Mindsiege

by Heather Sunseri

  Georgia had seven of the eight prongs tucked safely away. Addison still hadn’t moved. Not even when Jonas/Ty had shoved her head forward.

  Behind me, the door rattled. Hurry, Georgia. I wasn’t about to let Georgia, and therefore Jack, know that I was now with Ty, or that others were trying to get into the room. We knew this might not go well. It was the risk we took. It was the risk I took.

  Lexi, you do not have a choice. He slithered in and around my head like the serpent that he was. You will stop what you’re doing.

  I didn’t know how, but I was completely capable of choosing not to follow Ty’s orders. Maybe because Jack and Georgia were taking up the bulk of the guest space inside my brain. I was able to sense Ty’s presence and at the same time keep charge of my own mental faculties.

  Keys rattled. Whoever was on the other side of the door was coming in. I was in trouble.

  Finally all eight prongs were tucked neatly inside the tracker. Georgia?

  It’s me, Jack said. Georgia’s out for now. Tell me what’s going on. Did she succeed?

  Yes. The prongs have been tucked away, but the tracker is still there. I searched my mind. Georgia was gone. Was she suffering a seizure? Jack was there, my constant. Ty was searching frantically. And there in tiny hidden spots was Jonas. Was he hearing my thoughts? Was he capable of shutting Ty out? Or had Ty taken over?

  Jonas?

  Nothing.

  The door flew open behind me. I whipped around and backed up. Sandra entered, followed by two agents. I skirted around the bed to stand on the opposite side from Jonas/Ty.

  Sandra is here, I said to Jack.

  We’ve got to get you out of there.

  Take care of Georgia. You know I’m not leaving without Addison and some answers.

  Don’t do anything stupid, Lex.

  ’Kay.

  “Why hello, Son,” Sandra said.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  Jonas? I begged.

  I’m here.

  I let out a large breath. Thank God.

  She’s speaking to Ty. Ty thinks he’s got control of me.

  How does she know he’s controlling you?

  She assumes Ty’s inside my head and controlling me—and therefore you—because that’s what she programmed his tracker to do.

  I don’t understand.

  You will in a minute. We don’t have much time. You need to extract the tracker from Addison, if you can.

  I don’t know if I can without Georgia. I’m not telekinetic.

  Sandra walked over to Jonas, only I was pretty sure Ty was in control, and cupped his cheek. “You’ve done really well, Ty. Do you have control of Lexi?”

  He shook his head.

  “What do you mean? Why not?”

  “I’m controlling Jonas, but she’s not responding.”

  “Go get me Ty. Now!” Sandra ordered the agents. One reddened. He wheeled and left the room.

  Lexi, listen. You can do this. You’d be surprised what you can do, Jonas said. I watched how you got the drug out of Jack’s head—the one that rendered him completely unconscious. And how you removed the fluid from Sandra’s brain. Heal Addison the same way. I’ll work to block Ty from seeing exactly how you work your magic.

  This was impossible. I’d had Jack and Sandra puke out the foreign substance. This was not the same.

  Sandra turned to me. “After everything I’ve heard, I’m surprised to see you here, Sarah.”

  What was that supposed to mean? “Are you disappointed or pleased?”

  “Oh, I’m pleased. Very pleased. And when Ty gets here, I’ll show you just how pleased I am. I thought for sure you’d be a coward like your mother.”

  Chapter Thirty

  I had too much to focus on to consider Sandra’s latest riddle. What could she possibly know about my mother? I spun the ring round and round on my finger. Keeping one eye on Sandra, I brought the image of Addison’s brain up as if I had a projector in my head. The tracker rested at the base of her brain, right where I had left it. The prongs were inside the device.

  Her neurons were still a drab brown. Amber, but with no shine.

  “I thought you would have Jack with you.” Sandra stared at me from beside Jonas. “Where is he?”

  “I left Jack back at school,” I lied. “He would have slowed me down.” Jonas, standing behind his mother, nodded in approval.

  Closing my eyes briefly, I tried to move the tracker. It shifted slightly. My heart began beating out of control. Could I be telekinetic on top of everything? Would removing this tiny metal object make me sick? If I became as sick as I’d been the night I healed Jack and Addison, or if I suffered some sort of seizure like Georgia, I was doomed. Sandra would have me.

  Who was I kidding? I was trapped already. Hopefully Briana and Kyle were already safely on the outside with Jack and Georgia. No sense all of us going down.

  An agent entered the room, walked straight to Sandra, and whispered into her ear. Jonas lifted his chin, urging me to concentrate on Addison.

  Keep talking to her, I mindspoke to the agent. Keep Sandra busy.

  While the agent kept Sandra occupied, I went to work. Closing my eyes, I wriggled the device through the tunnel in Addison’s head that hadn’t yet healed from the recent insertion.

  When I had it at the edge, I opened my eyes. Sandra had walked to the corner of the room to listen to the agent. I sat on the edge of Addison’s bed, pretending to look tired. I leaned into Addison. Lifting my hand, I brushed her hair around to hang down in front, exposing the bandage on the back of her neck. I peeled the edge of the bandage back to reveal a red and scabbed-over wound held together by a few stitches.

  Again, I squeezed my eyes tight, and with one final push, I urged the tracker out of Addison’s skull, through the scab in her neck, and into my bare palm.

  The wound began to bleed. I had no way of stitching it. Instead, I willed the skin to cover the bloody area. And it did heal—somehow. Flesh formed over the raw wound, leaving no sign of the scab or the stitches that were there moments earlier. I had never done that before. Healing superficial wounds was Jack’s department.

  Blood dripped from my nose, and my head began to burn like a slow-burning campfire as I fought back feelings of nausea. But no seizure, thankfully.

  Jonas watched me with concern. You okay? I can’t come over there, or I’d try to remove some of that pain.

  I wiped my nose on the sleeve of my fleece jacket and replaced the bandage on the back of Addison’s neck, despite there no longer being a wound.

  As I pressed on the bandage, Sandra suddenly shoved the agent. “You idiot, she’s controlling you.”

  I slid off the bed while discreetly stuffing the tracker into the coin pocket of my jeans. The agent gave his head a shake as if he could rid his mind of my voice. Sandra crossed the room and stood directly in front of me, eye to eye. I fiddled with the ring on my finger. How quickly could I paralyze her? And if I bought myself ten minutes, was that enough time to grab Addison and get out of there?

  It felt so strange to look at a woman who was the image of what I would become. Yet at the same time, I couldn’t see past her monstrous actions. I straightened, stared deep into her green eyes. Was I capable of being like this woman?

  No, you’re not. Jack was in my head.

  Jack.

  You think I was just going to leave you?

  The door opened, and Sandra spun away from me. The real Ty appeared, with two agents close behind him. The female agent had one hand on the gun at her hip.

  “Great. You’re here,” Sandra said.

  Ty remained silent. No grin played at his lips. His arms, clear of any ink, hung loose at his sides.

  Jonas’s nervous eyes darted between his mother and his twin clone. “Mom, what are you going to do?”

  Ty and Sandra didn’t break eye contact. He was so much taller than her, but the vulnerable look on his face made me want to help him.

  What’s she going to do? I asked Jonas, b
ut he didn’t answer. Only watched. His hands balled into fists.

  “What happened, Ty? How did you lose control of her?” Sandra asked.

  “I don’t know. At first, when I was inside her head, I was able to be Jonas. Not even Jonas knew it wasn’t him toying with her. Jonas was even sure he was falling in love with her.” Ty stifled a laugh, but only for a moment before all humor was gone from his face again.

  I glanced toward Jonas. He cocked his head, staring at his look-alike. Did he think he loved me? No, that was crazy.

  “Are you admitting that Jonas is stronger than you?” Sandra asked. “That he now knows when you’re calling the shots inside his head? And that he can now refuse your orders?”

  Was Jonas stronger than a clone being operated by some computer-generated mindsiege? Surely.

  “And are you telling me that you can no longer control Sarah? Make her see exactly what we want her to see?”

  I was not liking where this conversation was going. Ty’s eyes widened with fear. He rotated his shoulders back and stood tall. He did not look away from Sandra.

  “Mom?” Jonas said.

  “Jonas, say goodbye to your brother.”

  Brother?

  “Mom, don’t do it. It’s my fault, not his. I can help him. Help you work out the flaws of his tracker.”

  Don’t do what? I looked from Ty, to Jonas, to Sandra. She looked up at the camera in the corner of the room and gave some sort of hand signal.

  Ty’s eyes popped open. He gasped—and then fell to the ground.

  His eyes remained open. Still. Glassy.

  “Is he…” Dead? Tears flooded my eyes.

  Two agents gathered up Ty’s limp body and whisked him out of the room.

  My heart beat out of control. I swallowed against the taste of bile in my throat. “You killed him?” My mind reeled. Addison still hadn’t moved.

  Jonas’s face was red with fury.

  “Jonas, if you don’t want to face the same fate, you will come with me,” Sandra ordered, then turned to the remaining agent. “Show Miss Matthews to her room. She gives you any trouble, tranquilize her.”

  Jonas? What’s going to happen?

  Don’t fight it. Even inside my head, I could hear the devastation in his voice. I felt a strong need to reach out and touch him. To console him. They won’t do anything to you. Remember, they want you here more than they want you dead.

  That’s reassuring.

  The agent grabbed me by the arm.

  I resisted the urge to mindspeak or to paralyze the man. I would listen to Jonas and not fight. For now.

  Just before the agent led me from the room, I looked back at Addison. She still hadn’t moved, but when I focused on her eyes, they shifted and looked directly at me.

  ~~~~~

  We made three turns before the agent unlocked a door and shoved me into a room. I spun and lunged toward him, but he easily deflected my attack. He closed the door and locked it with a key hanging around his neck.

  The agent was not a large man. No more than five foot eight, but he looked solid, and his biceps threatened to bust through his white button-down.

  “Turn around,” he said, his voice brusque.

  “Why?”

  He pulled a syringe from his pocket that held a few milliliters of a bright yellow substance. Holding it up, he stuck a needle on the end and pulled the cap off. “I don’t want to use this, but I will.”

  I turned. The room was empty except for a single bed and one swivel chair typical of a doctor’s office.

  “Where were you, Sandra, and Dr. DeWeese coming from so late tonight?” I glanced over my shoulder at him.

  “What?” He capped the syringe, tucked it in his back pocket, then forced my arms out to my side and proceeded to pat me down. “That’s none of your business.” I eyed my special ring—a ring I wanted to use, but the time wasn’t right. Not yet.

  But you want to tell me anyway. Where’d you go tonight?

  “We spent the afternoon at the track and then dinner,” he answered. The agent continued to search my body—for weapons, I assumed. I was thankful I hadn’t brought a gun. When he reached my bottom, he stopped, pulling my phone out of the back pocket of my jeans. “You won’t be needing this.” He stuck my phone inside his other pants pocket.

  Dang. “You got back awfully late. Why?” Where else did you go?

  “We had dinner at Palmer’s, that lasted until just before—” He stopped, grabbed me by my shoulders and spun me around. “You’re mind-controlling me.”

  No, I’m not. No one is inside your mind. Who else was at Palmer’s? What were they discussing?

  “Just John, Sandra, some investors, and other IIA agents. They were discussing final evacuation and destruction of the labs.”

  “Evacuation? Sandra’s moving the labs?”

  The agent’s shoulders straightened. “You are controlling my mind.” He pulled the syringe from his pocket.

  “No, I swear I’m—”

  He jammed the needle directly into my neck. I faded fast.

  ~~~~~

  I awoke with a massive headache. Not sure if it was from removing the tracker from Addison or the drug the stupid agent injected me with.

  I was alone. And I had to pee.

  Welcome back.

  Jonas. What time is it?

  Six a.m.

  I drilled my fingers into my temple. I wished I had a needle to stick straight into my eye to release the pressure building there. Where are you?

  I’m not far. I’m trying to get back into Sandra’s good graces. Convince her that I’ve been working for her all along. That I brought you here like she wanted.

  How do I know that’s not exactly what you did?

  You don’t. Jonas sounded sad. Tired. You’ll have to do something completely out of character and have a little faith.

  Ouch. I had faith. Just not in people very often. What’s the plan? Besides finding a bathroom. I scanned the room. No doors other than the one I entered through.

  The plan is to sit tight until I tell you otherwise. And try to behave. Don’t control any minds. Sandra has ordered all agents to keep you under if you give them any trouble. They all have trackers in the backs of their necks and have been trained to know when one of us is inside their heads. They only take orders from two people.

  Sandra and John DeWeese. I squeezed the bridge of my nose. Did you know about Dr. DeWeese?

  I suspected.

  Jack? I asked. Did he know?

  He has suspected as well. But that didn’t prepare him for seeing it with his own eyes.

  He said nothing to me. A tinge of anger flared across my cheeks. Anger with myself, I thought. For not being someone Jack could trust with his suspicions. Where is he?

  He returned to Wellington. To regroup.

  Regroup, huh. I pocketed my thoughts the way Jonas taught me. Trust no one—my father’s words from the letter he sent me after his death. Sit tight? No way. I pushed myself out of the very uncomfortable bed and walked to the doorway. It was locked, of course, but only with one simple bolt. Still, it was a steel bolt.

  What about Georgia? I asked Jonas. Where is she? I wondered how bad her seizure had been the night before.

  Seth has her at the hospital, one building over, recovering. Kyle is with her. Why?

  No reason. I worked quickly to hide what I was thinking.

  Lexi, I mean it. Don’t do anything stupid.

  Whatever. I’m locked inside a room with nothing but a bed and a chair, Jonas. I can’t even go to the bathroom. Which I need to do, by the way. I looked up at the camera in the corner and waved. “Hey, assholes. I need to use the bathroom.”

  Jonas laughed.

  I sat in the chair, crossed my legs, and twirled my ring round and round. I’d give anything for a gun right now. Except they would have taken it, right along with my phone.

  We need to remove your tracker.

  We will. At the right time. I can’t chance Sandra figuring ou
t that we’ve discovered how. She hasn’t noticed Addison’s tracker missing yet, but she will. And when she does…” His voice trailed off. He didn’t need to take that thought further.

  So, Ty? I asked. Were you close to him?

  There were several seconds of silence before Jonas mindspoke. He was my brother. Sandra carried us both. My DNA was altered, much like yours and Jack’s. Ty’s DNA wasn’t changed from the original. He was given a tracker soon after birth that artificially altered his DNA, giving him almost identical mind-controlling capabilities to mine. The idea was to see if the scientists could manufacture the trackers with the mental powers.

  By placing the special abilities inside an electronic tracker, they could have complete control over any human being, I clarified.

  Right. What you witnessed yesterday was Sandra realizing that I was stronger than Ty. In other words, the genetically engineered clone—me—was stronger than the manufactured form of the same person—Ty. And Sandra wanted to prove a point.

  Which was?

  That we are expendable when we’re no longer necessary to her experiment. Ty let her down, and she killed him—to show you, and probably me, what she’s capable of.

  I shivered. Either someone had just turned on the A/C or the memory of Sandra’s action cut right to my heart, freezing the blood being pumped through my body. And Sandra needs me because she can’t get the medical healing part correct.

  Exactly.

  I sat up straighter. Seemed to me she couldn’t get the mind-control part right either, or Ty wouldn’t be dead. I knew what Sandra was after: the most important thing Dad gave me before he died. I reached for the starfish and key hanging around my neck underneath my T-shirt. She wanted the information Dad had encrypted on the website—the DNA mapping that could be translated into what Sandra needed to create her army of healers. So, did Sandra need me, or information she was sure I had access to? At what point would Sandra decide I was no longer necessary?