Twisted Stars (Hardest Mistakes #3)

by Dannielle Wicks

  I stop what I’m doing and turn to the boys. “We have to go back.”

  “What?” Charlie snaps, dropping a roll of rope. “You can’t be serious.”

  “She’s right,” Jayden says softly. He turns to me, meeting my gaze with a nod. “We have to destroy them, or they’ll never stop.”

  Charlie shakes his head. “You two are crazy. We just got out.”

  “It can be done. Last time I escaped, I got lost and found myself in the basement.” Jayden starts drawing a rough map of the Paradox compound in the dirt. “There’s a set of industrial generators there in the here.” He points to a small room. “They run on gas. If we can damage them and the spark the gas, it should take out the entire institute. Theoretically.”

  I frown. “Seems a bit risky. An explosion.”

  “It’s suicide,” Charlie pipes up from the entrance of the cave. I frown at his back and look back down at the map.

  “What if only one of us sets the explosion while the others keep watch? There will be soldiers everywhere.”

  Charlie shakes his head. “If we’re going to do this, at least do it right.” He sits down beside us and draws on the rough map. “You two sneak into the basement and rig the generators. I can keep you both hidden, and then I’ll set the explosion.”

  I frown. “How will you make it out in time?”

  He grins. “I’ll make it out—don’t you worry about that.” He sits back. “Only thing is, I can’t keep you both hidden and set off the explosion at the same time. Once you’re both clear, you’ll have to fend for yourselves.”

  Jayden nods. “Done.”

  “Okay, so when do we do this? And how do we get back in?”

  “As I said, I can get us in. I’ve been in and out for supplies for months,” Charlie says with another big smile.

  “Tonight,” Jayden answers quietly. “The longer we wait, the more of them will be out here, looking for us, instead of inside.”

  “That’s a long hike in one day.”

  He shakes his head. “I know a short cut back through their land.”

  “All right,” I say. “Let’s do this.”

  Chapter Eleven

  I nod at Jayden and turn the corner. According to his map, the basement is just through this door.

  I grasp at the handle and frown. It’s locked. I turn to Jayden and then jump out of the way as he kicks the door. The lock buckles, and it swings open on heavy hinges.

  I raise my eyebrows at him and whisper, “Was that really necessary?”

  He laughs softly and kisses my forehead as he passes me on his way through the door. I’m stunned for a moment, and then I quickly catch up.

  The room is huge. Big hulking machines fill most of the space, humming away in a surprisingly quiet manner.

  Jayden is already pulling at pipes and ripping joints from the gas tanks. I walk past him and fiddle with the digital controls. Something groans as it ruptures. Jayden grabs my arm and pulls me towards the door.

  “Time to go.”

  We sprint through corridor after corridor, all white walls and white tiled floors.

  I don’t hear the boom.

  I feel the shockwave, though.

  Jayden stops ahead of me and looks back at me, eyes wide. Something must have happened to Charlie, and he set the explosion off early. We’re not going to make it out in time. I glance back the way we came. There’s nowhere to take cover.

  The floor vibrates beneath our feet as the building shakes.

  Before I can blink, the walls and ceiling collapse around us. I reach out for Jayden, our fingers touching briefly only to be ripped away as cement falls between us.

  I black out as chunks of ceiling fall from above.

  ***

  When I wake again, all I feel is hurt. My legs are trapped. I can’t move them. I twist as far as I can, trying to work out where I am.

  It’s dark.

  There are bits of building everywhere—stone, cement, wood, glass, metal—it cocoons me in a small cave of destruction.

  Something moves beside me. I twist to look at the solid chunk of stone.

  “Ashlee?” a soft voice whispers.

  “Jayden?” I gasp out.

  “Are you okay?” His voice sounds far away.

  “I think so.”

  He doesn’t answer. The other side of the stone barrier is quiet.

  It’s quiet for so long that I begin to panic.

  No. Not like this, not after all we’ve been through together. I haven’t even had the chance to tell him.

  “Jayden,” I whisper, moving as close as I can get with my trapped legs. “Jayden. I love you.” I cough, sending dust into the air around me. A wall of rock separates us, but I can still feel him. I press my hand to the cold stone. “Please…” My vision dips, turning black for a brief moment.

  I’m alone.

  The air becomes hot and thick around me. My breaths are becoming shorter and shorter until finally it feels as if I can’t breathe. The thick air is choking me, suffocating me. My eyelids flutter, too heavy to stay open.

  I’m going to die.

  I can feel it.

  My body is shutting down. My legs have gone numb under the weight of crumbled cement. My arms are too heavy to lift. I can’t even speak. When I open my mouth, no sound escapes.

  I suck in a painful breath, my ears popping under the pressure. I’m drifting, flying, soaring away from the pain of death.

  For a second, everything goes quiet and peaceful then, suddenly, something pushes on my chest, and I breathe in, oxygen filling my nearly deceased lungs. I peel open my heavy eyelids as far as I can. A blurry image kneels over me—speaking my name softly, over and over again.

  I try to lift my hand.

  Nothing.

  I try again, and my fingers twitch weakly at my sides.

  “Ashlee…”

  I know that voice.

  I cough as another lungful of clean air fills my chest.

  Dark eyes, so dark they are nearly black, come into focus above me.

  A small noise escapes my throat.

  Jayden leans in, his hand cupping the side of my face. “You’re okay. I’m here. You’re going to be okay.” Blood runs down the side of his face in thick rivulets, caking in the dirt. His hair is damp with sweat.

  I beg my heavy, unresponsive limbs to move.

  “No, don’t,” Jayden says softly, holding my shoulders still. “Not yet.”

  I nod, tears filling my eyes.

  His eyes widen, and his forehead creases in concern. “What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”

  A sob escapes my chest. “You came back for me,” I croak out, my voice scratchy and raw.

  He frowns as if I’ve offended him. “Of course I did.” He leans closer. “I love you, Ashlee.”

  I smile as a tear rolls down my dirty cheek.

  “Come on.” He puts his arms under my legs and back and stands, lifting me out of the rubble.

  As soon as we clear the wreckage, I ask Jayden to let me stand. My legs are wobbly, but I can manage. We both turn back to Paradox and stare at the devastation. Parts of the building are on fire. In the dark of night, it almost looks like the remains of an action movie. Death and destruction everywhere.

  “What happened to Charlie? He’s not…” Please don’t be dead. I can’t handle any more death.

  Jayden shakes his head. “I haven’t seen him since the explosion. He’s probably run off.”

  Deep down, a part of me is gleefully relieved that he’s gone, but another part, a guilty part is worried. What if he’s hurt? What if he’s been taken by one of the scientists who have escaped? What if he needs us?

  “Hey,” Jayden says softly. “He’s fine. I can feel it. It’s always been in his nature to disappear. How do you think he developed his abilities? The experiments only build on what’s already there.” He lifts his gaze to the horizon—the sun’s light exploding along its edges. “I’m sure he’s out there somewhere. He’s probably al
ready halfway across the country. After all, we’re free now.”

  I stretch up on my toes so I can reach Jayden to pull his head down to me. Our lips meet in the middle, soft and wanting.

  We pull apart slowly.

  I gaze into his eyes. “Come home with me.” It’s not a request.

  He doesn’t answer straight away like I expected he would. Doubt begins to fill my mind.

  He lifts his arm and pushes his hair back. “I don’t know how to be…”

  “How to be what?” I ask impatiently.

  “Normal.”

  “I don’t want you to be normal. I just want you to come home with me. Be with me.”

  His gaze flickers across my face, searching for something. Then finally he nods and presses his forehead to mine. For a brief, amazing moment, nothing else in the world matters. Not my family or friends, not the shape shifting, not even the future.

  All of it insignificant compared to now.

  THE END

  Acknowledgments

  I know I’ve done this all before, but I have to thank my amazing fiancé Johnathon. You are the one who keeps me writing even when the world gets too hard and I want to give up. I could never hope to do this without your unwavering support.

  I can’t wait to marry you this year. xoxo

  Thank you to all of the incredible people and Authors at Limitless Publishing. #TeamLimitless

  About the Author

  Dannielle Wicks is the author of the Hardest Mistakes series and the Reaper Mini-Series.

  Dannielle lives in Kingaroy, Australia, with her fiance, 3 dogs and a bird named Torak. Since deciding never to become an adult, she has engrossed herself in the amazing world of young adult fiction and an unusual amount of TV. She adores Disney movies and can’t get enough of classic fairy tales. When she’s not busy writing, she can be found sneaking a chocolate from the fridge.

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