Natural Selection (23 page)

We parked on the street in front of
the nine-story Holiday Inn downtown. It didn't take us long to get
checked into a room with two beds. It was simple and old, but it
was clean. Not that it mattered. We didn’t intend to spend a lot of
time there. After dropping our bags in the room, Xander turned to
Nate, seizing his shirt and getting in his face.

“
I understand that I can’t
help you with what you two need to do today. And I have some things
I need to do. But I swear to God if anything happens to her, I
will
end
you.”

My eyebrows rose and I studied my
brother. I guess if it came down to it, I knew Xander would choose
me over his friend. I couldn’t help but wonder what Xander thought
of everything between his best friend and his little sister, and
made a mental note to ask later.

We rode the elevator back down in
silence, parting ways in the lobby. Xander and Sariah went on foot
to the library to research. If they’d asked me, I could tell them
the selection of information out there was limited and mostly
wrong. I couldn’t imagine what they’d find, but I had my own job to
do.

Nate and I took the minivan, following
the directions he’d gotten from the desk clerk. Luthy Botanical
Gardens was located at the eastern edge of Glen Oak Park and across
the street from a large wooded area. I knew it was perfect as soon
as we got out of the car. I could smell the nearby zoo, and I was
shocked that what seemed like a horrid stench in the past wasn’t
anymore. It was natural, which meant my nose found it refreshing.
Wonder filled me. To have perfume and lotion smell awful and animal
waste clean and refreshing, all I could do was shake my
head.

We entered through the gift
shop—a tiny little alcove packed with pointless trinkets, garden
decorations, and various bird feeders. Straight ahead was another
door leading into the greenhouse. Above a ramp leading down was a
yellow hand-painted sign that said “Welcome to the Garish Garden.”
They weren’t kidding. As we walked down the ramp, my eyes were
assaulted, but it was surprisingly tasteful. Pink flamingos
decorated several of the beds, and there was a green metal table
and chair, a pink pig watering can and ceramic gnomes. The path was
wide and straight until it split around an island about halfway
into the greenhouse. To one side of the door we entered through was
a pond with koi, on the other side several potted plants. I made a
mental note of the tubs of bamboo on both sides of the door. The
place was lush and green. So
alive
! To say I loved it would have
been a gross understatement.

A greenhouse is like a shot of speed
for gaia. Everything about them is geared towards nurturing plants,
and that translated to strength and power for us. Standing there I
heard an occasional pop from Nate behind me, kind of like static
electricity but louder. I knew first-hand that when he got a charge
out of something it was quite literal. And I certainly couldn’t
blame him. I felt like I couldn’t contain my own abilities. I
reached out, gently growing several plants in strategic locations.
We walked slowly around the greenhouse, before heading out the back
door into the garden proper.

Outside was a long sidewalk. Nearest
the building, it was lined with bushes and benches. Beyond the
concrete wall with donor plaques were mulched flower beds, still
dormant in the early days of March. As we casually strolled down
the sidewalk past the expanse of well-tended grass, Nate took my
hand. We walked in silence past some beds of prairie grass and
other indigenous plants and circled around a silent fountain that
would shoot beautiful geysers come warmer days. We stepped into a
quaint little gazebo near the edge of the garden. Large shrubs
tried to disguise the black wrought iron fence and the real world
beyond, but didn’t quite succeed. Hand in hand we sat there for a
long time. Our minds lost as we listened to the traffic zoom
past.

My eyes roamed, catching on various
insignificant details. Beyond another patch of prairie grass and
some low lying bushes was a gnarly tree, still bare. But I could
feel the buds slowly forming, the dormant tree slowly waking and
beginning a new cycle of growth. In front of me, between the
prairie grass and large border shrubs, I could glimpse rose bushes
just starting to sprout leaves again. Across from me, where the top
rail of the gazebo met one of the pillars, some fool felt the need
to carve “Dan N Menle” in poorly formed letters.

Nate turned towards me on the bench,
leaving me no choice but to face him. I knew we needed to talk, but
in the scheme of things it seemed rather insignificant. I stared
into his eyes and felt that familiar pull—the need to touch him.
But it went so much deeper this time. I knew there would never be
anyone else for me. I'd always known he was the one in my heart; it
just took my brain a little longer to catch on. I remembered what
my mom told me about the Life Bond. Was I ready to commit myself to
Nate? Would I have the same feelings for any male gaia? My head and
my heart warred as I stared into his brown eyes. Before I could
stop him or react in anyway, Nate pulled me into him pressing his
lips to mine.

It was the most wonderful sensation.
His mouth was warm and firm against mine. I parted my lips to
deepen the kiss and the warmth expanded until it covered my entire
body. Something inside of me clicked into place, reminding me of
the feeling of getting my back popped. Pain, and relief, and
something much more profound filled me. I felt the confusion and
wonder in Nate as he experienced it too.

As we pulled away I was still aware of
him. His confusion slowly took over, and he stared at me. “What the
hell was that?” he asked.

“
The bond,” I whispered. He
widened his eyes and shook his head. I felt annoyance blend with
his confusion. “You
do
know about the bond, right?” He nodded but didn’t say
anything. “Mom told me right before everything…” Trailing off, I
tried not to let the sadness rise up. “She told me it ties our
lives together. Like if you die…” I trailed off again letting him
draw the inference.

His face twisted. I wondered why he
kissed me if he knew it would bond us. Rage and pain flooded
through him into me, it was almost more than I could handle. The
need to punch something grew, but my hands were still sore from
pummeling Xander the night before. So I sat and waited for him to
work through it, feeling it all with him. He stood and walked to
the opposite side of the gazebo and turned to me.

“
This was really stupid of
us, Lia. We should have known better!” I couldn’t help feeling hurt
by his statement. Didn’t he realize I hadn’t done this? Who kissed
who here? “Please don’t do that. Don’t take it that way. I… it’s
just—” I felt him softening, going all gooey inside. He took my
hands and begged me with his eyes. “I
think
I love you, Lia, but I’m
seventeen. I don’t know if I know what love is.” He looked at me,
and I tried to ignore the pleading in his eyes.

I sprang to my feet and put
my back to him, wrapping myself in my arms and staring off into the
distance. I needed some space and time to come to grips with the
enormity of what this meant—time I didn’t have. When I turned back
my eyes were damp, but I was in control of myself. “Do you think I
don’t have the same doubts? The same fears? Nate, I lost
everything
in the last
two days. I’m an emotional wreck right now!” I was struggling to
remain calm by the end, but I managed to continue in a slightly
chilly voice. “
You
have a problem? I’m
fifteen
and have even less of a clue than you. I changed
out of my time with no preparation. I was kept in the dark my
entire life and had it all dumped on me in the last six months. You
want to talk about unfair?” As I spoke, the emotions escalated
until I nearly shook with them. By the end of my rant I was
stabbing Nate in the chest with a finger. He backed away from me
until the bench on the opposite side of the gazebo hit him in the
back of the knees forcing him to sit. I stood panting over him,
crossing my arms over my chest.

As I calmed, I realized something in
me had changed. Something was different, and I don’t think the bond
had anything to do with it. I never stood up for myself before,
always knuckling under and taking the path of least resistance. But
somewhere along this journey I had tapped into strength of
character, and my will would not be denied. At least this was a
change in my life I could happily embrace.

“
We’ll work on it, Nate,” I
said quietly, taking his hand and sitting beside him. I looked at
him, trying to let all my feelings for him show. “Together. I… I
think I might love you. I don’t know what’s me and what’s fate, but
I
do
want to be
with you. We’ll figure out the rest as we go.”

He grimaced a moment, then nodded. I
felt him close off the anger, doubt and frustration. A golden
warmth more radiant than the sun filled me. Our eyes met and he
smiled. I knew he felt the same warmth in me. If this was love,
perhaps I could get used to it. I sat in his lap and pressed my
lips to his just wanting to be close one last time.

We headed across the street into the
woods, trying to figure out a starting point Monica wouldn’t see
coming. Tall thin trees were widely spaced, stretching from the
leafy floor to a vivid blue sky. We wandered up and down hills,
heading away from the garden and zoo. I could feel something odd in
that direction, a stagnation of the ground I didn’t understand. I
hopped a little gully that probably became a furious stream
whenever it rained, and picked my way around thorny bushes and
fallen branches almost as big as some of the trees. There was a
tangled clump of fallen trees, so cluttered with sticks and dead
leaves it reminded me of a beaver’s dam. I noticed an opening and
tried to note its location as best I could in case we needed to
hide.

After about ten minutes of hiking we
came to a giant hill. I looked down on neat rows of headstones
rising in hills as far as my eye could see. I smiled. I had an
idea.

WE PICKED UP Xander at the library.
Sariah had wondered off with two college boys. I didn’t even want
to think about how that was going. Xander gave me a lopsided smile
as we drove around town trying to find somewhere to eat. He
explained about the secret writings of the Otherworlders.
Apparently Peoria had a fairly large collection, which is why we
really came to Peoria. He and Sariah had spent the afternoon in a
hidden room in the basement pouring over everything they could
find. There wasn’t much that was relevant to what we needed, but he
did have a couple of gems.

We wound up on the opposite side of
town at an Applebee’s. I ordered a salad, but they put a bunch of
stuff that I had to pick off to make it edible. Nate had a similar
problem with his herb-baked chicken.

“
Alright, Lia,” Nate said,
picking at his chicken with his fork. “I know you have something
brewing. Time to spill.”

I smiled at him. I needed to remember
it wouldn’t be easy to keep anything from him. “I say we call the
witch out. She has to know where we are. We’ll spend all day laying
a false trail. Then we’ll draw her to the greenhouse where Nate and
I are the strongest.”

“
I like it,” Xander said.
“But I think we should make her think Sariah and I abandoned you,
so we can be the surprise reinforcements. We have a couple of
tricks up our sleeves.”

I nodded, and so did Nate. It was the
best shot we had—despite the fact that I had no idea how to make it
work. I had confidence that if we worked together we could make it
happen.

We were counting on Monica tracking us
throughout the day, so we deliberately stayed in public places. We
met up with Sariah and walked around the mall talking about the
cemetery, saying in mock hushed tones how much energy a decaying
body gave off. We kept going back to the same subjects, rephrasing
or asking pointless questions to make sure our message was
received. We loudly discussed where to eat dinner before settling
on an Irish pub our parents liked down on the river.

We got lost on our way to dinner, and
I was a little afraid our planning would be useless and Mrs.
Matthews would catch us, but eventually we found the river and
followed it to the pub. It was located in a nondescript brick
building that looked like it had once been a warehouse of some
sort. I took a chance on the shepherd’s pie, which was actually
pretty good. After the horrible burgers last night and the merely
passable salad, it was paradise in a bowl, honestly. I finished
every last bit, mopping up the gravy with delicious brown bread. We
lingered over our meal, knowing that once we left there was no
going back. The atmosphere was a little heavy, and it wasn’t long
before we couldn’t take it. Xander cleared his throat and grabbed
my hand under the table, giving it a squeeze. I knew the time had
come. For better or for worse, there would be no turning back after
this. I gave him a weak smile and prayed Monica was watching and
would buy what we were going to attempt to sell.