by Rayya Deeb
Dom grinned. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Ty."
"Enjoy for me too. Maybe next time I be your guest?"
"Whoa there, buddy. This is my gig!"
Finally, things were lightening up around the dark and mysterious Dominic Ambrosia. It was nice to see him become a little possessive about his guest spot on my Great Falls Park excursion. Whether it was because of the sun, or because of me, it's where he wanted to be and that was all that mattered.
We left our sushi breakfast feeling incredibly good. I could see why this was Dom's favorite eating establishment in Seneca. Ty was cool, and his otherworldly food increased his cool factor tenfold. I'd definitely be back... but first I had to take Dom for chilaquiles.
18
AS WE WALKED to the point where we would be joined by the men in blue for our ascent to the Aboves I tried to imagine what was on Dom’s beautiful mind. I watched from the corner of my eye, knowing he was deep inside his own head. He scrunched his lips a lot. I didn't want to disturb him, so I decided to let him be the one that broke the silence this time.
One man and one woman in blue awaited our arrival. Without speaking they joined us in the dome, and up we went. What was normally a one-minute ride lasted forever with these mutes. It couldn't have been more awkward.
I wanted to catch every emotion Dom showed once he was at the top, truly experiencing the Aboves’ daylight, after so long. He was so absorbed in the moment that he never even noticed that I was staring at him.
We came to a stop and he closed his eyes as the golden dome opened up to Virginia's blue gray sky. I watched him turn his face up and welcome the cool filtered light of the autumn sun onto his milky skin. He may have wanted to hide what he was really feeling, and he might have fooled the other two, but I could see an emotional meteor storm erupting behind those gripping eyes of his. Dom's reaction to the world he hadn't seen in two years was fascinating, heartwarming and sad to me all at the same time.
The sun shone down between streaks of cirrus clouds that were scattered high up in the sky. It was an ideal day for our visit. A small flock of birds flew over us, migrating south. Dom locked eyes on the flock. I could hear him breathing deeply, absorbing the real, if somewhat polluted, air of the Aboves. I didn't want to disturb his moment, so I climbed into the flighter that was waiting for us. He would come when he was ready.
Twenty minutes later, the flighter deposited us in a desolate area of Great Falls Park called Difficult Run. There wasn't a sign of anyone else anywhere around us. I wondered if this section of the park had been taken off the public access maps and repurposed for Seneca’s use only. Actually, I would've been surprised if that weren’t the case.
"In two hours we will depart." Those were the first words uttered by the folks in blue. They weren't messing around.
Dom wasted no time. He set off through the treed area, on a path towards the water. I followed. Finally, we were alone, without what I’d come to think of as our handlers. His pace grew quicker the closer we got to the water and I found myself practically jogging to keep up. We came to a point overlooking the Potomac, its powerful rapids mesmerizing. This was a force of nature that we both wanted to absorb in all its might.
The jagged rocks jetting out from the riverbed created a fast, intense flow of whitewater. A light, silky breeze contrasted with the dangerous rapids. I loved the sounds of the crashing water– so loud, but so soothing at the same time. Signs in various languages warned people not to try and swim in these uncertain waters. I hadn't planned on swimming anyway.
"Come on, let's go down by the water." Dom had a vibrant energy about him, instigated just by being in the great outdoors. This new side of him, just as much as his intense, mysterious persona, was exciting to be around. We trekked down a steep path to a small pebbled embankment on our side of the river.
Dom sat down and took off his blue combat boots. I was surprised at how meticulous he was with his laces, carefully undoing each one and then winding them up with precision and placing them inside his boots. He set them down next to each other, in complete alignment, pointed directly at the river. He indicated that I should do the same. Was he planning on getting in that water? Hadn’t he seen the warning signs? Then he removed his flexer from his wrist and nodded to me, as if to say, "You do it, too."
I was apprehensive, but didn't want to appear weak or unwilling to try new, exciting things. Hey, I was the queen of trying new, exciting things. This was not the time for me to chicken out. Shoes came off, flexer out of my pocket. I looked at him, ready for the next dare.
Dom thrust his hand out. Better than a dare, this was a waking dream come true. I took his hand. He grasped mine tight and looked me in the eye. This wasn't a sweet, romantic, handholding moment like in the movies. This was a sudden, intense connection unlike anything I had ever imagined. It was just the two of us, together, against the raging river. His strong gaze spoke a thousand words. I knew what we were about to do, and discretely took a deep breath.
Dom stepped onto a huge rock a couple feet out into the water, then turned around to help me join him on it. Was this as far as we were going? No. He turned to take another step, higher, to a series of extremely steep rocks. Now I wasn't just intimidated. I was scared out of my mind, but tried my best to hide it.
It was frighteningly windy here above the rapids. My hair blew across my face, my teeth chattered a little bit. Dom's eyes were filled with determination. I fed off of it as we crossed a few more rocks. He let go of my hand and leapt to a higher rock, then turned back to me and reached down for me to jump up to him. I hesitated.
"I won't let you fall."
In a complete lapse of self-control, I trusted him. And for some dumb reason, I closed my eyes when I jumped.
I landed on the rock! My foot slipped, scraping my shin– there was blood, streaks of deep red against my pale skin. My foot plunged into the freezing cold water, sending all of my senses into overdrive. Dom grasped my hand tight and didn't let go. He was unfazed, and pulled me up onto the rock with him. There wasn't much space to stand. We were as close as we’d been in the closet at S.E.R.C. Closer. Only this time, we were out in the great wide open, not squeezed inside the darkness of closed walls and a closet full of chemical controls.
He let go of my hand and jumped down from the rock. I was on top of the world. The crisp water that penetrated my bones brought with it a surge of strength from another dimension. Dom turned and reached his hand up for me. This time I didn't take it. I didn't need him to help me or show me the way. So far, on this little day trip to Difficult Run, he had taken the lead. But this was my excursion and he was my guest. I needed to prove myself. It wasn't just about showing him that I was some badass chick. He was someone I needed to align myself with for so many reasons beyond even those that I was aware of. I needed to assure him that we were, indeed, cut from the same cloth.
And then I jumped. Something outside my body had taken over. After falling for what seemed like forever, I plunged into the only calm pool of water within sight. Under the freezing cold water, I welcomed the adrenaline rush like a long lost friend triggering the memory of my flighter heist with Julie and the exhilaration I’d felt then. I opened my eyes and surged back up into the humid Virginia air like a rocket from the river. I let out a wild scream of excitement and flung my hair out of my face just in time to see Dominic leaping off the cliff, the look of elation on his face during that free-fall something I’d never forget. He cannonballed and hit the water with a spectacular splash.
We surfaced and dove like porpoises, shouting out in pure euphoria. We didn't need Mojo Sticks– all we needed was each other and this sickening landscape.
We both bobbed up and down, doggy paddling, laughing and splashing around. My intuition had served me well. Dominic Ambrosia and me in a whole new world... it was going to be a wild ride.
I noticed an opening in the rock structure that formed against the river's edge, and swam that way. Dom came after me. We swam into a small c
ave that had its own natural skylight. The water was only waist deep, and the wind created a beautiful echo. He splashed water onto his face and then rubbed his eyes, before he opened them. Once he did, he didn't take them off me. The stillness in the cave enshrined the moment.
He smiled, and I smiled back. "You can trust me."
Dom moved in to be right in front of me, tucked my hair behind my ear and moved in even closer to whisper, "I know."
I could tell he didn't want to ruin the vibe of the moment, but he had something that he needed to share with me and it was time.
"They listen to everything."
"Who?"
"S.O.I.L. Nothing you say or do is secret. They know everything."
"How can they know it all?"
There was that paranoid look he had when I’d first met him, when he thought I was following him. Now, he looked all around, even up through the break in the rock structure, into the sky, scanning our surroundings like a raptor searching for prey.
"Our flexers?"
"Our flexers. Your blood."
"My blood?" I was baffled. How could they possibly listen to me through my blood? It sounded impossible, but then, why would he make this up?
"That shot you got wasn't for a flesh-eating bacteria. There is no such disease as Necrolla Carne."
I was dumbfounded. "How do you know?"
"I’ll show you, but for now, just be careful. Watch every move you make. Don’t trust anyone."
"Okay."
I thought about what Ellen Malone had told me the night before, and I felt conflicted. I had started to trust her as much as I could trust anyone, but here, in this moment, I trusted Dom the same, if not more. He looked back at me with those intense eyes– one hazel and one blue. He didn't blink. I felt him peering into my soul. Searching. Understanding me.
I wondered why he had decided to share this with me.
"You're different," he whispered. His hushed voice was melodic against the howl of the water rushing through the cave and the angry waves that smashed into the rock wall outside.
"So are you."
"That's why we are here together, right now."
I wanted to know everything right then and there, but I could tell that it wasn't the time to press. I was willing to wait, happy enough with this moment being just the way it was.
19
I DARTED AWAKE and grabbed my flexer. It was three thirty-three a.m. I'd slept for just over three hours– the longest stretch of sleep I’d had since right after my Necrolla Carne vaccination– or whatever that thing was. I couldn't wait until the next time I saw Dom, though we hadn't set a specific time. We didn't even have each other's flexer info.
I flipped on B3 and scrolled through the stations. The news was on with the same newscaster I'd seen the other day. She was an America's sweetheart type to a T. Light brown hair, and bangs that framed her lightly freckled face. Soft blue eyes the color of dolphin skin and a button nose people pay good money to have done with plastic. Becky Hudson.
"An outbreak of the VCF2 virus is creating a frenzy in the metropolitan D.C. area and the department of health is warning of its high level of contagiousness. This is on the heels of the third strain of bird flu to cause over two thousand deaths on the eastern seaboard this past summer."
Video images played of people sick in hospitals, wearing facemasks in public places, from the mall to the post office. Kids were being removed from schools on stretchers, crying parents– the whole nine yards.
"Seneca Senate spokesperson, Terence Murray, issued this statement from the capital: It is in the best interest of all Senecans to avoid contact with the American population until the Center for Disease Control has declared this disease contained. Any Senecan who has been in contact with anyone or anyplace these diseases have been present, will be placed in the Quarantine and Cleansing Sector, and potentially removed from the Seneca Society. Rest assured, we are taking these matters seriously to ensure the safety of our citizens."
I flipped the channel. After what I’d heard from Dom I didn't know what to think about all this. I forced myself to push it out of my brain altogether. Nothing good was on B3, so I hopped out of bed and squatted down next to my record player. I pulled my Michael Jackson "Thriller" L.P. from the stack and sat back to crank some Billie Jean– one of my favorite songs of all time. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the crackle on the vinyl. It always soothed me, and reminded me of my Mom. It was the one thing we loved doing together while we waited for my dad to get home after work. Sometimes he would come in the door and the two of us would be having the best dance party. We always danced like nobody was watching. Here, it seemed, maybe they would be watching. I wondered if I would still dance the same, knowing that. I thought I would.
20
THERE WAS NO sign of Reba at our usual meet-up spot when I got off the acoustic carrier on Monday morning, en route to first session. I was starting to think something was up. Was he mad at me for something I’d said or done? For a guy, he was pretty darn emotional.
After my first couple of sessions, it was time for lunch so I hit the monster of all meal halls. Pristinely white with long stainless steel tables and chairs, everything was perfectly symmetrical. The ceilings were about sixty feet high and lined in grids of tubes through which food was delivered. You ordered and it popped up directly on the table in front of your seat, and it was removed the same way.
I went to the table where I’d had lunch with Reba almost every day so far. He wasn't there. I walked up and down the aisles of tables hoping I would find him somewhere, but I couldn't spot him anywhere. I was starting to get to know who the cliques were at S.E.R.C. In this one way, at least, S.E.R.C. was just like my school back home in LA.
"Looking for someone?"
I spun around. Reba was there, sitting at a table with his back to me. He was eating a tuna fish sandwich on a French roll. There was a peanut butter cookie on his tray. It's what he had every single day.
"Hey, Reebs. I've been wondering where you've been."
"I've been around."
I eyed the seat next to him. "May I?"
"Please."
I knew by the tone of his voice that there was something going on. His usual peppy inflections were uncharacteristically subdued. He didn't even bother to look at me.
I took my flexer out and connected it to the port on the end of the meal tube. I placed my order for a cheese quesadilla with spicy salsa on the side.
"How was Great Falls?"
I hadn't even seen him since I'd earned the opportunity to go there. He must have heard through the grapevine. I guess the gossip mill is another similarity, between Seneca and my old school. So this was about the fact that I had invited Dom and not him. I definitely didn't want to rub it in that it had been unbelievably awesome, that I’d had the time of my life. That it had been a day undoubtedly I’d never, ever forget. "It was okay."
"You really expect me to believe that?"
"Are you mad at me? Because if you are, just tell me."
"Not at all. Why would I be mad?"
"Exactly."
"Exactly."
My quesadilla arrived. We ate in silence. He was clearly mad, and he shouldn't have been, but for some reason I still felt guilty. I didn't want his feelings to be hurt.
A deep voice boomed from behind me. "Doro from LA."
I twisted around in my seat to see G.W. Wallingsford. His arm was draped around an emerald-eyed brunette who managed to emit a high sense of fashion even though she was decked out in the same blue outfits as the rest of us. On his other side posed a beefcakey guy with dimples and a faux hawk.
"This is my girl, Brittany, and my boy, Mikey. Brittany, Mikey– Doro from LA." Brittany bent down and kissed my cheek, cooing, "Hey. I love LA."
"Thanks, me, too. This is my friend, Reba. He's from Texas via Puerto Rico."
"What up, man?" G.W. put his forearm up to bump Reba's. Reba pepped up, "Nice to meet you all."
Mikey eyed
Reba's peanut butter cookie. "You gonna eat that?"
Reba handed it to him. "I can order another one."
"Sweet, thanks bro."
G.W. elbowed Mikey. "Come on, man, you just ate."
"Yeah, but not a peanut butter cookie."
Mikey inhaled the cookie as we all watched. G.W. shook his head, then put his hand on my shoulder. "Listen, Doro from LA, Brittany's parents are headed to South America for two weeks. She and her sister are going to have the place to themselves, and this Friday night we’re going to throw down hardcore. LA style. You should come. Both of you."
Brittany nodded in agreement. "For sure."
"Most definitely, we'd love to."
"How will we get there?" Reba was hesitant. I have no idea why.
"Don't worry, Puerto Rico. I got you covered, my man."
G.W. bent down to my level and tapped on a sleek black headband that was holding his abundant blond hair back. It was his flexer. I pulled mine from the meal port and put it to G.W.'s. My life was no longer my life. I was definitely living someone else's. Even Reba watched in amazement.
"Y'all kids enjoy your grub. I'll flex you with the transpo deets Friday, Doro from LA. Just remember, mums the word on this jam. The only people that need to hear about it need to hear about it from the right place. Know what I'm sayin'?"
"Of course."
Reba motioned that his lips were sealed. G.W. threw him a fist bump. The three said their goodbyes and then strolled off, turning heads all the way down the meal hall like a row of falling dominos. It irked me that their connections allowed them to traverse between Seneca and the Aboves, but I kept it to myself. If Reba felt the same way, I couldn’t tell, because he acted as if it was nothing. He didn’t even seem interested in the party. "You sure you want to go? You don't seem so into the idea," I asked.
"Yep. It's nice of them to extend the invitation."
He didn't seem sure at all. Like something other than the Dom-in-the-Aboves thing was bothering him. I wanted things to feel right again. "It'll be fun. I'm glad that we're going to a party together."
