PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “I should have stopped him from hurting you, but I protected myself instead,” I argue.

  Evie and Olivia share a look. They both shake their heads. Evie turns to look at me and asks, “Don’t you remember what happened?”

  “He snuck up on us and hit you, and then . . . ”

  “No,” Evie interrupts, “after all that. After we woke up and he cut Olivia.”

  “What?” I demand.

  Olivia turns away from me, just slightly. She speaks before I can do anything. “Mason, you attacked the Sentinel.”

  “I did?”

  Evie nods. “Yeah. He’s over there if you don’t believe us.”

  I turn, not sure what I expect to see. The body of the Sentinel lies on the floor of the hallway. The dull sheen in his eyes makes it clear that he’s dead. Confusion sets in as I scour his body for signs of what happened. There are no bruises or cuts on his exposed skin, no blood pooling under his body.

  The front door slams open, stealing everyone’s attention. My eyes widen as Robin comes barreling into the room with a frantic look in her eyes. She skids to a stop. Her mouth falls open at the sight of us on the floor next to the body of the Sentinel. Her already pale skin turns even whiter. Nobody says anything as she backtracks a few steps and shuts the front door. Her fingers turn the deadbolt as if acting independently from her brain.

  “What happened?” she squeaks.

  “What are you doing here?” I counter.

  Robin swallows hard. “Olivia called me. She said you’d all been attacked and you weren’t waking up after you did some crazy thing with the air and killed the Sentinel. She told me to get over here and I came.”

  There’s more than one surprising bit of information in all of that, but I latch onto only one. “I did what?”

  Olivia’s fingers wrap around mine, something Robin notices. Olivia’s other hand presses against my cheek and turns me to look at her. “Mason, you killed the Sentinel. You saved Evie and me from him.”

  “How?”

  She shrugs. “I’m not sure I can explain it. You did something to the air. It got cold and the air in the room got all . . . dagger-like.”

  “What?” Robin and I ask at the same time.

  Evie tries to explain. “Yeah. All the air swished over to your hand. It turned white at first, then it looked like glass, and it turned into a knife. A big knife. You held up in your hand like this.” She pauses to demonstrate. “Then we both thought you were going to drop it, but you didn’t. You stabbed it right into that guy’s heart, and when you did, the knife thing exploded, or turned back into air. I don’t know. But it did the trick. That guy’s totally dead. We checked.”

  My body slumps. I did what? I try to bring up the memories, to understand what Evie is talking about, but I come up blank. I remember him taunting me, telling me that if I didn’t reveal myself to him he’d kill Olivia and Evie. I was on the verge of giving him what he wanted. I was so terrified of them being hurt, but I knew Olivia wanted me to stay put and wait it out as long as I could. I knew she would die to protect me, but I could never let her do that.

  The memory of her scream shoots through my mind. My skin hums. The sound is etched into my mind. It wasn’t a scream of fear. It was a sound of agony so rich it went straight to my bones. I remember standing, Olivia yelling at me, and me stepping forward.

  My mind starts to twitch, an attempt to scatter my memories, but I refuse to surrender.

  The air suddenly felt different after she screamed, like it wasn’t just atoms and particles. It felt alive. It felt sentient. I can’t explain how it happened, but my fury called the air too me once I had the Sentinel under my control. It pressed in close, like a second skin, familiar and right. I wanted to hurt him and the air gave me a way to do it.

  As the memories crowd back into my mind, a strange sensation settles over me. The feeling that I have discovered something important returns, yet the why behind the feeling still escapes me.

  “I . . . I don’t know how I did that,” I say quietly. My eyes are drawn to the body lying next to us. I half expect to shiver or feel something, but I don’t.

  Olivia turns to Robin. “Do you know how Mason did this?”

  “I have no idea,” Robin admits. She bites her bottom lip. Her eyes drop to the side.

  That’s all I need to see to know she’s hiding something. My free hand grips her arm tightly. She doesn’t look up until I yank her closer to me. Her eyes are wide behind her glasses, worn and scared. Robin licks her lips and takes a deep breath.

  “You know . . . the special Aerlings I mentioned . . . I’ve been,” she stammers, “uh, learning more about them.”

  “And?” Evie demands. “Spit it out Robin!”

  “It’s not just that their especially talented. They’re important. More important than I realized. They’re part of the ruling class of Aerlings.” She gulps. “I’ve tried to find out more, but even Caretakers don’t know very much about the Aerling world. I have no idea what it means to be a part of the ruling class, but I know it means that the Sentinels will do everything they can to kill those Aerlings. This won’t stop. Another Sentinel will come. They’ll keep coming until Mason is dead.”

  Nobody says anything. Olivia’s fingers tighten around mine until our fingertips are beet red and throbbing with pain. “It won’t happen,” she finally whispers. “I won’t let them take you away from me.”

  I squeeze her hand tighter, but I don’t say anything. I can’t. She’s hiding what the Sentinel did to her, but it won’t leave my mind. I can’t shake off the guilt of knowing she was hurt because I am in her life. Robin’s words echo in my mind. This won’t be the last time we’re attacked. How many more times can we escape the Sentinels’ fury?

  “What do we do about him?” Evie asks, pointing at the body.

  Olivia’s eyes drift over to the man who attacked her twice. “Maybe we should call Mom and Dad.”

  “No!” Robin yelps. “They can’t tell the police. If the Caretakers in the police force find out, there’s nothing my parents will be able to do to keep Mason here. They’ll take him away. We have to take care of this ourselves.”

  “How?” Olivia asks. “What on earth are we supposed to do with a dead body?”

  Robin’s shoulders bob up and down in defeat. “I . . . don’t know.”

  “I do,” Evie says, surprising everyone.

  All eyes turn to her expectantly. She doesn’t disappoint.

  “The new addition to the library,” she says, “they’re pouring the foundation tomorrow morning. Elizabeth’s mom is the director and they have this big to-do planned tomorrow and Elizabeth has been trying to convince all her friends to volunteer. All we have to do is dig a hole big enough to fit him in and cover him up with dirt, and tomorrow he’ll be gone. Forever.”

  Slowly, everyone else’s heads begin to nod. I don’t move. Not because I don’t see the wisdom in Evie’s plan, but because I can sense the line we are about to cross. Disposing of the body irrevocably draws Olivia and Evie into this world of Sentinels and Aerlings, Caretakers and laws we don’t fully understand. There will be no going back. They were not born to this life, but it is about to become theirs.

  I look into Evie’s eyes. Her firm devotion won’t back down no matter what I say. She nods when our eyes meet, and I turn to Olivia.

  It isn’t just strength I see in her eyes. It isn’t determination alone. It’s what I have spent twelve years hoping I would one day see in her eyes. Her unconditional love wraps around me and I know that if given the choice of safety over being with me, she wouldn’t even have to consider her answer. Olivia will walk with me to the end, no matter what.

  The breath in my chest stutters, the depth of her love almost frightening because I understand what this may cost her. “Olivia . . . ”

  She shakes her head and pulls my forehead to hers. “Don’t even think it,” she whispers. There are tears in her eyes as she holds me. “Nothing will stop me from being with y
ou. Nothing.” She gasps in a breath and presses her lips forcefully to mine. “I love you, Mason. I love you and I’m not going anywhere.”

  Emotion renders me speechless. I could forget the air dagger, the body, the blood, everything in that moment. The strength it takes not to scoop her into my arms and run is almost more than I possess. Evie’s quiet voice is the only thing that stops me.

  “Mom and Dad will be home in an hour. We need to get rid of him now.”

  Chapter 35

  Helpless

  (Mason)

  I am covered in dirt and sweat by the time I finish digging the hole. The girls wanted to help, so it would get done faster, but I didn’t want to risk anyone seeing them. If someone spots a shovel hovering in the air, they’d likely just pass it off as a trick of the light or the late hour.

  Exhausted, I toss the shovel aside and head back to the Jeep. Time to get the body.

  Robin jumps out of the driver’s side and rushes over to me. Olivia is a little slower, needing Evie’s help. Is it just the moonlight that is making her look so pale? A tightness in my chest jolts me toward her. She said she was fine before we left the house, that the cut wasn’t that bad. I stumble over to her, afraid she was lying.

  “Are you okay? You look pale.”

  “I’m fine,” she says.

  Evie let’s go of Olivia’s elbow and crosses her arms over her chest as if daring me to contradict her sister. I want to, but I don’t want to be caught standing around the construction site for too long. I grit my teeth and promise myself I will not let Olivia slip away from me later. Whatever that psychopath did to her, I will make it right.

  “Mason,” Robin says, “you’re going to need help lugging this guy over there. He weighs a ton.”

  She says this as she tries to drag the plastic wrapped-taped up-heap toward the edge of the Jeep. The yellowish dome light casts heavy shadows across her face. For a moment, the effect gives me pause, because in the harsh light she looks more like a corpse than herself. I shake off the disturbing image and step up next to her.

  “You guys stay here.”

  Robin and Olivia both try to object, claiming I’ll need their help. No offense to them, but neither one would be much help right now. Olivia looks ready to pass out and Robin’s slender arms don’t give me much hope of her being able to heft this guy. Gripping the body under the shoulders, I yank him out of the bed and sling him over my shoulder.

  Again, this would look really bizarre if someone spotted me, but I’m not as worried about that as I am getting this done and over with. I want Olivia back home and resting as soon as possible. All three girls troop back into the Jeep obediently as I carry the body over to the hole. There is no ceremony as I drop him into the ground. My aim isn’t quite on and he lands half in and half out of the shallow grave.

  I want to get out of here, but a sudden wave of white hot anger stabs at me. He is the reason Olivia is hurt. He’s the reason Evie was tied to a chair. He’s the reason my life is in danger. I can’t contain my fury in that moment. My foot crashes into the body, kicking, shoving it toward the hole, hoping it will somehow take all the other Sentinels with him.

  I already lost one family to these sickos. My heel snaps down on his skull. I don’t care that one push would have been enough to get him into the grave. I don’t care that he can’t feel anything anymore. I don’t care that none of this will stop the next Sentinel from coming after me. Every furious, pent up emotion clambering around inside of my head explodes out of me. My foot crashes down again and again. A primal scream rips out of my chest.

  The body is in the hole, has been for a while, but I stomp on its chest one more time, letting everything go. Covering the body takes no time at all, but it steals what little strength I have left. I slump to the ground next to the grave and bury my head in my hands. How did our lives come to this? Why couldn’t they just leave me alone?

  “Mason,” Robin says softly from behind me, “are you okay?”

  I don’t look up. My face stays buried in my hands. “I don’t know how to fix this, stop this from happening again.”

  The night is quiet for a moment. A breeze rolls through the site and I notice for the first time that it is beginning to get cold.

  “There is no way to stop it,” Robin finally says, “not if you stay here with them.”

  My eyes spear her angrily. She holds her hands up in her defense, but doesn’t back down.

  “I know what I said earlier, but you aren’t being realistic, Mason. Nothing is going to stop them from coming after you again. This douche bag disappearing will be all the confirmation the Sentinels need. They’ll come after you, kill whoever they need to in order to make sure they get you this time.” She touches my shoulder softly. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but you know it’s true.”

  I press the palms of my hands into my eye sockets. The pain does nothing to block out the truth of her words. Still, I can’t bring myself to admit it. “I just have to be more careful. I can hide. I can protect them. Whatever I did tonight, I’ll do it again.”

  “You don’t even know how you did it!” Robin argues. “You’re going to bank on your ability to miraculously create some sort of air dagger the next time Olivia is in danger? We’re talking about her life, Mason. You can’t do that. There’s only one way to protect her, and you know it.”

  “I’m not leaving!” I growl angrily.

  Robin stares at me like I’ve lost it, which maybe I have. She stands up and crosses her arms over her chest. “You are leaving her, Mason, or did you forget that little tidbit of information. When October rolls around, you won’t have a choice. Your birthday means going home, and yeah, maybe she’ll get to go with you, but maybe she’ll die trying. I have no idea. What are the chances of her making it to your birthday to get you home if you stay with her? If she’s not there when the time comes, bad things happen, Mason. You have to go home, or you die. Do you understand me?”

  Her words pull me to my feet in a flash. My hands grip her shoulders and pin her against the edge of the temporary construction office. She winces as her head slams into the metal wall.

  “What did you just say?” I demand. “I’ll die?”

  “If Olivia’s not there to take you home on your birthday, you don’t go home. You can’t stay here either. You’ll die, Mason.”

  My fingers dig into her shoulders. “When were you going to tell me this?” I yell angrily. “How many other answers are you hiding from me? What else have you lied about?”

  “I haven’t lied about anything!” Robin snaps. “I just found out about you dying if you don’t go home. My grandma told me this afternoon when I went to see her. I was planning to tell you tomorrow.”

  She wedges her hands against my chest and shoves me back a step. Her glare matches mine. “I’m trying to help you, Mason, so how about you stop being such an idiot and listen to me.”

  “I’m not leaving Olivia,” I snap.

  Her eyes narrow. “Then you’re going to watch her die.”

  Half a dozen angry retorts are waiting on the tip of my tongue, but none of them make it over the brink. The idea of walking away from Olivia makes me physically sick, but I don’t know what else to do. Anger falls away from my body slowly. My shoulders sag. My stomach twists as I summon up the courage to form new words, frightening words.

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  Robin sighs, a certain level of satisfaction reflected in her eyes. I stare at her, not sure if there’s something else, but before I can figure it out, Olivia steps out from behind the office. Wide, terrified eyes pierce me.

  “What?” she shrieks. “What? You’re leaving? What is she talking about? Your birthday? Dying? How long have you known? When . . . ” Her voice trails off, ending the string of half-formed thoughts. Her eyes turn glassy, reflecting the moonlight and intensifying the pain in her eyes. “Mason, you can’t leave me, please.”

  The ache in my chest that has been tormenting me since Robin first e
xplained what had to happen doubles, triples, until it nearly drops me under its terrible weight. I stumble over to Olivia and throw my arms around her. I expect her to do the same, but she yelps in pain and pulls back, tucking her left shoulder out of sight. She tries to hide the pain, but her left hand is trembling and a fresh trail of blood leaks out from under her sweatshirt.

  Her hands try to fight me off as I yank at the zipper. Her one good arm bats at my hand, but I shove it away easily. She groans in agony as I slide her arm out of the black fabric. Weakness like I have never before experienced saps my energy entirely. One knee buckles at the sight of her torn flesh. Cut in no way describes what happened to Olivia. Her gaping biceps is swollen and inflamed, blood still seeping out from a nasty clot of half dried blood.

  A sickening image forms in my mind as I picture the Sentinel stabbing his knife into her arm without remorse. My hands fall away in shock. My fingers look black in the moonlight with Olivia’s blood covering them. Only then do I realize her sweatshirt is soaked through. How much blood has she lost? I knew she looked pale. I knew she was in pain, but I wanted to believe her when she said she was fine. Getting rid of the body blinded me to the truth.

  “We need to get you to a hospital,” I say shakily.

  My whole body feels as cold as stone. Olivia is shaking her head. The way her pink lips stand out so starkly against her skin tightens my resolve. Olivia tries to protest as I scoop her into my arms and demand everyone get back in the Jeep. I ignore her voice and focus instead on her breathing. It seems too shallow, too labored as I get us both into the Jeep.

  Robin speeds through town to the nearest hospital as Evie calls her parents and tries not to sound hysterical. We’re halfway to the hospital when Olivia stops trying to change my mind. For the first five seconds, I feel relieved that she isn’t arguing. It only takes that long before I understand that it wasn’t her choice to stop arguing.