She touches the back of her neck. “It’s weird. My neck feels weird. It’s like, all tingly.”
“After a while, you kind of forget it’s even there. It just means someone else who’s gifted is nearby.”
She nods, putting her hand back on her sea slug.
“What’s your gift?” she asks, still not looking at me.
Well, she’s going to find out one way or the other, so I might as well tell her now. It’s still difficult to get the words to come out of my mouth, especially due to recent circumstances, but I get them out all the same.
“I can make someone, uh, die… in an instant, with a touch.”
“Oh. Can you kill me then?”
“What? I mean, it’s possible, but I would never—”
“I’m not asking if it’s possible. I’m asking you to try it now.”
“No way! Ana Maria, you…” I rub my temples. “Certainly you don’t want to die. You’re still young. You have a lot to live for.”
She looks up at me, a blank look in her eyes. “It’s not like I want to die. I’m just curious about something.”
“What?”
“I’m just wondering if my gift can work faster than yours. I can heal anything, really quickly too.”
“And you’re willing to risk dying just to find that out?”
She shrugs. “Why not? It’s just an experiment. It’s scientific.”
“Yeah well, science isn’t worth harming someone. Have you heard of ethics?”
“Of course I have. I’m the test subject, and I give my consent. Therefore, it’s ethical.”
“You’re also a kid. Legally, you can’t give consent. Your guardian has to.”
“Well that’s just dumb,” she says. “I can think for myself.”
I sigh. “Regardless, you don’t have my consent, okay? I won’t do it. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
She huffs. “Okay. Fine. Jeez.”
I let out an agitated breath. I should go find Li.
But, I can’t help but stay here, looking at this little girl. She looks to be ten, maybe eleven, but she seems really smart and mature for her age. And her gift—healing. That’s the best possible gift I could think of. Certainly, she grew up happy and well. Never hurt anyone, right? And yet, here she is in this camp, away from her family. Alone.
“So what’s the catch?” I ask. “With your gift, I mean.”
The girl hugs her stuffed sea slug tighter. “Does there have to be a catch?”
“From what I’ve seen, yeah. Even the good gifts have some sort of twist. Something that harms people somehow.”
“I’ve never harmed anyone else,” she says. Then quieter, she adds, “Only myself.”
“Why—” I start to say.
“Ah, Chrys, you’re here,” Li says from the hallway connected to the lounge.
I look over. Li is smiling, like normal. Elise is with her, standing with folded arms. She has a concentrated expression, like she’s lost in her thoughts instead of here.
“Ana Maria,” Li says, “This is Elise. She’ll take you to your cabin.”
Li turns to Elise but she doesn’t respond. Li touches Elise’s shoulder.
Elise blinks and jerks her head toward Li. They look at each other like that for a bit. Then, Elise goes over to Ana Maria and ushers her out of the lounge.
“Chrys, come with me,” Li says, turning and walking down the hall before I can even say anything.
I hurry to follow her. She takes me to the small hexagon room and sits down on the armchair. I sit on the couch, on the seat furthest away from Li like last time.
“I see you’ve met Ana Maria,” Li says.
“Why did you bring her here?” I ask.
“Her family… well, simply put they were taking advantage of her gift. We went to her and asked her if she wanted to come with us, and she said yes.” Li shrugs. “We don’t think it’s right to use a little girl like that.”
“How did you hear about her?”
“She’s been all over the news lately.”
I scan my brain for any news about a girl who can heal. Ah, right. A couple weeks ago, when Ron and I had gone to a public library, I read an article online about a girl in Utah in some sort of religious cult that heals the sick for free, as long as they join the cult. Well, the article didn’t say they were a cult, but it sounded like that to me.
Li shifts in her seat to face me better. “Anyway, let’s talk about your second task.”
“My second task? So you’re not… kicking me out?”
“Why on earth would we do that?”
“Well, that kid from Cabin 2, and I saw my name was erased from the chore schedule…”
“Are you saying that you did it? That you killed Adrien?”
“No, of course not! I would never do that. Wasn’t it… natural?”
“You think he died of natural causes?”
“It’s possible, isn’t it?”
“For a healthy seven-year-old boy to have a heart attack?”
My limbs feel heavy. “He had a heart attack?”
“His heart stopped. That was the cause of death.”
“Li, I swear, I didn’t—”
Li puts up a hand. “No one is accusing you, Chrys. Well, at least I’m not. But, I don’t think this was natural. Not at all.” She puts her hand on the armrest. “That brings me to your second task. Find out how he died, what triggered the heart attack.”
“What? How do you expect me to do that? I’m not a detective. I’m just a girl. Shouldn’t you adults be figuring that out?”
Li sighs. “Chrys. From what I know, no one here has the power to stop someone’s heart. No one except you.”
I grip my thighs tightly. “But it’s not like you know what everyone’s gifts are.”
“I know everyone’s except Valeria’s. And I have a pretty good idea of what hers is. She’s capable of killing, but not like this. Hers are… messier.”
That cuts threw my panic and anger like a knife, sobering me up. Messier? I want to keep talking about Valeria but that’s not important right now.
“So?” I say. “I still don’t get why I have to be the one.”
She shrugs. “Redemption.”
“Redemption? But I didn’t do anything. Why do I need to be redeemed?”
“Do
