The ARC 02: Talented Read online

  ‘C’mon Elle,’ she says, laughing. I take my cue from her and toss the drink down my throat. The hot liquid burns and I cough uncomfortably.

  ‘What was in that?’

  ‘And the other one,’ she chants, happily ignoring my obvious disgust. Still coughing, I pass the full glass back to her.

  She laughs at the pained look on my face, downs my discarded drink and grabs a tall glass filled with a bright pink concoction.

  ‘I think you’ll like this a lot better,’ she says. It does look more appealing, but I’m not certain I trust the drink. She takes a sip and then offers me a taste.

  ‘Just try some...’ she pleads.

  I take a cautious sip of the drink and am pleasantly surprised. It’s fruity and cold, but tasty and I definitely prefer this to the other one.

  ‘See!’ she exclaims, when I don’t scrunch my face up, repulsed.

  I roll my eyes and pass the drink back to her. ‘Should we look for M?’ I ask, peering at the men nearby.

  ‘No, if he knows we’re looking for him, he’ll be the one to come find us. C’mon!’ Before I can respond, she grabs my arm and drags me into the crowd of people. Again she glides easily between them. I, on the other hand, bump, slam and trip into everyone I pass. ‘Excuse me,’ will be my official phrase of the night.

  Lara stops when she finds a gap and begins dancing. I cross my arms over my chest and look around us. ‘Will M be able to find us here?’

  ‘Stop worrying, he probably won’t be able to talk until this all dies down, and we need to look like we fit in. We may as well have a little fun while we wait.’

  I sigh and begin to shuffle awkwardly beside her, trying to avoid knocking into anyone else. Once we’ve been dancing for a while I begin to feel more at ease. This isn’t so bad.

  ‘How amazing is this?’ Lara yells to me over the music. I give her two thumbs up, causing her to laugh. I guess giving the thumbs up is stupid both above and below ground.

  As we continue to dance I begin to feel lightheaded. I shake my head, trying to clear it. What was in that drink?

  ‘Hey! Watch it!’ Lara yells at some guy who’s just barrelled into her. She stares him down staggering unsteadily on her feet.

  ‘You watch it!’ he yells back, shoving her roughly.

  ‘Did you just push her?’ Another guy asks, pointing his finger at the first guy’s head. Without waiting for a response his fist flies through the air, connecting with a loud thud against the guy’s cheek.

  The fight escalates rapidly when several other people get involved, throwing punches and shoving each other. I would normally feel worried or apprehensive, or at the very least scared, but instead I can feel anger building inside of me. Who do these people think they are?

  I’m shoved from behind and am propelled into one of the brawling men. His hulk-like muscular form turns, his shoulders shuddering with anger. His mad-glinting eyes search for his new opponent, and look down on me. A terrifying look of satisfaction overcomes him.

  ‘You want a piece of me sweetheart?’ he jeers. Instead of cowering, like any sane person would, I’m furious that he thinks he can have a go at me.

  ‘Bring it!’ I yell, taking a step towards him and thumping my fists against my chest. His lip curls cruelly at the side as he clenches his fist and pulls his thickly muscled arm backwards. I close my eyes as the fist shoots towards my face.

  I feel impact, but it’s not the impact I had been expecting. Instead of my face being pummelled, I’m thrown sideways. I land heavily on the floor, a dead weight landing on top of me. All the air rushes out of my lungs and I struggle to breathe.

  I cough and open my eyes to find Lara on top of me, her face the picture of worry and concern.

  ‘Oh God, I’m so sorry Elle. Are you okay?’ she asks. I shake my head trying to clear the fog that sits there.

  ‘I think so,’ I reply. Feeling dazed, I look up and the fighting has stopped. People dance around us calmly, and given the way they tranquilly sway, you’d swear they were in a trance.

  I ease myself back up off the floor and look around. It’s like the brawl had never happened. I shake my head again to clear the fog. Surely I didn’t imagine it? I rub the sides of my tender battered body; the fall had been so painful, I’m certain I hadn’t imagined that.

  ‘What happened?’ I ask Lara, whose face has turned ghostly pale. She glances over at the other people dancing then back at me.

  ‘Come with me,’ she says, tugging my sleeve and dragging me towards the bar, which is a bit quieter. When we reach the corner of the room she turns back to me, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

  ‘It’s all my fault,’ she says. ‘I did this!’ She looks over my shoulder with concern; like she’s worried the brawl will start all over again.

  ‘Lara, you can’t blame yourself for that ass knocking into you. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s his.’

  She shakes her head violently. ‘No, you don’t understand, it’s my fault.’ She leans towards me, putting her mouth close to my ear. ‘I’m talented,’ she whispers. It’s said so quietly I nearly don’t catch her words at all.

  Her face is filled with worry when she pulls back from my ear. She watches me, not saying a word, waiting for my reaction.

  ‘You’re talented?’ I repeat, confirming what she’s said.

  She nods her head, looking nervous about how I will respond. Talented or not, she can’t have possibly wanted this to happen. ‘What did you do exactly?’

  She looks over my shoulder again before she talks. ‘I can feel and affect other people’s emotions,’ she says, quietly. ‘I got angry when that guy shoved me, and I’d had a few drinks, so I lost control. Everyone around me could feel my anger, and I in turn felt theirs, which only made it worse. It was like everyone was fuelling each other in a bad, bad chain reaction. It took me a while to realise it was even my fault, I’m just glad I realised before something bad happened to you.’

  I look at her with disbelief. ‘How did you do that?’

  ‘I don’t know how it works,’ she says. ‘Dammit though, I’ve been doing so well with it.’ Her face frowns with frustration.

  Someone brushes past me and I look behind me to find even more people flowing into the small space. I’m starting to feel stifled with all these people around. Not to mention that I can practically feel the bruises beginning to form on me from my fall. I’ll have plenty of time to ask Lara questions about her talent tomorrow. For now, we need to get out of here.

  ‘We should go home,’ I suggest, but Lara shakes her head at me.

  ‘No,’ she says, regaining her composure. ‘We haven’t seen M yet and we may not get another chance like this for weeks. I’m fine now, I swear.’

  I’m not convinced it’s a good idea, but I don’t have much of a choice. I don’t have long left in East Hope to wait for another chance. Before I can answer she’s dragging me towards the bar.

  ‘Any sign of M?’ she asks the bartender again.

  ‘Nope. Sorry love,’ he says, pushing more drinks towards her.

  ‘Drink,’ she orders, handing me two of the small glasses.

  ‘No, I don’t like those.’ I attempt to hand them back, but she refuses.

  ‘It will make you feel better. Trust me.’ I look her in the eyes and she seems convinced it will help.

  ‘Okay,’ I grumble, finishing both the drinks. I cough and splutter after each one. ‘Those are horrible. You know that, right?’

  She laughs as I screw my face up. ‘Come on. Let’s try dancing again.’

  I try to tell her it’s a bad idea, but she won’t listen and drags me back onto the dance floor.

  There’s even less space than before as we try to dance. I’m constantly touching or being touched by other people. I can feel the sweat from some guy’s back on my arm and the gyrations of some girl pushing herself up against another guy.

  As we continue to dance, more and more people cram their way onto the dance floor. My thoughts be
come muddled and I find it harder to stay steady in my heels.

  ‘What was in those drinks?’ I ask Lara.

  ‘Some of the loft party’s famous moonshine.’

  I shake my head, trying to think clearly. ‘Alcohol right?’

  She looks at me confused and then bursts out laughing. ‘You didn’t realise there was alcohol in those?’

  ‘I did, I’m not an idiot, I just didn’t realise it would be so strong,’ I say, as I stumble backwards into the girl behind me. Lara continues laughing, obviously finding this hilarious.

  The dizziness begins to get worse. I keep trying to clear my mind and think straight, but the murkiness only gets more intense. How can this M guy help me if I’m too intoxicated to help myself?

  A guy bumps me from behind and I roll in my heels as I try to maintain my balance. I turn, looking for some space where I’ll be safe from being knocked, but the crowd is closing in around us. I tug at the top of my dress, trying to let some cool air in. It’s getting really hot in here.

  I am enclosed by bodies. I can feel my chest constricting. I need to get out of here now.

  ‘I need some space,’ I call to Lara. ‘I’m going back to the bar.’

  ‘Want me to come?’ Lara asks. She’s dancing with a guy I recognise from school, so I shake my head.

  ‘I’m okay,’ I mumble, lurching away from her towards the edge of the crowd.

  I’m almost there when I notice a group of people have stopped dancing in the middle of the dance floor. Their faces appear worried and several of them are pointing over towards the entranceway. I stop and look back around the room. Everything looks normal—well as normal as I expect some secret rooftop dance party can be. Wait, did I just see Beth?

  I step up onto my tiptoes to try and get a better look, but the room plunges into darkness and the thudding beat of the music disappears. For just one second there is complete and utter silence. For a moment it’s as though I’m the only person here. My ears ring and there is a stillness to the room.

  ‘Recruiters!’ A male voice bellows. All at once people start screaming.

  In the darkness bodies slam into me in rapid succession as people begin to try and make their way towards the exit.

  I’m blindly tossed around as I get pushed and shoved in every direction.

  I have no idea what is happening so I try to make my way back to where I’d last seen Lara.

  ‘Lara?’ I attempt to yell her name over the deafening screams that rip through the crowd.

  ‘Lara!’ I call her name again, but it’s useless. I can barely hear myself yelling, so she’s got no chance of hearing me. I bring her username up on my cuff and attempt to comm her, but for some reason the signal is blocked and I can’t get through.

  I allow myself to get pulled along with the rushing crowd, but I am still thrown back and forth as people violently whip past me in their frenzy to escape. Someone knocks past my shoulder hard and I grab it as I scream out in pain.

  Still gripping my shoulder, the crowd surges and I become squashed between two men. I cry out for them to stop. I can’t breathe, my ribs feel like they’re being crushed.

  The crowd surges backwards and I’m freed from between the two men. I clamber away from them, desperate to escape.

  A light flashes in my eyes, blinding me momentarily, before moving on. There must be a dozen beams of light shining around the room. I don’t want to be afraid, but I have no idea what’s going on, why people are running scared. I thought most people wanted to be recruited?

  I am cold and shaky as I struggle to stay standing. Every time someone shoves me I roll in my heels and fall towards the floor. If it weren’t for the people I’ve been wedged between, I would’ve been road kill as soon as this started.

  I catch a glimpse of the exit in the distance before being pulled down again by the bodies crowded around me. It’s so close now, and the crowd of people continue to push me towards it.

  I’m almost at the door when the people around me surge forward again and I’m flung to the floor. There’s a dull thud as my head cracks against the hard wooden surface.

  I try to open my eyes but the whole floor feels like it’s rocking. I want to roll over but as soon as I move I feel sick—a queasy kind of sickness, where I’m no longer certain dinner is safely settled in my stomach. I close my eyes, but the world still spins beneath me. I don’t like this feeling at all.

  ‘Elle?’ a man’s voice asks me. I don’t respond. I’m not certain I can form the words. All I want to do is sleep.

  ‘Elle!’ the voice yells, louder this time. Someone grabs my shoulders and pulls me up into a sitting position. My head rolls down like a rag doll’s.

  ‘Elle’s not here right now,’ I mumble.

  An arm wraps around my shoulders and I lean in, resting my head in the crook of their arm against their shoulder. This is such a nice place and it smells so good. I think I’d like to sleep here, I muse. Snuggling into the crook, I feel safe and warm. The world quickly falls away and I’m peaceful in total oblivion.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Bright, white, light. Even with my eyelids shut I can feel the intensity of the light searing through my lids to my eyes. I groan out loud. It’s just too bright. I feel for the edge of my quilt cover and throw it over my head.

  Much better.

  But slowly, as my eyes adjust to the darkness, I begin to notice other feelings. My head is pounding. My mouth is dry. My body feels like it’s rocking, even though I know I’m still.

  A man laughs and I sit bolt upright in bed. Opening my eyes, it takes me a few moments to register where I am and the fact this is not my bed.

  The laughter sounds again and looking towards the door I find Hunter lounging against the doorway.

  ‘Morning,’ he says.

  ‘Where am I? What happened?’ I look around wildly, trying to determine my location. Hunter comes and sits at the end of the bed, looking thoroughly amused by my reaction.

  ‘You’re at my place,’ he explains, passing me a glass of water.

  ‘What?’ I look at the room and see it properly for the first time. I’m sitting in the middle of a large double bed with crisp white sheets. There are wooden floors and white walls with a large window across one of them. It’s incredibly nice.

  ‘You like it?’ he asks.

  ‘No,’ I respond, defensively, causing him to laugh again.

  ‘Drink up.’ He nods at the glass of water, which I gulp down.

  ‘How did I get here?’ I ask, placing the glass down on the bedside table.

  ‘I found you passed out on the floor at the loft last night. I had no idea who you were with and you would’ve been trampled if I just left you there, so I brought you back here.’

  ‘Oh,’ I mutter, embarrassed. ‘Thank you for helping me.’ I can’t believe I’m thanking this guy. In what world did I ever expect that to happen?

  ‘It was no problem. To be honest I was surprised to see you there. I didn’t expect the loft to be your kind of scene,’ he mocks.

  ‘It’s not. I had no idea where Lara was taking me and I’ve never had alcohol before, which probably didn’t help. What happened there?’

  ‘There was a recruiters raid.’

  ‘But I thought people wanted to be recruited?’

  Hunter laughs. ‘Most people do. But those recruiters weren’t there for that last night. They came to break up the party.’

  ‘Oh,’ I reply, for lack of a better response. I still can’t believe last night happened. If we hadn’t been meeting M I never would’ve stayed at a place like that. I slump back in the bed as I realise I missed my chance to talk to him.

  ‘You okay?’

  I ignore his question, instead asking, ‘Do you go there often?’

  ‘Often enough. It’s a good place to pick up girls,’ he says. An emotion I can’t quite label prickles inside of me as he says that. He’s a flirt and a tease; it makes sense for him to frequent places like the loft.

 
; ‘Although normally they don’t involve such heavy lifting,’ he says, winking.

  ‘Oh,’ I respond, uncertain what he means. ‘Oh!’ I exclaim as realisation dawns. My cheeks flush quickly as I realise he had to carry me home.

  Did he really carry me the whole way here? I size up the muscles on his arms. They’re impressive enough that I’m sure he had no problems carrying me, but even so, I hope it wasn’t far. I feel my cheeks grow warmer as I realise I’ve been staring at his biceps just a few seconds too long. I quickly look away.

  ‘Did you see Lara at the loft?’ I ask, hoping she’s okay.

  ‘No, but I’m sure she’s fine. She’s extremely capable of looking after herself.’ I hope so. She’d drunk just as much as me, more even, and with everything that happened with the recruiters…

  ‘Do you want to comm her?’ he asks.

  ‘Yeah. Good idea.’

  I look down at my CommuCuff and notice I’m wearing a baggy basketball top I’m one hundred per cent certain I wasn’t wearing last night. I don’t remember changing…

  ‘Ah Hunter? Where are my clothes?’ I ask, mortified.

  He chuckles in response. ‘Don’t stress, you changed into that yourself. Although I was more than willing to help you.’ His lips struggle to suppress a smile. ‘Your dress is hanging over the back of the chair.’ He nods to the chair over by the window.

  ‘Right. And, um, where did you sleep?’

  ‘You’ve got lots of questions this morning, haven’t you?’

  ‘Hunter?’

  ‘On the couch. You can feel free to comm Lara at any time you know.’ Right. Lara. I bring up her username on my cuff and hit connect. I watch the blue light on the screen as it pulses, waiting for her to pick up. Worry starts gnawing at me. Why isn’t she picking—

  ‘Hello?’ Lara answers, groggily. I feel automatic relief.

  ‘Hey, it’s Elle.’

  ‘Oh my god, Elle. Are you okay?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ I reassure her. ‘Did you get out okay?’

  ‘Yeah, I was totally fine. Where are you? I couldn’t find you last night.’

  ‘I’m at Hunter’s,’ I reply, my eyes flicking up to his face, before quickly looking away.