Epilogue
“Bye Katie! I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Absolutely! I can’t wait til we graduate!” I laughed, turning away from Katie and waving. Smiling, clutching my bag in excitement, I thought about what would life be like after tomorrow... after the first day of the rest of our lives.
What would I become? A journalist, a dancer, a surgeon, a philanthropist, a physicist?
Who would I become? The famous Amnesty, the humble Amnesty, the intelligent Amnesty, the thoughtful Amnesty?
Amnesty the mother?
Oh God, children! Would I have children? How many? Who with?
As I neared my house, I looked to the porch of the neighbours’ house and saw Daniel leaning on the railing. He smiled and waved to me as I passed, and I blushed and waved back. Would I be Amnesty the wife? Daniel’s Amnesty?
As I progressed down the path I saw Daniel turn away from facing the road and back into his house, and out of the corner of my eye I saw an unnatural shadow form around him. I twisted my head to get a better look at it, but by then Daniel was already gone, the door slamming shut behind him. I frowned and walked on.
There was at least a five minute walk between Daniel’s front door and mine, and I was enjoying the peace and quiet of my musings when, halfway to my house, I noticed someone following me.
They were good, I must say, but somehow I just managed to feel someone watching me, their intent clearly written in the pattern of their footsteps, which was a completely odd thing to feel, I know.
But I continued walking for a bit, then rounded a corner and ducked behind a bush. When I heard the footsteps quickly catch up to where I was, I stepped out from behind my cover to confront the stalker.
But there was no one there. I looked around, confused, for I was completely certain that there had been someone following me. I’d heard the footsteps behind me...
Something brushed against my arm and I whirled around, my nerve endings ablaze in anticipation of a fight. But again, there was nothing in front of me.
A soft chuckle echoed in my ear, and the feel of warm breath against my neck startled me again, and I spun in the opposite direction, my heart rate peaking.
But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I turned around and ran for home, concentrating on the pavement ahead of me so I didn’t run into anything.
I was about twenty metres away from my house, and I could even smell the inviting scent of my mom’s cooking when I saw a man hovering beside the post box at the end of my driveway. I skidded to a stop instantly, and stared. The man was bending down in front of my post box like he was inspecting it or something. I slowly crept forward, and as I neared him he turned his devastatingly handsome face towards mine and smiled. I stopped again, wracked by emotions that I hadn’t ever felt before nor did I understand. The man straightened up from the post box and chuckled. I was only a short distance from him when he spoke, so I heard him perfectly.
“Nice brooch,” he said, his mouth twisting into a smirk before he turned and sauntered away. I looked down at the small black pearl brooch on my cardigan, confused, then looked back up at him, but he was already gone. I shivered in the summer heat and turned to go up the driveway to my house, when I glimpsed an envelope stuck inside the post box. I frowned, wondering if it had been the mysterious man that had placed the envelope there. I slid it out, and brought it up to my line of vision as I continued up the drive way.
Sure enough, painted on the creamy paper of the envelope in an elegant calligraphy pen, was my name. A shiver ran through me again as I looked at my name so beautifully etched onto the envelope. I swallowed heavily, entering the house and calling a greeting to my mother before I walked into the kitchen and placed my bag on the counter. My mom flicked a smile towards me and continued peeling potatoes as I got a glass out of the cabinet and poured myself some lemonade from a pitcher on the kitchen table.
“What’s that envelope for?” My mom asked, looking at it still in my hand as I sat down at the table and sipped my lemonade. I shrugged. “Probably another letter from a university.” I set down my glass and held it in both hands, deciding what to do with it. Opening it seemed like the most likely option... but something held me back. Something was telling me not to open it...
“I can’t believe you’re going to be going to university next year!” My mom cried. “Everything’s just happened so fast! The past three months have just flown past me. It’s like I’ve finally got my little girl back, and now she has to leave!”
“Oh mom,” I said awkwardly, getting up and walking over to hug her around the waist. “You’ve always had me. And I’m probably not going to move that far away, maybe just to New York. I’ll be back every weekend!”
“You know what I mean, A,” my mom said sadly. “Ever since, ever since your sister died, you weren’t the same. You were always locked away in your room, and when you did come out, it felt like you were a robot. We always knew it was going to hit you the hardest, what with you two being so close, and all, but still. It was horrifying to watch. But then, suddenly, you came back. And now I have to let you go again.”
“You don’t have to let me go again mom,” I said, “I’m not going to go that far, I promise.”
“You better not,” my mom sniffed, then gave me a watery smile and went back to peeling potatoes.
I smiled back and sat down again at the kitchen table, picking up the envelope. There really only seemed to be one option; I turned it over and tore open the top and pulled the piece of paper out. Opening it out fully, I began to read.
Dear Amnesty Grey,
We are pleased to be writing to inform you that you have been offered a place in the elite Inšy Sviet University in Belgium. This university offers a select group of students from across the world the opportunity to
I didn’t need to read the rest. I couldn’t. Suddenly a wave of nausea rolled over me and I grasped the table to stop from vomiting.
“So what was in the letter, honey?” My mom called out, her focus still on the potatoes.
“Uh - nothing much, ma,” I managed to choke out. I picked up the letter and staggered back from the table. “I’m not feeling too good, I’m gonna go to bed.”
“Are you alright?” My mom exclaimed, turning from her task.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine, I’ll just sleep it off,” I said, pushing down another wave of nausea and falling up the stairs in my attempt to get to my bedroom. I crawled up the rest of the stairs and down the hallway, using my doorknob to pull myself upwards. I fell into my bedroom and onto my bed, crushing the letter beneath me.
Visions began to race through my mind, memories of events that I couldn’t remember happening to me. Floating lights dancing through treetops, the wind whipping through my hair on a motorbike that was impossibly fast, fighting and laughing at the same time, my dead sister talking to me in places we’d never seen, and a face, a gorgeous face that I’d only just seen a couple of minutes ago. Thayne...
Who was Thayne?
That’s a stupid question...
I couldn’t control the mental onslaught or the bizarre conversation I was having with myself, and so I simply succumbed to the blackness overruling my thoughts.
***
I woke up in time to hear my mother ringing the dinner bell. Trying unsuccessfully to open my eyes, I pulled myself up and off my bed and stumbled out into the hallway where my other sisters were making their way down to dinner. Ariana still chatted on her mobile phone, and swept by me, not even watching where she was going. She bumped into me, and I didn’t have the strength to stand my ground, so I fell back against the door.
“Are you alright, sis?” My little sister Amanthe asked, looking up at me. I smiled queasily down at her.
“I’m ok, sis, just a little nervous for tomorrow.”
“You’ll do great, A,” Amanthe smiled up at me proudly. “If you’ve done your speech that is.”
“Of - course I have...” I mumbled, then turned to walk down the hallway. Damn, I forgot to do my valedictorian speech. Oh well, I guess I’d wing it as usual.
I took my usual seat at the dining table as my other sisters milled around me, chatting amongst each other. My mother reached over me to put a salad on the table and patted me on the shoulder.
“How are feeling now, darling? Better?”
“Yeah, I’m ok. Just got a mother of a headache. Need a Pryliscerone to tame this one.”
“A Pryliscerone? What are you talking about?” My mother laughed at me curiously.
“Uh - I have no idea,” I replied, confused. Where had Pryliscerone come from? What the hell was a Pryliscerone? “Making stuff up again as usual.”
“Oh, you’re so funny, Amnesty,” my mom laughed, then turned away to take her seat at the opposite end of the table. My sister Avon said a quick grace, then we fell quickly into the rhythm of jostling and handing over of plates to be filled.
“Ahem!” My father said, standing up and raising his wine glass. “I would like to make a quick toast to my beautiful daughter, Amnesty. Tomorrow you will cease to be a girl, and emerge as a woman. I have every confidence in you that you will choose your path wisely, and succeed in whatever you do. To Amnesty!”
“To Amnesty!” The resounding cheer dissolved into laughs and clinks of glasses as everyone toasted me. I laughed along with them.
“So how are your studies going, Arbonne?” I asked my sister next to me.
“God, law school is a pain in the ass,” she sighed. “Way too much work. I’m surprised I lived through the first year. I must be a lunatic to have kept going this year.”
“Well, at least you have your boyfriend to sweeten the deal,” I joked, an odd twinge of regret twisting my heart.
“Well -” Arbonne said shyly, biting her lip. “He’s not really my boyfriend. Not anymore.”
“What? You and Zero broke up?”
“Well, everyone, can you listen up?” she said loudly, commanding everyone’s attention. “I have an announcement to make. I’m engaged!”
The room erupted into delighted squeals and giggles as Arbonne proudly flashed her ring at everyone. I smiled in congratulations, but couldn’t help the sinking feeling in my stomach as I withdrew into a misery I never knew I had. All I could think about was him... Thayne.
***
Twenty hours later, I was standing in front of my entire class and their relatives who were expecting me to make a speech I had yet to write.
“Um, hi everyone,” I started off, sweeping the crowd for inspiration. “I’m supposed to make a speech, but I’m going to be completely honest with you and say, I haven’t written it yet.” The room laughed, and I smiled shakily. “This year has been a - a tumultuous one, one could say. We have had our very high highs, what with our school winning their first football championship in 28 years.” Our class erupted in loud whistles and hoots. “But we’ve also had our very bigs lows. Every one of us has had a rollercoaster of a year, each in our own ways. And, unfortunately, the real world is going to be no different. We will climb, but we will also fall. All we’ve got to do, is make sure there’s someone there to catch us.”
Suddenly my eye caught someone’s in the crowd. The man - the man outside my house - Thayne. I couldn’t look away from him, but my voice kept going without my knowing it. “So go out there, make fools of yourselves, have wild parties, study hard, make out with the completely wrong guy, do things that would shock your grandmother, but always make sure that there is always someone you can turn to when the going gets rough. It can be your parents, your best friends, your roommate, that random hobo off the street, or even the one you love. It can even be me. Don’t be afraid to call someone you haven’t spoken to in years, just know that you will always have someone on your side.” The room exploded into applause, and I smiled. I did it. I bluffed it all! “Oh, and girls, remember, seduction is the key to all locks.” All the girls laughed hysterically, and whistled and screamed louder. Katie grabbed me around the waist and laughed in my ear.
“You were great, A! Better than I could’ve ever done!”
I smiled in thanks and joined the stream of screaming students rushing through the stadium doors and out onto the school oval, where we promptly through our navy graduation hats high into the air, screaming all the while. I giggled a while to myself, than dissolved into thought once more.
I slowly turned around, my senses reeling, and looked through the crowd around me. My eyes caught theirs instantly - even through the wild throng, I could see them perfectly. A rather large group of young people, four girls and four boys. Another girl drifted up to them, smiling, then turned to look back at me. That girl - Lizzy. Was that really her name?
My feet took me to them, side-stepping out of the way of the crowds. Another trio caught my eye to the side of the group; an older couple standing happily with a young man - the man. Thayne, my mind supplied me. Of course.
I walked up to the group first and turned to Lizzy. “Desiree,” I said, and she beamed and embraced me.
“Thought you’d never remember me,” she sighed, wiping away a tiny tear.
I smiled cautiously at her, then turned to the rest. “Juno, Coraline, Demetri, Olexei, Serrender, Yuri, Latrice and Mannox.” They all smiled in turn as they heard their names, pleased that I had remembered. I frowned. “Wait, someone’s missing.”
Mannox grimaced, not meeting my eyes and looking over my should. “Yeah, my brother. He deserted.”
I frowned again, then looked over my shoulder where my family was milling around, mingling. Looking at Arbonne where she reached up to embrace and kiss her new fiancé, I sighed in recognition. “Zero.”
“That’s the name they gave him when he left,” Mannox explained. “Number Zero. The first to go. They did a complete mind wipe. Apparently Zero’s been building an orphanage in Mexico for the past three years. Zero doesn’t have a brother.”
“But he does have a fiancé,” I muttered, but Mannox huffed in recognition. “I’m sorry, Mannox.”
“Don’t be sorry. It was his decision. At least he’s happy now.”
I nodded in bittersweet agreement, then frowned again. “I’m so confused.”
“I know, sweetie,” Desiree agreed, rubbing my arm in comfort. “What’s happened is, after the incident, the Tribal Council reviewed their process for accepting Academy students. Thayne was right, of course. They had been using mind-altering techniques to make us more inclined to choosing the full-time position at the Academy, so much so that no one ever thought about leaving. So, as the Tunnels had been completely discovered, and the crime rate plummeted, the Tribal council decided to give their students a, uh cooling off period. Bit by bit, they got groups of students, reversed the mind alterations and let them loose in the real world again.”
“But not before giving them a temporary mind wipe,” Yuri interjected.
“So they let the students roam around for a bit, getting used to their old lives again before along came their Inšy Sviet acceptance letters...” Latrice continued. “Mine came last week. That was when I got a knock on my door with Toby explaining everything. That was when I got to decide. They reversed all of the adults’ mind alterations, but they only got a week to decide, especially since most of them had been deemed missing by the real world a long time ago, it was too risky for them to be out and about so much before deciding.”
“Anox and I got ours at the same time,” Mannox said grimly. “He refused.” Mannox shook his head.
Katie suddenly appeared at my elbow, smiling. “That’s where you got to. Been looking for you everywhere.” She turned to the group, her eyebrows raised. “And aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”
“Of course,” Mannox said instantly, stepping forward and smiling gently at Katie. “My name is Mannox, and these are my friends Yuri, Latrice, Desiree, Serrender, Olexei, Coraline and Juno. May I have the pleasure of knowing yours?”
Katie giggled and took his offered hand. “Katie.”
I turned away from my friends, both old and new and sidled over to where Thayne stood with his parents. A little shock went through me as I saw his smiling face. How could I ever have forgotten him? I smiled and greeted his parents who stood behind him. It seemed all was forgiven. I would have to ask him about that later, but for now...
I looked back at Thayne and smiled. My eyes were closed as I said, “I’m going to refuse.”
Thayne stiffened, and I could sense his confusion. I smiled and stepped back so that I could see his face. “But I’m also going to accept. I would never forgive myself, even if I didn’t remember what to forgive. I’m not leaving you any time soon, but I’m not leaving them either.” I looked over my shoulder at my family, who were looking about them, obviously looking for me. I smiled, then looked back at Thayne’s handsome face. “I can have both.”
He smiled shyly at me, but a thought suddenly came to me that darkened my grin. “Tell me one thing, though. How did you know about the Forgotten? And the Kantrolier?”
His face fell into confusion. “I honestly don’t know. The warlocks said I must’ve gone into shock after I saw my parents, and forgotten why I’d done everything I did in the first place.”
“And how did you know Arden?”
“Who’s Arden?” He asked sincerely as his mother put her arms around him from behind.s
“Hmmm,” I said, thoughts rolling over in my head, pieces trying to fit together. I waved it off, then smiled. “Oh well, that’s for another time. Another chapter.” We laughed, and I rubbed my head as pain shot through it.