The Unlocked (Charlie Hartley Series Book 1) (18 page)

"Uh, okay?"

"The point of me saying that is for you to ask me how I
feel, Charlie. Don't be an idiot."

Charlie sighed. "How do you feel, Madison?"

"I am terrified."

That was by far the most honest statement Madison had said
to Charlie. She appreciated her cooperation, even if this didn’t necessarily
bring them together as friends. Having an ally was enough for Charlie, at least
for the time being. She planned on working out her differences with Madison
when all of this was over.

"I know. I am, too," Charlie admitted. But they
did not have the luxury of turning back and acting like nothing happened,
because they now knew the truth behind Amanda's carefully executed lies.
"We'll practice your mimicry later, okay. We haven't had the chance to use
telekinesis simultaneously."

Madison didn't respond. She had a faraway look in her eyes
and simply punched her fist in the air, hoping it would hit something without
her paying attention.

“Are you two having a moment, or are you gonna finish the
fight?” Instructor Ross shouted.

Charlie did not let his words distract her. Her thoughts
were suddenly on what Otto said and she thought this to be the best time to
share it her ally. "Madison, don't let it get to you."

"What?"

"Someone once told me this: 'Unexpected things happen.
Don't sweat it.' I know you might be blaming the world right now because of
where it brought you; rather think of it as a mishap, a low point that is bound
to pass."

Madison nodded, and she pretended to kick Charlie in the
stomach to force her weight off her. Madison got up and they resumed sparring.
This time she hit Charlie, who fell down for effect. When the session was over,
Madison looked back at Charlie with dread settling in her eyes. Charlie
mouthed: don't worry.

Later that night, Charlie showed up in Madison's room. She
endured a repeat performance of Madison’s shouting fit before she finally got
to the real Madison, who quickly ushered her in.

"Hurry, someone might see you!" Madison whispered.

When Charlie got inside, Madison started to pick up things
from around the room and line them in a row on her bed. She got a small purse,
a pair of shoes, a thick hard-bound book, and a porcelain ball that had Hello
Kitty on it. Then Madison pulled Charlie and made her sit on the space beside
the ball.

"What are you doing?" Charlie asked, befuddled.

"I'm practicing," Madison answered while she
lifted the purple purse with ease. The pair of shoes wriggled because Madison
naturally sucked at balancing, but she made the shoes hit the ceiling. The book
flew right back to the shelf where it usually say. The porcelain ball was
trickier because Madison was too scared to lift it high.

"Why are you stopping yourself?"

Madison explained. "I got it from a foster sibling.
Nicest gift I ever got. She was Japanese and adopted, too. The parents decided
to keep her but do away with me."

"Then don't lift it," Charlie said. She took the
ball from the bed and carried it back to Madison's closet. She wrapped it in a
white ANDREI-issued shirt and tucked it behind the piles of clothes.

"Thanks," Madison said, evidently awed by the
gesture. "Now sit back down. I've got one last trick up my sleeve!"

Charlie sat and within seconds she was already floating in
the air. "Don't make me hit my head on the ceiling this time!"
Charlie warned Madison jokingly. Then she lifted Madison up, too. But this time
they agreed that they would lift their own weight and ended up playing their own
version of tag while up in the air. They tried to keep their voices down, but
their laughter couldn't be contained. For the first time in weeks, Charlie felt
free and genuinely happy. She had been so preoccupied with school demands,
finding her sister, and discovering an evil plot, she forgot one of the
essential factors in getting educated was having fun. Their game was
interrupted when Charlie saw something red trickle down Madison's nose.

"Madison!" She alerted her but it was too late;
Madison has already lost consciousness. Charlie was able to soften the fall by
catching her just as she was about to hit her head on the marble floor.
Madison’s nose continued to bleed even though she was no longer using powers.
If there was anything that made Charlie's knees turn into Jell-O, it was the
sight of that sanguine liquid. "Oh my goodness, Madison!"

Madison shifted her head from side to side, making the blood
scatter around her face. Charlie held her in place. "Madison, what
happened? Oh my goodness, Madison, please be okay." She used the white
shirt she was wearing to wipe off the blood on Madison's face, trying her best
not to lose composure, knowing that once she asked for help, Amanda would find
out what they were doing.

However, when Madison remained unresponsive although
conscious, Charlie seriously considered rushing her to the infirmary, which was
tantamount to turning themselves in. But the trade-off seemed weightier;
Charlie could live with getting caught but not with the fact that a friend died
in her arms because she was too much of a coward to do anything.

"Madison, I'm going to take you to the infirmary, okay?
Hang in there," Charlie encouraged. Madison wouldn't budge, though. She
kept shaking her head and muttering "No, no".

"But you need help!" And then Charlie noticed the
bleeding had stopped and Madison was clutching her arm.

"I'm fine," she said weakly.

"Fine?! Are you kidding me?! You fainted and your nose
bled profusely! We should get you checked out!"

"You know very well that telling them could be our
death sentence. If not that, life imprisonment in this glass hell-hole,"
Madison reasoned.

"What on earth happened to you?! You scared the life
out of me!" Charlie said, clutching her chest.

"I feel dizzy before and after using my powers, but
this is by far the worst episode I've had."

"You should rest, Madison. We'll carry out our plan
tomorrow. For now, you should get some sleep. Regain energy, okay?"
Charlie suggested as she helped her friend to the bed. Madison laid her hand on
Charlie’s shoulder as she turned to leave.

"Don't delay the inevitable, Charlie. The longer we
stay here, the worse it's going to get. I'm ready. I'll be fine, I just won't
use my powers if not absolutely necessary," Madison reassured her.

"No, Madison. I can't risk your life. I'd never be able
to live with that," she said.

"Charlie, you aren't going to risk my life. I am going
to risk my life because I want to get out of here now that I know the truth.
We’re helping each other now."

"But..."

"Look, I get it. You’re Miss Goody-Two-Shoes. You don't
want to see other people hurt. But in reality, Charlie, you can't prevent it
from happening. People are bound to get hurt and no matter how powerful you
become you can't always protect others. And there is no shame in that. What
matters is that you tried; that in itself is noble."

Charlie didn’t expect such a lengthy speech from Madison,
especially one that didn’t target her flaws. She always knew what to say and
Liz loved that about her. Charlie used to be the person her friends ran to when
they needed consoling because she always had the right words for the right
occasion. This time, however, the only response she could muster was to extend
her arms in a gesture of embrace. Madison fell into them automatically.

“I’m not saying I like you as person, Charlie. I’m just
saying that I don’t hate you either. I still have to make up my mind,” Madison
said, but Charlie could feel Madison’s arms around her, too. “Now let’s get
going. We need to find your sister and get the hell out of here!”

Charlie ran back to her room and tiptoed to retrieve the
blueprint because, of all days, Brianna chose to take a nap today. Two steps
away from the door, Brianna’s voice tore through the quiet of their room.

“Charlie, let’s go study.”

Here we go again, she thought. Another one of those doll
exhibitions. Charlie slowly faced Brianna. “Hi, Brianna. I was just about to go
to the library.”

“Charlie, let’s go study.”

Officially creeped out by her roommate’s increasingly
bothersome behavior, she hid her hand behind her back as she turned the knob.
“Sure, let me just get some books.”

“What is that you have?” Brianna stared at the blueprint.
Charlie panicked.

“Just a bunch of papers I need for class, Brianna.”

Brianna’s eyes went wild. “We have an assignment that I
didn’t know? And you didn’t tell me?!” She was screaming and Charlie’s hair
stood on end.

“It’s not an assignment, Brianna. Just extra credit for the
weeks I missed.”

“Extra credit?! They give extra credit?! Give me that!” Brianna
charged at Charlie, heading straight for the folded paper in her hands. Charlie
slipped through the open door and held it closed while Brianna pounded on the
door. “Let me out of here!” She shouted. “Let me out!” Charlie had to tighten
her grip on the knob because Brianna was pulling from the other side. She was
terrified, shaking like a leaf. When the banging ceased, Charlie waited for a
few more minute before letting go. She ran for her life to Madison’s room.

Panting and mortified, Charlie couldn’t speak straight for a
whole second. She slumped on Madison’s bed where the lass interrogated her.
“You look like you’ve been running away from a ghost. You’re paper white!”

“Brianna has gone crazy,” Charlie blurted. “She went
ballistic when she thought the blueprint I was holding was an assignment for
class she didn’t know about.”

Madison laughed, not even bothering to hide it. “I knew that
girl was troubled. Catch your breath quick, Charlie. We need to get going.”

Swallowing the fear that had enveloped her body just minutes
ago, she got up and taught Madison how to divert the cameras.

“Got it,” Madison said. “Do you have any idea where these
rooms are?”

“I already found one. But I didn’t have time to check the
other,” Charlie replied.

“Okay, let’s go,” Madison said confidently.

It was a breeze for the two of them to get through security.
Nobody noticed them and when someone did, Madison was apparently good at
creating distractions like pushing a glass beaker to the floor or shaking the
tables so whoever noticed would look away. Following the map, the two girls
reached a path already familiar to Charlie.

“I was in this place very recently,” she mumbled to Madison.

Charlie walked into the darkness, but when Madison lost
sight of her she began to call out frantically. “Charlie?”

Lights flooded the hallway. Madison saw a curve to the right
and she ran towards it. She looked at the wall and the map in her hands. It was
clearly this part of the building; however, there wasn’t a door in sight, only
a wall.

“This is just a dead-end,” Madison said, dejected.

“No, no. We have to check every inch of this wall. Maybe
there’s a secret entrance here somewhere,” Charlie told her. “I have an idea.”
She turned off the lights again, which made Madison uneasy.

“Charlie, I hate the darkness.”

“I know, but look above you,” Charlie suggested. They both
saw a glint of light above the wall. “There must be something inside.”

“Then let’s try to open it!”

“Okay, let’s do it together. I don’t know how we’ll make this
work but let’s just imagine we’re opening a door. One…” Charlie counted.

“Two…” continued Madison.

“Three!” They both focused their energies on the adobe wall,
willing it to open in whatever way it could. Suddenly, a loud unlatching noise
signaled their eyes to open.

“It worked!” Madison exclaimed. Charlie stood there in quiet
anticipation of what was to come. When the door opened in full, neither girl
moved a muscle. For a moment, Charlie was glued to the ground with her jaw on
the floor, unable to speak. A girl with the face that exactly mirrored
Charlie’s showed no reaction whatsoever. She was frozen, too. She was clad in
the same white overalls as Charlie. They had the same brunette hair that fell
to their waists. Charlie couldn't help but notice a fading scar on Jeanne's
right forearm, the same as she had on her own arm.
The phantom wound that
Dr. Wipperman had to come look at
. If Jeanne hadn't had her hair in a
ponytail, even Charlie wouldn't know how to tell them apart.

"So she is alive," Charlie heard Madison mutter
from behind her, but she didn't mind. At this moment, Madison's ramblings were
the least of her concerns. She’d finally found her sister. When the moment
finally sunk in, she stepped forward and extended her arms.

And then Charlie saw Jeanne's right hand swinging, followed
immediately by a searing pain on her left cheek. The shock and pain sent
Charlie stumbling backward.

"W-w-why did you do that?" Charlie stuttered. She
was answered by a blank expression on Jeanne's face, bearing not even the
slightest hint of recognition. And then something remarkable happened: a
metamorphosis occurred right in front of Charlie and Madison's eyes. All color
returned to Jeanne's cheeks, and a tiny crease formed in her brow. She looked
confused, but when her eyes landed on Charlie, who was still smarting from her
slap, the crease grew more apparent.

"I..." Jeanne stammered. The sole bulb in the room
started to flicker. Madison tugged on Charlie's shirt, and when she looked
back, Madison pointed at the lights flickering in the hallway. "I don't
know," Jeanne finished, her hand now clutching clumps of hair at the back
of her head. Charlie gasped when she saw her sister slowly lighting up.

Jeanne was glowing.

"Jeanne..." Charlie took small steps towards her.
"I need you to come with me. We need to get out of here."

Then, like a finger snap, Jeanne reverted back to her
original state. Charlie's mirror image stared at her blankly; Jeanne's eyes
revealing nothing but emptiness again.
There's got to be something that's
stirring this up inside her
, Charlie thought. Jeanne took steps toward her
and Charlie felt a surge of relief, until Jeanne walked too close to her. When
her face was only an inch away, Jeanne reached out for something next to
Charlie.