As Larissa shut the door behind her, she wondered if her friends had missed her at all. Had they even tried to find her or did they care? Deep down, she was a little disappointed to find that her hotel key still worked because maybe if it didn’t, then that meant her friends had abandoned their vacation to search for her.
There was only one reason why Larissa even held onto her hotel key though she never wanted to come back. There was nothing she wanted to keep because she knew that those possessions would turn into the scars of her broken past simply because they reminded her of what a life she could have had with Ammon. That’s why she didn’t plan on bringing anything back. But the only reason why she returned was to bid a last farewell. To burry whatever future she could have had if she had never developed the powers she never wanted.
Cassie’s pink headphones sprawled across the carpeted floor and Larissa had to step over them if she wanted to take a seat on the only somewhat clean surface in the room. It was the bed she had slept in for only a few nights before Ammon discovered what she really was. She remembered the nights with a pillow over her head to block out Cassie’s off pitch singing and the alerts coming from her phone. But at the same time, she had strained her ears to hear Ammon’s soft voice from the other room. At times it had been muffled, but other times she could hear him say her name and a smile would spread across her lips because she knew he was thinking about her.
A single door in the wall had separated their hotel rooms. Larissa was sure that if she wanted to, she could force her body to melt through the wooden door so she could peer at his things one last time. Before her mind could express the foolishness of that choice, Larissa began crossing the room. She had just pressed her fingers against the smooth mahogany when something unfamiliar caught her eye. Sitting on the corner of the dresser in her line of sight was a thick white envelope with her name written in bold.
Larissa wasn’t sure what contents made the envelope so fat, but as she reached for it she could almost hear Cassie’s voice singing about how she would take pictures and print them out for the whole group. Sure enough, as Larissa let the contents fall into her hand, the picture of the group sitting on the peer at sunset was the first thing she saw.
Instantly Larissa became nauseous. She wanted to burn them. Every single one of them. Her heart swelled uncomfortably in her chest, pushing on her inner organs and she felt as if she were going to be sick. It was one thing to bring back a dress that reminded her of Ammon, but to see his arm around her resurrected her dead memories. Swiftly, she hurried to the bathroom for fear that she would vomit. She hadn’t realized that she was still holding onto the stack of pictures until she reached for the toilet seat and yanked it up.
Her stomach heaved, and she felt her eyes tear up from the amount of pressure needing to explode from her body. A mound of spit rolled down her tongue and she watched through blurry eyes as it dripped in a line down to the toilet water. By now she was familiar with this sort of reaction. She was about to develop something, she could feel the familiar surge of energy building in her core. She could count the beats of every pulse it brought as it fought its way to her surface. For once there was no one around, and Larissa felt her mind relaxing from the mental stress that tended to accompany these unstoppable happenings.
She knew she should just let it happen. There was no way to avoid it and the sooner her body picked up on this new talent, the sooner she could get rid of the pictures and move on with her life. She knew that looking at the memories was what triggered the reaction and to hurry up the process, Larissa studied the picture in her hand. She studied the way Ammon’s skin tanned from all the walking around and felt the center of her chest tightening as she did. She gazed into his green eyes and remembered the way he would look at her. Just as she let those thoughts enter her mind, she could feel the wave of energy snaking up her throat and sliding over her own eyes. As the heat and pressure continued to fill her vision, white stars began to dance across her sight until eventually everything went white. That was when the pain began to settle in.
It was as if a thousand needles penetrated the tender tissue of her eyes and continued ever slowly into her skull. There was nothing but white in her vision and the feeling of acid filling up her tear ducts before running in tears down her cheeks. As the pain drew closer to the back of her head, a surging migraine hammered against her temples chiming with the rapid beating of her heart. An agonizing scream ripped through her teeth and she rubbed fiercely at her eyes to flush the pain away but nothing would sooth it. It was as if white hot spears were sinking into her brain through her eyes. The moment the spears collided with the bone behind her eyes, the brilliant white blaze intensified as if she could see some nonexistent light through every inch of skin covering her body.
Larissa screamed again, this time out of shock more than pain. With every surge of pain that followed, another urge to wail choked the back of her throat. But her pride wouldn’t allow her to submit to the agony of the change. Eventually the scorching white light had nailed itself to the back of her head and the moment the pain collided with her skull, the wave of energy in her chest extinguished. The strength that her muscles needed to keep her upright phases away and she could feel every ounce of power recoil to her chest. The blazing white that had clouded her vision switched to black as swiftly as someone flicking a switch. She could feel herself falling. When her sight vanished, so did her strength and her inability to command her body sent her collapsing on her back in the empty bathroom.
It was dark. It was cold. And Larissa felt weak. There was no way of knowing what she had done, or what had happened to her. If it weren’t for the fact that she could feel the tile against her cheek, she would have thought this last transformation had blown a hole through the back of her head. But she recognized the state she was in. She had felt this before, even back before she knew what a supernatural was. There had been times when Larissa was sleeping, but her mind was awake. She could scream at her arms to tell them to move, but no matter what, her body would remain frozen like a cocoon. It usually wasn’t until someone shook her shoulder that Larissa snapped from that state and she dreaded the idea of one of Ammon’s friends finding her like that.
Moments went by and still no strength returned to her. She could hear the luggage carts in the hallway beside her and the explosions coming from a TV screen in the neighboring room. Still nothing happened and she continued to imagine the minuets that ticked past.
Finally, something shook her. It was the phone in her pocket vibrating angrily. With her body still half asleep, Larissa had to force her hand to her pocket. Using muscle memory, Larissa swiped the icon on her screen and pressed it to her ear.
“Hello?” she said noting the weakness in her voice. But of course she was weak; she couldn’t even muster the energy to open her eyes.
“There’s been a changing in plan.” Ithaca said harshly.
Larissa inhaled deeply as she waited for her cousin to explain. With her first deep breath, she felt the oxygen spread down her veins and slowly her body came to life like an ancient tree uprooting itself.
“We’re There’s been a change in plan. We are leaving for Tarrillian City in two hours. Mason came back a little bit earlier than I had imagined.” today. There’s a jet waiting for us in hanger 7.” Larissa could almost see the agitated glare across her hazel eyes as she spoke.
Again Larissa sucked in a deep breath and when she exhaled, she asked, “But how are we doing that?”
Ithaca spat one of her familiar scoffs at Larissa then replied, “You don’t know how to get on a plane?”
Slowly Larissa sat up and rubbed her eyes. When she pulled her hand away, she was relieved to see her thin legs sprawled out before her atop the bathroom floor. “Well… I don’t have a ticket.”
“You don’t need one. We’re riding a private jet.” Ithaca explained, “There’s a supernatural in Tarrillian who can bring machines to life with his touch. It’s leaving for Tarrillian in two hours and you
had better be on that flight.”
Larissa was still too exhausted to snap back at Ithaca, but she did find energy to climb to her feet. With the aid of the bathroom sink, Larissa pulled herself up onto wobbly legs and glanced at her pale complexion in the mirror. “How do I know…” Larissa completely forgot what her next words were.
The woman in the mirror had Larissa’s thick auburn hair. She had her small nose, her big lips, and even her firm cheekbones. But her eyes were not the same. To make sure she wasn’t just imagining things, Larissa blinked as she leaned in. Those were her lashes, her thick long lashes. And the almond shape of her eyes was still the same. Even the rust color of her iris was near identical to the color of her hair. Yet this time there was something… more.
A fine white circle about as thick as a strand of hair wrapped itself around the center if her iris. At first Larissa thought it was a glare from the light or a smudge on the dirty window, but regardless of whatever angle she looked at herself, it was there.
“What, Larissa?” Ithaca barked from the other end of the phone, “How do you know what?”
“I…” was all Larissa could muster in astonishment. She suffered the pain of spears sinking into her eyes for a white ring in each of her eyes? This wasn’t even a phenomenal ability, it was a decoration! Perhaps Ithaca would know something about it that Larissa didn’t know. After all, she did offer to assist Larissa in containing her outbreaks. “I need your help.” She spat before she remembered that Ithaca was beneath the scum of the earth.
The other end of the line went silent. Larissa bit her lip as she waited for Ithaca to reply. She already spoke and now there was no way of taking it back.
“What… happened?” Ithaca finally choked out as if helping Larissa were the last thing she wanted to do at the moment.
Larissa sighed as she sucked in a big breath and gazed once more at the newest addition to her appearance. “I changed… again. Something happened.”
“Who did you kill?” Ithaca asked.
“No one. I…” Larissa froze. What was she doing? She had always hated Ithaca and now she was groveling at her feet for answers. “I can’t explain. Where are you?”
“You need to show me?” Ithaca asked skeptically.
Larissa replied confidently, “Yes. I don’t know what happened. I need to know what’s wrong with me. I’ll meet you right away. Wherever you’re at.”
Another moment of silence ticked past. Ithaca had gone so long without a sound that Larissa’s eyes finally found time to look at something other than her reflection. Scattered across the bathroom tile were the photos that had brought on the change. As she waited for Ithaca to respond, Larissa figured it would seem suspicious if Cassie were to return to the mess. By the time a nice pile of pictures was collected in her hands, Larissa finally heard Ithaca sigh deeply. “Alright, fine. But this had better be good. Remember those mountains where I found you? There’s a filming studio by the riverbed.”
“Yes!” Larissa exclaimed nudging the bathroom door open with her toe and crossing over to the corner where she had first encountered the pictures. “What are you doing there?”
“Oh, you know, I’m just starting a revolution.” Ithaca replied casually.
“Which filming studio are you going to be in?” Larissa asked as she tucked the images back into the envelope.
“The first one you see when you cross the bridge.” Ithaca replied.
Larissa nodded, “That’s where they film the Dylan Dade Show?”
“Yup.”
“That’s a weird place to start a revolution.” Larissa admitted.
For the first time in all of Larissa’s memory, Ithaca laughed as if something were actually funny. “Whatever. Come quick, I’m on a tight schedule.” Then she hung up.
Larissa let the soft white noise of an empty phone line buzz in her ear for a moment as she gazed down at her name written in bold letters on the white envelope. This really was it. Once she set the envelope back down on the dresser, she would leave and never come back. Suddenly the shock of reality bolted through her. This wasn’t a game and her affiliation with Ithaca wasn’t temporary. Once she set down the pictures that would be her final good bye. As she stood there frozen in her gaze, she realized that she wasn’t ready to let go.
Getting out of the orphanage had been a dream come true. Riding rollercoasters, working undercover for the police, and being kissed by Ammon had been the greatest things to happen to her. Setting down the pictures was like saying she had never come to Hawaii or she had never even left Tarrillian City. Holding on to her memories and knowing that she could have had a different life would haunt her until the day she died. But saying that none of this had ever happened and that it meant nothing to her would rake her heart with every breath she took from that day on and she was not ready for that.
Still, Ithaca’s words rang in her ear. She had to leave now or face the wrath of her impatient cousin. With that thought in mind, Larissa tucked the photos in her back pocket. There was just enough time to hide the envelope over her shirt before the mahogany door rattled. That was the door that had led to Ammon’s room and as the door was pulled open, Larissa swore she watched it unveil the person on the other side in slow motion.
When Ammon’s body finally emerged through the doorway, Larissa could feel the color of her skin wash from her face to her toes as he gazed at her through the doorway. But if Ammon could make a face more surprised than Larissa’s, he was doing it right at that moment.
“I thought I was just hearing things.” Ammon muttered dazed as if he wasn’t sure he was dreaming.
Larissa said nothing. Seeing his strong features and thick brows pulled up in astonishment was nearly too much for her. Quickly she turned around and bolted for the door.
“Larissa!” Ammon called out for her. But she was already gone. Impulsively he ran for the door. She was nowhere to be seen.
If his mind was playing tricks on him, this was the sickest one yet. He had been missing her for days now and in all honesty, he was a very angered by the fact that she took off on him so quickly. By the time he came back into his room, Cassie and Josh were sitting up from their midday slumber on his bed.
“What’s going on man?” Josh asked as Ammon snatched up his charging phone and called Larissa’s number again.
“You look… mad.” Cassie noted.
“Livid...” Ammon corrected as Larissa’s number went straight to the disconnected tone. In the blur of anger and mixed emotions swelling up inside him, Ammon almost tried to call her back again. But instead he ripped his phone from the charger and pitched it ferociously at the other end of the wall leaving a dent.
“It was Larissa. She came back. She was on the phone with someone…” Ammon spat his words out as he paced back and forth. His long fingers swimming anxiously through the back of his hair.
“Slow down.” Cassie said climbing up from the bed with her hands held up. “I thought she went to Harvard or whatever.” Her voice was calm as if she was trying to tame a wild mustang, but Ammon wasn’t letting her in.
“She’s a supernatural!” be blurted. Then stopped. How could he have given away such precious information after he had lied to keep her safe.
Cassie and Josh exchanged puzzled glances before looking back up at Ammon.
“You lied to us?” Josh asked quietly.
Ammon looked at the pair of them. Their eyes were so worried a twinge of pity mixed in with them. Of course he had lied. But now he realized he needed their help to find her and for that to happen, there could be no more lies between them.
“She…” He sighed, “She’s a supernatural. I didn’t want to tell you. I thought you would tell Marsean.”
Cassie glanced at Josh and they both shared the same puzzled look. “I wasn’t even thinking about telling Marsean. Were you?”
“Nah man.” Josh replied, “I’m actually kinda glad that story about her going to Yale was a lie. It makes me feel less bad about my GPA.”
&
nbsp; Cassie rolled her eyes, “Josh you’re stupid.”
“You’re stupid…” he grumbled before turning back to Ammon. “What else do we need to know about her?”
“While we were napping I thought I heard her voice in my sleep.” Ammon replied slowly so that he could regain his composure, “It turns out that she was actually in the other room talking on the phone with-” Ammon froze in mid-sentence. He hadn’t realized he was staring at a pile of clothes on the floor until he looked up. “I know where she is.”
“Where?” Josh and Cassie asked in unison.
“While she was talking on the phone with someone,” Ammon began as he rummaged the room for shoes and his indestructible cell phone. “She mentioned that she’s meeting this person at a filming studio. I heard her say Dylan Dade.”
Cassie snorted, “The Dylan Dade Show is so funny but that’s a pretty weird place to be meeting someone. Are you sure that’s what she said?”
Ammon was hardly paying any attention. In the time it took Cassie to finish her statement, Ammon had already found the location of the filming studio on his phone. “Look, here’s the address.” He said flipping the phone around for them to see. “It’s not too far from here…”
“Well then what are we waiting for?” Josh exclaimed rising to his feet. “Let’s go get her back.”
He didn’t have to say much more to get his friends to follow him out the door.
~“Hello people of the Supremacy!” Ithaca exclaimed when she appeared on stage. Her arms were thrown out wide as if she were giving everyone in the audience hug.
She stood there dressed like a ringleader in the center of the Dylan Dade Show with a whip in one hand and a gun in the other. The furniture that had once decorated the stage had been pushed out of the way so that there was nothing but Ithaca on the large wooden scene. A single light shown down on her head, casting a small shadow between her stilettoes and blacking out anything else around her.
The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural Page 39
