Enigma

by Tonya Kuper

  “Did you guys see?” Chase asked, pointing out into the main area of the Pub. “News said the VP announced a nationally broadcast press conference tomorrow from L.A.”

  Zac craned his neck to see a television screen. “When was that?”

  “Earlier today.”

  “Have you heard from your dad since he went on vacation?” I asked.

  Zac didn’t make eye contact but shook his head. He settled on a stool, leaving one between us empty. Leaning against the bar, his arms crossed over his chest, he watched Cohen rack the balls. “I’ve texted my dad three times and tried calling. Nothing.” He looked pissed.

  My gaze extended past Cohen to Josie laughing with Kat. She deserved to laugh, to enjoy as normal a day as she could before springing our trap later tonight.

  Josie turned, her eyes darting between Zac and me, and ambled over. She was probably concerned I’d poke fun at Zac somehow. And she was probably right. Josie hiked up onto the stool between us. “Hey, guys.” Her words were light and bubbly.

  “You seem happy. Having fun?”

  Her face almost glowed. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”

  The rigidness in my spine melted away and I relaxed back onto my arms. I never knew someone else’s happiness could have such an impact on my own.

  “So, Zac,” Josie said, trying to include him in our conversation. “We’re the newbs. What do you think about the Hub? Did you know about the Oculi world growing up?”

  He seemed surprised by her questions. Uncrossing his arms, he rotated toward Josie and planted an elbow on the bar behind us. “Like you, I didn’t know anything about the Oculi world until I turned seventeen, when I got a crash course by my father. Instead of being fully immersed and sent here, though, I only had my dad.” His eyes skirted mine. “I had to continue what was expected of me. I’d graduated early from a private boarding school, preparing for college. I guess you could say I lived two lives.”

  Yeah, it wasn’t just you, buddy.

  Josie crossed one leg over the other. “That’s gotta be tough. Are you in college, then?”

  Zac shifted on the stool “I went this academic year, first semester. I’m taking a little break this semester while I figure out this Oculi stuff. As far as the press knows, I’m taking this semester off while I figure out what I’m doing with the rest of my life. It’s not a lie. I begged my dad to let me train in an environment where I could learn more about Oculi. He finally gave in and I’m here.”

  “And what do you think?” I asked before Josie could.

  His green eyes, a duller shade of Josie’s, finally met mine. “You really want to know?”

  “Yeah.” Hell yes. It could give me some insight to his dad or him, or both.

  “Schrodinger’s Consortium and the Resistance mirror our own government on many levels. One group wants one thing, the other group wants another, but their goal is similar. The opposing sides both want what’s best for the people, including safety and their rights respected. Neither are necessarily wrong or right, but they fundamentally don’t agree on how to achieve the end goal. They’ll continue fighting with nothing ever being resolved. There has to be something we’re not thinking of, you know, to strike a balance.”

  He took a rather neutral stance, but that’s what politicians did. They played to whomever they were persuading at the time.

  “I see it a little differently,” I said. “The Consortium wants to be a governing body, trying to control and regulate Oculi. They deem Anomalies dangerous because we have too much power. Just because we have these abilities doesn’t mean we’re going to use them for nefarious reasons, though. They want to be a police state and that’s not what most Oculi want. Especially Anomalies like us, whom they want to terminate. Well, unless you’re Josie’s family—then they want to recruit you to use you.”

  Amusement danced in Zac’s eyes. “Then what does the Resistance want?”

  I swiveled my chair toward Zac and Josie watched me with interest. “The Resistance is for every Oculi, the individual people. The people want to govern themselves, not be told what to do and how to do it by a government. They want freedom and to be allowed to live. So, I don’t think they do have the same goal—the opposing sides don’t want the same thing.”

  Zac grinned. “Interesting perspective.”

  I smiled back. His words didn’t give me much to go on. I knew he wasn’t the mole, but I still didn’t know how much trust to give him.

  “You were raised deeply rooted in a way of thinking. I have a more objective perspective,” Zac said, bracing his hands on his knees. “Again, neither one of us is right or wrong. It is what it is.”

  No. I was right, but I didn’t feel like arguing it further.

  “Well.” Josie drew both of our attention as she uncrossed her legs and straightened. “Regardless of who is wrong or right, the way things work now with the differing ideologies means the system we have in place won’t sustain. You know, like in thermodynamics? Physics?”

  I shrugged. Zac shook his head.

  “Chemistry?” she asked. We both just stared at Josie.

  Josie rolled her eyes. “In an isolated system, entropy doesn’t decrease. Eventually all systems will gradually decline into disorder. When you add human beings with emotions to the mix, the lack of predictability increases. Or, to complicate it further, you add Oculi with superhero abilities, and then entropy is inevitable.”

  Zac’s eyes widened and he glanced to me. “That was deep.” He moved his hand an inch over his head and whistled, indicating that it had gone over his head. Right there with ya, man.

  I stared at Josie and knew I had a stupid-ass grin on my face. Her brain turned me on like no other.

  Josie shot me a quick smile. “Well, that killed my sugar high.”

  A server delivered platters of food, all of us sharing everything, along with a stack of plates. Josie stayed at the bar to eat, the perfect place to be sure that her voice could be heard out in the main dining room, if someone was trying to listen. Zac filled a plate with wings and left the bar to stand, leaving his seat open for Cohen.

  Kat stood between me and Josie to snag a plate then carefully dished a couple of wings, a few nachos, and some kind of meatball things. “Josie, you have to be exhausted after working so hard today. You, too, Reid.”

  “I’m okay. Thanks, Kat.”

  Chase came around the other side of Josie. I didn’t want him to sit in the open seat for Cohen. But just then Cohen slid onto the barstool from the other side. Chase inspected the plates of food. No one officially invited him to join us. It was fine, since he was a gossip—but man, what a mooch.

  “Josie, seriously,” Kat continued, holding her plate. “You looked like crap earlier after practicing and weren’t feeling so good even an hour ago. You should go sleep.”

  “Look,” Josie said, dropping her chicken wing. “I appreciate you being concerned, but I can decide when I want to rest and I’m okay. I’d like to hang out for a little while.” She took a big sip of her drink I watched her Push. Probably root beer.

  Wow. Josie was better at acting than I expected her to be.

  Chase had paused between Josie and Cohen, watching the girls talk. He accidently made eye contact with me and took off for the jukebox.

  Kat moved from in between us toward Cohen. “Cohen, help me out. After all she’s been through, then the intense practicing, don’t you think Josie should get some rest? Exhausting herself could be dangerous.”

  Cohen, about to nosh on a cheesy nacho, seemed genuinely surprised Kat asked him to chime in. He placed the nacho back on his plate. “I didn’t want to get into it, but yeah, Josie should go get some sleep. And so should Reid.” He played this well. Really well.

  I finished chewing my bite. “What?”

  “Josie is spent and you need to sleep, bro. You don’t sleep, you start getting sloppy.”

  “I’m not sloppy. And I’m not tired.”

  “Damn it, Reid.” Cohen stood from his stool. We ha
d an audience now. Most of the people at the dining area tables were watching us. “You don’t have to be so stubborn—you’re clearly exhausted. You haven’t slept a full night in four days!”

  Josie looked between me and Cohen. “So when I do go to sleep, who is staying with me tonight?”

  “Me,” I said.

  Simultaneously, Cohen said, “I am.”

  “I’m staying with her.”

  “You need to sleep! It’s been days since you slept well. I saw you in the training rooms—you were making mistakes.”

  “I’m staying with her. The end.” I yelled the last two words, drawing even more stares.

  Cohen waved a hand at me, shook his head, and sat back down. He looked positively pissed. Kat reeled around to join Zac sitting at a pub table.

  I thought our little performance seemed convincing. Hopefully, it got to the mole and he thought it was real, too. Or that someone would tell the mole about it, anyway.

  I threw cash down on the bar. “Take your time and eat, but I’m ready to leave whenever you are.”

  Josie glanced around the pool room at our friends. “I think I’m ready.” No one would look at us, so there were no good-byes.

  We walked back to her room in silence, in case cameras were watching or listening.

  I closed the door behind us and Josie stopped in the entryway, a dim lamp from the living room the only light.

  “That sucked. I mean, it was good. But still.”

  “Yeah, it went well.”

  Josie tugged me toward her, pulled up my sleeve, and twisted to see my tattoo. Josie’s fingertip lightly traced over the lines of the upside-down triangle. The touch was ghost-like, yet the significance of the symbol held a mighty weight.

  Her finger rubbed over the three individual triangles inside the large one. “Why have you kept this? We aren’t in Florida anymore. You can get rid of it, since I accidentally Pushed it on you.”

  “No. It’s a good reminder. Like yours.”

  “Of what? To not be around first-day Oculi girls?” she said through a smile.

  “Of what it represents. That both individually, and collectively, we have to stay balanced. Wisdom. Power.” I paused. “Love.”

  Love—now even the word meant more to me than it used to.

  Josie’s tired stare rose from my arm to my eyes. Wrapping one of her hands around my neck and up into my hair, she pulled me down and pressed her soft lips to mine. This nerdy, hot girl had pocketed my heart.

  Curls cascaded over her shoulders and her eyes shined bright.

  She was beautiful, but she was so much more. She was the whole package. It was her confidence, her mind, her determination.

  She leaned back on the wood door, waiting for me to do something. She wasn’t leaving, she wasn’t warning me—she was waiting. For me. Kissing her would’ve been the easy thing to do, but I was a masochist. Words were much more difficult. So, naturally, that’s what I had to do. Talk.

  I pulled in a deep breath as if preparing to dive into the deep end of a pool. “You make me feel. You’ve made me want to be more, to do more. You’ve made me look at things—everything—differently. You’ve made me a better person.” I took a step toward Josie, her lips parting as she listened. “I want you. I need you. But I’m scared I don’t know how to care for you, that what I give won’t be enough.” I tried swallowing my fear, but it wouldn’t go away. I was afraid of her rejecting me, of her telling me I was crazy for the way I felt, but I had to be honest, even if I scared her away. “I don’t know if I can love you the way you deserve, but I want to try.”

  Her chest rose and fell as she watched me, the seconds ticking away into eternity, then a smile played on her lips.

  Josie

  I could barely breathe. I didn’t know how to act, what to do, what to say. My head spun, the words he said swirling inside me, making me dizzy.

  He shifted closer, the air between us becoming hot. We’d been near each other before, we’d kissed before, but this was different. This moment mattered. This moment was all those other kisses, and touches, and years of watching each other rolled into one. He felt it, too.

  He made the final move, making me look up into his stunning eyes. I didn’t know how to reply. My heart beat against his chest, or maybe his was beating against mine. “Reid, you already know how to love me. At least, that’s what I’ve felt from you.”

  Reid’s gaze dropped to my mouth and his lips collided with mine. There was no softness to this kiss, no gentle teasing. It was all need and desire.

  His fingers threaded into my hair as he pressed my mouth open, and all thought processes ceased. The world slipped away. As far as I was concerned, nothing else existed but us.

  Reid’s opposite hand gripped my waist like I was going to run away. I wasn’t going anywhere, though. If we were separated, we wouldn’t really be apart because he’d already tethered himself to me. He’d woven himself into the fabric of my heart.

  We’d shared tragedy and sacrifice. We’d both given our blood and sweat. Those trials brought us to this moment.

  His mouth pulled away from mine, and I was about to protest until he kissed a warm trail along my jawline. My heart fluttered out of control, my breathing erratic. With the softness of a feather, his lips skimmed along my collarbone and a gasp escaped from me.

  He pulled away to see my face, his hands paused on my waist and his features drawn in concern. “Is this okay?”

  Under his tough guy facade was a sweet guy, asking my permission to kiss me. That made him even more attractive. We were doing something dangerous in a couple of hours, and I wanted to kiss my boyfriend. My boyfriend. “Yeah,” I breathed.

  He smoothed his thumb over my bottom lip then swept me into his arms, lifting me from the ground, and carried me to my room.

  15.

  Josie

  Part of me was floating, high on Reid and the two hours we spent talking and making out. Time alone with him was a gift. The other part of me felt as if I was drowning, staring mortality in the face, and terrified. Terrified that maybe the mole did want to kill me after all, and I wouldn’t get more time with Reid and my family.

  I’d been lying in my bed with my eyes closed, unable to fall asleep. Reid was on the couch, pretending to sleep on the job while guarding me.

  My bedroom door squeaked. I tried not to change my breathing pattern or move my eyes under my lids even though my heart thumped so hard I could hear my pulse in my ears.

  At least a minute went by with no other sounds. Maybe it was Reid. Or maybe it was just my imag—

  A needle pricked my upper arm and I flinched, but I pinched my eyes tight rather than opening them. Why? Why didn’t I open my eyes? Someone just injected me with something. We weren’t prepared for the possibility of me being drugged.

  Something jostled my body and I opened my eyes, but I couldn’t see. I struggled to make noise, but nothing came out of my mouth. My voice vibrated in my chest.

  My body was being carried. I couldn’t command my own appendages to move. I screamed again to alert Reid, but nothing happened besides a whispered grunt in the back of my throat.

  No. No, no, no. They’ll all think the trap is going as planned. But it’s not and I can’t tell them.

  My body was angled and then turned. Most likely, I was being taken from my room, which we expected.

  My body stopped moving, my feet lower than my head, like I was being carried by more than one person. I had to be in the living room. Unable to move or make noise, I couldn’t have signaled to Reid that everything was okay even if it was. But that was my only thread of hope—that Reid wouldn’t get a signal from me and he’d understand I was not okay.

  Just in case, I tried to scream, but, again, nothing happened, besides a dull ache in my throat. Suddenly, something tugged in my shoulder area. My arm swung from my side down toward the floor, weighed down by my hand.

  The sensation in my shoulder disappeared and my body moved again. Turn. Straight. Tur
n. Pause. Straight. My body tipped, feet elevated above my head. Twelve stairs.

  The stairs. That was what I was waiting for. My room was on the second floor. Taking me down the stairs meant I was in the main hall lined with the doors to the living quarters of half the population. My body leveled out as we landed on the floor then the feet transporting me moved quicker.

  Miniature holes of light pierced through whatever covered my head. That meant some kind of light was overhead, so I was in the living quarters courtyard.

  I Retracted the fabric against my face again. It flickered off and on so fast I almost missed it. Someone was continuously focused on it, Pushing it back on as soon as I Retracted it.

  Sheer terror filled me. I was going to suffocate, if not from lack of oxygen, then from the heavy darkness weighing me down. The blackness was like a thick, wet blanket sticking to me.

  Something could happen to my body. I could be shot, stabbed, or… I had to do something.

  Think, Josie.

  What could I feel? Burning in my lungs. Possibly something around my legs, keeping them together.

  I couldn’t see anything, so I’d have to try sightless Retracting. I concentrated on the feeling of what bound my legs. The kidnappers wouldn’t expect me to be loose. It would throw them off more than whatever was on my face coming off. I was having a difficult time figuring out what secured my legs together. Was it plastic? I tried to visualize plastic ties and Retracted. My head throbbed and nausea rolled through me.

  It was getting more difficult to concentrate with each passing second. Maybe it wasn’t the fact that I didn’t know what bound my legs, but I could barely think about one thing for more than three seconds. I wanted to sleep.

  NO.

  I attempted to thrash my body this way and that, to see what would happen. Nothing. I attempted to Retract whatever bound my limbs. Pain splashed around the inside of my skull, and I held back the need to throw up. I wasn’t moving my limbs of my own free will.