by Lee Davidson
Rigby joins us, but is as silent as everyone else as Willow talks.
“Jonathan convinced us all that Tate was getting worse, that your connection to her was the reason. He convinced us all that we had the power necessary to break the connection again. It was a lie. He just wanted you to be like the rest of us. It had nothing to do with Tate.”
Liam takes a step forward. “Willow, you’re out of line. She was getting worse.”
“That wasn’t Jonathan’s motivation.”
“You don’t know that,” Liam argues.
“She got better when Grant was there. You said so yourself.” Willow pauses. “Anyway, Jonathan conjured this mission for us. He trained us to preform a group block. It would have worked, too, if you hadn’t intervened. You showed up and none of us were prepared for that.”
This girl has officially gone muy loco. “What are you talking about?”
The others nod, backing up Willow’s crazy story. I would remember. Wouldn’t I?
A small voice in my head reminds me that I don’t remember being blocked by Morgan. Could Willow actually be telling the truth?
“You used your special power, kid.”
“What special power?”
“You blocked our block,” Evelynn says in explanation.
“And stole our ability!” Billy’s expression says he and I are not, by any means, BFFs right now, and probably never will be.
“That’s our theory,” Lawson adds.
Liam clears his throat. “It’s not a theory, it’s the truth. Tate still remembers Grant.”
Willow is all kinds of angry. “In essence, Jonathan’s plan worked. He got you back.” She taps the back of her boot heel on the marble floor. “What he didn’t consider was that when he got you back, you’d be worthless.”
“Or that Tate would still be messed up,” Liam whispers.
“He didn’t consider we’d all be worthless!” Billy adds.
“Seriously? None of you can block?” No way.
Elliott scratches the top of his head. “Only the ones who blocked you.”
“Who blocked me?”
“All of the Elites and I,” Willow explains in a lowered voice when a couple Satellites come off the elevator and walk past us.
Willow turns away from me. “I’m sorry. Jonathan convinced us it was for the best.”
I try to take the information in. It doesn’t make sense because I remember nothing, but at the same time, the proof is in my inability to block. And no one is wearing a face that’s about to say “gotcha.” Instead, they maintain their seriousness; Willow, Clara, and Anna even look sad.
“What about the rest of you?”
“They were there to wake us up,” Reed explains. “Through our training, we learned that a group block is not only painful, but it knocks us out. Literally.”
“You all took part in this,” I whisper, more to myself.
No one says anything or makes eye contact with me. Everyone except Billy, that is, who I think wants to cut me up and grill me for dinner.
“Why would you do that?”
Jackson plays with the cuff of his plaid shirt. “We trusted Jonathan. I mean, why wouldn’t we? He’s never steered us wrong before. Right guys? We didn’t know what was going to happen. We didn’t know you were going to be there. We didn’t—”
“It’s your fault!” Billy says with venom. “If you hadn’t showed up everything would have gone as planned. You stole our ability!”
Lawson vice grips Billy’s arm when Billy lunges forward. “Cool it, man. It’s not his fault. He didn’t know this would happen either.”
Billy struggles against Lawson. “Princess, here, has been nothing but trouble since he became an Elite!”
“Oh, honey, his trouble started way before becoming an Elite,” Willow says dryly.
“Hey! I didn’t even want to be an Elite!”
Billy fights against Lawson when I say this. “You’ve got a lot of nerve!”
“Seriously, Grant, insult to injury,” Evelynn feels the need to throw in.
“Shouldn’t I be the one angry? I’m assuming you were all willing to play out Jonathan’s little mission?”
“We weren’t all willing. We just did what was asked of us,” Elliott argues.
“It’s true,” Anna agrees. “None of us could have known what was going to happen. Not even Jonathan.”
We all settle down after getting eyed up by two Satellites passing by. Billy straightens his collar when Lawson lets him go.
Not sure where to go with this new information, I ask, “So now what?”
No one answers.
Willow breaks the long silence. “Who do you think sent Josh?”
“If he was really there.”
Lawson’s dirty look gets under my skin. Why would he doubt me?
Willow paces the small space between the others. “I can’t see Jonathan doing this. It messes too much with people’s destinies.”
“That’s obviously already happened. Surely Jonathan would be concerned about damage control now,” Reed adds.
“Who cares who sent the guy?” Evelynn chews on her bright pink thumb nail. “There has to be a way for us to get our ability back.”
“Jackson, you said you felt stronger when you coded, right?” Willow asks.
“A little stronger, maybe. I felt relaxed for sure, but I wasn’t able to block any better. Willow, how are we supposed to help our Tragedies?”
“Well, seeing as we don’t have many options here, I think you should all go code before heading back to your assignments. Let’s meet on the training field at break.”
Anna goes to work twisting her hair into a ponytail. “What about us?”
“You guys, too.”
Anna finishes the last wrap of the rubber band and slides her hand along the top of her head. “Are we allowed to be there while the Elites are training?”
“At this point, training is a waste of time, so what’s it matter?” Billy says.
Owen nods. “Good point.”
“I’ll give Jonathan the heads up that you’re all coming.” With that, Willow turns and begins walking toward the lobby. Reed follows, and the others take his cue.
I grab Lawson’s arm and pull him closer to me. “It was Josh. I swear it.”
Lawson shakes his head. “I don’t get it. How is that possible?”
“I don’t know, but having him there saved her life. I was worthless.”
He nods, though I’m still not sure he believes me.
“How was Brody’s first day back on the job?” I shout down the hall after him.
“Apparently better than Meggie’s day,” he hollers over his shoulder.
I make the trek back to my room and think about the information Willow shared. The story sounds far-fetched, but I have no more theories and the others seemed on board with her. Nerves make my stomach knot up because I have zero recollection of any of it, not even the part about me being engaged.
I drop my backpack inside the door and head down the hall, figuring I’ll change clothes after I code. I’ve noticed the girls around here start to look at me funny when I wear the same outfit for days at a time. Silly, really, considering nothing I wear ever gets dirty and always smells decent.
When I’m cross-legged on the mat, I close my eyes to my reflection in the mirror. Yes, the clothes are fine. My hair, on the other hand, could benefit from a combing.
My body relaxes as I count down from ten. By the time I reach number four, I’m in my tree stand on the edge of the overgrown field. When the monster buck crosses the clearing, my muscles are like wet spaghetti.
Something at the wood line catches my attention, but I can’t get my eyes to focus on the bright pink blur of color.
“Hello?”
The buck doesn’t startle at my loud voice.
I blink to get my eyes to work, but when I open them, the shape is gone. Or maybe it was nev
er there in the first place. The latter is probably more likely. Regardless, I feel too relaxed to over think anything. This may be the first time in days that the dull ache in my head is completely gone.
Feeling good, I watch the buck eat from the field for a few more minutes.
When I pull myself out of my head and back into the coding room, I stand and stretch my arms, which feel as limber as when I was in my tree stand. I pray that the coding session has helped. Maybe today will be different; maybe my blocking ability has returned. I swallow the lump in my throat that’s telling me otherwise.
As planned, I make a quick wardrobe change in the closet, which consists of a lighter pair of jeans and a red T-shirt instead of blue. I opt to keep the same pair of boots.
My calimeter buzzes when I’m finishing my coffee.
I drop from my kitchen into Meggie’s. She’s in the same place I left her, hugging her knees on the floor. Unlike before, though, Josh isn’t here. Despite this, Meggie seems better. When she comes back to life with the lights, she wipes her eyes with her palm and sniffs a few times before using the counter to pull herself up.
I read through the day’s events quickly, learning that Brody will be back within the hour. I wish Josh were here to prove to Lawson that I’m not crazy. Meggie digs in the fridge and pulls out a package of ground beef, compliments of one of Janine’s food deliveries. Then she actually opens the package and fires up the stove burner. To see her do anything normal is promising. Could Josh’s visit have helped that much?
By the time Meggie is finished making tacos, Brody’s home.
“Dinner?” Lawson sounds as surprised as I was when he walks in behind Brody.
“I know, right?”
“Did you block her?”
I shake my head and hope the look on Lawson’s face goes away.
“How about you? Did you have to block Brody yet?”
“No, not yet, but I will soon.”
“Great,” I mumble.
Brody seems excited about dinner. He thanks Meggie, kisses her forehead, and tells her he’s going to go change clothes.
Lawson takes a deep breath. “That’s my cue. Wish me luck.”
“Changing clothes is going to set him off?”
“The routine of it. He would always play with the kids for a few minutes before dinner.”
Oh, jeez. “Good luck,” I say with one hundred percent sincerity.
Meggie is filling two taco shells when Lawson runs into the kitchen. I almost jump out of my boots from his baritone voice.
“They’re here!”
“Who?”
“Harper and Sophie! They’re in the bedroom!”
I bump Lawson’s shoulder in my hurry to get past him. The girls at Brody’s feet are not the girls I saw in Meggie’s past. The two blondes, roughly in their mid-twenties, are thin like Meggie with sharper cheekbones and fuller lips. One has hair bluntly cut just above her shoulders; the other has the same straight hair, but down to her waist. Both are in the middle of a quiet rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Normally, I would find it strange to see two grown women singing at someone’s feet, but under the circumstances, witnessing this is actually kind of beautiful. Brody takes deep breaths during the serenade while tears stream down his face.
“We love you, Daddy,” the girls say in unison when the song is over. This seems to spark more tears from Brody.
“Don’t cry, Dad, we’re right here,” the short-haired girl says
The other girl laughs, “I don’t think he can actually hear us, Soph.”
“Sure he can.” She watches Brody for a few seconds. “See, he’s smiling.”
“I don’t believe it!”
I turn at Lawson’s voice. “I don’t either. It’s working, though. They’re making him better.” Before I can say anything to the girls, they zoom upward and disappear into the ceiling.
Lawson and I are quiet—presumably he’s as dumbfounded by all of this as I am—while Brody changes clothes. We follow him into the kitchen and he gives Meggie a kiss with more oomph this time.
“You believe me now about Josh?” I ask, although I already know the answer.
“I can’t believe how much they look like Meggie,” Lawson whispers, but says nothing else for a long time.
“We’ve got to talk to Jonathan about this,” I tell Lawson while Meggie and Brody eat.
“You think?”
“He sent them.”
Lawson is skeptical. “We don’t know that.”
“Who else could it have been?”
“I’m not sure. If it is Jonathan behind this, he should probably be told their presence, whatever it means, seems to be working for these two.”
“So, at break we’ll tell him.”
Lawson nods and then the two of us silently watch Meggie and Brody finish their dinner.
Lawson and I get to the courtyard doors at the same time during break. Walking onto the field together, we go straight for Jonathan, who appears to be doing crowd control for the larger than normal group. Morgan, new to this mess, stays at a safe distance outside of the group.
“What are we supposed to do?” Evelynn is shouting. “My Tragedy is a mess!”
“This is madness!” Billy hollers over Evelynn.
Owen’s voice is as loud as the others. “You have to listen to them. Something has to be done.”
“Jonathan, a word?” Lawson’s deep voice is enough to silence the others, and Jonathan seems relieved to get a break from the chatter.
“I know you are all anxious for answers, but please excuse me for a moment.”
I put my hands on my hips. “No, here.”
“I would like to speak in private,” Jonathan asserts.
“Come on.” Lawson motions me with a head nod to the right.
“No. This is affecting all of us. No more secrets.”
Willow takes a step forward and there’s poison in her frown. “I second that. No more secrets.”
Jonathan’s eyes are tired, and he takes a long time before answering. “Fine. Here, then.”
“Sophie and Harper were there today.”
Silence follows, but Jonathan does not appear shocked by this news.
Reed steps further into the haphazard circle. “Who are Sophie and Harper?”
“My Tragedy’s daughters,” after a few seconds, Lawson adds, “His dead daughters. Did you send them?” he asks Jonathan.
Willow twists a dreadlock between her thumb and index finger. “Grant, didn’t you say, some other kid was with your Tragedy earlier?”
I nod. “Josh. Sophie and Harper are her kids, too.”
“Wait, I don’t…” Anna’s mouth drops open. “She lost three children?”
“Their children couldn’t have been there. That’s impossible, right Jonathan? Or are they Satellites? Even then, though, how could they—”
Jonathan raises his hand to stop Jackson.
“Our Tragedies got better without any interference from us,” I blurt out.
Jonathan’s expression is hard to read as we all wait for him to say something.
“I’m going to assume what you are describing is mere illusion. In the meantime, keep doing your best. Liam would you please come with me?”
That’s it?
“Our best?” Evelynn shouts to Jonathan’s back as him and Liam walk toward the doors. “We can’t block!”
“It wasn’t an illusion! Meggie’s kids were there!” I yell.
Jonathan ignores us both. Liam turns to Jonathan while they walk, probably waiting for an answer like we are.
Frustrated, my attention returns to the group. Morgan would obviously rather be anywhere but here, and I can’t blame her. Billy is uncharacteristically speechless. His face says enough, though, and I half expect him to charge Jonathan.
“Now what?” Lawson asks.
Evelynn’s blue dress catches the sun when she spins around, making the materi
al look like rippling water. “Now we continue to suck! This is ridiculous.”
Clara uses a consoling voice. “Jonathan will fix this.”
“Easy for you to say! You can still block!”
When Clara recovers from Evelynn’s bad attitude, she asks, “When has he ever let anyone down?”
“There’s a first time for everything.” Evelynn stalks off toward the trees.
Willow parks herself on the ground. Jackson and Billy follow, joined by Elliott who goes to work at mindlessly picking blades of grass.
“So your Tragedies’ kids really showed up, huh?” Willow asks.
Lawson and I sit, and the remaining members of our group—Liam, Rigby, Clara, Anna, Owen, and Morgan—do the same.
Lawson squeezes his forehead. “I didn’t believe it until I saw them myself. The girls are grown up now, so I wasn’t sure at first, but they share so many of their mom’s features, I knew. They really helped Brody, I’d venture to say even more than my blocking.” He focuses on the mountain range in the distance. “When my ability actually worked, that is.”
No one speaks for a long time until Lawson says, “I’m sorry, Grant. What Jonathan made us do was wrong. We should never have gone along with it; it never felt right to me.”
“Me neither,” Elliott adds in a quiet voice.
“What will we do if we can never block again?” Jackson’s eyes are pleading as he searches Willow for an answer.
“I don’t know, Jack.” Willow turns over her flip flop with her bare foot. “I just don’t know.” After a few minutes, she stands up and slides her shoes back on. “Let’s try some blocking drills.”
“What for?” Billy grumbles.
“You got something better to do? Come on, get up. Evelynn, we’re going to practice!” Willow yells across the field.
Evelynn ignores her. Billy shares Evelynn’s sour attitude, but the rest of us stand.
“Should I go?” Morgan questions.
Willow turns to her. “Have you begun your assignment yet?”
Morgan shakes her head.
“You should stay. You’re going to want to build up your tolerance for what’s ahead. Reed, would you work with Morgan?”
Reed nods and Morgan follows him to a vacant place on the field.
