The Athena Effect (21 page)

There was a hanging, two overdoses, and a flying leap from the Golden Gate Bridge. One graduate student had jumped from a twentieth floor balcony, leaving her twin toddlers orphaned. All the accounts attributed the bizarre suicides to depression, alcoholism, or paranoid schizophrenia.

The most astounding death was the widely covered case of a man who had set himself aflame on the steps of the university’s admissions office. Calvin remembered hearing about the shocking self-immolation when he was a little kid, and his mind started racing.

Caledonia had described how her parents suffered from terrifying visions and seizures, and now he knew that all of their fellow researchers had killed themselves. Project Athena must have done something to them.

Calvin took a closer look at the professor. He came across a university newsletter that reported the suspension of his funding, announcing his immediate dismissal for ethics violations. Professor Reed left the university in disgrace, and there was nothing more to be found about him; it was as if he simply dropped off the face of the earth along with Caledonia’s parents.

Calvin fell back on his bed with a great whoosh of an exhale.

Whatever the cause, it was clear that Caledonia had been raised in isolation by a couple of very troubled people. Her parents sounded disturbed at best, and it was possible that they were slowly going insane. Could they have been afraid of something that existed only in their own minds?

Calvin went back to look at all of the smiling young faces in the original photo, searching for any sign of the tragedy that lie ahead of each of them. There was nothing there but hopeful optimism and great expectations for a brilliant future. He could see Caledonia in her parent’s faces, and he was suddenly more afraid for her than he was for himself.

~

“Cal! You’re finally home!” Angie called out happily. “Come in here!”

She walked in the door to see Phil and Angie seated at the kitchen table with a flaming haired boy and girl. They pair looked up simultaneously, sizzling with curiosity.

“There’s someone here to see you,” Angie smiled up at her, “He was your father’s college professor.”

An older man rose from a chair with a warm smile, and Caledonia stepped forward, politely shaking his outstretched hand. He was practically vibrating with excitement, scrutinizing her with an intensely saturated yellow orange. Although he looked quite a bit older, she recognized him from the internet photos Calvin had shown her.

“My goodness, you certainly did inherit David’s hair!” he said, his eyes studying her face avidly. “Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m Doctor Theodore Reed, but you can call me Teddy.”

Something inside Caledonia recoiled, and the girl on the other side of the table startled. She turned to look at the two teens, struck by their unusual coloration. They were pale and heavily freckled, each one crowned with a head of curly red-hair. Unlike the other teenagers she’d seen at school, their posture was oddly formal, and they dressed like they’d come from another era.

The girl wore a cardigan sweater over a full skirt, her lacy buttoned-up collar accented by a cameo pinned primly at the neck. The boy had on a suit and tie, a neatly folded handkerchief poking out of his breast pocket. Their eyes hadn’t left her since she walked in the door, and they both stared intensely.

Caledonia looked closer and gasped, surprised to see that the girl had mismatched eyes; one green, the other a light golden brown.

The professor cleared his throat, “These are two of my brightest students, Layla and Michael.” The girl smiled benignly, sending a calming lavender cloud wafting in Caledonia’s direction.

They rose from their chairs, and Caledonia shook their hands as well, pushing the feeling back the way it came. Did the girl’s eyes just narrow?

“You have heterochromia too,” Caledonia observed, fascinated to see another person whose eyes did not match. Layla glanced to the Professor for direction.

“You’re clearly a very clever girl,” Professor Reed jumped in, “And that’s why we’re here today.”

“Sit down Cal. We need to talk,” Angie smiled tranquilly, radiating the same lavender that the girl had just launched in her direction. Cal couldn’t help but notice that her usually harried and scatterbrained aunt seemed strangely calm. Even Phil was staring off into space with a dreamy look on his beefy face. She looked back at the girl, wondering.

The professor cleared his throat, getting Cal’s attention. “I can’t express to you how sorry I was to learn of your parent’s tragic accident. When I found out that they had a child, well, naturally I wanted to do something to help.”

“How did you find out?” Caledonia asked suspiciously.

“I came across the obituary in the Anderson Valley Gazette.” He made a little woeful clucking sound. “Tragic… simply tragic. Those two kids– your parents– They were like family to me. I loved them as if they were my own children.” Caledonia remembered the article that described how he had presided so paternally over her parent’s research project.

Though she saw nothing to suggest he was lying, Caledonia couldn’t shake the queasy feelings of alarm that were emanating from deep within her belly. The old man had none of the calm and steady wisdom that poured from Calvin’s grandparents. He looked at her with undisguised interest, an interest that seemed almost predatory.

He went on, “So, in their honor, I’d like to offer you an all-expense paid education. Everything covered, including room and board.”

“Isn’t that great?” Angie chimed in.

“Great,” Phil echoed.

“Layla and Michael can show you everything. I’d like to take you with us today, so you have time to get settled in,” said the professor.

“She can pack her things and leave right now,” Phil said. He’d already made the decision for her.

Caledonia’s guard went up, and she tensed, poised to flee. “I need to think about it.” She wasn’t sure why, but somehow she knew that she must play for time.

“Your aunt has signed over your guardianship to me,” the Professor smiled, pointing to some papers on the table. “So it’s official.”

“It’s all for the best,” Angie nodded.

Caledonia looked to her peacefully smiling aunt for help, “But I– I still have one more day of school… And I want to see my friend graduate this weekend.”

“Surely it’s not necessary for you to go back.” The Professor answered for her in the most soothing tone, smiling patronizingly, “Why don’t you listen to Layla? She can tell you all about our program.”

Cal turned to watch as the girl started to talk about their studies, describing to her how wonderful their teachers were. It sounded like a scripted sales pitch, and as she spoke she projected a powerful tranquilizing lavender, flooding Caledonia’s senses with a sweet syrupy complacency.

Caledonia listened and started to nod in agreement, soothed by Layla’s droning voice. She began to think that maybe this was just what she needed… A ticket out of this place… A fresh start and an opportunity to continue her education …

But it would mean leaving Calvin behind, and the thought was like a knife twisting in her heart.

“No,” she said, pushing back firmly against the feeling. This time, Layla clearly flinched, and all Caledonia could think was that she had to get out of the room. She rose from the table, backing away. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go… d-do some schoolwork.”

The professor got up from his chair, “I hope you’ll consider my offer.”

“Of course,” she nodded goodbye. “I will.” She flew up the stairs, taking refuge behind the locked door of the bathroom. There were more voices, and then the sound of the front door closing. Her mind started racing, and she looked out of the small window over the shower to see the three visitors leaving in a cloud of greenish grey frustration.

She splashed cold water on her face and wrists, trying to make sense of what had just happened. She had a gut feeling that there was something terribly wrong, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She heard Angie and Phil go into their bedroom and she froze, straining to hear their voices through the vent in the wall.

Angie sounded worried, “Are you sure it’s the right thing?”

“That professor will straighten her out.”

“But–”

“Baby, you know she’s just going to get herself into trouble here. Running around with those bikers…”

“But she’s family.”

“It’s for the best. Besides, we need that money.” He chuckled happily, “Did you see his watch? Boy, that old man is loaded! He must have
really
liked your brother.”

Their voices trailed off as Caledonia looked at her saddened face in the mirror. For the second time in as many months she was going to be sent to live with strangers, only this time she had been sold. She thought about the professor’s avid eyes and cringed, walking to her makeshift bedroom in a daze.

Something bounced off the window with a sharp ping, and her head snapped up. She rose to look down and see Calvin standing on the walkway below, pitching pebbles at the glass. She could see his worried aura from the second floor, and she wondered how he found out about the professor’s visit. She sighed with relief; Calvin would know what to do. He gestured for her to join him.

She raced down the stairs and out the door, “How did you find out?” she asked him, breathless.

“Find out what?”

“About the professor,” she said.

“Professor Reed?” he asked, the name still fresh in his mind.

“Yeah,” She looked over her shoulder at the parking lot, nervous. “I think he’s gone now.”

His eyes opened wide, “He was here?”

“Isn’t that why you came?”

His voice was deadly serious, “What does he want?”

“Me,” she replied, “He wants me to go with him... And so does my aunt.”

Calvin’s face was stony, and he went ice cold with a bitter fear she’d never tasted before.

“Come with me,” he said. “There’s something you need to see.”

~

Chapter Sixteen – PROPOSITION

~

When they got to Calvin’s room he pulled out his computer and showed her everything. She read over his shoulder as he scrolled through one shocking article after another, hardly able to believe the gruesome fate that all of Professor Reed’s student researchers shared.

“Besides the suicides, do you see what they all had in common?” he asked her.

Caledonia looked up numbly, “What?”

“None of them had any next of kin.”

“Is that unusual?” she asked.

He looked at her seriously, “For all six of them to be orphans? Yes.”

Caledonia sat up with a jolt when she came to the story about the double-suicide and the poor abandoned twins. “They were there today,” she gasped. “Twins– They came with him. A boy and a girl… Layla and Michael. It must have been them.”

Calvin was surprised, “How do you know it was the same ones?”

She pointed to the picture of their mother, “They both had hair exactly like hers.”

“Lots of people have red hair,” he said.

She shook her head no, looking at him with shocked eyes, “The girl… She had eyes like mine. Heterochromic.”

Calvin’s eyebrows shot up, and he went back to the computer, determinedly searching for more information about the twins. There was no mention of them after the tragedy that orphaned them, and nothing came up in any search of their names. He finally quit looking, frustrated.

“Why would they end up with him?” he asked her.

“I don’t know. They’re going to the university … He had them tell me all about how great it was, and how he would pay for everything.”

“He’s not
with
the university anymore,” Calvin said grimly.

“They were trying to convince me to go with them. She tried…”

Her voice trailed off, and she sat back quietly, thinking about what had happened. She wondered if the girl really
had
tried to change her mood, thinking it might have only been her imagination. Layla was obviously doing exactly what the professor told her to, but why?

It could be perfectly innocent. It was possible that he simply wanted to help the children of his former students out of sentimentality– but maybe it was a guilty conscience. The research could have been the reason for her parents suffering, as well as all of the suicides.

Then there was the girl’s eyes…

She sat quietly, lost in thought, considering the implications. There were too many coincidences to ignore, and she felt the same creepy sensation that she had when she first met the old man. Every fiber of her being told her that she must avoid going with him at all costs, and now she had no time to save money for her escape. Caledonia rubbed her temples; confused and frightened by the things Calvin had shown her.

She looked up to see him watching her with fear in his dark eyes, and her face softened, touched that he was so worried for her. It occurred to her that appearances could be deceiving, and he was a far better person than her first impressions had led her to believe.

She reached over to lay her hand on his cheek, thinking how much she liked his handsome face. He sighed, pressing into her palm and closing his eyes. She leaned in closer and kissed him softly on the lips, realizing how much she would miss him when she left.