by Sophia Sharp
“There are no consequences,” Liz emphasized. “And what it will do is make us infinitely stronger.”
“Why are you so obsessed with gaining more strength? Isn’t it enough to have what you have now?”
Liz chuckled again. “Tracy, I’ve been using the crystals for two years. And despite that, I haven’t progressed in what I can do since the very first month. Do you know how frustrating it is, knowing you have all this potential locked up inside of you, but being unable to access it? And then you came along, completely out of the blue, and I – we – finally found the missing piece to unlocking true power.”
“I don’t like where you’re going with this…”
“We need you Tracy, and you need us. Don’t pretend you can stay away from the crystals. They’re powerful. They’re enticing. They will play tricks with your mind, until you can do nothing else but lust for them. And what we’re doing now is mere child’s play! It’s like forcing a man dying of thirst to drink from a puddle through a straw! It won’t be enough. It might be for you, for now, but one day you’ll wake up and yearn for more.” Her voice quavered with desire. “So why limit yourself? Help us triangulate, and we can unlock the true power of the crystals, together! We won’t have to restrict ourselves anymore. There’ll be no danger. There’ll be no… Hey! Where are you going?”
I turned around and started to back away. The way Liz was talking scared me. It was like something down here unlocked her most primitive desire, and there was no buffer left to counteract it. The song of the crystals was playing with her mind, and I knew it. Despite her two years of experience, she was just as susceptible to falling to their grasp as I was. I broke into a trot.
“Wait!” she called out behind me. “Tracy, wait! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said all that.” I could hear her rushing after me. “Hold on. Tracy?”
I slowed down. I wasn’t running from Liz, and it wasn’t her I was scared of. I was scared of the crystals. When Liz started talking about the group, about the triangulation, and the potential for more power, something in my mind clicked. Though I tried to suppress it, out of that came an inconceivable desire for the power. I wanted to form the triangle, and to unlock the ultimate strength of the crystals. But, the unnatural desire was just that: unnatural. It wasn’t like me to lust for power. But the crystals were changing me, and I was conscious of the shift. That’s why I was frightened. I didn’t like feeling like I was losing control over myself.
“Yes?” I said when she caught up to me.
“I’m sorry. I know I got a little intense back there – I shouldn’t have been so forward. But I wanted to show you that what we’re doing is grounded in knowledge.”
“Who’s knowledge?” I asked. “Where did the markings come from, and how long have they been etched into the rock?”
“As good a question as any,” Liz replied. “I don’t know.”
“Then how can you trust them?”
“Because, they brought me to the crystals in the first place. And nothing I’ve deduced from them has ever been wrong.”
I shivered. The tunnel was creepy, and despite the lights hanging overhead, it had a murky feel to it. If Liz discovered the crystals from the engravings, that meant that somebody else – somebody long ago – had known of the crystals, too. And if so, what happened to them? How long have the markings really been there? It must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of years. At least. That meant that the island had previously been inhabited, and this was long before the existence of the asylum, or the school. Just what, exactly, were we meddling with?
“Come on, Tracy. You can’t tell me you’re not the least bit curious about the true power of the crystals?”
“I am,” I admitted. “But I’m also wary of them. And rightfully so! I remember the after-sickness quite vividly, and I know what happened to Ashley.”
“You didn’t know what you were doing,” Liz said, “and instinct took over. That was why the after-sickness was so bad. If you’re trained – if you let me show you what to do – it’ll never be that bad again. And what Ashley did was inexcusable, as well as reckless. She drew too much power. It was irresponsible of her, and she suffered for it. But that’s not what I want you to do. I want to show you how to use them safely, so you avoid all the nasty effects.”
“Is using them safely even possible?” I pondered. Since learning of the crystals, there were moments where I desired them more than anything in the world, and moments where I wanted to be as far away from them as possible. It was a rollercoaster ride of lust, and I couldn’t control it. What if, the next time I tried to draw on the power of a crystal, I pulled too much? What if I couldn’t control myself? Liz and the others said I was strong, stronger than all of them. Did that mean I could take on too much without realizing it? And then return to that terrifying void afterwards? Could I risk losing my mind, just for a taste of power?
“Yes. I’ve been doing it for two years. If we link ourselves together, if we triangulate, we all become part of a larger whole. And that creates a buffer for the risk. We’ll be able to do so much more, and not worry about the dangers of it.”
“Wait a minute. You said something different just now. You said we link ourselves together? Before, you made it sound like it was a one-time thing.”
“No,” Liz shook her head. “I’m sorry if that’s what you thought. When we triangulate, the three of us become linked forever. It’s not like we do it to unlock the power of the crystals and then walk away.”
I gulped. Forever was a long time.
“And what does this link… do, exactly?”
“We’ve never done it, so how should I know?”
“You’re the expert here! What do you think?”
“I think that it makes it so that none of us are able to use the crystals without the others present.”
“So you’re giving up your autonomy for it?”
Liz shook her head. “We don’t have much autonomy if we’re so limited, Tracy. Ashley told you, didn’t she? About the connections between all the elements of the world?”
“Sure,” I said. “I guess.”
“Well, we’ll have the power to modify those connections however we want!”
“Assuming the other two people are around.”
“Yes. But that’s not important!”
“Then what is?”
“How much flexibility it affords us! We are all bound by oath, right now, to share this with only each other. What’s the harm in another link between us?”
“Alright,” I said, considering it slowly. While the crystals did scare me, the other girls all seemed to be dealing with them just fine. Maybe I was being too paranoid. Maybe the desire I felt for them was perfectly natural – normal, even. And maybe the desire would subside as I got more accustomed to the crystals. Plus, Liz contended that the dangers would disappear if we were to link. Was it really so bad, to seek out safety amid the uncertainty? “Let’s say we were to link. What happens then? We become bound to use the crystals only if the others are around. Correct?”
“Right,” Liz said.
“And when the others are around, all of us can wield more power than we could have individually?”
“Ehhh,” Liz stalled. “Not really. A triangle has three points. What would happen if all three of those points tried to move in their own, uncoordinated direction? All at once? The lines connecting the points would snap, shattering the connection. That’s why only one of the three can ever wield power.”
“Wait! So two of the people cede control to the third?”
“Right.”
“But how do you decide who gets the power?”
“It’ll be me, of course,” Liz said smoothly. “I’m the natural choice. I discovered the crystals, after all, and I know the most about their use.”
“And the others are fine with that?”
“Of course!” Liz said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. “They know I’m the best choice. And I’ve led them all this far
already.”
“So what you want me to do, then,” I said deliberately, “is give up all my control, all my abilities, just so that you can use your own to a greater degree?”
“When you say it like that,” Liz began, but I cut her off.
“So what am I to you, then?” I asked angrily. “A vessel through which power flows? With no more say or intellect than some inanimate object? Just a shell of a body? Or – even worse – just another type of crystal, which you can draw more power from?”
“It’s not like that,” Liz began.
“Oh? Then what is it? Please, do tell. Because from my perspective, ever since you met me, you’ve done nothing but try to use me for your own gain!”
“That’s not true!” Liz defended. I could hear the emotion rising in her voice. “I looked after you once you used the crystal. I made sure you were okay after Ashley attacked you!”
“But I would have never been in that situation in the first place were it not for you!”
“Come on, Tracy. Think! I freed you from your boring little life, and shared with you a wonderful gift. Do you know how many other girls would kill to be in your shoes?”
“You showed me only so you could use me,” I seethed.
“Can you get it through your thick skull that it’s not like that?” Liz yelled at me. “I showed you this to include you! Not to spurn you!”
“But you did it only so you could get more power. I was the key to unlocking everything for you, wasn’t I? You knew it from the moment you met me!”
“That’s not true—”
“Ashley said she knew how strong my potential was the first day. I’m sure you would have known that, too!” I remembered the first time Liz placed the crystal in my hand and asked me what I felt. She had been so excited when I told her. Now I was realizing it was probably all an act. “You knew how strong I was, and you pretended to be surprised when I told you I could use the crystal! You deceived me, Elizabeth!”
Liz threw her hands up in the air. “What are you talking about? I had no idea that you would be so strong!”
“Liar!” I spat. “Ashley told me she knew. How could you not?”
Liz took a deep breath. “Ashley has – had – a unique gift. She can sense the potential within others. Almost everybody has it, hidden deep inside, but not all are able to access it. You were one of the few who could. I didn’t know any more about it than you did when I met you.”
I paused for a moment. It wasn’t like me to get so heated, and yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was being used. Nor could I shake my anger. “But as soon as you found out, you set out to use me, didn’t you? That’s just as bad, Liz. Worse, even!”
“How is that any worse? I showed you who you really are. Without me, you’d have no idea of what you can do, what you’re capable of!”
“Yeah? Well maybe I was better off that way!” I screamed, and turned away.
“Tracy, wait,” Liz called after me. But I didn’t listen. I was seething inside. All of this was just a ruse for her to use me, a trick for her to gain more power through me. And to think, I had thought of her as a friend not long ago. I hated myself for being so foolish. Even Ashley, the one person who was once downright hostile toward me, was now showing herself to be a better person than Liz.
I stalked toward the distant exit, my fists clenched at my side, my mind running through all the events since I’d met Liz. After a moment, I came to a horrifying conclusion: all the girls were collaborating to use me. That had been their plan all along. I remembered the smiles and nods that came when I first told them I felt something hot burst forth from the crystal. Thinking back, I realized just how fake that the whole relationship was. The smiles never reached their eyes. It was all so… plastic. Even Madison, the one girl I thought I had connected with the most, was in on it. They were all just hungry for the power I could give them. None of them would think twice about using me.
I broke out into a run. I had to get out of the tunnel, and away from here. The light bulbs provided precious little light. The walls seemed to squeeze in on me as I ran. All I could hear was the sound of my labored breathing and my own footsteps against the stone. Shadows danced wickedly at the sides, making the enclosure even more claustrophobic. I needed to get out, to be out in the open. Far ahead, as a pale light in the distance, I could make out the exit to the forest. I doubled my speed.
I burst out of the tunnel, and flew by a surprised Eve and Madison. They called after me, but I didn’t hear them. I wanted nothing to do with any of them. I ran into the clearing and looked around wildly. Which way to go? Without somebody to guide me, I would just get lost. Was my escape going to be hampered this early?
Then I spotted Ashley, sitting dejectedly on a lone rock on the other side. I ran to her. She could guide me out of here.
“Come on,” I said, taking her by the arm. “We’re getting out of here.”
Startled, she jumped when I touched her. But then she pulled away. “What about Liz and the others?” she asked suspiciously.
“What about them?” I said harshly.
“Where are they?”
“Not coming.”
“Liz said I need to wait for all of them.”
“They don’t care about you,” I spat. “Why would you care about them?”
“What are you talking about?”
I didn’t have time to play. I needed to get away from here, now. “You know what Liz told me?”
“What?”
“She said that you lost the power to read the crystals. Forever. And that it would never come back, no matter what you did or how long you waited.”
Ashley looked at me in shock. Her mouth worked, but no words came out. And then I saw something shatter deep beyond her eyes. A hope that she had been holding on to was now gone. She knew the truth. My words only confirmed it. Her eyes darkened.
“This way,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Rob
Ashley rushed me through the woods, taking a path I didn’t recognize. She said none of the others knew of it so we couldn’t be followed. When I saw the trees thin out up ahead, I knew we were getting close.
“Here we are,” she said as we got to the edge of the woods. “Just go straight over the hills until you see the road from the dorms to the main yard. You can’t get lost.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going back.”
“But—”
“If what you said is true,” she told me, “and I have no reason to believe you lied, there’s somebody else I need to talk to.”
“Liz?”
She nodded. “She let me hang onto a false hope for so long. I want to know why.”
“Alright,” I said, squeezing her in a small hug. “Thanks for bringing me here.” It was ironic that the person who had been so unfriendly toward me at the start had now become the only one I could trust.
“Tracy, wait,” Ashley called.
I turned back. “Yes?”
“Here. You should take this.” Ashley reached into one pocket, and pulled something out in a fist. She opened her hand, and in her palm lay a small, almost-opaque crystal. Inside, I could see a gentle blue throbbing.
I shook my head. “I… I don’t want it.” I had to force myself to say the words, because at the moment I saw the crystal, that instinctive desire awoke within me. It took all the control I had to stop myself from snatching it out of her hand. That type of influence of the crystal over my mind was exactly what I feared.
“You might need it sometime in the future,” Ashley said. “Besides, it’s not like… it’s not like…” she was struggling to find the words, “it’s not like I can ever use it.”
“No,” I said again. “It’s yours, whether you can use it or not.”
“Will you just take it?” Ashley screamed. I could see tears forming in her eyes. “Please. It reminds me of everything I cannot do.”
I stepped toward her, somewhat tentatively, but a little eagerly too.
There was something inside me that lusted dearly for the crystal, for any crystal, and then there was my actual conscious mind that told me to stay away. The two parts waged war within my head. Would it be so bad to have just one crystal? But then I remembered the after-sickness, and the dangers it held. And yet, with more experience, perhaps I could avoid that altogether?
“Here!” Ashley interrupted my thoughts by slamming the crystal into my hand. As soon as she pulled her hand away, I could feel that familiar warmth rise within the crystal. I was nearly shaking with anticipation. To have been deprived of it for so many days, and then to finally have it right within my hands… My fingers brushed the smooth surface of the crystal, and I gripped it tighter. I was ready to let the power flow through me. It is what I desired, what I had so long awaited. Now, all I had to do was open myself up and let the crystal take hold of me. The glow within the crystal ebbed stronger, and I fed it more power. The blue light erupted to coat everything around me. I could feel my mind work faster.
Danger.
My mind was wrapped in the ecstasy of using the crystal, and I was oblivious to everything else. I drew more power, willing my mind to work faster, for the crystal to unlock every last capacity of my brain.
Danger.
It was the merest flash of a feeling, rippling across the surface of my thoughts. It was gone before I could locate it. But, its meaning was undeniable.
Danger.
There it was again! That it could penetrate the deepest recesses of my mind told me just how important it was.
With a yelp, I threw the crystal to the ground. As it left my hand, I was jerked back to reality. The blue light retracted into the crystal as if sucked into a vacuum. The sounds and movement of the world around me resumed. A sharp pain burst forth behind my eyes, and I fell to my knees, clutching my head.
“Tracy? Tracy! What’s wrong?” It was Ashley. She was kneeling down beside me, and had one hand on my shoulders. “Are you alright?”
I took a series of deep breaths, which helped mitigate the pain. Somewhat. Shakily, I pushed myself up. Then, realizing I couldn’t do it alone, resorted to leaning on Ashley’s shoulder to allow her to help.
