The Riser Saga

by Becca C. Smith

  Oh yeah.

  Good question.

  “Let’s go exploring,” I offered, and Jill shrugged in response.

  We walked down the cobblestone street toward the back of town, looking for any kind of numbering system. There was nothing of course, but the farther we went the more stares we were getting, so we figured we were probably on track.

  “What about that guy?” I asked, nodding toward a man who looked like he was in his thirties standing in front of one of the identical brick houses. He was wearing a kind of uniform that had a badge on his chest and a billy club holstered around his waist. “Some kind of security?”

  “I got this,” Jill said with an air of confidence and I had to admit that the way she flipped her long locks of wavy black hair was pretty impressive.

  I sort of waddled behind her like an ugly duckling that was way out of its depth. Sometimes it was such a relief that the love of my life actually liked me already. I really hated the whole game of flirting and wondering and flirting some more and then wondering some more. It was way too stressful and I was glad that that part of my relationship with Ryan was stabilized. I didn’t think I could handle going through that all over again with someone new!

  But Jill was definitely in her element. I had witnessed her flirting techniques at school whenever she’d want something. What was funny was that her power made people do whatever she wanted more than her good looks, but it didn’t stop her from using both. Even Ryan went on a date with her for crying out loud. Eeew. Didn’t want to think about that.

  Jill walked up to the security guy, batted her eyelashes and looked at him with her bright green eyes in a way that made her look absolutely stunning. Her perfect body accentuated by her tight t-shirt and jeans was already making this guy’s head spin. “Could you help us?” she asked in the nicest voice I’d ever heard from her.

  “You’re the visitors from Los Angeles, aren’t you?” the security man kind of sputtered out. Jill was definitely making this guy nervous. He was cute in his own way, though he was at least thirty-six. His balding dark hair was shaved with a little stubble grown out and his face was very structured with a slightly crooked nose like Jason’s. He looked like he kept in shape since I couldn’t see an ounce of body fat on him. He was all muscle.

  Just for safety’s sake I sought out the closest dead thing I could find, which happened to be a dead dog buried behind the house next door. Must have been someone’s pet, but if things got hairy I wanted something to fight with.

  Jill laughed and touched his arm, which made this guy immediately melt. “Yes, we are…” She paused for his name.

  “Frank,” he said, his face turning a little red.

  “I’m Jill and this is Chelsan.” Jill half-waved to me behind her as if I hardly mattered. She was probably afraid I’d mess up her flirt, and let’s face it, that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. I tended to put my foot in my mouth when trying to be sneaky.

  “You folks need to turn around. In about a hundred feet you’re headed into off limits territory,” Frank said and I could tell he was hoping we’d comply happily. This guy didn’t want any trouble.

  Oh well, too bad for him.

  “Oooo! Off limits, huh? That sounds like fun. We’d be safe with you, wouldn’t we?” Jill went straight for the jugular. This girl wasn’t messing around and I had to admire her for that.

  “Well, I… she… uhh.” Frank was starting to sweat.

  Apparently, Jill had broken him.

  Jill grabbed his arm and made a pouty face that even I would have found hard to resist. “Please? We’re so bored. And you’re so cute.” She touched Frank’s nose with her finger for emphasis.

  His face went about five shades redder. “Oh.. well… it’s just… off limits…restricted… Chelsan… can’t.”

  Jill snuggled in closer so her face was inches from Frank’s. He swallowed hard and his eyes were kind of bugging out. I don’t think he’d ever had this kind of attention from a girl that looked as young and beautiful as Jill. “You’re not honestly going to say ‘no,’ are you? Don’t you want to have a little fun? How much trouble could two little girls cause?”

  Frank was literally dripping sweat. I couldn’t tell if he was so nervous because he was afraid of getting in trouble or because of Jill’s attentions. Probably both. I just stayed out of it because the guy looked like he was about to crack.

  “I guess… if we just stick to the street,” Frank sputtered.

  Jill made an excited squeal and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. We’re going to have so much fun!”

  Frank nearly fainted from the kiss, but quickly recovered, excited now himself. Jill stayed glued to his arm, and Frank led us toward the area he referred to as “restricted.”

  I stayed a step behind them, not wanting to ruin the magic hold Jill had on the poor sap. One thing that stood out from their conversation though was the fact that Frank knew me by name. He stuttered it out as if it was a name he was told to memorize and keep away from all things restricted. I just hoped that meant we’d find Ryan.

  Frank appeared to relax slightly as we walked down the aisle of identical houses. I really didn’t see what made this particular stretch of the town “restricted” as compared to the others, but I guess it was what was going on inside the houses that mattered.

  Oh man.

  Just had a pang of fear for Ryan.

  Jill seemed to have read my mind because she leaned in close to Frank’s ear, which made his face burn red again. “This place looks pretty boring to me. Where’s the danger? I thought it was restricted?” Jill started to pout.

  She really was good. I could never make my bottom lip do that.

  Frank was flustered again, but tried to stay cool. “Oh it is dangerous, but I can’t show you anything. I’m under orders.”

  “You’re such a tease.” Jill pulled away just enough so that she was still holding onto his arm.

  “I’m not, I swear. I’d get fired.” Frank’s face was as conflicted as could be. Boys were such slaves to a girl’s attentions.

  “Fired? It’s not like you get paid, am I right? I didn’t see any pay centers in the stores. You all just live here and share, right?” Jill leaned back in, to Frank’s relief.

  Wow. She noticed that, too. I was curious as to his response.

  “Yes, but there are certain responsibilities we uphold and now, what with the pregnant women and her,” he nodded back to me, “we have to keep security tight. I’m the best.” Frank puffed up proudly.

  Interesting. I’m definitely on the top of their Danger list.

  Jill smiled seductively at him. “Oh, I’m sure you are, which means you can take us to all the really exciting places, right?”

  Frank’s eyes said he wanted to run because he knew that on some level she was manipulating him, but his face and body were screaming that he wanted Jill in the worst way.

  “I… I’m not sure I…” Frank was back to stammering again.

  Jill stopped suddenly and leaned in so her lips were barely touching his. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? You know we need to see her boyfriend. So, just take us to where he is and I promise you won’t regret it.” Jill ran her hand over his stubbled head and Frank’s eyelids fluttered.

  “I can’t… express orders…” Frank was terrified.

  Jill kissed him and I had to give it to her. She really took one for the team.

  Frank’s knees were actually, visibly shaking. I almost wanted to laugh, poor guy.

  Jill pulled away so their faces were still only inches from each other. “She just wants to say ‘Hi.’ You understand, right? And when they’re alone…” Jill brushed his cheek with her hand, “We can be alone.”

  That did it.

  “Well, I can’t see how a little hello could hurt. Ms. Elisha was just having him over for breakfast after all. He’s probably set to go back to his quarters soon anyway.” Frank seemed to be convincing himself rather than explaining th
e situation to us.

  Jill stayed locked to his arm, but she looked back at me and winked.

  I smiled my thanks and felt a surge of relief. I remembered the way Elisha eyed Ryan: she probably just wanted alone time with him. My imagination was far more active than it should be, but I also wanted to stay focused, just in case.

  We walked for what seemed to be another half mile. The rows of houses had turned into rows of warehouses. Large rectangular blocks of grey with no windows and very few doors.

  Why would Elisha have breakfast with Ryan in one of these monstrosities?

  Anything dead?

  Closer to the graveyard.

  Just yards away behind the warehouses.

  Jill would have to be my spy while I stayed outside. If the houses carried whatever ingredient that blocked my power in them, then the warehouses would most certainly contain it as well.

  We reached a warehouse somewhere in the middle of the pack and Frank turned expectantly to Jill. “He’s in there. Better let me go in first, to make sure we’re in the clear.”

  Frank went through the single metal door.

  Jill turned to me and shook her head. “Gross. You owe me big time. Especially, if he really was just eating breakfast.” Jill had already crossed her arms defensively.

  “I totally owe you. Thanks,” I said as sincerely as I could.

  Jill shrugged. “I just hope Elisha’s not in there ready to eat us.”

  I laughed softly, but I kind of agreed. Little Violet Eyes, scared the crap out of me, too.

  It was then that I noticed under the hanging light attached to the warehouse wall there was a number.

  Sixty.

  I pointed to it. “Well, trap or not, at least we’re at the right building.”

  “Oh boy.” Jill took a calming breath.

  Frank came out with a smile. “He’s in here. Quick.” He waved us to come.

  I whispered to Jill, “When you get to the door, let me know if you can see Ryan. If he’s in trouble, I’m going to bring back some corpses.”

  Jill’s nod was barely perceptible, but she was on it.

  She ran forward with a smile and rushed into Frank’s arms, allowing me to arrive at the door much more slowly.

  Jill was halfway through the doorway, searching inside, looking over Frank’s shoulder. She turned to me and shrugged.

  She didn’t see him.

  Frank twirled her around and turned to me. “He’s in the private study. This way.”

  Jill and I both gave each other a look that screamed, What are we doing? Every fiber of my instinct was telling me to run, but every fiber of my soul was telling me that I needed to see Ryan. And there was no doubt in my mind: Ryan was in there. I just didn’t know if he was in trouble or not. And if he was, I wouldn’t be able to help him the second I entered the building.

  But I wouldn’t be able to help Ryan at all unless he was out of the building anyway, so I determined myself to run in there, get him (whether he was in trouble or not) and get him outside. Then I could use the whole damn graveyard to attack if I had to.

  Jill and Frank were in.

  I closed my eyes to gather myself and stepped in.

  Okay, powers off. No swirling black holes.

  But, so far, no people either. So maybe we were in the clear.

  We entered a large, white hallway with hanging lamps on the ceiling. I could see another metal door at the end of it, just like the one we’d entered. Jill glanced back at me and both our freak-out senses were on overload. I almost ran back the way we came, but that round metal doorknob was calling out to me. If Ryan was in here, I couldn’t leave him.

  Frank turned the knob and swung the door open for me and Jill to go first.

  I somehow knew he wasn’t being gentlemanly, but at the same time I couldn’t stop myself.

  And then I did.

  I stopped and it made Jill stop.

  “What?” she asked, ignoring Frank completely.

  “I just…”

  I somehow knew, just like all the other times, that Elisha was pulling my strings. She could make me do things. She was in my head and knew exactly which brain synapses to tap into to make me act against my better judgment. I was sure of it. So sure, that I recognized the battle in my brain to move forward was a battle with Elisha and not my curiosity, as I’d been rationalizing these past few days.

  Elisha was manipulating me on the largest scale imaginable. She was using my own brain against me. And even though I had been warned by my grandparents, and even by myself, I kept on taking her subliminal orders. I felt so foolish.

  And yet…

  Ryan was still in that room.

  And I still had to save him.

  “Chelsan, run!” Jill said quickly.

  I didn’t know what prompted it, but apparently she saw something in my face, something that told Jill that if I couldn’t trust my instincts, she would do it for me.

  Frank heard enough. He gripped Jill’s arm tighter and grabbed mine with his free hand. “Sorry, girls,” he said not sounding sorry at all.

  Then Frank flung us through the doorway and slammed it behind us.

  I nearly lost my breath as I looked up and saw quite possibly the worst thing I could ever imagine.

  Ryan…

  …suspended in the air with thousands of wires attached to his head.

  His eyes were staring ahead at nothing. Body limp. Mouth slack.

  The wires were plugged into an entire row of holo-screens, all displaying various images of numbers and calculations.

  And I screamed.

  I ran up to Ryan, ready to start ripping out the wires when a pair of forceful hands pulled me back.

  I couldn’t even see who had me, I was in such a blind rage.

  I looked for anything dead, anything! In my fury, I was vaguely able to see the swirling holes on the hillside, even through the building’s protective barrier. I connected to the strongest one I could find, making the corpse smash through their coffin and claw their way to the surface. I refused to acknowledge the fact that I had somehow broken through the building’s defenses of my power for fear I’d lose control of the dead body. The corpse was almost to the surface…

  WHACK!

  I awoke with a splitting headache, tied to a chair.

  The chair was positioned a few feet away from Ryan, so I could see his comatose face staring at empty space. I struggled against my bonds, but they were way too tight. I could barely move a quarter of an inch without feeling the burn of the ropes against my hands and feet, and my arms were already sore from being stretched behind me.

  My head dropped and I closed my eyes, trying to reconnect with the corpse outside.

  Nothing.

  I couldn’t sense a single dead thing.

  The barrier seemed to be working its mojo again and I had no idea how I’d by-passed it last time. Maybe if I could get myself worked up again…

  “It won’t work this time,” Elisha’s voice interrupted my thoughts like a dagger.

  I whirled my head around to see what I had failed to see when I came to. I was so worried about Ryan I didn’t even notice that Jill, Nancy, Jason and Bill were all tied up next to me.

  Fantastic.

  Elisha and Roland were standing to my right while the others were spread out in a line to my left. There was no one else in the room, apparently Frank had been sent away. My friends were all awake and trying to avoid staring at Ryan.

  Except for Bill.

  Bill couldn’t stop staring at Ryan.

  I had never seen Bill look so devastated. Ever. I could tell he fully blamed himself for Ryan’s capture.

  I wanted to comfort Bill, to tell him that it was all my fault, not his. But I didn’t even know how to articulate anything at the moment. I wanted to cry seeing Ryan strung up like a lab animal. Blank face. Blank eyes.

  Why didn’t I stop Ryan last night? If I had just convinced him to stay with me, none of this would have happened!

  B
ut I knew that wasn’t true either.

  Elisha would have taken Ryan no matter what. He was just as valuable to her as I was. Maybe even more. Who knew what she had planned for him? Oh Ryan, I’m so sorry for ever getting you involved in all this!

  The others looked more concerned for me than they did for themselves. I guess they had been afraid that I wasn’t going to wake up. Before I uttered a response to Elisha, I took in my surroundings, hoping I could figure out some kind of escape plan.

  The room we were in was smaller than I’d expected. I just figured being in a warehouse, well... that it would look like a warehouse. I never would have known that it had low ceilings lit with rows of track lighting, walls nicely painted with a golden hue, a long oak desk positioned against a wall holding the row of holo-computers, and dark brown leather furniture set out like a living room behind us. In fact, if it weren’t for Ryan being suspended in air, plugged into some kind of monster computer, and the five of us tied to wooden chairs, the place would have been cozy. It made me think that this contraption they had Ryan hooked up to was recent. That these warehouses were probably used as simple offices for the folk in Havenville. It wasn’t until I helped the monster escape that it turned into some kind of crazy lab, trying to crack into Ryan’s super mega-brain.

  I looked at the figures and numbers moving a mile-a-minute on the holo-displays and had a whole new respect and awe for Ryan. His brain was doing that. He was calculating problems he didn’t even know he could solve. Ryan had always kept that side of himself private, figuring he’d bore me with it. But I found it fascinating. If it wouldn’t make Elisha so happy, I would have started crying. Seeing Ryan like he was, was killing me in ways I never thought possible. His worst nightmare was being sent back to an I.Q. Farm, and now, because of me, here he was.

  “How could you do that to him?” I asked Elisha incredulously. After years of being in a farm herself, I couldn’t fathom how she would do it to someone else.

  And I say this as me and my friends are tied to chairs.

  Elisha’s face was expressionless, but her eyes were smiling. “It’s necessary. Ryan is perhaps the smartest person to be born in over three centuries. I’m a close second, but even with all the tools Turner gave me at my Farm, I couldn’t solve Trilidon’s Theorem.” She moved up to within inches of my face, eyes lit up. “Think of what we can extract from him. The science world will be at our fingertips. And with the twins, so will the military.”