The room was suffocatingly enclosed, and unless there was a door in the wall behind me, the only thing breaking up the unrelenting stretches of dirty, gray concrete was the metal door behind Mase. Well, that and the handful of guards lining the walls, armed just as heavily as the two who had accompanied General Herodson into Dr. Wesley’s office. Each had an assault rifle, a sidearm, a combat knife, and who knew what else hiding on their persons. It was starting to make sense why Mase hadn’t pulled his bonds free.
Suddenly, dizziness forced me to close my eyes or risk throwing up on myself, and I really didn’t think vomit would improve the room’s ambiance. I considered using my Ability, but if even opening my eyes pushed me to the verge of nausea, communicating telepathically might knock me out completely, and I couldn’t afford that at the moment.
With a metallic clang and the screech of rusty hinges, the metal door swung open, and several sets of footsteps marched into the room. I finally attained enough control over my roiling stomach and spinning head to reopen my eyes. I wasn’t surprised by who I found standing off to one side of the door—General Herodson and his human lie detector. I took a deep, apprehensive breath.
Shuffling footsteps preceded the entrance of four more people, including Dr. Wesley and Camille. Camille was the source of most of the shuffling. She was being forced into the room by another guard, his unyielding hold restraining her arms and torso and her feet dragging on the ground as she was unwillingly hauled inside. The man who’d informed the General of my telepathy use earlier—a lanky, scruffy-haired man—entered alongside them, gripping Camille’s upper arm so tightly he had to be hurting her. Nobody else entered behind them.
Complete and utter relief flooded me, temporarily easing my headache. Gabe wasn’t there. I hoped it meant he’d managed to get away…to hide…to do something.
“Delightful,” General Herodson remarked quietly. He reached out a hand toward the door. “Come here, dear Anna. Come see the future of mankind—it’s a beautiful thing.”
Dr. Wesley wound around the others to his side and linked her arm with his. Her face was absolutely blank. If there was one thing I was certain she’d passed on to her children, it was a knack for hiding her emotions.
“I’d hoped this wouldn’t be necessary,” General Herodson began, “but it would seem that some people are more resistant to my power of suggestion than others.” He looked from me to Mase and back again. “Take MA-one, for example. He’d been on this base for over a year and had always been loyal and obedient. But once the Great Transformation began, every once in a while he showed small displays of defiance. Now, even as a Re-gen, he defies me.” General Herodson smiled congenially. “So you see, when you started displaying similar signs of defiance, I could hardly make the same mistakes I made with him.”
What’s he saying? That he’s not going to turn me into a Re-gen? So is he just going to kill me?
He paused and watched me thoughtfully. “I would just kill you, but I find myself in need of your rather unique talents. Telepaths I have—practically more than I know what to do with—but none like you. They’re all one-way radios, only sending, never receiving, but you send and receive.” He dropped Dr. Wesley’s arm and took several steps closer to me, skirting around Mase with reasonable caution. The Re-gen’s feet weren’t secured to the ground, and I didn’t doubt he could lash out with his legs, chained wrists or not.
Stopping barely a foot from my chair, General Herodson cocked his head from side to side, studying me. “Tiny little thing, aren’t you? Where do you keep all of that power, I wonder?” He reached out with one hand to tilt my face upward. “Pretty, too, if you like redheads. Myself, I prefer dark hair.” His hand shifted, seizing my jaw, and he squeezed.
I didn’t want to do it—I hated doing it—but his grip grew too painful, and I couldn’t help it. I cried out.
Mase’s chains rattled, a dull clanking, and concrete dust rained down from the ceiling. It took me a moment to realize that the low, deep rumbling I was hearing was Mase…growling. It sounded so similar to Jack’s vicious growl that I half thought a dog had found its way into the room. It’s funny, the random thoughts you have when you’re pretty sure you’re about to die.
Without warning, General Herodson released my face and hammered his fist down on my left forearm. There was a crack and a moment of bright, glittering white light, which was instantly eclipsed by the sharpest pain I’d ever felt. I howled in agony and squeezed my eyes shut, again fighting nausea.
“If you do anything like that again,” I heard the General say, sounding far away and tinny, “I’ll cut off her hand completely. A telepath doesn’t need hands—at least, not both. Now, where was I?” Fingertips touched my cheek, patting gently. “Open your eyes, Danielle. I wasn’t done speaking to you.”
Gritting my teeth and panting, I somehow managed to peel my eyelids open.
“Good!” General Herodson turned away from me, returning to Dr. Wesley’s side. Was that a hint of strain I saw around her eyes? “Why do I need you so badly, you must be wondering. Well, I’m having a bit of a problem drawing people to me, and you seem to have been designed for exactly that.” He smiled faintly. “I view it as destiny.”
I was tempted to tell him I hadn’t been designed for anything, let alone his sick plans, but I was terrified of adding a second broken arm to the count…or a missing hand. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you and feed you to the animals, you sick fucking bastard.
General Herodson continued, oblivious to my silent defiance. “The whole point of the Great Transformation was to scour the earth clean of the cancer of humanity and start again—here. We’ll build a clean, stable, crime-free civilization where this next evolution of mankind can thrive in peace.”
“Your peace,” I managed to rasp.
The General patted Dr. Wesley’s hand and nodded sadly. “It is the only peace there is…or at least, it will be, once we work out a few kinks. Which brings us to our current task. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
He motioned for someone behind me to approach him, and the blonde woman rounded my concrete throne. She was tall, slender, and pretty, in an ice princess kind of way, but there was something about her piercing blue eyes that seemed off.
“This is one of the gifted people who make our new T-R program possible. With her remarkable Ability, I can completely erase all of your memories and implant new, useful ones that will promote our cause and make you more…pliant.” He paused, then smiled. “Ah yes, I forgot to introduce you. Danielle, this is Clara.”
Clara. I stiffened. Is it possible? The age, the hair, the oh-so-creepy eyes. It’s her—it has to be. Clara—the woman who’d poisoned Zoe, who’d killed several of Zoe’s friends in a fire meant to destroy them all—was here, staring at me. Oh shit…oh shit…
Panic and pain flooded my body with adrenaline, and my mind cleared momentarily. I had to get word to the others. I knew I didn’t have much time—minutes at the most—and probably not even that, with the Ability-sensing guy in the room.
I found Gabe’s mind almost instantly. He was above me and a little ways off to the right, but not too far. I described my surroundings to him and told him, if he could, to figure out some way to contact Jason and Zoe and coordinate the rest of the escape with them. I didn’t wait for him to respond, instead using my dwindling time to search for any of the rescue party’s minds.
“Sir, she’s doing it again. I can tell it’s her this time.”
“Dose her. We’ll have to finish this later,” General Herodson said. He sounded irritated.
I hadn’t noticed Clara leave his side, but suddenly she was beside me, sticking something into my upper arm. In seconds, my world ceased to be. I ceased to be.
“Wake up,” someone sang softly.
My head spun, and my eyes refused to open.
“Wake up,” the voice hissed.
I moaned.
“I said, ‘Wake up!’” the person—a woman—repeated, immediately bef
ore she slapped me.
Groaning, I managed to crack one eyelid open. Clara’s face was inches from mine.
She smiled sweetly, an expression that should have looked angelic but fit on her face about as well as a lullaby in a horror movie. “I sent the guards outside, so it’s just us girls,” she murmured conspiratorially. She shot a glance over her shoulder, presumably at Mase. “Well, him too, but he doesn’t really count, does he? I mean, it’s not like he’s a real person.”
She tilted her head to the side as she studied me, reminding me of a vulture. “I have something I’ve been dying to share with you.” She giggled, sending a wash of chills over my skin. “I was with the team that stole you away, and guess who I saw?” She paused, her eyebrows raised as though she actually expected me to guess.
Again, I groaned. Her voice was making my vision swim, and I just wanted her to shut up.
“You’re no fun!” she pouted. Her expression shifted instantly, her mouth curving into a gleeful smile and her eyes alighting with delight. “While we were hiding from your frantic little group, I spotted none other than my dear, dear friend Zoe! What a small world!” she exclaimed. Her voice turned razor sharp. “So you know what I’m thinking? You’re that bitch she was always whining about—the one who was supposed to be with her brother.” Her upper lip curled into a sneer. “She’s out there, isn’t she? Her and the others…and Jake. They’re coming for you, aren’t they?”
My sluggish mind finally processed what she’d told me. While my friends had been searching for me in the woods, Clara and who knew who else had stood by, hiding, and watched. How? How had they gone undetected?
“How?” I said, voicing my thought.
She snorted. “How should I know?” I had the feeling we were talking about two different things, but my brain felt groggy enough that I couldn’t connect the dots. With a supremely sinister grin, she said, “Even if you ever get to see that whiny, sanctimonious bitch again, you won’t know her. When I’m done with you, you won’t remember anyone…you won’t even know who you are.”
Go to hell! In the back of my mind, I wondered what would happen if I never escaped, was never rescued, and ended up as the General’s personal PA system. Death—my death—was a better option for everyone.
I started mumbling nonsense, hoping to lure Clara closer.
She leaned in. “What was that? It’s okay, you can tell me.”
“At least…she’ll have…Jake…you psycho…bitch.”
Clara screeched like a banshee and slapped my face repeatedly until, finally, the world faded away…again.
“I’m not pleased,” I heard the General say from far, far away. Is he talking to me? What’d I do to anger him now? “If I didn’t need you as much as I needed her, you’d already be dead.” Is he talking to someone else? “There are other ways to make your life very unpleasant. Pull a stunt like this again, and I’ll show you,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Sir.”
Ah…Clara.
“Apologies prove nothing. Just don’t do it again,” General Herodson snapped.
“Yes, Sir.”
There was a long pause, then the General said, “Good. Now wake her up.”
I felt another prick in my arm, followed by a burning sensation that spread outward through my body. My forearm flamed with pain, as did the back of my head and various spots on my face. I turned to vomit over the side of the chair.
“Clean that up,” the General said. I heard movement beside me. “We expected as much, what with your many injuries.” His voice sounded matter-of-fact with a hint of kindness. “I didn’t intend for this to turn so ugly, Danielle. The nausea will pass in a few minutes, once your brain has a chance to equalize the pain.”
Slumped sideways in the chair as far as the arm restraints would allow, I simply breathed. In and out. In and out. In and out.
I hurt so badly. But the pain, I soon realized, was both a blessing and a curse. When I focused on it—embraced it—my head cleared a little. The pain drove away some of the haze of whatever medications they’d injected me with, and my Ability flared to life, just out of grasp. I needed a little more time, a little more clarity. Just another minute, I thought desperately, just one more minute…
“Can you sit up?” I felt hands on my upper arms, righting me before they let go. “There we go. Better, no? I would gladly drug you further to prevent such undue suffering, but alas, Clara can only work with your mind when it’s awake and unclouded with medications. So, we have a bit of a dilemma. I need your mind clear enough for Clara to begin the T-R process, but I can’t have you communicating with whoever it is you keep communicating with. I’ve had a little chat with my advisors, and they all agree that since my influence worked on you in the beginning, it should work on you again, at least for as short of a time as we need it to, so—” When he spoke again, his words were laced with will-bending power. “—open your eyes.”
I did, instantly. I want to tear out your throat with my teeth.
“Good. One more little test.” Again his voice filled with the power of undeniable influence. “When I touch your broken arm, you will not make a noise.”
I watched as his hand slowly neared my broken forearm, dreading the pain I knew would accompany his touch. When his fingertips pressed down on skin that was swollen and just starting to show hints of bruising, my lungs tried to force a scream, but the sound caught in my throat.
“Wonderful,” General Herodson said. “Now listen very carefully. You will not talk to anyone telepathically, you will not try to escape, and you will answer all of my questions truthfully.” He offered me a fatherly smile and added, “And because I’m not a monster, you will not feel any more pain.”
Blessed relief—the lack of pain—blanketed my body. The aches and throbs weren’t gone, exactly, but they were distant, almost like memories of pains long past. Freed from the burden of pain, I was able to notice the other people in the room. Mase was still dangling in front of me on trembling muscles, and Clara was skulking in a corner. There were even more guards lining the walls than had been there before, making me feel claustrophobic. The Truth Guard was back, along with the guard holding Camille and the man who could tell when Abilities were in use—who was still grasping Camille’s arm in an iron grip.
“Better?” General Herodson asked.
I nodded, grateful despite myself. I hate you. You are a monster.
“Good. Now, tell me all about your little rebel friends on base. Who are they?”
Compelled beyond personal restraint, I answered. “Mase and Camille, and Gabe.” Somehow, I hadn’t felt the need to provide Dr. Wesley’s name. Is it because she’s not my friend? Or is it because the neutralizer is still working, even a little?
“Gabe? Gabriel McLaughlin?” General Herodson asked skeptically, frowning. “Why didn’t I see that coming?” He turned away from me and barked several hurried orders at the guards nearest the exit. Two of them rushed out of the room, practically slamming the door.
I squeezed my eyes shut as the clang resounded in the room.
“Eyes open, Danielle,” the General commanded, and I obeyed. He met my eyes, seeming to see inside me. “What about your other friends, the ones outside who are supposedly coming to rescue you? How many are there? What can they do? Where are they?”
“I’m not sure how many are coming…maybe a couple, maybe a dozen or more.” I wanted to bite my tongue off to stop the words from tumbling out of my mouth. “They can do many things: walk, talk, jump, shoot gu—”
“What are their Abilities?”
I considered how to order their Abilities to hide the most dangerous, but then I realized that in his hands, they were all dangerous. “Visions, telepathy, changing the magnitude of others’ Abilities, something with electricity, empathy, mental healing, regeneration, lie detecting, sensing volatility, and some we’re unsure of. Oh, and I don’t know where they are.” I smiled.
“Have you come across any other large groups of survivo
rs?”
“Yes.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Where?”
“One near Lake Tahoe and the other on the California coast a little north of San Francisco.” Again, I’d been able to answer truthfully without revealing everything. He hadn’t asked for any names of towns, he’d just asked where.
General Herodson sighed. “I see that there is already some resistance to my influence. Very well; I’ll have Clara search for the things I want to know while she’s erasing your memories.” Gone was the pretense of kindness, and his steel-gray eyes turned to ice. “Sometimes the T-R process requires several swipes of the hard drive. You should know that to test your obedience I’ll be ordering you to kill your sweetheart.”
My heart skipped a beat. Does he have Jason? Oh God, no!
The General backed up and looked at Mase. “An interesting choice. I wasn’t sure if Re-gens were still sexual creatures, but I know this one spent the night at your house and you seem quite concerned about his well-being, so I can only assume you two…it’s quite enlightening.” He’s going to order me to kill Mase…
A thrashing and screaming Camille drew my attention. “You promised! You said you wouldn’t hurt either of them if I told you! You promised!” But Camille was as small as me—half the size of the soldier restraining her—and she hadn’t had any combat training. She didn’t stand a chance of breaking free. Hell, were I in her place, I wouldn’t have either. Wait…why isn’t she using her Ability to—
“If you’re hoping she’ll mentally gut us all, don’t hold your breath,” General Herodson said, seeming to read my mind. He’d turned to watch Camille’s struggles as well. “Frank, the man holding her arm, has a very unique Ability. Not only can he sense when others are using their Abilities, but through touch, he can suppress others from using theirs.” He sighed, sounding wistful. “Unfortunately, Camille will also be disposed of when this ugly business is completed. She was useful, but…you can’t always get what you want.” Turning, he beckoned Clara from the corner. “Come, start the process. I’m tiring of this. I want to be done with it.”
Into The Fire (The Ending Series) Page 33