A Flare Of Sorrow

by Elodie Colt

  “What are the odds we’ll bump into him?” Cassie wanted to know with a fearful undertone. If we encountered Dorian, we were screwed. He’d ask what Gabby was doing with me up there, and then Cassie needed to talk. It wouldn’t take him long to recognize the foreign voice, and then hell would break loose.

  “He’ll be in the lab for the next few hours,” Gabby assured us.

  So, this was our brilliant plan.

  While Cassie analyzed Gabby—inspecting every inch of her face, skin, hair, eyes, lips, nose, and ears—I searched the second guard for any useful items, deliberately not looking at his bloody face and the awkward angle with which his head hung to the side. Unfortunately, he didn’t have more than a staff either.

  “And?” Cassie asked, and I turned around to see two identical Gabby’s standing in front of me. Cassie was maybe two inches taller, but no one would notice.

  “Wow, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. How long can you hold it up?”

  “Long enough.”

  “Okay. Gabby, give Cassie your coat so that she can blend in. I’ll put you in shackles and chain you to the bed. This way, no one knows you’ve been helping us. You can tell them we attacked you.”

  While Gabby peeled out of her coat, I retrieved a pair of shackles from the guard. Waiting for Gabby to lie down on the cot, I chained her to the bars, making sure not to tighten them too much.

  “We should make this more realistic,” Cassie threw in and went over to the bloodstained wall, wiping her hands over it.

  “What are you doing?”

  She didn’t answer but just smeared the blood on Gabby’s neck and top, making it look as if we fought her. Gabby jerked away in disgust. “We hit her, then chained her to the bed.”

  “She has no injuries,” I pointed out, but Cassie threw me a how-stupid-are-you look.

  “She’s a Regenerator.”

  Oh, yeah, right. “You’re okay?” I asked Gabby softly. She was so innocent, so shy, and yet she was helping us, risking so much. I could only pray to God that no horrible fate awaited her down here.

  “Yeah, go now. The code for the elevator is 470093.”

  “Thank you, Gabby. Should you ever need help… well, you know where our compound is,” I added in a humorous tone, then dropped my voice. “One last question. Why… Why did Dorian have my sister killed all those years ago if he wants Naturals alive?”

  Her eyes grew soft, and she said in a gentle tone, “He didn’t know back then that he could make money with them. He knew they were powerful. More powerful than he was, and it frightened him. Later, he found out that she would have been of great use to him.”

  I clenched my teeth. Shawna could have lived, but then she would have ended just like me—as a test subject in a goddamn bunker at the mercy of psychopaths. Maybe she’d been graced with the better fate.

  I squeezed Gabby’s hand one last time before turning to Cassie. “Ready?”

  Cassie exhaled audibly. “As ready as I can be. Wait.” Retrieving her ruined shackles, she clamped them over my hands. “If you are my prisoner, you need to be in shackles.”

  I groaned. “You love this, don’t you?” She just gave me a mischievous smile.

  We walked to the door, and Cassie bent down to the unknown guard, taking his staff and hiding it under her coat. She turned around once again, looking at Gabby who was eyeing the ceiling above her.

  “Gabby… Don’t let him have any power over you. He may be your only family left, but sometimes you can find better family—people who love and care about you. You’re welcome to join us anytime.”

  Gabby shed a tear at Cassie’s beautiful words and nodded in acknowledgment. “Get the hell out of here now, for God’s sake.”

  Sleep invaded me at some point, bringing with it haunting dreams that were all different, yet the same.

  Haylie hurt, screaming in agony. Haylie dead, lying in a pool of blood. Haylie comatose as some faceless motherfuckers raped her in front of my eyes. Haylie with a vicious grin on her face, siding with Dorian and breaking my heart. Haylie crying and accusing me that everything was my fault.

  In all of them, I watched from afar, my screams soundless, and my feet anchored to the ground, keeping me from running to her.

  Each time I woke with a garbled cry, my eyes flashing to the spot next to me where Haylie had slept—afraid she might lie there bruised and bloody, and devastated when realizing the spot was still empty.

  The lack of female skin under my touch made me edgy. My body craved the Connection, craved any kind of physical proximity. I wasn’t used to going without sex more than seventy-two hours, and it was only now I realized that my last time was months ago with a nameless whore. I’d been so engrossed with Haylie that touching another woman hadn’t even crossed my mind.

  How could I? After I’d had a taste of the most beautiful, hottest, and strongest woman I’d ever met? She was the only one I cared about. The only one who could give me salvation. The only woman I’d ever come to love with all my heart and soul. And damn, I’d make sure never to let her go when I finally had her in my arms again.

  A look at my watch told me it was too early to get up, but there was no way I could go back to sleep. A lot of preparation awaited me for our Rescue Haylie mission.

  The compound was eerily quiet, which wasn’t unusual at this hour, but now that most of the students had left, the place had a strange, lonely feel. When I arrived at the control room, Chris already stood brooding over a map while Lauren sat in front of the monitors, looking half asleep.

  Chris lifted his head at my entry. “I see you got as much sleep as we did.”

  I scoffed, taking an energy drink from the refrigerator. “Are the new guards in position?” I asked, glancing over Lauren’s shoulder at the monitor.

  “Yeah,” Lauren replied tiredly. “Everything’s taken care of.”

  “Good. You look like you’ll pass out any minute. Go get some rest. I’ll take over,” I offered, but Lauren shook her head.

  “Can’t. Not until she’s back…” she muttered in despair.

  I clapped her on the shoulder knowing exactly how she felt. Striding over to Chris, I had a look at the map in front of him. It was a print-out of a vast area in Philadelphia. A red circle was drawn in the middle marking our spot of interest.

  “This could get difficult,” Chris muttered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The address you got from the doctor wasn’t an exact address with a street name. There’s nothing there.” Chris pointed to the red circle centered around a few miles of vast space, far away from civilization. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from Dorian. He didn’t want to be found. “No building, no company, no property, nada. And the terrain is a total nightmare. I don’t know which routes are doable for traveling by car.”

  “It’s underground, I’m sure of it.”

  “If this is the case, we could run in circles for hours before we’ll find it.”

  Just as I was about to answer, the door swung open, and the last person I expected to see slid in. She took a tentative step forward, her eyes roaming over the room and seeing things only she could see.

  “Lisa,” I uttered in surprise. I’d never seen her in the control room as long as I had been here. “Is everything okay?”

  She smiled at hearing my alarming voice and took some graceful steps toward me. “Everything’s fine. I felt you were awake and thought I might join you here.”

  “Can we help you with something?” Chris asked.

  “On the contrary. I want to help you find Haylie.” I frowned, not knowing how she could be of any help. “Wherever Haylie is, the Hunters will make sure she’s not easy to find. I can sense her from afar.” Chris and I looked at each other considering our options.

  “Lisa has a point. It would save us time. She might detect the exact location,” Chris mused, gesturing with a finger to the red circle on the map.

  I bit my lip, contemplating Lisa’s offer. She was a
n exceptional Watcher, but she was useless at fighting. It would be stupid to drag her into this, defenseless as she was. When I found Haylie, I’d need to focus solely on her and couldn’t afford to worry about the others’ safety. “I don’t know… If something happens to you, Jimmy would—”

  “Jimmy’s not here,” Lisa interrupted, her tone firm. “This is my decision. I may not be able to fight, but I can sense the enemy, their movements, their intentions. I’m not as defenseless as I may seem.”

  “Let her come. We need all the help we can get,” Chris tried to convince me.

  I huffed. “All right. Then it’s Lisa, Scott, Cole, Chris, and me.”

  “What about me?” Lauren exclaimed, jumping out of her seat. “I want to come, too. I don’t have any super cool abilities, but I can certainly kick some ass.”

  Before I could reject, Chris beat me to it. “No way. You have no idea what these guys are capable of. Besides, we don’t know how many will await us. We could very well be outnumbered.”

  “But you just said you needed—”

  “You need to stay, Lauren,” I interjected in a more authoritative tone. “You and Sarah have to look after the compound, and I need people here to coordinate the guards. Jimmy, Josh, and Jared will come home soon. Someone should be here when they arrive.”

  “But Haylie…” Lauren muttered, lips quivering and eyes shining with fresh tears. Chris rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her in comfort. I hung my head, not wanting to pay witness to their affectionate exchange. It made me crave for the woman who belonged in my arms.

  Lisa put a hand on my shoulder, apparently sensing my distress. “Your vibes of love warm my heart, boy. It’s good to see you finally opening up to someone.”

  Vibes of love? Jeez, that sounded corny. “I don’t know. It’s a weakness I can’t afford.”

  “Wrong. It’s a strength. Haylie makes you stronger, and weaknesses make us human. Without them, we’re just shells of ourselves. Don’t you ever forget that.” Her gaze turned hard as her pale eyes bore into mine, willing me to understand.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to take Sarah with us instead of Scott?” Chris asked after convincing Lauren that she was more help to us down here than out there. “Chances are high we’ll need a Regenerator.”

  “Sarah’s not up to it. She’s completely drained from yesterday. I need her to be fit when we arrive back here with Haylie.” I hated leaving without a Regenerator, especially after our last mission turned out to be a complete disaster, but except for Sarah, there was no one else available.

  I turned when the door swung open again. Cole breezed in, clapping his hands in his usual annoying good mood. “All right guys, time for playing ‘Find the Natural.’”

  Scott trailed in behind him with a sour look on his face. He’d never been a morning person. His eyes were puffy and his dreadlocks ruffled. “Damn, man, drop it down a notch. I’m usually going to sleep at this ungodly hour, not waking up.”

  Cole ignored him as he walked over to the coffee machine to pour himself a cup. “So, what’s the plan?”

  Sticking our heads together, we went through every possible scenario, marking the fastest routes on the map and trying to narrow down the area where the institution could be hidden. Two hours later, we were fully armed and as prepared as we could be.

  “What are we going to do if we encounter Cassie?” Cole asked, followed by a smack of his lips.

  His question made me hesitate. Granted, I hadn’t thought about anything else other than grabbing Haylie, and maybe crushing Dorian’s skull until his brain squeezed out and dropped to the floor.

  “What do you think?” Chris snapped, clearly aggravated. “That bitch deceived us from the beginning. I certainly won’t let her slip through my fingers should I get my hands on her.”

  I dragged a hand over my face in frustration, secretly hoping Cassie wouldn’t be there when we raided the building. “Don’t let her distract you.”

  Every time I thought about her snatching Haylie away under my nose and breaking my heart, lying to me for God knew how long, it fed a fury inside me I could barely control. Then again, killing or harming her in any way was not an option for me. No way.

  “Come on, let’s do this.”

  The cell’s door shut behind us loudly, the sound sealing our fate. We both took a deep breath, knowing there was no going back now. If we were caught, Dorian would make sure Cassie would endure more pain than just a few nails being pulled out, and this time, she might not survive his tortures. What he’d do with me, I could only guess. Cage me in a cell, shackle each of my limbs, and sedate me to make me willing.

  Failure was no option.

  After confirming all was clear, we ventured out, fast-walking to the elevator. The corridors were empty, only the dull moans and cries of other prisoners echoing through the space. I swallowed down the rising guilt of thinking of how many victims we were leaving behind. Cassie must have noticed my misery, because she said, “We can’t help them. Not now, anyway.”

  When we reached the elevator, Cassie typed in the code, and we both sighed in relief when the doors slid open. She pressed the button for the first-floor basement and readjusted her coat to make sure her only weapon was hidden. I’d never trained with a staff, but I’d feel safer if I had one, too. I could have taken the one from Gordon, but without a coat, I couldn’t hide it, and an armed prisoner might raise suspicions.

  “Showtime,” Cassie mumbled as the elevator came to a stop.

  Slipping into the role I had to play, I hung my head, pretending to be at her mercy. Cassie roughly pushed me out, and I peeked through my strands of hair to see what was going on. Gabby had been right—this floor was swarming with people. It made blending in easier, though. They didn’t pay us any attention.

  A guard greeted Cassie, and my heart rate sped up fearing he’d stop us for a chat. She gave a curt nod accompanied with a shy smile, something she’d adopted from Gabby. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought the real Gabby walked right next to me. Cassie’s acting skills were admirable. Well, it came with the ability, I guess.

  The guard was successfully fooled and passed us without a second glance, but Cassie suddenly stopped next to an open door, peeking into the room behind it.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed under my breath as she dragged me into what seemed to be a kitchenette.

  “Didn’t you hear what Gabby said? There’s nothing out there for miles. We need water,” she explained, opening the refrigerator and taking out two bottles she then put into the pockets of her coat.

  Of course. Stupid.

  I’d never thought I’d say that, but I was grateful Cassie was with me. I doubted I would have come far without her. Survival tactics weren’t exactly on top of my list of special skills.

  The tour through the maze of aisles took forever, but other than a few employees greeting Cassie/Gabby in passing, we managed to walk by unnoticed.

  That was until Phil came into view.

  “Shit,” I muttered, already dreading what was about to come. He talked to two men but shifted his focus to us when he saw us approaching.

  “Gabby,” he uttered in surprise. “What are you doing up here?”

  He gave me a fleeting glance, but his expression stayed unfazed. I fisted my sweaty hands. Technically, I was just pretending to be shackled so it would have been easy just to let my fist fly through the air and give him a well-placed punch into his balls. It would do the opposite than bringing us closer to freedom, though, so I bit down the fury and concentrated on keeping my emotions at bay.

  “Dorian wants her in his office,” Cassie mumbled in a low voice. I didn’t miss the slightly higher tone with which she tried to imitate Gabby. It worked.

  Phil furrowed his brows and threw a look at his watch. “He’s currently performing a vasectomy. He won’t be back for another thirty minutes.”

  I tried not to show any reaction. A vasectomy. What poor fellow had to endure this?<
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  I glanced at Cassie, hoping she’d come up with a plausible excuse. She was just opening her mouth to say something, but at that moment, something buzzed nearby. Phil pulled out his beeper which had obviously caused the sound, reading the text before speaking to the others in hushed tones. He nodded at Gabby as if allowing her to proceed and sidestepped us, vanishing behind an office door.

  We quickly continued our walk down the hallway. “Fuck, that was close,” Cassie mumbled.

  As we rounded the next corner, we increased our pace to reach the staircase we had to take to get to the upper floor. Cassie made sure no one paid us any attention before we took a sharp bend and ascended the steps.

  We both breathed out a sigh of relief as we shut the next door behind us. I eyed the ceiling with longing, wishing I could penetrate the thick concrete walls with my eyes and make the sky above visible.

  Just one more floor to freedom…

  This hallway was empty except for two guards positioned next to the door which would hopefully lead outside. They didn’t seem to take their jobs seriously, looking rather bored. One currently played with his staff, swirling it through the air and catching it again. The other leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and cap drawn low while taking a nap.

  We approached with quiet but deliberate steps, trying to keep out of sight. Cassie slowly shoved her hand under her coat and pulled out her staff, hiding it behind her back. I could tell she was going for the sleeping guard, and I flexed my fingers preparing for a fight with the second one. We attracted attention, though, because the second guard jerked up his head, confused at our appearance.

  Cassie didn’t waste another second and sprinted forward, staff raised high. The guy tried to pull his weapon and shouted for the other to wake up, but I was already charging him.

  The first guard took too long to realize what was happening, and Cassie knocked him out cold with four well-placed hits while I battled with the second. He retrieved his staff before I could prevent it, and I quickly ducked as it whizzed over my head. Grabbing his hand, I pinned his wrist against the wall, putting pressure on his joints until he gave a sharp cry, and his grip on the weapon loosened. Another yank, and I had his arm bent at an unnatural angle causing him to bend over and allowing me to drive a knee up into his face.