He reaches over to turn on the sound system and cranks up some loud rock music.
My hand grips the volume control and I start to turn it down. "No, I want to—"
Elliott clenches my hand firmly. "Rose, I want to listen to some music."
He's probably right. It won't really help me keep her secret if I know the details about what Shelly did. I sit back in my seat and watch the scenery go by. Looking in the rearview mirror, I see a familiar car.
"Julie?"
"What?" Elliott asks.
"Aaron calls his car Julie," I say. "What is he doing behind us?"
"He's been following us for a few minutes," Shelly says. "I thought you would have noticed."
"Following us?"
Aaron pulls up along my side of the car and waves at me.
"I think he wants us to pull over," Elliott says.
"I don't want to talk to him," I say.
"Rose, he drove all the way out here, he must have some reason."
"Maybe he needs some new dirt for his magazine."
"You're ridiculous," Elliott says as he switches the car to manual and taps his foot on the brake.
"Don't pull over," I say.
"If you want to drive, then you drive. I'm pulling over," Elliott says.
Sometimes Elliott's stubbornness is more than I can handle. Powerless to stop him without risking an accident, I watch as we slow down next to Aaron's car.
"You can't make me talk to him," I say.
"Rose, you're being ridiculous," Elliott says.
"I'm ridiculous?" I say. "He's the one that ruined our lives."
"Maybe he came to apologize."
"Little late for that."
Aaron steps out of his car and taps on my window. I won't roll it down. As Elliott reaches over to hit the button to lower it, I try to stop him. But I'm too late. The window rolls down.
"Look," Aaron says, "I understand why you don't want to talk to me."
"Well that's good," I say.
"But I didn't write the article."
I perk up, and look Aaron in the eye. "Really? Who did?"
"Jason," he says.
"Jason is dead."
"You think."
"I know, we all saw him blow up."
"No," Aaron says. "We saw the building he was in blow up."
"And you're saying he survived?"
"I think so."
"You're not making sense."
"Remember back when he first disappeared? How there was an explosion? The teddy bear?"
I have to smile at the mention of the teddy bear, which Zach assumed was the murder weapon. It had turned out just to be a lost toy of mine.
"What if he survived that explosion because he was a Resilient?" Aaron asks.
"No way," Shelly says. "That would make him an Elevated."
“Of course,” Elliott says. "I often wondered how Jason never got curious enough to use it on himself. I just figured he was too frightened."
“That liar,” Shelly says.
"So if he's a Resilient," I say, "he could survive a fire without any problems."
“Right," Aaron says.
"Great, so he's still alive," Elliott says.
"What's even worse," Aaron says, "is that he's found himself a Catalyst."
“Wonder how,” Elliott says. “Mr. Williams hasn’t been able to find any.”
"He's got a database or something," Aaron says.
"And so he's using the Catalyst to create a panic," I say. "The Catalyst is working for him."
"I can't believe it. I thought I was so smart, but I found myself right back where I started, falling for Jason's manipulations.”
“He wrote the article to force your hand,” I say.
Aaron takes a deep breath. “He sent me a message a few days ago. Told me I needed to abandon my mutant friends. He wants to meet me tomorrow at Kidsville.”
“That abandoned kiddie park?” Shelly asks. “How creepy.”
“And what did you tell him?” I ask.
“I haven’t responded,” Aaron says. “I know I can’t meet him, but I figured—well, I don’t know what will happen if I don’t meet him.”
There’s an awkward silence.
“Rose,” Aaron says. “I-I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stayed with Basic Brigade. I just, I guess, I didn't know what to do."
I nod my head. "I understand."
"Really?"
"Not going to lie, it was a massively stupid thing to do," I say. "And you’re lucky we’re not ten feet under already."
Aaron smiles. "Ok, that's more the reaction I expected to get."
"Nice to have you back," Elliott says.
"Mind if I dead head my car?" Aaron’s gives us a puppy dog look. "Kind of a lonely drive home."
"Did you really drive all the way out here just to apologize?" I ask.
Aaron smirks. "Couldn't think of another way for you to be a captive audience. I knew you were going to Zach's game. So I just pulled to the side of the road and kept a lookout."
I open the door and step out to give Aaron a big hug. However dumb he was, he was still my friend.
Shelly snorts as he enters the car. "I still don't like you."
"Nice to see you too, Shelly," Aaron says.
***
For the next hour, Aaron and I catch up on life. It's nice to have my friend back, even if I have to endure Aaron's annoying comments about me enjoying the freakish power on display at the spikeball game. I'm glancing at the rear view mirror again, reading the message that always appears along the bottom:
Objects may be closer than they appear.
I think about that to myself, and something comes to me in a flash. I wonder why I hadn't put it together before.
“Augmented windows!" I yell, slapping Elliott on the knee.
"Yikes, Rose!" he yelps back. "It's a good thing it's on automatic or you could have gotten us killed."
"Sorry," I say. "But don't you get it? Jason had access to the augmented windows at the GEMO Center."
"And so he could have hacked them to display Eric approaching the window," Elliott says.
"So Dad did see him," I say. "Even though he wasn't there."
"But if Jason hacked the windows," Shelly says. "Why didn't anyone else see him?"
"The only person in the lobby was the receptionist," I say. "She may have just not noticed.”
"If only we could prove it," Elliott says.
"There must be a way," Aaron says. “Maybe if they search the database to detect some sort of break in."
My cellphone buzzes in my pocket. It's Brad.
'"You have a minute?" he asks. "This is important."
"Go ahead," I say, my hands tightening on the phone.
"They did some tests, and unfortunately, it's not looking very good for us. Your dad showed signs of being a Catalyst of course, but Eric did not. They tried everything they could, but all they could determine is that he is a Squeezer."
"They couldn't find anything?" I ask. "They need to run some more tests."
"Rose, they aren't going to."
"But they have to! Elliott and I both saw him! And it's not Dad's fault, I can prove it, you need to have them do research on the augmented windows."
"Augmented windows?"
"Yeah, at the GEMO Control Center. Jason hacked them and displayed Eric to get Dad to shoot."
"Jason? Isn't he dead."
"No, he's a Resilient."
'"Are you sure?"
"No, but it makes the most sense."
"Look Rose, your dad wanted me to give you a message."
"What's that?"
"He wants you to stop helping him. Don't do anything stupid. And if what you are saying is true and Jason is mixed up in this, I can't disagree with him."
"Somebody has to do something. What’s going to happen to Aaron?" I ask.
"You're chasing ghosts, Rose," Brad says. "You're in over your head."
I think back to the chess game. Every step
we take closer, Jason is further ahead of us. There had to be a way to outsmart him. He can't outrun us forever.
"Sorry Rose, I can't be a part of this," he says, and then hangs up.
Everyone stares back at me as I lower the phone, obviously confused by the one-sided conversation. I take a deep breath and prepare to explain, hoping somehow it will make sense.
***
Mrs. Ford greets us at her front door with a shocked expression. From the television still running in the living room, I can tell she has been watching the reports.
"I don't understand," she says. "If you saw Eric leave the murder scene, how could he not be the Catalyst?"
"That's what we're going to find out," I say, leading everyone to the back room.
I scan the room from top to bottom, searching for any clues I might have missed.
"There's nothing here, Rose," Elliott says.
"He may have left something," I say.
"What?" Elliott asks.
“I don’t know,” I say, scanning the room.
It’s difficult to find anything amidst the clutter in the room, but a strange glint catches my eye.
Reaching under the bed, I pull out a small black clump of fabric.
“What is that?” Aaron asks.
“It looks like a piece of a glove,” Shelly says, pointing at an opening.
Aaron grimaces. "That proves he was here, so what? We already know that."
As I scan the item, it's clear a circuit system runs through it. "There’s something more to this."
I pull it over my thumb, noticing something on the tip. It's a button. I push it, and my thumb glows bright blue.
Aaron jumps back. "What are you—"
The sleeve continues to glow brighter around my thumb. "I don't know, I just hit a button."
"It's charging up!" Elliott yells. "Turn it off!"
I tap the button, but it doesn't shut off. It continues to brighten, and there's a tingling sensation through my hand.
"Get down!" Elliott yells as a burst of light shoots from my thumb, directly into Elliott's chest.
Elliott crashes into the closet door and falls to the ground, his body frozen.
I yank the sleeve off my hand and rush over to his lifeless body. "ELLIOTT!"
His eyes gaze up at the ceiling, not blinking. I try to shake him awake, but he doesn't respond.
Aaron stares in disbelief. "Rose—he's—"
"He's not dead!" I yell. "He can't be, it was just an accident."
I think back to what Dad had just told me. Not to get involved. Stop being a hero. Why couldn't I have listened to him? My eyes fill up with tears until I can barely see him below me. I fall to his side and hold him close. I can't feel his breath, or a heartbeat. Turning my head back up, I gaze upon his face, still glued in a horrifically frightened expression. I lean over until it's inches away, and prepare myself to give him a kiss. Our first, and our last.
Elliott jerks up, and his head collides with mine in a painful crash. Instinctively, I yelp in pain and rub my head.
"S-S-Sorry," Elliott stammers in between breaths. "N-n-n-now we're even."
"Even?"
"I z-z-zapped you remember? But n-n-next time, don't point me towards the closet door."
He rubs his head and breaks out into a mischievous smile.
I pull Elliott in a big hug. "I thought you were dead. You were frozen on the floor."
“Nah," Elliott says. "GEMO rays can't kill me. At least, I'm pretty sure."
"How do you know?"
"Let's just say there was an incident one time in the bathroom involving a mirror."
I think about asking him for further explanation, but decide against it.
We stare at the scorched sleeve on the floor. I scan the surface, noticing the holes in the wires threaded through the material.
"What is that anyway?" Shelly asks.
"It was a GEMO ray," I say.
I pick up the sleeve and everyone takes a big step back.
"Careful with that!" Aaron yells, diving behind the bed.
"It's fine," I say, stretching the material out to reveal the frayed ends of the wires. "Blown out."
Aaron picks himself off the ground. "So Eric wasn't a Catalyst at all."
"No," Elliott says, and gives me a smirk. "It appears your professor friend was wrong."
"In this case," I say.
"We need to tell Brad," Elliott says. "This is huge. We have a murder weapon."
"Of course, it has your DNA all over it," Aaron says.
We look back at him.
Aaron shrugs. "What? It does."
"I didn't know what it was," I say.
"That's a good reason to just dive in there?" Aaron shakes his head. "You people are nuts."
Elliott puts his hand on my shoulder. "I don't think anyone can suspect you of the murders. Besides, we were at Zach's game when the first guy was murdered."
I nod. It's comforting to know I have an alibi. Although a part of me wants to kick myself for being so curious.
Shelly sits on the bed. “So, if we have the weapon, can’t we prove Eric murdered everyone?”
“We have a broken murder weapon,” I say. “Hopefully they can repair it.”
“Wait a second,” Elliott says. “Remember what they said at Grandma’s trial? About her not having any GEMO radiation?”
Immediately, I understand what Elliott is getting at. “Right, Catalysts don’t create GEMO radiation, like I didn’t. But the murderer—”
“All of the murderer’s victims contained GEMO radiation!” Elliott pumps his fist into the air. “Don’t you see? There’s no way your father could have done it.”
“It all makes sense now,” I say. “It’s only because Eric used a miniature GEMO ray that the victims had GEMO radiation.”
“So all we need to do is submit the sleeve to Brad,” Elliott says. “Then your dad will be free and clear.”
“Awesome,” Shelly says.
“We can’t,” I say.
Everyone looks back at me in shock.
“We’re ahead of Jason right now,” I say. “He doesn’t know that Aaron is on our side, and he doesn’t know we’ve discovered his weapon. But if we submit the evidence—”
“He’ll know,” Aaron says. “I’m sure he has some way of getting information about the case.”
“We can’t be sure, so it’s too risky,” I say. “We have to keep it quiet. At least for now.”
“Until when?” Shelly asks.
“Until we capture Jason,” I say.
Shelly jerks her head towards me. “Capture Jason?”
“That’s right.”
Shelly’s eyes grow wide. “You’re crazy.”
“Only a little.”
Shelly grimaces.
“Ok, a lot. But this is too good an opportunity. We will know where Jason is, Aaron can meet him, and—”
“Hey now,” Aaron says. “You can’t expect me to be the bait.”
“Join the club,” Shelly says. “I was the bait last time.”
“You?” Aaron laughs. “I don’t think I give you enough credit.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “If Aaron doesn’t meet him, Jason is just going to come after him anyway.”
Shelly glances at Aaron. “She has a point.”
“And we have Elliott,” I say. “He can take a GEMO ray.”
“So I’m becoming a human shield,” Elliott says. “Nice.”
“Only as a last resort,” I say. “After all, we’re only going to have one chance, and then Jason will figure out Elliott can survive a GEMO blast. We need Elliott to zap Jason first.”
“Zap Jason?” Shelly asks. “But how will that—”
“He’s a mutant, remember?” Aaron says. “Keep up.”
Shelly sighs. “I never was good at logic puzzles.”
“So we zap Jason,” Elliott says. “And then what?”
“Then this whole thing stops,” I say. “The panic, the Catalyst, a
ll of it. And then we show the evidence that proves my dad’s innocence.”
“It’s a great plan,” Elliott says. “Except for one thing.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“It’s insane.”
“Maybe we need to be a little insane,” I say. “We need to finally be one step ahead of Jason. Maybe that requires us doing something so crazy, so ridiculous, he’ll never see it coming. Putting our queen in danger.”
“Wait, the queen is in danger?” Shelly asks.
“It’s a chess thing,” Aaron says.
“Stop confusing me,” Shelly says. “My brain is hurting enough as it is.”
“When did Jason say he would meet you?”
“At 9 p.m.” Aaron says with a hesitant voice. “We aren’t really going to—”
I shoot Aaron back a look.
“Right,” he says. “I forgot. You always have a death wish.”
“Hopefully,” I say, “this will be the last time.”
Elliott grimaces. “Hopefully, you’re right.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The abandoned midway of Kidsville is just as seedy as I expected. A breeze rustles my hair, bringing with it the horrific echo of grinding metal from the rusty rides. Above us, a faded mural contorts the smiles of happy clowns into sinister grins.
Elliott brushes against a railing, knocking a caked layer of dust into the air.
Aaron waves the dust away from his face. “Jason used to hang out here as a kid.”
“Dad wanted it torn down,” Shelly says. “Said all that it attracted were druggies and criminals.”
“Your dad,” Aaron says, turning towards Shelly, “is probably the reason it closed down in the first place.”
“What?” Shelly asks.
“All the fines the government slapped on them for not accommodating Elevateds? No wonder they went out of business.”
“Somehow Imagination World stayed open,” Shelly says.
Aaron rolls his eyes. “When you’re backed by a multi-billion dollar corporation, it’s easier to rebuild all your rides.”
“No wonder he wanted to meet here,” I say. “This place must be packed with memories for him.”
“And anger,” Elliott says.
"Where are you supposed to meet him?" I ask.
"The carousel," Aaron says, pointing at an ornate carousel at the end of the street.
We continue to walk between the groaning carnival rides and pass a half torn down Ferris wheel.
Aaron steps ahead and then turns back, holding his arms out to stop us. "Think I should go ahead alone. Wait here."
Catalyst: (Elevated Saga Book #2) Page 17