“Gary.” The man paused but didn’t answer. After a moment she tried again. “Are you OK?”
He glared at her with an unreadable expression before shutting the door firmly and locking it. Sydney sank to the cot and started shaking. Uncontrollable tremors coursed through her as the reality of her situation crashed down on her. The missing month. The strange attacks. The poison under her nails. The jogger seemingly obeying her orders. She gripped the metal bars of the cot to stop her hands from trembling. She forced herself to take calming deep breaths, eventually resorting to putting her head between her knees.
Get it together, she scolded herself. Move forward. This is my situation. I can't freak out. I can't let anyone see I'm afraid. I can either wallow in it, or move forward and do something. Unable to resist any longer, she finally called Xander and Shay
When Xander answered he sounded sleep confused and alarmed. “Sydney!?”
“Yeah. I don’t have long. My phone doesn’t have much charge.” Her voiced sounded as hollow and shocked as she felt.
“Are you OK?”
She answered honestly. “I don’t know. But it turns out I can help them after all.”
“What happened?”
Sydney had no clue how to begin answering the question. “Just talk to me for a minute.”
“What?’
“I just need to hear your voice.”
“They didn’t take your phone?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think they care if I have it. They know I know I have to cooperate. Maybe they are trying to keep me happy enough to be compliant?”
“It’s going to be OK.”
The smooth rumble of his voice flowed through the phone and raised hairs on her neck. “I know,” she hiccupped on a sob and took a deep breath.
“Sydney.”
“Yeah.”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
He paused for a moment. “Just say the word and I’ll bust in there with a bunch of bikers and guns and we’ll kill everyone and then run. We’ll go to Aruba…and drink rum in the sun.”
“That would be wonderful,” sighed. “But I can’t.”
“I know. That’s one of the reasons I love you.”
“I love you too.” They were quiet for a moment. “Have you guys had any luck?” she asked, admitting that they couldn’t ignore the situation for long.
“ET is making some posts. We are following the police report. We think one of the Berserkers was arrested.”
Sydney was stunned. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“It’s gotta be. It will help prove that we are telling the truth.”
The rock in her stomach eased a little. “That's huge.”
“I know. Just hang in there a little longer. We are going to work this arrest.”
“OK. I should go. I don’t want my phone to die.”
“OK,” Xander sounded pained but didn’t disagree. “Be careful.”
“You too.”
“Just a little longer,” he assured her.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
They hung up and Sydney stretched out on the cot.
***
Sydney must have fallen asleep, because when Gary opened the door she jerked awake right into a sitting position. “What?” Gary scowled at her and tossed a garbage bag filled with something soft into the room. “Stop with the silent treatment.”
He sighed and nodded at the bag. “You wanted clothes, there they are.”
“Thanks,” Sydney swung her legs off the cot and pulled the bag closer. “Can I wash up?”
“I’ll send Jason down.”
He started to close the door but she stopped him. “Gary.”
“What?”
“I didn’t make the jogger stop. I just calmed him down.”
“Why would he just calm down in the middle of trying to kill me?” Gary’s voice was sharp.
“He was scared. I think…he just…snapped. Probably didn’t really want to kill you.”
“Sure.”
Sydney felt sorry for the man. Before, he was pretty convinced Moreno was just crazy. But, now, he wasn’t so sure and he had no idea how to deal when everything he knew to be true being called into doubt. “The jogger is sick. He needs a doctor.”
She didn’t know if Gary believed her or not. Without answering, he shut the door and she heard his footsteps hurry away.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
A few minutes later Jason opened the door looking less than thrilled at being Sydney’s escort again. “Let’s go,” he snapped.
“Well hello to you too,” she muttered digging through the bag of clothes. She found a scarlet tank top and assumed Moreno would appreciates its flair.
“What did you do to Gary?”
“Huh?” her throat went dry again, but she played dumb as she slipped past him.
“He’s freaked out. What did you do?”
“What makes you think I did anything? Moreno is the crazy one.”
“I think you’re both crazy.”
She glared at him over her shoulder.
“I don’t know if there is some truth to this bullshit you and Moreno have going on or not, but I wish Gary would just get rid of you both.”
“Hey! I was kidnapped. You’re blaming me for that?” She knew she shouldn’t argue with him, but she couldn’t help it.
Syd’s insides churned with fear and anger. She slammed through the bathroom door, biting back her words. Jason was unpredictable. She couldn’t figure out how to play him. He could believe there was something to the Dyian story. Maybe not. He seemed like he wanted to impress Gary and at the same time he acted like he doubted Gary’s judgement. Why did he give a shit about Gary anyway? She didn’t get a gay vibe from either of them. But she knew that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
Maybe they are related? She considered it. They didn’t really look like each other, but maybe Jason took after his mom. That would explain Jason’s loyalty to Gary. She slammed the toilet lid up as loud as she could. She wanted to slam it a few more times but resisted. Her rage festered in her stomach and she let it simmer.
Sydney turned on the water and stripped off her dirty clothes while it heated. As she washed off using paper towels and hand soap she grumbled to herself about all the things she should have said to Jason. Instead of making her feel better, it only fueled her fire more. Washing in the sink required lots of balancing and she banged her head on the faucet more than once and she grew angrier by the minute. She nearly slipped in all of the water that had accumulated on the floor and she kicked her dirty clothes in frustration. They slid across the floor and thumped pathetically against the wall. She wanted to break something. The nearly silent thump of clothes did nothing to ease the rage that was building up inside her.
The fact that Jason clearly blamed her only made her furious and indignant. He should be angry at Moreno. If the situation was anyone’s fault it was his. But, she realized, he couldn’t actively show his anger at Moreno. Moreno could easily have him killed. She was the safe alternative. So, instead, she got the full force of his anger.
“Fuck that!” she growled to herself.
She pulled on the new clothes and was relieved that they fit surprisingly well. She tied her shoes in her anger and by the time she burst through the door she was ready to blow. “You have a lot of fucking nerve!”
Her outburst startled Jason, but he recovered quickly. “Excuse me?”
“Blaming me for this situation. It’s bullshit,” she growled.
Jason’s face slid into a mask of rage. Before she could react, he slammed her into the wall by her throat. Her head bounced off the wall causing her teeth to clack together over her tongue. He leaned into her face so close she could smell Doritos on his breath. “I should just kill you now. It would save a lot of trouble.”
He was holding her roughly, but not tight enough
to cut off her air. “Then fucking do it.” She met his eyes, daring him to make a move. Her damp hair dripped down her face, over her chin and landed on his hand. But neither of them would give an inch. They glared at each other, seething with rage. Jason’s breath pushed against her skin. It was hot, sour, and came in quick flutters. A smile stretched her face. He’s afraid of me. She felt like laughing.
Wanting to see what would happen, she raised her hand, curled into talons and lashed out. Her nails dug into his face hard enough to break the skin. She felt her nails cut three crescents into his flesh and when she felt the release under her nails again she laughed. Jason jerked away from her with a yelp of pain.
“What the hell is going on?” Gary barked from the lobby. He must have just gotten off the elevator in time to see their confrontation.
Jason was doubled over with his hands covering his face. “She fucking scratched me.”
“He choked me,” she sneered.
Gary looked at her throat, red from Jason’s grip, and scowled. “Let me see,” he turned back to Jason.
“Fuck off.”
“I said, let me see!”
Finally, Jason straightened and moved his hands. Sydney’s eyes widened. The slashes in his skin were beaded with blood and already looked like they were swelling.
“You’ll be fine,” Gary nodded, trying to sound reassuring, but turned to Syd. “Right?”
She shrugged. “Of course. It’s just some scratches.” But Sydney actually had no idea what was going to happen. It was the whole reason she even scratched him. She wanted to see what happened. Is he going to bug out too?
“Go clean yourself up,” Gary told him. Making sure she saw his glare, Jason brushed past her roughly.
“What’s going to happen to him?” Gary asked her quietly, but with a dangerous tone.
She watched his eyes, grey and worried, they searched her face for an answer. “Nothing. I guess. They might get infected.”
“The jogger.”
“What about him?” she shrugged, forcing her voice to stay calm.
“He had scratches on his face.”
“Yeah, I was defending myself. It seems a lot of people have been attacking me lately. I gotta do what I gotta do.”
Gary stared at her for a few more moments. “If he gets sick, I’ll rip your nails out with pliers.”
Sydney didn’t doubt his promise. She knew her actions had been risky and impulsive, but she hadn’t been able to resist. She hated Jason, and he had goaded her. Plus, she wondered how her scratches would affect someone not hosting an alien. As her adrenaline faded she was growing shaky and suddenly felt like crying. What the hell did I just do? She had never provoked someone like that before—as far as she knew. She suddenly felt petty and guilty.
Jason came out of the bathroom in time for Gary to grab her arm in his vise-like grip and drag her towards the closet. I guess he’s gotten over his fear of touching me. She glanced back at Jason. The cuts in his skin weren’t bleeding anymore, but they were still angry, red, and swollen. But, he wasn’t howling and rolling around on the floor. He wasn’t catatonic. Maybe the poison only works on Dyians? But why would the aliens abduct me, give me something that only hurts them, and then bring me back?
Xander
After Shay declared she thought the Berserker attacks were growing closer to Chicago, Xander’s alarm roused him enough to wipe away any traces of sleep. Even ET perked back up. They spent the next hour huddled around the laptop searching police blotters and news articles. Shay had been right. It could be a huge coincidence, but each night the number attacks seem to double and they were closer and closer to the city. Eventually, they ran into a dead end. They couldn’t find any answers online and talking in circles did none of them any good. Eventually, they gave up and went to bed.
Xander didn’t think he would be able to sleep, but he finally drifted off after only a short time of tossing and turning. His anger at being ineffectual couldn’t override his exhaustion for long. He woke up to the sunlight blasting through the window and smacking him in the face. His head throbbed and his eyes felt like he had sand in them, but he rolled out of bed and shuffled downstairs. He could hear typing before he even reached the landing. He found Zak and ET in the dining room leaned over the computer looking confused and annoyed. Heather and Richard were carrying bags into the garage.
“What’s going on?” he croaked reaching for a coffee cup.
“Harry made the arrangements,” Richard announced when he came back into the kitchen. “We’ve got to hurry. I was just getting ready to wake you and Shay up.”
“I’ll go get her,” Xander offered.
A grumpy, but alert, Shay followed him back to the kitchen. “I’m so glad you guys are listening to reason,” she hugged each of their parents in turn.
“I still can’t believe I let you talk us into this,” Heather glowered at them all.
Xander took a sip of his coffee. “Thank you.”
Once the car was packed, Heather and Richard made their goodbyes. “You better keep us in the loop,” Heather warned them.
Xander and Shay met eyes. They both knew it was safer to not contact them. From the glance that Rich gave them, he knew too. “We will,” Xander felt like shit for lying to his mom.
Heather gave all four of them bone crunching hugs and then hurried to the car, refusing to say goodbye.
Richard looked at them evenly. “Be careful. You know how to get a hold of us once you can?”
“Yeah,” Shay nodded.
When Rich shut the door behind them, Xander’s heart sank but he was relieved at the same time. One less thing to worry about.
“OK,” Shay turned to ET and Zak. “Spill. You two look like you’ve found something.”
They glanced at each other before ET answered. “I can’t figure it out.”
“What?” Xander sat at the table, wrapping his hands around his coffee mug.
“I know there was an arrest made last night.”
Shay hugged her coffee to herself. “But?”
“The news this morning is that there were no arrests.”
“That’s weird,” Xander frowned.
“Yeah.”
“Could it be a mistake?” Shay leaned forward.
“Maybe. But usually they’ll say someone was taken into custody but cleared. Or released or whatever,” Zak ran his fingers through his hair.
“So,” Xander sighed. “The scanner said, at the time of the attack, there was an arrest. But now the news is reporting that no arrests have been made?”
“Right,” ET nodded. “No one is reported in custody.”
“Will they tell us if there is anyone in custody if we called and asked?” Xander scratched at his beard.
“Probably?” Shay shrugged. “I think they leave information out, or send it out, or something. For reporters. I guess it is public information?”
Zak and ET shrugged. But Xander considered the scenario. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable calling from one of our phones, or Mom and Dad’s landline.”
“Me either,” Shay agreed.
“Let’s call from a burner phone,” Zak stood from the table. “ET and I can go get one while you guys get some more rest.”
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to go back to sleep…” Xander trailed off when Zak caught his eye. “But you guys go on. I’m going to get cleaned up.”
“Yeah,” Zak nodded. “You need some new clothes,” he smiled at ET.
ET had been wearing Zak and Xander’s clothes and they fit him terribly. Currently, he was wearing Xander’s jeans with the cuffs rolled up. His sweater, belonging to Zak was way too tight on him. He blushed after looking down at his dismal wardrobe. “I am fine.”
“Shut up,” Zak smiled at him. “I have a credit card we can use. A friend owes me.”
Shay, finally catching on, smiled. “Be careful. And keep us posted.”
“We will,” Zak pulled ET out of the room.
“I didn�
��t see that coming,” Xander chuckled.
“You didn’t see you and Sydney coming either. I called that shit right away.”
Xander rolled his eyes. “Ms. Long Island Medium over here.”
“It’s just chemistry. It just glows off people when it really has a hold on them.”
Sadness gripped Xander’s heart. “You’re just nosey,” he tried to smile.
“We’ll get her back,” Shay said, reading him as easy as she always did.
“I know.”
Not having anything else to do, and both having less than four hours of sleep, they decided to lay back down and hopefully get some more rest. Xander lay with his arm over his face for a while. He went over and over everything in his mind trying to figure out if they were doing the right thing. The most frustrating thing was he had no idea. No amount of worrying could convince him one way or the other. It wasn’t like when he took the rap for Rabbit. He knew then as much as he did now, it was stupid. But he chose to do it anyway. Now? He was going in circles and getting nowhere.
Chapter Thirty
Everyone left Sydney alone for the rest of the night. She should have been glad for the peace, but it only took a couple of hours before she grew bored. At first she tried sleeping, but she had napped too much earlier in the day. Sleep was pointless. Then she tried walking in small, tight circles in the limited space of her closet. She only got dizzy and more bored. Every fiber of her body wanted to turn her phone on and use the last of her charge (if there is even enough to turn the phone on) and call Xander again. She wanted to talk to Shay too. It had been days since she had spoken to her best friend.
Finally, hoping to tire herself out, she resorted to doing push-ups and crunches. Exercising in her cell she felt like Sarah Connor from Terminator 2. She and Shay had loved that movie and Shay loved to quote Arnold lines in her best (terrible) Austrian accent. When Syd admitted that she had never seen the movie (as far as she knew) Shay had insisted they watch it. She had made popcorn and pot-brownies and they had spent the whole evening on the couch, stoned, sugar-buzzed, and gaining a ridiculous ability to quote the movie. Sydney laid back on the cold, tiled floor and stared at the ceiling trying to catch her breath feeling more alone than she had since waking up next to Lake Michigan.
Show No Fear (The Dyian Series Book 2) Page 17