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Lainey hoped that her pain would be fleeting, and fade away just as the Betelgeuse relic faded from view in her dormitory room as the sky grew completely black. But although it lessened, it would not cease. That night, she tossed and turned, trying to avoid sleeping on her left side, where her birthmark lay, but by the crack of dawn, she had gotten no sleep at all. She climbed down the ladder to her bunk bed, trying her hardest not to wake Petra, but it was no use.
“Where are you going?” A groggy voice called out from behind a mountain of pillows.
“Uhh, just to shower,” Lainey replied awkwardly. It was a strange time to be taking a shower, but she figured the hot water may help ease her pain a bit. Petra sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes to get a better view of her roommate as Lainey opened the wardrobe to grab her towel and toiletries.
“Go back to sleep, it’s fine--” she began to say, before she stopped dead in her tracks, catching a glimpse of her birthmark in the mirror, or where her birthmark once was. The only problem was that it was no longer visible underneath a massive splotchy bruise that covered half of her neck and spread all the way down to her left collarbone. Before she could hide it with her hair, Petra had noticed it as well, and threw her covers off in an instant.
“Bah, what happened to you?!” She cried as Lainey instinctively grabbed her neck, only this time, her hand was not big enough to cover it all.
“Did you fall? Are you hurt?” Petra continued to interrogate her as she dug through one of the bags under the bed. From a first-aid kit, she pulled out a bottle of Tylenol and a hot compress.
“Here, we can heat this in the cafeteria microwave. I know an ice pack probably works better but I don’t know where we could find a freezer to--anyways, just take this and explain everything that happened.”
Where only moments before Petra was sleeping peacefully, she was now wide awake, her hazel eyes focused on Lainey’s bruise, filled with concern.
Lainey accepted the tylenol gratefully, thankful to have a roommate with plans on being a nurse. She sat down on Petra’s bunk and began to explain.
“Well, it kind of has to do with Xander,” she warned her. Petra looked taken aback, immediately crossing her arms.
“He did this?” she asked in an accusatory tone.
“No, no,no, it’s just that--” Lainey then explained everything that had occurred the day before, including their conversation in the library, and her discovery surrounding the relics.
“And then I stepped on one, and even though all of the others were fine, this one really hurt, but only in one spot.”
“...that doesn’t make any sense,” Petra concluded.
“I know,” Lainey agreed, shaking her head. “I mean logically, it felt like a shock so I thought I could’ve been electrocuted, but then why would all of the energy be centralized at my birthmark? I’ve never heard of a birthmark making your skin more electrically conductive.” She tried to rationalize it in her mind any way she could think of, but it just wasn’t making sense. It must’ve been beyond her knowledge.
“Look, I know I kind of separated myself from Xander and his friends, but he knows his stuff about the school. It was pretty annoying, actually,” said Petra, now sitting down beside her. “And he did mention the thing about the two villages a lot, and their kind of…reputation. So maybe…” Lainey knew where she was going with this and wouldn’t stand for it.
“No!” she said frustratedly, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.
“You didn’t even let me finish!” Petra said indignantly.
“You were going to suggest that they were witches or demons and somehow cursed me using the relics,” Lainey argued, leaving Petra looking sheepish.
“Well, I mean, what other options do we have? It’s not like it’s coming out of nowhere. Xander told you the folklore.”
“I know, but saying ‘magic’ is just a cheap copout for something that people are incapable of understanding. There is a real answer, and I’m going to find it.” Lainey stated before beginning to get dressed, being careful not to brush against her bruise, and wincing every time she did so.
“Okay, and how are you supposed to do that?” Petra asked her with a raised eyebrow. Lainey knew there was one person out there who did know the truth, or more than she did, at least. But he was a brick wall, and she didn’t think threatening him would do any good. She didn’t understand. She didn’t see any bruises on him, and he wasTylenolng in front of the very same plate she got hurt on! But if she couldn’t go to Mendel, she could go to the next best option.
“Xander didn’t have enough time to explain to me the full story on the founding of the school,” she told Petra. “If I start from there, I may be able to recontextualize the stories and figure out what was actually happening, and--oh,”
She had forgotten again. As she pulled her sweater over her head she trailed off, just now remembering Petra’s and Xander’s history. It was one thing to accidentally bump into him, but to actively seek him out? It didn’t help that Leiko also wasn’t fond of her. She didn’t even know if Xander himself wanted to see her again.
Petra was silent for a moment, kicking her feet off the side of the bottom bunk and looking down at the ground.
“I’m sorry, I won’t go to him,” Lainey said quickly, now putting on her sneakers. “I can try going to the library and maybe going through the land records he mentioned.”
“No, Lains, this is my problem, I don’t want you getting dragged into it when you need help. I agree, Xander’s probably your best bet with ‘ginger man’ not wanting to blab at all.” It looked like she had more to say about him, with her mouth slightly agape, but she closed it and looked away, leaving Lainey still guilty.
“Are you sure?” She said slowly, thinking Petra was just being nice. Petra then stood up and looked her in the eyes.
“My concern for you is way more than my dislike for him and that group right now, so I say, go for it. Just…be careful.”
“Be careful?”
“Yeah, duh, don’t go stepping on those relics again, ya hear me?”
Lainey rolled her eyes playfully before heading for the door.
With Petra’s directions, she was able to find the door to Xander’s room. She paced in front of it, occasionally rubbing her still-aching bruise. She debated going to the nurse instead of to a history major about her unexplained injury, but she didn’t think she could get as much answers as she would some basic treatment. This was her best shot, and if she was rejected, well, she figured she would have to get used to it eventually.
She knocked on the door to room 442 and patiently waited, wondering if Xander would even be awake at this time. A moment later, it creaked open to reveal him standing there, pyjamas on and hair a mess.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said, slightly confused. He adjusted his crooked glasses and hesitantly let her in as she apologized profusely.
“Sorry, sorry, I know it’s early.”
“For a Saturday, I’ll say,” Xander yawned loudly and opened the blinds in his room. “I’ve gotta say I wasn’t expecting you, was it…Elektra?”
“Electa,” she corrected him, “but Lainey is what I go by,”
“Ah, I was right with the Greek,” he shrugged. “Anyways, what’s up, need another book?”
“Not exactly,” she looked around to make sure they were alone. Both bunk beds were empty. “Where’s your roommate?”
Xander stretched and yawned. “Not sure. He’s kind of strange, to be honest. I don’t think he’s been back all night. That cigarette smell is his, too. Definitely not me.” He grinned at her reassuringly.
“Ok, anyways, I have a…problem and I think it might have to do with what you were talking to me about yesterday with the founding of the school and everything.”
“You mean, the ‘made-up stories’ about the founders of the school?” Xander asked slyly.
“Well, whatever, the point is, I think they somehow caused this.” She pulled her hair and shirt to the side to reveal her bruise. Xander’s smirk faded at once, whistling through his teeth at the side of the purple mark.
“But--how?” He whispered, instinctively moving towards her to get a better look.
“I have this, uhh, birthmark, that somehow…reacted with one of the relics when I stepped on it.” She said awkwardly. Xander’s eyes would not leave her neck as he walked closer to her, circling her to get all angles of the lesion. She didn’t know why she felt so hot all of a sudden, like a bright spotlight had abruptly been placed upon her. She certainly didn’t feel like this with Petra.
“I’ve never gotten a bruise from stepping on them before,” Xander voiced, still observing her. “And I have a few birthmarks.”
“I guess this one is kind of unique,” Lainey mumbled, remembering what Mendel had told her.
“Well, this wasn’t in any of the folklore, that’s for sure.” he concluded, now looking at her face instead of her bruise.
“Then what was?” She asked him. “And don’t say magic.”
“Well, then I can’t say anything,” he said simply, putting his hands behind his back. “All of the stories the villages used to tell were supernatural, people moving on their own, crazy weather events, flashes of light coming from their town, you get the idea.”
Lainey sighed heavily, turning away from him.
“I’m not saying it’s true, but that’s all we have.” He clarified.
“No, that’s all you have.” she shot back. “Look, people used to explain why the stars changed with myths of immortalized heroes and monsters, but today we know better. I’m sure it’s the same here. And I need to find out more, I just have to.”
“I get it,” Xander said with his hands raised. “And I’ll help you, but I’m just saying, hell, I love learning about history as much as anyone but it can be hard to find the truth of stuff from centuries ago, that’s all.”
Lainey shook her head, knowing Xander didn’t understand her.
“I’m not doing this because it’s fun. I’m doing this because I think this place could have answers about who I am, because as of right now, I have no idea. Where I came from, who my parents are, how I got this thing.” She gestured to her neck. “And why I keep seeing those things!” She groaned, rubbing her face with her hands. Xander just froze, watching her crumble. Maybe it was out of exhaustion, or maybe it was because she felt safe around him, but she was telling him everything. All of her burning questions came pouring out, speaking them to the silence as Xander watched her with worry. Before he could reply, the door to his room opened, and in came the solution to all of her problems, only he was a walking lockbox.
Mendel looked between the two of them, immediate shock on his face as he recognized Lainey.
“Oh, Lainey, this is my roommate, Mendel.” Xander introduced them awkwardly, as Mendel stared.
“You?” She said in surprise, pointing at his figure in the doorway.
“What the hell are you doing in my room?” Mendel spat, his hand still gripping the doorknob.
“Wait, I’m confused, you two know each other?” Xander asked, not understanding the gravity of the situation.
“Well, look who’s the stalker now?” he said with a cruel laugh, throwing his bag down on the ground, still glowering at her.
“Okay, okay, she’s just my friend,” Xander said to Mendel, trying to ease the tension. “I didn’t realize you guys had something.”
“We don’t have anything,” Mendel said immediately, looking taken aback and almost disgusted.
“Yeah, because you won’t tell me anything!” Lainey exclaimed. She was becoming sick of it all. All these strange occurrences with no explanations. She missed when her life was a routine. When she moved from foster home to foster home and living day to day and didn’t have things dangled in front of her face, living in constant fear and mystery, not to mention the pain. She was trying to think rationally like she usually did, but all logic had escaped her.
“I’ve had to figure things out on my own, and now look what’s happened!” She pulled down her shirt collar to reveal her bruise once again, ignoring the pain she felt as her fingers grazed it. Mendel’s face was a mix of fear and anger, perfectly reflecting how she felt.
“You went on the circle, didn’t you?” Mendel snarled, his already pale skin now stark white.
“Oh, I’m sorry, was I not supposed to do that? How was I supposed to know? That’s where you are all the time,”
Mendel’s green eyes roared with an electricity she could not read. He could’ve been about to punch her, or pass out. Luckily, Xander jumped between them with haste.
“Ok, Lainey, let’s just step out for a minute before we get a noise complaint.” He said before dragging her out into the hallway. As he closed the door, she could see Mendel standing there, hunched over and muttering something along the lines of, “they know, they know,”
“Are you okay?” Xander asked her calmly as she breathed heavily, still processing everything that had just happened. She nodded with her eyes closed, feeling better now that it was just the two of them.
“I’m sorry, I knew he was weird but I didn’t know he was like that,” Xander said, looking back at the closed door. Feeling like there was nothing more to lose, Lainey explained to Xander everything she had witnessed since coming to Cerebres State, including all her encounters with Mendel. He was silent for a moment, standing there in his blue striped PJs and ruffled black hair.
“Well, this is definitely fascinating,” he said slowly, still lost in thought. She could see a similar light behind his eyes like when he was talking about history. Like a distant comet soaring through the night sky of his pupils.
“I’ll see what I can get out of Mendel for you,” he proposed. “Maybe I’ll have more luck since I’m his roommate.”
“You’d do that?” Lainey asked, feeling more hopeful than she had in a while.
“Why not, I’ve already read all my textbooks so what else am I supposed to do?”
Lainey laughed at this as Xander looked slightly embarrassed.
“Don’t worry, I’m in the same boat,” she reassured him. “Thanks.” she said before leaving his dorm, now begging that Xander would be more successful, though if she considered the odds, he would not. But when Xander prepared to confront him as he reentered the room, Mendel was already gone. Without even opening the door, he had somehow vanished like he always did.
“I knew that guy was weird,” Xander muttered to himself as he plopped back into bed. 118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UF6T3sGph
Mendel paused for a moment once he closed the entrance to the passageway shut, allowing his eyes to adjust to the pure darkness surrounding him. His arms ached from lifting the heavy metal plate long enough to crawl inside while praying that no one was taking a walk this early on a Saturday morning. But it was not morning down here. This place had not seen light in a very, very long time, and even when it did, he was far too young to remember it. Down the seemingly endless corridor, Mendel went, travelling swiftly but carefully so as to not bump into anything. He felt overgrown roots beneath his feet, nature taking over what he knew were once ornate rooms carved from pure gold and glittering with diamond chandeliers. But all of them were out. Time stood still, and Mendel used to think it may always remain this way, until he first laid eyes on her…
He continued to walk, following the familiar sound of running water until he reached a cold stone wall, so different from the rest of the beautiful wasteland he had ventured through. Feeling along it with a delicate hand, he finally halted at the tiniest of crawlspaces, no bigger than the size of a toddler, and through it he went.
The other side could not be more different, but then again, Mendel thought, almost everything had to be different between the two kingdoms, masquerading as if they had no relation to each other at all. But where the old decrepit kingdom of gold was dark by reason of sheer emptiness, the kingdom of stone and crystal that greeted him was dark by choice. The only light came from the pinprick windows lining the towers shooting down into the ground, appearing to defy gravity along with the waterfall in the centre of them all, flowing endlessly into the abyss. But Mendel knew he could not ponder this familiar place for long, he had a reason to be here, and a hefty price if he was caught.
A long and narrow stairway lined the cavern out of steel, circling the upside-down amethyst towers until they collided with them on their lowest floors, and thankfully, Mendel’s destination was on the lowest and shabbiest of levels of one of the towers, meaning he didn’t have to walk much longer. He sighed and gathered himself before knocking on the door, hoping his trip would be worth it after travelling all this way.
“What the hell are you doing here? You aren’t supposed to be down here during the day, what if you were seen?” were the first words that flew out of his mother’s mouth as she opened the door and locked eyes with him. Their matching green eyes seemed to spark with electricity as they reflected in the lantern light. Despite her disapproval, she immediately yanked Mendel inside by the sleeve of his collared shirt, nearly banging his head on the doorway.
“Relax, mother, no one saw me. You’d think I’d come here if I didn’t have a good reason? This is important.” Mendel watched as his mother began busying herself with the kettle, bustling around their cramped hole-in-the-wall that had only grown more littered since Mendel left for school a few weeks ago.
“Is it your smoking problem?” His mother asked, looking him up and down and reaching up to straighten his messy hair. “I could smell it on you the second you arrived. You know there’s no one here to make you new lungs anymore, Mendel.”
“No Mother,” Mendel brushed her off while preparing himself to say the thing that had been ringing in his mind for nearly a month. “I think the Electa is here, at Cerebres State.”
“Keep your voice down!” his mother immediately cried, not looking back at him. While the water boiled on the stove, she pulled out an old, dented record player as Mendel still stood there, watching her.
“Did you not hear me? I just--” but his mother cut him off, shushing him before she placed a record on the player, and it began to spin. The House of the Rising Sun, by the Animals, one of the songs Mendel had often listened to growing up, but he didn’t understand why it needed to be played now, unless…
“They’ve gotten worse since you’ve left,” his mother said in barely above a whisper. “I just want to be sure they’re not listening in on us.”
“They’ve gotten worse because of the Electa,” Mendel continued to explain, taking a seat on the patched-up couch in front of the hearth.
“Oh, I know that,” his mother replied, unphased.
“So, you already know, then, that the Electa is here?” He gave her an inquisitive look. Just as he had been keeping Electa from the truth, his mother had been doing the same.
“Darling, who do you think sent her the application form?” she replied with a small shrug, as if this was as important as the day’s weather, though they had no weather underground.
“You--what?!” Mendel leaped up and crossed the apartment in two strides, whipping his mother around to look at her straight in the face. Her straight strawberry blonde hair that frayed at the ends, the lines in her forehead from years of raising her eyebrows at him. Those freckles and those bright green eyes.
“I made a promise to my sister that when she came of age, I would help her understand everything, and if there’s one thing you know about your mother, it’s that I do not break my promises.” She stated before turning back to her tea.
“Yeah, because she doesn’t know anything right now and it’s driving me insane,” Mendel mumbled under his breath. “But how could you do that? Don’t you know how dangerous it is? For you? For her? And you just told me that I was putting myself in danger, well frankly this is so much worse!”
“Mendel, there’s a difference between doing risky things out of recklessness and doing risky things for the greater good. I know the dangers for all of us, but I also know that the Electa is the only way out of this terrible war that still lives on, even with no fighting. We all have a part to play, and this is mine. I know it. No milk, no sugar, darling?” She quickly changed the subject as she poured a steaming pot of tea into a chipped stone teacup.
“Yeah, no thanks,” Mendel muttered as he took his mother’s offering, before continuing their argument. He followed her as she sat down at their tiny circular table in the centre of the room.
“But they’re watching her now, mother, they know she’s here. And she hasn’t got a clue about her power or anything she does. I don’t even think she has her powers yet. I’ve tried not to get too close…”
His mother’s calm demeanour quickly became stern once again as she pointed her teaspoon at him. “What, you’re just going to let her get herself killed while she’s still in the dark? I thought this whole time you would’ve been helping her, she’s our own blood!”
Although Lainey didn’t know it, he was the closest thing to a relative she had ever seen, and yet, she loathed him for pushing her away when she was clearly begging for answers. She looked like a lost puppy who didn’t want to admit she was lost, so set on her ways of thinking. Mendel rolled his eyes at the thought of it. Through the silence, the scratched record continued to play, occasionally skipping where it had been worn down over the years.
Oh Mother, tell your children
Not to do what I have done—done—done
“…even if I do tell her, it’s not like she’ll believe me. She’s too caught up in science that she’ll think I’m crazy. Not like she doesn’t already.” Mendel stirred the remains of his tea, a sour look now on his long face.
“You still have to try,” his mother pleaded, reaching out across the table to take his hand. There was a sudden sadness there, a regret etched on the wrinkles of her face that were not there before. On her freckles that had faded so much after years of not seeing the sun. “Every day I wish I would’ve helped my sister earlier, before it was practically too late. It took the midst of a war to help who I loved, and I don’t want her daughter to go through the same, by herself. Family helps family.”
Mendel knew she was echoing the very words Charlotte had said to her, the last time she was ever seen alive. He knew she was right, but he hated that she was. Because with Electa there was the possibility of the return of light, but also the threat of eternal darkness, even worse than before. He did not want neither his mother nor him to have the same fate as Charlotte. But there was no way of knowing. That was the problem with not having a fate connected to the stars, it was entirely up to human nature, and it terrified him. He sipped more of his tea, feeling it hot against his throat, and he looked at his mother, willing him to not be a coward.
“…fine,” he said with a long sigh. “I will try, but I’m not saying I’ll be successful.”
“Well I don’t care what you do, you just have to start soon,” his mother said darkly, now standing up from the table. “Remind me what day it is?”
“September 26th…” Mendel said suspiciously as he watched his mother dig through the drawers of a writing desk tucked away in the corner. From its depths, she pulled out a roughly drawn star chart, depicting the directions of every star in the night sky, with its exact coordinates. It stretched out and rolled onto the floor, containing contents from the year 1975 all the way to 2000.
“1993,” she mumbled, tracing her finger to the correct spot. Mendel tilted his head, trying to see what his mother was up to. He had never learned to read the stars since it served him no purpose. His place was in the human mind, as much as he hated to admit it. He would much rather be nothing at all.
“Oh dear. We have less than a month before disaster strikes, then. She was born earlier than I thought.” Abigail stated, a hint of worry growing in her voice. She quickly rolled up the scroll and stuffed it back in the drawer as Mendel rose as well.
“What does that mean?” He asked with alarm. “What disaster?”
“If the frontal court is watching her now, then things can only get worse.” She replied ominously, leaving Mendel more frustrated. “Just explain to her. Be honest with her, and have her ready. We don’t need any surprise attacks on the day of, that’s how they’ll get her.”
And with that, Mendel was forced to say goodbye to his mother, still full of lingering questions, not unlike his dear cousin currently a mile above him.
“Be careful,” she said with a final motherly look, full of warmth and determination for a cause so beyond her being. He walked back through the dark, debating with himself just how he would tell Lainey, well, everything.
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