There Once Were Stars (14 page)

Miss Natalia Greyes–

Permission has been granted for you to visit the Hall of Records. An assigned Delegate chaperone will pick you up at 0900 hours sharp, at your dorm room. You are granted this visit for Expedition Division purposes only, and will be required to return to the Axis no later than 1100 hours.

The Order

The request barely gives me enough time to get to the Hall of Records, visit with Xara, and get back here, but it’s better than nothing. Plus, with the uncomfortable developments in my friendship with Jak, I really needed to see Xara so she can put everything into perspective.

I ride up to the cafeteria and find Evan sitting at a table with Roe and Waldorf. Sitting across from them, I wonder whether they noticed a map was missing. But I’m too excited to see Xara to let anything bother me this morning, whether it’s stolen maps, kisses, or Evan’s swift rejection of the latter.

“What are you all smiles about?” he asks.

“I get to go see an old friend this morning.” I stab a piece of bacon, which Sophie excitedly handed over just a moment ago; I’m celebrating.

“Excellent!” Waldorf exclaims from the seat next to me. “I look forward to your full report when you return.”

“What’s going on?” Evan looks back and forth between Waldorf and me. His smile is gone, replaced with a small frown.

“You aren’t the only one who’s given important duties.” I point my fork at him.

“Miss Greyes is going to the Hall of Records to find an artifact that may aid us in an upcoming expedition,” Waldorf advises. I smirk at Evan.

“What would that be, exactly?” Roe’s brow arcs.

“Something of my mother’s,” I respond with a mouth full of bacon.

“It’s a missing piece of a large object,” Waldorf explains. “A compass of sorts.”

“Interesting that this just happened to come up.” Evan glares at me from under his furrowed brows.

“Evan,” Roe warns, “it’s obviously something that will be useful. Good job, Greyes.”

“I’m going with you,” Evan states.

“You can’t,” I say with a mouth full of hash browns. “They’re sending a Delegate to chaperone me.” Evan’s eyes widen and I can’t help but enjoy it. It’s nice to see him thrown off his game; he’s not the only one around here who can get things done. Maybe he can go find Tassie and whine to her about it.

Everyone finishes eating before me, and leaves. I’m not in a rush, as I don’t have to report to the lab this morning. As I put away my tray and head for the elevators, Evan surprises me and blocks the doorway with his arm.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that Waldorf has something that was once your mother’s? And now the Order chooses you to go and get it. I don’t like this situation one bit.”

“Relax.” I roll my eyes. “You’re being paranoid. Waldorf was part of my mother’s team; they went on expeditions together. For Pete’s sake, they even grew up in the same neighborhood. I asked to go, no one picked me. I want to see my friend Xara, who works in the Hall of Records. No offense, but I once had a life outside this place.”

Evan moves his arm and follows me into the elevator where I punch the button for the lobby. Our ride is quick and quiet. As the doors open he bursts out, “I had a life before this place too, you know.”

Jak stands in the corridor, looking quizzically at Evan before smiling at me. “Didn’t we all?” He holds his hand out to me, and I take it and step off the elevator.

“What are you doing here?” Evan asks, not leaving my side.

“I’m Nat’s chaperone,” Jak flashes Evan a smile, before turning to me. “It’ll be like old days, just you and me.”

“And Xara,” I remind him.

“Of course,” Evan groans. “It all makes sense now. You two have fun.” He slams his hand against the buttons of the elevator, and the doors slide shut.

Jak doesn’t let go of my hand as we walk through the lobby. The secretary at the desk smiles at me as we walk past. It’s the same girl I’ve seen every time. I wonder if she remembers me?

Outside, Jak has a car waiting for us.

“You get to drive this?”

“Absolutely,” Jak says. “The Director is training me to be a Delegate. He likes my vision for the dome. He said I’m an asset to his team.”

“Wow.” He holds my door open and I climb into the car. “It’s everything you ever wanted.”

“Not everything.” He slams my door, making my insides jump. This might not be as nice as I thought.

“So they’re calling you a Delegate now?” I ask as he climbs into his seat. “I thought your ceremony has to happen first?”

“That’s just a formality. I’m already working as an official Delegate.”

“That’s exciting. I’m happy for you.” I reach over and rest my hand on his arm.

He shakes it off. “Nat, this is business. Let’s keep our personal issues out of it.”

I withdraw into my seat, and stare out the window. I didn’t expect this cold reception from Jak. Is he fed up with being just friends? If I don’t have him at the Axis, who am I left with—a bunch of people using me to get information?

After a quiet ten minute drive, the large stone exterior of the Hall of Records looms before us. It reaches up into the sky three stories and has two wings that shoot off in opposite directions. It was the oldest building in the dome, dating long before the Cleansing Wars, kept to remind us we can always learn from the past.

I immediately spot Xara waving from the steps. Did she get a note this morning, too? My heart jumps in my chest, rejoicing in happiness to see an ally. Jak’s barely stopped the car, before I’m stumbling out the door toward my friend. Xara squeals in excitement, and the two of us run into each other’s arms.

“I can’t believe it’s really you!” she says. “When I heard you were taken to the Axis, I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”

“I’m so glad to see you.” I have tears in my eyes. “We have so much to talk about.”

“Hi, Xara,” Jak calls from behind us, still by the car

“It’s like it used to be,” Xara says, letting go of me and waving to Jak. “Come on, let’s go inside. I’ll show you where I work.”

A woman walking by grabs me by the arm. “Did I hear you’re from the Axis?” Her eyes look wild and desperate. Her hair is strewn around her face and her clothes are crumpled, as if she’s been sleeping in them.

“Yes.” I try to pull away.

“My daughter,” she says, pushing a poster against my chest. “She went missing three weeks ago. Have you seen her there?”

I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know—”

“Please look at her face,” the woman pleads, widening her bloodshot eyes. “Have you seen her?”

I grab the poster with my other hand. A beautiful girl in her twenties stares back at me. She has long blond hair, blue eyes, and an infectious smile stretches across her lips. I might have seen her in the business district before, maybe at the bank with Grandmother. “I’m sorry, ma’am—” I start to explain.

“Let go of her,” Jak yells, grabbing the woman by her shoulders and pulling her off me.

“But they have my daughter,” the older woman screams. “They took my baby.”

He drags the woman to the street and leaves her there. I start to run after them, but Xara grabs me and holds me back. “No, Nat,” she whispers. “Don’t.”

I look up at Xara’s face as she shakes her head at me. Turning back, Jak is climbing the stairs toward us. His face is angry as he holds a rip together on his sleeve. The woman lies below, sobbing in the middle of the street.

“Someone needs to help her—”

Jak twists his face in my direction and growls, “Get inside now, before there’s a scene.” Xara pulls me behind her into the building and I shove the poster into my pocket.

The entrance of the Hall of Records is a narrow room with a staircase in the center. Two research rooms flank either side. The Archivists work on this floor, protecting valuable books and documents from our past. On the other side of the room is the library, filled with books from the pre-war days. The Learning Institute would bring us children here for field trips. We were allowed to take one book home with us a month. I always took ones categorized as
fiction
, even though the Institute tried to sway us toward historical or science texts. I much preferred stories about other places, rather than ones that felt like additional lessons. But last I heard, those were destroyed to make room for policy documents.

Instead of entering the library, Xara takes us up the stairs. Here are the Archivists’ offices, along with Xara’s mother’s; as the Curator, Mrs. Douglass oversees the whole building. Her authority is only surpassed by Dean Carleton, an Order member, whose office sits alone on the third floor.

Xara takes us to her cubicle, which is decorated in pink, like her bedroom. For a moment a fluttery feeling of homesickness weighs me down. But I push it away, reminding myself that was never really my home, not after my parents were killed. Our old apartment has been taken over by another family, and no longer holds any comfort for me.

She pushes a large cardboard box aside, and jumps up on the desk. I sit in her chair, and Jak leans against the opening to her cubicle.

“So, what do you guys want to do?” she asks. “I was thinking I could show you what you came to see, then take you to the basement and show you some really cool stuff. Maybe we could all go for lunch after?”

“This is a short, work-related visit,” Jak states, crossing his arms.

The excitement drops from Xara’s face, and she looks like she’s about to get mad at Jak, so I jump in. No need to ruffle Jak’s feather’s any more than necessary. I’m still not sure what’s going on with him. “They’re only allowing me two hours. I’m sorry.”

Xara looks from Jak, to me, and back again, then lets go of whatever disappointment she was feeling and nods. It’s an amazing trait she learned from her mother—the ability to read people.

“Well then, let’s not waste the time we have.” She slides off the desk and pulls the box forward. It’s sealed with tape stamped with the symbol of the Order. I stand up to watch her open it, and am caught unaware by the names scrawled across the top.

“Kaitlin and Jonathan Greyes,” I say out loud, running my fingers over their names. It sounds strange hearing their first names—I’m so used to hearing them simply called the Greyes Scientists. It’s much easier to distance myself from their absence when they aren’t personified by names.

Xara puts her hand on my shoulder, and suddenly I’m embarrassed. It’s been almost a decade, but I’ve thought about my parents more these last few weeks than I have the past year.

“Natalia,” Xara’s mother’s warm voice is heard. “Natalia Greyes, is that you, honey?”

Mrs. Douglass’s tall and slender physique enters the cubicle. “Come here and give me a hug! What a treat this is.” Her embrace is warm and genuine, and reminds me what unconditional love feels like.

She lets me go and looks me over. “Are they feeding you properly? You’re looking a little thin. Jak, I’m counting on you to make sure she’s taken care of?” She grabs Jak and pulls him into a hug before he can resist.

“Look at you, all grown up now!” Mrs. Douglass pats Jak on the back. “Don’t forget about us little people, now that you’re going to be a bigwig over there! In fact, I need you to come with me to my office. I have something important for the Director.”

“I’m supposed to stay with Nat.”

“Nonsense!” Mrs. Douglass exclaims. “She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself. This is the Hall of Records, nothing will happen to her here. Come on.” She pulls him by the arm, forcefully removing Jak from the cubicle. “We’ll only be a few minutes.”

“I hope your mom never changes.”

“She misses you.” Xara grabs my hand and squeezes it. “We both do.” She holds tight and I feel a piece of paper transfer from her hand to mine. I am about to ask her what it is but she purses her lips and shakes her head just enough to show it’s meant for later.

“So! Let’s see what your department is so
gung-ho
to get their hands on.”

“
Gung-ho
?” I ask confused.

Xara starts laughing, “It means enthusiastic. If you only knew how long I have been waiting to use that one. I read about it in an old mid-twentieth century article. I like the sound of it.”

“I hope you never change, either.”

“I like
me
too much.” She winks.

We open the box and a wave of nostalgia washes over me. All the items are things Mom brought home from expeditions and kept in her office. Did they each have a purpose or were they purely decorative? I can’t remember. I wish I’d paid more attention.

I dig deep, searching for the triangular artifact I remember from my childhood. My fingers brush across its smooth surface and I begin to pull it out from the bottom. I’m about to tell Xara when an unfamiliar voice slithers in from outside her cubicle. “Good afternoon, ladies.” I bury the artifact, catching a glimpse of the numbers
6.1.0
on its tag.

I hear Xara let out a small gasp and stutter, “Hello, sir!”

I stand up straight and come face-to-face with Order member Dean Carleton, keeper of the past. He frowns at both of us, his long bushy eyebrows gathering together. His mouth droops down the corners, pulling the tip of his crooked nose with them. He walks with his arms tucked behind his back, revealing his expensively tailored dark suit.

“Where might your escort be,
Miss Greyes
?” He enunciates my name with an edge of irritation.

“He left with the Curator to get something for the Director, sir,” Xara says.

“Was I talking to you, Miss Douglass?” Dean Carleton raises his eyebrows, and the tip of his nose lifts in unison. “Young people don’t know proper manners anymore.”

“Sorry, sir.” Xara’s gaze drops to the floor.

“That’s better,” Dean Carleton says. He turns to me and I stare straight back at him. I will not let him intimidate me. He looks down his nose at me. “Have you found what you came here for,
Miss Greyes
?”

“No, sir.” I purse my lips.

“Really?” He lifts only one eyebrow this time. It’s so bushy it looks comical, as if it has a mind of its own. “How disappointing. Apparently it’s an important piece that was used in the last expedition. You obviously were mistaken to think we had it in our possession,” he adds, his eyes narrowing as his stare intensifies. “Or did you have other reasons to want to make this trip?”