Catalyst: (Elevated Saga Book #2)

by Daniel Solomon Kaplan

  CHAPTER THREE

  For a few hours, the school is abuzz with talk about the Catalyst and theories on the murder. Then the piles of final exams begin to arrive. The only positive thing about them is they bring us closer to the end of the school year. Aaron continues to disappear immediately after class, but I manage to corner him on the final day of school.

  “Can you bring me to graduation?” I ask.

  “Aren’t your parents going?” he asks.

  “Sure, but they don’t need to arrive three hours early.” I’m still not sure why students apparently need three extra hours to sort into rows.

  “What about Elliott?”

  “He can’t make it, has a school conflict or something.”

  “Zach?”

  “I’m asking you for a reason. We barely talk anymore. And soon you’ll be off to Kingswell and I’ll be off to Orbison.”

  Aaron sighs. “Ok, fine, I’ll pick you up.”

  As the huge blocks of paper that make up our final tests arrive, I can’t help feel a little strange. I scan the room, cataloguing the things I will never see again: classmates, that stupid motivational poster with a Breather, the Code of Conduct that Zach always loved to point out the grammar mistakes on, and the pretty daisies outside the classroom window that so often cheered me up.

  It’s funny, but after all I’ve been through, it wouldn’t seem like graduation should be that big of a deal. But somehow, I’m more scared than ever.

  ***

  Graduation day arrives. Hooray. A chance to get dressed up in stifling clothes and sit around for hours. I try to talk my parents into letting me skip it, but Dad is insistent. He says it’s a big deal for Mom, but I think he feels a bit of regret for missing so much of my life. And for that reason, I’ll wear a smile as I march across the stage to pick up my diploma. Not because I’m wearing a clingy polyester robe, but because we’re actually a family again.

  Aaron arrives to pick me up. At first, there’s an awkward silence between us.

  “How is everything been going?” I ask.

  “Decent.”

  He takes a deep breath.

  “Did I do something to you?” I ask. “I’m not sure why—”

  “I’m sick of lying,” Aaron says. “Everyone keeps e-mailing me trying to find out what happened to Jex.”

  “Tell them the truth,” I say. “The Basic Brigade needs to know they were following a psycho.”

  “He might have been a psycho, but he had a point. None of this would have happened if not for GEMO.”

  “None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for people trying to squash the truth.”

  Now I understand why he didn’t want to talk to me. He knew I would tell him he had wasted the past few years listening to Jason’s lies. He needed time to realize how much he had been brainwashed.

  “Whatever,” Aaron says, pulling out his phone.

  “Still updating that stupid blog?”

  I reach over to grab a glimpse of his phone, but he pulls it away.

  “You didn’t think it was so stupid when you used it to bail your Dad out.”

  I sigh. “Sorry.”

  Punching a code into my phone, I pull up the video of Shelly. I can’t remember how many times I’ve watched it, but it continues to fascinate me to watch a human body liquefy through the door. As her clothes tighten around the door and slide through the cracks, I have to laugh. Shelly would be the only girl lucky enough to wear tight enough clothes to pass through the small opening that easily.

  In an attempt to talk to Aaron, I change the subject to other topics, like complaining about the boring last days of school. We joke about the itchy graduation gowns and which Elevated will pull the craziest stunt in celebration.

  “Jimmy,” Aaron says. “He’s planning on picking up an entire school bus for a photograph.”

  We both laugh. Hard to believe scrawny Jimmy would be one of the few in our class to become a Lifter.

  Aaron parks the car and we start walking towards the spikeball field, along with other half-awake students, many with energy drinks and coffee in hand in attempt to brave the long hours ahead.

  “Look, I don’t agree with Jex’s actions,” Aaron says.

  “We don’t have to talk about that.”

  “It’s just, what if we could convince everyone that GEMO has only created trouble?”

  I gesture at Tessla and her Flier entourage passing by. “Good luck convincing people to surrender their power now.”

  Aaron scowls. “You’ve given up, haven’t you? What happened to the girl who was so against the system she refused the treatment?”

  Behind us, a group of Blenders stands in front of banners with the school colors. They laugh as their skin transforms to match.

  “It’s not the system, Aaron, it’s never been the system. It’s the people that make life hell.”

  “Yeah, but now those people have freakish powers.”

  I bite my lip. It hurts that my friend still thinks of me as a freak. I wonder if deep down he’s afraid of me.

  “Elevated won’t abandon their powers without a fight. You’re talking about a civil war.”

  “Fine, I just hope you Elevateds enjoy your life, coasting on what the government sees fit to tell you.” Aaron starts to storm off.

  “Aaron,” I call out.

  “Catch you later, got something to do.”

  “You’re always busy these days. What are you up to?”

  “I have stuff to work on.”

  It’s an odd feeling to find your Dad and lose your best friend. From the way Aaron slumped through the hallways these past few weeks, I can tell he needs me.

  “Why don’t you let me help?” I ask.

  “You wouldn’t be interested.”

  “I might be.”

  “Whatever, Rose,” he says before leaving.

  Aaron and I never used to keep secrets from each other. But now, secrets just seem a part of life.

  I catch Shelly coming towards me, walking with Zach. She waves and I just smile back. I open up my backpack and try to act like I’m distracted and trying to find something. I’m not trying to be mean, but it has become hard to even see her without feeling guilty about using her as blackmail material. Besides, her Dad asked me to avoid her, and it seems best to stay in his good graces.

  “Can’t believe it’s here!” Shelly screeches with an energy that should be illegal this early in the morning. “Aren’t you so excited?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where’s Aaron?” Zach asks.

  “He’s busy.”

  “What’s he up to?”

  “Wish I knew.”

  Zach sighs. “I was just hoping we could be together since this will be the last—”

  “We’re not going to talk about that,” Shelly says.

  “About what?” I ask.

  “About us going to separate universities.” Zach says.

  “No, we have the whole summer ahead,” Shelly says.

  “And I’m sure you will want to come and visit me in Volare,” Zach says.

  “I sure will. Have you heard they have a private skydeck with hot tubs overlooking the city? You can only get up there if you’re a Flier. Or if one just so happens to lift you up.”

  “Interesting. Let me know when you find a volunteer.”

  “He’s so charming sometimes, isn’t he?” Shelly turns away from Zach. “Well, I have soooo much to do.”

  Shelly skips off, her blond hair bouncing behind her.

  “Private hot tubs,” Zach says. “I don’t belong there.”

  I nod.

  “I’m not that kind of guy.”

  I keep nodding.

  “I’m not even fond of flying.”

  I stay nodding.

  “You think I’m right, don’t you?”

  “I think you have to make this decision for yourself. Where do you want to go?”

  “My plan was to remain in town and work towards an education degree.”<
br />
  “Teaching?”

  “English.”

  “Logical.”

  “I thought so.”

  But the expression on his face made it clear he wasn’t so sure.

  Zach sighs. “I wonder sometimes, if I have a natural talent, then why do I despise it so much?”

  “Despise?”

  “Ok, despise is too strong, but there’s just so many other things I wish I could be doing.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you.”

  A couple of classmates run past us in a hurry, which reminds me to check the time.

  “Better get ready,” he says. “See you at the ceremony.”

  He leaves and I stand alone in front of the spikeball field. In a few hours, we will graduate, and then go our separate ways. If I go to Orbison University, I’ll be halfway across the country, far from my friends and family. Considering my current situation, the idea of being by myself is frightening. Maybe Elliott is right and a normal life is beyond us.

  I shrug it off for now. I have a whole summer ahead before I have to worry.

  ***

  Whoever plans graduation ceremonies must enjoy torturing innocent students. First, we force ourselves into uncomfortable robes before sitting around for hours in a stuffy room, with the only entertainment coming from an endless speech by Miss Dukay. I’m only half listening, but her grandiose lecture has something to do with futures and prospects and rainbows beyond the horizon. I’ve prepared myself for at least another half dozen cliché-ridden speeches. It is graduation, after all.

  At last, the time arrives to march into the spikeball field and take our seats. I search for Mom and Dad in the crowd and eventually find them towards the top of the bleachers. Probably showed up at the last minute, but I can’t blame them. Elliott told me he wasn’t going to be able to make it. He had a school conflict or something — maybe an excuse to avoid sitting in the hot sun for a few hours just to watch me walk across a stage.

  A series of speakers take the podium and continue the stream of bland speeches. My gaze wanders over to Aaron, fiddling with his phone, updating his blog no doubt. Zach sits near him and gives me a wave. The other Fliers cut holes in their robes to display their wings, but his robe is over a wingvest, which conceals his wings from view.

  A trumpet fanfare jolts me back to attention, signaling time to start lining up. One nice thing about being third in my class is that I won’t have to stand around. I take my place at the edge of the stairs and prepare to climb up the steps. I grip the sides of my robe and pull it up. Knowing my luck, I would be the first one to trip crossing the stage. A row of faculty lines the back of the stage, sweating in their formal robes.

  In a matter of seconds, one hands me a diploma and another shakes my hand before another whisks me down the stairs. It happens so fast it’s almost anticlimactic. It’s not until I’m a few steps away that it hits me what just occurred. I’m now an adult, a fact confirmed by my 18th birthday coming in a few months. This was life slapping a paper in my hand and telling me to grow up. Any decisions would be my own. Was I ready for this?

  Dazed by the new responsibility smacking me on the head, I search back in the stands for Mom and Dad. Even from this distance, I can tell they are beaming.

  “Hey, Rose!” comes a familiar voice nearby.

  Elliott sits in the front row, holding a bouquet of glowroses and a sign reading, ‘Way to go Rose!’. I wave over to him and he breaks into a huge grin. He must have waited for hours to reserve that spot. My heart skips a beat as I admire his handsome face grinning back at me. When I sit back down on the hard-as-a-rock folding chair, my robe clings to my sweating skin. For the first time today, I don’t care.

  ***

  “I thought you said we were going to Fowler’s Grove?” I ask as Elliott enters an unfamiliar address into the car.

  He smirks. “You’ll see.”

  He backs the car out of the driveway and the automatic drive takes over. Elliott swivels his seat towards me.

  “I have a bit of a surprise.”

  I’m a little worried about what sort of surprise Elliott has planned. I dressed for strolling through the park, so he’d better not be planning to go somewhere fancy. He tries to keep a poker face, but it’s clear he’s excited about something.

  I try to resist, but I can’t tear myself from the news reports on my phone. The media continues to hammer the story into the ground, even though there’s no new information to reveal. Some suspect the whole thing was just an elaborate suicide to catch attention, but others wonder if a Catalyst is some type of Elevated that hasn’t been discovered yet.

  I keep staring at the reports, before a brush on my cheek snaps me from my trance.

  Elliott gazes at me. “Maybe you should put the phone away for a while.”

  I nod and put it in my pocket. There’s nothing I can do about the news. I need to try to force my brain to focus on this nice evening with Elliott. And whatever he has in store for both of us. The car turns down a winding road up a mountain. Maybe we’re going to Rainbow Falls. It’s a good time of year to catch the flowers in bloom. Elliott tries to start a few conversations on the way up and I do my best to contribute, but they’re all non-starters. Somehow, the weather, a new recipe his grandmother discovered on the internet, or the fact that Snowy took out a part of their backyard fence can’t distract me from the news.

  “Do you mind me breaking your serious thoughts?” Elliott says. “I need to ask you a serious question. Is Shelia going to end up with Thomas or Chris?”

  I just smile.

  “No, I’m serious. I mean, Thomas is a good catch, what being a Polar and all. She’ll never get lost.”

  “Are we really having this conversation?”

  “And I can’t see her ending up with Chris. It’s hard to be in a relationship with an Alerter, knowing they never have to sleep. Kinda lonely in bed all by yourself.”

  He smirks back at me.

  “You’re crazy, do you know that?” I say.

  “Just a student of gullible fishtanks.”

  I can’t help but laugh. His attempts at distraction are noble, even if he’s stooping to speculation about reality TV.

  The car continues to climb up the hillside and past the turnoff for Rainbow Falls. Not going there, I guess. The buildings of the city shrink beneath us as we ascend. Elliott swivels his seat towards the steering wheel and flips the switch to manual. After another couple of turns, he pulls the car into an overlook. The car stops with a lurch.

  I’m not quite sure what to say. He brought me up here for some reason, and I can think of only one specific reason why he’d pick a secluded spot to park a car. I don’t know whether feel flattered or terrified. We’d been seeing each other for a few weeks now, but I didn’t feel ready for—

  “You ok, Rose?” he asks.

  “Yeah,” I say, trying to hide the nervousness in my voice and knowing I’m failing miserably at it.

  “Come on,” he says, opening the door. “I want to show you something.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. I should have known Elliott was too nice to spring something like that on me. My adrenaline still pulses though, now transitioning to curiosity over what he wants to show me. The gravel crunches under my feet as we step towards the mountain edge. Elliott points out at the compound wall.

  “See that?” he asks, pointing at a charred portion of the forest.

  The bomb explosion has blackened the trees and ground over a wide radius. “It’s amazing we didn’t die.”

  “Right, but look beyond that,” he says, pointing

  I follow his finger to another gap in the forest.

  “Naturals,” he says.

  It’s widely known the Naturals live beyond the Mutant Forest, full of animals left over from the pre-Gamma Day experiments. No one knows much about the Naturals, a strange group of people who decided to run into the woods, except for an occasional explorer who emerges from the forest with battle scars and elaborate stori
es custom-made for a nationwide book tour. I’ve read most of them. Elliott thinks they’re just made up trash for making people rich.

  “I’ve come up here a few times,” he says as sits on the edge of the mountain. “Come over here and take in the view.”

  It’s a good thing Zach isn’t here, as there’s a sheer drop a few feet away from us. I sit beside him, still confused why we’re here.

  “Hungry?” he asks, opening up his backpack. He pulls out a couple of sandwiches. “Sorry, didn’t have a lot of time.”

  “No worries,” I say, taking the sandwich.

  There’s something peaceful up here away from it all. The buildings of the city fade behind the thick forest and the only sound comes from a soft breeze. But there must be another reason Elliott comes here.

  “I’ve been thinking about the Naturals,” he says. “How they live out there, in the woods, unbothered by everyone. I’d like to think that if anything were to happen, that they’d take us in.”

  I swallow my sandwich quickly. “You’d want to live off the grid? Purifying your own urine?”

  Elliott shrugs. “You’ve read too many of those books.”

  “What about school?”

  “What about it?”

  “I’m going to be halfway across the country. How am I supposed to get to the Mutant Forest?”

  Elliott sighs, and I feel bad for mentioning it. I can tell he hasn’t quite come to grips with the fact I’m going to be so far away.

  “But if something were to happen,” he says, “we need to have a backup plan.”

  “Not sure I like a backup plan that involves moving in with a bunch of people that ran off into the woods.”

  Elliott’s face falls.

  “Yeah, I guess it’s a stupid idea.” He picks up a pebble and tosses it down the mountain.

  I rest my hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t—”

  “I just want to think there are options. I hate feeling trapped.”

  I feel awful. Here Elliott had told me his dream, and I had just crushed it. My hands rub his shoulders, trying to calm him down. He clearly wants to cry, but won’t in front of me. I wish I knew a way to tell him that it’s ok, but I think that would just shame him further.