The Veil: Corruption (HASEA CHRONICLES BOOK 2)

by Stuart Meczes

  As I drove the car around to the parking area near the back, I remembered that if I was going to be at school, I’d have to remember what lessons to go to. I couldn’t get away with wandering the halls all day. Let’s start with the date. I lifted my phone from the well underneath the cassette player and clicked to the calendar app.

  Wednesday 12th December 2012

  I threw the phone onto the seat in exasperation. It had confirmed what I already suspected. I’ve gone back. Somehow I’ve gone back in time, and everything has changed. As I switched off the ignition, I racked my brain for an answer. Maybe some creature? I couldn’t think of anything strong enough to be able to manipulate time, except maybe…

  The Sorrow.

  No, I defeated the Sorrow. It’s gone; Mikey confirmed it. There’s no way it could have done this. So it has to be something else. I froze. But how can it be dead? It’s only the 12th! The Sorrow doesn’t gain access to Earth until Rachel lets it through on Friday – the night of the school ball.

  My head felt like it was going to implode from confusion. Without speaking to those involved, trying to work things out was just spinning my wheels. I pushed the thoughts from my mind with difficulty and instead tried to think what my first lesson would be. It took me until after the final bell rang out across the grounds to remember that it was Physics. I didn’t have the instant recall that my Awakening had given me, and the discovery made me feel even more depressed and frustrated.

  As I locked my car, the sudden thought occurred to me that my teacher could still be Rachel. The traitor. I doubled back and retrieved the gun from the glove box of my car, stuffing it into my bag.

  Students clustered together, forming a human funnel that passed through the main doors and into the Hub. I bristled as people barged me from side to side in an effort to overtake. As I made my way to the science block, I passed by Grace, who was walking in the opposite direction with her troupe. Instinctively I waved at her. She gave a small wave back, but then her face broke into a confused frown, and she turned to look at me as I passed her by. Her friends immediately descended into gossip mode. Grace simply shrugged, and the group kept moving.

  She doesn’t remember me.

  A stabbing pain behind my eyes made me stop for a second and pinch the tip of my nose until it subsided. My hands were clammy.

  “Move it, loser!” a mixed-race guy with short black hair growled as he shoved me out of the way. Without thinking, I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against a locker. Pinning an arm against his throat, I glared at him. He looked at me, eyes wide in shock.

  “That wasn’t very nice, was it?” I said. “Apologise.”

  “What?”

  “How would you like it if someone did that to you?”

  “I-I…”

  “Well?”

  “I wouldn’t like it.”

  “Exactly. Looks like we have something in common then. So apologise.”

  “I…I’m sorry.”

  I nodded. “Thank you.” I released my grip and smoothed down the guy’s ruffled collar. He staggered away, giving me wary glances as he disappeared from view. Other people who had witnessed our conflict gave disbelieving looks but said nothing, moving on with the rush of the crowd. I stared down at my shaking hands.

  Guess I haven’t lost everything.

  Rachel was not teaching the science class.

  I’d stepped into the room warily, hand wrapped around the gun inside my open bag. I hadn’t been sure exactly of what I’d do if I saw her. It wasn’t like I could pull out a gun and start shooting at my teacher. That sort of thing was far too harrowing, even if my intentions were good.

  But instead of the Pixie who had systematically worked her way into all of our lives and then betrayed us all, I was met with the gnarled, bespectacled face of Dr Potts. I was shocked to see her – the last I’d remembered she had been taken ill and Rachel had come in as her replacement. I stared at her the entire walk from the door to my seat next to Elliot. When I reached it and set down my bag, he cleared his throat and pointed to my old spot on the front desk next to the antisocial Simon Proctor.

  “I think you’ll find that’s your seat, mate.”

  I paused, hand hovering over the chair. “I think I prefer it here,” I said with a shrug and sat down. There was a chorus of confused murmurs at my bold action.

  “Suit yourself,” he replied and turned away.

  I spent most of the lesson trying to piece together what I already knew whilst Dr Potts prattled on, fiddling with the frayed sleeve of one of her badly self-knitted jumpers. If I was never a Chosen in this messed up version of my life, then it makes sense that Rachel never took up the position to ‘watch’ over me. But then it was me who bought the information about the family crest to Sage Faru, which ultimately stopped her from handing us over to The Sorrow and got her killed the night of the ball. But the ball hasn’t even happened yet. So should she not still be alive?

  Then I remembered that The Sorrow was dead – there was no way Chapter Hill would be standing otherwise – so it stood to reason that the person who had allowed it through the Veil was dead too. But I clearly didn’t do it – so who? Gabriella? Delagio? ...Mikey? They were questions I couldn’t hope to answer until I spoke with my brother.

  I shifted my attention to the other thing that was bothering me – my memory. I could remember what had happened in the months after we’d won the fight against the Sorrow. The flux of new Chosen. Sophia’s catatonia after Midnight’s death. Trying to find Guardians willing to follow us through the Veil and search for my real dad. Training Danny.

  But for some reason it felt like there were things I was missing; in particular something that had happened on the night of the ball. Something happened to me after I killed the Sorrow, but what? It felt like there was a mental black spot in my brain, a part I couldn’t access. The answers seemed to be on the tip of my tongue, but never any closer. Hopefully Mikey can help me piece everything back together.

  I’d still been lost in thought when I felt something hit the back of my neck. I spun around to see TJ wearing a smug smile and looked down to see a grape-sized pebble on the floor next to my feet.

  I rolled my eyes. Brilliant.

  *

  I spent the remainder of the morning sitting in the common room, anxiously fidgeting and clockwatching. I’d texted Mikey asking him to meet me ASAP. He’d replied saying he would meet me by the canteen at half twelve.

  When it got to twenty past, I gathered up my things and hurried out of the school. I ran across the football pitch, not even stopping to worry myself that Terry and his crew might be hanging out around there. For some reason, I didn’t feel the slightest fear or anger towards them anymore. Just pity. I figured that like my instincts to protect myself, the memories of my Awakening and the bigger things happening in the world were having a residual effect on me here.

  I reached the canteen with time to spare, so I took up position on a low wall that encircled the squat building and surrounding greenery. It wasn’t long until I noticed Mikey crossing the road towards me, still carrying his bulging holdall. As he drew closer, I could see that his face was bruised, and he had a deep cut on one lip. He also had a slight limp to his walk from some kind of leg injury.

  “Jesus, Mikey, are you okay?” I asked as he reached me.

  “I’m fine,” he replied, setting his bag down next to mine by the wall. “Been doing some clean-up. There are a few groups of Rogues left. Nothing we can’t handle.”

  “So…you are definitely a Chosen then?”

  He frowned at me. “What sort of stupid question is that? Of course I’m a Chosen.”

  I felt my stomach tighten. I already knew, but somehow his confirmation hit hard.

  There was a bloated silence. He pulled out his phone and wagged it at me. “So, I got this urgent text message from you. I’m here. Spill it.”

  I shook my head. “Right, sorry.” I jumped off the wall. “Listen, something weird is happen
ing.”

  He sighed. “Alex, something weird is always happening with you.”

  “Harsh.”

  “Yeah I know, sorry. Look I’m just tired and beat up. Tell me what’s up.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to think of how to begin. “Something is very wrong here. Things have changed. I-I have memories of everything that has happened in the weeks leading up until right now and for months afterwards. But they are different. None of the things I remember ever happened.”

  “You’ve lost me.”

  I pinched the sides of my nose. “I know, I’m sorry. This is really difficult to explain…” I was about to carry on when I noticed Gabriella waving and crossing the road. My breath snagged in my chest. It felt so good to see her again. As if just her presence could make everything go away.

  I stood silently watching her approach. She had the beginnings of a black eye and a painful-looking gash on her forehead but otherwise looked unharmed. None of it detracted from her beauty. Her raven hair hung gracefully over one shoulder of her leather jacket, and her eyes seemed to smile just as much as her mouth.

  “Gabriella’s here,” I said.

  “I know. I asked her to come meet me here.”

  “Meet…you?”

  “Hi guys,” Gabriella beamed as she reached us. “Everything alright?”

  I motioned to walk towards her, but Mikey cut in front of me. “All good, hun. Alex is just telling me some pretty confusing story.”

  Hun…what?

  I watched in horror as he encircled his arm around her waist and drew her close. She smiled.

  And then they kissed.

  My stomach lurched like someone had a hook in my intestines. A sound of pure rage escaped my throat. I wrenched them apart and smashed my fist into Mikey’s face. He took a step backwards, too stunned for words, hand clutching the spot where I’d struck him, although I knew it wouldn’t have hurt at all. I was on him then, pummelling him with my fists, shouting in a voice I barely recognised as my own.

  “How could you? How could you?” I repeated over and over.

  “Stop it!” yelled Gabriella. She prised me off Mikey and pushed me away. I staggered a few feet away and came straight back for another go. He stepped out the way of my flailing arms and caught me in a crushing grip. I was as likely to escape as a new-born puppy, so I let myself go limp, my body wracked with anger and the heartache of betrayal.

  “What in the hell are you doing?!” he growled in my ear. “I should give you a damn good slap for that.”

  “She’s my soulmate,” I whispered as the tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I looked up at Gabriella, who was staring at me with a mixture of shock and concern. “You’re my soulmate.”

  The look on her face told me everything I needed to know. She’s not my soulmate any more. She’s his. Something inside of me fell apart. Up to this point I’d been somehow able to hold it all together. But this hurt too much to bear.

  “Let me go,” I croaked.

  “Hell no, you need to explain what that was all about,” growled Mikey.

  “Please. Please just let me go.”

  “Mikey, let go of him,” ordered Gabriella.

  “But Ella…”

  Ella. He calls her Ella.

  “Can’t you see your brother is upset? Let him go!”

  He released me, and I collapsed to the ground, body heaving as I tried and failed to catch my breath. Bile rose into my throat. Some of the tears that had been forming spilled over and slipped down my cheeks. I felt a hand on my back and knew it was Gabriella’s. But it felt different. There were no charges popping under my skin. No sensations of comfort. We were no longer meant for each other.

  “Alexander,” she soothed. I could hear pity in her voice. Pity.

  No. Anything but this.

  I jumped up and sprinted away as fast as I could – praying they wouldn’t follow. I heard them both call after me, but neither gave chase. I stumbled across the road and headed aimlessly down the street, barely able to see through the tears. Tears of absolute and inconsolable misery.

  35

  Alex

  I wandered the streets for hours in a daze, with no clue of where I was heading. A single sickening thought kept replaying in my mind over and over like a scratched disc.

  I lost her.

  By the time I made it home, the winter sun had been swallowed by the insidious darkness of the approaching evening. Through a haze, I fumbled about for the door key in my back pocket and shuffled into the house. The scent of dinner cooking on the stove had escaped into the hallway; the thought of eating turned my stomach.

  I didn’t announce my arrival. Instead, I quietly closed the door and trudged upstairs before crawling into my bed. A foul headache was tightening itself across my forehead like an elastic band. I felt sick to the core.

  This is how it is supposed to be. You’re a loser.

  My disproving internal voice was back in full force. I tried to ignore it, but the thoughts kept traveling back to the moment my half-brother and Gabriella – my Ella – had kissed. In front of me. Like it was nothing. A knife twisted deep into my stomach.

  You never deserved her. You’re a nobody.

  Shut up. Just shut up.

  Grabbing the covers, I wrapped them around me and stared blankly at the ceiling. The action seemed to dislodge something in my mind and in a sudden flash I remembered lying this way in the other timeline. Being upset about something just like now. But it was something I had done. But what? As soon as the image came, it was snatched away as if by an invisible hand.

  I blinked in confusion. There was only a hole where the memory had been, another black spot. I tried to remember what it was, to rack my brains for the answer, but another image of Mikey and Gabriella embracing filled my head instead. I let out a low moan of anguish. I don’t care about remembering. I don’t care about anything anymore.

  I stopped trying to think and closed my eyes.

  *

  “Alex?”

  The voice was soft. Uncertain.

  As I was bought back to consciousness, the memory of where I was and what had happened came back to me in a flood of unbearable emotions. I curled up into a foetal position, pulling the blanket over my head.

  “Alex.” The voice was louder this time, more forceful. “Alex, it’s Mikey. Get up, bro, we need to talk.” I felt a hand gently shake my shoulder, and I shied away from it.

  His hand holds Gabriella’s. Probably fits perfectly in the small of her back as he kisses her, said the mocking voice in my head. I groaned and drew further into myself.

  “Alex, get up.”

  I never want to come out. I never want to see another day. How can I live without her? Even if what I remember are false memories, they feel real. How can I forget all that and carry on as if I never felt anything?

  I can’t.

  “Please just go away,” I whispered from the darkness under the covers.

  “Stop hiding!” barked Mikey. He whipped the covers off me like a showman performing the table trick. Clicking on the lamp, he sat down on the bare bed, lowering the cadence of his voice. “I’m sorry. Please, just get up. We really need to sort this out.”

  My only response was to turn away from him, pressing my face into my arms.

  He tapped a finger on the bedside table. When he spoke, he did so carefully, as if checking each word before releasing it. “Look, I know that I’m the last person you want to see right now. The problem is I can’t understand why. You have always been there for me in the past. You’ve always had my back, until now. Alex, you have to tell me what is going on. I need to know why you’re acting this way.”

  Trying to form words hurt. Trying to do anything hurt.

  I stayed silent.

  “Alex, please talk to me.”

  I had nothing to say. Nothing mattered anymore.

  After a long silence, Mikey sighed and stood up. The door creaked as he closed it and left me in darkness.


  *

  I didn’t move from my bed for what felt like days. The headache had evolved into a full-grown migraine. Streaks of white light flashed across my eyes when I opened them for too long, and the sickness in my stomach had progressed to include a throbbing ache and spasms.

  Mum had come to check on me a few times, concerned I might be suffering from some kind of fever. She tried to convince me to go to the doctors, but I refused point blank. Instead, I was bombarded with all manner of get-well items. Water, paracetamol, vitamins, diuretics, bowls of soup, and an array of magazines all piled up on the bedside table.

  They remained untouched.

  I kept shivering, but my body alternated between being too hot and too cold. A fine sheen of sweat covered my skin at all times. No matter how many times I tried to wipe it away, my body just produced more. So I stopped trying.

  On several occasions, Mikey tried to talk to me, but I kept turning away or closing my eyes and ignoring him. He seemed hurt, but I didn’t care. He’s hurt me more than he will ever know.

  I couldn’t escape my misery while awake, and sleep offered no salvation – it was filled with frightening snapshots of me trapped in complete darkness whilst Mikey and Gabriella laughed or kissed passionately on the outskirts.

  I grew weaker.

  At some point the fever grew to the point where I bordered on delirium. I lay on the bed, drifting in and out of consciousness. It became difficult to process what was real and what was a dream. Images of Gabriella and Mikey standing in shadows, wearing faces that were too angled and eyes that burned, morphed with Mum feeding me water and taking my temperature. All the while my head pounded as if it were being crushed by an invisible force. I had never felt this ill before. Nothing had ever affected my body with such power and intensity. Except—

  The thought struck me like a bullet.

  The closest thing I have ever felt to this was when I had my Awakening.