by C. S. Harte
Confused, Kayla turns around to see what Tommy could be staring at — a framed photo of her on the other wall of the trailer. It’s the first thing he sees when he wakes up every day.
Tommy’s facial muscles tighten into a steeled look of determination. “I’m not going to give up on you. No matter what,” he says inches from Kayla’s face.
She closes her eyes and leans in for a kiss.
Tommy walks through her and out the door.
Kayla reaches her hand out for him, but he doesn’t return.
The alarm in Kayla's bedroom rang. 9 am.
She tried to shut off the alarm, but her eyelids were glued shut. Her fingers found their way to the snooze button and something else on the table. The apple!
She rubbed her eyes aggressively removing the sleep.
“I threw you into the trash can…”
Either someone came into my room while I slept or the apple came back like Helen said it would.
Kayla sighed. “I need a shower.” She tried not to think about the apple. After the shower, she got dressed and sat in her living room.
The apple was waiting for her on the living room table.
“I’m literally being haunted by an apple.” Kayla laughed an uneasy laugh.
What if the knowledge I’m seeking is the knowledge on how to get out of here? No, that would be too easy.
Kayla fixated on the golden fruit. Her hand unconsciously reached out for it. The apple seemingly slid towards her. She jumped up, shaking her head. Did that just happen?
Drops of water fell onto her arm. Her hair was still wet. She went to dry it in the bathroom. Staring into the mirror, she asked herself, “What would the others say about eating this apple?”
She attempted to impersonate Masa and his stoic facial expression. “The answers you seek comes from within.”
Kayla stooped low, pretending to be Jaime. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the Helen tree.”
Her gaze lowered. “Everyone else would say no. Why am I even thinking about this.” She returned to her living room, sitting across from the apple. “Tell me what you know!” She screamed at the apple. Kayla pushed herself up and began pacing the room. “I should just smash it against the wall.” Temptation was building inside of her. She heard the apple calling to her, deconstructing her defenses, killing off rational thought.
Kayla shook her head and slapped herself — a full-palm, hard whack to each cheek. Of course, the apple isn’t talking to me. I’m not crazy.
She clutched her mother’s locket. What should I do? Kayla checked the time. Almost 10 am. Training will start soon. The group needed an update on her conversation with Helen. As she left her room, an innocent thought trickled into her head.
What if I just take a little bite. Don’t eat the whole thing. That should be OK.
Kayla picked up the gilded fruit, bringing it close to her mouth. She could smell the sweet scent it carried. Her stomach growled, her body betrayed her mind. Slowly, her mouth opened and she wedged the apple between her upper and lower teeth.
The doorbell rang.
She dropped the apple to the ground.
“Wake up, sleepy head! Early bird escapes the prison!” Jaime yelled through the door.
Kayla stared at the apple on the ground for a moment before running to Jaime.
39
“It’s been awhile since I’ve been in your dojo, Masa.” Helen surveyed the room before returning her attention to him.
“It’s been awhile since you were welcomed here,” Masa sneered.
Kayla watched the banter between the two without expression. I had no idea how much they hated each other.
“I do hope we can put our differences aside so that we may all work together towards an escape,” Helen said.
Masa shrugged.
Kayla walked to Masa. “I told you. We can trust Helen to at least get us out,”
“I have my own questions for Helen if you don’t mind.”
Kayla nodded. At least they're civil towards each other.
Helen stepped forward. “I take it Kayla hasn’t mastered her Illusion Awareness talent to the point where she can open a doorway out of this house?”
“I’m not sure that's even possible. The talent seems to be passive in nature,” Masa answered.
“All I can do is remove the illusion from my mind, but I don’t see a door or any other way to escape.”
Helen began pacing the room with her hands behind her back.
Kayla nudged Masa. “Ask her about your concerns.”
“We know about the exit created at the end of a Final Exam,” Masa said. “But we don’t want to be surrounded by soldiers when we wake up at the Nest. How do we get past that obstacle?”
Helen rapped her fingers on her chin. “I’ve thought about this problem too. Let me be the first to escape. I can convince the overseers that something is wrong with Eden House and they’ll be too distracted doing a diagnostics test to notice the rest of you escaping your stasis pods. That should buy you precious minutes to wake up, get acclimated, and run towards the exit.”
Kayla stared at Helen and Masa as they talked, looking on in awe as the complexity of the conspiracy that brought her to Eden House came into full view.
“I don’t know if I trust you enough to do that,” Masa said through gritted teeth.
I wonder what happened between these two.
Helen’s eyes lowered. “Masa. I can’t escape the Nest without your help.”
Masa’s voice raised slightly. “That’s what I don’t understand. Why is Jochi letting you leave?”
Helen raised her eyebrows at Masa. “How do you know his name?”
“I have my secrets too,” he said with a smug face.
“I haven’t talked to Jochi in some time. Have you noticed how the sky has been gloomy the past few days? When was the last time that ever happened?”
Masa paused before answering. His eyes were blinking rapidly. “Never actually. What does that mean? Is there something wrong with the house?”
Helen pointed at Kayla. “You saw that Jochi was missing from his painting in my office, right?”
“So that’s his name,” Kayla said. “He’s the house Creatore?”
Helen nodded. “Something is wrong, and it means our physical bodies are quite possibly in danger.”
Masa sighed. “Unfortunately — as much as I hate to — we don’t have a choice but to trust in what you’re saying.”
“Your confidence in me is reassuring.” Helen looked at Kayla while replying to Masa.
Kayla shrugged her shoulders. “It’s the best you’re going to get for now.”
Masa sighed and sat into his meditative pose.
Kayla held up her hand, readying a finger for each point she was about to make. “OK. If I understand everything, we have to: one, pass another simulation — the Final Exam; two, Helen needs to distract people; three, we need to wake up fast; and four, figure out a way to get home?”
“More or less.” Helen smiled and walked to the nearest wall, placing a hand on it. She whispered something to herself. A large, rolled-up document appeared next to her, floating in mid-air. Helen grabbed it and handed it to Masa. “A peace offering and perhaps a token of trust. Here is the blueprint to the Nest. I’ve marked the way out. Just in case I can’t make it back to you.”
Masa unrolled the blueprint. His eyes darted from one side to another like an old fashioned typewriter. He gave Helen a nod.
Did they just exchange pleasantries? “So this Final Exam. We talking multiple choice?”
“Far from it. You remember the Ice Fortress Simulation,” Helen said, more a statement than a question.
“How could I forget?”
“This would be an order of magnitude harder.”
Kayla gasped. “But no one has ever beat the Ice Fortress! Has no one ever passed the Final Exam?”
“Some have, at a less than one percent success rate.”
“That’s… extrem
ely low.” Kayla’s shoulders drooped as hope drained from her.
“Indeed, it is. To make matters worse, that one percent rate is the rate for individuals. We’ve never had gifteds take the exam in pairs, let alone as a group. The difficulty will ramp up considerably for each person in the simulation,” Helen said in a somber voice.
“But if we’re to wake up at the same time, we have to take the exam as a group,” Masa added.
“Correct. All the more reason why we need to start trusting each other. The odds are very much not in our favor.”
“This sounds impossible,” Kayla cried. “Our team would consist of us three plus Jaime, Maria, Victor, and Naveed. Seven people! Could we each start the exam at the same time in different studios?”
Helen shook her head. “There’s no guarantee that we would end up at the finish line at the same time. And we wouldn’t be able to help each other if one of us runs into… challenging situations.”
“I don’t even have my talents!” Kayla said, her voice higher than expected.
“My apologies for not telling you earlier. When we were last together, I put something in your tea which unsealed your talents. Try to lift one of the weapons on the rack with your Telekinesis.”
Kayla concentrated and levitated Masa in his sitting pose.
His face expressed contempt rather than amusement.
Kayla jumped into the air. “YES! I’m useful again!”
Helen smiled.
“It was weird to go from having powers to not having them. I felt like I was missing a piece of myself.”
Masa got up and walked to Kayla. He put both hands on her shoulder. “Remember, control and focus. You can’t lose either of them.”
“I won’t. I promise.” Kayla said, reassuring herself as much as Masa.
“We cannot fail. If what Helen says is true about the instability of Eden House, we might not have another chance.”
Masa has always been serious, but this is the most serious I’ve seen him. Kayla picked up a hand from her shoulder and held them in hers. “I understand. I won’t let the group down.” She walked over to Helen. “Do we know what the challenges are ahead of time?”
“Yes and no. Our circuit suit keeps track of the most stressing times during our training. Whatever test gave us the most difficulty, that will be on the exam. Thus, our Final Exam will be a randomized sample of the collective fears and failures we’ve experienced as a group. Another reason why this test has been so difficult to pass. It’s never the same twice.”
“That sounds… absolutely awful.” Kayla returned her stare to Masa, searching for a comforting sign that everything was going to be OK. He always seems to have the same expression no matter the challenge in front of him.
“One last thing,” Helen said.
“What more could there possibly be to make this more challenging?” Kayla's voice was laced with anxiety.
“No circuit suits.”
Masa jumped into a standing position. “That’s insane! I know now why the failure rate is so high.”
“I have to agree with Masa. That’s insane!” Kayla shouted. Her arms swung above her head for emphasis.
“I did stress how difficult a challenge this would be from the start.” Helen paused. “This is one of the reasons I rarely recommend Final Exams. I understand all of this may seem rather cruel. We essentially took you away from your lives, stressed you with training after training only to give you a near impossible test should you want to leave. If it wasn’t the thought of one day reuniting with my children…” Her voice trailed off.
Masa approached Helen. His shoulders aligned with hers but facing the opposite direction. “We will find your kids.”
Kayla found renewed hope seeing Masa and Helen standing side-by-side. Masa was an incredibly powerful gifted. His true strength was hidden well through his humility. Kayla watched as Masa returned to his meditation, examining the manner of his tranquility as a storm approached. She found solace in his serenity. It didn't seem to matter what headed his way. Masa had a look of understated determination. Kayla envied his disposition in such a trying time. There was so much still unknown about him. I wish I met Masa under different circumstances. Her first encounter with him left a cold and distant impression, an understanding that has since changed. He is capable of great compassion and sacrifice for those around him. For these reasons, Kayla trusted Masa to see her through the impending chaos.
Helen was potent in a different way — through her cunning. She always seemed to know more than she was letting on and also capable of great sacrifice for the ones she loved. Such devotion made for a significant bond between her and Masa. They seem to hate each other too much for there not to be a history. I wonder what happened between them.
With Helen and Masa working together, Kayla’s chances of escaping became increasingly favorable. There was still hope yet.
“I don’t know about y'all, but I’m ready to get started on this Final Exam,” Kayla said without any hint of sarcasm.
40
Kayla whispered to Jaime, “I guess Emily isn’t coming.”
He shrugged. “I haven’t seen her in days. No idea where she is.”
“She’s going to be trapped here by herself.” As much as she disliked Emily, Kayla acknowledged some degree of guilt for what happened with Haley. Helping Emily, made up for a past sin.
Jaime hugged Kayla. “That’s her choice. You know how she is, you can’t make her do something she doesn’t want to do.”
Kayla beamed a smile at Jaime, appreciating the embrace. Her emotional reservoir had been filling up at an alarming rate. She pushed herself from Jaime for fear of overflowing and changed the subject. “I can’t believe that Brennan and Aida would want to stay here too.”
“They love each other. Where they live is secondary to that. I told you before, if I had a choice, I might just move here. Brennan and Aida have each other and the ability to travel wherever, whenever.”
“I guess I can see that. When did you become such a —” Kayla saw Masa move to the front of the room.
He raised his hand, gathering everyone’s attention. “Beyond these doors lie our toughest challenge yet.” Masa peered across the room. He seemed satisfied to see all the focused, hardened faces staring back at him.
“The monsters will be real. The pain will be real. Every danger will be real. We need to be at our best. We need to help each other. At all costs, we need to succeed in our goal of making it to the end. Only then can we escape our prison. Have faith in your training and in your talents. We will be facing great odds, but together as a team, we can overcome anything.” He waited to see if anyone had any questions. “Collect your thoughts. We’ll be starting shortly.”
Victor and Naveed came to Kayla, sandwiching her between them.
“We heard you got your talents back,” Victor said. He held his breath as if hoping Kayla would confirm the rumor.
Kayla nodded her affirmation.
“Oh thank God! Are you feeling rusty or anything?” Naveed asked.
“I don’t think so. All the training with Masa on focus and concentration helped a lot. I feel much more in control of my abilities.”
Maria joined the conversation. “Don’t worry about Kayla. She’s going to be the least of our concerns once we’re inside. You heard what Masa said. We have to trust each other if we’re going to pass this.”
“Let’s begin.” Masa’s voice roared. “Helen will scout ahead whenever she can. A little advance warning is better than none.” He motioned to Helen.
Helen nodded. “Remember, you cannot use ‘exitus’ or ‘initus’ to alter the simulation once we’re inside. Dodge everything. I cannot stress that enough. You do not have circuit suits to protect you.” She pressed the start button on the wall. An entryway opened. The light from the new setting poured in, overpowering that of the briefing room. Helen shifted into invisibility and walked in first.
Jamie laughed. “It looks like another staging area.”<
br />
The group entered a circular room with an open roof. The walls were a gritty light-brown sandstone. It was daytime. The sunlight felt uncomfortably hot on Kayla’s skin. There were no doors on the sandstone walls that could indicate an exit or a pathway. Their only option was a staircase leading up to a circular platform.
Helen could be heard climbing the steps first. There were seven circular pedestals at the top, one for each member of the group to stand on.
“I get the feeling the simulation wants each of us to stand on one of these pedestals,” Victor said.
Helen reappeared. “I had a notion we were going to get separated, just not right away.”
Maria stepped on the nearest pedestal. “I’m ready for whatever.”
Others followed Maria’s lead.
Kayla trailed the group. “Here goes nothing.”
Immediately a glistening, bluish energy field turned on, trapping each member inside like they were in human-sized test tubes. Panic set in for many in the group. Jaime and Naveed pounded on their tubes trying to break out. The field did not vibrate. A hissing sound followed as a visible white gas slowly filled the enclosures from the bottom up.
Kayla saw Maria fall unconscious first. She looked around the platform and saw each member fall one by one until only she and Masa remained. If he had concerns, he didn’t show any. His composure helped reduce her anxiety. I’m glad we have a leader like Masa. She inhaled a deep breath and passed out.
Kayla woke on a beach with Jaime and Victor. The sun was already in the process of setting. She scanned the area to find her bearings. The beach extended to the horizon in both directions. A towering volcano loomed in the center.
I hope this volcano is dormant.
Both Jaime and Victor were still asleep. She nudged them awake.
Jaime got up first. “So this is what it feels like to pass out all the time.”
“Not funny.” Kayla frowned. “I guess it’s just us three. I wonder what the others have to do.”
“I think the simulation placed us together because Victor and I failed last time.”