Seneca Rebel (The Seneca Society Book 1) (10 page)

I was relieved, to say the least, when my flexer finally signaled eight a.m. Unlike the Aboves, where the sun would come out and tap into your natural biorhythms to get you going, here we had to rely entirely on artificial light and flexer notifications to know the difference between night and day.

I was anxiously waiting for Dominic at 8:57. It seemed like light years later when I watched my flexer switch to 9:00, and there was a tap on my shoulder.
 

"Ready for our big date?"

I felt my face flush. Oh no, please let him think I’m just a rosy skin-toned person. I really had to get this thing in check.

"Hi, Dominic."

"So formal."

"Who me?"

Dominic looked around as he squished his lips together. I loved it when he did that.

"I don't see anyone else here in this conversation."

"Sorry, I didn't get much sleep."

"Hey, no worries, you can be formal all day long if you want, but I'm on vacation. Hope that's okay with you. I haven't seen the sun in over seven hundred days, so this is a
pretty
epic day for me... And by the way, you can call me Dom. It's what my friends back home all called me."

I was blown away. Seven hundred days? Really? Even though I technically knew what was in store living here without sun, I couldn't comprehend being in his shoes. Or, rather, his blue combat boots.

"Oh, for sure. I'm dying to get out of here for a breather, too. It will be good to get a reality check."

"
Reality
. Funny thing, ain't it?"

Dom made some odd comments. Ones that made me wonder what he really meant. But I still wasn’t ready to ask.

"We don't have to be at the entrance point until ten. Want to get some food first?"

"Doro, let me tell you something about me–"

Um, yes please, I thought...

"I’m
always
ready to get something to eat."

Ah, how refreshing. Dominic Ambrosia was handsome, witty, unequivocally mysterious, and a good eater!

17

T
HE
RESTAURANT
DISTRICT
was a dreamlike version of a place I remember visiting as a kid. The sun beat down on me, interrupted only by rustling leaves from tall oak trees. I looked up, squinting to see how this could possibly be. The soft, cornflower blue sky blew me a kiss as a sweet floral breeze swept my hair across my face, tickling my nose. It reminded me of the outdoor mall near the beach in Santa Monica. Birds chirping, kids laughing, babies crying. All kinds of people and every kind of food. I heard murmurs of different languages– Mandarin, Spanish, Russian... Incredibly, I almost forgot I was with Dom, my attention was so absorbed by all the mouthwatering aromas around us. Dom didn't seem as mesmerized by this place as I was. He cut into a doorway and I followed, looking back over my shoulder.

We were at a sushi spot that he said he went to every weekend. We sat at the sushi bar. I thought it was funny that we were having sushi for breakfast, but fresh, edible, wild fish had not been available in my lifetime, so this was a mouthwatering treat. Salmon, halibut, cod, and assorted rare fish and seafood were transported here on BoomJets from places that had the remaining clean water on the planet. They had also been testing new ways to replicate wild breeding here. Senecans were the only population with the privilege to enjoy these delicacies as regular eating habits. I could seriously get used to this.

Our first time eating together wasn't as carefree and lighthearted as my lunches and brunches with Reba. I didn't ask a lot of questions, but when I did, Dom answered with a question in return. He was obviously still vetting me. Could I be trusted and what was my motivation? Not the typical form of assessment I was used to from my peers. Usually it was questions about what musicians I like or if I got invited to some popular kid’s party last Saturday night.

This morning I learned one thing about Dom. He was fluent in Japanese, and best buds with this restaurant’s 28-year-old sushi chef, Ty. Ty had been recruited to Seneca because he had started a highly addictive sushi franchise that spread across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. It was literally the fastest growing food chain in world history. Addiction was an understatement. Ty knew exactly what Dom liked, so I went ahead and tried it all. No exaggeration, these were hands down the most explosive bites of food I'd ever tasted. Dom slowly savored each bite as he explained to me that in Seneca Ty was pushing the envelope of sushi preparation in a way he never could in the Aboves. He took the most ideal, fresh cuts of fish, and through the use of nanocapsules, he matched them with flavors of the customer's choosing. Ty's menu had everything from kumquat to truffle, which was injected into the fish for a timed release to deliver an eruption of flavor in your mouth at just the right moment. There was no question about it– I would be back for the jalapeno lime-infused halibut cheek.

Ty spoke English pretty well. When he and Dom flipped to Japanese, I sensed that they were talking about me. It seemed to be in a good way, though.

"You will take Dom to see the sun today. No wonder he likes you."

Please don't blush. Please don't blush, please, please, please... I took a huge gulp of water. Dom didn't notice– he was meticulously cleaning his vintage wooden chopsticks, which he obviously cherished like I did my vinyl LPs.

Dom grinned. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Ty."

"Enjoy for me too. Maybe next time I be your guest?"

"Whoa there, buddy. This is
my
gig!"

Finally, things were lightening up around the dark and mysterious Dominic Ambrosia. It was nice to see him become a little possessive about his guest spot on my Great Falls Park excursion. Whether it was because of the sun, or because of me, it's where he wanted to be and that was all that mattered.

We left our sushi breakfast feeling incredibly good. I could see why this was Dom's favorite eating establishment in Seneca. Ty was cool, and his otherworldly food increased his cool factor tenfold. I'd definitely be back... but first I had to take Dom for chilaquiles.

18

A
S
WE
WALKED
to the point where we would be joined by the men in blue for our ascent to the Aboves I tried to imagine what was on Dom’s beautiful mind. I watched from the corner of my eye, knowing he was deep inside his own head. He scrunched his lips a lot. I didn't want to disturb him, so I decided to let him be the one that broke the silence this time.

One man and one woman in blue awaited our arrival. Without speaking they joined us in the dome, and up we went. What was normally a one-minute ride lasted forever with these mutes. It couldn't have been more awkward.

I wanted to catch every emotion Dom showed once he was at the top, truly experiencing the Aboves’ daylight, after so long. He was so absorbed in the moment that he never even noticed that I was staring at him.

We came to a stop and he closed his eyes as the golden dome opened up to Virginia's blue gray sky. I watched him turn his face up and welcome the cool filtered light of the autumn sun onto his milky skin. He may have wanted to hide what he was really feeling, and he might have fooled the other two, but I could see an emotional meteor storm erupting behind those gripping eyes of his. Dom's reaction to the world he hadn't seen in two years was fascinating, heartwarming and sad to me all at the same time.

The sun shone down between streaks of cirrus clouds that were scattered high up in the sky. It was an ideal day for our visit. A small flock of birds flew over us, migrating south. Dom locked eyes on the flock. I could hear him breathing deeply, absorbing the real, if somewhat polluted, air of the Aboves. I didn't want to disturb his moment, so I climbed into the flighter that was waiting for us. He would come when he was ready.

Twenty minutes later, the flighter deposited us in a desolate area of Great Falls Park called Difficult Run. There wasn't a sign of anyone else anywhere around us. I wondered if this section of the park had been taken off the public access maps and repurposed for Seneca’s use only. Actually, I would've been surprised if that weren’t the case.

"In two hours we will depart." Those were the first words uttered by the folks in blue. They weren't messing around.

Dom wasted no time. He set off through the treed area, on a path towards the water. I followed. Finally, we were alone, without what I’d come to think of as our handlers. His pace grew quicker the closer we got to the water and I found myself practically jogging to keep up. We came to a point overlooking the Potomac, its powerful rapids mesmerizing. This was a force of nature that we both wanted to absorb in all its might.

The jagged rocks jetting out from the riverbed created a fast, intense flow of whitewater. A light, silky breeze contrasted with the dangerous rapids. I loved the sounds of the crashing water– so loud, but so soothing at the same time. Signs in various languages warned people not to try and swim in these uncertain waters. I hadn't planned on swimming anyway.

"Come on, let's go down by the water." Dom had a vibrant energy about him, instigated just by being in the great outdoors. This new side of him, just as much as his intense, mysterious persona, was exciting to be around. We trekked down a steep path to a small pebbled embankment on our side of the river.

Dom sat down and took off his blue combat boots. I was surprised at how meticulous he was with his laces, carefully undoing each one and then winding them up with precision and placing them inside his boots. He set them down next to each other, in complete alignment, pointed directly at the river. He indicated that I should do the same. Was he planning on getting in that water? Hadn’t he seen the warning signs? Then he removed his flexer from his wrist and nodded to me, as if to say, "You do it, too."

I was apprehensive, but didn't want to appear weak or unwilling to try new, exciting things. Hey, I was the queen of trying new, exciting things. This was not the time for me to chicken out. Shoes came off, flexer out of my pocket. I looked at him, ready for the next dare.

Dom thrust his hand out. Better than a dare, this was a waking dream come true. I took his hand. He grasped mine tight and looked me in the eye. This wasn't a sweet, romantic, handholding moment like in the movies. This was a sudden, intense connection unlike anything I had ever imagined. It was just the two of us, together, against the raging river. His strong gaze spoke a thousand words. I knew what we were about to do, and discretely took a deep breath.

Dom stepped onto a huge rock a couple feet out into the water, then turned around to help me join him on it. Was this as far as we were going? No. He turned to take another step, higher, to a series of extremely steep rocks. Now I wasn't just intimidated. I was scared out of my mind, but tried my best to hide it.

It was frighteningly windy here above the rapids. My hair blew across my face, my teeth chattered a little bit. Dom's eyes were filled with determination. I fed off of it as we crossed a few more rocks. He let go of my hand and leapt to a higher rock, then turned back to me and reached down for me to jump up to him. I hesitated.

"I won't let you fall."

In a complete lapse of self-control, I trusted him. And for some dumb reason, I closed my eyes when I jumped.

I landed on the rock! My foot slipped, scraping my shin– there was blood, streaks of deep red against my pale skin. My foot plunged into the freezing cold water, sending all of my senses into overdrive. Dom grasped my hand tight and didn't let go. He was unfazed, and pulled me up onto the rock with him. There wasn't much space to stand. We were as close as we’d been in the closet at S.E.R.C. Closer. Only this time, we were out in the great wide open, not squeezed inside the darkness of closed walls and a closet full of chemical controls.

He let go of my hand and jumped down from the rock. I was on top of the world. The crisp water that penetrated my bones brought with it a surge of strength from another dimension. Dom turned and reached his hand up for me. This time I didn't take it. I didn't need him to help me or show me the way. So far, on this little day trip to Difficult Run, he had taken the lead. But this was my excursion and he was my guest. I needed to prove myself. It wasn't just about showing him that I was some badass chick. He was someone I needed to align myself with for so many reasons beyond even those that I was aware of. I needed to assure him that we were, indeed, cut from the same cloth.

And then I jumped. Something outside my body had taken over. After falling for what seemed like forever, I plunged into the only calm pool of water within sight. Under the freezing cold water, I welcomed the adrenaline rush like a long lost friend triggering the memory of my flighter heist with Julie and the exhilaration I’d felt then. I opened my eyes and surged back up into the humid Virginia air like a rocket from the river. I let out a wild scream of excitement and flung my hair out of my face just in time to see Dominic leaping off the cliff, the look of elation on his face during that free-fall something I’d never forget. He cannonballed and hit the water with a spectacular splash.

We surfaced and dove like porpoises, shouting out in pure euphoria. We didn't need Mojo Sticks– all we needed was each other and this sickening landscape.

We both bobbed up and down, doggy paddling, laughing and splashing around. My intuition had served me well. Dominic Ambrosia and me in a whole new world... it was going to be a wild ride.

I noticed an opening in the rock structure that formed against the river's edge, and swam that way. Dom came after me. We swam into a small cave that had its own natural skylight. The water was only waist deep, and the wind created a beautiful echo. He splashed water onto his face and then rubbed his eyes, before he opened them. Once he did, he didn't take them off me. The stillness in the cave enshrined the moment.

He smiled, and I smiled back. "You can trust me."

Dom moved in to be right in front of me, tucked my hair behind my ear and moved in even closer to whisper, "I know."