Untouched

by Jus Accardo

  Yes. Focus now. Dez later…

  I was dangerous under normal circumstances, but with Samsen here, it was a thousand times worse. We’d managed to avoid disaster once, but if he caught us again, there was no telling what harm could come to Dez, Kiernan—really, to anyone in the park.

  With Samsen here, I was a time bomb just waiting to be activated…

  7

  Despite the fact that Kiernan insisted she knew the way, we ended up making several wrong turns. Finally back on track, we moved through the rooms, occasionally encountering other park patrons but, for the most part, were alone. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who found the haunted house stupid.

  Dez was sneaking glances my way when she thought I wasn’t looking. I knew what she was thinking—what she wanted to know. It wasn’t something I wanted to discuss—especially with her—but she, as well as Kiernan, needed to be prepared just in case we ran into Samsen again. “He’s a Six.”

  Dez flashed me an encouraging smile. “I kinda got that. Old friend?”

  An uneasy feeling squirmed in the center of my chest, and I struggled to tamp it down. We had what Dez would call a history. “He’s a Six—and an agent. The only one ever.”

  “Wait,” Dez said, confused. She stopped walking and backed against the wall. “Plenty of Sixes work for Denazen.”

  “Denazen has two employee classifications. Agent and Resident. While a small group of Residents are allowed to live offsite, they’re monitored and still controlled. Agents are not. There’s no need because their loyalty is never in question.”

  With every word I spoke, fury—and something else, something painful and buried—churned in my belly. Muscles involuntarily twitched as I remembered all too well my history with Samsen. If there were ever anyone at Denazen I truly feared, it would have been him.

  Dez’s expression changed. Sadness…and horror. Things I never wanted her to feel when looking at me. In Dez’s eyes, I was wonderful. She said I was strong and brave. Good. Obviously she didn’t see me clearly, but none of that mattered. When she looked at me, eyes full of love and trust, I wanted to be those things. I needed to be those things.

  Kiernan cleared her throat. For a change, she was so quiet, I’d almost forgotten she was there. “Right before we ran, he said he could make you hand me over if he wanted. What was that all about?”

  A deep breath. “Samsen’s ability is dangerous—the most dangerous. If he makes eye contact, he can control you with nothing more than the sound of his voice.”

  Dez’s lips twisted downward. With a slight shrug, she said, “So we don’t look at him. All good, right?”

  “He only needs eye contact with you once to gain control.”

  Dez paled. She knew what I was getting at but refused to acknowledge it. “But none of us looked at him, so we’re fine?”

  The confession lodged in my throat like a million tiny pebbles. “Eye contact needs to be once,” I repeated.

  Her mouth fell open. “You’re saying—”

  Kiernan stomped her foot, not giving Dez a chance to finish. “Holy crap. You’re saying he’s laid his mojo on you in the past?”

  “With Samsen here, I’m a danger to you both. To everyone, really. He can control me because, yes, he’s laid his mojo on me in the past.” I could speak her language—even if it was on the stupid side.

  Dez shook her head and grabbed my hand. Comforting warmth flooded through me, and I tried to pull way. She didn’t understand me. I could hurt them. I could hurt her. Before we’d left on our trip, Sue had pulled me aside. She told me to watch over her daughter. Dez had tunnel vision when it came to me, and that could easily impair her judgment in the wrong kind of situation. Sue was right.

  Dez folded her arms and shook her head again. “Not buying it. If that were the case, why didn’t he do it outside? He could have snagged Kiernan and me and made you follow us out the front gate like a puppy.”

  I winced. “Your scream drowned him out. It made it much harder for him to gain control. His ability is complicated. Once used, it leaves a…stain on you. After time, most of it washes away, but a shadow still remains behind. He can use that shadow if he focuses hard enough…if the individual is weak enough.”

  She pulled me close and wrapped both arms around my waist. I tried to pull away again, but it was a feeble attempt. “Then you have nothing to worry about, because you are hardly weak.” For a moment, I lost myself in the sensation. The smell of her hair and warm comfort of her body so close to mine. It was enough to wipe every horror from the world.

  For a moment.

  “So what do we do if he does make eye contact?” Kiernan said, pushing through another door. This room had quickly flashing red and blue lights. Every few seconds, a ghostlike figure would soar overhead. “Is there any way to break his control?”

  “The immediate effect of his ability can be relieved if he’s rendered speechless. Once eye contact is made, if you can’t hear him, then he can’t control you. With me, though, he can use the past against us. If I get within the sound of his voice, he could make me do anything he wanted. Make me…” No. I wouldn’t think of it. I knew too well the way Samsen worked. The sick and twisted things he could come up with if for no other reason than to amuse himself.

  “Bah. He doesn’t sound like such a badass,” Dez said. “We can totally take him.”

  Dez was fearless and loyal. Unlike anyone I’d ever met. I was sure if she wanted it, she could get an army to follow her into battle and beyond.

  “Sometimes I wonder at your complete disregard for safety…”

  Her lips tilted upward and a grin lit her entire face. Leaning close, warm breath caressed my neck as she whispered, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “If something were to happen—”

  She stole the rest of the thought away with a kiss. Soft lips moved across mine and all else was forgotten. Fingers threaded through my hair and grazed the back of my neck.

  “Ahem,” Kiernan said loudly. “You two should really get a room.”

  Dez giggled. “Maybe later. Now we need to get out of here.” She looked around. “What the…”

  To our right was a bench with a skeleton man reading a newspaper. Behind him, the Statue Man was standing by a cart. He was handing food to a lifelike statue of a small girl with a white ribbon in her hair whose face appeared to be melting. Bits of it dripped to the floor and collected in a puddle at her feet while some clung to the front of her pink dress. I was about to touch her, curious for some reason about what her fake skin felt like, but then the light—what little there was—went out.

  “That is just…” Dez whispered. “Eww. Like what—”

  “Shh!” I clamped my hand down over her mouth. “Someone’s coming.”

  Kiernan turned to the door. “Yeah. Another customer, maybe?”

  I didn’t get the chance to respond. Footsteps pounded the floor behind us as, a moment later, Samsen and several agents came through the door.

  “I know what you’re thinking, 98.” Samsen laughed. “But don’t. I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt. Hand over the girl and we leave. Won’t even use my ability on you.”

  “Kiernan stays with us,” I growled, covering my ears. I couldn’t drown him out completely, but the harder he was to hear, the harder it would be to gain control. Beside me, Dez tensed, ready for a fight.

  “Kiernan? No, no, no. I’m talking about Miss Cross.”

  “M-me?” Dez stammered. “I thought you were here for Kiernan.”

  Samsen shook a finger and clucked his tongue. “I was. Changed my mind. I think you’d be a much better choice. So if you’re willing to switch places, I’ll take you instead of Miss McGuire.”

  Dez looked from him to me, then sighed. “Fine.”

  “What?” I let my hands fall away, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back a few inches. “No!”

  Dez smiled, tilting her head to the left. She leaned close, and I could feel her breath puff out across my chee
k. “It’s okay. You got this. Give us, like, five, then come bust me out.” With a wink, she kissed me and turned to Samsen. “You leave them alone, right?”

  He smiled. “For now.”

  If she thought I was going to stand here while she handed herself over to Samsen…she’d be right. Dez had seen it before I did. There was nothing I could do. Not now. Not like this. All it would take would be a few words and a little extra effort from Samsen, and I’d be dragging Dez across the floor and handing her over myself.

  “We’re not finished,” I said as Samsen took Dez and began to back from the room.

  He grinned, pushing Dez toward the door opposite the one he’d come through. “I’m counting on it.”

  8

  “Did she just…”

  “Yes,” I growled. “That’s who Dez is. She saved you—now you’re going to help me save her.”

  “I—of course.” Kiernan looked at the door. “But why?”

  “Why?”

  “Why would she do that? You guys could have handed me over and gone home.”

  “Dez would have never done that—and neither would I. I told you, it’s who—”

  “She is,” Kiernan finished, pale. “Right. So, what do we do?”

  “We beat them to the exit.” I began moving through the room, searching for something that could be used as a weapon.

  “But how do you know where they’re gonna go? They could double back and go out the way we all came in.”

  “Because Samsen knows I’ll come for Dez. He’s not done yet. He’ll be sure to go where I can find him. He likes to toy with me.”

  “Well, the employee exit is in the last room. The Master’s Chamber. We’re not far, but they’ll see us coming. It’s only got one door leading in and out.”

  That wouldn’t work. We needed the element of surprise on our side—what little we could have. I tilted my head up.

  “Oh! I have an idea!” Kiernan said. “What about the air-conditioning ducts?”

  “The what?”

  She moved across the room and pulled open the door next to the one Samsen and Dez had gone through. “Two rooms over. We can climb up into the ceiling and get to the Master’s Chamber that way.”

  …

  I’d had enough of this place. We’d entered another room. Another room and another scene. This one had statues of men in long white coats standing over hospital beds. The whole thing reminded me of a particularly gruesome scene I’d witnessed as a child. A Six with the ability to liquefy internal organs. Cross had tested it on an agent. I’d never forget the dying man’s screams.

  Like the doctor in my memory, the statue’s coat was covered in blood. It stood over its helpless patient, legs apart and hands propped on each hip, wearing a disturbing grin that spoke of madness. Why would someone pose these things like this? Dez said people visited this place for fun. I couldn’t conceive how such violent images and graphic scenes could be considered enjoyable. Let them spend a day at Denazen and then see if they still thought these things were fun.

  The rest of the room was similar. There were red stains that stood out against stark white walls as well as on the floor, and in the corner, a man who had been sawed in half, his entrails spilling onto the tile, was frozen in mid-scream. The door at the other end had a sign that read, Hospital of Horrors Check-in.

  “The next room is where I think we can get up,” Kiernan said as she pushed open what I hoped to be the final door. “Bingo!” she exclaimed, rushing forward and pointing to the wall.

  In the back corner of the room, there was a frail-looking ladder beneath a large silver-slotted panel. The bottom half was missing and the top was pulled away from the wall, several of the bolts hanging and ready to drop.

  Leaping, I pushed off and grabbed hold of the third rung from the top. If I could get up to the grate, I felt certain I could pry it loose. Several of the bolts were missing, and those that remained looked rusty and old.

  I started to pull myself up so I could reach the top rung, but it snapped under my weight. Fingers scraping wood, I managed to grab the bottom piece, positioning the soles of my shoes against the wall for traction. I really did like these shoes.

  Once steady, I carefully reached for the top bar again and hauled myself up. My first attempt at removing the panel failed. My fingers were too large to fit through the grate, so I couldn’t pull it free. My second attempt was also unsuccessful. I’d tried to slip my fingernails under the grate and lift it that way, but I had a habit of biting my nails. If Dez were here, she’d say, I told you so.

  “Find something I can hit the bolts with. A piece of wood or pipe,” I called down to Kiernan.

  A few moments later, she returned. “Catch.”

  Something sailed upward, and I grabbed it just as it began its trip back toward the ground. “A hammer?”

  “Maintenance has a little cubbyhole in the corner. Full of goodies.”

  It was perfect. I hit the first bolt and it cracked, crumbling into dried bits of rust and dust. I did the same with the second—the last one—and the bolt, along with the grate, fell with a clang to the floor.

  It took some maneuvering, but I managed to wedge myself inside the small space.

  “Wait!” Kiernan called from the ground. “What about me?”

  “You can head toward the room unseen by using your ability. When it looks clear, come in.”

  “That’s it? When it looks clear, come in?”

  “Yes,” I said, taking a deep breath. Dez. I needed to focus on Dez. She was the only thing keeping me from, as she’d call it, freaking out, because of the limited space in the duct. I didn’t like feeling confined. It brought up too many bad memories.

  After several moments of darkness, I saw a light ahead. When I came to the grate, I could see Dez, Samsen, and the agents were below.

  There were only three agents plus Samsen. Two in normal suits and one wearing a safe suit. Dez was right. I had this. She expected me to come for her, and I wasn’t going to let her down.

  The one in the safe suit glared at Dez. “I say we take the little brat out to the lot and go. 98 won’t be far behind.”

  Anger rumbled in my chest, and my fingers itched. Dez’s arms were behind her back—cuffed, no doubt—and the agent’s hand was clamped across her shoulder. He kicked at the wall, shaking Dez out of frustration.

  The third one turned to her. He was the oldest of the three and looked uncomfortable. Arms fidgeting at his sides, he tapped his right foot continuously and kept glancing back toward the door. At the first sign of trouble, I was betting he’d run off and leave the others.

  At least, I hoped.

  Dez was quiet for a moment before a mischievous grin slipped across her lips. “You Denazen dudes aren’t just dickless, you’re dumb as pie, too. You really think we’re all leaving here together? Really? And unicorns are likely to shoot from my ass…” She thrust her chin out in defiance. “I hate to be one of those kinds of girls, but my boyfriend is so gonna kick your asses.”

  The older man stood there, shocked, but his younger associate wasn’t so restrained. He lashed out, shoving Dez. She gave a surprised cry, wobbling as she tried to keep her balance. It was no use. Falling back, she hit the ground hard, and the agent was on her in the blink of an eye. “Listen up, bitch—”

  I readied myself to pop the grate and drop down, but the older agent brought his foot up and nudged the other sideways. “Take it easy, Rob. Cross will have your ass if we deliver damaged goods.”

  The older agent bent down and helped Dez to her feet. “You okay, kid?”

  She nodded and held his gaze. No fear. That was my girl. I knew she was afraid—anyone would be—but she wouldn’t show it. She never showed it. Even during the battle at Sumrun, agents and Residents surrounding us, she’d shown no fear. I’d asked her about it one night when we were sitting outside and staring up at the stars. She’d called it her Poker Face. Years of practice hiding herself from the world. I could see through it, though.
She’d said she was glad.

  As I observed from my shadowy perch above, I could see the subtle twitch of her thumb as it tapped against her wrist. Drumming to the beat of a song in her head.

  Samsen sighed. “Where’s 98? He should be here by now, don’t you think?”

  The younger agent, Rob, snarled, “No clue. But it’s his loss.” He grabbed Dez’s shoulder and hauled her forward toward Samsen.

  Samsen reached across and ran a finger over her cheek, and I had to bite down to keep from screaming out. I would rip his hands off for touching her. “Did 98 leave you here to rot, beautiful?”

  Dez didn’t cringe or try to move away. She stood tall, keeping her eyes trained on his chest. If she could have, she would have met his gaze head-on. In any other situation, I would have been proud. Dez was one of the strongest people I’d encountered, but this time it was bad. Samsen would see her as a thing to be broken. A challenge.

  And he lived for a challenge.

  “I suppose you’re waiting for me to try and control you,” he said, circling her. “No doubt 98 told you all about me.”

  Her voice was like acid. “That you’re a psycho who gets off on playing puppet master? Yeah, I think I heard that somewhere.”

  He tilted his head and cracked his neck. The sound sent ripples of sickness rolling through my gut. He used to do that all the time. I hated it. “Keeping those big browns turned away at all costs wouldn’t do you any good if I really wanted to play puppet master.” He stopped walking and spread his arms. “And I always get what I want. Trust me... And what I want is a little payback.”

  9

  “Payback? For what? Shouldn’t you be carting me off to Daddy right about now?”

  “This isn’t about your daddy—or what Denazen wants. Never was. I owe 98 a little sumthin’ sumthin’. A tit for tat, shall we say.” He sighed. “So to put your mind at ease, little lady, I’m not interested in controlling you. That’s not how this is going to work.”