Foreseen (The Rothston Series) Page 4

  Uncle Mark broke into a broad smile and nodded. “You are on the right track, Kinzie. It’s difficult to explain. Like trying to describe the sense of smell to someone who has none. But some people can sense the bifurcating futures that propagate through the quantum foam. Now, all the futures don’t happen, as some interpretations suggest, but they all have the potential to happen. People like you, and Rex, and me, can perceive this.”

  I stared at him blankly for a moment. My psychology professor was talking about quantum foam and bifurcating futures. I had to be dreaming. Maybe this was a manifestation of my guilt over the lab, and nothing in the dream would make sense. But Uncle Mark was still watching me, waiting for me to speak.

  “No one can see the future,” I responded flatly. Maybe this was some sort of joke? “People who say they can – well, they work in circuses and go by names like Madame Lyuba. They aren’t psychology professors,” I said pointedly. Dr. Collier gave a hearty laugh.

  “I’d say they are psychology professors,” Rex chuckled, flashing a toothy grin. “You’re one of us, Kinzie. You’re adept.”

  “I’m what?”

  “Adept,” Rex said again. “We can read the branches into the future and the decisions that affect which future happens. Then …”

  Dr. Collier raised his hand again and leaned forward. “Slow down, Rex.”

  Rex settled back in his chair. “You think she’s going to freak out like some common?”

  “What’s a common?” I asked, but neither of them answered.

  Instead, Dr. Collier shook his head. “I don’t think so. She has been exposed to this before.”

  “Before?” I scowled. “When? What are you talking about?”

  “I suppose subconsciously …” Rex began, still not acknowledging that I’d spoken.

  “Stop,” I demanded, rising from the chair. “You need to answer my questions. What’s a common? Exposed to what? And what’s this all about?” I insisted, looking between them. This wasn’t a dream; it was too bizarre. And it had gone too far for a joke as well. But I still had no idea what was going on.

  Rex tipped his chair back and stretched his arms behind his head as if nothing unusual was being said. “A common is what you are not, Kinzie. A common is someone with no adept skills.”

  I locked eyes with him as he brought his chair down, and his steel gray ones returned my stare just as steadily. “That still doesn’t explain what you’re saying,” I pointed out. “Even if it were possible, seeing the future doesn’t make the rats run through a maze the way they did.”

  “And you have another explanation?” Rex challenged back while Dr. Collier motioned for me to sit back down.

  “I want you to listen to me, Kinzie,” he said in an even tone. “That’s the second part of what we can do. We can influence decisions that people, or animals, make. I know that doesn’t sound right to you, but think about it this way. What are the chances of two rats making all the correct choices in your maze?”

  “Twenty-one billion to one,” I mumbled. “But …” I looked back at my professor. “Mind control is crazier than reading the future.”

  He gave me an encouraging smile and pulled the cage with the rat to the center of the desk. “Why don’t I just show you?”

  Dr. Collier balanced his chin on his entwined fingers, and his eyes glazed over as if he were concentrating. I waited for something big to happen – the rat to jerk and stagger around or do something bizarre, but what I saw was more unnerving. The rat calmly stopped cleaning her side and ran in a circle – five times to the left, turned, and ran five times to the right – with no indication it wasn’t entirely of her own volition. When she finished, she sat and began grooming again, as if nothing had happened. My rational brain wanted to reject it, but a shiver – like déjà vu – ran through my body.

  “That’s what you did in the lab on Friday,” Dr. Collier continued in a nonchalant tone. “Even with people, adepts can easily influence minor decisions. With training, many can influence more important decisions, and those decisions can set a person or an entire society on the path to a different future.”

  I stared at him, as my heart thumped uncomfortably. Altering the path of the future? “No one can do that,” I mumbled, but I wasn’t as sure of myself anymore.

  “A bunch of people can,” Rex contradicted me. “Several thousand in North America alone. People like you. We just have an additional sense.”

  “Several thousand?”

  “We’re organized to work together but spread out. Here there’s only me, Collier and Reynolds. Now you.”

  “What? You’re saying Sasha’s adept?” I shook my head at the bizarre idea of my dizzy roommate changing the future.

  Rex laughed. “She was supposed to find out if you were adept. I figured she’d blow it, and she did. So I had to help.”

  An eerie tingle spread up my spine as the pieces fell into place. “She was watching me!” I gasped. That was why the air-head with a brain of lead hung around with me. She’d been waiting for me to do some magic trick or something, but I never had – until Friday. But why me?

  When I asked, Dr. Collier placed his elbows on the desk, folding his hands in front of him. “Has your dad ever told you about your real father, Kinzie?”

  “My real father? He was just some guy my dad knew.”

  Dr. Collier’s eyes dropped immediately to his desk. “Adeptness is genetic, Kinzie,” he continued. “Your father was a very strong adept, so we expected you to be as well.”

  “My birth-father?” I asked to confirm who he meant.

  “Yes.”

  “And my dad? He knew this? Is he one of these people too?” My head pounded as it twisted around these thoughts.

  “No. But he knows about adepts and that we’re having this conversation,” Dr. Collier answered.

  My insides quivered briefly then took on the weight of cement at those words. My dad knew all this – knew I might have these powers, if they really existed – and never told me anything? Something wasn’t adding up. “What aren’t you telling me? Why did you have to go sneaking around and have Sasha watch me? You could’ve just told me all this and asked me if I could do it.”

  “We don’t exactly go around announcing ourselves,” Rex replied.

  “Why not?” I asked, panic rising from my gut. “You can’t spy on people … it isn’t …”

  Dr. Collier leaned back in his chair again and motioned for me to calm down. “Adepts are good people, Kinzie,” he assured me. “We help the world. But we do it secretly. Think of it this way for now – who would believe we can see the future?” Dr. Collier’s face was patient – the same face I’d always known. Was he telling the truth? Why would he lie to me?

  “And what if I don’t believe you?” I asked.

  “Then I’ll keep giving you demonstrations until you do.”

  “I could make Langston stand on his head like a clown,” Rex quipped.

  I stifled a laugh at Rex’s cruel remark. It would be funny, but Greg hadn’t done anything to deserve it. Dr. Collier seemed to ignore Rex’s remark, but his words said otherwise. “We don’t make people do tricks, Kinzie. But if you think what I did with that rat was staged, then tell me something you’d like it to do, or get a different rat and bring it here. The results will be the same.”

  I stared at him for a moment, deciding whether to take him up on his offer, but would caged rats convince me of anything? Maybe Rex’s suggestion was better. I couldn’t imagine Greg Langston playing along just to tease me. And he could stand to look ridiculous. It might even mess up his hair. I shook the thoughts away. None of that was going to help me figure this out. “You said you’re organized somehow. What’s that mean?”

  Dr. Collier chuckled. “Through the Rothston Institute,” he stated proudly.

  “What?” I asked, more shocked at that name than anything else I’d been told. “Why … but … my scholarship …” I stammered. The Rothston Institute was a think-tank that awarded me a
scholarship to go to this school. My dad had insisted I apply for it last spring, even though I hadn’t seen it listed anywhere. My god, it fit. My dad knew. All of this. “My tuition?” I asked slowly once I’d gathered my thoughts. “Because I’m … adept?”

  Dr. Collier nodded slowly. “You need to talk to your dad about that, Kinzie.” He tried to keep his voice light, but the idea that my dad had been keeping secrets from me – secrets about me, about my past – burned in my stomach. “I think that’s enough for today,” Dr. Collier added. “You look like you need some time to let this sink in.”

  I tried to focus my thoughts on adepts and mind-reading rather than my dad. God, my head was killing me. And Dad knew all this? He’d hidden it from me? How could he …”

  “Being adept is a good thing, Kinzie. Just new,” Dr. Collier said trying to calm my fears.

  I nodded and stood up, my body numb and my temples pulsing. I didn’t remember walking out of Uncle Mark’s office, but the sound of his voice behind me brought me to my senses.

  “Is she okay?” he asked Rex from inside his office.

  “She thinks like a common, but she’ll catch on that she’s not.”

  “She certainly isn’t. It was an impressive display. Didn’t even know she was doing it …”

  ψ

  The yells from the guys playing football behind me made it hard to think. I considered going for a run. That usually cleared my head, but the way I was feeling right now, I’d probably trip and sprain my ankle. I wrapped my windbreaker tightly around me and huddled on the cold concrete bench, trying to reject what I’d just been told. The dark clouds roiled with my mood, while the brick buildings of the academic quad loomed overhead as if they were watching me. This was ridiculous. No one could see the future or change what happens. It wasn’t possible!

  The football bounced off the bench, inches beside me, followed by a tumble of rowdy guys. One dove for the ball, throwing to another close beside me. Hands hit my shoulders and I cringed as a body vaulted over me in pursuit. I closed my eyes, heart pounding, until they were gone. But as my heart slowed, I knew they’d be back, swarming around me as if I’d picked this spot to be in the midst of their game. I twisted in search of a somewhere else to sit, and my heart jolted out of me at the sight of a body rising up behind me.

  “Didn’t mean to surprise you,” he apologized as I froze. My eyes tentatively scanned up the orange hoodie, expecting to find the mangled face of some ogre drooling down at me. But instead, it was the smiling visage of Greg Langston.

  “Sasha’s back at the room.” I told him, thrusting my hands into the pockets of my cargo pants for warmth. I needed to find somewhere to think. Somewhere less crowded.

  “Uh …” Greg started, glancing uncomfortably around the quad before he went on. “Not looking for her.” We locked eyes for a moment, and he cocked his head. “Why are you out here, uh … sitting on a concrete bench … by yourself … in the cold?” he asked haltingly.

  “Been an odd day,” I answered, swiftly rising to leave before the football game returned. “I needed a place to think.”

  “This is a shitty place to do it,” Greg observed, eyeing the boys and their ball as they hurtled toward us again. I froze like a statue, holding my breath until they jostled past. Greg watched me, but thankfully, didn’t comment.

  “No joke. But if I go back to my room, Sasha …”

  Understanding flashed in Greg’s blue eyes. “… talks too much,” he finished for me. “C’mon. I know a better place.”

  Any place was better than the press of the players. I winced as two more whipped past on either side of us, so close I could smell their sweat. My heart was pounding again. I couldn’t think here. I could barely even breathe. I followed Greg half way across the brick path that led to the south residential quad.

  “C’mon,” he said with a toss of his head as he climbed over the low stone wall that separated the path from a steep wooded slope. He waited for me before heading down to a spot where the oaks and maples opened up at a rocky depression. I took in the view of the bend in the White River. The red and gold leaves rustled in the breeze, and the air smelled of moss and damp wood and life. It was peaceful here, as if the college a few steps away didn’t exist. My breath came more easily, and my heart was steady.

  Greg settled himself cross-legged on the ground. “Are you upset about something?” he asked as I sat down on the ground beside him. His eyes scanned my face for an answer, and I looked away, shaking my head.

  “Not really,” I lied, having no idea how I would explain. “Well, I guess I am, sort of. Personal stuff. You don’t have to stay.” But he pushed up the sleeves of his hooded sweatshirt and settled back onto his elbows to gaze across the river.

  I studied him to avoid my own thoughts for a moment. His golden brown hair hinted red even in the weak sunlight. His nose had a straight, strong line, and his eyes were a perfect blue. Greg Langston was every bit as good looking as he believed. In fact, he was beautiful. And about as conceited about it as they came. I didn’t get people who put more stock in looks than in brains. If I ever had a boyfriend, I’d like him to be good looking, but he’d have to be someone I could talk to. Like Kip. My stomach quivered at the thought and my mind reached back to the time we’d spent together at the end of last week – colleagues on a common mission. That seemed like a million years ago, and other than class, I hadn’t seen Kip since.

  I was distracting myself. My eyes wandered up to the cold, gray sky. It wouldn’t rain – I was certain of that. But the clouds still hung heavy, dampening the spark of life below. Ominous. I shook the thought away, knowing it was only my imagination and I was still avoiding what I ought to be thinking about. Rex and Dr. Collier had given me the only explanation that accounted for the behavior of the caged rat. Plus it explained why Sasha insisted we do things together – constantly. We were too different to be friends. I shuddered at the thought of her watching me. But if all this was real, why hadn’t I known about it? Shouldn’t I have been able to tell? And why hadn’t my dad said something? That last question left a bitter knot in my stomach. He should have told me. I picked up a stone and flung it down the hill, waiting for it to hit the ground then tumble through the loose rocks and dried leaves below us.

  “What’s wrong?” Greg asked.

  “Just … just …” I couldn’t think of the word. “You can’t trust anybody,” I said finally.

  Greg didn’t argue or make any comment at all. He just nodded once and stared out over the river. Not that I expected him to be interested in my problems – they didn’t involve him. I threw another rock down the hill, struggling to either accept that this was real or to reject it once and for all. But rational thought evaded me. My brain, my emotions, they were torn. Everything I’d been told was bizarre but familiar and almost comfortable at the same time. But why did any of it matter? What difference did it make if what they’d said was true?

  I shifted position on the rocky ground and my gaze caught on Greg’s face again. His deep blue eyes were as lost in his own thoughts as I was in mine, and for a moment, I let them sweep away my worries. Odd to see him sitting here like this, instead of swaggering for whatever girl was around. I followed his eyes across the river to the west, where the sun had just slipped below the breaking clouds, sending rays shooting across the sky.

  “Why are you here?” I asked.

  “You looked like you needed a friend. Would you like me to go away?” he asked without moving his eyes from the sun.

  I hesitated before answering. His presence was comforting, or at least non-threatening. Maybe because he was untouched by what I’d been told today. The only normal thing I could think of right now. His eyes flashed over to me as his head tipped to the side in a question. “You’re fine,” I assured him. “What are you thinking about?”

  “Building a transporter,” he said with a straight face.

  “A what?”

  “A matter-energy transporter. You know: ‘Beam me u
p, Scotty.’”

  I stifled a laugh at what had to be the last answer I’d expect from a guy like Greg. He must have known I didn’t believe him.

  “It’s possible,” he defended. “And I want to be the one to do it.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering if he was teasing me, although it was more plausible than the conversation I’d just had with Rex and Uncle Mark. “A transporter would be fine. But I’d rather have a time machine,” I said to test him.

  He shook his head and turned toward me. “Impossible. All a transporter does is move information from one place to another. But time travel? That’s like trying to reduce total entropy.”

  I shrugged. “Well, it would be cooler than just moving things around.”

  “Yeah, but start monkeying around with time, and nuclear weapons are going to look tame.” His blue eyes twinkled as he folded his hands under his head and laid back on the ground. Even from a foot away, I could feel the warmth radiating from his body. A cricket chirped nearby, and I breathed in the fall air. The peacefulness of this spot helped. I felt better, more grounded, despite the bizarreness of the day.

  “What’s your dream?” he asked.

  “My what?”

  “Your dream. If you could do anything you wanted in your life, what would it be?” He propped himself up on an elbow as he rolled to the side.

  I looked out at the sky, thinking about how to answer. Adepts. Wow. This organization – the Rothston Institute – it must have a reason for existing. Uncle Mark said they help the world. What did that mean for me? Maybe, in some small way, the fantasies I thought could never come true … Greg was still watching me, waiting for an answer.

  “To be like everyone else,” I tossed out, figuring the trite response would satisfy him.

  Greg lifted his head, looking puzzled. “Why?”

  I opened my mouth to tell him it would be easier, but hesitated, not sure what to say. “I … I guess that’s what everyone wants, isn’t it?”

  “Only because they are idiots and don’t bother to think about it,” he responded quickly, but followed it with a scowl. “That doesn’t fit you though. You seem like someone who would have thought about it.”