Drowning in secrets, p.7
Drowning In Secrets, page 7
“No, no. I am not going to The Facility. I am going somewhere else… somewhere good for me,” I explained, and the tension eased a bit from his body.
“Where are you going?” he asked, looking up at me with his blue eyes still full of tears from the scare.
“I am going somewhere to help with my anxiety. I can’t really tell you much, Bud. But I can tell you it is the coolest place I have ever seen. I am going to stay there for a little while, and then I will come back for you. I will bring you with me, and things will get better for us. I promise.”
“When are you going to come get me? I want to go with you now!”
I shook my head. “I will come get you after you grow up a bit, Dew.” The tears started rolling down my face. “I want you to promise me you won’t tell anyone you know that I left. I want you to promise that no one will find out that I am going to come back and get you. For now, I just want you to keep doing good in school, hang out with your friends, and enjoy being a kid. I love you so much,” I said, bringing him in for a hug.
“Ok.” He sniffled against my shoulder. “I love you too, Rainy.”
I closed my eyes and tried to commit this moment to memory. Holding Dewy was the closest I came to experiencing peace. He meant the world to me, and I didn’t know how I was going to go so long without seeing him. I couldn’t stay here, though. I just couldn’t.
Reluctantly, I pulled away, and started walking to turn all the tablets and monitors back on. I had to get going.
“I will see you soon, Dewy. I promise,” I said as I gently shut the door.
The tears poured as I ran down the stairs, and out of the house, straight to the pier.
Chapter 10
I was out of breath and looking a mess when I met Ian, but he didn’t comment on it.
“I had to say bye to my brother,” I choked out in between sobs. “I will see him again, though. I will come back for him.” I sniffled and started wiping my face as we headed down the stairs to where the sand met the water.
“What’s his name?” Ian asked.
“Dewy. He is only nine.” I sniffled, “Do you have any siblings?”
“One.” He paused for a moment. “A sister, Charlotte. About a year ago she was sent to The Facility. I still remember the feeling of me coming home from school that day and she was just gone,” he said with a pained look in his eye. “I loved her more than anyone. She was the only one who understood me and what I was going through. My mom had been taken away to The Facility two years before. My house has felt strange ever since. I guess they didn’t feel it was enough to take my mom from me, and they took my sister too. I never really had anxiety before that. Funny, huh? The government tried to get rid of anxiety, but by doing so, created anxiety within someone else.
“My sister and mom didn’t deserve to be taken. It wasn’t their fault! My sister feared small spaces, and one time she had a big freak-out when she got trapped alone in a room. They didn’t even give her a chance. They just sent her away. And now they probably have her locked up somewhere in a cell, enduring biggest fear.”
He took a big breath and looked up to the cloudless sky. Birds flew overhead, and I realized just how peaceful life could be. My world was crumbling
by Ian’s reveal. How could they be willing to tear up families so easily?
“We will get your sister back,” I said, and he looked at me with red eyes but didn’t respond.
“Come on,” I said, my voice still shaky. “We have to go before anyone sees us.”
Ian nodded, and we walked deeper and deeper into the water until my feet could no longer touch the ground. The cold water shocked my system and made my teeth chatter. We swam toward the barrier. I was not sure which buoy held the button, so we were going to have to search. Out of breath from the swim, we reached the first buoy, searched all over it, but couldn't find the button.
“Let's try that one,” Ian told me.
As I looked at him with water dripping from his hair and eyelashes down to his cheeks and lips, I gasped for air. The feeling of wanting to kiss him was even stronger than before. He was so brave for going through all that he did. He never let his pain show. If he had never told me what had happened, I never would have guessed he was suffering.
How can someone so broken be so beautiful?
He began swimming away, and the movement startled me out of my trance. I followed him. The next buoy was also a bust, but the third one had a small red button that was barely noticeable. It also had a small indentation of the letters U.P. on it. So, I knew it must be the one. I pressed the button, and for a few minutes nothing happened. Ian and I just stared at each other while treading water.
Suddenly, a submarine broke the surface, startling both of us. Freddee’s friendly face smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but grin back. This submarine was bigger, almost as if they knew I was bringing someone with me. A door on the side of the submarine opened. I started to struggle to pull myself up and then Ian placed his hands on my waist to help lift me inside. He then pulled himself up and inside. He had a look of astonishment as he looked around the submarine.
“Ian, this is Freddee. Freddee, this is Ian,” I introduced them.
He reached over and gave her a handshake followed by one of his heart-melting smiles. She smiled back at him.
Of course, he would think she was pretty; she was freaking gorgeous. I swallowed down the foreign feeling taking root inside of me and turned my attention back to Freddee.
“Thanks for getting us, Freddee. How did you know I was bringing someone with me?” I asked.
“We have heat sensors,” she said as she passed us each a towel and some dry clothes. “We are able to track how many people are up here waiting, or if anyone swims by the buoys.”
Freddee shut the door behind us and showed us the single bathroom on the ship. One at a time Ian and I changed into new clothing. I sighed as the dry material slid over my body and helped to stop my shivering.
We then buckled in the seats behind her as she sank us deeper into the ocean. I looked around again at the beautiful scenery. I fought the fear that always rose when I was scared. I won’t be able to breathe. I didn’t know how long it was going to take me to get used to living underwater, but it sure wasn’t going to be an instantaneous assimilation. The trip down was only a few minutes because we were moving at a high speed. Ian looked out observing the base as we got closer, and I peeked out right along with him.
The glass structure was truly a sight. It was remarkable how they were able to operate all the way down here. My mind was spinning with questions that I was too scared to have thought about last time. How did they get necessary resources? How did they have electricity or air conditioning? I needed to make sure I asked.
When we entered the first doors, they closed behind us. Instantly, all the water was drained from the room. The submarine unlocked its wheels, and we began rolling forward through the next set of doors. Frank was there waiting to meet us as we got out.
“Rainy! Great to see you again! I am really glad you decided to come back. And this must be Ian,” he said, reaching out to shake his hand.
I was a little taken aback at how he already knew Ian’s name, but then I remembered he could see into the future. He probably saw me coming back with Ian. Ian didn’t question it and probably thought I told him the last time I was here.
“It is good to see you, too,” I told him.
He led us back inside the main base, and Ian took in everything around us silently. I wished I could read his mind to find out what he thought about this place. Frank walked me to the room he claimed would be mine and paused in front of it.
“As I said yesterday, this is going to be your room. You will share it with Lesslee, Graci, and Freddee. Ian, your room will be just around the corner, and you will be rooming with Mak and Trip. In about ten minutes you will be able to go down to our wardrobe room and pick out additional outfits to wear for your stay.
“Afterwards, you can go get some dinner in the cafeteria. Tomorrow we will begin the process of anxiety analysis and learn more about the both of you. Ian, right this way,” Frank said, leading Ian further down the hallway.
Ian looked at me and asked with his eyes if I would be alright. I answered with a short nod. I turned around and placed my hand against the glass, which I currently couldn’t see through. The door opened with a whoosh, and two girls were in the room already.
“Hi,” I said shyly.
“Hi!” both girls beamed back at me.
One of them hung upside down from a top bunk, her reddish-brown hair flowing down. The other was sitting on her bed and looked up from a tablet propped on her knees. The two girls looked a bit younger than me and were wearing vibrant colors on their clothing. The one on the top bunk was wearing knee-high socks; her clothes were dark purple and blue. The other girl wore light purple and had on a pink headband.
The girl on the top bunk flipped around and kicked her legs back and forth behind her while laying on her stomach. “I’m Lesslee! And that is Graci,” she said, indicating the girl with the headband.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Rainy,” I started, but she interrupted.
“Oh, we know. The bunk below me is yours. Hopefully you can decorate it a little bit, so it doesn’t stand out so much being plain. We take the decorating process seriously and would be more than willing to help you out.”
I laughed. “Thank you. So…” I said, not knowing how to approach it. “Do you guys have powers?”
The question made them both light up more if that was even possible.
“Yes!” Graci said. “Want me to show you?”
Before I could answer, she was gone; she completely disappeared. I couldn’t hold back my gasp. A moment later, she reappeared smiling up at me. “Invisibility,” she said.
“That is amazing!” I couldn’t hold back my excitement. “What about you?” I asked Lesslee.
She sat up and let her legs hang off the bed. She raised both her hands in the air, palms up, and fire appeared in each hand. I could feel the heat from where I was standing, so hot it made my brow start to sweat.
“Fire! How is that even possible?” I asked her.
“Hell if I know,” Lesslee laughed. “Frank has this whole team of scientists, who have read book after book on psychology and anxiety. I think they know the basic process of how we get powers, but I am not sure if they know what makes us experience certain powers, or why we don’t all have the same one.”
“Interesting,” I replied.
“It is,” Graci agreed. “Are you going to unlock your powers?”
“I’m not sure what I am going to do yet. All I know is that I couldn’t stay where I was.”
“That’s understandable. Everyone who has powers has been through hell and back to get them. It is not an easy decision to make,” Graci said.
Graci went back to working on her tablet and then Lesslee hopped down next to me. I could see her striking green eyes and beautiful features. Was everyone at U.P. ridiculously good-looking?
“Did Frank give you directions on where you need to be?” Lesslee asked.
“Yes. He said I am supposed to go to the wardrobe room.”
“Oh,” she said, her face lighting up. “New clothes! That’s fun.”
She opened the door and pointed down the hallway. “Keep walking straight until you pass all the sleeping quarters, and then turn right.”
“Thank you,” I told her, and then followed down the path she pointed.
It took me a few tries to find the right room, but once I did, I knew I was in the right place. From floor to ceiling there were clothes galore. A girl was working in the room, putting different shirts on hangers.
“Hi,” I said, and she turned around to look at me. She was a petite girl, with wavy blonde hair. She looked young, really young.
“Hey!” she said brightly. “Rainy, right?”
I nodded.
“I’m Logan! It is so nice to meet you. Let’s get some outfits picked out for you.”
After what felt like a while, we ended up going through almost the entire room. I tried on more items of clothing than I could count. By the time we were done, I had so many shirts, shorts, skirts, and shoes that I couldn’t carry it all.
When I complained that a shirt might not have fit me the best, Logan simply snapped her fingers to give the shirt a perfect fit. Apparently, Logan had the ability to warp and change fabric at will. It was such a strange power, and I wondered how the brain could access such a thing. Just from talking with her for a little while, I could tell that although she was young, she was well beyond her years.
“I will get these things sent to your room, so you can head down and get some food,” Logan said.
We started packing the clothes into bags when the doors burst open, “Logan! Hurry up, they have ice cream for dessert! You know how rarely we get that!”
The girl’s eyes widened when she saw me, and she quickly shrunk down and shifted into a cat. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had never seen a real cat before, only in pictures at school. As quickly as she changed into a cat, she turned back. She looked similar to Logan, but instead of wavy hair, had straight hair. She seemed to be a little younger than Logan.
“Sorry. You scared me! I didn’t think anyone else would be in here with Logan.”
Logan rolled her eyes. “Rainy, meet my sister Ryleigh. Ryleigh is a shapeshifter.”
“That’s absolutely amazing!” I said, shocked.
Two sisters with powers! They both could change their appearance at will. I didn’t know if I would ever stop being shocked that some people are able to do things that others can only dream about.
“Hi!” Ryleigh smiled at me. “Why don’t you come on down with us to the cafeteria?”
“Sure,” I replied.
Logan grabbed the bags of clothing and left them right outside the door. I assumed someone would stop by to grab them.
“How will they know where the clothes are supposed to go?” I asked.
“Well, it isn’t exactly like we get new people here every day,” Logan responded.
We walked together into the cafeteria. The room was filled with people of different races, ethnicities, and cultures. You could practically feel the life coming off of these people. They had life. They had purpose. They had meaning.
Walking to the food counter, I was greeted with many smiles. Looking at the options, I realized that the food wasn’t pre-portioned and assigned to each of us. I almost asked where a tablet was, so I could input my information to get my food, but then I realized that we were underwater, separate from Euphoria. Food monitoring wasn’t a constant practice here. The table was lined with trays of different foods. I followed Logan and Ryleigh’s lead by grabbing a plate off the pile and filling my tray. I also got to choose my drink; I chose a fruity punch.
They started walking toward a table and I followed until I spotted Ian sitting and chatting with a few other guys. I immediately went his way and took a seat by him.
“Misty,” he greeted me. “Glad you could make it,” he said in between mouthfuls of food.
I didn’t blame him. When I got a taste of the food I didn’t want to stop eating even to breathe. It tasted delicious. I am not sure how they could have food this good while being so secluded.
“This is Mak and Trip,” Ian introduced me to his roommates.
“Hi, I’m Rainy.” I smiled at them, and they both smiled back.
“How are you liking the U.P.?” Mak asked me.
“So far, so good,” I said. “I am not exactly sure what goes on down here, though. I mean, I understand that people try to unlock their powers, but I see so many computer screens, fitness equipment, and machines. You all are obviously training for something.”
“We plan to overthrow Thorne and all the nastiness he brings,” Trip said, and I almost choked on my food.
“Overthrow Thorne,” I repeated.
The idea seemed almost impossible. Thorne had so much protection and power it was unheard of. There was no way someone could even get close to him unless it was by accident.
“Yeah. We are biding our time though. Building our arsenal. Frank has a master plan, but he only fills us in on bits and pieces. The one thing I know is that he wants us to get our hands on a book,” Trip informed us.
“A book? What is so special about it?” Ian questioned, while raising an eyebrow.
“It is not an ordinary book,” Mak said. “Not at all like the ones in our library. It is the key to understanding the maximum potential of our powers. Why we have them in the first place, and so many more questions that need to be answered. I am one of the psychologists down here. That means that my anxiety is not bad enough to actually obtain powers. To be honest, I barely feel any anxiety at all, but I spend my time researching and learning all I can about our minds. I also help out with the unlocking process, by conducting interviews, gathering data, and such.”
“Wow,” I responded. “Seems like a pretty important book then. Where is it?”
“In the hands of Mr. Evil, himself,” Trip said. “Thorne has had the book locked up for ages.”
I gasped. “So, then he definitely knows about the powers you all have?”
“Oh yes. He is well aware. I would bet on him having a power of his own. There is no way a regular human can wield as much power as he does without a little bit of help.”
Ian nodded. “So, it is in the capital then? How in the hell are we going to get our hands on it?”
Trip shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I just know that we are trying to find it.”
“Even if we do find the book,” Mak said, “we won’t be able to read it. There are three different stones we need to gather, and light has to shine through them onto the page to be able to read the words.”
Magic stones? This all sounded insane. How the heck did I get myself involved in this crazy world? Before, I was just trying to make it through the school day, and now I was part of a hunt for old books and magic rocks. Well, considering I was in an underwater training facility for people with special powers, I guess anything is possible.
