“Li,” Valeria says, “we’ve returned.”
Li nods. “Any news?”
“The giftists don’t seem to be making any moves.”
“Good, good.” She gestures to me with one hand. “And who is this?”
“I’m Chrys,” I say before Valeria has the chance, “with a y.”
“Chrys-with-a-y,” Li says, “nice to meet you. I take it you’ll be joining us?”
“Yes,” Valeria says, “and she has a request.”
Li smiles once again, like a mother anticipating exactly what her child wants. “Let’s talk then. Valeria, you may go.”
Valeria nods and leaves, closing the door behind her.
Li goes to a spot of wall between two bookshelves and opens a door I didn’t notice before.
“Follow me,” she says. “My office is kind of stuffy, isn’t it?”
I just laugh awkwardly, not sure how I should respond, and follow her through the door. It’s been a while since I’ve spoken to an adult, an authority figure. Li doesn’t look that old—maybe late 30s, early 40s—but I feel nervous around her.
We enter an even smaller room. It’s in the shape of a hexagon, bright from the light streaming in from two floor to ceiling windows that face some sort of garden. The only things in the room are an armchair and a three-seat sofa facing each other.
Li sits down in the armchair and gestures for me to sit. I sit down at the edge of the sofa, back slightly on an armrest, not wanting to sit directly in front of her.
“So,” Li says, “tell me a little bit about you. Family situation?”
“Um, I was in foster care. Ran away.”
She nods and rests her chin on her hand. I haven’t met that many gifted people but the ones I have met so far all hold this sort of look in their eyes, like a deep, poorly suppressed inner turmoil. I suspect I have that same look. But Li, she has none of that. Either she’s managed to overcome her suffering, or she just never suffered. It makes her even more uncomfortable to look at.
“And how did you hear about us?” Li asks.
“Well, I used to read a lot about people like us. I came across a forum talking about the camp. Those people were actually talking about how we’re plagues to this Earth and the camp needs to be destroyed and whatnot, but seeing that, it gave me hope I guess.”
“Ah yes, giftist propaganda. I monitor it as well.”
“I, um, I also found another forum talking about how the camp has someone who can remove gifts…”
“Mhm.” Li looks at me as though she knows exactly what I want to say, yet she doesn’t continue.
“Well, I heard from Valeria that it’s true,” I say.
“It is.” Another pause.
“Valeria said you can do it.”
“I can.” Still nothing more.
It frustrates me. She knows what I want. She can just tell me if it’s possible or not. Instead, she’s forcing me to say it, forcing me to say it out loud to her.
I sigh. “Well, I was wondering if you can remove mine.”
“Yes, if that’s what you really want.”
“It is. I’d do anything.”
“Oh, I’m glad you said that! You see, the thing is, Chrys, removing a gift—it’s very serious business. If I remove it, not only is it gone from you, it’s gone from circulation. No one can ever have that gift again.”
I sit up straighter. That’s perfect.
To become gifted, it’s like winning a lottery that you didn’t even know you entered. The person with that ability dies and if you are one of the few babies born in that exact same moment, congratulations, you just might catch it. No two gifts are exactly the same. That’s why they started calling us gifted in the first place. Not because normal people think what we can do is some awesome, world-saving thing—quite the opposite, in fact—but because it’s special, unique, one of a kind. And that’s it.
If mine could be “gone from circulation,” as Li put it, that’d be perfect. Perfect.
“And so,” Li continues, “because it’s serious business, I don’t just remove them willy-nilly. You have to take some time and think about it.”
“I have thought about it my whole life. I really want—”
She puts up a finger, not in a menacing way, but like she’s telling me she wants to speak.
“Chrys, there are requirements. Tasks. Successfully complete my tasks to prove you’re ready. And then, I’ll remove it for you.”
“Tasks? Sure. I can do that.”
“Good.” She smiles again, but this one doesn’t reach her eyes. “Tell me what your gift is.”
“Is that the task…?”
“Not quite.”
“Then why do you need to know?”
“Don’t you think I should know what your gift is, if I’m to remove it from circulation?”
“Just trust me, it’s something you’d want gone.”
“So you haven’t told anyone.”
My shoulders drop. I have a sense of where she’s going with this and I really really hope I’m wrong.
“Tonight we’ll hold a camp meeting after dinner to welcome you. Come up on stage and introduce yourself. That’s your first task, Chrys.”
“Okay, that sounds doable.”
“And in your introduction, tell everyone what your gift is, and your focus too.”
I ball my hands into fists as tight as possible to stop them from shaking, but instead my fists vibrate on my lap. I fold my arms tightly.
“Uh,” I breathe out, “Li, is it possible to get a different first task?”
“No.”
She stands up and points to another door opposite the one we came in. “That’s the way out. Go to Cabin 10. That’s where you’ll be staying. You’ll hear a bell announcing dinner time in a couple hours. The others in your cabin can show you the way to dinner.”
She goes through the door we came in.
I get up as soon as the door closes and bolt out of the room. The door opens up to the hall. I run down the hall, out the main door and straight into the forest.
Chapter 5
I slow down once I reach the forest and trudge a bit further in. I sit at the base of a tree so that I can still see the camp. I sit
