HARD LIMIT

by Chloe Fischer

  “I’m afraid that Dr. Cruthers is…indisposed,” Dr. Anderly commented but Aiden was already gesturing for his sister to get up. The sense of impending doom was growing in the pit of his stomach.

  “Come on, Sarah,” he told her firmly but as she moved, Dr. Anderly blocked her way.

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible,” he said, sighing. “You are both required to stay with us, Aiden.”

  Fear prickled through him, but he held the older man’s eyes.

  “Sorry,” he said flatly, moving toward his sister. “We have somewhere to be.”

  He reached for Sarah’s hand, but the gun was in his face before they could make their escape.

  “No, Aiden,” the doctor explained in a patient voice. “You are coming with me. Do as I say, and no one will get hurt.”

  Suddenly, there was a scream in his head as Audrey yelled out for him.

  Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!

  The blood drained from his face as he backed away slightly, his arms raised.

  “There is no need for this,” Aiden said sharply, his mind whirling. “Whatever you think you want from me, I promise I don’t have.”

  “Aiden, you, me and Sarah all know that isn’t true, right Sarah?”

  “I’m sorry, Aiden! They made me tell them about you!” she gasped, tears streaming down her gaunt cheeks.

  He was filled with fury, not at Sarah but at her captors and himself. He wondered how he had been so oblivious to what was happening.

  “Come along, Aiden,” the doctor said, pressing the steel of the gun against his face.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he snarled, but suddenly the butt of the gun smashed against his cheek.

  Aiden saw stars as Sarah began to scream.

  “It doesn’t need to get worse, Aiden but if you continue to struggle, I will kill Sarah,” Dr. Anderly told him matter-of-factly. Aiden believed him.

  Audrey, what is happening? Are you hurt?

  There was no answer and terror gripped his heart as he slowly shuffled toward the door, tasting blood inside his mouth.

  There was nothing he could do, not inside the building.

  I could create an earthquake but there are no guarantees that will work, and innocent people could die.

  His mind again swept to the ice storm which had killed his classmate and bile rose to choke him as he walked.

  Audrey, answer me! Answer me, dammit!

  The barrel of the firearm wedged against his ribs and he heard Sarah whimpering behind him.

  He gritted his teeth and walked, knowing that there was only one more way to ensure his and Sarah’s safety.

  Swallowing, he closed his eyes and inhaled sharply.

  Xander, are you there?

  “I am right here, brother.”

  Aiden’s eyes flew open and he blinked several times, thinking that he was hallucinating as his twin strode toward him.

  “How – wh – “

  “You think we were going to let you go that easily?” Xander snorted but his eyes were fixated on the scene beyond. “We’ve been following you, biding our time.”

  “Xander!” Sarah screamed. “No!”

  “Oh shit!” Dr. Anderly gasped, as he realized he was in over his head. There was nowhere for him to run and Aiden watched as his brother projected himself into the gunman’s body.

  Aiden turned and grabbed Sarah’s arm as Dr. Anderly raised the gun to his own head.

  “Don’t look!” he ordered Sarah. “Keep going.”

  The gunshot reverberated through the corridors and screaming erupted as the siblings fled through the halls.

  “Keep going!” he urged his sister who sobbed at his side.

  “I’m sorry,” she gasped. “I didn’t want to – “

  “Shh!” he told her. “It’s not your fault, Sarah. None of this has been your fault, but we have to get outside, now!”

  Alarm bells started to blare as announcements began screeching out of the PA over their heads.

  Aiden did not turn to see if Xander was behind them, but he wasn’t worried; his brother could take care of himself.

  His daughter and Sage needed him.

  They burst through the front doors as havoc seemed to explode on the main level, doctors and nurses running around in confusion.

  They can’t all be Oculus, he told himself. Just get to the car.

  But when the BMW got into view, Aiden’s worst fears were confirmed as he watched his lover and daughter confined by two men. Two others stood by, assault rifles pointed at them.

  “Don’t do anything stupid, Mr. Van Hoyt,” one of the masked men growled but surprisingly, there was an unmistakable fear in his voice.

  “You’re not giving me much of a choice,” he breathed, the anger inside him mounting as Sarah whimpered, covering her eyes with her hands. “Let them go and take me wherever you want. I am giving you ten seconds to decide.”

  Daddy, no! Audrey cried, her face contorting in fear but he did not meet her eyes, calling out to his twin again.

  Sage trembled but maintained a stoic expression on her beautiful face.

  Xander, where are you? You need to get out of the building – I’m going to take everything down.

  “Mr. Van Hoyt, you are making this much worse than it needs to be,” the lead man explained, cautiously stepping closer. “My employer does not wish to hurt you. You and your brothers are very valuable to them.”

  Aiden inhaled deeply.

  He knew what he had to do.

  Daddy, please don’t…

  He raised his head, pinning the first gunman with an intent stare.

  An abrupt crash of thunder exploded from above their heads and everyone, but Aiden jumped.

  The black clouds poured in, like the sky was filling with smoke.

  “Let go of the girls,” Aiden said quietly, knowing that he couldn’t do anything while Sage and Audrey were in their grips. Any action risked hurting them while they stood so close. He needed Xander nearby.

  “She can go,” the leader agreed, nodding toward Sage and instantly, she was released. “But not the child.”

  Aiden spoke into his daughter’s mind, “Be strong, honey, just a little longer, ok?” She nodded slightly at him.

  “Come here,” he ordered Sage.

  She didn’t argue, but first she bent down to Audrey and grasped her arms, looking intently into her eyes. “It’s all going to be okay. I promise you. Your dad and uncles are going to make sure.”

  “I know, Dr. Pierce. I’m not worried anymore,” she said with just the slightest quiver in her voice.

  Sage stood and looked at Audrey proudly. “Good girl,” she whispered.

  “Take my sister, Sage, get in the car and find safety,” he whispered to her, pressing the keys into her hand.

  “No!” she cried. “I’m not leaving you here alone! And Audrey – “

  “Audrey will be fine,” Xander told her conversationally from behind Aiden.

  The younger twin exhaled in relief and nodded.

  “We’ve got this,” he murmured to her. “Just go. I’ll find you both. Sarah, go with Sage now.”

  “Aiden – “

  “Go!” he insisted but Sage still gripped him.

  “I don’t know how this can be,” she whispered, her eyes wide. “But I think I’m falling in love with you. Please, don’t leave me when I’ve just found you.”

  A spark of warmth touched the cold fury in his heart.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. “Now go. Please.”

  Sarah pried Sage away from him, leaving the twins to watch as they backed away, the panic in her face apparent.

  “This is your last chance,” Aiden told the group who had raised their guns to aim at the brothers in unison.

  “No matter what you do now,” their leader explained. “One of you will die before you take all of us out, starting with your daughter.”

  Aiden had never known such a rage and Xander seemed to feel it.

  T
hey were at a standoff, Audrey caught in the middle, trying to call out to him, but Aiden blocked her communications, focussing on Xander.

  You take the one holding Audrey and I’ll – Aiden started but Xander cut him off.

  If this goes awry, Aiden, they might kill her. Have no doubt.

  Aiden did not need the reminder.

  “Walk toward us, slowly,” the head of the militia said quietly, sensing their resolve. “Everything will be fine.”

  The twins exchanged a look and stepped forward together. As long as Audrey was in the line of fire, there was no way out.

  Oculus had just made their move. Checkmate.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “What are you doing?” Sarah asked, raising her head suddenly as Sage pulled a U-turn back toward the hospital. “I’m not going back there!”

  “It’s all right, Sarah, I’m not taking you back there, but I’m not going to leave Aiden and Audrey there with those gunmen,” she promised. “Just keep your head down. It will all be over soon.”

  “You don’t know that,” Sarah cried. “It’s been going on forever. It won’t be over until we’re all dead.”

  Sage gaped at her but Sarah had already shifted her gaze downward.

  “Aiden won’t let anything happen to you,” Sage told her comfortingly. “He loves you and Audrey. He will protect you.”

  “He will try but these people, they want them, the twins,” Sarah moaned. “And I helped them find them.”

  “What do you mean?” Sage asked, eyeing her warily. “What people? Why do they want the twins?”

  Sarah clamped her mouth together.

  “Sarah, you can trust me. I am only here because I care about Aiden and Audrey.”

  “Then you should know why they want them,” she shot back. “You should know what they can do.”

  Sage’s heart hammered wildly in her chest.

  It was true.

  Not only did Audrey have abilities, the twins did also.

  And those men in Aiden’s basement last night, are they the same?

  Sage could tell probing the already traumatized girl would not help things along and as she approached the parking lot, she pulled the car off to the side.

  “Stay here and stay low,” she instructed Sarah. “Don’t come out for anything.”

  Sarah tried to protest but Sage was already sprinting across the lot to where she had left Aiden, her mind racing.

  I’m unarmed, and I have no special powers. How can I help?

  As if on cue, she heard the wail of sirens in the distance.

  Oh shit. The police on top of everything else!

  She hurried forward, her pulse pounding in her ears as a black SUV squealed to the scene and three men jumped out, confronting the four gunmen who were leading the twins and Audrey toward a blacked-out van without plates.

  She recognized them as the men who had been at Aiden’s house the previous night.

  “Get them in the van!” someone yelled in panic. “Go, go, go!”

  But it was too late for the would-be captors. The three newcomers stood in a horizontal line, their eyes fixated on the group, unmoving.

  What are they doing? Move! Attack! Do something!

  Sage glanced in panic toward the twins, hoping to spur them to action, but they too, were just standing there, staring intently at the gunmen. Then suddenly, two bolts of lightning shot out of the sky, sizzling towards the two thugs who were standing in front of the others. Sage gasped as both men dropped to the ground, black as coal, their bodies smoking like charred cinders.

  Her eyes flew to Aiden and she realized he had done that. He had called lightning. How was that possible? Her mouth dropped open. He was still standing, still as a statue, focused on the exact spot where the men had dropped. He wasn’t shocked or startled, instead he looked…satisfied.

  Before she could do anything, one of the remaining two gunmen fell to the ground. Blood pouring from every facial orifice. His eyes remained wide open, but they too became fountains as blood as it seemed that every blood vessel in his body had just disintegrated. The fourth abductor glanced down, saw the state his partners were in, and looked about wildly, desperately. Sage held her breath, knowing that decisions made in instances such as this were usually kneejerk reactions.

  He raised his gun and pointed it wildly, gripping Audrey tightly, panic overtaking him as he looked down again and saw that his fellow team members had been taken down by Drake’s powerful sons. He swung his gun toward Audrey’s head and everyone froze for a split second, not wanting Audrey to be hurt if they attacked the man with their enhanced abilities.

  As Sage started to shout for someone to do something, she felt the slightest breeze ruffle through her hair. She thought she blinked, but then when she opened her eyes, she saw the gunman was lying on the ground, a bullet hole through his forehead. Xavier was holding Audrey in his strong arms, whispering to her that everything was okay.

  The scene was too much for Sage to understand. What the hell? Who shot him? How could she have missed it? She hadn’t taken her eyes off of Audrey. But suddenly time was being chopped into chunks – and she was missing one of those chunks.

  The sirens were getting louder, and you could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles about half a mile down the road. The brothers jumped into action, each one helping to herd Audrey and Sage into the vehicle she had arrived in. Sarah was still crouching within, and they placed her in the back with Audrey. Xavier and Ryder brought their vehicle around, and there was a quick meeting where the brothers put their heads together and decided on their next move.

  Then it happened again. One minute she was crouching behind a car, watching the scene unfold, the next she was in the BMW with Aiden behind the wheel and Audrey and Sarah in the backseat, speeding away from the scene.

  “Daddy! What happened?!” Audrey screamed as he raced toward I-90. “And why are we leaving Uncle Xander?”

  “Everyone is fine, honey,” he promised. “Your Uncle Xavier has a…different ability. Different than you or me. I didn’t know about it either. He can stop time – for short intervals, so he…took care of the guy – the one that was holding you, sweetie.”

  “Oh my God,” Sage and Sarah gasped in unison.

  Aiden shot her a grim look, looking resolute. “Yeah, I’m sorry about dragging you into all of this, Sage. Apparently I’ve got some really…special brothers. I don’t even know how to explain it yet. I’m so sorry for dragging you into this. It’s an interesting…situation, and you shouldn’t really be part of it.” She didn’t know what to say, still trying to wrap her mind around everything she had seen and heard in the last hour.

  “I’m taking you home, Sage,” he said sadly, but with resignation.

  “What? No!”

  Audrey’s voice matched the shocked note in Sage’s as they stared at him in disbelief.

  He sighed deeply, steering the car off to the side of the road, now that they were in the clear.

  Turning, he looked at the women in his life, his eyes clouded with emotion.

  “Yes,” he said firmly, then faced Sage. “I’m taking Sarah and Audrey to Drake’s compound. Apparently it’s like a fortress and they’ll be safe there. My brothers and I need, we need to take care of Oculus once and for all so we can move on with our lives. I can’t ask you to give up your life here to join this battle. It wouldn’t be fair.”

  “Aiden, you can’t expect me to just leave you. I don’t know what’s going on between us – it’s not like anything I’ve ever felt before, but I know it’s strong and it’s important. I feel like you…well, complete me, somehow.” She glanced down, uncomfortable with having an audience for this discussion, and at the awkwardness of admitting her feelings to him.

  They heard Audrey giggle and sniffle in the backseat. Sage turned to her, a smile of thanks on her face for breaking the awkwardness a bit. She grasped the young girl’s hand and asked an important question. “What do you think, Audrey? Would it be okay with y
ou if I stayed with you guys?”

  Audrey looked at her with a small smile, but a serious expression on her face. Nodding her head, she glanced at her father, then back at Sage. “I think maybe my dad needs you, Dr. Pierce. Sometimes I – ” and then she paused, looking warily at her father. But then she seemed to decide that it was time to let her secret out, so she continued. “Sometimes I go in my dad’s head…and I see…. colors, and stuff. And when he’s with you, he changes…and his colors are…happy,” she described brokenly.

  Sage grasped the little girl’s hands in her own. “Thank you. For saying I can stay, but also for telling me that. He makes my…colors, happy too.”

  “Well, damn,” Aiden muttered. “It looks like I’m not the boss of anyone right now.” He turned toward Sarah, who had remained silent this whole time. “Will you come with us Sarah? I know you’re old enough to make your own decisions, but I’d be so happy if we could all be together.”

  Sarah started to cry. “Of course, I’ll come! I was so worried you wouldn’t want me to be with you all because of my…sickness.” She covered her face with her hands, and Sage’s heart broke for the poor girl. She reached back and patted Sarah’s shoulder.

  “You know what, Sarah? I’m a licensed psychologist. And I’m hoping to be part of your family too. If you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m here for you.”

  Sarah choked back a sob and looked at Sage with hope. “Really? You know that I have, like, a ton of mental illnesses, right? I mean, the hallucinations weren’t true, obviously, you’ve seen these brothers now. You know what they can do – I never made any of that stuff up, but I’m pretty messed up anyways.”

  “I think your doctors weren’t really ever working in your best interests, Sarah. I’m not saying that mental illness is easy, just that it can be treated. And you’re not messed up. None of us are – and we all struggle from time to time. Please, believe me. And believe in yourself, okay? You’re a good person.” The sincerity in her tone moved Aiden deeply, and it must have done the same for Sarah, because for the first time he could remember, she held her head a little higher, and nodded to Sage. “Okay, I will. And yes, Aiden, I’d like to stay with you and Audrey. And Sage too.” She smiled slowly.