We found Jaxson a few cells down, but he was still comatose. Anders must have given him an extra dose since he was bigger than me. We unlocked the cell, and I sat on his bed, trying to rouse him.
“Jaxson, wake up.” I shook him gently, sitting on the cot beside him. “Wake up, Jaxson. We need to get out of here.”
He looked so sweet and peaceful, lying there. His long, raven-black hair lay spread out across the cot, and I couldn’t resist running my hands over it lightly. It was as soft and silky as the satin comforter he had on his bed, maybe even more so. His face was relaxed, no scowl or sneer like he usually had, and I stroked his cheek with one finger. I had an almost irresistible urge to kiss him.
“Lexus,” he murmured. His lashes fluttered, and I thought he’d open his eyes, but he just puckered his lips and mumbled something.
“He’s gonna need a little more time. I’d try to carry him out, but I’m not sure I can do it. He’s a lot taller than me.”
“What about the other prisoners? Aren’t we going to release them?” My mother asked, staring out at the row of cells, concern etched across her face.
“Some of these people are in really bad shape. They’re going to need medical care. Maybe we should wait until someone is here to help them.” I realized the problem as my father was speaking.
Who should we call to help them? Winslow was the head of the council. Were the other members just as corrupt? I had no idea who we could trust. I could tell by the looks on my parents’ faces that they felt the same way.
“We can at least release the competent ones. With that many witnesses, there’s no way the council can bury this,” my mother suggested.
“Okay, let’s do it. The twins are coming. If we fill all the cars, we can get most of these people out of here.” My father started for the closest cell, keys in hand.
“They are?” I gawked at him.
He smiled. “Yeah, and they’re probably gonna be disappointed that they missed all the action.”
My heart swelled with love and appreciation for those two boys who had proven over and over again how much they cared about me. I glanced at Jaxson lying in his cell. He didn’t have to be here either, risking his life for me. What did I do to deserve these three?
As if I had conjured them with my thoughts, Griffin and Phoenix burst through the door, eyes scanning the room wildly, trying to quickly determine what was going on. I ran to them and embraced them, pulling us into a three-way hug.
“Lexus, are you okay? What’s going on?” Griffin asked, his hand running up and down my body, sending tingles along my flesh.
“Holy shit, bro, look at this place!” Phoenix’s eyes were wide and his mouth hung open as he looked out over my head at the room beyond. Griffin tore his gaze away from me and gasped as well, taking in the evidence of Winslow’s depravity. His face turned green, and he slung a hand over his mouth to keep from vomiting.
“Where’s Anders?” Phoenix asked, his eyes searching the cells.
“Comatose in one of the cells.” I grinned. “My dad and I make a pretty good team.”
Griffin and Phoenix gawked at me. “Hot damn, girl! You did all that without a Conduit? But where’s Jaxson?”
My smile faltered. “He’s still out. Anders sedated us both, and Jaxson hasn’t woken up yet.”
“I’m awake. What’d I miss?” Jaxson stumbled out of his cell, squinting and rubbing his eyes, and joined our huddle. I couldn’t help but laugh at him.
“Everything, Jaxson, but it’s okay. Everyone is fine.”
Phoenix jammed an elbow in Jaxson’s side. “You were supposed to be watching out for her, douche bag. Good thing she’s badass enough to take care of herself.”
I shook my head, dislodging the tears that were pooling in my eyes. “No, I’m not. I’m stronger, and I’m not as afraid anymore, but I can’t do it all on my own. I need you, and I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you for coming to help me. All of you.”
I stared deeply into each of their eyes, trying to give them a glimpse of how I felt, and the three of them wrapped their arms around me in a circle, enveloping me. I’m sure my parents were staring at us, wondering about our relationship, but I didn’t care. This was my family. Apparently, the guys felt the same way.
“You’re family, Lexus. You might not be blood, but it takes a lot more than blood to make a family, and we choose you,” Griffin said, and Phoenix and Jaxson nodded.
His words were like warm honey to my soul, and I wanted to drink in the sweet comfort, but I had no idea if they were back for good or if they were just here temporarily, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up. “But what about your parents?”
“We love them, but we need you. You’re the one we can’t live without—” Griffin said, and Phoenix interrupted.
“Besides, they want to move to Alaska or some shit hole like that, and you probably can’t even get Wi-Fi up there.”
I laughed and closed my eyes, letting myself savor the moment. For once, someone had chosen me over everything else.
“I choose you, too,” I whispered, and pulled the three of them in tighter for one more hug.
I couldn’t believe how much I missed the twins’ touch after such a short time away from them, and Jaxson’s arm around my waist felt just as natural. Why weren’t the twins complaining about that? Was it possible they understood how I was feeling without me saying anything? I’d have to contemplate that later, but for now, we still had things to do. I pulled my hands away from them and wiped the tears from my cheeks.
“No more crying.” I said, more to myself. “We need to let these prisoners go and get out of here.”
The boys nodded and pulled away, and we hustled around the room, unlocking cages. The prisoners trickled out — some hugging and thanking us, others too dazed to know what was going on. We left the worst ones in their cells, but made promises to each of them to come back with help.
I was so caught up in the excitement of it, I didn’t even notice at first when the office door swung open and Winslow came rushing in, his henchman Edgar behind him, along with one of the other council members. His clothes were rumpled, his hair mussed, and he looked manic with rage. He glanced wildly around the room at the released prisoners, his eyes eventually landing on us with a snarl.
“You!” He glared at me, baring his teeth, his face red. “You think you can take me down, a pathetic, little girl like you? I’m the head of the council, the ruler of the Specials. You are nothing! I’ll squish you like the ant you are. ”
“Attack her!” He yelled, pointing my way.
Suddenly, all the prisoners rushed towards me, arms stretched out to seize like crazed zombies, grabbing and clawing, Winslow’s vengeance blazing in their eyes. He’d compelled them all to obey him!
Panic froze my body. I knew I needed to run, or hide, or release them all from their compulsion, but I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All I wanted was for everything to stop. I responded automatically, yelling out the only word repeating in my mind.
“Stop!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as power shot from my body in thick lightning bolts that reached for my three Conduits. Their bodies convulsed as my power flowed through them, taking over their wills.
Electricity cracked like thunder all around me, and immediately everything stopped, frozen in time. No one moved, no one breathed, and the air was silent like even the sound waves had been paused. Winslow and everyone else stood in frozen animation. Had the four of us managed to stop time completely?
I swiveled my head, taking in what was happening, and realized that the guys were moving their heads, too.
My mouth hung open, my eyes wide. A laugh gurgled out of me, and Phoenix started laughing, too. “Holy shit, Lexus! This is freakin’ awesome!”
I was awed and terrified at the same time, but I couldn’t deny that I was impressed by my own power. I really was more powerful than even I could imagine. Did my power have any limits at all? I had a feeling I was lim
ited only by my own imagination.
I didn’t know how long we could hold it — I could already feel the strain on my mind, so we quickly pushed Winslow and his men towards different cells and gagged them so they couldn’t talk.
“I’m going to rummage around in the cabinets and see if I can find the sedative that Anders used on us,” Jaxson announced. He returned a few minutes later with a bottle and a syringe.
“This should knock them out long enough for us to get everyone out of here.”
I cringed as he filled the syringe with fluid and jabbed it into Winslow’s neck then filled it again and headed for Edgar.
“Shouldn’t you use a different syringe?” Griffin asked.
Jaxson sneered at him. “They kidnap and torture Specials and you’re worried about infectious diseases? I hope they give each other Hep C and die a miserable death.”
Phoenix laughed, and Griffin rolled his eyes and shook his head but chuckled under his breath.
“We need to reverse Winslow’s mind control, but I’m not sure we can keep time stopped while we do it. Maybe we should put the prisoners back in their cells, just in case,” I suggested.
“Griffin mind controlled half the school at one time before; I’m sure between the four of us we can break Winslow’s hold on these people,” Phoenix insisted.
I was still leery, but I realized I needed to have more faith in my own abilities, so, gathering the boys around me, we made a circle, and let the power crackle and build between us. We were powerful when we weren’t touching, but with our bodies connected, the power radiated out in electrified waves.
“Okay, on the count of three, we command everyone to be free of Winslow’s compulsion. If any of them act like they’re going to attack, we freeze time again and put them in cells, okay?”
The boys nodded, and I counted down, letting the power build between us, stronger with each passing second. On three, we all hollered, and power bloomed out of us like an explosion, a mushroom cloud of energy bursting into the air.
Time restarted, and everyone came to life, but none of the prisoners tried to attack us. Relief overwhelmed me, and I collapsed, unconscious before I hit the ground.
23
Lexus’ head was in my lap, and I was stroking her hair with one hand and resting the other one on her hip, all while Griffin and Phoenix were sitting in the front seat of the Camaro, glancing back at me occasionally. How I was getting away with that without them trying to kill me was beyond me.
I guess the events of the day must’ve been the final shift in our relationship, because all of a sudden it felt like we were a team now instead of just reluctant allies.
Lexus was mostly out of it — not exactly unconscious, but so wiped out she might as well have been. She nuzzled into me, murmuring, and her hand wrapped around my thigh. Keep it down, keep it down, I repeated in my head, trying to think about anything besides the feel of her hand on me.
We were all pretty worn out, so instead of the three of us guys each taking a vehicle to transport prisoners, we decided to ride together in one car so we could take turns driving. William and Renee had as many as they could squeeze into the SUV.
Two of the prisoners were in decent enough shape to drive Winslow’s vehicle and the car that Lexus and I had taken, and they each had a few passengers as well. We promised the other prisoners we’d be back for them as soon as possible.
For now, we were headed to the school where there was space to house everyone. We’d work out a plan for them all later. First, we needed to figure out if the rest of the council was as corrupt as Winslow and Kepler, the other council member who’d come with him, presumably the person who’d let him out of the cell that Lexus and I had locked him in.
I wanted to kick myself for not commanding him to stay in the cell, but everything worked out okay, anyway. Better, even. The way it turned out, we discovered an awesome new power and learned how much stronger we are together. I, for one, was pretty stoked about that.
I wasn’t like Lexus or the twins who’d been abandoned by their parents and left to fend for themselves, but I had my own insecurities to work out, and it felt kind of cool to be part of a team for once. Lucy and Ethel weren’t the worst guys to be around, and Lexus was, well, pretty damn incredible. She really didn’t owe me the time of day, let alone her affection, but here she was, cuddled up to me like I was her own personal teddy bear. Yeah, she was practically comatose, but I’d take what I could get. I gazed at her and caressed her face while she slept till it was my turn to drive.
When I moved to the drivers’ seat, Phoenix took my spot in the back and was holding Lexus, and I couldn’t resist peeking at them through the rearview mirror every few minutes. I kind of wanted to feel jealous, but I knew I was lucky I had a chance to hold her at all.
“What do you think we should do when we get back?” Griffin asked me, tearing my attention away. I was surprised he wanted my opinion, but I guess that was part of being a team. None of us had felt much like talking up till then, but I did have a plan brewing in my head for when we got back.
“I think we need to use mind control to interrogate the other council members, find out whose side they’re on first. Then we can decide whether or not to let them handle it.”
Griffin raised an eyebrow at me. “What do you plan to do if we find out they’re just as corrupt?”
I lifted one corner of my lips and wiggled my eyebrow. “Take charge.”
Griffin just shook his head at me, but he didn’t argue. Another sign of progress. Maybe someday we’d start to agree on other things besides the need to take care of Lexus.
By the time Lexus woke up, looking groggy but adorable, my stomach was growling. “Want to stop for food?” I suggested.
“Anything but tacos,” Lexus, Griffin, and Phoenix all said in unison.
I had no idea what the joke was, but for some reason it cracked me up. The four of us started giggling uncontrollably, letting the stress of the day bubble out, and we didn’t stop till we sat down in a Chick-fil-A.
“Man, I forgot how good their food was,” I moaned around a huge mouthful of juicy, breaded chicken. Lexus and the twins glanced at me and then at each other, sharing a sad look.
“It’s just fast food, it’s not that big of a deal.” I rolled my eyes at them and licked Polynesian sauce from my fingers.
Lexus laid a hand on my arm, her delicate fingers soft and warm, her fingernails chewed to nubs. “You were a victim, too, Jaxson. We all were.”
I guess I had been a prisoner of Anders’, in a way. He’d kept me at that school for the last few years, away from my home and family, ever since he kidnapped my parents. My jail cell was just a little less recognizable. I’d told Lexus that the school was my home, and I couldn’t really see myself anywhere else. But did I really want to go back there? It was something to think about, but first we needed to deal with the situation.
When we got to the school, I quickly went over my plan with the three of them. United, we walked side by side towards Anders’ office taking up the whole width of the hall like a troupe of superheroes or something. I guess we kind of were.
I didn’t bother knocking, just swung the door open and barged in. “I think we need to have a little chat.”
The three remaining council members had their heads together over Anders’ desk, plotting and scheming as far as I could tell. Anders’ database of Specials was printed out, and they were going over it, making notes.
An hour later, all three of them were locked in the basement, brainwashed into submission. They never even stood a chance against the four of us. I would have to be careful, or this massive power would go to my head.
“Now what do we do? Who’s in charge if we can’t trust the council?” Lexus asked, and Griffin darted his eyes towards me, remembering what I said, I’m sure.
“We are.” I ran a hand down Lexus’ cheek and smiled at her before my face turned serious. It was time to put my plan in action, and it was gonna be a ballbust
er.
“Griffin, I want you to set up a YouTube channel in my name and send me a link so I can upload to it. I need an email to go out to every Special on Anders’ list and everyone in his email contacts — students, teachers, parents, everyone. Tell everyone that I’ll be broadcasting a very important message in one hour, and they need to watch it. Tell them to forward the message to every Special they know. We don’t want anyone to miss it. Then I want you to upload the video I took of the lab, but don’t make it live till after my broadcast. I want them to hear what I have to say first.”
Griffin nodded solemnly.
“Lexus, Phoenix, I want you to get everyone in the school to meet in the gym, especially the ex-prisoners. Tell them I expect them to testify. I’m going to my room for a bit to prepare.” Everyone nodded, clear on their tasks, and we went our separate ways.
The halls of Magna Virtus, so familiar to me after a decade of living here, suddenly felt menacing, cloaked in secrets. The world that Anders had created here, the world I called home, was just a front for something dark and sinister. Could this place ever feel safe again?
I headed to my room, already rehearsing what I was going to say. I didn’t let myself stop to think about the fact that I was about to speak in front of thousands of people and blow open a conspiracy that would rock our community to its core. I knew if I focused on that I’d turn into a sweat-soaked, tongue-tied, blubbering idiot. Well, maybe not that bad, but I’d definitely be a nervous wreck. It was best just to keep the momentum flowing till this was over.
Of course, it wouldn’t really ever be over. This news would disrupt everything about our world. It had already been affecting all our lives for years, we just didn’t realize it. But now, everything I knew was being threatened, and I had no idea what the fallout would be.
There was no other choice, though. The entire council was corrupt and needed to be exposed. We couldn’t exactly sweep that kind of thing under the rug. Besides, dozens of missing Specials were about to return home with tales of kidnap and torture.
Flying Free Page 12
