I’ve never had an actual conversation with the girl, but I feel such a connection to her. It so easily could have been me in Jane’s position, if not for my ability to absorb the talents given to me. I know how deeply Aiden cares for her and I desperately just want for her to wake up and for both of their pain to end.
I’ve spent weeks in the clinic with her and though I’m never certain if she can hear me, I always have chats to her. I think a part of me hopes my words will help draw her from her slumber.
Kelsey was convinced that all she needed was a kiss to awaken her from her sleep, just like Sleeping Beauty. It really upset her when Aiden slowly bent down and gently kissed her lips and she didn’t wake up. I’ve been hesitant to bring Kelsey back since.
I bring my other hand up and clasp it around hers. ‘Jane, I know you’ve been sick, but you really need to wake up now,’ I say to her, softly. ‘Aiden needs you here and I for one would really like to meet you properly. We can’t keep having these one sided conversations.’ I try to joke, but inside my words only make me sadder.
‘Please just wake up,’ I urge her. I rest my head down on her hands and as I do I feel a surge of energy pulse through me. It rushes from my heart, down my arms and through my hands, and then leaches out where my skin touches Jane’s.
A wave of dizziness comes over me. I drop her hand and push back from the bed, staggering to my feet. I feel nauseated, weak and tired, and I rest my hand on the back of the chair to steady myself as I watch Jane.
Did her eyelids just flicker? She lies there, just as still as always, but there seems to be a little more colour in her cheeks. Fear coats me like a slick sheen of sweat. What did I do to her?
I stumble as I rush to leave her room. Reaching out, I steady myself on the doorframe. Maybe I need some fresh air to try and clear my mind.
Once I’m steady I proceed into the hallway. Henry is walking towards me and as I focus on him my nausea seems to subside.
‘How are you today Elle?’ he asks.
‘Fine,’ I respond, nodding my head as the dizziness I’d felt moments ago starts to fade.
‘Are you helping us today?’ he asks.
I hesitate with my response. I need to clear my head and try to figure out what just happened with Jane. I’m saved from answering as Aiden appears behind Henry.
‘Elle, you’re here,’ he says.
His eyes look red and exhausted. It pains me to see him that way, especially when it looks like he’s been crying.
‘Henry was just telling me about M,’ Aiden continues. ‘I’m glad they’re planning to send someone for him.’
I nod, in a very non-committal way.
‘Will you be going with them?’ he asks.
Henry shoots a nervous glance my way as I shake my head. ‘I’m too much of a liability.’
Aiden folds his arms over his chest. ‘Well, I definitely don’t see you that way. You’ve been such an amazing help here. This place wouldn’t run without you.’
I smile up at him. He’s totally exaggerating, but it makes me feel good to know that I’m appreciated here in the clinic. After those weeks captured in the hospital I thought I’d never want to see the inside of one again, but I’ve surprised myself. Being in the clinic gives me a sense of purpose I wouldn’t otherwise have.
‘I’m sure it would run fine.’
‘Don’t sell yourself short,’ Henry says, patting me on the shoulder. He glances over his shoulder towards his lab at the back of the clinic. ‘I’d better get back to work.’
‘Before you go, Henry,’ I say, causing him to pause. ‘How’s Lara doing? I saw her at the meeting today.’
‘Much better,’ he responds. ‘She’s seeming more like her old self now. I think she’s really turned a corner.’
I smile at him. ‘I’m glad she’s feeling more herself.’ In the last few weeks she’s spent so much time alone I’ve barely seen her at all. Henry gives me a warm smile, in complete agreement with me, before he continues on his way to the back of the clinic.
‘Aiden?’ I ask, slowly turning to him. He raises one eyebrow looking at me questioningly. I want to get his opinion on what just happened with Jane, but I don’t want to upset him. He’s got a lot on his mind right now and what if I’ve somehow made her worse?
‘Could you check on Jane?’ I ask. ‘I think she has more colour in her cheeks today.’
He gives me a sad smile. ‘I was just going to check on her now. Do you want to come with me?’
I nod and follow him back down the corridor to Jane’s room. I hover by the door, chewing on my lower lip, as I watch him check her over. I’ve watched him do the same tests checking for her response so many times now. As he opens her eyelid to check her pupils, I know he’s nearing the end of them.
‘How is she?’ I ask.
He slowly straightens his back and looks at me, giving me a small shake of his head. ‘The same.’
My shoulders slouch and I can’t bring myself to look him in the eye. Not when there’s so much pain visible there. Did I really see her eyelids flickering? I felt certain I had, but maybe I imagined it.
‘I should go,’ I say.
He nods. ‘I’ll see you later.’
I walk to the door and pick up the radio there to call the lookouts to check if it’s all clear. As I glance back, I see Aiden huffing out a deep sigh and his shoulders hunching over. He needs for Jane to be okay, but I don’t know what I can do to help.
It’s lightly raining when I get outside. The droplets are so soft they almost tingle as they touch my face. I pull my hood up to cover my head and glance up at the sky, before I begin to walk back to the subway.
Even though the lookouts gave me the go ahead and I know there are no recruiters in the area, I don’t feel completely safe. I’ve made this walk countless times, but each time makes me just as uneasy as the first. The clinic is three blocks away from the subway, but the short distance always feels impossibly far. Large townhouses line the street, their tall, crumbling facades making me feel like I’m constantly being watched from the dark shadows that pool in their empty windows.
I pause when I reach the end of the first block of houses, pushing my senses out to see if I can catch the sound of anyone else on the street. My eyes scan across the wide square of grass on the other side of the road. There’s a small playground there with wild grasses that grow around the swing set and a slide that is covered in rust.
I can’t hear anything other than my deep breaths in and out, and the ever soft rustle of the breeze through the grass. The coast is clear. I move to walk across the road, when my cuff suddenly vibrates. I glance down to see the message I’ve received. The comm is from one of the lookouts.
‘Hide,’ is all it says.
I swear under my breath and race for the park across the road. Throwing myself into the long grasses, I lay my body flat on the ground. It’s muddy and my clothes are immediately caked in the wet dirt. But that’s the least of my worries. A recruiter must be in the area and until I get the all clear, I need to stay as hidden as possible.
We’ve practiced what to do when a recruiter is in the area before, but this is the first time I’ve been out in the open when a message has come through for real. They must be close. I try to recall April’s exact words. She told us to hide, stay quiet and keep out of sight; not to move until a message is sent saying it’s safe to return.
My heart races as I wonder at how close they could be. Is there only one recruiter or are there more?
I don’t want to get caught and it makes me so nervous being out in the open like this, but I don’t want to risk making a run for the subway. I close my eyes and try to concentrate on what I can hear.
It doesn’t sound like anyone is close. All I can hear is the sound of the wind as it softly rustles in the grasses I hide in. I shuffle in an attempt to get comfortable. I could be here for a while.
Twenty minutes pass and still there’s no sign of any recruiters. I glance at my cuff, yet agai
n, waiting for the comm that everything is fine. Maybe they’re not sending one? Maybe they can’t.
I lift my head slightly to look around. The park I’m in is a small square that’s surrounded by townhouses. I was stupid to choose the park to hide in. It’s way too open and exposed. Breaking into one of the abandoned townhouses would have been a much better idea. I hadn’t put much thought into it when I’d received the comm though. All I could think was that I needed to hide, and the long grass in the park was the first place my eyes had fallen upon.
I continue to scan the edge of the park and the houses that surround it. I freeze as I catch movement at the end of one of the roads that lead to the park. A figure comes into view that causes me to gasp.
The man looks up and across the park, his eyes immediately latching onto mine. It’s Hunter. He’s dressed in a recruiter’s uniform and from the moment his eyes meet mine, I know I’ve been caught.
CHAPTER SIX
I flatten my body to the ground, my heart pounding wildly against the wall of my chest. I can hear it thudding in my ears as though it were the only sound in the world. I take two deep breaths in before glancing up again. Hunter continues to watch me, his eyes bright with recognition.
I curse at my stupidity and take a quick look over my shoulder in the direction of the station. Do I make a run for it? I quickly dismiss the thought. I’d be leading him straight to the others.
My pulse quickens and I feel the tingle of my talent awaken over my skin. I close my eyes tightly and concentrate on trying to teleport out of here. If I can manage it, there’s no way for him to follow me. Seconds pass though, and I’m still lying in the mud in the park. My body tenses as I urge for it to disappear. I try to focus completely on the task, but a small part of my brain seizes with terror as I imagine letting my talent loose.
The more I will for it to happen, the more grounded I feel.
I exhale the breath I’ve been holding as I give up. Teleportation clearly isn’t going to happen. I sneak another look at Hunter. He’s still watching the grasses, his eyes zeroed in on where I hide. He hasn’t made a step towards me though. There’s a slight frown on his forehead and he looks like he’s thinking hard.
Another voice calls out to him and he slowly turns his head to the side. ‘There’s nothing down this way,’ he yells in reply. ‘Let’s try back towards the edge of East Hope.’
He moves back down the street, glancing over his shoulder just once as he moves away.
My heart still hammers as I sink back into the ground. I’m certain he saw me, but why didn’t he give me away? Why did he let me go?
When the comm finally comes in that it’s safe, it’s well into the afternoon and the sky has begun to darken. I’m dirty, wet and completely miserable as I trudge back to the subway, but at least I still have my freedom.
Sebastian is pacing inside the station entrance when I return, and I find myself in his arms before I have a chance to warn him about the mud all over me.
‘You’re okay,’ he says, breathing a sigh of relief. ‘And you’ve been rolling in the mud.’ He chuckles as he pulls back to take a look at me.
I look down at my clothes and cringe. They’re even worse than I thought. ‘I got a warning comm while I was walking back from the clinic, so I hid in the park. It wasn’t pleasant. Where’s Kelsey?’
‘She’s with Mia, playing with Amber. I’ve been going crazy waiting for you. I knew you’d gone to the clinic, but I had no idea if you were safe.’
I smile at him. ‘I came back as soon as I got the all clear. How many were there? Did they get close?’
I follow Sebastian down into the station. ‘There was a team of them, about six guys. They were checking houses the street over from the station. It was close.’
I chew on my lower lip. They’ve never been that close before. It’s only a matter of time before they’re back, and we may not be so lucky next time.
We walk down the steps and onto the platform. There are a handful of people there, preparing to go on a scouting mission for food. One of the girls eyes me strangely and I follow her gaze down to my wet and dirty clothes.
‘I should go change.’
‘I quite like the look you’ve got going,’ Sebastian replies, his eyes bright with amusement, as he looks me up and down. ‘And I’m slightly jealous. You look like a kid who just couldn’t resist the big pile of mud in front of them. I wish I could have been there to roll around in it with you.’
I give him a playful shove. ‘You’re impossible.’
This only seems to make his smile wider. ‘Come find me when you’re changed?’
I raise an eyebrow, questioning him.
‘I have a surprise…’
‘If it’s an extra training session, you know that’s not much of a surprise.’ He’s been helping me practice to use my talent over the last few weeks. I’m guessing he’s got some time to help me today.
He shakes his head and looks away, as though suddenly unable to meet my eyes. ‘Nah, it’s not that. You’ll like it, I promise.’
‘Okay. I’ll meet you back at the platform in ten minutes.’ I smile and try to ignore the way my heart races as he beams back at me.
It takes me twenty minutes to get ready. I hadn’t realised that my hair was coated in a layer of mud and I have to hunt down some water to try and wash it out.
I walk back along the tunnel, emerging by the platform. Sebastian is sitting on the edge of it and his eyes light up when he sees me. He looks excited as I approach him and I wonder what he wants to do.
‘Hmm, maybe I don’t prefer the mud,’ he says, reaching a hand down to help me up onto the platform.
I can feel a blush forming on my cheeks. ‘So, what do you have planned?’ I ask him.
‘If I told you now that would just ruin it, wouldn’t it?’
I fold my arms over my chest and try to come up with a reason why telling me now wouldn’t ruin the surprise, but give up. If he wants to surprise me, I don’t want to spoil it by finding out.
‘What are you guys doing?’ April emerges from the tunnel behind me. There’s a serious look on her face and she looks distracted, like she has too much on her mind to even listen to our response. She smiles as she approaches, but the smile doesn’t meet her eyes.
‘Nothing,’ we both say at the time.
‘Don’t forget we’re meeting in the morning before going in to rescue M,’ she says to Sebastian, as she climbs up onto the platform.
Sebastian nods, a flicker of worry entering his expression as she strides past us, making for the stairs at the end of the platform. She hesitates when she reaches them and looks back at us. Her eyes are clouded with concern, and she looks like she wants to say something else, but she shakes her head and starts up the stairs.
‘She’s worried,’ he says, quietly.
‘We all are,’ I reply.
He frowns and then dismisses the expression, replacing it with a grin. ‘Let’s just pretend for one night that we’re not hiding out in an abandoned subway station; that our world is not all messed up. Tonight, let’s just be two regular teenagers.’
He offers out his arm to take mine and I smile. I don’t even remember what it feels like to be a regular teenager, but it sounds amazing.
‘Where to?’ I ask, linking my arm with his. He begins walking, but instead of heading back to the tunnel we follow April up the steps towards the surface. He leads me over to the staff area of the station.
‘The security office?’ I ask, frowning.
‘Just trust me,’ he says.
I nod and nervously follow his lead through the door and along the corridor. I can’t imagine what is waiting for us in there. He seems excited about it though; I don’t think I’ve ever seen him walk this fast before.
When he pushes the door to the security office open I stop, my jaw dropping open. The room has completely transformed from its usual bare attire. The roof is covered with twinkling fairy lights and there are piles of cushions set
up facing the large screen on the wall. My pulse races with surprise as I take it all in.
‘You did this for me?’ I whisper.
‘I know it’s not much, but I wanted tonight to be special.’
I reach out and grab his hand, squeezing it tightly. ‘It’s more than special.’ No one has ever done anything like this for me before.
He beams at me, his eyes sparkling with happiness.
I take a step into the room. ‘Where is everyone?’
‘They’re setting up a backup office in a house in South Hope. They don’t want a reoccurrence of what happened last time.’
‘And the fairy lights?’
‘Found them on one of my scavenger hunts. Do you like them?’
‘Like them? I love them,’ I gush.
He grins and leads me over to the piles of cushions. I sit down and when I look at my feet I find a bowl of popcorn there. I love popcorn, but it was always difficult to get in the ARC. I can’t imagine how he’s managed to get a hold of some up here.
‘So, what are we watching?’ I ask, guessing at what he has planned.
He lowers himself onto the cushions next to mine. ‘Movie marathon,’ he says.
I clasp my hands together in delight. ‘Which movies?’
‘I have a whole selection,’ he says, picking about five DVDs off the floor.
‘Are we going to watch all of them?’ I ask, my voice going up an octave in excitement.
He laughs. ‘If you like.’
‘Yeah, I’d like.’ I smile.
I snuggle into the cushions, ready for the first film. I love watching movies so much, no matter what the genre. But, as it starts, all I can think of is Sebastian’s hand that rests so close to mine.
He glances over at me and catches me watching him, so I quickly look away. It feels so nice to be doing this together. My life has felt so crazy for the last few months and I can’t remember when I felt a semblance of anything that looks even remotely close to normal. I don’t know how he knew I needed this, but I appreciate it so much.
Destined (The ARC Book 4) Page 6
