Rosalyn and the Secret of the Bluebloods

Chapter Nine

  We arrive at Clean Water Industries at dusk the following day. After Damien leaves to search for Haleigh, I conduct my own search for Cassian. Knocking gently, I hover just outside his door with a furtive glance down the empty dormitory. Sighing in worry at the continued silence, I head back to headquarters, as I've started calling it. What if Haleigh is onto Cass, and while I've spent the last few days enjoying Damien's company, Cass has disappeared forever?
  My steps quicken as panic starts to set in. I rush past the room where I was announced a Clean Water Scientist until I'm surrounded by them.
  "Cass?" I call out anxiously, popping in and out of labs. "Has anyone seen Cassian Volt?"
  The new recruits just shake their heads in silence and continue working.
  "Rosalyn?"
  I whip around, frightened at the touch on my shoulder. Damien's hand falls to his side in concern.
"Oh, it's just you," I say, with more disappointment than intended.
He winces, as if I've struck him.
"What happened?" he murmurs gently, rubbing my arm in an attempt to console me. The ring is gone from his finger.
"I can't find Cass," I say blankly.
Damien's face falls. "I'm sure he's just working on the serum," he reassures me, recovering quickly. "Is something wrong?"
I stare at him for a long, long moment.
"No, everything's . . .everything's fine."
He returns my gaze worriedly. "Ros. . . ."
"You know, I just realized," I blurt suddenly. "My dad's probably left me letters."
And with that I run from the hall, leaving Damien alone to save the water.
~
  When I arrive at my dorm, there is, in fact, an envelope just inside the door. I snatch it up, tearing it open with shaking hands — but it's not what I expect. Instead, a hurried, barely legible handwriting sears itself into my vision. A shiver runs down my spine.
They're not who they say they are.
I scan the room for intruders, pulse pounding in my ears, and a sense of deja vu washes over me. Who left this note? Cass? Is it proof they've taken him, or a warning to get out while I still can?
Or both? But how can I leave Da's fate in the hands of the gods? Wringing my hands, I pace across the room to my dresser, pulling out a notepad and a pen.
Dear Da, I start with trembling fingers. I'm sorry I haven't written you since I've arrived. Ever since I was announced a Clean Water Scientist, I've been working hard on — well, saving the world, I suppose. I need to talk to you. In person. I'm coming to visit tomorrow, okay?
Love, Rosalyn.
~
Unsurprisingly, Cass isn't there the next day, either. After making progress with Damien on the serum, I attempt to leave CWI. Thankfully, he hasn't brought up yesterday. I don't know what I would have done. I wander down the wrong hallway, lost in thought, oblivious until I pass an unmarked door. Stopping in my tracks, I stare suspiciously at it. It practically blends into the wall, and that's only half of what alarms me. It isn't labeled. Every lab door has a room number and its purpose listed on it, but this one is an anomaly.
Curiously, I step closer, trying the doorknob. Locked.
  "Hey!" someone shouts from down the hall.
  I jerk around, startled.
  "You can't be here," a dark-skinned scientist warns, crossing her arms.
  It's on the tip of my tongue to retort that maybe they should put up a sign, but instead I just slowly turn in her direction.
  "Why?" I ask defiantly.
  "New recruits aren't allowed in here," she scowls. "Now leave."
  As I stalk towards the exit, I level an icy glare on the woman, and vow to find out once and for all what's really going on at Clean Water Industries.
~
  That afternoon, I borrow a car to visit Da. As I pull into the driveway, he throws open the front door of our soft, yellow house and waves excitedly at me.
  I hastily make my way across the front porch, and, with a laugh, toss my arms around him, taking in his familiar scent.
  "I've missed you, my Rose," he murmurs, inviting me inside with a wave of his hand.
  "I've missed you too," I admit, plopping down into my favorite armchair.
  Da sits across from me, lowering himself painstakingly onto the couch. His joints crack as he settles against the pillows, but he's visibly better. His face has a healthy glow to it, and he's gazing at me proudly, bright and alert.
  "They've been sending weekly portions of your check like you asked," he says gratefully. "And, because of that, I've been receiving treatments every other day. I feel much better, Rosalyn — and it's all thanks to you."
I blush. "I'm glad, Da."
"And you're a Clean Water Scientist, too, just like your mother." His eyes drift to my pearls and back. "Absolutely brilliant."
Nervously, I bounce my foot. "You never told me that."
He doesn't meet my eyes. "Well, you know our whole family is type A," he backtracks.
"Including Cate?"
His face darkens, and for a moment there's tense silence. "Yes," he says finally. "Including Cate."
I shift my weight, determined. "Da, why didn't you tell me Haleigh Georgiou and Ma were friends?"
"That was a long time ago," he procrastinates, evading the question. "I didn't know you'd become a Clean Water Scientist or think it was relevant."
"I suppose that makes sense," I admit, leaning back in disappointment. Right when I was getting somewhere.
Da looks at me with a worried expression. "Is everything alright, Rose?"
"It's just . . .something feels off," I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. "It's probably nothing."
  Suddenly, he erupts into a seizing fit of coughing.
  "Da?" I rush to his side. "Da!"
  Hurriedly, I sprint to the kitchen and throw open the pantry, finding only a few bottles of water left. Within seconds, I'm holding one to his lips and helping him swallow, trying to calm my frantic breathing simultaneously. After what seems like an eternity, the coughing ceases, and I sit down shakily beside him.
  "Da, are you sure you're okay?" I whisper, rubbing his back fearfully.
  "I'm fine," he rasps. "Just a bit dehydrated is all." He clears his throat uncertainly, offering me the bottle.
  "You're working on that, right?" he asks teasingly.
  "Oh, yeah," I reassure him, relieved. I take a  long, refreshing gulp of water before handing it back to him.
  "I'll send you some more," I promise quickly.
As I wave goodbye from the driveway, an ambulance speeds past, its loud siren blaring obnoxiously and then receding quietly into the distance. I look at Da questioningly.
  "They're everywhere," he shouts from across the lawn. "And they're counting on people like you to save them."
  But the question is, if I somehow unearth headquarters' secrets, who will be left to save them?
  The answer is all around me, hanging above my head and whispering into my ears. An answer difficult to acknowledge, and even more so to picture —
  For it is no one.