Altered

by Marnee Blake

  “What the hell.” Jack’s annoyed voice filled the darkness.

  “Shut it,” Seth hissed. “I heard something outside. Everyone down.”

  Kitty’s gasp echoed as she dropped to the ground next to Blue. “We have to get out of here. Now.”

  “What’s going on?” Seth whispered.

  Her answer was ominous. “They’re here.”

  Chapter Ten

  “It’s Goldstone. Like you guessed.” Kitty’s voice cracked with terror.

  Shit, shit, shit. How had they found them? Seth hadn’t sensed them or seen anything. Surely he couldn’t have been so careless.

  He had to get them all out of here. In a hunch, he grabbed his backpack and went to the door, peeking out. Same hallway as before, floors covered in nondescript maroon carpet, walls adorned with cheesy wall sconces. Blessedly empty. “Let’s go.”

  “Where are we going?” Luke whispered back.

  “Out.”

  “Wait. My money. It’s in the room.”

  Of course it was upstairs. In their room. Not with him. Seth fought back his frustration. He needed to have a long talk with these guys about vigilance. Weren’t any of them in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts? Hell, he’d take a troop of Brownies with their preparedness badges over this crew.

  “Fine. We’ll go get it. If we get split up, though, meet back at the park across from the train station.” He hoped they all remembered where that was. More, he hoped they didn’t get split up.

  Luke nodded. Seth opened the door, ushering them out. He followed backward, watching their backs, until they reached the stairwell door. He waved them through. “Go. Up.”

  The others ran up the stairs, some of them taking them two at a time. Blue looked a little peaked, but she hustled pretty well for a girl with a concussion. They stopped at the door to the second floor. Seth passed them to check the upstairs hall before waving them through again.

  So far, so good.

  They quickly found their way to room 214. He and Luke slipped inside without turning on any interior lights. The room was also empty. This was almost too easy.

  “It’s over by the window.” Luke hurried with the grace of someone born without natural athleticism. He leaned down, grabbed the strap, and slung the pack on his shoulder. His shoulders relaxed, and he smiled. “Got it.”

  The window next to him exploded with a loud crash. Luke flinched, covering his head, as glass shards exploded around him. A soldier dressed in black camo swung in, landing on the carpet beside him, a rifle in his hands.

  As it had every time something like this happened, time slowed. Seth easily calculated the distance between himself and the other soldier. He would disarm and neutralize. Come in low, grab the rifle, take out the left knee, return to standing, and bring the butt of the weapon down on his face. All could be accomplished in less than a minute.

  The plan took less than a second to formulate. The soldier didn’t even have his bearings yet. Seth tensed to spring. But by then, he wasn’t needed.

  His opponent flew backward, out the way he came in. Surprise and fear registered before he fell, leaving a strangled cry in his wake.

  Seth jerked around to find Luke pale, his hands up. “I didn’t think. He was there.” His face wore the horror of someone who had just killed someone. Pity swept through Seth. Except there was no time. “Out.”

  Luke hiked the bag onto his back, and they hustled out the door. The others waited in the hall, and Seth tore past them. “Go. They’re inside.”

  Seth didn’t look back, grabbed Blue’s hand. He wanted her close. She wasn’t well. The rest of them would be fine. He expected her to shrink away. She’d been frustrated with him a few minutes ago. But, instead, she squeezed his hand and followed him, her mouth tightened into a straight line.

  He pulled her close to his side. They might disagree on where they were going next, but right now, he knew they were better together.

  He stopped them at the stairwell and pulled the door open before sticking his head in to listen.

  Faint shoe scuffs echoed off the concrete walls.

  “Shit.” He turned to the others. Jack, his shoulders hunched and defensive. Blue, pale and determined, clinging to his hand. Kitty, her eyes wide and fearful. Luke, his misery so clear it didn’t take Kitty to know what he was thinking.

  Christ. He really was going to get them all killed.

  Maybe they should stop right now. If they went with the Goldstone guys, they would be captives, but they’d be alive. If they ran now, who knew if the organization wouldn’t kill them to gag this whole fiasco? They’d fucked up, it was clear. There would come a point when they would cut their losses, realize it was easier to erase them than to chase them all over the country, and call it a day.

  As they stared at him, he felt the burden of their trust.

  Was this what his mother felt when she looked in his eyes? The unbearable weight of responsibility to someone who couldn’t look after himself? The errant thought made his decision easy.

  No way would he buckle under duty. Not now, not ever. But once they were out of this, he was moving on. They deserved a better leader than him.

  “We go back. The way we came. We’re going out that window.”

  He passed them again, in no rush. No need to hurry now. They couldn’t get in front of the soldiers. They were going to have to go through them. What they needed now was a plan. “Jack,” he called behind him.

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re with me.”

  He caught up, walking beside him. For once Jack didn’t look so pissed off. If anything, he seemed eager for what they were about to do. If he had the same gift Seth did, he had a good idea what was about to happen. “What’s up?”

  “We’re going back inside your room. Once we get in, if you’re like me, your mind will give you plenty of time to think through the fight.” He glanced to the side, to see how Jack accepted their inevitable fight. He looked solid, so he continued. “Try not to do major damage if you can avoid it. Broken arms, legs, noses, all fine. Watch head injuries and avoid blood. No weapons.” The conversation he’d had with Blue yesterday, when she’d chewed him out for not caring about whether the soldiers lived or died, replayed through his mind. Maybe he had been too quick to do harm. These guys weren’t in charge. They were following orders. Killing them probably wasn’t necessary.

  Jack nodded once.

  He spoke over his shoulder this time. “Jack and I will go out the window first. We’ll neutralize the men on the ground while Blue sends Kitty down. Luke, you paralyze as many as you can. Just hold ’em still. You guys figured out how not to suffocate them, right?” Luke nodded. “Good. Then Blue will send you out, before you bring her down.” He could have tasked Luke with more of the work, but after he’d freaked out and tossed a guy out the window, he wasn’t sure Luke could manage himself.

  Then again, Blue probably had a concussion. He turned to her. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. Good, she was solid. He squeezed her arm, needing to touch her, to feel that she was really fine.

  Still touching her, he made eye contact with all of them. “Do you all understand the plan?”

  “Yeah. Fight like freaks while the other freaks fly out a window.” Jack pressed the room key card into his hand.

  That about covered it. “Right. Let’s go, then.”

  And with that, they were all business. Beside him, Jack cracked his neck. Behind him, he could feel the others tense. He thanked his stars that no one was freaking out.

  He swiped the card and swung the door open in one movement, so fast anyone inside wouldn’t hear the lock. Then he flung himself through the door.

  The three men inside 214 didn’t have time to react. He dived on two, taking them to the ground, leaving one for Jack. He rolled to the right, planted his elbow in that guy’s face, and then gripped the other by his jacket. The fight almost didn’t seem fair. Three easily calculated blows—kidney, throat, and nose—and the guy went down.
The other had cleared the blood from his face, when Seth knelt over him. He planted a head butt square to the bridge of his nose. It broke, he could feel it, and then he went down, too.

  It was so easy it scared him.

  Beside him, Jack grappled with his man. Kid could use some hand-to-hand training. He had lots of strength but no finesse. Seemed like he fought with anger alone. Finally, he maneuvered enough to catch the guy in the balls with the kind of kick no man wanted to receive. It worked, though. The soldier flopped around on the ground like a fish out of water.

  The others came in as another soldier flew through the window, feetfirst, still holding onto the rope hanging outside. He stopped, though, hovering half in and half out of the window, his muscles still flexed, his mouth open in what had probably started as a battle cry but wasn’t even a whisper now. The soldier floated past him, suspended in midair, frozen in place.

  Seth studied him then turned to Luke, whose eyebrows were dropped low, concentrating. Man, that trick never got old.

  “Time to go.” Blue nodded at the window. Shards of glass spiked from the sides. She frowned, and then the remaining glass exploded out, leaving the frame clear of sharp edges. Blue smiled, all smug. He couldn’t help but grin in return. She really was too much.

  If they got out of this…no. Not if, when they got out of this, he hoped she’d come with him. He couldn’t imagine leaving her now.

  With that errant thought, he dived out the window. As he flew through the sky, ropes dropped off the roof, signaling the arrival of at least two more soldiers. Above him, Blue’s brows dropped in what looked like concern. For him. He didn’t have time to think about what that meant, because shouts came from above and below. Something whizzed past him, and he twisted to avoid them. Were they shooting at him?

  “Tranquilizers! Not bullets!” Kitty’s answered yell came from inside.

  That was something. At least they weren’t trying to kill him. The ground raced to meet him, and he landed in a squat without breaking his foot, thank God. He was in the middle of a small squad, only five. Jack landed ten feet away. He paused a split second to calculate his next steps.

  This had to be fast, after all. Kitty would be out in a minute. He sprang.

  Arms spread, he knocked two to the ground, using his hands on their throats to smash their heads on the concrete. They groaned, but he knew they wouldn’t stand again soon. No way to avoid it. These weren’t good odds, even with his strength and speed, so he had to take his advantages where he could. He dived up and to the right, dropping another with a punch to his throat. Two faint pops sounded behind him. He had enough time to bend backward as the tranquilizer needles flew over him. He saw them as they passed above his face. Two tiny darts.

  He landed on his hands in a back bend and sprang into a full back handspring, landing on his feet behind the remaining two opponents. A spiral kick knocked out their knees, and then he crashed their heads together.

  Jack stood nearby, four bodies littered at his feet.

  Kitty landed next to him, surveying the damage they’d done. She looked impressed. “You guys are really something.”

  “Thanks.” From the roof, shouts rang out. Men looked over the edge and ropes dropped over the side. Soldiers spilled from the side door, probably the ones who’d been in the stairwell inside. “Looks like we’ll have company soon.” He cupped his mouth. “Hurry!”

  Damn these ropes. Annoyed, she shoved them away.

  Blue watched Kitty land next to the others from the window. Another one, safely out. She sighed in relief, but the feeling was short-lived. Men in camo covered the ground around them. Seth and Jack braced themselves.

  They had to hurry. She spun to Luke. “Your turn.”

  “What should I do with him?” She looked back to find Luke still holding the soldier who’d come through the window in midair.

  Good question. “Can he breathe?”

  He snorted at her. “Of course he can breathe. We practiced that a million times. I got it, Blue. Look”—he motioned to the frozen soldier—“his chest is rising and falling, and he doesn’t look blue.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “So what should I do with him?” Luke’s voice went up a little when he panicked. “I can’t exactly put him down. He’ll try to shoot us.”

  “Right. How about we put him in the hallway, then?” They sounded like they were discussing rearranging the furniture.

  “Good idea.”

  She took the three steps to the door, opened it enough to look outside. Clear for now. She swung it the rest of the way open and waved her arm, like Vanna White. “After you.”

  The man in camo sailed through, as if he’d been tossed out like trash. He hung, suspended in the air in the hallway. Blue stuck her head out again. A woman in her bathrobe stood with an ice bucket four doors down. Blue couldn’t imagine what the scene looked like, so she wiggled her fingers in a small greeting and slammed the door shut.

  Outside, she heard a soft oomph and the unmistakable sound of a two-hundred-plus-pound man hitting the floor. A moment later, loud banging on the door, as well as some colorful cursing, filled the room.

  “Let’s go, Luke.”

  “Right. Ready when you are.”

  Out he went, the same as the others.

  Her turn.

  She glanced at the window. Luke wouldn’t be able to see her. She stuck her head over the edge and whistled to Luke below. “I’m going to jump. Catch me.”

  He nodded.

  She moved the end table over a little and stepped on top as two more ropes dropped over the side of the building. Standing on top of the end table, she glared at the offensive ropes.

  Anger welled inside her. Why were they making this so difficult? Couldn’t they see she and the others wanted to be left alone?

  On the heels of her anger, though, she realized she could do something about it. After all, what was the point of these powers if she couldn’t use them?

  Before she could look down or give herself time to second-guess that she was about to jump out of a window, she dived forward into empty space and spun in midair to face the roof. Two soldiers were already rappelling over the side.

  She felt the now familiar tug in her stomach and knew Luke had her. Then she smiled, focusing on the soldiers above her.

  Sorry, guys, but gravity isn’t going to work out for you today.

  Chapter Eleven

  How many of these guys were there? After he and Jack disarmed a handful of them, Seth watched two more rappel down. They had to be coming close to the end of the group, didn’t they? Goldstone must have sent more than one team this time. His stomach hurt. It was only a matter of time now. This run-in…it hardened his resolve to get them to Bragg, to turn the responsibility for this mess over to someone else, someone smarter than him. They were too visible as a pack. At this rate, Goldstone was bound to catch up with them, and, with the group following him, it was going to be his fault.

  He glanced toward the parking lot. It was empty now, but they needed to move.

  Blue shot out of the window, twisting in the air so her back faced the ground. She free-fell for a long moment. Seth’s heart jumped into his throat, and it felt like a lifetime as he watched her tumbling through the air.

  Then she jerked to a stop, beginning to float. Luke had caught her.

  He breathed again.

  His mind ran through possible strategies to neutralize the latest guys coming down the building. Strategies to keep Blue safe.

  But then, they weren’t coming down any longer. First, one lifted back up and over the side, arms flailing as he made whoa noises. Then, the other followed. They went so fast, Seth imagined they’d have a headache when they landed.

  He glanced over. Sure enough, Luke still had Blue. Which meant she’d moved the soldiers. While floating backward through midair.

  “Wow,” Kitty breathed beside him.

  Exactly. Pretty impressive.

  The ropes started to move then,
twisting like snakes. They slipped through the air, coiling around each other, until they dropped, and he saw her handiwork.

  Knotted in three spots. Of course. No ropes, no rappelling.

  She touched down next to him, staring up. Her brows had dropped as if studying the results and finding them unsatisfactory.

  “Nice touch.”

  “I was angry.”

  “So, Windsor knots?”

  “Yeah.” She shrugged, managing to look sheepish. He smiled.

  Two heads popped over the roof above them. Blue sighed. “I didn’t hurt them. Only delayed them.”

  “Humanitarian and all.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  Seth lifted his hands. “No offense.”

  “Yeah.”

  He grinned. Without thinking, he folded himself around her in a quick hug, to soothe himself with the feel of her against him. He rubbed his fingers over her hair, and to his surprise, his hand was shaking.

  Unwilling to think about that, he pulled away, scanning the nearly empty parking lot. They needed a car fast. He wouldn’t take any more chances. Didn’t look like the hotel was very busy tonight, though. He wrote off anything that had been made before 2010 and settled on a Maxima a few cars down. Not his first choice, but it would have to do.

  He trotted over. The parking lot remained blessedly quiet, free of soldiers. For now. It wouldn’t be long before Goldstone recovered, though.

  He lifted the handle on the Maxima. No alarm. Thank God for small towns where no one locked their door.

  “What are you doing?” Kitty looked scandalized, glancing up and down the street. Like it was okay to beat the hell out of a bunch of soldiers, but carjacking was beneath her.

  “Getting us out of here.” He opened the car door, scooting under the steering wheel. He made a few adjustments, and the engine purred to life. He smiled and unlocked the rest of the doors. “Get in.”

  Blue studied him. “How’d you learn to do that?”

  “Foster kids have eclectic educations.” He shrugged. “Time to go. We can travel together to San Antonio.” He nodded to Luke and Jack. “A little closer to the Mexican border anyway, right?”