Chapter 11
I wake up at the edge of the woods, still clutching the doll. A few meters away, everyone is standing in a huddle. No one notices my appearance and they all continue to talk. Mustering all the strength I can, I stand up and limp over to them. I think I landed on my right foot wrong because white hot pain fills it every time I put pressure on it.
Sophie is the first to notice me, her eyes widen and she covers her mouth with her hands. The others turn their heads to look at me and many of them gasp as they take me in. I know I must look quite the sight, covered in blood and dirt, limping towards them. Not mention the fact that I'm clutching on to a creepy little doll. I vaguely notice that none of them are nearly in the condition that I am in.
"Shit," Amy whispers, a look of horror on her face. I manage to stumble forward a few more steps before all my strength leaves me. Scratch that, it doesn't just leave, it practically flees. Not able to stand up any longer, I crumple to the ground. Several interns rush over to my side.
"Everyone step back, your crowding her," a deep strong voice orders. I look over to see Elias marching towards me, his green eyes filled with worry. Everyone steps away from me, their eyes on Elias. He kneels next to me and very gently brushes a piece of hair out of my face.
"What happened to you out there Juliette?" Elias whispers.
"Insect invasion, wolf attack, crazy doll tried to kill me. You know, the usual," I shrug. Elias laughs softly, and shakes his head.
"Right, the usual," he says and winks at me. "Let's get you back to the house." I try to sit up, but he gently pushes me back down. "I've got this." And before I have a chance to protest, he scoops me up in his arms. All I can do is wrap my arms around his neck and try not to turn bright red. Somehow, hiding my blush is harder than trying to walk after almost dying several times during the entrance exam.
"Wait, did I pass?" I ask, suddenly aware that my near death experiences could have been for nothing.
"Yes Juliette, you passed. You made it back just in time. You had two minutes left I believe," Elias responds, looking down at me briefly as he walks back to the house. Wow, talk about in the nick of time, I think. Behind him, the group follows us back to the house. It looks like everyone is there.
"Was I the last one back?"
"No, you were not the last one back," Elias replies very slowly, his face strangely blank.
"Well who else is out there? Why aren't we waiting for them? Are they disqualified?" I demand. His vague response leaves a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Elias sighs, "Paige is the only person who hasn't come back. Sadly this does mean she will be going home. We sent Ryder out to find her after she missed her return time, but so far he hasn't come back with any news yet. It may take a while though, considering she specializes in invisibility." Huh, I guess that explains why she came out of nowhere then disappeared just as quickly. In retrospect I probably should have figured that in the first place. I mean I'm practically in superhero camp.
"How come I'm so much more beat up than everyone else? Am I really that bad at being one of the Gifted?" I ask. I realize how insecure I sound but after everything I just fought off, I think I'm entitled to a little bit of insecurity.
"If anything I think it shows you might be the most powerful of us all Juliette. Whatever happened back there, well it shouldn't have. Happened that is. I think that somehow the simulation hex got hacked."
"Simulation hex?"
"Yeah, that is how we tested you guys. We put a hex over the woods to create a sort of simulation. When you walked in, you were still in the woods, but the conditions had changed. At least, how you saw things did. It sort of tricks your mind into seeing things that aren't actually there. Like seeing pitch black even though it was the middle of the day and not being able to find markers on the ground until you used your powers to create some sort of light. Even if something attacks you, it isn't real, though it really does affect you physically. The object with your name on it would end the simulations designed for you and send you out of the hexes' reach," Elias explains.
"By any chance, could you make people forgot they were in this simulation?" I ask eagerly, something suddenly clicking together in my mind.
"Yes we could, but why would we do that?" Elias replies. His eyebrows furrow together in confusion.
"Because I think your grandfather put me through one at the hospital when he came to get me. I think it was a sort of test, to see whether I was Gifted or just crazy, but he had to make everyone at the hospital forget it had happened," I say, excited to finally understand what the hell went on that day. It's good to know I'm not as crazy as I had begun to believe. Elias cocks his head to the side, considering this, but otherwise says nothing.
By the time we reach the house, nighttime had finally fallen. Since Elias has no free hands, I reach out and knock on the door. A moment later, the same jaded butler who had welcomed into the house my first day, opens the door.
"Master Elias, Miss Juliette, so glad to have you back," he says in his empty, drawling voice.
"Thanks Barnabas, good to see you too," Elias replies good-naturedly. "Everyone else is just behind us. They should be here in a minute or two."
"I'm quivering with anticipation," Barnabas drones sarcastically. Elias and I look at each other and burst into laughter. Barnabas just stares at us with his signature bored, yet mildly annoyed expression.
Elias carries me all the way up to his room. I don't even realize where we are until he places me on his bed, we had been snickering and laughing the whole way up and I was too distracted to notice. He lays me very gently on the bed and suddenly I am brought out of the giggly world where we had spent the last five minutes and abruptly into reality. I try to sit up, but he softly pushes me back down.
"No, you shouldn't strain yourself Juliette. I'm going to heal your wounds, but you just rest while I am doing that," he murmurs. He rubs his thumb across my cheekbone, wiping off some of the blood there, and my skin tingles with electricity. Somehow, I don't think I'll be able to relax while he is here.
Elias sits down next to me and closes his eyes. A moment later his skin begins to glow a warm, soft yellow color. I can feel the warmth radiating off of him; it rolls off in soft waves that wash over me and fill me with a feeling of safety and comfort. He places his hands on top of my head and all the warmth rushes through me. What had once been soft waves becomes a tidal wave of heat and safety. It starts at the top of my head and surges through my body all the way down to my toes, healing every wound and injury in its wake.
I gasp and stare at my body in wonder. Not a single scratch or scar is left, even my ankle feels better. The only blood that remains is that which had already dried on my skin and clothes.
"How did you do that?" I whisper, my eyes wide in awe.
"Healing spelling, which can be easy or difficult depending on how bad the injury is," Elias shrugs, then stands up and offers me his hand. "Now let's get you all cleaned up."
I take his hand and follow him to the bathroom. He grabs a washcloth and puts it under warm water while I sit on the edge of the bathtub. Elias sits next to me and starts wiping the blood off of my forehead. He does so very gently, touching the cloth to my skin oh so softly. He makes his way down my face, until he reaches my neck.
My stomach unleashes a battalion of butterflies as he lightly presses the washcloth to my blood drenched neck. We meet each other's gaze and I can't seem to look away from his deep, dark green eyes. Elias stares back at me, into my gray ones, and I can feel him stop dabbing my neck.
"I should take my clothes off," I blurt out. Elias stares at me in surprise and I realize what I just said. My cheeks go up in flames and I scramble to fix my mistake. "No, I mean, it's just, oh great. I mean I should take my clothes off so I can clean myself up. You know alone. Without anyone else there. All by myself. Alone." My face is definitely on fire right now. I'm surprised I can't see flames burning me alive, because it sure feels like that right now.
Elias laughs and stands up. "Feel free to clean up in here if you like; there are more towels on the shelf. I'll leave you to it, you know so you can clean yourself up. Alone." Elias winks and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
The moment he leaves the room, I slump over and shake my head. Good one Juliette, real smooth. You're never going to live that one down. Sighing, I get up and strip off my torn and tattered clothing. I feel bad that I have to return Amy's clothes in such horrible condition. I take a quick shower; there was too much blood to just wipe off with a washcloth. I wrap myself up with a big fluffy towel and stare at my clothes; they are too ratty and gross to put back on, but I don't exactly have anything else to wear.
"Elias?" I call through the door.
"Yeah?"
"I-I don't have anything to wear," I say, my cheeks burning from a new kind of shame. It's hard being the girl who doesn't even have a single set of clothing to wear, especially when you're friends with the guy who seems to have everything.
"Oh right, um just a second!" he calls back. A moment later there is a knock on the door. Making sure my towel is secured tightly, I open the door. Elias stands there with his eyes closed, hands out, holding a large t-shirt, flannel pajama bottoms, and thick socks. I grab them, mutter a quick thanks, then close the door.
The clothes smell like him, like expensive men's cologne. It isn't overwhelming or anything, it just exists in the cloth, like it belongs there. They are incredibly soft as well, like they have been worn many times but not so much that they are gross. They don't exactly fit, but they work well enough for now.
I walk out of the bathroom to find Elias curled up on an armchair by the fire, reading. On the coffee table next to him is a tray filled with food. I stand in front of the fire and only then does he notice me.
"Dolly brought dinner for us," he says nodding at the tray on the table. I grab a sandwich and some chips then sit down in the armchair opposite him. "By the way, I found some clothes for you. Real clothes I mean. I'll go get them for you after dinner."
"Thank you so much," I say around a mouthful of sandwich. "Where did you get them?"
"Well let's just say the owner won't need them anymore," Elias says slowly, this time it's his turn to blush.
"So they're Sarah Goode's clothes?" I ask.
"I hope that doesn't bother you. If it makes you feel any better, most of them look like they have only been worn once, if at all. Her mother is a super successful CEO of this major company in Salem. Her room is filled with trunks filled with designer clothing. Actually, we might as well move you into her old room as well. I'm sure you would rather sleep there than in the nursery."
"That is fine with me, and that does make me feel better thank you. So what are you reading?" I ask, pointing at his book.
"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, it was my dad's favorite book growing up. My grandfather would read it to him and Ryder's mom when they were little, then when my dad grew up, he would read it to me. When I was little, I used to hide in wardrobes whenever we visited this house. I thought I would find my way to Narnia through at least one of them, little did I know this house is a magical world of its own." Elias stares at the book fondly, his eyes cloudy with memory.
"I remember that book," I whisper. "I read it a long, long time ago. One of the nurses gave it to me when I first got to the institute, she felt bad for me since I was so little. Then a doctor found it and took it from me, she said that someone as crazy as me shouldn't have their head filled with anymore wild fantasies. I never did get to finish it."
"Why don't you take mine?" Elias says, holding out the book. I start to protest, but he won't have it. "No really, take it. I've already read it about a hundred times. And when you're done, you know where to find me to return it." He smiles at me, still holding out the book. I smile shyly back and accept the book.
"Thanks, I really appreciate it," I murmur. I run my hands over the old book; the binding is falling apart and it sort of sags to one side. "Can't you fix this?"
"Yeah, easily," Elias shrugs. "But I don't want to."
I cock my head to the side and give him a puzzled expression. "Why not? I mean it's falling apart. "
Again he shrugs. "I don't see it that way. I see it as proof that this book has taken me on a hundred adventures; that this book has been loved for a long time and will continue to sweep people up in a whirlwind of fantastical imagination for years to come." I look down at the tattered book and I begin to see it as he does. It isn't broken, it's loved.
"I'm guessing you don't like those electronic reader things then?" I joke, a slight smirk on my face.
Elias laughs and runs a hand through his chestnut hair. "Not so much." We talk for a little while longer, but when his grandfather clock announces that it is eleven I realize just how tired I actually am.
"I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm pretty tired and it's been a long day," I yawn.
"I'll show you to your room," he says, uncurling from the armchair. We don't say anything as we walk, but I am very aware of how close he walks next to me. Every time our arms brush, a jolt of electricity runs across my skin.
I am surprised to find my new room is right across from Amy's. She opens her door right as we reach mine. I thank Elias for showing me to my room and try really hard to ignore the smug looks Amy keeps giving me. When he leaves, Amy rushes over to me and slaps me playfully on the arm.
"You slut!" she laughs. I stare back at her, my confusion to great for words. She just called me a slut, which I'm pretty sure is a bad thing, and yet she seems happy about it. In some ways, things were much simpler when I lived at the mental institute.
"Um what?"
"Oh come on, I'm not stupid Juliette. You just came back with Elias, after everyone is asleep, in clothes that are so obviously his. I mean come on; you'll have to be a little more subtle than that. My only regret is that it isn't me, that boy is fine," Amy sighs and pretends to look sad, but quickly goes back to grinning and giggling. I continue to stare at her, blinking rapidly, my jaw wide open.
"What?" I repeat my confusion greater than ever.
"Oh, you really don't know what I mean do you?" Amy asks, her giggles gone. I shake my head. "Oh, never mind then. Forget everything I just said. You really miss a lot when you spend the majority of your life locked up, don't you?" I nod in response, not sure I am capable of doing anything else at this point. Amy ponders this for a moment, before shrugging. "Hmm, bummer, now let's go." Amy grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall.
"Where are we going?" I ask, startled by her abruptness.
"To the closet where Sarah Goode was killed," she replies, as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why?"
"Because, we are going to have a séance."
I would just like to thank everyone for helping me reach over 10,000 reads! I cannot express to you how excited I am about that and I really feel lucky to have such awesome and supportive readers. I truly would be nothing without you all :)