by Elodie Colt
I ducked as the Fighter attacking me swung back his arm. His fist missed my face by inches, and he howled in pain as his knuckles connected with the unrelenting wall. I drove my knee into his stomach, making him double over at the perfect level for me to reach his neck and hitting him with the edge of my hand. Before his limp body hit the ground, I pulled out another knife and plunged it into his heart.
People rushed past us in panic, desperate to escape the massacre and get to safety. My gaze drifted over the rest of us, but other than a few bruises and cuts, everyone seemed to be unharmed.
As soon as the path was clear, we stormed the lab only to meet a furious Dorian pointing a strange looking, elongated weapon at us.
“Shit. Not that thing again,” Chris cursed.
I figured he meant Dorian’s weapon—most likely the one that burned Ricky a scorching hole in his chest all this time ago.
Five more guards clicked their guns, and within the blink of an eye, everyone had a weapon pointed at someone else except Phil who just stood there cowering behind Dorian.
Dorian’s gaze flickered over to Gabby. A moment passed while they battled a silent stare-down, Dorian grinding his jaw. “You made the wrong decision, sister,” he deadpanned.
“Maybe,” Gabby replied in a defeated tone, “but I won’t stand by and watch your cruelty any longer.”
Dorian ignored her before he directed his attention to me. “And now what?” His tone was nonchalant, and he gestured with his hand to his men, pointing out that we wouldn’t stand a chance. We were equal in number, but Gabby and Lisa weren’t trained for battle. Also, we didn’t have as many weapons whereas his gun was an entirely different matter.
My brain reeled as I went through every possible outcome. Frankly, none of them seemed to be in our favor.
“When I say ‘now,’ you run,” Scott suddenly whispered in my ear so low, I barely heard him.
I had no clue what he was up to, but there was no time for weighing up options. Turning around, my eyes met Cole’s indicating for him to grab Lisa and Gabby first. He frowned, confused, but nodded.
Dorian grew impatient. “Hand over the Watcher, and I promise no one will get harmed.”
“You can stick your promises up your ass, Dorian,” I growled, stalling for time, although I had no idea what I was stalling for. “Haylie and Cassie slipped through your fingers, I heard?”
A vein on Dorian’s forehead started to pulsate, but he kept his composure, a vicious grin playing on his face. “They won’t survive for long out there, be assured of that. I will find myself another Natural, and then I—”
“Now!” Scott shouted just as an object sailed over my head.
Gathering from the sound of splashing liquid and splintering glass as it hit, it was some kind of chemical fluid in a bottle. The contents splattered three guards who all yowled in pain as their clothes started to smoke, the acid smoldering fabric and tissue.
Scott tugged sharply on my arm. I whirled around and sprinted toward the exit, Cole racing with Lisa and Gabby through the door. I gave Chris a hard shove just as Scott threw the second bottle, its contents reacting with the liquid of the first one.
I allowed myself one last glance over my shoulder. Dorian dropped his gun as he jumped sideways, roughly pushing Phil out of the way and directly into the center.
Phil’s body was the first to explode in pieces.
The blast hit us all from behind, and we flew the rest of the way crashing through the glass panels. The air wheezed out of my lungs as Scott landed on top of me, his chin smacking the back of my head.
“Fuck!” Chris cursed, completely bewildered as he pushed himself back onto his feet. He heaved Scott away, and I scrambled up to see a huge shard of glass sticking out of Scott’s left shoulder blade. The ceiling above us cracked, and I knew we didn’t have long before it collapsed.
Scott struggled to stay on his feet, so Chris and I put our arms around him before the three of us dashed in the direction of the only exit. Red alarm lights and a blaring sound went off as we hurried down the staircase. Cole met us halfway, helping us with a half-conscious Scott staggering in between us.
“Is he…” Gabby started with tears in her eyes as we approached.
“Don’t know,” I muttered, knowing she wanted to know about Dorian, but really, I couldn’t care less right now if the motherfucker survived or not. “Where to?”
“M-My car,” Gabby stammered, fumbling for her keys. We came out into a dark tunnel system now busy with panicked guards and employees—either shouting orders or rushing to their cars and be off.
Grabbing Gabby’s keys, I hit a button, glad when I heard an SUV close by beeping in response. “Get into the back seat and help him,” I instructed, shoving Gabby, Lisa, Scott, and Cole inside.
Chris had the passenger door barely shut before I hit the pedal hard, nearly knocking over two people crossing the way. Scott howled in pain as the car shot over rocks and hills, and I heard Cole yelling directions at Gabby as they tried to remove the shard from Scott’s shoulder blade.
“Damn, what the hell just happened?” Chris asked as we finally saw daylight peeking into the cave.
I sped the car over the last hill before we came out into the vast space we’d already wandered about when we came here. I glanced back only to see that the entrance was well hidden within a rocky alcove which explained why we struggled to find it in the first space.
“No idea, but Scott knows a thing or two about chemistry, and he generated an explosion.”
“Brilliant. And I thought he’d already blown away his brains with all that weed,” Chris mumbled before asking, “Do you think Dorian made it?”
“Can’t say. Phil certainly didn’t.”
I knew he’d just been a boy, but still, I couldn’t find an ounce of sadness in me. Whoever wanted to hurt Haylie or my family deserved death. God only knew how many lives he put in danger since he’d switched sides. My brother Ricky was certainly one of them.
“We need to stop somewhere. I can’t pull out the shard as long as we’re moving,” Gabby complained from behind, tightening her hold on my backrest as we bounced over the lithic terrain.
“Okay, just let me gain some distance.” I turned to Chris, pointing a finger to the line of trees extending about a mile away. “I’m taking a shot in the dark and say they made a run for the woods, but we depend on Scott and Lisa’s abilities to find them because honestly, I have no idea where to start.”
By the time we collected enough twigs and other flammable things to make a fire, night fell, plunging the forest into an eerie darkness. All kinds of animals started to howl, growl, chirp, or bark, and I was glad we had a cave to shelter us. It was small but provided space for the two of us to sleep next to a campfire. A fire was risky and could attract a Watcher’s attention from miles, but the temperature had dropped drastically, and we were in desperate need of a few hours of sleep if we wanted to resume our survival mission in the morning.
I went in search of the least uncomfortable spot to sit on, but it didn’t matter where I rested my butt, a pebble or sharp edge always poked my cheeks. As soon as Cassie got the fire burning, I leaned closer to assess my hands. My palms were covered in cuts and dotted with splinters. I tried to pull them out with my fingernails, but my fingers started to tremble as soon as I tried to keep them still. It took forever to get out the first one, and there were still a dozen left.
“Dammit. You don’t happen to have some tweezers with you, do you?”
“Sure. Just let me fetch my beauty case,” Cassie replied, dripping the same sarcasm. She lifted her head to watch my failing surgical efforts. “Let me,” she offered, taking my hand in hers.
With deft fingers, she pulled out the splinters one by one while an uncomfortable silence settled around us.
“Do you think he’ll send more after us?” I asked after a moment.
“It would surprise me if he didn’t,” Cassie answered with a sigh. “We should keep an eye op
en.”
“I hope Gabby is okay.” I felt guilty dragging her into this mess, but I’d assumed she’d come with us—far away from her brother. Cassie remained silent until she removed all the splinters from my skin. “Thanks,” I mumbled as I observed her work.
“I’ll go see what I can make us for dinner,” she announced, pulling out her switchblade and taking the lighter with her. “Keep the fire burning while I’m away.”
“Don’t you want me to come with you?”
“I think I’m faster on my own.” My face was probably showing my relief. I didn’t want to move another inch tonight if I could avoid it. “I’ll whistle three times when I’m back so that you know it’s me.”
“All right, take care.”
After Cassie vanished into the night, I scooted closer to the cave opening where I had a better view of possible intruders. Picking up a sharp stone, I kept it in my hand as a weapon for defense. Not that a stone would be of any help should a Fighter or Racer charge me, but it was better than nothing.
My head dropped onto my shoulder a few times as I struggled to keep my eyes open, but eventually, I must have dozed off, drowning in a comforting dream.
A warm, hard chest pressed against my back, and strong arms wound around my torso holding me close. I didn’t need to turn around to know who sat behind me. I’d recognize the scent and feel of him anywhere.
“Dylan,” I said his name on a breath, desperate to feel his touch, to hear his voice.
“Haylie,” he purred back with just as much affection, brushing strands of hair from my face. “Are you okay, little girl?”
I so desperately wanted to turn around and take in his vivid, appion eyes, but fear of him disappearing in a puff of smoke held me back.
“I’d be better if you were with me.”
“I am with you. Right now.”
“Yeah, but this is just a dream.” Dylan remained silent and continued to stroke my skin, trailing his fingers over my jaw and down my neck. “Are you coming for me, Dylan? Will you get me out of here?”
“Of course, I will. I’ll always come for you.” I could feel his breath skimming the sensitive spot under my ear and felt his mouth coming closer, but just as his lips touched my skin, I jerked awake.
Frantically looking left and right, I realized I was alone in the cave once again. The fire already burned low. Shit, how long had I been asleep? And where the hell was Cassie?
I scrambled up, my body aching from head to toe as I reached down to throw some twigs into the fire. A snapping noise startled me, bringing me instantly on high alert.
Gripping the stone in my hand, I tentatively peeked out. Shadows moved in the distance and at first, I thought it was an animal, but then I heard distinct voices—from the sounds of it, a man and a woman. I didn’t catch what they said, but one word, in particular, caught my attention. “Dorian.”
Shit, shit, shit!
I quickly considered my options, but frankly, I didn’t have many left. Leaving the cave would play me directly into their hands. Staying here would achieve the same. My only hope was that the two were Roes with passive abilities, which still gave me a big disadvantage as I didn’t have a suitable weapon, and they sure as hell were armed. Not to mention that my power reservoir still needed time to refill.
Damn, Cassie, where are you?
“Help me!” a girl suddenly screamed, the sound cutting through the darkness. The voice seemed strangely familiar. I allowed myself another glance outside and saw a figure emerging from the woods. I couldn’t make out her looks, but the nearest guard suddenly yelled in surprise,
“Gabby?”
What? Why the fuck was Gabby out here? And why—
No! Not Gabby. Cassie.
Smart move. She had me there for a moment, and I watched in amazement as the two guards rushed in her direction, convinced it was Gabby running toward them.
“Please, help me. They kidnapped me!” she cried, and I had to say she deserved an Oscar for her acting skills.
The guy approached her, extending a hand. “You’re safe now, Gabby. We—”
He wouldn’t end the sentence as Gabby, aka Cassie, switched on her fighting mode. I only heard grunts and the snapping of bones before there was complete silence again. Someone approached the cave, and I held my breath, not knowing if I’d encounter Cassie or someone else.
“Relax, it’s me,” she said in an annoyed voice, and I exhaled audibly letting my body slump to the ground.
“You were going to whistle three times, remember?”
“Sorry, I forgot.” She shifted back to her old form as she entered the cave, something furry dangling from her hand. “I found us some dinner,” she explained, lifting the animal for me to see.
“A rabbit?” I asked skeptically. I wasn’t exactly an adventurous person when it came to culinary art, and I’d never tasted a rabbit. “Do you know how to skin it?”
A playful grin formed on her lips. “Watch and learn.”
I did, but I couldn’t say it was something I wanted to see a second time. I kept my eyes on Cassie’s task because I didn’t want to appear like a coward in front of her. It became immediately clear that Cassie knew what she was doing as she skillfully cut through the fur around the rabbit’s hind legs, making a few deliberate cuts before peeling it down. I gulped as she disposed of the animal’s head to remove its skin.
“That looked quite professional,” I commented when the rabbit roasted over the fire.
“I know a thing or two about hunting. I was lost in the woods once when I was a teenager.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I was on my own for eight days. That makes you pretty inventive.” I was curious about how that adventure had come about, but it sounded like she didn’t want to speak of her life-changing experience, so I didn’t press any further.
“This doesn’t taste so bad,” I said as I munched on my piece of meat along with some leaves and berries. Maybe not the smartest thing to do, considering Cassie could poison me, but I figured if she wanted me dead, she would have done so by now.
“Tomorrow, we’ll follow the river,” Cassie declared. “See if we can find an easier way down. We don’t know how long we’ll roam the wilderness.”
I nodded, not wanting to speak around the lump lodging in my throat. We were lucky it was summer because I doubted we’d survive a night in winter out here. Nevertheless, the nights were cold, and our battered and thin clothes were no protection.
After we finished our dinner, we fell into an easy chat while we enjoyed a cigarette. I filled Cassie in about everything that had happened since her disappearance, including Dylan’s old friend, Cole, and his team of guards who worked for Jimmy now.
“Cole Thompson?” Cassie asked in surprise as I said his name.
“You know him?”
“Dylan told me about him. He always said he’d kill him should they ever meet again.”
I laughed at remembering how close they’d been to ripping each other’s heads off the day they fought in the training hall. “Well, they won’t become best buddies, but they seem to get along. I should mention that Cole hit on you pretty badly. I mean… the other you,” I quickly corrected myself.
Cassie snorted, blowing out smoke in little puffs. “Is he hot?”
“He sure is eye candy. He may be your type.” I watched Cassie’s face fall and immediately realized my mistake. Cassie’s crush on Dylan was no secret, along with the fact that her resentment toward me stemmed from jealousy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to…”
“It’s okay. I never loved Dylan, anyway.” My eyes widened in surprise. “I care a lot about him but not like that. I guess I always thought it was love, but it’s not. It’s just… He’s the only one I have,” she added in a whisper, exposing her vulnerability.
“That’s not true. You have Sarah and Jimmy, and all the others who care about you.”
“Not the same. Dylan was the only one who always stood by my side, who was there for me
when the shit hit the fan, who comforted me when I needed someone. And… who satisfied my needs when I needed the Connection.”
I tried to keep a cool façade, but I was sure I failed. Just thinking about Dylan and Cassie having sex was like a stab straight into my heart.
“Everything changed when you came along,” she continued, but for once, not in an accusing tone. “He suddenly had other priorities, only had eyes for you. I wanted him to train with me, but he refused. You can imagine how I felt when he volunteered to be your personal trainer shortly after.”
“I’m sorry, Cassie. It was never my intention to hurt you, and I’m sure it wasn’t Dylan’s, either. We even fought about you before he left.”
“What about?”
“About your strange behavior. I told Dylan I didn’t trust you. I didn’t know you weren’t you,” I quickly added. “Dylan didn’t believe me.”
“You were right, though.”
“Yeah, but he didn’t want it to be true. He trusted you and your loyalty. Always.”
“Well, in his eyes, I deceived him… all of them. They probably won’t even let me come close to the compound,” she said, deflated.
“They’ll understand. I’ll make sure of it.” Her eyes found mine, searching for something. She nodded, and it was then we silently agreed to have each other’s back.
After our chat, we tried to get some sleep, but occasional strange sounds jerked us awake. I fed the fire with more twigs when I noticed Cassie curled up in a ball and shivering uncontrollably. I didn’t feel warm either, but at least I had a jacket to cover me. Cassie only wore the thin lab coat from Gabby, and it was torn in pieces from her fight with the Racer.
I chewed on my lip as I contemplated what I was going to say next. “Cassie?” I tried softly, knowing she was awake.
“Hm,” was all she uttered.
“You know, I could sleep next to you…” I started, not liking the idea.
