Seclusion (29 page)

“Good, now push that
tingling out through your finger with as much force as you can, and open your
eyes.”

I followed his directions
and opened my eyes. Chase was using his sleeve to pull the little box out and
lift the lid, revealing another black box. The lid was scorched and melted.

“We got it,” I told Damen.

“Good. Are you okay?”

I looked at my hands.
“What’d I do?”

“I think I channeled my
fire ability through our link so you could use it. Unless you have that power
now, too?”

“I don’t know if I do. How
is that possible if we aren’t linked anymore?”

“We will always be linked.
If something happens to you, I’ll know.”

“Me too,” I whispered.

“Get out of there already,”
he said.

I shoved the phone at
Chase, as he went invisible again. Sam walked us out, smiling and waving at the
tellers. I hurried along behind him, feeling Chase’s hand in mine.

We got into the van, and
Connor played with the recordings as Elsie drove us off. I sat there in shock,
tears spilling over from the stress and the ache in my chest. Chase and Jay
both tried to console me. I felt so silly, but I couldn’t help myself. Finally
they gave up, and I sat there leaning against Jay with his arm wrapped around
me as I held on to Chase’s hand.

“Elsie, pull over at that
hotel. We need to figure out what’s in that box before we bring it to campus,”
Jay said.

Elsie parked. “Rae, do you
think you could use your powers to figure out what’s inside? So we don’t have
to break it open?” she said.

“Huh?” I looked over at the
box. “Diamonds,” I said, without even focusing. “Three bags of diamonds.”

I started to zone out, but
I could still hear the others in the back of my mind.

“Diamonds!” Chase said in
exasperation.

“It should be empty,” Elsie
said.

“So much for a school based
solely on donations,” Jay muttered.

Connor looked over his
shoulder. “Do you think Taylor knows?”

“There’s no way to tell
without Damen around,” Chase snorted.

“Well, we have to pretend
it’s empty,” Jay said.

“I’m supposed to leave with
Damen Thursday, but maybe we should try to leave sooner. I’d like to get back
as soon as I can. There are too many unanswered questions, and I don’t like
leaving you guys,” Jay said, squeezing me closer to him.

*
* *

The meeting with Taylor went as expected. She said we did a great job and that she’d report everything to
Dr. Z. We had decided not to mention the box to her.

“Where is the lockbox?” Taylor asked. “I’ll need to return it as proof that it was possible to steal it.”

We gave it to her, and she
smiled.

*
* *

DAMEN

I’d been going over
Janell’s gene theory research since the moment it came in the mail, trying to
keep my mind off the predicament my friends were in.
I should be the one
going along with Raegan
, I thought. But that train of thought was
pointless. I looked down at the research again.

Her mother was brilliant!
She discovered a gene that could potentially be causing the side effects: our
powers. In one section of her journal, she stated that E. argued with Zachary
and stopped him from any further experimentation with the cure. All studies
were being done to ensure the safety of the participants after the incident on Jedediah Island. She also said that she argued against Michael erasing the memories of
those who were choosing to leave the island, including herself. E. managed to
get Janell off the island without having her memories erased. Other than her
actual research on the gene and the drug, or cure as she referred to it, there
was no other information.

Now we had a link between
all of us and the school. Raegan and her mother’s use of initials for people
was frustrating. Who the hell was E. now, and Zachary who? I had hope that the
island would give us the answers we needed. Janell’s research alone could keep
me busy for years.

All the plans to travel to Jedediah Island were set. Jay and I would fly to British Columbia, and there would be a
yacht waiting for us. I packed my bags and looked over the budget the
corporation executives had sent over.

I heard my phone vibrate.
Finally!
It seems like hours ago since I called Raegan at the bank.
“What’s the
news?” I asked.

“Well, hello to you too. We
are all okay, and the assignment was accomplished thanks to you. The box had
three bags of diamonds in it according to Rae.”

“Wonderful. I have more
news too. Janell’s research proves the gene mutation is a side effect of a drug
or virus. I’m not sure yet if they knew which it was. She says that it was
given at Jedediah Island.”

“No way! This is getting
crazy. I think we should leave as soon as we can. One of us needs to get back
here as soon as possible and figure out what’s going on here.”

“Okay, I’ll send the jet
now. It’ll be at least four hours.”

“Okay.”

*
* *

Elsie, Connor, Chase and I
all said good-bye to Jay, and the four of us headed off to the caf. We were all
zoned and trying to get back into the school routines. Our two roommates had
finally arrived and had begun moving in for the beginning of the school year.
They both knew Elsie and were super excited to be back in her quad. They sat
with us and kept the conversation flowing. I couldn’t help but feel like my
home had been invaded by two shallow mean girls in disguise. They were cordial
to me though, and I attempted to make friends. Both girls made me give them the
lowdown on Chase and Jay. Even though neither of them were mine, nor did I want
them to be mine, I didn’t want to share them either, at least not with these
girls.

“Tomorrow I’ll be working
all day, so I won’t see you till the evening,” E. said, putting her book down
and lifting the covers for me.

“Maybe I should try
sleeping in my own room.”

“Up to you, but do you want
to explain to the Bobbsey Twins why you wake up screaming every night?”

“Well, no,” I whined,
cozying up under the covers and laying my head down.

*
* *

DAMEN

We were on the jet flying
towards BC and eating the take-out we had picked up.

“How’s Raegan doing with
everything?” I asked Jay, yanking out one of his ear buds.

“She’s okay. I don’t think
she wanted me to leave, but she understands. I didn’t tell her about what you
found in her mother’s research. I figured you could just tell her when we have
more to explain.”

His words were like a blow
to my heart.
She didn’t want him to leave
? I remembered how she had
thought it was him calling her in the vault, and I remembered their smiling
faces on the ice sled.

“You know if you guys are a
thing, you can tell me. It was my choice to leave her the way I did,” I said.

“It was your choice, but
she’s still hung up on you. I have enough pride not to be second best. If I
decide to pursue her, it will be when she is over you.”

I wasn’t sure what to say
to that. Was he saying he planned on pursuing her, or that he wouldn’t?

We were on the yacht about
to dock on the island. I steered us in, and Jay jumped out and began tethering
us.

“I guess we start our
search in the morning when it’s light out,” he said.

“Sounds good. I’m
exhausted.”

The weather was cold, but
the scenery was beautiful, with tall green trees, rock paths, and hillsides. I
wished Raegan was here to see it. It reminded me of Washington. I wondered if
she’d ever been there.

I walked back to the yacht,
prepared to go to sleep in one of the tiny cabins, but I had a rough time
sleeping. I kept hearing Raegan’s voice calling for me. Every night I had the
same dream –endless searching. Except now she seemed closer. It was like she
was finally there on the beach with me, even though she wasn’t.

The next morning, I woke up
later than usual. I walked out to the deck. Jay was dressed and pacing as he
watched the sun finish its ascent above the tree tops. I walked out in a pair
of shorts, and it was freezing.

“Why are you pacing?”

“Oh good, you’re up. Get
dressed. Let’s get this over with. I feel anxious something is wrong. We need
to get back. I’ve seen where we are going and exactly what we will find. Let’s
hurry.”

Crap
, I thought.
That’s not
a good sign
. I ran into the cabin and pulled on some jeans and a
sweatshirt. I also grabbed a beanie, flashlights, water bottles and a backpack.
I threw a bottle of water at Jay and he nodded.

“There’s an old abandoned
settlement back here,” Jay said.

I knew the settlement was
close to where we had docked; I had found the research facility on the
Internet. We hiked half a mile into the trees until we got to a clearing. We
found the remains of five buildings and discovered some small cottages around
the outskirts, along with what looked like a graveyard. There was an intact
stone plaque in the center. I felt a sense of déjà vu, but nothing was clear.
The plaque read:

Drake Family Research
Institute – founded in 1982 in hopes of a cure.

“More Drakes. Sounds creepy
to me,” I said.

“I know where you lived. I
think we need to go there first,” Jay said.

I just followed him across
the torn-down grounds to one of the cottages. He began running, and his urgency
scared the crap out of me.

“What’s going on, Jay?”

“I’m not sure. I just know
that the quicker we figure this out, the quicker we can return to the school.”

“Do you think Raegan is in
danger? I don’t feel that she’s hurt.”

“I can’t tell anything for
sure. My instincts say we need to hurry.”

Jay opened the door to the
cottages and then zoned out for a few minutes as he sat and stared. We didn’t
have time for this, so I slapped him upside the head.

“Really? You and Chase both
think it’s okay to hit unsuspecting people. Your mother kept a journal; it’s
behind two loose bricks on the inside of the fireplace.”

I had the journal flying
into my hands before he finished his sentence. We sat down at the dining room
table and I began to read.

“We don’t have time to read
the whole thing. Skim the beginning and the end,” Jay said.

I began to read the Journal
out loud:

“I arrived on the island
with my family, the Abbotts, on March 17, 1982.”

I turned and looked at Jay.
“This isn’t my mother’s journal. Her last name is Carbonel,” I said,
frustrated.

“Keep reading, Damen.”

“The island was beautiful.
There were at least ten other families, along with ours, who were hired by the
Drakes to continue a research grant for finding the cure for cancer. Momma and
Papa both worked in the lab. I couldn’t wait to explore the island, but Carl
was ecstatic about all the kids that happened to be around our age.”

I skimmed over to November.

“The adults have been
acting strange. They were positive they’d found a cure and had been researching
with volunteers from the local community. I eavesdropped on one of the meetings
and heard Zachary Drake discuss how a vial of the cure had been shattered in
the lab and the Catalanos had been infected. Why he was allowed in the lab in
the first place wasn’t fair. He is my age! Those Drakes think they own the
island. His father said it’s been spreading through the kids!

February ’83: The scare has
subsided, and research is being done on how the cure has affected us, and why
us and not our parents. First it was just flu symptoms, but this month, Michael
displayed something different. He saved my life. While I was exploring, I
tripped and fell into an underground cave. I was in the cave for hours, and
when nightfall came I began screaming. Michael said he could hear my cries and
led the adults to my rescue. I now have a horrible crush on him.

January ’92: Ever since Dr.
Drake Sr. was sent to BC to a retirement home, Zeke and Zach have been arguing
about the direction of the research. All the families and children have decided
to stay on the island for our own safety, and our children’s, until more
research can be done. Michael has finally proposed, and I am so happy. We’ve
decided to take a vote on what the focus of our study should be. Our vote won
this time.

June ’94: I’m pregnant! I
couldn’t be more thrilled. Zach is making me do extensive tests. He says he’s
just being careful. Unfortunately, I think his infatuation with me is making
his judgment faulty. We are going to have another vote on the island soon;
there’s a division between the brothers. Zach wants us to continue to expose
our children to the cure that caused these powers in hopes of protecting them
and furthering the gene mutation. Zeke is against it. There’s talk about what
to do about the other families with children who have had contact with the
facilities and the drugs. We’ve all decided to start by figuring out what is
going on with our own powers and then attempting to contact others.

Janell has returned. We’ve
all missed her so much. She came to see Zeke, and she tried her best to
convince him to leave the island. I saw her the morning before she left, and
she was heartbroken! I was devastated along with her. I encouraged her to
leave. Staying here is not safe. I told her that her choice to leave would spur
Zeke to make a difference here or leave himself. Zach has begun using Michael
to alter the memories of those who left the island.

April 2000: Many of us are
feeling trapped. After the Millers left, Zach went a little crazy and forced us
to stay on the island.

My dearest Damen is showing
very strong abilities, and Zeke hovers over him like he’s his father. Michael
can’t stand it and is deciding when we should leave. I’m worried that Zeke
might have given me something while I was pregnant during all my prenatal care.
Michael’s always had the strongest abilities, then me, and now Damen.

August 2001: Michael has
decided we are leaving in a week. We have many preparations to make. I fear
Zach will kill us before he lets us leave with Damen. Somehow Zach’s abilities
are getting stronger, but his mental decline is extreme. Paranoia and delusions
have been plaguing him. Taylor is doing everything she can to help him. I
believe she truly loves him. She promised to try to distract him when we leave.

August 14, 2001
: Tonight’s the night.
Michael and I have been preparing for this for a long time. Taylor has agreed
to help our escape. She will have another boat at the northeast end of the
island as our decoy boat, giving us time to leave on the little dingy. Damen
doesn’t understand why we are leaving. If things don’t go according to plan,
this might be my last entry. I pray for God’s protection over my dear boy. I
know if we can just make it off the island, my biological father will help us
escape. I have a cell phone. Janell left it for me after her visit, and I
programmed it with my father’s number. May God be watching over us tonight.

--
Maddy Abbot Carbonel
Catalano”

“Crap, Damen.”

“Apparently things didn’t
work out like they expected. If we only knew what happened after this. I know
Raegan told me in my dream that Dr. Z was there. I can only assume from my
mother’s journal that Zach is the one who killed my family. Dr. Drake’s Science Academy was founded in 1996, and my mother was still on the island according to
this. If my family is dead, where are their bodies?”