Indigo focused on the stick and aimed it at the swirling body of the helicopter. The lights on the copter's belly made it easy to spot. She waited until she had a clear shot and used every last ounce of energy in her body to hurl the stick. She could feel the stick snap from her telekinetic fist. The helicopter continued to churn the air overhead, its rotors cutting the night sky.
"I missed!" Indigo couldn't believe it. "What now?"
"I smell gas!" Holly shouted.
"What?"
"Gas! Do you smell it?"
"No," said Indigo, but after a second the chemically sweet smell of high octane fuel hit her nose. "Yes!"
"You hit the tank! It's got a leak!" Holly shouted.
"Well, a leak hasn't brought the helicopter down! Will it?"
As if it was answering her question, the helicopter's engines gave a wheeze and the helicopter moved away from the yard, lowering in altitude as it went.
"Now what?"
"A spark!" cried John from the cab of the APC. "Spark the grass! Get it to ignite! Fire is good for confusion and fear!"
"I can do that!" Indigo cried. She quickly picked up two small rocks, flat, black rocks from the garden, and sped them at the cast-off barrel of a rifle that Sarah had broken. The two stones hit the barrel with incredible force and two sparks leapt from the metal. The vapor of the gas ignited and there was an immediate cloudburst of flame throughout the yard. Soldiers were screaming and beating out small fires that seemed to cling to them in places where the helicopter fuel had doused them.
"Did I do that? Was that me?" Indigo felt weak. There was more fuel on the ground than she had thought. A wave of pain suddenly wheeled through the center of her head and stole her breath away. Indigo clapped her hands to her ears to steady herself. Overhead, the helicopter, losing fuel rapidly, began to move away to a safe spot to set down.
"Let's get Sarah," Andy said, his voice a low, rumbling avalanche.
"No time," John shouted back. "The fire's too thick and we've got to roll. The road is just ahead of us. We have to get Posey into a hyper-womb and we've only got a limited window to do it. Sarah will have to hold her own until we can come back. We will get her, though."
"Screw that, you go. I'm not leaving Sarah!" Andy cried.
"She would tell us to go," Dr. Sebbins said. "She wouldn't want us throwing effort after foolishness."
"No!" Andy yelled back. He started to get up from the ground, but Sebbins was quick. She pulled a hyper-needle loaded with sedative from her pocket and hit Andy in the neck. His eyes rolled back in his head and he flopped back onto the deck of the APC.
"That'll only last for a little while. His body is going to metabolize it very, very quickly."
"A little time is all we need, Doc," John called back. He wheeled the APC on the road and punched the gas to the floor. Indigo lost her balance and had to grab the canvas drape on the back of the truck to keep from falling out.
Indigo looked out the back of the truck at the yard of the Home. The yard was in flames, bathing the Victorian façade of the Home with eerie, dancing orange lights. There was something hellish about it, like a scene out of Dante's imagination. Soldiers were screaming, an ambulance was rolling down the road from the town to the east, and short, angry bursts of gunfire were still being blasted in the direction of the APC. Somewhere in the midst of all that, Sarah was being held by soldiers. Sarah, who had so valiantly defended them and helped them to escape. It didn't seem fair.
"How will she find us?" Indigo asked.
Dr. Sebbins looked up from Andy's side. "We'll find her after we've escaped. We can't help her if we all get captured."
"Am I supposed to believe you?"
"What do you mean by that, Indigo?" Dr. Sebbins pushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind an ear. There was an edge to her voice. Indigo had never heard her speak like that.
"I mean, you're a doctor, Doctor. You're one of them, one of the people who have been putting us through experiments for the last ten years. How do I know you're leading us to safety? I have half a mind to just chuck you out the back of the truck right now. You might be bringing the soldiers to us."
"You do realize that I was being shot at just as much as you were."
"You realize that none of us were hit? How do I know the soldiers weren't aiming low?"
"Indigo, I had no idea that they were moving in on the Home."
"If my power was lie detecting instead of telekinesis, I bet you'd be in trouble right now."
"Indigo!" Sebbins' voice was tinged with anger and she was pursing her lips.
"Seriously, Doc! How am I supposed to believe you? Just last week you pushed a needle into my brain and told me it wasn't going to hurt. It was excruciating! And now you expect me to think you're trying to save us? You're just as bad as the soldiers."
Dr. Sebbins' face flared red. For a moment, Indigo thought she was going to stand up and punch her. But, Sebbins did the opposite. She sat back against the far wall of the APC and looked down at her own feet, utterly dejected. "That's fair."
"Fair?"
"You're right. You have no reason to trust me. For two years now, I've been breaking my Hippocratic Oath in the name of science. I justified it by thinking that I was a balance to Dr. Cormair. I thought I was there to protect you from him, but in reality, I was every bit as bad as he was, wasn't I? No, I was worse. I was worse because I thought I was treating you well. You have no reason to trust me, Indigo. You're right. However, I have to ask you trust me. I know where there's a safe house. That safe house has a hyper-womb. That tank is Posey's only chance to get through her transformation alive. Her body will not be able to handle the physical stress of the change. So, I have to ask you trust me."
Indigo glared at her. "Will you answer questions when we get there? Will you come straight?"
"Come straight?"
"I don't want to hear more lies, Doc. We've been lied to all our lives. I want to know about what you did to all of us and what our purpose was supposed to be. I want it straight and factual. I don't want half-truths and vague answers. We're all going to be legal adults soon. Some of us probably are already, but we had our birthdays taken away from us. We deserve to know the truth.
Dr. Sebbins rubbed her face with her hands. She looked ten years older. "Fair enough. I'll tell you everything I know, but you have to believe me when I tell you that what I know isn't much. I've read the dossiers on your powers. I know what you're supposed to be capable of doing. I know precious little else, though. Dr. Cormair kept me on a need-to-know basis."
Indigo sat down across from Dr. Sebbins and pulled her knees to her chin. "And you're going to help us, right?"
"You've got to trust me."
Indigo inhaled slowly. "All right. But, if I think you're screwing us over for a second, I'm going to use my telekinesis to push a Q-tip through your heart."
Dr. Sebbins nodded. "If that's how you feel."
"It is," Indigo said. And what scared her was that it was precisely how she felt.
Holly sat in nervous silence next to John. She gripped the handle on the door tightly to keep from bouncing around. Military vehicles are not known for their comfort. The bat that lead them through the tunnel, a plain little brown bat, had been mentally conscripted into service to lead them away from the Home. Holly gave directions to John as the bat flew rapid circles high above the truck and projected images and information into Holly's mind. At the same time, Holly had discovered a barn owl in the trees near the Home; most of the other animals had fled when the shooting began, but the barn owl was curious and watched the flames with great interest. Holly slipped into its brain, she could "feel" the heat radiating to the woods, collecting in its facial feathers. Holly gave the barn owl a little nudge and got it to fly above the Home, perching on one of the gables. Its eyesight was fantastic. It was able to give Holly mental pictures of Sarah. Holly could see Sarah seated in the back of a truck with a thick, green cable around her ankles, and her hands were bound beh
ind her back with handcuffs. Sarah's face was contorted, not in pain, but for another reason. Holly used the eyes of the owl to zoom in on the scene. A soldier was seated in the back of the truck with Sarah. He was turned toward her, his hand roughly groping her breasts. In his other hand, he held a gun. Holly's stomach pitched. "John, we've got to go back!"
"We can't, Holly," said John. "Sometimes, in battle, no matter how much it hurts, you have to leave your soldiers. The unit is more important than the individual."
"She's being assaulted!"
"Sarah's tough. She can handle it. I'm sure she's just waiting for the right moment to break free."
"Sexually assaulted! Some perv is touching her!"
John's face changed. His cheeks became hollows as he clenched his teeth. "Rape?"
"No, but she's not happy. We've got to go back."
John checked the side mirror and saw the headlights bouncing behind the truck. Holly watched his eyes dart to the roadsides. She could see him thinking, debating. She could see him putting ideas together. It was a good thing he was trained to be a super soldier, because the only thoughts in Holly's mind was getting the barn owl to swoop into the back of the truck, talons bared, and claw the pig's eyes out of his skull.
John called into the back of the truck. "Doc? How soon until Andy's on his feet?"
"He's starting to come around now. I can give him enough serum to get him mobile," Sebbins called back.
"Do it!" John said. "How close are our pursuers? Can your bat see if they've got weapons?"
Holly quickly tapped into the bat's psyche and it sent her mental pictures of a pair of Humvees, on fast assault. Twin, turret-mounted fifty-caliber machine guns were on the back, a soldier manning each one. The bat's eyesight was very good. "Step on the gas, they're almost on us. If we stop, they'll catch up fast. There are only two trucks, though. I think the squirrels incapacitated the rest of the vehicles."
"Gotta love those squirrels. Doc! We need Andy up on his overly-large feet!"
"I'm almost there, Spaghetti-head," Andy thundered.
"Andy, there's trees alongside the road. Think you can you pull one of them down?"
"I think so. We'll find out pretty quick, eh?"
"If you can't, we're going to be screwed."
"Then I guess I better not mess up."
"Batter up, big boy. Swing for the fences." John stepped heavy on the brake and the truck slid sideways in the road.
Andy rolled out of the back of the truck and landed on his feet. Holly watched as he wrapped his bulky arms around the trunk of a medium-sized Maple and began to strain. The tree began to waiver. Andy braced his legs and strained again. There was a violent ripping sound and the tree was suddenly out of the ground. Andy let it fall and it crashed into the ground along the side of the road. He wiped his forehead. His shoulders sagged. "No sweat. John! Drive away. I'm going to need the room."
"I'll help him!" Holly threw open her door and jumped to the ground.
John pulled the truck forward spraying rocks; the tires caught the truck sped away leaving Andy behind. The Humvees approached quickly. The soldiers fired a couple of bursts after the APC. Andy grabbed the tree at the roots, took a step, swiveled his hips and swung the tree like a baseball bat, throwing it at the truck. The tree made a single rotation in the air and crushed into the first Humvee. The driver was launched through the windshield. The soldier in the turret was thrown into the ditch on the side of the road. The second hummer swerved and skidded away from the wreckage. The driver took it into the ditch, drove around the tree, and headed back to the road.
"Get out of here, Holly. I have a feeling this is going to get ugly."
"What are you going to do?"
"Whatever it takes. Get going." Andy tucked his fists into balls, lowered his head, and began to run at the Humvee. Andy lowered his shoulder and braced for the impact. The Humvee rammed him, the driver unable to swerve.
Holly squeezed her eyes shut but it didn't help. The noise was horrible, even worse than when the tree hit the first Humvee. Holly's sensitive ears picked up each and every noise involved: The slap and splash of human flesh against metal, the grunts of the driver and the soldier in the turret, the rending and twisting of the chassis and the body of the Humvee, and Andy's low, rumbling growl. Every noise seemed to echo and re-echo in Holly's head. It was more noise than she ever wanted to hear, even worse than gunfire. When it was over, she heard one heartbeat. Not three.
She hesitated, and then dared a look. One of the soldiers was laying ten feet in front of her. He was definitely dead. His head was an odd shape, probably fractured his skull on impact with the ground. He had been wearing a black beret, not that a helmet would have helped a lot. Andy was in the middle of the road, only a foot or two from where he had rammed the truck. He lay still, his surgical gown clothing ripped and torn, but Holly could hear the slow, steady thudding of his heart.
"Andy? Andy, please tell me you're okay."
Andy blinked his eyes. He let out a low, wavering groan. "Oh, that was not smart."
"Are you okay? Is anything broken?"
"I don't think so."
"Don't move. Stay still. I'll get help."
"Forget it," said Andy. He rolled to his side, pushing himself to his feet. He arched his back and joints popped. "John will start heading back toward us. Go meet him and get out of here."
"What about you?"
"I'm not going anywhere without Sarah. I will get her out of here even if I have to take on the whole U.S. Army."
"It's a suicide mission," Holly said. "Come back with the rest of us. We come back as a unified team. Once Posey and Kenny are healthy, we'll come right back. We'll use our powers and shove their plans right down their throats! Without you, we're not full strength. Literally."
"Without Sarah we're not full strength. You all are welcome to join me, but I'm not going anywhere without her."
"You're not well! You need to heal."
"Healed enough. Sarah is in danger."
"Andy," Holly tried to reason with him. "You're going to get caught. You may be strong, but they've got a lot of soldiers and weapons!"
"My choice. If I get caught, at least she won't be alone."
Holly tried one last tack, "You're not even wearing clothes!" Andy looked down at the torn and bloody surgical gown around his waist. He scratched his wide, hairy belly and shrugged.
"I won't care if they don't." He gave Holly a mischievous smile and started lumbering back toward the Home, the ratty, dressing gown loincloth flapping around his thighs. He swayed like a loping elephant, each of his thick legs landing heavily in the ground. Maybe it was real, maybe it was just Holly's imagination, but it felt like the ground trembled each time his feet landed. Andy quickly disappeared over a small rise. Beyond the hill lay the way back to the Home. In the sky, smoke was rising thickly from the fire and the flames were coloring the gray, early morning sky a hazy, burnt orange.
Holly felt anchored to her spot. She felt helpless and sick. The brown bat projected a mental image into her brain. The APC was returning. Then, something happened she didn't expect: Her mental link with the bat suddenly filled with emotions of concern and wonder. She looked up and saw the bat darting above her head. It was fluttering and looking down at her. Through its eyes, she could see herself. She could see the look on her face, melancholy changing to confused. The bat flooded her with feelings of concern again. Holly quickly realized that the bat was no longer under her direct control. Her mental command link with the bat had been severed when she was thinking about Andy and Sarah, but somehow the bat had reestablished the link with her. It was projecting its own emotions into her. The bat could read her emotional output. It was worried about her!
The APC rolled to a halt and Holly got back into the cab. "Andy's gone after Sarah."
John seethed for a second, and then punched the dashboard and dented the metal covering.
Dr. Sebbins stuck her head through the window between the cab and the bed
. "We've got to get to the safe house. I've only got enough sedative to keep Posey under for about three, maybe four hours. After that, she's going to emerge into a world of pain that I do not think her body will be able to survive. If she doesn't get into the hyper-womb, she will die."
"We don't have a choice, do we?" John asked Holly.
She shook her head. "Andy and Sarah can fend for themselves."
"They're going to have to," said John. "How far to the safe house, Doc?"
"About a hundred miles, maybe a few more. We're going to have to get a map at some point, otherwise we'll be lost."
John looked at the road toward the Home. Holly could see him trying to piece together some sort of plan. She could also see the frustration in his eyes that told her he wasn't coming up with anything.
"They'll be okay," Holly said again. John nodded slowly and put the truck back into gear. He did a U-turn and rolled away from the Home, away from Sarah and Andy.
Indigo stuck her head into the cab. "We've got Posey. We escaped the Home. None of us are ever going back into that building. None of us are dead. It's a victory, right?"
"Yeah," John said. "A victory. For now."
Holly didn't say anything. She tried to think of what sort of image to project to the bat that was still following the truck; she wanted to reassure it, to tell it that everything was going to be okay. Her time spent in the minds of animals had already taught her one thing about the "lesser creatures," however: Animals relied on raw emotion and instinct, lies were constructs of humans. The bat kept projecting ideas of assistance and help, but Holly could only send it unsure images of an unsure future.
The sun broke on the horizon and the sky was becoming filled with rosy pink and bright orange. In the side mirror, Holly could see a thin column of smoke rising into the dawning blue.
"Red sky in morning..." John muttered.
Holly wrapped her fleece jacket tightly around her and tried to get a grip on the worry she felt in her stomach. She finished the statement in a whisper. "Sailors take warning."
-- End of Book I --
The Seven Page 11
