He grabs my arms, turns me back to face him. I try to fight him, try to move, but pain welds my muscles together. Esther screams louder.
“We are going to use your Seer powers now, Shania,” Raleigh snarls. “Any resistance and my team will hurt your dear friend more.”
Rushing sounds fill my ears, then Raleigh’s hands are on my head.
“Open up to me—let me in.” His fingers dig into my temples, pressing and pulsing, and then his nails, and sharp pain.
Stuff moves inside my head, and—
Pain, my forehead. And Raleigh….
I sense him…inside my head…looking for the…and…but….
No. No. No.
I feel my chest rise and fall too quickly, and I try to get away from Raleigh, try to move my hands up, try to pull his hands from my head, but I can’t, and—
“Do it!” Raleigh yells, and then Esther shrieks, and my gaze jerks up.
Her body convulses as she starts to fall, but the chain stops her, and she screams again.
“Come on, Shania. I told you what would happen if you tried to stop me.” Raleigh’s voice is low, and his words slither through me. “I told you I would hurt her. You do not want that, do you? And young David here knows it’s a great honor to die at your hand—for the greater good.”
For the greater good. He keeps saying that, and every time the cliché makes me feel sick.
“No!” My word goes on and on forever.
More pain radiates through me, through my head—a pick-axe of pain—and I gasp. My vision blurs, but I grit my teeth, force myself to keep breathing. Breathing evenly. Stay in control. Have to—
Raleigh shouts something and then Esther screams louder, and she’s screaming, screaming, screaming, and I don’t know what to do. There’s nothing I can do—nothing right… What if my resistance kills Esther? But I can’t let Raleigh use my powers to kill another child. I can’t.
“I’ll get my way,” Raleigh shouts. “I always get what I want, Shania. You know that. I got you, didn’t I?”
My vision blurs. My head turns a little—don’t know which of us does it—and I see the women who brought the child in. Their faces swim past me.
“You can’t resist me for long!” Raleigh shouts, and his fingers dig deeper into my flesh.
Blood—I feel it, sliding down my face. And then my hands are warming up—no!
I blink and see Elia lying in front of me, and then the Enhanced boy.
Dead.
More blood on my hands.
“No!” I cry, that can’t happen—can’t!
“Stop it, Seven!” Esther shrieks, but her voice sounds strange.
But I can’t—she doesn’t understand, and Raleigh laughs, low in my ear. But the sound is strained, and he’s having trouble—I know he is. I’m resisting him too much—I can resist him more when I’m Untamed and—
Heat runs down my arms. My body jolts. I look to my left, see the boy watching me. So young. But he’s not watching in horror. He’s watching like he’s interested, like I’m entertainment for him. Not like I’m going to kill him.
I clench my hands into tight fists, they’re getting hotter. And I can’t let that happen—can’t let the next bit happen, but—
But Raleigh’s getting my power, he’s directing it to my hands… The white light—no!
“Don’t block me out, Shania. I am in control, you’re just hurting your friend. Look at her, look at the agony you are cruelly inflicting on the woman you say is your friend. But calling her a friend is a lie! No friend would hurt another like this! Do you see what the darkness is doing to you?”
I gasp, and I see Esther: my eyes zoom in on her, as if I’m a robot, and I see the sweat running down her face, and how she’s crumpling up, pulling on the chain.
“Stop!” she screams. “I’m pregnant!”
Everything stops.
Raleigh holds onto my Seer powers, and the pain in my head doesn’t lessen. His hands are still on me. I’m very aware of the contact as I push my way through the layers and layers of thick, tangible pain, as I stare at the screen, at Esther.
“What?”
My head pounds. Pregnant? She’s pregnant?
“Turn the two-way sound on,” Raleigh says, and he taps his fingers against my head. Hard.
Two-Way Sound On flashes onto the screen—voice activated.
“Now, listen,” Raleigh says, and he lets go of me with one hand, points at Esther. “Lying is bad. Very bad. And although your physical state is Untamed, you should at least try not to let the parasite take over. You need to be virtuous and honest.”
David starts laughing, and the sound is nearly enough to drown out Esther’s heavy breathing. I stare at her. The image on the screen zooms in, until her face fills it. She’s looking down, and her bottom lip trembles as her nostrils flare. Then she looks right at the screen…at me, straight into my eyes.
“I’m not lying.”
David stops laughing and starts frowning.
“Esther Eriksen, you are lying.” Raleigh’s voice is cold, and he removes his other hand from my head. I breathe deeply, try to move, but he’s still controlling me. The pain’s still there. In front of me, Raleigh snarls. “You are lying because that would’ve shown up on the scans.”
“It did,” one of the Enhanced women says, and David runs toward her. “I gave that file to you to review before.”
Raleigh curses, then lets go of my mind and withdraws his control over me. The pain disappears. I gasp as my vision separates into two—but only for a second. It slides back, and a new type of pain burns in my chest.
I turn on Raleigh, chain rattling, fire in my hands. In my bra, I feel a flash of heat from my Seer pendant. Raleigh turns and his eyes widen and he screams and—
And I shoot white lights from my palms. Two channels that flow together, create a huge bolt that flies out. It hits Raleigh. His body jolts backward, and he falls, hits the floor hard, one arm crossed under his body. For a second, his feet tremble. Then he’s still.
I inhale sharply, freeze.
My eyes widen. He’s dead? I did it—killed him.
Just like that….
A loud thwack sounds, and I flinch, look up, my movements jerky.
Esther howls.
I whirl around, see her fall. See the heavy, wooden bat the Enhanced man on the screen is holding.
I try to run forward, but the chain yanks me back, and pain wracks my shoulder. My vision blurs for a second, then I see Raleigh stirring on the floor. Not dead. Shit.
Kill him.
I lift my arm again, my fingers tingling, and—
The door flies open. Movement, people rushing in and—
Something hits me hard.
I fly back; my head hits something. Darkness and white light and—
Pain tunnels down my spine, makes me look up, see the gun above me. The gun aimed at me, at my legs.
I don’t know who’s holding it, but the fingers around the handle move and—
I roll to the left just as the person pulls the trigger. The sound makes me flinch, and I cover my head, hear the bullet hit metal—a loud clang. Open my eyes, see Raleigh scrambling up, fury in his eyes, and—
Not dead. Shit.
Another gunshot. So close, so—
Raleigh falls again, coughing, spluttering. An alarm pierces the air.
I freeze, then scrabble backward, try to stand, try to make sense of it, try to—
“Seven!”
I look up and see Clare. Just Clare, smiling, with a gun, standing in front of me. Clare, here, and there are other people shouting not far away—and the Enhanced women? They’re not here.
It’s Clare.
“Come on!” she yells. “Soraya’s getting Esther! Miles has disarmed the guards out there, and—come on!”
I start to race forward, but the chain and manacle yanks me back by my arm. Pain flies through my chest at the sudden change of direction, and I stumble. I pull on the chain, and the
unit on the wall moves a little. Seems looser.
“Come on!” Clare yells again, then she sees what’s wrong.
She raises her gun.
My mouth dries.
She shoots, and I scream, throw myself down and to the left—
The bullet hits metal. Fragments fly. The chain hits the back of my head as it falls—it’s still attached to my wrist, but not to the wall. I cry out, see dark spots for a moment.
“Run!” Clare shouts, racing toward the door. And she disappears.
I turn, see Raleigh. Raleigh who’s injured, blood pouring out of him. I look up, see the screen for a moment: Esther and Soraya are huddled on the floor, Soraya’s arm around Esther, and two Zharat men fight Raleigh’s team, and—
Get out! Go!
Red light fills the room, the siren blares in my ears. Adrenaline gushes through me.
I gasp as my vision blurs, and then there’s pain and—
Shit! No!
But I step forward, the chain clanking. And my legs work, they obey me. Raleigh’s not as strong—he’s injured, and I’m strong. I’m Untamed. I throw the pain away from me, feel something wet sliding down the side of my face and—
“No!” Raleigh yells.
I don’t look at him. I run for the open doorway, trailing the chain, try to lift it up, try to hold it because I can run easier then, but the length is long—too long—and it’s dragging, can’t help it.
I make it out into the corridor before the next surge of pain sets in. Raleigh’s screaming at me, and every time he screams the pain gets stronger, sharper. And my head—where the chain hit me…so much pain. But I keep going. Clare went this way. I need to find her—she’ll be going to Esther. Or the other Zharat.
We’re escaping. Oh Gods!
We’ve got the upper hand. We’re Untamed and we’re no longer sick.
We’re escaping.
But Clare’s not here. I don’t know where’s she’s gone. The corridor’s empty.
My arms flail, and I grasp at the wall as my vision fuzzes. Raleigh. Shit. For a second, I can’t breathe. My insides squeeze together, and there’s so much pain that I can’t think, can’t do anything.
“Come back!”
His yell is a roar that crawls through every nerve, that tries to make me turn back—and my feet start moving, and—
No.
I grit my teeth; sweat pours down my back. I make myself stand still.
The moment the pain lessens, I force myself onward. But the chain’s weighing me down, snaking along the floor, trying to drag me back.
Somehow, I keep going, and I try to look around—because where are they? Where are the Enhanced? They’re not here…why not?
Raleigh’s screams get quieter, more distant, but the siren gets louder. My head pounds. My legs shake harder and harder. I curse myself. Got to keep going. Got to get out of here. Raleigh’s weak. I’m Untamed. I can resist. And, somehow, I get more energy. I force my legs not to shake as much, I make my body obey me, and then I’m running down the corridor, heart thumping. My Seer pendant thumps with it.
The corridor branches into two. I take the left one, but there’s no sign of an exit. I keep running, flinching away from people that aren’t there.
I curse, try to look around, try to see some signs somewhere—but there’s nothing.
“Clare?” My voice sounds weak, not like me at all.
But there’s no one here, no one to answer. And I don’t know which way to go, how to get out of here. The alarm laughs at me.
My legs start to burn—no!
I skid on the smooth floor. There’s a doorway ahead. I reach it, hands straining. My fingers curl like claws. It takes me too long to get the door open, and my head and heart pound. Pound deeper and deeper. But then I yank it open, find myself in another corridor—a narrower one—and I keep running, my bare feet slapping against the cold floor. The light above flickers—and then the room fills with red. The walls start to close in. For a second, I pause, start to turn, and—
“Stop!”
He’s to my right. I see him in the doorway—the one I’ve just come through. My brother. Twenty feet away. My Seer pendant flashes hot. He’ll help me!
The door to my left—the one I was heading for—clicks loudly, then I hear footsteps. Shit. Enhanced. I snake my head around and look. My stomach hardens as five Enhanced step through the doorway.
I run back, run for my brother. My pendant gets hotter still. Run as fast as I can toward him; he’ll know what to do. He’ll—
My brother steps out of the way, beyond the doorframe, leaves the way free for me, so all I can see is the corridor on the other side and walls, and I run faster, hear the Enhanced behind me. My arms stretch out, I reach for the doorframe, ready to grab it, to propel myself through, and—
The door slams shut.
I crash into it. My head hits it hard. I jolt, dazed and—
“Three!” I yell, and my hands go for the handle, and I’m rattling it, and the chain’s rattling—everything’s rattling—and I’m trying and trying, but the door won’t open and the handle won’t move far enough.
Locked?
Or being held still on the other side….
My gut squeezes. No. Three wouldn’t. He proved to me who he was!
He wouldn’t!
“Don’t fight us, Shania.” The door muffles his voice. But it’s his. Undeniably his.
No. No. No.
He wouldn’t.
But he is.
Cold hands land on my shoulders, and I yell, whirl around, spit at them, kick them. See glimpses of myself in their eyes—bleeding red—and—
My head pounds. There are too many. So many and—
I’m not going to get away.
“Seize her!”
“Stop struggling.”
The Enhanced haul me away from the doorway, still kicking and screaming, and then it opens. My brother steps through it. He shoves his gun—a Glock—into my face; the metal is cold as it connects with my cheekbone. I wince, but I do as the Enhanced say and still myself.
“I may not kill you with this, but I can still inflict serious injury.”
I stare at him, and it’s like time is standing still. Three…my brother. It’s his voice, but not his words. Can’t be. And I try to see him—see my brother—but all I see is myself reflected in his eyes, from the portals of his cold, half-metal face. So unfamiliar, yet close.
“Give me your hands.”
I twist my head around, try to see—there’s got to be a way out, an escape. My heart pounds.
“Give me your hands.”
But the Enhanced don’t wait for me to obey my brother; they’re already holding my body, and they seize my arms roughly. I scream as I see metal cuffs, and they click them over my wrists, and then wrap the dangling chain around my arms. I try to wrench my hands back to me, away from them, but it’s no use. They’re too strong, and I’m outnumbered—even when Raleigh’s not controlling me.
They drag me through the doorway, back the way I’ve come. My heart pounds, and I try to think. Need to think.
“Walk properly.” The words are deep and snarled into my ear.
I obey, my heart pounding, and I look at them all. Try to think of a plan.
Fight them.
I have to fight them. I know that. But which one? The man nearest me is the smallest. Yes, him. I wait a moment—all their eyes are on me, and they look wary, even though I’m walking like they want.
Then I kick out. My foot connects with the shorter one’s shin, and he yells.
I spin around, the chain around my arm slowing me, but a hand slaps my face. Hard. My cheekbone stings, and I fall back against another, but I step to the side and—and my foot hits something, throws me off balance, and I turn and—
Something smacks into my stomach.
The momentum throws me back, and I lose my footing. The back of my head hits the wall. I cry out as sharp twinges grab my neck, and I see more dark spots
and—
“Shit!”
“Shania?”
I try to mumble, but pain lassoes around my left eye, and then there’s something hard against my face, and it’s moving, and something’s catching against me, and….
Silence.
But….
No….
My head’s too….
And my arm…it’s too heavy….
“Shit. Shit.”
I feel hands on me—Three’s hands?—but I can’t see, can’t…my vision’s too dark and wavy and… And I don’t want Three’s hands on me! The traitor! He gave my pendant back to fool me! Made me trust him and….
“Pick her up. Come on.”
I’m lifted up, vaguely aware of it and—and something’s humming inside me. Humming strongly. A tune. A—
“Will she be okay?”
“She’s the powerful Seer. A knock on the head ain’t going to affect her.”
A pause. A pause that stretches on and on forever. My ears crackle, tears cover my eyes. and pain…pain behind my eyes and—
Why, Three? Why?
“They should’ve all been exterminated,” one of them says, his voice foggy. “They’re too much of a risk—how soon will it be before more attempt an escape?”
“Not exterminated, not Shania.” Three’s voice…but he sounds…he’s singing? I think he’s singing…like, no, he doesn’t sing. “She’s too important.”
My stomach tightens, and the smell of benachin, and then chipsi mayai, washes over me. My stomach rumbles, and then it’s all I can concentrate on, and everything else is just background stuff, not important—like the words, the conversation they’re having.
“The Section doesn’t like Raleigh’s methods though—he’s too fixated on violence. He’s moving away from what the Chosen lifestyle is all about.”
“And he’s had two escapes now.”
I see a light on the ceiling, but it’s winking at me. I stare at it, feel strange. But it’s lighting the way, and we’re going to get food and—
“Zahlia never had any when she was the sole commander of New Kitembu.”
“Zahlia never caught a whole tribe of Untamed though. Raleigh’s still got many in his custody. Quite a few survived the allergic reactions.”
The chipsi mayai aroma gets stronger. And then I hear the sizzling as the potatoes are fried, and—and oil’s spitting out. I can hear it, and my ears crackle with it. Something slides around in my stomach.
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