Madly and Wolfhardt (22 page)

As I neared our room, I couldn’t help but look at Jackson’s door as I passed, wondering if he had already cleared out.  On the one hand, I was dying to go through the adjoining door to see if he was on the other side, packing or preparing for departure.  But on the other hand, if I went in and found that his few belongings were gone, it would make his exodus from my life all the more real.  Devastatingly real.

Instead, I unlocked my door and took a deep breath, steeling myself for the hell I was going to catch from Jersey.  When I opened the door, however, I found her sitting on her bed, the look on her face not one of anger, but rather one of hurt and confusion instead.

“Hey,” I said, letting my messenger bag slide to the floor.

Without even glancing up at me, Jersey said, “Hey.”

“What’s wrong?”

Jersey shook her head.

“Jersey, tell me.  What is it?”

After a long pause, she finally answered me.

“I just don’t get it,” she said in a small voice.

“Don’t get what?”

“This has got to be, like, the worst day of my life,” she claimed dramatically.

“Why?” I asked, plopping down on the bed beside her. 

I welcomed someone else’s troubles for a little while.  It wasn’t exactly a pleasant escape, but it was an escape nonetheless, and that’s what I needed more than anything else at that moment.  Well, more than anything except Jackson.

“I thought he was such a nice guy.”

“Who?”

“Aken.”

“What makes you think he’s not?”

One big fat tear slipped past Jersey’s thick lashes and made its way slowly down the curve of her cheek.

“He told me today that he doesn’t want to see me anymore.  He just got so mad all of a sudden.  He told me that my hair is an ugly color, that it’s not black enough, and that I’m not pretty enough.”  She stopped to wipe at another tear that hung like a diamond on her bottom lashes.  “He said that he will only date the most beautiful girls in school and that I’m not one of them.”

Anger gushed into my stomach like a river of acidic lava.  If Aken had been nearby, I would gladly have ripped off his boy parts, ground them into a fine powder and then sprinkled them into a blazing bonfire.

“Jersey, he’s obviously blind for one thing.  You are by far the hottest chick in this whole town, much less the school,” I declared vehemently.  “Secondly, your hair is a beautiful color.  It’s better than just plain black.  It’s as black as the night when the moon is new, mixed with the vibrant red of a perfect sunset.”

Jersey slid her eyes to me, a deep and dubious frown pinching her brows together. 

“What?  Are you practicing for Shakespeare or did I miss poetry week?”

We both snickered.

“Alright, so I got a little flowery.  I’m feeling profound and philosophical.”

Jersey’s tiny smile died.

“I guess you know about Jackson, right?  That he’s gone?”

I tried to school my expression and regulate my reaction as best I could.

“Yeah.  Commander Jessup told me.”

“I can’t believe they’d do that to him.  I mean, fire him for disagreeing with them?  Isn’t that a little extreme?”

“Fire him?” I asked, turning to fully face Jersey.  “What do you mean ‘fire him’?”

“Jessup fired him,” Jersey said, and then added, “Well, I guess that’s what you’d call it.  Jackson can no longer be a Sentinel.  To me, that sounds like he got fired.”

“What?  Jessup told me he’d been ‘reassigned’ and ‘relocated’.”

Jersey snorted. 

“He’s been reassigned alright—to
not
being a Sentinel.  He’s not even sure where they’re sending him.”

I sat quietly, digesting Jersey’s words with growing agitation.  Jessup had purposely misled me.  I was sure of it.  And now what was I to do?

“I just hate it for him.  It’s all he’s ever wanted since—”

Jersey stopped, catching herself before she divulged something she apparently shouldn’t.  My guess was that it was about a girl—
the
girl—the one that had run away with his heart and never brought it back.

“How long has he been gone?”

“Not very long.”

“Do you know where he was going?  I mean right now?”

“No,” she confessed, shaking her head sadly.  “It doesn’t matter anyway.  If Jackson doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be.  And I’m sure he won’t want you to find him.”

Something about the way Jersey said
you
made me think that she blamed me.  I wondered if Jackson blamed me as well.

“Well, after this operation tonight, if we can get back into Atlas, he won’t be hiding for very long.  I’ll see to it that they make things right for him.”

Jersey scoffed. 

“Madly, if you think you’re getting into Atlas without Jackson, you’re dreaming.”

I knew she was right, but I didn’t want to think about that since the time was nearly at hand.  I didn’t want to go into the operation already defeated.

“I guess we’ll see,” was all I said.

A short pause followed, during which it seemed that Jersey and I made a silent agreement to be casual and normal, maybe for the last time.  Neither of us could be sure how this would all work out, what my life in particular would be like the next day.  So, we sat together on Jersey’s bed, chatting about inconsequential things, just like two best friends with all the time in the world would do. 

It seemed like only a few minutes had passed when I heard a knock at the door.  Jersey and I looked at each other and I slid off the bed, straightening my hair. I’d pulled it up and back so that the length couldn’t be determined.  I knew that the shadow of long flowing hair would be a red flag to Wolfhardt right off the bat.

I took a deep breath and walked to the door.

“Good luck,” Jersey said, reaching beside her to ring her bike bell once.  She grinned.  “That’s me sending you off with a smile.”

And she did.  Send me off with a smile, that is.  That bell was just an extension of Jersey’s personality, not nearly as annoying as it usually was.  It was cheery and playful and positive, just like Jersey.  How could I not smile? 

“Thanks.”

I opened the door to find Sentinel Jensen standing in an at-ease stance in the hallway.  He bowed his head in respect.  I sighed.  Casting one last look back at Jersey, I stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind me.

“Are you ready, Princess?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.”

With a sharp nod, Jensen waited for me to precede him and then we were off, pushing through the front doors and heading out across town in a path that ran directly parallel to the forest.

Jensen took us on a convoluted trek through Slumber that ended up bringing us out on the other side of the woods, in back of Kellina’s house.  We’d essentially walked all the way around the forest to sneak up from behind.

As we approached the house, a thought occurred to me, one that had the potential to muck up the entire night.

“What about Kellina’s grandmother?”

Why hadn’t I thought of that sooner?

“She’s already been taken care of.  She was supposed to be home tonight, but we used a Mer to facilitate her absence.  She’s the Treasurer of the Slumber Beautification Society, the President of which is Mer.  We had him call an emergency meeting just a few minutes ago.  He fabricated some accounting discrepancies that they will be forced to work on for several hours.”

“Glad you guys thought of that.”

“It’s our job to think of everything.”

I reminded myself that Sentinels were very competent, well-trained soldiers and that, in all likelihood, I was in good hands.  But deep down, I just didn’t feel as comfortable, as
confident,
as I felt when Jackson was in control.

Jensen ascended the five back porch steps and stopped, waiting for me to follow, which I did.  As soon as my foot landed on the last step, the back door opened.  It startled me because it appeared that there was no one behind it.  But then I saw the dark head of Sentinel Prokonow peek around the heavy wood.

We entered the house and Prokonow gently closed the door behind us.

“How did you get in here?” I asked him.

“We picked the lock, Princess.”

Somehow, I had trouble believing that lock-picking and felonious breaking and entering were things routinely taught at the Sentinel Training Facility in Atlas.

The two big Sentinels escorted me through the house, rushing me quickly from room to room.  Under different circumstances, I would’ve liked to take my time and appreciate the high ceilings, tall windows, intricate crown molding, and rich hardwood floors of the old mansion.  But tonight, I had the safety of the planet to worry about.

With Jensen in front of me and Prokonow trailing behind, we mounted a wide, sweeping staircase, our footfalls muffled by a thick oriental runner that spread across the tread of the steps.  At the top, we veered right and walked to the next-to-last door on the long hallway.  Jensen stopped in front the partially open, white-painted door and turned to me.

“You said the second window from the left, correct?”

I thought back to my vision with the Seer and I nodded.

“Yes.”

Jensen pushed the door wide and indicated that I should precede him once more.  I stepped into the large room and looked around.

An enormous poster bed sat against the wall across from the door.  It was framed by two tall windows.  The bed was covered in a rich, floral spread that was nothing like what I would’ve expected Kellina to select.  To my right was a long dresser with a beveled mirror propped upon it.  Scattered across the glossy wooden surface were several perfume bottles, a pearl necklace, some hair pins and a framed picture of a young man.  The photo was yellowed and the man’s hairstyle looked like something from the 50’s. 

I walked a bit further in and turned a circle, taking in more of the details.  From the ancient-looking pictures on the walls to the robe hanging on the back of the closet door, nothing in the room gave me the impression that Kellina resided there.  Her grandmother, quite possibly.  But Kellina?  I didn’t think so.

“Guys, I think we’ve got the wrong room.”

Two dark heads jerked toward me.

“You said the second window from the left.  That one,” Jensen said, pointing to the right-most of the two windows, “is the second window from the left as you’re looking at the house from the woods.”

“Are you sure?  Have you checked the room next door?  If it has two windows then—”

“Of course we checked the other rooms, Princess.  There is only one window in the room next door.”

“You realize, of course,” Prokonow interrupted, “that Wolfhardt probably couldn’t see exactly who was behind these blinds.  It’s also highly unlikely that he knows which room is the maiden’s.”

I thought about that.  In my vision, he might’ve mistaken the grandmother for Kellina.  Either way, the light was sure to draw him in.

“True.”  I shook my head.  “Sorry, guys.  I’m just nervous I guess.”