“They might have some trouble finding them down there.” Jack grinned as I closed the hatch and locked it as securely and tightly as I could. Then I took Chloe and her IV bag back and motioned for my group to follow me. Jack picked up a few handfuls of dirt and threw them over the hatch. The sky was still pitch black as Jack led us to the parking lot and helped me load Chloe into the backseat of our van.
“I’ll go help Mia and Addie get Finn into the car and then give the signal. You be ready to go.” Jack glanced over his shoulder; the patrol unit’s flashlight was far enough away that we knew they couldn’t see us, but they’d be here soon enough. Mason sat in the passenger seat, silent as a stone. Audrey was shivering next to Delilah in the second row of seats.
“Have Addie call me when you get on the road and let me know everyone is safe,” I said.
“I will.”
Jack snuck across the road and up the hill so quickly that after a moment, I couldn’t even make him out in the brush across from me.
“Everyone stay low and still,” I whispered to the others as I ducked down in the driver’s seat and waited, counting down the minutes until we could leave. Counting down until Jack would tell me that my friends were all still okay.
The patrol came by, and there was an urgency to the swing of their flashlights that turned me cold. They’d figured out now that we’d left the base. They were looking for us—hunting the prisoners they’d spent so much time collecting … and the people who’d freed them.
Our van was parked in the first row. The guards walked to the empty car next to us before I realized that we hadn’t locked our doors … I could see Mason remember this at the same time, and when he lifted his hand up to push down the button, I heard a guard outside yell, “There! That one!”
The van’s side door was yanked open and before I could blink, there was a gun to Audrey’s head. She whimpered and tried to pull back, but the guard wrapped his fingers around her frail arm.
“You better not even breathe, sweetheart. I’m not in a good mood.” The man leaned back and I saw his face in the moonlight. His eyes were so dark they bordered on black, and the dark circles under his eyes were like giant pits in his face. Wrinkles hung across his loose skin in unnatural directions that made him look sick. He was far more ragged than Cooper had been, and ten times worse than me on my roughest day. This was a Taker nearing his end … there was no doubt about it. That kind of future bred desperation, and you could see it in his eyes. It was the kind of hunger that deprived you of your humanity. Deprived you of your soul.
The shockwave from the explosion shattered the front window of the small sedan next to us, sending the guard reeling backward. His gun went off, shooting into the sky, and then he dropped it. Mason and I both shoved him back and locked all the doors. It didn’t matter. The guards weren’t paying attention to us anymore. One was running toward the nearest entrance to the base while the other was searching the ground for his gun.
My eyes were glued to the inferno that lit up the night.
On the opposite end of the parking lot, some of the ground caved in and a few motorcycles and four-wheelers went down with it. All my eyes could see was the giant ball of flame that shot up into the sky before snuffing out into nothing. My ears rang, and above the din my heart raced in my chest. If there was a whistle from Jack, I didn’t hear it, but then all around me vans were starting and racing toward the exit. I knew I needed to move, to fall in line. Just as Jack had planned, no Takers who survived the blast would have a clue which vehicles to follow.
But all I could do was stare at the flames and think about what it meant. People were dying in there. Knowing this was the plan and seeing the carnage were two different things. I saw figures in flames. I felt the heat from the fire warming the air even inside the van. This was the war. This was what Jack had grown up knowing. It didn’t mean victory or a real chance at escape and a future, like it was supposed to. All it meant was that my dad was dead.
I rested my face on the wheel and breathed … through smaller explosions in the distance, I breathed. The voices of Mason, Audrey, and Delilah started soft, but soon they were yelling my name. They wanted me to move, to drive, to go—but everything in my body had slowed to a screeching halt. Even with the sound of vehicle after vehicle driving past, I just kept breathing through the finality of the pain that was expanding in my chest and threatening to take over my world.
And then I remembered Finn and Addie.
And I remembered that if I just sat here breathing, the people in my van would be hurt. And everything my dad had just done would be for nothing.
I sat up straight, started the car, and got in line behind the other vans driving toward the exit.
One time—five times—a dozen. I had no idea how many times I called Addie’s phone. It was all a blur. Everything that had happened over the past few weeks had created some kind of protective barrier around me against the pain, and losing Dad had been the final straw. My mind, my fragile sanity, my emotions were all wrapped in a giant bubble—I wasn’t even capable of responding normally anymore.
It became a pattern: I drove toward home hitting redial. I got voicemail, drove a little farther, and called again. Over and over until it seemed like the only logical option was to keep doing it. One by one, the other vans we’d taken disappeared, the prisoners heading back to the lives they’d been ripped from. Some had taken back roads or split off onto other highways. Several had waved as they departed, and one older woman blew me a kiss. Now we were the only van left on this road.
There had been no sign of any pursuit. Dad took care of that.
“Is it your mama?” Delilah’s whispered words floated up from the backseat. “Or your dad you want to hug first?”
Dad—the word sent a fresh storm of anguish through my mind and I did my best to force it away. I couldn’t deal with that pain … not yet … not right now.
“Both of them,” Audrey replied, excitement evident in her every word. “And my dog. He’s a Chihuahua. His name is Bubba.”
Delilah laughed softly. “Of course it is.”
Mason and I stared straight ahead. Neither of us spoke, but I thought I saw him wipe a stray tear off his cheek once. My wall of anxiety and fear wouldn’t even let that kind of emotion through.
I pressed call on my phone again, glancing down at the smiling picture of Addie on my screen. I’d taken it the day they found out about their trip. Mr. Patrick had given them all Mickey Mouse ears. Addie was wearing them in the photo and even though she was grinning, the look in her eyes and the cock of her eyebrow was saying something more like “Uh oh. Now what?”
I’d teased her, saying that this was her permanent expression around me.
“This is Addie’s phone. I’m obviously doing something extremely important or I would have answered your call. Leave a message. Bye!”
I pressed the end call button and threw my phone as hard as I could. It bounced off the dashboard and fell down on the floor. The van around me went silent. Then Mason reached down, picked it up, and handed it to me.
“Jack doesn’t seem like the type to give up.” Mason’s voice was a low and quiet, but the southern twang came through loud and clear. “It don’t seem right that you give up on him neither.”
“Right … thanks.” I put the phone back on my lap and glanced over my shoulder at Audrey and Delilah. “Sorry.”
Audrey’s eyes looked heavy and she lay down on Delilah’s lap. Delilah smiled. “Now stop that. It’d be hard for you to do anything worth apologizing for after getting us out of there.”
I inclined my head and turned back toward the road. About a mile farther on, I pushed call again. Even if Addie didn’t answer, hearing her voice on her message kept me from totally losing it.
By the time the sun rose, I had to stop for gas. Handing twenty dollars to Mason, I sent the others inside to get food and drinks. I put the gas nozzle in and pulled the handle. Every motion was done without thought. I couldn’t think a
nymore. The ticking of the gas meter was oddly soothing. I rested my forehead against the van as other vehicles came and went around me.
“Hey, buddy, you okay?”
I looked up. At the pump across from me stood a thirty-something man with a receding hairline and a toddler in his backseat.
I tried to give him a quick smile, but nothing happened so I just nodded and fell back on my old go-to response. “I’m fine, just tired. Thank you.”
“Okay.” He gave me another worried look as he got in his car and drove away.
A new vehicle pulled up behind me as I finished up and put back the handle. I didn’t even glance back. I didn’t want to risk any more questions.
“You look terrible.” Addie’s warm voice made me spin in a circle—then she was wrapped around me before I could really get a look at her. Mia ran up behind her and hugged us both. The bubble around me popped, and every emotion I’d been holding back exploded. We laughed until we cried, and then laughed again. Jack stepped out of the car and grinned from behind the rear passenger door. He had a few cuts on his face, but it was all superficial.
“Glad we found you.” He inclined his head my direction. “My phone is dead and in the rush after the … ” He cleared his throat and looked down. “We left Addie’s behind.”
I kissed the top of Addie’s head and gave Mia a tight squeeze before disentangling myself from them. Peeking into the car, I could see a lumpy form wiggling around a bit in the back. Finn—or his body, anyway—was fine too.
Walking up to Jack, I grabbed him and gave him a tight hug. “Thank you. Thank you for getting them all out safe.”
Jack seemed absolutely stunned at first, then hugged me back. “No problem. I—I’m glad they’re all okay. Where’s your group?” He glanced into the van.
“Chloe is in the backseat and the others went in to get some food.” It was amazing how much better I felt just knowing my friends were okay. I walked back to Addie and pulled her against my side. “Let’s drive over to that storage unit complex and switch our passengers around. I’d like to spend the last hour of our drive having a little chat with Finn’s parasite.”
“I think you need to understand that things have changed.” I held the knife in plain view as I spoke.
Mia was driving the van, and even though Finn’s body was still tied up, we’d removed the gag and hood and placed him securely in the backseat. Audrey and Delilah had moved to my car, which Jack was driving, but Mason sat next to Finn, a disapproving glare firmly in place.
No response. Finn’s mouth was set in a hard line and he stared straight ahead.
“My dad just blew up the NWS compound.”
Finn laughed. “That’s not possible.”
“Why not? Because you’d be dead?”
Finn rolled his eyes and shook his head in such a distinctly feminine way and I almost laughed. “For starters … ”
“We stole your body just before the explosion. It’s lying across the seat behind you. If you weren’t tied up you could see it yourself.”
Finn’s skin paled and his mouth opened and closed a few times. “You’re bluffing.”
“Not even a little bit.” I stared him down, showed I was telling the truth.
“On top of that, your body is down to the last little bit of the drug. No more Eclipse will be made again, ever. My dad took that secret w-with him.”
Mia’s face whipped around toward me, but I kept my eyes on Finn.
“You know what that means, right?”
Finn shrugged, but he was pale—scared. “If that’s true … then your friend and I will both be gone.”
“That’s one option.” I blew a puff of air out and looked down at the knife.
“You think you have another?” Finn seemed incredulous and highly suspicious. The Taker had no idea if any of what I was saying was true.
“I hope so. And right now, I have no reason to lie to you, so you should consider believing me.” I leaned a little closer. “Whether you help me or not, I’m going into that brain you share with Finn and I’ll do everything in my power to separate you two.”
“Th—that’s not possible.”
“How do you know?”
“I—I … ” he stuttered, eyes wide.
“You don’t know.” I shrugged. “And to be honest, I don’t know if it’s really going to work, but I’m going to try. The question is: will you help me?”
Finn blinked once … twice … no response. Then Mason elbowed Finn in the side, hard. I turned toward him in surprise, and he shrugged and looked out the window at the sunrise while Finn caught his breath.
“The only question you need to answer is, which path do you want to choose?” I continued. “Do you want to die for sure? Or do you want to at least try to help me, for the chance to live in your own body again? Think about it. Let me know what you decide.”
I turned back and faced the road. It took about thirty seconds longer than I’d hoped, but finally I heard the words I’d been waiting for.
“What do you want me to do?”
As we neared home, I had Mason call my mom’s office to make sure she’d gone into work like I hoped. Her office line didn’t have caller ID, and when she answered, Mason said he’d gotten the wrong number and hung up. It was all I needed to know. We had to have the house to ourselves today.
We drove to Audrey’s house first. I knew Delilah and Mason could make it home on their own from my place, but I needed to know that the little girl was safe with her parents before I tried something that could end up killing me, or else let Darkness take over.
When we arrived at the address Audrey had carefully recited, Delilah and I walked Audrey to the front door. She hugged us each tight, then rang the doorbell.
Her dad was in mid-sentence when he pulled the door open and saw her.
“Audrey!” He reached down and crushed her against him, picking her off the floor as tears ran down his cheeks. I heard a clanging sound from the kitchen and her mom stepped into the hallway. Neither of them looked like they’d slept since I’d seen them last. Her mom’s short blond hair was ratted in bunches on one side and every one of her long red nails had been broken or bitten off.
She ran forward and grabbed Audrey’s face in her hands and stared at her, then kissed her cheeks. In between sobs, she repeated four words over and over: “You’re here. You’re safe.” Meanwhile Bubba, the crazy Chihuahua, ran in circles around their feet and barked.
Delilah grabbed my elbow and with a smile pulled me back toward the van. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Now it’s my turn.”
Before we got to the driveway, I heard Audrey’s dad yell out “Wait!”
He released Audrey to his wife and jogged toward us. I expected him to grill me for answers that I couldn’t give him, but instead he just wrapped one arm around me and one around Delilah.
“I have no idea how you brought her home, but you—I just—” Drawing back, he closed his eyes and tried to contain his emotion. “Thank you. That’s all … just thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I smiled. Somehow bringing this girl back home had healed a small piece of the scar left by my dad’s sacrifice. What we did for her … it mattered.
And that mattered to me.
When we got home, it was nearly eleven in the morning, but we were all too anxious about saving Finn to even think about how tired we were. Jack and Mia parked the vehicles in front of my house and we got our stuff—and Chloe’s body—out of the van.
“You sure you have everything under control here, kid?” Mason watched Jack lead Finn into the house. He and Delilah wrote down their contact information, and I gave them mine in case they had any more trouble.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” I said. At least, I hoped so …
Delilah hugged everyone, and then hugged me again. “Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mason stuck out his hand and I shook it. “You have somewhere you can get rid of that van when you get hom
e?” I asked.
His mouth split into the widest grin I’d seen on him yet, and it caught me by surprise. “My buddy has a wrecking yard. We’ll take care of it.”
I laughed, and Jack came back outside to shake Mason’s hand with a wry grin. “Could be good to have a friend like you.”
“Anything you need. Any time. I mean it.” Mason lowered his chin and stared hard at Jack, waiting. He didn’t let go of his hand until Jack nodded and said, “I will definitely keep that in mind.”
We put Finn in my room and Chloe’s body on the couch. It only took us a few minutes to set things up. I knew exactly what I had to do. The only thing I didn’t know was if I could do it.
I pulled Jack aside while Mia and Addie made some food. “I need you to promise me something.”
He looked over at the kitchen, then back at me and waited for me to continue.
“If when I come out of this you think I’m a threat to my mom or any of them … if you think I’m not in control or I’m gone—”
“You sure you want to do this?” Jack looked like he was trying to decide whether to talk me out of it.
“Yes.” I didn’t hesitate. “I’m stronger now, with Addie’s help … and Finn is family to me.”
“I know. I’ve seen it.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “Look, you’re the only one I’ve ever seen control your other half like you do now. You’re stronger than any other Divided … including Dad. Plus, your other half—he seems more rational lately, or something.”
“Thanks?” I didn’t feel like Jack had answered me, and it made me nervous. “But if I’m a threat … ”
“What I’m trying to say is … what I said before, about you being dangerous for Addie? I think I was wrong. You’re different. If anyone can do this, I think it’s you, Parker.” Jack smiled. “I may be the smart one, I may have gotten the looks and the charm … but I think you’re the strong one.”
I laughed. “A few guards back there might have disagreed with you.”
[Night Walkers 02] - Paranoia (2014) Page 23