Gravity (15 page)

"My story is
irrelevant." She gets up from the chair, eager to move the
conversation forward.

Dash
's thought calls me
an
insensitive
asshole
. "
Relax, it's necessary." I say under my breath.
He flinches.

"Come with me I
want to s
how you
something."

I follow her closely, but she veers away from
me as if I was going to kill her. I must have really offended her
from what I blurted out before. The fear in her eyes offends me.
She's afraid to be near me.

Dash

Violet leads us down a hallway with lines
marking the walls like the ones I saw in the great room. They grow
brighter, leading to a room in which Violet opens. She and Alex
don't seem to notice they've walked right through a web of light. A
tingling sensation makes my arm hairs stand when I pass through.
Gabriel is behind me, but when he walks through he suddenly doubles
over; holding his stomach like someone had punched him. The lines
that no one but me can see start to collapse around him.

I
try to approach, but Violet grabs my
sleeve to stop me.

"I can't."
Gabriel weakly
says. "It
hurts."

"
Back away into the
hall." Violet says franticly. She let's go of my shirt.

Gabriel does
what he's told and immediately looks relieved when his back meets
the wall in the hallway. The lines move back into position, flowing
naturally like before they were attracted to Gabriel.

"Go sit in the
living room and rest. We'll only be a minute. I'm so sorry,
Gabriel." Violet presses her hands to her chest.

"
The lines. What
happened?" I ask.

"What lines?" She
looks puzzled.

"I can see
everything here is connected like the human nervous
system—especially in this room. It clung to him as soon as he
entered."

"I figured
you'd see things." She smiles as if it's a relief.

My heart aches
just thinking a moment before she grabbed my shirt. I wish we can
repeat it so I can take in the details of those precious
seconds.

"Poor
Gabriel.
I should have
realized. Red's energy can be overwhelming for someone like him."
She presses her palm to her forehead. "Poor thing."

“Someone like him?" Alex folds his arms.

"He must be sensitive," I say.

"Sensitive? Yeah, right." Alex rolls his
eyes.

I thought because he's telepathic, he'd be
more empathetic. It doesn’t seem to be the case with him. The
thought must have filtered through by the dirty look he's giving
me. I ignore him. I touch the door frame. The lines don't react to
my touch. I sense that it hurt Gabriel like hundreds of needles to
the skin. Why?

The presence of the cabin is thick in this
room. I assume this was what made Gabriel feel ill. I look closer
at the wood grains of the door. Tiny traveling lights look like an
aerial view of a highway at night. The room has so much to read.
It's dark but not because it's night. The walls are the color of
the sky at twilight and old books nearly cover the wall. There are
no windows for light, only a terrace door. I assume the room is
dark even in the daytime. An antique writing desk has nothing but a
book and inkwell.

"This is Red’s room," I access.

"Yes, it is. I wanted to show you his room
because he left a lot of things behind. Maybe clues to where he
intended to go." Violet sits on the bed. "He's the Guardian of
Hybrids like us so he leaves often."

I
see traces of someone else using this
room—Violet. I notice a few things that don't belong like a pink
robe and flowery hand mirror. She must be sleeping here.

"Not a single
outlet insight; n
o TV, no
stereo. How boring," Alex assessment is so typical of his
type.

"He's got a gyroscope.” I spot on a
shelf.

“A gyra-what?” Alex
says over my shoulder.

“
Gyroscope.
It’s defies gravity in the way it moves." My finger rotate the
circular metal wheel. It spins on its axis without interruption on
its mounted parts. With the laws that bind us the universe, perhaps
there are things that liberate us. Have I been bind until
now?

“Isn't that a toy?” Alex lifts an eye
brow.

"A toy used in jet
planes."

"Whatever." He
folds his arms. I smile. He can't see everything after
all.

"Looks like
university professor lives here." I grin.

"Looks like my
grandpa lives here." Alex stares at the old books like he's never
seen such a thing. "I remember Red being a young guy, not some
seventy year-old professor."

"Red is...
older." Violet taps her lip.

"Very old." I
say under my breath while my finger touches the edge of the century
old writing desk. A pair of pink slippers beside the bed catches my
eye. I envy Red because she obviously missed him enough to sleep in
his bed. I wonder what their relationship is to each
other.

Recalling
my dream of
him, Red said his journals where accessible and on queue Violet
goes to a bookcase behind the old writing desk. It's full of
leather bound books. From the top of the bookcase to the bottom,
the books go from dull and wrinkly to richly colored and
firm.

"These are
Red's journals. They're as old as he is." She takes the journal on
top of his desk, flipping through with a puzzled expression. "I
can't read it. It’s the last one before he left. It might have a
clue to where he was headed." She wipes her watery eyes, quickly
composes herself. She stops on a page. Alex looks over her
shoulder.

"L
ooks like a page out of
my math textbook," Alex's brow arches.

"His script is
so old-fashioned I can't read it.” Violet fiddles with her fingers.
"Believe me, I've tried."

I
stare at the page in question. Violet
slowly hands it to me as my eyes rapidly move about the page. The
'math page' pops out at me like a three dimensional model. It
explains their last conversation took place in Violet's dream. It's
strange how the page explains it without a single word. The written
page opposite it is clear even with the long loops and tiny
mid-sections; the words seem highlighted when I read them. Golden
strings cross the pages like the web in the door way. Red made it
so Violet can't read it on purpose. I remove my glasses then put
them on again. I can see with and without them. I look at Violet.
"I can read this."

"What does it say?" She folds her hand to her
chest.

I
turn another page. Violet waits
wide-eyed.

A name appears
repeatedly.
"Who's Ryan
Grey?"

Violet steps away
with her hand on her stomach, like she ate something bad.

"He was one of
us. He was a tele
path." She
shakes her head like she doesn't want to talk about it. "Did you
read anything on the last page? Maybe about where Red was
headed?"

"It says he decided
to leave the Sanctuary. It doesn't say where he was going. A lot of
it is him feeling guilty—"

Violet snatches the book out of my hands. Her
cheeks turn rosy. She looks up at Alex only to look away quickly.
Whatever she's hiding Alex must have caught it. I exchange looks
with him.

"What about
this?" She points to the large
framed drawing on the wall. The ink lines don't appear solid,
but float above the actual paper itself like a three dimensional
illusion. As I approach the lines move; repositioning themselves to
form lines that appear to be roads and blocks with buildings.
Slightly discolored dots act like pins marking various
areas.

"This is a map
of the city. It doesn't say where he is, only where he's
been."

Violet sighs
disappointedly. It's like
I'm
on stage before an audience and everyone is waiting for me to
perform. Of course, Violet is in the front row. But there's nothing
for me to do and nothing else to say. I place my hands in my
pockets as Violet walks away. It seems my spotlight turned
off.

***

Alex

The more
questions we
ask the more I
can see. Though the pieces are bits of Violet's story they don't
make sense, it's still about her. The fact there's more than one
guy involved only entices me. "So what if this Ryan Grey has
something to do with Red's leaving? It's obviously important enough
that he left it on the last page of the last journal he wrote
in."

Violet looks
ill.
"Red left the Sanctuary.
Ryan Grey left the Sanctuary to find him. They never came back. Red
sent me a message in a dream to look for you three. That you could
help. I don't know where Grey went. Violet places her hand on the
exposed skin below her neck. "I'm not looking for him. I'm looking
for Red." She looks as though she's holding back a flood of tears.
This Grey person was someone special. Guys make girls cry. I know.
I've made Cher cry recently. Violet isn't anything like Cher; being
with two guys doesn't seem to be this girl's style. She too sweat
and innocent, but I've been surprised before.

She
composes herself. It's enough of her
story to know that Ryan Grey is a big part of this. Clearly, Dash
is thinking the same thing I am. Ryan Grey is someone we need more
information about.

"Don't you
think maybe Ryan Grey has something to do with his
disappearance
?" Dash
asks.

"No. I don't.
It's something else.” She shakes her head and folds her arms. I
know she’s not even fooling herself. Even she’s not convinced.
“Something else...” I see a dark black cloud in her thoughts, but
the image is so blurry I can’t make out what it is.

“
There is
this
thing
…” she begins, but
she truly doesn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what
I’m talking about. This all must sound crazy to you.” She sits on
Red’s bed.

“It’s okay. You said you need our help. I’ll
help.” I approach cautiously. She’s uncomfortable by the way she
wraps her arms around herself. The reason is unclear, but I have a
feeling she doesn't want me that close.

Dash
is staring at the map.

"You want to
take it home?” Violet’s eyes come alive again. “
Maybe there's something in it."

"Really?" Dash
looks so nerdy with his crooked glasses.

Violet
ta
kes down the map and they
carefully roll it up. "I know you have school so don't neglect that
for me. I don't want you to get in trouble."

Dash's eyes
look hungry.
The idea of
neglecting school is no stranger to the kid.

"You trust me with
this?"

"Yes, of course."

She’s a terrible liar.
Dash adjusts his glasses and for a split second it seems like
he actually heard me.

"You don't even know me," Dash says passing
glances at me. "Are you sure?"

"Red trusts
you. You trust
me and here you
are. Anything to help find him. Take it."

Take
it b
efore she
changes her mind, Dash
. Again
Dash's eyes briefly look at me as if he can hear me tell him these
things.

Ca
n you hear
me, Dash?
I try to project it
directly.

Dash nods while
Violet's back is turned.
Holy
shit!

"Um, Violet? Do you think it can be turned
off? You know the hearing everyone thing?"

"I don't know. I think it’s permanent, but
I'm not sure. I know it hurts you. But there are ways of
controlling it. Red knows how. Once we find him, he'll help all of
us."

"So Red
is
a telepath."

Violet nods.
"Come. Let's check on Gabriel."

I
follow Violet back to the great room
where Gabriel is sitting on the floor with his head between his
knees.

"Gabriel, are
you okay?" Vio
let approaches,
but stops besides the sofa like there's an invisible wall blocking
the way into the intimate area. At first it seemed like she's
scared of him; he's a strange kid. Maybe Violet picked up on it too
but for some reason I get the feeling she's overly cautious because
of
her
ability. It's clearly more than she
says it is.

Gabriel nods, keeping his head down.

"Red's energy has a way of overwhelming the
senses, much less his residual. I'm sorry I should have known this
would happen to you." She clasps her hands.

So Red has many abilities; he made the
Sanctuary, he's telepathic and has whatever Gabriel has. Gabriel's
ability seems strange, like it has no real purpose. I feel bad for
the kid. Yet, seeing the things he's done it’s hard to think it
isn't his fault. What part did he have to play in helping
Violet?

"Alex
, I need to talk to
Gabriel alone. Why don't you and Dash look around the
cabin."

Dash and I look
at each other. He's eager to explore the cabin. I couldn't be more
excited to find out where her room is. He doesn't waste any time
and motions for me to follow. Walking down an adjacent hall way
Dash senses a foreign presence to his left. I follow his lead and
open the door to a bedroom.