"Oh shit!" The guys exclaimed in unison. Two elbows jabbed me at the same time.
"Hey, watch it!"
Drake's face fell. "Look at the television, Sam. We've got to get out of here."
I looked, and immediately wished I hadn't. My face stared back at me from a picture taken at Rent-A-Kid earlier that year. A perky newscaster smiled as she read from the teleprompter. "Sam is a troubled runaway who escaped from an institution early last week, and is mentally unstable, delusional, and considered dangerous. She is in need of medication and treatment immediately. If you see her, please call this hotline at 1-800-555-1211. There is a $10,000 reward for any leads that result in her apprehension."
Drake grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the building. The Southern California heat hit me hard after being in the air-conditioned office. My stomach lurched, and I spun towards the manicured lawns to empty it. God, I hate throwing up.
Brad cleared this throat. "We've got to go. Can you walk? We need to get to the car before anyone sees you."
***
I paid little attention to the rest of the world as we drove. My mind went numb. Too much had already happened that day; I just couldn't think about another thing. I needed a bath, a toothbrush and a nap.
Which is why I didn't sense the intruder when we pulled into the carport at Brad's apartment.
Or when we walked upstairs to his unit.
The broken-in door got my attention though.
***
Drake immediately stepped in front of me, shielding me from the apartment with his body. He spoke to Brad through clenched teeth, "Get her out of here!"
'Go back to the car with Brad. Get as far away as you can. I'll contact you when it's safe.'
I grabbed his arm and shook off Brad, who was trying to lead me back down the stairs. "Come with us. I don't want you going in there alone, Drake. Please!"
'I'll be fine, but I can't focus if I'm worried about you and our baby.'
Glass shattered in the apartment. I jumped and nearly fell off the stair. My heart beat through my chest, and I wrapped my free hand protectively around my stomach.
Drake needed me, even if he didn't see it. If we combined our powers, we could control whoever was in the apartment without anyone getting hurt. He didn't have to do it alone.
No! I didn't want to default to using mind control. The ethics may have gotten murky after my fight with Drake, and I wasn't ready to swear it off entirely, but using that power made me feel sick—especially after what had happened at the beach with Kylie.
Instead, I linked to the mind of the person in the apartment.
It was like hitting a brick wall. The impact physically rocked me, causing my foot to slip on the stair behind me.
Brad caught me around the waist. "Careful there."
"Thanks." The handrail became my lifeline as I steadied myself and tried to figure out why my powers weren't working.
Brad stood behind me, his hand still on the small of my back in case I decided to forget how to stand again. His thoughts washed over me. 'Wish I had powers... useless here... can't even help with the story... least she didn't fall....'
My powers weren't the problem; it was the person in the house. Were they immune to me? That had never happened before.
"Drake, I can't read his mind. It's like trying to walk through a wall."
'I can't use my mind control on him either."
My stomach dropped. "You tried mind control?"
'Of course! I wasn't going to risk anyone's safety if I didn't have to.'
His argument made sense, but still....
"What are we going to do now?"
'We aren't going to do anything. I'm going to go in there and beat the shit out of this guy while Brad takes you somewhere safe.'
"I'm not loving this plan."
'Can you think of a better one?'
I couldn't and he knew it, so I reluctantly followed Brad down the stairs and watched the apartment swallow Drake.
My resolve to do the smart thing lasted all of sixty seconds. As soon as I heard screams and crashing sounds, I lost it and ran back to the stairs.
Brad chased me. "Hey, Sam, you can't go in there!"
I rushed up the steps. "I can't let him do this alone either. What if there's more than one person? What if they're armed?"
"Yeah, what if? And how will you stop them, especially if your powers don't work?"
"The old fashioned way," I said.
"What's that?"
We stood at the door. I looked at Brad. "I'll throw something at their head."
"Great. And here I thought we were walking into a fight unprepared."
I ignored his sarcasm and peeked into the apartment. Upturned furniture littered the floor like a child's playhouse, but no Drake. Someone grunted, followed by a loud thud.
"They're in your room." I headed down the small hallway. On the way, I picked up an upturned lampstand, minus the lampshade.
"That's your big plan? Hit the bad guy in the head with a lampstand?"
"Yes, this is my big plan. At least I have a plan!"
Brad looked around and found a baseball bat that had fallen out of the closet. "My plan." He swung the bat around.
I nodded, and we approached his bedroom.
"Drake, we're in the hall. Are you okay?"
Nothing.
"Drake?"
"He's not responding to me. What do we do?"
Brad looked at me, then the door. His brown eyes turned to small slits. "Stand back."
He made a loud "Hiya!" sound and crashed through the door swinging his bat.
I flanked his side, straining to see inside the tiny room.
He made contact with something that sounded like a watermelon.
My stomach quivered in protest, given that Brad didn't tend to keep watermelons in his bedroom. I didn't want to see, but had to look.
Drake and Brad stood over a body whose head had seen better days. His face was an unrecognizable mess of purple and blue lumps with a split lip and gash in his cheek oozing blood.
I rushed to Drake, who had a swollen eye and bloody lip, but otherwise looked okay. "Any serious injuries?"
"None for me. He's not so lucky." He wrapped his arms around me, and I leaned into him.
"Is he dead?"
Brad checked his pulse. "No. Heart's still working. What do we do with him?"
Drake untangled himself from me and searched the man's body. "We need to figure out who this guy is and who he's working for."
"Is there really any question about who he works for?" Who else but Rent-A-Kid would even have us on their radar, let alone want us dead? "Why didn't our powers work on him?"
The body moved, then groaned. The guys jumped back. Brad raised his bat.
I formed a mental link with his mind again. This time, no brick walls. 'Pain... shit... gonna be busted....' And more of the same. People in a lot of pain were often hard to read, less coherent and more focused on... well, the pain.
"I'm in his mind. His defenses are down."
Drake made eye contact with me. "We need to find out what he knows, and we need to do it quick. Others might come looking for him."
Crap. How was I supposed to take a moral stand against this power when there were so many exceptions?
Drake and I linked, and our powers amplified. Heat rushed through my body as we slipped into our attacker's mind.
Drake gave the guy a command. 'You will tell us everything you know about who sent you and why.'
The man refused to talk, or even think, about the information we needed. He shouldn't have been able to resist Drake's persuasion.
I pushed my own power into the command, strengthening it.
Still nothing. Drake frowned at me, confused.
I shrugged. "I have no idea why this isn't working."
A rush of heat exploded in my belly. I cried out and doubled over in pain. Our mental link intensified and the man spasmed, his body arching off the ground. A small glas
s wall I hadn't known was there cracked in the man's mind.
He cried out in pain, "The Seeker. He wants you. Tracks you, using us. Not safe."
We tried to coerce more information out of him, but he collapsed into unconsciousness. His mind reeled with wild images I couldn't make any sense of.
"Guys, I think that's all we're going to get from him."
Brad and Drake nodded, but didn't relax.
I stared at the body. "It's hard to tell with his face so…you know…but this looks like one of the guys who asked Rick about you, Drake. He has a partner somewhere. So... what do we do with him?"
Drake moved around the room. "We have to pack and find someplace safe. We'll leave him here. Someone will eventually find him, or he'll regain consciousness and make his way back to his boss."
"Dude," Brad said, "my name is on this lease. I'm in so much trouble."
"For what?" Drake asked. "He broke into your house. You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, we have to get out of here. We're all in danger now. I need to get you two to a safe place so I can go after the Seeker."
"Wait, what?" My head popped up. "Do you intend to go after the Seeker alone? No way. Unless by 'alone' you really mean with me, then yeah."
"Sam, we have to find out who this guy is and what he knows. It's the only way we can stop these assholes from taking kids like us, and from doing genetic experiments and God knows what else. Plus, you're sick and pregnant. It's too dangerous."
"I'm stronger than I look. What makes you think you can do this by yourself? You wouldn't have been able to crack this guy's mind without me. These are just henchmen. You're going to need me when we meet their boss. The Rent-A-Kids are my friends, the only family I've ever known. I'm going, and you can't stop me."
Brad stepped in between us. "Sam, he's right. You're in no condition to go chasing after these guys, alone or with Drake. You could get yourself or your baby killed."
Drake nodded. "Then we're agreed—"
"And Drake, she's right. You can't go running off like the Lone Ranger either. We need a plan. We need to regroup and figure out the next step. But first, we need to pack and get the hell out of here before my neighbors call the cops, or this guy's partner shows up."
Drake frowned, then gave a curt nod. It wasn't exactly a gracious concession, but it would have to do.
I wasn't feeling too gracious myself, but it was hard to argue with Brad's logic. It wouldn't hurt to get somewhere safe and at least talk about the options.
The three of us scurried around the apartment packing computers, medication, clothes, money, all the supplies and information Ana had given us.
When we had finished, we stepped out onto the porch.
"Should I lock it?" Brad asked.
"No," Drake said. "Close the door, but don't lock it. We can call the police to report a break-in. Say we're the neighbor or something."
Brad nodded and closed the door.
I scanned the area around us as we walked to the car, worried someone else might be stalking us. "We still have his partner to worry about, and the guy I saw at Venice Beach."
"I know," Drake said.
Brad sighed. "Great, more people to run from, or attack."
Drake chuckled. "Nobody said we'd be boring houseguests."
Brad groaned and tried to flip him the finger while carrying several bags. It looked painful.
I almost cracked a smile.
We loaded up the car and got in. I took the front seat while Brad drove.
Drake sat in the back. "So where now?"
Brad revved the car and pulled out of the driveway. He merged into traffic on the busy street and headed to the nearest freeway entrance. "I know a place we can go. It's out of the way and can't be traced back to me if anyone starts digging."
"Sounds perfect," I said.
"Well, almost. Just one problem."
Drake leaned forward. "What's that?"
"It's a cabin in the woods. My old journalism professor retired there. We'd have to let him in on your secret."
Drake sat back, and I leaned my head against the cool window. After a lifetime of secrets and lies, telling strangers about my abilities didn't feel natural. Could we trust this professor? Would he put us at greater risk?
Chapter 9 – Lucy
"You're asking the wrong questions," Lucy said to the crowd of Rent-A-Kids huddled around her in an unused classroom. She stared at a poster of Einstein to collect her thoughts, and hid her nervous hands under the teacher's desk she sat behind. "It's not just a question of whether we can break through the guards and high-voltage gates. The real question is what are we going to do once we're out? We're in the middle of nowhere. None of us have any forms of identification. We don't have cars, money, or contacts on the outside. How the hell are we supposed to survive out there?"
Dozens of hopeless eyes stared up at her. She hated to burst their bubble, but they had to face reality. She looked to Luke for support, but even he frowned in disappointment. Did he really think they had any chance at all of escaping? That the "Freedom Fighters" would survive?
Gary, the boy who had recruited Lucy and Luke, and the apparent leader of the rag-tag team, stared down at the ground. He flicked a coin up into the air and used his power over metal to spin it in hypnotic circles.
Lucy held in another outburst. The kid had never even gone on an assignment. He'd only arrived from the elementary ward at the sister facility a few weeks ago. She looked at Luke again, begging him with her eyes to make some sense. What was he thinking, going along with all this?
Gary cleared his throat and attempted eye contact with the wall behind Lucy. "We have to do something. Sitting here waiting for them to decide our fates isn't a plan."
She'd have agreed if a plan wasn't already in place: Sam would get help. But she couldn't tell this group that—no one but she and Luke could know Sam's plans—so how could she convince them this was a fool's errand?
"Okay, how would you do it?" she asked.
The other teens perked up.
Wally spoke first, "We'll use our powers to create diversions. If we organize our whole team, we can do this. We may not have as many people as they have soldiers, but we have para-powers. That should count for something, right?"
Lucy looked around the classroom. She knew some of the teens by name, others by sight. Laura, a girl from her calculus class, smiled at her. They'd been friends in the lower grades, but had since grown apart. Still, she liked Laura and didn't want to see her get hurt in this stupid plan that wasn't even a plan.
A girl of about fifteen spoke up. "My name's Lisa. I can hover above ground, and I'm learning to fly. We have a lot of powerful paranormals in this room and there is a way we can use these collective powers to escape. I know our ideas may not seem very thought-out yet, but that's why we need you two. You've got more experience in assignments, and you have friends on the outside. With your help we can do this."
"You don't understand," Lucy said. "My friends escaped, yes, but in the process, someone very important to us was killed. Do you get it? They killed her!"
She pounded her fist on the desk in frustration. "And they weren't trying to free an entire school. Do you think we'll all make it out alive? We won't. Some of us will die." Her voice escalated to the point of yelling. "Are you ready to carry that burden, to watch your friends die because you sent them in to disarm a guard or start a fire? Do you have any idea what you are doing? You don't know the first thing."
Luke put an arm around her shoulders as she fought the sobs building in her chest. No one moved or even breathed.
Lisa wiped a tear from her face. "You're right. We don't know what we're doing, but we can't just sit here and wait. We have to do something. I'm sorry you lost someone close to you. But, yes, I am prepared to die." Lisa looked everyone in the room in the eyes. "What about all of you? Are you prepared to do whatever is necessary to take this place down?"
Lucy held her gaze the longest, weighing the truth of her words
and intentions.
"Am I lying?" Lisa asked.
"No. But that doesn't mean this is a good idea."
"Right now, it's the only idea we have. But with you and Luke on the team, maybe we can think of something better."
One by one, each person affirmed they were ready to sacrifice everything to fight Rent-A-Kid. Lucy paid close attention, but couldn't catch anyone in a lie.
It still didn't change her mind. She looked to Luke for support, but he didn't make eye contact. At that moment she wished she could read minds like Sam, or talk to Luke mentally. She needed to get him alone before he agreed to this mess.
"I need to think about all this, okay? And talk to my brother." Lucy shot Luke a warning look. Do not speak, Bro. We need to talk first.
He got the message and nodded once sharply.
Gary smiled. "We're having another meeting on Thursday. You could come then. Maybe you'll be ready?"
That gave her two days to convince Luke this was a mistake. She hoped it'd be enough.
"Yeah, okay, we'll be back then."
The collective group seemed to relax. Gary fidgeted, and his coin dropped to the ground. He held his hand over it, but nothing happened. Lucy looked around the room. Richard, a fire-starter, had been playing with a small fireball all through the discussion—something he'd gotten in trouble for more times than she could count. He too stared at his hand in confusion. No fire. Others shifted nervously and whispered to each other.
Lucy turned to Luke. "Lie to me."
"What? Why?"
"Just do it."
"Okay fine. Um... I love broccoli."
Nothing.
Lucy couldn't tell he was lying. Normally a pressure would build inside of her and buzz in her head when someone lied. This time, nothing. And she knew Luke hated broccoli. The emptiness inside her shook Lucy to the core. Without her power she was... ordinary, useless. Bad enough to have a passive power like lie detecting, but to lose even that terrified her.
"Luke, something's wrong. I can't use my powers. Can you?"
He looked around, finally seeming to notice that others were having problems. He walked to a wall and tried to put his hand through, but it hit the surface like any other normal hand. He raised his voice to be heard above the rumbling. "Can anyone use their para-powers?"
Forbidden Fire (Forbidden #2) Page 5
