by Sarah Noffke
Allouette’s plan did involve me luring Eloise out so I believed that, but this was sounding a little too good to be true. I’d be safe, make millions, and I would be stopping bad guys like me.
“Is there electricity?” I asked.
Trey gave me a look of surprise. “Of course. We live very comfortably.”
“All right, I’ll help you save the bloody world but I’m not wearing a cape or tights.”
Trey nodded. “One more thing though.”
“Of course there is,” I said with an impatient sigh. “Is this when you tell me I’ll have to start being nice to people and having manners?”
“No, you can treat people however you like. But I do ask that you don’t use your mind control on innocent people anymore. I can’t have you in the Institute if you’re going to pose a threat to our people,” Trey said.
“But I can insult them and maybe use a bit of hypnotism here and there, right?” I said, angling my head to the side.
Trey seemed to consider me. Then he shrugged. “Yeah, sure. That’s fine. I just wanted to ensure you didn’t force any of our residents to do things they don’t want to.”
“Well, if you mean force them into my bed then you don’t have to worry. Consider me a monk as far as that goes. I’m done with women.”
He extended a hand to me. “Welcome aboard, Ren,” Trey said.
“You don’t want me to shake your hand,” I said flatly.
He let his hand fall to his side. “Right,” he said, probably remembering I have telepathy linked to touch. “I do have one last thing I want to say.”
“Fire away,” I said, realizing that was the first time I didn’t take an opportunity to gain covert information on someone by touching them.
“I want to thank you,” Trey said, his voice a little scratchy all of a sudden.
“Thank me?” I said in disbelief. “For what?”
He brought his blue eyes up from their resting place on the ground and looked at me. “Thank you for bringing my children to me.”
“Oh, well…” I said, scratching the back of my neck, although it didn’t itch. “It was nothing.”
He shook his head at me. “I actually know you sacrificed a great deal to do so. I realize you didn’t have to bring me my children and by doing so you put yourself in extreme danger.”
I didn’t answer, just lowered my eyes to the ground. Feeling good about something I did was weird. It was definitely going to take some getting used to.
Chapter Twenty-Two
In 1997 I became the first official Head Strategist for the Lucidites. I’d never had a title, much less a job. I knew Trey was right, that I’d be safe at the Lucidite Institute. The Institute was an underwater five-story facility protected by both technology and also psychic energy. And in contrast to the Grotte it was like being on a bloody spaceship. The walls were all a brushed stainless steel and the doors were motor operated. The Institute, also unlike the Grotte, was crawling with people. To my dismay they were all quite cheery, but most learned to leave me alone pretty quickly. I may have become a so-called good guy but that didn’t mean I was going to flaunt a toothy grin and a polite manner.
If I had designed my own compound where I trained the brightest minds in the world, it wouldn’t have looked like the Lucidite Institute. The place was cold and gray and reminded me too much of my soul, if I had one that is. If I designed my own compound it would have had fiery red paneled walls and carpet the color of my eyes. I wouldn’t have called it the Lucidite Institute either, but rather Ren’s Lair. And I’d even have scattered a bit of bad guy’s bones I’d defeated around the place. What’s the point in saving the bloody world and not feel like the king of the fucking jungle?
The Institute had originally been constructed using an underwater facility built by the U.S. government. During World War II it had been a testing ground for military warfare. Then after the war they converted it to a place to harbor consciousness and the skills associated with ESP and other Dream Traveler abilities. Of course, once a powerful and self-righteous Dream Traveler got wind of this, he sought to ruin the program. And using technology strong enough to melt all the minds in the White House, that’s exactly what Trey’s predecessor did. He fooled the government into thinking that not only was their project worthless, but also that abandoning the Institute was crucial. Maybe those officials thought there were still dangerous pathogens remaining in the facility from the earlier experiments. Whatever the daft scientists believed, they all loaded up and left. Later their minds were wiped clean and all evidence related to the Institute disappeared. That’s how the place I called my home of almost two decades became the property of the Lucidites.
During my time living in this underwater silver box, I was assigned executive housing in the residential wing of the Institute. It wasn’t the Ritz Carlton but it didn’t have any rats either. Actually what I missed most during my time at the Institute were windows. I missed sunlight that was invited to stream through a transparent surface. But what was a blighty like me really going to complain about? It’s not like I grew up in Peavey or London with an abundance of sunshine. Hell, I’ve never even had a sunburn.
I was also assigned my own department space which I called Scapes Escapes for no reason at all. I could be quite random at times. And I had a team of twenty young recruits all eager to do whatever I said. The news reporters sent urgent reports straight to our department. Then I decided how to use the talent at my disposal to intervene to create optimal results. It actually was more challenging than anything I’d ever done. I loved every second of it, but I hid it well.
“Billy, I want you to create a disturbance on flight 1212,” I said, pointing to a boy who sat at the conference table in Scapes Escapes. I’d been working for six months and had already made significant strides.
“My name is Larry,” the boy said. That’s what he always said. He hadn’t caught on yet.
“All right, Billy,” I said and he bristled with quiet anger. “The news report says the mechanics rush the repairs on the aircraft and that’s why it has engine failure over the Atlantic. I want you to make a ruckus when you board the plane. Throw a rotten tantrum. Chain yourself to the plane saying you’re making a stand against high airfare prices. Do whatever it takes to give those mechanics a chance to do the repairs properly.”
“But, sir, what if I get arrested? Will someone come and bail me out?” Billy said.
I stopped and regarded him with a long irate look. “I’m trying to save lives. I don’t have time to get your ass out of jail for being a stupid activist.”
He cowered, sharing a commiserate expression with the girl across the table.
“All right, next,” I said, swiveling my gaze to a girl halfway down the table. A dozen snotty prodigy kids with various talents were staring back at me. “Sally, you’re to travel to Budapest. There’s a terrorist attack happening there in twenty-one hours. Using your cryogenic skill, I want you to freeze the bomb hidden in a building and then tip off the authorities. The terrorists are going to get away but—”
“Shouldn’t I tip off the authorities first so they can catch the terrorists?” Sally asked in a dreadful, nasally voice.
I flung the rolling chair out from in front of me and plopped down in it. “I forgot that Trey gave you the job as the Head Strategist for the Institute,” I said. “I forgot you’re the one who’s in charge of this department. That you’re the one who makes all the bloody decisions. I forgot that at your discretion my ass could be fired and kicked out of the fucking Institute.” I then spun around three times in the chair like a kid trying to get dizzy. When I stopped I stared at Sally, whose eyes were wide with shock.
“I’m so-so-so sorry, sir,” she stuttered. “I didn’t mean to undermine your authority.”
“Oh no, you just think you know better than me. Get this, little girl. You can live another bloody lifetime and you won’t know better than me. I’m a master at strategy. Hence the bloody title. Got it?” I said
.
She nodded, biting on her bottom lip. I could have said “boo” and she probably would have burst out crying. I considered it.
Instead I said, “After that I want you to stop into Café Du Monde in New Orleans. Order a dozen beignets.”
I paused until I knew she couldn’t help but ask her dumb, curious question. “What is that going to do, sir?” she said. “Will it delay an act that would lead to an accident?”
“No,” I said, sounding insulted. “Just bring them back here. I want a bloody pastry.”
***
I did as Trey requested and didn’t use my skills for any evil manipulations while in the Institute. Of course, evil is a relative term. What I think shouldn’t be considered sinister is probably a bit different than what most people would classify under that title. So I might have played a few pranks, hypnotized a few individuals until they passed out and verbally abused everyone I came in contact with. Trey didn’t seem to mind my antics since my small and efficient department was more successful than ever before. And I had to have a way to entertain myself by being naughty when I was tired of saving the fucking world and running from my bloody demons. And of course, the one thing I couldn’t get away from was the woman’s death I was culpable for. Trey forgave me and yet I found it impossible to forgive myself. I think that’s the very reason he made his children one of my chief responsibilities. In Trey’s well-meaning heart he believed I’d think I was atoning for my sins by protecting his offspring. I didn’t think that, but that’s probably because I’ve never liked the idea of being saved. Not in any sense of the word. I guess being damned sounds like a better approach. There’s nowhere else to fall to but down.
One of my main responsibilities, while at the Institute, was to check up on Trey’s children, who both lived at separate foster families to ensure their safety. A man more akin to a parasite was bent on killing them. He was almost as powerful as Chase and way more ambitious. Some years later, when Trey’s children were almost grown they’d enter the Institute and I’d teach them how to fight and survive evil. And his daughter went on to kill that parasite, saving humanity, but that isn’t my story to tell. It’s hers. She’s the same girl I saw on that day I delivered two snotty infants to Trey. His daughter would follow me around in some way or another for a good part of my life. I thought she was going to be the death of me. Turned out I was wrong. She’d be the one who freed me.
Trey’s daughter, who I ordered the first mate to pull out of her dead mother and give CPR to, would also go on, with the help of her brother, to kill both my adversaries. Chase and Allouette. I had barely dared to venture out of the Institute since I set foot there. Sure, I dream traveled, but rarely and usually only with Trey since I knew Allouette and Chase were always searching for my energy to pop up on the globe. And I can count the times I took my physical body out of the Institute on one hand. I always knew it was a risk and on my last trip Allouette actually caught me and almost succeeded in killing me. However, thanks to a Lucidite news report and the quick work of my agents, I was able to escape. Still, that experience confirmed for me that I was never safe outside the Institute as long as Allouette and Chase breathed in this world. I was free and also a prisoner for my entire time at the Institute. I thought it would take an act of God to rid the world of Chase and his devil, but it actually took the acts of a pair of twins who were born prematurely and had a vendetta against the two responsible for their mother’s death. Again, I’m not sharing the details of this story because although I’m involved in it, this is not my story to tell. For me to share those events would be like I was taking credit for them and I won’t do that.
The point is that it took almost two decades after I sought refuge in the Institute for me to be safe outside its walls. After eighteen years, a fortnight after Chase and Allouette had been ridded from this world, I packed a single suitcase and took the long submarine ride to the surface. I was ready to return to the world above the water. I’d matured during my almost two decades of service at the Institute. I’d mostly atoned for my sins. I’d done something that would almost make my pops proud, but now I needed to have a new adventure. And the threat of encountering Chase and Allouette had kept me hidden. I was ready for the world to see my shocking red hair and monster green eyes again. I was ready to return home, but I had one thing left to do.
Chapter Twenty-Three
September 2014
The Institute was as sterile as a prison and I’d willingly imprisoned myself in it. It was a fate I endured knowing I’d brought it on myself. And because I had nothing to spend my money on since the Institute took care of my room and board, I sent my checks to the church in Peavey, after I paid a few bills, of course. Money didn’t matter. Women didn’t exist. And although I had awoken after my ordeal with Allouette, I was still calloused to the world, as Trey suspected I’d always be.
I served Trey with a loyalty I had only for people like my parents. Trey Underwood was the first person I met with admirable skills that I wasn’t interested in copying and adding to my persona. I’d never be able to pull off the good guy act. I was a man with a monster inside me. That monster was born there and was never going away.
After eighteen years of working as the Head Strategist I took a demotion. For all of those years I’d sent agents out into the field to intervene and use their skills to stop tragedy. No longer concerned about Chase or Allouette finding me, I gave myself a new assignment, and this was a big one. A society of Dream Travelers in Southern Oregon were suppressing the gifts of rebellious Dream Travelers. I assigned myself the extremely difficult task of infiltrating the corrupt government and bringing down the power source behind the atrocity. All I had to do was get there, which would require some good old-fashioned Middling travel since there were no GAD-Cs in the piney state.
When I took that first step off the submarine onto the dock I realized what I’d missed without knowing it. Wind. It whirled over my cheeks and the backs of my hands. Like I did that first day in London, I raised my hands in the air with a welcoming embrace and sang out, “I know you’ve missed me, world. Ren’s back.”
The sun set over the western horizon, sparkling over the rippling Pacific waters. Sunlight. I also hadn’t seen real sunlight in eighteen years. But unlike the wind I knew I’d missed it. Its absence in my life was like missing a finger. You never forget that it’s gone. I pulled sunglasses out of my pocket, as prepared as ever.
I was halfway to LAX when I remembered the other reason that I’d willingly imprisoned myself in an underwater facility for so long. Stretched across a building and as beautiful as ever was an image of Dahlia. She was still famous. She’d aged, as I had, but was unmistakably beautiful. A knot that I didn’t think could exist in my throat ever again tied into place. I coughed it away.
“Hey,” I said to the cab driver.
“Billy,” he said, looking over his shoulder at me. “My name is Billy, not hey.”
“Whatever,” I said. “That singer, Dahlia, do you know anything about her?”
“Buddy, what planet did you just come from? Everyone knows about Dahlia.”
“I’m not your buddy, Larry,” I said.
“I said my name is Billy.”
Ignoring him I said, “So did she ever get married?”
“Oh yeah,” the guy said with a howling laugh.
I sat back, my jaw flexing. I had no right to be mad. And still I was livid. I’d abandoned her. Told her off. Broken her heart. How didn’t I expect that she’d get married one day? I knew she’d move on. And hadn’t I?
“It lasted a whole six months, the sham of a wedding. She married some hotshot movie star, I forget the guy’s name,” the cab driver said in a gossipy tone. “Personally I think the whole thing was a promotional stunt.”
My chest loosened a tad.
The cab driver, who apparently didn’t know brakes were standard in all motor vehicles, pulled over at the curb at LAX. He got out to help me with my luggage probably because I tipped hi
m so generously. At my back a horde of people were gathered, most holding mobiles and stepping up on their tiptoes trying to see something.
The cab driver turned to see the commotion I was eyeing. The crowd parted slightly and I just spied a black limousine as bodyguards pushed the people back.
“Well, speaking of the devil,” the cab driver said with a delighted grin. “I bet that’s Dahlia in there now. She just had a tour here in LA.”
“She’s not the devil,” I said flatly. “Believe me. I know.”
I threw my eyes up looking toward the sky. That’s not funny, God, I thought. I’d been back in the real world for only an hour and already God was tempting me with people I couldn’t have. No wonder I locked myself away for almost two decades.
“Put that back,” I said to Billy, pointing to the suitcase. “You’re driving me to Oregon.” I then turned and got back in the car.
The cab driver slipped into the driver’s seat, a confused expression marking his brow. “What? That’s like a twelve-hour drive.”
I slipped down low, obscuring my face. Besides small wrinkles and the red goatee I’d acquired, I looked the same as when I was with Dahlia. Same spiked hairstyle. Same cut of suit. She’d recognize me for sure. I couldn’t chance her seeing me. I knew after that last night in London that I could never see her in person again. That’s why I locked up my flat and went to Paris. I would always take Dahlia back. And I would love her and lose her. It was the way of things. My parents had proven that Middlings and Dream Travelers didn’t belong together. In my world there were no happy endings. “I’ll make it worth your while,” I said to the driver. “Just get me the hell out of here, Larry.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
April 2015 - Present Day
