Page 38 of The Lost Zone (Dark Water #3)

“You’ve all worked very hard, and my goodness, you are far better servants now than you were a few months ago when I first met you.

” She beamed at them. “I’d like to give a special mention to One – he knew nothing when he arrived, but look at how far he’s come.

” She initiated a round of applause, which the others all joined in.

Alex couldn’t bring himself to return their smiles; he felt as if the bottom had dropped out of his world.

He tried to concentrate on his breathing and hum his song in his head, and that helped to calm him, but inside he could hardly bear it.

Soon, he’d lose the friendship of these four men and be returned to Tyler. He was devastated.

“A duck will arrive first thing on Thursday to take you back to your houders,” B continued. “I hope you give good feedback on your time at Belvedere and encourage them to send others here.”

“Thursday?” Just three days away. So soon.

“Not you, One,” B said with a kindly smile. “You’ll be with us for a little while longer, I fear.”

“My houder doesn’t want me back?” Alex asked hopefully.

“Oh no. It’s just that A feels you’ve made such good progress that it’d be a shame to interrupt that. You’ll stay here and continue the learning process.”

Alex felt a wave of relief, but it was closely followed by sadness. His friends would be leaving in just a few short days. In particular, Two would be leaving.

There were mixed emotions in the rec room that evening.

“I’m looking forward to showing my houder how much I’ve learned,” Four said earnestly.

“But I will miss you all very much.” He was such a reserved man that Alex was surprised to see the tears in his eyes.

The others all joined in, reminiscing about their favourite moments of the past few months, telling each other they’d never forget their friendship, and yet…

Alex could already see their minds turning back to the lives they’d left behind.

They’d surely forget him very soon, and that was the way it should be.

Alex hated goodbyes. He didn’t want to face yet another change that was outside his control, but he schooled himself to show no emotion.

He managed to keep it together in front of his friends, but Two found him doing his yoga practice on Wednesday evening with his song playing on repeat as he struggled to remain in charge of his feelings.

“We’re leaving at six a.m. tomorrow, when you’ll be working out with E,” he murmured. “So, I thought we should say goodbye this evening.”

“Goodbye,” Alex said, without looking up.

“Alex…” Two’s voice was sad and imploring.

Alex glanced at him, his face impassive. “Maybe you taught me too well,” he said softly.

“No. I think you’ll need every ounce of your self-control and composure when you eventually return to Mr Tyler.”

“I’ll miss you,” Alex muttered, looking down. “Your lessons were far more valuable than B’s, because you taught me how to survive.”

Two crouched down in front of him, grasped his chin and gazed into his eyes. “Your mission is a virtuous one and your cause worth fighting for. I hope you succeed, Alex.”

Alex pulled away and turned his back on Two, because he wasn’t sure he could remain impassive while saying goodbye to this man who he’d become so close to. He closed his eyes, hummed his song, and continued with his yoga practice.

“That’s the best goodbye I could have wished for,” Two said softly. “Good luck, my darling boy.” Then he heard the gym door gently close.

Later that evening, when his friends were all asleep, Alex made a sketch of each of them.

He drew Five having thrown a pancake into the air that had grown a pair of little wings and flown away from him.

He sketched Four dressed up like the major-domo of some fancy household, juggling an iron, a frying pan, and a clothes brush, all while walking a tightrope.

He drew Three chasing after two gangly boys as they led him a merry dance around the quadrangle of a university.

And he drew Two, doing his yoga practice while wearing a top hat and tails, like a 1940s matinee idol.

Then he tiptoed around the room and tucked the slips of paper into each of their bags before returning to bed.

They were gone when he returned to the dorm after his gym workout the next day. The room was empty, the beds stripped, and he felt utterly alone.

He hummed his song loudly to distract himself from how wretched he felt. Only when he was in the safety of the shower, under its flow of warm water, did he allow the tears to fall freely down his face.

He dressed and returned to the dorm – and that was when he saw the envelope on his pillow. He picked it up and slid his finger under the flap.

Inside was a homemade card with GOODBYE written on the front in cheerful letters. Alex opened it and read.

Thank you for being such a good roomie. We’ll miss you! It was signed Two , Three , Four , and Five , written out as words, not numbers, in vastly different styles of handwriting as it had been signed personally by the four men.

Alex smiled and placed the card on his bedside table. He sensed Two’s hand in this. Then he realised there was a note in the envelope and sat on the bed to read it.

Dear Alex,

I know you didn’t want a big, fussy goodbye, but we couldn’t leave without doing something. We made the card while you were busy doing your yoga.

I’d like to give you something else, too.

A few months ago, you gave me the gift of your name, and now I’d like to return the favour.

Sadly, like your friend Josiah, and so many other children born after the Rising, I was saddled with a somewhat old-fashioned, biblical name.

I’ve attempted to wear it with a certain degree of panache – as much as is possible with a name like this, anyway.

I’ll never forget you, my dear boy. You’ve been such a joy. I’m so proud of you.

All my love, Gideon.

Gideon. It felt strange to think of his friend having any name other than “Two”, but Alex appreciated the gift. They, who had so little, had been able to give each other something, at least, even if it was only the gift of their names.

There were no classes that day, and nobody came to check on him or tell him that he needed to be somewhere.

He spent the day drawing, walking around the grounds and doing his yoga practice.

Belvedere was quiet without the noise and bustle of classes and chatter.

He felt it the most in the dorm and rec room, places where they’d so often talked and laughed together.

He glanced at Gideon’s note again, then at some of the sketches he’d made of his friends, smiling over each one.

He hated going to bed alone that night. He even missed Three snoring and Five talking in his sleep.

E had given him a few days off his gym workouts, so he didn’t see her the next day. B, C, and even F were also nowhere in evidence. D still served his dinner, but she spoke as little as always, so the place felt almost unbearably lonely.

Alex wondered what Belvedere had in store for him next. B seemed to think there was still much for him to learn, and he agreed. Once he’d scratched the surface of what it meant to be a servant, he could see just how deep it went, and he was eager to learn more.

Another night passed, and the next morning there was still nobody around.

After breakfast, he performed his yoga practice and then returned to the dorm.

Would he ever become accustomed to this new silence?

The emptiness of the place? Now, most of all, he missed Gideon: his quiet strength, his elegant way of speaking, and his dignified way of carrying himself.

Belvedere might have taught Alex the skills he needed to be the perfect indentured servant, but it was Gideon who’d taught him those necessary to survive that state.

Strange how he’d spent so long doubting that Tyler could possibly want him to learn the lessons Belvedere had to teach, and yet somehow, it had turned him into precisely the kind of perfect indentured servant his houder wanted.

Strange, indeed…

He gazed thoughtfully at the mirrored walls. So much whiteness, so much light… no place to hide.

He whirled around. There were mirrors everywhere in Belvedere – in here, in the gym, in the classroom and the rec room…

everywhere. He was so used to being recorded by smartwalls that he’d been oblivious to a more obvious form of surveillance.

Had he been watched all this time? If so, by whom? The mysterious A?

Who was A? Why the mystery surrounding his identity?

What possible purpose did it serve? What was the story behind his strange absences and refusal to meet him?

What plan could it possibly spoil if he met him…

unless… was it possible that he had met A without knowing it?

That A had been part of everything that had taken place these past few months.

Hiding behind a persona, so he could study Alex more closely?

Was it F? Alex shuddered. Surely that repulsive bully wasn’t clever enough to be behind this?

No… but what about the kindly doctor? His gaze had so often been amiable, but occasionally, Alex had caught a glimpse of steel behind the spectacles.

Had the mild-mannered-doctor persona been an act?

It made sense. C seemed to have little actual medical work to do. How did he spend the rest of his time?

Neither B, D, or E seemed to be likely candidates. C had also said that A was male, although he could have been lying.

Why go to all these lengths, though? To analyse him?

To figure out what made him tick, so that A could turn him into exactly what Tyler wanted him to be?

If so, he’d succeeded. During his time at Belvedere, he had learned how to be the perfect servant, but it wasn’t B who’d taught him that – it was Two… Gideon.

Alex’s stomach gave a sickening flip as he considered the worst. Then he got a grip on himself.

No. He was going too far with his wild imaginings.

His friend had lived beside him all these months.

Alex had spent more time with Gideon than any of the other indies – how would Gideon have had time to run this place, oversee the staff behind the mirrors, and be his close friend?

Besides, it was Two, more than any of them, who’d borne the brunt of F’s temper.

Surely, if he was the boss, he wouldn’t have allowed himself to be beaten by his subordinate?

The others, then? Five was surely too young and Three too simple. Four…? He’d always been quietly watchful, and yet, Alex had found him hard to get to know. Had he been studying him all this time?

He sat back with a sigh. Maybe he was overthinking this.

Maybe A was none of them. Another thought struck him.

Regardless of who A was, if he’d been watching him all this time, then he knew about Tyler, and about his plan to bring his houder to justice.

A held all his secrets in the palm of his hand.

What would he do with them? Tell Tyler? In which case, he was a dead man walking.

Or did A have some other plan or purpose in mind?

He sat on the bed for a long time, aware of the mirrors on the opposite wall. He could practically feel A’s gaze upon him, watching him. He stood up and walked over to the mirror, staring into his own face.

“I know you’re watching me,” he said firmly.

“I know you’ve been watching me all along, and I know who you are.

” Did he? No, but he doubted he’d attract A’s attention without giving him a name.

Which name, though? He’d narrowed it down to C, Gideon, or Four.

Which one? Everything hinged on him naming the right person.

“I’ve figured it out,” he said slowly, playing for time.

Make a choice… decide… but which one of them was it?

He remembered a trick he’d mastered at school, where he’d said the first answer that came into his head – nine times out of ten it had been correct.

Don’t overthink it. Just close your eyes, let your mind go blank, and give a name.

“It’s time for you to meet me as you really are…” He crossed his fingers behind his back, opened his eyes, and said the word that would seal his fate, one way or another.

“Gideon.”