The two security guards who had helped kidnap me from Nick’s flat raced from the building.
Nick bolted around the front of the car and then jumped into the driver’s seat. He keyed the ignition as I used the button on the centre console to lock all the doors. Not a second too soon. The first security guard reached the car and smashed his baton against my window. The window cracked but didn’t shatter. He pulled his arm back, ready to smash the window again. Nick floored the accelerator and the car sped off down the driveway.
We cleared the gates and the car skidded as Nick spun the wheel to takes us to the road that led back to town.
‘We did it,’ said Daniel, thumping the back of Nick’s seat.
A flash of white caught my eye and I peered into the side mirror.
The white van, with the huge orderly at the wheel, was only one hundred metres behind us, and steadily gaining.
‘They’re coming,’ I said as I grabbed my seatbelt. ‘Everybody buckle up.’
9
The van got closer, showing no signs of slowing down, and I could see Dr Wood in the passenger seat.
‘Faster, Nick.’
‘I’m going as fast as I can.’ He didn’t take his eyes off the road. ‘Any faster and-,’
The van slammed into the back of Nick’s car with a bone-jarring thud. I was thrown forward, only the seatbelt stopping me from flying out of my seat. The car spun sideways and Nick fought to control it. The van rammed us again, side on, and the car careened off the road, sliding boot first into a ditch and coming to a shuddering halt.
I groaned, rubbing at my chest where the seat belt had dug into me. My fingers fumbled to unbuckle it, to relieve the pressure on the bruising I could already feel forming.
‘Are you okay?’ Nick’s hands brushed mine aside and he pushed the release.
I nodded and then twisted to look in the back seat. ‘Daniel. Angel. Are you okay?’
‘Yes,’ said Daniel, while Angel smiled at me. Then her eyes went wide.
The door on her side opened and the orderly reached in and grabbed hold of her arm. Daniel grabbed her other arm, but the orderly was too strong, relentless, as he dragged Angel out of the car. Daniel, still strapped in, frantically tugged at his seat belt.
I opened my door and got out of the car as the orderly pulled Angel towards the van. I launched myself at him, pummeling his back.
‘Get away from her. Let her go.’ I hit him again and again, to no avail. Then I jumped as high as I could and wrapped my arms around his thick neck, trying to choke him.
He let go of Angel and grabbed my arms, prying them away from his neck. Then he tossed me on the ground in front of him and reached down to take hold of my arm. He then moved to grab Angel again but she scooted away from him on her hands and knees.
‘Leave her alone.’ Nick appeared beside me and threw a punch at the orderly’s head.
When the orderly threw up his hand to block Nick’s blow, I kicked him in the groin. He screamed and let me go, crumbling to the ground, curled up on his side whimpering.
I hurried over to Angel as Daniel helped her to her feet. Nick joined us and together we stood and faced Dr Wood. She sneered at the fallen orderly as she stalked towards us. On the road behind the van, the security car came to a halt and the two guards jumped out.
Dr Wood gave us a cold smile. ‘It’s over. Andrea, Angel, get in the van before I call the police and have your brother and your friend arrested.’
‘Like hell we’re getting in the van. We are never going back to that place,’ I said.
‘Don’t you understand? You don’t have a choice. I have every legal right to keep you locked up forever. To do whatever I want to you.’
‘We’ll go to the media, get a lawyer.’
‘If you go public the whole world will come after you and your sister, wanting to use your abilities. And lawyers cost money, which you four clearly do not have, and they wouldn’t do you any good anyway. Your guardians signed your care over to me before you were of legal age, after I convinced them that you were bound to have a psychotic episode if you stopped taking your medication. Not that they were hard to convince.’
‘They are not my parents,’ I said, clenching my jaw.
‘Nonetheless, the paperwork is signed and it is legally binding.’
‘This paperwork?’ Daniel reached under his shirt and pulled out the sheaf of papers I had seen him take from the front counter.
Dr Wood hissed. ‘Give me those.’
‘I don’t think so.’
She spun around to the security guards. ‘Get those papers. Now.’
Before the guards could move Angel snatched the papers out of Daniel’s hand and moved closer to me, her free hand reaching for mine.
‘Now, Andie,’ she said in my head.
I focused on the papers, striving to give Angel every ounce of energy I had. Pain flared in my head and I would have fallen if not for Nick’s arm around my waist.
The papers burst into flames and Angel let them drop to the ground. Her hands were shaking, but she stood with her back straight as she faced Dr Wood. Angel’s voice sounded in my head and I spoke the words she wanted all to hear.
‘Go, leave us in peace, or you will also burn like the papers.’
A small flame appeared in Angel’s palm and the security guards hastily backed away. She let the flame die down as the orderly pulled himself to his feet with a moan and hobbled over to his boss’s side.
Dr Wood made to walk towards us, her mouth in a snarl, but stopped when Angel raised her hand again.
‘You will torture us no more. Our lives are not yours to play with,’ I said for her.
One of the security guards whispered in Dr Wood’s ear, all while keeping a wary eye on Angel. She glared at him, but whatever he said seemed to get through to her. With one final glare our way, she stalked back to the van and climbed into the passenger seat. The orderly hurried around to the driver’s side and started the engine. In a spray of dust, the van shot back towards The Wood’s Estate.
The two security guards never took their eyes off Angel as they backed all the way to their car. Then they quickly followed the van.
The hand in mine went limp and Angel slumped forward, only Daniel’s quick reflexes saving her from hitting the ground. Her eyes were closed; face deathly pale and respirations shallow.
‘Angel.’ I touched her face, willing her to open her eyes and look at me. She didn’t respond. Fear flooded me and I looked at Nick. ‘We need to get her to a hospital.’
He nodded and then helped Daniel carry her to the car. They laid her on the backseat and I climbed in with her, cradling her head on my lap.
The engine revved as Nick manoeuvred his car out of the ditch. Then we sped off. I stroked Angel’s head all the way back to town, talking to her, telling her that everything was going to be okay. She didn’t move, just lay there barely breathing. I closed my eyes and tried to sense her presence, to find her in the darkness that had taken her from me. I found a faint glimmer, a tiny kernel of awareness that was getting smaller every second. I didn’t see how it could survive for much longer.
My eyes shot open. ‘Hurry, Nick. Please hurry.’
‘Is she going to be okay,’ Daniel asked, leaning over the back of the passenger seat.
‘I don’t know. She expended so much energy to create the fire. There’s nothing left to keep her going.’ Tears streamed down my face. ‘She’s dying Daniel. I can feel it.’
Tears formed in his eyes. ‘But we just got her back. We can’t lose her again. There must be something we can do.’
‘I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to help her.’
‘The hospital is four blocks away,’ said Nick, his eyes meeting mine in the rear view mirror. ‘Just hold on for a few more minutes.’
I gazed at him, latching on to his words. Hold on. Could I do it?
I placed my hands on either side of Angel’s head and closed my eyes, seeking that shrinking ker
nel of awareness floating alone in the dark. I thought back to the times Angel had drawn energy from me, where I had felt it in my head. There. A light flared behind my eyes and I concentrated on sending it into Angel, wrapping it around the fading spark that contained her consciousness.
I slumped over her, faintly aware of Daniel calling my name. But I couldn’t respond. Everything I had was focused on saving Angel, on sharing my light with her.
We were twins, we were part of each other, and together we were stronger.
With her awareness shielded by mine, I gave her time to heal, to come back to me. With each beat of our hearts her light grew stronger, her breathing deeper. In sync, we opened our eyes and gazed at each other, matching smiles of pure joy on our faces.
My tears fell on her forehead and I laughed as she crinkled her nose. I helped her to sit up. She closed her eyes again, still weak, and I let her rest.
‘Take us home, Nick. We don’t need to go to the hospital anymore,’ I said, weary but content. ‘Angel is going to be okay.’
Daniel gave me a watery smile and I reached forward to pat him on the shoulder as Nick did a U-turn. We’d done it. Angel was free. I had my sister back, and no one was going to take her from me ever again.
10
I smoothed Angel’s hair and then backed out of the room, quietly closing the door.
‘She’s asleep,’ I said when I entered the lounge.
‘I can’t believe she’s really here,’ said Daniel, running his hands through his hair. ‘All these years I thought she was dead, and instead that horrible woman was torturing her. I should have known something wasn’t right. Your nightmares, pretending Angel never existed.’ His voice cracked.
I moved over to him and gave him a hug. ‘None of this was your fault. Joyce and Bill are the ones who stole Angel from us.’
‘I can’t believe they would do something like that.’
‘I can,’ said Nick, sprawled on the couch. ‘I already told Andie, your aunt is one scary lady. Between her and the crazy doctor, you didn’t stand a chance.’
I let go of Daniel and sat beside Nick, reaching out to take his hand. ‘Thank you, for everything you have done. If it wasn’t for you, believing in me, I don’t think we would have been able to save Angel.’
Nick tugged me closer and put his arm around me. ‘I will always believe in you,’ he said.
I looked into his eyes, caught by the intensity of his gaze. I sucked in a breath and leaned forward, anticipating the feel of his lips on mine.
‘No way. You are not kissing my sister.’ Daniel grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Nick.
I stumbled to my feet and faced Daniel, tugging my arm free. ‘That is not your decision to make.’
‘What? Are you saying you want him to kiss you?’
I didn’t look at Nick. ‘That is something I need to discuss with him, alone.’ I pointed down the hall. ‘Go check on Angel, please.’
‘You just said she was asleep, and no way am I leaving the two of you alone.’ He glared at Nick. ‘You are not allowed to date my sister. Not happening.’
Nick stood and put his arm around my waist, drawing me to him. ‘Sorry, Dan. You’re my friend, and I’d hate for this to ruin our friendship but I am going to date Andie. If she’ll have me.’
He shifted me round so that I stood facing him. ‘Andrea Sherman, I’m crazy about you. You’re remarkable, strong, fearless, amazing, and I want to give us a chance. What do you say?’
My smile was so big, he could have no doubt about my response, but I told him anyway. ‘I’m crazy about you too, Nick Foster.’
I never got the chance to say anything more. His mouth covered mine and I lost myself in the taste of his lips. A long time later he lifted his head and we grinned at each other. Then I remembered Daniel and looked over to where he was pulling at his hair.
‘Seriously guys, if this is going to work you can’t do that in front of me ever again,’ he said.
‘So you’re okay with this, with us?’ I waved a hand at Nick and me, still with our arms wrapped around each other.
‘I guess I have to be. If I learned one thing from what we’ve gone through this weekend, it’s not to mess with my little sister. Either of my little sisters. You made fire appear, out of nowhere. I can’t even begin to imagine how you did that.’
‘It wasn’t me. It was Angel.’
‘What are we going to do now?’ Nick asked. ‘That crazy doctor didn’t seem the type to give up and she wants you and Angel really bad. We can’t count on fear of getting burned keeping her away forever. And what if she gets her hands on the other signed copies of the paperwork. Yours and Angel’s commitment papers are legal documents so Joyce and Bill would have a copy.’
I shook my head. ‘I can’t see Dr Wood’s taking the risk. Not after what she’s done. She tortured Angel and me, and we’re not the only ones. We’ll need to look at a way to help those still trapped there. If Dr Wood so much as looks in our direction we go straight to the police, tell them everything. From what Angel told me about what goes on in that place, it would get shut down immediately and Dr Wood’s reputation would be ruined.’
Daniel frowned. ‘She told you? How?’
‘I hear her words in my head, I always have. She may be mute but she has a voice, a strong one.’
‘You’re incredible,’ said Nick, his voice husky.
‘Angel is incredible,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘I’m just the sidekick.’
‘She would still be locked away if it wasn’t for you. You are definitely not a sidekick. You’re the hero.’
‘If you two are going to kiss again, I’m out of here,’ said Daniel before he suited his actions to his words.
I never took my eyes off Nick, marvelling at how much my life had changed since he’d offered me a lift the day before.
He believed in me, had never doubted. From the first crazy moment to now, he’d supported me. Thanks to him, I had my twin sister back and a chance to live a normal life, free of nightmares and full of possibilities.
As his lips covered mine I knew that I was ready to embrace the future, and everything it offered.
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