Jacka: Chapter 31

Bruno has got his watch working and he has signalled the base for a ride. We are waiting for the plane home. Every one has had way to much time on the Cotidie Versipellis.
"Amy, what did I do?" asks the real Ledge. "I want to know."
"You didn't do anything, honey." replies Army "Bob made you do … things."
"Like what?"
All thirteen kids are on the beach. We are all just talking and trying to put together this weird story of Bob and Ledge. Well, more like Bob in Ledge.
"Well," says Hannah "what do you remember."
"Nothing." He says.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"Ah, going to bed after dinner. We had chicken soup because Meritxell is sick."
"No I'm not." She says. "I haven't been sick since I was eleven."
"Well how old are you now?"
"Ledge, I'm thirteen."                                                
"I can't tell if you are lying or not until I get this damn watch off." says Hannah, almost ripping off her watch.
Ledge and Chargar are really good with electronics and they are trying to figure out what Bob did to the watches. After a while, Ledge figures it out.
"How did you dot that, Ledge?" asks Chargar.
"I just pressed the bottom on the left once, and then the button on the right twice."
"Thanks."
"Your welcome, ah … you?"
"Ledge, what do you mean by you?" I ask, taking off my watch.
"I don't know him," says Ledge looking at me. "or you."
"I'm Jacka, Jackson Smith." I say. "The one form New Zealand."
"And I am Chargar; Alexander Ronald from England"
"I don't know you two." says Ledge.
Hannah takes her time to take off her watch. Her closes her eyes (as she always has done) and gives out a gasp.  Hannah looks up. "He … is telling the truth."
"What?" I begin. "You really don't remember us?"
"I don't remember you two." He replies. "I don't even know you? How could I remember if I've never seen?"
He makes a point there. Chargar and I are the last ones who came to the base. Even thought Chargar is number 10, and Army is 11, it wasn't discovered that Army was part of the programme until after Chargar came. What more has Ledge missed?
There was an awkward silence, so I tried to break it.
"Dream, Bruno." I say towards the two. "When the tree fell, why did it stop and you know, not fall down?"
"Because I can fly," says Bruno. "I was trying to fly up."
"So was I." says Dream, looking down.
"Good thinking." I say.
Here comes the slience again.
"Why will no one tell me where Stranya and Harde are?" says Jacob.
"You'll know soon …" says Bruno.
Another awkward silence until Ledge shouts:
"What the hell is in my eye?"
"Let me see." leans in Army. She picks out something that looks clear. "Yo, Adra."
"What is it?"
"Just come here," says Army. She opens Adra eyelid up fully, but Adra hisses at her. "Come on, I know what this is." Adra allows Army to put the thing in her eye. Adra blinks a few times, but when she opened her eyes, what we saw was so weird. One eye was her normal hazel, but the other was grey?
"Dad must have used contact lenses to show Ledge's grey eyes, nod his blue ones." says Hannah. "Oh my God, my parents have done soon much harm to everyone! My mum and Jacka, and now my dad and Ledge. I'm so sorry."
"Sorry for what?" says Army. "You didn't do anything."
"Nice, Amy." says Ledge.
"Why do you keep calling me Amy?"
"Well that's you nickname, Juliet. Hannah gave it to you."
"Yeah, but I put an 'R' in it, and now I'm Army. I also have a power."
"What?"
"I control earth."
Ledge looks down and around. "What more have I missed out or lost in my life?"

So after talking some more, we found out happened to Ledge:
18 months ago, before Chargar and I came to the base, Bob picked Ledge and his power. Bob had died in the base so there is a chance that he hunted it. This way he could watch Ledge and see just how he acts. His goal was probably to take down the base from the inside, using Ledge's power – Forward Thinking. But, kids are not allowed basically anywhere alone in the base and can only be in a few rooms. When we got issued the mission to the Cotidie Versipellis, Bob found his chance. He must have made up the story of the King talking to Ledge in the dungeon about how he should be strong and shit like that. Yet what Bob failed to do is to do more than look at his life, but to look at his past and history.
We decided not to tell Ledge what happened in the last 24 hours. It's already a shock being possessed for almost two years, but he has killed two people and we don't thimk that he can handle it. But what about Jacob and Dream? They just lost their best friends. And I don't thing that they will handle it very well …