by Somers, Jill
“Well, first, my old roommate and I talked to Drax, you know, at the front desk. We both wanted to get switched. But he said he had to take it to Reese Collins, and then Reese took it to Savannah, and while I was waiting for all that to happen, I asked Dash for help, and then I got this letter, and… Here.” She pulled out the letter, handing it to Quinn.
I have spoken to your power stabilization advisor, Miss Donohue. She has taken note of your struggles with your abilities and assures me that she is doing everything in her power to help you cope. It has also come to my attention that you have contacted Dash Collins regarding one-on-one training. This is strictly prohibited. In the future, any questions of a similar nature should be taken up with me initially.
No signature. No need. It was more than clear who this letter was from.
“But at least they got me a new roommate,” Rory said dully.
“Wow,” Quinn said, baffled. “When I talked to Dash, it was the same thing… like Savannah had some kind of problem with him working with anyone outside of the YA. I can’t see why that would even matter.”
“Me neither.”
They had reached the practice fields, and to Quinn’s relief, they were alone. She was starting to feel like she might be taking some sort of risk, working with Rory.
Not that she really cared.
“So, this power tech teacher that you have,” Quinn said. “She’s no good?”
“She’s awful. All she does is talk to me about how to suppress my abilities—how to basically act like I don’t have them at all. It doesn’t help.”
Of course it didn’t, Quinn thought. It was like Dash said—the best technique was simply using abilities in a safe environment.
“Okay,” Quinn said, crossing her arms. “Well, I guess there’s no easy way to start, is there? Why don’t you just… show me what you’ve got? Give me a blast of something.”
“Just… a blast of something?”
“Yeah. What’s the worst that can happen? You said it doesn’t hurt you. Electricity is one of my go-to’s, so it shouldn’t hurt me. And no one else is around for, like, a mile.”
Rory glanced around, considering. She looked back over at Quinn, still skeptical. “Take a few steps back, would you? I don’t want to hurt you.”
Quinn took a few steps back just to appease the girl. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Rory closed her eyes, lifted her arms, and struck.
The blast of electricity was so big and so strong, it brought Quinn to her knees. Deep-rooted, nerve-grappling shocks rippled through her so intensely, she gasped out loud.
And then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over. And Quinn felt incredible.
“Wow,” she said, rising shakily. She looked down at her hands. Steam—or was it smoke?—was emitting from her. It was almost like Rory’s electricity had juiced her up.
“Are you okay?” Rory asked, eyes wide and afraid, running over to Quinn.
“Yeah,” Quinn said, touching the skin of her arm and wincing slightly as it sizzled. But she was unscathed. “Yeah, actually, I feel amazing. That was incredible, Rory.”
Rory blushed. “Thanks. I’ve never really let myself go like that before.”
“Why don’t we try something a little different? This time, try to focus a little more. Rather than just letting it rip, think about a specific spot you want to shock—maybe that pole over there.” She pointed to a tall, metal pole about a hundred feet from them.
But she lowered her hand when she saw someone running over to them: Ridley.
“Rory!” he shouted, chest heaving, as if he had sprinted halfway across the island to them. “Quinn! Are you guys okay?”
“Yeah,” Quinn said, laughing slightly. “Relax, Ridley. We’re just goofing off.”
Ridley’s eyes were serious—too serious. “Quinn,” he said, his voice urgent. “I know you’re new here, but you don’t understand. This is the practice field. You might as well be holding up a giant sign asking Savannah to notice you.”
Quinn had a feeling she knew what Ridley’s point was, but she still didn’t understand what Savannah’s problem was. “So what? Last I checked, we’re still allowed to use our abilities, aren’t we?”
“It’s not about using your abilities. It’s about Rory’s situation. Savannah knows she’s been looking for a teacher, Quinn. And now she starts making giant electric blasts with you? After you’ve both already been caught skipping class? It’s trouble. Trouble you don’t want to get yourself into.”
Quinn didn’t like this side of Ridley, nor this side of the island’s politics. She knew he was right—based on the note Rory had shown her, and everything Dash had said, she should have been more careful. But why did Ridley have to get involved? “If Savannah’s the one who cares so much,” she said, “why are you the one stopping us?”
“For your own sake. Savannah didn’t see you, but that’s only by sheer luck. If she had, this would be a very different conversation. Look, Quinn, I understand what you’re doing. I know Rory’s been having a hard time. I applaud your efforts to help her. But you’re going to have to go much, much deeper into the forest.”
Quinn held his gaze, the small degree of trust she allowed herself to have for him returning. She believed him. But she still didn’t really understand.
“Okay,” she said. “Fine. But I still don’t get it. What does she think we’re going to do? Have some sort of uprising? Overthrow Queen Savannah? Couldn’t the YA do that, with how advanced we are? We wouldn’t even need the kids’ help.”
“Quinn,” Ridley said, sounding exhausted, “there are things you don’t know yet. Things you will understand, in time. And then there are things none of us understand—maybe not even Savannah herself. For now, just know to be careful. Much more careful than you were just now.”
Why did everyone keep saying that? First Dash, now Ridley? If there were so many things about the island she didn’t know, why didn’t someone just tell her? When was she going to find out the truth?
And, most importantly—how?
• • •
Quinn left Rory with a small homework assignment: creating small sparks using only snaps of her fingers whenever she was out and about. She decided the girl’s best bet would be to frequently use her abilities in small bursts—the opposite of what her power tech instructor had told her.
How were there so many idiots on the island, she couldn’t help but wonder? And so many idiotic rules? She supposed she was lucky she didn’t have to interact with more of them.
Quinn started to make her way to the café for breakfast, but rerouted when she saw a text from Haley: Banner time!
Quinn had never been much of a party planner—kegs and handles were about all she considered necessities—but she felt like she owed it to Drax to help make his celebration all he could hope for. Besides, she was still getting back into Haley’s good graces; if not for him, then for her.
She found Haley stretched out on her stomach on the floor of their bedroom, already well into the We’re Glad You’re Alive and Sorry We Almost Killed You banner they had discussed. Laughing out loud, Quinn popped a CD into the stereo, knelt down next to her friend, and helped.
Quinn and Haley worked on the banner for at least an hour before Pence and Charlie knocked on the door, poking their heads in.
“Hey,” Pence greeted. “We heard the jams and thought you might want company. Have I mentioned how glad I am you two are back to normal?”
“We are, too,” Haley said cheerfully. “Please join us! We’re working on some decorations for Drax’s party. Do you think you could let us into the tower early, Charlie? Get some of this set up?”
“Yeah,” Charlie said. “Actually, we were on our way there to start working on it. What do you say we get the whole YA together? Have a bonding session for the first time in weeks?”
“I’m sure it’ll thrill Drax that his near-death experience brought us closer together,” Pence joked.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Haley said, turning to Quinn. “You down?”
Quinn could think of a million things she would rather do than group bonding with a bunch of teenagers, but she knew better than to say no. She liked the three of them, and she liked Drax. The rest, she could tolerate.
So she agreed, and they all made their way to the penthouse.
Angel was the first to arrive. Despite Quinn’s initial dislike for Angel, she had to admit, the winged girl seemed to care very deeply for Drax. The two had undoubtedly bonded heavily over being the only two real monsters of the group.
After Angel came Izzo, the girl who could turn into animals. She arrived in human form, to Quinn’s disappointment, and didn’t seem likely to be shape-shifting any time soon.
Trent was next, arriving in better spirits than the last time Quinn had seen him. He even sent her one of his trademark, cocky grins, which she took to mean everything was back to normal between the two of them.
Tommy was the last member to come, and he didn’t seem particularly interested in being there. Quinn was disappointed for both Haley’s sake and her own that he wasn’t more talkative; she found his invisibility ability fascinating. She began to suspect that he and Izzo were outsiders to the entire group, not just to her.
Shade didn’t come, which wasn’t a surprise to anyone. Quinn had mostly forgiven him for the Kurt illusion once Haley explained to her that the specifics were beyond his control, but she certainly hadn’t bonded with him since. In fact, she hadn’t seen him bond with a single other person in all of her time at Siloh. A part of her almost felt bad for him.
“So,” Haley said, “tomorrow. What sorts of things should we set up? Card games? Drinking games? Board games?”
“Drax likes board games,” Angel offered. “Everything from Monopoly to Twister.”
Quinn couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “If Drax spends this party playing Monopoly, we should all be ashamed.”
Angel glared at her. “This isn’t your party. It’s his. Besides, what do you care what activities we do? We all know you’ll be on the roof with Dash all night, anyway.”
Quinn considered firing back, but she decided against it. Angel’s resentment toward Quinn’s relationship with Dash was news to her, but it made sense. There had to be some reason Angel had disliked her all this time. If she wasn’t mistaken, there was jealousy written all over that comment.
Trent was the one to confirm her suspicions. “Jesus, Ange. Cool it, would you? Just because you can’t have Captain Fireplace Eyes doesn’t mean no one can.”
Quinn certainly didn’t need Trent of all people defending her honor, but she decided not to complain under the circumstances.
“He’s our teacher,” Angel snarled at Trent. “Not all of us would go there.”
Quinn ignored her, confident that any response would be giving her what she wanted. Luckily, Haley chimed in before it got worse.
“Look, this kind of bickering—this kind of distance between us—it’s exactly what Drax won’t want tomorrow night. I know Shade’s not here, but every single other member of the YA made it today. For Drax. That means something to me. Doesn’t it mean something to you guys?”
Everyone remained silent, but no one dissented. If anything, they all looked a little guilty.
“I’ve got an idea,” Charlie offered. “We all know Drax likes games, right? We just can’t agree on one. Let’s create a new one—one we all like.”
Pence nodded eagerly. “It’s got to be something that goes along with the flavors of drinking and socializing without actually being a drinking game. So that everyone can participate.”
“Drax is all about learning people’s secrets,” Angel said, warming up to the idea. “Something about life stories would be good.”
Quinn’s mind flashed to the game of I Never she had played with Dash. She decided not to mention it. She had no intention of getting that personal with anyone in the room, with the exception of possibly Haley.
“How about,” she offered, brainstorming, “strip story? The group requests a specific story they want from you. If you refuse to tell it truthfully, you remove an article of clothing.”
Haley gave her a sarcastic look. “Quinn.”
“What? It doesn’t force people to drink.”
“No,” said Izzo, piping up for the first time, “just to remove their own clothing.”
“Or to tell the truth,” said Tommy. “I don’t hate that idea.”
Quinn smirked, pleased not only that he agreed with her, but also that he was finally talking.
“Strip story,” Angel said, shaking her head. “Frankly, I hate it. But it does seem right up Drax’s alley. I think he’ll like it.”
Quinn did, too.
She made a mental note to be nowhere near that game when it was played.
• • •
With the game sorted out, the conversation dwindled. But as Quinn continued to decorate, glancing around at the people around her, she decided she wanted to get to know them better. Sure, she knew Pence, Trent, Drax, Haley, and Charlie well enough. But Angel? All Quinn knew about Angel was that she hated Quinn. And Tommy and Izzo? Pence had mentioned their parents being afraid of them, but she didn’t know the details.
She snuck behind the bar, grabbed some beers, and decided to make things more interesting.
“I have to say,” she said to Tommy, who was blowing up balloons next to Izzo, “I’m surprised I had you beat on last person to be captured by the DCA. I mean… if they can’t see you, they can’t catch you, right?”
She hadn’t intended to upset him, though she supposed his upset reaction made sense. “You don’t know the first thing about it,” he snapped.
“I know,” she said, taking a sip of her beer. “That’s why I’m asking.”
“Our parents turned us in,” Izzo told her from her other side, taking a sip of her beer and wincing at the taste. “Waited ’til we were both asleep. Told them to be quiet so we wouldn’t hear them.”
“But you,” Quinn said, pushing despite sensing that she was irritating both of them. “Couldn’t you just change into something small and slip out of the cuffs?”
“They sedated us both before we had the chance to act. I’m sure they sedated you, too—or had you already forgotten?”
Her capture had been more complicated than her simply being sedated; still, Izzo was right: once she was sedated, there was no using her abilities.
“You’re right,” she finally said. “I understand. Sorry for pressing. I didn’t realize you two knew each other, back in the real world.”
“We were neighborhood friends,” Izzo told her shyly. “Our parents were close…”
“Encouraged each other to turn us in,” Tommy added grimly. “Told themselves it was to keep our other siblings safe. We were both from big families. Got cut loose without a second thought.”
Quinn doubted that, but she could imagine how much it must have hurt, all the same. She could sense from both of them how fresh the betrayal was in their minds.
“The whole point of this game was to hear people’s stories at the party,” Angel pointed out, “in exchange for your own. Were you planning on telling them anything about yourself, or are you only saving that for Dash?”
Two comments in one night? Trent had certainly been onto something, Quinn mused.
But Trent wasn’t within earshot, and Tommy and Izzo weren’t about to jump to her defense after her tactless questioning about their own lives. She decided to breach the subject herself. “Angel, if something happened between you and Dash once, or if you have any sort of feelings for him—”
“I already said I wouldn’t go there with a teacher. I’m frankly disgusted that he would go there with a student.”
Tommy and Izzo took their leave at that point, and Quinn couldn’t blame them. Besides, maybe now that it was just the two of them in, she could actually get to the bottom of the girl’s hatred for her.
�
�Nobody’s ‘gone’ anywhere,” she told Angel. “We just get along, is all.”
“‘Get along?’ I get along with Drax. He plays for the other team, of course, so that’s about all we do. You get along with Trent. But you and Dash…” Angel shook her head. “I see the way you look at each other. And it’s fine, Quinn. It is. I just… I’ve known girls like you before. And I’ve known guys like him. He seems dark, he seems complicated. But he’s a good person, deep down. Are you?”
It made sense now, Quinn realized, staring into Angel’s hauntingly light eyes. Angel had probably been a heartbreaker herself once. Beautiful, certainly; she still was, in her way. Then she’d become a monster and had probably been taken quickly to the island, where Dash would have helped her for years and years before Quinn arrived. If what he had told Quinn was true about only having ever loved one girl, Charlotte, it meant he had never loved Angel back. But it made sense that she would still feel protective of him.
“I’m not,” Quinn finally said, holding Angel’s gaze. “I try to be, when it suits me. But no, Angel. I’ve done bad things. I keep doing them. And you’re probably right. Dash deserves better.”
Angel nodded, gaze remaining cold, hard. “Don’t forget it.” And she walked away.
Quinn thought about Angel’s words as she finished her beer and said goodbye to the rest of the group. Somehow, despite her hostility, Quinn was starting to admire Angel, whose protectiveness towards Dash was no different than her protectiveness towards Drax. She might not have as many friends as Quinn on the island, but she cared for them much more deeply than Quinn was able to let herself.
She headed back to the room with Haley, chatting amiably with her for a bit before stepping into the shower. Standing beneath the comforting blanket of steaming water, all she really wanted to do was curl up and go to bed.
But she had a party to get to.
8. GAMES
Following the party planning meet-up, the YA hallway of the dormitory had transformed into a completely different place. As all of the teenagers got ready for the party, a strange phenomenon occurred: all of them left their doors open. All of them blasted music. All of them went from room to room, chatting, even pre-gaming for the event with each other.