"Come with me girls," says Katherine with a wave of her hand.
Heading out, my eyes try to adjust to the darkness in the tunnels. All I see at first are big glaring white spots in front of me. It makes me dizzy and I bang into a wall.
"Ouch!"
Crinae has the same problem. She knocks into me. Katherine seems fine with all of it. She must have had a lot of practice going back and forth and into and out of the fierce light of Luminia.
Travelling through the maze again, we pass rooms filled with people working. I take a peek at what some are doing. In one space, a man and a woman are building shelves. In another space, people are mending clothing. In another space, there's a sight to behold. Books!
Tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of books in tall shelves that must go at least five metres up. Folks are reading the books too. I want to go in and look at all the titles. Books are rare and to see so many under one roof is rarer still.
Katherine notices my dawdling.
"That's a library," she explains. "We have everything in there from manuscripts, old newspapers, maps, magazines to paperback romance novels."
"Cool!" exclaims Crinae. "Can we check it out?"
"Not right now," says Katherine smartly. "I have my orders to bring you two to class."
Class – that'll be fun. I wonder what we'll learn. Katherine stops at a blue plastic door and raps on it a couple of times.
"Come in," says a man's voice.
We're gently pushed into a room full of kids sitting at tables. (I mean kids, little kids younger than Elody.) They all turn to see the newbies.
"Oh, yes," says the man standing in front of the children. "The new students I presume?"
"Indeed," says Katherine. "This is Naia and Crinae."
"Welcome. My name is Mr. Cho. Please find a seat."
Walking into the centre of the room, I only find one empty wooden desk so I point it out to Crinae. I probably won't fit in the tiny chair anyway. I'll stand at the back. I can see and hear Mr. Cho from here. He's writing with white chalk on a black wall.
a = (vf - vi) / t (4)
a = (vf2 - vi2) / (2 s) (4b)
"Can everyone see this?" he asks.
Oh yes, I can see it. Understand it? No.
"Uniform acceleration occurs when the speed of an object changes at a constant rate," says Mr. Cho, turning to face the class. "This is the formula you use when you're figuring out acceleration plus variables like speed, time and distance."
Huh? How do these young kids get any of this stuff?
A girl with rows and rows of braids raises her hand.
"Yes, Ruby," says Mr. Cho.
"You forgot to mention that that's only accurate if the acceleration is constant during the time interval considered."
Who is this girl and why are they learning equations?
"You're right, Ruby," says Mr. Cho with a quick nod. He adds some more numbers on the board and starts talking about manipulating numbers. He's lost me and my eyes wander from the board to the rest of the classroom. My fellow students must be five or six years old. Why are Crinae and I in here with them?
My face flushes red. Even babies understand what Mr. Cho is teaching. Solomon must think Crinae and I don't know much of anything. I want to take her hand and walk out. We don't need this stupid stuff. We can do better on our own.
I'm feeling so belittled I don't hear even the teacher talking to me.
"Naia, Naia!"
"Uh – yes?"
"I'd like you to calculate the speed of the water through the wind speed that Ruby is going to send to you."
"Uh — what?"
The class titters at me and I wish I could run out of the room and never see anyone of these stupid kids again. Except for Crinae.
"What level did you finish on 33?" Mr. Cho asks, not unkindly.
"Uh – none?"
"Let's start from scratch then," says Mr. Cho as he sits at the end of his large dark brown desk. "There's always time for impromptu revision.
"Naia, what are your abilities?"
"Water?"
Man, I'm sounding stupider by the second.
"Great, thanks, Naia. That means you are a Nera, a water maker. Crinae, I think Solomon told me you're an Illuminae, a light maker. Ruby is an Anemmoinae, a wind maker. Ruby, stand up and show us what you do."
Ruby flutters her tiny hands and at once, a gust of wind hurls books into the air and shoots dust into my eyes.
"Thanks, Ruby," yells Mr. Cho over the din. "That's enough."
Ruby shrugs, picks her book off the floor and sits down.
"Thaidene is a Pryanae, a fire maker. Thaidene, if you would please show Naia and Crinae your skill."
A boy with short-cropped brown hair stands and goes to the front of the class. He flicks one finger against the other and an orange spark flies from his hand. Unfortunately, it lands on the foot of a student with a blond brush cut in the front row. Mr. Cho sprints to put out the ember and steps on the boy's foot. Hard.
"Oww!"
Everyone laughs, including me.
"Sorry, Dodney," says Mr Cho. "It's better than being a human torch though!"
Dodney's frowns and shoots a dirty look at Thaidene.
"Dodney doesn't have any skills yet," says Mr. Cho. "We're watching him. His abilities could present at any moment."
Dodney's frown gets deeper and he narrows his eyes at Mr. Cho.
"Aeternians used to be the protectors of Eden," says Mr. Cho. "But as we moved away from faith, people called us witches and sorceress and we went into hiding. Aeternians changed too and our skills became more and more about human stuff like money and having things. We've never lost of abilities though. Here's an easy way for you to learn how to use your Nera skills in the form of a spout.
"I want you to take your index finger like this," he demonstrates, "and paint the air like so."
As his hand moves, light streams from it. I put up my hand and copy Mr. Cho. As my hand moves, water streams from it.
"Wow!" I gasp.
The kids giggle at me. I ignore them.
"How is this possible?" I ask the teacher. "Most of the time I had to think and think hard and then it all ended up in a mess."
"Instead of forcing it, you need only to let go. Let go of all the thoughts that you're not doing it right or that you have to do it only one way and you'll master it."
Mr. Cho then instructs the whole class to do what we're doing. The room fills with dazzling light that hurts my eyes. I shut them but not just to keep from being blinded but because grit is flying everywhere and water is hitting my face. My left side is getting hotter and hotter and when I squint over, Thaidene's balancing a large ball of flame on his arm. Right beside me. (I think about putting it out with a waterspout but that wouldn't be nice and it's my first day.)
It's chaos for several seconds until Mr. Cho calls it quits.
"Enough!" he laughs loudly, while trying to control the room. "Enough!"
After class, Crinae has a giant smile plastered on her face.
"I was doing everything you and the kids were doing," she says excitedly. "Well, you know I can't do water, just light."
"Great!" I tell her and give her a hug. It's good to see her happy.
Katherine's not at the door when school lets out. Um, how are we supposed to get back when we don't know where we're going?
"You're the new kids right?" asks Dodney. Out of his desk I see he's really short. He kind of resembles a mouse with a pointed nose and an overbite and a way of holding his hands in the air, palms down and elbows bent.
"Guess so," I say.
"I'm supposed to take you back to Solomon's," says the boy. "I live near you guys."
"Oh, we don't live here," says Crinae snobbily. "We're just visiting."
"Don't matter to me," says Dodney. "Let's go."
He lights a candle and we leave the classroom. I make a mental note to remember where we're going so next time we can make our own way. It's difficult because I don't know the symbols and every twist and turn looks exactly like the previous twist and turn.
"How do you know where you're going?" I ask Dodney.
"I use chalk," says Dodney, "and make my own marks. I couldn't figure out the old ones, the Formers', symbols. They carved notches into the wall that mean something but I don't know what. I draw arrows on the wall to show me where to go."
A couple more curves and we're out into the antechamber of the underground settlement. More tunnels than I noticed last night branch out from it.
"See, I told you I'd get us out," Dodney boasts. "We're still a couple of blocks down from where you want to be. But just walk up that tunnel, go right, or left... and then straight and left once more and you'll get there."
"You're leaving us?" I ask.
"Yep. Later."
With that, Dodney takes off down another hallway. With the candle.
"How about giving us some light?" I ask Crinae. I don't want to put pressure on her like this but it's the only way to find our way.
"I'll try," she says.
Tentatively, she holds up her hand and points her index finger. Waves it around and voila – golden light shines out of the tip of her nail.
"See that!" she squeals. "I did it!"
"You sure did! I'm proud of you. Mom and Dad will be, too."
At the mention of our parents, her light dims. My heart is heavy too but at least we have help now. Solomon and Katherine are good people and Nakimu is a haven. I hope Crinae and I can find our way back to their compound.
We walked up and down and all around different corridors but can't find Solomon and Katherine's home. I knock on the door of a chamber and then peek into the room to ask the person to tell us where we are.
"Hyla!"
It's her. It really is her. Sitting at a table and reading a book.
'Naia!"
She gets out of the chair and runs to me, with a frown.
"What are you doing here?" she asks me.
"What are you doing here?" I ask her.
"My aunty brought me. Dad never planned for me and him to be part of the census. He told my aunt to take me to Nakimu before she continued to Settlement 888, Rabbit Lake. It was all a secret and that's why I couldn't tell you earlier."
"Why Nakimu?" I ask.
"It's a Resistance sanctuary. Everyone knows that."
Not everyone.
"What happened to you guys?" asks Hyla. "Is your whole family here?"
"Mom, Dad and Elody are missing," says Crinae. "The Motos smashed everything up and pooped on our floor."
"What?" says Hyla, her eyes wide.
"The Motos went through 33 and pretty much destroyed all of our homes,"
I say. "The three of us were babysitting Elijah when Elody was taken by Goliath, that huge ugly moto. Crinae and I were hiding and so escaped. We don't know where our parents are."
"I don't know where my dad is," says Hyla, her shoulders drooping.
"Where did he go?" asks Crinae.
"He was in the Valley and is probably fighting the Motos somewhere," says Hyla. "He really hates the GlobalGov because of what they did to my mother. Any chance he has to fight – he takes it. He knows I can take care of myself."
"Sounds harsh," I say.
"If I was you guys and didn't know anything, it would be harsh," snaps Hyla, crossing her arms over her chest.
"We went to a class today," says Crinae excitedly. "I learned how to do this!"
She waves her small hand and light flares from it.
"You only learned how to do that today?" scoffs Hyla. "I've known how to do manage my abilities since I was a baby."
Crinae's light flickers and then goes out. Her hand falls limply to her side and she hangs her head. I pat her on the back. Hyla's mean. I feel like she has no right to say such things to my sister.
"It's okay," I say to Crinae. "I just learned how to do that too," I say to Hyla.
"Anyway," says Hyla, "I don't have to go to school because I know how to use my skills. I'm waiting for you guys to hurry up and learn so we can fight Sebastian."
"Oh, we don't want to fight Sebastian," I clarify. "We're going to Calgary to get our family back together. That's all."
"That's all," echoes Crinae faintly.
"Silly girls," says Hyla. "You're not going to find them without fighting Sebastian. Do you even know what is going on?"
"Yeah!" I say. "There's lots going on."
"Like what?"
"Like, like Sebastian got into the seed vault."
"Old news. Got anything else?"
No. Crinae doesn't have anything to add either. I tap my foot on the ground, hoping something springs to mind.
"Do you know Sebastian is rounding all of us up and turning us into slaves?"
"I heard something about it."
"Man, your parents kept you girls out of the loop didn't they."
I'm assuming she is not looking for an answer.
"Sebastian's constructing a giant city and populating it with Aeternians," says Hyla. "He's using us as climate shapers: re-creating earth's weather through our powers. We'll do all the work building natural resources and growing crops that he'll use to take over the rest of the world."
"How do you know all this?" I ask.
"D'uh," says Hyla, hitting her forward with her palm. "My Dad's part of the Resistance. One of his friends, an Aeternian, escaped from Sebastian's city a couple of weeks ago. She warned him about what's happening. I met her in Hunter's Range and heard all about it. That's why we moved there, to be closer to other rebels."
Is this what Dad was warning us about?
"Does Solomon know?" I ask.
"Of course he does. He's working on a plan."
"What kind of plan?"
"How would I know?" Hyla says with an edge. "Anyway, if you have any hope of finding your family you'll stay here and wait for Solomon to move on the GlobalGov."
It's all I can do to keep my hands at my side. She always acts like she knows best. She doesn't know anything about our family.
"Let's go, Crinae," I say curtly. "Let's find Solomon and ask him about this."
"Suit yourself," says Hyla. "Do you even know where you're going?"
"Sure," I say icily as we walk away from her and down an unknown corridor.
"Imagine that!" I shoot at Crinae. "Hyla is all high and mighty about us not knowing what's going on."
Crinae knows not to answer. I'm just spouting off and will calm down eventually.
"Who does she think she is? I bet she's making all of this up."
Yet deep down I sense Hyla isn't a liar and is probably telling the truth. That, whatever is going on, it's more than we know. I sigh.
"I recognize this symbol on the wall," says Crinae. "I think I can get us back."
Crinae's always been the one to notice the finer details. There's nothing more to do but follow her lead. Eventually, after a bunch of twists and turns, we come upon Katherine sewing in her room. She's mending our clothes and puts down the needle and thread as soon as she sees us.
"So, how was your first day of school?" she asks.
"Great!" says Crinae.
"Fine," I say. I've lost the excitement of showing off our new tricks after learning all the dark stuff from Hyla. "We saw Hyla. She's told us Sebastian is using Aeternians to bring back weather."
"Oh, that," says Katherine off-handedly. "Who knows what's real and what's not these days. In any case, I'm glad you enjoyed your first day. You're going to be seeing a lot of Mr. Cho. You and your sister have a lot of catching up to do. Your teacher is coming to give you extra lessons every night."
Crinae claps her hands. Loudly. Annoying me. I pinch her arm.
"Naia!" scolds Katherine. "Stop that at once."
"Sorry," I mumble.
"Are you girls' hungry?"
I never really register hunger unless I haven't eaten in a long time. I have to think about it for a moment.
"No," I say. "I'm not hungry. Are you?" I ask Crinae.
"No," she says.
"Okay," says Katherine. "I'm used to kids coming home from school and all they want to do is eat."
"How many kids do you have?" asks Crinae.
"We had, I mean have, three children," says Katherine as she picks up her needle again.
"Are they Aeternians?"
"Yes, all three are Aeternian. Like me and their dad."
"Where are they?"
"All grown up. They don't live with us anymore. Haven't lived with us in a long time."
"Did they go somewhere?"
"They went away. Too much fighting with their father. He made some decisions they didn't agree with."
One single tear runs down Katherine's face. Her head falls forward and she stops mending Crinae's shirt. I don't know what to say. Crinae and I stand in front of her as still as the stalactites that hang from the ceilings of Nakimu.
"Don't worry about me," she says, wiping away the tear and looking up at us. "Solomon and I get along fine without them."
Sure, but it looks like Katherine misses them. This whole conversation is making me uncomfortable and curious at the same time.
"You two should have a wander about the community," says Katherine. "See what's out there. Just make sure you don't go outside."
"Why not?" I ask. "We're allowed to go out at home."
"It's not safe. You never know when the Motos are going to turn up on our doorstep. Be back soon. Mr. Cho will be here for your extra help."
"Can Hyla explore with us?" asks Crinae. I give her a little shove. I don't want Hyla to come along and share our adventure. Besides, that tiny know-it-all makes me feel simple all the time.
"Hyla is going into high-level skills training this afternoon," says Katherine. "She won't have any free time for a while."
"What's she leaning?" asks Crinae.
"Oh, well," says Katherine, stopping her stitching. "She's learning how to build cubes, as in 3 dimensional space, weave a dam and then how to shift a small wave into a large one."
Oh! I can do that already.
"Why are we in the baby class?" I ask.
Katherine looks up from her sewing in surprise.
"Baby class? I think, ah, um, well you need to learn the basics first."
Are we that thick that we have to start at the bottom and Hyla is smart so she gets "high-level training? Hmmm.
"Come on, Crinae," I say to my sister. "Let's go out."
"All right," she says.
I like this Crinae who agrees with everything I'm saying. I couldn't put up arguing with both her and Hyla. It's exhausting.
Once outside the chamber, I stop Crinae.
"Don't ever ask about Hyla again," I say, wagging my finger in her face.
"Why not?" asks Crinae, pushing my finger away. "Hyla's mostly nice."
"Hyla is not at all nice. We don't need her and she makes us look like morons."
Stupid is not a concept Crinae knows well. In our own community, people knew our parents were intellectuals and never talked down to us. Here, no one knows us and they obviously think we don't know much.
"Oh," says Crinae.
"Okay," I say. "Let's turn left here."