more about it the party.” He cleared his throat. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded and linked her hand with his. His touch didn't affect her like it used to. Guilt didn't feel quite as good as genuine affection.

  Stop it. No negative thoughts or Olga will sic the shrink on you.

  They walked slowly down the hallway. Seffy heard music coming from Lani's room. She groaned. “No way. That music could not have been released yet.”

  Gareth smiled. “Lani asked Fiona if it was available. Fiona found it. Hot off the cassette tape press.”

  “But it's 80s themed music, not Millennium.”

  He laughed softly. “I guess it's hard to get a hold of music that technically won't exist for another twenty years. Anyway, you know Lani can't help herself when it comes to that movie.”

  “Yeah,” she said, suddenly remembering something. “You know what's crazy? Right before the blast that brought us here, Verity told me that Lani had bought that film on DVD.”

  Gareth blinked. “She did?”

  Was he referring to Verity or Lani? Seffy wasn't sure she wanted to know the reason for the stunned expression in Gareth's eyes. But in a way she could relate. She felt the same way when she'd found out Verity had her sights set on Gareth—and that he'd obviously been game at the time.

  She kept her tone light. “I guess Lani was super excited about it. After Verity told me, she laughed and said a sure sign of the coming apocalypse was when Zannytu was re-released with bonus features.” She looked up at him. “But in a way it was. Isn't that weird?” Seffy didn't bother mentioning what came later in her conversation with the blonde.

  Gareth stopped, distracted. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “Weird.”

  She touched his arm, wondering at his reaction. “Are you okay?”

  His brow furrowed. “Sef, what were the last words Verity said to you?”

  The little spark of hope that she and Gareth might be able to regain some kind of connection fizzled and died. He must still have strong feelings for Verity to want to know her very last words. Seffy thought back to their last conversation with reluctance. If she remembered right, Gareth had been the subject of discussion—something about him preferring a whole woman. And it wasn't rocket science who was the broken one.

  “Do you remember? It's important.”

  Seffy closed her eyes to concentrate and slowly became aware of a familiar song filtering down the hallway.

  I'll never forget your face

  You're too good for me

  You're way too nice

  I'm telling you now, I'll never let you go

  Because I exist to love you forever

  When we're apart, when you're gone

  We're really not that far

  “Sorry, I shouldn't be taxing you right now.”

  Seffy looked up at him. “I remember,” she said quietly. “She said 'it's not the end of the world'.”

  Gareth regarded her almost as if he didn't believe her. “Oh, okay, thanks.” He cocked his ear. “We could ask her to turn off that music if it upsets you.”

  She shook her head, then lowered her gaze to hide the fact that the lyrics shook her to the core.

  You know, I just go inside my heart and you're with me

  Don't wander away 'cause I'll always stay

  Your name is on the wind

  My soul's on fire and it will never end

  You know how I'd feel if you ever ended this

  No one could make it right

  When we're apart, when you're gone

  We're really not that far

  You know, I just go inside my heart and you're with me

  “You ready to go in?”

  Seffy nodded, wanting nothing more than to go hide in her room and soak the arm of her sofa with pathetic tears.

  Why was Lani so fixated on that movie with its accompanying soundtrack? Didn't she know only trouble could come from it? Besides, they made a promise about it. More of a pact, really. Seffy glanced up at Gareth, whose brain was somewhere else entirely. So much for promises.

  Lani popped her head out of her door. “There you are! C'mon in!”

  Gareth led her into the commons room. It was decorated with old Christmas lights and silver tinsel.

  At Seffy's questioning look, Lani shrugged. “Hey, it's hard to get Millennial themed stuff when it's still two decades away.”

  Struggling to act cheerful, Seffy smiled. “I guess I didn't think of that. But it looks great. Very festive.”

  “Can I get you a soda?”

  “Sure.”

  Gareth dropped her hand and approached Eugene, who stood in a corner by himself sipping from a can of Tab and spilling some of it down his shirtfront.

  Seffy looked around. Addison waved from her perch on the edge of the desk. Despite her nonchalance, Seffy could tell the redhead was uncomfortable with her presence. A few minutes later, Jared, Cynthia and Eva approached her.

  “This is pretty cool, huh?” Eva said, gazing at the lights as if mesmerized. “I mean it looks crappy, but at least someone tried, you know?”

  Seffy wondered if Eva was still under the 'influence', as Olga had put it. Jared slapped her arm and said hi. Seffy winced and returned the greeting. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if he was originally from Montana, but in the presence of the girls, she didn't want to bring it up. Cynthia looked bored. They managed to make small talk until Lani returned with a cold can of diet Pepsi. Seffy closed her eyes as she drank it. It was something normal. Something sublime.

  She heard new voices. Across the room, Fiona and Fenn entered, the former making a beeline for her. Fiona's bright eyes fastened on her like a bird spotting a worm. “So, how are you feeling, Miss Carter?”

  “Um, okay, thanks.” Seffy looked at Fenn. His startling blue eyes were kind and calming. He looked better somehow. Less ill. She managed a small smile.

  “So,” his lesser half said, “when do you think you'd be up to some additional questioning? Trent mentioned you might have a bit more information for us?”

  “Trent's here?” Seffy scanned the room, but didn't see him.

  “Is tomorrow too early?”

  “For what?”

  “Questioning.”

  “Um, I don't know what Trent said. I'm sure I've already told you everything I know.”

  “Fiona, I'm sure Seffy just wants to relax right now. We'll talk about this later.”

  As Fenn tugged on his girlfriend's arm, Seffy took a deep breath. “Hey, I just want to say thanks for going to all the effort on my behalf...to find me.”

  Fenn averted his eyes for a moment. When he looked back at her, his gaze seemed to burn a hole into her soul. “It's all that mattered to me.”

  His tone sent chills up and down her arms. Okay.

  “You're welcome,” Fiona said, breaking the spell. “Goodness, this music has a catchy beat.”

  Seffy couldn't help but unwind a little as Fiona bobbed up and down in time to the tune. The unexpected silliness also helped dissolve Fenn's strange intensity. Seffy caught his reluctantly amused look. She took a sip of her soda to cover her discomfiture.

  A pink sparkle at Fiona's neck caught her eye. Seffy narrowed her eyes, wondering if she'd seen right. She reached up and touched the unadorned zipper pull of her hoody. She'd lost the rhinestone J somewhere in the desert. But there was no way Fiona would be wearing it around her neck. Geez, maybe paranoia is a side-effect of the crazy juice they had me on. Seffy watched Fiona a few more minutes, but whatever she'd thought she'd seen had apparently been just one more disturbed element of her imagination.

  Over the next hour a few more familiar faces arrived. Baxter came with some nebbishy friends from the computer room. And some unidentified resident
s wandered in, probably curious about the where the music came from. Lani kept Seffy's hand filled with cold cans of soda, but as the evening wore on, Seffy began to fade a little. She hoped it was just fatigue and not the now familiar black weight of depression.

  She set her empty can on the desk and when she was sure the others were preoccupied, slipped out into the hall. It felt good to lean against the cool cement wall a few steps away from the door. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, willing away the dark thoughts wanting to crowd in. She longed to forget her troubles in sleep, but knew nightmares lurked at the edges, wanting to steal whatever peace she managed to muster.

  A sound down the hall caught her attention. Seffy cracked her eyes open and angled her head for a look. She was pretty sure she saw movement. Her heart double-skipped, making her catch her breath. Deciding to be afraid only of what she could see, she pushed away from the wall and went to the corner.

  Peering to the other side, she found Trent. Her sense of relief was ridiculous, but she hugged her side of the wall. He returned her curious look, wearing his now familiar faded Levis and untucked white button-down with rolled up sleeves. “Why are you skulking around in the hallways, Trent?”

  He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. “I was going to go to Lani's room, but I saw you there and didn't want to disturb you.”

  “I wouldn't have minded. I'm just tired is all.” She leaned her temple against the corner of the wall and fastened him with a look. “Why didn't you come and visit me in the hospital room?”

  He regarded her for a minute. “Who says I didn't?”

  “Well, I didn't see you if you did.” She looked at the floor for a moment. “Thanks for the sofa, by the way. I can't tell you how much it means to have it there.”

  He smiled. “It was a pain getting it through that hidden passage, let me tell you.”

  Her eyes widened until she realized that it would be impossible. “You did not.”

  Trent laughed softly and shoved his hands into his front pockets.

  Seffy turned away and faced the opposite wall.

  “Is it a good party?” he asked from the other side.

  “Not too bad under the circumstances. You should go on in.”

  While she couldn't see him, she sensed his hesitation. Seffy heard the same song playing that was on when she first arrived. She shook her head. So much for a party play list. It looked like Zannytu was it.

  “So, how are you feeling?”

  Pressing her palms to the cool cement walls, Seffy experienced a sudden, urgent need to unburden herself. But she couldn't. Not to Trent anyway. “I've been better.”

  His bitter laugh seemed appropriate.

  Seffy blinked back another annoying surge of tears. Maybe the music was making her weepy.

  “What did they tell you?”

  God, if I don't talk to someone I'm going to lose it. She edge around the corner and stood next to him. His solemn expression made her feel weak. “That I disappeared for three days.”

  “Do you remember any of it?”

  Seffy bit her trembling lip hard. “Most of it. At first I felt safe. The dark was like a blanket. But after a while, it wasn't a good place to be. Like, maybe there were other things in there with me.” She shook her head. “I tried to escape and finally passed out, I guess.”

  Trent cursed under his breath. “We looked everywhere. Hundreds of men combing this place.”

  “Olga said they brought in dogs.”

  He nodded and kicked the wall next to her feet. “Why did you go, Sef? How did this happen?”

  Glad for the dimness of the hall, illuminated only by recessed lights overhead, she lowered her eyes. “The girl. She took me to the room where they...” Seffy looked up to see his wide eyes. “I saw myself on the table and they were cutting me open...taking my insides out.” Just saying the words made it hard to breathe. “So I ran and hid. The real me, not the table me. I don't think she ever got away.” She ground her teeth together to hold back a sob. If I start crying, I will never stop. Moisture filmed her eyes anyway.

  “You know it was a hallucination, right?”

  “That's what I was told.”

  “It must've been pretty bad if it made you disappear like that.”

  “It was.” She swiped away an errant tear.

  “How did you find that hole? As far as I know, the only way into that section of the compound was locked and bolted.”

  Seffy shrugged. “I don't know. I just ran. I wasn't thinking I might get trapped.”

  He was silent for several minutes. Seffy couldn't look him in the eye. She focused her attention on his throat, revealed by the opening of the top few buttons of his shirt. Gradually, her eyes cleared and her breathing smoothed out. She had talked about it...a little of it...without totally going to pieces. Maybe there was hope. Pulling in a deep breath, Seffy raised her gaze to him, wondering what he was thinking.

  Trent's eyes and cheekbones were cut by harsh shadows from the overhead lights. He braced one arm beside her where she rested against the wall. The Zannytu soundtrack was playing a tune too mournful for a disco album.

  “And they're helping you? Get better?”

  It took her a minute to answer. “I have a shrink who wants me to plumb the depths of my experience. I told him I'd rather stuff it down like everything else rotten that's happened. It's worked so far.” She smiled thinly. “I've gotten so good at denial I'm thinking about goin' pro.” Trent didn't seem to find her words amusing. She felt suddenly awkward. “Um, I should...probably get back before someone comes looking for me.”

  Trent didn't move. He seemed to be struggling for words, his face a mask of misery. After a moment, he snorted and shook his head.

  “What?”

  He gave her a hard look. “I was looking for you.”

  She surveyed his strange expression. “When? Just a minute ago?”

  “I was the one looking for those three days. Not your friends. I was the one who pulled you out of that hole.”

  Seffy stared at him. Olga hadn't told her any details.

  “Which means I'm the hero,” he said in a low, mocking voice.

  It was such an odd statement. She tried to decipher his meaning. “Well...thank you.”

  A muscle jumped in his jaw. “I think I deserve something for my efforts.”

  She stiffened, her mind jumping to the obvious. Oh, brother.

  He swallowed, his eyes dark. “A kiss.”

  Seffy almost laughed with relief. But his tortured expression just didn't go with the request. She pulled in a cleansing breath. “Ah, I think that sounds fair. Right now?”

  He dipped his head while maintaining eye contact. “Yeah.”

  It had never occurred to her—the idea of kissing Trent—on purpose anyway. And yet, he was undeniably attractive. Plus, he'd been extremely useful in plucking her out of trouble time and again.

  She could do this. One little kiss, and then she could close the Trent chapter of her life for good. Seffy tamped down an attack of the butterflies, leaned close, and tipped up her mouth to his. But he didn't make a move. She lightly cleared her throat. “Uh, this only works when you kiss me back.”

  Seffy felt Trent's breath on her cheek.

  “I took the first two from you,” he said, his voice low. “This time I want you to initiate.”

  She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. She only remembered the one time he stole a kiss. He'd been slapped for his pains. “Two?”

  “You probably don't remember the one in the attic.”

  She furrowed her brows. “Actually I do. I just thought it was someone else.”

  “Great.” His bleak expression sent a pang of guilt through her.

  She straightened her shoulders, trying to regain her nerve. Apparently this would be kiss number three, though it would certainly not be a charm. Okay, here we go. Gripped by a hectic feeling, Seffy stretched up and brushed his lips with a feathery kiss. When he remained still, she tried again,
tugging at his bottom lip.

  That got a response. Trent's lips came alive against hers, taking her by surprise. His arm snaked around her waist, drawing her closer while his slow but possessive kiss drugged her for the space of several heartbeats. At some point, Seffy realized her arms had crept around his neck, but she didn't remember moving. She felt nothing but the warm, dark velvet of his touch anchoring her to a soft place in a cold and concrete world. Soon, his mouth found the pulse at the base of her throat. Seffy arched her neck, feeling the coolness of the wall against her head.

  Sudden loud disco music coming down the hall brought her back to her senses.

  Good Lord, what am I doing? She opened her eyes. “Stop.”

  Her thready whisper caused him to slow his path from her throat to behind her ear. She lowered her arms and pressed her hands against his chest. “Trent, please.”

  He pulled away and looked down at her. Seffy flushed under his scrutiny. She licked her lips, trying to think of something to say. “What was that all about?”

  Trent's metallic gaze made it difficult to think. “You don't know?”

  She was about to babble something about a reward, but his proximity made her thoughts fragment.

  His derisive smile added to her confusion. But not as much as his next words.

  “I'm in love with you, Seffy.”

  Her eyes widened, her face grew hot as the harsh realization coalesced in her brain. I can't believe it. He totally played me. Panting, Seffy shoved him backwards.

  Trent laughed grimly as he regained his balance, as if he expected her reaction all along. “So, now you know, babe.”

  Blinking back angry tears, she was too enraged to speak. She should've expected this from him.

  “Seffy? Where are you?”

  Lani! “Just a sec!” Pinning Trent with a black glare, she pushed past him and hurried around the corner.

  Lani approached her, her face radiant. “Sef, you missed the announcement!”

  Groping for what was left of her scattered wits, Seffy tried to look interested, tried not to look like she'd been kissed by the biggest Judas of all. “Uh, sorry, I just stepped out for a breather. What did I miss?”