ARC: Essence Read Online Free PDF Page B

started having near-death experiences – like the time someone shoved him toward the tracks just as a train pulled into the station.”
    He cleared his throat. “When it became clear Cedar was out to get him, my old man took the only option he had left. He appealed to my mother to skip town with him. When she refused, he took me and left without her.”
    “They headed down south first,” Cody said. “Just outside LA, where Ryder’s father decided to prove the Essence theory wrong once and for all. Spent the next few years investing his money, and studying as a medical doctor, and then he packed up Ryder and moved north to the Sierras. That’s where he’s been ever since.”
    My heart stuttered. Outsiders often claimed they’d disproved the Essence theory, but Cedar always countered by saying everyone is born with a different supply of Essence. No Outsider I’d ever heard of had taken the time to formulate a fully scientific approach.
    “He’s actually disproved the theories?”
    Ryder sprang from his seat. “Red, we’ve been doing some incredible stuff out there. Groundbreaking stuff. Experiments that undoubtedly, unequivocally prove the Essence theory is bullshit – nothing but a Centrist scare tactic designed to control us.”
    Amneet frowned. “What kind of experiments? What are you doing out there?”
    “I can’t tell you, but I can show you. That’s why we asked you guys here tonight.”
    “Our community is always on the look-out for intelligent, capable freethinkers,” Cody said. “People who want to help us spread the truth.”
    “That’s how they hooked us, anyway,” Jett added, planting a kiss on Cody’s cheek. “Two years ago, and we haven’t looked back since. Have we, hon?”
    Javi looked stunned. “You guys are allowed to… date? Isn’t that–?”
    “We’re allowed to do anything we want,” Ryder said. “Do those two look like they’re worried about their Essences?”
    “So, let me get this straight,” Amneet said. “You expect us to believe your father saw Cedar engaging in sexual affairs with his meditation masters. You want us to leave our homes and join you – you’re even telling us we can date if we go – but you won’t tell us where you live or what kind of Essence experiments you’re doing out there?”
    “I’ve already told you where we live,” Ryder corrected. “The Sierra Nevadas. It’s a mountain range. But it wouldn’t make sense for us to go around broadcasting our exact location to every stranger we pass on the street, now would it? Same goes for our experiments.”
    He leaned toward her, and I thought I detected his smirk when she squirmed and looked away. “Because we’re not just out there plotting and planning,” he said. “We’re also helping people. Protecting them. Rehabilitating Centrists like you guys and helping you realize there’s nothing wrong with allowing yourselves to feel things every once in a while.”
    He sauntered back to the center of the room. “And here’s the thing. If you don’t believe what we’re saying – if you don’t feel like it’s a good fit for you – that’s fine, too. We’re not here to beg you. It’s your life, and you gotta live it the way you feel is right. But…”
    He motioned to our surroundings – to the crumbling, plaster walls and dusty, forgotten corners. “Don’t forget, Amneet, that this place used to be a park. A real, live city park, where kids played and people laughed and no one was afraid they’d just drop dead at any moment.”
    He made eye contact with me. “Don’t you ever wish you could just laugh, Red? And Javi, haven’t you always wondered if there’s something more out there?”
    He flashed us a smile, and his face became serene. Knowing. Magnetic, and so filled with energy that I felt mesmerized by it.
    “Well,” he said. “We’re here to tell you guys there is something more. And if you come with us, we’ll prove it.”

 
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
    I felt myself