Marked

by Penelope Scott

  "It's my gift," Lucien shrugged, "Eveyone trusts you, Tara, with their lives."

  Echo blinked in surprise at hearing her real name. How had Lucien known that? Even Echo was beginning to forget it. Feeling awkward, Echo tried to shrug off Lucien's comments. "We all trust each other," she said dissmissively. "We've been through a lot."

  Lucien smiled. It was an old smile, one of quiet understanding. Echo felt like a child speaking to her grandfather.

  "Andrew's purpose will not become apparent until well after the End,"

  Echo shivered when he said 'the End'. He said it with such finality that Echo couldn't help recalling some of her dreams. She didn't want to think about how close it was getting to The End.

  "You, however," Lucien continued, "You will be needed soon if we're going to make it through the End alive."

  Echo did not like the sound of that. "What do you mean?"

  "I just mean that you should be ready. I'm sorry I don't really know any more than that."

  'Well, thanks for freaking me out, then,' Echo thought to herself grumpily.

  "You should make up with Lys," Lucien added suddenly.

  "What does that have to do with anything?"

  Lucien shrugged, "Maybe nothing, maybe everything."

  Andrew must have picked up on Echo's mood, because he started fussing. Echo decided that she did not really like talking to Lucien. He creeped her out and nothing he said made any sense.

  Lucien's presence did not make the shopping trip any more comfortable. Shy and Bold didn't seem to like him either. They walked far behind and tried to avoid talking to him most of the time. Echo would have felt a little bad for him, if not for Athena. When he was with Athena, Lucien seemed to act more like the young boy he was, and not like a creepy old seer who gave cryptic advice.

  Shopping itself was not very entertaining. They wandered a bit, looked around, and picked up a few itemse with a stack of cash Angel had supplied from the glove box of the SUV. Angel really had been preparing for this for months, even if she didn't know what she was preparing for. Echo though that a Chosen's instincts could be eerily prophetic.

  While she walked around, Echo let some old women look at Andrew. She tried to explain to them that Andrew wasn't her baby, but she didn't think they believed her. Well, they were nice anyway.

  While one of them was baby-talking to Andrew and letting him suck on her finger, Echo got a tingly feeling up her spine that set her nerves on edge. Every muscle in her body stiifened and she desperately looked around for the others.

  No one was there.

  "Excuse me," Echo said quickly to the women, "I have to go find my brother now, have a nice day." Echo spun around without waiting to hear the womens' replies and dashed down the isles looking for Irvine. The feeling wasn't strong enough to run, but it had been long ebough since the last time she'd felt like this that it made her very nervous.

  As she was running through the isles of the store she ran into Lucien and Athena, who also looked mildly panicked.

  "I think the police are getting closer," Lucien said to her. Echo nodded and they worldessly turned down another isle to look for the others.

  They found Irvine with Shy and Bold in the checkout line. Shy was bouncing excitedly while Bold and Irvine seemed to be continually looking over their shoulders. They couldn't have looked more suspicious if they were wearing ski masks and toting guns.

  "Echo! Over here!" Shy waved the older girl down as the group reassembled.

  "Everyone please stay calm," Irvine growled. Andrew started crying and Echo quickly tried to hush him with a pacifier.

  "How close do you think they are?" Echo whispered.

  Irvine was scanning the parking lot, "Closer than I'm comfotable with."

  Shy and Bold cursed together in a rare display of their strange twin connection.

  "Here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna pay and walk very calmly out of the store, Lucien and Athena are with me. Echo, you'll take Andrew out the back way. Shy and Bold, you guys wait a few minutes and then follow me out if it's safe. Take the back if it's not. We're gonna have to ditch the car."

  Echo nodded solemnly.

  "We'll all make our way separately back to the rendevous point. Clear?"

  For once, even Shy was serious. Irvine handed Echo Andrew's baby bag. "You go first, sweetheart."

  Echo didn't need to be told twice. She tried to look inconspicuous as she weaved back through the store towards the back entrance. She clutched Andrew tightly to her chest, her nerves getting more frazzled by the second. It took everything she had not to burst out into a run.

  Echo ducked out the back door without incident and found herself momentarily blinded by the glaring sunlight. She peered towards the front parking lot in time to see a suspicious black sedan swerve into the parking lot at a dangerous speed. Two men in suits climbed out and spread out across the lot. Behind them, walking down the street towards a bus stop, Echo could just make out Irvine, Athena, and Lucien. At least they had gotten out alright.

  Echo couldn't allow herself time to worry about Shy and Bold. They were resourceful, they would get out alright. Echo spun aorund and walked briskly in the opposite direction of the men. They already seemed to be honing in on the SUV. They'd made the right choice in leaving it.

  Echo was aware that Irvine had trusted her with an important job. He could have taken Andrew back with him, but apparently what Lucien said was true. They trusted Echo, probably a bit more than she trusted herself. Andrew gurgled contentedly in her arms.

  "Well," Echo sighed, "If you're not worried, I guess I might do alright." She spotted a bus rolling down the street a few stops down and jogged towards the stop to catch it. Behind her she knew that the Hunters were coming around to the back lot. Did they know her face? Would they recognize her for a Chosen? Echo didn't really care to find out.

  There was another woman at the bus stop with a baby that Andrew wanted to stare at. Echo couldn't watch the bus coming without exposing her face to the Hunters, so she turned to the other woman and, in a perfect imitation of the ladies in the store, gushed over her baby. "What a cutie!" She babbled, "How old is he?"

  The lady was all too happy to talk about her baby. The bus rolled to a stop in front of them and they got on, still talking. Echo's kept up the conversation while her eyes watched the Hunters. It went against her every instinct not to just take off down the street. But running now would look suspicious, and they would certainly chase her.

  The bus doors closed behind her with a hiss. She sat down and the bus started moving. She didn't know where the bus was going, but she had most of the day to figure out how to get back to the rendezvous point. The Hunters zipped out of sight and the feelings receded.

  It was that easy. She was safe.

  ***

  Lys had no idea how to hotwire a bus. Everyone was overjoyed when they actually did find a bus at the summer camp. Lys had actually been pretty pessimistic about the chances of finding a bus there. Apparently, though, there needs were being provided for. When they arrived they had all been thrilled to see the sky-blue bus that happily proclaimed 'Camp Joy!!' along the side. The whoel thing was decorated with pictures of happy clouds and rainbows and other frightfully happy things, all of which seemed to have goofy, grinning faces.

  Now there was just the problem of getting the stupid thing moving. Lys struggled with the wires under the bus's steering wheel for nearly ten minutes before Ro finally wandered off to see if she could find some keys.

  Angel got impatient as well and stomped up to his side. "What are you doing under there?" she sighed.

  "Trying to start this damned thing so we can get out of here!"

  "Move over, kid." Angel huffed.

  Lys peered at her curiously. Could it be that Angel knew how to do this? What kinds of things were they teaching the military these days? Angel didn't look like she was open to arguing about it, so Lys moved out of her way and watched, impressed, when she had the bus runnin in less tha
n a minute. She was just in time to see Ro return with the keys.

  "Figures," Lys grumbled.

  "Do we keep the SUV, or dump it?" Bambi wondered as they all assembled on the grounds.

  "Dump it," Angel said, "They're probably onto it by now."

  "Isn't it kinda strange that we're moving into a bus to be less conspicuous?" Lys wondered.

  Angel cackled and Bambi even smiled. "Maybe so," Said Angel, "But I'm betting they sure as hell aren't seeing this baby coming!"

  "The element of surprise," Ro agreed.

  "Just get a move on," Maddox huffed, "We've got an appointment to keep."

  "Right you are, old man." Lys agreed, "Let's go."

  Before they could go anywhere, they had to move the stuff from the SUV into their new wheels. Angel and Bambi had practcally disassembled the helicopter before they left it, so the back of the SUV was loaded with a ridiculous arsenal of weapons. The only thing from the chopper they'd left behind was the turret, and only because Angel didn't have to proper tools to remove it.

  "I feel like we're going to war," Lys commented, looking at the arsenal.

  "We are," Angel said with a rueful smile. She sat in the driver's seat of the bus, turned on the engine, and put her foot to the floor. The bus lurched forward with such speed that Lys was actually knocked off his feet. Everyone else had had the good sense to sit down before Angel could start driving.

  Angel drove the bus like it was a helicopter: fast, noisy, and completely unconcerned for where the roads and traffic signs were. He silently wondered how often she actually piloted anything that moved on the ground. Even Maddox looked a bit worried. Only Bambi was unaffected, sitting demurely near the front next to Angel.

  The sun was nearly setting when they careened back into town on the Camp Joy!! bus. Angel took the most direct route back to the meeting spot. She didn't seemed concerned by how many people were honking angrily at her after being cut off by the joyful sky-blue bus.

  They pulled into the meeting point, but only Irvine, Athena, and Lucien were there. Ro was the first off the bus, and she quickly scooped up her younger sister in a tight hug.

  "Where are the rest?" Maddox demanded quickly.

  Irvine looked worried. "We had to split up, Hunters caught up to us and found the car."

  Those words were enough to put an end to the easy-going feeling that had developed over the last few days. "What?" Lys choked. His thoughts immediately went to Echo. Was she okay? Did they catch her? He didn't know what he'd do if they took Echo away. Would they take her to the lab they were heading towards, or would they just kill her on the spot?

  The worry he felt must have shown, because Ro gave him a concerned look, and Athena gave him a hug. "Echo will be okay." Athena told him.

  Lys smiled; of course Echo would be okay.

  "They're fine," Lucien assured them all, although Lys still wasn't sure how much he trusted Lucien's mysterious 'gift'. "Echo is nearly here, and Shy and Bold aren't far behind."

  Sure enough, only twenty minutes later, Echo appeared with Andrew. She was out of breath and flushed with colour, but there didn't seem to be any injuries on her. Lys nearly fell to the ground with relief. "Echo..." He breathed. She looked really beautiful when she was out of breath like that. Lys wanted to run to her and hold her, but then she gave him a stern look that reminded him that she was still angry. Rejected, Lys shrank back and let the others show their appreciation that she and Andrew were okay.

  Soon after the twins also arrived, also out of breath and bickering with each other like nothing was wrong. For a brief second everything just seemed so normal. Lys almost forgot what they were up against.

  "The Hunters totally gutted your car, Angel," Shy told the woman. "Sorry."

  "Forget it," Angel replied, "Are you two okay?"

  "We're okay," Bold assured everyone. "The Hunters are still swarming around that harward store, but they didn't catch us."

  "Bold got us lost," Shy interrupted.

  "I did not!" Bold snapped immediately. "I knew exactly where we were going!" Lys had a feeling that they had been carrying on this arguement all day. They would probably keep it up all night too, if they weren't stopped.

  "Alright, alright!" Lys cried, stepping in between the twins. "Just relax, okay? We've got our new wheels, no one got caught, it was a productive day, right?"

  To his surpise, the twins stopped. "You're right," Bold said with a small smile.

  Shy looked behind him at the 'Camp Joy!!' bus. She giggled, "Nice bus," She grinned.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  ~*Stick Up*~

  Everything was normal at Remington Medical Research labs. The scientists were already busy at work by nine o'clock that morning. It was Mindy's second week at the labs and she was really starting to enjoy being their receptionist.

  "Good morning, Doctor," Mindy would say with a pleasant smile.

  "Good morning," they would answer politely.

  Her days were easy and relaxed. Her only duties were to greet visitors and take calls. She sat in the sunny lobby and filed her nails or read magazines most of the day. Mindy also really liked getting attention from people who could be called 'Doctor', even if all they said was 'good morning' when they came in and 'good evening' when they left.

  Mindy had only been back into the laboratories once on her first day. Dr Reid, the chief scientist there, had given her a tour. Most of the areas where the doctors worked were off limits to her, but Mindy had been able to see them through the windows in the doors.

  It was strange, but there seemed to be fewer people working in the labs than there were walking through the doors each morning. Where did they all go? Mindy had commented on this once to Dr Reid, but he had laughed at her and told her that the labs were bigger than they looked. Mindy liked Dr Reid. He was always friendly and usually had funny jokes or stories to tell her when he had a break. Dr Reid was divorced and Mindy sometimes fantasized about going out on a date with him. Her mother would be so proud if she got herself a rich doctor boyfriend.

  Mindy was busy filing her nails while eagerly pouring over the lastest issue of Cosmo when she heard the electric doors swish open. She put on her brightest smile and looked up, "Welcome to..."

  Something just wasn't right with the two women that walked into the lobby. It wasn't the cool confidence of their gate, either; everyone who came into the lab walked like that. No, something about their eyes...and in their hands were... It took Mindy's shocked and confused mind a full two seconds to realize what was going on.

  The women stepped in and before she could get a good look at their faces they pulled ski masks down over their faces. They were dressed identically, although they certainly were not identical women. They wore black combat boots and military-style cargo pants with tight black t-shirts. One woman was tall, dark-skinned and shapely while the other was short, pale, and boyish.

  As the doors swished closed behind them, they raised the huge, shiny weapons in their hands and pointed them at her. Mindy started to scream. The small woman cocked her gun and planted it against her temple. "Shut up," she said. Her voice was as cold as ice. Mindy immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. "Get up," she continued. Mindy did as she was told. "Take us to the labs."

  Shakily, Mindy walked out from behind her desk and led the two intruders to the back where the labs were. As they walked, they stopped at the doors to the main lab. Everything behind that door was off-limits to Mindy. The short woman kept her gun to Mindy's head while the tall one looked at the locks. "Can you open this?" asked the tall one.

  Mindy couldn't quite bring herself to speak, but she managed to shake her head. They didn't seem at all detered by their inability to enter. The tall woman just raised her gun and fired at the doors until they practically fell open. She kicked the doors open with her booted foot and stomped inside.

  Every single person inside was staring at them in horror. Mindy recognized the faces of her pleasant doctors, warily eying the two gunwomen and Mind
y, terrified and shviering with tears streaking down her face, with a gun to her head.

  They must have looked quite a sight. The tall woman stomped forward and pulled a second gun from her belt, she raised her beautifully toned arms and pointed her weapons at the doctors. The smaller woman stayed back and gast her gaze across the room.

  "Alright everyone," The tall woman growled. Her voice was as cold as the other one's, maybe colder. The command in her voice chilled Mindy to the bone. How could this be happening? What was going on? "Stay where you are and put your hands up." Mindy could have sworn she heard the woman grinning, "This is a stick up."

  *

  Shy was a little bit annoyed that she had to stay behind and babysit. She knew her arm was still messed up, but she'd wanted to help out too! Athena and Lucien were also staying behind. Lucien was helping to coordinate the rescue from the bus, while Athena was simply too young to go on the mission. The others were all going inside to do the rescuing.

  The radio was on, and the news reporter was talking about the war again. The middle east really did have nuclear weapons, the woman claimed, and they were threatening to use them. They were cutting this rescue mission very, very close. The dreams were getting more violent every day, and they came more often, almost frenzied.

  Everything together was making Shy, and everyone else, very irritable and jumpy.

  "Your job is very important," Lys tried to soothe her, distracting her from the radio. "You're the getaway driver, right? And anyway, someone needs to look after Andrew."

  "Athena and Lucien are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves and Andrew!"

  "Their feet can't reach the pedals of the bus."

  "I can barely reach them! I can't see over the steering wheel!" Shy was practically grinding her teeth in frustration.

  As if to prove a point, Lys poked her injured arm making her hiss in pain. "Stay here," he repeated. "And if you see us running out of there like crazy people, get ready to gun it."