“I’m just resting,” Dr. Carnasis said, though I could see clear enough she felt worse than I did.
“What happened?” I asked. More questions had to wait ’cause Danielle held the water bottle to my lips and made me take slow sips.
“We can trades stories later,” said Danielle. “You two need to eat.” She went around to the other side of the bed and propped my Second Momma up against the headboard with some pillows. Next, she asked us what we wanted to eat. When she didn’t get much of a response from either of us, Danielle fixed us each a variety plate using some container lids.
Eating got messy ’cause those tiny plastic forks don’t hold rice too well. Danielle chattered about our progress on the meal. She turned it into a competition and made weird buzzing noises to make us laugh so she could feed us more when we wanted to quit. By the time we finished eating, I felt much better and could pay attention as my Second Momma explained her story. I’d seen parts of it in her dreams, but hearing the whole thing helped piece everything together better in my mind.
Having heard the story already, Danielle spent the time picking rice grains and other food bits off of us like a mother monkey searching for bugs on her young. She and my Second Momma made me get up and walk around the room for twenty minutes. I didn’t wanna, but I knew they was right about me needing to let my body move.
We took turns showering and walking then tumbled into the inside double bed. I got squeezed in the middle ’cause I’m the smallest even though my Second Momma ain’t that much taller than me. I also think Dr. Carnasis and Danielle felt a need to protect me. We all fell fast asleep.
Later, I woke up when Mr. Jones and Mr. Clark returned with plastic bags stuffed with toiletries and boxes of food. I think one had some clothes for Dr. Carnasis since she’d spent all day in loose gray scrubs. They moved the big red chair in front of the door and got ready to sleep. Mr. Jones claimed the other double bed, and Mr. Clark curled up in the chair. Seeing nothing much else would happen, I put myself into a normal sleep, hoping not to dream.
The images that appeared were familiar, comforting faces for the most part, so I let ’em come without changing the dream. Momma and my New Daddy wore worried expressions, but Isaac sometimes made ’em laugh. TJ and Michio threw a yellow ball back and forth. Michio would toss the ball, and TJ would snap at it, sending the ball sailing back to my brother. Dr. Lanier and Dr. Devya stood side-by-side chatting very serious-like but I couldn’t hear their words. Varick raced through the night on his motorcycle, and Nadia slept peacefully tucked into a twin bed in that lonely gray beach house. It felt like everything was waiting for tomorrow.
When morning came, Mr. Jones said I should eat quickly ’cause we would be leaving soon. I knew what that meant. Danielle and my Second Momma both argued against the idea of forcing me to sleep again, but I knew Mr. Jones wouldn’t listen. I swallowed two energy bars without really tasting ’em then brushed my teeth and freshened up in the restroom. It felt silly to bother combing my hair, but Danielle grabbed the new brush and attacked my hair with a frantic energy that spoke the feelings she kept locked away.
As Mr. Jones waved for me to sit in the red chair, which was back in its original position, Danielle tossed the brush onto the bed and crushed me with a tight hug. She only let go when Mr. Clark came over and started prying me free of her grip. When I made it to the red chair, I noticed my Second Momma had sat Danielle on the bed’s edge and leaned close to whisper in her ear. Danielle still looked like she wanted to fly across the room and knock Mr. Jones aside, but she stayed put.
The shot Mr. Jones gave me came from that tiny silver machine that looks like a gun. I was ready for the effects this time and slipped effortlessly into a light sleep. I kept my consciousness near the surface so I could make a dream from the events around me, but I also imagined my body getting hot and hoped the effort would drive off some of the sleeping drug.
Much as I wanted to comfort Danielle and my Second Momma, I didn’t want Mr. Jones or Mr. Clark to know I could work through the stuff they’d given me. The helpless feeling hurt, but I made myself watch Danielle and my Second Momma eat then get bound again and led to the green minivan.
I spent the terribly long drive checking on my family. The only one I found asleep was Malia. Given the early hour, that surprised me, but she invited me to a brief dream to let me know her Gifts would be at my disposal this morning. I sensed Nadia’s hand in that, but before I could question Malia, a real-world dream with Varick pulled me in.
My older brother stood on a beach by the gray house facing Nadia and Dr. Devya. I had missed part of the conversation, but I dared not try and recover it for fear of missing more. Varick’s stance and expression said he was barely stopping himself from seizing Dr. Devya.
“This is a desperate move, even for you.” Dr. Devya kept his hands tucked into his pants pockets to show his lack of concern.
“Dissolve the deal,” snapped Varick. “You can’t protect her.”
“Your track record’s about as good as mine this week,” retorted Dr. Devya. “Instead of making demands, you should be helping us prepare.”
“For what?” The two words exploded from Varick, carrying considerable frustration.
“The man who threatens our family draws near,” Nadia announced.
Varick’s stony glare moved from Dr. Devya to Nadia.
“This is a terrible location for a fight.” His words were hard and flat.
“The isolation means less people will face danger,” Nadia explained.
“The isolation means we have fewer escape options,” Varick complained.
“I told you he wouldn’t like the plan,” said Dr. Devya, speaking to Nadia.
“Stay out of this,” growled Varick. “Everything comes back to you. If she gets hurt today—if any of them get hurt today, I will—”
Dr. Devya interrupted Varick’s threat with a bitter laugh.
“You’ll do nothing. Your sisters would never stand for it.”
“They don’t need to know.”
“They already know,” Dr. Devya revealed. “Nadia has seen to that. Ashlynn probably already watches from a dream. How long do you think it would take her or Nadia to tell Malia and the boys?”
“Please do not antagonize him, Father. This is hard enough for all of us. If we wear ourselves out with animosity, we will have nothing left with which to fight for the others.” Shifting her gaze to Varick, Nadia continued, “Despite your great differences, you are united in this instance. Dr. Lanier cannot be allowed to keep those we love.”
The short speech made both Dr. Devya and Varick study the sand for a moment.
“What do you need me to do?” asked Varick.
“Hide.”
Varick tensed at Nadia’s order, but he listened carefully as she walked him through the smaller details of her plan. Some instructions were aloud, but mostly, long periods of silence passed, telling me she spoke directly to Varick. Dr. Devya spent the telling time throwing small pebbles into the ocean and gathering seashells. He tossed ’em down on the sand in a rough circle, as if marking out a section of the beach.
“I would rather take a bo staff to this Lanier bloke,” Varick declared, once the plan had been fully explained.
“One awaits you in the hiding place I have prepared, but I hope you will not need the weapon.”
Nadia’s statement brightened Varick’s spirit. He hurried to the place she had described.
Letting the dream slip away, I focused on the scene within our minivan. Much like the day before, Dr. Carnasis cradled most of me in her lap while Danielle held my feet. They both moved in and out of sleep, but I let ’em be ’cause sleep temporarily stole their fear. I suspected the remainder of the day would be far from restful.
Chapter 34:
Lanier’s Deal
ITEM 218: Danielle’s sixty-third letter
Item Source: Danielle Matheson
Dear Dr. S.,
I couldn’t tell you whether Na
dia is brilliant, foolish, or simply tired of running. When we arrived and parked, I saw her standing alone on a wide beach next to a house built right on the water. Her jeans, brown boots, and lightweight white jacket somehow made her seem lonelier.
As usual, I was just grateful to escape the stuffy van. The salt-tinged ocean air smelled deliciously fresh. Tyra pulled a wheelchair from the trunk and supervised while Mr. Jones loaded Jillian onto the seat. The sight distracted me enough that I didn’t realize Mr. Clark had cut the cord holding my wrists together. Before the relief could sink in, he spun me around and looped a fresh cord into place. A slight gasp told me Dr. C. was getting the same treatment.
Without a word, we were herded onto the beach proper and directed toward the place where Nadia stood. A man wearing a dark suit watched our approach from one of the decks, but Nadia kept her gaze fixed on the ocean.
Lanier headed our strange little procession followed by Dr. C. and me. I shivered in the stiff ocean breeze, but since Dr. C. voiced no complaints, I swallowed mine as well. Mr. Jones wheeled Jillian along a few steps behind us, but I couldn’t check on her often because Tyra hovered near my left elbow and kept me moving forward. Mr. Clark walked a half-step behind Dr. C., keeping close enough to discourage escape attempts.
“That’s far enough,” called Devya, when we had come within a decent shouting distance.
Having eyes only for Nadia, Lanier marched to a place about twenty feet from her. Like the rest of us, Lanier wore the same outfit as the day before, but unlike us, his pants and shirt were freshly pressed.
“You’re here,” he murmured like he couldn’t believe his luck.
I couldn’t believe it either. I knew Nadia would have some grand plan, but I wasn’t privy to details and standing alone on a beach to face down her foe seemed overly simplistic for her.
“Dr. Lanier—”
“Call me Caleb. Please, we should be friends.” He motioned for the rest of us to halt.
Tyra kicked my left calf and yanked my hands down until I knelt in the sand. It wasn’t hard to get me to comply given the awkward position of my arms. Dr. C. landed a few feet to my right, and Mr. Jones squeezed Jillian’s wheelchair in between us.
Nadia turned to face Lanier.
“Caleb, I cannot go with you. I am bound by word to stay with my father for several years.”
Lanier drew the handgun he’d swiped from the stranger and aimed it up at Devya.
“Let me free you from your word.”
Peering down with his usual contempt, Devya said, “If you shoot me, I’ll kill her.” Only then did I see the small object he had pointed at Nadia.
“Dean! No!” Dr. Carnasis tried to get up but Mr. Clark held her still. “Let her live. Even if Nadia works for him, at least she’ll be alive.”
“I’m not going to let him steal everything we’ve worked for,” Devya declared.
“I will trade you the doctor and the Dreamer for the Minder,” Lanier offered. “I’ll keep the other girl to control the Minder.”
As the “other girl” I felt faint at the prospect of staying longer with this unhinged man.
Devya chuckled.
“You have no idea what it takes to control Nadia.”
“Don’t the doctor and the Dreamer mean anything to you?” Lanier demanded. “Should I kill one of them to prove my point?” He snapped his fingers at Mr. Clark who responded by pulling Dr. C. up by the arms and shoving her toward Lanier.
She landed two feet from him.
“We believe you are quite sincere, Dr. Lanier,” Nadia assured the creep.
“Show me you believe by coming with me,” Lanier challenged.
A short intake of breath alerted me in time to watch Tyra collapse unconscious beside me. While the shock of that was still registering, something hauled me backwards and threw me to the sand. I landed painfully on my hands, but somebody rolled me onto my right side and positioned my legs in the recovery position so I wouldn’t roll onto my back.
“Stay still,” Varick ordered, materializing in a crouch in front of me. He slipped something under the heavy metal pendant and opened the clasp. The evil chain slid off my neck. An angry hiss and a puff of smoke announced the pendant releasing the promised neurotoxin. Varick leaned over me with one of his switchblades open.
In seconds, my hands were free. I wanted to weep with relief, but lacking time for the luxury, I scrambled away from the necklace as quickly as my wounded hands would let me. The distance allowed me to see that Varick had placed a large seashell beneath the necklace. I searched but couldn’t see him. Sounds of a struggle drew my attention left where Varick wrestled with Mr. Jones. Mr. Clark stood next to Jillian’s wheelchair staring uncertainly at the gun in his hands.
Nadia’s voice gushed through my mind.
Take the weapon away from Mr. Clark, please.
My muscles protested the sudden movement, but soon, I’d snatched Mr. Clark’s gun away from him. He blinked at me several times then fainted, which I took as a good sign Jillian was working.
Now, free Dr. Carnasis.
I almost asked how, but an image of a hand reaching into Mr. Clark’s left jacket pocket flashed. Taking that as my marching orders, I riffled through the pocket until I found a knife. Snapping out the blade, I raced over to Dr. C. and attacked the plastic tie holding her hands together. When I glanced up again, I flinched because the wrong end of Lanier’s gun was starring me down.
Quickly, move her.
Shoving my arms under Dr. C.’s shoulders, I hauled back with all my strength. We landed roughly a foot to the left and two feet above where we had started. Three gunshots sounded, making me cling harder to Dr. C., clench my eyes shut, and hope everything ended soon.
A man’s pained cry brought my head around in time to see Varick whip a bo staff at Lanier. The blow caught the man full in the chest, laying him out flat. Varick calmly walked over to where Lanier’s gun had fallen. Picking it up, he emptied out the bullets then threw the magazine and the rest of the gun into the ocean.
Lanier groaned and sat up cautiously. Devya still presided over the scene. Nadia stood exactly as she had before, and Jillian still slumbered in the wheelchair. Mr. Clark, Mr. Jones, and Tyra were down for the count. Varick retraced his steps back to Lanier. I thought he might clobber him with the bo staff again, but he merely knelt and drove a fist into Lanier’s face, hard enough to skew the fancy glasses.
“That should about do it. We should leave,” Dr. C. commented. She climbed to her feet and helped me up.
Varick rushed over, handed Dr. C. the bo staff, wrapped me in a full body hug, and kissed me—or I kissed him—or something amazing like that happened. The warmth rushing through me drove off the ocean chill. It wasn’t exactly the setting I’d imagined for our first kiss, but I stopped thinking and concentrated on the experience. When he finally let my feet touch the sand again, I stared into Varick’s eyes and read everything the last few days had done to him.
“Come help me wake Jillian and secure these people,” Dr. C. called. “Reunions will have to wait until we’re truly safe.”
“Isn’t it over?” I asked, still holding Varick tightly.
Slipping free, Varick said, “Not just yet.” He trudged across the sand to where Dr. C. stood with the injector gun. Rooting around in the pouch on the back of the wheelchair yielded a goodly supply of those awful zip ties. Varick grabbed a fistful and made the rounds of our various foes. I thought about helping him, but my fingers twitched at the thought of touching those monstrosities.
Despite my disdain for plastic ties, I admired Varick’s system of trussing prisoners. He first bound their ankles and wrists with separate ties and fixed the feet together with a fifth tie. Next, he looped the arms through the legs and attached the hands to the ankles.
Dr. C. fiddled with the injector gun and gave Tyra, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Clark a shot. Varick had lined the three up in a neat little row, but she made him move them closer to the house to keep them out of the w
ay. They had a short discussion about whether or not they should officially knock out Lanier. Varick was for it, but Dr. C. cautioned that they may need him to deal with the next situation rolling our way. I had no idea what she meant, but it gave me a queasy feeling.
After watching the strange preparations, a thought slapped me with stunning force.
“Why aren’t you waking Jillian?”
“I’m hoping she’ll wake up naturally,” Dr. C. said. “If I give her something to counter the sedative, she may not be able to work for the next hour.”
Wind batted my hair about my face. I entwined my fingers through my hair to still the slapping strands and asked a question that almost hurt to voice.
“Why would she need to work?”
One more danger approaches, Danielle. Do you trust us?
Feeling the lines of my sanity slip, I burst out laughing at Nadia’s question. Sinking to my knees, I scooped up two handfuls of sand and let them drain through my fingers. Facing the figure of Nadia, which still hadn’t moved much, I heaved a sigh, and said, “For a voice speaking in my head, you’ve proven yourself trustworthy. If you’ve got a plan let’s hear it.”
You’ll need to be asleep for this.
That strange opening statement is how I ended up here half-buried in sand and staring up at the clear mid-afternoon sky contemplating my fate while yet another life-threatening experience hurtles my way.
All right life, bring it.
The Sleeper,
Danielle Matheson.
Chapter 35:
The Dustin Complication
ITEM 219: Jillian’s 109th post-kidnapping journal entry
Item Source: Jillian Blairington
I didn’t pay much attention to the words Nadia exchanged with Dr. Lanier ’cause I was busting my head to figure out why where I saw her didn’t go with where I felt her. I told ya I could be downright slow sometimes. Nadia was somewhere in that big gray house projecting an image of herself down onto the sand. She musta been hiding Varick too ’cause he snuck up and knocked out Tyra without much of a fight before tackling Danielle.
Varick's Quest (Devya's Children Book 4) Page 19