Keeper

by Jessica L. Randall

  “Oh, no. I wasn’t ready for this on my first day,” Angelica said. “Lucas, what am I supposed to do with him?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t really worked with him before. You better get him back to his room.”

  “No,” she said quickly. “I have to prove I can do this. I don’t want to get fired on my first day. Could you, like, check his file and see what he needs while I watch him?”

  “Okay, I guess so. But give me a shout if he gets any more agitated.”

  Lucas rushed down the hall.

  “Good work, Augustus,” Angelica said.

  “That’s Auggie to you,” he said, chuckling.

  I nodded my head, impressed. For a moment, I’d thought maybe the big guy belonged in here.

  “Do we trust her?” He pointed at Angelica.

  “Well, she’s helping us get out of here,” I answered.

  Auggie nodded. “Let’s go then.”

  The three of us walked briskly down the hall and turned so we were headed toward the cafeteria. Then we bee-lined it for the elevator.

  I tried to keep my head down, but I couldn’t help risking a glance every once in a while. We had to get out of here before Lucas came back, or worse, Agent Warner.

  Angelica swiped her card and punched a button just as Lucas’s voice carried toward us. “Where are you going? Those patients aren’t cleared to leave the floor.”

  Footsteps padded toward us as the elevator doors opened. We rushed inside and Angelica poked the close door button. It felt like time had slowed down. I silently urged it to close as Lucas ran toward us, his eyes locked on mine. I could use my powers to throw him back, but that might just make things worse if we got caught, and the way my head was throbbing I was afraid it might explode my brain. I’d almost decided to risk it when the doors slid closed, with Lucas just a few feet away.

  “He’ll just take the stairs,” I said.

  Angelica smirked. “I did a little system hacking earlier. That door is now locked.”

  “You’re my hero,” I said. “But what if he calls down to the front desk and they have security ready?”

  Angelica’s face was tight and pale. “Normally I don’t take this on by myself. I found a guy last minute, he’s supposed to have it handled. Here’s hoping.”

  “Don’t worry,” Auggie said in his gruff voice. He pushed his way in front of me. “No one’s going to zap you again, you can be sure about that.”

  I smiled weakly. It was a nice sentiment, for what it was worth.

  “What about you?” Angelica looked at me. There was a hint of accusation in her voice. “Are you holding out on us? That door was locked. I heard it click before you opened it. Did you do something?”

  I tapped my foot, unsure what to say, and half-afraid I was going to throw up from the pain in my head. Apparently controlling my ability was going to be difficult, but I’d managed so far. “I might have something up my sleeve,” I murmured.

  As the door slid open I imagined a dozen security guards pointing tasers or guns at us, but what met us was a calm lobby complete with light jazz music. The guy at the front desk stopped his conversation across the desk and gave us a glazed-over look.

  I stopped dead in my tracks when I realized why. The person on the other side of the desk was Micah. He turned his head and looked at me, relief filling his blue eyes. He stepped toward us.

  “No, uh-uh. Do you know what that is?” I backed away from Angelica, ready to throw her across the room if necessary.

  “I know,” Auggie roared, raising his fist as he moved toward Micah.

  “Woah, woah,” Angelica said, struggling to push him back. “What’s your deal?” She shot me a confused look. “He said he was a friend of yours.”

  “Hmph!” Auggie said. “With a friend like that, who needs evil government agents who will lock you up for life and pick you to pieces?”

  “Huh?” she said.

  “He’s one of them,” Auggie said impatiently. “Now let me at him.”

  Angelica kept one hand against Auggie, who waited for her command like a pit bull on a leash. “I’ve never seen one before.” Her face held a mixture of wonder and disgust, like she was looking at a fascinating bug, or a majestic but deadly spider. “You said—”

  “I said I wanted to help you get Lexi out of here, and that’s what I’m doing,” Micah said. “But I can’t hold this man off for much longer.”

  “You just want her so you can whisk her off and do who knows what to her,” Angelica said.

  It sounded about right to me.

  Micah growled. “There’s only one of me and five of you. And Lexi is far more powerful than I am.”

  Angelica looked me up and down, one eye squinted, as if looking for answers she didn’t have time to get. “What do you say, Lexi?”

  I stared at Micah, feeling the connection pulling at me.

  I swear, I just want to help. You might need me again.

  “Don’t talk to me like that!” I screamed.

  “Security!” The man at the desk seemed to have come to his senses.

  “Fine. For now,” I said, moving toward the doors. “But Auggie gets to take your head off if you make one wrong move. And why did you say five?”

  I saw Austin’s car waiting for us as soon as we were outside. “Austin!”

  He grinned from the driver’s seat. Kaela leaned around him, waving at me. I ran around the front of the car, squeezing in the front with my friends. I regretted leaving Angelica to sit with the Alien and the man who wanted to squeeze the life out of him, but there was no way I was sitting next to Micah.

  “Where to?” Austin asked.

  “That’s a good question. Is there somewhere safe we can go?” Angelica asked.

  “I think I might know a place,” I answered as we sped off.

  Chapter 24

  “Can we toss this one over the edge?” Auggie asked as we neared the canyon.

  “So I guess Austin and I aren’t the only ones who don’t care for Micah?” Kaela whispered.

  “There’s not a person in this car who wouldn’t consider throwing him over,” I answered, loud enough for him to hear.

  “We didn’t invite him here, by the way. He was skulking around the facility when we got there. Said he was going to help whether we liked it or not. Angelica thought we might need an extra person.”

  There was a slight pang in my gut when I glanced at him and saw the hurt look in his eyes. What if he’d really come to help me? I clenched my fists, cramming my nails into my palms. I had to snap out of this. Micah was here to help Micah. I’d only let him come because I thought we might get some information out of him. At least that was what I was telling myself.

  “Hey, how are Austin and Kaela even here?” I asked Angelica. “Why are they here? It’s not safe.”

  “I’m sorry,” Angelica answered. “It was—”

  “Really easy?”

  “Yeah, it was. Found them with Facebook. I only tracked them down because I noticed your friend here had a car and I was tight on funds. Then they insisted on coming.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that guys, but thanks.”

  “It was the least we could do,” Kaela gave me a tight squeeze. “I’m sorry we took off when you needed us. We were just really worried, and—”

  “Tough love, I know. It was worth a shot,” I said. “I deserved it. I just didn’t know how to tell you what was going on.”

  “We still have no idea what’s going on,” Austin said as we tumbled out of the car into the Mick’s Sporting Goods parking lot.

  I exhaled, looking around at our odd group. They were about to find out.

  We walked into the store, passing Randy, who was chewing out one of my co-workers at the front register.

  “Hey, you’re not on the schedule today.”

  “I know, Randy, we’re going to hang out in the back room for a while.”

  Randy looked like his eyes were going to pop out, and he left my lucky co-worker
to follow us toward the back.

  “You most certainly are not.”

  I turned around, suddenly aware of how I must look after everything I’d been through, topped off with a messy wig and an expression that said the gawky, pathetic store manager was the least of my worries. And of course I had a crew that included a grateful giant and a heavily pierced rockabilly chick.

  I pulled off the wig and tossed it to him. “We are, Randy, just for a while. And if you have anything to say about it I might say a word to corporate about the five-finger discounts you’ve been giving to your friends. That would be the more merciful of the repercussions,” I said, glancing at Auggie.

  Randy’s mouth dropped as we left him behind.

  The back room was all cement and florescent lights and pallets full of boxes. I grabbed a box and had a seat.

  “Well, where do we go from here?” I asked.

  Angelica glared at Micah. “Do you really want to talk about that with him around?”

  “Micah?” Kaela asked. “Isn’t he just some kind of player?”

  “He’s one of them,” Auggie bellowed.

  Austin scrunched up one side of his face. “One of who?”

  “Before we go any further, will someone tell us what’s going on?” Kaela asked.

  I opened my mouth, but the words still wouldn’t come out. What was I supposed to tell them?

  “Aliens are among us,” Auggie hollered. He was just as candid about the subject as the first time I’d met him. But he must have sounded just as crazy to Austin and Kaela.

  Kaela looked at me, probably waiting for me to clarify. I just nodded my head.

  “Okay.” I heard the psychologist in her tone. She pointed to Angelica. “And this chick that showed up out of the blue and told us you were in trouble is ...”

  “I met her on a chat room for people who have been affected by the presence of, you know.”

  “I’m sorry, but this is a lot to expect us to believe,” Austin said. “Even though I really, really want to.” His eyes lit up like a new episode of Blade Song just came out.

  I stared at a box over Austin’s left shoulder, raising my arm to point with the hope it would help me focus. This time I expected the pain in my head as the box flew off the stack and exploded all over the concrete floor.

  Everyone jumped back. When the startles noises died down they all stared at me, their mouths hanging open.

  “Woah, so this is what alien-boy was talking about?” Angelica said. “What—Why?”

  I shrugged. “Apparently humans have this kind of buried ability. Some of us or all of us, I don’t know. That’s why they’re so interested in studying us. When Micah and I connected, this stuff just started to happen.”

  “And so he’s ...” Austin pointed at Micah.

  “He’s the reason I’m in this mess.” I scowled at Micah. He flinched, and looked down at the floor. “He stalked me, abducted me, lied to me, and basically wants to do all kinds of experiments on me. That about cover it?”

  He glanced at me hopefully. There was the part where I saved your life.

  “I told you to stop talking to me like that.”

  Austin and Kaela looked at me wide-eyed, no doubt reconsidering their decision to break me out of the nut-house.

  Micah’s expression hardened and he sat up straight. I’m not sorry for saving your life. But if I could go back, I would do anything to keep you out of this. Throughout my life I have been focused on making my father proud, advancing my race, and excelling in my work. When I met you, I felt changes within me. I’m not only referring to physical changes.

  His lips turned up and I felt heat creep up my neck.

  “What is going on here?” Angelica asked, her voice raising in disbelief. “Are you two having some kind of conversation? Can you do that?”

  His eyes continued to lock onto mine. There were other changes as well. Even if it means shame or death for me, I do not regret the things you have made me see. Unfortunately, there was part of me that fought that change. It did not happen quickly enough, and you suffered. I know you cannot forgive me, but I hope you will let me help you. I meant it when I said I will not let them hurt you. That goes for your family as well. As long as I’m alive.

  I looked away, blinking away tears. I couldn’t deal with this right now.

  “No more of that alien nonsense,” Auggie said curtly. “He can speak out loud from here on out. Me and this young lady are still on their radar, and the government’s as well. We need to stop wasting time.”

  I nodded. “Sorry.”

  “So I told you once I was working on something,” Angelica said. “I found out about this abductee who supposedly figured out how to remove the tracker. If he can help us do that, we can hide you guys anywhere. You can start a new life.”

  “You’d have to leave?” Kaela pulled me in tighter.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t see any other way,” Angelica said. “But she’d get to live, so that’s a plus.”

  Micah looked up suddenly, his face void of hope. “It doesn’t matter. He can’t remove the tracker.”

  “Well, supposedly he did,” Angelica said, her tone challenging.

  “You see, it’s not really something that can be removed. The tracking substance is injected into your bloodstream when the monitor is installed.”

  Her face fell. “Well, maybe he figured it out. I don’t know. Anyway, this guy is super underground or whatever. But I got a lead on him and I think I can get him to help us.”

  “You think?” Auggie said. “How long’s that going to take?”

  “I don’t know, I don’t exactly have him on speed dial.”

  “Hey, Lexi.” Randy’s voice carried into the back room. “Someone’s here to see you.”

  Randy sounded so polite that I almost laughed at his one-eighty, but then I realized there was something else in his tone. He was gloating. Who else knew I was here?

  Chapter 25

  Auggie’s big brown eyes widened, making him look as crazy as the first time I’d met him. “You checked for bugs, right?”

  “What?” I scrunched up my face in disbelief.

  He looked upward, as if I was a lost cause. “The government loves their bugs. I imagine they wouldn’t take any chances with you.”

  “Lexi,” Randy said again.

  I stood up and straightened my shoulders, then started toward the door.

  “Wait,” Micah said, close on my heels.

  “Hey, you’re not going without us,” Kaela said. She and Austin looked at each other with determination on their faces. Angelica nodded, crowding in close behind me.

  Auggie glanced up from a large box he was rifling through. “You all go on ahead, I won’t give you any trouble about it. I’m good right here. That woman ain’t taking me back there again.”

  So much for the man who would take a taser for me. I was relieved Auggie was staying behind, though. If I could only get the others to follow his lead.

  “Here’s the deal,” I said firmly. “We might need to get out of here quick. Austin and Kaela, there’s an exit back that way. Go get the car and pull it around. Angelica, I need you back here on your phone, figuring out an escape plan. We’ll need a new place to hide out for a while. Now how about the two of us with superpowers—”

  “Rub it in,” Austin said.

  I gave him a warning look. “The two of us who stand a chance against whoever is out there will go see what’s up.”

  “Two of us?” Micah said, his face inches from mine. “This is my fault. I said I would protect you, and I meant it. You stay.”

  “I’m not even sure if I trust you yet. The first step in that direction would be letting me use my free will. Don’t get in my way.”

  His jaw tensed, but he stayed quiet.

  I took a deep breath and walked out the swinging doors into the store. I wasn’t surprised to see Agent Warner, along with a hefty-looking man, standing halfway across the store. I didn’t expect to see her gripping Cod
y’s hand.

  I gasped, stumbling back. Micah gripped my arm, stabilizing me.

  I wanted to blast her across the store and through the front doors. I had no doubt I could do it. But not with her holding onto Cody.

  “You,” Agent Warner said, nodding at Randy, who was backed up against the wall, edging his way slowly toward the front doors. “Make sure everyone is out of this store. These people are armed and dangerous illegal aliens.” She raised her eyebrows, as if expecting me to appreciate her stupid joke.

  Randy nodded, straightening a little with pride, but still shaking with fear.

  I looked Agent Warner up and down, trying to figure out what we were up against. She was wearing something that looked like dopey metal headphones. There was a bulge on her hip, and she held a gun of some kind in her hand. Her bodyguard clutched a gun as well. I was pretty sure she didn’t want to hurt the three of us. We were valuable. But who knew exactly what those weapons did? Whatever it was, I was pretty sure she could have used them to stop us. She’d have done it right then if she weren’t a little afraid of what we might be able to do.

  “Lexi, did I do something wrong?” Cody’s voice shook. “She said she would take me to see you. They wouldn’t let me see you. I was afraid you were gone forever.”

  “It’s going to be okay, Cody,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

  “That’s all up to you,” she said in her maddeningly courteous tone. “It’s a simple trade, Lexi. You for him.”

  Don’t trust her. Micah’s voice filled my dully aching head. If she knows your value she’ll want both of you.

  If we can get Cody out of this, you can take care of him, like you promised. This is our best shot.

  “I’ll come with you,” Micah said quickly. “We all know the value of a good alien specimen.”

  Agent Warner hesitated, as if thinking it over. “How about both of you, with the promise that I’ll leave the boy out of the report. We won’t come for him.” She sneered at Micah. “Of course I can’t vouch for your people.”

  “Deal,” I said. I gave Micah an apologetic glance. But he and I had a chance to fight back. Cody didn’t.

  Don’t feel any regret. I told you I’d do anything.