by Yalu Taylors
Forgetting about my nakedness I jump up and give Zayne a huge hug. He gives me a quick kiss then mumbles that I need to get dressed before I turn everyone into cliché horny teenagers. I quickly pull on a shirt. Just as I’m pulling my jeans up over my ass, Ace opens the door. “Hey, Knock asshole.” I snap. “Nah if I knocked I’d miss out of catching a glimpse of that fine ass.” Hunter growls and Braydon gets up from the bed. Before either of them can react I throw a low voltage electricity ball at Ace. It hits him right in the stomach making him grunt and double over. “Shit, should never have taught you that.” He grumbles as the guys all start to laugh. The jerk twins push their way passed him into the room, singing happy birthday in loud obnoxious voices. I cringe as they squish me into a hug and my twins pull me out of the way.
“That’s it for the celebrations, we have work to do now.” Kalum says as he too enters the room without knocking. I’m about to ask what work when Declan appears in the doorway. “We found the girl but we are going to need Tessa’s help getting her out. We’ll meet you all in the kitchen in half an hour. Should be plenty of time for you all to finish up in here.” With that he walks back out the door as though he’s just told us dinner will be ready soon.
Chapter 7
Tessa
The Kitchen bench is covered in papers and pictures. I pick up the picture closest to me and stare at it in shock. “She looks like an older version of Tessa.” Braydon comments as he looks at the picture over my shoulder. “That’s why we need Tessa’s help. We think she might be related to you Tessa.” Declan states.
If she is related to me then why didn’t Frank tell me about her? Four gasps have me slapping my forehead. “I said that out loud didn’t I?” Hunter’s eyes show betrayal while Braydon and the twins look almost hopeful.
“Nope you projected your thoughts. Nice trick but the timing could have been better.” I spin around and stare at Frank. “Hi everyone. So I guess you all noticed I’m not as dead as everyone had thought.” Braydon is suddenly sitting on the floor. Hunter, Zack and Zayne are staring, they look like they’ve seen a ghost. I snort. I guess they have.
“So everyone knows my father right?” I deadpan trying to break the tension in the room. Ace laughs and tells the boys to get over it. “We don’t have time for mental breakdowns if we are going to rescue the girl.”
Frank pulls me into a quick awkward hug and tells me, I should eat more. It’s the most fatherly thing he has said to me and it has a small laugh bursting from me. Braydon lifts his head and asks me how long I’ve known. “She’s known since she started the change and now is most definitely not the time for arguing amongst ourselves. The girl in question is indeed related to us. She is my sister Samantha’s daughter. Kalenia is twenty-four this year and has been kept in the dark about J.O.Y and it’s nefarious activities. She believes her mother has been helping find a cure for diseases.”
I sit down next to Braydon on the floor while everyone asks their questions of Frank. At first Braydon ignores me but after a few moments he puts his arm around me. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” I whisper. He nods. “It’s not like we didn’t keep secrets from you. How about we promise each other that we won’t keep secrets anymore.” His smile when I agree lights up his entire face. I lean in to kiss him but something invisible stops me from making contact. “I don’t think so. There is no way my daughter is going to be getting involved with any of you. You can all forget that idea right now.” My mouth drops open as Frank raises his voice. Braydon scrambles to his feet and backs away from me. I wait for the guys to argue but to my astonishment they chorus a yes uncle Frank. “Right, now that we have that sorted lets get down to business. I’m going to need all of you to help me collect Kalenia.” He continues to tell everyone the plan but I stop listening.
My chest is hurting and the only thoughts going through my head right now are that not one of the guys were willing to stand up to Frank. I’m technically an adult now and I can get involved with whoever I want. So why the hell am I not saying anything? I open my mouth but the words refuse to come out. “Don’t bother Babe, we each have our reasons for not going against Uncle Frank. When we were kids we used to argue with Uncle all the time and we used to tell him that he couldn’t tell us what to do because he wasn’t our dad. We learnt our lesson when our parents died.” Zack’s voice sounds out inside my head, he sounds so defeated.
Zayne’s voice is just as miserable as he too speaks telepathically to me. “Our parents were part of the resistance, when we were fifteen we thought it would be fun to follow them on one of their missions. Uncle Frank had told us not to go after them but we didn’t listen. We led the Ultra agents right to them. Uncle Frank saved us but our parents weren’t so lucky. The Ultra agents who followed us killed them. From that day on we all vowed we would do as Uncle Frank said, even if we don’t always agree with it.” I sniff as tears blur my vision. I didn’t know they blamed themselves for their parents deaths. I tell them how sorry I am but I honestly can’t imagine how hard it would have been to live with the guilt for so many years. It really wasn’t their fault, if they want to blame anyone they really should be blaming the Ultra agents who committed the crime.
Frank calls for our attention and I begrudgingly listen as he explains what we need to do. Frank, Ace and Hunter will be going in as the first point of contact. Kalum, Braydon, Zack and Zayne are going with Declan to the secondary site to scout the facility while Quinn, Phoenix, and I will be standing by as back up for Frank’s group. When they said they would need my help, I didn’t think I’d only be going in if something went wrong. Braydon is the first to realise that I will be left behind with the jerk twins. “Tessa should come with us, Kalum can teleport Quinn and Phoenix if something goes wrong.” Frank glares at Braydon. “I don’t trust you alone with my daughter. At least with those two, I know they will keep their hands to themselves. No more arguing.” Everyone scrambles to do as they are told but I just stand there. I have no intention of doing as I’m told. I don’t trust him for some reason but I don’t say anything. More so than the trust problem is that I just don’t want to be left behind and I don’t want Frank dictating who I can and cannot date. I look up and notice that everyone else has left the room.
“Is there a problem Tessandra?” Frank asks with a stern look on his face. “Yes, yes there is a problem. Why can’t I go with Braydon and the others?” His face changes from stern to compassionate but something still feels off. “Because I know those boys, they have no future outside of the resistance, I’ll not have you getting involved with someone who has no future. In fact I think it would be best if we send you to a safe house, where you can continue your studies and finish high school.” I’m about to protest but he grabs my arm. Before I can think, I’m standing in a house with blackout curtains and Frank is clasping something onto my wrist. I look down at the bracelet, it’s silver with curling script across the band. Property of J.O.Y.
“What the fuck?” I turn to glare at Frank but it’s not Frank who is standing there. My suspicions that something wasn’t right are confirmed. A woman in her mid forties with dark burgundy hair reaches out and grabs my wrist tightly. I try to summon my powers but nothing happens.
“Don’t bother dear, while you are wearing that cuff, you will have no powers.” She pulls something out of her pocket and presses a button. I’m on the floor screaming, painful jolts of electricity shooting up my arm from the cuff. “Please stop.” I beg.
“Do you have any idea how many men I have sent out after you?” The pain slowly subsides and I gasp in relief. “Too many. It took me months to convince those idiots that you were valuable enough to send in retrieval teams and what do I get? A bunch of lab rats who don’t know how to follow orders. You will lead me to the one I’m after, I’m sure of it.”
I should keep my mouth shut but I don’t. “Who the fuck are you? What do you want with me? Where is the real Frank?” The woman laughs. “My dear, I am Samantha O’Dell. Founder and creator of your
kind. Mind you that was a mistake that I will rectify. None of those lab rats should be allowed to survive but you my dear, you are the key to my success. As soon as I get what I’m after I’ll be able to make a whole new generation of Ultras, they’ll have to see why they can’t shut my program down.” She stands over me and brushes the hair from my face.
“Oh don’t worry dear, no one will ever harm you. You are much too precious to leave running loose though, so for now we will just have to keep you here. I need to get back to those stupid boys. I swear if they were any more dumb. Oh well doesn’t matter they are being led into a trap anyway. After all if you want a job done right…” She continues rambling even as she disappears. I look around me and discover that I’m in some sort of city apartment. Behind the black out curtains is a really pretty view of the city. I look around inside the apartment but there aren’t any visible doors. Thinking that it might be an illusion, I walk along the walls running my hands across them hoping to feel the doors. Nothing. I’m trapped. Again. “Fuck!”
Chapter 8
Tessa
It’s been hours since that bitch left. I’ve tried everything I could find to try to get this damn cuff off. It’s official my birthday is jinxed. I sit down on the only chair in the room and stare out the window. I’m losing hope and I know it. I’m cycling through my powers again when I hear a noise coming from the other side of the window. The girl is the one from the photo, she really does look like an older version of me. I jump up and run to the window, she’s standing on the inch wide ledge, I look down and shudder. How is she not afraid right now. She walks sideways along until she is standing with her chest and hips pressed to the glass. She keeps pushing herself into the glass and suddenly she is falling onto the carpeted floor in front of me.
“Bitch forgot I can phase.” The girl gets up and looks at me like I’m some kind of puzzle to solve. “Who are you and what can you do?” I’ve been too trusting with people so I refuse to answer. “Not interested in talking? That’s okay, I was only asking so that I could figure out if you would be useful once I get that cuff off.” I cock my head to the side and study her. “I’m Kalenia.” She holds her hand out to me and I automatically take it. “Tessandra.” I look down and gasp. My hand literally disappears and the cuff falls to the floor. “It’s called phasing Tess and hopefully it will get us to a lower floors so we can find an exit.” I shake my head and grab her wrist. “Don’t let go.” She smiles and nods.
I teleport us to the middle of the field just over the rise from Ace’s place. The girl falls to her hands and knees and starts puking. “Shit, don’t do that again.” I smile, I like her attitude. “Kalenia? You’re Samantha O’Dell’s daughter?” The girl pukes again then wipes her mouth. “Yup but don’t hold that against me, my mother’s a crazy bitch who’s tried everything she can to lock me away.” I fish a piece of chewy out of my pocket and hand it to her. “Ta. Are you really the Tessandra?” I frown and walk backwards towards the cabin. “Nope, no time, I need to get back to Ace’s place and make sure my guys are okay.” I start running then change my mind. Just as I’m teleporting I feel a tug on my hand. I land smoothly in the kitchen with my hitchhiker. “I’m sticking with you, Tess.”
With the help of Kalenia, we search the entire house but there’s no sign of the guys. I grab the papers that the guys were using to prepare for the mission and look for the closest location. “I need to find my guys. They thought they were going to be rescuing you but it turns out it was just a trap to lure them away from me.” Kalenia grabs the map and marks off all three locations. “We’ll talk about this whole guys plural thing later.” She smiles at me and I teleport us to the first location. It’s a small building on the outskirts of the city. I peek through the windows and find Braydon, Ace and Hunter tied to chairs inside. “Whoa who’s the hottie?” I follow her line of sight and almost laugh. “You mean the one with the leather coat?” She nods enthusiastically. “That’s Ace and you’re welcome to him, he’s a pain in the ass, oh and a compulsive flirt. So what else can you do Kalenia?”
“Sweetie I can phase and I can do this.” I watch as she turns her whole body into water then turns into fire. I frown. “That’s not going to be very useful.” I grab her hand while she’s still fire and she gasps as I mimic her power. I phase and find that it hurts my eyes when I turn back. “Nope not useful. That side effect is a bitch on the eyes.” I smile to soften the blow. “What are you?” Her eyes are filled with an unfamiliar look. It scares me so I look back through the window. “I think we should teleport in there while phased. Can you phase so you’re invisible?” She nods and I grab her hand as I tell her to untie the guys while I take care of the three guards.
I phase and then teleport into the room so that we land right next to the guys. Kalenia crouches down and starts untying their ropes. I throw three electro balls, one after another at each of the guards. Kalenia whispers that there is another behind us and I whirl around. I come face to face with an older version of Shaun. I’m shocked enough that he manages to throw a fireball at me but I just catch it. My electro ball hits him square in the chest and I turn back to the guys. “Are they drugged or do they have those cuff things?” Kalenia grabs Braydon’s wrist and a jolt of jealousy shoots through me. “No cuff. Must be drugs. How are we going to get them out of here?” I smile as I grab Hunter and Braydon’s hands. “Grab Ace’s hand and hold on tight to my arm. Don’t let go.” I teleport us back to the cabin.
“Why do you keep telling me not to let go?” Kalenia heaves a few times then stands up straight. “Because I have absolutely no idea what would happen if you let go.” Kalenia starts laughing. “So these are your guys. Lucky we found them at that first location.” I shake my head. “We aren’t done yet. We still have Zack, Zayne, Phoenix, Quinn, Kalum and Declan to find.” Her mouth drops open. I tell her about my four boyfriends while I try to think of what to do next. “Are you serious, you have how many boyfriends? Do they all know about each other or are they going to wake up and freak out. Because either way I want to be here for that.” She lets out another laugh and I smile along with her. “They all know about each other, it was their idea to date them all.” She sighs. “That is so cool, I want a harem of my own. Oh what’s the sex like?” She may be older than me but right now she sound like a lust filled teenager. I laugh at the dreamy look on her face.
We waited half an hour but the guys still didn’t wake up. I’m getting worried and I still haven’t figured out the healing power. It doesn’t feel right to leave them here because Samantha O’Dell knows this place so I suggest we relocate. I like Kalenia but I’m not sure I trust her yet so I decide on putting the guys in the campervan and driving the van as far away as we can get in half an hour. The more time that passes the more worried I get about the others who are still in the hands of J.O.Y.
Chapter 9
Tessa
I’m so glad the guys taught me how to drive the campervan. It’s come in handy today. I pull the van up beside a rest stop just off Alpine way. I jump out and check on the guys as Kalenia climbs down from the passenger seat. “We’ll just have to leave them here while we go get the rest of our group.” I leave a note for the guys telling them to stay here until I return. Then I lock the doors and leave the keys with them. It’s not like I need keys anyway. I grab Kalenia and we teleport to the second location. I peek through the window and we find a very similar situation. This time though all the rest of the guys are here. Zack and Zayne are blindfolded but conscious, everyone else is out cold. I quickly tell Kalenia that we will be going after the twins first so they can help us. I teleport into the room and Kalenia pushes me down to the ground just as a bolt of lightning shoots passed my head.
“Lightning? Really?” I summon an electro ball and blast the asshole who tried to hit me. He goes down like a sack of spuds. I quickly look around and shake my head. “Why was there only one guard?” I ask the room. “Because the others were called to another location over an hour ago Babe.” Zayne
deadpans. I untie him while Kalenia unties the others. Once Zack and Zayne are free we grab the others and head back to the van.
I use Hunter’s strength to lift the guys onto the seats around the tiny table, getting them to sit while unconscious is harder than you’d think. I turn to my twins and wave in Kalenia’s direction. “So this is Kalenia, these two are Zack and Zayne. Over there we have Quinn, Phoenix, Kalum and Declan. Either of you guys know what they were drugged with?” Zayne shakes his head but Zack tells me it wasn’t a drug. “I saw them hypnotize the others before they blindfolded me.” I’m trying to figure out why they didn’t just use the cuffs when Braydon starts to groan. I rush over to him and he sits up. “What happened?” Kalenia and I explain everything to him as the others begin to wake up. It doesn’t take them long to recover.
“That bitch is going to pay.” Is the first thing Ace says as he comes to. Declan notices Kalenia and I go through the introductions. Declan walks right up to Kalenia and looks her in the eyes. I wait for her to start swooning but she just stands there staring back. “Hey Jerk. What the fuck is your problem?” Declan smiles and turns away, I hide my own smirk as I realise what he just discovered. The jerk twins look from me to Kalenia and back. Quinn winks at me then gives his brother a look that I’ve never seen before. They both walk over to Declan and they start talking animatedly in hushed voices. Ace on the other hand glares at Kalenia suspiciously. “I don’t know who the fuck you are but I’m not buying the held captive story, you have too much meat on your bones to have been a captive.” She laughs at him. “I’ll take that as a compliment hotshot.” Jealousy burns in my chest but I push it back down. Ace isn’t mine and if Kalenia wants to pursue him, I shouldn’t stand in her way. Ace turns his back on her and I shake my head. I don’t blame him honestly, with everything that has happened to us all, it’s getting harder and harder to trust outsiders.