by Paris Singer
I was sorely tempted to ask Ms. Photuris why she thought it was a big deal to the point of getting me out of bed so urgently, but I didn’t feel like listening to a speech about the importance of strategies in real world battles and wars, so I kept quiet.
My eyelids were getting heavier with each passing moment, and I wondered if I’d have enough time to get back to my quarters and into bed for a while.
As if reading my mind, however, Ms. Photuris said, Your classes will be starting soon, my child. I have taken the liberty of having your bag with all necessary contents brought to the academy for you. You will find it within your locker. I shall inform you of your next advanced class in due time, my child. Now go, lest you be late.
I left the Advanced Strategy class, thanking Ms. Photuris, and then headed downstairs to start the day, cursing how tired I’d feel.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I STRUGGLED TO KEEP my eyes open all the way through my Quantum Mechanics and Universal History classes and was dead on my feet by the time lunch came around. As usual, the canteen was buzzing with students as they filled the room with lively chatter that ranged from high screeching to low whooping.
I quickly spotted Pi toward the back, which wasn’t too challenging, given his choice of a bright pink Hawaiian shirt with green lips dotted around it. As I wormed my way around other students, I noticed Iris sitting opposite him, wearing a light teal dress. Unsurprisingly, she was quietly immersed in the game she played on her Equinox while Pi accumulated a bunch of plates and bowls on the table in front of him.
After I finally sat on the chair in between them, I dropped my head onto the table and moaned pathetically.
“Wha’ up, ‘uddy?” Pi asked with a mouthful of food.
“I need sleep.” I groaned.
“Rough night?” he asked after loudly swallowing whatever he ate. “The tipping of the ship give you nightmares?” I looked up to see him grinning as he readied another large bite.
“Ha, ha,” I replied with irony. “Ms. Photuris came to my quarters when it was still dark at crazy o’clock to drag me to Strategy class and make me re-do a scenario I did badly.”
“Did she now?” Pi asked suggestively, causing Iris to look up at him for a split moment.
“Shut up, Pi,” I said while he cackled quietly.
As he continued eating and Iris played her game, occasionally taking a sip of her drink, I closed my eyes, hoping to nap for a while. My mind, however, wouldn’t let me rest. Ever since Pi had brought up the previous night’s incident, the persistent question that had plagued my mind since then came back, and I knew it would stay there until I asked it.
“Guys…I have a question,” I said tentatively.
“Huh?” asked Pi absent-mindedly as he scarfed some ice-cream.
“It’s about what happened yesterday at Shabli’s.” I found it harder than I’d thought to ask them.
“So you did get nightmares?” Pi smiled.
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
“So what is it?”
“Well, when the whole ship tilted, you guys—and everyone else at Shabli’s—none of you reacted to it. It was like you weren’t even conscious it was happening.”
I felt Iris’ gaze immediately lock on me as Pi casually said, “What are you talking about, bro?” He seemed more interested in the sweet glowing beetles he was about to devour.
I turned to face Iris, who still gazed at me. “Iris, it looked exactly like what happened in Brattea. It was almost as if none of you realized what was happening until only a few moments later.”
Iris gave me a deep look of concern, and said, “Seven, what you’re saying is crazy. I mean, think about it. Why would no one react to the ship tipping so violently like that?”
“Yeah, bro,” added Pi. “Are you even sure you saw what you think you saw?” Even though he was still focusing on his food, I caught him shooting me the same look of concern as Iris. They thought I was crazy.
“Well,” I relented, “the whole thing did happen quickly.”
“Exactly,” replied Pi, clearly satisfied with my answer as he devoted his attention to his lunch again.
“Seven, think about it logically,” continued Iris. “How could such a thing make any sense? I mean, really, think about it.”
“The same thing happened in Brattea—”
“Which was explained as being a virus we were exposed to.” After pausing briefly, Iris asked, “Seven, do you think you were traumatized by the trip, and yesterday’s incident brought it back somehow?”
Part of me knew what she said made sense, or I couldn’t rule it out, at least. Could what happened on Brattea really have affected me that much? Was what I saw at Shabli’s really just all in my mind? I was so tired I couldn’t think straight. “I guess,” I replied simply.
Placing her hand on my arm for the second time in as many days, Iris looked into my eyes and gently smiled. “Maybe going to the academy nurse would help you, Seven. She might be able to help you and clarify it all for you. You do realize what you said just isn’t possible, don’t you?”
I smiled back at Iris, feeling my face steadily reddening, and said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Before lunch ended, I took a couple of highly caffeinated drinks to keep me awake, which helped me make it through the rest of the classes. When the announcement signaling the end of the academic day came, I walked over to the academy entrance to wait for Iris and Pi. I felt tired and was so very glad there was no Sphere practice that day.
Soon after, Iris, Pi and I walked out of the academy, heading toward the town.
“Let’s go to Shabli’s,” said Pi, smiling, “I hear a new flavour of shake is out.”
“Your stomach amazes me,” said Iris airily. “What flavour is it?”
Playfully nudging my arm and most likely bruising it, Pi said, “Bet you’ll like this, buddy. They’re flavors from your planet—marshmallow onion.”
“Pass,” I replied, suppressing the urge to gag at the thought of it. “No, think I’ll go to my quarters and sleep. I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
“What?” exclaimed Pi with a look of shock. “It’s early! What’s wrong? You sick or something?”
“Dude,” I sighed heavily, “I told you earlier. I’ve barely slept.”
Furrowing his brow, Pi replied, “What? Oh, yeah. Well, come anyway.”
“Pi,” began Iris, “if Seven wants to go to sleep, let him. He’s obviously tired.”
I looked over at Iris and thanked her with a smile, which she acknowledged with a wink.
“Bah,” moaned Pi, throwing his hands behind his head. “Never mind then. More for me.”
We’d entered the town and navigated its narrow, busy streets when we stopped at a junction. “Sure you won’t come?” Pi asked, looking hopeful.
“No thanks, buddy. Seriously, I’m tired.”
“Suit yourself then, bro. See you later.” Pi turned right into the street that led to Shabli’s, his hands still resting behind his furry head.
“Okay, Seven.” said Iris. “Have a lovely sleep. See you later?”
“Definitely. See you—”
All of a sudden, something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, making me instantly turn my gaze toward it. Through the bustling crowd, I saw the mysterious girl, who was halfway up the street ahead, partly standing at the entrance of an alleyway. She stared right at me without blinking and pointed down at something just past her feet, at the base of the wall in front of her, so I couldn’t see it.
Without a word to Iris, I impulsively dashed ahead toward her, who remained where she stood. I fought my way through the thick, ambling crowd. My heart beat wildly with excitement and anger. Maybe it was irrational, but I would have bet anything that she’d had something to do with the tilting of the ship. There had been too many strange occurrences, and she’d even admitted to having blown something up herself. It seemed to me that every time the mysterious girl appeared, something b
ad had or was about to happen.
I didn’t want to know who she was any-more. I just wanted her to disappear as she’d said she would and stay gone. I wanted her to stop whatever game she played and let me get back to my life.
I’d almost reached the mysterious girl, who still held my gaze as she continued to point at something in front of her, when I crashed into the solid back of a bulky Bellua and stumbled into the crowd behind me. Regaining my balance, I desperately fumbled forward and around the Bellua, but it was too late. The mysterious girl was gone.
I walked the few remaining steps to where she’d been standing, looking up the street and down the dim alleyway, but there was no sign of her. I saw what she’d been pointing to. Looking down beside a crate that sat along the edge of the wall to the alleyway, I saw something I couldn’t even begin to understand.
In the space between the terracotta wall and dusty ground directly in front of it was a hole. Its shape kept changing, becoming bigger and smaller along different parts of its contours as its cubed edges vanished and reappeared again.
Inside the hole lay no surface I’d ever seen anywhere aboard the Sky Drifter before. A slick, jet-black metallic surface extended past the confines of the hole, fading into inky darkness beyond.
Slowly, I took a step toward it, craning my neck to look behind, only to find the wall itself. Taking a step back, I looked at it with complete puzzlement. I wasn’t the best at Quantum Mechanics class, but I’d paid enough attention to know this sort of thing didn’t just happen. As diverse as life aboard the Sky Drifter was, and as much as it had traveled and visited various planets and galaxies, nothing even remotely close to a random floating hole had ever existed—unless you wanted to count black holes, which this wasn’t.
If the mysterious girl had put it there, I couldn’t begin to imagine who, or what, she was. Her capabilities far exceeded my understanding. What was its purpose? She’d clearly wanted me to see that thing. What was she trying to tell me? Or was the idea just to mess with my mind?
Maybe it was curiosity, or maybe a part of me wanted to prove that what I saw was real, but whatever it was, it caused me to kneel in front of the hole and tentatively reach toward it. The closer I got to it, the hotter my hand became until finally my fingers crossed the hole’s blistery threshold.
“Seven?” All of a sudden, Iris’ voice came from somewhere up the street, sounding close to where I was.
“Iris!” I called out, standing back up and taking a couple of steps toward the street. Looking up and ahead, I saw her walking through the crowd. “Iris!” I repeated. She turned to face me and headed toward where I stood.
“Seven, what happened? What’s wrong? Why did you run off like that?”
“I saw her again, Iris!”
“Saw who?” she replied, looking puzzled.
“The strange girl I told you about! She was here—she stood right here!”
“Calm down, Seven.”
I realized I shouted, so I lowered my voice. “She was here, and look.” I turned and pointed down at the hole. Iris took a couple of steps inside the alleyway and looked at where I pointed. “See?” I whispered excitedly, keeping my gaze on her. “She did it and pointed at it when I saw her so I’d see it!”
For a moment, Iris stood completely still, her brow furrowed, as she stared where the hole was. She wasn’t just still—she was frozen. Her eyes didn’t blink, her chest didn’t move back and forth. Just as I’d decided something was wrong and opened my mouth to say something, Iris blinked, and said in monotone, “I don’t see anything.”
“Iris, it’s right there.” I opened my hand and looked down, emphasising where the hole was, but it was gone. “What?” I exhaled, baffled.
Without moving her head, Iris turned her eyes to look at me, furrowing her brow even more. “I don’t know what you want me to see. Seven, there’s nothing there.”
“It was right there! I promise, Iris. It was right there!”
“Seven, calm down,” Iris repeated. “You’re making me nervous. Maybe it was the crate’s shadow. Is that what you mean?”
“No, Iris—”
“Seven, I’m really worried about you. I thought you were better, but that’s obviously not the case. You have to see the nurse. You have to speak to someone about this.”
I didn’t understand. I looked back down at where the hole had been, feeling as if I wanted to cry, blinking hard to make sure it had really gone. I’d even felt the heat that came from inside it, hadn’t I? How could it just have vanished?
“You’re…You’re starting to scare me, Seven.”
I looked pleadingly back at Iris, my body feeling increasingly numb. “Iris…I…”
“Come on, Seven, let’s go to the nurse. She’ll know what to do.” Iris placed her warm hand on my shoulder, looking at me with serious concern.
I was so confused. I didn’t know if the mysterious girl had somehow made the hole appear, only to then make it disappear so I was the only one who saw it, or whether it all really was in my mind. One thing I did know, however, was that I didn’t want to involve the nurse. Once she found out, she’d undoubtedly tell the other staff, and it would all escalate from there. I knew then that I was alone.
What I needed was space to think, so I did the only thing I could think of to get out of going to see her—I lied through my teeth. Raising both my eyebrows and managing a huge grin, I turned my head slightly, and animatedly said, “Aah. Gotcha!”
The serious expression on Iris’ face remaining unchanged. “What do you mean?”
“Man, I can’t believe how easily you fell for that!” I continued and then laughed.
Raising an eyebrow in doubt, Iris asked, “Really?”
“Ha, ha, you should have seen your face. You were completely hooked!”
“Seven.” Iris lowered her eyelids and looked down at her feet. “Are you just saying that?”
“I have to say,” I continued, “I’m touched by how much you care about my well-being.”
Raising her eyes to look at me again, Iris gave a slight grin, torn between being upset that I’d tricked her and being relieved it was only a joke. “Seven!” she exclaimed in mock distress as she playfully slapped my arm. “I can’t believe you did that! I was really worried!”
“Ha, ha, sorry. Just keeping you on your toes.” I winked.
“Is that why you ran away suddenly then? You looked so serious.”
“Well, I had to sell it, didn’t I? Otherwise you wouldn’t have fallen for it!” I forced the most natural laughter I could. My mind still spinning from what had just happened, I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to put up a front before Iris saw through it. I had to leave. “Okay, Iris, I have to go. I’m so exhausted and definitely need some sleep.”
Still clearly torn between what to believe, Iris smiled and said, “Okay, Seven, get some rest. And never do that to me again!” She slapped my arm once more.
“Ha, ha, okay, I’ll try to try.” I winked. Before she could say anything, I added, “Okay, see you later. Have an awesome time at Shabli’s, Iris.” I turned and headed along the busy street to my quarters, my mind filled with unanswerable questions.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“HELLO, SEVEN.”
I put on some guitar blues, sat on the side of the bed and stared at the floor ahead, unable to think.
“Are you okay, Seven?”
My mind was filled with flashes of the strange events that had happened, and the more I tried to remember them, the less certain I became of what was real or what was imagined.
“You appear ill, Seven. Are you okay?”
“Hmm? Hi, Ava.”
“Is something wrong, Seven?”
“It’s nothing,” I replied vaguely.
“Would you like to talk about it, Seven?”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Ava.”
“You appear ill,” she repeated. “Shall I call the academy nurse?”
“Seriously, Ava, I�
�m not ill and there’s nothing wrong. Can you please just drop it?”
“I am worried, Seven. I will call the academy nurse.”
“Don’t. Look, you really want to know what’s wrong? I don’t know what’s what any-more—that’s what’s wrong. Happy?”
“I don’t understand, Seven. Please elaborate.”
“I…” I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t get any peace until Ava got what she wanted. “Okay, Ava, look. Remember that girl I saw outside the window? Well, I’ve seen her a few times since. In fact, I just saw her again in town, pointing to some floating hole that disappeared right before Iris showed up. So now she thinks I’m crazy. And I’m starting to think she’s right. I’m losing my mind.” I rested my elbows on my knees and cupped my hands over my face as the sounds of Elmore James’ slide guitar filled the otherwise silent room.
“What do you think she wants, Seven?”
“I have no idea. Wait. You believe me?” I asked, raising my head.
“Of course, Seven. I believe you.”
Exhaling a breath of relief, I said, “Well, then you’re about the only one who does.”
“What do you think she wants, Seven?” repeated Ava.
“I told you, I don’t know. I bet she just—”
“Have you had contact with her, Seven?” Ava interrupted.
“Well, you won’t believe this, but she blew up part of the academy, supposedly so she could talk to me. Can you bel—”
“Was that when you were in town looking for her, Seven?”
“Yeah, it was right after I—” My heart almost jumped out of my chest at hearing Ava’s question. I hadn’t told her I’d gone looking for the mysterious girl, and no one had been in my quarters to tell her.
“Have you spoken with her, Seven?” Ava persisted.
My heart beat so fast I was almost hyperventilating as I felt the blood drain from my face. I didn’t know how she knew, but Ava had information she had no way of having. Something was very wrong. My every instinct screamed not to tell her the truth and to get out of there as quickly as possible.
