by M. H. Soars
Melanie looked at Sean like she had been waiting for that question.
“Don’t you see? Larry and Gary are the same person. Have you ever noticed the difference in Gary’s behavior when Alexia is around? He’s more serious, but when Alexia is in Santa Fe and Gary is split up, he’s a total goofball. That’s the side effect. Once you split yourself, you also split your personality. In Gary’s case, he can be serious and funny at the same time, but there are some people that present the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome. Hence, the danger.”
Zach got up from the couch and went to the bar, shaking his head. “Gee, what else have they been hiding from us?”
“Everything I’ve told you so far is nothing. There’s a section in the library that always remains locked, so I figured that the Council must keep their juiciest, dirtiest secrets there. Naturally, I had to get in. It took me some time to find out who had the key that opened the lock, but I did eventually.”
“Okay, sis. You’ve got everyone intrigued. What sort of dirty secrets did you discover?” Matthew wiggled his fingers at Melanie.
“Have you ever heard of the term Dimidium?” she asked, looking around at everyone.
“Isn’t that a laxative?” Sean teased.
“Very funny. Dimidium is a half-breed race that terrorized Arcadia around twenty years ago. Apparently, some of the Arcadian explorers sent to Earth after the Dome was in place mingled with Earthlings, and the Dimidium were born. Even though Arcadians might look like Earthlings, our DNA is much more complex, so the Dimidium weren’t exactly perfect; they were deformed, from what I understood. They were said to be completely unstable as well, so the Council had no choice but to eradicate them.”
“That can’t be right. Are you sure you didn’t misinterpret what you read?” Mia asked.
“I wish I did, but I’ve read the journals a gazillion times. The journals talked about the trials, what the Dimidium looked like, and the sentences dealt. Some of the explorers returned to Arcadia with their Earthling spouses and children, seeking help from the Council because they knew there was something wrong with their offspring. After much deliberation, the Council decided that the spouses would have their memories wiped clean and be sent back to Earth, and the Dimidium were to be destroyed.”
“So what happened after the Council gave its sentence? I’m sure the Arcadian parents weren’t so quick to turn their kids over to be slaughtered,” I said, feeling like I was having an out-of-body experience. I couldn’t wrap my mind around such cruelty.
“That part wasn’t very clear. I guess most of the guilty Arcadians tried to save their children, to send them back to Earth. But the Council had anticipated that, so I doubt any of them made it. I know what you're thinking. It does sound barbaric. But according to the Council, the Dimidium were almost as bad as the Myserians, so they had no choice in the matter. They couldn’t risk exposing the planet to a new threat, and they couldn’t let those uncontrollable beings loose on Earth, either.”
“And you, of all people, are going to take the word of the Council at face value?” Matthew asked without hiding his contempt for the mighty Council.
Melanie shrugged. “I don’t have an opinion one way or the other. I’m just telling you what I found out. I might not trust the Council completely, but I won’t turn my back on a Dimidium if I ever encounter one.”
“You said that only some of the explorers returned to Arcadia. So does that mean there are still Dimidium roaming freely here on Earth?” Zach asked.
“I don’t know. I couldn’t find any more information about them. But I’m sure that if the Council deemed the Dimidium that dangerous, they would have sent operatives to locate the rest of them.”
A somber mood descended on the room. What if the Council hadn’t located the remainder of the Dimidium? If they were such a threat, would they create problems for us and for the fulfillment of the Prophecy? I was pretty sure that if there were any survivors, they weren’t the Council’s biggest fans.
“There’s one thing I don’t get, though,” Matthew said. Everyone turned to look at him. “If the offspring of Earthlings and Arcadians are so dangerous, how come Gary never mentioned them to us?”
Matthew was right, of course. We lived on Earth but we were Arcadians. Neither Gary nor the Council had ever cautioned us about having relationships with Earthlings or the risks such relationships could bring. I looked around and saw that everyone was probably thinking the same thing.
Melanie suddenly got up from the couch. “Well, let’s ask him.”
“Are you insane? We can’t ask Gary!” Sean exclaimed.
Melanie glanced at him in bewilderment. “Why not?”
“Because, dear sister, how are you going to explain to Gary that you know about the Dimidium?” Matthew replied before Sean could.
“Shit.” Melanie swore before she sat back down and grabbed a cushion to hold against her body.
Matthew leaned back on the sofa and looked straight at me. A muscle on his jaw ticked, and his eyes seemed to be glowing like molten gold. I felt my powers leak from me, reaching forward toward him. It was like he was inviting me into his mind. When I felt my own conscience reach the edge of his, I heard a noise and the connection broke. A few seconds later, Alexia came into the room. She glowed with happiness, a distinct contrast from what we were feeling.
“Hey guys. What’s up?” she asked as she sat between Sean and Matthew.
I saw Matthew shift uncomfortably in his seat, and Melanie bit her lower lip. No one knew what to say or how to act. We hadn’t had enough time to digest the story we had just heard. And now Alexia was here, without a clue about what the future held for her, all happy because she liked a guy who liked her back, ignorant of the fact that the relationship was doomed.
Mia, sensing that no one was in the mood to be chatty, answered her: “Nothing, just Melanie telling us about her experience at cheer camp.”
At the mention of cheer camp, understanding crossed Alexia’s mind, and she dropped the subject. Since she was still pretending she didn’t know that Melanie had spent her summer in rehab, she quickly assumed we had been talking about that.
Mia continued, “So, how was yoga class?”
Alexia blushed, and Sean made a disgusted sound that she didn’t hear, thankfully. Alexia bit her lip before she replied. “It was okay.”
“Really? Just okay?” Mia pushed. I looked at her warily. What was she trying to accomplish here?
“Okay, fine. I didn’t go to yoga class.” Alexia raised her arms in exasperation as she finally confessed.
Catching on to Mia’s game, Zach added, “You didn’t? So where did you go?” He glanced at Mia and winked at her. Normally, that would be something Sean would do, but since he was obviously still disgusted from having witnessed Alexia’s make-out session with Ethan, I guess Zach took his place.
Realizing that Mia and Zach knew where she had been, she turned to me. “You told them, didn’t you?”
“Oops.” I gave her an apologetic shrug.
Alexia raised her arms again in frustration. “You’re unbelievable. I’m never telling you secrets again.”
Melanie took that opportunity to chime in. “Come on, Alexia, like we wouldn’t have figured it out on our own. You’re such a bad liar.”
Alexia narrowed her gaze on Melanie. “Oh, what about your stupid lie about cheer camp?”
I gasped, and Alexia covered her mouth with her hands, looking mortified. Sean looked at both Alexia and Mia, mouth agape. Matthew just shook his head and gazed down. Melanie’s face went from surprise to outrage before she got up. “Do you think I wanted to create a story like that? Do you think I wanted to spend my summer in rehab?” She jumped over Mia’s leg and ran out of the game room.
Alexia got up, meaning to follow Melanie. Matthew grabbed her hand. “No, Alexia, let me talk to her.”
Mia looked at me apologetically, since she was the one who had started it. Whatever was going on, I didn’t think Matthew was the b
est person to handle the situation, so I got up from the couch and ran after Melanie before Matthew could stop me.
I found Melanie in her room at her desk, like nothing had happened. She swiveled her chair to face me. “How was my performance? Did she buy it?”
“You were faking it?” I asked, half-surprised and half-amused.
Melanie gave me one of her mischievous smiles. “Of course I was faking it. You didn’t believe I was really mad, did you?”
“Well, you had me for a moment,” I confessed as I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
“Really?” Melanie clasped her hands with glee. “Good, if you believed me than for sure Alexia did, too. I hope she's not feeling too guilty about it.”
“I’m pretty sure she is. Was your performance really necessary?”
Melanie’s face turned serious. “Of course it was. Come on, if I didn’t make a big deal about it, then it would totally have blown my cover. I was supposed to have lied about cheer camp because I was embarrassed, right?”
I could see the truth in that, but I still felt bad for making Alexia feel guilty, especially after the great day she’d apparently had with Ethan.
“You worry too much. There’s nothing we can do to change the way things are right now, so why stress about it? We couldn't tell Alexia the truth even if we wanted to.”
“I know that, but Alexia is part of the family, and that’s what you do for family. You worry.” Melanie stared blankly at me before she swiveled her chair again and got up. But after she took two steps, she stumbled and fell.
“Melanie!” I yelled as I ran to her. “Are you okay?”
She was already trying to get up and ignored my helping hand. “I’m fine, Sam. Don’t worry. I just got dizzy for a moment. I guess I forgot to eat.”
“Do you want me to get you anything?” I looked at her closely and noticed that the color had drained from her face.
Melanie got up awkwardly, a little bit off balance, but she still refused my assistance. “I’ll have a protein bar later. I think I’m just going to lie down now.”
I watched her get into bed, and an uneasy feeling took hold of me. First it was her sickly appearance. Now dizziness? Was she ill? But we never got ill. I should tell Gary about it. Tomorrow.
CHAPTER 17
Samantha
I couldn’t sleep. I kept tossing and turning in bed as today’s events played in my mind. First, there had been Melanie’s disturbing revelations. The story about the Dimidium didn’t make any sense. We were missing an important piece of the puzzle, but I just couldn’t think what it could be. Then there had been Melanie’s half-faint. I was really worried about her, but at least I had made the resolution to talk to Gary tomorrow. And of course, there had been Matthew. I was still confused by the moment we had shared in the game room. What had he been trying to tell me before Alexia interrupted us?
Frustration made me get out of bed and walk outside. I needed fresh air. The sky was clear, but tonight there weren’t any stars. The air was balmy and pleasant though, and I decided a swim would do me good.
I approached the swimming pool and sat on its edge, dipping my legs in the warm water. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation for a moment. Then it occurred to me that I hadn’t skinny dipped in a long time. I opened my eyes and turned to look at the quiet house. All the lights were out, so it seemed I was the only one having trouble sleeping tonight.
I was only wearing a long, old t-shirt and panties, both of which I quickly removed before I jumped in. Instead of swimming, I just floated with my eyes closed until I heard steps. I hoped it was one of the girls, because the swimming pool was illuminated at night. I swam back to the edge where my abandoned clothes were, just in time to see Matthew approaching.
“What are you doing here?” I shout-whispered.
“I went by your room and saw that you weren’t there. I need to talk to you.” His gaze narrowed once he realized I wasn’t wearing anything. There was only so much my arms and hands could cover.
“It’s the middle of the night. Don’t you think it’s a bit late for a conversation?” God, why did he keep staring at me like that?
There was something in his gaze that made me shiver. I hoped he didn’t want to talk about what had happened prior to his trip to Arcadia. I couldn’t deal with that right now. And I was naked, for crying out loud.
“I'll turn around so you can put your clothes back on.” He turned his back to me, ignoring my question.
Reluctantly, I got out of the pool and quickly put my underwear and t-shirt back on. The t-shirt was long, but it barely covered my butt.
“You can turn around now,” I said to his back.
He did, and when he saw what I was wearing his eyes widened in surprise. “Is that my t-shirt?”
Confused, I looked down. To my dismay, I realized that indeed it was one of Matthew’s shirts. I had stolen it from his room while he was in Arcadia. I just wanted to have something that had his scent on it. Oh God, how was I going to explain that to him?
“Are you cold? Do you want me to go get you a towel?” His question threw me off, and I dared to look at him again. I realized that his t-shirt clung to my wet skin, and I was grateful that at least I had chosen a black one to steal.
“I’m fine.” I paused, unsure of what to say next. I finally gathered my courage and asked, “So, I’m all ears. What was so important that it couldn’t wait until morning?”
“Right.” Matthew paused to run a hand through his hair, avoiding my eyes. He was trying to muster courage for what he was about to say to me, I knew that much. He finally faced me again, and our gazes locked. “I couldn’t sleep after hearing those stories from Melanie, and I wanted to know what you thought of them.” I heard uncertainty in his voice, and he seemed uncomfortable, like he was embarrassed about something. He was probably embarrassed to have caught me wearing one of his t-shirts.
“I don’t know, Matthew. I can understand the reasons the Council hasn’t bothered telling us about the ritual, or about Gary’s abilities, but the story about the Dimidium, I don’t know. Something doesn’t add up.” I hugged myself, because just thinking about it gave me the chills.
“I know. I feel the same way. I don’t know if we can trust the Council anymore.”
His revelation was unexpected. He had never questioned the Council’s decisions before. He came closer, until we stood just inches apart. I was afraid to look up at his face, so I just stared at his chest, instead.
“Sam, look at me.” Matthew’s voice was just a whisper. I wanted to look up, but I was too afraid of what I might find there. I took a step back and closed my eyes. What was he doing to me? Why was he torturing me like this when he knew about my feelings? I felt his hands on my arms, preventing me from taking another step back. His touch shocked me, so I opened my eyes again and finally dared to turn my gaze upward. He was looking at me with the same golden gaze from before. There was so much intensity in his eyes that I forgot to breathe.
“I’m sorry that I had to leave the way that I did, without saying a word to you, like a thief in the night. I wanted to talk to you so badly, but I just couldn’t risk it,” he said in earnest without taking his eyes from mine.
“Risk what, Matthew? I don’t understand. ” I was surprised I had been able to utter any words.
Matthew brought his head down so our foreheads were touching. I closed my eyes again and heard him take a deep breath before he continued. “I couldn’t risk losing you, Sam.”
My eyes flew open. I leaned back so I could see his face properly. What was he trying to tell me?
“Why?” I whispered, afraid of the answer.
Matthew looked at me tenderly as he caressed my face with the tip of his fingers. “Because you’re the one who gives my life direction, Sam. You’re the star in the desert guiding me. Without you, I’m lost.”
For sure I had misheard him. I shook my head from side to side and felt the first tears stream down my face.
; He cupped my face with both his hands and leaned closer, “Please tell me I’m not too late.”
“You’re not too late.”
Matthew closed the distance between us, his hands still on my face, and kissed me. I closed my eyes and melted as my whole body ignited. His hands moved to my waist as he pulled me even closer to him. His kiss was everything I had thought it would be and more. He tasted like honey and fire. It was like our very essences were blending in a fusion of heat and passion. My hands found their way behind his neck. All I wanted was to meld myself to him.
I felt my powers pulsing through me, alive, rejoicing in my connection to Matthew. His teeth grazed my lower lip, teasing me, and I moaned. He chuckled, pleased with himself. I broke the kiss to gasp for air, and he took the opportunity to kiss my neck instead. Oh God, it felt so good. I murmured his name, and he claimed my mouth again as he picked me up and started walking. I crossed my legs behind his waist and latched on to him like my life depended on it. I realized too late how dangerous that position was, considering what I was wearing.
“Oh my God, Sam. You’re killing me.” Matthew said in between kisses but he didn’t put me down. Instead, he descended the beautiful lawn terraced stairways to the sunken outdoor seating area on the bluff’s edge where no one would be able to see us from the house.
He sat on a bench with me still straddling him and my hormones took over. His hands moved upon and down my back as he kissed me. I could have lived in that moment forever but Matthew still owed me some answers so very reluctantly I pulled away, breaking the connection.
I put my hand on his chest to prevent him from following me.
“What?” he asked, his eyes still half hooded.
“You still have some explaining to do, Matthew.”
“I do?” He stared at my mouth like he wanted to devour it.
“Yes, you do. I’m waiting for an explanation to why you had Zach lie to me.”
Matthew sighed frustrated and leaned back, his gaze now looking at the sky.
“I didn’t ask Zach to lie to you. That was all on him. You know how he is when it comes to duty and following orders. I guess he figured he was helping.”