by Aurora Smith
“But there are girls around you all the time.”
“None of them are hanging around with my brother!” He sounded angry and I was over with the mysterious cute French boy at school, turned Frankenstein, turned twin brother, turned clone of burned up original Frankenstein whom I ended up not being able to get out of my mind; I wanted to know right now or never think about it again. The pause for effect was getting on my nerves and I wanted out.
“You said you would tell me what happened.” I wanted information.
“I did.” He gave a sigh and an actual tear slid from his right eye. Looking embarrassed he quietly brushed it away before he began speaking.
“What do you know?” he asked quietly.
“Not very much, Liam dreamt about you….being grown,” I said, embarrassed that I had procured such private information in the dishonest way that I had.
“Oh, and what about Liam, what do you know about him? The way he got his burns?” A picture of Liam on the ground on fire and writhing in pain flashed through my mind.
“I’ve seen flashes of it, but I know basically nothing.”
“The only reason I’m telling you is because I need you to understand why you shouldn’t be around him anymore.”
“Why don’t you tell me and let me decide what’s good for me or not.” I was getting annoyed by all these daunting warnings that had no explanations attached to them.
“That’s fair.” He took a long thoughtful breath then opened his arms and hands, as though he was inviting me and the entire inhabitancy of the pond to listen to him. “Liam and I were fifteen years old when it happened.”
“You’re seventeen?”
“Eighteen, almost nineteen.” He replied. I hadn’t realized they were that old, I wondered if Justin had gotten held back a year because of the French thing or the accident thing.
“Liam had the most beautiful girlfriend,” he continued.
“Sheila.” I said her name and he nodded. A protective edge grew deep in my chest and I pushed it down, begging my heart to ignore it.
“Most people said that she was conceited, but I saw a different side of her. She was kind and thoughtful.”
“You saw a different side than even Liam?”
“She acted how Liam wanted her to act. She thought she needed to be like him so that he’d like her.”
“Sorry, but if that’s true then I’m guessing she isn’t as much of a winner as you think she is.”
“Was.”
“What?”
“She isn’t anything anymore, she is dead.”
“Oh.” My heart sank. Was this the girl that was always screaming in Liam’s dreams? “Liam doesn’t seem conceited.”
“I’m talking about Liam a couple of years ago. I thought he had changed, but all these crazy experiments and the explosion and what he did to Ashley.” His face was stern and the brown and golden bursts of color in his eyes were dulled from unhealed pain.
“Why are you so upset about the explosion?” I asked. I mean, I didn’t know much but that seemed like a petty thing to be upset about, he did warn us and we had all gotten away.
“He used potassium permanganate and glycerol. I know next to nothing about science stuff and even I know that that would cause an explosion. He had already succeeded in making an invisibility serum, why did he do that?” Justin no longer looked like he was talking to me, but to himself.
“I don’t know, maybe he was trying something else?”
“It doesn’t make sense.” He shook his head; the loose waves on his head shook with him.
“So, Sheila…” I tried to push him forward and bring him out of conspiracy theory mind set.
“Liam wanted to introduce her to Carl, my great great grandfather’s original creation. He had really calmed down over the years and was actually a pretty cool guy, still is. Although I haven’t seen him since we moved.”
“You showed me that.”
“He invited me along, he knew that I liked her and wanted to show off to Sheila and me. He always wanted to make sure that we all knew that he always had the upper hand. That night, when Sheila came over Liam told her that he was going to take her to meet him, and he wanted me as a look out. Our parents didn’t want anyone to know that he was still alive so we weren’t allowed to ever talk about him.” I thought about how easily Liam had told us about Carl on the first day of camp and his obvious disregard for others’ wishes became clearer to me.
“Is he as big as legend says?” I prodded. He looked annoyed.
“Yes, he’s very tall, very yellow, as the skin is dead and the muscle inside the stitches tends to ooze out.”
“Oh my – that - that’s really disgusting.”
“May I continue?” His accent was getting thicker the angrier he got. I decided to shut up and just listen.
“Carl lives in an underground room that my grandfather built for him. It’s really nice, looks like a real home with a kitchen and bedrooms. It’s just past the Frankenstein family lab, which is about three stories below the house. Liam asked me to stand guard at the top of the stairs and if I saw anyone to flick the lights and the two of them would get out. They were there for a long time, I began to feel stupid standing up there, as you can imagine. Right when I was about to leave and let them get into trouble on their own I heard screaming.”
“Was it Sheila screaming?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
“Yes. I ran as fast as I could down the stairs.” Justin’s eyes were closed and his head was up towards the sky, real pain etched into tiny worry lines that were carved into his face. “Each step that brought me closer to them made me feel farther away. Finally I got to the end of the stairwell, and…” He trailed off, his fist was clenched and tears were streaming from his face. I put my hand on his knee and he looked over at me, his face apologetic but grateful. “Liam was on fire, he was lying on the ground and Carl was chasing Sheila into the corner of the lab. I know I could have calmed Carl down if I had just gone over to him, I know he would have listened to me but I panicked. I did the only thing I thought to do.”
“What?” I whispered, I was feeling sick to my stomach because I knew exactly what he was picturing. Liam on the floor, his entire body set aflame, the orange flames trouncing up the sides of his arms and legs and skulking up his face, the smell of seared hair.
“I grabbed a flame retardant blanket that my dad always kept on the operating table and threw it over Liam. She was screaming and Carl was throwing everything around the lab but I stayed with Liam and I made sure the fire was out. I knew exactly where Sheila was. In the far right hand corner of the lab, there was a table that she could hide under that Carl wouldn’t be able to destroy…” He shook his head and sighed from defeat. “Sheila stopped screaming so quickly I didn’t know what happened but I knew she was dead, I knew it. I remember looking down at Liam, his skin black and he was passed out, I should have thrown the blanket on Liam then gone to her, but I stayed with Liam to make sure the fire was out.”
“What happened to her?”
“Carl was so mad that he tore her apart.” Liam said with a shaky voice.
“Tore her apart?” My shocked voice carried over the water and trees, making the animals silent for a moment, leery of attack. He nodded and put his head in his hands and slumped against me.
“I should have gone to her, there was no way Carl would have refused me…I could have calmed him down and gone back after the blanket put the fire out, that’s what it was made for, he didn’t need me there…he…”
“It’s not your fault that she died,” I said.
“I should have protected her, she was calling out to me but I chose Liam.” He was angry now.
“You did exactly what any of us would have done.”
“Yeah,” he said, unconvinced, and I had a feeling he had heard it before.
“How did the fire start?” k-1-2
“I’m not sure, Liam won’t talk about.”
“So you’re mad at Liam a
nd are telling me to stay away from him but you don’t know what happened?” I couldn’t believe it. I felt like I was back at square one.
“I know he started that fire.” Justin hit his hand on his leg and a few birds flew into the air.
“How do you know?”
“Because I know my brother! He was a bully, I could give you hours of home movies that all consist of him torturing me.” His pointer finger was tapping his mind and I remembered the way young Liam had smashed his brothers face into the sand and the way Liam had crumpled to his knees when he thought Justin was hurt from the falling branch my father dropped on him.
“He’s changed.” I said.
“Oh, you’ve known him a whole week and you can say he’s changed?” The temper was coming back and his eyes were growing into large saucers. They were in danger of falling out of his head if he didn’t stop.
“His dreams are filled with fear of something happening to you.”
“That means little to me. Dreams aren’t real. I once dreamt that I was riding a purple walrus though the clouds, does that mean I should await such things?” He had me there. But I knew a subconscious dream from a nonsense dream. That’s what led me to Justin’s mind in the first place.
“I am a nightmare.” I held my ground. “And I know what’s in Liam’s mind and he loves you.” I stood up, wanting to go so I could think, but Justin jumped up and engulfed my body with his own.
“Please trust me, stay away from him. He hasn’t changed. I will protect you if I have to.” His body was just how I had always imagined it and he smelled like musky deodorant, he smelled a lot like Liam. Then his words registered.
“I’m not Sheila, Justin. I can take care of myself,” I said and his body went suddenly hard, all comfort seeping away.
“I will not let him harm you or anyone else again. You are going to hate me by the time camp is over. You’ve just earned yourself a body guard.” His eyes were burning with truth and I was paralyzed with fear. I wanted to get away from him but knew I couldn’t overpower him physically, however I had sleep on my side. His hands were squeezing my forearms and I closed my eyes and concentrated. It was a few seconds and Justin dropped to the ground; his perfect physique was like a crumpled shirt lying at my feet.
“You were hurting me!” I said as I went into his dream that I just forced him into. He looked around confused then glowered at me.
“Get out of my head and wake me up!” he shouted and I took a deep breath to try and calm down.
“Listen to me, Justin. I understand you’re trying to protect me. I heard everything you said to me and I’m going to seriously think about everything, but if you ever squeeze me like that again I will not come back here and talk nicely to you. I will drop you and leave. Also let me just remind you that you’ve just divulged your most private memory to me.”
“That doesn’t scare me. Your father already knows and uses it.” Bitterness leaked through his words.
“Don’t grab me again,” I said and hoped my simple sentence would appeal to his calmer side. It seemed to work as he nodded to me.
“I’m sorry,” he said and looked me in the eyes.
“I’m going to wake you up,” I said and opened my eyes to see Justin stirring awake.
“Can you walk me back to my cabin?” I asked and he nodded at my feet, a new respect in his eyes that I never thought would come from him. I held my hand out but it was more of a gesture. I could never offer any real help to such a big guy, but his hand grabbed mine and engulfed it.
We walked down the dock, the adrenaline was wearing off and the cool night air had finally met my skin.
“Here.” Justin pulled his hoodie over his head and handed it to me. We both laughed as I put it on and the bottom practically went to my knees.
“How ridiculous do I look right now?” I held my arms out, exaggerating the size even more.
“You look pretty cute actually.” He said and I felt my face burn from pleasure.
“Maya?” I heard my name and Simon, my blue macaw swooped down on us and began flapping his wings at Justin’s face. Mother Nature was stomping towards me; her happy ground animals were snarling and running in angry zig zag motions through my feet. She hadn’t bothered to put any clothes on, which was awkward.
“Whoa, I’m fine.” I put my hands out in front of me, which made it look like I was trying to feel her up. As funny as that was, this really wasn’t good.
“I’ve been looking for you. How did you escape?”
“Escape? I didn’t realize I was being held prisoner.”
“Can I go?” Justin asked, his hands were up like an escaped convict who had three helicopter lights and a couple of guns pulled on him. His eyes were freaking out too. He didn’t know where to look and his tan skin was a deep maroon.
“No. We are going straight to Mr. Torricelli. Your brother is waiting there for you!” she said to Justin, whose hands dropped limply to his side.
“My brother?” he said in a monotone voice.
“Yes, your brother!” she repeated and twirled her body toward Cupid’s cabin, expecting us to follow her angry footsteps and bare butt. I had no idea what was going on and what Liam had to do with any of this. Justin’s flattery had been scattered to the wind as his constant blubbering insults flew from his mouth like an angry waterfall.
These Frankensteins were going to be my downfall.
Chapter Fourteen
Every single light in Cupid’s house was on, they were waiting. I felt like an innocent hiker waiting for that snake to surprise attack and bite. This seemed highly unnecessary. I was a whole quarter mile away from my cabin. It’s not like we were doing anything that they would all like to be doing.
“Psssst.” I poked Justin who turned his furious face towards me. “What time is it?”
“It’s 3:19,” he hissed.
“You need to calm down, you’re acting like a freak.”
“Why am I always getting into trouble when I’m around you?” His accent was smashing his words together and I could hardly understand him.
“You asked me to come and talk to you!”
“I didn’t realize you were a wanted fugitive with a prize on her head at all times.”
“Oh, give me a break. This is the first time I have spent the first week of camp getting into trouble…”
“Oh, you usually wait a month before you make everyone’s life miserable?” He was speed walking. Hold on now, no reason to get there faster than we had to. I was practically galloping like a gazelle so my little legs could keep up with him, and with that hoodie on I could only imagine how ridiculous I looked. We both looked up to see Mother Nature with her arms crossed around her puffed-up chest.
“Am I interrupting you two?”
“No.” Justin’s arms were also crossed. His muscle chest was almost as big as hers.
“Follow me,” She actually grabbed Justin’s ear and I followed them up the stairs. I couldn’t help but laugh which made both of them even angrier. I couldn’t help it. I was tired and everyone was acting crazier than usual.
However, the moment I stepped over the threshold the smile was wiped clean and was replaced by an ever so attractive gaping mouth. Standing in front of me was not just Liam but Christina and a horribly disfigured Ashley.
Ashley’s long elbows were out of control and the hair on her feet had started to grow up her legs. Her knuckles were actually on the floor and she was dragging them. Her mouth looked bigger too, which wasn’t something that Liam had said would happen.
“You!” she screamed at me and her teeth practically came spilling out of her mouth they had grown so much.
This was not good.
Liam looked at me; confusion was mingling in his eyes with something else that I didn’t recognize.
“What’s going on?” Play it dumb girl.
“You know what’s going on!” Ashley howled.
“Wait, what is going on?” Liam asked the room.
“These two
were caught going on a midnight stroll, which is pro-hi-bi-ted!” Cupid used all four syllables and I needed a raincoat to protect myself from all of the flying spit coming from his mouth. Liam looked back at me then to Justin and finally back to his own hands.
“Why’s Christina here?” I asked the group but it was Christina who answered me.
“I woke up and you were gone!” Her big beautiful round face was apologetic.
“So you woke up the entire camp?” I was ticked.
“No, I tried calling your phone, but she heard me.” She pointed to Mother Nature who was suddenly pleased with herself. Congratulations for waking up – an hour after I left.
“My phone doesn’t work out here! You know that!” I whined.
“I panicked!” Her hands were up to her mouth and her mouth was stretched out on the sides, she looked ridiculous and I knew she felt bad.
“Okay, that explains why you’re here, and why we’re here but what’re Liam and Ashley doing here?” I questioned.
“Ashley and Liam were here already. It appears that Liam had a hand in the unfortunate state that Miss Kendall is in. I was just about to ask him if he was the only one behind it when you and Justin walked in. I find it hard to believe that that is a coincidence.” Cupid looked thrilled. He finally caught me doing something bad enough to merit an expulsion of epic proportions.
“Well…” I didn’t know what to say. Liam was still looking forward but I saw his head shake slightly from side to side.
“Where was this little meeting when she threw Abby into the water fall on the hike? Liam was the only one who went in to rescues her!”
“Abigail Clark? The Mermaid?” Cupid started laughing.
“Yes, the mermaid. She clearly asked Ashley to stop and she didn’t.”
“So you and Liam poisoned her to get even?” Cupid asked.
“We didn’t poison her!” Or did we?
“A-hah!” Cupid wagged his fat finger at me but Liam jumped in.
“Excuse me, sir. I think what she means is that she didn’t poison her. Really she had nothing to do with this.” I noticed that Justin looked cautiously from me to his brother, keeping his mouth shut tight.