Gravity

by Amanda Miga

  "Gabriel?" Violet's lovely voice calls my name and pulls me out of my trance.

  She waves to me with the others on the porch of the cabin. They’re going inside.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Alex

  I can see everything from the doorway. The living room with a stone fireplace, kitchen open to the living room, stairs leading up to a second level in which you can look down from and see everything. The dark wood floor spreads throughout the cabin, a line of windows and double doors bring the outside in. The cathedral ceiling is absolutely breathtaking. I imagine how awesome it would be to have a party here. It's enough space for a band and even a dance floor. The acoustics would be phenomenal with the high ceiling. I take a deep breath filling my lungs just like I do when I sing. I slowly let my breath escape. I try to pick up Violet's fragrance, but the place is bombarded with aromas unfamiliar to me. My eyes wander the space wondering where her bedroom could be.

  ***

  Dash

  The moment I steps inside, I sense a presence within the cabin. I feel it all around me. I'm torn between Violet and my surroundings. I'm in awe of its aliveness as well as Violet smiling face. It's like she went from paper and pencil to flesh and bones. It's hard to take my attention from her. Even though I can feel the cabin calling me, it's hard to pay it any mind with my heart beating out of my chest every time she enters my vision. This nice place doesn't compare to her. But she lives here, and it must have clues about her life; what does she like to do? What are her hobbies? Where is her bedroom?

  Prying my eyes away from her, I notice the glowing lines connecting like tree roots along the floor and walls, moving like tiny rivers. Even the furniture it connected to this nerve system. It reminds me of the sci-fi movie with Keanu Reeves where the life he lives is all an illusion. Symbols; not scrolling numbers reveal it's make-up. I recognize its complexity and its majesty are connected to presence I felt when I walked in. How the creator did this is beyond my comprehension, but somehow I understand what I'm seeing.

  Red made this place. That's what these lines illustrate. This is what Violet meant. Every tangible thing was inspired from something Red had seen or experienced. The roof structured similarly to a church Red's been too as a boy. The nearly black floor is taken after a relative's eyes. I can tell it isn't built the same way as one would build a cabin. It grew like anything else in nature, but how could that be—a man-made structure is not organic. These lines speak and say otherwise.

  I place my hand on the wall and my eyes stray. As beautiful as this place is, every time I steal a glance at Violet, I'm reminded that she is what’s so incredible. My Goddess drawing has come to life and is now she's showing her amazing home to me. This is something out of a dream. No, this is better than a dream—it's real this time.

  "Is there anyone else living here?" I surprise myself that my question came out so boldly. Everything is too interesting to ignore.

  "Right now? Just me." Violet's smile weakens. Her shoulders slump and her stance sways.

  "It feels like someone else lives here." I brush my finger against the wall. "Besides Red."

  Violet's smile comes undone with a thought. I want to know why she suddenly looks sad.

  ***

  Gabriel

  I'm the last to step through as Alex and Dash are welcomed to take a closer look at things. I don't feel as welcomed. Heavy pressure pushes me on all sides like a lemon being squeezed. My head is ready to explode. It subsides as I step further inside. I'm afraid to look around, as if someone is watching me closely, punishing me if my eyes veer away from my sneakers. I stand close to the wall, waiting for instruction. Why I am I even here?

  ***

  Alex

  I'm staring, but I only realized it when Violet's eyes connect with mine. She gives me a fake smile, but of course hiding the reason doesn't make sense around a telepath. She hides anyway, as if it helps to ease the thought that I can see everything.

  But I can't see everything. Her head is like Swiss cheese—too many holes.

  "Please make yourself at home." Violet walks to the living room area. The stone fireplace is massive. Its stones reach all the way to the top of the cabin. Three seats are close to the fireplace makes the area smaller than it is. I like it because it feels cozier. I especially like the flat screen TV above the fireplace. I love watching movies. It's watching people but without their thoughts interfering. It's close to being normal unless I watch with friends, which is extremely annoying. I picture myself with Violet in my arms by the fireplace. Close, real close. I wouldn't mind her at all. We wouldn't be watching the movie anyway.

  She sits in a red armchair. I sit on the sofa with Dash eagerly sitting beside me for closeness to Violet. Gabriel is the last to join us, sitting the farthest away isolated on a love seat. He's clinging to his backpack as if someone will take it. There's nothing, but school shit in it. At least I don't have to smell him.

  "Well, this is my home." She nervously fiddles with her hands in her lap. She's so cute. "Red calls it the Sanctuary. He created this place. It's a place in between places. It's nowhere yet somewhere; a safe place for people like us—people with abilities. The three of you have triggered abilities. From what Red had told me, you three can help me find him."

  "Find him?" Dash rests his elbows knees.

  "He told me in a dream that he needs your help. He chose you three."

  "Did he say where—" I ask.

  "I'm terrible at remembering things." She pushes her hair behind her ear. "I'm surprised I remembered everything about you guys. Most of the dream was about you three—that you'll help me find him. "

  "Red chose us?" Dash pushes up his glasses.

  "How are we supposed to help? No offense, but I barely know the guy." I say.

  "Red knows you—all of you very well. Alex Aisling, you're a telepath. You can hear and even see the thoughts of others; enter dreams and communicate beyond words."

  She looks at Dash. "Dash Carver. You have an eidetic memory; vivid recall; decipherment of objects and environments. You have the ability to form virtually anything and even worlds like this."

  Dash's face flushes. I purse his lips. That's a lot of bullshit I don't even understand.

  "Gabriel Black, you have aura that is magnetic; you can attract people or repel them. You have an ability to see other auras, identify others like us, and decipher people's moods and environments." Her hands tighten on her lap. "These abilities make you extraordinary; they make you Hybrid; half human."

  I stare at her. I know the others are too.

  "What's the other half?" Dash asks.

  "Um, alien." Her smile twitches.

  "Alien?" I suppress a laugh. "You must be joking."

  Violet stares at me as my smile slowly deflates.

  "You're telling the truth." I lean forward.

  "Red said she would." Everyone looks to Gabriel. His hood is up and only his mouth is visible. "Speak the truth, I mean."

  "Thank you, Gabriel." Violet massages her hands nervously.

  I remember now. Red had said that. Shit, I hope I didn't offend her. It's that word; alien. It's far crazier than me sitting on a 'place between places' with a mirror for an entrance. Alien?

  "I'm adopted. So that explains a lot." Dash brushes the long hair out his eyes. The kid needs a haircut and a reality check.

  I peer deeper into Violet's head. She was told this by Red, not that she hasn't any proof of the alien half—our abilities are proof. As long as I've lived I have never met anyone like me. Sure, I've visited plenty of psychics, but their crystal balls are bullshit.

  "I'm adopted too," I've always felt different, but not alien different.

  "My dad's dead. My mom's insane." Gabriel finally places his backpack between his legs. "I don't remember him. He died after I was born."

  Jesus, this kid is a mess.

  "The alien gene is carried on your father's side." Violet straightens her shoulder. She's cuter when she's confident. "Your fathe
rs are hybrids. Hybrids don't last long in the real world once their abilities are triggered. Most times they go crazy."

  "I’ve had to deal with telepathy since I could remember. I’m fine.” I shrug.

  “You’re not fine, Alex.” She rubs her thighs. “None of you are.”

  "You’re the only one here." Dash pushes up his glasses. "Where are the other people—I mean—Hybrids?"

  "Triggered abilities can ruin a Hybrid's life. They're more accident prone with abilities they can’t control. Sometimes it leads them to suicide. Some powers are hard to live with. You three have survived your abilities against the odds.”

  Gabriel shoves his hands deeper into his hoodie pocket. I look down at my sneakers. Dash shifts uncomfortably beside me. My life is starting to make sense and it's scary as shit.

  "Red's missing and I'm not powerful enough to find him. I need help."

  "And you think we're powerful?" I ask. "I mean, this sounds crazy. I have mind blowing migraines, this one has an overactive imagination and that guy is repellant, no one would go near him anyway. How's that going to help?"

  "Red sees something in each of you; something that can help the situation. Your powers are not fully developed. Red can help you, but we must find him first."

  "What's your ability?" It's a surprise to me to hear the emo kid speak again. His hoods back to reveal his green eyes that aren't as dark like the rest of him.

  Violet fiddles with her fingers nervously. Her mind is repeating a word over and over again. Aura, aura, aura… seems to be a mantra to hide something else. It's working. I can't hear or see anything else.

  "You don't want us to know," I reveal.

  "I'm weak, but I can see auras. I'm pretty much useless though." Her shoulders droop.

  "What are you hiding?" I mumble.

  “Please don't.” She whispers to me, pleading me with her eyes to stop poking around. "There's a reason I can't do this on my own."

  "So, we help you find Red and he helps us with our abilities?" Dash leans forward with interest in his eyes..

  She nods.

  "Who is Red anyway?" I ask. “Is he like the leader?”

  Violet smiles and then bites her lip. The way her lashes flutter I wish I hadn't asked. "He's our Guardian; the one that protects us from ourselves and others; teaches us our abilities."

  He wasn't around for me. I hear Gabriel's interesting thought loudly.

  Violet contently continues. "He's a lot older than he looks—not sure how old. He knows about all of us and his abilities seem endless. He came to me in my dream telling me exactly who you are and where to find you."

  "But he couldn't tell you where he is?" I probe.

  "I don't think he knew. I felt that there wasn't enough time for him to say. I think his powers are weak or he’d be here now," she sighs.

  "Who's Red to you?" Dash asks.

  I know the answer. I don't care if she doesn't want anyone to know. "Her boyfriend, but you're not even sure if he's even that..." I trail off, watching her chew her bottom lip. "I'm getting images, but I don't understand your story. There's, um… dark areas. I've never seen that before."

  "My story is irrelevant." She gets up from the chair, eager to move the conversation forward.

  Dash's thought calls me an insensitive asshole. "Relax, it's necessary." I say under my breath. He flinches.

  "Come with me I want to show you something."

  I follow her closely, but she veers away from me as if I was going to kill her. I must have really offended her from what I blurted out before. The fear in her eyes offends me. She's afraid to be near me.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Dash

  Violet leads us down a hallway with lines marking the walls like the ones I saw in the great room. They grow brighter, leading to a room in which Violet opens. She and Alex don't seem to notice they've walked right through a web of light. A tingling sensation makes my arm hairs stand when I pass through. Gabriel is behind me, but when he walks through he suddenly doubles over; holding his stomach like someone had punched him. The lines that no one but me can see start to collapse around him.

  I try to approach, but Violet grabs my sleeve to stop me.

  "I can't." Gabriel weakly says. "It hurts."

  "Back away into the hall." Violet says franticly. She let's go of my shirt.

  Gabriel does what he's told and immediately looks relieved when his back meets the wall in the hallway. The lines move back into position, flowing naturally like before they were attracted to Gabriel.

  "Go sit in the living room and rest. We'll only be a minute. I'm so sorry, Gabriel." Violet presses her hands to her chest.

  "The lines. What happened?" I ask.

  "What lines?" She looks puzzled.

  "I can see everything here is connected like the human nervous system—especially in this room. It clung to him as soon as he entered."

  "I figured you'd see things." She smiles as if it's a relief.

  My heart aches just thinking a moment before she grabbed my shirt. I wish we can repeat it so I can take in the details of those precious seconds.

  "Poor Gabriel. I should have realized. Red's energy can be overwhelming for someone like him." She presses her palm to her forehead. "Poor thing."

  “Someone like him?" Alex folds his arms.

  "He must be sensitive," I say.

  "Sensitive? Yeah, right." Alex rolls his eyes.

  I thought because he's telepathic, he'd be more empathetic. It doesn’t seem to be the case with him. The thought must have filtered through by the dirty look he's giving me. I ignore him. I touch the door frame. The lines don't react to my touch. I sense that it hurt Gabriel like hundreds of needles to the skin. Why?

  The presence of the cabin is thick in this room. I assume this was what made Gabriel feel ill. I look closer at the wood grains of the door. Tiny traveling lights look like an aerial view of a highway at night. The room has so much to read. It's dark but not because it's night. The walls are the color of the sky at twilight and old books nearly cover the wall. There are no windows for light, only a terrace door. I assume the room is dark even in the daytime. An antique writing desk has nothing but a book and inkwell.

  "This is Red’s room," I access.

  "Yes, it is. I wanted to show you his room because he left a lot of things behind. Maybe clues to where he intended to go." Violet sits on the bed. "He's the Guardian of Hybrids like us so he leaves often."

  I see traces of someone else using this room—Violet. I notice a few things that don't belong like a pink robe and flowery hand mirror. She must be sleeping here.

  "Not a single outlet insight; no TV, no stereo. How boring," Alex assessment is so typical of his type.

  "He's got a gyroscope.” I spot on a shelf.

  “A gyra-what?” Alex says over my shoulder.

  “Gyroscope. It’s defies gravity in the way it moves." My finger rotate the circular metal wheel. It spins on its axis without interruption on its mounted parts. With the laws that bind us the universe, perhaps there are things that liberate us. Have I been bind until now?

  “Isn't that a toy?” Alex lifts an eye brow.

  "A toy used in jet planes."

  "Whatever." He folds his arms. I smile. He can't see everything after all.

  "Looks like university professor lives here." I grin.

  "Looks like my grandpa lives here." Alex stares at the old books like he's never seen such a thing. "I remember Red being a young guy, not some seventy year-old professor."

  "Red is... older." Violet taps her lip.

  "Very old." I say under my breath while my finger touches the edge of the century old writing desk. A pair of pink slippers beside the bed catches my eye. I envy Red because she obviously missed him enough to sleep in his bed. I wonder what their relationship is to each other.

  Recalling my dream of him, Red said his journals where accessible and on queue Violet goes to a bookcase behind the old writing desk. It's full of leather bound boo
ks. From the top of the bookcase to the bottom, the books go from dull and wrinkly to richly colored and firm.

  "These are Red's journals. They're as old as he is." She takes the journal on top of his desk, flipping through with a puzzled expression. "I can't read it. It’s the last one before he left. It might have a clue to where he was headed." She wipes her watery eyes, quickly composes herself. She stops on a page. Alex looks over her shoulder.

  "Looks like a page out of my math textbook," Alex's brow arches.

  "His script is so old-fashioned I can't read it.” Violet fiddles with her fingers. "Believe me, I've tried."

  I stare at the page in question. Violet slowly hands it to me as my eyes rapidly move about the page. The 'math page' pops out at me like a three dimensional model. It explains their last conversation took place in Violet's dream. It's strange how the page explains it without a single word. The written page opposite it is clear even with the long loops and tiny mid-sections; the words seem highlighted when I read them. Golden strings cross the pages like the web in the door way. Red made it so Violet can't read it on purpose. I remove my glasses then put them on again. I can see with and without them. I look at Violet. "I can read this."

  "What does it say?" She folds her hand to her chest.

  I turn another page. Violet waits wide-eyed.

  A name appears repeatedly. "Who's Ryan Grey?"

  Violet steps away with her hand on her stomach, like she ate something bad.

  "He was one of us. He was a telepath." She shakes her head like she doesn't want to talk about it. "Did you read anything on the last page? Maybe about where Red was headed?"

  "It says he decided to leave the Sanctuary. It doesn't say where he was going. A lot of it is him feeling guilty—"

  Violet snatches the book out of my hands. Her cheeks turn rosy. She looks up at Alex only to look away quickly. Whatever she's hiding Alex must have caught it. I exchange looks with him.