by Eliza Bohnen
"Hi," said Dr. Cooper. "Am I speaking with Margaret Shiflett? Yes... yes. I'm very sorry to call your house at this hour. My name is Dr. Adam Cooper, I'm with the Bicontinental Scientific Union... yes. We've found your daughter." Ellie fiddled with her fingers while he spoke. "She was brought to London, England," said Dr. Cooper. "Yes. Yes, it was a long journey, but she's fine."
Ellie fumbled the receiver when he gave it to her a moment later. She picked it up off the floor and raised it to her ear. "Mom?" she said.
"Ellie? Oh my god. I got to your school and you weren't there and then you weren't at the police station either. They've been looking for you."
"They're probably looking in the wrong place," said Ellie.
"Are you okay?" asked her mother. It was the first time in ages Ellie could remember her mother sounding like she cared. "You don't sound so good."
"I've been up all night," Ellie said. The drugs she could explain later. Or not, if it would be less complicated. Mom, I'm a telekinetic was not how she wanted this conversation to go. "It was a little... yeah, pretty crazy." She rubbed her forehead. "Anyway, I'm fine. Or at least, I'm going to be fine."
"Are you sure?" her mother asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," said Ellie. "It's... well, it was rough, but nothing happened that I won't get over. I'll talk about it with you sometime, but for now I really need to go to sleep."
Her mother paused to digest those words before she responded. "Okay, honey. I love you."
"You too."
"Can I talk to the doctor again?"
Ellie surrendered the handset, leaned back, and fell asleep in her chair.
* * *
The inevitable problem with getting the officials involved meant they couldn't go home right away. Of course, the BSU had to launch an investigation, though they were gentler with Matty and his friends since with the exception of Matty himself they were all minors. They all heeded the arrangement of not mentioning the powers – even Dr. Cooper. Matty wondered if he'd get punished if that ever leaked, for the man was just doing the right thing, protecting their privacy. Amidst the car accidents and kidnappings and shootings that had punctuated this weekend, they'd never really stopped to think just how weird these powers were, and now that the adrenaline had worn off, they agreed – they needed privacy. If people found out the world would have a fit, and none of them wanted that kind of infamy.
They were lucky that they could provide Ellie's medical file – the damning evidence that certain BSU agents had been up to something illegal. They'd even been able to destroy the page that speculated she was a telekinetic. Once that went through, they were keen on releasing Casey to his parents. Naturally, he just teleported home. He was the first to go.
The BSU put Matty and Ellie and Dr. Cooper up in a hotel to conduct their investigation, and Jet stayed with his dad at first. By Wednesday, though, his mother and sister were due back, and he wanted to be at the house when they got home. They'd explain that there was an incident eventually, he said, but he didn't want them to come home to chaos.
Ellie's mother was to come in from the states that Friday to meet her and fly back with her. Dr. Cooper, cleared to go about his business but still mired in the backlog of paperwork the incident had generated, managed to find time to drive her to the airport. Matty tagged along.
They arrived early, so they stopped for lunch after going through security. Ellie didn't talk much – her backpack had been recovered, along with her precious CD player. Matty envied her ability to disappear into the sound and leave the rest of the world behind. He could do with that sort of peace right now.
After they ate, Dr. Cooper checked his watch. "The flight should be in any minute now," he said. "Shall we head to the gate?"
Ellie nodded, and silently packed up her things. Then she faced Matty, uncertainty written all over her face.
"So, um," she said.
Yeah, Matty said to her privately. I don't know what to say either.
We're not really friends, said Ellie. I mean, yet.
Yet, said Matty, smiling.
"Let me know when you're done saying your good-byes," said Dr. Cooper, who knew they were speaking telepathically.
Ellie spoke out loud this time. "I hope I'll see you again soon."
"You too," said Matty.
She turned to Dr. Cooper. "Thanks for everything."
"You're welcome," said Dr. Cooper.
"And thank Jet again, too," said Ellie, "for letting me sleep at your house. Um. Even if I only got a few hours, since... yeah. And Casey, for saving us all."
Dr. Cooper smiled. "I will."
Ellie looked at Matty again. "I guess I gotta go, so... well... bye." She forced a smile.
Awkward as it was, Matty stood up and gave her a hug. She returned it, with stiff arms. Sure, they didn't know each other that well yet, but she was right – they only weren't friends yet. After all, now they were bound by something amazing. How could that just go away? Matty knew the answer; it couldn't. He thought back to what the girl from the church had said, about having teammates. What had she gone through alone? Would she ever show up again?
"Keep in touch, okay?" said Matty.
"Yup," Ellie said, and then she went off with Dr. Cooper to meet her mother.
The ride back from Heathrow was mostly silent, but Dr. Cooper finally broke it.
"So, what's your plan, Matty?" he asked.
Matty looked out the window. "If only I knew," he said. "They listed me dead in Hawaii, didn't they?"
Dr. Cooper didn't answer right away, but his face gave away that he'd checked into it. "Yes," he admitted. "There was a death announcement for you and for Ron Vasquez."
Ron, Matty thought. Since they'd graduated high school – barely – Matty had spent all his time shitting around with Jeff and Ron. Now Ron was dead and Matty had been displaced. "Even though they didn't find my body?"
Dr. Cooper grimaced. "I'm guessing Jester's guys tracked your disappearance and took care of the details from there. I'm still working out how they did that, by the way, and I'll be sure to let you know what I learn." He paused. "But you don't have to be dead, you know," said Dr. Cooper. "We can arrange something that makes it look like a mistake, if you want to go home."
"I..." said Matty.
How much time do you spend lying to yourself? he thought. You thought those guys were your best friends, but now that all this has happened you barely thought about it. Of course, he was sad about Ron, but his thoughts were tinged with guilt when he came to the conclusion that what he really missed was the beach and sun. London, not his thing.
"I don't know," Matty said, finally. "What if I don't necessarily want to go back?"
"Any particular reason?" Dr. Cooper asked. When Matty didn't respond, he added, "Not that it's my business. I'm a psychologist, I'm supposed to ask nosy questions."
Matty laughed a little. "God, I dunno. You know, I barely finished high school. All I do anymore is go surfing. I live with my parents – I mean, I lived with my parents. No job. I'm a fuckin' bum."
If Dr. Cooper objected to his language, he didn't say so. "Where do you want to be instead?"
"That's the question," said Matty. "Man, out of all of us, I'm the oldest, I'm the only adult, but I'm the one that's like a lost little kid."
* * *
April 14, 2000
London, England
It was Friday evening, and Jet and Casey were on the couch playing Goldeneye 007. His mother had just left to pick up some carryout for dinner, and his sister Violet was upstairs in her room, on the phone or something.
Jet was surprised, then, when he heard the front door open and shut not five minutes after his mother had left. He wondered at first if she’d just forgotten her wallet or something, but when he got up to check he was surprised to see his dad standing there.
"You’re home," Jet said.
"Yeah, funny thing," his dad said. "I just got through being formally not charged in the incident. Of course, now th
at the hearing on that is over, I have my mandatory suspension period since I shot two people, but that’s just following procedure. I’ll be back at work in a month or so."
"What are you doing until then?" Jet asked.
"Probably learning how to kick your butt at Star Fox," said his father. He ambled into the kitchen and set his briefcase on the counter. "Where’s your mom?"
"Getting dinner," said Jet. "Did she know you’d be home?"
"No," said his father, "but your mom always orders extra."
Casey wandered into the kitchen. "Hi, Dr. Cooper," he said.
"Evening, Casey," said Jet’s father. He snapped open the clasps on his briefcase. "I have something to show you two." He lowered his voice. "Where’s your sister?"
"Upstairs," said Jet.
"Good," said his father. "I wanted to show you this." He pulled from his briefcase an old academic journal, set it down, and began to leaf through. "Ah, there it is."
Jet looked down at the title. "The Ultraviolet Gene." He skimmed the first few paragraphs. "Hey, this is..."
"Yes, it is," said his father.
"Let me see," said Casey, elbowing his way in.
Dr. Cooper rapped his fingers on the counter. "I told you I used to be a nerd about this stuff. Anyway, you might want to put that away for now, but give it a read later. Tell me if I was crazy or not."
Jet scowled. "If this stuff is all theoretical – fictional, even..." he paused at the looks Casey and his dad gave him. "Hey, you know what I mean. How'd you get it published?"
"It was popular back then," said his father, "and I had a bone to pick with the indigo children people. People who truly experienced these things so far out of the norm wouldn't just be a pretty-sounding color on the spectrum, they'd be above the spectrum. Outside the range of any experiences ever seriously studied. Anyway. Go put it in your room and we'll surprise your mom that I'm here for dinner."
As Jet went up the staircase with the old journal in his hand, he considered the title of the article again. "The Ultraviolet Gene."
So that's what we're all carrying, he thought, and smiled. If science could explain it, then they weren't freaks, or a miracle... in the end, they were still just people.
* * *
About the Author
Eliza would much rather write books than do her actual work. She also finds it hard not to be snarky and/or irreverent when talking about herself. She lives in Tucson, Arizona with her partner, two dogs, and a cat.
Her personal website is www.lampflower.net.
