Invisible

Invisible Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Anything but Horror

 (Olivia)

I slide into the chair next to Mason and fix my stare on Robin. She remains as perky as usual and chomps on a carrot stick. I have a zillion questions firing around in my mind, but the annoying sound of her crunching scrambles my thoughts. I already have my doubts about Robin. Getting very little sleep last night is not helping me play nice. Not that I blame Mason, of course, but I’m still pretty beat.

I take a long swig of Coke and hope the caffeine will help clear out the ache behind my eyes as well as my short temper. I’m halfway through my meal before I can focus, be nice, and form a question all at the same time. Having to wait for Mason and Robin to stop chitchatting almost pushes me back toward grumpy, but I hold onto my pleasantness by sheer force of will.

Finally, there is a lull in the conversation and I break in.

“So, Robin, that split you mentioned, I tried asking my parents about it, but they didn’t really want to tell me anything. I’ve never really been in contact with any other Caretakers to hear about it, but I was curious about what you said,” I say casually. “If there’s something going on that might put Mason in danger …”

Robin shakes her head quickly. “Oh no, nothing’s going on that’s dangerous. Not anymore anyway. At least, not that I know of. We’re not really involved in Caretaker business so much anymore, but we still get news of anything major happening. I’m sure my parents would have heard about anything dangerous.”

I take a deep breath. Her rambling may be more than I can take today. “So the split,” I say, bringing her back to the point, “what exactly happened?”

“Well,” Robin says, putting her fork down and getting serious, “a long time ago, like when my parents were kids, the network of Caretakers used to be really connected, like downright glued together at the hip kind of connected. There were organized groups, a database, geographical boundaries that separated everyone into units, leaders who controlled each unit. Crazy! Everyone knew where everyone else was and who had Aerlings, you know like Big Brother almost.”

“Sounds a little spooky,” Mason says.

Robin’s eyes get big. “I know, right?” She shakes her head at the idea. “I guess some other people started thinking the same thing. The leaders were getting really controlling and it was making Caretakers nervous. Then it got even worse when rumors started going around that there were spies or traitors or something. I’m not really sure about all the details, but they thought someone was getting information about where Aerlings were and using it to track them down and kill them.”

“What made them think that?” I ask.

Robin gives me a “wow, you really are a blonde” look, and turns to look at Mason. “They thought that because Aerlings were disappearing.”

“Disappearing like …”

“Like gone, dead, most likely. Sentinels aren’t known for their mercy. They have no use for Aerlings anyway. They just want to kill them.”

“Why?” I demand.

Again, Robin gives me a look that says I am asking really obvious questions. “Because, they’re like Nazi’s. Aerlings aren’t human. They think they don’t belong here. They think they’re bad news and they want to get rid of them. That’s what my parents told me, anyway. Sentinels are certified psychos, though, no doubt about that.”

Robin shudders, and I wonder if she has personal experience with Sentinels. I know she said they killed Eliana, but I hope that doesn’t mean she saw it happen. I turn to look at Mason, thinking about what he said about his sister. The sad expression on his face makes me think the same thoughts are running through his mind. I pat his knee gently and he smiles a bit.