Flustered, she felt heat rise in her cheeks. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I am supposed to think.”
Scrunching up her face, Trista thought for a moment. “Do you like him?”
Ellyssa felt an urge to look away. She clicked her tongue, secretly relishing the feeling of embarrassment, while buying time to find an answer. Should she admit her feelings? Trista’s eyebrows arched above her blue eyes while she waited.
“Yes, I like him,” Ellyssa admitted.
“He likes you, too.”
Ellyssa’s lips curved into a smile. “How do you know?”
“The way he watches you.”
“And how is that?”
“Like this.” Trista peered intensely at Ellyssa and then wagged her eyebrows. “How’s it going, baby?” she said in a deep, sultry voice that wasn’t even close to mimicking Rein’s. “How about a kiss?” She puckered her lips and made dog-calling sounds, swaying her shoulders seductively.
Shaking her head, laughter burst forth from Ellyssa as if it had been waiting for the chance to spring forward. It was absolutely marvelous to allow the experience without worrying about punishment. Almost everything about the community had been positive, opening her to intense experiences she’d never fathomed possible with her upbringing.
Still giggling, Trista shoved more cans into a box as Ellyssa’s thoughts moved to Jeremy, the catalyst of her being here. She wondered why Trista never mentioned him or his ability. Maybe there was a reason Jeremy’s skill had been kept secret, and an even bigger reason hers had never been mentioned.
Instead, she said, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” Trista answered, grinning.
“What about Jason?”
Trista’s smile faltering, she said, “What about him?”
“I don’t know. It is just…” Ellyssa shrugged.
“He’s creepy,” Trista finished.
Ellyssa’s mouth twisted to the side as she nodded.
“He’s harmless enough. But I know what you mean. He’s a little weird.”
“Exactly. Where did he come from?”
“He was born here. His mother and father died in a cave-in, along with my parents. They were expanding this section of the cave so the supplies could be stored further away. You know, for safety reasons.”
Uncomfortable at the direction the conversation had turned, Ellyssa became impassive. “I am sorry. I did not know.”
Trista didn’t seem to notice the change in her demeanor, or her monotonous form of speech. “No need to apologize. It was a long time ago.”
Ellyssa couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose people you loved and depended on. Her closest understanding of feeling sorrow had been for Jordan, and that still felt like her heart had been removed without painkillers. Not knowing whether she should attempt to offer comfort or stay silent, she watched Trista, hoping for a telltale clue.
“Seriously. It happened years ago. I still miss them, but I choose to remember my parents with happy thoughts. I don’t want to dwell on the fact that they are gone.”
“What type of thoughts?” Ellyssa asked, genuinely curious.
“Well,” she replied, her face lighting up with pleasure, “things like my mother singing to me. She had a wonderful voice. And my father carrying me on his shoulders and pretending he was going to bang my head into the overhangs. Or, when we went outside and he’d toss me in the air. I thought he was the strongest person on the face of the earth. Invincible. Anyway,” she continued, “back to Jason. He’s harmless enough.”
“He has never hurt anyone?”
Trista frowned. “No. Never. Why would you ask that?”
“Just the way he looks at people, once in a while.” She folded the flaps of the box inward.
“That’s just the way he is.”
Ellyssa carried the box of peaches from the storeroom and followed Trista through the passageway linking the old coal mine with the cavern. The bulky boxes made navigation difficult, but both managed by turning their loads sideways.
A woman with auburn hair piled high on her head waited in the dining room. She took the box, offering Ellyssa a polite smile, and placed it on the edge of the serving pans.
“Looks like fruit for lunch,” she said. “Hunting was disappointing today.”
“That will be changing soon, Bertha. Ellyssa knows all about roots and scavenging in the woods. She’s going to show us how.”
“Is that so?” Bertha asked, opening the box and removing a can.
Trista nodded. “And spices.”
That seemed to pique Bertha’s interest. “Spices?”
“Yes,” Ellyssa said as she unpacked the goods. “There are many edible things most people don’t know about. Cattail roots can be reduced to flour for baking breads. You can boil milkweed leaves with salt, and it tastes like spinach. All parts of the dandelion plant can be used. Very nutritious.”
“Dandelions.” Bertha wrinkled her nose.
“Dandelions are very good for you. Rich in vitamins and minerals.”
“Really?”
“Really. There are many uses for them in medicines and such, too.” Ellyssa stopped unpacking and glanced at her company. “I’m surprised none of you know this.”
“No need to,” said Bertha, taking a can and opening it. “We’ve always had supplies, and hunting and fishing.”
“Surely, in the beginning, the founders had no contacts. They must have survived off the land.”
Bertha shrugged. “I don’t know when or how the contacts were established.”
“Hey, will you show us some of the plants today?” asked Trista.
“And maybe afterward you can show me how to prepare them,” Bertha added.
“My pleasure.”
Ellyssa handed a can to Bertha. The woman gave her another smile, not just a polite one, but one of acceptance, possibly of friendship.
There wasn’t much to do except pour the contents into tin bins for serving. Ellyssa found she enjoyed helping and being part of the community. This was unlike anything she’d ever had before.
Dr. Hirch sat in front of his computer monitor, playing and replaying segments of each of his children’s training. He’d stop, rewind, and push play again, trying to catch the exact moment when each displayed their ability.
A sight to behold. The beauty as Xaver’s rounded face was protected from debris, or Ahron’s flickered in and out of existence. What really astounded him, though, was Aalexis. The beautiful girl sat, as innocent as an angel, blond hair haloing her cherubic face. The subtle twitch of facial muscles, and the bullets curved as they changed trajectory and centered on the bull’s-eye.
George’s pride and joy. The final step before true perfection. Without Aalexis’ unexpected mutation, he wasn’t sure the dream would even have been realized during his lifetime. After all, he had never planned on the ability manifesting at this stage. It had been a complete fluke.
But now, they had her and the others, their DNA sequences almost isolated, and once Ellyssa was returned, plans would continue to progress.
George turned and looked into a monitor, his face mirrored in the black surface.
A perfect human. A soldier above and beyond the expectations even Hitler had envisioned. People created in his image. George would be the master builder. His children would honor his name forever.
The imperfect world annihilated and replaced with Utopia.
He replayed the image of Aalexis frame-by-frame, her demeanor unemotional, her face unreadable. The roar of gunfire, and then he caught what he’d been looking for. The air wavered, ever so slightly, as the molecules readjusted at her whim.
