“Shadows! It’s the thing I live in! For what purpose? I don’t know!” He glanced down at his papers, and then raised his arms over his head. “What purpose does life possess? Protection. For fear of finding one’s self. It’s much easier to hide in someone—to live for them, become them. Stop! I tried, but night fell. And back into the shadows I went!” He threw the papers to the wind, ripped his shirt down the middle, and wailed.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the guard scurrying toward him. I had never seen Nate like this. The whole scene was so bizarre I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I did know I should save my pill for later and sprint toward the entrance while I had the chance. I didn’t have time to ponder if Nate’s show was in response to our breakup, like he was having some sort of mental breakdown, like I would’ve if I had time to think about everything.
Breakup.
Just thinking the word made me want to fall apart and I couldn’t do that now.
My hands trembled when I reached for the scanner and placed the artificial gummy mold of Riel’s finger on the pad. A green light flashed, like the device was making a photocopy of his finger. Then, the door buzzed softly, and the lock clanged free. Trying the handle, the door swung inward, and I walked quickly through the airy lobby of silver filing cabinets lining the walls from floor to ceiling to my left and right. Good thing the information I sought wasn’t kept in those, or I could’ve been here for a hundred years before finding anything.
After setting my backpack in-between two cabinets, I jabbed the code for the elevator and when the sleek silver doors opened a moment later, I stepped inside. Just as Sam predicted, a detection scanner roamed up and down my body, searching for anomalies. An automatic voice gave the all clear, and then I rode the elevator to the top seventh floor as
How Great Thou Art
drifted through the speakers inside. The elevator doors slid open, and I quietly cleared a set of frosted-glass doors.
The room seemed to be devoid of all beings, but one never knew, so I proceeded on tiptoe. The office inside was modern with vaulted ceilings, and the computers were set up along the nearest wall, a plush leather desk chair in front of each of four flat-screen monitors. I slipped into the first desk chair, the seat warm. Not a good sign. The heat meant someone had just been here and would probably return soon.
Pressing my lips together, I typed in the one password I had, holding my breath until it granted me the access I needed. I tapped furiously away at the computer. Any minute, a guard could burst in on me, and make my task even more difficult. There was another door at the other end of the room, but I didn’t have time to investigate. My heart pounded with trepidation. I was trying to save Conner, but in the process, I could lose Nate, Grace, and myself.
Even as my hands worked the keyboard, I felt the hypocrisy of everything. Dr. Judy, Riel, and Ash all trusted me, and here I was using their trust to get what I wanted. My heart felt like it pounded inside my skull, beating my brain with toxic thoughts, even ones I had convinced myself I’d let go of. If only I hadn’t been jealous and asked Conner to go sailing with me that day. If only we had worn life jackets. If only I’d cared more about my job to help others instead of undertaking this dangerous mission. If only I’d listened to Nate. If I’d just stuck to our plan, I wouldn’t be in this mess.
I swallowed a lump forming in my throat.
Don’t go there
, I thought. If I allowed myself to dwell on the reality of what was happening, I wouldn’t be of use to anybody. As much as I wanted a hero on some white horse to ride in and save us all, that wasn’t happening. Really, everything was up to a computer now.
Conner Anderson. His name was toward the top of the Juvie manifesto.
Thank God for the tyranny of the alphabet!
I bit back a wave of excitement and forced myself to take a deep breath. I couldn’t let my emotions distract me. All my focus went into how to find him now. His life depended on it, and now a lot of others did, too. I clicked on a link and a satellite photograph of the four divisions of the Underworld appeared on the wall from a tiny projector mounted to the ceiling. Juvie, Limbo, Purgatory, and Hell.
It was all here. All the information I needed to know to infiltrate Juvie and find Conner, like my own personal MapQuest of the Underworld. I glanced around the room, paranoid, as I snapped pictures of the needed information with my cell phone. Most important, was a color-coded map with each tent—
tent?
—clearly marked. An area marked in green labeled ‘Camp Fusion’ displayed Conner’s name. An eerie sense of calm settled over me, even amidst the disquieting silence of the room. My task was mind over matter now. I had work to do.
Next, I scanned the computer screen as lists of files from various folders scrolled in front of me. I had no idea what folder the Alpha File 120 was saved under, and the lists were never ending. Lists used to equal fun, but not anymore. The computer screen beeped, and a flashing red line appeared in the center. The Alpha File had finally popped up on the screen, but I had no idea what the beep meant. I hoped the sound didn’t mean the system alerted the media any time the file was accessed. In any case, I clicked on the file folder and discovered there were 120 different Alpha Files, the last one being 120. I opened up the folder and tried to decipher the contents on the screen, but the words and symbols were all Greek to me. It didn’t even look like an Earthly language. I plugged my phone into the computer to download the document and prayed for the best.
Thank you, God, for bringing me this far. Please don’t let me fail this mission. Please let Conner be okay. Please let Nate and Grace be okay, too.
I froze suddenly when I heard a pair of voices on the other side of the mysterious door. I didn’t have time to investigate. The words were too muffled through the wood surface, and the sound of all the computers working made eavesdropping impossible. A tiny window next to the mystery door provided the only other way of escape, but there was no way I’d survive the drop. Then, I remembered I was already dead. I wished I knew how that type of thing worked. I wished I had my invisibility pill, but I had to leave it downstairs in my bag in case the scan was able to pick it up. My knees felt weak, and I could hardly breathe while waiting for the file to finish downloading, praying I wouldn’t be discovered. I didn’t actually know if God heard these prayers though.
The computer screen flashed red again and beeped, signaling completion of the download. Trying hard not to think of the consequences, I reached out, disconnected my phone cord from the computer, and slid everything into the front pocket of my jacket. Then, without even thinking about why, I picked up a pair of black sunglasses with super dark lenses and two silver buttons on each side off the desk and slid them into my other pocket.
As I rode the elevator to the first floor, I hoped Nate was still down there for round two. When the doors dinged open into the lobby, Riel talking to the guard caught my eye.
He must’ve come because of Nate’s commotion.
My pulse skyrocketed. I crouched behind the filing cabinet where I’d stashed my backpack and caught the site of Nate stepping into a clearing to the left of the building. His eyes swept over the inside of the lobby, and I could’ve sworn he saw me. I wondered if he was trying to catch me in the act and rat me out. As I pulled a tiny circular pill from my backpack, I knew I had to time my exit perfectly. When Nate let out a strangled cry, I swallowed the pill, activating the functional invisibility shield around myself. I ran briskly for the front entrance, emerging from the building and into the sunshine. I sprinted across the open courtyard, knowing the pill would buy me enough time to escape unnoticed. Well, I hoped unnoticed, since I was pretty sure my heart slammed against my rib cage loud enough for the entire Underworld to hear.
I jogged to the barrier wall behind the storage facility. The barrier was endless in length and height, and what it separated us from I never knew, only guessed. Sometimes my guesses were right. Sam’s folder had explained everything to me. In different parts of the wall, there were keypads, and with the correct password, you could gain entry to other realms. I drew my breath, flipped down the keypad, and entered the code. From here on out, things would be even trickier.
An entrance opened before me, a door into the great unknown. I wished Nate were here so we could step through the entryway together, but his spirit went with me in my heart.
On the other side of the wall was a waterfall, the one Sam had written about in the folder he gave me. He said to throw my body into it with all my might, and that I wouldn’t get wet since everything was a mirage. So I flung myself into the rushing water and at once, felt the thrilling sensation of going down one of those waterslides where the floor drops out beneath your feet. I once went on one of those when I was thirteen, when my parents forced me to go on the church’s youth group trip to Noah’s Ark Family Park in Wisconsin. Dropping out of that capsule reminded me of seeing people falling down elevator shafts in movies. They called the ride Scorpion’s Tail, and the total height equaled ten stories with a length of four hundred feet. I hadn’t been able to draw breath then, and I couldn’t now.
Just when I thought I’d have a panic attack, the waterless waterfall hit a surface, and dumped me into the cool night. For a moment, I sunk into the blue darkness. Then terror froze in my chest, remembering the last time I’d willingly jumped into water. I’d been trying to rescue fake Conner, the one from my simulations as part of my spirit guide training. The thought was like a cup of ice water thrown in my face, even though I still couldn’t feel any of the wetness in this lake. I swam toward the surface, kicking powerfully until I broke free of the water.
This time, there was no choking and gagging, no gasping for air. The only wetness came from my tears, dotting my vision as I climbed onto the riverbank. I clawed at the damp grass, realizing the blades were wetter than I was. I breathed a lungful of fresh air, more to calm myself than out of necessity. Turning around, I realized I’d just climbed out of a good-sized lake, though definitely no Lake Michigan. The water sparkled like sapphires, reflecting the many moons present in the sky.
From my place on the riverbank, I had a clear view of a two-story building lit up across the way. I wondered why the atmosphere was so dark outside though. Sam told me Juvie was twenty hours ahead of spirit guide headquarters official time, but that meant the time should be a little past eight in the morning, plenty of time for a sunrise to happen.
I unzipped my cell from the front pocket of my parka. Luckily, the phone still appeared to be in one piece despite the crazy whiplash ride. According to the map I’d snapped of Juvie, the lights coming from across the lake must be Camp Fusion High. My coordinates estimated the distance I needed to walk was three miles in either direction. Conner’s tent would be a half mile farther than that. I tried to teleport across, but no luck.
A chilly breeze ruffled my curls as I looked out at the moonlit grounds. I set out at a quick walk, keeping to the thicket of bushes around the perimeter of the lake for an extra measure of security. Forty-five minutes later, my pace slowed as I arrived at the corner diagonally across from the path in front of Camp Fusion High. Leaning against a light post, I pretended to chat on my cell phone while surveying the area. The school grounds were beautiful, moss green with trees and flowers of every kind and color. Two no-nonsense patrols guarded the entrance, checking school ID’s. I wondered if I should head over to Conner’s tent, or just check inside Fusion High. My gut told me I’d find him inside.
Since my use of teleportation was down, I highly doubted I could walk through the walls of the high school to gain entrance. And by the looks of things, I couldn’t just walk in through the front door. I kept to the shelter of the trees with my head down and followed the trail. The manicured brick path ran along the side of the building, the pristine lake on the other side, but the trail didn’t continue around to the back of the school. There was no concrete at all there, but a looming forest with lots of oak trees instead, everything dark and quiet.
I scrutinized the building, weighing my options. Grand windows were situated on the bottom floor, all closed, all decorated with a large potted plant beneath them. Then I spotted an open French door on the second floor of a balcony. A tree led right up to it. I made sure no surveillance cameras watched me. Then, in a flash, I crossed the grounds, low and swift. I climbed the tree with confidence, knowing the limbs led me to my destiny. I grabbed hold of a branch, and then jumped, gripping the balcony railing. An executive looking office greeted me inside the door. Beyond another door, I spotted a stairwell.
Just as I was about to bolt for the stairs, a row of security monitors caught my attention on the wall. By luck or destiny, I instantly spied Conner talking to another boy who looked about his age, and they walked up a path looking strangely identical to the one I just left. My heart did a hopeful flip. I contemplated jumping back out the window, but figured I’d just walk down the stairs and meet up with him in a minute. I needed that minute to plan what I was going to say. The whole time I’d been figuring out how to get to Conner. But what I actually wanted to say when I found him wasn’t a point I’d considered yet, and I needed a moment to bolster my nerve. The flutter of butterflies almost made me want to abort my mission entirely, but I’d come too close now. With my head down, I walked out of the room and tried to act normal.
Acting normal was a hard thing to do for someone like me. All the students wore their ID on a lanyard around their neck and before long, a guard spotted me, my heart dropping to my feet.
Crap. Whattodowhattodowhattodo
. The hallway dead-ended. If I turned back now, he’d probably ask for my ID badge and I’d be shipped back to… well, I wasn’t sure. In any case, I couldn’t let my mission be over before it even began.
Music that sounded like old hymnals played softly through the hallway speakers. The sound gave me an idea. Lightning quick, I pulled the fire alarm. The ringing pierced my ears. I waited for the hall to fill with more students, then followed them down the stairs. Just before I exited the lobby, someone announced over the loudspeaker the fire had been a false alarm, and we were free to go about our daily business. Unsure of where to go, I steered clear of the cafeteria and walked to the other wall, studying the announcements on the large bulletin board, hoping for clues as to what this place was exactly. One paper in particular caught my eye. Free guitar lessons from Conner Anderson every Thursday night from six to seven at campsite number one.