Estranged (23 page)

The manager looked at her
incredulously. “Yeah, you ain’t never heard of ‘E-night’? Shit, how
long you been keepin’ this one under a rock, Shenaia?” He wiped the
sweat off his brow with a damp kerchief and explained, “Landen
opens up his mansion every year on the E-day anniversary for this
massive party. Invitation only. A lot of high-class Untouched come
by to get turned into Estranged.”

Kalei was stunned as
several thoughts went racing through her mind.
Today is E-Day? Already? Shit, it figures the day I break out
had to be E-day... Wait– What was that other thing he said? There’s
no fucking way
. “You seriously want me to
believe that Landen Franklin, savior of Celan, throws parties to
turn people into Estranged? That doesn’t sound like
him.”

“
Sure it does. You just
don’ know ‘im.”

Kalei scoffed and resumed her silence
while Shenaia and the manager finished up. Once they were back on
the street, Kalei asked, “He’s joking about the E-night thing,
right?”

“
Nah, Landen does it every
year. He acts like the damn thing is better than Christmas
too.”

“
You’re shitting
me.”

“
Nope.”

Kalei stopped and looked into
Shenaia’s eyes, searching for some hint of the punchline she wasn’t
getting. Shenaia gazed back, her eyes dead serious.

Kalei threw her arms up in
resignation. “Okay, so why the hell would a bunch of rich Untouched
show up to be turned into Estranged? Don’t they realize there’s a
good chance they could die?”

Shenaia shrugged and gave a
noncommittal “eh.” She answered, “Rich people like risks. I dunno,
I’ve seen just as many of ‘em fall as walk, but for some reason,
the dumbasses keep climbin’ up to the stage thinkin’ they’re the
exception to the rule.”

“
You mean you’ve been to
these parties?”

“
Of course, I—” Shenaia
gave Kalei a sideways glance. “It’s complicated.” She started to
walk down the street again.

Kalei scoffed and followed Shenaia.
“Right. Whatever.”

Shenaia slowed a bit, looking at the
street sign, and then checking over her shoulder. “Y’know, we
should probably wait ‘til tomorrow.”

Kalei matched her pace and tried to
spot what the young woman was looking for. “Like hell. You’re the
one who said we don’t have time.”

“
Yeah, that was before I
knew it was E-night. Landen ain’t the most...
rational
guy on E-night.”

“
I don’t care what kind of
guy he is. I just need him to tell me where to find Fenn. Now would
you stop checking street signs and take me to the damn place
already?”

Shenaia stopped at the corner and
hesitated.

“
You said you wanted to
help me. Then do it.”

Glancing at Kalei, Shenaia stepped out
into the street. “I ain’t sure you’ll call this help.”

Kalei followed, aggravated by
Shenaia’s resistance. “Just take me to the damn
mansion!”

“
That’s what I’m
doin’!”

The sky was turning a deep shade of
blue, and a couple satellites were already glowing on the horizon
when they arrived at the base of Chodai Mountain, where the wealthy
built their estates. The night was warm, but a cool breeze made the
temperature just perfect. Shenaia and Kalei began their ascent to
where Landen had built his abode.

On either side of the road, wide-open
fields butted against thick stands of pine as the terrain sloped
upward toward the imminent peak. Only one mansion was visible about
a quarter mile back, its sprawling, four-storied expanse tucked
within a lavish green garden and lit by strategically placed
floodlights.

The mansion’s property was
circumvented by a seven-foot-tall, wrought-iron fence, which
yielded to stone where it met with the boundaries of its
neighboring properties. These other properties were similarly
fenced, and although Kalei could not see the homes, presumably
because they were tucked within the trees or behind hills, Kalei
could count at least six other unique properties as they
ascended.

Kalei looked from one imposing fence
to the next, some ornately built with rocks from the mountain,
others built as solid walls of granite, and she remembered what the
manager had said about the rich wanting to turn Estranged. With
that in mind, she couldn’t help but wonder how many of these
estates were miniature versions of Downtown: places where Estranged
happily enjoyed their highs behind a secure boundary.

Kalei furrowed her brow and looked at
Shenaia. “Wait, the manager said this party was invitation only.
How will we get in?”

Shenaia kept her eyes straight ahead
as she walked up the winding road. “Don’ worry. They’ll let us
in.”

“
What’s that supposed to
mean?”

Shenaia looked over her shoulder at
Kalei, anger driving the words from her lungs. “Jus’ what I said:
don’ worry.” She turned her attention back to their
path.

Kalei let it go. She was too tired to
keep bickering.

The night was quiet. Their footsteps
echoed across the pavement as an airplane hummed through the
darkening sky above. Crickets were beginning to sing their song,
and off to the west, a couple frogs added their voices to the
melody. It wasn’t until about fifteen minutes later that Kalei
could pick out the sound of a muffled beat up ahead. As they drew
closer, she could pick out more of the notes in what seemed to be a
very upbeat, cutting edge song. Whatever they were doing up there,
they definitely weren’t sleeping.

They crested a hill and the gate to
Landen’s estate came into view: wrought iron like most of the rest
they passed, but twice the size at nearly twenty feet, and
elaborately wrought to draw out the three-star emblem of the Tusic
Company.

As Kalei and Shenaia walked up to the
grand barricade, two women stepped out through a smaller side gate
to greet them. The women wore tactical combat suits, black from
neck to toe, complete with black polyester gloves. Despite the
seemingly practical nature of the outfits, the clothes were fit to
each woman’s body in a way that accentuated every curve. Kalei
didn’t doubt that these women could fight off intruders, but she
suspected their function was more heavily weighted toward
impressing guests. One woman was a brunette and the other a blonde.
Although their hair was tied back into ponytails, the tails were
long enough to fall around their shoulders in a soft cascade of
curls.

The blonde bouncer called out to Kalei
and Shenaia as they approached, “Good evening, ladies.”

In an equally elegant tone, Shenaia
replied, “Good evening.”

Kalei caught her jaw as it
dropped.

The brunette woman asked, “Shenaia? Is
that you?”

“
One in the
same.”

Kalei was silent, her eyes bulging as
she watched the exchange.

The brunette playfully demanded,
“Where have you been? Last I heard, you had joined
SWORDE.”

Shenaia smiled sweetly. “You heard
right.”

“
So it’s true!” the blonde
chimed.

“
Yes.” Shenaia stopped in
front of the women and said, “Melody, Samantha, I would like you to
meet Kalei.”

The blonde – Samantha – her eyes lit
up as she looked at Kalei. “You mean your sister? Oh! It is such a
pleasure to finally meet you, Kalei! Shenaia has told us so much
about you!”

Kalei managed a smile as the woman
came up and shook her hand.

They started to ask questions, but
Shenaia politely cut them off. “Excuse me, ladies, but we really do
need to get going. It sounds like the party has already started
without us.”

“
Of course!” Melody opened
the side gate for them. “Go right ahead. Make sure to come back and
see us again, Shenaia. We missed you.”

Shenaia smiled again. “I missed you
too. G’night!”

Melody smiled back.
“Goodnight.”

Kalei followed Shenaia into the yard,
trying to regain her bearings. Her head felt like it was spinning
on a carousel after watching that bizarre exchange, but what she
found on the other side of the fence made the carousel spin even
faster. They weren’t standing in a yard. They were standing on a
bridge, and for as far as she could see, there was not an ounce of
dirt, just a seemingly endless crystal blue pool that was
beautifully illuminated by the lights built under the
bridges.

The bridges themselves were not arched
or sloping; if anything, they were more like docks: white, pristine
docks that wound through the yard like paths in a garden. Parallel
to Kalei’s path, the road continued from the gate to the house,
heedless of the change in terrain. The paths and the pool weren’t
the most striking thing either. In the center of it all stood a
three-storied mansion, one central square with the facing wall
constructed entirely of glass, and two slightly smaller squares to
the left and right, built of the same white stone as the walkways.
And from the roof, along the entire length of the building, water
fell in a single, shimmering sheet, turning the entire structure
into a beautiful waterfall.

And through that sheet, and through
the glass of the central building, Kalei could see that all three
floors were packed with guests, and even the roof had another
hundred or so guests dancing upon it, along with a live DJ,
suggesting that more paths and patios spanned a pool up
there.

Shenaia broke Kalei’s reverie as she
said, “Ugh, gag me.”

Kalei blinked at the woman, unable to
articulate an answer. She must have been staring, because Shenaia
asked, “What?”

Kalei pointed at the pool, at the
waterfall, at Shenaia, then finally managed to say “They-you- where
the hell did you learn to talk like that?”

Shenaia reached back and
absentmindedly scratched her head. It was comforting to see Shenaia
return to her usual street-punk persona. She sighed. “That’s how
normal people talk, right?” She shrugged. “I can be
normal.”

Shenaia stepped onto the nearest
bridge, but Kalei didn’t budge.

Shenaia looked over at her. “Okay, the
Shenaia you’re used to is something I picked up from my friends in
high school. I wasn’t raised to talk like a G-zone kid any more
than you were.”

“
G-? But they called me
your—”

Shenaia cut her off. A group of guests
from another path had spotted Shenaia and were making their way
over, shouting greetings and pleasantries while they closed the
distance.

Kalei didn’t say a word as the three
women and the two men, all dressed for a formal occasion despite
the informal music, chatted and cooed over Shenaia and Kalei as
they walked together to the mansion.

Kalei felt severely underdressed for
the occasion. More than that, she felt like this was all a dream.
She wanted to splash some of that pool water on her face to find
out if this was really real, but they were already at the
waterfall. A short overhang above the doors diverted the water to
either side, creating a rift in the sheet for them to walk through.
As they passed beneath the overhang, Kalei held her hand out to the
waterfall and felt the cool, clear liquid run through her
fingers.

Not a dream, then, but
still no easier to believe.

A man in a black tuxedo met them at
the door. “Kalei, Shenaia, it’s good to see you. Landen Franklin
will be with you ladies in just a moment. Here are your gloves.” He
handed them each a pair of black silk gloves. “We ask that you
please wear them for the night, at least until after the main
event.” Kalei followed Shenaia’s lead and put them on. “While you
wait, you are welcome to a drink at the bar, hors d'oeuvres are
being served by our lovely ladies, and if you have... other tastes,
just say the word and I shall be happy escort you to another room
where such is being offered.”

Shenaia waved him off. “No thank you.”
The two excused themselves from the man and their new friends, then
walked into the party.

This first floor had more than a dozen
low, soft black couches – not that anyone was using them. Sure,
there was a man in the company of four lovely ladies making use of
the couch on the far wall, but, for the most part, the guests
stood. The music was mildly more subdued than it was outside,
although four large speakers scattered throughout the large room
relayed the music from upstairs. Kalei couldn’t tell if this room
was supposed to be a living room or a foyer, but either way, it
seemed to be made for partying. The front and back walls were made
of glass, while the clean, white sidewalls were broken by a single
door each. On the right, caterers came and went. To the left,
guests slipped in and out, giggling and furtive. The rest of the
guests gathered in a dozen tight clusters, chatting, laughing, and
sipping their drinks of choice. Judging by the drinks Kalei could
see, they seemed to have decadent tastes; three women in a cluster
to her left held tall glasses filled with red wine, while their
male companions drank from heavy whiskey glasses filled with an
amber liquor.