When she is gone I take a deep breath. She is right, I need to rest.
I stand up and go to the upper floors, where the teachers’ offices are. Hearing Ingrid's words in my head over and over again. I walk slowly, still recovering from my stupid and too imaginative ideas. In front of me, Ms. Adkins walks to her office all by herself. She hears my footsteps and turns around to meet my worried and scared face.
"Are you quite alright, young boy?"
"It's just a headache" I lie, looking at her eyes of spreading green light.
"Perhaps you need to go home?"
"No, I’m fine. I will be alright."
She smiles at me and turns again, she starts walking and I do the same.
"You have a strong soul, I know you will be."
CHAPTER 8
A strong soul…the words repeat themselves in my head like a hammering roar.
I do my best to hide my fearful trembling. When I enter her office I am instantly relieved, Elizabeth is there, nothing will happen now. Not that she is my protector, but whatever Ms. Adkins intentions might be, she won't go for it now.
Sweat going down my neck once more. I am terrified again, a kind of fear I have not felt in a very long time. I just pretend to be ok, hiding my fear behind the shadow of a headache that covers my true feelings right now. This is too much to cope with.
I try to organize every paper, essay, or uncorrected exam that I can, but half an hour into it I have a terrible need to vomit that would ruin everything if I stay here. I excuse myself, my teacher gives me permission to leave and Elizabeth hardly looks up. I really don't care now, I just need to get out.
The constant shaking remains with me, but in a more controlled manner, the moment I step out of the office. I go to the bathroom and water my face a couple of times, I want to make sure I am not in a dream. Unfortunately for me, I don't wake up, I was not sleeping. The buzzing sound of danger sounds behind my ears.
I go back to the residence, doing my best to keep my thoughts together as I walk through the crowd in the streets. Jay is not here yet. I lie on my bed and try to breathe slowly, so slowly I almost don't hear myself taking in the air.
The day goes by, Jay is still not here but I can't deny that the tranquility of these past hours was necessary to deal with my, perhaps, too vivid imagination. I can't stop telling myself I am making things up, no such beings can exist. It's obvious that I was reading too enthusiastically about it, and I simply let the written page slip through my mind. Surely this has happened to many others before me.
I don't know if I have dreamed today. I wake up exhausted, as if my mind had gone on thinking about the same thing over and over during the night, without my permission. I feel too tired and not well enough to go to class today. Not at all.
"Do you need anything?" Jay asks from his bed, he is apparently skipping class too.
"No, I will be alright, I just need to rest."
He nods and goes back to sleep within the following minute.
Barbara Harris has awakened something in me that terrifies me. The book is still on my bag, I don't plan on touching it today, not ever again possibly. I am not in the mood for anything, not at all. The feelings come back, and Ms. Adkins keeps staring at me even in my memory. I need to stop this. I will have to talk to her and change the subject of my essay. I won't tell her the reason, of course, she would think me mad. That will have to wait, though. Tomorrow will be another day. For now, I will remain in bed, trying to accomplish something really hard for me, think about nothing.
When Jay wakes up, the quietness of the room disappears.
"Sorry", he says when he realizes that all that noise is bothering me "I will go grab a coffee and hang out, keep resting, call me if you need anything.”
He does what he says, and I am grateful for it, although I can't help but laugh about what he last said, I don't have a phone number to call to if I should need anything.
When night arrives, the tiredness in me wins over my anxiety and I fall asleep.
The blurry image of the wet ground of the university cloisters is dangerously beautiful. I walk alone, not knowing where to go. The walls are cracked and the windows wrecked. I see the aisle I walked the last time I saw this dead image and I head towards it. My walking is easy and self-controlled, I don't want to fall down and lie on the mud again, as always. Not tonight.
This time I see something I did not see in my other dreams. At the end of the corridor, two figures are waiting for me. As I get closer they shape from darkness and shadows. One of them, the old woman that I have been running away in my mind ever since yesterday, and to her side, the other, the one making me shiver every time I see her, Elizabeth. I stand still, keeping my distance. The old shadow takes out a carved wooden box with ancient symbols and paintings. In the other hand she holds a knife silver as moonlight, she points it to Elizabeth's chest. I can't bear to watch the rest, the only thing I know is that I lie on the mud again, not being able to move, not being able to live.
I open my eyes trying me best to keep myself from jumping off the bed. I feel sweat coming down my neck and through my body. I am not her only target. For what I have seen, Elizabeth is on her list of souls too. I don't know how much of this is real, I am so confused that I don't know what to do. But the only thing I can come up with is to stand up, get my clothes and leave for the university, to safe the girl with the green eyes.
CHAPTER 9
My fears are back the moment I leave the comfort of my room. What if everything the book says about these beings is really true? What if all I fear about my teacher is also true? I need to hurry, Elizabeth might be threatened by the same danger I am exposed to. We are not friends, I know that, I only get an occasional smile when I am around her, but I can't let that happen to her. Warning her is the least I can do.
When I leave the residence I realize that I have slept longer than I thought. Daylight blinds me, it must be about midday. My Latin class is about to end, which means that I can talk to Elizabeth before she gets into Ms. Adkins office.
I run as fast as I can, doing my best to fool traffic even though I almost get hit a couple of times along the way. I am familiar with the streets already, so I know when I have to turn and which direction I need to take. That little advantage leaves me time to think. I can't just bring it up, I need to tell her everything I know, see if she believes me or not. I am sure she has noticed some weird behavior from Ms. Adkins, she must have. Particularly if Ms. Adkins talks to her the same way as she does to me.
I arrive in the university just in time. I cross aisles and crowds of people leaving class and others waiting for the next lesson. I can't stop, or else I might be too late. I try to hide myself as I run through the building, I don't want Ms. Adkins to see me.
I get a glimpse of Elizabeth as she turns the corner that leads to the office. I shout her name out loud but she does not hear it, she is close to the door and I am still too far away to catch her. I fall on my knees when I see the door closing behind her back.
The feeling of guilt, along with the fear I feel inside, makes me remain there for a long time, knocked over by reality. But I realize that for once in my life I should be braver than what is expected from me. I stand up, shaking and fearful, I can't help it. I walk until I am in front of the wooden door, and then I open it and cross it.
"Hello" Elizabeth says from her chair. Ms. Adkins is not here.
"Thank God you are alone."
She looks at me with a strange look on her face, she is obviously surprised.
"We need to get out. Constance, Ms. Adkins, is not what she seems to be."
Elizabeth frowns her forehead.
"What are you talking about? Just sit down and do your job."
"But you don't understand" I murmur.
"Now" it's her final word.
If it was up to me, I would leave again, but I can't leave her alone, not here, knowing what's after her, after both of us.
I sit down as she tells me to and start
working, nervously looking at the door, waiting for the old woman to turn up and do God knows what to us.
All the books around me can't hide the strange look on my face, Elizabeth is looking at me from the other side of the table and I feel my nerves crash whenever she is about to mouth a word.
I keep thinking about her, of course, asking myself if I should open up and free my feelings, that way perhaps she would trust me about what I have just told her. But I don't want to risk it, what if I tell her that I like her? It's not like I have lots of friends here, besides Jay and Ingrid, of course. I'm a settler, if I can be his friend and be with her like this, although not enough, it's fine for me. But for that I need her to trust me.
I stand up and pick some of the books on the table, these belong to the upper shelve in Ms. Adkins's library. I get on the stairs carefully enough, I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of Elizabeth. My balance has never been particularly good, and this wooden stairs are not in great shape.
"Hold on, I'll give you a hand with that" I can't believe she is getting up to help me with this.
Elizabeth holds the stairs and I climb. The books are heavy and I am trying my best not to drop them, but one of the thickest slip through my fingers and even though I try to catch it, it only makes it worse. I make a harsh move that makes me lose my balance. The stairs shake and Elizabeth has no time to react. The wood gives in and the next thing I can see is me getting closer and closer to Elizabeth. I fall on top of her.
I am terribly embarrassed, I have never seen anyone so cold and serious. She is motionless, with the only hint of life coming from her eyes. I don't know what to say. My head is on her chest and I am terribly ashamed. I can't think of anything, I can't move, and when I try to, I feel it. It can't be.
Nothing. No movement, no breathing, no heartbeat. And yet she looks me in the eye, as if nothing had happened.
Her green eyes.
Ms. Adkins is not the Immortal, Elizabeth is.
CHAPTER 10
My blood freezes. I stand up and look at her, absolutely terrified. My back is against the library and by the moment Elizabeth looks at me I know that she understands what's going on. I can't breathe, I look at her and the only thing I can see are those green eyes that have been haunting me for months. It seems impossible that this is happening, but the lone fact that she says nothing about it makes it certain. She can't die. She lives forever. She wants my soul.
I'm shaking and I can't move. I understand now the feeling of true fear. She stands up slowly and there is a quick smile on her face. I have read about the Immortals, I know what they are.
"Listen" she sounds normal, like if nothing had happened.
"Stay away from me!" I raise my hand as a warning sign, I know it won't protect me but it's the only thing I can do. Carefully, I move towards the door, my back still pressed against the wall. And when I find the door, I walk out.
I run as fast as I can and get into the toilets, there's someone inside, thank God. I have an urgent need to throw up. Right after I'm done, the toilet door opens, it's Jay and by the look in his eyes, he is looking for me.
"Jay!" I don't know if I am surprised or not, what I know is that never in my life I've been so glad to see anyone. -I need to get out of here.
He puts his hands on my shoulders and takes me outside. We leave the main building and needless to tell him anything about what just happened, he takes me back to the residence.
"You will be ok" he whispers, trying to make me feel comfortable. I thank him for that. I still can't believe what's happening.
There's nothing to say, and I can't even hear what Jay is telling me, I am too focused on Elizabeth's green eyes, killing me every time I fall asleep. I know we are close to the residence when I notice the shop I walk by every day. I let go of Jay and take a rest, I need to breathe and the need to throw up keeps coming back. I hate this, I really do. I'm dizzy and can't see clearly, everything is blurry, and the last thing I see before going totally black are those green eyes taking my life again.
When I wake up there is almost no light in the room. I recognize the place, Jay has taken me inside the residence; this is our room. All the memories of what happened from the moment I left the University until now have disappeared. I bring my hand to my forehead, I have a terrible fever. It must be from the shock. Jay is sitting right in front of me, on his desk chair. He offers me a glass of water, which I drink pressing the crystal edge of the glass against my face, still trembling for what happened. I try to stand up, but I can't do it, my legs would give out the moment I got on my feet.
"Take it easy, lie down", he seems so calm.
"I...you will not believe what happened Jay, I need to get out of here, I don't know what's going on", thank god I trust him well enough to tell him all this stuff, if not, I'd die.
"I know what happened."
"You have no idea, I have never been so terrified in my entire life", wait "what did you say?"
Jay stands up and walks out of the room, I feel dizzy again and the headache is coming back. I'm having a terrible day. The door opens again, but this time it's not Jay, Elizabeth walks in, and she seems to be worried.
I get on my feet and get hold of my bed table lamp and point it to her.
"Don't get any closer" I keep moving the lamp as if it was going to help me in some way.
Elizabeth stands still and looks at me in a very gentle way.
"Alex, I'm not going to hurt you."
"Yet" I say with my trembling voice.
"Yet", she smiles. She gets closer to me, takes the lamp from my hands and puts it back on the bed table. She then sits on Jay’s chair, keeping the distance, as requested.
I am not going to sit down, not yet. If I could I would run away again, but Jay is keeping the door and given the scenario, he would not let me go. I consider jumping off the window but I am too dumb for it and I would probably kill myself, which now doesn't look at all like a bad idea.
"You too?" My voice is not fully recovered from what I'm feeling, but Jay knows well enough that I'm talking to him. "You could just have left me there, you didn't need to bring me here."
"I had to, you were in the middle of the street, and no one is going to hurt you."
"You guys don't expect me to believe that, do you?"
The fear I'm feeling is starting to turn into fury. I don't know what it is but I'm sure this is the first time I experience all these emotions.
"What do you want to know?" Elizabeth seems so willing that I almost believe her.
I consider the question. What would be the wisest thing to ask? I have never been in a situation like this one, in which some Immortal person, whom I know is bond to take my soul to become a God, asks me what is it I want to know.
"Nothing" I lie, trying to hide that I am more terrified of knowing the answers than thinking about the questions.
Elizabeth's green eyes are fixed on me again. She puts her hands on her neck and smiles. She then looks at Jay.
"Constance was right, he is great."
Jay smiles. Again, I have no Idea of what's going on, and right after she has said that, I have a question for her.
"Did we just met because of this?" the question is intended for Jay, but they both answer at the same time.
"Yes. You see, when a Catalyst like you appears, the leader of an Immortal tribe makes all the arrangements needed for us to meet. Constance found you, and in a matter of seconds we were all here waiting for you to show up. "
I sit now, but not because I am feeling better, quite the contrary. For two months I thought that I had finally been able to get over my fear of meeting new people, I thought that I had made a great friend whom I could trust, and suddenly, it all was a lie.
"I am your friend though", Jay must have noticed the look on my face. "That’s for sure."
I smile, I find this whole situation repulsive and the only thing I want to do is punch him in the face. As hard as I can.
"He's telling the truth
Alex, he has been delaying this moment until you found out yourself."
"And why delay it?"
"It's always better if you find out about things, learning gives us perspective. If Jay had told you, you would have run away."
What makes her think I'm staying here after this?
"You would have not been able to take it in on time. But now you know, and you have to trust us, until..." she seems embarrassed to go on.
"Until you take my soul", How is that an option? Stay with them? Not a chance.
"Exactly" her voice is rough.
"Well, at least you have the decency of being honest. But no, thank you, I'd rather not…” I can't even think of the words.
Jay comes closer and sits right next to Elizabeth, who looks back at him in a rather worrying expression.
"You must trust us", she adds "whenever a Catalyst meets an Immortal, everyone is on the move. There are tribes that can't find their Catalysts on time, and they might come for you, and trust me, they won't be as gentle as we are being."
She could be lying to me, but for some reason I think she isn't. I am not ready to give in though, the fear is still inside me and I know it won't leave me. I can't believe they are asking me to stay with them no matter what, only to be the ones to make me disappear. I start breathing harshly again. Then the question hits me.
"How long have you known about me?"
"Us? Not much. Since the moment you got into the plane" Jay is telling the truth, I know it. "Constance has known about you since the day you decided that you would spend the semester here."
That, if I am not wrong is more or less the same time I have been having all those dreams. I instantly know it is related, what else can it be? I bring both my hands to my head and then I look back at them, I have another question.
"Why can't I remember the dream?"
"What dream?"
"The dream I've been having ever since I decided to come here. Every single night I dream of my death, and the only thing I can remember is that I die, and your eyes", the look on Elizabeth's face impresses me, she is as surprised as Jay.
The Mortal Fringe Page 4
