“No,not her,” Jude bawls, dropping to his knees beside me.
The world swims in front of my eyes. I don’t remember falling, but I’m on my back with warm, dark blood seeping over my chest.
“Please, Maggie. Please, just stop,” I say, telepathically. The anger and confusion swirling in her mind makes me physically gag. I can sense her intention before she even thinks it. I pull the gun out of Jude’s waistband and shoot her before she can shoot him.
“Oh, my God, Teddie,” Jude cries, his hands shaking as he cradles my head. “Please, don’t do this to me, Princess. Help her!” he screams at Cooper, tears in his eyes. “Help her!”
Cooper pushes him aside. “Shit. It’s bad. It’s really bad.” Jude reaches for the handle, but Cooper swats him away. “Do not remove the blade, do you hear me?”
“I’m sorry about Fabian,” I say, through gritted teeth.
“You get all the luck,” Cooper says, forcing a smile in an attempt to calm me.
“Did you just smile?” I ask.
“Maybe. I still don’t like you, though.” Okay, so Cooper can be funny.
A familiar noise fills the air, and a chopper hovers over the house, illuminating it with a large spotlight. The sound of speeding cars rumbles down the road, and shouts and orders echo off the cliffs.
“It’s the army,” whispers Silvain. He grabs Jude’s arm and starts to drag him away from me. “We have to hide. Andiamo.”
“Adam,” I mumble.
Cooper lifts me into his arms, and I cry out as the knife moves in the wound. “I know it hurts, but you got to shut the hell up, Teddie.” he says, sternly. He takes one last look at Fabian, and then sets off after Silvain.
Shouts erupt from the house and a thunder of feet rush in our direction. I hear my name shouted over and over. It’s Adam.
“Everybody, stay where you are. Get your hands in the air. Any use of abilities will result in extermination,” says a projected voice from the chopper.
I can feel the pull of the link and I allow it to wash over me. “Teddie, where are you?” he asks.
“Hiding,” I say, repeating Silvain’s words.
“Stay there. Do not come up to the house, okay? Maggie must have called us in. I’ll find a way to come for you.”
“Don’t risk it. Do what they want and keep yourself alive. Keep the others alive.” Even the voice in my head winces from pain.
“I’m coming for you.”
“No! Don’t you dare.”
“Teddie—”
“I think I’m dying. It’s pointless.” I involuntarily share the memory of Jude’s distraught, crying face. I can feel Adam’s sudden fear and heartbreak. “I’m sorry, Baby. This might be the only chance I get to say goodbye.”
His voice breaks. “No- no- no, it’s never goodbye. I will find you.”
“I love you. I love you. I love—”
“Stop, Baby. Not like this. Tell me when you see me, okay?” I can hear the sobbing in his mind.
A sharp slap meets my cheek and I’m thrust back into reality, the link broken. Jude looms over me, calling my name.
“Adam!” I cry, launching forward. Cooper holds me down as a pain rages in my chest.
“Don’t do that to me, Princess. You can’t sleep. If you sleep, you die.”
I don’t feel right. The cold grips at my body and my hands tremble uncontrollably. My head feels light and fuzzy as my tunnel vision closes in on Jude’s face. So, this is what dying feels like.
“I’m so cold. Just let me sleep.” Glancing down at the knife, I see the extent of my blood loss. “I think I should sleep.”
Silvain rummages in his pocket, pulling out his mobile, and Jude snatches it from him.
Cooper removes his hoody, draping it over me. “She’s going into shock,” he says to Jude.
Jude presses a button on the phone and holds it too his ear. Cooper’s face blurs in front of me. I can’t fight this anymore. Sleep is calling to me.
“We need your help,” Jude shouts into the phone. “Theyda’s dying.”
CHAPTER NINE
Snoring stirs me from my sleep. Waking up has a strange, liberating feeling, as if I have been swimming through a lake of treacle and have just burst out the other side. I blink the dryness away from my eyeballs. They itch and water, but I will them to acclimatise to the dim light and focus on the damaged ceiling tiles above my bed. Where am I?
I attempt to sit up, but an ache eats at my chest. I touch the spot, feeling bandages and a raw, tenderness. Itching my cheek, I see wires stuck under my skin and a metal sedation cuff. I fully start out of my dream state and sit bolt upright, crying out in agony from the movement. I topple from my bed, the wires pulling painfully from the back of my hand. What is this place?
Buzzers sound from an array of monitors. I scramble into the corner of the room. The light flickers on, and three people swarm on me.
I scream out, cowering in the corner, fighting off the hands that pull at me.
“It’s okay, Teddie. You’re safe,” says a woman’s voice. My heart pounds harder in my chest. I’ve heard that one before. “Help me get her on the bed.”
I fight harder, my chest searing with pain. “Get away!”
“She’s going to burst her stitches,” the woman shouts. She pins my arms to the wall.
“Hey, gentle with her,” says Cooper’s voice from the corner of the room. “She’s confused.”
I push the woman away and race around the bed, throwing myself at Cooper. I grip around his neck, pulling my knees up to my chest until I’m a tight ball on his lap. He sits rigid for a moment before placing an arm around me.
“Go and get Jude,” he tells the people. “She’s okay. I’ve got her.”
I watch as a blonde woman in a garish, knitted cardigan rushes from the room.
“All of you- out,” he snaps at the remaining people. They don’t argue with him and shuffle out of the room, waiting right outside the door. “You’re okay,” he says. “You’re in a hospital... well, kind of. Now, can you get off?”
I release my grip instantly, the blood flush of embarrassment reaching my cheeks. I gingerly sit on the bed, my bare feet not reaching the floor. Cooper studies me with that annoying look of his that is half concern and half amusement.
“What happened?” I ask, manoeuvring my bad shoulder in gentle circles.
“I assume you remember the dirty, great knife sticking out of your chest?”
I nod.
“Well, congratulations, you’re alive.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” I say. Cooper smiles and I think it’s genuine. “Where are we?”
“Syndicate headquarters. Jude rang Grayson just before you conked out. It turns out, they had members monitoring us from the cliffs twenty-four seven. They came to the rescue.”
It’s a lot to take in, but I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of relief. “Why are you in here with me? Where’s Adam?”
Cooper shifts in his seat. “What do you mean? Don’t you remember the army swarming the house? They got him- Yana, Seth, October, Wheeler, and Emiko too.”
“But you said Syndicate came to the rescue.”
“To your rescue. We got you to the cliffs, and then they took over. No-one would have made it back to the house without being captured.”
Jude rushes in, stopping the people outside from following him. “Give us a minute,” he tells them. He races to me, but stops when he sees my face. “We’re doing what we can, Princess. There are numerous EVO detention centres throughout the UK. We will find them.”
“They’re in the UK?” I ask. Jude nods. “We need to go back to the UK.” I get to my feet and Jude slips my arm around his shoulder before my legs give way beneath me. “I’m fine. Get me some clothes.”
“We’re already in the UK,” Jude says, sighing.
My mind fires with questions and fear. How long would it have taken to get back to the UK? I must have been operated on before I was flown here. How long hav
e Adam and the others been at the mercy of the government? “How many hours have I been out?” I ask.
“We’re not talking hours, Princess. It’s been six days.”
My stomach swoops, and Jude and Cooper lift me back onto the bed. “Six days? They could have been tortured to death by now.” I lunge over the side of the bed, vomiting on the floor. “They’re dead,” I cry.
“We don’t know that. We’re trying to find them, Princess, but we’ve also got to—”
“NO! There is nothing else. We find them,” I scream at him.
“I’m sorry about your friends,” says a voice from the doorway. “Sincerely, I am, but rash decisions will get more people killed. Hello, Teddie, I’m Grayson James.”
Grayson offers me his hand and I shake it, taking in his every detail. He smiles and his face lights up. His face is kind, his eyes are kind, and his smile is kind. He is a good man. I don’t have to use anything other than intuition to read him. I knew Isaac had a dangerous look in his eyes when I first met him, but I ignored it. I was desperate for him to be who I needed him to be. Stupid, stupid girl.
“Are you well enough to walk with me?” Grayson asks, offering his arm. “Jude has informed me that you have an impressive link with your boyfriend. I must severely advise against the use of this link for the time being. You may not only endanger yourself, but Adam too.”
“He’s right, Princess. It’s not safe. Promise me you won’t link, for now.”
The request jars with me, but still, I agree.
He removes my cuff. “We maintain a no-ability rule at headquarters. We have both EVO and Non-EVO members, and we all agree that abilities should be used only when absolutely necessary. Can you agree to that?” I nod. “Thank you. Now, there are some people I would like you to meet.”
I’m bare foot and wearing a hospital gown, but Grayson doesn’t appear to think it is an issue. I take his arm and follow him out of the room, closely trailed by Jude and Cooper. We pass the odd person here and there, and Grayson greets them, but he offers no introduction. They watch me as if I’m about to disappear in a puff of smoke.
“You’re in charge here?” I ask
Grayson nods. “Yes, but I installed a Council. It’s wiser and more democratic, and this way, we are accountable. We learnt important lessons from the E.N.C’s mistakes.” We ascend a flight of stairs that have seen better days. The walls have been graphitised and the carpet tiles are stained and lifting at the corners. “We’re not looking for dominance. We want a new world; an equal, just world. But, like you said, I’ll let you judge that for yourself. Only a few Council members are here at headquarters today, but enough for our meeting.” He smiles kindly and removes his denim jacket, draping it over my shoulders.
He opens the door and the chatter stops instantly. “Teddie Leason, this is Rakesh Reddy. You already know Silvain, of course.”
Silvain kisses both my cheeks. Rakesh is Indian, mid-twenties, with a shaved head, and a body full of tattoos. He isn’t muscular, but is in good shape. He wears skinny jeans, flip flops, and a sleeveless t-shirt. He greets Jude and Cooper like old friends.
“Call me Kesh,” he says. “I’m the resident Technokin.”
Grayson removes a plastic, office chair from a stack and ushers me into it. He places another chair beside me and takes a seat. “We’re going to have a Council meeting in a few moments. You need only listen, but if you would like to contribute, please do.”
Two women enter the room carrying clothes. The first woman has a bird’s nest of wiry, blonde hair framing her round face. I recognise her as the nurse from before. She wears a pair of burgundy, corduroy trousers, hiking boots, and a lime-green, knitted jumper. She beelines for me, shaking my hand enthusiastically.
“Hello, hello, hello,” she says. Her voice is overly cheery, but I take it as genuine. “Ingrid Bryn,” she says, setting clothes on my lap. Up close, she seems younger than I had first thought. I wouldn’t place her at more than thirty. “I will look you over properly when we’re done. I would prefer it if you wore a sling whilst that wound is healing.”
“Ingrid is a Non-EVO member. You may also know of her EVO sister, Celeste,” says Grayson.
Jude swipes his hair out of his face, poorly attempting to hide his grin. “Oh, Teddie knows of Celeste.”
I can’t picture Ingrid and Celeste growing up together. They’re polar opposites. Celeste is a stereotypical Barbie girl who just happened to date my boyfriend. Ingrid is a homely, comfort over fashion sort.
Ingrid rolls her eyes. “Who doesn’t know of her? That sister of mine is a law unto herself.”
Celeste is many things, but when push came to shove at the complex on that Friday night she stepped up. “Celeste helped get the message out about Isaac. She was very brave.”
Ingrid laughs. “Maybe, but I am yet to see Celeste do anything that doesn’t in some way benefit her.”
She’s probably right, but that’s beside the point. “Have you heard from her?”
“She called me a week or so ago. She was heading off with her new friends. She had me transfer some money to her. She said she was safe, so I doubt I’ll hear from her again for a few months until she needs more. We’re not the closest of sisters.”
I’m not surprised.
The second woman isn’t as receptive. She stands in the doorway, her eyes scouting every inch of me. Her dark skin has a sheen of sweat, and her deep, brown eyes are red and bloodshot. I would hazard a guess that she is in her mid-forties, although, there is a youthful edge to the way she dresses; skin tight jeans, heeled boots, and a leather jacket. Her long hair is in dreads with a headscarf holding it back out of her face. She places my freshly washed converse on the table and swiftly takes the seat furthest away from me.
“Leoni Vickers,” she says, when she sees Grayson eyeballing her. “Memory manipulator.”
Her ability makes me wary. The only other memory manipulator I have met was sadistic, warped Yvette- Isaac’s groupie come lover come government doctor.
Cooper takes the seat beside me, casually leaning back in his chair.
“Are you on the Council too?” I whisper to him.
“Nah, this isn’t my kind of thing, but for now, Jude wants me here.”
“If there are no objections, I’d like to begin,” Grayson says. “The government know you are Dual-EVO, Teddie, they have your friends, and they are taking EVO children and experimenting on them.”
Whoa. Talk about easing me in gently.
“Jesus, Grayson. At least take the girl to dinner before you screw her,” says Cooper.
Grayson grimaces at Cooper’s crudeness. “Would you rather me tiptoe around the issues here?” he asks me.
I shake my head. “Just tell me what you are doing to locate my boyfriend and my friends.”
Grayson keeps eye contact, his soft expression bringing tears to my eyes. He’s going to tell me something I don’t want to hear. “I’m sorry, Teddie, but we can only locate your friends if they show up at one of the fight houses. We have many members working from inside the fight rings. As it is, they seem to be in government custody. We’re working on gaining intel as far as the government are concerned. I’m hoping for more information any minute now.”
“Jude said something about detention centres. Do you have any idea where they are?”
“Not at the moment, but the information would be pointless without the numbers to take on such a facility. They have near-on impenetrable security systems in place. Jude said you are familiar with TORO?”
I physically shudder, my chest restricting to such an extent that I’m gasping for air. “What if they turn him back into a TORO,” I cry to Jude. I stand, gripping the edge of the table. The ground seems to dip and wobble beneath me.
“He’s been through it before. Adam is strong, and if he is a TORO, at least he isn’t dead,” Jude soothes.
“He may as well be,” I sob. “You have no idea. None of you do.” I look from face to face, only Leoni
seems affected by my outburst. She looks nauseous and watches me through glazed eyes. “You have no idea what they could be going through!”
“Tell us,” says Grayson, gently taking my hands. “Tell us what they did to you, Teddie.”
“What good will it do? The first thing I remember when I think back to that hell hole is Adam. Not Roscoe having me beat on in the middle of the night, or being made to fight each other, or the hallucinogens, or being stripped and doused. It’s Adam. It’s hard to imagine that one person can get someone through so much, but Adam got me through. Alan Roscoe killed my family, Isaac Woodman killed my friends, and I’m sick of having my life torn to shreds by people who claim to need me. I’m sick of it, because no one can ever need me as much as I need him. Thank you for what you’ve done for me, but I need to find them.” I get to my feet and start for the door.
“I’m not letting you go on a suicide mission. If you leave now, you’re as good as dead. You’ve been brought back from the dead once, Princess. I doubt you’d be so lucky next time,” says Jude.
He slouches in his chair not looking at me. He can’t look at me because he knows as well as I do that Adam and the others are probably being tortured as we speak.
“Since when do you have a say over me?” I snap. “You may not give a shit about them, but they are my family. I know you understand that concept at least.” I sway on my feet. Cooper grabs my elbow to steady me, but I pull myself free. “Do you reckon Adam would sit here if he knew Towley had me?” I ask Jude.
He finally meets my eye. “Hell or high water wouldn’t keep him from you.”
My sobs pour from me like a tidal wave. “Exactly, but you will never understand that. How long did you know that Tess was at Facility One? You were willing to kill her. You will never know what Adam and I have. I won’t just leave him to die.” I know I’ve hit a sore spot.
Jude slams his hands on the table, his chair screeching as he flies to his feet. “Don’t you dare go there. Don’t think for one minute that my guilt doesn’t consume my every thought. I loved Tess, and now, she is dead. And yes, I was willing to kill her and end her suffering, even though that would have destroyed me,” he shouts, pointing a finger in my face. “Can you even imagine living with that? I loved her, she is dead, and there is nothing I can do to bring her back, no matter how hard I wish for it.”
EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set Page 36
