Intelligence Kills

Chapter 9

Nine-

Sunday-

"I feel like something should be going on," I said quietly. Athena was lounged out on a chair. We were still at the Holiday Inn we had stopped at last night. Nothing had happened and all of us were exhausted so we had decided to stay for a bit longer. Currently, Jack was passed out upstairs while Rouse was having a Skype chat with Director Stelar. Athena and I were lying out by the pool area. It was hot and sunny and I was learning the meaning of a tan. Because I could heal so quickly, my sunburns had already turned into a nice tan.

"I know, right? It's quiet. Too quiet," she agreed. I leaned back a bit further to stare up at the sun. I could hear her laughing softly. "I take it there was no such thing as a tan in Alithera? No tanning booths or anything?"

"Tanning booth?"

"It's this really stupid thing that women go to in order to get an easy tan without- Oh, how am I supposed to explain things to you? It's so hard and there are probably a billion terms that Alithera and the Earth don't have in common! And it doesn't help that you're sixteen. I mean, if you were seven or younger I could just tell you something and you'd believe me."

"Tell me something now," I said. "I've got about as much knowledge up here as a seven year old does. I can't always surf the internet."

"O-kay. Well, Rhianna is really stupid and all the music these days sounds the same. Katy Perry is a skank and you really can't trust anyone who invites you to a party with a keg. You can't trust your mom and dad to always stay around and even though your step sister says you can trust her, you really can't because she's a liar and a snitch. And sometimes, you can't even trust the boy you gave your virginity away to," she blurted. She slapped a hand over her mouth and flushed red, turning away from me.

"Athena? Something tells me you aren't really telling me the whole truth," I said quietly. I reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. I felt her muscles tense but they slowly relaxed again. She turned back around and her eyes were red.

"It doesn't matter anymore," she whispered. She took a shaky breath. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to me anymore. I couldn't care less." It sounded like she was trying to reassure herself more than reassure me.

"What happened to your family? It matters to me."

"Well, my mom and dad got divorced when I was eleven. My dad stayed single until I was thirteen and then he met Regina at a club. They started to go out and within a few months, he decided to marry her. So they got married and she moved in and my life became a living hell," she said.

I was about to ask her to continue but Rouse came into the pool area with Jack trailing close behind. Both looked a little worried. Athena and I stood up and met them halfway to the gate. Rouse had his laptop in his hands. It was open and there was something blurry on the screen. I couldn't make it out but it looked somewhat like Cathro's lab. "Guys, what's that?"

"This, my friend, is the result of a brilliant piece of hacking. Your friend Porlo and Cathro left a message for you," Rouse said. He handed the computer to me. I went to a table and sat down numbly. How the hell was Mace already awake? Cathro couldn't have possibly thought of an antidote already. And why was Mace working with Cathro? They tolerated each other but they'd never be siding together.

I stared at the screen. I could see it now. The blur on the screen was Mace. The brown hair was smeared like melted chocolate. Beneath was the telltale pale skin of an Alitheran. It was definitely Mace. I moved the mouse with shaking fingers to hover over the play button. Athena was hanging over my left shoulder, her breath tickling my neck. She was just as nervous as I was. Play.