“Really okay,” was my standard response.
After Russ had been driving for a while, the conversation drifted back to what had happened at the convent. “There are so many things I don’t understand,” Russ said. “Why did Mr. Specter tell us Professor Neverman had a flu bug when he was dying of cancer?”
“Maybe he thought the word cancer would put a damper on things? Spoil the trip?”
“I thought of that too,” he said. “But it still doesn’t make sense. We hardly saw the man and we didn’t know him. I mean, yeah, it’s terrible that he’s dying, but it’s not like we couldn’t handle the truth.”
“Then I don’t know.” I shrugged. This seemed like the least of our worries. I felt bad for Professor Neverman, but the truth of the matter is that people die. All the time. That’s a fact of life. And he was an old guy.
“I was wondering,” Russ said, “if maybe he kept it a secret because he didn’t want me to cure him.”
“Could you have cured him?”
“I’m not sure. I could have tried,” he said.
I was silent for a moment, thinking it through. “So I guess the question is, why would he want Professor Neverman to die?”
“Exactly.” Russ said. “If he didn’t want him cured, then he was fine with him dying.”
“What a sucky friend.”
“You’ve got that right.” Russ’s forehead scrunched again, even though the road was flat and no goats were in sight. “Which reminds me, I hope Mallory and Jameson come out of this okay.”
“Me too.” Hearing their names cast a shadow over the drive. Could I have somehow saved them? I’d acted on panic and instinct and ran, when maybe I should have stayed and fought. But I didn’t have that kind of power, and even though I tried, no one would listen to me. Besides, Mallory had already had her memories altered, and Jameson seemed eager to be the next victim. I’d tried. That was my only consolation.
Russ said, “I still don’t understand why Mr. Specter wanted to alter our memories?”
I ventured a guess. “He had a new toy and wanted to try it out?”
“But there wasn’t any reason to do it to us. We were on his side already.”
“Maybe he’s not on the side we think he is.”
Russ snuck a glance my way. His face told me he was impressed. “Nadia, you are really, really smart.”
“That’s what they say,” I said. “It’s my saving grace, my mother says.”
“I’m not sure what that means.”
“It means it’s the one thing I’ve got going for me.”
“Oh. Well, then I have to disagree with your mother. Being smart is only one of many things you’ve got going for you.” And then he gave me a smile I wanted to capture and keep for dreary days.
I could have lived on that compliment and that smile for the rest of the week.
At about the time we both got hungry, we came to a small village, just a stop in the road really. We noticed a scattering of houses as we approached and Russ said, “Civilization. I say we put down our flag and claim it for our own,” which made me laugh. The actual village was made up of a few shops, a church, a vegetable stand, and a gas station. I thought about how malls were so excessive. Right here was everything a person could possibly need.
We filled up the gas tank first, and I pulled out the bills I’d found in the bus. “I’ve got this,” I said to Russ. Our gas was courtesy of Mr. Specter. We got back in and drove a short way to the restaurant. The hand lettered sign above the door said, RESTAURANTE. Again, as much as was needed and no more. Outside the entrance was a chalk board listing the day’s offerings. Half a dozen wooden tables with folding chairs dotted the space between the building and the road. Two men sat, drinking cerveza, and eating sandwiches. When we walked up, they stared.
“Hola,” I said, and they nodded, before going back to their food.
We didn’t want to spend much time there, so we ate quickly, downing our food with Inca Kola. Russ paid this time, making it, I thought, our first date, although I didn’t say as much because that would have sounded cheesy. We were on delicate terrain here. Not boyfriend and girlfriend exactly. I wasn’t sure what this was, really, but the idea of us together filled me with hope and happiness, two things that had been missing from my life for a very long time.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Russ
We took turns with the driving, switching every two hours or so. The first few hours on the road, I worried constantly that we’d get stopped. Our vehicle was fairly new, which seemed to be an oddity in this part of the country, and not only were we young, we were gringos too. In short, we stood out. But no one seemed to care. We occasionally passed pedestrians, usually adults carrying bags slung over their shoulders, sometimes accompanied by small children who lagged behind. Some of these kids were really small. Back home, kids this size would have been in strollers or hanging on to a grownup’s hand; here they walked like the adults. We always slowed way down as we approached and Nadia made a point to wave, a big smile on her face. The kids would wave back, their tiny faces beaming at the unexpected attention.
Nadia was different today. Before, she’d spent a lot of time and trouble to hide her face, but now her hood was down and it was almost like she’d forgotten about her scars. I’d never seen her this happy, which was ironic because we’d never been in this much trouble.
With dusk falling, I turned to Nadia and said, “I think we should stop for a while.”
“Really?” She had the GPS in hand, and referred to it now. “But we’re so close. In a few more hours we’ll be there.”
“I know, but it will be so dark we won’t be able to see much anyway. I think it would be better to get some sleep and then we’ll be fresh in the morning. Besides, our headlights are going to attract attention and we don’t want to stand out in case they’re looking for us.”
“You’re right.” She said, nodding. “So how do you want to do this?”
“We could keep driving until we see a Hilton, or, and here’s another idea, we could just pull over and sleep in the car.”
“You’re kidding about the Hilton, right?”
Yes, I was kidding. We hadn’t passed a hotel in all the hours we were on the road; I doubted one would suddenly appear. And besides, without a credit card, it was unlikely anyone would give us a room. Even in the outlying areas of Peru they liked the VISA card. We were losing our light and I didn’t want to drive when it was completely dark. We drove on, both of us keeping an eye out for a good place to stop, somewhere, I suggested, where the car would be out of sight from the road.
“How about there?” Nadia said, pointing to a falling-down building, the only structure we’d seen for miles. Because of the large doors, it looked like the place had once been a small barn. Now the roof sagged, and it looked abandoned. “We could pull up behind it.”
I veered off the road and maneuvered the SUV behind the building, careful to put enough distance between us so that if the thing collapsed we wouldn’t be crushed.
It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to get the vehicle ready for a night’s sleep. Like we’d gone camping a hundred times before, Nadia and I worked together, releasing the rear seat so it laid flat. Conveniently, the owner of the car, who I assumed was Professor Neverman, kept a large blanket folded in the back. We spread it out and sat side-by-side watching the sun go down.
“Just think,” Nadia said. “It goes down every night, but I never think to watch.” She turned to look at me. “It’s so beautiful, all the colors and the light. I don’t know anyone who stops to watch the sunset. Why don’t people make it part of their routine like taking a shower or checking their phone?”
I shrugged. “We’re busy?”
“Not that busy.” She shook her head.
“We just don’t pay attention, I guess.”
When the last sliver of light was gone, she sidled up next to me. Her head resting on my shoulder sent every nerve ending in my body on hi
gh alert. My heart raced from the nearness of her: the warmth of her body against mine, and the possibility of everything that could happen. I wanted to recreate what we’d had the other night, before Mrs. Whitehouse interrupted, but I wanted a cue from her first, so that I wouldn’t be this creepy guy taking advantage of the circumstances. I swallowed, and said, “So,” and then realized I had nothing to follow up with, which made the silence afterward incredibly awkward. I slid my arm around her shoulder and when she didn’t pull away, I took that as my cue. “Nadia?”
“Yes?”
In the dark, using her voice as my guide, I leaned over and found her lips. Kissing like this was all new for me, and for her too, I assumed, but we must have been together in another life, soul mates who’d done this thousands of times, because we both knew exactly what to do.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Nadia
I didn’t want to think about anyone else besides Russ, but horrible thoughts intruded on our time together. His arms wrapped around me made me feel safe and loved, but all I could think about was how I’d pulled him out of Professor Neverman’s house leaving Mallory and Jameson behind. Were Mrs. Whitehouse and Kevin Adams in with Mr. Specter? I honestly didn’t know. Mrs. Whitehouse seemed harmless enough, and frankly, not swift enough to be part of an evil plot. And Kevin, well, he was the guy at the family gatherings who told the jokes and teased the little kids. Just a big kid himself. I couldn’t imagine that he would want to wipe out someone’s memories. Of course, who knew? Until recently, Mr. Specter had been Russ’s favorite teacher. Irony, you are not as funny as you think you are.
My thoughts strayed to Edgewood and the people back home. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Russ.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I just had a terrible thought.” I said. “What if Mr. Specter informs our parents that we’re missing? My mom will die, and I mean, she might literally die.” As tough as my mother was, she always struck me as being just on the cusp of falling apart. Controlling everything was her way of keeping it together.
“I’m sure he didn’t,” Russ said, not sounding sure at all. “That would make him look bad. Plus, we’re supposed to be in Miami, so really, what could he say?”
“He could say a lot of things.” He could, I realized, say anything he wanted to, and how could we contradict him? Everyone believed adults over kids. It was the way of the world. My eyes welled up; I wiped the moisture away before they could become actual tears.
We were in complete darkness now. Without being able to see Russ, his presence became his touch, his breath on my cheek, and the sound of his voice speaking right to me as he stroked my hair. “I have a suggestion. Why don’t you astral project to home and see what your folks are doing? And then after that, you could travel to Professor Neverman’s and see what’s going on with the rest of them?”
Why hadn’t I thought of that? I nodded. “I’ve only done it when I’m by myself, but I can try. Don’t touch me when I’m gone, okay?”
“Okay, I won’t.”
“Don’t talk to me either. Just be completely quiet or I’ll be distracted and I won’t be able to go.”
“I promise I won’t.”
We pulled apart and I lay down, curling up as tightly as I could. I went through my routine, relaxing my body and willing my conscious self to go elsewhere. All the times I’d done it before, I’d taken it for granted. Now I wasn’t entirely sure I could pull it off. I willed every muscle in my body to loosen, and I thought—take me to my house in Edgewood.
The time difference between Wisconsin and Peru wasn’t that great, so it was late evening there as well. I drifted into the living room, where my parents watched the news on TV. My dad had a book laid face down on the end table next to his chair. I noticed it was a Tom Clancy novel he’d started before I’d left. My mother’s eyes were aimed at the TV screen, but she didn’t seem to be paying too much attention to it. Barry, her cat, was stretched out on her lap, and she was petting him from his head to his tail in long even strokes.
Neither of them looked like they’d just been informed that their only child was missing. If anything, there was an air of boredom in the room. I got closer, wanting to see my mother in more detail. I felt like I’d been away from home for years. As if she knew I was thinking about her, she turned to my dad and said, “I wonder what Nadia is doing right now?”
“Probably celebrating the end of another good day at the academic decathlon.”
“You think her team is winning?” Mom asked.
“Nadia’s on it. Of course they’re winning.” He said it matter-of-factly. “Our daughter is exceptional.”
I knew he loved me, but I never knew he felt that way. Exceptional. I liked the sound of that word. I floated closer, wanted to hear more. Barry opened his eyes to look straight at me, and as I crossed the room his head followed my movement. His brain was the size of a walnut. How could he see me when they couldn’t? He hissed in my direction and my mom said, “What is it, Barry-Boo? What’s wrong?” She spoke it like baby-talk, nuzzling him under the chin.
Like someone who’d been caught sneaking into a room where they didn’t belong, I slowly backed away, and willed myself to leave.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Russ
I knew the exact moment her spirit had left her body because her breathing changed. I was used to being on the receiving end of her astral projecting. It was eerie to be with her when she left. I didn’t like it. Something about it, the way the part of her that made her Nadia was gone, reminded me of death.
I’d promised not to touch her or talk to her, but I hadn’t promised not to look. Putting my palm forward, I rubbed my fingers together and generated enough electricity to illuminate the back of the SUV. Streaks of light danced off my palm, like flashes from a sparkler. Enough to see her clearly.
Nadia lay on her side, her knees tucked up, one arm curled up over her head with her hand against her forehead like she had a headache. Without her essence, she was a statue. Even her breathing was shallow, barely noticeable, like her lungs didn’t need much air when she wasn’t really there. Her hair fell partway across her face, but I could still see the scars across her cheek and around her eye. My hand itched to trace the contours of her jaw line, to smooth her hair back, to try to heal her skin so it was no longer ravaged.
My hand, still holding the light, stayed steady even while I found myself reaching for her face with the other hand. I desperately wanted to touch her, to put every bit of my energy into healing her face. She would be so happy to wake up with her damaged skin fixed. She’d said not to touch her, but I remembered that her mother had to shake her awake to pull her out of an earlier astral projection trip. It seemed like it took a lot to pull her back. A gentle touch wouldn’t do it, I didn’t think.
I shifted closer, so that I could reach her without straining. My hand was just over her cheek when her eyes blinked open. I jerked my hand back and the light fizzled out.
“Russ?” she said. “It’s okay, my parents don’t know anything. They still think we’re at the competition in Miami.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Nadia
I’d caught Russ looking at me while I was gone, but I didn’t say anything to him about it. When I opened my eyes I saw the light and his outstretched hand, and then—bam—it was dark, like he’d been caught doing something illegal. I asked him about it, and he stammered something about checking on me to make sure I was okay. He forgot, apparently, that I am a human lie detector and could tell there was more to it than that. I sensed that there was nothing dark or disturbing in what he was doing, so I let it go. Now that I knew that I could astral project under these circumstances and I’d been assured my parents were fine, I was determined to find out about Mallory and Jameson.
“I’m going to check on the others,” I told Russ and closed my eyes again. I heard him say, “Be careful.” By the time he said it I was far, far away and his voice echoed to me from off in the distance.
>
I willed myself to travel to Professor Neverman’s house and once I arrived I realized the mistake I’d made. I should have specified a person, not a place. The convent was huge and I’d had trouble finding my way around even during the daylight hours. At night it was creepy and dark. I drifted through the first floor, seeing the kitchen where we’d eaten and the sitting area where Jameson and Kevin had fought their pretend battle. But no sign of any of them or anyone else in fact. I drifted upstairs and visited the bedrooms one by one. All of them were empty, beds neatly made, doors open, curtains drawn. The place was a tomb. I crossed the courtyard and entered the private quarters of Professor Neverman, the exact room where he and Mr. Specter had sipped from tea cups right before Mr. Specter tried out the Deleo on his old friend. Now the professor sat in the same chair as the last time I’d seen him, this time wearing a bathrobe and slippers, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair and looking at the crackling fire in the fireplace. Elena walked into the room, caressed his cheek and kissed the top of his head before saying something lovingly to him in Spanish.
So she wasn’t just the housekeeper. Once again I regretted not having learned Spanish. Jameson was right; it was a very useful language. I watched in fascination as they had an exchange as intimate as any older married couple. If I had to guess, she was trying to tell him it was time to go to bed. And then she stared straight at me and said, “They are not here. Be careful. They are hunting you.”
Edgewood Series: Books 1 - 3 Page 49