“You know, back at the lab, I dreamed about tasting you.”
“We were kids, you sick fuck.”
With a laugh, Charlie spun her around to face him. “I’m going to go nice and slow with you.”
—-
With a surge of déjà vu, Emma blinked. Rain soaked her hair, plastered it to the sides of her face. Isaac continued to struggle on the ground at her feet. Shawn still stood a few feet in front of Jaxon, who called back his wraiths with a grin. They disappeared. Why...?
“Miss me?”
She whirled to her left and collided with someone. Fear grew and adrenaline surged as her mind took in the sandy hair and manic grin of Charlie.
Emma screamed.
With a wince, he shot his arm forward and clamped his hand over her mouth. “I told you how much I fucking hate that sound.”
A cry of despair rose through the air. Ignoring it, Emma threw a fist at Charlie. Pain exploded in her knuckles as her punch landed under his eye. Growling, he pulled her close.
“Look.” The grin on his lips froze her blood. He stepped to the side, bringing her with and revealing the scene behind him.
Duncan was on his knees, holding Mari in his arms and screaming. Blood soaked her what was left of her clothing from the countless lacerations in her stomach along with the jagged red slash across her throat.
“Did that last.” Charlie’s voice held pride. “Waited until the light faded in her eyes before—”
Emma threw her elbow into his stomach. His hold on her loosened, and she surged forward, breaking free of his grasp.
He straightened and glanced around. Frowning, he stared at his hands where blood washed away in rivulets. “No!” His eyes snapped toward Mari’s body. “Ah, fuck.”
A mangled cry preceded Lucas, who threw himself at Charlie, knocking the murderer into the rubble of Lab 15.
Aaron ran to Duncan’s side, eyes flashing between Mari’s body and the fight between the Synths. Isaac struggled to his feet, one hand still on his chest, but it seemed Jaxon’s hold on him had lifted. Emma reached out to stabilize him.
“Lucas, no!” she yelled. “Don’t let him touch you!”
Charlie laughed as he threw a punch that slammed into his opponent, knocking him onto his back. He pushed to his feet, wincing as a small, sharp, copper pipe left a bloody line across his left palm.
Lucas struggled to his feet, hand gripping his jaw.
“Lucas, stop! He’s just using your strength against you!”
Understanding flashed in his eyes, but his resolve and determination was too great for Emma’s power to work. Growling, he charged again.
Laughter started from behind her. Emma glanced around to see a very pale Vance trying to stand. The fuck? How...? She thought of Mari, of Vance’s power, and the dots connected. “Oh, God.” Why they hell would Vance work with Jaxon?
Charlie’s gun roared, and Duncan stumbled, gripping his thigh. The pistol’s nose swept around to aim at Lucas. Riding the adrenaline that coursed through her veins, Emma lunged forward. She grabbed Charlie’s hand, peeling his little finger back as hard as she could. He cried out and dropped the gun. Before he could recover, her elbow connected with his face and then, he was gone.
Shawn stood where Charlie had, unharmed from his encounter with Jaxon, surveying the horrific scene. He leapt toward his enemy, who struggled to his feet a yard away. Lightning flashed, showing the psychotic grin on Charlie’s face.
“No!” Emma planted her feet and let her power build up in her chest. Before she could shout a command, Charlie hit Shawn. The force of the super strength he borrowed from his fellow Synth sent Shawn flying back into a tree.
Lucas chucked a large rock. It shot through the air, but Charlie ducked before it hit him in the head. It grazed the side of his temple, and he dropped to one knee with a grunt.
Shawn let out a roar and bounded toward the fight again.
“Stop! Shawn, Lucas, Charlie, stop moving!” Emma’s power hit the three men with force and, as one, they finally halted in their tracks.
—-
Jaxon ignored the sounds of chaos. He inched forward, peering into the darkness, looking for the person who had caught his eye before stumbling away from the battling Synths. Just within the tree line, he found a hunched man, head down and arms clutched in front of him. Grey hair was matted along his skull. His pristine clothing was wrinkled and dirty. Jaxon smiled.
“Ivan Vance.” His voice cut through the night air like a whip.
The Russian stopped moving but didn’t look back.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Jaxon stalked forward until he stood in front of his enemy. The reason Grim was created. The reason Julie and Cassie are dead. The reason Jaxon hadn’t ended his own life long ago. “You’re mine.”
Pale blue eyes glinted in the moonlight. “Charmed.”
The fucker’s actually smiling at me. Jaxon scowled.
“Get on with it.” The Russian sighed and sat back on his heels. His face was blanched, and the clothes he wore were soaked, stained crimson from his stomach down to his feet.
Grinning, Jaxon reached out with his mind, gripped the kingpin’s skull, and squeezed.
Nothing happened.
His heart skipped as Vance chuckled.
“What’s the matter, podonok? Are you unable?”
The hell? With a grunt, Jaxon tried to snap the man’s spine. Again, nothing happened.
Laughter echoed into the trees. “Maybe you should—”
Flinging himself at Vance, Jaxon collided with the Russian, knocking him onto his back. He brought his knee up into his stomach. Vance let out a groan, and blood spurted from his lips.
Jaxon gripped his enemy’s hair in both hands, lifted his head, and slammed it against the ground. Thunder rumbled in the distance as he repeated the process once, twice.
Vance started to laugh again.
Crying out in a ragged yell, Jaxon dug his fingers into one of the holes in the Russian’s gut, finally pulling a cry from the man’s throat. Grinning, he shoved his hand in further, relishing in the hoarse sound Vance made. He brought his face close and said, “This is for Cassie, you piece of shit.” He let go and stood. His foot connected where his hands had been moments before, and Vance curled into a ball on his side.
Jaxon backed up and called his wraiths. “And this.” He felt himself float off the ground. “This is for Julie.”
The phantoms shot forward and swarmed the Russian, churning in time with his dying cries.
—-
Emma watched as Shawn and Lucas strained forward, working to ignore her command. Charlie grinned past her. Whirling, she watched Jaxon appear, stepping out of the trees and sauntering toward them all, a smile on his face.
“Charlie’s been killing Evos. As many as he could find.” Aaron barked out a laugh, startling Emma. “He wanted to stop the government from getting their hands on them, from making more Synths. But now they have, and he’s going to kill them after he finishes with us.”
“That’s why he was stalking you, Emma,” Isaac muttered, fury etched in his eyes.
At his voice, Charlie turned his head, staring at him with an intensity that bordered on fascination. “Uh,” Isaac said. “Did I say something?”
“You know.” Charlie didn’t take his eyes off of him. “I think there’s too many Synths around. I can’t tell if you have powers or not.”
Isaac blinked but didn’t say anything.
Charlie’s smile never wavered. “Are you an Evo, then? A Synth? I mean, there’d be no reason they’d have you around if you weren’t something.”
“Shut your mouth, you piece of shit.” Duncan’s chest was heaving with emotion. “How could you? My daughter did nothing to you!”
Charlie chuckled. “Daughter? The time stopper?” His amusement grew in volume. “She wasn’t your real daughter, old man, and you know it. Hell, what did you even do in the lab? Wipe us? You piece of shit, you’re the reason I can’t rememb
er half my childhood.”
“Fucker.” Duncan’s eyes narrowed. In a flash, despite the wound in his thigh, he crouched low and leapt at Charlie, who scrambled out of his reach.
“Stop!” Lucas sprinted forward, faster than the other two men, and grabbed Duncan before he could try attacking again.
Charlie’s laughter echoed through the air, joining a loud rumble of thunder. “You don’t have powers. You’re weak. You’re worthless.” His words came out as snarls, upper lip curled in hate. “You’re nothing.” Eyes flashing, Charlie grabbed hold of Jaxon’s arm, and the world plunged further into darkness.
Both men went rigid, eyes turning milky white as wraiths appeared, circling the pair. Charlie laughed again, a cold, heartless sound, and Emma’s heart froze over. She tore her gaze from the horror and looked into Isaac’s eyes.
“We can’t fight this,” he said over the rain and wailing, breathless. “We can’t win against this.”
“Yes we fucking can.” Emma kissed him, hard, eyes squeezed shut. Go, go, go, she urged herself. Pulling away, she took a deep breath. “Get Duncan to safety,” she shouted over the growing noise of Charlie and Jaxon’s combined powers. “Tend to his leg. Take Aaron. Get the hostages out, and keep everyone safe. Hurry! The rest of us will deal with these pricks.”
“Fuck no, I’m not leaving you.” Isaac’s grip on her waist grew painful, his eyes desperate. “What if...I might never...”
“Go!” Emma shouted, and pushed him away. Turning, she faced an expanding, churning mass of wraiths that screamed in the night. Heart racing so hard it hurt her chest, Emma planted her feet, clenched her fists. She waited until Aaron’s and Isaac’s footfalls faded, and yelled, “Jaxon!” She put all the power she could muster into her words, praying she’d catch his gaze. “Jaxon, you fucker, look at me!”
The sky opened up with a peal of thunder. Rain pelted the earth.
Emma stepped closer. She screamed again. “Jaxon, look at me!”
Jaxon’s head twitched, but he continued to ignore her. Shawn charged forward, eyes hard. He’d taken three long strides before he was lifted into the air. Emma let out a wordless cry.
“No.” Jaxon commanded. “Leave him. He’s mine.”
Charlie scoffed but Shawn lowered to the ground, his knees finding a puddle of rain. He gripped his throat, however, and his eyes were wide.
Charlie’s choking him. “That’s your brother, Jax! Your own brother.” Desperation clawed at Emma’s throat. “Please. Don’t let Charlie hurt him. Shawn loves you!”
The smile on Jaxon’s lips chilled her soul. “Then why the hell did he choose your side?”
Shawn twitched and screamed, his left arm suddenly bent at an awful angle.
“Jaxon!” Emma surged forward, but an unseen force punched her back into the mud. Pain shot through her hands as she caught herself, mud and water soaking her jeans. She instantly jumped to her feet, eyes wide as Shawn was dragged toward Jaxon in an agonizingly slow pull.
“Ja...J...Jax...” Shawn stuttered, still clawing at his throat with his right hand, broken left arm dangling at his side. Wraiths surged, and his skin began to bubble.
“I did it,” Emma screamed. “I killed Cassie! I killed her!”
All at once, the figures in the mist halted. Jaxon slowly turned his face to her, white eyes wide, jaw slack. The hold on Shawn released, and he toppled to his knees once more. Instead of holding his throat, however, he gripped his left bicep, wincing in pain. “Emma, no. No, you didn’t.” His words were hard to hear over the rain.
“Yes I did. I shot her fucking brains out, and I’d do it again if I could.”
With a roar, Jaxon fully faced her and leaned forward. A sharp pressure at the base of her skull brought a gasp of agony to Emma’s throat, but it was gone before she could comprehend it.
“No!” Charlie’s single word was accompanied by a surge of invisible power. Jaxon stumbled to the side, dark wet hair flinging into his eyes. Charlie kept his hold on his arm and yanked him back up, pulling his face inches from his own. “She’s mine. You promised.”
“Deal’s off, asshole.” Jaxon’s smirk was clear in a flash of lightning. “She’s going to die a nice, slow, horrible death, and you’re going to watch me do it!” He twisted his arm out of Charlie’s grasp, but the man was quicker, grabbing a hold of Jaxon’s throat instead.
Emma ran.
“Like hell I am,” she heard Charlie sputter, and the surrounding wraiths sprung into action once more. She fell into the side of Lab 15, against a wall that still stood, wet concrete scraping her palms. Her hair stuck against the side of her face, and her breath came in ragged gasps. Without looking back, she rounded the side and slammed into someone. A scream leapt from her throat.
Chapter Fifteen
Isaac tripped and nearly fell, stumbling along the hallway inside of the lab. Duncan cursed under his breath but managed to keep them both upright.
“I’m the one shot, here,” he said, and choked out a laugh. “You need to keep me up, not the other way around.” His mouth was set in a grimace, his eyes distant and full of pain.
“We’ve got you.” Aaron panted from Duncan’s other side, underneath one of his adoptive father’s arms as they hurried forward, rounding a corner.
“Gotta get the hostages out. Find my wife. Keep the kids safe.”
“We will, Duncan.” Isaac’s shoes slipped again on the wet floor.
“What if they were all killed when Jaxon ripped the roof off? What if Claire...what if she’s...”
“We’ll find her. We’ll get her out of here. Don’t worry.”
“Fuck.” Aaron stopped, and the three of them teetered. A man with a ponytail stood a few feet away, blocking the entrance to the hall where the hostages were supposedly held.
“Hey.” The man held no weapons, simply stood in front of them with his hands clasped.
“Are you hurt?” Duncan let go of Isaac and Aaron, trying to stand on his own. “Where are the other hostages?”
Aaron stepped in front of him. “He’s not a hostage.”
“That’s not true.” The man with a ponytail shook his head and looked sad. “I was tricked here, just like you.”
“He’s...he’s got the same power as—”
“Quiet.”
Aaron fell silent.
“Come here,” the man said to Duncan, who complied.
“The fuck?” Isaac grabbed Duncan’s wrist, stopping him. He looked at Aaron, who only blinked and looked helpless.
Adjusting his ponytail, the stranger smiled. “Let him go.”
Isaac scoffed. “No.”
The man stared at him. “Let. Him. Go.”
“No.” He turned to Duncan. “What are you doing? Don’t listen to him. Aaron, what power? What were you saying?”
The mind reader’s shoulders relaxed. “He’s like Emma. Same powers. He’s her brother. Michael.”
Isaac’s stomach did a flip. “Oh, hell.”
The man smiled. “You can call me Mike for short. See that screwdriver on the table?” He jerked his head to the left. “Pick it up and ram it into your throat.”
Turning, Isaac walked to the weapon and grabbed it. He ignored a grunt from Duncan and a protest from Aaron. Instead, he smiled. “Go to hell.” Charging forward, he lifted the screwdriver, brandishing it like a knife. He collided with Michael, knocking him back, but the man was fast. One of his hands grasped Isaac’s raised wrist and the other landed a punch, knuckles connecting with his jaw.
On his back before he knew he fell, Isaac scrambled away on his hands and feet. He’d dropped the screwdriver. Flailing around with his right hand, fingers sliding along the wet floor, he tried to search for it but found nothing.
Aaron ran at Michael, who ducked and feinted to the right, but not fast enough. A fist slammed into his stomach, and he was thrown against the wall. Isaac could hear him expel a mouthful of air in a loud gasp.
“Let go of me,” Michael said. Aaron did so immediat
ely.
Scrambling to his feet, careful not to slip and fall again, Isaac leapt forward once more. Michael, however, was thrown to the ground before he could reach him. Duncan yelled a wordless noise, one hand gripping his wounded thigh, but he charged at Michael, kicking him in the stomach once, twice. The third kick snapped the man’s head back. Blood sprayed across the floor, mixing in with the rain.
“Get the fuck away from me,” Michael screamed. Duncan straightened, turned, and hobbled back the way they had come.
Aaron glanced along the floor behind Michael. He bent, and when he stood, held the screwdriver in one hand.
“Stop. Drop it and get away from me.”
The weapon clattered to the floor, splashing in a slowly forming puddle.
“Goddammit.” Isaac jumped forward, reaching for it just as Michael’s hand closed around its handle. He grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted. “Aaron, go get Duncan! We need to stop the blood fl—” The air left his lungs in a sharp, painful instant. Michael grinned and brought his knee back for another blow. Before it could land, Isaac threw a punch into his eye. Michael’s head snapped back again, ponytail flailing. He staggered, bringing a hand to his face, leaving the screwdriver in Isaac’s grasp.
“Stab yourself.”
“Fuck off.”
“Stab yourself!”
With a cry, Isaac charged at him, weapon raised high. He heard the sound of a child crying in the distance, and Michael’s expression changed from determination to glee. Ducking, he lunged toward Isaac, bringing his shoulder into Michael’s stomach, carrying him backward.
Isaac buried the screwdriver into Michael’s back, a few inches to the side of his spine. The man howled and twisted away as Isaac fell, the back of his head colliding against the floor hard enough for him to see stars as his vision swam.
He lay supine, rain falling into his eyes, breath coming in and out in ragged gasps. He struggled to remain conscious. Footsteps echoed off the walls, coming closer, quicker, bringing him back to focus. Aaron arrived with Duncan in tow.
“Where is the fucker?” he asked, breathless.
“I have no idea.” Pushing himself to his feet, Isaac looked around, but the man with the ponytail and persuasion power had vanished. So had the screwdriver, their only weapon. “We need to bandage Duncan’s leg. Release the hostages before something happens to them. Hurry.” He turned away from the other men.
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