The Taking 02: Hover

by Melissa West

  I turn back to the game, watching as the ball moves from person to person, never landing. They laugh and scream out as the ball almost drops and one of the boys has to dive to keep it from landing. “So it’s not a game, really, then? It’s more a way to work together?”

  “It’s how we are, Ari. Logeans are not one against all. We are all against one.”

  My eyes lift to his. “And who is the one?”

  Immediately my thoughts drift to Zeus or even humans, and I’m surprised when Vill says, “It’s whoever or whatever challenges us in that moment.”

  I smile. “You sound like Emmy.”

  He leans back in his chair with a laugh. “You’re not the first to say that, I’m afraid.”

  “Really, why?”

  He holds my gaze. “Emmy is my grandmother.”

  “Wow, I had no idea,” I say, checking to see if there is any resemblance, but finding nothing. “I think a lot of her.”

  “And she you.”

  I stare up into the night sky at the two full moons that look down at us like glowing eyes. The rest of the sky is black except for the stars, and if it weren’t for the second moon, it would look just like our night sky back home. Just thinking about home causes me to smile a little. I never imagined it would be possible to miss something so badly. And it’s more than just the people. I miss the familiarity of everything—the clothes, the foods, even the auto-walks that ran from place to place. I miss waking up in my bed and knowing, for the most part, what the day would bring.

  I used to get so annoyed at how rigid Dad was, how he ran his entire day by a schedule, but now I understand. He liked to know what to expect. And while I would never say that I’m as rigid and orderly as Dad, I now know that I don’t like surprises or unknowns. Which is all the more reason why I can’t wait to talk to him about Cybil.

  Jackson sent Law a note just before dinner, but I haven’t heard from him whether Law responded and it’s getting late. I tell Vill goodnight and head in to go to bed. I slip inside and lie back on the bed, my mind a blur of thoughts and confusions.

  Jackson comes inside and closes the door behind him. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah…just thinking.”

  Jackson flattens out on the bed beside me, his arms over his head. “What about?”

  “Mainly, me. Everyone has so much faith in me. The leaders. Emmy. But what if I’m not that girl anymore? What if what made me so strong was the people around me and without them I’m lost? What if—?”

  “Ari…” Jackson places his hand on mine and rubs small circles to try to calm me, but it’s no use, the reservoir has opened and I have to gasp through the onset of sobs to try to breathe.

  “I just—I can’t—I’m not…”

  “You are, Ari. You’ve just lost yourself a little, but we’ll find her again. Don’t worry. The Ari I lo—know is still in there.”

  My eyes snap to his at the slip and I wonder if he was about to say what I think he was about to say. Surely not, but I can’t keep the warmth in my chest from spreading at the thought. The truth is, I’m not sure about Jackson—or at least the Jackson I felt I knew. But everything I have learned about the Jackson he is here is so much more than I could have ever guessed. From his care for his grandmother, to his fear of Zeus, everything about him feels so much more…real. And each day I find myself wanting to dive deeper into his world, to learn a little bit more about this Jackson, because if possible, I think I can see myself falling for him on a completely different level from what I felt for Jackson Locke.

  I wipe my eyes with the heel of my hand and release a long yawn. I have no idea what time it is, but I’m exhausted in every way. Jackson notices the yawn and begins to sit up. “I’ll just…” He motions to his bed on the floor. And I’m torn. I don’t want to lay in this big bed alone, but I don’t want to suggest that I’m ready for something I’m not. I’m still learning who Jackson is and though everything I’ve learned tells me I can trust him, I’m not ready to go there.

  Jackson scoots to the edge of the bed, his back to me, and I have no idea why or what causes me to do it. Maybe it’s the fact that he sees me as what I can be instead of the vague mess I feel like I’ve become. Maybe it’s because he understands how much I miss my family. Or maybe it’s just because I want a warm body beside me, but I reach over and tap his back without allowing myself to over think the consequences. “Do you think…I mean, would you mind if you laid beside me for awhile? Just until I fall asleep?”

  His eyes slide over my face. “Whatever you need.” He lies back down in the same place he was before and I shut off the lights before lying down beside him. We aren’t overly close. No parts of my body are touching his, but still I feel him there, his warmth, his certainty. I close my eyes and breathe him in, feeling so unbelievably relaxed that it’s all I can do not to reach out to take his hand.

  He shifts beside me, and his leg grazes mine, sending a surge through me. I wonder if he can feel it there too or if he’s already asleep and doesn’t realize what he’s done. I count my own breaths, trying to force my mind and heart to calm down enough to sleep. But I can’t seem to settle down. It’s too dark in the room to see anything clearly, so I chance a glance over at him to see if he’s awake. His eyes shine back at me, and the moment is still, nothing present but us and our beating hearts. No complications or lies. No worry or threat. Just Jackson and me as we are today. My heart swells as I stare at him, and I wonder if this is what it’s like to actually fall for someone. It’s slow and steady, not rushed by fear or the threat of losing everything you love. No, it’s just a girl and a boy, staring into each other’s eyes, lost to anything but each other.

  I don’t know if I’m falling. But I do know that of all my moments with Jackson, this one is my favorite.

  …

  I wake hours later to find myself curled up in the nook of Jackson’s body, his arm tucked tightly around me. For a moment I stay there, feeling his slow breath against my face as his chest rises and falls. I know it must be time for our call to Law and even though I hate to move, I wiggle out from Jackson, only to have him pull me closer and nuzzle into my hair. “Jackson,” I say, tapping his chest.

  “Hmm?” he asks, then he must realize how entangled we are because he jerks up, rubbing his eyes and stretching. “What time is it?”

  “I don’t know, but I thought it must be time to call Law, right?”

  He stretches his arms out and stands, not at all addressing how we had slept. “You ready?”

  A minute later, and we’re back in Jackson’s hidden office, staring at the screen while it tries to connect. On another monitor, Jackson is messaging Law to make sure he’s still available. He sends the signal to the satellite to open the wormhole, which sends our message to Earth’s satellite.

  We wait. My eyes dart between screens, and then simultaneously Jackson has a message flash on his screen and my screen scrambles before Lawrence appears. I smile brightly when I see him and reach out to touch the screen, even though it isn’t like I could actually feel him. It’s still so overwhelming to see him after what feels like so long.

  “Law?” I ask. “Is that really you?” The last time I saw him, he was different, distant.

  He laughs. “Let me guess, they forced you to take some memory thing that washes away all reminders of humankind. I’ll try to bring you up to speed. I’m Lawrence Cartier. One of your best friends. Generally awesome guy—wildly attractive, great personality, strong sense of humor.”

  “All right, all right,” I say, waving my hands in the air. “I changed my mind. Put on Gretchen.” We both break into laughter and it feels so good seeing him without everyone else around that I almost cry.

  He leans in closer to the screen. “How are you?”

  “I’m good. Well, as good as I can be. I miss you, all of you.”

  Law’s gaze travels behind me and I turn to see Jackson watching us with a strange expression on his face.

  “How is he treating you?�
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  “You mean your brother? Great. Jackson is great. And there are others here who are great. What about you, how is everyone there?”

  Law tenses visibly and I start to question him when he says, “Things are changing, Ari. There’s a lot going on. I’m not sure how safe this feed is to discuss it.”

  “Are you worried?” I ask.

  Law hesitates, which is answer enough, so I dive into everything I know so far. What Emmy told me, my theories about Cybil, the humans, Zeus. I even tell him about Lydian torturing me about the entrance. I hear Jackson shift in his chair as I’m describing it, and I know I’m going to hear it later. Law listens quietly until I’m done and I expect him to give me immediate answers, when instead he looks behind him and then back at the screen. “We’re going to run some analysis on this connection just to be safe. Can you call again tomorrow? We’ll know by then how safe it is to talk openly. I can’t risk…well, you understand.” His expression, so tense, causes a shiver to run down my spine.

  “What’s going on? Why do I feel like things are worse than you’re letting on?” Law scratches his chin and looks away. That’s when I realize he isn’t alone. I try to spot someone else from the view I have, but they must all be behind the screen he’s talking into. “Law, who’s with you? Is it Dad? Can I talk to him?”

  He releases a long breath and looks past me, either to Jackson or someone in the room with him, I’m not sure. “Tomorrow. For now, try to stay safe.” And then the screen scrambles before returning to black.

  Chapter 12

  “Why didn’t you tell me he was torturing you?” Jackson says, closing the door to our room, his tone so angry I’m worried any answer I give is only going to send him over the edge.

  “You mean, like you told me he was torturing you? You think I don’t know what all that blood means? I do.”

  He looks away. “That’s different.”

  “Is it? Do you think I want him hurting you?”

  “I can take it, Ari. I’ve dealt with Zeus my whole life. It’s different for you. You don’t know how far he’ll go.”

  “I know that,” I say. “But what am I supposed to do? I don’t even know what he’s asking me. Something about an entrance, but I don’t know to what or where.” I lay down on the bed, so exhausted, yet so rattled, my body is torn between passing out or going to work out.

  Jackson lays beside me and pulls me into him. He kisses the top of my head and nuzzles into my neck. “We’ll figure it out.”

  I let the sound of his breathing carry me to sleep, only instead of rest, I’m greeted with a new nightmare of places I’ve never visited and horrors I have yet to imagine. I have no idea what the nightmare is about or who it involves, but when morning wakes me, I’m covered in sweat, one thought on my mind. No one will be safe until Zeus is dead.

  …

  Too few hours later and I’m walking with Vill to see Emmy before my RES training. It’s a beautiful day and I wonder if I’ll ever get used to the lavender toned sky. We’ve yet to have rain, and I wonder if that has anything to do with the limited water on the planet. Maybe they’ve been in some constant drought. I’m not sure, but the more I learn about Loge, the more questions I have. I wish I could sit down with someone and just fire away—How do they travel through the trees to Earth? Do they travel from the trees here to the trees there or do they just close their eyes and somehow they’re on Earth? I know that no one is traveling there now, but still, I’m curious how it works. And what about the rest of Loge? I know there are other cities with limited civilization like Triad, but how do you get to them—can you get to them?

  And then there are the more pressing questions like how long do we have before Zeus attacks Earth, because he will. He said so himself. Yet beyond RES training, I’ve yet to see anything that resembles preparation for war, though maybe he would keep it hidden or maybe it’s handled in another city.

  “You know, your face crinkles up when you’re deep in thought,” Vill says from beside me. We decided to take the path that goes around the river instead of going by boat. Not that I mind the boats, but I would rather see as much of the city as possible and the path allows me more time to memorize where things are.

  I sigh. “I know. My dad always said my expressions were my greatest fighting weakness. Oh and the thinking too much thing.”

  “Thought is never a weakness,” Vill says in his usual philosophical way. “It’s where you choose to focus your thoughts that becomes the weakness. I get the impression that you have questions. Why haven’t you asked Jackson?”

  I train my gaze on one of the factories as we near. They remind me of the apartment buildings in Landings—all metal and cold-looking. “He has a lot on his plate right now. I don’t want to add to his stress, ya know?”

  Vill watches me for a fleeting second. “I’m not sure I understand your relationship.”

  At that I laugh. “You and me both.”

  “You care for him, that is obvious, yet you push him away.”

  I don’t want to talk about this, especially with Vill. And I have no idea what to say. Vill respects Jackson. It’s obvious in the way he talks to him, and I find myself wishing I knew Jackson on that deeper level. “It’s complicated,” I finally say.

  “Not really.” Vill stops on the path so I’m forced to look up at him. “Nothing in life is actually complicated. Our minds are able to process complex things, therefore complications in life are due to our own failure to try to un-complicate them.”

  I shake my head. “Sorry, what? We’re going to have to work on you speaking plainly to me if you want me to follow along.”

  Vill laughs out loud and starts back down the path.

  “It’s hard to feel sure that you know someone, only to learn that you never really knew him at all. I’m just more guarded this time. Jackson did more than lie to me, Vill. Sure, I would have helped him anyway. That much I’m sure of, because I never helped him because of him. I helped him out of desperation to save the people I loved. Still, we grew…close. And then all of it was swept away. He can’t expect me just to forget.”

  “I don’t think anyone is expecting you to forget. We just want you to see his reasons, to see him, for who he really is. He is nothing like Zeus.”

  “I know that.”

  “Do you?”

  We head around to the back of the Panacea in silence to where Emmy asked for me to meet her. She’s already deep into Juniper Gardens when we arrive and it takes several minutes of searching for us to find her. When we do, she’s kneeled on the ground tending to a flowering bush that is half covered in flowers and half dead.

  “I have waited, children,” she says as we approach, though her back is to us. She continues to work through the bush, bringing each leaf and flower back to life until the entire bush is vibrant green with tiny pink flowers, and then brushes off her pants as she stands. She then turns to Vill. “Are you prepared?” Vill nods to her. “Very well. Ari, you understand mind power?”

  “Sorry, what?” I edge closer, glancing first at Emmy, then at Vill.

  Emmy stares beyond the fence to the decaying planet on the other side. A shiver creeps down my spine as I follow her gaze. How is it possible that something so beautiful can lead to something so horrific? “I heal, therefore I am called healer, so too the other healers, but…we are not alone in our ability. Understand?”

  I shake my head. “I’m sorry, no. You were born a healer, right? That is why you are able to heal. You possess an ability beyond that of other Logeans.”

  “But what if she does not,” Vill says, breaking in. “What if there is nothing in her genetic makeup that specifies her as a healer?”

  “I don’t understand. Jackson said healers were rare in your world. That they were born.”

  Emmy huffs at this. “He say what he told, child. Anyone heal, just as anyone do anything. It our mind that wields power. And that why you here with me today.”

  I glance back at Vill.

  “
Ari, we believe that anyone has the ability to not only heal, but to do virtually anything. It’s about tapping into the true power of our minds and understanding that every molecule is directly impacted by every other molecule. Once you understand this, speed, action, even healing can be controlled by thought.”

  “But if that’s true, then why would only specific people be able to heal?”

  Emmy takes my hand in hers with a smile. “Your mind so thoughtful, child. Open it. See what there. We heal because we believe we can heal.”

  “So you’re saying that anyone can heal? If that’s true, why are there so few of you that do?”

  “Because it’s about belief,” Vill says. “Watch. I’m not a healer. No one on Loge considers me a healer. If they did, I would be working at the Panacea instead of at the school. But yet…” He reaches out to the bush beside the one Emmy had been working on when we arrived. His fingertips glide over the brown leaves, and at first nothing happens, but then as his fingers float over the leaves again, they move and shift, uncurling from their half dead stupor. The leaves never return to green, as they did for Emmy, and the transformation is slower, but it’s there. While Vill may not have healed the leaves that he touched, he did save them. They are no longer days or even minutes from death. They have hope.

  “You just…” I point to the leaf and then turn to Emmy. “You said this was why I am here.”

  She smiles, her expression full of warmth. “Yes. I know what you must do. I know you need a means. I teach you to heal, so you use it to save us.”

  I glance from Emmy to Vill. “I don’t understand how this can help. Maybe it can help me survive whatever he throws at me, but how will it”—I look around nervously and lower my voice—“help me kill him?”

  Emmy smiles. “Healing about a lot more than plant life, child. It give you control of things around you. It a weapon. A weapon no one expect.” “How?”

  “The mind’s a powerful thing, Ari,” Vill says. “Imagine the possibilities if you were able to not only give life, but take it away .” My heart hits in my chest in rapid rhythm. If what they’re saying is true, then I might stand a chance. I can kill Zeus and get our people home. “Vill, how long did it take you to get that far?”