by Eaton, Pam
I step closer to her, but her body jerks back a step, like a puppet on a string. “Mom?”
“Join with Mr. Smith. Let him see what you are sheltering. Remember, we will help wherever we can.”
She stumbles back another step, her feet entering the water. Slowly she continues to move backward, the waves now lapping up her legs. “You’ll see her again soon,” the voice tells me from my mom’s mouth.
And in a blink, the water rises up and swallows her whole.
I stand there, waiting for the dream to end. But it doesn’t, so I sit in the soft sand and let the lapping waves lull me into a calm I haven’t felt in a long time.
I send a silent thank you to whoever controls this dream world, because this is a peace I’ve needed but couldn’t find.
Twenty
A knock at the door drags me from the calming waves and warm beach.
“Yeah,” I call out, wiping the sleep from my eyes.
Lucy peeks her head in the room. “Tiberius and the gang are almost here. They just got on the boat.”
I push up into a sitting position and quickly suck in a pain-filled breath. Lucy rushes in, putting her hands out to stop me. “You’ve got to take it easy. Broken ribs take a bit to heal. Last thing we need is you puncturing one of your lungs with that.”
I wave her away, but she just moves around me and opens the drawer next to the bed. “Walter left these for you,” she says, grabbing out pills and lifting a glass of water from the table.
I eye the pills in her hand. “Are these going to put me into a weird haze?” I ask.
She shrugs. “No clue, but you can’t function if you’re in constant pain.”
She’s right. I take them from her hand and swallow them down.
“You’ve got enough time for a shower. I grabbed some of your clothes from your room,” she points to a bag on the chair against the wall.
A shower sounds awesome right now. “Thanks,” I tell her.
I slide ever so carefully to the edge of the bed. My body jerks in pain at every movement, but the promise of warm water is too much to resist. I make my way slowly into the bathroom.
As the shower heats up, I lean against the sink and finally look at myself in the mirror. I look horrible, there’s no way around it. My cheek is mottled in black, blues, and purples. My bottom lip has a cut in it, and my eyes are slightly glossy and bloodshot. I gently lift my shirt up and over my head, cursing the entire time and having to take frequent breaks. I turn my body so I can see my ribs. I look like I was in a fight and lost, which is pretty much the truth. Images play on a reel behind my eyes. It doesn’t help that I can see the imprint of Henderson’s hand on my wrist. I try to breathe through the pain and terror, but it’s taking hold of me.
I’m safe now. We’re all safe.
I walk on shaky legs to the shower and slowly climb over the edge. The hot water hits me, and I wince at the shock. I lean my head against the cool tile wall and let the warmth of the water penetrate my cold skin. And as it rains down on my body, I finally let the tears fall.
I know my mom wants me to be strong, but this is too much. What they’re asking of me is too much. How do we stop someone who can compel people, who’s been part of a government organization for decades, and has a secret weapon at his disposal named Chelsea? She can block anyone’s power. Rivers could have lied to Mr. Smith and if Chelsea was there, no one would have ever known.
I stay in the shower long enough for my fingers to wrinkle and prune, until the sound of voices drags me out.
The sight that greets me when I walk out of the room is enough to bring me to my knees. Xavier, Tiberius, and Tony are all here and in one piece. “Hey guys,” I say, and all of their heads snap up.
Tiberius walks over to me and tenderly enfolds me in his arms. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispers into my hair. “Never again are you going into a dangerous place without me.”
“Here’s hoping, right?” I ask on a sad laugh.
We walk farther into the room. Xavier curses low at the sight of me, and Tony goes completely white. He turns like he’s going to walk out the door, but Walter stops him.
“You can’t run anymore,” Walter says softly, but we all hear him. “We need you now. You are in a room with people who have lost loved ones, been tortured, have seen unmentionable horrors. You are not alone in your pain.”
“I don’t belong here,” Tony says to him. He grips his hair. “I betrayed Becca. The one person who has always been there. I betrayed her.”
I walk across the room and grab his shirt, making him look at me. “I get it. We all get it. We all probably would have done the same thing if we were in your shoes. But now we need you to commit. We need you all in. I can’t help you if you don’t let me.”
“I don’t know what’s worse,” he whispers, eyes refusing to meet mine. “Being the one who’s tortured or watching them beat you.”
I swallow hard at his words. Because I don’t think I could have handled watching what they did to him.
“It’s done now,” I tell him. “Can’t go back. We just need to keep going forward.”
“Why don’t you hate me?” he asks.
“Some moments I do,” I say, watching his throat bob as he swallows a thick ball of emotion. “But other moments, I think—if it were my grandparents, I’d do anything. I wish you had talked to me. I wish you had trusted in me. But you’re my friend. And I saw how much it hurt you to watch what they did to me. Just don’t do it again.”
He nods once.
Lucy steps up next to us. “Let’s go have our long-overdue chat,” she says to Tony and leads him out of the room, Walter following closely on their heels.
I clear my throat a few times, turning to the rest of the room. “Where’s the rest of the group?”
“They went back to headquarters,” Xavier says, walking over to the couch, and we all follow, taking our seats. “I’m going to need to go there soon as well.”
“We all need to go soon,” I tell him.
“I agree, but we need to fly,” Tiberius says in a stern voice.
“I can—” I start to say.
“No.” Tiberius’s voice leaves no room for arguing. “You need to rest and heal. I know how worn out you can get traveling long distances with a lot of passengers.”
Not going to lie, I was kind of hoping he hadn’t noticed that.
“We’ll need your transporting skills soon enough. You’re no good to us if you run yourself into the ground.”
“How were things when you left headquarters?” Xavier asks, ever the peacemaker.
I take a deep breath and focus on Xavier. “When I left, Gregory was with Mr. Smith, and I don’t think he’ll let anyone get near him.”
You can visibly see some of the tension lift from his shoulders. “Good. Did Doc say anything?” he asks.
“They were running tests when I left. But he was stable,” I tell him.
“Thank goodness for that. It was so hard to tell when I first saw him strapped to that table.” Tiberius says.
Thinking about Gregory makes me think about the chaos I left when we transported out of there. “How bad did it get in France?” I ask, searching both of their faces.
Tiberius sits forward on the couch, his hands clasped between his knees. “They almost broke through that door,” he says, shaking his head. “If it weren’t for Raven’s rats and mice, things would have been different.”
An awkward silence fills the room, and the guys share a look that I can only guess has something to do with me.
Tremors race up and down my legs as I watch some unspoken conversation. “What?” I ask, not handling the tension at all.
“We were wondering if you would tell us what happened?” Guess Tiberius pulled the short straw on asking that question.
But that question makes me hear my grandpa’s voice coming through Sariah’s vile mouth. It makes me shudder.
“Sariah and Henderson were there,” I tell them. I look a
way, focusing on the floral curtains hanging in front of the window. “They hung me from chains attached to the ceiling.”
Xavier lets out a stream of curses.
“Who’s that?” Tiberius asks, and you can’t mistake the rage in his question.
I look over at Tiberius, and he’s barely containing the anger I see simmering behind his eyes.
“Sariah was recruited with me. Her power is to mimic anyone’s voice. She’s the one that questioned me.”
Tiberius looks at me with such pain that I know I don’t even need to tell him whose voice she used against me.
“Henderson,” I soldier on, not wanting to hear how sorry they are, “his power is to clone himself about five times. He’s the one that was on the plane, the one that kidnapped Gregory.”
Xavier sucks in a sharp breath and leans back into the couch. He looks up at the ceiling. “All those men were him.” He says it as a statement, not a question, but I nod anyways.
“Handy power,” Tiberius says, virtually growling.
I nod. “When do we head back to the states?” I ask, desperately wanting to focus on something else.
Tiberius looks me over. Probably cataloging all the injuries he can see. “We’ll have to leave in a few days,” he says.
Can I wait that long to see Gregory? Do I really have a choice?
We sit in silence, the moment feeling heavy.
“I’m pretty sure Raven had the rats piss on the people on the other side of the door.” Xavier says it so seriously that it takes a moment for the rest of us to catch on.
Tiberius lets out a surprised bark of laughter that I’ve never heard out of his mouth before, and I burst into laughter with him. “Oh no more, my ribs can’t take it,” I say between laughs.
“I’m serious though. Pretty ingenious on her part.”
Twenty-One
“I want to come with you,” Luca tells us for probably the tenth time.
“I know. But I need you here to protect these people. Lucy is staying here as well,” Tiberius says from behind us.
“He’s right,” I tell Luca. “And I can always come get you at any moment.” Granted, the stir he’d cause might make it a bad idea.
He nods but doesn’t look happy about the situation at all.
“The best thing you can do is work with Bronia. In your scale form you’re almost unbreakable. She needs someone like you to help her learn to defend herself,” Tiberius tells him, and that makes Luca stand a little taller.
We all want to be needed. We all want a purpose. Maybe Luca’s is helping these people with powers they don’t fully understand. Hopefully he’ll realize that as he works with Bronia.
He grabs my hand and gives it a firm but gentle squeeze. “I will help her, but if you need me, I’m ready.”
“Check in with Lucy when you visit Eloise. She’ll keep you up to date,” Tiberius tells him.
They do the universal handshake-backslap man thing, and then Luca gives my shoulder a soft pat and he’s on his way.
“Are you really going to reveal yourself to Project Lightning?” I ask Tiberius as we watch Luca walk down the dirt road. Thankfully none of the kids run screaming at the sight of him. A couple of brave ones even run up and hug his leg.
“I’m not sure. One thing I won’t budge on is giving away the location of Fordlandia, or what’s here. These people have been through enough. I don’t want them to be put through more.”
“Agreed.” My eyes drift to the kids running and playing. I won’t let this sanctuary be taken from them.
“We need to leave in twenty minutes. Do you know where Tony is?” he asks me.
I look over to the water tower. “Yeah, I’ve got an idea. We’ll meet you at the boat dock in fifteen minutes.”
His eyes follow my gaze. You can just make out Tony’s legs dangling over the side of the high walkway running around the tank. Tiberius gives my shoulder a soft squeeze and then heads off for his home.
In a blink I’m standing over Tony. The only sign he gives of being startled is his hands gripping the rails.
“Never going to get used to you just popping in out of thin air,” he says, sounding a little breathless.
“Sorry,” I tell him as I sit down next to him. “I was just below you talking to Tiberius. Figured it was better just to pop in than have to climb that never-ending ladder.”
“Don’t blame ya. The climb sucks,” he says, looking down at the faraway ground.
I stare at his profile, trying to categorize all the changes in him. It’s almost too many to count. “I miss your laugh.” The words fall out without me meaning them to.
He turns and connects his eyes with mine. “I miss yours too.”
“Think we’ll ever get back to that carefree place?” I ask him.
His whole demeanor turns desolate, and his mouth drops a little. “I don’t know. But living this way is so draining. Something has to give.”
A thought occurs to me. “What if Mr. Smith offered to get you help? Would you take it?”
He releases a sad sigh and looks back over Fordlandia. “Do I really have a choice?” he asks, sounding resigned.
“That depends. What kind of life do you want after this is all done? The fear is crippling. And I know there are so many things that I’m not dealing with right now.” I shake my head. “And sometime soon, that’s all going to rear up and level me. But one day when I look back at this point in my life”—and hopefully I’ll get a chance to do that—“I want to tell my kids that I had the strength and courage to help myself. That I didn’t wait for someone to tell me what to do. That I went and searched out the help I needed. That I was an active part in working to get better. I want to look in a mirror and see someone who won’t stop.”
“Guess with that speech I’ve don’t got no choice, huh?” he asks, a little smirk lifting his lips. “After all, can’t deprive the women of the world this handsome face.”
I want to weep at the small glance of the Tony I’ve come to know and love, but I’m afraid if I do that it could undo whatever is going on here.
“Ready to head back to headquarters?” I ask.
He lets out a huff and looks out at the jungle surrounding us. “No, but I need to do it. I’ve got a lot to make up for.”
I grab his hand, forcing his attention back to me. “You can’t keep thinking that way. It’ll eat you alive.”
“I’ll get there, but right now guilt is what is motivating me.”
I stand up, shaking out my jeans. I don’t want to push him anymore, but I’m glad we got this far today. “Let’s transport over to the docks; they’re waiting for us. Plus, Mike is probably dying to see you, so we gotta hurry. And wait till you see Dex’s lab.”
I know I’m babbling, but I feel like he needs it. He stands and grabs my hand. “How long is it going to take to get there?” he asks.
“If I could transport us all, only a blink, but since I can’t, it’ll take a day. Get ready to hold my hand on the plane like you did on our trip to Japan. I hate flying.”
He smiles a genuine smile, and in a blink we’re gone.
* * *
“We’ll be there in an hour,” Xavier says from the driver seat of the rented SUV we picked up in New Jersey.
“What are you going to do, Tiberius?” I ask him from the back seat looking at his disguise. “I don’t know if Lucy’s tech will work inside the building. I have a feeling they scramble signals in there.”
Tiberius is using the same disguise as the first time I met him when he was at my grandparents’ house. What Lucy is capable of doing with some wires and circuits is beyond amazing. How she was able to basically “cloak” Tiberius I’ll never understand, but it’s freaking cool.
“Didn’t you have a cell phone? Shouldn’t any technology work in there?” Tony asks from beside me.
“Yeah, but Mr. Smith gave that to me. What Tiberius has is something completely different. I don’t know if it makes a difference.”
“W
hat I’m really worried about,” Xavier says, not taking his eyes off the road, but the way he wrings the steering wheel is telling enough, “is if it fails, Tiberius is Becca’s dad’s identical twin. Mr. Smith recruited your dad. This could turn bad fast.”
“I’m going to have to reveal myself to him eventually,” Tiberius tells everyone, looking in his mirror and adjusting his hat that controls the disguise. “But this situation is going to be tense as it is. We really need to get Mr. Smith away from headquarters so you guys can really fill him in without worrying about who could betray us.”
We all nod.
“Under no circumstances do we disclose or mention Fordlandia,” Tiberius says, but we all hear it for the order it is. “The people there are victims. I won’t subject them to more pain and anguish if I can help it.”
“Agreed,” Tony says forcibly.
I lean back and look at him, surprised at this much anger from him. “What?” he asks, probably seeing my open mouth. “You get to know people when you can read lips from any distance. Most of them are just trying to figure out their role in life now, and how to help the kids.”
The car falls into a stunned silence. “That’s what you’ve been doing up on that water tower?” I ask.
He shrugs like it isn’t a huge revelation. “It sounds a lot creepier than it really is. But I can’t help my powers, just like the rest of you.”
“True,” Xavier says. “You can’t imagine the gross things I’ve seen when I walk into a public restroom. No one, and I mean no one, should have to see those things when they go into a stall. I don’t want to know about anyone’s bathroom issues. That’s a hard and fast line.”
I wince. “I am so, so sorry,” I tell him honestly. “But I have never been so thankful that I can’t do what you can.”
“That’s awful, man,” Tony says, completely disgusted.
“Yeah. If I could bleach my mind, I would,” Xavier says, and Tiberius chuckles softly.
The air in the car is much lighter, but we’re still getting closer to headquarters. “In thirty minutes, I’ll direct you off the freeway to where you can take me,” Tiberius says. “I’ll stay there until you three can get a read on Mr. Smith and see if it’s time for him to meet me.”
