by Erin Rickman
Unexpected Conspiracy
The RAMBA Chronicles: The Eternal Experimental Effects series
Erin Rickman
Copyright © 2020 Erin Rickman
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. - No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.
The cover Image was created by Rebecacovers at www.fiverr.com
Acknowledgement
I would like to give a huge thank you to Lois Jackman for being my book worm buddy, guiding me through words that - thanks to her - I now understand.
I would like to give a huge thank you to Ellie Steer and my mum Stephanie for proofreading the book and informing me that I am highly amusing.
I also want to thank my amazing illustrator, Kay. Her designs are amazing, and were the finishing touch on the book coming together! Her instagram is worth checking out! @the_misfitz_designs
Finally, I would like to thank Grammarly for aiding my proofreading as I’m heavily dyslexic, you are the true MVP.
Follow us on Instagram @therambachronicles
Follow us on Facebook @TheRAMBAChronicles
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Bonus Chapter
Character Illustrations
The RAMBA Chronicles: The Eternal Experimental Effects Series
Prologue
Current day—date unknown
“Blaire!” There was a soft voice, familiar but faltering, floating away with the range between myself and the one calling.
“Atlas, hurry, we don’t have much time—if you can’t find the girl in the next two minutes then we have to leave her behind, so I recommend if you want to find her, you get a move on,” a second voice roared, it was much hasher and sterner than the first; it did not inspire the same homely feeling.
“Fuck you, Kenji,” the familiar voice was discordant; the words laced with determination.
I wanted to call out. I wanted to scream as a small part of me realised the male voices were here for me, although I couldn’t. I was trapped, my brain alive, and my body dead, so screaming was not a possibility.
“Holy shit,” the voice was loud and close. “Kenji, I found her, I have her!” I heard the shuffle of footsteps, followed by a gust of air as the body approached.
A loud sigh of relief sounded as I felt arms lifting me. The smell of comfort came like it was familiar, yet I wouldn’t know. I remembered nothing; it was all a blur except what happened, what they did.
“What have they done to you?” he whispered angrily. Suddenly a loud crash erupted, the smell of smoke suffocated me, yet I couldn’t cough, couldn’t react. I felt the room-temperature rise and heard whoever was carrying me hacking and spluttering.
“Atlas, we have to leave now, or we’re in serious trouble. Near-death experience for a girl.” A scoff ensued.
“You and I both know she’s not just a girl, at least not now, so shut it and get us out of here.”
Chapter One
Previously—January 28th, 2024
The year was 2024, it was the year that everything changed. This was the year that would three-sixty my life and the lives of everyone I held near and dear. However, I was blissfully unaware; I wouldn’t have known the changes to come at this point or even cared.
I was your average, selfish, intolerant, thrill-seeking twenty-one year old. I was tired—tired of working a tedious job, tired of doing nothing day in, day out. I was intelligent, following in suit of the rest of my family. It would have been hard for my parents to produce a dumb offspring when I had a father who worked for an economics firm and a mother that worked for an environmental firm, both with roles higher than I cared to reach. My intelligence was not the problem; apparently, it was my lack of enthusiasm for life and my inability to do anything with the intellect I was ‘oh so lucky’ to have.
Myself, father and mother sat around the large dining room table, conversing about our day. I sat gawking at the new centrepiece my mother had got when antiquing last weekend. I wasn’t sure what it was, the only thing I was sure about was how hideous it was.
“Blaire,” my mother sighed. She sat across from me at the dinner table. Her coffee-coloured curly hair was in a tight bun while a navy blue blazer adorned her torso, paired with a white blouse beneath—she was sophisticated. “Have you decided what you want to do with your life yet? Maybe a doctor-like role, an oncologist perhaps? Your degree would help you achieve that, wouldn’t it?” It wouldn’t but I didn’t fancy explaining it to her. My mother’s eyes narrowed, wrinkles at the side showing her crows feet.
My mother was in her late forties but looked like a woman in her early thirties; image was everything according to her. She was a thin woman with big, brown, beautiful eyes; she was blessed with long eyelashes, something I was lucky enough to inherit from her. In fact, I had many of her physical attributes. Her nose was long and thin but sat like a slightly turned up button at the end. Her skin tone was pale but perfect, very rarely did she get blemishes. Two more traits I was glad to receive.
“Mum,” I huffed, not ready for the lecture I knew was coming. “Leave it, maybe I like my dead-end job, perhaps I like stocking shelves and joy-riding trollies.”
“Honey,” my father sighed. “You know, you’re a young adult now. It’s time to step up. Your mother and I have strived so hard in life to give you what you have, just so you can do miles better,” he lectured, placing down his knife and fork. He stroked his bald head; he was dressed similarly to my mother, but, instead of a navy blue uniform, a grey suit fitted him. He too had brown eyes, so there was no shock when both my brother and I had them. Unlike myself, my father had a wider, slightly bigger nose. He had a beard, dark in colour which would have matched his brown hair, should he have still had it.
“Yes, I know that. You remind me, like, every day. Can I have one day where I can enjoy the fact I’ve been on this Earth twenty-one years and achieved absolutely nothing, without you reminding me?” I almost snapped. Nevertheless, the look of daggers from my mother caused me to calm my tone. They would never understand why I didn't push myself like they had, or like my brother had. So, I never tell them. I was fine with them thinking I was hard work, but I was not okay with them thinking I was a coward.
“Blaire! Your brother is head of the department for English literature studies at Cambridge University—”
“Oh yes, here comes t
he whole ‘William is doing better than you’ speech.” I dropped my knife and fork. “My appetite has curbed. I’ll be up in my bedroom, molling over the fact Liam is your favourite child.” I pushed the chair back, and the metal legs scraped along the marble flooring before I swiftly began the journey up the four flights of stairs to my room.
I knew my attitude stunk quite often when it came to my parents. However, it was only due to the frustration they created. It wasn’t easy, having them nagging me so often. I understood why they did it, every parent only wanted the best for their child, but I didn’t have the belief in myself to be able to match theirs, or Liam’s success. So, the more they nagged the worse I felt. I was happy with my current way of life; if I didn’t strive to succeed, I wouldn’t give them, and myself, false hope. There would be nothing worse than everyone thinking I could achieve something, only then to disappoint them when I don’t. At least if I stayed being continuously inadequate, then there are no nasty surprises and dreams crushed.
My room was my safe haven, and I adored it. The light orange walls had a calming effect on me and walking across my fluffy white carpet tickled. It was a bedroom to be dreamt about, adorning its own festival of lava lamps, big and small. A six-foot-tall lamp with clear liquid and black plasma was my favourite. Additionally, the white furniture in the room was always clean thanks to Mel, our cleaner. My walk-in wardrobe was that of a princess’. My desk sat beside my window with an egg chair in the far right corner. I was lucky, very lucky. It’s what happens when you’re in a family full of driven and hardworking people. So of course, following in their footsteps would be logical, but I simply wasn’t brave enough.
As I wandered around my room, my bed became very appealing. Hearing lecture after lecture was tiresome. Why couldn’t my parents just be happy because I was happy? I was doing this to save everyone’s feelings after all. I sighed as I pulled out my iPhone 360 from under my pillow and moved a brown curly lock from my vision so I could see the screen better; there were a few texts on my phone.
From: Jai
Hey you about? If so grab a scarf and hat, lets go grab a hot chocolate from Coffee Klub, you know they’re my favourite xx
From: Andrea
OMG, u will neva guess wot Henry done 4 me! He’s takin me to Paris 4 our 1 year anniversary.
I replied to Andy explaining that I was utterly ecstatic for her. Then, I spent a few minutes debating if I wanted to step out the door that evening to see Jai. I was comfy, it was snowing, and the final winning factor which overruled everything was the cold breeze. I hated cold air more than anything in the world. I was a summer person, plus I most certainly did not want frostbite, which I clearly explained in a text reply to Jai.
Andrea was my best friend; I met her on my first day at secondary school, and we have been inseparable ever since. We were like two peas in a pod growing up. Regardless of our different life developments as people we remained as two peas in a pod. I went to university, she didn’t; I had Jai as my partner since we were young, and she never had a steady relationship until recently; she was tall, her skin was sunkissed, and she was beautiful, whereas I was short, pale and alright looking. Nevertheless, I loved her dearly and couldn’t imagine my life without her.
Jai was a few years older than me; our parents were good friends, and he has been in my life since I was in nursery but he's a few years older. He was my best friend until puberty where our bodies (and feelings) developed. I was sixteen when our relationship turned romantic, and we’ve been together ever since. I always imagined us being childhood sweethearts. He was extremely smart, so much so his work decided to invest in a PhD for him to complete—he was in his final year.
Moments later, my phone rang and Jai's name flashed across the screen. “I knew you would protest due to the weather which is exactly why I took it upon myself to personally collect you.”
“You better not—” the doorbell rang interrupting me, and I huffed, “—be at my house.”
“Yeah well—oh, hello Mrs Mayres, I’m here to grab Blaire.” He paused, the faint muffles of my mother’s voice were heard which informed him of where he could find me. “Okay brilliant, I’ll grab her and have a chat with her.” I rolled my eyes at Jai’s way of wriggling around my mother’s mood. “I know, she is brilliant and, yes, it’s a shame she doesn’t do anything with it, she is capable of good things, I agree.”
The phone line cut off and moments later the thuds of Jai’s footsteps proceeding up the stairs became clearer. Finally, the door opened; he stood in the doorway. I noticed his tight brown curls were hidden under a beanie, his body swallowed by a copper-coloured jacket. His usually brown skin had been kissed by the cold as it held a slight redness to it. He pushed a curl from his honey-coloured eyes to clear his view. I tried to uphold my tough act, but with the way he made me melt, I knew it wasn’t going to take long for my soft centre to show.
“C’mon,” he urged, walking over to my coat rack. “Hot chocolate and chill.” He threw my coat, it landed in front of me on my bed. “It’s a lovely night for a walk.” He launched the beanie. “I mean, you’re gonna have to wrap up warm.” Soon after came my scarf, hitting me in the face.
“You’re a real pain in my arse,” I huffed, slowly putting on the items.
“Yeah, but you love me, so it’s fine.” His smile that followed made me smile too—it was contagious.
“Well, whatever floats your goat,” I mumbled.
“My what?”
“Goat?” I responded. “You say it all the time.”
I thought it was a common phrase and—considering his overuse of it—I was confused that he didn’t get my reference. He laughed, which instantly made my smile grow wider.
“Boat, Blaire. Nice eggcorn. I mean, think logically here—boats are always floating, well, unless they’re sunk,” he clarified.
“Yeah, but goats probably can float, so I’m not wrong,” I stated, matter-of-factly.
“Well, I suppose you might be right. Let’s ask William, he will know for sure,” he jibed, knowing the mention of my brother would make me cringe.
“Ah, screw you, Jai.”
It only took fifteen minutes of ploughing through the snow to reach Coffee Klub. The coffee shop was small and quaint with fifteen tables. It was decorated with yellow and brown undertones, giving a warm and homely feel. At the front of the shop, hanging on the wall, was an extensive menu, underneath was a showcase counter with an endless amount of sweet goods.
After another five minutes, I was sat at the large front window watching the snowflakes fall, being glad I was now inside rather than outside. The hot chocolate was sweet on my tongue, courtesy of my boyfriend. The relationship I had with him was the only things that reminded me I could have great things if I work for them; however, it still came at a rather great effort, one which I would only make for him.
“So my aunt rang, you know, the Jamaican one,” Jai said, referring to his mother’s sister. “She’s invited us out in a couple of months for a few weeks. Mum was completely up for it, dad not so much.”
I laughed. “I'm not surprised, last time he was, you know, mugged.”
“Yeah, well, if you’re a white male out there then ya gotta have some money.” He shrugged, sipping his hot chocolate. “I mean, I’m just dark enough to get away with it. I thank my mother for my gorgeous skin and my father for my dashing good looks.”
I scoffed and said with joking displeasure, “please reign your ego back in, it’s going astray again. You really need to put that thing on a leash and never, ever, let it off.”
“So,” he said, his tone of voice shifting to a serious one. “My aunt in Paris”—this time it was his dad’s sister—“is launching an internship, she needs a hand in the labs. Apparently, they’re onto a new cure for a recent disease that surfaced—”
“The Ishka virus?”
“Yeah, that's the one,” he assured before continuing with his previous sentence. “They’re moving the studies to the bigger l
abs here in England, so they can run further tests, do you want to maybe try out for it? It’s right up your ally, you love research and stuff.”
It did sound like it would be a great experience and something I’d want to do, considering I studied immunology at university, but it was a bit of a jump from stacking shelves.
“I don’t know Jai, and it’s a long shot, don’t you think?”
“Not at all, Alina read your files and case studies—I emailed them to her last week when I was on your laptop. Don't forget, shes known you since we were toddlers—if you want the position, you got it.”
“It doesn’t sound like I really have any choice in the matter,” I snapped.
“That’s the point—if you did, you wouldn’t do it. I would kill to have the level of intelligence you have, so stop being so damn lazy and do something with it,” he calmly but sternly pushed. “So I’ll tell her it’s a 'yes' then. She’ll give you a ring tomorrow so listen out for your phone.”
I was tired of being pushed by those around me to achieve something. I was happy (at least, that’s what I told myself). Though, I thought there was no harm in speaking to Jai’s aunt and trying something new. After all, what was the point of studying a subject, with a large amount of debt attached, if I wasn’t going to proceed with it?
✽✽✽
I watched as Jai’s aunt’s phone number flashed across the screen of my phone. I debated on answering it, as I personally didn’t want to progress my career just yet, I was only twenty-one after all—I had time. However, I at least owed it to Jai to find out about the job. Plus, I hadn’t spoken to Alina since she left for Paris a few years ago. So, I answered it.