The necessity was clear. He needed to be at the bonfire. He would do whatever was necessary to get permission from Dr. Terzini to attend.
Composing himself, Gabriel exited his SUV and the garage before walking toward the underground bomb shelter.
He moved resolutely to an unremarkable patch of grass among the rest of the sprawling, well-manicured lawn. Then, using his foot, he lifted a rectangular area of sod to reveal a steel door laying flush against the earth. Using a key from his key ring, Gabriel unlocked the door. With a soft whoosh, the lock released.
Prior to their relocation, Terzini had replaced a rickety wooden door with a vault door that opened silently. The original shelter was gutted and refurbished. Thick concrete walls lined the expansive, updated refuge. The ceilings were seven feet tall and the entire facility measured approximately thirty-six-hundred square feet. The entire space rivaled any fully operational, state-of-the-art laboratory. Any university in the country would have salivated at the chance to have one like it. But this laboratory was not up for auction. It belonged to his maker, Dr. Franklin Terzini.
Gabriel spotted Dr. Terzini hunched in front of a microscope in the far corner of the room.
Terzini, was a smallish man. His face was rumpled and perpetually frowning, creased and lined from countless hours spent squinting into various magnification instruments. Atop his puckered face sat a mop of meticulously coiffed, ink-black hair. The harshness of the concentrated darkness perched on his crown offered a strong contrast to his pasty, ashen skin. Small, sunken eyes the color of coal resided behind wire-rimmed glasses balanced on his long, narrow nose.
“Dr. Terzini?”
Without looking away from his project, Dr. Terzini responded icily. “Hello, Gabriel,” he said. “Did school provide sufficient academic stimulation?”
“Yes sir.”
“That’s hard to imagine, considering the sad state of the American educational system. But if you say so.”
“Sir, there is an event scheduled on campus this evening. I believe it will enhance my understanding of adolescent functioning, that attendance would benefit your mission.”
“What is this event, Gabriel?”
“It is a bonfire.”
Dr. Terzini looked up from his magnification apparatus. “A bonfire?” he asked disdainfully. “What skills could you possibly acquire from congregating around and staring at burning rubbish?”
“Sir, the students attend. They gather and interact socially. It could yield invaluable information.”
“Invaluable information,” Terzini taunted.
“Yes sir.”
“The invaluable information you have acquired has been provided by me,” Terzini began. “You possess superior DNA and have received superior schooling designed to augment your worthier genes. You are to mimic their behavior only when necessary, to mirror them to keep attention off us. Do not forget that, Gabriel.”
“Yes sir,” Gabriel said evenly, but struggled to remain poised. He continued, “It is my thinking that I will be provided with a better vantage point to observe the students when they are in a relaxed, social setting as opposed to an academic environment. I can hone my skills and pick up on subtleties without drawing attention to myself. A less structured situation, such as this bonfire, will provide me with a unique learning opportunity.”
“I will not grant you permission to waste our time. Your observations will be made at school as per my instructions,” his maker stated impassively.
“But sir, this could be a very useful opportunity for me to,” he began but was interrupted.
“Are my words somehow lacking clarity, Gabriel?” Dr. Terzini enunciated each word with emphasis.
“Sir, I just thought it could be beneficial,” he tried again and was cut off a second time.
Dr. Terzini’s frustration had mounted noticeably when he interrupted Gabriel this time. His small clenched fists rapped the desk to punctuate each word as he spoke. No longer bearing the aloof demeanor he possessed earlier, Terzini spat, “You are my creation! You will be where I tell you to be! You will not go to this or any other extracurricular activities of any sort! I forbid you.”
“Sir, I’m,” Gabriel attempted.
Regaining his composure, Dr. Terzini interrupted him a final time and ended further discussion by coolly stating, “We will not speak further about this matter.”
Gabriel stood in silence as Terzini turned his back and resumed his experimentation. Dr. Terzini had forbid him from going to the bonfire.
He had never disobeyed his maker’s orders. Such an idea had never occurred to him. Now, however, he contemplated leaving despite the instructions given to him.
Dr. Franklin Terzini did not live in the old Victorian with Gabriel. Instead, he lived in his underground lab. Gabriel could easily leave the grounds and go to the bonfire without Terzini ever knowing.
Gabriel grappled with the idea of disobedience. He considered what punishment would be issued for such an infraction. Insubordination was unfamiliar, dangerous. He knew of the wrath handed down to those who crossed his maker. He was confronted with a choice: follow his newfound feelings, or comply with his maker’s orders.
After leaving the underground laboratory, Gabriel replaced the rectangular patch of grass to its previous resting place and entered the main house. Uninterested in eating dinner, he retired to his room to think. Everything he was experiencing was strange and perplexing. The order of life as he’d known it no longer existed. His head swam with confusion. Disobeying Terzini was unheard of. He wondered whether he was capable of such a deed.
Yet in his head, Melissa’s face remained as fixed as the constellations adorning the night sky. She would need him, of that he was certain. Kevin Anderson had plans that did not coincide with Melissa’s. And Kevin did not seem as if he was used to hearing the word “no” very often. Rejection from Melissa could catapult him into a tailspin. Whatever the circumstances, Gabriel felt the need to protect her.
Hours passed as Gabriel contended with disobeying Dr. Terzini.
As time passed, the answer became clear. He would go to her.
Compelled by a certainty he had never felt before, Gabriel knew what he must do.
Chapter 11
Melissa walked back and forth about her bedroom anxiously. The bonfire was less than an hour away. She was looking forward to seeing Gabriel there, couldn’t wait, in fact. Anticipation had kept her daydreaming about him during many of her classes. She’d imagined him with her at the bonfire, focusing all of his attention on her, holding her hand, kissing her. She’d wondered often that day what his lips would feel like against hers, how they would taste, and wondered still. She wanted to believe that he might actually be interested in her, that what her friends had said was true. But inevitably, self-doubt crept in. She worried she was getting her hopes up for nothing. And then there was Kevin. Kevin presented a possible problem for her evening with Gabriel. She had promised him some of her time after the bonfire. But she knew that a lot of drinking took place both before and after it. Kevin was belligerent in general. Popularity and privilege had fostered it. But when he drank, his personality worsened. If she were to snub him in favor of Gabriel, she worried how aggressive his response would be. Especially since Kevin was much bigger than Gabriel. If he started a fight with Gabriel, she would never forgive herself. She started to think that going wasn’t such a good idea. She crossed her room to her phone and was about to call Daniella and cancel when the doorbell startled her. She glanced at her alarm clock and realized that it was likely Daniella at her door, that she’d spent longer than she’d thought worrying and that canceling was no longer an option.
She left her room and dashed down the steep staircase. She opened the door and saw that Daniella waited beyond it.
“Hey Daniella,” she said. “You look great!”
And her friend did look great. Wearing her favorite red sweater and impeccably tailored jeans, Daniella was radiant. She smiled brightly at the com
pliment.
“Thanks!” Daneilla said cheerfully. “I’m so excited about tonight! But you, you must be freaking out! What are you going to wear?”
“I have no idea, which is not exactly helping with the freaking out as you can imagine. I couldn’t eat. I’m starving, but the thought of eating makes me nauseous. Ugh! I’m a mess!”
“Well, that’s why I’m here, and Alex. By the way, where is Alex?”
“Who knows? You know her. She’s always late. She’ll be here.”
“We’re here to help was my point, but since there is no we, just me, then I’m here to help,” Daniella said and she followed Melissa upstairs. “I hear the band is supposed to be good this year.”
“Yeah, I heard that, too. I’m really excited.”
“You should be! I know I’d be. Just picture it: you, Gabriel, the romantic lighting of the bonfire. It’s perfect!”
“I’d love to believe that. In fact, it’s all I imagined all day. But the reality is, he’ll probably show up, say hi to me and bail.”
“What? Why would you say that?” Daniella asked with a shocked expression.
“Come on, really? I mean, you have eyes don’t you? Look at him and look at me. We don’t exactly match up, you know?”
“No. I don’t know. Look Melissa, you’re beautiful. Everyone sees it but you. And he likes you! If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have asked you to the bonfire in the first place, right?”
“I don’t know,” she hesitated.
“Well I do!” Daniella said sharply. “So stop it with the ‘he’s too good looking’ crap, got it?”
“Whoa, calm down there Daniella. Crap? Really? That’s some tough talk there,” Melissa joked.
“What can I say? I’m not exactly Alex in the swear department!”
“No, you’re not. And I’m glad,” Melissa said and the doorbell rang again. “Speak of the devil. Let me go get the door.”
Melissa went back downstairs and opened the front door. Alexandra stood, framed by the doorway, and looked like a model that had fallen from the pages of a magazine and onto her doorstep. Clad from head to toe in black form-fitting clothes, she looked stunning.
“Wow Alex. You look amazing,” Melissa said.
“Thanks, but can I use your bathroom. I have to take a mean dump,” Alexandra announced.
And with those words, the spell was broken.
“Sure. Umm, go right upstairs,” Melissa muttered.
“Great. I hope you have matches in there.”
Alexandra climbed the staircase slightly hunched and clutching her stomach.
From Melissa’s bedroom, Daniella called out to Alexandra, “Hello to you, too, Alex,” just as the bathroom door slammed shut.
“Nature is calling pretty loudly. My guess is she had Mexican fast food after school again,” Melissa offered.
“God help me, she’s sleeping at my house tonight,” Daniella fretted aloud.
Melissa laughed so hard her eyes began to tear.
After several flushes, Alexandra emerged from the upstairs bathroom looking relieved.
“Oh my Lord, if I ever say I’m getting drive-thru Mexican food again, shoot me!” she proclaimed.
Pinching her nose between her thumb and index finger, Daniella said, “You may want to go light another match or something.”
“Shut up, bitch,” Alexandra answered playfully and plopped down onto Melissa’s lavender-swathed bed.
“So we’re here to help. Put us to work,” Daniella said.
“I guess I need an outfit first,” Melissa began.
“I’ll cover that,” Alexandra interrupted. “Just pick something tight, something that hugs your curves.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You actually have curves,” Melissa replied and looked down at her small chest.
“Well, then your ass, you have an ass, so play it up!”
“Again, not much there either.”
“What do you want me to tell you? You’re a boy with no curves to play up?”
“Why are you being like that?” Daniella asked. “You know she’s nervous and not in the mood for you brand of, I don’t even know what you call it, humor?”
“Don’t lecture me! I’m trying to loosen her up! She knows she’s not a boy and what she lacks in boobs she makes up for in other ways. She has a small ass, but it’s a great ass, am I right?”
“God Alex!”
“What? Her boobs are fine too. Guys just need a little something to grab hold of. She’s fine.”
Melissa stepped into her closet and considered shutting the door to muffle the sound of her friends bickering. She did not. Instead, she called out to them, “Please stop discussing my boobs and my butt!” They both apologized like scolded children and turned their conversation to the band playing at the bonfire. With more gentle talk at hand, Melissa came out of her closet and glimpsed her reflection in the mirror. As it turned out, nothing Alexandra had said was untrue. At five-foot-five inches tall and one hundred pounds, Melissa was by no means curvy. She was the opposite of curvy really. Her arms and legs were long and thin. Her hips were slim but her waist was slimmer. She did have a figure, just a slight one. Many cautioned her to enjoy her stick-thin body as they called it, that it was a genetic gift. But Melissa sometimes wished to be fuller-figured, particularly on nights like this one. Being around Alexandra did not help matters either. Although she never felt jealous of her amply endowed friend, it was hard not to notice the attention she commanded from men of every age. Her voluptuousness had universal appeal. And while Melissa did not categorize herself as ugly by any means, she merely yearned at times to fill her clothes out a bit more. She returned to her closet and picked an outfit that suited her small shape, one she felt comfortable and confident in then looked in the mirror again.
Her blue, long-sleeved T-shirt clung to what little curves she had. Rather than focusing on what she lacked, however, she chose to focus on her attributes, how the blue of her top reflected in her eyes giving them a teal hue, how her long hair cooperated fully, and fell in golden-brown waves down her back. She was not entirely displeased with her reflection and began to feel slightly less nervous. She even began to feel buoyed by possibility, by hope.
She strode away from the mirror to her bureau and selected a cosmetic in a long slender tube. She opened it and quickly applied a coat of the blush-colored gloss to her lips before spritzing herself with her favorite body mist.
“Yeah baby! Shake that ass!” Alexandra said and sat up and slapped Melissa on her backside. “Look Daniella, she’s rocking her good ass jeans.”
“And she should. Tonight is a special night. She’s going to get rid of Kevin and reel in Gabriel,” Daniella added.
“I was just starting to calm down a bit, but thanks for reminding me about the whole Kevin thing,” Melissa said sarcastically.
“Oh God! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it,” Daniella apologized. “I just wanted to join in, and the whole Gabriel thing is so exciting. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. The Kevin thing is my fault. I should have just told him no in the first place, but I don’t know what happened. I froze I guess. I didn’t think for a second that Gabriel was into me; I’d just met him. And Kevin did the whole persistent thing,” Melissa agonized and raked a hand through her hair.
“You don’t have to explain. We get it,” Alexandra said. “Kevin is a dick and doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“Uh, yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”
“And you thought Gabriel would never be into you because you’re an idiot,” she continued.
“Wow, Alex. That was a fine forensic analysis. Really,” Daniella joked.
“A what?” Alexandra asked confusedly.
“Never mind,” Daniella replied. “We’ve got to go. Are you guys ready?”
“We are. Are you?” Alexandra asked.
“I hope so,” Melissa said and shut the light and door to her room.
She wa
lked down the steps with her friends behind her at stopped at the door to say good-bye to her father.
Daniella was the designated driver and helmed her peppy, silver Toyota Prius. Their drive was short and energized by upbeat music and lively chatter. She had almost relaxed completely when they turned in to the driveway of Harbingers High School. As they navigated the paved path and approached the rear parking lot, the smell of burning timber infused the crisp autumn air, and her stomach began to quaver.
The bonfire, responsible for the aromatic scent, was an annual homecoming tradition at their high school, and tonight, would be the backdrop for what she hoped would be a romantic evening with Gabriel. Daniella parked and they all walked toward the back of the school.
In a grassy clearing between two separate wings of the school that met and formed an L shape, wooden pallets had been gathered and piled high, then ignited. Off to the left of the blaze, Sorrowful Rejects, a local band comprised of five high school students in various states of disarray, strummed, plucked and banged away at their instruments while the lead singer crooned angst-riddled lyrics. Groups of admirers had congregated and bobbed their heads to the rhythmic beat.
The local fire department and several officers from the Harbingers Police Department were stationed on the campus to deter alcohol-induced injuries.
Melissa scanned the crowd for Gabriel. She did not see him. Alexandra and Daniella ushered her toward a spot closer to the bonfire. Each student appeared mesmerized by the bonfire. Melissa was unsure to whom the accolades belonged, whether it was the atmospheric conditions or the way the wooden pallets had been arranged by the fire department, but the fire staged a more theatrical presentation than in previous years. She looked on as it spawned tornadoes of smoke.
She stared in amazement as pillars of spinning clouds, small and large, emerged. They started on the ground and began their rolling, whirling dance before disappearing into the night sky.
Planet Urth Boxed Set Page 76