by Dee J. Stone
“No, it’s the Blades,” X says. “I don’t understand what she’s trying to do…” His eyes widen.
“What?” Kale and I say.
“The Blades are behind the attack on the Tower. Think about it. Except for our League mates, who are the only people who know what Samson and Cindy look like?”
“The Blades,” Kale says.
X nods. “Remember, Lightning spied on us for years. Samson and Cindy didn’t wear their masks around him. And Vlayne was in his head the whole time and saw everything.”
“Stealth, too,” Kale adds.
X’s face tightens before he nods. “Vlayne must have controlled the military to attack us so she could steal the formula.”
“Why would she need the military?” Kale asks. “Why not just attack us and steal it?”
X doesn’t say anything for a bit. “I’m not sure…the only thing I can think of is she doesn’t want the humans to trust the League.”
“Or maybe she wanted us gone so we can’t create the antidote,” Kale says.
“Then how would she cure her boyfriend?” I ask.
“By stealing the formula and creating the antidote herself,” X answers.
“But the formula’s not in the Tower,” Kale argues.
“Maybe she didn’t know that. Or maybe she was looking for clues to where it’s hidden.”
I guess that makes sense. “So why set up Samson and Cindy as murderers?”
“To get the humans to lose trust in the League. Now that we’re scattered, it’ll be a lot harder for the League to make the antidote.”
We’re quiet as we think about it.
Kale paces around. “Okay, let’s assume the Blades stole the formula. Why would they release this slow-killing virus? Why not wait until they create the antidote before releasing the virus that kills instantly?”
“Because she must have not found the formula,” X says. “Her original plan was to steal it. She didn’t want to invade on her own, because we would battle them. Aside from making the humans lose trust in us, Vlayne knew we wouldn’t fight the government, so she used them to attack us. But she couldn’t find the formula and had to change her plans. She released this virus, hoping to push the League to create the antidote. Then she’ll grab it and cure her boyfriend before the rest of the humans take it. Then she’ll—”
“Release the other virus,” Kale finishes. “The one that kills instantly.”
X nods, his lips pressed together.
“But what if the League’s too scattered to create the antidote?” I ask. “How is Vlayne so sure we’d do it?”
X shrugs. “That’s probably why this virus takes a long time to kill. She must figure the League will come up with the antidote somehow.”
“You think this is what my parents are busy with? They’re working on the antidote?”
“Maybe,” X says.
“But that doesn’t explain why they haven’t contacted us,” Kale continues. “I mean, the military’s probably hunting them down like crazy, but they can wear disguises.”
Now it’s my turn to pace as something enters my head. “Guys, if Samson and Cindy had the formula before we were attacked, why didn’t they create the antidote and immunize the entire population?”
No one answers, until X says, “They must have not synthesized it in time.”
We tune back to the news. So far the virus has spread to Maryland and Virginia and is traveling quickly. Images flash on screen. Of people getting sick. But the doctors are reassuring everyone that those infected can be cured. They’re still learning all they can about it. It’s all a guessing game at this point. No one knows if it’ll mutate and get worse or what the Keepers hope to accomplish.
“I just thought of something else,” Kale says. “Doesn’t the Tower have kickass security? How did the military get through?”
We look at each other, like we’ve got no clue. After about a second, X says, “Lindsay.”
Kale raises his eyebrow. “Lindsay?”
X leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest. “We know a little bit about the Tower’s security, right?”
“Yeah,” Kale says. “There’s this invisible wall surrounding the entire building. Like a barrier or shield.”
X nods. “Nothing can break it. No one can phase through it. And it can’t be dispersed.”
“So how does Lindsay fit in?” I ask.
X’s eyes move to Kale, then to me. “Her energy can take down the wall.”
“How are you so…” Kale’s eyes get big. “You think that’s why my parents were so worried? Not only because she ran away, but because her powers can destroy the wall?”
X nods again. “So if someone like the Blades wants the wall destroyed…”
“They’d have to use Lindsay,” Kale finishes with a shaky voice.
“Wait. Are we sure about this?” I ask.
“Positive,” X answers.
“So the Blades conveniently found Lindsay when she ran away?”
“Maybe she was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Kale lowers his head. “She wasn’t supposed to run away. She was supposed to be happy living at the Tower. It’s because of me that all this happened.”
I pat his arm. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“Stretch is right, Kale. This wasn’t your fault.”
Kale puffs his cheeks. “So we know how Vlayne did it and why.” He scoffs. “She thinks of everything, doesn’t she? How screwed up is this?”
X and I don’t say anything. I don’t want to think about how right he is. Vlayne’s, like, always two steps ahead of us.
Kale kicks the wall. “Those bastards have her.” He turns to us, his eyes filled with rage. “If they hurt or kill her—”
X goes over to him and places his hand on his back. “They can’t kill her. She’ll explode if they do.”
Kale’s chest heaves. “We need to hunt them down, kill them, and rescue Lindsay and Stealth.”
“But how?” I ask. “We dunno where the Blades are. Kale, you can’t reach Lindsay telepathically, but what about Stealth?”
“No,” Kale says. “Vlayne’s definitely monitoring her mind.”
He’s right. Vlayne would know if Kale’s trying to contact her.
“We go to Scar,” X says.
Kale’s forehead crinkles. “Scar?”
“Yeah. His telepathy is strong. He might be able to contact your parents.”
“How can he contact my parents when I can’t?”
X shrugs. “Worth a try. Maybe we can convince him to penetrate Vlayne’s mind and tell us where the Blades are hiding. Like he did the last time.”
The last time Scar penetrated Vlayne’s mind, he found out about her plan to assassinate Samson. Because we went after them, I died. But I won’t think about that.
Kale’s eyebrows furrow. “I don’t really like asking help from Scar. He only cares about himself and his family.”
“Dude, I’m with X. We’ve got nothing to lose.”
“I guess.”
“I’ll try to contact him,” X says, walking off to the side to reach him through his mind.
Kale and I watch some more news as he does that. Doctors and scientists are being interviewed, trying to calm the public down that this isn’t an epidemic—this virus can be healed. But we know that’s not true. Symptoms will probably return and they might get worse. At least, if we’re right about this virus being the slow-killing one.
The crowds supporting the League grow smaller and smaller. We’re quiet, speechless as we watch the footage of the fake Kale injecting the kid over and over and over again. Kale fumes. “Why’d he have to be me?”
“Because you’re the Keepers’ leaders’ kid,” I say.
“Not only that,” X adds, sitting down on the floor. “Having a teen Keeper inflict a virus makes it worse. Now the whole world thinks the Elites are teaching the kids to hurt the normies.”
“Fantastic,” Kale mutters. �
��Any luck with Scar?”
“He’s willing to meet with us.”
Chapter Ten
Scar’s in one of the New Jersey sewers. Public transportation is still shut down, but will open tomorrow morning. The city needs to run.
Wearing our disguises, the guys and I leave the house and look around. The streets are not so deserted, probably because some people are confident the doctors will cure them of the virus when it reaches New York. Of course there are some who hide in their houses because they’re scared of getting infected.
“We need a car,” Kale says. “Or a cab?”
X shakes his head. “Too risky. They can track us down.” He scans around. “We’re stealing a car.”
“What!” I sputter. “What if someone catches us? They can track down the license plate. Cops will be onto us within seconds.”
“Kale will get someone to give us his car.”
Kale frowns. “I really hate controlling people.”
“We’re doing this to find your parents and save Lindsay,” X says. “I don’t like it, either, but we’re trying to survive.” He points somewhere ahead of us. “There’s a guy.”
We follow him down the block, across the street, and up another block.
The man looks to be in his forties. He’s standing near his car that’s parked in the driveway, inspecting it for damage or something.
X nods to Kale. Kale steps forward to the guy. “Uh, excuse me—”
“Don’t bother me, kid,” the man snaps.
Kale steps back and narrows his eyes. A second later, the guy perks up, smiling. I don’t like it, but X is right. We need to do whatever it takes to survive. “Sure you can have my car!” the guy says. “Take it as long as you need. Please take care of it.”
“We will,” Kale promises.
The guy’s still grinning when X pulls out of the driveway. None of us have licenses, but X doesn’t care. He’s the only one who knows how to drive.
“His family left him,” Kale tells us in an empty tone. He’s sitting in the passenger seat. “After the fake Samson and Cindy attacked the park, his wife grabbed the kids and fled to Brazil, to her parents. He stayed behind because of his job.”
I feel horrible. Responsible for some reason. But this wasn’t our fault. It was Vlayne’s. X must be sharing my thoughts because he curses her under his breath.
“If we manage to clear our names,” I say. “Maybe his wife and kids will return.”
Kale presses his head against the window. “Maybe.”
We drive in silence. I busy myself by staring out the window and trying to keep my thoughts positive. I didn’t think about this before, but maybe Scar can help locate my dad, too. We know my mom was taken, but what about my dad?
“This is my fault,” X says after a few minutes.
“X—” Kale starts.
He holds up his hand. “I took the formula out of my head. Because of that Vlayne released the virus. I knew the risks when I took it.” His eyes flick to Kale. “I couldn’t let you die. Maybe I could have found a way to save you and still safeguard the formula.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it, man. I owe you my life.” Kale smiles a bit. X only nods.
Silence again.
We pass an area where there are lots of shouting. People loiter around, holding up signs. They’re protesting. This time, they’re against the League. They chant, “Down with the Keepers. Death to the Keepers.”
“I guess no one likes us anymore,” I say.
“Not after seeing me on camera infecting that kid.”
“Vlayne keeps slipping out of our fingers,” X mutters. “Why don’t we kill her for once and for all?”
“She escapes,” Kale says.
X gets a determined expression on his face. “She’s not escaping this time. We have to convince Scar to help us.”
***
We go down the New Jersey sewers. X tells us that after he escaped from Vlayne, Scar moved to sewers in another city. He keeps moving his family around to stay hidden.
X climbs down first, then Kale, then me. I close the manhole and the place gets pitch black. The smell attacks me at once, making me want to throw up everything I ate for the past month. I hear squeaks from the rats. Rats!
The only sounds are our footsteps and rats as we follow X. There are a few lights, but it’s still dark. “Are we…?” I can’t finish my sentence because we stop before a wall. It lifts and a guy comes out. His name is Blaze, the security guard of the sewers or something. Okay, maybe he’s not officially called that, but he greeted us when we came to the sewers four months ago.
“Ray.” He holds out his hand. X shakes it, then Blaze pulls him into a hug. “It’s good to see you’re okay. We heard what happened.”
Blaze lifts his head and looks at me and Kale. “Welcome back to the world, guys. Heard about your coma and your death.” He pokes my chest with is finger.
“Dude, ow.”
He shrugs. “Just making sure you’re not a ghost.” He eyes us. “You guys need a place to stay?”
“We need to talk to Scar,” X says.
Blaze sweeps his hand toward the lifted wall. “He’s waiting for you inside.”
The place looks like the last sewer house. Everyone here must want to keep it looking the same each time they move. They probably want it to feel like home.
Scar’s standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He looks the same. Scars all over his body, no mouth, just skin instead. I don’t think he likes me. I mean, he didn’t watch over me when he was supposed to, which led to my death. I get why he did it—to protect his family—but still. I don’t think he’s a fan of the Stretch.
Is he pissed to see us? What if he fries our brains? Other people are around, too, watching us closely. It’s not like we’re going to trash the place. A few smile and hug X. He’s got no expression on his face, but in his eyes, I can tell how happy he is to see his old family.
Hello, Ray, Kale Zenith, and Andrew Mason, Scar greets in his freaky, high-pitched tone. Ray had requested a meeting. What can I help you with?
It’s my parents, Kale says. We’re all connected through our minds so no one around can hear what we’re talking about. We can’t find them. I can’t contact them telepathically, but maybe you can.
Scar doesn’t say anything. I’m not sure if he’s going to do as Kale asked. After all, our League leaders are not part of his family.
No, Scar says after a few seconds. I have not succeeded in communicating with them.
Our shoulders fall. If one of the greatest telepaths can’t locate Kale’s parents, what are we supposed to do?
But my mom left an opening for you in my dad’s mental fortification, Kale continues. You should be able to contact him.
I have attempted, but failed. Samson and Cindy’s minds are unreachable.
Kale runs his hand down his face. His body trembles a bit.
I want to say something, but only a whimper comes out. Scar’s eyes flash to mine. Yes?
W-what about other League members? Like—like my parents?
I cannot reach any of your League members.
We exchange looks. Does that mean everyone’s captured? Dead? Were they taken by the Blades?
I cannot answer that.
Kale marches around the room. Okay, you can’t contact my parents or anyone else. He looks at X for a second. What about Vlayne?
Excuse me?
Kale’s eyebrows come together like he’s trying to think. He takes in a deep breath, then lets it out. He looks at X again.
Scar, X says, we need you to penetrate Vlayne’s mind and find where the ShadowBlades are hiding.
I cannot. I will not.
But you need to! Kale yells. They have Lindsay! They could be torturing her.
X puts his hand on Kale’s shoulder. He turns to Scar. The ShadowBlades are responsible for the virus, Scar. The virus my mom was afraid of. We need to find and stop them.
It is only possible to stop t
he virus with the antidote. Locating the ShadowBlades would accomplish nothing. Scar’s eyes get serious. Only death.
There is no antidote, X says in a calm tone. We don’t know what happened to the formula. We don’t know if the League is synthesizing it.
Unfortunately, the humans will die. He says it with no emotion.
Kale slinks down to the floor and pushes his knees to his chest. He looks at Scar. You won’t help us?
I will not.
Kale slams his fist on his knee.
It’s okay, Kale, I say.
Like hell it is. He hasn’t taken his eyes off Scar. I can’t believe you won’t help us.
Scar doesn’t answer. It looks like he doesn’t care.
“Guys,” I say. “Let’s go.”
X and I turn toward the door, but Kale remains on the floor, his gaze still on Scar. “Dude, c’mon,” I say.
You’re scared, Kale says to Scar, getting to his feet. You don’t want to penetrate Vlayne’s mind because you’re scared.
Oh, man. Why did he say that? Scar looks like he wants to melt Kale’s brain. His eyes are dark, intense, filled with rage.
I’m sorry, Kale says. Was just mad. I didn’t mean it. His eyes light up. What if we pool our energies? You’re a strong telepath and I share my mom’s brain waves. Maybe together, we can contact her.
Scar’s quiet as he thinks this over. His eyes flash. I will not help you, Kale Zenith. This does not concern my family.
Kale throws his hands up. “God. You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“Kale,” X says.
Scar turns to Blaze. Escort these children out.
Kale snorts, crossing his arms over his chest. X pulls his arm. “It’s not worth fighting with them.”
Kale shoves X’s hand off. X pins Kale against the wall. “You’re not thinking clearly.”
“Get your hands off me, man.”
Blaze and another guy, one with huge biceps, inch closer to X and Kale. I’m left standing near the doorway, when it hits me. No, we shouldn’t leave. I know Scar only cares about his family, but we need to stand our ground. Kale’s idea about pooling their energies is good. It might work.
“We’re…” I clear my throat. “We’re not leaving.”
