Garnet Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Les Destructeurs

“Up!”
Garnet focused on the tree trunk hovering in front of her, her necklace radiating with its usual bright light. Strands of her dark red hair that escaped from the messy and hurried braid she’d tied it up in stuck to her brow, the fault of the perspiration that had developed on her forehead. She breathed in heavily; they had been going like this for about hour-and-a-half. Her limit had extended a few days ago to include medium-sized objects, which she could lift for a time extension of two to three hours; smaller objects she could handle for any amount of time now.
She shot an arm upward and the tree trunk followed, bolting into the air, just narrowly missing the boulder that Cassidy was using, with the intention of smashing Garnet’s tree trunk. Her aunt’s command came again, quicker.
“Down!”
Garnet brought her arm down. The directions for the sides, left and right, came so quickly that Garnet barely had time to register them before Cassidy had thrown her own object into the trunk, disintegrating it into nothing but shattered fragments of wood. She clucked her tongue against her cheek in a rather criticizing way.
“You’ve got to be quicker than that.” The woman let her boulder drop to the ground.
“I’m trying. It’s hard when someone’s trailing you with a boulder,” Garnet muttered. “Rock and wood aren’t the best combination, can’t you use something else? Something that won’t make me feel like an idiot when you smash my item to smithereens?”
Cassidy grinned. “I could find something metal.”
“Now you’re teasing me!”
“Fine, fine, then. We’ll both take a boulder, this time,” the woman said. As she walked over to a thicket to find two stones that were large enough she heard Garnet mumble, “Or we could stop…?”
Cassidy placed her hands on her hips, turned around, and gave the girl a small smile. “Or…”
She tossed one boulder over to Garnet and took the rock for herself up into her own mind-hold.
“We could both take a boulder this time,” she finished. She went up and, with a smaller rock, etched initials into the two large stones, a C for Cassidy and a G for Garnet. Garnet took a deep breath and smiled before taking the rock up into her mind-hold and waited for Cassidy to give the starting signal. As much as she hated to admit it, she was having fun. She closed her eyes as the heart around her neck glowed.

“Up!”
The chase began instantly and Garnet fared a bit better this time. She was able to dodge her aunt’s boulder even at the left and right directions. But, when Cassidy added patterns such as up-down-right-up, or any other combination, Garnet spent too much time thinking and only got the first two before her stone was knocked to the ground. She laughed.
“There’s only so many times I can handle this humiliation, Cassidy,” the girl said. “Can I go now?”
Cassidy put on a look of fake shock, her hand flying up to her chest as she gasped.
“Ouch, it really hurts that you’d rather be somewhere else than with me,” she breathed, the mock hurt shining clearly in her voice, so Garnet knew she was kidding. “Fine, fine, go,” the woman pushed her niece towards the house with a smile. Garnet raced toward the house, pulling her hair out of its messy braid and straightening it with her hands.
“Thanks!” Garnet called. It took only seconds for her to grab her coat, her shoes, a hat, the keys to Cassidy’s car, and rush out the door. Recently, the orphanage had become one of her favorite places to go after training sessions. It was where she could get away from the stress using her powers put on her and it was a good way to relax. She would borrow Cassidy’s car (unless her aunt said that she needed it that particular day then, in that case, she walked) and drive there. When she arrived there she’d be greeted by Mrs. Wren, who was always happy to have her there, or by some of the children that would recognize her from her recent visits.
But, no matter how many times she visited the orphanage, no matter how many times she read her mother’s diary, or talked to Cassidy, she still felt like something was empty. Something was missing. Multiple things. There was something very important, something that weighed heavy on her heart but couldn’t find out. Perhaps she was just feeling heightened anxiety. She hadn’t been chased at all by the men in black ever since she’d been staying with Cassidy, but even staying with her aunt had been getting a little upsetting as of late. During her training Cassidy would chastise Garnet’s slowness, saying things such as, ‘You’ve got to be quicker than that, you don’t want to be killed do you?’ and ‘You need to learn to not rely on your hands so much, another telekinetic would be able to predict your moves immediately. You could be dead in an instant.’ The fact that Cassidy even alluded to her being in any danger at all…it scared her.
She wanted to get away from that anxiety. So she hoped that today she wouldn’t discover anything about her past or her mother’s at the orphanage. She wanted to relax today.
When Garnet walked into the door of the building, something tackled her legs.
“Garnet!”
The seventeen-year-old looked down at the small, seven-year-old child attached to her legs. Her name was Shelby Wren and she was Mrs. Wren’s only child. She preferred to hang around at the orphanage and she was quite a rambunctious child. She’d grown quite attached to Garnet and was the only child who called the girl by her real name; she called her that as a nickname because of the deep red color of her hair, eyes, and necklace.
“Make your necklace glow again!” she exclaimed, referring to the many times Garnet had used her powers around her. She reached up and touched the heart around Garnet’s neck.
“Please?”
Garnet shook her head and gave Shelby a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, sweetie. Not today.”
“Oh,” Shelby said, frowning as her brown eyes became large and sad. Garnet immediately felt guilty and put a hand on the little girl’s shoulder.
“But I do I have better idea,” she smiled. Shelby looked up, light dancing in her eyes. Something better? Her mouth broke into a smile with dazzling white teeth.
“What? What is it?” she asked, excited. Garnet leaned to down so she was at eye-level with the smaller child.
“How about we play hide-and-seek again?”
Shelby’s grin grew wider and Garnet was touched by a wave of affection for the girl again. Shelby was fond of hide-and-seek, but since none of the other children at the orphanage would want to play it with her, Garnet had offered to play first. The game normally consisted of Garnet hiding, with Shelby as the seeker. Shelby normally won because Garnet would let the girl know where she was by illuminating her necklace, feeling sorry when the girl never figured out her hiding place.
The two began to walk out into main lobby of the orphanage before Garnet was stopped by Mrs. Wren. Garnet told Shelby to go wait for her and the girl ran off, eager to wait for her older friend.
“I was just about to play hide-and-seek with your daughter,” the seventeen-year-old said, smiling at the woman. Mrs. Wren smiled back.
“I can’t thank you enough for entertaining Shelby while I work, Gabrielle—”
“Mommy, call her Garnet! It fits her better!” Shelby interrupted from the lobby. Mrs. Wren rolled her eyes.
“You can call me whatever you wish,” Garnet said. Just as she turned to go into the lobby, the older woman put a hand on her shoulder.
“Wait, Gabrielle…” That name still caused a shudder through the girl’s body, even though she should have been used to hearing it by now. Mrs. Wren thrust a thin envelope into the girl’s hands. Garnet looked at it strangely, seeing that it was addressed to her.
“It was…It  was the letter than your mother left with you when she first left you here. It was supposed to stay with you, but I don’t think your adoptive parents wanted you to have it at that moment. I want you to have it now.”
Garnet put the letter into the pocket of her jacket. “Thanks,” she mumbled, half-heartedly and quietly.
“Garnet…?” Shelby called. Garnet smiled; she would read the letter later.
“She can be very impatient. You better go.”
Garnet turned into the lobby where she was met by Shelby’s wide smile.
“Are we playing now?” She asked. Garnet nodded.
“Who’s going to hide today?” She grinned.


They played for about an hour, before Garnet decided that she needed to read the letter that Mrs. Wren had given her. She went up the stairs to her old room and sat in the window seat, just like she always did when she read her mother’s diary. It was a comforting feeling to be in a room she was familiar with. It provided the same warmth Cassidy’s house did, even though Garnet did not remember ever visiting Cassidy’s house. But the rooms there felt so familiar…
Garnet took the letter out of her pocket and opened it.
  
Dear Gabrielle:
Yes, this is your name from now on. Gabrielle. If there was any other alternative than this, trust me, I would have taken it. It's not fair to do any of this, to erase your memories, all of them, the ones of me, your father, your sister Amethyst, your home; I got the unfair power. If I had any of the others, telekinesis, time control, shape-shifting, anything, perhaps this wouldn't have happened. But we can't change these things. We can't change our powers, our lives. It's too late for that. Perhaps I should have just killed myself. Then I wouldn't have married your father, I wouldn't have had you or Amethyst or Aquamarine, I wouldn't have thrust you into this world that you just aren't ready for yet. And maybe you never will be. People like us will never be ready for the challenges forced upon us, the choices to make, the people to trust, we'll just never be ready.
But that's not what needs to be said. This is important, Gabrielle, so read carefully. If you ever go searching for your lost memories, I want you to be very careful. If you see any men in black, run. If they catch you, you’ll find out exactly why I had to erase your memories. You’ll find out who they work for and what their Organization plans to do.
They’re members of a group called Les Destructeurs. They want our powers. But we can’t let them do that, do you understand? If they were to get their hands on them, no one knows what would happen—

Les Destructeurs? Garnet’s thoughts interrupted her own reading. Marie had mentioned that name a few times in her diary with a sense of both fear and loathing that caught Garnet’s interest. Garnet reached for the book, but her hand merely touched the flat space of the window seat. She frowned. How could she forget it?
“Are you missing your book?” a voice asked. Garnet looked up to see Shelby. She smiled and patted the empty space on the seat, telling the girl to come over and sit down.
“I think I left it at home. I need it to check something,” she said. She made a move to stand up and felt Shelby’s small hand on her wrist.
“I could go get it for you…” she smiled, light dancing in her eyes, excited that she could help her older friend; she never even got to help her mother out much. Garnet frowned.
“But it’s cold.”
“I want to help you, though!” The little girl protested.
“You don’t even know where I live,” Garnet said adamantly. Shelby’s eyes went wide and she pouted. Garnet gave in then.
“Fine. I’ll write down the address and then you can ask your mom if you can go.”
“Yes!”
Garnet smiled and wrote the address on Shelby’s hand with a pen and told her where to find the diary.
“It’s upstairs in the second bedroom, under my pillow. Come back safely, alright?”
“Okay!” She gave the older girl a hug and raced out the door and down the stairs. Garnet grinned and followed after her. When Shelby raced by her mother, the woman stopped her by grabbing the girl’s coat.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mrs. Wren asked in a voice that Garnet remembered Sayo would use on her a million times. It was stern and forceful.
“I was…um…”
Garnet decided that now would be a good time to save her young friend. “She’s going on an errand for me. Do you mind?”
The woman looked apprehensive for a bit, chewing her lower lip in thought. She breathed out a sigh and looked down at her daughter.
“Very well then.”
Shelby beamed at her mother. “Thank you!” And she kissed her mother on the cheek.  Mrs. Wren bit her thumbnail in worry. “I hope she’ll be okay.”
“She will,” Garnet reassured the woman by placing her hand on her shoulder. “Besides, she really wanted to do this.”
~*~

Shelby reached the house at the address written on her hand. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Garnet had told her that her aunt would be home to let her in. A woman Shelby assumed was Garnet’s aunt appeared in the doorway. Shelby noticed how peculiarly the woman was dressed. She’d never seen a dress with chains before. It was interesting.
“Hello,” the woman said, looking a bit confused. Shelby smiled and held out her hand.
“Hi! I’m a friend of Garnet’s. I came by to get a book for her.”
Cassidy smiled. “Oh really? And what’s your name, dear?”
“Shelby!” the little girl answered, with light dancing in her eyes. Cassidy stepped back, allowing the girl to come in.
“Come in, Shelby. Tell me, what book did you say my niece wanted?” The woman asked as she walked down the hall. Shelby followed, trotting after her. The house was so big that the girl almost forgot what she’d come here for. She quickly remembered.
“Um…it was a book. I’ve seen her with it before. It’s…kind of small,” she made gestures with her hand to help her remember. “I remember it had a lock on it. Sort of like a diary.”
Cassidy tensed, but the younger girl didn’t notice. “A diary?” She asked. She turned around and gave Shelby a sweet smile; a vicious sweet that the child took as sincere.
“Oh yes, I know what you’re talking about. Did she tell you where it was?”
Shelby nodded, grinning. “She said it was upstairs in her bedroom. Under her pillow!” She was proud to have remembered.
“Alright, I’ll go get it for you. You’re such a nice young girl. It was sweet of you to give Garnet one less thing to worry about.”
Shelby beamed.
“It’s almost a shame that now she’s going to have to worry about how you died.”
Shelby only had time to look up before something cold was placed to her head.
~*~

“Gabrielle!”
Garnet lifted her head up from the other side of the room. She’d begun pacing around ten minutes into Shelby’s absence and it seemed that she never got around to stopping. She sighed before turning to the woman at the desk.
“I’m sorry. I can’t shake this feeling. I feel worried and I don’t know why,” she replied.
“If it’s about Shelby, don’t worry. She always comes back after being gone for a while…” Mrs. Wren reassured the girl. “Just relax, she’ll be fine.”
Garnet couldn’t listen to the woman’s words. She traced the pocket that held the letter with her trembling index finger. Then she remembered. She hadn’t finished reading the letter! She took it out and unfolded it, reading the last lines she hadn’t gotten to earlier.
The whole Organization is overseen by three women. If you ever meet them, don’t trust them. At all. Their names? Lynda, Kairea, and Cassidy. My sisters.

Her eyes widened and she dropped the letter. Mrs. Wren saw the startled look on the teenager’s face and frowned.
“What’s the matter? If it’s Shelby, I told you—Hey! Gabrielle, where are you going?”
Garnet didn’t answer. Instead, she flew through the main room to the entrance and out the front door. She even ignored her car, though driving would be considerably faster than running. But she didn’t care. She just wanted to get back home. She needed to get back home.
Garnet could feel tears pricking her eyes, but it was not the result of cold wind stinging her face. It was because of guilt. How could she send Shelby back to that woman? She pushed herself harder. If Cassidy had just kidnapped the girl, Garnet could still help, she could still save Shelby. But if it was something worse…
Something alerted Garnet to what that something worse was when she saw blood, small drops of it, on the doorstep. Garnet wrenched the door open, calling both her aunt and her younger friend.
“Cassidy!” She called with more of a hiss, with more venom, than worry. She continued to walk down the hallway.
“Shelby…?” she asked, her tone switched to one full of concern. A few more steps and then she stopped and covered her mouth, fighting back her churning stomach. Ultimately, she lost the battle and turned around to empty her stomach of what little had been twisting around to make her nauseous. The smell of blood was unbearable!
“No, no, no, no, no…” she repeated herself over and over in a hoarse whisper as she walked to the…body. To think of it as just a body instead of a person, was too painful.
She kneeled down, propping the girl up with her knee, stroking Shelby’s hair, but she stopped immediately when she felt the blood that matted the little girl’s hair. Garnet gritted her teeth. How? How could anyone do this to such a young child?
She stood up, let the girl’s head fall softly from her knee to the ground, ignoring the blood on her jeans, and continued, in a rage, to walk briskly down the hall.
“CASSIDY!” She cried. She flicked her fingers outward and pictures began to fly off the wall and smashed into the other side; the bright light of her necklace was the only thing lighting the hallway. “WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!”
In the kitchen, Garnet wrenched open the back door and raced out. And then she saw her aunt, dressed in a form-fitting black dress and chains. Her eyes seemed unusually sinister, as did her smile. Everything was darker about her, but it was this darkness that Garnet recognized instantly. The image she’d seen when she first met Cassidy on the train flashed into her mind again. This was exactly the same woman who…
“Surprise,” She said in a voice that made Garnet sick to her stomach again. The girl bit her lip in an attempt to keep from crying.
“You’re the woman, aren’t you? The woman who tried to kidnap me on my fifth birthday…”