Godlin stared pointedly at Christine but addressed them both. “I won’t be long, just, for the love of God, stay put.”
Opening the door, Godlin went inside. Andrew tried to glance past him into the room, but Godlin closed the door before he could see anything.
“We should find a way out of here,” Christine said as the door closed. She saw another steel doorway nearby and headed for it.
Andrew reluctantly trailed behind Christine. “We should stay put.”
“I’m worried about our families and friends. Aren’t you?” Christine said firmly.
“Yeah, but I’m sure they will figure out what to do.” Andrew glanced around, fearing someone would catch them.
“I’d rather tell them myself.”
Christine pushed the button on the side of the door, and it opened with a soft hissing sound. Andrew peeked around Christine, observing the room.
It stretched about fifty feet across in either direction and glistened white, as if a thin layer of glass covered the walls and floor. White boxes of various sizes made of the same glass substance were scattered around the room.
“Wow,” Christine breathed out as she stepped into the room.
Andrew carefully stepped onto the glass floor, expecting to slide across the slick surface like ice, but it held firm.
Christine noticed a thin white box sitting off to the side of the doorway. It had a screen and keyboard attached to it. She went over to it and pushed a small button on it. The computer hummed to life, and the screen clicked on. Several lines of green text came up on a black background.
“Ugh,” Christine said, pointing at the screen with an index finger. “I can’t read it.”
Andrew peeked over Christine’s shoulder. At first, he could not read it either, until he sounded out the words. It was written in Keeper. “I think I can, if I sound it out.”
The screen displayed a list. He muttered the words to himself. The first word translated to “New,” then “Search,” followed by words like “Forest: Rainforest,” “Forest: Mountain,” “City: Night,” “City: Downtown,” and other locations.
“It’s a list of terrains,” Andrew said. He pushed the arrow key down, and the computer highlighted the line in white. He picked “City: Night” and then hit Enter.
The entire room changed in an instant. The lights dimmed, and the walls displayed brick buildings. The boxes became objects, such as storefronts, dumpsters, and even a pile of rubbish. They found themselves in the middle of an alleyway at night.
A street lamp stood above them, flickering in and out with a buzzing sound. Andrew could hear the sounds of cars honking and driving in the distance.
Christine stood beside Andrew, her mouth hanging open slightly. “What did you do?”
Andrew shook his head. “I don’t know. Did we teleport somewhere?”
Christine walked into the alleyway, moving up to a trash bin. She reached out to touch it, but could not set her hand flush on it. “I think it’s fake.” She kicked at the trash bin, but other than it making a dull thud sound, nothing happened.
Andrew turned back to the computer. The list now read, “Exit,” “New,” and “Search,” followed by the list of places. He picked another one.
A ripple of color and lights ran across the floor and boxes.
It was daytime now. The city was replaced by a sparse forest of conifer trees. The trash bins became boulders, and the dry ground was covered in gravel and leaves. He pushed his foot at a leaf, but it just passed over it. It felt like standing on a television screen.
The walls around them had become the sides of cliffs and tall trees, marking a clear barrier for the edges of the room. A bird chirped in the distance, and the sound of rustling wind passed through the trees.
“It’s like one of those 3D movies or something,” Andrew said.
“I think it’s just a bunch of projectors showing an image.” Christine laid a hand on a nearby boulder, but her hand never touched it. Instead, it hovered a little over the rock as if it were inside a glass case.
Stepping over, Andrew tried to touch the boulder. He could feel the cool touch of glass and the smoothness of a large square. “Oh yeah, you’re right.”
Andrew tried to push the rock, but it did not move. He leaned to one side, looking down at the edge of the rock. It vanished from his view past a certain point, revealing it as a flat screen projecting the image of a bumpy rock. “I wonder what they do with this.”
“There’s nothing else here. Come on, let’s try another door,” Christine said.
“I think we should stay put until they find us.” Andrew clambered up onto a larger bolder and sat down on top of it, his feet dangling off the side.
Fidgeting with a small button earring, Christine said, “Andrew, I just want to go home.”
“They need our help. The world is in trouble, and I think I’m supposed to help stop it.”
“I don’t care what they are trying to do.” Christine put a hand on his knee, giving it a squeeze as she smiled. “I’m worried about you. You’re getting caught up in this fantasy. Your real life is back home with your family, your friends … with me.”
Andrew rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I just have this feeling we can trust them.”
“I don’t, least of all Raptor.” Folding her arms in front of her chest, Christine took a step back.
“Why not?” Her lack of trust in Raptor surprised Andrew because he had connected to her instantly.
“I just don’t like her that much. I mean, she did say she’d send me back after we got the Stone of Power, but Godlin made me come with you when he could have left me.”
Andrew looked down, remembering what Raptor had whispered to him right before the crystalline creature attacked them. “Raptor said that you needed to come back here because of the bomb. They want to clear you of any involvement with it.”
Turning her body away from Andrew, Christine motioned toward the door. “And how exactly do they plan to do that? They should have just left me. I can take care of myself, especially when it comes to convincing people.” She turned back to Andrew. “Did she say anything else?”
“No. We were attacked by that creature right after.” He swung his feet out and then let them drop against the side of the box he sat on.
Christine reached up and smoothed down a few loose strands of hair. “They also want to make you just disappear. How are your parents going to react?”
“I’m sure they will be okay.” Focusing on his feet, Andrew wiggled his toes inside his sneakers. He wanted to believe it had to be this way, but he knew his parents would be distraught.
“And what about us? Did you even think about us?” She chewed her fingernails, avoiding eye contact with him.
“I-I don’t know.” He had thought about what it would mean for them, but every time he considered it, he chose to ignore it; he did not like the idea of leaving her behind. “But I’ve been thinking about it,” he said defensively. “And I think this is my destiny. I don’t know that I even have a choice in it. I’ve never wanted anything this badly.”
Christine’s eyes welled with tears. “It’s just a fantasy!”
Andrew winced, crossing his arms over his chest. Her comment stung.
Walking over to him, Christine touched him on the arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
He regretted upsetting her and did not want to fight. Smiling as he slid off the edge of the box, he said, “It’s okay. I’m worried about everyone, but I feel like joining them is the right thing.”
“That’s not the point,” Christine scoffed, a frown reappearing on her lips. She reached over and punched his arm, hitting him where the tentacle had grabbed him.
Grimacing as a fresh wave of pain shot up his arm, Andrew yelped, “Hey! What was that for?”
“To remind you that they nearly got us killed.” Christine pointed a finger at Andrew.
Andrew jerked back from her, throwing a hand out to defend himself
. “But they protected us.”
“From the danger they put us in.”
Andrew let his hands fall to his sides, feeling like a letdown in her eyes. “I just feel like I belong here. Saying I’m a Keeper feels right.”
Christine glared at him. “What did you say?”
Andrew’s eyes bugged out, realizing that he had said that in the Keeper language.
“I’m sorry!” he said in English.
Pinching her face, Christine turned toward the door.
Andrew took a few quick steps to get in front of her. “Just hear me out.”
Christine shrugged her shoulders at him, but she stood still.
“When you were asleep in Tenebris, I talked to them. To the Keepers, I mean. They told me the dimensions are trying to pull Earth apart. They want me to stay and help. They will train me to be like they are, with powers and everything.”
Motioning to herself, Christine asked, “And what about me?”
“Maybe you can stay too?” he pleaded, hoping she would warm up to the idea of staying with him, then he would not have to let her go.
“No. No way.” She held both hands up, palms facing him. “I’m not one of these Keepers. What would I do here?”
Andrew felt his stomach sink with her reply.
A grunt came from the doorway. Christine and Andrew spun around to see Godlin standing there with his arms crossed. He moved over to the computer and pushed a few keys. The forest vanished, replaced by a white room with white boxes.
“Er,” Andrew said, his face turning red. “Uh …” His voice quivered. “So what is this room?”
“Training room. Please, come with me.” Godlin narrowed his eyes at them.
Andrew dropped his head, knowing that he had disappointed Godlin. “Sorry,” he muttered.
A sigh came from Godlin as he waved his hand dismissively. Andrew hoped it meant he had accepted the apology.
“Hey, what’s going to happen to me?” Christine asked.
Godlin smoothed a hand down the front of his trench coat. “Andrew is staying. Christine, we’d like to send you home, but we can’t just yet. The bomb complicated matters. We’re also going to try to help you forget about us.”
“You’re going to wipe my memory?” Christine blanched.
“I’m not clear on the details.” Frowning, Godlin stroked his chin as if thinking. “Dynamos will explain it better. This is for your protection. We won’t hurt you, but if you go back with a sensational story of people with super powers, then we could indirectly harm you. None of us want that. We’re going to come up with a plan that gets you back without raising a lot of red flags.”
Christine frowned. “We’ll see.”
Godlin rolled his eyes and turned to leave the room. “We need to get to the meeting.”
They went down the hallway until they reached the steel door they had originally stopped at. Godlin opened the door and led Andrew and Christine inside the room. At the center stood a large, round table surrounded by twelve chairs. Six remained empty. A group of diverse people occupied the other chairs—all of them teenagers.
All eyes turned to Andrew and Christine as they approached the table. Godlin motioned to five empty chairs clustered together. Andrew took a seat in the center one. Soft, black leather covered the chairs, the style similar to those found in an office.
Chatter erupted around the room. Everyone spoke the Keeper language, but Andrew only understood bits and pieces through the cacophony.
“He sat in his chair,” one muttered.
“It was a one in five chance,” another one said.
“Maybe a new Keeper of plants?”
“A replacement?” The voices cut off abruptly when Godlin raised a hand.
A harsh sneer of contempt pulled on Christine’s lips. She plopped down in another chair to the right of Andrew. Godlin sat beside her.
“This is Andrew and Christine.” Godlin introduced them to the group in English.
Andrew could feel himself growing hot under the watchful eyes.
On the opposite side of the table, a tall young man wearing a pair of dark sunglasses stood up. “This is them?” he said in Keeper with a bitter tone. “And he’s supposed to be one of us?” He pointed at Andrew.
Godlin said in a cynical tone to Andrew, “Meet Tech.”
Andrew stopped staring at the sunglasses long enough to consider the rest of Tech. He dressed in a bright blue blazer and slacks, brown hair combed to one side, and his skin was a light tan.
Tech muttered under his breath. Andrew frowned at him, finding him abrasive.
Godlin narrowed his eyes at Tech. “Sit.”
Tech sneered but sank into his chair. The conversation shifted back to English.
Letting out a slow breath, Godlin continued. “As I explained, Andrew and Christine secured the Quester Stone of Power for us.”
A young woman with light brown skin and a round face made a slight motion with her hand. She spoke in a soft voice. “Do they know what happened to Raptor?” When everyone turned to her, she reached up and pulled a strand of short black hair from behind her ear, letting it hang in front of her face.
Godlin replied, “No, Walker, only what I told you.”
Tech leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table and forming his hands into a steeple. “I apologize. If I had gone, she wouldn’t have gone missing.” He ended his words with a glare at Godlin.
“She didn’t ask you because you can’t go to Tenebris.”
“Hey, just because my guns don’t work there doesn’t mean I’m useless.” He puffed out his chest in defiance, his hands dropping down to the table.
Godlin scowled, but a boy about fifteen years old interrupted him. He had amber skin and kept his black hair pressed along the top of his head, forming a faux-hawk.
“Do we go look for Rap or not?” His lips twitched as he pushed his round glasses onto the bridge of his small nose. “Mouse, by the way.” He grinned at Andrew and Christine.
“Since you couldn’t contact her again,” Godlin said, “and her last order was not to portal her, then we will leave her be. Our priority is finding the Stones.”
Bouncing in his chair, Mouse tugged on the collar of his denim jacket. “Yeah, but she’s in trouble and was trying to tell me something.”
“We have to trust her to take care of herself. We have our own work to do.” Godlin crossed his arms over his chest, seemingly daring Mouse to try to subvert his authority again. His lower jaw twitched as he clenched it.
“Right. Like her signal hasn’t vanished before.” Tech said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “She will probably tell us she went to Venice. Real good time for a vacation, Rap.”
Godlin flicked his hand at Tech in a dismissive gesture.
Tech leaned back in his chair, making a motion toward Andrew. “And what about him?”
Speaking in the Keeper language, Godlin said, “Andrew, please say hello to the other Keepers.”
Christine slumped down in her chair and drummed her fingers on the table.
Andrew began in Keeper, “But—”
The other Keepers cut him off, throwing questions like darts at him.
“Did you speak to Earth?”
“What are your powers?”
“Why are you here?”
Andrew tried to absorb all the new faces and what each person was saying, but he had trouble keeping up.
Godlin lifted his hand and the room fell silent. He returned to speaking English, much to Andrew’s relief. “We don’t know, nor does he. We do know the Stone of Power reacts to him.”
Christine interrupted. “What about me?”
Turning toward a young man who wore an electric green shirt, Godlin asked, “Dynamos?”
Andrew recognized him as the young man who had vanished at the fair. He had a similar build to Godlin, with wide shoulders and thick arms, but Dynamos was a few inches taller. In fact, Andrew noticed that Dynamos towered over everyone at the table. His demeanor tur
ned serious as he addressed Christine.
“It’ll take me a few hours, but I can develop a drug that will dampen the emotions you’ve experienced recently. Your brain will forget more as time goes on.” Dynamos’ voice was much higher than Andrew had expected for someone of his size. He had assumed it would be a deep, gravelly voice like Godlin’s, but Dynamos spoke in a softer, melodic lilt.
“Like a memory wipe?” Christine raised an eyebrow.
With a reassuring smile, Dynamos said, “No. We can’t remove specific memories like that, but emotions are an important key to memory, and I can remove those.”
“What if I talk about it anyway? What if I make myself remember?”
“They’d probably throw you in the loony bin,” Tech said.
A teenager sitting next to Tech leaned over and elbowed him in the ribs. He was thin, with dirty blond hair that poked up in odd places. Andrew noticed he wore a well-fitted gray suit with a blue and black checkered tie. The boy frowned at Tech.
Tech groaned as he sank down in his chair. “Sorry, didn’t mean it like that.” He shifted in his chair and said to Christine, “But you get the point.”
Godlin motioned to the young man who had elbowed Tech. “That’s Tran,” he told Andrew.
Tran—Andrew tried to store the name in his mind. He wanted to get to know him. Tran had embarrassed Tech, who until then had seemed impossible to fluster.
“Okay, I won’t talk about it then. I promise,” Christine said, but she eyed Dynamos warily and started to ask something else.
“Ah, you’re worried about it being a drug.” One side of his smile lifted higher than the other side.
Rubbing the back of her neck, Christine muttered, “Yeah.”
“As the Keeper of chemistry, this is my specialty. It’s all very simple. The drug will suppress neurotransmitters in your amygdala and—”
“Dynamos,” Walker said gently, leaning over to touch his hand. “It’s best if you keep it simple.”
Throwing a glance at Christine, Andrew noticed her raised eyebrows and puzzled expression. He felt confused himself, not certain what an amygdala was, other than it was part of the brain.
“Thanks, Walker.” Dynamos smiled at her and then turned to Christine. “Sorry about that. In layman’s terms, it’s just going to dull your emotions, which affects your long term memories. You’ll take it, and when you wake up tomorrow, all of this will feel like a dream.”
Stone of Power (Keepers of Earth Book 1) Page 11