Broken - Afflictions of the Evolved (The Evolved Trilogy) Page 4

  “Everyone, meet Lacey, Lacey, meet everyone,” she lazily introduced. Taylor was no longer watching so her true persona finally shone through.

  The three girls said “hi” but quickly returned to their jobs. One girl peeled potatoes, another arranged pieces of chicken on a large tray and the other one cut up lettuce to make a salad.

  Everyone worked together to get the mess hall ready for supper. In between idle chit chat I learned the three girls were from the present time and their names were Jodie, Leslie and Patricia. I thought about Jade’s introduction and how she didn’t bother to take the five extra seconds to say their names. Was this a jab at me, to let me know that I wasn’t worthy of knowing them? That I wouldn’t be here long enough so don’t even bother learning anyone’s name? I wanted to confront her and ask what her problem was but I was a stranger here and didn’t want to make waves. Taylor respected Sherry and I didn’t want to be the one who caused a scene over something as petty as my jealousy.

  I tried my best to stay out of Jade’s way in the kitchen and even let her order me around a bit. I focused on my breathing to keep my anger at bay so I wouldn’t start a fire or break dishes with my mind. It was never a good thing when I couldn’t control my anger.

  As expected, the mess hall became quite loud with chatter but quieted once we started to eat. I sat at the end of the table across from Sherry who attempted to be discreet but I could feel her gaze lingering in my direction too often, too long. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was peering into my mind, invading my privacy for a reason unknown to me. I would give her the answers if she would ask me with her own words.

  I was disappointed that I wasn’t near Taylor and periodically glanced in his direction. He sat across from Jade whose laugh was starting to get on my nerves. I was beginning to resent Taylor for bringing me here.

  After supper was over and the clean up completed, we all made our way down the path towards the learning circle. I was happy to sit beside Taylor on one of the benches. I felt like it was my first day at a new school. In a way, it kind of was.

  Jade went on stage with four of the children. With the guide of her hand she raised each child one at a time from one side of the stage to the other in slow and controlled motion.

  “Impressive isn’t it?” asked Nitro who once again just showed up out of the blue. He weaseled his way beside me. If he didn’t stop doing that he would soon be on my list of people who annoyed me.

  I fake smiled and nodded in agreement as I wondered what her other abilities were but she didn’t use them. Instead I watched children practice their telekinesis and putting up force fields. Closing ceremonies consisted of the children gathering on stage and singing a verse I had never heard before. Maybe it was a song from the future.

  After the learning circle events were over, I walked with Taylor hand in hand to the cabins. The trail was illuminated with solar lights on each side. Once we arrived outside Jade’s cabin, Taylor kissed me on the cheek and said goodnight. I reluctantly went inside.

  “Don’t mind the mess,” Jade quipped changing into her pajamas. “I wasn’t expecting company.”

  Her tone was harsher than expected. I should be the one giving her attitude, not the other way around. She was the one enthralled with my boyfriend. But I wouldn’t push the issue. I was too tired to care about Jade or anything else for that matter. The only thing I wanted was a place to lay my head.

  “That’s your cot over there,” Jade pointed to the left and took her place on her bed. She felt in between the wall and mattress for a crinkled magazine.

  The small room was lit by battery powered lights. Clothes littered the floor and a few sketches were taped to the walls. As I stepped over the clothes towards an unmade cot, I quietly complimented Jade about her artwork. She glanced up from her magazine at the sketches and nodded slightly. I took this as a weak attempt at a thank you.

  After I placed a sheet over the mattress and unfolded the blanket, I grabbed my toothbrush, toothpaste and a bottle of water from my backpack. There was no running water here. Lake water was boiled and used to wash dishes in large plastic bins. Potable water was brought in by boats – though I hadn’t seen those yet – and stored in small sheds. I walked a couple of feet from the cabin to take my anger out on my teeth. Jade sure knew how to get under my skin. I scrubbed my teeth so hard I made my gums bleed.

  I was just about to go back inside the cabin when I heard two voices coming from the direction of Sherry’s cabin. Sherry and Taylor were having a heated discussion which ended abruptly when they realized I was staring at them.

  I raised my hand to wave. Taylor hesitantly waved back. I wanted so badly to communicate via ESP but I couldn’t chance anybody, including the children, from listening in. Besides, if Sherry was as talented as Taylor claimed she was, surely she would be the first one spying on our conversation, followed by Jade.

  When I walked back into the cabin, only one light was on. Jade was under her blanket probably pretending to be asleep. I was relieved not to be forced to make awkward conversation. After putting my things back into my bag I removed my pants and heard the small stone Sherry had given me earlier roll across the floor. I picked it up and held it tightly in my hand, turning off the remaining light with my other.

  I stayed awake in the dark playing the last few months over and over in my mind. I thought about the car accident that left my best friend Kate paralyzed, stabbing Marcus who tried to kill me, my time at Clear Waters where I first met Taylor and the rest of the crazy stuff. Finally, I thought about the dark spirits finding us so quickly in Las Vegas. Nobody else knew that’s where we were going. We had decided last minute in the car. How were we being tracked? I placed the stone under my pillow so I could rub my arms and legs, feeling for any suspicious raised bumps. I forced my paranoia to take a hike; I did not have a tracking device in my body. There was some other explanation.

  Knowing I had to get some sleep, I fluffed my pillow and closed my eyes. I had drifted asleep fairly quickly but it was short lived. Something woke me up. Not a noise, or a smell or anything like that; more of a feeling deep inside. I turned on the light only to see Jade still fast asleep. For a nanosecond I considered throwing my pillow over her face and suffocating her. I threw my morbid fantasy aside for now; I had to find the source of my arousal. I quietly put on my pants and went outside to investigate. The door squeaked behind me. Damn it, I should have brought a light source with me.

  Luckily there were larger solar lights in front of each cabin. It didn’t provide much light but enough for me to see a silhouette along the trees. I should have yelled to alert someone, anyone but I felt safe and at ease. My body felt lighter than usual, as if I was floating along the ground towards the trees. I wasn’t scared but more curious of this stranger. That is, until I got close enough to see a man with no face. His long arm reached out and grabbed me by my throat. I tried to scream but my vocal chords tightened. Everything went pitch black.

  BOOK TITLE

  4.

  SIGNS

  “Lacey, wake up,” called Sherry frantically.

  I opened my eyes to discover I was lying on the ground beside a tree. Sherry gently helped me to sit up. I tried to stand but she told me to rest a second.

  “I must have been sleepwalking,” I said rubbing the side of my head. My head hurt but it wasn’t like a normal headache. It was more of a pulsating pounding. “My head hurts.”

  “I’ll get you something for the pain,” said Sherry.

  With her help I stood up. It was morning and the children would be awake soon. Sherry guided me to her cabin where she gave me a small white pill and a glass of water. Reluctantly, I swallowed the pill wondering if it was some sort of trick. Maybe it was a pill that would never let me wake up again!

  “Sit down and tell me everything that you remember,” she urged. She tried her best to hide the concern on her face but I could tell she was disturbed at finding me unconscious next to a tree.

  I did as i
nstructed and told her about the feeling of floating and the man with no face. She explained that I had experienced a psychic lucidity dream combined with sleepwalking. A psychic lucidity dream occurred when two or more people shared the same psychic dream at the same time.

  “How is that even possible?” I asked bewildered. Now I was sharing dreams with random people across the globe at the same time. Was nothing sacred anymore?

  “That stone I gave you facilitates astral travel,” she explained. “I gave it to you to protect you and to draw out the energy of the person who has leeched on to you. I was hoping you would have an out of body experience to his location and see his face. Not the other way around. And I certainly wasn’t expecting you to sleepwalk.”

  “You did this to me on purpose?” I asked in an angry tone. People really needed to stop screwing with me.

  “I never imagined a psychic lucidity dream to occur. This is both good and bad news.” She rubbed my arm as an attempt to comfort me. I didn’t need her consolation, I needed answers. So far my trip to Serenity was turning into a nightmare. I was being stalked by an unknown force and intimidated by a girl with a crush on my boyfriend. I could have been killed. I dropped my face into my hands.

  Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Before Sherry could answer it, Taylor barged in.

  “Sherry, have you seen….” He stopped when he saw me sitting at the table. “Lacey, you’re okay!” His panic changed to relief.

  “I’m fine Taylor,” I said glancing over at Sherry with furrowed brows.

  “Jade was freaked out when you weren’t at the cabin or at the mess hall,” he said moving towards us.

  “I bet,” I mumbled. I was positive Jade wouldn’t lose any sleep if I just magically disappeared. Maybe it was Jade who set this whole thing in motion. I didn’t exactly have a long list of friends or people I could trust.

  Taylor sat down at the table and Sherry filled him in about the psychic lucidity dream and the man with no face. She explained the bad news was that someone had latched on to my frequency in order to track my whereabouts. The good news was the dome scrambled my frequency and that was why his face was blurred. Even though he breached the dome, he couldn’t lock onto my exact whereabouts but I also wouldn’t be able to lock onto him.

  Sherry gave me another stone called Jet, a black stone to protect me from my enemies. She insisted that I keep it with me at all times. Under normal circumstances I would have thought Sherry and her precious stones were right out to lunch. But after everything that had happened, I would do what she said and keep the small stone with me. A little luck couldn’t hurt either.

  I wanted to talk to Taylor alone but Sherry insisted he remain behind to speak with her. She told me to get myself sorted out and find Jade. I wasn’t too happy taking orders. It was as if I was in jail and being punished but I didn’t have much of a choice. This was my only source of protection at the moment.

  After having a cold shower in a portable shower stall, I brushed my teeth and changed into fresh clothes. I enjoyed camping but knew I would soon tire of not having any running water or electronic device. Prior to our arrival, Taylor tried to explain that Serenity wasn’t like a normal school. It definitely wasn’t. To me it seemed more like a cult. I’d have to force that thought deep in my mind so I didn’t offend anyone.

  I found Jade in the mess hall helping the other counselors putting up homemade decorations. “Where were you?” she asked accusingly. “I thought you ran away or something.”

  Jade couldn’t be so lucky. “I would never just run away,” I assured. “Especially without Taylor,” I added in a lower voice. Jade, Jade, Jade. You can not get rid of me so easily. I didn’t care if she was reading my thoughts. I hoped she was reading my thoughts. Then maybe she would stop playing her little game. I was on to her and I wanted her to know it.

  She turned her back to me but not before I caught her rolling her eyes. Although Nitro assured me Jade knew Taylor was off limits, I knew deep into the depths of my soul that she was up to something. She could even possibly be in cahoots with the person from my psychic lucidity dream. Yes, she could have infiltrated this place in order to take me down. Hello paranoia. I was wondering when you would come back.

  “The prodigal Lacey has been found,” said Nitro appearing out of thin air again. I was going to smack him if he didn’t stop doing that.

  I turned around to face my sneaky friend. Obviously word travelled quickly around here. I was no doubt the gossip of ESP this morning. “What’s with the decorations?” I asked changing the subject of my disappearance. The less people knew about me, the better.

  “It’s a delayed New Years’ celebration. We waited for Saturday night so it didn’t interfere with the children’s school routine.” Yep, this place was definitely a cult.

  Normally children were on holidays during Christmas break. But these children and this place were far from normal. The structure reminded me of Clear Waters minus the security guards. Who needed security guards anyway with a protective dome and a bunch of psychics running around unless of course you’re unlucky enough to have a psychic lucidity dream? At least Clear Waters had hot showers and electricity. And food that was delivered by trucks. I was waiting for everyone to hold hands and sing church hymns or something.

  “These kids know they’re safe here. They’re used to living off the grid,” said Nitro.

  I squinted at him. “Were you reading my mind?” I should hit him just for that alone.

  “No, of course not; it’s what everyone thinks when they come here,” assured Nitro and shaking off any implication.

  Although I wasn’t entirely sure I believed him about not peeking inside my mind, I apologized for the insinuation.

  “It’s cool,” said Nitro handing me some decorations. “Just remember, we all do our part around here.”

  I had no problem helping out while I was here. I just hoped my stay would be brief, that’s all. I desperately had to speak with Taylor so we could talk about our next move, whatever that may be. It was funny how the great outdoors made me feel so claustrophobic at times. There were so many places to go to be alone, yet no privacy at the same time.

  After all the decorations were hung up and lunch was served and the clean up completed, Sherry asked me to go to her cabin. I couldn’t refuse her. Maybe she would finally provide me with the answers I desperately needed. Hopefully she wasn’t up to more of her parlor tricks again. What kind of person intentionally tries to have someone astral travel without any sort of warning? And even worse, doesn’t inform them of possible side effects or anything else that could go wrong?

  I sat in the worn out chair in Sherry’s living room. She removed her flannel shirt and laid it on the back of the chair. Sporting only a tank top, I saw a tattoo on her upper back. It looked like four ovals spaced evenly apart but connected together with a centered overlaying circle.

  “You didn’t strike me as the kind of person to have a tattoo,” I stated. And I meant it. It appeared Sherry was deeper than I had given her credit for.

  “It’s a magical knot. The symbol represents protection,” she said handing me a book. “Take a read through this. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  The book was about symbols and their meanings. I did as she instructed and turned the pages. A zigzag represented energy, the Chokei Rei – a spiral with a line through it – represented healer, a Crows foot represented death. I memorized the alchemical symbols for the four basic elements: air, water, fire and earth, along with the four seasons. I didn’t know why I was so fascinated by these symbols. Great, I was turning into one of them. If I didn’t leave this place very soon, I would become a full fledged member of their organic tribe. What was better, loony bin or living off the land for the rest of my life? The door opened just as I closed the book.

  “What did you think, dear?” asked Sherry joining me in the cramped space. Her timing was impeccable.

  “It was interesting,” I said handing her the book.

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nbsp; “Symbols can be very enlightening, Lacey. It’s like reading a book written in short hand.” Why was she telling me this?

  Sherry put the book away on the shelf and grabbed another one. “Go to Jade’s cabin and read through this book. It has some very good techniques to teach you to free your mind in order to have visions in the awakened state.”

  She sounded just like Taylor when we first met. I wondered exactly how much influence Sherry had over him. I took the book back to Jade’s cabin as instructed. After practicing some of the techniques, I felt emotionally recharged. I read through the rest of the book. I had always been an avid reader and would get lost in books for hours on end. My body let me know a long time had passed when my stomach growled. Glancing at my watch, I realized it was supper time already.

  I was surprised that the mess hall was empty. I walked to the back into the kitchen area and made a sandwich. After cleaning up my mess I went outside in search of anyone. As I walked down the path I heard music. Once at the learning circle I saw children and counselors dancing. Sherry and Nitro were talking to one another by the stage. Nitro met my eyes and waved. He patted Sherry on the shoulder then walked over to greet me.

  “The children seem to be enjoying themselves,” I said making conversation.

  “It’s amazing the joy music can bring.” Hmm, he was positive like Taylor. I was once a positive person as well until ‘crazy science fiction now known as my life’ happened. I kept my frown hidden from him. There was no need to take him down to my miserable level.

  “Have you seen Taylor?” I asked searching the crowd. I desperately needed a dose of my boyfriend.