by A. D. McLain
Her brother stood and looked at her. “Haven’t we been hiding long enough? This was never supposed to be forever. We were going to regroup and plan our next move. Christine and Bill never would’ve wanted us to waste our lives away in some gas station surrounded by filth. Look, you know I’ll protect you as long as I’m able, but this isn’t living. Even if we die helping her, at least it’ll be better than this. At least we’ll be doing something.”
“Dammit, Danny, I should be the one protecting you, not the other way around.” She threw her rag down and leaned her head down onto her hands, elbows bent on the counter.
Lexy felt a surge from Jared and saw that his light flared in pain. She doubled-over and clutched her stomach. This wasn’t the first pain she’d felt from him, but this was the most severe. She imagined what the pain was like for him, and squeezed a tear out of her eye. She moved to the door and opened it.
“Where are you going?” the woman asked.
Lexy didn’t turn to look at her. “I don’t know your story. I don’t know what you’ve been through or who you’ve lost. Lord knows I’m no one to lecture anyone on the decisions they’ve made in their life. Up until I met Jared, I was too afraid to take off my band, even in my own home. He freed me and showed me there was another way. And right now, I’m pretty sure they’re killing him, so I have to go.”
“Do you even have a plan, little girl?” Tracy came from around the counter and stood behind Lexy.
She turned to face the woman. “Not really?”
Tracy rolled her eyes. “Kids. Come on, Danny. Looks like we’re going to Fixton.”
Cold metal hit Jared’s skin. The attacker took his time, switched between weapons when he got bored, and Jared eventually ceased reacting to the blows. Some were flat. Some riddled with protrusions, and others had sharp edges. He took many cuts across his arms and face. Then he was shocked by the blinding pain of a blade plunged into his leg. He collapsed and nearly lost control of his energy, but he couldn’t pulse. That was what they wanted and he refused to give in to them.
Although his leg hurt more than anything he’d ever experienced, it wasn’t a life-threatening injury. But he wasn’t so sure about the next stab wound in his side. Jared collapsed and blacked out. It was difficult for him to tell how long he was out. He felt around and his fingers touched something wet and sticky. He smelled blood. He waited for the final blow that would end this, but it didn’t come. The air conditioner kicked back on. He’d survived another attack.
Jared pulled the sheets from his bed and tore strips to tie around his side and leg. He managed to put enough pressure on the two injuries to stop the flow of blood. Then he leaned back against the bed and rested. He was exhausted, and the next attack would kill him if he didn’t find some way to fight back. His mind wandered and he found it increasingly hard to focus on anything. His energy surged and he pulled it back. He had to maintain control.
An equal number in. An equal number out. That was the only way to fool Val. They had to make the patterns look the same as a normal night. The guards always delivered food in two-man teams, and it wasn’t difficult to trick them into coming inside the cell. It had been over ten years since the last escape attempt. No one expected that to change tonight. So Old Man faked a heart attack. It made sense for everyone to crowd around to see what was wrong. The guards weren’t even worried when the prisoners surrounded them, and neither saw the hit that knocked him out.
They were careful not to pulse. She would sense that. But they still had their hands, and as former police officers, they all knew how to use them. Then the group dispersed, with the guards seated beside the wall. Logan and Old Man continued the food deliveries down the hall. Prisoners were separated by Psy ability type. Back when they were first imprisoned, they were more spread out. But now they were lumped together in group cells.
Logan and Old Man went to each cell and cautioned the men to wait until every cell was unlocked before trying to escape. The only way this could work was if everyone made a break for it at the same time. Any earlier in the day and they would risk running into other guards throughout the building. But this late at night, there weren’t many people around.
Logan struggled against the urge to rush. He could sense Lexy getting close. He counted his steps and hers.
Old Man put a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be fine. We’re all getting out of here tonight.”
They continued down the hall until the last of the low-security cells was unlocked. From their cells, the men and women watched their progress, and when the last door was opened, they rushed out, into action. Each Reader sprinted to a cell, took charge of their predetermined group of prisoners, and led them in different directions. With a Reader to lead them, prisoners had a better chance of avoiding guards and getting out safely. Splitting up insured that at least some of them would make it out. There weren’t enough guards to track all of them. After taking care of the low-security cells, Logan and Old Man split up and hurried to open the doors of the individual cells.
Jared felt the door open, but the wound in his side hurt too much to sit up. He groaned. This was it. He wouldn’t survive another attack. Bracing for the first hit, he pulled in all his Psy energy, ready for one last blow at his attacker. It probably wouldn’t be enough to save him, but he had to try something.
He was surprised to feel warmth instead. His skin tingled, muscles eased, and he wondered what could be causing this. Then he remembered what Lexy had said about the warmth of a person’s Psy energy when they tried to comfort someone. Still, he held onto his reserved Psy energy just in case he was wrong.
Fingers touched the side of his head, and the helmet hissed upon release. Sounds and light assailed him. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears. A hand touched his shoulder while another held his arm for support. Jared cracked his eyes to see a bearded older man wearing the same prisoner clothing he wore.
“I’m helping you escape,” the man whispered.
Jared gave a weak nod and leaned against the man, accepting his help off the bed.
“Can you walk?”
Jared put some weight on his injured leg. Pain was all he felt, but he gritted his teeth and managed a slow hobble, with the man’s help. He said a silent prayer of thanks that he was stabbed in the same leg as the injured ankle so that at least he had one leg to support his weight. They shuffled into the hall, where emergency lights were blinking and people sprinted. He looked in the room next to his, but it was empty and the door was hanging open. The five people who’d been in there were now gone.
“You should get out of here before they catch you,” Jared said.
The man chuckled. “Don’t worry about me. As long as we can stay ahead of Val, we’ll be fine.”
“Who’s Val?”
“A Reader with a sadistic streak, who loves to manipulate and control people.”
“Ah, I believe we’ve met.”
“You did. She’s the one who ran your first test, with the people in the other room.”
Jared stopped and looked at the man. “How do you know about that?”
“I watched the whole thing from my cell.”
“You’re a Reader?”
“I am. Now let’s get moving. Guards are on their way up to this floor. We need to get to the stairwell, ahead of them. There’s not a lot of time.”
The man was right—there wasn’t much time. Jared could feel Lexy closer than ever. He had to get to her before she got captured or hurt.
They made it to the stairs, but going down was a nightmare. Every step tore at Jared’s side. He held on to the man and the rail, grunting. They came out on the next floor and headed to a small kitchen.
The man helped Jared slide down to the floor, and then he looked around. “They have a service elevator somewhere along that back wall, but I haven’t seen them use it in a while. Stay here while I see if I can get it working. That’s going to be our best bet to get you down to the ground floor.”
Jared n
odded and closed his eyes to shut out the pain.
“And stay conscious,” the man said.
But Jared was already out.
14
Lights flashed throughout the building.
Lexy looked at Tracy and raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on. I see people running on every floor.”
“Looks like a prison break.” Tracy’s eyes were wide, her mouth agape. “Danny, pull back your shield some so that I can get a better look.”
A rush of excited energy poured over Lexy. Still watching the movement all around, she focused on Jared. He was moving slow.
“Looks like each group has a Reader with them,” Lexy said.
“Alright,” Tracy said, “then I’m going to see about disabling the security system. That’ll give them a better chance of slipping out ahead of the guards.”
“The guards don’t have any Readers?”
Tracy’s face became steely. “They have one. After I cut the system, I’ll take care of her. You just get to your friend.”
They rushed off and Lexy searched for a path upstairs. While running up an empty stairwell, she couldn’t hold back her excitement and nervousness as she reached Jared’s floor. He was stationary. She looked around for anyone else in the vicinity, but there was no one. Spots of red trailed the floor. She sprinted and opened the door to a tiled room filled with metal food carts. Following the blood and Jared’s Psy energy, she rushed to him. Blood covered his shirt and side, seeping through the makeshift bandage wrapped around his wound. His face was ashen gray. She pressed her hands to his side to try and stop the blood flow, but it was leaking out too fast. So she focused her Psy energy and pushed against his skin with her hands and mind until the wound closed. While keeping her mental pressure on his injury, she pulled off the useless bandages and looked for something to replace them. Grabbed a stack of hand towels from the counter, tied several of them together, and tied them over another towel wadded up over his injury. She caressed his face and tried not to cry. There were bruises all over his chest and another severe injury on his leg. She was afraid of what she would find on the rest of his body.
“Jared,” she whispered.
He barely opened his eyes and they were glazed over as he stared at her. “Nice hat.”
She gave a nervous laugh. “It’s Kara’s.”
“What are you doing here?” His voice was cracked and raspy.
“I should think that would be obvious?”
“You need to get out of here before they catch you.” He lifted a bloody hand to her cheek and rubbed it.
She reached up and covered his hand with hers. She couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her face.
He grinned, weakly. “You’re stubborn.”
“She always was.”
Lexy jumped. A shadow moved. She concentrated on the faint swirling Psy energy around the hidden man. How could she let anyone sneak up on them? She glanced around for a weapon. Then the man stepped forward and her heart stopped.
“Father?”
The man smiled. His eyes glistened with unshed tears.
When Tracy had said he was here, she was too afraid to believe it could be true. After years of thinking he must be dead, here he stood in front of her.
Lexy felt a glow of Psy energy appear on their floor. Her father turned to look in that direction.
“What’s wrong?” Jared asked.
“Someone just came up on the elevator,” she said. “He’s coming this way.”
“Where?”
“Uh, maybe twenty feet away, down the middle of the hall.”
Jared pulsed, but the energy went too far to the side and missed the man.
He grunted. “Show me where.”
She stared at him before feeling his energy touch hers. She followed his lead and stretched her energy to merge with his. Then he pulsed again. She directed it to the person. The man fell on contact.
“What did you do to him?” she asked.
“I put pressure on a nerve in his neck. It’s a trick I learned at my dad’s club. It’s complicated to do, though. Takes a lot of focus. I usually don’t have the time to use it properly, and I’ve never tried it without being able to see the person.”
“Then we’d better get moving,” her father said, “because there are a half-dozen guards coming up the stairs.” He hurried to Jared’s side and helped him stand.
Lexy physically held up his other side while also giving him extra Psy support to keep his weight off the injured leg. Her father led them to an elevator hidden behind a panel in the wall. It was big enough to carry a metal cart and person, so she and Jared fit in easily, but three was stretching it. Before she could turn around, her father was closing the gate.
“What are you doing?” she said.
He looked at her through the grating. “Get down to the first floor and get out of the building. I’ll find you.” Then he pulled the gate closed and hit the button to send them down.
“Daddy!” she cried.
It was pitch black in the elevator, which shook and clanged as it went down. Jared slumped and she tightened her grip around him.
He gasped and coughed. “Watch… the ribs. One’s cracked.”
She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out loud. “How did they find you?”
“It was some jerks I threw out of the club last night. They threw a girl in front of a car. I had to pulse so that the driver wouldn’t hit her. Then they knocked me out and left me for the police to find.”
Lexy cupped his face and kissed him. She felt him flinch as he twisted to face her, but it didn’t stop him from returning the kiss.
The elevator rattled as it came to a stop. Lexy pulled the gate to open it and then helped Jared into the room. She didn’t sense anyone below them, so she was certain they were on the first floor. She slowly led him through the hall, but they only made it a short distance, when she stiffened at a rush of Psy energy thrust in their direction. She ducked them inside the nearest room, leaned Jared against a desk and sprinted over to lock the door. Then she pushed furniture in front of it. People called out from the hall and beat against the door, shaking the furniture. She put her weight against it and tried to look for another way out, but there were no windows or other doors.
“Lexy?” Jared said, weakly. “Did my dad come with you?”
“No,” she grunted and pushed back against the door. “But I had Curtis tell him where I was going. Why?”
“I think I felt him looking for me just now.”
Lexy looked around Jared and saw wisps of energy reaching out to him. After following it, she saw a man standing outside the building. He had a tremendous amount of energy and was casting light in every direction, as though searching for someone. Beside him was a smaller, hazy glow.
“I see him. He’s with Brian. They’re working their way through the crowd outside.”
She slipped from a slam against the door. The chair beneath her broke and she tumbled to the floor. A large cabinet tipped over and would’ve landed on her if Jared hadn’t grabbed it and held it in place. The rags on his side turned bright red. Lexy scrambled to stand and then pushed her weight against the cabinet.
“Can you let him know where we are?” she asked.
“No, I’ve never been able to contact my dad. I could try to reach Brian even if he has his shield up, but I can’t do it without knowing where he is.”
“What about like you did upstairs? I could help you.”
“How far away is he?”
“A few hundred feet.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done that far before, especially not through a shield. And I barely have any strength left. Besides, I can’t convey messages. Even if you could help me reach him, I can’t tell him where we are. We’ll just have to find another way out.”
“I have an idea.” She joined her energy with his again and directed his toward his father and Brian. “Pulse.”
He sent out a strong pulse and she directed it
to Brian while focusing on her and Jared’s location. Brian’s light flared slightly, still obscured by his shielding, and their two lights began moving toward them.
“They got the message,” she said.
A moment later she was blinded by heavy pulses from just outside their door. As the waves passed through the walls, it was like stepping into a storm. The beating stopped. All the guards she sensed collapsed. Screams and pleas for help echoed. The sounds became fainter as they were dragged down the hall and thrown into another room.
“It’s clear.” She leaned against the wall of furniture, dizzy.
His energy was so strong that it was all she could see.
“Jared?” a deep voice called.
“In here,” Jared said. “I think you’re overwhelming Lexy.”
The energy pulled back and a rush of oxygen entered her lungs. While blinking out the afterimage, she blindly pushed the cabinets until the door was clear. His father cursed the moment he saw his son. Brian rushed in behind him and the two men carried Jared out into the hall. Lexy called out a warning as new guards approached. A pulse of energy shot out from his father and the guards collapsed into a wailing mass. Lexy looked into the pulse and saw spiders and snakes crawling all over the men.
She followed until they made it to the front door, then turned and looked back up into the building to the spot where she’d left her father. Based on the groupings of guards, she had a good idea where he was.
“Lexy?” Jared called.
She gave him a gentle pulse kiss and then looked at his father. “Take care of him.” She turned and hustled back upstairs.
“Where’s she going?” Traymore asked.
“After her father,” Jared said, feeling more helpless than ever. “He was arrested over a decade ago and brought here. He must’ve sensed she was coming, because he helped me escape, and I’m pretty sure he had something to do with this entire prison break.”
Prisoners were rushing past them, out into the streets and deeper into the city.