by Sophia Sharp
“No, no,” I defended quickly. “At least, I don’t think so. There was something about the crystal he had that drew my attention. It was… different from the ones that the girls and I know.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that.”
“About what?”
“The crystals. What you told me about them. About why their power might be so coveted. And maybe why you’ve been targeted.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled.
“Well, it’s like a puzzle in my head. All the pieces need to fit together for it to make sense, and we don’t know everything yet. But… you said Chris mentioned something about ruling the world?”
“That’s right,” I said. “But he was clearly not well. Mentally, something happened to him. I think he just lost it when he went on about that.”
“I don’t know. If he was devious enough to lure you into the caves under the island – specifically you – he may be smarter than you give him credit.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I see it like this,” Rob began. “He said the crystals can grant the power to rule the world. But what does that really mean? I don’t think they’re just empty words. I think he sees something in them that’s inherently powerful. More powerful than you girls might realize. But what does ruling the world actually mean? Is it money, or influence? Something else?”
“Both, probably,” I said. “If we’re thinking rationally…”
“Right,” Rob confirmed. “I was thinking about that, and then I remembered what you did in the hotel room with the knives. How you were able to heat them up and melt them. You created energy out of nothing to do that—”
“Well, not really,” I corrected. “I just shifted it from one place to another.”
“Right. But that by itself is crazy to think about! What if there was some way to harness what you could do? What if the ability you have could be controlled, amplified, or somehow exploited? Governments and people spend billions on energy and electricity every day. Wars have been fought for oil fields. If someone figures out a way to create energy – electricity – more cheaply than anyone else, well, then that person can become very rich. But what you do with the crystals… it’s even better. You basically create energy out of nothing!
“Now, think on it this way: in our world, whoever controls the cheapest energy source wins. With the power of the crystals, if it can somehow be amplified, you have something that can displace oil, coal, nuclear – whatever. No other energy source can compete with it. Think about it. With the crystals, there’s no pollution, no environmental regulations to deal with. There’s no political backlash over drilling for oil fields or building power plants. If the crystals can be properly harnessed, you have cheap, plentiful energy… for free. And whoever controls the crystals controls that. You said Chris’s dad was in on it – that’s obvious. I think maybe their goal is to achieve something like that. If they can give the world plentiful energy, and it’s cheaper than anything else, and it’s controlled by them… well, they create a stranglehold over the incumbent national powers. What are the richest companies in the world?”
“Uh, I don’t know…”
“Oil companies! Why? Because energy is everything in our world. Oil is still cheap, and coal even cheaper, but the crystals make energy for free. And if you control that one elusive energy source, well, you’ll have entire nations eating out of the palm of your hand. You become the top dog. There’s nobody who can best you. Money, influence, power… whatever you want, you can get. At least,” he admitted with a shrug, “that’s my take on it.”
“…wow,” I said. I had to take a moment to let it all sink in. I had never thought about the crystals’ power on such a grand scale. But it could be possible. After all, if Rob had thought of it only a few hours after learning about the crystals, it’s entirely possible Chris could have too. And if Chris did, his dad clearly did too? Who else knew? That was the scariest part. Hell, if what Rob said was true, there was nothing stopping us from accomplishing something like that. Except… who would want such a thing? I didn’t. All I wanted was to live in peace with the ones I love. Freedom is all you need to be happy… and freedom was what was most lacking in my life right now. That’s what all of us were chasing in this search to understand the crystals. Freedom, and peace.
“What do you think?” Rob asked.
“I think that’s brilliant,” I said. “And frightening. If that’s the motivation of the people chasing us—”
“Then they’ll do everything they can to keep you alive,” Rob finished. “Hence the kidnapping attempts. You’re too valuable to be killed off.”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean it in the best way possible,” he added with a smirk. “Come on, we should head back. The others are going to worry.”
“Wait!” I said as he stood up. “Do we tell them… about us?”
“I don’t think there’s any need to keep it a secret.”
“No,” I said, but inside I was afraid of the potential backlash from Liz. I wanted to ease her into it slowly. “Although there is something a little endearing about a secret relationship.”
“A surreptitious romance?” Rob mused. “Sounds exciting.”
“We can wait out a few days, then?”
Rob nodded. “Sure. Maybe it’ll be fun.”
Chapter Sixteen – A Thread Back in Time
We returned to the hotel to find John pacing around the common room. Well, limping was more like it, though he was able to move without the crutches again.
“There you are!” he exclaimed when we came through the door. “We were wondering what was taking so long.”
I sneaked a furtive glance at Rob, and he shot me an obvious smile. I felt giddy on the inside. “Rob saved me,” I started, but John waved the explanation away.
“We all know what happened,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. The girls are in the other room. One of them managed to bring home a visitor.”
“A visitor?” I asked. “What do you—”
“Hello, Tracy,” a familiarly deep voice said. I stepped back in surprise as Arthur walked from around the corner. Eve came with him, and then Madison, and Ashley, and Liz. All the girls had changed from their outfits into more ordinary clothes. “I was just telling these young ladies about what a special girl you are.”
I eyed him up and down uncertainly. “What do you mean?” Rob was completely still beside me, but his eyes were narrowed, and his gaze directly straight at Arthur. The other man paid him no attention.
“Oh, you know,” he said slyly. “You caused quite a bit of damage back there.”
“Me?” I shot a confused look at John. “What are you talking about?”
“Why, the fire, my dear.” Arthur raised his hand to obnoxiously stifle a yawn. “You started it.”
“What? How?”
“This,” he said, and the red crystal flashed like quicksilver between his fingers. Before I knew it, it was gone.
“What do you mean?” I asked again. I could feel tension building in the room. Arthur was an outsider, and he had somehow swiveled his way into our hold.
“Why, exactly what I say.” Arthur smiled. “Your touch activated the crystal, but you could not control its power. That power had to go somewhere, and like a conduit you funneled it to your surroundings. You started the fire, Tracy. You are responsible.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Rob lay a hand across my shoulders. “You left her there?” he said softly. His voice was steel being bared in the night.
Arthur looked at Rob as if startled to see him speak. “Of course. I had to get out, and things became quite dangerous. What was I supposed to do?”
“You left her there… to die?” Rob took a predatory step toward Arthur, and I tried to hold him back. He fended off my feeble attempt with little effort. “Coward!”
Arthur simply laughed. “I’m afraid we haven’t been yet introduced, friend, but I have a sense you may not like me.”
“Damn right I don’t,” Rob grunted. He freed himself from my hold and walked right up to Arthur. “How dare you leave somebody in a fire? To die!”
Arthur looked around lazily. “Is anyone going to put a muzzle on this mutt, or—”
“Answer me!” Rob demanded, and pushed Arthur hard against the chest. The thinner man stumbled back, and his smile twisted into an angry scowl. Without warning he charged Rob, and all hell broke loose.
Ashley and I screamed at the same time. Arthur’s shoulder hit Rob in the midsection. Rob grunted, and threw a punch at Arthur’s face. Arthur ducked to avoid it, but he was not fast enough. Rob’s fist slammed into Arthur’s jaw with a sickening crunch. And before any of us could do anything to stop them, the two men were throwing punches at each other and landing blows with close-to-equal success rates.
I ran to pull Rob off, and John came to help. Liz and Eve took hold of Arthur. All of us were screaming at them to stop, but even with us in the middle of the scrum, the punches kept coming. Finally, after a gargantuan effort on our part, John and I were able to pull Rob away, and Liz and Eve managed to hold Arthur back. Accusations and taunts flew back and forth between the two men. It was no good for them to be in the same room. John and I pulled Rob away into the hall, while the girls tried to get Arthur into one of the other rooms.
Outside, with the door to our suite firmly closed, I rounded on Rob. “What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded. I was absolutely furious! “You’re acting the complete fool! No matter what Arthur had done, there’s no need to agitate the only man with knowledge of the crystals!”
“He nearly got you killed!” Rob screamed in my face. I’ve never seen him so heated before. “He knew what he was doing when he gave you the crystal!”
“Oh? And how do you know that?” I demanded. John was standing watch to one side. “For all any of us know, it could have just been an accident!”
“Oh, come on,” Rob said, rolling his eyes deliberately. “I saw the way he looked at you! It was no different than the way a wolf might regard his prey!”
“And what, are you jealous?” I said, with a dangerous tone in my voice. John was there, watching, listening, but I didn’t care.
For a second, Rob looked torn between admitting the truth and preserving our secret. His eyes went from John to me. “…No,” he said finally. “I just don’t like him risking your life like that. I would act the same way if it were any of the other girls!”
That was when John stepped in. “Listen to me,” he said quietly. “Tracy’s right. But you are, too. I’m not saying I like Arthur, but he’s the only lead these girls have. And they need answers about the crystals. The man in that room—” John pointed behind him, “—is no more dangerous than a Chihuahua. At least, not compared to the people we’ve encountered so far. He might be provocative, even inflammatory, but he—is—not—dangerous. Do you hear me? I know his type. I’ve encountered men like him before. He is a coward, and he’s just putting on a show for the girls. That’s all he wants. He only cares about how they see him. Trust me.”
“I… guess so,” Rob admitted unhappily.
“Now,” I said, standing on tip-toe to look him in the eye, “you will go in there and apologize to Arthur for what you did.”
“For what I did?” Rob asked incredulously. “He should be the one to apologize to me for what he—” With a start, he cut off, and held up his hands. “Alright,” he nodded. “You two are making sense. Arthur’s not an enemy—at least not the type to fear—and we need him on our side.”
“Exactly,” I said. And even though I was completely furious with Rob, a small part of me… liked?... that he had fought for me like that. It was a little like being a fairy-tale princess protected by her knight in shining armor. “Now let’s go back there and try to make things right.”
“Let’s,” Rob sighed.
We came back into the room, where an animated Arthur was having some sort of heated conversation with the girls. He halted as soon as he saw us, though, and leered at Rob angrily. He also started to massage his jaw.
“Arthur?” Rob began. He looked to me for support. I gave him a tiny nod. “I’m… sorry. For the way I acted. I had no right to question you, and I shouldn’t have gotten mad.” Rob’s whole face was twisted in a depraved type of agony. It was obvious how difficult it was for him to swallow his pride. The fact that he was doing it for me made it all the sweeter. “And I’m… sorry for pushing you. And for hitting you after. And for…” he barked a laugh, “…hell, I’m sorry for the whole thing. I was out of line.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow. “A sincere apology?” he murmured. “…though one obviously brokered by Tracy.” He seemed to have some sort of internal dialogue, and then nodded and stood up grandly. If he had a cloak, he would have flourished it. “Very well. I accept your apology.” He stuck out his hand toward Rob. “Let bygones be bygones!”
Rob smiled at me and clasped Arthur’s hand. “Bygones be bygones,” he repeated.
“Now,” John announced, “with all the childish drama behind us, I suggest it’s beyond time we get down to serious business.”
“Ah,” Arthur agreed. “Yes, yes. You girls found my father’s research paper?”
“Yes, it’s in the other room,” Liz said. “Should I go get it?”
“Could you?” Arthur asked. “I would like to take a look.”
Liz nodded, and went to retrieve it. While she was gone, we arranged ourselves around the table. Liz came running back, paper in hand. She didn’t bring the larger scroll, though. She gave it to Arthur, who examined it carefully. “Where did you say you got this?” he asked after a moment.
“We didn’t,” Liz said. She glanced at us. “But I guess we can tell you. We’re from Oliver Academy—”
“Oliver Academy? On… Traven Island, if I’m not mistaken?”
“You know of it?” I blinked in surprise.
“Of course. The history of the crystals cannot be complete without a stop on the island.”
“So you do know about them,” John said. “What can you tell us? How do they work?”
“Alas! I am not the one you should be speaking to,” Arthur admitted. “I have had no direct experience with the crystals before today. My father,” he tapped the sheet of paper, “is the one you really want.”
“Your teaching fellow said he left Harvard,” I said.
“Ah. You’ve met James?”
“Yes, earlier today,” Ashley said. “We went looking for you in your office—”
Arthur barked a laugh. “Good luck finding me there! But, you did have the resourcefulness to locate me. That’s impressive, in a way. Yes, my father left Harvard a long time ago. He did not disclose the reason, not even to his own son.”
“So what do you know?” Eve asked impatiently.
Arthur smiled at her. “I know a bit about the history of the crystals.”
“Tell us,” Liz requested.
“In time, my dear. But first, I have a question of my own. You see, I have to know what I might be getting myself into if I choose to… associate… myself with all of you. I take my safety very seriously, as you might expect. I do not know much about the lot of you. But, appearances do tell secrets. You are all young, and far from home. What would prompt a group of high school girls to run away from their idyllic little island, sheltered on the edge of the world? Could it really be mere curiosity about the crystals, as you claim, or could it be something more? That is what nags at me. You show up in the night, dressed to the nines, and ask specifically for me. It tells me you know precisely what you want. And the impatience you show—” he paused to look specifically at Eve, “—tells me that time may not be on your side. You are looking for answers. But, to what? And why? I suspect it’s something more than a burning desire to learn about the crystals. I came to your hotel room because, of course, what Tracy did sparked my curiosity. But when I arrived, I found that there are others with you. A man slightly older, who walks with
a limp from a recent injury. A boy your age with a black eye and a nasty welt on his forehead. You can understand how seeing this might not instill the greatest amount of confidence in a man. One injury could be mere coincidence. But two…?” he trailed off. “And then there’s the rest of you. Five girls narrowly escaped from a fire, and yet he—” he looked at Rob, “—is the only one to react? The rest of you were completely unfazed. Something about that tells me you’ve known danger before. Otherwise, you would not be so calm in a situation like this. The injuries, of course, only deepen my suspicion that you have not shared everything you know with me. You might forgive my slight apprehension, then, about involving myself too deeply with you. I need to know why you came to me, and why you have such urgency. I have my own suspicions, of course, and I may voice them in time. But, I would like to offer you the chance to explain your side of things first.”
I looked around at the others. We had already talked about this, and agreed what to do. Arthur was the only one with answers. If he asked, we would not keep secrets from him. Ashley and Madison gave me a little nod of encouragement. “Well…” I began, and told Arthur the entire story, unadulterated, about how we got here. The other girls’ discovery of the crystals, about the way they brought me into it. About the night attack in my room, and all the aftermath. The man who tried to kidnap Liz on the mainland. The only thing I left out was the night in the caves with Chris, and the battle we fought there for Liz’s life. The entire time I spoke, Arthur’s eye shone with a knowing intensity. His gaze did not deviate an inch from me. The story, it seemed, held his rapt attention. When I finally finished, he leaned back in his chair with satisfaction.
“I believe you,” he announced. And he waited, as if expecting us to suddenly clamor all over him. When that failed to happen, he jerked forward and leaned close to the table. “Parts of your story might well be more fiction than fact, but on the whole, it is believable. Very well. You have been honest with me, and I have decided… I have decided that I will assist you.” Again, he paused, as if expecting us to whoop and dance at the declaration. Nobody said a word. “Yes, well…” he cleared his throat, “…I will tell you what I know. Admittedly, it is not much – not as much as my father. But, I think the knowledge will help you on your quest for peace.”
