“Saving me cost you more than I realized,” Darla said to her. She rubbed her eyes as the plane bounced. “Blair...thank you. I can’t repay you.”
“No, maybe not.” The plane jolted again and Blair held on to the back of the seat to catch her balance. “But it’s not about me anymore. It’s so much bigger than me. I want to help you because Teddy deserves his mother...not some substitute. I want to keep him, Darla. But I can’t. Now that I know everything you did to get back to him...I can’t.”
A small ding-dong interrupted them.
Hank’s voice came over the speaker, “Alright y’all, we’ll be landing shortly and...as the last plane to arrive my margin for error is small. If I miss it, I’ll take another go. But let’s just buckle ourselves up. Bumpy doesn’t begin to describe what’s coming.”
Hank dropped the plane down on to the Maine coastline and hit the small runway on the first try. From Darla’s vantage point, she could see the lights of a city out at sea as they came in from the south. She couldn’t help but gasp. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. A tower grew upward to the sky and five arms stretched outward to other mini towers. Off of those towers were smaller structures and mounds, and the whole thing seemed to float above the water. It was lit up against the backdrop of the horizon with thousands of tiny white lights. That was what they were up against—a fortified city on the ocean.
When the plane came to a stop, Hank emerged from the cockpit and held up his hand. He stared at each of them in turn.
“They know I’ve landed. I had to call it in. They’ll be sending a helicopter over for me, Blair, and Grant within the next ten minutes.” He looked at Blair and she stood, and cleared her throat.
“Wait until we’ve left. Only then is it safe to leave this plane,” she announced. “When you exit, there’s a little amusement park. Go there. There’s shelter. Don’t leave. Don’t try to venture out. And wait for me.” She had taken off her heels mid-flight and she shifted her weight on the balls of her feet. From beyond the airplane, Darla thought she could hear the steady sound of chopper blades cutting through the air.
“That’s it?” Darla asked. “Wait for you? For how long? With what resources? There’s food there? That’s unacceptable. I want to see my son. Now.”
“It’s not that easy,” Blair added in a rush. “I’m doing everything I can...”
“I’m a mile away from my kid and you want me to go spend my time hiding in some empty funland? No way.” Darla hit the seat in front of her, and let out a disgruntled sigh. Her hands were shaking and she turned from the group to gather her emotions. “This can’t be happening...”
Frank sensed her anger and barked in her direction. Blair reached for his leash and tugged on him to quiet him down.
Dean stepped forward toward Darla, his hand outstretched, and then he moved back. He wrapped his arms around Grant instead and gave him a hug, holding him for longer than Grant felt comfortable with. When Grant pulled back, he noticed his father was crying.
“Hey—” Grant said, concerned.
“We just found each other again,” Dean said. “Feels wrong to just let you go.”
“I have to go, Dad.” Grant leaned in and hugged his dad again. “I’ll be back soon. I promise. But I have to go.”
“I know you do. I know.” Dean tousled Grant’s hair. “You come back to me, okay? You’re all I’ve got now and I am not going to lose you.”
Blair ducked to look out the plane’s side window and she swore under her breath. “We all have to go. You don’t have much time. Look, Darla, Teddy is safe with me. And I will bring him to you as soon as I can. Give me time,” Blair said, her voice pleading. “Time means a good escape...time means you and Teddy will be safe forever...”
“How much time?” Darla asked.
Blair shrugged, frowning. “Until I have it all figured out...how to get him to you, forever, safely. Don’t you see? It’s not like I can just go and get him, and come back here. What am I supposed to say? How am I supposed to explain that? There’s more to it than that...if you want to be safe, forever, if you don’t want to spend your life wondering if the bogeyman is coming back for you, then you’ll wait. And you’ll trust me.”
“I can’t—” Darla said. “I can’t just...not do anything.”
“We have to,” Dean said. He patted Grant on the back.
The pilot made his way to the emergency exit and lifted the hatch and deployed the slide. It unfurled and plumped up and settled on the sand below. He took the leap first, sliding down the bright yellow plastic to the ground, and Blair followed. When she reached the bottom, she called to Grant to join them and for everyone else to stay hidden until the area was clear.
The helicopter was closer now—a tiny dot against the backdrop of the blue sky.
Grant turned to his dad.
“Do what she says,” he said to Dean.
“Hey,” Dean said. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been through a lot to get to you. We’re a tough group...we’ll be fine.”
“Dad—” Grant started and stopped. He looked down the slide at the pilot and Blair below, and he ran his hand through his hair. “I love you.”
Dean nodded. “Of course, son. Now stop or I’ll think you’re trying to say goodbye.” He gave him a little push and Grant took the hint. He started to walk toward the slide without looking back.
“Stop!” Ainsley said and Grant paused to look at her. She slid out from behind her seat and held up an airsickness bag. “Here,” she said and extended it toward him. He balked a bit before reaching out and grabbing the white paper from her. Up close he realized that she had written a note in the margins, her girly script wrapped itself up the sides and around the back. “For Ethan,” she said. “Make sure he gets it, okay?”
“I can’t—” he said, stealing a look at Blair waiting for him down below. “There’s no way she’ll let me risk it,” he added in a whisper.
“Please,” Ainsley pleaded. “I’m begging you. I need Ethan to read it. I need...”
Grant looked at her, the girl with the angular face. He couldn’t help but stare at the sharpness of her features, the deep hollows of her cheeks. He caught a glimpse of the note as he folded it into fourths to put in his pocket. I’m sorry I couldn’t say it until now, she had written. The thickness of the bag created a bulky square against his leg and he patted and smoothed it down. “I’ll make sure,” he said and Ainsley didn’t thank him or smile, instead she ducked back down into the seat, her wide eyes the last thing to dip out of sight.
Grant waved to his dad, then turned and bounced down the slide and hit the bottom after catching some air toward the ground. Blair extended her hand and helped him up. In unison the pilot, Blair, and Grant turned toward the sound of their incoming ride. Even Frank pulled on his leash and lifted his nose toward the sky, anticipating the next adventure. Together they ran along the sand toward the noise, disappearing out of sight. And then they were gone.
The Old Orchard Beach Carnival was once a place of joyous laughing and good-natured screams, and everything had been painted in shades of cotton-candy pastels. A giant clown gaped down at them from the entrance off the street—a scary caricature with wavy pink lips, a red dot nose, and a lopsided tongue—and Darla grimaced as they walked underneath its vapid stare. Without lights and people and happy children, the park was a sad spectacle of rusting metal, torn tents, and discarded garbage. And as the sun set over the back of the town, a brisk wind flapped through the fenced-in park, which created a chill that was inescapable. All around them darkness fell, casting strange shadows around the enclosed area, and submerging the towers of the city Blair had called Kymberlin into darkness.
They wandered between the old games—Skee-ball, balloon darts (little remnants of colored rubber still nailed to the barren corkboard), the bottle toss—and in and around the defunct rides. Two letters had fallen down on the sign to the Dragon Swing and it simply read: ragon Swng. The op
ening to the Tunnel of Love ride was dark and uninviting; the red heart cars moved right and left as if steered by unseen riders.
“I don’t want to stay here,” Ainsley said, wrapping her arms around her thin body. “This is beyond creepy.”
“The creepiness factor doesn’t compare to a basement with breeding rabbits. I’ll take freedom,” Darla said.
“I’m with Ainsley on this one,” Dean added. “I think the joy of nighttime is that we won’t have to look at all the creepy clown shit.”
“Creepy clown shit,” Ainsley repeated, punctuating each word and staring right at Darla. “Speaking of which, you think that clown café has something worth eating? Candy bars?”
“After all this time?” Darla shrugged. “We’ll scrounge what we can. And then tomorrow we’ll explore...find some necessities. We can pull the bags off the plane and go through those. Bet some of those boys packed food for their flight home.”
Dean wandered a few feet ahead of the girls. He stood looking at the wall separating the fun center and the beach. “Can they see us?” he asked to no one in particular.
Walking up beside him, Darla put her hands on her hips and followed his gaze. “No,” she answered. “They’re too far out. Blair wouldn’t have put us in danger.” It was a declarative statement; she had said it as if it meant something, as if she knew it was truth. But the truth had never felt so tenuous.
“What are we in danger from exactly?” Ainsley asked, joining them. She shoved her hands deep in the pockets of her sweater and hunched up her shoulders near her ears.
Darla closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the waves crashing against the sand. Just beyond them was a beach with scattered planes on their makeshift runway, and beyond that the distinct flickering lights of a place they would never see or experience. Her shoulders slumped, and Darla opened her eyes. “Evil,” she answered, as the Ferris wheel creaked above her head. “Pure, unadulterated evil.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Lucy could see Grant riding the elevator in silence from her place in the sky bridge doorway. A guard stood a few feet in front of her and prevented her from using the common room, but Lucy didn’t care. Grant was here: his eyes were wide as he scanned the tower and the large arrival room, and he didn’t see her. Frank was by his side, his wet, sloppy tongue happily licking the side of Grant’s jeans, and he put his hand down to scratch the lab between his ears. The doors opened to the enclosed glass atrium filled with sparking chandeliers. The room had been cleared, save for Huck, Gordy, Claude and Scott. They stood and watched the elevator settle and the doors open. And it was then that Lucy took her chance and tore forward, darting past the guard before he could think to grab her.
“Grant!”
She could hear Gordy call out, “Stand down. Let her go” as she rushed past them all and straight into Grant’s arms.
“Grant!” she said again. She reached him and slid her arms around his neck and buried her head into the middle of his chest. She loved the way her head felt tucked up against him, as if all their angles and edges had been designed to fit together. Grant kissed the top of her head, and she didn’t pull away. Voices of dissent rose and fell behind them.
“I’ve missed you,” he said. “It’s been an adventure. I—”
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Lucy said. “Cass heard from her father! She came to tell me the moment she knew...which was good, because we had a falling out the first night. And I’m not supposed to know...but I thought maybe I could say it was luck that I saw you? I don’t know. I was on this mom and daughter date and that was when Cass found me, and...”
“Goodness,” he said. The room felt wobbly. He put a tender hand on the top of her head. “Take a breath, Lula.”
“I’m excited!” Lucy said without apology. “I haven’t talked to you. I didn’t think this would happen...I’m just excited!”
“I need to talk to you,” Grant interrupted. His face was severe. His hands were shaking. He watched her face turn white; she could sense the intensity in his voice, the importance of time alone.
“They didn’t want anyone to see you guys arrive,” Lucy said. “If it hadn’t been for Cass...” she trailed off and she tried to search his eyes for answers. Grant looked up and he watched an argument brewing behind them. Blair was having an intense conversation with her father and Gordy. Scott and Claude were only a few steps behind. Lucy looked back at her father and tried to make eye contact with him, but he kept his eyes on the floor. When she looked to Claude next, he was staring right at her. Then he slid his eyes over to the elevator and gave a subtle jerk of his head.
Lucy slipped her hand into Grant’s and began to lead him in that direction.
“Why is she here?” Huck snapped and he pointed to Lucy, his voice carrying. “I had planned for a private escort—”
Blair began speaking again in hushed tones while Scott and Claude took even greater steps away from the conversation.
“You have no power over this situation, Blair. You are dismissed.”
“Dad!” Blair cried out. “I’m asking for you to listen to me...”
Their conversation resumed in whispers. Lucy’s heart pounded.
Lucy reached the elevator and she pushed the button, willing it to arrive faster. “What’s going on?” she asked, her voice low. “Grant...”
“I need Ethan,” Grant replied.
“He might be with Cass,” she said. His tone was clear: something bad had happened. Something bad was happening.
“I need Ethan,” he said again. “And I’m sorry, but I think I need Ethan now. I have a letter...”
Lucy nodded.
“Okay. Okay. And can we talk about your letter?” Lucy asked. The pieces of the letter might have still been floating around the library; or maybe Gordy had reclaimed them all and had pieced them back together—reconstructing their private words to each other. She wanted to tell him that she couldn’t ever choose to leave him behind. She wanted him to look at her and see her loyalty. She knew that they would be reunited and here they were; she wanted to say, “I have faith in us. Don’t you have faith in us?”
The elevator bell dinged, and they slipped inside. Lucy pushed a random button and hit the door close button over and over.
“And why are we letting them leave?” Huck yelled. He stepped away from Blair, but she put her hand out. Lucy watched as Huck batted her hand away as he stalked forward, the doors closing before he could stop them.
“Grant—” Lucy’s eyes were wide. She leaned against the glass. She glanced at Grant’s neckline and searched for Salem’s necklace. Pulling away from the glass, Lucy tucked a hand under his shirt and then ran her hand across his collarbone. “It’s gone,” she said.
“It’s gone,” Grant whispered. “I’m sorry. You have no idea…I’m sorry.” He looked away; she could see his shame and she tried to connect her loss with his visible chagrin.Lucy’s lip trembled. “That’s all I had left…what happened? Where—“ she stopped and closed her eyes.
Grant leaned down and kissed her softly. When he pulled back, he ran his thumb across her cheek. He was crying. His nose was red and his mouth turned into a frown. A tearful, snot-nose kiss was not how she had imagined their reunion. She wasn’t upset; she was afraid.
“I love you, Lula. I love you so much. But you have to take me to your brother.”
The Kymberlin residents already knew Cass, and it didn’t take long for someone to say they had seen her heading toward the East Tower pool. The pool was on one of the top levels of the main tower, and its domed ceiling was pure glass. Quickly, Grant and Lucy made their way to the pool and let themselves in through the clunky metal doors. It was warm inside with hot, stale air. Thick white clouds rolled over the top of them and exposed only brief splotches of blue. Cass was swimming laps in a bright purple bathing suit and a floral swimming cap. She moved gracefully through the water, and Lucy watched her at the edge of the pool, unsure of how
to get her attention. The entire area was open and cavernous, and all they could hear was the steady splash of Cass’s feet against the water. It took several laps before Cass noticed them waiting for her, and as she neared the end of the pool, she grabbed onto the edge and ran her fingers over her nose and pulled off her goggles. She smiled, water dripping down her face, and pulled herself out of the pool in one fluid motion.
“Grant!” she exclaimed. “I’d hug you, but...”
Grant smiled and shrugged. He leaned in for a hug anyway. When he pulled away, his clothes were damp and there was a wet circle on his shirt where Cass’s head had been.
“I couldn’t believe when I heard,” she continued. She tugged her swim cap off and her hair fell around her shoulders. “You’ll have to tell me all about it. Sounds scandalous from what I can tell...”
“Oh, yeah?” Grant asked. Lucy thought she saw a glimmer of sweat on his brow. Maybe it was from the humidity of the pool.
Cass wiped some water out of her face and her smile faded. “Well, my father took the call. Sometimes I’m privy to certain things.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Lucy interrupted. “Grant needs Ethan.”
“Have you—”
“We don’t have time to check his usual places,” Lucy said. Kymberlin was the size of a small city. There was no way Lucy and Grant could search for him without knowing where to look. “Earlier today you said you used the cameras to find me and my mom...”
Cass shook her head. “I shouldn’t...I’m sorry.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Steady drips plopped off her body and landed on the cement below their feet. “Once Huck learns that I even know where the camera room is...”
Grant stepped forward and put his hands on Cass’s bare shoulders. She stood straighter under his touch and didn’t back down, her head up high. “You’re privy to things. I’m privy to things. Can we just say that today, perhaps, both of us need to help each other out a bit?”
The Variables (Virulent Book 3) Page 33