Columbine

Sneaking back into the lab was easy. We’d made it through the tunnel before the nighttime security system could set in, and were still shaking from the mishap in the marketplace. I’d somehow managed to hold on to the bread and apples that I’d stolen. It was really the only up-side of the situation that I could see.

“Let’s never do that again.” Sarah said as we tugged the metal door open.

“Fine.” I finally agreed. I had too many bruises for one day. “But at least we stood up to that asshole.”

Sarah looked at me with a tired, annoyed look in her eyes. I shrugged.

“Well, it’s true.” I said.

“Not that it helped any.” She recalled. “That poor man’s probably dead by now.”

That was the one fly in the ointment. Even though we’d tried to be heroic, we hadn’t saved anyone. Oh, sure we’d saved ourselves, but that somehow wasn’t enough. It had stopped being enough when I’d seen what kinds of things were ‘appropriate’ now. The man the mage had practically been killing hadn’t even been a witch. He’d probably been some common thief. Like I’d been today. I swallowed, and an iron bubble of fear welled inside my chest.

“Home, sweet home.” Sarah sighed, closing the metal door behind us. The lab was roughly in the same condition that it had been in when we’d left. This was to be expected. There was no real way to change it even the slightest bit. I wondered if it could withstand bombs. It was certainly far enough underground…

“Give me and apple.” Sarah said. I reached into my bag and pulled one of the apples out. Throughout all my flying and falling, they’d somehow survive unscathed. The bread had lost some of its crispness, but otherwise, everything was good.

Sarah and I munched in silence. It took some time to block out the memory of the day’s ordeal. I’d read about selective amnesia, and at that moment I took particularly kindly to that notion. I’d have dearly loved to make myself forget what I’d seen. I’d seen sick things before, but this was recent. Too recent. Not to mention the fact that I’d almost died. Without Sarah’s help, I realized that I probably would have died, and painfully so.

“Do you think anyone noticed we were gone?” I asked.

“We were gone for three hours.” Sarah said through a mouthful of apple. “Maybe.”

I decided that I’d tell everyone I’d been sleeping if they asked. Or working on bringing the library into a state of peace. If they knew I was lying, I’d tell them to go to hell. Simple as that. Sometimes being a full-grown bitch had its perks, one of which was that no one expected much in the way of explanations from you.

I checked my arm. There was no open, gaping wound like there had been an hour ago. The skin where I’d been hurt was still pink and tender, and there was also a small scar, but if I hid it under a shirt with longer sleeves, no one would be the wiser.

“Thanks for fixing my arm.” I offered awkwardly.

“It’s no problem.” Sarah said with a small smile.

Suddenly I found myself curious about Sarah‘s abilities. That hadn’t happened before. Usually I was so scared of non-humans that I shied away, but Sarah was definitely not a bad person. Besides, she was as human as I was. All a witch did was channel natural energy. The effect was very close to what a mage did, but not necessarily the same.

I’d seen a diagram of how a mage’s powers worked once. According to the diagram, normal people carried their ‘soul’ inside. A mage’s soul was connected to its body, but not exactly inside. Apparently, it was like having extra limbs growing out of your back. That way the soul and the body acted together, rather than the body having total control. In the picture, it had looked like a cloud was constantly trailing along beside a mage wherever they went. It was lucky that the picture had only been a metaphor.

“I’m going to go to bed.” I announced, rather than ask Sarah anything. The idea of curling up under the many layers of covers was more appealing, anyway.

As I quietly made my way to the bedrooms, I heard voices. They were coming from Scarlett’s lab, where she’d tested my blood, bone marrow, and spinal fluid. I could hear Scarlett, Charlie, and Valentin talking amongst themselves. They sounded serious.

“…And how did you manage that?” Valentin asked. He sounded angry again. I wondered if he’d ever been in a happy mood or even just plain fine. He seemed angry all the time nowadays. A small sliver of guilt broke into my spectrum of emotion. I squelched it down the best way I knew how -- I remembered how badly he deserved to be miserable.

“I shared a room with her at the hospital.” Charlie said. I instantly figured out that he meant me. “She practically shoved her neck in my mouth, what else could I do?”

“He’s got a point.” Scarlett said. “You shouldn’t blame him.”

“You could have killed her.” Valentin snapped.

“But I didn’t, did I?” Charlie snapped back with just as much venom. I couldn’t see their faces, given that I only listening in, but I could feel that Charlie and Valentin were glaring at each other with enough radiation to cause skin cancer.

“So, anyway,” Charlie continued, “A year later, I get cut somehow, and music starts coming out of nowhere!”

Wait…what?

For a moment I wasn’t sure I’d heard him right. Had he meant that…he had musical blood now too? The very notion seemed ludicrous -- impossible, even!

“Wait a moment.” Scarlett said. She sounded as confused as I was. “Your blood plays music too?”

“Exactly.” Charlie confirmed.

My breath seemed to have caught in my throat. I could barely move. How could Charlie have thought to keep that from me? Furthermore, how was it even possible? And what did it mean? My thoughts raced at a thousand miles and hour, popping up before I could dismiss them.

“That’s…interesting.” Valentin remarked. His voice was slightly less angry now. I guessed that it meant that he was as shocked as I was.

“Does Columbine know?” Scarlett asked.

“No.” Charlie said. I bit my lip.

“When were you planning on telling her?” Scarlett asked.

“When the moment was right.” Charlie said. I could somehow tell that he hadn’t planned on telling me at all. He’d probably told his secret to Scarlett and Valentin so that they would tell me for him. That was just the kind of parasitic manipulator that Charlie was at heart. Maybe that was one of the messed up reasons that I admired him at certain points of the day, mostly those during which I was only partially conscious.

“That must mean that whatever Columbine’s blood is, it’s not exclusive to just her.” Scarlett hypothesized. “If I can find the common variable between the two of you, then maybe it can be cultivated somehow!”

Now this was good news. At least some progress had been brought along with Charlie, and we had that small consolation prize for all the havoc he’d been wreaking over the lab for the past week.

“That’s great, Scarlett.” Valentin told her, his voice entirely void of enthusiasm. “But we have a slightly bigger problem to focus on.”

Bigger problem? Now what?

“The Demataxt knows that I’m in Egypt.” He announced. My heart skipped a beat. I didn’t feel very good all of a sudden. “And they want me to help them investigate Sarah Crow.”

“Do they know she’s here?” Scarlett gasped.

“No, nothing like that. They want me to help them find her.” Valentin said. My chest was shaking from the force with which my heart was pounding up against it. My head spun. I tried to make myself relax. It was more difficult than one might expect.

“What are you going to do, demon boy?” Charlie asked.

“Well, I’m not giving them Sarah, if that’s what you’re after.” Valentin said. I could hear a smile in his voice. I realized that he was mocking Charlie. If Sarah was gone, Charlie would be that much happier. I let out a silent sigh of relief. At least Valentin’s seemingly baseless dislike of Charlie was on my side.

“I think this is going to be an advantage, since I can keep them from getting anywhere near the lab.” Valentin said. “There’s too many valuable assets here to have discovered by the Demataxt.”

My brow furrowed. He was showing an odd amount of support for Scarlett’s work. What was even more confusing was that he’d decided to actually protect us. I wouldn’t have figured him for that kind of person. Maybe Sarah had been right, and I really was a terrible judge of character.

Damn it. There were few things I hated more than being wrong.

“Well, that’s settled.” Scarlett sighed. “I’m guessing we’ll be seeing less of you around, since you’ll be hindering the Demataxt for us.”

“I think I’ll be gone for a week at most.” Valentin estimated.

The thought of him allegedly working undercover with the Demataxt was just unnerving enough to give my bowels trouble. In the event that he was brainwashed in the process and reverted to what I‘d suspected him to be all along, we were all doomed. But if he stayed true to his words and kept anyone from finding Pyramid 23 or the lab, then it would be a most relaxing week for me. The thought of walking the halls without any chance of running into Valentin was a thought that I would no doubt cherish as I lay falling asleep.

“Columbine needs to know.” Scarlett said. I don’t know if I imagined it, but a groan seemed to come simultaneously from both Valentin and Charlie. Goddamn pigs.

“Tell her when I’m gone.” Valentin groaned. “I don’t think I can stand another spat.”

“Aw, demon boy’s having girl trouble?” Charlie taunted.

“Shut up.” Valentin grumbled.

“Don’t feel bad, though.” Charlie said defensively. “Columbine seems to have demon boy trouble, too.”

“She does, you know.” Scarlett put in.

“She doesn’t think she can trust you.” Charlie added to the growing pile of comments.

Valentin stayed silent for a while. It was then that I realized that I’d been holding my breath. I allowed air back into my lungs and strained my ears as much as I could. In the past, whenever people had talked about me, the comments had never been good. From listening in on those types of conversations, I’d learned that I needed a boob job, that my hair looked like a bomb had gone off on my head, and that I had probably stolen my clothes from a color-blind homeless man. How refreshing.

Of course, that had been when I’d still been in school. Now that I was surrounded entirely by people who were older than me, I doubted that they’d talk about things like that. Or at least I hoped they wouldn’t.

“She’s an idiot.” Valentin finally concluded. I ground my teeth.

“Her instinct for self-preservation is strong.” Scarlett translated into her scientific terms. I swallowed. If only she knew what I’d been through an hour ago, she’d have an entirely different take on just how strong my instinct for self-preservation was.

“Demon boy’s right.” Charlie said. “But please do remember that the idiots are usually the most fun.”

I heard the unspoken part of the sentence too loudly, and fought back a gag reflex. So maybe this wasn’t so different from school. I had to admit, I was disappointed.

“You’re a pig, Charles.” Scarlett scoffed.

“I am as I was intended.” He apologized.

“Technically, you’re not.” Scarlett reminded him. He shrugged.

They were all quiet for a moment, having run out of things to talk about. My shoulder was aching with the weight of the bag of apples and bread. My feet were killing me with even less mercy.

“I’m going to go pack.” Valentin suddenly said. I stifled a gasp and dove into the nearest broom closet before he saw me. His footsteps receded, but Scarlett and Charlie stayed behind.

“You need to show a little more respect for women.” Scarlett scolded.

“I have a world of respect for women.” Charlie grinned.

“Only for their breasts, I’m sure.” She said, her tone disgusted.

“Not just that.” Charlie’s grin grew.

With what I’m sure must have been an angry toss of her hair, Scarlett began stomping away. Charlie followed her, as devoted a stalker as always.

I cautiously peeked out of the closet. When I was sure that the hallway was clear, I continued making my way to the bedrooms. I was in desperate need of a shower by then. Ten different kinds of sweat had perforated my clothes in the course of the last few hours.

I closed the door of my room shut and exhaled. I allowed the bag to fall off of my shoulder, ignoring the clatter of the apples landing on the floor. I kicked off my shoes, tore off my clothes, and let my hair out of its ponytail. I allowed my skin to breathe for a few minutes before locking myself in the bathroom.

I unscrewed the lid from the shower spigot, letting the water flow onto my still-hot and sun-scorched skin. It was one of those moments when life seemed good despite the fact that you knew you were still going to wake up hating everything the next morning. As it turns out, sometimes all people need is a nice shower to be happy.

After the initial relief brought on by the stream of cool water wore off, I remembered the idea I’d gotten earlier -- the one about starting a dance club. Now that my life was no longer in immediate danger, it seemed silly. In fact, I was embarrassed that I’d even said it out loud.

I’d been to dance club only once in my life. I’d been ten and adventurous. I’d somehow managed to sneak out of my grandmother’s apartment and past the security guards without getting noticed. What snatches of it I remembered went by in elusive snapshots of pounding music, gyrating bodies, and flashing lights. Was that what I’d wanted to start a couple hours ago?

Yes, back then it had made worlds of sense. I would be easy to turn the underground lab’s main hall into a dance hall. It certainly had enough room for a lot of people. The bloody water Scarlett had produced was loud enough for a club. If flashing lights could somehow be mimicked by glow sticks, then it was almost too easy.

I shook the thought off before it had a chance to appeal to me again. Simply because the idea was good for me didn’t mean that it was good for any of the saner people around. It would be crazy to let people into the lab. Even if one drunk guy somehow found out this location, there was an enormous chance that he’d go blab it to the first mage he saw and hope for a reward. It was simply too dangerous.

I turned the shower off and wrapped myself up in a towel. I felt nicely refreshed and more than ready to dive back into bed and forget the day’s gruesome events. Ever since this morning, I’d been forced into a number of painful tests, and it had only gone downhill from there.

I unlocked the bathroom door, reaching for the shirt that I’d put aside on the bed to sleep in, when I noticed that I wasn’t alone. I screamed so loud, my own eardrums nearly exploded into smithereens.

“Charlie!” I yelled at him. “You asshole, get the hell out of my goddamn room!”

He reacted with little more than a grin. I could feel his eyes flickering over every bare spot on my body. Luckily the towel was long and fluffy, covering enough of me to keep me from dying of embarrassment.

“Wow.” He breathed. “You’re even prettier when you’re wet.”

“Get the hell out!” I commanded. I didn’t dare move from my spot, almost afraid that moving would somehow make the situation even worse.

“Have you been somewhere?” Charlie asked, indicating the pile of dirty clothes that was lying on the floor. “There’s blood on that shirt.” He pointed out. With a sudden urge to fall through the floor and disappear, I realized that he was right.

“Get out.” I repeated, sticking to my trend.

He stood up, but made no move for the door. I swallowed, clutching my towel even tighter. There were relatively few moments that I regretted being a mere human, but now was one of them. If I were anything else, I could easily force him from the room. Unfortunately, all I could to now was wait.

“You know you’re not supposed to leave the lab.” He said. His tone was suddenly serious. “Not with the Demataxt on a roll. Did you know that they’ve formed a search party specifically for that witch, Sarah?”

Yes, I did know. But only because I’d eavesdropped, which I wasn’t supposed to have been doing.

“No kidding.” I choked. He nodded in confirmation.

“You’re on their list, too, you know. They think you’re her familiar.” He said.

I pretended to be shocked. This was harder than it should have been, what with my total lack of surprise after what I’d been through this past day. When you’ve lived the danger, it’s a little difficult to be afraid of mere tales of it. In many ways, I was like a kid who’d been told not to stick her fingers in the electrical socket. Some things you just have to find out for yourself.

“So tell me the truth,” Charlie said, “Where have you been?”

“I took a walk outside.” I lied, “I tripped and scraped my arm on a rock. Sarah fixed it, though.”

“Sarah took a walk with you?” One of his eyebrows went up inquisitively. I nodded. Charlie seemed to swallow it.

“You probably shouldn’t go outside anymore.” He said. I nodded again. With that, he dropped the big brother act and settled comfortably back into his lecherous self.

“Isn’t that towel a little too stifling?” He hinted. I threw a shoe at him, which he dodged with smooth, catlike ease.

“Get out of here.” I grumbled, grabbing the knee-length shirt from the bed and shutting myself in the bathroom before he could stop me. I slid the shirt on over the towel and let the towel slide off when I was sure that the shirt was securely in place.

Luckily by the time I’d finished brushing my teeth and my hair, Charlie had grown bored and gone to stalk somebody else.

I settled into bed with a moan. My muscles cried sweet little sobs of relaxation as I finally began drifting into my own little dream world. My arm reached out to the bedside table and grabbed the flash drive, holding it to my heart as though it were a teddy bear. Clutching my treasured possession, I fell asleep without another thought.