Mindsiege

by Heather Sunseri

  Ty’s lips quirked. “Controlling me? No.” And we are most certainly not pawns.

  I flinched at the sound of his mindspeak. Why was he in my head now? And not before?

  “Jack is your shield,” he said, as if the brightest lightbulb in the world just clicked on in his head.

  I looked nervously at Jack. “My shield?”

  Ty shook his head. “Never mind.”

  But he had said it—shield—and it all became clear. When Jonas… or Ty… forced me to lift a knife high above Jack, I had nearly plunged it into his chest. But Jack had rolled over, grazing my knee with his fingers… and it was then that the mind invader had vanished, and I was able to drop the knife.

  There were other times, too, like now, that Ty hadn’t heard my thoughts. And now I knew it was because Jack had been touching me.

  “It was you who tried to make me kill Jack.” I had accepted that it wasn’t Jonas, but staring at Ty now, it all made sense. The IIA used Jonas’s look-alike to force Jonas into my head. That’s why I had been so certain that Jonas was the one manipulating me.

  “Me. Jonas. What’s the difference? It’s all part of the IIA’s plan,” Ty said.

  Finally catching up, Jack moved closer and placed his fingers on my arm. I can’t believe there’re two of them.

  I met Ty when Jonas led me inside The Farm on campus.

  Ty cocked his gun. “Step away from her.”

  No, don’t, Jack. He can’t hear my thoughts while you’re touching me, and he won’t kill me. So stand behind me.

  How do you know? Jack asked.

  The IIA is here for me. They want something from me. I heard Sandra tell the agents not to hurt me.

  Was this before or after you sprained your ankle?

  “I said, step away.” Ty waved the gun at us haphazardly, which made me more nervous than the possibility that he might actually pull the trigger on purpose. I had read somewhere that most shooting incidents are from a gun accidentally going off.

  “Look, Ty. Tell me what it is you want. Maybe we can work something out.”

  “We’ll work something out all right.” He smirked. “Tell your knight to step away. I’ve got something you want. Information I’ve been instructed to tell you and only you.”

  I looked back at Jack with a raised brow and nodded.

  “Fine,” Jack said. “I’ll lower my hand, but I won’t step away. Tell her quickly.” The warmth of his hand left my lower back. But his close proximity remained.

  Okay, Ty, out with it.

  You will come with me, and I promise to return Addison to Wellington.

  My heart picked up speed just hearing Addison’s name. How can you promise that?

  I’m not promising it. Sandra is. They haven’t done anything to Addison yet, other than insert a tracker into her brain, but they will program her tracker soon if you don’t come. And if you’ll come, Sandra promised to return Addison to Jack, here, at Wellington.

  Frightened of what Sandra might do to Addison through a tracker, I was tempted to take Ty up on his promise, but I didn’t believe him. I reached my hand behind me. Jack immediately grabbed it, silencing Ty from my head while I searched for Jonas. Jonas, can you hear me?

  Been waiting for you to get Ty out of your head. My plan backfired on me. I tried to reason with that crazy clone of mine. He rewarded me with a blow to my head.

  Did you hear what he said? I asked Jonas.

  Yes. He’s lying. They would never let Addison go now that they have her.

  “What’s it going to be?” Ty asked, becoming impatient.

  What’s he want? Jack held more tightly to my hand.

  I gave my head a small shake. He wants me to return to The Farm with him.

  Fat chance of that. When I remained silent, Jack stepped closer, careful not to lose contact with me while continuing to hide the gun in his hand. That’s not all, is it?

  What do you mean?

  I mean, you’re silent. You’re considering whatever it is that he offered in return. Jack’s heat on my back made it even harder to concentrate. His hand left mine, traveled up my arm until it reached my cheek. Applying pressure, he turned my head, forcing me to look at him. What are you not telling me? When I didn’t answer again, he slid his hand down my body and pushed the small of my back, bringing my body flush with his. His eyes burned into mine.

  Jack. I squirmed under his gaze.

  Don’t “Jack” me. Tell me.

  I took a deep breath. He said the IIA would trade Addison for me.

  Jack’s face reddened. No! Not even an option.

  Jack. Be reasonable.

  I. Said. No. I’m not trading one person for another.

  “Okay, time’s up.” Ty’s footsteps sounded behind me until I felt something hard press into the middle of my spine.

  I lowered my eyes to the gun Jack still held between us, then peered up at him.

  Duck to your right! Jack said in my head. Now!

  With no time to think, I darted right, falling to the floor. Jack’s arm swept upwards, hitting Ty’s hand and knocking the gun loose. The metal made contact with the hard tile floor and the gun slid against the wall.

  Jack pointed his gun directly between Ty’s eyes. “Tell me who is in charge at the IIA.” A vein in Jack’s neck was pulsing as he held Ty’s neck with one hand and the gun with the other.

  “Sandra,” he choked.

  “Who else?”

  I crawled across the floor and sat beside the gun, just in case I needed it. My ankle throbbed.

  Though Ty struggled for air, a smirk filled with arrogance spread across his face. “That is the question, isn’t it?”

  “Answer me.” Jack pulled back the hammer on the gun.

  Jonas appeared at the entrance to the hallway. “Jack, don’t.” He then looked at me, scanned my body starting at my face, and stopping when he saw the blood seeping through my jeans and the unnatural way my ankle stretched out in front of me.

  “Tell me who,” Jack yelled.

  “Who what, Jack?” Jonas moved closer. “I don’t care for Ty either, but killing him isn’t what you want to do.”

  “Oh, yeah? Why not?”

  “Because he’s just another victim.”

  A gagging noise escaped Ty’s throat. “I’m no victim.”

  “That’s not helping, Ty,” Jonas said.

  Ty laughed again, and a chill moved down my spine. “Tell him who Sandra’s partner is.”

  Jonas stared at Ty. Jonas’s face was unreadable. Did Jonas know what Ty was talking about? Did he already know who was helping Sandra? And what prompted Jack to ask?

  Your boyfriend forgot one small detail in this plan of his to make me talk, Ty mindspoke to me. He forgot that without touching you…

  My head snapped to attention.

  Now, don’t even think about mindspeaking with Jack. Grab the gun.

  I glanced sideways, and without a second thought, slid my fingers under the handle of the gun and brought it to my lap.

  Stand and walk toward me.

  I did as I was ordered. I limped toward them. Jack yelled at Ty, but I couldn’t hear the words any longer.

  Shoot him. Now! Ty yelled.

  I lifted the gun and pointed it at Jack’s chest. Sweat formed along my hairline. The throbbing in my ankle was almost unbearable. I held the gun tightly. My finger curled around the trigger and began to squeeze.

  Lexi, no! Jonas’s presence filled my head. He bulldozed his way through Ty and Jack and tackled me to the ground. A gun went off, but I didn’t know if it was the one I held, or Jack’s. Pain erupted through my shoulder.

  Before I even had a chance to get my bearings, I heard another small explosion. Smoke filled the hallway.

  I tried to push myself up. Jonas lifted his shirt over his head and thrust it at me. Breathe into this. I’m going to take some of your pain away while you and Jack get to that bathroom. He pointed twenty feet away at the door we were originally headed for.

&nb
sp; Whether it was from adrenaline or the strength in Jonas’s words, I managed to hobble over to Jack, who was hacking from the smoke. I took in a deep breath through the T-shirt, then placed it over Jack’s face. We supported each other, ran for the bathroom, and didn’t stop until we were safely inside.

  Jack helped me to the floor, then stood to assess all of my injuries.

  ~~~~~

  Jack only threw up twice after healing my injuries. I had done my best to enter his mind and lessen the side effects of the healing process.

  I lay against the wall, out of breath and lightheaded. “What do you think is happening?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m feeling better. I’m going to check it out.” He grabbed the gun from its resting spot on the sink and brought it to me. “Here. Hold this. Anyone enters this bathroom, I want you to shoot them.”

  I gaped at him. “Jack, no.” I moved to my knees and pushed myself up. “I’m fine. We’ll go together.”

  Jack stared at me for a few seconds before finally agreeing. “Fine. Stay behind me.”

  The hallway was quiet. We heard shouting in the distance, though. We eased our way down the hall. Jack held the gun in front of us with one hand, and held my hand with his other. The smell of smoke was still intense. As we approached the stairwell, Jonas appeared.

  “They’re gone,” he said, out of breath.

  I let out a huge sigh of relief.

  “Gone? Are the police here?” Jack asked.

  “Yes, and so is the fire department.” Jonas glanced down at my ankle. All better?

  I nodded. “It was Dia, wasn’t it? She got them into Wellington without sounding any alarms.”

  “That’s right. And they set off a small bomb to throw authorities off while they escaped.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that Sandra was your mother?” Jack asked Jonas.

  “Would you have trusted me if I had?”

  Jack looked at me. “No, not once I met Lexi.” He reached out and cupped my cheek. “But I would have put some of our background together much faster. Made different decisions, for sure.”

  I knew what he meant. He might have refused to come to Wellington. To meet me. We were meant to meet, so don’t even go there. Sandra would have found me eventually, anyway. I leaned my face into his palm. We have to find a way to protect each other.

  “What’s next?” Jack asked.

  “Next?” Jonas sucked in a deep breath. “We train. We become stronger than the IIA. We rescue Addison. We take charge of our own lives.”

  A certain darkness shaded Jonas’s eyes, and his shoulders slumped forward. I couldn’t be sure, and I definitely didn’t understand it, but I thought a part of him had to be feeling betrayed by the woman who’d raised him.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  It didn’t take long for parents to learn of the small explosion on campus. But since few students were hurt, and even fewer witnessed IIA agents with guns, Dean Fisher and President Wellington were able to minimize the level of hysteria.

  Parents who lived nearby showed up that day to remove their children. Cathy, Dean Fisher, and Dr. Wellington spent the afternoon on the phone. I began to suspect a trend. Armed with my computer and knowing no parent was coming to get me, I escaped to a spot on the top floor of the library. I scooted a club chair close to a window overlooking the main loading zone between the two dorms. Tucking my legs beneath my body, I curled up with my computer and began comparing Dad’s list of human clones with the parents who were arriving at Wellington that day.

  Just as I suspected. The kids whose parents had arrived so far were not on Dad’s list. Just how many clones were at Wellington? I wondered. I scanned Dad’s records. He had noted names, aliases, and known locations. By my count, there would be about fifty students left when “regular” students were gone.

  “Lexi.”

  I turned in my seat at the sound of Jack’s voice. He looked dejected, tired. His face drooped, his shoulders hung forward. Shifting my computer to the chair, I stood. “What’s happened?”

  “You need to come with me.”

  “Where?”

  “The infirmary.”

  My heart sank. “Who?”

  He didn’t answer. Just stared at the spot on the floor in front of him.

  I packed up my computer and followed him wordlessly out of the library. His silence was all the proof I needed that something devastating had happened, and I knew not to ask questions.

  The upstairs of the infirmary was equipped with twenty beds, all separated by curtains. About a dozen students injured by flying debris from the bombing were being treated by Wellington nurses and Midland EMTs. The murmurs of students recounting what had happened to them sounded like nothing more than a low hum.

  “You’re scaring me,” I said to Jack as he led me past the injured.

  He squeezed my hand and pulled me to the last bed on the left. Jonas stood off to the side and out of the way. Kyle leaned over someone in the bed, but I couldn’t see who.

  “Kyle. Lexi is here,” Jack said.

  Only when Kyle turned did I see the person in the bed.

  “Dani?” I rushed to her side, opposite where Kyle sat. Her face was tear-stained. She glanced from Kyle to Jonas to me. “What happened?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry, Lex.” A tear ran down her face.

  “What are you sorry about? Are you hurt? Have they called your parents?”

  “Show her,” Jack said.

  I glanced back at Jack. Jonas stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Show me what?” I asked, confused. Danielle wiped the tears from her face with her bare hand.

  Kyle helped her lean forward. She turned her head to face him. Slowly, Kyle lifted her hair to reveal the back of her neck.

  There, at the base of her hairline, was a small incision. My heart jumped into my throat. My hand flew to my mouth to smother my gasp. Reaching out my other hand, my fingers hovered just above what looked like two stitches. I looked at Jonas.

  They inserted a tracker inside her, he said.

  The air was knocked from me by that punch to the gut. “Who did this to you? When did it happen?”

  “I found her unconscious on a bench outside the aquatics center after the meet was over.” Kyle rubbed Danielle’s hand while he talked. “She was on the side leading to the boys’ dorm. I carried her here. A few minutes later I heard the explosion.”

  Jonas, who did this?

  Had to be Sandra.

  We can remove it, right?

  He shook his head. Removing it will kill her instantly. I’m sure Sandra counted on me informing you of that.

  “There’s more,” Danielle whispered. She reached into her pocket and handed me a folded piece of paper. “It’s addressed to you.”

  Jack took three steps forward. “You didn’t tell me they gave you something.” He tried to snatch it from my hands, but I quickly shielded it.

  After glaring at him, I unfolded the piece of paper and read the contents to myself.

  “I found it in my pocket when I woke up,” Danielle said. “What does it mean, Lexi? I didn’t understand it.”

  What does it say? Jack demanded.

  I raised my head and stared at him through a waterfall of tears. They’ll kill Dani if I don’t turn myself over.

  ~~~~~

  I raced down the stairs to the basement of the infirmary like I was running from another bomb. Only this time, the bomb was embedded at the base of my best friend’s skull, and I didn’t know how long the timer was set for.

  Down here was The Program. And I wanted to know everything. About my true identity and purpose. About the other cloned humans. And about the adults calling the shots.

  If I was going to turn myself over to Sandra Whitmeyer, I would go armed with the information that had been hidden from me most of my life.

  I ran from door to door, attempting to open each one. When I tried the fifth door and it was locked, I kicked and pounded on the hard steel. I stepped back and looked up at
the ceiling. When I saw the small camera above me, I began waving. “Hello. You wanted me? Well, here I am. So open the doors.” I wanted inside these rooms. I wanted to know—no, I needed to know— what The Program was all about. Why did everything come back to me learning about my creation? Why did Sandra want me so badly? Why had Seth insisted I be a part of The Program?

  Unable to contain my rage, I screamed, then pounded on the door in front of me again until I could do nothing but sob.

  After one last weak punch, I leaned my head against the cold metal, my hand still fisted against the door. Tears ran like a river down my face. My body convulsed. Arms circled my body and pulled me backwards. “Shhh. It’s going to be okay.”

  I crumbled into Jack. He didn’t let go as he sank to the ground with me, pulling me into his lap. I shook my head adamantly. “No, it’s not going to be okay.”

  He held tighter, burying his face into my neck. “I promise, it will be.”

  “I just lied to my best friend, Jack.” I sobbed, turning into his chest. He rubbed my back and let me cry. “I told my best friend that everything was going to be fine. But it’s not going to be fine.” How could it be? She had no idea what had just been done to her.

  I pushed back and stared into his eyes. “They’re going to kill my best friend. And they’re going to kill Addison.” I sucked in the shakiest of breaths. “Unless I hand myself over.”

  Jack ran his hand over my hair, smoothing loose strands behind my left ear. “They won’t. And no, you absolutely are not turning yourself over to them. Don’t even go there.”

  “They will, Jack. They will kill them.”

  “We’re not going to let them. Do you hear me?” He brushed his lips across mine. “Now, listen to me. I wish we had all the time in the world to be angry and talk about how unfair this all is, but—”

  “But we don’t.” I swiped at my drenched face. He was right. My tears would not help Danielle. She needed help reaching her eighteenth birthday and beyond, and I was the only one who could get her there.

  I pulled back and stared up into Jack’s eyes. “We have to fight.”

  “Yes.”

  “All of us.”

  “I know.”

  “We have to decide who we can trust. Who’s on our side. And then we have to trust them. And we have to fight.” I was repeating everything, maybe in an effort to convince myself more than Jack.