AQUA (The Elements Series Book 1)

by Korn, Tracy

  As the parson fish gets closer, I can see the iridescent electric blue strip of scales threading through its eyes like a bandit's mask hiding the green mottled splashes underneath them. It rounds on me when it finally gets close enough, then peels back its bright green lips to reveal two hooked fangs, and I hear my name again from behind me.

  "Jazz!" The cracked, anguished sound of my brother's voice breaks my paralysis; I can't stand here. I think, looking behind me and seeing him pinned against the wall behind a table with others on top of it, and I try to run to the other side of the room. The parson fish skirts in front of me, and the sight of that green lip curling back again sharpens my attention. This time, I am not so easily paralyzed. There is no room on the counter or the tables and chairs for me, so I try to calculate a safe way to kick it or to duck if it launches itself at me, and then I remember I am wearing a jacket—I can swat it away, or maybe I can just throw it over top and cover it long enough to step on it, but I don't know if its venom has to be injected, or if just the touch of it will disintegrate flesh and bone.

  "Give me a pan or something!" I yell as I pull my arms out of my jacket and hold the cuffs together, ready to swing at the fish if it jumps or scurries at me. "Hurry up!" I yell again, without daring to take my eyes from it.

  "Get off! Move!" I hear Arco's voice, and from the corner of my eye also see Jax trying to escape the pile of people in front of him.

  "Stay back!" I yell to them both as the fish lunges at me, stopping itself at the serendipitous timing of my raised voice as my stomach flips.

  With room to move now, I step sideways around to the counter so I have something at my back, and whip my jacket once at the fish to keep it at a distance, but it grabs on, and I don't realize it until I'm already retracting for another swing. I drop the jacket instantly and duck upon seeing its kelp colored lips curling to bare fangs that are flying right toward my head. The momentum of the initial pull sends the fish sliding a few feet behind me, and I run toward the stairwell where Avis and Fraya are frantically waving me over, having made room for me, but suddenly from behind, I hear the clatter of metal and a high pitched keening. I turn in the doorway and see the handle of an ice pick sticking out from the top of the parson fish, which is now twitching and flickering green around its eyes and mouth until it lies still on the ground. Joss stands at the other end of the room, his hand still suspended in front of him from having released the ice pick. He looks at me, then at the fish.

  "Don't touch it. It still might be poisonous," he says in a steady tone, then exhales. I nod, feeling the icy current of adrenaline pulsing through my veins and behind my ears until everything sounds muffled and thick. People start getting down from the tables and countertops, and seconds later Jax is in front of me gripping my shoulders.

  "Are you OK? Are you OK?" he says, scanning my face wildly. I nod, then nod again.

  "Where is Vox?" Arco yells. "Where is that—"

  "Arco!" I yell back at him. "It's fine. The fish is dead," I say as he takes a deep breath, but still scans the room furiously for her.

  "What the hell is this place? Shouldn't there be a crew or something?" Jax shouts to the room, one hand still on my shoulder. We all look around for someone official, but see only the twelve of us—well, the eleven of us with Vox somehow gone. I move toward the stairwell doorway again to see if she's up there, but don't exactly want to lead Arco or anyone else to her if she is. I turn back to the galley and see Joss again, still standing in the same place, the ice pick running straight through the center of the very dead parson fish, its bluish blood now pooling underneath it.

  "Thank you," I say to him. He blows out a breath, then smiles to one side and nods.

  "Never thought I'd spear fish again after yesterday," he says, which breaks the tension in the room. Arco's eyes are still wild when I look over to him, and I really hope for Vox's sake that she stays out of sight for a while.

  "Let's get out of here," I say, and motion to the door on the other side of the galley.

  "It's locked," Liddick says, "we tried it when you were starring in Girl vs. Gaia back there."

  "Stow it, Liddick," Jax says, taking a step in front of me.

  "Level, Ripley. It's a joke," Liddick replies with his hands in the air, and Arco takes a few steps toward him.

  "Please give me a reason to hit you," he says. Liddick raises an eyebrow at me and smirks as if to ask, should I? Arco grabs him by the shirt with both hands before Ellis and Jax pull him back, but Liddick just laughs and starts brushing off his shirt like Arco has somehow gotten it dirty.

  "OK, everyone relax. Let's just figure out how to get out of here," I say, and look over to the matter board, which is still glowing. "The board is still on."

  "Tell it to make a key for the door," Avis says to Myra, who is closest, and the people next to her nudge her forward.

  "What do I do?" she asks, wiping her eyes.

  "Push the first button and tell it to make a key for the galley door," Ellis replies. She pushes the button, and the green light glows brighter as the hum starts up again.

  "Why is it making that noise?" Her voice is shrill and full of panic as she looks around for an answer.

  "It's just getting ready. When you hear the high whirring, tell it what to make," Ellis says. After another second, she leans down closer to it.

  "Make a key for the galley door," she says, then scurries back. The key starts taking shape immediately, and in a second, the bright green light fades back to the baseline glow. She reaches for the key and drops it with a yelp.

  "It's hot!"

  "Hand me that towel," Liddick says to Quinn, who tosses it to him. He picks up the key near his feet with the towel and crosses to the locked galley door, then inserts the key into the lock. "It fits," he says, turning the handle. He opens the door, and through it we see our interviewers—Ms. Rheen, Mr. Styx, and Ms. Plume—all typing into their tablets.

  CHAPTER 13

  Bearings

  Mr. Styx and Ms. Plume are seated at either side of Ms. Rheen, smiling as she stands and straightens her white uniform, then opens her hands to us before clasping them in front of her as she talks.

  "Well done, cadets! Welcome aboard. You'll forgive our abrupt greeting, but we needed to establish a few things about your personalities before assigning you roommates on the Gaia campus. If you'll follow us, we'll get you seated for departure now." I look behind me to Jax. His eyes are narrowed, suspicious, like mine. We are in for much more than we bargained for here, and based on the odd quiet of the group as we start to shuffle in the direction of the interviewers, everyone knows it. Arco begins crossing the room in measured strides as I see Liddick fall back. He shakes his head as his eyebrows dart together when he sees Arco; no more drama...not right now, his expression seems to say. And then, as startling as if one of the windows had burst, Sarin's voice shatters the silence.

  "So, should we expect to be brought to the brink of homicide regularly at Gaia, or will this be the last time you sit back and watch us all nearly vaporized for your entertainment?" Her voice comes from somewhere behind us, causing the interviewers to stop walking and turn around. Mr. Styx and Ms. Plume smile, but Ms. Rheen does not. She steps toward us all, and the students nearest to the front step aside.

  "Miss Nu, is it?" Ms. Rheen says, sliding two of her red dragon lady nails across her forehead to tuck back wayward strands of fiery hair. Sarin doesn't say anything, but from my angle, her large brown eyes are narrowed, and she holds her chin defiantly in the air.

  "Yes," Sarin replies, clasping her hands in front of her.

  "Miss Nu," Ms. Rheen interlaces her fingers like a basket at her waist and talks to the floor while stepping even closer to Sarin, her eyes lighting, but not with anger. She seems…impressed? "Amusement was not the objective of this exercise," she says, now stopped just a step from Sarin's face and locking her eyes with hers. "We need to know what you're capable of...in any situation."

  Sarin doesn't look away or st
ep back, and in this minute I'm a little impressed. She's an iceberg.

  "So you're saying we can expect more attempts on our lives as part of the curriculum?"

  I am frozen where I stand, but strangely, the feeling of wanting to twist something to death comes over me, setting me back. Why doesn't she close her mouth before they bunk her with someone like Vox? I look up to see that Jax's jaw is clenched, and when he notices that I'm looking, he skirts me a glance full of warning. He can't possibly think I'm going to step into this ring, can he?

  Mr. Styx and Ms. Plume are not smiling anymore. The silence in the room becomes a fog of unintelligible murmuring anticipating Ms. Rheen's response, and the tension is so unbearable that my ears begin ringing. I narrow my eyes to brace against the noise, and notice that across from me, Liddick's expression is strained as well. I turn to Jax and find that his is unchanged, but when he meets my eyes again, he frowns as his brows knit together.

  "What? What's wrong?" he whispers to me.

  "The ringing."

  "What ringing?"

  "You can't hear it? The high-pitched..." I trail off because the sound is getting louder, too loud, and just before my hands fly up to cover my ears, I hear Liddick's voice shout out.

  "Ms. Rheen!" he says sharply and abruptly, and the ringing breaks off. I almost collapse in relief, then feel Jax's arm move around my shoulder. "You mentioned that we'll have roommates?"

  She looks up in the direction of his voice, her lips wrestling each other into a smile as Jax lowers to whisper to me.

  "What was that about? Do you still hear ringing?" I shut my eyes tightly a few times to clear my head, "Jazz?" Jax whispers again through my hair, and I turn to him shaking my head.

  "Yes," Ms. Rheen replies on an exhale. "Your roommates are being arranged as we speak based on the data we have just uploaded." After a sweeping glance around the room, she speaks to all of us, raising her tendril like arms to her sides, "So, congratulations. Your matriculation period is officially underway." When she meets Sarin's eyes again, she presses her lips into a tight, thin line. Sarin lowers her chin to meet her eyes, but does not step back and does not look away. "If there are no more pressing concerns, Miss Nu, we will show you to your seats for the launch," Ms. Rheen says under a rigid brow, still looking at Sarin, whose eyes now travel to nothing in particular off to the side. "Good. This way then," Ms. Rheen says, turning to walk as the group filters in behind her. I start to make my way through the crowd to Liddick, but Jax grabs my arm as I start to pull ahead.

  "Where are you going?" he says.

  "I need to talk to Liddick. I'll be right back."

  He releases my arm and I begin slipping in front of my classmates toward the far side of the group. About halfway to it I feel a hand on my shoulder, which stops me in my tracks.

  "Jazz, are you all right?" Arco says, and I nod, searching for Liddick.

  "I'm fine," I say, and try to walk on, but he doesn't let go.

  "Wait, Jazz, I know I told you that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and it almost did. And I—"

  "Arco, why is this even…" I trail off, remembering his interview, and then struggle to keep the impatience out of my voice as I crane my neck around him, still looking for Liddick. "I mean, OK, never mind. Really, it's fine. I just have to go."

  "Jazz, don't be like this," he says, causing a wave of guilt to crash into me as I pull away knowing that he's confused about my reaction, but I don't have time to explain right now.

  "It's not that, I just have to go," I say over my shoulder, trying not to run into anyone's back before turning my attention again to the far side of the crowd. In a handful of maneuvers and strides, I finally fall in next to Liddick, who blows out a low whistle.

  "Welcome aboard, right?" he says, rolling his eyes and returning his attention forward.

  "What was that ringing? You heard it, I know you did. I saw your face."

  "I heard it. And I don't know."

  "Jax couldn't hear it."

  "Neither could Sarin, or she wouldn't have been able to stonewall Rheen like that," he says, a smile spreading across his face until it gives way to a chuckle.

  "Liddick, this isn't funny. I feel like it's just going to get worse here."

  "Worse as in more orchestrated scenarios that can get us evaporated? Probably."

  "I'm not kidding, Liddick."

  "I'm serious!" He laughs again. "They don't need us, Jazz. They only need some of us."

  "What is that supposed to mean?" I ask, trying to keep his pace as we make our way down a white-walled corridor that I'm starting to think lasts forever.

  "It means just what I said. If we are all the top picks for the year, why would they be so reckless with us like that? You heard that noise they were obviously cranking up in our heads back there after Sarin's episode. Not to mention at the dinner, no one heard that marlin except for you and me. Don't you see that we're being singled out? We're the only ones they're testing—everyone else is expendable."

  "But why would we be singled out?"

  "Who knows, but it's pretty clear that's what they're doing—trying to map our behavior patterns. Rheen just said it herself, in not so many words."

  "Even if that's true, how could they have anything to do with the marlin? That happened topside, and besides that, you said it was Liam. They weren't even around," I press.

  "I don't know the extent of their involvement with that, but you didn't hear anything until they slapped that cuff on you, right?" he meets my eyes expectantly, and I nod.

  "I agree that something is going on, but I don't think it's just about us," I say.

  "Suit yourself, but watch your back," he says, palming his ear. As we turn the corner, I notice the ringing echoing in my own ears as he walks ahead, and I stop racing to keep up with him.

  Why would they single us out for anything at all here? We're not even at Gaia yet. Maybe Liddick is just paranoid—tainted by all the virtuo-cine conspiracy plots he's been part of over the years. There was something subversive happening that started in the interviews for sure, but aren't all tests subversive? Don't they all ask you questions with no real intention of finding out if you know the answers so much as if you're smart enough to figure out the game? We've been training our whole lives for this, and they have to know that.

  "Jazz," Arco says, catching up to me from behind and letting his hand fall on my shoulder again. His face is twisted into a grimace, and the wave of guilt I felt before returns.

  "Arco, I'm really not mad at you, I promise. I just had to ask Liddick something before I lost sight of him. I don't need you to protect me from anything," I blurt out all at once, trying to stave off whatever pledge of redemption he's about to offer.

  "I know you don't. Sorry, it's just leftover from my interview I guess. I didn't expect it to linger around like this," he says, and I nod, relieved that he seems to be more like himself again.

  "It's something about this place—I can't seem to get my bearings either," I say.

  "Well, we have only been here half-an-hour so far, every minute of which we've spent trying not to get disintegrated," he says from behind a grin. "Maybe it will all fall into a groove once we're resettled."

  "I hope so," I say, and stop with the group just outside a room with seats lining each wall. An orange light clicks on, and a hovering digital clock begins counting down in the doorway we've all just come through.

  "Submersion will begin in three minutes," a female voice says from somewhere. "Please secure your deployment seats and fasten your belts as prompted by the monitor," it continues as a large screen materializes just under the ceiling at the back of the room, and we all make our way to a seat.

  CHAPTER 14

  Launching

  When we're all seated, the same female voice comes through the speakers again after the initial sound of the hydraulics detaching from the land bridge. After a jar, we are moving. I feel a sharp pain in my wrist and jerk it back, but there is nothing around that could have
stabbed me. I move the bracelet cuff and see a red pinprick as others around me are also examining their wrists and complaining, looking around, and asking each other what just happened, but no one seems to know.

  "Do not be alarmed. You have just received a pressurization stabilizer. The nanotechnics will regulate the amount of oxygen inside your body and adjust pressurization to match your surroundings at any given time," the voice says. In punctuation, Sarin throws up into a bag that flies out from the panel next to her chair.

  "Nooo!" Avis shouts, then dissolves into pained chuckles while shielding his eyes from Sarin's terrible misfortune. I grin, but look away before I'm roarfing up vital organs myself as the announcement voice goes on.

  "Nitrogen and helium levels will also be adjusted in your body, which may produce temporary disorientation, nausea, pins and needles sensation in the extremities, irritability, and vomiting. Your vitals are monitored by sensors in your wrist cuffs. Note that your episodes of disquiet will be anticipated, and in the event you become sick, a receptacle will be dispatched automatically for your convenience. Enjoy your journey to Gaia Sur, cadets. We will arrive in two hours and 13 minutes."

  When the voice stops, I hear a few other people getting sick, and try to look away. The smell of spearmint fills the air, and I imagine this is to help prevent a chain reaction. Jax sits next to me, and across from us sit Avis, Fraya, Ellis, Myra, Joss, and Sarin. I wonder where Vox is as I crane my neck around the room and find everyone else. Is she even still aboard?