Saving Yesterday (TimeShifters Book 1) (14 page)

I take it and she helps me gain my feet. “I’m learning not to assume too much around here.”

Brushing confetti from her shoulders, Lark rolls her eyes. “Well, you can assume I’m not going to help you clean. They’re serving Stromboli in the cafeteria today and I don’t want to be late. The broom and dust pan are in the closet.” She points. Call me slow, I thought she was kidding, but Lark leaves me alone.

“Dumb bombs.” I kick the stupid metal box across the room on my way to grab the broom. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to sweep every little bit of confetti out of all the corners. Hello, static electricity! The stuff keeps sticking to the broom bristles, my pants, my hair.

It’s more than a half hour later when I make my way to the cafeteria, toward an inevitable fate. People who show up late for meals get leftovers if they’re lucky. Cereal if they’re not. Believe me, the cereal in Keleusma is not the type with cartoon rabbits dancing on the box or loaded with marshmallow stars. Birds would refuse to touch the stuff they offer here.

Loud conversations and the smell of stewed tomatoes filter from the dining room. I push through the doors and scan the seating area for someone I know. Michael’s at my side in an instant. I don’t know where he came from. His soft brown eyes make me forget about terrible food. The edges of his mouth tilt up. I freeze as he gently reaches to remove something from my bangs.

“I take it training with Lark didn’t go well today.” There’s a chuckle behind his voice. He flings the wayward piece of confetti to the ground. Guess I missed one.

“What can I say? Looks like bombs are not my thing.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m terrible with them too. Well, you saw on Wall Street. When I’m near a bomb, I just try to get people to safety. It’s not a big deal. Not one of us is good at everything. We each have different talents.” He takes my elbow and we weave through the tables.

“Except it looks like I’m good at nothing,” I say this under my breath because we’ve reached our destination.

Darnell gives me a chin-up form of greeting. Eugene waves his fork while he munches on an enormous bite of salad. Lark smiles, and I immediately forgive her for leaving me. It was silly to think she should help pay for any of my mistakes. Michael pats the seat beside him.

“I have to go scrounge up something to eat.” Maybe they have some of Eugene’s salad left.

But Michael snags my hand before I can move. “I saved some for you.” With flourish, he yanks a napkin off of a plate sitting in front of him. On it rests a huge portion of Stromboli. More than I could eat in two meals. Meat and cheese ooze out the side. My mouth starts to water.

I drop down onto the bench. “Thank you.” I want to hug him but rein that desire in. It hits me that it’s been a few days since I’ve seen him. Well, other than in passing. We’ve sat at the same table at meals, but always separated by other people. I’ve missed him. But there’s the Pairing to think of, after all. Would Porter save me food? Not likely. He’d eat both our shares and then raze me for coming too late. Poke me in the ribs while I choke down stale cereal.

Michael nudges a small bowl full of pasta sauce closer to me. “It’s probably not warm still, but it has to taste better cold than the other options up there.”

Slicing off a chunk, I dip it into the sauce and take a bite. Other than making me wish for Chicago deep dish pizza, the stuff is amazing.

I’m still chewing when Michael leans in. “For the record, I think there’s a lot of things you’re good at,” he says quietly. Our friends don’t notice.

I start to choke on my food. Eugene slaps my back as if that might help. Clearly, he didn’t ever take a first aid class. Michael shoves a glass of water into my hands when I seize a gulp of air. My eyes capture his as I take a sip.
There’s a lot of things you’re good at
. I want to ask him what he means, but not in front of everyone else.

Eugene bumps my side. “You okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Wrong tube.”

Darnell inspects me with a mixture of curiosity and humor. My gaze flits away, examining the table. His deep-set stare always seems to penetrate right to my soul. But it’s Michael he addresses. “Have your meetings produced anything?”

Michael rests his arms on the table. “No. The travel specialists can’t figure out how to send me back. It was probably dumb to even ask.”

What’s he talking about? “Slow down. Back where?”

“To Pinkerton. To the mission that you—”

“Messed up,” I offer.

“I was going to say
joined
.” He sneaks a piece of my Stromboli and pops it into his mouth. The quick wink that accompanies his thievery keeps me from protesting.

Darnell castles his hands. “Think. Do you really wish to go back?”

“Pinkerton’s one of my favorite people in history. I always wanted to get pulled to work with him.”

Well, that’s just great. Not only did I give Michael a mammoth scar for the rest of his life, but I robbed him of his dream mission. Why is this guy still my friend?

Eugene tries to spin his cup like a top. Instead, he topples it, spilling milk over the surface. He grabs a wad of napkins and tosses them over the mess. Shoving his glasses up his nose, he inclines his head toward Michael. “I think I can get you back to the exact moment you left.”

Michael raises his eyebrows. “I’ve been told it’s not possible.”

Eugene’s eyes dart back and forth over the room as he speaks. “That’s because I haven’t told anyone. See, it’s all just theories. But my preliminary tests did well.” He fishes a small memo notebook from his back pocket. Flipping it open, he taps a crudely drawn picture. Complete with stick figures and lots of swirls that look like tornadoes. Okay, so the computer whiz can’t draw well. “I think I found a way to manipulate the portals. Use their unspent energy.”

Lark cocks her head. “Even if it’s possible, would that be wise? I mean, if Nicholas wanted him to go back to that mission, he’d send him there.”

That makes Eugene shrug. “Shifters built the portals and no one sees anything wrong with that. If Nicholas gives us the knowledge to do things like this, then shouldn’t we? Wouldn’t it be negligent on our part to waste that?” He faces Michael again. “I can’t send someone just anywhere. It won’t work like that. The only reason I can try is because you went to that time, but never started the mission. It’s like I’ve discovered this pocket of grace. A chance for a second try. At least that’s how I like to think about it.” He tucks the notebook back into his pocket. “If you had attempted the mission and failed, I couldn’t send you back.”

Michael smacks his palm on the table. “I’m in.”

Lark’s eyes bug out. “It’s way too dangerous. You can’t do this, Michael.”

I lay down my fork. “I’m going too.”

Darnell buries his face in his hands. Michael and Lark answer me in unison.

“Absolutely not.”

“No way.”

My hands ball into fists and warmth rushes up my neck. “In case you forgot, I was part of that mission. I got pulled there instead of here. Doesn’t that count for something?”

Lark shakes her head. “You’re not ready. There’s so much more to learn.”

Under the table, Michael places his hand on top of my clenched fingers. “She’s right, Gabby. It’s not safe for you to leave Keleusma yet. Out of these walls, you’ll be like a deer painted hot pink during hunting season.”

I jerk away from his touch. “But you said—”

“Hey, I do believe you’re really talented. But look at Eugene and Darnell.” He gestures to each as he names them. “They’re far more gifted than I am but neither of them shift much.”

 I search each of their faces. My supposed friends. So none of them think I’m capable. For all their kind words, not one believes in me.

Who cares? They don’t know me. Not really. “You know what? I don’t need people telling me what I can and can’t do.” I shove back from the table. “Forget it! Forget all of you.” People at other tables are gawking as I storm out of the dining room. Well, forget them too.

Taking off at a jog, I bite back tears. They need to stay in my eyes until I’m safely confined to my room. Like a pinball, I smack off an older gentleman, which tosses me off course for a moment. I stumble, throw out a “sorry,” and start running again. In front of my bedroom, I fumble to get my keycard out of my pocket. It flutters to the ground. With a growl, I snatch it back up and swipe the card through the reader.  

My door swooshes open. I hate it. If only it was old fashioned, like the one on my bedroom at home. You can’t slam any of these stupid automatic doors.

The tears start to fall immediately. I strip out of my clothing and stomp into the bathroom. My hand trembles as I jam the card into the slot. When the touch screen illuminates I choose hot, pulsing water. I let it drum into my back, making me numb. Salty tears slick down my face, onto my lips. The skin on my fingers starts to prune.

My mind floods with thoughts of home. Faded sheets on my old twin mattress and thin rugs over old wooden floors sound like a fantasy now. Can’t they just set me free already?

Why waste time on all this training if they are never going to let me help? Have they been babysitting me this whole time? Keeping me occupied while something bigger is going on? Either that—or I’ve disappointed them. I don’t know which option is worse.

Both mean the same thing in the end. They’ve all decided I’m useless.

Later, I sit in bed with the lights on, absently tracing my finger back and forth over the black spot on my shifting bracelet. The blemish. No matter how many times I try to rub it away, it stays. One more thing mocking me, reminding me I don’t belong.

Someone knocks on my door and I glare at it, hoping they can feel my stink eye through the inch of metal. “Go away!”

“Gabby? It’s Eugene. Please let me in.”

Ugh. I jump off my bed and cross to the door, slamming my hand on the open button. It will take too much energy to be mean to Eugene. Besides, he brought me food in jail. We have a special bond. Anyway, I don’t think he’ll be difficult to get rid of. Let him say how sorry he is that I can’t go. I can roll my eyes. Then call it a night.

Eugene has his hands looped in his pockets. He only steps about a foot into my room, enough space for the door to shut. Then he stays rooted right there.

I clear my throat. “If you’re here to give me some pep talk, don’t bother.”

“I’ll sneak you in. Tomorrow. When Michael shifts. I’ll send you too.”

My head snaps up. “Why would you do that? Everyone else said—”

He steps closer, clenching his hands together. “Everyone else is
wrong
. They don’t understand. They’ve turned a blind eye.”

I back up. “You’re freaking me out a little bit.”

“In the past few years, the Shades have grown too powerful. The Elders have ignored the signs. Shades aren’t following the old rules. And us? If action’s not taken, I’m afraid of what that’ll mean. Keleusma’s been waiting for someone like you—someone who didn’t grow up knowing the ins and outs of how our world should be.” He makes quotation marks with his hands for the last two words. “You can see things more clearly. Discern things the other Shifters can’t. We need you. You might be the only one who can save us.”

Hearing him mention the Shades makes heebie jeebies crawl down my back. And, wait,
save us
? I can’t even snip the right cord on a fake bomb.

“You know, you’re not helping me freak out any less.”

 Eugene crosses his arms. “Will you go, or not?”

I stare at the palms of my hands. Study the lines. “They all said I’m not ready.”

“You understand what’s right without being told.” His voice is soft. “That’s what makes you so special, Gabby.”

“You don’t think I need more sword training and debate lessons?”

“I think it’ll come to you when you need it.” He uncrosses his arms. “Honestly, I think your heart is all you need. You’ll know what to do.”

His words seep into me. Cutting bindings I didn’t even know were fastened tightly around my heart, choking me. “Then I’ll go.”

A triumphant glow lights his smile as he tells me Darnell will come for me early in the morning. He instructs me not to tell anyone. Which proves almost impossible later when Michael comes knocking on my door.

I stride across the room and press the lock button. It clicks loudly, so he knows I’m right here listening. But I don’t want him to be able to get in. If I see him face-to-face—sincerity written on his features—I won’t be able to lie. To anyone else, sure. But not to Michael.

“Gabby.” He knocks again. “I know you’re upset with me, and you have a right to be.”

I lay my forehead and hand against the door, closing my eyes. His voice is rich. It’s become like a favorite song. I know he’ll be on a warpath when I join the experiment tomorrow. For now, I just want to enjoy hearing him.

He stops knocking, but he’s still there. “I wanted to say good-bye, and that I’ll miss you. And if something ... goes wrong, know that I think you’re really special and that I’m glad I met you. It might sound weird because we just met, but you’ve already changed me. The way I think about things. What’s important. So I wanted to thank you.” He sighs. “I guess that’s it.”

If something goes wrong
? My eyes fly open. I don’t know why, but I hadn’t considered that. Lark suddenly sounds like the height of rationality. Eugene’s idea is far too dangerous.

Every muscle in my body burns to fling open the door and throw my arms around his neck. To breath in that mixture of pine and peppermint. Beg him not to go at all. But I keep my word to Eugene. I fist my hands and shove them into my armpits and drag myself back to bed. That night sleep comes in snatches, and when it does I wake up screaming.

Shades. All I see are Shades.

In the morning, I shower and dress long before Darnell shows up at my door. We walk together in silence down abandoned hallways to a section of the complex I didn’t know existed. Every inch bursts with computers and cubicles. Perhaps Keleusma has as much paperwork to fill out as the rest of the world.

He stops. “Are you afraid?”

“Should I be?”