“So much better. If we didn’t get out of there soon, I would’ve…,” said David as he sagged his shoulders and took in a big gulp of air.
“Melted?” They said in unison.
“Yeah, how’d you know?” David asked.
When they all gathered themselves, they walked down the hill and down the rest of the dirt road and into the city. Jack didn’t allow them time to look around. Even if he did, it was too dark to see anything. He quickly ushered the group deep into the city and into a tall hotel. It wasn’t much different from the other one. The only difference was that it had an elevator and many more floors. He stopped by the front desk and exchanged a few words before snatching something from the desk clerk’s hand and directing them into the elevator. Once the dented and rusting metal doors closed in front of them, Brooke placed her hands on her hips and asked, “So, what’s our room number?”
“Our what?” Jack asked, meeting her gaze.
“Our room number! Like, what floor are we on?”
“You’ll see when we get there,” Jack said, disapproving of her sass. Brooke sighed and turned her attention to another resource to find the information she wanted. The elevator buttons. One button in particular was lit up in yellow. The black print was fading and peeling away, but she could just barely make out the number 13.
“Thirteen!” Brooke screeched. “We are going to the thirteenth floor?”
“That is correct,” Jack smiled. “Amazing what the powers of observation can do for you.”
“But why?” she asked.
“You aren’t superstitious, are you?” David jumped in on the conversation and nudged Brooke’s arm with his elbow.
“I’ve read a lot of stories and seen a lot of videos. Let’s just leave it at that,” said Brooke as she jerked her arm, shoving David off. A faint ding rang through the elevator as it came to a stop and the doors creaked open. The hallway lights were all off except for one at the very end of the hall that flickered on and off. In front of them was a long window that covered the entire wall from ceiling to floor. A dead plant was set in front of it, and two wooden chairs faced each other against opposite walls.
“Honestly, why do you keep picking the dreary hotels and inns?” Brooke asked.
“It’s safer,” Jack said before stepping out of the elevator and turning down the hallway with the flickering light. He stopped at a door a little ways down and stood in front of it, struggling with a stubborn lock.
“What does he mean by that?” David whispered to Brooke. Nicole stepped in between them and wrapped her arms around their shoulders.
“Whatcha talking about?” Nicole said loudly. Mark stood beside Alex, exchanging a worried glance as they waited for Jack to open the door. When the door finally opened, Jack turned to them, smiled wryly, and said, “The lock is old and cheap.”
The room was in better shape than the other, but the setup looked almost exactly the same. The only difference was the large window that covered the back wall. They all rushed over and stared at the many lights of the city. Alex looked up at the night sky and sighed.
“I never did like the city,” Alex grumbled as he stroked the large black cat’s fur.
“What? Why?” Nicole asked, shooting him a look.
“You can’t see the stars,” Alex said as he pointed at the plain black sky.
“I’ve noticed you look at the stars a lot. Are you into astronomy?” Mark asked.
“Ha! Not a chance. I just think the stars look cool,” Alex laughed. “What are you into?”
“Me?” Mark backed up and flopped on a bed. “I want to be a chef! Or a baker! I always find myself cooking or baking for my family. I love the feeling that you get when someone enjoys the food you’ve made!”
Alex sat down against the window and watched as each of his friends went to bed. Jack stood by the door and placed his finger on the door’s splintering wood. A purple light shot from his fingertip and covered the entire room before shimmering for a slight second and disappearing. When he was done, he sat down against the wall and listened to their conversation.
“I want to be an FBI agent!” Nicole said.
“I’m going to be an engineer,” Brooke said. “What about you, David?” David had remained silent during their conversation and remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“I’m torn between two jobs, so I don’t really know,” David blushed and looked away.
“Well, what are they?” Mark asked. After a moment, David whispered in response.
“A comic book artist,” said David as he averted Mark’s gaze.
“And? You said there was two,” Brooke pointed out.
“An actor. I want to be an actor,” David exclaimed quickly, burying his head in his hands in embarrassment.
“An actor?” Nicole asked flatly.
“You don’t have to say it like that!” David groaned.
“Why are you embarrassed about it?” Mark asked.
“You’ve seen my acting! You know how bad at it I am!” David flopped on his back and stared at the ceiling.
“When you aren’t goofing around you can be pretty good,” Brooke said.
“What about you, Alex?” David asked, changing the subject. He looked over at Alex, who was sitting on the floor next to the window with the black cat in his lap, purring softly.
“I don’t know,” Alex replied. “I’ve never really given it much thought.”
“You’ll figure something out eventually,” Brooke encouraged him. The five of them continued their conversation and moved from one topic to another. As the night dragged on, their conversation trailed off into silence and they nodded off to sleep.
When they woke up the next morning, Jack brought the five teenagers into the city. This city was much cleaner than any other city they had ever seen. Although there were some tall buildings, there weren’t any tall enough to be considered skyscrapers. Many people were in the streets, including unsupervised children and teenagers their own age. Magic surrounded everything on every corner.
They walked for blocks until they came to a small shop on a crowded street. They stepped inside to find shelves stacked from top to bottom in books and maps and scrolls. The shop was dimly lit by candle-light. A brighter light emanated from deep within the building. David leaned forward and poked Alex in the side.
“Look, Alex! Books,” David teased.
“Yeah, I can see that,” said Alex as he shrugged him off.
Jack walked through the middle bookshelf and deeper into the store. Not a single person was in sight. In the very back of the store was a red curtain that draped over the back wall. Jack pushed it aside and stepped through; the others followed. Inside was a small room filled with burning candles. Bookshelves lined the walls and papers and scrolls and maps littered the floor. In the very middle of the room was a desk with a large book laid out on top of papers covered in ink. On the corner of the desk was a silver ball that floated motionless in the air.
A man sat behind the desk leafing through the pages of the book, unaware of their presence. The man mumbled to himself and turned around. He ran his fingers along the bookshelf until his finger landed on one title. He slid the book off the shelf and slammed it on top of the other one. A cloud of dust filled the room.
Jack cleared his throat into a clamped fist in an effort to get the man’s attention. The man did not hear him and continued to leaf through the second book. Jack cleared his throat once again, this time louder. The man looked up, surprised, then threw his arms out in greeting once he saw who had entered his shop. It was only then that Alex got a good look at him.
The man was as tall as Jack with gray hair saturated with ink. He wore a pair of thin gold-colored glasses with magnifying pieces that moved up and down. He wore a dark gray shirt with sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing unyielding muscular arms. His hands were cov
ered in ink-stained brown leather gloves; Ink-stained overalls hung loosely from his shoulders. He wore light-brown work boots. A jubilant spark overcame the dullness of his old gray eyes.
The man lifted up the magnifying part of his spectacles and walked around the table. He walked up to Jack with a broad smile and clamped his hands on Jack’s shoulders. Jack smiled back and they both hugged one another, patting each other’s backs merrily. When they finally let go of one another, they were laughing.
“Jack Pandemonium! It’s good to see you, old friend! Where in the world have you been?” The man laughed cheerfully.
“Everywhere and nowhere! A lot has happened since the last time we’ve met!” Jack replied. “What have you done to your hair?”
“Oh this?” The man reached up and ran a hand through his hair. “A bucket of ink fell off the shelf and my head happened to be in its path!”
“Yes, the ink but what about the color? Your hair is gray, my old friend!”
“Jack, I am of old age. Though my dying day still has yet to come!”
“You may be old in body, but your soul is as youthful as ever! Now, there are some people I’d like you to meet,” Jack exclaimed, turning the man around to face the five teenagers. “Darrien, these are Alex, Brooke, David, Nicole, and Mark.”
Darrien’s eyes widened at the sight of them and the corner of his mouth rose up in a smirk. “How long has it been? I didn’t think it was that long since we had seen each other! I never thought of you as one to have children!” Darrien exclaimed.
“No! Of course not! These aren’t my children! Have you lost your mind?” Jack shouted.
“Haha! Yes, of course I am aware that these are not your own. I am only joking,” Darrien laughed haughtily. “So, whose are they, then?”
“That is one of the things I have come here for,” Jack sighed. “They are human!”
Darrien’s eyes widened and the color drained from his face. He glanced back at the five of them, then back to Jack. “Humans? This far in the island! That is unheard of! Completely impossible! What are they doing here?”
“They crashed here after a storm. I need to get them back to the mainland as soon as possible.”
“We need to speak about this matter privately,” said Darrien as he rushed into the main part of his shop and closed all of the curtains and blew out all the candles. He locked the door and hurried back to the other side of the curtain. He sat down at his desk and folded his hands in front of him.
“I trust you will keep this under wraps?” Jack asked.
“Of course. I trust you have good reason to be taking care of these humans,” Darrien said as he watched suspiciously from the corner of his eye as Alex and the others got comfortable, fully aware they were going to be there a while. “Please, tell me how they were able to survive the island. Humans have never even made it past the beach! Which side of the island have they come from?”
“Far south. I began to assist them further along their journey, though. A good portion of their success was made on their own,” Jack replied.
“Far south? You’ve nearly made it halfway across the island! This is incredible!” Darrien glanced at the teenagers warily. Jack sensed Darrien’s discomfort and brought his attention to the group.
“Why don’t you head out to one of the restaurants and get yourselves some lunch? Darrien and I will stay here and catch up on things,” Jack told them. “Meet back here when you are done.”
“We don’t have any money,” David pointed out.
“Here. Take this. This should be enough,” Jack said as he took a small brown drawstring bag out of his cloak and held it out. Mark took the money and placed it in his pocket. The five of them turned to leave but were stopped when Darrien called out to them.
“There is a decent restaurant that is also cheap by the beach. I highly recommend it,” Darrien called.
“Thanks! We’ll look for it!” Nicole called back as they walked out the door.
“So, how are we going to get to the beach?” David asked once they were outside.
“Follow the scent of the ocean,” Alex said.
“I can’t smell anything right now. We aren’t hound dogs you know,” Brooke said as she tapped the side of her nose.
“I can smell it. Just follow me.” Alex sniffed the air then began walking. To their surprise, they weren’t very far from the beach at all. After two blocks of walking, the others began to smell the salt water drift into their nostrils. The cobbled streets soon turned to sand, and they entered a calmer and less dense part of the city. The buildings were smaller, including the kinds of houses they were familiar with. Some buildings stood above the sand on beams while others were floating. Floating steps led up to porches for the floating ones, while wooden steps were connected to the ones on stilts. People of all ages populated the sandy streets. At the very end of one street was a park where a large group of teenagers and children played baseball.
They finally found the restaurant that Darrien had recommended. It rested stilts and its back side facing the sea. On the front porch were tables with umbrellas without poles that hung in the air. The restaurant didn’t seem especially busy, for there were not many people out on the porch. White double doors hung open, inviting customers inside.
They climbed the steps to the restaurant and walked through the doors. The inside was lit by a chandelier. Small black tables were scattered about the room and a long counter was covered in sweets and drinks. A woman stood at a podium next to the door, gathering menus. She wore a pink short-sleeved shirt and black pants. A black apron hung around her waist and a white towel was hung against it. Inside the pockets of the apron were a notepad, a pen, and straws. Her hair was tied up in a tight ponytail. She looked as if she were a senior in high school.
“May I help you?” the young woman asked.
“Can we have a table, please?” Alex asked.
“Of course. How many?” the hostess asked.
“Five,” Brooke spoke up.
“Please follow me.” The woman took a stack of menus out of the pile on the podium and began to walk to the back of the restaurant. In the back was another set of doors that led to a porch that overlooked the sea. Connected to the porch was a wide wooden staircase that led to the beach. The woman guided them outside and sat them at a table before leaving.
Soon after the hostess left, another woman came and took their order. When they finished eating, they sat back and let the cool breeze drift up from the ocean and cool their heads from the summer heat.
The small black cat left its perch on Alex’s shoulders and curled itself up in his lap. The cat was always cold to the touch. Alex began to stroke its fur and the cat purred happily in thanks.
“What are you going to name him?” Mark asked.
“Name who?” Alex asked.
“The cat. What are you going to name the cat?” Nicole said.
“I don’t know. I’m still thinking,” Alex explained. Alex stared at the cat in his lap as the others talked. What was he going to call him? He needed a name. Wait… what if he already had a name? The cat looked up at him with its bright silver eyes as if it knew what Alex was thinking. The cat’s eyes flashed brightly for a moment and, unknown to Alex, his own eyes did as well. At that moment, somehow, Alex knew what the cat’s name would be.
“Argent,” Alex said.
“What?” Brooke asked.
“His name is Argent,” Alex repeated.
“Well, now at least we know what to call him,” Mark remarked.
The server who took their order walked over to them and stuck out her hand.
“That will be five ngoen, please,” the woman stated.
David leaned over and whispered to Mark, “What does she mean by that?”
“I think she means money,” said Mark as he leaned to the side and dug around in his pocket. He pulled
out the small brown drawstring bag Jack had given him. He pulled out five coins from the bag and handed it to the woman. She took the coins and held her hand out once more. Mark looked at it and arched an eyebrow in confusion. What else was he supposed to do? Then it occurred to him. He pulled out five more coins and put them in her palm. The woman smiled, nodded gratefully, and tucked the extra coins into her apron.
“Have a nice day!” the woman called over her shoulder as she walked away.
“What should we do next? I’m sure Jack wouldn’t mind if we stayed out a bit longer,” said David as the corner of his mouth rose in a mischievous smirk.
“How about the beach?” Brooke offered.
“Yes! Let’s go!” Nicole exclaimed. They all nodded in agreement and pushed back their chairs, making their way down the steps.
FORTY-TWO
Jack and Darrien watched behind the curtains and listened for the sound of the door opening and closing. As soon as they were sure the teens had gone, the pair got straight to the point.
“Are you mad? How could you bring humans to Alsijn? Sheltering humans will get you killed!” Darrien shouted.
“Yes, I understand that! But I am not the one that brought them here in the first place! I am only assisting in getting them out of here and back to where they belong!” Jack countered.
“And where is that exactly?”
“The mainland. Their families. Their homes.”
Their yelling ceased after Jack’s words. A brief silence passed between them.
“How are you going to manage that?” Darrien finally asked. “You can’t send them through your portals or…”
“I know,” Jack snapped. “We’ll board the first passenger ship that leaves.”
“I can help with that.”
“Something is bothering me, though.”
The Abnormals: Book One Page 28