Awoken (The Lucidites Book 1) Page 8

  “You definitely didn’t get that one right.” Samara laughs. “That’s a line from a Queen song. Close enough though.”

  “Yeah,” Joseph says honestly. “I passed, but with only a seventy-six percent.”

  “How’d you know that?” Trent turns to Samara accusingly.

  She shrugs. “My mom. She’s a music fanatic. She says it’s the only thing that transports her.” The girl trails off on her last word, looking far away, like trying to remember something long forgotten.

  “I wonder who those two were who got a hundred percent,” someone says to no one in particular.

  I take a couple of bites of my toast and pretend to be engrossed in my fruit.

  “It wasn’t me,” Samara admits. “My message was about how lies travel around the world before the truth can get dressed. I only squeaked by with sixty-five percent.”

  “How about you, Roya?” Trent asks me.

  I spit a piece of my pineapple out with a small cough. “Oh, I didn’t do so well.”

  “Well, did you get a message? What was it?” Trent asks.

  I stare at the middle of the table for a second trying to come up with a lie. When nothing comes to mind I say, “I heard something about hope being deferred will make you sick, but when dreams come true, there is happiness.” I hope I’ve screwed up the quote enough to sound believable.

  “Yeah, I think that one’s from the Bible too,” Joseph says.

  “What’s with you and the Bible, man?” Trent teases.

  “Aw, man, I’m sorry. It’s just that’s how I was raised. I can’t help it. I understand it can become kinda annoying though.” He smiles and winks in my direction. “I apologize.”

  Trent throws his napkin at Joseph. “I was raised on rap and Rasta music, but you don’t hear me apologizing for it.”

  Joseph pretends to look offended and then breaks into a sideways smile. “Yeah, well, there’s time for that.”

  We’re all laughing when Trey taps the microphone to get our attention.

  “I hope I’ve given everyone the opportunity to eat. I’m about to announce the results.” There’s a look in Trey’s eyes I’ve never seen there before. He looks worried. “I know you’ve all come here willingly and offered your time and efforts to determine the right person to face Zhuang. I can’t begin to express the pride it gives me to be a part of a society like this. If we didn’t, if you weren’t here, then I’m afraid of where we’d be headed. Inside the walls of this Institute it’s easy to forget what Zhuang is doing to people. It’s easy for us to forget why we’re here.”

  He looks across the room, making eye contact with several people before continuing. “I know this feels like a competition, but it isn’t a game. These tasks were designed to choose the best person to challenge Zhuang. The forecast states one person in this room, and only one, will be able to defeat this man.” He coughs. “He’s hardly a man, but that’s what I’ll call him, although parasite would be a better term.”

  He pauses, staring into the crowd, lost. “I’m excited and nervous for us to progress to the next stage. The Day of the Duel is almost upon us and now that a challenger has been chosen this all feels surreal.”

  Trey clears his throat. “Before I announce the results, I’d like to thank everyone. The Institute is forever in your debt. You’re welcome here any time, but as a Lucidite you already knew that, or at least you do now.”

  Trey rubs his hands together and looks out past the crowd. “Now let’s get on with this. The person we’ve chosen to challenge Zhuang on the Day of the Duel is…” Trey takes a long inhale and says, “Misty Templeton.”

  There’s a scream from two tables over. Then an eruption of clapping. The room is torn between talking and applauding as more stirring and movement occurs two tables over. My own table is ambivalent. We clap, but many of the people exchange worried looks. I pretend to smile. I don’t know who Misty Templeton is. I don’t really care. I want to be done with this whole thing and back in the cozy library at Bob and Steve’s. I promised myself that when I got back there I’d wake up early a few times a week and watch the sun rise over the lake. Also, I’d track down that cat and give him some proper attention. They’ll take me in, just the way I’d take in that cat. They have to.

  I’m off in my sunrise and cat fantasies and therefore really confused when Goat Girl jumps on stage shrieking like a hyena going into heat. What’s she doing standing up there? Why is she hugging Trey? What have I missed? Trey holds up her hand and says, “May I introduce you all to our challenger, Misty Templeton.” The girl with the sheet of thin brown hair smiles between fits of tears. She waves to her table as she jumps up and down hysterically. All I think about is the annoying comments I heard her make, the ones that made me want to barf. On the plus side, maybe she’ll make Zhuang barf too.

  “As you all know,” Trey continues when the crowd has regained composure, “we have also chosen six alternates. These people will step in as challenger in case something happens to Misty.”

  Goat Girl shakes her head in a deliberate manner.

  “This group will also assist Misty and the Head Officials as we prepare to take Zhuang down,” Trey yells above the crowd’s hollers.

  At this Misty pumps her fist in the air. I push my plate away instantly queasy. Just a few more minutes of this and it will all be over, I console myself.

  “I’m about to read the names of the alternates. I’d like them to join Misty here on stage.”

  Silence falls over the crowd.

  “The very first alternate is…” Trey pauses, causing the entire room to go even more still. Then he shoots his turquoise eyes at me and says, “Roya Stark!”

  “No!” I hear myself scream hoarsely. My reaction is immediate. I’m in shock and appalled and completely depressed all at once. My table of peers gawk at me, astonished. Their faces are ones of disbelief too. I manage a pained smile.

  “I know, Roya,” Trey says with a smile. “It’s hard to believe, but you’re the first alternate. Please come up here when you’re ready.”

  How about never?

  I stare at the faces of the people around me for a lifetime. They stare back urging me to get up, to accept the challenge I’ve been elected for. I wince. I realize I was willing to be the challenger in the beginning, but that was before the lies. And now Goat Girl has been elected and is obviously excited about the challenge. Why waste my time when I’d rather be anywhere else. I stare around at the faces, searching for a way out. When I can’t find anyone to offer the consolation I’m looking for, I push the chair out behind me and sluggishly make my way to the stage.

  “I know this is quite the shock, but welcome to the stage and thank you for accepting,” Trey says, taking my hand in both of his. His grasp is tight, his eyes earnest. I look away as politely as I can, but before I know it he’s pulled me in for an unexpected hug.

  I’ve heard people remark about being “beside themselves.” Well, I’m in the next room. I never in a million years expected this and now I’m trying to figure out how to get out of it.

  “I’ll go ahead and read the remaining alternates,” Trey says directly to the crowd. “Please join me up on stage when you hear your name. George Anders.” There’s a round of applause and then a guy about my age emerges from the crowd. He has wavy, blond hair and wide shoulders. He isn’t smiling when he walks on the stage. His expression is a mix of pain and frustration, about how I thought I appeared at that exact moment. As he takes the place next to me I can almost feel him vibrating. From the corner of my vision I notice he flinches slightly every so often, as if fighting something internally.

  Trey pulls the microphone back to his mouth and reads the next four names much faster. Each of the alternates makes a startled noise when called and then rushes to the stage as everyone claps. When it’s all done I’m joined by, in addition to George, the Bible-loving Joseph, a girl from the first group named Whitney, and Samara and Trent. We stand on the stage for what seems like forever whil
e everyone claps, hugs, takes pictures, and then files away. I’m almost free to go when Trey announces that we will be having our first meeting in just a few minutes. “Go and collect your items from your bunks and then you’ll meet me in room 222.”

  I don’t have any items and therefore I’m ready for the meeting. I’m ready to be done with this whole thing.

  Chapter Twelve

  Completely appalled, I start for room 222. I’m seated in a leather chair ten minutes before anyone arrives. Sadly, the first person who shows up isn’t someone I want to share my punctuality with. Ren. He sits opposite me, tapping a pen on a pad of paper.

  “Terribly troublesome about you not making the top spot and all, right?” he says with an edge of indifference.

  I shrug my shoulders, dispelling his indignation. “Honestly, I wish I hadn’t been picked at all.”

  “Oh, is that the way it is?” he retorts with relief. “Good, ’cause I was wondering how long we were keeping up these pretenses.”

  I give him that look. The one I give people when I wish they’d stop existing. I suddenly wish I had new superpowers, ones that made my looks work.

  “I knew from the beginning you weren’t going to really be into this whole thing.” He smiles with satisfaction. “I told Trey you wouldn’t really comply, but he seemed to think you’d give it a go.”

  If only glares could kill.

  “I’m glad to see I was right,” he says, toying with his gold ring. “’Cause I was, wasn’t I?” Ren’s red hair catches the light overhead as he leans forward. “You’re here ’cause you’ve been chosen and all, but you don’t want to be. Your heart isn’t in it. Now that we’re being honest with each other I can say that’s what I always thought about you. You don’t have the gumption.”

  He stares at me, smiling wickedly.

  “Wow,” I say, devoid of emotion. “What gave it away? Oh, how about when I yelled ‘no’ in front of everyone when my name was called. You don’t have to be great at telepathy to know I don’t want to be here, so quit pretending you know something secret about me.”

  Ren’s eyes scan mine momentarily. I suddenly feel naked. “You’re right, I’m not telepathic. But I’d venture to say I know more about you than you know about yourself.”

  The urge to jump across the table and scratch Ren’s eyes out races through my head. What’s this guy’s deal? Why’s he always antagonizing me?

  Reeling myself back, I take a deep breath. “Why don’t you keep what you think you know to yourself, since I don’t give a damn.”

  “Very well.” He doesn’t look the least bit disturbed by the conversation. “But just to correct you on a tiny, little thing.” He pinches his thumb and pointer finger together to indicate he’s holding some imaginary small item. “I’m not just speculating. These aren’t things I think. I know who you are.”

  We’re glaring at each other when Trey walks in the room. “Well, I’m glad to see that you’ve had a change of heart,” Trey says matter-of-factly as he thumps a stack of folders onto the table in front of me. “I was worried about you during the announcements.”

  I look down at the table and try to pretend Ren isn’t present.

  “I know this is all unexpected and a lot to digest,” Trey continues as he sorts through the folders. “But I think, with time, you’ll be committed to this mission, and to the Institute.” He throws a folder down in front of me. It’s loaded with papers.

  “Yeah, maybe.” I pull the thick folder toward me.

  Ren’s eyes bore directly into me. I feel them like a wall pressing against my skin. I fix on the table in front of me and refuse to look up even though an intense pulsing is starting to erupt in my chest. Trey’s talking to an alternate who has just arrived. Ren taps his pencil on the table and snickers. I maintain eye contact with the table. My instinct tells me to avoid him and pretend he hasn’t flustered me.

  Ren’s doing something now but I can’t tell what it is. My curiosity gets the better of me and I flick my eyes up and immediately know my instinct was right. My attention, my focus, my consciousness is sucked into him like a vacuum. Ren’s covering a page on his notepad with cubes. I’m mesmerized by his drawing and can’t pull my eyes away as he makes one line, then another, and connects them. For some reason, watching him doodle cubes on paper is the most relaxing thing I’ve seen in a long time. I hate him, but I don’t mind watching him and he doesn’t seem to notice or care. Now his paper is completely covered with cubes and I’m even more engrossed as he starts drawing cubes overlapping each other.

  “Ren!” a voice snaps beside me. “Why don’t you lay off?” Aiden takes the seat next to me, narrowing his eyes at Ren.

  “Okay, Doc, just this once.” Ren flashes an evil smile. He looks at me and I’m locked on his every move without wanting to be. I watch every chad as it’s ripped from the notebook. Ren crushes the paper between his palms into a wad of broken cubes. I can’t pull my attention away from the compressed paper as he tosses it into the air and it soars briefly before missing the trashcan.

  I shake my head, feeling dazed. The room is almost full by now, but I don’t remember the other people showing up, just cubes.

  “It’s a pleasure seeing you again, Roya,” Aiden says, offering his hand to me. I avoid his eyes, feeling sedated, and instead maintain eye contact with the table. He gently wrings my hand. It’s warm pressed into mine. Steady, but soft. My heart gives an unexpected shudder.

  I attempt to withdraw my hand from his when he clasps my fingers tighter and pulls me in closer. His eyes peer into mine, willing me to look up and into his. “Are you all right?” he asks.

  I force my eyes to meet his and feign a smile. “Yeah,” I lie. “Just tired.” Pulling my hand from his warm grip, I stare off at the ceiling while my head swims in a marsh of penciled cubes.

  Aiden gives me a slow nod, concern written on his face. Then he turns to Ren and they exchange rude glares. I avert my eyes from both of them, for different reasons. Determined to get my bearings back, I open my folder and busy myself by leafing through its contents. Inside: a training schedule for the month, FAQs for the Institute, packets of reference materials on a ton of different subjects, and a blank notebook and pencil.

  Everyone’s gathered for almost ten minutes before Goat Girl decides to grace us with her presence. She breaks into the room holding a phone to her head and looking quite frustrated. When she sees we’re all sitting around the table looking directly at her, she lowers the phone and addresses Trey. “There must be something wrong with my phone.” She sounds annoyed as she jabs the screen. “I’ve been trying to make calls and it won’t work.”

  Trey hands her a folder. “No, I’d expect it wouldn’t work since you’re underground.”

  The alternates and Goat Girl look around in confusion. A dozen observations click into place in my brain all at once. Of course we’re underground. That makes sense now. I kept thinking something was missing from the Institute, but I couldn’t quite place it. Sunlight. Trey’s comment about level five now also makes sense. And the sheer size of this place is much easier to believe if it’s underground where it can spread out for miles.

  “But I need to let people know I’m the challenger,” Goat Girl whines. “How am I supposed to do that?”

  Trey points to the only open chair. “You’re not. Your friends and family will find out the same as everyone else, through the Lucidite news feed. Now have a seat.”

  She rolls her eyes, slamming the heavy folder down as she takes her seat.

  “Well, now that we’re all here,” Trey says flatly, “let’s go ahead and get started. First of all, I want to congratulate our challenger, Misty. Her performance on most all the tasks was exemplary. We were actually quite impressed that you were able to do so well on such a variety of tasks. Usually people have one or two areas in which they excel, but you appear to be a multifaceted individual.”

  I itch to wipe Goat Girl’s smug look right off her face.

  “I’d
also like to recognize the extraordinary talent of our alternates,” Trey says quickly, glancing at the six of us. “Misty’s role in this is quite clear. She will face Zhuang and the fate of…well, the world rests on her performance.”

  Goat Girl isn’t looking so smug anymore. A bit of fear and anxiety has crept into her eyes.

  “However, she won’t be alone in these efforts. Much of her success will depend on the talents you’ll provide. You see, although she’ll face Zhuang alone, there are certain things I think you’ll be able to do to assist her. Each of you has a special gift or two, and we can use those to level the playing field Zhuang will no doubt have booby-trapped. Specifically, you’ll protect and possibly create the dreamscapes where Zhuang and Misty will face off.

  “The Day of the Duel, as we’re calling it, is in a little over a month. Everyone in this room is critical to that day being victorious for the Lucidites, for the world. You all are a team. From this moment forward you’ll train to hone your skills. Misty”—Trey looks directly at her—“you’ll mostly train on your own with each of the coaches. Alternates,” Trey addresses the rest of us, “you’ll mostly train together as a team. The training schedule can be found in your packet.”

  I open my folder and reference the first page.

  “You’ll work with Ren for strategy.” Trey points at Ren, who smiles on cue. “Shuman for abilities.” He holds out his hand presenting her. “And Aiden for weapons and devices.” Aiden waves when his name is called. Trey clears his throat and continues, “Today you’ll move into your new rooms. You’re no longer in shared housing. You’ve each been assigned a room in the administrative lodging area. After this meeting you’ll have a chance to get set up and have lunch. Once you’re done with that then you should go directly to Aiden’s lab on the fifth level. You’ll be choosing your protective charms this afternoon.”

  Excitement and approval explode around the room, neither coming from me. Trey waits until the enthusiasm dissipates before continuing, “Note on your schedule, training begins tomorrow morning. Please attend all assigned trainings and always be on time.” He stops, glaring at Misty who’s chewing on her nails and looking bored.