C I N: "Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin. You never come out the way you went in." (The C I N Series) (16 page)

      
“Do you always know what I’m thinking?”

      
“Only when I’m touching you.”

      
I swallowed. “So you heard or felt everything I just thought?”

      
“Probably,” Alex grinned, touching my bottom lip. He grazed it with his finger. “I have rules to keep them safe. This is the town they were raised in and if we could all relocate then we wouldn’t need to worry about people noticing them, but if they visit their families then people would start to wonder why they never age. Could you imagine the complications? Everyone would want to live forever.”

      
“Well, couldn’t you give them that?”

      
“Sure, the teenagers I guess, but there’s a catch.” Alex leaned his forehead against mine. “We, Ally and I, cannot leave Lynn, Massachusetts. If the others, the warehouse kids, want to leave, then they can but if they did they would age instantly. When I tried to leave it was as if there was an invisible barrier trapping me in this dreadful town. But, when Frank tried to leave it was easy. Only problem was he’d already been seventeen for ten years so he automatically aged and was a twenty-seven year old man; right before our eyes. He also lost his immunity to disease and germs. He gets sick all the time and I cannot strike him to give him immunity. It doesn’t work anymore. I was afraid when you were struck twice that it would cancel itself out, but it didn’t.”

      
“You scare me, Alex. More than you could ever feel by touching me.”

      
“I see the fear in your eyes.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “And that is what keeps me from kissing you, even though you want me to; a part of you has a thing for Michael and I’m not going to force myself upon you.”

      
“So what are you saying?”

      
“You need to make up your mind.”

      
“I cannot be with someone evil.” I tried to push against his chest but he wouldn’t let me and my addiction won. I let out a long sigh of defeat, leaning my chest against him. “Why can’t you be nice? Why are you so wrong for me?”

      
“Where else can you go?”

      
“What do you mean?”

      
“You’re trapped here in Lynn with us and now must learn our way of surviving.”

      
“I’ll just have you know, Alex Moody or Mathew Mood—whoever the heck you are—when my mom comes for me, I’ll leave;
with
her.”

      
“I have a feeling that you won’t be able to go.” I think you’re like Ally and I—unable to leave. You were directly hit by the lightning.

      
“And you feel like my mother won’t be coming back for me, either.”

      
“You can feel truths better than I thought,” Alex grinned. “She won’t be coming back for you. I can pretty much guarantee it; at least not right now.”

      
“I don’t believe it. I know my mother and she will come. I’ll touch Pig if I have to.”

      
“Don’t threaten me, Lisa Brown.”

      
“Why, what are you going to do about it?”

      
“I’ll lock you up, or banish Pig.”

      
“You can’t banish my dog! Bipolar isn’t the enemy.”

      
“Oh, and I am?”

      
“Yes, you’re the bad one,” I said, allowing him to tighten his grip on me. I felt like I was stoned. My insides were so mellow and nothing really mattered except getting more. Soon I would want even more. How much of him could I get? I gulped and Alex laughed. “Stop that, I don’t like it when you know what I’m thinking.”

      
His grin was mischievous. “I think it’s great.”
 

      
“You would.”

      
“Lisa, why do you fight it? If you listened carefully you’d know what I’d responded back with and then you wouldn’t be so embarrassed by your own thoughts.”

      
“I don’t know if I want to know all your thoughts,” I said, grabbing his collar. It was made of thick cotton and was coarse like all the other dorm uniforms. “I think my subconscious may want to know but my realistic side accepts that your thoughts cannot bring any good to me.”

      
“You have so many thoughts running through your mind, I’m surprised you’re able to speak without mixing them up. You think one way but speak another. So very political of you! Maybe you should study to be a lawyer. You can add your skills to the many jobs we have at C I N.”

      
“You have jobs, do you? I thought you went to school for three hundred years over and over; how boring.”

  
“The school has only been in existence for about twenty years. We do the learning thing for real every five years and we were going to do it this year for your benefit only, but now that you know the truth the charades can end and you will get to see the way things are really run.”

Eighteen

Charades Come To An End

Alex and I walked back to school. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided me through the halls. People stared. Reginald, the hot Haitian, narrowed his eyes and frowned. I hated to admit it, but just having Alex’s arm around me wasn’t enough. I was almost angry with myself because I could’ve stayed away, never allowing him to make me immune to his touch, but instead I allowed him to touch me more and more until I was a full-fledged addict. I wondered if he did it on purpose. Did he know that I would suffer withdrawals when he walked away? Was he hoping I would? Was he as addicted to me as I was to him?

      
“I’ll see you later on tonight.” Alex ruffled my hair and smiled wickedly. “Maybe I’ll kiss you.”

      
“Don’t even think about it. You’re the last man I want to have kissing me.”

      
“Keep lying to yourself, Lisa Brown.”

      
“Alex, leave Lisa alone.” Ally pulled me away. I reached out to him and felt myself shake. My insides fluttered around banging against my skin in a great effort to escape.

      
“You’re the reason we’re in this trouble,” Alex retorted. “You let Michael leave campus. That was foolish.”

      
Other students listened in and spread the gossip. He had been given permission, so did that mean Michael wouldn’t have to pet Pig? I now saw how Alex and Ally worked. They used fear to keep them in line but in actuality they’d never use Pig in such a way. It was of no importance to tell anyone else, though. Some order needed to be kept.

      
“Everyone,” Alex shouted. The lobby grew quiet. “Lisa knows. There isn’t going to be school this year. The charades are over. Everyone can take their usual rooms and pick up on the things they normally do.”

      
“Oh, good!” Reginald exclaimed, ripping his collared shirt from his chest. “I thought I was going to have to wear this stupid uniform all year.”

People clapped and went towards the dorms.

      
“Marie!” Pete shouted, waving from inside the hall. “We get to bunk together like normal. The charades are over. Lisa knows about us and herself.”

      
“Cool!” Marie jumped into his arms and he spun her around.

      
“Come with me, Lisa.” Ally motioned for me to enter the room called “social studies”. It was a computer room. There were ten computers lined up on three corners of the walls and there were printers and scanners and a gigantic copier with fax functions. “This is where we do business. Anthony—you know, Mr. Brace Face; you met him on the boat, he is our eBay king. He auctions off some of our older antiques online and Big Al, [Chubby from the sailboat], has been handling our stocks since the late eighties and has made us all millionaires.”

      
“Even after September eleventh?” I asked. She nodded.

      
“He sold most of our stock right before the crash and then only put a quarter of it back into the market. IBM was a biggie in the late nineties. Talk about one major cash-out there! We bought stock in the eighties for real cheap and then in 1999 we cashed out quadrupling our funds.”

      
Kurt, [long faced kid with spiky hair], he manages all our online stores. We basically host a site advertising high end products from other companies and then receive a percentage of the price when a product is sold. It makes for a good source of income, too.”

      
I continued to the “science” room next. There were chemistry tables set up and the three girls that seemed to be attached to Reginald’s hip (or as Ally called them—his groupies) stooped over a lab table with goggles covering their light eyes. Reginald entered the room with a handful of loose leaf papers. “Okay, so natural lipstick and foundation for sensitive skin. The company complained that our rejuvenating cream wasn’t a big hit so let’s find out why.”

      
“Reginald and his three groupies work as chemists for a make- up company in Lynnfield. They earn through advances and royalties.”

      
“Wow, this place is crazy,” I exclaimed. I spotted Rat sleeping on one of the laboratory desks. “The animals stay here all year, too?”

      
“Yes, since Pig likes you so much he will stay in our room. I doubt Donna will be happy to hear that but, hey, what can I say.”

      
“Where is Pig?”

      
“Somewhere around; anyway, let’s go I have a lot to show you.”

      
Ally showed me the gym and the lunch room. The industrial kitchen did not have a lunch lady but Marie and Pete took care of ordering and cooking the majority of the meals. They were certified Culinary Chefs and they even kept up the garden outside. The second floor housed a game room with a full laundry facility. They had a second story balcony filled with green grass and benches. Telescopes lined the edges of the balcony for those who enjoyed exploring. It seemed so amazing but in actuality it was a small prison. They had to live inside C I N year in and year out so that their secret wasn’t revealed. I felt almost bad for them. Then I realized a very horrifying truth. I was now their newest inmate. This was my jail, too. To be forever locked inside these walls only allowed out for the summer.

      
Donna screamed. “You know the truth! I’m so happy I don’t have to keep secrets from you now!”

      
I laughed for Donna’s benefit but cried inside; even she was trapped. Donna wrapped her arms around me. A morbid thought came over me. We’d be friends even longer than I’d ever imagined. I was happy that I had her and Michael. They were terrific friends.
 
But would I never to be able to leave Lynn?

      
“Hello, Ally.” Donna smiled, “I see you’re going to board with us this year, which is so cool.

“C’mon, guys, we have so much to talk about! Ally, it was nice of you to bring that TV and all those movies to our dorm. Oh, we have to decorate. This’ll be the best year ever! I’ve lived by myself all of these years. Everyone always paired off and left me out but now, I know I’ll have two best friends. This is so cool!” She skipped ahead of us. “I had Pete pop us some kettle corn and I snuck some M&M’s, too. Ally, please don’t tell Alex. I don’t want him mad at me.”

      
“He doesn’t care about M&M’s.” Ally stomped ahead of us. She sunk down on my bottom bunk placing her hands behind her head.

      
“I was so happy when I found out they chose to turn you into one of us. The rules were that they weren’t going to take on anymore of us; did you know what Alex did, just for you? It was so romantic I almost fell in love with him.” Donna smacked me hard on the knees. “When he was in Millie’s office he heard your mom leave this message. She begged Millie to take you just for a little while because she was losing her house and couldn’t keep a job and just needed to get some help so that the two of you could have a normal life. Well, Millie hit delete on the answering machine but Alex asked how old you were, what grade you were in, and so forth. When he realized you only needed to finish your senior year he called a meeting and had us all vote on pretending to be a
normal
high school so that your mom could get better. He said one year wouldn’t hurt us to do a good deed. He really fought for you. Some people didn’t want to do it but most of us did and so majority ruled. When Michael met you he was so ecstatic. He told everyone you were hot and that Alex should turn you. Then you showed up on the sailboat and it became a petition. Alex refused, telling us that he wasn’t changing anyone else. Then everyone pointed out that he and Ally cured Millie of cancer. He didn’t know what to say. His eyes grew almost translucent and he screamed. I think he wanted to keep you for himself and it was too much of a struggle to fight with us.”

      
“Do you breathe, Donna?” Ally asked, covering her face with her pillow. “I mean you just go on and on, it’s no wonder you’ve had your own room all these years.”

      
“I like this story.” I laughed, grabbing Donna’s hands. “I want to hear the rest.”

      
“Okay, good; so Alex told us that you wanted to go back to Florida with your mom and that he was taking you and Ally home. He got in his kayak and went to find you. That was the day when you and Ally tipped over in your kayak. Alex caused the storm so that you would go back to shore but he didn’t mean for you to nearly drown, he just didn’t want us begging him anymore to keep you for ourselves. Especially Michael; he’s been nothing but a lost puppy dog since he laid eyes on you. What have you done to the guys? Anyway, the next thing we know you’re one of us!”

      
“Finally! Put a movie on and don’t talk through it,” Ally said. “I could’ve told that same story in less than thirty seconds.”

      
“Ally, stop being grumpy,” I ordered. “Nobody likes a sourpuss.”

      
“I like it just fine.”

      
“You would.”

      
“Shut up, Lisa. You’re so lippy sometimes.”

      
“I learned it all from you.”

      
“Would you guys mind if we watched Ever After with Drew Barrymore? I love that version of Cinderella. It’s
so
romantic,” Donna interrupted Ally and me.

      
“That would be awesome.” I ripped open the bag of kettle corn. “You didn’t think to get any sodas, did you?”

      
“No, I forgot about them. I usually drink water or lemonade. I’m not a caffeine drinker. People say I have enough energy.”

      
“They aren’t joking,” Ally grumbled.

      
I laughed, creeping out the door. “I’ll go grab some.”

      
“Do you need one of us to go with you?”

      
“No, I think I can manage.” I followed the long corridor to the lobby and entered the eating room. The industrial kitchen was dark so I flipped on a light. Lying across three chairs was a man in his forties with black hair and black eyes. He had a few gray hairs and a five o’clock shadow too. I stared at him intently. Did I know him?

      
“Who are you?” He asked, coughing loudly. “You’re new.”

      
“Yeah, I’m Lisa Brown. Who are you?”

  
“The name is Frank.”