Ascension (17 page)

Gavin snorted, trembling before her with excitement. “Are you serious? Now I must do some astute research before it all begins. That is if I'm to do well this season in picking my team. This young point guard, what's his name?”

“Before picking your team, what do you mean?”

“Fantasy basketball, we play a game of sorts among the other operatives,” he said. “But even though it's meant to be just for fun, some of us end up taking it a little too seriously.”

Aleisha quickly reminded him. “You Gavin take it far too seriously. As for the rest of us, we actually do play it just for fun.”

“His name is Justin Ellis,” Katherine responded, and sensing that her cheeks were turning red.

“It seems you have a thing for this Justin Ellis,” said Aleisha. “Is he that cute?”

Gavin frowned, and shovelled food down his throat. “I may have to leave you to it, if this discussion is taken into a domain less serious or interesting.”

“What's the issue?” Aleisha questioned, prodding him on the shoulder. “You're not jealous are you Gav?”

Katherine giggled as Gavin nearly choked upon his steak.

“So Katherine, are you interested in basketball yourself?” Gavin asked, swallowing. “Aside from the obvious reason your boyfriend; this Justin Ellis happens to play for Anabasis High.”

“Not really,” she replied, wondering how apparent it must have been she was dating him. “But they've recently asked me to design the team's new mascot.”

“That's awesome,” he responded with a howl, pieces of steak spraying from his mouth. “Have you come up with anything yet?”

“I think so,” she said, peering down by her side to where Anzu was resting beneath the table.

At her feet, her guardian had suddenly stirred; she followed his gaze upward and back toward the door. Monica had recently entered, and she was accompanied by another familiar face of the school's faculty. He was a bald and older man; rotund, with puffy cheeks and a long beard.

So Principal Heathgate is also part of the organisation
, she realised, albeit not overly surprised given those other teacher's she'd recognized prior.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I just received a message that Blake and Kulullu are due for training shortly,” said Lance, as he approached her table. “Katherine, would you like to come watch them in action?”

She glanced over to where Blake and Kulullu were earlier seated.

“They've already departed. Take your time though and eat. Knowing them, they'll likely be at it into the early hours of the morning.”

Why I would want to watch Blake and Kulullu is beyond me
, she thought.

But the more she thought on it, and the longer she sat there, the greater became her interest. Once Lance had left her, she sought to catch up with Gavin's and Aleisha's conversation, and was considerably pleased that the subject of basketball had run its course.

Gavin sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I best start getting myself mentally prepared. I've been designated surveillance duty this evening.”

“I can't really complain, I've been assigned with servicing the convoy of vehicles,” said Aleisha with a wry smile.

“You like vehicles?” Katherine asked.

“Sure do, total petrol head,” she replied, dipping her spoon into a mould of jelly. “I've been captivated with both cars and trucks since I was a little girl. The raw power and finesse of an engine fully revved; it's enough to make my heart flutter and my body quiver.”

“Good to know,” Gavin replied, as he rose from the table having finished. “Surveillance; can be a real drag. But I do find myself enjoying the maintenance side of things, and it looks like I'll be running repairs on the internal sound system.”

Katherine thought neither work type sounded appealing, but she revelled in hearing the pair speak about what they were both passionate. It was this change in the atmosphere that made her think differently about the Project and its operatives; for she had predicted that spending time in their company would only result in a miserable and alienating experience.

And yet over the course of dinner,
she thought
, I now feel more at ease here
.
But a change in my opinion of them could be a bit premature. I am still their captive after all…

Despite finding herself having fun and feeling that this organisation was less perilous than her first impression; she still found it jarring, and thus mentally draining, to be one minute treated as a person incarcerated, and the next to be welcomed with open arms. Even though she had grown to like Lance, and both Gavin and Aleisha seemed friendly enough, she was not going to discard her own instincts and fall for what might very well prove an ill-fated ruse.

With many officers having cleared their plates, Katherine and Anzu made their way out of the mess hall. Along the corridor, they soon found Lance waiting for them up ahead and before a large doorway.

“It's just through here,” he said, as he parted the doors for them.

Upon entry, Katherine immediately spotted Blake towards the facility's far wall and standing before a lone pail of water. She looked on as he raised the water from out of the pail and up into the air. Once he'd caused the water to freeze, using the strength of his own celestial element, she watched as he crafted the ice into weapons. But he'd only get so far with sculpting the ice into refined blades, for they soon cracked and disintegrated before their eyes. She also recognized that Monica was there to oversee his efforts, and that Principal Heathgate too was standing at her side. Having taken notice of Katherine, the Principal ambled across the floor toward her.

“Katherine, I wanted to say how sorry I was to hear about your father. If there is ever anything you need, you only have to ask,” he said. “I hope the organisation takes good care of you during these hard times.”

She followed Lance, the operative having rushed over to where Monica stood overlooking Blake's progress.

“I can still sense you overthinking it,” she heard Monica tell Blake. “You need to free your mind of all extraneous thought; control over the water inside that pail should be the only subject of your focus.”

With the pail now in his hands, Blake passed them on the way to the nearest water faucet.

As Monica's attention drifted, she moved to greet her. “Good evening Katherine, now this might prove strange and something quite different.”

“I've never seen him struggle with anything before,” said Katherine, looking on as Blake filled the pail with water. “That is except perhaps for art class.”

Blake glared back at her, his nose scrunched and his eyebrows narrowed.

“I suggest you keep moving,” Monica told him. “Take the limited time you've got to catch your breath and process what I've just said.”

To Katherine's bemusement, Blake did exactly as instructed without a single snide remark back.

I guess there is a first time for everything
, she thought to herself.

Not in her wildest dreams had she expected Blake to be capable of obeying another's wishes. But she now found herself questioning Ms Hawthorne, wondering if she really knew the first thing about her teacher. She pondered her teacher's high position in this organisation's hierarchy, and what her teacher must have done in the past to command such levels of respect.

“He's made quite the improvement since first being inducted into this organisation,” said Monica, glancing down at one of those same communication devices' about her wrist. “The training is tough, but he never lets it discourage him.”

“How long has he been a member of this organisation?”

“All his life,” she replied.

What does she mean all his life?
Katherine questioned.
Is it possible he was born here? Had he spent his entire life growing up with the organisation?

She thought the very suggestion only validated her earlier criticisms of this ‘
Projects'
morality.

“What exactly is it that he's trying to accomplish?” She asked.

“Rather than explain it to you, why don't I show you,” Monica responded, motioning toward the northern-most part of the training facility. “Come, follow me.”

“But Monica,” Lance blurted, rushing toward them. “What about Blake?”

“I'll be gone only a little while. Blake should continue to persevere with the current objective set. If you could assist him with whatever he needs, that would also be a great help.”

Lance looked back at her, both awkward and hesitant, until he finally nodded in agreement and dragged himself away toward the water faucet. With Anzu scampering after them, Monica guided Katherine through a sliding doorway centred along the facility's northern wall. Once they were inside this smaller room, Monica flicked on a light and foraged through a number of stacked boxes. Though she thought it surprisingly spacious, this room resembled that of a storage unit: with crates crammed in its four corners, many shelves lining the walls, and loose equipment cluttered about the floor.

“Here, help me push these up against the walls,” Monica asked. “It's been a while since I used this space for anything other than storing spare parts.”

Katherine obliged. She sifted through the mess, pushing and hoisting crates that housed many unusual gadgets out of the way to help clear some space. “I've been meaning to ask. How many of the Anabasis High faculty are members of the Project? I never expected to see Principal Heathgate here.”

“Most of the faculty members are in some way connected with the Project,” Monica replied. “It may also come as a surprise to learn that David was once one of our very best operatives, and that he played an important role with the establishment of this organisation in the very beginning.”

“Why did Principal Heathgate decide to join the organisation?” She asked, trying to gain insight into why someone would willingly join them. “It's just…; I was told that most people here have lost someone close to them because of the Corrupted.”

Monica dug deeper into yet another box. “That much is true, and David's story is a rather sad one. As a young fisherman, he lost both his wife and infant son at sea. The coroner's findings reported it an accident, but David knew there was something else at work. Even to this day he hasn't found the Corrupted he's spent so many years searching for. But when that day arrives, as he's said countless times, he'll finally be at peace and look to retire.”

“Has he any idea what this Corrupted looks like?”

“On his account, it was a giant serpentine creature with sharp barbs that pierced upward and through the hull of his boat. This in turn killed his wife, and the Corrupted then mutated into a more humanistic form aboard the deck before it took off with his son. David's never told us of what the Corrupted had said to him; only it was a slimy and scathing voice that'll haunt him to the end of his days,” she said, before taking a seat at the room's centre. “Right, I have them. These should do the trick.”

Katherine assumed what Monica had searched for was something of significance, a tool which she'd find mystifying and enchanted.

What could it possibly be?
She thought it must have something to do with ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia.
Perhaps it is some kind of rod or weapon once wielded by a Naacal? Or just maybe it might be something with which the holder could turn the tide in battle
.

But alas, all that Monica released from her grasp were numerous leaden pencils bound in rubber bands.

“If you'll take a seat before me,” Monica asked.

“What is so important about a bundle of pencils?”

Monica removed a single pencil from the bundle and placed it before her on the floor. “It will all make sense very soon; for I now want you to focus your energies solely on the pencil, clearing any and all other thoughts from your mind.”

It didn't take long for Katherine to predict the instruction that would soon follow; for this exercise was also not that different from what she'd practiced with her father.

“I want you to visualise the pencil moving through the air,” said Monica. “Raise it within the depths of your mind; let it levitate below the ceiling.”

She is seeking to test me
, thought Katherine.
She must know that dad had worked with me through these initial steps.

Although Katherine had not yet reached the point of succeeding with such a task, Duncan had spent most of his time grooming her for this specific purpose. With everything she'd seen to date, thinking back on Blake in the library and her daily training sessions, she had little reason to doubt or even try rationalizing this instruction. Thus, she got straight to work. With her eyes closed, she reached with her outstretched palm over the pencil and motioned with her hand for it to rise up through the air.

“Your mind needs to be clear of all other thoughts,” Monica reminded. “I can sense you straying and focusing upon things outside the main objective.”

Trying to get the pencil to levitate was much harder than she had dared to comprehend. And despite all her father's training, she felt entirely unprepared when confronted with such a momentous task.

“Open your eyes,” said Monica.

Monica demonstrated for her the task without once blinking, the pencil instantly floated about her fingers and up toward the ceiling.

“You're asking for the impossible,” Katherine blurted out, frustrated and mentally tired.

“How can that be? When you've just seen me do it so effortlessly,” Monica replied, allowing the pencil to fall.

“You know what I mean. I don't have your level of experience.”

“You're only making excuses,” Monica responded. “I'm well aware of what your father has already taught you. And in truth, you've accomplished far greater feats when you started lighting other objects on fire.”