by Sarah Noffke
Joseph and Samara arrive looking uncomfortably subdued. They slip into the chairs on the other side of me. I have the urge to reach out and hug Joseph. Partly because I need the comfort and also because it looks as though he does too. He appears lonely sitting in his leather jacket and looking at his hands like they aren’t his own. Hard to believe only a few weeks ago he was full of life. Not just full of life; he provided so much of the energy around this place. Now that he’s become a zombie, the Institute is colder than ever before. Joseph looks up at my spying eyes and nods his chin. His expression is a mix between sympathy and concern.
He leans down low so only I can hear him. “You wanna talk later?”
“To you?”
“Well, that’s better than to yourself, which you do too much already.” It’s a joke, but neither of us laughs or breaks our stony expressions.
“Let’s just figure out why we’re here,” I say, wishing I had something I could do with my hands.
He nods and leans away.
A short girl with soft brown hair rushes into the room seeming lost. She stops and stares around the table, then takes a seat at the far end. I’ve never seen her before. She’s rail thin, with tiny wrists and arms which are covered in freckles.
My attention is withdrawn from her when Trent enters talking animatedly to the white coat I’d met more than a month ago. James. He has wild, curly brown hair and pronounced canines. If a Viking and teddy bear mated, he’d be the result. Trent says something and James responds with a nervous laugh. Ren flicks his eyes up, giving them both a punishing look. James takes a seat and the room falls deadly silent.
The silence is about to drive me mad when Trey walks in, shutting the door behind him. His face is drawn, strict. “Thank you for joining me here.” The Head Official picks up a dry erase marker and writes one word on the board:
Voyageurs
With a brutal look in his eyes he taps the marker on the board. “The Voyageurs, that’s who took Aiden. Before I brief you on the abduction, I’ll share the history with you. Without the background you might be confused and it’s best if we start off this mission with everyone focused and clear on all details.” Trey clears his throat. Everything he does is robotic. “Flynn founded the Institute, but shortly afterward he recruited Pierre, his research partner. They worked together, traveled together, and both had a vision of protecting Dream Travelers and Middlings. Flynn’s focus was technology, and Pierre’s, abilities. Under their leadership the Institute gained momentum and more and more Lucidites joined and found solace within these walls.
“However, an irreconcilable dispute ensued between the two men, and they parted ways. Flynn naturally held onto the Institute and Pierre founded his own place in France—the Grotte.”
He runs his fingers through his silver hair, examining each face in the room. “The Voyageurs spend the majority of their focus honing abilities. Whereas we focus on abilities, science, and strategic ops. Although dream travel investigation only revealed how Aiden was abducted, I suspect why the Voyageurs took him is because they’re deficient in scientific advances. Before, they relished that they didn’t rely on the technologies that we prided ourselves on, but now I think they’ve realized their shortcomings. Currently they’re not guarded by shields or protective charms of any type. Furthermore, they have no devices, with the exception of one GAD-C. For too long they have boasted about not needing technology, but times are changing and Dream Travelers must protect themselves from all sources of conflict or we’ll pay the price. Pierre knows this and has acted in order to protect his people.”
Trey gives a heavy sigh. “Actually, let me make a correction. I speculate Pierre’s actions are a result of fear and vengeance. I’m working hard to prove this, but no matter his reason it doesn’t change the circumstances. Once Aiden has been returned we will learn the Voyageur’s pure motives—which I suspect to be selfish, as well as dishonorable.” There’s acid in his tone, which is new. Even when Trey spoke about Zhuang his voice didn’t carry this anger.
“They’ve been planning this attack for a while. It isn’t just a strategic move, but also one based on a long-running vendetta.” Anger burns on every feature of Trey’s face. “Could they have recruited their own scientist? Yes. But they took ours. Now I’m the first to admit that Aiden is among the best, but still this is not the act of people who operate under diplomacy. Amber has been spying for them and she’s the one responsible for executing Aiden’s abduction.”
Amber! She’s responsible for this? Heart pounding, I lean forward, perched on the edge of my chair.
“She drugged him and escaped through the dry-dock. It was this breech that first alerted our attention to the problem. What complicates matters is that Aiden recently invented a new piece of technology known as the dream blocker. The device prevents the wearer from dream traveling. It has been impossible to abduct a Dream Traveler in the past because this technology didn’t exist. If captured, a person could always dream travel and regenerate their body. This has always been our biggest challenge when tracking Zhuang. Anyway, Aiden’s technology has now made this a new reality and I’m sorry to say he’s the first person to suffer because of it. The dream blocker has been stolen and I’m certain it will prevent him from returning.”
Trey draws in a long breath. “Whatever it is the Voyageurs require of Aiden, I suspect he will not be compliant to their demands. His parents were murdered by these people.”
Murdered? When Aiden said his family was dead, I never considered that they were murdered.
“Whatever Pierre asks of Aiden will be met with resistance. I’m certain of that. This is the utmost reason we have to act fast if we want to rescue Aiden before he’s killed.”
I close my eyes and try to erase the last words I heard from my memory. Things like this shouldn’t be a part of my reality. A person I care about can’t be facing such a dismal fate. It’s wrong. And it twists my insides, sickening me.
“You all are the team I’ve assembled to rescue Aiden.” Trey begins walking around the table slowly. “The Voyageurs have battled us many times. Although we’ve never wanted to harm them, they’ve always reacted with violent force when we’ve come into contact. They’ve fought Ren, Shuman, and myself too many times to count. Due to the way their present security works, which is based on mental abilities, they’re too attuned to us. None of the Head Officials can get anywhere close to the Grotte, or Aiden, without setting off a hundred alarms. For this reason, I’ve decided that the team who fought Zhuang, which has the most current level of experience and practice, will rescue Aiden, because time is of the essence.”
Trey completes the long circle around the room and stands staring directly at me. “I’m asking you, Roya, to please lead this team. I know this is a lot of responsibility, but you’re the right person for the job. You’re my first choice.” He swallows hard. “Do you accept?”
So this is what being put on the spot feels like. I’m fairly certain the entire room can hear my heart thumping in my chest. I don’t really have a choice but to agree. However, if I did have a choice, what would I do? Thinking clearly isn’t really an option with everyone staring at me. I pull my vision out of the current place and retreat into my mind. It only takes a second but suddenly I’m in Aiden’s room staring into his excited eyes. His laugh opens places in me I didn’t know existed, places with depth—and his affection fills those spaces. I spiral back to the present time. The anger and betrayal I felt for Aiden has all but faded to tiny distant emotions. Now fear for his safety is center stage. The last words I spoke to him ricochet around my head. “You’re evil. Don’t come near me…ever again.” I can’t let those be my last words to him. Can’t.
Everyone’s eyes still stare at me, awaiting my answer. When I reply I only see one pair of eyes—Aiden’s. “Yes, I’ll do it.”
“Good,” Trey says without enthusiasm. “Samara, Trent, George, and Joseph, you will all be in your same respective roles as before. That is, if you also d
ecide to be a part of this mission. The decision is yours.” He stops, eyeing each of them. I’m relieved the focus is off me for a little while. Each member nods, almost in a daze.
“Good. This time, though, you’ll be traveling together to the Grotte. Roya will not be alone.”
A new emotion enters the room and I feel it first from Joseph, who straightens, looking eager rather than worried. Trey runs his hands through his hair. I knew he was about to do that. I can almost guess what mannerism he’ll do between sentences. I wonder if he knows he’s so predictable.
“Now I’d like to introduce a new member of the team.” He points to the tiny girl sitting next to Ren. “Please welcome Pearl. She will be your healer.”
A pang of remorse courses through me—for Whitney. She was my friend. I loved her. When Zhuang brutally murdered her, my heart broke for the first time, really broke, like I’d never be whole again. The pain is still too fresh and I’m unable to look at Pearl directly. Thankfully Trey is already directing our attention to the white coat who entered with Trent. “James will be working with you on technology. I trust that he has enough experience to get you into the Grotte. And again you’ll practice with Shuman for abilities and Ren for strategy. We have to do this and do it fast. I want you to train hard.” He rubs his fist into the palm of his hand. “I happen to be intimately acquainted with the Voyageurs’ interrogation strategies. Aiden has roughly ten days before the tactics they use kill him. This mission needs to be executed one week from today. Understood?”
I don’t nod. Thankfully, everyone else does. There isn’t enough air in the room. This feels like a really stupid dream, and there’s no waking up and no getting away from it. My head swims with everything Trey told us about these new people and all the risks and dangers. I can’t even believe that an hour ago I thought I was headed home to rest easily on the porch for hours on end, and now I’m going to spend the next week training my ass off only to get killed by some French guy with a beret.
An epiphany occurs and once it does I realize it was overdue. My emotions must have delayed it from shimmering to the surface. I look at Shuman, half expecting her to be gazing at me with a knowing expression. She isn’t. But what I’d seen while news reporting had been correct. There really was this strange and dangerous girl who wanted to steal something. That something, could it have been Aiden? And then there was the guy playing chess, had that been Pierre? My heart races faster as I piece all of this together. I’m anxious to get out of this room and away from all these people who make the space feel claustrophobic.
I find myself nodding in agreement to whatever Trey says. It’s floating past me at this point. When I hear him clear his throat with finality, I push up from the chair and stride out of the room. Thankfully the meeting is over and I just look like I’m taking charge rather than being a coward, which is what I am. Trey’s last words echo in my ears as I round the corner, “Your first training takes place at two o’clock today in the lecture hall.”
Chapter Seventeen
I’m not sure what the rest of my team does for the hours allotted to us before training begins. Maybe they converse about the new mission. They probably all gather at lunch and poke at their food. Maybe they question my whereabouts, emotions, and mental state. All I know is what composes those hours for me.
Sullen, aching grief.
I fall into a new low and allow myself to wallow in it. I had convinced myself that I didn’t care about Aiden because of what he was working on. But his abduction brings the raw truth to the surface. My fury at him is because I do care and I’m utterly heartbroken he made the choices he did. And I only know all that now because my heart constantly makes its complaints known due to his absence. No matter his choices, he owns a piece of me. Where is that piece now?
I lay in this pitiful mess of sorrow for a good hour. When I’m starting to push myself up from the pain I stick in the ear buds and crank up the music. Torment rips through me with a fresh intensity. Cary Brothers’ voice and lyrics send me to an inescapable suffering.
♪ I’ll take your place when the world ends and you’ll take mine
I’ll break us out of this jail and get you high
’Cause when it all ends I want you to be free, free like you make me
Free like you make me ♪
I listen to his song a total of eleven times. Really, I would have liked it to be an even dozen, but I didn’t want to be late to training. As intended I’m halfway through the first stage in a thirty-seven-step process of dealing with this grief. My breaths are heavy and unfulfilling, but I haven’t cried and for that I’m relieved.
Just as I’m about to head into the lecture hall I realize I haven’t sent a message to Bob and Steve. How could I have forgotten to tell them? They would have driven hours out to the GAD-C to pick me up. I rush off to the computer lab on the third level to send them an email. Once I log in I’m instantly relieved to find they have already sent me an email. Of course the Institute newsfeed has informed the society about what’s going on. Their email explains they know I can’t dream travel and will wait for more details. My fingers type hurriedly.
Trey’s lost his mind
Roya Stark
to bobandsteve
Hey Bob and Steve,
Trey seems to think I’m the best person to lead Aiden’s rescue mission. He has some valid reasons, but still… Although I had understandable hesitations, I decided to accept the role. So no more worries about me having too much time on my hands. Seriously though, I’m more than a bit intimidated by this challenge. You always give me such great advice. So please enclose all words of wisdom in the next email, as well as prayers that I don’t lose my mind, get killed, or get a half a dozen other people murdered under my leadership.
Thanks for everything. Always.
Love,
Ms. Totally-Unprepared-For-This
P.S. Fighting Zhuang kind of seems easy right now…
Yes, I could have waited to send them an email, but it was more for me than them. My eyes flick to the clock, then dread follows. I’m late to training.
Ren narrows his eyes as I stealthily slip into the room. Everyone’s seated and focused on him. He stalks me as I walk across the lecture hall and take a seat. I brace myself for his punishment, which will no doubt carry a round of insults regarding my competence and intelligence. To my astonishment he only shakes his head, repulsion written on his bruised face.
“The Grotte. It’s French for cave,” he says in a bad French accent. “This is where these people, and I’m using that word loosely, are holding Aiden. Their location is in the side of a massive confusion of rock in the south of France. We live in Buckingham Palace compared to their place. It’s total rubbish. Actually it’s pretty much the same digs our ancestors dwelled in when they discovered fire. The Voyageurs’ headquarters isn’t heated or cooled, nor does it have cable or Wi-Fi. And it most certainly isn’t protected by any special technology like what we’re accustomed to here.”
Ren begins pacing, shoulders and back stiff. “The Voyageurs are primitive and savage people. I’m not saying this as a criticism as much as an observation. Here’s my criticism of these people, so hear it and write it down, or whatever you prats need to do in order to get it straight: As long as these people don’t know you then they can’t find you. That’s how their security works. They’re experts at reading and recording an individual’s energies. When they sense an approaching energy of an enemy the red flag goes up and the Neanderthals grab the nearest club. Before a Voyageur is familiar with your energy, it’s like you don’t exist for them. In this way they’re naïve. We must always be on the prowl for new threats, not waiting around for unknown bullies to steal our milk money. An-y-ways”—Ren draws out the word, blinking back boredom—“the cave people’s approach to security measures makes it terribly difficult to sneak up on them if you’ve fought them time and time again. However, if you’re unknown to them, then breaching their walls is r
ather quite easy and for that reason, and only that one, you gits stand a chance.”
I’m surprised when my hand rises in the air. Ren turns, tightens his eyes at me. I expect him to berate me with criticism, or at least say something snide. Instead he just gives me an impatient stare and says, “What?”
“When I was news reporting I spied on a French girl. A man informed her that she was being watched and she turned in my direction and caught me. And later a similar incident occurred. They don’t know me so how were they able to pick up on my energy? And now if they’ve read my energy then maybe it’s been recorded. Maybe I’m not the right person to head this mission,” I say.
He flashes an evil smile, baring his sharp canines. There’s the old Ren we all know and loathe. “Nice try, little Miss Muffet, but you’re not getting out of this so fast. In your vision, you were caught by Pierre. He’s a master at catching intrusions through news reporting. It’s like a hobby of his and a quite lame one. Too bad they don’t have a cricket field there at the Grotte. Who Pierre informed about your spying was his second in command, Allouette. Lucky for you they can’t pick up your energy from a vision. They just know you were there. That’s all.”
As Ren intended I feel small and cowardly. I slide down an inch in my seat.