“Hello?” Ganè called out. “You can come out!”
“It seems you have everything figured out,” the other man interrupted. He looked like Ganè, but taller, more slouched, and with graying, comb-over hair. His figure melted with the shadows of the hall.
“It's only because I needed extra cash for my computers and a phone,” Ganè snapped. “Then I'm leaving with the kids.”
“And you couldn't do that before?”
“I already told you! Just listen for once! It’s mine fair and square. It’s Nervadium, not a necklace, not a ring. You can’t just melt pieces off and keep the rest in your closet.”
I hid fully behind the cube as the two men walked further into the lobby.
“Did you really think I would give it to you?” the man retorted.
Ganè stomped his foot. “Yes! You said that three months ago!”
“I don’t have—”
“Shut up and let me talk.”
The argument faded as they walked back down the hall, though the echoes were just as loud. I could finally breathe. We were somewhat alone again. But if he was already that close behind us, he must’ve heard us in the store, too.
I turned back to see Jamie laying in Cynaline’s lap, tears falling down his face. He rubbed the sides of head.
“How long was your head hurting?” Dorothy asked.
“Since we got here,” he hissed. “It hurts so bad… everytime we teleport.”
“Oh… that makes sense now.”
He nearly fell asleep in the car when we first went to Zinoray’s. And went he fainted in the penthouse. Even before that in the mall, he started crying from hanging from the ceiling. All of us felt a bit of pressure, but it must’ve been hell for him.
“How are we supposed to teleport back?” he asked.
“You just need a different teleporter,” Mobi said.
He reached into his satchel and took out a silver teleporter. It was thinner than ours, with a small green light bulb on the top of it.
“This is the kind I use.” He handed it to Jamie. “It’s more gentle, but it has less teleportals. You have to charge it more often. Just put it in warm, crystal water when it runs out.”
“What about you?” Jamie sighed.
“I have another one.”
He felt around the device, studying all of the little details. A tender smile grew on his face.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
⚝⚝⚝
We decided to teleport directly to the room, instead of going back up to the trap door and into the kitchen closet. Thankfully, Cynaline gave us new coordinates to send us to the middle of the room instead of the shower.
Jamie and Mobi went first, and the rest of us went second.
The penthouse was dark, with a path of moonlight falling from the window. Jamie laid on his bed to relax. We were all tired, so we kept the lights off.
“Should we do something about Ganè?” I asked. “He has the Incarnate. Or that other man does.”
“Tomorrow,” Cynaline said. “I want to lie down. Besides, he’s probably still in the mall.”
“What about your friend?”
“He’ll be fine… we’ll get it first thing tomorrow. Hopefully.”
“Yeah. I’m gonna take a shower.”
Mobi sat next to Jamie on the bed, rubbing his arm. He didn’t seem to mind the sudden contact.
“There has to be water in here. Is the tap water good?” Dorothy asked, roaming around the room. “I refuse to believe you have teleporters and no good tap water.”
“There should be a dispenser by the bed,” Mobi said. “Most hotels have them.”
He looked above the nightstand beside my bed, and noticed a small, mahogany cabinet door, flush in the wall. It slid open to reveal a small dispenser faucet in the cupboard ceiling, and a glass cup beneath it. Mobi pressed a yellow button beside it, filling it with water.
He handed it to Dorothy.
“Is the cup clean?” she cringed.
“They get sterilized in the wall,” Mobi said.
“How does that work?”
He shrugged.
Dorothy sucked it up and gave the cup to Jamie, who gulped it down immediately.
Mobi patted his stomach. “Do they have snacks here? I want to bring some to Zinoray.”
“In the lobby by the drink thingy,” Cynaline yawned.
“Oooh! Do they have gummies?”
“Think so.”
“If you’re going, wait for me,” I said.
I grabbed some pajamas from my luggage and went into the bathroom.
The water cascading over me lifted a huge weight off my shoulders, and left me really thirsty. Incredibly thirsty. Once the thought of a tall glass of water entered my mind, my stomach felt empty. I hadn’t eaten anything solid since the MorteVista train ride. But still, I wasn’t hungry. Not mentally, anyway. If I didn’t have the urge to eat something, was I actually hungry?
I dried myself off with a weird vacuum hanging on the wall, got dressed, and met with Mobi in the room.
Everyone was laying in bed, drifting off to sleep. I pressed the elevator button and waited for it to open. And waited. And waited. I pressed it again, and nothing. I thought I did something wrong until I remembered it took a while for the elevator to rise and descend. But if the cabin never left, why would it take so long?
“Maybe it’s being slow today,” Mobi said.
I wish I had his patience.
“Do you live with Zinoray?” I asked, distracting myself.
“Kinda…” Mobi said. “I live with my mom and my siblings but with him too. He’s my friend.”
“Do they know where you are right now?”
“Well, my mom thinks I’m at Zinoray’s, and Zini thinks I’m in bed at his place. Does your family know you’re here?”
“They wouldn’t believe me if they did know. I don’t even believe it.”
Mobi pressed the button again, and finally, the elevator dinged. But the doors didn’t open to an empty cabin…
“We need to talk,” Ganè ordered. “Alone.”
YOU ARE READING
Heaven Gilded Zarcroft Hybrid
Teen Fiction[CANCELLED AND MOVED] "Were you able to get out of bed this morning?" he asked, staring into the water. His voice was soothing, with the rasp of a fire. "I..." My breathing spiked. "I don't remember. I think so. I'm here now, right?" "But did you ha...
