The Institute (10 page)

“Allira
Daniels, I’m eighteen in two days.”

“You’re
eighteen in two days?” she asks.

“Yes.” I
haven’t even given my birthday a thought with all that has been
going on. I probably wouldn’t have even remembered, had it not been
for this stupid day. It’s always around my birthday that we have to
make this trip.

“Ah, well I’d
say you’d know by now if you were Defective.” The theory goes that
once you turn eighteen your adolescent hormones are stable enough
not to trigger it. “Do you have a defect that you are aware of?”
she asks casually, like the answer doesn’t have the potential ruin
my life. Has this ever worked? Who would say ‘yes’ to that?

“No.” I hope
that didn’t come out as high pitched as I think it did.

“Okay. So –
have you ever had a needle before?”

“No,” my voice
quivers.

“Oh it will be
fine, it will feel just like a quick sting, kind of like a bee
sting,” she says without any real compassion. I turn my head to
face away from the needle, I think if I look at it, I might pass
out. I feel a hard pinch and I don’t know where the hell this lady
is from, but they must have some mighty big bees! It stings like a
bitch! When the sting starts to die down, I think it’s over and
start to relax but then I feel the blood being drawn out of my arm.
It is a very weird sensation, I start to feel a little light-headed
and queasy. I just want it to be over already, and as if she could
hear me, the needle is removed from my arm. “There. That wasn’t so
bad was it?”

Hmm, that’s
debatable.

Chapter
Seven

I stare at my
arm and the little cotton ball covered with tape that sits where
the needle went in, I can’t help running my finger back and forth
over it, fidgeting. Drew hasn’t said a word to me since we got back
on the bus and we are five minutes away from arriving back at
school. The silence between us this morning was completely
different, we aren’t cuddled up to one another like this morning
and the air between us feels stale. I felt like we didn’t have the
need to talk this morning like we do now, but even if I knew what
to say to him, I’m not sure I am ready to hear his response.

We walk to the
train station together, still silent, and when we get out of ear
shot of everyone else he says the last thing you would want to hear
from your boyfriend, “We need to talk.”

“That’s a bit
of an understatement, don’t you think?” I say calmly.

“We need to go
to my house and talk to my mum first, then we can go see your dad
and Shilah,” he states coolly. Does that mean she knows about
Shilah too? This is getting worse by the minute. “I promise I will
answer all of your questions, but this is not the time and this is
not the place. Just get on the train, we’ll be at my house soon
enough.”

The train ride
feels agonisingly long, even though it’s only fifteen minutes. Drew
and I sit in silence and don’t say anything until we’re off the
train and walking towards his house.

“There is
something I never told you Allira.” I don’t like where this is
going already. “I was in the hospital when it happened, after my
car accident. At first I thought I was hallucinating or I was
delusional. I could feel what everybody around me was feeling. It
wasn’t like I could read their minds or hear exactly what they were
thinking, but I could sense what they wanted and what kind of mood
they were in.”

“So you are
saying you—“

“Yes, I’m
Defective. I know I should’ve told you, but I figured you had
enough worry with Shilah. I didn’t want to burden you with my
defect as well.”

“How
do
you know about Shilah? How long have you known? How could you have
kept this from me?” I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes and
I’m finding it difficult to swallow. My vision is going blurry from
the tears and I’m finding it hard to focus on walking. I try and
squash my feelings down, but it’s not sadness that’s fuelling my
emotion, it’s anger, and the more he talks, the angrier I’m
getting.

“It took me a
few days to work it out, but I sensed it. I’m an Empath. I could
tell there was some tension in your family, I didn’t know what or
who it was about at first but eventually I worked out that it had
to do with Shilah. You would tense up whenever he was mentioned. I
sensed a need to protect him.”

“Why didn’t
you—“

“I couldn’t
have told you that I knew without telling you about me. It’s not
that I don’t trust you Allira, it’s just that … I don’t know. I
guess I felt like I needed to protect myself and my family, just
like you feel you need to protect Shilah.”

I don’t know
what to say. I did keep Shilah from him, so why do I feel betrayed
that he kept his secret from me? I think that’s the biggest thing I
am feeling right now, betrayed. I should be worried about what is
going to happen to both Drew and Shilah but all I can think is,
how could Drew have done this to me?
How selfish is
that?

“Allira,
everything will be okay, my mother has a contingency plan for me.
She thought something like this might eventually happen. It’s a
long story but we need to start formulating a plan on how we can
get out of this mess, how all of us can get out of this mess. Wait
here, I won’t be long,” he says as we reach the front door to his
house.

It’s less than
a minute later that Drew comes back out and opens his garage where
a car sits. “Where are we going now and since when do you have a
car again?” I ask.

“I’ll explain
all of it but right now we are going to your house. We will get
some things together and we will meet up with my mum in a few days,
far away, where no one will find us.” Drew was inside for less than
a minute, how could he have explained everything to his mother in
that time? Just how long has his mother been planning for this
event?

“We?” I
ask.

“All of
us.”

His vague,
nondescript answers are starting to annoy me and my head is really
pounding.

We arrive home
and discover Shilah is home too. He jumps off the couch, runs over
to me and throws his arms around me in an embrace.

“I couldn’t
find you anywhere,” I say as I hug him tightly.

“Umm, Dad wants
to talk to you.” His tone is weird, “Alone.” He glares at Drew.

“Actually
Shilah, we all need to talk, including Drew,” I reply. Shilah’s
eyes shift over to me and anger starts to fill his face, you don’t
need to be an Empath to notice that. Drew comes in between Shilah
and me, putting a hand on Shilah’s shoulder.

“Whoa there
Sport, just hear me out.” Drew’s tone is calm and rational. I don’t
know how he can be so calm.

“I know what
you are here to say Drew and I know you know about me, but I am not
leaving my family.” Oh, that’s why his tone is weird.

“You don’t have
to leave us Shilah, we will come with you. How about we just all
sit down and talk about this like normal people.” Having
conversations with Shilah can be frustrating because he knows
exactly what you are going to say.

“I see how it
ends Allira, no matter what I say or do, it always ends the same.
You and Dad are staying here and I am going with
him
,” he
says, gesturing over to Drew. You can tell he is trying to fight
off the tears, this is a lot for someone to deal with, I can only
imagine how hard it is for him.

“Why do I stay
here with Dad?” I ask. “I want to be with you as much as you want
to be with us.” Why would I choose to stay behind? Why does Dad
want to stay behind?

I see Dad
coming in from the back, he is covered in dirt and must have been
down the farm.

“Okay let’s get
this conversation over with,” Dad says as he pulls off his work
boots and sits down at the dining room table.

Shilah looks
over at me, “I told him the gist of why Drew is here. He has
already made up his mind about what is going to happen.”

How could Dad
have been working at a time like this? I sink into the chair next
to Dad. He is the first to speak, “So Drew, what exactly is your
plan for Shilah and why should we follow it?” Straight to the point
as usual.

“My family own
a cabin in Boyce forest. No one knows of it or where it is; it’s
secluded but has everything we will need to live on. It will take
us a day to get there. The forest is filled with animals to hunt
for food and the cabin has a fruit and vegetable garden. There will
be enough for all of us, including you Mr. Daniels.” The sound of a
secluded cabin, far away from everything is sounding mighty good to
me right now.

“Now Drew,” my
dad has his fatherly advice voice on. “I have no intention of
living my life like a fugitive and if my daughter had any sense at
all, neither would she. The only reason I am hearing you out is
because I want to do what is best for Shilah and to be honest I’m
not sure if running away is the best answer for him right now.”

“Dad, I don’t
want to leave you,” Shilah says.

I interject,
“Well Shilah, you have a choice. You can stay here with Dad for a
few days until the Institute come to get you or you can spend your
life quietly in the woods where you will still be free to make your
own choices.” I have no doubt the best option for Shilah is to go
with Drew and I hear an edge of pleading in my voice.

Dad has a point
though, do I want to live the rest of my life looking over my
shoulder? I was looking forward to the day I didn’t have to do that
anymore. We have moved around a lot in the past, but those moves
were strategically planned and weren’t spur of the moment escapes.
Even with Shilah and his ability, will I be able to stay calm every
time we have to pack up and move again? Do they have a back-up plan
for the back-up plan? What if they find us, where would we go?

“What about you
Allira?” Shilah looked at me with hopeful eyes.

“Of course she
is coming with us,” Drew says matter of fact. “She’s no safer than
you here. She still might have a defect we are unaware of and I am
not going to let her risk that.”

I don’t know
why but it kind of angers me that he answered for me, like I have
no other option but to follow him into the woods. “Actually Drew,
the nurse said I should know by now if I’m Defective.”

“Allira, what
are you saying?” Drew looked at me confused.

“She is saying
that she is staying. Like I said earlier no matter what I say or
do, this conversation ends the same, every time.” Shilah sounds
disappointed but it’s obvious he was expecting it.

“I didn’t say
that at all, I do really want to come with you but I am thinking
that if all of us disappear, it shows we have something to hide.
What if, when they come by to get Shilah, he is conveniently
visiting a friend or our Aunt? It will give you a head start and if
I do in fact develop any symptoms over the next two days, I will
meet up with you at the cabin.” There is a long silence. I clarify,
“I’m just trying to think rationally. We can meet you out there in
maybe a month.”

“I’m glad
someone has their head screwed on,” Dad says looking pleased about
my logical change to the plan. I don’t know whether he is pleased
because I actually make sense or if he is pleased because I am not
going to be shacked up with my boyfriend in the woods.

“What happens
when they come back for Shilah? He can’t be permanently at a
‘friend’s house’?” Drew has a good point. I just need a moment to
think, we can work something out I know I can. There has to be a
way.

Dad speaks up,
“We will report him missing the day after they come for him. As far
as they are aware we have no idea where he is, who he is with. He
told us he was going to see a friend and never returned.” He turns
to Shilah and there is a sudden tone of hope in his voice that
wasn’t there before. Like he thought the plan of them escaping
wasn’t really going to work, but now he sounds optimistic that it
could. “We will have to lay low for a while, maybe even a few
months but we can come and see you when things quieten down around
here. I know you don’t want to, son. But it’s your best option.”
Shilah stands up and storms off in the direction of his
bedroom.

“We will leave
the day after tomorrow, Kiddo, so pack as much as you can tonight
and we can finish tomorrow,” Drew shouts after him. “Try not to
pack too much; it’s a bit of a hike to the cabin.”

I’m still
having a hard time believing what has just happened. My brother is
leaving, my boyfriend is leaving. How am I meant to stay here and
pretend everything is normal? How am I meant to lead a normal life
when two of the most important people in my life are not here with
me? Three if you include Ebbodine.

Drew puts his
arm around me, “It will get easier, Allira.”

“How did you –
oh right Empath.” Now that it has been pointed out to me, I feel
rather stupid not picking up on it before. The reason everything is
so easy for Drew and I is because he can read my mind! Maybe not
literally, but he certainly seems to know what I want so he gives
it to me to make me happy. Suddenly our whole relationship feels
like a fraud. If you could even call it a relationship. I pull away
from him.

***

Drew sleeps on
the couch as I help Shilah pack.

“I’m not sure
about this Allira,” Shilah whispers like he is scared that Dad or
Drew could hear him.

“I know Shilah,
me neither. But do we really have any other option?”

“I guess not.”
He lets out a big sigh, I think he is tearing up again but I don’t
want to embarrass him by acknowledging it. Instead I walk over to
him, put my arm around his shoulder and kiss the side of his head.
He wraps his arms around me and I know it could be the last time he
ever will.

I can only
imagine what he is going through. I can see in my mind what it
would be like – I see myself at the Institute, sitting on a bed in
one of the apartments, crying from being all alone, being away from
my family, having no one. It’s so clear in my mind that I know
Shilah is doing the right thing. I would choose to run than suffer
that fate any day.