Pendulum

Here We Are

Zane finds Amberly on a balcony, her legs stretched, reading a book. He sits next to her; she glances up for a second and then looks back the book. Three years of knowing each other and there are still questions. When Wyatt found Amberly, she was living on the streets. There’s so much about her they don’t know.

Wyatt, being the brainchild of all this, protected Amberly. He would act as if she was his long-lost sister. His father agreed with him it was for the best. From what Zane heard, she was running from people. It was after they found her they discovered she was like Zane. He has always believed that can’t be a coincidence.

He leans back and takes a deep breath. His head tilts up. Then he glances at the water below them. The water in the swimming pool is crystal clear. It laps and the gentle sound lures him.

“How did he convince you?” Amberly asks.

“He didn’t. What he says, you do,” he pinches his nose. “I have known him since I was a little kid and he’s always had this way about him. It is so easy to trust everything that comes from his mouth.”

Amberly drops her book. “So, you don’t trust him.”

“I never said that. It’s my life and if I don’t want some doctor to poke whatever that’s my decision.”

She nods. “We have a condition and death is slapped across our foreheads. I want to live; I want to fall in love and be someone other than what my folks thought I would become.”

Zane runs fingers through his hair. Amberly never talks about her parents. The one thing that they all have in common is that they either lost someone or had to endure a terrible childhood. Maybe that’s why they are great friends. Loss has a way of connecting any dots.

His heart is rattling, and he glances at Amberly, who returns the stare. If they are to go through with this, then everything will change. He knows he can smell it in the air and can taste it on the tip of his tongue. His stomach churns and he sits up, shakes his head. There’s no stopping Wyatt once he’s convinced that this is the only choice. What if there is?

“You are worrying about nothing?” Amberly bites her bottom lip.

Zane pulls his hair back, and he pulls his ear. He wishes that is true, but he knows something they don’t. He kept the truth from them and he wonders if it was the right choice. Amberly watches him and heat washes over his face. He wants to look straight into her eyes, but what if she sees the truth? It is right there. Waving a flag right at him and if he were to stare at it closely, then everything could come to blows.

His phone buzzes. He glances at it. “I got to take this,” he stands up and when he’s father enough, he picks it up. “This isn’t the time for you to call me.”

“I wanted to make sure we had a deal. I know how you teenagers are.”

Zane pinches the bridge of his nose. “I want to find out the truth as much as you. Someone killed my father, and the only way I can find out is by doing this.”

There’s a long pause before he answers. “Alright, kid. As long as you understand that, this means you won’t see your loved ones for some time.”

“Yeah, I know,” he cuts the call and stares at his phone.

In a few hours they will be a party and he will have to speak to this specialist. Whatever results that happen, he has to deal with it. The problem with all this is he will have to pretend. Everything is speeding up and now, he has to make the right choice.

“Who were you talking to?” Wyatt crosses his arms and eyes him.

“Just the head of the school. He wants to know if I am all packed up,” he smiles, and hopes Wyatt doesn’t second guess his answer.

Wyatt shrugs. “Oh, okay, I need to show you something.” Zane nods and follows Wyatt.

They walk up the winding staircases to Wyatt’s office. It is as pedantic as he expected. Spotless floors. Books lined in chronological order. Papers filed into cases on the table and his laptop shining. There’s also a Turner painting on the wall. Wyatt always used to tell him it reminded him of his mother. Even though she left when Wyatt was ten, he never lost hope that one day she’d return just like his mother. He still stares at that painting every day.

Wyatt sits in front of the computer, his fingers swiping the keys as he pulls something up and Zane hovers over him to check what it is. Wyatt has opened his app. He stares at the photos on the screen and they all have the same chromosome. The XE gene.

“You found all ninety-five of them,” his stomach flips.

“No, just twenty, but it is a step.” Wyatt shakes his head. “I was on the phone with my contact, Zane. Three of the twenty are dead.”

His face loses color. “What do you mean, they are dead?”

Wyatt swipes the keys again, and a document pops up on the screen. It shows three teens who mysteriously died and they have the same thing written on their arms. Someone tattooed the word pendulum. Zane takes a step back, his insides coiling and his head heavy.

“My guess is people with the AE gene are being hunted. You and Amberly aren’t safe.” Once the words leave his lips, there’s no going back.

Zane shakes his head and chews on his bottom lip. Ever since they discovered they are different, it as if a light switched on. They’re supposed to keep going on, pretending as if nothing is wrong, but if only was that simple. His head throbs at the thought of it. Death has struck a blow too many times. This is one of those times. It has to be a coincidence, but then there’s this thing with a pendulum. What does it even mean? A question no one can answer. It has taken Wyatt time to figure things out, and they are in the dark.

The world is spinning and there’s no way to stop it. Bile rises Zane’s throat and his stomach churns. His thoughts take a dark turn and it almost seems as if there’s no way he can come from it. He licks his lips and takes a deep breath.

“There has to be more to the story,” Zane says. “Why would someone kill people with this gene?”

“I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine, but that is why it’s imperative you see the specialist,” he eyes Zane.

Zane crosses his arms. “Don’t you find it weird that there’s a specialist who can help us. How long did you have to look for him? Wyatt, it can’t be that simple. These people are dying, my father being murdered and specialist showing up has to be connected.”

Wyatt leans back. “Your father’s death wasn’t your fault.”

It sounds more of a fact than a question. Maybe that’s on purpose, but Zane’s heart shakes. He wishes he could believe that, but his father was alive before he had that conversation. Everything happened so quickly that day. They discovered there was something wrong with Amberly, and it passed on to Zane. Wyatt brought in his personal doctor and he investigated what was going on. Sent blood tests to the labs and before he delivered them, he died. Brutally murdered by an unknown assailant.

Two years ago, their lives changed and as much as they have tried to gather the pieces together, they can’t. That might be the point. There’s only so long one can go on pretending. For the longest time, that is what they have been doing. Hoping and acting as if life was normal.

Zane closes his eyes; he can almost imagine his father. He stares at him with such warmth in his eyes. When he opens them, Wyatt was staring at the screen. He types away frantically, his fingers dancing on the keys. Zane knows better. There’s no answer for this. This is only the beginning. He can feel it in the air and before they know it, everything will change.

“This still doesn’t explain why someone is killing them,” he shakes his head.

Wyatt stares at him and leans back in his seat. His brows furrow, and he glances at the images of the dead kids on their screen. Zane stares at their information. From what he can tell, they have little in common. At least on paper. But how would he know unless they investigated? They’d have to go to their hometowns and interview the people they knew. That would explain what they had in common.

All this shouldn’t matter. Tomorrow, he will leave and he can say goodbye to all this, but Amberly might be in danger. His heart rattles and his lips are dry. The number of questions piling on top of each other is too many to ignore. That could be the point, that for the longest time he has been ignoring the problem. Wyatt dials a number on his cellphone. It rings twice before someone answers it. Zane doesn’t recognize the number. That doesn’t surprise him. Ever since Wyatt became wealthy, the number of influential people he knows has grown substantially.

“Wyatt, what can I do for you?” the voice is gravelly.

“I read your nephew is leading the mystery of the pendulum killings. I need his phone number.”

The man harrumphs. “I don’t know where you got your information. My nephew isn’t leading the investigation. He is part of it and frankly, I am shocked you need his number. Last time I spoke to you, it was my assumption you wouldn’t do me any favors.”

Wyatt taps the table. “This is a favor. You do this for me and I owe you.”

“No deal, kid. You know how this works. You can’t keep your hands clean for long, Wyatt. That is the way the world works. Next time you call this number, it should be about my proposal.”

The call cuts. Wyatt blinks and stares at the phone. He hurls it at the wall and runs his fingers through his hair. Zane stares at Wyatt. His friend stands up and places his hands on the desk. Zane opens his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Wyatt saunters off. All the questions he wanted to ask mill in his mouth. There’s a price to being wealthy, that is what his father used to say. Zane ponders on whether he had a point. There’s conflicting emotion pulling at his insides. He has known Wyatt for a long time, but he also knows that his friend has been keeping secrets from him.

Maybe the reason he knows is that they are like brothers. Zane stares at the photos again of the kids. Their deaths hang in the air and the answer is visible, but doing this will change everything. Zane sits on the chair and dials a number. It rings.

“I thought I would hear from you tomorrow.”

Zane pulls his ears. “There’s one thing I need to ask. Do you have any contacts in Quartz?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Three boys died. Someone murdered them, and they are calling it the Pendulum murders. I was wondering whether you know anything about it.”

There’s a long pause. “I will check, but I am not promising anything. Hey, kid, sometimes the answers we think we need aren’t the ones that will help us sleep at night.”

“I know, Deke, but I need to know if there’s something if this is disconcerting or it’s nothing.”

“Okay, I will call you,” the call drops.

Zane looks at the passageway. One thing he has realized since his father’s death is that people keep secrets for a reason and there’s always a price for keeping them.