“I don’t have to. You show me.” In spite of what she’d just said, she looked sad. “I think it’s strange that I don’t have to guess anyone’s feelings and everyone else in the world has to.”
“You’re lucky.”
“Not always.” She looked into my eyes. “Sometimes I wish you could read my mind. Sometimes it’s hard explaining how I feel.”
The way she said that made my heart ache. “How do you feel?”
She looked down for a moment, then back into my eyes. “When I was kidnapped, I kept telling myself that it was just a matter of time before I’d be rescued and things would go back to the way they were—cheerleading, after-game parties, hanging out with my friends at the Bagelmeister. . . .” Her eyes filled with tears. “I’ve finally realized that there is no going back.”
“We’ll go back someday,” I said.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Even if the Elgen and Hatch and all the bad guys in the world just disappeared, we still couldn’t go back. We can go back to our homes and families, but it won’t be the same. It never will be. The world didn’t change, we did. We’ve seen too much evil. We grew up too fast.” She covered her eyes with her hand and began to cry. I put my arms around her and pulled her into me. She laid her head on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
Without looking up she said, “I never even went to a prom.”
I held her until the sun began to dip below the western mountain range. We didn’t talk, though a few times I purposely thought things knowing that she would hear them. Finally I said, “We’d better go back. We have that reception.”
Taylor wiped her eyes. “All right.”
We walked back to the Ranch House in silence. We stopped outside her bedroom door and I looked into her beautiful face. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “I probably look like I’ve been bawling.”
“You’re entitled,” I said. I took her hand. “I’ll talk to these guys about your parents. Maybe they can do something. They owe us, right?”
“Thank you.” She leaned forward and kissed me. “I’ll see you in an hour.” As I turned to go she said, “I love you too, Michael.”
I turned back. “I know. I still don’t believe it, but I know.”
After showering I dressed in some of the new clothes they had brought, then lay back on my bed, waiting for them to come for us. Ostin was still snoring like a bandsaw. As I lay there listening to him, all I could think about was what Taylor had said about never going back. She was right. I suppose I hadn’t thought as much about it as she had because I wasn’t really giving up anything. Everyone I cared about was here.
About ten minutes later someone knocked on our door. “Mr. Vey, Mr. Liss. It’s time for the reception.”
“C’mon, Ostin,” I said, sitting up. “It’s time.”
“Time for what?” he said groggily.
“To go to the reception.”
He yawned loudly, then rolled over. “There’d better be food at this thing.”
* * *
By the time we walked out of our room, everyone else was already standing in the hallway. Zeus, McKenna, Abigail, and Ian were talking to Tanner.
Taylor walked up to me and took my hand. She looked like she was feeling a little better. Or at least she was doing a better job of hiding her pain. “Did you see Tanner?” she asked.
“I talked to him this afternoon.”
“I hardly recognized him,” she said. “He doesn’t even look like the same person.”
“That’s exactly what I said.”
Just then Tanner walked over to us. “Hey, Taylor. Mike.”
“I was just saying how great you look,” Taylor said.
“You look great too. Want to go out?”
Taylor grinned. “Flattered, but you’ll have to ask my boyfriend.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I said.
“Even after I dropped those helicopter gunships?”
“Even,” I said.
He laughed. “Like my father used to say, if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.” He leaned in closer and his voice lowered. “Have you guys seen Zeus?”
“We see him every day,” I said.
“I mean, postshower. He, like, doesn’t stink. He smells good.”
“We’ll go right over and sniff him,” Taylor said wryly.
Just then a voice from the end of the hall said, “You all clean up nicely.” We all looked over to see Joel walking up the corridor. “Are we missing anyone?”
“Just me,” Grace said, walking out of her room.
“Grace!” Tessa shouted. The girls hugged. “Where have you been?” Tessa asked.
“You know, after these guys took down the academy, I thought I’d come here for a while. How about you? I hear you’ve been hanging out in the jungle.”
“It’s true,” Tessa said proudly. “I’ve been eating mashed tree larvae and fishing for piranha.”
“That’s crazy,” Grace said.
“Seeing you is crazy,” Tessa replied.
Like Tanner, Grace also looked different to me. Lighter. Healthier. I suppose being away from Hatch had that effect on people.
“The reunions are just beginning,” Joel said. “Let’s go to the party.”
I was pleased to hear that the event had been upgraded from a reception to a party. We followed Joel back down the hallway, through a set of double doors, then outside to another building. The night air was cool and filled with the song of crickets.
“Is there food at this thing?” Ostin asked.
“What kind of a celebration would it be without food?” Joel replied. “I promise, there will be more than you can eat, including what may be the best steak you’ve ever had. It’s dry-aged from range-fed beef raised right here on our ranch.”
“I’m so happy,” Ostin said.
“Good, because tonight is in your honor,” Joel said. “Have a good time.”
I took Taylor’s hand. “That’s an order,” I whispered.
“Yes, it is,” Joel said. I blushed, embarrassed that he’d heard me. He looked at Taylor. “I’m certain that Ms. Ridley will have an especially good time. In fact, I think I can guarantee it.”
He doesn’t know what he’s guaranteed, I thought.
We stopped outside another set of double doors and Joel waited until everyone had caught up. “Are you ready?”
“Let’s do this,” Ian said, already knowing what was behind the doors.
Joel opened the doors, exposing a large dining hall filled with people. At the sight of us everyone burst into applause.
My mother was standing near the doorway, waiting to greet us, a broad smile on her face. “This is for you, my heroes.”
We walked into the festivities. The room was decorated with crepe paper and balloons and a large sign that said WELCOME HEROES.
We were swarmed by people who wanted to shake our hands. After just a few minutes my mother pulled Taylor and me aside. “Taylor, are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes. This is really great.”
My mother just looked at her. “You can tell me the truth.”
Taylor half smiled. “I thought I was the mind reader.”
“I’m a mother,” she said. “I have intuition.”
Taylor looked down. “I miss my family.”
My mother nodded knowingly. “Of course you do. But not for much longer.”
“What?”
“Didn’t Joel tell you? They’re working on bringing your parents here.”
Taylor threw her arms around my mother. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
My mother laughed. “It’s the least they could do, right?”
Taylor’s reaction filled me with both relief and joy.
A minute later Ostin walked over to us, dragging his parents with him. They all looked as happy as almonds in chocolate.
“Michael, honey,” Mrs. Liss said. “It’s so very good to see you.”
“It’s g
ood to see you too,” I said. It was. As eccentric as Ostin’s mother was, I really liked her. She had always been good to me.
Ostin grinned mischievously. “I told them how we went back home and there were Elgen guards inside our apartment.”
“You boys have had some excitement,” Mrs. Liss said, not looking very happy about the fact.
“I’m watching out for him,” I said.
“We know, Michael,” Mr. Liss said. “Don’t think we don’t appreciate it.”
Ostin squinted. “Who’s watching over whom?”
“You’re not watching over his diet,” Mrs. Liss said. “He’s not eating enough. I hardly recognized him. He’s wasting away.”
“Ruth,” Mr. Liss said. “He’s becoming a man.”
McKenna sidled up to Ostin. “Are these your parents?”
“I’m sorry,” Ostin said, realizing he’d abandoned her. “This is McKenna. She’s my . . .” He hesitated.
“I’m his girlfriend,” McKenna said.
Ostin’s father looked both surprised and happy with the announcement. Mrs. Liss looked stunned. There was an awkward silence. “You’re very pretty,” Mrs. Liss finally said, making it sound like a bad thing. “Are you Japanese?”
Ostin groaned with embarrassment. “She’s American, Mom.”
“I’m Chinese-American,” McKenna said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Mr. Liss said, shaking McKenna’s hand.
Mrs. Liss said nothing, eyeing McKenna the way a boxer eyes an opponent before a match.
McKenna seemed unfazed. “It’s a pleasure meeting you both as well.”
Just then Taylor screamed so loudly the whole room stopped. “Mom!”
I turned around to see Mrs. Ridley standing in the open doorway. For a moment she just stared at Taylor in disbelief, then she shouted, “My baby!” The two of them ran to each other and embraced. Mrs. Ridley held Taylor tightly, crying over and over, “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you’re really here.”
I turned to my mom, who was watching them joyfully. “Did you know Mrs. Ridley was already here?”
“I knew they had gone to get her,” she said, her eyes still fixed on them. “She must have just arrived.”
“Why didn’t you tell her?”
She turned to me with a wise expression on her face. “Would you have wanted to spoil that surprise?”
After Taylor and her mother parted, Taylor brought her mother to me. “Mom, this is Michael, my boyfriend.”
“We met once before,” she said. “Your father and I went to his apartment after you disappeared.”
I remembered that night well. Mr. and Mrs. Ridley had come to my apartment to see if I knew where Taylor was. I suddenly felt embarrassed. “I wasn’t lying, I . . .”
“You don’t need to explain,” Mrs. Ridley said. “I’ve been briefed about everything. I don’t know how to thank you for rescuing my daughter.” She looked at Taylor and broke down crying again. “I’m never going to let you out of my sight again. Never, never, never again.”
No one has told her about Taiwan, I thought.
About ten minutes later there was a loud squeal from a microphone, then Joel said, “Good evening and welcome, everyone. There are some happy reunions going on tonight and I won’t keep you from them. I just wanted to inform you that dinner is ready, so if everyone will find a seat, we’ll begin serving.”
My mother and I sat down at a table for eight with McKenna, the Lisses, Taylor, and her mother. After we were seated I asked Taylor’s mom, “Where’s Mr. Ridley?”
“He’s at home,” she said.
“He couldn’t come?”
“If he knew Taylor was here he would have definitely come. He thinks I’m on a business trip for my travel company. In fact, until two hours ago, so did I.”
“What do you mean?” Taylor asked.
“A few days ago, a woman came into my office. She said she represented a very wealthy Arizona businessman who was looking for someone to handle his company’s travel, but wanted to meet me first. She said he would send his private jet. So just a little after noon we flew out from Boise. I thought we were headed to Scottsdale, Arizona, not wherever this place is.”
“You don’t know where we are either?” Taylor asked.
She shook her head. “Just an idea. It looks like Texas, but it could be Southern Arizona, New Mexico, or even Mexico. So after four hours in the air I asked the woman where we were. All she said was, ‘On course.’
“It was only after the plane had landed on a private landing strip and these guys with guns met us that I began to panic. That’s when the woman told me that they were taking me to see my daughter.” She teared up. “At first I thought they had kidnapped me, too. But then on the drive here they explained things. It was all so strange, but when they told me that Taylor had these powers . . .” She turned to Taylor. “This is still so hard to believe—not just what is going on in the world, but that you can do what they say you can. Is it true?”
Taylor nodded. “Yes.”
“Honey, why didn’t you just tell us?”
“I was scared. It took me years to understand my powers, and once I finally did I didn’t know how to tell you.” She looked at me. “When I saw Michael use his powers it was the first time I thought someone might understand.”
“It’s lucky she met you,” Mrs. Ridley said to me.
“Lucky for me,” I said.
* * *
The dinner was as good as Joel promised. We had tomato and onion salad, sautéed mushrooms, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato and pecan casserole, and huge T-bone steaks. While we were eating, Joel walked up to our table. “Is everyone having a good time?”
My mother looked up at him with a large smile. “Everything is wonderful. Thank you.”
A similar smile crossed his face. The way they looked at each other made me wonder if there was more to their relationship.
“Thank you,” Mrs. Ridley said. “For bringing us together.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Joel replied. He looked at Taylor. “I guaranteed you an especially good evening. Was I right?”
“Yes, sir,” Taylor said. “Thank you.”
“It’s the least we could do.” He looked back over the table, his gaze again settling on my mother. “I’ll let you enjoy your meals. But, sincerely, thank you for all you’ve done.” He turned and walked off to another table.
About a half hour later the servers brought out coffee and a dessert of fresh berries with sweet cream, and Joel lifted the microphone again. “I hope you’ve all had a good time this evening. It’s getting late and we start early tomorrow, so it’s about time we wrapped things up. Tomorrow morning we will be meeting in this same room at eight o’clock for breakfast. For those assigned to Operation Jade Dragon, which includes all of our young guests, please come dressed and ready for your first briefing. Thank you again, and good night.”
A few minutes later we all got up from the table. After telling everyone good night, I walked my mother to her room in the eastern wing of the Ranch House.
“You know, what Joel said earlier about you being a hero is true,” my mother said. “Your father would have been just as proud of you as I am.” She looked me in the eyes. “But remember, you’re still my son. You don’t have to save the world.”
“What if I’m the only one who can?”
Her expression was a mix of pride and sadness. “That’s something you’re going to have to answer yourself.”
* * *
By the time I got back to my room the lights were out and Ostin was already asleep. At least I thought he was. As I quietly undressed and slipped into bed, Ostin said, “Good night.”
“Good night,” I answered. After a moment I added, “It was cool seeing your parents tonight.”
“Yeah. It was. Sleep well.”
“You too.”
I had just closed my eyes when Ostin blurted out, “Did you know that the first woman to win a Nobel
Peace Prize was from Taiwan?”
I think that could have waited until morning, I thought. “No.”
“Did you know that Taiwan’s national sport is American baseball? In 1995 they won the Little League World Series in the U.S.”
“No,” I said again. “Didn’t know that either.” For a moment I lay there wondering why he was sharing these random factoids—not that this was unprecedented for Ostin. I sometimes wondered if there was so much information in his head that it occasionally just burst out. At my thirteenth birthday party I was about to blow out the candles on my cake when he said, “Did you know that Stalin tried to create a humanzee—a hybrid of men and chimpanzees—hoping to create ape-men superwarriors?”
Suddenly it occurred to me why he was pelting me with facts about Taiwan. “Are you worried about Taiwan?”
“A little,” he said quietly. “Are you?”
“I’m always worried.”
“You don’t act like it.”
“I’m just good at faking.” I was quiet a moment, then said, “You know, you don’t have to go.”
“If you go, I go.”
“Thanks, buddy.”
More silence.
“Michael.”
“Yeah?”
“Something’s really been bothering me.”
“What’s that?”
He hesitated for such a long time that for a moment I thought he’d fallen back asleep. “I know Hatch is a demon and all that, but what if he’s right?”
“Right about what?”
“About making an electric species.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. “Why would he be right?”
“Everything evolves. That’s how nature survives. What if an electric species is the natural evolution of humans?”
“There’s nothing natural about what Hatch is doing.”
“But wouldn’t the world be a better place if we didn’t have to worry about electricity anymore?”
“Better for whom? The humans the Elgen kill or the ones they enslave?”
“You’re right.”
“It’s not electric power I’m worried about. Hatch doesn’t care about the world or clean energy or a better species. He uses those things to manipulate people into doing what he wants them to do. Just think how much oil those boats of his need. He probably uses more oil in a second than most people use in three or four lifetimes.”