“Where are you going this time?” Iris whispered. I had no idea that she’d been keeping tabs on me all night, probably at Cynthia’s request.
“Upstairs,” I replied. Iris pursed her lips together and looked over at Ethan.
“Is that the guy?” She smiled and winked at me.
“Get real Iris,” I whispered. “Does he look like the kind of guy I’d hang out with? Anyways, if you’ll excuse me . . .”
“But the dinner isn’t over. Your parents requested that you stay the entire evening.”
“Look Iris, I know you’re just doing your job but I’m going.” Iris insisted, putting her hand on my shoulder.
“Not yet, Mariella.”
“What’s going on?” I was starting to get annoyed.
“Whatever do you mean?” Iris was a terrible liar.
“Give it up Iris. Why are you so insistent on me staying?” Iris looked over at William who had just finished chugging down the contents in his wine glass. William cleared his throat and stood up.
My heart started racing. William rarely made formal announcements. So when he did, it was a good idea to pay close attention.
“Thank you for coming everyone,” William announced. “This dinner was a great start to the summer. Cynthia and I always appreciate the time we get to spend with close friends and associates. That being said, we have something to announce.”
William paused and the room went silent. Everyone was on the edge of their seats with wide smiles. I was nervous and totally shocked. I had no idea what William was about say, and I hoped that it wouldn’t be what I was thinking of. That would be the worst news in the world!
Cynthia jumped up. Her face was beaming.
“What William is trying to say is,” Cynthia interrupted. “We’re pregnant!” The entire room exploded with cheers and applause.
Suddenly, I felt sick. My stomach did somersaults and made me feel like I might vomit. It was official. Cynthia was going to be around for a while and now she had a weapon to use against me – a spoiled little baby.
I’d never met my real mom and William never talked about her. She died when I was a baby and all I had of hers was a necklace in my sock drawer. Cynthia was trying to erase my mom completely, and doing a good job of it.
“Did you know about this?” Ethan asked. He nudged my shoulder to get my attention. I shook my head.
“Nope,” I said shortly. I jumped up and threw my cloth napkin on the floor. I couldn’t be in this room any longer. I was surrounded by people who thought the world of Cynthia. No one had a clue what I had to deal with every day.
My dad loved Cynthia more than me, and he’d known me longer. My eyes got watery. I blinked, letting a single tear run down my cheek. I passed by as many guests as I could without making eye contact. Cynthia was being swarmed with hugs and belly pats. She and William wouldn’t miss me.
I turned my head and walked as fast as I could to the staircase at the front of the house. When I was finally alone in the front foyer, I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. They made my eyes blurry as I carefully climbed the stairs. I couldn’t stay in this house any longer. It was just too much. Tonight was the night. It was time to leave town.
I pushed my door open and kicked my shoes across the room. I couldn’t wait to get out of my dress and into normal clothes. I plopped myself down at my vanity and pulled the rubber band out of my hair. A fuzzy outline in my mirror made me freeze. Oh yeah, there was a guy in my bedroom.
“So you made it,” I said quietly. I wiped away as many tears as I could, trying to make myself look presentable.
“What’s wrong?” The guy looked a little uncomfortable. He didn’t know were to sit or what to say.
“It’s nothing. Just some lame family stuff. I’m sure you can relate.”
“Not really,” he sighed. “Look, I have to go. But I can’t leave without that flash drive.”
“Take me with you,” I blurted out. I had to get away from Cynthia. The anger boiling around inside me was too much to deal with tonight.
“What? No . . . no way . . . uh, no I can’t.”
I wiped my face and dashed towards my closet.
“You want that flash drive don’t you?” I replied.
“You shouldn’t be so trusting of people you hardly know,” he responded. I was too mad at Cynthia to be worried.
“If you wanted to hurt me, you would’ve done it already. We’ve been alone for like five minutes.” I ran into my closet and pulled out a black t-shirt and a pair of ripped blue jeans. “Uh, do you mind?”
He quickly looked away as I unzipped my dress. I couldn’t wait to get away. I’d already made up my mind that I was leaving tonight no matter what.
“Please. I just need that flash drive,” he repeated.
“First, tell me your name.”
“Eric.”
“Eric what?” I threw my dress on the closet floor and threw my black t-shirt over my head.
“Just Eric.”
“You don’t have a last name?”
“Does it matter?”
I pulled a few more clothes from their hangers and made a pile of things to stuff in my backpack.
“Yeah, it totally does. We’re gonna be spending lots of time together.” I smiled and held up my backpack. The flash drive was still lying on the floor near my bed. I could see it through the corner of my eye.
“What are you doing?” Eric asked. “You can’t come with me. It would be suicide!”
“Look, I’ve given this a lot of thought and now seems to be the perfect time.” I could tell Eric was trying to restrain himself from yelling anything else.
“So, the flash drive?” Eric looked around the room.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
“Nope, flash drive first.” Eric looked dead serious.
“What’s so important about it anyway? What’s on it?” I was a little shocked when Eric shook his head.
“It’s none of my business what’s on it. I just need it.”
“And you’ll get it once we get out of here,” I answered.
“I can’t take you with me!” Eric was starting to get frustrated.
“Why not?” I protested.
“Because . . . it’s complicated.” I stamped my foot on the floor. I had to find a way out. Cynthia was driving me insane!
“I can deal with complicated.”
“I have to have that drive!” Eric’s voice startled me. I wasn’t expecting him to yell. I glanced at the floor by me bed. Eric eyed the flash drive but a sudden outburst at the door stopped the both of us from diving to the floor for it.
“How could you! And on one the most important day of my . . .” Cynthia looked outraged. She’d pushed open my door determined to chastise me yet again. Her face looked like it was on fire.
Cynthia abruptly stopped talking and looked from me to Eric. She let out a screech. I hit the palm of my hand against my forehead. Cynthia was about to make things worse. She was so over dramatic.
Cynthia brought her hands up to her face and screamed. Her scream was so loud the entire neighborhood probably heard it. Eric backed towards my bedroom window and didn’t say a word.
Footsteps thudded up the stairway. The door swung wider and William looked baffled when he saw Eric standing by my window.
“Burglar!” Cynthia screamed and pointed. William immediately reached into his pocket and stared at Eric’s face. Eric took another step towards the window.
“Stop!” William yelled. “Don’t take another step!” Eric looked down at the floor. The flash drive was nestled on the carpet. I inched towards it but William held up his hand.
“It’s not what you think!” I yelled.
“What do you want?” William shouted but Eric kept his mouth shut. I slowly bent down and reached for the flash drive.
More footsteps ran down the hallway. William and Cynthia backed out of the doorway and let in three suited men with handguns. They had their guns ready and pointed str
aight at Eric.
“I’d think twice about doing anything stupid if I were you,” one of them shouted. I bent down, squeezing my hand around the flash drive. Eric kept inching towards the window but there was no way he’d be able to escape. My window was closed. And even if it was open, my bedroom was on the second floor. Jumping wouldn’t be a smart idea.
“Did you hear me? Don’t move!”
Eric didn’t listen. He was right next to my window now, and I had the feeling he was about to do something crazy.
Eric lunged backwards as violently as he could without a second thought. I heard Cynthia scream again as glass shattered behind me. He leaped backwards through the broken window. I was horrified. I didn’t want to start off my summer with a dead body below my bedroom.
The next few moments felt as if they were in slow motion. Eric was falling behind me, Cynthia was screaming, and the three men in suits were running. And the worst part was, I’d lost my footing too. Eric’s feet hit my calves as he fell backward, and now I was destined to share his fate.
I fell fast. The black night sky was right above me. I was frozen and helpless as the light from my bedroom window grew more and more distant. I was too stunned to move or look behind me. If I was lucky, maybe I’d get through the night with only a broken leg.
ERIC
5
Amigo de Quarto
My body made a loud thud when it hit the ground. I felt the bones in my back snap, sending a surge of pain down my spine. The impact took the air right out of my lungs but my body started to heal instantly. I felt tingly as every cell in my body started to regenerate.
Looking up towards the second floor, I saw something I wasn’t expecting. My view was blocked; long dark hair waved in the wind and I realized that someone else was falling. I instinctively sat up, holding out my arms. They burned as I caught the body. But I was used to the pain – and this wasn’t the first time I’d fallen out a window and heard all my bones crack.
The girl didn’t scream at all when she slammed into me. Everyone had seen me fall and I was about to run away without a scratch. Too many rules had already been broken. I had to get back to the sub before I caused any more damage. With or without the flash drive, I couldn’t be left behind.
“Mariella!” cried a woman from the window ledge.
Mariella looked around and immediately opened her mouth when she saw me.
“How did you? Didn’t you just . . .” She glanced up at the window, then back at me. I had to leave. It was only a matter of time before everyone would be drilling me with questions.
“I have to go,” I whispered, jumping up. I started running so fast, I felt like I was gliding on air. The wind blew in my ears and I could hear roaring sirens down the street. Sunrise was coming fast.
“Hey!” There was a yell behind me. It was Mariella, trying to catch up. I didn’t have time to explain anything. I made myself run faster, hoping to leave this night behind me.
Chilled waves hit my face as I dove into the ocean. The saltwater helped me calm down. I glided through the waves like a sea turtle before surfacing to make long powerful arm strokes. I wasn’t looking forward to facing Commander Z after what had just happened. I could hear him yelling in my head. I told you not to come back without that file!
Frankie would most likely lecture me about girls and how they always screw everything up. And that would be right after Brian’s fist met my face. The submarine was close by. I could feel it. Soon this would all be over.
A dark metal surface floated in front of me. I shuddered, reaching a hand out and carefully feeling for a ladder to climb. The waves crashed behind me rocking the Pugio from side to side.
I grabbed hold of the ladder and started lifting myself out of the water. My backpack was strapped around my shoulders. It took all the strength I had to twist open the hatch. It wouldn’t be long before I was dry and thinking up excuses as to why I had failed my mission.
The hatch opened slowly and I looked down into the empty passageway below. A wet hand touched my ankle. I instantly turned around with a cocked fist. But I put my hand down when I saw Mariella staring back at me.
“What are you doing here? Are you insane?” I yelled while Mariella climbed the ladder behind me. She was soaking wet and breathing heavy from the long swim. How was she able to keep up?
“A submarine! You live on a submarine?” Her jaw dropped as she put a hand on Pugio and stared in awe. “Who travels around in a submarine? Are you a spy or something?” I panicked. I couldn’t let her come aboard. Terrible things would happen. She’d be questioned, maybe even killed.
“Go back! I can’t let you aboard!”
“I can’t go back!” she yelled. Mariella frowned and kept climbing the ladder.
“If you value your life, you’ll go back!” I didn’t know what else to do. She’d already made up her mind and there was little I could say to change it.
“You don’t understand. I can’t. If I tried to swim back now, I’d never make it!” She looked exhausted but her curiosity wouldn’t let her give up. I was nervous to climb through the hatch. I knew she would try and follow.
“I’m warning you!” I continued. “Get away from here while there’s still time!” She didn’t take my warning seriously. “Fine. Wait right there! I’ll get you a flotation device for the swim back.” I jumped through the hatch into the empty hallway and quickly reached for one of the life preservers hanging on the wall, but it was too late. Mariella had jumped in behind me. She panted, leaning over to catch her breath. My eyes went wide. Footsteps were marching down the hall.
“Wait,” she gasped. Mariella wrung her wet hair and wiped her face. She outstretched her hand presenting the flash drive. “Here.” I rejoiced inside. Maybe I wasn’t completely doomed after all. But I still couldn’t let her be seen.
“You can’t be seen, understand?” I pointed towards the tall wardrobe in the corner filled with wetsuits and diving gear. Mariella took my hint and ran over to the wardrobe - the first time she’d actually listened to me. She opened the doors and did her best to squeeze inside.
“There you are, son!” I froze when I heard Commander Z’s voice. “I was starting to wonder if there were complications.” I avoided looking at the wardrobe and showed the Commander the flash drive. His face lit up. I’d fulfilled my task. He didn’t need to know more than that.
“It was nothing I couldn’t handle, Commander.”
“Good,” he said quietly. “I knew you were a soldier I could count on. Now get cleaned up and back to your bunk.” Commander Z walked closer to the wardrobe in the corner. I gulped.
“Was that all . . . sir?” I blurted out. He turned his head.
“Get some sleep soldier. We’ll be surfacing in Brazil in 24 hours.” I rubbed my forehead, thinking about the Portuguese article. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have a run in with Clark. Commander Z stomped away and my eyes darted back to the wardrobe.
Mariella was the first girl to ever come aboard the Pugio. How was I going to explain all this? And now she was on a submarine headed for Brazil with an army of non-existent regenerators. She’d already seen too much.
I tapped on the wardrobe, looking over my shoulder. Mariella poked her head out. Her teeth were chattering and she rubbed her hands together.
“I warned you. Now you’ll just have to wait until the submarine surfaces again.”
“Better here than with Cynthia,” she muttered.
“Huh?” I scanned the hallway. It was still night. That meant most of the crew was sleeping. “Look, you have to do exactly what I say. If you get caught, I can’t promise you won’t be harmed.” Mariella looked confused.
I grabbed her arm and we ran down the first hallway towards the staircase. My bunkmates had no idea what was coming. We stopped and listened. The only noise came from the water drops falling off our wet clothes. Mariella looked worried. If she’d regretted her decision to follow me, it was too late. The submarine was moving fast and the floors were shakin
g.
“Who are you?” Mariella whispered. I looked down the staircase and tried not to lose focus.
“We don’t have much time. Come on!” We silently crept down the staircase and into the lower level hallway. We were steps away from my quarters.
“I mean, one minute you were on the ground and then you just sat up . . .” I covered her mouth and grabbed her arm. She didn’t resist as I pulled her down another quiet hallway. I braced myself for what might happen next. Frankie and Brian were going to have a meltdown when I stormed in with a soaking teenage girl.
“Just keep quiet and let me do the talking,” I whispered. Mariella didn’t protest. I think she was starting to realize that I was serious.
The door to my team’s room was closed. Hopefully, they were all asleep. That would give me all night to think of an explanation. Hiding a person on the Pugio had never been done before. I quietly pushed the door open. A light was still on.
Frankie looked up, walking towards the doorway.
“Eric,” he said, sounding relieved. “What took you so long?” I slid through the doorway with Mariella. The door shut behind us and I cringed, waiting for Frankie to go berserk. He was stunned.
“It’s a long story,” I said quickly. Mariella smiled.
“WHAT THE HELL SHE DOING HERE?! MAN, ARE YOU CRAZY?” Frankie’s loud accusation woke up Brian and Anchovy.
“Whoa!” Brian yelled from his bunk. “Is this real or am I having one of those funky dreams again?” I held my hands up and took a deep breath.
“Guys, calm down. This is Mariella.”
“It’s Elle actually,” Mariella added.
“Wait a minute. Is this allowed?” Anchovy was watching from his bunk. He was pale and sweaty and actually looked a little frightened.
“Quiet Chovy,” Brian snapped.
“This better be good,” Frankie said in a low voice. He gave me a nasty look as he retreated back to his bunk.
“Look, I would have failed my mission if it wasn’t for her.”
“That doesn’t mean you had to give her a tour of the facilities!” Frankie protested.
“Frankie, you knew what would’ve happened if I’d have failed.” Frankie looked away. “There was nothing I could do! She followed me here and I couldn’t get her to back off!” I looked at Mariella. She looked frustrated.
Mutiny (M.E.R. Series) Page 4
