by Sophia Sharp
One of the best things I discovered was that the more I exposed myself to them, the less desperate was the longing when I was away from them. In fact, I could proudly say that I had full control over my desire for them now. This was not to say that the longing was gone entirely. It was just less apparent—like a fly buzzing in the background of my mind.
One of the worst things, on the other hand, was that since waking up in the clinic bed, I’d been unable to tap the crystals’ powers with anywhere near the same strength as I had in the caves. It wasn’t that my ability was burned out, as Ashley’s may have been – none of us was certain that she’d ever get it back, but Liz continued to encourage her – and I could still tune myself to them, but the manipulation of the connections had become near impossible. I could still sync my mind to the crystal, and feel the flow of power that it initiated. It was just that, whenever I tried to manipulate anything with that power – to move some small object, to feel the world around me in its intimate detail, or do anything I had done before – my grip on the crystal just dissipated. It was frustrating, because as far as I could tell, I was not doing anything different from before. Unfortunately, none of the girls had any answers for me.
The only thing any of us could point to was the flare up that occurred when I used my crystal in the cave, close to the enormous crystal formation. That must have been what affected my ability. But none of us knew how long it was going to last.
There was also the matter of the triangulation that Liz and the others have been trying to achieve for so long. Liz promised it would grant each of us greater power, to do things that might seem like magic. It was the thing I rejected earlier because I assumed it was a ploy for Liz to gain control over the triangle. But as I had grown to trust her, my cynicism disappeared. I saw she was genuinely interested in it because of the promise it held to enhance all our abilities – not just her own.
Unfortunately, even with my involvement, triangulation did not work. Maybe it was because I had gotten weaker, or maybe it was because Liz had overestimated what was possible. The failure was a disappointment, if only because forming the triangle successfully would have meant we’d have more knowledge of the crystals.
Since then, I had settled into a more-or-less regular groove. I never had gotten a complete understanding of exactly what happened in the caves, but that didn’t grate too badly on me. I heard bits and pieces from Liz and the other girls that filled enough holes in my memory to keep me satisfied.
My days were now taken up with classes, schoolwork, and hanging out with the girls. My nights would be spent studying the crystals to try to understand their power. I was determined to figure out just how they worked. I wanted to know why, as Liz had told me, only females could access the power. Furthermore, I wanted to discover if it was a natural ability or something that could be learned. I suspected it was the latter, although it was just an intuition. In any case, the crystals remained extraordinary and commanded much of my attention. Even if I studied them for a lifetime, I did not think I could hammer out all their secrets.
That was a very long-winded way of saying that things remained the same for mostly everybody, and changed somewhat for me. The one thing that was decidedly different, however, was the distinct lack of parties that the student council used to host. My suspicion was that the administration here somehow assumed the alcohol at those parties influenced events of the fateful night and simply put a stop to it. Despite my friendship with the girls, and their position on the student council, I couldn’t get a clear answer from them. They were all strangely mum about it.
A pen poked me in the back, and I twisted in my chair. Rob was there, grinning widely from the desk behind me. He motioned to the front of the room, as if to say I should be paying attention to Mr. Stannis and not him. I rolled my eyes, but flashed him a smile as I turned away.
Ah, Rob. He and I were simply friends now. In the few days it took me to recover after the episode in the caves, I had realized that there was no way for me to move forward with him without upsetting Liz. And in any case, the feelings I held for Rob had likely been nothing more than puppy-dog infatuation.
The way our classes lined up meant there was no way to avoid him, but it was not like I wanted to do that, either. So, I made the best of the situation and made it clear to him that I valued him as a friend. Liz didn’t protest when she saw us talking after that. In fact, her completely creepy protective manner towards him had noticeably lessened after the kidnapping. Their relationship had not moved forward in any way that I could tell, either. Rob and Liz were simply friends, just like Rob and me. Still, every once in a while, I caught Rob looking at me in a way that suggested there was still something there, at least from his side of the equation. Whenever I called him out on it, he laughed it off. We were all friends now – Rob, me, Liz, Ashley, Madison, and Eve – and it was for the best.
Chris, of course, had disappeared from the island. He was simply nowhere to be found afterwards. The prevalent rumor was that he had flunked out. But, of course, I knew the truth – sort of. I never did get a clear understanding of what he wanted, but at least I knew what contributed to his absence.
The bell rang announcing the end of class. Right on cue, the sound of scraping chars, closing books, and ruckus of conversation burst into being all around me. I looked around, somewhat dazed. I hadn’t realized class was nearing its end. I really wasn’t paying much attention. But then again, it was the last class of the day, and I hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.
“Remember, everyone,” Mr. Stannis announced from the front of the room, “your assignment for next class includes all the review questions from chapter nine, plus a first draft of your lab report. Have a great day.”
I blinked at his reminder. Review questions meant that a test was coming up, and I haven’t even looked at our current chapter once. I promised myself I would get started on all the homework the minute I got to my room.
“You’ve got that pensive look again,” a deep voice teased from my left. I looked to find Rob standing beside me. “And circles under your eyes.” He waggled a finger in front of my face.
“Shut up,” I said, pushing his hand away. He laughed.
“You want to go grab dinner or something? I skipped lunch today and am starving.”
“Is the cafeteria even open right now?” I asked, putting my books in my bag. “All you’ll find there are the cold leftovers from lunch.”
“What did they have today?”
“Oh, your favorite. The half-baked meat loaf and a soggy side of French fries.”
“Gross.” Rob made a face. “I can wait, in that case. What are you thinking of doing now, then?”
“The only thought on my mind is getting back to my room,” I admitted. “You’re kind of right – I am exhausted.”
“In that case… I’ll probably head back to the dorms too.” Rob placed some of my books in my bag. I smiled my thanks. “Some of the guys are going to play a little pickup baseball in the yard by the dorms soon. You want in? It’s always more fun when we get some girls to play.”
“Thanks, but not today,” I declined. I finished packing my things and motioned for him to lead the way out the room. “But maybe Liz or the others will join in,” I added.
Rob looked at me as if I had just told him the moon were made of cheese, and meant it. “Yeah right. The closest Liz has ever gotten to playing sports is walking by the field.”
“What about Eve?” I asked. “She might be interested. She’s always had that extra bit of spunk.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Rob sighed. I could tell my suggestions weren’t what he was looking for. When we stepped into the hall, he lowered his voice and said, “You know, you’ve been working yourself too hard lately. You’ve got to take it easy. Relax a little. I hardly even see you hanging out with the girls anymore.”
“I’ve just been busy,” I hedged.
“We all are, but everyone makes time for friends. I don’t think I’ve even seen yo
u outside of class this week. And it’s already what, Wednesday?”
“Thursday,” I corrected. He looked at me with raised brows.
“Thursday. See? There’s my point. That’s even worse. You’ve been keeping to yourself too much.”
“What about last weekend?” I asked. “We all hung out then.” In truth, all last weekend involved was a somewhat awkward encounter between some of Rob’s friends and the girls in my circle. Surprisingly, it was the first time they had all met, and it didn’t go very well.
“That’s once in the past six days,” Rob said. “I know you’re tired, so I’m not expecting anything tonight, but just promise you’ll take a break from… whatever it is you’ve been doing… and come hang out with us tomorrow.” He gave me what he surely assumed was his most winning smile. The light in the hall reflected in his eyes, causing them to glitter mesmerizingly. I couldn’t say no to that.
“Sure,” I promised. “I’ll make time for friends.” I knew I had been working a little too hard on the crystals. Time with the girls – and with Rob – would be a welcome way to end the week.
“Great,” Rob said, and smiled again. We had reached the entrance of the building, where the doors were open wide to allow students through. A draft of cool outside air greeted me, and I found myself feeling glad that I had picked up a warmer jacket that morning. We were already into the first week of November, and while there were still those rare warm days more reminiscent of autumn, more often than not, I found my breath fogging in front of me whenever I was outside.
Students streamed out of all the buildings around us. At the end of the day, the main yard was always packed, and already a sizeable crowd had formed in the middle of the walkway. Everybody was moving more or less in one direction: toward the dorms. Rob and I stepped into the flow and were quickly swept along.
Half a street down, Rob touched my arm. “I think I just spotted one of my friends,” he said. “I haven’t seen him for a while. You mind if I go catch up?”
“No, not at all,” I answered. “You’ve got no obligation to me.”
“Alright,” he said. “You know the way back? You sure you won’t get lost?” Recently, he had taken to making jokes about me being the new kid, and pretending that I barely knew the lay of the land on Traven Island.
“I’ll try my best,” I replied drily.
“Well, if you have any trouble, I’m sure following the crowd won’t be too bad a move,” he teased. Before I could think of a reply, he had disappeared into the small flow of people going the opposite way.
I felt a small pang of loss once Rob left, but, I shrugged it off. Even if I had decided to put my feelings for him on the side, it didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy having him around. And as I had gotten to know him more, I started to see why maybe Liz would have been so possessive at first. Apart from his impressive physical features – which didn’t hurt his case in any way – he had a fun, easy-going personality. It was kind of contagious.
Suppressing a little sigh, I continued toward the dorms. The sun had already started its descent toward the horizon, even it was just after four. This was only the start of November, but the days were already getting shorter. Most of the branches of the deciduous trees around here were already bare. The sun’s rays held little warmth now. You had to make sure to bundle up to go outside. But at the same time, there was a crispness to the air, a cool edge that seemed perpetually capable of invigorating you, albeit in a much different way than sunshine might. Every ocean breeze carried the scent of the seawater. That was something that would delight me to my final day on Traven Island.
I passed a few people I recognized but didn’t really know, and aside from giving them a quick hello or a curt nod, didn’t stop until I got to the dorm. There were groups of students dotting the courtyard already. In one corner, I noticed a few guys tossing a baseball around. Absently, I wondered if those were the friends Rob had mentioned. Giving it no further thought, I climbed the short flight of stairs to the entrance, waited to hear the click of the lock that meant my ID card had been accepted, and pulled the doors open to walk in.
As I stepped through the doorway, an unexpected blast of heat slammed into my face. The change was so sudden that I had to stop and take a step back. Somebody had obviously cranked the heat to the interior of the dorm. It was probably the old security guard who kept watch over the foyer. It wasn’t that the warmth was uncomfortable, merely that the contrast with outdoors was so pronounced… and unexpected.
Slipping out of my jacket and juggling my bag in my hands while doing so, I climbed the stairs to the third level. Passing Chris’s old room on my floor always gave me the strangest feeling of uneasy nervousness. I always walked by it as briskly as I could. Thankfully, the feeling tended to go away once I reached my door.
I reached into my pocket to retrieve my room keys. They jingled at the end of a green Oliver Academy lanyard. Picking out the right one, I put it into the lock and twisted counterclockwise. To my surprise, I felt no resistance from the deadbolt. I frowned. Had I been so absentminded that I forgot to lock my door that morning? I wasn’t usually like that. I tried thinking back, but all I could remember was rushing out the room only ten minutes before the late bell after snoozing past my alarm. It didn’t seem entirely implausible that I had forgotten to lock the door in my haste. That meant that my room had been left unlocked the entire day.
Pushing the door open, I conducted a brief survey of my room. Finding everything in place, I relaxed a little. It wasn’t that I was afraid of theft, not in an isolated community like this. But I was kind of worried that someone might have thought it a good idea to play a prank on me, and done something to my room, had they known my door was open.
I yawned as I kicked the door shut behind me and made my way to my desk. I had a lot of homework to do for tomorrow, and promised myself I would begin catching up today. I threw my jacket over the back of my chair and sat down. As soon as my shoulders touched the backrest, a wave of tiredness swept over me. It was like all the fatigue that had built up over the last week was let loose. No wonder I had turned down Rob’s offer earlier.
I looked longingly to my bed. For a moment, I considered lying down and closing my eyes, just for a few minutes. But I knew that if I did that, I wouldn’t wake up until tomorrow morning. Instead, I reached over for the canister of cold coffee I had brought back from the cafeteria yesterday morning, took a big swig, and flipped open my laptop.
I looked out the window while I waited for the computer to boot up. I had rearranged my room recently so that the desk stood right in front of the window. From my vantage point, I could see most of the courtyard. It wasn’t quite dusk yet, but the air had taken on a golden hue from the setting sun. Light streamed through the leafless trees that lined the path leading to the main yard. Shadows from the evergreens in the courtyard stretched even farther along the ground. It was a beautiful fall day.
I could see students walking to and from the dorms. Some walked at a leisurely pace, enjoying the freedom that came at the end of a school day, while others rushed to their rooms or to extracurricular meetings elsewhere on campus. To most of them, I thought, this was just another day of the school year. It was merely another day at an outstanding college prep school. To some, I was sure, it was something more. The island had become their home, loved and adored for both its beauty and its flaws.
For me, Oliver Academy represented something much more. Not one of the students out there had any idea what had happened that night in the caves just a few months ago. That night marked a watershed moment for me. It was the time I accepted who I was and what I could do. It was the night I stopped fearing the talent that I shared with the small group of girls who had become my close friends. The night I had become engrossed by the crystals.
The desktop flashed on my screen. I sighed. It was time to get started on the homework I had let pile up. My resolve faded as my thoughts were drawn to the crystals. I was fascinated by the promise of what they could
do. I was not scared of it any longer. And, most importantly, I had seen the premium Chris placed on them. I did not know why that was, exactly, but I was determined to find out. It had to be more than the fact that they were something so out of the ordinary, so unusual, so… supernatural.
No, there was definitely more to the crystals. Something very valuable. I had to find out what. How Chris knew about them in the first place was another mystery. I reached down to open the bottom drawer of my desk. There were some books there, a few scattered sheets of paper, and a soft cotton pencil case. Pushing all that aside, I reached into the far corner. There, hidden beneath everything else, was a small, silver, cloth bag.
My fingers brushed against the soft fabric. For a tempting moment, I considered picking it up. The other girls all kept their crystals hidden by the lake, because the draw sometimes became too much for them to resist. I had good enough control over it to keep mine here. I pulled the silk bag out, and hefted it in the palm of my hand. I could feel the weight of the crystal inside. I felt the call from it.
Suppressing another sigh, I put the bag back in its place. Obviously, I was more interested in exploring the crystal’s power than in doing my homework. But I was already behind on my work, and had made a promise to myself to—
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an unusual shadow coming up behind me. I twisted around in my seat. My chest constricted in fear as the shadow transformed into the dark outline of a man.
Everything happened at once.
I opened my mouth to scream, but the man’s hand darted from his side to press a moist rag over my mouth. At the same time, he snaked around the chair so I could no longer see him, and wrapped his other arm across my shoulders to pin me in place.
Panic gripped me. I tried to struggle against his grasp, but he was too strong. I tried to scream, but the rag muffled my cry. I took a sharp breath in, and choked on fumes. The rag was soaked in some type of chemical. I exhaled as quickly as I could, expelling all the air I took in, but even that whiff made my head spin.
