21

The Glade

Lying on his bed, his head resting on his hands as he stared up at the ceiling, Jason struggled to suppress the emotions that had been swirling within him for the past few weeks. Kenny and Kala had asked him to shoot hoops, but he just didn’t have the energy or enthusiasm. He missed them – and Kate and Dale too – but the Team Septem training regime, which he felt had dragged on forever already, had left him totally worn out. And so he continued to lie on his bed, with only his thoughts to keep him company.

Eventually, he decided that staring at the grey ceiling wasn’t helping his mood, so he got up to walk down to Level One. It wasn’t long before he reached Eden, bathed in the day’s dying sunlight. Admiring the golden hue the trees had taken on, he entered the forest, making his way towards the glade that had become his sanctuary. There he could soak in the clean, crisp air and forget, albeit temporarily, the training he would have to force himself through, the upcoming exam, and Rory …

Arriving at the glade, he stepped through the undergrowth and was surprised to see Anna sitting in the centre of the clearing. She must have heard him, because she looked over her shoulder at him and rose to her feet.

‘Jason?’

‘Oh, um, Anna … hey,’ he said hurriedly, scratching the back of his head. She seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see her, and for a few moments the two of them just stood there, unable to speak.

‘Wh-what are you doing here?’ he finally asked.

‘I …’ Anna trailed off, biting her lip. She gave a nervous laugh and said, ‘This is gonna sound really stupid, but, I come here sometimes to just … be by myself.’

‘It’s not stupid,’ Jason said quietly, shaking his head. ‘I … do the same thing.’

Anna looked at him, her bright blue eyes studying him intently. ‘Really?’

Jason nodded, looking down at his shoes in embarrassment.

‘How did you … find this place?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know, I kind of just … found it. A while back.’

‘Me too,’ said Anna, and again their eyes locked, causing Jason’s face to burn. ‘So … what did you come here to think about?’

Jason looked down at his shoes again, certain that his face was now bright red. ‘Just … stuff.’ Shaking his head, he added, ‘It’s nothing. I’ll … leave you to it.’

‘You’re not embarrassed about what happened in training last week, are you?’

Jason froze. That was just what he needed; to relive his mortifying spar with Rory in front of Anna, of all people. He couldn’t seem to escape Rory’s sudden desire to humiliate him at every opportunity. He was sick of it.

‘You don’t have to be embarrassed,’ she continued. ‘It was pretty obvious that you just didn’t want to fight him.’

‘It was?’

She nodded. ‘That’s not something you should be embarrassed about.’

‘But that’s what we’re meant to do, isn’t it?’ he said in anguish. ‘That was the point Lucian was trying to make – we’re going to have to fight other Prodigies at some stage.’

‘That doesn’t mean you have to like it. And you’ve already taken on a Prodigy – two, even – and one of them Tempest’s lieutenant. If you ask me, you don’t have to prove yourself any more than that.’

‘Yeah, well,’ Jason said, sighing, ‘what everyone seems to forget is that I wasn’t the only one.’

‘There’s that modesty again,’ said Anna with a smile, as the two of them took a seat again on the grass opposite each other.

Jason shrugged. ‘Not modesty, just honesty. There are four other people who took on those Prodigies as well; they have as much right to be in Septem as anyone there now.’

‘I’m sure there’s a good reason they chose you. But I know what you mean; everyone knows there was something special about Team Unum.’

‘You must be the only one who thinks that,’ said Jason with a grin. ‘Everyone else seems to think Team Duo were the best.’

Anna laughed. ‘I know, right? Most of all Team Duo themselves. Don’t you hate that?’

‘Yeah … I do.’

‘So, you’re from New Zealand, right?’

‘And you’re an Aussie?’

‘Yeah, I am. I’m surprised you haven’t made fun of me for it yet, like every other Kiwi out there.’

‘You’re safe with me,’ said Jason.

Anna smiled at him again, pushing her hair behind her ear. Realising that he had just stared at her wordlessly for a few moments more than was normal, Jason shook himself and said, ‘Whereabouts in Australia are you from?’

‘Sydney. Well, Camperdown if you know where that is.’

‘Nope,’ Jason replied with a sheepish grin. ‘I, um, haven’t been out of New Zealand before – well, except for my exam.’

‘Oh, really? Where in New Zealand are you from?’

‘Wellington.’

‘I’ve been there. I liked it, except for the wind.’

They both laughed and then were silent again. As usual, Anna spoke again first.

‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Yeah, sure,’ he said uncertainly.

‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But what happened on your team’s examination?’

Jason paused, remembering that he had already broken his promise to Chaos once already by telling the others about Tempest. But he couldn’t bring himself to keep anything from Anna. So he told her all about their exam and the unexpected attack by the Storm’s Prodigies – the woman with the orange light and the man, Cole. She listened intently the whole way through, only interrupting to clarify something he had glossed over, before politely asking him to continue. When he finished, she stared at him for a few moments, shook her head and said, ‘So everything Lucian said about the Storm was true. You guys are lucky to be alive.’

‘I know,’ Jason said, letting out a deep breath. ‘I said that to Chaos, and he did apologise. He had no idea that Tempest’s people would be anywhere near that shopping mall, let alone after the same security footage. But what Lucian didn’t tell you was how important that footage was.’

‘So important that you guys had to risk your lives for it?’

‘It might surprise you. One of the two Prodigies in the security footage – Chaos thinks – has the power to augment or negate another Prodigy’s abilities.’

Anna didn’t answer immediately. She stared at him again, obviously thinking. ‘Chaos wants the Prodigy so he can defeat Tempest. And Tempest wants the Prodigy to defeat Chaos.’

‘Um, yeah,’ Jason said, surprised.

‘This goes so much deeper than any of us realise. This Programme, Genesis – it’s only the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more we don’t know about.’

Silence descended upon them once more, only now the awkwardness was gone. Both of them were thinking, and Jason knew that it was of the same thing.

‘If you don’t mind, though,’ he said after a while, ‘what I just told you … I’m not really supposed to –’

‘Don’t worry,’ Anna said instantly. ‘You’re safe with me.’

Jason blushed, grateful that the glade was slowly darkening as dusk descended.

‘Can I ask you something else?’

Jason nodded.

‘Rory … you knew him before this, didn’t you?’

Jason sighed again. Anna had completely taken his mind off Rory until now – would Rory ever leave him alone?

‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘Rory was … actually my best mate. We’ve known each other all our lives, grew up in the same foster home.’

For the second time he froze, realising what he had just said. He hadn’t told anyone at Castle Infinity that he and Rory were orphans – not even Team Unum.

‘Jason,’ said Anna quietly. ‘You don’t need to be embarrassed about that either. Not around me, at least.’

‘I just …’ Jason ran a hand through his hair, ‘I don’t know why, but I just never wanted to tell anyone. We don’t even know who our parents are or where we’re from. We were both just dumped at the foster home, so the only family I ever really had was Rory. He was like my brother. We did everything together, and he always looked out for me. And then we came here, and this place … it changed him. He’s not the Rory I used to know.’

‘You mean he wasn’t like he is now?’

‘No way. I don’t know why he’s acting like he is. It’s as if he’s completely forgotten how close we used to be.’

‘That’s … sad,’ said Anna. ‘But I guess there’s not an awful lot you can do about it. If he’s forgotten what it’s like to have you as a friend, that’s his loss.’

‘I guess,’ Jason mumbled. ‘What about your family?’

‘Oh,’ said Anna, looking down. ‘I’ve … really only got my dad. My mum, she … died giving birth to me.’

A vicious pang of guilt attacked Jason’s stomach. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said sincerely.

She waved her hand at his apology. ‘No, it’s okay,’ she said, but the sadness in her voice betrayed her. ‘I never knew her, so … that probably makes it a little easier. My dad is great, though. He’s been through so much but he’s always there for me. I miss him.’

Jason’s heart sank for her; he could feel her sadness as if it were his own.

‘Your mum,’ he asked softly. ‘Do you … ever imagine what she might have been like?’

Her eyes flickered up at his. ‘All the time.’

As the shining gold of the tops of the trees faded, the two stared at each other in silence, until Jason reluctantly tore himself from her eyes and said, clearing his throat, ‘It’s getting pretty dark.’

‘Wait a minute,’ said Anna, and then suddenly the glade illuminated with bright blue light as her Cosmic Form emerged from her body. ‘Is that better?’

Jason just stared in wonder as she hovered before him. He hadn’t seen her Cosmic Form this close before, and now he could see how beautiful she really was. Her face shared all the same features as her physical face, but it possessed an otherworldly beauty that he could not quite define. He felt as though this Cosmic Form represented all of her qualities, characteristics, thoughts and emotions, and that was a wondrous manifestation to look upon.

‘What’s it like?’ He found himself asking her in a whisper.

She moved closer to him and said, in a strangely melodic voice, ‘It’s kind of hard to explain. It just feels like … me, I guess, except that I feel … like this is the real me. I feel … strong.’

Jason continued to gaze upon her, unable to take his eyes off her luminous form. Her hair flowed freely about her head as if she were underwater, and her eyes were pools of the purest sapphire.

‘What about your physical body?’ he asked, and she replied, glancing at her real body behind her, ‘I’m still there. I can still feel and hear everything, but at the same time I have all the senses of this form. That’s why I have to concentrate so hard to maintain it. In time, though, I might not need to concentrate so hard.’

‘What is it, exactly? The Cosmic Form?’

‘Serena told me it’s practically one’s spirit made visible. People talk about their spirit or their soul … this is probably as close to it as you can get. It’s composed of Cosmic Energy, which is the source of life. It flows through every living thing, even us. This form is the manifestation of my own Cosmic Energy.’

‘Cosmic Energy.’ He thought of Chaos’s ability. Raising his hand, he asked, ‘Will it hurt me if I touch you?’

Anna shook her head, allowing him to reach out to her. With her hand held up before him, he tentatively opened his own and placed it on hers. For a second it felt warm and incredibly thin, as though his hand could just as easily pass through it. But then, without warning, there was a dazzling flash and Jason felt a jolt sting his hand. Surprised, he ripped it away from hers and she vanished, only for her physical form to wake.

‘Jason, I’m sorry!’ Her voice came through the darkness. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ he answered, feeling her hand take his. ‘It didn’t hurt. It was just like … energy went shooting up my arm. What was it?’

‘I-I don’t know,’ said Anna blankly. ‘That … hasn’t happened before.’

Silence fell between them once again as they sat in the darkness, hand-in-hand. Eventually Anna said, ‘Maybe we should head back. It’s getting late.’ Her Cosmic Form re-emerged, filling the glade with magnificent blue light. ‘Would you mind carrying my body back?’

‘Um … sure,’ Jason said, suppressing his deepest blush yet. As respectfully as he could, he took her motionless body in his arms and lifted her. Her Cosmic Form floated towards the trees and Jason followed her as she lit up the path for them. On reaching the entrance to Eden Cosmic Form vanished only for her to wake in Jason’s arms, and he hastily let her stand on her own. Without speaking, they made their way back up to Level Two, where they paused at the Subject Quarters.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow?’ Anna asked, pushing her hair behind her ear again.

‘Yeah. Session One.’

‘Okay … good night, Jason.’

‘Good night.’

Jason looked down at his palm. It was unharmed, but he could still feel it tingling from her touch.