15

ALORA

FEBRUARY 14, 2147

So far, my second day at The Academy for Time Travel and Research has been a little better than my first. I mean, at least I sort of know what to expect. Yesterday, Lieutenant Rivera escorted me to each of my classes: basics like math, science, and language arts in the morning, with afternoons reserved for my new team leader, Professor Telfair March, who is responsible for my history lessons and actual time travel training. In between all that Mom kept checking in to make sure I was doing okay.

Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if I didn’t have Lieutenant Rivera here. At least she’s leaving tomorrow. I can’t wait.

“Come along, Alora. No time for dawdling,” Rivera says over her shoulder as we leave the cafeteria located in the bottom floor of the main academic building.

I want to snap that I’m not dawdling; I’m just feeling a bit sick after eating that horrible excuse for a lunch. Some kind of protein pie made with the synthetic meat that’s common in this era, and a side of very bland mixed vegetables. Absolutely no dessert. What I wouldn’t give for Aunt Grace’s cooking, especially a huge slice of her chocolate cake. But I certainly can’t say that out loud. At least I was allowed to eat with my new roommate, Tara. She seems nice, though she was really cautious around Rivera. Can’t say that I blame her.

We pass a security guard, one of dozens that have been stationed all over campus for our safety, and a lot of cadets who are openly watching us and whispering. The same thing happens as we make our way through the building to the nearest elevator. I want to roll my eyes. Some things never change, no matter what time you live in. I always felt like a freak when I lived in Willow Creek, and I still do now. I was stupid to think wearing the Academy’s uniform would help me blend in. The fact that I’m a new cadet, with a scandalous history, no less, and that I look so much like Vika—well, of course that makes me gossip material.

I try to ignore Rivera’s idle chatter while she leads me to Professor March’s class. Everywhere I go, I’ve been looking for Bridger, and I haven’t seen him. I’m too afraid to search for him using my DataLink. There’s no telling if everything I search for is being monitored, especially while I’m here. I wonder if he’s tried to look for me. He wasn’t exactly thrilled after I restored his memories. Maybe he just wants things to stay the same.

On the third floor, we exit the elevator and walk down a long, white-tiled hallway, passing many rooms with closed doors, until we get to room number 327. We’re early. Professor March is at his desk, but the only other student is a girl with bright pink hair seated in the back corner. I remember seeing her yesterday, but I didn’t speak to her.

“Hello, Miss Mason,” Professor March calls out with a grin.

I can’t help but smiling in return and wave at him. But then I quickly lower my hand, sure I look like an awkward dork doing that. I liked him immediately when I first saw him yesterday. He’s a tall, lanky black man, and something about him reminds me so much of one of my favorite actors from when I lived with Aunt Grace.

Lieutenant Rivera notices the girl in the room, and her eyes flick between her and the professor. “Telfair, may I have a word with you in private?”

Professor March looks at Rivera as if she’s a bothersome insect. I smile even more. “Of course, Ellen.”

Lieutenant Rivera calls out to me, “I’ll be back at the end of this session to escort you to your next class, Alora.”

I look sharply at her. “Next class? I thought this was the last one for the day?”

“I can take her,” Professor March interrupts, giving me a reassuring smile

Lieutenant Rivera purses her lips like she’s been sucking on a lemon. “We’ll see,” she finally says.

Once they’re both in the hallway, I immediately set down my DataPad down on the nearest desk and sit, trying to hear what they’re saying. Most of their words don’t make sense, but I do hear Professor March saying something like “It would be better coming from me.” I have no idea what that means. I just want to find out what this extra class is supposed to be.

“So, you’re the new girl. Brilliant.”

I’m startled hearing the prim, accented voice coming from the other side of the room. It sounds vaguely English, or at least what was English when I lived with Aunt Grace. I’d nearly forgotten that I’m not alone in here. The pink-haired girl comes over and takes the seat next to me.

“Yeah, I suppose I am,” I snap, wishing she would leave me alone so I can hear what’s going on out in the hallway.

“I’m Everly Darville, by the way.”

I honestly wish I could just ignore the girl, but Aunt Grace always told me to not be rude. I force myself to smile and say, “I’m Alora.”

Everly props her elbow on her desk, cupping her jaw in the palm of her hand. “Oh, I know. Everybody has been talking about you. Something about you looking similar to a cadet who died here last year. It must be a bit odd wearing a dead girl’s face.”

Wow, she’s not subtle at all. But from the sound of it, she’s not familiar with what happened. I decide to see what exactly she knows. “That’s what I’ve heard too. What do you know?”

“Not a lot. Until you arrived, I was the new kid on campus.”

“Okay,” I drawl.

She flashes a wicked grin. “Oh, the others were right. You don’t know much of anything, do you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, scowling at her. Jeez, and I was worried about appearing rude.

Her smile fades and she bites her lip. “I’m sorry. I’m a little blunt sometimes. Anyway, I didn’t mean you’re dumb or anything, I just meant that you’re kind of naïve. It’s because you were kidnapped, right?”

It’s weird; I knew that everyone was talking about me, but it’s strange having that confirmed by Everly. And though I wouldn’t have thought it was possible after the terrible lunch, my stomach sours even more. I manage to nod. “Yeah, that’s right.”

A few cadets begin to trickle into the room. As soon as they see us, they stop talking and tiptoe to their seats like the floor is covered with glass. They don’t sit near me, or Everly.

“Well, as you can see,” she says, indicating their valiant efforts to ignore us, “I haven’t had too much luck making friends. I’m an international transfer cadet, and the blokes over here don’t like foreigners,” she says, using air quotes for the last word. “I’ve only been here since last August.”

“Sorry to hear that,” I mumble. I get it; she’s probably lonely. But I don’t know a thing about her, and I really need to focus on finding out what happened to my father, and to Bridger’s—not making new friends. At least, not right now.

By the time Professor March reenters the room, the entire group is already seated—eleven cadets in total. He takes one look at me and leans down to whisper, “I know things are tough for you right now, but I promise I’ll do everything in my power to help you succeed here. I know exactly what you’re feeling.”

His words are comforting, and I really wish I could believe him. Before we left 2013, Bridger told me that Professor March was the one who helped him escape when he was captured while trying to help me. Now that I’ve been around the professor, I feel like I could trust him, especially since Bridger told me that he’s also a Dual Talent. But I can’t let him know that I know the extent of his abilities.

Still, there’s another thing that’s troubling me—Bridger’s father warned him to never trust Professor March again. When Mr. Creed spoke, he seemed so calm and rational, and yet that version was a clone. And from what I’ve learned since living here, clones were outlawed because they always went insane, just like Vika did.

So what am I supposed to believe?

My second day in Professor March’s class is similar to what I experienced with my private tutors. Even though I didn’t really care for the way my tutors treated me, I did enjoy my history lessons. They were a million times better than any of my high school classes from the time I lived with Aunt Grace. Instead of sitting in a history class where the teacher yaps at you or makes you read from a textbook, I was able to experience actual events recorded by Time Benders through Virtual Lenses.

Today, after Professor March distributed the lenses, we’re led through a complex “city” underneath what used to be the Denver International Airport—currently, downtown New Denver. The city is used for historical tours now, but during the Second Civil War, once Washington, DC, was pretty much destroyed, the government was evacuated there. This is where President Youngblood continued to direct the nation’s military, even though large parts of Denver were destroyed, too. It’s surreal moving though the different levels with the lenses, watching military officials making decisions that impacted millions of lives, and witnessing whole areas where citizens of Denver were evacuated during airstrikes. It’s the regular people who get to me: actually seeing their fear, hearing children cry, feeling the atmosphere of utter hopelessness.

I hope I never have to experience that in real life.

At the end of Professor March’s class, he annoys the entire class by announcing that all time trips have been cancelled for the next week until the situation with the Purists settles down.

While the others file out, I stay in my seat and try my best to ignore them—easy enough, when nobody acts like they want to speak to me.

“Good luck,” Everly says as she stands, grabbing her DataPad. “Let me know if you need anything, or just want to chat. I forgot to mention that I’m two doors down from you in the residence hall.”

I feel a little guilty. I hadn’t even noticed that she lives so close to me, and she’s trying so hard to be nice. But I can’t forget about my goal. I don’t need any distractions now. “Yeah, maybe we can talk sometime.”

Once Everly leaves, Professor March clasps his hands. “So, are you ready for your next class?”

“I suppose so,” I say, feeling a bit annoyed because I’m anxious to find Bridger so I can talk to him. “But what is it? I don’t remember having another one listed on my schedule.”

“That’s because this isn’t an official class. You’re one of very few Dual Talents here, Alora. The Academy’s sole focus is to train Time Benders, but we also want you to develop your second Talent. So for you and the other cadets like yourself, we bring in professors from the other schools to continue your training. Unfortunately, that means this training has to be done off the record.”

I blink a few times in shock before I can speak. “Are you serious? I’m not the only one here?”

Professor March laughs. “No, you’re not. In fact, now that you’re here, we have a grand total of eight Dual Talents. Your new roommate is one, too. That’s why we assigned her to stay with you. She’s the closest to your age, and she can act as a kind of mentor to you. And if it makes you feel any better, I’m also a Dual Talent; a Mind and Time Bender.”

I’m dumbfounded. Nobody in Chicago told me that there would be others here like me. They made it sound like Dual Talents are super rare. And not only are there others—Tara is one too. I’m even more surprised that Professor March admitted that he’s one as well.

“So … I’m not the only Space and Time Bender?” I ask. Since Vika was also like me, I’ve always wondered if there are any others. That would be wonderful, not feeling like the star of a freak-show.

“Well, yes, you are. The others on campus are Mind and Time Benders. And there are Mind and Space Benders at the other schools, as well as some Mind and Time Benders at the school for the telepathic Talents. But there are no others like you.”

And just like that, my hope deflates. So I’m still alone. Awesome. But then I wonder, does that mean I’m the only one like that still in school? Are there others who are grown? Vika was like me, and so was our dad. There have to be more than just the three of us. I want to ask Professor March, but I’m not sure if I should.

I fall silent as Professor March shares that my tutor is a professor from The School of Teleportation and Research, and that he will meet us in a room in the Main Building. Apparently, I can’t tell anybody the truth about this class, except for Tara. She’s to act as my confidante. If any other student asks, I’m just getting extra tutoring twice a week to help me “catch up” with everybody else.

“Hello, Sebastian,” Professor March says to the surly, blue-haired receptionist I met on my first day here. “Is the room ready for Miss Mason?”

“Of course it is,” he snaps. “Chancellor Tyson and the others have been waiting for nearly ten minutes.”

Oh just freaking great. Why does Chancellor Tyson have to be there? And if he’s there, I’m sure Lieutenant Rivera will be, as well.

Professor March gives the receptionist a tight-lipped smile before leading me down a short hallway that branches off behind the receptionist’s desk to the right. He stops before a door and says, “Don’t worry, Alora. You’ll be fine.”

Inside, I find Chancellor Tyson, the ever-present Lieutenant Rivera, and another man wearing a red-and-gray uniform seated at a long conference table. They stand as I enter. The man is the one who catches my attention, and not in a good way. He’s tall, has brown hair, and looks like he’s in his late thirties. He somehow reminds me of Mr. Palmer. Chills cover my body. I tell myself to get a grip. Palmer is long dead, and this guy doesn’t even look exactly like him; they just happen to share similar features. I have to force myself to stop staring at the man, who is obviously my new tutor.

“Thank you for delivering Miss Mason to us,” Chancellor Tyson says to Professor March.

“Would you like me to stay since I’m her team leader?” Professor March asks. “I think it would be beneficial for me to be here for this part of her training, so I can see what she’s capable of doing. After all, her abilities are extremely rare.”

The chancellor strokes his chin for a moment. “I hadn’t considered that, but it’s a good idea. Have a seat, Telfair.”

I feel a little lighter, knowing that Professor March will be here with me. He’s a Dual Talent, too, so he should be on my side, at least. As for the others, I don’t know. I get the feeling that I’m just a tool for them to use, something to advance their agenda.

As I start to take my place at the table, I hesitate for a few seconds, a little voice inside reminding me again that Bridger’s father warned us not to trust Professor March. But then again, he was a clone. I’ve learned that they aren’t exactly reliable. I shake off the thoughts and quickly sit in the chair next to the professor.

Once we’re all seated, Chancellor Tyson gives me a warm smile. “It’s good to see that you’re settling in, Miss Mason. I’ve talked to both your mother and Lieutenant Rivera, and they’ve assured me that you are adjusting nicely to your new environment. Now, I’d like to introduce you to your tutor.” He extends his hand to the man. “This is Professor Dan Jackson. He will be responsible for furthering your Space Bending education.”

I shift my attention to Professor Jackson.

“Hello, Alora,” he says. “I look forward to getting to know you better.”

Yeah, he still creeps me out. I need to get over this right now.

“Now that you two have been introduced, let’s see what you can do,” Lieutenant Rivera chirps.

I’m definitely glad that Professor March is staying. I thought it would just be me and my new Space Bending tutor, but until I get over my ridiculous aversion to him, maybe it’s best that someone stays with us. And I’m not sure I’d feel so comfortable with just the chancellor and Rivera.

Even so, an hour later I’m ready to scream. I need to find Bridger, and Professor Jackson has sent me all over the freaking campus to retrieve small cubes that Lieutenant Rivera placed throughout the day, without using my cloak. It’s exactly the same sort of exercise my private instructors loved to put me through.

Professor March calls for a quick break, then comes over to me. “You’re doing great, Alora. I know this must seem pointless to you, but Professor Jackson has to see what you’re capable of doing before he can put you through more advanced maneuvers.”

He’s right, but I still feel an intense irritation. This all feels like a complete waste of time.

Professor Jackson joins us, placing his hand on my shoulder, and I shudder under his touch. “One last shift, and then you’re free to go for today. I have to admit, I’m impressed with your skills. So, for your final task, I want you to shift to the museum and retrieve a golden cube that’s hidden on one of the shelves.”

Okay, I can do this. I step away from the two professors to prepare for my last shift of the day. Hopefully it won’t take too long. Lieutenant Rivera loves hiding those stupid boxes so I have to search for them, which wastes even more time. What I should be doing right now is looking for Bridger. I close my eyes, picturing his face. The dark brown eyes, the dimples that appear when he smiles. I need to find him.

“Holy fure, Alora, what are you doing here?”

My eyes fly open and I let out a horrified gasp. I’m no longer in the conference room in the Main Building. I’m now standing in an unfamiliar bedroom.

And Bridger is right in front of me.