Displaced, p.20
Displaced, page 20
Eliza looked back at the guard. He had opened the curtains and was pushing tables and chairs aside aggressively. His flashlight swung from left to right, passing over Eliza’s face briefly before moving away.
A pause.
“Wait a second…”
The light jerked back to her face.
“Found you!”
She felt the adrenaline coursing through her and let that be her cue. She pushed off the ground and ran toward the door. She reached it before the guard could react and unlocked the door.
“Hey!” the soldier screamed, running toward her with astonishing speed.
Eliza’s numb fingers faltered a moment. She wondered what would happen if he caught her. What her friends would think. How the Guardians would kill her.
Finally, she managed to swing the door open. Her feet moved of their own accord and carried her through the door. The guard’s voice rose in volume, spurring her sprint through the night.
The moon gave off little light and did nothing to stop Eliza from tripping over her own feet.
Although she was terrified, Eliza felt a rush of exhilaration at getting away. She laughed. The sound was soft and barely audible, but it felt like a release. She’d done it.
Yet, a tiny voice spoke in her mind while she ran in the darkness.
You’ve got the wrong vial.
“No,” she said aloud, but doubt was already snaking through her.
And what of the Skeen girl? She won’t be there when you get back. They will find her. She will tell them all what you’ve done.
Eliza tried not to think about what would happen if the princess was missing. She focused of avoiding trees and rocks instead.
Eliza stepped onto the paved path leading to the garden house. She sped up.
When she finally opened the door she found Kira sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, amusing herself by flicking sparks at a spoon.
She was startled by Eliza’s entrance, and she dropped the spoon. Sparks continued to dance around the metal until they faded away seconds later.
The princess launched into what sounded like questions, but Eliza was too full of adrenaline to translate properly.
“What were you doing with my spoon?” She said instead.
The princess didn’t reply.
Eliza wondered if she girl even knew what the spoon was for. She decided it didn’t matter. What did matter was the vial. She glanced down at the vial in her hand and read the label.
Allcure.
She made to hurl the vial at the wall in her anger but stopped herself at the last moment. She stared at the golden liquid inside and sighed. She supposed it would have to be good for something. Maybe it could help the Skeen with their sickness.
She remembered Sam saying something about it being unable to help with radiation poisoning.
“Damnit.”
She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers to her temples. At least she still had the suit. She would go back tomorrow and try to find the radiation cure then.
Eliza walked to the cupboard and pulled out her second icebox. Opening it, she placed the Allcure inside and put the box back onto the shelf.
Turning back to Kira, Eliza bent to her backpack and took out the suit. She gave it to the princess, who took it with a confused expression.
“Put it on. Then I’ll take you to the wormhole back to Vakdon.”
Kira nodded and looked at Eliza. Her cheeks flushed a deep purple.
Eliza turned her back, giving the princess privacy to change.
Once Kira was ready, Eliza tapped on the suit’s sleeve and made it look as if the princess had human skin. There was no setting for it, but Eliza adjusted the purple pigment so that the suit looked almost drained of color.
The only thing that gave Kira away were her unusually bright green eyes and pointed ears.
The princess pulled on her undershirt, pants, and the jacket Tom had given her. Eliza was glad for the darkness outside that would make recognizing her difficult.
They left the garden and walked through the city’s narrow streets and decrepit buildings in the dark. Hearing the heavy footfalls of soldiers on patrol, they went the long way around the buildings and waited each time someone passed by too closely.
At last, they reached the HC building. The electric door scanner, usually rimmed green to show that it was open, was now red.
Eliza knew that using her tattoo to get in was like writing her name in bold on the side of the building. She found a rock and showed Kira, explaining that she’d try smashing a window above their heads, but the girl shook her head and took it from her.
“We need to smash it, or we can’t get in. There isn’t any other way,” Eliza explained.
Kira touched the scanner lightly with her fingertips. Tendrils of light flowed from her hand and disappeared into the scanner. The light flickered from red to green and it beeped, showing that it had registered someone’s tattoo. It opened.
“I… didn’t know you could do that,” Eliza exclaimed.
Kira smiled and gave the rock back to Eliza, who wedged it between the door, leaving a gap for when she made the trip back.
Kira formed a ball of swirling light floating in her hand and walked deeper into the building. Eliza peered closer and saw that the ball was made of strands of light, like ribbons spinning around each other.
“Wow,” Eliza whispered.
Kira beamed.
They reached the wormhole at last. Rays of sunlight filtering through the gap in the cave roof beyond, giving Eliza a little light to see the stairs at her feet.
“I’ve helped you get out, so I need you to do something for me. Tell the king not to send any more soldiers. The attack on my school was horrible. It injured and killed a lot of my classmates… so please, tell him to stop the invasions,” Eliza said, her heart hurting at the memory.
Kira spoke quickly, but Eliza couldn’t follow. Eliza gestured for her to slow down, and Kira looked pained at the task.
Our people have never known the location on the travel hole.
Eliza shook her head. There must’ve been some subtext or sarcasm in the translator that she didn’t understand. “You must have known.” She managed a searing look that she hoped made Kira feel guilty.
Kira’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion, and she continued, I am sorry, but it’s true. We did not know where it was, though I do now. I promise to keep it a secret. I will also tell my father that you have done me a great kindness. He will reward you, should you return.
Eliza’s head swirled with questions. If it wasn’t them, then…
If the princess was telling the truth, Eliza had just led a Skeen straight to it.
Maybe I should have blindfold her.
The princess plucked the translator from her temple, handing it to Eliza.
Eliza took it absentmindedly and watched the girl approach the wormhole.
Kira looked back and smiled and placed a hand to her chest in a Vakdon farewell. Then she was gone, disappeared into the bright wormhole.
Eliza stood with her hand still outstretched, the tiny translator pin rolling around in her palm. Eliza’s world had once again tilted. Was it possible that Kira was lying? Perhaps she didn’t know all the king’s secrets. Sure, she’s a princess, but that didn’t mean she was told everything of importance.
Eliza looked back at the exit door. She had to get out of there. If someone were to walk past and see the rock propping it open, they’d surely come to investigate.
Eliza hurried back and pushed the door open. She kicked the rock out of the way as she went, and the door closed behind her. The scanner clicked, changing back to a glowing red.
She rushed home through the darkness. Soldiers were doing the rounds near the HC, community center, and the Guardian’s building, so Eliza was careful to avoid them.
Ten minutes later, she’d slipped quietly inside her dorm and crept into bed. Eliza thought she saw Monica’s shining eyes in the darkness, illuminated by the moon’s light coming through the window. She did a double take, but her friend’s eyes were closed.
Eliza put the translator pin inside her drawer, right in the corner. She brought the blanket to her neck. Her mind repeated Kira’s words on a loop. The Guardians said that the Skeen had known about the wormhole for years, but Kira was sure that her people had never even seen it.
So, who was lying? If it was the Guardians, then why?
Unable to keep the information to herself, she typed an agonizingly slow message to Rita through her glasses.
Princess said Skeen never found wormhole. Then why did the training room burn?
She sent it off and put the glasses on the charger atop her bedside table. Before long, she succumbed to sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, Eliza read a message from behind her glasses. It wasn’t from Rita. The words blinked red and bright in her vision.
Eliza tried not to panic. She got dressed quickly and left, but quickly sensed that something was different outside. Every person she passed on the street was whispering to somebody else, and there was a feeling of excitement in the air.
“He’s back from the dead! Maybe his ghost came to haunt us,” said a young boy to his friends, his arms waving about and making the others laugh.
Eliza continued along the path until she reached the Guardian’s building. A woman walked past her, chatting with her friend.
“I don’t understand how it happened, but I guess the technology is so old and unreliable now. I honestly don’t know why they keep those things around if they barely function anymore.”
Eliza didn’t know what was happening, but she was sure it had something to do with her.
She walked into the Guardian’s building, and a tall woman with gray hair greeted her. “They’re expecting you. Through here, please.”
Eliza put her hands in her pockets to hide how much they were shaking. Her fingers grazed the fake permission note she’d created.
She walked through the door and found herself back in the Guardian’s presence. The room was brightly lit, unlike the day of her final exam.
Their eyes burned into her the moment she entered the room: accusatory, angry, and uncertain. One in particular stood and looked down at her, his face unremarkable apart from a small and pointed chin.
“Ah, girl. We have so many questions for you.”
“Two events occurred yesterday that have us concerned. First, the princess has gone missing. The guards said that you came by and said you had some sort of letter from us, which we never gave you.”
Murmurs of agreement echoed through the room, and all eyes glared at her.
The wiry Guardian continued. “Second, former Section Commander 2083’s keycard was used to access the lab last night. It appears whoever obtained it didn’t take any weapons or equipment, but the search continues for a perpetrator. He was your old commander, yes? Explain yourself.”
Despite his intense eyes and her weak legs, Eliza’s voice, much to her relief, didn’t waver. “Someone slipped a note underneath my door yesterday with instructions from you to bring the girl to your building.”
The room fell deathly silent.
“Did you see this person? The one that gave you the note? Or did you hear a noise, perhaps?”
“No, I didn’t see or hear anything. The note was just sitting there when I awoke. Maybe it was from a Skeen spy.”
“No, it couldn’t have been one of them,” one Guardian said. He looked as if he would continue, but the tall Guardian to his left gave him a warning look.
Eliza recalled the conversation with Kira about her people never finding the wormhole. Do the Guardians know? Her mind ticked over.
“Show me the note,” Bulbous-Nose demanded, rising from his chair.
She had desperately hoped they wouldn’t ask for it. She was sure they’d guess it was fake as soon as they laid eyes on her messy handwriting. But she nodded and took out the flimsy note from her pocket. She walked up the stairs to the platform and handed it to the tall Guardian through a small slot.
He read the note out loud and inspected it, flipping it over several times. “It’s not our paper. This is from Vakdon. How can this be?” he mumbled.
They all bombarded her with questions after that. She tried her best to make up answers and then remember them, so she didn’t contradict herself.
After much deliberation, the bony Guardian near the center finally sighed. “Well, your teachers and old classmates are of the opinion that you are not capable of such treachery. We… also find it hard to believe you are responsible for this.”
The group of them scrutinized her silently. Ordinarily, Eliza would have been offended by the Guardian’s remarks, but now she was only relieved to be so underestimated.
“Still, it is strange…” the tall Guardian at the end of the table said, leaning forward and stroking his short beard. “You should have known that a note like this is uncommon. We send messages electronically through the system. So why you didn’t question the note, or talk to anybody else about it? It just doesn’t make sense to me.” He looked into her eyes as if trying to peel her mind open and read her thoughts. She resisted the urge to look away.
Finally, he grunted and sat back, not finding what he was looking for. He waved his hand in dismissal. “No matter. We have another we believe to be responsible.”
“Who?” She dared to ask.
The tall Guardian gave her a sharp look. “That is none of your concern. Now, on to the second matter: what’s this about the keycard? What do you know?”
“Uh, I don’t know where Commander 2083’s card went, but maybe it is still on his belt, or in his backpack?”
He shook his head, the loose skin on his face wobbling from the motion. “We already checked. It’s not in there, so where else would it be? You were the one to give the alert about his whereabouts in Vakdon, correct?”
Eliza’s heart thundered. “Yes, I was with him when we fell. I climbed out of the chasm to tell Commander 2075 about it. But I didn’t take anything but his hooks.”
They scrutinized her, and Eliza’s cheeks burned from the attention. Finally, the tall Guardian sighed. “We will talk to the others to verify your story. You may leave us now.”
Eliza thought she handled herself well, but it had certainly been dicey. She was sure she was still a suspect but hoped that the Guardian’s underestimation of her was enough to keep her from the spotlight for now. Her hands still shook slightly from the encounter as she left the building and walked back to the dorm.
The sound of someone shouting her name jerked her out of deep thought. She turned towards it as someone crashed into her. Eliza nearly toppled to the ground before a steadying hand caught her arm.
“What were you doing in there for so long?” Monica asked.
Eliza searched her face for any traces of resentment. They’d had a fight the last time they spoke, after all, but Monica was acting as if it had never happened.
Eliza’s voice came out a little too forced as she said, “Geez, I’m starting to think you live here.”
Monica laughed, but it sounded unnatural. “Ah, well I’m just always in the right place at the right time.”
There was a long pause as both girls stood and stared at one another. Eliza blurted out, “The princess is missing.”
Monica narrowed her eyes. “I see. And where were you on the night she disappeared?”
The change in tone made Eliza pause in surprise.
So, she’s still mad at me.
“I was out. Why?”
“You returned late, is all.”
“I thought you were asleep.”
“Hard to sleep when I knew you weren’t in the dorm. Who knows where you could have been.”
Eliza thought best not to reply.
“Why were the Guardians asking you what happened?”
Getting the story straight in her mind, Eliza explained the letter and her suspicion of it being from a Skeen. Monica’s face remained perfectly still as she processed the information. Eliza was sure she could see through the lies and braced for another torrent of questioning, but Monica only scowled and shook her head.
“Filthy Skeen. If I were there, I would have heard him at the door and gutted him!” The hatred in her voice made Eliza step back.
She gave Eliza an accusatory look. “Why didn’t you ask more questions? A letter under the door isn’t how the Guardians send messages — you know that. What was all our training for if you just do whatever some note says? I bet the Skeen would have ambushed you the moment you were in a secluded area. They would have gutted you!” The anger in Monica’s voice came sharp and sudden, making Eliza react with frustration.
“Shut up, Monica! They tricked me! Okay?”
The outburst stunned her friend, but it lasted only a moment and her face twisted into anger. “Did you just tell me to shut up?”
Eliza didn’t want to have another fight with her friend, but all the emotions she’d tried to bury since Lock’s death rose to the surface and escaped before she could stop them.
“Yeah, I did. You know, sometimes you need to be told to shut up. You’re hanging out so much with your new best friends that you haven’t had time to ask me how I’m doing, or what I’ve been up to. Do you even care?”
Monica stepped forward with fury etched into her face. “You don’t understand anything! You think this is all about you, but you know I’m doing this for my mother, who gets fuck-all food in the workers’ building. I’m trying to get as high up that damn ladder as I can so I can secure our future.”
“Oh, don’t say you’re only doing this for your mother, because you’re not. I’ve seen how you act with the elite soldiers. You turn into a…” Eliza stopped herself.
Monica stepped close until her nose almost touched Eliza’s. She blinked rapidly and gestured for Eliza to continue. “Oh no, don’t stop there. You were on a roll, so please, tell me what I turn into.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
Eliza pressed her lips into a line. She was wounding her oldest friend, but the words would eat her from the inside if she didn’t say them.
