Chapter four

So I did what Laura said �" I waited for it to come to me. I waited and waited. It was two weeks before anything happened; I was in another sports lesson, struggling as always. I grinned when Dave hit the ball behind him, rushed to grab it for him and slipped, tumbling across the floor. I fell unconscious as I hit the wall.

 

I woke up in a small, crowded room. Everything was white and fuzzy. My eyes took a very long time to adjust, I kept becoming unfocused and dazed, but I got there eventually. There were many people in my face, muttering and shifting me this way and that. I realized then I was in a hospital room. I knew it wasn’t the one I had been n before, after all, this was Changing Class.

“Get on with the other one-“

“-Ignore the girl-”

“-But she’s gone through Change-“

“-It’s plain to see she hasn’t-“

“-He’s far more important than-“

These snatches of conversation buzzed around my head. I sat up slowly, pulling my dark hair behind my ears. It was gently waved and hung around my head nicely. Why I noticed this now I had no idea. I swung around to find out what was happening elsewhere, but there were so many people crowded around another bed that I didn’t know what was happening.

 

As the white-dressed people swamped the room, I decided to look around more closely. It was easy to see they were dealing with an injury or condition worse than mine, so I wondered what it would be, and who it was. Suddenly a loud shriek of “Emberlyn!” filled the room and echoed around my head. The people scattered and revealed who was lying helplessly in the bed. It was Finn.

 

I had eyes only for him. I scourged him with them, picking out every detail I had tried to forget. His face was radiant as his eyes searched my face. I was laughing suddenly, and so was he. I pulled myself out of my bed, nightdress flapping against the floor. I glided over to him, my eyes taking in his face happily. He was tired, from the bags under his eyes, but happy; his smile wide and grey eyes bright. I sat by him and took his hand, which was surprisingly smooth and solid. I rested my head on his, breathing in his deep, heavy scent. I didn’t care that the doctors and nurses were watching as I leant over him, or as he put his hands around my neck and kissed me. It was strong and feverish, his mouth pressing against mine, moving against mine. I kissed him back, my hands tangling into his hair.

 

That messed things up a bit for the nurses. I refused to let go of him after that. Finn explained that he was clairsentient, not clairvoyant. It meant that he could feel the emotions of other people. I asked him what I was feeling at that moment. He rested his hand on my cheek and told me I was shocked, slightly nervous and in love with a mad man. I grinned at that �" mad man? Everything was yellow and pink and fluffy for a while, apart from the fact that we were isolated in such a small space. We weren’t allowed out of the hospital till Finn had had three jabs over the course of three days. Everything was alright.

 

Or so I thought. When I woke up on the third day, I was somewhere vaguely familiar. Rolling over and yawning, it hit me. I sat up suddenly, my head swayed and I fell back again onto the pillows. I was back in Changing Class. I sat up more slowly and got dressed before slipping out of the room.

 

My feet were bare as they tiptoed across the wooden floor. No noises were emitted from my feet as I walked. I leant against the boy’s door, listening for anything strange before I pushed it open. There was not a sound, no creak, nothing, as if the room was expecting me. Something was wrong as I looked around though; no-one was in the beds. They were all perfectly made and straightened out, each with simple clothes piled on the ends. I was very scared suddenly, a chill shaking my spine as I span around, tripping slightly and ruining my silent approach to my situation. I heard a loud bang and a crash, twirled around with my hands in fists in case I needed to fight, but it was too late. Two strong hands gripped me and shoved me into a glass box.

 

I was spitting, clawing, shoving, kicking and wriggling at my vain attempt to get out. With my hands up against the glass, I sneered at yelled at the two men outside, carrying me through a maze of corridors. They unlocked several doors before they threw me down in front of the biggest yet. One man took out a key which he slotted into the lock, looking down at me and saying something I could not hear through the glass. I looked at him questioningly, but he just laughed, saying something to the other man that made him grin. They pushed the door open and dragged me across the floor. I peered further into the room, seeing a blaring fire and a massive desk with a silhouetted figure behind it. The two men who had ‘escorted’ me opened my glass cage, and I tumbled out onto the carpeted floor.

 

I lay with my face pressed against the floor, tears and mascara running down my face, mingling with fear. I heard footsteps pace slowly towards me, slightly muffled. I wanted to cover my face with my hair, but I was scared to move.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” A voice came out of the darkness. I was petrified. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. “Well done lads. Get the other one now.” This was when I reacted. My whole body convulsed, and I span around, lurching at the two men who had captured me, clawing at them, hitting them. They reacted with hisses and backlashes, swearing and cursing. One raised his arm to hit me.

“Stay away from her!” My voice mixed with the man’s who was now stood directly behind me. I meant Laura, and I thought that this man meant me. I lowered myself to sit on the floor, curling up and rocking myself gently, imagining that I was with Laura, back at school, before any of this happened. There was an awkward silence.

“Now go.” Said the man, quite warily, thinking I would lash out again probably. They left, whispering and glaring at me. I didn’t turn around, and the man behind me didn’t move until Laura was thrown into the room, also in a glass cage. She was released and hugged me, crying furiously. The man said,

“Come here. Through this door. You’ll be taken out tomorrow, understand?” We nodded and stumbled through into a tiny box of a room. Laura smiled slightly and started singing. It was a normal thing for her and her obsession with music, but this song really made me realize the situation we were in and made me sing along, despite where we were.

 

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you can open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time, you'll know

I smiled as I sang. We were both singing loudly, and through the crack at the bottom of the door, where a little light was emitting, we could see our capturer pacing, but tapping his feet in time to our singing. When we stopped, the silence was overwhelming. We sat in this silence, wallowing in it in fact, for about an hour before Laura nodded off, snoring gently to my amusement. This happened to me also, though hopefully I did not snore whilst asleep.

 

I was walking down endless corridors of plain white, orb-like and futuristic. I wasn’t being held back, and I could tell I was not being watched either. I felt a horrible aching feeling in the bottom of my stomach, like stones weighing me down, pushing me to the floor. I carried on, stopping suddenly to listen through a heavily locked door every few minutes. I knew what I was looking for, but I could not find it.

 

I woke up screaming as usual, but not from fear, from the strangeness of the dream. It is normal that something scary happens, or that I know what is happening in my dream. But I didn’t. I shuffled round, observing the tiny closet, squinting and using the little light escaping through the bottom of the door as guidance. I was trying to distract myself, trying to stay silent. I had my hands clamped around my mouth, stifling my scream as my knuckles turned white from the force. I could see the light beams from the ‘office’ dancing on Laura’s face as she wriggled in her sleep, obviously also having a dream. It was almost if she was dancing, I grinned and laughed silently, trying to pick out the song, and settling on Jazz. At least it set my mind on something other than Finn, my dream and what could happen to us later in the day.

 

I lay for a long time before Laura woke up and we nattered about our dreams. Both were similar, but Laura’s sounded like it was in the same place, but she was in a fish bowel shaped room, with huge screens acting as mirrors fitting the walls. She knew they weren’t actually mirrors, for they acted like the huge screens bands have behind them at concerts, with huge, live video tape to let everyone be able to see. We gave each other long, stretched, detailed descriptions of where our dream’s setting was, but neither of us knew where.

 

We both jumped when there was a loud rap on the door. There was a ten second silence before,

“Girls, you’ll have to be put in glass cages again. I don’t want you escaping.” A voice crept through the space at the bottom of the locked door. Laura moaned, and I made a muttered agreement. He unlocked the door and pointed to the boxes, which, to our embarrassment, we climbed into. It’s not like we had any other choice is it? Run? No. Fight back? Against him? I think not. With that much authority, we’d be caught or beaten. So in we climbed, and from there we finally had a good view of the room and our capturer. The room was obviously a study, very grand with thick, royal looking carpets, a huge desk piled high with work and a blazing fireplace with two giant leather armchairs in front of it. The man who had ordered us to be caught had white skin, crinkled eyes to show where he smiled, how this could be I had no idea, for he had the most tired, dull look on his face at the time. His hair was jet black, exactly the same shade as mine, though it was sticking up on end with a thick amount of gel and mousse through it, but not too much. We did not have long to observe, for two more huge men came in, different to those last night, picked up our cages and left. The ride was like a boat ride. It was lurching and the pace kept changing. We would stop suddenly and my stomach would strain. I eventually decided to clamp my hands over my mouth again and focus on breathing slowly to stop my nausea. It seemed to take a very long time before we heard the screaming.

 

I knew at once that it was Finn. I could tell that there had been something wrong ever since I had walked into an empty dormitory. The sound echoed and bounced off the walls, sending vibrations through my cage. I wriggled and squirmed, determined to find the source of Finn’s voice. I placed my hand against the glass, and, recognizing the intensity of the situation, I realized that my dream was going to come true.

 

Tears clung to my cheeks, and they kept falling. I bit my lip in anxiety, fear and sadness. My heart was in my mouth as our ‘bodyguards’ started swiping important looking cards to open doors instead of keys. The whole of The Institution seemed to move from boring, old-fashioned life into the future of technology and life. I choked back my tears, coughing and gargling. I swept my ringlets from my face, catching loose strands and trying not to mix them with my tears. I knew that the little mascara still surviving from earlier was now staining my face and my clothes. My feet were bare, I had left my shoes in the room I had slept in. As the tears continued to fall, I took in the place we had come to; It was a maze of corridors, locked doors and white walls, similar to my other dream, but not, in a way, I knew the setting was not here. The screaming grew louder as we walked through the building, and my amount of tears grew.

 

I knew it was stupid to cry, so I inwardly kicked myself. ‘Get a grip Emberlyn! Finn needs you! Laura needs you! What the hell are you doing crying for God’s sake!’ a little voice said inside my head. I heard it through the screaming somehow, and wished for it to stop �" it was Finn after all, Finn, who I loved to pieces, Finn, my sarcastic little boyfriend. All I wanted was for him to be happy, right? I hoped he could feel me, and know I was here. All I wanted was to be in his arms again; ‘Well go on then! Run find him, hide and get out alive with him and Laura!’ The voice commanded, but I knew I couldn’t. Not get caught? With ten to the dozen guards lining the corridors and locked, armed doors? But I had to do something, and I knew what that would be. I would wait for it to come to me.

 

So the I sat, cross-legged and silent in my cage as we approached the room I guessed Finn was in. I had already decided that I was going to prove myself wrong and interrupt my dream, ruin it, grab Finn and run, and tell him my news I so desperately needed him to know. I turned to see what Laura was doing and found her sat, similarly to me, staring intently at the glass in front of her, as if trying to break it with the power of her mind or something. Whatever it was, she was very immersed, and seemed to know what she was doing, so I decided not to disturb her. So we sat and rocked back and forth as Finn’s screaming grew louder and louder.

 

Finally we went through the last door, I held my breath.

“Emberlyn!” a loud screech came from inside.

“Finn!” I called back. Our cages were sat in front of a large glass wall, behind which was Finn, struggling to get out of the grip of two massive guards. I think The Institute only employed people for their size, not their brains, because Finn kept becoming very close to escaping, but they kept a firm hold. I saw his face very calm, controlled and thoughtful, so I thought that he was only screaming to either make guards think they were getting their way, or to distract everyone. We sat and stood staring at each other until a loud smashing noise broke the silence, and I turned to see Laura with her hands in fists, glass everywhere. She also had her eyes closed.

“Emberlyn, Finn, look away now!” She yelled. I turned, saw a flash of blue and my glass cage shattered, along with the glass wall. Finn’s guard’s had collapsed in shock. I stood up and ran at Finn, clasping him in my arms and crying furiously, shaking and telling him what had happened. He silenced me, kissing me full on in the face, even a little too public if you asked me, but it was the best kiss so far. I turned, still hugging Finn, to see Laura. She was lying on the floor, tears pouring down her face, eyes shut. I ran up to her.

“Laura?” She kept her eyes firmly shut.

“It’s something I’ve been trying for a long time now Emberlyn.”

“What Laura? Tell me now, please.” My tone was begging.

“Breaking things with my Signal. You know, what you send out as a Clairvoyant. Your waves, your signal. We use it in Channeling, and I challenged myself to try this. It worked. But now…”

“Now what Laura?” I was desperate to know what was wrong with her.

“Now, I can’t look at anything without breaking it. Move out of the way Emberlyn, and look at the light bulb above me.” I did, and I saw a sudden flash of blue and the light bulb shattered, raining glass on Laura’s face. The blue light faded. Then I realized, Laura’s eyes were blue, that light was coming through her eyes, which means her Signal was sending out waves and shattering things when her eyes opened.

“Kill me Emberlyn.” She whispered, her voice strained.

“No! No! No Laura, no!” I was shaking my head, shaking myself, and shaking Laura. Finn was hugging me still, so I buried my face in his arm to hide my fast flowing tears, now replacing the old ones. I saw a flash and span round to stop Laura, but it was too late, Laura lay dead on the floor, her eyes closed and a smile on her face, her red hair delicately resting on the carpeted floor, her skin clear as the remaining glass fell on her, sending pretty light beams around the room. I was shaking with tears, anger and sadness at once. Finn looked up in alarm. I fell silent and listened carefully; you could hear the sound of pattering feet running down the hall.
“More guards. Come on, we’ve got to move.” He dragged me up and lead me to the side of the room, where he lifted up a panel and helped me climb into the ceiling. He followed before closing the panel and pressing his ear to the floor of the small chamber we were now sat in. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying, and even when I let blood, I did not stir. About fifteen minutes later, Finn turned to me,

“They’re gone. Come on.” He took my hand and helped me over pipes and wires running through the ceiling. We clambered under and over and forward for about half an hour before Finn spoke again, “Emberlyn, do you have your bank card with you?” I reached into my pocket instinctively,

“Yeah. Why?” I was curious.

“We’re gonna need the cash. How much?”

“Um. About two hundred pounds, maybe more.” He grinned and grimaced before pulling up another panel and dropping through, I could smell fresh air and freedom.

 

To make a long story short; we got out. It took a lot of climbing shuffling and hiding, and took about two hours, but we did it. We were both stood about a mile away from The Institution, breathing in the fresh air. ‘Perfect moment. Tell him now.’ My mind whispered. I knew it too, so I turned and slid my arms around Finn’s neck. He grinned and pulled me closer, his lips brushing my forehead.

“Finn I �"“ But my next sentence was never finished, for Finn began to kiss me furiously, yet gently. I reacted as I usually did, feeling like my heart was in my lips, beating gently, pushing on his chest and breathing in his heavy scent. He stopped all too soon, and said,

“I know Emberlyn. You hate me don’t you.” This time I reacted. I shoved him against the nearest wall and whispered,

“No.” into his chest. I looked up and kissed him. I was a bit gentler, tender yet passionate, my hands knotted into his hair. He let me go and smiled proudly,

“I knew you’d fall for my charms eventually.”

“Are you saying I didn’t love you before! After we �"“

“That never happened OK?”

“No then. But later.” Finn sighed contently. He took my hand and led me down the street.

 

We eventually came to my local bank, thanks to my knowledge of Dublin’s mad layout. I suggested we went and saw my Mum, but Finn said No, that would not be a good idea. Finn knew the way from here, so I followed him through the maze I called home, till he got to a long street of tall, skinny houses. He started door counting, and he looked very suspicious. I didn’t have a hoodie, neither did he, so we could easily be spotted. I kept my head down, Finn noticed, and maneuvered himself to a stance similar to mine, but continued counting. He stopped suddenly at number forty two, which had a flat for rent. He knocked on the door, sharply. An old man came out, graying hair, eaten too many pies. Finn said,

“May we rent?”

“Just the two of you?” His voice sounded like a crackly radio.

“Yeah.”

“Um… It’s only ten pounds a month. I don’t need the cash right now. Here, ‘cos you are both so young, stay for a few months free.”

“Thanks.” Finn was short and firm. I was a bit worried, a fourteen year old and a fifteen year old renting a flat? Oh dear. We wandered down the hall after the little man, who pointed at the stairs. Finn took my hand and pulled me up them. We walked into the first room of two. There was a kitchen/living room/bedroom, because the sofa folded out, and through a small door there was a tiny bathroom as well. I know it was small, but I somehow loved it to pieces. I was quizzing Finn with questions of how we could rent it so easily, weren’t we too young? He told me no, the law and been raised, so now from the age of twelve you could rent. I never knew that, very strange. I still had to tell him my news, so I attempted telling him again,

“Finn.”

“Yeah?”

“I need to tell you…”

“What?”

“That I… Just that I love the flat… and you of course.”

‘No Emberlyn, tell him now, now!’ my mind told me.

“Great. Want some omlette?” He asked, so I said ‘Yeah’ and dropped my attempt. I’ll tell him later, I thought.

 

We went on, living on omlette and fruit juice for ten weeks, yes, ten weeks in a tiny flat, both sleeping on the sofa, which wasn’t bad, seeing as I loved him. The old man treated us like newly weds, thanks to Finn saying not to disturb us. My money somehow lasted, and more kept coming in from my Dad’s account, whoever he was.

 

It was one night, when Finn asked me to go and get some eggs from the local shop. I agreed, and, walking out, he turned to me and said,

“There’s something you want to tell me isn’t there.” It was a statement. I nodded, “Go on then.” He said. I walked to the door and opened it, as I left, I said, clearly, and sounding rehearsed,

“I’m pregnant Finn. I’m pregnant with your baby.” I closed the door and ran down to the shop.

 

I returned shakily, knowing that I had actually just told him. I was vibrating, shaking too fast for me to measure, scared of what he’d say. I took a deep breath and walked into the flat. He was right there in front of me, smiling radiantly. I sighed in relief and found myself in his arms, kissing him passionately, pressing myself against him.

“How long for?” He asked.

“Ten weeks.” He told me I should have told him earlier, that I shouldn’t have kept it secret. He rested his hands on my stomach, the silence intense. I smiled and continued kissing him.

“Sit down.”

“Are you saying I need to rest! After only ten weeks!”

“Yes. Hey wait, there’s a sixteen year old law right?”

“Taken off as well Finn, this is 2027 you know!” I acted like I always would have, trying to be oblivious to the child I was carrying, but failing.

 

I spent most of my time in the flat, asleep, dreaming of this orb-like corridor again and again, and often of my child. I had no idea what would happen to us now, whether we would survive with another mouth to feed. I was a worrier, always had been, always will be. Not always a good thing, especially in the situation we were in at the time. I often asked Finn if I could call my Mum, but he always said No, it’s too dangerous, we could get tracked. Whatever. I never did, of course, I didn’t want to upset Finn or get caught by The Institute again. It would scare be to pieces, especially seeing as I was carrying a child.

 

I nearly forgot about my past life for a while, I forgot Laura, Emleh, Ryan, Sarah, everyone and everything that had happed there. I knew I shouldn’t have, but I did, I had no choice or I would have become very, very scared. Fast.

 

Finn began showing me things in the world I’d never considered before, and I was having the time of my life with him. I sang to him often, he said my voice was like Autumn, and Spring. He would take me to the local library where there was a piano and play me the little songs he knew. He was very good, so we went there often and he got even better. I sang along to most of the music he played, and usually the Library assistants paid us to entertain the public, which we were absolutely astounded by. We got on alright, for about five months, until the letter came.

 

There I was, sat on the sofa, oblivious to life, reading Jane Eyre, with another stack of library books next to me, slurping orange juice and rubbing my stomach ponderingly. Jane Eyre was so young to be married, even then it was thought of as strange, which got me thinking… but no, marry Finn? That law had been taken off as well since the Romanian gypsies kept getting married at mad ages like nine. Even I, the mad little Emberlyn, thought that was young. Finn was bustling about in the kitchen, dancing and singing along to the radio as he made me yet more omlette, which I had become slightly addicted to. He said it was my craving, but I wouldn’t believe him. Whilst considering marrying Finn, which I thought of as mad, wonderful and perfect, a letter fell through the door, addressed to Finn. He stopped, the music did, I stopped slurping, my book’s pages stopped flapping and so did the whole world, everything turned to silence as Finn padded across the floor and picked it up.

 

For some reason, I was very worried. Finn was usually fun, bubbly and loving, but no, now he was tense, ready for something, as if fearing of the letter that had fallen through the door. It had a blue envelope, clean and precise, and the text across it was need, capitalized and somehow exaggerated and intimidating… but how could it? It was a mere little letter? Either way, Finn was tense, which means I was tense as well. He ripped it open.