Sugar Coated (9 page)

“Exactly. So are the train engineers just being lazy or do they not want us to see what we’re passing by?” Brynn asked, feeling slightly exhilarated at saying things out loud
that she had only ever thought.

Jonah was silent for a long moment, his eyes looking at her
, but not really seeing her. It was as if he was focusing on something far away. Thinking. As usual.

“What do you think we’re passing by?” he finally asked, genuine curiosity in his expression.

“I’m not sure. I can’t think of what would be so secretive. But I’m going to find out pretty soon here,” Brynn said excitedly. “I’ve got a train ticket for—”

“So,” said a familiar voice near Brynn, cutting her off mid-sentence. As she looked over and saw Amber, Bennett, and Ty staring at her, she instantly scooted her chair back a few inches, not realizing until that moment how close she and Jonah had been sitting. “You’re looking much better,” Amber said, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows a
t her friend.

“Oh,” was a
ll Brynn could think of to say.

Amber looked angry as she stood there in silence, while Bennett looked excited to see what was going to happen next. Ty just looked upset in general, though he wasn’t staring at Brynn like Amber and Bennett
were. He was staring at Jonah.

“I’m feeling a lot better now,” Brynn said finally, breaking the awkward silence t
hat had descended on the group.

Jonah looked over at Brynn questioningly, but luckily had the good sense not to blurt out that she had been fine the whole time that he had been with her. Instead, he cleared his throat and looked down at his empt
y hot chocolate cup in silence.

“Who’s your friend?” Bennett suddenl
y asked, her voice flirtatious.

Jonah clearing his throat was the only thing Bennett had needed to lock all of her attention onto him. Brynn was surprised it had taken her that long to
notice a cute boy in the room.

“This is my friend Jonah,” Brynn said by way of introduction, realizing that it probably didn’t quite add up that she knew this boy well enough to call him a friend when her other fr
iends had never met him before.

“Hi Jonah, I’m Bennett,”
she said, pushing Amber aside to shake his hand.

He smiled up at her and took her hand in his, not showing any sign of being uncomfortable in front of this group of people who were sizing him up.

“I’m Amber,” Amber said, giving him a polite smile even though Brynn knew she was fuming at having been lied to.

Amber was one of those people who would always be as polite as she could to strangers because she didn’t have it in her to be rude, but that didn’t mean she was happy about something. When she was with her real friends she’d let her true feelings fly. Bennett was constantly telling Amber she had to grow a backbone and just tell people what she really felt so she wouldn’t get walked all over. Brynn thought that maybe that was the reason she always seemed so abrupt with her—because she trusted her friend enough to know that she’d still love her e
ven if she was brutally honest.

Jonah smiled and nodded at Amber, giving her a brief “Hi,” before turning his attention to Ty, who stood at the back of the group looking sullenly at the floor. He knew it was his turn to introduce himself but he made no move to do so, simply
glancing at Brynn with hurt lining his face.

“This is Ty,” Brynn finally said, feeling that the silence
was stretching on far too long.

“Hi Ty,” Jonah said,
flashing him a smile.

Ty returned the greeting with a nod, not cracking a smile.

“I’m guessing the medicine just kicked in?” Ty asked, looking over at Brynn with an unreadable expression on his face.

“I’m still not sure that it has,” Jonah said from beside Brynn, just as she was opening her mouth to try to explain herself. “She was wandering around in the library today saying all sorts of crazy things. Talking about Angels and fake cities,” he said with a sad shake of his head. Brynn resisted the urge to kick him under the table. “I told her she was feverish and needed to go home, but she wouldn’t listen so I brought her to get some hot chocolate. Thought maybe it would lull her into submission,” he said
with a grin at Brynn’s friends.

“That does sound a lot like Brynn, actually,” Bennett said. “Completely stubborn and talking crazy.”

“Thanks for that, Bennett,” Brynn said dryly.

“I’m sorry you’re sick,” Amber finally said, sounding like she really meant it and making Brynn feel like
a bad friend for lying to her.

“Actually, I should probably get you home so you can get some rest,” Jonah said, standing up from the table and taking the initiative to get Brynn out
of the uncomfortable situation.

“I’ll take her,” Ty suddenly sa
id from the back of the group.

“I r
eally don’t mind,” Jonah began.

“No i
t’s fine. I live right next door,” Ty interjected, walking swiftly over to where Brynn sat and helping her up. Brynn looked back and forth between the two boys, not quite sure what to do.

“Amber and I were just about to get some hot chocolate, actually,” Bennett said, instantly stepping in to resolve the conflict. “Maybe Jonah would like to get to know your best friends a little better,” she f
inished with a brilliant smile.

Jonah looked over at Brynn as if asking her what she wanted him to do. She shrugged and shook her head, mouthing a quick “I’m sorry” to the boy who had already put up with so
many odd things on her behalf.

“That sounds great,” he said to Bennett. “I’ll see you later Brynn?” he a
sked, looking at her earnestly.

“Definitely,” she re
plied, “Same time, same place.”

Jonah shook his head at her
, but couldn’t hide his smile as she turned to leave the café with Ty.

The two friends walked through the darkened streets in silence for quite some time, not bothering to stop and wait for a bus to take them home. Brynn and Ty had always preferred to walk around the city r
ather than take the bus anyway.

“
I knew you weren’t sick, but I didn’t realize you had a date,” Ty said, nudging Brynn with his shoulder and trying to sound nonchalant even though it just came out stiff and artificial.

“It wasn’t a date,” she replied with a laugh. “I went to the library to find something and he happened to be there, so he
helped me out,” she explained.

“And then he
happened to be at the café?” he asked, still smiling even though Brynn could tell he was upset.

“Ty,” Brynn said, stopping her walk through the streets of the city to look at her friend. “Don’t be mad at me. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to hang out with you guys today. I just wanted to go to the library to look for some stuff. It wasn’t anything personal.”

Ty looked back at her, still wearing the same sad expression on his face before he shrugged his shoulders and attempted a smile.

“It’s not a big deal,” he said, wrapping one arm around Brynn’s shoulders as they started walking toward her house again. “You still smell like the ocean,” he suddenly said, leaning over to smell her hair. “Even after you’ve changed your clothes from this morning I can still smell the salt on you. Normally y
ou smell like sugar,” he joked.

“The ocean must like me,” she said, not mentioning that she had been in th
e water a second time that day.

No need to
cause unnecessary panic about her mental well being.

“Or maybe it feels the need to counteract all of those sugar cubes you always carry around with you,” he answ
ered, giving her a squeeze.

“Yeah, that might be it,” she said, smiling up at Ty.

He smiled back at her, his almond shaped brown eyes warm and inviting.

“It’s nice out tonight.
” He was looking up at the large full moon that hung in the sky.

“Surprise, surpr
ise,” Brynn said sarcastically.

“I still can’t believe you complain about the ‘almost always’ perfect weather,” Ty la
ughed, shaking his head at her.

“Actually, I hate to admit it, but I’m loving the weather tonight,” Brynn confessed. “I love the way the night feels on my skin.”

“I love the way the night looks on your skin,” Ty said. “You look like you belong in the nighttime.”

Brynn looked up at her friend questioningly as they walked through the city park, cutting across the grass as a shortcut to the cit
y suburb they both called home.

“The day time seems too straightforward to fit you,” he explained, looking down at her with the familiarity of a friend who knew her better than anyone. “Everything is taken at face value in the day. But at night, I think that’s when you shine. At night you have to look harder to see things for what they really are. It fits you perfectly. The girl who smells like sugar and blends in with the night.”

Brynn rested her head on Ty’s shoulder as they left the park and came to their neighborhood. “I like that,” Brynn said finally. “At home in the night with the stars and the moon,” she chanted like these were the words to a poem.

“With the shade of blue that matches he
r eyes,” Ty added thoughtfully.

The two friends stood outside of their houses, looking up at the sky. They didn’t say a word to one another and had somehow come to the silent agreement that they didn’t need to go inside just yet. Instead their heads were tilted upward, catching glimpses of stars in the indigo sky and breathing in the damp, cool feeling th
at rolled in with the darkness.

“I used to be partial to the daytime,” Ty suddenly said, “But you’re making a convincing argument for the night.”

“I haven’t said anything,” Brynn reminded him, still looking up at the stars with wonder in her eyes.

“You didn
’t really need to,” Ty answered.

Brynn looked over at her friend an
d smiled a warm, genuine smile.

“Thanks for being such a great friend Ty,” she told him, pulling him into a tight hug that he returned gladly. It was nice for Brynn to feel his strong arms arou
nd her. It felt safe. Familiar.

“Thank
you
,” he replied, burying his face in her neck as he hugged her in the moonlight.

“Now go into your house,
drink some water, eat some sugar, and get some sleep,” he said with a smile.

Chapter 9: Incognito

Peeking cautiously around a marble pillar in the empty library building, Brynn sensed a nervous feeling bubbling up inside of her that even a steady diet of sugar cubes couldn’t quell. Her hands slipped as she attempted to grasp the cool stone surface with sweaty palms, all of her attention turned to the frightening Worker at the front desk.

Her day of recklessness with Jonah had left her with an empty feeling; the kind only a pseudo-achievement could create, and suddenly, her little trips into the ocean didn’t seem as impressive as actually finding answers to real questions. The question that was most pressing, at that particular moment, was the true nature of the terrifying creatures she misguidedly referred to as Angels.

When she had snuck into the library in the late hours of the evening, only thirty minutes before close, Brynn had been ready for a full on confrontation if that was what the situation called for. Now, as she stood watching this woman who seldom made more movement than breathing and lazily swiping her finger across her tablet screen, she began to wonder if her whirlwind adventure would be quite as adventurous as she had originally thought.

As the clock slowly neared closing time Brynn pulled out her own tablet, making sure it was silenced for her great pursuit. Right at nine o’clock in the evening, as if running on some unseen internal clock, the Worker stood from her position at the front desk and began turning off lights, casting the library into an eerie half-darkness. She made her way lithely down the carpeted walkways toward a small hallway Brynn hadn’t ever noticed before.

“Here we go,” Brynn whispered, pushing past the swinging doors in the hall that read
Workers Only
to follow her caustic Angel to what she hoped would be a room full of answers.

She didn’t believe for a second that these Workers were actually normal humans like her who had been surgically altered as preparation for the workforce. She was almost certain their origins were much more sinister than that, and she intended to get to the bottom of whatever collective secret they were guarding.

The Workers’ hallways didn’t differ much from the rest of the library’s décor. The plush carpet and wooden walls all hinted at something much more ancient than the sleek modern buildings found around the rest of the city. As she snuck down the various corridors in pursuit of the Worker, Brynn said a silent ‘thank you’ for the many doorways and corners that afforded her suitable cover on her slightly suicidal mission.

Just as her Worker reached the end of a particularly long hallway, the woman stopped. She angled her head to the left as if listening to a sound that only she could hear before she glanced over her shoulder to where Brynn hid, concealed behind a corner. Her sharp purple eyes narrowed for a moment while Brynn held her breath, placing one hand over her mouth and silently calculating how far away the exit was.

She could hear her heart pounding while the Worker stood silently staring at the spot where Brynn had peeked around the corner only moments before. Then suddenly, the Worker stepped into a room to her right, completely changing her previous course and unnerving Brynn to no end as she let out a deep breath, letting her hand fall away from her own mouth.

“There’s no way any normal human could be that scary,” Brynn thought aloud, shuddering at the memory of the pale, severe looking Worker’s unnatural movements.

Giving herself a mental and physical shake, Brynn willed herself down the hallway, coming to a confused stop in front of the door the Worker had disappeared behind. She expected the door to lead to a top secret lab, a torture chamber, or any number of macabre and ominous rooms, but instead, the sign on the heavy wooden door clearly read
Worker Restroom.

“Well, that’s a little awkward,” Brynn whispered, taking a few steps back to melt into a door frame, hoping that when the Worker retreated she wouldn’t see her.

Only seconds after making sure she was effectively concealed, however, she heard what sounded like footsteps coming from the corner she had just occupied. Brynn looked around frantically, not wanting to run into the bathroom with the Worker, but not knowing where else to go. Her fear of the unknown in the corridor ahead mixed with the urgency of getting away from whatever was coming down the hallway pushed her into action, and without really thinking about what she was doing, Brynn pushed past the door to the Worker’s restroom, feeling that if she had to explain herself to a crazy Worker, her story of “getting lost” would be more convincing if she said she was looking for a restroom.

Securely closing the door behind her, Brynn turned to survey what she was sure would be her last encounter with the frightening Angel from the front desk. What she found, however, was a small, stark white room much like the one from her nightmares. The room contained no bathroom
stalls or sinks; there wasn’t even a mirror on the wall to suggest that this room was ever used for anything remotely resembling a restroom. The only entrance or exit seemed to be the door Brynn had entered through, which made one fact very disturbing: Brynn was alone in the room the Angel had definitely entered before her. The bright white walls, ceilings, and floors were such a stark contrast to the dimly lit library that Brynn had to wonder if the Angel was simply blending into her surroundings.

“Hello?” Brynn said in the empty space, knowing full well she wouldn’t be receiving a reply. “This is impossible,” she began, walking slowly around the room with one hand tracing the walls to see if there was some hidden panel. “Where did she go?”

“I think the question you really ought to be asking yourself at this moment is, ‘where will I be going once this Worker turns me over to the Authorities?’ don’t you think?” said an all too familiar and unpleasant voice from directly behind Brynn.

She turned quickly on her heel, hoping that by some miracle she wouldn’t be facing the ghostly, angular Worker from the front desk.

“I got lost,” Brynn said automatically, feeling that her plan was not nearly as well thought out as she had hoped and wondering if the Worker’s obvious dislike for Brynn would turn into full-fledged violent hostility in the remote recesses of the vacant library.

“While I don’t find that surprising, I also don’t believe you,” the woman said with a slight smile, reminding Brynn forcefully of the Angel from her nightmares. “Why do you suppose that is?”

“Unresolved childhood issues?” Brynn offered, trying to sound braver than she was.

“Very snarky for someone who’s currently trespassing,” the Worker stated dryly, looking like she’d have absolutely no problem calling the City Authorities for something as small as walking through the wrong hallway in the public library. Brynn quickly realized she’d need to backtrack and try a different approach.

“Look, I was just looking for a bathroom and thought, given the sign on the front door, that this would be the room for me.” She gestured with her hand to the surrounding empty white room. “Obviously Workers don’t have the same…needs, as the rest of us,” Brynn finished, hoping that her unsaid question would get a few answers.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but this room isn’t finished yet,” the Worker said, telling the most unconvincing lie Brynn had ever witnessed. “Now you need to leave. The library is closed and while I assure you I’d have the greatest pleasure in seeing you escorted out by the Authorities, I’m far too tired to be bothered with you right now.”

Grabbing hold of Brynn’s arm, the Worker began pulling her back through the corridors toward the library entrance without a single word, her iron grip surprising Brynn.

“I actually wanted to talk to you,” Brynn quickly interjected as they reached the front door to the building.

“I don’t like chit-chat,” the Worker informed her, no lie in her voice this time.

“I wanted to ask you some questions about the surgery you get when you become a Worker.” Her words tumbled out in an almost unintelligible heap as she resisted being shoved out the door.

“I don’t wish to discuss it,” was the automatic and almost rehearsed answer Brynn heard before being forcefully pushed through the heavy doors of the library out into the cool night air. The metallic lock clicked into place behind her as if to emphasize the Worker’s point, and Brynn made a face at the door, angry that her attempts to learn the truth had once again ended in complete failure and one more person thinking she was nuts.

“Rough night, huh?” Jonah asked, causing Brynn to let out a startled scream.

“Don’t. Do. That!” she said, hitting his arm to emphasize every word.

“Whoa, apparently I came at a bad time.” He rubbed his arm for effect, raising his dark eyebrows at Brynn’s erratic behavior.

“Any time you sneak up behind a girl in front of a darkened building is a bad time,” she informed him, catching her breath and tucking her hair behind her ear on one side.

“See? What would I do without you to guide me in the ways of social norms?”

“You’d probably get a lot more strange looks than you already do now,” she joked, looking back at the library building to make sure the Worker wasn’t murderously peering out a widow at her.

“So, did you and your friend get into a fight?” Jonah asked, following Brynn’s line of sight.

“All I did was ask her about the surgery to become a Worker,” she answered innocently, though after a skeptical look from Jonah she quickly added, “And maybe I followed her to the Worker’s section of the library in a slightly creepy manner.”

“There it is,” he said with a laugh. “On a completely unrelated note
, I think I may want to get my lessons on how to be normal from someone else.”

“Yeah, like anyone else would take you on as a student.”

“Don’t underestimate my unrelenting charm,” he countered playfully. “As punishment for your doubt in my abilities, you now have to come and get dinner with me.”

“Here’s the thing,” Brynn began, not sure how to explain
herself without coming off as unbalanced. “I sort of planned to follow that Worker to see where they all go once they’re done with their jobs.”

“Let me get this straight. You want to follow this Worker home without her knowledge because
she’s
the creepy one?”

Brynn gave a long-
suffering sigh, knowing there was no good spin for what she was doing. “That’s basically it. But in my defense, she probably doesn’t even go to a home. She probably goes to some top secret base.”

“
To perform evil genetic experiments?” Jonah joked. Brynn nodded a bit suspiciously, ready for the same lecture about her insanity that she’d heard from Ty, Amber, and Bennett numerous times before. “You just have to promise that if we get caught, I can say I was your captive, taken against my will.”

“You’ll really go with me?” Brynn asked incredulously.

“I’ve gone along with all of your other crazy ideas, haven’t I? Although most of those ideas weren’t quite this…what’s the word I’m looking for?”

“Thorough?”

“Disturbing,” he finished. “But I guess it’s my lot in life to follow your every whim.”

“When you do it so well, there’s not really much point in resisting, is there?” Brynn asked with a smile, taking Jonah by the hand and leading him to the park across the street where the two sat on a bench.

“Is this our official stakeout spot?” Jonah asked as they sat.

“You guessed it.”

Brynn made herself comfortable on the wooden bench, keeping her eyes trained on the library building across the street and hoping beyond all hope that the Worker didn’t take a bus home. It would be pretty difficult to hide from her in such a confined space and she didn’t want another encounter with the woman who already didn’t like her.

“What were you doing out after the library closed? I figured you went to bed when the library did,” Brynn joked, never letting her eyes wander from the building across the street.

“Actually, I was walking back from the beach. You know, the only other place I go besides the library. And as luck would have it, I just happened to stumble upon a nosey young woman getting tossed out of a library.”

“It must be your lucky day,” Brynn mumbled, still mad that she had gotten caught.

“Oh, by the way, if you insist on stalking this poor innocent woman, we should probably get going because she just turned the corner,” Jonah informed Brynn, causing her to shoot to her feet instantly.

“Where? I’ve been watching the library the whole time. How did I miss her?”

“She must have come out a back door, now come on,” he said, pulling her along behind him as he snuck quietly down the peaceful streets of Seaside.

“Glad to know you’re so on board,” Brynn said with approval, amazed at how Jonah was always ready and willing to go on any crazy adventure Brynn could suggest.

The longer they followed the Worker, however, the less like an adventure it seemed to be. She led them through the winding roads of Seaside until the buildings thinned out and the neighborhoods appeared to consist mainly of small houses and perfectly manicured lawns.

At one house, the Worker finally came to a stop, typing a code into her front door and entering the premises in a much less grandiose fashion that Brynn had imagined.

“This is where she lives?” Brynn asked, the disappointment clear in her voice.