After Flux (The Flux Series Book 2)

by Marissa Farrar

  My mouth dropped. “Yes, it is! You’ve kidnapped us! That gives us every right to fight back.”

  “No. You already belong to us. All of you. You’re our property, and we were simply taking back what is rightfully ours. I created you, Arianna. I created all of you, and instead of saying thank you for bringing you out of the doldrums of being a dull, normal person, you have to fight me on every level.”

  I shook my head. “You can’t own a person.”

  “Oh, don’t be so damned naive! People have been owned for as long as we’ve had civilization.”

  I shook my head. “I won’t help you any more. I was wrong to suggest it. It doesn’t work anyway. I lied.”

  He gave a tight smile, anger flaring in his eyes. “In which case, there’s no point in trying to extend the length of your injections, is there? We might as well just keep you dosed up to the eyeballs until I decide what to do with you.”

  Middleton nodded over to the scientist, Duncan, who turned to prepare another of the injections.

  “No! Please! No more drugs.” I couldn’t stand it, the nausea, the dizziness and disorientation. If they kept me dosed up, I’d never stand any chance of breaking free. A horrible thought suddenly occurred to me. What if Hunter, Kit, and Dixie found this place, but never realized the tops of the metal boxes opened? They only looked like flat steel surfaces from the walkway. It might never occur to them to look inside. And if they took out Middleton and the other people who worked here, and no one ever figured out we were inside, might we even die down there. Encased in a metal coffin.

  Fear took over, and I tried to dart for the open doorway again, but the hands on my arms pulled me back. Instead of the doorway, I found myself shoved toward the second chair beside Greg.

  “Get off of me, you son of a bitch.”

  They shoved me down into the chair, and before I could do anything else, I found my wrists pinned down and then strapped to the chair, the same as Greg’s had been.

  Middleton turned to his co-workers. “I think they need some time in their boxes to calm down and think about how badly this went. If they’d done as they were told, they could be enjoying breakfast by now.”

  I lifted my arms as high as I could, which was only a matter of an inch, and smacked my balled fists repeatedly against the arm rests. Duncan approached me holding a vial, while Amanda and Earl dealt with Greg.

  Duncan’s blue eyes locked with mine, and I shot him daggers. “This is going to hurt a lot more than it has to if you fight me,” he said.

  “I’ve barely gotten started fighting all of you,” I spat.

  He moved in closer, his body blocking Middleton from my view. With one hand, he pushed down on my forearm, right below the dip of my inner elbow. He used his teeth to pull the plastic cover from the needle.

  “Hold still.”

  There was nothing I could do to fight this. It was going to happen whether I fought him or not, and if I fought him, I’d only end up bruised and with blown veins. Angry tears pricked my eyeballs, and I blinked hard, not wanting to cry. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of my tears.

  Duncan held the syringe at my inner arm, right below where his other hand squeezed to make the veins pop. I stared at him in fury, and he met my gaze, blue eyes framed with dark lashes. He glanced down at the vial about to be shot into my vein and back up again. Then he depressed the end of the syringe, and the contents sprayed harmlessly over the top of my skin. A split second later, he jabbed my arm with the needle, causing a yelp of surprise and pain to burst from my lips.

  My heart pounded, unsure of what had just happened. Was he helping me by not administering the drugs, or was this some kind of trick?

  He deposited the syringe in the sharps box then returned to me to tape a small square of cotton to the jab mark. I looked at him, hoping to get something else out of him, the reason why he’d done what he’d done, if he had any other plans to help, or even why he was suddenly helping, but of course he couldn’t say a word. Middleton and the other scientists were right there.

  “You’ll be going without a meal again today, Arianna,” said Middleton. “Have a think about how you’ve behaved today, and maybe you’ll get fed tomorrow. Same applies to you, Greg.”

  Duncan had already moved away. I wanted to give Philip Middleton some smart-ass answer about needing to drop a few pounds anyway, but I managed to clamp my lips shut. The young scientist had just offered me a possible lifeline, and I wasn’t going to screw it up because I couldn’t keep my tongue under control.

  “Take them back to their boxes.”

  The two guards approached. Blood streamed down Greg’s face, and his eyes looked half shut because of the way his nose had swollen across the bridge. He caught me watching him, and I mouthed I’m sorry at him. He glanced away without acknowledging me, and didn’t fight when the big security guard undid the buckles strapping his arms to the chair. Had they injected him with the same stuff they were supposed to have given me, or perhaps a weaker version? Whatever it was had affected him.

  I allowed the second guard to unstrap me as well. I didn’t want to go back into the box, but at the same time excitement bubbled inside me. Thanks to Duncan only pretending to inject me, I hadn’t been drugged this time. How long would it take for the previous injections I’d been given to wear off? It had been hours, I knew that much, plus I must have a buildup in my system of whatever it was they were giving me. I just needed for it to wear off before the next dosage was due.

  I was getting out of here.

  And I’d take the other captured Kin with me.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  The guard took me back to my prison.

  My time spent surrounded on all sides by metal had been mind-numbing to the point of maddening, but now I had something else to think about. As long as I could avoid being injected again any time soon, I would get my abilities back.

  I was feeling better already, though I was still weak from lack of food over the past couple of days—if that was how long I’d been here. I couldn’t be sure. I wished I had some idea how long it would be before I started to get my abilities back.

  Despite my initial euphoria at Duncan faking my injection, time stretched on, and nothing changed. Periodically, I tried to call out to Dixie in my head, hoping I’d be able to pick up on her voice again, but there was nothing. I wished I knew where they were and if they were heading to the right place, but I couldn’t depend on it. I’d been given a chance, and I needed to take it.

  I drank water from the faucet in the bathroom and splashed some on my face. I even took to pacing the tin can I was held in, but my body’s resources were at their limits, and finally I gave in, sinking to the floor to sit with my back pressed up against the wall as I waited. My chin dropped as exhaustion took over, though I jerked it back up each time, trying to stay awake...

  I WOKE TO THE MOVEMENT of the roof of my metal prison sliding away.

  Dammit. I’d fallen asleep, something I hadn’t planned on doing. But there was no time for self-reprisal. I needed to act.

  Knowing I had to buy myself more time, I lurched to my feet and slammed my palm against the wall to open the way to the bathroom. It wouldn’t be much, but it would give me a moment to think. My head was still fuzzy from sleep. I had no idea if I’d slept for minutes or hours, though my stiff neck and butt made me think it had been closer to hours.

  I leaped inside, and the bathroom wall slid shut, encasing me in the smaller metal box.

  Remembering what had happened, I reached inside myself to see if my ability had returned. Yes, I could feel it! That energy burning inside me, waiting for me to push it out and affect something around me. I glanced around, wanting to experiment on something, but as Middleton had pointed out, there was nothing for me to lift. Instead, I focused on the faucet. The silver handle moved, blasting water into the sink. I swiveled around, and the toilet flushed without me needing to do anything.

  Elation bubbled inside me. It wasn’t powe
rful, nothing like I was used to, but my telekinesis was there. I had no idea what I was going to do now, but I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit here and wait, or rely on someone else coming to get me. I trusted the other Kin were still looking for me, but Middleton could have buried the existence of this place. They could be searching for months and never find it.

  I braced myself. Who would be on the other side of the sliding wall? I doubted it would be Middleton, though I hoped it was so I could slam his sorry ass up against the steel box and hang him there. Previous times, it had been one of his scientists or the guards, people I should be equally angry toward. They knew what was happening here, and they still did nothing. At least, none of them had until Duncan faked my injection.

  Taking a breath and steeling my nerves, I placed my hand against the divider, and the light behind my hand flashed blue.

  The wall slid back to reveal the older scientist, Earl, who’d taken me up to the facility above on the first day. He was looking down, checking the vial and syringe he’d brought down. I focused my attention on him, pushing outward with every ounce of mental energy I had. It was a fraction of what I could normally do, but it was enough. The man had a split second to look up, his light blue eyes widening behind the black frame of his glasses, and then his feet lifted off the floor and he flew backward, slamming up against the farthest wall. The vial and syringe dropped from his fingers and hit the floor, though the glass of the vial didn’t break. It rolled back and forth for a moment before coming to rest.

  Anger burned inside me. I glanced between the man I had pinned to the wall and the syringe on the floor. I could do him some serious injury just by stabbing that empty syringe into his thigh and pumping air into his veins, but I didn’t know how much time I had left. I doubted it would be long before the alarm was raised. Besides, as much as I hated this man, I didn’t want to be a murderer. There was one person I would kill if I had to, though.

  Moving quickly, I mentally whipped both the syringe and vial toward me, so they shot through the air and into my open palm. I closed my fingers around them, relishing in the small amount of power and satisfaction they gave me.

  I tried to keep my focus on the scientist, keeping him pinned, as I darted toward the lift to take me up to ground level. My feet placed on the metal slab, and the moment I was steady, it began to slide upward. Once I was up, I could let the scientist go without fear of him coming after me. Unless he was spotted on the cameras, he’d have no way of getting out, or letting anyone know he was stuck down there.

  Nerves filled me as I reached the top. I crouched low, though it would do little to stop me being spotted. At least Earl had been alone. There was no one else up here. I pulled my mental energy away from the scientist and heard his grunt and the thump he made as he hit the floor.

  Still in a crouch, I twisted one way and then the next. I wanted to get out of here, but I wasn’t going to do it alone. On both sides stretched identical metal containers like the one I’d been kept in. I didn’t know how many of them contained people, but I’d do my damnedest to get them out.

  I ran to the closest one to my right and slammed my palm down on the button to open the top. The roof slid open, and immediately the lift attached to this box began to move down.

  Below me, a blonde girl, like me, but with spiral curls, gaped up at me with wide brown eyes. I’d never met her before, and again it made me wonder how many Kin were being kept captive.

  “Come on,” I hissed at her. “I’m getting you out of here.”

  She looked bewildered. “What?”

  “No time for questions, just come on!”

  The lift reached the bottom, and she ran to it and stepped on. It began to move upward until it hit the top. I put out my hand to her and pulled her onto the walkway with me.

  “Who are you?” she asked, shaking her head slightly as though she couldn’t quite believe what was happening. “What’s going on?”

  “My name’s Ari. I’m like you. We’re trying to escape.”

  She nodded. “I’m Hannah.”

  I risked a smile. “Good to meet you, Hannah. Any idea how many of these other boxes have people inside?”

  She shook her head again. “I haven’t seen anyone other than you and the people who work here.”

  Damn.

  “Let’s keep going.”

  I reached the next box and repeated the process, but this time the box revealed only empty space. Could the person be in the bathroom, hiding, like I had been? I fixed my gaze on the sliding wall and willed it open. It vibrated, as though pushing against my will, but then whatever mechanics held it gave way and it slid open to reveal another empty interior.

  “Shit.”

  We couldn’t waste time like this. We’d be lucky to have minutes before someone realized something was wrong and sent people looking. I wanted to find Nadia and Greg, but they could be anywhere along here. Should I try to escape with Hannah and come back for the others? I could bring other Kin, and we’d be strong and free of drugs, but if I risked leaving, Middleton could figure out exactly what I had planned and move his other subjects. I might never find them again.

  I looked down at the expanse of silver again and made a decision. “You go that way,” I told Hannah. “Open as many as you can.”

  “But what if he comes?” she cried, her eyes wild. I knew exactly who she was talking about when she said ‘he.’

  “Do you have any abilities? Can you move things with your thoughts?”

  She shook her head. “I can affect electrical stuff, or at least I can normally. But they keep giving me these injections...”

  “It’s okay. Just go and open the boxes, okay? We have to get people out.”

  I didn’t wait to see if she was following my instructions. I ran along the walkway, my bare feet slapping against the metal. If I ever got out of this place alive, I swore I’d never have a single metal item in my home. Ever.

  Without waiting to see if the boxes I opened were inhabited or not, I used my mental ability to slam down each button to open them. The more I could get open, the more people could get free.

  “Hey!” A shout made me look up, my heart pattering in my chest.

  The two guards ran toward us. I glanced back to see Hannah had also paused in what she was doing.

  “Keep going!” I yelled, before spinning back to face the guards. They both reached toward their belts, going for their weapons. I wouldn’t let anyone be shot.

  Fixing my energy on them, I pushed outward. I felt it like a crack of lightning through the space between us, and a moment later both men lifted into the air and flew backward. They hit the floor and skidded away.

  “Yeah!” whooped Hannah.

  “Keep going!” I shouted back.

  Both of the guards had remained down, stunned by the energy I’d blasted them with.

  A couple of people started to emerge from the boxes, confused and wary. I spotted Greg, his face swollen and bruised, among them, but I hadn’t seen Nadia yet. Sirens suddenly blared around us, and red lights flashed from both the ceiling and the floors.

  “Shit!”

  We needed to get out of here. I didn’t know what sort of backup Middleton would have in place. Even with my powers, if the whole facility went on lockdown, I didn’t know if I’d be able to get us free. I glanced behind me. There were five people now—Amanda, Greg, and two other guys and one girl—though I still didn’t spot Nadia. Perhaps she was already in one of the labs? Or maybe there were people too hurt or drugged to be able to get themselves out.

  I didn’t know what we’d do if we even managed to get out of the building. We were in the middle of nowhere, and we were all barefooted. We’d need transport to escape.

  Taking a group of drugged and half-starved people into the desert might be signing their death warrants.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Remembering my previous assumptions about the layout of the building, the quickest way out of here would be in the direction I
was already headed, past the guards and the laboratories, and turning left. I wanted to go back and check each and every one of the boxes for people who might not have been able to make it out by themselves, or perhaps were too frightened to come up alone, but there wasn’t any time. I’d stop at the laboratories and make sure none of the other Kin had been taken there, though I knew doing so would most likely bring me face to face with the other scientists. Earl was stuck down in the box I’d been held captive in, and I assumed Duncan wouldn’t try to stop me, considering he was the one who helped in the first place. Amanda, however, could prove to be a problem. I feared those injections far more than I feared the bullets from the guards’ guns.

  I turned back to the others, beckoning them in the right direction. “Come on! We have to go!”

  The lights continued to pulsate around us, and the sirens rose and fell. I was waiting to hear the thud of footsteps come running toward us as more guards were alerted to our escape. Too many, and I wouldn’t be able to disarm them all. My abilities were back, but they weren’t as strong as they had been.

  The two guards on the ground started to groan and push themselves to sitting, though I could barely hear them over the sirens. I didn’t want them getting hold of their guns. I didn’t know if I could be hurt by a bullet, but I was pretty sure the people behind me could. I started to run over to them, when I realized someone was beside me. I glanced over to find Greg at my shoulder.

  “He owes me one,” he said, his dark eyes narrowing.

  I wasn’t sure what he meant, but then he stormed over to the burly guard, just as he was trying to sit up. Greg drew back his bare foot and stomped his heel right in the guard’s face. If not for the sirens, I was sure I’d have heard the crunch of bone breaking. The guard slumped back again, blood pouring down the lower half of his face.