by Elodie Colt
“No.”
Not taking her answer into account, I yanked swiftly using my body weight to lean in. I felt the rumble through my arms as her shoulder flicked back into its ball joint.
“Aargh!” Her body arched, and her other hand clamped around my upper arm to the point her fingernails left dents in my skin. I waited until the worst wave of pain was over.
“See, that was mere child’s play.”
“Fuck… you,” she cursed in between choked breaths causing me to chuckle.
“What happened?” Sarah shouted when she came with Scott on her heels.
“Dislocated shoulder. I fixed it. Can you check her for other injuries? I need her to be able to go back to training tomorrow.”
“Of course,” Sarah replied and started her healing procedure.
~~~
“I saw the Flare. She flew over the wall and landed on the ground,” I told the others back in the main quarters an hour later, replaying the accident over and over in my mind in hopes of finding an answer.
“But how was it triggered?” Chris asked for the hundredth time. “It was her first training lesson, and the students don’t accept her yet. She’s an outsider. Maybe she was nervous or afraid.”
“Of course she was, but she was completely focused during the parkour and mastered all the obstacles quicker than everyone else. Why would she have a breakdown at the end?” I countered, but no one had an answer to that.
“Did you provoke her in any way?” Chris asked skeptically. I shot him an annoyed look which Chris countered with a shrug. “Just asking, man.”
“What ability is that?” Sarah pondered.
Before anyone could answer, the door banged open, and someone appeared in the entrance. Bryceland—her expression weary.
All heads whirled in her direction. She came to an abrupt stop, fear crossing her features when she noticed I was present and standing closest to her. Congratulations to myself. I’d done a great job at forcing her to cower back from me, although I’d proved only an hour before I didn’t want her harmed.
Her eyes glided over the rest of us—everyone except me. “I wasn’t completely honest with you,” she conceded in a low voice.
“What are you doing here? How dare you—” Cassie started, her bitch-mode quickly at full level.
“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Bryceland interrupted her with rolling eyes, leaving all of us slack-jawed for a moment.
Had she just insulted Cassie? As much as I appreciated her comment, she was definitely suicidal. It just gave Cassie another reason to strangle her in her sleep.
It didn’t last more than a second before Cassie lost it, striding furiously toward her, no doubt ready to show her who was in charge here.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Chris was in front of Cassie in an instant, his hand firmly on her shoulder and stopping her from whatever had been her intention. Cassie threw him a hostile glare.
“Cassie, calm down. I want to hear what Haylie has to say,” Jimmy ordered, and Cassie whipped around eyeing him in surprise.
Usually, no one except Professionals and selected Intermediates was allowed to enter the main quarters, but Jimmy seemed to make an exception for Bryceland. For a brief second, Cassie looked close to disobeying Jimmy’s order but clamped her mouth shut. Chris watched Cassie closely until he was sure it was safe to let her go.
“Please leave us,” Jimmy addressed his crew, but before anyone could move, Bryceland closed the door behind her.
“I once did something I couldn’t explain,” she started, not bothering for everyone to hear her story, so we all stopped short and listened. “But I didn’t tell you before because I tried to convince myself that I imagined it.”
She clenched her fists nervously playing with the bracelets on her wrist. Her hair was back again in her usual hairdo, and the bruises were gone including the cut on her hand which she’d vehemently wanted to let heal naturally. Sarah wouldn’t leave an injury behind.
“When Shawna…” she began but gulped and cleared her throat before continuing. “She called me when she was attacked, so I went looking for her. I landed in an alley and found Shawna threatened by two strangers. I wanted to run to her, but I couldn’t because a high chain-link fence stood in between us. I knew it was dangerous, but I jumped up to climb it. Then, a strange feeling overcame me. It was like an out-of-body experience, it’s hard to explain.”
After a deep inhale, she went on, “I got a tingling feeling in my belly. My perception changed, and my lungs expanded. I was completely focused, and suddenly I could see every tiny detail… heights, angles, distances. It was as if everything got calculated in my head. I aimed for jumping up, but instead, I jumped over the fence.”
A few seconds of silence. Now we knew what had been the trigger today. She’d had a déjà-vu and was reminded of her sister’s murder.
“Landing like today?” Jimmy wanted to know.
“No. I got away unharmed and landed as if something was cushioning my fall, it was very strange. I only scratched my arm on the spikes on top.”
Jimmy nodded in understanding. “Your fear for your sister was triggered today when you were confronted with the barrier.” He pondered over that for a few seconds. “What happened then?”
Bryceland’s face turned hard as stone, her jaw clenching. “I came too late,” she concluded in a deadpan voice. “When the attackers noticed me, they stabbed Shawna and vanished. Come to think of it, one of them must have been a Racer.”
Her voice was not that impassive anymore at the end. Sadness laced her words, and I suddenly had the strange urge to comfort her. She’d witnessed the murder of her sister, completely helpless as they butchered her.
And you know what the worst thing was? I knew exactly what alley she was talking about. It was the same alley I’d broken down in after it dawned on me I’d failed to save Shawna. Funny that her sister had been there only minutes before.
“I woke up in St. Alice’s Hospital, but I was out for five days. The doctor told me there was an incident.”
“What kind of incident?” Jimmy asked with curiosity.
“He told me I’d been out of control hurting a nurse in the process. That’s why they’d chained me to the bed.”
The Bluster. Without question.
I knew the feeling well, although I was the only one of us who had the misfortune to experience that kind of mental blackout. It was a rare occurrence and only came forward in Roes when every other sensation shut down, leaving nothing but an insatiable fury behind. I’d been close to the edge when Jimmy came back with Ricky’s dead body. I was still in the dark about how I’d been able to prevent it from pushing to the surface that night.
“We call it the Bluster,” Jimmy informed her in a darker voice. “It’s a state where you lose all control over body and mind. Rage takes over, and it’s nearly impossible to calm down. It’s extremely dangerous if surrounded by others.”
Bryceland seemed confused, knitting her brows. “What’s it good for, then?”
“It makes you stronger, sometimes even twice as powerful, depending on the ability. It blocks out fear, insecurity, doubt, pain.”
“That doesn’t seem like a great evolutional progression,” she commented dryly, and I refrained from huffing a laugh. My thoughts exactly.
“It makes us warriors.” Jimmy paused before returning to the main subject. “Did the doctor say anything else?”
“He said I didn’t have a pupillary reflex, and he couldn’t explain why. I had the feeling he wasn’t telling me the whole story.”
“Well, I never checked a pupillary reflex on someone caught in the Bluster, but I can imagine that regular body reflexes shut down, too.”
If the Bluster occurred while the nurses were tending to her, it would be a miracle if they were still alive. My Bluster had been murderous. I didn’t want to imagine what a Natural was capable of in that state, especially one who had yet to run through the Awakening. She wouldn’t have any contr
ol over it.
“If we know what happened that day, we might have a chance at finding out about her ability,” Sarah suggested, scratching her chin in thought.
“Why?” Bryceland wanted to know.
“Because during the Bluster the ability comes forth fully, which is why it’s more dangerous for those with active abilities,” Jimmy explained patiently.
For a short second, I was brought back to the night when it had happened to me. I’d been unstoppable, punching and kicking everything in my way to mush. Pure destruction.
I paid for it later. Dearly.
“They must have documented it somewhere. We need to get the files,” Chris suggested.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Jimmy agreed. “I’ll send two of you to check this out. I think Cassie and Chris would be a good choice.”
“No,” Bryceland exclaimed, a hand in front of her in a stop-sign. “I want to do it.”
“I can’t let you out there yet. It’s too dangerous,” Jimmy tried to reason with her.
“Why? I doubt the Hunters expect me to show up in a hospital.”
“You don’t have experience in that kind of stuff.”
She let out an incredulous huff, leaning one hand on her hips. “What kind of experience do I need for breaking into a hospital? This is my life we’re talking about here. I have a right to decide,” she said sternly.
“I’ll go with her,” Chris interrupted whatever Jimmy was about to retort. “Let scouts check the surroundings. Haylie can wear her contacts. No one will see the Flare that way. I’ll take care of her.”
I let out a disgusted grunt that didn’t go unnoticed by Chris. Figures. Of course, he’d volunteer to help her.
“This is ridiculous…” Cassie interjected from somewhere in the corner, but Haylie ignored her which was usually the best strategy when you were confronted with Cassie. Instead, she took a step forward displaying her determination.
“I need to know what happened today. My shoulder was dislocated on my first day of training, and I was probably lucky. What will happen the next time I do the obstacle course? What will happen when I train with weapons? What if I hurt someone else?” she pointed out and turned back to look at Jimmy with pleading eyes, taking another few steps forward to prove how serious she was.
“I can do this. I know the hospital. You can blindfold me again if you’re worried about me knowing the location of the compound. Please,” she begged.
Jimmy rubbed his head, clearly torn. There were a few minutes of silence as the two again began a silent eye-battle, but this time, Bryceland didn’t back down. The lights from above reflected in her eyes, bringing the jaylior to life. It was mesmerizing to watch, and it took me a moment to pry my gaze away from her.
“All right,” Jimmy gave in with a defeated sigh. “But we’ll need to have a good plan and Haylie, I need you to obey my orders as well as the orders of my team without questioning, do you understand?” Jimmy postulated pointing a warning finger at her.
“Of course,” she promised, letting out a relieved breath.
“Okay, then… Chris, you will—”
“I’ll do it,” I interrupted him before taking my time to think it through. I hoped I wasn’t making a big mistake.
“Excuse me?” Jimmy asked with a bewildered expression and whipped around to look at me.
“I’ll do it,” I repeated louder. “I’ll go with her.” Now everyone glared at me with quizzical eyes.
“Dylan,” Cassie exclaimed in disbelief and was again out of her seat. I paid her no attention. She was the last one to understand any of this.
“Why? Do you think I can’t protect her?” Chris asked challengingly, pushing off the desk he’d been leaning against. He clearly took my announcement as an insult and positioned himself protectively in front of Haylie who looked at us all in bewilderment, clueless as to what was going on.
“No, but I have connections,” I informed them already dreading the questions my statement would arise.
“What kind of connections?” Jimmy asked dubiously.
“I know one of the nurses there,” I conceded. Danielle would be easy to play. Might as well make use of it.
“Of course,” Chris muttered with a dry laugh, shaking his head. Sarah made a disgusted face, Phil snorted in amusement, Cassie looked ready to kill, Scott grinned from ear to ear, and Bryceland eyed me with a raised eyebrow. Jimmy was the only one who kept his face blank.
“You know what happened last time,” Chris reminded me in a warning tone.
At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about because he couldn’t possibly know about Danielle and me, and what we’d been doing in one of the hospital rooms. Then it struck me he was referring to when I’d paid Bryceland a visit a few nights ago.
“It won’t happen again,” I assured him in a clipped voice. I could control it. It still hurt to look at her, but at least I was over the initial shock.
“Are you sure about this?” Jimmy asked cautiously, and I gave him a nod. Jimmy turned to face Bryceland. “Are you okay with going in there with Dylan?”
I watched her closely. Her questioning eyes were riveted on me ever since I’d offered to take over Chris’ part as her bodyguard. She didn’t understand why I’d volunteered in the first place. Hell, I didn’t understand either.
I’d told her to stay away from me, had dared her to cross me, had choked her to the point of pain, and now I wanted to join her on her mission?
A hundred emotions crossed her features, some of them fear and uncertainty. I was positive she wouldn’t want to go anywhere with me, and a tiny part of me hoped she’d say no.
But after a moment of hesitation, she gave a short nod of acceptance.
“All right. Scott, I want you to give Haylie a crash course in self-defense or whatever else you see fit. Start immediately,” Jimmy said to Scott who nodded, and I watched as he left with the Natural in tow.
For the next few hours, we set up a plan on breaking into the hospital’s archive without anyone noticing. We decided to start with going into the changing room first so Bryceland and I could camouflage ourselves.
When we were done, I headed out of the control room and made my way to the cemetery to get some fresh air, but just as I reached the lower levels, agitated voices echoed through the hallways.
“Don’t be so shy, honey,” a male voice crooned.
“I’m not interested, so back off,” a female voice snapped back.
When I rounded the corner, I saw David pressed against Bryceland. I didn’t like the guy. He was a decent Shifter, but a difficult student. A cocky asshole who made it his mission to sleep with as many girls in the compound as he could get into his bed. Once, Chris caught him seducing a minor, and Jimmy nearly kicked him out. It didn’t surprise me he considered Bryceland to be his grand prize.
I sighed in annoyance, hoping she could deal with him herself. I wasn’t keen on playing the hero around her all the time.
“Aw, come on. Just one taste,” David pressed before leaning in to kiss her.
Bryceland snapped her head to the side and pushed against his chest. “I said no.”
“Don’t be such a killjoy, you’re going to like it. I’ve heard the Connection with a Natural is unlike anything else. Don’t you want to try it out?”
She had no idea about what the Connection was yet. We should consider filling her in soon because David wouldn’t be the last one to try his luck with her.
When he grabbed her chin and forced his lips on hers, I knew I needed to step in. Jimmy would surely kick him out this time, and I was only too eager to get the guy out of this compound.
“I said, get off me!” Bryceland boomed before a wave of energy sizzled through the air, momentarily rooting me to the spot and raising all the hairs on my arms. The next second, something flashed and glass shattered, and I watched in horror as a neon lamp from above came loose threatening to crash down.
“Watch out!” I warned, but it was already too
late.
Both of them whipped their heads up to the ceiling, but David couldn’t react in time before the lamp hit his head and buried him underneath.
“What have I done…” Haylie murmured before she lost it. “No. Nooo!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, and I saw her eyes flashing with the Flare as she spiraled out of control.
“Josh! We need help! Now!” I shouted for our Catcher, knowing he would hear me.
I sprinted forward as I saw the Bluster taking hold of her and clamped my hand around her throat smashing her head into the wall.
“Don’t you dare to lose it down here,” I warned.
She winced from pain, eyes horror-stricken, and I squeezed her throat tighter until the Flare ebbed off. It wasn’t until her eyes returned to their natural brightness that I let go of her, and she sagged down the wall with her hands on her throat struggling for air.
When I was sure she was stable for the moment, I heaved the neon lamp to the side. David lay motionless on the ground, blood trickling from a wound on his head.
“Fuck. What happened?” Chris yelled as the others rushed toward us.
“David happened, and Bryceland lost it,” I explained quickly before checking David’s pulse. “Still breathing.”
“Dammit. Scott, get that bastard out of my sight,” Chris spat dripping malice.
“I’ll take care of him,” Sarah offered ready to heal his injuries.
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Chris mumbled in disgust, but Sarah shot him a dark look.
I turned back to Bryceland who was a shivering mess cowering on the ground, tears streaming down her face. I couldn’t say I felt pity for her at that moment, even if David deserved it.
“Get up,” I snapped before yanking her up by her arm. “Are you out of your fucking mind? If you don’t get those emotions in check, you’re going to kill us all!” I shouted into her face.
“Dylan, enough!” Jimmy’s booming voice rang through the vast space before I was roughly shoved to the side. “Back off,” he growled. “Cassie, make sure that David leaves after Sarah is done with him. He’s not welcome here anymore.” He faced Chris while nodding in my direction. “Get him out of here, and see to it that he comes back to his senses.” He shot another dark look in my direction before he wrapped an arm around Bryceland. “It’s okay, Haylie. It’s okay.”