"Katy!" I scream out of shock. Her head turns to the noise of my voice and her face whitens.
"Christi! They're haunting me, the sounds, the voices, they're speaking in my head and torturing me!" I stop and make a strangled sound in my throat. Could it be Zaroho? No, it can't be, it can't! I turn to find Sabrina in the same state of shock as I am. This is one moment, where I actually care about Katy, where I actually care about her. Skifter appears in the hall, though no one can see or hear him. Everything is happening so fast, I don't have time to wonder why Skifter has been at school with me the whole time. It is Zaroho. Save Katy before she is controlled by him. He's trying to take her away from you! Skifter instructs.
What do I do? I answer.
Fight back with your mind, do what you can. I scream. My voice erupts in the ears of every person in the hallway. Katy faints instantly. I rush to her side, desperate.
"Call the nurse! Someone!" I know Sabrina just hobbled off to find some help. I forgot one key detail. Katy was going to be the victim of a fight. A hand flies down, striking her on the side. I pull something out of my pocket. It's really part of my protractor. I have one of those fancy kinds, with a swingy bit so you can measure angles precisely. It looks like a knife. I know this is against my beliefs, but I can't help it. Katy is in danger.
Pulling my "knife" from its hiding spot, I shout, "If one of you dare touch my sister, you deal with me!" Sabrina comes back, with Nurse Poppy behind her. I quickly hide my "knife" and watch as it all unfolds. Nurse Poppy is soon joined by people. Hospital people. This is more serious than I thought.
Easton is here soon, and I give him a worried look. He nods regretfully and I stand next to him. After a little while, I hand him my "knife" and walk away. He can help defend Katy. He is much stronger anyway. As I stride out, I think to myself silently. Peculiar, isn't it? I've never felt this way for my sister, ever. Weird. I just hope Katy is safe. I realize something just then. If Katy fainted, is Zaroho still in her mind? Or is he gone? I'm hoping with all my heart and all my mind and all my soul and with all my faith that Katy is okay, and Zaroho is gone from her mind. I turn on my heel instantly. I need to retrieve my "knife."
✦
"Sabrina! Ya wanna come over to my house tonight?" I ask. Sabrina shrugs.
"I dunno, I don't think I can make it—" She looks at her feet.
"We're having fried chicken and rice!" I taunt. Fried chicken and white rice is Sabrina's favorite dinner meal. Her head snaps up, and her eyes seem as if the meal has been presented in front of her. Her tongue almost droops out of her mouth, but then she realizes.
"Absolutely! I'll be there, 5:00 sharp!" With that, she bounces on her way home. I smile cheerfully, then I laugh. Sabrina turns back to me and grins. Then, unexpectedly, Adelaide pops out of nowhere, holding two pieces of confetti paper in her hand. Sabrina turns to go, on account of seeing Adelaide (out of habit). Adelaide calls to her.
"Sabrina, wait! I need to talk to you! And you too, Christi!" I cringe. Adelaide has been being well, non-Adelaidish. It's so weird. As if she's actually going to be friends with us! Yeah, right! I mean, are we really going to accept her, after all the snooty things she's done in the years we've been in her class?
Sabrina looks at me widely. I shrug. I'm not sure what evil plans she's up to, but I hope it doesn't cause us too much trouble. Adelaide lifts her pointed chin, along with her slender arched eyebrows. She simply says (in a pretty fake cheery voice), "You're both invited to my birthday party!" Sabrina's expression lightens, and I look at her like she's crazy. Then, her thoughts intertwine with mine, and I know exactly what she's thinking. This is our chance to become popular. This is our chance to be known. I bite my lip, not sure what this will mean in our future. After thinking about it, I'm handed one confetti piece of paper. Whatever happens, I hope it means good for Sabrina and me.
✦
"Christi, Sabrina's here!" Mom calls. She still seems chirpy despite Katy's accident. I forget that and sniff the air. I can smell the fragrance of fried chicken. My thoughts are interrupted by Mom's voice saying, "Oh, and honey, could you get the rice ready?" I shrug. Even though we aren't an Asian family, we surely do enjoy Asian food, explaining why we have a rice cooker at the corner of our kitchen. I scoop the rice from the pantry, then dump it into a metal bowl. After adding water and rinsing the uncooked rice, I insert the metal bowl in the cooker, slam down the top cover and flip the switch. Sabrina walks in, mouth watering. After laughing in my head, I suggest to Sabrina,
"Why don't we go up to my room? We can hang out there." She doesn't hesitate, speeding up the stairs like a cheetah, despite her injured ankle.
"Well someone sure is jumpy," I hear Mom mutter to herself. "She doesn't even take precautions about her injury!" I shrug again, then follow Sabrina's trail up the stairs. That is kind of true though. Sabrina's ankle must be really aching right now. I guess she was just eager to get a move on and kick her feet back to relax. Once I reach upstairs, I see that Sabrina hasn't actually gone into my bedroom. She's playing with Ash. I call to her and she answers,
"So, what's for dinner?" I grin.
"You know what's for dinner!" I laugh, and Sabrina sticks her tongue out. Then we change the subject.
"Don't you think it was weird? All of a sudden, Adelaide started being nice to us!" Sabrina starts, trailing off in her thoughts.
"Exactly! Did things really change that much?" I blink. Adelaide doesn't seem like she would be our friend. She's so much more, let's say, fashionable.
"I don't know," Sabrina says. "Anyway, are we going to her birthday party or what?"
"I guess, it is our chance to be known. But is it really how our future should be?" I inquire. Sabrina smirks, then sighs.
"I'm not sure. What's our main focus right now?" Skifter pops out of nowhere into the sunroom. Then Ash bumps straight into Skifter, but instead of bouncing back, he literally goes through where Skifter has appeared. I gape for about a minute and soon, Skifter disappears, into nowhere.
"Where'd he go?" Sabrina asks, then Skifter mentions something in my head.
I'm in your room.
"Let's go next door, to my bedroom. That's where he says he is." Sabrina nods then follows me to my favorite spot in my room. The lounge place. Skifter, surprisingly, has already pulled down the shades and turned off the glowing lanterns on hooks next to my bed. It's pretty dark, except for the seeps of light coming from the slivers of glass unshaded.
"Why is it so dark?" Sabrina gazes around the room, clearly in wonder. I nod, hoping Skifter will tell me something.
"It is because this is so secret. No one else may hear it. That's why I put the dog to sleep." He smiles calmly.
"You WHAT?!?" I exclaim, then dash to the sunroom. Sure enough, Ash is fast asleep. I tiptoe back to my room, having an urge to glare at Skifter. He always does something like that.
"No one else may hear it! As I said!" Skifter remarks like a smart aleck then flies around the room.
"What else did you do?" Sabrina questions.
"Nothing more, nothing less. I have something planned for you though." Sabrina and I share a glance, in full concern. I have no idea what he's up to. Supposedly, I guess we'll have to deal with it.
Skifter circles around the room, finally settling on an old dance bar I used when I was little. He screeches, though no one else can hear it, outside the room. Hmmm... odd. I sit down on my bean bag while Sabrina takes a fluffy indoor deck chair next to me.
"The next words I instruct you, you must follow. These are words that will help no one else to spy on our conversation. You must empty your mind." Sabrina seems like she's going to fall asleep. I snap, and her head shoots up. She looks around, then nods at Skifter, as if she was listening the whole time. Skifter rolls his yellow vibrant eyes. He continues, "To clear your mind, I am going to give your to-go place. The place you must dream of when enemies try to listen in on your conversations. Sabrina, your to-go place is the sea. Dream of the shore, splashing through the sand and wetting your grain covered toes. Imagine the salty air, water droplets flying everywhere..." Sabrina's eyes are closed, I can tell she's thinking of the beach. Suddenly, a gruff growl is heard. Sabrina's eyes open, and she exclaims, "Lupo—" But Skifter cuts her off.
"Focus, Sabrina!" Then he stops talking. Lupo takes over.
"Christi, do the same as Sabrina, but instead, your to-go place is the mountains. Think of snowy mountains, white tops, but luscious lime grass at the bottom. Irises and lupines huddled together, swaying in the fresh wind..." I dream instantly about the Alps. My eyes close and I feel all my memories vanish. I fight with my mind, to get out of this; I don't want my memories to fade.
"Christi," Skifter's voice comes, "do not worry, they will come back." I sigh, then continue my mindset as more words come to me. I hear Mom calling to me, but soon, her voice stops abruptly. All I can hear now are Skifter, Sabrina and Lupo's voices. Then, the instructions start.
"Once you finish," Lupo starts.
"Your education needs," Skifter continues, and they keep switching off.
"Come to the books."
"With words they feed."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I hear Sabrina say. The Soul Animals shush her. They keep speaking their little riddle.
"Among the hidden, there shall be," Lupo starts again.
"A way to the place, where we live and breathe."
"Your clues will gain, your suspicions sink."
"Just remember to always think."
"Do not share word of this clue," Lupo begins the end.
"For the secrets we tell, are only, only for you." That's it. The Soul Animals disappear, and I'm left with Sabrina to ponder the meaning of that riddle. Mom sticks her head into the room almost immediately after the Soul Animals are gone. She waves her hand around a few times, making her light hazel hair bounce.
"What's up, girls? I've been calling for 5 minutes! Dinner's ready!" She heads back down the stairs and a thought sparks like a once flickering light bulb inside my brain.
"Sabrina," I call. She turns, then smiles.
"Yeah?"
"I think the riddle, I think it leads to the place. The place where the Soul Animals live."
"Uh, Christi?" she murmurs, clearly worried. Then, I realize. Zaroho could be watching us. Right here.
Right now.