The Secret (6 page)

Rob winked at me, and a small seed of hope started to grow, blossoming into a white lily that I could see in my mind, with little flowers coming off of the vines. I looked around the room, feeling myself starting to relax. “Your powers are gone?”

Looking back, I saw Reed’s arms were crossed, a grimace on his face, and worry creased the corners of Jake’s eyes.

This was it. Liberation coursed through me. This was the answer to what Rob and I had been looking for.

Karen walked across the room to stand next to me. She was hesitant. “Lanie.”

“Uh huh.” I looked out the large window and focused on the little stream that followed a path down the rocks next to the side of the house. I finally relaxed. No one was taking me anywhere…and I could get rid of my power. I wanted to go out there and touch the water, feel the coolness of it on my face.

Karen dropped her voice to a whisper, but put her hands on her hips. “Why are you so happy all of a sudden?”

I turned to her. “Are you serious?”

Karen tilted her head to the side, as if she’d just thought of something. “How come we never met you?”

Taken aback, I crossed my arms. “What do you mean?”

Pushing her glasses back onto her nose, she smiled at me. “We…we’ve all known each other for a few years. I mean…” She broke off and looked back to the others before continuing. “We’re the same age. How come we never met you there?”

The pain was back in my head, and the memory of black, cold cement pressed against every part of me. Dr. Luth’s voice echoed in my mind. “Draw, Lanie. Draw it and you can come out.”

Reaching out to steady myself on the window, I yanked myself back from the memory. I focused on Karen’s face. “I never went to The Foundation, not until…until I was fifteen. And…my experience was a little different from yours.”

Looking troubled, Karen nodded her head. “When we saw your mark, after the accident, we thought you were like us—that you’d lost your powers too.” She looked sad. “Jake suspected that you were one of us, but the mark confirmed it.”

Feeling weak, I turned to look at Jake. His eyes met mine and I wondered again if it was just The Foundation, or if it could be something more between us.

Reed stepped around the couches, coming toward me. His face was sober and he no longer seemed angry. “What happened to you?”

Rob caught up to Reed, stepping between us. “She’s not going to talk about that. I told you that.”

Reed and Rob started arguing, both starting to raise their voices. Karen stepped shoulder to shoulder with Rob, blocking Reed.

My gaze was still locked with Jake’s and I felt something inside of me jolt in some kind of recognition. “Why did you suspect me?”

Silence filled the room as the others looked between Jake and I.

Jake’s eyes narrowed and he moved across the room, parting the rest of them. Stepping right in front of me, his eyes looked vulnerable. “I wasn’t sure.”

What was he talking about? “What?”

“I thought it was a dream. Or I had imagined it…” He looked down and I saw the coin in his hand. “It happened before…when I still had my powers. But I saw you. One night, I couldn’t sleep and I went for a run around the grounds.” His breathing came faster. “I came in the south tunnel, not wanting to bother anyone. And I heard something.” He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, I could see moisture. “I followed the sound to a locked room.”

My chest constricted and I couldn’t breathe. Him. It was him.

“The window was small, but I could hear something so wonderful. So I looked in.” A tear came down his cheek. “I heard the most beautiful music, like an orchestra, and saw what seemed like hundreds of butterflies dancing. And then I saw this beautiful girl with long, curly, sun-touched hair. You looked so beautiful.” He stepped forward, touching the edge of my hair. “And so sad.”

Aching filled me. I remembered that night. Tears slid down my face. “I talked to you?” I’d forgotten that. Maybe it had seemed like a dream to me too.

Anger flashed through his eyes. “You told me you were locked away and needed help.” Wiping his face, he glanced toward the others, not seeming at all embarrassed by his tears. “I tried to get help, Lanie. I ran back to my room and woke Reed. We dragged Marsha and Karen with us to rescue you. But you weren’t there.” Jake raised his hands in frustration and lifted the coin in front of him. “But this was.”

My heart started to beat quickly.

Rob stepped up to us, taking the coin out of Jake’s hand. “Yeah. It’s one of
their
coins—that’s why we were trying to find out if you were after Lanie.”

Jake shook his head sadly. “You know that there were only seven of them?”

Frowning, Rob turned to me.
“
Yeah. The original seven. I know.
”

Reed stepped forward, holding out a matching coin, his eyes hard. “My mom’s dead. I have hers.”

Karen walked forward, holding another one out to us. “I…I have my dad’s.” She turned away from us quickly, wiping a tear from her cheek.

“Marsha!” Reed yelled. “Bring your coin out here.”

I looked at Jake. He reached into his pocket, pulling out another coin and holding it out. “My mom’s.”

The look in his eye told me that the story about his mom being killed was true.

Marsha padded toward us, having changed into sweats and thick socks with her hair back in a ponytail. She looked younger. Holding her coin out, she rolled her eyes at Jake. “It’s not like she doesn’t know.” Her eyes went to Rob’s face. “They know.”

I glared at Marsha. “What is she talking about?”

Jake huffed out a breath and put his hand up to Marsha. “Stop.” He turned back to us. “Obviously one of your parents was one of the seven.”

Rob cleared his throat, looking at me. We weren’t supposed to talk about it. We knew there were seven. We knew it was an experiment, but dad was so careful, he never told us names. They had all vowed to keep the secret between the original seven, and, if need be, their kids. But we didn’t know names.

Reed put his hand on Marsha’s shoulder, a loud laugh barking out of him. “They don’t think they can talk about it…with us.” He turned to Jake, his laugh getting even more hysterical. He grabbed his stomach and doubled over in laughter.

Rob’s jaw tensed and his eyes flitted to Karen. “What?”

Karen’s dark eyes were sad. “All we know is that there were seven. And…now we know that five of the seven are dead.” Looking at me, she asked, “Your dad is dead, right, Lanie?”

Taking the coin from Rob’s hand, I nodded, the shock of it all beginning to sink in. My dad’s coin?

Rob grabbed it back, gripping it in his fist. “No!” Turning in a circle of rage, he threw the coin across the room.

“Rob!”

Glaring at me, he looked possessed, his hair sticking up and his glasses crooked on his face. “He was there, Lanie. That proves he was there… He was
there
. He knew what Luth was doing to you.”

Swirling silver and black began to move around me, and loud white noise started to ring in my ears. No, no—it couldn’t be. Rob held my eyes, the heinous truth trickling down my neck and wrapping swirling red hands around my heart.

Rob nodded. “Dad. It was dad’s coin.”

Episode 7: The Foundation – Part II

“No…Dad always carried his coin with him.”

Rob dropped his head, redness instantly forming around the edges of his eyes. “Yes…he did.”

Shaking my head, I felt like I’d been sucker punched.

Rob clenched his jaw and stepped forward, pushing Jake in the chest, hard. “You’re a liar. I don’t believe you.”

Jake took the hit, moving back a few steps.

Reed stepped forward. “Dude!”

But Jake put his hand up. “It’s fine.” His voice was low.

Marsha shoved her way toward me, face suddenly before mine, but her voice was soft, accusing. “You’ve got your powers—we don’t.” She glanced at Jake. “Why do you think that is?”

I shook my head, feeling the energy come back into me. She thought
I
had something to do with this?

Jake stepped back toward us. “Come on, Marsha.”

I pushed forward, getting in Marsha’s face as she had done to me, tired of her accusations and anger. “You don’t know what happened to me in there, Marsha. Back off!”

She roared back at me. “Our powers disappeared the night we tried to help you. Poof—they were gone!” She pointed at me. “You were there, and then all that was left was that crummy coin. So you tell me. Where are our powers?”

I rocked back, suddenly dizzy.

“Go!” Jake roared back at Marsha, moving in closer to help me stand upright. “Give her some space.”

My throat felt like it was closing. “I don’t have your powers, Marsha.” I could hardly get the words out.  “I don’t.”

“We don’t know it was his…” Rob looked at me, defiant. Then he quickly walked to the front door, gruffly opening it and slamming it shut behind him.

I turned for the door to go after him.

Reed huffed and gave me a little push out of the way. “I’ll go. You stay here and talk to Jake.”

Marsha silently followed him.

Worried, Karen looked at me. “I better go with them.” She scampered after Reed and Marsha, shutting the door more softly.

Before I could even attempt to follow the others, Jake stepped in front of me, blocking my path. We were alone now. His eyes were sad, yet fierce. “They won’t let him leave, don’t worry.”

Frustrated, I turned away from him and sank down onto the couch.  “What, Jake? What do you want?” I couldn’t think. This didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense.

Jake sat down across from me in a red wicker rocking chair. “I’m sorry, Lanie.”

I looked across the room where Rob had thrown the other coin, thinking about my father. The only thing that had kept me going through those months with Dr. Luth was knowing that my father would kill him when I got out.

I shuddered, feeling hopeless and thinking of that night…the blood all over my hands.

I shook my head, looking into Jake’s eyes. “I don’t believe it. My dad wouldn’t have left me in there. He wouldn’t.” Anger poured through me and my stomach knotted. “I just don’t believe it.”

Physical pain swept across Jake’s face and he stood, moving to the couch and sitting next to me. “I wish I could have helped you that night.”

My thoughts garbled. I paused, thinking of his voice coming through the door that night. Looking at my fingers, I suddenly wanted to cry. “I waited. I waited for you until Dr. Luth took me.”

Jake pulled me out of my thoughts. “What happened?”

Heaving out a breath, I stood, feeling that dark, locked place inside of me wanting to open—afraid that if I let it, I wouldn’t be able to shut it again. “Um…”

Jake didn’t move.

I stepped to the pool table, picking up one of the balls that lay in the side pocket. “I don’t know how long I waited, but…Dr. Luth came. He told me it was time for me to have another round of training.” I turned the ball, the smoothness of it soothing. “This usually meant I would have to study weapons—all types, all sizes. He would make me draw very detailed images. Then bring them to life and use them.” Feeling self-conscious, I looked at Jake, then continued when I couldn’t read his face. “If I refused to, well…he had his ways of motivating me.” I put the ball back, turning for the large window. My mind floated back to Jake’s voice that night and I turned to look at him instead. “But that night he had me draw a portrait of a little girl, over and over.”

Pulling his eyebrows down in sadness, he stood and moved next to me, touching the hand at my side. “Why?”

I looked at his hand, wondering at the softness of his touch. “I don’t know. But, that night
did
save me, in a way.”

Squeezing my hand, Jake searched my face. “What do you mean?”

It made sense now, this immediate attraction I felt to Jake. He’d been the one from that night, and I must have known, somehow, all along. “That night, Dr. Luth shoved me into a box.” My voice faltered, but the deep blue in Jake’s eyes kept me talking. “He’d done that before, using it as a way to get me to comply…anyway, that night was the night I realized I could draw…without a pen or a pencil or anything.”

The side of Jake’s lips turned up in approval and I felt my heart start to flutter. “That’s cool.”

I shrugged nonchalantly, even though I was grateful he thought so. “But the best part was…I realized I could escape.”

Scrunching up his face, Jake cocked his head to the side. “How come you couldn’t escape before?”

I wiped a tear off of my face with my other hand. “He wouldn’t leave anything to draw with: pens, pencils, paints…a crayon. He wouldn’t leave anything with me. And then, when he would come making requests, he would bequeath them to me like they were fine jewels.”

Jake scrubbed his face with his hand and shook his head. “Why didn’t you take one of the weapons he made you sketch and use it on him?” His voice was soft.

I’d never talked to anyone about this. Not even Rob. After we got away, we just focused on the future. Closing my eyes, I shivered. “He…he would show me video feed…of Rob…locked in a room.”

Jake squeezed my hand and I felt his anger.

Cringing at the memory, I exhaled.

Jake’s eyes held storm-like clouds. “And your father didn’t know Rob was being held, either?”

I cleared my throat and unconsciously reached for the raised mark behind my ear. “Rob was supposed to go on a foreign exchange for a year. And we knew dad would be focused on my mom. She…” I dropped my eyes, staring at the floor. I couldn’t talk about my mom. “But maybe my father knew. Maybe he knew both of us were there.” Pain formed in the center of my stomach and I felt my head start to throb.

Jake nodded, but didn’t say anything.

I looked up, wanting to explain more to him—wanting to trust him. We stood facing each other. He was beautiful. That’s the only way I could describe him. I thought of his voice that night and felt goose bumps on my arms. Maybe there was more to this connection I felt toward him.

“What about your mom? Why didn’t she help you?” Jake squeezed my hand gently.

I felt my eyes start to flutter. “Um…my mom…well, she was having problems.” I could still see the vacant expression in her eyes before I kissed her head, and my dad patting her hand resolutely. “My dad said she needed to go to a treatment center here in Colorado, and I would go to The Foundation for just a year. He said Dr. Luth would help me develop my power. Before that, mom had always insisted I keep it hidden from everyone.”

His eyebrows scrunched. “Where is she now?”

I winced, thinking of my mom sitting in the treatment center all by herself, only lucid for short periods of time. I couldn’t tell Jake. I was telling him a lot, but I couldn’t risk her safety. “She’s dead. She…she died.”

Instantly, Jake pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly to him. “That’s terrible, Lanie.”

I inhaled deeply, smelling the fresh, earthy smell of him. I swallowed the lump in my throat and focused on him. His chest was solid. It felt good to be next to him. He gently propped his chin on my head, running his hand down my mass of hair. It felt like all of my emotions were swirling in a mixture of blue and green and yellow around us.