Alchemist Academy: Book 1 (26 page)

“Allie, we need to get out of here,” Carly said.

“I’m trying!” The keys jostled into a metal meatball. I pulled them apart and found what I thought was the last key I had just tried. I stuffed the next one in and it didn’t move. I sped through the next ten keys, but each didn’t work. I had the terrifying thought that Deegan had taken the correct key off the loop and had stuffed it somewhere else. Maybe none of the keys would work.

I glanced back again and saw Verity pulling Deegan to his feet. She stumbled and fell back to one knee.

Mark pulled the sack from my side. There were a couple of stones left in there and they would both be effective. Let him throw them, I thought. I didn’t slow down and tried another key.

“Here they come,” Carly said.

I didn’t look back. I didn’t want to waste another second. “Help me, Mom,
please
.” I had spoken to my mom sometimes as a child, looking at the sky, wondering if she was hearing me from above. I wasn’t looking to the heavens anymore; she was in my world. I closed my eyes, looking for divine intervention, and selected another key.

I pushed it into the slot and turned.

The elevator door slid open.

“Yes!” I yelled and ran in. The rest rushed in with me and I looked at the panel inside the elevator and winced at the second keyhole waiting for a metal intruder. I grunted and moved a key toward the hole. The big key didn’t fit the small slot. I shot around the ring, searching for small keys.

A stone struck the inside of the elevator and bounced to the floor next to Carly’s foot. Mark threw one to match it.

I leaned to my left and looked out. I shook in shock at seeing Verity and Deegan only twenty feet away, close enough for me to see the wrinkle of anger spread over Verity’s wet face and the stone she had in her hand.

“We aren’t going to make it,” Carly claimed, looking at my wad of keys.

I tried another small key, but it didn’t work.

She took a deep breath and shook her hands. Grunting, Carly stared out of the elevator. “You guys had better come back for me,” she screamed, then ran out of the elevator.

I reached for her, but she was gone. I watched her throw a stone and then I couldn’t see her anymore. She’d given me another second or two and I sped through the keys, selecting another. I heard Carly screaming her battle cry and then silence. I slammed my eyes shut and hoped she hadn’t gotten hurt. Maybe they’d just frozen her.

I picked another key. This had to be it.

A stone skipped across the elevator floor and hit the back wall. It burst open and yellow smoke poured out of it.

“Hold your breath!” Jackie called out.

Another small key failed as I ignored the smoke until it hit my eyes and burned them to tears. I held my breath for a few seconds, but I didn’t have it in me to hold it for any longer. It sent fire into my lungs and forced a fit of coughs. Tears flowed and the world became a blur as smoke filled the elevator. My hands were my eyes. I felt the small key and ran my finger over the ridges with one hand while guiding it into the slot with the other, then I turned my wrist.

It worked.

The door slid closed until a small black shoe stopped it on its track. I leaned against the back wall and saw Verity’s sneering face through the smoke. My friends coughed. I didn’t think they had a single stone left to stop her. I saw Deegan’s silhouette staggering behind her. I touched the life stone and planned on tossing it to Mark. If anything, I would find success in that.

“Screw it,” Bridget said between coughs. She lunged off the wall and tackled Verity away from the door, forcing Deegan to backpedal as well. Some of the yellow smoke flowed out with her before the door slid all the way closed and clicked with a lock engaging.

I wanted to scream at Bridget and Carly, but the smoke filled my lungs and made me blind. The elevator moved upward and everything was complete darkness. I staggered around the elevator as we rushed to the top. My feet kicked something soft and I knelt down. At least I tried to kneel, but my legs buckled and I fell face-first to the metal floor. A body lay next to me and my hands ran over his stiff muscles.

“Mark” was what I wanted to say. Unfortunately, it came out in a gargle before I went into another coughing fit.

I heard him cough, and then another cough sounded from behind him. It had to be Jackie, but my eyes poured out tears and blurred my sight.

The elevator stopped at the top and the door slid open, smoke escaping into the darkness beyond. I tried to follow it and pulled my weak body from the elevator. I breathed in my first breath of fresh air and coughed it out. I sucked in another breath and held it. Lunging back into the elevator, I pulled at Mark’s hand, but I could only move him an inch. I screamed and used all my strength before returning to a coughing attack.

The elevator door tried to close and I jumped, slamming my hand against it, halting its progress. I pulled my shoe off and stuffed it into the gap.

Blinking away tears, I went back to Mark. “Help me, Jackie.”

She moved next to me and took Mark’s other hand. She coughed louder and harder than me. Her red eyes bulged from her head and tears streaked down her face. We pulled, and once we had momentum, we slid Mark onto the roof of the Academy. A single light from the elevator lit the dark roof.

The door tried to close again, but my shoe held it open.

I shot to the ground and realized Mark had stopped coughing.

“Mark!”

He didn’t move.

“Mark, wake up.” I pushed him once, and then started shaking his body. “No, no, Mark!”

I brushed the hair from his face and wiped the tears away. I leaned over him, my ear hovering over his mouth. I waited, holding in a terrible cough … and then heard it. A soft breath blew into my ear, sending chills through my body. I still had a chance to save him.

Sitting up, I stuffed my hand into my pocket. I’d only kept one stone and when I produced it, Jackie gasped. I knew she had words about it, but coughs filled in the blanks. I took my time and made sure to have good contact. I placed the stone on his forehead and watched it dissolve into his skin.

I scooted back and waited for something to happen. I wasn’t sure how this would go down, but having seen the creation of this particular stone, I wouldn’t be shocked to see angels drop down from Heaven.

Seconds passed and a weight built in my chest. Maybe I’d gotten to him too late, or the stone didn’t work on him for some reason. I leaned forward to check his breath.

Mark lunged into a sitting position and inhaled a deep breath, like a scream.

I gasped and reeled back.

He looked around, confused. “Where are we?”

I didn’t answer and barely cared. I rushed to his side and hugged him. He smiled and I coughed into his sleeve. He was going to be okay. The life stone had worked.

“What happened down there? I think Verity hit me with a stone,” Mark said. “How long was I out?”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re okay.” He was more than okay; he was cured. I didn’t want to tell him how I’d done it.

“Those alchemists dropped in again, from the ceiling. I thought I heard you yelling at them,” he said. “I watched you run right at them.”

I wanted to shake him and make him realize what had just happened down there. “I saw my mom. She’s one of those alchemists who dropped into the Academy.”

Mark pushed me back and stared at me. “How is that possible?” he asked.

“You said she was dead,” Jackie added.

“I thought she was, but she’s alive … and I think she was coming for me.” The idea lifted me up and I drew in a fresh breath of air. Even as I said the words to convince them, I didn’t totally believe them. How could she be alive?

Mark moved closer to me with a wide grin. He had lost his father, and I knew he would understand exactly the way I felt. “I’m so happy for you, Allie, and I want to hear every detail.” He glanced at the elevator door moving back and forth, stuck on my shoe. “But right now, there’s a very pissed-off president a hundred feet below us and we need to put some more space between us and her.”

“Wait! We can’t just leave them,” Jackie said, and took a few steps toward the elevator. “Carly….”

I had the same thought, and stared at the vacant elevator. The door slid against my shoe and then retracted again. They were just a short ride down that shaft, but we had barely made it out of there and none of us had a single stone left. Bridget of all the people in the world had been the one to save us, to give us that extra second. It broke me to leave her down there, but that was exactly what we had to do.

“We can’t leave the elevator working,” I said, and walked inside the elevator. Only a few wisps of smoke remained but even those stung my eyes. I ignored it and put my hands on the electrical panel. If I could break an iPad, I could break an elevator panel. I found my rage easily and pushed the hate out of my fingertips. After a few seconds, I felt a vibration from the panel and smoke began to escape from the corners of the metal cover and the buttons. I yanked my shoe out and put it back on. The door stayed open.

“How the—?” Jackie looked at me sideways as I turned from the smoking panel.

“Let’s go.” I coughed. The stinging in my eyes had lessened, but I would kill for a bottle of water to flush them out.

Jackie paced near the elevator. “I can’t … I’m the leader of the Reds and they’re still stuck down there. They might get punished for what we did.” She took rapid breaths.

“We’re coming back for them, but for now, we need to get away and find help.” I pulled her away from the elevator. She kept glancing back but didn’t put up any real resistance.

“Did you guys see where we are?” Mark gazed past our small platform.

I hadn’t even looked past the roof. We rushed to the edge and joined him, looking over the city beyond the towering warehouse windows of the building enclosing our location. The platform we were standing on was about five feet off a dirty floor below. Mark hopped over the wall and landed on the floor.

He reached up for me and I slid down the side. He helped Jackie next.

Through the windows, I saw towering buildings and heard nearby traffic; even a few horns blared out. A helicopter flew by and I looked to the ceiling. Parts of the rusted metal roof had fallen in, letting a band of stars shine through in the clear night sky. Jackie stammered next to me, gawking at the sky.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen stars,” she whispered.

“I found a door,” Mark called from far ahead in the warehouse. He kicked the door and on the fourth kick it broke open. He took a step back and then felt around his midsection with a confused look on his face. He raised an eyebrow at me and from the look in his eyes, he knew what had happened—but I’d have to apologize for saving his life later.

I glanced back at the open elevator. I felt so foolish now for not listening to Mark and realizing what the place actually was from the start. He had known. Now many more people were trapped down there. How many more would arrive there, thinking it was the Academy they’d been promised? I tried to make myself believe that I wasn’t just turning my back on my friends. I knew it wouldn’t be long before the Academy jumped again, but if my mom had found the Academy once, she could help us find it again. I just needed to find my mom.

I ran to the broken door with Jackie. We were free for the moment, but leaving so many behind, stuck down there in the lie, waiting to see who’d get retired next, felt as if I’d built a prison of guilt for myself.

I made a promise then and there: we would get them all out of that hellhole.

The end

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“I’m not a freaking Olympian, Mark,” Jackie huffed out, panting hard. “Do you see any gold medals dangling from my neck?”

Her remark made me laugh, which used up what little air I had left in my lungs. We’d been running for a mile, and Mark had set a pace difficult for me and Jackie to withstand. And while Jackie had a valid complaint, I couldn’t stop focusing on how healthy and vibrant Mark looked.

The life stone had worked and it’d worked well. Ten minutes ago, he’d been nearly dead in my arms and now he was sprinting with ease—with no reflexive grabs at his midsection. He may be pissed at me for using the stone on him, but what was I supposed to do . . . watch him die? No.

I wasn’t going to apologize.

Lagging a few feet behind Mark, we made our way down the moonlit sidewalk. Cars lined the curbs, but since leaving the academy, we’d only seen a few vehicles moving on the streets.

“We better keep making turns.” Mark passed a corner bail bonds office and made another right, finally slowing down to a light jog. It was our third right turn in a row. Soon we’d end up back at the academy.

The slower pace afforded Jackie her ability to breathe, and she nudged me and smiled. Outside the academy, she looked different, full of wonder—like a kid in a toy store for the first time. The awe in her eyes made me smile.

She glanced at Mark. “You know where you’re going?”

He glanced back over his shoulder. “We need to find a phone. I think my mom can help us.”

I reached for my front pocket by instinct, forgetting I didn’t have a phone. Long dead, I had left it on the nightstand next to my bed. I wanted to tell Mark we needed to find my mom, but I didn’t know her number or even if she was alright from the attack on the academy. Just knowing she was alive and out there sent chills down my back. And now I had a new memory of her face. I wouldn’t let it slip away this time.

Mark stopped and I nearly bumped into the back of him. His hand instinctively went to his stomach, but instead of his normal wince, the action drew his attention to the lack of pain. Each time he did this, he shot me a look.

His residual anger hurt me, but still not enough to be sorry. I looked to the ground, letting him know how he was making me feel.

Sighing, some of the edge left his face. “Allie, I do appreciate you saving my life. It’s just, the cost was greater than I would have paid.”

I resisted the urge to wrap him up in a big hug. “I couldn’t let you die.”

“It should have been my choice and I’m not convinced I was actually dying.”

I bit my lip. He hadn’t seen himself lying on the floor, the life leaving his body.

“Hey, Allie?” Jackie jumped in. “If I’m dying, I will personally kill you if you don’t use a life stone on me.”

“Deal.”

We found a street with a few fast food places and one with a huge neon sign flashing, The Waffle Palace. The sweet smells of syrup and fried goods poured from the building. I took a deep breath in and my stomach growled for the high calorie goodness inside.

Jackie groaned and stared at the partially open front door. A help wanted sign teetered in the mild breeze, with one piece of tape holding it to the glass.

A few people in dark clothes loitered around outside. They kept their backs turned as we approached. I glanced down each of the dark streets, but there wasn’t another soul around.

Mark approached the guy using his cell phone, while Jackie and I straggled behind. “Hey, you mind if we borrow your phone?” he asked.

The man in a dark hoodie turned around to face us. His blood shot eyes narrowed and took us in like we were in the wrong part of town. Maybe we were.

“I’m expecting a call, bro.” He kept one hand stuffed into his hoodie pocket.

His friends laughed and the hooded man took a half step closer, squinting at Mark before moving to me. I didn’t like his eyes on me and I looked away.

Mark wasn’t put off, he continued, “We just need to make one call. We’d really appreciate—”

“What do you think this is, freaking AT&T?” He kept his hand in his front pocket. “Did your Prius break down? Did your car’s battery die? I didn’t think people like you would even leave the house without a cell phone.”

“Come on, Mark. Let’s just find someone else,” I said.

Jackie and Mark both got closer to the hooded guy. I took a deep breath and felt the situation escalating out of control.

“Yeah, Mark,” hoodie man said. “You better get on back to the hills.”

“Are we in LA?” Mark asked.

“Who the hell is this tool?” a short guy commented, coming up behind hoodie man.

“Yeah, fine. I know it’s LA, but what part?” Mark’s question held urgency and I wondered why he was so interested in what part of Los Angeles we were in.

The man in the hoodie shook his head. “I ain’t your wiki. Better find a genius bar, bro . They can trouble shoot the problem for ya.” He turned and his friends laughed.

Mark grabbed the guy by the shoulder and turned him around. Hoodie man pulled his hand out of his pocket and pointed a gun at Mark.

I yelped and felt frozen by the sight. I wanted to jump in between and protect Mark from getting shot. Surely they wouldn’t shoot a woman for asking to use a phone. His two friends covered their mouths and laughed, jumping up and down.

The front door to the waffle place swung open and two guys stumbled out, guffawing. I stayed still but dared a glance their way, hoping they weren’t the drunk idiots my peripheral vision led me to believe. They stopped laughing as soon as they saw the gun and then scrambled in the opposite direction. So much for good citizens.

“We don’t have time for this.” Mark glanced at Jackie. In one quick motion, he chucked a stone at hoodie man, striking him in the face.

In the darkness, I couldn’t see what he threw. Once the guy fell to the ground and screamed, frantically grabbing for the air around him, I knew it was the falling stone Jackie showed me how to make.

“What’s happening?” his friend asked. “What’d you do to him?”

Mark picked up the gun and pointed it at the guy.

“Don’t shoot him, Mark,” I said over the screams of the hooded man.

“Get out of here,” Mark warned the two friends.

Without hesitation, they took off down the side walk, looking back every few seconds. One of the guy’s pants fell to his knees, sending him face planting onto the concrete. He jumped back up and kept running, holding his pants up with one hand.

“LA?” Jackie looked at the few parked cars in the parking lot. “What a dump.”

“There’s plenty of nice parts.” Mark stepped over the man flailing and grabbed the phone off the ground, dialing. He leaned on the building and stared at me with the phone against his ear, glancing down at the shrieking mess of a man as if he were watching an ant crawl to its hole.

“Mom, it’s Mark . . . I know . . . Listen—mom—listen, I can tell you all about what happened, but we are in LA—”

I heard her scream through the speaker.

Mark gripped the phone tighter. “Right now, and I don’t think it will take long for them to seek us out.” He sighed and held the phone out, mouthing unheard words to the sky. “I used a stone . . . The guy pulled a gun on us.”

He glanced at me and turned sideways. “I know, mom. I’ll keep her safe.” He rolled his eyes at whatever she said next. “Yes, I can get there unless we run into trouble . . . Okay, I will. Love you too. It’s a falling stone . . . The guy who pulled a gun on us . . . uh-huh . . . okay.”

Mark hung up and tossed it onto the man’s chest. The guy had stopped thrashing and was trying to catch his breath. I moved around him and touched Mark’s back.

He turned to me and glanced at Jackie. “We need to get out of the city. My mom and I have a meeting place just outside the city limits.”

“Great, let’s hitch a ride or get a cab,” Jackie said and looked down the dark street.

I followed her gaze and strained to see any movement, thinking maybe the guy’s friends might come back for us with more friends—friends with guns. Leaving the city began to sound like a great idea, but then what he said struck me.

“What’s wrong with LA?” I asked. “Is there something I’m missing?”

“Dark alchemists rule this city. It won’t be long until they fish us out.”

“We better make some freaking stones then,” Jackie said, taking a step toward the Waffle Palace.

“I agree, but not here. We need to find a place to stay tonight and then we’ll leave at first light.” Mark glanced down the road.

This is the Mark I knew. I wasn’t sure if it was finally being cured from his ailments, or if it was getting out of that hell hole, but he was focused and determined once again. He could finally take charge and I could go back to following. Being the popular kid at the academy had felt like a drug at first, but after a while they all looked to me for answers and help. In the end, we left Carly and Bridget behind. They were still stuck in that academy and it was my fault. This was better . . . when I took charge, people got hurt.

I sucked in a deep breath.

The thought of what Bridget did flashed before me and I promised myself to get them out soon. They were the whole reason we even got out.

Making our way down the dark street, we walked by a line of closed businesses. Half had boarded windows and all were covered in graffiti. I imagined at one time it might’ve been a desirable street, filled with the dreams of mom and pop shops. Now, a homeless man huddled against an old entryway, using his duffle bag as a pillow.

“This place is a bit sketchy,” I said. “Maybe we can go a few streets over.”

“I shouldn’t have used that stone,” Mark whispered. “This area is dark alchemist central, and if they had their detector stones . . .”

“You think they know we’re here?” Jackie asked.

“With any luck, they don’t. Just remember, they can be anywhere. They don’t look any different than anyone else.”

With no idea of where we were going, I followed Mark a few more blocks. We jogged across the street to a well-lit gas station. One car was parked at pump eight with a man leaning against his old El Camino. He watched us cross the lot, while I kept my attention on his hands, expecting a stone to appear.

“We could take his car,” Jackie suggested.

“No, we aren’t criminals,” Mark replied.

She huffed. “We need to make a few stones. We’re freaking unarmed out here.” She looked around as we left the gas station and advanced down the sidewalk.

The buildings grew in height as we continued. A few windows glowed, but most of them were in the dark. I wondered what time it was, must have been well into the morning hours.

“There.” Mark pointed across the street to a construction site with a chain-link fence wrapping around it.

The name Tetoo was spray painted on some fabric attached to the fence, with two large eyeballs for the O’s. Mark pulled the bottom of the fence up and motioned for us to go under.

I didn’t like the eyeballs looking at me. Dropping to the concrete sidewalk, we got on our stomachs and slid under the fence. Once on the other side, we held the fence up for Mark.