Elevated (Book 1): Elevated (17 page)

“Your tour?”

Shelly steps over to him like a model on the catwalk. She flutters her eyelashes and strokes her blond hair back. “Yes, you see, we were following this man and he walked down here, but he wasn’t part of our group.”

“I didn’t think tours go up to the fourth floor,” says the man.

“No wonder we’re so lost,” she says, and then lets out a flirtatious giggle that rakes my eardrums. But it works. The guy cracks a smile and snickers with her.

“Where did you last see them?” he asks, sounding a bit drunk.

“Near that room that’s like a movie theater.”

“In that case, you go down the elevators to the second floor. It’s the first hallway on your right,” he says, miming with his hands as he talks. “I could show you if you—”

Shelly grabs his hands, her voice sounding more and more babyish. “Oh, don’t do that. You’re such a busy man after all. We’ll find our own way.”

I can feel my lunch coming up my throat. I’ve heard of flirting to get out of trouble, but if it involves degrading yourself like this, I’d rather have the trouble.

Ok, maybe not, but it’s still degrading.

“At least let me show you to the elevator,” he says, sounding almost drunk.

Shelly puts her right hand across her chest. “Oh sir, you are too kind. Isn’t he, Rose?”

“Yes.” And my eyelashes seem to flutter instinctively. Is this flirting thing catching?

The man floats as he leads us to the elevator. He waves dreamily as the door closes in front of his wide grinning face.

“You’re welcome,” Shelly says.

I turn away. Her selfish actions from the office burn under my skin. After T]the short elevator ride, we dash over to the restrooms to find the tour group waiting for us.

“Sorry, sorry,” Shelly says, turning her helpless little girl mode back on. “We were looking for the gift shop, and we got so lost.”

 “There’s no gift shop,” the tour guide sneers.

Shelly giggles. “Well, I’ll be a Flier in a windstorm. I thought for sure I heard there was one. Of course, Rose here told me there wasn’t, and I had to—”

“Can we move on?”

The tour moves again. Shelly peeks over and gives me an annoying wink. The guide states that due to the delay he will have to cancel a trip through the map room. The group groans while glaring judgmentally at Shelly and me. Inside, I’m hoping we didn’t somehow mess up and reveal our tracks along the way. The sooner the tour is over, the sooner we can escape.

Shelly gives a loud sneeze, interrupting the guide.

He continues. He’s starts talking about Sapphire Ward, an abandoned ward inside the Mutant Forest compound, when Shelly sneezes again.

“Are you ok miss?” he asks.

“Not feeling so good,” Shelly says. “I think, I think I should go home.”

The tour guide looks relieved. “If you need to leave the tour early, the exit is located directly to your left. Just follow the hallway down.”

“Can I go too, we rode together?” I ask.

Aaron lifts his arm up. “And me.”

“Yes, yes, fine,” the guide waves his arms to steer us away as if we were houseflies.

When we get a safe distance away, Aaron asks us what we found. I relay the information as best I can of what we found in Maddock’s office.

“How did you get in Maddock’s office?” Aaron asks as we enter the reception area, the windows now showing a starlight sky. It reminds me of my bedroom ceiling. And my father.

“Rose has many talents, as I’m sure you’re aware,” Shelly says, patting me on the back a little too hard.

Aaron tilts his head.

“I was lucky enough to watch someone enter,” I say.

“That’s some awesome eyesight,” Aaron says.

Shelly giggles, “It sure is.”

“Shelly, he knows already.”

Her face drops. Clearly, she had hoped to get some mileage out of torturing me. As we exit into the parking lot, Aaron gets into the car first and Shelly holds me back.

“All secrets have a price,” she says, and flashes a wicked grin.

My insides drop as she enters the car. Aaron was right. I shouldn’t have trusted her. It would be nice if he could be wrong once in a while. I made a deal with the devil. What happens next is entirely up to her.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

We park at Fowler’s Grove, waiting for Zach to arrive and hoping his plan went well. I get a text from him.

“Coming now.”

Whew. I’d feel guilty if anything happened to him. “Probably will take him a little while to fly all the way down from the sky deck,” Aaron says. “Bet he spent the last half hour chilling up there, looking down on the Basics. Hobnobbing with the Fliers.”

I glare at Aaron. “He’s not like that.”

“There he is.” Shelly points at the sky and I see Zach flying towards us.

His wings float in the sky like a majestic bird and I sit back to fully appreciate him in flight.

 “He’s hot,” Shelly says.

Aaron groans.

Though Shelly is biased towards Fliers, I can’t argue. The way he drifts down from the clouds, with his turquoise feathers flapping in the wind, isn’t unpleasant in the least. He lands quietly on his feet in the grass and walks over to us. Even on the ground, each step has a gliding quality to it. Shelly opens the door and smacks the backseat, beckoning him to join her.

“My apologies for the delay,” he says as he climbs in. He combs back his hair, tossed from the breeze. “The wind resisted me the entire trip.”

“Pesky wind, always in the way,” Shelly says, reverting to her flirtatious voice.

I gulp. I’m going to have endure her routine the entire way home. Aaron directs the car to Zach’s house, and then swivels his seat around to face Zach. “Must be windy up there at the sky deck.”

Zach shrugs. “I wouldn’t have any idea, I’ve haven’t seen it.”

“Never?” Shelly asks.

“Nope,” Zach says quickly.

“Why not?” Shelly asks.

Zach stretches his arms. “The plan succeeded. Lillia’s counterfeit third arm worked like a charm. You were right about the restaurant manager, Rose. He phoned the GEMO Control Department within minutes. He must have thought he’d be swimming in reward money. Of course, he was disappointed when he found out it was only a costume. How did it go for you?”

Our frantic retelling involves a lot of overlapping speaking and jumping in to finish each other’s sentences.

Zach leans forward. “Were you aware your father worked with Jason?”

“No,” I answer. “I knew he liked teaching GEMO in science class. At least, that’s what Mom always said. I didn’t know if she was lying or not. Guess she was telling the truth.”

Shelly crosses her arms. “I want to know what’s up with that Unsound Migration Report.”

I snicker. “Mitigation.”

“What?” she asks.

“Mitigation involves lessening the impact of an outside force,” Zach says.

“Thanks, Mr. Dictionary,” Aaron says. “We knew that. Or I guess, most of us did.”

I stifle a chuckle. Usually a comment like that from Aaron earns him a punch in the arm. Since he picked Shelly this time, I stifle my complaint.

Zach clears his throat. “I presume the Unsound Mitigation Report is used to determine who might become an Unsound.”

“So you’re saying I would be an Unsound?” Shelly asks.

“Maybe. Maybe they were trying to protect you,” Zach says.

Shelly crosses her legs and stares out the window. “It’s not true. The report messed up. I would be a Flier. Like you.” 

Zach mutters something under his breath. I’m not sure what he says, but it sounds like, “Hope not.”

Shelly remains silent for the rest of the trip. I should probably feel sorry for her, but I don’t. She doesn’t deserve to be a Flier. If she had an ability like that, I expect she’d end up like Tessla. And the last thing the school needs is more bullies.

***

These math problems make me contemplate throwing my head into my desk. Try as hard as I can, I’ll never be good at them. Aaron coasts through the multiple choice form like he’s playing connect-the-dots. Lillia speeds through as well. Maybe I can pick up some tips from her. They both finish and begin to tap on their desks in boredom before I’m even halfway through.

The only reason I want to go to a university is to complete my studies in botany. Thankfully, no ability gives anyone a distinct advantage over me in the subject. Sure, Scenters can track plants from miles away and Jumpers can climb trees, but it’s the knowledge that truly makes one successful. Somehow, I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve always enjoyed it.

No way Orbison University would want to recruit me now. Doubt they want a girl who struggles through basic math problems. And the condition of my garden at home embarrasses me. With my attention channeled towards the hunt for my father, my plants already have one foot in the grave.

My mind throbbing from the problems, I catch Shelly stretching behind me. I turn around and she grins. It was in my head. I’ve been getting so comfortable with my sonar that sometimes I can’t tell what’s in my head and what my eyes see. Her shadowy form stretches again and smiles, before bouncing her foot up and down. As I watch it, my head instinctively bounces along with her. Her face lights up. She’s doing this on purpose. Torturing me. My mouth closes tight, my teeth gnashing together.

It’s an excruciating hour before the end of the quiz and I can leave. The hallway feels like a sanctuary in comparison to the classroom. Away from math problems and, more importantly, away from her.

Aaron comes over. “Are you ok?”

I shake my head. “Shelly keeps making faces, making me scan.”

“Ignore her.”

“You try doing that when you’re stressed. This test is awful.”

He puts his hand on my shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Botanists don’t need a high score in math anyway.”

He meant his comment to be encouraging, but it stings. 

Aaron nods to the door and I have to force my legs to march back into the classroom. As I enter, a devilish smile punches into me from the back row. Taking my seat, I focus on anything I can to avoid seeing her.

But there she is. Now moving her foot around in a circle. My head starts moving in rhythm. My only hope is that she’ll get bored of this soon. If not, I may be the first person expelled from this school for murder.

***

At the end of class, Shelly snakes her way up to the front. Trying my best to ignore her, I start towards the exit.

“Rose, I need to ask you something,” she says.

I keep walking.

Her voice gets sing-songy. “I really think you should listen.”

Flames ignite inside me. I turn and face the monster.

“So, I’m having a birthday party on Saturday. You should be there.”

I breathe a heavy sigh. I can’t conceive of any reason why she’d want me there except to torment me. Is it my destiny to be persecuted by this witch until I graduate?

“Yes.” I’m proud I can say it so calmly, considering the circumstances. But I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing my frustration. “I’d be happy to go.”

Shelly smiles and darts into the hallway.

Aaron shakes his head. “Shouldn’t let her get away with that garbage. After all, she was sneaking around too.”

“She’s not an undocumented mutant.”

His eyebrows rise. “I’m not sure. Avoiding a birthday party with her has to be worth a stay in prison. Maybe a lifetime.”

We both laugh.

“I’m just saying,” he continues. “You let her treat you like this and she’ll be holding it over your head your entire life. Call her bluff; she’s not going to risk you getting in trouble. You’re the only source of the truth she’s got.”

He might be right, but I can’t gamble like that. If she revealed my power, it would be far worse than enduring her stupid distractions or attending a birthday party.

She’ll move on. I can’t fascinate her forever.

Then the terrifying thought hits me of what she would do then. Once I cease to be fun to torment, she’ll probably tell everyone. The secret of my power is too fragile. It’s going to burst open eventually. The question is, when?

***

When Jex turns his chair around to greet us, I already have the feeling that I’m in trouble.

“Mind telling me what’s going on,” he asks.

I’m taken aback. Does he know about our break in to Maddock’s office? I decide the best thing is to come clean and tell him everything. It’s been a night for confessions, after all.

He shakes his head and chucks his can of beer at the wall. “Stupid, stupid, Rose. Shelly is the last person you should have trusted.”

“I’m starting to agree with that.”

“Ditto,” Aaron says.

We both shoot him a dirty look.

“What?” he says. 

Jex’s hands grasp the arms of his office chair and then he releases a long breath. “Can’t go back now. Now, about that e-mail.”

As I tell him the details of the e-mail, he types them up. I feel stupid for not writing them down before. I worry I’m not remembering it correctly.

“And you’re sure you didn’t see more?” he asks. “It cut off there?”

“There was more, but that’s when we had to go back,” I answer.

Jex grunts. “So close. With one more shot we could have his location.”

“His location?”

“Where your dad is now.”

My pulse quickens. “You think he’s still alive?”

“Maybe. Probably. Maddock is clearly manipulating things.”

“Maybe if we can figure out why, we can find my dad.”

“It’s not the why that’s important, it’s the what. We don’t know anything. All those e-mails, who knows what’s true?”

I shake my head. “But it all adds up. Shelly was kicked off the list. Something in my dad’s research must have bothered them.”

“Even if you’re right, how does that help us find him?” Jex asks.

“But why would it bother them?” I ask

Jex stands, towering over me like a grizzly bear. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t you understand? You’re trying to find logic where there isn’t any. The government wants control, that’s all.”

None of us say anything for a moment. Aaron steps forward, crushing a beer can under his foot.

“We’ll have to go back,” Aaron says.

“We can’t go back,” I say. “We’ll get caught for sure.”