“Please, please.” Corinne murmured as she crawled along the ground, searching between blades of grass, leaves, and scattered rocks.
“Here!” Lisa cried out with an actual hint of joy in her voice. She held up a crushed cigarette butt, and stuck her toe exactly where it had been lying. Corinne rushed over. She ran her fingers over the ground where the butt had been found. At first all she felt was grass and leaves, then she felt the cool surface of metal beneath her fingertips. What appeared to be a root was actually a handle. Unfortunately when she tugged on it, the hatch did not budge. It must have been locked somehow, and she had no idea how to release it.
Corinne sat back on her heels as she wondered if they had been led all the way here only to be prevented from saving Kyle.
“Move back.” Aaron said sternly as he stepped up beside Corinne. Lisa and Corinne moved a safe distance from the hatch while Aaron seized the handle with both hands. He pulled hard on it, and his face grew red with the strain of it. A strange sound filled the air around them. It was the sound of metal bending and twisting.
Corinne was stunned by the strength Aaron displayed. She knew that he was very strong, but she had never seen him do something like this. At the school he had simply broken the door off of its hinges. Here, he was wrenching thick metal free of what had to be a state of the art lock. When the hatch broke off completely, Corinne knew that the criminals inside would be alerted to their presence.
She sat down in the grass beside the hatch and focused on their energy, as sick as it made her feel. She had never tried to manipulate so many at once. There were at least ten different men in the bunker. She attempted to restrain them from reacting to the hatch being pried open. Aaron started down the hatch. When Lisa moved to follow, he shook his head firmly.
“It's too dangerous.” He said sternly, exhibiting his protective nature of her.
Lisa was not impressed. She did not experience strong sensations of fear or discomfort. What she did know logically, was that if Kyle was in the bunker, he would likely be hurt, or worse. She would not wait until Aaron brought him out to help him.
“I'm going.” She said firmly. “Now hurry, the police are getting closer.” She glanced briefly at Corinne, whose eyes were shut. She was perfectly still, but Lisa knew that she was exerting just as much force and effort as Aaron had to open the hatch. Aaron frowned but did not argue further. They did not have time, and neither did Kyle.
He climbed down half of the ladder and then jumped to the ground. He was amazed by the intricacy of the bunker. It had electricity, and though the walls were packed dirt, the ceiling had been shored up with support beams.
As he stepped out of the entrance, a man stood on the other side. He glowered at Aaron as if he was ready to rip him limb from limb. Yet he did not lift a hand to him, nor did he draw the large gun he had slung over his shoulder.
Aaron knew it was because Corinne was restraining him. He moved quickly and took the man's weapon from him, expecting the whole time that he would attack. When he did not, Aaron used his own belt to lash his hands behind his back, rendering him harmless for the moment. Lisa stepped through the entrance behind him, and followed him closely as he continued down the corridor. They disarmed each guard they encountered and restrained them. Although Corinne was restraining them well, Aaron knew she could only hold such a force for so long. They needed to get to Kyle fast.
When they reached a corridor lined with steel doors, Aaron sighed. He was not sure he had the strength to open all of them, but he would try. When he pried the first off of its hinges, he hoped that Kyle would be inside.
Indeed there was a small body huddled in the back corner of the room which resembled a cave. A dirty blank was wrapped around the small frame, disguising it from view.
“Kyle?” Aaron asked shakily as Lisa rushed forward to check on the boy. When she pulled back the blanket she discovered that it was not Kyle, but instead a small girl whose breath was so shallow she could no longer even cry. Lisa laid her hands to the little girl's chest and visualized her being healthy and well. She could sense where the energy was needed and was familiar enough with anatomy to understand where she should start.
Her gift was phenomenal, but it did take time to work. Aaron left her to it and began prying the next door off of the hinges. When he rushed inside he discovered yet another child, who was at least awake and aware, but definitely not Kyle. When he carried the child out into the corridor, anxiety swept over him as he realized that each of the rooms probably contained a child. He did not think there was any way he would be able to get to them all before the police arrived, or the criminals they had restrained managed to get free.
Above the bunker, Corinne was growing exhausted. She could tell that the criminals had been restrained, but not very well. One had already gotten loose, but she was keeping him from heading for the store of weapons they had stockpiled. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that the sounds of the police approaching did not reach her. It was not until Daniel crouched down beside her that she sensed his presence.
Her eyes fluttered open, and the distraction of his hardened gaze staring at her, caused her to release her control over the criminals below.
“Daniel, Aaron and Lisa are down there.” She said quickly. She looked wildly at the other officers. What would they do if they discovered what Aaron and Lisa were doing, what Corinne was doing? Modern thought did not look kindly on anything outside the norm. She did not think that this would go well at all.
Daniel was still irritated that he did not know everything there was to know about what was happening. He wanted to know why Aaron and Lisa were in the bunker, why Corinne had been simply sitting there as if in meditation. He knew there was no time to spare for such questions, when all he really needed to understand was the terror in Corinne's eyes.
“I'll go down first.” He said sternly to the other officers. The lead investigator had stayed behind, not expecting any of this to pan out, and so Daniel was the officer in charge. The other officers knew that Daniel should not go down without back up, but they did not question him. Stanley waited until Daniel was down the ladder and out of the entrance of the hatch, then he dropped down behind him. Corinne started to go after him, but the officers blocked her from doing so.
“They can handle it Ma'am.” One of the officers said confidently. However his confidence did not reach his fear filled eyes. He had been a police officer for a long time, and he had never seen a bunker hidden in the woods before. He knew that whatever lay beneath the ground would not be good. Corinne settled back down in the grass. She was so exhausted that she did not think she could exert any more control, but she could at least follow the emotions of what was happening.
She felt Aaron's panic as he rushed from door to door, prying each one off. He was growing very weary from all of the effort, and though each room contained a child, none of them were Kyle. He had just reached the last door in the corridor, while Lisa was moving from child to child, summoning their health to return to them, when Daniel rounded the corner.
He had his weapon drawn, and he aimed it instinctively at Aaron as he spun around quickly to face Daniel. Aaron's hands flew up into the air as he saw the barrel of the gun pointed in his direction. For just a split second Daniel hesitated to lower it, then swiftly he holstered it. He glanced at Lisa who was cradling a child in her arms with her hand pressed against his chest. He observed the doors scattered on the dirt floor, seemingly torn from their hinges, and then lifted his gaze back to Aaron who was reaching for the last door.
In awe Daniel watched as Aaron peeled the door out of its frame. When Stanley showed up behind him, he turned quickly to block his view as Aaron tossed the door to the ground.
“Alert the medics, and get some back up down here.” Daniel commanded without meeting Stanley's eyes. The young officer was startled by the sight of several children, clinging close to Lisa, and the bent and twisted steel doors that were scattered on the floor of the corridor. He began
to speak into his radio, his voice cracking with shock, but he did not question Daniel. Instead he moved toward the children and began lining them up to be removed from the bunker.
“Where's Kyle?” He asked as he noticed the boy was not with the other children.
“Here.” Aaron said in a voice that was thick with emotion. He carried the limp body of the eight year old boy out of the room. He could feel no pulse, no breath. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and his eyes were closed. His head lolled over the edge of Aaron's sweat covered arm. Lisa rushed over to the child, but glanced over at Stanley hesitantly. She knew that she was not supposed to use her abilities in front of others. She was okay with Daniel being close by, but she had never even met Stanley before.
“Go see what is taking the medics so long!” Daniel barked at Stanley. The rookie hesitated to leave, but with one authoritative glare from Daniel he jumped. He rushed back down the corridor. Aaron studied Daniel as Lisa laid her hands on the boy. He watched the man for any sign of reaction as Lisa attempted to heal Kyle. Daniel only stared, his features void of any expression. He was still processing what he had just seen, when Aaron pulled the steel door off of its hinges.
When the medics arrived followed closely by Stanley and several other officers, Aaron reluctantly laid Kyle down on the ground. He stared down at the small boy, who was still not moving.
“Is he okay?” He whispered to Lisa. She frowned in return as she rubbed her hands together. “I am not sure. I thought I felt him breathe, but-”
One of the medics announced his pulse rate. Another slipped an oxygen mask over his face and together they hurried the boy out of the bunker. The other children were soon escorted out as well. Aaron pulled Lisa to the side away from the officers who were examining the scene.
“Was he dead?” He asked as Lisa avoided his gaze. She had never felt a life so weak, as Kyle's had been.
“He isn't now.” She replied evasively.
Aaron grimaced. He knew the implications of her skills. She had been tested to the extreme. Once Conner had even forced her to work on a body that had been dead for over ten hours. What happened was terrifying. The body began to live again, but the brain could not be healed. Conner was elated, but Lisa had been horrified as she watched the body die once more. When Conner examined her after the fact he found that there was damage to her organs and her blood pressure had sky rocketed. After that he no longer allowed her to work with dead bodies, he was too afraid of damaging his creation.
Aaron had been furious that he allowed it in the first place, but they were only children at the time.
Daniel walked up to them and looked furtively over his shoulder at the other officers present.
“Go up with Corinne.” He requested. When Aaron began to brush past him, Daniel grasped his arm lightly. The muscles beneath his palm flexed and throbbed at his touch.
“Don't try to leave; it will make things look worse.”
Aaron narrowed his eyes. “Am I under arrest?” He asked as he surveyed the men around him. They were at less daunting than a steel door.
“No.” Daniel said firmly. “Just follow my lead, and I will take care of it.” He whispered.
Aaron scrutinized Daniel for any hint of deceit. Daniel's expression was open and honest. He would do his best to shield the three from the suspicion of the lead detective and other officers. How he would explain their presence at a crime scene he was not sure yet, but he would think of something.
Aaron nodded and led Lisa out of the bunker. When they spotted Corinne still sitting in the grass, her face drained of all color they rushed over to her.
Lisa sank down into the grass beside her. She too was quite winded from the effort of healing so many children, and the last, which she was fairly certain, was as close to dead as he could have come. All three were relieved to see the children getting the medical attention they needed. The guards had already been arrested and taken from the scene.
As Corinne watched the ambulance doors close behind Kyle, the force of what had just happened finally struck her. Together they had saved nearly a dozen children from certain misery or death. From what she had gathered in snippets of conversations between the officers, the bunker had been a holding place for children who had been kidnapped and were to be sold in other countries.
When the lead investigator arrived on the scene, Corinne sighed. He had not liked her in the beginning, and now he certainly was going to suspect her. How else could they have found the bunker?
The older man walked up to Corinne, Aaron, and Lisa, with a wicked scowl.
“Okay, who has an explanation for this?”
Corinne parted her lips to speak, but before she could, Daniel stepped up behind the investigator.
“It's my fault really.” Daniel said as he lightly shifted a crow bar back and forth in his hands. He had retrieved it from the trunk of his patrol car.
“I told Corinne all about the case, and she well...” He lifted his chin with pride. “She's gifted. She can see things.”
The man rolled his eyes with disdain, but Daniel pushed forward with his words. “She found the kid, didn't she?” He asked with as much respect as he could muster.
“Yes, she did.” The investigator said with no less suspicion. “And next you're going to tell me that steel doors were pried off the wall with a crow bar?” He asked skeptically.
Aaron kept his gaze to the ground. He had an attitude, but when it came to people in positions of authority, he had been trained to act compliant.
“Yes sir.” He answered for Daniel. “They were not very well secured.”
The investigator shook his head, finding the whole story very difficult to believe. However he was willing to let it go for now. He was going to receive a promotion for this bust. His picture would be in all the papers as a hero. Why ruin it by asking too many questions?
“If I see any of you near one of my crime scenes again, I'll have you arrested.” He said sternly. “Gifts or no gifts, you leave the police work to the police.”
Corinne bit her tongue to keep from pointing out that if they had not interfered, Kyle would certainly be dead, and the other children would probably not have ever been found. Many of them were children of undocumented immigrants who were afraid to report them missing. Some had been stolen from other countries and stored in the bunker until a buyer was ready for them. The more she thought about it, the more proud of herself she became. When she met Daniel's eyes, she was pleasantly surprised to see that same pride reflected in his light blue eyes. They were shining with admiration, not fear.
49
Daniel had to remain at the crime scene while it was being investigated. He asked Stanley to drive Corinne, Aaron and Lisa home as they all looked too exhausted to drive. In the car Stanley could not stop looking through the rear view mirror at Lisa. She found it very disconcerting. When he looked through it for the thousandth time she frowned.
“What are you staring at?” She asked more out of curiosity than annoyance, as if she might be missing out on something very interesting.
Stanley returned his attention to the road as his ruddy cheeks became a darker crimson with blush. He had not been able to stop thinking about the way Lisa had held that little boy in her arms, and what was certainly a lifeless child, was handed off to the medics with a pulse. He knew enough to keep his mouth shut about it, but he could not shake the fascination he had with her. Lisa pursed her lips and crossed her arms across her chest. She could not figure out what Stanley's blush meant, or why she warranted his attention.
Corinne smiled faintly to herself as she sensed a budding affection within Stanley for Lisa. It amused her to think of what it would take to coax Lisa into a relationship. Aaron sat in stony silence in the back seat beside Lisa. His mind was lost in the past, specifically his childhood.
Seeing the way Kyle's mother had yearned for him, and how tenderly she treated her child, had made him aware of how much he had missed out on. He was raised by lab coats
. He had no real emotional connection with anyone other than Lisa, and perhaps a twisted bond with Conner that he could not bring himself to let go of.
Corinne could sense his melancholy. She turned in her seat to meet his eyes and was reminded once more of how similar they looked. The hurt in his dark green eyes was identical to the hurt she had seen in her own eyes as a child every time she looked in the mirror. It was impossible to understand why some children were loved and cherished, and others were not.
The visual connection created when their eyes met allowed Corinne to predict his thoughts, perhaps not with her skills, but instead simply because she was his twin sister. He wanted to find her too.
50
Conner stood next to Corinne's apartment building and watched as the three disappeared inside. He was thrilled to see them, and eager to claim them as his own again. He could not move too quickly, as they had learned to utilize their skills, and were they to team up against him he would not stand a chance of over powering them.
He would have to be patient and wait for just the right time. The only way to keep his entire life from becoming pointless, from watching all of his research washed down the drain, was to get Corinne, Aaron, and Lisa back in his possession. It would take much more than charisma this time. He pulled a small leather case out of his pocket.
He unzipped it and checked one more time to be sure that all three needles were ready to go. They glistened in the sunlight. He smiled to himself and zippered the pouch shut again. He would not make the same mistakes he had in the past. He would teach them what it was to fear.
51
Daniel stood outside of the apartment door that night, contemplating whether he should go inside. He had worked the crime scene late into the night before finally being allowed to go home. Instead of going to his house, he went to Corinne's. To him, home was where she was. His mind was still swimming with what he had witnessed earlier in the day.
Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga) Page 13