It begs for more speed, to move faster. My teeth grind together in order to keep the request for more speed from slipping out. The speedometer is already hovering just over one hundred miles per hour. I can’t ask Hayden to go any faster, so I drop my head to my knees and rock back and forth as I wait for the pull to change.
Forward. Forward. That’s all it tells me. It’s all I can focus on.
When the speed of the car drops suddenly, my head springs up and I grab Hayden’s arm. He senses the argument poised on my lips and reaches out for my hand. “We’re in a residential area. I had to slow down. We can’t risk getting pulled over.” Hayden squeezes my hand. “Any change yet?”
I shake my head. The panic raging inside of me is hot and carries a weight so heavy I don’t know if I can bear it much longer. I start pleading with whatever or whoever is directing me, begging them to let me find Mason soon. Holding onto the pull as tightly as I can, I squeeze my knees to my chest.
My eyes scour every house and car for some sign of Mason or the Sentinels. The quiet neighborhood is maddening! Where are they? I narrow my eyes, as if that will somehow make them appear. I am ready to scream by the time the pull finally stops its relentless forward trek.
“Left!” I gasp. “Turn left! Hurry!”
Hayden stomps on the break and yanks us down a different neighborhood street. At first, it looks no different than the one we were just on. Then, the flash of blue lights turns my body to stone. Hayden slows to a crawl, but doesn’t stop as we pass by a house swarming with police. The front bay window has been shattered and the door is hanging cockeyed on its hinges. It could just be a random robbery. Hayden and I look at each other. This isn’t random.
The pull continues to urge me forward, but I lose it when I see the tail end of a gurney being wheeled out the front door. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe! My whole body starts shaking. Somehow my hand is locked around Hayden’s wrist and I am begging him to stop.
“It’s not him!” Hayden says harshly.
“But… but it …”
He shakes his head and speeds up. “It’s not him, Olivia! You wouldn’t still be able to feel him if he was dead.”
He’s right. Hayden is right. I repeat that over and over again in my head.
“Now, tell me which way to go. I doubt Mason is out of danger yet.”
No, he’s not. I push away the pain stilling plaguing me and my near hysterical fear, and focus. “Just keep going,” I say. “Stay on this road.”
“Okay,” Hayden says as he takes my hand. He presses down on the gas as soon as we’re clear of the police chaos. I try to soak up his strength, but the best I can manage is shivering in fear as I sit next to him.
Suddenly, everything about the pull changes. The pain disappears, but I know instinctively that it isn’t good. I feel as if the temperature has just dropped twenty degrees. The shivering brought on by fear is amplified as my body temperature plummets. A sick nothingness propels me into full on panic.
“Your hand is like ice!” Hayden gasps. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head slowly. Everything seems to be slower. Forming words on my lips is difficult. “I think… Mason… is dying.”
Tears roll down my cheeks, crystalizing on my skin before they can drop. Hayden’s eyes widen at the sight of my frozen tears. His concern about getting pulled over vanishes and he floors it. Keeping my eyes open becomes harder and harder with each second. I fight to stay alert. I have to find him. I can’t let Mason die!
“Turn right,” I whisper as my strength begins to fade.
I am thrown into the window as Hayden swerves. Pushing myself back up is too hard, so I stay slumped against the window. My eyes take in everything. I see him before the pull suddenly drops away and anchors me to this spot.
“Hayden, stop!” I beg.
He slams on the brakes. I lurch against my seatbelt, gasping as my breath is knocked out of me. My numb fingers fumble at the door handle. I don’t even realize Hayden has moved until my door falls open. He reaches around me to unlatch my seatbelt, and half a second later, he is pulling me from the car.
“Where?” he demands. “Where is he?”
It’s so hard to lift my hand to point. I can barely keep my feet moving alongside Hayden. He scoops me into his arms in one swift motion and runs.
“Mason,” I croak as we approach him. I reach out, but Hayden runs past him. “Go back!”
“I can’t see him!” Hayden says sternly. “You have to help me, Olivia. Please!”
Forcing strength into my limbs, I lift my arm more firmly and point back behind him. “Next to that parking meter.”
Hayden’s eyes scan the ground. The blank stare in his eyes kills me. I fear he has finally reached his limit, but a moment later he takes a step forward. He picks up speed. Three seconds later, he sinks to his knees at the exact spot I indicated.
“I don’t know what to do,” Hayden says, his voice rough. “It’s up to you, now.”
The gentleness with which Hayden sets me down on the grass gives me strength. I have dragged him across three states with no explanation as to where we are going or what dangers we are walking into. Yet he trusts me enough to stay, to help, and to protect me from any threat. There are tears in my eyes for more than one reason as he settles me on the ground.
My frozen fingertips reach out for Mason. My heart nearly stops when a figure lurches up next to him. My strangled cry sends Hayden into a panic. He yanks me back into his arms and is half a second away from dragging me back to the car. The tear streaked face of a little girl staring back at me forces me to take a calming breath. I reach back for Hayden and hold him to the spot.
“Molly?” I ask. Hayden mumbles something behind me, but I’m too focused on the little girl to pay him much attention.
Her bottom lip trembles. “Olivia?”
“How can I see you?”
“It’s Mason,” she says as she wipes away tears. “He said you would need to see me.”
I nod slowly, not completely sure I understand, but Molly turns back to Mason as another round tears spill down her cheeks. “He said you would come,” she cries. “He said you would find us.” Her little body collapses on top of Mason’s chest and she cries even harder. When she speaks again, it isn’t to me. “She’s here, Mason. Olivia is here. You have to wake up. Please wake up. You can’t leave me here by myself. Please, Mason, please.”
I watch as her fingers press against his cheeks. My whole world stops at the sight of blood covering her hands. I almost ask her if she’s hurt, but the silence from Mason finally sinks in. The pain I felt on the drive here is nothing compared to what crashes down around me in this moment. His lips are parted just slightly, but his eyes are closed, his face slack. I have watched him sleep many times. This is not the same.
“He’s not moving,” I whisper.
Hayden’s hand on my shoulder tightens. Somewhere in the back of my mind I understand that he has no idea what is going on, but I can’t even stop to consider him right now. Mason is my sole focus, my reason for being in this moment. I can’t let myself believe he is anything other than asleep. I can’t even begin to process the thought that he is dead. My brain rebels against such an idea. My heart refuses to believe, because it knows it won’t survive the shock. My fingers reach out and hover next to his cheek, but I can’t bring myself to touch him just yet. I close my eyes and whisper, “Please.”
I don’t remember moving. I don’t remember thinking about pressing my hand to his face. I don’t remember anything more than my plea, but when I open my eyes, my palm is flat against his skin. I barely notice that my hands aren’t cold anymore. My whole focus is on the faint flutter of strawberry blonde eyelashes.
“Mason?” I beg.
Molly sits up, her mouth open and her eyes wide. “Mason?” her tiny, scared voice asks.
Desperate, I press my other hand to his cheek and lean over him. Another flutter. My heart has stopped beating, refusing to work again
until I know for sure. “Mason, please.”
My lips press to his forehead in a wordless prayer.
“Olivia?” Mason croaks.
Molly squeals with joy. I gasp in a strangled breath and sit back to stare, not convinced that everything is all right. His eyes are slits, as if opening them fully takes more strength than he possesses. His lips stick together as he tries to part them. The moonlight alone is not the sole reason for his pale skin. He tries to reach for me, but his hand falls back to his chest after only a few inches.
“You found me,” he finally manages to whisper.
“I found you,” I say, “but you’re hurt, Mason.”
Blinking slowly, he seems confused. His brow furrows slightly. “My arm… I can’t feel it.”
My hands leave his face and jump to his arm. The blood was difficult to see against his dark, long sleeved shirt in the moonlight, but now that I am looking for it, I see the source of the sticky blood immediately. As gently as I can manage given my panic, I tear open his already ruined shirt sleeve. I grimace at the sight, but a subtle movement draws my eyes down to his abdomen. The gasp that escapes my lips puts Hayden on edge.
“What’s wrong?” he demands.
“His arm and side. They’re cut badly. He looks like he’s lost too much blood.” I look over my shoulder at Hayden. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Touch him,” Hayden says.
My nose crinkles. “What?”
“Uh, I mean, pressure. Put pressure on the wounds.”
I shake my head. Of course I should put pressure on the wounds! This time I am the one to add more basketball time to our deal. I reach for Mason’s arm and lay my hands on the massive gashes running down his biceps and abdomen. I start to press gently, but I gasp and yank my hands away as the wounds begin to close themselves back up.
“Don’t stop!” Hayden demands, as if he somehow understands what just happened. I try to look back at him, but he’s not looking at me anymore. His eyes are directed toward the street. The hard set of his jaw puts me on edge.
I press my hands back to Mason’s wounds, but my attention is drawn back to Hayden. “What’s wrong?”
“I heard something.” His eyes narrow. “A car door shutting, I think.”
My blood goes cold. It was too much to hope that we had eluded the Sentinels completely. I don’t stop to wonder if it could possibly be some random person. Our luck is not that good.
“We need to leave,” Hayden says. He stands and looks down at me.
“I can’t carry him,” I say right away. I know Mason’s weight will be too much for me. Hayden would have no problem, but he can’t even see him. I don’t know how Hayden hasn’t freaked out by now. I hate pushing him like this, but I need his help. Looking down at Mason, I see the cuts have closed themselves up enough that blood is no longer dripping out of them. It will take much more to close them completely and rebuild the lost blood, which I’m just assuming at this point I’ll be able to do somehow. Touching Mason gently, I hope he has at least recovered enough to do what I need him to do.
“Mason,” I say quietly, “Mason, please look at me.”
His worn eyes open slowly. “Olivia?”
“I need you to make yourself visible to Hayden so he can help you to the car. Can you do that?”
Mason blinks slowly, but nods after a moment. Molly, who hasn’t let go of him once, tightens her grip on his hand. She looks at her big brother, scared, but full of faith. Mason closes his eyes again, but this time in concentration. It only takes a few seconds before he looks up at me again and nods.
“Ready,” he says weakly.
“Okay,” I say with a smile, “let’s get out of here.”
Turning away from Mason, I call out to Hayden softly. He hesitates a moment, but begins to look back after scanning the immediate area one more time. Another round of curses slip out of Hayden’s mouth when he sees Mason propped up against me. He shakes it off quickly. “I’m assuming you’re Mason, but who is she?”
“Hayden, this is Mason’s little sister, Molly. She’s coming with us,” I say.
I hold my breath. No doubt, this is the moment I will lose him. He’s put up with everything else, but this …
Hayden shakes his head. “Fine.” He marches forward as he says, “Let’s just get the hell out of here. Explanations can wait.”
More than a little startled, I barely collect myself in enough time to avoid being stepped on by Hayden when he barrels in to grab Mason. Molly is yanked up to her feet as Hayden attempts to bring Mason up to standing. She doesn’t want to let go, but the hand she is clutching is attached to the arm that doesn’t have a gaping wound in it, and she’s stopping Hayden from being able to get his shoulder under Mason’s.
Hayden is surprisingly gentle as he says, “Molly, you have to let go so I can get him to the car.”
“I can’t,” she cries.
“I won’t let anything happen to him.” He pats her head like I have seen him do with his own little sister. “Go hold on to Olivia.”
Reluctantly, Molly lets her fingers slide away from Mason’s. She disappears, but I feel her wrap herself around my middle a moment later. I pick her up and hug her against my chest as Hayden starts lugging Mason toward the car. He has Mason settled in the backseat when I hear the sound of another car door either opening or closing. The sound sends a jolt through me. I spin around in search of the source, nearly tripping over my feet as I try to keep walking toward Hayden’s car. I don’t see anything, but apparently Molly does.
Her startled gasp is followed by her face burying itself again my chest. I spin around and nearly stumble at the sight of the scarred Sentinel glowering at me from only a few yards away.
Chapter 22
A Plan
(Olivia)
“Olivia!” Hayden screams, “get in the car!”
I tear my eyes away from the Sentinel and sprint toward Hayden’s car. The back passenger’s side door is open and Hayden is jumping into the driver’s seat. I only look back once. The furious look on the scarred Sentinel’s face propels me forward even faster. When I reach the car, I practically throw Molly into the backseat and dive in after her.
Seconds later, the sound of squealing tires accompanies Molly and I being thrown back against the seat. I want to believe we’re safe as we careen down the streets, but the headlights that appeared behind us two seconds after we pulled away made it obvious that our rescue attempt is far from over.
Mason is sprawled across the backseat. He’s conscious, but it’s clear he’s in no condition to get himself back up to sitting. He’s safe enough for the time being. Molly, now visible again thanks to grabbing Mason’s hand, is being flung around the car with every frantic turn and rapid change in speed. I know the front seat isn’t the safest place for her, especially without a booster chair, but it’s got to be better than no seatbelt at all.
“Molly,” I call out, “I need you to move to the front seat and buckle up, okay?”
Her eyes dart down to Mason. Her bottom lip tucks between her teeth as fear threatens to overcome her, but she nods quickly and starts moving. She holds onto Mason’s hand as long as she can, and I’m grateful. Buckling her in without being able to see her would have made things a little more difficult. It’s not until I lean back and start trying to get Mason back up on the seat properly that she is forced to let go. As soon as she does, the car serves sharply as Hayden sees her disappear.
“What the hell?” he demands.
“She’s still there,” I say as I struggle to get a good grip on Mason. “I’ll explain everything once we lose the people following us.”
Hayden grumbles under his breath, but says, “Fine,” as he takes another sharp turn down an empty street.
Finally, I manage to get my hands under Mason’s shoulders and I haul him up to a sitting position. His head lolls to the side and falls against the window. For a moment I’m worried that he’s passed out again, but he blinks and lifts his head
a bit.
“Thanks,” he says.
I squeeze his hand tightly. “Don’t thank me yet. They’re chasing us. We have to find a way to lose them.”
“Public place,” Mason says quietly. He licks his lips like he’s thirsty and my concern for him doubles. He lost so much blood. What we need is to get him to a hospital!
I don’t want to freak Mason out, though, so I say, “Public place, huh? Isn’t that where you were supposed to go if you had to run in the first place?”
Mason manages a small smile. “Sorry. Didn’t make it.”
My heart breaks. “Mason, I’m so sorry. I should have left sooner. Maybe if I had gotten here faster I could have kept this from happening.”
Slowly, Mason shakes his head. “I wouldn’t have made it as far as I did without you. You saved us both.”
“What?” Is he delusional? I bite my bottom lip as my worry builds.
“I felt you. I knew something was wrong.” He winces as a sharp movement shifts his weight badly. “Molly helped me.”
Mason reaches out toward the front seat. It puts tremendous strain on him, but he smiles when Molly takes his hand. Hayden jumps again as Molly reappears, and mumbles something not terribly complimentary under his breath. Molly doesn’t seem to hear him, though. She grins at her brother.
“I was a lie detector,” Molly says.
“Huh?”
Mason smiles weakly. “I’ll explain later.” His eyes turn back to me. “You saved us, twice.”
“Well,” I say, “let’s hope the third time’s the charm.”
Hayden has to dodge a slow car, the force of the turn throwing me forward. I bang my head on the window and glare at him over my shoulder as I rub away the pain.
“Sorry,” he mumbles. “Maybe you should put a seatbelt on.”
I throw him another snotty look, but do as he says and strap myself in. I turn back to Mason to ask another question, but Hayden interrupts me.
“You should still be taking care of his wound, too. Why aren’t you holding onto him? We’re going to need him as healed as possible in order to get away from the Sentinels.”
Intangible Page 17