The Riser Saga

by Becca C. Smith

  The hover-cars were government town-hovers, so I knew it was Turner. There were seven of them and as they drew nearer I realized there were at least twenty dead people inside.

  I had a moment of fear as I suddenly thought Turner was going to try and take me out for good, but he had to know I could easily break through his barriers and control his dead. In fact, Roberta must have told him that the compound no longer held me back. I could see right through it. I tried not to jump to conclusions, but it was hard not to with our history.

  All seven of the black hovers landed.

  The door of the town-hover closest to me opened up and I nearly cried when Nancy came flying out, racing toward me as fast as her legs could carry her. I was in her bear hug before I could utter a word and I clung onto her just as tightly. I started to cry before I could stop myself. I never thought I’d see anyone ever again, and to have Nancy with me, hugging me, it was overwhelming.

  “We couldn’t find you anywhere! Your grandparents said they put a tracer in your blood. Gross. But honestly, Chelsan, they didn’t give up. They really did seem sincere. It was so weird. Jill’s been an inconsolable bitch ever since they showed up, but she’ll come around,” Nancy babbled the last few days of events in my ear.

  “It’s good to see you, too, Nancy,” I interrupted her with a grin.

  I pulled away, so happy to see her, but I felt for Jill. And I was having the same issues. “Turner killed her dad, Nancy. I don’t expect her to ever get over that.”

  “I know, but all I cared about was getting you back, so Jill was annoying.” Nancy shook her head as if the last couple of days were pure torture for her.

  Turner joined us.

  I didn’t exactly know how to feel.

  There he was.

  Normally, we’d be facing off in a death match when talking in person, but this time, it was just… uncomfortable. Should I say thanks? Should I tell him to go away? Should I… I was at a complete loss.

  “Where are the twins?” Turner asked.

  “I’ll show you,” I said.

  Okay.

  Brief. Business. To the point. That was how it was going to be.

  We walked back toward the front town-hover.

  “Where’s Jason and Bill?” I asked Nancy.

  “They’re with Roberta at my house. They didn’t trust Turner so they’re using her as collateral,” Nancy whispered in my ear. I got the feeling she didn’t want to make Turner angry.

  “Why all the dead people?” I asked Turner.

  “In case we need them,” Turner answered as we entered the town-hover.

  And that’s when I felt it.

  John and Samuel’s spinning black heads were moving.

  Up.

  “She’s digging them up!” I said trying not to freak out, but failing miserably.

  Turner nodded to the driver: all seven cars were up in the air in seconds.

  “Where?” he asked.

  “Four miles that way.” I pointed.

  We could already see the silhouette of the skyscraper sized Clean-Up hover in the distance. Elisha was using the same kind of magnetized vehicle to dig up the twins that Turner had used on our hover-van when we were escaping the school.

  She knew I could reverse the magnet, so why would she try and free John and Samuel this way? My instincts said it was one of her sneaky traps, but maybe she just needed to get them up fast, so Turner would have no shot at recapturing the boys.

  Turner turned to me, his expression agitated. “She wants you to reverse the polarity of the magnet again. What’s she up to?”

  I shrugged, but I was relieved to know I wasn’t the only one who suspected that Elisha had ulterior motives. “I don’t know, but John and Samuel will be gone in about twenty seconds if I don’t do that thing I did with the magnet.”

  Our hover-car reached the Clean-Up hover a few seconds later. I could see the dirt rumbling below where it was pulling out the twins’ metal box.

  I closed my eyes, connecting to the tiny particles of the magnet like I did before. It was much easier this second time, which was a relief, since the first time had been such a struggle. Everything was instantly black, like a void of darkness. I could see the swirl of the tiniest particles turning the same direction.

  I could hear Turner’s voice. “I’ll send out the army. Kill them all.”

  Nancy’s voice was frantic, “You can’t kill them! Those are the townspeople! They don’t even have weapons!”

  “I need those twins back, little girl! I don’t care if you’re Chelsan’s friend, shut up and let me do my job!” Turner’s voice was angry.

  “Chelsan!” Nancy screamed in my ear. “You have to stop him! Elisha brought the townspeople! Turner’s going to kill them!”

  I used all of my energy to reverse the circular motion of the tiny particles.

  THUMP!

  I opened my eyes just in time to see John and Samuel’s coffin smash onto the grass from ten feet in the air.

  Ouch.

  I hoped they were okay, but a part of me wished they weren’t. I know I was terrible, but they were capable of killing every living thing so I was a little jaded.

  Nancy pulled me to her so we were face to face. “Stop him!” She was frantic.

  Turner was gone. He was outside with his dead army about to attack over fifty some-odd townspeople that had made a protective ring around the twins’ metal box. Roland stood on the coffin like the preacher he was.

  Elisha was nowhere in sight.

  Not good.

  “I won’t let Turner hurt anyone, but we have to get the twins,” I said to Nancy.

  She nodded vigorously.

  “We’ll push our way through, just don’t let him kill anyone!” Nancy was close to frantic.

  “I won’t,” I said.

  Turner signaled the attack and his dead army swarmed toward the townspeople, guns raised.

  They were about to fire.

  I slammed into all their swirling black holes, freezing them in mid-action and nearly fainted from the exertion. After connecting to the magnet and now this, I was losing strength fast. (Not to mention the lack of food and lying in a coffin for three days!)

  I could hear Turner scream from outside, “Stop fighting me!”

  I ignored him and made all the dead soldiers drop their guns, but as I did, I could feel their need to pick the guns back up. Turner was trying to regain control of his army. It was taking every ounce of strength I had just to keep the men in one place. If Turner and I didn’t work together, the dead army would just stand there, and we needed to get the twins.

  I walked out of the car. My legs were even more shaky and I couldn’t walk in a straight line. I was fading fast. I reached Gramps’s side with Nancy’s help. “Make them attack, just don’t kill anyone. These people are innocent,” I tried to say without passing out.

  Turner was annoyed but he listened to me by making the men charge forward, fists only. Some townsfolk would get hurt, but no one would die. I could barely hang on to consciousness, but I didn’t want to give in until I knew we had the twins safely in our possession.

  Oh no.

  Elisha’s presence slithered its way inside my head.

  And I was so weak I couldn’t stop her.

  I could hear her inside me, “You’re too predictable, Chelsan. I knew you couldn’t resist reversing the magnet, and I knew you wouldn’t let your grandfather use his army to kill the good folk of Havenville, making you weak enough to let me in. I’ve seen the memory now, and I know what I must do. It’s my destiny to kill you, Chelsan. Your powers will be mine, just like my namesake took Elijah’s powers, I shall take yours. No one can…”

  With the last shred of strength I had left, I shoved her out of my head. I couldn’t bear to hear her monologuing. But it was too late. She had taken advantage of my weakness. I really was too predictable. All that effort to keep her away from the memory of my father’s death was for nothing. Now she knew how to steal my power and
she was coming after me.

  Turner’s screams at his men were a distant echo as I tried to keep my eyes open. We had lost the twins. Roland and some of his men had loaded the coffin inside the truck by hand and the truck had taken off toward Havenville where we couldn’t touch them. I felt Nancy’s arms trying to hold me up and crying out my name, but I couldn’t find the energy to answer her.

  Dirt.

  My face hit the dirt and it felt soft.

  Can’t stay awake…

  Chapter Six

  Wednesday December 8, 2320

  “Well, what do you want me to do? She’s been sleeping for a whole day! That isn’t natural. We need to take her to a hospital,” Nancy’s voice was flustered. I would have grinned, but I was way too exhausted.

  I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in my soft cozy bed at Nancy’s house. I had never been so comfy in my entire life. After lying on cold metal for days, being immersed in soft fluffiness, felt amazing.

  “She’s awake!” Bill’s voice sounded from my left.

  As I shifted myself up to sitting position, (this was quite a feat, believe me) I saw Nancy, Bill and Jason crowding around me. Bill was sitting on the side of the bed to my left. Nancy was hovering over my head on the right, and Jason was casually sitting on a wooden chair at the foot of the bed. They all had overly worried expressions on their faces and I wanted to hug all of them. No matter what, they always came through for me.

  Then it hit me.

  “Ryan?” I asked, hoping beyond hope that they’d rescued him while I was asleep.

  Nancy shook her head. No words were necessary. Elisha still had him.

  I started to get out of bed. “We have to get him back,” I said, fighting off the wooziness I felt.

  Nancy could see right through me. “Slowly, Chelsan, slowly.” She sat next to me on the edge of the bed.

  Bill and Jason came around to stand in front of me.

  “We’re going to get him back, don’t worry,” Bill said with a determination that made me shudder. He was definitely taking Ryan’s capture to heart.

  “You don’t understand, Elisha took away his memories of me.” It nearly killed me to say it.

  “She can do that?” Nancy asked horrified.

  I nodded. “With that machine he was hooked up to.”

  “Maybe it won’t work,” Nancy suggested hopefully, but I could tell she didn’t believe it.

  Bill looked like his brain was computing a mile-a-minute.

  “Well, we can’t worry about that right now. We need to focus on getting Ryan out of there.” Jason brought us back on target. “And we need to be careful, Chelsan. Doris is dead.”

  Huh?

  “What do you mean?” I choked out.

  “She supposedly died in a hover-car accident.” Jason showed real grief and I felt the same.

  Doris had saved my life, and now she was dead.

  We may not have seen eye-to-eye, but her heart was in the right place, and now Elisha had killed her. Yet another person who would still be alive today if they hadn’t met me. My stomach turned painfully.

  “We’re going after Ryan, but you may need to prepare yourself…” Jason started a sentence there was no way I was going to let him finish.

  “No. Don’t even think it. We’re getting him back. Now what’s the plan?” my voice cracked.

  That’s when Nancy shooed everyone out of the room and gave me the scoop of everything that happened while I was gone. Apparently, after they left me, Elisha really did drop them off at Nancy’s and leave them alone. Jason immediately contacted Turner and set up a meeting to exchange Jill’s chip for my grandparent’s help. Jill was the only one who was completely against it. After all, there was no guarantee Turner wouldn’t just take the chip and kill her anyway. But, according to Nancy, (after hours of Bill calming her down) Jill finally agreed.

  Nancy said there was mayhem as soon as they arrived. Jill pounced on Turner and Bill and Jason had to pull her off of him. Turner almost ordered his men to kill her, but Nancy reminded him that they still had the chip and that I needed their help. Jason managed to convince Turner to let Jill hold onto the chip as collateral since they had zero reason to trust the grandparents. Nancy kept on referring to Roberta as Cat Lady, but she admitted that Grams was the more decent of the two. Roberta stayed in my room the entire time I was buried so she could be inside my head and protect me. Nancy told me how she’d come in every once in a while to see how I was and Roberta would politely tell her everything that was going on with me. Nancy seemed a lot more comfortable with Roberta’s new attitude adjustment than I did, but Grams really saved my butt and my sanity when I was down there. Something I was still struggling with.

  Apparently, Bill was taking Ryan’s kidnapping the hardest. Nancy said he wouldn’t eat or talk about anything else but getting me and Ryan back. I was right, Bill completely blamed himself for the whole ordeal.

  I asked Nancy about her and Jason and she sighed contentedly. Apparently, Jason was officially courting her. That’s what he called it anyway which ended up being a fancy term for dating. George and Vianne were thrilled. Nancy rolled her eyes in fondness of her parents and said that they had been secretly hoping Jason would screw his head on straight and ask Nancy out. Nancy was a little frustrated that the two of them hadn’t had any real time to be alone together, but rescuing me and Ryan was obviously a higher priority.

  “It’s your Grandpa that’s been the real annoying one.” Nancy finished up. “He’s a hard one to read. I can’t tell if he’s going to turn on us and try and kill us, or not. It’s been a very weird couple of days.” Nancy pulled me up off the edge of the bed. “Get dressed.”

  I went to the closet and pulled on a thermal and jeans.

  We were just about to leave when Nancy gave me serious face.

  “What?” I asked, not ever liking to see serious face.

  “You should talk to Bill,” Nancy said with a grunt.

  “Is he okay?”

  “That’s a matter of opinion.” Nancy seemed down right annoyed.

  “He has to stop blaming himself,” I said thoughtfully.

  “It’s not that, it’s something else,” Nancy grumbled.

  “Nancy, what’s going on? Tell me.” She was killing me here!

  “I’ll let him do the honors.” Nancy was actually angry.

  “Nancy, you’re seriously freaking me out right now,” I said, seriously freaking out.

  Nancy opened the door, and to my surprise Bill was standing right there. Nancy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, looking at him with mild annoyance. “What a shock. Listening in, were we?”

  Bill looked away, slightly ashamed and embarrassed. “Things have changed now, Nancy.”

  Nancy reared back in confusion. “What do you mean? You finally came to your senses?”

  “Fate may have stepped in.” Bill was being cryptic.

  I had had enough.

  “Would someone please tell me what is going on?” This felt like a break-up of some sort and my heart was already squeezing with terror and pain. “Are you… Are you leaving me?” I asked Bill, and found that I was choking back unwanted tears. Maybe the fighting between him and Ryan was too much to take and he didn’t think I was worth it.

  Bill immediately rushed forward and touched my arm. “No, of course not. I just need to talk to you about something.” Bill caught Nancy’s eyes rolling, “Something different, not what you think anymore.”

  Nancy guffawed and gave Bill a knowing look. “Whatever. I’ll leave you two alone.” And she stormed off down the hallway.

  I motioned for Bill to come in and it felt like I was never going to leave this room. My mind was racing. What was it? Was he dating Jill and afraid I’d be upset? I really wouldn’t, they’d make a good couple. I secretly hoped that this was it. It would explain why Nancy was upset. I don’t think Nancy would ever approve of Jill. And it would mean that Bill had moved on. That we could all be friends again. Even him and Ryan�
��

  We both sat at the foot of the bed. “What is it, Bill?”

  “Now, just hear me out before you say anything.” Bill reached forward and held my hands.

  What was going on? “Just spill. You’re killing me here.”

  “Well, Jill and I hooked up,” Bill began. I was elated! Yay!

  “Bill, that’s awesome. You guys are great together.” I really didn’t know if they were great together, I just wanted them to be.

  “Things have changed,” Bill started awkwardly.

  “What’s changed? You don’t like her anymore?” I really wished he’d say more than five words at a time.

  “It’s just that… It’s… How do I say this without sounding like a jerk?” Bill said with obvious confliction in his voice.

  “Just say it.” I was feeling annoyed like Nancy now.

  “Okay, jeez.” Bill held my hands tighter as if what he was about to say would make me run or something. “It’s just… Now that Ryan’s memories are gone… you should let him go… for his sake… for his safety,” Bill spilled out in a jumbled heap.

  What?

  “Don’t freak out.” Bill inched closer and gripped my hands like a vise. “I’m just thinking that when we rescue Ryan… and we will rescue Ryan… he’d be better off and safer if he never knew…” He paused.

  “Me,” I finished for him.

  “Well, yeah.” Bill looked away, but still kept his grip on my hands.

  Let Ryan go.

  My heart started to constrict like it was being strangled by a noose. No. I needed Ryan. I needed him. I needed him. I needed him.

  One of Bill’s hands came up to touch my face. “You’re freaking out, I can tell, but you’re freaking out because deep down you know it’s the right thing to do.”

  No.

  Ryan.

  Bill’s words were pounding on my soul.

  Ryan would be safe.

  He would be better off never knowing me. He could live his life in peace.

  I started to cry and I couldn’t stop. What was my problem? I didn’t have to listen to Bill. I didn’t have to give up Ryan. We could start from scratch. Our feelings went beyond memories. We’d create new ones…