by Matt Ryan
“Yes.” My mom moved closer to Verity. Her hand shook and she licked her lips again as she neared Verity’s face.
“Can you tell me the pattern?”
Verity’s face twitched. “I cannot.”
Mom stepped back and glanced at Niles. “Where is your academy?”
“Since I’m the only one who can move it, it should still be in L.A.”
“Is your brother guarding it?”
“Yes.”
“Others? How many?”
“Around fifty.”
“Did you really kill Carly?” Jackie burst out.
“No. She was alive, the last I saw her.”
“And Bridget?” I added.
“She’s alive, as far as I know.”
The weight lifted from my chest. Ever since I’d heard about them being killed, I hadn’t been able to breathe all the way in. If something actually had happened, I wasn’t sure how well I could handle it. They’d risked their lives to protect us from the woman sitting in the recliner. I shared a look of joy with Mark and Jackie. I should have guessed the people at the Academy would keep Bridget.
“How many stones have you made Bridget make since I left?” I blurted out, and my mom gave me a stern look.
“Two stones that I’m aware of.”
Mom turned to us. “We don’t have much time with her like this.” She went back to Verity. “How can we get in?”
“There’s an elevator.”
Mom sighed. “I know there’s an elevator, but if you were to sneak into the Academy, how would you go about it?”
“The guards are above the Academy, so I would portal into the warehouse. It’s rarely used and would provide access to much of the school. The main danger would be if you landed intertwined inside the many objects inside the warehouse.”
Mom nodded and looked at Niles and then back to Verity. “How close are you to making the philosopher’s stone?”
Verity’s eyelids twitched and her neck shook. Sparks of defiance twinkled in her eyes.
“Tell me,” Mom said.
“We’re close,” she struggled to say.
“We’re losing her,” Niles said, and raised his gun at Verity.
“How close? Tell me the pattern!” Mom’s voice rose to a screech.
“Axiom and Quinn had a breakthrough. He was going to use Allie, but he might try Bridget now.”
“What breakthrough?”
Verity shook in the chair. The veins in her neck bulged and through a clenched jaw she said, “The key was booster stones….” She fell off the chair, face first onto the floor.
“Tell me!” Mom demanded, but Verity didn’t say another word. “Dammit. Allie, you need to make another stone. We’re so close! If you guys hadn’t asked those silly questions in the beginning—”
“So sorry our friends’ lives are a waste of time for you,” Jackie said.
“You just don’t get the bigger picture here. If they make the stone before we do, there won’t be any chance of getting your friends back. We’ll all be slaves to them.” Mom pulled on her necklace.
Niles kept an eye on Verity’s limp body. “We should tell the others.”
“The Intrepid will have to wait.” I heard Mom whispering about booster stones under her breath. “Take her back to her cage.”
“Mom, I think I can get us into that warehouse. I know of a spot that was cleared out.” Right in front of a dad who was probably sitting in the same position we’d left him in.
“Good. And you can get me to this room five?”
“How about getting those hundred students out of there first? And where should we take them?”
“I’ll make some calls and arrange some things.”
Verity’s shoes clicked along the metal hall as Niles dragged her back to her cage. When he returned, he was rubbing his hands on his shirt. “She’ll be out for an hour, at least.”
“We need to get another stone on her. She was on the verge of telling us.”
“It would kill her if we did it right now,” Niles said. “Besides, I bet the next stone won’t even work. You saw how she put up a struggle with this one. Each one is weaker than the last.”
“I know.” Mom took a breath through her nose and pursed her lips together.
“I think we should go get our friends now. With Verity locked up here, we can portal to the Academy and attack them from the inside. Deegan was the only one I saw who was any real threat,” Mark said.
“You know the room she means?” Mom asked.
“I do,” I said.
“I don’t trust her,” Jackie said. “Her answer could have been misleading us.”
“She can’t lie with that stone,” Niles said.
“Yes, but even truth can be told in a way that’s harmful. There could very well be a pallet of stones right where we want to portal,” Jackie pointed out.
“Then where would you have us go?” Mom asked.
“The portal room. It’s got to be the safest bet. I’m not sure if Verity knows about the secret passageway attached to the room. We could easily get anywhere from there, plus they wouldn’t put things in that room for their own safety. I doubt Darius has stopped his snatch-and-grab program.”
“She’s right,” I said.
“Cathy, the others could help us with this,” Niles said.
She shook her head. “No, we go into this with a small group. Maybe the twins and that’s it.”
Niles huffed and adjusted his gun. “If the Intrepid hear about this, they’ll be upset they weren’t in on the action. It’s bad enough keeping Verity out of their hands.”
“That’s enough, Niles.”
I studied my mom, trying to find the mother I knew from my memories. This was a different person. Maybe Jackie had been right about my looking at the world differently as a child. I couldn’t believe this was the same person who had read books to me, kissed my cheek and told me to have pleasant dreams. She looked different, and it wasn’t just the crow’s feet and unkempt hair. Her eyes were harder, her shoulders slumped. I used to think my mother walked on air, the way she moved. How could my memories be so wrong? What else in my life was I getting wrong?
My mom paced near Niles. The look of deep worry spread over her face. This was a woman who wasn’t a stranger to hard decisions. Maybe that was why she was slumping now. She looked like she was holding up the world on her shoulders, much like Clymene. I wanted to take some of the load off of her, but I felt a wall between us. I hadn’t noticed it at first, but it was there.
She was holding back things from me. This whole place, with the prisons and vacant houses, reminded me of Verity’s Academy—the appearance was the lie. Something was behind those doors, secrets my mom didn’t want me to know about. Which told me she didn’t trust me. It didn’t help that I was the one who’d made the stone that had killed her friends. She might even hate me for it. Each time someone mentioned it, she touched her necklace as if in memory.
The idea of her being with another man hadn’t crossed my mind until that moment. I stared at her face with an open mouth. She wouldn’t cheat on Dad, would she? If she would abandon her daughter to fight off the world, what wouldn’t she be capable of doing?
Damn Jackie and her warning. I could have been ignorantly blissful just being with my mom, and now I was questioning it. She wasn’t some drug addict dying in a bed, asking me to sell my body for her, but she had talked me into making a stone for her within minutes of us being reunited.
“Niles, get a portal stone from Eli and meet us back here in two hours.”
“I can’t get there in an hour. The Jeep’s been acting up, so I’ll have to take the car.”
“Just hurry.”
“Fine.” He rushed toward the door.
“And, Niles, grab the twins.”
“Aye.”
“Niles,” Jackie called out, and he stopped at the doorway. “Are the Intrepid nearby? Where are you going?”
He glanced at Mom. “I’ll be bac
k as quick as the Taurus will allow.” With that, he left.
Jackie stared at the door for a while before turning and pacing near the kitchen. She glanced at the cupboards and stove, covering her stomach with her hand.
“You guys hungry?” Mom asked.
“For the love of all that’s holy, yes,” Jackie said.
***
Mom gave us some stale military surplus bars and more dusty bottles of water. The conversations were mostly us talking about the different academies. My mom didn’t say much, and after a few hours she began to look at the door as much as anything else.
“Should they be back by now?” I asked, watching the door.
“Probably car trouble,” she said, but she didn’t sound confident.
The front door swung open and I jumped to my feet, turning toward it.
Niles stomped in, favoring his right side. His right arm and pants leg were singed black. The look on his face told me something had gone terribly wrong.
“Axiom found our base camp. He attacked with two cinder stones. I barely got out alive.”
Mom winced and gritted her teeth. “It won’t take him long to trail you back here.”
“The twins are outside.” Niles held up a purple stone. “I got the last portal stone.”
“The last one?” Mark asked.
“Yeah. You left our portal maker, Gwen, back in that Academy.”
“Bring it to me,” Mom said.
Nile’s limped across the room and handed her the stone.
“How can we all go with one stone?” I asked.
“We can’t,” she replied. “This stone will only take four of us, and I need one of you to take control of the portal. Allie, I think Jackie knows the place the best. She’s been there the longest. Niles can take you and Mark to a safe place until we—”
“No,” Jackie said. “I might know the stone room, but Allie and Carly know the back tunnels. We need her to navigate them.”
“And I won’t go without Mark,” I added.
One of the twins, Roy, ran into the house. “We have incoming, a couple of miles out.”
My mom sighed and stared at me. She wasn’t mad, but she looked flustered. “Allie, I don’t want to put you in any more danger.” She looked at the floor, shaking her head. “To be honest, with only one portal stone, this is going to be a one-way street. Once we’re there, we’re going to have to find another way out. And let’s face it, you guys aren’t exactly battle-ready.”
“We fought our way out once. We can do it again,” Mark said, grabbing my hand.
“He’s not far out now,” Roy warned.
“I know. Thank you.” Mom took a deep breath and continued, “Fine, you three kids are going with me. Niles, open Verity’s cage. Let him have her. If he has her first, he won’t touch any of the others. Then go to section six, spread the word and be ready for my call. If you can gather enough Intrepid, take this place back.”
“Aye.” Niles left the room with Roy in tow.
“Hands together,” my mom said. “We all have to clear our minds. If we don’t, we could end up in—”
“We know,” I said.
She nodded. “You ready, Jackie?”
“Yes.” Jackie held her hand out, palm up. “Let’s just hope nothing’s changed.”
I intersected my hand with hers, and Mark did the same. Mom placed her hand near mine, touching the edge of my hand. It made her more real to me, skin-to-skin contact. I wanted to have more connections with my mom, and going to the Academy with her filled me with confidence that we’d get the job done.
I cleared my mind, thinking of white noise. Jackie kept her eyes closed tight. I didn’t see the stone drop, but I felt it on the edge of my hand. Then the floor fell out from under our feet and I yelped. I hoped the portal room was empty.
I fell to the floor of the portal room. The stone surface felt gritty against my palms and I wiped the dirt off as I got to my feet.
“This it?” my mom asked.
“Yes,” Jackie said.
“Let’s get to this stone warehouse first and see if there are any stones we can use.”
“The stone door is over here.” Jackie pointed and pushed against a stone.
“I thought you said only Allie knew about this,” Mom said.
“You think I was going to let you not take her?”
She smiled. “If my daughter gets hurt, I’m going to blame you. I don’t like careless decisions based on emotions.”
“I guess that’s how you were able to leave your eight-year-old daughter.”
Mom’s fist clenched and I saw another flash of her scary side.
“We need to get out of this room before another person portals in here and into us.” Jackie pushed the stone door back and entered the dark hall. It felt familiar, and when we closed the door, it plunged us into complete blackness.
My mom produced a green stone that glowed and lit up the chiseled stone walls around us. The idea of being back there with my mom was overwhelming. I’d known I could make it happen, but actually being here…I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to run straight down the spoke and directly into Carly’s room. I wanted to let everyone know I was back and was taking them all with me this time.
“This way,” Jackie said.
We followed her down the side hall and into the endless passage, which was already lit up. Jackie and I dragged our hands along the left wall, trying to find the space indicating the hall leading to the warehouse.
Jackie stopped a few feet in front of me, nodding toward the opening. We followed her into the warehouse. Was the man still in here? I was sure of it, and the anticipation of being in that room was making me anxious. I glanced back at Mark and my mom. I wanted to show Mom how cruel this Academy had been to me and anyone who entered.
I held my breath as we rounded the pallets stacked high. I even noticed the box of stones we’d knocked over, the few stones still scattered across the floor. Grow stones, from the look of them.
I crept past the last pallet, bringing the middle area into view. First I saw the empty chair where the boy had once been sitting, and then the man came into view. He was sitting in the same position I had left him in, sitting back and looking at the ceiling. His eyes were open and even though I knew he wouldn’t, I expected him to react to us approaching.
“My heavens, Jason.” My mother rushed to him and pulled on his shoulders, trying to wake him.
“Suspended animation stone,” I said.
“I know, you told me. But to actually see it….” She looked at me with wonder and confusion. “You made the stone?”
I hated to admit it. “Yes.”
She tilted his head and closed his eyelids. I hadn’t even known his name until then. Jason, I made a promise and I intended to keep it. I would find a way to revive him and make sure what had happened to his son would never happen to another student.
“We need to take him with us as well,” I said.
My mom nodded. “One thing at a time, though. We need to find out how many guards they have in the building and how many teachers will pick up a stone against us. If we’re stealthy, we might be able to take out most of them before the others are alerted.” She stood next to Jason, adjusted his shirt and folded his hands over his lap. If someone came, in they might think he was taking a nap.
“If I can get to Carly, she can give me the skinny on the guards and teacher stuff,” Jackie said.
“Good. You go to her while we search this warehouse for useful stones,” Mom said. “I don’t think they’ve been here in a while.” She rubbed her foot on the thin layer of dust coating the floor.
“I’m going with Jackie,” I said.
“No, more people creates more risk of getting noticed,” Mark said.
“That’s why you’re staying here,” I said.
“Two people are actually better than one. Just watch each other’s backs. You have fifteen minutes or we’re coming for you,” Mom said, and caught Mark’s look. “She
can handle herself. Besides, I’m going to need some strength back here with me.” She pointed to the pallets. “And, Allie, if you run into any trouble….” She handed me a small bag.
I took the bag and opened it up to see two stones inside.
“Nothing is more terrifying than a woman with a tight grip on a pair of stones.” Mom reached into the air, gripped and twisted.
“Mom?” I chuckled, and closed the bag up. Receiving the stones from my mom felt good. She had given me something. She trusted me, and just the fact that we had shared the gift made me feel closer to her. I wanted to forget the small things, like her town of torture, and instead think of the moment she’d given me stones to hurt people. “Thanks. Back in under fifteen.”
Mark didn’t like it. The stern look on his face told me so, but I was out the door and into the hallway before he could get in the last word.
Jackie kept a swift pace back to the portal room. I bumped into her in the pitch dark. She shushed me and pushed the door open. “If there are any of them on the other side, use those stones your mom gave you.”
I clutched the sack tight and pulled on my glove.
We ran across the portal room and through the door on the opposite side. Jackie looked both ways, then jumped into the stone hall. There wasn’t a soul in sight, and I remembered the first time Mark and I had walked down this hall. I’d thought I was going to some grand academy of learning, a place I could hone my skills and be with like-minded people. Good grief, I’d been ignorant.
“We just need to get to the first house, and then we can use the back halls to Carly’s,” Jackie whispered.
We stood at the end of the spoke. The lights had been dimmed to simulate nighttime. Typically a teacher would be loosely patrolling the spoke right now, but I couldn’t see one.
I heard Mark’s voice in my head, telling me this didn’t feel right. Something felt off. Kind of like the village. The place felt too quiet. Maybe once Jackie had left, there’d been no late-night ragers.
“Looks clear,” Jackie said, and moved to the edge of the hall. “You watch the Blue side. All we need is some punk calling us out.”
“Okay.” I looked across the divide and couldn’t see so much as a light. Normally, a few would be on, even in the late hours.