Opheliac (19 page)

She headed toward the plaza, or what used to be a plaza. The old mall had been imploded back in the end of October and was nothing more than a big empty space while the construction workers waited for the snow to melt to begin renovating the area into a modern shopping complex.

Angela ran through the tunnel, using the illumination of her cell phone to guide her as she got further from the overhead electric lights. As much as she wanted to turn on more lights to see by, she didn't want to be followed or to run into any other surprises. After jogging for what felt like forever, she found a ladder. She climbed to the top and put all of her weight against the manhole cover blocking her from freedom. Grunting, she lifted it just enough to be able to slide it to the side, which took a lot more effort than she imagined. Pure adrenaline gave her the strength she needed to move it.

Her arms shaking, she pulled herself out and took a moment to catch her breath on the wet ground beneath her. She lay back crying softly, out of fear for herself and for her brother, out of exhaustion and frustration. As she stared up at the night sky, taking in the tranquility to let it calm her, her cell phone started to ring. She recognized the ringtone immediately.

“Orly, I need you,” she sobbed into the phone.

Orlando stayed with Tait until she was deep in sleep. The fear both she and her brother displayed in their eyes during the process of being captured was hard to look at. Once she was unconscious, he thought the whole situation would be easier to witness. That was far from the truth. If anything, it was harder. Alan claimed the alien computer wiping her memory wouldn't harm her. How much did he actually know? Was he certain? Alan's tribe experimenting on Tait and other enemy teens like her was no different than what the Doctor was doing.

This is war.
And for the first time, it felt like war.

He walked down the hall to the room Alan was working in. Gideon sat in a chair holding a medium-sized gold box, his body visibly shaking. When Orlando glanced to his right, he understood why. Earth was in full view in a window.

“Can you close that, please?” he grumbled, finding a place to sit as well.

Alan pressed a button and a thick, metal, sheet lowered over the window. “Of course. How is everything going in there?”

“Okay,” Orlando said.

“Okay?” Alan raised an eyebrow.

He shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, there don't seem to be any problems. No one is dead or sick, no fights, seems smooth.”
Maybe too smooth. She should have fought more. Payton had more bite and he's a teddy bear in comparison.

“I understand now,” Alan said. Orlando had no clue what that was supposed to mean.

“Anyway,” Orlando mumbled. “How long is this going to take?”

“A few hours. Now that we have a better understanding of the Ilotus, we can do more in a shorter amount of time. My techs believe this should be the last treatment.”

Thank goodness. Can I go home yet?
Funny how he actually wanted to go back to the mansion. He'd been on more dangerous missions and not batted an eye. Something about what he was doing on Alan's ship didn't sit right with him, and it wasn't necessarily because of Tait. He once told Alan they needed to do anything they could to win, and he stood by those words. It bothered him to have to stoop to the level of kidnapping and brainwashing, yet he knew it was needed.
And they'd do the same to me.
Gut instinct was telling him to get back to earth. Either that, or he hated being in space more than he thought he would.
Guess I won't be going to Altura anytime soon.
He snorted a little at the thought.

“S-sir?” Gideon broke the silence.

Alan smiled ever so slightly. No one addressed him as “sir” in the group, so Orlando guessed he was getting a big kick out of it. The alien nodded at Gideon. “Yes?”

“Something weird is happening.” Gideon gazed down at the gold box in his hands. “Someone else is trying to access the information on the Ilotus.”

Alan stood straight, snapping his attention to the teen boy. “You're sure? It might just be one of my people.”

Gideon nodded slowly. “I'm inside it still, it gave me permission to explore, and then it began shutting down, saying there was an intruder. At first I thought I'd done something wrong. Then I noticed someone else's presence—someone like me. It's not another computer, but an actual person connecting and trying to bond with the Ilotus, and now it's freaking out.”

“Computers can freak out?” Orlando asked.

“This one can.”

Orlando stared at the golden box in awe. The thing could maybe hold a pair of shoes. He knew computers could be small, some on earth were the size of a pinhead. With how much power and information the Ilotus supposedly contained, for some reason he'd imagined it would be much larger.

“So if it's another person connected and not another computer, does that mean the rehabilitation equipment isn't transmitting to the Ilotus?” he asked.

Alan shook his head. “It is. We connect the computers through something similar to what you call WiFi, or your wireless Internet. What Gideon is describing, however, is an actual living thing connecting to the device…I'm assuming?”

“Yes,” the kid whimpered. “I can't…I can't even begin to describe…how it feels…like it's being violated.”

“Shut it down. Now.” Alan walked to the back corner of the room and spoke into his wrist. “Abort the operation…Don't ask, just do it.”

Gideon closed his eyes. At first Orlando didn't think anything was different about the room. Then he noticed the lack of a discreet hum that had been present before. He hadn't even realized it was present until it was no longer there.

“The Ilotus is off,” Gideon whispered.

Alan let out a heavy breath. “Good. I'll have to arrange for another time where you can bond with it.”

“That would be nice.”

Then Alan began to pace, a hand to his ear as he listened to something only he could hear. The longer he did this, the more he frowned. He ran a hand over his face and then gazed at the two teenagers. “I'm going to send you both home. Some things aren't going according to plan, and it would be safer for you to be back on earth.”

I feel like I should have never left.
Yet, Orlando wanted to argue all the same. The point of him coming was to help with whatever problems may arise. His powers could be useful. And what about Tait? If something was wrong, was she in danger?

“So long as you're sure you don't need us for anything,” he said. If they had been back at the Apartment, he'd have put up more of a fight. Alan's ship was his domain. Disrespecting Alan in front of his peers wasn't a good idea. Besides, if Orlando was rebellious, news would get back to his father and he'd never hear the end of it.

Alan gazed at Orlando, unblinking, as if he were expecting some resistance. Orlando hated being out of character. For the sake of the cause, he'd suck it up.

“Well?” Orlando pressed. “Do you need us for anything else? Or anything at all since I've done nothing but sit back and watch the whole time?”

“We were expecting more fight,” Alan confessed. “Last time we brought Sprout on board, she broke the nose of one of my techs and tried to command a decorative plant to attack us. Tonight, she's doing…nothing.”

Orlando nodded. “Which is weird.”

“Yes,” Alan whispered. “I'll send you home. Next time, I will make the trip worthwhile.”

“Good.”

Gideon set the Ilotus down on a table and stood, walking to Alan. “I need some fresh air. I think I'm going to have a panic attack.”

Raising an eyebrow, Orlando pulled Gideon closer. Alan put a hand on each teen and then in a flash, they were back on earth. No puff of smoke, no bang, like some of the other times Alan had used his teleportation ability. What Orlando did notice was that the journey from space to earth lasted a few seconds longer than when they had traveled from city to city on the planet. Not an experience he enjoyed or wanted to repeat often. Teleporting always left him disoriented.

As soon as they were back on solid ground, Gideon hunched down on his knees and put his head between his legs. “Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick.”

“Good thing we're outside then,” Orlando said, noticing they were in the middle of the park near where Tait lived. Close to Lunar Falls High School, as well, which was convenient. His car was still parked in the high school lot.

Gideon didn't puke, but he did take a lot of long, slow breaths. “I don't like being enclosed.”

“I'll remember that for the future,” Alan said. He gave a slight nod to the two teens. “I must go. You two can take care of yourselves from here, yes?”

“Yeah, I'll make sure he gets home okay,” Orlando said.

Without another word, Alan was gone.

“We were in space,” Gideon croaked out.

“Yes.” Orlando held back a sarcastic comment and an eye roll. The kid was only expressing outwardly what he himself was feeling on the inside. Space freaked him out too. Instead, he put an arm around Gideon. “Come on, we'll walk back to my car and I can give you a ride back.”

Shaking his head, Gideon stood. “My house is that one.” He pointed to a small blue house with the back porch light on. A fence separated a nice-sized yard from the park.

Orlando shrugged. “Oh, all right, then I guess I'll see you at school.”

“Y-yeah. B-bye.”

“Mmm-hmm.” He gave a wave with one hand while he pulled out his cell phone with the other. Once he got the thing turned back on and in service, it buzzed to life. Four text messages and a missed phone call. The call was from his mom; she left a voice mail and was no doubt wondering why he hadn't come home from school yet for the day. He'd left a note on the kitchen counter saying he was going to be home pretty late. She didn't need to worry. When he checked his text messages he saw one from his sister, two from his mom, and one from Angela. First thing he did was open the one from Angela.

“Going to THE doctor's. Do you still have your llama pajamas?”

He frowned. “What…?” Rather than text her back, he decided to call. Her message was too complicated to decipher via text. On the first ring, she picked up.

“Orly, I need you,” she sobbed into the phone.

Immediately, he started jogging across the park toward his car. “What's going on?”

“I…He…JD…” She was hysterical.

“Okay, scratch that. Take a deep breath and tell me where you are so I can go get you.”

She took a few deep breaths into the phone. “I'm somewhere between Morningtide High School and Main. Not sure where I am, but I could probably find a place once I get to a street I recognize.”

“Stay on the phone with me and tell me where you are. I can try looking it up on my GPS,” he said. He entered his car and started it. Buckling as he pulled out of his spot, he headed toward his old school.

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“Think you can tell me what happened?”

Angela let out a heavy sigh. “I hope so. It's all such a blur. I was leaving cheer practice with my friend, and some guy I didn't know offered us a ride home. She knew him and so I thought it wouldn't be a big deal. Beat walking. Next thing I know, I'm being kidnapped and taken to the Doctor through a tunnel. They were both his minions. My friend is one of the bad guys.” She started to sniffle again.

I know how you feel. Only my situation is way worse.
He wished he and Tait were only friends. “So then what?”

“They put me in a chair and he was going to inject me again. Then JD came and…and…” The sniffling turned into full out bawling.

“What street are you on now?” he asked instead, changing the topic.

A few more deep breaths heaved through his receiver, and then Angela spoke again. “I'm walking down a residential street. Um, Third Avenue? Going…north. I'm going to turn left onto Mickelson. I know this road. It should take me to Gold Street.”

“Okay, according to my map…” he said, punching a few buttons on the GPS display of his car. “There's a restaurant a block up. Go there, get something to eat, drink, whatever, and I'll meet you there.”

“All right. Be quick. I don't have a lot of time.”

“What do you mean?” He pressed harder on the gas, praying silently there were no cops nearby. Getting to the restaurant would only take him between five and ten minutes. That was five to ten minutes too long.

When she was quiet for too long, he worried even more, his imagination going to every possible outcome it could. “Angela, what do you mean you don't have a lot of time?”

“I only have an hour,” she said. “Only it's less than an hour now. Maybe half an hour? I'm not sure. I'm not sure how long I was in the tunnel for. It could be even less.”

“What happens in an hour?” Why couldn't she just say things straight?

Or without crying. She was back to sniffling and choking back sobs. “They did something to me that's going to make me forget everything from the past six hours.”

What is wrong with these people? Why does everyone feel the need to mess with the brain?
“I'm almost there. What about you?”

“Just getting to the door,” she whispered.

Sure enough, as he turned onto the street he found her walking to the restaurant doorway. He pulled up in front of her and rolled down the window. “Come on, I'll get you home,” he said.

She got into the car and buckled. Closing her eyes, she relaxed into her seat. “Thank you.”

“I'm just glad I was back in time to get your message,” he said. “Did they do anything else to you? Besides mess with your head?”

She shook her head. “No, they didn't hurt me or experiment on me or anything else. JD…” She swallowed. “He got me out of there, but I don't know what they're going to do to him.”

“Can you elaborate?” he asked. If her memory was going to be gone from anywhere to a few minutes or half an hour, he needed to get as much information from her as possible.

“I'm so tired,” she whispered. “Can it wait?”

If we wait, you'll forget.
Glancing over at her as he drove the short trip back to her house, he noticed how deeply she was fatigued. She could rest a little longer. Orlando parked on the street. Unbuckling, he faced her. Gently he touched her face. “Hey, we're here. Wake up.”

“Hmm?” Angela's large, dark eyes opened and she gazed up at him.

“We're at your house,” he said.

She reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “I can always count on you.”

When she said things like that, when she was so beautiful and sweet, those were the moments he wanted to be with her the most. He forgot all about Tait. With Angela he had a deeper bond, anyway.
I just want to know what I could have
…
Is it any different?

“Ugh, I'm a horrible person,” he mumbled. Leaning in, he kissed her lips, intending for it to only last a second. When she kissed him back, he didn't want it to end.