Unfaded (28 page)

             
I pushed my way through the people, apologising every time I had to squeeze my body through tightly packed groups. Someone shoved me and I tripped over a pair of shoes. My knees cracked on the floor but I didn’t stop. I crawled, scrambling back onto my feet as quickly as I could. I didn’t look back.

             
Finally I pushed my way to freedom and the doors were there. I raced through them, passing Ms. Gray who called out my name but I didn’t answer back.

             
The halls were empty but I couldn’t worry about that. I wasn’t any safer in the gym with all those people. Anique had all ready proven that. She’d just grab me again and force me out. No one would notice. They were all too occupied with the Pep Rally. Even if I screamed they’d just mistake it for team spirit.

             
In the hallways I stood a decent chance. I knew the school inside and out. I knew the best places to hide. If I could run fast enough I might be able to gain sufficient distance to lose Anique. I didn’t know how far behind she was and I wasn’t going to waste time by looking.

             
I ran in the direction of the library. There were two bonuses for going there. One was that the library had three exits, one which led into the basement. The second was that the library led to the small theatre and there were lots of places behind the stage where a girl could find a good place to hide. If I could keep the energy in my body from going all wonky, I might be able to find a decent hiding spot until Kian managed to come find me.

             
Once inside the library I positioned myself in a place where I had a good view of the door. I was close enough to the doors that if Anique came, I could slip into the theatre without her noticing. It was a good place to wait.

             
Hopefully she wouldn’t bother coming this way. What I needed was for her to think I left the school. If I was lucky she’d go looking elsewhere.

A few minutes later she sauntered into the library. I held my breath and waited to see what she’d do.

“Come here, little kitty,” she called out. When she got no answer, she slammed her fist down on a table, splintering the wood.

She didn’t go away. Instead she began moving towards me
, singing softly to herself. My hiding spot was good, I hadn’t been spotted. Instead, she was looking around, checking the rows, and taking her time. I turned to head to the theatre but the door was blocked.

Standing before me was
an extraordinarily unique woman. She was dark skinned and big boned with long, thickly braided hair.

“Follow me,” she said.

I didn’t move. I couldn’t. Kian was going to come looking for me and he’d find my lifeless body. Only I’d failed him this time. I hadn’t been able to keep myself alive long enough for him to save me.

“Come on,” the lady repeated. “I’m on your side.
"

The words broke my paralysis.

I allowed her to lead me into the theatre where a Japanese teenager knelt in the middle of the stage. The first thing I noticed about him was his jet black hair. It was longish and going in all different directions. His bangs were bright white and extended. He probably used more hair products than Breanna. The second thing I noticed was that his eyes were closed and he appeared to be meditating.

“Sei
to!” the woman said. “Anique’s behind us. Slow her down.”

The boy’s eye
s flew open. They gazed over me slowly and winked approvingly. Still in a kneeling position, he pushed his body upwards and jumped off the stage in a graceful leap. I’d never seen anyone move like that before. He’d cleared ten feet of space in a single step. As he passed us, he gave me a little bow. My eyes tried to follow him but he was too fast. He’d disappeared into the library before I was even aware he was gone.

“Come on,” the woman said to me. “We’ve got to hurry. We’ll get you outside and somewhere safe.” She climbed up the stairs to the stage and towards the back where I knew there was an exit door that led to the parking lot.

“What about Kian?” I said. “He’s still at the gym with Sobek. Shouldn’t we go back for him?”

“No need to worry about him,” she said. “He’s tough as nails, that boy
."

Once we were in the wings, she opened the exit door and bright light filled my eyes. I had to blink several times to get used to the adjustment. The parking lot was empty, not surprising since everyone was still back in the gym. How much longer till the Pep Rally was over? I glanced at my watch, surprised to see that only about fifteen minutes had passed.
They’d be in the gym for a while yet.

The woman closed the door behind me and continued walking. I had no choice but to try and keep up. She was much taller than me and her legs moved so fast, I had to work
hard to stay beside her. She may have been a larger lady but she was in fantastic shape.

“Who are you?” I panted. It was embarrassing that I was practically jogging beside her and
breathing heavily like I’d just run a ten mile marathon. I’d never been much of an athlete but if I was going to hang with Unfaded, I’d better start working out to keep in shape. Running for my life was exhausting.

“My name’s
Lina,” she said.

“Ok,
Lina, where are we going?”

“Back to the motel for now. We’ll talk with Micah and Kian before we decide where to take you next.”

              “What do you mean?”

             
“Well, princess, you can’t very well stay here. We need to put you someplace safe.”

             
“I told Kian I’m not leaving,” I snapped. “I’ve got school and family. I can’t just pick up and leave.”

             
“This isn’t an option,” she said. “If we decide to take you out of here, you’re not going to be able to stop us.”

             
Great. I’d only been an Unfaded for less than a week and all ready they were planning my entire future. It didn’t sound like a very thrilling existence. Basketball games, study nights at Beans: not too long ago I’d hoped for more excitement in my life. Now all I wanted was for everything to go back to the way it once was. I wanted to be normal again.

             
Micah was waiting at the motel. Opening the door, he let both Lina and I inside. There was something awkward about the way he moved. He was stilted and his face expressionless. Sitting down at the chair furthest away from us, he picked up a book and thumbed through it without saying a word to either of us.

             
We waited in silence with the television blasting away. Lina quickly took control of the remote and constantly changed the channels, too fast to even register what was on. I grew tiring watching the commercials blur together, so eventually I gave up and watched out the window instead.

             
Shortly before noon, Kian’s car pulled up. Kian was in the passenger side and had to wait until Seito went around to help. He couldn’t walk by himself. My heart nearly burst when I saw he was limping. Sobek must have done something. Raw hatred coursed through my soul, followed by guilt more intense than anything I’d ever experienced before. It was my fault.

             
I opened the door for them. Seito had his arm around him, helping him stay up.

             
“You’re hurt,” I said.

             
“It’s nothing.”

             
His eyes said he was lying. Reaching out, I slipped underneath his free arm so he could put his weight on me. He tried to pull back but I held on tight. I would do whatever it took to help. He’d have done the same for me.

             
“Let’s get you on the bed.”

             
Seito and I half carried, half dragged him over and helped him sit. Wincing, he sunk into the mattress. It was his ankle, somehow I knew, so I reached down and carefully untied his shoe and slipped it off. He didn’t say anything but watched me as I worked. When I raised his pants leg, he inhaled quickly. His ankle was swollen and bruised. A piece of bone stuck out from beneath the skin.

             
“You’ll need some ice,” I said. “There’s a machine at the end of the hall.”

             
“No, don’t bother. I’ll heal quickly. Unfaded, remember?”

             
“But you’re still hurt.”

             
Lina laughed softly. I jumped to my feet, my cheeks burning, as they watched me as if I were the most amusing thing in the world. After all, I was acting human.

             
“Sweet love,” Lina said. “How cute.”

             
Kian stretched his leg out, gently touching his ankle and trying to act a lot tougher than he was feeling. He might have fooled the others but I could see the way his forehead wrinkled and eyes cringed slightly. I sat down beside him, ignoring the desire to reach out and take his hand.

“It’s been too long. You haven’t changed a bit,
Lina,” he said as he placed his foot on the ground and carefully applied some weight. I heard him inhale quickly. “Still quite the charmer.”

             
“You know it.”

             
Something wasn’t right. If they were all meeting up after a long time, then why was everyone so guarded? This should have been a reunion but instead of happy embraces, they watched each other like the way a cat might watch its tail around a rocking chair. I breathed in and the air was heavy with tension. Kian’s face only registered pain so I studied Micah. He was tapping his fingers on the table and frowning, his lips tightly pressed together. But it wasn’t Lina or Seito that was upsetting him. Kian was the one he was glaring at.

             
“What’s going on here?” I asked. “Why are you all so angry?”

Seit
o smiled at me as if I were the most amusing thing on the planet. Flipping his hair off his face, he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall as if he couldn’t be bothered by all the negative energy.

“No one’s angry,” Kian said.

              “I am,” Micah said. Standing, he walked across the room until he was in front of Kian and me. “What were you thinking? Calling on them? You’re only asking for trouble.”

             
“I had no choice,” Kian said. “You wouldn’t listen to me.”

             
“Because you’re not thinking clearly,” Micah said. “Alone, we had a chance of keeping this quiet. But now you’ve gone and woken the giant. How long before the rest show? The town will be crawling with them. How are you going to keep her safe then?”

             
“Now wait a second,” Lina said. “Who said anything about others coming? Give me some credit. I’m not stupid. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, now would you? That girl would have been dead if we hadn’t been there today. You’d all be on your knees praying to the heavens for her rebirth.”

             
“You know what happens if our numbers grow too large,” Micah said, ignoring Lina completely and still focusing on Kian. “The power gets too big. You’ll be able to see us from space.”

             
“No one else is coming,” Kian said. “Lina gave me her word.”

             
“That means nothing,” Micah said. “You are too daft, boy. She’ll have Rafferty here by morning, mark my words.”

             
“Isn't he my supposed father?” I asked. The room grew quiet.

             
“Let me guess,” Lina said. “They haven’t bothered to tell you and your memories haven’t shown you yet?”

             
I shook my head. "I know a bit."

             
“He’s someone who needs to be put down,” Micah snapped.

             
“Blasphemy!”

             
Kian reached over and touched my hand. A jolt of electricity jerked through my body. Carefully, he pushed his fingers through mine, squeezing gently. His hand was warm and I could feel energy pulsing through his skin. My fingers absorbed it. My ankle twitched in pain and I almost gasped in surprise. I could feel him. Everything. His emotions, his injuries. I saw his eyes register what he was doing to me and he tried to pull away but I closed my hand tightly over his.

             
No one noticed us. They were too busy screaming at each other.

             
“Who’s Rafferty,” I whispered at Kian. "Aside from being my father. Why is he so important?"

             
“He's very ancient. And dangerous."

             
It was weird to think that there was someone other than my Dad who was able to claim me as a daughter. “What’s he like? Is he coming here?”

             
“If we’re lucky, he won’t.”

             
“Why?”