PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “When did you say your mom was going to be home?” Alex asks as he leans against the table right in front of me.

  “Soon,” I say shakily. “She got held up at work.”

  His hand slides over my cheek, making me want to hurl. I don’t move a muscle. This was a really, really bad idea. I try to think of something to say that will help me, but before I can, Alex’s hand snaps away from my face and around my throat. I lash out immediately, scared out of my mind.

  “Next time, don’t try to flirt information out of someone, Olivia. You’re really quite terrible at it,” he laughs.

  Choking, terrified, desperate, I still have enough presence of mind to take offense. I slap at his hands even more fiercely. He yanks me off the chair and throws me to the ground. My head rebounds off the tile painfully. Before I can react, Alex has one knee on my chest. Nothing I do budges him. Tears start rolling down my cheeks.

  “Why did you call me here?” Alex demands.

  “I wanted to know why you’re watching my house,” I say.

  Alex leans down, his face hovering above mine. “You know why we’re watching your house.”

  I shake my head in a panic.

  “Yes, you do,” he counters. “You know we’re looking for your invisible friend, your Aerling.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Get off of me!”

  Alex jerks his knee up and smacks it down on top of me. Every spec of air in my body blasts out and I gasp frantically for a breath I can’t catch. Panic grabs hold of me, pouring terror over me like a waterfall.

  “Where is the Aerling?” he demands. “We know you have one.”

  “We don’t!”

  Alex presses down on me, his lips practically touching my skin. “I want the Aerling, Olivia. Tell me where he is and we’ll never bother you again.”

  “You’re a liar,” I croak. “You’ll kill us after you have what you want.”

  “No,” he snaps, “we’ll kill you if we don’t find what we want!”

  My fingers tear at his hands, desperate to get him off of me. I scratch and claw, throw my knees at him, but nothing works. I hear a noise from the other room and panic, thinking more of his friends have come to find Mason. I nearly lose it when I see Mason scrambling into the kitchen doorway instead.

  Fear stronger that I have ever felt in my life grips my heart. My mind races to know what to do. If I warn him, the Sentinel will know he’s here and go after him. I would rather let this psycho strangle me than give up Mason.

  Mason seems paralyzed as well. He knows what will happen if he tries to help me. Suddenly, his eyes narrow and he takes a step forward.

  “No!” I scream. Mason freezes. The Sentinel’s hand tightens around my neck, thinking I am talking to him. I try to keep it up. “Leave us alone, please! We don’t know anything about an Aerling.”

  The Sentinel intensifies his control over me. His knee slips off my chest, and for a moment I think I have a chance to escape, but it falls to the side of me so he is straddling me, pinning me helplessly under his grip. I gasp as his weight threatens to crush me. Mason tries to take another step, but I shake my head violently. I can see the panic in his eyes, though. I won’t be able to stop him for long.

  “Tell me where the Aerling is!” the Sentinel screams.

  “I don’t know.” I gasp again, trying to gain enough breath to mount some kind of attack or escape. I try to buck him off of me, but it barely moves him. The only advantage I gain is that I see my phone on the table. My eyes jerk from Mason to the phone, praying he gets the point.

  “How long do you think you’ll be able to hide him, Olivia?” Alex says. “You’re not a Caretaker. I know what you are. You’re the only one that can hear him, talk to him, see him. You won’t last. We’ll find him, and then we’ll kill you both.”

  Shaking my head, I claw at his face, kick, and try to force him away from me. He fights back. My head slams into the ground as I see Mason skirting around the far side of the kitchen. He’ll get me the phone. He’ll get me the phone. I repeat that over and over in my mind as Alex and I struggle.

  Desperation claws at me as I catch sight of Mason reaching over the table for my phone. I get one hand wedged between me and the Sentinel. My nails dig into the exposed flesh of his chest. My other hand reaches out, praying Mason can get me the phone. Twisting, yanking, I do everything I can to distract him. He grabs a chunk of my hair and yanks my head back until I cry out in pain.

  Another shot of agony darts through my right hand as something hits it. The sting of nearly having my hair ripped out almost keeps me from realizing what just happened. My hand slaps frantically across the tile looking for my phone. Alex yanks my head back again, drawing a strangled yelp from me.

  The cool, trembling feel of Mason’s fingers dropping the phone into my hand almost makes me snatch my hand away. Fear snaps my fingers around the case instead. I don’t think. I can’t spare a second. The phone slams against my ear desperately.

  “Help!” I screech into the phone. “There’s a man in my house trying to kill me!”

  The Sentinel’s eyes whip up to my face. Panic drenches him. His body lurches toward the phone. His fingers tear at me, scratching my face and hands. My free hand slaps at his face. I wedge the phone between my ear and floor so he can’t get it.

  “I’m at 367 Sycamore!” I yell. “Hurry! Please! He’s going to kill me!”

  My words freeze the Sentinel. He jumps back as if I just burned him. Scrambling to his feet, he stumbles away from me. “The police can’t stop us,” he says, but the fear in his eyes calls him a liar.

  He backs toward the hall when I lurch up to my feet. I hold the phone against my ear as I stare him down. “They’ll be here in two minutes,” I say calmly.

  His eyes widen. I expect him to attack me again, but he runs, throwing the door against the wall as he bolts into the street. I don’t move a single muscle until the sound of his truck has disappeared completely. I am so baffled I can barely even think. Mason throwing his arms around me is barely enough to break through the shock.

  “Are you okay?” he demands. His hands start wandering over me, checking for serious injuries. When his hands come back up to my shoulders, he shakes me roughly. “Olivia, are you alright?”

  “Yeah,” I say slowly.

  Mason stares at me, his concern deepening. “Olivia, the police are going to be here any second. We need to figure out . . . ”

  “No they aren’t,” I say numbly.

  “What?” Mason asks.

  Shaking myself, I hold the phone out to him. Its blank screen confuses him. “Why didn’t you call the police?”

  “There was no way I could see the phone to dial or even get it to turn on. I couldn’t do anything. Pretending was all I had. I didn’t even think it would work, but he bought it . . . and ran away.” My face screws up in confusion again. “Why did he run?”

  Mason stares at the phone. He looks as confused as I feel. An uneasy feeling settles over the room. “I have no idea,” Mason says, “but I doubt it means anything good.”

  Chapter 29

  The Reason

  (Mason)

  Sitting on Olivia’s bedroom floor instead of lying next to her is torture. Torture I deserve for being such an idiot, but torture nonetheless. After the attack, we spent an hour cleaning up the kitchen in silence. I watched her every move, my stomach twisting as new bruises joined the ones already there from the last attack. The urge to storm across the street and tear every Sentinel hiding in there apart was nearly impossible to resist.

  Realizing that I would have to leave Olivia to accomplish that—along with the fact that I have no idea how to fight—kept me at bay. When the kitchen was clean, Olivia finally spoke to me, but it was only about what happened. Anything personal got ignored. She tried to pretend my refusal to be more than a few feet away from her annoyed her, but the way her body relaxed when I got closer gave her away.

  Thinking about her makes it impo
ssible to resist being next to her. I scoot closer to her bed and curl my hand around hers. She sighs in her exhausted sleep, but doesn’t wake up. We spent the rest of the afternoon arguing about the attack. I still thought she should have called the police. Olivia argued that they would start to think something was wrong with us after the break in, her being attacked, and now being attacked again. It would attract attention, something we can’t really afford. Plus, neither of us really thought they could do any good against the Sentinels.

  Olivia didn’t even want to tell her mom and dad, which surprised me, but I agreed. All it will do is make them worry even more. Neither of them has any idea about how to get rid of the Sentinels, either. This whole situation is beginning to feel hopeless.

  Every day I hold out hope that I won’t get Olivia and her family hurt or killed. I hope that I’ll figure out how to stay here past my eighteenth birthday, how to fix what I broke with Olivia. I cling to my hope, but reality edges in closer and closer. Tonight, I feel as if it is about to win. There’s only one person left to turn to for answers and hope.

  I pull out my phone and open a message to Robin. Any new info from your parents or grandma?

  It’s one in the morning, so I don’t hold my breath for a text. I just need something to distract myself with and answers seem like a good distraction. My foot starts tapping after five seconds.

  Not much, comes Robin’s reply ten minutes later. Followed by, Sorry.

  My fingers start tapping madly. Nothing about how I can stay here or why I have 2 go back?

  It’s not easy 2 get answers without them figuring it out. It’s hard to tell through texts, but I swear she just snapped at me.

  I’m not feeling all that polite either. I need answers, Robin.

  Her response seems to take an eternity. I start to think she must have fallen asleep before I finally get another text.

  Something happened, didn’t it?

  I don’t respond right away. It’s not about trust. Not exactly. Robin wants answers. She knows she can get them if she pushes hard enough. Pushing could reveal me, though. We both know that’s a risk. Olivia would never take a risk like that, but I know I could push Robin far enough if I really wanted to. I just wish I knew what would happen if I did.

  Olivia lured a Sentinel 2 the house & he almost killed her.

  What!? Robin replies instantly.

  Trying to explain that I wasn’t in on the plan and Olivia’s motivations will take too long through texting. I can tell her more tomorrow. For now, back to the answers.

  Can I leave before my eighteenth birthday? I ask.

  The pause between my text and her response makes me think my question has rattled her. I can picture her thumbs poised over her phone as her thoughts race.

  Why? she finally asks.

  Because it may be the only way to protect Olivia.

  She has to take you there, remember? Robin responds. I think I detect a bit a bite hidden in her words.

  Answer the question Robin!

  I half expect a huffy response, but instead her words feel weighted. No, U can’t leave early, but Olivia may be able to go with you when it’s time.

  I nearly drop my phone when I finish reading her text. The breath I just inhaled feels impossibly heavy and incredibly light at the same time. What does that mean? Has Olivia changed her mind about coming with me? That’s an all too real possibility. Would I want to take her away from her family like that? She may never be able to come back.

  Another question hits me.

  I thought U said U hadn’t learned anything. I hope the accusing tone travels across the signal.

  I didn’t want 2 get UR hopes up B4 I knew 4 sure.

  I think I believe her. Maybe. Well, I don’t disbelieve her enough comment on it. She’s the only one still talking to me on a regular basis, so I have to be careful. Tomorrow we’ll have plenty of time to talk.

  After Olivia pretended 2 call the police, the Sentinel ran off. Any idea why?

  Another slow response makes me hope she’s tapping out a long explanation that makes sense. Nope. All I get is a suspicious, No clue. Let’s talk tomorrow. Going 2 bed now. Really tired. Sorry.

  That, I definitely don’t believe. I try texting her again, but after twenty minutes I give in and become very annoyed. She’s obviously hiding something from me. Tomorrow is not going to be fun for her if she doesn’t start talking as soon as I see her.

  I stew over my annoyance for hours, until my mind is eventually drawn back to the attack. I think maybe there are some answers there, something he said perhaps. I replay everything I witnessed over and over again, begging for some kind of clue. My eyes are drifting closed before I latch onto something he said to Olivia.

  He tried to convince Olivia that keeping me a secret was too hard because she’s the only one who could see or hear me. He’d said earlier that he knew exactly what Olivia was . . . that she wasn’t a Caretaker. He must have been referring to her being my Escort, but that doesn’t make sense because Olivia isn’t the only one that can hear me.

  Exhaustion is begging me to climb up in bed next to Olivia and fall asleep. There’s no way that’s happening now. This one thought keeps nagging at me. Why would he say that no one else could hear me? As much as I hate the guy for hurting Olivia, he should know about this stuff, right? But he’s wrong.

  I don’t know how long I sit staring at the wall before my wondering changes directions. Myself, Robin, her grandma, we all agreed that Olivia can see and hear me because she’s my Escort. I think Robin’s grandma was right about that. That hardly explains what I can do with Olivia’s parents and Evie. Why can they hear me? It isn’t about Olivia being the reason. I think . . . I think I might be the reason.

  Maybe it’s like my clothes, how they disappear when I put them on, or my phone when I put it in my pocket. It’s not about me touching them. Evie used to love it when I would carry the cat around because it looked like it was flying. The cat didn’t disappear like my clothes. I’ve wondered about this for years, but without Caretakers to explain everything to me, I always just assumed it would never make sense. That’s just how it was.

  Now, I wonder if my clothes and the things I put in my pockets disappear because I want them to . . . because I make them disappear. I never wanted the cat to disappear because it made Evie laugh. What if I’m the one controlling this? What if I’m responsible for more than I ever thought I was capable of?

  The theory forms slowly, but as it takes hold there is a certain weight that seems to follow it. Yes, Olivia is my Escort. I’ve never had to try to make her see or hear me. She didn’t have to accept me in order to see me. Even though I might enjoy having to touch her every time we talk, she hears me from clear across the room.

  This thing that makes Olivia special, it didn’t transfer to the rest of the house. I think I did something to make them hear me. Something that isn’t supposed to happen. My conversation with Robin about abilities I should have already developed comes charging to the front of my mind. Could this possibly be what she was talking about?

  If I made Olivia’s parents and Evie hear me . . . can I make them see me too?

  Chapter 30

  A Wonderful Gift

  (Mason)

  Riding to school with Olivia and Evie this morning, I consider my next words and actions very carefully. I can now freely admit that lying to Olivia was the absolute stupidest thing I could ever have done. Doesn’t do me a lot of good at this point since she pretty much ignores everything I say. I tried a dozen times yesterday to explain, but she refuses to give me even a second to speak. I have no intention of giving up, but I have to be very careful.

  Olivia pulls into a parking space and reaches for her door handle. I grab her arm gently, but firmly. Her body stiffens at the contact. The sick feeling in my stomach has to be ignored for now. She won’t look at me, and doesn’t say a word.

  “I won’t be in class this morning,” I say slowly.

  Olivia tries to jerk a
way from me, but I hold on tightly. She continues to struggle for a few seconds with Evie staring silently. I feel her fingers land on my shoulder so she can listen in. I don’t shake her off.

  “I need to get some answers . . . ”

  “From Robin?” Olivia snaps, still refusing to look at me.

  I wish I had any other answer for her, but I don’t. “Yes.”

  Olivia tries to yank her arm away from me, but I won’t let go.

  “This isn’t about Robin,” I say, “or me and Robin. There isn’t even a me and Robin. I just need answers from her.”

  I watch as Olivia’s eyes turn molten. “It sure as hell looked like there’s a you and Robin,” she seethes.

  “I was just . . . ”

  With strength I’m not prepared for, Olivia wrenches her arm away from me and nearly throws herself out of the car. Her eyes drill into me. “I don’t care what you do with Robin, or what answers she has. I’ll never trust a word that comes out of her mouth. Not after . . . ” Olivia swipes at her eyes angrily. “She proven more than once that she’ll betray her friends if it gets her what she wants.”

  She slams the door and storms toward the school. Evie gets out of the backseat slowly. She opens my door and pretends to rummage around, giving me time to get out without rousing suspicion. I start to turn away, expecting Evie to ignore me as well. Her gentle touch on my arm stops me.

  “What did you mean about you and Robin?” she whispers.

  I want to tell Evie everything, hope she’ll tell Olivia for me. Not only do I doubt Olivia would believe her, but it’s the coward’s way to do this. I need to tell Olivia what an idiot I am and beg for her forgiveness myself.

  “I made a very bad decision, but I never meant to hurt Olivia. I was trying to protect her. I just went about it in the most idiotic way possible,” I admit.

  Evie zips up her backpack slowly. “Why would dating Robin protect Olivia? You had to know it would kill her.”