Level 13 - Virginia Lang (most read books in the world of all time txt) 📗

sweet, or just plain creepy.

“You followed me into the showers…to talk to me?”

Jack let out a sigh as he ran his hand through his now mangled curls. “I heard you looking for me, when I left at breakfast…I knew it was you…but I ignored you.”

“I figured.” Sighing, I shook my head. “I shouldn’t have come after you, probably just wanted to be alone…like always.” Jack’s look changed into a fit of confusion.

“Why…. no, no.” He stepped toward me, causing me to jump a little, after the dream, I was a bit skittish of everything at the moment. Upon seeing this he didn’t move again, for a while.

“No It’s not that I wanted to be alone…well it was, but not from you.”

My brow furrowed, I didn’t understand. Jack was trying to find the right words to explain to me what he did to Aileen. But he wasn’t moving so fast in that brain of his.

“I don’t-“

“I like you… I care about you Katrina.” He managed to force out. “You make me feel wanted. My power, my ability, just makes me feel like how I always do. Invisible to the world.” He sighed.

“I have no friends, not really. You can thank my brothers for that I suppose, I mean they aren’t as bad anymore, but because they intimidate a lot of the kids in our level, they are of me too. I don’t want to intimidate people Kitty; I want friends.” Jack’s eyes glanced briefly at me, but it seemed to be really bothering him, to get all of this out in front of me, and this caused me to frown.

“Jack, it’s okay, you don’t have to go on if you don’t want to.” I said softly, but he ignored me and went on.

“…You are the first person, to treat me like I’m one of your friends, smiling at me with a real smile, not some plastered on smile for show just so I won’t hurt you or something. When I’m around you, I feel seen. You see me, not through me. And I want you to know, how much I appreciate your kindness.”

My heart raced, no one had said that to me before. I know my brother had told me countless times in the past how much he appreciated me doing something, but nothing quite like what Jack had said to me.

I stood from the bed, and stepped forward, wrapping my arms around Jack. A few tear’s strayed through my eyelids as I hugged him. “Jack, I’ve never seen through you…that’s always how I felt you would see me…through me, not at me. But you don’t and that makes me happy.”

Jack let out a soft sigh of relief and a smile. Wrapping his arms around me. “I’m glad…now. Why were you shaking in your sleep.”

I had almost forgot. I pulled away slightly to look at him. “Level 13. Something was trying to get my help… and I fell into level 9 in the west wing building…it needs my help. And I can find them on level 13…”

“Level 13” he asked puzzled. “That’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“There are only 12 levels…”


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Chapter 12:
Training Shoes

The day passed by quickly, Jack convinced Kitty to do some research first on the school before going on a wild goose chase off of a dream she had. Emerald and Aileen decided to do some practice training in base level 3 of the West wing building, walking onto the large floor, covered in practice objects and surrounded by padded walls. Em had brought in the stereo and put on some frequency CD that would cause Aileen to push through the sound waves of the music to hear Emerald and her thoughts. The first practice they were assigned too together four years ago, Emerald tried to shape herself into a wolf, but she instead, deciding against it, shaped herself into Aileen, causing Aileen to get confused at hearing her own voice in her own thoughts, having trouble gathering if they were her own. Both had come along way, best of friends, and the most outgoing girls in the school in many opinions.

Aileen was trying to concentrate over the sounds of the music sound waves. She squinted her eyes as she moved around the massive room of objects, bridges, hiding places and such, her hand caught hold of a small knife clocked into one of the wooden practice boards, a small sound of curiosity running through her mind that wasn’t hers. With a small smirk Aileen turned and tossed it at the opposite side of the room causing a yelp and a disgruntled little girl to tumble out of the way as it nearly missed her head.

“What was that!” the girl shifted into a taller, much older girl. “What was that? You could have pinned my forehead to the wall along with that knife Aileen!”

“Ah, but it didn’t!” Aileen smiled at Em. “You’re still standing aren’t you?” She stated in her matter-o-fact tone, which Em didn’t seem to thrill about. She huffed and changed the song on the Stereo.

“No. Knives.” Em said as she disappeared in the mess of objects and Aileen gave a small chuckle before she bit her lip in concentration. Her back was against a bunch of stacked wooden crates, listening intently through the music for any sound of movement. As she heard a small trudge of sneakers and a then nothing, her gaze shifted through the dim room.

Her hand now searched for something in one of the barrels of random objects a few feet from her that she had to scoot slowly over to. Her hand carfully and quietly searched for something that wouldn’t be sharp.

“Come on.” She whispered lowly to herself. “That’s it.” She slowly pulled a shoe out of the barrel and then turned just in time to see a cat jump at her, she ducked and tossed the shoe at it.

It hissed and once again the form shifted back into Emerald, whose look, for Aileen, was a rewarding frown. Em rubbed her head as she stood up. Aileen put her hands out in defense.
“Hey, you said no knives.”

“A shoe…Aileen!”

She gave her friend a mild glare, which was more of a frown.

“Honestly, that is just disgusting.”

“At least it didn’t kill you.” Aileen laughed.

“It could be diseased!” she pouted. “Who knows who’s ruddy feet have touched that germ infested shoe.”

“Oh stop whining Em’s, it’s just a ruddy shoe.” She rolled her eyes and grabbed her best friends arm. “Oh come on, let’s go, I think that’s enough for today.”

Emerald was still frowning but nodded anyway. “Fine, at least if we eat I won’t be getting hit with a rotten shoe.”

“You are never going to let that go are you.”

Em shook her head in a child like manner. “Nope, never.”

Aileen sighed and shook her head with a smile. Jake was watching them come out from the West wing building door from the stairs, leaning forward in curiosity. However he didn’t bother to move, seeing as they were going for the girls building, and his brother was returning from whatever he was doing in the boy’s south wing building towards him. So for now, he thought to let his curiosity just, melt away… but Just for now.


<pagebreak>
Chapter 13:
The Meeting


…It has been about two days now. Sunday had passed quite vigorously in my opinion. Their wasn’t much to tell about Sundays here at Arealyyn, just that even if we wanted to leave to go to church, like a few students in the past have muttered around on campus, there would be no chance without parent permission and an escort by the board. Yes, the schoolboard, the most secretive towards the students. They say they are our protectors against those who don’t understand us, and we are brought here, enrolled by our parents…well those of us who have parents.

Now that I look back at it I really wonder whether or not coming here was safer than staying where we were, Dani and I. Of course I’m only venting my opinion because of the strange things happening around here. How could I have been so blind with everyone else who paid no attention to the disappearances? Today after classes I’m going to check out the library, for the history on our school, its in our school building, the west wing, below in the base levels I believe, under individual lessons or practices. Maybe I’ll find something out, hopefully.

Kitty shut her journal, shoving it under her mattress as she pulled herself out of bed and got dressed before Kara had a chance to get up. With an effort, Katrina as able to yank her jeans from the bedside dresser, grabbing hold of the bed frame before she was able to tumble to the wood floor.

“Kitty?” She heard a small whisper outside the room, she pulled on her jeans, and quickly pulled on a T-shirt and a green sweater, walking to the door. It took her a moment to open the door, as it was a creeker and she didn’t want to risk waking up Kara right now, it was, as she read on Kara’s ipod, 5:13 am.

The door opened slowly, Kitty’s head popping out of the doorway into the hallway where she saw nothing. “Hello?”

“Grab your bag and get out here.” She heard a low whisper and Kitty furrowed her brow before she sighed and snuck her head back into the room, creeping over to her desk and grabbing her bag.

Kara shifted a bit in her sleep, a low groan escaping her lips as she yanked the blanket that was lingering halfway off the bed, onto her body unconsciously and rolled over still asleep. Kitty let out a slight sigh of relief and made her way back to the ajar door and squeezed her and her bag out of the dorm room and into the hallway, shutting the door as quietly as possible.

“Let’s go.” She felt a hand take her arm and a shuffle of feet with hers as she moved down the hallway and to the stairwell at the end of their hall. Once in the safety of the concrete box of 45 degrees, she felt the hand on her arm let go and she turned around. Slowly, two figures were becoming transparent.

“Jack?” she furrowed her brow and looked to the other. “Aileen? What is going on?”

“We have information, but we need to go meet Em in the base level 4 of this building.” Aileen whispered and began to move down the stairs, turning invisible again as Jack touched her arm and they began to head below the building, Kitty following behind curiously; the dragging of her feet on the stairs creating an irritating echo in the stairwell.

Luckily there were only two more floors til base level where they opened the second of two doors and followed the next set of stairs down to base level 4, where Emerald was standing outside of the doorway into the base-level.

“Good you’re here, finally.” She muttered as Aileen and Jack became visible once again.

“Sorry, we were trying to get here without distraction.” Aileen moved toward Em.

“Okay so what exactly did we get pulled here for?” Jack asked, obviously he hadn’t known anything from the look on his face.

“In.” Em motioned towards the now open door.

Reluctantly Jack and Katrina moved